Chapter 2: Deeper Shadows

Metabee sat on the couch, surfing the TV channels with the remote. And he was bored out of his mind.

Metabee was an enigma among medabots. Virtually all of them had the same personality trait: they listened to their masters, their medafighters, no matter what. They could be all sorts of other things, from sweet to funny to nasty to weird to bitter, but they always had that trait.

Metabee didn't. As far as he was concerned, the only one who was ever gonna give him orders was himself. But he was still a medabot, and hence he and his so called owner were always butting heads over everything, from how to fight to how to fix him to how Ikki should fold his socks.

True, he cared about Ikki. He was a great kid, and a pretty good medafighter. But then again, he was the one out there shooting the gun and taking the blows. Ikki was off to the side yelling things into a watch. As far as he was concerned, that automatically gave him the right to be free.

Well, he was free, all right. Free out of ideas on what to do. It was the morning, and nothing good was on. The soap operas all came on in the afternoon, and all the good commercials came on then and the evening as well. All that was on was talk shows, and Metabee had watched five minutes of that nonsense before turning away in disgust. How could anyone find that entertaining?

Sighing, he turned the TV off. Well, Salty (that IS the dog's name, right?) was napping and Ikki's mom was off shopping. He may as well head off to Ikki's school and bother him. There was sure entertainment in that, and heck, there might even be a Robattle in it for him! Nothing like keeping his skills sharp…

Metabee leapt off the couch and suddenly winced as a pang of discomfort ran up his arm. While as a Metabot he technically couldn't feel pain, his body was designed to register damage. And this feeling had been bothering him since he had defeated Giganko: little jolts of "pain" in the right shoulder joint of his Tinpet. He had taken quite the beating in that whole affair, and his whole body had suffered damage. Even after being fixed, there were still these jolts…

But the jolts, whatever always passed, so Metabee figured they would go away. They hadn't yet, but Metabee was sure waiting it out would be better then the alternative: telling Ikki. It would send the kid on a combined power trip/overprotective jag, and Metabee could do without that.

"Metabee! You have to listen to me! If you did you wouldn't be damaged! Now let me fix you! You want to be polished? You want…BLECH!" Metabee said in his best Ikki impression as he left the house. His shoulder had stopped aching, and he soon forgot it. He wondered what Ikki was doing.

Ikki was being blitzkrieged by Erika on the playground. For once he didn't mind, for his friend actually had some very interesting information for once.

"He beat the ENTIRE Rubberrobo Gang?" Ikki said incredulously. True, his rubber suited nemesis's were rather incompetent, but even they had given a lot of people trouble in Robattling, including him.

"Yeah! Chino was there, he saw it all!" Erika said, excited. The first thing Chino had done when he had gotten to school was spill the beans on this Robattle he had seen featuring a mystery medafighter and his incredibly powerful Medabot. Erika had smelt a big story, and the second school was over she was gonna track it down and get all the information. Until then, she might as well tell Ikki. He would definitely be interested too. And he was.

"And Chino couldn't see his face?"

"He kept it hidden. What a mystery! I can see it now. "Mystery Medafighter Threatens All of School's Medabots!"

"Um Erika, why would he want to do that? And if so, where is he? Is this his coffee break from threatening the school?" Ikki said.

"He was a point Miss." Brass added.

"It's news! Grab their attention now, make sense of it later!"

Ikki and Brass facevaulted.

Metabee strolled down the road, whistling a tune he'd heard somewhere or other. The tune wafted up the still air and carried all the way to the roof of a nearby building.

A flute began to play, mimicking the tune. Starkiller and her medafighter watched the lone medabot walk down the sidewalk even as flute continued his melody that Metabee had started.

"A medabot without his medafighter. Rather rare sight." Starkiller said. Flute stopped playing.

"Perhaps. But wherever a Medabot is, the Medafighter is sure to be close behind." Flute said.

"Shall we challenge him Master?"

"No…he doesn't look like much." Flute said, standing and slipping his flute up his sleeve as he wrapped his cloak around him. "I would rather check on the rumours of a "legendary Medafighter" that supposedly hangs around my old school."

"Master, may I say, that rumours may just be that: rumours" Starkiller said as she and her medafighter headed off the roof.

