Disclamer: see previous chapter. Anonymous reviews welcome, just don't flame or I will retract this privilege. Remember, treat others the way you wish to be treated!

Oh, and congrats to you who figured out which song I based the last chapter's title on (The Ruins of Lab, MMZ1).

Lights blared and machines beeped endlessly. Nurses, doctors, and surgeons leaned over a stretcher, gathering instruments or monitoring vital signs. They moved their patient onto an operating table, wheeling away the bloody stretcher used to transport the victim. Their activity concealed the patient's figure, but all who watched the operation knew just who it was they were operating on.

"Will Ashe be okay, mom?" Grey asked nervously. He was looking around nervously, his gaze landing on the woman beside him, hoping for a reassuring gesture of any kind. There was none.

"I wish I knew, Grey, I wish I knew..." Aile responded, almost sobbing. All of the Mega Men had been immediately called to Legion, and now stood on the other side of an operating room window, watching anxiously as the medical staff inside worked. Pandora squeezed Prometheus' hand. After what the two Model A Mega Men had done for them, they too were worried about Ashe. Besides, to see someone who was usually so energetic and unstoppable in such a state...it was a shock, to say the least. Master Mikhail and Thomas entered the room, causing the Mega Men to turn.

"How goes it? We got here as soon as we could," Mikhail inquired. Aeolus shook his head.

"We don't know. They've been in there for a while. I suppose we should be happy that she's still alive, but with them working on her for so long, it must mean that there's some complications..." he replied.

"It's a bloody good thing she was megamerged when whatever it was that got her, you know, got her." Atlas added. Thomas nodded, then turned to the operation. Everyone else followed suit. The atmosphere was tense with worry as the operation dragged on. At once the lead surgeon straightened up, breathing out heavily. The others in the room did the same. Their audience watched with bated breath as one of the nurses slowly twisted to face them...

And gave them the thumbs up.

Atlas and Thetis whooped with relief, giving each other high-fives. Aile and Grey hugged each other, then Aile grabbed Vent and hugged him too. Siarnaq nodded slightly while Pandora and Prometheus smiled. The others just sighed. The crisis was over. Everyone began filing out of the room, looking for somewhere to go to relax after the tension. However, the Masters had other ideas.

"Forgive us, Mega Men, but we need to ask you something of you," Thomas said. The Mega Men turned to look at him, curiosity and apprehension etched on all but Siarnaq's face.

"What's that?" Vent questioned.

"Well, after this incident, Thomas and I are worried that you Mega Men could be being targeted. So we would like it if you stayed at Legion, at least for the time being. Now, some of you are already staying here," he motioned towards Pandora, Prometheus, Siarnaq, and the elemental Mega Men, "but for the rest of you, be assured that we'll provide rooms. Now I know you're wondering why, but Thomas and I have just issued a level two lockdown because of what went on. It's best if you stay here, just to be safe, or at least until we understand the truth behind this incident."

"I hope you're not accusing us of this heinous act," Aeolus frowned. Thomas shook his head.

"No. We know that none of you were within contact of Ashe of this happening. We actually believe that this may have been an accident, but as Mikhail told you, we are trying to be safe should it prove otherwise."

"Ah, I see..." Aeolus hummed, his worries allayed.

"Alright, now that that's settled, I wonder if I could have a word with you two in private?" Mikhail asked the dark siblings. Pandora nodded. Her and her brother followed him out of the room and down a long hall, puzzled at why Mikhail wished to speak with them alone. Soon after, he stopped outside another room, this one smaller than the previous. He opened the door for them, motioning them inside before entering it himself.

"So what do you need to talk to us about?" asked Prometheus as he watched the door close. Mikhail turned, regarding the two.

"Despite what's happening out there to the other Mega Men, there's still other things to deal with around Legion, one of which is what will happen to you two. After all, you are still Mega Men as well, or were at least. Don't worry, we are taking everything that went on with Albert into consideration as well. As such, Thomas and I have an offer for you." he said.

Prometheus looked confused, "What kind of offer?"

Mikhail replied, "Well, we understand that you two went through a lot, being forced to commit crimes for him, but as we were thinking it over something occurred to us. Technically, you two could be considered witnesses to his crimes, and because of this, be put into a witness protection program."

Both of the Mega Men looked incredulous. "Witness protection program? What the heck would that do for us?" the reaper Mega Man inquired.

"It means that you'd be given fake names, fake histories for anyone who looks you up in a Legion database, the chance to get a job and be a normal person, and so on."

"You mean, we'd get to have lives? Freedom? We get a choice?" Prometheus gaped. His expression was both unbelieving and hopeful at the same time.

"Yes, provided you follow a few rules. The main rule being not to do anything illegal, but seeing as that's pretty much just common sense I doubt there'll be any issues," Mikhail laughed.

