Chapter 4: Let the Bots Hit The Floor
Flute found his first target seven minutes after he started.
"Hey, you a medafighter?"
"I am."
"Good. School won't start for a bit and I need something to do!" the nerdy-looking student said. He adjusted his glasses and raised his medawatch. "Transport Dr. BokChoy!"
"Then, it's agreed!" Mr. Referee said, as a taxi pulled up and he got out of it. "MEDAFIGHTERS READY? MEDABOTS ROBATTLE!"
"Attack ! Textbook Punch!"
"Starkiller, evade and counter!"
WHAM! WHOOSH!
"NOVA SWORD!"
"AHHHHHHHH!"
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!"
"Hey! You could have least given him a chance!"
"Why don't you try?" Flute replied to the student who had decided to stick up for the medafighter who had just lost.
"I will! Transport Eyespy!"
"Then it's agreed! Metafighters ready, ROBATTLE!"
"Eyespy…!"
"THINK FAST KID! NOVA LANCE!"
"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHH!"
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!"
"Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" came a booming voice. A second later a large man stormed out of the school gates Flute had found his challengers near.
"Couch Mountain!" one of them said. Flute smirked. Well, he certainly did look like a mountain.
"You kids, go run laps! I'll take care of this guy!" Mountain said. The kids ran off.
"So, you think beating kids is fun? I should make you run laps too!"
"One, they challenged me. Two, I ain't a student of yours. So unless you have something else to say…"
"I do! I challenge you myself! Transport Digmole!"
"Very well. Mountain, eh? I hope you don't have rocks in your head."
"WHY YOU…!"
"Then, it's agreed!" Mr. Referee said as he ran back. "METAFIGHTERS READY, ROBATTLE!"
"Digmole, CHARGE!"
Digmole did so. Starkiller dodged aside.
Digmole punched at Starkiller. She backflipped away, leapt backwards, and ricocheted off the wall, punching Digmole so hard he spun around several times.
"Starkiller, Nova Cannon!"
Starkiller flipped the sword into her arm and fired off her cannon. It exploded at Digmole's feet and sent him flying through the air, over the wall, and into the pool behind the wall with a splash.
Mountain gaped as the medal clattered at his feet.
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!"
"My advice buddy? Stick to coaching." Flute said. The bell rang then. Flute frowned.
"Hmmm. Guess I'll have to find some medafighters who don't go to school." Flute said, as with a swirl of cloak, he turned and left. Mountain stared after him for a bit, then realized he had to go teach gym and took off back into the school.
A few seconds later Ikki came sprinting around the corner.
"I'M LATE! I'M LATE!" Ikki yelled, as he ran as hard as he could down the street and into the school yard, falling in behind with the last of the children departing the schoolyard.
A short time later Metabee calmly strolled through the gates himself and climbed into his favorite tree. Ikki would be in school for a bit, and while he was, Ikki was going to strategize based on the information he had gotten from the Medabots who had fought Starkiller and lost. When Ikki was done, the hunt would recommence, and this time, they would find the mysterious duo.
He wondered what they were doing right now.
"Gloomeg!"
"Churleybear!"
"Acehorn!"
"Multikolor!"
"Banisher!"
"Octaclam!"
"Spitfire!"
KABOOM!
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!"
"Hey Snowbro, good thing we hung around, eh? Losing to Ikki was a bummer, but beating this guy just aboot makes up for it, eh?"
"One, you haven't beaten me yet. Two, THAT IS NOT HOW CANADIENS TALK! WE DO NOT SAY ABOOT! WE SAY ABOUT, LIKE YOU! AND WE DON'T SAY EH AFTER EVERY SENTENCE! I SHOULD KNOW!" Flute roared.
"Whoa, calm down man."
"Sorry, author talking." Flute said. There was a sudden crash, and Mr. Referee came sliding down on a pile of bricks.
"Well, there goes the forth wall. Anyway, medafighters ready, ROBATTLE!"
Dodge, SLICE!
Snowbro went crashing to the ground, his medal popping out as Starkiller landed and sheathed her sword.
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!"
