Chapter 1 – Fallen Memories
"I'll be alright..."
Those words kept echoing inside Rockman's head during the following weeks. He couldn't take it. He couldn't accept it. He still wouldn't stand the fact that his sweetheart was gone. He didn't want to acknowledge the fact that the Roll he knew was gone forever. Rockman kept recalling that day. The day where the pink Navi's memories vanished from her mind, now reduced to a mere memory chip. Meiru insisted at the time in keeping all of Roll's previous memories, and to put try and put them back when she got better, because she couldn't delete her best friend's thoughts. He recalled the day when his Roll died…
-Flashback-
Rockman barely spoke; his low sobs didn't allow him. Between a few more sobs and sniffles, the blue Navi was able to pronounce himself for a few words, as broken up as he was then.
"... P-Please don't leave me, Roll-chan... Please don't go..." he pleaded towards her immobile form with a pained expression in his green eyes. He held her limp right hand with his both.
"... It's alright, Rockman..." the pink Navi had said, "... We will definitely… meet again soon..."
"… I-It just won't be the same..." he sobbed again, "I-I don't want you to go... I want you here…"
He shrugged his shoulders upwards in an attempt to try and calm himself, but failed. It had been a mere short minutes before she left his world. When it happened, Rockman fell to his knees and wailed his heart out. He heard someone rush into the room, but he paid no attention. He called out her name over and over again as he held her in his arms, and repeatedly demanded her to come back, to not leave him, denying the entire situation. He did not care about who saw him like that, so weak and vulnerable. Having just lost the most important Navi to him, he failed to notice anything else. As more as he pleaded for his father to do something, to wake her up, Yuuichiro couldn't do anything to help at that moment.
"Ikanaide…!"
-End flashback-
"Rockman…" A voice came from the outside of the PET. It was Hikari Netto, his younger brother. "Come on, Rockman. You do know that you are going to have to get out of there someday, don't you?"
But no reply came back. Rockman could hear his brother perfectly well but he didn't say anything back to him. Actually, he didn't say anything to anyone during the past weeks. He just sat in the darkest corner of his HomePage. The blue Navi locked himself in and cut off the video features and e-mail income alarms, so that nobody would see him inside. But Netto knew he was in there. It is his brother we're talking about. Ever since Roll's green eyes closed themselves to him and to the world, all Rockman managed to do was call out her name, over and over again, before entering in a state of shock. He had even stopped sleeping after a while. When he did, his dreams were constantly haunted with the memory of Roll. Moments he had spent with her, thoughts he had of her. Gazes they had exchanged, and… that odd kiss they exchanged between one another that time. It was such a sweet, yet, silly moment to him. It was no more than a clumsy accident, but even so, Rockman would never forget that time with his sweetheart…
-Flashback-
"Roll-chan?"
"Hm? Yes, Rockman?" Roll turned towards him with her usual sweet smile.
"Um, calm down, but..." he replied, trying to maintain the pink Navi at ease, "You have a…"
"Hm? A what?" the female was already beginning to panic as she saw her friend's nervous expression.
"Y-You have a bug-" he didn't have the time to say more.
"BUG!?" Roll quickly got up from the bench they were currently sitting on and began to wave her arms around her and above her head, to try and shake the bug away. But she didn't even know where it was in the first place, because she didn't let Rockman say so. "Get it off! Get if off! Get it off!" she could only cry at him as she flailed her arms around herself.
"W-Wait, Roll-chan…" Rockman had got up as well and tried to calm her down.
During the time that the female Navi was shaking her arms around nearly like a lunatic, he was trying to help her, and the little bug had already flown away from the two of them. When it was already miles and miles away from them…
"A-Ah?"
In her panic, Roll somehow tripped over on of the bench's foot and crashed against Rockman. This caused the two to end up tumbling down to the grass ground of that small unattended park. As the pink Navi fell on top of the blue bomber, she accidentally fell with her face very close to his, and a reflex from him was all there was left to do. Lifting his face up slightly to adjust his neck, Rockman connected their faces and their lips together in a rushed, but soft, kiss...
-End flashback-
"Come on, Rockman! Get out of there already!" Netto called out again. "I know you're in there. Come on out!"
"... Go away..." was the reply he got.
"Ah, finally an answer~! Now I can finally give you the good news!"
". . ."
"I just got out of the phone with Papa." Netto said with a cheerful tone of voice. "He said the repairs on Roll are all done~!"
Exactly what he needed to hear.
Rockman seemed to perk up by the time Netto said the word 'Roll'. Did he just hear that well? His Roll was finally going to wake up? If so, then what was he still doing there? He had to get there as soon as possible, faster than sound, if possible! The blue Navi got himself up right away and reconnected the video feed. His gaze shifted towards Netto in the same minute as showered his younger brother with several questions.
