Part I – Rock's rescue
It was a beautiful night. The sky was completely black without a single cloud, allowing every star in the sky to shine brightly. The full moon also put it in its part and lit up the evening just enough for the young girl to look out at the endless ocean surrounding her. Roll Caskett stood on the upper deck of the Flutter staring at the water, waiting for the moment to come. This was a very special night, and she was not wearing her normal attire consisting of red shorts, jacket and hat. Tonight she wore a long black dress that shined with the light. White gloves covered her forearms, and her long blonde hair was now tied in the back in a ponytail, instead of hanging around her head. Finally, the moment came. The person she was waiting for made his appearance...Rock Volnutt.
"Finally" Roll said as she turned around to greet him. Rock himself was dressed in a black tuxedo, making black the official theme of the evening. Rock smiled and approached her, as they met in each other's arms.
"I've waited for so long..." Roll said to him, finally being able to be with her true love. Rock nodded in agreement as their lips moved closer to each other's...
"WAIT RIGHT THERE!" A loud girlish voice screamed. Suddenly a giant red ship flew up from the side of the Flutter. Roll turned around to face it as Rock moved in front of her, putting his arm in front of her instinctively. "I am NOT going to let this happen!" The voice shrieked again as the cockpit of the ship opened. Roll knew who it was the second she heard the voice...none other than Tron Bonne, the Air Pirate. Tron stood at about the same size as Roll, but had brown hair that seemed to break the laws of gravity as it hung down the back of her head, but hovered above her back. She wore a pink shirt that was covered with a black jacket, matching her black skintight pants.
"This is the final straw Tron! I'm tired of you interfering with us!" Rock shouted, as a gigantic canon had suddenly appeared on his right arm. Rock launched the canon but it was blocked by an invisible force field, causing laughter from Tron. "Your puny weapons won't stop THIS ship! Come with me and I can give you the same treatment, better than Blondie there!" Tron said, still laughing. Yes, she was madly in love with Rock...making things very difficult for Roll.
"Just leave us alone!" Roll screamed, wishing she could do something to cause damage to Tron.
"Bologna!" Tron said, still cackling maniacally.
"Bologna!" Rock shot back, with great anger that seemed to shake the entire ship. Rock leaped into the air towards the ship, with his canon firing. The ship also began firing at rock. "BALOGNA!" Tron and Rock said at the same time, as a giant explosion engulfed them both...
"That stupid dream again!" Roll said to herself, as she awakened. For weeks the same dream haunted her every chance she had to sleep, this time while taking a bath. Roll was spending countless hours working on a craft that could travel to Elysium, where Rock was imprisoned. The sad part was that she was being helped by the Bonnes. Roll had lived with Rock for so long but never realized exactly how she felt about him, until he had actually left for Elysium. As far as Roll could remember she never knew her parents, and although her mother had appeared…or rather, someone who looked like her mother, she was also on Elysium with Rock. Data had been the only one able to return from Elysium, as the unit who powered Rock's ship was killed and the only ship able to function was just big enough to fit Data inside. Roll let out a loud sigh; was there some rule in existence that kept her from seeing the ones she loved? What would she say when she finally met Rock again? And what if Tron got to him first? Over the weeks Roll realized Tron was after the same goal, Rock's heart. It was actually kind of weird, as both of them were crazy about him, but Rock had never shown any sign of loving either of them back.
"It's pointless thinking about it." Roll thought, as she stood up and got out of the tub. Once she was dried off she looked at the door to the bathroom. As disturbing as it was she half-wished Rock would come barging in without knocking, as he had done to her twice before. The truth was, seeing him in anyway would make her happy now. Even if there were no logical explanation for it, if he would just show up in his room overnight, she wouldn't ask why. But Roll knew this wouldn't happen, so once dressed she set out to work on the vessel that would hopefully bring her to Elysium.
"No no no! We should build it like THIS! We don't have all the money in the world!" Tron said while pointing to written figures showing the cost of the parts needed for her new prototype engine. The latest tests of the failed experiment showed that the engine was the only major problem keeping them from leaving the planet. "Those parts you want are too expensive!" Tron said to Roll, who looked over her plans.
"Yes, they're expensive...but this isn't something we should be frugal about! The only way we're going to get this to work is if we use top of the line parts, like the ones I have here!" Roll snapped back. Quality Vs. Price was an argument that constantly broke out at Tron and Roll's workbench.
"I have built PLENTY of working machines using second-hand parts Ms. Know-it-all. It's not the parts you use, it's the end result!" Tron snapped back, forcing an angry look on Roll's face.
"OH! I forgot all about your wondrous machines! Such as the fifty foot robot with four, count them, FOUR artillery canons and class 6 laser guns that were destroyed by Rock, whom, I must remind you, was using a simple rocket launching unit and his buster canon, built by ME!" Roll said. This did not make Tron happy.
"Well...he's...he's different! It's not your stupid parts that did it! It's his skill...and bravery...and, and..." Tron began to blush as she said this, thinking about Rock blasting her robots to bits and scorching her in the flames of explosions, which was for some reason romantic. Roll noticed her and knew what she was thinking about, making her angry. Whatever crazy ideas she had about what would happen once they got Rock back would not be allowed to happen, not if she had anything to do with it.
"Miss Tron!" A small voice said. A small blue robot with yellow hands, feet and a head approached, holding a box of tools. "I brought you the tools you requested!" Said the servbot; number 32 of 41 to be exact. The 41 servbots were Tron's creation. Each one had different personality traits and skills, some being hard working and loyal, and some being clumsy while slacking off from their work. Of course, Tron had methods of keeping them in line, the main one being the torture room.
"Thank you." Said Tron, while taking the box and putting it on the table in front of her. "See? Here's a perfect example of what my parts can make...A dependable helper robot, unlike that monkey you guys drag around." As Tron said this, the 32nd servbot tripped and cracked the leg of the table, causing everything that was setup to fall to the ground, and tools to scatter all over the grass. The workstation was set out in an open clearing on Calbania Island. In the distance stood a humongous support structure where prototypes were assembled on and held upright for a proper launch.
