Note: Another chapter so quick? Yes, apparently so. I don't know why, but even with my set 'typing' schedule, I got this massive kick to begin this one, I actually doing four pages in one day, going past my limit of one-two pages per day (pages as in how it's registered on Word). I also felt that the last chapter, while I know I wouldn't have fit this in there with it, was too short, so I made sure that I wouldn't take length into account, just to let what I want to get in get in. I'm mainly worried about length in both this and Mega Man: Missing Episodes because I don't want to bore you guys. Anyhow, on we go, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12: Maverick Hunter Roll

Mega Man X © of Capcom

In truth, he had no idea how long the duration of time had passed since the collective balls of fire began obliterating the abandoned city only a good few miles away, X having left the small collection of humans that had managed to escape, the few Hunters that had managed to survive as well taking count and documenting how many of the living were present. Injury was a given for nearly every man, woman, and child the azure android saw there, yet given the state of where they had just made their speedy trek from, there was the comfort that they were still among the living.

Yet while X could state that a majority of the population DID survive…it was only just enough of the population to count as a majority, the separation between the found and the 'missing' just a few more higher values.

"I TOLD them you'd be here."

X's fathomless, silent bubble was dispelled upon the voice slicing its way through the silence, his head swiftly turning to see a familiar red armored Reploid with his signature, long, flowing trail of golden locks.

"Did I really take that long?" X questioned, meaning to have it sound like a small jest yet his voice was completely devoid of any energy, let alone humor.

"In all respects, I should've known that letting you go off anywhere on your own was a bad idea." Zero stated. "Could stand there staring at it for hours, huh?"

"I can't help it." X merely sighed, letting his focus shift back to the burning, ravaged city from afar.

Even though he HAD indeed been viewing it for a good while now, the prospect of the entire situation and what his optics were registering was still too surreal for the android to swallow, let alone even acknowledge that the very possibility that he had dreaded, the small fraction of a chance that he was assured by both Cain and Zero over and over again had indeed happened. Happened right in front of him, and, as he feared, yet to his absolute shame, expected, could do nothing to stop it.

Lowering his head from the scene, he had allowed his ivory dental implants to bite down and furiously grind against the inside of his bottom lip, it being the only distraction he could scrounge up to keep the moisture building up in his ducts from being released. He was there…Sigma, one that he admired, dare he say, practically idolized because in him, he saw everything that he wanted and hungered to be. Zero too, had become a figure of inspiration for him as well, yet their relationship was far more casual, far more 'personal', one that he could freely spill out his concerns and troubles, a confidant as well as a partner if the two had been fortunate to be able to team up. Zero was his dear friend, yet Sigma was his leader, his commander, and his ideal perception of what 'perfection' looked like.

Sigma was strong and quick on his feet, two ideal qualities that were a given for anyone wishing to be a Hunter, yet throughout his time serving underneath his supervision, X could not draw forth one instance or event where he saw the towering, powerful Reploid succumb to the fear pounding in his core, the possibility of the very worst of the worst occurring, or the gripping, terrifying chance that his own body would be so easily swayed by the intensity of his emotions, thus allowing him to create a massively detrimental amount of destruction in his wake. X saw none of those in Sigma; thus, he couldn't see him as anything less than perfect. Even though his OWN failings had earned him a good amount of stern, harsh words from him, he was still perfect, and though X had declared it a sickening and reviling thought, the desolate city ahead of him was yet another example. So carefully planned and executed in one fell swoop…no room for any error or those who could potentially stand against him…save for the few that had been either fortunate enough or had the resolve to survive. Even in that, he was the perfect leader…yet only now, it was not to X or Zero, but to others.

"You not wanting to come back?" the blonde Hunter questioned, X not looking back, but answering with a shake of his head.

"I STILL don't think that us being near any human aside from Dr. Cain is a good idea."

"It's not like there were just human casualties, we, Eagle, and that one that follows Cain around like a lost puppy are proof of that." Zero sighed. "Though it's not like they're really going to care."

"All the more reason I don't want to go back there." The azure Reploid responded, his gaze not shifting for one second from the ruined city. 'Though considering all that's happened…they're not entirely wrong to think that.'

"Zero! X!"

