In which "Oh my god Daddy, we're fucked!" is not a line Omega was hoping to hear.
An airship in the early morning could be a surprisingly idyllic scene. Just before the day crew was up and about, right when the nighttime staff were starting to relax as their shifts neared their ends, was a peaceful twilight of time that passed differently than the rest of the day. The winds outside seemed calmer than usual, while the sounds of activity on the ship were at their lowest. The cooks in the mess were the only busy ones, but their frenzied pace was muffled and behind the scenes as far as most inhabitants were concerned. Even the sun seemed slow to rise, a warm morning glow gently washing over the metallic halls as the ambient temperature rose sluggishly. Truly the most idyllic time of day on the ship.
This peaceful scene was abruptly cut off by the tail end of an argument. Aile's shrieks echoed down the hall, "Come on! I'm more than competent enough for this! Why can't I tag along?!"
A couple of people were woken by the shrill screech of indignation coming from Vent's room. Aile's voice pierced through the hull, her disappointment clear for all to hear. One brave man leaned out of his room, sleeping cap still on his head, to try and eavesdrop the conversation better. Vent's mumbled response was indiscernible through the metal that made up their base. His patronizing and logical tone, however, spoke more than enough about how much he'd had to repeat a well thought-out answer already. The voices went back and forth for a bit again, another female Guardian joining the first listener as the conversation continued. Then the door to Vent's quarters suddenly shot open. The Guardian with the sleeping cap yelped and stumbled back into his room as he and the other eavesdropper bolted for cover, the Imp of Cinq Ville storming out in barely constrained rage. She tripped over the hastily forgotten cap in her retreat, cursed, and kicked it at a wall.
Oh, how stubborn her brother could be!
She quickly and angrily left the area to prevent herself from snapping at her brother, but boy, was it an effort. The first thing she'd done when she and her sibling woke up from another sleepover (because apparently medical exams could take a long time, and she'd been tired after all of them) had been to cheerily tell him that she was gonna tag along on his missions from now on. She was here to take care of her family after all! Knowing her own prowess in battle, she'd thought little of following along on Vent's adventures. She wanted to protect her brother, and she knew a plot was brewing when she saw one. Aile had been in a mild prank and reputation war with Serpent for quite some time now, and knew exactly how to both expect and counter some of his shadier tactics.
But Vent, ever-so-honourable, had instantly kiboshed her plan. He refused to let her follow him into danger. Aile had tried to argue that she should come along, obviously, but Vent was every bit as stubborn as her. When all he had to do to win his side of the argument was sit down and do nothing (she couldn't protect him on missions if he didn't go on missions after all), Aile was unable to secure her victory. So she'd left in a huff to stop herself from yelling at his stupidity.
As Aile stormed down the hall and finally noticed the scenery around her, she grumbled to herself about how this day would have been so much better if not for the argument she'd just had. She may have lost the first part of the fight, no, the amiable disagreement, and had more than briefly pondered just pouting in their room until she guilted him into getting her way, but oh! Even as she thought about it, a better way of getting her errant relative to fold to her demands popped into her head. Once the idea coalesced in her mind, she knew she had to act on it immediately.
Aile's stroke of inspiration would lead her to the command bridge. Of all people for her to go to for help, Prairie was the last person the Imp of Cinq Ville thought she'd ever have to entreat for a favour. And yet, if her brother was going to be dumb and stubborn about this, then maybe she'd have to go a step above him and make someone he had to listen to force him into letting her tag along? Yes, genius! Aile made her way swiftly to her destination, hoping to rope Prairie into convincing her brother that it was obviously smarter if Aile went along with him on missions to help him out. So she sought out the Guardian commander. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Guardian Commander was already up and issuing orders, sorting through paperwork, and looking at her computer console and the myriad streams of data crossing its screen.
Prairie looked up at Aile in mild confusion as she entered the area. Soon after, Aile had explained the situation immediately to the one person Vent couldn't possibly refuse. The Guardian commander, however, did not give her the answer she wanted. "I understand your concerns about your brother, but the enemy mavericks… They are dangerous for civilians to deal with. He's more than capable of handling himself. But yourself, well, no offense… I'm not sure you know just what you're asking to get involved in," the commander tried to deflect after Aile had finished, clearly hesitant to support the endeavor.
