The Shinigami's Angel

Chapter Six

Forte was silent, watching Shinigami's face. The boy hadn't spoken since the time in the town, and Forte could tell from the hardness in Shinigami's eyes that he shouldn't try to say anything. Forte had been slightly taken aback from the harshness and intensity currently etched on Shin's face. He had seen the boy look sad, as well as cold, several times before. He had even seen what the boy looked like when he brooded. But… Forte had never seen the boy look this harsh before. Even when thinking over deep or confusing things (at least that's what Forte assumed he was thinking about during those times) the boy had looked more pensive than harsh.

"Forte." The boy suddenly spoke, in a low emotionless voice.

'…Yeah?' The Biometal replied hesitantly.

"Do…" The boy suddenly made a small choking noise, and the emotion he had been holding back spilled out, coloring his speech. "…Do you remember what happened earlier in the town?"

'…Yes…'

"Were you in control?" Shinigami snapped, startling Forte slightly. For some reason… the kid was starting to scare him a little.

'…No, I wasn't. I… Shinigami, neither of us were.' Forte said, hoping vainly that his words could calm the boy down. Instead, Shin just lowered his head, his bangs casting shadows over his eyes. Forte had to hold himself back from saying anything. It went against his nature to be this considerate of others… but he had to admit to feeling a small connection to this boy, and he could tell what had happened hit him hard for some reason.

"Forte… I want you to leave."

'WHAT?!' Forte exploded, shocked. Out of any possible words that could have passed Shin's lips, Forte would have to admit he wouldn't have expected those.

'But…' Forte couldn't think of a response to give.

"I… I can't…" Shinigami broke slightly, and wrinkled his nose in concentration and an attempt to hold his tears in. He was only partially successful in this, as a few slowly trickled down his cheek despite his efforts. "I've seen a lot of violence before." He whispered to the Biometal. "I've even had to stand there helpless while Mavericks have brutally killed the people I hold close… but I…" He let out a sigh and held his head in one of his hands. "I'm used to seeing violence… but not being the one doing it! It… it was horrible, seeing all that, and knowing I was the one doing it… I'm not against fighting, but that cruelty…!" Shin shook his head. "I don't want that to happen ever again. And if you leave, I know it won't."

Forte was silent for a while, and Shin didn't say anything in that time either. Forte wanted to scream at the boy, both selfish things and things for Shinigami's good. But- Forte cursed his softness- he felt sorry for Shin. He had no sense of empathy for him, how could he? Wily seemed to try his best to build Forte without any feelings or emotions, and while he failed it still left Forte with the inability to appreciate what Shin was going through. Forte had never felt any qualms about killing anyone, be it an innocent or even one of Forte's own allies. And whether it be through his programming or his actual, true emotions (if they even existed, although Forte would not allow himself to consider that they might not) Forte enjoyed seeing others pain, whether it be emotional or often physical.

However… for some reason, Forte could not imagine ever finding pleasure in Shinigami's pain. Ever since they had met, Forte found something in Shinigami that was different than anyone else he had encountered. (Which wasn't saying that much, since Forte knew very few people.) Maybe there was something that reminded Forte about himself, or the simple fact of the boy's circumstance intrigued him. Either way, Forte felt a connection he didn't understand, or even describe, really. Maybe it was because they were "Biomatches", as that girl had said, and that signified an emotional bond of some sort between the two. Whatever it was, there was one plain fact that Forte could not deny: Shinigami had become his friend. And, even barring the fact Forte would have no body for an indefinite amount in time if Shin sent him away, Forte didn't want to leave the boy.

Still, Forte knew he couldn't stay with Shin if he was told to go. Well, he could, but what would the point be? If Shinigami truly wanted to be alone, Forte would just annoy him for real if he stayed, and Forte didn't want Shin mad at him.

"Are you sure?" Forte said quietly, now sure of what he wanted to say.

"Huh…?" Shin raised his head and blinked wearily at the Biometal.

"Are you sure you want me to leave?" Forte repeated calmly. "You never seem to decisively choose anything. When you make a decision, you're supposed to stick with it, but you always second-guess yourself. You can't keep doing that. The things you are deciding are too important for that! Who are you really fighting for, Shinigami? Are you fighting for yourself, or other people? For revenge or protection? Because I don't think even you know that." Forte paused slightly. He had gotten more passionate than he had started out, but he always felt more comfortable in a confrontation than a discussion anyway.

