Rockman ZW: The Dark Ages

Chapter 28: Bitter Taste of War

A few days after Alister's infiltration, he has been hard at work training with Sara. Blake and Aile watch them from a distance as the two train. They remain silent out of respect for their fellow fighters. They wonder when Alister is finally going to strike Sara. As Sara leaps around the arena Alister follows closely behind with sweat pouring off of him.

"Not agile enough!" she mocks as Alister falls behind a bit.

Sara dodges one of his spin kicks before twirling her legs around to hit Alister. This knocks him to the ground with a loud cracking noise. The buzzer is heard while Alister punches the ground before standing to his feet.

"I'm disappointed Alister. You call that fighting? It was only childs play. You need to do better than that if you're going to help us in this war." she tells him while walking out.

Alister just hangs his head in shame because he knows that she speaks the truth. He staggers towards the exit of the arena as Aile and Blake meet with him. Not paying attention he walks past them as they greet him.

"Alister?" Aile asks while grabbing his arm.

"Sorry… what is it?" he returns the question while turning his head.

"We wanted to know if you wanted to go to eat with us? It is better than sitting in your room all day sulking." Blake invites him while Alister thinks about it for a moment.

"Alright, I'll go." he replies.

"Don't make it seem like we are forcing you to go Alister." Aile says walking past him.

They walk to one of the restaurants nearby to eat. As a couple of hours go by they walk back out with their hunger dealt with. Feeling a bit better after eating, Alister goes back to his room and shuts the door behind him. He lies down for a nap before quickly fading away into sleep while thinking of the past. Blake and Aile reach the command center as two surprise guests appear. May Lee and Russell salute them upon entering.

"Back so soon you two?" Aile asks with a smile.

"We found something! We thought you should be the first to see!" Russell says with joy.

"Well… show us if that is the case." Blake says while holding his hand up to his face. As May Lee reaches inside of her backpack, Aile and Blake's face turn to shock as they lay eyes on another Live Metal. It is a solid black color, the eyes are a red color but the shape of the Live Metal is completely round.

"Odd…" Model X speaks up.

"What's up?" Aile thinks.

"There was no Live Metal that looked like that, nor was there any record of it being made. I feel no… will coming from it. As if it was a complete… drone." Model X replies to her.

"Those red eyes… it's like looking into nothing." Blake brings up before May Lee and Russell look into the eyes as well.

"Either way, excellent job you two. Leave the Live Metal here… we will think of something." Aile tells them. The two eager diggers place the black Live Metal on the table behind them before leaving. They go to their apartment rooms to get some well deserved rest. As May Lee waves goodbye for the night she slips into her room.

"Another Live Metal huh? I wonder if this is a blessing… or a curse…" Blake mutters to himself.

"It is odd that I sense nothing from it." Model B tells him.

"We should be careful in how we deal with this Blake." Aile tells him.

"I agree. For now we will keep it inside of this force field, if this was able to hold Khan himself back… it shouldn't break free." Blake says while placing the Live Metal on a plate near the back of the room. Aile presses a few buttons before a glowing bubble of energy forms around the storage room.

"Power flow seems normal on this side. I'll stay here and keep tabs on the Live Metal, go get some rest Aile" Blake tells her while typing rapidly on the keyboard.

"Sounds nice…" she says while yawning. "I'll be back later." she adds before walking out of the command room. Blake pulls a chair out from the table behind him and sets it near the force field.

"I don't like this. Normally a Live Metal has a will of its own. So what is so different about this one?" he thinks to himself as he rolls over to a console to his right and turns on a computer.

"Computer, begin scanning of the Live Metal. Power level maximum output. Engage." he tells the computer. It beeps as a few more lights are added to the room with the Live Metal. A few minutes pass before the scan stops.

"One ID found. Displaying." the computer replies.

A screen of the back of the Live Metal appears as it zooms in on the middle area. Waters Foundation is engraved on the back. Blake's mouth opens wide as he stands to his feet in shock.

