Author's note: This story is an edit-together of a roleplay between myself and my friend Knickers that has been carried on through texts daily over the course of the past several months (since last March). Luckily we both have unlimited texting, otherwise we would both be broke by this point. We are trash and we enjoy shippy-feely relationship trash and this story reflects that, although it does have a story as well. This story roughly follows the overall Megaman story timeline. It most closely follows the Archie Comics Megaman timeline and secondly the game timeline with some influences from Megamix. However, this is an AU and it does not STRICTLY follow any timeline. That is why characters appear sooner or later than they normally would, why events are out of order, etc. If you want the actual timeline go read the comics or play the games.

Also Note: If we keep adding to this there is some shipping later on between the robots. You have been warned. Read at your own risk.


Chapter 1: A New Take on an Old Tale

Protoman's red helm rolls to the side as his vision fades out and back in before sliding away from him again. His limbs feel like lead, as impossible to move as an enormous bolder. Not for the first time he wonders if this is the end. It is a struggle to remain conscious-a constant fight when slipping away seems so easy... so tempting... He wants to rest.

His surroundings are a mass of broken limbs and shattered parts. Two sniper Joes stir from the mass of bodies, hobbling towards him. He can't fight them as they take either of his arms and begin dragging him away. It's a true testament to how exhausted he is that he doesn't even attempt to struggle—that he can't even work up the anger from humiliation to badmouth them.

Mega Man had been told of the disturbance within the city involving a group of Sniper Joes. He is quick to make it to the scene, knowing the Joes could cause some serious danger to civilians, but by the time he gets there, many have already been taken care of. Many of the Joes are in multiple parts, but two of them are moving away with someone. "Stop right there! Drop them now!"

Unfortunately, both drones pay him no heed, not recognizing the threat. They continue to drag their hostage through the mass of bodies to return to their master.

Mega Man quickly runs to block the two of them, and then he realizes who they're dragging. "Proto Man!" He gasps. He aims his cannon. "You let him go!"

Still nothing from the drones. Both are very set on their course and words do not worry them a bit. Protoman doesn't even register the voice-all sound becoming indistinct noise in his audial receivers growing ever more muffled... All he catches is a blue blur before his vision shorts out.

When warnings do nothing, Mega Man tries to force them to release his brother. That does it. The moment he gets physical things instantly change. The drones open up fire on their assailant.

Worried for Proto Man's safety, Mega Man has no choice but to take out the Joes quickly. He finds a spot of rubble to hide behind while he fires directly at their helms. The first Joe falls quickly but the second proves more resilient. He drops Protoman and quickly fires off three rounds in rapid succession, dodging pre-emptively afterwards.

With Protoman released, Megaman abandons his cover to move the battle away from his injured brother.

Another wave of vertigo passes through the addled warrior leaving him without sense of direction. It leaves the red bot with the sickening sensation of falling. He is only vaguely aware of being released and the battle ensuing around him. "Nngh... come on... snap out of it, Blues..." he mutters to himself.

Megaman is completely unaware that Protoman might still be conscious. He's far too focused on the last Joe.

It is an arduous fight but slowly Protoman sharpens his focus back to the present. It still feels like he's picking up a pile of lead blocks but he manages to get to his feet, picks up his shield, and begins hobbling away. His scarf, however, stays behind. It slipped from his neck during the earlier fight and now lies forgotten on the ground.

Finally the Joe makes a mistake of running out into the open, making it the perfect target.

Mega Man is quick to take advantage of the opportunity and fires away.

-shWOO-

The drone explodes violently, its parts flying everywhere.

Mega Man sighs. With that taken care of, he can now go to check on Proto-...

The other robot is nowhere to be found. At least... not at first. But as Protoman makes his escape he doesn't realize that he's leaking. A few droplets of his lifeblood drip behind him as he returns to his hideaway.

Where Proto Man's body was, there is only his scarf. Mega Man quickly grabs it, wondering what happened to his brother. Either he got up and left while he wasn't looking, or someone else took him. "Proto Man!" He calls out, looking for any sign of the other robot. As he takes a few steps away, he notices the droplets of blood on the ground. He starts running in the trail's direction. "Proto Man!"

