Note: Ok, we're getting closer to the end, but there will be a lead-up to the next installment. Just three (or is it two? You'll see what I mean) more Robot Masters, then we can get further into the story. I'm really glad to have started this up again, as I did miss writing it. I think writing Limitless Potential has given me a better grasp on how I want to do this series, as one is more lighthearted and TV friendly, and the other is full of death and tragedy. I like both equally, and it's good to have them both, as it lets me experiment with more outlandish concepts in one while being more grounded in the other.

Meanwhile, while we're still going through Dr. Cossack's trials, give your input on what you think so far, what you'd be interested to see, and if I perhaps missed any errors I failed to correct. Your input is the best encouragement I have in getting chapters out faster, now that I know what I want to do with this story, as well as the other content based on Ruby-Spears.

With that said, thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!

Ringed in Ice and Lightning

"Ok, THAT was a little close." Mega Man mused as he exited Drill Man's chamber, reappearing in the central area that housed the other transporters. Suddenly, from within the center, a small stand rose, holding a single chip inside a small container. "Hm?" the Blue Bomber raised a brow at the small bit of circuitry. "What's this?"

"It's a copy chip from Drill Man," Dr. Cossack's voice echoed throughout the chamber. "I constructed duplicates in case of situations such as these," Mega Man gazed at the chip, surveying its shape and appearance. So far, it didn't appear to look like a trap of any kind. "Take it," Dr. Cossack urged the Blue Bomber. "After all, you requested that you be allowed to keep the abilities of the last Robot Master you dismantled."

Slowly pulling the top of the clear container, the cerulean DLN lightly grazed his blue fingers over the chip, finding that, indeed, his copy ability could duplicate the information available inside the circuitry. Quickly downloading the weapons component, the stand sank back into the ground. Then, another tile lit up, alerting Mega Man that it was time to continue Cossack's challenge.

But, speaking of the Russian scientist, "Hey, Doc," Mega Man spoke up. "Or, perhaps I should just call you Dr. Cossack."

"Doctor?" Cossack questioned. While Mega Man was pleased to have received an answer, he was half expecting his tormenter to not respond at all. "You don't bother giving Wily this degree of respect."

"Well, he's not exactly deserving of it, is he?" the azure android remarked. "But speaking of him," Mega Man decided to just come out and say it. "He's the one behind this whole thing, isn't he?"

There was silence.

"Look, I don't know your situation," the blue robot said. "But…I'll admit, you just don't seem like the type of guy that wants to take over the world."

"What my motivations truly are is irrelevant to you," Cossack answered. "Just complete the challenge and face me."

"But Doctor…?" Mega Man began but found that he received no answer. Cossack decided to cut off contact. "Well, ever onward, I guess." He stepped onto the platform, and in a few brief moments in a flash, he was gone.

Mine

Natsenka looked between the two Robot Masters, the large, crane-like bird flapping in between them. "Well?" she asked. "Which one of you wishes to challenge me?"

Elec Man scoffed, but he stepped forward. "I shall be your opponent," he said smoothly. "Mega Man's dear sibling wouldn't be worth the effort."

"Excuse me?" Roll questioned, shocked at what she had heard.

"Your structure is too weak, therefore, you stand no chance." the dark-colored, masked Robot Master remarked.

The blonde housekeeper grew red hot, her cheeks resembling ripe tomatoes. Her rage was evident, with Dr. Light's upgrades regarding facial sensors and heating/cooling components being put to work. "Hey!"

"Sir, allow me to engage Mega Man's sibling in combat, sir!" Ice Man suddenly spoke up, giving Elec Man a salute. "Oh, if that's all right with you, sir," he said, growing timider.

"Oh, all right," Elec Man answered. "Go on then, off with you. Do your duty, soldier."

"Yes, sir!" Ice Man turned and got in front of the blonde robot, Eddie still in her grasp.

Beat then directed his attention to the larger, longer-necked bird. "I guess that leaves you with me, buddy!"

"Buddy?" the bird asked, tilting its head in confusion. Then it began to chortle, its voice squawky and obnoxious, at least in Beat's eyes. "Ha! Buddy! Good one! Ha!"

