GammaTron: Ah, so another RollxMega fan. I wonder who has the majority now? Thanks for your praise.

LeaveFishysWishbones: Indeed.

Queen Sunstar: Same here. I prefer RollxMega, but RollxBass is okay too.

Hakuryuken: Hmm... Indeed, much rambling. I do try to give form to the ideas in my head... You might want to check out my deviantArt for that, though. I don't know my link offhand, and I can't check it cause my parents blocked it for some crappy reason, but my username is snoozbuster. I intend on posting something else up there as soon as I can...

KK the Prophet: Yeah, you've got it right. Or do you? ^.^ Thanks for the compliment about blueberry. That popped to mind as I was writing, so there it was. Hmm... BassxRoll or MegamanxRoll... Right now, MMxRoll has the majority. I wonder... Oh, whatever happened to Kasuchi, Koichi? I meant to ask but kept forgetting.

Hey, I'm sorry about the long wait. My parents are being paranoid and didn't let me use my thumb drive in the computer with internet for a week, and I've not really been writing, either. Fortunately, the story will come to an end soon...

CHAPTER 36 : Those Who Can Change

"Let's go." Roll said as she walked through the busted door. Megaman and Protoman followed with their guard up. The alarm continued to blare in the background, although no one answered the call.

"It's really strange..." Protoman mumbled. "You'd think there would be security systems or something. It's almost like they want us to make it to the top." Megaman nodded gravely. Indeed, they did make it to the top floor, where Envy, Lust, and Gen were waiting. Megaman, Roll and Protoman struck battle poses. Envy and Lust stepped back, but Gen stepped forward.

"So, we finally meet again, eh, Megaman?" Megaman nodded sadly, but said nothing. "What's the matter? Mettaur got your tongue?" Gen laughed. Megaman shook his head. "Then why won't you speak to me?"

"Because I don't want to kill you." Megaman spoke heavily, the pain evident in his voice. Gen laughed again.

"You couldn't kill me." Gen's face became darker than before. "Even if you could, you wouldn't." Megaman said nothing. Suddenly, Gen was trapped in a casing of purple gems.

"Roll, you've made me realize how stupid it is to be here. Dat and I are out of here." Lust said.

"Why not stay and fight with us?" Roll asked.

"Because we just decided to turn over a new leaf. We're not going to commit suicide, too. From now on, we're Jasper and Dat. Nothing more." Jasper twined her fingers with Dat's, and they turned to leave. Just before they vanished, Dat turned and threw something at Megaman. Megaman thought he saw a faint smile on his face before they vanished.

"HubStyle!" Megaman exclaimed. "Now I've got everything but the TeraChips Bass took." He pressed the data to his NaviMark, where it was quickly absorbed. "Wonder how this will affect my other upgrades..." Then, Gen broke out of her prison with a big shockwave.

"Lust!" She turned around, but saw no one. "Damn traitors. And she took Envy with her." Gen turned to face Megaman and company. Then Roll noticed what had been nagging at her.

"Where's Gluttony?" A sad smile came over Gen.

"You killed him, remember? When you set off the bomb?"

"Oh. I figured he'd live through that." Roll replied.

"You trapped him very tightly. By the time he got out, he was too weak to escape."

"And how do you know this?" Protoman asked suspiciously.

"All of us higher-ups in GUILT were linked telepathically. And to answer the question you were about to ask, Lust and Envy cut off contact after Lust froze me."

"Oh."

"Can we get on with fighting now?" Gen asked sweetly. Megaman shrugged.

"I'd rather not. Jasper and Dat changed, why can't you?"

"I told you. GUILT's the only ones who can get us back to normal," Gen replied fiercely.

"I highly doubt that. I asked my dad," Lan said, "and he said there's no way to undo what he did."

"That's what he's always said! And by killing you, I'm going to get the cure, from either him or GUILT!" Lan shook his head.

"He doesn't have it. And neither does GUILT."

"Shut up! Generation Splitter!" Red energy began to form a ball in her raised hand. She clenched it and made a slicing motion with her index and middle fingers. Megaman and Roll jumped, but Protoman was hit by the invisible blade.

