Aile's social life is undead, but that's not stopping her brother from trying to liven it up against her will.


A/N: Just as a heads up! I just wanted to state this plainly and officially: if you like this idea of this plot, or any ideas that are contained within this fanfic, feel free to use them in your own Megaman projects! I consider the ideas I write to be common domain/free to use when it comes to fanfic (in terms of ideas only of course. If you plagiarize me directly, such as copying my works word-for-word or using my efforts for AI, I DO NOT CONSENT to it. That's theft. Fuck off). AKA now that I've written this idea for the Megaman ZX franchise, I consider it to be a part of the franchise/fandom now. Don't get me wrong, I'd appreciate some credit for the idea if you use it! But you don't need my permission if you want to take a shot at the concept.

Anyways, happy holidays!


The Guardian Base, Aile had to admit, was a pretty snazzy place to bunk.

Waking up bright and early was never a strong suit of the brunette's, though it seemed like her brother was a little more on the ball. She was roused by his movement beside her, the rustle of blankets tickling her nose. She groaned as sunlight struck her in the face, "Nrrrggh… it's too early for it to be this bright…" Aile complained, groggily reaching for the plush fabric entangling her and squinting against the brilliant glow of day. She grumpily shoved her face into her brother's side as she cuddled up next to him, unashamed of her need for contact.

Vent, who had only just started to wake up himself, blinked when he realized the position they were in. "Did we seriously fall asleep like this?"

Aile groaned, because she knew there was no way she would be able to go back to bed. She lazily wiped the sleep from the corners of her eyes, then frowned as her vision was brought into focus.

Bright and clean, the room she'd shared with Vent was almost immaculate. Or at least it had been until her intrusion last night. She laid belly-down on a bunk bed that was tidily tucked into one side of the room, while the opposite corner held lockers next to the main door. The practical space also held a compact table in the middle of the room. Said table currently had a small scattering of knicknacks across it, including some sort of upgrade chip, a few data disks, a spare pair of pants, and some papers. Nearby was a shelf with a large flower-like thing on it, maybe a sculpture? An actual plant? Who knew. Beside the flower was her mask, and beside that was Model P. Shortly after she spotted the purple hunk of metal, some of the other biometals started to float into view as well, as curious about her as she was of them. Placed in a corner was a garbage can about half-full with various papers, empty wrappers, and a crushed-up letter or two. Vent's old backpack had been tossed in there at some point, her sibling jovially complaining about how the thing stunk of mold. Seeing as it really did stink, she happily tossed the useless hunk of fabric away. The Imp of Cinq Ville no longer had a use for it after all. Aile didn't need it to remember her brother when her sibling was living and breathing right next to her.

Speaking of siblings, Vent, who was flat on his back next to her, looked over at Aile as she lethargically brought herself to full awareness. The female teen caught his eye and mumbled, "We had a long day yesterday, so what if we slept weird?"

"Man, you're quite the frump in the morning," Vent laughed. Aile growled and shoved her head into the mattress as he continued to talk, throwing aside a small book that he and Aile had been reading together before they both fell asleep, "Boss, er, Dad, he always had me up early to help with sorting and deliveries."

"Your dad sucks," Aile stated simply. Then again, hers sometimes woke her up early for the sole reason of rigorous training, AKA kicking her ass repeatedly, so who was she to complain?

Unaware of Aile's inner monologue, Vent laughed and tossed off the blankets. Then he pushed at her arm where it was wound around his stomach, "Lemme go sis, I'm not a plushie." She didn't let go of course. Aile was much too lazy, comfy, and warm to be bothered. Vent sighed fondly. He wriggled about, escaped his sister's grip after some effort, and started to ready himself for the day ahead. With a stretch, a moan, and a crack of bone and tendons, he was up and opening one of the lockers in short order. Aile simply whinged again and flopped back down. She had little recourse but to grab a pillow instead of her sibling. Seeing as her brother had so rudely extricated himself, she was forced to stuff her face into it instead. Vent turned around to look at her, a clean outfit in his hands, "Heh. You're pretty cuddly, sis. Aren't you supposed to be some scary street villain?"

