Note: Hello! Being that this is now turning into a full-fledged continuation of the cartoon as also more dark and violent than the actual show ever got, I decided to rewrite this A/N here for newcomers. Originally, I was just going to do an episode involving Dr. Cossack and Kalinka, yet upon seeing that people were liking it, and inspirations being 'Defender of the Human Race', 'Reawakened' and 'Recut', I decided to try and take a stab at making a long-length fic myself. Here's the chapter that started it all, so here's hoping you like your introduction into 'The Missing Episodes'!
Mega Man © of Capcom
Chapter 1-The Strange Case of Dr. Cossack Part 1
The chilled, frozen air kissed his cheeks, his brown beard doing very little to ease winter's loving touch. Even in the small, confined room, blueprints and spare parts serving as his company did nothing to detract his mind from the chilled air working its way in from the outside.
"Yes, the winds of Siberia are not kind to even their neighboring visitors, are they?"
The Russian's teeth grinded behind his closed lips, his scowl furrowing, as he didn't even turn to acknowledge his' host's presence.
"Indeed. Of course, if there has been any small amount of kindness you've shown me, it was bringing me here during the summer months."
His 'host' smirked; walking forward and gazing upon the designs and littered papers strung around the small, compact room.
"Of course. You're no good to me as a popsicle, Cossack."
The man he addressed finally looked upward from his chair to face his captor. His head was adorned with brown fibers of hair, the front falling over in a cowlick and perfectly complementing his equally pristine, but trimmed beard. His glasses caught the sparse light shining ahead, illuminating the lenses and shielding his brown eyes from view.
"Well, now that you have me, Wily, I take it that she will be-"
"You needn't be so worried. She will be safe. I've already ordered my robots to allow no harm to come to her."
Cossack inwardly sighed. Part of him that was still Soviet, he assumed, though he was never really Soviet to begin with as he spent very little of his years IN the USSR and the entirety of his life in Russia. His great grandfather always spoke and acted the character of a true solider for the "Imperialistic West", his parents used to joke; yet he wished he could be his great grandfather right now. Though he remembered the old man's bitter and uncompromising slanders against their beloved ruler when he was just a boy and how his great, great grandmother would always beat him to keep him silent, he wished nothing more than to have that ancient man's tongue at that moment. Yet then again, if that tongue came with the lashings and the cursing his old relative was infamous for, perhaps it was best it was now completely decomposed and resting with the old man's bones. Though he despised his current situation, he could do not a thing to save himself. He had accepted that fact, yet even from his creative prison, his responsibility still carried weight.
"There cannot, and WILL NOT be one tear of clothing, or bruise on her skin Wily."
"There won't be. Really Cossack, I would think a fellow engineer as yourself would know the Laws of Robotics like the back of his hand."
Oh, how he WISHED he could throttle the American's throat! Even without the Iron Curtain being active any longer, it was at least common sense around the world that one does NOT mock a Russian and not expect any consequences. Yet silent he remained. He had to…for her sake.
The far older man turned to leave, looking back at the clearly agitated younger scientist. "I trust that you'll be providing my robots with some more company soon, yes?"
"…Yes Dr. Wily. They should be operational soon."
"Good. I'll leave you to your work then. I think I'll go check the thermostat." With that, the aged mad doctor closed the door, letting Cossack contend to his isolation once again.
The pencil by his side, he inwardly sighed and began to scribble down ideas and whatever stray images whether it'd be of pleasant memory or dreaded fear on the paper, all the while muttering a small prayer.
"Please…just be safe…my little dóchenka…"
…
"Beat, beat!"
Kalinka placed her hand on the metallic bird's helm, gently rubbing the top and earning herself an equally gentle nudge to her cheek.
"Beat, please. I'm trying to sketch."
The spherical blue bird ceased his display of affection upon the command of his master. Sitting at an elegantly carved, brown desk furiously drawing and erasing on a simple, white piece of paper was a teenager around the age of fifteen, her widened Peridot eyes furrowing in frustration upon having to once again erase whatever small amount of work she had managed to get down. Thick, blonde locks curled and twirled outward from her scalp, creating an almost literal forest of hair that was curling around the sides of her face and stopping at her shoulder blades. Her attire displayed she was dressed for the weather: a white turtleneck with a serrated, black skirt that allowed one leg to sit atop the other, her stocking covered foot knocking against the desk as she continued to draw.