"I… I thought I knew…" Shin said quietly, hesitatingly. Forte seemed not to hear him and continued with his speech.

"Are you really going to throw away your chance to stop the Mavericks over something like this? What's more important, defeating the Mavericks or not hurting their enemies? I know you don't like decisions, but you need to make this one. Because…" Forte hesitated, then his voice dropped from the almost-yell it has transformed itself into.

"…Because if you tell me to leave, I will— but I won't be coming back."


Aile walked out of the Transerver room, a blank and solemn look on her face. If anyone looked at her, they would think she was in a daze. But, in truth, she was actually in deep thought, not bothering to be aware of the world around her.

She stumbled slightly as she walked, and hoped she wasn't having a relapse of whatever had happened two days before. She rested her hand on the wall and let it support her weight as she stared ahead of her. Without knowing it, she had started heading towards the control room. She continued to look blankly at the door leading to the bridge of the Guardian Base for a few seconds, then quickly turned around and started walking to the lift.

She heard the sound of a door opening behind her, but she ignored it and continued walking without a pause.

"Wait, Aile!"

Aile stopped walking at this, and turned half-way around to see Prairie running towards her.

The Guardian commander halted her sprint as soon as she came a few feet in front of Aile.

"I saw that the town went under attack! What had happened, Aile? Is everyone okay, and are you okay?" Prairie asked, obviously concerned.

Aile turned her head away from the other girl.

"I did what you asked me to." The brown-haired girl said in a voice that was almost a monotone. "I didn't fight. Don't worry, as far as I could see, all of the townspeople are fine."

Prairie frowned worriedly. "Aile…"

Aile let out a "Tch", then walked swiftly forwards onto the lift, going towards the deck once more.

Prairie blinked as her friend disappeared from view.


Aile walked out onto the top of the Base. She walked slowly to the front of the ship, and sat down on the floor, leaning against the railing and her legs pulled up to her chest. However, she let her hands rest lightly on the floor.

The girl squinted her eyes to cut down on the glare from the sun. Soon the wind picked up, and her loose hair started tossing along with it. Aile didn't care at the moment, and she didn't even lift up one of her hands to tuck her hair behind her ears.

Aile spent most of her time out here. She always liked it up here; for some reason, it calmed her soul like nothing else she knew could. It gave off the feeling of danger, and loneliness, but also a sense of freedom. As she could barely make out the land beneath her, she felt that she was free to do anything and be anyone that she wanted.

However, she knew that wasn't true. She was bound to follow her destiny, if nothing else.

The Destiny of a Rock Man…

Aile had heard that ambiguous statement before. Prometheus and Pandora… those two figures were still a mystery to her. She supposed their words should have warned her that her battle was far from over, but she wasn't sure exactly what they meant… or who the two Reploids were. They had seemed to follow Serpent, but they obviously had some other master… someone else they followed, and they seemed to be the ones using Serpent in the "Game of Destiny" they talked about.

As time went on, and the bitterness faded, Aile actually grew to feel sorry for Serpent. He hadn't been evil, Aile realized, even though he had been responsible for taking everyone from her… it was obvious he had been long gone by that time.

What had Serpent been like before he found Model W? And how did the Biometal cause him to lose his sanity? Could… could that have been the "destiny" the two had talked about, the destiny of all the Rock Men? That the end result of their power was insanity?

Or… did Prometheus know more than she did? Was there some plan she fit into, a pawn in some type of game? But then… who was the player?

Aile sighed. She didn't like the idea that everything she did was being controlled by someone. She wanted to make her own choices… and her own mistakes…

Which brought Aile back to the fact that had been dwelling on her mind from the moment she saw Shinigami during the attack on the town earlier.

"Model X…" She began, deciding that her Biomatch would be the best one to ask in this situation.

'Yes, Aile?' He responded swiftly.

