In the sky above the world, the Guardian Base flew through the skies. Aboard it was the Chosen One Neal.
At that moment he was sleeping on a bed in the medical ward. After a few hours into the morning, he began to stir, and at that point his eyes opened.
"Ugh. Did someone get the number on the thing that hit me last night?" Neal moaned groggily as he forced himself up. He awoke to find himself in a white-walled medical room, various forms of medical equipment abound, and a large hexagonal window showing the sky on the wall to his right.
As he pulled himself up, he saw that he was now in a blue medical gown and barefoot. He examined himself and found bandages around his head, chest, legs, and abdomen. For the chest and legs he figured they were for the plasma burns he received earlier, and he remembered he was bleeding from the back or side of his head before he passed out. He tried to get up, but a slight twinge of pain drew his attention to an IV linked to his right arm.
"Man, what the hell hit me?" he asked himself as he got up, bringing the IV with him.
He walked around to the front of the bed and found the Diagnosis Report on a clip board. He pulled it up to see just what was wrong with him.
"Lets see heref he said as he flipped through the pages. "Slight case of Blunt Trauma... Four Plasma Burns... One fractured rib: Now treated... Slight hemorrhaging of the cranium."
After looking at the medical report, he saw his duffel bag in the corner. His possessions were untempered with, and his Biometal, Elpizo, was there as well.
He looked back to the IV and saw that it was now empty. He decided for the best movement that he remove the tube, but leave the catheter in his arm in case more fluids needed to be infused or blood samples be taken.
After slowly getting dressed, as to not reopen any injuries, he reached into his bag and picked up his biometal. As he did so, the blue optical unit on the left lit up and a yawning sound issued from the Biometal. "Hey. Mornin kid. I see you're still alive."
Neal moved around a bit more to make sure he didn't pull anything before opening the door. He took a right, then turned the corner, but only came to a dead end with a window at it.
"Lets see where I am," he mumbled to himself as he looked out the window. He looked down, but instead of seeing the ground he saw clouds. The ground was way, way, way down.
"Yah! Where the hell am I?" he screamed as he fell backwards, the shock of realizing he was so far up being painfully obvious.
"Neal, you're up," a kind voice said from behind.
Neal turned and saw Aile standing at the end of the hallway. He tried to walk over to her, but dumbly tripped on his own feet and fell on his face. "Ow."
"I'm surprised to see you up already," Aile said as she helped him to his feet. "We thought for sure you'd be out for another day or two."
Neal rubbed his head. "How long have I been out?"
"You've been unconscious for three days," Aile admitted.
"Three days!" Neal blurted out.
"Look, just stay calm and I promise I'll explain all of this," Aile said trying to calm him down.
The next moment Neal's stomach growled. "Um. Aile. Does this place have a cafeteria?"
Aile nodded. "Sure. Just follow me. We're just in time for lunch."
"I missed breakfast?!" Neal blurted, but was quickly silenced by his growling stomach.
After a few minutes of walking, Aile and Neal finally arrived at the cafeteria. A few people were already there, Vent sitting at the back wall polishing Model Z. He had a tray placed in front of him, but he had yet to touch it.
As Aile and Neal approached, Vent looked up and took notice. "Well mornin' kid. Did you sleep well?"
Neal's stomach growled before he could speak. "Where's the food? I'd like to eat something that wasn't administered through a tube."
"Here, take mine," Vent said rather hastily as he pushed his tray to Neal. Aile noticed the tray's contents, but before she could say anything Neal was already scarfing it down.
"Neal! That tray is loaded with liver, Brussels sprouts, and tofu!" Aile cried as Neal piled it into his mouth. The next moment he gulped down a tall glass of turnip juice that Vent passed him.
"Don't *chomp* care *munch*," Neal said between bites. "Haven't *crunch* eaten in *gulp* two days."
While Vent chuckled at the display, Aile gave him a stern look.
"Vent! How could you take advantage of him like that?" she said scolding him.
Vent stopped chuckling, but instead scratched the back of his head. "What? I don't see the problem?"
"Rose told you you need to eat better!" Aile scolded. "You can't just shirk your dietary responsibilities like this!"
Vent stuck his tongue out. "Oh come on. You'd act the same way if you had to eat that stuff! You don't like any of it either."
Aile sighed as she rubbed his forehead. "You act like a little kid sometimes, you know that."
"Ah, that feels much better," Neal said after having the first real meal in two, possibly three days. The next moment his stomach started gurgling, then he suddenly belched in Vent's general direction.
Vent took a whiff of the air before covering his mouth and nose with his hands. "Jesus Christ! What on earth did you just eat?!"
Neal rubbed his stomach. "Liver, Brussels sprouts, tofu, and carrot juice."
Vent stuck out his tongue in disgust that the kid would actually eat that stuff, but soon regretted uncovering his mouth and nose. "Blagh! That's nasty!"
"That's what you get," Aile said as Vent acted like he was about to blow chunks. "Maybe next time you'll eat the food yourself."
While this was going on, the other Guardians watched with a confused look on their face.
After their little "episode" in the cafeteria, Neal passed his Biometal to Fleuve so he could study it while he went for his de-briefing.
The metal doors whooshed open, revealing the bridge of the Guardian Base.
"Oh, morning guys," Prairie said as she turned her seat around. She noticed something in the air after taking a quick whiff. "What on earth is that smell?"
"That would be Vent's lunch," Aile said pointing to Neal. Prairie wondered why Aile was pointing to Neal and not Vent, but that wasn't really important right now.
"Excuse my prudence..." Neal said waiting for a response.