The other robot is far ahead at that point. Back within the safety of his home he collapses back down into his "bed"-the foam within the upholstery leaking out a bit as he heavily plops down on it. "Ungh... just a... quick nap. Then I'll get back up."

Time passes.

The drops lead Megaman deeper into the city, towards the downtown area. Slowly the town becomes less friendly, the reputable-looking businesses fewer, and the dilapidated buildings more frequent. The drops of fuel lead into one such building.

The front doors are locked tight but not too far from the ground there's a shattered window just big enough...

Mega Man grows increasingly worried as he goes deeper and deeper into the city's seedy underbelly. He wonders why Proto Man would want to go to such an area. When he is lead to a particular building, he is quick to spot the window after trying the doors. "Proto Maaaannn!"

There is no answer.

This is clearly the end of the line. The trail of droplets leads no further.

Mega Man is stumped. Where could he be? The trail is gone. He must be somewhere though. He might have to explore this building on his own to find him.

Once he gets inside of the abandoned playhouse through the shattered window, it is a total mess. The air is dank and musty. The air inside is chilly. Worse yet, there is dust and spiderwebs and junk lying around everywhere-everything from old tires to rotting play bills, to empty buckets of popcorn. However, it is obvious that he is on the right track when freshly spilled "blood" is visible on the ground leading deeper into the building.

Mega Man shudders. Why would Protoman be somewhere so gross? He tries to quickly follow the trail to its source.

When he emerges into the central chamber everything is in a similar state of disarray. The wallpaper is faded and peeling off of the walls. The once-glorious chandelier hanging from the ceiling is now missing all but a few crystal tassles. The fold-out chairs are ripped from the ground and even shredded up in a few places leading up to the enormous center stage, The stage itself doesn't look horrible... but it too is old and falling apart. Once vibrant colors of a cardboard city scene are faded to grey. The outline of tall building cutouts intermingle with random trees and stone balustrades to produce a hybrid mash-up of many locations. Amongst the chaos sits a lone car at center stage... dusty, scuffed... but intact. The droplets lead up to its side. It gives Mega Man the creeps.

But there he is, lying inside. Protoman is unconscious now-totally out. He is laying in a small pool of his own fluids on top of the leather seats of the car where he's curled up into a somewhat fetal position.

As soon as Rock looks inside the car and finds his brother inside, he quickly decides to get him out of there. He is able to heft Proto Man, and he carries his brother out of the building before summoning Rush to help. The robot dog changes to his jet mode, and Mega Man places Proto Man on top of him so he can carry him home.

All this time the older robot never stirs, his power levels critically low, although if he were conscious he wouldn't be having any of it.

When Protoman next regains consciousness there are all sorts of things wrong, for starters the fact that he is strapped to a bed. He growls, immediately jerking and twisting to try to get free, nearly pulling out the IV sticking into a cable under the panel in his arm.

"Uurrhnnn... GRAAAH!"

Roaring in frustration, Blues tries to bite at the restraints to no avail.

Panic seizes at his core when he realizes how trapped he is. No. No. He has to get out of this before someone can try to open up and mess around with the things that make him tick.

"Hey hey stop that! You're going to hurt yourself!"

Protoman 's helm shoots in the direction of the voice, instantly recognizing it and instantly hating its owner.

"You."

Even through his visor, Mega can sense the glare from Protoman. "U-uh...I know you must be angry with me, b-but I had no choice!"

Protoman tries not to visibly grit his teeth. Keep your cool. The older bot lets his head roll to the side mockingly, almost coyly as he lilts his voice in sarcasm. "Oh? No no. I understand completely. How could you have made sure I wouldn't roll off of this bed without full body restraints? Looking after my well-being, as always. So thoughtful.

….But I'll bet these restraints weren't your idea, were they, little boy blue?"

Rock frowns fretfully. "Well...n-no..."

Protoman stares past him through the doorway, expecting the familiar form of his creator to be there. It isn't.

