Love Is More Dangerous Than Reaverbots

Chapter 3 - Love Hurts

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Roll stepped out of the Flutter and into the snow covered streets of Yosyonke Island. She went straight to the apartment where Joe lived. However, the man at the desk informed her that Joe had gotten married to Maria and had moved to Calbania Island.

"Why would he move there?" Roll asked.

"Lots o' people moving there, missy." The old man replied. "What with them pirates cleared out by that Megaman feller, folks are trying to build that island into a real village, just like on the other islands. Why, if'n I was a mite younger, I might head there myself!"

Roll sighed, then thanked the man and left. She returned to the flutter, and set a course for Calbania Island.

********

Meanwhile, Megaman was still hanging by his arms in the Torture room. The door opened, and Tron stepped in. She is dressed in her usual outfit, and her hair is its usual spikey self. She smiled at Megaman. "Ah, good, you're awake! Now we can get started!" Megaman looked distinctly unhappy to hear this. Tron giggled at this "Don't worry Megaman! This room is only for servbots. Of course, now that you're part of my crew, I may have to adapt some of it for you as well."

"Part of your crew?" Megaman gasped, feeling more confused by the minute.

"Of course. Now that you are my boyfriend, it only makes sense that you'll join our crew, silly!"

"Boyfriend?"

"Sure. After all, we went out on a date, didn't we? So now you're my boyfriend! And according to what I've read, a good boyfriend doesn't just happen, he's molded." As Tron said this she was caressing a particularly unpleasant looking torture implement. "So get ready to be molded!"

********

The Flutter arrived at Calbania Island. Much had changed since her last visit. The small village where Shu, Appo and Dah live had been fixed up and enlarged, and Glyde's base had been converted into a fair sized city, called Calbania City. Appo and Dah came running up as Roll walked into the village.

"Hey! It's the red lady!"

"Yeah, ha ha! Hey red lady, where's the blue boy?"

"He's run off with some. . . pirate." Roll replied rather sharply. "I'm looking for a man who moved here recently. His name is Joe, and he was with a woman named Maria."

"Lots of people been coming here."

"All kinds of people, people who build stuff, people who grow stuff."

"People who sell stuff, people who buy stuff. . ."

"Well they have a little girl about your age." Roll interjected, before they could go on.

"GIRLS? Ewwwwww" Both boys said at once, then run off. Roll sighed and looked around for Shu, eventually finding her in their small house.

"Oh, hello Roll. What brings you here?"

"I'm looking for a man named Joe, who moved here recently with his wife and daughter." Roll felt uncomfortable with that last part. Joe was her father, he should be with her and her mother. . .

"I'm sorry Roll, but I haven't had much to do with the newcomers. Most of them go straight to Calbania City these days. This village is mostly just farmers like me."

"Well, I guess I'll have to check there."

"Be careful, Roll. There's been some trouble with pirates recently."

"It wasn't the Bonnes, was it?"

"I don't think so. They attacked the city a few days ago. Their airship was shot down by the city's defenders, but a few of the pirates are still making raids from the forest. In fact, you'd best get your airship docked at the city, where it'll be better defended. You wouldn't want that stolen!"

"No, of course not!" Roll decided to follow Shu's advice and returned to the flutter and moved it to the city dock.

********

"Uhm Tron? Just what exactly do you mean by molding?" Megaman asked nervously.

Tron began to giggle uncontrollably for a bit. She slowly regained control of herself. "Heh heh, Megaman, you look so funny!" She pressed a button, and Megaman is released. He slowly gets to his feet, still looking at Tron a bit nervously. She moved closer to him, taking his hand into hers. "Don't worry Megaman, as long as you're a good boyfriend, you'll never have to come in here again!" Tron led Megaman out of the torture room. "I've set up quarters for you down here. Teisel would have a fit if I put you on the same level as my room."

"Uh, where are Teisel and Bon, anyhow?"

"Oh they went off on some silly fishing trip. I didn't even know they knew how to fish, but it gives us a chance to show what we can do! Just think of it, Megaman. Working together as a team, who knows what we can accomplish!"

