Little Boy Blue

Chapter 1

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Mega Man Trigger hurried through the warp that led from the Palace of Power on Central Island to his friend Dr.Light's lab in MegaLand. As a member of the N-Team, Mega Man helped five others defend the Palace from attacks by the Bonnes. Therefore Mega Man usually lived in the Palace with the others. with nothing better to do, he had decided to come to the lab. Princess Lana had freely told him to spend a few days away and take a vacation. And he was intent on doing just that.
"Dr. Light was just using this," Mega Man realized, "because it's still loaded in memory." He frowned at the map for several seconds; it appeared to be of a section of MegaLand, one right by the ocean. A familiar tiny dot of red light was blinking on and off on an island close to the shore. The red dot stood for the location of something, usually something important.
"He must have discovered something," Mega Man recognized. A quick check of the warp controls confirmed his next guess--one of the warps was still set for that location.
Instantly Mega Man decided to follow his creator to the island and see what he had discovered. Activating the warp, Mega Man set it to close after he went through. Since the island was in MegaLand, the robot could use his teleporter to get back, if need be. But he was sure that Dr. Light had some way to return as well.
When he came out of the warp Mega Man found himself on a wide sandy beach, but a quick glance around showed him that he was on the mainland, not the tiny island he'd seen on the map. And the island was where the red dot had been.
The wind whipped fiercely around him, threatening to blow him over. The ocean in front of him was rolling with the same ferocity as the wind, spraying white mist through the gray sky. A roaring boom echoed through the air as each gigantic wave crashed onto the wet sand.
"Wow," Mega Man gasped, trying to regain his footing. "Talk about sudden storms! The weather was fine outside the lab."
Mega Man squinted through the haze produced by the pounding waves, wondering why it wasn't raining. He could just barely see the silhouette of the island he was looking for on the horizon's edge, but the white mist was like a thick fog. Then, as he was busy peering over the ocean, he suddenly spotted a flash of opaque white bobbing on the water. Then he saw a bit of red for a second before the color disappeared into the angry white and blue water.
"What was that?" Mega Man wondered, racing to the water's edge to see better. He went up until the edge of each wave was just licking his boots before receding, and even then his feet began to sink into the wet sand. From there he waited for the colors to come back into view.
For a few moments there was only the roaring waves. Then he saw the white again, this time with a flash of peach. It was a hand! Mega Man took a step into the water, straining his eyes to see. Finally the person came into view again, and Mega Man saw that his fear had been correct--Dr. Light was bobbing aimlessly on the water, each wave bringing him closer, but then pulling him back out. The scientist, although at first he seemed to have been fighting the current, was now riding limply on the waves.
As Mega Man watched, Dr. Light went under again, disappearing into the foaming water.
"Dr. Light!" Mega Man called out, but the wind tore his words away. With a lunge Mega Man threw himself into the water but the next wave carried him back to the beach. Shaking the water out of his eyes, Mega Man took just enough time to see where his creator was floating before leaping again in that direction. This time he was able to grab hold of the scientist's white lab coat for a brief instant but the water tore him loose. For a second time Mega Man felt his feet scrape the sand, and he quickly grounded himself before the undertow could pull him back out.
Panting, Mega Man whipped his head around, his eyes frantically searching the water. Dr. Light was on the surface again, miraculously floating face up, but much too far out. There was little way for Mega Man, as small and light as he was, to fight the strong current and reach his creator in time. But he had to try.
As he watched, the waves carried Dr. Light toward him, then they retreated and took him back out. It was an endless cycle: gaining a few meters only to be swept back to where he had started.
Mega Man crouched, getting an idea. He would let the waves carry Dr. Light to him then grab the scientist before they swept him back out.
Another wave came in and Mega Man situated himself, ready to lunge. As Dr. Light came near him he stretched out and caught some fabric, but wasn't able to keep hold. He was almost dragged out with the scientist but once again managed to drag himself to a halt.
Kneeling in knee-deep water, Mega Man waited with determination for the next wave. Dr. Light was still the same distance away, floating feet first--a good sign, at least, in case there were sharp rocks under the surface. This time Mega Man positioned himself directly in front of the scientist, crouched and ready for his chance. The following wave turned out to be a particularly powerful one. Dr. Light's feet collided with Mega Man, bowling him over. Blindly the robot groped and caught hold of a red pant leg, then held on for dear life as he frantically backpedaled, fighting the current which was once again threatening to drag them both out to sea. With one hand clutching the cloth, dragging Dr. Light with him, Mega Man grounded himself with his other hand and with his legs, feeling the sand sift past them, causing them to sink. But he managed to stop his backward movement, and after a few seconds was able to crawl forward until the tide's tug was not so powerful.
Once he was safely beached, Mega Man reached back and struggled to pull the limp scientist out of the water. Even though Mega Man was incredibly strong it wasn't an easy task move the unconscious Dr. Light, who was as big as the purifre, and his wet clothes weighed him down.
Finally Mega Man reached what he felt was a safe distance away from the water and laid Dr. Light on the sand. The sun was starting to come out, so Mega Man positioned him so that the light wouldn't be shining directly into his eyes when he opened them. Then Mega Man knelt down beside his creator, using himself as a shield against the sun's rays.
Almost immediately the scientist stirred, coughing.
"Dr. Light?" Mega Man asked anxiously, leaning over him. "Are you okay?"
The scientist groaned, then his eyes fluttered open. After a couple of seconds he seemed to be able to focus, but he didn't look as though he recognized anything.
