" Could you dig faster?" Zero asked as he cautiously peered around. Met snorted angrily.

" Don't get your boxies all knotted up! We're almost through! Just keep an eye out!" Met growled. Then, he returned to his digging. He made absolute certain to hit Zero with the dirt. Zero shook the dirt off of his body and glared down the hole. Then he peered around. It was a half hour after sunset. Zero, Proto Man, and Chip insisted that they couldn't wait any longer. It was dark out, making the castle and forest even more forbidding than it did in the light. Proto Man was in top of a tree, watching everything. Bo was down the cliff a bit, also on guard. Chip was with Bo. Zero tensed up at every sound. Met's head popped up, startling Zero. " We're through!" he whispered, then ducked back down in to his hole. Zero motioned to Proto Man, who motioned to Bo, who came running with Chip. They snuck up to the hole and crawled in. The hole was very deep. They crawled for a while, Met right in front of them. Bo sneezed occasionally. Met signaled for silence and pointed upward. They were right below the castle. Met had dug very close. The boards that made up the floor of the castle was the roof of the tunnel. Zero peered upward. Light came through the cracks. Someone was moving up there.

" So he was screaming?" someone said. Vile!

" Indeed. Seems that his wound was really bothering him," another answered. Dr. Doppler. Zero frowned. They were talking about X. " I'm afraid I can't put him in the machine unless I fix him," Dr. Doppler said. The mention of a machine caused Zero to wonder.

" YOU will be the one to tell the boss THAT," Vile sneered.

" If you insist!" Dr. Doppler growled.

" Why are you working for him, anyway? After you created that virus to kill Sigma?" Vile asked suddenly. Dr. Doppler laughed.

" I have my reasons! Which are none of your business! I'm off to tell the boss!" Dr. Doppler laughed. He walked off, laughing.

" Arrogant punk," Vile hissed. Bo felt Met bristle and could hear Zero hiss. He peered at the reploids. Met and Zero were barely containing their rage. Proto Man and Chip were no better off. Bo was the only one who could keep his cool. Bo motioned for them to move on. Met stared at him, viciously. Bo made and 'X' in the air. Met got the idea. He continued through the tunnel, allowing the others to get by. Later, they found themselves in the courtyard. The Hunters jumped behind the generator, which was almost against the wall. There was just enough room for them to hide. Zero turned to them.

" I don't like this 'machine' thing they're planning. I'd say it's bad news for X. We need to split up. Do we each go our own ways or in pairs?" Zero whispered.

" I can go alone. I can take care of myself! Unlike YOU...," Met snarled. Zero narrowed his eyes. The other three reploids stared at them. " After all, YOU'RE always the one gettin' killed off!" Met added, scornfully.

" Are you suggesting that I am a weakling?" Zero hissed.

" I don't have to! You already did!" Met snapped. Zero drewhis saber. " Go ahead! Try me!" Met barked, his fangs glistening. There would have been one bitter brawl if Proto Man hadn't interrupted.

" We don't have time for this! We'll go our separate ways. If you find X, take him to the cliff. We'll all meet up there!" Proto Man said. Then, he zipped off. Met nodded. He too then disappeared. Bo took out his staff, winked at Zero, and disappeared. Chip quickly scaled the wall and disappeared in to the towers. Zero felt the edge of his saber and disappeared in to the darkness.

X sat in that stupid hall, not caring about anything. He was sick of the dreams, he was sick of falling asleep, he was sick of EVERYTHING. X growled to himself. Bass approached, AGAIN, and smiled.

" Tired of running?" Bass asked. No answer. " What's wrong Mega Man?" Suddenly, X whirled around, grabbed Bass by the neck, and lifted him up into the air.

" Call me that again, and I will kill you! I know you will come back but I swear your death will be the most painful, the most horrible, the most twisted death I can think of!" X hissed, sounding like a demon. Bass remained absolutely still, his eyes wide. X released him and he landed on the floor with a 'thump'. Bass stared at X. " Leave.... me.... ALONE!!" X growled. Bass skidded away. X then slumped back down on to the floor and waited. He knew he'd wake up so he waited for it. X snorted in irritation. A small red dog, Rush, walked up to him. X peered at him. Rush licked him on the face and flopped down next to him. Rush peered at X, lovingly. X patted him on the head. Then, they both sat and waited. " Ya know, I saw you. At the rebel base. Proto Man said you were my dog. My dog, Rush," X said, to the dog. Rush wagged his tail and licked X again. X smiled. " I wish I remembered....," X whispered.

X's eyes slowly opened. He was sitting in a chair, strapped down. X slowly looked down at his stomach. He would have jerked at what he saw if he hadn't been so calm ( damn nullifier). The hole! It was gone! No pain what-so-ever. From his stomach, anyway. His arm was VERY sore and he felt sluggish and very calm. X looked around him. To his absolute calmness which should have been terror, he found that he was strapped into a machine. A mind reading machine. Normally, X would have freaked. But, right then, he felt very calm and unconcerned. He didn't even care when Dr. Doppler and one of the new Mavericks walked in. It was the flying unicorn. Dr. Doppler stared at X.

" Feeling better?" he asked, casually.

" I feel calm. VERY calm," X said. Dr. Doppler nodded.

" You should. Had to use a nullifier to shut you up! It was supposed to be used on your friends but we had to use it on you!" the unicorn snapped.

" Well, is it my fault Wire Sponge trashed my stomach? Want someone to yell at, yell at Wire Sponge," X pointed out, calmly. The unicorn snorted. Dr. Doppler walked over to the controls to the machine.

" Time to see what your memories hold," Dr. Doppler said. X glanced at the doctor. " This MAY be uncomfortable....," Dr. Doppler began. He pressed buttons and threw a switch. X jerked. His eyes grew wide with pain. Even through the nullifier effects, he could feel the pain. " Here we are! Let me see....," Dr. Doppler began to scan the information as X shuddered. " I already know all this! Let's dig farther into your past! How about your creation?" Dr. Doppler began to type. X squirmed. " What is this? A password?" Dr. Doppler asked, surprised.

" Well, let's crack it! It must hide something important!" the unicorn exclaimed. Dr. Doppler began typing. Suddenly, electricity flew threw the computer and straight to X. X felt as though his head was going to explode. Images flooded in to his head. All sorts of information crammed and jammed into him. X jerked and struggled. Pain ripped through him. X was sure his body was being ripped apart. Just as he was about to scream, the electricity stopped. X stood absolutely still, his eyes wide with terror and shock. His breathing was labored and all his senses appeared to be down. Silence. The unicorn was unsure whether he should approach X or not. When he did, he found X's eyes glazed. X didn't see him. X didn't see anyone. X