Mega Man was a little surprised to find that he'd been invited to Kalinka's ball. It was mainly for scientists, and out of those mostly Russian ones. Mega Man liked to think of himself as something of a scientist, as he had been Dr. Light's assistant a long time ago. Thinking of those days was difficult, not only because Dr. Light was now gone, but because they seemed like something out of a lost age. If Mega Man worked on anything scientific these days, it had something to do with fighting.

He shook his head. This was not the night to think about it. He was, after all, arriving to enjoy the festivities. This event wasn't supposed to be about business, though undoubtedly bringing a bunch of science nerds into the same room, however formal, would inevitably lead them into scientific debate. Mega Man looked forward to it. He wasn't the most learned of robots, but he could keep up in one of their conversations, or so he hoped.

Thus he, in his spiffy tuxedo (that Roll had picked out for him), was wandering into the grand hall of Dr. Cossack's lab. It was a marvelous place, with a high, arched ceiling and pillars lining the way. Kalinka's decorations did a good job of disguising the fact that the entire place on any other day looked like it was out of a science fiction movie. Today it looked quite eloquent.

Rock tugged at the bright bow tie around his neck as he walked down the hall. He wore it to please his sister, as he didn't really like having things around his neck. Thankfully though, she had allowed it to be a bright shade of blue, matching his blue vest. Roll said he looked spiffy, and Mega Man didn't mind the outfit so much. It was something different from his usual routine. It sort of annoyed him that the sleeves had to be cut at the shoulders so that his busters were exposed, but fitting a tuxedo over his bulky wrists would have been tacky.

The security check was up ahead, and Mega Man noticed two other people dressed up. Their tuxedos were significantly more boring than his - being security, they couldn't outshine the guests. One of these was very clearly Skull Man. He stood at the door, stiff and unmoving. Rock shuddered. Skull Man in a tux was at least twice as creepy as regular Skull Man. Making it worse, someone had seen fit to give him a fake mustache. This, needless to say, did not lend a sense of eloquence to the security staff.

The other security guard was someone Mega Man didn't recognise. He had short, blonde hair, and his sharp features looked Austrian. Clearly he was not one of the Cossack-bots. He seemed to be assigned to checking the guest list. Something about him seemed completely familiar, however. He reminded Mega Man of someone, but he just couldn't think of who. Rock tried as hard as he could to remember. It was just out of his reach...

Noticing the stare, the security guard glared at him.

"Yes, Rock, I'm wearing a tuxedo. You can get over it now."

"What...Bass? That's you?" Mega Man grinned. "Oh wow, you look sharp."

Bass rolled his eyes, wincing at the compliment. "Erg, whatever. Dr. Cossack is just lucky I have to do what he says."

"Come on, don't you enjoy dressing up once in a while?"

"You're completely insane." Bass sneered, waving towards the door. "Get going. I've got a job to do."

Mega Man did go, still only amused at the dark robot and hoping that he learned to relax at some point. That wasn't going to be happening any time soon. Bass had to check the list for guest after guest. As much as Bass despised the task, it wasn't as hard as it might seem. There were no party crashers trying to get in, and Dr. Weinburger (a known troublemaker among the robotics geeks) was no trouble at all to scare off, especially when using a robot skeleton with a fake mustache. Fortunately the level of invitees entering slowed after a time, allowing Bass more of a break. He was just about to check the list one last time and then hand the door over to Skull Man for the rest of the night when a certain shiny girl-bot interrupted.

"Hey Forte-kun, I'm here!" Crystal Bot merrily announced as she approached a grimacing Bass. "Don't I look pretty?"

Bass rolled his eyes. If she really wanted him to respond encouragingly, then "pretty" was not the word to use. As worthless as the word was to Bass, it still was definitely an accurate description of how Crystal Bot looked. Her deep green dress was a halter top with a baby doll waist, decorated there with all manner of crystals and clear gems. Her hair was in a simple bun, but a dress like that doesn't require much from hair. Together with the sparkles, her dress made her look far more shiny than usual.

"Whatever." Bass answered with a sound measure of grumpiness. He handed the guest list to Skull Man and let him stand behind the grand podium. He lead Crystal Bot off to the side a little before asking, "What did you find on Cut Man? Took you long enough."

"You can stand to be more patient." Crystal stuck out her tounge. "Unfortunately, not much. Somebody deleted his memories from about a month ago, and all that was left was some really encrypted data which I assume was some orders."

"From Wily?"

