Like a maroon and silver mouse, Protoman impatiently scurried and jumped between and around the towering building tops that dotted the city. He was looking for something...ANYTHING...that would explain the reason for Wily's uncanny silence. It was a wee bit irritating: he had turned over every rock searching for an explanation, but had come up empty handed. Perched high above the main street of the city, unseen to eyes, Proto gave the passing sea of traffic and general hubabaloo below one last careful scan with visored eyes. He was about ready to call it quits.

"Let's see here." he thought idly. "There's two disgruntled motorists down there shouting murderous threats to each other....not like that's anything new...oh, there's a colourful band of vandals spraypainting wonderful words from the English language on that skyscraper wall. Maybe I should go and stop...naw, nuts to that. There's some kids down there playing ball...there's a bot cleaning up some rubbish from the streets...there's a young human couple who are...uh...okay, that's none of my business. I don't think they want an audience. There's a pack of raptors attacking a bus filled with screaming passengers...there's...hey, waitaminute!"

Proto's alarmed glance swept back over to the bus that had occupied his last thought. Making sure that no one was occupying the rooftop with him, he lifted his trademark visor up a bit to get a more detailed look. Because his eyes were so used to seeing in blue and black, the lights and colours of the outside environment blinded him slightly. Ignoring the protest from his optics, Proto leaned over to get a better look at the dormant bus.

Sure enough, a medium sized pack of robotic reptiles was circling the vehicle, much to the displeasure of the panicked people inside. The raptors came in a dazzling variety of colours, markings, and sizes, very much like a box of assorted cookies. The heat and light of the midsummer sun reflected on their pseudo - scales, causing a near - blinding glare.

"Well now. THERE'S something you don't see every day. Unless I miss my guess, those little fellows are from the Wilyland Robosaur Park. But they should be confined to the park. Who let them out like an idiot?" The rapotrs had tired of the 'circle - around - the - bus - and - scare - the - passengers - to - death' game that they had been playing, so they began to start CHARGING into the vehicle. Some of the robotic reptiles pushed their heads against the bus, rocking it back and forth like a pack of rioters. Proto was about to leap down from his post to help the occupants of the bus when another question crossed his mind. "Are there any more of these dinosaurs?"

As if on cue, an earth - shattering roar sounded from behind the visored bot. Terrified, Proto whipped around and gawked in disbelief at what he saw. A mechanical T - Rex was lumbering around the streets about 10 blocks away from him. Despite its distance, Proto got an excellent view of the behemoth swaggering from side to side as it destroyed as it pleased. Proto valiantly decided that NOW was a good time to help some of the panicked citizens scattering below him.

"I'm pretty sure that this is the work of good 'ol Doc W." He muttered grimly. "No wonder he was so silent. He was preparing to...release killer robotic dinosaurs to terrorise the people in the city." Proto paused. "What a stupid thing to do! Why not just come barrelling down the street in a two - storey tank? It would be easier. I guess humans do dumb things as they get older. I remember when Light's mother was still alive and used to reside in the Old Folks Home, she used to do nothing but knit, even though no one needed any clothes of any kind." Proto fondly touched the scarf that encircled his neck like a friendly python. "Well, she was a good woman. Thanks to her crazy obsession, my neck is always warm. Now, time to play hero!"

Across the city, the famous scientist Dr. Cossack hummed contentedly, even though he was swamped with work. It was such a nice day. Nothing was going to spoil his mood! The red - haired man glanced idly out of the seventh - story window that enclosed his office. He had always loved to look at the city spread in front of him. Therefore, it is understandable why blanched a bit when he saw a giant dinosaur taking up most of his beloved view.

The giant reptile locked its luminant, yellow eyes with the scientist's terrified ones. Man and beast stared at each other for a full minute, neither one moving. Finally, the leviathan lost interest in playing a staring game with a red - haired Russian scientist, and bellowed off to search elsewhere for dinner. When the animal was gone, Cossack removed a fine hankerchief and a small card from one of his many lab coat pockets. He mopped his sweaty forehead with the hanky. Then, shakily, he called:

"Kalinka! Kaliiiiinka! Come here, will you?"

Kalinka, Cossack's daughter, entered. She was a young thing, hardly over ten years old. She was as inquisive as any girl her age could expect to be, but to her life was to be taken seriously. "You called?"

"Yes. I don't mean to worry you, but your daddy has been...seeing things. Yesterday, a carnivorous laptop computer chomped on my ankle, and the day before that the flowers were talking to me. Today, I had a staring contest with a dinosaur. If daddy starts to do something rash one day, like say, oh, throwing bricks at pedestrians on the street below, call this number. I pray you won't have to call it; hopefully, I've just been working too hard." Cossack handed his worried daughter the card that he had extracted from his lab coat earlier. Kalinka studied it with concerned interest.

"Hey dad...what's a 'mental institution'?

"I have a very bad feeling that you're going end up visiting me there soon enough, dear."

"Get back! Back! Away from the bus, I say!"

The leader of the velociraptor pack whipped around to see what individual dared challenged him. Finding nothing more interesting than a maroon robot waving his arms at him like an idiot, the robotic reptile returned to stalking the bus with his cohorts.

"No! Bad dinosaur! I told you to stop! No soup for you!"

Proto was about to learn a valuable lesson: velociraptors, robotic or not, didn't care for discipline. The pack leader, a towering red - and - beige beast, whipped around again with unearthly speed and raked its huge foretalons in the air in front of Proto, missing the stunned bot by hardly half an inch. Proto's heart lurched as he watched certain death pass him by a hair's length. Before he could recover from the shock, he felt something tighten around his neck like a noose. He managed to crane his neck around just enough to see that the raptor had gripped his precious scarf in its deadly jaws and was pulling at it with tremendous strength.

