BanbieBunny's Bro: I love Bass's Reality and Bass's Reality II. I have yet to read I am Zero, but if it's as good as the first two mentioned, I'll love it. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR REVIEWING ME! And don't worry; the romance won't be too drippy.
Someone Random: You won't have to force me to update. I've got most of this story laid out in my head, give or take a few details. Glad to hear that you like it so much!
Maverick Hunter Phoenix: Thank you! I hope you keep telling me to update, 'cause it's inspiring!
ON WITH THE FIC!
THE CLIFF: CHAPTER 2
I'M TOO LAZY TO COME UP WITH A TITLE!
Bass woke up to the intercom shouting at him with Wily's voice.
"Bass! Get over to my lab NOW!" Wily's voice screeched over the static of the intercom. Bass sighed and got up, exiting his 'room'; a dismal white cell with a low bed, a TV, and a CD player. He walked down the hall to Wily's private lab, exchanging greetings with other robot masters as he passed them. He walked into Wily's lab, looking for the scientist among the many different gizmos, machines, and robot parts.
"Over here, you twit!"
Bass turned towards the voice. Of course. He should have guessed that Wily would be working on that girly robot again. He walked to where Wily stood next to the capsule containing Wily's new robot.
"What is it?" Bass growled irritably. He was not in a good mood after being woken up at 9:00 Am. He was not a morning person.
Wily looked up from the red robot to Bass. "I need something stolen from Dr. Light's lab. There are some plans there that I need to complete my project," he explained, gesturing to the red robot.
"And you want me to steal them? I'm not exactly your stealthiest robot you know."
Wily glared at Bass. "You also need to damage the lab enough that they won't be able to find what is missing until I am done," he added.
"Fine. I'll leave right away." Bass turned to go when Dr. Wily called his attention back.
"Bass! One last thing: Do not, under any circumstance, fight with Rockman! Get the plans, cause some damage, and then get out! I can't afford to lose these plans!"
"Don't fight Rockman. Got it." Bass left to execute his orders.
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"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" the alarm screamed in Dr. Light's lab. Rock and Rush ran to the lab to stop the unknown intruder. There was smoke everywhere. Rock charged his buster, running into the lab with Rush close behind. The smoke started to thin a bit as it flowed through a hole in the ceiling, no doubt caused by the intruder. Rock could now see the silhouette of the unwanted guest. The distinct helmet design was easy to recognize.
"Bass! What are you doing here?"
Bass didn't answer, just stared for a second. He turned his head towards the hole in the ceiling.
"Treble!" he barked. In a flash of purple light, Treble appeared and fused with Bass. Ready for a battle, Rock crouched defensively, preparing to combine with Rush. Bass surprised him by jumping out of the hole in the roof. Rock was about to follow him when he heard a cry of pain, followed by Bass falling back through the hole, his buster arm hanging uselessly at his side. Blues followed him, landing and aiming his already charged blaster at Bass. Bass charged towards Blues, dodging the blasts with a jump and sending Blues flying with a spin kick to the chest.
"Blues!" Rock cried, running over to his stunned brother. Bass took this moment of distraction to teleport out.
But not before he saw Roll standing in the lab doorway, horrified.
Bass tossed the retrieved plans onto the table in Dr. Wily's lab while Wily looked him over.
"What happened to you?" he sneered.
Bass glared at him. "I was returning with the plans when Blues caught me by surprise." he replied bluntly
Wily growled. "I'll have to remove your arm to repair it, and I'm very busy. You're lucky I don't deactivate you for wasting my precious time." He removed Bass's buster arm. "For making me waste my time, you'll have to be punished before you leave." He grabbed a nearby wrench, a malicious look in his eye. "Hold still now, this will only hurt a lot!"
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After making sure that her brothers were alright, Roll grabbed a medi-kit and teleported to the base of the trail leading up the back of the cliff. If her guess was correct, this was where Bass would be. She started the long hike up. She couldn't figure out why she wanted to help Bass, since he would probably just attack Dr. Light's lab again. Not anytime soon, though, because the damage done to his arm obviously couldn't be fixed in one day.
Bass had seemed different, though, when he was on the cliff than when he was attacking the lab. At the lab, he had been all business; jump, kick, blast, punch. On the cliff, he seemed more… open. Almost relaxed. As she started to near the peak, she noticed a deep voice singing softly nearby.
"I walked across an empty land.
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand.
I felt the earth beneath my feet,
Sat by the river and it made me complete."
Roll knew this song. She started singing along softly, so she wouldn't disturb the singer.
"Oh sympathy.
Where have you gone?
I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on.
So tell me when you're gonna let me in,
I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin."
Roll reached the clearing at the peak of the cliff and found, to her surprise, that Bass was the singer. She walked over next to him.
"You have a very nice voice," she commented, sitting down a few feet away from him. Bass looked over at her, startled.
