Somewhere on this earth, children laugh and play in the sunshine and toxic waste.

Somewhere out there, a doggy is chasing his little tail...right into traffic.

Beneath this great big sky, an idiot is burning himself with a nice warm cup of McDonald's watered - down coffee.

But none of those happy things are happening here...because it's Auntie Draco's story time!! Huzzah!

Yes, I know we just recently gathered to hear the heartwarming tale of Zero Tolerance. But this 'ere's a new tale! It's fresh! It's 100% Uh - Huh! It's the PREQUEL to ZT! Yee haa! So break out the apple juice (yes, apple juice; when I served you children ale last time, yer parents have me hell), and listen as I spin my yarn....(Hey! I see you sneaking out! Get back in here! Suffer and perish like a good little child.)

Somewhere on this planet of monkeys and apes, a sleek black and yellow robot wanders, looking for blood. His eyes mean death. His hands could choke you like a chicken. And he has a funky cool helmet. He's an infamous bugger who goes by the name of Bass. Of course, many of you know him deep down inside yourselves. It's an icky, bloody place, somewhere close to your bowels. That's where you know him.

You may be thinking..."Who is this 'Bass'? What does he want? And whatever happened to Pez candy?"

Heh..I assure you, my little hatchlings, that there are logical answers to these questions. Bass is indeed Wily's robot, and he plays an integral role in the creation of....Oops, there I go again, blowing the plot in an intro. So, little uns, buckle your seatbelts, man the lifeboats and pray to your God. Because this is where I take you far away on a journey where we will come to the shocking realization that.....

The wind wailed like a tormented banshee as it wove eerily between the black branches of the skeletal trees. Joining in on the terrible sound, a family of wolves, silhouetted against the huge platinum disc of the moon, raised their noses and howled. Not too far off was the far deeper, more awful howl of a werewolf. Bats twittered and flitted about on the cool night air.

"What a nice day," Bass thought to himself as he took all this in. "It's the kind of day that makes life worth living."

Bass heard heavy, bestial breathing not too far behind him. He was being pursued. Bass, however, did not turn around to challenge his new shadow. He didn't have the time to stop if he was to meet Shade Man that night. It was Gospel's fault; the dratted dog had insisted on bounding from dead tree to tree to smell all the new scents. (We interrupt this story to bring you an important message: I call 'Treble' by his Japanese name; 'Gospel'. Why? Because I gotta!)

Now the metallic canine loped obediently beside his master. When he became aware of the fact that they were being followed, he whined and growled fiercely; however, he still kept up the brisk pace that Bass was setting.

Suddenly, a huge human/lupine form leapt at Bass from behind. Its eyes were lit like green lamps, and its maw of razor edged teeth was aimed right for the back of the black robot's neck.

Not even bothering to turn around, Bass simply pointed his charged cannon behind him and fired the blast. The lycanthrope yelped like a puppy, and collapsed to the ground in a heap of smoking brown fur.

"Now where was I...? Oh yeah. What a nice day..."

Bass noted with a great deal of satisfaction that he was very close to his destination...Shade Man's cathedral. Bass passed through the crumbling stone arch that marked the final stretch to the robotic vampire's hideout. Here, several ravens perched like black spirits. Seeing movement below him, the lead raven unfolded his wings and screeched at Bass. Bass merely turned around and waved at the huge bird.

"Hey Flagg! Kick - butt weather we're having, eh? Do me a favour and don't try to peck my eyes out today, 'kay? I haven't the time." Bass resumed his trot towards the cathedral.

At the entrance to the old church, Bass stopped to admire the two stone dragons that 'guarded' the place. They were forever perched, one on each side of the giant wooden double doors, on huge blocks of stone. Their petrified heads were craned back towards the sky. Their mouths were wide open, screaming a silent warning to anyone who dared to pass them. Their stiff batlike wings were furled, as if they were testing the wind. Bass gave one of the dragon statues a little pat on the neck as he brought his fist down on the cathedral's door. His summons were answered quickly by a small green and grey robot knight that moved about on one wheel.

"Welcome to the abode of the Damned." The knight rasped. "Do you have an appointment?"

"To hell with the appointments! I'm Bass!" The sleek robot snarled.

The knight threw open the door all the way, and bowed his head. "Lord Bass! I'm sorry..the light was bad, and I didn't recognize you. It's truly a pleasure to have you with us...I am honoured to..."

"That's nice, but I really don't care. I just want to see Shade."

The robot knight bowed over and over again. "I shall summon master Shade. Please, come in and make yourself at home."

Bass allowed himself to be lead into a shabby foyer. There was nothing much to look at. Just the same old decaying stone that the rest of Shade's murky territory seemed to be made of. The knight wheeled over to the door that lead to the rest of the cathedral and Shade Man's chamber. Here the knight was presented with a small problem; he had to open the door using a doorknob, but he didn't have any hands. Just two lances at the end of his arms. The knight frowned as he fumbled with the doorknob over and over again.

"Oh dear..."

Bass smirked. "Here, let me help ya." Bass opened the door quite easily. The knight gave his superior a look of gratitude as he wheeled off to search for Shade Man.

