Hey, I'm back. Sorry if I was a little late. I've been busy with a ton of things like exams and stuff but at least it's over now. I'm also gonna be working on concept art drawings now so expect the next chapter to be a little late too. The supposed date won't be too lengthy but I'm taking it one step at a time. Also, I've recently learned of an awkward fact about Solo. I'm not sure if its true (because i haven't finished RNR3 yet) but it says something about him in wikipedia which I thought was quite awkward and funny at the same time. I might add it soon.
Shooting Star Rockman Celestia: 2nd Wave
Chapter 10: Day at Spica Mall
In a wide and almost empty room, a woman with long black hair and blood-red eyes stared at the only thing that existed in the hollow area. Her eyes looked with curiosity upon a great swirling ball swaddled in calm violet flames. There were also silver rings that moved slowly around the ball as if they were orbiting around it like planets. Nothing else material could be seen other than that and the dull grey space that the giant ball resided in. A good fact to take note of was that a few of the rings were colored, unlike the rest that had a rather lifeless tone. One was black, another was white, and two more were red and green respectively.
Suddenly, a flash behind the woman revealed the orange haired, aqua blue-clad man known as Torrent. "Lady Milenia, as you know four of the Keepers have already awakened. Only a few more and we'll be able to begin our main base of operations. But I have to ask, why do you still experiment with the manikins? Aren't they just failed puppets that've already become useless to us?" He asked, his tone filled with serious curiosity.
With a cold tone as her eyes gazed upon the orbiting ball, the woman answered, "Did you already forget? Both the manikins and the Keepers originate from one single source. Although their home doesn't exist anymore, they still do. And as long as they exist we can still put them to good use"
"I see..." the rifleman replied, "But I wonder about Dealer's plans. Sure they have a different goal than ours, but something still seems off. I think we need to keep a closer watch on them...just to make sure they don't cut out on our agreement"
After having said that, Torrent walked a few steps forward and pressed his gaze to where Milenia's was currently at. "Will this...really be able to change my destiny? Me...and my brother too?"
For seconds they just stared, but finally the woman spoke, still focusing her vision on the same object. "I believe it will. Every destiny is changeable....just like the cards of a fortuneteller are always changing depending on the events that play out..."
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The next day, Geo was finally allowed to leave the hospital, seeing that there was no longer a need to keep him confined. Hope rejoiced at the sight of her now awakened son and so did the rest of his friends. He was also able to attend school now, but his classmates had a much less joyful greeting, mainly because he was said to 'have caught a fever' instead of
'having caught a deadly mental illness that almost cost him his own psychological system'.
But in between all of those things there was one particular side-effect that came as a surprise to everyone but Ace. And that side-effect was...
"So...you really can't remember anything from that time?" Sonia asked the spiky haired brunette sitting behind her school desk.
"No, I really can't" Geo replied, "I can only remember what happened before I went into a coma and what happened when I actually woke up. I can't recall anything in between" Oddly, Geo had lost his memory of what had happened in his mind. Ace rather expected that since everything crumbled away once the intruder finally called it quits and fled into his subconsciousness once more.
With her head slightly tilted down the girl sighed deeply, "So I guess you don't remember that either..." She sounded a bit disappointed, but yet a little relieved for some odd reason. Maybe it was because she just acted without thinking that time. Or maybe there was another reason.
"What do you mean by that? Did something bad happen?" He asked, causing Sonia to quickly sway her head while waving her palms rapidly in rejection. "N-No, nothing happened; Nothing at all...ahaha..." The obvious blush on her face made her seem plenty suspicious already, but Geo thought he'd just ask her again another time because a beep from his MP-Hunter had suddenly cut his attention short.
Pressing a small 'answer' button on the screen, the face of the slightly happy-go-lucky satella police officer was revealed. "Yo! Glad to see you're back in tip-top shape. I've got a little surprise for all of you so drop by when you have the chance okay?" And just like that, the screen had disappeared, only to reappear before the two teens could wonder in confusion.
