In an underground lab

"Bwah, ha ha! My plan is working!" said a voice with a german accent.

"Did I do good?" a high-pitched voice asked.

"Yes, you did," Dr. Wily replied, "But I did better!"

Time man lowered his head in disappointment.

"I was the one that formulated the plan, you idiot!" Dr. Wily said angrily, "What are you doing just standing there? GET TO WORK!"

Time man quickly left the room.

"Augh. I can't stand these simpletons." Dr. Wily walked over to his lab table, where a robot's frame was. "It will be a while before I can utilize you, but," he paused and gave a grin, "it will all be worth it! I'll be able to kill Mega Man once and for all!"

"Doctor?" another high-pitched voice asked.

Dr. Wily turned around with his eyes large with anger, but then changed his expression after noticing who it was. "Ah, Elec Man. What is it?"

Elec Man looked inquiringly at him. "What exactly is your plan?"

Dr. Wily especially liked Elec Man, esteeming him as the best of his robots.

"I'll tell you." Elec Man lighted up. "While you do your work."

Elec Man's face drooped but said, "All right."

While Elec Man brought in electronics, Dr. Wily told him his plan: "We are executing step one of my plan. Getting rid of Protoman."

"Why's that?" Elec Man asked, looking up at his creator.

"Who's the one that always pulls Mega Man out of a jam?"

"Protoman." Elec Man replied.

"Exactly! Get rid of Protoman, and no one else can pull Mega Man out of my next big attack."

"What's step two?"

"You'll find out when I execute it." Dr. Wily said.

It was still dark outside, but Mega Man just had to find Protoman and get to the bottom of this.

He followed the sound of the police sirens and dogs on his Rush Jet. Mega Man was going down a dark alleyway, when he spotted a figure running. "Protoman!" Mega Man yelled. Protoman gave a quick glance behind him and darted off into a sub-alley. Mega Man quickly made a hard left and went down it, just to find that Protoman had vanished. Mega Man gave a quick stop and analyzed the surroundings. He checked behind him and noticed broken glass at a small window in one of the buildings. He hopped off of Rush and went down into the basement with Rush following him in Rush's normal form.

It was dark and cluttered with boxes and it was dusty. "Protoman." Mega Man whispered. Silence prevailed. Mega Man crept forward. "Protoman?" Mega Man felt around the boxes and came to a wall and began to feel his way around it. He encountered a light switch and flipped it on. Light streamed through the room and Mega Man noticed a door that was left ajar. Mega Man went up the stairs that led from the room. "A dead end?" Mega Man cocked his head to the side. "Rush," Rush looked at Mega Man and wagged his tail, "Go see if there's another door downstairs." Rush went back down the stairs. While Rush was checking that out, Mega Man started pushing on the wall. It easily moved, though it only had a small opening to get through. "Rush! I found a way out!" He went out and found himself in an office. He went out the office door and saw that he was in a factory that seemed to construct things through an automated assembly line, though it wasn't running and was quite deserted. "Protoman?" Mega Man yelled.

"You gonna turn me over to the authorities?" A voice completely devoid of emotion echoed.

Mega Man looked around, trying to find out where the voice came from. "I want to know what's going on."

There was no reply for a moment, and then the voice said, "I was going around town, just trying to find out where Dr. Wily was. Then someone attacked me. He went so fast!"

"Shadow Man." Mega Man thought.

"I couldn't stand up against him, so I ran. I hid around a corner. I was going to blast him with my buster. I heard nothing, but felt a tap on my shoulder. I immediately turned and fired..."

There was a long silence, making Mega Man uncomfortable.

"It was a person." Protoman's voice started to break. "I thought that the robot was taunting me, so I fired. I stood in shock for a moment... then I ran. It wasn't my fault."

"I believe you, Protoman," Mega Man replied, "but the authorities don't."

Mega Man could hear the echoes of police dogs howling outside.

"Protoman! Let me help you!" Mega Man yelled.

"I can't endanger you, Mega." Then there was silence.

"Protoman!"

Two minutes later, the police came in. A big, burly policeman walked up to Mega Man.

"Did you see him, son?"

"I don't think he's here anymore." Mega Man replied sadly.

The policeman thought for a moment. "Listen. Just because he's your 'brother', doesn't mean you can let him off the hook." He knelt down, "I know you've got a good heart, but there are times when you can't hesitate in pulling the trigger." He got up and commanded two of his policemen, "You two!" They snapped to attention. "Take this one down to interrogation." Mega Man looked up in surprise. "But sergeant!" Mega Man protested.

"You have the right to remain silent." The sergeant replied dully.

Mega Man stood in shock for a little bit. "Rush Jet!" Rush instantly turned into the Rush Jet, and Mega Man jumped up onto him and flew off, breaking one of the windows of the factory as he went out.

(Constructive advice, anyone?)