Both turned around to see Storm Eagle flying on high towards them, his descent far slower than the speed he originally attained, his massive wings fluttering at a steady pace as his elevated body made its descent.

"What's up with you?" Zero questioned, then noticing Dr. Cain and Roll in his grasp, they being released upon him making contact with the ground.

The elderly human scientist made his way towards the longhaired Hunter, beginning to curse his weaker form along with the sudden longing to have a cane or some form of support. "I'll explain when we get there, but you two," he wheezed, the brisk air having previously taken his breath away from the speed he was traveling. "…And Eagle. We…we need to go back to Abel City."

Since he had began his period of silent on-looking, forcing his very mind into a state of still, soundless meditation and recollection of all the swirling concoction of stresses and ponders that were threatening to forcibly release themselves if he didn't retreat to a solitary space where he knew he could forcibly suppress them, X had been jostled from his methodical meditation and acknowledging the human man.

"Back? Sir…" with one, unsteady hand, he gestured towards the smoldering collection of destruction from yonder. "Why would you…would ANYONE wish to go back there? We barely escaped with our lives only a few hours ago!"

"Of COURSE I'm aware of that!" Cain retorted, his tone indicating he was possibly offended that he was being questioned. "That makes it all the better because no one will suspect that we're there!" once his rebuttal was released from his throat, his once held frustration quickly dissolved into shame. "I'm sorry, X. I…I suppose I'm still wracked from all of…this."

"Sir?" Roll's concern had risen even higher than before, she reaching for him, yet to her surprise, he began moving away from her.

"Roll?" the human man began, he climbing back into Storm Eagle's arms, signaling X and Zero to come forth to the bird as well. "We're going to be taking a little trip back to Abel City. There's something that I need to show them."

"But…Sir…" the assistant stammered, rushing up to Eagle as well. "Then I shall go too!"

"No, Roll." Cain declined. "It's best you stay here, where it's safe."

"Safe?" X interjected. "Isn't it no safer here than it is there? It's STILL an open area ready for ambush if Commander-" he quickly bit his lip, averting his green eyes in shame. "If…Sigma saw fit to do so."

"You're forgetting that there's also a good enough number of Hunters nearby, along with an entire hoard of evacuees that'd probably make more than enough of a scene if they saw anything." Zero replied, Eagle nodding in agreement to his sentiment.

"Well…maybe…" yet even with he growing more comfortable with his comrade's line of logic, X could very well see that the ponytailed Reploid was still not pleased with this answer.

"What if you're injured?" she asked, her irises, once wide and pleading, began to noticeable grow fiercer and awash with determination, as if she was subtly declaring that she was not going to take 'no' for an answer. "I doubt that any of THESE people are knowledgeable about the care that you need."

Zero quirked his brow in response. "Look, we're not medics, but all of us have more than enough information in our processors to tell us how to treat anything that your head's probably conjuring up."

"In general, or is it individualized?" Roll countered. "Are you even aware of Dr. Cain's persisting issues with his spine? If he pulls something, do you know exactly where to apply pressure to get rid of the knot?"

"Okay, NOW you're just grasping at straws."

"I am NOT! I'm merely stating why it's a poor decision to not take me along!"

"Roll, I'm sorry, but the sooner we do this, the better! Eagle, if you please…" in response to the human's command, Eagle had began to elevate, Zero and X taking ahold of each of his curled talons.

"Doctor?" X asked, looking upward to the scientist. "Are you for CERTAIN that we're not taking you into anywhere dangerous?"

Cain only sighed in return. "I don't believe so, as there's no reason for Sigma to come back there. All the better for us."

"Sir, please!" the grounded, female android pleaded. "I strongly suggest that I at least be part of this!"

"He'll be taken care of, Miss!" the fluttering bird told her from on high. "Don't worry! I'll be quick to take them all out of the area if there IS any danger present!"

Roll was about to release another counter, even if it was rather pathetically weak and flimsy in strength, yet her tongue never was gifted the chance to retort as the bird's large, spread wings soon lifted Cain and the two other Hunters up beyond her reach, and possibly even her voice. She began to run after the small party of four, yet her feet soon ran out of area to tread, a small cliff where the area of grassy field ended had forced her to halt, the airborne group steadily becoming only a distant, dark shape in her vision.

