Ghosts of the Past - A Rockman and Rockman X fan fic
Title: Ghosts of the Past
Rating: PG
Fandom: X and classic
Summary: A dream. A memory. An attack. X doesn't have any idea what he's gotten himself into. Sometimes you can't escape the past.
Ghosts of the Past
Chapter One: Exposure To Elements May...
Do reploids dream of electric sheep?
X wanted to laugh. The question had been posed to him once, more as a joke than anything else. He could still hear Dr. Cain's dryly amused voice as he asked it. At the time, he'd been more confused than anything else. He'd never seen an electric sheep.
Do reploids dream of electric sheep?
No, doctor. That would be too normal.
"Hey, kid! Get out of the street! Idiot, you want to get run over?"
Startled, X hopped back as the irate driver who'd yelled at him drove past.
"Stupid kids and their stupid Halloween costumes..." Anything else the man might have said was lost as he got too far away for X to hear him.
It was all so very normal, and yet...
That was the crux of the problem, the thing that led X to believe that this was all just a very strange dream. Why did he assume I'm dressed up for Halloween? Why was he driving a car so old that looks so new? Why don't I see any other reploids? And that was just the surface of the situation.
X frowned as he took another look around the cityscape of his dream. He didn't recognize anything. No familiar faces, no familiar buildings. Even the roads seemed somehow different, right down to the way they were constructed. He tried listening to the communication frequencies. It wasn't silent, but it was all wrong. No one was using the regular channels, and it was like the Maverick Hunters weren't transmitting or receiving at all. And the technology...
He shook his head. "It's a dream," he said out loud, both to reassure himself and to hear something that was familiar. "It's not supposed to make any sense." He took a breath and let it out slowly, an unconscious habit he'd picked up from Dr. Cain. He didn't remember going to sleep, but yes, this must all just be a dream.
So what was his subconscious trying to tell him?
I suppose there's only one way to find out.
-
"Trick or treat!"
X smiled as he watched a group of children scamper past him, their costumes ranging from the average to the absurd. Each one clutched a bag or a bucket that rattled with candy, evidence of many previous stops before this house. This, he had long since realized, was the reason behind the man in the car's assumption.
It really is Halloween.
"Awesome! I got candy mets!"
"What? No fair! I want some too!"
"I'll share when we get home. C'mon, let's go to the next house!"
The kids ran by him again, barely sparing a glance in his direction. As far as they were concerned, he was just like them, just another Halloween-goer in the quest for sweets. Short as he was, and as dark as it was, he could easily pass for a pre-adolescent or early teen. He wasn't even the only one dressed as a robot. Blue ones seemed to be especially popular.
"Nice costume."
X blinked and looked to his side. One of the kids sat perched on a low brick wall, blue-booted feet dangling a few inches from the ground. Blue boots, blue helmet, blue gloves - he was another of those going with the theme of robot.
"Thanks," X said awkwardly. He wasn't wearing a costume. "You, too."
The boy grinned at the compliment, blue eyes sparkling with hidden laughter. "I'm Rockman!" he announced, thumbing his chest proudly. "I'm protecting the city from evil robots. Who are you?"
"I'm X." Though X tried his best to suppress his amusement, a smile still tugged at the corner of his lips. The costume wasn't perfect, but the fact that someone would want to masquerade as him, and with such enthusiasm, was more than a little flattering. "Patrolling, huh? Aren't you supposed to have a partner?"
Rockman shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose, but there aren't enough of us. We're all keeping eyes on different parts of the city. Don't worry," he said, flashing X a thumbs up sign. "I can take care of myself."
So he doesn't have anyone to go Trick or Treating with. Despite the fact that this was a dream, that felt wrong to X. Children shouldn't be left to wander the city alone at night, even if it was in a residential neighborhood. Mavericks, accidents, predators and criminals - bad things could happen in the suburbs just as easily as anywhere else. "I don't have a partner, either," he admitted. "Maybe we could work together?" He still had no idea what direction this dream was going in. This path seemed as good as any other.
Rockman gave him a funny look. "You sure I'm not too young for you?" he asked, stepping out of character for the first time. "I thought older kids liked to do Trick or Treating with other older kids."
"Nah," X said, grinning at the thought of Axl or Zero dressing up for Halloween. Axl would probably take to the idea with enthusiasm, but Zero... Might depend on the costume. "My friends are all busy right now. To be honest, I wasn't going to go Trick or Treating at all. I was just looking around."
