Chapter Text
An alarm rang throughout the bedroom, and along with it emits the groggy moans from a fifteen year old Belle. She takes her arms out from the wrappings of her blankets and reaches to snooze the alarm.
“Oh no you don’t!” a voice snaps from her Hunter VG-3, from which materializes Belle’s manager and wizard.
“Ice. . . it’s my day off. . .” Belle says with one eye half open and another covered by her pillow.
“It’s your day off from filming Belle! You still have to work on songwriting, as well your Q&A for Link-Up Magazine, that homework you’ve been putting off for the last few days. Oh, and you also have swimming scheduled for later today.” Belle sighs before pushing herself upright “Yeah yeah, I get it.”
And so begins a day like all the others. It starts with a cold morning shower, a full two minutes of brushing her teeth, as well as some prettying up in the mirror, leaving her hair down as she has for the last few years. Finally she heads to the kitchen and enjoys an omelette over rice for a brief breakfast before moving back to her room. She sits in front of her computer and readies herself for a productive day.
“Alright Ice! Watch me write this year's greatest hit!”
. . .
. . .
. . .
Minutes pass as Belle stares at her screen, her hands hovering over a real-wave keyboard, before she eventually rests her head on hand. A look of defeat spreads across her face as Ice materializes by her side.
“Since you can’t seem to get any work done here, how about we move on to the QnA? Maybe that will strike some inspiration.”
“I guess that beats doing nothing.” Belle chuckles to herself as she spins around in her swivel chair.
“Allow me to pull up some of the questions then.” Belle wanders over to her bed and gets herself comfortable before Ice begins firing-off questions.
“How do you maintain your figure?”
“Um. . .” Belle shifts in her bed in mild discomfort “Pass.”
“Favorite flavor of ice cream?”
“I don’t like superlatives. . .can we skip them?”
“We can do that, What sort of things are you looking for in a partner?” Belle is silent for a moment
“An ideal partner. . .” Romance has never been a subject she’s been good at. Being a beloved idol, the average person wouldn’t be a candidate for a partner, especially if they’re a fan of hers
“Belle?” Ice looks over at her with concern
“I guess. . . someone who doesn’t care who I am, they just. . . like me for me.”
“Noted.”
“This is not permission for you to make a list of potential boyfriends, Ice.”
“A list of girlfriends will do.”
“Ice!”
“I’m just messing with you. . . I already created one several years ago.” The two of them laugh for a moment, before Belle falls silent and sits upright
“Did you actually?”
“We’re getting off topic, your next question is. . . You’ve written so many amazing songs, how do you get the inspiration for them?”
“I do QnAs” Belle Answers with a light giggle
“I’m not writing that answer down.”
“I mean, is it not true?”
“Given I’m the one who suggested we move on to this instead of song writing, no it’s not.”
“Fine, um. . . I guess I like going out for walks in nature. They can be really relaxing and the fresh air helps get my mind in a better place.”
“What is your ideal first date?”
“Ooo! I’d like to do arts and crafts, I’ve always had fun with those!
“You were probably a lot of people’s first celebrity crush, did you ever have a celebrity crush of your own?”
“A celebrity crush. . .” She’d never thought of anything like that before. There’s not a lot of people whom she looks up to that aren't already someone of similar status to her, or someone she’s connected to. In fact she can hardly think of anyone who had ever made her heart race. Except for one.
It was several years ago, and she was in a dark place, literally. She had told the world to not stand down against Dealer and their threats only to face their power head on. All she had was herself and Ice, and she thought she might be stuck there forever, until she saw something different. A bright blue hero, the blue bomber that had entered the public consciousness only months prior. He was like her north star, guiding her to a safe place until she could be rescued.
“Hello? Earth to Belle?” She was snapped back to reality, in an instant, and remarks:
“Megaman.”
“Hm?”
“I guess If I had to pick someone, it would be megaman.” Ice looks over at some old data, old enough that if it were real it would be covered in dust. The data contains an old file labeled ‘SO list’ and upon closer inspection, finds only one entry.
“That checks out.”
Belle raises an eyebrow “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh nothing, next is. . . what was your first kiss- okay this is too many dating-adjacent questions. Would you like me to skip them?”
“Yes please.” The two go through questions for about an hour until they’re eventually interrupted by another alarm from Belle’s Hunter VG.
“Oh shoot! I already forgot I had swimming today!” Belle practically jumps out of bed as she looks through her dresser for a basic swimsuit.
“Hmph, even after I reminded you this morning.”
