He who protects Light

Sparing no time, Siarnaq typed in the closest coordinates to his house to minimise walking, and with a glance to confirm that Model P was in the teleport vicinity, he pressed transport without any hesitance to even look back.

Reappearing in front of what he’d deemed his base of operations, it took Siarnaq a moment longer than usual to readjust. Taking a look proved it to appear just as abandoned as he had left it. Good. He’d not have an concerns on safety beyond his health for the time being, it seemed. No one ever came up this side of the mountain anyway.

Moving the metal plating aside, he managed to get himself into the doorway, closing it behind him with a small cloud of dust floating back down at ground level. Suddenly it seemed a lot more fortunate that he had a mask on, as it would prevent any dust from clogging his cooling fans. Placing a hand down on the counter to use it to steady himself, he noticed a thin layer of the stuff covered the entirety of the once kitchen intended area. Squinting slightly as this data took its precious time to process, he wondered just how long had it been since he’d left? Try as he did, the data was completely uncertain. Strange. It was not normal for him to not be in account of time…

Shaking his head a bit disapprovingly of himself, he moved on, taking care to attempt not to stumble as he climbed the stairs that came in the next room. As he entered what was disguised as an attic, the soft thumps of his sluggish feet followed suit. It certainly wasn’t very graceful of him. Navigating the apparent ‘mess’ was simple enough though, as just behind some empty boxes was his target; a false wall.

Trying not to fall, after moving the obstacles aside, the ninja pushed his hands lightly upon a section of the wall, letting it fall into a depression before sliding it to the right. Here, where no one would guess it to be, was his quarters, exactly as he left it, aside from some dust. (Although the amount was significantly less than the other side of the house.)

Sliding the wall back into place, Siarnaq quickly took hold of the nearby desk for balance purposes, managing to sit himself down backwards upon a chair, leaning forward upon the back of it. Now was as good a time as any to momentarily rest. The reploid had successfully ignored all his pain sensors to this point, and as such, his body reported feeling heavy and numb. Such were the consequences, it seemed…

The former Guardian was not impressed with the home the ninja had made for himself. Didn’t he think to clean it once in a while? Then again, he had been away from home for some time now. He supposed such a thing was inevitable, though not excusable, considering the state his weary biomatch was in.

Model P took his time to survey the home this reploid had created and was quick to map it out as Siarnaq moved about. He followed the short male towards where he had sat down at his desk, and this is where he paused.

Was he seriously going to just… sleep at a desk?

“Why are you resting here?” he asked, his voice having returned to his charismatic calm, “this is not an adequate resting place for someone in your condition.”

Sealed. So that was why Model P had never spoken prior to this moment. The reploid just didn’t know what to think on the matter. Who had sealed him? Why had they done so? Was it to avoid volatile conversations such as this? Perhaps all biometals got this angry, and it was a preventative measure. He certainly didn’t know any other biometal to speak. Then again, he didn’t really know any of the biometals personally, did he? No, no he didn’t…

Perhaps Model P would explain this matter in more detail at a later time. If not, Siarnaq would likely ask. But not now. Right now trying to think on too much was only becoming detrimental to his bodily status. He desperately needed to focus purely on himself. This was getting to be too much for his systems to keep up with consciously.

While his head still ached, the reploid nodded to Model P’s terms once he had finished speaking them, droning his acceptance out in a struggled word, “A-AFFIRMATIVE…” It was unfavourable, but inevitable now. It seemed his once ‘possession’ was no longer simply such. He would have to deal with the object as a conscious being, or face consequences that at this time he could not fully process.

Nevertheless, it was time to go. He had bled out enough to keep him down for days, and that already was hugely unfavourable. Delaying departure any longer would in no other word be utterly foolish.

The male pushed against his legs and put his hands upon the side of the nearby metal debris, allowing himself to put his weight against it to lift himself up. His stance nearly fell forward as he stood before his internal gyroscope corrected his balance. Despite being unsteady, the male had risen. This was acceptable. He could return to his base of operations like this, surely. He’d accept no other result.

But right now there was no time for empathy.

For now, all the biometal could do was watch, and that was what he did. He got out of the way of the male reploid and stayed somewhere near his right shoulder, floating along. He had no intentions of riding with the injured male.

Of course ruling the world was foolish. He hadn’t really a single care for the title of Megaman King. It was power he was after, purely to settle a score. Accomplish his goal. A petty one, perhaps. But such was his ultimate objective, one that would continue on until he completed it, in which he’d likely end his days. There’d be no point, after all. None that he could fathom for himself. Yet.

As the biometal spun round behind him, he closed his eyes, lowering his head to take a moment to check his wound through his makeshift bandage with his fingers. (Whether or not it came off as an offence to the being was none of his concern.) It’d be beneficial if the nanobots had started the clotting procedures by now. Of course, the pain had not dulled at all, but Siarnaq believed it was no longer bleeding, as the damp coolant in his scarf was slowly solidifying. At least this was a positive result among so many negatives.

His eyes opened duly, letting his hand drop beside him. It seemed it had already returned to his line of vision. Convenient timing.