"Prairie. My name's Prairie," she said introducing herself.
"Prairie. Okay then, can I ask where I am?" Neal asked.
Prairie ignored the odd smell in the air as she leaned back in her seat. "Well Neal, you are currently aboard the Guardian Base. As you've probably already guessed, it's a massive airship that serves as our base of operations."
"Okay. So I'm in an airship," Neal said trying to process all this.
"Anyway, you were brought here because you possess a very powerful relic, Biometal," Prairie explained.
"I though I was brought here because of the raving lunatic in orange," Neal said. Vent chuckled while Aile tried to hide her laughter.
Prairie stifled the titter that got out of her as well, but regained seriousness a moment later. "Raving lunatic aside, you recently came into possession of Biometal, a very powerful artifact that, if left in the wrong hands, could put the world in great danger."
"Okay, so I'm guessing that's what its called," Neal said remembering how much people were calling it that. "I kinda know who the Guardians are, so you don't really need to explain that part to me."
Prairie nodded. "Anyway, I need to know how you came in contact with the Biometal."
Neal took a seat nearby and sat down. "Well, it started during that Maverick raid a few days ago. I was hiding behind a car when some galleons were about to shoot a reploid girl and her mother down. I stepped in for some reason thinking I could save them, next moment I was talking to a phantom from ages past. Then, after a brilliant flash of light, I'm in a pink-armored trench coat and cutting mechaniloids to the ground with a crimson energy sword. After that the rest if a blur."
Pink armor? Who wears pink armor that I know of? Prairie thought to herself. "Well a lot was going on, so its understandable that you don't remember every detail."
Neal nodded. "Okay I've explained how I got the Biometal. Now I have a question for you. What's going on? Why did that lunatic demand I hand over my biometal?"
Prairie took a seat in her chair before dimming the lights and activating the holographic projector in the center of the room. "As you may already know, Atlas was after you because you possess a rare and powerful relic, Biometal."
An image of Model X and Model Z appeared on the projector. "Biometal is essentially the living consciousness of warriors from ages past. With it, a Chosen One, or Biomatch, is able to connect with it and draw great amounts of power from it. Doing so transforms them into a new life form, a Mega Man."
The image then changed to a profile of Atlas, the girl who hunted them down two (or possibly three) days ago. Next to her profile was an orange, white, and red Biometal.
"Atlas, the Flame Mega Man is the holder of the Model F Biometal, and a very aggressive contender in the Game of Destiny," Vent explained.
"Game of Destiny?" Neal asked.
Vent nodded. "The Game of Destiny is the means by which Mega Men, the holders of Biometal, are forced to fight each other. And if she's alive, that means the others are alive as well."
"So there are other Mega Men then?" Neal asked.
Vent nodded. "Aile and I are the Chosen Ones for Model X, while Model Z is a memento from a good friend of ours."
The image of the screen changed to that if three other profiles. A reploid boy with blue hair, another with light green, and a masked reploid with purple hair.
"Thetis, Aeolus, and Siarnaq," Aile explained. "In order, they hold Model L, H, and P. The Ice Mega Man, the Wind Mega Man, and the Shadow Mega Man."
Siarnaq... Why does he look so familiar? Neal asked himself.
The picture changed again to a Hunter Licence, on the picture was a silver-haired girl. Next to it was the scan of a white and blue W-shaped Biometal.
"Ashe is the holder of the Model A Biometal, and descendant of Albert of the Sage Trinity," Aile explained.
"Wait, she's related to Albert of the Sage Trinity?" Neal asked.
Prairie nodded. "Yes. She was a very big help against the recent Maverick outbreaks."
"Maverick outbreaks..." Neal spoke. He sat in his seat deep in thought for a moment, analyzing the information he had been given before coming to a conclusion. "Model W."
Everyone gave him an odd look, thinking he had just mumbled something incoherent out.
"Model W. What do you know about it?" Neal asked Prairie in a stern tone.
Prairie suddenly relit the room before heading for the door.
"Vent, Aile, you're dismissed," Prairie said as she left the bridge. "Neal, come with me."
Neal nodded as he got up.
A minute later, Neal sat across from Prairie in her private office. Prairie had dimmed the lights and activated the sound-proofing so that their discussion would be kept private.
"Neal. Where did you hear about the Model W?" Prairie asked, her eyes not once leaving Neal's.
Mega Man ZX Soundtrack - Fragments
Neal leaned back in his chair and sighed as he collected his thoughts.
"I heard some rumors," Neal said, "a little more than five years ago, about how Slither Inc. was supposedly excavating in the Outlands for something. Something big."
Prairie looked at a framed picture on the wall. On it was a long-haired individual wearing red sporting a small set of glasses. "How do you know that? Did you work for Slither Inc.?"
Neal shook his head. "No, I didn't. But my parents did."
"Your parents?" Prairie asked. "They worked for Serpent?"
Neal nodded. "My parents were Chief of Research and Development for Slither Inc. They worked near his main office on some of his main projects, so naturally they were in frequent contact with him."
"What happened to them?" Prairie asked. Something told her that Neal's story would be saddening, but in order for her to help him, he needed to tell her what he knew.
"My parents..." Neal said as sadness streaked his eyes. "They were onto something. Something big. They told me... to stay away from Serpent. Not to let on that I knew anything."
A tear fell from his eye, but he quickly wiped it with his sleeve hoping it wouldn't be seen. However Prairie did see it, and she knew she had hit a nerve.
"Then one day... They didn't come home from work..." Neal said as he leaned forward. Tears began streaking down his face, and no matter what he couldn't get them to stop. Prairie felt a pang of regret in asking him about his past.
