Trigger of Change

Written by Aiyumi

Disclaimer: Rockman/Mega Man, as well as any other trademark that may be referenced in this fan fiction, are properties of their respective owners. I am just a fan and do not have any relations to said people/companies.

Chapter 3: The Baby

It turned out that Data was in the Flutter. After running into Geetz, he had gone straight back to the Flutter to hide. What if Geetz recognized him? Data wondered if he could convince Geetz that it was just a coincidence, or that he got separated from Trigger and had nothing to do with him anymore. But what about Rock? What if the Servitor associated him with Trigger? What if they decided to kill him!? Even though Rock was a skilled fighter, Data knew that he wasn't ready to face Mother Two again. Would it be better to find Rock and tell him to run? ... No, his appearance was considerably different from before, he acted very differently... He had changed enough. There was no reason for them to suspect anything.

"Ah, Rock..." Data sighed, hoping nothing bad was happening to his friend right now. He closed his eyes and began recalling his precious moments with Trigger.

X:X:X:X:X

When Data had opened his eyes for the first time, he was greeted by two figures.

"Hello," the taller one said. "Do you know who we are?"

The newly activated robot looked up the descriptions in his database. "Hmm, you're the Master, right?"

"We built you. Everyone calls me 'Master.' I programmed you," he said, not acknowledging Data's answer.

"And I helped with the design and features!" The other figure added.

Data turned to the person who had just spoken. "And you're my owner! First Class Purifier Unit Rockman Trigger, right?"

"Yep, that's right! But it's a bit too long, so..."

"Rock!" Data interrupted.

"Huh?" Trigger was confused.

"Can I call you 'Rock?' Can I?" The little monkey bounced in place.

"Why is that?"

"'Rockman,' so 'Rock' for short!"

"Err, but I'm not the only Rockman."

"But you'll be the only Rock! So?"

"Hmm." Trigger was considering it.

"What is he saying?" The Master asked.

"Huh? Can't you hear him?"

"No, I can't. I know you just wanted a backup device, but I ended up implementing some extra features. I made it so that his speech is encoded. Only your hearing components can decode it. In other words, only you can understand what he says. Also, all his files are encrypted, making it difficult for anyone to scan him."

"Oh, cool! But why did you do all of that?"

"I have an important mission for you, Trigger. When you carry it out, I want you to have Data with you. I hope you will never need all those features, however, something tells me that you might."

"Hmm, A mission?" Trigger gave a curious look. "What is it?"

"Now is not the time for it yet."

"Hey!" Trigger protested. "How come you tease me about it, then leave it hanging like that?"

The Master chuckled, ruffling the Purifier's hair. "We can't begin it now. Other preparations are necessary." His expression became serious. "One more thing, Trigger."

"Huh?"

"Remember. We built Data with no one knowing. He is our secret project. Absolutely no one should know of his existence. Is that clear?"

"A secret, huh? Interesting! Okay Master, don't worry. I won't tell anyone." He turned to Data, grinning. "Alright! I'm liking this secret mission thing already. Data, you can call me that. It'll be my codename from now on!"

"Okay!" Data jumped happily. "Then nice to meet you, Rock!"

"What is he calling you?" The Master asked.

The Purifier grinned again. "It's a secret!"

Everyone laughed.

"I'll be glad to back up your memories, to keep the important moments you don't want to ever forget!"

"Thanks! Let's start with this one right now!" Trigger spoke excitedly, eager to test the backup features.

That was the day when Data performed his first backup.


The Master had made a crystal where Data would be kept hidden, which Trigger began carrying like a pendant. Whenever he was at the Master's house, far from anyone's sight, Trigger would release Data and they would play together frequently. Thus, time passed.


Data awoke to the familiar process of being released from the crystal. This time though, he felt uneasy. Something was different. Where was he? This was not the Master's house. He looked around, taking in all the destruction. The chain necklace snapped and had fallen next to Trigger, who was lying on the ground with his armor shattered and sparking all over the place, and parts of his body missing or broken beyond recognition. Data's expression turned into horror when he saw his owner's state. "Eeeeek! Rock! What happened to you!? Where's the Master?"

"Da... Data." The Purifier spoke with difficulty. It was a wonder he could still talk. "The Master's... gone."

"Huh? Gone? Gone to where?" The little monkey wasn't grasping the situation.

"Gone forever... The Master... Died." Trigger had to spell it out.

"What!?" Data was shocked.

"Y-eah, a-and I will too, if you d-don't help me..."

Data hopped closer, looking at his owner in concern. "What do you want me to do, Rock?"

"I still have a mission to c... Complete. The Master asked me to do it... But my body is too da-maged, and can't be fi-fixed. The only way I see... Is to... Reset it... And wait until it regenerates fully."

