Chapter 15: Brothers in Arms part 1

Hey guys, gals and non binary pals. Tardispilot297 here bringing you another new chapter. I would've brought it sooner but a lot of stuff happened. For example I had to head all the way to Savannah, Georgia for my grandfather's funeral. After that it took a long while to get my emotional stuff back together once I came home.

Anyway due to my original schedule being thrown out of whack I have now decided to update about once a month. I'm not sure what day exactly but I promise you I'm gonna keep this story going. That being said, let's get right to it.

(City area)

As the Rubber Robo Gang's hideout was burning to a crisp a few miles away everyone was busy tending to their wounds. Most of the wounded agents had already been sent to the hospital while those remaining were reassigned trying to get a handle on the situation. News was already spreading on the massive explosion at the docks as choppers flew overhead.

Firefighters were onsight dealing with the aftermath and trying to keep the fire from spreading onto the rest of the docks. Back at the truck the medabots were catching their breath while getting fixed up. Despite the fact that they had technically won the fight against the kilobots an air of defeat hung over them. Neutranurse sat by Sumiladon while she was helping him pull finger blades out of his side. Arc-Dash and the other Screw Medabots were being looked after by their partners who each congratulated them on their efforts.

Erika was wrapping up Brass' shoulder where she got shot. It was a temporary fix but it was very much appreciated. Metabee and Rokusho showed the most damage from their respective fights with Cosmicon and Kaizen. As he was being repaired Rokusho couldn't help but reach up and place his hand where his horn once was. Flashes of the fight replaying in his mind.

A car drove up to the truck and stopped a foot away from them. A man stepped out of the passenger side and walked over to open the back door. A man wearing a uniform stepped out and started walking up to the group. As he approached he was recognized as Commander Sato from the briefing. Dr. Aki walked up to meet him. The two men shook hands. "Commander, Good to see you again." "I wish it was under better circumstances, doctor. For now though I wish to debrief your "team"." Aki reluctantly stood aside allowing Sato to continue walking towards the group.

He stopped and looked sternly at everyone. "Now would someone care to tell me what the hell happened back there?!" Quiet hung over the group. Sato let out a heavy sigh. "You knew your objective, you had the element of surprise, you even had the target in plain sight yet they were able to escape. So I will ask again. What happened back there?" All eyes turned to Metabee who gave them a questioning look. "What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

Erika spoke first. "Metabee we saw on Ikki's monitor. You were fighting Cosmicon when suddenly the connection was severed." Metabee stood up. "Well yeah I mean he caught me by surprise with a sneak attack and made a break for it." "No." Everyone turned to Rokusho who walked over to Metabee. "I saw you Metabee. He was a foot away from you right in front of your face and you just stood there and let him get away." Metabee looked around nervously at everyone. "Hey guys, come on. Give me a little credit! I meant for him to get away! Because, uh... it was a trick, was a plot... and I thought I might... figure out his plot... more…" Totalizer looked at him confused. "That makes… no sense."

"What are you talking about? Of course it makes sense." Brass walked up to Metabee. "Metabee, we're your friends. You can talk to us." Metabee faced her but did his best not to look her in the eye. Sato spoke up next. "Well the fact still remains that Cosmicon and his generals escaped and are still at large. However, that is no longer your concern." He turned away and began walking back to the car. "You'll all be heading back to your respective homes and remain there with your families." Zuru stood up. "Aren't we going to go after them?" "You children have already done what you can. The Special Corp can take it from here." Metabee's head snapped toward Sato.

"No! Wait!" He began to run after Sato. "I have to go find….." Metabee was suddenly struck in the head by Ikki's fist. He looked over at Ikki glaring at him while clutching his hurt fist. Karin stood shocked. "Ikki what are you doing?" Ikki spoke through gritted teeth. "You heard him! We're done! We're going home!" Metabee glared back. "You guys can go home! I'm not done!" He started walking again only for Ikki to tackle him, causing them to tussle back and forth on the ground.

