Aeolus - The Wind Megaman

The mention of food, however, stole his attention. Food translated to energy restoration, which was very high in priority at the moment, as his systems were already running on 78% power. Such would only continue to fall in the coming hours if he did not eat. Storage compartments, he said. He’d be sure to give a thorough search…

Given the permission to use the premises supplies to his ‘heart’s content’, the reploid exhaled, turning on his comm to simply reply, “ROGER”. He fully understood the need for radio silence, as they had often done so in their past missions together in attempts to ensure success. Being told to ‘take care of himself’, he nodded a bit to himself, subsequently turning off his comm to initiate radio silence and begin his search for the mentioned (and soon to be dire need) source of fuel.

Opening the cupboards he found some cans of food. Curiosity striking him, the male took a can into his hand, inspecting it. The labeling of the contents and preparation instructions were marked on the side. Admittedly, the reploid had not prepared food in years. Consequently, he had little idea of how to go about doing so, even with instructions. Deterred from this endeavour, Siarnaq continued to look around for something a bit more simple. Finding the fridge unit, he opened it, finding some fruit and bottled water. ACCEPTABLE, he thought, taking some fruit out and placing it on a nearby table. Pulling a seat, he sat down, taking a good look at the food. How to go about eating this? He could just put it in his mouth, right?

Loosening his scarf, the reploid tilted his head down and put his hands begin his head to untie his cloth mask. With his mouth now uncovered, Siarnaq slowly brought a hand to the damages on his lower face, lacing his fingers along his ‘scars’. Feeling his own skin for just a moment, his hand stayed on his face as he returned his attention to the fruit. Picking up an apple with his other hand, he brought his other hand to it, spinning it round in his hands, before bringing it to his lips, hesitating, then biting down.

Chewing was something he slowly remembered how to do, and the texture and sweet flavour, was… In a word…refreshing? No, that wasn’t the word he was searching for. Still, with the only sound filling his auditory sensors being the sound of his own crunching, there wasn’t much else on his mind to reflect on. Consuming one, he took another, deducing for now that these four apples would most likely be enough for some energy restoration. He’d eat more at another time, if still needed, which it likely would. Making sure to collect the inedible parts in his free hand, a query appeared into his mind.

How long had it been since he had eaten last?

…He couldn’t remember.

Finishing his fourth apple, Siarnaq exhaled, standing up to place these stems in the trash unit. He then grabbed his mask, pulling it over the bottom part of his face and tying it taut yet again, then wrapped his scarf around once more. Touching over where his stomach was, it was then that the reploid realised…whatever hole he had always ignored had just been filled.

It felt strange. Siarnaq wasn’t sure he liked it or not, either.

In an attempt to shake off this feeling, he proceeded to continue his inspection of the apartment, going back to trying to recall when he had last eaten. It was inconceivable that he could not remember this fact. He squinted, disregarding it in order not to get hung up with disappointment in his own memory cortex.

Finding a cabinet with a few blankets and sheets, Siarnaq took one, deducing to himself that going back into a dormant state would continue to be wise in saving his energy. His logic was that the blanket would make it so his systems would not have to work so hard in keeping warm in order to digest the food. He had this well thought out.

Taking a glance at the bed provide, he paused, then turned, eyeing the sofa near the front of the apartment instead. It was plenty obvious to him that his partner Aeolus would need that bed to sleep later tonight, as humans needed more sturdy sleeping arrangements to rest properly. He, on the other hand, could do so almost anywhere, but… This seemed the most favourable option of resting locations. Walking up to it, he arranged the pillows and such to accommodate him. Sitting down, he opened the blanket in his hands out, tarping it over the sofa with him beneath, reclining his body to lay flat on the sofa.

With radio silence initiated, and the day still fairly early, he knew there would be a long time until he spoke with Aeolus again.

Not that Siarnaq was entirely violent, just not on the stable spectrum.

Leaning over to the male’s side, Atlas whispered very quietly while covering her mouth from the others, “Aeolus, can’t we just check it out ourselves to be sure?” She lowered her hand, a small frown taking her face. Anxiety flowed in her veins from all this, but it was then that the soldier decided to ask something.

Immediately after, she went into her bag to find the map Fefnir gave her. Holding it closed and folded in her hands, she asked respectfully, “Generals, is there any way I could know exactly where the reploids are disappearing off from?” Her voice was a bit quieter than her usual speech, seriousness seeping into every inch of her. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

Atlas’ admission about chasing whatever it was themselves made him frown in thought. He was not keen on the idea, at all, but what other choice did he have, lest his actions well.. destroy time or something?

Time travel wasn’t exactly his point of call after all as far as knowledge went.

He nodded to Atlas and then glanced at Harpuia once, before he turned back to Phoenix, “Magnion, can you direct our human friends to the place where the mechaniloids dissapeared?”

The phoenix huffed, “yes, I can show them where they were last seen on the horizon.”

"Alright then," he looked at Harpuia, and back to the human duo, "how about you go with my subordinate? That way should something amiss happen, you’ll have some kind of protection other than your ‘megamerges’." 

He didn’t know a great deal about their powers other than the humans had some of his and Harpuia’s. But, how strong were they, really? Could they compare to the Generals themselves?