"Yes, I can always depend on these damn things to break apart whatever we do!!!" Roll said, chasing off the servbot who was surprisingly fast for his size. Tron chased behind her screaming, and the other servbots around watched in fear of what would happen. Data the monkey, whom Tron had mentioned, was a mechanical monkey that had been found with Rock when Gramps discovered him. Long ago when Rock had agreed to destroy the Master System of Elysium for the Master, he built Data to store his memory in to protect them. Data held all of Rock's memories in his banks, but never told Rock anything. In fact, Rock didn't find out anything about his past until he was damaged and had to recover his memory using Data. Data was now standing on a nearby bench watching all of this. He let out a deep sigh, knowing the problem. Data understood all of the ancient technology he had brought back, yet no one would listen to him. It was a very unfortunate situation...of course, not as unfortunate as the one Rock was in.
"Just..a little...more..." Rock said as he reached for his goal. His body was now entangled in a great mess, but just a little closer and it would be over for now. He stared at the circular blue object, inches from his grasp. Slowly but surely his hand extended while trying to not break the mass his body was stuck in. "Just...a little...closer!" Rock said as he reached forward and touched the blue object...but it was too late. His body fell, as did the other on top of him. "Uggghhh..." he said, as he knew what was coming.
"YOOOOUUU LLLLOOOOSSSEEE!" Screamed Sera. That was the 47th game of Twister he had been forced to play. Putting it along side the 54 games of monopoly, 67 games of chutes and ladders, 106 games of Old Maid, and the unforgettable 38 games of Mouse Trap (there were actually around 50 attempts, but most ended up with them playing with the traps and never actually finishing a game) it seemed that they would never get out of Elysium. This was always forced back, however, by the feeling that Roll was doing everything she could to get him back down to Terra. Data had left bringing technology with him that would hopefully help them get up faster, and so Rock refused to give up the thought that he would be getting out of Elysium. Data had left alone because he was the only one able to get out of the library of Elysium, since he had never entered it in the first place. "Wanna play again?!" Sera asked Rock. She never seemed to get tired of these games.
"Not now." Rock said, as he got up and began to walk to the other side of the gigantic room they were stuck in. Rock, Yuna and Sera were still trapped in the Library of Elysium. Shutting down the system prevented them from leaving the library, as the door was sealed and Rock's firepower wasn't sufficient to blow it open. The shining laser he had on his right arm might have been able to slice it open since it was the strongest weapon Roll had designed, but seeing as it burned out in the battle with Sera, that was out of the question. Yuna was sitting alone in her own corner with her eyes shut, as she usually did when she wasn't taking a part in Sera's board games. What exactly she was doing Rock didn't know, and he never really had the desire to ask. There was one thing he was concerned with: figuring out what he was. Before Rock had left he was badly injured in a battle with Geetz, assistant to Sera. He had been repaired and his memories given back to him through Data. He had learned that he was alive much longer than he thought he had been. In fact, he had reset himself due to his injuries after battling Sera long ago and became a child again. How was this possible?
"There." Yuna suddenly said out of nowhere. It was the first word Rock had heard out of her in a very long time, so he started walking over to see what happened. Yuna was now standing and dusting off the body she was in. Sera had also come over to see what was going on. Yuna closed her eyes again for a few seconds and bright flashes suddenly filled the room. Once the light faded Sera's old body lay before them, fully repaired.
"You did it!" Sera said, a great smile appearing over her face. "I can't believe you did it...thank you!" she said.
"Yes, now you can have it back. I'll wait until we're back on Terra to take mine back. I don't want Roll's mother to have to remember a place like this." Yuna said as she smiled. Sera closed her eyes and put her hands together in front of her. Suddenly the body she was in (Yuna's) fell to the ground and the body on the floor opened her eyes.
"There, much better." Sera said as she stood up. Yuna picked up her own body and sat it against the wall. Rock was happy to see that Sera's body was repaired, as he had done quite a bit of damage to it in their battle, forcing Sera to take the unused body of Yuna. Once again Rock began wandering and thinking to himself. All his life he thought he was just like everyone else. Yet, he now knew he was different somehow. The only question was, how? Rock let loose a loud sigh and then sat against the far wall, away from Sera and Yuna. He was horribly confused and sitting alone and thinking about it over and over again for some reason seemed like the best thing to do.
Gramps was upset as well, as all he wanted to do was see Roll again. He had been aboard the Sulpher-Bottom for weeks now, as him and Von Bluecher were constantly advertising the new technology that had been brought back, and trying to get funding to continue research with it. The funding wouldn't go towards the rocket plan however, as this funding was to research a new energy source that could perhaps come from this technology. This left Roll alone on the Flutter (well, Data was there, but he talks to a cactus for crying out loud) with only the Bonnes to keep her company when they were working on the spacecraft. This could lead to a very destructive outcome.
"You didn't have to hit him so hard…" Tron said as she held Servbot 32, who was still recovering from Roll's fist. "Well…he should be more careful." Roll snapped; knowing what she did was wrong but refusing to admit it. Data was still standing on his bench thinking of something to do. If he left it to Roll, Rock would have to expect at least three more months in Elysium. This would have to be prevented. Suddenly Data saw potential that he had somehow not noticed before. The servbots! There were 41 of the things running around, if he could get their help…Yes, he would have to. The mission would be complicated, but he had the guts!
