A/N FYI uncensored chap of this, e-mail me if you want it until my site's up

Awakening

"Don't worry.. I'm not going to kill you, yet. I'm going to punish you... I'll make you sorry you aren't Forte."

X shivered softly, arms chained over his head, upright body resting on his knees, and glared up at Rock coldly. Something about the way he'd said that put him at unease. "Punish me for what? For being myself? For having to put up with some psychopath's memories?! For hosting that chip for you?!!" He pulled on his restraints angrily, trying to attack him. "You've been using me like some kind of a living safe!" He struggled within the shackles until fresh blood trickled down his arms slowly, in rivulets.

Rock maintained a calm, relaxed air, however anger flashed in his eyes. "This is all your fault... If they'd given me that chip before you were activated... Forte would be with me and no one would have.. Would have..." He shut his eyes, painfully.

X sat there, awkwardly, Rock hunched over, fists clenched so tight blood was beginning to seep between his fingers. He wanted to say something, anything, but how could he comfort him? Why should he? "Would have what?"

Rock threw him a strange glance, eyes filled with both regret and satisfaction, if that were possible. "I killed them." He murmured, cracking a grin. "All of them. They tried to keep me from Forte, tried to separate us. So I murdered them. All of them." Suddenly his eyes were filled with tears, refusing to spill over.

X stared at him, lax, jaw hanging slightly. "Y-You don't mean..?"

Rock said nothing, stretching his arm to the side and squeezing the hilt in his hand slightly. Slowly a blue light drew from it, and spilled onto the floor, like string. A whip. Like Zero's beam saber. X tensed quickly, preparing himself as he saw Rock pull back his arm slightly, prepared to lash. With a sharp snap, Rock lashed both his anger and his weapon out at X, expression never changing once.

X bit his tongue, saying nothing as he felt the whip make contact with him again and again, searing his ivory flesh as he did so. Moments, seemingly and eternity went by, the pain worsening with every blow to his bared chest, arms, shoulders, stomach, and face, once or twice. He really couldn't remember by that point. Nothing existed but the pain.

"You. This. Is. All. Your. Fault!!" Rock shouted between cracks, eyes glistening with hateful tears, self loathing, as he remembered the past. "You. Made. Me. Kill. Them!!!"

A bloody lab coat sleeve, the hand of a dead man protruding out the end, all laying in a pool of blood. And himself... All the time staring down at the bodies, hand clenched into a fist. Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder. "What have you done?! Rock!"

He turned, eyes full of anguish. He leaned forward, toward the owner of the hand, whispering harshly into his ear:

"All. I. Wanted. Was. Forte!!!! All I wanted was-"

"Shut up!!" X screamed suddenly, trying to attack Rock, yet finding the chains held him tight.

Rock stopped, staring down at X silently.

X stared up at him, a cross between anger and sadness in his eyes. " I know you want Forte back.. I know you want to be with your lover again, but... Forte's dead! You have to move on. Move on, because I'm not dead, and I'm not going to give you that chip! Stop acting like such a spoiled child!"

Rock's face turned cold, colder than he thought possible. "Move on?" He paced slowly, around X, who was more leery than ever. "You want me to move on? After everything I did to be with him? After all the sacrifices... You want me to simply move on?" He continued to circle X, whipping him randomly- back, shoulders, chest, legs.. And his face- His face was so frightening.

All the while, X bit his lip, refusing to make any sound. God, the pain. His pale flesh was a furious red in places now, seared by the whip's lashes. 'If I only had my armor..' He thought to himself, repeatedly. His head was clear, now, but his armor was gone. 'This never would have happened, if I hadn't let my guard down when I was sparring with Zero. This is all my fault! If I hadn't been acting so scared of my own shadow...If I had just paid attention!'

Slowly, Rock made his way back around, standing before X again. Wordlessly, he threw the whip back again, X bracing himself for another lash. Rock threw the whip forward, again.

X let out a sharp cry, despite himself, as the whip wound tightly around his neck, searing his flesh, and strangling him. He began to scream, pain unbearable, as Rock grabbed the end of the searing whip, hand smoking, and pulled harder, staring down at him calmly.

"You're not Forte... But you'll do.. For now." He whispered, sliding his open mouth over X's, in mid-cry, sealing his lips in a hard kiss.

X stared blankly ahead, at nothing, cries muffled. 'A kiss of death... He's going to kill me. He'll burn right through my throat, then he'll take that chip!' He shut his eyes again, apathetic, ready to die.