"I know these two goons, but when did Wily build you?" Roll questioned the bird, seeing that it could understand basic speech.

"I'm Reggae!" the bird squawked. "You're the blue dweeb's sister!"

"Hey, my brother's not a dweeb, you dumb stork!" Roll retorted.

"Ha ha! Dweeb, dweeb, dweeb!"

"Enough of this!" Natsenka shouted. "We're getting nowhere standing around, chattering like this!"

"I agree, dear lady," Elec Man responded, getting into a fighting position. "So, why don't we get started?" he asked. "Ladies first."

The Russian android narrowed her eyes. She then turned her attention to Roll. "Don't let your guard down," she told her. "But don't try to be a hero. If you become overwhelmed, don't be ashamed to run."

"Run? No way!" the blonde shook her head.

"Eddie no want to leave either!" the smaller, green robot agreed with his holder.

"Don't argue! Just…do as I say, all right?" Natsenka then directed her focus back to Elec Man.

"Well?" the masked Robot Master presented a coy, mocking smirk, daring the agent to come forward.

She dashed forward, ready to deliver a swift kick to the side of his head.

Citadel

The chamber in itself was rather plain in comparison to some of the others Mega Man had entered, mostly covered in silver with the interior structure just beneath a thick layer of metal. Still, he wondered, just who else was he going to face here? Even more, which strategy was he going to come up with? Even if they provided more of a challenge for him, Mega Man had to admit that Cossack's machines were doing a good job at keeping him alert.

"Hm, so, you've finally arrived," a voice, smooth and crisp stated, taking Mega Man by surprise when he saw who it belonged to. "Cossack should've sent you to me right away and saved everyone else all the trouble."

"Ring Man?" Mega Man questioned. "Your voice…it's different than before."

"Yes, a far more suiting pitch and inflection, I think," the red and gold Robot Master responded. "And, unlike the incidents involving Dr. Petto and the amusement park,"

"Oh, right, Dr. Petto," Mega Man bit his lip and averted his eyes for a moment. "I…remember that."

Ring Man raised a brow from underneath his red helmet. But then remembered how the blue robot cut him off. "Well, now, as I was saying before being interrupted," the Cossack bot continued. "Unlike those prior events, you shall not best me," he then got into a fighting position. "Today, you shall meet your end by me!"

"You sound confident," Mega Man observed, bringing out Drill Man's weapon. "You sure you can back that up? Last I remember, Doc took you out with a hand found in the trash compactor."

Ring Man's eyes narrowed. "You'll regret everything you just said," he then waved a hand over the ring atop his head, a single, golden loop manifesting in his hand. He then readied himself to send it flying in his opponent's direction. "For I won't leave anything left to throw in the compactor!"

Mine

Natsenka's leg was mere seconds away from contact before, at a speed she didn't expect, almost as fast as lighting itself, Elec Man ducked out of the way of the incoming attack, the Russian agent kicking nothing but air. "Hm, is that the best you can do?" Elec Man questioned, not even bothering to strike the agent. "And here I thought Cossack's government sent one of their best."

"They did," Natsenka snarled. "And you have been foolish enough to make me present my strength to you!" she then drew out her pistol, seeing as, while she despised to admit it, the Robot Master was too fast for her on foot.

"Hm," Elec Man shrugged, ducking out of the way of the incoming blasts. "No matter how good of a shot you are," his fingertips began to brighten, electricity beginning to spark out. "You cannot contend with a force that moves at the speed of light!" he then shot forth powerful shocks in the agent's direction.

Natsenka was forced to make a made jump to the side to avoid the incoming surges of sparkling light, unable to make a shot at her opponent. She had just barely avoided being electrified, yet she realized that, to her shame, she had perhaps underestimated her enemy. And, if that was the case, then how was she going to be able to protect Roll?

She gasped. "Roll!"