"Sorry, I should have warned you, Protoman." Megaman said as he helped the red Navi up.

"You think? Come on, let's go."

"NeoVariable, BattleChip in! Download!"" Protoman charged towards Gen and parried her constant Generation Splitters with his NeoVariable Sword. When he got near her, he used the sword as a polevault to hit Gen feet-first, sending her back into the wall. Megaman was ready with a LongBlade, and jumped over Protoman's head, driving the sword through Gen's right shoulder. Roll followed up with a Roll Arrow that cracked Gen's helmet. The screams they promptly heard were not just Gen's, they knew. To know that they were causing so much pain to a human sickened them. Gen closed her eyes.

"Do you think... that can stop me?"

"I was hoping." Megaman replied. Gen's eyes snapped open.

"Natural Disaster!" Gen called four massive rocks up from the ground, and they fell on the unsuspecting Navis, crushing them under the weight. Gen stood up shakily, just out of Megaman's reach from under his rock. "Element Storm!" Various forms of all the elements began to buffet the trapped Navis.

"Ready... guys?" Megaman breathed. He saw them nod weakly.

"Geyser, AquaBlade, BattleChips in! FormStyle SolidIce!"

"Form Change, White Form!"

"Form Change, Muramasa Form!" The power of the three transformations busted their stony prisons and quieted the storm. Megaman's body had become a lighter blue, and ice formations snaked up his body in place of armor. The pack on his back had become slightly bigger, and the lines on his body glowed, giving the ice a cool effect. His fins had turned into solid ice, as well, and the patch of helmet between them glowed. Gen smiled sadly again.

"Looks like it's game over for us, Lana. Let's go out fighting." Lana nodded.

"Final Bane, BattleChip in! Download!" Gen began to glow with a dark light. She gathered the energy into the core of body, and began to focus it into a ball.

"Stand back, Roll. Protoman. This is my fight." Roll and Protoman did as they were told. "Ice Barrier!" Megaman also focused all of his energy, but he focused it into a thick wall of ice in front of him.

"Do you think that can stop this?" Gen asked darkly. "I'll take you with me!!" She finished focusing the energy, and let it float into the air. It floated higher and higher before it came down slowly on Gen. That was when Megaman realized the intention of the attack.

"No!" Megaman formed a hole in his barrier and jumped through it towards the glowing ball of darkness. He grabbed it, and even as it was absorbed into his body, he formed a casing of ice around it. He then launched the ball far out of the building and landed on his side, skidding for over three meters.

"Too late. You absorbed enough of it to make a very nice explosion. It should take us out, at least." Megaman could feel the darkness struggling to vent in the most violent way possible as the aqua power of the FormStyler rose too. Then Megaman made a second realization. He pulled out the DarkChip data Bass had given him in the battle with Fortissimo. He fell out of SolidIce just as he pressed the data to his NaviMark.

"What are you doing, Megaman?!" Lan exclaimed.

"What needs to be done." As the DarkChip data was absorbed, he pressed his NaviMark. It began to glow with various forms of power. Megaman stood. "I guess you will see him again, Lan." There was a small explosion, and out of the smoke emerged a figure familiar to only Lan and Maylu. It was Megaman, but his bodysuit had changed to black with the lines flashing blue/white. His helmet was gone, and Bass's scar had appeared over his NaviMark as well as his left eye. His hair had darkened to a near-black, and his skin had darkened a bit too. Bass's fins were attached to his shoulderpads, and the cross-shaped crest on Bass's helmet was embedded in Megaman's forehead. "FormStyle Twilight Hikari." Megaman put his hands together, palms out, and launched a blast of energy at Gen.

"Megaman! How'd you do that?"

"The energy from Final Bane, the DarkChip data, and HubStyle were enough to recreate it using the FormStyler. Unfortunatly, a lot of strain is being placed on the program. I'll fall out of it in just a few minutes, and I won't be able to use the FormStyler for a while after that." Lan nodded.

"Then do what needs to be done."

