Mega Man Legends 2, A Novelization

Chapter 3 - The Sound of Silence

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The Flutter touched down just outside the city of Yosyonke, capital city of the country of Calinca. Snow blanketed the ground, and more fell from the sky, which was grey and cloudy. A chill breeze stirred the air. To the side of the Flutter was a large shed with a heavy-looking steel door cut into the front of it. A small shack stood near the gate leading out onto the tundra. An old railroad track stretched into the distance, barely visible under the snow.

The door of the Flutter opened, and Rock stepped out. Roll quickly followed. She had put on a warm-looking fur coat that Rock eyed with envy.

"That looks warm," Rock remarked, "and it looks good on you."

"Thanks!" Roll exclaimed. "I've been wanting to wear it for a while, but we've never been anywhere cold enough."

She jumped down from the deck. Rock noted with amusement that she was still wearing her customary short shorts, despite the low temperature.

"Come on, Rock!" she called, and headed toward the city. Rock decided to follow.

The city looked like something out of a Christmas card. A large statue of a two-headed woman stretched to the sky. Quaint shops and houses lined the streets, their roofs covered in snow. A large cathedral was barely visible in the distance. Rock looked around the streets in wonder. Suddenly, his reverie was interrupted by a tug on his arm.

"We need to go to the junk store!" Roll insisted, pulling his arm nearly out of his socket.

"Wait, no, can't we look around?" Rock asked, struggling against Roll's yanking.

"There's no time! We need to go to the junk store as soon as possible!""Why?"

Roll stopped. Rock took advantage of this pause to press his point.

"I mean," he continued, "the junk store isn't going to go anywhere. This is a really nice town, and we've never been here before. Look at that statue, isn't that a nice statue?"

"I guess..." Roll said, hesitantly.

"I bet you didn't even notice it," said Rock, smiling.

"Well..."

"See my point? Just slow down a little. We'll get to the store, don't worry."

Roll sighed.

"You're right, Rock. I'm sorry, I'm just so excited. I'm this close to finding out about my parents. I'm just eager, that's all."

"Don't worry, I get it. But don't let that ruin your enjoyment of seeing the world. Who knows when we'll come back here?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Roll. "Let's go exploring."

And they set off into the town.

---

The first door they walked to was a general store. It was a cozy building, filled from top to bottom with comic books and ice cream. What looked like boxes of engine oil and sunflower seeds lined the top of the shelf.

Rock had just paused to observe what a strange combination that was when he heard a voice behind him.

"You...you're a digger, aren't you?"

Rock turned around to see the shopkeeper, a young and pretty girl, staring at him with what looked like rage in her eyes, with just a slight hint of anger.

"Yeah, I am," Rock told her. The woman's eyes blazed.

"Get out!" she screamed, grabbing a mug of coffee from beside her. "There's nothing here for people like you!"

Rock quickly ran out the door. As it slammed behind him he heard the mug smash against it. Coffee seeped from the bottom of the door.

"She didn't seem very happy to see you," mused Roll.

"Yeah, I wonder what she has against Diggers?" Rock wondered.

They set out once again in the cold. Along the way, they greeted many people walking the streets. Everyone was extremely friendly to the newcomers, talking about the attractions that the town held. Roll wanted to go into the post office, so they stopped there. It was a small building, and the walls were covered in posters. As Roll asked about starting an account, Rock stared at the walls and was amused to see one poster that said "Your MSSEAGE sent by Snowman Mail!".

They left the post office and continued exploring. Near the large statue of the two-headed woman was a bar, which Rock told himself he'd visit later. In an alleyway, they found an inflatable duck. Rock wondered what the purpose of such a duck could be. It seemed to have no owner, and was left alone in the cold.

He kicked it. It quacked and bounced away.

Finally, they had finished looking around and decided to visit the junk store.

The store was slightly larger than the general store, and was just as packed with stuff. Parts stood on shelves, disorganized and jumbled. Behind a yellow metal grate stood a massive deactivated Reaverbot. At the counter, a man with a metal arm and trench coat was arguing with the owner, a large man with a gruff voice and a big beard.

"No way you're going on a dig, not with a body like that!" the owner was saying. "Who'll take care of Maria if something happens to you? Don't go, Joe!"

"Maria's been good to me," Joe replied, "but this is just something I have to do."

"But, you're a really good mechanic," the owner said, trying to appeal to Joe. "You could earn a good living fixing peoples' stuff. You should just settle down for a while."

But Joe wasn't listening.

"If something happens to me," he said, "look after Maria and her daughter, all right?"

He swept out of the store, nearly knocking Rock into a shelf full of assorted bits of metal.

"They never listen..." the owner sighed. He went to bustling behind the counter.

