"Oh, this is so good." And he readied his arm cannon grimly. Like it or not, he was going on... he aimed carefully at one of the lasers and...

Mega Man was deep in combat with the robot masters, leaping agilely over a Rolling Cutter. Then he suddenly turned his head as he heard a loud explosion from inside the building.

"What...?" But then another shot from Elec-man almost hit him, and he paid his full attention to the battle.

No one noticed a shadowy form slipping silently by them, into the building.

I have to stop him! Aria had carefully noted who was in the battle, and knew Bass wasn't there. She was quite certain where he was. I don't know what he's up to, but I can't allow it. She sighed a little at the thought of fighting him again, but there would probably be no help for it.

She skidded to a halt in the ruined lab room, absently noticing the glass strewn all over the floor. Then, the sound of explosions made her gasp... and they were coming from within!

"Who...?" She asked herself, looking at the vault. It was tightly shut. But lying discarded on the ground was a small portable computer. "Let's see...." She picked it up and began tapping commands smoothly. She smiled. Someone had already been using it, so she didn't need any passwords. She easily hacked into it, trying to figure out how it could open the locks... because that was obviously its purpose...

Another explosion came from the locked and sealed room. Aria winced. Bass... Taking her lip in her teeth, she concentrated on the computer. She needed to get in so she could... Her thoughts ground to a halt. What do I want to do? She couldn't let Wily's plan succeed... but she didn't want Bass harmed, either. But, he won't....

The whine of laser fire came, and Aria's eyes hardened like green glass. I'll worry about that when I have to. For now, I need to save him! And her fingers flew across the keyboard, seeking the activation codes... Bass, hold on...

Meanwhile, Bass was having doubts about being able to do any such thing. He was crouched behind a large titanium cabinet, which was shielding him from the worst of the laser fire. But he was constantly in danger of being fried, especially when he darted out to fire at the laser cannons. He had blown up two, but the last five were going into overtime.... And he couldn't seem to get a clear shot. Pure frustration filled his mind.

Oh THANK you Wily! Thank you for sending me into a death trap! The security was just phenomenal... there were even booby traps. The first time Bass had triggered one, a retracting floor over a pit of electrified spikes, he'd barely survived. Just managed to catch onto the edge...

SHIT! A very large blast slammed into his hiding place, making the structure rock. He wasn't sure how much more abuse it could take before giving out completely, and leaving him in the open... he might be able to take the cannons if it came down to that, but... they were so well shielded.

He gritted his teeth as another laser scorched near him. Soon, he was going to have too. Whether he could or not. Charging his cannon, he got ready to see if he could eliminate another gun...

"Almost there..." Aria muttered, pressing a few more buttons. "Almost there... come on baby, come on... just a little more..." The computer paused, almost as if it sensed her frustrated impatience. "Oh PLEASE!" Then there was a soft beep.

Completed. Press enter to run entry program. Almost sobbing in relief, she punched enter. There was a soft hiss as the door swung open...

"Ahhh!" Aria jumped frantically out of the way as a laser beam skidded by her, leaving the smell of burnt hair and ozone. "Bass, are you in there?!? Answer me, please!" Aria ducked away from the entrance, dragging the laptop with her. A strained voice answered her.

"Aria?!?" She had to concentrate to hear him over the laser fire, but there was no doubt in her mind. It was Bass.

"Can you make a dash for the exit?!?" She yelled back, hoping the answer would be yes.

"No, they..." Aria couldn't make out a bit, as a laser chose that moment to fire. "...me pinned!" She grimaced, understanding what he meant.

"Oh damn!" Aria was almost crying with rage and frustration. I can't help him... oh god, how...? She stared at the laptop. Maybe there was something she could use there. She didn't even pause to think about why she was doing this, for someone who should be an enemy...

The laptop was linked to the whole system... Aria started hacking into the system. The programming was intricate, but she had been trained at her mother's hands...

"Bass, just hold on! I'm trying to disable the security system!" She called to him, not lifting her eyes from the monitor. All she got was a muffled reply that sounded as frustrated as she felt. Her mind calmed as she continued working, falling into the patterns of hacking, the calm mindset that let her accomplish her best work...

