Chapter Twelve
Yubiwa / Ring

The night sky glittered brilliantly from the light of millions of stars dancing through the vast, blue-black void, the moon full and casting a silvery light down to all below it. Dim lanterns cast further light into the gloom, the yellowish shine paled by that of the moon. The sea lapped quietly against the shore, rocking boats together from where they were docked at the port as seagulls made their last cries for the night. All residents of Khana were inside their houses either sleeping or reading a book by the fire before turning in for the night. Only three stirred, and they were outside the city, walking until they were sure they were out of sight.

"Are you sure you should do this?" Centaur asked with a frown as Quick glanced behind them to check the distance between them and the city, "I mean, you might strain some of your internal injuries...you're still not completely healed, and you won't be able to eat."

Ring shook his head with a small grin as he looked up and answered, "The moon doesn't give me any choice. No lycanthrope, no matter how strong he or she is, can withstand the moon's power." He looked up to the bright moon, directly into the light. "At least I can stretch my wings." His eyes had already begun to change under the pressure of the magical hold of Nott, glistening deep green and showing no white nor pupil. His weakness during the past week due to the effects of the dragonsbane had weakened his control over his change, otherwise he would have been able to hold off even that much of the change until he was certain he was well out of sight of Khana.

"If you insist..." Centaur muttered, shaking his head. He personally did not believe that the moon truly held so much power over lycanthropes, but he did believe that Ring was much too weak still to put up any resistance to the moon's pull despite how powerful a lycanthrope he may have been. He watched Ring as he took a few more steps away and began to shift, the blanket he was given dropping from his shoulders onto the ground. His pale skin promptly turned bronze, littered with darker lines shaping his scales before they began pushing free of his artificial flesh, the soft membrane of his wings sliding into existence as his fingers elongated and his tail pushed out of his backside.

Centaur looked at Quick and asked as Ring finished his change, "Are you going to stay here, or are you going to come back to the house?"

Quick shook his head as he answered, "I'm staying. He'll need help getting out of his skin in the morning."

Centaur nodded as he responded, "Alright. Just come on back if you get hungry or anything. I'll be awake." Quick waved after Centaur, then turned back to Ring.

"I think I'll fly around Ivona," Ring spoke with a fang-filled yawn, his voice echoing in the back of Quick's mind, "I should make it down there before the moon hits its highest point."

"Okay, just start back here before sunrise," Quick responded before sitting down in the grass. He watched with a small smile as Ring took to the air, great wings stirring dust and grass before he was high enough into the air that he could circle around and begin flying southward. He always loved watching Ring fly. Despite how large a creature they were, wyverns were graceful in the air and extraordinarily fast fliers. He knew that even given Ring's current weak health, he could still fly down to Ivona within the next hour or so.

Quick let out a small sigh and lay back onto the grass to watch the stars. He could not possibly be more thankful to Centaur for being in Khana and Healing Ring, nor could he be more grateful to Rock and Forte for helping him get Ring to Centaur. He was sure that if Ring had not survived, he would not have stayed in this world and would have gone to join Ring in the afterlife if one existed for Anubis' grandchildren.

Upon remembering Rock and Forte, Quick frowned, a thought emerging in the back of his mind.

I wonder how they're doing...

* * * * *

Rock awoke with a small snort as his makeshift pillow suddenly pulled away, dumping him unceremoniously onto the ground. He cracked open his eyes and blinked, watching Forte dress and start to pack everything for a moment before speaking, "What's going on? The moon isn't even at its midpoint yet."

"We have to get out of here," Forte answered, his grip tight on Solandri, "Get dressed and help me pack up -- quick!" Rock blinked at him, but did as he was told, quickly getting dressed and folding the blankets to put away, kicking dirt onto the fire.

After a moment when everything was almost completely packed, Rock looked up with a frown and asked as Forte ignited Solandri's scythe, "What's wrong?"

"I can feel him...Wily's coming after us -- I can feel his power, and it makes me sick. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"I don't feel anything..."

"You weren't created by him," Forte answered, shouldering one of their backpacks and quickly starting through the trees, leaving a still confused Rock to catch up with him. Using Solandri's light to guide them through the darkness, they quickly walked through the brush and dodged around the trees through the short remainder of the forest until they reached the edge, and even then, Forte did not stop, watching the surrounding fields cautiously. "Lorien is northwest from here, and as long as I can feel Wily, I'm not going to sleep."