"And by 'when you have the chance' I kinda mean right now. It's already 4 P.M. and I know you guys are dismissed by then" When the screen disappeared, both wondered if it would come up a third time. Thankfully, it seemed like the last one.
Lyra began, "That was strange...what do you think he wants?"
"Beats me" Mega grunted in response. "Knowing that guy, a surprise could mean almost anything; from the end of the world to the end of his shift"
At that, both teens nodded their heads in emphasis. "Agreed..."
Just as Ace had requested, Geo and co. were gathered at Ace's personal lab surrounded with enormous glass windows that gave off a clear view of a wide area. As Solo looked below at the view with crossed arms, his ears focused on what was being said at the moment.
"Thanks for coming, everyone" The blue haired officer greeted, "Before I start, take a look at the monitor. Some of you might've seen this in the news yesterday, but I'll just show it anyway" Bringing up the large virtual screen, Ace displayed a recorded newscast that contained a very important piece of information. In front was a glasses-wearing news reporter who began to speak after adjusting his lenses.
"The main headline today is that of the implementation of the new 'district system' starting tomorrow. This new system divides Echo Ridge into six individual sectors namely Topaz, Garnet, Sapphire, Jade, Emerald, and Crystal. The first three districts have already been opened to the public for the longest time, but people have been anxiously awaiting the day when the last three sectors would be released, completing the 'district system'. For now, however, only Jade and Emerald are scheduled to open, but kids, teens, and adults alike are excited about the new sights they'd be able to see in these new districts. One of these is the highly acclaimed Spica Mall which is said to become one of the main 'hang-out' places once open-"
"There you have it" Ace began, closing the virtual monitor. "As you all know, Topaz is where all the residential homes are, Garnet is where most of the business corporations are, and all the others are a mix of a lot of things. Jade though is said to be the main entertainment district due to the fact that it's got Spica Mall and a few other key sights too"
Luna asked, "So...this leads to what conclusion again?"
At that, Ace reached into his pocket and flapped out a few slips of red paper with writings, its most noticeable being the words 'One day pass'. "Right now, Spica Mall is closed off for today but only to those who don't have one of these. These simple pieces of paper not only offer an advanced screening of the place, but also a 50% percent discount on all shopping prices, and the chance to participate in a contest that Spica Mall will be having later on"
Everyone, with the exception of Solo of course, felt a rush of surprise in their bodies. They weren't actually expecting something like this.
"Everyone deserves a break, and you guys have already earned yours long ago" Ace said before handing each one of them a piece. Once Solo got his, however, he merely handed it back with that cheerless presence of his. "...I don't need it. I only came here because I thought you had more information. If that's the case, then I don't see a need to be here"
But suddenly, Luna had grabbed the ticket on Ace's hand and slapped it right on Solo's forehead like a bullet, making it stick there until he finally took it off in a swarm of irritation. "...What the hell's your prob-"
"You can't just waste something like this!!" The blonde angrily interrupted. "I am NOT about to tolerate a wasteful action like that. As a member of my campaigning team, you need to have an attitude worth complementing!"
"Yeah, come on dude" Bud added, "You should have some fun at least once in awhile. I don't think moping around all day would do 'ya any good"
"I can't disagree with that" Pat added as well with a smile. "You really should try out new things...even though it might seem like hell for you to do them. You'll feel better afterward"
And when the rest of the group decided to pile up even more reasons why the Murian should join them, his mind could only think of one option remaining: Just do what they say so they'll stop whining and leave you alone. As much as he hated thinking about it, there wasn't really much hope for him to win the fight.
"Tch...I shouldn't have came here in the first place..." He said, finally surrendering to the endless blabbering of his companions; a not-so-perfect example of what was called 'Peer Pressure' although the reason was because of irritation instead of camaraderie.
Ace started, "Good then it's settled. Oh, and one more thing; take this little fella with you too. He's been...kind of a pain lately" With the push of a button from his MP-Hunter, bits of data began to form in front of him until it'd finally formed into a single being. That being was none other than a bored looking Mettie who let out a wide yawn which was surprising for his small size.
