Chapter 3: Motivations
"Nope, he doesn't ring a bell."
Ikki sighed. He was getting a sense of Déjà vu. The last time Henry hadn't been able to immediately identify a Medabot, it had been Rokusho that had been said Medabot. Now he couldn't identify another new Medabot who may very well be after Rokusho.
"Actually I believe the Medabot was a she." Erika said, looking up from her scribbling. Henry thought that over.
"Still doesn't ring a bell. Sorry Ikki."
"No problem. Thanks anyway." Ikki said, feeling a bit depressed coupled with a touch of annoyance.
"Strange though. I can't recall anything specific but that description DOES ring a bell…" Henry pondered.
Maybe if I rang YOUR bell it might come back to you. Ikki thought uncharacteristically, then caught himself. Metabee's rubbing off on me.
"Tell you what: When I have a moment I'll go digging through the back catalogues. I'm SURE there's something familiar that I know. What was the Medabot's name again?"
"Koji said Flute called her Starkiller."
"Pleasant."
"Well, looks like we're back to square one." Ikki said as he walked back over to Erika and Brass. Metabee was off in the corner reading magazines and chuckling at the various medabots he saw within.
"Well, when life gives ya lemons, make lemon meringue! We'll just have to track him down ourselves." Erika said.
"How? He could be anywhere in Tokyo."
"Not necessarily! You claim this is a strong chance he may be looking for Rokusho. Well, there are certain areas where Rokusho usually hangs out. All we have to do is check those areas, one by one and over again if necessary, until our paths cross!"
"I suppose…hey Metabee! We're going!"
"Yo! Hey Ikki, can I get this?" Metabee said, bringing over a magazine and holding it open to reveal a very fancy gun-arm. Ikki looked at it, and then saw the price.
"YE-ACK! You'll get that when I get rich! C'MON!" Ikki said, grabbing his Metabot by the arm and yanking him out the door. The magazine flew from Metabee's hand and fluttered to the ground. With an annoyed snort, Henry walked over and returned it to the rack. Ikki and Metabee were good eggs, but they could be so irresponsible…
Then again, he wasn't much better. Henry returned behind the counter and thought on this situation Ikki had presented.
A Medabot that bests four other ones and then successfully battles Sumilidon? Such a medabot may very well possess a rare medal, and the fact that the man who commands her hides his face may very well connote sinister intentions for said possible rare medal. Of all the times for this to happen…
A brief spasm of pain ran up Henry's back, and he winced. Still not fully healed. Blasted Meda-Evil and Giganko…and even if I was, Arcbeatle is still in for repairs for that horrendous beating he got from the combined efforts of Mega-Emporer, falling off that cliff, and Giganko. The Medaforce probably didn't help matters either.
Henry sighed. Well, he couldn't turn back time. He just had to wait. Hopefully this situation would turn out well. And if it didn't…well, hopefully Ikki and Metabee would be up to the task at hand.
Ikki and Metabee certainly didn't look to be up to anything then arguing with each other, as Metabee got in his owner's face on the not-so-gentle exit from the store and Ikki snapped back. Erika sighed and sipped from a water bottle as the two went from arguing to brawling.
"Can we get on with it!?!?" Erika yelled, just as three people came around the corner. "We have to get to finding this Flute guy and his Medabot! GUYS! HE BEAT KOJI, SO MAYBE YOU'D BETTER SAVE YOUR ENERGY!"
"Hah! Good thing your girl friend saved you Ikki!" Metabee taunted.
"WHAT? I WAS WINNING!"
The brawl recommenced. Erika threw up her hands in an expression of exasperated defeat and wondered if she should go back into the Hop-Mart and get a snack: they might very well fight for that long.
"So, a medabot that beat Koji eh?"
Erika turned at the voice to find Samantha, flanked as usual by her cronies/friends Spyke and Sloan. Samantha had the usual cocky expression on her face, which was enhanced by the deduction she was already drawing from what she had overheard from Erika's yell.
"Hello Samantha. Didn't you hear? It was all over the school today. And yesterday."
"You think I believe everything I hear?" Samantha retorted. "Well then, no matter. This would be the "Flute" that Chino kept yakking about? The one who beat the entire Rubberrobo gang? And now Koji?"