"But. . . . what if I don't want to be a pirate" Megaman said this very nervously, and actually flinched, as if expecting a blow.

"Well that would be a problem, Megaman." Tron said, her voice losing its previous good humor. "Because this is a pirate ship, after all, and if you don't want to be a pirate, I'd have to throw you overboard. That would be a serious problem for you, as that device strapped to your leg" She tapped an object attached to Megaman's leg, that he hadn't even noticed before. "will explode if you get too far away from the Gesellschaft II. So I think it's best that you stay here, don't you?" She looked into Megaman's eyes after saying this.

"Err. . . I guess so." Megaman stammered, looking at the object on his leg with distaste.

"Great!" Tron's voice was once again full of good cheer. "I knew you'd see it my way. Here's your room, better get some sleep, a pirate's life isn't an easy one you know. Oh, and don't try to remove that, or it might go off! Sweet dreams!" Tron pushed him at a door, which he entered. The room was not unlike the one he had on the Flutter, but somehow it doesn't seem as nice. He laid on the bed and tried to go to sleep.

********

Roll began her search at the town hall. Soon she was directed to a small house near the center of the city. She knocked and the door is opened by Joe.

"Oh, Roll." Joe said, "What brings you here?"

"Joe. . ." Roll began, but wasn't quite sure how to continue. "Don't you remember anything about your life before you lost your memory?"

"Oh, so that's what this is about. I was wondering when you'd figure it out." Joe looked at her thoughtfully, then ushers her into his study. Neither of them noticed the little girl hiding behind a couch, listening.

"So you remember?" Roll asked excitedly.

"No. I don't remember it all, but I do know that you're my daughter. For one thing, I've got this picture." He went to a bookshelf and took a picture from out of one of the books. It was a picture of Matilda & Roll. "I think you should have this." He said, handing it to her.

"Oh Daddy!" Roll cried, and gave Joe a hug. There was a sniff from the girl behind the couch, but neither of them noticed it. "Mom's alive too! We can all be a family again!"

"Roll, honey, that's the past. I've got Maria now, and Stacy. I can't live in a past I don't remember." Joe looked sadly at Roll "I've started a new life, and I can't give it up just because my old life still exists. Can you understand that?"

"I . . . I guess so." Roll responded, but looked as if she's about to break down and cry. "I guess I should go."

"Actually, as long as you're here." Joe paused for a moment, then continued "We have been having trouble with a gang of pirates. We shot down their ship, but a few of them are still making raids against the town. I was hoping that Megaman could take care of them. The whole town would be grateful to him."

"Megaman!? That. . . that rat ran off to join the pirates! But don't worry, I'll take care of them myself! Then you can have your perfect life with your new wife and new daughter!" Roll stomped out, slamming the door behind her.

Joe looked deeply troubled. "Did I make the right choice?" He asked himself. The little girl behind the couch frowned, then sneaked away.

Roll returned to the Flutter, and went to her development room and began to work.

********

Meanwhile, Megaman was adjusting to life as a pirate. This mostly involved him swabbing the deck, while Tron watched, giggling.

"Say, Tron" He asked "Don't we ever do anything other then fly around?"

"Oh Megaman! You mean you want to do some real pirating?" Tron gleefully responded. "Oh I knew you'd come around!"

"Well, couldn't we just do a dig or something? At least that's something I know how to do. Besides, judging by how poorly you've done when you've attacked a town or something, digging might make more sense."

"What!? How . . . how dare you say that! The Bonnes are among the most feared pirates from one end of the earth to the other!" Tron responded angrily. "Besides, you're a digger and what's it ever gotten you? A crappy airship and homemade weapons!"

"Well, where do you purchase your weapons from?" Megaman asked.

"That! . . . That's beside the point!"

"Look, I've just heard about a new ruin being opened up on Kattelox Island, and I think it might be worthwhile to. . ." Was as far as Megaman got before Tron threw herself at him, and began hugging him.

"You want to go back to the island where we first met? Oh Megaman, you're so romantic!" Tron gushed as she hugged him tight. Then she grabbed the ships intercom and addressed the crew. "Listen up people! Set a course for Kattelox Island." She turned off the intercom and looked back at Megaman. "It'll take a few days to get there, so you take charge of the servbots, OK? Make sure they're getting everything ready, alright? I'll be down in my lab, cooking up a surprise for you!"

