Note: Anyway, things will still be a bit vague here, as it's still sort of set up, but I will explain things as time goes on. While I want to leave some intrigue and mystery in some areas (as even before it was revealed in the game, we all knew that Wily was the one behind everything), if you're confused about anything, just ask. I'll answer if it doesn't contain spoilers.
And as for the specific dates, I'm going off of when the episodes originally aired. Mega X aired on December 3rd, but given that never happened in this continuity (aka, I don't like it, so I'm pretending it doesn't exist), MM4 is taking its place. And unlike the previous versions of this series, things will be in episodes, yes, but they'll be spread out over arcs and sagas.
Detour
I'm sorry, Mikhail. Dr. Light thought, the two Interpol agents on the other side of the small table. He had been taken from New York to an undisclosed location. He wasn't told where he was taken, but the scientist knew well that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon until he answered their questions.
"All right, so let's review." Gilbert Stern began, folding his arms, the urge to down some black coffee stronger than ever. He'd have to step out soon to get his caffeine fix soon. "Your last contact with Dr. Cossack was around November nineteenth, right?"
"Yes, that's right." Dr. Light answered. "That was before Wily decided to try and replace the electoral candidates with his robots."
"Yeah, that sounds like Wily." Roslyn Krantz agreed. "And this is the only time Cossack's contacted you since then?" In a sense, seeing as technically, the Russian man sent a message out to everyone present at the expo.
"Indeed." Light revealed. He hated having to do this, he felt as if he were betraying the man's trust, but he had no choice.
"And no one else is aware of your and Cossack's conversations?" Stern questioned.
"No." the older robotics expert responded. "Neither Mega nor Roll knows I even am familiar with the man. When we first started exchanging calls, not long after my partnership with Wily ended," he explained. "Then again, I'm sure you are aware of all of that." Indeed, they were. The Russian government wouldn't just let one of the most valuable scientists just talk to anyone, let alone give away any of the country's secrets. The calls between Dr. Light and Dr. Cossack had been tracked since they began. "But I have something to ask you, if I may." Dr. Light asked.
Stern and Krantz looked at each other, then back to the older man. "Sure. Go on."
"Where has he been?" he asked. "Why has he only been found now?"
"We can't reveal all of that information," Krantz told him. "But when he was set to return to his native country after a trip to Japan, he didn't return. His hotel room was searched through, and a search party was put together for him." the truth was, it wasn't the first time Cossack had been reported trying to stay away from going "home" right away. But this time, he wasn't found. "
"I see." Light said, looking down at the table's surface. "Go through all the calls if you must. I have nothing to hide," he answered. "But you won't find anything. He mentioned next to nothing about doing…this!"
Roslyn and Gilbert looked at each other again, silently reading the other's features and seeing what they were thinking. Neither of them suspected that Light was involved with Cossack in any way, after all, what gain would there be for him? Still, it was unanimously agreed that there was more to this situation than met the eye. Cossack's actions had to be spurred by something, or was he just biding his time? No one knew what to think, but one thing was for sure.
"Anyway, regardless," Gilbert said. "Those machines of his need to be found before he can let any of them out!"
Kolmya
The snow was getting thicker and thicker, her advanced sight not doing her much good as she tried to steer forward. "Hang on, Eddie!" Roll called back to the smaller, green energy dispenser, the little robot barely able to keep his seat behind the blonde robot. "We're almost there! I think."
It was challenging to navigate this weather with only a hoverbike, Roll wished that she had taken the cruiser. At least that would have something covering her head. But she couldn't afford to worry about such things now. Her brother needed her. Or rather, needed Eddie. As much as she hated it, she knew she couldn't do anything for him in this situation.
Always the same old story, isn't it, Mega? Roll thought. Perhaps she was being selfish, but sitting on the sidelines for so long was beginning to eat at her.
But she was pulled from her thoughts when the hoverbike hit something. It was an incoming, blue object, Roll was unable to swerve out of the way in time. Instead, whatever she had hit went spinning down, down, down, falling into the dense forest below.
"Oh, my gosh!" Roll shouted, immediately steering the hoverbike toward where the small, flying thing had fallen. She leaped out into the snow, rushing over to the round indention that had been created. "Hey, are you ok?" she picked up the object, seeing that it was a blue-bird bot. The bird-bot shook his head (or rather, his entire body) and got the snow off of him but covered Roll in the snow in the process. "H-Hey! Hey! Watch it!"