"That would be the one. I don't suppose you know where he is: we've been trying to find him with no luck."
"No, but I know what we're going to do: we'll help!"
The last two words were enough to shock even Ikki and Metabee out of their fight.
"You'll HELP? Who are you, and what did you do with Samantha?" Ikki said.
"Be quiet! Don't take it the wrong way! It's purely personal! If this guy beat Koji and the Rubberrobos, imagine the glory that will be ours when the Screws beat him into the ground!" Samantha said, throwing her fist into the air as if she had already beaten Flute. Her expression of triumph was not shared by Sloan and Spyke. Instead, they looked very apprehensive.
"Um boss, are you sure…" Spyke began.
"BE QUIET! WHAT DO YOU THINK WE'VE ALL BEEN TRAINING FOR! THIS IS JUST WHAT WE NEEDED! NOW QUIT THE DOUBTING AND START THE MEDABOUTING!" Samantha bellowed.
"We could do that if he happened to be here." Sloan said calmly. Samantha blinked, and then turned back to Erika.
"Well, where do we start looking? The quicker we beat him, the more time we'll have for people to be impressed and terrified of us!"
"Well, we don't know. He might be looking for Rokusho…" Erika said, and figuring it wouldn't hurt, gave the Screws a synopsis of the usual locations Rokusho was.
"Thanks! We'll start at the Yu-Vun river bank! We'll make sure we'll remember you when we've returned to glory!" Samantha said, and dashed off with her fellow Screws.
"Well, I suppose one shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth." Ikki said.
"And what happens if they find him first?" Metabee said.
"Well, Samantha's a good Robattler, and she said she'd been training, but I don't know…" Ikki said.
"Hey guys, like Samantha said, doubts later! We need to strike while the iron is hot! Let's go start at the Cyujo section of the forest…"
The water was cool and refreshing, both on Flute's fingers and on his lips. When he had drank his fill, he put his glove back on and stood.
"Maybe we should have bought a few bottles of water." He said. Well, too late now. "On we go."
Flute and Starkiller continued walking along the river bank. His information was sketchy, but Flute believed it was accurate. Hence, when he arrived at the place he was heading towards and a scan of the area turned up no Medabot other then Starkiller, he was justly annoyed. Either the information was erroneous (which was annoying) or Rokusho was simply moving around a lot and hence they kept missing each other (which was even MORE annoying, since it involved random factors no one could control and humans naturally got annoyed when they couldn't control a situation). Or he simply wasn't in any of the areas, and Flute figured he had better think about something else before he gave himself a coronary.
"Ok Starkiller. Next spot." Flute sighed, and he and his medabot commenced towards the next place Flute had marked on the map he had memorized. When Rokusho wasn't there either, Flute had to fight down an urge from his childhood and throw a tantrum. He restrained it and sighed again, taking another drink from the river. At least all these trees are keeping me out of the sun…
"What now Master?"
"I think we've covered all the spots, and no Rokusho, so I am at a bit of a loss at the moment." Flute sad, feeling depressed. Well, he thought better while he was making music, so he pulled out his flute and played a sad, mournful little tune to emphasize his slight depression. It wasn't the end of the world, after all.
Doo-doo doo doo DO-doo DO-doo do doo doo-doo DO-doo DO-doo doo do do doooo.
(In case you were wondering, that was the flute. Hey, this keyboard don't type notes.)
"Lovely, if a bit sad."
Flute started a bit, and got annoyed with himself for it as he turned around. His annoyance faded as he saw the silver horned medabot wrapped in the brown cloak standing on the tree branch. Well, Rokusho finding him was just as good. Wait, did Rokusho have a parrot on his shoulder? What, was he a pirate? If he says "ARRR MATEY" I'm outta here.
"You are Rokusho, correct?" Flute asked. May as well be sure.
"That's his name, don't wear it out." Baton said. Rokusho glanced at his bird friend, who had accompanied him on that day for some reason only Baton knew. Maybe he wanted to sightsee and didn't feel like flying.
"I am." Rokusho said. "What do you want? You seemed to have been searching for me."
"And I doubt it was to serenade him." Baton added.
"It's not. My name is Flute."