"Who's next?" Flute said, as the Canadian medabot champion dejectedly carried his beaten medabot away.
"I am!" said a voice. "Come out onto the water, where I will show you the greatest predator is my Sharkkan!"
"You're on!"
"Then, it's agreed! MEDAFIGHTERS READY…MEDABOTS ROBATTLE!"
Jump, dodge, dodge, cannon charged, boom.
Sharkkan skipped across the water and hit the opposing riverbank hard, slowly sinking below the waters as Starkiller lowered her Nova Cannon.
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!" Mr. Referee declared. Ryan could only stare with his mouth wide open as Flute snorted and walked away.
"This is proving to be a city of tigers who are only made of paper! Starkiller, let's go! We'll find a challenge if it kills us!"
Henry lowered the phone, his mind consumed with what he had just heard.
"He's on a tear! He's challenging every single medafighter he can find, and he's taking them apart like a can of peas!"
His face grim, Henry sat down. Whoever this Flute was, something had either made him snap, or he was clearly very bored. Neither was good.
And neither was his outlook. While Flute seemed to be content with just beating the medabots in fair combat and disregarding the medaparts, let alone the medal, Henry wasn't so sure if that was the path he was going to keep. It could very well be a progression…or a smokescreen to hide his true intentions.
Henry stood, and his back gave a slight spasm of pain. He was still hurt a bit, but it was clear the current situation left him no choice. Even if Arcbeatle still wasn't 100 percent, he was cleared for combat.
Henry hung a closed sign on the door of the Hop Mart and headed into the back. He opened a chest he had hidden behind some boxes and took out a gold mask.
Yes, it was clear. He had to act now. He who hesitates was lost.
Then again…fools rushed in where angels feared to tread.
Only time would tell.
Femjet blasted at Starkiller, but even approaching Mach 1 Starkiller still somehow managed to dodge the jet-powered medabot. Femjet cursed and did a tight turn, swooping in for another strike. Starkiller leapt up and in a moment of insanely precise timing, landed on her back. Femjet yelled in surprise , first at the landing and then at the fact that Starkiller had shoved one of her wings down, altering her course. With a scream, she hit the ground and bounced along it before ending up in a nearby lake.Starkiller landed daintily beside the lake, arming her Nova Cannon in case Femjet had any fight left in her.
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!"
Guess not.
Flute wasn't sure who was more amazed at the way he had won, Femjet's medafighter or the small crowd that had gathered to watch.
"Not too bad…but I think you need a little more practice…" Flute said, as Starkiller fell into step beside him. The crowd parted, and in a moment he was gone.
Ikki rarely had premonitions, and even when he did, he rarely could tell what they meant. But he knew what he was feeling now. Unease. As if something bad was going to happen.
Keep in together Ikki. Can't be thinking negative thoughts. We need to be able to think positive to beat Flute.
"Mr. Tenryou! Might I ask what is so interesting about the wall?"
Ikki jerked and then sighed. He hated geography, and there were still two more hours of school to go. Not knowing many people were doing the same, Ikki wondered where Flute was.
Flute had wandered into a bad part of town, close to where he had fought the Rubberrobos. He wasn't worried. Plus, there were more medafighters, most of whom wee bullies and cheaters. In an unlikely way, Flute liked cheaters, because one, they gave him the experience in outthinking them, and two, they were challenging in a certain way. Plus, he hated bullies.
The current medafighter he was fighting used some kind of skeleton medabot, which was ludicrously painted in bright garish colours.
"Dyebone! Bone Boomerang!" the medafighter ordered. The skeleton medabot yanked a part of itself off and hurled it at Starkiller. Good move. Dumb name. Badly telegraphed, as Starkiller dodged aside, blasted at Dyebone on her rocket blades and leveled him with a punch. The medabot didn't weight much and thus flew a good distance, which allowed Starkiller to whip out her Nova Cannon and blow it out of the sky.
Dyebone flew across the street and came to a rather painful stop in a cluster of pipes. He hit the ground as his medal popped out. A second later the pipe, damaged by the impact, burst and deluged the fallen medabot with raw sewage.