Though her frustration was building, her constant mistakes and furious erasing DID serve as an excellent time waster. Her father had, once again, had to leave her on her own. Another scientific presentation, this time in the states, she chuckling at the irony of it, as her country had once declared their western neighbor their greatest rival once, leading to the preparation of a war that would never happen. Deciding to cease her moving hand, the growing cramp becoming too much for her, she set down the pencil to view of what little progress she had made. Kalinka glanced around her bedroom, the red floor mat emanating whatever warmth it had absorbed to her soles as she walked over it, making her way over to her white, perfectly made bed, her eyes gazing upward at the overhead crown concealing the ceiling from view. Her eyes then began to count and mentally track all the things littering her selves: books, movies, CDs (from her much younger years), yet these items didn't encompass nearly enough as the rest of the available space was occupied by what some felt a girl her age should've grown out of by now.
Dolls. Her white shelves lining the large room were littered with dolls, large and small, meant to be held or just to be viewed from afar; they all had their place in her room. Her clothes drawer even had one of her country's infamous Matryoshka set sitting atop it, five dolls decreasing in size lined up and centered at the mirror, the eerily childlike plump faces looking blankly ahead at nothing as they displayed their red paint along with the intricate array of flowers on their stomachs.
Given how she came and went from this room as she pleased, passing them a glance and occasional dusting, Kalinka felt she could've just as well place herself atop a shelf as well, her mind once again wandering to her father's whereabouts.
"I'm already a doll…at least to you it seems."
International Robotics Expo, United States
The large domed building's doors opened, allowing an aged, grey-haired man to step forward, beard and hair combed with a perfectly ironed out lab coat.
"Ah, Dr. Light!" a voice greeted, its owner another scientist with a balding head of brown hair and oversized spectacles. "Welcome! It's such a great honor to have a man such as yourself here."
"Yes, well-ahem!" Thomas Light looked back for a brief second and motioned for four figures to make their way inside. "Thank you, Dr. Bore. What, I have admit, am excited to do is see the presentation from Russia."
"Ah, yes. It's unfortunate that Dr. Cossack could not make it, yet he promised he'd make his appearance here through a special broadcast. Speaking of which, if I may be so bold, where are your three…'children'?"
"Ah, yes. They should be making their way in-"
Turning back to view if his company had made it inside, he saw that they had indeed come inside the building, yet had already began attracting attention, notably one garbed almost entirely in blue.
Mega Man attempted his best to hide his un-comfortableness from the obviously excitable and eager scientists asking and prodding him with questions. Brain Bot had managed to escape, retorting those wanting him to stay with how they "had direct orders from Dr. Light to go and meet him at a specific location." that location of course being wherever they would happen to find the good doctor.
"Uh…hey! Doc! Over here!" the blue robot called out, a forced smile etched into his features, hoping Light had heard his no-so-subtle cry for help.
"Ah, Mega! There you are!" Light greeted, gently pulling and prying the robot away from the encompassing group surrounding him, he in turn presenting the doctor with a grateful smile. He opened his mouth to heartily ask what questions the poor boy was saddled with, but the old man's eyes began to wander around at the sight of something. Or rather, someone, that someone being missing. "Where's your sister?"
Mega Man sighed. "Not sure. I can't believe she and Brain Bot just LEFT me there! I mean it's not like you brought us here just to hang out and look at all the-"
"Wow! How much energy's IN that thing?" an excitable voice rang out, the two of them catching glimpse of a young woman sporting a full, blonde ponytail.
What had quite literally 'sparked' her interest was a large sphere of electricity stationed on a small, silver, platform, it's surging streams from inside the sphere transferring to the various electronic devices it had cables attached to.
"Don't know. Why don't you go and ask Brain Bot, sis?"
Her internal wiring froze up, she turning to see Dr. Light and a rather un-amused Mega Man. "Oh, h-hey there, Mega!" he didn't reply. "Look, sorry about going off and all…but you just seemed so busy, and...and I-"
"You what?"
