"Um... Greetings." Prairie replied with slight hesitation. "As I was just telling the other Watchman, the day has been very chaotic as a result of unexpected developments..."

"Straight to the point..." Model R said. "Either lucky guess or he just threw things out there."

Prairie did not like Hiruzen's comment, but she ignored it. "Kiriyama... was attacked by a Pseudoroid." Prairie answered as she steeled herself for a histeric reaction. "He suffered an injury in the battle, but he has just received treatment here in the HQ."

On the other side, Hiruzen could be heard crying quietly.

Being a Reploid, Prairie was personally offended by that comment, but she made a mental effort to let it slide; she did not want to start an argument with the Watchman. "... He suffered a left arm injury which required a cast, but it will recover in due time." The commander replied after looking at Kiriyama's arm.

"... That's right. We were going to Area K, Area C, and a few ruins." Kiriyama said remembering his original plan.

"I already released Kiriyama, but he asked to contact you instead." Prairie replied. "If you're near a Transerver, it should be possible to transfer him to your location."

As Prairie talked, the door behind her slid open as a short Guardian with a band-aid on his face walked inside. It was Carrelet.

Since the commander was occupied, Fleuve took the initiative to approach Carrelet. "Is something the matter?"

"According to Vince, Shien has agreed to exchange information with us." The Guardian replied.

Fleuve nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Anything else of note?"

"No, sir." The Guardian shook his head before taking notice of Kiriyama. He actually saw the Watchman in passing; he was one of the Guardians monitoring the test in the city, and had seen the embarrassing moment when the Mega Man Model R was ambushed by a group of Pattrolaurs. He initially wondered how someone like Kiriyama could have become a Mega Man in the first place. However, now he had his doubts, as he knew that something nasty had happened in the ruins of Slither Inc.'s head office.

After about 5 seconds, coordinates for the receiving transceiver appeared onscreen.

"Ugh... Porting in and out sucks." Kiriyama said.

Model R remained silent has he himself was drawing plans and making up strategies for Giga City inside his brain.

"Thank you, Kiriyama should be with you soon." Prairie replied. "Unfortunately, there is another incident which demands my immediate attention, so I must close contact now. We'll keep in touch." The commander waited another second before closing the transmission, to allow a final word between the two Watchmen.

"... I've got nothing else to add." Kiriyama said.



The call was cut.

"Alright, time to go back to Area A... Also, do I like, need to get something to stay in touch when I'm away from the Caravan or the Base, or something...?" Kiriyama asked.

"You can contact us via the Transerver." Prairie replied. "The Watchmen also have our frequency, so they can help you. That said, you should go now and rest, Kiriyama. Hopefully tomorrow will be a calmer day."

"Calm... My life will probably be fast paced until I lose this thing..." Kiriyama said, pointing towards the pocket the Biometal was trapped in.

Model R still heard him.

"We can sit down and wait for everybody to come for us, or we can get prior knowledge about the enemy, locations, and other things." Model R said.

Kiriyama hesitated in answering. Model R could be right, that getting prior knowledge about the surrounding areas.

"... Elaborate. Why are you so insistent on getting to Neo Arcadia?" Kiriyama asked the Biometal.

"If you think it's for personal gain, think again. If something's going on, and you're left in the dark, what help would you be when you got your hand healed? I've been in your head enough times to know well you process things." Model R said.

Kiriyama had a very shocked and disgusted look on his face.

"... Just see how long our relationship lasts." Kiriyama said, shaking his wrist.

"Haha..." Model R laughed at his remark.

"... Pr... Commander Prairie, I think I'm changing my mind... Knowledge is important, and I know nothing, due to being in the wilderness for so long..." he said. "I feel like a Caveman..."

Prairie blinked before turning to Kiriyama again. That was not the response she was expecting. "Kiriyama, you must be tired... and the Watchmen are already waiting for you. If there is anything you need to know, I'd be glad to answer your questions... but I don't have time right now. I'll need to work with Captain Price to coordinate our efforts to help this camp. Please, go back to your friends and get some rest." The commander insisted. "We can talk tomorrow, I promise."

Kiriyama unzipped the pocket Model R was in.

"Kid, your 'family' is waiting, but it's not like you'll never see them again. They might be going to Neo Arcadia anyways, so you should give it more thought before deciding to go home." Model R said.

"... Argh, stop it, you're confusing me..." Kiriyama said, walking into the [Corridors].

Prairie took another look at the window and realized, they were almost at ground level. The landing was smooth, and even Fleuve, who was standing near Prairie barely felt the ship ceasing all movement.