Somehow, Fefnir doubted it only because 1) they were human and 2), their signatures were quite weak.

"If this event has not happened yet, then it is probably for the best that Harpuia and I remain out of it," he looked at his sibling, and another more pressing thought occurred to him… one that he didn’t like so much, but it had to be done, "not to mention… that direction heads towards the Resistance base. We should let Blondie know about what’s going on, I suppose."

He wanted to object to the humans going alone. What if just them and Phoenix was not enough? He was not sure how much stronger their human companions were when on their ‘megamerge’ with these biometals of theirs. He did not know of their capabilities, and therefore did not want to imply they would not be strong enough to hold their own, but by the same token he was worried.

However, if it was truly something Fefnir and he should not see or know, then it was really the only choice they had. Hope for the best, and that if the humans had handled this ‘foe’ before, they could do it again.

If it was even the one Aeolus seemed to think of.

He sighed, nodding to Fefnir. “You are right… however much I may dislike this, it will be best if we stay out of this. At least, until what it is has been confirmed.” He then turned to the humans. “Survey the scene, then. It is truly the best move we can make at this time.”

He was not liking this one bit.

Especially because-

"Of course. We must let the Resistance know." He said in agreement, and rubbed his temples somewhat. Well, what he COULD rub, considering the positioning of his helmet. It was more akin to pinching the bridge of his nose. "If they have a confirmed sighting, it could help us determine what it is."

The plan was shot out the window when Fefnir decided that Phoenix should go with them, and Harpuia posed no objections. He could have yelled in frustration, had he been of lesser self control.

At least Harpuia had mentioned marking the map, which would be useful for a solo investigation. Now the problem lied in making Phoenix go away or at least avoid making contact until they gave the all clear. It would be... difficult to convince a reploid to let the 'weaker' humans do the work, he was fairly sure.

Problems, problems and complications. He sighed quietly, but took what he was given. It seemed Harpuia and Fefnir would busy themselves with alerting a certain someone, and he was sure he knew who it was.

"I suppose this is where we part ways, although I'd have... preferred it if we went alone, just in case." He did, however, bow his head as he stepped back a little. "But I can understand why Phoenix would come with us, and we gratefully accept his help." He gave Atlas a /look/. Let him do the talking for now.

He would wait for Phoenix to either mark the map or lead them out so he could follow, at least. For now, he'd have to play along and potentially expose this reploid to Model W. The last thing he wanted to do.

He was rather enjoying this chat with Fefnir, after all, and he didn't want his brother upset, but it was then the other Biometal insisted, so he saw himself forced to let the cat out of the bag himself. He gave a sigh, then shifted a little on his seat.

"Ah, well, he happens to be someone we met on cyberspace. Two of them are, anyway. The other is a female dog." He explained, then stretched and looked to the sunset.

"One of the cyberelves was one we met when she was just a child, and she grew up at Aeolus' house. The last, well..."

He pressed his hands together and clasped them, trying to not get nervous.

Glancing to Aeolus as he whispered every now and then to his comm, the woman rose an eyebrow, however kept quiet. Who the hell could be talking to, and why now, of all times? Could it not wait? I’ll ask him later, Atlas decided, before giving the red general her attention as he briefed them on the few facts they knew at the moment.

Suddenly, upon entering the room of their destination, a blinding light had her inhale with surprise, bringing an arm up to protect her eyes. Hearing a voice echo in the room, and subsequently Fefnir’s groan, the woman wondered, what the hell is this?

As soon as the light dimmed down, and the (apparent?) bird had landed, she dropped her arm, blinking several times to no avail, as there were still spots in her eyes. Drat, she had looked for a second. What a bother.

The two fire users’ banter went on for a moment, as she a bit grudgingly muttered to herself, “Mind telling me why blinding us was necessary…?” Who knew if she’d get a response; she just felt ticked off by the fact that her vision was now filled with several spots. They’d go away, of course, but it was annoying…!

Coming to terms with this, she crossed her arms, listening to the (jerk) flashy reploid’s report on his observance, and then Harpuia’s additional information. Frowning, she looked down to think a moment before Aeolus began his plausible deduction. The soldier sighed out of her nose at his mention of amassing forces, a reason already forming in her mind. Listening to the man’s words, his logic and insinuations opened her eyes.

It this, it that… Sounded exactly how they had spoken of Model W in the past. His mentions of it having insider support finally snapped the missing piece to understand this horrid possibility into place. Atlas shook her head, scoffing. Could it really be what he implied it might have been? What with all the time nonsense, she hoped to whatever gods above that it wasn’t. If it was not prevented from altering history…!

No no, those thoughts were poisonous. Right now, they had to say what they thought on this information, not their assumptions.

Being given a glance from the male, Atlas gave an all knowing look in return. “There’s no doubt in my mind that someone” or something “is forming an army.” What else could it be, though, if not the damn biometal? “Perhaps it’s…an enemy you know?” Any citadel the size of Neo Arcadia had to have some enemies, right? She hoped.

Giving Aeolus another concerned glance, the female tried express without words that even now, she wasn’t sure what to do. How could they keep it from the Generals if it was truly Model W? They would investigate, as it was their duty.