Bass leaned against one of the walls and drummed out a little beat on it with his fingers while he went over his plans for the twentieth time. He was feeling very happy with himself; surely his plot would work. Bass seated himself on the dirty stone floor. Gospel came up to him and wordlessly nudged his head between Bass' body and arm, asking for his ears to be rubbed.

Bass looked at the canine sternly. "Stop that. You're supposed to be a fierce attack dog! Sit down."

Gospel cocked his head at Bass and panted.

"Sit!"

Gospel wagged his tail.

"SIT!"

Gospel yawned.

"C'mon...sit! Pretty please?"

Gospel rolled over to have his tummy scratched.

Bass sighed and slumped against the wall again. While Gospel could probably rip out the throat of an elephant, there were also times when he could act like an idiotic puppy. That always drove Bass nuts.

Bass' mental griping was interrupted by the sound of leathery wings creaking above him. Bass glanced up in alarm, and sure enough, there was Shade Man wheeling above him and coming in for a landing. Bass quickly scrambled to his feet to properly meet the vampire. Shade and Bass were very good friends.

"Hey, Shade!"

Shade Man grinned. His fangs gleamed horribly in the moonlight that filtered through the small windows in the foyer. "Good evening Bass," Shade said as he performed his custom little bow. "nice to have you with us today. Did Flagg give you any troubles on your way to see me?"

"Nah, Flagg's a good bird. Usually. So what's new?"

"Oh, nothing's new." Shade said with a shrug of leathery wings. He absently pet Gospel who had come up to greet the vampire. "Seducing women, biting necks, midnight snacks...the usual schlepps that come with commanding an Unholy Army of the Night. Never mind me, how have you been? How's Doc Wily?"

Bass' face fell. " The Doc's not that good, I'm afraid."

"Really?"

"Yeah. This seventh Robot Rebellion is going pretty well for him...the robots he had put into hibernation in case of his capture had activated and broken him out of jail, just like he had planned. Now he has you, Slash Man, Spring Man and Turbo Man working in addition to those four. Yet, he just doesn't seem to...well, care! He had always been so eager during a robot rebellion. But it looks like he's lost his passion for the game. His attempts at attacking Mega Man seem pretty feeble."

Shade Man frowned. "Ah. That's too bad. Perhaps it is his age?"

Bass shrugged. "I'm sure I don't know. You know how humans are always going through mood swings. But I have a plan that might cheer him up. I'll need a bit of your help, though."

Shade Man considered this. "Tell me your plan first."

Bass nodded. Fair enough. "As it stands, Mega Man doesn't know I'm a bad boy. He thinks I'm fighting Wily, like him. I'm sure he suspects deep down that I'm not a good fellow, but he's not doing anything about it. Sooo....I'm gonna pretend I'm hurt. Mega Man will spot me, and, being the compassionate idiot that he is, offer to teleport me to Light's stinking lab for repairs. I'll accept, and when I'm there, I'll find something of value to steal. Maybe some plans for an upgrade, or something. I don't know. Just a little nick - knack that might make the Doc more cheerful. What do you think?"

Shade grinned again. "I like, I like. What do you want me to do?"

"Oh, that's easy. Shoot me."

Shade raised a questioning eyebrow. "Shoot you?"

"Yeah. Just give me a small shot on my shoulder."

"All right. You're da boss." Shade agreed reluctantly. He raised his arm cannon and released a small plasma charge at Bass' shoulder blade. The shot couldn't have made a kindergarten student stagger. But Bass reeled dramatically, holding his shoulder which was bleeding very slightly.

"Oh! You nasty old robot! How dare you? Mega Man's gonna get you for that one!"

Both the evil bots shared a laugh.

"Well, I'm off to meet Mega Man!" Bass said, once he had calmed down. "Thanks, Shade."

"Not a problem. By the way...."

"Yeah?"

"How do you know where to meet Mega Man?"

"Oh. I know for a fact that he's on his way to meet you." Bass said airily. "I had a bit of a rough time trying to keep ahead of him."

Shade's normally bleached face went paler still. "What?"

"Thanks a million Shade! Byes!" Bass said briskly, as he teleported out of Shade's foyer in a shiny black beam.

A few minutes later, Bass kneeled by the dark steps of Shade Man's cathedral, trying his level best to look like he was mortally wounded. Gospel ran in circles around his master, worried that the sleek robot might really be hurt. Gospel was fierce and loyal, but his IQ was that of stale bread.

"Beat it, Gospel." Bass hissed at his companion through clenched teeth. Gospel paid no heed as he lay by Bass and whined. Suddenly the purple and silver robodog leapt to his paws and growled at something in the darkness. Bass grinned; he was almost certain that he knew what Gospel was upset at. Sure enough, as he strained to see further in the darkness, he could see a small blue form making its way towards the two.

"Lights, camera, action!" Bass thought to himself.

As soon as he was in striking distance, Gospel launched himself at Mega Man with a tremendous howl.

"Yikes! Down, Lassie!" Bass heard the blue bomber yelp.

"Gospel! Come here!" Bass commanded. The dog reluctantly bounded back to his master's side. Once Gospel was out of the way, Bass could see Mega Man looking down at him with a questioning expression. Bass recited his lines.

"Damn. I got careless." Bass muttered, clutching his shoulder. "Maybe I should give up and leave Wily to you."