She was obviously of the opinion that Aile couldn't hold her own in a serious fight. Aile was immediately offended. The brunette growled, "I suppose I don't! No matter who I talk to, you all think I'm getting in over my head!" She ranted in earnest, fed up with the feeling of talking to a wall. "It's not like any of you have told me why I'm apparently so outmatched! It's really insulting-" Aile gave Prairie her best Omega glare, and that sure got her attention, "-and also really ironic, seeing as you're perfectly fine sending my brother by himself! Who I had to bail out not long ago! I don't get your guy's logic at all!"
Prairie grimaced, but after a moment to gather her thoughts, acquiesced slightly to Aile's demands. "That's… well. That's fair. You do have a right to know at least a little about what he's involved in. Tell me what you know, and perhaps I could fill in some gaps."
Aile grinned in victory. Prairie was clearly a bit uncomfortable with the subject, but for whatever reason, had decided to at least hear her out. "Not a whole lot! But I know Serpent is a maverick shitbag who's been operating behind everyone's backs, he's got two goons following him by the name of Pandora and Prometheus, and apparently they're all using the power of something called 'biometals' to do their dirty work. Oh, and the biometals that Vent's teamed up with can apparently talk? But I'd like a little more detail on that. Hey, if those biometal things give people powers, do ya think I could use one?"
Prairie stiffened for a moment, sheer panic crossing her features. But it was quickly stifled before Aile could get a proper look, "Yes, that… about sums it up. But not everyone can use biometals. There are specific requirements to become a biomatch, ones even we aren't entirely aware of."
"Aw. Darn. Kinda liked Models L and P. Oh well." Aile huffed, "Anyways, yeah, it might shock ya to hear this, but I know exactly what you're up against. Serpent and his cronies are old hat for the Imp of Cinq Ville, hah hah! I can handle them easy. You can say I have some experience with the matter."
"It's more than just a few mavericks involved, there are pseudoroids that…!" Prairie stopped herself, a contemplative expression overcoming her. "Hmm. Perhaps it would be more relevant to discuss with Vent as he's right in the thick of it. He'll have better insight into-"
"I've already tried to talk to him! But he keeps trying to spook me out of it! You all seem to think I don't know how scary and dangerous mavericks can get, but I… gah! Look, I know some shady shit is going on, and I want to know more! I can't do that sitting on the sidelines like some stupid cheerleader!"
"I understand. Follow me." Prairie took the lead, half expecting Aile to ignore the command. Thankfully, the young teen didn't do so. She grumbled under her breath, sure, but she did as she was asked. Curious.
Prairie took time to observe her charge as they walked to their destination. Aile was clearly frustrated, that much was obvious. Frustrated, but not backing down. It seemed that as things stood now, the two of them wouldn't come to an agreement no matter how much Prairie tried to convince her. Aile, for better or worse, was just too fearless. Too determined. But why was she so stubbornly involving herself in the Guardians' affairs? It was at this moment that Prairie realized how interested Aile was in the current events… and that this was, perhaps, something she could use to encourage Aile to return to the Guardians again and again. They couldn't force her to return without jeopardizing the fragile trust they were trying to build with her, but apart from her brother, the Guardians didn't really have anything to convince the Imp of Cinq Ville to come back to their base so they could keep an eye on her. Information could be that thing. This ploy didn't come without its own sets of risks, of course. Danger didn't dissuade Aile in the slightest. The wrong sort of information might catapult her straight into trouble, and Aile might not even care about it. A double-edged sword, but also a tool Prairie could utilize.
Revealing info to Aile had grabbed her interest, but Prairie had no idea about how much information Aile actually wanted. What parts of Aile's mysterious and dubious past drove her? She was clearly in this for dangerous secrets of some sort, as she was strongly determined to hide her own past as well as keep tabs on what her sibling was getting himself into. But just what kind of knowledge was she seeking? If they weren't careful, could Aile suddenly find out everything she wanted to know and decide to leave? Prairie realized that if she told too much at once, Aile might simply abscond with what she knew at the drop of a hat, or perhaps finally clue in at just how badly she was in over her head, and decide that discretion was the better part of valor and retreat. Aile was brash, not stupid. This whole shebang was one that most people should be reasonably frightened of, except Aile had more than exhibited that she wasn't exactly scared of any of this. Yet if Aile knew too much, it might cause her to get into serious danger.