In a sense, what he had told her was true. There really WAS no real reason for her to accompany them; they more likely than not being able to care for her human charge should he possibly receive injury. This was all true, all sound, and above all else, registering well and logical with her programming…yet that did little to nothing to quench her thirst to be alongside them. As she stood there idle by the cliff side, she found her former, intrusive and piercing longings shattering through her initial decision to accept what her 'master' had just said, her repressed, denied urges…

"He said…to stay here and wait."

'But you don't want to.'

"Well…no. But, it's not about that…"

'It never was. It's about you NOT obeying what you want.'

Her bright, aqua eyes shrunk significantly in both fear, and to her further bewilderment, growing excitement? "I…I don't want that."

'Yes, you do. You want it. More than the blue one does.'

"Blue one? You mean X?"

'Who else? Did you know that he doesn't even WANT to be there, to be here at all? He never even wanted to join the Maverick Hunters in the first place!'

"Wh-What? That…that's absurd!" Roll scoffed.

'Why is it absurd?'

"Because it makes absolutely no sense! Why would someone put so much time and energy into perfecting their shots and physical maneuvers if he had no interest in being there?!"

'Don't know. Why don't you go ask him yourself?'

"Impossible. And I don't need to explain WHY I can't."

'Then…' her 'inner', prodding, pestering consciousness began, directing her attention to the barren, ruined cluster of towering stone and metal in the horizon. 'Go FIND him, and ask him then.'

Roll found herself unable, or to her nagging, shameful realization, unwilling to counter the hidden, dwelling figure's challenge. She knew that it would technically count as disobedience, as disregarding his orders, a 'human's orders…yet to her shock, she found that she didn't care. That prospect alone both greatly frightened her, yet exhilarated her. The restraints that she had believed to be there due only to the fact that she was simply a metallic shell housing a collogue of winding cables and cords were not as difficult to pass through, let alone break as she initially thought. Perhaps though, she only thought them to be indestructible because she herself never once dared to try and bypass them. As if to test this, she allowed herself one step forward, she now teetering dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. It was not a long drop, far from it, yet if she took another step, then that would only send her going one way.

'Don't deny yourself any longer.' It whispered, its pitch and tone sounding so strikingly familiar. 'Don't deny ME any longer.'

Ruins of Abel City

X had begun to regret not letting Cain's assistant bot accompany them. Yes, she would be extra weight to carry and yes, she would ultimately not be able to contribute much, yet perhaps, he thought, perhaps she would possibly offer him a small sample of strength or iron will that she had decided to reveal, possibly even willing to pass some onto him. He wished for that, for he wasn't sure how long he could contain himself any longer from the sight he was forcibly assaulted with.

Below him, where the pinnacle of the twenty-second century had once taken roost was only little better than the parched, desolate, skeletal remains of a collection of stone and steel that hardly anyone with a reasonably sane mind would've once called inhabitable. The highway that he had once been traveling on had nearly been reduced to only splinters of standing pathways, massive gaps in between the sections of road that had been fortunate to have the support from underneath to keep standing. If he was correct, then, to his growing dread, his former destination would only be…

"There! There it is!"

Turning his attention to where Dr. Cain was frantically pointing towards, he, to his dismay, came to see the Maverick Hunter HQ…or more appropriately the mound of rubble that it had become. Storm Eagle, having seen the window that he had previously smashed through began to descend downwards, kicking his legs ahead of him as they grew ever closer to the cracked asphalt of the one piece of highway that had been supported from down below, X and Zero releasing hold of his golden talons and landing on the tile floor, X immediately averting his gaze from the motionless body before them.

The landing in itself was rather simple, their human company being the only one that had to account for the broken glass.

"Alright…" Cain sighed, lifting his arm to cough into the violet sleeve. "It should be around here…" he then rushed into the side door of the office, Zero and Eagle following suit.

X couldn't bring himself to follow, not yet. Making his way over to the fallen Hunter, the azure Reploid found his ivory hands lightly cupping the other's forehead, his palm over the other's gem. It took little concentration on his part to declare that his search for any possible readings was ultimately for naught.