"And I just thought I'd start checking out on some things you'd be interested in! Yeah…that's it." Her forced smile steadily dissolved into a nervous frown as her sibling still retained his forced look of disdain. He wasn't serious, of course, yet given she HAD left him at the mercy of a plethora of over-excitable scientists asking about the materials used to make up his axilla (of all questions, he was flabbergasted at that one), he thought she at least deserved to bear some guilt.
Having enough of his children's quarrel, Dr. Light took both of them in his arms. "Alright, that's enough you two." He told them without any harshness, but with a tone that indicated his authority, and all three began marching away from the electronic display. "Let's go find Brain Bot before the presentation starts-"
Light got no further words out before the room went dark.
Panicked cries and demands for answers consumed the large room, the three members of the 'Light' family immediately growing tense.
"I guess this isn't a regular thing at these 'science' conventions, huh?" Roll asked, earning her yet another irritated glance from Mega Man. "What?"
"Bet my circuits it's Wily!" the blue robot roughly whispered to Light as to not cause anymore panic.
"Perhaps…" the doctor pondered. While any disturbance would more than likely be due to Wily, he couldn't help but feel that there was more at play here. While the situation felt like the beginning of an all-too-familiar plot of the mad doctor, Light's 'inner senses' detected something more…or rather someone else. "…yet I can't help but shake the feeling that-"
"Good day to you all!" a thick and booming Russian accent filled the room, hushing everyone's voices and drawing their undivided attention.
The large projector screen stationed on the most north wall began to brighten and light the entire room, Roll and Mega being only a select few fortunate to not be blinded by the intense and sudden burst of light. After a few brief seconds, a picture began to form on the screen: a man who appeared to be in his late-middle age sporting a traditional, white lab coat with a yellow, collared shirt and green tie and a pair of glasses. His brown hair was fashioned to appear standing upright, the most forward areas falling forward in a dip, his beard not too heavy yet still clearly visible on his face, yet all that was need was his voice to identify himself to everyone present.
"Allow me to introduce myself to you fine ladies and gentleman- I am Dr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Cossack. Though I am not one to play favorites, this message in particular is reserved especially for a Thomas Light."
Upon hearing his name called, Light was taken back. This man that had been promised to be making a special broadcast here, yes, but in such a jarring manner?
What could he possibly want with him?
"While you are stationed in the United States, your work and achievements have reached throughout the world of robotics. While your prowess and mind are indeed to be admired, ultimately, I cannot coincide with allowing your efforts to continue. For your see, quite frankly, because of you, my own achievements have been forgotten and abandoned. This…" he paused, his brow seemingly trembling. "I cannot allow to continue."
'What in the WORLD is going on with you, Cossack?! I don't understand!' Light pondered.
"I propose a challenge for your most infamous creation. Mega Man!" the blue robot grew far more alert upon having been addressed. "I challenge you to come to my Siberian citadel and present to me how renowned your skills as a 'Super Fighting Robot' really are! Four challengers await your arrival, and four challenges they offer you."
"What if I say 'no'?" the Blue Bomber quietly muttered.
"If you refuse…" Mega Man's brow furrowed upon seeing the doctor having already thought of a response. "…then I shall send THEM and ALL of their 'brothers in arms' over to your country and wage destruction upon whatever major city they find to their liking, and have them find and bring back whatever is left of your battered metallic shell to put on display to the world. Though I do not question your abilities, I doubt even you could take them all on at once."
The room gasped, murmuring and questions now replacing the silence Cossack's presence commanded.
"You have until the end of the day from where you stand to arrive. The sun may rise here, yet it will set for you. Goodbye."
Cossack's face disappeared, a large 'C' letter of gold with a red star centered and placed on top of the letter displayed before everyone before the signal died and the screen went to black once more. The power immediately returned to the building, what had just been displayed on screen warranting the discussion of everyone present. All that is, except Light. All three charged for the door, a metallic dog having been stationed outside and having drifted into recharge rebooted and alert at the growing sounds of footsteps coming his way. He happily greeted who came forward, as Mega Man greeted his canine carrier with a rough pet to his helmet.
"Hey, boy. See? It wasn't that long."
"Uh uh! Not long! Not long!" he yipped, his English understandable yet his speech clearly intertwined with the gruff vocal components of a dog.
"Looks like we're off to Siberia, boy! Let's go!"