The forest was almost out of sight behind them when Forte suddenly froze, his grip tightening around Solandri as he lashed out and grabbed Rock's arm. Solandri's green light cut through the darkness which the moon's radiance could not dispel and revealed a black, red, and yellow form, malformed face pale and large mouth hanging open, wires trailing from the back of his head to just above where his metallic shoulder blades lay underneath his blatantly artificial skin.

Doc Man stared them down from where he stood on the path before them. Rock clearly remembered the eight times he fought this single robot as he recalled his armor. He knew that Doc could emulate the natural strengths and abilities of any of the Robot Masters. Only the abilities they were originally programmed with, of course -- Rock doubted even the most complicated strings of programming and most powerful enhancement spells could grant Doc the ability to mimic Magnet's lycanthropy or Metal's insanity.

It took a moment for Rock to realize that Doc was alone. No member of the Trio accompanied him, nor any other Robot Master. Rock was not entirely surprised -- Doc was certainly a challenge to fight with his mimicry alone -- but he was nowhere nearly as dangerous as the Trio and their ability to combine their three sides of elemental magic combined with Magnet's lycanthropy. Why did Dr. Wily send him?

Doc took a lumbering step forward, his poorly-constructed foot flexing with a hideous creak as his leg attempted to support his massive bulk. Doc's ability to mimic all of the Robot Masters had been one of Dr. Wily's crowning achievements, but once he had perfected it, he had not truly bothered to perfect his body, using only the most basic materials and programming. Doc lacked a soul and the true coherence which made each Robot Master stand out from each other.

Doc paused before completing another step, but in that fraction of a second Rock saw the ghostly image of Quick in full armor appear before Doc. Before Rock could warn Forte, Doc rushed forward with a burst of speed unlike what his body was usually meant to perform, glowing apparitions of small, red boomerangs flying through the air. As they hit something -- be it soil, rock, or artificial flesh -- they faded away, the very little magic power of Doc only able to sustain them that short amount of time. Rock planted his feet apart and returned fire from a distance while Forte ran ahead to slash at Doc with Solandri. As he passed the massive robot, Forte ducked down and swept his hand down over the dirt near Doc's feet with a whispered command. Doc let out a startled shriek of binary as the ground leapt up under his feet, sending him stumbling back several steps. The distraction not only broke Doc's concentration on Quick's power, but gave both Rock and Forte the opportunity and opening for their attack.

Rock released a charged shot which hit Doc in the back just before Forte leapt forward again and slashed at Doc with Solandri's scythe blade, the monstrosity's right arm, torso, and left hip spurting black, oily fluid into the air. With another shriek and an ethereal image of Guts appearing before him, Doc turned and swung his other arm at Forte who easily dodged the slow attack, countering with another slash of Solandri which Doc was barely able to dodge. Sensing that Guts' power was not enough, Doc cancelled out the imitation and switched to another.

Rock let out a startled scream as he was thrown back by a blast of electricity, Elec's lingering power temporarily freezing his systems as he curled in the grass in agony. With Rock momentarily incapacitated, Doc turned to Forte and threw him back as well with another lash of electricity.

Rock hissed and painfully sat up, shaking his head before glancing upward and blinking at the ghostly image of Dr. Wily which misted over Doc for a split second before the monstrosity raised its still functional hand, palm pointed at Forte who had managed to stagger to his feet.

Forte gasped sharply and doubled over, Solandri falling to the ground as the striped robot clutched at his chest, gold eyes wide. A thin thread of white light shined through his fingers into the darkness, followed by another, then another. Doc slowly closed his hand into a fist, and a strangled cry tore free of Forte's throat.

As Rock watched, horrified, Doc jerked his hand back, and a sphere of light was ripped out of Forte's chest. The sphere glowed softly, pulsing as it floated calmly over to Doc who carefully held the ethereal object as it huddled against him. Rock screamed as Forte's body slumped to the ground, lifeless without his soul. Rock ran over to Forte's body and shook him violently, rolling him over onto his back and slapping him as he yelled at him to wake up.

Doc, oblivious, tilted his head at his marred arm. Even his simple mind could figure out that his teleporting device and program had been destroyed. It would be a long walk back to Skull Fortress, but he had what he had been sent for, so there was no rush. He turned to start the long trek back to the Fortress, his shredded and burned arm dripping black fluids onto the dirt pathway and his leg dragging behind him as he shuffled slowly, ignoring Rock's pained voice behind him.