"I wasn't gonna go Trick or Treating, either," Rockman admitted. "See? I didn't even bring a bag." His eyes drifted to X's empty hands. The same proof showed that X hadn't been lying.
Another group of children ran by, drawing X and Rockman's attention. The free spirited chaos that exuded from them seemed to fill the air with a sense of excitement. For a moment, X was tempted by the thought of joining in. But it wouldn't be real, he thought wistfully. Maybe when I wake up and it's Halloween... He shook his head and sat down on the wall next to Rockman. "So you really were patrolling?"
Rockman's eyes followed the children a little longer, looking almost melancholy. Finally, he tore his gaze away and looked at the ground. "No. Not really. Dr. Wily's in prison right now and most of his robots are dead. I don't think Forte will try anything, but if he does, the police'll contact me."
Dr. Wily. Forte. X tilted his head curiously. The second name meant nothing to him, but Dr. Wily was a name out of history. What little was known about him was broken and fragmented, and of course X hadn't made any real effort to look for him. The bits and pieces he'd learned had been byproducts of searching records about Dr. Light. "Dr. Wily's still alive?"
That earned him another odd look. "Yeah. At least, he was yesterday. He probably still is, or it would be in the news."
"Oh." The silence that followed wasn't nearly as awkward as it might have looked to an outsider. Rockman seemed content to study X. Wrapped up in his own thoughts, X didn't notice. Huh. Dr. Wily's still alive. He must be ancient by now.
What a weird dream.
"Hey, X?"
"Hm?"
"Are you a robot?"
X's head jerked up. "What?" Whatever question he'd been expecting, it hadn't been that. And... robot?
Rockman grinned wryly. "Your boots," he said, gesturing vaguely at X's legs. "They sound like mine when you walk. They're obviously made of metal. Pretty thick, too, from the sound of it. Most people wouldn't wanna wear something so heavy for a costume."
X blinked down at his feet, a flicker of surprise on his face. Of all the ways to be given away... Not that he'd been trying to pass himself off as human, but he hadn't exactly been announcing his true nature, either. This kid's pretty observant. He frowned then, glancing at Rockman's feet. The words he'd just spoken echoed in X's head. 'They sound like mine when you walk.'
"So, are you?"
Now it was X's turn to study the other. "Are you?" he countered.
The smaller boy gave a rueful chuckle instead of answering directly. "Neither of us is wearing a costume, are we? Guess I'm not the only one who thought I could blend in tonight." Without further preamble, he hopped down off the wall and turned to face X. "So, what do you want to do? Did you still want to hang out with me?"
X considered the question for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure. I really didn't have any plans." Besides. Rockman was... interesting.
"Neither did I," Rockman said. "But I bet Papa would like to meet you. Come on!" He held out his hand, eyes once again sparkling with excitement. "I'll show you where we live."
It was hard to argue in the face of such enthusiasm. X smiled as he took Rockman's hand.
The world disappeared around them.
-
Wham!
X collided painfully with the dirt, the world swimming around him as he tried to fight off his disorientation. What-?
"Time's up, X!" a scratchy voice cackled out gleefully. "Oh, don't look at me with such alarm. I'm only going to clean your clock!"
"X, get a hold of yourself!"
Zero. The world seemed to right itself. Zero. Clockwork Coyote. That's right. He hit me with that attack. With a groan, X picked himself up off the ground. The soft, shifting sand made it difficult to stand. Slowly, the memories of the past few hours started coming back. The hunt for this particular Maverick, their fight through the base, then the trap. Clockwork Coyote had been waiting for them, and the moment they'd shown up, he'd launched his attack.
Clockwork Coyote snickered. "Having a hard time there, X? Maybe still haunted by ghosts of the past? It wouldn't be surprising."
"What did you do to me?" X demanded through gritted teeth. He forced himself to focus on his surroundings. Sand and transparisteel. They were inside a giant hourglass, the same one Coyote had dropped on them at the start of this whole mess. Standing on the outside, Zero pounded his fist against the glass in frustration. It didn't even crack.
A broad smile spread across the vaguely canine reploid's face. "An illusion," he said smugly. "A prison of your own mind's making, and while you're stuck in it, that leaves me all the time in the world to turn you to scrap!" He lifted his buster again, its silvery chrome finish glinting ominously. "How about another demonstration?"
"How about not?" another voice growled from behind the Maverick.
Clockwork Coyote whirled around in surprise.
X's jaw dropped.