"Did… did I do the right thing earlier? In the town… should I have fought anyway? Everything ended up fine, but if I had acted, I would have been sure of that. But then I'd have gone against Muguet and Prairie…"

'That… is a hard decision to make…' Model X admitted. 'But… if I had been in your position… I would have fought.'

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Aile said, frowning.

'But everything turned out all right in the end…' Model L said in an attempt to cheer her up.

"That still doesn't change the fact I made a mistake." Aile said soberly. "I should have known I should put a higher value on life then following rules…"

'But rules are very important too, Aile.' Model H pointed out. 'You should try to follow them as much as possible, while still doing what you believe is best. Inspecting your actions and motives are worthwhile, but regretting the past does nothing. You are unable to change the choices you made, and no lives were lost as a result of any action or lack of on your part. So there is no point in wishing to go back and make a different decision. You can only take what you learned from this and let it influence your actions in the future.'


Shinigami and Forte had been waiting in silence for almost half-an-hour, with each leaving the other to their thoughts. Forte was starting to get slightly anxious. Shin had not told him a single thing since their "discussion" earlier, and as a result Forte had no idea whether he should stay or go. Did the human's silence mean he wanted the Biometal to leave, like he had originally proclaimed? Or was he simply still pondering over what he should do? Forte had no clue what he should do now.

"Forte…" The boy spoke, finally. Forte immediately turned his attention to Shinigami.

"I…" The boy seemed hesitant, even though it appeared like he had made up his mind, due to the fact he started speaking. "You can stay for now."

Forte let out a sigh of relief inwardly. He had been hoping for this.

"But… I don't think I'll merge with you, not for a while, and maybe not at all. I… well, I need time to sort out my thoughts, like you said. I need to make a decision that I won't second-guess…"

'Of course.' Forte agreed. That was probably for the best. He knew, if Shinigami came to and made an absolute decision, the boy wouldn't regret whatever choice he made.

Forte just hoped it would include him.


Four days passed by, without much differentiating them for Aile. She stayed on-board the whole time, and after the first day tried her best to act like everything was normal. She thought she did a pretty good job of it… but there were a few close friends of hers who she knew weren't convinced.

"Hi Paririe!" Aile cheered as she sauntered into the control room. "Four days are up, and you know what that means! Where's the next W-roid?"

Prairie let out a sigh, but decided to overlook Aile's pretenses for the time being. "It's under water, a little less than a mile off the shore. It's only a short distance away. I programmed the destination into the Transerver, so you can leave whenever you—"

"Great! Bye, Prairie!"

"But…" Prairie started as Aile rushed out. Aile had decided not to wait to hear the rest of Prairie's sentence. She had been held back for too long.

Tie me down if you will, but I'll just fly away as soon as I'm free. I have wings of my own, and I can fly myself, with your help or your disapproval, it doesn't matter to me.


A man stood, silently, with his head lowered to cast a shade over his eyes. He slowly raised his head, a grim expression displayed on his features. As he faced his sleeping adversary he took his energy weapon and turned it on, a low buzz emitting from the glowing blade.

He had been built, born, and made for one purpose only… and he made it his one goal to defy that dictate.

Even if it cost him his life.


Authors notes: Very sorry for the long wait until I updated! I tried my best, but I got Writers Block the day after I uploaded my insanity. It's very, very annoying. But, I tried my best despite it, but if this chapter isn't as good as my others, that's probably why. I really wanted to make sure I could post this before the 12th, because I'll be out of town for a little more than a week then. It'll take me a little to upload the next one because of that, but rest assured I will be thinking about it and working out the parts! (Big fight scene next chapter! Yay!) Oh yes, if anyone has any ideas for W-roids, it would be very, very appreciated. (I'll also make sure to give you credit.)

Other than that, Shinigami's Angel has broken 1000 hits! Woohoo! (Cupcakes for all… wait, I'm not good at cupcakes… cookies then. But cookies have become so cliché… meh. Cookies!) And favorited four times! Wow… guess this has become kinda popular, huh? It's kinda scary, since now I'm always afraid I'm going to write something and people won't like the story anymore… stupid lack of self-confidence… oh well. I've decided not to put ramblings in my notes, since I assume it's kinda annoying, and I'm going to answer any reviews on the next chapter. So… guess that's all. Bye!