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!" Mr. Referee said in a strange nasal tone, which came from him holding his nose from the sewage's smell.
"Sorry buddy. Starkiller, fix that!" Flute said. Starkiller zapped the hold with a Nova Cannon shot, stopping the flow.
"Thanks." The stunned medafighter said.
"Not a problem, but I suggest you give him a bath." Flute said, as Starkiller fell in beside him and he left to find another challenge.
Rokusho landed quietly in the lone tree. He peered at the windows, although he was pretty sure what he was going to find: Ikki and Metabee weren't there. Rukosho was sure they were still in school, and he would have gone straight there if Baton hadn't commented on those occasional deviances that screwed up a plan. So he'd checked the house, just to be sure. No Ikki. Just Mrs. Tenryou, cleaning the house.Rokusho allowed himself a moment's musing on how nice it must be to have a mother, and then he was gone, off to Ikki's school. He would wait there. For Flute.
The Morph-Type medabot crashed to the ground, the stolen features it had used changing back to its normal bland appearance. Flute snorted. He had expected a challenge from a Medabot that had a variety of options at its command, but the medafighter had been an absolute moron, making mistakes and choices Flute would have avoided in his sleep. There is no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher. Flute mused, as the boss "gangster", if that was what he was, yelled at his flunky for failing before stepping in to try and succeed where he had failed.
"TRANSPORT MEDAPHANT!"
"Then, it's agreed!" Mr. Referee said as a sewer lid flipped up and he hopped out. 'Medafighters ready…ROBATTLE!"
Medaphant had strong armour and powerful melee weapons. What it didn't have was a smart medafighter, as the boss proved himself to be a hypocrite by being just as dumb as his flunky. Medaphant got in one good hit, which was more luck then skill, before a fury of sword slashes ended with a Nova Lance left him the medabot equivalent of a bloody, broken heap.
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!"
"I'd say you need a little more practice buddy, except I think that would be wasting my breath." Flute said, and left in a swirl of cloak and a brief flute tune.
It wasn't long before something else came along.
"HEY! YOU!" Said a male voice, as four figured materialized from around the corner. 'We want a Re….er, we wanna fight you! For the first time! Yes, this is the first time we are fighting you!"
Flute looked quizzingly at the three males and one female. They looked very familiar.
"Don't I know you?"
"No! We have absolutely nothing to do with Seaslug, Gillgirl, Shrimplips, and Squidguts of the Rubberrobo Gang!" Guido (Squidguts, what you thought it wasn't them?) blurted. Everyone else facevaulted.
"GUIDO YOU MORON!"
"Hah. I thought it was you! You think taking off your costumes makes you unrecognizable?" Flute said.
"But…we look…without…Seymour, you said taking off our costumes would work!" Gilda (Gillgirl) whined.
"Shaddup! Well, no matter who we are, or if you recognize us or not, we know one thing! We're going to make YOUR medabot unrecognizable!" Seymour (Seaslug) yelled, as Whitesword, Gokudo, Spidar, and Landmotor swooped in front of them. "TIME FOR REVENGE!"
"Starkiller, Nova Storm!"
The street rang with explosions, and a few seconds later Flute and Starkiller vanished behind a corner, leaving four beaten medabots and four blackened Rubberrobos in his wake.
"I'd say run away, but first I need a nap." Seymour said, and then passed out. His three fellows followed suit.
Flute made his way back into the better sections of Tokyo, and it paid off, as he was suddenly approached by a short kid with a gravity-defying red and black hairstyle.
"Dude! You the guy who's been beating all the medafighters?"
"Maybe."
"Flute, was it? Are you Flute?" the kid asked.
"No, I'm Oboe. Flute is my cousin."
"What? Oh. Ha ha, very funny. Well, my name's Rintaro, and I wanna challenge you!" Rintaro said, raising his medawatch. "I may be short, but my skills are large."
"You're on kid." Flute said, as Starkiller hopped forward and primed her sword.
"TRANSPORT KANTAROTH!"
The Hercules Beatle type medabot materialized in front of Rintaro.
"You ready?" Rintaro asked
"I was born ready." Or reborn ready.
