A.N- Please do leave us feedback if you're reading this. It's difficult to improve if you don't know what needs fixing, after all! To all of those who have reviewed, thank you very much for your comments. We really appreciate them, and we hope you will remain with us for future chapters.
Anyway, on with the story!
CHAPTER THREE
To Far Away Times
Rock instinctively brought up a hand to bat the object away. His gloved fingers connected with something soft. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring into the whiskered face of a large, brown rat.
"Gah!" Rock cried, sitting up. The startled rodent darted away, Rock's shout reverberating off the buildings ringing the area. There was a squeaking from the shadows as the rat rejoined its brethren and the group shrunk back, wary of their sudden visitor.
Rock stood up shakily, his limbs more like lead than lightweight titanium alloy. His head throbbed and he felt like gravity had swapped itself several times. Closing his eyes, he waited for the world to become normal again.
When the pain receded, he opened his eyes, only to wish he'd kept them shut. He was standing in what looked like a war zone. The buildings were crumbled and decayed, riddled with bomb holes, bullet marks, and what looked like plasma burns. Rubble littered the asphalt street, which itself was heavily cracked and mostly gravel now.
Is this my city? he thought with despair. But no... none of the buildings, even in their current state, seemed familiar. There were too many skyscrapers and the layout was wrong. Wherever this was, it wasn't home.
"Hello?" Rock called, his voice retaining some of his fear, despite attempts to keep it hidden. "Blues? Bass?"
There was no answer. Rock tried his communicator, only to find it had been broken sometime during the fight. He tried his teleporter next, but it wouldn't respond.
"Great," he muttered, fighting down panic. He was alone out here, wherever here was.
"Hello?" he called again. The call echoed, six slightly softer Rocks asking for assistance as well.
No answer. Rock looked around at the landscape. He supposed there was no point in remaining here, surrounded by ruins and rats. He'd have to start walking, and hope to run into someone who could tell him where he was.
He had taken two steps when he heard a sound behind him. Whirling and forming his buster, he tensed. Picking their way over the piles of pavement were two robots. At least, he assumed they were robots. They moved too fluidly over the uneven ground to be human, and were armored in the same general style as Robot Masters. The larger one, on the left, wore emerald colored armor, while his companion sported grey. The left one spotted Rock first and his face split into an unpleasant grin.
"Well, what do we have here?" he said, stepping closer. Rock backed away. He didn't like the look of these robots at all. Besides the fact that he'd rarely met a non-Light bot who wasn't hostile, the two just made him nervous. He kept his buster formed.
"Who are you?" Rock asked warily.
"Who are you?" the robot said back, mockingly. "Are you lost, little boy? You shouldn't be wandering where we Mavericks can find you..."
"Mavericks?" Rock asked. He knew the word was defined as 'a deviant from the norm', but this robot had used it like a title.
The self proclaimed maverick grinned. "Very good," he said, with a tone of twisted pride. "You win a prize, little lost reploid. Striker, tell him what he's won."
The grey robot, silent until now, blinked. "What he's won, boss?"
"Yes, idiot. What do we normally do to lost reploids?" the green maverick hissed.
"Um... kill them?"
"Exactly," the robot purred.
Rock backed away farther and trained his buster on the creature's head. "I'd rather you not do that, thanks."
The robot just grinned, and lunged. Rock fired reflexively, the plasma pinging off his foe's armor. The blue bomber ducked to the side at the last second, hearing the maverick's fists whistle past his head. His adversary hadn't formed a buster himself but instead extended claws that attempted to shred Rock's synthskin.
Taking off at a dead run, Rock tried to put as much distance as possible between himself and his enemy. Plasma thudded into the asphalt to his left as the grey maverick joined the fight. Charging his buster, Rock sent a wave of energy back at his attackers. It slammed into the green one, knocking him off balance and slowing his pursuit.
Who are these guys? Rock thought desperately, sliding to avoid another plasma burst. They were more advanced than any robots he'd seen before, and his buster wasn't doing much damage. He wished Blues were still with him. Then, he'd have a better fighting chance.
An explosion rent the air, and the grey maverick went flying into the brick wall of a nearby building. Rock whirled, and saw another figure approaching—this one clad in familiar black and yellow armor.
"Hey, scrapheaps!" Bass taunted, raising his buster. "I'm the only one allowed to kill the blueberry!"
"Bass!" Mega Man called, never so glad to see the Wily-bot.
