Bass could hear voices. As his vision cleared and he began to see his surroundings, he guessed that he was in some sort of lab, lying on a repair table. At least he hoped it was a lab. Most of the machinery in it was beyond his knowledge, and unfamiliar things irritated him. Bass lay still, not wanting to be noticed so that he could get a good look around. He was on the leftmost of three repair tables, and these seemed to have their own computer stations on both sides. Ahead to the right was another set of three, on a wall that angled out at 130 degrees. Further along the far wall were schematics for robots the likes of which Bass had never seen. These were wild machines designed with a lot of stylistic daring - so in other words Bass hated them.

The schematics wall curved all the way to the left, and at the end was another set of three repair tables. These were spread more widely apart for larger machines, most likely. That completed the round, and the wall to the left had a door in the distance. Bass didn't notice it, as the two robots talking were more worthy of attention. One of them was the same one as before. The other was a blonde girl-bot with pink armor, and quite frankly it made Bass want to gag to think that anyone would design such a cutsie robot. But for the moment, neither of them were facing him so he decided to lay still and listen.

"Well no, he's not really like them, or at least I can't tell if he is." the girl-bot said. "The main reason his data can't be analyzed is his mind is protected against even the most light hacking. It's actually pretty scary how strong his firewall is. I don't know of any robot in the past who would actually need that kind of security."

"But he's definitely the real one?"

"X is convinced of it. Besides, he has the same design as in those pictures of yours. Unless he's a third generation taking on the form of Bass."

"Oh no, that's not possible. You can't copy the old robots because there's some data missing in them, and you'd definitely catch them if somebody tried. I can't wait to talk to him! He's going to make it, right?"

"Yes, I think so. There was a little trouble hooking up his power core, but since he's very similar to Zer-AAAUGH!"

The girl-bot almost jumped out of her skin when she saw that Bass was both awake and looking at her, and this cheered up the dark robot considerably. He grinned viciously, relishing the moment as much as he could.

"Ahahaahaa, that was great. I've still got it!" Bass sat up from the repair table and ran a check of his systems as he laughed.

"You just startled me, that's all." the girl-bot frowned. "How did you do that?"

"Eh, I'm programmed to automatically activate once I'm able to after an emergency shut down. Defensive measure."

Bass studied his inner diagnostic report carefully, noting that his power core was running satisfactorily, and even a bit better than normal. Whoever the technician was did an excellent job. How in the world did they know how to power him this much? His armor was still dented, but he didn't expect or want them to bother with it, not when they didn't know what they were doing. They hadn't done any extensive upgrading, and Bass figured that they must have been simply trying to get him to work. Content for the moment with his status, he turned to the semi-familiar robot who was smiling very awkwardly at him, as if he was expecting something.

"Signas, you'd better get over here. He's awake." The other spoke into the lab's comm console. Pushing a button, she shut down the comm and went over towards their guest. "Good morning, Bass. You're in the Maverick Hunter headquarters now. I'm Alia, lead scientist and navigator. And this is Axl."

It looked like Axl was going to burst if he didn't say something. He was nervous, and considering his earlier faux pas, he had extra reason to be so. "I'm really excited to meet a legendary hero like yourself!"

Bass wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to what the nervous Axl was saying despite his love for flattery, and it showed on his face. He was staring a bit intensely at Axl's features, and once it occurred to him where he had seen them before, his own face soured, and he cursed under his breath. It was more or less Crystal Bot's face he was looking at. Sure, there were a few differences, but the wide, innocent eyes and bright features could only be hers. The armor's appearance was creepily similar to his own, and this Axl had called him "Dad"...Bass started to wish that robots could throw up. He groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Axl started to squirm. "Uh...is something wrong?"

Bass did not want to talk about it. He just dropped his hands and muttered, eyeing the young Hunter with obvious disdain. "...Nothing."

This only confused Axl, but Alia put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "Give Bass some time to get used to everything. Things are a lot different than they used to be, and he doesn't know us." Alia smiled her most welcoming smile as she approached the newcomer. "Bass, we'll try to make this transition as easy as possible for you. Modern robotics is nothing like it was originally, and a lot has happened since your day. What question can I answer for you first?"

"Okay, first of all," Bass got down off the table and promptly pointed at her chest. "What the crap are those? I mean, I can understand looking like a human, but that's just ridiculous! They're so big! They don't actually serve any function in robots, not unless you were created by a pervert."