Prairie needed info on Aile. She needed to know what Aile wanted to know, but more importantly, why Aile wanted to learn it. To this day, the Guardians still didn't know where the Imp would hide out when the law was hot on her tail. Who taught her to fight so viciously and effectively? What was the true identity of her mysterious father? How much was she willing to risk in seeking information? If Aile decided that enough was enough and she wanted out, Prairie wasn't sure that anything they did could keep her contained. Even worse… If Aile left, would she try and take Vent with her? Perhaps if Prairie could tease Aile with info, feed her little bits at a time, she'd be more tempted to stay? Too much and she might leave, too little and she might lose interest… Not to mention that some information was simply too confidential for any non-Guardians to know, much less an infamous troublemaker. The blonde commander bemoaned internally. What a balancing act this was going to be! Prairie couldn't help but be paranoid about Aile's safety. Yet even more than that, the commander had to guiltily admit to herself, Prairie wanted to keep the Imp of Cinq Ville where they could keep a watchful eye on her… Keep her under control. The dangerous troublemaker had evaded them for long enough, and this was clearly an opportunity that couldn't be squandered.
Regardless. Safety came first. Aile was clearly not thinking with her own safety in mind.
…Perhaps Prairie could convince the Imp of Cinq Ville to back down from her current mission if herself, Vent, and Giro all disagreed with her at the same time? Or at least keep her from running the main missions alongside Vent. Maybe Aile could be convinced that she should stay close enough to the action that the Guardians could keep an eye on her, but far enough that her life wouldn't be threatened. Yes, that was the best course of action.
As they walked, both females had minds bogged down by plots and possibilities. Their own, or that of others. For her part, Aile couldn't stop wondering if maybe, just maybe, she could learn more about the ruins she and her dad were living in. Would the peacekeeping organization know anything about the facility, why it was there, what Weil had to do with the place? And what about Weil himself? Might they know his whereabouts? Weil had been a major political figure at one point, yet trying to look up information about him was a gauntlet of navigating obscure and destroyed information. Aile had once stolen a history book about the era of Neo Arcadia, and it only mentioned him by name once in over five hundred pages of text! This was of course assuming that the Guardians even knew anything! This would be a tricky bunch of politics and information to try and tease out. If she wasn't careful, they'd clue in that Aile knew a little too much about one of history's greatest villains. Or maybe they'd become suspicious of why Aile was trying to learn more about him. If Aile forced the issue too bluntly, they might revoke whatever small mercies she'd been granted and lock her up… or worse. If they knew just who she was related to, they may simply execute her. As her father often reminded her, Weil had not been well liked. And Aile was very solidly related to him. Simply removing Aile from the equation was the most practical solution to dealing with the threat she might pose, after all. A dead enemy was no longer an enemy.
No matter what, for better or worse, one thing was clear. The Guardians seemed to know something about the massive mess that was going on right now. It rankled Aile for sure, to know they had one-up on her, but they had information she needed, and they also had her brother on their side. Gods, was this ever a fiasco! Aile knew her only way of finding out the info for herself was to stick with them. That certainly didn't mean she had to be happy about it, though.
Putting their thoughts aside for now, both Aile and Prairie went to find Vent. After the blonde woman asked around, they quickly discovered that he was with Giro in the commander's room, the older man having decided to recover in a place of peace and quiet that wasn't taking up space in the med bay. Aile felt a bit rankled that they'd had to ask so many people where her brother was when he'd only been a few feet from where she'd interrogated Prairie. (How had her brother slipped past her anyway? Did they just miss each other in the hall or something?)
Aile and the commander leisurely entered the commander's quarters. Aile decided to take in the scenery properly. The last time she'd been here, she'd been… understandably distracted. The commander's room was a surprisingly colourful and comfortable affair, all things considered. The walls were painted into a bright, happy scene of clouds, fluffy and welcoming. Even the carpet was soft and inviting. As Aile shoved herself into the room, she felt the plush surface give easily beneath her feet, and looked down to see a stylized sun patterned upon it. Plush toys in corners of the room softened the edges of the otherwise uncomfortably geometric space. Their large sizes and varied characters reminded her of her own bedroom growing up, and Aile couldn't stop a small smile from forming on her face. Whether or not she liked Prairie (she didn't on principle), she had no choice but to grudgingly appreciate her sense of decor.