"Can it, let's just trash these idiots," Bass replied by way of greeting. Rock nodded and unleashed a charged shot as Bass switched on his automatic fire. The mavericks were left with no room to maneuver as plasma slammed into armor and unprotected limbs.
"Gah! Let's get out of here," the green-armored robot said to his companion, not so confident once the tide of battle had turned. The other quickly agreed as another salvo of plasma hurtled towards them, and the two vanished in a stream of teleportation light.
"Damn," Bass swore, lowering his buster when it became apparent they were not returning. Turning to Rock, he asked, "You still alive, Mega Man?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," Rock replied, lowering his own weapon and dissipating the charge. "What are you doing here?"
Bass shrugged. "Apparently Wily's crappy invention malfunctioned and took us both for a ride."
"Do you know where we are?" Rock asked, surveying the ruined buildings. The sky above was dark with smog, though he could see a hazy sun showing that it was still afternoon.
"Don't ask me, I have no clue," Bass said. "Wherever it is, it's no place I've been before."
"What was that thing you used, anyway?" Rock asked, taking a few steps towards Bass. The black robot made no move to flee or attack, which was a good sign.
"It's called the TimeStopper II," Bass said, holding up his left arm. It was sparking slightly. "Variation on Flash Man's old weapon. Wily planned on using it to freeze time all over the city so he could take over without you bothering him."
"No less crazy than his other plans, I suppose..."
"And like the others, it's not working out," Bass said rubbing his sparking appendage.
"Is... that thing still operational?" Rock asked, though from the look of it he doubted it.
Bass laughed. "No, it's completely dead," he said, a bit ruefully. "Though I suppose it's for the best. Next time we could have ended up in Antarctica."
"This place doesn't really seem much better," Rock observed.
"You do have a point," Bass admitted, looking around.
Rock hesitated, afraid to ask his next question. Finally, he said, "Maybe... we should travel together?" Bass looked at him. "Until we figure out where we are, I mean?"
"Travel? With you?" Bass said slowly, as though it was the most absurd thing he'd ever heard. "Pfft. I'd sooner eat a Magnet Missile."
"But what if those robots come back?"
"That's easy," Bass said. "I'll shoot them in the face until they stop moving."
"Bass, if we go together we may be able to get out of here faster," Rock insisted. "And then you can go back to your PlayStation, stolen though it may be."
"You're not going to shut up about that until I agree, do you?" Bass sighed.
"Nope."
"Fine!" Bass said, giving up, though the Rock sensed he was actually somewhat relieved at the suggestion of traveling together. Neither robot fancied being alone in this city. If the Wily-bot had been really adverse to the suggestion, he would have shot Rock and ran off. "If only to get you to be quiet. I suppose even your company is better than wandering around like an idiot."
"Thanks, Bass," Rock said. Bass merely grunted.
---
They traveled in silence for some time, each city block as ruined as the last. Rock knew they were hopelessly lost. Still, walking was better than standing and waiting to be killed. Several times they had to duck into the shadows to avoid dangerous looking mechaniloids trundling past.
Bass made no attempt at conversation, and Rock thought it best to humor him. It must be tough enough for him to be traveling together. Rock had worked with Bass on several past occasions, but the two had never been on good terms, or much of a team. The situation saddened Rock. As far as he knew, besides his siblings, Bass was the only other sentient robot in the world. They had much in common, though Bass would never admit it. Rock had long resigned himself to the fact that Bass would probably never become friendly towards him. They were on opposing sides, and the black armored robot was programmed to hate Mega Man. Rock knew how difficult it was to overcome basic programming, even with the best of intentions. That Bass had ever been able to work together with him showed the strength of his resolve.
Rock finally spoke as the sun lowered towards the fog-shrouded skyline and his internal clock said it was now late afternoon. "Where on Earth are we, do you think?" he said, examining a tattered billboard for some sort of shampoo product. "And what could have happened here?"
Bass shrugged. "Don't know, don't really care, as long as we get away from it."
"Aren't you curious at all?" Mega Man asked. He stepped over a crack in the pavement. "These mechaniloids don't look like Dr. Wily's design. That must mean there's some other robot maker out there..."
"Maybe," Bass said, noncommittally. He looked ahead and suddenly stopped walking. "Look." He pointed at the buildings just ahead. The quality improved drastically a few houses away, as the street passed what looked like a makeshift wall built out of fallen bricks. "This place doesn't look so run down."