"A few days later, Serpent came to my house and asked to speak with me. Some part of me told me something was up, but I didn't want to seem suspicious in front of him, so I invited him in. After a drink, Serpent told me that my parents had died in a lab accident at Slither HQ. Said an energy reactor or something exploded and killed them instantly."
Poor guy, Prairie thought to herself.
"Right then I broke down into tears. Serpent told me that he was dearly sorry, and that he intended to compensate me for my loss. He offered to pay for the completion of my education, to pay off the mortgage on my parent's house, and a the offer of a high-paying job at Slither Inc. when I was old enough."
Neal clenched his knees and clamped his eyes shut. "I looked up at him then. Right at that moment... At that moment I knew... I...I..."
Prairie waited for a moment for Neal to finish his sentence.
"I KNEW THAT LYING BASTARD HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT!!!" Neal shouted as he suddenly stood up and pounded his hands on the desk, scaring Prairie and nearly causing her to pull out her concealed blaster and shoot him.
For the next minute, Neal stood with his fists on the desk, Prairie's hand on her concealed blaster. After a tense minute more Neal took his seat.
"Prairie... I'm sorry about that..." Neal apologized as he sat back down in his seat. "Please forgive me for my outburst. I just... haven't been able to completely move past that."
"Its okay," Prairie said. She eased her hand from her blaster and sat back in her seat. "That kind of behavior is understandable."
"Anyway..." Neal said as he finally regained his composure. "I knew right from that very moment he had something to do with it. I figured that if I let on about knowing he'd probably get rid of me too, make it look like an accident. So I did the only thing I could to get him out of the house without drawing suspicion. I told him thank you, and that it would be a big help."
Prairie knew a bit about Serpent before, but now she knew him for the lying bastard he really was.
"After I said that," Neal continued, "Serpent smiled and told me he'd take care of the arrangements. After that he left."
Prairie nodded. "Well... What happened next?"
Neal sniffed as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "While I led Serpent to believe that I didn't know anything, for the next few weeks I began moving about Inner Peace collecting any information I could about the disappearances and any way Serpent was involved. I knew that if I wanted to bring him down, I needed solid, concrete evidence. Something big enough to bring a business leader like him down."
Neal stopped for a moment before reaching for a tissue box on Prairie's desk. "Can I?"
Prairie nodded. Neal then took a tissue and blew his nose.
"Anyway, a month had passed since my parents died," Neal said. "I'd been collecting information, but only in little bits and pieces. I'd begun to give up hope, but then I found a breakthrough in my investigation. Something that could possibly nail Serpent, but only if he were guilty of my suspicions and the clues led me in the right direction."
Prairie was becoming more intrigued by Neal's tale by the second. "A breakthrough? Like what?"
"Well. I did a little... digging, and found out that a delivery service named Giro Express was scheduled to deliver a package from an Archeological Recon Unit to an anonymous client at a rendezvous point in the Outlands in a few days. The main bulk of the disappearances had been happening there, so I figured this would be the best time to get some conclusive evidence in case they disappeared on the job."
He's talking about when I asked Giro to deliver the Biometal! Prairie thought to herself.
"I knew that somehow I had to get fresh pictures of them before they possibly disappeared, you know, to have some faces to go with the names. But, I had to do it in a way that I drew the least amount of suspicion to myself. So I did the one thing I could to get a delivery service to come to me," Neal explained. "I placed an order."
"An order? What did you order?" Prairie asked.
"Well. I knew I had to get to them before they left on their delivery to the Outlands," Neal explained, "so I ordered a certain... package, and put it on Express Delivery. Since I only had a day at the most until Giro Express delivered my package, I knew I had to work fast if I wanted to get the evidence I needed."
"What did you do?" Prairie asked. It was as though she were watching a Shakesperian drama unfold before her, and the tale was becoming more captivating every minute.
"I did the best with what I had," Neal explained. "I rigged a few timed cameras in my yard and a wide-lense camcorder in my parent's bedroom. Then that morning came, one adult in red and two pre-teens in blue came to my front step. I received the package, and at the same time I managed to get enough pictures to serve as evidence."
So he is talking about Vent and Aile, Prairie thought. "Why didn't you just copy their profiles from the internet?"
"It was possible that Serpent was still monitoring me, just in case I was tailing him, which he didn't know I was. If I suddenly pulled the profile of a delivery service, it may have set off a red flag, and then I wouldn't be able to collect any more evidence as freely without giving myself away."
Prairied nodded. Knowing Serpent, that might have been the case.
"A while after that," Neal continued, "Giro Express dropped from the face of the Earth. I... opened their mainframe before it was disconnected from the network, and found the coordinates for the rendezvous point in a forest just outside Inner Peace. After I mapped the route, I left by the cover of night and investigated. I combed the area for a few hours before I found something."
"What did you find?" Prairie asked.
"I found tracks. Big ones," Neal said. "There were signs of a conflict in the area too, they appeared to be a few days old. However, tracks weren't concrete evidence, so all I could do was follow where the clues led."
He's talking about the Giga Aspis that attacked us that day, Prairie thought. She had to keep a straight face, otherwise Neal would know something was up.
"Right as I got home from checking tracks, I heard about a large-scale Maverick attack that had occurred on the ruined highway south of Inner Peace," Neal continued, completely oblivious to the thoughts going on in Prairie's mind. "True to the news reports, there was a massive Maverick attack there too. I found obvious signs of a conflict, and at the middle I found a downed Rayfly."
He was there too? Prairie asked herself.
