Chapter XI - Test Flight
"What can you do, anyway?" asked Bass. He and Treble were using a program in the simulator that emulated an open plain. The surrounding area was utterly featureless, so as not to distract trainees, as this program was usually used for basic combat training. "Well? Can you do anything?"
The wolf sneezed.
"Yeah, that's very useful," Bass rolled his eyes. "Load unit 34-RX9 'Ball de Voux.'" Bass ordered the simulator. It appeared and began to spin around menacingly. "Treble, attack!"
The wolf charged towards the Ball and opened his mouth. A bright blue energy beam shot out, severely damaging the Ball. the Ball fell over and Treble slowly approached it. When the Ball jiggled a bit Treble picked it up in his mouth and threw it into the distance.
"Okay, so you can attack. Now we need to figure out how the heck these ports work. Simulator, end training." Bass and Treble woke up outside of the machine. He disconnected himself and the wolf and walked back to Cain's lab. Cain's new project was on one of the work benches. "Hello, Cain. You've finally started on Doppler's new body?"
"Yes. I must admit it took a while to start, what with everything that has happened recently, but with Doppler himself helping I should be done in no time."
"That's good to hear, but where is Doppler, anyway?"
"Oh, he's looking at the schematics of you and Treble, trying to find out how you two merge together."
"Great, I was about to ask how that was coming along."
"Go check in the archives, Doppler should be there studying the plans."
"Thanks, Cain." Bass walked down the hall towards the archives. It was surprising that in the short amount of time he'd spent at HQ, Bass had learned the layout of the entire building. He got to the archives in only a few minutes. "Doppler, are you here?"
"Yes, in the back. Is Treble with you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I think I've figured out how the Treble Boost works."
"The what?"
"That's what I've decided to name the merging technology you have."
"Okay, so what have you found.
Doppler appeared on one screen and some blueprints appeared on another. "I sent an excavation team to Wily's Fortress and they found this. It shows in great detail how exactly the Treble Boost works, and some sort of command that activates it. This would be better tested outside of the simulator, I don't think it could handle to separate entities merging. Go up to the rooftops, I'm sending X and Zero to make sure that there are no problems."
"Got it, but what's the activation command?"
"Boost."
"What?"
"The activation command is 'boost'. That's where I got the name."
"Okay. Are X and Zero already on the roof?"
"No, but they know that your going to attempt this today. Go find them, they're expecting you."
"Yes, sir." Bass and Treble left the archives and headed towards the rooftop. X was sure to be there already, no matter what Doppler had said. Zero might be up there already as well, but there was no way to be sure except to go up. Opening the doors to the roof, Bass saw X standing by the edge, looking out towards the horizon. Zero was fiddling with his Z-Sabre about five feet away. They turned at the sound of the door opening. "Hello, guys. Aren't you a little early?"
"No, of course not," said Zero as he stood up, sheathing the Z-Sabre.
"Why do you say that?" asked X.
"No reason," Bass replied. "So you're the witnesses of this momentous occasion?"
"Yep," answered X.
"Are you ready?" asked Zero.
"Of course I'm not ready. I just met Treble, I have no idea how powerful he is, and the only clue to what we're going to try is a fuzzy video over fifty years old. I'll never be ready, so I might as well try it now."
"That's the spirit, Bass," said Zero as he patted him on the back. "There's no time like the present."
"We'll just get out of your way," said X. "No point in us getting harmed if you blow up."
"Very funny, X. Treble, come here." The wolf trotted over to Bass. X and Zero backed away, Cain had warned them about Treble's attitude towards everyone. Bass closed his eyes, he was deep in concentration. His eyes suddenly shot open and yelled into the air.
"TREBLE BOOST!"
X and Zero had to shield their own eyes from the intense light emanating from Bass and Treble. From what they could see, Bass had crouched down and Treble seemed to dive into his back. Another flash of light and the merge was over. X and Zero lowered their arms and looked at Bass. All the orange parts had turned purple, and the fins on his head ended in spikes. Two wings folded out of his back.
"Whoa," said X.
"Damn," replied Zero.
"You've got that right," Bass said. "This is just cool. Look at me, I've got wings!" Engines in the wings flared to life and Bass rose of the ground about fifteen feet. "Aah! Help! How do I get down!"
"So much for graceful," said X, laughing his head off.
"Hold on, Cain told me what to do if this happened," Zero said. He pulled out his Z-Sabre and activated it. Instead of the usual beam, a long green pole came out. Zero pointed it at Bass. "Here, grab on!"
"No way! I'll get my hand burned off!"
"I altered it so the plasma is completely contained. You won't get hurt."
"For your sake, I hope your right," Bass said as he tenderly grabbed hold of the Z-Sabre. He climbed down it and hovered a few inches off the ground. "Now what? I'm still floating."
"Just turn off your engines. It should act the same way your Buster does," X said.
The engines cut off and Bass landed on the ground. There was another flash of light and Bass and Treble were separate again. "X, flight is nothing like it's cracked up to be," said Bass right before he collapsed to the ground.
"What happened to him, Doctor Cain?"
"He overloaded his generators, X. It would probably be best if he practiced a before going on an actual mission"
"I think his eyes are open"
"Huh? Oh, they are! Bass can you hear us?"
"Fluffy bunnies make bad pets."
"And his eyes close. He must have taken quite a hit to his systems, if he's acting like this."
"I'll have him recharged shortly. You two just go back to whatever you were doing."
"Yes, sir."
"Yay! Back to playing MegaMan!"
"What?"
"They made a video game based on MegaMan years and years ago. I managed to get a copy of it."
