A bright flash of light entered Protoman's vision. The blast of energy hit him hard in the chest, making him drop to his hands and knees. Protoman's scarf drooped down onto the metal floor. He was having trouble making his body move. As he struggled, the large black foot of Bass slammed hard into Protoman's side. Protoman flew threw the air till he hit the wall. He fell to the floor with a crash. Bass slowly walked up to Protoman.

          "Not even a challenge" Bass said. Bass lifted his arm and aimed right at Protoman's head, but a voice broke through the air.

          "Stop" Said the voice. It was that of Dr. Wily. The feeble old man walked over and put his hands on Bass's shoulder. "Do not kill him" Wily said just before a fit of coughing came. "Bring him to the lab". Dr. Wily walked away as Bass kicked Protoman in the face, scrambling his circuits for the time being. Dr. Wily looked back as he got to the stairs. Wily was getting weaker, he knew he had little time left. And he knew that he was not going to let anyone get in the way of his legacy.

          Bass carried Protoman into the lab as instructed. He dropped him down on the floor with a loud clang. Wily stood at a small computer and began to type in a command. A large metal arm ran along a track in the ceiling. It moved right above Protoman, then extended down to clasp him in it's claw. Once in place, a long cord jetted out of the center of claw into a plug at the base of Protoman's neck. A large electrical shock ran up and down Protoman's body. The shock brought Protoman somewhat back to life. As he looked around the massive room, he noticed Wily's latest work. 7 robots were laying on tables, all of them in different stages of completeness. The most complete had armor of a deep crimson. Protoman also noticed the long tail of gold hair running from the robot's head. Protoman knew it was far from ready for activation. Suddenly he noticed he was moving backward. He looked down at Wily and Bass, and then noticed that the walls were lined with large tubes. In each one, reconstructed robot masters lay dormant, all of them suspended in mid air by a claw exactly like the one Protoman was being held in. Protoman then realized what fate Wily had chosen for him. He tried to move his body as the claw entered a tube of it's own. He tired to speak, but no words came. He moved his eyes around. He felt what could only be described as a panic. As the glass door of the tube began to shut, Protoman tried with all his will to move. Finally he felt a shock in his arm. He lifted it and fired a blast, striking Wily in the leg. The old man cried out in pain. Bass drew both hands in and prepared to fire, but Wily stopped him again by raising his hand. Wily forced himself to his feet. His leg was burned and bleeding, but he did not care. He pressed a few buttons on his console, and again electricity shot up and down Protoman's body. He lost control of his eyelids, and they fell over his eyes. Protoman was left there, his mind running, yet no sound could he hear except that of his own thoughts.