"There are people up ahead, too," Rock said, noticing a few of what were unmistakably humans moving quickly along sidewalks on the other side of the barrier. "Maybe we can ask them where..."
"Look out!" Bass shouted, shoving Rock to the side as a plasma bolt sped past where their heads had been a moment before. A group of robots burst from a side street close to where the humans walked, firing shots wildly. The humans broke and scattered, screaming.
"That's right, run!" a robot at the head of the of the group crowed, firing into the fleeing crowd. "Pitiful humans! You will all be destroyed in the name of Sigma!" A bolt hit an elderly man in the back, and he crumpled to the ground.
Rock gasped. The robot had just killed a human being. Not even Wily's robots did that intentionally. Wily was more interested in property destruction and spreading fear than in rampant bloodshed. He saw no point in killing his future subjects.
Rock could feel the First Law begin to wail at him, demanding he protect the other humans. He had no problem with obeying. "Bass, we have to stop them!" he shouted, firing his weapon at the nearest mechaniloid following the larger robots. The bolt hit a sensitive spot and the creature exploded, injuring the robot beside it as well.
"I hate to admit it, but you're right," Bass said, also looking slightly disturbed by the callow disregard for human life. "Let's get them."
The two began firing, running forward and vaulting over the wall. Bass shot down another mechaniloid. The leader turned at the sudden attack from the side and spotted the two smaller robots.
"What do we have here?" he hissed. His armor was designed to resemble a scorpion, heavy on the head and back and an added long tail. "A kid in blue spandex? And someone with fish fins for a head?"
"I am so tired of those jokes," Bass said.
"Fine then," the scorpion-bot replied, smiling and revealing fangs. "You won't have to hear jokes where you're going!"
"I'm sure," Bass replied dryly, and began firing.
The robot hissed and jumped out of the way, lashing out with his barbed tail. Rock jumped over it and released a charged shot from overhead, striking him in the unarmored upper leg. He buckled, giving Bass room to pepper him with rapid-fire plasma.
As the scorpion gathered himself to lunge at the black robot, Rock landed and shot him in the back. The bolt tinged off his armor, but succeeded in distracting him enough for Bass to line up a few more shots and then dodge to a more opportune location. Rock ran as well, charging up and shooting down another mechaniloid along the way.
There were fewer of the smaller machines around, Rock noticed, but he had other things to worry about a moment later when the scorpion's tail whipped towards his head. Ducking, he turned to fire at the robot again... only to see its head explode.
"What?" Rock exclaimed, and turned to Bass, but the Wily-bot looked just as bewildered. The headless scorpion toppled to the ground. Behind it, they could now see another group of humanoid robots advancing from deeper in the better sector of the city. They fired on the last few remaining enemies, some of them splitting off to chase those who tried to escape.
The robot at the front of the group, who had fired the shot that killed the scorpion-bot, approached them. As he drew closer they could tell he looked incredibly humanlike, even more so than Rock and his siblings. The only indication of his mechanical nature was his armor and the buster on his right arm. But it was not the realism of the newcomer's design that startled Rock most. It was the color.
The robot's armor was bright blue, the same color as Rock's own. There were some differences, and substantial ones: he had chest armor, for instance; as well as more trimming on his helmet, and his jumpsuit was a blue-green color instead of Rock's light blue—but Rock couldn't help but notice the similarity. He supposed it wasn't all that far-fetched that another roboticist might have decided to emulate his design—Mega Man was famous almost everywhere—but he had no idea why he'd never heard of someone like this being built before. Furthermore, this robot seemed more like a better version of himself, if anything. He was much older looking, with green eyes and also, Rock noticed—though it could have been his imagination—a striking similarity of features. His face reminded him of Blues' when the red robot wasn't wearing his helmet.
The more Rock saw of this strange city, the more confused he became.
The man walked towards them, his buster armed but angled towards the pavement. "Are you two all right?" he asked, with a concerned tone.
"Yeah," Bass replied, still wary but sensing no open hostility from the stranger.
The man walked up and knelt beside the fallen scorpion, wincing slightly as he saw the damage. "Dead," he said, with a sigh. "I really wish... but it's the only way." He shook his head as though to clear it, and stood up. "I apologize for not arriving sooner," he said, turning to Rock and Bass. "The Mavericks managed to find a weakness in our defense shielding. It's being fixed as we speak."
