Dr. Wily sat engrossed at one of the dream machine's control consoles, monitoring a screen that looked a bit like a complicated polygraph readout which mapped Cut Man and Guts Man's progress through Mayor Hill's dream.

At the back of the van, Proto Man was reclined next to the dream machine, arms crossed in boredom, wondering how much longer it would take when Bomb Man and Elec Man reentered the van quietly.

Bomb Man headed toward a stash of energy cans while Elec Man immediately opened a supply cabinet next to Proto Man. He grabbed a towel and began wiping a layer of scum off his boots.

"What happened?" Proto Man asked him, standing up straight.

"We fell in a sewer," Elec Man replied shortly.

"Oh. That sucks. You alright?"

Elec Man tossed the dirty towel into a trash bin. "Yeah."

"Good." Proto Man hesitated, glancing over at Dr. Wily, who was typing heavily and muttering to himself, clearly not noticing that Bomb Man and Elec Man had returned yet. "You know, destroying Mega Man is like my thing. If Wily orders you to get rid of him, we ought to team up."

"You weren't included in my instructions. Wily doesn't trust you to finish a battle with Mega Man because your sentiments toward him get in the way every time."

"Hey! That is not true—"

"I'd rather go with Bomb Man," Elec Man cut over him.

Proto Man paused, losing his train of thought."…Why Bomb Man?"

"He's hardworking, humble, and he takes tasks seriously," Elec Man said crisply.

Proto Man had a feeling he was being baited with this answer, and, amused, was about to respond, when—

"Elec Man! Bomb Man!"

Dr. Wily's beady eyes had finally picked them out in the back of the van. He swiveled around in his chair, glaring at Elec Man, waiting for an explanation. "Well…? Did you take care of Mega Man?"

"No," Elec Man answered slowly. "He overpowered us, and we were forced to retreat. I believe he took off with Rush to follow the mayor."

"I expect more from you, Elec Man, especially after the lengthy repair I had just finished." Dr. Wily glanced pointedly at Proto Man.

Elec Man maintained a blank facial expression, but there was a cold, murderous glint in his eyes as he stared back at Dr. Wily. Though this was how he looked at almost everyone, Proto Man had a feeling Elec Man was struggling a bit internally with feelings of hurt pride—first at losing to Mega Man again, second at being chastised by Dr. Wily about it.

"Don't worry about it Wily," spoke up Proto Man smoothly. "Mega Man was bound to notice the dreamers anyway. He sticks his nose in everything. Besides, Elec Man's still recalibrating from his repairs, he'll be back to one-hundred percent next time—and Bomb Man's a hardworking, humble robot who always take his job seriously."

Bomb Man, who had rarely been spoken to by Proto Man, gave him a befuddled look, his thick yellow brows drawn down over his eyes as though wondering what Proto Man was up to. Elec Man stared ahead, the murderous glint replaced with slight exasperation, and Dr. Wily softened. He turned to his dream machine.

"True, Mega Man cannot stop this plan. He will never figure it out in time. I have been working on it for years…" Dr. Wily said dramatically, getting up and patting the dream machine's casing affectionately. "The ability to transform a robot into a theta brain wave that can invade a human conscious like a virus…"

Elec Man wrinkled his nose and shot Proto Man a look as though Dr. Wily had said something deeply offensive. Proto Man shrugged back.

"Don't look at me, I don't get his science either, I just go with it," he said in an undertone.

"If this works the way he says it can, I can think of a thousand better ways to apply this technology to get money, resources, or power," Elec Man replied.

"Hmm, that's nice. We're doing this Wily's way."

Just then, the arms of the dream machine lit up with a crackling violet energy. Dr. Wily, Proto Man, and Elec Man hastily stepped back to make room as Cut Man and Guts Man materialized in the van.

"So, you've returned from the dream," said Dr. Wily.

"What was it like?" asked Bomb Man.

"It was weird!" said Cut Man enthusiastically. "The sky was pink and everything was tiny and made of smoke!"

"Yeah, and the mayor was acting like a little kid," Guts Man guffawed. "—And he thought Cut Man and I were his parents! We even looked like 'em too in his dream."

"Did you get the security code?" Dr. Wily interrupted impatiently.

Before they could answer, Dr. Wily's fax machine whirred to life, and a paper print out hit the floor. Dr. Wily swooped down and picked it up immediately. He gave a cackle of glee as he scanned it, then snapped back to business mode, folding the print out into the front pocket of his lab coat.

