Lan grinned, standing in front of the haunted house. Model Z seemed very unimpressed.
'Why am I here again?' he asked. Lan frowned.
"Because Megaman is scared of ghosts, and Model X thinks this is pointless!" he said. Model Z pulsed.
'I can't Megamerge with you if things go south.' he said. Lan grinned.
"They won't! It's just better to explore things like this with a friend." he said. Model Z hovered for a moment, before 'nodding.'
'Alright, we'll explore. Why is this place haunted anyways?' he asked. Lan grinned, and walked towards the rickity door.
"Because of the Mad Ghost." he said. If he could, Model Z would of raised an eyebrow.
'Mad Ghost?' he asked. Lan picked up a stick from the ground, and started waving it around.
"They said if you met the Mad Ghost, it would chase you through the halls of the mansion. Everything would be alive again, and at the very end, you'd find yourself outside, and things back to normal." he said. Model Z sighed.
'A goose chase, wonderful.' he said. Lan poked at the door with his stick, testing the old wood.
"It's not a goose chase! I wanna find out what's actually in here!" he said. He poked at the door again. Model Z hovered closer.
'Why aren't you going in?' he asked. Lan jolted.
"Er, I'm just testing things out?" he tried. Model Z gave him a look.
'I thought you said that Megaman was the one scared of ghosts.' he said. Lan frowned, and stood up.
"He is! And I'm not!" he said, and pushed the door open with a shove. It swung on its creaky hinges, letting cloudy sunlight spill into the entryway. Lan swung his stick around like it was a sword. "Okay, let's go, Model Z!" he said, and stepped in. Model Z followed along, reluctantly.
Lan walked across a threadbare carpet, glancing around. The walls had cracks in it, tiny shafts of light filtering through. The dusty windows showed no reflection, and barely any sunlight. Lan took a couple more steps forward, swinging his stick back and forth like a metal detector. There was a creaking noise behind him, and a bang. Lan jumped, covering his head with his arms. Model Z sighed.
'The wind closed the door. That's it.' he said. Lan lowered his arms, and grinned sheepishly at Model Z.
"Ah ha ha, sorry about that. It just startled me." he said. Model Z pulsed, but didn't say anything. Lan kept walking through the derelict halls. A couple of paintings stared at him from behind a layer of grime. Lan really felt like the soldier one was moving its eyes. He frowned, and poked at the painting, right in the eyes. The painting's face crumbled away, and Lan jumped back. Model Z hovered forward.
'Very old. Interesting.' he said. He looked over the top of the crumbling, then lowered down behind the frame. 'I think I might of found something.' he said. The painting fell over. Lan jumped back, vest brushing against the wall behind him. He stared ahead at the spot the painting had been, and Model Z looking at him. There was a small tunnel, just Lan's size. Lan grinned.
"Wow! A secret passageway!" he said, and climbed in. Model Z glowed to light the way a bit.
'If you do this again, you should probably bring a flashlight.' he said. Lan nodded, pulling himself through. He waved his stick to get rid of some spiderwebs before they got tangled up in his hair. The stick poked against a metal surface, and Lan pushed. The passageway exited out to another room. He stuck his head out, looking at a room filled with books and old samurai armour. Model Z came out first. 'Model X would probably geek out in a place like this.' he said. Lan swung his legs out of the passageway.
"Really?" he asked. Model Z turned around.
'I've seen you trick him into helping you with history homework, you know what a nut he can be.' he said. Lan laughed.
"That's true." he said, and jumped out. The floorboards beneath his feet creaked, and splintered. Lan cried out as the floor collapsed underneath his feet. Model Z chased after him.
'Lan!' he exclaimed. Lan grabbed onto Model Z, and suddenly his fall slowed. He blinked. Model Z helped lower him down, slowly, until Lan's feet safely touched the floor below. Lan let go of the red Biometal.
"I didn't know you could do that." he said. Model Z pulsed.
'Vent had a bad habit of falling off cliffs, un-Megamerged. I have lots of practice.' he said. He stared up. 'I don't think I can carry you to the upper floor, you're going to have to find a way up there yourself.' he said. Lan nodded.
"Got it!" he said, and started wandering around the basement. It was packed dirt, with old knickknacks and doodads everywhere. Lan wasn't even sure what some of the stuff was. "Ne, why would somebody have a fishing boat down here?" Lan asked, poking at it. Model Z didn't say anything. Lan blinked, and looked back. "Model Z?" he asked. Model Z was staring at something on the far side of the room.
'Hm, looks like that ghost story has some merit to it after all.' he said. Lan blinked.
"Merit? What are you-" Lan flinched, staring at white wisps racing around the room. They moaned and giggled. Lan felt his eyes twitch. Then, he grabbed Model Z, and ran. "Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhh!" He dashed up the staircase, it glimmering like new in some places.
He jumped over a log, only to find it gone when he landed on the other side. He dashed down hallways, waving his stick around at the wisps whenever they got too close. He bolted down hallway after hallway, mansion becoming more and more new with every step. The laughing and moaning got closer and closer. Lan yelled.
"It's the Mad Ghost! We found the Mad Ghost!" he yelled. He charged right down the hall, and the floor flipped. Lan yelled, screaming the whole way down a hidden slide. It threw him outside the mansion, out into the tangled grass. He winced as he landed. He sat up, and started swinging his sword around. "Is it still chasing us?" he asked, holding onto the stick for dear life. Model Z groaned.
'It was a Cyber Elf, a very mischievous Cyber Elf that must have been unlucky enough to fall through during Oruboros.' he said. Lan blinked.
"You mean it wasn't a ghost?" he asked. Model Z shook his head.
'Real ghosts are a little more malicious than that.' he said. Lan sighed in relief.
"That's a-" He stopped, brain catching up to what Model Z said. "Whaddya mean 'real ghosts?'"