The crimson canine leapt up into the air, his front and back legs bending and compacting to form a solid surface, two thrusters extending from his backside and letting light bursts of fire shoot from them. Mega Man hopped onto Rush, turning back to Dr. Light and Roll before he began to fly off.
"Wait a minute!"
Rush's incredibly short journey stopped, the blue robot atop him looking down at the blonde 'house-keeper' beneath him.
"Aren't you going to at least take somebody with you?"
"Yeah. Rush!" the dog yipped happily.
She scowled. "That's NOT what I meant and you know it! What if you get...too much…dust! Yeah! Too must dust and dirt in your buster, and there's no one to help clean it out?"
"I think I'd know how to take care of something attached to my arm, sis."
"Yeah but…what it freezes up and it needs to be dried ou-"
"Look Roll, I get what you're saying, but ultimately, I think the guy's expecting a 'party of one'." With that, the blue robot signaled for Rush to continue carrying him forward, the two of them soon becoming two small blotches of color in the still blue, midday sky.
"Oh, hello." A voice from behind greeted, the two of them turning to see Brain Bot. "Sorry, I seem to have gotten rather distracted. I was just so moved by Dr. Cossack's speech."
The Cossack Residence
"Once again…I find nothing."
Kalinka slumped back in her chair; Beat leaving the perch that was her shoulder thanks to the sudden movement.
"Beat!" he screeched, both out of shock and to scold the girl for ruining his resting place.
"Oh hush." The girl shooed the bird away with her hand, he then taking a place on her opposite shoulder. "If you want to sleep, go back upstairs. The bed's far more comfortable than me."
The fifteen year-old Russian had thought it as good a time as any to check and scan over the security monitors stationed all around the house. Sitting in front of the large display monitor, the screen was sectioned into a dozen individual squares, each getting an in-depth study from her wide, green eyes. Each and every individual square was subject to her intense searching for anything: whether it be overturned pots, misplaced items, or, if she was lucky, having an actual shape appear on the camera.
Yet the study's results turned out like all her others: she found nothing. Absolutely nothing.
This 'ritual' of sorts was at the request of her father, and something that she had versed and memorized like the back of her hand. True, she didn't think his concerns were unreasonable, yet to insist that she do this every SINGLE day at set times of each day quite nearly drove her already highly emotional self up the wall! She always pondered why couldn't the security bots do it? They WERE built for securing the place! Yet she still lifted herself from her chair to move onto the second phase of her scheduled 'drill'. The bird perched on her shoulder turned back to cast one last glance at the camera footage, his circular body then lifting itself upwards.
"Beat! BEAT!" he cried furiously, catching the ivory fabric of Kalinka's shirt in his beak and pulling back.
"Ow! Hey! What's gotten into you all of the sudden?"
Her question was answered upon having her body being turned around by the force of the bird's pull, her eyes now viewing a sight she had been waiting for, yet was not expecting today.
The miniaturized screen displaying the abode's garden was currently showing her a intense skirmish taking place: the security bots stationed in the garden were firing round upon round at two unfamiliar robots that she had never seen before. The two of them differed vastly in size and physique, yet just from seeing them before her told her that the potential of danger was high. The smaller of the two was of red and white metal, his eyes wide like saucers and his mouth bearing resemblance to what a ventriloquist puppet would have, she assuming it functioned in the same fashion as well. The object that drew her attention the most however, was the pair of very sharp, silver blades held together in a position akin to scissors seated atop his helm. The larger of the two was a hulking, massive individual with heavy, red shoulder armor and if he was human, heavy everything. Kalinka had never SEEN a robot that large before. A construction helmet of sorts served as his helmet, this somewhat explaining the robot's girth to the observant girl, yet upon seeing his large, blue lower jaw opening and closing, the red scissor-headed robot turning to him, Kalinka assumed that a conversation was taking place. A conversation more than likely involving her as they were completely wiping out the Cossack manor's defenses.
The Garden
"Excuse us for CUTTING in!" Cut Man crudely mocked, his tale-tell weapon taking the head off one security bot, the metallic body now left robbed of its senses and searching desperately for its head.
It never got the chance to find it as its body felt an enormous force quickly applied to its body, the shell being crushed and cables and wires tearing out of their sockets and letting free the electricity that kept it functioning. "But Wily's having us pay a visit!"