"How about YOU watch it?" the bird-bot remarked. "I'm the one with wings, so I automatically have the right of way!"
"Whoa, you can talk?" the blonde housekeeper questioned, surprised to hear the bird speak fluently. Of course, it wasn't what she was expecting, considering Rush and Eddie's "unique" manner of speaking.
"Of course, I can talk!" the bird-bot exclaimed. "But I don't have time to do that now! I've got places to go!" he was about to fly off, but a restraining hand seized him by his helmet.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Roll told the bird-bot. "What's the rush?" she then looked him over, noticing that while he was in decent condition, someone had roughed him up a good deal. "You should maybe get yourself checked out. Those dents don't look so good."
"I'm fine!" the bird-bot wrestled his way out of her grip, flapping his wings and twisting until she let go. "If I don't hurry, I might be too late!" he then flew off, leaving Roll and Eddie alone in the sea of snow-covered trees.
What was that about? Well, whatever. Whoever that bird-bot was, he was long gone now. Getting back on the hoverbike, Roll took off, Eddie trying to keep himself balanced in the seat to avoid falling off. Sometimes he hated not having any arms. But, as she continued to go towards her destination, Roll couldn't help but wonder just what that bird-bot was doing out here. And what did he mean by being "too late?"
?
"Y-You!" Kalinka saw the scarf-wearing robot, and she immediately remembered how she had come to be here. It didn't take long for her anger to build up. "Where am I?! What is this place?! Where's Papa?! Where's-"
"Geez, one thing at a time!" Proto Man shouted, covering his audio receptors on both sides of his helmet. She could've shattered glass with how loud she was yelling. "Your voice is like nails on a chalkboard."
The blonde Russian puffed out her cheeks, clearly insulted. "How dare you-"
"Though to answer your question, you're here thanks to your dear ol' dad," Proto told her.
"What?" Kalinka questioned.
"Yep. Pops wanted to bring you here. Or rather, Wily managed to convince him to bring you here."
"What of Wily?" Kalinka ran up close to the bars, trying to get closer to the robot outside of her prison. "What has he done to Papa?!" she demanded. "And who do you think you are putting me in this?! Let me out of here!"
She seethed as she saw the robot smirk. She was utterly helpless, and he knew it. "I already told you, Princess; your Papa and Wily are best buddies now. In fact, they've been busy working on some shiny new toys he's going to present to the world. And Dr. Cossack said he wanted his little girl to have a front-row seat for it all."
"You lie!" Kalinka roared, though it was clear her captor wasn't intimidated. "You lied then, and you lie now! All you say is lies!"
"Then tell me, why are you here now?" Proto Man asked her. Kalinka opened her mouth to protest but found herself unable to come up with anything. "Why did Wily have me and the rest of the guys go up in the mountains with feet upon feet of snow on the ground, locate your house, turn that place upside down, and then run out into the woods? Just to visit you and play hide and seek?"
The curly-haired young woman gripped the bars of the large cage, wanting nothing more than to bust out and tear this metallic bastard's throat out. Yet she knew that it was just a fantasy. And, even if it made her hate him more, she realized Wily's second-in-command was right. They were sent there specifically for her. And while she didn't want to admit it, she couldn't ignore all the signs she dismissed before. Her father hadn't come home or contacted her since the middle of November. Beat couldn't reach him, nor could the government. Her father just disappeared.
"Where is Papa?" she then said, her voice not as aggressive as before. "Where is he? Take me to him!"
"Uh, yeah. No way." the red and grey machine said. "Your keister is staying here where we can keep an eye on you. Speaking of," he then turned away from the human. "Hey! It's your guys' turn!"
Two familiar Robot Masters came from around the corner, Cut and Guts Man. "What, already?" Cut Man asked. "But she just woke up!"
"Exactly." Proto Man told them. "And I already need a break from her." he then turned to leave.
"Wait, where are you going?" Guts Man questioned.
Proto Man stopped for a moment, presenting his buster to the other two machines. "I've got to blow off some steam." with that, he left three perplexed individuals, and he went off on his own.
Cut and Guts Man then looked at their blonde prisoner. "So," Guts Man began. "Now what?"
How dare he. How DARE he keep him out of this!
Proto Man continued firing shot after shot at the rock wall he stood in front of, the continuous onslaught of plasma carving into the wall's surface. This place's fixedness wasn't guaranteed; the tunnels he currently resided in were quite old, having been carved into the mountain decades ago.