"We worried that if you reactivated any point through your repairs, you'd interrupt them and run away..." Rock explains.

"..."

Protoman feels cold inside. His core sinks. "Repairs ..."

"You were leaking!"

"..."

"And you were dangerously low on power. W-we didn't tamper with anything. I swear."

The fear that grips Protoman's damaged core lessens... but only marginally. "Well... if that'll be all I think I'll take my leave now."

Or so he says but he is just as bound as before and that's not quite an option at the moment.

"You still need to rest..."

Protoman tries transforming his arm into its cannon to blast his way out but something is preventing him from morphing it. "YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE THAT FOR ME!"

Megaman flinches but resolves to stand his ground. "Would you rather run back to that creepy abandoned theater to power down for good?"

Blues pauses… but soon his mouth quirks into a mocking grin. "Absolutely. Better than being a prisoner for the mad doctor and his obedient little pet knock-off."

Megaman frowns. "This is the thanks I get for saving you from those Joes, huh?"

Protoman laughs. "You? Saved me? I saved myself. It didn't matter that you interfered with the last two that I hadn't quite finished off yet. I was going to get them when I came back to. I'm the one that got myself out of there. And if you think you deserve any thanks for that you are W-R-O-N-G."

Even as he speaks another wave of fatigue is crashing over the red robot, fuzzing his thoughts again. Uugh... no. No not now. Not until he's free.

"If I hadn't come to take care of the last pair of Joes, they probably would have taken you straight to Wily." Rock counters

"Far from the worse that could happen. YOU took me straight to L..."

He trails off, sagging.

"You really think Wily would have been better?" The boy asks

Protoman gulps, trying to fight the threatening nausea and the haze overtaking his head. "Yes. And if you keep blindly following Light.. You must really not have a brain up in that head of yours... "

Rock begins to notice his distress. "...hey, are you okay...?"

Protoman is decidedly not but he tries not to show it. "If you're going to insist that I rest then leave"

Megaman sighs and decides to give Protoman some peace to rest. Before he leaves, he places an energy tank that his brother probably desperately needs beside him.

Blues doesn't intend to rest of course. The moment the blue bomber leaves he tries to claw himself out again. But his struggling is growing weaker…

…..

When Protoman wakes up, Megaman isn't in the room. Instead his sister Roll has been given the task to stand as guard in case anything should happen during the night. The robot girl did her best to stay alert, but at some point she finally powered down for recharge. She's still sleeping in her chair across from Protoman's bed.

"..."

Blues stares at the girl silently as he grows alert and works out what happened. He takes advantage of her sleeping state to drink in her appearance. Roll isn't like Megaman. She doesn't go around fighting. She isn't conspicuous. And as a result he has only seen her in passing and never up this close.

He tries to sort out how he feels about her. In a way... She's just another knockoff of him. But then... In another way she is something totally different.

As he ponders, Roll continues sleeping silently.

Protoman purses lips. Well whatever. It doesn't matter how he feels about her. The only thing that matters right now is escape, and so he focuses on his straps. He has three thick Velcro straps across his body and and one Velcro cuff around either wrist, and he really has to hand it to whoever invented Velcro…. it is surprisingly resilient. The straps themselves are fastened to small metal loops on the sides of the bed. Now those... Those he knows he can break if he can get enough of a vantage to push off of. For now he focuses on his legs, which don't have the added bindings his arms do. After some work he discovers he can turn them on their sides and begins to inch his knees up towards the first body strap. It takes a while because it's a tight fit but he finally manages to line one leg up with the strap where his knee is braced against one of the metal loops and the bottom of his foot is against his twin. Then he just braces himself and...

*SNAP*

The metal piece chinks off and his legs are free. Excellent.

The problem with Velcro? It's not exactly a quiet material. Roll begins to stir.

!

Thinking fast Blues grabs the loosened strap with his legs and positions it back to look like it's still in place before going limp, hoping she'll return to sleep.

"..."

Roll doesn't open her eyes. After a few moments her vents grow steady and the robot girl goes still again.

...close one.