Lifting his fist from the smashed up security bot, Guts Man observed his and his partner's handiwork of the only protection standing between them and their 'prize' sealed up inside her 'cage'. Guts Man curled his mouth as far as his facial plate would allow, walking forward and letting his massive fist tear through the glass window that served as the door to the garden, allowing themselves inside the house.
Kalinka's Room
Though she knew locking the door served no good, it was the only defense she had that she was willing to spare. Her blue friend furiously flapping his wings and motioning her to hurry would have to come later.
"Yes, yes! Don't you think I know they're coming!?" she harshly whispered, buttoning her favorite, thick, red coat with black fur lining the collar. She also slipped on her brown hiking boots (though it had been some time since they had ever been worn) and black fur hat to compliment her coat, her head already beginning to feel warm. Looking towards her desk, her eyes looked towards the papers littering her desk, her unfinished sketch catching her attention. She couldn't exactly place it, but if she could take at least one thing from home from where she was right now…
"Beat! Beat, beat, beat!"
The girl's hands rushed and clamped the bird's beak shut, she shooting him a glare due to the volume of his characteristic vocal patterns. Yet she couldn't be angry at him for his panic. The noises from downstairs were growing closer…
Downstairs
"Isn't there one piece of furniture in this place that ISN'T red?" Cut Man questioned, slicing through the cushions of a large red couch to see if whom they were furiously searching for could possibly be hiding under it.
"Better question is why are all these stupid walls white?" Guts Man retorted, he ripping cabinet and closet doors open with his powerful arms.
Cut Man's brow furrowed, both hands now equipped with a pair of rolling cutters and furiously slicing through the fabric of every chair and table he could find. All in the hope of scaring their soon to be newest 'acquaintance' out of her hiding place and providing them with the golden opportunity to collect her before she made it out of the house. Even if she did, however, it wasn't like she would be able to get too far…
"So, what now? She's not down here." Guts Man stated, Cut Man snipping his scissors at a steady pace to let the metal blades kiss each other entirely before pulling them apart once again.
"No where else but upstairs…" the apple-colored Robot Master giggled, his hand's motions with the sharp objects in his hand growing more erratic.
Both robots wasted no time making their way up the stairs, the boards creaking and straining furiously under Guts Man's enormous girth. Eventually, they reached the top, two hallways meeting them and four doors stationed on each one.
"I'll check this one." Cut Man told his partner, pointing his scissors to the hallway they were looking down. "You check the other."
They separated and began their work on the doors. Guts Man simply kicked or punched his way through the wood to view the contents of what was inside, whilst Cut Man chopped through and peered inside through the large gashes he had made.
"Hey! I think I found it!" Guts Man called out, the red robot ceasing his deconstruction activities on that hallway and meeting Guts Man on the other. The door leading to the room was ripped off its hedges and tossed to the side as if it was a piece of crumpled up paper, the room's contents open and ready to be seen by all. They invited themselves in, viewing the familiar white walls and rather extravagant red bed and rug, their presence seemingly only known by the dozens of little eyes watching them from the shelves above them.
"Kalinka~" Cut Man called out, his voice in a sing-song tone as he and his comrade searched for their prey, he letting a rolling cutter slice through the desk positioned at the window. "Oh Kalinkaaaa….you don't need to hide from us…"
"Yeah." Guts Man droned, going over to the large closet and ripping off the folding doors to find nothing but hung clothing, most of which consisted of red. "Your dad's partner, Dr. Wily actually SENT us here to get you!"
"You know, I heard that he's SO lonely where he's at…" another piece of furniture fell by his blades. "All he does is talk about you…when he'll see you…when he'll get to hold you again…his little dóchenka."
The bed was the last piece of furniture to be demolished was the once perfectly made bed being overturned, covers and sheets carpeting the floor. From her hiding place, Kalinka couldn't help but let her teeth grind and her eyes narrow furiously at what these two intruders were doing to her room.
'It took me FOREVER to get that bed made right, you jerks!'
That's is what she would've screamed at them had she not been shivering out in the chilled air outside. She had hidden herself outside her room on the deck overseeing the garden, which had received even worse treatment than the inside of her dwelling place. The remains of the security bots were beneath her, and while she wasn't entirely sure that it was wise to depend solely on this hopeful notion, she wondered if any of them had a functional blaster lying around by chance…
Inside, both Robot Masters viewed their handiwork: the entire room was destroyed, but no sign of the girl. All except…
They looked and saw a small, white cabinet with flowered and small leafy vines lining the shaped wood, Cut Man stepping forward with his saved pair of scissors in hand.