"This I've got to see."
"What can you do, anyway?" asked Bass. He and Treble were using a program in the simulator that emulated an open plain. The surrounding area was utterly featureless, so as not to distract trainees, as this program was usually used for basic combat training. "Well? Can you do anything?"
The wolf sneezed.
"Yeah, that's very useful," Bass rolled his eyes. "Load unit 34-RX9 'Ball de Voux.'" Bass ordered the simulator. It appeared and began to spin around menacingly. "Treble, attack!"
The wolf charged towards the Ball and opened his mouth. A bright blue energy beam shot out, severely damaging the Ball. the Ball fell over and Treble slowly approached it. When the Ball jiggled a bit Treble picked it up in his mouth and threw it into the distance.
"Okay, so you can attack. Now we need to figure out how the heck these ports work. Simulator, end training." Bass and Treble woke up outside of the machine. He disconnected himself and the wolf and walked back to Cain's lab. Cain's new project was on one of the work benches. "Hello, Cain. You've finally started on Doppler's new body?"
"Yes. I must admit it took a while to start, what with everything that has happened recently, but with Doppler himself helping I should be done in no time."
"That's good to hear, but where is Doppler, anyway?"
"Oh, he's looking at the schematics of you and Treble, trying to find out how you two merge together."
"Great, I was about to ask how that was coming along."
"Go check in the archives, Doppler should be there studying the plans."
"Thanks, Cain." Bass walked down the hall towards the archives. It was surprising that in the short amount of time he'd spent at HQ, Bass had learned the layout of the entire building. He got to the archives in only a few minutes. "Doppler, are you here?"
"Yes, in the back. Is Treble with you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I think I've figured out how the Treble Boost works."
"The what?"
"That's what I've decided to name the merging technology you have."
"Okay, so what have you found.
Doppler appeared on one screen and some blueprints appeared on another. "I sent an excavation team to Wily's Fortress and they found this. It shows in great detail how exactly the Treble Boost works, and some sort of command that activates it. This would be better tested outside of the simulator, I don't think it could handle to separate entities merging. Go up to the rooftops, I'm sending X and Zero to make sure that there are no problems."
"Got it, but what's the activation command?"
"Boost."
"What?"
"The activation command is 'boost'. That's where I got the name."
"Okay. Are X and Zero already on the roof?"
"No, but they know that your going to attempt this today. Go find them, they're expecting you."
"Yes, sir." Bass and Treble left the archives and headed towards the rooftop. X was sure to be there already, no matter what Doppler had said. Zero might be up there already as well, but there was no way to be sure except to go up. Opening the doors to the roof, Bass saw X standing by the edge, looking out towards the horizon. Zero was fiddling with his Z-Sabre about five feet away. They turned at the sound of the door opening. "Hello, guys. Aren't you a little early?"
"No, of course not," said Zero as he stood up, sheathing the Z-Sabre.
"Why do you say that?" asked X.
"No reason," Bass replied. "So you're the witnesses of this momentous occasion?"
"Yep," answered X.
"Are you ready?" asked Zero.
"Of course I'm not ready. I just met Treble, I have no idea how powerful he is, and the only clue to what we're going to try is a fuzzy video over fifty years old. I'll never be ready, so I might as well try it now."
"That's the spirit, Bass," said Zero as he patted him on the back. "There's no time like the present."
"We'll just get out of your way," said X. "No point in us getting harmed if you blow up."
"Very funny, X. Treble, come here." The wolf trotted over to Bass. X and Zero backed away, Cain had warned them about Treble's attitude towards everyone. Bass closed his eyes, he was deep in concentration. His eyes suddenly shot open and yelled into the air.
"TREBLE BOOST!"
X and Zero had to shield their own eyes from the intense light emanating from Bass and Treble. From what they could see, Bass had crouched down and Treble seemed to dive into his back. Another flash of light and the merge was over. X and Zero lowered their arms and looked at Bass. All the orange parts had turned purple, and the fins on his head ended in spikes. Two wings folded out of his back.
"Whoa," said X.
"Damn," replied Zero.
"You've got that right," Bass said. "This is just cool. Look at me, I've got wings!" Engines in the wings flared to life and Bass rose of the ground about fifteen feet. "Aah! Help! How do I get down!"
"So much for graceful," said X, laughing his head off.
"Hold on, Cain told me what to do if this happened," Zero said. He pulled out his Z-Sabre and activated it. Instead of the usual beam, a long green pole came out. Zero pointed it at Bass. "Here, grab on!"
"No way! I'll get my hand burned off!"
"I altered it so the plasma is completely contained. You won't get hurt."
"For your sake, I hope your right," Bass said as he tenderly grabbed hold of the Z-Sabre. He climbed down it and hovered a few inches off the ground. "Now what? I'm still floating."
"Just turn off your engines. It should act the same way your Buster does," X said.
The engines cut off and Bass landed on the ground. There was another flash of light and Bass and Treble were separate again. "X, flight is nothing like it's cracked up to be," said Bass right before he collapsed to the ground.
"What happened to him, Doctor Cain?"
"He overloaded his generators, X. It would probably be best if he practiced a before going on an actual mission"
"I think his eyes are open"
"Huh? Oh, they are! Bass can you hear us?"
"Fluffy bunnies make bad pets."
"And his eyes close. He must have taken quite a hit to his systems, if he's acting like this."
"I'll have him recharged shortly. You two just go back to whatever you were doing."
"Yes, sir."
"Yay! Back to playing MegaMan!"
"What?"
"They made a video game based on MegaMan years and years ago. I managed to get a copy of it."
"This I've got to see."