Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

(A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail? Pt. 1: Reconfiguration	By : Gimp666 Category: +M through R > Mega Man Views: 3876 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own MegaMan, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
A)BORT, (R)ETRY, (F)AIL?

PART ONE: RECONFIGURATION

A/N: And 8 short months later, here is the next chapter to the fic. .-. A lot's happened since the last chapter I posted here. There isn't really one event in particular that kept me from getting back to this, really, just a snowball effect of several things. I've been sick, but I've got surgery coming up in a few weeks, and I got a promotion at work to an escalation's manager (happy!) The promotion turned out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise as far as my writing goes. I keep getting tossed onto the 4-1pm shift, when most my friends are day's, so it frees up a lot of time at night for writing.

Moving forward, I'm going to try and update this a lot more often. After this chapter there are two more chapters to the first part of this story. I've got most of them both finished, I just have two scenes to fill in and then the editing process. I hope to have the next chapter up by next week, and the final up before I go in for surgery. Hopefully I will return from that with some short stories for the first chapter of part two.

One last thing. I'd like to really thank the people who have sent me e-mails and reviews about this fic and others. If it wasn't for the occasional review I still got in the mail, I don't think I would have returned to this story. Again, thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read and review my fics. Enjoy the chapter, it's a long one! :)

-Gimp

"By compassion we make others' misery our own, and so, by relieving them, we relieve ourselves also."

- Thomas Browne

Chapter Fifteen – Airing Dirty Laundry

Blues wasn't actually going to nap, and he already knew where Forte was hiding out. He like to keep tabs on his family and anyone who stepped foot into their lives. He'd acted aloof because he wanted to get as much of the full story as possible out of Rock first, and hear his side of what happened; he'd learned a long time ago that sometimes the best way to get the information you need was through playing dumb, and once again experience proved him right.

He headed to the solid oak door separating the main floor of the house from the basement, and descended the steps slowly, flipping his shades up mindfully so he wouldn't take a spill down the dark staircase. He scanned the seldom used rec room below for any sign of Forte, not finding any, and began to check the other rooms for him, making a slow, thorough search. He knew he was down there, he'd migrated from the living room couch to the dank basement the other day, when he thought nobody was looking.

He suspected the younger bot felt more at home there, the fortress wasn't aesthetically pleasing, it definitely didn't give off the homey feeling that the Light's residence did, It wouldn't surprise him if Forte felt more comfortable in dark, damp places after spending most of his life in them. There was no sign of the him, but he wasn't deterred. He knew Forte was around, where else was he going to go? Besides, he was pretty sure that deep down he didn't want to leave, not yet at least. Even with things so bad between him and Rock, this place was an unexpected haven to him.

He stole a quick glance in the cellar, flicking on the dim light and looked around, seeing nothing, save for a few bottles of wine and some jams Rock and Roll had made last summer. Unsurprising, it was pretty chilly and damp in there, even by the Wily bot's standards. Turning, he hit the lights back off and walked the length of the basement, careful not to trip over any of the old junk that had been abandoned there. One last room to go, and the most likely at that. He opened the door and scanned the laundry room quickly, squinting a little in the dim light. There were some clothes that needed washing and some sheets and blankets from the last linen change, but that was about it.

He was so distracted with the disappointment from his fruitless search that he nearly missed him. He turned toward the door, ready to head back upstairs, when he spotted movement from the corner of his eye, catching his attention. The taller boy had completely covered himself with some blankets Roll had thrown down to wash, but a tuft of purple bangs had found their way out of the mass with his last movement. The bright contrast his violet hair had to the eggshell sheets was a dead giveaway. Blues sighed, turning on his heels and heading back over to him.

"There you are, Forte… you up?" He picked his way through sheets and pillowcases to the the far end of the laundry room, carefully making his way over to the lump of sheets and comforters containing Forte. He reached down to throw the blankets off him, but Forte poked his head out lazily before he had the chance to, groaning.

His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and the dark bags under his eyes matched his purple face stripes, running into them and creating the illusion that the bags actually ran down the length of his face. He was far past the point of exhaustion, Blues doubted if he had slept since his falling out with Rock, if the cloudy expression on his face meant anything. "Damn, Forte... You look like hell warmed over."

"What?" Forte mumbled, almost in comprehensively, then groaned, reaching over and grabbing a pack of cigarettes. He drew one from the pack, sliding it in his mouth and cupping a hand by his face, lighting it. He'd quit while he was with Rock, the older boy didn't approve, but that was before things had gone to hell, and he had been quick to pick the habit back up. He opened a window with a grunt and an agitated sigh, wafting the smoke out it slowly.