The blonde housekeeper was facing off against Ice Man, the parka-clad Robot Master gazing intently at the robot before him. "All right, sir," he said. "We've got a trespasser!" his eyes then appeared to be consumed with static, his expression going blank for a moment. "Oh? Freeze it at all costs, soldier!"

"Uh, who are you talking to?" Roll questioned, more confused than intimidated.

"Hm? Identify yourself, soldier!" Ice Man suddenly commanded.

"Roll Light," the pony-tailed blonde answered.

"And Eddie!" Eddie added.

"Although, I'm surprised that Wily decided to let you stay intact, considering how you nearly betrayed him once."

"What? I would NEVER betray my Commander!" Ice Man protested, growing angry. "Stop speaking such lies!"

"It's no lie! Mega Man said you were going to be scrapped for sure!" Roll answered. "Although, it looks like somebody's scrapped your memory banks."

"Preposterous! I'm in tip-top shape!" his eyes glitched out yet again. "Oh, if I may be so bold as to say, sir," he then looked at Roll again. "Oh, I mean, ma'am!"

It was then that he saw her. Truly saw her. A specimen of a machine dressed in a form-fitting jumpsuit with matching boots and gorgeous, blonde hair tied up in a full ponytail, her green hair clasp contrasting with the reds of her attire. And her eyes, sky-blue and bright. Despite his name, Ice Man found himself imagining the ocean in summer, the sunlight beating down on the sand. The female robot's hair blew in the wind as she turned to give him a coy, flirtatious look.

"Hm?" Roll raised a brow, noticing the look Ice Man was presenting her. "What's up with you?"

It was then that he grew hot, even if he was made to withstand freezing temperatures. "W-What is your name again?" he asked. "I…seem to be missing some memory components, ma'am."

"Well, for one thing, ma'am makes me sound old, just call me Roll," Roll answered Ice Man. "Are you ok? You look like you're overheating."

"Ice Man! What are you doing?!" Elec Man's voice suddenly called out, gaining the other Robot Master's attention. "Take care of her while I deal with the agent!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Yes, sir!" Ice Man answered, giving Elec Man a salute.

The electric Robot Master merely sighed. "Just do your duty and be quick about it!"

"Yes sir!"

"Ugh," Elec Man groaned, turning his attention back to Natsenka. "Now then, where were we?"

"We were at the part where I shoot you in between the eyes!" the red-haired, darkly-dressed Russian robot answered, shooting another blast of concentrated plasma in the other robot's direction. Still, despite her precision, Elec Man managed to evade her every single time. "Stop toying with me and get serious!" she demanded.

Elec Man smirked, fingertips lighting up yet again. "As you wish," he then began charging up energy from within, building up a powerful charge attack. "Let's see how you react to intensive electro-shock therapy!" he then transferred all that he had built up to his fingers. "Try this! ENERGIZE!"

Citadel

"Yah!" akin to that of a chakram, Ring Man threw the spinning, hollowed-out disk in Mega Man's direction, the projectile moving at a spectacular speed.

Mega Man ducked underneath the incoming ring at the last second, yet it seemed that Ring Man was prepared for a maneuver such as this. He threw another ring, the Blue Bomber still dodging the incoming projectiles. "I think you need more practice at ring toss, buddy."

Ring Man merely stepped back, unamused by the cerulean machine's quips. Still, despite there being no mouth visible, Mega found himself imagining a smirk forming underneath that red helmet. For somebody that missed his two shots, the Robot Master seemed rather confident. "Still haven't realized it yet?" Ring Man asked, folding his arms.

"Realized what?" Mega Man questioned. For once, he found himself unable to come up with any clever comeback.

"Look above you."

Whether by instinct or a subconscious suggestion, Mega Man gazed upward and saw that the two rings were not just above him, they were hovering in the air, floating even. "What the…?!" Just when could Ring Man do this?!

"Like it?" the red and gold Robot Master inquired. "Dr. Cossack took the initiative of providing me with some skills found in Wily's robots, inferior as they are," he explained. "Specifically, Magent Man."

"Magnet Dude?" Mega Man asked, thankful he found some material to work with. "Oh yeah, that was also the incident with Dr. Petto, wasn't it?" he questioned.

