After I wrote Bro-Bot's Christmas oh so long ago and learned more about the Mega Man world, I decided to try my hand at the Mega Man games universe. Consider this one the second in my Mega Man series (yes, a Mega Man X story will follow.) And, just to keep it legal, here's the usual. Mega Man, ect. not mine. Capcom's. No sueing. And for a new one: The song "Brother My Brother" is not mine. Credit goes to the group Blessed Union of Souls, who performed it, Atlantic records, 4Kids entertainment, Niintendo, and anyone else who was involved in the making of the Pokemon the Movie soundtrack for the original movie that I might have forgotten or didn't know about. I heard the song, and during a Mega Man kick it seemed to click as a song fitting the fic. Quick note: There is a time difference between Megaland and K'Tal. So don't be confused later on when its day 3 in K'Tal but only day 2 or so in Megaland. That's how it's supposed to be, and it wasn't a mistake of mine. Now enough talk. Happy reading! Oh, and I know there are several stories with this title (I know of two at least) but I didn't know that at the time. Seems great minds think alike!

Chapter1: Every Rose has its Thorns

Mega Man grunted in pain as one of Bass' blasts caused him to create a nice crater in a brick wall of a building. He was quite used to battling the black robot, but one never quite gets used to slamming into something a bit denser than oneself. He'd just been on an errand for Dr. Light to get some electrical supplies when Bass ambushed him.

"Bass, why can't you just leave me alone!" Mega yelled angrily.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Bass fired another shot, which the blue bomber narrowly avoided. He returned fire, nearly hitting the side of a building on accident in the process. Mega always hated it when Bass took their battles into the city. There he had to be careful of innocent people in the area and how much damage he caused, which was always pretty extensive. Of course, Bass had no such concerns.

Mega rolled to dodge a blast, then glanced around.

I've got to mega get out of this area, he thought to himself. There are too many buildings with people inside. But he won't let me escape. He dodged and fired, then pushed a button at his waist, summoning Rush, his robotic canine companion, who teleported in beside him.

"Jet mode, Rush." Obediently the robo-canine shifted to his jet mode, becoming a jet board that Mega could ride on. The blue bomber hopped on. "Let's jet outta here." Rush powered up and they flew off, Bass yelling angrily after them.

"Come back here! This isn't over yet!" the black robot combined with his own canine, Treble, and soared off after Mega, firing the entire time.

Can't lead him towards Dr. Light's lab, Mega thought as they passed over some open fields. Better turn and fight. He had Rush land and awaited Bass. The black robot landed and they resumed the battle. Neither ever really seemed to gain the upper hand for more that moment. They were just too equal in strength and speed and agility.

"Had enough, Bass?" Mega asked, grimacing through his pain.

"Not nearly," Bass replied, as well wincing from his wounds. Both were heavily injured and having trouble keeping up the fight.

"How about we call it a draw, go get repaired, and finish this later?" Mega tried to suggest. But Bass just fired again. Mega dropped to the ground to avoid it. "Bass! Neither of us is in the best condition for this."

"I don't care!" He fired again. This time, however, a whistle and a red streak saved Mega, blocking the blast with a welding shield.

"Break Man!" Mega gasped, recognizing his brother.

"I always have to save you, don't I?" joked the red raider, dropping an energy can down to his bro, then firing to keep Bass at bay. Mega gratefully absorbed the contents of the can, then stood, fully recovered. Break Man moved his shield to a more battle ready position and the two brothers stood side by side. Seeing that now he was not only outnumbered and outgunned but that his nemesis was fully recharged, Bass realized that the odds were no longer in his favor.

"Just because I'm feeling generous," he said, trying to maintain his dignity, "I'll show some mercy and let you two live. But I won't be so giving the next time." And he fled the area.

"Coward," Break Man snorted, letting his arm cannon change back into his hand. So did Mega.

"Thanks for helping me out."

"No prob." And with that Break Man teleported away. Mega watched the sky for a moment, then summoned Rush again.

"Let's go get those parts Dr. Light needed," he said to his companion. Rush barked and turned to jet mode, and they were off.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Break Man perched on the roof of the building in the city, watching Mega on his route to the electronics store. He'd often watched over his little brother like this, without Mega's knowledge. It seemed nearly an instinct for him that he couldn't ignore: Protect your brother. He laughed once to himself.

"Must be one of those big brother - little brother relationship things," he muttered. Suddenly he felt a sting on his shoulder. On reflex he swatted. Nothing. "Huh? Nothing? Oh well." Mega had gone in the store, so Break Man teleported away

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sun was setting by the time Mega left the store. He checked his internal clock to check the time, then decided to walk for a bit before jetting home.

"Let's go, Rush." The two leisurely strolled down the sidewalk. Unlike before during the battle, Mega wasn't wearing his fighting uniform, which was always just a touch of his recall button away. Instead he wore jeans and a long sleeved, loose shirt that hid his slightly off-human build.

Suddenly he felt a sting-like sensation at the base of his neck. He spun, startled, but saw nothing. Still his feeling of unease refused to leave him.

"Let's get home," he said to Rush. They darted into an alley, Rush transformed, and they flew homewards. If only he'd thought to stick around for another minute…

Around the alley just behind Mega, a robot was making contact with his boss.

"Dr. Wily, Dr. Wily, this is Gyro Man. Do you read? Over." After a moment of static, there was a reply.

"This is Dr. Wily. I hear you Gyro Man. Were you successful?"

"Yeah, Doc. The devices were planted perfectly, just like you planned. Neither suspects a thing."

"Perfect. Perfect!" He laughed. "When the chips in those thorns first activate, it'll be mayhem for Mega Man and Proto Man. Hahahahaha!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Here's the parts you needed, Dr. Light," Mega said as he entered the lab and deposited myriad of wires, computer chips, and other various technical stuff onto a lab table.

"Thank you, Mega," the white-haired, blue-eyes, kind scientist replied from where he sat at a computer. "Did you run into trouble on the way?"

"Just Bass. How'd you guess?" Dr. Light glanced over his shoulder and smiled.

"You never take over an hour and a half to get from here to the electronics store and back." Mega checked his internalclock and grinned.

"Over two hours this time." He went over to peer at the computer as his creator turned back around. "Whatcha working on?"

"The mayor asked me to develop a new security system for the museum, since there's going to be an exhibit of ancient Egyptian artifacts next week."

"I heard about that. Think Wily will try to cause trouble?"

"I'm not sure. He might be interested in some of the artifacts, but exactly which one and why I couldn't tell you. Just to be safe, though, the mayor thought it best to get a new system that Wily has never seem before."

"Since he might show up, I think I'll go to see the exhibit. Just out of curiosity. After all, ancient Egypt is interesting." Dr. Light chuckled. He knew Mega would be going really to keep an eye out for Wily

"Perhaps Break Man would like to go with you," he casually suggested.

"I'll ask him, if I see him between now and then."

"Mega!" came Roll's voice from the kitchen. "Can you come help me for a minute?"

"Sure, Roll." Mega left the lab and jogged off down he hall, and Dr. Light returned to his designing.

Then, suddenly feeling eyes looking at him, Dr. Light turned and peered around the lab. Although as a whole the lab was well lit, there was one light bulb out that threw one corner into darkness, and no one had bothered to replace it. He peered into the shadows for a minute, then turned back as the uneasy feeling left him. He'd get that bulb replaced sooner or later. Probably later, as he was apt to forget things like that, what with Wily always causing trouble and keeping him busy designing new weaponry for Mega to combat what was thrown at him. And as far as the visored figure in the corner was concerned, that suited him just fine.