Listening to his continued spiel, Siarnaq questioned Model P’s own logic. What good was his humanity if it hindered his efficiency and reasoning? He saw nothing in this accusation. His past fate would have been very different if he had ‘fixed’ himself sooner. It was a shame it had taken him so long to realise it.

There was only one error in this live metal’s words, and that was his accused corruption by the power source, Model W. This itself was inconceivable and labeled incorrect immediately, for reasons not so strictly defined in his processing units. Was it human denial? Impossible. He had destroyed that. Despite all this, the ninja stared back, merely squinting a tad. It almost looked as if he disapproved.

Somehow, even with the atmosphere this biometal gave off, the reploid just wasn’t intimidated. No, actually, it was rather curious. This biometal was so angry with him, and yet… It had bothered to stay and wait to speak to him. What was its objective, if any, in even doing so? To rant? Perhaps. It was certainly a possibility. After all, he knew Atlas had done so before, even if it hadn’t been with him. But Siarnaq wasn’t one for assumptions. This was an entirely different thing to any human or reploid. It defied the logic of life codes that he knew of. How very…odd.

The connotations Model P implied knowledge for, however, were disconcerting. Siarnaq had spoken nothing of the sort. At all. Not even with Aeolus. His past was as secret to all as was his real name. From where did this being get this information? It was incomprehensible and unacceptable. But there was nothing he could do. Not to something so unknown to him. It was out of his power.

The male stayed quiet a moment, his gaze coming to his fallen hands while the words perturbedly resonating as they were taken into his memory banks.

“Broken.”

“Corrupted.”

“Failed.”

“Wretched.”

“Biomatch…”

…

The reploid put his head into his hands as a gnawing pain began to seep into it. Was this a human headache? It was…incomprehensible. He’d… Fixed himself… Hadn’t he? Was this his pain sensors saying they had had enough and for him to get out of here? Or was this something else?

…Had…Model P said…biomatch?

Had karma really disliked him something fierce or what?

To answer said male reploid’s question, Model P merely clipped out, “my objective? At this point, it’s an unknown one.”

Truly, it was. Phantom did not want to stick around this pathetic excuse for a reploid. He wanted nothing more to do with him and that was that. But as stubborn as he was, he knew in his core that flying off and leaving Siarnaq to himself was probably going to end more detrimental in the grand scheme of things than anything else.

For now, he supposed his best course of action for this broken, crippled being was… well… simply to observe.

“But for now, two things are going to be established,” the biometal growled, “if you want my power, you will have to earn it. You will have to prove to me that you’re worthy of being my biomatch if that is what you want. Considering you were content to use me while I was sealed, well…” Just as Siarnaq didn’t want to make assumptions, neither did Model P.

“Otherwise, our fake alliance ends now,” the ninja was calm once more.

“So you need to decide what it is you want. Not now,” he was injured, and battered, “but you will need to decide what it is you are fighting for. When you have discovered that, you will have access to my powers again, for they are more immense than what you know.”

Oh, it was true. Siarnaq had barely tapped into what he could do. He could do more, but boy oh boy did that boy have work to do to gain his trust.

An unfamiliar voice, angry in nature, came from nearby. He forced himself to turn to the sound, finding his own biometal floating before him, on its own.

The ninja moved back, putting a hand out to hold himself, leering at this new sight for several seconds.

'INCOMPREHENSIBLE…,' he thought. But there was no doubt that the sound had been emitted from this… Sentient biometal. This changed several facts in his databank.

Model P had freewill.

It could talk.

And right now, it was angry with him.

Why was it upset with him though? The query went through his processors, puzzling him a moment. The reploid took in the words given to him, trying to deduce what it could possibly mean.

Blind? No, his optics were fine.

His guard? He had been, but none of them could have even known the ability Model Z had before it was too late.

Still, what hints or clues was Model P mentioning that had he missed? Clearly the ones regarding any chance to strike Albert early. Siarnaq agreed, in his mind, that despite his uncertainty as to why he’d been unable to seize the chance, he had failed there.

But these thoughts were based off assumptions regarding the intentions of what his biometal had meant; confirming that with Model P would be proper procedure, and the comfort of certainty in data, (for anything, really,) was highly desirable in this moment of uncertainty.

“What kind of being would ever think that they can ‘rule the world’ with such a frivolous wish?” the oldest Guardian continued on, and even while floating there, he seemed to glow with almost an angry aura. While most biometals shined when in the air like little fireflies, Model P’s aura was more intense this time around.

“I have to wonder what that could’ve possibly done for a broken being such as yourself, biomatch of mine,” Phantom practically spat out the word.

But no, he needed to calm down. Where had his calm gone? Into hell along with Ouroborus it seemed.

He took a moment to collect himself, his aura dimming back to its usual hue. He flew around Siarnaq’s head once before returning in front of him, frighteningly fast, as a means to rest and recoup himself.

“You have not a shred of humanity left in you. Not a single shred of ability to think beyond logic, like the most ancient of our kind,” It was almost with disgust again that he noted the ‘our kind’ line.

“Taking that deal without a thought. Without a sound. Hoping to achieve whatever foolish dream you had, if you ever had a dream at all. And corrupted by Model W, the most evil, despicable thing…” Phantom audibly took a deep inhale, before slowly letting it out.