"Your parents must have been on something." Baton said. Flute somehow managed to look angry without showing his face.
"Baton, that is not nice. It appears he named himself after his instrument…although Flute, I must say you are a tad erroneous. That's not a flute, it's the flute's smaller cousin from the woodwind family, the piccolo."
"Yes, but if I called myself Piccolo there would be lawsuits and I would have to get a white cloak and dye my skin green and all that…" Flute joked. Rokusho's blank look made him hurry on. "In any case, I've been looking for you Rokusho."
"Let me guess, you want to fight him in a Robattle." Baton said.
"How astute for a bird. Yes. You were built by Dr. Hushi, who designed the whole concept of medabots. I wish to be the best, and to be the best, you have to beat the best. So I have come looking for you…"
"Why?"
"Uh, because I…"
"Not that. Why do you want to Robattle? At all?"
Flute was silent.
"To prove I am the best. To the entire world."
"Why?"
Now Flute was angry.
"Because only then will the truth be known, and will the shame I feel leave me!" Flute blurted, before realizing he'd given a tad too much information.
Rokusho didn't answer. Instead he stood up and hopped to the ground, walking up to Flute. He tried to peer beneath the hood, but Flute yanked it further forward to keep his face obscured.
"Your path is wrong."
Now Flute was confused.
"What?"
"You have gone astray, my friend. You are motivated for all the wrong reasons. I can see it. But I can also see...you have a good heart. I will not Robattle you. But I will ask you cease what you are doing."
Flute glared at Rokusho. "How can you say my path is wrong?"
"You desire triumph, yet you hide away from people. Something obviously torments you. But this path will not heal the wound, Flute. It will only make it worse. Revenge will ultimately only make you into the thing you hate."
Flute snorted.
"I doubt that…I have to look at what I hate every day of my life." Flute said, and reaching up, he pulled his hood back.
Baton squawked in surprise and alarm, and even Rokusho's eyes widened a bit. Flute look at them for a few seconds before he pulled his hood back up, once again concealing his face in the shadows.
"Awful…"Baton shuddered.
"I see. I can see why you walk the path you walk Flute. But all I will say is, it is the wrong one. I implore you to consider that. But that is all. I will not Robattle you."
Starkiller looked at her master. He sighed and shrugged.
"Very well. I guess I can't force you." Flute said. "I don't suppose you could tell me where I could find some worthy challengers."
That was when they heard the yelling.
Samantha had been the first to hear the voices as they walked along the wall, looking for an entranceway so they could check up the river where Rokusho was known to hang out. Once she heard them, she had quickly marshaled her forces. Now she was standing on top of Spyke, who was standing on top of Sloan, who was the strongest, as she tried to look over the wall to see who was talking.
"Dang Spyke, how many bricks do you have in your pockets?" Sloan complained.
"Stop wiggling!" Samantha ordered her fellow Screws as she managed to peek over the wall. Rokusho, some other medabot, and a guy wearing a cloak…
GUY WEARING A CLOAK?
"WE GOT HIM!" Samantha yelled, and promptly fell onto Spyke in her haste to get down, which caused him to fall as well and leave all the Screws in a heap. They scrambled to their feet.
"He's there! Find a door!" Samantha yelled, charging along the wall's length, Sloan and Spyke scurrying after her.
"You sure it's him boss?"
"How many other people walk around in a black cloak?" Samantha yelled back. 'Now find a door! Or I'll use your head to make a new one!"
Spyke gulped and carefully slowed down a bit so Sloan was closer to his boss. In the end it proved pointless as they finally managed to find an opening in the wall that went along the forest and river.
"HEY! YOU WITH THE CAPE! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE BUSTER!" Samantha yelled as loud as she could as she charged headlong at the figures. Flute glanced over to Rokusho.
"Friends of yours?"
"More like acquaintances of acquaintances." Rokusho said, as the Screws finally arrived. The dramatic entrance was somewhat spoiled by the fact they all paused to catch their breath.
"Trouble?" Flute asked Rokusho.
"Nothing serious, although you might want to…"
"Heh. So we finally meet, Flute! Don't bother running, because there's nowhere for you to hide!" Samantha finally crowed.
Flute looked confused.
"Who are you?"
