For a few minutes, all were stunned. X dimly heard one Maverick whisper,
"Them? When we attacked the van, we were after them?" Felsen - Mega Man - shot X an apologetic look, and seemed to want to say something, but Bass took aim and shouted,
"Destroy all the Hunters!" The Mavericks obeyed, rejoining the battle. Stormloop - Rush - transformed into a hover board to give Mega a more aerial perspective, and Break Man took up his shield as it appeared on his arm. Listina - that is, Roll - quickly darted away to safety, not being made to fight. X fought furiously to go to their aid.
Then Bass did something truly vile: he began taking side shots at Hunters, while only dodging his foes' attacks.
"Fight us, Bass!" Break Man shouted angrily. Bass only laughed, but the laugh turned into a growl as Mega swooped in low, clipping him with a blast.
"Catch us if you can!" he shouted, and fled out the collapsed wall, his family and the Cossack Reploids following. Bass did too, and thus X and Zero also fought their way outside.
The battle had spilled out here too, Hunters and Mavericks fighting furiously. It was total chaos. Even so it didn't take X long to spot out Bass, Mega, and Break Man. Everyone was giving them a pretty wide berth.
He also saw a purple wolf-like Reploid dog making a beeline straight for Bass. Mega saw it too, and had Rush swoop in lower.
"Keep Treble away from Bass!" he called to Rush as he leapt off. Rush soared on even faster, transforming at the last second to collide head on with Treble, Bass' Canine companion, locking the two dogs in a vicious fight. Mega, meanwhile, had landed right on two Mavericks who had conveniently been with under him at the time. "Thanks for the soft landing," he chuckled before leaping over the heads of the two startled Hunters who had previously been fighting the now-flattened Mavericks, and racing back to battle Bass. X also saw a Maverick moving to intercept the Blue Bomber, and quickly fired, taking it out of the fight. If he couldn't get to Bass to help fight against him, he could at least keep other Mavericks from interfering! Zero saw X's tactic and followed suit.
"Keep the Mavericks away from them!" he shouted. The Cossack Reploids followed X's lead as well, forming into a loose ring around the mighty combatants and clearing the area. Slowly X and Zero joined them.
"You're good," Ra, or rather Pharaoh Man as X had realized, complimented. "Dr. Light would be proud." X beamed at that, then looked over when he heard a yelp. Treble had managed to pin Rush down and was biting at his throat.
"Oh no you don't!" X charged a shot and fired, hitting Treble dead on and sending him flying. X seriously doubted he'd done any real damage, but it gave Rush enough time to get away.
And pissed Bass off apparently.
"Damn you!" Bass shouted, disengaging from Mega and Break Man and charging X. X saw him coming at that incredibly fast speed, saw his blaster shape shift into a two foot long spike, poised to strike. He was on X before anyone could react.
Well, almost anyone.
X felt himself get shoved away from Bass violently, his eyes closing on reflex as he hit the ground. Then... then he heard the most gruesome, stomach-turning noise he'd ever heard. Everyone paused, stopped fighting when it rang out, a grinding, wet, metal-on-metal scraping. X's eyes flew open to see a horrifying sight.
Mega stood in front of X, having pushed him out of harm's way, with Bass' spike protruding out the front of his left shoulder.