Realization dawned on Data. The reset. That was a process exclusive to the more advanced Units based on the Rockman technology. They were built from extremely rare materials with regenerative properties, and were capable of regrowing their bodies anew from small cell samples of themselves, if the original Unit were broken beyond repair. The materials used to build them were so rare that a reset was preferred over trying to fix them. The catch was that they would lose their configuration, and their new body could take years to grow up fully, depending on how much material was available. In Trigger's case, not much could be reused, so he probably would end up as a small child. Data didn't like the idea. "You want to be reset?" He shook his head. "No, no, no, no. That'll take too much time! ... And you'll forget everything! You won't even remember what the Master asked of you!"

"That's why I... I want you to... Backup my memory... First." Since Data didn't move, he added. "Please be quick. If I shut down now... I won't come back..."

"... O-Okay." The little monkey hesitated, but decided to comply. He touched Trigger's head with his tail. "How much do you want to back up?"

"... As much as possible."

"I can't take too much. You need to be selective! I'll show you the memories and you pick what you want."

As Data skimmed through the important events in Trigger's memories, he quickly realized why Trigger wanted the reset performed. The process took a while. Trigger chose things that he thought would convince himself to carry out his mission. Mostly conversations with the Master about Terra, their situation on Elysium and the other Units' behavior. Everyone he befriended (including Geetz), and his attempts at befriending Sera. Then they got to the most recent memories, about the Master's final moments, and the fight that followed. Obviously, that was very important. However...

"Rock! There isn't enough space!"

"Hmm. What else... Is in there?"

"Let's see... There's everything you backed up after we played at the Master's house!"

"... Delete that."

"Huh? But then you won't be able to remember the times we played together!" Data protested. "I don't want you to forget that!"

"I'm sorry."

"But Rock!" Data made a hurt expression.

"Data, p-please." Trigger said in a tired voice.

"... Okay." The little helper finally complied.

The backup was completed.

"Now, the... Reset." His helper didn't move. "Da-ta...!"

"R-Rock..." Tears had begun to form in Data's eyes. "I don't... I don't want you to go away!"

"I'm not... Going anywhere." Trigger tried to comfort him.

"You won't be the same!" Data whined. "You won't remember anything. You won't remember me..."

"Data... I-I'm sorry. Just hold on to the memories... For me until... I reco-ver, 'kay?"

"Hum..." Data finally conceded. "Okay, I'll begin."

The little monkey put his tail on Trigger's head again, concentrated and accessed the Purifier's internal programs. He activated the reset sequence and Trigger's body began to dissolve into a bright light. "... Rock! I don't want to say goodbye to you!"

"I told you... I'm not going... Anywhere. Just pretend I'm going to sleep now... Alright? Then... Good night."

"Rock!" Data had begun to panic at the prospect of not being able to see his friend anymore.

"Data... Thank... You..." Were Trigger's last words before his body dissolved completely and turned into a bright orb of energy.

Only then did Data notice something he hadn't before. A small container was resting on the ground. He analyzed its contents. "Ah! It's the Master's genetic code! We need to hide this from Mother Two! So, where do I put this? Rock, Rock!" He called in vain. Trigger couldn't respond anymore because the reset was taking place, and whatever materials remained from his body were concentrating into a smaller form. "Ah, here goes nothing!" Data made his decision and thrust the container's contents into the orb of energy. The orb absorbed them immediately.

A few minutes passed. Data held his breath, hoping that the reset had gone right. When the light faded, where Trigger lay previously, was a small baby with brown hair and a light skin tone. He looked like a one year old Carbon. That scared Data. Aside from the spiky hair, the baby didn't look like Trigger at all.

"R-Rock?" The helper took a hesitant step forward.

The baby opened his green eyes and smiled, dissipating Data's fears. It was him...

"Hi, Rock." The little monkey crept closer and spoke in a low voice. "I'm your friend. My name's Data. You probably don't remember, but it was you who gave me this name. I like it very much." He kept speaking, while the baby sat up and looked at him curiously. "You always took care of me when I was inside your pendant. Now, it's my turn to take care of you."

The baby extended his hands and began touching various points on the monkey robot's head. When he noticed other objects around, he stopped inspecting Data and began grabbing fragments of rubble from the ground.

"No, Rock! That's not food!" Data had to take the object away when the boy threatened to put it into his mouth. The baby wailed in response, trying to take the object back. "Okay, but don't put it in your mouth, alright?" Data gently allowed the piece of rubble back into the baby's hands.

The boy turned the object over a few times, then dropped it to the ground, already interested in something else.

Data was thinking about what to do next. Where were they going to hide? How were they supposed to keep on living? It would be some twenty years until the Purifier's body regenerated fully. Would he have to raise Rock all by himself? That thought was scary... While he was distracted, the baby had already toddled a considerable distance away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Data hurried to catch up. "Gah!" He gasped. Just a bit farther, Sera was lying on the ground, unconscious. Her battle armor had deactivated. Most of it retracted back into her shell and couldn't be seen, but it was so damaged that many of its fragments got ripped off and didn't assimilate back into her system. They accumulated on the ground and added to the destruction on the scenery. Sera's body was also very damaged, although not as severely as Trigger's. The boy was going straight towards her! "No, Rock, not there! Come back here!" He made a huge effort to pull the boy away from her. "Listen. We need to get out of here and find somewhere to stay. Come on!" Data dragged him with difficulty while he cried, still not giving up on approaching Sera.