Aile looked up from her pillow to give him the finger, but couldn't stop a smirk from showing on her face. It was the only retort she needed to give. Vent laughed again, then made his way to a small bathroom Aile only just noticed. It looked more like a closet if you asked her. Maybe. Then again, what did closets normally look like? Meh. She resigned herself to being awake and tossed off the covers with a regretful sigh. By the time Vent was out and looking perky as ever, Aile had started to pace around the room and fiddle with things. She frowned as she looked out the window, "Man, they sure like their natural light here. It's a major pain in the butt when you're trying to sleep. Did they even think of that when they put windows everywhere?"

"Don't like bright mornings?"

"Gimme a cave any day. Quiet and dark."

"You sleep in a cave?"

"Er, usually!" Aile admitted, though she felt a little wary that she was revealing this. "It's a lot nicer than you'd think."

He didn't look convinced, but let it pass. "It would explain your clothes a little," Vent teased as he pointed at a large scuff on her shorts.

Aile made a show of acting indignant about it, "It's not that bad, a little dirt never hurt anyone."

Vent rolled his eyes, "No it doesn't, but still. You should put on some fresh clothes-Wait," his voice dwindled as realization hit, "You probably don't have anything, do you."

"Not with me, no!" Aile guffawed, "But that's fine! I can handle wearing this outfit a little longer-"

"No no, that won't do! I won't have my sister forced to run around in dirty clothes!" He was back to the lockers like a shot. Before Aile could protest there was fabric being shoved in her face, "Here! We're siblings, I bet we're pretty close in size!"

"You're going to insist, aren't you," Aile sighed, recognizing a losing battle when she saw it.

Vent stared, shoved the clothes towards her a little more firmly, and gave her a mischievous smirk. A very familiar smirk. Damn it, he really was her brother, wasn't he? She had no choice but to accept the vest and shorts he'd forced upon her, nor could she stop him from fussily shoving her towards the bathroom and demanding she wash up. Aile cursed her luck a little. What horrid luck to be born with a brother that bossy! At least he let her grab her mask and shove it on the side of her head. She felt weird without it.

Shortly afterwards the duo were walking casually through the Guardian base. Aile had no idea what to do to start the day, but Vent seemed a bit more self directed as he gently guided her down a hall. As they passed a nearby elevator, Aile looked towards it with a grimace, "We're not going back to medical right away, are we?"

"We'll go later," Vent promised, "It's not usually as, uh, crazy, as last night was. They're normally pretty chill there, believe it or not. "

"Oh no, I'd believe it," Aile mumbled, remembering last night, "I just don't want to deal with it. They're so touchy-feely there! It's so weird!" And she wasn't wrong. The doctor had made her nervous with how aggressively friendly she'd been. Sure, there had been a lot of business and commands involved too, and even though Aile had given consent to being manhandled for her exam, it had still freaked her out. That being said, it would have been a lot worse if the kindly but overbearing medic hadn't been so thorough when she walked Aile through the process. It helped to know why certain procedures had to be done. It also helped to be distracted by jokes or trivia on medical posters whenever Aile got too anxious. She wasn't used to being in such close quarters with a stranger, much less a doctor who was examining her head to toe or poking her with needles. Not one of her favourite experiences. No wonder Vent was always averse to going there!

"I don't blame you for disliking it!" Vent chortled. "But as much as we don't like it-"

"-It's important. Yeah yeah, I got it, I'm not dumb," Aile complained. She still had to admit, as she looked out yet another window with a grin, that there had definitely been some fun moments as well. The head nurse, Muguet, had nearly started a riot when Aile asked what "medical records" were, much less some of the other things she had yelled yesterday. The memories were still fresh in her mind, and made her giggle as she recalled the nurse's words. (It had been a sizable rant, starting with a, "What are medical records? You don't…. What do you mean you've never been to a doctor, hun, please tell me you're at least in the Legion system- Heavens blast me! You don't even have a proper file, you're marked as DEAD in the database!? No dental, your family history is blank just like your brother's, zero vaccinations, sweetie, we don't even have a blood type for you! Gods above this is gonna be a nightmare! Rose, hun, get me the clipboard, we're gonna need a checklist!) The looks on their faces yesterday… Aile giggled. Yup. Maybe it hadn't been so bad after all.

