AU 1: Sabotage
In which Aile suddenly has a lot of fun. And Omega has a headache.
Year two of caring for Aile rolled by without much fanfare. Omega once again woke up with a not-so-small bundle emanating heat from on top of him and complained tiredly, "You have your own bed, you know."
"You're better," the girl said, and Omega's long suffering sigh merely made her giggle. It was an argument he'd lost long ago.
At six years old, Aile was growing rapidly. She ate lots of food, loved to be the centre of attention, and had extraordinary amounts of energy to burn. She also needed plenty of toys to keep her interest. Otherwise Omega was subjected to being a jungle gym, clambered on and screeched at and generally run ragged keeping her entertained.
Because of these hardships, Omega often took field trips to the amusement park, which was still there despite the maverick attack. The very same amusement park Aile had been in one the day she'd been orphaned, where her entire family, including her brother, had presumably perished. It was a miracle that it was still standing. The place was an absolute godsend to Omega because of how full of toys and goods and non-perishable foods it was, yet not a single person was ever in sight when he went there. Repairs had been made, supplies had been restocked, but no one ever visited it. What a waste of money. Baffling. Maybe it was because mavericks were still gathering in the area, despite him thinning out their numbers during his occasional supply runs to the park's outskirts. No matter how many he killed, there were always more to greet him whenever he returned.
Omega had even overheard some sort of monkey mutos there once or twice. Mutos were advanced, animal-like robots that were fully intelligent and often very dangerous. However, the 'intelligence' of this particular one was debatable. Still, discretion was the better part of valor there, especially since he'd rather not deal with that particularly loud-mouthed nuisance; he had let the maverick go by without making a sound, and the stupid oaf never noticed he was there.
Or so he'd thought.
"Ook! Ook! I smell a rat! Who's there?!"
Being wrong about getting away scott-free irked him. There was no way he could sneak away now. Omega growled in frustration, took out his sword, and faced his opponent. His opponent who was, annoyingly enough, spouting some sort of nonsense and chittering incessantly about his boss, being sent to search for something, I found it I'm so awesome, blah blah blah. Omega didn't particularly pay attention to the rant. He just wanted his opponent dead.
It was a nuisance to kill the wretch, but a minor one at best. Oh well. It wasn't the first mutos reploid he'd obliterated, and he highly doubted it'd be his last. The fight was quick, the opponent was destroyed, and Omega was more than happy to wipe his hands of the whole affair. It was nice to have things wrapped up quickly, and the rest of the world was probably pleased to be missing that blabbering baboon. He expected no consequence from the easily disposed of maverick.
It was the second time in the same day that he was utterly wrong.
His genetic sensors flared a warning at him. An age-old opponent, long dead, had suddenly come back to haunt him. Omega whirled around, eyes darting to every shadow he could see when he detected the genetic signature of none other than Hidden Phantom, one of the Neo Arcadian generals that had played a cowardly hand in Omega's downfall some centuries ago. Letting a ninja of that calibre out of your sight was an easily fatal mistake. Omega tensed, furious and shocked at how easily his opponent had managed to sneak up on him.
But could he be blamed for it? Hidden Phantom was supposed to be dead!
Omega looked and looked, but saw no indication of his enemy. The only thing he did see was a small, innocuous looking object floating cautiously from the wreckage of the monkey-like enemy he'd just defeated. Though he was hesitant to give it his attention at first, Omega soon realized that it was the source of the energy signature. He glared at it as it turned to look at him. The two sized each other up. For several minutes, neither of them spoke, though it was clear that their minds were racing a mile a minute.
The object spoke first, "I sense your power, ancient one. What a strange sort of fate that I'd meet one such as you here today."
"Ancient one? Don't give me that nonsense. You know my name, Hidden Phantom. Don't think I don't recognize you just because you've changed shape." Omega looked the small, floating metal object up with clear distaste on his features, "Though really. What a pathetic form you've taken."
"Pathetic? No. Though I cannot recall exactly how I took this form… I know it serves a purpose."
"Don't play dumb with me! What are you planning-!"
"I have no intentions of fooling you. I genuinely do not recall how exactly I became a biometal-"
Omega snarled viciously, "Don't insult me! I'm not stupid. You didn't get to be the general of a stealth and intelligence unit for nothing, Phantom! You've got some sort of wretched plan up your sleeves. I know it!"
