I'd like to thank those who have been reading, and liking this story! I'm sorry it's starting off a bit slow. After I get a few more things sorted, we may finally be able to move on to the more...compelling parts of the story. If you have something to say about how long this more mundane part should continue, please feel free to tell me!

(I do not own the rights to Rockman, or any of the characters involved.)

In this chapter, Rock plays to much, the good doctor finishes a repair, Blues does some investigation, and we finally find out who that mysterious voice is.

Roll laughed, as she tossed a ball into the air, before falling into the grass. Rock ran towards her, sliding as he got near, before jumping and kicking the ball before it could hit his sister. They both cheered as the ball flew into the goal.

"Nice job Rock!" She laughed again.

"Thanks! You did well too!"

"I just tossed the ball!"

"And all I did was kick it!" He dusted off his clothes. Instead of his normal armor, though he hated to think of it as normal, he was wearing mostly human clothes. His shirt was a light blue, his shorts a darker blue, and his boots were dismantled into shoes. His hair ruffled in the breeze, as he helped his sister back to her feet.

"How many is that now?"

"Ten, I think. Or, wait, it was eleven."

"But you missed one!"

"But it's still eleven!"

"You didn't kick that one, that doesn't count!"

"Children!" Doctor Light's voice echoes across the field. "Come home for a minute, please!"

"Coming, Father!" Roll giggles, grabbing her brother's arm.

"Hey! Don't pull my arm off!"

"Hurry then, silly!"

"Ow ow ow! Let go Roll!"

"What is it, Father?" Roll smiled as Rock rubbed his arm.

Light couldn't help but smile as his children approached. He was so glad that they stayed with him. They meant so much to him. Yet he couldn't help but wish that his eldest son was with them as well...

"Father?"

"Doctor, are you alright?"

The two children looked very worried.

He brought himself back from his thoughts. "Sorry. Yes, I'm fine." He smiled, before waving for them to follow. He guided them to the lab, lifting up his latest project. "It took me a few days, but I finally finished." He held out the shield to them. "Would you be able to make sure he gets this?"

Rock nodded, gently taking it from him. "I'll make sure, Doctor."

"Thank you Rock."

"Father?" Roll hesitated for a moment.

"Yes, Roll?"

"Why can't you give it to him?" She paused again, flustered. "I mean, of course we'll get it to him! I just mean...um..." She cringed slightly.

Light sighed, placing a palm on her head. "Don't worry, Roll. I'm not offended. Your brother and I...we don't have a very good relationship."

"Only because he won't give you a chance!" Rock countered, clutching the shield closer.

"No, son. There's more to it than just that." Light sighed. "But I don't need to drag you two down. The sooner you go and give him the shield, the sooner you can go back to playing." He glanced at Rock. "As long as you have been taking rests as you should?"

Rock looked slightly nervous. "Uh..."

"We've been playing since we went outside, Father."

"Roll!"

"I need to tell him the truth, Rock!"

"It's just play, I don't see why it's so important..."

"You're solar powered, Rock." Light crossed his arms. "If you stay out there too long, and keep pushing yourself, then you are going to overheat."

"But-"

"No. You are going to give the shield back, and then you are going to rest before playing more. Understood?"

Rock looked at the ground, before nodding. "Yes, Doctor."

Light sighed. "Rock. I don't want you to think I'm punishing you. I just worry for you."

"I'm not that fragile..."

"I understand..." He hugged his children close. "You two are just the only ones I have left. Every other one has left the nest."

"But he still comes by..."

"He does not come to visit me, Rock. He comes by to see you."

"And sometimes me!" Roll piped up, feeling that she needed to let them know she was still there.

"But not me."

"And why not?" Rock grumbled.

"That conversation is for a different day." He let go, gesturing towards the door. "I have a feeling he's waiting for that shield, after all. You know how much he cares about it."

His children nodded, before leaving the room. He started tinkering with the table he rested the shield on, as his children ran for the field.

Blues stood on the roof, watching as his siblings ran off. He waited for them to be out of hearing range, before dropping down to the ground. He walked in quietly, making sure to check that Light was looking away, before making his way to his brother's room. He opened the door silently, glancing around. He nearly cringed. He didn't think his brother was serious when he told him he set up a bed for him, but it seemed that he was telling the truth. In the corner, there was there a small bed set up with a red blanket, and a yellow...headrest? He never understood human items...but he found the gesture strangely touching. Not that he would ever admit it.

"Hey, what are you doing in here?" That voice again, though it was quiet...

Blues spun around, raising his arm as it twisted into the cannon he relied on far to much. "I should ask you the same thing."

"He wants me here, okay?" The voice was slightly panicked. "I mean, look at me! There's nothing that I can do to him, even if for some twisted reason I wanted to harm him!"

Blues looked closely at the figure, only now noticing how small he was. And how...see through. "...What..."

"Yes, that response is fine, just stop pointing your cannon at me!"

"...What happened to you, Quick Man."

"You see, um...it's a long story. Can you just leave?"

"No."

"Well then, um, you're not going to understand what I'm about to say, so-"

"Quit running around the subject and explain, Quick Man."

"Could you at least lower your weapon?"

"No."

"Fine!" The small Quick Man grumbled, crossing his arms. "I'm a copy, alright? Rock made a copy of me when he defeated me, instead of just my power. I've been talking with him for a long time since. He recently tinkered with this thing so that I could actually, you know, have something like a body."

Blues felt disgusted, because of two things. The fact that this...copy of a Wily robot so easily referred to his brother by his family name offended him greatly. And... "So yet another copy that should be destroyed..."

"No! Don't do that! Come on, how is that fair! You have a body to fight with! I can't even shock you with enough electricity to be felt! I can't use my weapons without an actual body, and I wouldn't want to be able to fight anyway!" Quick Man clenched his fists. "Just let it go, alright?"

Blues heard steps down the hall. "Tell him everything is fine."

"Quick Man? Are you-" Light started.

"I'm fine, just...thinking loudly. Or, speaking loudly, I mean." He glared at Blues.

"Oh, alright. I...I thought..."

"Something wrong, Doctor?"

"No. Nothing, Quick Man. Don't worry."

Quick Man glared, as he heard the steps fade away. "He heard you, you know."

"I understand. And he won't again."

"Why do you always have to go hide by yourself? I was there when you were being repaired. Why can't you just learn to let it go?"

"Keep your mouth shut, and you might just live long enough to see that." Blues let his arm reform, before storming out of the room. He dodged past Light's view, moving out into the grass. He noticed his siblings sitting there, using his shield to block the sunlight. As much as he tried to avoid that sort of thought, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be able to actually spend time with those who were considered to be his family. But he didn't need the companionship. He needed his shield back.

At least, that was what he would claim.