Bass' heart gave a wild leap of excitement when Mega answered him.

"No. We're a team. Dr. Light would be glad to fix you up."

Bass bowed his head so that Mega wouldn't be able to see his wry smile.

"Thanks. I'm glad I have a friend like you...."

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day to be neighbors..."

"Hey Proto,"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind shutting up? Your singing leaves much to be desired."

"We - ll....okay. But only 'cause you're my sis."

Protoman and Roll sat on the porch of Light's lab, soaking in a beautiful spring day. Mr. Sun was smiling, birds wheeled and circled in the azure sky, and flowers bloomed (along with some weeds). It was the sort of weather that made one want to jump and turn cartwheels. However, neither of the bots felt like doing this. They preferred to sit and stare off into the distance, hoping for something interesting to happen.

"You know," Protoman said suddenly in a lazy tone, "Mr. Rogers is one messed up individual. He gets undressed in front of little children."

Roll frowned. "I don't think that taking off your shoes in front of a TV camera counts as getting undressed, Proto."

Protoman shrugged his plated shoulders. "Whatever. Shoes or no, Mr. Rogers still scares me."

Although Roll couldn't disagree with that remark, she decided to change the uneasy topic.

"Isn't it a beautiful day?"

Proto took a halfhearted glance at the nature surrounding him, and shrugged again. "I suppose so. It's not that big of a deal to me."

"I'm not surprised, since you can't see any of it with that visor in front of your eyes."

Proto became offended. "Hey. Don't dis the visor. It's my friend."

Roll grinned. "But how can you SEE anything?"

Proto stood up. "I can see just fine!" He said haughtily. He tried to reenter the lab, but was stopped short when he bashed into the doorframe.

"Ouch." He whined.

Roll fought back the urge to say "I told you so". Instead, she tapped Proto on his metallic leg. "Sit down for a sec. I want to talk to you."

Proto frowned. The heat of the sun was causing him to slowly to cook alive in his heavy silver and maroon armour, but he obeyed. Taking his place next to Roll again, he removed his scarf in an effort to cool off a bit.

"What's on your mind?"

Roll's expression became serious. "I just want to know why you don't seem to hang around the lab that much. True, I see you often, but what about Rock? He'd really like to see more of you."

Proto's face darkened like a thundercloud. "Rock's my brother, and he's a good fellah, but to be perfectly honest with you Roll, I don't need to hear his preaching on what a good team we could be if we joined up and fought together. He doesn't seem to respect the fact that I work best when I'm alone. Everytime I meet up with him, he tries to persuade me to work with him. I've told him as nicely as possible to bugger off and let me do things at my own pace, but no matter how many times I repeat this, he always confronts me with the same question; 'When are you going to stop skulking around on your own? Why don't you stay and help me fight Wily'? And good golly miss Molly, it DOES get tiring to hear that over and over again."

Roll nodded a bit sadly. "Maybe I could have a talk with him."

"Don't bother. It probably won't work." Proto said heavily. Then he sighed and said, "I suppose Rock is still off fighting Wily right now?"

"Uh huh." Muttered Roll while she traced some lines in the dirt in front of her with a broken twig. "Man, that guy is getting on my nerves. Rock's, too, I'm sure."

"I don't see why they don't just give that guy the Chair." Proto remarked as he unconsciously wove a noose out of his removed scarf.

Roll nodded in agreement. "I don't see why Rock just doesn't kill him."

Proto stopped fiddling with his scarf. He dropped it in surprise. He dropped his jaw as well. Proto grabbed Roll by her shoulders and shook her wildly.

"Don't ever....ever....EVER SAY THAT!" He hissed frantically.

Roll seemed confused, and with good reason. "Why...? What did I say?"

Proto regained his composure. "Sorry Roll. It's just that...well...I don't want you saying anything that will give Rock any ideas, although killing Wily is a damned good one. I'm scared that Rock might try it one day. Do you understand what problems would arise then? It would make our lives a living hell."

Roll looked at her brother dumbly. "But why?"

"I take it you don't know too much about the Rules of Robotics?"

Roll had to admit that she did not know very much.

"Well, it's a sort of Ten Commandments for robots." Proto educated her. "Except I don't think that there are ten rules of robotics. Still, there are quite a few, and the first one is to be obeyed without fail: 'A robot is never to harm a human being'. Could you imagine what would happen if Rock killed Wily? He'd be deactivated for sure. Like a dog that bites, a robot that kills humans is bound to do it again. And that is a very dangerous thing. Could you think of Rock on a killing spree? You'd need a bloody army to stop the guy!"

"Oh." Roll said. She seemed to be feeling a bit guilty about bringing up the whole topic.

Proto read her mind. "That's all right." He sighed. "It's just something I don't really like to think about. I'm just worried sick that Rock is gonna lose it one day and blast a hole through Wily. A robot is programmed to follow the rules as closely as possible, but you know how humanlike Rock can be at times. His emotions can sometimes get the best of him. I think he'd try taking a shot at Wily. Then he would be killed, and we'd be surrounded by the media...Oy gavalt, I get such a headache just thinking about it!!"

An uneasy silence was the only answer from Roll. Proto shifted uncomfortably.

"Roll..."

"Yeah?"