If she was to be honest, Aile was tempted to steal the space for herself. Maybe add a couple of her own wanted posters on the wall afterwards to claim it properly. She had proudly collected the posters over the years, and as far as she was concerned, no girl's haven was complete without some sort of decorative paper plastered on the wall. Either that, or pin-ups from a popular show or music group. But who even liked that kind of shit? Her own cheeky mugshot was much more inspiring, in her not-so-humble opinion.
Giro, who had been in bed quietly talking with Vent, immediately stopped whatever he was saying as he saw the two females enter. "Oh, hello? Commander, and… Aile? It's good to see you two. What brought you here?"
Aile was still looking around the room as Prairie brought Giro up to speed on the issue, though she didn't really pay all that much attention as she already knew the gist of everything being discussed. Instead she continued to peer around the space curiously, nodding absentmindedly to confirm a few points or facts as Prairie brought up. The youth saw shelves upon shelves of books and knickknacks, and some odd little figures hung from the ceiling. There was even a closet with some pink clothes, including some that were, confusingly enough, child sized.
And then Aile's blood ran cold.
"...I have to agree with Vent, I really don't think it would be a good idea for her to… uh, Aile? What're you staring at?"
Holy hell, wasn't that a loaded question. Aile gulped quietly, because what she was looking at was a large, faded, yet well loved picture, carefully framed and clearly holding a place of honour in its owner's possessions. It was the size of a small poster and was nestled beside a bunch of other images that were displayed on a shelf just a little too high to look at easily. Maybe that would explain why Aile had missed something so obvious and important the first time she'd been in the room. The figure within was one she recognized yet didn't, for all the wrong reasons. He was unmistakable with his red armour, a helmet with horns, and long, blonde hair.
It was a picture of Zero.
She'd never cared about where the Guardians had originated until now. Why would she? What importance could that information possibly have had in the grand scheme of things? As it turned out, a lot of importance. She felt like she'd been slapped. This was a massive oversight on her part. Perhaps, even, a fatal mistake… Aile realized that the others were staring at her and struggled, "Uh… Er. that. That there. That person there, they uh… they look, uh, kind of… kind of… they look kind of like you did, Giro! Did you know them?" The last sentence came out way too quickly and high pitched for her peace of mind, but fortunately, Vent seemed just as curious as her now that she'd mentioned it, though completely oblivious to the reason for her curiosity. Girouette chuckled endearingly.
"Ah, that one… funny you mention that. I ended up asking Prairie about it the other day. Apparently that man was an ancient hero she once knew, the very one whose spirit now resides in Model Z."
"His name was Zero," Prairie said fondly. Nostalgia made her smile sadly as she looked at the photo, "He was a very kind, but very quiet man. Zero was a wonderful protector. He was hard to talk to sometimes, as he was always busy doing missions or wandering around the base I grew up in. But he was always there when it counted. He'd often listen to me ramble as a child, as if I was just as important as everyone else."
The biometal in question was thoughtfully floating around the room as the occupants spoke. His former biomatch chuckled, "Heh, Zero… the name isn't all that different from 'Giro' now that I think of it… Small wonder I was his chosen one." Giro scoffed humorously, "Well, okay, maybe a little different…"
"Coooooooool!" Vent gasped in admiration, going over to look at the picture more closely. "I don't mean to snoop in your stuff, but that's actually so awesome-"
"Yeah you're snooping! Cool it, Vent!" Aile snapped lightly, interrupting his musing in an attempt to distract everyone, "it's not very gentlemanly to go looking through a girl's things!"
Giro laughed at the pair of them, "She's got a point, Vent!"
