Note: Ok, so this requires a little explaining. First thing's first, this was initially written after part 2 of Episode 7 of Missing Episodes was uploaded, as well as the two chapters that follow. Second, currently as this author's note is being written (1/2/19), I've been under the horrid cloud that is mononucleosis and it's been quite a sucker of motivation and general good feelings. Third, also currently (1/2/19), my subscription to Microsoft Office just died, so I'm currently using Google Docs to even write this. And fourth, I'm considering making little previews for this on my DA account, and perhaps (perhaps being the key word here) experimenting with a short comic based off the story, but seeing as chapters can get more material covered than a comic page, this is definitely coming first.

With that out of the way, I perhaps should also explain how this thing even came to be. Simply put, it wasn't any grand or spectacular revelation. Rather, it looked like this:

Mega Man had a cartoon.

Darkstalkers had a cartoon.

Both are very flawed, but the former is definitely the better of the two.

Mega Man had an episode focusing on dreams that was crazy.

Darkstalkers has a character that perhaps would fit in the setting.

Plot Bunny born.

Wait months, now nearly a year, as I'm doing other things.

Will not let me rest until I succumb to its will.

Thankfully though, given this is a smaller scaled story, I'm allowing myself to write shorter chapters, in that they don't extend past 10,000+ words. And whilst some language might be a bit colorful for a TV-7 rated program, unlike Missing Episodes, there won't be any full on cursing. Suggestive themes in some places, yeah, but nothing too raunchy. Also, characterization of some Robot Masters are based more in vein with my other fic.

Will all that out of the way, we should probably get started. Behold, this annoyingly persistent nugget that finally gets its chance to be free!

Chapter 1: I Know You

Mega Man and Darkstalkers © of Capcom

A light, fluttering breeze.

That's all he registered in his half-awakened mind, his worn down, exhausted form nestled underneath his silk sheets.

To be honest, it was rather pleasant. Slightly warm, yet should it get too warm for his liking, he could simply adjust by lifting the covers off himself, allowing the summer's night air to wisp and caress against his oh so tired body.

But in that, in suddenly hit him.

He had closed the window beforehand. Not even that, he had outright locked it.

This realization had forced away any and all calm and soothing thoughts from his mind, the middle-aged human man beginning to lift himself up to a sitting position, allowing the non-awake part of himself to catch up to the half still aware and at the ready. Mayor Parson's brown eyes squinted somewhat in the darkness of his bedroom, his eyesight not exactly getting any better as the years went along. Yet what he could identify was the unmistakable sight of curtains dancing and billowing, helpless against the natural force making them sway and dip with it.

"What the…?" he moaned lightly, forcing himself up and out of his king-sized bed and walking to the left side of the room.

His eyes did not deceive him. The window HAD indeed been opened. And even more, as he could see, the hook keeping the panes together had come undone. While the Mayor had somewhat of a reputation in being an overly panicked, jittery man, he found that instead of fear, confusion only seemed to come to him. True, an open window, at least to him, was a cause for alarm, as it was probably indicative of someone having up and broken into his home, and while such a possibility didn't completely exit his mind, he couldn't deny that there were a handful of elements in it that didn't add up.

For one, the window was on the second story of the house, and from what he could see outside, there was no ladder or anything of the sort to allow access up here, let alone any signs of trespassing in the yard or shrubbery below. The streets were just as quiet and inactive as when he had turned in for the night, perhaps even more so, given how it'd be some time still before dawn broke. Two, if it had been a home invasion of some kind, surely there'd be some sort of noise. Mayor Parson wasn't exactly a light sleeper per say, yet surely he would've heard something like that, or at least the alarm going off due to such an intrusion. The alarm hadn't been tripped at all, and from the looks of it, the hitch had just been lifted up, not broken off. It was too calm an entrance for a burglar of any kind. Far too calm…as well as nearly impossible. Not to mention that no objects had been knocked over or out of their former positions. The table with his faux fruit bowl still stood, wax replicas of food still in the same places as before. Neither had the picture displaying a portrait of his dear late wife been stirred. The grandfather clock right beside it continued to tick and swing its pendulum back and forth, its long, dark shadow casting down and trailing along the floor.

