Generation Gap
(The Light Blue World)
Part 2

"…It's not that we, as the human race, have made a mistake in creating an artificial sentience within machines. Far from it, actually. It is perhaps mankind's greatest achievement to date; yet one cannot help but wonder if, in our jubilation and excitement towards giving birth to a new species, we ever considered the consequences of our actions…"

—James Cain, author of Reploids and Their Place In Society

The wind howled.

He stood alone on the field, brooding. Like a boulder scoured clean by eons of time, he refused to move even in the midst of such fierce gales. Sure, they could batter him all they liked. They could throw a friggin' tornado at him for all he cared. But he still wouldn't budge until he wanted to.

His hair billowed out behind him in a long yellow streamer, blaspheming against gravity with its unwillingness to point downwards. He paid it no mind, not even moving when it whipped around his head and into his face.

His senses were turned inward, in a dark moment of thought and soul-searching, recalling distant memories of past events, where he looked different and did not fight alone…

A young human timidly approached from behind, wearing a fur coat to protect her fragile frame from the gusts. She looked around herself for a bit, hesitant, wondering if she should speak with him now.

"Why are you here?"

The question came so suddenly and unexpected that the girl jumped. "Um, I—I wanted to ask you what's wrong." She responded after a moment, quick to regain her composure.

He turned to look at her, green eyes conveying a look of such strong emotion that she was unable to meet his gaze for more than a few seconds. "You should not be out here." He said quietly, dodging the unspoken question. "Go back to the Base."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." The girl responded, more firmly yet with eyes still looking away from him.

"……" He said nothing. He almost couldn't bear to speak of it. The subject hurt him…

She took a chance and looked him in the face. Those eyes of his were closed, so the action was safe. "Zero, please…" The girl begged, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He broke away from her grip, turning to stare off into the distance. "Ciel, what do you know about me?"

She blinked, pulling her outstretched hand back a bit. "What do I know…? Well, you're one of the top members of the Resistance, you've saved us from a number of enemies and weapons of mass destruction, you're very skilled with a beam saber…"

"That's not what I meant." Zero frowned, his gaze burning a hole into some spot on the horizon. "I was referring to my past."

Ciel blinked. Here was a subject she had never heard him speak of before.

"Y-your—?"

He interrupted her before her half-formed question could complete: "Have I ever spoken to you of a mission I undertook before the Repliforce incident, when X and I traveled through time?"

Now he turned to make eye contact with her. Bewildered, she could do nothing but shake her head 'no'. He continued: "During that mission, a future version of myself assisted us."

He put both hands on her shoulders. "Ciel, this morning it all seemed to click together. That future version had been me, as I am now—one hundred years after X and I vanished through a time-traveling portal. Two hundred years after the mission itself happened in the past."

Now she began to understand him. Her eyes slowly opened wider. "You mean—"

"I don't know when, but eventually I'll have to go back in time to that mission." Zero nodded. "Now that I AM that future version, I must go and help everyone back then. They need me."

"But…how?"

Zero sighed, turning back to stare off into the distance. His expression, which had just now displayed such earnestness, soon retreated back into its cold, stony shell.

"I don't know." He spoke. A gale struck him in the midriff, provoking no reaction whatsoever. Ciel shrieked and grabbed her coat to keep it from blowing straight off her. She latched onto Zero's shoulder, using him for anchorage and shelter as the wind speed reached heights that only a machine could stand upright against. Finally the gales faded, leaving Ciel clutching Zero and panting from fright.

The reploid inclined his head slightly. "Hmm. Mild day today."

Ciel did a double-take. "MILD?"

"Yes." He responded flatly. "A bad day would do much worse than knock youover. And unfortunately, it's about to get bad."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Ciel asked with a nervous stutter. In answer, Zero merely pointed in the direction he currently faced.

Ciel looked around him and let out a gasp. A swelling black thunderhead seemed to span the entire sky up ahead. It was as if there was an imaginary line that separated day from night, and it was headed in their direction…but the flashes of electricity among the clouds revealed their true nature.

Ciel could believe Zero's claim about what bad days could do. He had probably seen more of the surface world in his life than anyone could, especially in these times...

