Mega Man 5: Blood Among Brothers

by Magus523

Dr. Wily is still on the loose, and the Fifth Robot Rebellion is inevitable. But when it finally comes, its source is not Wily, but one whom Mega Man had thought he would never have to fight again... his own brother, Blues...

16. Chapter 15: For The Family, For The Foe

Chapter 15: For The Family, For The Foe

"If you will not die, then I will never STOP! Until you are dead, until your name has been wiped clean from this miserable woebegotten planet and the feeble minds of its fleshy hordes, I will NEVER STOP!"-Dr. Albert Wily, during the final battle of the Fourth Robot Rebellion

From the heavens, a streak of blue light raced, down towards the Earth below. As it hit, the millions of particles that made it up reformed, becoming a humanoid figure, four feet tall and clad in blue armor. Another much like him was standing nearby, back to him, looking at the monstrosity of a building a mile off.

"This is familiar." Proto Man told his brother without turning. "As I recall, this is almost the same way we started off the third. Except I'm not wearing my Break Man mask this time."

"Yeah… you're not." Mega Man walked up to stand next to him. "Blues… I have to-"

"Don't." The eldest son of Light cut him off. "I told you already, it's not your fault. I was so messed up over those incidents with the robot killings, I went off into the Atlas Mountains for a week without even thinking. That disappearance… as soon as it happened, Wily capitalized on it. And I didn't even know… I walk back down into human civilization when I've got my brain sorted out, and an angry mob tries to kill me… and I STILL can't figure it out. And then I meet you… and let my guard down, so that idiot Dark Man can play us both for chumps."

"Yeah, but…" Mega frowned. "One thing I don't get… why didn't you come after us? I mean, Dark Man tackled me away… you could have come and pulled him off, and cleared your-" He stopped; his brother had turned away from him. "Blues… what is it?"

"The Third Law." Proto Man explained after a moment. "A robot must act to preserve its own existence… unless doing so comes into conflict with the first or second laws. Right after Dark Man tackled you… that mob caught me again. And since there was no HUMAN in danger… and no orders from one, not that the Second means much to me any more… the Third Law kicked in. I ran, Rock… I had to run. I couldn't stop myself. I abandoned you there… let you keep on believing that maniac's lies… because we're both robots."

"Blues… it's okay." Mega assured him. "I know… more than anybody else… just how much pressure that Law can exert. It's not as bad as the First, but still… don't blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done."

"I could have fought it… like you did, not once but TWICE. And I didn't." Proto turned back to him. "I gave in. But I won't again… never again. I broke my promise to you, too… back when I left home after the Fourth, I promised I'd be around to help you out the next time Wily showed up. In fact, what happened was almost exactly the opposite… and that, also, is something I promise you is never happening again." He sighed. "Well, I assume you took care of Dark Man?"

"More than…" The Blue Bomber paused for a moment. "Blues… he was Doc Man. Rebuilt… brought back to life."

"Oh, sheez…" Proto Man's jaw dropped. "I had no idea about THAT… I never would have left you to fight that lunatic alone if I had. You did come up on top, though…?"

"Yeah…" Mega nodded somberly. "We fought… I won. But he wasn't insane any more… we talked afterwards, and he told me the coordinates for this place. He said to apologize for impersonating you… and then he died. Killed himself, permanently this time… Frankenstein himself couldn't patch him back together now. And… he cleared your name, Blues. Broadcast it on TV, all over the world… explaining everything, both his and Wily's involvement. They all know you're innocent, Blues… everybody knows it now."

"…Well, who would have thought it." Proto Man murmured after a stunned moment. "The guy who framed me up… is the one who cleared my name. Did he say why?"

"Partially to screw over his dad." Mega admitted. "He still hated his guts. But he said he had no animosity towards you… and he seemed to be in a strangely familial mood near the end."

"Strange robot… even when his brain was working… well, that's in the past now." The eldest son of Light harrumphed. "Nice to hear that I might not be killed on sight by humans… but right now, we still need to focus on what's important. Getting dad out of there."