Megaman sighed and looked over Tron's checklist. He wondered if the surprise was going to be a pleasant one or not.

********

Roll was in the control room of the Flutter when the call came in. She adjusted a control, and Klaymoor appeared on her screen.

"So, the news is true. Megaman is here. Well, put him on, I want to talk to him."

Roll growled in anger, then responded "No Megaman is not here. However, I heard the town was being menaced by pirates, not some old fossil."

"Fossil? How dare you! Why I was terrorizing the high seas before you were born!"

"Exactly my point. So what do you want, anyhow? Hoping to surrender before you get your sorry ass kicked?"

Klaymoor growled and smoke fumes seem to rise from around his head. "No, we heard that you had some friends here, so we took them." He stepped aside to reveal Shu, Appo and Dah tied up and being guarded by two pirates. "Now, if you want to see your friends alive again, you'll do exactly as I say."

Roll subtly pressed a few buttons on a control panel, then responded, "Very well, Klaymoor. What do you want?"

"Glyde left something rather valuable in his old base. It is a battlesuit he had built by some of the top weapons designers."

"You expect me to turn something like that over to you?"

"It doesn't work. They built it to Glyde's specifications, which, while very stylish, weren't very functional. Still, it can be disassembled and sold, with the right contacts. Besides, if you don't retrieve it, things will go badly for your friends."

Roll has been watching a screen as she talks with Klaymoor, it suddenly flashed, and she smiled. "OK, Klaymoor, it looks like I don't have any choice. Where can I find this battlesuit?"

"One of my employees is waiting outside your door. She'll guide you to the entrance to Glyde's caves. She'll also ensure your cooperation."

Roll opened her door to find an armored girl. She was tall, and had spikey purple hair. She didn't appear to be armed, but Roll was sure she was. The two look each over for a moment, then the pirate girl spoke.

"So, got some place I can change? If we're gonna walk through town, I need to become a bit less conspicuous, know what I mean?"

"Sure, right this way." Roll led the girl to the living quarters, and indicated the bathroom. "I'm going to change into some armor and get a weapon, I assume Glyde's treasure isn't unguarded?"

"Sure, whatever. Nice place ya got here. Real homey." She walked toward the bathroom, and opened the door, then looked back at Roll. "I'll meet ya back at the control room, OK?"

"Sure." Roll marched to her development room and put on her new armor. It is similar to the outfit Megaman wears, except it is red. She threw a few things into a backpack and walked up to the control room. Shortly the pirate girl joined her, now wearing clothes over her armor, and a hat so she looks more like a farmer then a pirate.

"So whataya think? Will I pass?"

"Sure, I'll just tell anyone who asks you're one of the farmers who wanted to see the big city. How is it that no one's found this thing, anyway?" Roll asked, as the two of them left the ship and began to walk into the city.

"Most of Glyde's base was destroyed by the self-destruct, but he had a secret entrance to his underground base built into a cave. Unfortunately, when they built the city, they built it around the cave. The cave itself is in a park in the middle of the city. Klaymoor had planned to go in guns blazing, but the city was fortified just in case any pirates came back. So we get to be sneaky. A solid citizen like yerself ought to have no problem getting in and out of a park. The hard part will be getting through Glyde's automated defenses."

Suddenly the pirate girl stopped talking and leapt into a bush, returning shortly with a struggling little girl. "I thought someone was watching your ship besides me. This a friend of yours?"

Roll looked at the girl for a bit "You're that kid from Joe's workshop. . ."

"My name's Stacy and he's my daddy, not yours!" The little girl struggled wildly, trying to both get loose and get at Roll. "Wait until I tell him you're helping a pirate!"

"Let her go, her parents will just think she's making up a wild story."

"Ok, run along kiddo!" The pirate released Stacy and the little girl immediatly ran off. "There's the park. The cave's been sealed off, though."

The two women sat on a park bench near the caves, observing. A few park employees moved by at regular intervals, as well as a few patrons.

