Ch. 5: Rivals Forever
The room around X dissolved. It had all been another hologram, like Wily! He found himself standing in a room as large as the first, except this one had blank, metallic gray walls and floor. Wily appeared before him once again.
"It is time for them to awaken and eliminate you, Megaman. I have made them hundreds of times stronger, by using an adapted form of the Maverick Virus along with enhanced upgrades."
The far end of the room split open, revealing two large pods. The first opened, and a huge, purple robotic dog bounded out, snarling and gnashing its teeth. X recognized this new threat. He had had a master…
The second one opened.
"Finally… it has been forty years since we last fought, Megaman!"
"You're… Bass!"
The tall, black and yellow clad robot arrogantly stepped out of the pod. He was grinning. X was stunned.
"Why, Bass? After forty years, why can't you forget our rivalry? We're no longer enemies! It's ancient history!"
"You forget, Megaman. My purpose of being is to DESTROY YOU!!" he shouted, pointing a finger at him. Wily chuckled.
"So you won't change your mind…" X said, more of a statement rather than a question.
"Never! Treble, attack!"
The large purple dog leaped into the air above Bass. The latter also jumped upward. In a terrific blast of purple light, they transformed into Gospel Boost Plus.
"You see, Megaman? Their sole purpose now is to annihilate you."
X's eyes narrowed. Upon combining with Treble, Bass was even more powerful. Wily had also mentioned upgrades.
"Even if you caught me by surprise, I didn't come unprepared!!"
"WHAT!" Wily shouted. X had begun to glow from within. The white light emanated outward, and dissipated.
X, equipped with Ultimate Armour, stood there. During the forty minutes before launch, X had found Douglas and arranged for several upgrades: the Ultimate Armour, Ultimate Buster and Jump upgrade. He was quite ready to face this new challenge.
"It doesn't matter how many enhancements you have, X! I will destroy you if it takes all my energy!"
"Make your move," X thought. Wily stood at the back of the room, an amused expression on his face.
"Die!"
Bass held up his arm cannon, and huge purple energy orbs exploded outward. X leaped backward, avoided the blasts, kicked off the wall and fired off a plasma buster, which struck full force and grounded Bass.
"So… you ARE more powerful," he sneered, as smoke rose from his body.
"Did I surprise you? I can give you the chance to surrender, if you want."
"Hah! As if I would surrender to the child that you are!"
He flew upward again and made a dashing charge, low to the ground and surrounded by purple energy. X pulled off a Novastrike, and sparks flew everywhere as they flew past each other, neither being hurt. Bass pointed his finger to the zenith, and lightning struck his body. The lightning then flew toward the ceiling, and X found himself dodging the same electric bolts.
"Ugh!"
A bolt exploded on the ground before him and he was thrown backward.
"That's some attack!"
"Glad you liked it!"
Bass charged his fist, and his detached from his arm in a blazing aura of energy. It moved too fast for X, who was damaged and thrown into the wall by it. The fist returned to its owner. X groaned slightly and got to his feet.
As Bass tried another charge at him, he fired off two plasma shots in quick succession. His rival was slowed down somewhat by the plasma spheres, so X did another Novastrike. This time, it hit home.
"Agghhhh!"
Bass screamed and crashed into the wall. He had taken a lot of damage. X landed and immediately fired off a hail of plasma shots (kudos to the Ultimate Buster), which mercilessly slammed into Bass, inflicting so much damage that he slunk to the ground and laid as if dead. X turned to Wily, standing as a lion does after the kill. The old robot maker had a shocked expression on his face.
"H- how…"
"Tell me where Zero is. Now."
"I would never tell you that. You can't harm me this time."
"Yes, but if you do not, Bass will need another forty years in that stasis pod."
He turned to Bass, who was still unconscious on the floor. The arm cannon was poised and ready for the final blow.
"X, you fool, don't believe that the destruction of my robot will force me to betray Zero's location. Bass and Treble are simply pawns like Sigma. Isn't it interesting that you defeated both of them? You are the number one reploid… heeheeheheh…"
X remembered that last sentence also coming from Sigma. How much influence did Wily have in all of this?
Behind them, Bass slowly regained consciousness. His vision was a shimmering blur. He could not remember the last time that he had been beaten so quickly, and damaged so brutally. He had also heard what Wily had said. With a grunt, he managed to get on one knee.
