Part 01 - Every Story Has A Beginning

Contributed by fAB

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After becoming heroes on the island of Kattelox, MegaMan and Roll resume their usual role of digger and spotter, returning to ruins that hold no glory, except that which can be earned by obtaining the ruins' refractors.

Roll checks their communication equipment as MegaMan is about to get on board the elevator.
"Can you hear me MegaMan?" She asks.
"Loud and clear Roll. I'm going in." He replies.
"Got it. I'm tracking your motion right now."

She glances away from the monitor for a second and looks out the window of the Flutter. Another beautiful blue sky with soft clouds floating in the distance. MegaMan however is riding the elevator deeper and deeper into one of the darkest ruins he has ever entered. Light does not help him much because the walls are extremely dark colored themselves. The elevator stops, and all is quiet...

MegaMan looks around warily, but there isn't much to see yet. and the only sound to be heard is his own breathing. Suddenly, he flinches at the sudden loud noise in his ears.
"MegaMan? Are you okay? You're so quiet." Roll says to him from the world up above.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He tells her.
"Are you sure? You sound a little shaken up. Haven't lost your nerve just because it's been a little while have you?" She teases.
"Don't worry about me, just tell me where to go and when I'm going to run into any reaverbots."
"Roger!" She finishes.

MegaMan heads through the hall ahead of him. He knows he must remain focused at all times, but his mind keeps wandering back to the mysteries that were left unsolved on Kattlelox. Data had told him a little, but not much. He had said that soon he'd be able to tell everything.
"...Why not now Data?" He mumbles.
"Did you say something MegaMan?" Roll asks.
"No, nothing... Hey Roll, is Data around?"
"I'm not sure," she answers, " I think he's in your room talking to his cactus. Do you want me to get him?"
"No, don't worry about it right now... Any sign of movement down here?" He asks.
"Just you MegaMan. That's strange, with ruins that look as extensive as these ones, there should be some sign of reaverbots... That's kind of spooky." She says seriously.
"Not as spooky as it is down here." He informs her.
"Yeah, I'll bet. Oh, there should be a three way split coming up ahead. Do you see it yet?"
"Yeah Roll, I just reached it. Which way?"
"Hmm... Difficult to say. These ruins are set up differently than any we've seen before... Why don't you stay there for a second? I'm going to get Gramps." She says as she leaves her station.
"Uh, Roll? Roll?... It's too quiet down here," he says to himself, "I think I'd rather have some reaverbots around me so at least it would seem normal..."

He waits, and waits, calling to Roll every minute or so, but she doesn't answer. Up in the Flutter, Roll and Barrel mess frantically with the controls but cannot contact MegaMan.
"It must be some sort of interference, because I'm not getting any sort of signal from him at all, and I'm sure he wouldn't have gone in deeper without me to guide him. Oh Gramps, I'm so worried!" Roll exclaims.
"Now take it easy, no need to panic just yet. MegaMan's tough, he can handle himself until we get this sorted out." Barrel says reassuringly.

Suddenly Barrel spots something out the window of the Flutter.
"Roll, look." He says pointing out the glass.
"It's a ship isn't it? A strange looking one." Roll says, temporarily distracted.
"Yes, but are they diggers or pirates I wonder?"
"We're in big trouble if they're pirates. We can't fight them without MegaMan, and we can't escape without him either. What do we do?" She worries.
"I guess it will be up to me to give those pirates what for, if they are pirates that is." Barrel chuckles, trying to keep up their spirits.
"Well, pirates or not, I think it's their ship that's causing the interference with our equipment".

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