"Jake…?" he thinks to himself before sitting back down. As if on cue, upon sitting down the alarms begin to go off. Blake franticly tries to find out what is going on.

"What is going on Blake!" shouts Aile as she runs back in.

"It's Khan's forces again… they are heading this way…" Blake replies while standing up again with the chair falling over this time.

"What did you say!" Aile panics before checking the computer.

She steps back before falling flat on the floor. Blake grabs the microphone that is near them before placing it on his ear and pressing the talk button. Throughout the base his heavy breathing could be heard, everyone stops to listen. His voice is also heard in the apartments. Alister wakes to the words of Blake.

"This is a level four emergency! Khan's forces have found our home! We must defend it at all costs! Everyone get to your stations and be ready to be debriefed! We are going into instant action men!" Blake orders.

Alister leaps out of bed before running out the door. He meets with Sara in the hallway as she is running out as well. She just glances at him while running past him. They get inside of the elevator together and say nothing to each other. Alister didn't want to try to make anything worse than what it was. The base looked like it was a hornets nest as they bump into people on the way to the command room. As they enter the Live Metal in the back begins to glow.

"What are your orders sir?" Sara calmly asks while Alister just stands there. He makes eye contact with the Live Metal and moves towards it out of curiosity.

"We are all going on this mission Sara! So I will directly be in command this time! Get to the hangers! We cannot allow the enemy inside of our tunnels!" Blake shouts before running in front of her. He takes notice of Alister walking towards the Live Metal.

"What are you doing Alister?" Aile asks him. They also take notice that the Live Metal is now glowing.

"Is that another Live Metal?" he asks before his Model ZW begins to glow as well. It appears in front of the other Live Medal and glows as well.

"It was inactive until… you walked in the room…" Aile mentions while looking at Blake.

The two Live Metals begin to blink at the same time. Faster and faster their rhythm begins to pick up. The red eyes on the Live Metal begin to turn green as Model X and the others begin to pick up a will. There is a flash of light that makes everyone look in the other direction. When they could see again everyone was in shock. Floating in the room behind the bubble of energy was Model G.

It instantly fades away as they look in amazement. As Model ZW returns to Alister, Blake deactivates the field before walking out of the room. Aile follows with Sara and Alister soon behind them. As they meet with their forces in the hanger Alister stands with the leaders this time in front of the entire army. Blake walks out in front as a screen appears behind him. It shows them two groups of enemies.

"As you can all see here, the enemy numbers are massive. They have split up into two groups, this means we will also be doing the same thing. Knowing Khan and his forces they will be expecting this and will adapt in some way. So be on the lookout for some change. Aile and myself will command one group, while Sara and Alister will command the other. Alister is new to being a leader but has a lot of experience in the battlefield. Listen to him as you would listen to Sara. Ammo up and move out!" Blake commands as they give a shout.

"Hoo-rah!" they shout in unison. Alister sticks with Sara knowing that she knows what she's doing. A group of five runs up to Sara and surrounds her and Alister, but they push him out of the way basically.

"Sara! Let's get rid of them this time!" another girl shouts. The other four men agree with the girl.

"You got it guys! We'll show them!" she laughs with them as Alister figures that those are her friends. Sara turns to Alister suddenly with a hateful look on his face.

"Something wrong?" he asks her.

"Just do as you are told on the field and you and I will get along just fine hero." she mocks him before walking away with her small group closely behind her.

Alister follows while ignoring her previous statement. A massive amount of ships begin to take off as Sara offers Alister a rifle. He shakes his head as she scoffs at him. He boards the ship with her and her friends as well as many others. They lift off and head towards the surface at top speed. When the reach the top they can see the enemy standing in the distance, thousands of them. Khan's forces easily out number them. They take notice that the enemy units are indeed split into two groups. As they watch Blake and Aile land they close in on their enemy group. Upon landing Sara and her friends burst out of the ship taking the lead.