MISSION: Build engine for Space Shuttle
OBJECTIVES:
Gain Servbot assistance
Gather parts for engine without gaining attention of Roll and others
Assemble engine without gaining attention of Roll and others
Data logged this into his memory and then hopped off the bench and headed for the Flutter. His first objective would be difficult as nobody but Rock could understand him, but there had to be some way to get his message across. Data's first idea was to simply write a note and let the Servbots read it, but then came the question over whether or not servbots could actually read. He'd have to test this. Data climbed up the ladder into the Flutter as fast as he could and once inside, began climbing down more ladders into Roll's workshop. He would've much preferred to have an entrance directly into the room from the bottom, as climbing ladders wasn't his favorite activity, but there was no time to complain. Data's mission would not only re-unite Roll with the ones she loved, but it would also prevent the injury and possible death of more servbots. Data looked around the room digging through tools and shelves, hoping that Roll had kept some large poster board around for those "just in case" situations. Finally, Data found a large piece and pulled it out to an empty space on the floor. After retrieving a marker from the workbench he was ready to begin his work. First, he wrote "FREE" in gigantic letters on top of the poster board. Then, as he was about to continue writing, a thought struck his head. What exactly did servbots like? The plan was to advertise a free gift for servbots using his newly found sign to test their reading abilities, but what could he put that would make sense? Finally, after much debate, Data decided to offer free ice cream seeing as no one in their right mind (even a servbot) could hate ice cream, and it was a test to begin with. And so, the "FREE ICE CREAM FOR ALL SERVBOTS" sign was completed, and pulled outside by Data who then hid it in a nearby bush. He'd have to wait for Roll and Tron to head back inside before he pulled this stunt, as interference from him would more than likely lead to injury. Data knew that this would be a long wait, and so decided to practice dancing while he waited. He once again hopped on top of his favorite bench and began his dance, going back and forth for nearly two hours, when Roll and Tron finally decided to stop "Working" for the day. Once Roll was back in the flutter and Tron inside the Bonne's new ship, the Gesselschaft II, Data ran back to his bush and pulled out the sign. Five servbots, 4, 12, 21, 22, and 33 were left outside to finish cleaning up Tron's things. This was an excellent opportunity to test the reading capabilities of multiple servbots without gaining too much attention. Data ran to the workbench and propped the sign up with a ruler that was still lying out, facing the five servbots. Data then hid behind the sign and let out a loud yaulp, gaining the attention of all five servbots who moved forward to investigate. Slowly they approached and all stared at the sign. Data kept completely motionless, waiting for some sign of comprehension from the servbots.
"Fr…ee…ice…cre…am…for…serv…bots," Servbot 12 slowly read, causing Data to silently jump with joy. "Where?!" asked Servbot 22. That's when it hit Data. He had never thought of actually giving out that he had offered. Of course, this could easily work into his plan with his mighty mechanical monkey knowledge. Data revealed himself from behind the sign and gave a magnificent speech about how if the servbots helped him, they could finish the engine themselves and make their master Tron very happy. At the end of it the servbots stared blankly at the monkey. Data had forgotten that they couldn't understand them. So, he hung his head in shame and grabbed a hold of his sign, and then jumped off the workbench and headed back for the Flutter. The Servbots stared at each other trying to figure out what happened, until they were interrupted.
"What are you DOING?! Get back to work! I need everything back inside the ship NOW!" Tron yelled over their radios.
"Roooooggggeeeerrrrrr!" the Servbots responded, and then went back to carrying the boxes into the ship as if nothing had happened. Data was now heading up the ladder into the Flutter. For a monkey who hated climbing up and down ladders, he found himself doing it a lot lately. Running through the hallway he stopped by Roll's room, as the door was open and peeked inside, to see her writing in her diary. Data paid no mind to this and continued heading to the living room for some relaxation after his failed mission. Tomorrow would be another attempt, and he'd have to be well rested. Roll on the other hand was very uneasy as she wrote on the diary page.
I did something horrible today…I was angry with Tron again and I ended up hitting one of her servbots. They're just machines, but I felt so bad afterwards. Still, I refused to give up my argument and I didn't even apologize. I keep doing things like this…I almost felt like hitting Data the other day when he interrupted me. Am I going crazy? I know Tron wants to help Rock just as much as I do, but I still get angry at her nearly everyday. Yet still, I look forward to seeing her, as she's the only other person I've gotten to see. Gramps is still on the Sulpher-Bottom, Teisel and Bon are who-knows where, and Rock is still on Elysium. For all I know, he may even be de-
Roll stopped writing, as it was difficult to finish the thought. After a few seconds she finished the sentence.
…May even be dead.
Roll stopped again and looked at the words. It was something she feared enough to block it out nearly permanently. Not just since he had been stuck in Elysium, but ever since they started digging. All Roll had was a sensor to stare at, which could go out at any second. What would she do if Rock were to ever be unable to escape the reaverbot? What if it was undetectable and struck him without any warning? These thoughts were always blocked out, as Roll simply didn't want to think them. Living this far away from Rock was already becoming unbearable. What if he was gone forever? "No…that can't happen." Roll said to herself as she lay down on the couch she was sitting on. She had no parents, nearly no friends, and her only family was off flying somewhere. Roll reached over and grabbed the stuffed penguin Rock had given her during their last adventure and held it closely. "I don't…want to be alone anymore." Roll said. Tears were now forming in her eyes, and the penguin was being squeezed more than ever. Roll shut her eyes for what felt like eternity and pushed the tears back; and slowly released the death grip on the penguin. "…I'm going crazy." Roll said to herself, with her eyes still shut. Then the tears once again forced their way up and out, and her face was buried in her pillow, muffing out the sounds of her sobbing.
Gramps walked down the long hallway of the Sulpher-Bottom leading to the bridge. He wanted a word with Von Bluecher, as he had already been on the ship for a week longer than he had originally expected. As he passed through the large double doors leading into the bridge he saw Von Bluecher chatting with a reporter, as he was usually doing. The announcement of new technology was a very popular subject in the world, and it was hard to find a time when the press wasn't swarming the ship. Gramps stood to the side of the conversing pair, and when Von Bluecher noticed him he quickly ended the conversation and turned to him.
"Ah, there you are. Are you ready for our presentation this afternoon?" Von Bluecher asked with his normal smile.
"Actually, I have a question for you." Gramps said. "I've already been on this ship a week longer than I planned to be, and I'm getting worried about Roll," he said before Von Bluecher interrupted him.
"Yes, I'm sorry about that. There just have been so many more opportunities than I originally thought, and even you couldn't say no to the money opportunities we've received." Von Bluecher said, with the warm smile still on his face. Von Bluecher was a very difficult man to disagree with, as Gramps constantly learned. "We'll be able to go back shortly. I'm sure finding a new source of energy is the greater good in this situation!" Bluecher added, forcing Gramps to agree.
"Yes, you're right…" Gramps said. He then noticed more people from the press entering the room and decided to leave them to Bluecher. How long was shortly, exactly? "It can't be too much longer…Roll will be alright." Gramps reassured himself as he headed back for his room.
Roll, however, was not all right. She found herself sitting on top of the Flutter. It was night again, the sky filled with stars. She was once again wearing the shining black dress and white gloves, and her hair was done in a ponytail again. Roll pulled herself up using the railing she was next to and looked around. Rock was standing at the other end of the Flutter looking over the railing; he was in his digging suit.
