Nuts and Bolts Chapter Eight

Author's Notes: Whee! Angst! So much. Love the psycho.

No goldfish were harmed in the writing of this fic. We were sleep-deprived and giggly and, uh.... no, I don't know why I didn't just edit that scene out, it's stupid. XD;;

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Roll patted Rush on the head, smiling as his tail wagged happily. "Good boy." The day was just beginning, and the sun rising over the hills landed warmly on her shoulders and face. It was looking like the weather would be beautiful. She watched contentedly as a chirping bird flew over head....and her gaze dropped suddenly to the road, where a strange man in bright red armor was walking up the road. She blinked, and smiled as the man waved to her.

"Hello." She said quietly, as the man looked around, expression open and curious. The sun was shining off his incredibly long blonde hair, and she watched it, fascinated, as he dropped to one knee in front of her and ruffled her hair.

"Hey!" He said, cheerful. "I'm looking for the house of a guy named Light. This it?" She nodded, and then, "You live here?" Another nod. "Great. So....what exactly is with this place? Some doctor or something?"

"Oh, I live here with Dr. Light - he's my father - and Blues and Rock, and Forte lives here too but he was built by Wily." The man smiled at her. He was...very handsome. "He's a great scientist." She smiled back. Rush wagged his tail, watching the man carefully. "We were just about to have tea. Would you like to come in?"

"Great!" The man said, standing up. "So...where can I find your brothers, and this, uh, Forte?" Roll was about to speak when suddenly there was a shout from the house.

"ROLL! Get the hell away from him! Now!" Blues yelled, nearly panicking. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. He couldn't possibly get there in time to save her, though Rush might be able to make it back in the house...he felt sick inside. "Rush! Get inside!" The dog didn't move, but his ears pricked up. "....Oh god, what the fuck are you doing here?"

The man in front of Roll smiled. "I would think that was obvious." He snorted. "And I wasn't going to hurt the girl, but since you insist..." There was a quick motion of his arm, and a twisting movement. Roll's body fell to the turf and he tossed her head away. He glanced down at Rush, still smiling. "And hell, the dog too." Rush growled, and he laughed. "By the way," He said, walking calmly towards the dog. "The name's Zero. And you are...?"

"ROLL!!!!!!" Rock screamed at the top of his lungs, struggling against Forte, then finally broke free and pushed past Blues quickly. He stared, wide eyed at the scene before him, then slowly slumped to his knees. "Rush... RUSH!! Rush, come inside!!! Come here boy!!!" He began to cry, struggling against Blues as his brother wrapped an arm around his waist and he dragged him back into the house, kicking. "RUSH!!"

The dog growled loudly at Zero, one last time, then began to bound toward the house, toward his master. Blues sighed softly, holding Rock back, and watched the dog race toward the house. "Forte..." He said evenly. "Go get Dr. Light, quick. It's time to get in the lab." There was no way the dog would make it now. He had waited too long. "Come on, Rock." Closing his eyes, he shut the door slowly.

Rock watched in horror as Blues shut the door on Rush, the last thing he saw of his pet was Rush's panicked face, mouth open with his tongue lolling out the side as he ran. "B.... Blues....?" He began to shake. Blues...Had shut the door. Rush...wasn't inside yet. "Blues.... What are you doing, Blues?" His eyes began to fill with tears.

Blues tightened his grip on Rock, turning around and made a run toward the lab. Rock planted his feet into the ground firmly, and refused to move. "Rock!! He's not going to make it!! Come on!!!" Rock let out a choked sob, struggling to get back out the door, and he grabbed him, throwing him over his shoulder swiftly and made a run for the underground laboratory, Rock shrieking the entire time.

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Zero dropped the limp form of Rush, or rather what remained of him. He had torn open the dog's rib cage, and scattered his circuitry across the lawn. More robots, more disappointments. There had to be something more challenging around. Slowly he entered the house, then paused, seeing a T.V sitting in the far corner of the room.

LIGHT!!!! WHAT DID YOU CREATE?!?!?! LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!! HOW DO I TURN HIM OFF??

Slowly his face broke into a grin. Ah..... There was another. Someone like him. Good, if these Light, Rock, Blues and Forte people didn't prove entertaining enough, at least there was someone worth killing. He began to wander the house, slowly, looking for his victims.