Needless to say, Proto began to feel a slight need for air about 30 seconds after the raptor had tightened the scarf around his windpipe like a hangman. Proto tried one desperate strategy: he pulled, trying to beat the dino in a contest of brawn. In response to Proto's sudden struggle, the raptor emitted a pleased squeak, and pulled back even harder. Tug of War. Proto became enraged: the damnable lizard thought it was a game!! The rest of the raptor pack had lost interest in the destruction of the bus and scattered here and there to cause other mischief. The doors of the bus slid open with a hiss of dragon's breath, and the terrified captives of the raptors surged out of them.

Proto had one last option: He had to get out of his scarf, or die in it. With an expression of utter defeat and regret, he managed to slip out of the ever - tightening noose, then ran. He wanted to blast the raptor to retrieve his trademark scrap of clothing, but then he knew that the rest of the pack would come to the leader's aid. Then there would be big trouble.

The raptor fell back a bit when the other end of the 'rope' went slack. Pleased that it had won the game, it began to shread up the scarf. The creature found out quickly that the scarf wasn't edible: so, leaving the yellow memento on the deserted street, it sprinted off to find something more tasty than wool.

Slash Man ran like a man possessed. He leaped over rooftops on all fours, an uncanny skill that only a jungle animal should have had. His breath surged in and out of his systems rythymatically. Beneath the rasping, he could hear Bass' frightful words echoing in his head: "if you don't get those freakin' fancy animals back in this freakin' fancy zoo, I'll personally rearrange your freakin' FACE!" Slash man paused in his mad sprint and sat upright like a chipmunk. He closed his eyes and listened for an audio clue as to where his children might be. Some twenty blocks away, Slash heard a earth - trembling roar. The T Rex! Slash quivered with excitement.

"Hold on, Sarah! Daddy's coming!"

Slash lunged back into action. His feet barely touched the ground as he sailed over rooftops and jumped over the gaps that yawned between the structures. Very soon indeed, he saw Sarah. The behemoth had obviously just snacked on something (or someone) and was preparing to swoop down on a little child who stood dumbstruck before the beast. Just in time, however, Slash landed on his pet's head with a hardy metallic thump. Sarah instantly reared her giant head, and expressed her displeasure with a bellow. Slash talked calmly to the T Rex:

"It's okay, Sarah...it's me. Now be a good dinosaur, and calm down."

Sarah recognised this soothing voice, and immediately carried out Slash's request, for she loved him. When Sarah had cooled down enough, Slash turned his attention to the frozen child before him.

"Listen kid, I'm sorry if Sarah scared you out of a year's growth. Here..." Slash man dug into his pockets. "Three free passes to my park! Bring the kids! Oh wait..you ARE a kid. Nevermind." The passes fluttered down from Slash's clawed hand and came to rest on the sidewalk before the kid. The child found his voice. He held up a navy blue leash that was frayed at the very end, and stained with minute drops of blood. "Your dinosaur ate my dog!"

Slash man shrugged. "Sorry, kid. They can't all be Barneys."

Proto swore bitterly as he watched a large pack of chicken - sized compies leap and shriek as they closed in on him. Battling robotic dinosaurs was not something one should do single - handedly. One of the tiny but deadly lizards lunged at Proto with its maw open, sharp teeth on display. Proto kicked the scavenger square in its chest. It tumbled backwards like a scaly ball. The rest of the pack surged forward, hissing, claws unsheathed.

"This is it." Proto thought glumly. "I'm dead. It's all over. Killed by a bunch of chicken - sized, robotic dinosaurs. Of all the ways to go!!"

The earth suddenly trembled, and a cheerful voice wafted above the rumbling sound:

"Hullloooooooo!"

Proto couldn't believe his eyes. He watched as the pedestrians (the few that were left on the dino - ravaged streets) flung themselves this way and that to get out of the way of Slash Man, who was perched happily on the head of a giant T Rex. The compies lost all interest in Proto, and surged around Slash and Sarah, squeaking and jumping like children around their father who had just returned from work. Proto hailed the orange - maned robot.

"Hey, Ace Ventura! We usually don't let two - ton pets wander the streets, you know!" His visor flashed in annoyance. "I know." Slash Man called down. "I'm sorry. These fellows escaped from my park when Elecman shut off...oh, never mind...it's a long story."

Proto nodded in understanding. "Want me to help you take these critters back to the park?"

Proto could see Slash Man's distant face light up. "Sure! That'd be great of you. Climb aboard on Sarah." At a word from her god, Sarah offered Protoman her tail to help the bot scale up her back. Proto hesitantly took the Rex's generous offer, and scurried up to Sarah's head and seated himself behind Slash. He looked down from a dizzying height. He could see the compies swarming around Sarah's gargantuan hind paws. Slash grinned as he saw Proto blanch in fear from the height of the drop. "Just hang on tight! Away we go!" Sarah started forward. It was a jerky ride, like riding a ship in a storm. The compies marched in military fashion far below. The whole thing looked like a Jurassic parade. Proto hung on for dear life, but Sl ash looked as comfortable as a man in an armchair. Proto cursed himself as dull company: He decided to start up a conversation with Slash.

"So...all these dinos yours?"

Slash nodded with pride. "Yep. They're my children. I've named them all."

Proto was impressed. "Every single one?"

"Yes. This here's Sarah." Slash patted the T Rex's massive head. Sarah purred in response. "As for those compies down there..." Slash jabbed a finger towards the green swarm below. "Well, there's Dennis...Brad...Mavis...Brad..."