"It didn't take a genius to see that something powerful knocked it out of the air. The left side of its hull was nailed by a very powerful melee weapon, possibly a sword or something along those lines. For the next few weeks I continued to investigate other areas in secret."
"What did you investigate?" Prairie asked. Just how far was this kid willing to go for his parents?
"Well I don't completely remember now, its been so long since then," Neal said. "I investigated eight areas in total, two I had to go back to at a later date and bring diving equipment, and one I had to bring a fire retardant suit so I wouldn't get cooked alive."
Eight areas. That must be where the eight pseudoroids were active, Prairie thought to herself. "What did you find?"
"Well," Neal said. "I found out that all eight sites had something that linked them all to each other. There were signs of a large-scale conflict, and some kind of residual energy my equipment couldn't accurately identify. I must've just missed whoever was fighting the Mavericks by a day, give or take a few hours. What I did see was that there were Slither Inc. logos all over the place as well, so that could at least prove Serpent's involvement."
"Did anything in particular stand out?" Prairie asked. If he got through the door sis built, I won't know what to think.
Neal scratched the side of his cheek. "Well, there was one place where my investigation hit a dead end. There was this cave in the mountains, and at the end of it was a massive door with six highly advanced electronic locks. The thing was made of some super-strong material, and I didn't have the kind of equipment to get through it either."
"What did you do afterwards?" Prairie asked.
"I turned around and went home," Neal said. "Even without seeing what was behind that door, I still had enough evidence to conclusively prove that Serpent was responsible, or at the very least related, for all the disappearances that had been occurring recently and for the ten years prior. All that was left to do was for me to collect my findings, take care of a loose end, and confront Serpent."
"What do you mean by loose end?" Prairie asked.
Neal leaned back in his chair. "Well, it was an economic thing, and I don't want to bore you with details so I'll just give you the gist. Using the skills I had acquired while investigating Serpent, I broke through the Slither Inc. Stock Mainframe and set all of the shareholder's stocks to be sold simultaneously. Since they were sold simultaneously, their value didn't have a chance to drop too much. A bit of money was lost in the transfer, but everyone still made some profit from their stocks."
"Why'd you get everyone's stocks sold?" Prairie asked.
"Well, I knew that one way or another, Slither Inc. was going to hit the ground," Neal explained. "I didn't want everyone to be holding worthless stocks, so I did all I could. Afterwards I found out what I did worked, so I'm glad things turned out as they did."
Prairie digested all the information she had been given. So while we were fighting the Mavericks, he was out in the field trying to expose Serpent's plot to the public. He was right behind us too. How come no one noticed? Though on the off-note, I am grateful that someone prevented an economic depression within Inner Peace.
"However I knew if I confronted Serpent on my own and revealed that I knew about his plot, he'd just get rid of me also. That's when I had a... contact, bring in some... professional help," Neal said, picking his words very carefully.
"Who'd you call?" Prairie asked. She had noticed he'd been choosing his words very carefully a lot lately, possibly because he's had some questionable dealing in the past.
"Not much was known about them," Neal said. "All I could get was a name. The Striking Shadow Squadron."
Striking Shadow Squadron? Is it coincidence or... Prairie thought thought to herself.
"They were a special ops unit that dealt in espionage and assassination," Neal continued. "I knew that if I were to confront Serpent, it had to be as a man and not as a little kid. I called them in, hired them to a contract, and at that moment I was ready to storm Slither Inc.'s main office in the center of Inner Peace."
"Why didn't you just call the police?" Prairie asked.
Neal scratched his cheek. "I don't think the police would believe the words of a ten year-old. Plus, if they worked for Serpent too, then I'd be dead right there."
"I see," Prairie said. His parents disappear by Slither's hand, he investigates all the areas where Vent and Aile fough pseudoroids at, and now he's stormed the Slither Inc. Main Office building, Prairie thought. I'm surprised investigating so many mechaniloid-infected areas didn't deter him.
Neal stopped there and looked Prairie dead in the eye. "Prairie. Before I continue, there's something I have to say."
"Hm?" Prairie asked.
"Everything I've said here does not leave this room," Neal explained, his eyes holding full seriousness as he folded his fingers together in front of him. "I don't know just what Serpent was up to with that Model W thing. But all I know is that if this information were to be leaked to the public in the wrong manner, then it would cause mass panic and chaos across the whole country."
Man, he's really binding my hands here, Prairie thought. But I suppose I owe it to him, and to his parents, to keep his trials secret until he's ready to tell everyone himself.
"I promise," Prairie said. "I won't breath a word of what you've said once we leave this room."
"Thank you," Neal said. "I appreciate it very much."
"Anyway, an hour before I planned to storm Slither Inc., three individuals appeared in my home, one adult, one teen, and one child the same age as I was. All were wearing black and purple outfits with red scarves around their necks and faces, giving them the resemblance to modern-day ninjas. Anyway, once they were there, I gave them the gist of the mission. They were to follow behind me while I made my way to the top floor of Slither Inc., all the while not to be seen by anyone or anything, and that in the event that Serpent tries to eliminate me, they get him first, no questions asked. The payment was on a half-now half-later basis, and they'd be paid extra for stopping anyone who had caught on to my plan and attempted to stop me."
"What happened when you got there?" Prairie asked.
"When I got to the entrance to the Slither Inc. main building, I noticed something was off the moment I set foot there. It was quiet... Tooquiet. I entered the lobby and found only the remains of galleons and various mechaniloids littered across the floor. I continued on for several more minutes before realized something very crucial; The mechaniloids were felled recently, as in "five-minutes-ago" recently."