"Yeah…" Mega looked over at the newest Skull Fortress. "Man… it doesn't even look like he's taking this time seriously." Skull Fortress V was a squat, circular building rising in two layers and topped by a humongously wide glass dome on a thin, spindly tower. Several other towers were to the left and right, but they lacked the massive weaponry usually adorning them; there was one large cannon and a satellite dish, but that was it. There wasn't even a defensive wall around the complex, and the titanium skull on the front was quite small. The most notable features about this Skull Fortress were the colors; garishly bright neon purple and blue for the most part, with red and green here or there.

"He's probably not…" Proto Man guessed grimly. "He thinks this is just going to be another round of the same old routine. You go in, you bust him up and he gets away." He glanced at his brother. "But it's not, is it?"

"No." The Blue Bomber agreed. "It's not. He screwed with our family… he screwed with US. With you… with dad… even with Doc Man. For that… for all three…" His fist clenched. "I'm going to make him regret he EVER came up with the idea for this Rebellion."

"That's my brother." Proto Man nodded approvingly. "Just remember, First Law's still there. You won't be able to hurt the man himself… no matter how much you want to. His machines will have to be enough."

"I will…" Mega slowly nodded, remembering Doc Man's words. "Believe me, I will. So… where do we start? Not the front door, of course… Wily won't take us THAT lightly, to skimp on the defenses there…"

"I know of two spots where we can get in." Proto pointed out at the Skull Fortress. "There… see that little squat tower of on the west side? Get inside the shield, and get onto its roof… that spot's weak." Reaching under his shield, he pulled out a small black sphere with a large red button on it. "Here… use this to blow it open. It's got a ten-second delay."

"A bomb…" Meg chuckled, taking it. "Well, you did say in the Third that you always carried an opener. What about you?"

"That big honking glass dome." Proto Man jerked a thumb over his shoulder, to where his Melee Moth was at rest several feet away. "This ride's a real pro at breaking in through the top of these places, as you've hopefully noticed. Two simultaneous strikes, at different points… get to Wily, get to dad. As fast as possible. Whoever makes it there first… hit Wily with everything you've got, and try to hold on until the other arrives."

"Got it." Mega nodded. "Let's go, then." But though he accepted the plan… in his mind, he knew it would be him, and him alone who fought Wily… just like always. And as he walked, a plan formed in his mind. For how he would not only stop the madman… but how he would totally, utterly defeat him.

And that, if nothing else, was something the Blue Bomber always knew the truth about.

Skull Fortress V, like all its kind, was a nightmare. All four Skull Fortresses before it had been subtly different, but had remained the same at their cores; death traps that no sane man or robot should be able to conquer. But Mega Man had, four times, and he knew that he would do so again with this fifth one. He proceeded through it almost on automatic, his brain filled with thoughts of what-and who-he would find at the end. Wily. As they had planned, he broke into the Fortress through a squat tower on the west side, and from there, blew through Dr. Wily's latest residence like a natural disaster. A plunge down a long, spike-lined shaft… crossing moving rollers over a deep waste disposal pit… massive crushers on the ceiling, moving up and down at intervals… and then he was at the first Fortress Guardian. It wouldn't be a Sentinel, he knew… no, those were an innovation of Doc Man's. Wily's Fortress Guardians were huge war machines, not Robot Masters… not even slightly resembling humans. This one was no different. The room was a long hallway, and at the other end, a three-story mechanical tower filled the room. Two blue disks, six feet wide and as thick as the Blue Bomber was tall, formed the bottom layers; stacked on each other, spikes on their sides. Above them was a thicker, red-colored segment, which was only six rocket jets positioned evenly around. Apparently, these were meant to keep the head aloft, even if the disks were knocked out. The top… a blue head, its only feature a pair of baleful eyes. Looking over it again, Mega realized that the jet segment also stuck out far enough to protect the head from shots fired from a lower angle… from any angle he could manage inside the room, anyways.

"So I need to get up on the head's level…" He mused. Firing a shot at one of the lower segments, he confirmed his suspicions; it was not damaged, but instead spun out towards him, its top an easily accessible platform. "Stepping stones… to get on up…" From the top of the head, something was launched; small green replicas of the weak point drifted gently down. "And those… obstacles." The Blue Bomber's eyes narrowed. "He's NOT taking this seriously… this isn't a Fortress Guardian. It's a damned GAME. Well, SCREW THAT." Angrily switching to the Crystal Eye, he fired a shot at the ceiling over the tower's head. Breaking apart, all four crystals slammed downward, straight into the weak point. Roaring incomprehensibly, the Guardian released more of its mini-heads, but their downward drift was easily dodged. The tower never stood a chance; in less than a minute, it broke apart and all four segments slid away from each other, lifeless. Walking disdainfully past them, Mega Man continued on.