"Forte...Forte! What happened?" Rock whimpered as his hands trembled, clinging to Forte desperately, "Wake up...please wake up..." However, despite Rock's pleas, Forte did not move, did not breathe, his normally pale skin somehow seeming even paler in the bright light of the full moon as it cooled slowly. Without his soul, he was basically dead. Just like Blues...

Doc continued on his way, but hissed when a burning shot hit his shoulder. He turned back to the small, blue form, eyes narrowed.

"Give him back..." Rock growled as he charged his cannon, keeping his aim locked onto the monstrosity, "You already have Blues...you killed Roll, Rightot, Beat, and Rush...you've probably killed Dr. Light and Tango, too. I won't let you take him!" Doc let out another startled scream of binary as he stumbled back from Rock's charged shot who followed with another.

"Give him back!!"

* * * * *

Elec gripped his sceptre tightly as he tried to find the Ivona High Priest in the chaos. Humans were screaming and running for shelter, and in his world of darkness Elec could not see what was happening, why everyone was so panicked. As he managed to find his way out of the cathedral, he yelped slightly as a rush of wind caught him off guard, his cape billowing behind him as he struggled to maintain his footing. Over the rush of wind, he heard humans screaming something about wyverns, that a wyvern had come to eat them all.

A wyvern? Here? Elec frowned and lowered his head, using Rakurai's power to concentrate on the world around him. He saw the dark forms of humans rushing back and forth against the somewhat lighter background in an attempt to escape, very few giving off any sort of an aura. He moved the sceptre from side to side to take in more of the area and stopped when he had it look to the sky. He saw the shape of the wyvern high in the air, the silhouette outlined by a bright, bold outline of its dark green aura. He only knew one wyvern who had that strong an aura.

Ring?

"Hey Elec!" Ring's voice echoed in the back of Elec's mind, making him smile. He raised an arm to wave at the sky and show Ring that he heard him. "Can you find your way outside the village? I'll land somewhere secluded so we can talk." Elec hesitated a moment. It had been so long since he had left the village, he doubted he could make his way out without becoming lost. The last time he had even tried to find the market, the High Priest ended up having to send out a search party. "Never mind -- I'll guide you. The humans have more or less all made it inside, so you shouldn't run into anyone. Turn to your left and walk until I tell you to stop."

With Ring's help, Elec slowly made it through the dirt roads of Ivona and outside town to a small patch of trees just beyond the road north leading to Noth and Khana. There, Ring landed just beyond the trees and hopped into the shelter of the miniature forest. "Okay, stop -- you're about to run into a tree," he cautioned, and Elec stopped, head tilted downward to the ground.

He waited until the sounds of Ring situating himself ceased, then tilted his head as he asked, "So, how have things been? Haven't heard from you in a while."

"Oh, they've just been..." Ring answered, heaving a sigh as he rested his head on the ground, "I drank some dragonsbane a few weeks ago like an idiot, but we found Rock and Forte along the way to find a Healer, and they helped us get to Khana. Did you know that Centaur's there? I knew he escaped, but I never heard anything about him after that."

"No, I didn't," Elec answered, feeling around behind him for a moment before he rested his back against the trunk of a tree, "You met Rock and Forte? How are they? It's been about two weeks since they came through here..."

"Yeah, last I knew they were okay." Ring hesitated for a long moment before slowly stating, "When they left Khana, they...were going to see Metal." Elec fell silent, his grip tightening on Rakurai. He never liked remembering Metal's final days at Skull Fortress before he escaped -- never liked remembering watching the last shreds of sanity flying away from Metal four years past. It had been so long...he shuddered to think of how far Metal's insanity had progressed in four years.

"Did Centaur Heal you?" Elec asked after a moment, changing the subject.

"Yeah. The good thing is that I'll heal pretty soon because I'm a lycanthrope. Unfortunately, my stomach was destroyed by the dragonsbane, so I can't eat yet."

"I can imagine. What--"

Help!

Ring's head shot up, the beginnings of a sonic shriek rumbling deep in his chest as he looked around. Elec took a step small step forward, tilting his head to the wind as he listened to the screaming, yet somehow silent cry for help. "Stand down, Ring..." he whispered after a moment, positive that the lycanthrope could hear him. Ring hissed, but crouched back down even as the breeze carried the cry to them once more.

