Disclaimer: I don't own Mega Man, it is owned by Capcom.

Notes: This was originally posted on my Tumblr account three months ago, after being challenged by HarunaRei to do a shortfic where Rock has a moment of childlike play while looking for a Robot Master.

Timeline: Post-MM10. I don't have an exact date, I'm not even sure which Robot Master he is facing.

Xs and Zeroes

It was always the same for Rock.

Find the Robot Master. Plead with the Robot Master to stop. Fight the Robot Master. Destroy the Robot Master. Because of what they were, it at least meant that they weren't permanently gone forever, as long as their processors were recovered, and most of the time, the damage that Rock did wasn't enough to destroy the processors.

It appeared to be no different this time around.

He hadn't forgotten who he was chasing after, but the trek was long, and he was exhausted – not physically, an E-Tank could take care of that – but emotionally. He was tired of having to fight, of having to destroy others.

The path that he had been taking was thankfully clear of any mechaniloids at the moment, and he dropped down against a building, deciding to take a breather as he gazed out across the land. He physically had the stamina to continue, but it would do him no good if he was so disheartened by what he was doing that he ended up getting himself hurt or killed.

The road that he was sitting on was dirt, and there was a metal stick nearby, and Rock found himself doodling little images in the dirt as time went on. It was nothing amazing or inspirational; just silly images of dogs, cats, even a child's family portrait of himself, Roll, Blues, and Dr. Light.

He idly wondered where Blues had run off to.

Rock debated scratching his pictures out and moving on when he heard a voice call out to him.

"Hey, Rock."

He leapt up, Buster at the ready, only to put it away when he saw the familiar green armor in front of him. "Quint? I almost shot you!"

His future self gave a sheepish smile. "…I should've expected that, so that's my fault for sneaking up on you." He paused for a moment, taking his helmet off and sitting down on the ground.

Rock noted, again, that other than his eyes being green, Quint looked identical to him. It was no surprise, he knew that his eyes changed colors whenever his armor did, but it looked like it was stuck on Quint's as default.

"You up for a game, by the way?"

"…A game?" Rock stared at Quint, a little confused.

"Yeah! Something that we can do here. Tic-Tac-Toe, I Spy, Charades… I mean, you looked a little down," Quint told him.

"…I don't have time to play right now," Rock said quietly.

"Yeah you do."

Rock made a face. "Quint, come on. I'm trying to hunt down a Robot Master."

"I know," Quint said, trying not to smile. "And you have time to play something. Pick a game."

"Um… Tic-Tac-Toe." Rock eyed his future self for a moment. It was unlikely that Quint was making him drop his guard so that he got hurt, and if the other was so insistent on it, it was probably for the best that he just listen. Quint was not, in any shape or form, a masochist.

As far as he knew, at least. He took a deep breath, tried to relax, and smiled at the other Robot Master. "Did you wanna be Xs or Os?"

Quint looked at him, a little surprised but clearly pleased, and smiled back. "Xs~. Always Xs." There was a glint in his eyes that suggested that he knew something that Rock didn't.

Always Xs? Whatever. "Okay, I'll be Os, then!"

"Zeroes."

Rock blinked up at Quint. "Huh?"

"Not Os, but Zeroes," the older Robot Master said cheerfully as he started drawing the Tic-Tac-Toe grid. "Xs and Zeroes go great together, I can guarantee that. I'll go first."

Xs and Zeroes going great together? That sounded weird, but maybe he had gotten a little eccentric in his old age; Blues was old, and Blues was weird, too. …Oh Light, was his future one where he turned into Blues?

Rock took a good look at Quint as the other pondered where to make a move and finally drew an X in the center square. Quint had the visor already and could be annoyingly cryptic sometimes. Maybe he should get his older self a scarf–

Wait.

Was that a yellow bandanna around his counterpart's neck!? Oh Light! He really did turn into Blues in the future!

Rock started snickering, nearly falling over in laughter, and Quint just stared at his younger self, smiled, and shook his head.

"What's so funny?" Quint asked, though it sounded as if he already knew.

"Nothing!" Rock giggled as he drew a zero in the middle-bottom corner.

The two of them played five quick rounds. Frustratingly enough, all but one of their games ended in a draw; Quint knew him far too well to know what he would pick and would often counter with an X right where he was praying that Quint wouldn't put one.

He would have said it was almost like playing with Blues, but he wasn't sure if Blues had ever played Tic-Tac-Toe.

The first game, Quint had victoriously trapped him by putting an X in the center and then in the two corners while Rock had gone for the sides. The blue Robot Master had felt completely foolish for doing that, but he had learned from his mistakes; he might not have been able to beat Quint in their next four games, but Quint hadn't been able to beat him either.

Once the fifth game ended, Quint dropped the stick that he had been drawing with and stood up. "Feeling any better?"

Rock stood up as well, a little surprised – he was feeling better; a little lighter, he'd daresay. "Yeah… thanks."

"Just doing what I have to," Quint said with a wink, grabbing his helmet and putting it back on. "By the way, right now, you'll find your goal this way: cross the lake, turn left about 59 degrees at the funky white and black-striped stones, and keep going for about five minutes. I delayed you just enough."

At that, Rock blinked. "…You distracted me on purpose? To make this easier for me?"

Quint shrugged helplessly. "I don't exactly know where he was before. And you had fun, right?"

Tic-Tac-Toe was fun enough. "Yeah."

"Well, take care, Rock. I've got to go back before Kopin sets something on fire."

Rock wondered for a moment exactly who Kopin was as Quint gave him a wave and turned around to leave. "Okay… bye."

But he felt better; he could continue; and if Quint was right, then he could get this over with quicker and not have to fret about it so much.

Thank goodness.

Kopin is the Copy Robot, who Quint is looking after in this world. Rock, of course, doesn't know that.