I would like to begin with explaining something before everyone starts reading the third part in this trilogy. The Alister you all know and love from the first two parts is dead. The Alister in this third part is the son of Blake and Aile that was mentioned in the previous chapter. I really wanted to point that out, as many of my friends have been confused about this issue in the past. This part of the story is a bit darker than the other two, and also has a different feel to it. Do not worry if you are a bit confused in this part of the story, as all will be explained later on.

Rockman ZW: Genesis

Chapter 35: Destroyed World

Silence…

Darkness…

Sadness…

Despair…

Hope…

Anger…

Vengence…

Hate…

Love…

Evil…

Justice…

Light…

These thoughts echo through the head of a seventeen year old boy who opens his eyes to a dark and cloudy sky. The thunder echoes across the desert as he sits up and looks around for a sign of life. He looks at his hands which are covered in dirt. While looking around again he can see nothing but the desert, a dark desert with no life in sight. Suddenly he gets a flashback which causes him pain. He holds his hands over his ears as if there was a loud screech next to him. The pain stops as soon as the flashback ends, all he could see was lightning, and five figures in the distance. All of them looked unknown to him. He stands to his feet before something falls out of his right pocket. He takes notice of this and moves to pick it up.

"What is this…?" he thinks to himself while looking it over.

It is black with green eyes. There is a spike coming out of the top of the forehead of the small object. A small silver scarf is wrapped around the bottom of it under the eyes. Not thinking too much about it he simply puts it back in his pocket. While scratching his head he dusts his blue pants off before wiping his grey shirt off as well. He walks towards a distant light that is shining. He staggers at first, but then gets a steady walk soon after. The wind begins to pick up every now and then as he treks across the land. As the light in the distance becomes closer by the minute he takes notice that the light is actually inside of a tower that is near a large city. The city has large walls all around it which keeps out most of the sandstorms. As he walks up to the city walls he is soon stopped by a group of men who are aiming their rifles at him.

"Halt! State your business here!" the Captain commands while watching him closely.

"I don't… really know. Maybe you could help me?" the boy asks them. The Captain looks into his eyes then holds up his right hand.

"Let him pass. He's just another Drifter." he orders them.

"Drifter…? Me…?" he mutters to himself.

They open the large gates to the city and escort him inside. As the gates close behind him he turns around to see the massive city from the inside. There are some people walking around looking for the best deals at the food stands for the day. He looks into the distance to see a large castle. It is made out of stone and has dozens upon dozens of guards walking all over it. As soon as he takes notice of this someone grabs onto his arm and turns him around. It is a woman with long blonde hair and green eyes. She is wearing a tan colored robe.

"Hello and welcome! My name is Sue! What is your name?" she asks him in a somewhat happy and scary way.

"I think… my name is Alister…" he replies while holding his head.

"Well then Alister welcome to City Four! I am the Drifter guide for you today! I am here to find you a place to live and to answer any questions you may have!" she tells him before walking off. She grabs his left arm and drags him along.

"What is a Drifter?" he questions.

"A Drifter is someone who appears at the gate of the city who does not know who they are. They know only their name. However… some are not as fortunate to remember their name." she replies with one of those smiles that just seem to put chills down anyones spine.

"I have had a flashback of some sort of memory… I don't know what it is…" he speaks while they walk into a building.

"That is normal for a Drifter. If you continue to have these flashbacks, let me know and I can help you with them!" she tells him while closing the door behind them. Alister looks around to see that it is just a normal house. With a few chairs and a table in the middle of the room, kind of boring looking.

"Where are we?" he asks while walking forward.

"This is your new home! You will have a week to get settled in before you are registered into the city records! After you are registered, you will be given a job to work so you may earn your living here in City Four!" she tells him.

"Why are you calling it by a number?" he asks her.

"It has always been like this! Every city on the planet has a number, they have no name!" she replies while walking out of the door.

Being bored with his new surroundings, Alister walks out of his new house. As he closes the door behind him children run past him while playing. He laughs to himself while walking away. He starts to explore the area around his house, attempting to get a grasp of his location. He finds a market with plenty of food around the corner. There is also an area for people to just talk with each other. A small park is nearby where the kids play most of the day when they are not in school. He looks down the street to see many homes like his own. All of them lined up for a very long way down.

"This place is very large… but also very dull looking." he says to himself while putting his hands in his pockets.

His right hand bumps against the object he dropped before. He takes it out to look at it again. The eyes are glowing which he didn't notice before. As he glares at the eyes he gets a brief image of himself facing down odd looking robots who intends to kill him. He shakes his head while putting it back in his pocket. He continues to explore the city while ignoring the previous image in his head. He comes across a somewhat large ruined part of City Four where Drifters that don't work live. He can see many of them in rags, but they seem happy. There is another thing that catches his eye. A guy who carries what looks like a sword by his side. As the city guard walks by for a patrol he hides in the shadows trying to avoid them. Some other people in rags cover the alley where he hides. As the guards walk away they move as he walks back out. He takes notice of Alister watching him then moves away himself. Alister continues on his way, still mapping out the city in his head. Unknown to Alister the person with the sword is now following him. As he makes his trip around the city he grows tired finally. He finds his way back to his house then enters with a yawn to follow. As he closes the door he turns around to see a sword heading towards his neck. Alister rolls out of the way only to be knocked off of his feet very swiftly. The sword wielder goes for a stab while he is on the ground. Alister kicks him away knocking the wind out of him.