The baby was still crying when they got back to where the reset had taken place. Trying to distract him, Data handed him the empty DNA container. It worked. The boy gradually stopped crying and curiously examined, turned, opened, and closed the container several times. This went on until he got tired and began showing signs of sleepiness. Data laid him down and caressed his head until he fell asleep. The sun was setting and nightfall brought a bit of cold. The baby wasn't wearing anything and began to shiver. Data hugged him in hopes of giving him some warmth, but he soon noticed it wouldn't be enough. Trigger couldn't stay like that for long. Thinking on what to do and looking around, Data saw a town's lights in the distance. He decided to head there and see if he could find something that could be used as a blanket. It was hard for him to walk while dragging Trigger, so he decided to go there by himself. He hoped to be quick and that the boy didn't wake up while he was away.

That wasn't what happened, of course. It took a while until Data found a piece of cloth. When he came back, he almost panicked. The boy was not only awake, but Geetz, of all people, was standing there observing him, too! Data draped the cloth over the baby's body and tried to pull him away once more.

"Geetz, please stay away from Master Trigger!" Data heard Gatts' voice.

Oh no. They already know about us... Data thought. "Rock, we need to hide! Let's get out of here!" The little monkey dragged the boy with difficulty, while the Servitor Units backed away and began fighting each other.

The duo didn't get very far, though.

"Now now, what do we have here..." It was Mother One!

The helper robot used all his strength to keep them moving, while the boy just looked around curiously, wailing because Data wouldn't let him see anything.

"Rock, move...!" Data protested at his partner's lack of cooperation.

Yuna crouched to their level, then addressed the boy. "Hmm, Gatts told me that you reset your body and absorbed the Master's genetic code. You're looking rather cute now, Trigger. Well, not that you weren't before..."

The boy stopped his eyes on her when his name was mentioned.

"I wonder why you had to go so far..." Yuna ruffled his hair, earning a smile in return. She giggled. "As for you," she looked at Data. "I don't think we've met before. Gatts saw you perform the reset. Who, or what are you?"

"Aaah!" Data yelped when Yuna gently separated him from Trigger and began trying to scan him. While he squirmed against her, the boy took the opportunity to drag himself away. "Rock! Rock! Come back here! Rock!" Data called in vain.

Minutes passed. Yuna was unable to get past Data's encryption and gave up. That was when Gatts came.

"Mistress Yuna. I was successful in incapacitating Geetz."

"Good." She nodded.

Data was still in Yuna's arms, with his ears down. He stayed quiet, since there was nothing he could do besides waiting for her to give up.

"This is the monkey robot that was with Master Trigger." Gatts noted.

"Exactly. I could see that he's an external memory storage device. Do you know what this means?"

"Oh..." Her Servitor widened his eyes in realization. "Even after the reset, Master Trigger will be able to recover his memories and resume whatever he was doing. Could it mean that the Master's kidnapping was planned all along?"

"Probably," she said.

"So Master Trigger even predicted the possibility of a reset?"

"Trigger? I don't know. He didn't seem one to plan ahead like that. Chances are that it wasn't his plan."

"Then, whose plan would it be?"

Her expression darkened. "I tried to scan him," she indicated Data. "but his files are heavily encrypted. All I could get is that he was made using Elysium's resources. His encryption is very strong and his internal design is really complex. Trigger was neither a designer nor a programmer to begin with. There's no way that he could have created something as complex as this... No, there was only one person on Elysium with the skill level to do that."

"What? So you mean..." Gatts found himself astounded at Yuna's implication.

"Yes. This little robot could only have been built by the Master himself. The Master was a genius programmer and designer. He was the one who created us, after all."

"This... Cannot be..." The Servitor was still incredulous. "So the Master was the one to plan all of this? Was he planning to go against his own System? To throw his life away? For what purpose?"

"Well, I'm sure the answer is right here." She tapped on Data's head. "We'll have to wait for Trigger to recover and get his memories back. That's probably the only way for us to know, I'm afraid."

Data felt somewhat relieved. At least Yuna and Gatts weren't wanting to kill Trigger. Maybe he could trust them.

"Speaking of Master Trigger, where is he?"

"Ah!" Yuna widened her eyes. "Oh no. I was so busy scanning the memory device that I forgot about him! He still can't walk, so he couldn't have gone very far..."

