A Home for Heroes

[Proto Man]

As they walked, the trio turned to casual conversation to pass the time. Proto Man and Mickey Mouse shared some stories from ‘The Hero’s Graveyard’ as Mireya told them all about her nondescript cabin in the woods. From the way she spoke about everything that she’d done over the last few months, it was clear she was proud of her accomplishments, despite the fact that they didn’t carry the same inherent danger as the actions of her smaller associates.

For his part, Proto Man was happy that his friend had found some solace. After all, he couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to just sit back and put his feet up on a stool.

Dante’s Abyss? You did a lot of sitting there, technically. The android frowned at the memory. While it was true that he’d sat out the competition in its lobby area, he had enjoyed none of that experience. Nothing had pained him more than watching Samus and Harry die at the hands of villains and jerks. Mickey had been the last beacon of light in that competition, and he’d been snuffed out at the hands of the marine with the big gun.

Since it was such a small world, the man responsible for killing that very same marine had been standing just ten feet away at the time.

For such a large place, the Omniverse is very tiny…

Fortunately for the trio, the Nexus was behind them. They’d made their way into the Endless Dunes about an hour ago, and after a detour around Carrefore, they were on their way to Nippur.

“I don’t think I’ve been here before,” Mireya muttered once their tense half-jog away from the imperial town was completed. From the look on the woman’s mauve features, she wasn’t impressed by the sunlight, the heat, or the sand. “I can imagine why.”

“It’s not terrible,” Proto Man replied as he glanced over at Mickey. The mouse nodded his head and smiled.

“So what’s it like to be a secondary, Mireya?”

Upon hearing the question, the half-night elf chewed on her lower lip for a few moments. When the words finally made sense in her head, she answered the question. “It’s not too bad.” She started before trailing off to collect a few more coherent thoughts. “All I’ve ever known is mortality, so it’s not like I’m missing out on anything in that category.”

Proto Man frowned as a question popped into his head. “Is it weird to know that your memories never happened?”

“Nah,” she finally replied as a smile crept across her features. “Who’s to say they didn’t? Maybe there’s a prime out there who knew another me from another world. And even if the memories aren’t technically real, they’re real to me, y’know? My parents never existed in this world, yet I can still remember the smell of my mother’s shampoo and that cheap cologne my father wore to work. Ain’t that a riot?”

Proto Man nodded his head, although he wasn’t sure he’d have the same opinion if their places were swapped.

“Anyway,” Mireya interjected before either of her small friends could add to the conversation. “What’s important is what I’ve lived through and experienced here in this silly old world.”

“Racism?” Proto Man remarked with too much innocence for it to offend the woman.

“Social martyrdom?” Mickey added—his tone just as non-sarcastic as his friends.

“Loneli—”

“¡Basta!” The woman interjected, her eyes wide but a smile still present on her features as she hushed her two naïve friends. Once their mouths shut, she flashed them both a warm smile. “I’m glad I met you two. I can’t imagine where I’d be right now if I hadn’t decided to trail the strange metal kid who walked through the Animus and dared to cure the Blight.”

Proto Man grinned as he leaned over and looped an arm around Mickey’s shoulders. “Or his pal the displaced king with the heart of gold!”

Mireya stifled a laugh as the trio reached the top of small sand dune. On the horizon, they all spotted the shape that disrupted the otherwise empty horizon. “Is that it? Nippur?”

“Si,” the preteen machine replied, eliciting a nod from the woman.

“I was expecting something bigger,” the half-night said with a grin.

“At least it’s not burning anymore,” Mickey muttered.

“Not currently,” Proto Man added somberly.