"I'm telling you! The ticket to world domination is to own the electric company and the railroads! After that, it's only a matter of time before I can take over the prisons! Then, I shall be unstoppable, and I will lord over every sorry creature on God's green earth from my four - star hotel on Boardwalk!!" Proto bashed his armoured fist on the shaky table to underscore his point.

Roll calmly motioned for her brother to sit back down. "Proto, settle, settle. Stop taking this so seriously. It's only a Monopoly game."

A sheepish smile surfaced on Proto has he found his seat. "Sorry. I just got caught up in this." He picked up the game dice and rattled it in his hand. "C'mon, lucky seven! Daddy needs a new scarf! He lost his old one to rabid raptors!"

With a skilled flick of his wrist, Proto sent the dice tumbling across the board. "Aw MAN! Snake eyes! At any rate, I get to pick up a 'Chance' card!" Proto nicked the first card off of the orange pile and examined it. "All right! Second place in a beauty contest! I guess no one can resist my good looks!"

Roll muttered something under her breath about the beauty contest being judged by a bunch of jungle apes. Proto was to busy strutting up and down the playroom like a stuck up model to pay any heed.

When he had finally tired of showing off to no one in particular, Proto returned to the game and stayed in his amiable mood...until he landed on Park Place, which was owned by Roll. To make matters worse, the block of land sported the dreaded barn - red Hotel game piece. Roll saw Proto's awkward position and began to laugh cold - bloodedly.

"All right, Brad Pitt! Cough up the money!"

"Don't I get a discount for being family?" Proto pleaded.

"No. I hate freeloaders."

Proto shrugged. "Oh well. Can't win 'em all, I suppose!" He began to dig around in the mixed - up pile of play money beside him to pay for his stay. This was quite unlike Roll, who had her money set up all tidy and easy to access.

Suddenly, Proto stopped rummaging around. He gaped at Roll with a shocked expression. "Roll! Look behind you! Isn't that Howard Stern?"

Roll looked about her frantically. "Where?!"

With his sister's eyes temporarily off the game, Proto casually sent a hand sweeping over the game board. Game pieces, houses, hotels and cards fell around them like coloured rain. Roll jerked back around and threw her sore - loser brother an angry glance.

"PROTO!"

"What?! My hand slipped! It's a nervous twitch, and I'm a little sensitive about it if you don't mind!"

The cozy room was suddenly filled with the characteristic hiss of a teleportation beam. Within seconds, a rather bewildered looking Mega Man materialized in front of his siblings. Proto broke out into a grin.

"Hey, Rocky Horror! Wassup?"

The instant that Mega's eyes swept over Proto, his face drained of all colour. He pointed to Proto with a trembling finger. "Yuh...uh...you're...suppos t' be....duh...duh...."

Proto removed his helmet and clapped it against his chest with a mockingly solemn expression. "That's my brother speaking. What a way with words!"

"You...you're supposed to be DEAD!" Mega managed to spit out in a strangled half - scream.

Proto stole a sorrowful glance at the game board he had upset earlier. "Ah yes, how I do wish I was dead..I owe Roll quite a bit of money. Can you lend me five thousand, Rock? I'll pay you back tomorrow, I swear."

Mega lunged towards Proto and grabbed the startled bot by his shoulders. He tried to look directly into his brother's eyes, but all he saw beyond the visor was his own terrified expression.

Proto squirmed slightly under Mega's hold. "Uh...Rock? You're my brother and all, but you're invading my personal space, and I don't really care for that. What's your problem? What do you mean I'm supposed to be dead?"

Mega somehow regained enough of his composure to collapse into a chair and tell his brother about the torn - up scarf he had collected on the ruined city streets, and about how he had been worried sick that Proto had fallen victim to the dinosaur attack. Proto beamed hugely as he heard this.

"Awww...isn't that sweet? Rock was actually WORRIED 'bout me!" Now it was Proto's turn to invade Mega's 'personal space' as he swept his brother up into a bear - hug.

Mega struggled to free himself from the affectionate clasp. "So then...what HAPPENED? Where's your scarf?!" Mega managed to croak.

Proto let Mega get a little air. "Well, it turns out that the dinosaurs that had a walk through the city were fugitives from Slash Man's Robosaur Park. The electric fence had been shut down, and Slash didn't monitor the activities of the dinosaurs close enough. Ergo, the dinos escaped. I met up with Slash Man. He's really sorry that he leveled the city, and he gladly took up my offer to help him put the dinos back. As for my scarf.." Proto's voice became laced with regret, "..well, before I met up with Slash, a nice little robotic velociraptor decided to play 'Tug of War' with me, which turned my scarf into the equivalent of a noose. I had to give the raptor my scarf. Unfortunately, air is a bit more precious than a scrap of clothing."

"Yeah, life's like that." Roll sighed.