Endeavoring to be more quiet this time, he goes back to work. The next strap is a bit more difficult it's over his midriff and its not quite as reachable. He tries to angle his legs up far enough to slip the tips of his feet under. If he could manage that he could just push up and snap the strap easily but unfortunately that kind of movement is outside of his range of mobility... So he takes a different approach. Blues begins to slip his head down towards the top strap that holds down his chest, inching lower down the bed until his head slips underneath it. His arms end up stretched and stranded under the top cord, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The previous midriff strap is now his chest strap, meaning he's able to arch his back up off the bed. Using his back to push up and his elbows to brace himself against it he thrusts up against the strap now behind his neck until it pops.

Roll stirs again but ultimately continues sleeping.

Once the top strap comes off its a small task to pop the middle one like he'd planned to earlier, pushing it to the breaking point with his legs... And then there are just two left.

[ 08, 2015 10:12:59 AM ] Me: The wrist straps are a problem. They're done in such a way that he cannot get them off by using his elbows to push against the bed and he also can't push well against them with his feet while he's laying down, but without the restraining straps he no longer has to be laying down, thus Blues inches his way up the bed until he's in the fetal position and rolls onto his feet to stand. Then all he has to do is push up.

….-POP-

"Gah!"

He would clamp his hands over his mouth if they were free, but they aren't. Shit. Dammit. The popping sound wasn't the restraint; it was something in the socket of his left arm. Pain lashes through it as he reflexively sinks back to the bed to relieve the pressure.

Roll's blue eyes immediately snap open. Blues freezes.

"Hey! What are you trying to do?"

Time's up. Protoman tugs hard again in spite of the enormous pain. Arms can be repaired. This time his left arm snaps free and he quickly undoes the last strap on his left arm. "Fancied a morning jog. Goodbye."

He jumps off of the bed, grabs his shield that lies in the corner of the room, and shoots out the door.

He flies down the hallway with all the speed he can muster-no small amount. The red bot's eyes scan for an exit sign but there are none in sight. They don't seem to be in a public access building. Despite its lab-like appearance, this is a residence, which means...

Behind him, Roll is making her way to catch up to him. She can be heard talking to someone. "Yeah, he's down the west corridor just outside of it! If you can make it in time we should be able to corner him!"

Just outside of it... Outside of what? He doesn't like that, so when he turns the corner he ducks inside of the nearest room and waits for them to pass.

Roll's footsteps can be heard slowing to a stop, and she sighs in frustration. "Rock? I lost sight of him. I dunno where he went, but he couldn't have gotten far. We all gotta keep our eyes peeled. Let me know if you spot him before I do."

Blues scans around the room he's inside of. He's in luck. There is a window here, meaning he can make it outside. It looks like a long drop but if he can get onto the ceiling and jump across the rooftops he'll be golden. Otherwise, the room he is in appears to be a bedroom. There are crayon and water-color drawn pictures on the wall depicting what he recognizes as flowers and animals. One such picture depicts Roll, Megaman, and an older human figure with a beard standing side by side smiling. The picture is captioned "family." Hmph. He snorts at it disdainfully before quietly creeping over to open the window.

The walls begin transferring the sound of doors being quickly opened and closed. Just outside the bedroom, a shadow passes.

Shit.

Blues swings himself outside and begins climbing the brick wall as fast as his injured arm will allow him. He isn't out of the fire yet.

Roll opens the door just in time to see him escape. "Hey!" She sends another message to Megaman. "He just climbed out the window of your room, Rock! It looks like he's going for the roof! You have to catch him up there!"

"Catch me if you can." Blues mutters when he reaches the rooftop and begins running for the nearest one. It looks like most of the nearby buildings should be easy jumps for someone with his legs. For now direction doesn't matter, only speed. He is just about to jump when a voice he hasn't heard in a while catches him.

"Blues wait!"

The red bot skids to a stop. He pauses, back turned to the voice of his maker.

Blues turns towards the doctor and stares at him, his core filling up with hot resentment. "You should call off your attack dogs if you don't want them to get hurt. If they keep pursuing me I make no promises."

