More Than Friends
By Fullmetal Firedrake
It was nice summer day; the birds were singing, the breeze was nice, and best of all, there was no trouble. The sun shone brightly through the forest floor as little animals scurried about collecting food. A small squirrel was sitting on an old log near a lake, nibbling on an acorn. Just then, a huge blast of energy shot through the trees and hit the fuzzy creature sending it flying into the lake. A black shape emerged from the thicket along with a wolf-shaped figure beside it. The black bot brought his buster to his lips and blew the smoke away. The wolf barked happily, it's purple armour gleaming in the dappled light. He walked over to the waters edge and sat down. The wolf followed and laid down beside its master, wagging it's tail like an innocent puppy.
He pat the wolf on the head. "You're getting to much like that dog." The bot remarked. The wolf immediately put aside it's playful actions and stood up straight. Suddenly it spun around growling. The black bot looked behind to see a red bot emerge from the bushes. "Forte? I thought that was you." Forte didn't bother to shoo him away. "What do want?" He muttered. "I just thought I'd come sit with you." The red bot looked over to the snarling wolf. "Down boy." Forte commanded. The purple wolf stopped at once and lay down on the bright green grass, eyeing the red bot with wary eyes. The red bot walked over to Forte and sat down beside him. "You don't seem like yourself," he said. "Is something wrong?" Forte looked down at the water. "Blues...I...I think something's wrong with me." He replied.
Blues looked the black bot over carefully. Normally, he would have threatened to attack when he came. He looked awfully tired, and he seemed very gloomy. This wasn't his usual behaviour. "Please tell me what's wrong. I want to help." Blues asked. Forte flopped down on the grass and stared at the sky above. "Promise not to tell anyone?" He asked. Blues nodded. "Wily's granddaughter is staying for the summer." He stopped after he saw Blues smile. "And you like her, eh?" He said. Forte closed his eyes. "Yes." He answered simply. "So you're in love with a human...I didn't think you were the type." Blues lay down beside him. Forte rolled on his side and gazed at the red bot. "Me either. Theres just something about her...I can't explain it." He sighed. "Well, you got the whole summer." Blues said "That's true." Forte replied. Blues gave a long yawn before putting his arms behind his head. "I'm sure everything will work out fine. Just play your cards right."
Forte got to his feet, a smile on his face. "Thanks Blues. I better get going." Blues got up and turned towards him. "Glad I could help." He replied. The purple wolf jumped to its feet and ran over towards its master. "Blues, just because we had this talk doesn't mean were friends. The next time we meet, it will be like before." With that the black bot walked away, his loyal companion at his side. Blues watched him leave. He was glad he had the chance to talk to Forte. Maybe he would understand that they could finally be friends and not enemies.
"Here Treble, here boy!" Treble bounded towards the familiar voice. He emerged from the clearing and pounced on his caller. "Ackk! Cut it out Treb!" The young girl pushed the wolf off her as she bent down to pet him. She scratched behind his ears and his chin. Treble's toung hung from his mouth as he nudged the young girl burring his muzzle in her chest. His tail wagging happily. Seconds later Forte came into view. The girl looked up at the black bot. "Hey Forte. Where have you been? I've been looking for you all day." She said. "Really? I mean...uh..." He stammered. 'Oh that was smooth...ahh damn it. Now what?' Fortes face turned bright red. The girl gave him a strange look. "Are you alright?" She asked. Forte stared at the ground. "I think I better go inside." With that he dashed towards the entrance of the base. 'Why dose this keep happening? At this rate I'll never be able to start a conversation!' His head was spinning.
The base doors slid open and he immediately headed for his room. He skidded past Snakeman nearly making him fall. The green bot glared at Forte as he turned and ran up the stairs. "Watch wear you're going!" He yelled, but Forte was already to far to hear him. He stopped infront of his room door and leaned against the wall panting. Forte recalled the time he had spent with Blues. He had really enjoyed his company and his advice. But he couldn't go back to him. The others would suspect something was up, and Rock would surly be courius. He walked into his room and flopped himself on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. What was he to do?