The three went off searching. To Data's dismay, the boy was once again back at where they had started, trying to poke Sera awake, out of all things! Data froze when Elysium's Mother Unit half opened one eye and slightly turned her head towards the boy. The Purifier baby smiled, unaware of the danger he was in. It was a relief when her eye closed back and she went still.

Yuna was amused. "Oh, so even now you insist on trying to get close to Sera? I see. Hmm, she even looks more peaceful now..." Yuna approached and picked the boy up, getting some wailing as protest. "Don't worry. She'll be fine. Gatts and I will take care of her, okay?"

Data was surprised that this was enough for the boy to calm down. Yuna dealt with him much more easily than Data ever could. She wasn't called a "Mother" Unit for nothing...

A few minutes later, Yuna had put Trigger to sleep.

"What should we do now, Mistress?" Gatts asked.

"Observe how the Carbons are developing, maybe?"

"... The Carbons?"

"Yes. I remember Trigger saying that the Master had a habit of observing the Carbons. Maybe that has something to do with his final decision. It might be worth taking some time to observe them more closely." She turned to Data. "I'll be sealing Geetz and Sera away. We need to make sure they won't find you, at least until Trigger recovers fully. I still need to see if the conditions here on Terra are suitable for Trigger to develop properly. Sorry, I'll also have to seal you two in the meantime."

Data nodded in understanding.

Thus, Sera and Geetz were sealed on the island that later would be known as "Forbidden Island," while Data and Trigger were sent to Nino Ruins.


"Ah! What is this!?" An old man gasped in surprise when the seal crystal melted. "A baby and a... Robot? What's a baby with a monkey robot doing inside the ruins! ?"

The boy panicked at the unfamiliar place, but the old man's voice grabbed his attention.

"How did you end up here?" Silence. "Ah, you can't talk yet, can you?" He decided to try with the robot. "Where are his parents?"

Data shook his head.

"Huh? His parents are missing too?"

It was more complicated than that, but Data decided to leave it as a "yes" and nodded.

"So you don't have anywhere to go?"

Data confirmed.

The man thought for a moment, occasionally murmuring things like, "What should I do now? I can't just leave them here..." He turned to them again after some deliberation. "In that case... You could stay with me. I have a granddaughter. I'm sure she'd love the company."

Data's eyes sparkled with joy. It was the perfect opportunity for Trigger to carry on with his recovery. Could this be their lucky day?

"My name is Barrell. Barrell Caskett." The man introduced himself. "Do you have a name?"

Data tried to speak, but Barrell didn't understand, reminding him that only Trigger could understand him. He changed tactics and began jumping and gesturing as if writing in the air. He had to repeat that a few times until the man realized what he was doing. He spelt "D A T A".

"Data, is it?"

The monkey jumped happily. It was nice to know that they could communicate in some way.

"What about the boy? What's his name?"

Data thought of spelling "Trigger," but he remembered that they were supposed to be hiding from Geetz and Sera. It would be better for the boy to be called something else.

"He has a name, doesn't he?" Barrell asked again, since the answer was taking too long to come.

Data almost shook his head so that the man would choose a new name, but then he realized that he also would have to call the boy something else if the name changed... Or not. Yes, there was a way. His secret codename for the Purifier was going to be more useful now than he'd ever imagined. Data made his decision and spelt "R O C K".

"Ro... Rock? Is his name Rock?"

Data confirmed.

"Rock! Hey, that's perfect!" Barrell seemed very excited, as though he had found the answer to a riddle. "My granddaughter is called Roll. Meaning that both of them together will make 'Rock n' Roll'! Hahahaha!"

Data laughed too. He was glad to have the name accepted.

Barrell carried them out of the ruins and to the Flutter. After giving them some food and putting Rock to sleep, he left to buy proper clothes for the boy.

By the end of the day, a friend of Barrell's came to the Flutter bringing Roll. She had stayed with the girl while Barrell went on his dig. She handed Roll back and left.

"Roll, we have two new friends." Barrell pulled her by the hand. "This is Data. And this is Rock."

The nearly three year old girl looked at them curiously. Data began dancing, making her giggle. That also woke Rock up.

"Rock, this is Roll, my granddaughter." Barrell introduced.

"Rock..." Roll slowly approached, extending her hand to touch him. He held her hand and smiled. She smiled back. "Gramps, where his parents?"

"They're missing too."

"Like Roll?"

"Yes, just like you." Barrell answered. "So, he'll stay with us. From today, he'll be your little brother."

"Little brother?" Roll's eyes were filled with joy. She hugged Rock and laughed. He laughed too.


A few days passed.

"Rock, come on!" Roll called. "No, not like this." She shook her head when he began toddling. "Walk! Stand up." She went to his side and helped him up.

Roll kept trying to help him to stand on his feet. He fell many times, until he started crying and gave up. At that point, no one could get him to try again until the next day.

One month later, Rock managed to take a few steps without falling.

"Come on Rock, you can do it!" Roll cheered while she waited for him.