But Proto Man didn't care at the moment. He continued firing. How dare he, he thought. How DARE that old man put me on guard duty!
When he and the rest of the assembled team had come back with their catch, Dr. Wily had, of course, told Cossack to deliver his message. But after that, just when Proto Man was going to take his place with Cossack's other bots, Wily stopped him.
"Cossack's supposed to be the face of this whole operation!" the balding man told the red robot. "The minute you show your face, the whole plan will be ruined! So you're staying in that mine, and you are WATCHING that brat!" before Wily departed to oversee Cossack's announcement, he left Proto with one last message. "If it matters that much to you, I can see if maybe you can get a surprise drop on the blue dweeb."
Oh yeah, that makes that SO much better, Doc. The machine rolled his eyes from beneath his thick visor. Well, whatever. If there was any good news about this, then he wasn't the only one that would be able to watch over the brat.
"Soldier! There you are!" a commanding voice suddenly said, though Proto Man wasn't intimidated. A humanoid robot dressed in a thick, blue thermal suit with large eyes stood by Proto, hands on his hips. "You were supposed to report to your comrades that your shift was over!"
"Or did you simply hand the task over to someone else?" another voice questioned, tone smooth and silky, a far cry from what it had been before. Had it not been for the red sections of his armor, or his vibrant, yellow markings, the Robot Master would've been entirely invisible in the darkness. Elec Man flicked a lightbulb dangling above them. He then looked at the rock wall Proto was standing in front of. "Well, that looks like it's taking a beating." he then crossed his arms. "I suppose someone is still sore over not being able to be part of the Cossack's little game?"
"No!" Proto Man denied it. "I'm just mad I'm stuck with that stupid human is all!" he huffed. He was about to fire again but found himself out of energy. Damn, he was going to need to refuel before he made his "surprise" entrance. "Why does Bright Man, Bright Man get to take my bro on, but I'm the one stuck here?! He could've sent anyone else!"
"Oh please." The reprogrammed DLN scoffed. "You would go through any of those bots just to get to Mega Man."
Proto Man scowled. Perhaps Cossack's minor "tweaks" and "improvements" weren't exactly a good thing after all.
"May I suggest something, sir?" Ice Man piped up, sounding much meeker than before. "Permission to speak, soldier." he quite literally told himself. "How about we alternate during one-hour intervals?" he then asked Proto and Elec Man. "That way, everyone has an equal amount of time?"
The two robots looked at each other, then at Ice Man. "Sorry, but my job is to keep this place up and running. Watching the girl will be your problem." Elec Man said dismissively before going off.
"What?!" Ice Man roared. "You can't do that! We're all part of a unit that requires each member to-hey! Are you listening to me?! Get back here!"
And thus, Ice Man was gone too, leaving Proto Man alone. While he was thankful he had the solitude to brood, he still had a problem. Just how was he going to make it from here to the citadel? It was miles from here! He had to figure out something. Otherwise, someone would take his brother out before him!
He needed some time, but he would figure out something. One way or another, he would worm his way into this whole operation: one way or another.
Citadel
Entering through the door, Mega Man found himself in yet another chamber, only now, there were eight platforms all situated in a circle, another platform in the center. He had little idea what they meant, but he suspected he was going to find out.
"Before you is your challenge." Cossack's voice came up from the speaker system, his voice echoing and reverberating off the walls. "Each of these platforms shall take you to a designated area where you shall fight one of my robots, each more powerful than the last." the platforms then began to glow, a green light shining up from their centers. "Once you have defeated them all, then you shall be allowed to come to me." the center platform was the only one not lit, signifying that was his ticket to getting to Cossack directly. "Bear in mind, you only have a limited amount of time, so I suggest you choose carefully." the chamber then grew silent, and Mega Man knew that the scientist had gone.
Mega Man looked at the ring of glowing platforms, debating which one to choose. Ultimately though, he doubted that it mattered, as he had no idea where any of them led to. But it was as Cossack said: he was being timed.
"Here it goes." the Blue Bomber said, stepping onto one of the platforms, a ring of green light shining around him. Then, the light began to shine brighter to where his optics momentarily shut down from the intensity of it. It very much reminded him of Bright Man's ability. But before he could ponder any further, Mega Man found himself disappearing from view, the light closing in around him until it swallowed him entirely, leaving no trace of him.
When he found himself on solid ground again, the Blue Bomber was nearly tempted to kiss it. While he was still present and alive, he felt as if he was jerked off his feet and sent flying to an unknown destination. And all he could see what the green light. He couldn't feel the ground underneath him, let alone have any sense of time or place. It was a rather extreme experience for his systems to take.
