Chapter III

Menacing Eyes

Brass was sitting on the ground when the door opened. She didn't move at all, while steps came closer. The man kneeled beside her, plugged her on the cable again, restoring her vision, and examined her.

"You seem to be fine. The damage wasn't critical so you can be fixed." - he said.

She just nodded very slightly. He sighed. An injured hostage in an abandoned building... This wasn't what he had in mind. At least she wasn't human, so she wouldn't feel hungry, thirsty or hurt due to the damage she had suffered. But he knew she obviously was sad, angry, scared and lonely...

"What did he do to you?" - the Sailor-Multi asked. Her voice was really calm and soft, opposing all of the emotions he had thought she'd be feeling, and she had seen through him.

"He caused a lot of suffering to me." - he told her - "I will never forget how his stare sent chills down my spine." - he sat beside her and rested his back on the wall.

The female medabot stared at him. It looked like he was about to tell his story or at least part of it. She was ready to pay attention to every detail so she could try to formulate a possible solution.

"His hiding place is at an abandoned facility that used to produce electrical equipment. It's right next to the old gas factories located in the southern part of the city." - Rokusho said.

"I know thieves usually go to places like that, but why there?" - Eddy said - "That is one of the worst desert places in the city."

"Oh, just go faster!" - Erika said. She was really worried. The man just nodded, he understood her concern.

Ikki placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Metabee watched as the girl unwittingly played with her fingers. He reached behind him, grabbed the golden beetle and then stared at it.

'Make us proud, Kyuumo...' Proud? How? He couldn't even look at Erika in the eyes after what he had allowed to happen to her best friend. But should he blame himself? He didn't know what to think. He had seen a situation that went terribly bad because of him. He didn't deal with his conscience, though. Or at least, if he did, he didn't remember...

Blinding light filled everywhere. Strong gusts of wind could be felt. A really loud noise was all that could be heard. Suddenly: darkness, silence and the soft breeze pushing away the fog. Metabee stood at the top of what looked like a pile... Of medabots' bodies.

His eyes widened. He kneeled in front of the body of that female medabot, then pulled it into a hug and held it in his arms. His voice seemed a lot shaken. He was scared.

'What's going on here?' - he asked nobody - 'What's going on?!'

He felt helpless, so he just dragged the body with him to his peaceful place. He didn't know what to do. All he could think of was to stay there, hugging her body dearly...

Dearly...? Metabee placed his elbow on the car's door's handle, then rested his forehead on his hand. He rubbed his face slightly, then noticed Honey was looking at him, her head tilting to one side. She pointed at the car's window with her head. He looked to the side and saw his reflection. There was something peculiar on his face... The KBT-type blinked in surprise, realizing what was happening. 'Damn it. What am I thinking? What is wrong with me?' His mind was screaming at him. He was sweating. He closed his eyes and shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside, otherwise, his circuits would fry from so much thinking.

Then, the car's horn was heard, and the vehicle stopped abruptly.

"What happened?" - Ikki asked. Kam's frowning face appeared then he showed them what was in front of the car: a really long traffic jam.

"Oh, no! What are we going to do now?" - Tyrelbeetle asked. Erika burrowed her face on her hands and started praying.

'...Make us proud.' That was it: Metabee closed his shaking hand into a fist in front of him. Rokusho noticed the gesture. The KBT-type and the KWG-type looked at each other and nodded simultaneously. Suddenly, the yellow medabot opened the door and he and Rokusho jumped off the car.

"Metabee! What are you doing?" - Ikki was confused.

"This is gonna take too long!" - he yelled clenching his fist, then he turned to the medabot beside him - "Rokusho, lead the way!"

Rokusho ran fast while Metabee medachanged into his action mode and followed him close behind. Ikki just blinked at the determination his medabot had just shown.

"Guys, you better go after them." - Zuru told his medabots. Both turned into action mode as well and went the same way the other two had gone.

"I'm going too." - Honey exited the car and flew after the four medabots.

A man with a cape was standing at the top of a pole, watching everything. The Phantom Renegade noted that Metabee was acting differently. So he decided to follow the medabots and watch him closely.

The KBT-type was riding at the maximum speed. He was so fast that he seemed a yellow blur. Did they want to be proud? He would make them proud! But in a good way this time.