He needed to relax.

He returned his gaze to X as he began to speak, trying to understand everything he had been told. Hard to explain, easier to understand when experienced. They were technically X;s children. He nodded to himself, filing this away, and blinked his oculars twice as he was told to stand, as they would be leaving. Looking at himself, he carefully disconnected the rest of him from the capsule before following Phantom’s lead, slowly setting his right foot down and putting some pressure as he slowly learned what it felt like to put weight on his servos. He afterwards set his left foot down, trying to stand and almost falling back from the extra weight on his upper torso and head. He gripped the capsule as he stabilized, then slowly righted himself as his body calibrated to his weight distribution.

He waited, standing still, then slowly took a step, then another, following after X as he relished and learned the feeling of walking.

But he felt he was meant for more. He knew he was. He was built for flight, but the ground was nice. A good starting point.

The garden was a stark contrast to the laboratory and hallways, so alive compared to the dreary grays of the indoors. His eyes were fascinated, taking everything in as he slowly walked further out, overwhelmed. There was so much color and life.

Once the whole world had been like this. He understood the concept of world, but failed to grasp just how big it was. However, he was fairly certain it was rather large.

He failed to notice his Master’s weariness, his skill in listening to tones not as sharp as it would be, had he not been a newbuilt. Instead, he took it all in stride as it was said, wandering to the nearest plant and admiring it without touching. It was alive, a living thing. He knew that, he had to be careful.

One thing that did stick out was that he had two brothers and a sister - that was kinda cool. So the green and black dudes were his older brothers, and the blue girl was his younger sister? He grinned more at Levi than anyone because he could feel more of a connection there - like she would be into the same things as him, somehow.

Finally it came time to stand up and get moving. The red reploid, despite his excitement, carefully got out of his pod and stepped on the ground, but his balance was all over the place, and he gripped the edge of his pod (and accidentally crushed it) as he blinked twice.

"Am I supposed to be this heavy?” he said in surprise as he configured his balance and eventually stood up, “…AND this tall???” Seriously he was easily the tallest in the room, what the hell??

"This is weird…" he muttered as he followed after Harpuia slowly as he got used to the sensation of walking. He was so. freaking. heavy. The reploid couldn’t help but pull at his armour on his chest and arms as they walked towards the centre gardens with a frown on his face, as though he hoped to pull it off (it didn’t budge).

That was weird. The other reploids looked like their shirt things came off… why didn’t his? And how come he looked so different from them, anyway?

It was all very strange.

He was soon incredibly distracted from his armour when they entered the gardens. The flora was amazing, and Fefnir’s eyes lit up in happiness. It was so warm and smelt good in here!

He balled his fists up and wiggled on the spot at the sight and when X finished talking, he squealed and ran right passed his other siblings and went straight over to explore the place with a bright smile and happy noises whenever he saw something new.

The reploid peered at a butterfly on one of the apple trees and blinked as it landed on his nose. His red eyes went crosseyed as he tried to look at it on his nose and, when he stood up tall again, he bumped an apple tree, causing one of the fruits to fall and skewer itself on his horn. This, of course, sent a TON of feedback straight into the newly built’s head and he screeched before falling flat on his rear end, causing the ground to quake.

"What the hell…." he rubbed his head as he grumbled, and pulled the apple off of his horn, and then he looked up at Master X with a horrified expression, "M-MASTER, THE GARDEN IS TRYING TO KILL ME."

Fefnir threw the apple on the ground (it splattered into a pulp) and then stood back up. He ran over to the giant tree that stretched far up through the ceiling, and he peered at the strong looking branches. He processed the distance it’d take to jump up there, and his calculations seemed to show that he could jump very high.

Time to test that theory.

He crouched on the ground and, with a yell, he leapt high into the air before landing on the branch. He wobbled and grabbed the trunk but, as he stabilised and stood tall on the thick branch.

she was bored. This soaking it in stuff was nice but it wasn’t… fufilling. she wanted to do something, she wanted to laugh. Despite it’s experiance simulated, it was a nice simulation.

Levi, while she was in the middle of an eternal debate of whether laughing was real or not, she eyed her brother fefnir get hit with an apple, and then proclaim how the garden was trying to kill him, she snorted and broke out into a laugh.

While she appreciated how calm and observant her other brothers where, she felt a connection with this one. Dynamic. Fun. Humurous to watch at times. It made her happy.

but what amazed her was his next endeavor.

As the four children adjusted to their new forms, X turned his attention to the tallest of the four siblings, glancing upward at the behemoth reploid. However, he had little idea how to explain things, but thankfully, the nearby scientist interjected on the former hunter’s behalf.

"Fefnir, you were based off of Master X’s great physical strength, Harpuia was based off of his flight and speed capabilities, Leviathan’s specialty is her underwater powers, speed and skills while Phantom was created for information gathering, stealth, and evasion. We felt that by giving you very focused talents you’d be able to support each other in ways that you wouldn’t be able to normally." X shot the scientist a grateful expression that was returned with a cheeky grin.

After the explanation was given, X walked with the four of them, still trying to wrap his mind around all of this.

Nodding, X focused his attention on Harpuia’s question.