Still, the facts Aeolus laid out made sense. The enemy was amassing mechaniloids for some reason and seemed to be able to lure them away and turn off their beacons remotely. None of the taken mechaniloids ever made any report since they vanished, too, so they were unable to or somehow reprogrammed immediately. From a distance. How does one do that?

Atlas’ observations weren’t any better in terms of what it could be. Either amassing an army or trying to get resources off mechaniloids, they were up to no good at all. He spared Phoenix a sideways glance as he tried to suggest Anubis, but shook his head, agreeing with Fefnir.

Not to mention the chances of Anubis Necromances going ‘rouge’ were just plain low. He was loyal to Fefnir through his entire service, after all.

Working mechanilods could not be used by this 'Anubis' reploid, so unless they were killed suddenly and then forced to walk, it was doubtful he was the culprit. Now Fefnir and Harpuia were turning to him for answers, and he shifted uncomfortably as he gave a sideways glance to Atlas.

He was not nervous of being in the spotlight, not at all, it was the information that he had that unnerved him. It was sensitive. It could change what would happen in history.

It could very well shatter balance or something catastrophic.

... Well, thinking about possibilities wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"Look, I don't want to say much about the one I suspect, because it might not be it and, if it is, it's..." He paused, trying to word it well.

"What spawned it in the first place hasn't happened yet." He finished, awkwardly, hoping they would understand. It was an event in the near future.

It would define a lot of things.

"Basically, it is something we have dealt with before, and the best way to deal with it is to head to where it is and destroy it before it can finish what it's planning. It's being discreet, whoever it is, so it means they don't want to be found out yet."

Such quick response implied Aeolus was not busy at all, but upon further listening and examination of the decibel level being emitted by the male, clearly things were not at all as simple as they may have seemed. Whispering certainly did not go hand in hand with a calm state of being, at least, not in his records. Siarnaq kept silent, taking in what data he was being given, being allowed a moment to consider it all in the time it took the human to take a breath.

It was highly probable then if he claimed to have made an alliance with the so called Guardians of this city that he was in relatively ‘safe hands’. The fact that his past partner then confirmed their location of Neo Arcadia easily deemed truth to the anomaly theory he had previously allowed as an assumption. As some might have called it, this was certainly a ‘lucky guess’.

At the prospect of alternative sustenance, the current situation sounded much more promising. Sure, it was true that Siarnaq had chosen not to consume food; after all, the Ciel System gave him just enough for him to live. But in this dire situation of possible system failure from this lack of modern energy, the reploid was willing to do so for the sake of his existence. That was the logical conclusion to make, of course. Even if it meant removing his mask to others…

Revealing his lower face was one thing, however, he’d likely still try to avoid.

The ninja also took note of how troubled Aeolus sounded. Was he worried about something? Then again, what wasn’t there for him to worry about? A better query was what on the elongating list of hazards here was bothering him the most.

It would be twice-over counter-productive for him to ‘mess with anything’, as the human told him not to. Wasting energy while possibly damaging the past timeline? Unacceptable behavior. Despite the fact that he had claimed there was little data, what he had been told was quite beneficial. He’d have shook his head no in response if they’d have been speaking in person, but that obviously wasn’t the case.

At those words of being kept posted, the reploid assumed he’d be contacted later rather than sooner about the escorts, already prepared to even shut down again, but in a moment more, the human came back on, claiming that the help was on the way.

Perhaps he was just losing focus in his energy conservation, but these mechaniloids almost snuck up on him with how quick they seemingly had arrived. Both armed with a buster on their left arms, one commanded for him to get up, only for the other to pull his scarf in order to attempt to quicken his pace.

Instinct overriding rationality, the reploid grabbed this hand immediately, holding it for a moment with little force, so as to show a clear lack of aggression. While to him the contact with this belonging was completely unacceptable, he had to stay on decent terms; Aeolus claimed of an alliance…

Easily tugging the scarf away from its’ grip, Siarnaq slowly managed to regain a standing position with the aid of the alleyway wall. Attempting to realign his balance center, a soft shove came from behind, forcing him forward despite still unsteady. It was clear this treatment was negative in nature. Why was that then, if they were on good terms with his past partner? A possible hypothesis could be that they viewed him as a stranger compared to Aeolus. But the data to suggest this was lacking, and the human couldn’t possibly have been here longer than a day. So then what was the reasoning behind treating him like he’d committed a crime? He’d done no such thing. Not here, anyway. Back in Cinq Ville, his profession easily justified any violations…

Recovering his posture as quickly as possible, Siarnaq kept quiet as they reported briefly of their escort orders. At least the technicalities they used were not unlike his own.

The reploid noted the looks of contempt and detest from humans whom they passed by, which were currently unexplainable. The male had revealed his presence to no one but that one red reploid; there was absolutely no possible way that by now he’d be so well know—or despised, it seemed. Besides, he was more concerned with memorizing the path from his appearance in the Flame Temple to his destination of the temporary living quarters, if need be he navigate his way to return.

Arriving there, as they coerced him inside, with minimal detail, it was explained he would stay here until the human of this residence returned. That had to mean Aeolus. With little haste, the two mechaniloids finally left his side, only to take post at the entrance, oddly blocking the way in as the door closed behind them.

