Bass was making good progress, he guessed. He wasn't sure if he could really tell, but Roll's head was starting to look a little more familiar. The task of fixing her was very annoying outside of a proper lab. In the grass, short as it was, there really wasn't any space to organize Roll's parts without being afraid he'd lose them. But finally he thought he had solved the main problems in her head, thanks to the spare wire in the toolbox he'd stolen. He closed Roll's cranial panel up and activated her with his fingers crossed.

The now faded, rusty eyes opened, their immediate expression one of confusion. Roll gasped a bit, and dust puffed out of her mouth. Weak hands reached up trying to find something.

"Rodney?" her raspy voice tried. "Are you there? My eyes don't work. Can you fix them?"

"Uh...who's Rodney?"

"Who are you?" though weak, her voice still conveyed what an irritated Bass considered a far unnecessary level of suspicion. "What is your name?"

"Roll, you know me..."

"Roll?" The girl-bot tried her hardest to sneer. "What kind of name is that?"

Bass growled and snapped her off. He went back an pulled off the panel. Going through her head again, He hoped something was wrong mechanically. That sort of problem he might be able to fix; if someone had reset her memory chip, then there was nothing he could do. Bass knew next to nothing about AI or CPUs. Trying not to be hasty, he dug into her mind again. And then he found the problem.

"That's it?" the dark robot was both annoyed and amazed at once. "Her primary memory chip isn't plugged in properly? That's so stupid. A five year old can fix that. How the crap does that happen?"

But he got on with pushing it into place, carefully replacing the rest of her head and hoping that would do it. He was far from patient, and as soon as he found a proper technician to set her right he would have them set her head right - and hopefully that person would get her out of this rusty piece of crap she used for a body. He switched her on again, praying that she would come to.

Roll gasped at once, and her once tough voice had now gone back to its regular self. She sputtered with a sob, and was almost glitching as she started to speak. She reached out a wavering hand.

"Bass...Bass, please be there still!"

Bass grabbed her hand. "I'm right here, Roll. Now give me a systems check."

"Something's...wrong with it. A lot of me is damaged...and the memories...they...I don't know what happened...I don't understand."

"It's alright now. I can fix you...or maybe just rebuild you." Bass gave her rusted exterior a glance. "Heh, when did you steal my legs?"

Roll's dirty face creaked as she pulled it into a faint smile. "Mine broke...I needed them...I...I can't believe what I did...is it really true? I forgot everyone...I forgot Dr. Light..."

Bass almost swore as he realized that plugging in her memory chip was a bad idea in her condition. She had obviously spent some time on her backup memory drive, and adding more memories to that - indeed, her entire original lifetime - could have severe consequences on the emotional regulator. That was bound to be trouble for a regulator so aged. She would have to load through all of her old memories to set her database properly. Bass could think of several memories that she would not want to relive.

"There he is!"

Bass snapped his head upwards, grimacing at the reploid above him, and wondering how stupid it had to be to alert him of its presence before he noticed (and how stupid he himself was to have to not watch his surroundings). It was a bat-like thing: purple fur with red wings flapping in the sky. Bass flung on his sensors, as certainly the bat thing had to be talking to someone - though Bass didn't immediately discard the idea that it was insane.

More reploids showed up within seconds. Behind him was a bird-bot, this one a ridiculously long-legged vulture, guffawed in a mightily demented and deep sound, creating the impression that he was almost drunk. Ahead of him stood a large, green and black rabbit-bot, brandishing his rather impressive teeth. A giant, pinto horse plunged his huge hooves into the soft earth, tearing large holes in the innocent grass.

"You thought you could just attack our friends and ruin our plans with impunity? I, Steed Gendarme, will put an end to the likes of you!"

The horse snorted with rage, stomping all the harder in the attempt to appear dangerous. The effect was lost on Bass, who could see nothing more than a poser, and this only angered the horse more. The innocent blades of grass were only further tormented by his pounding hooves.

"Yeeeess..." the slow tone of the vulture behind him sounded all the more drunk rather than sinister. "If it were the goose and the mole, I might not mind so much. They were, you might say, imbeciles. Stradivarius, on the other hand, actually had something of a brain. I'll miss him."

"Bass..." the wrecked girl-bot in his arms called out fearfully. "What's going on?"

