Chapter 11: Eye of the Storm

Roll’s gaze was straight forward, X was behind her in a close embrace. The feeling of emptiness stalked her when he withdrew, as if she was now incomplete again. Her breathing was heavy and her vision a bit blurred. She was staring at a blurred red glowing mess. Roll rubbed her eyes, she was looking the digital readout of a clock, it was 5.3 hours. She hadn’t even realized they had awoken so early. She turned to X, a request in her eyes as she slid her arms and legs around him, kissing him sweetly on the lips. it was not to be denied.

The second time didn’t lose any of the sweetness experienced in the first, afterwards Roll and X both wondered how much they had already drained themselves and both went to look at their arms at the same time. they were both down below 70%, they would have to take it easy today, although neither wanted to. Finally Roll spoke their first words since “This is for you”, whispering softly into the right side of X’s neck. “Mm X that was so sweet baby, I just want to lay here with you forever.” Roll couldn’t see it, but X smiled. “Me too Roll, hey we don’t have to get up for a while, let’s just lay like this for a good long while.”

So they did, speaking quietly to each other, the only exertion being the occasional small laugh. “X, what are we going to do today?” Roll wondered out loud. “Whatever you want to do Roll” X said. Roll shifted slightly, allowing her wings to stretch a bit. “I’d like to meet your friends today X, you haven’t introduced me to anyone really.” X sighed softly, he knew she’d eventually want to meet everybody, Oh well he thought to himself, not like he had any reason any longer to keep her from doing so.

“I want to meet this Zero guy you keep talking about, he seems great, he reminds me of someone I used to know just from what you’ve said” Roll looked at him scanning for signs of reluctance, she was pleasantly surprised to see none. “Sure Roll, how about me you and Zero go have lunch somewhere today?” She responded it would be a great idea, she liked to have lunch, she liked to eat. Of course she didn’t have to at all, but it made her feel more human, also the sensations of taste, texture and smell were something she liked, something the humans mostly seemed to take for granted.

Zero seemed a lot like her old friend Blues, who was Dr. Light’s very first robot. Blues had something wrong with him that made him a loner and a wanderer, although he was always there to help Rock at the most desperate times, his trademark whistle preceding him. Blues wasn’t one to do battle, he was the guy who helped from the sidelines and then disappeared, rarely speaking or showing up at Light’s lab. Roll’s mind unpleasantly to the first, and last time that Blues and Rock went to battle together, it was the last time either of them went to battle at all. Roll sadly thought of her lost friends, and with the entry of tears concentrated in a lump in her throat she thought of X and all the new friends she would make here. It was almost like an entirely new life.

Later on, at 9 hours X and Roll met up at breakfast. X was getting into the habit of eating, Roll almost introduced him to the pleasures it gave and rationalized that it made them more human and Dr. Light would want it that way. X had unlimited funds and the foods they sampled were the finest imaginable, right now they were savoring truffled pâté de foi gras with Anatolian figs. They ate outside sitting at a table covered by a colorful umbrella at the side of the best restaurant in the city. X explained to Roll that he had spoken to Zero earlier and that they would be meeting here for Lunch later on at 13 hours, cinching the deal with the familiar expression “It’s a date.” Zero himself had expressed interest in “finally meeting that girl of yours” and perhaps having an open discussion about the past. Roll, with a small scruff of truffle dangling on her lower lip asked X “So tell me a bit about Zero, is he the one that got you into Maverick Hunting?” X, who longed to correct the errant piece of food on her lips with his own, just pointed to his lip to indicate that she had something there, and she quickly snagged it with a swipe of her tongue.

“Well, yes and no really, you see Zero was actually a Maverick once, he was one of the first reploids to be infected as a matter of fact.” Roll was surprised that a former Maverick was head of the Maverick Hunters, and wondered for a brief minute if it was safe, then quickly realized that if it wasn’t, X would do something about it. “You see, it’s actually funny....well not ‘ha-ha’ funny, but it’s rather ironic you see, that was back when Sigma was heading up the Maverick Hunters and he was actually the one who put a stop to Zero, later it was like they almost switched places, Zero came to his senses and Sigma went over the deep end. That was really the beginning of it all you know? I mean before Sigma went, it was like scattered cases of ‘loids going Maverick here and there, and the hunters dealt with them, I wasn’t even a Maverick Hunter at the time, hell I wasn’t really much of anything at the time...”

X seemed to contemplate, looking upwards slightly for a brief minute and took a bite of his food, the crystal fork being held in his mouth while he thought. “...Well anyway, what happened is, once Sigma went, the Mavericks were a real and actual threat, I mean they now had a leader, they were now organized, and he knew us, and our tactics and everything, he even trained most of the Hunters. Anyway, I was sort of thinking why I was here, What Dr. Light had in mind for me, and then I thought, back when he created Rock, he became the Mega Man, he fought the evil robots, so I figured I’d give it a try.” X shrugged, more to himself than to Roll “Worked out well I suppose” The rest of breakfast was pleasant an uneventful and X and Roll agreed to meet back here at 13 hours along with Zero. For now, they both had things to attend to.

X, had some classes to teach in the late morning, and Roll had a meeting with Dr. Cain, who had returned in the middle of the night, Cain wanted to speak to Roll and ask the usual questions, and find out if she needed to take part in classes at the education center or not. The meeting went rather well and much like X, Roll’s personality was stable, as the replopsychiatrist who secretly observed their conversation attested. Roll, happy with herself, and liking Cain, thinking he was a good man, happily left the center and walked out into the bright sunlight of early afternoon, deciding to walk to the restaurant as it was such a nice day.

Roll was the first to arrive, and then X came and greeted her with a kiss a few minutes later. As they sat and waited on Zero, who X knew was always “fashionably late” to non-serious get-togethers like this, they spoke about the events of the morning and chatted together comfortably and peacefully. Roll suddenly felt strong hands on her shoulders, gently shaking her back and forth, a booming voice proclaiming “So! This is the girl that stole my buddy’s heart eh?” It was Zero she realized and laughed to herself. Zero came around the table where X greeted him and Roll got her first look at him.

And then she screamed.