Blues was still staring at him, if he looked as terrible as he felt, it was understandable. His posture was relaxed and gave him the impression that he wasn't going to leave him alone until Forte heard him out, no matter how long it took. He didn't think he could wait Blues out in his current state, he couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, hell, even thinking was starting to become troublesome.

He let his head rest back against the wall and groaned irritably. He knew what the Light bot was here for, and he had been dreading this talk with every fibre of his being for days. He knew how the eldest Light bot felt about his younger siblings. "I'm busy. " he managed lamely, hoping he could end the conversation before it began.

Blues rolled his eyes, grabbing a small stool Roll kept around and pulling it over to the taller boy, squatting down on it awkwardly. "Really, is that so. Busy doing what, pray tell? I didn't realize moping around the basement for days on end took so much effort." He tugged the blanket off Forte a little, making a slight face. "You could at least do it rolled up in some fresh bedding. You smell like dirty laundry."

He crossed his leg under his knee, resting his arm on it and cupping his chin in his hand, raising a brow. "So tell me, why are you hiding down here despite having a soft bed with fresh sheets on it upstairs? I haven't seen you with my brother in awhile. Is there something I should know?" He was relaxed, amicable in appearance, but Forte knew better than to trust that. If Blues ever took up poker, there wouldn't be a profitable casino in the country.

Forte gave him a sour look, feeling ornery and cranky. He rest his forehead against his palm lightly, sighing. "If you're here about the trouble I gave Rock, your worries are over. We're not hanging out or talking anymore, so you can save your breath. It's over between us now, end of discussion." He smoked slowly, glaring at him defiantly.

Blues sat up a little straighter. "Then why are you hiding, Forte? If you'd already made your mind up about this, why aren't you up there, continuing on with your life?" He handed Forte an old can he'd been using as an ash tray. "I'm curious, when's the last time you came out of the basement? Hell, when was the last time you took a bath? You really do stink." He jerked the blanket the rest of the way off.. "Rolling in the dirty laundry isn't doing anything to help your personal hygiene issues."

Forte glowered at him as the blanket pulled away, leaving him cold and more alert than he wanted to be. He wanted to return to his numb, semi-conscious state, this hurt too much. "Leave me alone, damnit!" he hissed threateningly. He was still wearing the clothes he'd had on when he'd taken Rock out. "If you're just here to bother me, then you can-"

"Do you remember our little discussion awhile back?" Blues asked smoothly, ignoring Forte's angry outburst. "Because, if you do, then you'll realize that this is hurting Rock too. And I told you not to mess with my brother." He stared intensely into Forte's eyes, and the Wily bot realized why he so rarely went without his shades. While Forte did have control behind the looks he threw people, Blues' eyes could inflict every bit as emotion as his words, if not more.

He found himself staring into them helplessly, drawn to his stare and unable to speak against him. He worked his mouth slowly, trying to find his voice again. He sighed, finally speaking up. "...Yeah, I remember." He grumbled reluctantly, irritated. Why was Blues bothering him about this? The older Light bot couldn't force him back into a friendship with Rock, any chances for something more than an acquaintanceship between them had been lost.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Rock would sniff the insincerity out in Forte almost immediately if he tried to pretend things were alright between them. Blues had to be insightful enough to see that. He couldn't understand why the older boy was wasting his time down here with him. Why wouldn't he leave him to suffer in peace?

Blues furrowed his brow, frustrated, then sighed and relaxed slightly, a lot of the anger leaving his eyes. "Well, you can start by being honest with yourself." He shook his head a little, slouching down on the stool again. "You're not really angry with Rock, you know. You're upset at yourself." He gave Forte a meaningful stare, as if to say he knew exactly what was going on. Bullshit.

He glared at the Light bot, practically bristling, annoyed. "What the hell do you know anyway?" He was so done with this conversation, time to end this while things were still under his control. It was bad enough that Blues was here in the first place, interrupting his thoughts and making him more miserable than he already was,

He couldn't even hide in the basement to be alone anymore. He hated the fact that Blues had the nerve to even imply that he thought he knew anything about how Forte was feeling. He found the whole situation downright insulting. "In case you forgot, you weren't there, Blues. Why don't you just turn around, and go back upstairs?" He narrowed his eyes threateningly.

Blues countered Forte's looks with a slight grin. The humour fell short of his eyes, however. "Who said I wasn't around? I told you I'd be watching you." He sighed with a small shrug. "I've been following you everywhere you've gone since you got here." Forte glared at him, looking further insulted, and suddenly more than a little nervous. "Well, except for that night." He added with a slight shrug. "I wasn't there that night."

