"Down here," Model K replied. He rose from the floor and gently drifted up to Chene's eye level.

"... So that wasn't a dream..." Chêne moved her hand to her head. For some reason, she could not remember everything she had seen. But there were still flashes in her mind that she was attempting to interpret.

During her reluctant connection with Model K, the two had shared minds. Although the link was limited in its nature, she had glimpsed fragments of the Biometal's memories. And those fragments gnawed at her mind as she tried to make sense of them.

"... Are you okay, Chêne?" Aile asked, putting a hand on Chêne's shoulder as she took note of the heavy expression on the redhead's face.

"... I said I'm fine. Anyway... I guess there's nothing left to do here." The Guardian eyed Kiriyama, then shifted her attention to Model K. "And when I said I wanted you away from me... I meant it."

Chêne failed to speak with the conviction she had the first time, but hoped she had made her point as she quietly walked away. Right now, all she wanted was a breath of fresh air before sorting out her thoughts... even if it made her seem ungrateful. She was still in doubt between accepting whether she was aided by the Biometal or if it had merely endangered her life.

"... If... if you feel anything strange, please let us know." Rose advised as Chêne left.

[Continued in Laboratory (Chêne)]

"That could've gone worse," Model K mused. "I suppose."

In the meantime, Malcolm helped Muguet attend to Kiriyama. He was pretty sure the virus had been dealt with, but Kiriyama might still have been suffering some ill effects from the infection. At least he seemed to be out of immediate danger.

Aile did not say anything to Chêne as the taller girl left, realizing how she would have much to think about after their experience. Aile herself had thoughts to sort out over the whole thing, reflected by her long stare at Model K.

The connection between Aile and Model K was deep; although she was used to the physical merging with Model X and the other Biometals, the mental link with Model K was something entirely new. She had seen things... hundreds of years of someone else's life. A life of relationships, victories, losses and tragedies. An entire era of lost history had become known to her for precious few seconds before it was all... gone. Only fragments of such excessive experience could be retained in the young girl's brain.

However, like Chêne, these same fragments now gnawed at her mind. In particular, she recalled the black armored man impersonated by Model W in Chêne's psyche. She had a flash of a similar, yet different black armored humanoid from a further past. A Reploid who had a critical role in Model K's past... the Chosen One could not avoid the eerie feeling from the possible meaning of this.

Malcolm eventually turned around and returned to Aile, once he was satisfied that he'd done everything he could to help Muguet. The girl seemed distracted; it was understandable considering what she'd just gone through, but he wondered what exactly was troubling her.

"You alright?" he asked quietly. It finally dawned on him that she'd been staring at Model K, and the biometal had gone quiet as well.

"... Oh, I'm okay." Aile responded when Malcolm snapped her out of her dwellings. "I guess I'll go tell Prairie that Kiriyama is safe. I'm sure she'll like some good news for once."

Aile spared a final glance at the Biometal as she walked away. "Thanks for helping out, Model K. I owe you one." She did not know if Model K would want to follow, or if Malcolm would prefer to keep it for now. She decided to let the two decide their next course of action by themselves.

"It's no problem," Model K replied. Malcolm quirked an eyebrow at the biometal; it sounded like someone who had just had a very sobering experience. He wasn't sure what to think of that, but he grabbed the biometal out of the air and held onto it. He didn't put it back in his pocket this time.

"I'll--er, we'll go with you. Prairie wanted some information about Model K when things settled down, so if she's not up to her ears in trouble this would be as good a time as any."

Kiriyama moaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His head felt heavy, his injured arm was in pain still... He felt much heavier than he was.

"Thaaangzzz..." he attempted to say through his daze.

Aile silently smirked as she made her exit.

[Continued in Corridors]

Malcolm followed after Aile, waving to Muguet on the way out.

[Continued in Corridors]