Muguet had definitely been playing up her frustration a little during the visit, but it had been entertaining all the same. This was a good thing. Aile was scheduled for another checkup, a fact that she didn't like one bit. It had been explained that it was a part of Guardian regular procedure, one that she was being involved in too as a 'special guest' and relative of Vent. Aile wanted to call bullshit on that, but it did make some sense that they would want more in-depth medical records in case their soldiers were hurt in battle. Didn't mean she had to like it. Besides, it wasn't like they could use the mundane knowledge of what vaccines she had, or how old she actually was, or anything else like that against her or anything, right? ...Right?

Aile looked around again. Still too many windows. The Imp of Cinq Ville didn't like feeling exposed, so she tried to redirect her nervous energy, "Hey, uh… Prairie wanted me to meet up with some other Guardians, right? Maybe we should… er…" Aile's question slowly faded out as she realized her mistake. Trying to use up her nervous energy by getting involved in a task that made her even more nervous? Not the brightest of ideas. She knew for a fact that many of the Guardians probably hated her guts, and facing that sort of antagonism while being forced to play nice wasn't going to be an easy task.

Her impromptu tour guide seemed completely unaware of Aile's inner turmoil. Vent gave her a dorky grin, "Oh yeah! I should totally show you the ropes around here!"

What followed was an awkward, embarrassing, multi-hour affair where Aile was forcibly introduced to many of the different Guardian members and their various quirks. Her brother was wonderfully ignorant of how much Aile squirmed every time someone recognized her, ground her out about some prank or other she'd pulled, or was just a little too friendly for Aile's comfort. Either that, or her brother was secretly a masochist who enjoyed watching her suffer. Why else would Thon have been one of the first people he took her to meet? Then there was Anguille in the hall, who was entirely too optimistic for her, or try-hard Hareng who seemed to gloat at her being 'caught.' The scientist, Fleuve, eyed her up curiously in a way that made her skin crawl on habit, even if his intentions were obviously technical only. The navigators in the bridge were named Gardénia, Tulip, and Marguerite, the nursing staff consisted of Muguet and Rose (and yes, they absolutely made her promise to come back later, an endeavour Aile was nervous about). Even more members greeted her after that, such as Truite, Bar, and Oeillet. Chêne was a lady who eyed up her clothes, as if wanting to say something, but by then Vent had already pushed her into meeting others. Marue, Dorado, Carrelet, the names began to blend into each other. Congre, who she recognized as the coward Guardian she'd interrogated, very nearly ran at the sight of her. The list went on and on.

Aile's brain hurt from the sheer number of people Vent apparently knew by name, knowing for sure that she'd forget most of them by the end of today and probably be hated for it. It was all too much and nearly made her dizzy.

They saw a man named Scombrésoce, and what followed was a rather humorous exchange that started with him greeting her. "Hey little lady. Who's this lovely gal you've found, Vent?" Aile instantly recognized him from one of her previous altercations with the Guardians. He'd been one of several who had cornered her in the past during the many Guardian attempts to capture her. Before Vent could answer his questions she snarled, "I hit you over the head once, you sleazy bozo, I will happily do it again."

"Oh smokes, it's you! I, uh, didn't recognize you now without your mask-oh, er, there it is, heh heh. Whoops. S-sorry, ma'am."

Seeing his overly-familiar manner suddenly drop when he realized that the girl he was talking to wasn't going to fall for his 'gentlemanly' wiles (and also because Vent was looking at the guy with an adorably annoyed expression for trying to hit on his sister), Aile decided to throw the man a bone. "Meh, I've had worse, you smarmy git. You're alright. Now piss off."

