Disclaimer: No the fic has not died. Well, we're here! The tenth chapter! My longest story yet! You'll seem to notice (if you are one of my fans for more than a year) that I post like a mad-kitty for 4 to 6 months straight, and then take a sebatical for 2 to 4 weeks. This also tends to happen right after school has ended. I would think that I would post more during the summer, but I never seem to have the heart to write anything. I don't want to ruin any of the fics by forcefully adding things, so that's why I usually dissapear.

And hey! I'm back!

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"To the left!"

"Right!" Dashing behing his new found partner, Axl readied his pistols. Both could tell that mavericks were moments away. A quick and decisive encounter would be of the best kind.

Both robots planked themselves to the wall. Seconds after they recharged their weapons, three mavericks came past the bend.

"I thought you said you heard somethin-!"

A laser to the gut, and an uppercut silenced this one. Bass dashed at the third. The falcon bot didn't have time for a second glance as a buster blast to his face knocked him backwards. Bass quickly issued a sweeping kick, which further more unbalanced his foe. The second, a walrus type with a big cloak of brown shaggy fur, anticipating that he would be next if he let the black tornado continue on it's destructive path. Powering up an imense canon charge, he unleashed it towards the old robot. Hearing the attack, but not being able to stop his sweep kick in time, Bass looked up at the surging ball of energy.

"Ah crap-" Bruising the already bruised circuits, the energy slammed him into the opposite wall. Cringing, he slid down the titanium plating one bolts scraping him at a time. "Remind me to kill him torturously when I recover."(is that even a word?)

"As you wish Bass." Axl replied as he morphed his dual barrels into something more formidable. Twin electric tasers replaced what were once his hands. Heheh, thanks Splashwarfly. Your abilities came in handy after all! Rushing forward, he twirled himself into a twisting wind of electricity, incapasitating the other two mavericks almost imediatly, though the walrus one stood his ground.

Giving a hearty low laugh, it slammed it's flippers sideways on the floor. Two canons perched above it's palms gave off an eerie blue light, signaling it was now his turn to tango. "Do you think you can destroy me? I've retired more than 20 of you maverick hunters! Now die!"

Imediatly canceling his attack, Axl used the gush of air to travel upwards, and over the impending beam of destruction, just barely though. Landing half crouched onto the floor with a slight thud, he prepared his next attack, disregarding the burn pains coming from the flat of his back. The tasers dissapeared, and were replaced by his original digits, a long tanish light emited into a pole between his palms, forming a scycle at the end. A very sharp, curved scycle.

Charging towards the walrus, he skidded and sidestepped the oncoming fury of blue light lasers. Jumping when he attained a three meters' distance, he drove the glaive down as fast, and as powerfully as his arms could endure. Slicing the maverick cleaningly in half, he hit the ground not too far away, tripping and smacking himself ground first in the face.

The expression of acute surprise was still plastered on the walrus' face as it crumbled to each respective side, slowly exploding.

Being able to get up minutes later, Bass ran to Axl, who was picking himself off the floor. "Not dead yet?"

Axl chuckled at his new friend's tactlessness. "Nope, but my landings need some more work.." Rubbing his sore and blush red cheeks, he giggled childishly.

Rolling his eyes, and sighing over dramatically, Bass replied. "Too bad, I thought some kind maverick would put me out of my troubles, but it seems I'll still have to drag you along."

"That's right!" Axl stated grinning mischeviously, playing along, at least, he hoped Bass was joking; his face didn't really show if he was or not.

Cracking a half smile the black robot looked down at the reploid. An insane-esk smirk showing his beloved fangs. "Better keep moving, or we won't have many more mavericks to decapitate. Seems a war is going on on the main level."

"Holy shit!" Grasping his head like he just received an immense overpowering headache, or insight from a devine being, Axl screamed. "I completly forgot about Dynamo and Zero! And, oh my God! X!"

The panicked screeching stopped as soon as Bass' fist had left a mark on the teenage reploid's head.

"Would you shut up!" Annoyed once again, Bass stormed off in the direction the mavericks had came from. "The rest of 'em will hear ya and come to murder us alive if you don't!"