'You passed not too long ago.' X lamented. 'I feel it. At least…' he stifled a small, trembling sniff. 'At least from what I can tell…it was fast and you didn't suffer much.'

"X!" he heard Zero shout. "C'mon, or we're heading off without you!"

"Zero! Don't say things like that!" he also heard Eagle scold.

"Well, it's not like we're here at our leisure."

Bowing his head and gently lowering the deceased Reploid's head back to its former position, X hurriedly made his way to his two fellow Hunters, Dr. Cain having apparently disappeared.

"Where is-"

"Aha! All of you! Come in here!"

All three headed towards the direction of the man's voice, finding him crouching underneath a small, twin sized bed. "Alright you three…" he declared from underneath. "Behold!"

A faint buzz echoed throughout the room, yet due to its relatively high pitch, it was a rather poor excuse for one. Quickly making his way out from underneath the piece of furniture, a rectangular section of the floor that rested directly underneath the bed had seemingly detached itself from the rest of the tiled floor, the panel lifting upward and pushing the bed firmly against the wall, the duct revealing a small, yet rather long stairwell heading downwards., of which Cain traveled down, beckoning the three Hunters to follow him.

"With all due respect, Doctor…" Eagle uneasily began. "I don't necessarily believe that I can fit."

"No worries!" the old man reassured. "There's a back entrance that I'll open for you! But for the time being, wait up there for us!"

Giving a salute in acknowledgement, both X and Zero made their way down the compact stairwell, the bottom of it having lead to a simple, steel door at the end of a tightly compact corridor.

"No kidding he wouldn't fit." X groaned. "I can barely fit in here!"

Zero didn't answer X's complaint, having taken to wrapping his long blonde tail of hair around his neck to keep it from touching the floor, he far from willing to let the ends of his prime feature become a collector of dust or whatever unsavory particles were festering upon the walls of the corridor.

"All right…" Dr. Cain wheezed, his wrinkled hands only one press away from typing in the last digit on the small keypad next to the steel door. "It's far roomier in here, boys. Come on in."

The slick, texture-less plate of metal slid to the left in the wall, both Reploids' eyes immediately zoning in on the sudden burst of light emanating from the chamber, its interior structure being revealed to them and drawing both in further by their insatiable curiosity. Cain passed through the open doorway, followed by the duo of Hunters, what lay before them, while not a grand display of the furthest development of technological prowess, was still a welcome, if not actually somewhat uplifting sight to behold.

The room was a dome shaped area of light, blue chrome with one, large screen stationed at the most north section, it bearing its own individualized control board and two chairs sitting by it. It appeared to be at least able to use, yet from the plethora of cables visible from the screen that were working their way up and down the walls of the dome, it certainly wasn't what either X or Zero would call 'finished'.

"Well?" Cain asked, shattering the perpetuating silence. "What do you think?"

Zero stepped forward whilst X continued to visually survey the area. "It almost looks like the control room in the HQ." the azure armored Reploid said aloud. "Only…far smaller."

"As it should be."

Cain had believed for a moment that he had been stricken with a heart attack at that very moment as the suddenness of the voice speaking nearly had his heart leap forth out of his chest, both X and Zero taken aback in shared surprise. From the left, what was assumedly a simple part of the wall had suddenly opened from the other side; the entire section of the concave room sliding itself to the side, revealing whom had initially spoken to them.

"Ro-ROLL!?" Cain gasped, the ponytailed android letting herself inside.

"Hello, Sir." She greeted, hoping that the overly polite, elegant drawl of her voice would serve as a good enough cover for her near overwhelming tension, as well as her burning anticipation.

"How did…" the elderly scientist began, completely exasperated still. "How did you get here!? When did you get here?!"

"The same way you did, only I was stuck being earthbound, and I've been here for not too long. Just around the time you opened the way to this place from your room."

"Wait…YOU knew that this place existed too?" X immediately questioned.

"Yes." She answered, running her ivory fingers over the keyboard of the room's computer. "In fact, I was the only other that Dr. Cain confided in of the existence of this place, at least to my knowledge."

