Note: Hello! The second part of the Ring Man battle is here! And we'll soon be getting to the last Robot Master Mega Man will have to face.

Or is it?

You'll see what I mean later.

While this series will be more light-hearted than Variables or any others I have going on (on this account and others), I am taking some influence from sources such as Archie Comics (especially when it comes to its characters) and Megamix/Gigamix from Ariga (who has some of the best interpretations of characters ever). My perfect Mega Man would be something of a mix between Archie and Megamix, with all the same characters. Although I hope to not be as soul-crushing as Ariga's work

Anyway, let's get started. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it!

Enclosed

Another electrical surge of raw energy was fired in the blue robot bird's direction, the avian flier barely missing the blast by mere inches. Despite the accuracy feature that Cossack programmed into him, dealing with artificial lightning was testing just how well that was programmed in.

"Hold still, bird!" Elec Man shouted, growing tired of the fluttering annoyance dodging his blasts. "Ice Man! Make yourself useful and take care of this cretin!"

"Cretin?!" Beat exclaimed, clearly offended. He then looked at the multiple, unused energy cans on the ground from Eddie. "You know, that electricity must take up a lot of energy in an environment like this," he then readied himself to swoop down, a can in his sight. "It'd be a shame if you were to have to use it up all at once."

Elec Man raised a brow from underneath his golden mask. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, I think your buddy there can show you better than I can!" Beat then dove toward the can and took it in his beak, swooping up and opening the top with one of his anisodactyl yellow toes. "One question, is all that black on your body dirt?"

"What?" Elec Man questioned, then realized what the bird was getting at. "How dare you! I cleanse myself daily, thank you!"

"Oh, is that so?" Beat questioned. "Well then," he then swooped over to the Robot Master, pouring the contents of the energy can onto the taller, electricity-wielding android. "It looks like it's time for your daily shower!"

The green liquid poured all over Elec Man, coating him in the smooth, somewhat oily substance. He looked like a total wreck! "Ooooh," he growled, turning to Beat. "You'll pay for that!"

"Oh yeah?" Beat chirped cheekily. "Well, come on and get me!"

Elec Man was about to unleash an electrical charge, yet paused, a coy smile coming upon his lips. "That's a child's trick, you plan to make me shock myself, don't you?" to his satisfaction, the bird paled. "Well, in case you're wondering," his body then began to surge with power. "My non-conductive components prevent that from happening!"

Beat then realized that Ice Man was preparing to strike at him from behind, the bird corner between the two bots serving under Wily. Birdseed! He inwardly cursed, realizing he needed to think of something, otherwise, he would be little more than either a deep-fried Thanksgiving turkey or a pack of frozen Chinese oven chicken bites! But first, he needed to get out of the way as fast as possible.

"Take this, feathered pest!" the black, red, and yellow Robot Master shouted, blasting a shot of electricity in the bird's direction.

Now! With that mental declaration, Beat flew upward, just barely missing Elec Man's attack.

Although, both Elec Man and Beat then realized that Ice Man had released his attack at the same time as the other Robot Master. Only, one of them was covered with freezable liquid, and by the time both of them realized this, it was too late. Ice Man was sent flying back against one of the stone walls and Elec Man found himself, to his dismay, trapped in a chilled prison of frozen consumable energy, keeping him in place and still in the position of firing his Electric Shock.

"Oh dear," Beat observed from above. "Looks like you're caught in a bit of a tight place."

Elec Man's brow furrowed. "You…!"

"See ya! Dorks!" Beat chirped and flew off, going after Roll and Natsenka. As well as that blackbird, Reggae.

"Come back! That's an order!" Ice Man bellowed, but the bird paid him no mind, continuing on his way in his search for the blonde housekeeper and Russian agent. The Inuit-based robot sheepishly gazed at Elec Man, who was still frozen in place, yet still very much aware and active. If anything, the frozen liquid just kept him stuck. "He got away, sir."