Forte sighed in relief. He'd been worried someone might have seen his little make-out session with Rock, especially Blues. Apparently he'd been lucky, he didn't doubt for a second that Blues had been tailing them the other times.. He thought of Rock sliding down him slowly, the warmth between his thighs, and sighed. He really didn't like the idea of being spied on.

He snorted indignantly, trying to mask the raw state his nerves were in, and draw the conversation away from what he felt was dangerous territory. He didn't want to think about the theatre. "What, couldn't afford a ticket?" He asked with a sarcastic air, trying to get a rise out of him and distract him.

"Fuck no, I'm loaded, you idiot." Blues rolled his eyes. "I just hate opera, and even watching you wasn't worth subjecting myself to that." He gave Forte a small grin, expecting an irritated response, or at least a glare, but got nothing in response from the distracted look. He could tell Forte didn't like to be reminded of that night. "What in the hell happened between you to cause such a rift?" he asked finally, perturbed. He was rarely in the dark on things like this, and he didn't like it one bit.

Forte shrugged a little, and Blues crossed his arms angrily. "Damnit… you didn't try to get him to sleep with you, did you?" He didn't look happy with the thought, but it was the only thing he could think of that could cause such a sudden awkwardness between them so fast. He couldn't see Forte proclaiming his love to his brother, and worse yet, he couldn't see Rock unhappy about it. He must have come onto him or something. Unless…

Forte picked a ball of lint off the blanket distractedly, wondering if Blues realized how close they had actually gotten to sleeping together. How obvious had the shift in their feelings for each other been to everyone around them? Blues seemed to know more than Forte himself had known. He felt heat rising to his face, ashamed. "No, don't be ridiculous."

He didn't want to think about sex right now, or ever if he could avoid it. "He wouldn't be interested in me, even if that were the case." Blue was eyeing him analytically, and he looked away, unhappy with being watched like an insect in an old mason jar. He wondered how Blues always managed to make him more uncomfortable than anyone else around him. Why was he making him think about things better left alone?

Forte got unsteadily to his feet to find a better hiding place, when Blues reached out and stopped him. "Wait." The blush that had begun to form on his cheeks had faded and fast, leaving him pale and clearly nervous. Things were starting to fall into place now. The way he'd run away from Wily, his long walk with Dr. Light, the sudden lack of confidence and skittish nature. And his conversation with Rock, they'd talked about something private, something bad… "I think I get it."

Forte frowned, brushing Blues' hand off of him and settling back again, aching to leave and get as far away from the older boy as possible. "I doubt that." He had a terrible, sinking feeling that Blues was going to bring up something he didn't want to talk about. More specifically, the one thing he never wanted to have to think about again, though it never seemed far off in his mind.

Blues fixed his gaze on him silently, settling back more himself, ready to spend a long time discussing this if need be. Forte didn't have to confess, he was already piecing the puzzle together in his mind. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more certain he was. It would take something terrible to shake the confidence out of someone as cocky as Forte was. "...Yes I do." he stated confidently. "I know exactly what it was. It's Wily. The good doctor's been after you, hasn't he? And when you told Rock, he couldn't take it."

Forte stared at him, stunned and trying to gather enough wit about him to deny that, to say something – anything - and then he realized it was pointless. Blues knew, he was reading Forte even now, analyzing his response, and he'd taken too damned long to argue now. How could he know that? How could he know the one thing that Forte wanted to go to the grave with him.

Rock. Rock wouldn't have... couldn't have. "H-he told you?" Forte demanded, cursing himself for stammering, and fighting a surprisingly overwhelming sense of betrayal, hurt and humiliated. A small part of him wondered if this was how Rock had felt when he'd lied his way into the smaller bot's life when they first met. Maybe this was some small form of revenge... "Why would he tell you? It was… that conversation was-"

"Private, I know." Blues shook his head slowly, eyes intense, searching. "Don't be ridiculous, Rock would never tell me something that personal if you didn't want him to. He's almost as good at keeping secrets as I am, when they're worth keeping." He sighed, pulling his shades off his head and busying his hands with them. "I wouldn't need him to tell me what Wily did to you."

Forte was staring at Blues quietly, stunned. It was the most Blues had ever said to him at once without hurtling insults his way. It was a side of Blues he'd never seen before. His posture had changed subtly, he had gone slightly rigid. "What in the name of hell are you talking about? Who told you? How do you know?" He frowned deeply, ruling out Dr. Light even as he thought of him. "There's no way Tom would ever tell you, he's like a psychologist, so he has to keep secrets. How did you find out?"