"Well. Suffice to say, then, that I have nothing to tell you," the object answered. "Though as a courtesy, I will tell you my current title. My name is Model P. I have not been called 'Phantom' for quite some time."
"It doesn't matter what your name is or was," Omega replied as he suddenly lurched towards the biometal. It attempted to dodge, but after a few swipes Omega was still able to grab the elusive object. "I'll simply destroy you! And then they'll call you nothing but 'scrap'!"
Omega's fingers tightened ruthlessly around the small being's form. Model P was silent for a moment. Then it said, softly, "Destroying me while I cannot fight back. A coward's tactic-"
"Coward! Coward!? How dare you!" Omega roared. His grip tightened, but not enough to destroy the object, "Calling me a coward, after what you did!?" Despite this, Omega couldn't help but feel the verbal blow land. Yes, it would be cowardly to kill Phantom like this. It would be weak. "Though I suppose you're right. That's something you would do. And that's beneath me."
Without another word Omega marched back to his underground home, intent on revenge against his former foe. Model P remained quiet throughout the journey, something the God of Destruction was secretly glad for. Luckily for Omega, Aile was preoccupied with some toys when he arrived back. Model P startled at the happy shrieks, finally speaking up with a sharp, "What is tha-"
"-Nothing for you to be concerned about!" Omega snapped. He stormed down to his secret room, one where he'd long ago stashed the rusted remains of the four Neo Arcadian generals who had teamed up with his rival, Zero, to defeat him and separate him from Weil. Weil, his only ally, and a long-time friend. Thanks to that event, Omega did not know whether the man still lived or had perished long ago. Even to this day, the event haunted him bitterly.
Phantom might know what happened to Weil. But Phantom was one of the last people Omega ever wanted to ask for help or information.
As the two of them entered the area, Model P again shifted. He said nothing however, not until Omega taunted him by lifting him up to show him the corpses scattered around the area, "Look at this. This is all that's left of you and your damn siblings. Pieces of junk rotting in a cave!"
Model P seemed contemplative, "...My siblings. Their remains… you've watched over them here?"
"Watched over? Pah! Nothing of the sort. I dumped this trash here so that the world would forget you all! Ha ha ha ha!" He laughed cruelly, "A bunch of garbage tossed in a corner to rot and be forgotten. Get used to this little crap-heap, Model P. You'll be all alone here for a very long time!" As Omega paced over to the rock shelf with a kunai on it, one of Phantom's old weapons, he winced with a sudden headache. Disoriented, he stumbled, then caught himself as he looked over at the cause.
Similar to Model P, a small object was floating elsewhere in the room. One he'd shoved in a nook and hoped to forget about. It looked a lot like himself, and every time Omega looked at it for too long, he felt his mind shift and slide as it pulled at him. It was a disorienting, unnerving experience. "Damn thing," Omega cursed, focusing his mind and stumbling away from it. The less he thought about it, the better. If he gave the object too much attention, it grabbed at his psyche. Not a pleasant experience in the least.
Model P was not of the same mind. "That is… another biometal!? It looks like… it cannot be!"
"Biometal? The heck is that-oh. That must be what you are," Omega surmised. Come to think of it, Model P, as well as that other object, did have some similarities. Model P had said that word earlier too, hadn't he? He growled at the revelation. "Biometal? I'm curious. What is biometal?"
Model P was seemingly contemplative once more. Damn him, Omega thought, damn him to hell. There was no doubt that he was choosing his words carefully. "Biometal is… for the most part, it is meant to be used to strike down evil and protect humanity. A weapon, but one only a select few can use. And yet, that one… Model O? Is that what it is called? How on earth did it come to be?"
Omega snarled, "Even if I knew anything, I wouldn't tell you. That damn thing is a pest."
"It is yours," Model P stated profoundly. His words had a lot more weight than Omega wanted to deal with.
"I don't suppose you're going to tell me how to use this so-called weapon, are you?" At Omega's words, Model P seemingly caught up with itself and remained stoically quiet at the question. The blonde reploid could tell that the biometal was making a few very important realizations and decisions. He snorted derisively and began his interrogation, "Well? Speak up! I know you're not mute. How do I use biometal?"
Silence.
"Who made it?"
Silence.
"What sort of people can use it?"
Silence.