"Then, it's agreed!" Mr. Referee said, as he floated out of the sky on a balloon. Flute glanced up and shook his head. Not only had this guy been popping up all day to referee his Robattles, he always found a new way to make an entrance every time.
"MEDAFIGHTERS READY…? ROBATTLE!"
Kanteroth took a combat stance and fired off a multitude of powerful blasts. Starkiller went on the defensive, but Kanteroth was utterly relentless. Flute blinked as he made Starkiller dance. Yikes. Crappy opponents must be making me rusty.
"Kanteroth, Servants of Twilight!" Rintaro ordered. WHAT?
Flute, and Starkiller, learned too late it was a code. Starkiller dodged up and jumped to avoid a flurry of shots, and realized too late she had been lead into a trap as Kanteroth immediately aimed and fired, knocking Starkiller out of the air with a cry. She crashed at Flute's feet, as her weapons went down and her right arm began to darken.
"Yeah! I'm the best! I'm awesome! TTL, dude!" Rintaro crowed.Although Rintaro couldn't see his face, he could suddenly tell something was difference from Flute's poise, his cloaked form suddenly radiating steely resolve as Starkiller got to her feet.
"TTL, Rintaro? Time To Lose? Here's a more appropriate anagram. TALK TRASH LATER! STARKILLER!"
Starkiller leapt at Kintaro, ducking under new shots and slashing. Rintaro yelled and gave orders to dodge. Kanteroth did so, but Starkiller flipped around, bounced off the wall, and lanced back at Kanteroth, driving her elbow into his back. Kantheroth yelled but managed to recover.
Flute fired off quick orders and Kanteroth suddenly found the worm had turned, as he found himself on the defense against a furious Starkiller. Rintaro tried to give orders, but Starkiller's rapid pace made them obsolete almost the second after he said them.
"Kanteroth!" Rintaro said, glancing at his meters. The damage was piling up in a hurry. "Ok then! DOOR TO DECEMBER!"
Another code, but this time Flute was ready. He called off Starkiller as Kanteroth leapt back. Kanteroth, meanwhile, switched from power to rapid-fire mode and as he landed, he let loose with a spray of laser shots.
Flute gave no order. Instead, he lifted his hand and pointed his thumb down. Rintaro wasn't the only one who could do code. Starkiller activated her Nova Cannon and aimed.
At the ground.
The blast hit the ground, throwing up a huge cloud of dust, obscuring Starkiller. The laser shots flew into the dust, but Rintaro couldn't tell if they hit their target.
"Rule 1, kid. What you can't see, you can't hit. Rule number 2…"
The dust cleared, and Kanteroth found himself starring down Starkiller's Nova Cannon barrel.
"One big blast is better then a bunch of little ones."
Starkiller fired. Both Rintaro and Kanteroth yelled, one in disbelief and one in pain, as the blast hit. Kanteroth flew back and landed on his stomach, his medal ejecting and clattering to the ground.
"Function ceased! The winner is, Starkiller!"
Flute cocked his head, and then did a 180 degree turn of his hand, turning it into a thumbs up
."Good match kid. You've definitely got skills. But…I think you need a little more practice." Flute said. Starkiller popped out her sword and sheathed it, and then Flute turned and left, leaving Rintaro to check on his medabot and the crowd that had gathered to stare.
The final bell rang, and a second later Ikki sprinted out the door.
"Ikki!" Metabee said as he hopped down.
"I got some information from one of the students! I might know where he is!"
"Well then, let's get going!" Metabee said, as he fell in beside Ikki. The two ran out the gate and down the street.
"Wait for me!" Erika said, running after them, Brass nipping at her heels.
Flute had heard about being TOO good, but he had always shrugged it off as arrogance by people too dumb to see that as a weakness. However, he was beginning to see some truth in it, as no one wanted to Robattle him any more. In fact, the second they saw him, they ran away, like he was dangerous. I wonder if it was that Shark Rumour effect, how a five foot shark becomes a 64 foot shark that ate thirty people as it goes from person to person and they garble it more and more.
