Ok, this is a very different (and more dramatized) version of the story of Megaman. I didn't come up with it, though, this is borrowed from someone else, I loved it the first time I read it and just had to do wonething with it. From what I know, this hasn't been done before, or maybe it has.

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, but if I did, I would use this version of the story.

"We have control

We keep you safe

We are your hope

We have control..."

The voices continued to chant as Megaman slowly made his way to the dark figure, his face, obscured by the shadows. "Show your face." Megaman nearly shouted. Still the figure did not move. A coward that's what he is, Megeaman thought bitterly. "You kill my brother, and then when I come to face you, you hide behind your armies. Go ahead send them all, there is no one who can stop me. I have come for revenge, for the one who came before me. Now here I stand, ready, willing, and prepared to fight. So send your men, there is no Man or Machine who can defeat me." he shouted at the unmoving silhouette.

Megaman continued forth. The voices of the men and women carrying him onward. There was no time for fear now with freedom so close at hand. Standing between the sea of men and Megaman's final purpose was a vast army of robots commanded by a single leader. This man was not Wily, Wily had no power on a battle field. This was his second in command, a Machine. The Machine's face remained shrouded in the shadows of the buildings, his rough features and solid construction hidden by the void of light.

The figure made a gesture. The robot army advanced. Still Megaman walked. One by one they would fall. No mercy would be shown this time. They were machines, they could feel no pain. Just as they could not understand what drove him. His rage was lost on them. That no longer mattered, Megaman had his target. The Commander of this army would fall, he would have his revenge, and all the wreckage he would have to wade through to get to him was of no significance.

Megaman fought. He killed without hesitation. Driven by anger, and his thirst for revenge, he made his way through the soldiers. Yet no matter how many he killed, or how hard he fought it seemed there was no end to them. Megaman looked over the fallen men. "All you wounded, that is those of you who can still stand, hurry back and tell your leader that you'll need more men." he turned his eyes back the Commander. "Hah, is this the best you've got? Are these your strongest Machines? They are nothing compared to me!" With that he resumed his fight toward the enemy.

But as he neared the gate, and the leader of the robot army, his fury soon turned to confusion. This Commander was no ordinary Machine. The shadows and smoke continued to hide his features, but he could still see his eyes-eyes that shone in a way very much like his own. "Step forward, into the light and fight me." Megaman raised his gun, intending to release the final blow. But just before the shot rang out, the blast that would have ended the battle, the Commander stepped out from behind the shadows. Megaman eyes widened. This face, he had seen it before, in visions and in dreams. For a moment he was confused this was not the face of evil he had envisioned, this was the face of a Hero, the face of the first son of Light, his brother, Protoman. Megaman's arm fell to his side and dropped to his knees as Dr. Light quietly stepped from the crowd. He had arrived unnoticed and hid amongst the people who had gathered to watch the fight. He, too, watching the battle take place between his two sons.

Megaman turned to look at his father now, shock and confusion on his face. "Try to understand," Dr. Light said in a voice only Megaman could hear. "I had told you your brother had been killed. And yet... here he stands, in the very shadow of the man you came here to destroy." Light lowered his eyes but continued. "You came here in hopes to avenge your brothers death and to save mankind, but now as you can see, it is impossible to do both." Megaman looked down then raised his eyes to meet his brothers.

Protoman had stood all the while, as still as stone, staring at Megaman. Until finally Megaman looked up to meet his gaze, he it held only for a second, then turned his attention to their onlookers.

"All of you out there, tell me, are there any real men among you? Is there really no one who has the strength to stand and even try to fight? Tell me men, is there not a single one in all your ranks who values their courage over their own life?" Protoman turned his attention back to his brother. "Brother, I know why you have come here today. To try and stop me, and to destroy Dr. Wily and his minions. To save these people. They looked to me once as their savior, they praised me, called me the 'Hero of Man'. But once things started to get harder they abandoned me, left me to be killed by Dr. Wily's robots. Don't you understand? They don't want to change this, they don't want a hero. All they want is a martyr, and a statue to raise. I've given all that I could ,even at the cost of my own life. But I now know, that there are no heroes left in any of these Men." Protoman stopped to see his brothers reaction.

