PROLOGUE
"SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE"
"Megaman! Megaman, I'm losing you... the transmission's breaking!"
Roll's fist pounded against the monitor, rattling the microphone equipment and sending a shooting pain up her right arm.
She ignored it.
Fear gripped her heart as she attempted to dial up the frequency range for what felt like the thousandth time since this stupid dig began.
"I knew that this was a bad idea… He's so close… If he gets hurt again because I couldn't help him, I'll never forgive myself!"
Roll stared at the red dot that had been the last known transmission of Megaman's position, then her eyes darted to the massive energy fluctuation she knew to be a Reaverbot on the other side of the door.
Her stomach squirmed yet again, thinking about the danger Megaman subjected himself to every time he went on a dig…
Putting himself in danger… For Gramps and for her…
"I wish it was me! I wish I could be with him now… I want to be with you again Megaman…"
"WAKE UP!"
Roll sat up with a start, sending debris and diagrams of jet propulsion and thrust scattering onto the floor from off of the desk. This was the scene from where she had, once again, sat all night: working on what she was soon coming to think was an insurmountable task.
At present, she found herself face to face with a burning, red faced Tron Bonne, who was by no means a welcoming sight, given her demeanor.
"Well look who decided to SLEEP IN today! Having a good nap!? I'm not sure about you, but it seems to me that when one part of the team slacks off around here, it doesn't help out the WHOLE, now does it?" Tron ranted.
Roll sighed. While she knew Tron was abrasive at the best of times, she also knew that she had a habit of taking out her frustrations on the blond spotter whenever she was having difficulties herself.
This knowledge, however, did little to curb the anger that came bubbling up to the surface, coming to Roll's defense once again.
"Tron, you know darn well I've been in here determining thrust capacity for orbital trajectory! It's not like I've been on vacation while you build the control module! I'm working hard too!"
Tron snorted, "Well, you'd think you would have gotten the physics of trajectory down, given that you've invented enough weapons USING them to blow things up in my FACE! Don't think I've forgotten who made all those nasty little weapons for Megaman… when…."
A slight pause came between the two of them, a moment of awkwardness that wasn't missed by either young woman.
When it came to the subject of Megaman, they had become quite silent with each other. Perhaps it was the growing understanding between the two of their need for the other to rescue him, or perhaps it had started to become obvious to both of them that they were two figures looking into a mirror and seeing same soul reflected back.
Tron contemplated this idea for a moment, but immediately thrust it from her mind. She didn't want to feel like she shared a soul with that blonde knat. Coming into Roll's room wasn't something that she wanted to do in the first place… but coming in and hearing her mumbling in her sleep about wanting to be with HIM!
It was infuriating, and any thoughts of camaraderie with Roll were quickly repressed. It was bad enough that Tron was finally coming to understand that she loved Megaman, but she hated the thought of having to deal with Roll sticking her nose in where it didn't belong. Who did she think she was? If Roll wanted to be there sobbing when Tron finally told Megaman how she felt, then FINE, she could just deal with the consequences!
But for now she needed the blonde, whether she liked to admit it or not…
"Look… just come downstairs, Old Codger is looking for you."
Roll gave her a furious look, but didn't say anything. The "Old Codger", or Barrel Caskett, was Roll's Grandfather, and this new nickname that Tron had developed for him was pressing on a nerve. Roll knew that her Grandfather was getting on in years, but since all the trouble in Kattlelox, and most recently with finding the Keys to the Mother Lode, Gramps had taken a definite turn for the worse.
Roll brushed past Tron and walked through the doorway, heading for the bathroom. Tron watched her walk away, surly that she hadn't been engaged in another screaming match with the other resident mechanical genius. Tron had been itching for a fight ever since she had come to realize that it was Roll who had suggested their new command module design, instead of that blasted Monkey.
Tron clenched her teeth. The monkey, Data, had become so unbelievably annoying these past few days for who knows what reason. His furious little dance had finally gotten the attention of the two women, and each had relented slightly to his outright demands to be let into the planning process…
Tron stalked down the hallway of the new Gesellschaft II, ignoring the random greetings from her personal servant army, the Servbots. She didn't like being one-upped in any aspect of her life, let alone in mechanical engineering. Granted, while her designs had saved them more than enough money while still being technologically sound, she didn't like thinking that there was another person Bon Bonne, her large, mechanically enhanced baby brother, could turn to for maintenance work.