"If I told you a secret...would you swear to keep it under your hood? I mean, don't even tell it to Rock? I don't want him to start worrying over stupid things."

Roll's mechanical heart skipped a beat. She wondered if her brother was going to reveal himself to be an alien. That would explain an awful lot. "I swear."

"All right. I trust you. Light told me that he's working on some plans for a new robot."

Roll seemed disappointed. "That's not so unusual."

"No, my ignorant little sibling. Not just ANY robot!"

Roll's interest sparked again. "Go on."

Proto looked at her sternly from behind his visor. "If Light's plans translate into actions, we're going to see a robot that is radically different from any bot you and I have ever known. This robot will have tremendous strength..."

"So?" Roll interrupted again. "A strong robot is nothing to write home to mother about."

"Roll, will you be a dear and let me TALK for ten seconds without being stopped? Thank you. Like I was saying, this robot will also possess emotions that are almost identical to those of humans. It will be able to choose its own path in life, as its programming won't restrain it from doing anything it wants to do. That means that this robot could break the rules of robotics with ease, if he chose to do so."

Roll still did not seem too impressed. "A robot with emotions? Big deal. We have emotions, right?"

"Yes," agreed Protoman, "but our emotions are somewhat primitive. We're still enslaved by our programming quite a bit. What we possess is really nothing compared to what a human can feel. But this mystery 'bot will have the thoughts and feelings of a human. Think of it, Roll. A robot that can love, hate, feel anger, etc. A robot that follows its thoughts and emotions, not its programming."

"I think that sounds wonderful," Roll said as she took all this in.

Protoman got to his feet. "No, it's NOT wonderful." He said in an annoyed tone. "Don't you see the point I'm trying to get across? Would you like me to use sign language? Let me sum this up for you. A robot that can think, feel, and break the laws of robotics is a dangerous thing! What if this robot DOES decide to kill humans. Do you think anyone could stop it? It would be exactly like an angry human that is almost indestructible. It's bad news. I've told Light that he's sowing dragon's teeth with this whole idea. He just laughed and told me to relax, because he has only made the plans for this robot and he hasn't really had any thoughts of carrying out the instructions for some time, if ever." Proto sighed and slumped down again. "I guess he's right. Maybe I should lighten up. I'm just really worried about those plans falling into the wrong hands, i.e. Wily." Proto paused and cocked his head to one side. "'Worry'. THERE'S an emotion we posses! Pretty funky, huh? Maybe we're not so primitive as I originally thought."

Roll smiled and patted her brother on his arm. "There now. There's no reason to worry about phantom robots. We'll see what happens. Just quit living in the future. We have bigger things to worry about in the present."

Proto gazed off into the distance again and frowned suddenly.

"Yeah. And here comes one of those problems."

Roll whisked around to see what Proto was so upset about. She could see a small black and yellow form making staggering towards the duo. A purple and silver four - footed figure trotted alongside the robot.

"Isn't that....?"

"Bass." Proto growled. "And that miserable mutt of his. I really don't trust that guy, and I only put up with him for Light's sake."

"My, you're so trusting. No wonder you have so many friends." Roll teased him. "I personally think that Bass is all right. Besides, it looks like he's hurt or something."

"Well then, you just have a yabba - dabba - do time with Mr. Bass." Proto told her while getting to his feet. He retrieved the precious scarf that he had dropped earlier. "I don't want to even look that guy in the face. I'll see you later, 'kay? If Bass tries anything smart, just kick him in the groin. That always works for me when I have a pesky human reporter chasing me down for an interview. G'bye!"

Proto was engulfed by a red beam, then gone.

Sometime later in Dr. Light's oh - so - famous lab, Bass skipped about as merrily as a drunk dwarf. He had been admitted to the lab and repaired with no problems. That took care of part one of his plan. Now it was time for phase two. Bass tagged at Light's heels, pestering the old scientest just for the fun of it. Suddenly, Bass stopped and tapped Light on the shoulder while pointing to a curious object that lay on a nearby shelf.

"Hey Doc, what's that?"

"Oh, that's my new invention. It's called the Energy Balancer, and it's function is to --"

"'Energy Balancer'? That's a stupid name. What's that?" Bass pointed to another object.

"That's my laser cannon. It's very handy for --"

"Oh never mind. What's that?"

Dr. Light rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Bass, could you please give it a rest for a minute? I never knew that any robot was capable of asking so many stupid questions."

Bass became offended. "Sorry. I can't help it if I'm inquisitive."

Dr. Light clearly felt bad about telling off the robot. "I'm sorry, Bass. It's just that your questions have given me a migraine."

The corners of Bass' mouth twitched ever so slightly. "Gee. Isn't that a shame?" He patted his newly - patched shoulder, where Shade Man had previously shot him. "By the way, thanks for the repairs."

"No thanks needed. It was a simple procedure."

"Well, thanks just the same." Bass suddenly lunged at a table and grabbed a half completed fragile construction that rested upon it. The creation promptly slipped out of his eager grasp, and shattered to bits on the tiled floor.

"Oh well. You can't win 'em all." Bass remarked with a casual shrug. He swept up the debris with his foot and kicked it under a table.

Light involuntarily winced at the sight of his hard work splattered all over the floor.