Alia gasped. "My creator designed me after his own daughter!"

"Ugh, so he was a pervert!" Bass gagged. "Sick!"

Axl snorted as he laughed uncontrollably. "He's right! Ha, I never thought about it before."

"My creator was not a pervert!" Alia, blushing, awkwardly crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Axl as she addressed the both of them. "Can we please stop talking about my...design?"

"That must be the real Bass, alright." a new robot, tall and stately, approached. His armor was black, and resembled a military coat and hap arnold. Everything about him was full of dignity, and his posture was remarkably overdone. "According to X, he always was somewhat tactless."

"I'm not tactless, I'm honest." Bass narrowed his eyes somewhat. "And who are you?"

"I am Signas, leader of the Maverick hunters."

"Why isn't X the leader?"

Signas shrugged. "Fighting abilities don't necessarily equate to leadership skills. Now if you have any serious questions, we would happily answer them. Alia is preparing a disc of our more detailed history for you, but for now we will answer what we can."

"Start at the beginning." Bass folded his arms and leaned back against the nearby wall, readying himself for a full explanation. "Starting with that robot apocalypse crap. Did anyone named Roll or Auto survive?"

Axl winced, and a growing pity filled Alia's gentle eyes. Signas, however, was unmoved, and his answer was solemn. "No. You and X are the only known robots to survive it. Sentient ones, in any case. A few mechaniloids managed to survive, but for many years modern civilization was nonexistant. The world began to make a serious recovery only about twenty years before X was discovered."

"Twenty years?" Bass questioned. "How long was that guy in stasis?"

"About a century."

"A century? He wasn't supposed to...wait, what year is it now, exactly?"

"21XX."

Bass' jaw dropped. "I've been out of it that long? That means I'm..."

He didn't say it. He almost did, but the thought itself was his worst nightmare. In the past he had done everything in his power to prevent this, but here it was upon him nonetheless: he was obsolete. Old. Archaic. Bass forced himself to think otherwise. After all, weren't those three "Mavericks" he fought modern robots? He done fairly well, so he couldn't be that behind in the times...he hoped. He comforted himself with the thought that there would be all manner of technological advance he could use to upgrade, though he had to wonder how he would pay for it.

Bass rubbed his forehead as if it would do some good. "Ugh...so what exactly happened to me? Where was I found?"

Signas turned to Axl, smiling a bit in approval of the younger Hunter. "Why don't you answer this?"

"Okay!" Axl exclaimed, seemingly unable to simply say anything calmly. "I just recently found out myself! So what happened was, you were found by my creator, Reiko Inafune, when she was building her lab on the outskirts of Giga City. You and CMN-040, together-"

"Crystal Bot."

"What?"

"Her name was Crystal Bot." Bass muttered. "Don't call her by her stupid number."

"Oh, okay, Crystal Bot!" Axl smiled. "Well, anyway, when Dr. Inafune found you, she tried to keep you a secret because of some trouble going on with the people she bought the land for her new laboratory from. But they found out somehow that she had made a discovery, and sued to make sure that they would get it. They won, and Dr. Inafune pretended that you were the only one she found so that she could keep Crystal Bot. You ended up being sold to the museum."

"How much did I go for?"

"I think it was a million zenny."

"Heh, not bad." Bass managed a slight grin for that, even though he wasn't quite sure what a zenny was. "Acceptable."

"Are you kidding?" Alia folded her arms. "In this economy that's a monstrous fortune."

And of course Bass liked that even better. "Heh. Why didn't they just fix me? I work fine now."

"They thought you were completely dead." The girl tech-bot explained. "I removed your primary CPU, and from what I can tell you were hit by a massive EMP. There's nothing any robot could have done to survive it. You were dead. If it weren't for a secondary CPU with complete EMP shielding, you wouldn't have survived at all. The EMP shielding was designed extremely well, and it managed to reflect the EMP waves you encountered. It also served to encase your second CPU. From what I could tell, that CPU was supposed to activate once your first CPU was destroyed, but there was some kind of power error because it wasn't installed properly. Only when there was the power surge at the robot museum could you wake up."