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They met up with Forte and Dr. Light halfway down the tunnel to the lab, and they sealed several doors as they went, leading Dr. Light carefully as Rock hung limply from over Blues' shoulder. Rock's screams had long since died down, and he now stared ahead, shuddering, eyes dull. Occasionally, he let out a small whimper, or spoke brokenly. "He was........... blues..... why...? ......... they're dead....."

Forte stroked Rock's cheek softly, sighing when Rock gave no response whatsoever. Of all the times to fall to pieces. "Shhh.... It's over now..." He whispered, knowing he was lying, but determined to calm the boy down. Rock simply ignored him, however, and he brushed his hair back gently. "How much further?" He asked Blues softly. He wondered vaguely how long their small fortress would last. Twelve hours? Twenty? Certainly no longer than two days.

"We're almost there." Blues called over his back, pausing to seal yet another door behind them. "Two more to go, then we're at level one of the lab." He returned to staring ahead. The trip had never seemed so long before. Finally, the last two doors were sealed off, and they sat in the main room of the first level, Rock huddled in the corner, hugging himself.

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Forte sighed, glancing over at Blues. Hey, at least they'd gotten sex before this. He grinned cheekily. And he'd go down fighting, that was another thing to look forward to. Sortof. Dying still wasn't the greatest thing in the world, but he'd put a positive spin on it if he damn well could, for Rock's sake and his sanity's. "God, my brother's such a bastard." He muttered quietly, earning a small smile that quickly faded from Blues' face. Dr. Light looked absolutely ancient, eyes surrounded by dark circles and his shaking hands wringing each other.

He suddenly became aware of a quiet muttering from Rock's corner of the room. ".....my fault, my fault, they're dead and it's all my fault...." A repetitive stream of words, depressed and toneless. Forte hugged him idly. "....it's my fault...." Rock moaned, biting his lower lip.

"Not your fault, damnit." Forte growled. "It's mine, got it?" Rock kept babbling. "Rock. Rock, listen to me. Do you want Dr. Light to die?" Ah, that got his attention. "Then shut the fuck up and get yourself together. It was my fault, and I'll deal with it. If he kills me, I've paid the price for my idiocy and I'll know I was a complete fuckhead for everything. Don't blame yourself or you'll act like this and be useless to everyone. Your dad needs you and your younger brother X needs you, okay?"

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Zero hummed tunelessly to himself as he wandered the house. No, they hadn't left...he had checked. Damnit, nothing. A sigh. They must have anticipated this...and pretty far in advance if they were this well hidden. He stared out a window as the sun rose. So they must have had somewhere to hide, and if he found them he would find the other one like him. He nodded at the thought, smiling slightly. If he found the place where they were hiding...

This was going to take for-fucking-ever. He frowned unhappily. It was pretty damn obvious that they'd known he was coming, somehow; the kid had yelled at him to keep away from that girl when he'd been spotted, after all. And they would have prepared damned well, judging by the way those boys had fled. They would have had time - how much, he didn't know - and resources were another unknown. But he couldn't find them, so...where ever they were, they were hidden well.

So. What to do? Looking more would result in the same; nothing. Whatever. He'd kill some time and think about it. Zero sighed heavily, reaching instinctively to take off his helmet, and then frowning at the offending piece of armor in confusion as it rested in his hands. Maybe figure some stuff out, too. He shrugged and continued past the stairs into the kitchen.

Setting the helmet down on the table, he sat down slowly in one of the chairs. It looked comfortable and inviting. Something about this entire place did, yet the inhabitants seemed to feel otherwise. Not the best hosts, really. In fact, no one had really treated him all that well, now that he thought about it. Other than that girl he'd had to kill. Roll, that was her name. She had been nice. She'd even invited him in for tea. Her death had been quick, and she probably hadn't felt it, so they were even as far as he was concerned.

He glanced up, a slight hissing grabbing his attention. Getting to his feet, he walked over to the object making the noise and stared at it, fascinated. He knew what this was. It was a kettle. He examined it slowly, cocking his head to the side, and slowly his eyes followed a long black cord to where it was plugged into the wall. Reaching forward, he gave the cord a good tug and the plug fell out of a little plate stuck to the wall. This fascinated him and he played with it for a few moments, plugging the kettle in and out of the wall. The game soon bored him, however, and he inspected the counter.