"Maybe. But better to be safe then sorry. Those people we fought last night were sorely lacking in skill…"

"Maybe that Medabot has a great deal of skill?"

"Then I'm sure we'll cross paths. And then you and he will lock horns. And you'll win."

"I'll win."

And they were gone, as Metabee turned the corner, never knowing they had been there.

News spread fast, especially concerning Medabots, and Ikki wanted to get all the information he could before it began to get distorted and warped. So he'd gone straight to the source: Chino. To his surprise, he had gotten pretty much the same story Erika had given.

"Less then a minute?" he asked, incredulous.

"Oh yeah. He chopped two like shish kabob and then barbecued the other two. I could FEEL the power in that cannon. I was considering challenging him afterward, but I changed my mind after I saw him fight. He'd have taken me apart."

"REALLY…?" Ikki said, putting his hand to his chin as if in deep thought. He wandered off from Chino, hearing people chatter all around him about this Medafighter.

"IKKI!"

Ikki's heart nearly leapt out of his chest as Metabee swung down and was suddenly hanging in front of him by his knees from a branch in the tree.

"AHHHHHHH! DON'T DO THAT!"

"Oh get over it. What's up, besides me?"

"Didn't you hear?" Ikki said, and told him what he had heard. Looking very interested, Metabee swung down and landed in front of his medafighter.

"A medafighter that took out the entire Rubberrobo gang? You sure it wasn't Phantom Renegade?"

"Nope." Erika said, appearing at Ikki's side. "My sources tell me he was taller and had a different voice. Sounds like an adult, maybe in his mid-twenties."

"Hey, maybe it's Phantom Renegade's evil twin! He must have shown up to collect his stolen inheritance, or maybe…!"

"METABEE! THIS IS NOT A SOAP OPERA!"

"Well SORRRRRRRRRRRY! Maybe you have a better idea?"

"Who cares who he is? What matters is that we have to find him and challenge him to a Robattle!"

"Now you're talking! I'll teach this flute player a new tune: The Metabee Bop!" Metabee said, as he shadow-boxed.

"Assuming you can find him." Erika said, as she scribbled down the new title of "Mystery Medafighter Phantom Renegade's Twin?"

"Find him? How hard can it be to find a cloaked flute player? It's not like you see them on a regular basis."

The bell rang, and the children began filing back into the school.

"We'll look into this later." Ikki said, as he followed them. "C'mon Metabee."

"Forget it! I have to train!" Metabee said, and began running in place.

"Metabee, you're a robot! You don't have any muscles!"

"Hey, I don't tell you have to Robattle!"

"Maybe but I'm telling YOU…"

Erika left the two to their argument. Maybe it would be in Ikki's best interest if he DID let Metabee train. If this Medafighter was as skilled as they said, he would need all the help and skill he could get…

"May I help you sir?" said the guard at the entrance of the Rosewood private school. He was suspicious and perhaps rightly so. He had never seen a man wearing these kinds of clothes before, especially such a concealing cloak. If he was hiding something, it could be bad.

"I would like to come in." Flute said.

"I am sorry sir. Only students and…"

Flute dug into a pocket and produced a piece of paper.

"I am a graduate of this establishment, and my parents have been quite helpful to you with fundraising in the past. Surely that will grant me entrance?"

The guard examined the paper. Sure enough, it was a diploma, given to the cloaked man about ten years ago. It was authentic as well: he had worked here long enough to know the unique style Rosewood put on all their products.

"I see. Very well sir. Shall I call the school and tell them of your coming?"
"No. In fact, I would appreciate it if you never saw me. At all." Flute said. The guard started to reply, and then Flute was holding a thick wad of bills in front of him.

"You're not going to cause trouble?"

"No."

The money vanished, as the guard went into his station and opened the gate. Flute walked through, Starkiller following him.

"Was it necessary to bribe him Master?"

"Just making sure the wrong information doesn't reach the wrong people Starkiller. You know…"

And then Flute nearly walked right into the young girl as she tried to leave through the gate the second he was coming through it. She gave a small cry of surprise as she dropped her books. A second later, Starkiller had grabbed them, just before they had hit the ground.

"Here." Starkiller said, as she handed them back to the girl, a young pretty redhead in pigtails.

