A/N: *Rock and co. have me at gunpoint, on my knees in front of my reviewers*

Rocky: Now, I think it's time you gave your reviewers an apology, don't you agree, guys?

Ian: *nods*

Maria: I think so.

Angie: It's only fair.

Frank: *cracks knuckles threateningly*

Me: Meep! Okay, okay! Just quit pointing the Buster at me!

Rocky: *raises arm*

Me: *to reviewers* I'm sorry for not updating in so long! It's inexcusable to keep my fans (the few that I actually have) waiting! I deserve to be punished, but I do not wish to die, so I hereby present to you this signed document-- *holds up an official-looking piece of paper* --promising that I won't leave you all hanging like that without at least giving you guys some warning. Although, in my defense, I've been really busy at school these past few weeks, as I've been given a crap-load of work to do before the end of the 3rd quarter. *bows head to ground* I'm sorry, and I'll try my damnedest not to do it again!!! *looks up at Rock and Co.* There, satisfied?

Rock and Co.: *nods*

Me: Now, who can I get to issue the disclaimer?

Rock: Do it yourself.

*Rock and Co. walk away, leaving me here alone in the spotlight*

Me: *grumbles* Fine, lousy ingrates. I could write you all out of existence, you know, and no one would care. *continues to grumble, then speaks to reviewers more loudly* I do not own the Mega Man franchise, nor am I affiliated with Capcom in any way.

On with the show, people!!!

Year: 1225, A.W. June 29, Location: Demeter's Southern Hemisphere, Time: 2:30 p.m.

What am I going to do? This thought was running through my head endlessly. I was beginning to panic. I slammed my fist against the wall in frustration, nearly smashing through it. Calm down, Sara said. Take a deep breath.

I inhaled deeply, and let it out slowly. She was right, I can't afford to lose my head now, lest the others in the pub get suspicious. After all, I don't think I left any fingerprints at the time, and even if I did, with current Demeter technology it'll take forever for anyone to realize that it was me, and by then I'll be long gone. The police aren't aware of my identity, and they probably believe that it was the Dark Machines, assuming news of the attack on Athens has reached the government yet.

So I probably shouldn't be worried about that now. What I should be worried about is having to explain to Maria, and possibly the others as well, as to what it is that I have done. But there was one thought that really struck me at this point.

I have committed my first felony. I have brutally assaulted a man (you couldn't really call him innocent, as he WAS mugging me at the time), and am therefore a criminal. I could be considered a danger to the others.

I shook my head. There was no time to think about that now. I can pine over this once we're out of the city. Just stick with the plan, I told myself. Sara agreed with me, That's right. You can deal with this later. Right now you need to just keep your cool and try to get us and the others safely out of the city once the time comes. I nodded, and got up to splash some water on my face before opening the door to go back out and rejoin Maria.

Maria came to meet me, and I noticed that a few of the other patrons were giving me strange looks. Maria asked me, "Feeling better?" I nodded and said, "Yeah. Let's get out of here. Is the bill paid for?" Maria nodded, so I led the way out the door and back to Stacy, who was lazily catching flies with her tongue, and the bike. As we mounted, I asked her, "What time is it?" She checked her watch. "2:33, why?" I took out my radio, saying, "Okay, we need to get ready to move soon. We'll drive back around the docks so we're in sight of anyone watching, then act like we've forgotten something, at which point we will head towards the meeting point." Maria nodded and I relayed the instructions over the radio.

Once everyone gave me the sign that they understood, I nodded to Maria and fired up my engine, giving Stacy the cue to stand up and get ready to ride. We went racing down the road, and the others gave Maria and I confirmation that they had passed by the docks and were now heading to the meeting point. I said, "Okay, we're passing the docks now," and we slowed down to move full-circle around the kiosk area. We noticed the man's confusion as he watched us speed away, and we moved swiftly towards the meeting point on the outskirts of the town.

The short, squat buildings slowly began to disappear and transform into marshy plains as Maria and I approached the two vehicles in which the others rode in. I heard sirens in the distance, and tersely commanded through the radio, "We'd better move out of here quickly. I'm hearing sirens." Right after I gave my warning, I saw the two cars rev their engines and speed in the direction opposite the port town, Maria and I picking up speed to join them.

I thought I heard the sirens get closer, but I couldn't really be sure. I said through the radio, "Let's find a back road as quickly as possible. We need to lose them." We soon turned off of the main highway and onto a wet dirt road, moving into a nearby marsh. Good, that means we'll be able to lose the cops amidst all the tall grass and water. We just have to be careful that we don't fall into the watery ruts either.

As we got deeper into the marsh, the sirens sounded less and less distant. It was awhile before the sirens disappeared completely, and I was convinced that we had lost them. That brought an intense feeling of relief from all of us, as I could tell from all the sighs. I looked around at our surroundings. So we were safe. That was all well and good, but the question still remained--

"Where in the hell are we?" Ian voiced my thoughts. Frank tugged at his map, shaking his head. "I....have no idea. I know that we're in the Dryad Marsh, just a few miles away from the outskirts of Siren. But how deep we are in the marsh, or exactly where we are inside it....I couldn't even begin to tell you." Angelina sighed exasperatedly. "Great. Just great. So now we're lost. So now what do we do?" Maria cut in, "We're not lost. Look, if we just follow the tracks Stacy and your vehicles made, it'll lead us back out."

I looked over to Maria and smiled, glad she was using her head. She smiled back. Ian said, "Um, there's a problem with your plan, Maria." Maria and I both looked over, with our eyebrows raised in query. Ian simply pointed down behind us, and I looked to find no tracks, much to my dismay. "Surely there must be signs in the ground where we disturbed the mud!" I exclaimed. Sara said into my head, That's the problem. There's too much mud and water. Whatever tracks you left behind will be on dry land, where your tires can get better traction. It probably doesn't help that all this mist is hanging in the air, either.

I hung my head. She was right. I looked to the other guys, and got another idea. I asked Frank, "We rode into the marsh in more or less a straight line, right?" Frank shrugged. "I dunno, maybe. I was too busy trying to drive away from the cops to notice." I said, "Well that's it then. We'll just turn around and drive the other way." The others nodded in agreement, and in a few minutes, we had turned the cars, my bike, and Stacy in the opposite direction (or, at least, what I thought was the opposite direction), and began driving forward.

* * * *

Shit. Gods damn it!!!

No, seriously, this is the fifth time we've passed that rock, I'm pretty sure. I could've sworn that we were going the right way, but it seems that my plan was going into shambles, as it would seem that we did not, in fact, enter the marsh in a straight line, apparently, which means one thing.

We were lost.

A/N: Yeah, I know this chapter was short, but I needed to post something just to let you guys know that I'm alive. I've been having a few personal problems lately that I needed to resolve on my own, but here's the important thing: I'm back, and it's going to stay that way for awhile!!! Woo!!