Metempsychotic

Divide and Conquer

Even if they hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, you never would have known it by the way Aile and Vent went over their entry strategies with Prairie.

"Area J is half submerged in water, you'll need Model L."

"But won't the Pseudoroid be weak to Model F's power? I'll need Model F too."

"Hmmm... you have a point..."

"Of course I have a point- I'm right."

"Now wait just a minute Aile!"

"There are power anomalies located near the other half of Model H's data." Prairie informed the both of them. "I think Model P's in house targeting and mapping system would come in handy there."

"Model L would come in handy with that Pseudoroid too." Aile thought over with an absentminded nod. "I'll go after Model H's other data then."

"Vent, do you agree?" Pairie confirmed, as she began to write the mission data.

Vent nodded. "Yeah. I can get Model P's data while you do that. What do you think?"

"Totally." Aile agreed.

"Are you settled, then?" Prairie then asked them. With their approving nods, Prairie typed up a few commands on her computer. "The data is now being relayed to the transerver, where you two can pick the missions your choose." she then informed them. "Good luck."

Vent and Aile gave one more nod before pacing to the transerver.

"Which one of us do you think is older?" Vent questioned as they made their way.

"Well..." Aile thoughtfully decided, "Model Z said he remembered something about me being the more dominant of our previous lives- maybe I'm older."

"You're bossy enough." Vent snickered.

"Now wait a minute!"

"Oh look, here's the transerver!" Vent quickly announced as he leapt up onto the transerver with dexterity. Aile wasn't amused. Humming happily, Vent choose the correct mission data and prepped the transerver for transference. He paused for a moment to look at Aile, and in return she looked back at him with a less than pleased expression.

"Stay safe." he then said to her. Aile recoiled, now giving Vent a rather confused look.

"I've trained." she told him, fairly blunt, "Unlike someone else."

"But you hesitate." he reminded her. "There are times when you can't hesitate. I don't want you to... to die, like Giro. You're the only family I have now, Aile. I need you. I don't want you to die, not when I just now get to meet you..."

Aile looked at him, and for a moment she was silent. "I didn't even know I had a family until I met you." she admitted. "I'm not going to die, as long as you don't. Got it? We're in this together- we're a team!"

But Vent didn't leave.

"Maybe we should be doing the missions together." he soon quietly requested. "Maybe Prairie can..."

Aile cut him off with a shake of her head. "Let's do these missions first. If it's too much, we'll double team. How about that? It's not going to be fair to Prairie if we decide to change the mission plans now."

Grudgingly, Vent agreed, and with that he left. With a raise of her eyebrow, Aile got up onto the transerver and began her mission.

After arriving at Area I's transerver, Aile started to travel into the back end of the power plant.

"Prairie, where did you say the life signs were?" Aile then asked as she raised the commander on her headset.

"The life signs look like they're located in the very back of the area," she informed her, "Since Vent defeated the one in charge of the power plant operation earlier, some of the equipment may not be working now. I'm sure you could find a way to get the electricity flowing again."

For a moment, Aile thought of Model H's electricity bolts, and then remembered that she did not have it. "Alright," she agreed regardless, "I'll see if I can find some way to get the power back on." and with that, she went on.

. . .

Vent arrived safely at the transerver that could take him to Area L, and for a moment, he just stood there. He felt... weird. He couldn't explain why or how, but thinking about Aile... something just felt... wrong.

'Vent,' Model H spoke up, 'You have a mission to complete. What are you doing just standing around for?'

"Model H..." Vent sighed heavily, "I... I don't know. Something just feels... off about letting Aile go alone. I can't explain it, I just..."

'Aile trained.' the Biometal reminded Vent rather bluntly. 'You decided to go at this whole operation like a lycan on a full moon. I think she has more right to feel worried about you than vice versa, don't you think?'

"Yeah, but..."

'But?'

"Have you ever just... have this feeling of foreboding that you absolutely couldn't place?" Vent looked up as he gave a heavy sigh brought on by heavy thoughts. "Like... you have the thing you've always wanted the most, but... but fear that something will take it away and that it wasn't really yours to begin with?"

For a while, Vent could feel the Biometal hesitate. It was struggling to remember something, but failed.

'Vent, you were a very sheltered child.' Model H then said, deterring the subject somewhat, 'There were things that Girouette, Juno, Sho, Muguet, and Prairie left you in the dark for, for your own good. A lot of things happened in the background that you didn't notice- perhaps from pure naivete or lack of interest. Regardless, due to these securities, Aile certainly seems to have more world experience than you do, and thus, should be safer out here than you'll ever be. The longer you wait here, the longer it will be before you two can talk this out yourselves. We have a mission; are you going to do it or not?'

The boy thought about this for a moment, then nodded before going on.

Area L was heavy with Mavericks, they seemed to get even thicker as Vent went on. Eventually, Vent made it to the Pseudoroid, who had been waiting for him for quite some time apparently.

"You've come at last..." the Pseudoroid greeted him with a booming, but careless voice. "The foolish Mega Man that sided with the Guardians."

"You have the other half of Serpent's data." Vent agreed, pointing Model H's saber at the rhino-like creation. "Where is it?"

"All of the data that was found here is now in my internal data disk." the Pseudoroid then told him boastfully. "I just need to destroy this room with you in it, and all of the loose ends will be tied up. I am the Model P Pseudoroid, Protectos! I will crush anyone that stands in our way!"

With this, the Pseudoroid let out a small missile from his back, Vent saw it shoot up into the sky as Protectos hid himself inside his armor.

'Vent, I think that missile is targeted toward you.' Model H warned as the missile started to turn back to the ground.

"Yeah," Vent groaned, "I know..."

It was just going to be one of those days.