A/N: Hello, my beloved readers! As promised, here's my next chapter, delivered to you in a timely fashion! And, as I promised Ian, I've chosen to put him in this one! But first, I'd like to include another guest; Drake "Sonic" Emerson!

Drake: Hello.

Me: This is Drake, the main character in my next story. As you could probably tell from his nickname, it's going to be a Sonic the Hedgehog fic.

Sonic (Drake): Hedgehog? What are you talking about? I'm a human.

Me: *Big, innocent eyes* Oh, nothing. Don't worry, I don't *cough, cough* plan on doing anything to you that involves your species. Now, if you could please take care of the disclaimer?

Sonic: *still suspicious* Reaper here doesn't own nor is he affiliated with Mega Man. *turns toward me* If you so much as breathe wrong, I will redefine your life as living pain…

Me: Oh, don't worry, you'll be fine. You can go now.

*Sonic leaves*

Onwards!!

(btw, I returned the speech to it's original form. I found it didn't work in the last chapter, so I switched it back for this one. I'll revise that earlier chpater when I finish this story, because by that time, I'll have revised the entire thing.)

Year 1225 A.W., June 5, Demeter's Southern Hemisphere

I got up out of bed, ready to question Sara. "Hey, Sara. I had another one of those dreams, and I wanted to ask you about it." I recounted the events of the dream. "I have reason to believe, from how the people addressed my dream self, that I was either X in the dream, or a ranking general in his fleet," I said as I finished.

I see. You said I was mentioned in this dream of yours? I said, "Yeah, and in the first one, you actually appeared, saying something about finding a 'possibly inhabitable planet'." I felt a touch of surprise from her. Really? Well, I guess that answers one question from my past. Perhaps I was the one who found Demeter? Hmmm... But what's even stranger is that part of your dream where the General mentioned something about something being installed into the ship's core prior to them finding Demeter. But what could it be? Did the General mention anything in your dream? And to answer your unspoken thought, I agree, these dreams are probably from my Archived memories.

"No," I replied, "I woke up before he could mention anything." I got up and got dressed while she thought-spoke to me. This is odd. Well, We'll have to keep all this in mind, in case your dreams keep coming. I'll start making notes in my files, and I'll also start recording our conversations. "Good idea," I told her, picking up my backpack and going down stairs for a quick breakfast before school.

I sat down at the table and greeted my parents "Mornin' Mom, Dad." Mom and Dad greeted me likewise. Mom said, "So, I heard you and your new friend went on a date. How'd it go?" I said, "Mom! It's not like that! Besides, how'd you hear that she was even here?" She replied, putting a plate of waffles on the table. "Your father told me about her, first of all, and second, I heard from a neighbor that you left on your new bike for a little while, and came back with a girl on riding with you! A girl with the same description as the one Anthony gave me. Are you two going out?"

"What!?" I exclaimed, "No! We did go to a movie, but only because we were bored! Besides, it's not what you think. I just wanted to invite a friend over, and when I was going to pick up the phone, it was her, asking if I'd like to go to lunch with her, so we could get to know each other, and..." I paused, trying to think of how to continue the lie. I couldn't tell them of my existence as Mega Man, obviously, but I wanted to give them something that was at least PARTLY true. "So I offered to make her lunch here, mostly as an excuse to try out my new bike, because she lived on a ranch a considerable distance from here. After we ate and talked for a bit, I asked if she wanted to do anything else, because she was home alone when I picked her up, and she suggested a movie."

Mom said, "Okay, okay, I was just teasing. I didn't need a ten-minute summary of your actions." Mom had a laughing smile on her face. I felt Sara give a giggle. "What?" I spoke in my head. Oh, nothing. It's just, methinks thou dost protest too much... After all, I could 'feel' your heart rate, and I can tell you're getting just as defensive and embarrassed here as you were when around Maria. I can also tell you're thinking of her, even now.

"What!? Am not!" Okay, if you say so. She sent the mental projection of her rolling her eyes. "So, Rock," Dad began, "How do you like your new bike?" I took a bite of my so-far-untouched waffles, and saud extravagantly, "It'sh bettah den I could've dreamed." I rolled my eyes, and made a prostrating motion to further illustrate my point. "I'm glad you like it," said Dad. Now, I expect you to take care of that bike, you hear."

