My eyes snapped open, and I sat up on high alert. I glanced around, and to my pleasant surprise, found myself on my lab table in Light Labs. Out the window in front of me, the light of the sun was just coming over the horizon. Looking to my left, I saw the other Robot Masters laying peacefully in a row. Ice Man, directly to my left, also sat up.

He looked down at himself. "We-we're alive!"

He looked up and saw me, and straightened back up, saying with more composure, "Your assumption must have been correct."

"Rock! You're active!"

I turned around and saw Dr. Light staring at me with joy. The real Dr. Light, looking as sharp as ever (although he did show signs of not getting much sleep).

He quickly got up and hurried over, wrapping me in a tight hug. "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried we were losing you."

Ice Man cleared his throat. "Ice Man, reporting for duty, Doctor!"

Light turned and quickly embraced Ice Man as well, which I think caught the robot off guard. When Dr. Light released him, he seemed flustered.

I looked over and noticed Roll standing quietly by Dr. Light's computer. She looked back at me, and after a moment, she smiled.

"If you'll excuse my interrupting, Doctor," Ice Man said, "What exactly has been happening?"

He separated himself and brushed off his coat. "I'm not quite sure. Something happened during the update. I was woken up during the night by an alert. When I came in here, all of you weren't in any physical peril, but your systems had begun destroying themselves."

I frowned. "Any idea what caused it?"

Dr. Light rubbed the back of his head. "All I can say for sure is that it was some kind of influential foreign program. Something all of you were exposed to, or perhaps the computer system. But while computer had firewalls to block it out, you were all affected."

Roll finally spoke up. "You all registered being in significant pain or turmoil while we were working on reactivating you. If your systems were forced under those conditions for much longer, some of you might have taken serious damage to your vital hardware. Do you have any idea what that was doing to you?"

Ice Man and I looked at one another briefly. "You...don't want to know." I told her.

I looked over at the others. "So how soon will they be back?"

Dr. Light shrugged. "It's hard to say. Their systems are still returning to normal. They were in much more jeopardy than the two of you. The self-repairs are fairly simple, though. They should be up and running by mid-afternoon."

It was then that I noticed the time it must be. "Did you say that this happened in the middle of the night?"

"Yes."

"So, what you're saying is you've been up for hours now working on getting us back online? How much sleep did you get?" I asked.

The doctor chuckled and patted me on the back. "Believe me, after that presentation yesterday, any sleep was fine."

I couldn't help but disagree. "Doctor, you just operated on energy provided by epinephrine for several consecutive hours, without the support of a proper night's sleep. Even if you're still feeling alright, you need to rest."

He shook his head. "I appreciate your concern, Rock, but sometimes you need to do things that are-"

Roll interrupted him. "Stop right there, mister."

We all froze and looked at her.

"He's right, you know. Rest is a very important factor in accomplishment on a given day. You can't be expected to perform you best today after the stress of yesterday and this morning with only a few hour's sleep in between."

"Now come on..."

"And I know what you're thinking, but when you have the option, you should always choose to be better rested. I can assure you Doctor that nothing will go awry while you do."

He turned between Roll and me for a moment, as if trying to judge how difficult it would be to break our determination. Finally, his hands went up. "Very well. Since you two insist, I suppose a nap couldn't hurt."

Roll's body relaxed. "Thank you, Doctor."

After he had left the room, I looked over at Roll. "Thanks for the help."

"I did what's best for the doctor. That's what I was built to do." She said with a nod. "But also, you're welcome."

I nodded. Shortly afterward, something occurred to me. I turned to Ice Man. "Wait a minute. The only time all of us could have been afflicted was during the update, right?"

He cocked his head. "...Yeah..."

"So that means whatever happened was during the night, before Dr. Light woke up. Maybe we can see something on the security camera."

I got to my feet and walked over to the computer. I tapped some keys, and found myself at a password screen.

"Any ideas?" I asked him.

After his reply was very delayed, I turned around. He sat silently, staring at the ground. "While I very much admire your determination, soldier, I just can't do this right now. I'm not ready to move past what I saw in there."

I had tried to shove those feelings out as soon as I knew they weren't real, but he had a point. His very foundation had been shaken.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Not a problem, buddy. Whoever did this, I'll give 'em one for your sake."

After heading to the computer yet again, I ran through possibilities in my head. I could always just ask him, but I had a feeling Dr. Light would rather have us wait. And I wasn't going to let this wait.

"Capital R, n, capital R, family."

I turned around to look at Roll, who had begun innocently sweeping the corners of the room. She looked back up at me. "No spaces."