Vent just blushed and stuttered while Prairie called Aile a hypocrite under her breath. Aile huffed and tried her best to change the subject, "A-anyways, now that you know that your favourite mailman didn't die of boredom overnight, we have a mission to go do! But, u-uh, speaking of old things," Aile mumbled as the Guardian leader looked at her with a raised brow, "I've got, er, a little business to go deal with first, okay! Just remembered it! We're in no huge rush to get things done, right? So you just wait before you go on that mission, I won't be long! Maybe a couple of hours. Gotta k-keep up on the house-cleaning, right? Just wait a sec for me, I'll be right back!" Aile turned around in a rush.
"What's wrong sis!?"
"Aile?!"
If there was anything else said, Aile didn't bother to pay attention to it. An emergency had just been dumped on her head, and she needed her dad's opinion on it, STAT. After all, the Guardians were not just the Guardians. They must have been the very same Resistance who had tried to murder her father, and she knew that because that wasn't just any old hero in the picture, that was Zero in the picture. Prairie and the others had even confirmed it. He was Zero. Zero, who fought for the leader of the resistance, Ciel. Ciel, who wore pink, and now Prairie wore pink. How could Aile have missed that?! And of course she knew about her father's mortal rival, Zero. The same man who worked in a base that Prairie grew up in. The very same Zero who'd fought against her father and ancestor at every possible opportunity, who was a sub-par copy of her beloved parent, and had done his utmost to wipe said blueprint off the face of the Earth. The bastard nearly succeeded too. And if that wasn't enough, Model Z was apparently based off of Zero! Or more accurately, Model Z was actually Zero himself, but in a different form. She knew his voice had been too familiar! Suddenly the names of the other biometals matched up all too worryingly with those of the generals of Neo Arcadia, and Aile began to panic.
God. Fucking. Damnit,Vent! She cursed mentally. You utter buffoon! She was going to kill him. But he was also her brother that she had to protect, and he was a Guardian now, so she was going to have to work with the insipid, peace-loving descendants of her Dad's and her great-something-grandpa's enemies whether she liked it or not.
Aile turned and belted down the hall, dodging around Prairie on her way out of the room (which made the blonde yelp exquisitely in the process, and blast it all, Aile would have loved to enjoy that more but now was not the time). Aile slammed into the teleporter room, then nervously and clumsily punched her destination into the console. Thank heavens she'd watched Vent put in coordinates earlier, as she now knew enough of what to do when confronted with the thing! Though even then, it was more luck than skill that made the transerver hum to life. Aile was already off and running into the Area A forest before the console had even finished shutting itself down.
Back in the Guardian base, Vent and Giro simply blinked at Aile's abrupt exit. Giro was the first to break the silence, "Hrm. I worry about that girl."
Model Z hummed with concern, "What's got her worried so suddenly? Does the name 'Zero' mean something to her? Or was she using that discussion as a distraction?" He paused for a moment, "And was it just me, or did she seem… afraid when she saw the picture?"
Vent sighed deeply, "Her actions… they're so strange sometimes. It doesn't make any sense. She's so different than what I remember! I know it's been ten years, but…"
"Siblings are there to love you, constantly surprise you, and cause you twice as many problems as they solve. Don't think about it too much, Vent. She knows how to take care of herself," Prairie explained, more than a little exasperated with the girl, and all too familiar with just how hard it was to keep the Imp of Cinq Ville down. That didn't stop her from sneaking a few concerned glances towards where the girl had left.
"I guess," Vent admitted, oblivious to the concerned contemplation in his boss's tone, "I mean, s-she's infamous, right? She can probably survive stuff well enough on her own? Most stuff…"
"But other things, things like your next mission?" Prairie responded, "I doubt that's a level of danger she's used to." There was clearly some worry and consternation on her face, briefly making Vent wonder what was on her mind.
Getting himself back on track with the conversation at hand, Vent nodded even as he looked away with guilt, "She asked me to wait, though..."
"That she did, huh?" Giro smirked, "So. Are you actually going to wait, then?"
Vent pondered a moment. In the end, he decided that he was not going to 'wait a sec' as his sister had asked. He was going straight to Area I instead. "Heck no, I'm getting that mission done while she's off somewhere safe."
"Atta boy. You make me proud."
