Rockman ZW: Genesis
Chapter 52: To The Rescue
As Forte releases a violent blast from his buster cannon Wraith slides to the side almost without effort. The Black Hunter wastes no time with shock as he rapidly punches towards Wraith from a distance. This fires a few electric balls at the Tera Knight who swings his jagged blade to defend himself. Wraith lunges forward as the tip of his blade begins to glow fire red. He swings it towards Forte who takes to the air to avoid the attack, taking notice of the large crater left by Wraith's blade. He flies back down towards Wraith while pulling back his right arm getting ready to attack. Wraith leaps into the air as he prepares his sword for the kill. As the two begin to pass the other they attack at the same time. With a violent thrust Forte slams his now flaming fist into Wraith's chest plate while Wraith barely manages to connect with Forte's left shoulder. While the two crash into the ground the entire Altsien base is watching by this point wondering who will win this fight… above all else… is Forte fighting for them…
"I must admit… you are much harder to kill than I first imagined…" Forte speaks as the sand clears from the air. Wraith swings his sword to his side creating a gust of wind that clears the sand around him. Both of them give of a few sparks at the same time while they glare at each other.
"I am one of the Tera Knights, I do not lose." Wraith comments while Forte smirks.
"Then we will have to change this!" Forte shouts before throwing his cloak down to the ground.
"The Tera Knights are eternal, not a soul alive can defeat us!" Wraith shouts while his entire sword now glows red.
At that time Forte attacks with an electric wave that does not even seem to stun Wraith. The Black Hunter then makes his way towards his foe while charging his buster cannon again. As Wraith brings his sword up to attempt a counter Forte changes his tactic by firing at the ground instead. This shoots up a massive amount of sand that blinds them both at the moment. Wraith swings around violently attempting to get rid of the sand. By the time he could see again Forte unleashes a charged blast from behind that throws Wraith forward. He staggers for a bit before turning around with his sword to his side.
"Impressive…" Wraith comments while rushing forward.
"I have more up my sleeves friend…" Forte mocks before punching towards Wraith, who suddenly vanishes without a trace. Shocked this time Forte looks around for his opponent only to find the desert and the damaged base. Without warning a red blade goes through his chest from behind. As he struggles to turn his head around the blade is quickly pulled back out. Forte falls to the ground without movement as the sparks begin to shoot everywhere like a lightning storm.
"I have you now… friend." mocks Wraith as he raises his blade to end the fight. Right as he is preparing to deliver the last blow he suddenly loses his grip on his sword as he falls to the ground. He looks into the distance to see Manabu standing there transformed, returning his sabers to his waist belt. He also takes notice to the massive amount of damage to his body that was just dealt by Manabu.
"I will not allow you to do such a thing!" Manabu tells him while turning around.
"I… let my guard down… never again… red one…" Wraith says before a wall of sand covers him for a moment. A few seconds pass as does the sand but Wraith is nowhere to be found. Manabu rushes to aid Forte who is still motionless.
"I'm bringing him back in now so expect some more repairs to be done." Manabu tells Haley as she leaves the command room. While the workers of the Altsien base rush outside to begin repairs of the base Manabu rushes inside the garage area to meet with Haley. They rush to the lab within minutes to begin repairs on their heroic robot. Haley wastes no time in deactivating his systems so she can do what she does best. She takes notice that Wraith cut directly through Forte's core system which keeps him functioning. She begins to remove his chest plate before a shock of electricity throws her arms back.
"Ouch!" she shouts before Manabu rushes up behind her.
"Maybe you should just let him go." he suggests to her as she looks to him with her eyes almost filled with tears.
"I can't do that… I have to try my best to save him!" Haley says before going back to work again.
While she is finally able to take the chest plate off Forte wakes inside of a room. There is nothing there but the walls and the table he is resting on. He takes notice that his wings are missing along with his cloak. He stands to his feet while looking around the room. The walls are the same as the floor with a plain white color. Suddenly an image of someone appears in front of him. It is an elderly man with a white coat and is using a cane at the moment. His hair is white as well as his Santa Claus looking beard. He has bags under his eyes just as his face is pale. He is obviously very tired and worn out from something.
"Who… are you?" Forte questions as he moves his head a bit to his right.
"I… am Thomas Light… the creator of your old foe Rockman." he reveals as Forte's eyes open wide.
"I remember you… but why are you here now? Where are we?" Forte asks him while looking around the room.
"It is actually very simple Forte. We are inside of your memory banks… and I am nothing but a memory here." Thomas tells him as Forte walks closer.
"So you must be the version of Dr. Light that I last recalled… am I correct?" asks Forte.
"You are correct." Thomas replies while standing there in the same position.
"Why am I in this room? What has happened to my wings? What is going on here?" Forte asks again and again.
"Your consciousness is here at the moment while your body is most likely being repaired right now." replies the old man.
"Then why am I talking to you instead of my creator?" Forte asks.
"I do not know… could it be that you have possibly changed your view on your life these days?" Thomas questions him. Forte only stares at him before looking to his left.
"I see… you must do what you feel is right Forte… you have a free will just as Rockman did. You are more alike than even I first believed…" Thomas tells him before the entire room goes black. Forte opens his eyes again to see Haley sitting on the ground with Manabu on her left.
