Little Boy Blue

Chapter 10

---

Break Man was hurling rocks right and left as he tried to unbury the console. But Mega Man emerged before that happened, climbing unsteadily over the rocks."Are you nuts?" Break Man cried, ducking down. "What made you do that?" "You could have been killed," Mega Man replied. "I had to do something."Break Man's heart went out to him. "But now you're...you're..." "I'm still the size of a mouse--but I'm alive," Mega Man admitted.Break Man sank to the ground. "Mega Man, you didn't have to do that for me." Mega Man offered him a small smile. "I'd rather you be alive and I be tiny than the other way around." Break Man couldn't speak for a moment. "But now you'll always be little," he said with dismay. "Well, look on the bright side," Mega Man returned with a grin. "At this size I make a great computer virus!" Break Man managed to laugh weakly. "Don't worry, Mega Man," Dr. Light spoke up from behind them. "I haven't given up yet. I'm going to do my best to recreate Wily's invention." Break Man stood up. "That's right," he said, gaining hope. "You'll do it. You can build anything, Dr. Light." "Hmmm...well," the scientist started. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I feel obliged to warn you..." "What?" Instantly Mega Man and Break Man were listening. "I doubt the operation's possible without that crystal Dr. Wily used." Dr. Light paused. "And I already checked. I can't find any trace of it, shattered or otherwise. Without a replacement, I'm not overly confident of our chances." Mega Man's face fell. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to try," Dr. Light added quickly. "There may be another crystal like it somewhere. Or maybe the effects of the ray can be undone even without the gem. I'll have to run some checks and see." Silence prevailed. Finally Mega Man spoke. "Thanks, Dr. Light. If anyone can do it, it's you." The scientist chuckled. "But first," he said in a lighter tone, "we have to get out of here." Mega Man looked up. "I don't think my teleporter's going to be powerful enough at this size." "I think I saw some warps a few halls away," Dr. Light replied, gesturing at the doorway. "I should be able to calibrate one to take us back to my lab, and have it scramble the frequency as soon as we're through to keep Tron from following us." Everyone nodded and together they headed out of the demolished room and into the relatively intact hallway. True to his word, Dr. Light located the warps he'd seen. He adjusted one and was just pulling open the hatch that covered the bright blue warp when a sharp growl startled them all. Mega Man whirled in time to see a large bulk coming down on him. Then he felt himself snatched off the floor and carried away, pinned between the strong jaws of the robotic cat. The cat began to bound away with its newest prize, but Kevin came to his senses quickly enough to intercept it. For several confusing moments the cat darted in different directions, evading Kevin, Kid Icarus, and Duke as they all tried to come to Mega Man's aid. Then, with no other way to go, the cat made a sharp turn and leaped right through the open warp. "After it!" Kevin called, jumping for the warp, but Duke had the same idea and the two collided en route. Meanwhile the cat emerged in Dr. Light's laboratory, and after a moment's hesitation, it began running down the hall, ignoring all of its captive's protests. Mega Man had no idea where it was headed, but he figured that Dr. Wily had sent the cat to grab the tiny robot and bring him back to the scientist. But now the cat was running through the wrong laboratory! Mega Man struggled but, pinned between the cat's sharp metal teeth, he was unable to even pull an arm free. He was all too aware that all the robot cat had to do was squeeze a little harder and it could crush Mega Man, if it so desired. Whhaaam! Suddenly Mega Man found himself spinning through the air, free from all restraint. It was only after he'd hit the ground that he realized that the cat had been swiped right out from under him. "Huh?" Mega Man sat up. The cat had slammed up against the far wall. And to his right, a robot with blonde hair was brandishing a broom. "Roll!" Mega Man cried, laughing. The housekeeping robot didn't hear him. She had her attention on the cat. "Robotic cats are not authorized to enter the lab," she said sternly. "You have perfect timing," Mega Man said to her, getting to his feet. "Robotic mice are not authorized to enter the lab," Roll added. Bass came in "Hi Roll." He said and the two started kissing Mega Man blinked. "Now just a minute here!" The cat, meanwhile, shook its head and lunged, but Roll knocked it away before it could reach Mega Man--or the main lab room, for that matter. The cat glanced from Mega Man to Roll and her broom. Then it turned and reluctantly fled back the way it'd come. Neither Roll, Bass nor Mega Man noticed the glittering across the hall. They were each looking at the other. "Roll, it's me!" Mega Man tried. "MegaMan!" She knelt down to get a better look. "Mega Man may be small, but he's not that small." Mega Man sighed. "Tron shrank me," he tried to explain. Roll looked skeptical about that one. But luckily Dr. Light showed up at that moment. "It's all right, Roll," he assured her. Accordingly she stepped back. "That cat high-tailed it back to Tron's lab before the warp could close," Kevin added with a grin. "What'd you do to it, Mega Man?" "Nothing. Roll gave it a good beating," Mega Man told them, glancing back to grin at the blonde girl. "Well, Dr. Light said to protect the lab," Roll replied with a grin. Mega Man wasn't listening. He'd suddenly noticed something lying by the far wall. And he couldn't believe what he saw. Quickly he ran over to the sparkling crystal fragment that was now over two times bigger than he was. "Where did this come from?" Roll turned with the others to look. "I think that cat dropped it," she responded. "It must have grabbed it for Tron ," Mega Man commented. "I can't believe our luck!" "That's the crystal from the invention, isn't it?" Dr. Light asked with a grin, heading across the hall. "It sure is," Mega Man returned, delighted. "Now you can rebuild the invention!" Suddenly he frowned. "Oh, wait--I think it's cracked." Mega Man leaned closer, putting his hands to it in dismay. Dr. Light froze in his tracks as the crystal began pulsing with a bright white light. "Mega Man..." he started. "You'd better move away. It's acting up again." Mega Man was noticing this, but the white light that surrounded him mesmerized him. Before he knew what was happening it had engulfed him. He lost all sense of direction and seemed to be standing on a big white void. The others in the hallway backed away as the light became stronger, blinding them. When they could see again Mega Man was sitting alone on the floor, his hands on his head. The crystal had vaporized. Then they began to realize that there was something else amiss with the image. The perspective was all wrong. They stood there, blinking with surprise, for several seconds before it began to dawn on them what had happened. "Mega Man!" Kid Icarus said, flying over to help him to his feet. Mega Man looked down at him in surprise. "You shrank!" he cried. Kid Icarus grinned, standing back. As he stood beside his friend it was evident that Mega Man was now a bit taller. "You've back to your normal size," the archer informed him. "Looks like that crystal took back its power before self-destructing," Dr. Light added, moving over. "All right!" Break Man cheered, running over to stand beside his friend. They were exactly the same size. "Now that's the height I like my friend to be!" "It looks as though you've reverted to your true size," Dr. Light commented, "but if any of the power remains the change could fluctuate. I'd better run some tests, just to make sure." He paused, smiling. "But I think you'll be fine." Mega Man was looking over his surroundings as if in unbelief. "I hope so," he said finally, and with a small grin. "I never really minded being this little, but being the size of a mouse is even worse!" Kevin laughed. "Especially when there are cats around!"

---