Bass wasn't sure he liked this stranger scanning his mind, but for the moment he let it pass. Maybe she would turn out to be a better technician than Crystal. She had done a good job on his power core, and she would certainly have more advanced technology. All the same, he felt marginally sorry for Sonata. Thinking back on his short conversation with Recluse Stradivarius, he knew he needed more information to understand what had gone on.

"So what's the deal with Dr. Inafune? Who killed her? And what's Red Alert? One of those idiots I was talking to said you guys killed them all."

"It wasn't like that!" Axl protested, startling Bass a little with his defensiveness. "They fought Mavericks too! And Red was a great leader! It's just that...well, they never were really that concerned with the law...and at the end they were being manipulated by the evil Sigma...they had to be dealt with..."

"Back up, Axl." Alia said before addressing Bass. "He used to be a part of their team. When Dr. Inafune's lab was destroyed, Red found him and protected him. Axl's still very grateful to Red Alert."

"They were wonderful!" Axl insisted, desperately hoping that Bass would understand. "I just wish they hadn't gone Maverick!"

Bass rolled his eyes. He didn't care about any of that. "Tell me more about Inafune."

"There's not that much to tell." Axl went on. "She was a really great scientist, and for a few years she invented a lot of things, including my Copy Shot! I can change into any reploid my size that I defeat! Cool, huh?"

That was weird to Bass. He wasn't sure what to make of it. So he ignored it. "What happened to her? Did those Mavericks get her?"

"Yeah," Axl answered in a somber tone. "Most of her work was destroyed along with her lab, and if Crystal Bot had lived then I'm sure Red would have let her join Red Alert too. But...I guess she didn't..." The young reploid paused, changing the subject so that he could explain without glitching. "Just yesterday I found one of Dr. Inafune's old friends, a human in Giga City. From what I learned, whatever got you with that big EMP was the same thing that got Crystal, but Dr. Inafune found her second CPU. And before she handed you over, she built me based on the both of you! I got mostly Crystal Bot's personality and your looks - in the armor anyway - and fighting style." Axl grinned sheepishly as he went on. "I guess that makes you my fath-"

"BASS." the dark robot growled, refusing to let Axl go any further on that train of thought. "My name is Bass. Or Forte, whichever you prefer. Don't say stupid crap, and if you call me...guh..." Bass interrupted himself to wince. "'Dad' ever again, you'll regret it. And don't you dare tell anyone you're based on me." Bass inspected Axl with no small amount of disgust before he decided to ignore him. He grumpily turned to Signas.

"So where's X now?"

"He's out investigating what those Mavericks you found were doing." Signas gave a momentary glance to Axl, who was now staring listlessly at the floor, wishing he hadn't said anything. But Signas inwardly told himself he would speak to Axl alone later and explain that some things were best not said to someone trying to get accustomed to an entirely new world. He went on. "Those were some primary suspects for a crime ring that X was investigating. I'm sure he'll be here shortly."

Bass wasn't that interested. He had a lot of history to keep up with. But as he hadn't properly scared off Axl yet (and wished that he had), Bass pulled a spare chip from a nearby workstation and stuck it in his neck before addressing the young hunter.

"Hey kid, if I give you some memories of Crystal Bot, will you stop moping around?"

The dark robot's face was by no means kind, but this wasn't something that Axl was going to pass up. He immediately brightened. "Oh yes, please!"

The memories were loaded, so Bass removed the chip and shoved it in Axl's direction. He had more questions for the mature robots before him, so hopefully Axl would at least be distracted for a while. Axl happily took the chip and uploaded everything, his face brightening even more when he started to look at the files. Bass cringed, clicking his teeth. When the young reploid was that happy, he looked almost exactly like Bass' technician. It was disturbing.

"Ah! I know this memory! Hey, Alia, I left them in here this morning, right?"

"The pictures? Yes." the lab-bot said, wondering how someone so excited about them could have forgotten about them. "I think you left them on my desk."

Axl returned with a plain white envelope in his hands, and he gingerly opened it, delicately pulling out its laminated contents for their guest to see. Bass took the pictures from Axl, turning them so that they were upside right to his vision. What he saw surprised him a little, and dispirited him a lot.

"This is from the last Christmas that Dr. Light was alive." Bass said slowly, looking at the picture of him, Crystal Bot with her elf ears, Roll in her Santa outfit, and Rock. Even he was smiling (slightly) in it. "Five years before the apocalypse. Light was dead a month later."