"When did he finish the reparations? How is she doing? When is he waking her up? What are we still doing here? Let's go, Netto-kun!" Rockman jumbled out at his NetOp.
"Ca-Calm down, Rockman, calm down. Papa also told me to inform you of a few things before we go down to Sci Labs." Netto shrugged lightly.
"Huh? What is it?" the blue bomber asked right away, taking a few breaths to calm down.
"Papa told me to tell you that Roll is a little different now." Netto began, putting a finger up.
"Different? How come?" Rockman questioned again.
"Papa said that Roll right now is as if she's starting a new life." The bandana boy continued. "And that she has no memories of her previous life for now. They're there, yeah, but she can't access them right now. She doesn't remember you or nobody from the group, only Meiru-chan because she's her net op." He explained, trying to remember everything he was supposed to say.
"I… I see…" Rockman looked down to the side. She really wouldn't remember him? Nothing at all?
"Papa also said that Roll might be able to remember everything in time, just not in a rushed way. It's like she has amnesia or something. It has to be done with baby steps. Do you understand?" The bandana boy finished the report.
Rockman nodded his head, looking somewhat sad to this news. She actually did forget everything about the two of them. He could still remember when she was healthy, when she would simply run up to him just to say hello and give him a happiness glomp.
"I understand... When will Meiru-chan get Roll-chan back from Sci Lab?" the male Navi asked, looking towards his little brother again.
"She's going today after school." Netto replied with a nod as well. "And the rest of the group will be there too. We're all going too to greet Roll when she wakes up. Like that, her very first memory is the whole group together again~!" Netto commented with a grin.
". . ." Rockman chose to remain quiet at that statement.
-FLM-
As promised, after the school day was over, everyone gathered up at Sci Lab to wait for Roll to wake up. Rockman was there as well, of course. Even though he knew that he was not to show any kind of affection towards the female Navi, she still wanted to see her, more than anything. He had missed her far too much. He missed every little thing they did together; the blissful 'Hellos' and the painful 'Goodbyes', all of it. He realized that he past weeks without her were more than lonely. That time away spent from her was dreadful, and he didn't want to go through that ever again. The time felt like long years for him, since he remained locked up inside his HP. The blue Navi had even gone to the point to neglect his duties due of his depression. But now he was finally going to see his dearest one once more. That should help his sadness go away quicker. Mr. Hikari addressed Rockman one last time before he started Roll's programs again. He opened a net-window that appeared in front of the blue bomber.
"Rockman…" the adult said.
"Yes."
"You know that you can't-" Mr. Hikari was interrupted before he could finish.
"Show any emotion. Yes, Papa..." Rockman's words made him shift his gaze downwards for a few moments.
"Alright then..." the window was closed. And the final buttons on the keyboard were pressed. "Program Roll EXE, initiation: start!"
In the Sci Lab's network area, a rush of different sounds could be heard. Then there was a moment of silence, then a new flow of sounds. That meant that there were programs rushing around, a.k.a., Roll's programs being started up. In a network-made waiting room, all the Navis were anxiously waiting for their friend to wake up, and for some reason, Rockman stood behind all of them.
"It's going to be okay..."
Those little words echoed in Rockman's mind as he heard the door in front of the group open. He took a step forward as reflex, but someone held his right shoulder, preventing him from walking further. He looked to the side, noticing that it was Blues. As that pink female figure he knew so well walked towards the center of the waiting area while rubbing her right eye, Rockman wanted to weep. She appeared to be a little sleepy, bit otherwise healthy. Everyone, both net ops and Navis, looked at Roll as she stopped, and the female Navi noticed she was being stared at as she yawned.
"Ara? Why are there so many people staring at me?" Roll asked, still rubbing her eye. "Do I have something on my face, Meiru-chan?"
The pink Navi looked up at the net-window where the net ops were and she noticed that the redhead was crying, and that Netto was trying to comfort her, which left the Navi puzzled. Rubbing her eye a bit more, she spoke again.
"Meiru-chan, are you okay? Are you sad?" Roll asked with a blink. She seemed to be... oblivious to everything that was going on.
The red-haired girl was able to put herself together and speak up.
"Y-Yes, Roll, I'm okay. I'm not sad, no. These are tears of happiness." She explained, wiping her tears away. "The whole group came to see you when you woke up, you know?" she added with a happier tone of voice.
"Ara...? The group?" Roll asked, tilting her head to the side, spotting everyone else standing before her again.