"Rock!" Roll shouted, and then started running for him. Rock turned around and held up his hand, motioning her to stop. "Rock…you're back!" Roll said, not finding it strange that he had told her to stop.
"Why are you even here?" Rock asked, with a disappointed face. "Go back inside; I already explained this to you." He said, and then turned around and looked out at the sea again. Roll's mouth opened a bit, and she stared at Rock's back. Words escaped her, so she ran up behind Rock and put her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his back. Something felt different about Rock, however. "What the hell…" Rock said, and then turned around and pushed her off. As if she were in slow motion, Roll flew threw the air and landed on her back and slid, ending up nearly halfway across the deck away. Roll looked up to see Rock still looking at her with an angry face. "You just don't get it, do you?" Rock asked. "We're tired of dealing with you. Just stay out of our lives." Rock said. Roll was crushed. Tears starting forming in her eyes as she lay there, watching Rock. What had she done wrong? Is this why everyone had suddenly disappeared from her life, because they hated her? Suddenly a giant silver flying Reaverbot flew up from below the ship. Gramps, Tron, and the woman who looked like her mother were standing on it. Rock jumped from the Flutter onto the back of the reaverbot and stared at Roll as it flew off away from the Flutter. Although he was getting further and further away, she could still hear his voice clearly, as if he was standing right next to her. "Do you think you deserve our friendship? What have you done? You sit around and make machines all day and think you've done your share? Tron's right, I deserve a lot better. You're going to be alone forever. Just get used to it." Roll's head dropped back onto the deck, staring into the sky.
After a loud bump, Roll found herself on the floor. She had rolled off the couch somehow, freeing her from the nightmare she had been having. "Just another dream" Roll said, staring up at the ceiling like she had been doing in the nightmare. She had stopped crying now, but her eyes were still red and it felt as if more tears weren't very far away. "Why am I doing this?" Roll asked herself. Every day she became more and more violent, and every night she became depressed. She was a monster. The ceiling for some reason seemed to have an answer, so Roll kept staring at it. "Rock…I'm sorry." She finally said, hoping he'd never be able to see what had been happening to her.
The next day started out normally. Data had breakfast made when Roll woke up, but she didn't feel like eating. She was still upset over the previous day's events and wasn't even sure if she wanted to work on the craft. Then she remembered that it had to be done if she ever wanted to see Rock again, and so Roll forced down her breakfast and got ready for another long day of arguing. Once outside she noticed Tron had already set up everything on the workbench and was looking over some designs. Roll approached and saw that the plans Tron was looking over were in a handwriting she didn't recognize. "Tron…" Roll started to say.
"This is amazing, Roll!" Tron said, and then once again went back to the plans. "You must have been up all night working on these!" She added, putting a confused look on Roll's face.
"Well, yeah, I was up all night…what are you talking about though? Those aren't mine." Roll said. Tron was obviously talking about the plans, and although the night before was a strange one, Roll definitely hadn't worked on any designs.
"Well then whom do they belong to? They were here when I came out. They're kind of hard to read but it looks like everything would work perfectly…It's a little over the budget I'll admit but if it works…" Tron said, still checking over everything and wondering why she hadn't thought of it before.
"Yeah, Listen…" Roll said, trying to get back to where she wanted to start the conversation. "I'm...I'm sorry for hitting your servbot yesterday, and I'm sorry for fighting with you…usually…no, constantly. I'm just…I don't even know what's wrong. Lately things have been really tough on me and I've been taking it out the wrong way." Roll said. She had thought it would be difficult to apologize but once she started everything came out smoothly. Tron looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you sick?" Tron asked to what seemed to be a Roll imposter. Roll didn't exactly know how to answer the question, and after a few seconds of silence Tron spoke again. "Alright," she said, "apology accepted. Although some of them know how to defend themselves, and you'll be in for a nasty surprise if you ever do it again." Tron warned her.
"Yeah, alright." Roll responded, trying to hold back a laugh. "Let me see those plans." She said, and was just as amazed as Tron when she started looking over them. "This is…crazy enough to work!" Roll said. Every piece of the puzzle fit together perfectly. Refractor efficiency, fuel intake, size, weight, it was all right here in front of her on paper, but how?
"This is some sort of miracle, I guess." Tron said. "I'll call my brothers and see if they can help with parts." She added and then headed back towards the Gesselschaft II. For the first time Roll wondered what exactly Teisel and Bon were up to, but the thought soon faded when she realized the fact that this may just work, and it meant she'd be seeing Rock soon. But how had it happened? It all started the night before…
Data was once again climbing a ladder. As he finished placing the reminder to make Roll put stairs into the Flutter into his head, he reached the top and started heading for the bridge. The living room was strangely uncomfortable for him and he remembered a time where he had fallen asleep on a control panel in the bridge and accidentally turned down the thermostat on one of the coldest days in the year. Perhaps if he was careful, he could sneak in a nap and hopefully not adjust anything that would make Roll scold him. As he passed her room he looked in and saw her on the couch, face down into a damp pillow. She was shaking slightly so Data decided to go in for a closer look. Upon further inspection, he realized Roll had been crying and was now asleep, but why was she shaking?
"Rock…no…" Roll muttered. She was having a nightmare! Nightmares were among Data's most hated things, so he decided to free her from its evilness. Data began poking Roll on the arm, but nothing happened. He leaped onto her and started poking her face, but still she refused to awaken. Finally, He stood behind Roll and began pulling on her arm, until finally she rolled over him and fell onto the floor. Once Data recovered he slowly walked to the other end of the couch and looked back. Roll was now awake, but was staring at the ceiling, looking like she was about to cry again.
"Rock…I'm sorry." Roll said, still staring at the ceiling. Data looked down at her, and an angry look covered his face. No longer would he tolerate this! Roll had been upset over this long enough, now was the time to change things! He quickly reviewed the mission objectives in his head
MISSION: Build engine for Space Shuttle
OBJECTIVES:
1.Gain Servbot assistance
Gather parts for engine without gaining attention of Roll and others
Assemble engine without gaining attention of Roll and others
Data had tried the first objective already and failed. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Telling Tron and Roll of his knowledge of the technology hadn't worked because they couldn't understand his language, but the servbots could understand his writing! Naturally this meant that Tron and Roll would be able to understand it too, and so he quickly changed the mission.