The dark robot didn't take his furious eyes off the enemies as he spoke, but his soft voice was calm, in control, and even soothing.

"Roll, I'm going to shut you down now. When you wake up, you will be repaired, safe, and with Mega Man X."

"You'll be there too, right?"

This took Forte by surprise. It was sweet of her to be worried about him. A dark sensation welled up, and Bass realized that he could very well die there. With himself in that condition and against that many at once, it wouldn't be a challenge. Certainly an organization as big as the Maverick Hunters would be able to get there quickly as soon as they found out about the fight, but there was little hope Bass himself would survive until then. A darkness reached him, asking him why would that be so bad? He could hold on tightly to the comforting words that Roll would be safe, and his troubles would be over. But that darkness was wrong, and Bass knew it.

"Yeah, I'll stick around. I promise."

Bass shut Roll down, gently laying her back in the grass and wishing he was still at the junkyard. As much as that insistent human had badgered him, he could have at least taken Roll to somewhere the Mavericks couldn't see her. But it was too late, and the baddies were only amused by the conversation.

"Aw, how cute!" The bunny's laughter was so sharp and psycho that it was the one thing about the group that actually freaked Bass out a little. "'E's got 'imself a girlfriend! Let's KILL 'er!"

"Good idea, Cuniculus!" the bat cheered in its shrill squeaks. "Let's do that!"

"Bad idea, retard." Bass retorted as he readied his buster. "Get ready to die!"

In any other circumstance, even Bass would admit he'd avoid a fight like this. Here he was, drained of power, torn up, and missing a limb, having to face down four Mavericks, each at full power. And the other three of their team hadn't been easy - there was no reason to assume any of these had less strength. Add to that the job of keeping Roll safe, and it was a sheer nightmare.

To anyone but Bass, that is. Now it was a dream come true. As he kept his eyes open, planning strategies and calculating weaknesses, he smiled. His lips couldn't turn further upwards. He was so happy. It was good to be smashing idiot's heads in. The very thought of it made his delighted grin grow even further.

A wave of fear washed through him: doubt took hold for a moment as he remembered how badly Zero had beaten him. Could he really manage these Mavericks? But the doubt disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived. These guys weren't Zero, and Bass wasn't going to let anyone harm Roll. In fact, the sheer joy on his face from having to fight them scared them off for a moment. But Steed was barely disuaded. He dug a hoof into the ground and charged.

BOOM.

"Huh?" Bass started, jumping back from the sparks flying out from the horse. "Who beat me to the punch?"

Without a word, Zero landed on the still struggling Gendarme and swung his saber through the Maverick's neck, grimly satisfied with the job. The bunny attacked the pony-tailed Hunter next, but only lost a paw for his efforts.

"I don't need your help!" the dark robot screamed. Zero ruined his life; he could at least let him have some fun. "Go braid your hair or have a tea party or whatever crap you do in your free time and stay out of my business!"

"It would hardly be respectful if I let you die, brother." Zero said the word with no small amount of distaste before he quickly dodged a bite from the rabbit-roid.

It was hard for Zero not to laugh when he saw the repulsed reaction from Bass. But as Bass looked over and saw X and Axl (who to his surprise were standing and watching on the side, giving Zero a strange look), he remembered the memory chip he had given the young Hunter. Forte snarled and shook his head. He grabbed the bat Maverick out of the air and threw it at Zero, blasting several purple shots at the vulture trying to take advantage of the distraction.

"Shut up and leave me alone! I don't need my ugly little sister following me around!" Bass followed this up with a few sordid insults that would make milk turn sour. Fortunately for the dairy industry, no cows or grocery stores were in the vicinity. X did sour, however, and he gave Axl an admonishing glare for giggling.

With two quick swipes of the Z saber, all that was left of the bat was a few bits of red metal. But no one was paying any attention to the wreck that was once a Maverick. Never in Zero's life had he heard such scathing remarks, not even from a Maverick. He was stunned by Bass' immaturity...and admittedly impressed by his clever turn of phrase, however disturbing it was. Glancing back a moment at X as he quickly finished off Cuniculus, Zero felt a bit bad for his friend. X was such an innocent robot for someone his age and with his mind. But Zero knew what he had to do.

