Bass.EXE (anime)

"I'll give you a choice. Either you wander the Undernet for eternity, or I delete you right now! (...) Begone! (...) If Earth continues to exist, we will meet again...Rockman."

- Bass.EXE’s final words, episode 51

Bass.EXE, known as Forte.EXE (フォルテエグゼ) in Japan, is a Solo NetNavi that was created from the remaining data of PharaohMan.EXE. He is an immensely powerful Navi who has complete control over darkness and corrupted data, and has appeared as an enemy and ally of MegaMan.EXE and desires his and ProtoMan.EXE’s Ultimate Program to merge with his own. Later, he becomes the main enemy of Slur.EXE, who initially overpowers even Bass, before Bass absorbs Nebula Gray.

Overview
Upon first being “born” from PharaohMan’s residual data, Bass was an empty husk, seeking out something even he was not aware of.

MegaMan NT Warrior
Bass debuts when MegaMan spots him standing on the edge of a building in NetCity with a blank expression absorbing data with his hand. MegaMan watches him as he walks off the edge of the building and vanishes.

Some time later, Bass floats above NetCity silently before detecting the presence of the Grave Virus Beast absorbing an IPC NetNavi. When the Virus Beast begins running amok and attacks the battle and overpowers MegaMan, ProtoMan, and absorbs ThunderMan, Bass appears before the beast before he can absorb MegaMan. The two stare Each other down silently for a moment before Grave leaves, followed shortly by Bass.

Kid Grave and Mr. Wily later monitor the mysterious NetNavi, where Wily names him “Bass” and Kid Grave deems him a threat to their plan, ordering FreezeMan to delete him. Later MegaMan feels his presence and confronts him before the two are attacked by FreezeMan. FreezeMan shoots three icicles into Bass, but Bass’s eyes glow red and crumbles the roof beneath FreezeMan and the icicles shatter, having done no damage. FreezeMan ices over the entire building they’re on along with Bass and boasts about how easy it was to beat the Solo NetNavi, but Bass, encased in ice, levitates the entire building into the air. FreezeMan is distracted by the arrival of HeatMan and MegaMan makes his way to confront Bass again, who whisks MegaMan away. Lan and his friends track MegaMan to the ruins of the World Three’s base, where Bass has put MegaMan in a lucid state and is scanning his memories, where he learns of his origins. Given a purpose and a hatred for humans, Bass is confronted by MegaMan’s friends and the World Three Navis, where he finally speaks and states that he has “awakened” before disappearing with a burst of light.

Bass confronts the Grave Virus Beast, who tries to crush him, but Bass easily pushes the beast back. Wily explains that Bass and Grave are like brothers, and that Bass was born from PharaohMan’s data and is seeking his Ultimate Program, which is inside Grave, and that Bass learned of all this by coming into contact with MegaMan. Bass smashes a building into Grave and attempts to absorb the beast to take back the Ultimate Program, but is unable to contain the power, and is seemingly obliterated as Grave reforms.

Mr. Famous later explains that when Bass came into contact with MegaMan’s Ultimate Program, it resonated with Bass, and birthed a bug into MegaMan due to Bass’s origins. After Grave is finally destroyed, Bass inhabits Kid Grave’s lifeless robotic body and vows to conquer the world in manic laughter as Wily curses him.

MegaMan NT Warrior Axess
He appears in episode 41.

He appears in episode 46.

He appears in episode 50.

He appears in episode 51.

Rockman.EXE Stream
Forte reappears in his Kid Gospel disguise watching C.F. Rockman and C.F. Blues delete a giant Metool that has materialized in the the real world. He redirects Rockman away from his PET when he and Netto un-fuse, sending him to a remote location in the cyberworld where Rockman accuses him of sending the Metool, which he denies. He tells Rockman that the world is facing a danger unlike any it has ever seen, and while he does not know or care what will happen to humanity, it is a danger to Earth's cyberworld as well. Rockman questions what the danger is but Forte teleports behind him and grabs him, stating he need Rockman's Ultimate Program to become powerful enough to face the threat. He attempts to fight Forte, but Forte merely dodges his attacks before surrounding Rockman with several copies of himself. Rockman tries to find the real one to no avail, and his Ultimate Program activates.

He appears in episode 2.

Rockman.EXE: Hikari to Yami no Program

 * This film takes place between episodes 22 and 29 of Stream. Episodes 29 and beyond are summarized after this section.

He appears in the movie where he is captured by Nebula Gray and possessed to serve him. He is unpossessed and joins Rockman, and the two merge to become Forte Cross Rockman. He is pulled into the Undernet where he absorbs Nebula Gray.

Stream cont.
He appears in episode 50 and 51.

Abilities
Bass's abilities in the anime are a conglomerate of abilities he has in the games, though unlike his video game counterpart, he does not seem to be able to take actual abilities from his targets, merely their power.

Data Absorbtion= Bass is able to absorb any and all data, even those that are bugged or evil, obtaining its power. Unlike the games, he does not seem to take his targets abilities, but merely adds their strength to his own. Two notable instances is when he absorbs MegaMan for his Ultimate Program, and later when he absorbs Nebula Grey and adds his power to his own.

Nebula Gray= After Nebula Gray's defeat in Hikari to Yami no Program, Bass absorbed his data, gaining Nebula Gray's power. During his fight with Slur, Bass declares he is no longer than same as he was before as Nebula Gray's silhouette forms above him, and he uses the monster's power to overcome and delete Slur.

Hell's Rolling= One of Bass's most used attacks. He throws several purple bladed wheels of energy at his opponent.

Darkness Overload= Bass shoots a massive beam of dark energy at his target. He can also throw smaller balls of energy at enemies that explode on impact.

Dark Arm Blade= Bass summons a purple blade made of dark energy to fight with.

Earth Breaker=Bass forms a volatile ball of energy he uses to smash into his enemies, causing an explosion.

Shooting Star=Bass throws a yellow ball of explosive energy at his opponent.

Other appearances
Forte appears as the secret final boss of the Boss Rush mode in Rockman.EXE WS that unlocks after one beats the game twice, where he will appear immediately after the player defeats Gospel. After being defeated, he will simply teleport away and the player is ranked on how well they did.

Trivia

 * Bass's origins in the anime are completely different from his video game counterpart. Rather than a creation of Dr. Cossak that felt he was betrayed by humanity, Bass was born from the residual data of PharaohMan.EXE.
 * Bass’s relationship to Slur is like his video game counterpart’s relationship with Serenade.EXE: They are both incredibly powerful genderless Navis that Bass fought and lost to after a long battle, though Bass would eventually return and defeat Slur, whereas it is not revealed if he ever came back and re-challenged Serenade.