The Legendary Hunter turned to face the direction of the Resistance Base. "Come, you need shelter." Without so much as a warning he scooped her entirely off her feet and into his arms, then activated his dash-thrusters. Bluish-white flames burst from the bottoms of his feet as they were propelled forward by the wonders of modern rocket technology, jetting along just above the ground.

And the wind watched them leave, laughing all the while.

The year was 20XX.

The place was a laboratory, one where world-renowned scientist Dr. Light built tools to battle in a constant bid for peace against the forces of evil.

The characters were of a varied assortment, both tall and small, robot and human, male and female. But the one on which we have focused our attention is Mega Man, who at this precise moment in history was in the act of turning to check up on his creator. He stopped short, however, upon noticing said creator's current facial expression.

"Whoah! Dr. Light, are you okay?" The little blue robot uttered, not used to the elderly scientist looking so shocked and surprised. It took a few moments before Light gave a barely perceptible nod, unable to speak his thoughts out loud.

Zero turned to look at Mega Man. "Dr. Light?" He asked, puzzled. "But that would mean—" His eyes widened, and Magma Dragoon could picture the classic lightbulb blinking into existence above his pointed red helmet. "You're Mega Man, aren't you?"

"My reputation precedes me." Mega exclaimed sarcastically. He took off his helmet with a pneumatic hiss and held it at his side, running a hand through his wavy black hair. "Just who the heck are you?"

Zero's face broke out into a sharp-toothed smile that somehow made the robot feel uncomfortable. "Oh, my rank should be sufficient for now. I'm the commander of Elite Unit #0 in the Maverick Hunters."

Mega Man was nonplussed. "Uh huh. What's that?"

Magma broke in before Zero could give a smart-aleck retort. "Maverick hunters get rid of bad robots that try to harm humans." He answered, simplifying the many concepts behind the organization's existence.

Mega Man blinked. "But, wait…that's my job!"

Roll arched an eyebrow at him. Elite Unit Number Zero? Maverick Hunters? She shook her head, feeling lost. Just what the heck was going on?

"Unnnh…" X groaned, stirring. "What…..happened…..?"

"Yo! X buddy, wake up!" Zero snorted, crouching down to give his friend a light smack on the face. "You don't want me to tell Cain you were lying down on the job, do ya?"

"Cain…..? What?" X blinked, attempting to get up but only succeeding in falling down again. "I—I think I just had some sort of dream, you guys….." He looked up at Magma and Zero. "It was really freaky."

"No dream, sir." Magma replied, tone serious. "I believe the portal we entered sent us back in time."

X's expression lit up like a sunbeam. "No way. You're kidding me. We couldn't possibly have been that lucky…" There was silence for a moment, as he looked back and forth between his comrades. "…could we?"

"Apparently, we could." Zero snickered, helping X up and dusting him off. Magma said nothing, but he did frown as if something disagreed with him. Zero swept out a hand in a gesture that encompassed the whole room. "Welcome to 20XX. I'd like you to meet none other than the esteemed Doctor Light, the genius who built that short chap in blue you see over there."

"My name is Rock!" Mega declared angrily. Zero held up one finger and wagged it from side to side, as if scolding a disobedient child.

"Nah-ah-ah! I'm sorry, that is incorrect! No luxury cruise and complimentary luggage set for you. See, your name is actually Mega Man, or 'The Blue Bomber', if you prefer."

"That's just what the press call him." Roll interjected. "His real name is Rock. We called him that before…well, you know." At this point her attention shifted to X, who during the previous exchange had turned to stare at his creator with a jumbled mix of feelings on his face. His reaction seemed so organic, that Roll couldn't help but comment at it. "My, whoever programmed you three must have been a genius. I've never seen such realistic emotions before."

Zero rolled his eyes. The irony was so thick that he could've sworn he could carve it up and serve it for dinner. "Yeah, you could say they were pretty smart." He agreed.

"I get it…you're from the future, aren't you?" It was Mega's question.

X blinked, looking intently at what for all intents and purposes could be called his 'older brother'. For the longest time there was nothing but silence. Then X smiled.