Still, the fact remained: the window had been opened when he knew that it had been closed and locked before.

Yet there was also the fact that, despite this strange happening, the Mayor was a busy man. A busy, and right now, very tired man. A man that needed at least something of a half-way decent night's sleep.

So, with little else to find, let alone conclude with such little evidence pointing towards any definite conclusion, the aged man simply closed the window and locked it once again, heading back to his bed and draping the smooth sheets over him, his eyes shutting as his body began to once again ease its way into sweet repose.

Just as she had wanted.

The natural shadows cast in the darkened room had been ever present and unchanging, not to mention just as still as he had last saw them, so Mayor Parson had no reason of suspecting anything about them being out of the ordinary. Besides, it wasn't as if a home invader could hide themselves in the very shadows or walls.

If only he had known.

The grandfather clock's shadow, once present but without much of a defined form, had slowly began to darken even further, the space in the centermost portion of the shadow growing to that of pitch black. And that portion had suddenly begun to stretch and twist, steadily growing more solid and concrete until it had finally resembled something of a humanoid shape. Feminine, yet well built and toned. Long haired, with a slender jaw and a well-shaped nose.

And, as it could be seen when she lifted her eyelids to observe the other occupant of the room, pale, icy blue orbs rivaling that of glistening crystal for eyes.

The formed shadow separated herself from the one it had previously hidden away in, easing her way across the room with soft, gentle steps that made the most minimal of sound, long, slender fingers tracing their way across the smooth material of the sheets as she worked her way around the bed, stopping at the head where the human male rested his head upon the pillow.

Perfect.

He was far from one she'd normally deem worthy to provide her with sustenance, yet the only time she'd get an opportunity to go out was before dinner tonight. And given that dinner would surely have passed by the time she went back, she ultimately decided that a half-decent meal was better than no meal at all. Besides, older men were always easy.

SCREECH!

Hm!? What in all of Makai's levels…

Thankfully her prey hadn't been made aware that his abode had a visitor parking right outside the gate. Peering out of the window just enough to where she wouldn't reveal herself, her icy blue eyes saw a moderately sized vehicle, a van of some sort, stationed outside of the Mayor's house, a large, satellite-like device attached to the roof.

Given her own origins, let alone her natural homeland, such a thing wasn't exactly extraordinary to her, she had seen and experienced far stranger in the span of her existence. But then, her eyes spotted something she did not anticipate.

From the satellite, an orb of bright, violet light was formed, it detaching from the machine that bore it, and flying through the glass of the left window. The very same window she had previously made her entrance through. The orb made its way towards the slumbering Mayor and entered into his forehead, the man in turn beginning to toss and turn, as if in the midst of a dream.

"Mommy?" he murmured, his voice uncertain and somewhat frightened, as if he were some young child. "Daddy?"

Now THIS, she hadn't seen before. And it also dawned on her that she had no idea what exactly was going on. From what she had seen, the orb had gone and entered into the human's head. Into his mind.

Perhaps, she thought, her hand extending to lightly touch the man's forehead, now covered in beats of sweat, she'd gain more of an answer if she went in and saw what was going on herself.

Mayor Parson had gained somewhat more of an understanding when the environment around him become more concrete and tangible, the human man recognizing this setting almost instantly.

It wasn't exactly a perfect replica, yet it bore just enough similarities to that of his childhood home, particularly his very own bedroom. A closet that was overloaded with toys had seemingly been unable to contain anymore, flooding out and creating something of a wall of toy robots, rubber ducks, and strangely shaped dolls he surely didn't possesses as a child behind him. It also, as he came to see, as he sat upon an impossibly large bed, served as something of a barricade from anywhere else, its contents stacked up high and definitely difficult to try and scale.

But perhaps he shouldn't even try. After all, his 'parents' were wanting to have a word with him.

'My, my.' She thought. 'This certainly IS a bad dream.'

She had meant this in more ways than one, gazing at the scene before her with a twinge of bewilderment, but also of amusement. If she were going to put the human in anything, it certainly wouldn't be in clothes befitting some human child. Then again, judging from what was around her, his attire fit the current scene perfectly.

