Vile: Okay, people. Now that I got Numbershot 1 out of the way, I can get my head out of the darkness for some of my other fics. I've got no other words, so enjoy!

MMZX3: Mega Man ZX Enforcers

Chapter 21: Worries Over Bonds

The first group of Mega Men, those being Aeolus, Thetis, Siarnaq, and Aile, warped back into the Hunter's Camp. However, someone was there with them. "P-Prairie?" Aile realized.

Prairie, who was talking to the Commander, turned and saw Aile, smiling. "Ah, Aile! I'm so glad you're all right!" Aile smiled as Prairie rushed over and hugged her, Aile returning the hug. Prairie had undergone some Reploid modifications, making it seem like she had aged right along with Aile.

"What are you doing here, Prairie?" Aile asked as she let go of Prairie, the rest of the Mega Men warping in.

"The Commander told me that the others had located you, so I had to come here." Prairie responded. "What happened to you? One moment I had you on radar, and the next… gone."

"I was ambushed. They stuck a Cryo-Badge on me and froze me. Thank goodness they found me, or me and Model X would've been gone for good." Aile replied.

"But we have another problem." Model X said, floating up next to Aile. "The same creature who froze us had control of Model Z."

Prairie gasped with wide eyes. "M… Model Z?!" She cried. Aile handed her the Red Biometal. Model Z was still frigid to the touch, his eyes dull.

"If Model Z is not repaired soon, we might lose him." Model X said.

"And that can't happen, otherwise we'll never be able to defeat Model D." Grey told her.

Prairie nodded. "You must be Grey. Introductions will have to wait until later, though." Prairie activated her communicator. "Fleuve, warp me back onto the Guardian Base. There's some repair work I need you to do."

"Roger that, Prairie." Fleuve responded over the communicator.

"We'll stay here with the others until Model Z is repaired… if he can be repaired." Aile said solemnly.

Prairie smiled. "Don't worry, Aile. If anyone can fix Model Z, it's Fleuve. He's done it before, y'know." Aile smiled in response. Prairie winked before being warped back to the Guardian Base.

"I'm sure Model Z will be fine." Grey told her. Aile nodded.

"But in the meantime, what should we do now?" Ashe wondered.

"Well, we've taken down six Pseudoroids so far, so that makes two left." Siarnaq said, counting on mental fingers. "We might want to try and go after them next. If we get rid of them, that'll take out the bulk of Model D's forces."

"But before that, we need to find the last member of our little team. Uh… Vent, I think his name was." Taylor mused. Aile looked bummed. "Something wrong, Aile?"

"…Vent's been out of contact for some time now. He took a mission at the same time I went to the Snowbound Dojo. My communicator said no contact was made while I was out." Aile said. "I hope he's all right. Since I had Model X, Vent had no Biometals on him."

"Ah, you're worried about nothing! Biometal or no Biometal, Vent can easily take care of himself!" Ashe said confidently.

"Maybe so, but I'll put a search out for Vent's signal. Aile, give me his signal details." The Commander told them. Aile nodded. "Everyone is on standby until Vent is located. We'll also keep an eye out for any Pseudoroids we may encounter." Everyone agreed.

*Some Time Later*

Grey sat alone on a ledge near the edge of the camp, looking at the flower that he found at the Snowbound Dojo. Twisting the small plant back and forth slowly, Grey let out a sigh. "Whatcha got there?" A voice asked.

"Uwaaah!" Grey was startled, turning quickly around to see Taylor standing behind him. "D-Don't do that, Taylor!"

"Sorry, man." Taylor said, rubbing the back of his head. He then saw the flower in Grey's hand, and his eyes widened. "Holy crud!" He darted forward and looked at the flower. "No way… That's a Yuki-Onna's Eyelash!"

"A what?" Grey asked, confused.

"The flower, dude! It's called a Yuki-Onna's Eyelash, one of the rarest flowers in the world! It only grows in frigid areas, and usually only have one purpose if picked." Taylor looked at Grey. "You're gonna confess your feelings to someone, aren't you?"

Grey blushed as red as Taylor's shirt. "W-What?! What made you think that?!" He blurted.

Taylor snapped his fingers. "The Yuki-Onna's Eyelash, due to only growing in extremely cold areas, send a message to anyone presented with them: 'I braved the cold to get you this gift, because that's how much I love you.'"

Grey looked away, embarrassed. "No one told me it meant that…"

"Where did you even find this thing?"

"W-Well… I noticed it right before we left the Snowbound Dojo. I don't know why, but I felt like I had to pick it up. I didn't know it was a special flower." Grey replied honestly.