"Mega Man is now on the alert. He may interfere if one of our targets acts out irrationally while carrying out my orders. I can't risk him seeing this machine." He pointed at Elec Man sternly. "If Mega Man is no longer using his car, then you can no longer track him with your little toy computer. Therefore, you and Bomb Man will intercept our next target in a discreet location while I keep the van hidden. You can make up for your failure by bringing me the information I require safely and without Mega Man following."

"Why don't I go with them?" suggested Proto Man. "Safety in numbers and all," he added innocently.

Dr. Wily considered Proto Man for a moment. "Fine, but don't waste time. I need the credentials, then we keep moving, got it? We are on a tight time schedule!"

"Scout's honor."

Dr. Wily scrutinized Proto Man, not finding this humorous, but then turned to the wheel of the van.

"Now to pay the police chief a visit."


The upscale ranch house had rustic charm with modern furnishings: handsome gables, raised ceilings, polished hardwood floors, a sixty-inch tv with surround sound, a heated outdoor pool, and a fully automated home security system as secure as a prison.

It was the third residence Chief Fibes had lived in this year. No matter where he moved, nothing ever seemed quite right. He could feel a growing sense of unease at the back of his mind, something he couldn't shake.

Fibes tossed and turned in his sheets as the violet flash of light soared through the window and into his temple, a familiar nightmare forming in his mind.


After their trip through Mayor Hill's dream, Cut Man and Guts Man felt much more confident about Dr. Wily's new invention and even looked forward to jumping into the next dream.

The Police Chief's dream started in a gray, smoke like fog. They could hear a soft ticking noise echoing around them, as though from a giant clock, but they couldn't tell in which direction it was coming from. Ahead, they could see gloomy lights shining weakly in the darkness, and they followed them until an empty street slowly faded into view around them.

They realized they were in an area of New York City they knew well from trips they had taken with Dr. Wily—the criminal Underground. A brick wall with peeling paint lined one side of the street, and debris from the occasional laser fight littered the ground. The windows in the surrounding buildings were dark, and a muffled knocking sound came from behind their doors. The lights they had followed were actually bendy street lights. Most were out, leaving ominous shadows, and the few that worked were like the glowing lures of an angler fish—tempting those leery of the darkness into the false comfort of light, where they could be easily seen and jumped.

From one of the dark windows, Cut Man and Guts Man caught a glimpse of their reflection. Unlike Mayor Hill's dream, they could now see their own changed appearance, but they didn't look like funny humans this time—they still resembled themselves, but sinister.

Cut Man's head looked something like a perfectly round, mouthless jack-o-lantern with circular sheer blades sticking out of it like large, flat horns. Glowing blue optics shone behind dark half moon openings in his orange, mask-like shell of a face. Long fingers of fine, silvery daggers glinted at his side.

Guts Man had spikes on his shoulder pads, and one of his arms had been replaced heavy, robotic limb ending in a giant claw shaped like lineman's pliers. His legs ended in massive tank treads that crunched litter and rubble into puffs of dream-smoke as he rolled over them.

After looking at their reflection, their dream bodies seemed to shift into these new shapes. Impressed with their new appearances, they set down the street with a swagger.

Ahead, Chief Fibes walked alone down a cross street. In the real world, he was a fit man in his early forties, but in the dream he looked haggard, with shabby clothes, a bent back, gray hair, and lined skin. A police siren went off in the distance. He turned up his collar, and kept glancing behind him as though checking to see if he were being followed.

"Pst! Hey, mister…" Cut Man called softly. Having no physical mouth, his voice had a metallic ring to it, as though it were being radioed in from somewhere else.

Fibes stopped in his tracks, his face turning white. "Uh…W-Who's there?"

Cut Man and Guts Man closed in on him, Cut Man sliding his scissors-like fingers back and forth, creating an unnerving rasp.

"Your worst nightmare, that's who!" boomed Guts Man. He revved forward on his treads with a sudden burst of speed, grabbing Fibes by the collar with his claw and yanking his closer.

"Don't hurt me!" whimpered Fibes, shielding his head.

"Never a cop around when you need one, eh chief?" jeered Cut Man, brandishing a Rolling Cutter as he let out a wheezy laugh.

Fibes held up his hands as he flinched away, squirming uselessly between the jaws of Guts Man's claw. "Anything you want, just let me go!" he begged, holding up his hands and flinching away.