Bass abruptly handed the pictures back, not wanting to look at them any longer. He couldn't even look at Axl as he asked, splenetically, "Where'd you get those?"

The young reploid looked up at his colleages with wonder. Why wasn't any of this cheering Bass up? "Uh, well my creator was afraid that someone would find out she didn't hand over Crystal Bot, so she handed some extra items to her friend I talked to for safekeeping. These were in Crystal Bot's bag. But if these are of that Christmas, then why isn't Dr. Light in any of them?"

Bass sighed. "He didn't look good. At all. And he was the one that took those anyway." Realizing he had forgotten something, Bass suddenly brightened to a cheer that broke through his gloom and just plain shocked the others. "Wait, he stored his mind in a computer...thing. He's alive, right?"

Alia frowned settling over in a nearby chair with a sigh. "Well, for years his mind operated in these capsules X would find scattered around various place in the world, and just last month the capsules stopped activating. We found his primary mind capsule, and from what we could tell his consciousness operated from this capsule to activate the others whenever X was around, and he would then give X an armor. However, despite our best efforts the error in the primary console - which we guess was just the result of time on the old capsule parts - somehow stopped Dr. Light from...operating, I suppose would be the best word. He's still alive in there, technically...we think. But no one knows how to get the capsule to work again."

Bass processed all these things in his head, wondering when in the world Dr. Light had the time to build capsules and armor for X before he died. But that didn't matter to him, and his head sank lower as he bitterly glared downwards.

"So the hologram did work for a while?"

"Yes, several years."

"And it stopped just last month?"

"Yes..."

Bass almost growled as he turned away from Alia. He didn't want her pitying him. It was hard for her not to, though. Bass looked as though someone had punched him in the gut, and he wanted nothing more at that moment than to be left alone. It showed. Noticing that the disc of historical information was done loading, Alia pulled it out from the computer and handed it to Bass, who glanced at it momentarily before uncertainly stashing it in his armor. Alia was beginning to annoy him. Her sorrowful glance made Bass scowl.

"Alright, now what's a reploid?" he asked Signas, trying to change the subject, if only to get people to stop giving him those sickening, sympathetic stares.

"Everyone is, other than yourself." the leader explained. "Before X was discovered, there were only mechaniloids because no one could figure out how to build the higher level robots. Once X was found, a new generation of robots was able to be made from his model. We're replicated androids - reploids."

"Okay. So what exactly are Mavericks and where did they come from?"

"A Maverick is any Reploid that has a virus or other programming error that makes them exhibit criminal behavior. Most of the viruses can be handled simply, but these Mavericks can cause any amount of damage before they come under control." Here Signas exhaled a bit, coming onto a topic that disturbed him the most. "The most prevalent of these we simply call the Maverick Virus. There is no known cure. The reploids with this virus are not only destructive, but organized, following the orders of one specific reploid-"

Bass nodded a bit impatiently. "Yeah, yeah, I think I know that virus. It's the one that rewrites personality AI and turns them crazy and violent, right?"

Alia started. "Why yes, that's it! You know about it?"

"Of course I do. Proto Man stole some discs from Wily's goons that had some data on it. I guess affects any robot based on X's technology." Since Crystal Bot was based to an extent on X's design and was the only robot in the old days that could get the virus, it made sense to Bass that reploids would be vulnerable to it. Wily had been smart enough to plan it that way. It was just like him too. "So they didn't kill Zero before he started spreading it? Dang...I was hoping someone found him before he was activated."

"Kill Zero?" Axl innocently asked. "Why would -"

"That's enough!" Signas suddenly snapped cutting Axl off.

Axl silenced in wonder, his mouth awkwardly hanging out. The dark robot had been staring contemplatively at the floor, but when Axl spoke up he looked suspiciously at the others. They in turn were looking at Signas, whose face had gotten deathly serious in the past ten seconds. But he was always well in control of himself.

"We should speak of this matter later, not now." His words caused confusion in the others, and the two hunters were only more disturbed.

"But he just said that Zero was - " Axl protested.