Siarnaq took a moment to consider why they would do such a thing. Were they not merely the escorts as they claimed? Of course that couldn’t be true; they were armed with weaponry and garbed in armour. But then still, there was no threat in the proximity around their coordinates. For what purpose would they be guarding him for? Unless…

They were guarding others from him.

Of course. This was the only logical result available. The way they had treated him on the trip over here was easily explainable now. People considered dangerous were never given polite handling. That he knew of, anyway.

The male finally decided in all this that he need not concern himself over why this was, as an assessment of the premises was a more productive task at hand. He’d contact Aeolus shortly and proceed to do so.

Quickly sending the message out to reassure his partner, he said, “REPORTING. DESTINATION REACHED”, leaving it at that for now.

Ridding himself of all these past thoughts, the reploid examined these quarters, taking care to make sure all touched was moved exactly back into place. Mess with very little, the human male had said, so he’d appear to do just that. With just enough living space for a single person, this place could very well be commended for its efficiency. If he bothered with compliments.

He sighed, glancing at his companions in front and behind him, and rubbed his temples. There was little more he could do for his (ex?)-partner at the moment.

"Take care of yourself." He finalized, then tapped the communicator to make it stop transmitting. 

The transerver didn’t transport them directly into his room, however, and the quartet found themselves at the first room of the plant. The Fire Guardian, however, seemed used to this, and merely gestured for the group to follow him as he walked onwards.

Deciding there was no point in keeping the humans out of the loop, as they walked, Fefnir began to explain what he had briefly told Atlas, “early this morning, my lieutenant general witnessed some unusual activity from some of the mechaniloids that were under his jurisdiction,” he turned his head to look at Aeolus and Atlas briefly, “the mechaniloids wandered off of their own accord and were reported as being offline, however, they were still moving before they vanished. We,” he nodded to Harpuia, “thought it would be best to bring you both along in this event.”

The Fire Guardian stopped by a locked door and swiped it with his own access card, and continued onwards towards Phoenix’s room. It didn’t take long to reach it for him since Fefnir had security clearance everywhere.

They made it down to the hot room with the powerful generators all around, though Phoenix was nowhere to be seen…. until a bright flash of light briefly illuminated the room.

Fefnir spied that and let out a sigh, complete with a slump of his shoulders and proverbial facepalm, “oh here we go…”

That bird and his dramatics.

A voice echoed through the surroundings as the sunbeam like light hit the generator and the walls, “two signatures for General Fighting Fefnir… and two signatures for Master Sage Harpuia… two of which are faint. Well then…”

In a flash of fire, the tall phoenix appeared and flapped his wings above the group as he gazed down at the quartet, “what an interesting group you’ve brought today, Fefnir.”

“I don’t recall drama classes being part of Phantom’s curriculum, Phoenix,” said reploid griped at his subordinate with an unimpressed look, complete with folded arms to emphasize the point.

“I don’t recall having issues with seeing double, either,” the bird snarked back as he landed on the ground, “why are there two signatures belonging to you, Fefnir?”

“Not telliiinnngg~” Fefnir replied back childishly, to which Phoenix growled at. But before the bird could respond, the General held up his hand and said, “the information is classified, Phoenix. Now please explain why you called me here.”

The bird didn’t look very impressed, but he landed and folded his metal wings to his side with a huff, “very well then

“As I said in my transmission, I spotted five mechaniloids walking off into the desert on their own - without orders,” the bird began, “soon after they left their posts, their signatures vanished off the radar as though they had been killed, however, they were still moving,” he looked at the two Guardians and said, “since this isn’t an isolated incident, I believe there maybe more to this than a simple case of malfunction. Hence why I called you, Fefnir.”

Clearance was a wonderful thing. He idly doubted Zero had the same opinion, with him lacking it and everything. It was a humorous thing to ponder, anyway.

Crossing his arms as they entered the room the green-armored General idly wondered just where the bird-like mutos reploid had gotten his love for the dramatics. The flair was just not needed on this sort of situation, in his opinion. ‘Drama queen’, Fefnir would say.

Or something along those lines. He almost smiled to himself at the banter between General and subordinate.

Listening to Phoenix speak of the case in person, the reploid frowned and turned a bit pensive. He had seen reports, but he had never heard the account being told of the mechaniloids being witnessed to leave the scene. This was vital information.

He decided to speak up then, now that Fefnir had given him the signal to speak, had he anything to add. And oh, did he…

"There have been several reports of this, although none before Phoenix had witnessed the mechaniloids leaving themselves, especially not after their signal had vanished." He began, shifting his position to one more comfortable, his arms now crossed as his back stayed ramrod straight. "The reports have all been in certain locations, those a ways from the border of Neo Arcadia. Never have more than seven mechaniloids vanished at the time."

He then paused, took a deep breath, and looked at the two humans they had brought along with them.

Once they arrived, he almost flinched from the bright light emitted by the reploid he assumed was in charge of the facilities. Almost scoffing at the dramatics, he instead focused on not seeing spots everywhere, blinking away the overload of light on his optics, and frowned as the situation was explained.

