"I'm sorry, Roll, but you have to stay here." her brother explained. "Dr. Cossack and Kalinka have to be safe, and until we can be sure that we are immune from Dr. Cain's viruses, there can't be any robots going with them. Didn't Kalinka explain all of this to you?"

"I didn't want it to be true...she didn't look like she wanted to be alone."

"All of us have to deal with things we don't want to." he quietly explained. "For now, this is how things have to be. I'm just glad that there are enough human bodyguards to protect them..."

Roll nodded without enthusiasm, staring down at her neatly folded hands. She was back in the last place she wanted to be: her home laboratory. Though she should have felt safe there, and in fact the security had been upgraded recently, but all the same, she was fearful of being trapped in one spot. It seemed nowhere in the world was safe at all, and if she was going to be anywhere, she wanted to be where she was needed. Now? Now she was useless, sitting helplessly in the hangar bay as the robots started to gather.

Team 5 was getting angry. After losing both their fighter and their main technician, the eight members were now down to six, and all of them were ready for revenge. Napalm Man looked especially antsy, and both he and Charge Man, generally better tempered robots, were angrier than Roll had ever seen them before. If she hadn't been so numb from everything else going on, she would have shivered. Stone Man, for once like his name, showed none of his trademark goofiness or humor, and stood off to the side silently. Roll was surprised to see Star Man there talking to Jewel Man, as he had barely ever left his space station since Team 5 had taken it from the forces of Wily. Star Man saw her watching him, and the housekeeper quickly turned away. Star Man was the most ill-tempered of all of them, and Roll was afraid to attract his attention. Like always of late, Crystal Bot and Auto were working together on some new sciency thing. It was always beyond her, and Roll had learned to stop asking.

Wave Man walked over to Mega Man, sterner than ever. "So tell us, what happened at Dr. Cossack's? How many of Team 4 still lives?"

The blue bomber struggled to answer at first, trying to keep his own grief contained. "Well, long story short, Algorhythm Man was trying to hack into Pharaoh Man's army by using something he had forced Drill Man to install on Dr. Cossack's computers. In the end, Pharaoh Man had to set them to self-destruct while Dr. Cossack got away. Skull Man and Drill Man were already corrupted, and Ring Man had to be destroyed."

Roll unintentionally interrupted her brother with a sob, remembering what Ring Man had done, that now Kalinka's child would never know his father.

"I'm sorry..." she mumbled. "Please go on. Don't let me bother you."

Roll shrank a bit, holding her arms tightly as she forced down her sadness. Stone Man went over, gently patting her on the head with one of his huge hands. It was a little awkward, but it made her smile a wavery, weak smile.

"So that leaves five of them?" Wave Man asked Mega Man.

"No. They got Dust Man and Toad Man. Bright Man and Pharaoh Man escaped, and Dive Man was off in the Caspian Sea at the time. All three of them are still in Russia, destroying some rampant mechaniloids. I don't think we'll be seeing them any time soon. But the good news is that two of the Cain-bots, Emit Man and Sight Man, are dealt with. From the looks of it, they seem to be the ringleaders of everything going on. But all of them are more powerful, so we have to be more cautious than ever."

Mega Man turned away, looking at the computer screens Auto was working at. "Sooner or later they're going to try and attack this lab. If they're daring enough to try and take over Dr. Cossack's, then there's nothing to stop them from coming here."

"It's my desire to join forces." Wave Man stated firmly. "You are a capable robot, Rock, but Team 5 has a personal investment in this. Working together we will be able to deal with these insolent mockeries appropriately. All we need is a target."

"And I have one for you."

Like he always did, Proto Man appeared from the shadows. Roll heartened, but her optimism faded as she saw that Proto Man's usual confidence had been replaced by a more sinister calm.

"After I brought Kalinka back to her father," Blues began. "I went investigating. I now have the location of a 'Cain Castle' located in the Spanish countryside. Everything I discovered seems to indicate that Dr. Cain himself is operating there."

"That's weird." Mega Man remarked. "Usually I have to fight all the robot masters before getting to a castle. And why does Dr. Cain even have one? That doesn't seem like his style."