"I don't think so." Crystal tried to reach up and twist her hair, but her bun prevented her from doing this, so she just folded her arms. "Whoever did this took some way unnecessary measures. The scripted orders were placed in Cut Man as a sub-directive."

Bass knew that a directive was a core motive for robots, their purpose their creators gave them for living. "So?"

"Directives work whether or not robots are aware of them. Not even Cut Man would know exactly what he's doing out here." Crystal Bot said. "I just dunno why Wily would go through that kind of trouble. Maybe he knew Cut Man might run into you or something."

"He's obviously trying to make sure I don't find Zero." Bass was starting to get annoyed. "Did you find anything useful?"

"Well, I've got the lab and one of my brains working on the encrypted orders, but that's going to take a while. Other than that, Cut Man's memory's been wiped of anything recent. It's weird because they encoded it so you can't tell right away that those memories were deleted. There's nothing to find. It's like whoever did it wanted to waste a hacker's time." the girl-bot started to fidget. "So, I figured there's time for me to hang out at the party. I mean, Roll-chan got me this nice shiny dress and all so I might as well wear it and talk to all the science people!"

Bass eyed his gleeful technician with demure frustration. She, however, was on the guest list despite of all of his earlier protests to Kalinka. Since when did Kalinka listen to him? He grunted and gave up with a wave of his hand.

"Fine. Just go."

Much to his frustration Crystal Bot stayed there, only fidgeting more. "And I was kinda thinkin' that maybe you would be extra nice and dance with me..."

Just when he thought he couldn't force his expression into a more unwelcoming one, Bass glared even worse. "First of all, I'm security. This is a job. Secondly, there are not enough plasma cannons in the entire earth to persuade me to dance."

"But..but..." Her eyes grew

"You heard me." Bass immediately cut off all objection. "Get out of my sight."

"Fine!" she huffed and stomped her foot. "I'll just go dance with Rock!"

"Are you seriously trying to make me jealous with that? Go have fun with the dweeb for all I care. Sheesh. Just leave me alone."

"Fine, I will!"

Crystal Bot went over to the large, imposing doors with her nose in the air, stubbornly going on. She paused at the doorknob, glancing back at Bass. He was talking to Skull Man for a moment, and Skull Man's grave-ish voice calmly explained the positioning of the other security-bots. A buzzing radio signal indicated that Bass was sending a close range transmission, probably one to Ring Man, checking in with him. He turned around, suprised to see that Crystal Bot was still standing there. She stuck out her lip, looking as pitiful as she could.

"You're not really gonna make me dance with Rock, are you?"

"I'm not making you do anything." Bass retorted with a scowl. "Do what you want."

"I wanna dance with you..."

Bass let out his dark and evil glare, and though it didn't quite have the same effect when he was helmetless and wearing a tuxedo, it was nonetheless effective. Crystal Bot knew that she wasn't going to get her way. She protested with a stomp on the hard floor, but Bass was not going to give in.

"Fine..." Crystal Bot scowled. "I'll just go dance with Dr. Cossack. He's actually nice. Kalinka will think it's funny."

The dark robot groaned. "Leave him alone, Sonata. You're a robot and you'll step on his foot and break it."

"No, I won't!" she insisted. "I can be careful! You'll see!"

Bass rolled his eyes. He couldn't possibly care any less than he already did. "Sonata...go away."

"But-"

"Hurry up! I'm working here!"

"Fine, fine..."

Tired of being yelled at, Crystal Bot finally stomped her way to the doors before straightening herself up and entering with what little grace she did possess. Bass gritted his teeth; if Kalinka weren't sure to lecture him about messing up her party, then he would have given in and fired a shot off at her. The thought of how aggravated Kalinka would get completely ruined any imaginary enjoyment he got from the concept anyway. For the moment, he settled for scanning the front entrance again. He wished that some of the Wily-bots would crash the party and cause trouble. It wasn't worth being in security personnel otherwise.

Man, this good guy crap really sucks. Bass huffed. Rock has no clue how lucky he is right now that I'm not after him.

The thought of Mega Man gave Bass an idea. He grinned one of his evil grins and sent out a transmission.

" - Hey Rock, Crystal said she wanted to dance with you tonight. Make sure you ask her at some point. - "

" - Really? Okay then, I will! - "

Forte's grin only grew more evil. At least he would have that bit of entertainment tonight as he bothered with the silly security job.

-t-

Mega Man cut off the transmission and smiled to himself. Crystal Bot wants to dance? Sounds like fun.