"I see you're awake… Forte…" Haley says before passing out.
"Haley! Haley wake up!" Manabu begins to panic.
"What happened to her?" Forte asks as he kneels down in front of them.
"Even though she deactivated your systems… you still gave off shocks from time to time. Haley wouldn't stop until she was finished with repairing you…" Manabu replies before picking her up and rushing her out of the door. Forte quickly follows after him while people begin to take notice of him following. As Manabu makes it to the sickbay Forte follows with a crowd behind him.
"What happened to miss Haley?!" the doctor panics while taking her and placing her on a bed nearby.
"She was shocked several times while repairing Forte! Just please help her!" Manabu tells him while beginning to cry out loud.
"Why… why did she do this to herself… just for me…" Forte thinks to himself while watching the doctor. As seconds turn into minutes and minutes turn into hours the doctor finally sits down in a chair near Haley's bed.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't do anything to save her… she's gone…" the doctor tells them as shock hits both Manabu and Forte.
"Haley… please… don't do this to me… Haley!!" Manabu screams before Forte walks over to her bed. He holds out his left hand over her chest before it begins to spark. Both the doctor and Manabu watch closely as his left hand shoots electricity into Haley's chest, directly going to he heart. Her body jumps and jerks as Forte now holds both of his hands over her chest. Forte soon stops as Haley suddenly takes a gasp for air while the doctor rushes to help her. Forte walks back over next to Manabu who has tears running down his face, thankful to Forte.
"I do not know how it was done… but she needs rest… I am going to have to ask you to leave now…" the doctor tells them as the two of them leave. The crowd outside soon jump Forte and push him to the floor.
"Stop this at once!!" Manabu shouts as they stop instantly.
"We should not trust him!" one of the officers speaks up before Manabu punches him in the stomach.
"Forte just saved Haley's life, you will show your respect to him!" Manabu yells while they just laugh at him.
"You do not command us anymore we will not listen to you!" one replies before Manabu transforms into Model R.
"Then how about you listen to a Rockman!!" he shouts before drawing his twin sabers. Instantly the people run off leaving Forte on the ground. All he does is stand to his feet as Manabu returns to normal.
"You care deeply for that woman don't you?" Forte suddenly asks him.
"I… I do…" Manabu says while Forte walks away.
"I want to speak to the one in charge of this base at the moment." Forte tells him before Manabu walks past him. Before too long they arrive at the bridge as everyone stands to their feet at the sight of Forte.
"Manabu…?" Lariat asks as Forte walks towards her.
"I must speak with you about something important." Forte tells her as everyone there is angered with Manabu for bringing Forte to the bridge.
"Alright then, speak." Lariat replies as Manabu sits down beside her.
"I am no longer going to chase you people around. Instead… I will join you in your quest to defeat the Tera Knights." Forte tells them as everyone is shocked.
"What has changed your mind?" Lariat questions.
"Things have changed…" Forte says while looking at his hands. "I have changed…" he adds before Manabu gets real close to Lariat's ear.
"Lariat… he saved Haley's life…he would not betray us now, I trust him." Manabu whispers to her as she stands to her feet.
"Then from this moment Forte will fight along side of us." Lariat announces as the bridge is silent.
"Can your base move?" Forte asks her.
"The engines have already been repaired… but the outer hull is in need of major repairs… we can't move the base now, we would be ripped apart." Lariat explains.
"You do not understand… Wraith, one of the Tera Knights will be back soon. He may even bring help this time…" Forte tells her while everyone looks at the other.
"What can we do? We are helpless!" Lariat exclaims while Manabu hangs his head.
"I know that City One has been your goal for some time now. I am sure the Tera Knights are aware of this as well… City One is only a few miles away from this current position. If you can get this base there before it falls apart I am sure you can have it repaired there at City One. I am not saying this is going to be easy, however it is your only choice at the moment." Forte explains to them.
"If they do attack I will do my best to help protect us." Manabu speaks up as Forte nods in agreement.
"Very well… I do not like this choice at all… but it is our only option… drivers! Start us off slow! Get our repair men back inside of the Altsien!" Lariat commands as everyone goes to work. As soon as the base begins to move the alarms begin to sound.
"Now what?!" Manabu shouts as three figures stand in the path of the base.
"Manabu!" Forte calls to him before leaving the command bridge. Manabu quickly follows as the three figures just stand there the entire time. The clouds in the sky grow darker by the second unleashing lightning upon the land.
"That lightning is from the Boanerges Brothers…" Manabu brings up while he and Forte run towards them.
"Wraith is with them as well. This should be an interesting fight…" Forte adds while they stop in front of the three Tera Knights.
"The red one! You will pay for our previous fight!" Ryzar shouts while slamming his buster sword into the ground.
"The result will be the same as the last! You will not get near the Altsien!" Manabu shouts before transforming.
"You will be destroyed this time!" Wraith shouts to Forte as he stands there in silence. A few moments pass by before the two groups charge each other suddenly. The Altsien base is quickly approaching them from behind as bits and pieces of the outer hull begins to tear and fall off.
End of Chapter 52