Cut Man leveled his glowing eyes with Fibes, pointing the Rolling Cutter closer to his lined face, its razor-sharp edges as thin as butterfly wings. "What we want is information, special information—the name of the head of security at the space research center!

"You better get it for us, or you're gunna get it from us! Get it?" growled Guts Man, flinging Fibes to the ground.


Outside the dream, Fibes had broken into a cold sweat. He twisted in his sheets, his hand outstretched in front of him to fend off foes from his nightmare.

"Gotta get the name…gotta get…the name…" he murmured, sitting up.


Mega Man, Roll, and Rush ran up the marble stairs into City Hall. The bemused night security waved them through the lobby and up to the second floor. The door to the mayor's office stood wide open, but the room was dark.

"There he is!" said Roll as they entered.

Mayor Hill was sitting at his desk, one arm holding a corded yellow phone receiver up to his ear, the other hanging loosely over the armrest. His neck was bent backward over the top of the chair, his eyes were shut and his mouth hanging open.

"He's sound asleep!" said Mega Man. He began shaking his shoulder. "Mr. Mayor! Mr. Mayor! Wake up!"

Mayor Hill dropped his arm holding the phone receiver. "Gotta get the…secret security code…" he muttered blearily. His eyes opened slowly. He looked up at Mega Man, and started. "Mega Man! I had the strangest dream—" he cut himself off as he glanced across his desk. "It's true, my security vault!" he exclaimed, bolting up from his chair and pointing at the tall locker beside his desk.

"It was open when we came in," said Roll.

"I think…I think I did this, in my sleep," muttered Mayor Hill in shock. He raked his hands through his hair helplessly. "How could this happen?"

The phone rang from Mayor Hill's desk. Roll picked it up.

"Mayor's office!" she greeted. She paused, listening to the other end for a moment, her eyebrows rising into her bangs. She turned the mouthpiece away from her mouth as she shot Mega Man a look. "Mega Man! The police chief is at police headquarters—in his bathrobe!"


Proto Man, Elec Man, and Bomb Man waited between the thick concrete pillars under one of the city's raised train platforms as the police chief's cruiser rolled up to the sleepy junction. Fibes climbed out of his car with half-lidded eyes. He tottered toward them, his hand outstretched, a piece of paper clutched in his fist. He gave it to Proto Man, who glanced at its contents before tucking it into his scarf.

"Sweet dreams, Chiefy! Heh heh heh heh!" chuckled Proto Man, patting Fibes on the shoulder. He turned to leave.

"Gotta be the last time…" Fibes muttered to himself. "…Gotta be enough…Syndicate robots again...but I already gave them what they wanted…they shouldn't have come back...no more…"

Proto Man turned back around, examining Fibes closely, who was trembling, his brow glistening with sweat.

"Wait…in the dream, does he think Cut Man and Guts Man are Syndicate robots?" Proto Man mused with interest. "What does the chief of police know about the Syndicate?" He glanced over at Elec Man who returned a flat, 'don't look at me' look, then back at Fibes, and poked his shoulder. "What was that about the Syndicate?" he asked him. "What did you give them?"

"Classified files…Red Bomber…"

"What?" Proto Man asked sharply, his smile faded completely as he drew a plasma cannon.

"Um…we got what Dr. Wily asked for…shouldn't we let him go?" Bomb Man asked, watching Proto Man's blaster closely. "Besides, they say you shouldn't wake sleep walkers."

Proto Man ignored Bomb Man and gave Fibes a rough shove with the end of his blaster.

Chief Fibes stumbled backward. "Wha, huh?" he stammered, jerking awake. "I was just—" He looked around, blinking and rubbing his eyes, then caught sight of Proto Man and the Robot Masters, his eyes flying open in anger. "Where am I, and how did I get here?" he demanded, pulling his terrycloth robe closer to him and shivering.

"Never mind that," said Proto Man. He gave Fibes another push with his blaster, backing him against one of the concrete supports. "I gotta few questions for you, and you're gonna answer them."

"I'm not scared of punks like the bad-bots," said Fibes.

"Oh yeah? But you are scared of the Syndicate."

"What are you babbling about? I don't know anything about a syndicate."

"Make 'im talk, Elec Man."

Elec Man hadn't moved, but Fibes flinched involuntarily at his name. "Alright, alright! Just—keep it down," he hissed.

"You were talking in your sleep, Fibes," prompted Proto Man. "What's your deal with the Syndicate? They're criminals."