"Yes, Miss Roll. We are all your friends who came to visit you." a tall yellow Navi affirmed, walking up to her. "My name is Glide." he introduced himself with a formal bow.
"Ooh, I see. Hello, Glide-sama~!" Roll spoke cheerfully, just like she was before.
Another tall Navi ran towards Roll. This one was red and yellow and he sported a big design.
"De gutsu~! I am Gutsman, de gutsu~!" he introduced himself, making a wide smile.
"Hi there, Guts-chan~!" Roll greeted with a giggle, finding that Navi rather amusing.
Then, another Navi arrived. He was blue and much shorter than the other Navis. He was shorter than Roll himself.
"Hey! My name's Iceman. Do you remember me, Roll-san?" he asked.
Roll sat in her knees and looked at Iceman for a few moments. She then smiled and replied.
"... Yes~! You're Iceman. I remember you~!" she claimed with her smile. "I remember everyone~! From Glide-sama to Iceman-chan~! You look like a winter doll, Ice-chan~!" she commented with a brighter smile.
Iceman blushed slightly as Roll gave him a quick tight hug. She then stood up again and looked around for a moment, spotting two other Navis in the room. The crimson one was also taller than Roll and had long white hair. His eyes were covered with a dark visor, and she couldn't see his eyes. That fact puzzled her a bit as she walked over to them then.
"Hello there, Sir." she greeted with a wave of her hand. "Who are you?" she asked with a smaller, polite, tone of voice.
The crimson Navi turned towards Roll and crossed his arms as he usually did before he gave her a nod.
"Blues, Miss Roll." he said with the tiniest smile; serious, yet, polite.
The crimson Navi's voice rushed inside her head, and a flash of memory appeared before her, of the always serious and tight-looking Navi that was Blues.
"Ah, yes, I remember now, Blues-sama~! But, why are you always so somber with everyone?" Roll asked, puzzled.
"That's just the way I was programmed to be, Miss..." Blues replied with a solemn tone of voice.
"Oh, okay." The pink Navi didn't ask anything else, because she spotted another Navi.
He had around the same height as her, just an inch or two taller, and his plug suit was dark-blue with a light-blue stripe on both of his sides. His hair was spiked on his sides and his green eyes crossed ways with hers. It was Rockman. At first, Roll didn't react, she just looked at him, and he looked back at her. Everyone, both Navis and net ops, were waiting to see how Rockman and Roll would react to the sight of each other. Although he knew he couldn't hold Roll has close and tightly as he wanted to, Rockman's urge to hug her was still quite immense, but he was able to hold himself.
"Roll-chan…" he breathed out.
"Hello there! I think I don't remember you, Sir. Are you new in the group?" she asked, leaving everyone with a shocked expression.
How it hurt! To hear your beloved one saying she cannot remember you! Rockman shrugged and looked to the side, unsure of what to reply. He felt an urge to run away, but he held himself again and stood where he was. Upon not receiving an answer, Roll took a few more steps closer to him and held her hand upwards.
"My name is Roll. It's nice to meet you~!" she greeted, oblivious, always with her smile.
Rockman couldn't bring himself to react to this new Roll. He wanted to, but he couldn't. When he was about to start panicking, Glide arrived and helped him -them- out.
"Miss Roll, this is Rockman. You two were best friends before you lost your memory and were always together. I believe it is normal for you to not recall about him now, but it should come to you in time." Glide explained as he smiled to the pink girl and to Rockman.
"Oh, I understand~! Hello again, Rockman-san~!" the pink Navi still had her hand up and her smile as well.
"Eh... Y-You don't need to call me 'Rockman-san', Roll-chan..." the 'chan' part wasn't supposed to come out, but it slipped out of his lips.
Rockman gave himself a mental slap and held Roll's hand back gently, and for about two seconds, a few very thin electric flashes danced around Roll's body and her eyes changed. They got empty and a few flashes of light data ran by them, as if she was making a download. Another small memory appeared to her, but this time the memory was foggy and darkened. Roll could see that it was someone who was very close to her, but she couldn't place who it was. The memory seemed to be another Navi waving at her from afar, but who could it be? Rockman didn't even have time to get worried, because it was all so fast. Luckily, Glide recorded the electric flash in his own memory files. Roll then quickly blinked a few times and tilted her head to the side and smiled again to Rockman as she shook his hand.
"Okay, Rokku-chan it is, then~!" she giggled at the Navi's new nickname.
The blue Navi simply gazed at her without say anything else, same for everyone else.
'Rokku-chan'. Just like that, no emotion at all.
End of chapter 1
'Ikanaide' = 'Don't go'
AN: This chapter has been revised and edited properly with better grammar.