A large bowl was sitting in the far corner of the counter, containing some kind of an orange fish. Slowly he pulled the bowl toward himself and stared down at the little pet. "My name's Zero. Can you talk?" Nothing. The fish continued to swim slow circles, blasé, despite Zero's face practically shoved in the bowl. "I guess not. Too bad. Maybe you could explain some stuff to me." He reached in the bowl slowly, grabbing the fish and pulled him out, setting him on the counter. Swimming around like that all day had to be exhausting.

The fish began to flop and writhe, its small gills opening and closing rapidly as it struggled to breathe. Zero picked it up again, noting his small struggle, and dropped him back into the water. The fish swam to and fro wildly for a few seconds, then settled again, circling slowly. "Guess you need your water to live." Zero rested his cheek in his hand and drew small circles on the side of the bowl with his finger. "Everything's so confusing."

He smiled slightly as the fish swam over to the side of the bowl, bonking its head against the glass as it followed his finger around slowly. The little guy was kinda....what was the word? He cast around for one. Cute. That was it. And quiet, none of the screaming and yelling that everyone else had done when they'd seen him here. Zero nodded to himself, staring at the little fish swimming around contentedly in its bowl. Yeah, that little thing was much more pleasant to be around than almost anyone besides that Roll girl. The screaming, while amusing, got on his nerves after a while. He could see why those people had kept it around; it actually was pretty calming to watch.

Poking at the side of the bowl, Zero grinned. "I shall call you Roll, 'cause you remind me of her, even though you're probably not a girl. And when I'm done dealing with everyone else, I shall keep you around. You're entertaining." He stood up and stretched. The kettle was still steaming a little, he noticed, and almost without thinking he wandered over, grabbed a mug that was sitting around - it even had the teabag in it - and poured the hot water in. It fascinated him, how the water changed color with the tea steeping in it.

Blinking, a thought struck him. There was water in the kettle, there was water in the fishbowl. He glanced down into his teacup.

He tilted the cup back, drinking it, a thoughtful look in his eye. Tea tasted very good, it seemed. It burnt his lips and his tongue a bit as he drank it, but it was very good. The fish really liked water, so maybe he'd enjoy some tea. "Do you want some, Roll?" He asked, smiling as the fish swam slowly to the top of the bowl, waiting expectantly to be fed. Zero couldn't resist a small grin at his little friend. "Hold on, just a second. You must really like this stuff."

He tilted the mugs set up on the counter back, until he found another tea bag. Turning back to the fish, he stared down at it again. He hadn't budged. "Here you go, Roll!" He tossed the teabag into the bowl, laughing a little at the way it nipped the teabag. "Hang on, it needs this water to make the tea come out." He grabbed the kettle, tilting it over the bowl, and poured it in, stopping just short of the bowl's rim.

"There! Isn't that-" Zero stared silently at the steaming fishbowl. That was... Odd. The fish was on its side, floating at the top of the water. "Hey, did you fall asleep?" He asked, giving it a small poke. A few scales came off the body, floating slowly around the boiled goldfish. "Roll? You lost some of your gold. Hey, Roll?"

The fish remained unresponsive, so he lifted him out of the bowl and set him down on the counter lightly. The fish's body was hot to the touch, the water burned his fingers like it had burned his mouth. This time the fish didn't flop around like it had before. It simply laid there stiffly. Something was wrong with him.

It took a moment, and suddenly he realized just what was wrong with Roll. The fish was dead. Zero stared at his former companion, and only one word seemed to fit the situation.

"......Fuck."

He frowned immensely, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. Actually, he felt pretty bad, and it didn't make any sense since he knew he wasn't damaged. There was a weird twisting sensation in his chest, and he suddenly wished he'd thought a little more about what he'd been doing. Zero blinked at the unmoving body of the fish for a long time. "I'm sorry." He told its body. That made him feel worse, so he grimaced. He didn't like this feeling. Better get moving and look for those little upstarts he'd been searching for. There was a lot of area to cover besides this place.

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"Think he'll be any use to us?" Forte whispered, staring at Rock as he slept, head resting on Gospel lightly. They were standing with their ears pressed into the door, listening to the faint sizzle of laser on metal. He'd found them. Blues turned his head, cheek resting against the door and shrugged slightly.

"Dunno." He smiled slightly. "You never know, he might come out of it after he rests a little. It was a lot for him to take in, given his emotional capacity. Dr. Light made him far too sensitive." He shot Rock a glance- he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. "But he's pulled himself out of it before, when push comes to shove."

Forte nodded slightly, leaning in closer. "Let's hope so." A pause. "I still have two on you." Blues rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically. "Last chance to get some incestuous lovin'." He grinned widely, and Blues started to chuckle softly.