The second area of the Fortress-with his unorthodox entrance, Mega wasn't sure if it was a Ring, and at this point didn't really care-was no better than the first. A trip through an underwater tunnel made him sorely regret not having his Rush Marine again as he dodged wall-crawling mobile buzz saws. After that, it was mainly a series of increasingly tough robot guards, culminating in a pair of gigantic humanoids in bright green armor. "Bouncers, huh…" Unfortunately for them, the M-Tank had restored power to the Blue Bomber's Power Stone, and he unleashed its force multiple times until both robots were battered to pieces. Behind them, the second Fortress Guardian lurked. It was a huge, floating armored sphere; the front featured a window of transparent but equally impenetrable glasteel that showed a dull robotic face inside. The left and right sides had hatches that swung open and shut at intervals, revealing and concealing weak points. And at the top, a mortar-launching cannon.

"Looks like Wily's getting serious…" Mega realized, looking around. "Or… not." Two hover platforms on the room's sides would hold him up so he could get a better shot into the hatches when they opened. "Another freakin' game… I'm getting tired of this." Running through his weapons, he selected the Gyro Blade, and when one of the hatches swung open, he threw the spinning rotor deftly at the hinge, lodging it there. Jammed, the hatch could not close again. "Some people say you shouldn't play fair in these situations. I say don't play, period." The exposed insides of the robot were torn to shreds by the succession of Gyro Blades hurled into them, and like its counterpart, the floating Guardian dropped to the ground in a defeated lump quickly. Beyond it was a hall with flashing strips of brightly alternating colored lights running down the halls. Annihilating the single, sole defensive cannon, Mega saw the glass capsule behind it.

"Well, well. Only two Guardians before this now? Maybe Wily's running out of ideas… nah. Blues probably had to wipe out a couple." The capsule was a teleporter, a preprogrammed machine that would send him to a second, partner capsule somewhere in the Fortress. And Mega had been through enough of them to know what he would see when he arrived. He wasn't disappointed; eight more capsules, filling a small, cluttered room. "The Teleporter Room." It was a routine that Wily never failed to use; each of the eight would teleport him to a room where he would have to fight a copy of one of the eight Robot Masters of the day. In this case, US Robotics'… but Mega had all of their weapons, and he knew their fighting patterns and weaknesses. And more importantly… he knew that the Teleporter Room was always the last barrier before the mad doctor himself. "Almost there… this is nothing to me now."

Each of the eight challenged him, and each of the eight fell. Some yelled threats, some boasted, some came at him with quiet respect, all of them knowing of their predecessors' defeat… and before long, they each knew of their own as well. Star Man's shield could not stand up to the intense pressure of the Water Wave… Gravity Man's techniques were as useless as before against the Star Barrier… Stone Man's tough shell was blown apart by the Napalm Bomb… Charge Man's rampage was halted by the Power Stone… Gyro Man was grounded by the Gravity Hold… Wave Man was unable to stand up to the sliding Charge Kick… Crystal Man's visions were sliced apart by the Gyro Blade… and Napalm Man was brought down by the Crystal Eye. Emerging from his second victory against US Robotics' mightiest war machine, the Blue Bomber looked around the room. There was no obvious way out… but the light atop the capsule he had entered through was glittering brightly, unlike the darker ones of the Robot Masters. Shrugging, Mega entered it again, and as he half-expected, did NOT emerge in the hall beyond the second Guardian. Instead, he was on the top of the one weapon he had seen on the fortress; a massive gun turret atop an eastern tower. The tower top was flat and circular; the only feature aside from the capsule he had entered, and one more on the other side, was a pit in the perfect center of the arena. Without even looking, he knew it would be filled with spikes. Not yet… this isn't the final showdown yet. Ever since the Second, he's always had more than one. Looking up into the darkness, Mega Man sneered. "Oh, Uncle Albert… where are you?"