The place that used to be a house was nothing but rubble. The sky was dark and was covered by a thick cloud of smoke. Everything around was on fire. Steps of metallic feet could be heard coming from all directions. Their noise was fading, they were walking away. Blood stains covered the wooden floor. A little boy laying on the ground and hugging his knees was crying. A dead man's body laid on the floor not too far from him.

He heard some steps coming closer, then opened his eyes and looked towards the source of that sound. Menacing green eyes glowed in the middle of the burning flames. A yellow medabot walked up to the boy and stood in front of him. The boy started shaking when the mechanical being stared him down.

Suddenly the kid froze: the KBT-type had aimed its gun straight to the child's left eye. The poor boy's eyes trembled. Without hesitation the medabot shot. His bullet destroyed the soft and innocent eye, pierced through the kid's skull and left his head with a hole and a trail of blood. The child's scream would have ripped any person's spandrel apart.

A lot of blood spilled from the boy's mouth. His tears were bloody as well. He collapsed on the ground, covering what was left of his eye with one hand and biting his other hand, trying not to scream anymore and to withstand the pain. His bite was so hard that his hand started bleeding as well, but he couldn't feel it anymore.

The medabot simply stared at the child curling into a ball and walked its way, not even bothering to finish him off.

Several hours later, one of the rescue trucks that were patrolling the area looking for survivors spotted him. He was in really bad shape, almost gone. Somehow he had gotten lucky that the shot didn't damage his brain so much, otherwise, he'd have died almost instantly.

He had survived for a reason. And that reason was...

"To bring justice to this." - the man said, concluding his memory.

He removed his cap from his head, revealing his hidden face. Brass would have cringed, but she watched her gestures. She didn't think Metabee could have been capable of shooting a kid in cold blood like that. She felt sorry for the man's story and purpose, though.

"Is this justice or revenge...?" - she asked quietly.

The question caught the man off guard. She was really smart. She guessed his feelings with great precision. He noticed she seemed to be open to more talking as if she intended to actually help him sort his problems out. Maybe he could tell her the whole story. Maybe he should... Wait. No. He had gone that far already, he wouldn't give up now! He had to do it! He just sighed and looked away, placing his cap back on his head.

Ikki rested his chin on his hands, while his elbows were supported by his knees. Erika had finally calmed down a bit, but she still looked pretty sad. Zuru just stared outside through the window. Kam had joined them in the seats on the back of the car and had just started talking to Blakbeetle.

'I'm good as new now. See?' - her vision appeared from Kam's watch and she showed him she was okay.

"Yes, I can see." - her medafighter giggled - "Thank Miss Nae for me."

Erika looked at him and an idea popped on her mind.

"Ikki, use your medawatch to show what Metabee is seeing." - she said - "So we can know where they are."

The boy nodded, then entered the command in his medawatch. Nothing happened, then a message appeared. He blinked.

"It says he's unavailable, he must be too far away!" - he said.

"What?" - Zuru questioned in disbelief - "It can't be, take a look here." - he showed then his medawatch. Roks and Tyrelbeetle visions showed Metabee right in front of them in his action mode form.

"But... Why can't I see his vision?" - the black haired boy frowned.

Far ahead of the car were the medabots, running as fast as they could. A shadow moved from one roof to another. The Phantom Renegade had incredibly managed to chase the medabots even though they were moving really rapidly.

They reached a point where the traffic jam had gotten way better. An endless number of cars crossed the street right in front of them at high speed. Rokusho ran ahead, jumped on a wall, then pushed his legs against the wall, what sent him flying above the cars. He landed on the other side of the road.

Roks transformed into his normal mode and did the same as Rokusho, though he had to somersault to reach the other side. Both KWG-types looked to the others. Metabee and Tyrelbeetle wouldn't be able to jump like that. Honey flew closer to the ground.

"I'll carry you two to the other side. One at a time." - she shouted.

The blue medabot beside her turned into normal mode and prepared to be carried, but the yellow one didn't. They saw the KBT-type running really fast in his action mode, his speed didn't reduce a single bit, it actually got higher and higher.

'Is he insane?!' The Phantom Renegade thought, realizing what the medabot was planning. But he couldn't get in there to prevent him from doing that.

"What is Metabee trying to do?" - Roks asked.

"Huh?" - Rokusho tried to spot him on the other side of the street, then he saw his eyes were completely black - "Don't!" - he warned.

"Metabee, no!" - Honey cried, reaching her arm out.

"Stop!" - Tyrelbeetle yelled.

Metabee ignored them all. He couldn't listen or see anything. He just kept going without slowing down. 'C'mon! We'll be late!' No. He wouldn't be late.