"Thank you…oh." Karen said as she looked at Flute. Her heart fluttered a bit in nervousness, and she wondered if she should call the guard.

"Sorry miss. Are you ok?" Flute said.

"Yes…I just wasn't expecting…sir, are you ok? Why do you wear that cloak?"

"Fashion statement, miss…?"

"Karen."

"Karen. My lord…" Flute said as he fully walked out of the gate and looked at the amusement park he could see in the distance. "When I went here this place had great excess, but this is RIDICULOUS… "

"You're a graduate?"

"Yes am I. I assume you go here, Karen?"

"Yes I do."

"Then perhaps you can help me. I'm looking for this legendary medafighter…"

Karen suddenly looked exasperated, an expression not common for her. She sighed.

"Sir, might I ask if you have been out of town?"

"Yes I have. Why?"

"Well…" Karen said, and told Flute of the exact nature of this legendary medafighter, or more exactly, how something had acquired a life of its own from a simple observation. When she was done, Flute muttered angrily.

"So it was just you and your healing medabot?"

"Yes. Just that. I'm far from a legendary medafighter. I don't even Robattle. It's just that some friends of mine came here some time ago looking for the same thing you were, and I thought they said they would dispel the rumour when they learned the truth. I guess you didn't hear that."

"I didn't. You were right Starkiller: Just rumours. Well thank you child, for your help. You are sure you are ok?"

"Yes, thank you." Karen said. This "Flute" may have had a creepy air, with the black clothing and the hidden face, but he was a gentleman. Or so it seemed.

"Come, Starkiller, I guess we will have to look elsewhere for a challenge…" Flute said as he turned to leave.

"Maybe not." Came a new voice. Flute turned to see a boy standing off in the distance. He must have shown up while Flute was talking to Karen. He looked about Karen's age, with black hair and nice clothes.

"My name is Koji. You came here looking for a Robattle?"

"I came here looking for a challenge, which I thought a legendary medafighter would provide."

"Well there may be no legendary medafighter, but maybe, just maybe, there is a challenge for you, Flute. I'm the No. 2 ranked medafighter in Japan!"

Even without seeing his face, Karen could tell Flute was interested, as he turned to face Koji.

"Really? You are the second best in this country?"

"I am. You want a challenge? I'm quite willing to give you one. Be warned though, it will be one you can't overcome!" Koji said, as he brought up his medawatch. "TRANSPORT SUMILIDON!"

An orange beam flew from Koji's watch and a second later his medabot appeared. Flute took in the yellow/gold-white-blue-black coloured medabot, with a thick fist-type weapon on his left arm and a three-pronged sword-claw on its right arm.

"Hmmmm, Saber-tooth Tiger type. Nice design as well." Flute said, as he pulled back his sleeve to reveal his ultra-high-tech medawatch "But nothing you can't handle, right Starkiller?"

"You bet your bottom dollar." Starkiller said as she stepped in front of her medafighter. "I'm ready!"

"Then, it's agreed!"

Flute's head cocked at the sudden voice, and then he squawked in surprise as Mr. Referee popped out of a hole in the ground dressed in a gopher costume. "I hearby…"

"Who the heck are YOU?" Flute exclaimed.

"You MUST be an out of towner. I am Mr. Referee! I will referee this Robattle!"

"Why the heck were you doing under the ground in a gopher costume?"

"…..Mind your own business! As I was saying, I hearby declare this a submission robattle between Sumilidon and Starkiller! The rules are simple: the first medabot to stop the other from functioning wins! The loser must then submit one medapart to the winner, for keeps!"

"Uh, Referee Man or whatever, can I…?" Flute tried to say.

"MEDAFIGHTERS READY!?!" Mr.Referee bellowed as he tossed off the gopher costume. Flute sighed and raised his watch. "MEDABOTS, ROBATTLE!"

"Attack Sumilodon!" Koji ordered.

"Right!" Sumilodon said, as he charged at Starkiller.

"Starkiller, armour mode! Take his measure!" Flute countered. The armour surrounded Starkiller and she raised her shields in front of her as Sumilidon slashed. The Flexor-sword part raked across the shields.

Flute frowned as he watched his meters drop.

"Attack again!"