Fibes seemed uncomfortable yet defiant. He was glaring at Proto Man's face, ignoring the blaster pointed at his chest.

"They may be criminals, but the Syndicate and the police got along just fine," he said through gnashed teeth. "They're an odd bunch—trench coats and fedoras—a bit theatrical but real professional. They told me to make sure the mayor never caught wind of them, and to keep that electric robot," he pointed at Elec Man, "—And that Pharaoh robot off the records, but they were never a problem! Real polite to police officers even. Sure, the Syndicate may get rough with a few low-life crooks every now and then…but what do we care? Crime was never lower than when the Syndicate was around."

"You said 'Red Bomber'…" said Proto Man dangerously, dropping his voice.

"What of it?"

Proto Man moved his blaster closer to Fibes.

"Alright, alright! They were interested in your creation. Paid me real well for all the files I had on you."

"What did the files say about my creator?"

The tip of Proto Man's plasma cannon was so close to Fibes's neck that he felt him swallow. His other hand was clenched, and shaking. Bomb Man's eyes were bouncing nervously between Proto Man and Fibes. Elec Man was looking down at the ground.

"Who, Wily?" asked Fibes, bewildered. "That he built you using some parts he stole from Tom Light!"

"That's all…?" Proto Man pulled his plasma cannon back a little. "And they paid you for this information?"

"Not only did they pay me, but they promised to take care of you. Permanently. And I don't care what that means!" His eyes sparked maliciously. "Without you, we'd have Wily behind bars and save a fortune on police drones every year! We could even upgrade to those new models like the ones Chief Fictus has in California!"

Proto Man was not moved. "If I reported any of this, you'd lose your job—you might even go to prison. You're a crooked cop."

"Oh yeah? Who'll listen to you?" Fibes sneered. "You have no right to judge, and you'll get what's comin' to you, mark my words."

Proto Man didn't lower his blaster. Neither he nor Fibes moved, each glaring at each other as though everything else had been forgotten. Bomb Man shifted uncomfortably. Proto Man was thinking furiously. He knew the Syndicate was influential, but they had flipped a police chief on him—just with money.

A golden blast of plasma exploded in the pavement in front of them, interrupting Proto Man's thoughts.

"Mega Man!" croaked Bomb Man, squinting up into the night sky at Mega Man and Roll, who were rocketing toward them on Rush's jet. He, Proto Man, and Elec Man ducked as Mega Man fired again, Rush shooting through the gap underneath the bridge and narrowly missing their heads. As Rush performed a hairpin turn midair for another aerial strafe, they scattered between the concrete pillars, taking cover behind trash cans.

Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, Mega Man hopped off Rush, landing next to Fibes. He pushed him toward his patrol car, then was blown upward as a Hyper Bomb and Proto Man's plasma blast combined into a volcano-like eruption right next to him. He landed on the bridge next to the train tracks.

Proto Man waved Bomb Man back. "Smooth entrance," he called up to Mega Man, "But now that you have our attention, I hope you're ready settle our last fight."

Mega Man smirked back at him. "Settle a fight? You sure about that? Last time we settled a fight, I ended up ahea—"

A thin rope of electricity arced over the safety railing of the monorail, hitting Mega Man. With a clunk followed by a sizzle a bit like water hitting a frying pan, they heard Mega Man fall to the tracks, incapacitated.

"Hey! We were talking," Proto Man complained, rounding on Elec Man.

"Whoops," said Elec Man lazily. He darted away from Proto Man's side and up to the top of the bridge in two fast bounds.

Proto Man was about to follow when he heard a minuscule whistle. He ducked, and a circular saw scrapped against the concrete pillar behind him in a flash of sparks. He looked over at the source of fire. Rush was hovering a few feet off the ground, his jets scattering bits of litter across the frosty pavement. Roll had her utility arm trained on Proto Man, one eye closed, as she appeared to be aiming for his head.

"That's nice," Proto Man snickered. On his other side, Bomb Man was hoisting a smoking Hyper Bomb.


Mega Man was stuck to the electrified tracks like a paperclip to a magnet. He was beginning to grow a grudge against this quiet Robot Master, who appeared to be smarter than the rest of Wily's robots on average tended to be. It was the second time Elec Man had taken Mega Man down with a cheap shot.

Elec Man leapt lightly on the safety railing. He was crouched somewhat spider-like, with one hand holding onto bar for balance. His other hand was lit up with a blinding charge that could finish Mega Man off, but he hesitated, looked over his shoulder down at Proto Man, who was fighting Roll, then down the track as the electricity died from his fingers. Mega Man followed his gaze.