Gentlemanly efforts completely overruled, the man fled. He did seem genuinely pleasant to deal with overall, but Aile didn't like 'pleasant'. Vent looked at her, she shrugged, and they both moved on. Overall there were a lot of embarrassing events. Encounters where she had to be sociable because her bother of a brother liked these people, and because there was a very real chance that the mercenary group would string her up the first chance they got if she pissed them off too much. Vent's favour was her only saving grace. Being this nice was almost impossible for her to handle.

Thank god for Cédre down in the engine room, Aile thought to herself despairingly. The woman was the first Guardian she'd met that actually had some bite to her. Unlike her previous hesitance with associating with the other Guardians, Vent had actually needed to pull Aile away from her conversation with Cédre. As innocent as he was, even Vent was smart enough to notice the potential problems that could arise from the Imp of Cinq Ville and the resident trigger-happy gunner getting too friendly. Aile ended up being dragged away from that one literally; her brother pushed her out of the room, and more importantly, away from the redhead promising to show her how to make a pipe bomb the next time they got to hang out. A promise Aile fully intended to cash in on. Cédre was awesome.

The hall they were in, which Aile only properly looked at once she was too far away to hear her new friend, appeared to have taken more than its fair share of the recent maverick assault. Windows were cracked or covered over with hastily welded metal plates, and the floor had several sections that looked like they'd been blown out. New tiling was bolted sturdily into the floor, but Aile was just glad that she hadn't been anywhere near the hall when it had gotten damaged. It looked like the bottom of the ship had been blown out. Gravity was a force she wasn't too keen on trying to fight against, especially with the base being an airship and all.

That's when she heard it. "What's with that mask?" came a sudden, tiny voice. Aile wasted no time in turning around. As she tried to find the source, she had to look down. The brunette troublemaker was met with the visage of one of the youngest and most adorable kids she'd ever seen. He lovingly held a toy action figure in one hand as the other pointed at the object on her face.

"It's magic," Aile answered instinctively. An age old in-joke with herself, and a great way to judge her audience whenever starting up a rare conversation. She could feel Vent's disbelieving gaze on the back of her neck.

"Oh! It's magic?" Sardine asked, utterly entranced by her admission… and completely believing it too, judging by his look of wonder. Not a skeptical bone in his tiny body. How adorably stupid. "That's so cool! Where did ya get it!?"

Oh, Aile realized with an evil smirk, she was going to have so much fun with this. "You want to know where I got it, eh…? Well! I'll tell you!" Just like any good old ghost story, she leaned in close, waving her hands around mysteriously, "I got it straight from the devil himself! It's more than just any old magic mask, I'll have you know! It makes you scary and brave! After all, an ancient dark god forged it at my behest. When I wear this mask, all who behold it fear my wrath! Its magic intimidates my foes! Trust me when I say that it works well!"

Hey, it wasn't entirely a fib. Her dad, sometimes nicknamed the devil reploid, had helped her carve it after all. And more than a few people who knew her reputation ran at the mere sight of her. Vent, bless him, kept quiet at the tall tale. Sardine was utterly enamoured, "Whoooaaaaaah! That's so awesome!"

Looking at the enraptured child before her, Aile knew, deep down, what she had to do next. It was a whim she couldn't ignore. Aile took the mask off from the side of her face, gave it one last smile to thank it for its service, and gave it to Sardine.

Vent made a surprised noise in the background. Aile watched the little boy's eyes sparkle at his new treasure, "Are you really giving this to me? Thank you, miss Imp!"