"U-Uh! Wait up!" Scrambling off again, the reploid continued to wonder. Where'd X go too now?

VVVVVVVVVV

Hurry Hurry! I have to find Axl before it's too late! X thoughts raced and repeated for the umpteenth time. Tell-tale signs of the young hunter's gunmanship could be seen every block or so. But seeing as nothing had shown up for the longest time, the blue bombed realised he must have parted from Axl's path somehow.

Not one to accept defeat, X kept running. Even though he was no longer taking the same route as our protagonist, he decided that at this rate he would catch up with him at some point. His steadfastness was rewarded when he saw a metalic plank uprooted from the wall, along side a dead and smoldering mechaniloid. Judging from the smoke that stuck to the sides of the sparking 'loid, he could see that the damage had just been done within the half hour. Further again, he checked the brand of mechaniloid that had attacked once upon a time. It wasn't a model that he knew... and he knew a lot of old models...

Disturbed by the sight, he tried using his communicator, but the depth of the building prevented any communication with HQ, or his teammates. Walking futher down the hallway, he saw more singed remains from the mechaniloid and liquid cooling fluid running across the floor in streeks. The mechaniloid's fluid was a deep green, but there was a second one, one that was red. Slowly he bent over to examine the elements. As he did so his foot scraped along something. Curious, he turned around and picked up the little black ripped object.

Staring at it point blank, he could tell it was part of a reploid... just what part, would take a while to determine. Not having the time to be able to piece everything together, he got up and on his way.

Another site greated him. One of three reploids, crumpled over and crackling with volts of electricity. None of them had any sign of once sporting this black component. Carefully he followed deeper into the curve.

VVVVV

"But Bass, their information center must definetly be that way!" Pointing to his right with his gun's tip, Axl stated.

Bass huffed, even more annoyed. "You know what I think of your direction sense? This!" Shooting a small buster shot, enough to knock Axl's pistol out of his grip and onto the floor, along with giving the wall a nice little groove, he grumbled.

Glaring at the black bot, Axl indigniantly went to pick his weapon up. "Well, I guess mister wants to go to the left!" Looking from the fork in the steel complexe to his 'former' compagnion, the reploid wasn't too pleased.

"Because, mister is always right! Learn it now or the hard way." Bass snorted. "You'll see."

Mocking his voice with a contorted face Axl replied. "You'll see." Dragging himself behind Bass, they both continued on their path to the main maverick's base.

VVVVVVV

Coming to a stop at a fork in the road, X silently prayed. This is insane God! Please, just give me a sign, before I completely loose it! His left eye twitched because of his fried nerves, but his right eye saw something. Something that looked exactly like a sign from the heavens above. A small groove in the right's path.

"Yoosh!" Wooting for the first time in his life, X speed down this new dark corridor. It wouldn't be long now! (couldn't help it, it was all that Chao petting I swear , Sonic Adventure referance.)

VVVVVVVV

"Ahh! I see it!"

"See what Bass?" Running along his friend, they darted through the building at incredible speeds.

"The opening, over there!" Quiped Bass, "That's your objective!"

"Our objective." Axl corrected.

"No, 'yours'. I'm not joining any fanclub." Bass grinned wickedly, as they both halted by the side of the steel door. It was open, but they didn't want to risk putting off the alarm.

Bending his head around the side, Bass stole a glimpse at what laid inside.

He glanced back at Axl, then back into the room and then back to Axl.

"What is it you old relic!" Obviously annoyed by the other's silence, Axl nudged him in the ribs. "Well!"

"It's empty.." Bass voice seemed unsure. "Why would it be empty? No robot's there. You'd think they would have someone manning some equipment inside there, or something."

Taking in Bass' words carefully, Axl spoke. "Maybe they have a hologram set up. I'll scan and make sure." Shifting his optic sensors to a more powerful version, he let his programming do the work. But he didn't pick up a single signal. "Strange."

"Very. Weirder than the old man..." Bass side glanced at the boy.

"Weird old man? What are you talking about?" Genuinely confused, Axl was waved away with a flick of the wrist. "Nevermind that. Now what do we do? Make yourself useful."