Prairie thought about what the details of his story meant. He must've been right on Vent and Aile's tail right before they went to confront Serpent. I thought I had troops guarding the entrance too. He must've slipped through before we could get in position.
"I soon came upon the Main Elevator shaft, which was used to move large equipment that was too delicate to be air-lifted. The mechanism for calling the elevator back down was unresponsive, and I knew I didn't have the time to wait for it to come back down. After signaling the Shadow Squadron to come out of hiding, I offered them extra money to take me to the top in under five minutes. They did, and it was money well spent for what I figured out when I reached the top."
Prairie was literally on the edge of her seat. "Spit it out! What did you see?"
Neal was momentarily taken back by her sudden urgentness, but figured it was the effect that his story was having. "All right, I'll continue."
"Right as I reached the top floor, I found even more mechaniloid remains," Neal said, nearing the end of his tail. "I knew these ones were fresh because they were still warm. Then I came to the last hallway before the final door, wall to wall were hundreds of glass cylinders with glowing balls of light in them."
Cyber Elves, Prairie thought, remembering the mission report she had received from both Vent and Aile after they came back on radar.
"It was right then that we came upon the final door. And it was the most heavily reinforced of all of them. From the skills I had gained during the few months I had been investigating Serpent's activities, I managed to hack the lock just enough so that the center dial came loose. It wasn't much, but it was enough that I could see into the room. The moment I looked in, I knew that Serpent was responsible for it all."
"What did you see in that room?" Prairie asked.
"From what I could see there were hundreds, possibly thousands of the same glass cylinders that had the glowing spheres of light in them, and hanging from the ceiling was a massive chunk of glowing white metal with a pulsating red core. Right as I was about to force the door open further, I caught sight of Serpent facing off against two individuals in red armor with long golden hair."
So he was right at the final battle at Slither Inc. Prairie thought to herself
"Just then, Serpent took out a glowing piece of triangular metal, then there was a brilliant flash of light. When it cleared, he was covered head to toe in white and black armor with glowing orange cones on the head, shoulders, and feet. The fight that ensued was intense, I'd never seen so much power used in one place before. The two warriors were able to defeat Serpent, but suddenly the tide changed. The two warriors fighting Serpent were suddenly forced out of their transformed states as some kind of energy was ripped out of them and absorbed into the massive white metal that hung from the ceiling."
He must be talking about when their megamerge was canceled by Model W.
"Then something truly horrific happened. Glowing tendrils suddenly emerged from the core of the giant metal and absorbed Serpent into itself. The next moment he had transformed into a giant colossus that would make those Golems look like flies next to an ox."
So he witnessed Serpent's transformation as well. I'm surprised he wasn't traumatized. Then again he may've been and he's just hiding it very well.
"Right then I knew that Serpent had become far to powerful for I, or anyone else to stop, and at that very moment I had fallen into the depths of despair," Neal said. "But then a miracle happened, and to this very day I still don't believe it myself."
"What happened?" Prairie asked.
"The two warriors suddenly resumed their transformed state and began to fight Serpent head-on. I was utterly amazed, Serpent just kept getting bigger and bigger, his attacks more powerful and elaborate, but each time Serpent got bigger, the two warriors just kept fighting harder. Then with their most powerful attacks they finished him off."
Neal took a moment to remember that day, and to take a breath from so much talking.
"Right at moment the room began to fall apart, as did the whole tower. It was then I heard Serpent's final words, and to this very day that moment still gives me nightmares."
"What were Serpent's final words?" Prairie asked.
Neal deepened his voice as he recalled those words that would be etched into his memory forever.
"The destiny of destruction . . . Still awaits . . . So long as you have hearts, hate will lurk in the shadows . . . You who possess the wellspring of emotion known as the heart . . . You are the true Mavericks!"
Those words took an immediate effect on Prairie. As much as she hated to admit it, there was some truth to Serpent's words.
"The final words of that madman will remain in my memory for the rest of my life," Neal said, utterly exhausted from recalling the darkness that lay in his past. "I never did find out who defeated Serpent, but if I ever meet them, I'd like to thank them for putting my parent's souls to rest. If anything it's the least I could do."
"Neal... This may not be the most appropriate time to ask..." Prairie said. "But can you tell me how it was that you escaped the collapsing building in time."
Neal sighed, but figured a few more minutes of his tale would be good for him. He'd never told anyone else before, so this was actually a great load off his shoulders.
"Well, it essentially went like this. As the building began to collapse, I told the three I hired that the terms of my contract had expired, and that they should just get themselves to safety. The next moment, the shortest ninja threw me over his shoulder and said, "this one's on the house". The large one set a charge on the wall, we hid behind some debris, and then next thing I know, we're flying on gliders out of the Slither Inc. building right as the thing falls apart."
Prairie leaned back in her seat. "Wow. That must've been some adventure."
Neal nodded. "It certainly was. To this day I still wonder just what the hell I was thinking when I decided to hunt down Serpent's plot. Maybe it was something I ate, or quite possibly a bit of insanity. Heck it may've been a bit of both, but I don't regret my actions."
"What did you do with the information you gathered?" Prairie asked.
"Well the information I gathered wouldn't do me much good against Serpent anymore," Neal said exasperated. "I mean after all, he wasn't around to answer for his crimes anymore. It was a shame too since I had collected enough information to have him sent to prison for a long time. Although I suppose he did get what was coming to him in the end."
"What did you do after that?" Prairie asked.
Neal leaned back in his seat. "Well, for the next few years I took the Advanced Courses in all my classes and finished up my education. Hiring those three cost me a fortune, so I couldn't retire with the inheritance and insurance my parents left behind for me."
