Souldance
Chapter Three: Friendship
Author's Notes: Not much to say now… just that I will be calling Protoman 'Blues' from here on out to avoid confusion. Ja ne!
Hours went by in silence between the two, the robot trudging ahead tirelessly while Sierra huffed a few paces behind from fatigue. It was not to sat that she was out of shape; on the contrary, she was extremely fit. However, she had been running all day, and the monotonous pounding of her feet on the forest floor only served to give her a constant, aching pain.
She did not dare ask Blues to rest, for he would likely scoff and point out her 'human' weakness. What did he have against his creators, anyway? On top of it all, there seemed to be some sort of a connection between him and Elecman... but she could not quite place it. Perhaps it was due to her exhaustion that the realization could not come to her. But, like any good scientist, she would be patient, and the answers would present themselves eventually without any large amounts of prompting. Such was the way of nature, and she was ever ready to wait.
Suddenly they reached a clearing in the trees, large rays of bright sunlight peeking out through the shadowy, otherwise ominous leaves and of the branches above that seemed to want to reach down and grab them, pluck them up and swallow them into their endless depths.
'Stop it,' she told herself firmly. 'There's no reason to be uneasy; Blues can handle anything.'
'But what is it that makes me so sure?' another part of her said. 'You still don't know anything about him... his limits or strengths. One battle is not enough to gauge it!'
Absently she sighed to herself, drawing the attention of her companion. He turned his face towards her, the black visor of the red helmet glinting to further hide his eyes from her searching gaze.
"Is there a problem?"
She sniffed. "I take it you have had little contact with humans, Blues."
"Correct, Miss Sierra."
"Just Sierra, okay? I'm not an old lady or something."
"What is your point?"
"The POINT is..." she began, "...that I am tired. I am hungry, and in dire need to sit down or you're going to have to continue your trek alone."
He was silent for a time, then sighed heavily as if annoyed. "Not that I would mind the lack of company, M-- Sierra... but I have to keep you away from Doctor Wily and his robots."
"Why do you care so much what happens to me?"
"Because, as it appears, you are important to Wily in aiding his insane plans, and I will not allow that to happen."
"Mr. Hero, huh?"
No answer. Sierra slapped her forehead from the 'bots ignorance to her phrases and expressions. "So," she tried again. "How about some food and a rest?"
"I have no need for such."
"That's nice!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "BUT I DO!! Look here, bud, I don't think you'll want to end up carrying me into the next town when I collapse from exhaustion. Get the idea?"
He crossed his arms, seemingly uninterested and bemused at once. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?" And with that, he began to stalk off further, out of the clearing. The girl raised her eyebrows in surprise, then narrowed her eyes in anger.
"Where are you going? Didn't I just say--"
"Stay there."
Startled by the crisp command, she froze. Sniffing again, she plopped down onto the soft grasses at her feet, stretching out her legs to relieve the soreness as she watched Blues disappear into the woods.
What else could she do?
And why did she suddenly get a sinking feeling in her stomach as her only protection from Wily escaped her line of vision?
Sierra rested beneath the scattered shade of the trees, leaning her head against a smooth trunk and looking up into the speckled patches of sky above.
'As in Dr. Thomas Xavier Light?'
Again the question whipped through her mind, filling her heart with a tiny light of hope. Ever since she was but six years of age she had been alone, her parents mysteriously disappearing without warning. Too young to understand what was going on, the young girl had always believed that they would return to her, but as eventual months and then years passed by, her tiny heart had slowly begun to break apart. Each night she would cry in her room, the empty house echoing her high-pitched wails without an ear to listen nor a hand to comfort.
She had no other relatives that she knew of, and though various family friends and neighbors tried to care for her, young Annelle Light would ot be consoled by anyone.