"Yes…..yes, we are. One hundred and twelve years into the future, to be exact." He held out one hand for the diminutive blue robot to take and opened his mouth to speak. "I am called—"

"No! STOP!"

X, as well as everyone else in the room, looked at the reploid who had yelled out. "Wha--? Magma? What's wrong?" X asked. He was graced with a stare of disbelief by the Dragoon.

"Don't you understand? You CAN'T tell them who you are! It would affect the future—OUR present. Who knows what could happen!"

Zero's brows furrowed. Suddenly he looked much more serious. "Hmm, I didn't think of that." He muttered. "X, as much as I hate to admit it, he's right. While we're here, we can only observe; no interaction."

X gave his friend an angry look. He wanted to get technical? Fine. X could do that too. "That's impossible. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, remember? Anything you observe, you also change."

"Then we do so as little as possible." Magma Dragoon decided. "Cain would expect us to."

"But they might be able to help us get back to our time!" X protested, looking around pleadingly at the three members of the Light family. "Right?"

"Uh, well…" Mega Man scratched his head—he didn't itch, but he'd seen humans perform such an action before when uncertain or confused—then he shrugged. "I don't know. Dr. Light is pretty good at inventing stuff, but this isn't exactly a subject he's studied before. And although I know a bit about fixing things, I'm mostly a combat robot. Roll just takes care of housekeeping, cooking, and general maintenance, so I doubt she'll be of much help…"

Dr. Light seemed to come out of a trance, and shook himself slightly as if he were waking from sleep. "Time travel?" He blinked. "My friend Cossack might know a thing or two, he's studied in that field before. I'll contact him, and we'll see what we can do."

"Where will they go in the meantime?" Roll demanded. "I'm not keeping one in my room, that's for sure!"

The doctor scratched his fluffy white beard. "I think there's a couple guest rooms in the building that they can use."

Magma bowed from the waist. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Roll frowned, then shrugged. "Well, as long as they're not bunking with me."

Zero whistled. "Wow, Dr. Light, how'd you manage to program the inexplicable female mind into her?" He joked.

"HEY!" Roll yelled.

Dr. Light chuckled. "It took some doing, and in the end I needed a bit of help from some women I knew…"

"All I remember is that she was a hassle to put together." Mega Man grinned. "I was just a tool-user back then…but man, for a while there Dr. Light and Dr. Wily were completely lost."

Zero tensed up, going completely rigid upon hearing the second scientist's name. Somehow he controlled himself enough to not let any emotions show on his face, keeping it neutral. Magma noted his reaction with interest. He glanced at X and saw a similar recognition of the name, though not nearly as obvious as Zero's. Odd. He'd have to look into this, later.

Mega Man looked down at his feet. "You know…I wish you guys could tell us what the future's like." He said mournfully. "It would help to know whether all that I've been doing has been worth the effort or not."

Magma and Zero exchanged a glance. They were both thinking the same thing.

X kneeled down to eye level with the diminutive blue robot. "Look at it this way," He replied. "The fact that we're here proves that there will be a future, after all—as opposed to there being none."

"Yeah…" Mega looked up, face determined. "But unless I do what I've come back here for, that won't matter."

"Rock, what are you talking about??" Roll demanded. "You're not leaving again, are you?"

"Sorry sis, but I have to. Universes to save and all, I'm sure you understand." He winked, slapping his helmet back onto his head. Roll was suddenly struck by the realization of how similar he and X looked. She glanced back and forth from one to the other and blinked in puzzlement, but finally disregarded it as a coincidence.

X looked confused at Mega Man's words. "Uh, what's going on?" He asked.

Mega turned to him. "Oh, wait…I didn't tell you, did I?" He groaned. "Great. Here we go again….."

"…..wait, wait, wait. Slow down. What'll happen if you don't find this generator?" X still seemed puzzled as to what his older, robot 'brother' was talking about. The Blue Bomber let out an impatient sigh.

"I told you, the short version is that it'll destroy our universe, and every other one."

"There are other universes?"

"Yes."

X looked thoughtful. "Wow. That fact alone is gonna completely turn science upside-down."

"There's no time to tell you everything; I've gotta get going." Mega Man nodded at his creator and sister. "See you guys later, ok?"