Thankfully, it seemed to be all over. Mega Man found himself in a room that looked to be fashioned after some sort of jungle or rainforest, the walls decorated with paintings of leaves and thick, dense brush. If anything, Mega Man found himself likening it to a child's playroom where they could be allowed to let adventures in distant lands be expressed through their imagination. An odd choice for what he assumed to be a battlefield, Mega Man thought.
But his thoughts were cut short when he realized he wasn't alone.
"Well, well, look who decided to hop on in!" a large, frog-like Robot Master with a large, toothy smile with equally large, yellow lips said, looking at his opponent with anticipation.
Outside the Citadel
Given how big this place is, you would've thought that it'd be easier to find! Roll thought as she saw the large fortress from above.
Flying down, she was immediately greeted by a white-haired man. "Ivan Petrov. Are you one of Light's bots?" he questioned the blonde.
"Yeah, that's me," Roll answered. She then picked Eddie up. "I'm here to drop off some cargo."
Eddie squirmed in her grip. "Cargo!? Eddie, not cargo!"
"Hey, I'm only teasing!" she told the smaller, green robot. "Is Mega inside?" she asked Petrov.
The Russian agent nodded, but a booming voice commanded everyone's attention before he could answer. "Did I not ask that Mega Man and Mega Man ALONE come to my citadel?!"
So, this guy's Dr. Cossack. Roll observed. True, she had seen the man when he made his announcement, but she couldn't exactly get an idea of the man's personality from that. Yet his sudden outburst gave her some idea. Well, he's just about as vocal as Wily.
"Any further attempts to enter the citadel shall be met with the appropriate measures!" the cannons atop the citadel aimed directly at the small group of Russian agents and the blonde robot, Eddie hiding behind her. "I will not hesitate to shoot!"
Everyone stood where they were, not wishing to risk being at the receiving end of the cannon's blast. Roll looked at the door to the fortress. It was so close, she could perhaps make it if she ran fast enough. True, she was no Quick Man, but she was pretty quick on her feet! At least, that's what she told herself. She could just scoop Eddie up and-
Suddenly, she heard a beeping in her ear. She immediately knew who was trying to contact her. "Roll, there you are!" Dr. Light's said from her audio receptor built into her ear. "I've been trying to reach you for the past half-hour!"
"Sorry, Doc." Roll apologized. "This isn't the easiest place to get a signal."
"Right, sorry. I'm just relieved that you're all right." the scientist told his creation. "Where is Mega?"
"He's inside the citadel," Roll told Light. "But Cossack's not letting anyone else in; otherwise, he'll fire."
"Which is a good indicator for you not even to try it." Dr. Light told her, knowing well what the robot wanted to do.
Damn. She thought. Still, she knew that there were more pressing matters at hand. "Have they found any of those machines Cossack was talking about?" she asked.
"Unfortunately, no." the Doc told her. "I can't tell you where I am," Light then whispered to her. "But I can tell you that we're doing all we can."
She didn't know why she was even asking, as obsessing over the old man constantly was her brother's thing. Still, Roll found the question clawing and gnawing at the back of her mind until she came out and said it. "Any news on what Wily's been up to?"
"There's been nothing as of late." Dr. Light confessed. "But the fact he's been quiet is even more distressing." it seemed that, despite him not even being present, the balding mad scientist was on everyone's minds. "But enough about that." Light then said. "Given the circumstances, I think you should take Eddie and return home."
"What?!" Roll exclaimed. "Why?!"
"Because there's nothing that we can do now." the Doc told her. "It's out of our hands as to what happens now."
"Hey, Mega will get this guy!" Roll declared. "This guy's just a cheap imitation of Wily! And that old guy's always screwing up! Or Mega kicks his butt."
"There is no other choice." Dr. Light said. "I'm not having another one of you be in danger. Come right back home." with that, the call ended.
Roll looked up at the citadel, then to the hoverbike, she had ridden. "Roll?" Eddie asked, the taller blonde's blue eyes not leaving the fortress for some time. Then, Eddie felt himself being picked up and put back on the hoverbike.
"I'm sorry there isn't anything we can do," Roll told Ivan Petrov. "But I can at least wish my brother good luck!" Good luck. Yeah right. Seeing as there was nothing else she could do, the DLN drove the hoverbike up into the air, then away from the fortress until she became little more than a dot in the sky.
