Chapter Text
The ocean was beautiful. It was blue and clear. Ashe was almost breathless, her green eyes were wide. Vent smiled at her awestruck expression, a rush of nostalgia slapping him in the face.
“Yeah the open ocean is beautiful, but we have a mission to complete.” Vent said, the blue armor clinging to him in a comfortable place, but his eyes were dulled, like he was fighting a wave of grief and anger.
“We’ll save Z, ok Vent?” Ashe said, her voice hardening with determination. Vent nodded and gave her a grin, and Ashe could see how they truly were related.
They swam for miles, looking at the schools of fish that were swimming away in shock and the bigger fish that were watching them go.
Ashe used to love swimming in pools in her downtime between bounty and treasure hunting. She hadn’t done that since she became a megaman. A rock settled in the pit of her stomach at that train of thought. She was ashe, not the bastard daughter of Alfred. Biometal A buzzed in comfort, having sensed her distress.
Vent was lost in thought as well. X was brave and saintly and just fun to be around, but after Z fell into the ocean, X was more withdrawn. He’s said that Z has done the self sacrifices so many times, that he had gotten used to it. Vent didn’t but it. When you mega merge with a biometal, It’s like working with another person, but like reading their soul. X could see his goals, his wishes, his joys and his fears. Vise Versa was also true. Vent could see how much Z’s ‘death’ bothered him.
They arrived at a building that had no business being underwater. It had a huge hole in the side. Ashe grimaced at the taste of rust that was getting through the filter that the Biometal L had helping her breathe underwater. Vent had a small look of aspiration, mainly do to X muttering ‘Z, you better still be in there’.
They swam through the building. It had rust, and lots of debris, and a locked box. A red shiny thing was right in the middle of the lock.
“Z!” Vent said, a smile spreading across his face. X let relief wash through whatever link that a biometal and a megaman shared.
Z’s eyes lit up and he buzzed with acknowledgement. Otherwise he remained quiet. Ashe could feel A buzz with anxiety. She could feel tears build at the rush of mixed emotions coming from A.
Z just remained silent. They could not tell what he was feeling, but he didn’t seem angry just quiet. Vent lifted a hand to Z and touched it.
“...they're still here. All of the other megamen. They didn't survive the fall…” Z spoke in a small voice. “The biometals in there completely lost control and are now using the bodies as some kind of puppet. I can't leave…”
“what? Can biometals even do that?” Ashe felt vomit rise into her throat.
“C- the creator of the biometals didn't intend for it but Albert messed with all of us to create perfect soldiers. So yes.” Zero answered, seemingly looking at Ashe and A. A seemed to buckle into himself under his gaze.
“oh.” was the only reply ashe could muster.
Silence filled the area. They could hear dull thuds. Z let out a soft growl in effort. The Biometals were trying to escape. They were banging against the door and Z was losing his grip.
“Vent. all of the Biometals you have are attracting them. You have to go-” Z tried to warn them, but a loud crack and bang the biometals burst through the wall. Z fell off the door and Vent grabbed Z. One of the biometals looked at Ashe, hi dold fish eyes looked through her. They didn’t look dead. They looked alive, they looked normal, but the face, the expression was anger, but the eyes stayed glassy.
The biometal grabbed Ashe and jetted up towards the surface of the ocean. Vent left the other biometals behind and tried to reach her, but the biometals were holding him back. That was a stupid move. One mega merge later and he had the familiar sabre in his hand and slashed at the biometals.
Ashe was getting dizzy from the pressure. A had to lose the copy to help protect Ashe. She screamed from the pain. Vent was coming to help, but they reached the surface before he did and kept skyrocketing upward.
“There-is-no-bond-like-a-megaman-and-one-of-us.” The biometal spoke, but the jaw was stiff and it almost didn’t know how to use a mouth. Ashe and A felt dread as the Biometal used one cold clammy hand to hold Ashe by the throat. Vent watched in horror as Ashe was dragged further and further up. If she fell from the height she was at without A, she’d be completely killed on impact of the water. He couldn’t do much, because the biometals he shared with the other mega men were being morphed. Ashe was being held up by a metal H morphed into a angry shell. “You-should-know-the-pain-of-having-that-pain-severed.” Model H snarled, the face trying to morph, but it was impossible. The other hand of the dead megaman hovered over her chest, right above the diaphragm and the hand went through the armor and he pulled away with model A in his hands. Ashe screamed in pain with tears in her eyes. Biometal H seemed satisfied with her look of anguish and let go of her neck, leaving her to plunger towards the ocean.
Vent let out a scream. His little sister was plunging towards the ground after he sought her out and got her involved with this and now he had to think fast. He had to think fast and he grabbed one of two spare Biometals that he never let anyone use. He grabbed Model O.
Model O gave you unbelievable power, but it every hit a megaman delivered with O dragged them closer to the edge of bloodthirst. He figured that Ashe didn’t have time for a choice and threw it at Ashe.
“Ashe..” an unfamiliar voice said to her as it rushed to her faster than the incoming ocean. “Vent sent me, no time to explain. Just say megamerge!”
“Megamerge.” She whispered in pain as the ocean came even closer.
She was barely in time. She was enveloped with a flash of light when a loud boom and a splash was heard. Vent swam towards where the splash was and saw an unconscious but alive and breathing Ashe. She was chuckling in her sleep. It was just an uncontrollable laugh, the same one that Vent had when he himself used it.
“Ashe, we’ll get you outta here ok?” Vent whispered as he grabbed her and swam to safety on land.