"Ah, yes," Ring Man nodded. "The one where you oh-so-foolishly believed you could be a real human?"

Mega Man bit his lip. "It wasn't that crazy," he muttered. "I just…was curious, was all."

"Do you still hold onto that wish?" Ring Man inquired. "Or is it tied in with too many embarrassing memories?" he then stepped back and leaned against the northern wall, knowing that he had the Blue Bomber trapped. "Or has your circuitry still been fried since you stopped your dear brother from assassinating President Lincoln?"

Mega Man averted his gaze. "Could we not discuss that?" then, he remembered that, indeed, his brother was involved with that. "Speaking of, what's Proto Man been up to lately?"

Ring Man raised a brow. "What concern is that of yours?"

"Well," Mega Man placed his hands on his hips. "I'm beginning to think that Cossack might be the one that made you," he said. "But I don't think he's the one pulling the strings."

Mine

A blinding flash forced Natsenka's protective program to activate, her optics shutting down to prevent damage from the incoming electricity. Being left blind, she leaped to the side, just barely evading another attack. Unfortunately, she couldn't recover fast enough and found Elec Man standing above her when her vision reactivated itself.

Then, Elec Man delivered the rest of the energy he had stored up, having only just made use of half of it.

Roll's attention was drawn from Ice Man, and Natsenka's cries of pain were heard from a short distance away. "Natsenka!"

"Hey, this battle isn't over yet, soldier!" Ice Man commanded, irked that his opponent wasn't paying attention to him.

"Oh, quiet you!" Roll shouted. "You've been doing nothing but staring at me the entire time anyway! It's barely even started!"

"Wait…I have?" Ice Man questioned.

Indeed, now that he thought about it, while he was keeping his eyes on the enemy, his observation had given him more time to take in the other robot's features. As well as to further realize how appealing they were.

"Ok, you're giving me that look again," Roll said, shifting her eyes for a moment. "Are you sure you're all there?" she questioned, gesturing to his cerebral chamber.

Ice Man was uncertain of how to answer. The air around him was frigid, yet his inner circuitry was burning up. It was as if he had somehow caught a fever. Perhaps it was some form of robot cold? Could machines even get those? Better yet, could they get them by just looking at another machine?

"Ice Man, what are you doing?!" Elec Man questioned, turning his attention away from the damaged Natsenka on the ground. She was electrified quite well, so the Robot Master doubted she'd be going anywhere. "Terminate that inferior machine already!"

"Inferior?!" Roll gasped, offended. "Says the guy that has to remind everyone every five seconds of how great he is!"

"I'm merely stating the truth," Elec Man responded. Then, he made his way over toward Roll. "Your friend here didn't stand a chance against me, what makes you think you will fare any better?"

Roll stepped back, trying to conceal her fear. "Y-You don't scare me," she said, still clutching Eddie. She hated to admit it, but she wasn't her brother. She wasn't equipped with the means to engage in legitimate combat, even if she usually didn't let that stop her. Still, she knew aggression wouldn't do her any good in this situation, she had to think of something else. It was then that her eyes fell on Eddie. "You know," Roll said. "Using all that electricity must be draining your systems."

Elec Man scoffed. "As if!" he then turned around, as if presenting himself to her. "There's a generator located in this mine that I can plug into at any time. And even then, I have hundreds of hours until I need to recharge," he then turned back around to face Roll. "But you, your oil will freeze up in time, along with the less advanced electrical components of your system. Speaking of," his fingertips began sparkling. "How about I give you a charge to keep you warm?"

Natsenka lay sprawled out on the ground, the Robot Master's attack still coursing through her systems. "R-Roll…" she stammered weakly, trying with all her might to rise. "Roll, get…out of here…" she urged her.

Roll's blue eyes shifted to gaze at the downed Natsenka. "Nat…" she said. "Sorry," she said," then she turned her attention back to Elec Man. "But I think you should worry about yourself. Specifically," she then held Eddie out, his top opening up. "How many of these can you fit down your throat?!"

