Everything Remains (REMASTERED VERSION OF MY SMG4 "WHAT IF?" AU)

Chapter 8 : Lurking Somewhere Else

Smg4 was the first to speak to this man. "Uhm, hi?"
Saiko then quickly asked, jabbing a finger onto his head, "Aren't you the other guy connected to that blue man?"
"Woah woah woah, easy there lady. What did she even say anyway?"
He turned to us. I raised a hand. "She asked if you were that same guy who was connected to a blue man."
"I know who you're talking about. And, yes. I am."
"How did-" I was interrupted by the man as I said this.
"Didn't you see how damaged we were? When we saw that you folks were heading back here, I took our damage to my advantage and pulled myself away from him. It hurt, but I did it. Plus, Z- he was getting too slow, so it made him a nuisance to me."
I spoke again, an annoyed expression morphed on my face. "What happened to the other guy?"
"Striker got him. He was losing so much blood, I practically had to separate from him in order to survive."
Axol placed a hand on my shoulder again. The man sighed and spoke again.
"By the way, the name's Niles."
"I thought that other guy said your names were lost to time?"
"He would tend to lie a lot."
I raised an eyebrow. I had a bad feeling about him, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Axol then spoke.
"Why are you here anyway?"
"I just came to tell yall that whatever you're looking for is that way."
With the one arm he had, Niles pointed west toward a hospital. Smg3 spoke. "Why would Zero be in a hospital? The dude's too damn big."
"Was. See, when you folks separated that guy from Zero..."
He points at Axol.
"...He was reverted to a smaller state. Although, he was able to reside in that hospital and make it his base."
Saiko scoffs.
"Well, I guess we should go there then."
"But wait." Niles says. "Like I said, it's his base. So expect there to be a fuck ton of Strikers and other monsters there."
Tari began to shake nervously. "Other monsters?"
"Remember that one monster yall fought that looked like a bunch of Strikers mixed together? Well those are called Clumps. Expect to see a lot of those. That's what I mean by other monsters."
"Huh." Four said. Axol turned to me. "You think you can handle it, Mel?"
"I hope so. Probably not." I said, trying to joke around at the last part. He smiled. "It'll be okay. You don't have to if you don't want to. Or can't."
Niles scratches his cheek. "It's probably best that yall get some rest before you do try to kill yourselves. This apartment right here will do."
He patted a wall beside him. Sure enough, the building was, in fact, an apartment complex. We all took a look at the building for a moment. Four then replied. "We would love to, but we're trying to get this done as quick as possible."
"If you insist." Niles shrugged. His attention finally had turned to Eveline, who stood there, staring back at him. "What's got her so ticked off?"
I poked Eveline's cheek and she snapped back. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Spaced out. Anyway, what are we doing?"
"Heading to that hospital down west." Meggy said.
"Oh okay. Let's do it then."
"I'll be around." Niles said before walking off. Three then raised an eyebrow as he's long gone.
"Huh."
Four turned to him. "What's up?"
"The signal thingy stopped. Do you feel it?"
"Yeah."
"Weird." Three said quietly. With just a few quick glances at each other but without another word, we finally walked off to the hospital. I still remained at Axol's side the whole time. That was when I noticed that he was practicing breathing techniques. I assumed it was just him trying to ease off some anxiety, so I didn't say anything. However, I did gently hold his free hand. He quickly noticed and turned to me. "Yeah?" He said with a nervous smile and a pink blush on his cheeks. I nodded.
"Just thought it may help with your anxiety."
It took a few seconds, but his fingers curled around my hand just as gently. "Oh. Thanks, Melony."
"No problem, Axol. Any time." I gave him a reassuring smile. He returned the favor.