Zero took a deep breath, closing his eyes and focusing. And then they opened, ferocity narrowing them dangerously. He began. The relentless stream of obscenities that ensued from his vocal extenuators could only be described as catastrophic. It would have surely slain any kittens, puppies, and any other small animals within two miles (how fortunate there were no petting zoos for miles) in a manner most painful and unbecoming. X's eyes grew so wide that everyone thought he would pass out. He had to just shut off his auditory recievers. Axl gasped, frozen in place. Everyone, including Zero himself, was surprised that the grass didn't die and turn brown in an instant from Zero's vile wording.

But Bass did laugh. He laughed so hard that if he had been human he would have easily suffocated. Bending over double, the dark robot could barely speak.

"That's not very ladylike, Sis!" he gasped between breaths. "And in front of your boyfriend too!"

Zero's eye twitched as he glared down his older brother. He lifted his voice like a stage villain and straightened his posture for greater effect. "I'm sick of you! You're nothing but a measly first draft of my greatness, and you dare mock me? Maybe you think you can destroy me, but I haven't even shown you my most powerful weapon yet!"

Admittedly, Bass liked the sound of that. A new challenge sounded like fun, and he was nowhere near admitting that Zero was in any way superior, not once his pride had returned to him. He practically glowed with devious glee.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see that!"

"So you'd like to die today, would you?"

"Don't talk about it if you can't follow through!"

"Don't tempt me unless you really enjoy being in pain!"

"You keep talking, but you're not doing anything! Come on!"

"Just remember that you asked for it!"

"Bring it, Girly!"

And bring it Zero suddenly did. To be honest, Bass wasn't expecting Zero to actually shoot him. It took him completely by surprise how quickly the blast hit him. Bass' world cut out for a second, and he shook, crumbling to the ground and struggling to get back up. It wasn't nearly as bad as being hit by X's fully charged blaster, but it was definitely something Bass didn't want to feel ever again.

"What the crap was that?"

With a thunk, something black landed in front of him. Blinking to clear up his vision, it took Bass a moment to realize that it was his own buster from the arm that had been severed. He looked up at a very amused red Hunter and realized that Zero had been messing with him the entire time. Forte was completely dumbfounded, and he stared at the buster as though it were an alien. Though he was completely exhausted, Bass had to laugh before he collapsed weakly into the dirt.

"Ah ha ha...alright, I give. You win. Your secret weapon is way too powerful for me. Finally defeated by a stupid girl-bot."

"That's getting old."

"Screw you."

Zero sighed with relief. His plan had worked, and his abrasive brother was finally calmed down. Bass looked in a bad way, though, and Zero guessed that his power had to be nearly exhausted. Bass had pushed himself too far, and he was still trying to push himself over to a decrepit girl-bot that Zero didn't recognise. The dark robot's armor was battered and banged up, and - was that Maverick still moving?

"Bass-" Zero tried to warn him.

With a sudden snap, Bass had hold of the vulture-bot's neck and slammed back to the ground. The bird struggled to get away, but Bass steadily ignored the kicks, grinning only more evilly as his fist tightened around the Maverick's neck. The imprisoned bot squawked with fear as the metal of his neck bent inwards, and he cried out for mercy.

"Please, please! I just do what I'm told!"

"What's your name, Birdy?"

"Sors Cathartidae!"

Bass winced. What a terrible name... Outloud, Bass continued. "Alright, Sors," Bass growled. "I want you to go back to your boss and tell him that he's not going to get away with anything anymore. You Mavericks are finished. And if he asks why this is, then you tell them that the legendary hero Forte has returned! Remember the name, or I'll just have to remind you with the dead bodies of your idiot comrades!"

"Uh, is your name Forte or Bass?"

"Pick your favorite," Bass pulled the Maverick upwards and flung him away. "AND STICK WITH IT!"

Terrified, the bird-bot stumbled away, running until it got enough wind under its wings to fly off. Done with the foolish thing, Bass crawled over and sat next to Roll, done with his show of strength. He was torn up, his body more willing to admit his weakness than he was. All he could do was settle down with as much dignity as possible and act as if he was being a guard. It didn't work very well. Zero could feel stabs of pity as he watched Bass. Sitting next to the decrepit girl-bot made the scene look like an old, dusty picture; it was like a piece of history mourning the loss of the past.