“I got distracted! Cut me some slack.” She takes a fairly basic one-piece swimsuit and places it in a duffle bag. She rushes over to grab a few other things, some goggles, a towel, a fresh set of undergarments, hairbrush, deodorant, as well as shampoo and conditioner before putting it all in the bag. She’s about to rush out before Ice interrupts her.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Hm? What do you mean?” Belle looks over to see her wizard holding a facemask and sunglasses. “Oh right!” Belle Slips the mask over her mouth and nose and places the sunglasses over her eyes. “Here’s hoping nobody recognizes me.”
A wave liner reaches its stop at Navi-Sea, a fitness club that’s closed off to the average person. It has a large gym but Belle mostly likes it for its large swimming pools. Thankfully no one recognized Belle on her way there, and when she arrives she presents her membership card to a wizard at the gate and is allowed in. A swift change in the locker room and she gets her workout started. She spends about an hour in the pool periodically changing workouts until exhaustion finally catches up to her.
“Geez it's cold, They need to turn down the air conditioning in here. . .” Pulling herself out of the water, Belle quickly heads back to the locker room and changes out of her swimsuit and back into her usual attire.
“Really glad Sonia told me about this place. It’s not often I can go out and have some. . . privacy” she trails off as the way out catches her eye. The door is lined entirely with ice, and as the meaning of the sight begins to sink in, she starts to notice her breath becoming more and more visible, the temperature continuing to drop. She runs up to the door and starts pulling and pushing it as hard as she can, but it doesn’t budge. It’s frozen solid
“What’s going on?” She shivers and steps back, her eyes looking down as she notices each exhale creating frosty clouds in front of her. Her wizard materializes beside her and begins looking around.
“Ice? What are you doing?”
“I’m looking for towels, or anything else that can keep you warm.”
“You can’t do that, what if it gets too cold for you?”
Ice stops for a moment to look back at Belle “I’m just a wizard. Worst case scenario your Hunter VG gets shut off. I'm stuck in there until you get somewhere warmer.” Ice resumes her search for anything to keep Belle warm. “If YOU get too cold the result will be much worse.” Eventually she spots a metal cabinet on the wall and attempts to pry it open
“Is it stuck?” Ice nods and Belle runs over to help open it. They pull harder than they ever have before when suddenly they hear the cracking sound of breaking ice. The two of the fall back as the metal door of the cabinet flies off.
“Ough. . . that’s one way to get it open I guess. . .” Belle remarks as she tosses the cabinet door aside. It’s then she sees the prize inside, several towels folded and stacked nicely atop each other. She grabs all of them and not long after Ice has her wrapped up like a weird looking christmas gift.
“How does that feel?”
“Better than before.” she says between foggy breaths.
“Alright, I. . . I guess I’ll go back into the Hunter for now. Bring me out if you need me, got it?”
“Of course” Belle nods, and in an instant Ice dematerializes, leaving Belle alone with her thoughts and the frost covering the floor. With each minute that passes the temperature drops more and more until it reaches the point where even the towels can’t keep Belle warm any longer, her body shivering involuntarily as she clings tightly to the makeshift blankets. . . When suddenly, there’s a slight flash. A beam of light shoots out of a device mounted on the wall, and from it appears a familiar figure. A knight in shining blue armor
“M-Megama. . . G-Geo. Geo!” Megaman’s head turns with slight surprise
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“N-No. I just got out of the pool when it suddenly got super cold!”
“Hold it kid.” Beside Megaman materializes a predominantly blue and green wizard with claws sharp enough to tear through just about anything. “I’m getting some serious Deja Vu here.”
Megaman turns to his companion “what do you mean Mega?”
“There was only one other time we saw this chick while everything was frozen over.” It doesn't take long for Ice to materialize, giving Omega-xis a glare that could scare a child.
“I do not appreciate what you’re trying to imply.” her tone was harsh, but it also came with a slight sense of regret.
“Hey lady, I’m just pointing out some facts here.” Geo lets out a sigh as Omega and Ice’s personalities clash, before turning his attention to Belle.
“You want me to get you out of here?”
“Y-Yeah. . . I’d like that” After getting the Wizard’s to stop arguing Geo guides Belle over to the frozen door that leads to the pool area. “Tail Burner!” flames burst forth from Geo's megabuster, melting the ice that froze the door shut without difficulty
“For the record, if I was responsible for this, that wouldn't have worked.”
“Ice not now.” Belle's voice has a hint of exhaustion to it by this point, but she tries her best to keep up with Geo as they make their way over to the poolside exit and entrance. All attempts to pull and push at the door leads to no success, leaving Geo to resort to the same trick as before.