"We'll need a distraction, if we're going to get in unseen." Roll said, looking around. She noticed a storage shed a bit away from the cave. "That should do nicely." She began to stroll around. The pirate followed her. "Let me know when we're clear, OK?" Roll took something out of a pocket, and pushed it into a small cylinder attached to her wrist.

"OK, you're clear."

Roll pointed the cylinder up and toward the storage shed, and there is a brief *CHUFF* sound, then something flew out and landed neatly on the shed's roof. Roll and the pirate girl kept strolling in the general direction of the shed, then Roll suddenly turned toward one of the staff. "Excuse me, sir? Is that building suppose to be smoking like that?"

The staff member jumped, then pulled out a walkie-talkie and began to holler into it "FIRE! We've got a fire at the storage shed! Fire brigade, get moving!" The various staff members moved toward the shed, while others directed the growing crowd to stay back. Meanwhile, Roll and the pirate strolled their way back to the cave.

"Pretty slick Blondy." The pirate said. She picked the lock on the door over the front of the cave, and they both slipped in. She then reached through a gap in the door and carefully re-locked the door. "Just in case someone checks." She told Roll.

"The name is Roll. Call me Blondy again and I'll kick your ass." Roll growled at the pirate girl.

"Well since we're gettin' all introduced an all . . . I'm Adriana Everwinter. Think we can get going now, before someone hears us?" Without waiting for a reply, she moved to the back of the cave, then pushed a odd colored bit of wall, which moved aside, revealing an elevator. She and Roll entered it and descended.

"So how'd you know about this, anyhow?" Roll asked.

"I used to work for Glyde. In fact, I kinda got fired for poking around down here. Guess I can lose the disguise now, huh?" With that, the pirate tossed aside her farmer hat and clothing, revealing her 'work clothes'. She pulled a nice-sized gun out of her backpack. Roll likewise cast aside her coat, revealing a mega-buster and red armor. "Keep your eyes open, Roll. I think the first traps are. . ." As she took another step, a gun popped out of a wall and shot at her. She leapt back, and the shooting stopped. The two of them looked at the floor. "Hmmm. . . oh crap!"

"Obviously the floor causes the shooting, so you must have to walk across it in some specific pattern."

"Damn! You've got to do the Glyde Strut."

"The what?"

"It's this stupid dance Glyde made up. I think I can remember it, he used to make all of his henchpeople practice it. Well here goes." Adriana proceeded to dance across the floor. "Whew, I did it. Still, I don't know how you're going to do it. I thought there would be a switch or something to turn it off back her, but there isn't. . ."

"No Problem." Roll took several steps back, then activated her jet skates. Shortly before she reached the rigged floor, she activated the jet and jumped, leaping sideways. Her jet skates hit the wall and she began to move along it. When she was past the rigged floor, she slid back to the floor, stopping right next to Adriana. "See, easy."

"Well, gee we could have done that together, then I wouldn't have had to do that moronic dance."

"Well, you were in such a hurry, what could I do? Besides, you looked so funny! Hee Hee!"

Adriana grumbled a bit, but the two girls continued on, encountering minor booby traps and other problems, but nothing they couldn't handle. Then they stepped through a tunnel into a large open area. The tunnel they had come in through was immediatly blocked off by a door, and bright lights flooded the room. In the center was what appeared to be a huge reaverbot. It had eight thick legs and a huge body, brimming with guns that pointed in all directions. As the lights come on it rose up and spun around to face the two women.

"Oh oh. I was afraid we'd run into that." Adriana said.

"How'd Glyde get a reaverbot down here?" Roll asked, while checking to see that her heavy weapon was fully charged.

"Long story. . .for another day!" Adriana leapt aside as a blast emitted from one of the reaverbot's guns. She rolled and aimed for one of its 'eyes', then blasted away, taking out a few of them before having to dodge fire again.

Roll moved aside as well, then fired off a number of Ground Crawlers at it. Soon the two had reduced the reaverbot to a smoking heap.

"That's a powerful weapon you've got there, Roll." Adriana said, with a bit of admiration in her voice. "Maybe you'd better go first into the next room."