"Wait, let me go with you." X offered.

Mega gave him a swift, appraising look. "Can you fight?"

X half-smiled. "I'm decades more advanced than you. Remember?"

"Good point. Alright, come on then."

"Whoa, wait a second." Zero suddenly protested. "Hey, he's not goin' anywhere without me." He grabbed X in a playful headlock. "Us friends gotta look out for each other, ya see."

X growled at him and quickly wrestled his way out of the red Hunter's grip, rubbing his neck. "Stop doing that. It hurts."

"Why X, you wound me!" Zero mock-gasped, clutching a hand to his chestplate. "Do you mean to say you dislike the way I show my companionship to other males?" He shook his finger in the azure Hunter's face. "Shame on you!"

X rolled his eyes, slapping Zero's hand away. "No, I'm saying you grab my neck too hard. I'll wind up with a spinal injury if you keep it up." He looked over at the third reploid in the room. "Anyway…Magma, what about you? Are you coming with us?"

Both Mega Man and Zero glanced at the Dragoon, who frowned. "This is interacting with the time period," He warned.

"Not really." Zero shrugged. "We're just helping Rock over there with something that he'd wind up doing anyway, if we weren't here."

Magma let out a grunt of irritation. "I still don't like it, but I don't suppose I can keep you from going."

"That's the spirit!" Zero gave the dragoon a painfully hard slap on the back, a gesture that was meant to be friendly.

"But I'm staying here, though." Magma added. When X looked about to protest, he quickly explained. "Someone has to remain behind to help Dr. Light and this Cossack fellow with what they'll be doing. I might know some advanced robotics techniques that could help them build a time-traveling device, should they get stuck at any point."

Zero shrugged. "No problem, X and I can handle it."

He's speaking as if I don't exist—or worse yet, don't matter. Mega Man gave a private grimace. He looked at his 'father'. "Doctor Light, you'll be calling Doctor Cossack and having him come over here while we're gone, won't you?"

Light waved them away. "Of course. Good luck."

"Thanks." Mega muttered. "Okay you two, we'll start at the Western Continent in one of Wily's old fortresses. They'd be pretty good spots to hide something in. Set your teleporters to—" he rattled of a list of coordinates, and the reploids tinkered with individual control panels on their arms, inputting the data. "—and that should do it. All set?"

Zero unsheathed his beam saber, grinning as X armed his Buster and began to charge it. "Let's go." The latter said. The three turned into colored beams of light and vanished, disappearing through the roof.

Roll gave Dr. Light a sour look as soon as they had gone. "What was that all about, telling them 'I took some doing'??"

Light didn't answer, staring in deep thought at the spot X had occupied seconds before.

"Dr. Light? Hello?" Magma Dragoon asked, wondering if the scientist could even hear him. No response.

"HEY! WAKE UP!" Roll yelled, stomping her foot hard enough to shake the floor. Dr. Light gave a sudden start and looked around, blinking at her.

"Ah! Oh, uh, yes Roll? What is it?"

She growled and repeated her question. The Doctor gave a helpless shrug in reply.

"Well, it's true." He admitted. "Your programming was harder to do than Rock's. But I really wanted a 'daughter' in addition to a 'son', so…" He smiled. "Don't worry. You've turned out fine."

Magma Dragoon gave a polite cough. Dr. Light suddenly looked up at him. "Hmm? Oh yes, Dr. Cossack! Just wait there, and I'll go call him up now…" The elderly scientist strode over to the massive computer console opposite the entrance.

Unseen to any of the three individuals present, a shadow detached itself from one of the room's dark corners and set off at a brisk pace through the building. That red guy with the ponytail...he doesn't feel right. Protoman thought with a frown. He gives me the creeps, for some reason. I don't like him.

He paused at an intersection, then chose a hallway and started down it, teeth gritted in irritation. And now he's trying to become friends with Rock. Something stinks here, I just wish I knew what…He entered a storage room and grabbed a few E-tanks, canisters of pure energy that humanoid robots such as himself, Mega Man and Roll used to fuel their mechanical bodies. As an afterthought he also grabbed a tank of special energy that could only be used for matter synthesis, i.e. the weapons that Rock seemed fond of stealing from Wily's robots.

