A/N: This episode flashes back to Episodes 7-8 of Season 2 of MegaMan NT Warrior, with the main story taking place after episode 8.
Next, shoutouts to Fan of MegaMan and Angel. I'm glad you like the fic so far, and yes, this chapter is based off the NetCity episodes. I hope everyone enjoys it!
Chapter Fourteen: Grave Concerns
Pink and Blue boots softly parted the grass beneath them as their respective Navis walked through the park in NetCity. Roll looked at MegaMan as the artificial moonlight highlighted his features. Roll flashed back to when she had taken MegaMan to NetCity on their "first date."
Five Days Ago
"Roll. Roolll…"
The pink Navi groaned as she lifted her head from the pillow, opening a viewing window to see her NetOp looking at her. I was having a really good dream, Maylu. She rubbed the sleep out of her eye with her fist as she looked at the clock. "Maylu, it's half past six in the morning. Why are you up so early?"
Maylu smiled, amused at her Navi's grogginess. "Well…I just thought you would want to be the first Navi to show MegaMan around NetCity!"
THAT woke Roll up; throwing the sheets off of the bed, she snapped her fingers. A pink swirl enveloped her, leaving Roll in her normal pink and black battle suit when it dissipated. Awake and alert, she exclaimed "Well what are we waiting for? I'll link over to Lan's PC and get MegaMan; we'll meet you over there." Before Maylu could reply, Roll vanished, the viewing window automatically closing. Maylu shook her head and chuckled at her Navi's enthusiasm before grabbing her helmet and scooter out of the closet, heading down the stairs and making the short zip across the street to the Hikari residence.
Meanwhile, Roll stood in front of the familiar blue door that she had opened so many times. She gingerly turned the knob and slid through the crack before quietly closing it behind her. Looking around, her eyes sparkled when she saw her target; the blue Navi lay asleep, quietly snoring while his eyes and blue hair peeked out from under the blankets. Had Roll not been so enthusiastic about getting MegaMan out of bed, she would have found his appearance to be adorable.
Roll walked over to where his head lay and spoke into his exposed ear "Meegaaa…wake up, Mega." However, all Roll got was a groan and a turn to the side. Roll started to puff out her cheeks in a pout when she heard the snoozing Navi murmur "Five more minutes, mommy. I don't wanna go see the doctor today…"
Roll raised her eyebrows in curiosity, wondering what kind of crazy dream MegaMan's head had concocted. Why would Mega need to go to a doctor? We only just got a hospital in NetCity... Shaking her head and deciding to ponder the question later, she looked at the Navi in front of her. "What to do, what to do…"She then recalled a story Maylu told her abouthow she would wake up Lan whenever she spent Christmas Day with the Hikaris as a child. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures… She leaped from her spot on the floor to the other end of the bed, bouncing up and down while yelling "MEGA WAKE UP!"
"AAHGH!" MegaMan screamed as Roll bounced a little too hard, catapulting the boy across the room and onto the floor. Rubbing his head, he looked at the familiar Navi walking towards him. "R…Roll?!"
Roll simply smiled at him, confusing the groggy Navi even more. "Great; you're finally awake! Put your helmet on, quickly! We've got a big day ahead of us!"
What…what just happened? He looked at the clock on the wall, noting the time displayed. It's not even 7 AM yet, and we're on summer vacation. So why… His gaze turned to Roll who had her eyes closed, smiling and absent-mindedly humming a tune. MegaMan smiled and snapped his fingers, a blue helmet appearing in his hands. Well, if it makes Roll happy, then…
He secured the helmet over his head, sensing Maylu plug the PET into Lan's PC. Hearing Maylu's declaration, Roll squealed "Come on, Mega. Let's get this show on the road!"
MegaMan yelped as the two of them vanished, reforming in a giant cyber tunnel.
She looked at the expression on MegaMan's face as he gazed at the scanners when Lan signed him in. Amused, Roll thought to herself If you're this amazed at the scanners, I can't even imagine what the look on your face will be once we finally get to where we're going!
Finally, they reformed on a balcony overlooking the skyscrapers of NetCity. Roll leaned on his shoulder and the blue Navi exclaimed "Whoa I can't believe it!"
"Pretty amazing, isn't it?!" Roll looked and saw his emerald eyes glittering with wonder, making her feel warm inside. She grabbed his hand and lightly tugged on him, causing MegaMan to yelp in surprise. "Come on, slowpoke! The real fun's inside the city!"
End Flashback
Roll remembered fondly how that sparkle remained in his eyes as they toured NetCity together. Whether it was discovering the invisible walkways, NumberMan's online Chip Shop, the new battle arena that she knew would become the gang's new favorite hangout outside of class, or watching him play literally every game at the arcade, that look of amazement and wonder never left his eyes.
Now, walking through NetCity's park, she looked up at her companion and secret crush. That sparkle in his eyes was no longer there. It would have been more accurate to say that his green irises held a hint of restrained gloom. Hidden though it may have been; Roll had the unique gift of being able to see through MegaMan's attempts to mask his true feelings.
Sighing to herself, the gloom started to get to the young girl as well. This isn't any fun anymore… She grasped his other hand and walked until she was just in front of him. "Come on…"
That was all that passed Roll's lips before she linked them out of NetCity and back to Lan's PC. His mind finally catching up with his body, MegaMan sputtered "Roll, what…what's going on? Why did you bring us back here?"
Roll sighed before sitting the two of them on the blue sofa and simply saying "You weren't having fun, Mega."
"Wha…What are you talking about, Roll? You were showing me through NetCity's new park. I was totally having fun!"