Unable to find someone, Flute had decided to try the opposite and had started repairing Starkiller. If they avoided him, he would just wait until someone who wanted to make a reputation for themselves to come to him.
Those people, however, had proved to be in short supply as well. It had taken him 37 minutes to fix Starkiller up and restore her energy, and he hadn't seen a single soul. Like people were taking different paths to keep from meeting him. Man, that shark must he the size of a Meglododan.
"Let's go Starkiller."
"Yes Master." Starkiller said, falling in beside her medafighter. They walked down a street. No one. Another street. No one. Considering how crowded Tokyo was, this was a rather unusual phenomenon.
Flute entered a small square that would usually be used as a makeshift market. Instead, the stores were closed up or not there at all. What is this, Silent Hill? If I hear an air raid siren…
"It's lonely at the top, isn't it?"
Flute's head jerked up at the sudden voice.
"But not to worry, you'll be knocked off soon enough! AHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed the voice. A cloud of smoke exploded on one roof, and as Flute turned a figure wearing a leather outfit, red scarf, and gold mask swung out on a grappling hook.
Which promptly caught on something and snapped. The figure squawked as his fancy entrance suddenly became a not so fancy landing. He pulled himself up, sputtering and trying to cover up the mistake as best he could.
"That looked unpleasant." Flute said, looking at the figure. And I thought I dressed weird.
"Everyone has a bad day! And yours has come! I hear you're looking for champion medafighters, but lacking them, you'll settle for beating up anyone who has a medabot! Well buddy, you wanted a champion, you got one! I come from beyond the stars to separate the weak from the strong, the men from the boys, the wheat from the chaff! I AM…SPACE MEDAFIGHTER X!" the figure trumpeted, and posed as a giant X appeared behind him. Then his back spasmed a bit and he quickly stood up, trying to hide the pain.
"Space Medafighter X…so, the Number 1 medafighter in Japan finally decided to show his face, Er, metaphorically speaking, it seems." Flute said, glancing at the gold mask that covered the figure's face.
"Skip the small talk, Flute! Yes, I know your name! What do you want?"
"To be the best in the world. You're the Number 1 seed, Space Medafighter X? The best in all of Japan?"
"I am!"
"Good. You will provide a challenge I desire…and will also make a fine stepping stone."
"A stepping stone, huh? Well buddy, if you want to use me as a stepping stone, I'm going to make sure you stumble!" Space Medafighter X (here fore called SMX) said as he brought up his medawatch. "TRANSPORT ARCBEATLE!"
A bright flash, and the massive medabot appeared. Flute's brow arched. Well. So the best in Japan has the most advanced KGB-type medabot there is. He thought as he looked over Arcbeatle's thick armour, multiple cannons, and golden horns. Very nice. Now THIS…is worthy of me.
"He…I mean, Space Medafighter X, are you sure about this? I'm only functioning at about 85 percent." Arcbeatle said quietly to SMX over the medawatch.
"Don't trouble yourself, my friend. That will be enough! The challenge in this case is fifty percent mental!"
"Then you're in even more trouble then you think, Space Medafighter X." Flute said as he raised his medawatch. "Ready Starkiller?"
"Oh yeah." Starkiller said as she unsheathed her sword.
"Then…it's agreed…"a voice suddenly panted, and a second later Mr. Referee came running, clearly exhausted. He'd been chasing Flute all day and it had caught up to him. "I hearby declare this…to be a submission robattle between Flute and the champion of Japan, Space Medafighter X…" he gasped, trying to speak and suck air into his aching lungs at the same time. " The rules…you know them! Medafighters…air…air…"
"All good things must come to an end!" SMX taunted.
"I'm gonna kick YOUR end." Flute replied.
"MEDABOTS…ROBATTLE!" Mr. Referee managed to yell, and then promptly passed out.
"Acrbeatle, Tri-Cannon!" SMX ordered. Arcbeatle raised his right arm and fired off a trio of powerful laser shots.