Huffing visibly, the teenager made a reminder to himself to do any evil prank he could to make sure this fellon got his just desserts; even if he had to sell his soul to Dynamo.

Stepping in the room boldly, he readied his pistols.

"Noo! What are you doing! You idiot! You'll get spott-" Bass fell short of his insults and panick when nothing jumped out at them; nothing even beeped.

"Boy, what a let down." Axl sighed, as if he had been wishing for an ambush, acting as if he were a rank AA officer.

"A let down! Are you fucking mad! What were you thinking, walking into that room just like that!" Bass fumed.

"If my sensors say that nothing is there; then nothing is there." Axl was enjoying pulling the black robot's chain, as the tables had turned ever so slightly.

Sighing aggravatedly, Bass entered the room as well. Looking to a huge hulking control panel that resided on the right side, leaning against a wall covered by pushing vines. "There's our target."

Axl silently laughed to himself as he muttered the next sentence. "I see you've changed your mind."

"Shut up, I meant 'your' target, don't get all decisive on me." Cocking his buster at the young one's face, he added menacingly, "I don't like being told what to do."

"Good, then you can go shove it up your ass." Axl snarled as he tredded up to the panel's faded cream top. Unhatching a panel from his wrist, he let two green and blue wires sneak out and into one of the ports.

"Hmm?" Bass peered over at what the teen was doing. He noticed that the wires Axl had clipped in momentarily gave a shock or jolt to the port. "You're a hacker?"

Smug yet again, Axl replied. "Yep. I used to be part of a syndicate called Red Alert. We were bounty hunters, so hacking was a necessairy skill to be learnt."

"I see. I used to be a hacker too. Though I would preffer to just blow up whatever surrounded my objectives. I don't even think the blue boy realised I could do this." Giving a light laugh at remembering the old times, Bass looked to his chest armour.

"What are you trying to find in that network, kid?" Axl glanced at Bass out of pure curiousity.

"I need to find out the mavericks' main plans, why, can you help?"

"I'll try." Said Bass as he pawed at the stiff hinges that held his hacking gear. When he opened it though, nothing was there. He then noticed that the part underneath his compartment was shredded out. "Fuck! It must have fallen out!"

Face dropping, Axl sighed. "Oh well, it'll just take a bit longer." It was also then that Bass realised something else, something rather important.

"Axl... You'd better hurry the hell up..."

"Why?"

"That blinking light over there, inside that little box, which is attached to charges gives me the suspiscion that they planned this all along, and placed a time bomb.."

Glancing backwards very afraid, Axl gasped in horror. That's all they needed now..

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Uzu: (walk back in) Great time Great time eh?

Gate: (stretches) Yup! I've never felt so aliviated!

Zero: What? Beating the crap out of another fellow reploid?

Gate: Of course!

Zero: (stares)

Axl: (petting camara) Great footage! I've never seen so much blood! Woo!

Racegirl: It WAS great, wasn't it. (evil laughing maniacle glint in eye)

Uzu:

Uzu: Ah! Look! It's X! (points to roadkilled X on floor)

Zero: I'll get the air pump. (walks off)

Lumine: (flies down) I have a resquest.

Uzu: (glare) Yeah, what?

Lumine: Sigma. Beat him to a pulp.

Uzu: (stars in eyes) EEEEEE! Yes! We completely forgot about him now didn't we?

Uzu: (to the reviewers) Who wants to join us on a wild Sigma hunt? Hun? Hun?

Lumine: (backs away slowly from Uzu)

Áxl: (grabs firetorch and passes it to Uzu-Chan) Here, now remember! I want REAL pyrotechniques for this one!

Uzu: (grin)

Well, X finally got to Axl... Or so he thinks, Dynamo and Zero are still fighting off crazed Mavericks, and Axl and Bass are about to become shishkibobs... ONly one thing could ruin this moment.

.. I forgot Treble.

(hits head repeatedly)

I have a question. If Gate got more screen time, would you be opposed? (please say either yes or no in your email, I want to take a tally or the results ) Don't worry, it won't change the story, but I want to know something... before hand...