" Mega Man! Can you hear me?" someone called. X jumped, startled. Then, he moaned. He was in that hallway again! X looked around for whoever it was that was going to torture him THIS time. To his surprise, he found Dr. Light staring at him.

" Dr. Light?" X asked.

" Yes, Mega Man," Dr. Light said as he nodded.

" Why do you people insist on calling me that? I am Mega Man X!" X growled. Dr. Light sighed.

" I will call you that if you wish," he said.

" Thank you," X said, relieved. Dr. Light walked up to him.

" X, something is about to happen. Not immediately, but it's about to. I'm not sure what it is but I have a feeling it won't be a nice experience! X... there's a chip I need to tell you about...," Dr. Light said. X didn't seem to hear this. He regarded Dr. Light.

" Yeah yeah, later! When will this nasty experience happen?" X asked.

" I am not entirely sure. At any time," Dr. Light said.

" I'll be ready!" X said, determined. Dr. Light smiled.

" Be careful Mega Man X," he said. Then, he disappeared. X stood where he was, silent for a while. Lost in thought, he didn't see the weird figure approaching him.

" Mega Man," the figure said, scornfully. X whirled around, very angry.

" I AM MEGA MAN X!!!" he screamed at the figure, completelylosing his temper. The figure jumped back, surprised. X glared at the figure. It was a reploid wearing black armor. Next to him was a huge robot dog. " Who are you?" X asked, angry. The reploid laughed.

" I am Bass! This is my dog, Treble! Well, Mega Man... X!" Bass added the X part very quickly. " I'm surprised that you don't remember us! We did, after all, steal the very upgrades intended for you and Rush!" he said. X narrowed his eyes slightly.

" Get lost. I don't feel like talking to you!" he growled. Bass smiled.

" You can't get away from me! I'm in your head!" Bass giggled. X narrowed his eyes even more. A small smile spread across his face.

" Then why don't I just blast you to itty bitty pieces?" he asked.

" Because I will just come back! I am a ghost, in a way. Youcan't kill me! Your mind will just recreate me!" Bass laughed. X snarled.

" I can at least have the satisfaction of seeing you blow up!" he yelled. He charged up his arm cannon and blasted Bass. Bass exploded. Treble merely looked at him. X walked away, in a huff. The hall became foggy. X found that he could no longer see where he was going. He stopped walking and gazed about. Suddenly, a sharp pain ran through his stomach. X doubled over. Everything seemed to disappear. Into blackness.

X slowly regained consciousness. His eyes were still shut. He didn't have the strength to open them. He heard voices.

" He looks pretty bad," one voice said.

" He won't last long in his condition," another said.

" Is that BAD?" another snapped.

" It is when I haven't had the chance to access his memory core!" the second voice hissed. Memory core! X felt his heart miss a beat.

" That's bad," the first voice agreed. X suddenly felt himself grow tired. He had wasted all the energy he had just waking up.

" Damn! I need to stay awake!" he thought. But, after a few minutes, the thought of sleep became very inviting. Before X could do anything about it, he was again unconscious.

" Have you found a scent yet, Met?" Zero asked as they gazed about the cavern. They had returned to the base and had found Bo, who was VERY angry.

" I should have known! I was so busy fighting that Agile guy I didn't even notice!" he growled. " I can't believe I failed him like that!"

" You didn't fail!" Proto Man cried.

" You fought bravely to defend him! What could you have done against twelve Mavericks?" Zero agreed.

" A lot more than I did!" Bo hissed.

" You'll have your turn for revenge!" Met said. They looked at him. " I found the scent! They took to the air!" Met said. The others smiled. Met stiffened up and seemed to be listening. He glanced off a bit then returned his gaze to the group.

" Let's go get them!" Bo growled, his eyes burning red. The four of them took off, Met in wolf form sniffing the way. They came to the opening. The water made the view slightly contorted, but they could see that outside was a huge forest of pines, elms, and maple trees. Met leaped, right through the waterfall, and landed on the bank of the river below. Zero, Proto man, and Bo followed him. Sniffing the air, Met immediately took off running. They dashed through the forest, Met never slowing down. He hopped up cliffs, leaped over rivers, and dashed through trees. Finally he stopped at the edge of a high cliff and peered back. He stiffened again. He thought he saw someone following. Met narrowed his eyes. Then, he dismissed it. He gave Zero, Proto Man, Chip, and Bo the chance to catch up. Zero peered down at him.