"He is going for it!" - Erika said alarmed.

Everyone's eyes widened. Was he crazy?! He'd never make it! That was suicide! Zuru and Kam sweated concerned.

"Metabee!" - Ikki cried to his medawatch.

Metabee reached the end of the sidewalk: now it was too late. The next moments passed in slow motion to all the others, as they watched one of the most impressive feats of that medabot.

His eyes lit up again at the very second right before he entered the road. He managed to barely dodge a car by a few centimeters, riding in front of it way faster than it was moving. He passed very smoothly under another car and finally hopped over the last vehicle, spinning in the air in a way that boosted his speed.

"Rokusho!" - he shouted at his friend - "Keep moving!" - he landed on the other side without one single scratch at him.

The KWG-type was surprised, but did as he was told, and jumped right before the yellow medabot's wheels touched the ground. The KBT-type didn't stop for even a moment before following. Roks blinked speechlessly, then transformed into action mode and went after them. Honey carried Tyrelbeetle and placed him on the other side, where he also medachanged, so they could continue on their way.

The Phantom Renegade just watched in disbelief. Something unknown was guiding Metabee... He'd never be able to do that by himself. 'I better keep an eye on him.' He thought. Those crazy stunts might lead him to a bad fate. He was being way too reckless.

The masked man threw a rope that got stuck in the traffic light, then jumped off the building he was, swinging to reach the other side of the street. But instead of landing safely, he swung straight to a pole at the same side and smashed his face against it, what made him let go off the rope and slide until he hit the ground.

After that, he noted an old lady was beside him, waiting patiently for the traffic light to signal the cars to stop. Such an event happened a few seconds later and the lady calmly crossed the street. The Phantom Renegade got up as soon as he could and ran for it as well, but when he was halfway there, the traffic light signaled the cars to move again.

Several vehicles passed by him at very high speed. He "danced" in the road, dodging the cars, desperately trying to get to the other side alive. Horns could be heard, the rapid vehicles were mere blurs of light in the darkness.

Oh, he had sent himself to such a mess! He scolded himself for his clumsiness. After a few seconds, he finally was able to jump on a truck then somersault to the sidewalk. Phew, talk about being lucky...

He took some time to catch his breath, then threw another rope at the top of a building. This time, he double checked if his path was going to be safe.

Ikki rested his back on the seat, sighing in relief. That was close!

"How... How did he do that?" - Erika asked.

She was amazed by his bravery. And she wasn't the only one.

Back at the park, Miss Nae and the others had just watched everything through Honey's vision.

"Did you see that?" - Spyke commented.

"No way!" - Sloan was astonished.

Samantha felt a bit uncomfortable, she was slightly jealous of Metabee's power and the awe it always caused, but she pushed those feelings aside: Peppercat was her partner, she was powerful too, even if she couldn't summon the Medaforce, and the girl would never trade her best friend for a rare medal.

"But... How...?" - Arc-Dash was wondering what was happening.

"It's so simple. How come you don't know?" - a voice startled them.

They looked behind them and saw none other than the chick salesman, though instead of chicks, he had bunnies now.

"Who are you?" - Ginkai demanded.

"I'm just a humble man selling bunnies and offering his advice." - he said while gently petted one of the rabbits.

"Aww! They are so cute!" - Suzie's eyes sparkled - "I want three of them!"

"Sold!" - the salesman handed her the bunnies.

It was the first time he was actually selling a pet, and he sold three at once! He couldn't stop grinning!

"Ahem!" - the red KBT-type medabot cleared his throat - "What's so simple? I don't follow." - he asked him.

"Have you ever felt the intense energy a strong bond can provide?" - he said.

Suzie sat on the ground with her three bunnies next to Blakbeetle, then handed the medabot one of the pets.

"You mean... The Medaforce?" - Banjo spoke - "But what does it have to do with any of that?"

Another one of the rabbits jumped on the black medabot's shoulder, and she and the girl giggled.

"Given the right moment, a strong bond can reveal certain hidden special abilities." - he explained.

Peppercat walked to the girl and the medabot with the bunnies and sat beside them. A rabbit on Blakbeetle's shoulder was rubbing its face against her head, while the one she was holding poked its head out and nuzzled the CAT-type medabot, making her giggle too. They were truly cute!

"You should know about it. You discovered one of yours just like that." - he stared at Arc-Dash then looked briefly at Peppercat.