"My my, aren't we saucy today, nephew…" An aged voice cackled. Something blocked out the moon… something large and circular. It was a saucer… a flying saucer, but not the blue-and-yellow one Wily normally used for his transportation. This one was much larger, purple and orange, and its underside was a wide, flat surface; a press. Above it was a dome with a pair of eyestalks, obviously only for show… for between them, on the upper front, was a transparent plasteel window with a sight Mega Man had come to recognize even more than the Teleporter Room. Dr. Albert Wily, gaunt old frame crammed into a cockpit, working feverishly at the control panel of his latest metal monstrosity… his latest Wilymachine. "So you did deal with Dark Man… you and that disobedient older brother of yours. He would be the other disturbance, I dare say… well, not matter. Neither of you is leaving here now."

"You're wrong about that… you always were, and you always will be." Mega growled. "And you're wrong about something else, too… I didn't beat Dark Man. I beat DOC MAN." The ancient maniac's eyes widened.

"You… how did you KNOW!" He demanded.

"Destroyed your memory blocker." Mega spat. "Destroyed him after that, even at his full strength. And I will destroy this as well… and any more that you have. They're all going down… and so are you, Wily."

"Oh no, the big scary Mega Man's going to beat me up. Whatever shall I do?" Wily scoffed. "Oh, that's right… he CAN'T. Whoops, so much for THAT threat. My Wilymachines, you can break, though… maybe. Those, I'll believe when I see!" Cackling, he began moving the Wilymachine around. Strangely, it remained at exactly the same vertical height… until it froze, and then suddenly plunged downward. Unimpressed, Mega slid away-and blinked as it smashed into the ground less than an inch behind him. "Holy… if that had been a second slower…" Shaken, he nevertheless turned and fired a charged shot at the cockpit, the likely weak point.

"Ho ho ho… faster than you expected, eh, hero?" Wily cackled. The ship rose into the air, and Mega Man glared up at it, waiting for it to dive again. The metal press on the bottom would doubtless be resistant to his weapons, and it blocked the cockpit from fire below. Only when Wily brought the ship down was it vulnerable; thankfully, that seemed to be its only means of attack. Again it plunged down, and again Mega slid away, barely escaping the crush. "Ha! I'll have you next time, at this rate… you simply can't avoid this kind of speed!"

"Actually…" Mega fired again. "It's not speed at all. Nice trick, but did you think I wouldn't notice? The roof of this tower is rigged… when you bring your ship down, a command is sent and the roof comes crashing up. BOTH of them smash together, giving the illusion of incredible speed… but I just fought a guy who knows more about illusions than anybody in the world. You can't get me with something that simple."

"So what?" Wily shouted angrily. "The fact remains that you're barely escaping by a few inches each time!"

"True." Mega nodded. "But those inches… are all I need to stay ahead of you. And they're always there… you can come close, but you can NEVER actually get me. And you never will." Time after time, this was proved true; Wily came crashing down, and the roof came rising up, and Mega Man slid away from their collision to return fire. Finally, with a disgusted grunt, Wily jettisoned the saucer. His cockpit blasted up on small, separate jets, and he waved mockingly as he flew over the tower's edge. "Two more, nephew… two more! I'll be waiting for you!"

"Two more, huh…" Mega muttered as he watched his enemy's capsule fly into a hatch in the Fortress. "All right, then. One more by myself… and then… it's payback time. For all of us."

What Mega had been expecting to find on the other end of the teleporter capsule was a dingy, dark metal cavern, deep underground. What he actually found was a cheery, bright laboratory with walls a pleasant forest green. Looking around for a moment, the Blue Bomber shrugged. "Guess even Wily likes a change once in a while… as noted by the horrible colors outside. This is much better." Two long-legged laser walkers were stalking the lab, and Mega eliminated them both, one after the other. Thoughtfully taking out the single stationary cannon as well, he searched the lab thoroughly. There was no sign of Dr. Light… only a metal shutter. "Likely, both of his toys will be in there… and so will dad. Sorry, Blues… I can't wait any longer. Wily knows I'm here… if I hold back on purpose, he might do something to Dad. I'm going in." Readying himself, he walked through the metal shutter into a completely darkened room. A single light in the ceiling flickered on… revealing a chugging monstrosity. "Holy hell…" It was practically a tank; twelve monster-truck-sized armored wheels carried a four-story mass of metal. Most of it appeared to be armor and propulsion; the front was the business end. Like Skull Fortress, a huge skull adorned the front; the only weapon visible, a giant cannon barrel clenched firmly between the jaws.