Aile couldn't blame her brother for his shock. She herself was a little taken aback by her sudden generosity. But something just felt right about it, and as she pondered on her own actions, it started to make a lot more sense. Maybe she hadn't given her mask to Sardine on a whim. Maybe she'd realized, for a while now, that the mask was something she no longer needed. If anything, maybe… just maybe… it was holding her back. If her latest stint with the Guardians had revealed anything, it was how reliant she'd become on the old piece of carved wood. How badly she needed it to hide her true self and emotions. It was a weakness she couldn't stand for. Aile wanted, no, needed to be brave when dealing with this new chapter in her life. Because that's what it was; a whole new ballgame. Working with the Guardians and being a better citizen (on paper, at least), would be unexplored territory. Giving up her once-treasured possession, a gift she had to admit she'd long outgrown… It just felt right for some reason?

Losing her mask, Aile realized, also helped all who saw her and her brother together recognize the similarities between them. (Especially the Guardians, in your FACE you losers! Vent was hers!) The resemblance between her and her brother was a point of pride for her. It felt like a victory over her past, over the mavericks that tried to kill them. It was a way to place her claim on Vent. Her way of letting everyone know that they were a team. Aile could tell that they were going to be partners, even if they'd only just reconnected a day ago, because Aile knew that she and her brother were going to get to know each other and love each other as family. She was going to teach Vent everything she knew, was eventually going to show him the ropes of being an awesome fighter even without his biometals, and he was going to have her back and support her in turn. Part of her thought that it might be too ambitious to think like that, but somehow, she knew they were going to get along like two peas in a pod. She knew it. She just knew it!

Speaking of getting to know people, Sardine was a cute, impressionable kid, and she was 100% going to have a field day corrupting him. It was going to be a great way to mess with the Guardians. That being said, it wasn't an entirely selfish goal. Little children like that had a lot of fights and painful growth ahead of them, and if this kid was living and growing up in the Guardians, he'd probably have more troubles than most. Unlike that group of idiot kids in the amusement park, she bet she could actually get through to him given a little time. He wasn't going to have the plush and easy life they did, so he wasn't going to be blinded and foolish like they were… Probably. Besides, innocent kids were so hilarious sometimes. She was looking forward to hearing about Sardine causing some mayhem with her mask.

She gave her goodbyes and Sardine ran away, giggling to himself with the monstrous intent of a child bent on mischief. Aile laughed heartily at his retreat. Her brother watched the kid go before he looked at her, "I have no idea why you find the whole thing so hilarious," Vent grumbled.

Why was it so hilarious? Aile wondered about that. Perhaps it was because she'd told that kid the truth more than any others on the ship? Because she was already working to sabotage the Guardians from within, in the cheekiest way possible? Because giving up her mask, for some reason, made her feel light-hearted, proud and accomplished, instead of naked and exposed? "It just is," Aile replied, "trust me on this. The kid is cute though."

Surprisingly, the last person on Vent's list of people to meet was perhaps the most important. It was also someone Aile already knew to a degree, so she had no idea why Vent seemed so nervous and fidgety. After a short stint on the deck, where they'd looked at the damage to the ship Vent told her was called the Grand Nuage, Vent had finally, haltingly, led Aile back towards the medical wing after asking around about his mentor. The man was sitting outside of the medical wing. He held a stack of papers and wore a frustrated expression. His long blonde hair made her think of her own father, and wasn't it oddly fitting that the man who raised her brother was so similar in appearance to her own parent? Vent walked up to him casually, laughing nervously and smiling though the gesture was stilted. "Uh… h-hey, dad!"

Giro looked over with a brilliant smile at the greeting, responding with one of his own, "Why hello Vent! What brings you here?"

Vent shuffled about, a small half-grimace, half-smirk beginning to form on his features, "Uh, well… you said to introduce Aile to everyone, and I did! B-but, uh," he halted, "well, apart from last night, which was mostly business talk… I never really got to introduce her to you properly? I know you guys have already met, technically," Vent stated, "but I figured… that was business, catching up on history, that kind of stuff. I think it'd be awesome if you guys could, uh, better get to know each other properly? I mean…"

Giro chuckled lightly. He reached over and patted Vent's arm, stopping him from fidgeting, "Vent. I'd be honoured to get to know your sister. Aile? It's good to see you again. Our last meeting was a bit hard on all of us, wasn't it?"