"No...and sometimes you can't win AT all..."

Bass looked up. "Hm? What was that you said?"

"Nothing."

Before Light could even stop him, Bass sprung towards a storage shelf that rested in the far side of the lab. As quick as a squirrel, Bass hauled himself to the top of the shelf. His eye fell on a thick notebook that resided there. Bass grabbed it and began to flip through it without hesitation.

"Wow!" The sleek bot called down to Light. "Are these plans for upgrades to Mega and Rush? They're the creamiest! You should....aurgh!"

Bass' last word was uttered in surprise as he began to notice that the shelf was falling...with him on it! Bass went 'el splatto' as the structure tipped over with him beneath it. Light hurried over to make sure that the bot was all right.

Bass managed to lift up the fallen shelf and squirm out from under it.

"I'm alright. Really, I am..."

Light frowned. "Bass, it would please me if you kept your paws off of my stuff." He glanced with alarm at the notebook that Bass clutched. "In fact, give me back that book."

Bass grinned hellishly. "I'm sorry Hal. I can't do that." Bass grabbed a table and lifted it above his head with no problem whatsoever. "Here! CATCH!" He bellowed as the heaved the object towards Light. The table hit Light square and true, knocking him over and pinning him down to the floor.

"Bass...WHAT is...going...on?" Light demanded.

In answer, Bass simply extracted a small bomb with one hand, and waved the thick notebook with the other.

"I said I liked your plans for this little upgrade! So I'm ripping them off for Wily! Isn't that nice of me?" Bass swept over the room with a glance. "I just wonder if there's anything else of value to steal..." Bass walked away from Light and over to the back of the lab, where there was a vault, and a small window. "Well lookie here, Pard! A vault! Gee, I wonder what's inside?"

Dr. Light frantically renewed his struggle to get out from under the table. "Get away from there!"

Bass simply tossed the bomb he was holding up and down like a black baseball.

"I like bombs. Don't you? Bomb Man gave me this one for a Christmas gift. I felt sorta bad about receiving it...after all, all I got Bomb Man was a lousy pair of dollar socks. Now, if I were you, I'd get down low to the ground. You don't want any shrapnel in your eye!" Bass hurled the bomb at the safe and dove to the ground in one smooth motion. Sure enough, the bomb exploded on contact. It blew the door off of the safe in addition to blowing up a good quarter section of the lab. Light was not hurt, but he became utterly terrified to see Bass rummage through the safe's contents. Bass eventually pulled out some materials that interested him.

"Well, isn't this interesting!" The black bot remarked as he shuffled through a bunch of papers and computer disks that he had taken out of the safe. "These look like plans of some sort...." Bass took a closer look at the papers. "Plans for...a 'reploid'. Now what in the sam hill is a 'reploid'? Oh well, whatever it is, I'm sure Wily will be interested in it." Bass collected the papers along with the notebook he had snatched earlier.

"Give those plans back to me!" Dr. Light cried desperately.

Bass snickered. "Okay. Let me get this straight. Here in my hand, I have something that is obviously of great value. In fact, it might even help Wily take over the world. And you, my enemy, is laying there as helpless as a kitten. So you want ME to just GIVE you back the plans? As if I'm just gonna walk over to you and say, 'Here you go Dr. Light. I was just kidding'? I REALLY don't think so! Sorry old chap. It's like those horror movies where the heroine is being pursued by a nasty monster, so she goes upstairs and locks the door. Like a locked door is really gonna stop Satan?"

Bass' fun was interrupted by the sound of the lab door crashing open. There stood Mega Man, his mouth sagging open in disbelief. His gaze went from the destroyed lab to Dr. Light pinned under the heavy table to Bass and back to the destroyed lab again.

"Holy Queen Mother! What's been going on here!?" He demanded angrily.

Bass waved at the blue bomber. "Too late, Mega Man! He who hesitates is...oh, screw it. See you around!"

With that, Bass whistled to Gospel who instantly bounded to his master's side. Bass threw himself out the window that was positioned beside the destroyed safe. Unfortunately for the sleek bot, the window was closed, and jumping through the thick glass caused him a wee bit of pain. Light and Mega could hear Bass' rapidly receding voice float back up to them from below.

"OUCH! Damn, that hurt! Don't you idiots ever open your windows? Let some fresh air in! It'll do ya good!"

As Skull Castle grew larger and larger on the horizon, Bass stopped his brisk pace to take a moment to congratulate himself. Everything had gone peachy. Now all that remained was to take those curious plans he had obtained to Wily. Bass glanced at the papers he held. He was sadly confused about exactly what they were, but they seemed important. However, when he had tried to read them, they were nothing more than jargon to him. It was probably only stuff that Wily could really understand. Bass shrugged and approached the forbidding maw of his master's castle.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, PRETTY BOY!" Two identical voices boomed in unison. Two small look alike figures suddenly jumped in Bass' path. One raised its arm cannon at the sleek bot and fired a shiny, aqua blue beam. Bass yelped and threw himself upon the ground. The beam whizzed over his head and smacked into a rock with an exploding sound, where it ricocheted at a 45 degree angle and smashed one of the upper level windows of Skull Castle. Another shot promptly followed the first one. This one bounced off of a tree and fried a squirrel. Still, Bass cowered in the dust while opening one eye to try to get an idea of who these new threats were. Bass caught a glimpse of the midday sun flashing off of the rough, crystal surface of his attackers' blade - edged armour. The rain of laserfire still flew thick, but none of it touched Bass. Then Bass understood just who he was up against. He hauled himself to his feet.