The single light of a late night commuter train was rounding the corner. It let out a long honk. Mega Man could feel the tracks rattle beneath his back. Not wanting to become a metal pancake, he thought furiously how to get out of this one.

Electric trains were powered by an electric current running through the third track. The track was powered in sections, and a generator for each section usually located at intersections, stations, and substation gaps. Mega Man looked down the track, searching. Then he lifted his plasma cannon, pointing it to a spot between him and the approaching train, and fired.

There was a small explosion like a firework and the track became unpowered. Mega Man hastily rolled into the gravel as the train swept through. All of its lights flickered off as it lost electricity, and it began to lose speed.

"I hate doing that," Mega Man muttered, watching as the train cars slowed, passengers pressing their faces against the window. Feeling dizzy, he checked his energy gauge, which was running low. Then he looked beyond the train, and as the last car rolled by, he realized Elec Man was no longer there. Not good.

Suddenly, the bridge began rocking under him as plasma blasts thundered against its bottom, punching holes through the concrete. Mega Man stumbled.

Meanwhile, he noticed Elec Man was climbing up the safety railing behind him…


Seeing Mega Man was in trouble, Roll abandoned her fight with Proto Man (who was weaving between pillars while firing up at Mega Man, trying to start conversations with her, and being generally annoying), swerved out of the way of a Hyper Bomb (which decimated a ticket kiosk) and streaked up to bridge level in a millisecond, blasting Elec Man with her toaster cannon. The impact blew apart the safety railing, and Elec Man was hurled off the bridge, powering down. Below, Bomb Man slid a recycling bin full of plastic bottles underneath Elec Man, who landed with a crunch.


Proto Man's communicator was beeping.

"Proto Man!" Dr. Wily's voice hissed. "The dream was terminated early. Where are you?"

"I've got the info, but Mega Man and Roll showed up!"

"Leave them! We are on a tight time schedule. I need that information now!"

Proto Man watched Bomb Man heave Elec Man out of the recycling bin and toss him over his shoulder like a duffle bag, then take off running down a dark alleyway.

"Fine, we're leaving," said Proto Man, cutting off the transmission. He raised his plasma cannon and fired, striking Rush on the underside of his jet. Rush gave a surprised yelp, careening off course, and Roll slid off, crashing through first-floor windows of a bank and swearing colorfully. Then Proto Man pointed up at Mega Man, who was peering over the ruined safety rail at them. "This isn't over yet, brother," he called up, before turning on his heel and following Bomb Man back through the city.


"I hate to see grown robots run," said Mega Man as he hopped off the bridge next to Roll, who was combing glass out of her hair.

Chief Fibes gave them a brief account of what had happened. Apparently, he had woken up under the bridge next to the Bad-bots, with no idea of how he had gotten there or what the Bad-bots had wanted. When he had finished, he got back into his patrol car to drove off while Roll and Mega Man called Dr. Light on Mega Man's communicator to tell him about the night's strange events.

"…Both Mayor Hill and Chief Fibes had strange nightmares, during which they were sleepwalking and breaking into their own offices," Mega Man explained. "Somehow Wily is tricking them into handing over some sort of document to his robots…and neither could remember their dreams well enough to recall what it was!"

"Do you think it's mind control? …Again?" asked Roll sardonically.

"I think it's more complicated than that," answered Dr. Light thoughtfully. "Back when Dr. Wily and I were colleagues, some of his earliest research projects related to dream psychology. He theorized that there was a way to transport a robot into a sleeping human's subconscious, or the 'dream world,' and that he would one day invent a machine that would do just that."

"But that's impossible," said Mega Man, raising his brows at Roll, who shrugged back. "…Isn't it?"

"He was rather ridiculed by other scientists in our social circle," Dr. Light admitted, laughing, "But Dr. Wily has proven himself to be very skilled in mad science. By building a dream machine, I believe he is more or less showing off to the world that he was right."

"So he can transmit whatever he wants into people's dreams, like the mayor's and police chief's!" Mega Man summed up.

"Exactly, but we have no idea what he's up to. I'll have to find a way to counteract his dream transmissions."

"Chief Fibes just went back to the police station to see if he could find any clues about what he gave to the Bad-bots, meanwhile we've got to find Dr. Wily."