"Do you like it, Mega Man?" Wily was not visible anywhere within the mass of metal, but he was there all the same. "You faced my Skull Jet in the last Rebellion… now, you shall be crushed by the Skull Dozer!" From the skull's maw, a blue ball bounced out. It looked harmless, but Mega knew that if it struck HIM, the orb would detonate. Sliding under it, he scanned the Skull Dozer for weak points. There were none visible… save for the cannon itself. Firing a charged shot at the barrel, he watched it melt slightly. Man… that's it?

"It will take more than that to halt my mighty Skull Dozer, fool… much more!" Wily laughed, driving the war machine forward. Running away, Mega blinked; his feet were running, but he wasn't moving! Then he felt it; an intense suction from the approaching Dozer's maw. "Damn… it can do that too!" He slid away just in time, barely escaping the metal wheels.

"And that's not all it can do…" Wily sounded amused. The suction shut off, and was replaced by three speedy red missiles. Surprised, Mega dodged the first two, but the third one hit. Knocked down, he was struck again by a bouncing blue bomb.

"Cute tricks… here's one of mine!" The Napalm Bomb he fired flew straight and true into the barrel and exploded… doing even less damage than the charged shot had. "What!"

"My Skull Dozer is invulnerable!" Wily bragged. "I paid special attention to the weapons of the Robot Masters this time around, and made sure to make this mighty war machine impervious to them all!"

"All of them?" Mega repeated slowly. Wily laughed again.

"YES! Napalm Bomb, Gyro Blade, Crystal Shot, Power Stone… none of those will destroy that cannon, hero! And the other four are even more useless!"

"Other FOUR, huh…" Mega Man smiled suddenly on a thought. "You should have paid more attention… those aren't all I have at all. I have gifts from friends… friends who want you taken down as much as I do. Here's the first." Dodging another three-shot of missiles, he pointed his Buster straight into the barrel, and fired… the Super Arrow. Flying into it, the Arrow expanded, covering part of the tube's interior with sticky goo.

"What…?" Wily demanded. "What the hell is THAT?"

"Oh… just a helpful little utility." Mega remarked offhandedly, firing another and then another. Roaring, Wily activated the Dozer's suction as he moved it forward, but the force was much lessened and Mega was able to get away easily, launching more arrows into the weak spot once he was clear. The gun barrel was now quite clogged. Wily must have tried a missile, or perhaps a bomb, next; it didn't take, as was evident by the explosion from the Dozer's interior and the smoke that poured out from the sides of the mask. "Damn it… I recognize this style! This silly frippery in weapon form… Trenton Corbun made this for you, didn't he?"

"Bingo." The Blue Bomber confirmed. "There are others you hurt far worse in this Rebellion… but he still owed you one for jacking his Robot Masters. This is that."

"Bah, enough of this!" Wily gave in as the Skull Dozer ground to a halt. But it was too late; the titanic tank began rumbling ominously, and a capsule barely larger than a human shot out just in time as the entire vehicle went up in an explosion that blew Mega into the wall and shattered the only light in the room.

"Ow… all right, Wily." Mega growled. Now… now it's time. Sending out a mental command, he drained his last E-Tank and kept up a steady line of patter as a distraction. "Where are you? You said you had one more… bring it out, then. I'm ready for it."

"It's already here…" Wily chuckled. There was a flash of light above him, and the Blue Bomber looked up to see… a capsule supported on jets, barely containing Wily's body. It was blue like his armor, not blood red… but it was clearly the same.

"The Wilyporter." Mega Man snarled, avoiding the blob of energy that dropped to the ground, split into two and skidded along the floor. "You brought back the goddamned Wilyporter."

"And why not? It worked far better than any of my Wilymachines had!" Wily chuckled, disappearing into the darkness once more. "There was Gamma, of course, but I don't exactly have the resources to rebuild HIM… so this it is!"

"And so, you hide in the darkness…" Mega challenged him, smiling internally. Yes… this is perfect. "You can't beat me head-on… so you cower in the shadows."

"I use the dark to my advantage, is all!" Wily disagreed, appearing again and releasing a wave of four energy orbs that spiraled outward. "You can't hit what you can't see… and what you can't hit, I know you FEAR! You'll succumb to it, like you did in the Fourth… and this time, I shall have you!"