"Don't play dumb! We're the greatest Robattlers that ever laced up a medawatch! WE ARE…THE SCREWS!" Samantha yelled, as she, Spyke and Sloan posed in front of a fancy background that came out of nowhere, and then vanished a few seconds later. (Ever wonder where they get those things?)
Flute stared for a few seconds.
"Never heard of you." He said. All the Screws facevaulted.
"Well, you're about to! Because you're going to be a springboard back to glory for us, you…!"
"Excuse me, if I may interrupt…are you a boy or a girl?" Flute asked. Samantha's eyes went wide, and then steam literally shot from her ears.
"I'M A GIRL! A GIRL! HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!!!!!!!!!"
"Well sorry, but you just don't have a very feminine voice. Did you suffer a throat injury when you were younger or something?"
This time, it was lucky steam came ONLY out of Samantha's ears.
"WHY YOU…THAT'S IT! I'M GONNA BEAT UP YOUR MEDABOT SO BAD YOU'LL FEEL IT! TRANSPORT PEPPERCAT!" Samantha yelled, pressing a button on her medawatch. In a flash of orange light, Peppercat appeared. 'C'MON SCREWS!"
"Transport Totalizer!" Sloan said into his medwatch. The Turtle-Type Medabot appeared.
"Transport Cyandog!" Spyke said. The tough-luck dog medabot appeared, and Samantha wasn't too happy about it.
"CYANDOG!?!?!?!? SPYKE, WE TRAINED WITH CROSSERDOG! WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE CYANDOG!?!?!?!?" Samantha bellowed right in Spyke's face. Spyke cringed, but answered.
"The author thought Cyandog would fit this story better." Spyke said. The sky suddenly rumbled ominously. "I mean, he got damaged in a Robattle and he's still being repaired! That's why I have Cyandog! Yes, that's right!" Spyke hastily corrected, glancing nervously at the sky.
"Damaged…THAT'S THE DUMBEST EXCUSE I'VE EVER HEARD!" Samatha bellowed again. A lightning bolt suddenly arched from the cloud and zapped Samantha on the butt. "YEOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Did I say dumbest? I meant, brilliant. Yes." Samantha said, wisely not deciding to incur my wrath again.
Flute was watching this little spectacle with some confusion.
"Look Screwed…"
"SCREWS! WE'RE THE SCREWS! Now, are you going to Robattle us, or are you a coward? Because if you are, it'll be even better then beating you! We can say you were too scared!"
"Look…Samantha was it? Heh…SaMANtha…"
This time, Sloan, Spyke, and Peppercat all had to restrain Samantha from attacking Flute.
"It didn't used to be this way!" Samantha cursed when she had calmed down. "Once we were respected, and feared! We were the Screws! Then Ikki beat us, then someone else, and before we knew it, everyone laughed at us! WELL NO MORE! We've trained long and hard, and you are going to be the catalyst to our return to glory! NOW ARE YOU GONNA FIGHT OR NOT?"
Flute glanced at Starkiller.
"I suppose this day won't be a total washout, if you three have trained as hard as you say. But let me tell you something Screwed…"
"SCREWS! S-C-R-E-W-S! S, NOT ED!" Samantha screamed.
"Whatever. Reputations are a double-edged sword. Sure, they're cool when everyone is fawning over you because of them, but when everyone and their mother is attacking you to try and make your reputation their own, suddenly they lose some of their allure. It's kind of funny though, because even if they beat you, then they suffer the fate you just imposed on them. You should remember that."
All the Screws looked confused.
"Ok, no philosophy. I accept! You want to fight me one on one or should we prove three isn't a crowd?" Flute said, pulling back his sleeve.
"You wanna fight all THREE OF US? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS WILL BE EVEN EASIER THEN I THOUGHT!" Samantha laughed.
"Then, it's agreed!"
A second later Mr.Referee jumped out of the river in scuba gear, visibly startling Flute. "I hereby…"
"Are you following me around?" Flute asked.
"Just let me do my job kid! I don't ask if you have a face!" Mr. Referee said.
"You wouldn't want to see it." Baton said. Rokusho, who had moved aside when the Screws had arrived, was standing calmly beneath a tree, having watched the whole spectacle silently. Even Baton's comment did not stir any noise from him. He watched and waited.