MISSION: Design engine for Space Shuttle
OBJECTIVES:
Gather materials (Pen, Paper, etc.)
Review knowledge database for technology brought back from Elysium
Make design blueprints based on acquired data, and leave for Roll and Tron to find.
The plan was perfect! Unfortunately, he'd have to let Roll stay on the floor otherwise she may attempt to stop him. Data snuck out of her room and once again climbed down two ladders to the supply room. This time he didn't mind however, as the fate of his friend was in the balance. In the supply room he found blank blueprints that Roll kept in abundance and some pencils. Data found a blank spot on the floor for the second time and spread everything out, and then sat down and started going through his memory banks. For nearly twenty minutes he sat completely still as information flowed through his head. Finally, Data snapped back into action and started drawing up designs. Pictures, words, everything came clearly as he had just gone through a lengthy review. Two hours later he had everything written down, and had gone over the designs twice to make sure that it was efficient enough for Roll, and cheap enough for Tron. They were perfect. Data quickly put away the materials he didn't use exactly how he found them and then rolled up the blueprints and began heading back to the exit of the Flutter with them in his mouth. On his way out he once again looked into Roll's room. She had managed to pick herself up and change into her pajamas, and was now lying in bed, hopefully asleep. Data continued outside and down the ladder onto the ground. He approached the workbench that was still set up and left the blueprints stretched out. Hopefully neither of the girls would question where they came from. "Don't worry Rock; we'll get you down soon!" Data said, looking up at the sky.
"Soon…I can feel it." Rock said to himself, with a smile going across his face. He thought of seeing Roll and all of his friends again. He'd even be happy to see the Bonnes. The sooner everything was back to normal on Terra, the sooner he'd be happy. Unfortunately, it would be some time before things were actually normal again. As rock dozed off into a deep sleep, Sera approached Yuna, whom had a concerned look on her face.
"What's wrong, Yuna?" Sera asked. Yuna looked over to Rock and noticed he was asleep, and decided to explain the problem to Sera.
"It's about Terra." Yuna said. "We've been up here much longer than I thought we'd be…and as I said, the Elder System will start to reactivate soon. I fear it may have already started, which means the carbons living on Terra may be in great danger." She explained, confusing Sera.
"But the Master System was destroyed…The Carbon Reinitialization Program can't function anymore." Sera said. Carbons were copies of humans that were made to occupy Terra until the last of the humans, The Master, died out. At this point the Carbon Reinitialization Program would execute and destroy every last carbon; then the DNA copies of humans in the Library of Elysium would generate new human beings. The battle between her and Rock had guaranteed that the carbons could not be destroyed from Elysium, but her knowledge of Terra's Elder System wasn't as great as Yuna's.
"When Elysium was finished and the carbons were placed on Terra, there were four bureaucratic units established there." Yuna explained. "These units were to watch over the carbon population and purge it whenever it became too high. The units were divided into the four main islands that the carbons were to be allowed to live on. Over time the Elder System shut itself down due to inactivity, and the bureaucratic units were put to rest. Because of this, the carbons were able to reproduce freely and spread all over the other islands on Terra." Yuna finished. Sera looked over to Rock, getting more worried by the second as she realized what this all meant.
"No, I won't have it. He's fought too hard to go back to nothing." Sera said. "There has to be something we can do." She added, now looking back at Yuna.
"All we can do is wait for Data and the others to get back to us. From Elysium we can do nothing, but on Terra we can stop the Elder System before it becomes fully functional. That is, if we get there in time." Yuna said. Time was running out for Terra, but nobody on the planet knew of the situation.
"Is everything set?" Tron asked to a servbot with a headset that was standing next to her. She, the servbot, Roll, Teisel, Bonne and Gramps were all in the same bunker, watching the rocket ship that was erected far away in front of them.
"Everything is A-Okay!" The servbot said. A grin crossed Tron's face as she looked out at the rocket again. The speed of construction on the new prototype was faster than ever. Every servbot worked triple shifts and brought it together in a week. Now it was time to test the rocket to make sure all of their work had paid off.
"Alright then! Tell the others to clear the launch area, and start the count down! This one is making it!" Tron said. The servbot complied and a message came over the loudspeaker, telling the other servbots to leave the launch area. Three more minutes passed and the countdown began at one minute. Everyone was silent as the timer went down, and finally reached zero. At that moment the rockets on the bottom of the ship blasted out, and slowly the vessel began to lift off the ground. Five seconds later the support structure released its grip and the ship began to rise into the air.
"This is it…" Roll said. None of their other designs had made it past this point. Herself and Tron were now looking at information on monitors in front of them rather than watching the rocket. "Everything is reading normal!" Roll said, excited. "It might just make it!" She added, and then turned her attention on the rocket, watching it fly further and further away from them. Slowly the image of the rocket faded, and eventually was invisible as it left the planet.
"We did it!" Tron shouted, raising her hands in the air triumphantly. The rocket would follow its projected path and return to Terra in two hours, and if everything had gone well with the test they'd be heading to Elysium by the end of the week. "We're lucky those plans showed up…we can finally get Rock back." Tron said, once again checking the monitor in front of her to make sure nothing was going wrong. Data stood behind everyone, with a large grin on his face. Something told him they were better off not knowing what he had given them, so he ran off and decided to head back for the Flutter.
MISSION: Design engine for Space Shuttle - ACCOMPLISHED
OBJECTIVES:
Gather materials (Pen, Paper, etc.) - COMPLETE
Review knowledge database for technology brought back from Elysium - COMPLETE
Make design blueprints based on acquired data, and leave for Roll and Tron to find. – COMPLETE
The image of the completed mission was still frozen in Data's head, causing him to be prouder than ever before. This definitely deserved a long nap on the living room sofa. Back at the bunker, Tron and Roll were glued to the monitors. Bon stood behind Tron, also watching the information as it was displayed. Teisel and Gramps stood behind the others.
"Well, I'm glad this wasn't a waste of money." Teisel said. While Tron had been working on the rocket Teisel and Bon had once again opened the department store. This time the Bonnes knew what they were getting into and kept business alive, using the funds to help with the purchase of parts for the rocket. Of course, this didn't mean they were done with the pirate business for good. Getting Rock back from Elysium and giving him the chance to ruin their plans again wasn't very appealing to Teisel, but making his younger sister happy was. So, he gave Tron as much money and parts as she needed.