"It does. At one point, the entire world was like this garden… Truly a paradise…" Closing his eyes, he quickly shook off the thought.

If he got started on his memories he’d be there all day.

"But at least, this place serves as a reminder as to what our world can be once again…" He’d have gone into more detail, regardless of his earlier decision to avoid the memories if it had not been for Fefnir’s antics.

At first, the aged ‘hero’ could hardly believe what he was seeing, and he stared at him in stunned disbelief for a long, long moment. Then, a ghost of a smile managed to form on his lips as he shook his head.

"Don’t worry Fefnir, the garden won’t kill you. They’re just apples, a food that humans are quite fond of." One thing was for certain, if he’d allowed the quartet to awaken without him, he’d have never seen Fefnir’s early antics.

Yet, only a moment passed before to his surprise, Leviathan had joined in, and he’d stared once again as the two began to play. Shaking his head lightly, more out of confusion than anything else, he turned to the calmer siblings.

"Go on, you only have a chance to be young once." He encouraged.

They could learn from the old warrior and how to fight at any time, but this, this was something that darker days would never allow. Even he’d taken advantage of that when he was younger, at least to some extent…

The black reploid merely shook his head mildly and went to walk over to the small pond nearby. He crouched down and looked at the fish swimming around, though he was still alert to the going on's of his new 'family'.

Therefore, he listened to what his master had to say... you could only be young once, huh? Well, he did need to test out his capabilities, though he was not one to be as loud and playful as the red reploid was...

Phantom stood up, then, and walked over to near where Harpuia stood. The ninja looked up at the tree Fefnir was now sitting in, and then at the distance of it. It was a large, solid tree - easy enough to scale.

He turned to Master X and nodded once, and then with a calculated leap, he crouched and jumped up high to land on a tree branch below where Fefnir was. He barely made a sound as he bounded up the tree to stand right at the top.

Good. His balance was excellent. 

Then there was Leviathan.

They looked different, all of them, but they shared a sort of similar schematic to Master X. From what he could gather, they were created from his DNA data, and therefore it made sense. Their colors and functionality would differ, but their origin point would be the same.

He turned his attention to the mechanics as they began speaking, minding himself as he processed the information quietly and as unobtrusively as possible. The place was loud, a bit crowded, and he felt slightly jittery as it finally sank in that they were being observed by the strangers in the room.

He shook himself from those thoughts as he processed the questions, Phantom’s answer, then decided to give his own quietly. 

"… What you think is best, Master X." He said quietly. Both options were unknown, he did not know what would occur, what would result, and therefore had no data to go on as to what choice was overall better. He was surprised to be given a choice, having barely been activated, but at the same time…

He really appreciated it.

Still, he wasn’t sure why X said meeting them was surreal. He decided to ask about it. 

"What do  you mean to say by surreal?"

Fefnir blinked at his master, his loud voice forgotten, as he seemed… so awkward all of a sudden. He tilted his head to the side as he listened to him curiously, and then, they were offered a choice.

Phantom gave his okay at the idea of going out to the Gardens to interact, but the biggest reploid was interested in the combat tests, too. Something about them very much drew his interest, even minutes after his activation.

And so, when given the choice, while his older brothers left to to X to decide, Fefnir took the options given and thought about it with what little information he had on it, which was barely any, being just born.

The Ice guardian noticed the eyes turn to her for that moment, looked at all the specialists ready to test and of the likes, but then she blinked, the idea of being given a choice.

Levi wasn’t expecting that, but her brothers gave the OK with it, and she for one was just excited  to leave the room, being unsure of this atmosphere, but that was more cold feet then anything

"It’s… Hard to define. Sure, reploids have been based off of me before, but never as… Well, using my own DNA. You were made to be sibling Reploids, and… My children." The word felt strange as it rolled off his tongue.

Taking a step back to get a better look of all four of them, X continued.

"I doubt I’ll ever have the words to quite explain how that feels, but perhaps, one day, you’ll understand." Maybe they’d have to have children of their own to really understand, but either way, he hoped that it would suffice as an answer.

Relieved that the four were either ambivalent over the suggestion, or excited, he nodded before turning towards the scientists.

"We’ll return later. Feel free to take this time to finish your reports or take a break, either option is fine." X told them before walking toward the automatic door.

After it had opened and he’d given them time to rise, and follow, he began to lead them to the gardens via the shortest path. They’d all be more comfortable surrounded by nature, of this he was certain.

Once there, he gave them a few minutes to adjust to the new locale and the vibrancy of life there.

"At one point, our world was covered in life like this." He said, a weariness once more dragging on him.

However, remembering his aged counterpart, he tried to shake it off. Instead, he forced a cheery expression.

"But, that’s a story for a different day." X’s smile didn’t manage to make it to his eyes, but he covered up that weariness rather well considering.

It was, indeed, a 'surreal' feeling. 

His eyes met Harpuia's gaze as the winged reploid looked at him, and then he turned his attention back to the short blue reploid as he explained his feelings, and the process here on out.

Upon being asked to follow, Phantom stepped out of his capsule, some of the cables disconnecting as they did, and stood up. He took a moment to make sure his motor skills were all in order before he followed after his master without a hitch, and taking his first steps into the world.