Vent had to look away at that admission, overcome by emotion. His father figure was proud of him. His father figure, the man he had nearly lost from his own impulsiveness, yet who had been saved by his brash, gung-ho sister. A girl who had no right to jump into a herd of mavericks with nothing more than an oversized metal stick and a hoard of cusses in order to rescue a pair of Mega Men. A pair of Mega Men who, by all accounts, should have been much more suited to such a situation. Yet they both had to get their asses saved by a fire-spitting nightmare of a civilian instead. Vent should have been the one guarding her, not the other way around! But it was better late than never. His sister had saved him once already, in more ways than one, and it was time to return the favour. There was no way Vent was going to allow her anywhere near a situation that could end badly for her. It was his job as a Guardian to protect people, and by Jove, he was going to do it! So Vent looked away from the others in the room, puffed his chest out, and got ready to do the mission since that's what he had to do to guard his family. It totally wasn't because he had to look away from a few MANLY TEARS getting stuck in his eye, no, he definitely wasn't crying in pride and joy from his dad's words, "R-right. Prairie. I'm heading off."
He could hear the sad smile in her voice as she left, "Stay safe, Vent. Any information we have for you will be ready in the transerver terminal, as usual."
"Stay safe, Vent," Giro echoed as the door shut behind him. If there was a bit of regret in Giro's voice, a trace of despondency and pain at having to rely on the boy he should have been protecting instead, then it was subtle enough that Vent didn't hear it. Vent simply followed his sister's path to the transporter, prepared himself for the mission ahead, and got to business.
—-
"Dad! Daddy! Oh my god Daddy, we're fucked!"
Omega's eyes snapped open from where he'd been having a leisurely nap. His daughter's distressed and disbelieving hollers rang throughout the cavern as he leveraged himself out of the nook he'd been curled up in. Hearing her voice after several days of absence was a relief far more massive than he'd like to admit, even if she herself was clearly not in the best of moods. It took him half a minute to let the relief run its course, the rush of the emotion making his legs feel unstable. But he couldn't let Aile know how worried he had been as it would only worry her in return. So he took a breather and forced himself up. With a sigh, a stretch, and the cracking of a few joints (he wasn't getting any younger, that's for sure), the old maverick simply stood up straight and listened as his dramatic teenage offspring stumbled helter-skelter through the caverns. Omega let himself smirk in amusement as he heard a clatter of stone and a few colourful cusses. Perhaps he should have been more concerned, but if she was shouting and wasting energy like that, then whatever was causing this fuss couldn't be too bad. Still, it wouldn't do him any good to appear too nonchalant. His smirk was quickly hidden as he gathered himself, grunted to clear his throat, and echoed Aile's shouts with a bellow of his own.
"Over here!" Silence answered his cry at first. Then there was a series of huffs and puffs that quickly rose in volume as his daughter approached him, Aile trying and failing to gather herself as she went. She wheezed painfully from overexertion. Ah, teenagers. She arrived on scene, then promptly bent over from a lack of air. Omega's eyebrow rose as he looked down at her. An exasperated smirk overtook the corner of his lips, "You've been running circles by the looks of it." He stopped to look her over for injuries. Seeing none, he continued his jibe, "We must really be screwed if you can't tell left from right any more!" He was a little disappointed in her for being so ridiculous about whatever news she was about to deliver. Oh well. Teenage hormones caused more than a little silliness in humans, and his daughter was clearly no exception to the rule. He patiently awaited Aile's explanation, and didn't have to wait long. She huffed, took a deep breath, stared him in the eyes with utter determination… And told him everything that had happened since they'd last spoke.
Everything.
Omega's mind went blank. He would have been less beleaguered and appalled if Prometheus or Pandora had randomly warped in, slapped him across the face with a fish, then warped out. At least that little scenario would have been fixable with a well-placed energy blade. A mixture of disgust and dread overtook his face as he forgave his daughter for her earlier dramatics. The Resistance still being around, her brother basically using Zero's powers (but badly), the government conspiracies and dangerous mavericks and so on that her sibling was getting them both embroiled in… Ridiculously bad didn't even begin to cover how terrible this situation had gotten. The part where Aile had been 'legally' adopted by someone who was a complete stranger to him barely even registered in the wake of everything else. Just… Holy fuck. Aile hadn't been overdramatic at all. Her tirade continued despite his obvious inner conflict, "-And I kind of have to tag along with those Guardians nitwits now," she ranted, "because they might know something about Gramps, actually it's REALLY likely they know something, because they're connected to the Resistance, and because Vent likes them! I can't just walk away from it now! Damnit Vent!"