Well, didn't this sound familiar? He didn't hear anything about this in any of the history accounts of this time, and it sounded strangely like a more subdued modus operandi of Model W.

He hoped he was wrong. He hoped some crazy bastard had managed to turn off beacons from mechaniloids and lured them somewhere to try and collect their scrap or something.

Anything but that.

"Always near the border, to lower the risk of being seen as they left." He muttered to himself. "Seems to try to draw as little mechaniloids as possible, but enough to know it's trying to amass them, but for what purpose?" He spoke out loud, pressing his index and middle finger to his forehead as he tilted his head downward in thought. His brain fired rapidfire suggestions, anything that could not be, but...

"If it's what I think it is, I'm not going to like it one bit..." He hissed, scowl deepening, as he resisted the urge to pace. "It never needed to really take away mechaniloids slowly, aggressive out of having insider support, but if it doesn't have any here, then its actions make sense... it can't afford to be discovered now, and it's planning to do something with what it's taking." He summerized, then glanced at Atlas, before looking at the three reploids.

Once Harpuia joined him, the Guardian leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees so that he could face his shorter sibling in full. He listened as the green armoured reploid explained that he really hadn’t done much with Aeolus except talk and try and do his bit.

"Yeah, I feel you there," Fefnir replied in response to missing how it felt to have a body outside of a floating rock, and being able to do a bit more other than talk and do things in visions.

"I miss a lot of things, but I guess I got used to the fact that I was but a floating pixie and then a floating rock pretty fast after we died," the Guardian shrugged, "I mostly miss being able to run and spar… but I’m enjoying my time as a biometal in it’s own way, I suppose, even if I’m but a shadow of what I was…"

The fiery reploid noticed the humour in Harpuia’s voice, and it was something he smiled at, as well as the question, “well, Atlas can’t use my powers in Legion, at least not yet. But she trusts me very much, and treats me fairly well. I’m still getting to know her, really - she’s a very closed person, and I think a very lonely one, as well,” Fefnir scratched his chin with one hand as he pondered his thoughts on the matter, “I don’t think she’s used to having someone to talk to all the time and share her thoughts with, or someone to ask for advice. Being that her whole country was wiped out before she received me… I guess I don’t blame her.

"But she treats me well enough, and we have a lot of fun," he grinned at his brother, "I do visions like this with her - both of us are more ‘hands on’ kind of people - I’ve found that we bond a lot better when we’re playing ‘sports’, as she calls them, or sparring matches. Or video games - though I think I like those more than she does, heh."

Fefnir kicked his legs as he straightened his back up while the clouds up ahead moved slowly and changed colours as the sun gradually made it’s appearance. The Guardian sighed as he did, and said, “I know it’s the past, these forms… but they’re still part of who we are and who we were. I accept who I am now, as the Biometal of the Flame, but I’m also the Red Cyberelf of Fire, and the Guardian of Fire, General of the Jin’en Army… they’re all bits and pieces of my life and death that brought me to… well… here,” he smiled at Harpuia with a big goofy grin and said, “you’re even talking with emotion in your voice more now because you don’t have a body anymore! We’ve gained a lot with all the differences and changes we’ve gone through! I like that the most, you know, more than anything…”

The past, present and future made up who he was. Why not make use of everything he had, everything he was, and use it for now, the present and future, to make his biomatch’s life wonderful?

"I saw Vent the other day, too! We got to play around like old times. Atlas wasn’t happy but, I think I managed to convince her that it was no danger to let us play together," Fefnir shrugged, "what about you, eh? Aeolus has a roommate and all - you must have a lively household with him and the dog, too!"

It was nice, he supposed, that Fefnir was so content with his new life. Sometimes, Harpuia liked to think he was as well, but his inability to do things had probably impaired the silver lining a little.

Sure, he missed his real form, he missed being able to do a lot of what he could as a reploid, as a cyberelf, but this body came with the strange sense of freedom from much other than to keep their Biomatches in check, to teach them, to lead them. It was what they did now, and Fefnir seemed to be right in the thick of it, right at home.

He supposed he enjoyed that aspect too, teaching Aeolus about his powers, bonding with his Biomatch as he had once with Aile and Vent, seeing the world without being revered in turn. His old life, he missed it, but his new life had taught him many things.

"You're right about that." Harpuia said softly, a slight smile on his face. "We are what we are now because of who we were before. We reached this point because of the past, so we can't discard it." He set his hands on either side of him, leaning back a little and using them as support while looking out to the perpetual sunset.

"It's lively, where I am. There's plenty of weird things happening all the time, bickering, but also a strange sense of tranquility. It feels like 'home', even if all of us make a really odd bunch." He admitted, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh.

"Aeolus and I, we don't use visions much. We do talk, though. We talk a lot... about various subjects, I suppose. There's a lot I did not understand before that I do now, there's a lot my chosen had not seen in my way before. It is beneficial, and it's also nice... not at all bad."

He paused, pensive, then tilted his head while glancing at the other Guardian.

"You’re late," The Guardian huffed in annoyance and then paid attention to Harpuia as he explained why he was late, and the annoyance turned to curiosity as he looked at the human look alike.

What had he been doing?