'Walking', as it was, was a fairly interesting experience. Sensations that were new to him - smell, touch, and vibrations from his and other's steps were all very new.

This was a highly unfavourable result.

The four of them, so easily paralysed by the red biometal, had been trapped under the rubble as Ouroborus fell apart. Had what programmed instinct of self preservation been less quick, he would not have been still functioning, still here, still alive and thinking, dull as it may have been.

The ninja seemed awfully distracted, his body somewhat slowed. A large coolant loss would have been apparent, had his eyes been open, yet he just laid there, systems still restarting, his body purely limp upon the edge of a bit of some large shrapnel. As his thoughts got clearer, the artificial male reflected upon this failure, unable to deduce where his calculations went wrong.

Siarnaq had discovered that Albert was planning to use them early on, and had reported this to Aeolus in attempts to gain assistance in the man’s assassination, or at the very least form a false sense of trust. But the human male had already assumed this himself. There could be only one Megaman king, after all. And why would the old man hand over the precious title he was holding onto? The reploid followed his partner’s logic, and while he held no concern towards being used, deduced that this knowledge would be his hidden card to play when the moment came. One that would no doubt win him the game.

Yet this had not mattered at all, as despite all the precaution and knowing, unforeseen circumstances arose and destroyed his means of pursuit. The ninja had no idea what had happened to the old man, but what with the ship having fallen into the sea, and their survival rate having been so small, it was not probable that he had lived.

Thinking of survival in this calculated manner was enough to snap him back to reality, as his damage sensors finally regained their function. To this sudden regaining of senses, the reploid’s body tightened from the delayed pain, a cringe contorting what could be seen of his face. It was as if he had been struck by lightning with how the pain shot through him. Siarnaq only now noticed that his fans were whirring viciously to this movement, his air intake unsteady. It seemed this was no minor wound. Escaping from this place would be no easy task…

Steadying his breathing best he could, the reploid opened his eyes, attempting an assessment of the bloody scene. Had he been more human, the male may have ‘felt sick’ at the sight of his own coolant dripping from his sides. While Siarnaq had not been completely impaled, his back had fallen directly onto the blunt edge of a metal chunk, stabbing into him at least 10cm, he hypothesised. Another piece of it was laying against him as well, limiting movement.

Taking a moment to deduce the safest route of procedure, the ninja gathered his strength and pushed up at the adjacent metal, leaning in its direction before forcing his body to roll the opposite way. The metal crashed atop the spot he had just been as he fell to the ground with a muffled thump. It was fortunate that the sand softened the fall. He was in no shape for additional bodily trauma…

Lifting himself up to rise, his damage sensors were becoming a numbing constant as the ninja removed his scarf in order to tie it around his torso section. The artificial male had to keep what coolant he had left… And unfortunately, the ‘clotting’ effect that the Reploid coolant of 25XX had was not as efficient to that of a human. Nothing was truly equal…

Looping the fabric twice around him, the reploid halted in anticipation before tightening a knot behind him to create pressure. The only noise that came out of his mouth in this action was the electronic crackle of a voice box struggling not to utter sound. It had been a long time since he felt pain such as this… Likewise a length time it had been since he had been bloodied by his own coolant… But memories of this had been shoved to the back of his mind, and were nowhere near him now.

However Siarnaq had knowingly been pushing himself with all this movement and exertion, so in surrendering to a short pause, his body leaned against the metal he had just been clamped between, somewhat relaxing for the time being.

If only for now, the ninja finally looked beyond his immediate surroundings to the sunset that was falling. Pinks and oranges mixed in the sky as a blinding sun fell across the horizon. It was a sight Siarnaq used to behold… In a time he had locked away in his memory banks.

Just then, it occurred to him that he had been merged before they had fallen. It was inconceivable such a fact had not been noticed by him sooner, but a plausible explanation was a lack of efficiency due to coolant loss. The male settled on that, unwilling to accept that his processing was not always as to par as he preferred. Even so, this fact brought to his attention that his biometal was missing.

Despite searching his memory, Siarnaq could not deduce when he had unmerged, data scattered in bits as if damaged. He’d assess if he had processor damage later, as there was a different objective at hand.

As much as it pained him to admit it, he had been saved by Zero, or rather, the spirit of Model Z. He did not know if it really was his old foe or not...

But what he did know now was that he was free and unlocked like the time he had spent with Alie and Vent. At once, he had unmerged from his current host and allowed him to make his way out of the rubble on his own.

Siarnaq, as it seemed, had made it out of harms way, and he himself had remained hidden nearby until the ninja realised he had unmerged. 

Model P was angry.

He was angry at being sealed away by Albert.

He was angry that he had finally done some good in the world, only for him to fall right back into the clutches of the enemy.

He was angry that his biomatch - his true one - was that of an unhinged reploid not even worthy to use the powers he possessed. The temptation to abandon this wrench was high.

Yet, before he did... he'd make it clear that he was not someone to play games with... and give this washed up kid the message he deserved.

Floating up and over to the pink eyed male, Model P hovered near his face, behind him.