"Engage, BattleChip in! Download!" Gen's body began a hideous transformation. She became twice her normal size, and various claws and points emerged from her body at seemingly random places. Her armor was buffed quite a bit, and her helmet lowered to cover her whole face. Lastly, two dark wings sprouted from her back. She looked up at Megaman.

"This is the fruits of the X Project Fortissimo finished." Gen stood to her full height and stretched her wings out to full length. The wingspan was a good five meters from end to end. "The Engage BattleChip. I am Engage now." Megaman shook his head.

"You're Gen."

"You lie!" Gen jumped up and fired a large barrage of spikes at Megaman. He began to walk forward, evading left and right as necessary.

"Wow, his speed is incredible..." Protoman mumbled. "You can't even see him dodge from side to side. It's like he teleports!" Megaman continued walking at a steady pace towards Gen.

"Groundquake!" She pounded the ground, creating a vertical shockwave. It hit Megaman right between the legs. His left shoulderfin broke off, and he gasped. But he continued walking. He was right in front of Gen now. She threw a punch, but Megaman caught it and used it to pull her into a tight embrace. Her various spikes stabbed him, but he just held tighter. "What? What are you...!" Gen began to shrink back to her normal form, the spikes and claws retracting. "How...?"

"You're Lan's sister's Navi, and you're fused with her. That makes you my sister. No matter how much you try to hurt me, I'll still love you." Gen's face softened, as did Lana's.

"As will I, Lana. I would rather die than kill my sister." Megaman fell out of Twilight Hikari, and Protoman and Roll walked up to them.

Kill them now! You can do it! Lana cringed.

No. I won't obey you anymore, Chaos.

It'd be so simple. All you have to do is insert that chip, and they'll all die. Then you'll be free from your ailment! Lana pulled out a BattleChip, but hesitated. Come on... She raised her hand, and slammed it down... onto the floor. The chip fractured upon impact with the stone floor.

No. It's not an ailment anymore. It's a blessing.

Then I'll make you obey. Back in the Net, Gen suddenly went into spasms.

"Gen? Gen!" Megaman shook his sister, but nothing happened. Then a shadowed Navi appeared on screen.

"Hello, Megaman. Gen and Lana have decided not to obey me by deleting you, and so I have taken Gen's energy. I already took the energy of the other Navis you deleted. Pity Jasper and Dat won't be joining me. You did a good job deleting the others, though."

"You set us up!" Megaman exclaimed.

"Indeed. I knew that the others wouldn't be able to stop you. But I sent them, knowing that with their deaths I would become stronger. That's why Jasper and Dat left. They knew that if they stayed to fight and were deleted, they would end up hindering more than helping. And so, now Gen is an empty shell, her power added to mine."

"Bastard." Megaman muttered. He laid Gen's body on the ground and stood up. "You coward!"

"You're the coward, fighting behind your friends." Protoman and Roll had long since fallen out of Form Change. Megaman hesitated.

"You weren't fighting behind us!" Roll exclaimed. "Don't let him goad you like that!" Megaman shook his head.

"He's being a coward again. He's not going to fight me until you leave. Quick, take Gen and go." Roll began to speak, but Megaman silenced her. "Just... go." Roll saw a tear at the corner of his eye as she picked Gen up and logged out. Protoman saluted and logged out. "There. I'm alone. Now, come out and fight me." The unknown Navi laughed.

"You forgot one key factor." As if on cue, a Navi burst in through the window.

"Pulse here, Chaos. I'm ready." He faced Megaman and took up a battle stance.

"Bastard." Megaman whispered. "Cowardly bastard." Chaos laughed as the screen disappeared.

"I think I'll start by telling you who I am." Pulse threw back his cloak, showing a blank NaviMark with a slash across it. The second thing Megaman saw was that Pulse was female. "I was Bass, Megaman." Pulse called a grey chip to her hand and absorbed it. "BeastOut Gregar!" Pulse's body grew longer as claws and a tail sprouted from her. Her helmet and armor changed shape, too. She roared a bestial roar.

"Bass...? No..." Megaman said.