For the moment, he was busy. There were so many people to meet in that grand hall, and Rock wanted to talk with Dr. Cossack before too long. The night was young, and the parties Kalinka threw were long-lived. This ball was grander than any Rock had seen at the Cossack lab. Though he hadn't been to a lot of parties, many people who had commented the same. The halls of Cossack generally looked like bleak and quaint sets for an old science fiction movie that had come to life. Whatever Kalinka had done transformed the place into a grand hall. Draping cloths covered up telltale details of the large laboratory (which had been longed cleaned out for the Cossack girl), and the dancing floor was perfectly glossed wood that would not collect scuff marks from shoes no matter how long the party lasted. A classical band with no less than ten members played ballroom music. With candles, dim lights, and mummira waiters bearing wine, the look was complete.

Even the Cossack robots not serving as security were dressed for the occasion. Pharoah Man seemed to be the grand host for the evening, and was looked more regal than ever, despite the fact that he was the only Cossack-bot not wearing a tux. Egyptian robes suited him well. Ring Man (another security unit) was around the back of the room keeping an eye on the party and his scans on. Even Bright Man was in his own custom suit, made especially for his very non-conforming body shape. He seemed to be entertaining a group of scientists, and laughter came from that group often.

Rock decided that he would head over and try to find Dr. Cossack. There was no rush. Plenty of people would want to shake his hand, but Rock was eager to get a word in. The Russian doctor had been good friends with Dr. Light, and Mega Man felt closer to Cossack than he did to anyone else there, other than the person interrupting his search. His sister, who had gotten there well before him, was walking up, and she matched the party atmosphere with her fancy hair and long, shimmering red dress. It was simple, but nice, being just as fancy as required without taking away from any of the cuteness that was Roll's aura.

"And introducing my greatest acheivement this year," Roll announced, dramatically lifting an arm for emphasis. "Kalinka Cassock!"

The Russian girl certainly was a sight to see as she twirled around. She wore a deep, burgandy gown with a mermaid style waist and a wide, poofy bottom. Her hair was done in eloquent curls that draped like curtains over her stately features. There was even a little minature tiara on top of her head. All in all, she looked like a glamourous winter princess.

"Wow, you look really nice tonight!" Rock was encouraging.

"Thank you very much!" she said with polite dignity, though she had to hide her giggle to keep this image up. "I have to look my best!"

"I have to say, you really did a good job with this party." Mega Man said. "It looks wonderful. And so many guests are here."

"I worked very hard on this." the Cossack princess replied. "I love my Papa, but he does not always realize that there's more to science than sitting in lab with no more company than a few robots and working on the computer all day! Everything has to do with relationships! Perhaps if things go well, I can start on my plan to find myself a stepmother!"

Roll had to laugh. "No way! You wouldn't do that!"

"I tease only." Kalinka winked. "Still, Papa is such a nerd, and I don't like him being in the lab alone. It is such a big place for one man to be, especially now that his little girl is off getting an education."

"Speaking of your father, where is he?" Rock asked.

"He is over with those scientists by the dance floor. I wish he would ask someone to dance, but his first love is technology." Kalinka pouted a little. It wasn't a very serious pout, but it was very dramatic. "I wish Proto Man could have come. He would have fun with us here."

"I don't know where he is right now." Mega Man wished the same as Kalinka. "Just like always. Actually, I'm looking for your father right at the moment. I'd like to relax tonight, but I've still got some business to complete. I wanted to talk to him about hacking into enemy robots and that new recovery program-"

"Ack, you are just the same as him!" Kalinka teased, flipping her hand up as if exasperated. "Always thinking about work. He complained even worse than Bass did about getting dressed up. You will find him over there, near Ring Man. You might not see him because he is in that big huddle of scientists."

Mega Man turned to where Kalinka was pointing, and it was actually easy to see where the Russian doctor was. His tux jacket was white, and his beard was just as wild as it was any other day. Mega Man almost laughed. Anyone looking like that probably wasn't going to be bringing home a stepmother for Kalinka any time soon, unless he could find someone that actually liked that kind of hair. Or had the patience to tame the mad monster he called a beard.

"He's not busy, is he?" Rock asked. "I'd like to talk to him."

"Hey, he is never too busy for you. You are like his son." Kalinka laughed a very socialite laugh. "Just go on, little brother. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go find a nice man to ask me to dance."

"What about that guy?" Roll said, pointing to a young, brown haired man in a black tux and red tie. "He seems nice."

"Alyosha Polovstiansky?" the Russian girl scoffed. "That big geek? Ew. No way. Ha, you can't listen to robots when it comes to men!"