She was now having some fun with the bunnies. They liked her and it seemed that they were getting along pretty well. She was even purring at them.

The red male medabot was feeling warm inside while watching that scene. Then tilted his head, trying to understand the salesman words. Suddenly he remembered the very moment he unleashed his Medaforce for the first time.

Peppercat had just won against both Unitrix and Exor, when Blakbeetle arrived and shot her, ceasing her function. He got really mad and started glowing: the dormant power of the rare medal had awakened. He blasted Blakbeetle with the Medaforce, forcing Minitora and Kintora to retrieve her medal and retreat with their kilobots.

Ah... So that's it! Now he understood what he meant! Hey, wait a second... Didn't that also mean that Metabee probably...

"Oh, geez... How come I never figured that?!" - Arc-Dash laughed awkwardly while facepalming.

Ginkai looked at him confused, then he blinked surprised as he realized as well what his medabot just did.

The only ones that shared that same conclusion were The Screws and Blakbeetle, the others were still confused, though the first ones decided they wouldn't bother explaining that to them.

Rokusho led the medabots to the facility. The gates were still locked. Metabee was acting recklessly again, so he stayed in action mode and tried to pass through the gates. But before he could do that, Rokusho reached out, grabbed one of the barrels of his missile launcher on his head and threw Metabee a few feet back. He medachanged into normal mode while in the air, then landed on his butt.

"Hey, what was that for?!" - he asked a bit angry, shaking his fist at Rokusho.

"I am protecting you from this." - the KWG-type picked a random piece of paper that was on the ground, crumpled it, then tossed it on the gate. The paper was electrocuted and set on fire. Not many seconds later, it was nothing but ashes.

'There you go again, Kyuumo.' Her voice echoed in his mind, making him realize he was acting like an idiot.

"Oh..." - the yellow medabot's face fell - "Eh, thanks, Rokusho." - he rubbed the back of his head.

The purple and silver medabot nodded. He knew how Metabee felt too well, after all, he himself had felt frustrated like that once, so he comprehended.

"How are we going to pass through it?" - Tyrelbeetle asked.

"Up there! Look!" - Roks pointed to an electric cable connected to the building's roof.

Honey flew high in the sky towards the cable and followed it, trying to find the energy source. The Phantom Renegade came jumping from one roof to another until he landed in a kind of tower that seemed to be a "dead end". He observed the medabots trying to work their way to the facility.

"I found it!" - the blue-eyed medabot told them while she floated in front of a tower.

"Good job, guys. Now leave the rest to me!" - Metabee aimed his head at the top of the tower - "Seeker Missiles launch!" - he yelled.

The missiles flew leaving a trail of smoke behind. Honey quickly returned to the ground to avoid them. The masked man noticed where the missiles were headed to...

'HERE!' He sweatdropped nervously. With nowhere to run to, he just waited. The missiles created a really big explosion. The tower released all its electric charges on the Phantom Renegade and pretty much toasted him before collapsing. He lost his balance when the tower's base succumbed, then fell to the ground and remained there. That just was not his day... He sighed. At least he had survived... Barely.

"Well, since you behaved, I'll allow you to recharge your power." - the man said.

"Thank you." - Brass really needed that.

It was then that a loud explosion was heard. The ground shook a bit. Everything inside the facility suffered a short-circuit, the lamps exploded, leaving everywhere dark. The Sailor-Multi received a huge electric charge that made even some smoke to come out of her, then fell to the ground. The man had to jump away from her, otherwise, he would have been toasted.

"Hm... I think this means your friends have come for you." - he removed what as left of the cable from her back - "About time! Now I can finally fulfill my purpose." - he exited the room quickly.

The SLR-type medabot slowly got back to her sitting position. She felt as if a nightmare was about to start. She hoped she was wrong about it.

Rokusho and Roks used their blades to cut a big hole on the gate.

"Wait, we can't all go there. Somebody has to cover the exit." - Tyrelbeetle said.

"I'll stay here then." - Honey offered herself to help - "I can float to signal Ikki and the others that we are here when they arrive. I can also guard the gate from the sky."

"Alright." - Metabee nodded - "Take care, Honey. Let's go, guys!" - he charged through the gate with the others following close behind.

The KBT-type wasn't going to let anything wrong happen now. Brass wouldn't have to worry anymore: a knight in shining armor (literally) was coming to her rescue.

'Thank you so much, Kyuumo.'