"Now," he stepped forward, letting the blades close, then open quickly to let the sound of the 'snap' echo through the room. "Where in the world can she be? We searched EVERYWHERE else…" he placed his hands on the small knobs. "And she's just not here! Oh where…" he began to slowly pull the doors open. "Oh where…" More and more, "Can she be?!"
What met his forehead was not a human hand or limb of any kind, but a small, blue, flying projectile of sorts that, even in the brief milliseconds it collided with his temple, he could see resembled a bird. Beat flapped his wings with all the energy flowing through his circuits would allow, avoiding the large hands threatening to capture his small form.
"You little pest, get back here!" Guts Man commanded, Cut Man currently out of commission and still recovering from the bird's assault on his cerebral area.
Hearing the struggle inside, Kalinka moved to the ledge of the deck, sitting herself atop it and steadily easing herself off. Beat's suggestion to wait inside the cabinet as a trap was met with defiance at her orders, yet ultimately he was doing under orders to protect her, so he could go against her commands as he technically WAS following the Three Laws. Yet the pondering of her 'feathered' friend's antics with the large wrecking bot was interrupted as her foot slipped and had her plummeting into a nearby bush. It cushioned her fall, yet it also littered her clothes with leaves and twigs now catching in the thick fabric of her coat.
"Beat!" she heard the shattering sound of glass and saw Beat's tiny form shoot through the door and down to her, his beak curled into a triumphed smirk.
"Well you're plan had BETTER work out, because it's the only one we have right now."
SMASH!
The both of them didn't need to look to know who made that sound. Kalinka quickly dove down, furiously looking for a gun that had not been burnt out or destroyed completely. She luckily had managed to find one with half a bar of energy left, she clasping it tight and running forward with Beat away from the property.
A few minutes later
It was now that she was wishing her father had not chosen to move to the countryside, as her body was constantly beaten and scratched by the abundant amount of branches that seemed to only exist solely for hindering her progress.
"Ugh." She groaned. "Why did Papa HAVE to insist we move all the way out here?!" she looked down at her once spotless clothes that were now quite literally 'embracing' the forest around her. "It's going to take FOREVER to get these things out of-"
"Beat! Beat, beat, beat! Beat, beat!" the bird scolded, finally having grown tired of his 'master's complaining. Did she forget that she had just escaped a possible abduction?
"Well, I'm sorry, but if YOU had gotten yourself a brand new coat that you had been looking EVERYWHERE for and had FINALLY found it and could actually buy it with your OWN money, you'd be JUST as upset you little-"
"You know, for someone who doesn't want to get caught, you aren't too good at keeping a low profile are ya, princess?"
Kalinka brought her hand to cup her mouth, mentally kicking herself for her own stupidity (and begrudgingly having to admit of all things the BIRD was right). Slowly turning to the direction to the voice, she unsteadily grasped the blaster she had taken and wrapped her finger around the trigger. What met her sight caught her somewhat by surprise, as while she suspected that this 'mystery' man was undoubtedly connected to the ones who attacked her house, she didn't expect him to look so…human. Yes, while his grey body and defined pectorals, arms, and abdominal implants definitely identified him as robotic, the facial features almost mimicked a human perfectly, right down his confident smirk. Concealing the rest of his face from her was a red helmet with white markings lining the edges, one spiking upward, and a pair of large, black spectacles that she assumed were connected to the piece of armor on his head. The most defining trait of this individual, however, was a long piece of yellow fabric wrapped around his neck yet with just enough to let some hand off his shoulder, it now riding the light breeze perpetuating the air.
"Who…" the Russian girl's unsteady hands still held the gun firm, yet could not bring it forward, yet seeing the robot's smirk growing wider at her plight escalated her anger, allowing her to raise it higher. "Who are you to come and invade someone's home?"
The robot shrugged. "Wasn't exactly MY idea, and it probably would've been better if I had been the one to go and get you. Those two aren't exactly the 'nicest' bots around-"
"Oh, so you ARE with them! Why are you here, and what do you want!?"
