Megaman X, Zero, Cain, Rock Forte, Blues, Gospel, Rush, Sigma and the Mavericks belong to Capcom. Asaki Kai and Blind belong to me. I'm not making money off of this. It's for entertainment only. Dedicated to the few who know me and are *not* disgusted with the male/male inserts. Now, have yourself a nice day. ^^

A/N: ^^; okay, I realize people get a lil ticked off at the alternating between Japanese and American names. I do that alot because, well, umm.. I like the name Rock over Mega, o.o but I prefer Megaman over Rockman. Hate the name Protoman.. It's, like... icky. *grossed out face* And then there's X and Yakasa. ... o.o; *shrugs* Umm... yeah, X /is/ his name, but Yakasa just draws it out, y'know? No? 9.9;; Crud. Treble Gospel, Bass Forte, poe-tay-toe poe-tah-toe, toe-may-toe toe-mah-toe. ^_@; Ye~ah... Riiiiight.

Chapter 8



The tapping continued.

Forte grit his teeth behind tightly pursed lips, hands flexing where they couldn't be seen. Two minutes. Only two minutes had gone by since Cain had shooed them out.. Only one minute and 46 seconds since Zero had whisked X away for some 'personal reporting'.

47.

48.

49.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Forte frowned. One minute and 22 seconds since Rock idly swung his feet over the edge of the chair meant for someone bigger as his feet tapped against the floor. Any ever tap wore away at his nerves.

And for every second of deathly silence, there was that split second tapping....

"Will you knock it off?!"

Well, the tapping stopped. That was good. ... Very good. Forte tightened his folded his arms and closed his eyes. No tapping... No tapping.

"Forte?"

But, there was still the cause. "What."

"Are you alright?"

The cobra opened his eyes, narrowing them. Alright? Alright?! Of course he wasn't alright!! He was stuck a fricking half century into the damn future with a more advanced version of the Rock that was before him with the suffix 'X' where Blues was injured in the most peculiar way and aside from that, he's discovered that Rock /loses/ the war! Rock! The blueberry sweetheart butterball who's always kicked their asses! And, if Forte wasn't mistaken, Zero seemed to be /Blues/ future counterpart. Damn fool just seemed to scream of him, despite being, oh, I dunno, very out-spoken and loud... But Kami only knows what the hell was going on.

And so, Forte answered simply, "'M fine. Why."

Rock winced at the curt reply; so Forte still wasn't in a good mood... Then again, when was he ever? "Because. We may need you for us if something happens."

Silence.

"...That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard."

"But it's true," he whispered, pointing those big, blue irises at the ebony bot, trying to get him to open up with the power of his adorability... Hey, don't knock it. It works for Togepi all the time.

Forte turned his head and snorted, catching Rock still staring at him from the corner of a violet eye. Rock was acting meek... yet strong for someone who was trapped in a time that wasn't theirs and a brother being operated on. Forte wanted nothing more than to break down and cry, but his pride and stubbornness held it in. He would not submit his feelings to a pint-size do-gooder with tasteless armor, a stupid dog, a disgustingly cheerful attitude, a cute voice, a nice face, a delicious body that screamed out to be touched, caressed, cherished, fucked into a mattress covered in silk, writhering-- AHHHH! NO! Wily dancing the Macarena on his desk in his boxers! Martha Stewart! Hardman with a hard on! Light and Wily getting it on over Blues' half finished body! Two dogs screwing! Richard Simmons and Bill Clinton doing the vertical limbo!

Rock blinked and cocked his head to the side when he saw Forte shudder and turn to look at the doors leading to the hallway. The black robot was acting peculiar and maybe a little suspcious. Maybe. "Forte?"

He didn't answer right away. "Yeah?"

"....What happened before you met up with us."

Forte narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips tightly, but gave a nonchalant shrug, never sparing Rock a glance. "They have animal-based machines here. Mavericks. I got an up-close and personal encounter, and nearly got my head ripped off by a lizard's tongue before your dog got there."

Rock sighed and shook his head. "Well, I just can't sit here. Something's been nagging my mind about all this and I want to look into it."

He /can't/ mean what I think he's implying.. is he? "What are you talking about, blue boy?"

Rock stood up and shrugged, walking towards the door. "I want to know what caused this future."

But he didn't get a step farther. The ink-colored bot was in his face with a hand wrapped tightly around his arm before he could even take another breath. Forte's eyes were wide open, purple irises hinted with hysteria. "Don't you dare..."

Rock recoiled and took a step back. His own eyes were wide, but from fright. If there ever was a time when Forte truly scared him, this seemed a hundred times worse than any confrontation on the field. The Light robot jerked his arm back, but Forte matched the movement by following through, bringing him closer than ever. "Don't you ever dare investigate on this future. Don't do it. Don't /think/ it. No one deserves to know what the future is..."

