Please note: Tomorrow I'm going on a plane to Virginia to visit my friend, and since I live in California my uploading schedule is going to be totally screwed up. I'll try to upload at my usual time, but I've got no idea what Kathy has planned for me, so we'll see what happens. If I do miss uploading tomorrow, I'll upload both chapters Eleven and and Twelve on Sunday to make up for it. (Now you see why I wanted to make sure Chapter Ten would be uploaded by Friday? I'd hate to leave a cliffhanger like THAT one on you guys!)

Chapter Ten

"Dr. Light said Protoman was last seen here, Eddie," said Roll quietly, landing inside a convenient cave. The cliffs seemed to be full of them, carved out from millions of years ago when the ground was only an ocean floor.

"Eddie doesn't want to go," whimpered Eddie. Roll sighed as she got out of the car.

"Don't worry, Eddie—I want you to guard the car. Just give me an energy can before I go, okay?"

"Okay!" Eddie threw a can to Roll, who took it and drank from it eagerly.

"Great," she said, crumpling it into a little ball and throwing it back to him. "I'll call on the communicator if I need you, okay?"

Eddie nodded, and Roll peeked outside the cave, trying to see if any—

"I thought I heard something," said a harsh voice. A Robot Master! Roll quickly hid behind the cave's mouth, knowing that an ambush would work better than an outright attack.

"You probably heard a rock fall or something. C'mon, let's keep scanning this place."

That was Protoman's voice! She peeked out again and saw the two turn around and leave. She formed her laser and prepared to jump—

"Roll!" whispered Eddie. Roll glared at him.

"What is it, Eddie?" she whispered back, still eyeing Protoman and his companion, trying to judge how many seconds she'd have before they realized they were ambushed and how to best use the time.

"The cave goes in deep!"

"So?"

"It might be an easier way to get to the Robot Masters!"

Roll thought for a moment.

"You're right, Eddie," she said at last. "I still have the advantage. We can see if it's connected to anything—I heard all these caves are like catacombs around here."

#######

Somehow Rock managed to land on his feet, though he immediately collapsed to the ground to rest. Panting, he gingerly rubbed his left arm.

"What…happened…?" he whispered to himself. The hole was still there, and Rock bit back a cry as he felt the metal bits inside scrape and crash against each other as the hole disappeared and his hand reformed. This time it wasn't as painful, but he didn't know if it was because it was the second time the transformation occurred or just because he was getting used to it.

How can I get used to it? he thought. I don't even know what it is! Sure worked on Drill Man, though…

Rock flinched at the memory, and decided that the—the...what should he call this thing? It wasn't a gun, or a laser, but…

Blaster, he decided. It seemed to fit.

Well, he wasn't going to use the blaster unless he absolutely had to.

"Where am I?" he asked the air, and felt his surroundings. He was surrounded by rocks of varying sizes, and the ground was gritty, probably from the sand. He pushed himself up and slowly felt his way forward, trying to find a way out.

Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. They were too light to be Proto's, and didn't match the heavy poundings of Guts Man or the quick snaps of Cut Man. Still, it was best to find a place safer than here.

He carefully felt around for a tall rock to lean against and found it just as the footsteps stopped about ten feet away. He felt a bit more comfortable with his back against a wall, and waited fearlessly for the stranger to talk to him.

"Meg…Meg…Mega Man?!" gasped a soft voice—young, female, and shocked. Rock cocked his head at her.

"I think you have the wrong gu—" he began, but was interrupted as the girl charged toward him and hugged him fiercely.

"I thought—we thought you were—well, of course you wouldn't be, you're too stubborn! Oh, it's so wonderful to see you, Mega Man!"

Rock pushed her off, giving her an embarrassed smile. "I think you have the wrong guy, miss," he said. "My name's Rock, not Mega Man. Who is he? Maybe I can help you find him."

"'Who is he'?! He's you!"

"That's impossible," laughed Rock. "Did someone hit you on the head? I just told you, my name's Rock." He cocked his head at her. "Hey, do you know the way out of here? I really need to find—"

"You must have lost your memory! It's okay, I'll take you to Dr. Light and he'll—"

"Dr. Light?! Are you nuts?! He'll destroy me!"

"Of course he won't! He built you!"

"Yeah, like that'd stop him! He already kidnapped my sister!"

"He didn't kidnap me!"

Rock gasped. "You—you—you're Roll?"

"Of course, Mega Man! Now, c'mon—"

"Get away from me!"

Rock shoved her away from him and ran as quickly as he could, somehow knowing how to avoid the rocks scattered about. He could hear Roll racing behind him, and ran even faster, though his bad leg screamed in protest.

"Mega Man, STOP! It's me! You know I won't—"

"I said, get away from me! PROTO! HELP!!!"

"Proto…?! Now you're really the crazy one! Stop it, Mega!"

"Stop calling me that! My name is ROCK!"

Suddenly Rock lost his footing and fell face down, his bad leg smashing into the ground. He moaned and forced himself to get up, and as he did so realized that his left arm had started to burn again.

Oh no, not now, not now, he thought. The last time his arm heated up like this, it had left him doubled over in pain, and if he had missed—

"Mega Man, stop running!" Roll cried, running faster. Rock screamed as his hand converted once again into the horrible blaster, already burning stronger than ever. The pain was too much for him to concentrate, and he tripped over more rocks, landing this time on his right side, facing the girl.

"GO AWAY!" he shrieked, and fired. He heard Roll scream but didn't care—he just had to get out, get out, get—

"Rock!" cried a welcomed voice.

"P-Proto!" Rock gasped. "Proto, help!"

Suddenly Proto was next to him, helping him stand and letting him lean on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Rock," his brother said quietly.

"Mega Man! Get away from him! That's PROTOMAN! He'll—he'll—"

"Leave me alone!" cried Rock, clutching Proto's arm, trying to balance himself as he teetered dangerously.

"Yeah, Roll, leave him alone," said Proto very softly, steadying his brother with one hand while training his blaster on the girl. She only formed her laser in response.

"I don't know what you did to him, but I'm gonna take him home and have him repaired, and then you'll be sorry!"

"I think you'd better leave, Roll," repeated Proto as he prepared a charged shot. "You'll be destroyed if you don't."

"I don't run from bullies like you!"

Proto fired.

Roll dodged and fired back with her laser. Rock ducked and cried out as the laserfire scorched his good arm. He crawled behind some large rocks, trying to protect himself from the blasts.

"Oh no! Mega Man! I'm sorry—AIEEEE!!" Roll ducked more blaster shots from Proto and returned fire. The hot plasma and laser beams bounced off of the rocks and walls, and Rock trembled as he felt the pressure in the cave increase with each blast.

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT!!" he screamed, standing up and racing between the two fighters. Both instantly stopped firing, panting.

"Rock, get out of the way!"

"Mega Man, help m—"

"No! We have to get out! The energy—can't you feel it?!" Rock grabbed his brother and pulled on his arm as the pressure increased. "This place is gonna explode!!"

"I don't know what—"

The pressure needed to be released. The place was going to blow up in a few minutes.

Grabbing Proto's scarf, Rock dragged his brother toward a passageway he sensed was nearby, knowing it led outside by the fresh breeze blowing in.

"Rock, what're you do—"

The cave exploded. The blast sent Proto and Rock flying into the passageway, and both were blown onto the beach. The rest of the cave collapsed as Roll raced for her hovercar to escape. A big rock hit Rock on the head, and he blacked out.