"Blues!" The red bot looked over his shoulder to see a blue bot racing towards him. Blues smiled. 'He's so energetic! I wonder what he wants?' He thought. "Hey Rock." Blues said. Rock ran to Blue's side and grabbed his hand. "Blues!" He panted. "Dr. Light finished the new robot! Come and see." Rock's face was brimming with excitement. "Alright." he said. The two brothers walked side by side back home. When they reached the lab, Roll was waiting for them on the bench outside. "Good, your both here. Now come on, I can't wait!" The three walked in side the lab and into Dr. lights room. He smiled as the others gathered around. "Alright everyone, I would like you to meet my newest creation!" The lights flashed on and everyone gasped. There, stood a green reptilian-like robot. It had a small snout and short little claws. It was as tall as Rock, and had a long tail that dragged on the ground. Large, green spikes covered its back. It had beautiful ruby red eyes that stared at the three other bots in the room.
"Wow!" Roll exclaimed. The lizard bot smiled happily at Roll. It walked over to Dr.light and stood beside him. "Everyone, this is Digit. I created him for not only a companion for you all, but to help stop Wily!" Dr. Light walked over to Rock. "Rock," he said "I want you to show him around the lab and outside. And Blues, why don't you train him? He needs to practice if he wants to help defeat evil." Rock and Blues nodded. "Don't worry Dr. Light, we'll make sure he dose well!" Rock replied. Blues smiled in agreement. All right everyone, I have some cleaning to do. "I'll help you." Roll walked over to Dr. Light. The three bots left and headed outside. "Alright Digit, Rock will show you around. I'll wait here." Blues nodded towards Rock and the two left, leaving Blues alone. He walked over to the bench on the porch and sat down. He thought about his encounter with Forte. "He'll be fine." He said aloud.He put his hands under his head and slowly dozed off.
Later that day Blues trained Digit and he soon became a strong fighter. He was now fully aware of his surroundings and enjoyed his life. Rock was very happy to have a new friend around. It was getting dark now, the sun blazed through the trees in a beautiful orange sky. Digit and Rock were busy eating dinner while Blues was reading magazines in his room. He had his radio on and was about to join the others when the radio suddenly stopped the lights also turned off and all other electrical objects in the lab. "What's going on?" He said. He walked out of his room and to the kitchen. It was pitch black, making it hard to see; but when your wearing shades, I guess it always is. Blues stopped when he saw two beams of white light stare him in the face. "Rock? Dr. Light? Is that you?" He asked. "It is me, Digit." Digit's voice was deep but calm.
"What happened?" Digit asked. He walked towards the red bot and looked at him with puzzled eyes. "Power failure." Blues answered. "Come on. Let's find the fuse box." Blues led Digit through the hallway and into the basement. They carefully walked down the stairs and over to a small silver box. "I'll do it." Digit offered. He opened the box and started pulling wires here and there. Blues was confident that Digit could do the job. "It's no use," Digit said. "I can't fix it. It seems the whole city is out." Blues scratched his head. "Where are the others?" He asked the green bot. "There in the lab. Dr. Light has some stored energy he's using." Digit replied. "Let's go then." Blues said. They headed back upstairs and over to the lab.
It was now midnight; stars covered the sky and the moon shone brightly. Wily and the robot masters were all having a camp out in the backyard near the forest. A large bond fire was lit in the middle and everyone was seated around it. Forte was sitting on the grass with treble at his side. Flashman was sitting beside the young girl, Crystal. "So...dose this happen often?" She asked. "Nope. But if you ask me, everyone seems to be enjoying it." Crystal froze as she felt cold hands on here shoulders. "Ooh!" An Erie voice sounded behind her. Crystal relaxed. "Very funny, Shadowman." She said. "Damn." Shadowman got up and took a seat beside Crystal and Flashman. Shadowman grabbed the girl and started to give her a restle with her. "Hey! That was uncalled for!" She struggled to get free. "If I can't scare you, then I'll bug you!" Flashman laughed at the two. "Give it a rest already!" He said. "Can't we all have a nice time?" Shadowman stoped and Crystal lay down on his lap. "I win." He said proudly. "Yeah right! I'll get you for that one day." She spat. She straighten out her long brown hair until it was no longer ruffled.