"Why are you a biometal? Did someone trap you in there?"
Silence.
"There's some secret about biometal that you aren't telling me," Omega accused. "Something important. Isn't there?"
"Well of course," Model P finally obliged, "but I can't reveal everything on a whim, now can I? Besides, I doubt you're interested in hearing it, especially from me."
"I guess you're right," Omega snarled. He grabbed the purple object and wedged it onto the same shelf as Hidden Phantom's old kunai, "No point listening about something that will fade into history. Stay here with the dust and the dead, and be forgotten with the rest of your putrid siblings! Ha ha ha!"
Model P did not respond to the jibe. If anything, he was surprisingly placid as Omega discarded him in the room, slammed the door behind him as he left the area, and left the biometal to rot for an eternity alongside the corpses of his siblings.
As far as Omega was concerned, this part of his past was going to remain mercilessly buried.
He really should have seen this coming.
Hidden Phantom-no, Model P- was a ninja after all. Omega should have expected the damn floating belt buckle to try and escape. Come to think of it, he might have been insulted if Model P hadn't tried to escape, or at the very least sabotage him. What he wasn't expecting was that someone other than him would foil the attempt.
It was an incredibly unfortunate event. If only Model P had succeeded.
"Daddy, look at this! Look what I found!"
X was laughing at him from Hell, Omega just knew it. So were Phantom's siblings. The whole lot of them were undoubtedly rolling in their graves, laughing uproariously at Omega and his misfortune. The only reason Phantom wasn't giggling himself to death as well was because he was currently being clutched by a very enthusiastic six year old girl. One who was hopping up and down excitedly, and grinning at her guardian figure as he internally panicked and tried to figure a way out of the ludicrous situation he'd just been dumped into.
Omega could feel the laughter about to come out though. He could feel it.
"I'm not your Daddy. You don't need to call me that." The words slipped out on habit. Aile pouted dramatically and continued to call him that anyways, just because she could, "Okay, Daddy. But look! Lookie! It can talk and everything!" Model P definitely snorted at that one. Omega would have given him a death glare if Aile wasn't in the way. The little brunette proudly displayed Model P, smiling innocently as she held the damnable thing up to him for inspection.
"Aile," Omega patronized cautiously, "that thing is dangerous. You need to put it down this instant."
"But it's fun!" Aile whined, "It can talk and it's purple and I like it! It's gonna be my friend!"
"I warned you about Hidden Phantom and the other Neo Arcadians, didn't I?" Omega revealed, his voice full of warning, "that's one of them! You need to drop him!"
"You said Phantom was a ninja! And that he was dead, too! This is just a talking rock. I'm not dumb, Daddy."
"Daddy," Model P guffawed, "Oh, now this is interesting. Please. Do tell. Reveal what possibly could have caused such a situation to occur."
"That's none of your business! Aile, give him to me, he's an enemy!"
Aile did not give up Model P. Instead she just looked at her caretaker with her big, watery, kicked-puppy eyes; the very same ones that Omega had no defenses against. "Don't make me give him up! He's friendly! He said my name was pretty and he wanted to protect me from all the other mavericks down here!"
"Aile. That is Phantom, the lie-spitting coward that caused me to lose contact with Weil! If it weren't for him-!"
"Do not take my actions personally," Model P stated simply. "I did what I felt had to be done. You were a massive threat to everyone, and Weil's greatest weapon. I have no personal grudge against you, I merely took the only opportunity I had to defeat you. You know I could not have done it any other way."
"Enough out of you!" Omega snapped. No doubt Phantom was just saying whatever he could to save his own skin. Talking about how great and dangerous a weapon Omega had been wasn't stroking his ego in the slightest, no sirree. Definitely wasn't going to work. Nope. The small, purple object had some very fast talking to do if he didn't want to die for the secrets he'd just learned, and he knew it. He knew Omega knew it, too.
Unfortunately for Omega, Phantom was infamous for being eloquent. "I mean no harm to you or to Aile. She speaks truly; I intended to protect her from the enemies within these ruins. A rather bizarre home for one such as yourself, Aile. You'll have to fill me in at some point; I'd love to know why you decided to live somewhere so dangerous."
"Don't tell him anything!"