"I'll send searcher bots to help you," said Dr. Light. "They are a prototype surveillance drone I've developed for Senator King as a counter to Dr. Wily's battontons. They work at street level to provide additional surveillance that Galaxy Man cannot provide from the Emergency Satellite Scanner. Keep an eye on your communicator, they will page you as soon as they find anything. With any luck, we'll catch Dr. Wily before he has another chance to strike!"

"Will do!" said Mega Man as he and Roll climbed aboard Rush again.


Proto Man and Bomb Man were running through narrow alleys and lonely side streets, Bomb Man's large orange feet pounding against the ground heavily. At every corner, Proto Man checked behind them, ready to fight, but neither Mega Man nor Roll were following them. Disappointed, he looked over at Bomb Man, who was still carrying Elec Man.

"So…you two are kinda like buddies then," he said casually, nodding at Elec Man.

"I dunno if I'd go that far," replied Bomb Man. "We don't hang out or anything—I'm an industrial mine blasting robot and he's some sort of gangster, after all. We get along alright though."

"That's more than most can say. Hey, by the way, I wanted to talk to you."

Bomb Man seemed very suspicious of this. Once again, his brows had formed a deep concerned V as he regarded Proto Man. "You want to talk…to me?"

"Yeah, you know…as robots."

"Um…no offense, but that seems really unlikely."

"Why? We've both been in Wily's team for a while."

"I dunno…this is weird."

Proto Man ignored him and continued. "You ought to come on more missions. You were one of the first six that invaded the airport, making you one of our most experienced Robot Masters we have. What do you say?"

"Sure, I guess…but…hasn't something terrible happened to all of the others? I mean, Ice Man got burned up in a giant blimp, Elec Man was on a repair table for a month, Fire Man is still on a repair table, and Cut Man and Guts Man get blown up all of the time on missions—"

"Alright, alright…forget about it."

"And what was up with you and the chief of police? Is everything okay?"

"Mind your own business."

They had reached the van, which was backed into a tight street-way between a pizzeria and a nail salon (both closed for the night), the edges of the oversized cargo hold brushing against the brick walls.

Elec Man was beginning to reboot. As he began to stir, Bomb Man set him down on his feet.

"Alright there, hotshot?" Proto Man asked pleasantly as Elec Man shook his head as though to clear it.

"What the hell was I hit with?"

"Dunno. Roll packs stuff she finds in Light's garage, like gardening tools and ballistic missiles. Looked like some sort of particle beam made out of a toaster."

They filed into the passenger side of the van, where Dr. Wily was waiting for them eagerly. As Proto Man took the wheel to drive them to their next target, his thoughts returned to Mega Man, feeling unsatisfied that he had been forced to abandon their fight. He pulled out into the main street, the cargo hold bouncing behind them, then vented his frustration out loud to Dr. Wily.

"I'll teach that brother of mine a lesson he'll never forget!"

"Some other time!" snapped Dr. Wily. He was holding the documents collected from Mayor Hill and Chief Fibes in each hand as though they were valuable property deeds. "We have to get to the space research center with the mayor's security code and the name of the space center's head of security, compliments of our police chief." He hugged the papers to his chest. "My dream machine will soon be in orbit, and the whole world will be mine!"


Further down the street hovered a capsule-shaped blue drone, a silvery propeller whirling around it middle in a circular blur. It began tailing Dr. Wily's van like a small helicopter, a short antenna on its top blinking.


Roll and Mega Man were soaring nearly twenty feet above the tallest skyscrapers when Mega Man's communicator began to flash.

"The searcher bots have picked up Wily and his scum bots," he murmured to Roll. "They're around here somewhere…"

They looked down, scanning the headlights of the cars moving through the streets below like glowing ants, then spotted a van with an oversized cargo hold heading toward the river. It didn't match any type of commercial or privately owned van they had ever seen in the city before. It was also making several illegal left turns and driving over the speed limit.

"We've got em now, boy!" said Mega Man as Rush dove down.


Dr. Wily's van was about to cross the Elm Street Bridge, its tires bumping at the small gap where the bridge connected with the city street, when Proto Man noticed something blue standing in the middle of the road.

"What the…?!"

Mega Man fired at him head on. Proto Man jerked the steering wheel hard to the left. Cut Man and Elec Man lurched in their seats, Bomb Man and Guts Man crashed in the back, the dream machine shook against the restraints holding it to the floor, and Dr. Wily slammed against the passenger side window, cursing as the van swerved sideways and came to a screeching halt, the plasma blast hitting its windowless side.