I said, "Oh, you'll never have to worry about that Dad. I think I'll continue riding the bus to school, though. I don't think I want to give up riding with my friends just yet." Mom smiled, obviously pleased that I was making friends. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Well, time to go.

I picked up my backpack and walked to the bus stop, asking Sara questions all the while. "Sara, what's Hibernation Sickness?" Hibernation Sickness is, or rather was, a term used as a side-effect of prolonged exposure to what was called the Cryo-Bay, a place on Human ships where Humans were put into a sort of sleep or stasis, either for rest or for long journeys in which the FTL (Faster Than Light) Drave was engaged, in which case, they needed to be kept still, to become a part of the ship so they could survive traveling at such speeds, while the ship AI took over most of the systems. But there was a catch -- in Cryo-Sleep, your body is frozen, but so is your mind. The mind is very complex, and often, because you were frozen, your body would never age, and neither would your mind. When you woke up, it would've been as if you slept for seconds rather than months.

Hibernation Sickness occurred when you were subject to the Cryo-Stasis for a period longer than three months. The cold would get to your brain, and you would recieve what some humans sometimes called Mental Frostbite. Many things could once you woke up -- assuming you ever did -- the cases recorded on this subject included many side-effects ranging to severe bouts of amnesia that could either temporarily, or perhaps even permanently, eliminate months and even years of memory, there was a deterioration of certain motor functions, and even mental deterioration.

Scientists had even speculated, before the evacuation of Earth, that Hibernation Sickness could also apply to muscle tissue, and bone structure, and there were such accounts, but the victims of such physical abnormalities usually recovered within a few days, and the cases in which Hibernation Sickness was mentioned at all were few, as Humans and Reploids alike were almost always released from their individual Cryo-Chambers on time. It has been accounted that Reploids could get Hibernation Sickness too, but due to being 75% machine (on average; sometimes more or less organic parts were added to them during development), the effects on them were never serious, and never lasted for more than a few weeks. Does that answer you question?

"Yes, thank you Miss Encyclopedia," I said playfully. Hey, you asked. She gave me the mental equivalent of a shrug. It had been a few minutes; the bus must be running late. "Okay, new question: you once asked me how long you were buried underground with the ship. I told you over 3,000 years, by our reckoning. But that's just it: It was by our reckoning. So, I just wanted to know: On Earth, how was time recorded?"

On Earth, there were four seasons; Summer had warm weather, and went from the months of May to August; Fall was when the weather began to cool, and happened during the months of October and November; Winter began towards the end of November, and it waas all mostly cold weather, plants and animals either died, hibernated, or migrated to warmer areas, and progressed into the New Year, where it ended during early February. Spring occurred until after April, and the plants and animals of the cooler regions returned at this moment. Then May came and started the process over again.

Earth had 12 months and a 365-day year, during which it mad its revolution around the sun like the other planets did (though not at the same rate, which affecting the amount of time on each planet), and there were 24 hours in each day, 7 days a week.

"Wow. Really?" I asked. "Here we have 396 days in a year, with 13 months, 7 days a week, 26 hours a day." Really? Well that IS interesting. What's your extra month?

I replied, "It's called Harvest, and rightly so; agriculture is the largest indusrty on our planet, with every Agricultural Corporation, or Agri-Corps, making their harvests on the same month, as it's the month with the best weahter. On the Zeus continent, anyway. I hear times of Harvest vary in different parts of the world, though I haven't recieved confirmation on that. Those of us who have parents working in the Agri-Corps get a few days off to help out with the big harvest, and the last few weeks of Harvest we have off to celebrate the Day of Landing, the Day of Lost Souls, and the Day of Reconstruction. The Day of Landing commemorates, in The Elder's words, 'the day when the Fourth Warrior, X, brought his holy vessel to the rich soils of Demeter, whose generous bounty was waiting with open arms.'

"Again, according to The Elder, the Day of Lost Souls is a day marked for 'Those who died in the Exodus of X's landing, among whom was a Favored One, Axl, a Knight who served in His cause, and we must grieve for them.' The Day of Reconstruction celebrates not just a day, but many years of rebuilding on the part of Mankind, who proceeded to....um...." I paused, trying to remember The Elder's preaching. "'Reach into the life force of the planet, using the Holy Prehistori Relics X had left for man, and with them, created Unity and Society, which they used to...' He continues on, but basically it had something to do with the Rebirth of Mankind."