"That man..." Roll whispered to Rock. "I feel like I've seen him before, a long time ago..."

"Hi there!" interrupted the owner, suddenly realizing that he wasn't alone in the store. "Looking for something?"

"Um, yes, we are," Rock said, drawing the dropship blueprints out of his pocket. He placed them on the counter and the junk shop owner stared.

"Well I'll be damned!" he grunted. "Are you two friends of Joe's?"

"Uh, I don't think so. Why?"

"Well," said the owner, "I've seen this type of thing before, in his lab. Looks just like something he's been working on."

"Rock!" Roll gasped. "This must mean Joe knows my father!"

She tore out of the store.

"Roll! Wait!" Rock called, but she was gone.

The owner stared at Rock, before apparently strengthening his resolve and speaking.

"You want to know about Joe?" he asked. Rock nodded.

"Well," he continued, "that's what we call him. He lost his memory, see. No one knows who he is or from where he came, not even the girl who takes care of him, Maria."

"Where could I find Maria?" Rock asked.

"Hmmm," pondered the owner, scratching his beard. "Well, she's probably at the bar, but shouldn't you go find your friend?"

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks!"

And Rock left the store.

---

He found Roll standing outside the large metal shed that the Flutter had landed next to. She stood stock still, staring at the backdoor. Rock walked up the stairs to stand next to her.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Well, I was thinking," Roll said, slowly. "What if there's something more of my father's here, and not just the dropship? What if it was something that could lead me to him? But...I shouldn't get my hopes up. He's probably dead..."

Rock placed a hand on Roll's shoulder.

"No," he reassured her. "He's alive, don't worry."

Roll looked up.

"...Thanks, Rock," she sighed. "You're right, I can't give up hope. OK, let's go."

She banged on the shed door. It swung open, and they stepped inside. It was like they had stepped into the blueprint. The dropship standing in the center of the shed was exactly like the diagram: Oblong, made out of several sheets of metal, with a window in the door. Roll walked reverently up to it. Slowly, she stretched out a trembling hand and touched it.

"What are you doing?"

A shrill voice caused Roll to jump. Rock jumped as well, banging his head on a steel beam. He looked up, rubbing his head, and saw a small girl in a pink sweater standing on a walkway near the roof of the shed.

"Oh, hello!" said Roll as Rock rubbed his head.

"Why are you touching Daddy's ship?" the girl asked, accusatorily.

"Daddy?" Roll asked. "Do you mean Joe?"

"Yes!" shot the girl. "He's not here! He's in the ruins!"

"Oh, OK," said Roll, her smile faltering at the girl's sharp tone. "Um...Is anyone called Caskett here?"

"No!" snapped the girl. "I've never heard of anyone called Caskett!"

Rock had had quite enough of the girl's rude tone.

"Now, listen here-" he started, but Roll interrupted him.

"Thanks for your help!" she said, clapping a hand over Rock's mouth and dragging him out of the shed.

The girl just glared.

---

"What did you do that for?" grumbled Rock as the big door slammed behind him.

"We don't want to jeopardize anything," Roll explained. "This is the closest I've ever gotten to finding my parents."

"Well, I suppose we'd better go find the ruins," Rock said, and they headed through the gate leading to the Calinca Tundra.

The first thing Rock noticed as he stepped out on to the tundra was the complete absence of anything moving. It's not just that there were no Reaverbots, but the wind was still, the trees were still, there was no snow falling, no anything. It was just snow as far as the eye could see.

"Wow, it's kind of cold," Roll said. Rock looked at her incredulously.

"'Kind of' cold?" he asked. "You're out here in short shorts and a fur coat, it's the middle of winter, and you're 'kind of' cold?"

Roll shrugged. Rock sighed.

"Whatever, lets go," said Rock, and set off towards the ruin. His feet stomped on cold, hard ground as he ran past derelict pavilions and an old railroad track. Halfway down the tracks, he started thinking to himself.

It would be fun, he thought to himself. Roll is kinda cute when she screams...

No! snapped his inner angel. No, you need to protect her, and scaring her is not the way to go!

His conscience battled with itself for almost ten minutes before his mischievous side won in the end. Slowly, very slowly, he snuck up on Roll and grabbed her shoulder.

Roll gave an ear-piercing shriek before spinning around and slapping Rock across the face, causing him to collapse on to the cold ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Rock!" Roll cried. "You just startled me."

"It's OK," said Rock, taking Roll's hand and standing up.

They followed the tracks until getting to an old bridge, which they proceeded carefully across. Suddenly, the quiet was broken when five Reaverbots suddenly appeared from under the snow.

"Roll!" Rock yelled. "Stay where you are!"