"Let's just consider it an advantage." Wave Man said. "Besides, arresting Dr. Cain means that his robots will have no one to repair them."

The communications panel beeped, and Roll stood up, waving to both Auto and Rock that she would get it, and that they could continue doing what they were doing. So the girl-bot pushed the appropriate buttons.

"Ah, good morning, Agent Reyes!" Roll mustered up all her cheer to answer as she normally did. "What can we do for you here at the labs?"

From the dark, surly look on his face, Roll guessed that she might as well not have tried to feign a good mood. "It's about Bass. He put in a report about everything that happened in Moscow, but he hasn't been seen since. Russia is demanding that he return for a full investigation, as some of their officials think that Bass was somehow behind Alyosha's death."

"But that's impossible!" Roll's exclamation attracted the attention of several robots behind her. "Even the autopsy showed that Alyosha's injuries came from a blunt weapon, not from plasma! It was obviously Ring Man!"

"That's not even the point. They think Bass either has a virus or set this scheme up somehow. They're angry and they're looking for someone to blame. And remember, Bass wasn't even supposed to leave the U.S. in the first place. I know he's trying to do the right thing, but he's making defending him really difficult. He's got a lot to answer for."

"Here's your stupid answers! Roll, get out of the way!"

Roll turned around to find that Bass had teleported in. Or rather, she guessed it must have been Bass from the voice and the arms carrying the ruins of what used to be robot masters. The girl-bot hurried aside, and Bass promptly dumped what remained of Centaur, Blizzard, Magma, Solar, and Signal Man onto the laboratory floor, and bits of screws and bolts scattered in all directions.

"You tell those bureaucrats to shut it!" Bass almost screamed at the comm monitor. "I don't associate with the likes of these idiots! How many of them do I have to kill to prove that?!!"

Reyes stared at the pile of enemy robots stunned, then looked into the eyes of the furious Forte. Sighing a little, some of the tense muscles in his face relaxed.

He answered, "All of them."

"That can be arranged." Bass retorted. "You just have to trust me. And if the Russians give you problems, have them contact Cossack and he'll handle them. Now leave me alone."

Bass promptly shut off the telescreen, then turned around to find that everyone was staring at him. Besides Mega Man, that is, who was searching the pile of robot masters curiously.

"Um, Bass, why is Magma Man here?"

"Ask Canada." Bass snarled, his voice two tones deeper than normal from the still present anger. "He got a virus and started wrecking crap. I'm sure it's on their news somewhere. I'm not even sure if anyone from Team 9 is still normal."

"Thanks for noticing me," Jewel Man remarked in icy tones as he folded his arms. "And thanks for making a mess with those robot masters for Roll to clean up."

"No, Jewel Man, don't worry about it." Roll was already reaching with a broom to get some bolts that had rolled under a computer. "I can use some distraction right now."

Bass was too busy trying to stab Jewel Man with his eyes to notice Crystal Bot approaching him at first. "Hey, Forte-kun, I need to upgrade your anti-virus." Crystal Bot said quietly, trying not to glitch. "I already got everybody else, and it wouldn't hurt if I did a quick scan too."

The dark robot was more than sick of mopey people at the moment. "And what's wrong with you?!" he snapped.

She looked up at him, her eyes full of hurt. "Gyro Man is dead."

"Oh, um, sorry."

"If we could get back to business," Wave Man began. "There is still an invasion ahead of us. Proto Man, what do you know of this Cain Castle?"

"I've got some of the scematics." he answered. "But I don't know how many robot masters will be there."

"Well, let's see," Mega Man thought out loud. "How many of us are going? Bass, you're coming, right?"

"If I get to kill Cain-bots, hell yes."

"Um, okay, and Wave Man, you're going?"

"Yes. Star Man and Stone Man will remain on the space station, but Napalm and Charge Man will go. I couldn't keep them back in any case."

"We'll put a stop to this jerk, just you wait!" Napalm Man lifted one of his napalm launchers above his head, having to catch himself not to fire it inside the lab.

"And, well, Blues..." Mega Man hesitantly turned to his brother. "I'd really like it if you came as well. Here, I need to give you these -- they're your Cain-bot powers that we got last time we fought them."