I smiled back and inputted the characters she gave me. The computer accepted the password, and I went in and pulled up the security camera files. After a bit of searching, I made my way to the footage from last night. I sat through several minutes of sped up film, before something passed by quick enough that I almost missed it. I turned back several minutes and resumed at normal speed. As all of us lay silently in a row, something began to happen in the background.

Outside the window, a figure rose on some sort of flying platform to the level we were positioned at. It grabbed Quick Man's boomerang that had been stuck in the window, and carefully carved out a whole to enter the building through. They stepped gently inside, keeping to the shadows, and approached the computer console, which was putting out only a dim light. In that lighting though, I could clearly see a skull-like face.

He placed his hands on the console, and bright blue energy began to move from his arms into the machinery. Once he was finished, he simply walked out, replacing the window as he went, and carefully sealing it once more.

My emotions at feeling betrayed had me distracted, so I was startled when Metal Man said beside me, "So that's the son of a ***** that put me under. Good to know."

(Author Note: Metal Man is the only character in this story who can curse. Even so, he is censored, because this story should be pretty much enjoyable for everyone.)

I turned to him, and he nodded. "Thanks for the tip, Mega."

My hand shot out and grabbed his arm. "You're not going by yourself."

He didn't immediately reply, didn't react physically. He only paused, before saying slowly, "Let...go." His head turned to face me, and I was left staring into piercing red eyes.

Nevertheless, I shook my head. "Not gonna happen. If you're going, I'm coming with you."

"Great. Captain Softy gets to babysit." He yanked his arm away.

"This is about robots, Metal. Not people. I don't know what's going on yet, but we're going to find out, and that robot is going to pay."

Metal Man stared silently out the window, tapping his foot gently on the ground. "...Yeah. Alright." He turned away and walked to the door.

Before I joined him, I looked over at Roll. She still pretended to be invested in her cleaning, but one eye was watching us. I made my way over to her, but rather than facing her directly, I turned and leaned my shoulder against the wall.

"You know, those walls are a pain to get dirt and stains out of." She said with a small smile.

I rolled my eyes, but still removed myself from the wall. I decided not to waste time. "Why are you helping us with this?"

Her broom stopped, and she took a contemplative position. "...I don't know. I still think I'm angry whenever you go out into battle, but..."

I continued. "...But...?"

She hung her head. "I'm starting to realize it's really not because you love fighting. It's because you care. You care so much about everyone and everything that you can't help but make the sacrifice. The way you talked to Ice Man, how you handle...any of the robots, honestly, it's just...special."

Roll resumed sweeping. "I don't enjoy what you do. But when I see why you do it...it makes me proud you're my brother."

I let a little smile slip.

"If you're done with the sap, I've got payback to deliver." Metal growled from across the room.

The two of us rolled our eyes. I waved Roll goodbye and turned to leave. Before I did, however, I stopped and told her, "I love you, sis."

She nodded with a big smile. "I love you too."

-Later-

 It was surprisingly easy to locate Dr. Cossack's apartment. Seeing as he didn't live here, it made since he would take somewhere reasonably low quality for the brief time he would be here for the convention.

It was early afternoon as we entered the building. I kept my helmet at my side, not wanting to give an overly threatening vibe. Then again, I had Metal Man behind me, who was holding a Metal Blade and appeared ready to mutilate anybody who looked at him the wrong way.

The woman at the reception desk looked up and froze when she saw us. I gave a friendly wave. "We'd like to talk to Dr. Cossack, please."

She blinked a couple times, eyes wide, before shaking her head and looking down at some papers. "Yes, well, I'm afraid that's not possible."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, he, um, told us he was leaving sooner than expected. Found a better flight, I guess."

I shrugged. "I guess so. Thanks for your help." I turned and walked away, being sure to grab Metal Man to make sure he didn't decapitate her. I knew he had been reprogrammed not to harm humans, but I wasn't gonna test that.

Of course we didn't leave. We walked right to the stairs. When we came to his floor and his room, we stopped outside. I tapped on the door. No response came from inside.

"Okay. We've got to think about this carefully. How can we enter without-" I looked up and saw Metal Man, standing in front of the door, with his leg raised. "Metal!" I whispered as loudly as I dared. "This is supposed to be a stealthy investigation!"

He looked over at me like I was an idiot. "I know."

Then he kicked the door down.

"Shoot." I loaded my Mega Buster and stepped into the room behind him. Aside from the destroyed door, everything appeared very clean and organized. I glanced into the bathroom. It appeared virtually untouched. The two of us slowly moved into the main area of the room. A single bed sat up against the wall, its sheets and blankets pristinely folded over. The pillows were well fluffed and arranged elegantly, and a set of extra bed sheets sat atop the surface. Nothing appeared even slightly touched. You could actually find a fine layer of dust on some parts of the room.

