A Random Meda-Short: Usual disclaimers apply.
Main Characters: Erika, Samantha, Karin, Spyke, Ikki, Koji, Sloan, Metabee, Sumilidon, Totalizer, Neutranurse, Krosserdog, and Team Sweden
Pairings Warning: None
Explanation: How I originally thought the episode 'Swede and Sour' might end. Naturally, it's very helpful if you've seen the original episode before reading this.
~ * Swede and Sour Remix * ~
Annika, the eldest member of the famous Team Sweden, felt beads of perspiration forming on her usually clear forehead. For the first time in practically her entire career as a member of the well-known female group, she was losing a robattle. Badly.
It didn't make any sense. The strategy had never failed them like this before! Especially when Team Japan had seemed so receptive at first…
Strictly speaking, the strategy that the girls used to win all their fights was hardly fair – but then again, to them, all was fair in love, war and robattle. By using their charms and pretty looks, they beguiled all the male members of the opposing team into willingly throwing the match. Afterwards, of course, they had no use for the fools, and left them to pick up the pieces of their shattered hearts while they moved on to their next victims.
It was such a simple, easy plan. Yet it seemed that it was suddenly failing them.
Though Ikki Tenryou, Koji Karakuchi, and Space Medafighter X had obviously enjoyed their time with the girls of Sweden, fawning over them the entire time they were together, now that they were in the ring, everything suddenly changed. The Japanese Team had promised constantly to go easy on them, but for some reason, that promise hadn't carried through.
In fact, their medabots were attacking with a vengeance, tearing through their poor partners mercilessly.
Even as Annika stared, wine-colored eyes filled with shock, Siri shrieked in terror as Metabee's Seeker Missiles sent her Sailormate flying backwards. Sailormate echoed her master's scream with one of her own, a cry abruptly cut short as Sumilidon leapt behind the falling SLR-type and swept his Flexorsword over her back.
Even as Sailormate toppled to the ground, the Saber-tooth Tiger medabot swung around to face a sweating Fossilkat. Seeing her own partner in mortal peril, Margareta tore her tear-blurred gaze away from the scene and looked desperately at the boy she thought she'd had wrapped round her little finger.
"Koji, please!" she begged, her dimpled cheeks flushed red with fear. "I thought you loved me! Why are you letting Sumilly-chan hurt Fossilkat so…?"
The dark-haired boy didn't even so much as glance over at the pleading blonde. His arms were crossed triumphantly over his chest; his head was bowed slightly so that his bangs shadowed his face. Yet all three of the girls could clearly see the cruel, self-satisfied smirk that twisted his lips.
"Consider this my way of breaking up with you," he hissed lowly, a brief chuckle following his words. "I don't appreciate being used the way you tried to play me…"
"That's right," chimed in Ikki, his head held high and eyes narrowed into dark slits as he glared at an equally stunned Siri. "Maybe now you'll know better than to abuse the hearts of all the guys you meet! Robattling takes a lot more than a pretty face and a cute smile, after all!"
"Now, if you would please be so kind as to just surrender, it could save us all a lot of time," added Space Medafighter X politely.
"No way!" snarled Koji and Ikki back at their partner at the same time. "We're enjoying this way too much!"
Space Medafighter X recoiled, sweating a bit, and Annika raised one delicate eyebrow in surprise. Ikki and Koji had certainly changed dramatically from the last time they saw each other… Come to think of it, Space Medafighter X seemed a bit different as well. A bit… slimmer than she recalled, and even less assertive…
Before she had much time to think about it, however, Hopstar's agonized shout forced her attention back to the robattle.
"Hopstar!" she shouted as the BNY-type was knocked backward by the force of Sailormate and Fossilkat being flung into her.
Sweating, knowing the end was nearly upon her, Annika tried one last time to reassert the control she thought she'd had over Space Medafighter X. She stared directly at the masked human, wine-colored eyes wide and injured, lips trembling slightly as she silently begged for mercy, for a chance to get up and win this robattle…
Then her eyes suddenly widened as they fell upon the third medabot in the team. Metabee and Sumilidon were racing forward to deliver the finishing blows together, but the last remained standing back, giving the Swedish leader a good look at… her.
(That's not Totalizer… That's not the medabot belonging to the boy I seduced! But then…)
But before she could do anything more, Hopstar, Fossilkat, and Sailormate had their medals knocked out almost simultaneously.
"Function ceased! The winner is… Team Japan!"
All Annika could do was join her teammates in tears as everything they ever worked for vanished in that instant, along with the medals of their medabots.
Some time later, Metabee walked in front of the rest of Team Japan, in very high spirits. Despite things looking grim for a while, once again it had turned out fine, thanks to luck, skill and a great battle plan.
"So, how do you feel," his green eyes flashed mischievously as he went on, "Ikki, Koji and Space Medafighter X?"
"Great!" the kid called Ikki declared with a grin, reaching up and undoing their ponytail, allowing short, dark chocolate locks to fall back into place. "That was extremely satisfying, you know…"
"Hell yeah," agreed the child called Koji, fluffing out long auburn hair as they added, "But I'm glad to get that thing off my head. I was sweating so bad underneath that thing."
"Better take a shower, then," the one referred to as Space Medafighter X suggested, taking over the golden mask and smiling cutely.
"Don't worry, I plan to. …Oh… and good job… 'Sumilly-chan'."
"Please, don't call me that," groaned the STG-type. "I really don't want to have to hurt you after you helped out like that."
"Oh, but it's such a cute nickname!" trilled Space Medafighter X's medabot, clasping her hands in front of her. "Sumilly-chan…"
"Oh! Don't you think we should tell Spyke and the others that we've won?" noted the masked medafighter.
"Sure, whatever," the kid formally known as Ikki replied. Walking over to Team Japan's waiting room, they rapped on the door and called, "Spyke, it's over."
The door cracked open, and two heads popped out: one belonging to Spyke, the other to his medabot Krosserdog.
"Did you win?" he asked.
"Of course! What do you take us for?" demanded the child called Koji, smirking.
Spyke grinned widely, eyes lighting up with delight at the good news.
"I never doubted you for a second, Boss! I knew your new plan would work!"
"Can we let them out now?" queried the DOG-type beside the boy. "They woke up a few minutes ago, and haven't calmed down since…"
"All right, all right…"
Spyke let the members of Team Japan into the room, shutting the door behind them. Looking down at the bound and gagged trio of furiously struggling boys in front of them, Erika and Samantha crossed their arms over their chests and smirked. Karin just shook her head and bowed in apology to them.
"I'm really sorry about all this," she said, smiling faintly. "But we couldn't let poor Metabee and Sumilly-chan down… and I just couldn't fight with Totalizer!"
"That's all right," muttered the TOT-type medabot from where he stood next to his sweating, gagged medafighter. "Didn't feel much like losing my medal, anyway…"
"One day, you'll understand this was all for the best, you guys," Erika said with a wink, absently tugging on her bright red shirt's huge collar.
"Yeah, OUR best," added Metabee, glaring at Ikki where the boy sat tied to a chair with tears waterfalling down his cheeks.
"Mmmpphhh…"