Model P's voice arose regardless of Omega's warning, dark intention dripping from every word, "Come to think of it… Omega. You were wondering what sort of people can use biometal correct? Omega tensed, sensing the impending disaster. "Aile, was it? Why don't you yell 'mega-merge', I promise your father will love it-"
"Megamerge!" She yelled, without even the slightest hint of hesitation.
"No-!"
It was way too late. In a flash of light the young girl was suddenly covered in purple and black armour, a mask covering her face and gauntlets protecting her hands. A red scarf hung from around her neck, though it was too long and dragged on the floor. Omega's jaw dropped as he stared down at Aile, who was now, apparently, dressed in an unfortunately endearing version of Phantom's armour. It wasn't an exact match, of course. But the resemblance was damning.
Omega grimaced, completely caught off guard. He had no idea how to react to this turn of events. It wasn't an intentional betrayal, as Aile was just a young child who didn't know better and was now, apparently, having the time of her life at seeing Omega's confounded misery. She looked herself over, then beamed at him in pride, "Daddy, look! I've got armour like you now!
"Phantom, you fucking asshole-!"
"Such language in front of a child. How uncouth." Aile giggled at this and squirmed, testing out her new form. It quickly became apparent that she could jump higher than usual and was also much faster; she ran and dashed circles around her worried guardian as she summoned kunai to play with. Omega lurched downwards to try and grab her, already knowing where this was going, but she darted out of reach swiftly.
"Look at me Daddy! I'm as fast as you!" She cried in delight, "No! I'm faster!"
"Let us play tag, Aile," Phantom sneered conspiratorially. Omega baulked at the obvious plan behind his words. "Omega is 'it'. Time to run, Aile!"
She ran. Omega yelped and, with no other option, dashed after her.
Aile was fast. She seemingly had all the energy and most of the abilities of Hidden Phantom, but only a quarter of the mass. Her dashes were insultingly quick, and she ducked and weaved and dodged as Omega tried and failed to catch her multiple times. She shrieked in glee, having all too much fun with this simple game. Model P was no doubt egging her on, all too happy to separate the child from her evil protector.
Was something about being a 'Mega Man' important? Was it related to Aile's genetics, and Phantom was trying to trick her away from her only guardian!? Horror was rapidly overtaking Omega, and no matter how much he begged and pleaded and cajoled her, Aile was simply having too much fun running away from him. "You're it, you're it!" she would happily yell, and the few times Omega's fingers brushed against the scarf, he was hesitant to grab it too quickly, concerned that it might break her neck from the speed of the chase. Phantom was taking ruthless advantage of the fact that Omega was shockingly hesitant to kill the girl, a rather uncharacteristic standpoint for one called the 'God of Destruction'. The ninja was ever-so-willing to exploit whatever weakness he could. And that, unfortunately for Omega, meant that he couldn't do a damn thing about Phantom's scheming without risking Aile in the process.
The trio chased each other around the ruins, twisted through corridors, leaped over fields of spikes, slipped past mavericks, squeezed through cracks in the stone, and dodged various other obstacles throughout the course of the pursuit. It was only when they stumbled into a very specific room, one with massive orange stalagmites piercing upwards from the floor, that the high-stakes game came to a dead halt. Model P and Aile stopped abruptly at the sight of the effigy in the middle of the area. Omega, right behind them, had to leap over the duo to avoid crashing into Aile and hurting her. He had so much momentum, however, that he quite literally tripped over himself when he landed clumsily; this resulted in a spectacular crash. He tumbled and rolled across the floor, sat himself up in an instant, then looked to where Aile was in anticipation of another dirty tactic from Phantom.
Instead, he felt the biometal gazing solemnly at the bizarre item in the centre of the room. Sensing that the chase had finally ended, Omega gave a subtle sigh of relief. He got up, then walked towards Aile and Model P as the two stared at the object.
"That…" Model P began hesitantly. He stayed silent for a moment, then spoke again, "I don't suppose you know what that is, Aile."
"Nope! Not a clue. I think it's got something to do with Gramps, but I dunno! I don't like it though. It's freaky," Aile answered innocently.
Omega panicked, because if Phantom hadn't already figured out that Aile was a blood relative of Weil before, he surely knew it now. "Aile. Model P is not a friend. It's dangerous! Stop talking with him!"
"It's fine! Model P is tiny, like me! I could just smush him if he tries anything!"