"Whatever." Roll responded, and stepped through into the next room. In the center, with a light shining on it, was Glyde's Battle Suit. It looked a bit like one of Tron's Gustaffs, but made to look more stylish, and colored a lavish purple. Roll looked around the room carefully. "Looks like it's all clear."

"Great. Now drop your weapons and put your hands on your head." Adriana said, as she pointed her gun at the back of Roll's head.

********

Megaman checked off the last thing on the checklist. He heaved a sigh of relief. They would be at Kattelox Island in a few hours, and every preparation on Tron's checklist had finally been accomplished. At first it had been a real nightmare trying to get everything done. For one thing, he had difficulty telling one servbot from the other. For another, most of them were used to using Tron's lab times as a vacation, and they were all very disinclined to work. Megaman, on the other hand, was disinclined to use the torture room, or even threaten them with it. It was only the fear of what might happen to him that kept him going. So he decided to try positive reinforcement, instead of negative.

So he found a few servbots that were willing to work, and he made them jerseys modeled after the kind athletes wear. Each shirt had the servbot's number, his 'team' (based upon the individual servbot's responsibilities) and the Bonne family symbol. At first, the only servbots with jerseys were the 5 or so willing to do what Megaman told them, but soon more and more of them wanted the jerseys, so more and more of them began to work. By the time he checked off the last item, every servbot had a jersey and they were all working well together as a team.

Megaman waited outside of Tron's lab, hoping that she would emerge soon. She had said she would be done before they got there, but they were only a bit over an hour away, and he'd heard nothing from her. He'd thought about knocking, but the servbots had assured him that was a bad idea. So all he could do was wait.

Finally, someone emerged. . . Roll! "Hey Megaman! Aren't you glad to see me? You can come back with me, if you want to get away from that nasty pirate woman."

While Megaman might not always come across as exceptionally bright when dealing with women, he was smart enough to sense a trap when he saw it. Plus, Roll seemed a bit too heavyset and tall. "Roll, Tron and I are together now, didn't you know? Where is Tron, anyhow?" Megaman peered into the lab, as if expecting to see Tron in there somewhere.

'Roll's' voice suddenly changed into Tron's. "Heh heh. Pretty good disguise, eh Megaman? Had you fooled, didn't I?"

Megaman tried to appear surprised. "Tron? Is that you? That's amazing!"

"It is, isn't it? I've also got your surprise! C'mon!" Tron yanked Megaman into the lab and begins to remove the special arm attachment Roll had made to hold his special weapon. "I noticed that Blondy always limited you to one special weapon per mission. Well, that's great if you've got plenty of power recharges, or if you're only facing minor enemies, but it won't cut it in the Bonne Family. So this new special weapons mount I've made you is modular! You just press a button, and the weapon comes off, and you can attach another. With this pack I've made you, you can carry four special weapons with you, giving you access to a total of five special weapons per mission."

"Tron, that's brilliant!" Megaman replied, his voice filled with admiration. He glanced at his watch. "We're only about an hour away from Kattelox Island, do you want to give a speech before we deploy?"

"Good idea, let's go up to the bridge. But first, I'd better lose the hideous disguise." Tron pressed a button on her belt and there was the sound of velcro parting as her Roll disguise was pulled into a pack on her back. "If only it was so easy to put back on." The two of them moved up to the bridge. Tron noticed the jerseys, but made no comment until they arrived on the bridge. "Nice jerseys, Megaman! They'll have to be left behind on field missions, but they do brighten up the ship."

Megaman released a sigh of relief, but said nothing.

Tron picked up the microphone and spoke to the crew. "All right, listen up! Drop everything and give me your undivided attention! In about an hour, we will be arriving at our destination, Kattelox Island! Double check your equipment readings and make sure everything's in working order! I want another flawless operation, same as the last one! I swear, that treasure will be ours or my name's not Bonne! Let's DO IT!!"

Megaman raised an eyebrow and looked at Tron, who looked a bit embarrassed.

"Teisel always gives the same speech before every mission. I'd hate to break the tradition just because he's not here."

"You really miss them, don't you?" Megaman asked looking at her closely.