Rockman stood there with a look of grim determination, buster trained and unwavering. "I don't know what's going on," he said, "but if you think you're going to hurt X, think again!"
Coyote immediately snapped out of his shock. "Sand Storm!" he barked.
X cried out and shielded his eyes against the sudden blast of sand that battered his face and body. The world around him vanished, swallowed up by the stinging sand.
"X! Look out!"
Knowing better than to question Zero's command, X threw himself to one side. He had no idea what his partner had seen, or whatever he might have just dodged, but the fact that he wasn't hit by anything was good enough for him. Inwardly, his mind raced. He didn't dare fire blindly into the storm for fear of hitting Rockman. If he called out to the little blue bot, that would tell Clockwork Coyote exactly where he was. That left him on the defensive, at least until the storm died out.
"You think you can hide from me in my own storm?" The Maverick's voice, derisive and mocking, seemed to come from everywhere at once. "How quickly you forget. I don't need to see you to attack you, X! You or your friend!"
Even if he had seen it coming, he never would have been able to dodge.
Zero's voice chased after him into oblivion. "X!"
-
"X!"
X started, blinking rapidly at the wide, blue eyes that were mere inches from his face. Rockman pulled back, releasing a loud sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Are you okay?"
X opened his mouth to respond, but the reflex response died before a single syllable escaped. Something was... off. He didn't know how to put it better than that. "I... don't know. Did something just happen?" Above them, the stars glinted innocently. Where were they?
Rockman bit his lip. "I'm not sure. I mean, we're here, so the teleport must've worked, but for a minute there I thought..." He trailed off, then shook his head and repeated, "I'm not sure."
X looked around to get his bearings, trying to remember where Rockman had been taking them. Home. His mind sluggishly supplied him with the answer. We were going to his home. To meet his father. There was only one building in the immediate vicinity, a conventional house with a domed structure visible behind it. Something about it seemed vaguely familiar, but for the life of him, X couldn't figure out why.
"Let's go talk to Papa," Rockman said. "Maybe he can tell us what happened. He can take a look at us, too, and make sure we're all right. I don't like how you were spaced out."
Troubled as he was by the events of the last few minutes, X wasn't sure he liked the idea of letting a stranger look at him. Given the problems he was having with his thought processes and memory, he strongly suspected that he'd have to allow Rockman's father access to his mental circuitry in order to scan for the cause. Such access was not something that he granted lightly. I'll see what he has to say when he scans Rockman.
The walk to Rockman's house was short, the security barriers at the edges of the property offering no protest. Rockman must have already transmitted the proper codes before they got there. If he hadn't been feeling so tense and uncertain, X could have almost enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The lawn was lush and green and plenty of trees dotted the hill they were located on.
"Papa, I'm home!" Rockman called out as he opened the door. He didn't seem alarmed when there was no answer, merely gesturing for X to follow him inside. "He's probably in the lab. He's got a project he's been working on."
Deeper and deeper they went into the house. X glanced about curiously, taking in all the details. It seemed that everywhere he looked, there was some tool or machine that he'd never seen. He could guess the purposes of some, but others were simply beyond him. Everything was neatly in place, and the freshly vacuumed carpet testified to someone's hard work. X's eyes lingered on the pictures on the wall. Rockman was there, and another robot with different colors but similar make. There was also a little blond girl. "Your family?"
Noticing where X's attention was directed, Rockman nodded and grinned. "Yeah. That's my sister Roll, and that's Blues. Roll's out running errands right now, and Blues..." He shrugged, a distant look in his eyes. "You never know when you'll see Blues. He doesn't really live here."
X sensed that there was a lot that Rockman wasn't saying, but it wasn't his place to pry, so he let the topic drop. Instead, he asked a question that had been bothering him since the earlier masquerade had dropped. "Rockman isn't your real name, is it?"
The question caught Rockman off guard and he stopped in his tracks to face X. "What? Of course it is. Well, my family usually calls me Rock, but-" Then realization dawned. "You thought I was just pretending?"
Now utterly confused and somewhat embarrassed, X rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just... you don't look at all like him." How could he come out and say that he was Rockman X?
Rockman stared at X like he was crazy. A door behind him opened. Rock opened his mouth to say something.
And X found himself face to face with a ghost from his past.
-End Chapter One-
Chapter Two
I thought it was only going to be a one-shot. I guess I thought wrong. Still, I doubt it'll be longer than another chapter or two.
Opinions? Thoughts? Suggestions?