Aria... Bass crouched down, his eyes wide. Why's she helping me...? He felt a strange, tight feeling in his chest. Could she... feel something for him? Why else would she be helping him?

He was finding it difficult to concentrate on the laser fire, even with the threat of his imminent demise. Until one of them almost got him in the head. If I don't pay attention to this... I'm never going to find out! He focused back on the battle hurriedly, firing a barrage of shots at the lasers, then ducking behind the titanium. It groaned under the blows. It's going to give out soon... hurry, Aria! He could only hope she'd succeed...

"Almost there, almost there..." Aria was getting close to the codes that would let her disable the defense system... "Got you!" She tapped the final key triumphantly. There was a soft whirring sound as the lasers shut down, clicking closed. Aria went to the door, looking in hesitantly. "Bass...? Are you all right?"

"Y... yeah, I think so." She watched as he slowly climbed out of the wreckage. His helmet was battered and dented, and Aria winced at the scorch marks on his armor. He glided smoothly towards her, a dark, handsome vision...

What... what am I THINKING?!? She blinked, pulling herself together. This was definitely not the time for that sort of thing. The look on Bass's face, though, seemed to hold similar thoughts. Still...

"Well, that's nice." She said briskly. "I'm sure Mega Man will be happy to see you. I think he's almost eliminated the Robot Masters." There was a certain lack of weapon fire from outside that seemed to indicate this would be a pretty fair bet. "If I were you, I wouldn't stick around to see him." Bass just looked at her for another moment, then smiled.

"Oh, I'll go... but not without these." And he walked over to the special parts he had been trying to get in the first place. Aria blinked, then her eyes went icy cold.

"I don't think so, Bass! Put those back!" She said commandingly. Bass stopped for a moment, looking at her. He seemed almost... startled.

"You saved my life, now you're saying that? I'm on Wily's side, beautiful." He turned away from her, lifting the container. Aria grimaced.

"I know... oh well." And she tackled him. Bass fell down under her with a surprised squeal, letting go of the container, which flew across the room. Aria and Bass started wrestling across the floor. Aria was faster, but Bass was stronger and tougher. He finally got a grip on her arm, twisting it behind her at a painful angle. She hissed softly, but was far to proud to scream...

"C'mon Aria, what's wrong with you? Come join us..." He lowered his face down beside hers. "We can see each other then... and you do like me, don't you...?" Aria growled softly, trying to yank free.

"It... doesn't matter! I'll never... serve Wily! Bass... please..." And she tilted her face so she could look into his dark, almond shaped eyes. "I saved you. Let's not do this... please." Bass hesitated for a long moment, then finally let go of her arm. Aria sat up slowly, blinking and rubbing her wrist.

"All... right." Bass sighed. He could imagine the tongue lashing he was going to get for this, but... "All right, Aria. I'll leave the components. I couldn't have gotten to them without you, anyway." A surprised smile lighted Aria's face. She hadn't expected it... "But I'm still Wily's." And suddenly, he hugged her, pulling her up to her feet. Aria made a small surprised sound as she felt his strong arms... "Good-bye." And he teleported away...

"Aria!" A young voice came from behind her. She nearly jumped out of her skin, whirling around with a stifled cry. Mega Man stood in front of her, peering around alertly.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded, seeing no enemies. Aria hesitated.

"Well, I told you I was going to fight Wily." She finally said. Mega Man looked at her, stunned.

"With no armor and weapons? What could you do?" He sounded disbelieving. Aria flushed.

"For your information, I... took care of Bass." She snapped. Then she tried a whimsical smile. "It wasn't that hard..." She was surprised by Mega's reaction. He stared for a long moment, then blinked.

"Um... yeah... I guess..." He mumbled a little. Aria blinked, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Well, let's get you back to the lab." He finally said, shaking his head. Aria grimaced a little to herself. Meeting Dr. Light again was not high on her list of fun things to do... but she still left with Mega