One step... Another... Another... So close... And Roll took two steps back, increasing the distance between them. That left the boy really frustrated and he almost gave up on the spot.

"Rock, what's wrong? I'm here! Just a bit more."

He made a face, refusing to move. His legs trembled, looking like they would give way at any moment.

"Oh come on! Won't step back again. Promise."

No reaction.

"Go! Go! Go Rock! You can do much better than that!" Data cheered.

"You can do it!" Roll smiled encouragingly.

Rock finally decided to move. One step... Another... Another... Another... When he was close enough, Roll stretched her arms and enveloped him in an embrace.

"Yeeeaaaah!" Roll grinned from ear to ear. "I knew you could do it!"

But then Rock lost his balance and both of them collapsed.


At first, Roll was sad because of her missing parents, but the more she focused away from that and concentrated on helping Rock, the more often smiles made their way into her face.

Data watched as the years passed and the children grew up. He played frequently with Rock throughout the boy's childhood, but it really was different. Of course Data liked Rock as he was now, but sometimes he missed Trigger's contagious cheerfulness.

"... Delete that." Data recalled Trigger's painful words.

"Huh? But then you won't be able to remember the times we played together! I don't want you to forget that!"

"I'm sorry."

Deep down, every time they played, Data held onto a small fragment of hope that the impossible would happen and Rock would remember something from the time they played at the Master's house... That he would recover some of the memories they didn't have a backup of... But it never happened.

X:X:X:X:X

"Data!" Roll's voice startled him and brought him back to the present.

"Aaaah! What? ... Roll! Rock!" He was relieved to see that they were alright.

"Data!" Rock spoke. "We almost turned the Sulphur-Bottom upside down looking for you! Don't tell me you've been here the whole time..."

Data nodded.

"I can't believe this..." Roll threw her arms to the side.

"Um, you see..." The monkey robot tried to come up with an excuse. "I ate a lot and got sleepy! But it was... Uh... So noisy there... So..."

"Hmm." Rock didn't look convinced.

Data continued. "A-actually, that's what you two should be doing too! It's time for children to be in bed! ... Oh wait, you're still wearing the party clothes! These look nice on you, but you should give them back, you know!"

"What?" Roll turned to Rock for a translation.

"He says he wants to sleep, and that we should sleep too. Well, he's right. We'll be heading to the next key ruins tomorrow, so we need to be rested. Let's give the party clothes back and go to sleep."

"Ah! The clothes!" Roll gasped. "I completely forgot about that!"


X:X:X:X:X

That night, Rock had a weird dream. He was in complete darkness, unable to move. In fact, he couldn't even feel his body. Suddenly, he began hearing voices.

X:X:X

First Class Purifier Unit, Rockman Trigger. Shell restoration status: 70%.

Time elapsed since restoration start: 14 years, 4 months

Time remaining until restoration completion: 6 years, 5 months

Entering program reconfiguration stage...

Searching for configuration files... ... ... None found.

Hidden file detected... ... ... Configuration file "MASTER FILE 01" found. Encrypted file. Decrypting... ... ... Analyzing... ... ...

MASTER FILE 01

X:X:X

"Hello. Do you know who I am?"

Rock was unsure. Was he supposed to answer? That voice was familiar somehow... He tried to speak, but nothing came out.

The voice continued. "No, you probably don't. You still weren't given any data about me. That is because, instead of having the Programmer Units do the default info dump into your database, I chose to fill you in the details myself."

Rock was utterly confused. Programmer Units? Info dump? Database? What... What's he talking about?

"Well then. Allow me to introduce myself. I am your creator. But above all, I wish to be your friend. I no longer have a name, as it was lost throughout all these years. Instead, now everyone just refers to me as 'Master'. I am a human. Sadly though, I am the only one remaining. My race was completely eradicated, wiped away by an old and outrageous computer system, that we now call the 'Elder System.' I was able to escape to a colony in space, along with a group of other humans. Elysium. Our paradise. Our only hope. The place where we were free from that dreaded computer program. I built my own computer system that would create a suitable environment on Elysium, and also hold off the Elder System on Terra. This is now called the 'Master System'. For many years, my friends lived here on Elysium with me, helping me to run the System. When we concluded that the situation on Terra was under control, they went back there to take a closer look. I stayed behind to monitor the System, and it was a good thing I did so, I guess. We had not predicted what would come next. We got too used to Elysium's environment, and we were no longer able to withstand the conditions on Terra. My friends all died, making me the only human remaining..."

END OF FILE

X:X:X:X:X

Rock woke up. He began trying to make sense of that strange dream, but them his alarm clock beeped, reminding him that the day reserved a new adventure for him. The dream was pushed to the back of his mind to give place to more important matters. He would drop by the Sulphur-Bottom one more time, and then they would be off.


