RedKatana: Happy New Year! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Ah, there were bright days ahead of him. Star Man could just feel it and he was sure-he was sure-he could get Kalinka to cooperate. So, as he sat there in his chair, in front of his audience, he smiled. His smile said everything he was feeling, everything he was: confident, happy, excited, but most of all, confident. "Today, ladies and gentlemen, we have a guest you've met before. Please welcome, Kalinka!"

The audience didn't say a word as the Robot Masters dragged a tied Kalinka to the chair.

Star Man seethed. They would not ruin this for him. "I said welcome her, people."

The audience members clapped as they glanced at one another.

Star Man was smiles and sunshine again. "Good. That's better." He turned to Kalinka, still smiling since everything was well. "Now then, let's try this again. How are you doing, Kalinka?"

Kalinka glared at him, silent, only her eyes communicating with him. And their only message for him was that she would kill him the second she escaped.

"Kalinka, I asked you a-" Star Man froze when something wet landed on his cheek. He lifted his hand to it, touching it and lifting it to his face.

"Bite me," Kalinka said.

Star Man's eyes widened when he realized what it was.

It was spit.

It was fucking spit.

Oh, she was dead.

She was fucking dead.

"Why you little-"

"What the hell are you doing?"

Star Man jumped and turned as much as possible given his position. There, standing across the room, was Bass and the rest of his missing brothers. Dr. Wily wasn't there, and Star Man wondered why. "Um, running the show?" he asked after a moment, his brain having trouble catching up.

Bass sneered. "Get out."

"But..."

"Get. Out."

"But I- whoa!" he yelled when Bass fired his buster at him. "Watch it! You almost hit me!"

Bass snorted and said, "That's the point, idiot."

"Well, that's not very-" Star Man flinched when Bass aimed his buster at him again. "Fine, fine, I'm goin', I'm goin'," he grumbled, getting off the stage.

"Good," was all Bass said, sitting. After staring Star Man down and making sure he stayed down, he smiled at Kalinka, teeth exposed. "And how are you doing today, Miss. Kalinka?"

Kalinka glared at him.

"Ah, the silent and stubborn type, aren't you? Don't worry, I like that in women." Kalinka blanched at that and leaned back, distancing herself from him.

"You know," Bass began, leaning back into his chair, "we've never been properly introduced. I'm afraid the whole scheme involving your father was way before my time. So, my name is Bass. What's yours?"

Kalinka stared at him for a moment, mouth open. "You know you're nuts, right?" Surely he knew that, right?

"No, no, no. You're mistaken. We don't kidnap our guests. In fact, I think you're the only one who's ever been kidnapped."

Kalinka raised a brow at that. "Really now? How does Wily get his so-called 'guests' here?"

Bass shrugged. "Beats me. I don't know how he gets anything done around here. I mean, what the hell is he thinking, having a show where he interviews all these famous people in front of an audience? What a dumb idea. His ugly mug doesn't help things either. I don't know why anyone would willingly look at that."

Kalinka stared at him, really stared at him, as if she had trouble comprehending what was going on. "You... You do realize this that's what you're doing right now, right?"

Bass shrugged. "True, but I'm not the one who gathered them here or started the show. That's all the old man's doing. I'm just here for the ride."

"Here… for the ride?"

Bass nodded. "Yep. I figure there's no stopping him. After all, I couldn't stop him when he made Junk Man, so I knew I wouldn't be able to stop him with this. And believe me, I tried to stop that. I figured father would listen to reason since he was a brilliant man, or, at least, I thought that. Boy, was I naïve back then. So anyway, I decided to simply enjoy myself while it lasts. It's always fun ruining things for him," he said the last part with a wistful sigh, as if he longed for the golden days.

"I… I see."

"Anyway, it's not like I'm going to get any of us in trouble. Everyone already knows our connection to Wily and none of us are dumb enough to get arrested. Well, except for Wily." He turned to look at Punk. "Isn't that right, Punk?"

Punk nodded. "Right, Bass."

"Wily's… in jail?"

Bass looked back at her. "Well, maybe not yet. But he will be, trust me. He's not clever enough to escape without us bail him out or without secret doors."

"I… I see."

Bass leaned back. "Yep, it's only a matter of time before it happens."

"...This doesn't seem like much of an interview."

"...No, no, it doesn't. But that's fine. So, you were the one that my father kidnapped during the Cossack scheme. So, what was that like? Being kidnapped and all, I mean."

"Miserable. Your kind starved me in a cold, dark dungeon for days with nothing but rats to keep me company," she hissed.

Bass lifted his hands and leaned back, trying to show her that he meant no harm. "Easy, lady, easy. No reason to get so upset, we're all friends here, miss. It's all water under the bridge now."

Kalinka's eye twitched at that. "Friends? What makes you think we're friends?"

"Well, thanks to me, Wily's going to prison." Well, not really. But she didn't need to know that.

Nobody needed to know that, but he liked credit.

"He's going to prison because of you?" Star Man asked, incredulous.

"Yep," he said with a smile, thinking of what was to come. "Say, Kalinka, since you now know how much I love to ruin things, how about we both have a little fun right now?"

"...Fun?"

"Yeah," Bass began, eyes settling on Star Man, "fun."

Star Man took a step back. "What are you planning?"

Bass looked back at Kalinka. "How about I let you free, Kalinka? Then you can do what you really want to do right now."

For the first time, Kalinka smiled, truly smiled. "Why, that sounds amazing."

Star Man took some more steps back as Bass untied Kalinka. "Bass, I'm.. I'm your brother! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Go get 'em, tiger," was all Bass said, sitting back down. He leaned back, relaxed and, most importantly...

...watched the beautiful show.

"Ah, no! Not the face! Not the face, please! Star Man screamed when Kalinka attacked.

"How nice," Bass said, an almost dreamy expression on his face.

Ah, there were bright days ahead of him. Bass could just feel it.