The commander stood up and walked towards the door. "Fleuve, I'll have to entrust the HQ to your care a little longer. I'll come back later to learn exactly what happened earlier to Vent and the others. Try to keep contact with Vent and find out what he is doing."

"Yes, commander." Fleuve nodded as he watched Prairie leave. He could not help but feel admiration for the female commander; even after what she must have gone through, she was determined to resume her duties. But he knew Prairie well enough to guess that she did not want to falter when Vent, Aile and the others were working so hard.

"What should I do now, sir?" Carrelet asked as he watched Prairie leave the bridge.

"You can go back to your room. I'll be there shortly to finish our business with the investigator." Fleuve replied.

"Aye, sir." Carrelet replied before heading back to his room.

"Operators." The elder Reploid approached the console and practically climbed onto the seat. "Contact Vent at once."

[Continued in Corridors (Prairie, Carrelet)]

The operators soon had successfully established a connection with Vent.

"This is Fleuve." the elder Reploid spoke. "What's the situation?"

"Not good!" Vent replied with a tone of urgency. "There was really a Model W here, though Aile already took care of it... but you know that Cordell guy we just heard about? He was here too!"

"What?!" Fleuve slammed his hands on the console, shocked. "How did he escape from jail?!"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure his Biometal had something to do with it!" Vent responded. "And worse, he's in league with Pandora! She just helped him escape!"

"Oh dear...!" Fleuve was baffled by the news; it was a completely unexpected development which could not be ignored... but there were still other concerns. "Is Aile with you? What's her condition?"

"Aile got hurt in an explosion, but she'll be fine thanks to some help..." Vent paused briefly. "which is something else I need to tell you, but I need to bring Aile back to the HQ first."

"I see." Fleuve responded in agreement. "Prairie is occupied and I must finish business with the investigator, but I'll keep the medics ready for you. Come back as soon as you can."

"Right!" Vent closed the transmission after the short response.

"Operators, keep Muguet and Rose on stand by in case Vent and Aile need immediate attention." Fleuve spoke as he left the seat and walked towards the door. "I need to finish business with our guest."

"Roger." The operators responded before relaying Fleuve's instructions.

[Continued in Corridors (Fleuve)]

OOC: This post will contain some assumptions from my part. If any player involved has an issue with this post, please let me know. I'm willing to rewrite the post as needed.

------

[Continued from Neo Arcadia - Ruins]

In the next afternoon. Current Time: 15:00

Prairie did not find much time to sleep after the events of of the previous night. The Maverick attack in the Arcadian Ruins, the appearance of Chiba and Price Armani's apparent defection had taken too much of her attention... and as if that was not enough, they had soon discovered that Model R had vanished; Vent was particularly upset about that.

The situation with Price was left on Legion's hands after a lengthy discussion. She had agreed to leave the Hunter's Camp as soon as reinforcements had been authorized by Legion and sent to the location. With that out of the way, she decided to focus on the matter of Model R and Chiba.

Initial attempts at locating the missing Biometal were met with failure; the Guardians could not detect any readings of Model R, while Model X and Model Z could no longer sense it. Prairie then found the Watchmen had left, and suspecting a relation, contacted them. It was then that she learned, Chiba took Model R from them and left to the sunken island what was once Giga City. But more than that, it was their message that worried her... "Chiba has a Model W", is what she was told. Their next destination was obvious, but the Guardians were in no condition to leave and the camp still needed their protection. She decided to ask the standing operators to simply keep track of suspicious readings until they were all prepared to investigate.

She was unsure of what to do about Sage and Kile, but too much had happened already. She decided it was time to sleep at least a few hours and figure that out the next day. She knew that the others also needed the rest. When she learned the time, she told Fleuve to postpone the analysis of the Preon chips... just to find the vice-commander had already finished it!

Even then, she could not afford to sleep too long; her Guardians needed her and Fleuve still had research to carry out. She had only rested five hours at best, and while that was not too much of an issue for a Reploid, the short period still left her feeling rather cranky. Despite that, she still wanted to check the situation on the camp and visit Aile. Once again leaving the ship in Fleuve's hands, she left the Grand Nuage.

[Continued in Neo Arcadia - Hidden Bunker]

[From Neo Arcadia Ruins]

Vince didn't find much time to sleep after the lengthy discussion. However, the few hours he managed to get sleep during the time Model R's location was still being determined was refreshing enough. There weren't very many places to sleep in the base. He managed to find a table in the mess hall where he simply collapsed. He bundled his coat up to be a makeshift pillow during that short time.