I frowned as I looked at the bed. "I doubt room service would have gotten here already..."

Metal Man stopped and shifted his blade in his hand. "Someone just stopped moving out in the hallway."

I shook my head and whispered, "My guess would be they saw that this room is now missing a door."

"I can dismember them before they even know we're here." He replied.

"What? No!"

I could hear a sigh from outside the room. "You can relax. It's just me."

The deep voice was relatively familiar, but I wasn't getting anything. "...I don't recognize him."

"I can remove a limb. Non-lethally."

The voice tried again, this time with a little more desperation. "Wait--please. This is Break Man."

I snapped my fingers. "Oh yeah. That makes sense."

Metal remained in a battle ready position. "...So I can't kill him..."

Now it was my term to sigh. "First rule of society: You don't have to kill anyone who's a stranger." I moved past him and walked outside the room. Just to the right of the doorway was Break Man, wearing his usual red apparel. "You're fine. Metal Man's a little jumpy."

He nodded. "I gathered that." He turned around, and for the first time, I noticed that Rush had been standing behind him, positioned ready to act. Break Man bent over and offered a hand to the dog. "At ease, boy."

Obediently, Rush settled down to a relaxed state. He politely licked the hand before bounding over to me, tongue still hanging out of his mouth. The action made me feel sort of resentful. "How'd you manage to get him?" I asked with a frown.

"I went to Light Labs to talk about something. You weren't there, and Dr. Light was resting. I tried to talk to him anyway, but...Roll is persistent."

'That she is." I replied.

"I found out where you went, and managed to convince her to let me take Rush to you. She barely let me leave."

I nodded, giving Rush's head a pat. "Why were you trying so hard to find us?"

"I've been doing some investigating since we last spoke. I noticed that some of the actions of Mikhail Cossack were...skeptical." He nodded toward the room. "I hoped to address my concerns with you and Dr. Light, but..."

"Yeah, we're already on that trail too." I looked back inside. "But I want to give him the benefit of the doubt first."

The two of us re entered, finding Metal Man still clutching a Metal Blade, ready to strike. I put a hand up. "Dude. Relax."

With great reluctance, he lowered his weapon.

I looked around the room in a quick glance. "Any idea what kind of stuff we're looking for?"

"It's doubtful he'd forget to take anything crucial with him. Nevertheless, anything out of the ordinary will be worth investigating." Break Man replied.

Rush put his nose to the ground, and began sniffing. I remembered his canine senses, and knelt down beside him. "What's up, boy?"

He continued with his head down, and moved slowly forward, swinging his head back and forth to keep traveling in the right direction. He turned a little bit as we passed the bed, walking up to the nightstand before lifting his head, and pointing his body stiffly toward the piece of furniture. 

I looked over to Break Man, who nodded slowly. I reached out and took the handle of a drawer, and carefully pulled it out. When I had pulled it all the way out, Break Man took it and began to feel around it. As he did, I noticed Rush still looking at the nightstand. I leaned over to look inside the hole the drawer had been in, and reached up to a strange spot on the wood.

"Nothing here." Break Man announced just as I removed something from adhesion to the nightstand. I pulled myself out and held up a small computer drive.

My brother rubbed his chin. "Why would he leave something like this here? It must be important."

I shrugged. "...Maybe he wanted someone to find it."

We looked at each other again, unsure of what to do.

"Oh for crying out loud." Metal snatched the drive from my hand, and tossed it to Rush, who caught it in his mouth. "Load it."

Rush opened his mouth up to a 90 degree angle, and the drive was shifted into a port in his tongue. From the roof of his mouth, a small projection camera emerged and began to shine a light at the bed in front of him.

Hurriedly, Break Man and I positioned him toward the TV, so that he could project onto the flat surface. We managed just in time for the image flickered, and changed.

We now looked at close up footage of Dr. Cossack's face. He seemed to be busy with something else, his eyes focused away from the camera. After a few seconds, he stepped back, brushing off a large brown trench coat. He cleared his throat and looked at the camera.

"To whoever may find this...my name is Dr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Cossack, and I believe the world is in great danger."

I looked over at Break Man, who kept his eyes focused on the screen.

Cossack took a breath and continued. "Allow me to explain. Some time ago, I was visiting a Brazilian colleague, to discuss the future of robotic design. Shortly after I met with him, however, something happened that made me curious."

