Bass pointed his buster at Zero "You make one move and you are toast!" he threatened. "Bass!" cried Megaman happily "It's you!" Bass gave a little smile to Megaman. "All in one piece thanks to you." Then he motioned with his hand "But you better leave this to me. I have a score to settle with this guy."

Bass looked better than knew. His whole body gleamed like a new penny. Dr. Light had given him a few upgrades. His armor was thicker, and his buster had shots that would fire at incredible speeds. Not just rapid shots, but they would travel quickly too! Bass had a very angry look and it seemed to Megaman that if Zero hoped to survive, he had better run. Now. Zero was still standing with his saber in his hands. Then...

He teleported out.

Bass charged forward, but Zero was already gone. Bass stomped on the ground irritably "Darn! He got away." Megaman shook his head "I wish we could have gotten him." Then he ran over to Bass slapping him on the back "But hey! What matters? I'm glad you're back! You don't know how hard it was to get your parts back." Bass threw an arm around Megaman's neck and squeezed a little too tightly. "You know, I never thought I'd say this to you, but... I couldn't have made it without you. Little twerp!" He shoved Megaman away. Megaman punched him in the chest "Same to you, you big jerk! Da ha ha ha!"

Protoman stepped forward. He gave Bass's hand a little shake "Nice to see you in one piece oh powerful one." he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Bass glared at him and jerked his hand away "Hey! No need to get hot under the helmet!" said Protoman. Bass just turned away "How've you been Megaman? Still saving the world? You really ought to take some time out. You and I should duel sometime."

Megaman shook his head "Not until I stop Wily. By the way, when I was gathering your parts, Dr. Wily was rebuilding old robot masters to stop me. They seemed really desperate to stop me. Why do you think Bass?" Bass thought for a minute. Then he snapped his fingers "I think I know. Let's get back to Dr. Light's lab now!" They all teleported out and back to the lab.

Back at the base, Dr. Light hooked a display screen to Bass and downloaded data from him. Bass began explaining what he knew "Dr. Light, when I stole the new enhancements for Megaman and Rush, I found something else. I found it in the computer and... I stole that as well." Dr. Light looked at him in disbelief "You didn't..."

Bass sighed and his face turned red "Yeah, I took it. Dr. Wily was astounded by the plans and began construction on a new robot. That robot, was Zero. He even showed me the plans a couple of times during our invasion into Asia and Japan, but I thought it was nothing." Dr. Light's face turned to stone and his teeth ground together, audibly. "Why you... Bass! Those plans were supposed to be top secret! Do you know what you gave the human race when you stole those plans! That maniacal reploid who is bent on nothing but destruction!"

Megaman was taken aback. He didn't know Dr. Light could get so angry. Even Protoman seemed a little suprised. Bass hung his head. "I never realized. Oh well. I suppose I'm obliged to help you. I have some info that could be useful though." Dr. Light paced back and forth. "Go ahead." he growled.

Bass began "I think Zero's weakness may lie in the jewel on his forehead. It seems to be some kind of power source. Plus, Dr. Wily controls him from there. His being a reploid might help in making him turn to our side. If we can get to that jewel, we might be able to destroy the control mechanism."

Dr. Light looked closely at him "Are you sure of this?" Bass nodded. "I had a look at the plans myself." Dr. Light turned to Megaman. "Megaman, I don't think there's anyway of getting Zero to stay still long enough for us to get to the jewel. We need something more sophisticated." Megaman shrugged "I don't have any ideas."

"I do." said Protoman, who had been just standing around "We should go back to the aqua region and get Flash Man's chip. It can temporarily freeze time. It might work if we can improve it's effectiveness." Dr. Light clapped his hands "That's it! What a perfect idea. Protoman, I never-" his voice was cut off by a low beeping noise by the computer. He looked into a small screen. It showed several columns that looked like a volume measure. All the meters were low.

"It's Roll." said Dr. Light "Come on." They all ran to her room. Roll looked almost dead. Dr. Light shook his head sadly "I've done everything I can. I think Roll is going to die. Nothing could revive her at this state."

Megaman looked unbelievingly at him "You- your kidding right? Nothing can help?" "No." replied Dr. Light "I wish I knew what could stimulate her vitality circuits. But nothing seems to help." He turned to Bass "Bass, I think she needs you. That's all I can think of." He motioned to Megaman and Protoman "Come on."

Megaman took one last look at Roll and left. Protoman looked at Bass disgustedly "These things make me sick. It's so soap opera-ish. Do a good job Romeo." Bass ignored him and closed the door behind him. He went to Juliet's- I mean "Roll's" bedside. He couldn't understand why Roll like him so much. He grabbed her by the shoulders and began shaking her. "Roll! Can you hear me?" Roll made no response.

Bass groaned. He opened a panel on her wrist. The mechanical arm was barely respondable. He did see some vitality circuits; They weren't running though. He activated his buster and placed a wire from it into her wrist. He charge his buster to it's full power. But he knew it wasn't enough. He gave a little smile. "Well Roll, I admit. I do kind of like you. If this is what it takes, then here it is!"

He began shutting down other systems like his legs first. More power was put into his buster. Then his right arm dropped to his side. Then his head hung down. He timed the release just before he collapsed. He fired his buster. "VOOOOOOOOOM!" Roll's body shot into the air at the incredible surge of energy. Her vitality circuits were jolted and a few other things began running. Bass lay by the bedside panting heavily. He couldn't move an inch, his buster was out of commission. His whole body had been drained of energy. He only had his bare minimum left.

Roll's eyes fluttered open. "Woah." she said. She couldn't figure out why she felt so... energetic! She looked around. It was no normal power she felt. It reminded her of something. Someone. She looked on the floor. She couldn't believe her eyes "Bass!" she cried. She shifted out of bed, but nearly collapsed on the floor. She hadn't fully healed yet. She shook him as hard as she could. Bass looked up from the floor. He laughed dryly "Heh... hi. It sure takes a lot to get you to wake up"