Roll couldn't believe it. She was sure that Vile would have gone over the edge just as she had. The difference, of course, was that Rock would catch her and use those shock absorbers in his legs to land easily. But Vile had better reflexes than either of them could have expected. He simply dropped Roll, grabbed the edge of the building and flipped himself over to engage Mega Man. This left Roll hurtling toward the cement far below-and getting closer every microsecond. Roll did what anyone else would have done. She screamed.
Protoman, however, was having the time of his life, and at Grenade Man's expense. Grenade Man surprised him during their last scuffle with the Mavericks, and won easily as a result. But the element of surprise was something that Protoman reveled in. It didn't take much for him to destroy the former Robot Master. He had just extracted Grenade Man's weapon chip and installed it in his own Weapons System when he heard the scream. It was amazing he did, really, because of all the noise and chaos going on all around him. He looked up just as Bass burst through some Mavericks and joined him. What Protoman saw made him stop short. "Ohmygosh! ROLL!" he shouted.
At that Bass looked up and for a second he wore an expression very similar to that of Protoman. However, he recovered almost instantly and said, "I got her." before activating the jet thrusters of his Super Adaptor to fly up to get her. Protoman watched him go for a second in amazement before a stray shot reminded him of the battle at hand.
It was actually quite spectacular, Bass's rescue. It was pretty much straight from an old super hero comic. He maneuvered himself directly underneath Roll and caught her easily. Then Roll did something quite unexpected-to Bass at least. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long hard kiss right on the lips. Bass's eyes widened for a second before he realized he liked this sudden turn and returned the favor full force. When they finally came up for air, Bass said-slightly out of breath-"Y'know, I should save you more often."
Roll just giggled. Then her eyes widened and she yelled "Look out!"
Bass simply flew straight up as Storm Owl and Storm Eagle collided with each other directly below, where he was a split second ago.
Vile found himself sprawled out on the roof again. He just couldn't believe what was happening. Mega Man was an inferior model after all-Vile should have been winning this fight. But for some reason, since Vile threw Roll over the side, Rock retalliated with more force than he had thought possible. Mega Man grabbed Vile by the throat and hauled him to his feet again. With their faces inches apart, Mega Man managed to whisper "You are dead, Vile." Then he delivered a quick blow to Vile's stomach followed by a devastating right hook to the face that shattered part of Vile's visor. Mega Man finished off with an uppercut that laid Vile flat again.
Vile managed to shake the stars out in front of his eyes in time to see that Mega Man's normally blue armor had changed hue to a red and gold color scheme. "Oh, no..." Vile muttered. If a color change in Mega Man's armor meant the same thing as it did with X's (and there was no reason to assume otherwise) then Vile was in big trouble. With a primal cry, Mega Man dashed up to Vile, and as he did so a fiery blade formed in his fist. Mega Man fought like he never had before, slashing Vile over and over again, finally sending him toppling over the edge of the building. Vile landed in a dumpster with such force that he might have gone through the bottom of it. Mega Man leaped off the building after him and landed safely on his feet. Without wasting another moment, Mega Man dug through the garbage and finally dragged Vile out. Mega Man then pinned him against the wall with one hand and drew the other back in order to deliver the finishing blow. Vile's now revealed blood-red eye did not flinch away. "Very good, Mega Man," he managed to rasp. "I never thought you'd be as good a warrior as you are. However, this is not the last you will hear from me." With that, Vile hit a button on his wrist and disappeared in a beam of violet light.
"Vile!" Mega Man yelled out in frustration. "Come back here! VILE!!" Mega Man fell to his knees and hit the ground with his fists. Had he been physically capable, Mega Man would have wept.
"Y'know, Mega Man," came a familiar sardonic voice behind him. "Throwing things off buildings is illegal. You could have hurt somebody."