"Let's go men! Show them no mercy!" she shouts at the top of her lungs.

The army under her command shouts before charging forward. Alister follows Sara as the army follows him. In the distance he can see Blake flying through the air shooting bolts of lightning at the enemy.

"Blake really is the best person to be in charge." thinks Alister as he smirks.

They soon make contact with the enemy units. Alister wastes no time before transforming into Black Rockman. He dashes towards a group of four and disappears before appearing behind them. As his arm slasher goes back into place his enemies fall to the ground behind him. He continues to attack the enemy while protecting his own troops.

Sara and her friends open fire on everything in sight. She fires her pistol as her friends behind her fire their rifles. The other girl hurls a grenade into a group blowing them up in seconds. They move on ahead near Alister while fighting. Suddenly Alister is knocked to the ground by an unknown force. He looks around to see Prometheus standing before him.

"I am here to collect your Live Metal you piece of scum!" he shouts before charging forward. Alister jumps to his feet before countering his attacks. Pandora is attacking Blake and Aile on the other side of the battle. Sara goes to fight Prometheus with Alister.

"No! You have to go back and help your friends!" he tells her.

"You don't order me around hero! I order you around!" she argues with him. He pushes her out of the way of an attack by Prometheus.

"You don't understand! He is here to keep the two strongest fighters busy while Khan's forces overwhelm our forces! I would say the same thing about Pandora with Blake and Aile! You have to go help everyone else while I fight him!" he tells Sara.

"You're smart for a dead man!" Prometheus shouts while tackling them.

He slashes at Alister who blocks with his arm slashers. Sara transforms into Model T before going back to her friends. She extends the blade at the end of her staff before slashing away at the enemy. On the other side of the field Aile charges towards Pandora, slashing wildly with her Z-Saber. She charges her attack before unleashing it. The attack knocks Pandora back as Blake flies down towards her. He fires bolts of lightning at her, while she dodges. His attacks hit the enemy forces that are below her at the moment.

"Even if I miss, I still hit the enemy!" he mocks her before he crosses his arms in an X formation. He begins to charge his energy before unleashing a massive burst that hits Pandora. She flies down and hits the ground. She stands to her feet while holding her left arm.

"You are too good." she tells them before disappearing.

"Continue with the attack men!" Blake shouts to his men. Alister falls to one knee as Prometheus walks up to him and holds his scythe to his neck.

"Now you will die Rockman." he speaks before pulling back with his scythe. Alister falls to the ground with blood spewing from his neck. Sara takes notice before charging towards Prometheus.

"Alister!" she shouts taking notice of the blood. "Monster!" she quickly yells at Prometheus. While she fights him Model ZW begins to blink again. The cut on Alister's neck begins to heal. He stands to his feet while taking notice of Sara attacking Prometheus. Before too long he falls to one knee again.

"Let go of your feelings Alister. Only then will your light shine. Let go of the past and embrace your future!" Model ZW tells him.

"How… am I suppose to do this?" he asks while in much pain.

"All of the feelings you felt… anger… hate… sadness… despair… let them go. Forgive yourself of your deeds." Model ZW replies.

"Angeline… Jake…" he mutters to himself.

"You have to do this Alister! Let go of your past! Forgive yourself!" Model ZW continues.

"I… can't… I've done too much…" Alister softly speaks as Sara is having a hard time fighting off Prometheus.

"You have to do this Alister!" Model ZW persists.

"I CAN'T!" Alister screams before shaking his head back and forth.

"Then fall into eternal darkness!" Model ZW shouts.