Well, it couldn’t be helped if he had wandered off. It wasn’t as though he or Harpuia had told Aeolus he had been needed in the morning, so he sighed and shrugged his shoulders, “ah well, no matter. We’re all here now, so lets get going!”

He was not aware he was going to be looked for, so for all intents and purposes, he was very guiltless on the matter. Still, it seemed Fefnir had at least reached the conclusion as well, and idly wondered if the late comment was directed at the reploid rather than him. 

Oh well, it wasn't important. "Very well." He'd know what this was about when they got here. Efficient, necessary. There was no need to loiter about anymore. Following Harpuia's lead, he stepped on as well, shuffling as he made sure to keep mental note of where everything was placed, the layout, as it were.

It'd serve its purpose if all areas for teleportation in Neo Arcadia, at least the military department, were handled in the same way. It'd help him get more familiar should the need arise.

With no surprise their little charge had returned, unharmed. As Aeolus had indeed predicted. He would hear about what they had been up too as soon as their lives resembled what he had now come to consider normal. That started of course, by returning to Aeolus’ estate.

A sigh.

Back to work as usual. Copy had enjoyed his time in Neo Arcadia. Now there was just the matter of whatever scheme the Guardians and these other young folk had come up with for a return plan. Copy cared only as much as things went to plan. Whatever the plan may be.

But first.

The little elf neared the green sage. He looked rather worn, as if he took other priorities over taking better maintenance of himself. It was to be expected he supposed. Drawing closer, hovering near Harpuia’s face, he hovered, bobbing up and down slightly, as if to motion the taller to pay attention to him more!

"…" Copy’s face then softened. In the presence of company there was nothing to say. The former leader had taken some sort of imposed ‘vow of silence’. Still, he gave the Sage’s left cheek a pat with his tiny elf hand, as if to say ‘good job’.

Maybe it was even a silent thank you.

Even after death, Harpuia was as enthusiastic to devote his time to serve a new master, old master…

That had to be given credit to.

Upon obvious inspection, it seemed they had arrived first.

'I woke up late and we're still early?’ The female mused to herself silently, taking a grander look up at the temple’s outside appearance as she took a few steps back on her own. Definitely appropriate. In her opinion, anyways.

Looking off to the road behind them, it seemed somewhat inevitable to her that she’d have to wait. Consequences that she was slightly used to in being an early bird, but even so… That didn’t mean she had to like it.

Wherever Fefnir decided he’d wait, Atlas decided she’d stay close by, turning around only to sit down with her legs crossed on the ground a meter or so away. She’d find some way to distract herself…

With her sling bag on her lap, the woman retrieved the map she had been given not long ago, opening it up before her in order to get a good feel for the size of the city. It certainly was nothing to scoff at. What interested her was that the edges of the city were a straight cut off, as if they were completely fenced in…

The woman spent some time just exploring this map and its landmarks for a while, glancing at the path every now and again, only to be annoyed with the fact that it seemed time was slowing down. Folding the map neatly, Atlas let out an exasperated sigh, uttering to herself,

Ten minutes passed, which is how long he had expected Harpuia to be upon gathering Aeolus and returning to their current location. Fefnir, however, soon realised that finding the wayward human was taking his sibling a lot more time than they had originally anticipated. 

Taking out a tablet like device, Fefnir proceeded to catch up on his infernal paperwork as a means of passing the time. Atlas, it seemed, was content to flick through the map he had given her, and thus he had no reason to really bug her.

The Guardian, however, was growing irritated with the wait time. When Atlas voiced her own frustration, the reploid had to agree.

"Eeeh, I guess Harpuia got caught by a breeze and blew off into the sky like a bird in a tornado," he teased, "but in all seriousness, I guess Harpuia’s just having trouble finding your friend."

He shut off his tablet then and subspaced it since he had finished his work, and then turned to the girl, “fancy playing a game with me?”

That is, of course, until it touched his cheek, then left, possibly to go back to the human. Strange, humans did not generally carry cyberelves with them. They were ‘useless’, only working for the benefit of Reploids, at the cost of their lives, so why…?

He tried to shrug off the curiosity, succeeding after a few moments, and continued his pace. Well, it seemed Aeolus was in charge of both troublesome elves, although it made him wonder about many things.

It was just so odd…

Finally, they arrived, and he noted with a slight shake of his head that both Fefnir and Atlas seemed impatient. “My apologies for our lateness.” He said as he jogged up to them, grumbling human in tow. “Aeolus was not in his quarters, but near the citadel’s core when I found him. I figured we should walk here rather than take a transerver, to save energy.”

It would be a while before they got there, and when they did, the human sighed, shaking his head and crossing his arms, but saying nothing. He supposed the reason they took so long WAS due to the fact that he was not in his quarters as he was expected to be, so he had little to argue in his favor, if not at all. As such, he did not try.

"What is this about?" He asked, his eyes narrowed. He was fairly concerned about Siarnaq, wishing to see him face to face and assure himself the Shadow Megaman was at least healthy, but for now, he had this to tend to.

Hopefully, it was not exactly a kind of urgency.

Hopefully.

Making his way seemingly undetected by those wandering the building, Siarnaq managed to escape the Flame Temple area, stopping in a dark alleyway to assess the situation.

