It appears I took another hiatus. Well, if I still have fans, here comes the next chapter in line for the story. Also, after seeing just how many stories on are called Journey Home, I decided I would rename the story. It is now Trials of Blues!
Insert Disclaimer Here :P
Chapter 11: Blueprints
Once they all had dried themselves off, Blues taking a blow dryer to get his own armor completely dry, the trio decided to check on the Russian scientist. The lab was still as brightly lit as ever, the Cossack series machines all surrounding the brown-haired man. When they'd realized that Kalinka, Diveman, and Blues had returned, Brightman tapped the seemingly busy scientist on the shoulder. Mikhail's expression of joy turned to shock when he saw that Diveman's arm had been bent outward.
"What happened here!?" he exclaimed, studying the damage immediately. The three of them told the story of the brawl over again, not missing any details. The doctor seemed overjoyed at the news of Diveman's successful missile attack. At the same time, he also was amazed at the scarlet warrior's fighting abilities.
"That makes this the second one of my robots you've defeated. I must say… you really are one of his creations. Not that I doubted you before, of course!" he rambled, seating Diveman on another workbench, near the one he'd been leaning on moments before, staring intently at some rough sketches. As he started to repair the elbow joint, Kalinka walked over to the drawing, which essentially turned out to be blueprints. Before she could even ask the question, Dr. Cossack spun around and pushed his glasses back up his nose.
"That, my daughter, is my final blueprint for DCN 004, Ringman! I wanted to give him a good purpose like the others, but there really is nothing I could think of for a robot like him," he pointed out the circular weapons that were Ringman's forte. "He'll be able to toss these razor sharp rings quite a distance before the magnets kick in and pull the rings back to him." Once more he was rambling, and both Kalinka and Blues were interested to some degree. The little girl did have one question, though.
"Father, how is it that Ringman is 004 if Diveman is 007? I mean, Diveman is already active, right?" she asked curiously. To that, the scientist smiled, preparing another speech in his mind. Blues sighed, as it seemed the both of them had met some kind of celebrity for the first time.
"Well, Kalinka, simply put I had made the designs for him just after Drillman was completed. Not to mention that I've been working on his actual body for the longest time now." At that, the Russian walked over to a pod laying flat on the floor, pressing a series of buttons on the side. The hatch of a door lifted up, revealing the red and yellow robot master. His head had one yellow ring that wrapped around it, with an antennae device sticking up from there.
"The only thing left to do with him is to perfect his weapons systems. The weapons themselves are good to go. He just needs a way to materialize them when he has to. Other than that…" Cossack pushed a single button on the pod's activation panel. Systems could be heard revving up within the gold-trimmed robot. The pupils of his eyes slowly appeared amongst the plain whiteness they were just moments before. He positioned himself in such a way that he could sit up easily enough. Standing on up, he glanced around the room.
"Dr. Mikhail Cossack, Ms. Kalinka Cossack, DCNs 001, 005, and 007, and robot of unknown origin, it is nice to meet you all." Ringman bowed to the group before continuing. "I am DCN 004, Ringman. I hope to meet the doctor's expectations."
After several minutes of getting to know everyone in the group, Ringman seemed to want to know much more about Blues. To this, the red and gray robot apologized and said that he didn't care to retell his tales. At this point, Blues was showing a lot of interest in Brightman. He walked up to him and decided he would ask him simply.
"I would like to test myself against you. Much like how I did with Diveman, actually." Brightman had seen the question coming ever since he heard of what happened to Diveman, and had already determined his response.
"Ok, to state it bluntly. You aren't ready to fight me yet. Your fighting traits are that of someone who needs to get close before doing any kind of damage. I, on the other hand, have this," he continued, turning his right hand into a buster arm, "and don't forget, I can also do this." Blues stared ahead only to see that Brightman was nowhere to be found. He spun around quickly to see that the bulb robot was laughing almost evilly. "Sorry my friend, but until you find a way to get around those two flaws, you won't be able to touch me."
Blues smirked, realizing that the Master before him was right. He did need to work on those two things before he ever fought Brightman. So instead of pursuing that any further, the visor-wearing robot turned to Dr. Cossack once more.
"Do you happen to have any teleportation pods anywhere? I was wondering if you could get one set to send me to the pyramids that Pharaohman is studying. I'd like to meet up with him. If there's one here, I'm sure there's a corresponding one there, am I right?"
Dr. Cossack laughed aloud at the robot's eagerness to fight. "Well, if you really are sure, there's a pod upstairs in a separate room. I can give you special access and send you that way." As soon as he'd said that, Kalinka wrapped herself around Blues.
"Don't go just yet! You should stay and rest up! You've barely been around long enough to get to know me, Blues." All the others in the room save Blues began to laugh at the situation, whereas he simply turned red, trying to get the girl out from around his midsection.
"It's not like I won't come back anyway," he began, separating himself from the sobbing lass. "After all, it's getting late. It would be pointless to head out tonight. I suppose I could stay another night and make preparations. Leaving now would only tire me out once I arrived. Don't worry, I'll be fine." Dr. Cossack looked at the robot intently before speaking up.
"So does this mean from now on you're going to run around challenging all of my creations?" he said with a laugh. "That sounds like quite a daunting task."
"If what I've heard about this Rockman is true, then I'm leagues behind as far as skill goes. I want to get better for the day when I meet him. I'm no inferior machine by any means," he replied. He could have sworn he heard Kalinka whisper, "Of course not! You're the best!" but put the thought out of his mind. "That's why I need to get better by challenging them. And Brightman," he continued, staring back at the master of light, "I will come back strong enough to take you on. And that's a promise."
When that was said and done, and Kalinka had finally dried her eyes and put on a smile while the enigmatic original was still around. The family returned to upstairs, where the Russian scientist showed Blues a room containing three teleportation pods, leading to Pharaohman, Drillman, and Dustman. Incidentally, Dr. Cossack was getting to show Ringman around at the same time. The orange-gold machine began testing his ring creating mechanisms in the meantime, spinning the golden disks around the tips of his index fingers. As Kalinka noted, he could be either a circus performer or a hair stylist. Sadly, he seemed to actually consider both of those, causing Blues to chuckle somewhat.
Mikhail finished the tour by cautioning Ringman against going inside Kalinka's room without permission. To that, the girl nodded innocently as the group assembled in the living room. "Alright… Blues, this is your last night with us albeit your only night. Still, you've gotten to know us fairly well and vice versa, despite the things you prefer to keep to yourself. So tonight, I want you to take it easy and we'll make preparations for your travels in the morning."
"Ah, yes sir, of course. I'm glad to have met you all, especially so many of my kind. It has been… nice. Thank you for sheltering me for today."
Before anything else could be said, the TV had been turned on and everyone found places to sit. Blues felt at peace, but even still, his mind was racing. He'd grown close to another family only a few days after running from his old one. His friends he'd played with were now both gone, but these new people were willing to take him in without knowing what he'd done. Then there was Rockman, some sort of hero. What would he do if they ever met? He wouldn't stand to be less of a robot than the blue savior is. Tomorrow would be a strange day at any rate. He did finally get relaxed and enjoyed himself, retiring to sleep on the couch when the others went to their respective chambers. Maybe finding the god-on-earth robot wouldn't be so hard. His mind dreamt while on standby of a large fortress shrouded in darkness. Lightning clapped and eight figures could be seen standing atop it. He then realized the fortress was like a castle in the mountains, the very mountains the Cossack household was among…