"Mettie's bored...big bro Ace and big bro Acid are really bo~ring, 'metto..." The child-like virus muttered with a sleepy tone. Neither Geo nor Sonia knew about his existence until now, and when they'd finally caught sight of it they immediately rushed up to him as fast as lighting with looks of curiosity and amazement.
"Wow, he looks a bit like a mettaur! But so much cuter!" The pink haired teen said as she pinched the little boy's somewhat chubby cheeks.
"Yeah, it's really impressive" Geo added before taking a look at Ace. "How did you do it?"
"Long story, but let's just say it had something to do with that manikin data you sent me" the officer replied, "Anyway, just take him okay? It's getting hard to finish any work with a kid always being there to literally delete a five hours worth of it. And...I'm just not good with little kids, you know? And apparently Acid's even worse than I am. No offense, by the way"
"None taken..." his EM partner replied with a saddened tone.
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At the wave liner stop, Geo and co. noticed the new 'district system' already in place. As they stared at a new virtual map shown at the liner's stop they saw that the whole city of Echo Ridge was indeed divided into six districts. When one sector was chosen, it would show the list of wave liners present in that certain district. Before the new system took effect, people would always see their destination right away instead of first choosing one of the six districts. Because of this, people usually had to make about two or three stops if the destination was far away. With the district system people are taken directly to their chosen spots with a dedicated 'district liner' without any halts in between. In addition, these liners have doubled in number which would prove efficient in the future.
Their destination was the Jade District which was also home to Spica Mall. After inputting their course, a green wave liner a.k.a district liner appeared before them in a flash. The atmosphere inside wasn't only likeable but the riding was so smooth it was like you weren't even moving inside.
And in about 5 short minutes they were finally at the highly anticipated Spica Mall. Just when they'd brushed off their amazement of the new wave liners, that same emotion had come back to them once again in a different form.
"WHOA! JUST LOOK AT THIS PLACE!!" the cap wearing Bud blurted out as soon as he'd seen the inside, his jaw almost literally dropping from his face.
Vogue added, "My analysis says that Spica Mall has recently become the most popular entertainment center even before it was released. Wow...that's pretty something"
Everywhere they looked they saw a multitude of stores and floors that reached a topping seven stories with both outdoor and indoor sections. The main color theme of the mall was a cheerful green mixed with the various colors of the stalls and shops that gave off a vibrant feel. It also consisted of multiple wave roads which only added to its look. Even though the guests were limited to only those with special passes it seemed that a ton of people carried them, judging from all the people walking around excitedly.
Luna began, "Okay then, I guess I'll head to the jewelry store first. I saw it on ad yesterday that this shop has jewels from across the glo-" Just before finishing her sentence, her observant eyes caught a sneaky white haired mouse walking out of the loud mall as quietly as humanly possible. Too bad it wasn't enough for him to get away without being noticed.
"AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" She yelled, pulling the irritated Solo by his blue scarf and dragging his feet across the pavement. "That's it, I'm keeping a close watch on you! Come on Bud, let's go!" And the trio left with Luna still forcefully dragging the boy by his neck-wear.
"She's almost like a warden sometimes" Pat giggled before placing his gloved hands in his pockets. "Well, I better get going now too. Hey, Mettie, care to join me? I'll buy you some ice cream if we find any, alright?" When he said that, it was almost as if he'd meant that at Geo and Sonia, seeing that he added a quick blink at the two before walking off, the former virus cheerfully following behind with playful steps as he wondered what exactly this 'Ice cream' was.
Noticing that sly wink, Sonia's face turned a slight pink as she shot a quick look at Geo but then immediately focused her vision elsewhere. Geo on the other hand was pretty clueless on Pat's little action. It was almost as if it just came out the other ear.