"It's me," Mega Man went on encouragingly, and Dr. Light looked up at him.
"Mega Man...?" he mumbled.
"Yeah. Are you all right?" Mega Man asked again.
But Dr. Light didn't answer. With a small, reassured smile, he sighed and closed his eyes again.
At first Mega Man was alarmed. Then he noticed the rhythmic rising and falling of the scientist's chest. He was asleep.
For a moment Mega Man was in a quandary. Should he wake his creator? If the scientist had hit his head he might have a concussion; in that case letting him sleep could cause him to go into a coma. But that was unlikely; there didn't seem to be anything out there which Dr. Light could have struck. Finally Mega Man decided that the scientist was probably simply exhausted, and some rest would do him good.
So Mega Man settled down to wait, unwilling to try to move the scientist any farther. He turned to look out over the ocean. The water was beginning to sparkle under the sunlight, which was driving away the gray mist in the sky. Maybe it was going to be a nice day after all.
Mega Man's mind began to wander. He remembered another time when he had been on a beach much like this one. It was last year, when he had gone in search of the Warp of Life. That seemed so long ago! Since then, he'd met Dr. Cossack, Tron had , and the Warp of Life had been destroyed, to name a few. Mega Man looked out at the island, wondering what secret it held.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that at first he didn't hear Dr. Light groan again. In fact, he wasn't even aware that the scientist was awake until he heard behind him, "Mega Man?"
Quickly the blue robot whirled to see Dr. Light starting to sit up, and he reached over to help him. "Are you okay?" Mega Man asked for a third time.
"I think so," Dr. Light answered with a small smile, brushing some of the sand off of his clothes. The warm sun had nearly dried them by now.
Then the scientist frowned. "What are you doing here? Did Roll send for you?"
Mega Man shook his head. "I was on my way over to stay a few days," he revealed. "Roll said you were investigating something, and the warp was still set."
Dr. Light nodded. "It would be, as I had no way to reset it after I'd gone through--and no reason to, either." Then he laughed. "You always seem to show up right on time," he added. "And I thank you. I think you saved my life."
Mega Man shrugged. "Which isn't as much as you've done for me," he replied modestly."But what happened?" "It's a long story," Dr. Light sighed, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Basically it started out as a simple discovery that compounded into...all this."
"What'd you find?" Mega Man wanted to know.
"There's some sort of odd energy source on that island over there," Dr. Light replied, pointing. "My computer couldn't identify it, and, well, my curiosity was sparked. And you know the saying, of course, that curiosity kills," he added wryly.
Mega Man still didn't understand. "So you came to find out what it was," he verified.
Dr. Light nodded. "But although I'd set the warp for the island, it let me out here. That meant one of two things: either I'd calibrated the warp wrong, or some sort of barrier was preventing access, so the warp simply set me down at the closest available area." He grinned. "The second looks better for me, but it brought up a question: what was blocking the warp? I decided it was the energy itself, and that simply made me more curious than ever. I had a portable boat with me, just in case..."
"You tried to paddle through that storm?" Mega Man interrupted. But the scientist shook his head. "No, that's the most curious part of it all. When I got here the weather was as nice as it is now." He gestured at the water. "And the sea was almost more calm than I'd ever seen an ocean before. I decided that crossing to the island would be a piece of cake."
Mega Man frowned, taking in the words. Dr. Light caught the look. "Right," he nodded. "Big mistake." He leaned back. "I've never seen a storm pick up like that one did," he stated, then his eyes narrowed. "And I don't think it was natural, either."
"Not natural?" Mega Man repeated. "You think someone was trying to keep you away from the island?"
"Someone or something," Dr. Light replied. "And it did a good job, too. The waves were too large for a boat of that size and the currents too strong for a man of my age," he added with a slight chuckle.
Mega Man remained silent for a few moments, staring at the water.
"I'll go," he offered suddenly.
Dr. Light laughed. "My boat's long gone by now."
"I don't need one," Mega Man replied. "I'll swim across."
Dr. Light glanced at him. "I'm afraid that whatever attacked me won't let you by, either," he reminded him.
Mega Man shrugged. "But I can't drown like you could. And I won't go over the waves--I'll go under them." He stood up. "Come on, Dr. Light," he pleaded. "You've made me curious now, too." Again the scientist laughed. "I won't try to stop you, if that's what you want to do. I would love to see what's out there, too." He got to his feet. "I have a communicator with me," he said, reaching into his lab coat pocket, "and if the water didn't get to it, I'll be able to keep in touch." He withdrew the device and shook it. Then he turned a knob. "I think it's still working," he declared with a hint of surprise. "Remind me to add Fiber36 on my list of waterproof circuits."
Mega Man laughed. "Mine's waterproof," he said, tapping his helmet. "Either that or the helmet keeps out the water." Dr. Light looked at him. "Yours is water-proof, shockproof, fireproof, and surgeproof," he informed him. "The only thing it's lacking is range." He glanced at the one he held. "I brought this so that I could radio the warp controls and have it open the warp back up. It doesn't have very good range, either, but the lab is here in MegaLand so it wasn't a problem."
He looked out at the island. "I'll wait here for you," the scientist finished.
Mega Man started down the beach. "You'll be all right?" He wanted to make sure. "The storm will probably kick in again--if our theory is correct, that is."
Dr. Light nodded. "I'll be fine," he assured him, reaching into his other pocket and pulling out a red object. "I brought my portable umbrella." With a click of a button the object unfolded into a tent-like shelter.
Mega Man laughed as he resumed his trek toward the water.
"Do me a favor?" Dr. Light called after him.
Mega Man stopped and turned.
"When you find out what's over there--give me a call, will you? I won't be able to sit still until you do!"
"Will do!" Mega Man yelled back, breaking into laughter all over again. Then he jumped into the clear blue water.

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