X approached Bass, honestly not sure what to do with him. On the one hand, Bass was useful, historic, and more tough than any robot he had met other than Zero (they truly were family). And yet he was selfish and violent beyond X's fears. He had known something of Forte beforehand from what Dr. Light had put into his memory banks, but Bass' realized self was far more intense than anything Dr. Light could have described. X could only imagine what ideals Bass held dear, if any.

Axl looked curiously at all the fallen Mavericks. "Well, that's Steed Gendarme, and there's Vampire Cudgellion and Cuniculus Pepper, the Mavericks everybody's been talking about lately. Cathartidae's boss won't be happy once he hears about all this."

"Why did you let him get away?" X asked Bass, still annoyed with him. "He'll only start an even worse retaliation now."

"Pssht..." the dark robot didn't feel much like talking, and he continued only lazily. "I stuck a tracer on him. Track him and see where his base is."

"You stole a tracer from the lab?"

"No," Bass glared up at the Hunter. "I used the one you stuck on me. Thought I wouldn't notice, didn't you?"

X was taken aback. He didn't. But Bass let it go for the time being, focusing back on Roll. X looked downwards curiously. He gasped. He had plenty of pictures in his database from Dr. Light of what she looked like, and though she was half rebuilt with replacement parts, the pitiful girl-bot was still fully recognisable. Getting on the opposite side of her from Bass, X knelt down for a closer look, inspecting her as if he feared she was simply a delusion. He grabbed her hand just to make sure. Much to his happiness, she was real.

"I can't believe...this is..." X almost wept with joy. "This is..."

From his position behind Bass' shoulder, Axl piped up. "Proto Bot!"

"What?" Bass and X simultaneously exclaimed with scorn. Axl jumped back.

"Er, well," the young Hunter spoke up more nervously now. "They say that after the robot apocalypse happened that someone named Chris Tillman built a robot from all the old heroes, even Roll. She was supposed to have been a great hero of those days when the world was on the brink of despair."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bass scoffed. "This is Roll. Chris Tillman? Wait...Chris...Chris Tillman...ugh, that's not a human! It's 'Crystal Man' pronounced differently."

"Who's that?"

Bass was starting to get annoyed with having to talk. He gave an odd cough, his voice starting to creak a little. "Long story. I'll explain later."

X was still staring down at his older sister, both more happy and sad than he knew he could be at the same time. "Can she be repaired?"

"Eh, her mind is fine. She'll just have to be rebuilt."

Inwardly elated, the desperately grateful X looked up at the dark robot. There had been a lot of things he had expected from Bass once the latter robot had shown up, but all of those expectations faded away. How could he possibly have forseen that something as wonderful as this would happen? X had his sister now, and whatever else he wanted to think about Bass, he knew he was obligated to consider the irrational 'bot in a far better light.

"Bass...thank you..."

"You're welcome." the dark robot muttered heavily in reply, as speaking grew to be more difficult. Finally this guy is grateful for once...

X noticed that Zero was trying to get his attention, so as much as he wanted to stay by his sister, he got up and went for his friend, looking back over his shoulder the entire way as if she would disappear if he stopped looking for long.

"Sors may discover the tracer on him at some point soon." Zero said. "It will be for the best if you and Axl track him down as far as you can be without being discovered."

X nodded. "And you?"

"I want to stay here with Bass and Roll. I really doubt either of them can teleport and someone will need to wait here while HQ picks them up. I've already reported to Signas. Besides," Zero glanced over at Bass, who was listening to Axl's stories about Proto Bot. "I think it will be easier to talk to Bass when he's in no condition to fight."

"That's true." X turned his attention to the third hunter. "Axl, you come with me. We've got work to do. Bass, you and Roll will be picked up as soon as we can get a shuttle here."

Forte glance over at Zero, frowning. It was easy to guess what they were trying to do. With no response other than a sharp nod, Bass turned back to Roll, trying his best to recall everything he knew about robot construction. He didn't see X and Axl go, and he didn't pay any attention as Zero sat down beside him, forcibly ignoring the tall blonde.