By the time she had reached her early teens, Annelle had taken a choice few of her belongings to set out into the world on her own. Her pain of staying in her hometown was too much to bear, the memories too shattering for her lonely soul. Among those she left behind was her own identity, taking up the name Sierra as if to clean the slate and create a new, spotless life. Much to her dismay, it was not so easy.
Work was hard to find then, and by that time robots were beginning to replace humans in simple labors such as housecleaning and factory work. Finding no other means to feed herself and keep clothes on her back, she began to study the schematics of robots and androids, eve going so far as to stealing parts from a junkyard or two to completely rebuild new machines and sell them for a moderate price... time went on, and Sierra became the best robotics designer and repair specialist, her reputation of creating innovative new schematics and blueprints reaching the level of genius.
'But again, fate was against it...' she thought to herself bitterly, fighting back the hot tears that threatened to scorch her cheeks with sorrow once more. She shut her eyes tightly, repeating to herself over and over again that it would all pass... she could escape Wily...
'...for how long?' the pessimistic side of her retorted. 'The only reason you escaped before was because Blues was there. And God only knows if he works for Wily, too.'
Aimlessly the girl stood up, combing disheveled brown hair back and wrapping it into a sloppy bun. The wind tossed at the free wisps around her face, throwing them carelessly behind her ear. Straightening her tank top, bits of grass and twigs fell from the fabric down to her feet, clad in dirty sneakers that were a tad too small.
The wind died, leaving Sierra alone in silence. Goosebumps crawled up her arms despite her attempts to remain stoic. She'd learned the hard way to never show fear if it was possible... even in the most pressing situations.
This, however, was not a pressing situation, though an unnerving one. Angrily her thoughts turned back to her robot companion, grumbling silently as to where he could have disappeared to.
"Your dinner."
Sierra nearly jumped out of her skin at the soft yet stern voice so near her. Whirling around, she turned red with anger at Blues, who merely stood there with a half-smirk on his face. In his hand was a small white paper box, but she took no notice.
"What did you think you were doing, scaring me like that!?" It wasn't that he'd shown up; rather, it was the fact that he was a robot that could move so swiftly yet silently that sent a chill of fear down her spine.
He tilted his head back slightly as if to eye her curiously. "I was unaware that my presence discomforted you so. Perhaps I should take this food elsewhere?" He shifted the weight in his left hand, smirk widening playfully.
"Where did you get that?" Sierra asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
Blues shrugged innocently. "A storekeeper was so busy with customers, I thought I'd relieve him of some of the merchandise. Saves him the trouble of selling it."
Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. "You... you STOLE THAT?"
"I wouldn't call it stealing."
"Oh? And why not?" Color filled her face, partly in surprise and partly in fury. "What would constitute taking something without paying to not be stealing?!"
"The fact that I just took out another of Wily's goons on the way there. The scrapheap was gonna burn the entire city... I figured a small amount of food was a fair enough payment!"
"It's still stealing!"
"It's not!"
"Is too!"
"I assure you it's not."
"I KNOW IT IS!"
"Do you?"
She stopped. "What does that mean?"
All amusement left the robot's face then. "Can you really admit to never taking something that's not yours so that you can survive?"
Ouch. It hurt, mostly due to the chords it struck within her; he was right.
"I can't..."
"Then don't patronize me. Eat, or go hungry." He tossed the package at her feet, gently as to not damage the contents.
Sierra solemnly sulked while picking at the food in front of her. She was starving, but the thought of the way she received the nourishment was dishonorable to her.
"It's getting cold," her companion pointed out. She said nothing in reply, still angry.
"Good grief..." he muttered loudly. "I thought I'd get at least a 'thank you' for finding something at all! But no, the hypocritical girl says, 'Oh no! I can't TOUCH this food because it wasn't paid for!' Money's stupid anyway."
Her head snapped up, and if looks could kill... well, let's just say that dear Blues would be deep-fried and breaded, served with garlic on a silver platter. "What makes you say that? Money keeps people alive!"
"Pfft. It also keeps them poor, impoverished, and hungry. It's the source of most of the humans' problems."