Mega Man turned and saw Bass with Roll-unharmed-in his arms. "Roll!" Mega Man cried in relief. Roll squirmed from Bass's firm yet gentile hold and ran for Mega Man and the two of them gave each other a long hug. Bass folded his arms and smirked at the sight. Mega Man broke off from Roll and extended a hand to Bass. "Thanks, man," he said with a smile on his face. "I don't know what I would have done without my sister."
Bass looked at the hand in surprise. He remembered what happened last time he accepted a handshake from Mega Man, but this time he seemed to be sincere. Bass almost took the hand, but after a second his face hardened and he turned his back on the Blue Bomber. "I didn't save her for you, all right? Now let's find the others." With that he stalked off.
Mega Man watched Bass walk off in concern. Well, if you didn't save her for me, then why did you save her at all? It ain't like you make it a habit or anything... Mega Man looked at Roll, who was watching Bass with an expression he couldn't quite read. Hmmmm.....
But that was a puzzle for another time. "Roll," Mega Man said with an air of authority that he rarely used. "It's too dangerous here for you. I want you to go up and get Rush-he should be recovered by now-and use his teleporter to take you back to MHHQ."
Roll nodded. "Sure thing, Rock," she said as she hurried up the ladder. Mega Man turned and followed Bass out of the alley.
The battle was over. Burned out husks of metal and cracked circuit boards littered the impromptu battlefield. The Hunters came out pretty well, with only a few major injuries. As the other members of the 17th unit and 00 unit were clearing the debris, Mega Man, Protoman, Bass, Zero, X, Iris, and Colonel were clustered in a group. "Well, Bass, whaddya think?" Zero asked.
Bass shook his head. "We created a pretty good dent in their army, but not so much that we can expect the defenses around those two entrances to lighten up too much. Still, this would be the best time to strike. We might be able to get the Mavericks-except for Sigma of course-off guard enough to make the trek quite a bit easier." The others nodded. "You do remember the plan, right?"
X grinned. "Sure, you take the high road and we'll take the low road and we'll reach Sigma before you."
The others groaned and Zero smacked X upside the head. "I bet you were waiting all day to say that, weren't you?" X rubbed the back of his head and grinned with an I-was-just-trying-to-lighten-the-mood look. "Anyways, it wouldn't be a good idea for all of us to go to the fortress. We're gonna need somebody with field experience and leadership qualities at MHHQ just in case the Mavericks decide to attack again. Colonel, do you think you can handle it?"
Colonel gave Zero a slightly prideful smile. "I was second in command to one of the most powerful armies in history. What do you think?"
Bass nodded. "Okay. I think the best course of action would be if Mega Man, Protoman, and myself take the "high road," as X so cleverly put it, while you Reploids take the "low." It would be best if the teams were made up of the 'bots that know each other best."
The others nodded their agreement. "Alright, then, team," Mega Man said with a gleam in his eyes. "Let's do this!" With that, the team broke and went in opposite directions-the Bioroids dropping down a manhole and the Reploids heading down to an abandoned Subway Station.
Mega Man, Protoman, and Bass made their way down the sewer tunnel in silence. Bass stopped and pressed in a brick that looked like all the other bricks that made up the walls. However, this action opened up a door. Mega Man stared at the dark opening with a slight sense of forboding. Into the belly of the beast. Mega Man shook his head. What's gotten over me? This won't be any different than busting up one of Wily's fortresses. "You go first Bass," he said, trying to break up the unease he was feeling. "I trust you about as far as Wily could throw you."
Meanwhile, X, Zero, and Iris were making their way down a so far deserted corridor. X and Zero kept darting their eyes this way and that, checking out everything. Iris finally got fed up with the two men she was with. "Would you two STOP that!? Nothing's even attacked yet!"
X gave her a bitter grin. "When you're in one of Sigma's fortresses, that's the most dangerous places to be." Iris could only give him a blank stare, then shrugged, these guys have done this four times already. It would probably be best to trust their judgement.
X had other things on his mind. I can't shake the feeling that this battle is one our smaller concerns right now. If we don't get everyone back to the era they belong, something's gonna happen. Something BIG...