Hey, Narsh here! Sorry for such a short chapter!
So yeah, we find our… protagonists(?) making progress! (hopefully)
A small break from sad that you will never see again!
Games used: Megaman ZX, Megaman Zero, Megaman Battle Network
He carefully removed himself from under her. He made sure that she look comfortable enough against the tree, kissed her forehead and left. Back in the material world, the room was dark. Forte sat in a chair next to her bed and looked over her. The plump doctor sitting next to the door stole a sideways glance at him, but went back to her coffee. Knowing him long enough, it didn't bother her too much if he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She looked exhausted but when Forte began to stare at her too long, she softly smiled at him. It had been the night shift then hadn't it? What time was it? Forte checked his internal clock; 2:39 am. He had been there all night.
Forte got up from his spot and walked out of the Medical Wing, the doctor glancing at him once again before returning to staring into nothing. Forte walked down the hall. It was empty and dark, as one would expect in the night. Only the small wall lights lit up the floor just enough for him to navigate through the base. He arrived at the central command room where Ciel's room was located. He glanced at the three main navigators at their respectable computers. Each looked bored and exhausted but did not retire from working. Forte softly knocked on Ciel's door. A grumble came in response.
"... Who's knocking at this late…?" she grumbled. The door swiftly opened and Ciel stood before him, trying to look as presentable as possible. Unfortunately, her exhaust shone through.
"Oh, Forte… You're back."
"Yeah… I came about Prairie."
"I see…" she glanced at the navigators and then ushered him inside. She turned on a lamp and they sat down in chairs set next to each other. A side table sat next to one of the chairs and housed a small tea set.
"Do you want some tea?" she asked.
"... sure, I guess," he said. Ciel poured some green colored tea into a small cup sitting next to the pot. She handed it to him. He took a small sip of it. Matcha tea; was she trying to stay awake?
"So, what did you find out?"
"She's still conscious but she doesn't seem to be doing too well," he started.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that it seems that she has a disease of sorts; she tires easily and she was coughing frequently. Her eyes were glossy as well."
"I see… That might be Model W trying to kill her off, in the form of a disease."
"... Are you sure that there's nothing we can do?"
Ciel thought for a moment while she drank her tea. "... I don't know… If Model W is acting like a disease, then maybe we can treat it."
Forte's face brightened, "R-really? Then we can-"
Ciel held up her hand to stop him from saying anything further. "Maybe. We don't know if it will work and we don't have a sample to work with in the first place."
"I… see. Maybe I can get one, I just need someone to help me."
"Hm…. Alright. Giro is the only person I can think of who could help you." And the only person you could trust, she wanted to finish, but held back her tongue. He put down his tea and stood up.
"Alright. Thank you for the tea, by the way." he said as he started heading for the door.
"Wait a minute," she called after him, "You're not thinking of talking to him now, are you? He falls asleep before I do, so that might not be a good idea." he has twice as much work as anyone else here so I don't understand how he gets anything done.
"Oh… no, I'm not going to see him now. I'll wait until the morning."
"Alright. Have a good rest of the night." she sipped her tea. Speaking of, she thought, isn't tomorrow Giro's delivery day?
"... You too."
… He'll figure it out, she thought.
He closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway towards the elevator. He took it up to the deck, deciding to get some fresh air. Walking outside, the night air moved his cloak around and the light of the moon reflected off his helmet.
"Tomorrow," he said to himself, "I'll get Giro and he'll help me save you, Prairie…"
After thinking for at least another hour, Forte went to the roof of the flying airship and had a quick rest before sunrise. Waking to the sight of an orange and pink sky, Forte headed back inside. Guardians were already stirring as he went through the halls, some were already up. He headed down to the second floor, where Giro's room was. Walking through the hall, he noticed two female Guardians who were giggling over coffee, who kept looking back at Giro's door.
"Today's the day today, isn't it?" one of them said.
"Hehee~! Yup! Let's see how it plays out this time," the other mused.
Huh? What are they talking ab-. Before he could even finish that thought, Giro's door slammed open and out came Giro with tons of boxes in his arms. The boxes were threatening to topple over on top of Giro and they were stacked twice as high than he was tall.
"Out of the way!" he shouted down the hallway. The two girls from before giggled and then headed toward their rooms. Giro staggered down the hallway. Forte slipped behind him, Giro not noticing, and tapped him on the shoulder.
"GAH!" a box from the top of the pile fell off and hit Giro in the head, knocking his glasses to a slant. Forte caught the box before it fell to the floor and placed it back on the top using his GA.
"Ow…" Forte moved to the side of him so that he could see him better, "what do you-" Forte pushed his glasses back into their original position after cracking a laugh, "-Oh! Forte, hey! How are you this fine morning?"
"I'm doing fine… what are you doing?" he looked the pile of boxes up and down.
"Ah! This! Today is delivery day!"
"Delivery day…?"
"Ah, yes, you haven't been around long enough," he began to walk toward the elevator, Forte following close behind, "delivery day is the day where I catch up on every single package that needs to be delivered," he set the boxes down in the elevator, "I still own a delivery company, after all. UPWARD, TO THE TELEPORTER!" he goofily grinned and pointed his hand into the air while striking a confident pose, leaving Forte on the second floor.
"... Wha- wait! I need to talk to- and he's gone…." he sighed. He teleported himself to the third floor, where Giro was found already pushing the boxes into the teleport room. The grin was still on his face.
"Do you need any help, Giro?" Forte asked.
"Oh hello again! Nope! None at all! Doin' fine here!" he gave Forte a thumbs up and then continued pushing the boxes into the room. Once the boxes were successfully in the room and on the telepad, Forte walked in to spectate. He wasn't alone in this amusement.
"Giro, there's no way you're going to send all of those!" said little Sardine, gaping in astonishment.
"I will! I did it last month didn't I? Besides, you're only six! What do you know?" he said to amuse him. Sardine giggled.
"Are you sure that you don't need help, Giro?" Forte questioned.
"I'm completely sure! This may be one of the most stressful days in my life but I can handle it!" Giro stated proudly.
"Haha… if you say so!" Giro loaded the last of the boxes on the telepad, "Alright! I believe that might be it!"
"Wait, Giro," Forte grabbed Giro's arm, "I hate to rain on your parade but I need to ask a favor from you about something… important to me," he nodded in Sardine's direction.
"Ah, right. Sardine, go play with Silure outside please," he said with a smile. Sardine left the room. Forte let go of Giro's arm.
"... so you should know that Prairie's been under… delicate care since we got back from that mission," Forte placed his words carefully.
"Yes, Ciel told me about that. What do you need me to do?"
"Yes, well, we found out that Model W is acting like a disease to her subconscious, so if we can treat her, we can help her."
"So you need someone to get a sample from her subconscious, don't you?"
"Yes, precisely. Can you do that? Please?" he pleaded. Giro thought about it for a moment.
"... Yes, I can help you… I can't guarantee that this will work; Model W is powerful and can't be trumped easily."
"Yes… I know," he frowned and looked down at the floor. The corners of Giro's mouth pulled into a slight frown. He placed his hand on Forte's shoulder and smiled reassuringly. Forte looked up at him.
"Don't worry, Forte. We'll be by your side." he got onto the telepad, "see ya later, Forte," he saluted with two fingers at Forte and teleported away.
"Thank you…" Forte whispered to himself. He walked out of the teleport room, heading toward the Medical Wing. He would visit her again.