"Whoa whoa! What did I do to you!?" Alister shouts while standing to his feet. The sword wielder holds his sword in front of him before putting it back in his sheath.

"You were watching me before. I take no chances." he tells him before tackling Alister.

"I was just curious! This is my first day here! I was walking around to get familiar with the city!" he says before knocking him off. The person turns on the lights after that. He has mid length hair and teal colored eyes. He wears a black long sleeve shirt and black pants, with black boots as well.

"So… you are a Drifter as well." he says while sitting down.

"So you're sitting down? In my house? Someone who just tried to chop my head off?" Alister asks him with an irritated voice.

"I apologize. My name is Manabu. I am always on the run from the city guard here. So when I spotted you watching me, I was alarmed." he explains.

"Well next time try knocking. It's not as lethal." Alister tries to joke as Manabu stares at him while standing to his feet.

"It is rude to not tell me what your name is." he says while walking next to him.

"My name is Alister… Alister Storm." he tells him.

"Well I suppose you want to know why I am hiding?" asks Manabu.

"I am curious… but that is what got me into this mess…" he responds.

"I help those in the ruined city. Simply put, I help them get food and clean clothes." Manabu tells him.

"You mean you steal?" Alister questions while turning to him.

"To put it simply… yes. I have troubled you enough." he says before walking out of the house.

Alister is tired now, even more so after his little fight with Manabu. He walks into the room next to the living room. His bedroom has only his bed inside. A window above his bed lets him look into the back alley of his street. He takes off his shirt and shoes before getting in bed. He soon falls asleep as he thinks about the flashback. He begins to dream, in his dream he is facing off against more odd looking robots. They are all black and in the shadows, all he knows is they are robots. He is also holding that strange object in his right hand. He suddenly holds the object in front of him before shouting two words.

"Rock on!" he shouts as there is a bright light. As soon as the light ends all of the robots are gone. Alister suddenly opens his eyes to the sound of someone being beaten in the alley behind his house. He looks out the window to see Manabu being beaten by the city guards. Alarmed, he puts his shirt and shoes back on and runs out of his back door.

"Hey!" he calls to them before they take notice as two drag Manabu away. Four of them walk up to Alister.

"Sir, this is a criminal. We are sorry if we awoke you in the night, but you should mind your own business and go back to sleep." the Captain tells him.

"So you're beating him to death? That doesn't seem right!" Alister tells them before he spots Manabu coughing up blood. Alister pushes them out of the way before aiding Manabu. Angered, the Captain pulls Alister off of Manabu which throws him back to the ground.

"I said to stay out of this!" the Captain shouts before punching Alister in the stomach. The guard next to the Captain kicks Alister in the side before walking away. In a lot of pain Alister remembers his dream, and the strange object that he held in front of him.

"Manabu…" he thinks to himself. He staggers inside of his house and makes his way to the table where he placed the object.

"I don't really know what is going on with me, or what is going on inside of my head… but I do know that it all has something to do with you! So please… help me save Manabu!" Alister pleads to the object. It lets out a glow before rising into the air which made Alister think he was crazier than he thought.

"I will help you Alister Storm. I am Model ZW, the eternal light that destroys all evil." it tells him before hovering in front of him. Alister quickly grabs it before running out of the house. He runs down the alley and follows the trail of blood while he recalls the dream. He holds the Model ZW in front of him while running.

"Rock on!" he shouts. As he runs his body is transformed nearly instantly in a flash of light. He stops dead in his tracks in awe that it actually worked. He wasn't sure if he was losing his mind or not. He is now wearing a black and silver armor with a spike on his forehead that points upwards. His silver scarf flips in the wind as he runs towards Manabu. He has a black face mask on with a silver strip going across the middle. He soon finds the six guards still beating on him. The Captain grabs Manabu's sword before taking it out of his sheath.

"You will die by your own sword you fool!" he shouts before swinging. In mid swing Alister grabs the blade. The Captain is speechless as his guards surround Alister while taking aim with their rifles. The Captain drops the sword before walking backwards.

"I don't know who you are but you just made a huge mistake! Fire!" he shouts as they open fire. Alister ducks to dodge as the bullets miss and hit a guard on each side. Four of them fall over dead as Alister walks towards the Captain and his last guard. He lunges forward with a knife which is suddenly blocked by Alister's left arm slasher. He punches the guard in the face which sends him flying backwards into a wall.

"Wow…" Alister mutters to himself. Scared to death the Captain flees, leaving his guard behind. Alister walks over to the guard who stands to his feet and looks Alister in the eyes.

"Boo." Alister speaks as the guard runs off scared. He walks over to Manabu who is struggling to stand. He helps him up before taking him back to his house. He makes sure that there is nobody in sight before entering the back door. He takes the covers off of his bed and uses his arm slashers to cut the sheets. He wraps them around Manabu who is watching him the entire time.

"Alister…?" he asks before coughing again.

"You'll be fine. I brought your sword as well, rest Manabu." Alister tells him before walking into the next room. He closes the door behind him before looking at his hands which are shaking at the moment.

"What am I? How do I know how to do all of this?" he asks himself before losing his form. Tired he lies down on the floor and falls asleep.

"Rest Alister. You have no idea of the long and difficult journey you have ahead of you. It looks like you have already found a friend… I will help you as much as I can… like your namesake." speaks Model ZW before it stops glowing.

End of Chapter 35