Chapter 5: Past, C. 20XX

"I wonder where those two have gone. I have something important to tell him." Dr. Thomas Light and his robot creation, Roll, were sitting at the dinner table. Dr. Light's assistant, Mega Man, and his robot dog Rush were out once again searching for Dr. Wily's hidden base. "Sometimes I wonder how hard it is to find a humongous castle in the shape of a skull."

Then the door opened. "I'm home!" There stood Mega Man, Dr. Light's finest creation with a happy, albeit reluctant look on his face. "Sorry I'm late, Doctor, but I guess Rush decided he wanted a side of robotic kitten stew along with his dinner." Rush had a sad look on his face. The doctor couldn't help but laugh. "That's okay. It's not like an E-Tank will spoil. Sometimes I wonder if those two will ever get along." Mega sat down and drank his E-Tank quickly. "So doctor, what is it you wanted to tell us?" Mega and Roll listened intently.

"I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now. A long time ago, years before I built you two, I met..." Before he could finish talking red lights flashed and a siren sounded. The screen next to the table flickered and the picture of a familiar face showed up on the screen. "Dr. Light, Mega Man! I found it!" "What have you found, Concrete Man? We were afraid something had happened to you." "Sorry about the lack of communication, but I've been tracking Dr. Wily for the past few days, and I've finally found the location of his fortress." "Let me see if I can track your location," the Doctor said. "Got it. What's Wily up to this time." "I'm not exactly sure, but I've seen a lot of Wily's old robots around. Whatever it is he's planning, It's big."

"All right Concrete Man, just hang tight, I'll have Mega and Rush out there in a jiffy." "Come on Rush! Let's go!" Rush barked and ran to his partner's side. "What were you saying before, Doctor?" The man seemed hesitant. "Never mind. It can wait. I'll tell you once you get back." "All right, Doctor Light." The blue robot headed off towards the signal. But the Doctor had an uneasy feeling that Mega wouldn't be back. "Is something wrong, Doctor?" He was about to say no, but changed his mind. He scribbled on a piece of paper, folded it and handed it to Roll. "Go after Mega and give this to him. I have a feeling that he'll need help on this mission. Stay with him and make sure he comes back okay." She still had questions, but could hear the urgency in the Doctor's voice. "Yes Doctor. Take care of yourself." She ran off in pursuit of her brother.

Mega followed the signal to the location from which Concrete Man had been transmitting. The castle loomed in the distance. He ran towards it and entered the gaping mouth of the fortress. "Mega Man!" Roll ran towards him. "Roll? What are you doing here? How did you get here?" "Beat flew me over here. Here, Dr. Light told me to give you this." She handed him the note. "Roll, you must get out of here. It's dangerous." Something inside of her told her to stay. "No... Dr. Light told me to stay here with you and help." "But... Okay. I suppose the Doctor knows what he's doing." The four of them, Mega, Roll, Rush and Beat, solemnly walked into the castle.

They were met with very little resistance. Then they came to a dark room. Mega stepped forward. "Okay, Wily. Show yourself!" BZZZZZT!! Mega was trapped inside a sphere of energy, paralyzed. "No! Mega!" Wily's saucer fell from the ceiling. Two big arms threw themselves around Roll. "No! Beat! Rush! It's a trap! RUN!" But she was too late. A gust of wind had knocked Beat to the ground and a small band of snakes had surrounded Rush. Wily's laughter filled the room. "I got five for the price of one! Haha!" "Fi... F... Fi-ive?" Mega managed to strain out. From behind Wily slumped forward what was left of an all-too familiar robot. "C-Concrete Man!" "I'm Sorry Mega. I..." "Mwaha! When I found this robot skulking around my property I figured that he might be of some use before I destroyed him. I found the location of one of my favorite toys that you took away from me in his circuitry. Gamma!" Lights shone on the giant figure behind Wily. It also shone on the captors of the group: Tengu Man, Snake Man, and now that she could see the arms holding her, Roll recognized her captor as Guts Man. "Now I'll make you suffer before you DIE Mega Man!" Roll couldn't watch. "N-n-noooo-ooo!" WHAM!! A giant arm swung by and decimated the damaged robot. Roll began to cry. "Now I've chosen the perfect form of execution for you, Mega Man!" 5 blue lights appeared on the walls of the room. "No Crash Bomber to save you now!" As Wily laughed maniacally, the lights began to flash blue and pink, slowly at first, but more rapidly as it went. Before the turrets fired Mega Man cried out, "W-Wily!" The turrets began to shut down. "Before I die, I have one requ-qu-qu-est." "Talk." "Dr. Light gave me a note, and I haven't read it yet." "Hmmmm. Okay." The energy sphere let up. Mega Man dropped to his knees and pulled out the note. He quietly read. He looked utterly shocked, but the closed his eyes in a calm smile. He took out his buster and fried the note. Then he turned to his sister. "It'll end up okay, Roll." He turned and faced his nemesis.

"Okay Wily. Finish me." Again the lights began to flicker pink. Faster and faster. Faster still, until... k-ZAAAAP!! 5 energy balls flew across the room. 5 energy balls hit their target. The Blue Bomber slumped to the floor. "No!" The voice came from a red and yellow figure coming into the room. He rushed to the body. "No. No no no no no no no NO!!!" "Haha! You're too late Proto Man!" "Mega. Mega, say something." The eyelids opened. One of Mega's arms reached up and grabbed Proto's head. He pulled it down, whispered a few words in his ears, then slumped into eternal darkness. "NOOOOOOOO!" Proto Man's unearthly scream surprised even Wily. "Wily, I'm gonna do what I should have done years ago!" Proto Man raised his buster and began to charge. Wily's henchmen began towards Proto Man. He didn't seem to care. "You forget, Proto Man, robots can't harm humans." "I'M MORE THAN A ROBOT!!" K-BOOOOOM!! The shot headed straight for Wily's scared eyes. He covered his head.

K-ping. The shot deflected off some unseen surface. "Dang. I was too late." Everyone in the room froze. Wily seemed as shocked as anyone. The robots after Proto Man had stopped by this time. "Show yourself! I'll blast you into the afterlife!" "There will come a time, Proto Man, when you and I will duel. But that's not today." Wily saw this moment as the time to split. But his "favorite toy" blocked his path. "I took the liberties of rewiring your machine to obey my commands. I hope you don't mind." "Tengu Man, Snake Man, Guts Man! Find whatever it is! Wave Man, Heat Man, Shade Man, Bass! Get in here!" The mysterious voice began again. "The more the merrier." The robots piled into the half-darkened room. The yellow lights from Shade Man's eyes searched for the source. "I suppose this will have to do." A red laser swept across the room. Roll watched in horror as all the other robots disappeared in the path of the laser. The laser then swept towards her.

After the room was clean besides the giant behind him and the body on the floor, the invisible figure deactivated his cloak. He chuckled to himself. He walked over to the body of the world's greatest savior. A sad look came to the figure's eyes. "It's a shame I cam too late. You would have completed my collection." The figure walked back to his new toy. He hesitated.

Back at the lab, Dr. Light couldn't sleep a wink. He wondered how Mega Man was doing. Then the doorbell rang. He quickly rushed to the door. When he opened it, all that was there was the body of what had been his most cherished possession. The Doctor brought it in and wept through the night.