Megaman could only look at him in shock and disbelief. When Protoman had finally shown his face, the fact that he was not dead and standing here before him had been difficult for him to fully comprehend. Megaman was at a loss as to what to do. Should he fight his brother, and finish the battle Protoman himself had started? But he could not begin to think of having to kill his only brother.

Megaman continued to go through his options. Then should he join Protoman? He quickly thrust the thought aside, no matter how glad he was that his brother was alive, he still revolted the idea of joining sides with his enemy. Dr. Wily was an evil man with dark intentions, of that he was sure. He was then left with only one option: to simply walk away, after all he had come here only to avenge his brother. Though that also did not seem right. He did not wish to walk away from this battle. He had come here to fight, to end the war that had begun so long ago

Megaman stood, his eyes locked onto Protoman's. "I will not join you, but I do not wish to fight you."

"Foolish thoughts. We both know you have no choice." Suddenly, Protoman leaped at him, arm raised to attack. Megaman jumped out of the way. Surprised that his brother would charge at him without even a warning.

Protoman landed on the spot where Megaman had been only moments before. He immediately stood and shot a power blast at him. Hardly given time to think, Megaman was hit, and thrust several feet backwards. He got up painfully. Unlike the other robots he had faced before, Protoman had all the same powers as he did. He was just as powerful if not more so. Megaman had never before faced an opponent that equaled him in strength.

Protoman shot at him again. This time Megaman was able to dodge it. "Why do you run? Fight me!"

"I do not oppose you." he repeated, "I will not fight against you."

"There is no other way."

"I don't believe that. You are not like Wily, you are not evil. We stand on the same side."

"Maybe once. We stand together no more."

Megaman shook his head, "No, you are not an enemy, you are still their hero."

"They are fools to think that I would still fight to save them even after they left me to die by Wily's hand. I am your opponent, and you will fight back."

"There must be another way. You are my brother and I do not stand against you."

"Then soon you shall see why it is pointless to defend these people. They will not fight for you, nor beside you. Their fate is sealed. Mankind will fall."

"I don't care what you say. These people don't deserve to be killed, they are innocent."

"That's what you think. They will not stand, they will not fight. They do not deserve to live."

"We were supposed to be their saviors. We were created to be their hope."

"We were built to save them, but they would not save me when I needed them most."

"They did not know any better, they were not ready."

"They never will be. When will you finally realize this?"

"No matter how dark it is now, there is still hope for man."

"My father told you that didn't he? I remember those very words being spoken to me. After all that's happened he still clings to his hope that mankind will be saved?"

"There is always hope."

"Is that so?"

"And you father, he still loves you. When you died his heart was broken."

"His heart was always his greatest weakness." He sounded amused, but for a fleeting second Megaman thought he saw a flash of emotion pass over his eyes. But it left as soon as it had come and Megaman could not be entirely sure of what he saw. He was awaken from his thoughts by Protoman's next words. "As for you, you will soon find out the truth in what I say. These people in refusing to stand for themselves, they stand for nothing. If they truly deserve to be saved, then why won't they stand up and fight for themselves?"

"That's not fair, we both know that they will never fight." Even as he spoke them, he felt as if it someone else were speaking through him. I am beginning to sound like my brother, he thought. But were these people really worth saving? He had said himself that they would not fight. Did that make them not worth defending?

Protoman smiled coldly."I was beginning to think you would never understand. That you would never realize Mankind is doomed. There aren't any more Hero's left." he once again turned to the crowd. "There are no more Heroes, you will never have another chance. You are doomed to fall, your fate is to die. All because you would not stand for yourselves."

The people realizing that they might be losing their only chance for freedom, spoke for the first time to Megaman. They spoke together and all at once in mournful tones:

"If you do not save us we are doomed."

"Only you can save us."

"You are our only hope."

"You are our Hero."

"Save us."

These words, how could he not fight. These people, they needed a Hero. Megaman stood. Suddenly there was loud bang! and a blinding light.

No one saw him release the final shot. It had happened so suddenly, and the light from the blast momentarily blinded everyone. When the light had faded away, the two Machines stood only feet apart, both hunched over, breathless, but only one of them fell.

