A Different Place

Chapter 32 - Why Not Kattelox?

"There has to something better to do than this," MegaMan whined, sitting cross-legged on the grassy hill. "This may be the most boring job I've ever had in my entire life."

"It is kind of boring," said Number Ten, dutifully standing watch over the parked Drache, "but Miss Tron told us not to move from this spot until she came back, so we can't go anywhere else!"

MegaMan sighed. He could have offered to play paper-rock-scissors with the rigid Servbot, but that would have have been pointless, as even after he'd finally conveyed to the Servbots how the game was played, they still could not play it because of their clamp-like hands. They'd come to this new island, which was reputed to have untold amounts of treasure, and all he was doing was watching a Drache!

"Kattleox," he mumbled grumpily. "What kind of name is that for an island?"

"Ummmm...a weird one?" ventured Ten, not recognizing the rhetorical nature of the question.

"Urrrrggh!" MegaMan grunted as he stood up. The boy began pacing the ground near the Drache. Why had he even bothered to put his armor on, anyway? True, Tron had been nice enough to re-size Teisel's old olive-colored suit properly for MegaMan. She had even replaced the battery in his Arm Cannon, and tuned it up a little too (which was a good thing, because she said it looked like the weapon was over a hundred and fifty years old!). Those were the nicest things she'd done for (or to) MegaMan in the last few weeks, however.

Teisel and the others had decided it would be too dangerous to explore the Garrdan Ruins after making such a bad impression on the island's royal family. Tron had been all for destroying the castle and violently overthrowing Garrdan Island's government, but unfortunately, with the destruction of the Gustaff, there was not nearly enough materiel aboard the Gesellschaft to consider an assault. Teisel had also thrown Tron's failed experiment overboard, fully intending she assume that it had been lost in the battle, although he'd privately told MegaMan later that if she asked, he would tell her the truth. Any beating was worth being rid of the clunky, unresponsive frame.

Next, the Bonnes had decided to scout out Kattleox, due to many rumors of the stupidly large amounts of treasure held within its many Ruins. Supposedly, the island was covered in them, both above and below the ground level. MegaMan was excited, as he was sure Teisel would split the group into teams to explore different areas of the island. Instead, he'd been told that they'd first have to figure out the local conditions and laws, and probably, have to break them. Tron told him sharply one morning that they'd probably have to hold the island hostage; otherwise they would never break their inflexible customs.

"I heard they don't let any people Dig in some of their Ruins," Tron had said.

"That's dumb," MegaMan replied.

"It's great news for us!" said Tron as if he were the one who was dumb. "That means all the loot will still be inside!"

So he'd been included on the first landing party, possibly because he looked slightly less suspicious than Teisel or Bon, but all he was doing was guarding the car! At least figuratively. Tron had barked orders to the fact that she and three of the Servbots were going into the city to have a look around, and that he and Number Ten had better stay here, or else. He had complained but stayed put. Still, even Tron had to realize that MegaMan had a much firmer grasp on reality than any Servbot! He would probably also be less conspicuous walking around the town.

"She did this just to tick me off," he told Number Ten.

"I'm sorry?" said Ten, looking confused.

"Nothing," MegaMan said. "Forget it."

This was all Tron's fault. If she had been able to handle things like a mature person, maybe they would have been getting along during the past month, but she'd purposely been avoiding him. On those occasions when Tron and MegaMan were forced by happenstance, she would give him the silent treatment until he walked away, muttering incoherently. Every now and then, Tron would, in fact, deign to speak to him, but only in an imperious manner which required, nay, demanded, no backtalk.

MegaMan forced himself to admit that he had not improved the situation at all by dropping hints to Number Thirty-Six that Tron liked to be serenaded every night promptly at two in the morning. Still, the sight of her, dressed in her nightgown, her hair nearly electrically frizzy, demanding that the painful rendition of "Gold City Moon" be halted immediately, or Number Thirty-Six was going to find himself running the obstacle course tomorrow morning, was immensely funny to the boy, who had been feeling a bit rejected. When she had found out, she'd let him have it physically as well as verbally, as might have been expected, but he bore the reproach with dignity and managed not to laugh out loud once.

MegaMan's attentions were brought off of his...er, romantic troubles as a huge yellow blur flew dangerously close to him. The skyship, for that was what it was, scraped its bottom across the outer wall of Kattleox City, breaking a few chunks of ancient concrete free. MegaMan had to duck to prevent a particularly large chunk from colliding with his head. Number Ten shrieked and ran into the Drache for protection. The wobbly skyship sank slowly, sailing under MegaMan's line of vision, although he guessed from the sounds that followed that it had either crashed or landed very, very poorly.

"Maybe we should go check it out?" he suggested to Number Ten.

"Nope," said the Servbot. "Miss Tron said to wait riiight here."

"Okay, but what if someone's hurt over there? They could need help."

Ten shook his head. "No, we've got to follow our orders. Miss Tron will get really mad if we don't."

MegaMan was all set to try another argument when a gaggle of police cars zoomed out of the city gates, sirens blaring. MegaMan watched as the tri-colored lights flashed by him, quickly moving further and further towards the where he had last seen the ship.

"See?" said Number Ten. "The police have it all handled."

"I thought the police here were stupid and inept. That's what Tron said."

"Ummm...I think she said she hoped the police here were stupid and inept. That would make things easier for us."

"Oh." Even if the police were fairly bad at their jobs, they still would probably be able to give whoever was involved with the crash all the help they needed. Especially if there were six or seven cruisers out at the scene. These, however, were facts that did MegaMan absolutely no good whatsoever.

"I don't care, anymore," he said, giving the Drache a light punch. "I'm going into town no matter what she says." MegaMan turned his back on Ten and jogged towards the city entrance.

"I sure hope he doesn't end up in the Torture Room," Number Ten lamented.