Proto let go of Mega. To his surprise, his brother collapsed to the ground like a blue sac of potatoes. His eyes seemed vacant. "I haven't finished telling you what happened after I found your scarf." He said in a faint whisper that still succeeded in sending uneasy chills up Proto's spine.

"All right then...go on." Proto egged.

All energy seemed to be drained from Mega now. He leaned his head against the table leg situated conveniently beside him and quietly told his siblings about how he had gone to Skull Castle to tell off Wily for killing Proto, and ended up killing the old fellow quite by accident. There was a slight pause after Mega had finished. Proto and Roll exchanged exasperated glances. This whole awful situation seemed to echo the conversation they had had a while back about Mega's emotions taking control of him, resulting in Wily getting hurt.

"Rock...it WAS an accident that Wily died, right?" Roll tried to keep her voice steady, but there was a note of urgent terror in it.

Mega only nodded numbly. "What's gonna happen to me now? Will I be deactivated?"

"I don't think it'll happen if it was an ACCIDENT." Proto tried to sound hopeful, but he knew it was useless. There was no proof that it had been an accident, and Mega was not known to love Wily. Some folks were certainly going to assume that he had killed the old scientist on purpose. And since Mega had assumed that Proto had been killed by Wily...well, that was just the final blow of the executioner's axe. Proto could hear the accusing voices now: "Mega Man had killed Wily to get revenge for his brother's death."

"Maybe Wily's robots who witnessed the death will confess that Rock hadn't shot Wily on purpose," he mused mentally, but he wisely ended up just chalking that prospect under "Things that probably wouldn't happen even if Hell froze over". Everything seemed to be in a messy - mushy - mix - up...a row of toppled dominos, all set off by Slash Man's carelessness.

Roll's expression finally reflected her true feelings of fear for her brother's future as she sat down next to him and put an arm around his shaking shoulders in a fruitless effort to comfort him. "I'd be lying if I said that everything will be back to normal someday, Rock."

Bass drifted in and out of consciousness as his systems attempted to repair his extensive damage caused by his short battle with Mega. He became quite awake, however, when he heard some dull clanks being emitted from the top of his helmet. He craned his neck around just enough to see that Flagg was pecking angrily at his gold - finned headpiece.

"Oh, get the hell away from me, you vulture! Go make life miserable for someone else. Here, eat Wily's corpse; he's dead anyway." Bass growled weakly.

With these words from his enemy, Flagg unfolded his grand wings a bit and snapped his beak open and shut just inches from Bass' nose.

"rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUFFFF!" Bass barked.

Flagg disappeared in a frightened black whirlwind of feathers. Bass grinned in spite of himself. He slowly hauled his battered body up into a standing position. He limped over to the small cluster of robots that mused over Wily's fallen body. Slash Man saw Bass standing over him like a black entity favouring its right arm.

"Sooooo....now what?" The wild orange robot questioned of his superiour.

"What do you mean, 'now what'?"

"Are you sure that Wily's dead?"

"Well, he's stopped breathing and his body's gone cold! I think that makes it a bit bleedin' obvious!" Bass snarled.

Slash shrugged. "Well, maybe he's just holding his breath."

"Maybe he's....WHAT!? My God, you're IMPOSSIBLE!"

Unnoticed by his brothers, Zero sat huddled with his knees against his chest in a dark corner near Wily's still form, a victim to his superiour emotions. His father was dead...what was left for him?

Slash spoke up, temporarily renting the mist of gloom that surrounded Zero.

"Well, Bass, if you're so smart, tell us what to do with this body. If we want to bury it, there's a big rubber tree plant with a very large flower pot to it just outside of this room...I think he just MAY fit if we break a bone here and there...."

"Are you insane!?" Bass shrieked. "Don't you see an opportunity here? Mega shot Wily, and he may think that he's won. But all we have to do is show Wily's body to the media and tell them the truth....that Mega killed him. To put it bluntly, Mega is pretty much screwed."

Slash Man sprang up and punched the air with his clawed fist. "Huzzah! Bass, you're brilliant! I think-- "

Slash never had a chance to tell Bass what he thought, for as soon as he had uttered that last phrase, his optics suddenly went dim and he pitched over and fell flat on his face.

"Sir Slash! What in the order of the Kingfisher and the Rose has happened!?" Knight Man managed to spit out seconds before he crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap. He was followed almost instantly by Cut Man.

"Oh no!" Bass groaned faintly. "Not now! Not NOW!"

Snake and Shade Man pounced on Bass immediately. "Bass, you know what's going on! Why are all the robots shutting down!?"

