So, did everyone have a grand holiday break? I know I sure did. Forgive my rather lengthy absence; I 've been really tied up lately. I've also re-emersed myself in Aaron's "A Different Place". I always get so darn jealous when I read that thing; it's just so good and well...much better than mine. Oh well, just gotta keep writing I guess. Speaking of which, I've finished writing chapter seven and am now ready to post. This one's a doozy to, so I hope you're all in for a good long read.
7. Complications
I anxiously twirled the strands of hair that scattered down the side of my face. It didn’t help much to ease my anxiety, but at least it was keeping me slightly distracted. I fidgeted around, trying to get more comfortable as I sat against the wall with my legs pulled up to my chest. My eyes concentrated on the white patterns engraved in the wall, stretched and tangled as they traversed across its surface. It was simply another distraction.
Where are they, I thought to myself?
After waking me from her trance Yuna had left me here alone saying that she needed to recover Tron from the medical facility. It had been a while since she had gone, at least an hour from what it felt like. I tried not to worry, since it wouldn’t benefit me in any way, or the others for that matter. Still, it was in my nature to be concerned, one of the universal emotions of the spotter, and it wouldn’t be easily thrown off.
I let my head rest back on the wall as I closed my eyes and let my thoughts return to Megaman. I wondered where he was, what he was doing. It was probably foolish thinking, but I hoped that he was all right. It was silly of course, thinking that he could be in any danger in a place as beautiful and serene as this, but nevertheless.
I let out a deep sigh as my eyes opened back up. I glanced down the curves of my body frame. Until recently it had been a shattered mess on the verge of death. It was so strange to think that after all the damage that had been done; my body was now restored to perfection. I remembered it perfectly, the smell of blood, the sickening feeling of my bones twisted, cracked and broken.
I shuttered at the memory. I wanted to forget it had ever happened, but every time I tried to repress those thoughts I would see his face; that horrible expression he wore, as if he were looking at me for the first…and for the last time, and it would make my gut wrench.
But now, there wasn’t a scratch on me. It was like nothing had ever happened. I could stand, walk, probably run were the act necessary, and I wouldn’t feel a thing. One wouldn’t be able to tell from looking at me however. My clothes were still ripped and torn – modestly thank goodness, and some areas of my clothing were completely drenched in my blood. I was grateful at least that I was already wearing red so it didn’t stand out too much.
I thought about a way I could clean myself up when suddenly the entrance door slid open. I quickly turned my head in anticipation of Megaman’s arrival, but was dismayed when it turned out to only be Yuna and Tron. Not that I was disappointed that Tron had returned, not at all. I was relieved to see that she appeared functional.
“Roll, are you alright!” Tron yelped, running to my side and kneeling down next to me.
I smiled. It was strange to see Tron so worried about me, but I was deeply appreciative of her concern.
“I’m fine Tron, better than fine in fact. Are you ok?”
“Yuna said that I should be alright as long as I take it easy for a while.” She said smiling. “But…are you really feeling ok? I mean, Yuna said you were going to be fine but I had trouble believing her after seeing you like that. You’re sure nothing’s wrong?”
“I’m positive Tron,” I said with a light laugh.
She closed her eyes and sighed.
“That’s a relief”
Tron’s smile faded and she looked over at Yuna
“But…where’s Megaman? Has he not gotten back yet?”
“He’s probably still with Sera” She answered with a warm smile. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”
I hoped that she was right. I was getting more and more anxious the longer he took, and it wouldn’t be long before I went off to look for him myself. It was then that I suddenly realized something wasn't right, that name Yuna had just mentioned…
“Sera…” I spoke out loud. “She was the one Megaman had come here to stop wasn’t she?”
“Initially.” Yuna said formally with her hands on her hips. “I suppose you’re wondering why she’s still here.”
“Well, a little bit”
Yuna gave me an appraising look and began her explanation
“This may be a bit hard for you two to understand, so I’ll try to keep it simple. First of all, you remember why Megaman had to leave don’t you.”
“I think so,” I said, trying to remember the details. “It had to do with something called the Master System right? It was supposed to wipe out all of the carbons, which I guess is what we are. He was going to stop it”
“That’s right.” Yuna said with a nod. “That was his intention, and he knew he would have no choice but to terminate Sera if he was going to take the system offline. Well, he eventually caught up with her and during the battle that ensued, Megaman was somehow able to deactivate the behavioral inhibitors that restricted Sera’s independent thoughts and emotions."