"Recognize it?" Ring asked cautiously, bright green eyes narrowing.

"Yeah, I do," Elec answered simply, his voice still a whisper.

"Where did it come from?" Ring asked with a shallow hiss before standing back up, spreading his wings.

Elec closed his eyes behind his blindfold and tilted his face to the sky, feeling the breeze on his skin as the cries faded into the night. He tilted his head back down and blindly opened his eyes once again. "Northeast."

Ring spread his wings to their full extent and shrieked as Elec made his way over to him. Ring crouched down again just long enough to let Elec secure himself on his back before he flapped his large wings and took to the air, disappearing into the night sky.

* * * * *

Rock sniffed and wiped at the tears on his face with his sleeve as he tried to use Solandri to light a small fire. The trident blade was broken -- the mechanism which ignited the fiery green blade almost severed from the rest of the shaft. After his fifth attempt at a fire, the leaves finally began to smoke, the twigs began to burn. He sat back on his heels and rubbed his hands together over the spurt of flame, the night's wind seeming to cut straight through his once-white clothing to chill him to his very metallic bones. Forte was on the other side of the fire, wrapped up in every blanket they had been carrying. His lifeless body had been wrapped up carefully by Rock's gentle hands just ten minutes prior, and Rock quietly reminded himself that he needed to clean and dress their wounds from the fight with Doc.

Remembering Doc nearly made new tears cloud his vision. The monstrosity had gotten away with Forte's soul even after Rock's barrage of attacks and charged shots. First he had taken the attributes of Star to erect a shield and protect himself from the smaller robot's attacks, then Doc had mimicked Hard's power. Rock was sure he had several bruised ribs from the Hard Knuckle which had struck him in the torso, though that had not been the battle's deciding blow. That had been executed when Doc mimicked Elec, the powerful Thunder Beam easily incapacitating Rock and making Doc's escape route clear. When Rock had regained consciousness, Doc was already a large, dark spot on the horizon.

Rock wiped at his face again and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he muttered to himself, "Have to think...have to think...I beat him before. Now -- just have to remember how I did it." He hugged himself and huddled closer to the fire as he muttered the strategies he had used against each of the Robot Masters Doc could imitate, most of which he had defeated with only his arm cannon at one point or another. "If I can get him to change to Guts or maybe Stone..."

"...then you'll only be destroyed," a quiet voice whispered in his ear.

Rock yelled and tried to spin around, but he was restrained, strong arms tightening their grip around him as a lithe body pressed against his back. He looked over his shoulders and into eyes like candle flames dancing in the wind, and the second his eyes met those, he felt his blood run cold.

"M-Metal...?"

"That scream was priceless," came the purring response as Metal nuzzled Rock's cheek and down his neck to his shoulder, "The pain of losing him...and you know he'll truly die as soon as Doc returns to Wily."

Rock shuddered, trying to squirm out of Metal's arms as he demanded, his voice shaking, "Wh-What do you want?"

Metal grinned, swiping his tongue out to lick Rock's nose before answering, "Did you really think that I was helping you? You two really are naive. I can only be allies to one side at a time."

It took a long moment for that to sink in, and Rock shivered again, beginning to feel as if the world was crashing down around his feet. "Y-You...you tricked us...a-and helped Wily...?!"

"But of course," Metal purred, "I used the fyrlyzards to connect Doc to Wily -- giving him Wily's ability to rip out his creations' souls." He nipped at Rock's ear with a small, contented sigh. "Of course, Doc can't destroy a soul -- he has to take it back to Wily for that..."

"B-But...wh-what about..."

"Blues?" Metal laughed, a soft, husky sound -- a mockery of what it had once been so long ago. "Any Necromancer could push his soul back into him provided they're powerful enough. We have a natural affinity with the dead after all, and soulless robots are basically zombies -- the walking dead."

Rock could only stare at him, blue-green eyes wide and disbelieving. He thought Metal had truly been helping them, that he would finally be able to help his brother. He felt as if something inside him had just shattered -- the hope of ever living in peace again, of ever being with any member of his family again.