The pair looked at each other for about a second before answering simultaneously, "We're in!"

Mikhail smiled, "That's good to hear! Let's get started, then. And don't worry, we'll make sure the other Mega Men are informed about your decision, alright?"

"Alright!"

After that the three sat down, discussing various aspects of the Mega Men's new lives.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Omega awoke to the sound of the Gem Gang's chatter and the blaring of a radio. The many voices, static or otherwise, flowed together into a comforting rumble. He stretched, blinking as he turned around to see what they were doing. Suddenly they all went quiet as he was dragging himself up, the group gathering around the radio to listen intensely.

"And now our top story. Ashe, the famous Mega Man who was apparently attacked yesterday, is said to be in a stable condition by Legion and is expected to make a full recovery. While authorities are still investigating the circumstances surrounding this so called "attack", Legion's only reply to any inquiries are that it appears to be accident and is not suspicious for any reason. One of our sources, however, claims that there were strange, unidentifiable footprints and fingerprints at the crime scene. When we asked Legion about this, we were only told "no comment". We now turn to an expert criminal activities analyst..."

"What this all about?" Omega asked. Diamond turned and shushed him as the radio droned on.

"...When we informed him of all we knew, he replied, "Nonsense! The law requires that serial numbers are engraved in both a reploid's feet and hands, as well as in all shoes and gloves for humans. There's no way boot or hand prints that clear would yield no results. And Legion has a tight reign over production of goods of any sort, so there's no way such items could be "custom made". As such, this so-called assassin can be chocked up to mere speculation and, might I add, a bad source..."

"Can you imagine that? A person without serial numbers?" Ruby asked rhetorically.

Omega was curious, "So there's serial numbers on everything made in a factory, right? What about a humans' regular hands?" Omega asked.

Diamond answered his question. "We have normal fingerprints, like we've had for millenia. The only way I can think of a reploid or combat boot not having serial numbers is if they were made somewhere in secret. Or maybe if they seriously damaged their feet and boots, but that'd make them useless so..."

"Look, that's gotta be bloody near impossible to make someone in secret. You heard what that analyst said! Legion's got a monopoly on production. Anyone working outside of their law is punished severely, too. Not even the raiders are brave enough to do it. And hey, come on, the serial numbers are to their advantage as well." Amethyst argued.

"Hey, that Albert guy-"

"-Managed to do it, didn't he?"

"From what we've heard, anyways," Pink and Blue chimed in.

"Albert was one of the Sage Trinity. He could've gotten away with anything if he put his mind to it!" Amethyst frowned, gesturing mildly. Despite the helmet he wore, his discomfort with the subject was clear. Omega was starting to become confused, so he ignored any further conversation. Instead he headed towards the door, at least until Opal and Sapphire stopped him.

"Just where do you think you're going, huh?" They walked up to him, standing between him and the door, "There's still a level two lockdown, you know." Opal sniped, crossing her arms defiantly.

"I just wanted to do some research, that's all. Being a hermit for a long time, you tend to get left behind when it comes to the latest news and all that. I'm sure Legion, or whatever they're called, won't deny me a trip to a good ole library, right?" he shrugged, grinning. Sapphire looked concerned, but it was Opal who answered.

"At this point and time, a trip to the library could actually get you arrested. Why don't ya try the internet instead? I mean, with all the people looking for information about this, chances are they're gonna post something on their public servers. At least a little bit anyways, or else someone's gonna break into their data section sooner or later out of sheer curiosity," she pointed out. Omega thought about it for a minute and agreed. It was likely the quickest and most discreet way anyways.

"Fair enough, where can I get a connection? Have a computer anywhere?"

"Sure, got one in my room! I'll go get it!" Opal exclaimed. She dashed off to the other room, but was back quickly. She handed Omega a small computer that looked like a book, "This should do it! You can access all citizen clearance Legion databases from it. After all the kerfuffle with Ouroboros, they've been updating the databases as much as possible."

"Thanks," he replied. He took the computer, walking over to the couch. While the gang went back to debating the Ashe issue (and then some judging by how their voices nattered on), he turned on the computer and began typing in words in a search engine. He started with Ouroboros because Opal mentioned it, getting a simple result.

"Ouroboros. Entries: 2. Entry one; A mythological being said to represent eternity. Entry two; an airship made by the fusion of numerous Model Wscreated by a former Sage Trinity member, Master Albert, who went maverick. Security clearance needed to view full data entry: Master level." Omega winced. A picture of the ship that landed on him was below the entry. He clicked on the underlined links that were on the page, reading the information there.