"Gramps…?" Model P pondered aloud, changing the subject. Then he gave a gasp of realization. Damnit. He knew. "Oh! Gramps. You mean Weil, then? That… Thank you, Aile. That explains a lot." With another flash of light, Aile and Model P were back to normal. The purple biometal transfixed Omega with a piercing gaze. There was no doubt in Omega's mind that Phantom now knew exactly why Aile had been spared. Omega prepared for confrontation.
It was not to be. Aile interrupted his thoughts, addressing Model P, "You're welcome, I guess? I didn't explain nothing though. You're weird," Aile answered. She flopped onto the floor, breathing hard. "That was fun. I'm tired now. Daddy! Up! I wanna nap!"
Omega looked at her blankly as she raised her arms at him, "Aile. You can walk. You're not that tired."
"No, Daddy! I'm definitely tired! Really, really tired! So, up! Up!"
Omega tried to stare her down, but she stared right back. In the end, Omega had to concede the duel when Aile flopped onto her belly and started throwing a tantrum. With a groan, Omega went over and picked her up. Having got what she wanted, she instantly stopped her fit, instead snuggling into his side and almost falling asleep instantly. There was an adorable smile on her face, and she hummed with content as she began to doze off. Omega let himself be distracted as he quickly checked her over for injuries.
Aile always got what she wanted. Omega wished that wasn't the case, but she could out-stubborn him no matter how strict he tried to be. This was mostly because he couldn't be too strict with her; this was Weil's relative, not a prisoner or a criminal. He couldn't be too harsh for fear of hurting her. But he didn't know nearly enough about children to know what sorts of punishments or rules were too much, too restrictive, too damaging for her and her psyche. He never put his foot down unless whatever she was after genuinely put her life in danger. So Aile got what Aile wanted, and that was that.
Model P watched this go down, thankfully not commenting on the bizarre power dynamic he'd just witnessed. Seeing no damage on Aile, Omega returned to the subject at hand by giving Model P a tired, angry look. If Phantom so much as dared to say anything about it, about how much he was coddling Aile…! Well. It wouldn't end well for him.
Model P looked at him and Aile. It turned to look at the effigy in the distance. The monstrous mechanism was silent as a grave, yet it saturated the area with an oppressive atmosphere. Being near it was like being in a tomb haunted by the vengeful, hateful dead. Omega himself turned to look at the object. He couldn't help letting a despondent look cross his face at the thing.
It had something to do with Weil… But what, exactly, did that entail?
"I don't suppose you know what that is, either," Omega asked, suddenly tired of the conflict with Phantom, the mystery behind the object, the centuries of loneliness and waiting for Weil. All of it. He was tired. So, so tired.
Model P replied questioningly, "You… do not know what it is?"
"No."
Silence. Then, "It has it not reacted to you? At all?"
"You're not going to tell me what it is, are you," Omega surmised. Exhausted with this endeavor, he simply began walking from the room. "You know what? Fine. Whatever. You've had your fun. Leave me be. Scram, vamoose, abscond, whatever! Get the fuck out of here while you still can. I'm finished with you. Run away like you always do, weakling. I can't be bothered with you anymore."
If he destroyed Model P now, Aile would be upset with him. Better to let him escape. Then she would be sad at it for abandoning her, rather than mad at him for killing her new friend. It might even be a valuable lesson for her.
Model P spoke up, his voice soft and measured as if attempting to be comforting. How insulting. "You've taken on a heavy burden, haven't you? Your loyalty to Weil… How long have you waited here, and guarded that… Thing? Without even knowing what it is?"
Loyalty was something Phantom admired fiercely. Omega sighed, because as much as he'd like the matter over and done with, it clearly wasn't behind him quite yet. "It has something to do with Weil. I'm not stupid. Begone Phantom. Forget this place. If you return, I'll destroy you."
Omega tried to keep his back to Model P, but Phantom clearly wasn't done with him. The biometal floated over to levitate in front of him and stared him in the eyes. It looked at Aile, then Omega, then back to Aile. "She is a relative of his, true, but probably distant at best. Do you genuinely think he would care for her?"
"I don't know," Omega answered honestly, tired of all the lies and maneuvering. Perhaps he was being more up-front than he should be, especially with Phantom, but deceit and manipulation were never among his better skills.
"He wouldn't have cared for her. He was vicious, and you know it. You're not a fool."