" We're heeeere!" Met sang. Proto Man glanced down and gasped, startled. Far below them, on a lower cliff, was a giant castle. One of the old kinds you read about in books about knights, wizards, and princesses. Zero noticed immediately the huge generator in the far corner of thecourtyard.

" The place must be crawling with Mavericks and weapons! From the size of the generator, I'd say they have every type of machinery available! Lasers, sensors, probably even a high tech computer! All hidden in the disguise of a beat up castle!" Zero exclaimed. Bo snorted.

" I'm not backing down! No fancy Maverick trash is going to scare US away!" he growled. Zero, Chip, and Proto Man nodded in agreement. Met barked quickly, in warning. Zero, Proto Man, Chip, Met, and Bo hid instantly. Only a few seconds later, two Mavericks approached. Flame Stag and Wheel Gator.

" Isn't it pretty out here? Green trees, wild animals," Wheel Gator said. Flame Stag snorted.

" So what? Let's go! I'm missin' Price Is Right!" Flame Stag said. He and Wheel Gator headed for the castle. Zero signaled Met to follow. Met looked very rebellious. Slowly, he nodded and snuck after the Mavericks. He quietly approached the castle, sneaking along slowly. Suddenly, be bumped something and alarms when off.

" DAMN! A force field!" he thought. Zero, Proto Man, Chip, and Bo were thinking the same thing. Met dashed off. Wheel Gator turned to see him running.

" A wolf was following us! How cute!" he said. Flame Stag snorted as he turned off the alarm. Other Mavericks rushed out but he waved them off.

" It was just some stupid wild animal wandering too close!" he said, annoyed. The Mavericks sighed with relief. Then, they all entered the castle. Met walked up to Zero, Proto Man, Chip, and Bo.

" NOW how do we get in?" Zero whispered. Met smiled.

" At night, when no one can see, I tunnel in! See over there? That's loose dirt! I'll bet that force field doesn't go down in to the ground!" Met laughed. The Hunters nodded. The plan was simple and very risky but they didn't have any other choices. " I hope X is okay," Proto Man said.

X wasn't okay. He ran through that very same hallway, chased by Bass. Bass had already been destroyed five times but he kept on coming back. Finally, X resorted to running.

" Mega Man X! Why do you run from me?" Bass called, smiling. X ran faster.

" Go away! Just leave me alone!" X yelled.

" Where's the fun in that?" Bass laughed. They ran down the hall, which indeed was endless. X zipped and zagged but Bass followed him.

" You can't escape me!" Bass called. " I can if I wake up!" X screamed. " WAKE UP!!!"

X slowly regained consciousness. It was dark. At first he thought all the lights were off but he then realized his eyes were closed. He laid there, not wanting to move. Then, he felt his leg fall asleep. Not only that, but his neck was stiff and he was in a very uncomfortable position. So he shifted. BIG mistake. Pain, enormous pain, shot through him from his stomach. He tried to scream but nothing would come out. He squirmed in agony. He heard voices, but he paid no attention to them. He shuddered and desperately tried to scream. The pain silenced him like a gag. He felt strong hands grab him, hold him down. X desperately tried to make the hands let go, as if they were the cause of his pain. He heard someone yelling, calling for someone. X didn't care. He kicked and squirmed. He tried to scream again. Nothing. He heard footsteps. Whoever it was the voice had called was there. He felt the hands push him down even more forcefully. He struggled desperately. He felt something stick in to his arm. The pain intensified. Finally, X managed to scream. He screamed loudly, jerking. The hands held him, though whoever it was was having a difficult time. Suddenly, a numbing sensation began to occur. X stopped screaming and began to breathe heavily. His systems calmed down as his entire body began to go numb. He realized slowly that whoever it was had used a nullifier, a special liquid that causes a reploid to go unconscious and numb. When he wakes up, X knew he would be very calm and groggy. Another effect of the nullifier. Everything seemed to disappear. Then, to