Proto Man took the red disc from Mega curiously, but installed the weapons nonetheless. And he even smiled. "Yes, I'm going. I'll need to check their computers to see what exactly their plans entailed in any case, just to make sure that all of Dr. Cain's plans are dealt with. When I was in Japan, I saw one of the Cain-bots trying to find one of Dr. Imahara's files. From what I can tell, he's trying to find all the scientists that Imahara was training. Don't worry, he didn't get them."

"Dr. Cain always hated robots, but it's so hard to believe that he'd go this far to get rid of us." Mega Man noted. "But anyway, it's great to have you fighting with us, Blues!"

Proto Man smiled again. "Let's get to planning this, shall we?"

Roll heard all of the proceedings as she swept up the broken-off bits from the robot masters and began to take their remains to Auto to be examined. She shuddered to think that someone would want to kill robots and all the humans who could create them. For once the thought of her creator being dead already of natural causes was something of a comfort. As Roll hauled the front half of Centaur Man to a repair table, she had to stop a moment and glitch.

"Roll, please come here."

The housekeeper turned to her brother, who was still standing with the others as they discussed further plans for invading Cain Castle. Roll lifted Centaur Man onto a table and went curiously over to him, noting that his voice seemed a lot more compassionate than normal.

"Roll," he continued when she approached. "I want you to go up to the space station with Star Man and Stone Man. You'll be safe there."

"But Rock...you need me here! I can help monitor you on your missions, and keep Auto organized..."

"Please don't argue with me." Mega Man put a hand on her shoulder. "I've got to watch out for you now, and since we're now the only ones with a super teleporter, there's no way for Dr. Cain to reach you there. If he can attack Dr. Cossack's lab, then he can attack here. In fact, I'm a little suprised that he hasn't already. I can't let something happen to you, so please just go."

Roll tried to protest, but seeing the pained look in her brother's eyes, she simply looked down. "Alright, if it makes you feel better. Just let me get these robot masters sorted out for Auto first."

"Thank you."

Roll nodded before walking away to finish her job, unsure of how to feel. While she always wanted to support her brother, she was scared, and he knew it probably better than she did. So she just went to work on bringing Solar Man to the next repair table.

"Speaking of things Dr. Cain doesn't have," Bass spoke up. "Death spikes were always Dr. Wily's thing. With that kind of technology, the Cain-bots would be no problem; they're not immune."

"But we don't have any." Mega Man started. "Oh wait, you mean Crystal Bot?"

"NO! Absolutely not!" Jewel Man reacted. "How can you even suggest that? Crystal Bot is one of our few technicians left! If something happened to her..."

Jewel Man didn't finish his sentence, and Bass ignored the vicious stares he was getting from that direction. "So Wave Man, what do you think?"

"It's a sound plan." the Team 5 leader agreed. "Jewel Man, how often must I remind you that I am the one responsible for her? Besides, the consequences of not using her would certainly be more severe than if we withheld her abilities."

"I like it!" the tech-bot declared as she plugged a drive into Bass' neck for his anti-virus upgrades. "But remember, I can't really use a crystal death spike as a weapon like I did that one time. I can still make death spikes, but I'll have to stand still for them to work. You'll have to throw the baddies at me or something."

"I can't believe you're even considering this!" Jewel Man protested. "She's got Toad Man disease!"

"Ahbohjee, it's not nice to call it that." Crystal Bot scolded him, swinging a finger at him. "It's Wily disease. Besides, Forte-kun's been training me the past five years, and now I'm super smart and strong! So relax, okay? I want to get back at them for what they did to my friends."

Seeing Crystal Bot's anger was strange, and it made Roll nervous. Revenge was never something Roll considered often. She just wanted to get by, to make everything alright again. She glitched, hoping that when all this was over, she would be able to get back to Russia to help Kalinka. The poor girl would need her more than ever, now that she was facing a future of being a single mom.

The sound of metal against metal interrupted Roll's musings, and it was Star Man. He was hauling Signal Man, the last of Bass' recent victims. Putting the wrecked Cain-bot on a table, he addressed Roll.

"Let's go. We're in teleportation range of the station now."

"I'm coming. Dub!"