"What would you know about it?" Sierra snapped back. "You know nothing about us! You're just a robot, a hunk of lifeless metal!"
Blues opened his mouth to speak, then promptly shut it, the thin line of his lips pressing tightly together in anger. Abruptly he stood up, scarf flowing madly behind him.
"Fine then. If you're so sure of yourself, then let's see how well you can handle without my help!" And with that he stormed away, boots loudly cracking twigs and dead leaves as he went.
"Fine by me! Go on then! I don't need you!" 'That's right,' she assured herself. 'I don't need anyone. There's no need for me to depend on another 'cuz I can easily fend for myself!'
Her gaze dropped back to her tofu and rice, which was still looking tantalizingly tasty despite the fact that it was no longer warm. "To hell with it." She grabbed the cheap chopsticks that she'd been given and dug in, savoring every bite.
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'How dare she?' Blues fumed furiously. 'How in the world could that girl be so damned arrogant? She doesn't know anything!
'But then... neither do I...'
He stopped in his tracks to evaluate that thought. Shaking his head, he realized that they'd both been wrong about some things... but that didn't make him any less angry about the situation.
'Hmph. If she thinks she can survive then let her. She's of no consequence to me... however... I still must make sure that Wily doesn't get his paws on her.'
A horrifying thought crossed his mind then; of Sierra sitting at a small lab table under crude lighting, of Wily looking over her shoulder greedily as she tinkered with various robot wiring and structure... the scene moved to one of a battlefield... No, a massacre, where hundreds of humans lay dead on the scorched ground... houses and buildings were reduced to rubble, and an army of malicious robots marched in perfect order over the carnage; they were led by Wily and Sierra.
His fears making up his mind for him, Blues leaped upwards into the trees, vanishing with silence into their dense green camouflage.
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Three days later Sierra was still alone, though she had at last reached the end of the wilderness and was back into civilization. As she passed a few onlookers gave stern expressions to her state of uncleanness, sniffing arrogantly as they returned to their daily errands.
Scowling at the negative attention, the girl looked around to get her bearings. Spotting a clothing shop nearby she changed direction towards it.
"Annelle?"
Her head whipped around at the sound. The voice was so familiar...
"Annelle! It IS you!" From the crowds emerged a grinning face framed by dark brown hair, blue eyes glittering with joy. The girl's mouth dropped open in surprise while standing rooted to the spot she was standing in.
"M-Matthew?!" she stammered. The tall boy's smile widened, opening his arms to embrace Sierra in a big bear hug.
"Wow... I never thought I'd see you again!" he exclaimed in her ear, pulling back to look at her. "After I heard about the price on your head... I got worried."
"Price?!" 'Oh, great,' she thought.
Matthew "Tech" Knight gave his friend a concerned gaze, the undertones of anger evident in his face. "Yeah. Not only 'bots, but some crazy bounty hunters are searching for you, too. Where in the world have you been?"
"No clue, Matt, to tell you the truth... I don't even know where I am now. How did YOU get here? I thougt you were still back in Concord!"
He shrugged. "After I heard about Wily trying to 'recruit' some designers I decided to lay low for a while and move to a small town. But... it seems its only you he's currently interested in. How did you last this long?"
"I... er... had some help in that department." For some reason, a deep gut feeling told her to not expose Blues' identity. She didn't know why... this was her friend.
He raised an eyebrow, shrugged again. "Whatever. Anyway... looks like you're in need of some new threads. Come on... I'll treat ya to a decent wardrobe."
"Since when do you have money to spend?" She teased, drawing a small pout form him.
"Hey, its not so bad here. Doing odd jobs and playing Mr. Fix-it gets me some respectable cash. I don't even have to swindle people like we used to."
"Those were the days..." she mumbled absently. "All right then, Matt. Let's go."
"Hey, you know I go by Tech now."
"You sure that's such a good idea?"