For his own part, Zero didn't know what to think. He had a new brother he didn't want (and who certainly didn't want him), but he had no right to get rid of. His emotions, though usually so in control, were now running confused between extremes of hate, confusion, and pity. There were so many things he was curious about he didn't even know what to ask, and it was anyone's guess how Bass would reply. Zero was not eager for more of his rude sarcasm and vulgar insults. His brother's face alone was just another indicator of his evil creator, his dark nightmares, and the terrifying fate that haunted Zero and refused to let him go even in his sleep.

But as he stared at Bass, he couldn't help noticing that the dark robot was getting weaker. There wasn't enough power in Bass to keep him going for much longer, and if he didn't get energy soon, he would have to power up from a dead start. Zero had done that before, and it wasn't fun, to say the least. So his power core was similar to Bass'? Zero noticed the zip drive on Bass' neck, and he lifted his hand. His thumb converted into a plug-in, and he stuck it in Bass' neck.

This got a reaction. Trying to reach back and swat Zero away, Bass hissed, "Leave me alone!"

"Shut up and be grateful!" Zero roared back.

Bass' glare was full of the all the bitterness he could muster, and Zero's visage was no less ugly. They reminded each other of their hated creator more than ever. This staredown lasted for a minute, but eventually Bass just gave up and turned away. He had to realize how drained he was.

Zero hmphed. He had been more than generous with Bass already, and he wasn't sure he could put up with much more. But he was supposed to be making peace with Bass, or something like that was what he had in mind before. Now he wasn't so sure.

There was a part of Zero that had been in his mind ever since he could remember. It was a little voice, one he hated so much, that often reminded him to be compassionate when he least wanted to. This voice reminded him to think of things from Bass' perspective. Bass had lost everything and almost everyone he had ever known from his day - and who knew if Roll would survive? The world was a different place now, darker and malevolent. Zero mustered up as much courage as he could to look at Forte's face, though the dark robot seemed intent on ignoring him. Or trying to see how bad Roll's condition was. Or both.

For the first time, it wasn't Wily's face he saw. They were similar looking, but this was not Albert Wily. Forte didn't want what Wily wanted. He had even resisted his master. He had fought in the horrible robot apocalypse. With this thought came a strange revelation that stung Zero, making everything clear to him. What Zero had done against humanity and reploidkind was completely unintentional. He couldn't help spreading the virus because it was contagious all on its own, and his own evil when he had been activated was purely out of programming. He didn't have a choice. But Bass had. Bass had chosen the right thing, and he had been there, fighting back.

He had failed. As dark as Zero's own history was, Bass' was not much better. Zero had managed some good in his lifetime, but everything Bass had ever fought for was lost.

"Bass..." Zero was reluctant to ask. "There's no way you could have known that Roll was at the junkyard. Why did you go there in the first place?"

"Shut up."

Zero didn't really need an answer, the more he thought about it. Watching Bass, he noticed an eye twitch. The dark robot was hiding it, trying to appear strong. He wasn't very good at it. Besides, there was really only one reason a robot would choose to go to a junkyard if they didn't work there. Zero could feel his spirit sink with the realization.

As much as he wanted to, Zero couldn't hate Bass. Bass had been through far more terror than he had, and he had lost far more. Guilt stung him. A fright did also, and Zero realized that if Bass had gone through with it, then he wouldn't want to go on any longer as well. The guilt of humans and robots worldwide was on him, and if Bass had proven to be another of Zero's inadvertant victims, it would be too much.

If I had any justice in me, Bass, I would go to the junkyard myself...I'm the one that deserves it.

But Zero couldn't say that. He would let Bass have his pride. He did need to apologize, though.

"I'm sorry I ruined your life."

The dark robot looked over at the pony-tailed Hunter with some combination of amusement and mild disgust. "Huh. Here you are, having messed up the entire earth and ruined Dr. Light's vision for the future, and now you're apologizing for ruining my life? Hoping it'll make you feel better?"

Zero turned away, staring back in the general direction of the junkyard, where they could still hear the noises of crushed metal. He was hoping it would make him feel better, though he was really doing it because it was the right thing to do. Deep thoughts on emotion were not Zero's tendency.

But how would an apology make up for anything? Zero started feeling foolish for even trying to talk to Bass, and instead his thoughts started wandering toward the irate human that had sent them there in the first place. If Roll could be fixed, would he expect payment for finding her? X would probably reward him somehow anyway, but he hoped that Roll's discoverer wouldn't try to extort him. X was so vulnerable sometimes.