The bus finally arrived. Well, that sure is an interesting and complicated belief system. This Elder of yours sound more like a priest than a governing ruler. "Yeah," I said, stepping onto the bus, and sitting down with Ian and Maria in the back, "But he seems to have done well in both roles so far. I mean, so far we've had no war or violence, except the criminally insane and the odd person who's prone to violence. But, then again, there are all kinds of undesirables, which is the only reason weapons ever existed on Demeter, aside from protecting prospective Settlers in the wilderness."

Oh. I greeted my friends. "Hey, Ian. Maria." They greeted me in kind. "What's up?" asked Ian. "Oh, nothin' much," I said. "Maria and I had a talk yesterday as to what kind of uses I could put my, er..." I looked around the bus to make sure no one was listening in, leaned closer to them, and whispered, "...Special powers to." Ian nodded. "Yeah, I heard about that, and I would like to point out that I, for one, agree with Maria. After all, if you have such power, why not put it to good use and use it for the people, right?"

"Right!" Maria put in. I nodded. "Right. And I know that's what's most important, it's just that..." I leaned even closer. "It could be very...er...dangerous for me if I choose to expose myself now. So, what do you guys suggest?" Ian said, "Not now. There's too many people." Then, "Shh!! Someone's coming!"

I turned around, and sure enough, here comes Frank Nelson with a bandaged nose. I could've sworn I told him to stay away from me.... I hope he doesn't say anything in front of my friends. Ian opened his mouth. Frank held his hand up. "Shut up. I came to talk to Rock, not you." Ian's jaw remained open wide with surprise. That was the first time he ever used my name correctly, and without insult. Also, if I wasn't mistaken, it almost sounded as though he said it with, of all the weirdest things...respect...

He turned to me, and held up his hand again. "Before you say anything, I still remember what you said, and I've kept my promise, and don't worry, once I'm finished talking to you I'll leave, if you want me to, and you'll never be bothered by me again." At this comment, Ian closed his mouth, but his eyes widened even more unti I thought they were going to become too big for his face and pop off. "After all," began Frank, as he gestured to his bandaged nose, "I certainly don't want to ever get one of these again."

Now Ian's jaw popped back open. Maria looked just as surprised, though she barely knew who this guy was. They turned to face me, shocked. I tried not to look at them, but continued to look Frank in the eye as calmy as I could. He smiled, somewhat good-naturedly, or at least, I assume it was a smile, but since his nose was broken, it came out as a sort of grimace.

"You know," he began, "When you first came here, I thought of you the way everyone else saw you; a stuck-up rich kid who needed to be taught a lesson in manners. While I may be what you might call a bully, and I did follow those instincts for a good part of my life, I'll admit, if you ask any kid here, you'll know that I've been pretty quiet for a while, my main target being Ryder, because he doesn't know how to let go of a grudge. I bullied him in Junior High, see... Those were good times..." He took on a distant look, as if looking fondly on old memories.

He returned his attention to me. "I still 'bully' (really a harsh word...) kids today, but what many kids may not know about me is that I'm a really good judge of character. If anyone actually paid enough attention to my actions during my Sophomore and now, the better part of my Junior year, they'd notice I'd only been bullying certain kids. Most of these kids were either people who needed a lesson in humility, or kids who had chosen to bully others. In return, I'd bully them as punishment. I'd guess you could say it was an attempt to try and make up for what I've done, but I guess..."

Another pause. He looked at the ground. "Maybe I did more harm than good..." He returned his gaze to me. "Anyways, I just wanted to say I misjudged you. Like I said, before I thought you were just a stuck-up rich kid needed to be taught a lesson in humility. But I saw something in you that day, when you did...this...to me." Again, he gestured to his bandaged nose. "Something I didn't see when I first met you. You have the potential for great things, Rock. I just pray that whatever you decide to do with that potential, you do what's right.

"I also wanted to say that I've been blind and arrogant, and....." He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for something, looked me square in the eye, and said the last thing I would ever excpect out of him;

"And I'm sorry."