Blues shot him a wry smile. "No, he didn't tell me either. And he's a scientist, you ass." It was said lightly, like a joke, but his eyes were cold, and a grin never found his face. "You could say I made a very educated guess." His face was grim now, and his eyes had a strange, distant look in them. "Like most people, you forget that Wily helped Dr. Light build me, before he supposedly went insane. Let me tell you, he never "went" anything. That sorry son of a bitch was crazy as hell right from square one."

His eyes had become vacant somehow, as thought remembering had extinguished the life in him. They were as unreadable as they were when his shades were on, his mind was lost in the past for now. "It was another lifetime ago, but it happened."

Forte stared at him in nothing short of awe. "What are you saying?" he asked quietly, although he needn't have, he knew perfectly well what Blues was getting at. Still, it seemed impossible. This couldn't be happening, he wasn't hearing this; not from someone as independent and well-adjusted as Blues. He didn't take crap from anyone, not even his own creator.

"What do you think I'm saying?" Blues asked, voice heavy with bitter hate. "Dr. Wily was a mean bastard, and he was at me as soon as Dr. Light had his back turned around. He treated me horrendously, and he did disgusting, unspeakable acts…" A little life returned to his eyes, and he glanced up at Forte again, expression still neutral. "Probably close to the things he does to the lot of you now, but it was so much worse. There was just me, and he focused all that pent up anger and hatred on only me."

Forte's face was a collage of expressions, and he was chewing on his lower lip slowly, as he digested the unsettling news Blues was giving him. He continued. "He was the reason I ran, you know. I faked my death and dropped off the face of the planet to get away from him. I was afraid and alone, but I knew they wouldn't look for me if they thought I was destroyed. It took a long time before I was able to come within 100 metres of a human after that."

Blues sighed faintly, resting his chin back on his palm lightly. "When you showed up on our doorstep, it was the first thing I thought of." He admitted, thinking back to the day the younger robot arrived. "I should have known then. I don't know why it took me so long to put it together."

Forte was staring at Blues in blatant disbelief. He couldn't be hearing this, not from Blues. If there was one person who'd always had it together, it was him. He had to have heard it from Rock, or Tom, or overheard Forte saying something, and was playing one hell of a cruel prank. It was extremely unlikely, but still it was more plausible than believing that Blues had ever let Wily touch him. Finally, he spoke reluctantly. His tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of his mouth. "That's not funny." His voice was small, lacking any real menace.

Blues frowned at him a little. "It wasn't meant to be funny." He folded his arms over his chest, staring at him with a surly glare. "Do you honestly think I would lie about something like that to you? Why bother?" He met Forte's gaze, eyes burning into his intensely.

Forte glared back at him for a few seconds, then let his eyes drop, considering it. The chance that Blues was lying to him was extremely slim, there was no way someone with any sense of dignity would ever admit to something like that unless there were some serious grounds to it. Especially someone like Blues, who really had no reason to lie about it, he hardly spoke to Forte as it was. It had to be true.

Still, Blues hated him, why would he bother telling him this? Why was he even down here, wasting his day away talking to Forte? Rock must have been really bothered by it, otherwise he doubted Blues would have even bothered. He realized the older robot was still staring at him like that, holding the ashtray up for Forte. There was a long, towering pile of ashes piled on his cigarette filter. How long had he been sitting there, expressionless.

He crushed the remains into the ashtray firmly, careful to put it fully out. Blues stretched over Forte to the folding counter, setting the ashtray down lightly, gauging Forte's reaction and quietly waiting for the purple haired boy to say something. He'd said his piece.

Forte obliged finally, talking lowly to keep his voice sounding calm. He did well, considering how rattled his nerves were by all this. "Even if it were true… why the hell would you come talk to me about it? Why not just let it die? It's over." He growled, glaring at him unhappily. Stupid Blues never could just leave well enough alone. Instead he had to poke his head in where it wasn't needed, forcing more memories to the surface of his mind.

Blues sighed, reaching out and resting a firm, calming hand on Forte's shoulder. It was faint, but he could vaguely feel a small tremor from Forte's tense body. He held on firmly, preventing Forte from pulling away from him. "Because, Forte, it's not over. You're letting what happened tear you apart inside, and you don't even realize it."

Forte glared at the intrusion to his personal space. "No. I'm fine. I talked to Tom about it, and it's done with. If Rock thinks I'm just too disgusting to hang around now, well fuck him. Why would I care what he thinks." he growled out venomously. Again, he was surprised at how badly the thought of Rock's rejection of him stung. Had he really let himself get so attached?