"Make this clear then, you’ll allow me freedom from being watched if you know what locations inside the castle I’ll be in, you give your word? What if I wanted to travel outside go watch the civilians, maybe in disguise. Would you permit me then..?" He wondered what the other would say.

"Your devotion to me is… admirable." Phantom was utterly devoted to X, the original and to him, the copy.

"If you need personal time, simply let me know," the Guardian replied calmly. As long as it was known where his master was, then there would be no problem with allowing him personal time. That was how he himself worked, after all, and not letting his master time to himself would make him a hypocrite.

"If I know where you are inside the citadel, then there would be no reason to watch you," the ninja replied, "as for being among citizens... that is another matter entirely that will need discussion."

X could've been mobbed, then, among them, and Phantom was resident to allow that.

"I will let you know as soon as a decision has been made," he replied dutifully. 

His other question caught Phantom slightly off guard. Why would his master suddenly ask such questions of his loyalty? It was strange to him... for Master X had never once asked such questions of him. After all, his sole purpose for creation was to be by his side as his shadow.

"As you are the light, I am your shadow, Master X," the black Guardian replied almost stubbornly, "I was created to serve you. Should your actions become something to question, it is also my duty to guide you in the times you fall into darkness, to bring you out again. What kind of loyalty would it be to simply abandon you for a new purpose in the time you might need me the most?"

It was avoiding the question, somewhat, but also answering them.

"You are quite perfect in what you do." Copy admitted. Didn’t the original X get bothered by always being watched as well? "I’m sure a few breaks could be in order, however." It was a rare time when Copy allowed questions rather than ordering the other outright to leave him alone. Phantom deserved more respect than that.

He bowed to his master again and said, "thank you." It was always nice to be appreciate.

"In regards to your questions..." the ninja had to think for a moment, but it did not take him long to speak again, "I very rarely leave Neo Arcadia, Master. I am always within its walls due to the nature of my position. Therefore, my experience is limited in as much. I have only ever left on work related nature that required my personal attention."

Which, of course, was rather rare.

"I was created to be your shadow, Master," the black reploid responded to the second question, "it is my duty to always be by your side.

"However," he felt the need to point this out, "if you require time to yourself, then arranging that is important. As you are our leader, leaving unannounced and disappearing again would only cause a panic within the government. That is why it is important to know where you are, and the reason you are guarded."

Still, the smaller had to cover his own tracks.

"I suppose the only way to deal with it… Without damage to the vents is posting a few mobile camera’s." Copy suggested. "To be honest I was concerned over them and found to my surprise that I fit through most of them. I guess you can say by curiosity I’ve been… carried away mapping them. You’ll find coloured paths marked there." Copy waved Phantom to come down from his perch with a slight motion. It irritated him how tall everyone else was at the best of times, but Phantom was one of the few of rank that was comparable to his height. If only he didn’t perch like bird all the time in high places.

Copy watched as the others scarf moved as if it had a mind of its own. He could have sworn the breeze passed minutes ago.

Phantom paid attention as the smaller reploid gestured for him to come down, and so, he jumped down swiftly from his perch and landed beside the leader of Neo Arcadia. 

The fact that he had mapped it out was certainly interesting. There was, of course, blueprints of the temples available, but he didn't question further. Instead, he realised that his master was waiting for him to do his report, and thus, he delivered his original intention of finding the elusive reploid;

"I looked into the issues surrounding the fires and the explosions," he began, "There was no evidence of foul play, master. It seems as though some of the pipes had rusted, and the fires caused by a build up of gas. Both issues have been looked into and an investigation has been done into the safety of other areas that may have been neglected by time."

He felt better now that he had completed his 'mission' of delivering his report. With his master found, now he could keep an eye on him, as was his job.

"Indeed, why don’t I?" Copy started with a relaxed tone, brushing off his top then finally standing. He dropped the vent door, cupping his hands behind his back, then casually turned his body to the Guardian. He looked distastefully at the open vent.

"Here’s the real answer to your poor response." Copy paused looking at the Phantom directly now with quite the stare. "No, I am not satisfied Master X, I had not known the vents were a security breach, that for sometime now anyone could used to traverse the castle, especially your own quarters, Master X."

"Very well then," he replied and also stood tall, "I'll see to it that all said security breeches are fixed," he replied dutifully. 

It still didn't explain why his master was in the shafts himself, however, but he was not going to press his luck asking.

Instead, he merely sent out orders to his division via the bulletin board. Once done, he then shook his head.

That was until he felt it. And it felt like a million piles of scrap heap had landed on his being. Wait. That would be better than this. At least he’d still be alone with the scrap heap on top and…

"Ph… F—ound me, did you?" Had it been anyone else, he’d be ready with his weapons out. However, Phantom posed no harm.

Copy’s red helm crystals gave a soft quick glow, evidence of the smaller one being alarmed initially by his guest, even without turning his face to the other.

Like a child, Copy looked at the vent door in his hands, picking at the metal, pondering what to do.

He nodded once to the question, and then finally blinked at the second. Satisfied with his performance? That was an odd question.

"I achieved my goal, so yes," he replied, though there was a slight bite to his voice again.