"CASTOR! POLLUX! STOP IT, YOU BLOODY IDIOTS!" Sure enough, the Gemini Men withheld their fire and trembled in fear as Bass towered over them. Bass' face was one gigantic frown. He didn't appreciate it when people attempted to murder him.

"B...B....Bass...sss....ss...I...didn't know it was....you..." One of the Gemini Men stammered. The other one looked like he wished he could sink into the ground.

The Gemini Men were robotic twins, and, as a result, you couldn't tell one apart from the other if your life depended on it. To try to lessen the massive cases of mistaken identity that came with the twins, they were actually named after the famous twins in the constellation of Gemini. One robot was Castor. His brother was Pollux. To attempt to lessen confusion even further, Wily imposed a strict rule on the twins: They each must wear a name tag at all times. Thus, since then, Castor has sported a large red sticker that read "HELLO, MY NAME IS CASTOR!" on the left side of his breastplate, while Pollux bore a sticker in the same area that screamed, "GOOD DAY, MY NAME IS POLLUX!". Neither of the bots wore their name tags with a great deal of pride. Still, the twins would never disobey Wily, even if the evil scientist ordered them to stick a screwdriver in their eyes. " Bass, I didn't know it was you!" Castor repeated pathetically. "That's why Pollux and I took a shot at you. You can't be too careful when Mega Man is wandering the streets, you know..."

"Who did you think I was? The Easter Bunny?" Bass rumbled. "I take it that you did. In that case, I forgot to bring you some cheap chocolate eggs, but I brought you something MUCH better, Castor..."

With that, Bass drew back his fist and gave Castor the finest uppercut you ever saw. The poor Gemini Man literally flew a good metre before splattering on the grass, where he lay splayed out like roadkill. Pollux quickly dropped to his twin brother's side and desperately tried to get him breathing again. Bass simply stepped over the mess he had created, and walked over to the small intercom system that was positioned outside of the massive main doors of the fortress. Bass skilfully punched in the code on the number panel that would allow him to talk directly to Wily himself.

As Bass had expected, a heavy German voice floated through the intercom's speaker. "Vhat? Who is zere? Go avay. It'z nap time." Bass gave a wry grin. "It's only me, Doc. Bass. So you can knock off that kooky German accent."

There was a small pause from the other end.

"Really?" Bass nodded, although he knew full well that Wily couldn't see his actions from the other end of the 'com. "Yep."

"Oh, that's a relief." Wily sighed. His voice had smoothed out to a typical Joe - Schmoe accent. "It's really a pain when I have to use that German voice. But it seems to be effective when I'm trying to strike fear into the hearts of..."

"Doc, can you let me in already?" Bass interrupted rudely. "I've returned from ransacking Light's lab, and I have a few things that you might wanna see."

"Oh certainly. Just a sec."

"By the way, Doc," Bass remarked suddenly. "I'm afraid I just whupped Castor's pathetic behind again. I think he might need some major repairs."

"Again? This is the third time this month! Bass, you have to learn to tolerate idiots more."

"I try, Doc. Really, I do. "

"Well, at any rate come in." Wily grumbled in a static - drowned voice. The gates to the entrance of the fortress slowly swung open. Before entering , Bass glanced behind him and saw Pollux gawking vacantly at him in fear and awe. Bass decided to have a little more fun. He pointed at the Gemini twin and barked in a commanding voice:

"Gospel! Go kill!" Gospel liked nothing better than this command. He charged at Pollux with his great mouth wide open in a frightful roar. Pollux turned around and fled, screaming for his mother (obviously forgetting in his frenzy that he didn't HAVE one). He wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and as a result, tripped over the motionless body of his brother. Pollux tumbled clumsily to the grass just as Gospel pounced. Since Bass didn't care much for the sight of robotic blood, he turned around and entered the castle. Gospel could let himself in through the doggy - door when he was finished with his sport.

Bass' good cheer began to diminish as he toiled up the winding stone staircase that snaked around the inside of Wily's tower. The tremendous set of stairs led towards the top of the fortress and Wily's chambers. Climbing them was always an adventure, not to mention a pain in the neck.

"Why can't Wily just put in an elevator?" Bass grumbled to no one in particular. "And for that matter, why are his chambers at the top of the bloody castle? Couldn't he put his rooms on the main floor? No, wait...that would make too much sense for a human."

The last stair was ascended, and Bass found himself in the mouth of a long hallway. It was only a bit further now. He started down the passageway, and almost immediately he met Snake Man, who was coming down the hall from the opposite direction. Bass smiled when he saw the reptilian robot. Snake Man was one of Wily's smarter robots, and, as a result, he had Bass' respect and friendship.

"Ah, hello Bass!" Snake hissed. He approached Bass with a graceful sort of slither in his step. "What's up?"

Bass grinned. "The sky."

Snake rolled his slit - like eyes at the black bot. "That's very funny, Bass. I'm dying of laughter. You should write that up and send it to Seinfeld."

