Man! Roll doesn't get much sympathy, huh? Well, don't worry, she'll stop being a crybaby soon enough...And I upload one new chapter every day around 4-5 pm Pacific Standard Time.

Chapter Five

"Dr. Wily and the Robot Masters have taken over New York City!" cried the reporter on TV as her cameraman panned the scene, taking in every single bit of damage done to the streets. "The police force has tried to stop them, but so far has been unsuccessful. Where is Mega Man?!"

Suddenly the reporter screamed as Bomb Man threw his signature bombs at her. She ducked under a pile of rubble, and screamed again as debris flew everywhere. Wily flew up on his Skulker, laughing insanely as usual.

"Bomb Man, pick up that camera," he ordered. The robot grabbed it from the gibbering cameraman and focused it on Dr.Wily's face.

"Citizens of the World, look to your new leader." Wily cackled again. "And this time, don't expect any saves by Mega Man. I can assure you he's quite… incapacitated at the moment."

#######

Incapacitated was right.

Proto watched with some amusement as Roc—no, Mega Man attempted to clean the floors of Skull Castle blind. It was a pointless action, he had to admit—how could the robot clean what he couldn't even see?— but funny nonetheless.

"Hey, Protoman, lookit who's on TV!" cried a thick voice—Guts Man, victor returned from another raid. Proto turned only to see Wily's face grinning on the screen.

"Hand over control of all your cities and countries, or suffer the consequences," said the insane scientist dramatically. Proto shook his head and turned back to Ro—Mega Man! He had to stop doing that.

"He's just doing his usual drill, Guts Man—only this time he's backed up on it."

Guts Man shook his head and stomped past R—Mega, tripping him as he passed. Fortunately Mega fell on his good side, so was able to get up quickly, glaring in Guts Man's direction.

"Sorry," grinned Guts Man, sounding anything but apologetic. "Didn't mean ta trip ya there."

"Better hope you didn't," growled Proto behind him. Guts Man cleared his throat and quickly walked away.

#######

"I'm sure you all are wondering where your precious Mega Man is," grinned Wily as he stared into the camera. He knew that thousands—no, millions—were watching him gloat, and he enjoyed every second of it.

"After all," he continued, "He is your great hero, and now he has abandoned you, hasn't he?" The mad scientist smirked. "Well, don't worry. You'll get to see him soon enough."

#######

"Protoman!" called Elec Man as he walked down the hallway where the two brothers stood. "Hey, Protoman!"

"Yeah, yeah, what is it?" Proto snapped back. Rock leaned on the mop, glad for an excuse to stop cleaning. He had wanted to be useful around here, but he never imagined that this would be the result.

"Dr. Wily wants you and the twerp to go to New York City. You're gonna bring his armor with you and dress him in it. After all" —Elec Man snickered— "It's gonna be his big debut."

"What's he talking about?" asked Rock with a bewildered look on his face as Elec Man walked away. "Armor…?"

Proto cursed to himself, this time swearing in Japanese. Rock waited patiently until he was done, then cocked his head at his brother. "What's he talking about?" he repeated. Proto sighed.

"Well…you…usually wear armor in the lab to protect you from accidents. You didn't wear it when you got damaged, which is why you got hurt so bad. Wily thinks that…you're really advanced when it comes to robotics…so he's gonna put you in your armor and show you off."

"Really? I thought he didn't like me!" Rock grinned. "He must like me a little bit if he's gonna show me off! Right?"

"Er…yeah."

Proto decided that was the most blatant lie he'd ever used in his life.

#######

"Here, Rock, I'll help you with this," said Proto as he carefully put Rock's armor back on. Somehow the kid looked…wrong in it, like it wasn't meant for him, which was strange. After all, practically since he'd met his brother the robot hadn't been dressed in anything else, even at home…so why did it look weird now?

"Um…Proto? Are you okay?"

Proto shook his head fiercely to make himself concentrate on the situation. It didn't matter what his brother looked like; the only thing that mattered was getting the kid dressed and ready for his 'debut,' as Elec Man had called it.

The two walked over to a stolen helicopter and got in. "I'm driving," said Proto unnecessarily as he jumped into the pilot's seat.

"Okay," answered Rock, trying to keep the half-helmet on his head as it fell off once again. "Argh...Proto, why do I have to wear this stupid thing?! It's hard to keep on and it's uncomfortable!"

Proto laughed. "You won't have to wear it for long," he said, grinning. He'd never thought of his own armor as uncomfortable, but then again…Rock had no memories of ever wearing armor. Proto had pretty much been born in his own.

Mega Man, the red raider reminded himself wearily. He's not Rock…he's Mega Man.

It was very hard to remember at this point.

#######

Rock scratched his bad leg carefully, the stupid armor chafing his skin. Honestly, he thought, you'd think this dumb thing would be more comfortable if I wore it so much.

He didn't even know the irony of his words.

"C'mon," said Proto's voice as they landed with a loud thump in Rockefeller Plaza. " 'S time for you to get…er…shown off."

"Okay!" said Rock cheerfully, still trying to hold the blasted helmet on his head as he jumped out of the helicopter. He groaned as it fell off and clattered to the ground. "Do I have to wear that dumb thing?" he complained again. "It's not like it's doing anything useful..."

Proto tried to hold in a snicker. "Okay, you can just hold it until I tell you to put it on."

"Good!"

"This way," said Ring Man as he walked up, pointing to a studio to the left. "Studio 1-A is where the Head Honcho is filmin' the scene. Now all we need is the star!" Ring Man laughed and walked off. Proto rolled his eyes. Of all the irritating Robot Masters Wily had ever built, Ring Man was definitely in the top five.

"Me, right?" asked Rock, a wry look on his face. He, too, thought Ring Man was weird.

"Yeah, you," said Proto with a grin. "C'mon."

The two made their way over to the studio, then to the filming room.

"Rock, you, uh, sit here," said Proto as he pushed his brother onto a stool. The boy nodded and balanced himself, still holding his torn helmet.

"Oh, and put that on, okay?"

Rock sighed. "All right."

Protoman walked over to Wily, who was jovially setting up cameras to focus on his fallen adversary. "Dr. Wily," he said tightly, "You're not gonna call him his actual name, are you? I mean, to his face…where he can hear it."

Wily gave Protoman a look, and the red raider fidgeted.

"Fine, fine," said the roboticist with a shrug. "It's not that important—after all, only the world needs to know who he really is."

"Great!" said Proto despite himself. "I mean…umm…"

But Wily was already walking away. Proto quickly walked back to his brother and helped him get properly positioned for the show.

"Lights…" called Ring Man as Rock fiddled with his half-helmet and Proto stood silently next to him. "Camera…"

Ring Man paused for effect.

"Action!"