Speaking of which…

He clipped the supplies to a black belt around his waist and mentally accessed his own Variable Module Grid, a 'list' of the different weapons he'd gotten installed after his brother had brought them home from his adventures. Hmmm, not bad. Atomic Fire, Thunder Beam, Time Stopper, Gyro Blade, Noise Crush, and Petal Shield. A good arsenal. He looked at the last weapon on his list and groaned. Top Spin. Why the heck had he gotten that one?? Magnet Missile or Gemini Laser would've been better…oh well, too late now. The other weapons were already locked away in the main computer and off-limits to everyone except in emergencies.

Upon darting a swift look around to make sure nobody had seen him, he fingered his own portable teleporter. Unlike Mega Man, it wasn't installed directly into his body; instead, it had been placed inside the oblong shield he always carried with him.A tiny smirk appeared on his face. Well, I'll just have to watch Bro's back like usual, it seems…

Without a sound, the mysterious Red Raider vanished.

The teleport ended with little fanfare. Mega Man had gotten somewhat used to bracing himself for mobs of star-struck fans suddenly springing upon him whenever he appeared somewhere in his famous battle uniform, but there was nobody around to greet him this time when he touched down with his two companions and re-materialized.

It was evening in this area of the world, despite being early morning back home at Dr. Light's lab. The landscape was rocky and barren, with reddish-brown soil. No grass or plants grew underfoot. A small cliff stood before them, with a dark and misshapen building carved out of its base. The sunset behind the rock formation cast such a glare upon the area that the building was nearly invisible. What light wasn't blocked by it cast a forbidding blood-red shade upon the scene, making it look even more ominous than usual.

The building was Dr. Wily's sixth fortress, the only one so far that had not somehow blown up or collapsed into rubble. It still stood, a monument to the mad ambitions of a madder mind. None were willing to tear the thing down; all were fearful of anything built by Wily or his robots, and superstition concerning the fortresses ran high among the world's human populace. Thus, the giant structure seemed exactly the same as it had been the last time Mega Man had entered its depths.

It was protected from strikes at the rear or from the air by being built up against a cliff that jutted out above it in an overhang. This meant the only option of attack or invasion would have to be a direct one. The entire front-facing half of the fortress was shaped like a giant, bleached human skull with no lower jaw; the upper jaw rested on the ground with the main entrance between two of its 'teeth'. The large, gaping eye sockets were in fact huge observation windows that had been tinted black. They covered two equally huge observation rooms where Wily had personally watched for intruders at times. He may have been insane, but he was also paranoid old fart and took no chances.

Mega Man scrunched his face up like he'd seen humans do whenever they ate lemons.

He hated the place.

He hated it as much as his programming allowed, and even then wished he could hate it more. It stood for everything he didn't like about his life; the unfair role of violence, murder and destruction he'd been forced into by Fate and circumstance.

Nothing disturbed the slow howl of the wind over the rocky landscape for a few moments, until Zero finally spoke up behind him.

"What a dump. I mean…damn."

Somehow, Mega Man doubted he could have said it better himself.

It was X who spoke up next. "Are those stormclouds natural, or did they get created as part of the decor?" He asked, pointing up at the dark gray sky directly above Skull Fortress Mk-VI.

The Blue Bomber looked over at him and gave a brief chuckle. "Created. Wily's a huge fan of the dramatic." He kicked a small rock and watched it go sailing through the air like a football, until it landed near the outer wall of the building. "Ugly little bugger of a place, isn't it? I remember coming here three years ago. Not a pleasant trip, let me assure you." He began to walk forward in the direction of the main entrance. "Keep your guard up. A bunch of Wily's old robots might still be around, and they love using sneak attacks."

It was annoyingly quiet. Something wasn't right…

X followed Mega Man a ways before he noticed Zero wasn't with him. He looked back at where they'd teleported. Zero hadn't moved, staring at the Skull Fortress as if entranced. "Zero? Hey, are you okay?"