Megaman is standing beside the doctor. He glares at his older brother. "You should know better than to think you can scare us off that easily." He stays close to his father, standing guard in the event Protoman might actually fire at him or if he simply runs off again. "Please, Blues...Roll told us that she woke up to the sound of you screaming. You still need more repairs. Please let us finish them."

There's a sinking feeling in Blues's chest as he stares at his brother, who he didn't realize was there before. It hurts more than he would have thought to watch their creator stand side by side with Blues's replacement, facing off against him.

He spits on the ground. "I'll die before I let you go planting your thoughts into my head."

Light frowns, not bothering to hide how much it hurts to see his oldest accusing him of such a thing. "That isn't true at all."

Megaman steps forward. "Just because I choose to protect my creator doesn't mean I'm a lap dog. Why is it to you that caring about those other than yourself is a sign of dependence or lesser intelligence?"

"He's playing you the fool, Megaman. Family? Father? It's just a clever, twisted man's chain to get you to do what he wants. You are a glorified tool."

The boy shakes his helm, angry. "We're well aware how easily you'd let yourself die. You nearly did it yesterday-almost bleeding out inside a junky car in the middle of an abandoned theater. That's really the way you'd prefer it all to end, huh? Alone, amongst the broken-down and forgotten pieces of the past, wrapped up in your own melodrama?"

Light seems surprised by his son's unusually biting words towards Protoman. He mutters to him and tries putting a hand on the boy's shoulder to calm him down.

Blues growls, the words are knives that stab at him. "Better to die alone and free than enslaved among company. Don't let him see if you start to doubt in him, Megaman. You might be on that table next."

With nothing to say to the doctor, Blues launches into the air and runs away across the rooftops. His arm drags behind him, dangling uselessly. That's okay. He knows where he can get it fixed.

Light sighs sadly as he disappears. Megaman doesn't bother chasing him, wanting instead to place a hand on his father's arm.

"You know I can't let that happen, Rock..."

"I do...We'll keep an eye out for him. If he gets into trouble again, if he needs help..."

"Bring him back. I don't care what he might break if he wakes up here again." Light reaches down to squeeze his son's hand. "But I do care about what he might do to you."

Megaman tries to crack a smile. "Oh c'mon. If he gets into bad enough shape again, he won't be able to touch me. I wouldn't even mind a few dents if it came down to it. I'll be fine."

Blues waits until he's sure he's not being followed to do a physical inspection of himself. His arm is a total bust, whatever he did must have pulled his receptors loose. He gives it up as a loss for now. His fuel levels are... High. Almost as high as they've ever been. He scowls at this. He is running on almost a full tank but it's not a ration he secured himself... Paranoia leads him to ask if there's something in it that could do him harm even though his sensors show nothing wrong. He very seriously considers purging it but decided against it in the end. As for his weapons... The ones that doctor Wily installed... They are still very much out of commission. He doesn't see anything externally on him that would have disabled his abilities so that means that foul doctor was tinkering around inside of him, and that just scares him all the more. It is definitely time to pay Wily a visit. But first he needs something to pay for his repairs with. Luckily, he knows just the thing. Light gave it to him inadvertently during his visit.

The trip to Wily's place is... A bit of a trip. He has to snag a spot on the back of a subway, ride that a ways, change over to the downtown limited, Then take a ferry across the bay to get to the seaside laboratory. Once he gets there, Wily's security system quickly kicks in.

The first to respond to the alert is the old doctor's mechanical bats. They swoop out of the vents of the run down industrial building and over Protoman's head, but once they are able to recognize him, they simply perch along the edges of the building and watch him. Two robot masters are dispatched to deal with the new guest-Gutsman and Cutman. "Protoman," the smaller, scissor-headed bot nods when he recognizes their visitor. "We never thought we would find you here again."

"Oh? And why is that?" Blues harrumphs, pushing past them. "If I weren't here who would train the kid?"

Cutman glares as he moves past. "Probably someone much less grating on our nerves."

"How many times has he let Bass wallop on you now," Protoman quips back, "426? 427?"