X:X:X:X:X

*Tap tap tap*

Sera knew she was dreaming. But why did it had to be about that event? It was the most painful day of her entire life. First because of the loss of the Master, then because the battle against Trigger. That Purifier had gone too far. His apparent friendliness towards others... Could it have been just a ploy, a façade to make everyone underestimate him? At that moment, Sera was convinced that this was the case. The climax had to happen right when they were "conveniently" at a shortage of Purifiers, too. He had gotten close to the other categories' Units just so they would help him, then he went and killed the Master! That was unforgivable! And after all that, he still insisted on making small talk and smiling at her mockingly. She couldn't stand it. Trigger was clearly an Irregular, and needed to be terminated. He should have been terminated a long time ago, before it even had a chance to come to that. Geetz was down. Yuna was reluctant to give her the keys, saying that they should talk to Trigger and try to understand what was going on. But Trigger was an Irregular. Sera had no reason to talk to him! Then what? She was alone. It was up to her to protect the System. She was the only one that could do it. Sera was consumed by rage and fought with all her might. It was a hard battle. She couldn't use her full power while outside of Elysium. But in the end, she managed to do it. She dealt the final blow and made him shut his mouth at last. However, he was no average opponent. He proved to be very strong. In the end, her armor was next to useless and her body was seriously damaged as well. Her consciousness didn't hold up and she passed out. That was the setting of her dream. She was lying on the ground with pieces of her shattered battle armor scattered all over her body and the ground around her. Her entire body ached intensely and she didn't dare to move.

*Tap tap tap*

What? Sera thought as she felt soft small hands gently tapping on her head.

*Tap tap*

As painful as it was, she half opened an eye to see what was happening. What she saw made no sense whatsoever. A Carbon baby was kneeling next to her, precariously draped in a piece of cloth. At first he looked at her worriedly, then smiled in relief noticing that she had awoken. Something was familiar about those vivid green eyes, but she couldn't place it. The only thing she was sure of was that they were crystal clear like a river with pure waters, and had no hidden intents or purposes. What he showed towards her was care, pure and unconditional. That succeeded in soothing her and easing her pain a bit. It still made no sense, though. That pure and innocent figure was so out of place in the middle of that much destruction. Where had that Carbon baby come from? And why was he the only one there to give her comfort? Those questions went unanswered because unconsciousness took her away once more, leaving her to wonder if it had been just a dream or if it had really happened.

X:X:X:X:X

"Ah!" Sera jumped awake at the sound of a knock on the door.

"Mistress Sera?" Geetz looked at her.

"It was nothing." She quickly recomposed herself.

Geetz glanced at the door, then back at her, awaiting her decision. She nodded and the Servitor let the person in.

"Good morning." It was Rock. He was wearing casual clothing like he had on the other day. "I just came to say that I'm heading off to the ruins with the next key. Rumors are that the island is being attacked by pirates, so it may take a while if I run into them. Huh?" He noticed something wrong with Sera. "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"I-it is fine. I was having a strange dream anyway," She said, rather calmly for someone who tended to strongly dislike having her sleep interrupted.

That action surprised Geetz.

"Are you okay?" Rock took a step forward and looked at her in concern.

"... Y-yes." She answered, transfixed by his green eyes.

He wasn't quite convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." She spoke more firmly this time.

He still insisted. "If there's something I can do..."

"Yes, there is." She interrupted him. "Stop worrying about insignificant details. Only focus on what you have to do and nothing else."

He considered her words. "... Hmm, haven't you said something like that before?"

Sera didn't recall ever saying such a thing to him. "It does not matter. Anyway, this is the kind of thing you should stop worrying about."

"Okay, okay. I'm leaving. I'll come back as fast as I can." He gave her a familiar smile, then left saying an even more familiar "Then, see you later!"

Back alone with Geetz, Sera couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. More specifically, that look of worry Rock had given her. It was exactly the same way as the baby from the dream had regarded her. Who was that baby? What was he doing there? Was it all just a dream, or was it real? Sera shook her head and decided to dismiss that thought, as those were the kinds of details she shouldn't be worrying about.


"I'm going." Rock walked past Gramps, who was alone in the room.

"Wait, Rock." Barrell put a hand on the boy's shoulder and stopped him. "There's something I wanted to tell you." He pulled a chair and motioned towards it. "Please, sit down."

Rock did as asked, a bit scared by the seriousness in Barrell's face.

"I knew this moment would come. The moment for me to tell you this... Well, it's about you. About how I met you. I always said that I had found you as a baby, but I never told you where." The man breathed deeply, then continued. "The ruins with the next key... The Nino Ruins..." Another pause. "It's actually the place where I found you, Rock."

Rock's mouth was agape. He had thought the island's name was familiar somehow. Now that Gramps mentioned it, he remembered. It was actually the place indicated in Barrell's notes about his discovery!