"Anyway, I hereby declare this to be a handicap submission Robattle between Flute and the Screws! If the Screws' medabots stop Starkiller from functioning, they win! But if Starkiller stops all three of the Screws' medabots from functioning, he wins! You are a he, aren't you?" Mr. Referee asked Flute. Samantha allowed herself a snicker before she went all business. Flute showed no reaction except a motion that basically said "Get on with it!"
"Ok! The loser must then submit one medapart to the winner, for keeps!"
"Uh…" Flute said.
"MEDAFIGHTERS READY!?!" Mr. Referee yelled as he raised his arm into the air. Flute sighed and brought his medawatch up. "MEDABOTS, ROBATTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Peppercat, Electric Shock!" Samantha ordered. Peppercat meowed and leapt, electricity crackling on her metal appendages.
"Starkiller, your armour is insulated! Take it!" Flute ordered. Starkiller switched to armour mode and raised her shields as Peppercat slammed her claws into them. For a moment the cat medabot hung in mid-air, pumping every volt she could muster into the shields until gravity took over and she fell. Angered that her attack hadn't even seemed to be noticed, she flipped to her feet and gave the shields repeated shocks. But the armour absorbed all the voltage, grounding it without harming Starkiller.
"Damn it!" Peppercat cursed.
"Let me handle it! YAH!" Totalizer yelled as he charged into Starkiller. Even with the shields, his sheer bulk knocked the medabot off balance.
"LASER!" Totalizer yelled, and fired. Starkiller took the blow on her shields, but the damage was clear. Flute frowned at the dropping meters on his medawatch.
"That laser did something! Do it again!" Sloan called.
"Starkiller, that weapon is close range! Put some distance between you and it!"
"Right!" Starkiller said, as the armour vanished back into her body. Peppercat leapt at her, but Starkiller dodged aside as she finished the switch to Speed Mode and activated her rocket roller blades. She blasted at Totalizer, who missed another laser shot as Starkiller reached him and spun around him in a tight circle, the same tactic she had used against Whitesword. However, Totalizer wasn't as quick as him, and his targeting system quickly became confused and then at a complete loss. Starkiller shot away as Totalizer fought to overcome his dizziness, bringing up her hand.
Before she could summon her sword though, Peppercat leapt through the air and pounced on Starkiller. Starkiller hit the ground, just managing to bring up her hands to catch Peppercat's arms before she could shock her.
"Got you now!" Peppercat said triumphantly, as she leaned down, her hands crackling with electricity.
"Oh yeah? Puss, meet boot!" Starkiller shot back, as she reared back her leg and kicked Peppercat over her, sending the female medabot flying into Totalizer. Samantha cursed as the two went down in a heap.
Starkiller leapt to her feet as she switched to Warrior mode.
"YAHHHHHHH!"
Starkiller reeled as shots suddenly exploded all around her. She raised her arms and tried to defend herself against the onslaught…and then lowered them when she realized none of the shots were hitting her. She blinked and looked in confusion at Cyandog. Her look was shared by her owner, who looked at Spyke as he frantically told Cyandog to keep firing and Cyandog managed to keep hitting everything except what he was aiming at. Finally Flute smacked his face.
"Starkiller, put him out of his misery!"
"Will do!" Starkiller said as her sword ejected and ignited. Starkiller grabbed it and flipped it into her arm as it morphed into a weapon. "NOVA CANNON!"
"Oh no." Cyandog said as the powerful blast flew from Starkiller, and then it leveled him, sending him flying backwards. He collapsed next to Spyke as his smoking medal popped out next to him. Spyke sighed.
"Well, by now I'm used to it." Spyke said. "Sorry boss."
The laser shot exploded on the ground next to Starkiller, and she leapt up in surprise and screamed as Peppercat intercepted her from behind in mid-air with a powerful shock.
"Warning! Damage!" Flute's watch told him. He growled as Starkiller tried to get away from Peppercat, finally kicking her away as she made for the ground. However, Totalizer did his own interception, ramming into Starkiller like a football player the second she hit the ground and sending her backwards, her sword flying from her hand.