Though the Mayor's set of clothing, let alone the bizarre setting, was not what drew her interest.

Standing before, or rather, above the bed, towering over the far smaller human were what appeared to be male humanoids of sorts, though unlike the man she had previously been eyeing before, these two seemed to be composed of, or quite literally constructed out of metal. There were two of them, each bearing a good degree of differences from the other. The one on the left consisted of a color scheme of mostly ivory and a reddish-orange, bits of silver lining that of his forearms (or at least where his forearms joined the rest of his upper limbs) and a peculiar set of duel blades set atop of his head, giving off the appearance of a pair of large scissors. His facial features were rather smooth in comparison to the far larger automaton next to him, large eyes sporting black pupils and a small, puppet-like mouth that she assumed would function by moving up and down as he spoke.

His companion was one that, had he been clothed in human skin, she would've immediately set her sights on to grab a little bite from. Then again, she had never seen such beings before, so further observation might be in order. Besides, she was more than intrigued in what all this was about, whatever it was.

The scissor-headed being paled in comparison to his partner's girth, this particular specimen garbed in armor of mainly red and black, his limbs composed of a thick, dense yellow metal. The only blue portions of him were that of his feet and a cubically-shaped jaw that gave the larger being something of a pronounced underbite. Atop his head sat a helmet of sorts, a helmet she likened to that of human construction workers. Was he perhaps in the same sort of service? Doubtful, otherwise what would he being doing here, inside the mind of this human man? He presented the Mayor with a deep, intimidating glare as he towered over him and the rest of the room, his cobalt blue eyes having no semblance of any traits of calm and serenity that usually came with such a color.

Still though, whatever form of demon or creature they may be, she had yet to see ones like them before in her lifetime. And the question remained: what they were doing here, assuming they were the ones that sent the purple orb into her prey's mind. And if so, for what purpose?

"Mommy? Daddy?" the Mayor asked, voice very much like that of a child, though he still bore the pitch and tone of a man his age. "Is that you?" his arms tightened around the small bear, pressing it up against his chest.

"Yeah." The more heavy-set of the two figures confirmed. "I'm your daddy," he then gestured to the other, the one with the scissors. "And this is your mommy."

"And you've been a very bad boy." The scissor-headed figure stated, pointing to his far smaller form.

This…this wasn't right. Something was off here. His room didn't look like this when he was a child. True, he wasn't exactly diligent in putting his toys where they were supposed to go, yet they never got to where they formed a literal wall, blocking the exit and anywhere else he could escape to, away from the his 'parents'. And speaking of his parents, Mayor Parson found himself struggling with what he was seeing before him. These two…despite their claims, he had SEEN them before somewhere. He KNEW he had seen them somewhere before. And they most definitely weren't anyone in his family, let alone human.

Still, even with these realizations briefly flashing in his mind, they only stayed for a second or two. Some sort of force, some overpowering influence, perhaps the same that had created this place and put these two here reigned supreme over any sort of logic and reasoning. All that seemed to matter, all that was allowed to matter, was that his 'mommy' had just addressed 'her' disappointment in him. That he was a 'bad boy'.

And that ultimately, for whatever reason, was above all else at this moment. Perhaps though, if not for the influence he was being put under, or the focus of the two machines chastising him, they would've taken notice of a peculiar little doll nestled near the front of the collection of toys. One that bore the appearance of a porcelain girl dressed in white, with peculiarly colored, curly hair, and small, petite wings sprouting out from her back.

"No, I'm not!" The Mayor immediately protested with his 'mother'. "I…I'm a good boy! Honest!"

"Then prove it!" his 'mother' demanded, reaching forward and taking the far smaller man into his…'her' red hand. He had seen them before. "Prove you're a good boy!" He knew he had. So why couldn't he remember where?! But what his 'mother' had just said…yes. Yes, he'd prove it! He'd do anything to prove it! He was good! He knew it! He had to make them believe him! "Go to your office and get the secret passcode from your files. The one that has to do with the new space station." His 'mother' commanded, still holding him up close to both 'her' and his 'father'. "And fax it to me." 'she' commanded, his 'father's' glowering eyes piercing through his tiny frame.