And there was the crux of the issue, wasn't it? Vent hadn't been the only one nervous and shifty. Once Aile realized who Vent wanted her to socialize with, she couldn't help but remember how awkward and silly she'd been. Giro was a complete stranger who had seen her crack, had watched as she'd cried and faltered over an event that had happened so long ago that she should have been very much over it by now. But she wasn't. On top of this, he was apparently Vent's parental figure… and no matter how much she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, all she could see were the similarities to her own parent, Omega…. And where those similarities fell short. The weaknesses Giro had that Omega didn't.

Aile wasn't sure how she felt about Vent's father figure. Should she be mad that he was such a poor parent in comparison to her own, clearly weak and lacking the sort of brutal combat skill one needed in this world? Or should she go easy on him, since he'd clearly been ready to sacrifice everything to keep her brother safe? Maybe she should be humiliated because he'd seen how vulnerable she was? After a long morning of being forced to socialize and wander Guardian base tip-to-tail, Aile wasn't sure she had the energy left for another such endeavour. And though Aile saw many flaws in him, Giro's intuition seemed to be spot on. His eyes sharpened and his lips formed a gentle curve, "Ah, you look like you've had quite the day already. I absolutely want to get to know you more! But I'm sure that's been quite the task for you today, what with already meeting everyone else on the ship? Perhaps just a simple question or two for now, then. Maybe… a favourite colour? Favourite food?"

Simple questions indeed. Easy to answer, and with few consequences. It wasn't info he could use against her, now was it? Aile couldn't help feel a surge of relief that this was all Giro wanted to know. "Uh… yeah, easy? Colour, um… crimson! Yeah, like, dark red, the colour of old blood I guess." Vent's eyebrow raised at this answer, but he kept silent as Aile continued, "And food… Poutine! Yeah, poutine is great. No, wait, cinnamon buns are really good too! Especially when fresh!"

Giro laughed, "Red? I'm quite fond of that colour too! As you might have guessed," he joked, indicating the long-sleeved jacket he wore. "Blue is nice too. It looks good on you, by the way. Seeing as it's only fair for me to give you some info as well, my favourite food is… coffee. I know it's a drink technically, but it's saved my hide more than once! Hah! But now, Vent!" He commanded, the sharp tone catching everyone's attention, "It's only fair that you fess up too! Favourite colour and food, stat!"

Vent stuttered, "Er, y-yes boss! I mean dad!" He seemed to brighten up as he answered, "Blue is the best colour, if you ask me! And, uh, I'm a bit of a softie for buns. Especially savoury breads, like brioche? Wait, no, pork buns! Yeah, pork buns rock!"

"Pink, and melons," Came a new voice. Aile stiffened when she saw who had arrived into the conversation, but Prairie, calm as ever, merely gave her a benign smile as she quickly looked at Aile. Shortly afterwards the commander turned away and settled her gaze on Giro. The commander offered him a stack of papers similar to the one he already had, "Here's what you requested, Giro. I think that's the last of them too, thank heavens."

"Ah, thank you. You're a great help."

Aile tried to sneak a peek at the documents as they were passed between the two adults. Once Aile noticed just how many words and letters were on them, It became clear that they were some sort of legal form. She twisted her face in disgust. Aile couldn't help but stick her tongue out a little as well and scrunch up her nose when she saw just how complex they looked. Thoroughly disinterested in the forms, the Imp of Cinq Ville turned her nose up at the things and scoffed, "Wow, remind me to never piss off medical? Those look gross!"

That caused a bit of rueful laughter. Giro sighed, discreetly hiding the forms from Aile's view, "A necessary evil sometimes! But an accurate observation no less, ha ha!" Aile definitely noticed his dodgy behaviour, but considering that paperwork could apparently be torturous at the best of times (she'd read as such in the magazines Daddy used to get for her), she couldn't care less.

"Speaking of medical," Prairie hummed, turning once more towards Aile, "I heard that Muguet was looking for you again? You're right here, so perhaps one of us can escort you? We can even go in with you, if you'd like."