"Model W. Entries: 1. A sinister biometal responsible for many maverick outbreaks. Security clearance needed to view full data entry: Master level." Omega narrowed his eyes. There was that other word, biometal. He went back to the Ouroboros file, clicking on and reading the entries that it linked to, except for maverick one of course. Being born one, he knew full well what it meant. Most information was scant, needing a Master level security clearance to read the whole file, but he understood the basics. He went and looked at the entry for biometal, scanning what was written there.

"Biometal. Entries: 1. Biometal is a special type of sentient metal (said to be descended from ancient heroes or tyrants) that can "megamerge" with a host to vastly improve the host's abilities. The host must have a special DNA code in their systems to be considered a "biomatch" for a biometal. Individuals with said DNA are known as "Mega Men". There are/were thirteen known Mega Men, and eight known biometals. The Mega Men are: Aeolus, Aile, Albert (deceased), Ashe, Atlas, Grey, Giro (deceased), Pandora (deceased), Prometheus (deceased), Serpent (deceased), Sirnaq, Thetis, and Vent . The biometals are: Model A, Model F, Model H, Model L, Model P, Model W (destroyed), Model X, and Model Z. Security clearance needed to view full data entry: Master level."

Omega scowled. So his suspicions may be correct. Siarnaq might have something to do with Phantom! He scrolled down the page, then shuddered with cold fury. There were pictures of the biometals, and the apparently megamerged Mega Men. Despite changes in their appearance, he could easily recognize the "ancient hero" origins of each of them.

He shut the computer suddenly, holding his breath and counting mentally. The last thing he needed to do was get enraged and want to attack something in the middle of a lockdown. He slowly opened the computer again, viewing the pictures. At least he knew more about what he was dealing with.

Omega scrolled to the bottom of the page, looking at the Model W images. There were several pictures for each variety of the biometal, one small and the others large and mutated looking. Then there were pictures of four other people, two unmerged labeled as Serpent and Albert, and two merged labeled as Pandora and Prometheus.

A shame they're all dead or destroyed, he thought to himself, because it would have been fun to kill them. Heh, I wonder what Weil's face would have looked like if he saw me running at him with my sword raised. Omega scratched his chin, pondering the different possible looks. He gave that up since none of them seemed to fit, returning to the computer. Apart from a short description of each of the Mega Man's abilities next to their pictures, there was little else to go on. The Model A was one he was the most unfamiliar with in terms of combat abilities, but if that stunt with Ashe and the transforming kid earlier were any indication, he only had a few parlor tricks to worry about. Nothing to really catch his attention on the page overall.

Nothing, except for the pictures of Vent and Aile beside each other. They were sibling Mega Men, and each shared both the Model X and Z biometals.

"Model ZX? Looks like they could pose a problem... " Omega muttered,mildly concerned. The gang was still intent on their own business, giving Omega no heed. Then he noticed something else.

"Wait a minute... Model ZX? Z... X... Zero... X..." he covered his mouth, barely stopping his laughter as he once again shuddered, this time with mirth.

"Gwahaha! I knew it! Model ZeroX! I knew those two lovebirds would end up together! Ahahaha!" He guffawed loudly, shaking so hard he fell off the couch with a WHUMP.

The gang turned to look at him rolling on the floor, clutching his stomach, before resigning themselves back to their own conversation. After two days of him not wanting to eat (with them, at least), they'd accepted the fact that he was a bit off in the head.

Omega dragged himself of the floor after a few minutes of laughing his figurative ass off. He was still grinning when he settled himself back into the couch. Picking up the computer, he read the article again. After finding no new tidbits of information, he leaned back and looked at the ceiling. What to look up now? He clicked the random article button a few times, hoping for ideas. Nothing came to mind until he came upon an article about some old alphabet script.

"Hmmm... I wonder if there's anything about me?" He typed in Omega in the search bar, not knowing what to expect. Would it be a detailed article about all of his murderous exploits, or a vague one saying something about a god of legend? Either way, it would need a high level clearance to read the whole file, of course. Data on him was both rare and valuable.

The article came up. He looked through it, first at the Omega symbol at one side of the page, then reading the entry itself. "Omega. Entries: 2. Entry one; the last letter in the ancient Greek alphabet. Entry two; a symbol commonly associated with extremely bad luck, and occasionally death. No higher clearance level files available."

Omega's eyes shot open, "No way, that can't be right..." he read through the article several times. Nothing. "Maybe I should look up a different search word... hmm, that's it, a different search." He entered God of Destruction in the search bar, zipping through the short article.

"God of Destruction. Entries: 1. A fictitious antagonist in the old children's story, Sky's Tale, also known as Tales of the Sky. No higher clearance level files available."

His discovery of information, or lack thereof, sunk in. Crestfallen wouldn't have described a tenth of what Omega felt. He slowly got up, walking over to a nearby table and placing the computer down gently. Immediately after he went back to the couch and flopped down heavily, his back turned to the world. No one noticed.

