Here's Chapter 9. The first step of the GreyxAshe romance shows here. Enjoy!

MMZX3: Mega Man ZX Enforcers

Ashe's Hidden Side

With Chillguin down, the five Mega Men had returned to the Hunter's Camp, De-Megamerged. Grey, Ashe, Taylor, and Atlas stepped off the platform, but the Commander stopped Thetis before he could, too.

"Stay there for just a moment." He said. "This won't take long." The Ice Mega Man nodded, and the Commander went to the control panel and activated the Hunter's Scan. The scanning light phased over his body, fading soon after, revealing his Hunter's License. Thetis looked at the card with uncertainty.

"Do I really deserve this?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it, pal." Taylor told him. "Atlas was given one, and she's done worse than you have." Atlas only shrugged in agreement. Thetis eased up with that, and took the License confidently. He walked off the pedestal and joined the rest of the Mega Men. Grey extended a hand.

"Welcome to the team, Thetis!" He chirped. The dark-blue-haired Reploid shook the hand offered.

"You're a natural peacemaker, you know that, Grey?" Ashe complimented.

The young Reploid blushed. "Heh heh… thanks, Ashe." He replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Okay, enough flattery." The Commander said. "Let's get down to business."

"Right." All the Mega Men replied.

"We need to figure out how to defeat Model D." Atlas mused. "But how?"

"I can tell you." Thetis spoke up.

"Well then, spill it!" Ashe chirped.

"Uh… let me rephrase that." The Ice Mega Man said sheepishly. "I myself don't know what Model D's weakness is, but I do know who does: Aeolus." The group was stumped.

"Why would Perfecto know his 'master's' weakness?" Taylor asked using finger quotes for the word "master," since he knew Aeolus wasn't under Model D's control.

"From what I've overheard, Aeolus apparently doesn't trust him." Thetis explained. "I heard him say, and I quote, 'Once that pathetic Biometal creates my perfect world, I'll awaken that and destroy it.' He's lucky Model D didn't hear him."

'Hmm… maybe we can use that to our advantage…' Grey thought. "In that case, we'll need to find some way to convince Aeolus to join us, no matter how hard that might be." He spoke aloud.

"He's right." Taylor spoke up. "Model O, can you sense Model H at all?"

"No, I 'm afraid not." The Omega Biometal said sadly.

"Me neither." "Don't look at me." "I've got nothing as well." Models A, F, and L said respectively.

"No new attacks have been reported, so you're all on break." The Commander told them. "Be ready in case an emergency comes up."

"Yes, sir." The group responded, saluting.

Five Minutes Later

Grey was just wandering around the camp by himself, as the team decided to scatter for their break. Thetis was off exploring the camp, as he had never been there before. Taylor and Atlas decided on some much-needed quality time together; the two were making out the last time he saw them. He had no clue where Ashe was, so it was just him now. He decided to head to the nearby pond, as he normally did when he had to think things over. When he reached the area, he gazed intently at his reflection in the water, thinking hard.

'We need Aeolus on our side so we can learn Model D's weakness.' He thought to himself. The Reploid groaned, rubbing his temples. 'But Aeolus is arrogant; I doubt he'd even consider listening to us. What should we do?'

Out of nowhere, he was snapped of his thoughts by the sound of singing. He blushed madly at hearing it. The voice was heavenly, like an angel that had descended to Earth. Grey looked around trying to find the source of the melody. What he laid his eyes on magnified his blush. Before him was Ashe, looking over the horizon, her hands clasped in front of her. Her long ice-blue hair was freed of its typical ponytail, and it flowed in the gentle breeze. The aria Grey had heard was coming from her, and he was amazed. The sneaky, rambunctious girl he knew looked so peaceful and gentle. His whole face was scarlet as he took in the sight.

'Whoa… she looks so beautiful…' He thought. 'Why haven't I seen this before…?'

However, he soon felt like he had stumbled upon something he shouldn't have, so he turned around and walked off. He couldn't get Ashe's melody out of his mind, and he was still blushing as he mentally replayed it.