"Clearly," Elec Man scoffed.

"What are we going to do?" Ice Man questioned. His eyes then began to glitch out, binary code appearing over his large optics before they switched back to his normal, black pupils. "Sir!" he then proclaimed with more confidence. "Shall I pursue the enemy, sir?"

"Stop talking that nonsense and get me out of here!" Elec Man ordered, having had enough.

"Oh! Uh, y-yes, sir." Ice Man answered more timidly. "But…how?"

Elec Man sighed. "Never mind. Just…begin trying to chip away at some of this! I've got a call to make."

"Yes, sir!" Ice Man then produced a sharpened icicle and began hitting at the frozen energy on his comrade's form.

With Ice Man making himself (somewhat) useful, the trapped Robot Master activated his com-link.

Citadel

"Darn it!" Proto Man hissed, looking over the damage his beloved scarf had undergone. "How am I going to put this back together?"

As luck would have it, Dr. Wily had no spare needle and thread, so he had to compensate with some other means of repairing his one article of clothing. One of the few things he gave some concern about. And that little brat had gone and torn it up! True, Cut and Guts Man were partially responsible, and he'd deal with them later when this was all over, but still, that little spoiled princess had gone and ruined his scarf! If it hadn't been for her, then…gah! It was all so frustrating.

As anger-inducing as his situation was, he needed to focus. If he were going to face Mega Man later, and he would, no matter what Wily said, he would need to be prepared. He couldn't go without his scarf! But what could he use to repair it? He began searching through the drawers of the small area where Wily kept necessities, as well as other little scraps and screws that would perhaps come in handy. It was then that Proto Man found a stapler.

"Ok, maybe this could work," it wasn't a needle and thread, but it was something. Besides, as far as he knew, Wily never programmed a sewing program into his systems. With that, he went into repairing his scarf, all the while muttering insults towards that blonde-haired brat stuck in that cage below. "Stupid girl," he huffed, beginning to stable the torn cloth back together. "Stupid blonde hair with her stupid earrings and that annoying voice…!" he droned on and on as he worked, the mere sight of that kid filling him with anger. How dare she damage what was his!

"She could freeze to death for all I care." Proto Man hissed, continuing to fix his scarf. As if being torn in half, several torn edges would've severed the cloth if not taken care of. "Geez, this thing is in rough shape," the red-helmet-wearing robot observed. "Maybe I should pay sis a visit and get her to-" Suddenly, he received a call from the mine. "Huh?" he then answered. "Hey, what's up?" he asked. "You caught me in the middle of something, you know."

"What? Tending to your scarf?" Elec Man responded, confused when he received silence on the other end. "Well, regardless, we have a situation here."

"Situation?" Proto Man asked. "What's up?"

Observation Chamber

"Why does he move like that?" Wily questioned, watching the ongoing battle between Ring Man and the blue dweeb he was trying to destroy.

From the monitor, Cossack watched as his robot moved gracefully as he engaged Dr. Light's creation, reactions on point and body twisting and turning with surprising agility. And he did it all while looking as if he were dancing. "Oh, that," the Russian (partially Ukrainian) scientist observed. "Didn't you know? He used to be Kalinka's ballet teacher."

Wily's features transformed into a face of confusion and doubt. "He was a what?"

"My daughter is a well-read, cultured girl, so she is one with the arts," Cossack answered. "Something you would know if you didn't lock her up."

"Whatever," Wily answered, rolling his eyes. Geez, all he did was just lock up his kid! It wasn't as if he had cast her out into the cold! Then again, that would make for a good threat. Regardless, he was more curious about the younger roboticist's words. "So, what exactly did you mean that he was her…ballet teacher?" despite how focused he was on Mega Man's destruction, he couldn't help but find some humor in the fact the combat-based robot was once such a thing.