Blues sighed. "Well, I was just up there talking to him, and he didn't sound like he thought you were that disgusting. He just sounded worried. I think we all are, in our own ways. If you don't snap out of this funk soon, Dr. Light's likely to start full out therapy sessions with you or something. He's been concerned for awhile." Concerned and distracted, he thought, wondering what it was Dr. Light was doing in there.

Forte stared at him, mildly confused. Concerned? He wasn't used to having people worry about him. And Blues had said 'we'. Having Blues worry about him seemed even more alien, and he felt the wall he had been building around himself start to crumble. When was the last time anyone had been concerned for him. Only Gospel...

He choked that thought down, he wasn't going to think about that now too, it was just too much for him to handle in his current state. "You think he was worried?" he asked after a few moments. There was something about Rock worrying about him that seemed…. Pleasant? No.. something deeper, more intense than that. A feeling that even Gospel had never instilled in him.

"Think?" Blues rolled his eyes and sighed. "You couldn't tell? He's been brooding as much as you've been hiding lately." He got up, brushing stray laundry detergent powder off his pants with a discontent sigh. "You should think about it, and talk to him. I'm getting out of here, this place freaks me out." He gave Forte a pat on the back so faint it was almost phantom, then headed upstairs, muttering to himself and rubbing the spot on his pants more.

Forte watched him leave quietly, still trying to digest everything that had just happened, then settled back again slowly, running everything over in his mind. He slipped finally into a deep, dreamless sleep where the nightmares plaguing him couldn't grab hold of him.

Dr. Thomas Light sat patiently, soldering computer chips onto a board, and glanced up, hearing Blues' muted steps approaching. It was easy to tell who it was, Blues had always been light footed without even trying, and had nearly mastered it over the years. Still, he weighed a lot more than a human, and the house was old, a little noise was inevitable.

He threw a cloth over his work in progress to keep it clean and the dust and prying eyes out, sliding over in his chair to some invoices that desperately needed filing, easing them gently into file folders and glancing up when the door slid open. "Good morning, Blues."

He couldn't mistake the disappointed look in Blues' eyes, he knew his eldest son suspected he was up to something secretive and had been hoping to catch him red handed and spot what he was keeping hidden from them. He smiled at Blues, earning a wan smile in return. "Are you alright? You look a little ill." He poured Blues a cup of tea from the tray Roll had sent up to him, handing it to him.

Blues muttered something graciously, taking a few small sips of the tea, glancing around the room slowly as he drank. "Did you talk to Forte this morning?" He asked, knowing well that he had. He'd spotted Blues heading down there and pushing his shades up into his hair earlier. He knew Blues well enough to know he wasn't headed down there to do a few loads of laundry.

Blues nodded slightly, looking around suspiciously. The old man was up to something, he could tell, but he was hard pressed to find any supporting evidence. "Yeah, I talked to him." He grumbled, giving up finally and pulling up a chair. "Being down there so long without food must have weakened him, because he actually talked to me about his problem without things turning physical." He frowned a little, looking thoughtful.

"To be honest, I told him a lot, too. More than I was planning…" He broke off there and sighed, more than happy to leave the topic at that, leaving things vague and trying to get the old man to tell him what he was up to. "Doctor Light, what are you spending so much time doing in here? We're getting worried, especially Roll. She thinks…" he lowered his voice. "We think you're building another robot. Did you finally get started on… you know… project X?" They were all eagerly waiting for him to begin his latest project.

Thomas shook his head lightly, stamping out that rumour before it even left the house. "No, of course not. Blues, you know I won't have the supplies or the technology ready for that for at least three years." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The truth is I can't tell you what I'm working on. It's a surprise, and not for you. I can't let you see it before the intended party, you know that." He left it at that, Blues wasn't the type to press further. "You'll see soon, though. I just need a few weeks."

Blues sighed, nodding slightly. "Alright, just take it easy, okay? Roll says you're forgetting to eat again." He began sorting through the papers, ignoring the amused look on Dr. Light's face.

"Roll always says that. If it were up to her, I'd be three times the size I am, and probably in the ground following a congestive heart failure." He chuckled, rummaging through the invoices with Blues. "In fact, I just-" He stopped mid-sentence, and they both fell still, listening quietly. The basement door creaked slowly open, then clicked shut, easily heard with the laboratory door open. Forte had finally come out.
- 14
- 15
- 16
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

(A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail? Pt. 1: Reconfiguration