Also, if anyone has any ideas for a better summary, I'm all ears.
Rating: PG
Fandom: X and classic
Summary: A dream. A memory. An attack. X doesn't have any idea what he's gotten himself into. Sometimes you can't escape the past.
Ghosts of the Past
Chapter One: Exposure To Elements May...
Do reploids dream of electric sheep?
X wanted to laugh. The question had been posed to him once, more as a joke than anything else. He could still hear Dr. Cain's dryly amused voice as he asked it. At the time, he'd been more confused than anything else. He'd never seen an electric sheep.
Do reploids dream of electric sheep?
No, doctor. That would be too normal.
"Hey, kid! Get out of the street! Idiot, you want to get run over?"
Startled, X hopped back as the irate driver who'd yelled at him drove past.
"Stupid kids and their stupid Halloween costumes..." Anything else the man might have said was lost as he got too far away for X to hear him.
It was all so very normal, and yet...
That was the crux of the problem, the thing that led X to believe that this was all just a very strange dream. Why did he assume I'm dressed up for Halloween? Why was he driving a car so old that looks so new? Why don't I see any other reploids? And that was just the surface of the situation.
X frowned as he took another look around the cityscape of his dream. He didn't recognize anything. No familiar faces, no familiar buildings. Even the roads seemed somehow different, right down to the way they were constructed. He tried listening to the communication frequencies. It wasn't silent, but it was all wrong. No one was using the regular channels, and it was like the Maverick Hunters weren't transmitting or receiving at all. And the technology...
He shook his head. "It's a dream," he said out loud, both to reassure himself and to hear something that was familiar. "It's not supposed to make any sense." He took a breath and let it out slowly, an unconscious habit he'd picked up from Dr. Cain. He didn't remember going to sleep, but yes, this must all just be a dream.
So what was his subconscious trying to tell him?
I suppose there's only one way to find out.
-
"Trick or treat!"
X smiled as he watched a group of children scamper past him, their costumes ranging from the average to the absurd. Each one clutched a bag or a bucket that rattled with candy, evidence of many previous stops before this house. This, he had long since realized, was the reason behind the man in the car's assumption.
It really is Halloween.
"Awesome! I got candy mets!"
"What? No fair! I want some too!"
"I'll share when we get home. C'mon, let's go to the next house!"
The kids ran by him again, barely sparing a glance in his direction. As far as they were concerned, he was just like them, just another Halloween-goer in the quest for sweets. Short as he was, and as dark as it was, he could easily pass for a pre-adolescent or early teen. He wasn't even the only one dressed as a robot. Blue ones seemed to be especially popular.
"Nice costume."
X blinked and looked to his side. One of the kids sat perched on a low brick wall, blue-booted feet dangling a few inches from the ground. Blue boots, blue helmet, blue gloves - he was another of those going with the theme of robot.
"Thanks," X said awkwardly. He wasn't wearing a costume. "You, too."
The boy grinned at the compliment, blue eyes sparkling with hidden laughter. "I'm Rockman!" he announced, thumbing his chest proudly. "I'm protecting the city from evil robots. Who are you?"
"I'm X." Though X tried his best to suppress his amusement, a smile still tugged at the corner of his lips. The costume wasn't perfect, but the fact that someone would want to masquerade as him, and with such enthusiasm, was more than a little flattering. "Patrolling, huh? Aren't you supposed to have a partner?"
Rockman shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose, but there aren't enough of us. We're all keeping eyes on different parts of the city. Don't worry," he said, flashing X a thumbs up sign. "I can take care of myself."
So he doesn't have anyone to go Trick or Treating with. Despite the fact that this was a dream, that felt wrong to X. Children shouldn't be left to wander the city alone at night, even if it was in a residential neighborhood. Mavericks, accidents, predators and criminals - bad things could happen in the suburbs just as easily as anywhere else. "I don't have a partner, either," he admitted. "Maybe we could work together?" He still had no idea what direction this dream was going in. This path seemed as good as any other.
Rockman gave him a funny look. "You sure I'm not too young for you?" he asked, stepping out of character for the first time. "I thought older kids liked to do Trick or Treating with other older kids."
"Nah," X said, grinning at the thought of Axl or Zero dressing up for Halloween. Axl would probably take to the idea with enthusiasm, but Zero... Might depend on the costume. "My friends are all busy right now. To be honest, I wasn't going to go Trick or Treating at all. I was just looking around."
