Chapter 6

Wily hadn’t been lax during the three months between Proto’s activation and tonight. He’d been busy building his Skull Fortress and furnishing it with everything me needed to live and a lab of its own. It was to the lab where Wily had his two captives carried. They were strapped to two lab tables, and all but Wily and Proto left the room.

“How do you like my new fortress, Rock?” Wily asked smugly to his captives. “Now I vill be able to take all the good robots that Dr. Light builds and reprogram them to turn against mankind.” He approached Rock as he finished speaking and laughed wickedly.

“But that’s not right,” Rock argued, lifting up his head from the lab table.

“Oh my,” Wily taunted, pretending surprise at the news and turning to Proto. “He’s right, Protoman. I’m a--” He hunched his shoulders slightly in a wicked pose. “bad scientist.” He laughed at his own joke and moved aside to get his tools. Proto stepped out of the shadows to where Wily had been standing.

“Hey, you should be happy, Rock,” he coaxed. “You and I are brothers. We were built from the same plans. Let Dr. Wily reprogram you and join us in our quest to control mankind.”

“No way! You can count me out!” he said defiantly.

“A little tuck here, a little slice there,” Wily said as he approached with a drill tool, “and you’ll feel differently.” Rock’s face reflected his horror at the thought and of the drill coming towards his face, and he began to struggle.

“Hold it, Dr. Deadhead!” Roll yelled, desperate to stall Wily. He turned to look at her over his shoulder.

“It’s Dr. Wily!”

“Not in my universe, buster!” Irritated, Wily moved around Rock’s table. He placed a hand on her head, as he’d done to Rock, and turned the tool on her.

“You’ll be a pleasure to remodel.” She too flinched away. Rock watched with frightened eyes. He just couldn’t let this happen.

“Wait! Stop!” Wily turned to him, withdrawing the tool.

“Und vhy should I stop?” he wanted to know.

“Only if you want to live. My dad also built supper warrior robots, and they’re on their way to rearrange your ugly anatomy.” Wily jerked back in surprise. Rock turned his head to regard Proto as he added, “They’re mean machines.” Wily thought this over.

“Robots can’t lie,” he muttered. “He must be telling the truth. But--vhy didn’t I know about these other robots?” He walked down past the lab tables, then turned back to Rock. “I there a vay to stop dem?”

“Let us go and I’ll show you.”

“Unstrap him,” Wily told Proto, who obeyed, hitting the button that released the chest and ankle straps holding Rock down.

“Thanks, Doc,” he said, hopping off as Wily approached him.

“Now, tell me how to stop those robots.”

“Simple. First,” Rock began to head towards a rollable piece of equipment as Proto went to stand next to Wily. “You grab one of these, like this,” He grabbed hold, glancing back over his shoulder at them. “Then you shove it at them--like this!” And with that he hurled the equipment across the floor as hard as he could at his enemies. It barreled into them and flattened them against a wall, where they dropped to the floor and a metal coil fell down, nicely wrapping things up. Rock dusted off his hands. “See?” he asked, slightly chuckling. “Works every time.”

“You tricked us!” Wily yelled, disbelieving. “But--but robot’s can’t lie!” Rock was quick to his sister’s side.

“I think we’ve overstayed our welcome,” he said as he freed her. “Lets get outta

here.” She hopped off and followed her brother.

“Get us out of this!” Wily ordered Proto, seeing his captives escaping. Proto wiggled his blaster arm free and, focusing a bit of plasma on their metal bonds, broke it. “Now--stop them!”

Wasting no time, Rock and Roll ran to a mini-Skullkur of sorts and hopped in, Rock at the controls, as Proto’s plasma blasts nicked at their heels.

“Hang on, Roll,” Rock said as he lowered the cover of the cockpit, plasma zipping very close by. He lifted off and flew straight at Proto, who dived out of the way to avoid being hit. The craft went vertical, following the wall up and smashing their way out of Skull Fortress through the roof. Rock and Roll had escaped!