The spider-bot obediently crept his way over to his mistress.

"Okay, Dub, you stay here and keep the place clean for Mega Man. Do whatever he or Auto tells you to."

The spider-bot twirped his compliance.

"Good boy."

Roll headed for the super teleporter, where Star Man and Stone Man were waiting for her. The machine was huge, large enough to hold several robots, and its main area was shaped like a large cylinder. Two double doors that locked tightly were the only entrance to the teleporter, and up in space Star Man's station held a similar tube where they would be recieved.

As Roll hurried forward, she noticed a little brown bird flitting near her. She stopped, and it landed on her shoulder. It was one of Crystal Bot's little pipies, and Roll's smile happily shone as she looked under its wing to see the number 13 engraved underneath. A glint of light caught her eye, and she could see Crystal winking at her merrily. Roll waved before joining her escorts.

Stone Man opened the door. "Ladies first."

Roll giggled. Maybe being in the space station wouldn't be so bad.

\\\\\\\\

- Man, I have been feeling good about writing recently! I hope these past two chapters show it. And for the next two chapters....muahahahaHAHAAHAHA*cough**hack**cough*. Gah, some of us are not good at evil laughs. Anyway, this chapter's a shortie, because plotwise I can't really cram in too much. Y'all need a breather anyway. I'm trying not to write too much at once, because brevity is the soul of wit, and I've noticed that my shorter chapters in Okkusenman were better, for the most part. I wasn't wasting a lot of time explaining things that didn't need explaining. But, voice your opinion in a review if you disagree.

======Stone Man

"Guts Man, let's go see a movie."

Good point: Technology

Bad point: Rocky persistence

Like: Good movies

Dislike: Scrooge person

Japanese CD data:

Good point: Strong-willed

Bad point: Stubborn

Like: Walk with a oil drink

In my mind, Stone Man is one of the cutest robot masters there is. To me he's a big fluff, and he's very friendly. Of all the Team 5 robots, he's had the easiest time becoming a good guy, as he was never that evil to begin with. Stone Man cares a lot about all of his friends, and even about people he doesn't know that well. He doesn't like people that talk during movies, but after them he can argue a point like no one's business.

In the little timeline I made up, Stone Man was started by Wily just before MM3, but in the end wasn't finished in time to join that team. Only when Wily was trying to bluff out Mega Man with the MM5 scheme did he bother to finish Stone Man, along with most of the other Team 5 robots. As a result, Stone Man's weapon didn't start out that strong. With his upgrades designed by Crystal Man, Stone Man can now shoot out clumps of stone and cause them to split apart at his bidding.

======Star Man

A robot created for space exploitation.

"Can you see the star over there?"

Good point: Dreamer

Bad point: Escapologist

Like: Opera

Dislike: Realist robot

Japanese CD data:

Good point: Romanticist

Like: Sentimental opera

Dislike: Robots without dreams

It seems that my vision of Star Man was always very different from what the game guys had in mind. The Star Man in my head was a bit more austere, a bit more silent and controlled. I always imagined that he was such a dreamer that he openly shunned people who he thought were likely to criticize his desires, and that he rarely speaks of them to anyone.

Star Man was the third Team 5 robot to be begun, and had he been finished then, he would have been on Team 2. Yet he ended up being finished with most of the other Team 5 bots. Even Wily would admit that his idea for this robot was strange. Wily created him with the ability to appreciate art so that he could try to out-do Light in making robots more creative. However, this wasn't really possible, as robotic imaginations aren't capable of dreaming up things that don't exist -- that being the very core of art itself. Star Man is capable of this to some extent, but is far too aware of his limitations.

Star Man had a moderately easy time when he became a good guy at the end of Okkusenman, but that was mostly because they let him work on his space station, something he'd rarely been able to do under Wily.

- huh, I forgot to link a depressing song for this chapter. Hm...it's because I cut out a huge emotional plot point for use further on down the line. Don't worry, you'll get to see the scene. And you'll hate/enjoy it. :D For now, here's www. youtube .com /watch?v=MHMGhk91Hgo That's the most pwnage remix/revisioning of Dust Man's theme you will ever hear in your life.