He yowled as a wave of fiery pain coursed through him which quickly turned to numbness, sending him onto the ground on his back and staring up at Metal with tear-filled, shocked eyes. Metal crouched over him, one hand on either side of Rock's head, and one knee on either side of his hips. The paralysis spell Metal had cast on him prevented Rock from moving anything but his head, and he knew that the spell would very likely last as long as Metal wished it to.

"Now...I don't care if Wily disapproves or not, but I'm going to take part of my payment right now," Metal purred, grinning smugly as he reached up to touch Rock's face, "You see, his end of the bargain was that I could keep you and Forte as my own to do with whatever I wish. I'm not truly interested in Forte...you on the other hand..." Rock's body managed to shiver as the black-gloved hand traced down his neck and the center of his chest. "I know how you've felt about me, though you were never brave enough to admit it out loud..." Metal laughed again. "That will just make this even more enjoyable."

Rock shuddered again and shook his head, the tears beginning to flow in spite of himself. "N-No...Metal...you're not like this...you never were...this isn't you..." He bit back a thin whimper as Metal's hands traced their way down past his waist and over his legs. "You're not like this...p-please, snap out of it...snap out of whatever Wily did to you..."

Metal looked down at him, eyes half lidded as he grinned for a moment before laughing out loud and looking down at Rock again. "You don't get it, do you?" His eyes widened, as did his grin, the glint of insanity beginning to fade into something darker and more sinister. "Haven't you figured it out by now?"

Rock's voice came out in a tiny, whimpering whisper. "F-Figured...wh-what out...?"

Metal leaned back over him completely, his voice degrading to a low, scratchy rasp and his eyes widening even more until they suddenly sank into his skull, black smoke billowing out of the cavities where they had once been. It was all Rock could do to hold back his scream as Metal leaned closer down to his face.

"Metal's not home..."

* * * * *

The moon was still high in the sky and Quick was amazed that he continued to hear the cry over the rush of wind in his face as he held on for dear life. He could have run by himself, but he would have risked overheating the hydraulic pumps and fluids in his legs after half an hour; whereas, Centaur could run at top speed for over a day without a break in his quadruped form. Quick often wondered how, but gave up asking long ago, content with Ring's answer: "He's magikal~"

Quick yelped and tightened his grip on Centaur's waist as he jumped over a rotten log and dove into the Plains. He vaguely wondered if Ring had heard the silent cry for help as well, but something told him that he had and was on his way as well.

Centaur's mind was awhirl as he galloped through the grass, the last half hour a complete blur. When he had first heard the cry, he had immediately leapt into action; he rushed to one of his neighbors and arranged for them to check up on and walk his animals every day until he returned. He always loved his neighbors for that -- they always complied and never asked questions or complained. After the arrangements had been made, he had run into Quick on the way out of the city, and both had agreed that riding Centaur's quadruped form would be the fastest way to get to their destination.

And I'm still not entirely sure what that is... Centaur admitted to himself with a frown. They were both just following the plea for help, and he could tell that it was growing gradually stronger as they made their way northeast. Centaur jumped over a crevice as he weaved through the tall grasses, wind blowing and spreading the cloud of dust which was kicked up by his hooves.

Over the sound of the wind rushing past his ears and noise of his hooves stopping into the soil, he just barely heard Quick ask, "Do you think Ring heard it, too?"

"If we're lucky, yeah, and Elec too," Centaur answered as he narrowed his eyes, "I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure they're on their way."

I just hope we get there in time...

* * * * *

The sun was starting to try to show itself on the horizon, but he knew it would not shine for long as dark clouds quickly began to form together and cover the sky. The clouds matched his mood -- dark and dreary, leaving as little room for hope as they did for the sun. A quick, limping trek back to the forest had given him enough fallen limbs, leaves, and vines to make an equivalent of a stretcher. It slid along the ground fairly smoothly, thick layers of mud holding the limbs in place. Two vines had been tied around his shoulders so that he could pull the stretcher behind him, and he ignored the way his thighs and backside screamed in pain with each movement. He hoped he had managed to clean his wounds enough to prevent infection, but he decided that he would worry about that later. He had to prevent Doc from reaching Dr. Wily first.

Doc's footprints were easy enough to follow -- one foot was placed very shortly before a long drag in the dirt -- and it was simple to tell that the monstrosity was limping worse than Rock; however, Doc had almost a two hour head start. It had taken a little over an hour to make the stretcher for Forte's body, and before that Metal had arrived.