"Babuuuu!" Bon said, as he watched more and more data come across Tron's monitor.
"That's right, Bon." Tron explained. "Everything is going as planned. We have about an hour and a half to kill, so how about lunch?" Tron asked. If anything were to happen while they were gone, the information on what happened would be recorded, so sitting at the monitors wasn't important.
"Sounds good to me, I'm starving!" Teisel said, and was the first to leave the bunker. Bon left behind him, then Tron, leaving Roll still sitting in her seat and Gramps standing behind her. Roll was now once again staring into the sky. Gramps smiled softly, pleased that his granddaughter was happy.
"Now don't spend all day down here. You need food as much as we do." Gramps said; knowing Roll would stay in that spot for a week if she wanted to.
"I won't." Roll said with a small laugh. "I'll be there soon." She added, not once taking her eyes off the last spot she had seen the rocket at. Everything had happened so quickly. She could now travel into space, the endless abyss of stars. But more importantly, Rock could come home now. No more nightmares, no more crying, no more loneliness. Gramps once again smiled and made his way out of the bunker. Roll stayed in her seat for another fifteen minutes, and then finally stood up. As she approached the Flutter she once again looked into the sky. "I'm coming, Rock. You better be ready!" She said, and then made her way up the ladder.
The rocket had been a complete success and made it back to Terra without a scratch. Everyone was now working to get the vessel prepared for its second launch. It was decided that Tron and Roll would go to Elysium and retrieve Rock and the others, although Teisel had quite a few objections to the plans. Finally, Tron was able to convince Teisel they'd be fine after showing him the equipment they'd be bringing. It was nearing the end of the last day before the launch, and things had finally slowed down. Tron walked across the field towards the ship, with Roll closely behind.
"What is it you want to show me?" Roll asked. Tron had been rather quiet about it.
"I want to show you what we'll be using to land on and explore Elysium with." Tron explained. "I modified one of my old robots and then made a replica of it for you. Since our craft is too big to get into Elysium's docking bays, we can use these robots to board while the ship orbits the satellite." Tron said.
"But how will we get Rock and the others onboard too?" Asked Roll. Tron had already thought about this as well.
"They're big enough to fit more than one person. We're only looking at about two or three people here so it shouldn't be a problem, although it may get a bit cramped." Tron said. The two were now at the launch site. Among the unpacked cargo was a large metallic box with two doors. Tron pressed a few buttons on a control panel and both of them opened, revealing the two battle armors. The first was a humanoid armor, with a bulging round stomach that served as the cockpit. At the top was a head with a rocket launcher on top that seemed a bit bizarre looking to Roll. The left arm was armed with a bazooka canon, and the right appeared to work like a normal human hand. It was painted a dark green color, similar to the color of Teisel's armor. "This is the Gustaff." Tron explained, "I used it a few years back on some missions, and it never failed me. It packs heavy weaponry but is also extremely mobile. The canon on top shoots beacon bombs, allowing the driver to command servbots from inside" Tron said, proud of her work. The Gustaff was always special to Tron as it was the robot she used to prove to her brothers that she had grown up. Since then she refused to use it in battle, fearing its destruction. Retrieving Rock was a special case, however, so it finally came out of storage. Next to the Gustaff was robot armor. It had the same shape of the Gustaff, except it was colored different. Instead of a two-toned green, this robot was colored blue, similar to the color of Rock's digging armor. Instead of a bazooka, this robot was armed with a large gatling gun. "And this…" Tron said, "Is the copy of the Gustaff I made. It uses a gatling gun instead of a bazooka, and it has easier controls since you won't have much time to mess with them until we get to Elysium. Both robots are modified so they can travel freely in space, and there should be enough air to last for hours" Tron said, once again proud of her work.
"This is really amazing!" Roll said, as she began to circle around the second Gustaff. The color reminded her of Rock, which she liked about it, although she'd have preferred it to be red.
"Alright #12, you can load this one whenever you're ready!" Tron shouted to a servbot operating a crane.
"Yes, Miss Tron!" The servbot shouted back. By the end of the night, the ship was prepared and all the cargo was loaded. All that remained was getting some sleep, which Tron and Roll found very difficult to do. Both Roll and Tron dreamed of what would happen when they met up with Rock again. Some of Roll's were romantic, while Tron's usually involved Roll dying a horribly painful death and her and Rock living happily ever after, which was romantic for her at least. Finally, morning came, and Roll and Tron awoke. The others also got up to see the two off. As the day went on, everything was double-checked. Once this was finished, Roll and Tron entered the space shuttle, matching dark gray space suits and all. The final half hour before the launch consisted of a check over the ship's systems. Tron and Roll were very nervous but refused to let it show, not wanting to look foolish in front of the others. There was no audience except for the two families, as they had somehow managed to keep the project a secret from the public, even after sending the rocket into space once. Finally, it was time for liftoff. Gramps, Teisel, and Bon were now gathered in the bunker watching the craft, along with three servbots.
"Everything is looking fine down here, Tron." Teisel said over the radio. "We're ready whenever you are." He added. Teisel was very nervous about what would happen to his only sister, but knew that there was no way to stop her from going to Elysium. Therefore, he would support her in any way he could, along with Bon.
"Good. We're just about set up here; wait for my signal to start the countdown." Tron ordered, and then went back to adjusting settings on the control panel in front of her. Roll was doing the same, but staying quiet. After a few more minutes of adjustments, Tron once again sent a message to Teisel and the others. "Alright, start the countdown at T-Minus 180 seconds." Tron ordered. Teisel jumped at this, and without thinking shouted a question.
"Three minutes, but why so soon? Tron, are you sure this is a good idea?" Teisel said. Everything that was happening was now catching up with him.
"YES I am sure!" Tron yelled back. "Now set the timer!" She added. Roll couldn't help laughing, although she was upset about something.
"Err, yes Tron." Teisel said, and then put in the commands. Afterwards, a large yellow 180 appeared on the monitor in front of him, and began counting down. "Good luck, Tron…Come back as soon as you can! And if something goes wrong, come back here immediately!" Teisel said.