Eddie began firing E-Tanks in Elec Man's direction, the cans striking the Robot Master in the face, stomach, and limbs as they kept coming. It was somewhat wasteful, yes, but Roll needed to try and find a way to get out of there. At least far enough to where she could get Natsenka to safety. When one struck Elec Man right in the lightning bolt on his mask, he yelped and stumbled back, sparks of electrical circuits flying out due to the damage it received.

"My detector!" Elec Man cried out, looking on in dismay at the cracked extra detail on his mask.

Seizing the opportunity, Roll made a mad dash for Natsenka and knelt at her side. "Sorry, Eddie," she said, sitting him down. "You're going to have to walk a little bit."

"Hm?" Reggae was about to engage Beat, having finally finished mocking the other bird. But then he noticed that Roll and the Russian agent were gone. "Hey! Hey!" He squawked. "They got away!"

"Yes, I can see that, you black-feathered turkey!" Elec Man snarled. "Oh, that blonde wretch will pay dearly for that," he then pointed in the direction the two robots went in. "Well? After them!"

"Sure thing! Sure thing!" Reggae then flew off.

"Hey, wait! You're supposed to let me show off my stuff!" Beat protested, about to fly over after the other bird. But a sudden blast of ice was sent in his direction, just barely missing him and striking the ceiling.

"You can show off your stuff with us, little bluebird," Elec Man said, making some last-minute adjustments to his mask. While he was still enraged by what Roll had done, she hadn't managed to damage him too badly. "But I'm in the middle of something, so I shall leave this to you, Ice Man."

"Me?" Ice Man questioned. "But sir, what about the intruders?"

"Oh, I'll contact our friends further ahead," Elec Man said, eyeing the fluttering Beat. "There's a nice cage with room for one more."

Citadel

"Well?" Mega Man questioned, the suspense becoming too much. "Am I right or wrong?"

Ring Man huffed. "You have no proof of anything," he said. "And, even if you were correct, how do you think that makes any difference?"

Mega Man raised a brow, questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Whether or not Wily has some hand in this is unimportant, because, whatever you believe, Cossack is acting of his own volition. Which means that your demise is final when you reach him."

The Blue Bomber was quiet for a moment. "And…just how do you think I will deal with him?" he questioned Ring Man.

"The same way you intend to deal with Wily," Ring Man answered. "Bringing him to justice," his eyes then darkened. "Although, I doubt Russian justice is as lenient as in your country."

Mega Man then grew serious. "Just what is going on? Seriously?" he questioned, basically interrogating Ring Man. "What's Cossack get out of this?"

"Not much, actually," the red Robot Master answered. "Yet, if he doesn't, then it could cost him everything."

"What?" the cerulean android asked.

"But never you mind," Ring Man then made a swift motion over the ring on his head. "For you should focus more on how you plan to beat me," then, the two floating rings came hurling down at the Blue Bomber. "Of which, I doubt very much!"

Mega Man ducked underneath the rings, yet they continued to bounce off the walls, keeping the robot down on the ground. Was there anything he could make use of to deal with them? He then remembered the power he had copied before he entered Ring Man's chamber, accessing his copy chip and bringing out Drill Man's weapon, a drill appearing in place of his buster cannon.

"Well then, it looks like I'm going to have to get creative!" Mega Man retorted, finding a moment to stand, the rings returned to Ring Man, who held them both in opposite hands.

"Oh, how so?" Ring Man questioned.

"I don't know yet," Mega Man then spun the drill around. "But we can give things a spin and find out!"

Note: Shorter chapter, I know, but I'm finding that, even if I'm not going by an 'episode' format, the method of how I split them up has given me a way to execute things the way I want.

Also, I can't say for sure, but I'm getting Clip Studio Paint, and I may be experimenting with comics involving RS. Maybe it'll be an adaptation of what I'm writing here. I'm not sure yet, as I need to master the program first. But I heard it's ideal for comics, and given Archive of Our Own allows images, I can add features like that to my work if I so choose.

Of course, that'll take time. That said, thank you for reading! Please give your input, and I hope to hear from you in the future!