Dr. Cain turned his gaze from the assistant bot to the two Hunters, nodding in confirmation. "I began building this place when the HQ was first established, just in case of any potential disasters that would lead to us losing our link to the outside world, and I suppose as a temporary shelter. In truth, I stopped working on it when I thought I was just being paranoid, that the HQ had more than enough defenses and back ups against whatever threat we'd possibly face." He allowed his head to lower, his shoulders growing lax. "Though…I suppose it's good that I got done what is considered essential…given what's already happened…"

'Now's the time. It's either now or never.'

"Sir?" Roll spoke up, the elderly man, despite his open display of his exhausted, weakened state, still acknowledging her presence.

"Well…regarding what's happened…"

"Yes?"

"It's…" she began to stammer, her fingers beginning to intertwine with each other. "It's about that. I…" she looked towards X and Zero. "Not meaning any disrespect to either of you or Eagle…but I imagine that you three are some of the very few remaining…yes?"

The female android had regretted her wording as she saw the azure Reploid's features instantly grow distressed, Zero only responding with an angered glower. "Yeah, we're ALL more than aware of that. Your point?"

"Well…regarding that fact…"

'Now's the time…'

"I think that it's time that I share something…"

'You MUST do this now…'

"Something that I've been contemplating for some time now…"

'Now! Say it now!'

"I'm going to become a member of the Maverick Hunters!"

She herself wasn't too sure if she was present in the same reality that she had previously thought herself to be in as the duration of time itself had seemed to cease, the fading echo of her own declaration being the only element that cemented it to her that she was still present in the world, as while X and Zero did display surprise, Cain's face had completely frozen into a petrified, wide-eyed expression of bewilderment.

"Wh-What did you say?" the elderly scientist stammered weakly.

"I…I am going to be joining the Maverick Hunters." She answered, her previous outburst having been reduced to a soft sigh, almost nearing a whisper.

"Roll…" Cain, to his already mounting surprise, found himself beginning to release spastic, nervous chuckles. "You…you're not…serious…"

Though she held no need to do so, nor did she even have anything to allow passage down, yet she found herself gulping in response, predicting well that the human would respond in such a way. "I've never been more serious, Sir."

"Roll…you're not even built for combat!" Cain told her, his bewilderment twisting itself into pure, crippling fear. "Where…where's your buster? Or even a saber or another external weapon?"

She suspected that he would take this route as well. "My features can be adjusted. If you were able to transfer me from another older body, as you say I was indeed, then should this not be a far simpler operation?"

"There's more to it than just that!" X interjected, noticing her apparent shock at him joining in on what she evidently initially believed to be a conversation between only her and Cain. "This…" he then displayed his own buster. "I didn't just know HOW to use this. Sig…" he briefly paused. "I…I had to be taught how to properly charge the energy and how much to charge."

"Then…" she replied, the beginning rather strained. "Then I will just learn as well. No disrespect to you, Sir, yet I think it's safe to stay that teaching a human how to use a weapon is drastically slower and less advanced than the average Reploid's AI."

"And what of your general structure?" Zero questioned, stepping towards her and seizing her by the arm. "Your build…" he brought the limb closer for study. "It's light…" he gave it a hard squeeze, she immediately grimacing in response. "And rather flimsy. It's no better than a navigator's standard build."

"Well, perhaps it hurts because you're TWISTING my arm!" Roll groaned, she struggling to release the appendage from the taller Reploid's grasp.

Seeing that she was steadily becoming more violent in her attempts, noticing that she was about to bring her left leg up, Zero let go, sending her down to the floor. "If THAT was all it took to get you down, then you wouldn't last a minute, let alone a second."

"I'm going to have to agree with Zero on that." Cain told her, the aversion Roll had felt towards the longhaired Hunter quickly transforming into complete dejection for her human 'master'.

"But…Dr. Cain-"

"Roll, your intentions are noble, but the answer is no."

He knew she was only doing this for him…the same, fierce will of undying determination echoing in her bright, youthful eyes…yet upon further study, Cain noticed something else accompanying her resolve…something that he never would have suspected to possibly even catch a glimpse of in her.

"With all due respect, sir…" she began, her tone bearing not a shred of the usual, eager to please, polite daintiness she had memorized to a tee. "I came here to tell you that I was going to join the Maverick Hunters…not to ask your permission to do so."