Suddenly, the pressure left his throat, now raw, whip sliding loose, and Rock deactivated it, blue light flickering then disappearing. Slowly, his arms slid around X, pulling the reploid in closer, as he forced his tongue into X's mouth, ever deepening the never ending kiss.

X was pulled, against his will, across the examination table on his knees, closer to Rock. He struggled as best he could, trying to shut his mouth to Rock's intrusions. Finally, he jerked his head to the side, gasping loudly for air. "Stop it!" He whispered weakly, dizzy. It was so hard to focus, the pain made him so tired...

The look on Rock's face, staring down at X, whose eyes were half open, was... indescribable. X stared up at him, blankly, trying to read him through his wavering vision. He could tell Rock was angry, frustrated, yet there was an unmistakable sadness in his eyes, as he turned X's face in his direction, tracing his tongue over X's lips slowly.

"I'm so lonely..." He whispered, so close, so intimately. "So lonely... Can't you just pretend to be Forte..? Just this once?" He purred, closing his eyes and sliding his hands over X's build, muscles tensing when touched, as he winced. Dark red lashes, burned into his flesh, the source of the tensing.

Clenching his hands into fists, far above his head, X fought off the repulsion he was feeling, and stopped trying to evade Rock's touch. 'This may be my only chance... If I can get him to unchain me... I can end this. Obviously, I can't talk this out with him.'

Slowly, tentatively, he slid his tongue carefully into Rock's mouth, returning the kiss, and probing around Rock's teeth. Slowly, relaxed, his tongue trailed over gums, into small pockets within his mouth, and occasionally grazing over his tongue, which was stabbing at X's mouth randomly, invading every crevice.

"Hold still." Caressing his lips with his own, Rock kissed them slowly, reaching up to free X, who hung heavily on his knees, panting softly, from his binds. As soon as he was free, X dropped heavily onto the desk, still weak, pain fresh in his mind. Grinning slightly, Rock stroked the side of his face softly. 'Forte... I know you're trapped in there... I know you're in there...'

"Give it up already!" Blues cried, as he swung yet again at Zero. They had long since lost their weapons, and were now going head to head. "I won't lose to you!" He growled, throwing Zero off him with a force that surprised even himself. He lunged at him, as soon as he regained his balance. "I know what you intend to do!! I know you're going to kill Rock!"

Zero growled lowly. "And how is that any different than you wanting to kill X, huh?" He snarled, rolling off to the left as Blues lunged, catching him around the middle and pinning him to the ground. "What makes sacrificing X's life different from sacrificing his?!"

Blues said nothing, emitting a small cry of pain. At the rate Zero was going, his back was going to snap in two. He grit his teeth and thought good and hard, yet was still unable to come up with an answer. Finally, he muttered, "... better him than my brother..."

Slowly Zero lessened his grip on Blues, some of the anger draining out of him. " ... I see." Slowly, he got back up to his feet, leaving Blues staring up at him, on the floor. "You don't want to destroy X.. Not really. You've had hundreds of chances to take that chip, and you haven't grabbed it yet. "

Still, Blues said nothing, unmoving.

Slowly, Zero stretched an arm down until his hand rest level with his face. "I don't think we have to sacrifice either of them, really. Your brother's been rather.. hesitant to harm X, thus far." He waited patiently for Blues to take his hand. "Let's go. Take me to X and I'll make sure nothing happens to Rock. Deal?"

Blues made no move to grab his hand, and simply stared coldly down at him. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Zero shrugged. "You can't. Fun game, eh? Are you coming or not?" He waited, eyes boring into Blues, through his shades.

After several moments, Blues finally snatched Zero's hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, weak in the knees. "... We should have had this conversation before we tore each other apart.

Zero simply snorted. "Lead the way."

X stared up at Rock dully, who was bent over him, covering his lips and mouth in feverish kisses, poised and ready to attack first chance he got. 'If he'd just back off for a second...'

As if on cue, Rock pulled away slightly, running his fingers delicately through X's hair. "Sorry it has to be this way... But I'd do anything to get Forte ba-" He yelped in pain, as X kicked him square in the stomach, knocking him back and off the table.

Leaping off the table quickly, X padded as fast as he could, toward his armor summon. Just a little further... Just a little-

"You son of a bitch!!!!"

Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind and jerked back, landing in a pile on the ground. He tore into whoever had him, instinctively, trying to pry himself free. "Get offa me!" He shrieked, somehow managing to find the strength to throw his attacker, Rock, off of him.