Prairie nodded.
"As I was saying, I completed my education, sold the family home, and decided to move to Legion," Neal said. "Figured I could get an internship at a software company or something."
"What did you do after that?" Prairie asked.
Neal chuckled. "Well. Next thing I know there's a mechaniloid insurgence in Legion, I find a magical talking paperweight, I fight off a horde of said mechaniloids, I get a bulls-eye slapped on my back by Legion for no reason that I know of, and then I sat down in an office with the lights dimmed and told my life's story to a pretty girl in a pink commander's uniform."
Prairie's cheeks reddened a bit at hearing that last part. "You think I'm pretty?"
"Um... Sure... I mean... you're not ugly or anything," Neal said, realizing what he'd just said. What did I just say?!
Prairie shook herself out of her daze too. When she stopped to think about it, she never really had time to be a normal girl. Not that being a two hundred year-old reploid and having seen history in the making was normal or anything. Still, it was nice to be called pretty, especially by a nice boy like Neal.
"Um. Thanks for telling me everything," she said. "I'm sorry if this brought up bad memories for you."
Neal shook his head. "Nah, it wasn't really anfy problem at all. In fact, it actually felt pretty good to get this off my chest. You're the first person I've told, not that anyone would really believe me or anything."
Prairie sighed. "Well. I do believe you."
"Really?" Neal asked dumbfounded. "Why?"
Prairie looked to an old framed picture she kept on her desk. On it was of a woman with long blonde hair wearing white and pink, next to her was a small blonde-haired reploid girl bolding a stuffed animal. "I lost my sister to Serpent as well."
Neal's eyes widened. "Really?"
Prairie nodded. "Yes, I did."
"Prairie..." Neal said. "You don't have to tell me your life's story just because I told you mine. I mean not if you don't want to. I wouldn't want to bring up any bad memories or anything."
Prairie shook her head. "Neal, after hearing your story, I think you have the right to know just how far back Serpent's plot went."
"Serpent..." Neal repeated to himself. The name still upset him, even though it had been five years since that time.
Prairie made herself comfortable and leaned back in her seat. "It was a long time ago. I mean a really long time ago. It was after the Second Maverick War had come to an end. My sis and a team of researchers began doing research in the Outlands- a generally uninhabitable area outside of Neo Arcadia."
Neo Arcadia... I've only heard about it in history books, Neal thought to himself.
"They came across the remains of an evil man's soul that had fused with a giant space station, Ragnarok. Once they had come into contact with it, they began having unexplained migraines and were hearing voices in their heads. The core, which my sister classified as Model W, began to turn the members of her research team into Mavericks."
"Model W!" Neal said suddenly. "You can't mean the same one that Serpent used. Could you?"
Prairie sighed. "The very same. There was one reploid in particular that stood apart from the others that had become Mavericks after coming into contact with the core. His name, was Serpent."
Neal's eyes suddenly filled with anger. "Serpent! That vile, conniving, manipulative piece of-"
He suddenly remembered there was a girl with him in the room and quickly shut his mouth. "I'm sorry Commander, please disregard what I was about to say."
"Anyway, Serpent had killed the research team and had run off with the Model W fragment in tow," Prairie said. "I'm not completely sure, but I believe he may have been the one responsible for my sister's disappearance. There isn't any evidence to disprove it, so for the time being I can only assume it was his fault."
"Your sister?" Neal asked. "What was her name?"
"Her name... was Ciel," Prairie answered after a brief pause.
"Ciel... Wait! You mean the Ciel? The one who made the Ciel System?" Neal asked.
"She was the very same," Prairie said. "It was during the Twenty Fifth Century that man and machine came to a truce, as to not repeat the events of the Maverick Wars or the Elf wars. Reploids agreed to be set with artificial life spans, while humans were steadily integrated with mechanical parts. In essence, humans were given the strength of reploids, while reploids were given human mortality. The ones who did not agree to the truce however were dubbed as Mavericks."
Neal rubbed his chin. "This is a lot to take in, but how does Serpent fit into all this?"
"It was during the Twenty Sixth Century," Prairie said. "As the whole country was suffering from another energy crisis, Serpent emerged as a hero by solving it using technology he "unearthed" in the Outlands. It was afterwards that Serpent founded Slither Inc."
"Serpent! That-" Neal said before stopping to rephrase his words. "That lying cur. He's got a lot of nerve."
"I completely agree with you," Prairie said. "Now Neal, this is the most prevalent part of my story, so you need to listen very carefully."
Neal nodded. "You listened to my story. I intend to listen to yours. Please continue"
"For ten years prior five years ago," Prairie said remembering everything from that time, "the Maverick Raids had caused many people to disappear. While the Mavericks would attack, Serpent's security force would always step in and stop them. But not until after people had disappeared."
"I knew my parents were onto something big," Neal whispered to himself. "I'm sorry for interrupting Prairie. Please continue."
"Anyway, for the next ten years, people continued to disappear," Prairie explained. "The fact was that they were being abducted, transformed into Cyber Elves, and turned into energy for Model W."
Neal slumped in his chair as a tear streaked down his face. "So that's what he did to them. They found out, and he turned them into food for that piece of junk."
Prairie stood next to Neal and looked him in the eye. "Neal. I'm so sorry for your loss. If there's anything I can do to ease your pain, please let me know."
Neal wiped the tear from his face before meeting Prairie's gaze. "Tell me who those two were that I saw take down Serpent."
Prairie nodded, while at the same time a thought crossed her mind. Well at least I can write him off as a pervert.
