A Different Place

Chapter 5 - I Can't Sleep!

Okay, so the bright, white, flourescent light was keeping him awake. That wasn't too bad. It wasn't impossible to sleep in constant light---just very, very difficult. In fact, if that had been the only problem, he might well have dozed off by now. And he had to admit, the noise was making things difficult as well. Clanging pans, discussions held at well above normal, polite volume levels, and the occasional game of "Burple Bowling" were constantly echoing through the brightly-lit room.

MegaMan clapped his hands over his ears as he heard cheering rise up to his left. "Strike!" someone yelled.

Truth was, if it were only those things, he really might be able to catch up on his shuteye.

If only Number Twenty would stop staring at him!

Maybe this had all been a mistake...?

MegaMan had to admit, he'd been very frustrated when he'd agreed to go along with the pirates. After all, he thought, how could things possibly be any worse? A small flying ship had appeared on the horizon, descending just in front of the large robot. It was a dark purple color, with round, bulging eyes which looked a lot like those of a fish. The gold and refractors had been loaded up, and following instructions, MegaMan had climbed into the little ship himself. The robot grabbed on to the bottom of the craft with its left hand, the only one still in operation. MegaMan was grinning with sheer excitement as the ship soared into the air, the wind blowing through his brown hair and making the scar under his sorcerer's lock tingle.

"Ummm...excuse me?" a soft, high-pitched voice inquired.

"What is it?" MegaMan asked, straining to hear over the noise of the engine and rushing air. In fact, he couldn't see who exactly was speaking. Looking down, he saw it was another of the small blue-and-yellow robots he'd seen earlier.

"I think we should shut the door now," the robot said, pushing the portal shut slowly but with determination. "It's dangerous to leave it open while we're in the air."

That made senee. "Who are you?" asked MegaMan.

The robot grinned, its eyes lighting up. "We're Servbots!" came the cheerful answer.

"That's right!" said the Servbot at the controls, waving back at MegaMan.

"Okay," MegaMan replied. "Where are we going?"

"To the Gesellschaft!" said the first Servbot said, pointing higher in the sky.

"That's our headquarters," said the one at the controls. "A giiiiant skyship."

MegaMan looked in the indicated direction, and thought he spotted the Gesellschaft high above them. A large, sleek vessel, it loomed over them smaller ship he was in currently, and as they approached closer, he saw that it, too, was shaped like large fish. The fish's "mouth" opened, and the Servbot at the control panel guided it inside gently, letting the robot detach itself before touching down on the Gesellschaft's docking floor.

"This is amazing," MegaMan said, "I've never been on a skyship before---"

"Now, you listen to me!" A shrill female voice demanded.

MegaMan whirled around to see a smartly-dressed girl, possibly his own age, emerging from the robot's cockpit. She was just a bit taller than he was, with her brown hair splayed in a wide, sort of fish-tail style. She wore a pink headband and hair large, round, brown eyes that matched the color of her hair. "If you ever, EVER take a shot at me again, I swear I'm gonna---"

"What's your name?" MegaMan interrupted.

The girl blinked twice, stunned silent. Then, with her cheeks beginning to flush, she spoke again, this time with at least seven decibels less volume. "Uhh...I'm Tron. Tron Bonne. Of the Bonnes."

"Hi, Tron," MegaMan said, flashing a smile at her. "My name's MegaMan---"

-Trigger-

"---Namagem." MegaMan blinked, confused by the disagreement in his head.

"Hah!" Tron laughed. "MegaMan? Like on TV?"

Now it was MegaMan's turn to flush. "No, not like on TV. My first name is actually my last name spelled backward."

"Guess your parents didn't put a whole lot of thought into that, did they?"

"Actually, I've never met my parents," MegaMan said calmly. "I was orphaned and found drifting at sea by my foster family. But, yes, I suppose you're right, they didn't put a lot of thought into naming me."

"Geez, sorry," Tron said, offended, every trace of her earlier embarrasment gone. "You're not the only one without parents, you know! Try to have some respect for other people!"

"Uh, sure," he stammered, taken aback by her abrupt mood shift.

Tron didn't give him a chance to recover, either, as she dropped the conversation entirely and, with the company of the Servbots, took him on a whirlwind tour of the skyship. "Okay, you've already seen the hangar, what else is on this floor...ah! Ship's storage is that way," she said, pointing towards the door at the south end of the hangar, "and the elevator to go upstairs is over here." Tron led the crew onto the lift and jabbed at one of the buttons. "See here? There are five floors on the Gesellschaft, Floor One is the bridge---you can access the deck from there, and Floor Five is the hangar. Got it?"

MegaMan nodded. "If there're five floors, why's there six buttons?"

Tron spun around and gave him a fiery glare. "Don't worry about that! You hear me? I don't care what happens, you never, ever, ever, push the red button! You understand me?"

"Yeah, I got it," MegaMan answered irritably. "I'm not some little kid, you know---"

Tron cut him off, addressing the Servbots. "And you guys don't touch it, either! I don't wanna hafta punish you like last time!..."

"Oh, no!" the Servbots protested together.

"We won't touch it, Miss Tron," one of them said, cringing. "We promise!"

"Here we are," Tron said as the elevator stopped. "Floor Four: we're still working on that area to the right, and to the left is the gym."

"That's my favorite room!" piped up a Servbot in the back.

Tron punched another button, and the lift chugged upward again to Floor Three. "There's the cafeteria," Tron said, pointing straight ahead, "the laboratory is to our left, and that's...oh, that's just a broom closet." The girl hit another button and the lift continued up. "On Floor Two are our living quarters---not for you, of course, but we'll find you...somewhere to stay..." It might have been MegaMan's imagination, but he thought he saw Tron grin a little foolishly and blush again.

After showing MegaMan the bridge, Tron sent the elevator back down once again and took MegaMan to the cafeteria. "I know we're too late for supper," she announced as they entered the large, well-lit room, "but I'm hoping that Number Twenty-One will be able to whip something up for us. I hate going to bed on an empty stomach."

"I'm not really that hungry," MegaMan confessed, trying not to gawk at his surroundings. Both the kitchen and dining areas were immense. Compared to what the boy was used to on the Blue Barnacle, he was in the lap of luxury. Four wide, long tables were available to eat upon, and a few Servbots were currently seated, although none were eating at that particular moment. A stocky-looking Servbot trundled out with a large pot, ladled a bowl of noodle soup for Tron, then offered another to MegaMan. He shook his head. "If it's all right, Tron, I'll just go to bed. Where do I sleep?"

"Looks like Table Four's free," Tron said, pointing to an empty table nearby.

So he was spending the night in he cafeteria. It really wouldn't have been that bad, except for Tron hadn't explained quite everything to him. As it turned out Servbots needed only an hour of sleep for every two days, so while MegaMan was trying to get some rest, they were still up and about. Oh, and the cafeteria was also a nighttime gathering place for the insomniac Servbots, who spent the wee hours gossiping, playing games, and doing mild calisthenics. And then one of them just kept staring at him. Constantly, unblinkingly staring.

"What is it?" MegaMan finally demanded blearily. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Ohhh, no reason," said the Servbot. "I just like looking at new things. I'm Servbot Number Twenty, by the way. It's very nice to meet you."

"Yeah, great," MegaMan grumped, and rolled onto his side.