The girl cheerfully waved as she walked away, heading towards a crowd of young people near the dance floor. This left Roll a little embarrassed, and Mega Man was surprised to see that she looked a little worried.

"Since when are you a matchmaker, Roll?" Mega Man laughed. "Come on, Kalinka can handle herself."

"I...I guess so." Roll quickly tried to change the subject before her brother asked too many questions. "Um...oh hey, there's Crystal Bot! Sona-chan, over here!"

"Roll-chan!"

It wasn't long before the extra-shiny girl-bot was giggling and talking Roll about how wonderful it was to be there at the party.

"See, I told you that you would like it." Roll insisted. "Isn't it just marvelous in here tonight?"

"Pssht, come on, I'm just happy that all these scientists are here." Crystal Bot huffed. "I don't care about the candles or the decorations or the music...or this shiny new dress...er, um, not one bit!"

They both burst out laughing. It was a clearly a lie. Despite her earlier misgivings, the shiny-ness of it all had won her over. Girlish chatter wasn't that interesting to Mega Man, but he figured that he might as well ask Crystal Bot to dance while she was standing there. He could always speak to Dr. Cossack later.

"I really like this song." he said. "It would be nice to be able to dance to it. Crystal Bot, how would you like to join-"

"Teleportation field converters!" Crystal suddenly burst out, directing this at Roll. "That's what I told Forte! And then suddenly I was able to increase a robot's teleportation range by almost thirty percent! Come on, I've got to go tell...um, um...those guys over that way!"

Crystal Bot's wild finger pointed somewhere to the right, jutting out so quickly that it didn't seem to focus on anyone in particular. Before Roll knew it, she was being ushered off somewhere in that direction, and the two girl-bots got lost in the crowd, but not before Crystal could shoot back a nasty glare Rock's way. Mega Man stood there stunned for a moment.

Ugh, Bass was lying. I can't believe I fell for that. Mega Man noted, a little amused by the irony. I doubt Crystal will ever forgive me for not being destroyed by him.

That was Crystal Bot, ever far, far too supportive of her arrogant boss. Mega Man glanced over at Dr. Cossack. He was still talking, but he was having a conversation with Rock's closest "relative": Dr. Imahara, Dr. Light's second cousin in-law. This delighted the bomber, because he knew he could enter join their talk easily and without objection. Now if only Proto Man would show up, and then his night would be complete.

-t-

Proto Man was in a suburb outside of downtown Monstropolis. It was a very, very early morning in California, and each of the houses were dark and solemn, lightless other than a couple of porchlights. Most of the people would be asleep still. Proto Man, however, knew that Leila would not be. She always stayed up late on her computer, playing Warcraft or Starcraft II. On the rare occasion she would study. It was her last year of high school, and she needed to finish up her grades at a good level so that she could get into the college she planned on. After she pwned a few noobs on battle .net, of course. Given that this was Saturday morning, Proto Man doubted that she had gotten any sleep at all. She had to stay up all hours if she wanted to play with the Koreans.

Blues visited Leila often. He had been doing so for many years, after her father had died. Proto Man could guess how hard it was for a girl to grow up without a father, and he wanted to help as much as a wandering robot could. It was strange how much attachment he could feel for the poor girl, and he wondered how Dr. Light could have invented such complex emotions. He wasn't sure that he liked them, especially not the turmoil that only continued to grow inside him.

Leila's house, the one she shared with her mother, was a small house with blue vinyl siding. The grass looked nicely mowed, but really it was just a good kind of grass. Leila's mother was all about an beautiful yard, as the perfect pink flower bushes and cluster of gnomes clearly showed. A real estate agent would classify the home as "adorable" or "cute". Cute wasn't really in Proto Man's vocabulary, not for houses, in any case. Not that he was thinking about living spaces. There was too much else occupying his mind for any small subject to have his attention.

Tonight's endeavor was the one he dreaded the most, though he knew at some point that it was going to have to happen. He tried to deny it, but here it was coming to pass just as fate laid out for him. For years he had watched over Leila, protecting her and providing her mother with money (they never asked where it came from, and he never said), and before he had realized it, Leila admired him and befriended him despite his standoffish nature. It never occurred to her to think of Proto Man as strange. To her he was a superhero. Proto Man wished with all his heart that that description was true.

It wasn't. By no means was he a hero. Tonight was the night he was finally going to reveal the truth. It was something he'd been thinking about ever since his power core had been restored, and it wasn't something he could ignore forever. He had to confess, if he was going to continue living. He could only hope she would take it well. It was a very stupid hope, the hope that a sinful snowball clung to as it found itself descending into the pits of hell.