Forte looked at the two of them. If Wily saw any rough stuff the others would get yelled at. Forte didn't understand how they could be so gentle towards the young girl. Sure, she was a guest, but he never saw them like this before. He shook the thought away. Tomorrow, he would try to get a conversation going. Crystal had grown quite fond of the robot masters. She spent most of her time with Knightman and shadowman, but she grew attached to Treble. She would always be there to calm him down and play a game of catch. Treble loved the attention he got. Forte was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice that Crystal was sitting beside him. He froze when she looked at him, his heart was pounding. Treble got up as soon as she came over and licked her. "Hey boy!" She said happily. Treble growled softly as she began to scratch behind his ears again.
"Hey Forte...you've been acting strange lately. What's up?" He could see the worry in her deep blue eyes. Forte was ready to get up and run but he couldn't get the strength. "I...I..." Once again, he was lost. "Forte?" She put her hand on his arm. He blushed a bright red as she leaned closer. "Hello?" Forte could here footsteps behind him; Knightman appeared through the shadows. 'Oh great, just what I need...' "What's with him?" Knightman asked. "I think he's got a virus." She replied sarcastically. Treble whimpered. "I have an idea." Knightman raised his arm and hit Forte hard on the head. He screamed in pain clutching his head. "AHH! What the hell was that for!" He yelled. Knightman smirked. "To knock you back to reality." He replied dryly. With that, he walked away. Treble growled angrily at his master's attacker. "Well, that worked..." Crystal said. Forte fell to the ground and moaned in pain. "Don't worry Forte, you'll be okay. I'll tell him to leave you alone." Forte began to feel better at her reassuring words. He glanced over to were Flashman and Shadowman were. They were whispering to each other.
'I bet it's about me,' he thought. 'As if I don't need more problems.' Crystal looked over at the two bots. "What are you two talking about?" There was a smirk on her face. Flash man gave a large grin. "Oh, nothing." Flashman replied. Shadowman chuckled. "I just find it so funny that Forte got swacked!" Shadowman got to his feet. "I think he deserved it!" He laughed. Crystal smirked again. "Well," she said, "I think you deserve this!" She pounced on Shadowman, making him fall to the ground. Crystal had pinned him down. "That's pay back!" She hissed. All attention had turned to the two of them. Quickman stood up. "Whadda ya know! Beaten by a kid!" The others started laughing. Crystal got up and helped Shadowman to his feet. She turned to Quickman, who was currently having a 'laughing attack' "Don't make me come over there!" She warned. Quickman shook his head. "Sorry sweat heart, but even if you tried you couldn't lay a finger on me." He crossed his arms grinning.
The other robot masters waited for Crystal to act, but Knightman stepped between the two. "That's enough!" He yelled. "Oh, come now Knightman, we were just having fun." Quickman jeered. "Oh please..." Crystal rolled her eyes. "Come now everyone!" Shadowman interrupted. Let's just forget that this happened."
Inside The Base...
"It's still not working!" Elecman paced back and forth. Magnetman frowned. "Hey Elecman, why don't you try sticking your finger in the main power source?" Elecman glared at him. "As if!" He yelled. "I'll do it!" Brightman ran towards the fusebox and jammed his finger inside.
ZAP!
Elecman and Magnetman stared horrified at the now black bot. He fell to the ground with a thud. Suddenly all the light's turned on in the base and the city came to back to life. "I think I'm paralyzed." Brightman choked. "All except your mouth." Elecman remarked. "I don't feel sorry for you one bit!" Magnetman was stunned. Wily ran inside. "What happened here! And why is Brightman all burnt up!" Magnetman started to tiptoe towards the door. "Uh...I think I'll go get the others." With that he left the room. He ran outside to the back were everyone was camping out. "Hey everyone, the powers back on!" He yelled. All the robots ran inside the base. Bubbleman Quickly put out the fire and followed the others inside. Knightman walked over to Crystal. "Coming?" He said. "I'll be there in a minute. Could you take this in for me?" She took off her navy blue sweater and handed it to the blue bot. "Of course." He replied.