"When that happened she was finally able to see things from Megaman’s perspective. She understood at last what it was the Master truly wanted, what made him happy, something Sera had strived so hard to give him.”
Yuna’s head lowered and her expression saddened.
“All she ever wanted was for the Master to love her…love her like he loved Megaman.”
She looked back up at us and continued.
“But by then it was already too late. Sera’s shell had been all but destroyed and her life-support systems were about to fail. Luckily, I arrived just in time with an empty shell, or body as you might call it, that Sera was able to transfer her programming files into.”
Yuna smiled once again.
“Long story short, She’s good now.”
I nodded. That made sense I supposed, in a strange way perhaps. I looked over at Tron. She seemed lost.
“Did you catch all that Tron?” Yuna smiled
“Mostly, I think, but… what about the Master System?”
“Ah yes” Yuna said, bringing her hand to her chin “Well since Sera was the monitor of Elysium’s systems, the Master System shut down along with the rest of Elysium when her original shell had been destroyed.”
Tron cocked an eyebrow.
“You’re saying that Elysium shut down?”
“Yes.”
“…Completely?”
“That’s correct.”
Tron’s eyes scanned the room around her in a quizzical, almost sarcastic, gesture.
“You sure about that?”
I then realized what Tron was talking about. Yuna had said Elysium had completely shut down, but from what we could see, there were still working lights, automatically opening doors…was there something we didn’t know?
I looked at Yuna, who appeared to be taken off guard by our newfound observation. She hesitated at first but then explained.
“Well…we have several back-up refractors still powering parts of Elysium. They won’t last much longer, which is why we should return to Terra as soon as we can."
“Easier said than done,” Tron said rolling her eyes. “Thanks to blondie’s spectacular landing, we barely even have a ship left. I doubt we’ll be able to repair it anytime soon.”
Yuna gave Tron a sly smile
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that.” She said folding her arms across her chest smugly. “I’ll take care your little ship problem”
Before Tron could say anything the doors to the entrance slid open once again. The sound of footsteps entering the room made my heart jump. It had to be him this time I just knew it. I shifted my eyes eagerly to the source of the footsteps hoping to be rewarded by that shining smile that could light up even the darkest of situations. My eyes met the new arrivals and all at once my mouth dropped open as I recoiled with a gasp.
I could hardly believe my eyes at what I saw. Following Data and Sera into the room was someone I hardly even recognize. This threateningly intimidating figure was clad in an incredibly elaborate, yet fearsome armor that nearly made me tremble. I couldn’t see his face behind the helmet he wore, which only seemed to amplify his already terrifying visage. It was impossible…there was no way this could be who I thought it was…could it?
He looked over at me with an empty gaze that made me shrink back in fear. It was menacing, nothing like anything I had ever seen before. Within an instant after seeing me the faceless being tore off his helmet and threw it to the side, revealing the familiar face I knew and loved so much.
My face lit up as our eyes met. Everything about him, everything that had changed, made him look like a ferocious, merciless machine dissolved away as I lost myself in his presence. He ran over to me with a brilliant smile of relief painted across his face. He knelt down, shocking me when all at once he took me in his arms and laughed with joy.
“Roll! You’re all right!” he exclaimed happily, holding me tighter in his iron grip.
I blushed intensely. I didn’t know what to say. I was so overcome with a feeling of rapture and ecstasy to be held so close to him that I could hardly even breathe. That…or he was holding to tightly. Either way, I wasn’t about to stop him. He backed away, keeping his hands firmly gripped on my shoulders as he examined me.
“That’s interesting, I didn’t know I could do that.” He said, looking at me from head to toe
“What do you mean?” I inquired, trying to keep my voice from trembling. The exhilaration of having him right in front of me was more than I could handle
“I can read your vital signs,” he said with a slight smile. “Everything looks completely stable, what I’d expect from you; Looks like I have Yuna to thank for that”
He turned to look at Yuna and gave her a smile of appreciation. She simply waved her hand casually.
“It was nothing,” she said cheerfully. “But I’m glad I could help.”
Yuna looked at Sera who was also smiling at Megaman.
“So it went well I assume?” she spoke to her, breaking her gaze from Megaman.