"With all due respect, Master X, if you need time to leave and be on your own, why do you not stay in the tower and ask for no disturbances?" that is, after all, what he used to do, "unless... there is something in here that requires your personal attention?"

In minutes the smaller unscrewed the vent door that lead to freedom. He crawled out with much relief, not standing up right away. Copy X sat where he was, as soon as he was not in a crawling position, then looked out onto the city. He held the vent door in his hands, careful to not make loud sounds.

"…Finally." He spoke quietly with rare emotion.

The Guardian near remained unnoticed. After all, Copy X never had a reason to worry before. And the Phantom, true to his name, could never be detected when he didn’t want to be.

He couldn’t help but wonder still if his master had often done this before, or if this was an entirely new habit.

As such, he silently made his way down closer to the other reploid before he landed on top of the recently vacated vent. He remained silent as he crouched there, merely watching for a while.

As to his question, the Fire Guardian huffed and shrugged his shoulders, “nothing more than the usual - though he seems to have taken a liking to hiding in walls, if the signature I’m getting is right. Might wanna try that.”

With that, the taller reploid sidestepped his older brother and walked onwards, “have fun finding him if it’s true!”

Suitably pleased that he had probably annoyed his older sibling to no end, Fefnir giggled to himself and left the ninja to his own devices.

He’d marked the vents with stickers, red meant he was still in Fefnir’s territory, Green path would lead him to places in Sage’s and so forth. Currently he was trying to inch closer to the green paths, as those places led to the vents on the roof.

At moments there would be vents on the roof of offices and hallways. Copy would peer carefully to see if anyone below could possibly read him. Masking his signature was a tricky business as it was quite a strong and unique one. When it counted, he could mask for a short time.

Such as when a Guardian was nearing. He’d felt Fefnir alarmingly near. How was he done with his errand already? Was there not enough for him to do?

"Ah…" Copy took a breath.

It was certainly out of character to how he had acted before he vanished, but then, who knew too much about what X did when alone. For all they knew, he had hidden himself away in the walls just to hide from people.

As it was, when alone, the ninja turned to the walls as instructed. While he didn't find his master's signature, there WAS something in the ventilation system. A reploid was certainly up there.

Tilting his head to the side, Phantom had to wonder as to why his master, if it was him, was going to such lengths to hide. Was he really that desperate to be alone?

The Guardian poofed away with a puff of smoke as he went to investigate. Like all reploids, he could also mask his own signature, and was a master at doing it, as he should be. He did so now as a precaution so he himself was not bothered, and then got to the highest place on the temple to watch the signature move to see where he may or may not come out.

The Fire Guardian had not noticed any kind of ‘infiltration’ by means of looking at the walls and seeing panels of metal being disturbed, but he HAD noticed his master’s energy signature lingering around his temple in rather odd places at times. He had been curious about it once and gone to investigate, but despite the signature being present in his temple…. Fefnir couldn’t make heads or tails of it being in the WALLS.

He had dismissed it as a prank but instructed Anubis to keep an eye on it in case it was something sinister.

Said Lieutenant General had not seen anything odd except seeing the signature come and go, and so, Fefnir had assumed that his master simply had an odd hobby.

Who said he didn't have a sense of humour? Definitely not Phantom. 

It was never too late in the afternoon to begin this activity. The trick was all timing. However, with an opponent that moved the same as a passing shadow, Copy X had only been successful about 10% of the time for a full evasion.

The week had been tiring to say the least. The humans in quarter A had safe water drinking issues when a pipe decided to burst on its own just to spite his ever list of growing problems. He’d sent a few lower ranks to take a look. Next, a few fires had happened in the disposable scrap area, which wasn’t too much of a concern, unless of course the piles decided to join each other and then the fire became more than a bit of a problem. He’d promptly sent the fire Guardian on that task. It was a manner of small incidents that had lead to Copy’s decision that enough was enough for that next week.

Responsibility be damned.

Ah, and of course today was the day Phantom had recently returned from an expedition, one that took much effort to get the Phantom to even take. The Guardian had pinged him for some routine news to be delivered promptly. Well, that gave the smaller one a window of warning. 

Master X, walked down the usual main hallway passing a few middle ranks. While his face remained blank, he still gave a nod to a few officers in acknowledgement. The first step of evasion is creating a walk  path of where reploids had seen him last, a false trail to where he was really headed.

Remaining in his personal wing would be too obvious and passing Leviathan’s would be…not in his interest. However it wouldn’t be unusual to be seen down Harpuia’s or Fefnir’s environments. What luck it was that he’d passed neither Guardian on his way out of Harpuia’s territory into the flame Guardian’s.

Perfect.

There were sections of this wing that were in a bit of disarray, metal patched and repaired because of… accidents. However some were not. These patches could fit the young leader’s body through on purpose. Thus, was the way Copy could traverse through certain vents to go outside unseen. It was not as clean or as quiet as he would have hoped, but it would do.

Copy X unscrewed a few loose bolts from a piece of thin metal, it moved aside with little effort. He looked back for a moment, then closed his eyes listening to anyone who might be coming to this deserted hallway. Detecting nothing, the smaller crawled inside the secret passage. Once there, he picked up the metal patch he’d unscrewed and bolted it back from the inside. 