With information all implying the current time period to be 22XX, the reploid was completely out of place here. It was inconceivable such an anomaly could take place, yet data coming in from his observations only proved this insight incorrect.

While the ninja wished to gather more proof towards this theoretical deduction, it was becomes increasingly evident to his systems that an extended lack of exposure from energy would cause a system shutdown, and inevitably, his core failure. This was an unacceptable result.

Noting the fact that Ciel System energy was no longer being received, his hypothesis proved correct, and with little doubt on the matter, the theory of being transferred to the past was accepted. But what was the cause? There was not yet enough data to answer this inquiry, but there were more important things to deduce about at the moment.

Completely hidden in the shadows, Siarnaq unmerged, sitting down in order to conserve power. Attempting to assess an optimal means of procedure, the reploid shut his eyes. Wasting his energy unproductively would be fatal, but likewise would be wasting time in finding a solution to his problems through reconnaissance, which could prove fruitless, the risk being too high a chance at failure to pursue.

Decease was not on his list of primary objectives. What was, however, was finding a way back, and perhaps an alternative source of energy in case he was stranded for an extended amount of time.

Considering the fact that the only possible explanation could be a temporal rift, it was plausible that he would not be the only one affected. If he could locate anyone else, the likelihood of their departure and return to the proper time period would increase exponentially. That was what Aeolus would call… ‘Teamwork.’ Collaboration seemed a better term to him, but he set this thought aside swiftly, deducing his best option to wait for any contact from others through communicator frequencies. He set his to ‘record’, so that messages collected while he went offline would not be lost.

"TEMPORARILY SHUTTING DOWN SECONDARY FUNCTIONS…" He droned to himself, limb movement and sight being some of the things lost as the male slowly slumped back upon the wall, his head falling forward as sleep mode initiated.

Being a nonbeliever in the concept of hope, Siarnaq had no expectations. In 24 hours, he’d see results or a lack of them.

The silence of darkness engulfed him.

Time to wait…

—

24 hours were up.

Awakening slowly, the male refamiliarised himself with his surroundings, location, and current situation. His perspective on it had not changed, as opinions were not something he held many of. Moving the only arm needed, Siarnaq checked his communicator, pausing shortly as it read off that there was one new message. The male clicked play with no further hesitance, listening in on what was both alarmingly and reassuringly a familiar voice.

It was Aeolus.

«Siarnaq, report. I will send you the coordinates of my temporary quarters momentarily, please give me yours if you need for me to retrieve you.»

Following this was numbered coordinates, just as promised in the message.

It was straight to the point, just as his past partner had endeavored to be in all their missions together… But the question arose, how was the human aware of his presence? Not to mention the extremely low probability that Aeolus of all people would be victim to this event as well. While Siarnaq had expected possible transmissions on any wavelength, from any person, such specific contact was questionable.

Perhaps his location was being monitored, even now.

Normally he’d remove himself immediately from the area at this risk, but the action wasn’t necessarily essential from him this time. No, if he had not been bothered once during his temporary shut down, assuming he truly was being watched, whoever was doing so were clearly without the intention to apprehend him. This certainly led room to more inquiry, but it was shoved aside for matters of higher importance.

Responding to Aeolus was deduced to be the most productive thing to do, therefore, once regaining his ability to speak again, sent a message of his own to the green clad male.

“REPORTING. COORDINATES RECEIVED. CONFIRMED LOCATION: FLAME TEMPLE VICINITY. SUBJECT NEED FOR RETRIEVAL IS UNCERTAIN. REQUESTING AVAILABLE DATA FOR ANALYSIS.”

With this request, at least, Siarnaq could have all the facts in hand. Having a clear understanding of the situation was imperative, and the sooner, the better. Not just for him, but for both of them.

Clicking his communicator discreetly as he and Harpuia headed back to the temple of flame, he tried to make his voice as hushed as possible. 

"Siarnaq, we find ourselves in Neo Arcadia, and I seem to have formed somewhat of an alliance with two of the Guardians. If you so need it, I will request for them to send mechaniloids to retrieve you and take you to the coordinates I have sent you. There is food there, you might be able to fuel yourself from it."

He paused, then took a deep breath.

"Listen. Mess with as little as possible. I'm still trying to find out how we got here, but there is little information at the moment. I will keep you posted."

Once he was done, he stopped clicking the communicator, instead looking at the back of the wind guardian's head.

"Harpuia." He started, and the other turned to look at him. "Send two Pantheons in the location of Siarnaq, the one with Phantom's signature. They should take him to my assigned quarters at once."

The reploid seemed to consider this carefully, then sighed. "... I suppose I could do that." He said, quietly, unsure if he should trust that one. It was a reploid, wasn't it? But he had not done any damage thus far, not as far as he could tell.

Clicking his own communicator, the reploid gave quick orders to some of his foot soldiers, then shook his head.

"Let your friend know they are on the way."

"..." Aeolus nodded, then did so, clicking his communicator to state to Siarnaq that Pantheons would be there to help soon.

But no matter. He smirked a little when Harpuia admitted that in the end, they had all been creatures of habit. He supposed his green armoured sibling was right.