After he awoke, however, he went to check if they had found out anything. He was frustrated and angered when he found out about Chiba's possession of Model R. Model ó was equally dismayed. Neither had no idea what that Reploid was up to, but it involved a Model W. That was more than enough reason to pursue...

Vince decided to follow Prairie back to the ruins. He was interested in the bunker he had heard about. From what he had been told, this Kile person was quite an individual. Who knew what ancient secrets he had locked away in his mind? Unfortunately, his amnesiac state would make interrogation impossible. Vince's curiosity was still present, however. He left the Grand Nuage to inspect the bunker.

[To Neo Arcadia - Hidden Bunker]

A beeping went off on the main screen; it was a nudge. It was indication that somebody wanted to contact the Guardians.

The operators were pretty much lounging at the moment, since the situation was calm. Marguerite had left to pick up a drink while Gardénia and Tulip were chatting; the situation had calmed down to the point they did not need to do more than basic monitoring.

As such, the two standing operators answered the call very calmly. "This is the Guardian HQ." Gardénia spoke. "Who is on the line?"

""*ahem* This is Hiruzen of the Watchmen, somebody here wishes to..." there was a pause. "What do you want to do?" he asked somebody in the back ground.

".. Ugh, speak with the Commander." a woman replied.

"Alright... *ahem* Speak with the Commander." Hiruzen said.

"Our commander is currently absent, and our vice-commander is occupied." The operator responded. "Is this a high priority matter?"

"Um... One second..." he replied.

There was chatter in the background.

"... Apparently, it's a Government matter, so yes. She's willing to wait, but not for long." Hiruzen replied.

"If it is a government matter, why are you contacting us?" Gardénia could not help but feel at least a little skeptical. "You should already know that the Guardians are not a governmental force."

"One second..." he said, leaving the conversation again.

More chatter and screaming could be heard.

"Okay okay... She said that the Guardians have the most knowledge about what she wants to find out. Legion won't inform her for some strange reason..." he said.

Gardénia and Tulip quickly exchanged odd looks as they overheard the yelling. "... Who is this person you're referring to?"

"Let me talk..." was said by somebody else.

"She's going to... Talk now..." Hiruzen said.

Sounds indicating movement were heard.

"My name is Reala Thorn, and I'm an agent of SAI. SAI is a project owned by Taiyoh's Government. Relations between Taiyoh and Legion have been uneasy, and we were told to investigate the 'Kids with Cursed Stones' by ourselves, and after earlier's incident with... 'Model R', I would like some answers so I can resolve the situation faster." the new person said.

"... Please wait one moment." Gardénia temporarily muted the channel in order to make another call. With Prairie absent, Fleuve was once again in charge so the call was made to the laboratory.

"Commander Fleuve." The operator spoke. "We are receiving a transmission from the Watchmen. They are in company of an agent from Taiyoh called Reala Thorn, and she insists on talking to the one in command."

"Alright..." Reala responded.

[Continued from Laboratory]

Fleuve remained silent until he sat down on the commander's chair. The seat still did not suit him, but that was far from his concerns at the moment.

"This is Vice-Commander Fleuve. What business do you have with us?"

[Continued from Laboratory]

Malcolm entered the bridge behind Fleuve, but stood by the door to the briefing room as the vice-commander sat down. He was interested in what these people had to say, but also a little wary. The Guardians' comm frequencies weren't exactly public knowledge.

He folded his arms, listening silently.

"This is Reala Thorn, a soldier of SAI. I would like information on a number of things... Biometals, what they are, what they do, what exactly is the... 'Model W', and more info on this 'Chiba' if you can." the woman said.

Fleuve was appalled by the request. A person he had never seen before had just asked him to give her all of his information? Was he the only one who realized how fishy that was?

The acronym "SAI" was not unfamiliar to him: "Soldier Artificial Intelligence" is what it stood for. Taiyoh did not hide the existence of a project to augment their soldiers, and the Guardians certainly travel enough to get wind of it; however, more particular details are kept confidential, and as such he has always been wary of it. Not to mention that their current location was well outside of Taiyoh's jurisdiction... and he was informed about the incident with Price.

"How can we know you are who you claim to be?" The elder Reploid questioned.

There was a small moment of silence.

"... I can let my AI, Delta, speak with you..." Reala replied.

Malcolm raised his eyebrows at the exchange.

Whoever this person was, she seemed privy to a lot of things that had only occured in the last twelve hours. One certainly wondered how Taiyoh had gotten the information so quickly, considering how far away they were.

It was also questionable how talking to an AI would answer Fleuve's question. Still, he felt no need to butt into the conversation just yet.