He walked to the back door and quietly slipped inside. She bent down towards Forte. "You awake?" She asked. Forte opened his eyes. He slowly got up and stretched. She got to her feet also. "How's your head?" She asked. Forte looked away. "Still pounding." He nearly fell over before Crystal grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "Take it easy, Forte." she let go of him. "Uh...I feel dizzy." He followed her inside the base and up the stairs to his room. Treble was close behind them. "Good night." She yawned before walking down the hall and entering another room two doors down from him. 'That's Knightman's room...why would she be in there?' He walked over to the door and peered through the eyehole. "Heres your sweater. Sleep well." Knightman said. "Thanks Knightman." Crystal replied back. Forte ran back to his room just before Crystal had walked out the door. He took off his helmet and noticed a large dent at the top. "Stupid Knightman." He muttered. He brushed his hand over his violet hair, and soon fell asleep.
A large field of wheat stretched before Forte. The sky was a deep purple, the clouds like cotton. He heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw Shadowman looking at him. The sky suddenly turned darker and the field vanished before him. What Forte saw next was horrifing; there stood a green reptilian robot, it's eyes filled with rage. The green bot shot a huge blast of energy striking Shadowman straight through the chest. A large puddle of blood surrounded him. "Forte..." A voice sounded from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Crystal. Blood was dripping from her right arm and onto the blackened floor. He ran towards her, but she was just getting farther away for every step he took. A large flash of white light appeared infront of him "Crystal!" His voice echoing in the endless abyss.
Forte sat bolt right up, rubbing his aching head. He peered through the window, the sun burning brightly through the glass. He fell back in bed and closed his eyes. When Forte got down stairs, there was knowone there. He could hear yelling outside in the back. Rubbing his eyes he walked out the backdoor and saw everyone standing side-by-side. Crystal stood before them, knightman at her side. 'What is going on?' thought Forte. Crystal looked over at Forte. "Look who's awake! You up for a game of capture the flag?" "Oh, sure. Who are the captains?" Forte crossed his arms. Crystal smiled. "Me and Knightman are, so hurry up and get in line." Forte quickly took place in line. "Ladies first." Knightman said politely. "Okay," Crystal's eyes were laid on Searchman. "Searchman!" She yelled. The bot raced up to his leader. It was Knightmans turn. "Forte." He replied boldly. The black bot frowned. He was hoping to be on Crystal's team. Crystal's happy expression faded and Forte could see she wanted him on her team.
Soon the teams were set and ready, and they all headed for the forest out back. "Alright everyone," Knightman boomed. "We all understand the rules. The will be no shooting, not fighting and no cheating. If anyone dose these, they will answer to me." Crystal put on a determined look. "Alright! Lets go!" She yelled. Everyone raced to their side of the forest. Forte recalled the terrifying dream he had had. What had it meant? Was it a vision, and who was the reptilian bot? The questions swelled in his head. He needed answers. But wait...If this was a vision of the future, Crystal was in danger...and Shadowman was to. 'Drats...' thought Forte. 'Shadowman is also on the other team...what am I going to do?' Forte looked up through the trees. The sun was still burning bright. He had time. He had to tell Crystal his dream, she would believe him.
It wouldn't be easy trying to find her, but Forte had to try. He silent lie crept to the other side of the forest without being spotted and carefully looked around for Crystal. After a while he could see Bubbleman being chased off to the other side by Searchman. Forte was thankful he wasn't spotted. Some minutes later he came to a large oak tree. It looked twisted and the branches were like hands, ready to reach out and grab him. Forte took a closer look and saw a navy blue sweater tied around one of the smaller branches. "The flag!" Forte said happily. It was high and out of reach, but all he had to was climb up and snatch it. He soon forgot about Crystal and his dream when he saw the flag, the key to victory. He was halfway up the tree when he saw some leaves fall from the higher branches and then notice that shadow was watching him. The figure was getting closer now, and Forte had forgotten about the sweat still in his hand.