"Take this! SHADOW SWORD!" Sumilidon yelled, and lashed out. Flute's eyes widened as the meters showing his shields dropped more then he had anticipated.

"We can't keep taking blows like that! Change of plans! Let discretion be the better part of valor!"

Starkiller shoved Sumilidon away from her as her excess and normal armour retracted into her body, and ducked under the following slash as her rockets fired and blasted her away from Sumilidon. She rocketed for the nearest tree and spun around it, and as Sumilidon turned around she leapt, kicking him in the face with all her might.

"Warning! Head damaged!" Koji's medawatch announced. He frowned as Starkiller blasted away from Sumilidon again, leaving a cloud of dust as she did a tight turn and blasted at him from another angle. Her punch caught Sumilidon in the chest, but Sumilidon managed his own blow this time, catching the female medabot with a glancing blow to her left arm.

"Warning! Arm damaged 25 percent." Flute's medawatch announced. Now it was the cloaked man's turn to look unhappy (not that anyone could see his expression anyway). This kid was good.

But he was better.

"I though school would never end!" Ikki said as he bounded out the doors, final bell ringing in his ears and Erika right on his heels. "METABEE!"

"Took you long enough!" Metabee said as he dropped out of the tree he had been sitting in. Ikki looked at him wryly.

"What happened to training?"

"I was doing it when I realized I will always be better then whoever this flute guy is, so I was wasting my time! Yeah, it's hard being this good, but I try…" Metabee said.

"And fail." Ikki said. Metabee did a double take.

"GIYIYGIIYIYIGIYI! (You know, that strange noise he makes when he's annoyed) Don't make me play my warm up tune on you, Ikki!"

"You're out of tune, buster!" Ikki countered.

"Guys!"

Ikki completely forgot about his fight with Metabee at the sound of Karen's voice, as he turned to sweep her off her feet. Only she nearly did that to him as she ran into the schoolyard and nearly into Ikki, Neutranurse on her heels.

"Yeep! Watch it Karen!" Metabee said.

"Ignore him. Do whatever you like." Ikki said, trying to be suave. Behind him, both Metabee and Erika smacked their face into their palms and muttered, while Brass and Neutranurse tried to figure out what was going on.

"Guys, I have a problem. I was at my school and this cloaked guy showed up and he challenged Koji and it was going fine but then the cloaked guy got merciless and…" Karen said in a big rush.

"WHOA! CLOAKED GUY? Did he play a flute?"

"I think I saw him with a flute…"

"Target acquired! Time for a Metaboppin'!" Metabee said, and ran off.

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME!" Ikki yelled as he took off after his Metabot. Erik ran after them as well, trying to write down stuff, get her equipment out, and run all at the same time, Brass at her heels.

 Karen and Neutranurse watched the fleeing foursome with some confusion.

"Guess they're running to help." Neutranurse said.

"I think the only thing Metabee wants to help is himself to a Robattle." Karen said. "Men!"

"SHADOW SWORD!" Sumilidon yelled, but his devastating attack missed as Starkiller leapt up in a fancy flip and hit the ground running, er, rolling. Koji growled. How the hell did Flute's medabot manage to dodge that?

"Is your Medabot going to run away all day or stand and fight?" he yelled. Flute ignored the young man, and Koji got even angrier. "OK SUMILIDON! IF HE WANTS A MARATHON, YOU GIVE IT TO HIM!"

"You got it Koji!" Sumilidon said, as he raced after the rocket-powered Starkiller. His legs, despite having no skates, were quite good, and he began gaining ground.

"Hold…" Flute said, as Sumilidon caught up to Starkiller.

"Get ready to finish it!" Koji ordered. Sumilidon began preparing a strong attack that would take out Starkiller as he closed the distance to four feet.

"Hold…" Flute repeated. Now it was two feet. Another foot and…
"ATTACK!" Koji ordered.

"YAAAAHHHHH!" Sumilidon yelled, and swung…

And Starkiller reached the gate wall, and with a quick leapt she was up and on it, blasting right up the wall. Sumilidon's attack struck the stone dead on, and his arm shuddered as part of the gate shattered.