Proto Man waited outside. He was reluctant to knock on Leila's window. It was hard enough for him to come in the first place, and facing her house only made it worse. He steeled himself up, trying to be as steady as he could as he approached. Unfortunately, before Blues was ready (would he ever really be ready?), he could see one of the front window blinds move. That would be Leila, peeking out at him. In a minute she would be outside, happy to see her disappearing/reappearing hero.

If only he really was one. She was never going to be happy to see him again.

-t-

In the distant, empty plains of Russia, Treble clawed his way through the snow. A storm had struck, and now flurries of snow were all around him, clouding his vision. His sensory equipment, however, was doing just fine. The cold weather made it easier to scan for heat signatures, the sure sign of a robot or human. Treble silently prowled onwards, keeping his nose down. He and his master had been searching Russia for months, and there had been little sign of anything. In fact, Cut Man's head was the first stroke of luck they'd had since their arrival. Bass had been hoping to follow Cut Man and figure out where he was going, but unfortunately a snow drift had interfered, and Cut Man fought him rather than give away his destination.

Treble growled. The snow in his face was starting to get on his nerves. Loyal dog he was, he simply put up with it. He had to please his master and keep up the search, and that meant braving the weather. It was handy not to be a living creature.

He sniffed. His scanners were picking up nothing. It was starting to look like he was going to have nothing to report to Bass. Treble blasted some warm air from his nostrils to keep off the frost.

"Roof?"

In his dog code, Treble expressed surprise. He could see two things sticking out from under the freshly falling snow, but he wasn't picking up any heat sensors. He approached with caution, but there was no need. Digging the loose snow around the metal produced no ill reactions, no attacks. He dug through the snow more, finally revealing one of the head of a robot master. It was Sword Man, or what was left of him. Some of the parts didn't match the fire-sword robot, so treble investigated further, finding half of a crystal headdress. It was easy to identify as Gemini Man's.

Treble growled. Whatever had happened, he knew he was close to something.

\\\\\\\

Author's Notes:

- Doom. Totally mood backwards. I'm in a doom mood. For Proto Man at least. :D

Character profiles!

Gemini Man

"My clones are very impressive!"
Good Point: Elegant
Bad Point: Overconfidence
Like: Mirror
Dislike: Snake

I sort of wish I had given Gemini Man a better part of the story. I mean, there are just so many robot masters to get through. At least he got a death scene in Wily Ga Taosenai. I love Gemini Man's level design. Candy rave party!

Gemini Man was built by Drs. Light and Wily. Light intended for Gemini Man to work mining for crystals to power Gamma, and Wily was thinking the same thing, though only with the added part that Gemini Man would go fight Mega Man afterwards. Once Gemini Man and the other Team 3 robots were activated, Wily's viruses on them went to work and they rebelled against Light Laboratories and started going nuts. Since his defeat by Mega Man, Gemini Man was in and out of the robot museum.

Sword Man

"There's no second chance!"
Good point: Incisive
Bad point: Outdated
Like: Swordsmanship
Dislike: Faulty swords

Sword Man was always very dignified. He and his team were designed during the events of MM7. Like Burner Man, he was designed after one key idea and the rest of his design went with it. Wily gave him the biggest sword possible, forcing him to separate Sword Man's legs from his body and use magnet power to keep Sword Man upright.

To help Sword Man be able to fight, Wily loaded a bunch of swordfighting programs. These, however, included a lot of chivilry and manners, making Sword Man easily the most noble of the robot masters. He always felt a little awkward working for Wily, though of course his failsafes wouldn't allow him to betray the mad scientist. He was good friends with Crystal Man and Fire Man, the first for his (comparative) morality and the second for talking about fights. Fire Man was the closer friend, and without him Sword Man would have been really depressed working for Wily, especially since none of his team members really understood him (he hates Aqua Man).

From the time of his defeat he guarded the Wily Castles, up until the events of Okkusenman. He remained behind to defend the castle as long as he could, but most of the other robots had already run by that point and Tornado Man was about to get him, he sadly admitted defeat. Once the masters were scattered, Sword Man really didn't care that much about meeting up with any of them, especially considering that both of his friends were dead at that point. He spent most of his time around Japan and other Asian countries rescuing kidnapped people, forcing tech-bots to repair him, helping build orphanages, and stealing whatever money he needed. Yeah, he has questionable morality and a lot of confusion about it.