"Take him out, once and for all!" Dr. Wily snarled, rubbing his head.


Mega Man watched his plasma blast bounce off the van's cargo hold like a ping-pong ball.

"That van's protected by a plasma shield!" he muttered to Roll.

Rush stared intently at the van. His body had gone rigid, his tail erect, and one forepaw held up like a hunting dog pointing. Astonished, Roll and Mega Man looked down at him, and noticed his eyes seems to be focusing on something inside the van, while making tiny clicks noises like closing shutters.

Meanwhile, they heard the doors on the opposite van open up, and then Proto Man at Elec Man leaned out from behind each of the van's bumpers.

Elec Man attacked first, shooting a Thunder Beam directly at them. Roll and Rush split toward the pedestrian walkway, while Mega Man leaped into the steel supports above, grabbing on to one of the crossbeams with his free hand.

Cut Man emerged from the van next, Bomb Man not far behind, holding two Hyper Bombs in the palms of his hands.

"Let's cut to the chase, Mega Man!" cried Cut Man, firing two Rolling Cutters that cut through the crossbeam Mega Man was hanging from. Mega Man landed on his feet but tumbled aside as the metal crossbeam hit the ground with an earsplitting bang, startling the pigeons roosting in the piers below.

Elec Man had both hands out in front of him, electricity shooting out in dazzling bursts like a camera flash. He was about to strike Roll, who had caught a Hyper Bomb with a lacrosse stick in her utility arm and was flinging it back, when suddenly Proto Man darted between them, his blaster trained on the Hyper Bomb. He fired at it, and it exploded into ball of fire midair, sending a wave of heat and smoke above them.

"Proto Man, you're in my line of sight," Mega Man heard Elec Man quietly.

"Oh, gee, really? Sorry about that," said Proto Man, whipping around to fire at Mega Man.

Mega Man dove out of the way, and fired back, but Proto Man ducked the shot as he darted in close. He grabbed Mega Man by the wrist, then performed a sort of tumble throw that ripped Mega Man off his feet and threw him into one of the bridge towers. Mega Man picked himself up, wincing.

"This isn't your lucky night, Mega twerp," growled a voice behind him.

Guts Man had grabbed the fallen length of steel, swinging it with both hands like a giant club as he bore down on Mega Man. The crossbeam caught Mega Man in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him, then hit him directly on the helmet near his ear, sending sparks across his vision.

Rush came to his master's aid and bit down hard into the unarmored connecting joint of Guts Man's knee before bounding away. Guts Man began hopping on one foot in pain, forgetting he was still carrying a heavy metal crossbeam. He lost balance, and fell, the crossbeam crashing on top of him.

"Good boy, Rush," muttered Mega Man as he turned his attention to Cut Man.

Between the four Robot Masters, two bomber robots, Roll, and Rush, the battle grew steadily more chaotic. Mega Man noticed Elec Man had several more opportunities to deliver a finishing blow to either himself and Roll, but Proto Man miraculously seemed to materialize in the way every time, even once managing to 'accidentally' sabotage three consecutive Thunder Beams as he maneuvered around the battlefield. This seemed to exasperate Elec Man, who seemed to be simultaneously trying to outdo Proto Man and end the fight quickly while staying as far away from the sides of the bridge and the water below as possible, yet spared Mega Man and Roll from falling instantly in battle.

Despite this, Mega Man realized fighting Bomb Man and Elec Man for the third time in a row that night was pushing his luck too far. Adding Cut Man, Guts Man, and Proto Man to the mix was too much.

"We gotta call off the fight!" he told Roll. "There's too many of them and I'm almost out of plasma power."

"What? No way! We can take them!" Roll protested.

There was a piercing howl. Rush had been hit by a Hyper Bomb and had been catapulted off the bridge. At the same time, she and Mega Man were forced to dodge as four Rolling Cutters, a Thunder Beam, another Hyper Bomb, and several plasma blasts pelted toward them in a barrage of lights, sound, and debris.

Roll attempted to retaliate by firing a circular saw, but her utility arm just made an empty puttering sound.

"Okay…maybe we should leave," Roll admitted, her utility arm reforming into a hand.

At that moment, the crossing signals at the beginning of the bridge began flashing, their boom barriers dropping. Mega Man and Roll suddenly remembered at the same time that the bridge they were standing on was actually a drawbridge, and was about to go up, cornering them with the Bad-bots. They hastily ran up the raising side before its grade got to steep to climb, plasma blasts and Thunder Beams narrowly missing their heels.