Rock was about to say something, but was interrupted by one of the other newcomers, a yellow-armored male with rather garish green trim. "Commander!" he called, approaching. He halted before the blue-armored man and saluted.
"At ease, lieutenant," the man replied, in a kind tone. "What's your report?"
"Fifteen Maverick fatalities reported, sir," said the lieutenant. "None on our side, though Jay got a wound to the arm."
"Plasma burn?"
"No, he tripped over a brick," the lieutenant said, sheepishly.
The commander laughed. "Tell him to look where he's going next time. Clumsiness could get him killed in a real firefight."
"Yes, sir."
"How about civilian casualties?"
The lieutenant looked grim. "One man was hit, sir. Doreen's looking to him."
"He's not dead, then?" Rock said, hopefully. "I saw him get shot, it looked pretty bad..."
The lieutenant turned, seeming startled to see Rock and Bass. "He should pull through, if we get him to a hospital soon," he replied.
"That's good news," said the commander, smiling. "Go give my message to Jay, and get the others to regroup. Oh, and call Ari over here. I need her to scan these two for infection." He nodded to Rock and Bass. "No offense to you two, but it's standard procedure."
"Right away, sir," the lieutenant said, and hurried off.
"A bit formal, but he's a good kid," the commander said, sounding slightly amused as the lieutenant halted a purple-armored female and she turned to head in their direction. She stopped beside Bass and pulled out a small device, which she proceeded to pass over the two smaller robots a few times.
"They're all clean, commander," she pronounced, looking at the readout on the screen. "The black one's got an odd power source, but nothing too unusual."
"Very good. Thank you, Ari," he replied. She saluted and walked away, heading towards a group of soldiers picking up the pieces of a destroyed mechaniloid.
"All right, then," the commander said, turning back to Bass and Rock and smiling at them. "Now that we've ensured you're not Mavericks in disguise, we can have a proper introduction. My name is Mega Man X, commander of the 17th unit of Maverick Hunters."
Rock and Bass froze. It couldn't be. But the appearance did match the name...
"Mega Man..." said Bass.
"...X?" Rock finished.
"Yeah," said X, watching their reactions. "Guess you've heard of me?"
"...In passing..." Rock said faintly. What the heck was going on here? First the wrecked city, then all the strange 'mavericks' that looked far more advanced than anything he'd seen in his life, and now a group of obviously sentient robots led by someone calling himself 'Mega Man'? Either his entire view of the world was seriously skewed, or... he didn't know what. He had no explanations for what could have occurred... none that made sense, anyway.
"And what are your names?" X inquired.
"I'm M—Rock," Rock said, catching himself from saying his title like he usually did while in armor. He needed more information before he revealed that name.
"Forte," said Bass, also opting to go incognito.
"Well, nice to meet you, Rock and Forte," X said. "Thank you for helping to stop those Mavericks. That was pretty impressive work for non-combat bots."
"Non-combat?" Bass said, sounding indignant, but Rock stomped on his foot.
"We couldn't stand by and watch those humans get hurt," he said, smiling brightly at X while 'Forte' glared at him.
"I understand," said X, nodding. "It's difficult to see injustice and not be able to help. It's why I joined the Hunters. But be that as it may, Mavericks are dangerous. You two could have gotten seriously hurt. Next time, leave the fighting to the Hunters, all right?"
"Hey! I can hold my own in a fight same as you, blue boy," Bass snapped.
Rock's eyes went wide. "Forte, don't talk like that!" he said, glancing at the Maverick Hunter commander. "Mr. X helped us, the least you can do is be polite!"
X laughed. "Don't worry, Rock. I've been called far worse by people who meant it more. And you can just call me X."
"All right, then, X," Rock said. "I apologize for his behavior." He glared at Bass again. "We're a little... lost, so he's frustrated."
"You two are lost?" X asked. "Well, that does explain some things. You do look rather confused." The two glanced at each other, then nodded vehemently. "Don't worry. I'll help in any way I can. Are you looking for someplace, or for someone?"
Both, Rock thought, but said aloud, "Um, well, we've sort of... misplaced our brother?" Which is true. Bass looked a bit miffed at the "our", but he didn't say anything, for which Rock was grateful.
"I see," said X. "Where's the last place you saw him?"
"Really... I have no idea," Rock said, sounding defeated.
X's eyes softened. "It's all right. We're heading back to HQ now, and if you'd like to come along, I'm sure we can locate your brother."