"I wasn't gonna go Trick or Treating, either," Rockman admitted. "See? I didn't even bring a bag." His eyes drifted to X's empty hands. The same proof showed that X hadn't been lying.
Another group of children ran by, drawing X and Rockman's attention. The free spirited chaos that exuded from them seemed to fill the air with a sense of excitement. For a moment, X was tempted by the thought of joining in. But it wouldn't be real, he thought wistfully. Maybe when I wake up and it's Halloween... He shook his head and sat down on the wall next to Rockman. "So you really were patrolling?"
Rockman's eyes followed the children a little longer, looking almost melancholy. Finally, he tore his gaze away and looked at the ground. "No. Not really. Dr. Wily's in prison right now and most of his robots are dead. I don't think Forte will try anything, but if he does, the police'll contact me."
Dr. Wily. Forte. X tilted his head curiously. The second name meant nothing to him, but Dr. Wily was a name out of history. What little was known about him was broken and fragmented, and of course X hadn't made any real effort to look for him. The bits and pieces he'd learned had been byproducts of searching records about Dr. Light. "Dr. Wily's still alive?"
That earned him another odd look. "Yeah. At least, he was yesterday. He probably still is, or it would be in the news."
"Oh." The silence that followed wasn't nearly as awkward as it might have looked to an outsider. Rockman seemed content to study X. Wrapped up in his own thoughts, X didn't notice. Huh. Dr. Wily's still alive. He must be ancient by now.
What a weird dream.
"Hey, X?"
"Hm?"
"Are you a robot?"
X's head jerked up. "What?" Whatever question he'd been expecting, it hadn't been that. And... robot?
Rockman grinned wryly. "Your boots," he said, gesturing vaguely at X's legs. "They sound like mine when you walk. They're obviously made of metal. Pretty thick, too, from the sound of it. Most people wouldn't wanna wear something so heavy for a costume."
X blinked down at his feet, a flicker of surprise on his face. Of all the ways to be given away... Not that he'd been trying to pass himself off as human, but he hadn't exactly been announcing his true nature, either. This kid's pretty observant. He frowned then, glancing at Rockman's feet. The words he'd just spoken echoed in X's head. 'They sound like mine when you walk.'
"So, are you?"
Now it was X's turn to study the other. "Are you?" he countered.
The smaller boy gave a rueful chuckle instead of answering directly. "Neither of us is wearing a costume, are we? Guess I'm not the only one who thought I could blend in tonight." Without further preamble, he hopped down off the wall and turned to face X. "So, what do you want to do? Did you still want to hang out with me?"
X considered the question for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure. I really didn't have any plans." Besides. Rockman was... interesting.
"Neither did I," Rockman said. "But I bet Papa would like to meet you. Come on!" He held out his hand, eyes once again sparkling with excitement. "I'll show you where we live."
It was hard to argue in the face of such enthusiasm. X smiled as he took Rockman's hand.
The world disappeared around them.
-
Wham!
X collided painfully with the dirt, the world swimming around him as he tried to fight off his disorientation. What-?
"Time's up, X!" a scratchy voice cackled out gleefully. "Oh, don't look at me with such alarm. I'm only going to clean your clock!"
"X, get a hold of yourself!"
Zero. The world seemed to right itself. Zero. Clockwork Coyote. That's right. He hit me with that attack. With a groan, X picked himself up off the ground. The soft, shifting sand made it difficult to stand. Slowly, the memories of the past few hours started coming back. The hunt for this particular Maverick, their fight through the base, then the trap. Clockwork Coyote had been waiting for them, and the moment they'd shown up, he'd launched his attack.
Clockwork Coyote snickered. "Having a hard time there, X? Maybe still haunted by ghosts of the past? It wouldn't be surprising."
"What did you do to me?" X demanded through gritted teeth. He forced himself to focus on his surroundings. Sand and transparisteel. They were inside a giant hourglass, the same one Coyote had dropped on them at the start of this whole mess. Standing on the outside, Zero pounded his fist against the glass in frustration. It didn't even crack.
A broad smile spread across the vaguely canine reploid's face. "An illusion," he said smugly. "A prison of your own mind's making, and while you're stuck in it, that leaves me all the time in the world to turn you to scrap!" He lifted his buster again, its silvery chrome finish glinting ominously. "How about another demonstration?"
"How about not?" another voice growled from behind the Maverick.
Clockwork Coyote whirled around in surprise.
X's jaw dropped.