"Roll…what are you talking about?"

No…she wouldn't, he hoped as she turned away from them and to the doorway from where she had entered. "If you won't help me…" she allowed herself a moment, she, to both her and the elderly human's shock, beginning to tremble violently. "Then I'll find someone who will."

"Roll, you don't mean-"

"If you won't help me, then I will find someone else that will!"

Cain began to stagger towards her, his control over his wetting eyes completely stripped from him. "You…you can't!" he shouted in desperation. "How…how will they be able to protect you if they can't find you?!"

Roll needn't ask who he was addressing, yet she too had an answer ready. "They weren't there to protect YOU…" she had little to no idea of what was happening to her, this easily executed, almost insultingly simple plan to just tell him what she intended to do was tearing her apart from the inside out and she knew not why? Why was this bringing her so much discomfort? Why was this…hurting her so much? "But I was." She finally choked out. "I was there…and I couldn't do anything!" Now she was certain that there was something wrong with her, whether it'd be a simple bug or a glitch in her hardware, the sudden yet uncontrolled transition from whimpering to bellowing at the top of her lungs cementing that for her. "I was there, and I couldn't do anything to save you! If Eagle hadn't come…" Roll wished she could scream, she wished that despite the very situation all of them found themselves in, she could shatter the very room surrounding them all with the sheer volume of her voice…yet whatever had possessed her earlier had seemingly stripped her of her strength and care to do so.

"Roll…please…" she heard the scientist stammer. "Don't do this…"

"Doctor…" she sighed. "You are the human…and I am the machine. If anything, I should've done this a long time ago."

With that, she bolted.

"ROLL!" Dr. Cain called, leaping forward to give chase, yet a firm grasp held him back.

"No, wait!" X exclaimed. "I'm at less risk than you are, Sir! I'll go get her!" The azure Reploid hurriedly made his way out of the dome and into the small corridor the previously concealed entrance lead to.

It took little time for him to reach the other side, finding to his surprise that the exit (or rather, the 'real' entrance) lead to a long forgotten, yet heavily cluttered closet littered with various tools and cleaning supplies. 'How long was this place even here?' he pondered, yet as soon as he heard the sound of a door sliding, he jostled himself to his senses and resumed his quest to find his target.

Finding his way to the closet's door, he opened it (the knob only indicating the room's age to him) to find himself gazing back out at the ruins of the city…a ponytailed figure leaning against whatever was left standing of a once towering, brilliant structure.

"Hey!" X called out, quickly rushing his way towards her trembling form. "Hey, are you…okay?"

Roll lifted her face up mainly due to reflex and the sudden fright she experience at having the collective aura of silence being shattered, yet as soon as she had done so, she quickly turned herself away from his view.

"Are you alright?" X asked once again, knowing that it was the most neither productive nor wisest thing to ask; yet he truly didn't expect to find her so shaken.

"I think…" she whimpered. "I think something's wrong with me…"

"Well…" the cerulean Reploid nervously stammered. "What seems to be the problem?"

"My eyes…" she simply sighed, placing her fingers at the corners and extending her hand out to him, a small droplet resting on the tip of her white, index finger before it had slid off and onto her joint before landing on the ground below. "There's…something wrong with my eyes. Am…" she found herself turning to him, any semblance of care of letting him see her in such a state quickly dissipating. "Am I malfunctioning?"

It was shameful, he knew, and if he were to see it for himself, he too would declare it downright deplorable…yet at that moment, X could not contain the humored, idealistic, and completely unfitting chuckles erupting from his throat, it taking whatever amount of will he had to keep it from letting them grow into full blown bouts of laughter.

"What…what? What's so funny?" Roll sniffed, far too confused to be offended.

"You…" X began, wiping his own developing tears from his eyes. "You're fine! You're just crying, that's all!"

"Crying? That…" she touched her ducts once again. "That's impossible. Machines…machines don't cry…"

Whatever semblance of amusement X had held was instantly abandoned, his audio receptors almost not believing what he had just heard. "Machines don't…but…of course they do! Reploids do! I do!" he retorted, then muttering. "More than I'd like, or probably should…" Turning his attention back to her, he had noticed that she had begun to calm down, thankful that he could possibly excuse himself from such a rude display. "Listen, I understand why you want to join us. In fact, I think that's a very good reason for it, but what Dr. Cain and Zero said is true."