Zero sighed heavily. That wasn't a good enough distraction. Nothing was a good enough distraction to make him forget what he was, not now.

"Well, don't cry about it." Bass suddenly said, and Zero turned back to his brother, who was only sneering mildly. "It's not like you meant to do all that crap. Besides, I think we're even when it comes to ruining each other's lives."

Zero wasn't sure how to answer that. It was sort of true, but in the long run it was Zero's own history that had ruined him, and that was long before Bass had returned. Being Wily's weapon against the future was its own disadvantage.

"It's not so bad. Only two more people know for sure now." In that moment, Zero suddenly remembered his earlier worry. "You...didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Bass snorted, his smile getting more like a merry scowl. "Sure, I told everyone in the junkyard. But it's okay, they thought I was a Maverick so I don't think they believed me."

Zero's eyes widened for one terrified moment. Even if they didn't believe it, someone would be sure to ask questions. Simply planting the idea into someone's head - especially a human's - could cause him terrible consequences. He wouldn't be able to fight and stop what he had caused, poor X would lose his friend...and then Zero happened to glance back on Bass' face. It was hateful, but not cold.

"Wait, you're lying!"

"Ha, ha!" Forte mocked him, but with an unhealthly flux in his power core, he made himself stop quickly. He raised a hand to his chest in a reflection of pain. "Ugh...I didn't tell anyone."

"...Why not?"

"I didn't think about it." Bass shrugged, and his voice grew sharper, more grieved. "It doesn't matter now anyway. I should have told people when it would have made a difference."

With much bitterness, Bass leaned forward, resting with his arms across his knees and pulling Zero's hand (still plugged into his neck) along with. The dark robot gazed down at Roll with more pity than Zero expected. Sighing as he looked at her, Bass reached down and stroked back Roll's bangs, inspecting the damage done to her eyes.

"I killed you, once." The words of Zero's brother were like a knife. "In Canada. Wily had hidden you there. I tore you to pieces. But it wasn't really you. Just a fake. And that's why I thought you were dead when I still had five years left to find you. I didn't find out I was wrong until it was too late."

He abruptly stopped talking, and Zero was grateful. X might have had plenty of data on the past on his hard drive, but Bass would know more about the darkest times, the times that the red Hunter didn't want to learn about, especially not now that he had found out he had had something to do with it. Only half a moment later Bass grabbed Zero's hand, pulling it out of his neck and shoving it away.

"Is your power core getting better - ?"

"There's only one thing I want from you." Bass snapped, relentlessly cutting off Zero's question. "Once I'm repaired, I want a rematch. That first fight doesn't count because I was still messed up from the retarded museum and fighting those idiots once I got out. I'm full of crappy parts right now and I'm not going to let you think that you can destroy me that easily!"

Zero looked away. "Bass, if you try to fight me again, I'll let you kill me."

"What? No!" The dark robot got desperate. "Look, you shouldn't have to feel too bad about everything! You didn't mean to spread the virus, and none of Wily's robots that actually had a brain wanted to do anything he told them! And you're not doing what Wily wants now. Darn it, you owe me!"

Zero blinked. Bass was glaring at him, expecting an answer (or at least a taunt), but Zero was simply too astonished to answer. Was Bass really that intent on proving himself? Sadly, the reploid knew that his brother would never be able to defeat him. If the fight were merely about martial arts, they might be at least evenly matched, but with Zero's power core and AI, it was actually pretty pathetic to Zero that Bass was even bothering. He had been holding back in the earlier fight, and that much had to be clear to the obstinate challenger. Why did he care about his reputation that much?

"A long time ago," Zero began. "X and I fought."

"I know that! Alia gave me a data disc on everything that happened in the wars."

"Just shut up and listen." Zero tried to keep his temper, glowering at the shorter robot beside him. "A lot of people before that - and some people since - have often asked one or both of us which is stronger, or who would win in a fight. You know who won when we did fight? Neither of us. Instead we both nearly died, and one of my missing parts was used to start the 'Zero Nightmare'."

"What's your point?" Bass asked, though he obviously didn't care.

"My point is, all that our fighting resulted in was more trouble and the loss of two S class Hunters, for a short time, anyway." Here Zero made sure to look at his brother square in the eye. "Competitive fighting like that is meaningless. It doesn't help anyone."