"AHA! I told you we'd been training! Now to show you why no one messes with the Screws! The song's over, Flute! Finish it Sloan!"
"Right Boss! Totalizer, Laser!"
"TAKE THIS!" Totalizer yelled, and fired.
He missed, as Starkiller flipped up and away from the blast, flipping across the ground and over to her sword. She grabbed it and charged.
"Fire again!" Sloan ordered. Totalizer did so, and Starkiller dodged the blast by leaping upward…
And Peppercat was flying towards her, having hidden behind Totalizer until she had jumped and then leapt to catch Starkiller again, her paws charged with voltage.
"Now I've got you!" Peppercat said as she thrust out her arms…
And then Starkiller's rockets extended and fired a short burst, sending Starkiller a little higher and right over Peppercat. Peppercat squawked in surprise as she missed her target.
"What's up, pussycat? ME!" Starkiller said, and flipped, lashing out with her leg, kicking Peppercat as hard as she could and sending her downward.
"WHOA WHOA WHOA!" Peppercat yelled as she plummeted. Totalizer yelled in alarm himself and then Peppercat crashed down onto him.
"Warning! Damage!" Samantha and Sloan's watches told them. Samantha ground her teeth in sheer fury as Starkiller landed nearby.
"GET HER! SQUASH HER BETWEEN YOU!" Samantha ordered. Peppercat and Totalizer separated and ran in a half circle in opposite directions, but Starkiller leapt up again and the two ran into each other.
"Don't get sloppy Screwed, or you'll wind up beating yourselves!" Flute chastised.
"IT'S SCREWS!" Samantha roared back. Flute smirked.
"Well, whatever it is, you are definitely skilled medafighters, and you work well together. I deem you worthy."
"What, you're going to surrender?" Samantha said, cocky and hopeful at the same time.
"No. I deem you worthy for me to test…MY ULTIMATE WEAPON! STARKILLER!"
Starkiller flipped backwards and hurled herself into the air, tossing her sword into the air above her as she thrust out her arms and legs, like she was trying to become a star.
Peppercat and Totalizer managed to separate themselves as Starkiller charged up, blue power flowing along her armour and into the jagged points attached to her knees, elbows, and shoulders.
"What the…" Samantha said.
Starkiller's eyes glowed behind her sunglasses, and then the points of armour snapped open, to reveal they weren't just armour. They were cannons.
"Starkiller!"
"OH NO! RUN!" Samantha yelled at the medabots.
"NOVA STORM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
And the cannons erupted, spraying dozens apon dozens of blue power blasts that arced down and exploded, turning the area around Peppercat and Totalizer into an inferno. The two medabots tried to flee from the assault.
The cannons on Starkiller's shoulders suddenly rose and slid down to the elbow cannons, even as the knee cannons rose up and joined with the two points of armour on Starkiller's hips. The cannons swifted and combined into a new weapon as the barrage of power bolts stopped, and then the new cannons glowed and fired off four arcing blasts of energy that zapped down towards Peppercat and Totalizer like lightning.
They couldn't escape, as the blasts hit them and tossed both of them into the air with a cry of pain and alarm. As the two flew up, the waist section of Starkiller's cannons suddenly split apart again and shifted up her side and onto her arms, even as the arms split open and incorporated all eight of the points into it, shifting and transforming into the largest, nastiest guns the Screws had ever seen. White light surrounded Starkiller as she charged up this twin version of a mega-Nova Cannon, flowing into the barrels and igniting them with the light of a star.
"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya." Starkiller said, and fired.
The twin blasts were so powerful they threw Starkiller backwards, as the white beams of power zapped towards the still-airbourne Peppercat and Totalizer. Their two medafighters could only stare in horror.
The blasts hit.
The explosion filled the sky, nearly blinding the Screws and knocking them off their feet. Even over the noise, you could hear Samantha's wail.
"NOT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The light faded, as Starkiller landed, the points of armour shifting back to their original position. She raised her hand and a second later her sword fell into it. She twirled it a few times and inserted it back into her sheath. A second later, the smoking bodies of Peppercat and Totalizer crashed to the ground behind her, their metals clattering down next to them.
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!" Mr. Referee said. Flute lowered his arm and smiled behind his hood.