"All of my robots once provided my daughter with both company and help," the bearded, green-eyed man said. "As you now know, I home-schooled her after the acquisition of my robots,"

"Yes, it was my first trip to Russia," Wily reminisced. "I still don't know how people live here, it's so cold!"

"No worse than any of your hideouts," Cossack remarked.

"Hey, this is about your robot being a ballet teacher!"

Cossack shrugged. "True," he then continued. "But yes, before he was upgraded for combat, as requested by my oh-so-beloved government, Ring Man served to teach Kalinka the art of dance, as she had wished to take it up since she was young," he relayed to Wily. "Of course, thanks to you, she never got past learning the basics because she learned nothing past the age of six."

"Hey, it's not my fault you were chicken and went into hiding after I paid a visit," Wily answered. "I didn't force you to go into hiding, you made that decision."

Cossack glowered. "You are like those men who drove me and my friends to make the dangerous journey to Sweden! People are nothing to you!"

"Not exactly," Wily admitted. "There are some that I have some regard for, even if it isn't for positive reasons," he then turned away from Cossack, who was seated and observing Ring Man and Mega Man's battle. "Speaking of, how has Thomas been lately? Making any more partnerships behind my back?"

"We have no partnership," Cossack answered. "We are just friends and nothing more."

"Is that why you've never told him about your daughter?" Wily questioned. "Does he even have the slightest idea as to why you're even doing this?"

The brunette and spectacled man lowered his head. "Thomas knows nothing. And, whatever happens, should he find out, it won't be from me."

"Eh, whatever," Wily shrugged. "It's not as if it matters to me. Just as long as your brat doesn't eat anymore of my snack stash."

"Of course, that's what you'd think about," Cossack muttered, rolling his eyes at Wily's evident selfishness.

Just then, Proto Man entered the room with a "repaired" scarf held together by a plethora of staples. "Hey, Doc," he said, feeling more secure with the length of fabric back on his shoulders and neck. Still, he would need to properly get it fixed later. "We've got a situation going on down below."

Wily raised a brow. "What? You still haven't caught the intruders?" he questioned, placing his hands on his hips in frustration.

"Not just that, it looks like Elec Man's going to be out of commission for the time being." Proto Man responded.

"What?! What happened?!" Wily then turned to Cossack. "He was one of those you deemed worthy of spending more of your time on! How could he fall to a housekeeper and one of your country's pathetic agents?!"

"Actually, according to Ice Man," Proto Man said, finding humor in the situation, a nice ailment to quell thinking about the condition of his scarf. "He's more stuck than he is hurt."

"What do you mean?" Wily asked. "Well, whatever, just go down there and do something about it!"

"But Doc, I'm not done-"

"Well, hurry up and get done! We're on the clock here!"

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha." Proto rolled his eyes from underneath his visor.

He'd pay his sister and her friend a visit later. For now, he had to try and undo the damage that accursed brat had done to his precious garment.

Ring Man's Chamber

Now, instead of merely jumping or dodging the projectiles, Mega Man found himself rather pleased that he could just beat them back with Drill Man's weapon. True, he doubted that it was the actual robot's weakness, but it was better than nothing. Besides, it had been a while since he copied any of the bots with drills for hands. Speaking of, they always seemed to have missiles on them too. Well, at least that would perhaps serve him in the future, considering that Ring Man wasn't letting up in the slightest.

"Do you seriously think batting back my attacks will do you any good?" Ring Man questioned, his rings returning to him.

"I don't know," Mega Man answered. "So far, you've given me good practice on my ring-tossing," he smirked.

Ring Man was not amused. "Enough games," he said. "You shall combat me and give me the due respect a warrior such as myself deserves."

"Geez, a little haughty, aren't we?" the Blue Bomber retorted. "Did Cossack intend to make you a stuck-up?"

"Stuck up?" Ring Man questioned, his patience has finally worn thin with his opponent.

"Yeah," Mega Man responded. "In fact, I'd reckon that something is stuck up somewhere nice and tight somewhere. That's probably why you're being all sour right now."