"Well of course I do! They're my family!"

Megaman simply smiled at her. It's these glimpses behind the tough girl facade Tron puts on for the public that Megaman finds so attractive about her. Every once in a while she slips, and lets him see the sweet girl underneath.

"Well, I'd better put on that stupid Blondy disguise, and practice talking like I'm a moron, so no one suspects it's not her." Tron said, as she walked into a small room off the bridge to change.

Megaman sighed. Those glimpses were always so brief.

They made their way down to the island in a dropship, the same one Megaman had used on Forbidden Island.

"I sort of, err. . . borrowed it. I figured it would come in handy if we ever needed to go in quietly." Tron admitted.

Soon they were down in Cardon Forest. A few kids saw them, and before long the news had spread throughout the small town. They had intended to go directly to the new ruins, but Megaman's celebrity went against them. The Inspector showed up and soon they found themselves having lunch with the mayor.

"So Megaman, what brings you and Roll back to Kattelox?" The mayor, Amelia asked.

"The new ruin, naturally." Megaman answered. "In fact, we're anxious to get started as soon as possible."

"I should have known." Amelia said, with a bit of a laugh. "Well, we won't hold you up any longer, Megaman. I'll have word sent out that you're in a hurry to get digging. To be honest, I've been reluctant to let any diggers into that ruin after what happened the last time, but since it's you, there won't be a problem. We all just glad you're here. Word is those dreadful Bonne pirates were coming this way."

"Ya don't have to worry about pirates while my Megypoo is around." Tron said in Roll's voice, while noisily chewing on her lunch, and generally speaking with her mouth full.

Both Megaman and Amelia blinked at 'Roll'. Megaman recovered and said "Uhm, I think we'll get going now. C'mon uh Roll."

"Okey-dokey Megypoo!" 'Roll' responded, while tucking some food into her clothing for later. "See ya later, Mrs. Mayor!" Amelia simply watched them go, looking confused.

"Say Tron, I know you're aren't very fond of Roll, but could you tone it down a bit, before you blow your cover?" Megaman said, sounding exasperated. "We've eaten with the mayor before, and she knows Roll doesn't talk with her mouth full, pick her nose, or call me 'megypoo'."

"Well if you're so fond of the little blond tart, why are you here with me?"

"All I'm trying to say is. . . " Megaman began, but cut himself off and spoke a little louder to a group of boys approaching. "Hey guys, how's things?"

"I knew when that new ruin emerged you'd show up sooner or later, and here you are!" The speaker was Jim, the leader of a group of local boys. He had gotten a bit taller, but was still the same overweight loudmouth Megaman recalled from his last visit. "You remember Osh and Bensley, right? Oh, and this must be Roll, right?"

"Yup, this is Roll. Uh, Roll this is Jim, Osh and Bensley, those guys who erm helped me out the last time we were here."

"Oh, right, nice to meet you guys, finally. But Megaman we really do have to be getting to that dig, dear."

"Awww, but I was hoping we could talk about old times, like that time we sent that dog after that stupid pirate? Heh, she looked so funny up on that light post." Jim and the three boys laughed. Megaman noticed Tron's teeth grinding together and decided it might be safer for the boys if he got her out of there.

"Heh, yeah those sure were some times we had, but we've got to get to our dig. C'ya." Megaman took Tron's hand firmly and marched through a fenced area, and into the ruin itself.

"Those little brats! I always wondered why that stupid mutt came after me. Oooh when I get ahold of them. . ." Tron muttered as Megaman opened the door to the ruin, and they began to descend.

"Now Tron, if it hadn't been for that dog, we might never have fallen in lu. . er began our relationship." Tron stared into Megaman's eyes as the ancient elevator reached the bottom. "Well, better get started!" Megaman seemed to be in a hurry to change the subject. He quickly began to put on a special weapon arm.

"Right, I can finally get rid of this wretched disguise." Tron said, and again removed her Roll suit. "Heh, heh, heh. Just wait until that interview I gave gets published."

"What's that?"

"Oh nothing, Megaman." She pulled out her own weapons and adjusted her armor. "I'm not used to doing a dig without my servbots."