"This place…" The crimson hunter muttered, seeming not to have heard. "There's something odd about it." He began walking forward until he'd passed X by, not even looking at his friend once. "It's weird…maybe…familiar? But it couldn't be…unless…" He continued to mutter to himself all the way up to the castle's entrance, leaving a confused X to catch up at a run.

"Gee, it looks kinda dark in there." The azure Maverick Hunter observed once he'd reached the others. Mega Man placed his hands on his hips and frowned.

"Yup. Power got severed last time I came around here. Hope you two have night-vision capabilities, like I do. You'll need 'em."

"We'll be fine." Zero said as they began to walk inside. "Just lead the way." He seemed much less jovial and playful than normal. X wondered why, before he was distracted by adjusting his vision to compensate for the lack of light inside the building.

It was a wreck.

"Holy hell…" X whistled. Machine parts were scattered everywhere, some smashed to pieces, others looking like they'd been subjected to intense heat or frigid cold. He bent down to examine one half-intact warbot where it lay discarded against a cracked wall. "Did you do all this, Rock?"

"Don't call me that." Mega Man snapped, turning to look at him. X could see the robot's glare clearly in the night-vision's shades of green. "I'm Mega Man right now. Rock only comes out when I'm at home."

X blinked, looking at the robot as if he was crazy. "Um, say again?"

"Forget it. I don't wanna talk about it now. Let's just look around and leave, I can't stand this place for too long." Mega Man growled, stomping forward and carelessly crushing parts underfoot. Zero went after him, and X rose and followed at a slower rate.

For a while, there was silence. No sounds were made except for those created by the trio as they navigated the fortress. Mega Man had a partially-complete map of the place logged in his memory, but it only covered the areas he'd been through on his last visit. Since the alternative was possibly getting lost within the labyrinthine hallways, he stuck to the mapped portion and searched there first.

Zero continued to look uneasy as they trudged on, darting his head around in quick, tense movements. X knew something was up—his partner hardly ever became antsy unless there was a threat nearby.

When Zero next glanced his way, X silently mouthed out, "What's up?"

Zero frowned, then slowed down until he and X were walking side-by-side. With another hasty look around, Zero turned to him. "We're not alone." He mouthed back.

X's eyes widened, and suddenly he began to feel antsy himself. Zero gave a tiny, almost imperceptible jerk of his head in the direction they'd just come from, indicating that whoever else was in this fortress was following them. X almost turned to look but caught himself when Zero gave a small shake of his head. They had to wait until their follower revealed him- or herself, otherwise he or she would have time to escape from them.

X turned back to face forward again, expression grim. This excursion was beginning to seem like less of a good idea and more along the lines of a bad one the longer they stayed in here.

In the shadows behind them, a single figure continued to silently follow their trail…

Meanwhile, 200 years in the future...

Zero and Ciel entered the elevator to the Resistance Base after being cleared by the guards on duty. Thunder boomed overhead; the storm was getting closer. Ciel quickly punched in the command for the third floor into the elevator's keypad, and they descended into the earth with a soft hum.

Ciel glanced shyly at Zero out of the corner of her eye. He stood motionless, staring straight ahead at the metal walls flashing by them as they rode the lift downwards. She considered talking to him, telling him what she felt. Then she abandoned the idea. No, it'd never work. Zero was just too serious-minded for idle conversation. Little did she realize how bizarre such an observation would have seemed one hundred years previous.

"You don't want me to go, do you?"

Ciel jumped, startled that the Reploid had spoken so suddenly. "What??" She asked.

He cast a sideways glance in her direction before turning back to the wall. "You're worried about me. Correct?"

She stared at him, stunned he'd guessed her thoughts so easily. "Umm…y-yes…" How can he be so perceptive, yet seem so oblivious to all that goes on around him? She wondered.

"Heh." Zero closed his eyes and smiled—he actually smiled—upon hearing this. "Thanks. I appreciate your concern." The moment passed as his expression became a stone wall once again. "But it's unnecessary, though. My memory might not be as good as it used to be, but I do remember that my future self made it out of that mission alive."

Ciel let out a deep sigh of relief, leaning weakly against the elevator wall. Thank God. That was one less headache for her to worry about, at least.