Stunned at the venomous tone, Rock couldn't even open his mouth, much less retaliate. Why..? Maybe we could prevent it. We /can/... Just let me... Please let me.

Forte let out a shaky breath and loosened his hold, but those wild eyes never went away. "This may well be what's intended for us.. /This/. This world, timeline, place, whatever, could very well be what makes this future happen. Don't question the past or future. Don't.."

Rock nodded mutely, but doing so brought the hand on his neck into his reality. The one that had previously been on his arm. And was it Rock's imagination or was Forte's face getting closer? "Don't.."

It wasn't and Rock swallowed nervously as a warm breath swept over his lips. Body contact, persuasive position, less than an inch away from being kissed... Rockman, hero of his time, was ready to die blissfully at the hands of the enemy. If there is a god, please let this happen right..

"Don't."

But God never answers the prays of children not of his making... A sonic force shrilled on a high frequency energy pitch at that moment, paralyzing all senses except hearing perception. That was scrambled into static and a head splitting shriek, causing the two bioroids to stagger away from each other, gripping their heads in a frail attempt to soothe the agressive pain rattling around in their heads.

But they weren't the only ones to hear it. All reploids on the "premise" were writhering in agony over the sound and even those a mile away were feeling it's effects. Normal running machines when on the fritz, short circuiting and threatening to burn out if the noise didn't stop...

Then and only then, minute-sized hours crept by and the sound stopped, leaving reploids confused to tears and machines returning to their previous working status. Rock gasped for breath at the headache that was ungraciously left behind in his metal cranium. Forte wasn't better off, having spent the last ten seconds banging his head against the steel wall. Not a very smart idea..

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" was the cry of outrage the cobra-crested robot shouted, glaring an inferno in their surroundings.

Between gulps, Rock pulled off the ability to speak, "I think... it.. it came.. from," he coughed harshly, "inside the lab."

Forte stared balefully at the double doors, but a tiny, more ignored part of his mind was terrified. But at the moment, all his could spit out with venomous overtones was, "That fucking doctor.." With restraint, Forte helped Rock onto his feet and pulled him along. "I don't care what the hell he said, we're going in there."

Rock gave a weak nod as both made the short trip to the doors and all but kicked them in, shattering the lock beyond repair.

The sight beyond them was impossible.

The over-hanging light had all blown, save for two, and some had even fallen fron their fixtures, wires and all. Computer monitors were blown as well, small fires burning where the screens had been. Consols sparked and leaked smoke. Two of the more life-lacking Lifesavor bots were immobile and sprawled over the floor, their circuits fried beyond repair. Cain huddled under the inside of a desk, paler than a ghost and trembling like a personal earthquake. A small, hand-sized remote was griped firmly by pastey white fingers. And in the middle of it all...

Rock screamed and rushed over to his brother's side. The red shell of a body had gone into a seizure (A/N: luckily, robots don't foam, unless they're Forte needing to slaughter or screw someone ^^;), spasmic movements twitching in the joints and eyes rolled up into his head. Rock wanted to go into a seizure himself, he was so afraid. The Blue Bomber barely paid attention as Forte tried to drag Cain out from hiding with his foul temper and questions.

Assess the situation.. Rock pulled off his right glove and willed himself to calm down. The main neuro-compartment was open in Blues' forehead. What was that thing Cain was tampering with? Putting a hand to hold Blues down, he peered inside.

Something was wrong. There was an added attachment to his memory circuit board, some weird.. rectangular chip. The case file. It was slightly dislodged. Maybe... With a delicate touch and mentally crossed fingers, Rock pressed it back into place.

The seizure stopped, thankfully, and Rock heaved a sigh as Blues stilled... right before he collapsed over the body into more tears.

The doors slammed open. "What the /hell/ is going on, C--"

Rock and Forte looked up to see their future guardians look about with sheer bewilderment. jaws slack and eyes wild. "What.. happened?"

Forte sneered. "Your damn scientist fucked up, that's what happened!"

Fearing the threat of Cain losing his head, X hurried over to Forte and shooed him aside. Zero on the other hand, strolled over to Rock with a curious expression. "Do you know what happened, Rock-kun?"

Rock shood his head, sad eyes closing. "Iie, I don't. All I know is that sound came from in here and when it stopped, we found Blues convulsing and everything as it is now.. It might have come from Blues, but I'm not sure how."

"Zero! Get a medical kit!"

The two swung to look at X craddling the Dr. Cain's head in his lap; Zero could see a small trickle of blood streaming out of his ear. But as Zero turned to go fetch a kit, another disturbence made itself known.

