//------------------------------//
// 7: Out Back At Ya 
// Story: Melody of the Future 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	As soon as Octavia and Axl returned to HQ, Octavia directed Axl into a side room.  "Sit," she instructed firmly, gesturing to a chair.

Axl obediently sat down, still a bit shell shocked from having killed someone who, at one time, he thought would have been a friend.  He was startled out of his reverie when Octavia hopped from his shoulder into his lap.  "What-?"

Octavia suddenly blazed with light, and was then out of her armor in his lap, Varia floating around her.  "There's a brush on the table next to you," she stated firmly as she lay down in his lap.  "Use it."

Turning, Axl noticed the brush and picked it up.  "You know, you could have just said you needed your mane brushed," he pointed out as he started to do so.

"I didn't need my mane brushed," Octavia countered idly, her voice mellowing as she relaxed.  "You needed to brush my mane."

Axl paused, his face twisting in confusion.  "Huh?"

"You're stressed," Octavia explained.  "Your entire life has been turned upside down, and now you're hunting down those who were friends or you'd fought to save, and you just had to kill one of them to save me.  On top of that, the fact the Light hologram knew something about you that it couldn't explain and that ability of yours - one I've never seen before - tells me you likely know nothing about where you come from."  She turned to face him, calmly waiting for a contradiction.  When none came, she smiled softly.  "You're an emotional wreck right now, however you're trying to hide it, from me or yourself."  She laid her head back down.  "Dad tells me that brushing my mane is one of the most relaxing activities he's yet discovered, and wondrous for relieving both our stressed states.  So brush my mane.  If you need it, you can do my tail as well."

Smiling softly, Axl went back to brushing.  After a time, he finally spoke up.  "Thank you."

"Just watch for tangles," Octavia murmured softly, relaxing into the tending.

Half an hour later, Octavia was perfectly groomed and Axl had found some measure of inner peace, and was ready for the next mission.  Deciding to take some weight off Axl's mind, Octavia unilaterally decided to go after the Tunnel Base, utilizing Ride Armors to retake the location and pursue the 'Maverick' in that area, whom Axl was able to identify as Vanishing Gungaroo.  "This way, you get to ride, too," Octavia explained after hopping back to Axl's shoulders.  "Now giddyup."

Axl, for his part, rolled his eyes.  "I think I preferred mush."

Octavia then held out a brush hanging from a stick in front of Axl's face.  "Go on, go get it."





Upon arriving in the Tunnel Base, they found the main tunnel leading in to be unusually dark.  "Let's move forward slowly and find the Ride Armor," Octavia pointed out.  "It should be somewhere near here."

"I've already got a bead on it," Axl pointed out as he dashed forward, curving to the side of the wider hallway as soon as they exited the narrow one they'd beamed into.  A large blue Ride Armor waited there, a new model armed with two heavy auto-cannons and two heavy rocket launchers.  Once in the cockpit, Axl was easily able to handle the controls, beginning to blast their way forward.

"You can detect things like that?" Octavia asked curiously.  "Is that more innate tech?"

"More training, really," Axl explained.  "Everything gives off a certain amount of unique electronic signal that any Reploid can pick up.  Given the sheer amount, however, it's pure static for anyone trying to listen in.  Red taught me to find the specific patterns in it so I can track specific things.  A Reploid in distress, a hostile mechanaloid drone, an inactive but functional Ride Armor..."  He shrugged his shoulders.  "Difficult but useful."

"Most definitely," Octavia praised.  "You're just full of surprises.  Where did Red learn to do it?"

"That's the thing," Axl continued, now uncertain.  "Red couldn't do it.  He understood the theory and could identify the patterns to teach the skill, but he couldn't duplicate it in action.  He never explained why."  A frown crossed his face.  "Maybe if he could..."  He fell silent as he maneuvered the Ride Armor to where a distressed civilian was hiding.

"You think some sort of signal is altering Red's behavior?" Octavia asked as she evaced the civilian Reploid.

"I noticed a new pattern in the static before things started to change," Axl responded quietly.  "Or at least, I think I did."  He sighed as he blasted down another wall that blocked the path with the rockets.  "Though it might just be some desperate hope that everything Red claimed we stood for wasn't a lie, grabbing any sort of explanation that can let me still believe in him, despite..."

Octavia gently put her hoof to Axl's cheek.  "We'll get through this," she promised.  "We'll find out what's causing all this.  And we'll fix it.  Whatever else, we will make this better."

Axl managed to smile as they reached a large door, which slowly opened for them.  "You really think so?" he asked hopefully.

"I know so," Octavia insisted.  "You just keep moving.  Everything will be just fine."

Axl guided the Ride Armor through the door, his smile wider as he felt much more confident and at ease.