"The ones who brought down Serpent..." Prairie said as she resumed her seat, "were two of the delivery people from that group you investigated. Giro Express."
Neal's eyes widened. "Giro Express! Then that would mean that-"
Prairie nodded. "That's right. Vent and Aile are the ones who fought Serpent and stopped his plan."
Neal's thoughts snapped back in place. "All this time and I never knew. But wait, if they were alive this whole time, why did Giro Express drop off the face of the planet?"
A streak of sadness crossed Prairie's face. "Giro, the founder of Giro Express... He lost his life when Serpent manipulated him with the Model W fragment and forced him to fight Vent and Aile. The injuries all of them sustained were great, but Giro was the worst off. As a group of galleons converged on the three of them, Giro separated himself from the Model Z and passed it onto Vent and Aile. However doing so led to his death."
Neal nodded. "So that would explain why Vent and Aile had twoBiometal."
Prairie nodded. "Yes. As a matter of fact, the investigation you carried out under Serpent's nose was concurrent with what they were doing to stop Serpent from resurrecting Model W."
Neal slumped back in his seat. "Woah. I had no idea just what I was getting into. I mean I had ideas, but I never knew my parents were onto something that went so far back."
Prairie nodded. "I hope I filled in any gaps you had."
Neal took a deep breath. "It certainly did. Wait a minute-" The gears began to mesh, and a long-bubbling thought suddenly hit him like... well like a lot of things. "If your accounts are true, that means..."
Prairie nodded and smiled. "What you were about to figure out was that I am a reploid from two hundred years ago. I know so much about this world's history because I was there when it all happened. In fact you could say I'm a living dictionary on the subject."
Neal fell back into his seat. "So now I've been pulled into this Game of Destiny thing?"
"It would appear so," Prairie said as she turned the lights back up. "Before I forget, I was wondering if you could let me see your Biometal. I recognize the clothing you wore while megamerged from somewhere, but for the life of me I just can't seem to remember who wore them."
Neal got up and walked over to the door. "Sure. I left him with Fleuve in the lab just outside the bridge."
"Well lets go see him then," Prairie said. "We've been talking for a while, so he's bound to be done analyzing it by now."
"Um, Prairie," Neal said grabbing her shoulder before she opened the door.
"Yes Neal," Prairie said waiting for what he was going to say.
"Thank you for listening to my story," Neal said. "Now that I know the truth, the whole truth, maybe now I can completely move on."
Prairie smiled, then turned to open the door. "Oh, before we go, there's something else I have to know."
"Shoot," Neal said.
"Why didn't you investigate the recent Maverick outbreak?" Prairie asked.
Neal rubbed the back of his head. "Well, there wasn't really any reason for me to. Besides, I figured after that first go around I had enough adventure to last a dozen lifetimes."
Prairie nodded. "In a way I can relate to that."
While Neal was with Prairie in her office, Vent and Aile waited outside the bridge for the new Mega Man to emerge, if he did at all.
"What's taking them so long?" Aile asked as she looked to her watch. "They've been in there for over an hour."
Now, it's a commonly known fact that most people are perverts, but just don't actively show it. For Vent, this was one of those cases, which would make him a Closet Pervert.
As his imagination started getting away from him, Aile gave him an odd look and then realized what he was thinking. "Ugh! Vent, you pervert!"
"What! I wasn't thinking anything!" Vent said defensively, or in other words lied.
Just as Aile was about to scold Vent for being such an idiot, Neal and Commander Prairie suddenly left the bridge and were headed for Fleuve's lab. Something noticeable about them was that they were both in better spirits then before they went in.
Vent nudged Aile's shoulder, but she just ignored the implications he was making.
"Right this way Commander," Neal said as he opened the door. "My Biometal is right through here."
"Thank you very much Neal," Prairie said as she entered Fleuve's lab.
Right as Neal was about to follow behind, Vent tapped his shoulder getting his attention.
"Uh, Neal," Vent said. "Is that a catheter in your arm?"
Neal looked to it before reaching to yank it out. "Not in a few seconds."
"But won't that hurt?" Aile asked.
"Aile," Neal said exasperatedly, "I've been shot at, punched by a giant mechaniloid, and chased by a crazed Mega Man on a tricked-out four-wheeler. I think removing a little catheter won't be too much of a problem."
Right at the moment Neal yanked the catheter from his arm, a very loud, shrill scream rang through the air causing everyone in the vicinity to cover their ears as to not receive hearing damage.
"Good grief!" Vent yelled as he uncovered his ears. "Raise it another decibel why don't ya!"
"That wasn't me," Neal said uncovering his own ear. "It came from Fleuve's lab."
"You thieving piece of scrap!" Prairie screamed at the floating Biometal in Fleuve's lab, "I should've known I'd run into you again someday!"
"NEAL!!! SAVE ME!!!" Elpizo screamed as he flew out of Praire's reach and down the main hall.
"Get back here you traitorous swine!" Prairie screamed as she turned the corner. "You just wait til I get my hands on you!"
Vent, Aile, and Neal all looked at this odd spectacle with confused looks on their faces. The same could be said for any other Guardian that was watching. Of course, if you saw your commanding officer screaming at a floating paperweight, you'd probably do the same.
"Guys," Neal said getting the attention of the two ZX Mega Men. "Is it common protocol for the Commander to chase Biometal down the halls and call it names?"
"Don't look at me," Vent said shrugging his shoulders.
"I've never seen her act like this before," Aile added.
Right at that moment, Neal's biometal suddenly flew back down the hall and made a bee-line for him.