"Hey!" Bass cried out suddenly.

Snake looked at Bass in amusement. "Is something the matter?"

Bass' eye fell on Snake Man's neck. There, draped in massive scaly coils, rested a python. It lifted its head and studied Bass with cold, beadlike eyes.

"Cool! A real python!" Bass remarked.

Snake nodded and grinned with pride. "Yes. He's my new pet."

"What's his name?" Bass inquired as he (carefully) pet the triangular head of the python.

"Monty."

Bass chewed over this. "Monty...Python. Sort of has a nice ring to it. Well, I'm off to see the Doc. See you later!" Bass sprinted down the hall.

Dr. Wily, an evil scientist we all know and love was in his main surveillance chamber with his feet up, dully watching a small TV. Behind him stood Smoky the Bear's worst nightmare... Fire Man. Wily usually spent all day in the surveillance chamber, watching the ongoings around the city. But today, he just wasn't in the mood. He stared silently at the television, bathed in its faint glow. Fire Man faithfully waited for any orders that his creator might give him, while wondering what kind of entertainment humans get from staring at images on a small black box.

A sudden, jarring crash of the room's main doors being flung open announced Bass' arrival. Fire Man whipped around in alarm at the discord, but Wily didn't even twitch.

"Have no fear, Bass is here!" Sang the ebony bot.

Wily didn't even turn around. "Bass, how many times have I asked you not to slam doors around?" He droned.

Bass frowned. "Wily, what IS it with you!? Do you want me to bring you some orange juice and prozac? Lighten up!"

Fire Man approached his superior and lowered his voice, which sounded like a cross between a 20 year old furnace and the infamous cartoon pyro, Butthead.

"Uh, Bass...The Doc's like...really...uh, bummed out or something. I wish there was something that could, uh, like, cheer him up. huh huh..." Bass shoved Fire Man to one side. "I have just the thing!" Bass rattled the plans in his hand. "Look, Wily! Lookit what I found! I think you might like this...!"

Wily still stared at the TV like a zombie. "Will I, Bass? That's nice." Bass' rage began to mount. He felt the urge to throw a hyper spaz. "You didn't even LOOK! You don't even CARE!"

"Wow, you know what Bass? You're right! Now leave me alone. Go water the plants."

"TURN AROUND, DAMN YOUR SOUL!" Bass snarled as he stomped over to the television that had captivated Wily. The sleek bot easily grasped the TV and, with one mighty jerk, tore its plug right out of the socket. Bass then drop - kicked the box out the open door of the chamber. Bass could hear a muffled curse as the contraption hit someone outside of the room. Dr. Wily frowned. "Well now, Bass. That wasn't very nice."

"I have nothing to do with nice!" The bot snapped. "You know that, Doc!" Wily smiled weakly as he sunk back into the wings of his overstuffed chair.

"Ah, Bass. My last and greatest creation. I really outdid myself with you. You're so humanlike.."

"Hold IT!" Bass said sharply. "What do you mean 'last' creation...?" Wily stirred uncomfortably. "I've made a decision, Bass. I'm old, and I'm tired of trying to take over the world when I really haven't gotten anywhere close to doing so for the past six attempts! I'm not creating anymore robots. I just want to live the rest of my years in a little bit of peace." "No! No no no a thousand times NO!" Bass cried in horror while jumping in one spot.

Wily spoke loudly in an effort to be heard over the din that his assistant was creating. "It's finished, Bass! Done! Over! Finito! Now, here's a little secret; Although you don't know it, there is a tiny chip inside of you and all your brothers that will automatically shut you all down almost as soon as I've bought the farm. You'll never reactivate. None of you. Isn't that a comforting thought?"

Bass stood stock still. "But why?" He finally squeaked. " Why do you want to do away with us? Don't you want us to live on and destroy mankind? Huh? Don't you?"

Wily shook his bald head. "No. I've thought it over. Any way you look at it, I've been a bad boy almost all my life. Right from the time I reprogrammed Light's bots when we were partners!" Wily chuckled at the evil memory.

"Yeah. Those were like, uh, the golden times Doc." Fire Man grunted from behind.

"Yes." Wily sighed. "I need some rest from evil. Sort of a change, if you will. Something GOOD to look at when they check out the records of my life at the big computer in the sky. No need to check them, really. We all know where I'M going once I've left this mortal coil."

"Peace?" Bass gasped. "Doc, watch your mouth! Please, look at what I've ripped off for you! It has to do with...fun!"

"Gee, what could be more fun than eternal damnation?"

"Well, not much." Bass admitted. "But put it this way. If you don't turn around right now and look at what I worked hard to obtain for you, I'll just stand right here and pester you until you do."

"Do your worst." Wily challenged his creation in a growl.

Bass pounced on that gladly. "Very well then. Doc, will you look at these sheets?"

"No."

"Doc, will you look at these sheets?"

"No!"

"Doc, will you look at these sheets?"

"No!!"

"Doc, will you look at these sheets?"

"No!!!"

"Doc, will you look at these sheets?"

"NO!!!!"

"Doc, will you..."

"STOP! STOP IT! A human can only take so much, you know!" Bass beamed with triumph. "So, you'll look at what I brought you?" Wily grunted a response as he snatched the papers out of Bass' outstretched hand. "What are these?"