"I get that!" Omega snapped. Indeed, he was no fool, and had thought the same thing many times. He knew enough of his friend to know that caring for children had never been a priority of his. And yet-! "I get it. But I don't care. I don't know for sure. So Aile is alive for now, and you can fuck off."
"You are bereft. Bereaved. You care for her, because she is all you have left of him."
"I said fuck off!" Omega hissed. Aile jumped a little in his grip, blinking herself back to awareness in his arms. Omega took a moment to calm himself down, then assured her with a gentle ruffle of her hair that everything was alright. No words needed to be spoken. He gave Model P a dirty look, "You don't know me. Don't assume you know my intentions." He wasn't so pathetic, so desperate, that he'd cling to the tiniest scrap of Weil. He didn't spare Aile, raise and care for her, solely because of how much he missed his former master. Omega just… he wasn't going to assume that his friend wouldn't care for Aile! That was all! It was… polite! Considerate! He didn't want to make a mistake that Weil would dislike him for later, there wasn't anything more to it than that! Weil had relatives, descendants, so he must have cared about the matter to some degree, right? Omega wasn't going to presume that he'd know what Weil wanted more than Weil himself did! Whether or not Aile lived or died would be Weil's decision, not his.
"Daddy, you're being noisy," Aile complained softly, completely unaware of the inner turmoil her father figure was experiencing.
"Model P is being rude," Omega reassured. "He wants to leave. He'll be gone before you know it."
"I like Model P. I don't want him to go," Aile grumbled. She looked over to the biometal, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, "Be nice! Daddy is being nice, so you be nice too. You're being a bad friend."
Model P did not react to her. Not immediately. The next words he spoke were unexpected, to say the least, "Raising a child is a great responsibility. Among humans, it is incredibly rare to do so alone. Even single parents have support networks, friends, family. Childcare is a difficult task, to say the least." Model P halted, his voice hesitant. Clearly, a lot of thought was going into whatever he said next. And when he did finally speak once more, it was unnaturally quiet, "I am a blade for justice. But a blade is not always what justice requires. In this matter, I… would offer my assistance."
Omega became defensive immediately. No doubt Model P wanted to influence Aile, to steer her away from her inheritance and Weil's wishes, and perhaps gather information about the strange object that Weil had left behind. He clutched Aile protectively. Omega wouldn't stand for it! "That's rich, coming from someone who made it his destiny to thwart Weil no matter the cost, even while dead! As if I'd let you corrupt her! You'd kill her without a second thought-!"
"I would not kill an innocent human child!" Model P snarled. He paused to gather himself. "Destiny is not set in stone. Hers, yours, my own. That has become all too apparent," the purple object admitted plainly. "You, the God of Destruction, are raising and caring for an innocent. I am alone, in enemy territory, exposed! Yet I am being spared." Model P looked to Aile, who was groggily murmuring to herself and ignoring the majority of the conversation. "You have been by yourself for a very long time. And despite the fact that you have warned her against me, Aile is determined to call me her friend. She has been alone too, hasn't she?" Omega flinched at the accusation. Model P, perceiving his victory with the jibe, continued, "I know what sort of tense situation we are in. You would not want me turning her against her relative. Very well. But she will learn the truth of that man's brutality one way or another, and even you must realize that. Besides. You are tired. I can see it in your eyes."
He was. Omega had to admit that caring for a child was outright exhausting. That wasn't even including all the mental strain of endlessly waiting, waiting, waiting for Weil to finally return. He didn't like that Phantom could seemingly sense how much effort and suffering he'd been going through. "I'm not tired. And I know she'll find out about Weil, because I, myself, will tell her about him! About Weil's past, mine, everything. I have no intention to lie to her. She won't grow up a sheltered fool; I'll show her the truth of this world. But you? You don't say anything to her. I don't trust your words, deceiver!"
"As you wish," Model P acquiesced. "But my other point still stands. A child is a heavy responsibility. Especially alone."
Omega had conceded to Aile many times because of guilt, exhaustion, indifference, and her own indomitable stubbornness. He'd given up and let her have her way on too many occasions to count. Perhaps it was this poor habit that made him resignedly say, "You know what? Fine. If you're so determined to stick around-" Omega gently jostled Aile awake "-Aile. Guess what? Model P is going to be staying after all."