Roll simply looked at him with that expression that just said Liar Liar, Pants on Fire. MegaMan sweatdropped as he knew that Roll had caught him in his lie. Roll sighed and finally replied "I think you were trying to have fun. But something's bothering you, Mega." She grasped his hand in her own before continuing "When we came to NetCity together for the first time, your eyes sparkled with wonder. Now your eyes just look gloomy, and you can't be having fun when you're gloomy." Before MegaMan could respond, Roll grasped his other hand and held them so they were halfway between their bodies. "What's wrong, Mega?"
MegaMan reluctantly released his hands from Roll's grasp, making her watch with concern as he removed his helmet before murmuring "Grave."
It was just one word, and barely audible at that, but Roll understood everything from that one word. She placed her hand on his neck as she replied "You're concerned about Grave, right?"
MegaMan nodded as they remembered the events that led to Grave's rise…
Five Days Ago
Roll had just finished giving MegaMan the tour of NetCity and had remarked about how Lan would have more trouble going to school now, when they received an urgent message from Glyde that Yai was locked and passed in the shower. Roll and MegaMan linked to the Cyber Tunnel leading to the Ayano network and saw Glyde passed out.
Rushing to help him up, Glyde murmured "Something in the ventilation system…" before passing out again.
As was standard for the Blue Bomber, MegaMan pledged "Don't worry Glyde, I'm right on it!" He turned to Roll and requested "Roll, you need to take care of Glyde and take him someplace safe!"
She nodded as she linked out into NetCity. Spotting the hospital in the distance, she carried Glyde in her arms and ran to the entrance, watching as the medics took Glyde onto a stretcher.
It was sometime later that Glyde awoke, looking up to see Roll staring down at him, a relieved smile on her face. "Glyde! Thank goodness you're okay!"
Glyde cringed as Roll hugged him, taking a moment to reply. "You're…you're not going to drain my energy again, are you Miss Roll?"
Roll puffed her cheeks in irritation as she let go of the injured Navi. "I said I was sorry!" Glyde laughed, causing Roll to puff her cheeks even more. He teased me!
It was some time after Glyde stopped chuckling that he looked at Roll and said "You're worried about MegaMan, aren't you?"
Roll relaxed her cheeks as she replied "It's so soon after World Three, and we don't know if Yai's assailant is acting alone or is part of something larger. If we have another World Three on our hands, then I have every reason to be worried." Memories flooded through her head of MegaMan getting deleted as she remembered how much MegaMan suffered the last time World Three came to power.
Glyde smiled and sat up, replying "Well then; what do you say we do something about it?"
Roll looked at him in shock. "Glyde, you need to rest! You only just recovered!"
Glyde shook his head as he replied "Nonsense; I'm as fit as a fiddle. Besides…" He looked up as he saw the residents of the hospital vacating the building. "Something tells me that this place may need our help. Now come on Miss Roll; let's see how MegaMan and Miss Yai are doing."
Roll stood there in shock before yelling "Glyde, wait up!" She ran after him, taking his hand and linking them to Yai's PET.
End Flashback
As it happened, MegaMan encountered the Navi responsible, a Navi called AirMan who forced MegaMan to go into HeatGuts Style and delete him. But as Roll feared, AirMan and his NetOp weren't acting alone; they were just the grunts of a new organization calling itself Grave. They then targeted NetCity itself, flooding it with viruses before MegaMan, Roll, and Glyde infiltrated the factory. With the help of SharkMan, they incinerated the factory after running into an assassin Navi called ShadowMan.
Though they had defeated Grave, the three Navis were still haunted by the mysterious voice of yet another Grave operative. "A GRAVE MISTAKE!"
Roll shook her head as she looked at the young boy to her left, who looked as though he was struggling just to keep everything together. "Mega?"
It took a few more repetitions of his name before he finally answered "I thought we were done with this. I thought World Three was the end of this nonsense."
Roll looked sadly at him before rubbing her hand on his leg. "Hey, we'll get through this, Mega." Noting his brief smile before returning to a frown, Roll spoke "That's not the only thing that's bothering you, right?"
MegaMan sighed as he reflected on his battle with AirMan. "I…I deleted AirMan…"
"You mean the Navi who attacked Yai?"
MegaMan nodded. "PharaohMan was completely rogue. StoneMan and BlasterMan were copies created by Dr. Wily; they had no soul. But AirMan…sure he was evil, but he was still a Navi, a Navi that had a NetOp and was willing to fight for him." MegaMan took a deep breath before finishing "AirMan was the first Navi that I consciously deleted. All the others, TorchMan, ElecMan, WackoMan, I didn't delete them; merely logged them out. What right did I have to delete AirMan?"
Roll looked sadly at him before removing her gloves and embracing the guilt-ridden boy, resting his head on her shoulder. She heard and felt him sniffle as tears escaped him, trailing down her shoulder. Rubbing his back with one hand and caressing his gentle blue hair in the other, she let him cry into her before finally speaking "Mega. You don't need to feel guilty about this. Yes, AirMan had a NetOp. Yes, AirMan had a soul. But, both AirMan and his NetOp made their choices when they joined Grave and attacked Yai. And you didn't go in there to delete AirMan; you went in to save Yai. Your head and your heart were in the right place today Mega; AirMan was the only one in the wrong today."
MegaMan stopped sniffling and smiled before letting his eyes droop. Roll gave an amused smile when she felt his snore against her shoulder. Carrying him bridal-style, she set him down on his bed, spreading the blankets over him before leaning down to kiss his forehead. See you soon, Mega. She linked out to Maylu's PC, briefly opening a viewing window to see Maylu had gone to bed. Briefly changing her outfit to the pink nightgown, she sauntered over to the bed and lay down on her back. Before letting her eyes droop closed, she thought I promise you Mega, I'll be right by your side to take down Grave!