Rockman stood there with a look of grim determination, buster trained and unwavering. "I don't know what's going on," he said, "but if you think you're going to hurt X, think again!"
Coyote immediately snapped out of his shock. "Sand Storm!" he barked.
X cried out and shielded his eyes against the sudden blast of sand that battered his face and body. The world around him vanished, swallowed up by the stinging sand.
"X! Look out!"
Knowing better than to question Zero's command, X threw himself to one side. He had no idea what his partner had seen, or whatever he might have just dodged, but the fact that he wasn't hit by anything was good enough for him. Inwardly, his mind raced. He didn't dare fire blindly into the storm for fear of hitting Rockman. If he called out to the little blue bot, that would tell Clockwork Coyote exactly where he was. That left him on the defensive, at least until the storm died out.
"You think you can hide from me in my own storm?" The Maverick's voice, derisive and mocking, seemed to come from everywhere at once. "How quickly you forget. I don't need to see you to attack you, X! You or your friend!"
Even if he had seen it coming, he never would have been able to dodge.
Zero's voice chased after him into oblivion. "X!"
-
"X!"
X started, blinking rapidly at the wide, blue eyes that were mere inches from his face. Rockman pulled back, releasing a loud sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Are you okay?"
X opened his mouth to respond, but the reflex response died before a single syllable escaped. Something was... off. He didn't know how to put it better than that. "I... don't know. Did something just happen?" Above them, the stars glinted innocently. Where were they?
Rockman bit his lip. "I'm not sure. I mean, we're here, so the teleport must've worked, but for a minute there I thought..." He trailed off, then shook his head and repeated, "I'm not sure."
X looked around to get his bearings, trying to remember where Rockman had been taking them. Home. His mind sluggishly supplied him with the answer. We were going to his home. To meet his father. There was only one building in the immediate vicinity, a conventional house with a domed structure visible behind it. Something about it seemed vaguely familiar, but for the life of him, X couldn't figure out why.
"Let's go talk to Papa," Rockman said. "Maybe he can tell us what happened. He can take a look at us, too, and make sure we're all right. I don't like how you were spaced out."
Troubled as he was by the events of the last few minutes, X wasn't sure he liked the idea of letting a stranger look at him. Given the problems he was having with his thought processes and memory, he strongly suspected that he'd have to allow Rockman's father access to his mental circuitry in order to scan for the cause. Such access was not something that he granted lightly. I'll see what he has to say when he scans Rockman.
The walk to Rockman's house was short, the security barriers at the edges of the property offering no protest. Rockman must have already transmitted the proper codes before they got there. If he hadn't been feeling so tense and uncertain, X could have almost enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The lawn was lush and green and plenty of trees dotted the hill they were located on.
"Papa, I'm home!" Rockman called out as he opened the door. He didn't seem alarmed when there was no answer, merely gesturing for X to follow him inside. "He's probably in the lab. He's got a project he's been working on."
Deeper and deeper they went into the house. X glanced about curiously, taking in all the details. It seemed that everywhere he looked, there was some tool or machine that he'd never seen. He could guess the purposes of some, but others were simply beyond him. Everything was neatly in place, and the freshly vacuumed carpet testified to someone's hard work. X's eyes lingered on the pictures on the wall. Rockman was there, and another robot with different colors but similar make. There was also a little blond girl. "Your family?"
Noticing where X's attention was directed, Rockman nodded and grinned. "Yeah. That's my sister Roll, and that's Blues. Roll's out running errands right now, and Blues..." He shrugged, a distant look in his eyes. "You never know when you'll see Blues. He doesn't really live here."
X sensed that there was a lot that Rockman wasn't saying, but it wasn't his place to pry, so he let the topic drop. Instead, he asked a question that had been bothering him since the earlier masquerade had dropped. "Rockman isn't your real name, is it?"
The question caught Rockman off guard and he stopped in his tracks to face X. "What? Of course it is. Well, my family usually calls me Rock, but-" Then realization dawned. "You thought I was just pretending?"
Now utterly confused and somewhat embarrassed, X rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just... you don't look at all like him." How could he come out and say that he was Rockman X?
Rockman stared at X like he was crazy. A door behind him opened. Rock opened his mouth to say something.
And X found himself face to face with a ghost from his past.
-End Chapter One-
Chapter Two
I thought it was only going to be a one-shot. I guess I thought wrong. Still, I doubt it'll be longer than another chapter or two.
Opinions? Thoughts? Suggestions?
Also, if anyone has any ideas for a better summary, I'm all ears.