A/N- well, I stupidly had my review option set to disable annonymous posting. hehe. sorry, guys. thanks to everyone who informed me of it. .-.; anyway, this was done WAY back when (I'm on part 5. x.x;) but I was too busy/lazy to bother editing it and putting it into html. i'll never do it again. really.
Hide and Seek
"One."
Rock heard Forte reach the end of his countdown and, over thirty feet into the forest already, he stopped running and dropped to the ground. Carefully, he dragged himself over rocks,
tree roots, low growing plants and underbrush, painstakingly slow. If he could just keep Forte
from finding him long enough to try and fix his blaster...
Reaching a spot he thought deep enough into the woods, and out of sight to the naked eye, he leaned back against the base of the bush he was hiding in, and began to tend to his blaster. It was a mess, wires frayed, blown apart, and
missing. Fresh blood seeped from under synthetic flesh, and oil from his mechanical components mingling and obscuring
full view of the damage. With a sigh, he let his arm drop to the side sighing. 'What am I going to do now?'
He'd certainly been in worse situations before, he wasn't about to just roll
over and give up. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Perhaps the situation wasn't as
bleak as he first thought. If he could set it up right, he might be able to get one more use out of his blaster. If he could get it to spark, just once......
He crawled out of the bushes, leaning back against a nearby tree, and began to
cross and uncross wires, a determined look in his eyes.. 'Forte.... I don't want to fight you, but
I will if I have to... Please don't make me destroy you.'
>>>>>>
Forte, in the meantime, strolled leisurely toward the forest, taking his sweet time.
"I'm coming for you, Rock! I'm going to make a painting of my victory
over you with your blood, and hang it on my bedroom wall!" He all but
howled with laughter, sauntering toward the forest edge. He felt no real reason to hurry, after all, Rock was injured, defenseless and a
long way from home, and he doubted anyone knew where he was. This was just too perfect.
Still, he couldn't help but feel as if it were going to be a hollow victory. Why? This was perfect. He had Rock exactly
where he wanted him. Was that why he felt this way? No, that couldn't be it. He was the one who had left Rock that badly off, it wasn't as though he had found him that way. What was it then? Could it be.. guilt? Did he feel bad about attacking Rockman? After the lengthy amount of time they had spent as enemies? Snorting, he shook his head slightly.
'Finally have the blueberry where I want him, and I'm questioning my morals.'
Slowly he stepped into the foliage, pausing momentarily, to listen for even the slightest sound. Hearing nothing, he shouted at the top of his lugs.
"READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!!!" Transforming his hand into his buster, he began to step lightly through the
dense forest.
"You know, Rock," he rambled on as he wandered through the forest, following any sound he heard, "I'm glad it's come to this, that it's going to end here. That pathetic whining of yours was really beginning to get on my nerves.
'No, Forte, I don't want to fight. Why can't we be friends, Forte?' Do you know how irritating that is??
I can't stand you!"
The last phrase caused a strange feeling to fall over him. Did he really hate Rock that much?
He shook his head slightly. 'It's the chip...it's just adjusting... or
malfunctioning. Or.... something!' he thought. Silently he crept along, the faint odor of Rock's blood was getting stronger. He was close. Very close. No more than 20 feet, upwind.
Subconsciously, he licked his lips.
>>>>>
Rock pressed himself up against the base of the tree, breathing so lightly he
may as well have been holding his breath. Forte was close, no more than 12 footsteps
from him, and closing in. Shutting his eyes tightly, and gritting his teeth, he forced himself to hold his right
hand over an open circuitry board on his left arm, tightly pressing bare wires against
each other.
He had one chance to do this. He was going to aim for Forte's buster, and try to take it out, to even up the odds. Once that happened, he wasn't sure what to do, but he'd figure that out when the time came. All that mattered at that particular moment was destroying Forte's weapon- His advantage over the injured Rock. Still, he was worried. If Forte
dodged it in time, or if he missed, that was it. 'He won't.' He reassured himself firmly.
'Forte doesn't know you can still use your blaster one more time. He's unprepared, and doesn't think you're going to fight back.'
Heh. Fight back. He didn't want to fight Forte, not really. 'I just want to be friends.
Why does it have to be this way? Are we fated to destroy each other in someone
else's war?' He bit his lip. 'No! This is my war, my war!' he
scolded himself. He had volunteered, right from the beginning. No backing out
now. ' I'm sorry, Forte. This is going to hurt me every bit as much as you.
You leave me no choice.' Slowly he reopened his eyes, which were now almost glaring, and set with determination.
'No, Forte... Ready or not, here I come!'
>>>>>>
Forte grinned at the tree standing before him. Just ahead of it, he could hear light breathing. He could almost visualize Rock on the other side of the tree, pressed tightly against it's trunk, hugging himself and trying to make no noise, praying the
predatory Forte wouldn't find him. He couldn't help but smirk. It was a beautiful sight.
With a deliberate slowness, he charged up his buster, preparing for the glory
that lay ahead. This was it. He was finally going to destroy his rival, and enjoy
it too. Suddenly a piercing thought struck him. 'What happens then?' He frowned slightly. The thought was not
something he wanted to ponder on, but something he had to consider.
Wily had created him as Rockman's rival. His purpose was to destroy him. What happens after that? A robot of his strength and amount of free will certainly wouldn't be left around.
Wily might be careless, but not that much so. After all, he might suddenly decide to break the three rules of robotics, and betray Wily. He
hated the man to begin with. He knew he was Wily's greatest creation, something
that almost guaranteed his life for the time being, but that nagging feeling
persisted in the back of his mind. Would he be destroyed for doing as he was built to do?
'Stop thinking about it!!' He ordered himself. 'Just finish powering up, and destroy that self-righteous little blue
prick! Worry about that later!' Taking a deep breath, he ran around to the other side of the tree, buster raised.
"HA!"
No one was there. "Damnit... slippery little....." He looked around, scowling, and straining to hear even the slightest sound.
>>>>>
Rock, meanwhile, crouched low in the bushes, almost directly behind Forte. His hand over his mouth, he masked his panting. He couldn't believe it. He'd lost his edge at the last second.
'Forte..'
He closed his eyes, not daring to move. 'What do I do now?' He thought. A sudden shuffle caught his attention, and he opened his eyes quickly,
casting his glance upward, right into the end of Forte's blaster.
Forte laughed a chilling, almost maniacal laugh. "Gotcha."
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