Hesitating only a second, to glance at Rock, who was trying to scrape himself off the floor, he ran the rest of the way over to the small wrist cuff, snapping it into place. With a sigh of relief, he felt his armor form over his body, without any complications this time.

Turning sharply, he saw Rock, who had just finished pulling himself to his feet, seething. "You won't escape! I've waited too long! I've lost so much, just to have Forte back.. I won't let you ruin that!" Growling, he closed his eyes. "If that's the game you want to play..." Closing his eyes, he called his armor. Black and dark blue armor seemed to seep out of his skin in places, adjusting and readjusting on him.

X watched in horror as his chest plate, guard, boots and wrist cuffs shifted around on Rock's body, getting comfortable, then finally settled. "Wh... What are you?!" He cried, shocked.

Rock said nothing, staring at him coldly. "Well?"

X sighed softly, pulling his hand into his cannon. "... I don't want to fight you, but I will if you don't stop." he murmured.

Rock raised his eye slightly. "Those like us... Never want to fight. " He muttered bitterly. Gritting his teeth slightly, he allowed the bones in his gloveless hand began to tear free from his flesh. Slowly, they rewrapped themselves around his flesh, forming the shape of a buster. "But when push comes to shove, that's what we do."

X narrowed his eyes slightly. "You leave me no choice." Gripping his buster arm, he began to fire at Rock, dodging when he did the same, and the two began to tear up the room. "The only way you're getting this chip is over my dead body!" He growled, leaping onto the lab table he had been on and dodging a shot aimed at him, which shot past his face, hitting an old control panel.

Rock gave chase to X, ignoring the sparks as he flew past them, after X. He chased X through room after room, as they exchanged shots. "You can't escape me forever, X!" He shouted after him.

X darted into a room, looking around for something he could use to his advantage. "Looks like I'm gonna have to take him down." He did a double take. "This is the same room as before..." Glancing to the right, he saw the figure from earlier sitting in the same seat. "Still there?!" His eyes widened suddenly. "That has to be..." He walked slowly over to the figure, finally reaching it, and grabbed it's chin, tilting it up, into the light. " I thought so... Forte." He looked around, sullenly. "Maybe I won't have to take him down after all..."

Suddenly the door clicked open, and Rock ran into the room, furious. "Where are- YOU!!" He hollered. "Get away from him!" He started toward X angrily.

Frowning, X pressed his buster to the side of Forte's emotionless face. "Stay right there." He jerked Forte's body closer to him, threateningly.

Backing away slightly, Rock glared at him menacingly, yet listened to X, fear in his eyes. "Don't you touch him!"

X stared quietly at Rock, buster still pressed heavily against Forte's face. What now? He stared from the door to Rock and back again.

Clenching his hand into a fist, Rock suddenly threw his head back and screamed. "GOSPEL!!" With something between a howl and a snarl, the hell hound came bounding into the room, running up to Rock and standing next to him obediently. "I need your help.."

Gospel simply bristled and lunged at Rock, hopping onto him from behind.

X let out a startled cry, thinking Gospel was going to tear Rock to pieces, but instead, Gospel seemed to melt into him, disappearing. He stared, horrified, as Rock bent forward, moaning softly in pain, back beginning to stretch. He clenched his teeth together, as enormous black wings broke through his back, armor shifting aside to make way for them, more armor forming on him, purple. When he stood back up, his eyes had turned blood red, his expression twisted darkly.

"I warned you!" He muttered, and went crashing into X, knocking him away from Forte before he could get even a shot in. Growling, he gripped X's throat, throwing him across the room.

X's hand was back to a buster before he even hit the ground. He rolled onto his back quickly, and fired, before Rock could react. A patch of purple slid over and blocked the bullet from hitting Rock, and X gasped slightly, jumping to his feet quickly.

By the time he was up, Rock was sitting little more than a few feet from him, buster aimed directly between his eyes. "That hurt us." He growled, arm steady. Neither said anything more, and as the minutes wore on, something changed in Rock's face. He was hesitating, and he didn't know why. 'I'm in the perfect position to take back Forte, but I can't do it... Why?' He continued to stare arm slowly beginning to grow shaky. " ... I can't do it.." he mumbled softly.