"I saw a man among the crowds. A man I recognized from American news. His name was Albert Wily, a wanted criminal, involved in many dubious crimes performed by his robots."

Cossack lowered his head. "Perhaps I should have simply reported it to the police. Maybe this all could have been prevented. But I did not. I instead followed him, hoping that I mind learn why he came here, of all places."

"So I followed him for a long way.  I tried to be careful so as to not reveal that I was watching him. Unfortunately...I was unsuccessful. A robot knocked me out before I knew I had been found out, and I awoke in a cold, dark room. How much time had passed, I had no idea."

"Dr. Wily entered my room and explained to me what was going on. He revealed that we were in fact in an ancient temple. It was one I had heard of, deep in the Amazon jungle, which had peaked my architectural curiosity. He told me I had made a mistake in following him, but that he was willing to let me live."

"Albert then explained that he had found something here that was going to revolutionize the world of robotics. He was ecstatic about it, and wanted my help in investigating it. I couldn't imagine what it was, but I refused nonetheless."

The doctor's face fell. "It was then that he told me exactly why I would be helping him. Dr. Wily...has my daughter. My beautiful Kalinka."

I blinked. "I didn't know he had a daughter." I said as he continued to talk about her for a moment.

"Hold on. This could be important."

Cossack shook his head and returned to staring at the screen. "But that information is not nearly as significant as what I am about to say."

"Dr. Wily discovered, deep in this temple, what I can only describe as a technological wonder. It is an ancient machine. From what I have observed, it is dangerous, far more dangerous than I believe Wily understands, for these reasons: First, it is not of this world. The technology, which runs throughout the lower levels of the temple, has been there for centuries. It could not have been designed by man. I'm afraid the only other option is very alarming: it arrived here from somewhere...that is not on this planet."

I looked at Metal Man to see how seriously he was considering that statement, but he stood silently, eyes locked on the screen.

"Second, it is far more advanced than anything I have ever seen. The technology has unbelievable capabilities, sensors of every kind throughout the temple, and even the ability to serve as a remote control for other technologies. But the worst of this, is its ability to create robots."

"With only a design or a damaged shell, it can turn mere scraps into a fully functioning, deadly robot in a matter of hours. I do not know how long it will have been since I am recording this, but I believe Wily likely has an army ready. Some of them are...my own designs. There is no telling what it will take to stop him."

His head turned away again. "Finally, and most important...is its intelligence. Though my interactions with it have been limited, I can clearly see that it is incredibly perceptive, with an unbelievable ability to observe and adapt. And with that observation, I have sensed...hostility. Both toward myself and Dr. Wily. It is my opinion that it has no regard for living creatures in the slightest. It has named itself Ra Moon, and all of its machines answer to it foremost."

He walked closer to the screen. "Only recently have I been able to travel outside the temple. I was able to convince Wily that I would help him accomplish his goals while I was out here, but I am certain that Ra does not trust me. This may be my only chance to ask for help. Even my dear Pharaoh Man is outside of my control."

Cossack knelt in front of the camera and put his face in front of the full screen. "To whoever finds this, Ra Moon must be stopped, if it still can be. I believe Mega Man is the only hope to stop it. I have included coordinates in this drive for its approximate location. Under NO MEANS, should any of it be left to function. Destroy it all."

I stood silently, trying to process everything. Dr. Cossack sighed as he walked behind the lens. "And if it's at all possible...please save my daughter. She never deserved this."

The image turned to a fuzzy gray, and Rush lowered the roof of his mouth, walking over to me with the flash drive held gingerly in his jaw.

Break Man walked over to me and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Come on. Dr. Light needs to see this."

---

Okay, that's where we'll end it.

Things'll really pick up soon. And some very interesting stuff is about to be going on.

Oh, hold up. Something's going on right now...

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The man barely had enough time to get out of his car. As he stepped out of the door and began running, the spinning orange blur struck the vehicle, smashing the front bumper with considerable force, and spinning it off to the side, where it smashed into a nearby building.

After a few more seconds, the spinning slowed, and a humanoid robot twisted into a sleek, proud pose with his arms raised. "Woo! Exhilarating! We should have come out to play a lot sooner!"

A woman ran by several feet in front of him, a small child holding her arm beside her, taking to the shelter of a partially destroyed, empty building. They barely made it around the corner as the boy began quietly sobbing.

The mother began to console him. A strong, yet gentle masculine voice came from behind them.

"It will be all right. Stay here and await rescue." He said in Japanese. The two turned around to look at the man, but he had already begun to walk outside, bare feet stepping softly on the cracked pavement.
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