The Fire Guardian sat down on the edge of the building and crossed his ankles as he leaned back. Even if it was all an illusion, the beautiful sky at sunrise always put him at ease. Now that he had finished greeting his sibling and catching up on an emotional level, the reploid turned to Harpuia with a bit of a grin, “so? What have you been up to with your biomatch all this time? Tell me all about it! Do you get along well? Does he take good care of you?”

He wanted to know everything about Aeolus and what he was like. And most importantly, that the human male was taking good care of his sibling. That was the most important part.

"Even if he’s human, I wouldn’t have any regrets to roasting his face off if he’s done something bad," he chuckled as he poked his tongue out to show that his words were in jest, but if he did witness any abuse…

"Me? Well, other than advising him and sharing the knowledge I have, we haven't done much, not really. Well, fighting stray maverick mechaniloids here and there, if they get too close, has also been part of the activity routine..." The 'reploid' started, then shook his head, slowly at the other's offer. "Don't, there's no need to be violent."

No need at all.

He sighed. "The only bad thing about this deal is that I can only do so much. I miss... being able to do things, you know? Manipulate, hold, help. As a floating rock, all we can do is blab." There was some humor in his voice, at least. It seemed that in the extended presence of humans, he had garnered a bit more of loose emotions rather than keeping a straight face and tone all the time. First Vent and Aile, then Aeolus.

He couldn’t help but think he would’ve been a much better leader and General if he had of had the knowledge he did now. The wisdom he did now, then… but no matter. He had long since accepted that the past was the past.

"Heh, I suppose you’re right…" When he felt Harpuia pull back, the Fire Guardian relented his hold and let his sibling go with a smile. "Returning home… that’s a good way of putting it…"

But he knew a better way of making it really like returning home, however, and with a bit of a smirk, the landscape changed in an instant to the top of the fire temple at sunrise. As crystal clear and as realistic as when they were alive… the sun threw everything into deep contrast, and the shadows and highlights made their armour glow and their coats flap gently in the breeze. 

He couldn’t help but reach over and tug the collar of his sibling’s coat, however, with a grin, “we match for once.” After all, of the Guardians, his appearance had been the most unique.

Fefnir turned to the sunrise, and the sun made the gold horns on his helmet and the white glow with brilliant clarity. His smile was nostalgic, and almost wistful…

This was where he came when he needed calm every morning, just like Phantom had told him to.

This was the place, and the moment, he loved the most. When the sun rose and made everything light up like a diamond.

"I don’t think I ever told you about this. Heh, I didn’t think you’d care all that much, but… every morning, without fail, if I was in Neo Arcadia, I’d come here, to the roof of the Temple of Flame and meditate for half an hour. Phantom was the one who told me to do it," he chuckled and folded his arms, "and even now… at Atlas’ place, I find myself sitting on the window sill of her house… watching the sunrise every morning…"

He turned to Harpuia with some amusement on his face, “who would’ve thought I’d become a creature of habit, hm? If anything that’s more YOUR gig, isn’t it?” He reached over and lightly attempted to tap Harpuia’s reploid crystal on his helmet in play.

"... I suppose we do." Harpuia replied calmly, a small smile gracing his face, as he reached over and tapped Fefnir on the shoulder. Our builds and armor were as different as our assignments then." And yet they managed to keep up a sort of stability in terms of appearance, although the fact remained that Fefnir's was much too different in the end.

Turning to the sun once more, he squinted, then nodded to himself. He was used to this sight, and yet he appreciated it. Every morning when he managed to go do his primary objective, cleaning the atmosphere, he got to see the sun rise. It was... nice.

However, he did not know Fefnir did the same thing.

"There's something strange about the sun rising that always put my mind at ease." The green-armored one offered as he closed his eyes, pensive, and ignoring the tap on his forehead gem.

"Hmph, in the end, we all were."

They all had their habits and quirks, and all had their routines. It kept them rooted, gave them a semblance of familiarity in the chaos.

But to have his hug returned, and for Harpuia to tell him he missed him? He blinked twice in surprise as he paused in his little nuzzles.

After a moment, a more gentle smile crossed his face as he pulled Harpuia closer in a hug, his head resting on his sibling’s shoulder.

"…Shuddup…" he said, but his tone didn’t hold an ounce of aggression. Far from it. Instead, if he was human, it’d be a tone akin to a man desperately holding back happy tears. Great, now he was all emotional and it was the winged reploid’s fault.

"The one time you actually hug me back and it’s when we’re biometals?” he teased, laughter on his voice, “idiot.” 

For now though, he’d enjoy the rare contact with his brother. He lapsed into silence and nuzzled the other’s cheek again for a moment in the white abyss of the vision.

"Time has a way of changing you, even if it is slight." He replied quietly. He had no regrets on his previous lack of contact, perhaps it's what made this all the sweeter.

"... Indeed. It sort of feels like... 'returning home', in a way, does it not?" Letting go quietly after a few more minutes, Harpuia tried to motion the other to let go, his expression softening. He should drop his worries for now... after all, he was with his sibling now, and they were going to spend some time together doing things he normally had no time to do when he was 'alive'.

askprometheus submitted:

I got my eye on you…