Citadel
"Toad Man?!" Mega Man exclaimed, shocked. "You're one of Cossack's robots?!"
"Sure am!" the toad-based Robot Master declared. "It feels good not to have to work for that Wily loser anymore! Now I can get to take care of you personally!" he shouted. "I still haven't *ribbit* forgiven you for humiliating me that day!"
What day was that? Oh, Mega Man then remembered. That day when he went to that Robosaur park, and when Dr. Wily and Otto Raptor decided to unleash that virus to turn robots into, as Wily put it, "mindless cave bots." Yeah, that was one of his more…interesting dealings with the madman. Still, Mega Man was confused about something. "Oh yeah. That. But what did I do? I didn't even blast you!"
"You made everyone laugh at me!" Toad Man shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the Blue Bomber. "All I was getting all day was 'Oooh, look at that! All Mega *ribbit* Man needs to do is get an umbrella!' or 'Hey, Toad Man! How's the weather looking? Why don't you do a little rain dance'!?"
Mega Man was kind of taken aback. "I'm…sorry?"
Toad Man seemed different than before. True, while the Robot Master wasn't the most frequent foe he had to deal with, the couple of times he did see him, he seemed to be like a lot of Wily's other bots: dim-witted and overall, not very bright. But now, while there hadn't been any signs of that. Before, Toad Man probably would've forgotten the incident entirely, as Mega doubted Wily put much care into cleaning up his robots' CPUs. Yet here he was, swearing vengeance on him. Perhaps he was looking too deep into it, but the Blue Bomber sensed that something was different.
And maybe he was in more danger than he initially realized.
Above the Mountains
Well, this trip was a waste of time! She knew that it was somewhat selfish on her part to be disappointed she couldn't do anything, but still, what harm would there have been to let Eddie inside the citadel? He let Rush in!
Whatever the case, if that jerk lays a hand on Mega, then-
BAM!
Once again, Roll had crashed into something, the object flying down and landing in the snow several feet below the hoverbike. Landing, Roll ran over to the round indent in the white powder, only to see a familiar face pop up. Or rather, a pair of large blue eyes, the rest of him was buried in snow.
"You!" the bird-bot shook himself off, covering Roll and Eddie in the thick powder. "Looks like your driving skills haven't improved at all!"
The blonde was offended. "Yeah, and your sense of direction is still awful." Roll retorted, folding her arms. "What are you doing out here anyway?" she looked the bird over again, noticing that he still had the same injuries as before. Had he not gone somewhere for repairs?
"It's not any of your business." the bird-bot said, fluttering up out of the snow. He tried to rise, but one of his wings wasn't moving as it was supposed to. Probably from that Guts Man jerk. "I've got to get to…ah!"
"Whoa, hey! Take it easy!" Roll exclaimed, catching the bird-bot before he could plummet into the snow again. Then, lifting him, Roll didn't like what she saw. "You don't look so good." she surveyed his injuries. "Hey, why don't you hitch a ride with me back to the lab? The Doc can patch you right up, good as new!"
"There's no time for that!" the bird-bot told her, trying to fly out of her grasp. "I've got to go, otherwise she might not make it!"
"Who won't make it? But, hey, slow down!" Roll refused to let go of the flapping blue bird But stopped when a sharp pain assaulted his damaged wing. She then turned him around to face her. "Ok, now," she said. "What is going on? Why are you in such a hurry?"
The bird-bot looked down at the ground, then sighed. "I'm…" He was ordered not to mention Kalinka's name to anyone other than a very select few, but he had to say something! Yet Cossack's direct command was put into his systems; he couldn't disobey it, even if he wanted to. And a good portion of him wanted to say to hell with the rules and spill everything. But he couldn't. "I'm…looking for someone." But perhaps he could tell this robot in another way.
"Who?" Roll questioned.
"Look, could you please let me go?" the bird-bot demanded, though he phrased it as a question. "If I don't hurry, she might…" he stopped himself.
Roll had little idea what was going on, yet what was clear to her was that this robot needed help. And from the sound of it, someone else was too. "Here." she then placed the bird on her shoulder. "Before we go any further, what's your name?"
"Beat." the bird-bot told her.
"Beat, huh? Well, Beat," she then placed Eddie on the hoverbike before getting on herself. "You need help? Well, you just found some!"
Note: I want to show off their "updated" personalities, and I'll be getting to how and why the Robot Masters don't appear as one-dimensional mooks.