"You're an idiot, you know that? Such a retard." He leaned closer, face inches from Forte's. "Who did you think I've been after all this time...?" He flicked his nose gently, then leaned back against the door, listening to the sparks slowly growing louder.

Forte grinned back at him, despite the surprise of Blues' words. As far as he had known, they had both been pursuing Rock all this time. "You are so full of bullshit."

"You know you're blushing." Blues muttered, then smirked, figuring he'd never get the chance to ask again. "So... How was it, anyway?" He was curious as to what Forte thought of his little performance the night before.

Forte's grin widened further. "Well.... I measure sex by property damage caused during said sex. Rock's room was trashed this morning, if you didn't notice. I'd have to say that was the best yet." Slowly his smile faded, and he beat his fist on the door lightly. "Sorry. At least now..." He smiled up at him. "Guess it was worth it though."

"Do you think Light's okay down there by himself?" Blues mumbled distractedly. "I know he needs to work on X a little longer, but still... Maybe we should have sent Rock with him." Forte shook his head 'no', and he sighed louder. He knew Forte wanted Rock to help defend the laboratory, but if something happened... God, he'd never forgive himself! "I'm just-"

Suddenly they heard the crackling of Zero slowly working his way through the door with some kind of weapon, sparks flying about. "Shit!!" Forte growled, and the two of them called their armor on. "Gospel! Come on!" He called over his shoulder, and Gospel leapt to his feet, waking Rock in the process, then jumped and merged with Forte's armor.

Rock jumped to his feet, eyes wide, and looked around sharply, half awake. "What's going on?" He followed suit and called his armor on quickly. "Is he here?" Blues put his fingers to his lips, silencing him, and the two spread out on either side in front of him. There was no question now. Rock felt his knees begin to shake slowly, but he remembered Forte's words, and knew he had to protect Dr. Light and X, and be strong for his brother and friend.

They stood, still as stone, Rock shaking in fear, the others in anticipation. This was it- their last chance for a good fight. If they were going to leave their mark on the world, this was it.

Then, it happened. With the force of a tank, Zero gave the door a final slam, ripping it off so hard it flew across the room.

Forte and Blues instantly raised their busters, Rock too frozen to do anything but stare. The man walking in through the door, carrying a sword of some kind, seemed friendly except for the creepy contrast of the blood on him and the insane grin on his face. "That was really annoying." Zero said, rolling his eyes. "I don't see why you bothered. It didn't really do much." Blues fired the first shot, hitting the red armor and scorching it slightly. Zero blinked at him for a minute, then snorted. "Oh come on, you can do better than that. Don't go disappointing me already."

"Oh shut up Zero, you're just like Wily." Forte spat, shoving Rock out of the way as the blonde man set eyes on him, calculating the threat there and seeing a defenseless target. "And a terrible brother to boot." Those bright blue eyes lit up. His brother, eh? Forte, if that girl had been right. ...This might be interesting.

"Whatever." And with that, he charged, the saber slashing down to barely miss Forte as he leaped out of the way and fired a few shots. Much better. Someone with a little fight, at the least. Zero looked at Rock, who stood about three feet away and was staring at him with a mixture of terror and awe. No threat there, but...might as well get rid of the poor little bastard. He stabbed forward with his saber...

...and found it buried in the shield and chest of the third robot. The damn thing had gone right through the pitiful protection. Heh. Zero gave his saber a tug, then cursed when the smaller 'bot refused to let go, yelling out to the terrified boy he'd protected to run, to go help Light. Zero sighed. Great, one of those people. Whatever, at least he had Forte to spar with a little....and Forte was screaming curses at him, so he'd be good and angry too. Another tug on the saber, forcefully, and Zero watched the kid run off towards the deeper parts of the building; no problem there, he'd get to kill it later. "That was really stupid." He sighed, pulling once more and finally freeing his weapon.

Rock turned around at the last second to see his brother being carved in half. He stumbled, nearly fell, and continued running towards Dr. Light. He had to protect X and his father. Forte had told him to. Forte, who was cursing loudly behind him, who he knew he wasn't going to see alive again.

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Ending Author's Notes: Yay, melodrama. o.o *shrug* Anyhoo, we promise updating faster, we just edit reeaaalllly slowly. *cough* Yeah. Our bad.

Next chapter.... the end!

Review, please!