Starkiller charged, dodging aside and leaping around the three blasts. She swung her sword up as she closed it, but Arcbeatle intercepted her charge with his left arm, and using her own momentum against her, hurled her over his head with a yell of surprise. Starkiller hit the ground and rolled frantically as Arcbeatle fired off another Tri-Cannon shot, but the last blast caught her in the area effect and tossed her into a wall, causing her to lose her sword in the process.
"This is what everyone was afraid of? The general skill level of medafighters must be dropping!" SMX mock-complained. Flute ignored him, as he thought strategy.
"Starkiller, Speed Mode!"
Starkiller retracted her armour as she got to her feet, and activated her rocket blades, dashing at Arcbeatle. Arcbeatle fired again, but Starkiller easily dodged it, leaping forward and jamming her knee into Arcbeatle's face. However, Arcbeatle's prominent horns deflected most of the damage, and with a sudden twist, he grabbed Starkiller between them, spun, and tossed her into another wall. Starkiller just managed to get her armour back up before she hit.
"Warning! Body damaged 35 percent! Right arm, 50 percent, left arm 20 percent." Flute's medawatch told him. Flute growled.
"I guess you're all bluff and no stuff! Arcbeatle, Cluster Bombs!"
Starkiller leapt aside, going for her sword, as twin sections of Arcbeatle's chest armour slid aside to reveal launchers.
"Ha, I thought she's try that! Arcbeatle, FIRE!"
Arcbeatle fired the explosives at Starkiller as she snatched up her sword.
"Starkiller, reverse!" Flute ordered. Starkiller's rocket blades extended, and then suddenly the rocket boosters swung around and fired, sending Starkiller away from the projectiles. Starkiller leapt backwards, aided by the boost, and bounced off the wall, leaping upward into the sky as the bombs exploded beneath her.
"Nova Cannon!" Flute ordered. Starkiller armed it and aimed.
"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya." Starkiller said, and fired. Arcbeatle's low speed proved to be his undoing, and he was unable to dodge and took the blast. Starkiller fired off two more, adding more injury.
SMX flinched, and then the smoke cleared. Arcbeatle was still on his feet, and although he was damaged, he was far from done.
"Hah! Still standing!" Arcbeatle said as Starkiller landed.
"Not for long." Starkiller said, and changed again. Arcbeatle fired off more Tri-Cannon shots, but Starkiller had adapted to the firing pattern and dodged all three. She swung at Arcbeatle, but the medabot blocked the blow with his arm and used his superior strength to stop Starkiller cold.
"Arcbeatle's armour is top of the line. No laser blade can cut through it!" SMX informed Flute. Flute gave him a wry look from beneath his hood.
Arcbeatle's forearm armour began to sizzle as the Nova Sword cut into it. Arcbeatle and SMX both gasped at this sudden development.
"There's always something better, Space Medafighter X," Flute said.
Arcbeatle swung at Starkiller, but she ducked. However, this achieved the desired affect of breaking the sword strike before it could completely cut through Arcbeatle's armour. Arcbeatle kicked at Starkiller, but she dodged that easily too…and realized too late it had been a ploy to get her vertical again. With that done, Arcbeatle lashed out with his horns, striking Starkiller hard and sending her to the ground at his feet.
"Warning! Body damage now fifty percent!"
"Finish it off Arcbeatle!"
Arcbeatle raised his foot to stomp on Starkiller, as firing any of his weapons at that range would have damaged him too.
He should have gone with the self-sacrifice, as Starkiller revealed she had been playing possum, as she rolled and got to her knees.
"Time for my Ryu Impression!"
And Starkiller leapt, bring her sword up in a wide arc and catching Arcbeatle across the face and chest.
"SHORYUKEN!"
"ARGGHHHHHHH!" Arcbeatle wailed as he fell backwards, as Starkiller flipped backwards and landed gracefully. Arcbeatle didn't land so gracefully.
But he managed to keep his feet. For the first time in a long time, Flute was surprised. So was Starkiller. That cost them.
"Still standing! TRI-CANNON!" Arcbeatle yelled, firing both his arm weapons. The shock slowed Starkiller down and the last two blasts caught her, sending her pitching backwards, smoking.
"Body 75 percent! Head 55 percent! Left arm 90 percent, shutdown eminent!" Flute's medawatch told him. Flute moistened his lips.
