AYAAA! Here comes another one!! Duke Red is gonna get really mean through these last few chapters, so don't flame me, it's just he's the only one I could use. Itai! I think I'll put two or three different character POV's in here. I also changed something: This chapter does kind of have stuff about the Zigguraut in it because of the Guardian of Babel. Rock also gets a little OOC in this chapter [again] but you'll just have to deal . . . But anyway, here's Chapter 8. Fallen Guardian. Enjoy.

Metropolis: Fallen Light

Chapter 8. Fallen Guardian

Rock and Halo were still trying to climb down when the Guardian began to shake. Looking down about two hundred of the remaining supporters were pushing on the statue, trying to knock it over. Reason being: Robot labor. The Guardian now looked over the Zigguraut Tower instead of Babel, and the Zigguraut had been built by the robots.

"W-what are they doing?!" Halo shrieked.

Fern, Karen, and Kenna were trying to push the crowd off until Rock and Halo got to the ground, but to no avail.

"Just keep climbing down," Rock said. "When the statue falls maybe we'll be close enough to the ground to jump." Rock was probably going as fast as he could with those little scratches in his sides, and now he was noticing how painful they were.

Halo climbed faster now becoming level with Rock.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He looked at her and nodded. Before either of them moved again, she jerked the glasses off his face and threw them to the crowd below, then began to climb again. Rock paused, his eyes following her down. He gave a faint smiled but continued down.

The statue did collapse a few minutes later and Rock and Halo jumped, still about twenty feet up. They hit the ground with a painful-sounding crunch, the pains in Rock's sides all but lifting. Halo came unsteadily to her feet and jumped to hug Kenna.

"Thank you!" she said. She said this more for trying to hold the crowd off long enough for them to get down than anything else.

"N-no problem," he stammered. Halo let go and turned to Rock.

"What now?" she said, looking from him to City Hall.

Rock looked at the gates, Duke Red's car pulling away. He looked back at the people in front of him.

"How many bullets do you have left?" he said, directing the question at Karen, Fern, and Kenna. They all opened the chambers on their guns in unison.

"I got nothin'," Fern said.

"Four." Kenna handed his to Rock.

"Three." Karen did the same. Rock put six of those seven in his pocket, still having those six in his own gun, and loaded six in one of the other guns (A/N: to bring you up to speed, they're all the same type of gun). He handed the gun to Halo.

"Karen, do something with them." He pointed to the three children. "Kenna, Fern, I want you two to look all over Metropolis to find my Marduks. Look for the one named Rafe. Tell him Rock said to post Marduks all over every Back-Alley in Metropolis and to stop Duke Red if he passes through anywhere. Call for back-up if it's needed." He tore the Marduk patch off his right arm. "Show them this if you get into trouble." He handed it to Kenna.

Rock looked back at Halo.

"Halo . . . Follow me."

They all went their separate ways and Rock and Halo headed to the City Hall to find Boone.

"Why do we have to find Boone?" Halo asked as they ran through the protesters and over dead bodies to the large brick building.

"We find Boone we find out where my father went. And you can also contact Harbin."

"Harbin? But why?"

"If he comes over here with the emperor of Japan or wherever you're from we can end the war with robots a different way other than killing innocent humans."

"So the only reason you're up for stopping the Duke is because robots are more expendable than humans?"

"Robots can be rebuilt, humans can't. I'd rather see a massacre of robots than meaningless bloodshed of innocent humans."

Rock pushed open the large doors and they ran into the hall, pointing their guns just in case there were guards lurking around.

"Clear," Rock and Halo said in unison. They looked at each other for a moment and then ran down the main hall toward the office and conference room. Halo opened the office door at the same time Rock opened the conference room door.

"Clear over here," Rock said. When Halo didn't say anything he walked over. Boone lie there under the blood-stained window. Rock walked over to him and kneeled down. "Dead," he muttered. Halo knew Rock was saddened in some way.

"My father did this," he whispered. Halo then walked over to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Rock, I know about you and Duke Red. He is not your father. You know how he gets when you call him that, he's told me himself." Rock put a cold hand to hers.