Both bots pout. "We're glad to be chosen as Bass's training opponents." Gutsman argues. "It sharpens all of our battling prowess."

"Pff. Sharpens? The only thing that gets sharpened when Wily goes in and tinkers with your battle protocols is the double edge of the sword." And yet Wily remained too ignorant to realize his flawed thinking. Every time Protoman came in and beat his lackeys he would go back to the drawing board, come up with some new battle protocols to handle that one specific fluke, throw them in with the rest, and create a mess when that protocol opened up twenty new weak points to be exploited. It didn't matter that Bass was build stronger, faster, and more durable than him. Protoman's ability to adapt on the battlefield always gave him the upper hand. Of course he would never suggest that Wily get rid of those messy protocols... Then Bass might actually pose a threat to him someday. "Where is the runt anyway. I'd have thought he'd be out here to greet me personally."

"He didn't think you were worth interrupting his training." Gutsman answers.

Protoman rolls his eyes. "Well where's Wily. I have something for him."

"This way, Mr. Protoman." Cutman motions him forward before turning and leading him to the mad scientist's lab. Wily is currently elbow-deep in Sniper Joe parts, and he doesn't even stop his work to greet the bot. "Protoman," he mutters with a light German accent. "After the way you rejected my invitation and ruined so many perfectly good Joes, I would never have expected you to waltz in here on your own. I ought to take your parts to rebuild them, but I'm always curious to know what business you may want with me."

Protoman waves him off. "I keep telling you to change their design. If you want me to stop breaking them then you should stop making them." He casually kicks a loose Joe head across the room as he approaches the doctor. "As it so happens, I'm currently in need of repairs. And you're the one who's going to give them to me."

The doctor turns his head up from his work to sneer at the insolent robot. "And now just why would I do that?"

Protoman shoots him a sneer right back. "Because I have something you want."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Nah ah ah. Repairs. First you do my arm and then you get to hear what it is that I have. Reactivate my weapons and then you get it."

Wily barks a laugh at him. "You must be joking! You bluff, my boy. Why would I repair you before I even know what it is that you claim to have?"

Protoman shrugs. "Fine fine. If you're not interested, I guess I'll go get my repairs from someplace else."

He turns casually to walk out the door, the doctor and the other robots watching him leave.

"…...WAIT! Wait wait wait, alright? Fine. I'll fix your arm. Can't have an inferior mechanic messing my darling son up, can I? You just relax and take a load off... then afterwards we can discuss this 'thing' that you have, hmm?"

Protoman smirks and turns back around. Too easy. "Glad to hear you're willing to do the repairs... Oh but... call me son again and I'll rip that mustache off."

Gutsman and Cutman are soon sent off while Wily removes Protoman's arm from its socket to do the repairs that need doing. It goes rather quickly. "Looks like the input just came out of its socket" the doctor mutters before plugging it back in. "Reinforce the joint" Protoman commands. "With the GOOD parts. Steel or titanium if you have it. Nothing of lower quality." Wily grimaces at him. "Come now, what's wrong with iron, it's good for y-" "STEEL." Protoman cuts him off. "I am not some cheap car. I get the best you can offer or we don't have a deal."

Wily mutters curses under his breath but at the bot's insistence he reluctantly shoves away all the parts that he was going to use in favor of their superior counterparts-the ones Bass gets fitted with. Protoman watches him, making sure that he's doing a proper job. This operation isn't exactly pain free but he doesn't trust Wily to put him under, and luckily for him Wily doesn't have the moral compunctions that would drive him to knock Protoman out like Light would before a procedure like this. When he finishes, Blues tests his arm out, swinging it, punching with it, and testing its strength and stability. Only once he's satisfied that it's at least as good as it was before does he settle down and let the doctor know what he knows. "Alright. You've done good so far so I'll tell you... I know where your good old buddy Dr. Light is."

Wily's expression goes blank momentarily, then he barks out laughing again. "Oh? OH. Oooh... now now that IS good... But... How could you possibly know?" He asks, looking suspicious. "Light keeps himself well hidden, Lists a false address. And his place of work is too heavily guarded. I've tried to have the Joes tail him but they never make it back... How would YOU know where he lives, Protoman?"