"You ain't too bad kid!" SMX said as Starkiller tried to get to her feet. "But I am afraid this battle is over! Now…" SMX said as he started to pose. "Arcbeatle with show you the ultimate power! The fiery heart of the sun!"
Yellow-gold energy began gathering on the ridges on Arcbeatle's back, crackling fiercely. Arcbeatle's horns opened wider as the energy gathered between them.
"THE PROMINENCE!" SMX crowed, and Arcbeatle fired off the massive golden blast of flame at Starkiller. Behind her shades, her eyes widened.
"Oh no." Flute said.
The blast hit, and the explosion nearly tossed Flute on his rear end. His cloak flew back, but he quickly yanked it back before SMX could see anything. He coughed on the dust and smoke.
"Well Flute, looks like this tune had ended." SMX said. Flute coughed again and waved to clear the dust from around his face.
"Starkiller?"
The dust cleared. SMX's mask eyes widened in the way masks can do that in anime.
"WHAT?"
Starkiller was revealed in Armour mode, her shields up. The shields normal blue colour had been scorched black, and the armour of said shields now looked so delicate that it would probably crumble if you tapped it.
But it had taken the Prominence. Starkiller was still in the fight.
Starkiller lowered her shields.
"STILL STANDING!" she yelled, and leapt forward, her destroyed armour breaking off her arms as she blasted at Arcbeatle.
"Ah! Arcbeatle, she's weak! Hit her with anything!" SMX blurted, thrown off guard by this unexpected happening.
Arcbeatle hesitated, unable to decide whether to use his cannons or bombs due to the inexact nature of SMX's order.
And it cost him, big time, as Starkiller was suddenly right in his face. He yelled and swung out with his horns, but this time Starkiller dodged aside by leaping and grabbing said horn. SMX's mask eyes went even wider as Arcbeatle suddenly found Starkiller doing a one-handed handstand on top of his horns.
"Excuse me!" Starkiller giggled, and activated the rockets in her feet as she twisted them, causing the boost to go downward and drive Arcbeatle to the ground, snapping off his bottom horn.
Starkilled leapt off Arcbeatle's damaged body and flipped, pulling out her sword. As she landed, she tossed it up and caught it between her arms as parts shifted and closed over it.
"CHARGE!" she yelled, and blasted at Arcbeatle as he got to his feet. His low speed cost him again, as Starkiller zipped to the side and used the enhanced Nova Sword like a sword instead of a spear, catching him across the body. He yelled in pain and slumped to his knees.
"Arcbeatle!" SMX said, getting worried for the first time. Arcbeatle shuddered, trying to fight past the damage to his body as Starkiller disengaged her Nova Lance and began to switch to Nova Cannon.
"STILL STANDING!" Arcbeatle bellowed, and fired off both his Tri-Cannons and the rest of his Cluster Bombs. Starkiller stopped the transformation of her arm and ran for it instead, leaping back and up, using the explosions to propel her high into the sky.
"Ok then. If that's the way it's got to be…STARKILLER, GIVE HIM EVERYTHING! NOVA STORM!"
Starkiller tossed her sword above her and began gathering her energy, glowing a bright blue then the sky itself.
"Well thanks for making yourself a nice big open target! Arcbeatle, once more! The power of the sun! THE PROMINENCE!" SMX ordered. Arcbeatle began his own charging up.
"FIRE!" Flute ordered. Starkiller's cannons snapped open and rained projectiles down on Arcbeatle. But he stood his ground, pumping more power into his shot.
"Didn't like that huh? TRY THIS!" Starkiller yelled, and fired off the second phase of the attack. The four arcing lighting-esque shots lanced down and hit Arcbeatle, two of them directly. Somehow, he stood his ground.
"This time, there is no escape Flute! FEEL THE POWER OF THE SUN! FIRE!" SMX ordered. Arcbeatle reared up and fired the giant golden fireball at Starkiller.
Flute watched it fly up at his medabot. Behind his hood, he smirked.
"Power of the sun…Space Medafighter X, you will learn…the sun is just one star…and if you want to see the power of stars…I'LL SHOW YOU! FIRE!"