"Consider that a lucky break for you. I'd store that thing somewhere cold." Taylor said. "The Yuki-Onna's Eyelash is notorious for surviving for long periods of time after being picked, but only in very cold temperatures. It absorbs cold air for the nutrients in it and uses ice in place of water." He turned around to walk away. "Don't worry about Ashe. I'm sure even she'll love that thing." He went back to the camp.

Grey stood still for a moment before looking back at the flower. 'I hope he's right…' He thought. 'But where can I put it?' He thought for a moment, then got an idea. Walking back to the camp and heading toward his and Ashe's bunk room, he looked around to make sure she wasn't there, but walked to the fridge/freezer, opened the freezer, and placed the flower in the door. 'I think this will do until I know the right time to give it to her.' He closed the door slowly.

"Whatcha doin', Grey?" Ashe's voice suddenly said, startling Grey.

"Didn't I tell you not to startle me like that, Ashe?!" Grey snapped out of nowhere after whipping his head toward her.

Ashe recoiled: She was not used to Grey being angry. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just curious as to what you were doing in the freezer."

Grey let out a breath to calm down. "It's a secret. Sorry for snapping, Ashe. I'm gonna see if there's been any progress with finding Vent yet." The Reploid walked out of the room, leaving Ashe alone.

However, once the door closed, Ashe quickly locked it. She was too curious to leave what was in the freezer alone. 'Sorry Grey, but let's see what you're hiding.' She hopped over and opened the fridge, at first seeing nothing, but then she looked in the door and gasped. 'A… A Yuki-Onna's Eyelash?! But… why would Grey have one of these unless…' She blushed brightly, which was unlikely. 'Could this have been… for me? He couldn't have got this for Aile, she was with Vent the last time we saw her… and Atlas is with Taylor…' Ashe shook her head. 'He couldn't have got this for me. He doesn't like me that way.' She closed the freezer and unlocked the door so she could leave.

*A Few Minutes Later*

"Are you serious? Not a single signal for Vent anywhere?" Thetis asked, getting impatient. All the Mega Men had gathered in the Command Room.

"We've searched over almost every sector, but still nothing." The Commander said. "I'm not sure his signal is even working anymore."

This worried the Mega Men, especially Aile, but then Siarnaq noticed something. "Wait a second…" He got up and walked over to the monitor, squinting. His eyes then widened. "Look!" He pointed at a large fuzzy blip on the monitor. "That patch of area right there!"

"Excellent eye, Siarnaq." Model P said.

"The search isn't getting anything there. Why would he be there?" The Commander asked.

"Because you wouldn't find anything there." Model P replied. "That area is under radar jammer influence."

"Jammers, huh? That must mean something's happening that someone doesn't want us to know about." Aeolus mused. "What is that sector, anyway?"

"I'm pulling up coordinate data now." One of the navigators said. "Let's see… The jammed area is Sector W."

Taylor shuddered. "I've been there. Sector W is a swamp full of rotten trees. I went in there clean and came out covered with seaweed and swampwater."

"Sector W…" Aile breathed, then she gasped. "I remember now! That's where Vent was sent for his mission!"

"Then that may be why his signal isn't visible: He's probably still there!" Grey said. "Commander, can you get us there despite the jamming?"

"Run a scan for a teleport lock on the area." The Commander told the navigator.

"Roger!" The navigator replied, typing on the keyboard. Results came shortly after. "No teleport lock detected! Inputting teleport coordinates!" The transerver began to glow.

"Go, everyone!" The Commander said, and the group headed onto the transerver.

'Please be alive, Vent…' Aile thought as the group warped out.

*Some Time Earlier*

Grunting was heard as a young man moved through a wet forest. Rain poured down over him, soaking his hair and outfit. "Man, I hate rain." Vent said, slashing through the area with a pink saber, standard Guardian issue. "I don't even remember what I'm supposed to be looking for." Lightning cracked overhead, and thunder boomed. All of a sudden, something lashed out from a bush. "What the-?!" The appendage struck him in the chest, conducting numerous volts into his body. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The electricity finished with a loud "POP", and Vent slumped to the wet ground, dropping his saber.

"Oh… thank goodness. I was afraid I'd be done for!" A young female voice said. "I have to make sure he doesn't hurt me anymore, but maybe Master could use him." The appendage wrapped around Vent's body and pulled him into the dark foliage.

Vile: Honestly, this chapter was tricky. I wasn't sure about my word choice, but I think this is good. If you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me. See ya later, guys!