A/N: This is a request Hanaby (from DeviantArt) won in the 1st anniversary event I held some time ago.
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Power Is Not Everything
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Forte was not sure how long the battle had lasted. He had been too busy fighting to keep track of the time spent trying to overcome his opponent, but what he knew was that it had been rough and ultimately ended with him laying flat on his stomach.
Too tired and weary to stand up from the ground, Forte's dazed mind cursed everything that he could think of. Humanity for ruining his life, navis for sticking with humans and Serenade for acting superior during the fight.
"This is the third time, isn't it, Forte?"
Serenade's voice was perfectly calm, showing how the ruler of the Undernet hadn't even broken a sweat during their battle. She was standing somewhere outside the black navi's limited field of vision, further frustrating him.
Forte growled into the back of his throat and used all his willpower and remaining strength to haul his barely responsive frame into a sitting position. His back was facing Serenade, but at the moment he didn't care. Besides, he knew his enemy far too well. She would never attack him unless he attacked first.
One day, he promised himself. One day he would punch Serenade's irksome face so much that she would be unrecognizable. For the moment, though, he knew he could not win. Not with his current level of power.
"How many times do I have to defeat you for you to see that power is not everything in life?"
At those words, Forte's rage reached new levels. "Power is everything," he growled out as he forced himself to stand up. He straightened his back and tried to give the impression that he had recovered from his exhaustion. "Power is the key to survival. Without power, you are nothing. Without power, you just die."
Serenade gave a deep sigh and shook her head, wondering why she was trying so hard to save Forte from the dark pit he had dug himself into. Usually, when someone refused to change their views and repent for their past mistakes and crimes, she would force herself to delete them to protect those who were weak and could not defend on their own. Yet, there was something in Forte that made her try to save him every time they fought.
Perhaps it was because she felt that Forte had a reason for everything he did. Something that warped the reality into what he was seeing and made him hunger for more power than he already had. And while he put a mask of cold hate for everyone to see, Serenade could feel an aura of pain and loneliness lingering around him.
The ruler of the Undernet bit her lip as she watched the unmoving black form in front of her. "Have you ever thought about giving up and just find peace?"
Forte's shoulder tensed and his hands clenched into fists. "I will find peace only when the last of the humans is dead."
Without anything else to say, the black navi walked towards the exit of the Secret Area. Serenade knew he would come back eventually, stronger than before and more determined to defeat her, but she would be ready too. Forte was not the only one that was determined to achieve his goal.
One day someone was bound to get past his thick defenses and become his friend. She was not sure if it would be her, but until that moment arrived, she would not kill Forte.
"Till next time, Forte," she spoke faintly, watching as the black navi left the Secret Area via the link-pad at the end of the platform they were standing on. "And don't expect it to be any easier, too."
At the idea of seeing him again and having another chance at making him see that he was wrong in his beliefs, she felt happy and full of energy.
And it was with that energy that she turned around and observed the wreckage that their latest battle had created within her home area. Bridges had been broken in half, pathways had been obliterated and security monoliths had been knocked on the other side of the zone they had been originally located. The less damaged zones presented scratches, burns and overturned tiles.
All in all, it would take her and her subordinates a week or so to reorder everything like it had been before.
"Well, better start before the administrator finds out."