"Um, hello? You deaf? I just said I should have been the one to go and get YOU."
Kalinka's arms seized up, the gun clutched so tightly in her hand that she felt the metal's indentions steadily imprint on her skin. He stepped closer.
"Look, I think you and I know that I'm not allowed to lay a hand on you in that it could hurt you, Law of Robotics and all, but…" he stepped forward. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Really, it's your call, princess."
"My call?" she remarked, trying to mask the quivering seeping into her voice. "My call is…" she didn't allow herself any time to weight her options as her finger pulled the trigger. "KISS MY ZHOPA YOU MUDAK!"
A hot red light exited from the gun's nozzle, the scarf-wearing robot quickly dodging it as it tore through the trunk of a nearby tree. Seeing she was about to fire again, he rushed towards her and quickly seized her hands making her drop the pistol that allowed him promptly crush it underneath his boot. His grip wasn't painful, yet Kalinka could not deny his superior strength as her wrists were firmly kept in his palms.
"BEAT, BEAT!"
The bird now saw it as time to act; he zoomed forward and collided with his 'master's attacker, he abandoning her hands and using them to now swat away the bird that had now begun to attack him.
"Okay, that's it!" he had officially had enough, drawing his hand into his forearm and a nozzle taking its place, aiming it directly at the blue bird. "Eat plasma, Tweety!"
Kalinka didn't need Beat's squawking to tell her this was her cue. Her legs immediately charged away from the skirmish taking place, carrying her deeper and deeper into the woods, yet the sounds of firing and whooshing of the bird's dive-bombs still rung in her ears. Eventually, she stopped and allowed air to pass through her lungs, the heat her body developed due to her exertion making her once beloved coat almost unbearable to wear. Just a few more seconds and she had to be up and going again; she KNEW that he could and would catch up to her if she stayed like this for too long. Or worse, someone else might've been-
"You must be exhausted, my child…"
Her eyes shot open, desperately looking around for the source of whomever had addressed her.
"The breath of fleeting life, once leaving your body, now is allowed to once again grace and flow through your throat."
Once burning up, the voice had sent a chill up her spine. She had never heard such a voice, nor did she think it was possible for anything to even HAVE such a voice: it was a smooth, deeply toned voice, yet bore such coldness and malicious intent that…she could only relate it to a voice the dead would possess.
"Yet it is your fate to let another element travel through your body…" before she could even make another step, a forceful grasp from behind pulled her against a hard form of cold metal, obviously another robot, an arm holding her close so she couldn't escape.
Though she knew it was ultimately useless, her legs kicked and her heels tore up the ground underneath them, the one who caught her apparently rather amused as he let out a sickeningly sinister chuckle.
"And this element…" a wet cloth covered her lower facial region, Kalinka's once intense struggles slowly becoming less energized. "…will grant you sweet dreams."
Her legs gradually stopped moving and her attempts to pull the cloth from her face ceased as she could do nothing more but recline against the body of her attacker, whose form while unseen, was felt against her back. In her fleeting moments of consciousness, Kalinka began to take notice of the sectioned outlined areas while they retreated inwards in between. It was almost akin to a…ribcage.
Upon the realization, Kalinka's eyelids could no longer fight against the liquid her lungs her forced to intake; the world around her melding together and soon everything then went dark.
"Skull Man! Hey you seen…oh. Well guess it looks like I ran all this way for nothing." A voice greeted the robot now holding the unconscious girl, he turning to see another robot bearing shades and a yellow scarf.
"Indeed. You needn't have come at all. Should you not instead concern yourself with the whereabouts of our two…comrades, Proto Man?"
"Oh them? They're still probably ransacking the place." The red-helmeted bot looked back towards the direction of the Cossack estate. "I'd HATE to be the guy that has to clean that mess."
The skeleton narrowed his eyes, his ruby irises gaining a slight glow. "Enough of your jest. We must depart." He gazed down at their newly acquired 'prize'. "The Master awaits not only our arrival…"
Note: Skull Man deserved at least some acknowledgement in the Ruby Spears series, heck; they let Top Man of all people get screen time! Please, let me know what you think, and while I do have the story/episode that never happened planned out, feel free to lay down what you'd like/hope to see and what you think!