Wait, did he just insinuate…!? "That's it!" Ring Man shouted. "If you want to know where to stick something, I have just the thing for you," he said, presenting his namesake weapons. "I shall stick THESE rings into your metal flesh and tear you in half!"

He then leaped forward, aiming to cause major damage, yet with the grace and agility of a dancer. Even if it was a life-threatening situation, Mega Man could've sworn that Ring Man's movements very much resembled that of a ballerina.

Mine

"You should've just left me," the redhead scolded the blonde, the two having finally come to a stop. "You're not designed for combat as I am."

"You think that I care about that?" Roll questioned, looking over Natsenka's form, and checking for any external damage. "You're the one that got a thousand volts to their systems. Speaking of, anything off in there?" she asked, gesturing to the Russian's forehead, where her cerebral chamber rested.

"N-No," Natsenka answered with a groan. "But…that former DLN's attack gave me a splitting headache."

Former DLN. Indeed, that was something that wasn't even at the forefront of Roll's mind. With all that they had done under Wily's command, it had been easy to forget that they once belonged to Light himself. But she didn't have time to worry about such things now, Natsenka needed tending to. "Would you mind opening your head panel up for me?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

Roll was about to speak again, yet she suddenly whirled her head around, blue eyes searching the shadows cast by the sparse lighting. Even if her vision was superior to that of a human's, she didn't possess the same features as her brother's optics. While it was necessary for his line of "work" and whatnot, Roll couldn't help but sometimes feel that Doc gave Mega all the cool stuff.

"What is it?" Natsenka questioned, wincing when another sting came to her forehead, the effects of Elec Man's "shock therapy" still lingering.

"Nothing," Roll responded. "Just…got a feeling."

"Feeling?" the redhead inquired, raising a brow. "That's odd." she was stopped from saying any more by another painful headache.

"Look, just don't talk, ok?" Roll told her. Then, her utility arm produced a small tool meant for repairs, similar to the emergency pen Dr. Light carried with him. It certainly proved useful when Mega was locked in the bathroom full of metal-dissolving acid. "Just open your head panel, I'm going to try and get rid of your headache."

Natsenka was confused. "You're not a medical robot," she said. "Let alone qualified to perform such things on still functioning machines."

"Hey, I know what I'm doing!" the blonde American robot retorted. "I've had to perform emergency repairs hundreds of times!"

"I'm not sure if I trust your capabilities to-" Natsenka began, but was cut off by another painful surge in her cerebral chamber. Indeed, it seemed some circuits had come loose. She hissed, trying to keep her groans as quiet as possible. Even if she couldn't see anything, she wouldn't put it past Wily to have some sort of eyes watching them. That black-feathered bird was already proof of that.

"Look, you want that to stop or what?" Roll asked. "Going into battle with a headache isn't exactly a good strategy."

The darkly-dressed agent paused for a moment, finally relenting when she realized she had no choice. "...very well," she sighed. "Just…be careful. My combat data is very vital."

"Yeah, yeah, got it," Roll said dismissively. "Now, open wide," she said teasingly.

"Don't patronize me," Natsenka growled, yet she nonetheless complied.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Roll's previous suspicion was correct. Hidden away in the shadows lurked Reggae, watching the two robots as one repaired the other. He didn't need much direction to know what to do next. After all, even if Proto Man was still off repairing his scarf, there were still two other robots that could take care of the two intruders.

Ring Man's Chamber

With another strike, Mega Man beat back more of Ring Man's rings, all the while noting how the Robot Master moved. After a short bout, the two jumped back to opposite corners of the chamber, eyes on each other.

"So," Mega Man began. "Looks like you could take part in the Russian Ballet."

"Oh, please," Ring Man scoffed. "Any of those amateur humans couldn't dream of matching my skills."

The blue android smirked. "Oh really? If I win, maybe you could teach me a few moves."