But, as the ever loyal ninja he was, he had gone to do just that upon X's orders. He had returned soon enough, of course, and went to find his master, also as per his instructions...

... only to find the short reploid missing.

Unsure as to why his master had vanished, the Guardian went to find his master, but he was in none of his 'usual' locations. He was growing inwardly rather irritated, as, of course, it was his job to guard Master X from all threats.

And to not know where he was was very bad for his position.

His search took him near the more unlikely locations, such as the Temple of Flame. 

He didn't spot Harpuia on his way there though the Wind temple, so he assumed his brother was out in the field and working. Fefnir, on the other hand, he spotted walking his way and looking rather proud of himself.

Checks ran constantly front-most.

Shoulder servos online. Check… OK.

And other such information swept past him at a speed that would be too hard for a human to process, but he could do just fine. Soon he grew aware of his positioning, of the fact that there were cables hooked all over him, that he was in a place called a ‘capsule’ and it would be necessary until they became obsolete. Words, information, continued to stream, so he kept his eyes shut to avoid bringing in too much data when he was not done filtering.

There was a voice, a warm voice he identified as familiar. After, there was another voice, a new one, which he did not recognize. As the capsule recognized him as conscious and the cables disconnected, Harpuia (as he learned was his designation) opened his eyes and looked around from his position, taking in as much external data as he could now that he was done with internal. The deeper voice he heard second he then logged as ‘Phantom’, as the voice had said. Glancing over, he could immediately tell which it was.

After all, the other he immediately recognized as Master X.

Unsure of what to make of the situation other than ‘greet’, he slowly let himself up, took a slight glance at himself, then regarded the mechanics around him, then the newbuilt that was his sibling and the aged one that was he whom he’d serve. His father.

The world was big to her, it was huge the memories that where given to her but the information it lacked interested her, the big blue expanse with the name of the “Ocean” where she was built to be, Ice, her attunement, what it entailed still was yet to be loaded in at this point, everything led to going there, cleaning up as she went

first things first, Leviathan had to wake up, and as her final processes where running through, she heard a warm voice as her audio receivers booted up for the first time.

“good morning.”

Leviathan’s optical sensors activated in response to it, them adjusting to the light and the world around her bloomed in a blur, which quickly buffered into clarity, she heard voices all to the right of her, she looked around, taking in data

A deep voice, belonging to reploid she logged as “Phantom”, and a higher voice, coming from  another one, whom she designated as Harpuia blinking upon gazing at him - like the larger reploid next to him, whom she designated as “Fefnir” - wondering

‘what in the big blue world could those things on his head be for?..’

The cables disconnected from the various ports around Leviathan, as now her systems knew it was go time now, at first, she had a bit of trouble working out her balance, her systems seemed to have two separate systems for this procedure, as it chose the correct one her stance change, and the motors in her ‘hair’ whirred briefly to life making a quick - vrr - sound.

now, she rose to speak, as her brother fefnir spoke in his big loud voice, and his reaction to the sound, she winced a little at first, but responded with a short laugh to it.

not a big laugh,a demeaning laugh, just a small, little chuckle, before she looked forward, looking to him. Master X. here in front of her, as she searched for the words, now responding with the first she heard

Slowly, his eyes opened once again, taking in the sight of the four… Children; as strange as it seemed to call them that.

"Meeting all of you is a bit surreal." He confessed, out of his depth in this confusing situation.

What did he know about being a father figure? What did he know about caring for children? …Mature, or not so mature (in some of the cases) that they may be.

"Regardless, I’m glad to have met each of you as well. I’m sure that there’s a great deal that all of us will have to learn about each other, and I’m sure we might step on each other’s toes at first. But, even so, I’m certain we’ll figure things out."

He could only hope that his impromptu speech was in fact truth instead of a bald faced lie.

What was he supposed to do, to say? In the background a few technicians were murmuring in confusion. Their creation had only been at the pressing of the Gentle Judges and the human leadership alike, yet here X, was trying his best to be involved with them.

Failing perhaps, but trying nevertheless.

Glancing at the group of engineers and technical workers, X decided to speak once more, realizing that the added… Individuals would only derail any attempts to get to know them.

"Harpuia, Leviathan, Fefnir, Phantom, I suggest that we head to the gardens so that can discuss things without added input."

If he was to truly get to know them, where better than the gardens themselves? A place that had soothed his soul time and again. Besides, the voices of the technicians was getting a bit frustrating.

"Master X…" A scientist approached a bit meekly, holding a halopad in his right hand.

"Hm?" X turned to him, accepting that distractions like this would happen.

"Sir… We should run some tests…"

Nodding slightly, X pulled the holopad away from the scientist, reading the details of the upcoming tests.

"They’re combat focused tests anyway. That can be delayed for now. When they return I’ll let you know if and when those tests can begin."

"Yes Master." The scientist bowed respectfully as he accepted the holopad back from the former hunter.

Turning back to the guardians, X nodded once.

"There’s a time and place for tests, and a time to spread wings. Waking up for the first time isn’t what I’d call ideal for a battery like that… Unless you’d rather do that first of course."

If they did, maybe he’d figure out what to say in the meantime, but deep down he doubted that that would be the case.