Had Omega been paying attention to his expression right now, he might have gotten horribly embarrassed for gawking so ridiculously. As it was, he was still trying to process everything. The old war reploid sat down heavily. With a groan he leaned back against a wall, once again imitating his old human friend by rubbing his temples and not-so-secretly plotting vengeance against the world. "So let me get this straight," he interrupted. Aile instantly paused to listen when she heard her father speak, "Your brother, who we thought dead, somehow survived the maverick raid. A poor look-alike of myself who has powers similar to Zero found him, one two skip-a-few Vent gets powers similar to fucking X, nearly gets himself killed a few times acting like a goody two shoes, and has gotten himself enrolled in an organization that is undeniably descended from the Resistance that directly opposed Weil… and should, by all sensible means, be utterly devoted to destroying everything to do with him, despite the fact that he himself is descended from the man!? And now he has Zero's powers too because of some sort of biometal thing?! The same thing Pandora and Prometheus had!?"
Aile looked miserable. Her response was succinct, "Yup. That about covers it."
Omega swore in nearly a dozen dead languages, more than a few of which had gone extinct thanks to his own efforts. Aile actually looked impressed at this. He finished his cussing bitterly, "-dummkopf, pizdetz! Idiot!" That bloody dumbass! What a mess this was! How on earth were they going to fix this?!
"Eff-em-ell for the both of us, eh?" Aile begrudgingly giggled, bringing him back to the present.
FML indeed, Omega thought. X must be laughing at him from his special place in hell. Or was that Model X now? He frowned as he calmed himself, realizing the sort of situation Aile was putting herself in as she continued to look after her brother. "Aile, this is worse than we thought. I'm worried about what will happen if they find out about you."
Aile sighed in despair, "What choice do we have? It's our best bet for finding Weil, and I can't just abandon my brother in the lion's den. Just because they haven't- "
"-He's practically dug his own grave at this point," Omega pointed out ruthlessly, though the unhappiness was clear on his features, "don't jump in there with him. Getting him back isn't worth risking you. I nearly lost you once, and I won't again."
"Risking me isn't an option for them either though, it seems," Aile chuckled grumpily. "They did their best to scare me off from tailing him on his missions. Trying to help my brother out is going to be an uphill battle no matter what I do. Besides, they're goodie two-shoes. Self proclaimed heroes and protectors. I've thought about it, and I bet they maybe, uh, probably? Wouldn't do nothin' even if they did find out about my biological relations. I can always pretend I don't know what they're talking about, right?" Aile explained. Omega wanted to argue, but apparently his daughter had realized what he wanted to say before he'd even said it, because she spoke up the moment he opened his mouth, "Daddy, I know. It sucks! But I'll be okay. This is our best chance at finding out what happened to Gramps."
"Vent has betrayed his own bloodline! Getting involved will only put you in danger!"
"I know, Daddy. But still. We can't waste this opportunity. We've never been closer to finding out where Gramps is. If anyone would know it would be the Resistance, right?"
Damn it. Damn it to hell, she was right. He wasn't happy about it at all though, and they both knew it. He cursed, snarled, and looked away out of frustration. Then he gathered himself and turned back to her, determined. "If you need my help, just ask for it. Perhaps I can disguise myself, accompany you-"
"Daddy," Aile smiled, exasperated. "I love you Daddy, and thank you. But no. You're an obvious maverick even if we hide what you look like. Red eyes, energy signature off the charts… they'd smell a rat before we even got out of the hole. Besides, with all this Model W stuff going on, the old Resistance coming back into play… what if this is the time when Gramps finally comes back to look for you? It feels like too many coincidences at once. We gotta play this cool, Daddy. This is the best opportunity we're ever gonna get! If anyone knows what happened to Weil, it's gonna be them," she concluded, voice and eyes firm.
She was right. Omega felt the indecision and the desire, no, the need to act spark through him. It writhed and coiled and bit and hurt so much he felt like he needed to unleash every single one of his attacks at once to vent the pressure. Obviously he couldn't, not with his daughter there. Emotions flitted across his face too fast for Aile to read them all, too quickly for even Omega himself to know what he was experiencing. In the end he had to settle with grumbling out an offer, "...If you're in danger, you come get me. I don't care if it risks everything. If you need my help, come get me."
