Wily sighed. "Yes, I KNOW Bass. You've informed me of that every other minute for the past two days. Now SIT down, and leave my Replod alone. No telling when he'll wke up. I'm going to sleep now. GOODNIGHT!" Dr. Wily left the lab.

Bass growled, and looked back at the not - yet - conscious Reploid, lying on the examination table.

The Reploid was a deep crimson, with bright blue eyes. On his right arm was a deadly arm cannon of Dr. Wily's own modified design. On his back he would soon carry a light sabre. A long blonde ponytail flowed from the back of his helmet, complimenting his slightly tanned face perfectly.

"Cool!" Bass commented. "Drat, WAKE UP ALREADY!!!" he winced in his own eagerness. "Treble, COME!"

Treble leaped from the doorway and into Bass's arms, licking his master's face.

"Treble," Bass scowled, "What in hell am I going to do with you? LICKING ME? You're supposed to be a rock - hard, warrior robo - dog; Instead you're a soft, gentle, loving, metallic puppy dog."

Treble replied with an extra hard lick. He hopped out of Bass's arms, and plopped down on the floor below the examination table.

Bass finally sat down in a chair in the corner of the room, and in minutes was fast asleep.

The Reploid's eyes fluttered open, and he looked around himself in a daze. He lifted his hand and examined it closely. Then he began to test the different patterns in which he was able to move his fingers. After mastering that, he began to examine the room around him.

The greyish stone walls allowed very little natural light to enter the room, so many electrical lights had to be built into the ceiling. A few chairs were placed randomly throughout the room, one of which was occupied by a sleek black and yellow robot.

The robot was apparently sleeping. He was slumped down into the chair, mumbling.

"Damned....Wily. Old geezer.....Reploid, WAKE UP!!! Uhhh....yes sure, whatever, Shade Mutt. Go to hell.....and take Wily with you....."

The Reploid silently asked himself who this "Shade Mutt" was. He swung his legs over the edge of the table, and attempted to stand up.

At once he heard a loud squeak, followed by a threatening growl, a flash of teeth and claws, a blur of purple, and the feeling of himself being thrown violently to the floor. He screamed as he felt the sharp claws being raked down the back of his shoulder. The blood trickled down his neck and stained his face.

Bass flew out of his chair when the terrified scream reached his ears. He stared disbelievingly at the Reploid on the floor, blood streaming from his shoulder.

His gaze then turned to........Treble, seated on top of the Reploid, growling.

"Tr---EBLE!!! BAAAAADDOOOOGG!!!! OFF!! OUT!! GIT!!!!

Treble took one look at Bass, and made a beeline for the door. He disappeared around the corner in record time.

Bass ran over and examined the Reploid's shoulder wound."Hi! Eeeewwww, Treble gave you a nice little cut here! While I wash it off, can you explain what happened?"

The Reploid shakily nodded. As Bass washed out the wound, the he told the story of the loud squeak, and the unexpected attack.

Bass chuckled. "Sounds like you STEPPED on Treble. Gotta watch out for that dog, he'll tear you to shreds if you get him angry enough. Well, let me help you up. Sorry about this. Treble's a good dog, usually anyway."

With Bass's help, the Reploid got to his feet and sat back down on the table.

Dr. Wily burst into the lab, and his eyes instantly glued on the Reploid, SITTING on the examination table.

"Ba--a--ass? What was that scream?" Wily narrowed his eyes, and glared at Bass.

Bass shifted positions awkwardly. "Hey, Doc! LOOK! The Reploid's A-W-A-K-E!"

Wily walked over to the table and looked up at the Reploid. "Hello. I'm Dr. Wi---"

"So Doc," Bass interrupted, "What's his name?"

"I think," Wily said, "I'll call him..... Sigma.

"ICK!!!" Bass gagged. "It doesn't fit him at all! Let's call him.........Zero! Yes! Zero!!"

The Reploid smiled. "I like that name! Zero......"

Wily growled softly. "Okay then, ZERO, There are a few things I need to dicuss with you. About your future, your life. First of all, I created you for a very special reason; You will be put inside a capsule and hibernate for thirty years. When you awaken, there will be much war among Reploids and humans. You are to lead the wars against the humans. Understand?

Zero nodded slowly, thinking about what his creator had just said.

Dr. Wily smiled, admiring his new creation.

"Zero," Bass said, "I'm going to train you to be a warrior! When I get done with you, you're going to be a human - killing, slicing, dicing, stabbing, vicious Reploid from hell!! This is gonna be FUN!! Come on down to the battle training room." Bass walked away, and motioned for Zero to follow him.

Zero decided training to be a warrior MIGHT be fun, and ran after Bass.

After three hours of vigorous training, Bass and Zero returned to the lab where Dr. Wily was.

"Hey Wily," Bass panted, "You should see this guy! He could take down Godzilla in one blast! So, can me and Zero go out for some target practice? hehe."

Dr. Wily's face was twisted in an odd way. "Yeah, Bass. But, there's an idea of mine I think you'd like. Why don't you take Zero and the rest of the robots and attack Dr. Light's lab? We wouldn't want that Reploid X around in the future, stinking things up for us. See if your training has paid off. Sound good?"

Bass's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "YES! For once you got a good idea, Wily! Thanks Doc!" He ran off to round up the other robots.

Zero looked at Wily with concern. "Are you alright?"

Dr. Wily nodded. "Zero," he walked over and placed his hand on Zero's shoulder, "Always remember what I told you to do. Now run off with Bass."

Zero felt uneasy as he walked away. "Probably only those damned emotions Bass was saying I had," He mumbled. But still, he couldn't lose the feeling......

In thirty minutes, Bass had gathered all of the robots, and they set off in the direction of Dr. Light's lab.

Treble kept a good distance away from Bass. Shade Man walked beside Bass and Zero. The other robots followed from a distance, greatly intimidated by the Reploid.

Bass grinned wickedly as they approached their destination. "We're off to bag us a Reploid!!" he cheered.