"Do it!" he roared. "NOW!"

'Do it! NOW!'

'Do it! NOW!'

"Do it…now."

The dream had ended, though not the half-awake state he had been placed in. Rising from his bed, Mayor Parson didn't even bother to dress himself in more appropriate attire, going right out of his room and eventually, through his front door, in his nightwear. He got into his car, and revved up the engine, eventually speeding out of his driveway and down the road at a high speed.

He didn't event take notice of the van that hadn't been there before parked outside of the gate.

Something of which she immediately took notice of when it had first pulled up.

She pondered, as she watched from the rooftop, concealed by the blanket of darkness the night brought, of what sort of power she had just witnessed, let alone the means of harnessing it were. The source of where this power seemingly came from had also began to drive out of sight, tagging along behind the speeding car that left not but a few moments prior.

She had to know more. She had to see more.

Once she was sure that the van was out of sight, at least of her, she spread her wings and took flight, the darkened sky above concealing her form from the world below.

'Tonight is proving to be a VERY interesting night indeed.'

A Short Time Later

Two beings had exited the van, both humanoid in shape, yet distinguishable and different compared to the other, almost in the same manner the two she had seen before had been. One had something of a stout figure with a mowhawk and a peculiar set of lips (or perhaps a bill? Certainly looked like it) attached to his face, whilst his companion was garbed in a suit of black and red, a mask of gold adorning his face, with similar armor being situated on his arms, and legs.

"Follow the Mayor on his little 'trip' to his office." The elderly male in the vehicle commanded the two beings. "And should you happen across 'him' at any time, make sure that he gets taken care of!"

The masked being huffed, as if what the man was ordering was elementary to him. "Naturally." He stated, voice smooth and suave, definitely catching her attention. "What else is there to do regarding the blue pest?"

"I've got an idea…" the mowhawk bearing one interjected, pulling out what appeared to be some sort of exploding device. "Pop of these in that sucker's mouth and it'll be the Fourth of July for all of us!"

"Then what are you doing here simply telling me about it?" the human chastised. "Go out there and DO IT!"

The two seemed to need no more than that, immediately taking off after the Mayor's car, all the while the van had taken a right turn at the incoming intersection.

'Reminds me of the ancient stiffs back home.' She thought to herself, looking at the two pursuing the car on foot, then to the van steadily making its way perpendicular of them. 'Where to go, where to go…'

Indeed, this presented her with a bit of a problem. Whilst she was definitely amused the sight of the Mayor driving around in his sleepwear with two individuals chasing after him with little more than their own speed, she couldn't deny that the vagueness and potential possibilities that rested with the old man's device had been what enticed her beforehand. Her decision was ultimately made, going and following the van from above, unseen by the world below.

Though one particular curiosity continued to pick and pry at her as she surveyed her quarry: whom was this 'blue pest' that had been mentioned? Better yet, why did the human speak of him with such distain?

"Hmm…" he moaned, a scene beginning to materialize before him, shapes and objects of varying colors coming together and forming a solid, tangible environment around him in which had once been a dark, empty void. "Huh?" as his vision adjusted, he found himself in…downtown?

It seemed to be that way, in fact, he believed that he could see the NYPD station not too far from here! Yet as he let his feet take him forward…he found that the station hadn't gotten any closer. On the contrary, it appeared to be going further and further away from him. Soon, it wasn't the only piece of this seemingly familiar environment that began to alter and change its shape. The buildings had, even as he looked right at them, stretch and warp before his very eyes, extending upward ever and ever onward until they blended in with the very heavens themselves, of which appeared to be anything but with their ominous red and thick clouds. The chief kept running, even with it becoming more and more apparent that such an action was useless. Yet he had to do something! He had to get out of here!

He had to! He had to…"Oooh…" for now, he had to go and take a little rest, finding a lamp post to lean up against as he caught his breath. 'Geez…' he thought to himself, completely unaware of the fact that the buildings and sky were not the only things that had undergone some drastic transformation. 'You would've thought I had gained about thirty years or so…'

"…hee hee!"