"Best there is, best there was…"
"Best there ever will be." Starkiller finished.
"Peppercat!" Samantha wailed, her angry disappointment over losing taking second place to her concern for her medabot. She ran over to the prone robot, and was relieved and somewhat surprised when the body didn't seem to be too severely damaged. Considering the sheer power of the weapon Starkiller had unleashed on her medabot, she had expected to find virtually nothing left. She popped Peppercar's medal in.
"Are you ok?"
"I'll be fine, although I don't want to experience that blast again any time soon." Peppercat said from the watch.
Flute smirked behind his hood. He was in a good mood: the Nova Storm worked perfectly. All that time and effort hadn't been a waste after all.
"Impressed, Rokusho?" Flute said, turning his head…and finding the cloaked medaot gone. His good mood faded, replaced by annoyance. He could of least hung around and watched the show!
"HEY! Is that weapon legal?" Samantha suddenly asked, directing the question at Mr. Referee. Flute sighed. Déjà vu.
"As far as I can tell as long as no illegal power sources are being used, and the weapon does not pose a harm to humans who are Robattling, any weapon is legal." Mr. Referee said. Samantha cursed under her breath, as Mr. Referee turned and ran off to wherever he had to go.
"Don't feel too bad Screwed…"
"It's Screws." Samantha muttered.
"Whatever. Your training and skill are obvious. Don't feel bad about losing. Instead, just try harder to win. You're good medafighters…but…you just need a little more practice." Flute said. He turned and Starkiller fell in beside him. Samantha sighed and watched them leave. Just wait until next time. She checked on the condition on her fellow Screws and their medabots, and after offering apologies for failing and promises to win next time, Samantha waved them off and transported her repair kit. She had better see if there was any severe damage hiding under the surface.
"This day couldn't get any worse." She said.
"Uh, well actually…" Peppercat said from the medawatch. Samantha looked at the tool. "What?"
"Well Boss…you see…that Nova Storm weapon…that wasn't a full-on blast."
Samantha blinked. "What?"
"The final shot…it didn't hit me directly. It was a glancing shot."
Samantha's mind roiled. All that damage and Starkiller hadn't even fired directly?
"Same here." Totalizer said. Spyke looked over to his friends as they digested this information. Never thought the day had come when I'd be glad to have been defeated first.
Ikki, Metabee, and Erika found the Screws fixing their medabots some time later. Samantha shrugged off Erika's frantic questions with irritated grunts and then by yelling at her. Ikki, meanwhile, was starting to have doubts.
"You know Metabee…"
"Oh please, don't tell me you're getting scared!"
"No! It's just that…I mean, all the Rubberrobos, Koji, and now the Screws in a three-day period? Who IS this guy? Where the heck did he get his medabot? There's just so many unanswered questions that could trip us up!"
"I don't know his name, but I think I know what it could be." Samantha said.
"What?"
"Harry Stu!"
Clouds suddenly appeared and another lightning bolt zapped Samantha on the butt.
"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! I take it back! Quit it!" Samantha yelled.
"Ikki, why are you worrying? Who cares how much fancy high-tech weaponry this guy has? It didn't help Dr. Meta-Evil any! We've gut the skill, the guts, and the Medaforce, and I know we can take this guy down!" Metabee said, and to emphasize his point, he punched a tree. Shockwaves of pain immediately ran up his arm, and he cursed and turned away so Ikki wouldn't notice. He didn't, as he was listening to something Samantha was saying.
"So he did find Rokusho." Ikki said.
"Yeah, but it was clear Rokusho turned him down for a Robattle. He did indicate we were sort of a step down for him. And even I may be prone to believe that." Samantha said.
Metabee couldn't tell who was more blown away by what Samantha had said, her fellow Screws or Ikki.
"What did you just say?" Ikki said.
"Ikki, I may be many things, but I'm not stupid. We were doing pretty well, but then we made one little mistake and he pummeled us. Worse, he pummeled us with style. Well, next time will be different." Samantha said, as she popped Peppercat's medal back in.
"You bet boss! I'll shoot that Starkiller so full of volts she'll be spitting electric sockets!' Peppercat said.
"That reminds me. Did he take a medapart?"
"No. He just turned and left."