"A while ago, Wily told me that there's a chip of some sort in all of us that would cause us to shut down one by one when he died." Bass' voice was flat. "I don't know how the chip would work, but it seems to be doing its job with ease right now!" Bass finished just as Toad Man croaked at his black boots (Bad pun #3! I deserve to be shot!). Bass could feel his own systems begging to shut down under the sudden, sleepy lure that the mysterious chip cast upon them. Bass sympathized with his circuits, but he used all his will to sternly command them to stay functional. Snake Man and Shade Man were apparently doing the same judging by the way they swayed and blinked rapidly.

"I can't shut down now!" Shade Man wailed. "So much blood to drink! So many humans to assimilate into my Unholy Vampire Army of the Night! Besides, what will Flagg do without me!?"

"Get caught in some power lines, I should hope." Bass muttered under his breath. He bit his tongue as he felt himself nodding off.

"Never mind your bird!" Snake Man echoed Shade's pathetic whine. "What about my Monty?"

Bass waved his arms with the strength he had left. "What about Wily!? The media! We gotta...gotta...oh, who am I kidding?" Bass began to succumb to the will of the chip, as did Snake and Shade.

Zero, the only robot in the room who did not posses the chip, was suddenly pulled out of his grieving for Wily by a terror that was spawned while he watched his brother and teacher, Bass, sink to the ground like a wilted black weed.

"Bass!" He cried as he scrambled frantically to his brother's side. Bass opened his eyes slightly when he heard Zero's voice. He offered the crimson figure a weak smile.

"Sorry, buddy....it's the end for me. I haven't taught you everything I would have liked to. I can only do one more thing before I go. Fetch me that phone over there." Bass motioned towards a cell phone that rested on a nearby table. Zero did as he was told. Bass pulled up enough strength to dial a number and hold the phone up to his ear.

"Hello? Is this the Daily Blah newspaper? Good...this is Bass. Yes, the same Bass that was created by Wily." There was a slight pause on Bass' end. "Well yeah, it's probably the same Bass who drove the tank through your living room window, too. What did you say your last name was? Winnik? Yes, I'm pretty sure that it was me who did that. No, don't hang up on me, you fool! Listen! Wily's been shot by none other than - get this! - Mega Man. He's pretty much sealed the fates of the rest of us robots, too. I figured that my last action should be to bring this event into the light.....yes, Wily's dead. Yes, I'm sure. No, he is NOT holding his breath! Okay? This is the story of the year! Are you gonna report it, or do I have to call up the Weekly Star? I bet they'd be interested!....Heh heh...I thought so! When you enter the fortress, be careful of the alligator pits, the killer bee nests, and the psycho robot guards that're armed to the teeth. Okay Mr. Winnik, you have yourself a nice day, you hear? Bye!"

Bass let the receiver slip out of his near - lifeless fingers. He turned his head away from Zero. He was actually getting a little emotional over leaving the reploid. "Listen, Zero. Soon enough, reporters are gonna be swarming here. You'd best not stay. They'll ask you questions that you won't be able to answer. Wily mentioned earlier that he planned to shut you in a capsule at the end of a period spanning four months, after which you'd shut down automatically, much the same way I am now. That capsule is hidden far, far downstairs, in storage room 7-G, behind some loose bricks in the north wall. I would tell you to enter it now, but since you'd end up just standing there until four months was up, you'd probably become bored out of your skull. Therefore, I think you should get out into the world and learn a bit more about it. Learn what I couldn't get a chance to teach you. You'll be fine...just remember..." At this point, Bass' eyes became quite alert as they locked with Zero's. "NEVER ever tell ANYONE that Wily created you. Do you understand? And until you wake up from your 30 year hibernation, don't harm any humans! No matter how much they sicken you. Don't do anything to arouse suspicion, or you'll blow the whole deal. Once four months are up, just come back to the fortress...I pray that it'll still be left intact. Then enter the capsule. If the fortress is destroyed and you can't enter the capsule, find somewhere else to hibernate. The only problem with that is I don't know when you'll wake up. The capsule is designed to pull you out of your sleep at an appropriate time. Okay?"

Zero's body shuddered with sobs, but he managed to nod.

A grin played on Bass' mouth as he observed his brother's grief. "Just remember, Zero...you're a reploid. Superiour to humans in almost every way. Use that knowledge and make me proud." Bass ceased breathing as he subm itted to the will of the chip.

A deathly silence settled over the room. Flagg perched on the immobile chest of Shade Man and mourned his master with a woebegone cry that would have shattered anyone's heart. Zero mimicked the bird's cry as he hunched over the body of his ebony brother. While Bass' directions were still fresh in his mind, Zero felt hopelessly lost in a dark wood of confusion.

His weeping passed like a storm. He sat silently as the light of reason began to penetrate his dark clouds. The light touched Bass' last words and illuminated them with startling brilliance. Zero stood up and gave not a backward glance to his fallen brothers or father as he headed towards the entrance of Skull fortress. The training was over. His real life was to begin now.

He was a reploid....

And he would make Bass proud.