"So I assume YOU don't think I should do it?"

"Well, I…I'm not saying THAT exactly…" X uncomfortably stated, his CPU desperately searching for anything he could use that wouldn't result in upsetting her again. "But a decision like that is a very, VERY important one. It's practically a life changing one in your case."

"I'm already aware of that."

"Then…I'll be honest. In truth…I wouldn't recommend it, but it's NOT because of what you think."

The female android was befuddled. "Then, enlighten me. Why is it not because of what I think?"

"Well…" he found himself at a loss for words, yet it in itself was so easy to say. Yet…no. He wasn't ready to tell her. Not yet anyway. "Look, you want to protect Dr. Cain, I get it. He means a lot to you-"

"No." she interrupted. "He does not mean 'a lot'. He means EVERYTHING." She found herself seizing up yet again. "He IS everything. I wouldn't be here if not for him. I owe him everything…literally everything! Especially my life!"

X didn't interrupt, nor did he interject any retort or rebuttal against her. He could feel it…waves of such magnitude and power…and from a robot not even made for combat no less! He knew it would be a fruitless effort; there was NO changing her mind.

"Well…if you feel that strongly about it, then I guess I better go tell Dr. Cain."

"Wait…you…you mean-"

"Yeah. You're not going to back down from this, I can tell. But…" he took her hand, a strange, almost 'familiar' sensation washing over the two of them upon their digits making contact. "I…I won't let you just jump on in. You'll need to learn the basics at the very least before we let you do anything."

"You…you mean it?! You're not just saying this to get me to shut up?!"

"I'm more than willing to admit I'm more than a little naïve, so I don't take too kindly to lying."

Roll, to her dismay, began to feel the same shaking overtake her body, yet in this case…it was far from unpleasant. It was…actually rather lovely. It was complete elation! Wet streams of moisture were trailing down her cheeks, but she was the farthest thing from being in agony! She was in heaven! Sheer nirvana could not describe the intensity of what she felt.

"Oh, thank you!" she cared not how he'd react, or if anyone saw them, she thrust herself onto the azure Hunter, arms wrapping firmly around his neck and she bringing him as close as she possibly could in a tight embrace. "Thank you so much! You have no idea of what this means to me!"

X, for the most part, was torn as to whether or not to try and wrestle his way from her grip, or try to control the unmistakable, bright red forcibly displaying itself upon his cheeks. Yet…he couldn't deny that he could feel her energy had taken a far different turn than it had previously, such powerful satisfaction and elation radiating off of her…it was almost intoxicating!

'What insanity!' his sharing in Roll's joy had ceased, the familiar voice ringing through his processor yet again. 'Using my robots to conquer the world!' it was him…the old man.

'Professor, please!' Someone new was talking…almost sounding like a child. 'Change me into a fighting robot!'

'Rock?! What are you saying?!'

Fighting robot…like…like how she was begging for the same earlier?

'Please! I have to do this! I want to help everyone…but…I'm strong enough. Not like this…'

Yes…he had heard the child's voice before as well. From long ago…from somewhere dark…'Mega…' 'Man…' 'Mega…Man' 'Mega…Man...X' 'X…'

"X? X?"

His emerald green eyes widened, Roll having lessened her grip on him long ago, she now worriedly gazing at him. "Are you alright? You seemed to...zone out for a bit."

"It…It's nothing." He assured. "Really. It happens sometimes." 'It's becoming far more frequent.' "Come on. I guess we'll need to tell Cain that you're not taking no for an answer."

The two Reploids then began their trek back to the way they had both just came, walking alongside each other, neither knowing truly why, yet both had seen it on the others face that the scenario…he and her together…she did this once. Not with him…but someone else. Someone blue, someone by her side…someone she felt herself intertwined with by forces beyond both her control and comprehension.

Note: And that wraps up the first Act of the story I guess! I have to admit that I'm not too sure on whether or not I should continue it from here, or make there be a small time skip of sorts. Either way, I thank all who read this, and please share your views on how it is going. Thank you!