They stared at each other intently, for several minutes. X's hand was still as a buster, which lay limply at his side, as he stared his captor down. "Please... Give up on it for now... I'm sure there's another way to bring him back.. We can get a new card, and transfer-"

Suddenly Rock was knocked aside, with a cry of pain. His right wing was practically missing, its remains smoldering. Panting heavily and groaning, Rock hunched over, forehead pressed against the floor, the pain unbearable. "Wh... Wha..."

X stared down at him, horrified. "Don't shoot him, it's okay!"

The shooter, Blues was staring transfixed at Rock, obviously shocked to find him still unscathed. ".. You okay?" He asked, lowering his gun slowly.

X nodded slightly. ".. Yeah." He muttered, nearly inaudible, as he stared shakily down at Rock, who was moaning weakly in pain. "..Wh.. Where's Zero?" He finally asked, glancing over at Blues again.

"He'll be here in a second. We split up to find you faster." He had hardly gotten the words out when Zero ran into the room, saber drawn.

"X!" He shouted, voice filled with relief. "What did you think you were doing?! You're so stupid sometimes!" He leaned back against the doorframe, sighing softly.

X didn't answer, however, staring silently down at Rock, who was still gasping and groaning in pain, whispering to himself.

"... gospel, don't! ... It's okay.. I can handle the pain.. It's okay.. Please!" He shrieked loudly, as the purple began to shift from his armor, gathering on his back, eyes beginning a transition back to blue. "STOP!!!!" His wings lost his shape, and suddenly the enormous wolf-like creature tore free from him, snarling, and began to make its way toward Blues and Zero, limping heavily.

With a deep throated growl, it lunged at Zero, eyes their usual windows of red, aiming to tear his head free from his body.

Zero narrowed his eyes and swung at the beast with his saber, over and over, as Rock and X stared on, faces twin expressions of horror. After what seemed like an eternity, yet was, in actuality, only seconds, Zero jumped back, and Gospel crumbled at his feet, slashed to pieces. His saber was stained a dark red, and he stared down at the giant beast, in disdain, breath coming in quick sharp intakes.

X stared at Zero, eyes wide. That look in his eyes... He had never seen Zero look like that before, so blood thirsty. "Zero.. Why?" He finally voiced.

Rock, however, wasn't taking the situation as calmly as X was. ".. Gospel? Gospel! GOSPEL!!" He screamed, tears brimming his again dark eyes. He stared at Zero, shaking deeply in rage. "You... You killed Gospel!!" He shouted, furious. Slowly, he turned his gaze to X. He wanted to hurt Zero. Badly. And here was his target, feet from him, something that would hurt Zero far worse than being attacked himself. Eyes emotionless, he shifted his hand back into a buster, and aimed it at X, eyes stone. With an enraged cry, he fired at X.

X yelped in pain, knocked off balance, and stumbled back, hitting the wall behind him.

Before he could move or say anything, Rock was in front of X, face full of hate. He punched X in the chest, where he had just shot him, using more force than anything X had ever had used against him, and his armor cracked, shattering around his hand. Opening his hand like a claw, he pushed with all his strength through X's synthetic skin, fingers weeding through the mass of wires and circuitry twisted around his metal frame.

X howled loudly in pain, feeling Rock's hand retract suddenly, jerking a handful of circuitry out of his body, Zero just then looking up, too late to do anything. He fell silent, suddenly, staring silently at the bloody wires, wound around a chip, held before him, eyes wide. Slowly, his eyes went blank, then shut. He fell back against the wall again, sliding down it slowly, before finally falling to the side, a pool of red forming slowly around him.

"X!!" Zero ran to him, grabbing him off the floor and holding him up, shaking him. "X!! X!!!!! Wake up!!!" He held him tightly, still shaking him. "X! GET UP!!!!!"

Rock stared down at them, backing away slowly. His face was white. With a small shake, he shook his head slightly. Turning slowly, he began toward Forte. " ... You shouldn't have killed Gospel.." He muttered, ripping the chain off his neck, and holding both chips out to Forte.

Blues tore his gaze away from X and Zero, to see Rock offering the chips to Forte. "NO!!!" He shouted, charging at Rock and tackling him.

As the they fell heavily to the floor, Blues over Rock, Forte's chest opened suddenly, absorbing the chips. Rock stared up at Forte's figure, smiling slightly. "...We meet again, Forte.." he whispered, not bothering to fight Blues off him.

Both Zero and Blues glanced up quickly, and stared on as Forte's skin coloured slightly, body beginning to animate. His chest swelled as his coolant systems began to operate once more, bangs moving slightly, as his breath blew them gently from his face. And then...

Then...

He opened his eyes.