"You stay safe too, Roll. Make sure you bring yourself back in one piece." Gramps said. He had also been very quiet, but for a very different reason than Roll. As the countdown went into the last minute, everyone once again said his or her good-byes. Finally, it reached zero, and the rockets on the vessel fired off. Teisel operated the controls from the bunker and the support tower released the craft, allowing it to fly up into the sky. After a few minutes, it disappeared into the sky, but Teisel, Gramps and the others didn't stop looking at the spot it had left in for nearly an hour.
"Well, that should set us up for the trip. Now we just wait." Roll said. Two hours had passed, and there was no longer any need to manually pilot the craft. It would take 18 more hours to reach Elysium, making it the longest time Roll and Tron would have to endure each other for yet. Tron stood up out of her seat and walked out of the cockpit, leaving Roll to herself in the pilot's seat. Roll tilted her head to the left and stared out at the deep space in front of her. It was hypnotizing, in a way. The night before had ended with another nightmare that was still bothering Roll, as it was the most frightening one yet.
She had dreamed she was walking down a long hallway. It looked like it was underground, in the ruins of Terra. For what felt like hours Roll wandered through the straight hallway. Suddenly, a gigantic orange door stood before her. It was decorated like the walls of the ruins, and after a moment of staring it began to open. Roll walked into the door, but it was too blurry to see what was happening. All she could tell was that she was shooting at something with a gun on her arm, similar to Rock's. Although things were still blurry, Roll could tell that whatever she was shooting at was out of commission. This lasted for a few minutes, until suddenly a burning sensation came to her left side, just above the hip. The burning increased until she fell to the ground, staring up at the sky. Slowly life was escaping her. That was when Roll awoke, wondering why these dreams kept coming to her.
18 hours never seemed like such a long time. Roll was now once again in the cockpit, checking over the ship's status. Not so much because it was necessary, but it passed the time. Tron, who floated into the cockpit, this time with a video camera, interrupted her.
"What are you doing?" Roll asked, with laughter in her voice.
"Well, we need proof that we're up here! We'll be famous when we get back down." Tron said, while pointing the camera at Roll. Roll stuck out her tongue and pulled herself out of the chair she was in, trying to avoid the video camera. There was no gravity in the vessel, so she could float around the cockpit as she pleased. Tron chased her down while keeping her on film as much as possible. Roll kept ahead of Tron, but finally Tron grabbed a hold of her foot and changed her direction, forcing Roll to run into a nearby storage bin. Once Roll finished rubbing her head she noticed that hitting it caused it to open, revealing none other than…Data!
"Data! What are you doing here?" Roll asked, forgetting about her injury for the moment. Data unleashed some gibberish, reminding the two that they couldn't understand him. Tron kept the video camera rolling, still giggling about what happened to Roll. Tron and Roll had refused to let Data onboard the ship, but Data figured the two would be lost for ages in Elysium without his guidance, and so he stashed himself aboard. Sometimes it was very difficult to be Data. "I knew it seemed too quiet…" Roll said, returning her attention to the bump on her head. Tron had now turned off the camera and captured Data, and was working on getting him to sit still.
"Quit squirming!" Tron shouted. Data wasn't about to be forced into whatever they had planned for him, especially since he was trying to help to begin with. After a few more hours of tumbling, Data was finally allowed to wander around the ship by himself. Tron had once again turned on the video camera and was pointing it at different devices among the ship, describing what they were. Roll had gone back to the pilot's seat.
"Tron…come here, you have to see this." Roll said. Tron moved over and stood behind Roll's seat, looking at what Roll saw. Elysium was now in clear view, a gigantic metallic looking sphere. Gigantic towers that covered the surface were visible, along with what looked like crevices. Neither of the girls could take their eyes off of the magnificent structure, even while they were setting the spacecraft to orbit it. Once the orbit was set, Tron and Roll made their way to the gustaffs while putting on their helmets. Once inside the robots, Data showed his face again and leaped into Roll's Gustaff. After the airlock did its work both ships were deployed and began their descent towards Elysium. The actual descent wasn't fairly difficult due to Elysium's gravitational pull, but Roll had difficulty shaking the thought that any second she could be randomly shot out into space, never to be seen again. Then again, she was in one of Tron's devices…so the particular outcome seemed a bit more likely. It was strange how Roll and Tron had managed to pull all of this off together. Tron was in love with Rock, and saw Roll as the only obstacle between herself and eternal happiness with her blue armored hero. Roll's feelings toward Tron weren't exactly pleasant either. In the past Tron and her family had a few run ins with Rock and Roll…No…had a friendly rival with…No…Okay, they basically tried to kill Rock with the biggest machines they could possibly imagine. Not to mention Roll, as she was also in the line of fire during more than one incident. Regardless of this, Roll was beginning to think of Tron as a friend, sort of.
"Roll, wake up!" Roll heard over the radio. She was slowly drifting off course away from Tron, while she drifted away from reality. In a few seconds this was fixed and both of them were approaching the surface. "Just let the Gustaff's auto stabilizers bring you down, Roll. If you try to manually land you might crash." Tron added, as Roll had very little experience piloting the Gustaff. Roll had gone through a tutorial while onboard the spacecraft, but had no actual experience piloting the robot. Once on the surface, Data began to jump up and down and pointed to Roll's left.
"Data seems to know the way around here, Tron." Roll said, while starting to move to her left. Tron followed, figuring that any direction was as good as the other. Luckily, they had landed close to the docking bay and were able to slip in with minimal difficulty. Once inside, Data lead the girls to a lift. Both Gustaffs couldn't fit onto it at once, so one had to go down first. It was decided that Tron would go down, so she stood on the lift. Data then opened up the hatch to Roll's Gustaff and hopped out, making it obvious that Elysium had stable living conditions. Roll removed her helmet, happy to have room for her hair again. She could have removed it the entire time as the Gustaff was modified for oxygen flow, but the space flight had made her nervous enough to keep it on, despite its small size. Data operated the lift and let Tron down. Before the lift could reach the top again, Roll was already getting transmissions from Tron.