Seeing that everyone else had gone their separate ways, Geo decided to go his own way as well. "I guess I'll be going now too-"
"W-Wait!" Sonia exclaimed, catching the brunette's undivided attention. For a split second she paused in a panic, trying to think of what exactly to say. She continuously brushed thought after thought until finally...
"I was...wondering if you could help me pick out some clothes" After realizing what she'd apparently said, her mind kicked and screamed, "pick out some clothes?! What were you thinking?!"
"Umm...shouldn't you ask another girl's opinion about that? I mean, I don't think I'll be much help-"
"B-But you're the only one here, right? So...Please?" Sonia concluded, her face still blushing, and her eyes still looking down at the ground. She actually looked rather cute when she was embarrassed, and Geo actually thought the same, now that his face looked more or less flushed as well.
"W-Well...I guess I could help you out. But just so you know, I'm really not familiar with a girl's fashion sense" But those words were already good enough for Sonia. After all, the whole thing was just an excuse to spend some time with him.
"Thanks, Geo" she replied with a mental sigh of relief, but there was still one more thing that needed some concern. The teen idol brought up a menu from her MP-Hunter and quickly picked out one from the many choices from the list. In a flash, notable changes could be spotted in her appearance. Her eyes were now crystal blue and her hair was a similar color. It was also styled a bit differently and still matched that everlasting pink theme of hers.
"I'm not about to walk through a whole mall looking like Sonia Strumm. It's times like these when a good disguise comes in handy. Well, how do I look?"
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In a short while Sonia had chosen a particular store whose brand was pretty popular thanks to its unique and stylish designs. She'd actually bought a few pieces from this same brand already in the past, one of those being her favorite pair of pink-striped sleeves.
"Wow, this store has a bigger selection than all the others" she said before looming her eyes over the various threads and styles printed on them. some of them were on a whole different class in terms of looks while others were much simpler. Sonia's fashion sense was more or less in the middle of the two. She didn't like clothes that were too 'loud' but instead chose those that had a cuter style.
"Geo, which one of these looks better?" Sonia asked, holding up two cloth hangers that carried a light pink short-sleeved shirt with a hood on one hand, and on the other, a darker pink long sleeved shirt that was almost designed like a jacket but much thinner. Taking a look at both choices, Geo's stationed head looked from one shirt to the other as he tried as hard as he could to spot the positives and negatives. After stressing his brain and bad fashion sense to the limit, he hesitantly pointed at the lighter shirt only because he'd always seen her with light-toned clothes. Well, at least he managed to choose one.
"My thoughts exactly!" the disguised idol smiled in reply, making her shopping partner sigh as if he'd won a million zenies in a casino. "...I was actually right? Man, I'm really not cut out for this..."
It was clearly obvious though that Geo was just guessing. Even someone with Bud's intelligence level would be more than enough to spot that. But still, it made Sonia all the more happy because at least he was trying. At that second however, a sharp pain on her right arm had suddenly caused her to drop what she was carrying and grip the hurting area tightly.
"Sonia, what's wrong?!" Geo urgently asked, scanning her arm from top to bottom until she smiled and swayed her head. "It's nothing, just a little scratch is all" It was then that Geo realized that the pink sleeve on her right arm was slightly bulkier than the left. Upon closer observation, he could see that there was actually a few wraps of medical bandages around it. Also, he finally remembered where that had come from: It was the burn mark created by White Ace's Impulse Burner attack.
"That wound...it was my fault, wasn't it?" the brunette mumbled with saddened eyes. Alternately, Sonia's eyes had widened in surprise. "You...remember that?"
"Yeah, I do now. I put you guys in danger just for my sake. And because of that you got hurt. If I only had more control of that form then maybe this wouldn't have hap-"
"N-No, it wasn't your fault at all!" Sonia defended, surprising her visor-wearing companion. "You didn't do anything wrong. This happened because I got careless in that fight and that's all. And don't blame yourself for going into a coma like that. After all...you did it to save me in the first place. If you hadn't turned into White Ace and saved me that time, I don't know what would've happened to me. So, don't worry about it...okay?" She concluded with a warm smile. Hearing those words and seeing that smiling face, Geo couldn't help but smile back even though just a bit. He couldn't say anything, but he was grateful, and truly at that.