"Well, I'm not used to digging with a partner. So uh. . . why don't you take charge."

"Ok Megaman. We'll stay side by side. You watch that side, I'll watch this. We should move slowly, and occasionally peek the other way, just to make sure. Alright, let's do it!"

As they carefully made their way through the ruins, Megaman realized they actually make a pretty good team. Then he saw a reaverbot to the left and slightly behind them that they'd missed, about to blast Tron.

"Look out!" Megaman shouted, and threw himself at Tron. They both rolled across the ground a bit, then come up blasting, obliterating the reaverbot. They both remained sitting on the ground, and Megaman had his arm around Tron.

"Megaman," Tron said in a soft voice. "I think you can let go now."

"Oh, right, of course." Megaman sounded flustered.

"Well I wasn't insisting." Tron said in the same soft voice. "But we should get going."

"Right."

They continued through the ruins, blasting the occasional small reaverbot out of existance, until they arrived at a central chamber. They glanced at each other.

"This is probably the central control unit, where any major refractors will be stored, you know what that means, right?" Tron asked Megaman.

"That there's probably a huge reaverbot guarding it."

"Right. All ready then? Let's go!"

They opened the door and stepped into the large chamber. At the far end was a door, but between them and it was the largest reaverbot either of them had ever seen. It towered over them, bristling with guns, arms and spikes. It stood on giant treads and begins to roll toward them. They looked at each other.

"Split up, that way it'll have to divide its attacks." Tron said.

"Right. Go after the treads first, maybe we can limit its mobility." Megaman called back, as they both ran in opposite directions, narrowly avoiding the reaverbot's initial salvos.

"Well it worked for you against the Marlwolf, so why not?" Tron yelled, as she began to shoot at the tread on her side.

Megaman did the same on his side, and soon both treads were disabled. However, although it could no longer move, the reaverbot continued to strike at them with arms, spikes and guns. The fighting was fierce, and the smoke and explosions were such that it was difficult for Megaman and Tron to see each other. Finally, however, the reaverbot exploded, and the room was showered with small refractors. Megaman saw Tron across the room, quickly putting on a vacuum arm attachment to sweep up as many of the refractors as possible. Megaman does the same, and soon they met in the middle of the room, all the refractors swept up.

"We did it Megaman!" Tron yelled, pulling him into an embrace. Later on, neither could say who started the kiss, but soon they were kissing. It was a first for both of them (though neither would admit this!) and it lasted for quite a while. Finally, however, the need for air pulled them apart. They looked at each other, a bit stunned.

"Uhm. . . I guess we should see what's behind that door." Megaman said, seeming a bit out of breath.

"Right." Tron responded, also sounding a bit flustered.

The two went through the door to find a gigantic refractor, even bigger then the one the Bonne's had taken after their last visit to the island. The two looked at it in awe for a moment, then carefully removed it. The two of them carried the large refractor through the ruins, then back up to the surface. A crowd had gathered, and began to cheer as Megaman came into view. However, the cheering quickly stopped as the crowd spotted Tron, who had forgotten to put her Roll disguise back on. There were gasps of astonishment, and muttering amongst the crowd.

"Oopsie, think you forgot something, Tron." Megaman said to her quietly.

"Yeah, I think we'd better get out of here quickly." Tron pulled a radio out of her pants and spoke into it. "Number 37, emergency evacuation plan 9! NOW!"

Immediatly, a trio of Draches descended, shooting smoke bombs into the crowd. The crowd immediatly dispersed in all directions. One of the Draches landed next to Megaman and Tron, and the two hurried into it, slowed down only by the giant refractor. Then the three Draches flew back to the Gesellschaft II. They step out into the hanger bay, looking at each other sheepishly.

"Sorry Megaman, I guess I kinda forgot about the disguise in all the excitement." Tron said, her embarrassment clear in her voice.

"Oh well, it was bound to come out sometime, I guess. What should we do with that?" Megaman asked, gesturing to the huge refractor, which was being carried out of the Drache by several servbots.

"Well what I won't do is leave it where some servbot can throw it out, that's for sure!" Tron responded.

********

Roll slowly began to move her hand toward the strap of her buster gun.