"What… when… How long have you been here?" a flustered Bass asked.
"I just got here." Roll told him. "I thought you might want some help," she added, holding up the medi-kit. Bass shook his head. "Dr Wily's already fixing any major damage, which was mostly my arm."
Now Roll saw the empty socket where his buster arm would have gone. She winced. "Isn't it kind of painful?"
Bass shrugged. "Not as much as you would think."
"What about the minor damage? Does Wily fix that too?"
"Eventually, but at the moment, he's busy working on a new robot of his. He probably won't have time to finish repairing me until he's done working on that."
"So you're just going to wait!"
"Yup. That's life."
"Are you sure you don't want any help?"
Bass closed his eyes, lying back on the grass. "Why do you want to help me anyway?" he questioned. "After all, I'm your brother's enemy. Shouldn't you hate me?"
Roll studied him solemnly, choosing the wording of her answer carefully.
"I want to help you because… even though you're my brothers' enemy. I don't think you really… want to be." She finally said quietly. Bass opened one red eye and looked at her. He sighed and sat up. "I'll be alright, but if you think you can do something, you're welcome to try."
Roll smiled. She stood up and walked over to inspect her 'patient'. For the most part, Bass was right. Apart from his arm, there was no visible damage at first glance. A dent here or there on the armor, though. She looked at his back and gasped. His back was dented and cracked, wires poking out through his armor.
"What happened!" she gasped in horror. "Blues and Rock didn't do this, did they?"
Bass shook his head. "No, they didn't. Rock is too… polite, to do that. And as for Blues, he wouldn't do it out of respect for Rock."
"If they didn't do it, who did?"
Bass stiffened slightly. "That's none of your concern!"
Roll took the hint to stop asking questions, and focused on fixing Bass's torn up back. She began to notice a pattern in the dents on his back; they were all wrench shaped.
'Someone must have beaten him!' she realized suddenly.
The shock of this thought caused her to accidentally bump one of Bass's pain sensors. The Wily bot hissed in pain.
"Sorry!" Roll apologized quickly. Bass shook his head again. "Don't be. Wasn't your fault. And besides, it doesn't affect me in the long run."
Roll finished patching up the Wily bot's back. "There! Good as new!" she exclaimed finally, thumping Bass on the back to emphasize her point.
"Wow. You did a good job of it," Bass commented, obviously impressed as he craned his neck to see his back.
Roll walked back over to where she had been sitting before. The sun started to set, reminding Roll of the day before, when she had first come here. She looked over at Bass, who had lain back down and closed his eyes. Despite the fierce purple markings under his eyes, he looked quite relaxed, peaceful even.
"Bass?"
"Hn."
"May I ask you a question?"
"Aside from the one you just asked?"
"Very funny. Yes, aside from the one I just asked!"
"Shoot."
"Why do you want to beat Rock so badly?"
It was Bass's turn to ponder his answer. "I… want to beat him… because I… I want to prove to myself that I'm not a failure, I guess…" he answered slowly.
"Failure?" Roll said to herself more than Bass.
"Yes. My programming says that my purpose is to kill Rock, but if I could just beat him, I would know I was strong enough."
Before Roll could reply to this, a loud beeping filled the air.
Bass growled irritably, sitting up and turning the communication link on his helmet on.
"This is Bass."
All Roll could hear was some buzzing as the person on the other end spoke to Bass. Apparently, Bass wasn't hearing what he wanted to hear, because he growled, saying, "Fine. I'll be there in a few minutes." He turned the link off and turned to face Roll. "Wily wants me back at the base, pronto." He stood up and backed away from the edge, preparing to jump again. Roll quickly asked another question.
"Aren't you afraid that Treble won't be there in time?"
Bass grinned. "Not really. I'd trust my life with Treble, and besides, it's more fun like that." He leapt. Roll leaned out over the edge to watch him. Treble was there, but instead of fusing with Bass right away, he watched Bass fall until he was a mere foot from the ground. Treble fused then, allowing Bass to slow down enough that he landed gently on the ground. Bass looked up at Roll, grinned and waved before flying off through the forest towards Wily's base. Roll smiled.
"And as for me, I'll take the long way around," she said to herself as she stood and headed back down the trail.
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Should I make this longer? Ah, sure, why not?
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Crashman met Bass at the door. "Dr Wily's finished repairs on your arm," he explained, "And he needs you to report to the lab so he can re-attach it." Bass growled. "That's what the old geezer called me here for?"
"Apparently." Crash answered cheekily. "Where do you go off to anyway?"
"That's none of your concern!" Bass snarled suddenly, storming past Crash. Crash stared after him.
"Touchy, touchy!"
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M'Kay, I'm going to end it here for now.
Come on, people,
It's nothing new,
I'll update
On the fith review.
NOTE! Five is only a goal, I'll update anyway even if I only get one review! But reviews are appreciated! PLEASE!