"Thank you, X," Rock said. Bass nodded curtly.
"Don't worry about a thing," X assured them. "Hunter HQ is a short distance away, so you can walk back with me. The troops can take care of the rest of the clean up here, right, lieutenant?"
The lieutenant, who was passing, saluted sharply. "Yes, sir, Commander X!"
X smiled. "Good. I'll meet you all back at base once I've helped these two."
"Yes, sir!"
X touched Rock on the shoulder and gently led him around the cleanup crew that had arrived to cart away the dead Mavericks. Then he set off down the sidewalk, heading further into the city. Rock and Bass looked at each other for a second, shrugged, and followed the strange robot deeper into the unknown.
---------
The walk was short, as X had said, though that was partially because of their robotic gait. This section of the city was much nicer than the other areas they had seen, with the buildings whole and well-cared for. There were humans on the streets; not as many as were common at home, but still a fair number. There were also many robots like X and his unit mingling with the humans. Rock could barely believe that such a place could exist.
X led them across several streets and underneath a large highway filled with traffic of both regular cars and hovercraft. The noise of the vehicles thundered in their ears as they traversed the graffiti-marked archways beneath the road. The Hunter commander took a left and walked along a sidewalk, which lead to a larger road and then opened onto a building complex.
There were several structures, a main one surrounded by several smaller ones, connected by access skywalks. The main building was immense and metallic in nature. It looked like it belonged in an old sci-fi movie. Still, the place was aesthetically pleasing, if rather abstract. The buildings were surrounded by a thick wall, with watchtowers at regular intervals. The place had been designed so that it gave the look of a military institution without being overly threatening, a place meant for peacekeeping. Though Rock spotted guards in the watchtowers, the large front gates were open and many people walked in and out. There were few humans in this area, most of those entering and exiting wearing the tell-tale robotic armor. X, Rock, and Bass passed through the gates without incident and headed towards the main building.
There was not much in the way of greenery on the complex's front lawn, owing no doubt to the layer of smog covering the city, but to the left of the main doors was a small garden. There was a fountain in the center of a bed of flowers, showing a globe ringed by human and robot figures holding hands. X passed them without a glance, continuing up the drive and leading them to the front entrance.
There were five or six glass doors in a row, opening automatically when the robots approached. Entering the main lobby, Rock had to pause for a moment in shock. He had never seen or imagined so many robots in one place in his life. The foyer was packed with them. Many were the same almost-human type as X, but there were others like the scorpion maverick, with a more animalistic design. Some bustled about carrying data pads or stacks of paper, while others simply chatted with one another. Rock was overwhelmed by it all — the sights, the noise, the impossibility of the scene. For the first time in his life, he felt very small and powerless.
"Welcome to Maverick Hunter Headquarters," X said, noticing Rock's awe. "Stick close or you'll get lost!"
X led them through the crowd, weaving his way expertly through the throngs of Hunters. Rock and Bass followed as best they could, trying not to get separated. While they walked, Rock tried to take in as much of his surroundings as they could. The entrance foyer was immense, rising several stories into the air and spanning at least a football field in length. The center of the room sported a larger version of the fountain outside. Many robots sat along the long marble shelf circling the pool of water at its base. Along the edges of the room were doors leading into other parts of the building, which Hunters frequently entered and exited.
Rock's gaze swept to the far wall. Covering most of it was a giant screen showing a map of the world. There were many colored dots, some larger than others, scattered across the globe. They were labeled in a code Rock couldn't decipher. The map looked slightly odd, as there didn't seem to be many country boundaries, and those that did exist were in rather strange places. Above the map proper each time zone was labeled neatly with the current time at that location. Along the very top of the map was the date.
Rock nearly fell over. Bass actually did, slamming into Rock when the smaller robot stopped moving. The two tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs and armor.
"Are you alright?" X asked, concerned. He offered a hand and Rock took it, pulling himself to his feet. Bass rose on his own.
"What'd you do that for?" he snapped, looking irritated.
"Sorry," Rock apologized. Bass grunted and folded his arms, but didn't argue further. X, seeing they were both all right, started across the room again.
As soon as X moved away, Rock whispered to Bass, "Look at the date."
Bass did, and froze in much the same manner. "This is very bad," he said softly.
"You're telling me," said Rock, glancing at X. The hunter was still walking, unaware of anything amiss.
High above them, in giant, neon yellow letters, the date read, "May 14, 21XX."