"YAAHHH!"
Forte lost his balance at the sudden outburst and slipped off the tree branch, the sweater still in his hand. He spun around and saw Crystal plummeting towards him. They both landed with a thud on the ground. Forte moaned and opened his eyes, as he looked he saw Crystal was laying to his right and was curled up clutching her right arm. Forte jumped to his feet and looked her over. "Crystal! Are you hurt?" She tried to hold her tears back, wincing as she struggled to sit up. Forte helped her up and started to examine her injury. Her arm was bruised badly. She leaned over to Forte pressing her face against him. "I'm such an idiot...ugh...Forte it hurts..." She squeezed her arm tighter and started to cry. "It's okay, it was just an accident. I'll take you back home." He warped his arms around her and gently picked her up. She looked up at him, tears still in her eyes. "I think it's broken." She said quietly. Forte smiled. He didn't feel so strange around her anymore, that strange trance he always had when he was close to her was gone now, and he felt good to be with her. "Don't worry, I'll look after you."
"Rock! Blues! c'om and hurry up already!" Rock, Blues, and Digit were practising their fighting in a large wheat field far off from the lab. When Digit had found something. He had been yelling over to them to show them. Rock raced over beside Digit and stared wide-eyed at the sight. Blues gasped. "It's Wily's new base!" Rock patted Digit on the shoulder. "Great job, Digit! Know that we know were Wily's base, is we can be prepared for an attack!" The blue bot smiled. Blues could see movement down below and something caught his eyes. It was Forte. Blues could see that he was carrying someone...was that the girl Forte had told him about? "Hey, is that Forte over there? And what's he carrying?" Rock had a suspicious look on his face. Digit flinched. "He has a girl with him! He must be taking hostages or something real evil I bet." Blues stared at Rock. "Hey wait! We don't know anything! You can't go over there!" Rock looked over at Blues. "What? Do know what's going on?" Blues turned away. "Well, we don't know anything and the last thing I want is trouble." He glanced back at Forte, who had vanished in side the building. "They got away!" Digit said sadly. "Who knows what evil twisted plan Wily is up to. We have to save that girl!" Rock looked over to Blues, then to Digit. "Blues is right, Digit. We don't know what's going one, but we will find out. They all headed back to the lab to tell the news to Dr. Light.
When the three got back Roll welcomed them home and Dr. Light was happy to see that they were all right. "Dr. Light! Digit found Wily's new base!" Rock blurted out. Blues shuddered. Things were not going to be good he had to stop the to bots from telling Dr. Light about what they saw. "Digit stepped forward. "We something that might interest you Dr., we saw-" Blues walked over to them "Yeah, we saw...uh...a Squirrel there!" Rock and Digit stared at Blues as if he were from another planet. Dr. Light and Roll were also giving Blues a strange look to. Blues walked back. "I think I'll go now." With that he ran out the door. Rock followed after him. "Digit, you tell Dr. Light everything, I'm gonna go see what's up with Blues." He said before leaving everyone. Outside Rock found Blues sitting on the bench. He walked over and took a seat beside him. "Blues," Rock said. "Are you gonna tell me what's going on?" Blues gave a large sigh. "Well, you know how we saw that girl with Forte?" Rock nodded. "You see, that's Wily's granddaughter. Rocks eyes were huge. "Really? How do you know?" "Forte told me." He replied. "He told me not to tell and-" "You believed him! What if that's not the truth? What if that girl is in danger? What if..." Rock blushed. "You know, it's mostly you who would be telling me this, isn't that right?" Rock said. "Yah I guess." Blues replied. "Rock, do you believe me?" Before Rock could answer there was a loud boom and a flash of green passed their eyes. "Digit!" They both explained. "He's gonna try to rescue the girl!" Rock asked. "We have to stop him! Com!" Blues dashed after Digit and Rock followed behind.
TO BE CONTINUED!
(when I feel like finishing it...)