The elevator slowed to a stop in front of Sublevel 2, the Command Center. No sooner had they stepped out of the platform and into a hallway before them than they were confronted by a small blonde reploid that had been modeled to look like a young human girl. She was clutching a white stuffed doll to her chest and peered over it shyly at them.

"Hi Zero, hi Ciel." She murmured.

Ciel smiled warmly. "Hello Alouette! Miss us?"

The girl nodded, her big innocent eyes fixed upon Zero. After a few moments, her expression turned sad. "You're gonna leave again, aren't you?"

Ciel and Zero exchanged a sideways glance. "Yes." He replied. No use lying about it.

Alouette nodded and gazed at the floor sadly. "I wish you didn't have to go. I wish you could stay here forever…"

"…" Zero didn't answer. Ciel frowned at him, then turned to reassure the girl. "Don't worry, Zero isn't going anywhere right now. He's just being a smarty-pants." She glared at him. "AREN'T you?"

The reploid just stared at her. She was almost terminally shy around him…except when Alouette was involved. It confused him to no end why Ciel was like that. Apparently, keeping the girl reploid happy was more important to her than whatever normally kept her in check in his presence…

Finally he gave a noncommittal grunt and looked away. Ciel gave Alouette a warm smile. "See?"

The girl looked skeptical, but didn't voice an objection. "Well, okay. If you say so, Ciel."

A sudden blast of thunder made the two females jump. Zero, of course, was unmoved. Although it did cause him some slight embarrassment when he looked down to see them both clutching him out of fear.

"Um…" He blinked.

Ciel looked up at him. Then she looked at her hands, wrapped around his waist. Suddenly she was aware of how close their bodies were to each other. She released Zero immediately and leaped back with more speed than his dash-thrusters could ever conjure up, her cheeks blooming with crimson. Alouette stayed next to the red Hunter, though.

"Ze-r-ro…I'm s-scared…" The little reploid girl whimpered.

The Hunter gave her a confused look. "Why? There's nothing to fear. We're well protected from the storm down here, correct Ciel?" He looked to her for confirmation.

"U-uh, I-I-I, um…" The scientist was busy looking everywhere but at Zero, her blush still visible. She felt mortified at having grabbed him like that and still hadn't gotten over it.

Zero blinked again, recognizing the human's reaction as extreme embarrassment. "Okaaaaay, never mind, then…"

KABOOM, roared another blast of thunder. Alouette shrieked and clutched Zero even tighter.

"Careful, now…" Mega Man warned as X threw all his strength into lifting upwards.The reploid let out a grunt of exertion as the gate before them began to move, its mechanisms giving a metallic whine as it was forced to retract into the ceiling.

"Man…this…thing…is…heavy!" X huffed, straining his mechanical arms as he pulled up.

Mega Man looked thoughtful as he watched the reploid's progress with his night-vision. Normally, such gates would open automatically to whoever came near, then would close and lock themselves afterwards, becoming unopenable from their opposite side. But with no electricity available, the trio had been forced to use manual labor to open them so far.

As Mega Man had quickly learned during his adventures, the gates were made from an extremely durable material that either absorbed or reflected all his weaponry—but said material was also very, very dense, causing its weight to be astronomical. He'd learned that fun little fact when he'd tried to lift the first one they'd come across and had nearly torn his arms off. Since then, he'd elected to let the reploids handle the problem. At least X and Zero were familiar with the gates, too—from what little they'd told Mega Man, they were a common feature in the future as well.

Zero kept a furtive watch, darting swift looks all over the place in the direction they'd come from. He knew their pursuer was out there, somewhere, watching them and waiting. Waiting for what? Zero didn't know, nor did he care. If he could just catch a glimpse of what said pursuer looked like, he'd at least know what they were up against…

With a final protesting screech, the gate slammed open. X stood underneath it, panting to refuel his systems with air. Mega Man peeked around him, scanning the room beyond for enemies.

"…well?" The blue-armored Reploid gasped out at last.

"I don't see anything." Mega reported.

X gave a slight nod. "Okay, then. C'mon, Zero!"

With a frown, the red Maverick Hunter followed them into darkness.