Hello, Narsh here! So this story would just be a ship that only my friend and I enjoy.

No one else gets it. So yeah, if you were looking for sappy stuff today, you've found it!

Watch as I take these characters and make them completely out of character!

Games used: Megaman ZX, Megaman Zero, Megaman Battle Network

He can't remember how it happened. It started too fast and ended just as quickly. Knocked back against the wall and barely conscious, the scene came in flashes. She approached and kissed his forehead.

"Goodbye…"

The next thing he knew, she was on the ground. Lifeless, it seemed. He got up from the crooked position he was in, and ran toward her.

"Prairie! Prairie please…" he held her limp body in his arms, she was still warm. How long had he been out? He scanned her condition for any injuries. None. She was still alive at least. He shook her gently...

"Prairie… Prairie, wake up..!" … to no avail. She didn't even stir. He checked her condition again, with the nagging fear that something was terribly wrong.

Injuries: None

Condition: Asleep

Adrenaline Levels: Normal

I.C. Chip: ERROR

He froze. "... Wh-what..?" This couldn't be right… she was fine… wasn't she..? She was just resting, right…? He reset his scanner, hoping that it was he who had the problem. He checked again.

I.C. Chip: ERROR

"N-no… NO!" worry and grief spread across his face, unable to keep it in. He picked her up in his arms and teleported to where Ciel was sitting in the Commander Chair. She stood up when he appeared; She already knew what had happened.

"Forte! Follow me," she rushed passed him, down the hall, Forte trailing at her heels. He looked down at Prairie's resting face, worry filling his every sense. Why…. what did you do? They arrived at the Medical Wing, placing Prairie in an empty bed. Ciel and another doctor hooked Prairie up to a number of machines to get her vitals and to see her stability.

"Forte, I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside," Ciel pleaded.

"Wh-what?! No, I'm not leaving."

"Forte, please…"

"No, I can't stand idly by without knowing-"

"Forte, leave!"

He opened his mouth to respond but quickly shut it. He buried his face in his cloak and left the room. Ciel looked back at him with a tinge of sorrow. Once he was outside, he teleported to the UnderNet and blasted a useless chunk of code as though it had looked at him funny. He blasted over and over until he was sure that all his energy was spent. He floated to the ground, suddenly feeling heavy. His legs collapsed beneath him and he fell to his knees. His hand came to his eyes, realizing that he had been crying. It withdrew and he stared at his wet fingers for a moment. Would she be okay?

"Forte…"

He snapped out of it, "P-Prairie?!" no… that was his communicator. He checked it and answered the call. It was from Ciel.

"We… have a diagnosis,"

Just like that, he was there, Ciel hadn't put down her communicator yet. She looked exhausted.

"Maybe we should… go somewhere else before I tell you?"

Oh no… He shakily nodded. They went to the deck, silence between them the whole way there.

"I… I don't know how I can tell you… she… she took in Model W into her own database to fight it off first hand and…"
His eyes widened and he grabbed her by the arms, "she's doing okay right? She's winning, right!? She's going to survive, right?!"

She looked at him, not knowing what to say. Her expression saddened and she looked away. "No, she's not going to make it."

His stomach sank. He let go of her and his arms fell to his sides underneath the tattered cloak. A moment of silence passed between them.

"...How much longer…?" he asked breathlessly.

"About a month. There's nothing we can do. It's not a sub-conscious fight like one might think so that we can send someone like you to take care of it… It's just two beings fighting over the same mind. Her body and mind are at rest."

"No… there has to be something! Let me see her."

"... alright," she responded hesitantly.

She led him back to the Medical Wing. He went to Prairie's side and transported himself into her mind. It was the same as it had always been. He'd been here before after all.

"Prairie?!" he called out. No answer. He walked around the endless amount of computers, hoping she would be somewhere there, waiting for him. The growing dust on the computers only seemed to mock him as he was walking. Searching for what felt like hours, he turned up with nothing. No sign of Prairie, no sign of anything. The frequent sightings of static-filled screens didn't help his motivation either. No, she has to be here. Ciel said that she was just… asleep? But where could she be? Pulling up his map database for the hundredth time, he searched for any sign of her, any inconsistency at all. Nothing.

He felt discouraged and just stared at the map hoping the answer would just pop out at him, and he could find her and he could solve this problem. This idiotic problem that could have never happened if you hadn't gotten hit. He thought. His fist clenched. It was all your….

Your fault.

The thought echoed around his head. It started to get louder and louder, screaming at him, making him want to cry out in agony. He dropped to his knees and hit the ground with his fist, causing the ground to crack. It didn't fix itself like it should've. He ignored it and pushed the screaming thoughts out of his mind. He pushed himself up using a computer console as support. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In… and out. He looked at the map once again. He blinked. There, right there! How could he have missed it? A small space that was open and completely free of computers! A small smile crept to the edges of his mouth. Where else could she be?

"Area Steal…" he muttered under his breath. In a blink he was on the outskirts of the open area.

"A… cherry blossom?" he wondered aloud. He looked up at the massive tree, its petals gracefully falling down to the floor. He found himself looking up at cyberspace, how strange that it seemed so far away, making the endless code glow as though they were stars. His gaze shifted back down to the base of the cherry blossom. There sleeping at the base, was Prairie. He ran toward her, with no hesitation and held her in his arms in a gentle embrace.

"P-Prairie? Can you hear me?" he cooed. He heard her stir.

"... Forte…?" her voice was weak but still intact. His vision began to blur. He was so overcome with emotion, he let it out in weak and small sobs.

"Prairie… I… I'm so glad you're okay…." he hugged her tighter.

"... I'm sorry…. I didn't know what to do and-"

"I don't care about all that. You're safe and that's all that matters," an uneasy silence. She wasn't telling him something. He pulled away from her and stared at her face to gather anything from her. She looked fragile, weak. A shell of the energy-filled face that was before. Her eyes were glossy and unfocused. She smiled weakly and wiped at the tear streaks on his face.

"Silly… you're not supposed to cry…. That's my job…" she teased. He laughed, glad to have her back.

They sat and talked for as long as both were able, making sure to listen to every word the other said. Over the course of their conversation, their position shifted and Forte's back was now to the bark of the tree with his legs outstretched. Prairie sat in his lap, back leaning against his chest. They held their hands together.

Prairie coughed and her hand came to her mouth. Forte's smile faded.

"Are you okay, Prairie?"

"Y-yes I just… need to rest for now…" her head limply lay against his chest as she almost immediately drifted off to sleep. Forte cast a worried glance at her, but then shifted his gaze to the cherry blossoms above them. He noticed something he hadn't noticed before. Brown, withering, petals. The tree was dying.