They stared at each other in a calm silence as if they didn't need any words to communicate. That was, until...
"Oh, hey you two! What're you guys doing here?" A small familiar voice suddenly spoke out as soon as she saw her two friends. Even without taking a look at who it was, the two immediately backed away from each other and turned their heads in completely opposite directions as blushes of embarrassment appeared on their faces. Finally glancing over their shoulders, they spotted a smiling Belle who had fortunately not seen that whole 'episode'. Surprisingly she'd seen through her disguise but that was kind of expected from her own singing partner.
Sonia hesitantly replied, "Oh, h-hey Belle. Fancy seeing you here!" Unfortunately, their red faces were still as obvious as sand in a desert, which the purple-clad girl quickly took note off.
"Hmm? Why are your faces all red-"
"That's not important!" Sonia yelled back at once. "I-It's just a little hot in here, that's all! Right, Geo?!"
"Uh, yeah, that's it..." the boy shyly added as he scratched his cheek with his index finger, and weirdly it looked like Belle was actually believing that vague statement. If there were two things Sonia had learned from working with Belle for the past two weeks, one would be that she actually has a slightly shy personality outside of work, and the other would be that she was slightly gullible as well; two things that made her seem like she had a split personality.
Minutes after, Geo and Sonia were walking in the fashionable green lit hallways of Spica Mall once again, this time with Belle. At that point, Geo had realized that neither Mega nor Harp had spoken a single word since they'd entered the mall. "Hey Mega, you've been pretty quiet for the past hour. Usually you'd be talking every 10 seconds"
The AM-ian replied, "Yeah, about that; little miss instrument over here begged me to keep quiet the whole time. I dunno why but I think it's got something to do with you and S-"
"Stop your barking and keep quiet!" Harp butted in, giving the blue armored alien a quick jab on the head with her circular grey hands. And Geo, as oblivious as he was to a lot of things, decided to hold his question in check. He wasn't really the type to actually keep persuading someone for a straight answer...unless there was an urgent need to anyway.
Sonia started, "By the way, Belle, how come you're not wearing a disguise? Wouldn't you feel kind of uncomfortable walking around such a popular mall like this with tons of people? I mean, sure only ticket holders can enter today, but if you look around it's kinda like everyone's got one"
"That's true, but I'm not nearly as famous as you are" Belle replied, clasping her hands together behind her. "So I don't really think people know me yet"
But speak of the devil, one of the many floating advertisements was just about to change that. The group stopped in front of that certain ad to see multiple images of the singing duo as a commentator spoke with words of excitement.
'On November 15th, a new chapter in music history will be written as a singing sensation from the past teams up with an upcoming singer who shows shining promise. The returning singer is none other than Sonia Strumm! And the promising new-blood is known as Belle Stern! Together they form 'Pink and Purple' who will be performing their very first concert together! We hope to see you there!'
"...I think you spoke too soon, Belle" Geo muttered as the floating monitor switched to another advertisement pertaining to next-generation kitchenware. Everyone who'd just seen that commercial, who were pretty numerous to count, were immediately hit with feelings of surprise coupled with excitement. From afar, the group could already hear whispers both loud and soft about the upcoming event. Some displayed their surprise to Sonia's comeback after four years, while others concerned themselves about the rising star that Sonia was to be partnered with.
"Hey, isn't that Belle Stern over there?!" A jumpy fan loudly announced. Thanks to that, people averted their attention as quick as lightning towards the purple dressed teen.
"Uh oh...maybe I really should've worn a disguise..." Now that they were more or less about to be swarmed by a horde of people it looked like there was only one option left out of the current situation. Thinking quickly, Geo decided to test out a last minute hypothesis. If he turned into Rockman now it would most likely be in the front page the next day, but there was still something else he'd recently learned from Ace.