“Alright, stand back.” Belle nods as she gives Megaman the space he needs, only to notice something out of the corner of her eye. A white, knight-like figure rising from the foggy waters of the pool, its arm raised as a chilling aura emanates from its hand.
“Geo! Watch out” He turns around just in time to see the enigmatic figure shoot a geyser of ice from their palm. He moves like lightning, scooping Belle up into his arms and moving both of them out of the attack's range. Despite how cold it is, Belle can feel her face heating up, and her heart skip a beat. Geo ducks behind a dividing wall that separates two pools and sets Belle down.
“Stay here.” Belle nods
“O-Okay.” And without wasting a second Geo leaps over the dividing wall and engages the threat, and Belle can't help but peek over the wall and watch. It was like she was being pulled back to all those years ago when her and Sonia's shoot was interrupted by Geo's friend, whose wizard went out of control. Megaman's movements were fast and calculated. Despite the many years that passed since Megaman fought meteor G, he hadn't lost any strength. In fact he looks a lot stronger now than he did then, though perhaps it's just the difference in age. However, despite his experience and strength, Geo finds himself in a bind as he's forced to shield himself from a continuous beam of ice. He's able to hold his ground for a moment before the shield begins to visibly crack
“Geo. . .” Belle looks around for anything that could be of use when she spots a real wave projector by the pool corner with some tools around it. The projector looks loose, but whether or not it's loose enough for her is a whole other story. Still, she has to go for it, running across the pool while the assailant has their back turned away. She uses all her might to pull up the matter wave project without breaking the wiring attached.
“Eat lightning creep!” By the time the EM being turns to her it's too late, as Belle drops the real wave projector into the cool waters of the pool, electricity coursing through it in an instant. The em being is shocked in place, leaving an opening for Geo to finish them off just before the circuit breaks trips. When it's over, all that's left is a body floating in the pool face-up, unconscious but breathing.
“Thanks for saving me.”
“Me? I should be thanking you.” Geo's attention is taken for a moment by the sound of sirens and voices outside “We should get out of here.” he notes before his heroic form dissipates in mere moments, reverting Megaman back to regular old Geo.
“Right.” Belle follows him as the two make their way to a side exit, the rays of the sun practically thawing Belle out right as the adrenaline from the sudden attack begins to wear off. The peace doesn't last long though
“Is that Megaman?” the pair look over to the source of the voice and see a small group of photographers
A slight grimace starts to form on Belle's face “Who let the paparazzi in?”
Geo doesn't respond at first looking around before taking Belle's hand and dragging her away from the prying eyes of tabloid journalists. A fluttering feeling fills her heart as Geo eventually ducks into a small alley.
“W-what are-”
“Shhhh” Geo hushes Belle as he looks back. There isn't much room but with a tight enough squeeze they manage to stay out of sight of the paparazzi, their voices growing louder before growing distant, not that Belle noticed since she was a bit more preoccupied with the man in front of her. Geo's little escape maneuver has her pressed against the wall, with him being maybe a few inches at most away. It wasn't Geo's fault. His attention was focused largely on the paparazzi, his head turned away from Belle and toward the source of the sound. Belle on the other hand, is as red as a tomat. The butterflies in her stomach that flutter and batter around endlessly causing her breath to feel shaky. And in a moment of weakness, she acts on the feeling.
“Alright, looks like they're g-” Geo is taken aback by the sudden feeling of Belle's lips against his. It was only for a moment, but still a moment too long. Belle reels back when she realizes what she's done
“I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. . . I don't know what. . .” no words are exchanged between the two after that. All Belle can do is run, leaving a stunned Geo in her wake.
Belle plants face-first into one of the pillows on her bed and lets out a frustrated scream.
“Why did I do that!?!?!?” Ice materializes by her side
“I suppose I should be adding Megaman to that new boyfriend candidate list?” Belle lifts her head and shoots a glare at her “Later then.” Belle lets out a sigh and turns over as her manager wanders off.
"Why did I do that . . ." Belle’s mind won’t let it go. "I hardly know Geo, I probably know more about ‘Megaman’ than I do the real him. . ." The slightest frown forms on Ice’s face as she watches Belle get stuck in her head. She looks around for something to take her mind off things, before remembering the agenda for the day that she outlined that morning.
“You know Belle, if you lie down in bed all day you're going to end up turning all that homework in late.” She jolts upright from the bed, her current predicament becoming buried by the oncoming deadline
“shootshootshoot! She zooms over to her desk and begins work right away “i completely forgot about that,”
Ice watches as Belle dives headfirst into her work. The troubles of today being pushed off until tomorrow, or perhaps the day after if they're lucky. For now though, she'll take what she can get.