"…Damn you… Megaman. I'll defeat you yet. As for you, Wily, I'm no longer your 'pawn'. I can defeat him without your help…"
"Bass! Even now you would betray me, your creator. Hmm, this is interesting indeed. Your sole purpose was to defeat Megaman. Since you have failed miserably at that over and over again, your existence is now… worthless."
The words stung Bass like a sharp spear had been driven through him. He had had only one purpose, he now realized. The only reason he was alive was for him to eliminate Megaman. Wily had been using him…
"Wily! What are you going to do now?" X challenged.
"Take out the slag," he replied tersely.
The floor beneath X shuddered violently. He momentarily lost his footing and he understood that the floor was beginning to slant downward. He grappled for something to hold on to, but the floor was too smooth. As he slid downward, he felt tremendous heat building up beneath him. As he looked behind and below, his circulatory pump skipped a beat.
There was a large container of molten lava positioned under the floor.
"Hah, hah, hah! You have nowhere to run, Megaman! You'll soon be a legend!" Wily laughed maniacally. Bass was also trying to find some foothold to prevent his meltdown.
"Wily! You bastard! After all I did for you, all the plans I helped you carry out, this is how you would repay me!?" he screamed harshly, his eyes wide with horror as he tried to hold onto something.
X was having similar problems. Then he remembered: he was wearing the Ultimate Armour. He was not sure if he should save Bass or not, but if he did, would Bass still want to destroy him? He made his decision, as the floor swung slowly downward.
"Hang on, Bass!"
X flung himself forward, and gained enough momentum to perform another Novastrike. Above the lava, he rocketed above Bass. He came out of the blazing golden fireball, and hit the floor, causing it to shudder even more. Bass slipped further downward.
"What the hell is Megaman doing?" Bass thought furiously. X reached behind his back and removed the glowing, green Z Saber. He stabbed it into the floor and slid downward. He held out a hand toward Bass.
"Bass! Hold on to my hand!"
Bass stared at his rival in utter disbelief. After all their battles, his undying hatred for Megaman, the blue robot wanted to save him?
"Why don't you save yourself? I'm a worthless pawn anyway!" he spat.
"No, Bass! You have your own life to live! After this, you can go your own way and live in peace!" X pleaded, as Bass slid inexorably downward to his doom. Bass, the creation of Dr. Wily, looked into X's eyes. They had nothing but determination in them. He looked at the outstretched hand. But he could never accept it. He would never be able to live with himself if he allowed X to save him. He would rather die. He lightened his grip, and moved away from X.
"No, Megaman, you live your life. You go ahead and form world peace or whatever is it that you do. My life is nothing now. Goodbye, Megaman. I'll see you in Hell's scrap yard!"
Bass let go. He fell, and Treble separated from him. They both fell downward, as Bass looked upward at X, who was speechless. Together, they fell into the lava. Together, the master and his canine let out their last cry. Together, they had died.
X could not tear his gaze from the lava pool.
"Bass… why…"
The he realized that he would not be able to hang on much longer. The heat was beginning to overwhelm him. He bowed his head as the last respects to his rival, gripped the Saber and then executed a Novastrike. He blasted clear through the wall he had been hanging onto.
Above, the hologram of Wily hovered above the lava pit where one of his greatest creations had died. He did not quite understand why Megaman had tried to help Bass, but he did understand why Bass had refused. A warrior's honour did not permit him to receive help from the enemy. He looked at the hole through which X had escaped. Yet again, the robot had eluded him. It was amusing, Wily thought, that Zero's Saber, a thing of his own creation, was now used by his archenemy X. He shrugged, and disappeared.
There were other matters to attend to.
X had made an entrance back in the corridor. Red lights were blazing. The entire room was trembling. The place was going to explode within moments. How typical of Wily, he thought, to destroy his lab after being defeated. A blip came from his arm.
"X! Are you there?"
It was Signas.
"Yes! Now, get me out of here!"
"We've locked onto your location. Stand by!"
X felt a slight tingling sensation. In a blue beam, he teleported out of the death trap. He had come, seen, fought and left, with even more unpleasant memories to haunt him in his dreams.