Rock shuddered almost convulsively as he remembered what Metal had done to him. He could still feel Metal's lips on his throat, feel his teeth sinking into his shoulders and drawing blood. He could still feel Metal's tongue snaking its way inside him to lick at the wounds and drink down his blood.

Rock shuddered again before he took a deep breath and continued walking, speeding up his pace. After Metal had finished with Rock, Doc had returned and an argument had started. Rock could not understand much binary, but he had deciphered the main points of the argument as Metal's spell wore off. Doc had wanted Metal to take him back to the Fortress, but Metal had refused, saying that he had already fulfilled his "end of the bargain" and that Doc could limp back on his own.

Rock could not complain about that -- it had delayed Doc just enough that Rock had a small hope that he might be able to catch up with him. If only the rain held out until he had the monstrosity in sight...

However, Isis was not smiling upon him that day. The clouds opened up and released their load of water within twenty minutes, quickly erasing the trail of dragging footprints on the trail. With the dirt turning into mud and making it harder to walk, Rock could only hope that Doc had not trailed off of the road. He only stopped long enough to pull a blanket out of his pack and drape it over Forte's body to shield him from the rain if only for a few moments before the blanket was soaked, then he began walking again.

It seemed like another hour had passed before he saw the large, hunchbacked form of Doc in the distance. Rock had not realized how close he had gotten to the strange creation until he looked up from the ground, and even then, the rain in his face made it hard to tell if he was right, but one overheard squeak of binary as Doc tried to pull his marred leg out of the mud was all Rock needed for confirmation.

Doc looked up sharply when he heard a scream of rage only to be hit in the face by a charged shot. He stumbled back a limping step before hissing and deciding on a form to mimic as Rock ran at him in full armor.

Rock managed to dodge the first surge of Elec's lightning power, but the second hit him in the stomach, sending him on his back in the mud. It stunned Rock just long enough for Doc to pull his damaged leg out of the mire it was trapped in, then the monstrosity switched power as it remembered the combination which had incapacitated Rock earlier.

Rock yelled in surprised agony as he was knocked back into the mud by a Hard Knuckle. He hissed sharply as another hit his side with a wet pop of cracked bones. A third left him on the ground, curled up and clutching his marred ribcage. A series of coughs which followed left a warm, coppery substance in the back of his throat, and he hissed again, shivering. If that's one of my lungs getting punctured, I'm going to be very upset.

He looked up to find the mimic standing over him, an ethereal image of Elec appearing once more. Doc's hand began to glow as he limped back a few paces to give himself room to use Elec's powerful Thunder Beam. Rock shakily pushed himself up to his knees, but almost collapsed again as a wave of coughing brought up a mouthful of blood which he spit out. He panted for a brief moment to regain his breath before glaring back up at Doc. The golden light of the charging Thunder Beam was almost too harsh to gaze upon, so Rock closed his eyes and lowered his head.

If you care at all, Anubis...help...this can't be how it ends...

Something shook the ground in front of him just before he heard Doc release the surge of electricity. The searing pain he was expecting never came -- instead, the sound of the crackling lightning and the smell of ozone was followed by a familiar, ear-piercing shriek. Rock's eyes snapped back open and he stared up at the new form between him and the mimic.

"Filthy, monstrous wretch!" Elec snarled from his mount atop Ring's scaled back, Rakurai held high over his head and glowing brightly from the absorbed Thunder Beam, "Not only do you try to mimic me, but you don't even do it right!" Doc tried to drag himself out of the way, but was blown backwards when the lightning was focused in his direction and released from Elec's enchanted sceptre just before the blind Robot Master slid his way down Ring's back and onto the ground.

"Are you sure you can handle him?" Ring asked as he began to change back. He knew Rock needed to be tended to immediately, and while he was not a true Healer, he had just enough power in that area to at least stabilize Rock.

"No problem," Elec answered, "He's not worth the parts Wily built him out of." With Rakurai's enchantment, he could easily see the multicolored, almost rainbow-like aura surrounding Doc despite how thin it was. Doc's heavy, dragging footsteps were also very easy to hear over the sound over the falling rain so that even if he did not have Rakurai, Elec could have heard the dragging of Doc's feet and been able to tell what direction he was coming from. The only thing he could not anticipate without the enchanted sceptre was which attacks Doc was using and which Robot Master he was impersonating. As Doc began shuffling towards him, he yelled at the mimic, "Come on, you pile of slag!"