Signas walked through the entrance with an aura that flatly stated 'I'm on a mission don't even talk to me unless you want to get demoted to toilet duty for the rest of your life'. The only one who knew him better was Alia, who was right on his heels, trying to explain their situation, but the general would have nothing of it. Not from her. "X, Zero, I want a report from the /both/ of you, starting from the second you got off of your vacation."

"For Christ's sake, Sig!" yelled Zero, tossing X a small kit from across the room; the future Blue Bomber caught it with ease. "We have a crisis on our hands and you want a report?! What's wrong with you?!" But then he stopped and blinked. "Hey. Weren't you supposed to be coming back from that business trip in two days?"

"I could say the same for you and your unspent off-time," he huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just talk to me and then explain why a high frequency shockwave went through the entire block?"

X snorted as he patched up the doctor's ear. "If you want us to talk, all you'll hear about is shit. Lots of shit happened since we came back. Robots fall from the sky, some vision impaired reploid attacks us when we go looking for answers, not to mention lots of small, unimportant issues that kept popping up. If you want actual details, I suggest that you listen to Alia and leave. Us. Alone!"

There was a stunned silence as X picked Cain up and sat him down on the desktop. It was Zero broke it with a throw of his hands. "Now, see, if this is enough to get X snippish, then it's not very hard figuring out how the rest of us are. Now get your foot out of our asses and go away, Signas! Don't bother us until A- we come crying back to you, B- Sigma is dead, or even C- after our pseudo-vacation time is /over/! So please, take that damn precise CPU of yours and go shove it somewhere useful."

Signas glared at the Crimson Hunter, but held his tongue and put his attention solely on X. "Will Dr. Cain be alright?"

X nodded wearily. "Mmm.. yes, he will be. Once less thing to worry about."

The gaijin was still quivering, but seemed to be focusing again as X kept a constant check on his pulse. "Sir, what happened in here? Do you know?"

It a moment, but Cain was able to reply.. "The.. the.. the chip. It.. When..." he swallowed, "we tried to remove it, a micro circuit breaker was broken.. It was connected to /something/.... maybe a security system or something... to prevent it's removal. ...But there's no way he could vocalize such a sound."

"Don't be so sure, doctor," murmured Rock, feeling around Blues' neck. "If there's anything I've learned, my brother is able to do all that is considered impossible."

Forte snorted. "I say we stop the talking, get out there, and find the shithead who put that damn chip in his head.. Like now."

"My loyal followers of the Purge. /Now/ is the time!"

The great hall was filled with active life and excitement. Mavericks of large and small stature pushed and shoved to crowd as close to their leader as they possibly could..

And above them, Sigma held his presense like a monarch above all monarchs. He was determined to be the Savior of Reploids, even if he had to kill the ones in his way. "The Hunters have weakened! Defenses are down! And we shall strike them. Because war is about taking what you can, when you can. The rules have changed, the playing field altered, and we will come out victorious."

The monstrous crowd cheered, the abnomolies coursing through their systems churning the words into the primal lust for battle and spilt blood. The Hunters may outnumber them, but there was enough fire power and strength in one of the irregular reploids that one of them equalled four or five hunters. It would be glorious.

Except there were future-reminded ones among the clan of beasts. They stayed to the side, grave expressions locked into place.

No one noticed them.

"C'mon, kitten. Time to go play with the big boys."

The two were relieved that they snuck out without being noticed, but Sigma was slightly preoccupied. As the Mavericks got themselves hyped for battle, Sigma was scanning the layout for the only /pure/ purple reploid in his ranks.

But Vile wasn't among them. In fact, he never even reported back, which only caused to irritate the clown-faced machine. And to his further agrivation, he could hail Vile on the comm link. That's the last time I trust him with anything.

But then, a small, hideous smile quirked his lips. Behind him, protected by an electro-barrier, was his Book. The Book would know...

The barrier disappeared from existance with a hum that bled away. "Show me Vile."

An unnatural breeze blew by, opening the thick, leather binding and brushing the pages until it stopped. Then the text began to apear.

The one known as Vile resides
in a building by the seaside.
To him there be a lust so tight
he wants to be there day and night.
You will not see now, but later
and when you face, he'll be the traitor.

Blind be the reploid, hence
for he shall pass Judgement's sentence.
Vile is devote to his love of sixty
and will stay with his raven-pixie.
Try to kill you, he gambles to score;
he is among your ranks no more.

Sigma's face was contoured with rage. Turning back to the mosh pit below, he shouted with a wave of his hand, "And if any of you see Vile, /kill him/!"

They only cheered more.

Now let's play a game. ^_^ Who can spot the phrase that screams I've been hanging around the RMYaoi ML for a little too long? :B

And for the record, I don't like this chapter. It's blecky and a bit on the short side.