"Ho ho! Nice move! Too bad your opponent isn't THE WALL! NOW!" Flute ordered. Starkiller flipped off the wall, and as she slowly spun backwards her rocket-blades retracted as she switched to warrior mode. Sumilidon, still facing the wall, tried to turn, but couldn't as Starkiller finished her flip and lanced her legs out, slamming both heels into the back of Sumilidon's head and driving his face into the wall, squashed between the gate and her feet.

"Warning! Head damaged fifty percent!" Koji's watch said. Starkiller landed gracefully and her twin bladed laser sword popped out. She caught and ignited it.

"SUMILIDON LOOK OUT!" Koji yelled.

"NOVA SWORD!"

Sumilidon turned and took the whole brunt of the blow on his left arm, a devastating slash that tore through the armour like it was tissue paper.

"Warning!  Left arm damaged 100 percent! Arm function ceased." Koji's watch said. He growled.

"Finish him!" Flute ordered.

"I'M NOT FINISHED YET!" Sumilidon yelled, and slashed out himself. Starkiller saw the blow and dodged away, but she still took a nasty slash across her chest, tossing her backwards.

"Warning! Heavy damage!" Flute's medawatch intoned.

"FINISH IT WITH ANOTHER SHADOW SWORD!" Koji ordered.

"This game is over, lady!" Sumilidon said as he charged. Starkiller flipped to her feet. She looked at Flute. He nodded, and she raised her sword.

"SHADOW SWORD!" Sumilidon yelled, as he attacked.

"NOVA SWORD!" Starkiller yelled at the same time as she attacked.

The air rang with a terrible clanging noise that hurt Koji's ears. He winced, and then saw Starkiller had intercepted Sumilodon's blow in mid-strike. Now the two were locked in war of strength, each trying to finish their respective attack.

"C'mon Sumilidon! You can do it!"

Sumilidon redoubled his efforts, but Starkiller did the same. Koji did his best, jumping up and down like a champion cheerleader and yelling all the support he could. Flute was calm, glancing back and forth.

"Strong and honorable…why couldn't I have fought someone like him in the finals…" Flute whispered to himself. "C'mon Starkiller. Know that you are the best! You cannot fail!"

"I can't fail…I'm the best…the best…" Starkiller said. Sumilidon's arm groaned in strain, but the medabot would not back down.

In the end, the deciding factor was that Sumilidon only had one arm. Starkiller had two, and with a shriek, she brought all their strength to bear on her blade.

Sumilidon's Flexor Sword snapped as the laser blade broke through the clawed weapon.

"NOVA SWORD!"

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Koji wailed as Starkiller's sword slashed across Sumilidon's chest and sent him flying backwards with a cry of pain. He hit the ground hard, and the back of his armour popped open, the metal clattering out onto the ground.

"FUNCTION CEASED! The winner is, Starkiller!" Mr. Referee said. Flute brought down his Medawatch and sighed in relief. Close. But that only counted in horseshoes and hand grenades.

"Like I said Starkiller. Best there is." Flute said, as he walked to his medabot's side, watching Koji run over to his fallen Medabot.

"Best there was." Starkiller said, as she sheathed her sword. "And best there ever will be."

"Amen, m'lady."

"Sumilidon…ah man…" Koji groaned as he retrieved the medal and popped it in his watch. "You ok?"

"Ohhhhh…I'm fine Koji. Don't worry yourself." Sumilidon said from the watch.

Koji sighed, and then feeling a flash of anger at losing, he looked at Flute, and then at Mr.Referee.

"Hey! Is that legal? I thought it was against the rules to change parts in the middle of a match?" (Er, has anyone done that in the official battles and not the fight for your life ones?)

"Uh…technically…hmmmm, let me check!" Mr. Referee said, as he pulled a large book from someplace on his person. He paged through it as Koji inspected the damage. Pretty bad, but nothing a hard-fought Robattle wouldn't cause. And that had been a hard fought one.

And he had lost. The taste was bitter. First Ikki and now…

"While it is illegal to change parts, it is not illegal for parts to have more then one function, which was the case here." Mr.Referee said. "This Robattle's result stands." And with that he was gone, probably off to referee another fight.

"I made sure all my construction was within the rules. Is your medabot ok kid?"
"Yeah…but…who are you? What is heck kind of medabot…how…?"