Bass shrugged. "I know that the notebook you're holding has something to do with upgrades to Rush and Mega...but those stray papers...well, I have no idea what they are, but they seem to be very important. Ol' doc Light nearly had a heart attack when I started to handle them..."

Wily's head jerked up. "You took these away in front of Light?"

Bass nodded with a touch of pride. "Yep. He was pinned under a table that I - ahem! - threw at him. I daresay he was pretty helpless."

A tiny hint of a smile crept up to the corners of Wily's mouth. "Well, isn't that nice?" Wily proceeded to study the papers Bass had nicked for him. Bass watched with a great deal of interest as Wily's eyes got larger and larger as he viewed what was before them. The black bot got quite a start when Wily suddenly jumped out of his overstuffed chair and began to run in small circles around the room with more energy then Bass could ever remember seeing in the scientist in a long, long time. Fire Man became spooked and hid under a table.

"BASS!"

"Whuuut?"

"Do you have ANY idea what these plans are?"

"Ah...no. I honestly have no idea what they are."

"These are Light's best kept secrets!" Wily was now panting with exhaustion. He was forced to stop his mad whirlabout and breathe. "Plans for a robot...with emotions and free will!"

"Is that good?"

Wily regarded Bass with a vexed look on his anchient face. "Is that GOOD?" He echoed in disbelief. "Bass, it's amazing! Think of all the possibilities, the power..."

Bass smiled wryly. Wily seemed to be getting back to his old, scheming self again.

Wily's huge grin twisted to a frown as he looked at the crinkled plans again.

"That idiot, Light, has already come up with a name for this 'creation' of his. Listen to this name, Bass! 'X'. What kind of name is that? I had a hamster named 'X' when I was a boy!"

Bass pretended to be interested in the old human's ramblings. "What happened to him, Doc?"

"Oh, I got bored with X, so I fed him to my pet alligator." Wily said absently.

Bass grinned. "You're a good man, Doc. You have quite a heart."

"Yes. Well, take my advice, Bass. Never get a hamster for a pet. They do nothing but chew paper at every waking moment, then they run on those little exercise wheels all night. The squeaking can drive you mad. I think that's how I got the way I am today."

"Doc, you mean that you blame your unstable mind and violent nature on a harmless little hamster?" Bass inquired.

"Yes." Wily said solemnly. "And it wasn't an 'innocent little hamster'! It was a MEAN hamster! It wanted to kill me! Every night it would plot my death and scurry out of its cage, wielding a butcher knife...it would climb up my bedsheets while I was asleep, and..and..." Wily's voice trailed off and he began to tremble at the disturbing memory.

Bass was used to this sort of thing from Wily. "There now, Doc. The hamster won't bother you anymore."

Wily's voice began to rise in volume as he continued to rave. "The hamster was AGAINST ME! I bet HE was the one who also turned my GOLDFISH against me!

The goldfish tried to DROWN me! DROWN ME, I TELL YA! But I got the best of little furry X, Bass! I fed him to my alligator! SNAP!" - Here Wily mimicked an alligator's snapping jaws using him arms - "No more X! I could sleep at night again...until my German Shepherd found out where my parents kept the revolver..."

Bass rubbed his eyes in frustration. The doc got more and more unstable as the days went on. Would he really be able to build one of these mysterious 'reploids'?

"Doc..."

Wily paused in his raving. "Yes Bass?"

"Are you gonna use those plans or what? Are you gonna create a 'reploid'?" Wily cast his eyes down to the mysterious sheets. "I don't...know if I could, Bass. Remember, I said that I just wanted peace for the next little while. Besides, It would be too difficult for me to do on my own."

"But Doc," Bass pleaded. "I'm sure that Light's gonna build this 'X' character if he hasn't started already. Look deep in your black soul. You don't want 'peace', certainly not in the future. You want death and destruction. Peace is for wusses. You know it and I know it. If you used these plans to your advantage, you could build your own little reploid to wreak havoc and destruction while you're gone. I mean, I'll admit it. Myself and my brothers wouldn't be much match for a robot like this strange 'X' fellow. I could tell by your reactions to those plans. But if you used these plans to build a 'reploid' of your own to rival this 'X' and to carry on your dirty work...well then...life would be good for future generations!" Bass elbowed Wily in his fragile ribs. "Am I right? Huh? Am I?"

Wily had his chin resting in one hand, a sure sign that the old scientist was thinking. Bass had a chance to topple the balance towards his favour. "Of course, if you don't WANT to build this advanced robot...I'm sure that Light will be known forever as the scientist who built the most amazing machine in existence, and you'll just be known as Dr. Wily, the wuss scientist who couldn't compare to Light even though he had a chance to do so. Or, maybe you'll just be known as Dr. Wily, the scientist who couldn't win a bloody war to save his life, so he deactivated his miserable robots and just crawled quietly under the table, like the defeated dog he was..."

"That's ENOUGH, Bass!" Wily roared. "I'm ten times the scientist Light is or will be! I'll build your miserable reploid! But you'll have to help me!!"

Bass smirked and removed his helmet with a sweeping mock bow. "Anything you say, mein Wily!"