Roll nodded, her mouth tightly shut, fear in her eyes as she stared at the advancing bots. Rock readied his arm-cannon and fired away, destroying some of them. Suddenly, he heard a scream and he quickly turned to see Roll cornered by two Reaverbots. Rock dashed over to one, picked it up, and smashed it against its companion. Both bots exploded in a pile of parts.

Roll bent down and picked up the refractors that powered the Reaverbots.

"These still have some juice in them," she remarked, pocketing the refractors. She looked up and saw Rock staring at her.

"Hey!" she said defensively, "It's not good to pass up free money."

Rock smiled, shook his head, and he and Roll entered the dark shaft. They walked for five minutes before reaching a door, which they went through.

"Close the door, Roll," Rock said.

As soon as she complied, he wished she hadn't. The darkness was crushing and absolute. Rock's heart sped up, and his palms started to sweat. He never really liked going on digs, not since Roll had accidentally gotten him lost in a ruin for three days. However, he continued to dig to help Roll in her quest to find the Mother Lode. Plus, there was always some money to be found in these caves.

Normally, though, there was some kind of light in the ruins. The lights here had long since burnt out, and with every tentative step, Rock felt the dirt, glass, and God-knows-what-else crunching beneath his feet.

"Hang on!" he heard Roll's voice a few inches in front of him. "I have a flashlight."

There was a loud clunking sound, and the beautiful face of Roll appeared in the darkness. She pointed the light at the walls, illuminating a door at the end of the room.

"Come on," she beckoned, and led the way to the next room.

Holding the flashlight aloft, she shone it around, gasping when the beam revealed a cluster of slithering Reaverbots it one corner.

"They haven't noticed us," whispered Rock. "Stay here, and I'll take care of them."

He walked very slowly towards the bots, aiming his gun. Suddenly, his foot kicked a rock, sending it flying into the group of worms. They scattered, and Rock blasted away.

"Stupid bots," said Rock through gritted teeth. "Stop moving so I can shoot you!"

Finally, he had destroyed them all. Roll shone her light around until they found another door. They proceeded through the ruin in the same manner, destroying Reaverbots along the way. Finally, Rock opened one more door and was nearly knocked back by a flood of light. When his eyes had adjusted, he saw a stainless steel room, with bright lights hanging on the walls. In the center of the room was an elevator.

"This looks newer than everything else," said Roll, looking carefully at the workings of the lift.

"Are you picking up any Reaverbots?" Rock asked.

"Yeah, a lot of them," Roll replied. "There's also a small life sign down there, too. It's weak, but it's there...You'll have to hurry."

"OK, I'm going to find him," Rock said. "You stay here."

He jumped on the lift and went down, down, down.

The lower level, Rock was glad to see, was fully lit. He opened the door in front of him to reveal a room infested with Reaverbots. He blasted away while running through the lower level, destroying many and pocketing the refractors that were left intact by the gun's blasts. At the end of one corridor, he took a left and found himself face to face with a very large Reaverbot. It glared at Rock with its one eye and started to march towards him. Rock unloaded on it, but the beast didn't falter. Slowly, surely, it trudged towards Rock who was still firing away. Rock started to panic. He discharged his gun faster and faster. The Reaverbot was almost upon him. It lifted a foot to squash Rock, but before it could stomp on him, its foot melted due to the heat of the blasts. It wobbled for a few seconds before toppling sideways, smashing into the wall. With a nasty crunching ripping sound, it broke in half, gears and refractors pouring out from its insides.

Rock wiped the sweat from his brow before opening a door at the end of the hall. An elevator took him even deeper into the ruin. When it hit the ground, Rock ran into the next room. The first thing he saw was the biggest refractor he had ever clapped his eyes on. It was massive, floating inside a barrier. Tearing his eyes from the refractor, he looked to the left and saw a hunched figure shrouded in shadow.

With a shock, he realized it was Joe. He was badly wounded, his normal arm gripping his stomach, his metal arm hanging at his side.

"Joe!" cried Rock. "Joe! Wake up!"

"No, don't go on," Joe whispered, his voice extremely weak. "It's too dangerous..."

"Don't talk," said Rock. "I'm going to take you to the surface."

"That would be good," Joe whispered, his breath coming in small, labored gasps, "but I've woken the big Reaverbot inside here. You have to stop him before he fully charges..."

His speech was interrupted by a bout of coughing. Blood sprayed the floor as Joe coughed and coughed.

"Joe!" Rock screamed as Joe collapsed.

"Rock!" Roll's voice came on Rock's headset. "Is he OK?"

"He's just passed out," Rock replied, "but he's been hurt badly. I have to take care of the giant Reaverbot in the next room, so come down and keep him alive while I take care of business."

