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Bass leapt from down from Treble's back, the robot wolf descended lightly behind him. Taking a few steps forward, Bass glared at his... 'partner' for the situation. Reaching into the small bag, he tossed him one of the canisters he had managed to find while rummaging through the ruined buildings. Proto Man caught the canister without even looking, before tilting his head at the M-Tank.
"What?" Bass snapped, rolling his eyes. "It's slim-pickings when the city's gone to hell, alright? Not exactly Yashichis growing on trees, so either drink it, or you can hand it right back over."
Proto Man said nothing, only turning away and cracking open the M-Tank.
That's what he thought... Bass scoffed, before cracking open one of the other M-Tanks he had found. For a few minutes, both Robot Masters sat in silence, drinking their energy cans and doing their best to regather their strength.
Wiley had really done it this time... which was odd, because Bass hadn't noticed anything particularly different about him lately. One minute he was cooped up in his laboratory for days on end (which was nothing unusual for the old man), and the next day he was announcing his schemes, live on television, like a Silver Age comic book villain.
And what a scheme it was: something he called 'Roboenza'. Yeah, apparently his naming schemes hadn't improved in all that time, but what did was the scale of said scheme. In a matter of a month or so, tons of robots had gone nuts, attacking people and all claiming to want to take over the world, real original.
And so, that meant the unfortunate circumstances that he had to team up with Mega Man, of all people, and Proto Man had come along as well. The plan was to track down whatever robots Wiley had incorporated the data for the cure and take them down. So, while Mega Man tracked down the next Robot Master, Bass and Proto Man would gather tools they may need and take care of themselves (especially Proto Man, what with his lesser stamina and whatnot). Thus, that's what they were doing, hence Bass' amazing company. And Treble. He actually liked Treble's company.
"So, Bass..."
Speak of the devil.
"What?" Bass replied flatly.
"Why exactly are you helping us? I mean the real reason."
Bass raised an eyebrow. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
"This virus is stupid, that's why. Making a bunch of random robots go nutso and attack random people for no reason? It's all a bunch of crap."
Bass finished the rest of his M-Tank, before dropping the empty can onto the ground and slamming it with his foot.
"I don't give a damn about any 'world domination', I just care about taking Mega Man down. The sooner this virus is gone, the sooner things go back to normal; Mega Man gets back to his life, I get back to mine. This stupid flu's got everyone messed up, so it takes priority."
"Hmm..." was Proto Man's first response.
Bass hated it when people went 'hmm'.
"Like Roll?"
Bass blinked, the sudden mention surprising him.
"What do you mean, 'Like Roll'? What about her?" he replied.
"Roboenza isn't exactly being nice to her, either." Proto Man replied, still not making eye contact. "When Rock told you, you seemed kind of bothered, is all."
...
"Hmm, of course you two are out-and-about... No doubt trying to save the world as always, huh, Mega Man?" Bass taunted, watching as Proto Man and Mega Man sped through the streets, launching an attack nearby so they'd notice him.
"Bass! Listen, I-" Mega Man began, before being cut off by his older brother.
"Save it, Bass! Tell us where Dr. Wiley is, and how to stop Roboenza!" Proto Man shouted.
"You really think I know?" Bass replied, shrugging his shoulders uncaringly. "Even if I did, why would I ever tell you?"
"Because Wiley's gone too far! Innocent lives are at stake, they don't deserve this!"
"Bass, please!" Mega Man spoke back up. "People are getting hurt! Everyone is! Even Roll!"
Bass froze, before shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
"Fine." He finally spoke up, crossing his arms. "I don't know everything, but I have a vague idea as to where some of the other Robot Masters might be. Don't think this changes anything, once we're done, we're done. Let's go."
...
Proto Man turned away for a moment, before turning back to face him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you cared about her."
Bass clenched his fist. "Well, it's a good thing you do know better, because I don't."
Proto Man turned away, before half-shrugging.
"Shame, 'considering what's happened..."
Bass blinked, again, panicked thoughts filling his head.
"What happened to her?"
"Nothing you'd care about." Proto Man replied bluntly, beginning to walk away.
"I said, 'what happened?'"
"Apparently, nothing that concerns you, so, le-"
Chasing after the older robot, Bass grabbed Proto Man by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around to face him, before shouting in a mixture of anger and desperation.
"You tell me what the hell happened!"
Proto Man said nothing, hardly fazed by the Wiley Bot's aggression, before finally cracking a smirk.
"She's feeling better."
Growling, Bass shoved Proto Man slightly before walking away from him. He couldn't believe the robot had played him so easily.
"You know, I'm no expert on emotions, but uh... You really seemed to care about Roll, right then, too." Proto Man perked up, following behind. "Didn't you?"
"Oh, shut up." Bass scowled, before rolling his eyes. "What do you even want? A shovel talk? Some kind of 'If you lay one finger on her...' kind of speech, because honestly, I think I can live without it..."
"Yeah, not really my thing."
The response actually made Bass chuckle.
"You're really not fazed by this, are ya? The fact that the guy who wants to crush your brother is also crushing on your sister?"
Bass froze. Neither of them had actively said it, so finally being so upfront about it felt a little awkward.
"Honestly..? Not really."