She paused next to the armory, catching a glance at herself in the reflection of the metal door. In the three years since meeting Megaman and Roll on Kattlelox Island, Tron Bonne, at 17, was starting to grow up into quite a beautiful young lady. She thought, for a second, of the picture of her mother and father that hung up in Teisel's study since they had managed to salvage it from the destruction of their first warship. She smirked a little, glad that the good looks hadn't passed her as they had passed the rest of her family. Granted, Teisel wasn't terrible looking, but ever since Reaver-Eye augmentation had come into vogue some twenty odd years ago, he had a decidedly creepy edge to his face. The Old Codger had them too, perhaps he had used them in his digging days so as not to miss anything special in a certain ruin. Her brother, of course, used his for pirating, so she couldn't complain. Looking back into the mirror, she looked down at the outfit she was wearing. She had chosen a simple outfit today, a simple purple tank top and a tight pair of jeans, to prevent snagging on any loose equipment while she worked in the tight confines of the newest rocket she and Roll had begun to build.
Her mind having cycled back once again to the Spotter, she turned away from the metal door in a huff, not wanting to think about all the ways Roll had changed as well. She always preferred to think of her as the "Troll in the Red Hat", and she was planning on keeping it that way, thank you very much. She turned towards the hallway leading to the exit. She figured she might as well start the day, and perhaps steal a bite to eat from Teisel, out at what he liked to call "Teisel's Rocket Ship Buffet!"
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The other girl in question slipped into the bathroom just past the workshop in the hallway. She clicked the lock behind her, and pressed her back against the door and let out a sigh. She had started to miss Megaman more and more these days, perhaps stemming from the fact that she kept having the same dream about him over and over again. She assumed that the reason she kept dreaming about that lonely pillar out in the middle of the ocean was because she knew that it was where this whole mess had started. Lately, she had started stealing glances at her own diary, at the page marked "Secret" and fervently wished that she would just be able to tell Megaman how she felt about him. She thought it was high time to stop being so shy, and just let him know how much she wanted to be with him. It was driving her mad, and keeping her up until all hours of the morning trying to figure out a way to bring him back down wasn't helping her state of mind. She wouldn't stop until she had him in her arms again…
Roll looked up and caught her own reflection in the mirror as well, seeing another 17 year old girl staring back out at her, very much like the other. Though she never thought about it, she was incredibly beautiful, and she and Tron had, for good reason, a large number of admirers out in the world at large. Roll walked over to the small sink and turned the faucet on, attempting to once again clean the dried-on grease smudges that seemed to endlessly plague her and her "colleague's" faces. It never seemed to bother all the male well-wishers that had arrived, however... Irritated at this thought, Roll closed her eyes and attempted to push the many nameless faces out of her mind.
Recently, of course, Roll and Tron had begun sparking attention in the world at large for a different reason. This wasn't a surprise, seeing as how they were launching and blowing up rockets on an almost weekly basis. It wasn't long before the nearest islands began catching wind of attempts at rocket travel, and began sending out news airships to find out the latest scoop.
Roll splashed water onto her face and tried to keep what happened next out of her mind… but to no avail.
When the news crews came to the site, finding Von Bleucher, Barrel Caskett's partner in crime, and Barrel Caskett himself, off on another grand adventure, the crews ate it up. But when questioned about the reason, when it came to light that the "Blue Bomber", as they had started to call Megaman in the news since his recent successes in finding the Keys to the Mother Lode, had been trapped on the second moon in the Mother Lode's actual retrieval, and Teisel's unfortunate entry into the spotlight as the camera crews were taping…
Roll frowned.
It had become a living nightmare from that point on. The news spread like wildfire, and now their small corner of the world had become the focus of worldwide attention. The small island of Calbania, where they had established their home base, has now become the center of one the most thriving centers of news reporters, bazaars, and seaports that the world had ever seen.
Stangely enough, even nature seemed to be working against the two families in their quest to save Megaman. The ocean tide, in a truly enigmatic fashion, had begun to recede greatly over the past few weeks. The beaches that had once made the island a relatively small landmass in the ocean had begun to expand, so much so, in fact, that the island had almost doubled in size since arriving there months earlier to send Megaman off into space. Of course, with the increase in size, that just allowed more spectators and onlookers, and has created a haven for all sorts, including mechanics and engineers and, most unfortunately, thousands of young men eager to get a glimpse of the two beautiful geniuses working on the unbelievable new flying rockets.
After the news had gotten wind of the purpose of the rockets, and the discovery that the notorious Bonne pirating family with their genius inventing daughter Tron, was aiding the already legendary Roll Caskett and her grandfather in creating the rocket, people had begun realizing that these two 17 year olds were becoming the cutting edge of mechanical engineering. It wasn't long for the endless line of suitors who claimed to be the next "Mr. Caskett", or the next "Bonne Pirate King" to appear.