And he opened the door into the next room.

The room was gigantic. It was almost unbelievable that a room this huge could even exist. Rock walked around, looking at the columns, wondering why there needed to be a room this big in the ruins. Then, he saw it.

That, he thought to himself, is a big Reaverbot.

It looked like a robotic gorilla, blown up thousands of times past its normal size. Its long arms dragged on the floor as it stomped around, leaving craters where it walked. It roared as Rock walked up to it with gun raised, and swung one of its huge arms around. It smashed Rock full in the face, sending him flying across the room.

OK, he thought to himself as he lay there. Time for plan B.

Rock got to his feet, and rolled to one side. His speed was no match for the Reaverbot, which lumbered around, swinging its arms wildly. On the bot's back was a glowing red ball. Rock aimed at it, thinking that if anything looked like a target, that did. As the blasts hit it, the bot roared and swung, smashing pillars and anything else that got in its way. Rock continued to duck and roll, dodge and weave, all the while avoiding the arms and hitting the Reaverbot's weak point.

Finally, the bot had had enough. With one final roar, it stretched out its long arms and exploded, sending screws, refractors, and twisted lumps of metal flying through the cavern.

Well, that's that, thought Rock, and left the room.

Roll was in the other room, tending to Joe.

"It'll be all right," she was whispering. "You'll be OK..."

"Get the refractor," coughed Joe when he saw Rock. "Otherwise, the machines will stay active."

Rock did so.

"Let's go," he said.

---

"He should rest," said the doctor. "Try not to disturb him."

He took his leave. Roll and Rock had taken Joe to his condo and called the doctor, who had checked Joe out thoroughly before binding his injuries and prescribing pain medication.

"Roll," whispered Rock. "Aren't you going to ask him about that dropship?"

"Well," replied Roll, hesitantly, "I don't know, that wouldn't be fair..."

"Yeah, but, this is the only way to figure things out!"

"But he's supposed to be resting!"

A loud cough interrupted their quiet bickering.

"Listen, you two," groaned Joe. "Take the ship."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did we wake you?" asked Roll, her voice concerned.

"No, no," said Joe. "I was listening to your conversation. I need to tell you something about me."

Roll leaned closer, desperate not to miss a word.

Joe coughed some more, then continued.

"A few months ago, some Diggers found me on the tundra, passed out, near death. They say I was stark raving mad, babbling about forbidden Island, and dropships. In my hands I clutched this plan. I don't know how I got it, or why I was there. The Diggers took me to Yosyonke, where Maria and her daughter have been taking care of me since. I've been trying to build the ship in the plans, and go to Forbidden Island, in the hopes that I'll figure out just who I am..."

"Is here any possibility," Roll said, leaning over oe and looking him in the eye, "that you could have known anyone called Caskett? How about my face? Have you seen it?"

"No, I-" Joe started to say, but started hacking and coughing again.

"OK, take it easy!" Rock said, glaring at Roll. Roll shrugged at him.

"Take my dropship," Joe repeated after he had calmed down. "I have a feeling you were meant to have it. The refractor should be enough to power it."

"All right, we will," Rock said. "Thank you very much."

---

As they exited the condominium, Roll ran off to set up the Flutter, and Rock wandered in the direction of the bar. A bell rang cheerfully as he opened the door onto a cozy wood-paneled room. Rock took a seat next to a drunken old man, who asked the bartender for another beer. The bartender was an attractive young woman, and Rock leaned closer to look at the name on her nametag.

"What are you looking at?" she asked. Rock's face went beet-red. The bartender giggled.

"I'm only messing with you," said the bartender. "My name's Maria, if you're curious."

"Maria?" asked Rock, the name sparking something in his mind. "Do you know Joe?"

The bartender changed from chipper to hugely depressed in an instant.

"It's hard," she sighed, "loving a man who's lost his memory. We've taken him in, given him love and a home, and my daughter loves him, but he still talks aou Forbidden Island...he's so mysterious..."

"Don't mind her," chuckled the old man next to Rock. "She's had a few, so take everything she says with a grain of salt.

Rock politely excused himself.

---

Inside the Flutter, Roll was hard at work putting the dropship in the hangar. She looked up as she heard Rock enter.

"It's done, Rock!" she called. "The dropship's in the hangar."

She walked to the upper level, coming face-to-face with Rock.

"Good," said Rock. 'We need to go rescue Gramps."

"I have to make a few adjustments," Roll continued, "but it should be ready soon. Go pilot the Flutter while I work."

Rock knew better than to argue with her when she was in full inventor mode, so he went to do as he was bidden. The Flutter lifted off from Yosyonke and flew into the distance, toward the mysterious island at the center of it all...

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