"Roll…you HAVE to see this! It's… amazing! There's grass, and the sky and…just hurry up and get down here!" Tron said. By now the lift had returned with Data dancing while he waited for Roll to move onboard. Finally, Roll too was down in the area that Tron was. This section of Elysium, the residential area, was split into several islands, each with a single building. On the ends of each island there was a transporter that would lead to the adjacent island, but the girls didn't use these as their target was in the center of the island they were standing on. Rock's visit had activated the lift they used, making the trip a much shorter one. In the building at the center of the island, Roll and Tron were once again amazed. A gigantic monitor covered the wall at the opposite end of the room, which was quite the sight to see although it didn't work. The floor in the room dropped down about ten feet beyond the doorway, with small pillars sticking up to the normal floor level. A large pillar at the center had another lift, with four walkways stretching out from it. Once again Data operated the lift for one Gustaff at a time, with Roll going first on this trip. At the bottom of this lift was a long gray hallway, like the ones in the docking bay. Data began yapping once both Gustaffs had reached the bottom and began running through the hallways, with Tron and Roll following closely behind. Each door they went through lead to another hallway, occasionally separated by a large chamber. During Rock's trip he had battled a guardian in each of these rooms, but the reaverbots of Elysium were no longer functioning. Finally, they came to another lift. After the usual two trips, Data lead the girls through one last hallway, leading to a smaller room with a gigantic machine in the middle. On the four corners of it were small indentations, a key to the Mother Lode, or the Great Seal sitting on each one. Rock and Roll had found all of these keys seven months before, which were the key to the carbon reinitialization program of Elysium. Rock had defeated Sera and shut down Elysium's system, keeping the carbons safe. Now a large door stood before them, the door to the Library of Elysium. Data leaped up and down in front of it, indicating that they had finally reached their destination.
"I think this is it." Roll said, incredibly nervous. If all were well then Rock would be behind the door waiting for her. Trying to open the door normally proved to be useless, so seeing as it opened vertically down the center, Tron's Gustaff took one end and Roll's took the other, each trying to pull it open. Finally, Tron got impatient and told Roll to stand back. Roll and Data both gave her the space she needed, as she sent a rocket into the door. After a large explosion, and three more since the first wasn't quite enough, smoke filled the air. As it cleared, both Tron and Roll stood outside the doorway, peering in to see what was inside. Finally, visibility was restored, allowing Roll and Tron to see what they had been seeking. Once Rock, Sera and Yuna were finished staring at the gigantic chunk of metal that had destroyed their game of monopoly, they turned their attention to the two robots that stood outside the room. Roll stood up and opened the hatch on the Gustaff, but did not leave it. Instead, she stared at Rock with a smile on her face. Rock had now stood up and was staring back, with Yuna and Sera surprised at the sudden appearance. After a long moment of silence, Roll jumped out from the Gustaff and ran at Rock at unimaginable speeds, throwing her arms around him. After regaining his balance, Rock looked down at Roll, whose face was now covered in tears.
"Hey." Rock said, regretting the fact that he didn't have anything better to say. He was now hugging Roll back; trying to remember the last time he was so happy to see her. Yuna and Sera were now standing, trying to hold back from giggling as much as they could. Once Rock and Roll finally released each other, Data leapt up onto Rock's shoulder.
"I'm sorry we took so long! They wouldn't let me help…" Data told Rock, with nobody else understanding. Rock simply grinned and patted him on the head, as he had known that Roll wouldn't accept help without a fight. Once again Roll stared at Rock, and tried to say something but ended up turning away blushing. Rock looked at her with a confused face, until Sera interrupted them, seeing that it would be a long time before this went anywhere.
"Shall we get going, then?" Sera asked. Roll turned her attention to Sera; realizing that she was her enemy last she had seen her. Roll also had unanswered questions about Matilda, her mother, which she had forgotten about up until now, mostly due to horrible nightmares, which were a direct result of missing Rock in the first place. Yuna agreed with Sera and picked up her body, making Roll even more confused.
"Um…Can you explain a few things first?" Roll asked. Rock laughed, remembering everything that Roll had missed and decided it would be best if she were caught up.
"Well, once I got here I found Sera and we…worked everything out, to say the least. Elysium was deactivated, so everything is safe now. But it also kept us from getting out…Data was able to get back because he had stayed outside the Library, and powered a small craft to get back to Elysium." Rock said. Some light came to Roll, who now looked at Yuna. Yuna let out a small laugh, and then took her turn explaining.
"You're probably wondering why I look like your mother, aren't you? I'm sorry; I should have explained it before we left." Yuna said. Roll's eyes widened at mention of her mother, making Yuna excited to finally explain what happened to Roll. "Years ago on forbidden island, I came across your mother. She was badly wounded and didn't have long to live…All the other carbons I had found on the island I had either sent back to Yosyonke or frozen in a time stasis, trying to prevent them from reaching the center of the island. Your mother however was in the worst condition I had ever seen. Since I have the ability to transfer my system among different shells, I occupied your mother and began to run a repair program. Unfortunately, it took much more energy than I thought it would and it damaged my former shell in the process. So, I had to use your mother as my shell. Keeping Sera's chamber in check took too much time, so I wasn't able to repair my shell until now." Yuna explained. Roll was now smiling more than ever.
"So…my mom…she's alive?" Roll asked. Yuna gave a quick nod, making Roll happier than ever. At long last, she was going to be reunited with her mother.
"I'll go back to my body once we're back on Terra…this is hardly the place to let her see, especially after being inactive for so long." Yuna said, while starting to walk towards the door. This brought the question of who was in the other Gustaff, which still stood outside the door. Tron was still inside, and had now given up on trying to force open the broken hatch. She had seen it all; Rock and Roll being together made her angrier than she had ever felt. Not wanting to see any of them, she turned her Gustaff around and began to head back to the surface.
"I…think she's mad." Roll said. Rock was now upset with himself…had he known Tron was here too, he would've talked to her. "We better go follow her." Roll said. The trip home was going to be a long one, and an angry Tron certainly meant it wouldn't be fun. On the way out Rock stopped and watched Roll leave while thinking to himself. It was finally over; the mission that he had agreed to help her with so long ago, the search for the Mother Lode and her parents. Finally they could go back to the normal life of digging. Of course, he was still concerned about his life. Could he go on living normally? This, along with other questions still plagued Rock's mind. Confused, he followed the others out of the Library and prepared for his journey home.