"Wrong… as always." Mega snapped. "I beat you in the fourth… for the people you had wronged. For the Cossacks, whose family you had torn apart to hide your evil deeds… and this time, it was MY family. My father, who you kidnapped… my cousin, your scapegoat…"

"Cousin…?" Wily sounded intrigued. "You can't possibly mean… Doc Man?"

"I do." Mega nodded. "We came to an understanding, him and me."

"I don't believe it." Wily snickered. "Doc Man's only peace… the only peace there could EVER be for a robot like that… is the peace of the grave! The peace you too shall know!"

"You say that about him… and your incorrectness is made even worse by the fact that you BUILT him." Mega shook his head in disgust, avoiding another attack. "He was your SON, Wily… and you never knew him. Not when you built him… not when he tried to kill you… and not now."

"My SON! That's rich!" Wily hooted. "He was a robot, idiot! Like you! Robots aren't family… they aren't people! They're tools! War machines… to destroy, and be destroyed! That's the only purpose they serve!"

"That limited belief is why you will lose this fight." Mega growled. "Robots are family. I am the son of Thomas Light… and it is his other son who you have wronged most of all. My brother, Blues… PROTO MAN. You made him the victim… you framed him… all for the continuation of your sick desires!"

"So?" Wily laughed again, unseen. "All's fair in war, nephew! You believed that Cossack had started the fourth… I knew you would believe that Blues started the Fifth! And you'll believe it again, and again, as I keep coming time after time!"

"WRONG." Mega Man shook his head. "Always wrong, Wily. Always. And that is why you will always lose. I won't get fooled again… Rebellions are your curse. No one else's. I'll never believe another Rebellion is caused by somebody else… never again. Over my cold, dead body, Wily… or over yours." His eyes widened. Did I actually SAY that? And the First Law's not freezing me up… true, it's just words, but… He shook his head. Now's not the time for that… but it's almost the time for something else…

"Ha… we'll see about THAT." Wily snorted, appearing for a brief flash and firing again. "And even so… that's only if you win THIS fight! Not bad dodging all my attacks so far… but you haven't even fired off one of your own in return at all! You'd better start taking this seriously, Mega Man… you're all alone here! If you don't fight me, nobody's going to do it for you!" The Blue Bomber's eyes glinted.

NOW. "Oh? Is that so?" His smile widened. "And just what make you so sure… I AM alone?" In the dark, behind the controls of his Wilyporter, the ancient maniac's eyes widened.

"What… do you mean?" And then he heard it… the sound of impossibility. The sound that haunted his nightmares, as they haunted Mega Man's… almost as much as Mega Man himself stalked his dreams.

"YEEAAA HAA HA HA HA!" And the Wilyporter… registered damage.

"What…" Dr. Wily whispered, glancing frantically into the darkness, seeing nothing; whatever had struck had already vanished into the shadows again. "No… no! You wouldn't have... You couldn't have! You said you killed him!"

"I lied." Mega shrugged easily. "I said we came to an understanding. Our understanding… was over YOU." Now he drew his Buster, and fired a charged shot in the direction of the voice. Damage.

"You let him live?" Wily's voice was horrified. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Not for anybody else." Mega nodded. "But for you, Wily… you're special. And he's not the only one here." From a different direction, Wily heard another sound… a four-note, five-tone whistle. And again… damage.

"Proto Man…" He hissed. "All of you… here?"

"All three of us… for payback against YOU!" Mega Man yelled. "YOU, Wily! It was all YOU! The Rebellion! The framing! The deaths! The destruction! The kidnapping! The fights! The lies! The manipulation! ALL BECAUSE YOU HAD TO TEAR THE WORLD APART AGAIN!" The whistle and the laugh came again, as Mega Man fired once more… and the Wilyporter was damaged even more. Frantic, Dr. Wily began moving the machine around.

"No… no! Get away! Don't come near me…!" Damage. Laughing. Damage. Whistling. DAMAGE.

"For my father… for my sister… for my friends… for everybody who's been jerked around by you." Mega Man advanced on him, eyes blazing. "My brother… my cousin… and me. We're taking you down, Wily… and then…" He grinned like a skull, a grin he had learned from a robot who had done it all his life. "Well… then you'd just better hope the two of us who still have the First Law in our heads can hold back the one who DOESN'T." On cue, the laugh came once more.

