It had seemed like a good idea at first. When the Guildmaster and the rest of the city had declared a town meeting in the airship bay, Barrell had noticed the key to the Nino Island Ruins on the Guildmaster's desk. He hadn't been able to help himself. These ruins were known to be one of the most dangerous and only the bravest Diggers were allowed access. He had purloined that key and unlocked the ruins.
Now, however, as he fought at the giant manta ray Reaverbot that was guarding the ruins, whether he really should have come down here. Not only could that thing swim really quickly around in the water, but it could fire six shots with a speed quick enough to hit the normally agile Digger.
It hadn't even seemed hostile, at first. Barrell had walked right past it, bubbles coming out from his rebreather, and towards a small, nearly hidden door that had been in the ruins. It had ignored him completely, until he had raised his hand to touch the door. The moment he had touched the door, though, his Reaverbot detector readings suddenly detected a change and he had to leap out of the way as the manta ray suddenly attacked him.
As Barrell ran around the room and jumped to dodge the shots, he noticed the door that had started off this entire mess, and ran towards it. The door opened, and Barrell wasted no time in going inside. As soon as the door closed, he leaned against the wall, sighing with relief. The Digger was glad he no longer had to fight it, as he was no longer as young as he used to be. Even his light brown hair was already more gray than brown, and he wasn't very agile anymore.
Once he had gotten his breath back, he examined the room he was in. It was small, nondescript, and nothing was inside it except for an elevator. Barrell got on the elevator, pushing the button which had the Ancient symbol for "up". As he held onto the elevator as it moved up, he noticed that it exited the pool of water that he was in. The only thing now in the room that he was in was another door. Being the Digger he was, Barrell entered the door.
The room he was in now was completely different from the rest of the ruins. It was whiter, much more well-kept, and much more... ethereal. The only thing in the room was a pedestal in the center with a large, blue crystal-shaped object. It did not appear to be a refractor or a Reaverbot. The readings were completely wrong... and Barrell had the strangest feeling that he had seen a crystal like it before.
"What is this...?" Barrell reached out to touch the strange blue object, prepared to jump back if it became hostile. It didn't become hostile. However, it did start melting. It was the only way that the Digger could describe it. Upon melting, it revealed that it was hollow, with two small objects inside it. Barrell shielded his eyes as it emited a blinding white light, opening them once the light had died down. He was not prepared for what he saw.
"A monkey? And a baby?"
Inside was what appeared to be a monkey Reaverbot and what appeared to be a little boy around . A toddler, really, or a baby to Barrell's older eyes. It seemed to be asleep, one hand gripping the monkey's tail, and the monkey Reaverbot didn't seem hostile, so Barrell approached them, holding one hand out.
But the moment Barrell kneeled down in front of them, the boy, dressed in a small blue onepiece jumpsuit, woke up, stared straight up at him, and began to cry. The monkey seemed distressed, so Barrell dropped his guard altogether, and scooped the baby up, rocking him in a motion similar to how he had rocked Matilda as a baby and how he would normally rock Roll. Within moments, the baby's cries stopped, and he blinked up at Barrell with his big, green eyes.
The Digger gave a sigh of relief. He'd thought the cries would cause the monkey to attack, but the monkey seemed more relieved than anything else that the baby had stopped crying. However, there was still the problem as to what a baby, of all things, was doing so deep in the ruins. Barrell needed the rest anyways, so he sat down against the wall, cradling the boy. The monkey hopped up next to him, glancing at the both of them.
The boy shifted in his arms, and Barrell noticed a wristband peeking out from his sleeves. He rolled the sleeve up a bit and examined the wristband.
"Rockman?"
The child blinked up at him with curious green eyes, instantly attentive at the sound. His spiky, dark brown hair, that reminded Barrell so much of his son-in-law Banner with short hair, brushed against the man's armor.
"Is that your name?"
The monkey seemed happy at this assumption, and made a few sounds that Barrell could only describe as celebratory. Barrell still wasn't sure if it was safe to go back out (not to mention that the child most like would not be able to breathe underwater for long), so he sat there simply with "Rockman". Still, the baby looked up at him with those curious eyes. Barrell glanced down as he felt a small hand tugging on his armor.
"I'm your grandpa, Rock," Barrell said, shortening his name. "If you have no one, I'll be your grandpa." The name "Rockman" was too much of a mouthful and a bit unusual for a human. "Rock" had a much nicer ring to it - and it would match his grandaughter's name, Roll. Speaking of names, the boy still needed a last name.
Barrel's daughter Matilda Caskett, and her husband Banner Volnutt, had both had an agreement in what their children's last names would be. If any of their children were girl's, they would have Matilda's, and by extension, Barrell's, last name. If any of their children were boys, they would have Banner's last name. And as most people, upon meeting the children, would assume they were siblings. Therefore, it would only be natural for the boy to have Banner's last name.
Besides, Rock Volnutt had a nice ring to it.
"Data!" Rock suddenly called out, reaching for the monkey that was... dancing? by Barrell's side. "Data!" Barrell blinked at Rock, and then at the monkey robot. "Is your name Data, then?" It make a few noises of approval.
So. Instead of finding a Refractor down in the ruins that all Diggers had been forbidden to enter, he had instead found a little boy now named Rock Volnutt and a monkey robot (honestly, it seemed much too polite and non-threatening to be a Reaverbot - and it hadn't harmed him or Rock yet) named Data. As lonely as he was, he knew that he was probably the only one that they could depend on at the moment.
He had rested enough. Children Rock's age needed to be fed frequently, and who knows how long the two had been in the ruins and in that crystal. Not to mention if Barrell stayed away too long, and could not be found anywhere, it would be suspicious. The moment Barrell stood up to search for an exit, holding Rock securely in his arms, Data hopped away from him and ran towards a seemingly blank wall.
"What's there?" Barrell asked him.
The monkey seemed to be searching for something, and it apparently found it, for it hopped away from the wall as it began to slide up. Well. This was something he hadn't suspected. How many other walls were like this in the ruins. It was narrow and a bit of a tight fit as Data led the way, pausing occasionally for Barrell to catch up with Rock, but it did lead to the very beginning of the ruins. Once Barrell was craning his neck up to look at the ladder, Data fiddled with the wall again to make it close.
How Barrell managed to get back up the ladder carrying a toddler in one arm and with a monkey robot in the other, he wasn't sure. For a few moments, he had been afraid that somebody would spot him climbing out, but luck had been on his side and nobody was there.
Even so, the Digger was not going to stick around. Holding Rock closely to him, he quickly hurried back towards his old airship, the Flutter, and entered a room that was close to his. It was bare with the furnishings of a guest room, with just a bed and a desk, but he set Rock down inside it. After a minutes, the baby curled up and went to sleep again.
"Can you keep an eye on him?" Barrell asked Data, who had hopped onto the bed. The monkey robot nodded. "Thanks."
Once Barrell had returned the key to the Nino Ruins in the Guildmaster's office - somehow, without being caught - and returned to the Flutter, he checked Rock's room. The toddler was sleeping peacefully, arms wrapped around Data, so Barrell let them be and returned to his own room. He opened a drawer, and pulled out a letter that had been dated over one month ago.
He reread it for several long moments, sighing as he sat down at his desk and held his head in his hands. It has been over one month since Matilda and Banner had sent them the later saying they were going to the Forbidden Island. One month since they had requested him to take care of Roll.
Instead of burying himself in his grief, though, he headed towards the main deck of the Flutter with a heavy heart. It was time to pick up Roll.