"Then what are you bugging me about, then? You plan on using this as blackmail? Or are you gonna try to tell me that this is 'the beginning' or something. And how I can 'change if i want to', or whatever crap."
"Nuh-uh. I'll let Rock handle the speeches, he's better at them, anyway."
"So what, then?"
Proto Man shrugged again, another smile on his face, this time not one of smugness or pompous attitude, but a genuine humored smile.
"Really, I'm just curious where this all came from. I honestly didn't really think you knew one another..."
Bass rolled his eyes again, walking over to Treble and sitting down nearby him.
"Yeah, considering you seem to know everything about me, right?" Bass mocked sarcastically.
There was a brief pause, and for a moment, Bass considered leaving it alone, but after a moment, he chose to speak back up.
"You remember the whole thing with King?"
Proto Man let out a silent chuckle.
"Yeah, that was something, all right. Kind of hard for me to forget, considering..."
Proto Man mimed the act of chopping at his waist.
"You know."
The joke actually made Bass chuckle a bit, before he continued.
"Point is, I was kind of on my last legs. King had taken over the fortress, Wiley had disappeared... and so, like, where exactly do you go from there?"
"You had Rock, though, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I had 'Rock'." Bass replied, waving his hands with sarcastic jazz hands. "I also had wrecked Light's Lab last time I was in there, so, yeah. I wasn't exactly going to expect them to pull out First Class Service for ol' me."
He reached into the bag he was holding, grabbing another M-Tank, the first one not really doing it for him.
"So I started scrounging around for stuff, hiding myself, trying to repair myself."
He gestured with the M-Tank. "It didn't really work out, obviously."
Proto Man nodded his head.
"So there I am, in the middle of nowhere, 'even put an old scarf over my face, 'try to keep anyone from recognizing me, and yet, the next thing I know..."
Bass cracked open the M-Tank, foam fizzing out from him miming the actions, before he took a drink.
"There she is... I don't even know how she found me, why she cared. But there she was, panting hard from running, bag full of supplies. She probably didn't even tell Light where she was going"
Proto Man smiled slightly, knowing his sister well enough to know exactly.
"It's weird, you know?" Bass spoke back up. "Like, why? Why look for me? Why help me? And even then, why not just drop the bag and leave?"
Bass took another drink, before chuckling slightly.
"Won't lie, I'm pretty sure I said some things I shouldn't have at first, and oh man, did she give me an earful right back... And yet still, she came right back, kept bringing me supplies, kept asking if I was alright. She even tried her hand at repairing me, what, with the little Light taught her I'm sure."
Proto Man nodded his head.
"Even when I didn't need anything she came to visit, to 'see if I was alright...'. Sometimes she'd just talk to me about her day, convinced I wasn't really listening, sometimes she'd play with Treble, sometimes she'd ask me some questions."
Bass leaned back, downing the rest of his M-Tank, before tossing the empty can behind him.
"I remember she asked once, if I had ever asked Wiley for a civilian identity. You know, like you or Mega Man? If I ever asked for one, what name I'd use while out my armor."
Proto Man perked up, curious about Bass' answer.
"I told her I didn't know. That being all 'civilian'-like wasn't my style, not quite my forte."
Bass paused, not fully sure if he wanted to commit to telling the end, before figuring he was already most of the way there.
"And she laughed. And she said she liked the word 'forte', because in music it meant 'strong', but also 'loud'. She joked it was just like me, strong, but loud."
Bass gave a humored shrug.
"You know, to this day, I still don't know if she was making fun of me, or actually trying to give me a compliment."
"Probably both." Proto Man replied.
"Yeah, probably both... Either way, after that she started calling me 'Forte', she said it was like a nickname, but I could use it as a civilian name if I wanted to."
Bass smiled to himself, not an evil smirk, or an ego-filled grin, a real smile.
"Could you even imagine that? Me, with a civilian identity?"
Bass shook his head, the idea not necessarily unpleasant in his mind, stroking Treble's head, he spoke back up.
"And I don't know... Something about that stuck with me... Something about someone caring so much for someone else, regardless of what they've done, who they are..."
"I know what you mean..." Proto Man commented. "In that sense, she might be just as stubborn as you."
Bass wanted to shoot him a blank look, but the fact was the joke did earn the prototype a snort.
"You got that right."
There was another brief silence, which Bass broke after a moment.
"So, what about you?" Bass asked, a half-humored look on his face. "Is this just about your sister, or do you have something 'special' you're looking after?"
Proto Man turned away.
"Something personal."
Bass rolled his eyes. "Enigma's overrated: spill."
But before Proto Man could begin, both robots would perk up at the sound of an engine growing closer, likely Mega Man and Rush on their way.
Picking himself, Proto Man straightened his helmet, before giving Bass his hand to lift up.
"Maybe another time. Look sharp, Rock's on his way."
Taking Proto Man's hand, Bass whistled for Treble, who woke up from his nap.
"Yeah, whatever." he replied, crossing his arms, before giving Proto Man a smile. "You're the one who's gonna need it more."
Proto Man smiled back.
"I'm sure. Now let's get a move on. Do a good job with this next Robot Master and maybe I'll put in a good word with Roll."
Bass rolled his eyes. He was already regretting opening up.