"Nice and slow there, Blondy. You're a good kid, and I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you make me. I've got plans for that battle suit."

"You've got plans? What about Klaymoor?" Roll asked, keeping still.

"Heh, well I knew I'd need help getting to this thing, and I was right. But Klaymoor doesn't even know the suit just needs . . . well never mind. Just take that weapon off very slowly, Blondy, and don't try anything stupid."

"Sure, nice and slow, just watch. . ." Roll said, and pressed a button on her wrist. The back of her hat exploded in a blinding flash. She rolled away from Adriana, who was too stunned to even fire. Roll turned and fired into Adriana's chest, knowing her armor will protect her, but that the force of the impacts will knock her back down the tunnel. Roll yelled as she fired, "I told you not to call my Blondy!" Then she fired off several ground crawlers which explode, causing the tunnel to cave in. Seeing the entrance was completely blocked, Roll began to examine the battle armor.

"Yo Bl.. er Roll!" Adriana yelled from the other side of the caved in tunnel. "That was pretty slick, but you can't get that armor going without. . ."

"Without this small control circuit?" Roll said, while continuing to examine the armor.

"What the.. Hey! How'd you get that?"

"You dropped it when we were fighting the giant reaverbot. Silly me, I forgot to give it back to you. Oh, here's where you go, little fellah!" Roll inserted the circuit into the battle armor, which immediatly hummed to life. She got inside the armor and began to test its systems.

"You'll never find Klaymoor without my help you know!" Adriana yelled through the rocks. "I'll help you, if you give me the armor, I need it for my revenge!"

"I wouldn't give you the time of day." Roll responded through the battle armor's sound system. "I already know where Klaymoor is, I traced his signal when he called me. If it hadn't been for you, I'd have already taken care of him." She finished her tests and began to walk the armor toward the other exit. "Tell you what, though, I'm feeling generous, so if you make a run for it, I won't tell the authorities about you."

"Wait! What happened to Megaman!" Adriana yelled.

"He ran off with some bimbo named Tron!" Roll yelled back, as she guided the battle suit out the rear exit.

"Tron!? Tron Bonne!! Maybe we can work together after all." Adriana spoke mostly to herself, and then set off the way they had came in.

Roll found herself in the middle of the forest. The door slid shut behind her, and she was unable to detect it, despite knowing where it was. The battle armor had a map display, so Roll simply punched in the coordinates where Klaymoor's transmission had came from, and it produced directions for her. She attacked the pirate base and soon captured Klaymoor and his men. She signaled the police and gave them the location, then takes the battle armor back to the flutter.

Roll emerged shortly, dressed as she normally was. She was halfway to Joe's house when she saw Stacy tossing photos into a barrel. When the girl saw Roll coming, she tossed in a match. Roll arrived at the barrel in time to see several pictures of her mother and Joe and her together burning up. Stacy sneered at Roll as she tossed the last picture into the flames.

"He's my daddy now! You just go away!" Stacy yelled at Roll.

Something inside Roll snapped as she watched her family going up in flames. "Why you little. . . you little brat!" Roll yelled, and slapped Stacy.

Although the slap wasn't really that hard, Stacy screamed and fell down, as if she had been hit really, really hard. She lay on the ground and cried. Joe came running up and picked her up. Holding her, he glared at Roll.

"Roll, I think you should go now." He said to Roll, his voice filled with anger.

"But . . . but . . . but she. . ." Roll stammered, her eyes brimming with tears.

Joe turned away from Roll and started to carry his new daughter away. "Just go, Roll." Over his shoulder, Stacy was smiling and sticking her tongue out at Roll.

Roll slowly walked back to the Flutter, fighting to keep from crying. Her whole world seemed to have collapsed. Suddenly a voice from the shadows called out to her.

"Psst! Hey! Girlie!" Roll glared at the source of the voice, Adriana.

"Wha. . Wha . . <sniff> what do you want?" Roll asked her.

"All your problems. All my problems. They all have the same source. Tron Bonne. If we work together, we can make her pay. What do you say?"

"Let's get that bitch." Roll's voice was completely cold.

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