"Quiet!" Signas put a hand to the side of his head as he sent out a comm. " - X, come in. What is your current location? - "

None of this made any sense to Bass. He looked from one reploid to another trying to discern what was happening, but he could learn nothing. Alia was glancing at Signas uncertainly, trying to figure things out for herself. She obviously wanted to ask more, but she just bit her lip. Axl was on the verge of questioning Bass, but a glare or two from his boss kept him quiet. Forte, however, was going to make sure to ask.

He growled, eyeing the others with a sinister glint as a new and infinitely more hateful revelation struck. "Someone did destroy Zero, right?"

"What? No! Who's trying to kill him?" All three reploids were horrified to see X coming through the doorway. "He's right here."

X stepped into the room, allowing a now somewhat reluctant Zero to enter the room. His questioning eyes wandered about, and he somewhat calmly stepped into the lab, his long hair trailing behind him tranquilly. Everyone other than X froze to see him enter.

"What's wrong with them?" Zero asked.

"I don't know..."

Zero looked from one confused face to the next, finally landing on Bass'. A weaker robot might have seen the warped and twisted hatred on the dark robot's face and started glitching in fear. Bass stood there, numbly and loathingly amazed as he gazed evilly at the one robot he hated most in the world.

"You..." Bass could barely hiss. "YOU!"

Bass dashed across the room, shoving aside Alia and Axl and jumping clean over a table to reach Zero. The red hunter was no fool. In a moment his saber was out, ready to disable his attacker in one strike. But he underestimated his adversary. Ducking clear under his parry, Bass rolled in and knocked Zero to the floor. Grabbing an arm, Bass teleported them both out of the lab.

"Quick!" X exclaimed. "Trace that teleport!"

\\\

There was really no need. Bass had only teleported him out on the grounds of Maverick Hunter Headquarters. He had at least learned some manners about not fighting in a lab. But he wasn't quick enough to dodge the kick to the chest. He was up only a moment later, busters ready. Zero had his own blaster aimed at his opponent, and Bass had to give him credit for switching weapons so fast.

"Why are we fighting?" Zero asked, trying to keep control of himself, and hoping he wouldn't have to damage Bass much, if only for the sake of Axl and X. "What have I done to you?"

"You have the GALL to ask? You killed Rock!"

This took Zero completely by surprise. "No! I wouldn't do that...I mean..."

Zero knew who Rock was, of course, from what X had told him. The red hunter tried his hardest to recall his earliest memories. Unfortunately, all he could dig up were the ones he had of waking up in Maverick Hunter HQ. There were records in Maverick Hunter files of the days when he himself had been a Maverick, but Zero simply couldn't remember being a bad guy. He didn't know when he had first been activated. For all he knew, Bass was right.

"I...I don't remember anything..." Zero said aloud, fearing that what the dark robot had said was true.

Bass snarled, keeping his buster perfectly trained on Zero. "And don't you know you're responsible for everything else that's happened?"

Zero's eyes widened. He knew exactly what Bass was talking about, and he silently begged Bass to not say it. If anyone heard...

"That's right." the older robot's foul smirk tainted his face. "I know all about that virus of yours, you sick bastard. You deserve to die, and I'm going to make sure it happens!"

This knowledge hit him like one of the purple plasma blasts that the dark robot fired off at him. Bass had known about his virus? How many of the older robots had? But Zero had to focus. The shots were notoriously difficult to dodge. Pulling out his saber, he swung them back at Bass. Strangely enough, this only pleased the dark robot. He equipped his other blaster, and now not only did Zero have double the shots to dodge, but they were now stronger. He didn't know about the energy crystals in them.

A flood of buster shots flooded Zero's vision, and Bass dashed in once he had the opportunity. But Zero knew what he was doing. Before Bass knew it, he had been punched in the chest, and he fell back. Much to the younger robot's surprise, this only seemed to amuse Bass even more. Shaking his head, Zero pulled out his blaster, about guessing which spots would be best to hit Forte so that he could incapacitate him in as few shots as possible. The trouble was, Forte took advantage of this. He knew that Zero was holding back, and as long as he did, Bass was going to try to kill him.

Bass promptly dashed forward and kicked Zero's blaster with precision aim, damaging the right part to keep him from being able to fire. Forced into hand to hand combat, Zero was surprised to see how skilled Bass was at it. While Zero was more a student of karate and kung-fu, he could clearly recognise the Korean martial arts, tang su do, that Bass used. He had to admit that he was a little impressed by the dark one's skill, but he wished that this was nothing more than a sparring match. Curious reploids were beginning to gather, wondering why Zero and the ancient machine were fighting each other. X, Axl, Alia, and Signas were of course there, but their dark attitudes only spurred on the crowd to whisper amongst themselves. Zero's heart sank as he realized that they were going to learn more about him than he wanted them to know.