Rock looked up with blurred vision at Ring's pale form as the lycanthrope tore free of his shed, reptilian skin and made his way over to the blue-armored robot. Rock let a weak smile cross over his face and shakily asked, "Wh-Where'd...you come...from...?" He tried to ask something else, but was broken off by another fit of coughing.

"Shh, don't talk," Ring crooned as he kneeled beside him, "Lie down on your side so you won't choke on anything you cough up." Rock nodded and quietly did as he was told, lying down on his right side with Ring's help. He stayed quiet as Ring's magic flowed through him to assess the damage, a cool, soothing feeling that made Rock want to close his eyes before Ring's voice brought him back to reality. "I'd say you've got about four broken ribs, and one of them sliced open your left lung," the lycanthrope muttered, "I can Heal your lung, but Elec will have to fix the broken bones." Ring tilted his head and let his power flow through the rest of Rock's body to see if there was any more damage. "I think you might have a minor short in your right shoulder, too, from Doc imitating Elec...and..." He frowned when the spell slid through Rock's waist and down past his legs. "...Rock, who...?"

"...Metal..." Rock replied quietly, and he was thankful that Ring did not say anything further on that. Ring simply fell quiet and began Healing what he could despite the fight in the background.

After several moments, Elec felt his way back over to them, muttering, "Piece of junk. I don't know why Wily bothers repairing him."

"Did you kill him?" Ring asked through his concentration.

"Yeah -- there was really no getting around it," Elec answered before kneeling down beside the two robots, reaching out and feeling for Rock's hand to hold it. Rock gave him a weak smile though he knew his brother could not see it, closing his eyes until his vision returned to normal. "Need me to help with anything?"

"Yeah, he's got some broken ribs and a joint or circuit board on the fritz in his other shoulder."

"Let me finish up -- you're probably exhausted from changing and still recovering from that dragonsbane." Ring nodded and crawled back to give Elec room.

"Thanks, I--" Heavy footsteps on wet grass made him look up sharply, turning his enhanced eyesight to the horizon. He knew it was too far away for the other two to hear, but he could tell what direction it was coming from. "Well, what do you know..." he muttered and crossed his arms when he saw two familiar forms in the distance -- one green and one red -- moving quickly in their direction. "They'll be upset that they missed the action."

Elec looked up, blinking behind his blindfold, "Who?"

"Centaur and Quick. Good thing, too -- I think it's going to take Centaur to Heal that shorted-out shoulder."

Elec started to say something else, but was cut off when Rock suddenly looked up, eyes snapping open as he remembered something very important. "Forte...his soul...Doc, he..." Rock gasped through the pain of Elec Healing his broken bones.

"Don't worry, Rock," Ring answered as he knelt back down beside the blue form, "He's right over there." Rock craned his neck to look in the direction of Forte's body and blinked when he saw the small ball of pulsing light slowly floating back to its body from where Doc had thrown it in the fight. "He'll stay with his body..." Rock sighed, lowered his head back down to the ground, and closed his eyes once more. Now that they had Forte's soul back and Quick and Centaur were coming as well, he just needed to rest, then they could see if Metal had been telling the truth before.

I hope he was...Necromancers shouldn't be too hard to find...

* * * * *

The rain was causing the image on the screen to blur and distort as it fell into Reggae's eyes from where he was flying in the air watching the entourage, but Dr. Wily could still easily see what was happening. His hands were gripping the arms of his chair tightly, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. His gaze was locked onto the monitor, eyes narrowed as he snarled low in his chest.

"He's the one...gods above, he's the one..." He slammed a fist down on the intercom button and roared for the Trio to come to the control room, still unable to take his eyes off of the screen even as Enker, Magnet, and Pharaoh slid into the room and asked what he needed. "I want you to capture Rock and bring him to me -- alive," the Scion snapped, hissing, "I don't care how many others you have to kill or torture to do it, just make it happen! And bring back Doc's body!"

"Yes sir," Enker acknowledged quietly before leaving with his Dua and Una.

Dr. Wily continued to glare at the monitor before he slammed his fist down on the keyboard again, shutting off the relay. He stood up and snarled again.

"I know who you are now, Rock...you won't escape me, Anubis' Chosen..."

"Yubiwa / Ring" -- Ma'aya Sakamoto
"Escaflowne"