Barrell continued. "The ruins are usually closed. I don't know why they were open that time. I only know that I couldn't resist and entered, not wanting to waste the opportunity. In one of the rooms near the entrance, I found a crystal. It melted when I touched it, and you and Data were inside. I decided I couldn't just leave you two there and took you home. I even checked the ruins again later, and they were already closed. It was strange, but it couldn't have been a dream because you were with me."

Rock didn't know what to say.

"Rock. I have no idea as to how you ended up there. But since you are going to those ruins, you could take a look for yourself. Maybe you'll find something interesting... Some hint about your true parents, who knows? Maybe they were also Diggers and got separated from you inside the ruins or something..."

They stayed silent for a bit, until Rock finally spoke. "Um, Gramps? Thank you for taking me in. I'm very happy to be part of your family."

"We're really happy to have you with us, Rock. You always brought us many joys. You know? At the time I found you, Roll was very sad because her parents disappeared. It was hard to get her focus away from that. She cried a lot. I didn't know what else to do. Then you came, and she began doing whatever she could to help you. That's what brought back her confidence and her smiles. And look at you now. All grown up, and a very skilled Digger. You explored Forbidden Island, a mission that Bluecher and I and many other veteran Diggers have failed. And right now, you're collecting the keys to unlock the greatest treasure in History! I'm really proud of you, Rock!" Barrell patted Rock on the back. "Well, speaking of which, you have another key to collect. I shouldn't be delaying you too much, right?"

Rock stood up and nodded with determination. "Gramps, once more, thank you. I'll be going now."

"Please be careful."

Rock nodded again and left.

He met Roll in the Flutter, inside the engine room. Roll, he thought and recalled his talk with Gramps. Roll had helped him for as long as he could remember, and still did tirelessly to this day.

"Ready, Rock?" She asked energetically.

"Yeah!" He nodded, with confidence showing in his face.

"Then, here we go!" She started the engines and the Flutter took off.


It was a chaotic day for Rock. He had to protect Nino Island from a pirate named Glyde and his gang of Birdbots. The pirate retreated, likely going to a base in Calbania Island. The Guildmaster promised to give him access to the ruins if he went to the base and stopped the pirates, so that was what he had to do. Once he reached Calbania Island, he infiltrated Glyde's base with help of the twins Appo and Dah, whose sister Shu had been captured by the pirates. Rock defeated many Birdbots, rescued the girl, and escaped the base which the enemy had set to self-destruct. Back at Nino, he had a run in with the boss pirate himself, having to fight and buy time while Roll fixed the island's special weapon, and that sent Glyde away. After that, the Guildmaster kept his promise and let Rock enter the ruins. Rock was very tired, so he got a good night of rest and only went to his dig on the next day.

The ruins were full of puzzles and controls that filled the rooms with water and limited Rock's movements. After what seemed like hours destroying Reaverbots and struggling with the water filling controls, he finally found the second key. He took it and made his way back. However, right at the entrance, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to steal the key from him, was a man named Klaymoor, the partner of the guy called Bola who fought him for the first key in the previous dungeon. They fought. Rock won, and that tiresome dig was finally over. Rock breathed deeply and gave a deep sigh as he grasped the second key in his hand.

"Rock, you did it!" Roll said excitedly through the radio.

"Yeah, finally... Now I just need to get out of here... Huh?" He was about to leave through the entrance door when something on the farthest wall caught his attention.

"Rock, where are you going?" Roll asked, confused.

He stopped in front of the wall. "Roll, are you getting any readings from this wall?"

"No. It's a dead end."

"Hmm. Ah!" When Rock touched the surface, it split in two and opened like an automatic door. It was totally unexpected and he almost stumbled to the other side.

"Wow, it was a door!" Roll was also shocked. "My radars didn't p...ck an...ing! Rock? Rock? C...n y... ...r me? I'm ...osing ...ignal! Rock! R...ck! ..." The radio went silent.

"Roll!" Rock called. No response.

Rock took a look at his surroundings. He stepped forward cautiously, with his Buster at the ready in case a Reaverbot decided to attack. It was in spacious rooms like those that bigger "boss" Reaverbots tended to appear, so it wouldn't have been surprising if he had to fight one there. He advanced slowly... And what really surprised him was that... Nothing happened. "Huh? What's this?" He noticed something on the ground and crouched to inspect it. "Paper?" It was a folded piece of paper. What was something like that doing inside those ancient ruins? It didn't look old, so maybe it was a note from one of the Diggers who had entered there recently? Rock had the feeling that he was getting into something he shouldn't, but in the end he unfolded the paper. A gentle click sounded when something fell from inside the fold. It was a broken chain necklace. "Huh...? A necklace? What... Ah!" Rock's eyes widened when he looked at the paper again. It indeed seemed like a note, or maybe a letter. Only, it was in ancient writing, and just like that time on Kattelox, he was able to read it. Rock thought of stopping himself, but before he could, he was already reading.

"Hello.