"You can't…. mean…" Wily was sweating bucket loads now. Not even trying to fight back… not even trying to conceal the position given away by his voice. "No… no! Leave me alone! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF!" Mega Man roared. "You screwed with ALL our lives… and this is what you get for it!" He fired a charged shot. "You maniac… you MONSTER. This was a long time in coming… you've terrorized this world five times now…" He fired again. "But now… YOU'RE the one who's terrorized, aren't you? AREN'T YOU!" He fired a third time, now point-blank into the machine. Through the front of the capsule, barely lit by the plasma fire, Wily saw his enemy's face filled with an intense overriding fury. "ARE YOU AFRAID, WILY!"

"I… I…" Wily's head jerked around frantically. Laughter. Damage. Whistle. Damage. MEGA MAN. DAMAGE. And the Wilyporter could take no more. The eject sequence kicked in automatically, and Wily was hurled from it onto his greatest enemy as the machine exploded behind him. "Rock… Rock! Don't hurt me… don't hurt me any more! Help me… please, help me, Rock!"

"…" Mega Man grabbed him, none too gently, and dropped him on the floor. Slowly, with the Wilyporter destroyed, the lights turned on; the reason for their deactivation was destroyed. And as they did, Wily saw the source of laughter and whistle.

"A… bird?" He whispered, disbelieving. "A little… blue… bird?"

"That's right." Mega Man confirmed, holding out his hand for Beat to perch on. Looking down at the madman, Beat replayed the sounds Mega had had him record and replay… sounds the Blue Bomber could imitate perfectly by now. The sound of laughter… the sound of a whistle… metal claws that could gouge into anything… and enemy-locating eyes that could see even in the dark. "A bird. Sergei Cossack made him… I'm sure he'll be thrilled to know how well he was used here. As will my brother… and my cousin, who IS dead, wherever he is now." And somewhere, in the back of his mind… Mega Man could almost hear the cackle of approving, maniacal laughter. "Now, then. My father. Take me to him. NOW."

"Yes, yes of course…" Wily bowed unctuously and slowly tottered to his feet, leading him down a hall behind the room. They emerged in another laboratory… and there, hanging in a cage from the ceiling… was a sight that made Mega almost feel good even towards Wily. His father… Dr. Thomas Light.

"Rock!" Dr. Light shouted hoarsely. "Rock, you're here! I was afraid… some kind of trick…"

"Dad!" Rock yelled back, jumping up. "No, I came. I made it. Hold on!" He bent the steel bars apart, then jumped to the ground. "Come on… I'll catch you!" Dr. Light hopped down into his son's arms. "Dad… are you okay?"

"Worn, tired, dirty, but otherwise not harmed." Dr. Light assured him. "If Albert had kept me in his own custody for longer, such might not be the case, but his decoy did not seem to care about abusing me. I'll be fine, son."

"It's over, dad… it's all over." Rock whispered. "All of it. Doc Man said you figured out about him…" Dr. Light nodded slowly, not trusting himself to speak. "Dad… he cleared Blues' name. On worldwide television."

"Then… it IS all over." Dr. Light realized. "Everything… is fine now." Even Beat was chirping happily. Mega nodded.

"Everything…" Mega frowned. "Wait… Wily!" The evil old scientist had disappeared. "Damn… he got away again!" Suddenly, the room began shaking. "What… what the hell?"

"Rock, what is it?" Dr. Light looked around, eyes wide.

"The Fortress…" Mega Man realized. "It's collapsing! That… maniac activated the self-destruct!" With a roar, the ceiling plunged downward, and for a moment, Dr. Light saw death rushing towards him… but as he threw himself to the ground, the ceiling stopped, only four feet high. Looking behind him, Dr. Light gasped. Impossibly… unbelievably… Mega Man was holding it up. He was holding the entire ceiling up.

"Dad…" The Blue Bomber croaked, agony tearing at his frame. "Go… run. There'll be a way out… in back of here… Wily used."

"But…" Dr. Light protested.

"GO!" Mega thundered. "I'll catch up… I can teleport! Run… before the threat to you makes the First Law turn me off entirely! We'll both die, dad!"

"…" Dr. Light stared at him for a moment longer, then nodded and crawled away as fast as he could. Once he was gone, Mega let out a slight sigh of relief, then chuckled darkly.

