Charity did not talk to Rock after that. Some said she was mad, others said she was angry with herself. Whatever the reason, she took her time to avoid Rock at all costs.
Marie was unchanged. She was grateful, but she had not seen Rock slide. She had fainted once she had fallen. Apparently, her best friend had done the same, and the fear was too great for her mind to handle.
Rock was quiet, reading a copy of Romeo and Juliet in his spare time. He understood the story, and he had no idea why he even bothered to read it. He had been reading in his bubble until Marie came to get him.
"Auntie Chaos is here! She wants to see everyone!" She dragged Rock out of the bubble and down the slide, where a cloaked figure greeted everyone. The figure was about twenties, tall, and had a rich alto voice when she spoke.
"Ah, there's Marie." Chaos took off her hood to greet her. Rock blinked as he felt another memory come on. But this time, it simply stayed beneath the surface of his mind, and all she did was look familiar.
She spoke to him. "I am quite glad you saved our little Marie. Without her, this base is a load of shit." As she spoke the "naughty" word, the younger kids gasped. Lui and Charity grinned at each other, and Chaos smiled at the teenagers.
"Come now, Lucas," she said to the brown-haired boy, "What has happened here that I should know of?"
"We've been sick, Chaos. Other than that, we've got newbie who's a white cat around her. Good luck for everyone." He pointed to Rock. "And you know quite well my name's Cain."
"Yes, Cain. How could I forget?"
"You didn't," he said, folding his arms. "And neither did I."
"Please, auntie Chaos?" a five-year-old squeaked. "Bring back the magic?" The five-year-old looked pleadingly.
Rock looked up and saw that a neon light was beginning to glow, and a inflatable person was beginning to inflate. He smiled as the videogames, though quiet, turned on.
All at once, the arcade sprung to life and cookies appeared at the eating tables, along with a cake, pizza, and coloring books with crayons. Confetti burst from who-knows-where and the younger kids shrieked with joy as they ran off. The teens all ran for the arcade, and the older kids went for the bathrooms. Only Lui, Charity, and Rock were left with Chaos as she handed them some money.
"Work your ass of these days. That's all Yamagatchi wants." She sighed.
"Chaos, when the hell have you worked for something? You use your power or whatever," Lui said, and they all laughed.
"You'd be surprised," Chaos replied. "Unlike Spider-man, who thinks of Power is equal to great responsibility, I think power should only be used for extremities. Like in today's world, for instance." She winked. Rock laughed, which meant Chaos turned on him. "Hello. Enjoying today's society, Rock?"
"You know my name?" he asked, surprised.
"This is Chaos. She seems to know everything." Lui said sarcastically. "Even if no one saw, she knows. Well, I'm off to eat! Coming, Charity?"
Charity nodded and the two ran off. Rock's stomach plummeted to the ground. "You know everything?" he asked quietly. When Chaos nodded, he came back with, "That's not fair! You know who I am, when I don't!"
"True. But I have my unfairness in life, young one," she told him. "And I am not to reveal things unless you know yourself." She handed him an ice-cream cone.
"No thanks. I don't eat."
"And how do you absorb energy?" she asked, waving a hand. The ice-cream cone was gone, but Rock's panel had opened. Amazed, he stepped back from Chaos, who shook her head.
"I'll teach you how to read that. Again." She pointed to the panel with several long lines. "This is an energy meter. Once this thing is full, it blinks blue. If it's empty, it blinks red. You shouldn't have to worry about it. You'll find that sleep does most of the job, but if you fall from huge heights, or take a hit from an enemy, like Trinity, it'll fall more rapidly. You never want this to hit zero, understand?"
Rock nodded, amazed at the little button. "You know so much…"
"That ain't half of it, Rock," she replied. "You'll probably never see me again, so when you remember…" she gave him a hug. "I'll miss you forever, boy," she said, sniffing. "And so will the world." Then, she vanished, but her toys and food did not. Rock hugged the air she had been in.
"I guess I'll miss you too, Chaos…"
The next morning, Charity stopped by the bubble. She glared at him several times, each as if commanding to wake him up. When he did, he snapped to attention. "Yes m'am?"
"Your yellow team is working the streets today. You're with me, and you had better do a damn good job and avoid the Hawks."
Rock nodded as she crawled off.
When he reached downstairs, the yellow team was waiting for him. "Upgrade, man," Terry told him. "This is so cool. We get to steal bread and crap."
"Literally? I pray not." Brandon stood on the side, very cool and calm. The nine-year-old twins were jumpy. Rock just gave a smile.
"Listen. Trinity is no one to mess with. I doubt she'll come after you, but after the incident with Rock, you'll never know. The Hawks are all men. Kick 'em where it counts and move on. With Trinity, either run away as fast as you can, or hide and don't make a sound. She's got infrared vision, night vision, super-enhanced hearing, and all that good crap. Plus, they don't believe guilty until proven innocent out here. They think 'shoot on sight'."
The group nodded as Charity opened the door and led them through the alleyways, the same ones Rock had gone through earlier. Larry was nervous, and his palms were sweaty. Brandon looked confident of himself, while Terry was just exited. Rock was a calm, steady, but his morals were conflicting with that.