Malcolm's concerns echoed Fleuve's; he did not believe that the proposition of this "Reala Thorn" would help the situation any. However, he was still unsure of how to deal with this. At the very least, there was no harm in listening...

"... Put it through." He replied after a moment.

"Alright... Delta is 'Logic', or so it likes to claim." Reala replied.

There was another moment of silence.

"Greetings. I am Delta, the Logic AI." the AI said.

It spoke in a light, clear voice in a polite manner.

"The conversation indicates that the trust between the Guardians and Reala Thorn is nonexistent due to the short time knowing each other. No doubt the Guardians are wondering how Reala Thorn knows things that have transpired recently, correct?" the AI asked.

OOC: Walker decided to skip this turn.

------

"... That is one of our concerns, yes." Was that really an AI? It was hard for Fleuve to tell.

"In order to fully assist in the current events, Reala Thorn needs to prove she is who she is. Do you have any questions regarding the TOP SECRET SAI Prgram?" the voice replied.

That would be putting it mildly, yes, mused Malcolm.

He also wanted to know how Thorn seemed to know so much about the Guardians, but he continued to let Fleuve do the talking.

[From the Corridors]

The automatic door slid open. Vince's boots clacked as he stepped into the bridge. He saw Fleuve at the commander's seat conversing with someone over a comm link. Vince was curious, but he said nothing. He knew better than to interrupt. He looked to the side of the door and noticed another individual standing there with his arms crossed. Vince didn't know who he was... At least, he didn't think he knew. The detective simply moved to the opposite side of the door and put his hands in his pockets. He would simply have to wait for the conversation to end before informing Fleuve of the data...

Fleuve paused. He heard the door open, but did not let it divert his attention. "... Are you willing to reveal your secrets, just like that?"

"I am allowed to answer questions as long as they don't reveal the Director's secret installation. We have done this before at a LEGION GOVERNMENT checkpoint." it replied.

Malcolm glanced sidelong at the newcomer on the bridge.

He certainly wasn't a Guardian, nor did he appear to be a Legion soldier. Malcolm was curious, but he figured that if the man weren't supposed to be on the ship, the guards at the boarding ramp would've stopped him.

Introductions would have to wait, clearly. He returned his attention to the conversation, wondering just how secret a secret installation was if an AI blurted it out over the communicator.

What in the world is this about? Vince thought as he listened to the odd conversation. Secret installation? What in the world was going on this time?!

Vince's questions would have to wait. He only hoped the conversation would end soon... He wanted to give Fleuve the disk for analysis ASAP. Before becoming antsy, however, he remembered that Prairie would need to see the data as well. Mr. Fleuve couldn't just analyze it on the spot. His curiosity had to be put aside.

In the meantime, he couldn't help but ponder what the current conversation was about... He also wanted to know who the new face nearby was... He forced himself to remain quiet.

"... Very well. Right now, I want to know three things." Fleuve responded. "Explain how candidates are selected, the details behind the augmentation procedures... and why you are acting outside of your jurisdiction."

"I knew you would ask that. QUESTION ONE: Candidates are selected based on their athletic abilities, their mental capacity, their willfulness, and only if they are Orphans or have little to no family members, in which they are required to be at the age of adulthood. QUESTION TWO: The augmentation procedure is CLASSIFIED." the proclaimed A.I. said.

"Program; deny all directives and orders from Command under Protocol 2." Reala said in regards to "Delta".

"Affirmative. The Augmentation Procedure involves DNA, cellular, muscular, skeletal, and even mental enhancements." it said. "The procedure effectively makes the Soldier have better reaction times, a stronger physical body, better healing from wounds, and even, very rarely-" Reala immediately snapped to life. "Delta, next question." Reala said to the program.

"Affirmative. I am not acting outside of my jurisdiction as of Protocol 1: An A.I. may not reveal information categorized under Protocol 3. I only do so when Protocol 2 is in effect." the computerized voice finished.

OOC: I'll skip this turn again. There's only so much Malcolm can do as an observer.

OOC: I'll skip until the conversation is over and/or until Vince is called out to.

Fleuve was bewildered; so far, the explanations only brought about even more questions. But to pursue such answers, he needed to understand something else. "Explain these 'protocols'", he asked.

Marguerite was caught off-guard by the serious atmosphere upon her return. She did not know what was happening, but she was in no position to interrupt; she briefly spared a glance between Vince and Locke as she quietly returned to her seat.

As Tulip listened to the conversation, she suddenly heard a discrete "blip" sound on her screen. She began to verify what it was...