"Well… that's the First Law off my back, anyways." He winced. "Damn, this hurts… I wish Wily hadn't put that teleporter shield up. Otherwise, I might be able to go somewhere outside of the Fortress… someplace that's not falling down like this. I doubt even the roofs are safe. Sucks to be me, I suppose…" He blinked. The weight had suddenly vanished. "Who…?" He heard a four-tone, five-note whistle from behind him. "Wha… Blues!"

"Get moving, idiot!" Proto Man yelled. "Follow dad! I've got another way out, but you need to move, now! You're thrashed!"

"What do you mean, you've got another way out?" Mega demanded. "There IS no other way out-"

"MOVE, MORON!" Proto Man screamed in agony. "I told you I'd never leave you behind again! I'm not going to, ever! I've got this, brother… trust me! Now LEAVE!" Biting his lip, Mega Man nodded… and he turned and ran, as Skull Fortress V collapsed around him.

"There it goes…" Rock muttered. He had removed his helmet, and now stood a mile off from Skull Fortress V as it finished its implosion. Morning had come while they were inside there, and the sky was bright, blue and cloudless. Also blue was the flying saucer that slowly lifted away from the dying Fortress and then flew off over the horizon and away. Rock sighed. "He got away again… he's still out there, once more."

"One can't have everything." Dr. Light told him sagely. "You stopped a Rebellion, saved me, cleared Blues' name and, if what I heard of that fight was any indication, avenged wrongs done to many people. Even Wily cannot keep going forever… someday, you'll stop him permanenty, Rock." Rock thought back to what Doc Man had said, and he shuddered.

"Plain and simple, cousin. My dad… Wily… he won't stop. He'll just keep coming, on and on… UNTIL YOU KILL HIM."

"…Maybe." He sighed. "We'll see… next time. One thing's for sure… I'm not buying into any more of his garbage. Next time I'll know it's him, no matter what he does." He smiled. "I'll bet that's a relief, isn't it, bro?"

"…Yeah." Blues chuckled from behind them. "I'm not even going to ask how you knew I was there."

"Blues…" Dr. Light turned now. "Thank you. I'm so sorry this happened to you…"

"Wily's fault… not even close to yours, dad." Blues shrugged. "And I hear my name's been cleared thanks to another erstwhile family member… so it's all cool."

"That it has… that it is." Mega smiled. "Thanks for the save, by the way… I would have been dead without you."

"I meant what I said." Blues shrugged. "I've got your back, bro… always. I'll never abandon the family again." Behind him, Melee Moth stirred restlessly.

"Good thing you had that guy." Mega remarked. "He was that way out you were talking about, eh?"

"Er… well…" Blues shuffled his feet. "To be honest… I didn't remember him until AFTER you were gone. I thought I had had it."

"You IDIOT!" Rock exploded. "You were going to… to…" His eyes widened. "You… dad was already gone. So was Wily. There were no humans… just me. You stood up to… you broke the Third Law, Blues."

"When I say something… I mean it." Blues sighed. "But damn, that was a pisser… fighting against that AND the ceiling. I could really do with a week's rest in Honolulu, believe me."

"I think we all could." Dr. Light smiled. "There will likely be all sorts of chaos to settle when we first get back, but once that's all settled, I daresay Darwin will be able to arrange something."

"Sounds like a plan." Blues removes his own helmet. "Come on then… let's ride the big bug express back to civilization. Sydney's the nearest city… this broadcast you mentioned DID go there, right, Rock? I don't think I'd like being fired upon AGAIN, especially NOW."

"Like dad said, there'll probably be some hassles… some angry officials… but in the end, I think it'll come out okay." Rock assured him. "Shall we ride, then?"

"Oh, yes…" Blues growled, elbowing him in the ribs. "And on the way back, I can chew you out for not following the plan and taking on Wily single-handedly! You're just lucky I wasn't THAT far behind you!"

"I think you'll be keeping the anger controlled once you found out how he dealt with Albert this time." Dr. Light remarked mildly as the three of them boarded Melee Moth's back. Blues raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Is that so? Why don't you tell me about that then…" Melee Moth rose and flew away towards the south, with its three passengers laughing, joking and bickering good-naturedly.

Father and brothers… family, reunited at last.