"Biolink established!" Elpizo blurted out as he flew right into Neal's chest. "R.O.C.K. System, Activated!"
In a flash of light, Neal stood in his mega merged form once again, shocking several of the Guardians in the process.
"Elpizo! Why did you use the R.O.C.K. System?" Neal asked as he looked himself over. The next moment Prairie tackled him, sending the two of them rolling back into the bridge.
"Elpizo you jackass! What the hell are you doing back here!?" Prairie demanded as she grabbed Neal's collar and shook him back and forth in an attempt to reach Elpizo. "I should kick your ass right now!"
"Elpizo!" Neal screamed as Prairie shook him back and forth, "What did you do to this girl!?"
"Run now! Talk later!" Elpizo said as he took control of Neal's legs and forced his body up into a standing position.
"Elpizo! You better have a good explanation for this!" Neal demanded as his legs carried him and Prairie down the hall.
"Okay... That was... weird," Aile said at the sight of this spectacle.
"Model X. Model Z. Can you take control of our bodies like that?" Vent asked.
"I'm not really sure," Model X said.
"We never really needed to control your bodies like that, so its hard to say," Model Z added.
"Do you know him from somewhere?" Aile asked. "Both of them called him Elpizo."
"Like we've said before," Model X spoke, "we aren't authentic Biometal. We were made based on other people's memories of us, so we don't remember anything before the point we were created."
"Still he's an odd one," Model Z said. "Most Biometal are symmetrical, but he isn't."
"I think we need to go help them," Aile said.
"What makes you say that?" Vent asked.
The sound of two bodies tumbling down the stairs accompanied by swearing could be heard.
"That's what I mean," Aile said as she ran down the stairs to follow the two of them.
Ten minutes later after an... incident at the Guardian firing range, Neal and Prairie both sat across from each other in Rose's clinic. Elpizo, who will now be referred to as Model E, was floating above a table placed between them. Neal was being treated by Rose while Prairie was being treated by Fleuve.
"Elpizo. I can take getting shot at by crazed mechaniloids. I really can," Neal said. "But when you take control of my body and run it through an active firing range with every booth filled, that's where I draw the line."
Model E remained silent. He was supposed to be bringing the world back into balance, but so far he's brought nothing but trouble for an already emotionally scarred teen. Getting him shot at didn't help matters either.
"Prairie, I'm very sorry about what happened," Neal apologized as he looked away from his Biometal. "If I were stronger, then this wouldn't have happened."
"No, it's my fault," Prairie said as her injuries were being treated as well. "I let my emotions get the better of me and I put you through all that."
"I wouldn't want to get in the way of you two," Model E said as he began to float towards the door, "so I'll just leave you two to chat."
Just as he turned around to leave, he was faced by the angry glares of Model X and Model Z. Model E shrunk back to his seat, er- table.
"Model E. You've got some explaining to do," Neal said in a stern tone as Rose treated a plasma burn he had on his... thigh.
"What do you wish to know Neal?" Model E asked.
"Why did you freak out when Prairie chased you?" Neal asked, but then realized what he had said. "Okay let me rephrase that- What did you do to her to warrant that kind of behavior?"
Model E sighed. "It was a long time ago, during the Second Maverick Wars. There were these two Baby Elves at the base, after Operation Righteous Strike, which failed miserably, I took the two Baby Elves from the Resistance Base and headed off to crush Neo Arcadia on my own. The rest is ancient history. Literally."
Neal sighed, but then cringed as Rose put alcohol on his burns. "That's *cringe* understandable *cringe* I suppose."
"So Elpizo, or should I say Model E," Prairie said. "How did you end up becoming a Biometal? I know for a fact that Ciel didn't make a Model E Biometal."
"Its like this," Model E said as he faced Prairie. "Something in this world is causing the wall between The Living and the Cyber World to thin. I'm not exactly sure what will happen, but I can only imagine it'll be bad if the wall shatters altogether."
"You still didn't answer my question," Prairie said sternly. "How'd you become a Biometal?"
"Oh that's easy," Model E said. "I transed into a Model W, got rid of the old resident, and when I say old, I mean OLD. Then I reshaped it, I mean c'mon that thing was just creepy-looking. Anyway, that's about it."
Satisfied with her answer, Prairie decided she had heard all she needed to hear. "Well, that's all I need to hear."
"There, you're all set," Rose said as she finished treating Neal's burns.
"By the way, can I ask you something?" Neal asked. "How come I only got little burns from those plasma rifles? I've seen pictures of people who've been hit, and they looked worse for wear then I did."
"Well, that's one of the benefits of having Biometal," Prairie explained. "When you're megamerged, you become more resistant to injury."
Neal nodded. "Hm. This could have serious ramifications on medicine as we know it. Then again, it only works for Chosen Ones, so I suppose it isn't that viable."
"Well Neal Prairie said as the two of them entered the hall, "for the time being, I can lend you one of the rooms at the Guardian Base so you can get some rest."
"Thank you very much," Neal said with a bow. "Once I get some rest, I'll do what I can to help with the save the world bit."
Prairie chuckled at that comment. "Well I haven't really heard it worded like that before, but yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it."
Neal looked outside one of the windows and saw that the sun was already beginning to set. "Well, looks like its time for me to hit the sack. Good night Prairie."
"Good night Neal," Prairie said as the two of them parted ways. Right as she was about to get to her own room, something Neal said rang through her mind.
"-then I sat down in an office with the lights dimmed and told my life's story to a pretty girl in a pink commander's uniform."
Prairie shook herself out of her thoughts. C'mon Prairie, snap out of it. You're too old for him. Way too old for him.