Bass himself was getting frustrated with Zero. He knew that Zero was just trying to get him to stop, and that mercy was allowing Bass a lot more liberty than Zero normally showed his opponents. Bass couldn't stand it.

"Come on! Stop holding back! Fight me with all you've got!"

The dark robot kicked Zero across the face, and a new anger rose up in Zero. As he fell to one knee, he knew he was all too willing to comply. He forgot about Axl, and he forgot that Bass was one last connection to a past that was all but lost. He hated Bass, and his rage made him stop caring if the obsolete thing lived or died.

"Fine, but remember that you asked for it!"

Zero saw Bass' attempt at reaching his beam saber, and with a lightning speed that Bass could only dream about, he flicked the sword upwards and straight through the metal of his opponent. Stunned by this attack, Bass was unable to dodge properly when Zero next kicked him away several yards, sending him sprawling. Zero certainly had stopped holding back, and if it weren't for Bass' agility, he would be missing more than the lower half of his left arm. His left buster was cut completely off, and all that remained was a grey stump. Furious, the dark robot dashed at the ponytailed hunter. He was focused solely on his opponent, so much so that he didn't notice what was going on where the others were gathered until the large blast was already hurtling towards him.

And everything went white.

A surge of energy ripped into his systems, and his vision and thoughts disappeared all but completely from the shock. For a moment, Bass wondered if he was dead. He immediately scolded himself for thinking such a thing; if he could think then it meant he was still alive. Blinking as his vision began to return, he snarled and started to lift himself back up. He was going to kill Zero, and he didn't care what was in his way.

"No, you stay down!"

Along with the noble voice, a heavy foot stomped down on his chest, and it pinned him down. He couldn't get out from under it, and each new struggle only made it worse. As his vision cleared, Bass saw that a very angry X was staring down at him with a buster at the ready. Bass groaned. Of course X would have a charged shot. X's eyes narrowed as he coldly stared down the black and gold robot with a hate reserved only for Mavericks.

"What's wrong with you?" The new bomber gave as much emphasis as he could while still trying to make sure the crowd didn't hear him clearly, and Signas was thankfully holding them back. "Do you think you're the only robot that can overcome a past of evil to become something better? Are you so arrogant that you're going to refuse to even give Zero a chance? I don't know what he was in your day, but I know that now he is a hero and a friend! You're just going to have to accept that! I'll destroy you if I have to, but you're going to leave Zero alone! Do you understand?"

"Screw you!" Bass spat, reaching with his right arm to try and shove X's leg away.

X kicked away his hand and stomped down harder, denting Bass' armor. "I said, do you understand?"

There was no way out of it, so as much as he hated to, Bass gritted his fangs and gave in. "Fine, fine! Alright! Now let me up!"

X hesitated a moment, not convinced that he had made his point. But he removed his foot regardless. Bass got up shakily, trying to scorn X's help as the latter pulled him to his feet. But X wasn't helping him, and his grim visage communicated this clearly. Bass tried to pull his arm away, but X's grip was too strong. With a buster trained at Bass' head, X began to haul the dark robot back inside Maverick Hunter HQ with clear, firm anger.

Zero, despite trying to calm down, glared insolently at Bass. He seethed, hoping Bass realized that X had saved his life; the rage in Zero was having trouble dissipating. That was until he looked at the others, when his rage froze into horror.

The crowd of curious Hunters had gotten larger since Zero had last looked, and they were growing increasingly confused. Some of them knew who Bass was, but most of them were staring at Zero. Zero could almost feel the eyes of everyone on him, and it began to sink in what all of this meant. Word had gotten around about Bass being an older robot, and that he had come to the headquarters only just that day and attacked Zero without any provocation. They were already guessing and making up their own stories as to why this was, and only when Zero's eyes passed over them did they silence, staring in wonder.