"Oh, sure," he replied with a wave of his hand. "I've never told anyone about my previous occupations, so I'm in no danger."
"Okay then, Tech. Lead the way... and for the record, I'm Sierra now."
"All right, Sierra." The two resumed walking down the sidewalk, engaging in idle chatter as they completed the trek to the clothing store.
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A face peered from his vantage point amongst the crowds, clad in a black trench-coat with a thick belt and boots. He would have been conspicuous if not for his short size, instead appearing comical in appearance. The masses of people paid him no mind, being too busy with their own affairs to bother with senseless curiosity.
'All the better...' he thought with a toothy grin, beady eyes fastening onto the pair of teenagers entering a local shop. 'Annelle Light, you won't escape me.'
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Another figure stood unnoticed, but by a different manner than the first. He watched both the teenagers and the trench-coat man at once, eyes narrowing in anger.
'This won't be easy,' he thought to himself. 'I'm going to have to find a suitable disguise to watch their moves; I can't afford to stay at this far a distance.'
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"Hey Tech! What about this one?" Sierra called as she emerged from the dressing room. The boy looked up and promptly his eyes widened in surprise. She was wearing a sleeveless red tank top that said 'Bad Kitty' and long, dark jeans to compliment her slender figure, while assorted bracelets and a necklace provided extra flair.
He gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, and she retreated back into the room to change. Moments later she emerged in a casual baby-blue shirt and black capris to wear out of the store, her hair brushed into a French braid to keep out of her face.
"You look terrific!" Tech smiled. "Are you sure that's all you want? I've got enough cash for anything else you need."
She laughed. "No, I'll be fine. Besides, I only need a couple of outfits, plus my old clothes to work in."
Tech was about to reply when his wrist began beeping. Sierra raised an eyebrow while peering curiously at her companion. "What's that?"
"Er... nothing. Just a wrist pager."
"Whoa now... I thought those things cost a bundle!"
He looked sheepish. "Well, one of my customers couldn't get it to work right, so in exchange for fixing his car he gave it to me as payment."
"You have some generous clients."
It beeped again, and with a look of apology he excused himself from the store, tossing Sierra his wallet before exiting. "I'll be right back!"
Amused, she shook her head and made her way to the cash register. The cashier cheerfully scanned the items and took Tech's cash, making comments about Sierra's good taste as she did so.
"Here's your change, ma'am."
"Thanks." Gathering her bags, she turned around to bump into someone who in turn placed their hands on her shoulders.
"Ack!"
"Whoops," Tech smirked. "Sorry there, Sierra."
She stuck her tongue out at him, stepping away from him to give his wallet back. "Thanks."
"No problem. Hmm... what say we go get a bite to eat? I hope you're paying... you pretty much cleaned me out... unless you don't mind borrowing some..."
With a frown she glared at him, causing the poor boy to put his hands up in defense. "Kidding! Only kidding!"
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Night.
A lone figure rose from the darkness, silent as the stars above. Jumping from shadow to shadow soundlessly, gracefully, he reached his destination unnoticed by any who also was prowling on the empty streets. Stopping by a display window, he sniffed in disapproval, moving towards the locked entry doors. He removed a pin from his collar, easily picking the simple locks and disabling the alarms with a quick series of punched buttons on a remote keypad in one hand.
'Handy, this thing...' he thought with a smirk. Smoothly he entered the building, eyes raking the merchandise until he found what he was looking for. He chose a few items here and there, throwing needless things to the floor with no regard to them.
'This will work nicely enough...' Stepping over the mess he had made, the interloper paused by the cash register once, then completely left without further hesitation.
"Phase One, complete," he muttered to no one.
Author's Notes: Oooh…. New chara! What's the relationship between Sierra and Matt? Who are the bounty hunters searching for her? Where the heck is Blues?! This is the last I have written thus far. Would you like more? Review and tell me if you do! ~Sierra Omega~