"He feels like my father," he said. He brought himself to his feet and walked to the desk. He picked up the phone and held it to his ear. He handed it to Halo and stood away while she called to alert President Harbin.

Duke Red had shot their president! How could he (besides with a gun) ?! WHY would he? Political power? No, Red already had loads of that. Money? Had too much of that. It couldn't be the fame, he had lots of that as well.

It was all pretty much a mystery to Rock.

** Kenna's POV **

We had already retrieved a good many Marduks in that short period of time, but we had not come across Rafe yet. Despite the fact that we didn't know what he looked like we knew he had to be around there somewhere.

Fern and I turned a corner and stopped. The alley was full of Marduks and two of them turned to us, pointing guns.

"What do you want?" one of them said.

I held up the Marduk patch and said, "Rock sent us to round up as many Marduks as we could and find Rafe." The two Marduks looked at each other for a minute.

"You're gonna have a hard time doin' that."

"Why?"

They baked away and there lie a bloody boy in a Marduk suit, either unconscious or dead.

"What happened?" Fern sad, kneeling beside him to take a look.

"Well, a pregnant lady was runnin' with three kids to a tower on the other side of Back-Alley and she must have spotted us."

"Karen," I muttered to Fern, who nodded.

"She stopped and came up and asked if any of us were Rafe. He came out and asked what the problem was and she said somethin' about Rock needing him to spread us out so he did. Well, that big car came rolling by but Rafe wouldn't let him pass. He pulled out a gun and shot Rafe."

Again, I looked at Fern.

"That must have been Duke Red."

"Well, is he alive or dead?" Fern asked him.

"Alive, last time I checked."

Fern looked at him irritably but then looked at me. He was blood covered on most parts, and even had blood on his neck. Rather reluctantly Fern put two fingers gingerly to his neck. After a moment she withdrew them and stood.

"He's dead. We've got to go back and tell Rock."

I nodded.

"What way did Red go?"

"Main Upper-level Metropolis."

"Station Marduks all over Upper-level. Don't . . . Don't shoot anything, and that includes robots. Only shoot a human if they're Red's guards and they're attacking you." I looked at Fern, unsure of what I was saying. "And . . . Take Red captive, if you get him. Lock him up in his manor or something . . ."

I turned back to Fern.

"Let's go."

** Halo's POV **

It was like a bloodbath out there. Rock finally got the microphone to work and was shouting over the coms for the Marduks to quit shooting. They stood down and Rock and I finally got out of the building. We tried to save as many people as we could and ordered all the survivors to go inside the City Hall and stay there until further notice. By the time I was able to rest by the base of the fallen Guardian I was mostly covered in blood.

I watched Kenna and Fern talking hurriedly to a couple of Marduks who were guarding the gates and then one of them began to whisper something in Rock's ear as he was checking a child's pulse, his sleeves rolled up. I watched as his face went from relief that the child was alive to anger at whatever the boy was telling him.

Kenna and Fern ran off to continue whatever they were doing before. I walked toward Rock as he sat back to lean on one hand. I approached him and sat on my knees.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "What happened."

"Just a little change in plans. We have to go back to the manor. My father is probably there and there's a few things I need to talk to him about."

Author's Notes: If you took the time to read the little notice I put up ( which I will put up again as a chapter 9 ) you will see why I will be a bit delayed in writing the real chapter 9 and then so up as far as it will go. But now I have something to say to three certain people:

Thank you Xalan and Kendra! You guys really are a big help to me ^.^

And Moro Stagsleap: I know how you feel about Dukie. I've read reviews you've written to other Metropolis fic writers and it's pretty evident how you feel about Duke Red. He is, however, the only person I could use to make the plot really work! It's not intentional Duke Red bashing. But I did put up the notices at the beginning of the chapters just for you because I remember how you like him and everything and I will remember to put it up at the beginning of the other chapters with *unintentional* Duke Red bashing just to make you happy. Ja Ne!