He looked at Alia, hoping...well, he didn't know what he was hoping for. Support, perhaps. But her deadened stare silenced all hope. Alia knew the truth now about the Maverick Virus: it's real name was the Zero Virus. Other hunters noticed Alia's stone face and tried to ask her what happened, but she wouldn't answer. Signas appeared from somewhere in the crowd, telling everyone to disperse. He glanced over at Zero, and surprisingly didn't seem upset or even too curious. He was always professional.

"Zero," X called out for him, and some worry showed in his voice. "Come to the briefing room."

The ponytailed robot looked over at his friend, who was still hauling a barely cooperative Bass by the stump of his arm. In fact, as X spoke to Zero, Bass saw his chance. Without his arm it was a lot easier to pull himself out of X's grip, and he teleported out before anyone could react.

"Teleportation scrambler...I don't think we can trace him immediately." Signas noticed as he scanned.

"Just great!" X spat, clenching a fist. "The only link we have to the past and it's the completely unpredictable Bass. There's no telling what trouble he could cause!"

"X, calm down." Signas insisted firmly, walking closer to X so that he could be as quiet as possible when he spoke. "We can still track him. Now get to the briefing room calmly. We still have to figure out how to explain this to the Hunters without saying too much..."

He glanced over at Zero as he said this, and Zero began to realize the effect his silence was having on everyone. Everyone seemed to be on edge, especially Axl, who looked like he wanted to say something comforting, and yet could think of nothing. He had always admired Zero, and now there were so many new ideas running around in his head, put there by a robot Axl cared about. Zero did feel sorry for the young Hunter; it distracted him from feeling sorry for himself. Axl seemed more depressed than ever, and he kicked at the dirt in disgust. Alia was acting strangely. Every time Zero happened to look in her direction, she turned away. But even then he could see the hurt.

They entered the building without a word.

\\\\\

Author's notes:

- I was actually gonna wait until Wednesday to post this, but y'all with your reviews convinced me to put it up tonight. Yeah, I actually made a buffer during WGT for this story. 11 reviews for one chapter? Holy crap I feel loved. :D

- A hap arnold is what you call the style of hat that Signas wears.

- Since the robot apocalypse, the world's economy has worked a lot differently. Most countries use zenny as their currency in the X series. Or so I'm going to say.

- One of the things that bothers me with certain stories on ff. net is that they make Zero too nice. Zero's slightly a jerk. Not especially so, but his nature is tainted a bit by it.

Queen Sunstar

======Sultana Aubade

"You're cute. I bet I can sweep you off your feet!"

Sultana Aubade loves being a Maverick, and she especially loves make up and jewelry. She is an excellent singer. She wears an armor dress and hides most of her face behind her large fan. Sultana is an air Maverick: her wind powers include using her fan to blow away opponents, and using her make up powder to slow the player down and steal their weapon energy. She can also throw the fan like a boomerang, and it can charge from solar power. She's very good at dodging, and can fly. Beating her earns the player "Sultana's fan", a short range weapon that can be used as a blunt weapon and to send gusts of wind at enemies.

"Sultana" is another word for queen, and an aubade is a song sang specifically for the sunrise.

Anmynous

======Masquerade Virtuoso

"I can see you. Can you see me?"

This Maverick is a digital robot, and he hides his face behind a large mask. He wears a large cape, and is capable of disappearing and reappearing at will. He enjoys collecting information about anything he can, especially X and Zero. He shoots out electrical pulses, and also can trap the player in them. Whoever defeats him gets the Masquerade Cape, which enables the player to be temporarily invisible.

This one's easy. Masquerade indicates Anmynous' anonmity, and Virtuoso just sounds cool.

Josunurashima

=======Onagadori Vex

"You're finished once I get my claws on you!"

Onagadori is a giant chicken-bot Maverick who is very old, but very bad tempered. He knows a lot of military strategies, and when he attacks he sends out little robot hens in formation. He has a giant tailfeather that also serves as troublesome to get around. He's tough, but doesn't himself move too much. And watch out for those claws. The player gets "Vexacious Spawn" when they win, and this sends out a hen forward through the path of a level, damaging all ground enemies and clearing the way for you.

This one was so hard. I couldn't use the name on thesaurus .com, and since googling only brought up deviantart accounts and such, I guessed it was Japanese. One of the very few Japanese words I know is "Onagadori", which means "noble foul". Vex means to annoy or aggravate. Lol, not that you aggravate me, Josun, it just seemed to fit with Onagadori.