Everyone ran up to them. Erika shouted over the two of them. "GUYS! KNOCK IT OFF!" Ikki and Metabee continued tussling with each other with either one of them occasionally gaining or losing the advantage. Until finally Ikki pinned Metabee to the ground. Metabee struggled but was unable to break free. "GET OFF ME IKKI!" "NOT UNTIL YOU TELL US THE TRUTH!" "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND I HAVE TO GET TO HIM!" "THEN TELL US WHY!" "BECAUSE HE WAS THERE ALRIGHT!?" After a brief moment Ikki let Metabee go and stood back to let him up. Metabee got up on his knees. "Those dreams I've been having, those memories. Cosmicon was there in my past… He knows what happened… Who I was." He stood up and brushed himself off before looking at everyone.

"Look, I need to find him. I don't expect any of you to understand." He started walking forward until Ikki rushed up and hugged him. Metabee stopped dead in his tracks. "Of course I understand." He pulled back to look at him. "But I can't let my best friend get himself killed." Metabee stood there silent before nodding. "Thanks Ikki." Back with Sato he turned back to Aki. "You were right doctor, these children weren't ready." "I'm just grateful that they all made it out ok." "Even so, their part in this is now over. We can no longer rely on a bunch of kids to bring this to a close." He continued back to the car.

Aki watched him when his phone went off. He reached into his pocket and answered. "Yes?" "Doc, it's me." "Henry? Where are you? I told you to look after them!" "I tried my best but it was too chaotic. Fortunately I managed to knock one of the Rubber Robos out and disguised myself. I'm on board the ship now."

(Ship)

Henry snuck through the halls of the ship dressed like a Rubber Robo goon. "I'm not sure where exactly we're heading but I doubt it's anything good." He peeked around the corner and hid when two kilobots marched down the hall. He waited until they were gone before speaking. "All I know is this ship is filled with enough kilobots to occupy a small country." "Dammit, we underestimated the strength of Cosmicon's reserves. Is there any way for you to find out what he's planning?" "It's not gonna be easy doc. Most of the ship has been labeled restricted."

Aki let out a sigh on the other end. "I see Cosmicon and his generals are already limiting human access. They must be getting ready for something big." Henry rounded another corner when suddenly another patrol was coming up about to walk right into him. He quickly ducked through a nearby door and closed it, listening for them to walk by.

He turned around and looked where he was. In the room he saw maps and charts all over a wall along with a radio transmitter. "Hey doc, I think I'm in the radio room. There's maps of the city harbor all along the wall." He looked it over and noticed a circled area in the bay. "And I think I might know where we're heading." "Where?" Before Henry could answer a shadowy figure walked up behind him and knocked him out. The phone dropped to the ground.

(City area)

"Henry? Henry, are you there?! HENRY!" His phone emitted a daily tone before hanging up. "Damn." He looked back towards the group who were being escorted into separate vehicles to be taken back to their homes. A horrible feeling developed in the pit of his stomach. Metabee was right about one thing, they weren't done. On the contrary he felt like things were just getting started.

(Ship)

By the time Henry came to, he found himself tied to a chair. He looked up to see himself surrounded by Sea Slug and a few goons. Sea Slug walked up holding Henry's Phantom Renegade outfit in one hand. "A couple of guys found this stashed in a closet on board." Henry sighed, dropping his head. Sea Slug smirked. "You know, I often wondered exactly who it was under that hat and mask." He clutched Henry's chin forcing his face up. "How disappointing to find out it was just some loser shopkeeper."

Henry chuckled. "Says the guy who got his butt constantly handed to him by a bunch of kids." Sea Slug grumbled before punching Henry in the stomach. "We'll see if you can still talk shit after my guys get through with you." "Step aside." Sea Slug looked over his shoulder before backing up. He stepped aside to reveal Dr. Meda-Evil walking up. "So this is the famous Phantom Renegade. I was expecting someone of your reputation to be a little… older." Henry looked at him. "Dr. Meda-Evil, you're shorter than I expected." Meda-Evil let out a snicker.