"Just like Koji. He just wants the win. He doesn't care about medaparts." Ikki said.
"He's gonna care! Since he didn't take these, I'll be sure I get more use out of them!" Peppercat said, her paws crackling with electricity.
"Oh no you don't! You had your chance! We get him first!" Metabee said.
"You're welcome to him." Spyke muttered.
"I HEARD THAT!" Samantha roared, and proceeded to chew Spyke out.
"Hey guys, a theory! What if Flute IS Dr. Meta-Evil?"
"Too tall."
"Oh yeah." Erika said, and started writing again.
"Ikki! Are we going to go find this Medabum or what?"
"It's getting late Metabee. We can look tommorow. I'm sure he won't be going anywhere."
In the shadows of a nearby tree, Rokusho watched the group leave. He looked at Baton.
"A penny for your thoughts." Baton said.
"Flute…continues on the path. I think…I will keep my eye on him, and Ikki and Metabee. They may very well be the answer…or they may the catalyst for disaster."
And the Rokusho was gone.
"That wasn't good enough." Flute said as he finished his own repairs on Starkiller. Starkiller's eyes, blueish white orbs (when they weren't hidden behind her sunglasses), widened slightly.
"Master, have I made a disappointing effort? I promise…"
"No, not you Starkiller! You have performed as good as I could have expected, better. It's just that…"
"What Master? Are you sure I am not at fault."
Flute got down on his knees and looked into Starkiller's eyes, his hood back.
"Starkiller, NEVER doubt yourself. You are my masterpiece. It isn't just a tinpet, and nanotechnology that lies underneath your armour and weapons. My sweat, my blood, my tears flow through you as well. I have devoted most of my life to making you the bes, but the only way to show that you ARE the best is to beat the best. And the competition in Japan…I am beginning to find it lacking."
"Lacking, master?"
"Yes! Those Rubber suited goofs were a joke. And while Koji and the Screws were good, they weren't good enough! Superiority isn't about beating a foe in ten seconds with an arm tied behind your back and blindfolded! Superiority is taking everything the best can dish out, to be beaten down to the very end of your limits, and still finding the power within you to win. I NEED an opponent like that. I need every one of your abilities to be tested to the absolute limit, to prove that when you win none the less, that your are the greatest medabot ever built. Koji didn't provide that, and he was the Number 2 seed! And Rokusho won't fight us, and the Number 1 Seed, Space X Meda or something, well, no one has seen him in weeks! This has frustrated me…I need to find a worthy opponent!"
Starkiller nodded and slipped her sunglasses back on as Flute paced.
"Master? What about what Rokusho said? How could your path…be wrong?"
Flute glanced over.
"Maybe he feels my desire to Robattle is misplaced. I doubt he knew who I was…once. But it doesn't matter."
Flute looked off towards the setting sun.
Rokusho…he touched on something…but I mustn't let Starkiller see that. When Sun Tzu wrote the Art of War…he said that if you don't know yourself or your opponent you will lose every battle you enter. If you know yourself but not your opponent you will lose as many battles as you win. But if you know yourself and your opponent you need not fear the results of a hundred battles…or Robattles. But what happens if you know your opponent…but you don't know who you are any more?
Flute snorted. He was thinking foolish thoughts. And he knew what he had to do, both to them and on the opponent problem.
"Well Starkiller, if the best don't seem to be enough, then there's only one thing to do. We play Needle in a Haystack."
"We do?"
"Yes we do. We go and we Robattle everyone we cross paths with, no matter the age, sex, or skill level of the Medafighter! I will find someone who can test your limits, even if I have to reduce every single medabot in this city to scrap metal!"
Starkiller cocked her head, and then she cracked her knuckles.
"Then let us be off. We have a needle to find…and woe betide anyone who only proves to be a piece of straw!"
Well, it appears Flute and Starkiller have set themselves quite a task! What will happen? Will Ikki and Metabee finally get to face this devastating duo? And will Erika finally figure out a headline for her story? And IS Flute's name Harry Stu? OW!!!!!!! Never mind! Find out next time in
Chapter 4: Let the Bots Hit The Floor!
Sorry Left-Click, I'm just borrowing the title! More Medabots, More Power!