"Why the red face?" He heard a voice. Grey jumped when he heard it and whirled around, finding Thetis behind him.

"Uh… well…" The Reploid stammered, not sure what to say. He looked back to the pond and saw that Ashe was gone. Thetis looked in that direction as well.

"Whatcha lookin' for?" The Ice Mega Man asked.

"Ashe…" Grey sighed. "I saw a side of her I never saw before. She looked so peaceful and beautiful… and she was actually… singing. Her voice was beautiful."

"Ooh-la-la! Dost thou have a crush on the fair maiden?" Thetis chuckled at his own use of French and Old English words.

"You don't know how right you are." The bluish-grey-haired Reploid responded, causing his friend to go wide-eyed. "Truth be told, I've had feelings for her practically since I met her. But, since she probably thinks I'm naïve, she more than likely wouldn't take my feelings seriously." He lowered his head dejectedly.

"Hey, don't get so down on yourself!" Thetis tried to cheer him up, patting him on the back. "I'm sure Ashe doesn't think like that. You just need to get the nerve to tell her!"

Grey smiled. "You're right. Thanks, Thetis." Then, his communicator began beeping. "Grey here. Thetis is with me right now."

"Both of you come to the main building. We've detected something." The Commander told him.

"Roger." Grey ended the transmission. He and Thetis, who heard the conversation, headed towards the transerver building. Taylor, Atlas, and Ashe were already there when they entered. Ashe had her hair back up in a ponytail, and looked her regular self. Atlas was clinging to Taylor's arm with her head on his shoulder while he had his arm around her waist.

"They must've had a good time." Thetis whispered, pointing to them.

"Glad you made it, you two." The Commander boomed. "Now then, there's some good news. We've detected Biometal Model H at the Power Plant Area. A Pseudoroid also lurks there."

"Excellent. Now we can try to get Aeolus on our side." Model L commented.

"Let's hurry." Grey said. "Aeolus could take off any second." Everyone else nodded and headed for the pedestal. The group Megamerged before the teleport beacon warped them to their destination.

A Little Earlier

Aeolus and Siarnaq were standing near Model D in the throne room when Siarnaq suddenly jerked his head up.

"PSEUDOROID SIGNAL NO LONGER DETECTED." He droned. "OUTCOME: DESTRUCTION OF CHILLGUIN THE PENGUROID."

"So Chillguin has fallen as well…" Model D mused. "Search for Thetis."

"SEARCHING… SEARCHING… SEARCH FOUND. MEGA MAN MODEL L LOCATED. CURRENT LOCATION: COORDINATES 38023."

"The Hunter's Camp." Aeolus noted. "That can only mean one thing: he's on their side now."

'First Atlas, now Thetis.' Model D said mentally. 'How did they manage to turn them against me?' It shrugged those thoughts off. 'No matter. The others won't be persuaded.' "Aeolus." The Wind Mega Man turned to face the possessed Thomas. "I want you to go to the Power Plant and provide assistance for Hisstorm. I feel that the other Mega Men will head there."

"Hmph. Fine." Aeolus walked off toward the teleporter. As he neared the area, he began thinking. 'Something about Model D's words doesn't ring true to me. Every word it speaks, I sense deception. And yet, I follow its orders like I have no doubt.' His thoughts then strayed to the various things that had happened. 'That human boy turned Atlas against us… Those other humans attempted to free the Aqua Preserve, even though their efforts were futile… All this makes me wonder: are all humans worthless? Have I been wrong this whole time?' He shook his head. 'I shouldn't dwell over that now. Perhaps the answer will come soon enough.' He pulled out Biometal Model H from his pocket and grabbed his sword, which was clipped on his waist. He readied himself before bringing both objects together, the Biometal touching the hilt. "Model H! MEGAMERGE!" A thunderbolt came down and struck him, causing a tornado to cover his body. When it vanished, he was in green Mega Man armor with two wing-like add-ons on his helmet, a pair of wings on his back, and two pink sabers. Docking the twin blades, he stepped onto the teleported and warped out to the Power Plant.

The next Chapter transitions to Game Stage 4: The Power Plant. Stay tuned for it!

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