However, money had started to get pretty low, and they realized that if they didn't come up with a plan soon, they might never get Megaman down…
In fact, she remembered with a start, when Tron had suggested piracy, she had almost given in… It was pretty scary at that point.
Of course, it also had brought the attention of the police, who in no way had forgotten the past transgressions of the Bonne family. However, Teisel, the crafty scoundrel, had developed an ingenious way of both keeping the "Feds" from arresting them, as well as financing the whole operation.
He told the police that if he were allowed to walk away scot free, with the rest of his family, he would not only pay back all the damages he had caused, plus the money spent trying to catch them. ("With INTEREST of COURSE!")
The police had allowed him one final chance to redeem his name. After all, he HAD helped to save the Sulphur Bottom's crew after the disastrous attack upon the vessel a few months previously by an unknown assailant. Thus, with Von Bleucher's strong political ties, Teisel had one chance to make back all the money that he had destroyed.
Roll toweled off her face and pulled the door open again, not quite ready to face what she knew was waiting for her outside.
The horrible, albeit clever, scheme that ended up saving everything.
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"Ladies and Gentleman out there in TV land! This is Teisel BONNE, legendary pirate extraordinaire, coming to you LIVE from Calbania Islandddd! AS PUNISHMENT for my WICKED deeds, I've decided to become a simple businessman, and pay back to YOU, yes YOU, all the LITTLE PEOPLE, all the money we have so wrongly taken! Yes, FINALLY we Bonnes have decided to walk the straight and narrow, BELIEVE IT or NOT! Our wicked ways are behind us and to show our good faith, we want you viewers in TV land to fly out here and help keep this dream ALIVE! We are bringing down the MOTHER LODE and we want you right there with us! Bring the family, bring the KIDS, bring those little doggies too, just make sure you keep them away from TRON!"
"YES, we here at the Allied BONNE/CASKETT Space Program want YOU to bring your talents, and your money…"
(…Tron hurriedly kicks him in the shin)
"Ow… right… Bring your BUSINESS, down here for international exposure. I declare myself MAYOR TEISEL, in the city where dreams BLAST OFF!"
Cuts to Rocket # 8 blasting off behind, catching the gleam of the sun in the camera lens
"LET'S DO IT!"
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Roll frowned even harder as she approached the escape hatch leading to another long day out in the hot sun.
Teisel's marketing scheme, although crass, was impossibly successful. So much so that in two short weeks, the island had become one of the most populated in the region, with an incredible assortment of junk stores, bakeries, and even comic book shops, depicting Roll, Tron, and Megaman in literary form. Teisel was able to pay for everything that he had owed, brought himself out of his own personal debt, and was single handedly able to finance the entire operation based simply on running the new island town. Although admittedly amazing, Roll was not pleased with the situation. She wasn't used to being in the spotlight, or had so much attention directed at her. She was daily pestered on her relationship status with Megaman, her plans with her new wealth that had accumulated from the press and TV exposure, as well as the royalties for all the patents Teisel had drawn up from her and Tron's work.
While they hadn't been thrilled with the idea, he had single handedly quadrupled the firepower of the police and military by selling them basic scraps of work like the machine gun arm and powered buster. Roll was slightly fearful, though, that if Megaman ever DID come back down that he would be really upset that she and Teisel had sold all of his equipment YET AGAIN. Roll was at least glad that Megaman had taken the Shining Laser weapon with him. The simple reason for this was because it still scared her with its power, as it had all those years ago when she first conceived it on Kattlelox Island. She was certain that the world was not ready for something of that devastating power to be out in the open. With the other weapons, although unable to truly grasp the full technological prowess in the designs, the police had paid handsomely for them, and Roll and Tron had become overnight successes. In fact, Roll and Tron were constantly bombarded by mechanics, saying they could help them achieve space flight, that they alone knew the true secret, and in the end Roll and Tron were unable to even take off their mechanical work gear in the hot sun for fear of being oogled at by young mechanical fan boys eager to see the two engineers.
"It's ridiculous" Roll blushed, and then smirked as she thought of Tron. Of course, being the diplomat that she is, Tron reasoned with them in a calm and composed manner…
"WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT? WE AREN'T CIRCUS CLOWNS OR SOMETHING! GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I SHOW YOU WHAT PAIN REALLY IS!"
They had laughed as they scattered. Afterward, however, Roll thought Tron seemed a little down, like she was thinking about something that had happened before… But the work continued on…
Roll shook her head to stop all of her reminiscing. It had been a tough couple of months, but she was pretty sure they still had a chance to get the rocket this time, and she was itching to try it out, to try, once again, to save Megaman!