Aibouverse: for Masato (and maybe others as the need arises) [Early-20s Canon]

[silverpleather]

It took EMC long enough to decide they could probably trust us enough to let us come and go from their main base and headquarters. To be fair, stealing that entire truck of Enetron probably didn't endear us much at first, but come on! We needed it.

Anyway. Now we're just as good as real members of the team, even if we still tend to operate after our own rules at times.

Still, there is yet one question, and I'm not entirely satisfied with the platitudes and half-answers I've gotten so far.

The biggest plus side is that Masato has taken to spending more and more time with the Commander, which is where I figure he is right now. Which is what allows me to sneak out of the base.

I'm going to find answers, even if I have to do it entirely my own way.

Comments

[goldenikemen]

"I didn't say it would be easy."

I look back at him, wondering just how much my face is giving away, how much worry.

There are still so many things I wish I could protect him from.

Still so much guilt over what I couldn't protect him from.

It was a blessing in some ways that he was with me in the lab that night, but sometimes I wonder if it would have been more merciful...

Don't think that way. It's neither productive nor healthy.

"We haven't done it sooner because I've been trying to... to keep you away from him. It. Enter."

[silverpleather]

I frown at him.

"I figured that much." I say, and then I turn away from him and take a few steps away. I know I won't get far. If I push him too far, he'll tell Jueki to cut my connection and drop me back into the subdimension.

I stop a few yards away and turn to look at him again. I don't know how much of my anger is playing on my face, in my gaze.

"Why?"

[goldenikemen]

He asks me why. I don't know if I have a good answer for him.

Why do any of us try to keep the ones we love aware from things that will hurt them? The simple answer is usually because we love them. But it's more than that.

"Because..." I falter, but I have to give him some sort of answer.

A split second later I'm shoving him out of the way of a cable, sending him crashing to the ground while I take the hit in the would-be fleshy part just below my shoulder.

My hand reaches for my Morphin Blaster on reflex, ready to transform and fight.

Speak of the devil.

"Busters, ready?"

[silverpleather]

He doesn't have a real answer and I sigh at him, but before he can make something up, he's moving, too quickly, which means that something's gone wrong. And that's about all I have time to think before I hit the ground and I hear the tell-tale sound of him taking a hit that was inevitably meant for me.

I wish he wouldn't do that. He's no more indestructible than I am.

Enter. Funny how these things work out. I scramble back to my feet, drawing my own Blaster and releasing the catch on the visor.

"Let's Morphin!"

"Oh la la. Mes coléoptères... What ever could you be doing out and about at this late hour?"

[goldenikemen]

I hiss through my teeth, still recovering a bit from the hit I took, even after my transformation.

I move to stand beside my Aibou, readying a defensive stance. I would much rather we retreat than engage Enter head on; I'm not sure if we'd have backup at this hour.

I try to contact the base, at least Kurorin. Speaking low and hurried.

I dodge another cable, and manage to shoot a blast off toward Enter in the process.

[silverpleather]

I know this is probably a mistake, but at the same time, I came out here looking for him, and here he is, and, mon dieu, I still want answers.

I half-hear my aibou contacting the base, but I don't hear if there's any response. Depends on who is still awake, I guess, or if the Commander is intending on sounding an alarm for something like this.

I dive forward and take some shots at Enter, trying to shoot down some of his cables as they go flying around us.

One of them catches me off guard as my focus is on the cables attacking Masato. It wraps around my ankle and pulls me off balance.

[red_pleather]

Ryuu-san and Yoko-chan and I stand in the main room as the Commander orders us to a Vaglass reaction on the south side...... but just as we're about to leave, the Commander gets a call from Jin-san.

I head out to help Jin-san and Emi. They've been engaged by Enter.

Alone.

There aren't enough of us.

They're not too far, at least. Don't even need to take Nick. I sprint around the corner and see Jin in motion, Emi flying through the air courtesy of a cable.

I fire.

[goldenikemen]

I curse under my breath when I see Emi go down in my peripheral. I launch forward, getting a foot down on the cable pulling him by the ankle, and severing it with my Driblade.

I don't care what Emi was planning on, I'm not letting Enter have him. Not for any reason. Not ever.

More gunfire, and a flash of red.

"Nice of you to join us, Hiromu-chan!" I toss over my shoulder, flashing my horned fingers at him.

[silverpleather]

Enter takes a staggered step back when a shot nearly catches him in the shoulder. It misses (of course it does, and when have I ever seen anything actually connect with him?), but it distracts him enough not to act quickly enough at pulling me nearer to him before Masato cuts in, bringing his Driblade down on the cable holding me. It was one of the smaller ones, and actually snaps under the force of Masato's strike. For my part, I had been struggling back against the force of the pull, and when it's severed I go rolling backwards. I use the momentum to slide to my feet again and summon my own Driblade, blowing between Masato and Hiromu (when did he get here?) to engage Enter one-on-one.

I have just enough time to reflect that Masato's going to be pissed before Enter summons a weapon of his own and we slide into a strangely comfortable dance of thrusts, parries and sweeping strikes.

How am I supposed to get him to talk?