"I will, Daddy," Aile smiled, and that small little grin lightened Omega's mood just enough. He couldn't help but recall that same grin on a younger Aile, smaller and carefree and sure of her invincibility. But then her smile fell a little, and Omega felt its loss keenly. "Daddy," she started, "I'm… I'm an adult now. I can do this. I know you want to help, but I can do this. I'll stay out of trouble. Promise! Every rookie has to have their first solo mission sometime, right?"
True. All too true. Omega hated it.
He tried to catch his breath, but found his chest and throat too tight to use efficiently. It took him a full minute of failed attempts before he realized that his breath had truly caught in his throat and he couldn't speak. So he nodded at her instead. She smiled again, wider this time, reassured by her father's apparent confidence in her. She leaned up, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then a big hug to reassure them both, "Love you Daddy. I got this!"
He embraced her in return, secretly enjoying her warmth and the sensation of her heartbeat as she buried herself in his side. Then, though it pained him to do so, he let her go, "...Yeah. Love you too. You've got this." He sighed, rearing up as she readied herself to return to the Guardians. He frowned, as she wasn't the only one with news. "Wait. Before you go, Aile…"
"Yes Daddy?"
"I keep hearing suspicious sounds through the bedrock. It's not very loud, so it might be far off. But still. Keep your ears open on your way back up, someone or something might be mucking about. I was going to scout the ruins just in case."
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say!" Aile laughed, "Beat up some mavericks for me if you find any. Have fun!"
"Will do," he grinned back. Without further ado she shot off into the tunnels, no doubt headed back to the surface to resume her mission. One that was a lot more risky than Omega could have ever prepared for. If her father had known even half of what he did ahead of time, he'd have never let Aile go adventuring out after her brother. Weil's progeny be damned! The boy was clearly a traitor to his own lineage anyway. Teaming up with the Resistance of all people, bah! But Aile seemed to love him regardless of this. By all means the two should have been complete strangers at this point, even if they were biologically brother and sister, but… well. Aile always did want some friends.
This situation was becoming all too complicated. He hated, hated, hated it. This sort of political maneuvering and subterfuge was never his strong suit, no matter how many centuries of life he'd lived. It had been why he and Weil were such good allies. In short, Omega was angry at his current inability to parse or predict the situation. He was furious. The God of Destruction, though he refused to acknowledge it, was scared as hell for his baby girl and utterly unnerved at the information she'd revealed to him. Omega was a straight-forward fighter. As he was hyper-specialized in combat and weaponry, he didn't have the silver tongue or clever wiles that Weil had, no way to weasel his way out of any situation with words alone. Omega missed the scientist. He couldn't handle these sorts of ploys by himself!
He wanted to help Aile! But he had to stay here!
His daughter had asked him to beat up some mavericks for her. That much, he could do.
With this request on his mind, Omega fulfilled his plan to explore the ruins. If he blew off some steam while he did so, well, it's not like anyone would miss a few (dozen) stray robots anyways. At the end of it, huffing and puffing and genuinely feeling a tiny bit better for the slaughter. Omega flopped down to sit cross-legged in the one room that puzzled him most. The room where the sounds of bedrock shattering and low, far-off explosions managed to seep through the indomitable stone above him. The room where a great, mysterious effigy sat in a bed of ruthless spikes like some ancient, forgotten idol of evil. Looking at it, the full weight of Aile's discoveries came back to him in a tidal wave of emotions. Memories and possibilities flooded his mind. He felt drowned in uncertainty and inability, weak and helpless in the face of everything that had occurred. Omega's situation felt as unanswerable, unknowable, uncertain as the truth behind the massive, grotesque object looming over him. Omega sat in silent misery for a long, long while. Then he turned to it, that thing that bore the marks of Weil's handicraft. The orbs that served as its eyes glowed a dull, faint red. With no one else to turn to, he spoke to it in desperation. "What do I do now, Weil?" He asked the thing in despair. "What do I do now?"
It was a poor replacement for his old friend. As always, it gave no answer.