"Quick, hold on tight and don't let go!" Geo ordered and the two girls nodded before taking hold of his hands. Immediately, the three teens started to disappear until nothing was left of them, not to the human eye anyway. Both Sonia and Belle held on tightly to Geo's hands as he swiftly led them to a safe area. After moments of clattering footsteps he finally found a concealed corner where Sonia could pop out a quick disguise, changing Belle's appearance before anyone could even notice.
"There, that should just about do it. See? I told you a disguise would come in handy"
"Yeah...I'm sorry. I didn't think something like this would happen" Belle replied with a tone of gratitude. "Thanks Sonia, you really saved me there. Oh, and you too, Geo"
The brunette answered, "No problem at all"
"Yup, it's what friends are for!" Sonia happily added. If you think about it, she'd been saying that sentence a lot that it was sort of becoming her catch phrase already.
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Meanwhile, Ace was still caught up in his own work as he brought up floating monitors over and over again like a flipping textbook. It seemed that he was searching long and hard for something that continued to slip his grasp.
"Ace, why don't you take a break? You've been at it long enough already" Acid said but the officer merely smiled with a shake of his head.
"Nah, I feel like I gotta take care of this first" he replied, bringing up one last screen, this time the image being that of the altered mettaur virus known as Mettie. "I need to know why Dealer and Celestia keep experimenting on these things. By fusing the patterns of the manikin and the mettaur I came up with a more advanced kind of virus. Heck, I wouldn't even call him a virus anymore 'coz he acts and thinks too much like a human being already. Which makes me wonder; Do those two groups plan on doing something like this? Or maybe they've got something much deeper up their sleeves..."
For a few more seconds he thought. He reflected and reflected...until
"Gaahh! All this thinking's pulling my head apart!" He shouted to himself before grabbing a popular candy bar and munching on it as fast as a mouse.
Acid sighed, "...Sometimes I just don't get you. At any rate, i've finished analyzing all the data on Mettie. I'll bring it up on the screen.
And with an audibled blink, different kinds of charts flashed up on the same screen that the image of the former virus was on. For an average person all that data would be much too difficult to even understand.
"Okay...let's see what we have here" Ace began swaying his eyes around the multitude of data before him. Typing in a few commands even more streams of classified information appeared as if there was no stop to it. At one point, however, Ace put the flow of data to an immediate stop because one single piece had caught his attention, and not for the better. At once he stood up from his chair in a rush that it tumbled down after.
"Not good! Acid, we gotta get to Spica Mall and fast!"
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Geo: That's it for this chapter. We hope you enjoyed it.
Sonia: Unfortunately we won't be having the terms of the week, but we've got something else planned for today!
Geo: This'll be the first edition of 'the four year gap'. In this section we'll be looking at the differences between the characters at present and their younger counterparts.
Sonia: For this edition we'll be checking the 'personality differences' of the characters. Please take a look at the monitor behind us!
*analyzing...25...50...75...100...analysis complete. Displaying...*
*Geo's maturity differs greatly from his younger self but his slightly shy attitude remains the same*
*Solo's personality remains more or less unchanged, but his view towards other people has somewhat improved*
*Pat's personality has become more refined now that the inner threat within his mind has now vanished. He is much more collective and decisive*
*Bud has become much more outspoken and has gained a solid will which sometimes causes him to rush in without thinking much about it*
*Luna remains as strong-willed as ever and her leadership qualities have only grown*
*Sonia's kind and warm-hearted personality remains unchanged, however, she still keeps that occasional mischievous behavior, sometimes dragging Geo along*
Sonia: Huh?! Wait a minute, that's not true! Right, Geo?!
Geo: Well...you kinda did drag me along to come shopping with you in this chapter...
Sonia: B-But that- I-I mean- umm...
Geo: Let's...just move on to the clue words for the next chapter
The words come up as *Luna* *fuse* and *vogue*
Geo: We're just about out of time now so I guess we'll see you next time. See you, folks.