Protoman's knees hit the ground first, which were then followed by his gun. And yet, before he could fall to the ground, Megaman appeared before him and caught his body. With Protoman leaning on Megaman's left shoulder, his face next his ear he whispered his last words. "If these people... live to tell this story... to their children as they sleep... maybe someday... they will understand... that a Hero...is just a Man...who knows he is free."

Tears welled in Megaman's eyes, but he did not bother to wipe them away. He gently lay Protoman's body down. He looked back towards the crowd to see his father's reaction. But Dr. Light was nowhere to be found. The people walked up to their Hero. Megaman guessed they had come up to speak their condolences. But he was far from right. What he heard instead caused his jaw to clench in anger.

"Protoman was never strong enough."

"How could he save us when he could not even save himself."

"He was a failure and a traitor."

"For all the blood that he shed, he deserved to die."

"Why do you shed tears for him, he betrayed you."

"He was not a Hero."

"You are our Hero."

How can they say that, he thought angrily, He was more of a Hero than any of these people could ever be. He stood and removed his helmet, holding the top of it. He looked up and saw Dr. Wily standing on top of a building. When he had decided to join the battle, did not matter to Megaman at the moment. Their eyes locked, and Megaman, holding his helmet out infromt of him, let it drop to the ground. He turned his back to the people and picked up his brothers dead body. Before he walked away he turned his head slightly towards the crowd and spoke in a low voice, devoid of emotion.

"You are the dead."

Dr. Wily gave his men the orders, and they swarmed on the crowd, showing no mercy. As he walked Megaman could hear their anguished cries. Still he did not stop. He kept his gaze towards the edge of the city. But just before their cries were out of earshot, he could hear them, a sort of low moaning, speaking in what sounded like a chant over and over, "We are the dead...We are the dead."

He could hear footsetps behind him. Megaman did not need to turn around to know it was Dr. Light that walked behind him. "Where did you go?"

"I could not stand to watch my son die again." When there was nothing but silence, he continued, "You have become your brother. Fighting for Mankind only to turn on them."

"Maybe I have, I don't care anymore. My brother was right these people are beyond saving, there is no hope left for them. They were not willing to stand for themselves. They are selfish. They do not care who has to die, as long as they get what they want. Take Protoman for example, they gathered at the battle scene only to watch him fall. They watched Dr. Wily's men beat him, and break him, and yet they did nothing. Ultimately their hopes, their expectations destroyed him."

Light nodded, "Then let us return home. There is nothing left for us here."

The memories of their conversation after yesterday's battle filled Dr. Light's mind as, for the second time, he stood before his son's grave, though this time he was accompanied by his second son, Megaman.

Megaman kneeled before his brother's grave. The memories of his him flooding his mind. But what stuck out most was what Protoman had said just before he died. The entire time, as he was carrying his brother's body, and all night after they had buried him. Those words played over and over inside of his mind.

"... a Hero...is just a Man...who knows he is free."

At first he did not understand, but as he thought about it more and more, he was finally able to realize what his brother was trying to tell him. The people believed themselves to be forever trapped by Dr. Wily's hand. They were weary, but content to suffer under his rule. They never truly wanted a Hero, only a distraction from the same day-to-day unchanging schedule. They did not understand what a 'Hero' really was. They looked up to Protoman, and Megaman because they were the only ones who had dared to even try to stand against Dr. Wily's army. If they had tried to fight along side Protoman they could have overthrown Dr. Wily. But no, they were too afraid to even think of fighting. And because of their cowardice and ignorance they had fallen.

Protoman had been right all along. "I'm sorry brother. You tried to tell me, but I would not listen." Megaman whispered to his brother's grave not entirely sure Protoman could hear him but feeling better having said it anyways. "I only hope someday your wish comes true."

And that's the end of it. I wrote it all in one chapter, since otherwise the chapters would have been really small, so yes, it's a oneshot. I hope you liked it though. Reviews are welcome, so tell me what you thought of it cause I'd really like to know.

And one other thing, if you like this one, I have two other stories that are connected with this one: Hope Rides Alone, and The Will of One. They're both prologues to this story, so they have to do with Protoman.