His arm then suddenly transformed into a long sword, aiming it at Henry's throat. "Who was on the other end of that phone call?" "My grandmother. She worries." Meda-Evil applied light pressure to his throat. "What have you found out?" "Depends, to which are you referring to? The small army of kilobots stashed in the cargo hold or the fact that this ship is heading for a specific spot in the harbor?" Meda-Evil removed the blade from Henry's throat and retracted it back into his sleeve.

He turned away from him and walked a few steps forward. "By the way, I wanted to ask. How come you're still online? See I've met the original Meda-Evil. He had over a dozen of you robot copies at his beckon call. Then he went into space and you all were shut down." "When the shutdown order was given I believed it to be some kind of trick. After all, my vision of global domination had not yet been realized." "You mean Dr. Meda-Evil's vision." Meda-Evil quickly turned back around. "I AM DR. MEDA-EVIL!" "YOU'RE A MALFUNCTIONING PIECE OF SCRAP!" Suddenly a robotic hand extended out of Meda-Evil's other sleeve and grabbed Henry by the throat.

He began slowly crushing Henry's windpipe causing him to choke. "That's enough doctor." Meda-Evil looked over at Cosmicon standing in the doorway. "This spy was found snooping about in the radio room." "Yes I'm aware. Bloodbeetle was the one who discovered him after all. Now release him." "My lord?" "You heard me doctor." Meda-Evil reluctantly complied and released Henry's throat.

As Henry coughed out Cosmicon walked over to Henry and moved in close to his face. "Who knows that you're here?" Henry looked at him. "The Devil, if you give me another phone I'd be happy to see if he's got a vacancy for you and your pals." Cosmicon held out his hand in which Sea Slug placed Henry's phone. He held it up to Henry. "Like this one perhaps?" Cosmicon turned it on and took a look at the screen. "You know one of the few achievements you humans have made that I actually find interesting is… cellular telecommunications. The capability to talk to one another over long distances, perhaps if we had such technology back in our time period things might've been different."

As he spoke Cosmicon looked through the applications on the phone. Such as the recent contact list. He scrolled over until he came across the number for Dr. Aki. Cosmicon looked up at him. He hit the number and held it up to his head as it rang. "Hello, you've reached Dr. Aki. I can't come to the phone right now But if you leave your name and number…" Cosmicon hit the disconnect button. Henry hung his head. He then brought up group photos of Ikki, Metabee, Erika and Brass. Cosmicon stood up and handed Dr. Meda-Evil the phone. "I think we make this work to our advantage. Take him down below. I'm sure he'll find the contents of the cargo hold particularly fascinating."

The goons picked up Henry and dragged him out of the room. Cosmicon watched him as Bloodbeetle appeared next to him. "You said before we had a potential ally, make it official." Bloodbeetle nodded before walking back into the shadows. Back with Henry he was tossed to the ground in the cargo hold. The goons turned and left. Henry looked around expecting to see offline kilobots. Instead all he saw was a large machine towering over him. "Oh that can't be good."

(Kam's house)

A few moments after they had returned home Black Beetle wandered the garden in the courtyard. During the drive back Kam had asked her what had happened after she went after Bloodbeetle. For the most part she had told him the truth. That she had pursued him only to be ambushed and nearly escape with her life. While Kam had stated that he was glad she was safe she had sworn she saw a glimpse of disappointment in his eyes.

Since then she had told him she needed a moment alone to herself which Kam agreed upon. As she walked Bloodbeetle's words kept echoing in her mind. At which point memories of her being forced into Gryphon flashed before her eyes. She subconsciously grabbed her arms and dropped to her knees shaking uncontrollably. After all this time she believed that she had gotten over the trauma from that event. Only now here she was suffering from a panic attack, shivering and whimpering like a small child.

As she sat there a shadow fell over her. A hand was placed on her shoulder. "So much pain." Black Beetle quickly jumped back and aimed her blaster at Bloodbeetle. He stood there with his hands raised. "Easy now let's use words." "Be quiet. What are you doing here?" "I wanted to continue where we left off. However if you want to get back into your "friend's" good graces then by all means sound the alarm." Black Beetle hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering her blaster. "We have nothing more to talk about." "I disagree. As I told you before, you're not like the others. You're different… you possess the ability to become a true warrior." "The ability to become a killing machine you mean." Bloodbeetle scoffed.