I let out a small gasp, which was, luckily, masked by a collective intake of breath from the entire bus, save the driver, a slightly confused Maria, and Ian, who could only contribute by giving a barely audible squeak. Frank offered his left hand. "And...umm...." he looked a little embarrassed. Unable to contain himself any longer, he wrenched his gaze away from me. "And I'd like it if we could start over, if you don't mind." Another gasp from the bus. I remained silence. Minutes that felt like hours stretched on as I thought about what I should say.

I knew I was on my own. I knew I couldn't ask Sara about this, and the moment I thought about asking her, She just said, It's your decision.

I stood up. I told him, "Look at me." Another gasp. I guess No one's ever heard anyone talk to Frank in such a commanding voice before, except the School Instructors. "Look at me, Nelson....Frank." That brought Frank's gaze up to me. No one ever referred to him by his first name before. It was always either 'Mr. Nelson' from the teachers, or 'That freakin' Nelson' from everyone else.

I made sure that he looked me in the eye. I didn't want my resolve to waver, so I didn't want to be tempting into looking at any one else for their opinion. This decision had to be made and I wasn't backing out. "Frank," he flinched slightly. Again with the first name. He almost looked frightened with the civil tone in which I said it. But he didn't look away. Good.

"I don't think I can ever forgive you for what you've done to me. I don't judge people based on race, sex, sexual orientation, mental capacity, or anything else, except this; by how people treat me." Some water was dripping down his red face. Sweat? A tear? "But you didn't ask me to forgive you, you asked if I was willing to start over."

It was almost comical, in a perverse way. Him, standing there, red-faced, arm outstretched, hand splayed open, so frightened by a few words.

"Well, I want you to know...."

He closed his eyes, and I nearly lost it. It was now or never. I quickly brought up my hand to grab his.

"I am willing."

His eyes burst open. No more loud gasps (or squeaks from Ian). Just five minutes of surprised silence. All fear left his face, replaced by confusion, as if he didn't know how to act. I moved my arm up and down, slowly at first. Then, when he started to catch on, and began to shake, I shook more vigorously. It became a contest to see who shook the hardest. Then we let go, I patted him on the arm, hoping it would reassure him, and he headed back towards the front of the bus, a stupid grin on his face.

Smiling with satisfaction, I sat down. The bus remained silent throughout the trip to school, and the bus driver had a very nice drive to the school, I think. Ian stared at me dumbfoundedly. Then, he said, "What was all that!?!?" I said, "Just a reconciliation between two opposing forces." I chose to say it cryptically, so as not to embarrass Frank, or to sully the moment.

"When'd he break his nose?! Did you really do that?!" Ian half-whispered. I said, "Ask Frank. If he's willing, he'll tell you. But you'll have to settle your differences first. Otherwise, I'm not saying anythig without his permission." I then noticed that something was in my hand, something that wasn't there before we shook hands. I brought it up in full view Ian and I looked at it in wonder.

Frank's knife... Maria still had the look of confusion on her face when she said, "What was that all about?" I turned my attention to her. "I'll explain it to you after school.

Two and a half hours into the day, and already my situation's been improving.

Today's going to be a good day.

****

When I went home, my parents asked me about my day, all I could say was that other than this morning on the bus, and when I left, it was pretty normal. "Why, what happened on the bus?" Dad asked. "First, I had a talk with a certain Frank Nelson. A good one. He'll never bully me or anger me in any way again, and I'll never have to fear or loathe him ever agin. Then, it got reeeal quiet."

And with that, I went to bed, because I was tired.

A/N: Sorry, no dream at the end of this chapter, guys. The chapter was already longer than normal and I've got to go to bed soon. Lots of talking, no action. Lots of plot exposition. Trust me, Readers. This chapter's gonna be pretty important later on. Now, before I say good night to you all, I've brought in another guest. The one....the only.... Rocky "Junior" Nathaniel insert last name here!!!

Rock: Hey, guys. Hey, Author.

Me:*to Readers* In case you weren't aware, all my characters are allowed to call me is Reaper, Almighty Author, or just Author. So, anyways, so I can go to bed, please remind them of the contest as quick as you can, Rock.

Rock: Guess my last name, and win BIG!!! First prize winners get a role in Author's next story, Second prize winners get Internet cookies that taste suspiciously like air mixed with the tears of dying orphans.

Me: Read & Reveiw people!!! *yawn*