"Teach?" Ring Man questioned. Then, he stopped, his fighting stance slowly coming undone and his posture became uneven and misshapen. It was as if all the grace and style he had displayed before was sapped away from him. "Teach…?"

Mega Man grew confused. "Hey, are…you ok?" he asked, yet the Robot Master didn't answer.

"Teach…" Ring Man said, voice neutral and, for lack of a better term, robotic.

While the Blue Bomber couldn't see into the other robot's head, the machine's cerebral chamber was conjuring up images that he had never seen before. He had never seen the house that he remembered himself being in, living there. Under the care of Dr. Cossack. And a little girl. A little girl who wanted him to teach her to dance.

"Ring Man?" Mega Man raised a brow, unsure of what to do. True, he had an open shot, yet he didn't feel right to firing a drill at the conflicted Robot Master. Still, just what was wrong with him?

…

"Aw, but Kольцо," the blonde six-year-old protested. "I want to jump and spin like you!"

"And you will," the red Robot Master assured the young child, who was dressed in a red tutu with matching ballet slippers and a pair of white stockings. Her hair was tied up in a curly bun, trying to make herself look dignified, but she still looked like a little girl trying to be an adult. She even went through the effort in putting on makeup, although Ring Man suspected that Dr. Cossack wouldn't be too fond of her applying such things to her face. "But first, you must know the basics. Now," he then got into position and held onto the railing situated by a wall of mirrors. A small, private studio for Kalinka to practice. He then began to bend his legs, testing out his flexibility. "Pliers are essential, for they will strengthen your limbs and ease you into becoming more agile."

Kalinka followed Ring Man's movements, bending down and working out her knees and ankles. She knew well what pliers were, as well as etendres, glissers, and relevers. She had known it since she began to dance with Ring Man, and she was getting a little impatient. "But how do I stand up on my toes like you can?"

"You need proper shoes for that, Ring Man informed the younger girl. "And you're nowhere near that skill yet."

Kalinka looked down at the floor. "I wanna show you that before you have to go out to fight," she said solemnly.

"What?" the Robot Master questioned.

"Papa said that the government wants you to be a fighting machine like Mega Man." the blonde child said. "You don't think that…well, Wily's machines will come here, do you?" she asked. "Do you think he'll…take you away like he did Dr. Light's machines?"

Ring Man shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous," he told the girl. "Your father wouldn't let that happen, nor would our country."

"But…"

"Besides, Dr. Cossack knows better than to trust men like Wily," the red Robot Master told the girl. "But, if I am made for fighting," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I shall fight to protect both my brothers and you."

Kalinka folded her arms. "Hey, I can take care of myself too," she said with a pout.

"Right," Ring Man scoffed. "Anyway, back to the lesson. You still haven't finished all of your pliers."

"Aw, but-"

No buts!"

…

That girl. That little girl. His girl. Well, she was shared by all of them.

"Ring Man?"

Ring Man just stood there, a million images running through his processor all at once. "D-Dance…" he sputtered, steam seen coming out from the sides of his helmet. "K-Kalinka…?"

"Kalinka?"

Then, to Mega Man's shock, the Robot Master's head just blew off of his body! Shooting up like a rocket, the head blasted upward until it hit the ceiling and came crashing back down. Ring Man's body remained motionless, indicating that he was no longer a threat. After a few moments of silence, Mega Man indeed confirmed such and went over to copy Ring Man's power.

The match had come to a rather unexpected end, but this cemented a growing suspicion that Mega Man had all along. Something was up behind the scenes, and he was heavily into believing that Dr. Cossack wasn't the one truly at the helm of everything.

Note: Кольцо means Ring.

Sorry for the shorter chapter, but we're nearing the end! I'm going to try and power through, so here's hoping you'll stick with me!

Thank you for reading, and please give your input, as it both lets me know what you want from me, and how I can improve. Thank you!