She perked up immediately, grinning as she looked between the biometal and her parent, "He is? Really?"
"You would allow it so easily?"
"Unfortunately yes," Omega grunted, answering both of them at once. He turned around suddenly, grabbing Model P from the air with his free hand. "Here you go Aile. Enjoy your new toy. Don't be gentle."
"E-excuse you!? I am not a toy-!"
"If he doesn't play nice, hit him extra hard with a rock! Or, better yet, maybe I'll lend you my sword!"
"Really!?"
"What!?"
Aile whooped in glee despite Model P's squawking, and joyfully squirmed in Omega's grip as he handed the struggling biometal to her. She hugged it to her chest and lavished her parent with praise and adoration as he slowly walked them back to her bedroom. She continued to do so, even as her eyes began to droop against her will and her wriggling died down. Omega tucked her in with her favourite blanket, patted her head goodnight, and sat against the opposite wall. Aile couldn't sleep if he wasn't in the room. As he did so, Omega gave Model P one last, furious glare as they all settled in for the evening. He spoke a dire warning, injecting every ounce of vitriol he could into his voice, "Behave, Model P. Or else."
"Very well."
Model P did not behave. Less than a day into the whole affair, the scheming Neo Arcadian realized just how much power Aile had over her guardian. It probably didn't help that she'd unceremoniously dropped the affronted biometal in the middle of the night to crawl straight into Omega's lap, clutching her blanket and bullying him into allowing a cuddle. The moment he realized just how badly Omega was wound around her little fingers, the clever ninja began to heartlessly abuse the fact. Within short order Aile and Model P were running Omega more ragged than ever before, practicing death-defying acrobatics and utilizing Phantom's stealth abilities to the fullest, all in the name of 'play' and 'practice'. In other words, Phantom had free reign to run around the ruins, gathering all sorts of intel, and ruthlessly testing the boundaries of what Omega would tolerate as long as Aile was convinced that every plot and ploy was actually her idea.
Omega was having conniptions. Over the next few weeks, he came to realize that letting Model P survive was, undoubtedly, the biggest mistake he'd ever made in his life. Sure, Aile now had a somewhat begrudging 'friend' and another being willing to protect and raise her, but that didn't stop Model P from making his life a living hell in the meantime.
Three days later, Aile was up a tree. Several dozen metres up one, in fact.
"Aile. Get down."
"No."
"Aile. Please."
"No way, this is fun!" She grinned and looked around, ignorant of the danger to herself, "It's like I'm a bird! Or a cat! I can see so much from up here!"
Omega glared up at her from where he was halfway up the trunk, the plant far too thin to support him if he went any higher. The devil reploid bemoaned his absolute fall from grace. There he was, the great God of Destruction, hugging a damn tree as he pleaded to two masters of torture, both of them just a few arm-lengths out of reach, for mercy he knew he'd never receive. "Model P. Reason with her. She's a small child, and she's very unsafe right now!"
Model P pondered his answer, but not for long. "No. I don't think I shall. I am perfectly capable of keeping her safe up here."
"You are a bad influence. Get her down!" Omega snarled. The tree bent and cracked ominously when he tried to move upwards. He froze instantly. It was a long way for them all to fall if the tree snapped underneath them. Omega daren't risk Aile like that.
"To be a worse influence on an innocent child than the almighty God of Destruction? The most brutal of all mavericks? My my, that's quite the compliment. Fate smiles upon me. Oh, how the tables have turned."
"I hate you. I want to kill you. One of these days, I am going to murder you."
"Daddy, don't murder my friend!" Aile lectured, "that's not nice! No killing Mister Model P! Bad Daddy!"
Omega had no idea if Reploids could get gray hairs from stress or age. It was a question that should have been stupid in its premise. And yet, somehow, the antics of Aile and Model P were surely going to give him an answer to it whether he liked it or not. He gave a wordless gurgle of frustration as Aile giggled and played in the boughs of the tree. She blew a raspberry down at the crimson-clad maverick below her, then teased him with the end of her red scarf. Omega could do little more than glare at it in heartbreak and humiliation as it whapped him in the face.
Phantom watched all this go down with glory in his heart, reveling in his newfound power. 'Good guy' or not, this vicious revenge against Omega was ever-so delightful to the sabotaging ninja. It was one of his specialties, after all.