Those words echo through his thoughts. His eyes open wide before his thoughts become clear suddenly. As he looks at the raging battle going on around him he can see Sara fall to one knee just as he did. Everything appeared slow to him as he moves to help Sara. He extends his left arm slasher and attacks. Upon hitting Prometheus across the chest he slides across the ground before finally stopping. Prometheus falls back to attack the other members of their army while holding his fresh wound. Sara turns around to see Prometheus attacking her five friends. With a mighty swing of his double scythe, he cuts through her friends in an instant. She dashes up to them to help but it was too late. Prometheus lets out an evil laugh as her friends fall to the ground dead. Suddenly Sara loses her form and returns to normal. Prometheus walks up to her and holds his scythe out to her neck like he did to Alister.

"I have you now." he speaks before Alister appears in front of her. Prometheus is suddenly thrown back as Alister attacks with amazing speed.

"Embrace your future Alister!" Model ZW tells him. Alister closes his eyes before a pillar of light surrounds him. The light could be seen all the way on the other side of the battlefield. Blake and Aile take notice as they make their way towards the light.

"What is this… power that I feel?" he says to himself. Suddenly an image of someone appears in front of him, he instantly takes notice of who it is.

"Hey Alister." greets Jake.

"Jake! How is this possible!" he asks with a smile across his face.

"If you are seeing this, then Zerowing defeated me and I am no longer alive. The black Live Metal was created to give Model G another life… with you Alister. Use his power to destroy all evil!" Jake tells him before fading away.

"He knew… he knew all along that he would lose to Zerowing so long ago… I understand old friend. From this moment on I will… use the power that you entrusted to me... I will… Rock on!" shouts Alister before his body begins to glow.

Familiar cannons appear on his left and right arm as his color begins to change to Model G's colors. His legs remain a silver color as his chest turns green with some red going across. His helmet remains the same form, only green with some darker green across his forehead area. His arms turn green as well with red around his wrist. Two missile pods appear on his back. With one on each side they each have four barrels with missiles loaded. The scarf on Alister's neck turns red as the pillar of lights disappears.

"Aile! That's…" Blake starts to say.

"Model G!" Aile finishes as Alister takes one step forward.

"I promise you Jake… I will win this time. Not as Alister, not even as Black Rockman! I will win as the eternal light that destroys all evil!" Alister shouts before taking aim. "Now come on!" he shouts before opening fire on Prometheus.

He dodges the massive blasts as his forces behind him disappear. Alister stomps his right foot on the ground before he locks on with his missiles. As the eight missiles are fired, Prometheus dodges half of them, the other half makes a direct hit on him.

"Another time!" Prometheus shouts before he disappears.

Alister turns his attention to the remaining forces that are attacking. He holds the two cannons towards the forces before charging. Suddenly he lets out a massive blast from the two cannons that cut through the middle of the enemy force. He turns to the left and right while firing rapidly with the cannons. Missiles begin to fire as he attacks the last group, Blake and Aile hover in the air in amazement. Alister runs towards the enemy units that Blake and Aile had left.

"All remaining friendly units are to fall back now! I will handle this from now on!" he shouts across the field.

All units listen to Alister and fall back to the ships. As soon as Alister could not pick up any ally units he leaps off of the cliff he was standing on. He begins to open fire while in the air. The blasts begin to rip apart Khan's forces. Everyone watches from a distance, as the watch a sudden blast that sends a shockwave across the land. The white light in the distance dies down as Alister walks away from it. With his red scarf flipping in the wind he makes his way towards his friends.

"Alister! How… did you?" starts Aile as she couldn't find the words to continue.

"That Live Metal you guys had was… well an extra life for Model G. His essence has always been with me, inside of Model ZW… but not his form. The black Live Metal changed that and gave me a new sword to fight with. Well… a new cannon to be exact." Alister tells them while holding up his left cannon.

He looks towards Sara who is in tears for the first time. All of her friends were killed in that last battle. He walks up to her before returning to normal. He kneels down in front of her and hugs her. Shocked, she opens her eyes to see who it was that was hugging her. Even more shocked that it was Alister.

"I know how it feels to lose those close to you." he tells her before she hugs him back, crying for the longest time.

End of Chapter 28