They stood on the middle edge of the bridge, which was now raised toward the sky. It was too far to jump to the other side. In the black river below, a barge drifted through, looking like a toy boat from this height. Mega Man could just make out a red dot in the water that was Rush paddling toward one of the river banks in its wake.

They had little time to contemplate their options. Elec Man and Proto Man were still firing at them, forcing them to duck low. Cut Man and Bomb Man were waiting as reserves; both of Cut Man's hands were replaced with Rolling Cutters, which he snipped like crab claws, Bomb Man tossed a Hyper Bomb up and down in one hand. Guts Man was scaling the bridge like a cliffside, punching holes through concrete for holds as he climbed.

Using the last of his energy, Mega Man blasted Guts Man in the chest, who tumbled down like a gigantic boulder. The other four robots scrambled to the sides of the bridge to avoid being bowled over.

"This is where we get off!" Mega Man said to Roll, pointing to the barge below. "Looks like a soft landing…"

They stepped off the bridge, the chill night air rushing past them as they fell, and plunged with a dull squish into cold, damp garbage.


"You know, if we didn't fight so much, they probably wouldn't have gotten away," said Proto Man to Elec Man with a rueful smile, letting his blaster reform into a hand as he looked down at the barge.

"You wanted them to get away," Elec Man replied dryly, dusting off his shoulder.


"I don't know who got the worst end of this deal, Wily's bots or us," said Mega Man, pulling a slimy banana peel off his helmet.

He looked back up at the bridge. He could hear car doors slamming closed, then the headlights of the van revved back down the bridge, and went down another way, out of sight.


As the van merged on street running parallel to the river, Elec Man leaned toward Proto Man from the back seat on the passenger side.

"Proto Man…take a look at this."

Proto Man glanced momentarily away from the road down at what Elec Man was holding from the corner of his eye. It looked a football that had been struck by lightning, a charred propeller sticking out of its middle. "…What is it?"

"One of Tom Light's inventions. I intercepted it back at the bridge. They were tracking us." He turned it over, and pointed at serifed letter etched in golden paint. "Why 'K'? It's not one of Light's initials…"

"Nope, his middle name is Xavier."

Dr. Wily wheeled over from the dream machine's computer console to see what they were talking about, and yanked the device out of Elec Man's hand. "It's 'K' for 'Know-it-All'," he sneered, eyeing it with contempt. He shoved it back into at Elec Man. "Make sure they can no longer track us with this junk."


Mega Man and Roll returned to the laboratory so Mega Man could recharge and Roll could restock her weapons. It was now four o'clock in the morning, and Dr. Light was waiting for them in his slippers, a huge mug of coffee in his hand.

Rush leaped onto a lab table and lay down obediently Dr. Light slid off his helmet and hooked a computer cord into his cranial circuits.

"Ah, clever boy, Rush! Taking pictures of the inside of Wily's van," Dr. Light said cheerfully he hooked the other end of the cable into his supercomputer. Rush wagged his tail.

Dr. Light sat down at the keyboard and pulled up the images Rush had captured on one of the three overhead monitors. They were orange and skeletal, like an x-ray image, and depicted multiple cross sections of a funny machine with four arms sticking out of each side.

Mega Man peered over Dr. Light's shoulder. "Hey, I remember this thing…back before I became Mega Man, this was the device I used to distract Proto Man and Wily so Roll and I could escape Skull Fortress."

Dr. Light nodded. "Just as I suspected. I've seen early prototypes for this as well, Dr. Wily has indeed succeeded in creating his 'dream machine.'" Dr. Light paused, stroking his beard in thought. "Now, to build a machine to counteract it…"

Roll was looking at a map of the city on the monitor next to Dr. Light's. "Rats. The searcher bots surveillance feed went dead ten minutes ago. Wily must have figured out how to scramble their trackers. We'll have to find them all over again!"

Mega Man looked over at the map, which had a blue line zig-zagging through the city, marking the path Dr. Wily's van had taken before the searcher bots had still cut off. "Wily could have only have been heading for one of three places…" he mused, scrolling the map outside the city, "…And the biggest target is…" he stopped scrolling, taking a step back from the computer. "…The Space Research Center!"

Dr. Light stood up, looking at them anxiously. "There's a rocket launch to the international space station in the morning!"

Mega Man looked over at Roll, who nodded. "We won't let him interfere, will we?"

To be continued…