No one ever noticed. No one ever cared. If this was any indication, no one even remembered. All his life, he'd worked on being the most feared being in existence, fulfilling his destiny of destroying everything. His first words he'd ever heard were "Kill him. He is my greatest enemy, destroy him! Destroy them all!" Of course he'd agreed, starting with the one who'd apparently made him. He'd only stopped because he'd run out of energy. At that point his conscience was nothing more than a personality subroutine, but that was being technical. Then Zero came in, and the only thing he could do to fulfill his bloodlust was to try and influence Zero to fulfill it for him (not hard, he was ever the gullible fool). Then Weil came and gave him and a proper mind of his own in exchange for his servitude. He couldn't have said no, strapped to the table with his vital circuitry showing. Besides, there was an energy crisis, and even he needed something to keep him going. And although enslaved to Weil, Omega had always gone the extra mile to show the world that he meant business. And all that work, all that toil, all that innocent blood spilled, smeared, vaporized, whatever Omega felt like doing that day, had amounted to naught.

For the rest of the world, the day passed, filled with tension, curiosity and fear. For Omega, it passed with the mind-numbing shock one acquires when they realize that they, at one time the most petrifying reploid on the planet, was no longer remembered in even the most aged historian's mind.

He was the only one who knew that he'd ever existed.

x-x-x-x-x

While Omega had been busy with his research, the Gem Gang had taken advantage of his lapse in attention to talk of other matters, ones they didn't want their new friend to worry about.

"The food bill this month was the same as usual, even with all our efforts to cut it down," Diamond brought up sadly.

"It's not our fault-"

"-We're all growing and fighting a lot."

Emerald looked at the two endearingly, but his worry about the issue was evident despite his silent nature. He ruffled their hair regardless of any protest.

"I still wonder how you two managed to sneak into these conversations," Amethyst grumbled protectively.

Ruby took this moment to pipe up, "If you're worried about the other bills, nothing went over budget this time, and we managed to shave a lot of money off buying clothes. See, I told you it was better to invest in these outfits rather than keep replacing those tatty old generic Hunter's outfits!" she preened.

"That was an excuse to try out your fashion sense on the lot of us and you know it," Opal grinned.

Ruby snorted in response, "Well I can't help it if it works. As if I'd let us all wear something so generic anyways."

With a soft, nearly indiscernible click, the door to the apartment opened. Sapphire entered silently, making her way back to the table from the errand they'd sent her on.

"I'm still worried about our ammo consumption. Ruby and I both have quite a few costs to cover more than just weapon repair, I'm afraid," Amethyst stated, drawing attention away from the shy blue medic. She loathed and feared being the center of attention, so it was pretty much group instinct by now to draw away focus from her.

That's why it was so surprising when she spoke up strongly, "I d-don't think costs are going to be as i-i-important this month..."she tweeted. A strong tone for her would still barely stir a blade of grass, but the stunned look on her face made up for any lack of enthusiasm.

"What?" Diamond said, his voice short in surprise.

Sapphire fidgeted before continuing, "S-since we h-hadn't received any n-notifications about rent, wh-when I went to check...the front d-desk said he'd dealt with it." She indicated the form laid forlornly on the couch nearby.

"So he actually really helped us out? But why would he snap at us if he liked us that much? He helped us out hugely- Oh lord is that why he was covered in blood, because he did something to get us the money what on earth did he-!?"

Emerald's large hand on her shoulder stopped Ruby short, ending her tirade.

"Some people are like that," Amethyst explained, "I could see from the first time I spotted him that he was a loner. He'll act mean and aloof but he knows to get things done when they need doing. And I guess he felt he needed to help us. Can't say his reasons for sure,but... let's just be thankful for now. Besides, as for how he got the money... we'll ask sometime, but I don't get the feeling he operates on the same moral system as us. And hey, we've all done things we regretted later."

This silence that followed his remark spoke all too well of that.

Diamond stood up, "Still, one way or the other, we've gotta thank him somehow!"

Emerald, however, had other ideas. He blocked their white leader, indicating for him to be silent. Unlike the others, he'd noticed that something had gone on with their new tenant while everyone else had been preoccupied. An atmosphere of neglect hung about him, but soft breaths gave away his resting state.

Opal looked over at him, "Huh. He's kinda down looking," she noted.

"We should probably let him rest for the rest of the evening. These recent events are a lot for a guy to take in." Amethyst added sagely. In reality, the purple sniper felt that there was more to the story than just some recent news, but he let it slide.

He wasn't the only one who was concerned. "Tomorrow then." Diamond smiled. "Tomorrow we'll do something to help show him that we'll accept him no matter what! We'll show him how he's one of us!"

The group nodded emphatically, "Tomorrow!"

Thanks to Luverly Light for noticing that I missed Giro in the list of Mega men.