His eyes widened, he immediately lifting himself up from his resting place, head whirling left to right. 'What in the world-'

"Hee hee!"

There was someone else here? Better yet, it was a woman?

"Hey…" and from the sound of it, "Over here!" it was a young, beautiful woman. And upon catching sight of a shape inching its way out from a nearby ally, the Chief found that his assumptions had been nothing short of absolutely correct.

Her hand lightly touched the corner of an aged, brick foundation, the skin a perfect balance between light and dark, just the shade he found most appealing. Her shapely, gorgeous form was garbed in a tight fitting, white collared shirt and a pair of red leather pants, the leather practically hugging the delectable skin hidden underneath. Black boots with heels were on her feet, making her appear taller than she perhaps was, yet they complemented her attire perfectly. She was gorgeous, simply and utterly gorgeous, and yet…and yet despite that…he couldn't deny that there was something 'off' about her. True, she bore what appeared to be long, flowing hair of an unusual color (a sea green or something along those lines) and her eyes of blue were quite transfixing, if not outright piercing, as if he were some hapless rodent that had become noticed by a prowling feline.

But in the end…he found he didn't care. Strange hair or no, intimidating eyes or no…he wouldn't mind obeying her request for him to come to her. He wouldn't mind being her mouse.

Immediately moving, as if pulled by her very whim, the man went right to her, she surprisingly waiting for him to make his way over. Beautiful…he thought, his former tension and fear of the strange world around him becoming lost in her very presence, especially in those perfect, turquoise eyes. The perfect woman. The apex and ideal image of the feminine side of humanity. And she had beckoned him of all people to her. Her hand graced itself alongside his cheek, the contrast in each others' skin texture comparable to that of glass and sandstone, yet that only made him crave her touch even more. He reached up to his face, his palm readying itself to place itself atop of the crisp, slightly chilled skin…only to meet nothing.

She had pulled away from him.

He was left in a stupor as it was only then that his mind realized that she, the perfect woman, his perfect woman, had up and abandoned him, the click-clack of her boots echoing as she seemed to disappear within the ever darkening, fathomless shadows of the alleyway. "W-Wait!" he called out, wasting no time in going after her, it never even crossing his mind as to how much clearer his mind had felt the moment she left him, how he suddenly realized that this was far from a place he should be in. "Wait, please! Don't go-oof!"

How he could also potentially bump into someone twice his height and most definitely not having his best interests at heart.

"Hello there, Chief!"

Scratch that. Make that TWO someones. Two someones that he had seen before. He KNEW it! But where from?! He…he just couldn't seem to process some things that should've been common knowledge to him! Unfortunately for him, the aforementioned Chief had no time to ponder any of this further, as he was roughly lifted up by the collar of his shirt, helpless against the strength of the bigger of the two giant punks. Both of which, whilst he couldn't exactly identify, were clearly not human.

"Never a cop around when you need one, huh?" the other figure chuckled, bringing a pair of oddly familiar shears dangerously close to him, the blades smooth and sharp enough should its owner wish to make use of them.

"Wh-What do you want?!" he blabbered out, feeling more than a little pathetic, yet given the circumstances and environment he was trapped in, he found himself with little options.

"The head of security!" the larger punk bellowed out, voice practically creating a shockwave throughout his smaller body. "We want a name!"

"Head of security? What are you talking about?!"

"The space research center!" the scissor-wielding figure clarified. "Who is the head of security at the center?!"

She was concealed well enough, and she could clearly hear well enough to know what the two mechanical beings were saying, yet still, she wasn't entirely satisfied. This was what she had come for, and frankly, she wasn't going to risk missing out on a few details because she was too afraid of being seen.

Besides, she thought, perhaps that would simply make things more interesting.

"I-I don't know!" the Chief pleaded. "I don't know something like that off the top of my head!"

"Then go get it!" the larger of the two roared, throwing the terrified man to the ground below, yet despite the height he had been tossed from, he surprisingly received no major injuries. As if all of this were simply a dream. "Go to wherever you can find it, and make sure you get the right one!"