It's been a long time, huh? It looks like destiny is dragging you deep already. You are at the second one, am I right? Whatever path you choose, you certainly will need those keys, so go ahead. I won't stop you. If you prove to be able to get past security and collect them all, then hopefully it means that you are prepared for anything. Well, there's not much that I can do now, so I wish you good luck.

Kindly,

Yuna"

Rock was intrigued. It looked as if that message was meant for him, even mentioning the keys and the fact that he was there for the second one. However, the letter wasn't over yet.

"PS: I don't know if you remember, but that necklace is yours. It's broken, but it's yours. I figured it was a good time to give it back.

PPS: I can't wait to meet you in person, to see how much you have changed! From the way things are, I feel that our paths might be crossing again soon. So, Trigger, see you around!"

Rock's eyes widened. He dropped the letter as soon as he saw that name on the last paragraph. Trigger. That message was meant for Trigger, not for him... Unless, like Juno, that person also thought he was Trigger. "This can't be right. This is a mistake..." He murmured to himself. There was no way that he could be this "Trigger." His name was Rock Volnutt. He was with Gramps and Roll for as far back as he could remember. His life had started like anyone else's, as a baby. Gramps found him, and... "No..." He whispered as he recalled the talk with Gramps.

"The ruins with the next key... The Nino Ruins... It's actually the place where I found you, Rock. ... In one of the rooms near the entrance, I found a crystal. It melted when I touched it, and you and Data were inside. ... I have no idea as to how you ended up there. But since you are going to those ruins, you could take a look for yourself. Maybe you'll find something interesting..."

"No!" Rock threw the paper far away. "I'm not Trigger. I'm Rock. Just... Rock..." He was trembling. His voice got weaker with each word he spoke. He retrieved the chain necklace from the ground, ready to throw it as well, but he didn't get to do it. Holding that necklace felt surreal. There was something familiar about it. A special meaning. A secret mission. Something from long, long ago... "No..." His voice kept failing, and he was unable to stop the tears that formed and rolled down his face. He stayed there until the tears stopped, then headed back, and unconsciously pocketed the chain necklace.

As soon as he came out of the room, his radio's signal was back.

"Rock! ... Rock!"

"R-Roll?"

"Rock! Thank goodness..." Roll sighed in relief. "What happened in there?"

"I... I don't know. I think there's no signal in there."

"Huh? ... No, I mean, what did you find there?"

"Ah... The room was big. I inspected it. No Reaverbots or anything. I just found... A broken chain necklace. That's all." He had never told anyone that he could read the ancient writing. He didn't want to believe it himself and refused to give any detail, even to Roll.

"Hm? Strange. Maybe it was lost by some Digger that ventured there before?" Roll theorized.

A snippet from the letter involuntarily appeared in his mind. "I don't know if you remember, but that necklace is yours." And he felt like crying again.

"Rock, are you alright?" Roll asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." He answered as firmly as he could. "I'm just tired. Really tired... I can't wait to be back in the Flutter to take a good rest."

Roll was completely unaware of the turmoil in his mind, so his explanation was enough to convince her.


It was nighttime when Rock arrived back in the Flutter. He took a shower, had dinner to recharge his energy and threw himself on the bed. He wanted to sleep and forget everything about that strange room, or maybe wake up and find out it was just a dream. Luckily, that night, he had a very happy dream where he ran and laughed, playing with Data in a beautiful garden at the back of a big house. Whoever entered his room would see that he slept peacefully, and had a wide smile on his face.


A/n: at the end of the first game, Data says he was created by Trigger to hide the memories from Mother Two, but not much more info... In this story, Trigger had a hand in it, but who did all the heavy work was the Master :P .

About Rock and Roll's age. they're the same age in the games, but in this story, Roll is a bit (almost two years) older than him. I needed the disappearance of Roll's parents to happen first, so that Rock's arrival would have more impact on Roll's life (with her focusing on helping him and all that, while she tries to get over what happened to her parents), something important for this story, and for this chapter.

The part about the reset is probably the most serious scene with Trigger until now.

I think it's a pity that the bit about Rock's discovery isn't expanded anywhere. It's talked about only in Barrell's notes, and you can play the whole game without ever reading them, and miss it completely. At most, there's a very short mention of Barrell's reaction when he found them, if you talk to Data on Elysium (I think it's missable too, if you don't ask Data). No one else ever talks about it, Rock doesn't react to it, and there's no indication of anything in Nino ruins either... It's like it's only for the player to know, not mattering to any of the characters at all (including Rock, even though he seemed so troubled at the end of the first game because of the mystery of his origins).

For this story, I'm considering that on Elysium, Trigger had the appearance of a young adult, nearly 22 years old by human terms. After his battle on Terra, his body was reset to a one year old toddler. So, considering the time, at around 15 years old (14 years later), his body would be more or less 70% "restored" to the way it was before, with 6 years and a few months to go until he turns 22.

Also, Yuna is so fun to write. ;)