"Name's Flute. You're good kid. Really good. But…" Flute said as he turned to leave. "I think you need a little more practice."

"Hey! Don't you want a part?"

"I don't need any of your parts. Keep them. Nothing you have could be of any use to me. See you later, Koji, and better luck next time…"

Koji steamed as Flute strolled off, and then music from his namesake began to float on the air from him. A short little victory tune. Koji sighed. Just wait, he would fix Sumilidon and then…

He may very well lose again. What was up with that? And why the cloak?

Koji was trying to fix Sumilidon when Ikki and the others finally arrived. Neutranurse had taken one look and had begun healing Sumilidon.

"HE BEAT YOU? YOU?" Ikki said incredulously.

"YES, YES! CAN YOU STOP REPEATING IT! Salt in the wound, you know." Koji said.

"Now THIS is news. The Rubberrobos are one thing, but Koji…!" Erika said. She began frantically scribbling titles.

"I don't know about you Ikki, but this gives me pause. But that passes. We have definitely got to mix it up with this guy!" Metabee said, the concept that Starkiller had bested Sumilidon no deterrent to his enthusiasm.

"Don't be so arrogant Ikki. I thought I could handle this guy, but he gave me a run for my money and took it in the end. He knows how to Robattle. Oh god, how he knows. It's like he knew half my moves before I could make them." Koji said.

"And he didn't want a Medapart?"

"Nope. Said he didn't need it. I don't know whether to be further insulted or relieved…on the other hand, I have to replace Sumilidon's Flexor Sword. Oh well, at least I can do that with no problem."

 Neutranurse had finished her repairs, and Koji popped Sumilidon's medal back in. The medabot began trying to cheer up his somewhat depressed master.

"Where'd he go anyway? If we catch him, I'll take 'em right now!" Metabee said. He started shadow-boxing again and winced as the wave of discomfort ran up his right arm again. He glanced at Ikki and was relieved when he saw the boy looking at Karen and Koji. If he noticed his discomfort…

"He went that way, out the gate. God knows where he could be now. Probably looking for another challenge. He sounded hardcore for those. He hadn't heard the truth about the legendary medafighter, which is why he came here. I kinda wish he had known the truth." Koji said.

Metabee glanced at Ikki.
"Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Metabee?" Ikki said.

"Smart intelligent medafighter out of touch with local news and looking for challenges? Gee, who do you he could be looking for next?" Metabee said. "Well then, that eases it. We'll find him, and then we'll find this Flute. And we'll teach that Medabum a lesson in Robattling." Metabee said.

"Who will he be looking for?" Brass said.

"Isn't it obvious? He'll be hunting for…"

"Rokusho?" Flute said. "That's his name?"
"Yep. He was supposedly built by Dr. Hushi, who designed the whole concept of Medabots. From what I hear, he's VERY strong. But for some reason, he dislikes Robattling. Plus he wanders around a lot, so he may be hard to find, Master." Starkiller said. Flute finished the repairs he had been making and closed the panel on Starkiller's left arm.

"I have all the time in the world. We'll find him, and we'll see if we can persuade him. Fairly, of course. Winners never cheat, and cheaters never win." And if only that were true. "How do you feel?"

"Much better." Starkiller said. Flute stood and pulled his hood back up, and again his face was shrouded in shadow. "Master, I am worried."

"Worried? Why m'lady? We just beat the Number 2 seed, and he only tested about half your abilities. We didn't even have to use your ultimate attack. I built you to be the best, and you will be the best. I guarantee it."

"Yes…but Master, Rokusho is old and wise, and those add to his already great strengths."

"True…an old medabot, having seen the proceeds of a thousand Robattles…and then, we have you. The most technically advanced and designed medabot to ever come from a mind many have called genius. I will believe what they say. The old must always make way for the new. So what do you say?"

Starkiller cocked her head, and then she whipped out her sword and twirled it.

"Bring 'em on!"

And then, in a swirl of cloak, they were gone.

Will Flute and Starkiller find Rokusho? Will Metabee and Ikki catch up to them before they do? Will Koji have to start taking Prozac? Well, someone is going to find this dark duo next chapter, and let me just say…they may very well find themselves…screwed.

Chapter 3: Motivations

More Medabots, More Power!