"One more thing, before I tell you your mission. They'll do anything to find this place. If you let them, they will come here and rip your friends apart. The last shred of hope for the entire world will be cut, and you will die mercilessly. So it was for my husband. So it will be for you. Don't. Get. Caught." The group nodded. "Steal as much bread as you can. Bring it back here. Don't wait for others. Don't save anyone. You are on your own."
The group nodded and Charity pushed Brandon out as a crowd moved by. The crowd couldn't see them, but they could see the crowd. Brandon moved with the crowd, and it died down. He was gone.
"Good. He's worked the streets before. He knows the rules. Now, for you, never steal within eighty feet of the base, you hear? Never draw fire here. Do not draw attention to yourself, and if caught, never, ever use the alleyways. Never."
The twins nodded and were pushed out into the next wave. Charity glared at Rock, who waited. "What's wrong? Afraid?"
"Yes," Rock answered. "Something bad's out there. It's waiting. I know it."
"Forte?" Charity asked looking around.
"No, not Forte. But not Trinity, either." Rock sighed. "I'm sorry, I guess I sound really, really stupid now…."
"No hunch is stupid," Charity replied. "See that washing place? The one with the blond chick with the hair? She looks like a spy. She's so inconspicuous. So perfect."
"Or it's the Hawk above her," he replied.
"No. It's in her gaze, in her eyes. She's waiting. She's seen the others. We'll have to take another route." The woman started coming over. "Damn! She's seen us!" Charity moved back, her scarf flailing in the wind.
"Actually," the woman said, staring blankly at the two, "I've heard you. Please stop referring to me as a 'she'. It kind of pisses me off."
"So you're a gay guy?" Charity responded. The man's fists curled, but he did nothing. "You have a nice looking-glass," he responded. "One can leave, but not enter. I've seen it used so many times." He smiled.
"What do you want?" Rock asked. The man's face was surprised, but it grew into a happiness. An evil kind of happiness.
"At the moment, I would be content in giving you a warning, Rock. Besides Forte after your rear, Trinity is looking for Megaman. You should be cautious today. And your friends." He gave a wave. "Good luck, and don't follow me around."
Rock's mouth was open, but he found enough curiosity to make them form words. "Who are you?" he asked.
"My name…. I have none." The stranger was blunt.
"Can I call you Zero, then? Zero name?" Rock asked curiously.
"Why not? A number is as good as any, right?" the stranger shrugged and walked off, thinking about it.
Charity waited for a few minutes. Then, she spoke. "Get your bread. Three loaves. Then leave. Never go out again today, understand? Take the alleyways."
Rock nodded his reply, and was pushed into the mixing crowd. The crowd enclosed on him, and he looked around for Charity. All he could see was a alleyway, with a dumpster and a can about three feet from it. He looked around at all the people, but they did not try to help. They looked downwards or upwards. They tried to ignore Rock, as he slid in and out of empty spaces, looking for a grocery store, several decameters away. When he found one, he entered the store.
It was very quiet, and no one was there. He walked up and down the isles, looking for bread. When he found none, he looked out the window for any sign of inspiration.
He found the reason no one was in the store. Rock's heart gave a leap as he saw Terry, cornered by Trinity. Her arm was into a gun much like Forte's; Rock new there was no saving Terry. As Terry's voice didn't come out for a scream, Trinity smiled as she fired a crystal at his right arm. The bread he had been stealing fell onto the ground. Rock's hand began to burn again. He tried to look away from the glass, but his eyes made him look that way. His mouth could make no sound as Terry was beaten on again and again.
Rock's hand burned and his eyes were big and his mind was blank and suddenly he was flying….
The glass shattered all around him and he slid to where Terry was. He got up to face Trinity, stepping between her and Terry. Trinity was almost giddy, and fired a blast at his shoulder.
Rock wasn't sure of what possessed him to fight. He wasn't sure why he needed to steal bread, nor was he sure of protecting a kid who he had been commanded not to protect if put in this situation. Soon, though, as the crystal came nearer, everything went slow.
His hand burned, and Rock knew why. Instead of fighting it, he let the change take place. His hand grew small and slid into his arm, and a cannon formed instead. The change wasn't as quick- the buster, he knew, had not been used for a long, long time, and wasn't as sure of itself- but Rock didn't care. He leveled the cannon at the spike and fired, shattering the spike.
Trinity's eyes grew wide as shabby little Rock fired again. He had no shoes, he had the minimum of clothes (t-shirt and shorts) and his appearance was dirty and grimy. But in his eyes he held determinacy, and a dignity, a self of purpose. As Trinity saw this, she threw up a shield instead of another attack. She stared at the kid for a few seconds, then spoke.
"Your ass is so mine, Megaman. No one breaks my attacks." Rock blinked, but held back from firing, even though he wanted to. Trinity grew a bluish color. Rock unleashed his last attack, then frantically scooped up Terry and ran with Terry in his arms. As Trinity pointed her hand at Rock, he was aware of a blue beam engulfing him. He waited for the end as he liquefied and was carried away.