"I've been there." The bot replies simply. "And that's all you need to know unless you get my weapons back online."

"Oh... very well." The doctor sighs and beckons Protoman close again while he prepares to open his chassis. That would indeed be a prize worth having if Protoman DOES have it. His unruly co-creation isn't usually one to go telling stories, so he has hope that he's about to hear the truth.

"Oh, and Wily?" Blues hums. "Get any ideas while you're fiddling around in there, and I won't hesitate to strangle the life out of you."

The doctor gulps. "O...of course not! How could you accuse me of such a thing? Why only my cruel brother would-"

Protoman's glare silences him. He doesn't want to hear Wily's pleas of innocence. The doctor carefully opens the bot up. As soon as Protoman's chest is open, though, he begins to laugh again.

"KAHKAHKAHKAHKAH! What in the world have you done to yourself!? HAHAHAHAHA."

"Shut up and fix me." Protoman growls, but Wily just keeps on laughing. Protoman's insides are a mess. The robot's core is all wrapped up in cheap aluminum foil-the kind used to wrap up leftover food. Protoman himself did the job a while back and he's a bit relieved to see it's still all in place despite the fact that Light must have been poking around inside of him too. It's his Faraday cage-self made-to keep his core safe from radiation, outside signals, and most importantly any kind of EMP that could knock him out. When Wily keeps laughing at it he conks the scientist on the head. "ENOUGH."

The doctor curses at him as he rubs his bruised head but quickly gets to work and gets Protoman's weapons back online. It's really as simple as flicking a switch, and when the bot discovers this he is just as furious. "You put a SWITCH in me that turns my weapons off!?"

"W-w-well..."

"Get rid of it."

"Come now, my dear Protoman, it's not that simple! It's integrated into the circuitry, I would have to change all sorts of logic to remove it and that would mean more tampering, surely you can understand why it's easier just to do this? Besides, since it's just a button you can turn them back on anytime you want!"

"..."

Unfortunately, Protoman's technical expertise is lacking enough on this matter that the doctor's lie isn't spotted by him. "Fine. Just turn it back on"

Once the switch is flipped he feels all of his capabilities come back online-including his targeting system. He moves away from Wily and begins cycling through his weapons-blades, plasma gun, steel knuckles, all of the good stuff. He gives himself one last double check and makes sure his tin foil is still in place before closing his own chest back up. "Alright. You fulfilled your part of the bargain."

Wily nods ingratiatingly. "S-see? What did I tell you, I'm clean! Come now... shouldn't you tell me where it is that Dr. Light is residing? I can get rid of him for our mutual benefit!"

To Protoman's credit... he hesitates, wondering if it's really a good idea to set Wily on the loose in a populated city district. He might not particularly care for these two old doctors, but he doesn't bear the rest of the humans ill-will... and although Megaman might be totally brainwashed there's always the other robot girl... Roll...

But in the end vengeance wins out.

"Uptown in the park district... 10th floor of Newvana Heights. All of his creations were there, along with his lab equipment. Looks like he has been mixing his work and personal life."

A very evil grin spreads across Wily's face. "Oooh... you've done VERY well, my son..."

"Sure. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way.

Oh... but before I go... I warned you."

"What-wait NO!-YEOOOOOOW!"

Protoman leaves the half-mustached doctor and the other robots to do what they will while he goes looking for a new home. His old one won't do anymore. They'll know to look for him there.

All is quiet in the city as Wily prepares for his assault. Protoman finds himself a new temporary home- just a meager boarded up room in a building scheduled for demolition in a week. He'll have to move again soon, but for now he has a roof over his head, a place to store his lack of belongings, and even... a fold-out cot. He's never had a bed of his own. At least… not since the old days in the lab. So even though it is dirty and has a few holes in it, it's a nice find. Tired from all of the stress of the past 24 hours he goes to sleep almost instantly after he's made sure his temporary home is secure.


End of Chapter

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