"No thanks," Aile countered, "I'm good. Gah, medical! It's appointment after appointment with them, isn't it? I might as well get it over with. See you in a bit, Vent!" Grateful for the chance to escape a conversation she was way too emotionally tired to deal with, as well as wanting to make up for yesterday's breakdown by showing some independence, Aile scarpered off to the medical bay by herself while waving goodbye to her brother.

Vent looked like he wanted to follow. Prairie subtly raised a hand to stop him, "She'll be fine, Vent. Muguet will be gentle with her. I actually wanted to speak about Aile with you and Giro… Privately." Prairie frowned in concern, "Although, by 'privately', I mostly mean that I'd like to chat without Aile overhearing. Is that alright?"

Vent's gaze fell on her, suspicion overtaking his features, "Why shouldn't Aile be in this conversation if it's about her?"

Prairie watched the route Aile had taken, surveyed the hall around them, and seeing no one around, finally answered Vent. "Because I'm worried she could get into trouble if she overhears what we're saying." Her eyes flicked between Vent and Giro. Vent's suspicion remained, but Giro seemed to know where things were going.

Vent spoke up, "That… doesn't sound good? How could she get in trouble just from hearing what we're talking about?"

"Because learning that she could be another Mega Man could inspire her to all sorts of dangerous endeavours. That's why," Prairie answered.

Vent's mouth dropped open as he digested the information. "Oh. Oh, yeah… if she's my sister, then…"

"I think we're on the same page about wanting to protect her," Giro added, eyebrows furrowed. His voice was stern, "Considering all the events happening, as well as the antagonism between her and Slither Inc… there's too much risk for her already without adding her potential to be a biomatch into the mix. The best way to keep her safe will be to keep her out of the way of any conflict. We know she can fight and take care of herself, but giving her access to a biometal could cause more harm than good. With her track record, the last thing we want to do is give anyone an excuse to call her a true maverick."

Giro took off his glasses, polishing them as Prairie observed, "If Aile was spotted in a megamerged state, it's very likely that she'd be labeled a danger to society and hunted down."

Vent frowned, "Yeah, safe bet. Even I get mistaken for a maverick when I'm like that. By people who should know me, no less!"

Prairie frowned as she agreed, "As much as we might hate to admit it, this is just as much to protect her from Serpent's designs as it is to protect everyone else from her. She has her reputation for a reason."

"So we can all agree," Giro summed up, "no biometals for Aile."

All in attendance nodded. The decision was unanimous, even if Vent showed some guilt, "I feel kind of bad keeping secrets like this, but… it's the best way to protect her. Even if she sticks with me through some of my missions, I can always tell her to back off if things get spicy. If she had a biometal, I don't think she'd listen as much."

"You're probably right. Good man, Vent," Giro applauded. Vent gave him a proud grin for the compliment. "The more we can keep her out of this whole mess, the better," the blonde male acknowledged. Then he mumbled, "Although… there is one more thing I want to talk with you about," he said. Vent leaned in curiously as he continued, "Well, Aile is a bit finicky, as you have probably realized. She's hard to keep tabs on. So, well… I could use your help with a little something, I think…"

Prairie leaned in and whispered conspiratorially at Vent's slightly suspicious gaze, "Before you get too worried, Muguet is in on this too."

"We both want what's best for Aile, but all things considered…. Well. Here's the thing…"

Vent leaned in, and the conversation continued in hushed whispers that faded quickly in the busy atmosphere of the ship. Daylight was bright outside the hull of the Grand Nuage, cheerful and warm with a slight breeze. Clouds passed innocently by the window as the group debated. The more Vent heard, the more he couldn't help but grin. There was whispering, agreeing, and arguing as the small group conspired behind Aile's back. The hall was empty but for them, their plans, and their secrets.

But they were not the only ones with something to hide. Had they even the slightest inkling of the mysteries behind Vent's sister, the sheer catastrophe she had the potential to cause… then everything they were working towards could come crashing down in an instant.