Sera’s attention turned to Yuna.
“More or less” she said with a wicked grin. “Perhaps not for Trigger in some instances, but as you can see, the end product was more than worth the trouble.”
They must have been talking about Megaman and his new appearance. He certainly looked more dangerous than ever before, especially while wearing his helmet, but at the same time he had never looked so entrancingly beautiful in this gleaming armor. But other than his appearance, I had no idea in what way he had changed, except that he could now somehow tell how healthy my body was.
“Do you think he’s ready?” Yuna asked intuitively.
“Oh he’s more than ready.” Sera smiled mischievously. “He clearly hasn’t lost any of his former prowess and skill.”
Megaman seemed to ignore the conversation between Sera and Yuna. He stood up and walked over to Tron. I rolled my eyes in contempt as he placed his hand on her shoulder and examined her the same way he did me.
“I’m glad to see that you’re doing all right to Tron,” he said smiling at her
I nearly curled into a ball of jealousy as she blushed slightly and smiled back at him. As I tried to turn my head away, as this was something I preferred not to look at, I saw that Megaman’s smile had faded into an expression of befuddlement.
“What is it Megaman?” Tron asked, worried by this unusual reaction to her.
He looked back at me, his eyes still carrying the same puzzlement, and then back at Tron.
“Yuna…” he said softly removing his hand from Tron’s shoulder.
“What exactly did you do to Roll?”
That got my attention immediately. Was there something wrong with me? It didn’t feel like I had been broken in any way, but Megaman’s solemn expression was starting to make me second-guess.
“What do you mean? What’s the matter with me Megaman?” I cried out a little too loudly. “Am…am I all right?”
“You’re perfectly fine Roll…and that’s the problem.”
I looked at him strangely, confused by his words.
Isn’t that a good thing? I thought to myself. I couldn’t understand why he would be distraught by something like this. I mean, did he want me to be hurt.”
“It’s not that I’m unhappy you’re unharmed.” He said turning to look at me. “I’m thrilled that you’re ok, but there’s something that’s not fitting right.”
“Well what does this all have to do with me?” Tron asked impatiently.
“Well, if Yuna apparently doesn’t know what I’m talking about then I guess I’ll just have to explain it.”
Yuna folded her arms and leaned back against the wall. She looked intrigued, slightly smug in fact, as to what Megaman was about to say, almost as if with a Bring-it-on attitude.
“I didn’t notice at first when I was looking at Roll.” Megaman began. “I suppose I was simply too overjoyed to see her all right that I completely ignored it. But then I saw Tron’s life-signs and realized that something wasn’t right. From what I could see, Tron’s vitals were slightly weaker than average due to the injuries she sustained. That’s completely normal, what anyone could expect from an average person, and thanks to the treatment she received, her wounds will heal at a steady rate.”
Megaman turned his gaze toward me with a reserved look about him.
“Then there’s Roll.” He said mysteriously. “After examining Tron I turned my attention back to Roll to make sure what I was seeing was accurate. It was impossible to even consider, but Roll’s vitals were even stronger than normal, as if she had never even been injured in the first place.”
Megaman looked back at Yuna. She drew a deep breath and sighed, looking displeased that she was unable to avoid this.
“So, why is this Yuna? How did you do it?”
She bowed her head in silent thought as she assessed Megaman’s quandary. What was she not telling, I thought to myself? There was something she was avoiding, something she wanted to keep hidden from us, and somehow it involved me.
“Megaman…this isn’t the time.” She said solemnly. “We have much more urgent things to think about right now that need our direct attention.”
“You’re not getting off that easy Yuna”
“I know, and I promise I’ll explain everything, but for the time being we must focus on the much more serious issue at hand. Right now we need to make speed to Terra as soon as possible, before it’s too late”
“Why?” Tron asked somberly, “What’s going on?”
“Let’s just say that Megaman’s mission is far from over, and what’s coming will be far more than he can handle on his own.”
Yuna turned to walk out, leaving Sera to motion for us all to follow
“The time has come for all carbons alike to prove their ultimate worth, show what it means to have the determination and true tenacity to survive.”
- I'm going to apologize now for anyone who was hoping to see some Megaman action at the end of last chapter. I just didn't feel it was the right time and Roll was in need of some diolouge. But soon, don't you worry.