As he spoke he walked around her. "Why do you have such a distaste for taking lives? After all lives are lost everyday. Death provides a constant state of balance in this world." Black Beetle kept her gaze upon him as he walked. "I mean just look at yourself. Your body alone is designed to bring death. However that doesn't necessarily make you a slave to it. Only you have the power and the right to decide how to live. No one else should decide that for you." "No one decides how I live." "Are you so certain of that? What about your master?" "Kam is my friend. He would never force me to do anything I didn't want to." "Oh but he has. I know he has. Why else would you choose to be away from him while you wallow into your current state? If he was truly your friend why would you not confide in him about your struggles?"

Black Beetle then turned her gaze down as he continued to circle her. "Perhaps you're afraid that if you show weakness in front of him he'll take advantage and use you like he did last time?" "N-no… he wouldn't." "How can you be so sure?" "Because he…" "Because he told you so?" "B-because…" "Because he's your friend?" Bloodbeetle stopped in front of her. Black Beetle stood silently. "If you truly believed that, you wouldn't be out here alone now would you?" He reached under her chin and lifted her head to face him. He looked straight into her eyes. "I won't force you to make a decision but I promise you. If you join us, you'll never have to feel that fear again."

Black Beetle turned away from him, silently considering what he was saying. She knew for a fact that she wanted to be free of this fear. So that she could finally move onto a new chapter in her life. When she turned back around Bloodbeetle was gone. As she looked around she spotted a single black rose laying on the ground in front of her. She picked it up and looked upon it. As she admired it she felt a warm feeling inside her that she'd never felt before. The fear she had felt before rapidly being replaced by this new feeling. If she didn't know any better, she'd almost believe that she was slowly falling in love.

Will Bloodbeetle turn Black Beetle to the dark side? What massive machine lies in wait on Cosmicon's ship? Will Ikki be needing a cast after hitting Metabee? Find out most of these answers and more in next month's exciting chapter!

I have to say it's been a long time since I've done a two part chapter. If you've stuck with me since the beginning you'll know what I'm talking about. Anyway I hope you've all enjoyed reading this chapter and are looking forward to the second part. Now I do have an announcement to make. Once I finish part two of this chapter I will be taking a break to start a brand new story.

Now I know what most of you are thinking, "Why would he be starting a new story when the current one isn't even finished?" Answer: Because I can! Lol. But seriously though I find it mentally stimulating and healthy to go back and forth with different stories. On that note I have at least 3 stories I'd like to get started with but I would like to leave the decision to you dear readers. Which is why I will be holding a poll to decide what the next story will be. Here are the 3 stories to choose from.

Godzilla: New Dawn

In the beginning mankind managed to destroy every Kaiju on earth. Including The King of the monsters himself, devastating the planet in the process. Over time a new generation of humans were born with extraordinary mutations derived from Kaiju DNA. These children were soon dubbed KKs or Kid Kaiju and hunted down to near extinction. 20 years later the world is now a wasteland. A single wanderer travels to find a place of peace. What he finds instead is a single child that might just be the only hope for life on Earth.

Mega-Man: Robotic Hero

By day he's Xavier 'Rock' Light. Just a typical high schooler with a normal life. Though there's something about him that no one knows about, for he has a secret. And that secret is…. Protecting the city from the diabolical Dr. Wily. Who is he? His name….. is Mega-Man.

Green Hornet 2099

In the distant future, crime runs rampant through the city. Corruption and fear spread unchecked. In the wake of tragedy a new hero will rise. And soon all will come to know/fear the name….Green Hornet.

To vote for which story you would like to see next, simply post in the reviews either 1,2 or 3 over the next 2 months. And as always be sure to Fav,follow but most importantly enjoy reading these stories. And now some replies to the latest reviews of Cosmicon Rising.

Kiwi Shipper: Don't worry I will continue this story and I hope you are enjoying it so far.

With that said this Tardispilot297 saying ALLONSY!