"Yeah, sure! I…I can do that! Just don't hurt- "he looked back, just for a brief second, yet he managed to catch it: a feminine shape partially concealed by the shadows, watching him from afar, an expression of intrigue and fascination plastered on her picturesque features. "Help me!" he called out, not even realizing that his two aggressors had also taken to looking in the same direction. "Help me, they're going to kill me! Help!"

"Help…help…" he continued to murmur, she in turn observing his wriggling, writhing form, a orb of violet light exiting his head and making its way back to the van outside.

'Interesting.' She thought, quickly making herself scarce as it was evident that the human male would be 'waking' in a sense soon. 'Very, very interesting…'

Outside

The sudden sensation of something tangible and solid underneath them, something that belonged in the realm of reality, was somewhat of a shock to them as their feet met the ground. Nonetheless, after a moment or two of reacquainting themselves, Cut and Guts Man soon found their balance once again, Dr. Wily practically brimming with anticipation.

"I take it that everything's been taken care of?" he questioned eagerly. Perhaps he was getting his hopes too high considering these two were all he had at his disposal for now, yet given how the Mayor was tearing through town by their suggestion alone, he was rather anxious to see whether or not fortune would be on his side yet again.

And from the sound of it, it had indeed. "Sure has!" Guts Man exclaimed, pounding his chest with pride. "The Chief's going to get the name of the head of security where he works!"

"He's probably getting on his way as we speak!" Cut Man interjected, more than eager to report their (rarely successful) progress.

"Finally! It seems you two ARE useful for something!" Wily congratulated. "Now, we just need to make sure that he delivers said information to us…I'll have Proto Man give him a call when he reaches the station, and then we can- "the balding scientist paused for a moment, noting how, despite their enthusiasm before, it has seemingly died down. In fact, the two Robot Masters appeared to be somewhat troubled. "What did you leave out or forget to mention?" Wily questioned. He knew it, it was too good to be true.

"Nothing!" Guts Man shook his head. "We told him everything you told us to, Dr. Wily!"

"Then what? What's gotten you two looking as if you just remembered something vital that slipped your minds?"

Cut Man's processor began going to work. How in the world could he even phrase this, let alone have it make any sort of logical sense?

"Well?"

No turning back now. It wasn't as if the old man would let them simply drop it anyway. "Dr. Wily," the bladed android began, "What was the scenario programmed for the Chief?"

"What kind of question is that?" the old man scoffed, befuddled, yet somewhat offended. "The buffoon was to be alone in a gloomy city with you two being local street thugs that were to threaten him into compliance."

"So, you didn't put in anyone else?"

"Anyone else? What are you…look, just spit it out already! You're making very little sense as it is!"

"We saw someone else in there!" Guts Man cut in, Cut Man far from happy that the larger robot went in and stole what he was essentially going to say (albeit slightly more articulate). "There was another person we saw in the Chief's dream!"

Wily did little more than quirk one, shaggy brow, frankly trying to process what was being told to him. "Someone else?" he repeated, Guts Man in turn nodding. "As in who?"

"A woman." Cut Man answered, relieved that he got to this one before his partner. "At least, I think it was a woman."

"What do you mean, 'I think'? Men and women aren't exactly carbon copies of the other."

"I…I don't know." The reprogrammed DLN sighed. "It LOOKED like a woman, she even looked HUMAN. But…"

"But what?"

"I can't really explain it. She…she just felt…odd." there had to be a better term he could use. Something to better convey just how he felt about it. "Like she was..." yet what he said next, it only seemed to make even less sense. "...inhuman."

Note: First contact has (sorta) been made, and from here, our little interloper just keeps getting bolder and bolder. Granted, there are many things in the episode that don't make sense, yet I have to remind myself that this takes place in a world where a mad scientist somehow has an army or robots, yet none of them has a shred of competence in them (something I sort of ignore), evil genies live in bottles, a tribe of Lion men (Mega Man Abridged made that episode AMAZING. 'What do you think this is?! Furry Fridays?!') and a college/school/university/general learning place for machines of all things. Maybe I could get away with a supernatural being invading other people's dreams.

That said, here's hoping that this at least somewhat peaked your interest, and that some of you are interested in seeing more! Thank you all for your support and I hope to see you next chapter!