Bass gritted his teeth. Zero hoped that this meant he understood. The dark robot grumpily shook his head, then lifted his head and snarled. "You're just like Proto Man."

This made Zero curious. "Why do you say that?"

"You look like him, for one. Except he's less tacky and feminine."

"You're not that great looking yourself, Fin-head."

"Shut up. At least I don't have five feet of stupid hair. Pssht, that's probably a cheap rip-off of Proto Man's scarf anyway. And you lecture like him."

"I didn't make up that speech. X did some time ago." Zero smiled on one side of his mouth. "He's a lot smarter than me."

Bass wasn't paying attention. "Huh, that's probably where you got your name too. Proto Man was DRN-000."

"Why would Wily base me off of a robot he didn't build?" Zero asked, really hoping that Bass wouldn't tell him that Proto Man was another Wily-bot.

But he didn't, much to Zero's relief. Bass just shrugged and answered, "Because Wily sucked, and he couldn't come up with anything decent on his own. I was based off Rock, so I guess you got Proto Man."

"You don't look anything like Rock."

"That's a good thing. He looked like a little idiot kid." Bass grimaced.

For some reason, Bass suddenly stopped. Zero realized that there was one last accusation Bass hadn't dealt with: the death of Rock. Talking about Mega Man must have reminded him of it. Just when Bass finally seemed to be calming down, he now returned to darkness and a sullen attitude.

"Let me see your sword."

Zero started. "What?"

"I'm not going to attack you."

"I don't believe you."

"Heh, smart. Let me see it anyway."

The Hunter gave his sword very reluctantly to Bass, who engaged the beam impatiently, examining it. Whatever Bass was looking for he didn't seem to find. He scowled, and his eyebrows pressed together angrily as he disengaged the weapon and flung it back at his brother.

"Plasma." Bass muttered, turning to the direction farthest away from Zero.

"What does that mean?"

"That gash in Rock's helmet was done by a plasma sword," Bass hissed. "Not an energy sword. There weren't any plasma sword robot masters in the past. You don't remember anything, huh?"

Forte's voice was bitter and ugly, and Zero's heart sank. "No. I don't remember anything before I was reprogrammed by the Maverick Hunters."

Bass grimly pondered over this a moment, deciding how he was going to react. The dynasty of silence began, and it lasted until finally Bass had something to say.

"Zero..." his voice was ten times darker than before. "This is your last chance to take back what you said about letting me kill you. If you don't, I might hold you at your word."

Zero stared his brother down, a dark, tragic glint in his eyes. "I already decided. I'm sticking by what I said."

Bass shook his head. He would never have done what Zero was doing. To him it was pure insanity. "You're really miserable, aren't you?"

Zero didn't answer. Instead he just looked away. Wasn't it obvious enough?

"I won't kill you." Bass said. "There's no point now. Just keep killing Mavericks and we're even."

The dull tone of Bass' voice grated into Zero. Zero started getting mad. After all, that was what he was doing before Bass showed up and made everything worse. Before he had only known about his past what Sigma (who trusted Sigma?) and his own nightmares had told him. He didn't have to believe he had spread the virus if he didn't want to. Sure, if he forced himself to be honest, he would have known it all to be true. He knew about the evil within him, but he could still lie, pretending when he woke from his nightmares that they were simply delusions from Sigma. That ability was now taken from him. Why did this robot have to show up and ruin everything?

It wasn't like Zero to dwell on those kind of things, and he immediately found himself looking around him, repressing his unhappy musings automatically. He wanted to get up and leave, ignoring as much of his depressants as he could, but there was no point.

"Hm...there's the ship."

It was indeed a Maverick Hunters aircraft, with the Hunter logo printed brightly on the side. The helicopter slowed down, blowing back Zero's hair as it landed in the grass a few yards ahead of them. Not waiting for the side door to open, Zero pulled Roll over his left shoulder, ignoring Bass' glares. Zero didn't care if the dark robot didn't want him carrying her; the guy with both arms was better suited for it. As Zero settled the decrepit girl-bot over his shoulder, Bass grabbed his severed buster and struggled to stand on his shaky legs. Unexpectedly, Zero grabbed Bass' stump and helped him stand, and action which Bass immediately tried to pull out of.

"Which is more humiliating?" Zero was blunt. "Accepting my help or falling flat on your face?"

Bass refused to look at him, but he did stop struggling. "Fine...let's go."

So the long-haired Hunter brought both of the other robots in, finding that the side door was open and waiting for them. He also saw that while Axl's navigator Pallette was at the pilot's seat. Alia was there also, and she helped Bass on the helicopter, also ignoring whatever independence the dark robot was clinging to. She didn't look at Zero, but instead brought Bass over to a seat. For his part, Zero just humbly put Roll on the opposite side of the helicopter and strapped her in tightly. The poor girl looked terrible; Zero hoped for X's sake that she would live.

"Bass, did you check Roll before we...Bass?"

The robot was still, and his head was hanging down. Wondering what had happened, Zero approached.

"He shut down to conserve energy." Alia said, her voice dull as she headed back up to the copilot's seat. "Leave him alone."

Stunned, Zero stopped. The expression on Alia's face was almost dead: she refused to even be polite, and her eyes alone stung him. Only a day ago they had been friends, but now she couldn't even stand Zero looking at her. She lifted her lip in almost a sneer as she turned away from him, sitting in the front of the helicopter as if he didn't exist.

Numb, Zero went to the back and sat down. The girl-bots talked between themselves, but he was silent the entire way back to Headquarters.

"Why is he acting so weird today?" Pallette asked.

"I don't know." Alia lied.

\\\\\\

Author's notes:

- Yes, I think I'm awful clever coming up with "Chris Tillman". I also think that figuring out Zero's name comes from DRN-000 further proves my pwnageness. :D No, I'm not at all arrogant...

- Robots don't suffer physical pain. Emotional, maybe, depending on the model. At times they might describe a significant error that interferes with their operation as pain, but they don't feel it the way people do.

- Yes, there is sort of a story behind Wily basing Zero off Proto Man. No, you won't be finding it out soon. :D

- Okay guys, I'm going to have to work on my buffer for this story, so the gap between this chapter and the next is going to be a bit bigger than the last one was. Also, I want to try to work on my story I intend to get published. I have to do extensive editing on it if I want it to get picked up.

S'more Mavericks...

Tylterra

=====Slant Macrocosm

"My orbit remains stable."

Slant Macrocosm is a very strange entity. She is composed of a bright center - a star - and the rest of her "body parts" float around her. Her arms are comets, and other than that she has no regular humanoid parts, other than being able to make her planets orbit her in the shape of a face from time to time. She was created by a scientist for space exploration, but became a Maverick early on. She attacks by shooting comets or surrounding an enemy and burning them in her sun. The player that beats her gets Slant Sunlight, an attack that is like a net. You throw several "planets" at an enemy, and then they suddenly burst into flame, encasing your baddie. The flame also damages enemies outside of it. This works best on stronger enemies, but it's a slow attack for the weaker ones.

"Tylterra" is actually easy to work with. Using "tilt" and "Terra" produced some great synonyms.

Teribane

=====Venom Pterosaur

"Stay away from my nest!"

Venom is a very reckless Maverick, and she loves reading mystery and horror novels. But best of all she likes infecting Maverick Hunters with the Maverick virus. Her weapons include her horrible teeth and acid spit, as well as egg bombs. The player that beats her gets the Venom Bomb which destroys weak enemies and weakens stronger ones. It can either explode on impact or be set down and controlled when it goes off.

"Teri" made me think of Pterodactyls, and there were lots of decent synonyms for "bane". I think this sounds pretty cool.

Ysavvryl

=====Acumen Outfox

"Is it hot in here? No wait, it's just me."

This fox Maverick is very swift, and very sketchy. He plans his attacks very well. He has the power of fire, including breathing it and setting his own body aflame before he runs the player over. Likes hunting more than anything else. The player gains Fire Dash from beating him, and this is a shot that fires a little bit ahead of the player, and as the player slides along with the shot it creates a shield in front of them and enables them to go faster than a regular dash. It also stays there a moment after you stop dashing, so that you don't automatically take damage if you're not all the way out of trouble.

"Ysavvryl" might be a character from a game or something, but it's not an english word. Thesaurus .com asked me if I meant "savvily", so that's what I went with for his name. I actually really like how this turned out.