"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!" Starkiller quipped again, and fired off her final twin mega-blasts.
The Prominence arced up and struck the blasts, and the sky filled with a brilliant burst of light as the two fought for dominance.
Starkiller seemed to float in the air.
And then the Prominence shattered, dissipating into nothingness as the Nova Storm flew on, aimed right at Arcbeatle.
"ARCBEATLE!" SMX yelled. But there was nothing he could do.
The blast hit, and a massive explosion plumed into the air. Flute was ready this time, and stood his ground as the wind tore at his cloak like a hungry creature trying to devour food. SMX did the same.
Starkiller landed in front of Flute. She caught her sword and then fell to one knee, panting. (Well, medabots can't breath, but they can give the impression of breath, methinks). She was exhausted and hurting.
The smoke cleared.
Arcbeatle stood there, his horns shattered, his armour blackened and burned, his right arm limp at his side.
Starkiller cocked her head and watched.
"Still…standing…" Arcbeatle whispered.
And then he slowly fell forward, landing on his face as his medal popped out. The battle was over.
"FUNCTION CEASED! THE WINNER IS, STARKILLER!" Mr. Referee, who had recovered by then, declared. And then he was gone.
"I certainly don't feel like a winner." Starkiller said.
SMX stared at his defeated medabot, like it was some strange new form of alien life.
"How…I lost…"
And then the stillness was filled with clapping. SMX glanced up to see Flute applauding.
"Well done, my masked foe. Well done indeed. You have redeemed this whole rotten day, and finally given me the challenge I sought. Your skills amaze me, and humble me You truly deserve to be the Number 1 medafighter in Japan. But…" Flute said, as he gestured at Starkiller. "I think you need a little more practice. Better luck next time, buddy. See you around."
And the two walked off, leaving SMX to watch them leave. He looked down at Arcbeatle, and then back at them, but by then they were gone. All that was left was a soft melody playing, a tune of victory.
"I lost…I lost…wait a minute I'm Space Medafighter X! I'm not supposed to lose! Let's see the script!" SMX said as he pulled the script out (How he got a copy, I have no idea). He paged through it.
"Ah, here we are…SMX challenges…Starkiller does a Dragon-Punch esque move…ARCBEATLE LOSES? DAMMIT, I WAS SUPPOSED TO LOSE! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" SMX cursed. He threw the script on the ground and began to jump up and down on it.
"You do more damage to your reputation by that foolishness then by losing the Robattle." A voice said. SMX stopped his stomping and looked over to the voice. The Chick Man nodded.
"Maybe so…but still…" SMX said as he picked up the script and paged through it again. "AHA!"
"What?"
"I see why I lost! Samantha said it at the end of Chapter 3! Flute must be a Harry Stu!"
A lightning bolt somehow zapped out of the clear sky and zapped SMX on the butt.
"YEOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!"
"I wouldn't say that. The author is trying hard to create an interesting and threatening antagonist for the heroes, while doing her best to avoid Mary Sue elements. You people constantly harping on those supposed elements being present does not help her effort." The Chick Guy said. The sky rumbled ominously in support.
"Hmph." SMX said. He started looking through the back pages of the script.
"How is this supposed to end….oh. Ow. Geez that must have hurt….sheesh you'd think it could be a better name…YE-OWTCH! Poor Rokusho! Oh I see…" SMX said as he looked through the script. Then he heard voices.
"Well, what they don't know won't hurt me! I'd better regroup!" SMX said, and tossed a smoke bomb down onto the ground. When Ikki, Erika, Metabee, Brass, and Rintaro emerged into the square a few seconds later.
"Dude! He must have just been here!"
"He was." The Chick Guy said. "What you see is within your grasp. Now…let it be seen if you can not just reach for the brass ring but possess it."
"Uh, thanks. I don't suppose you could just tell me which way he went?" Ikki asked.
"Sigh. That way." The Chick Guy said. A few seconds later the square was empty again.
"They never buy a chick. Maybe I should go into fast food instead."
Elsewhere, a voice suddenly rang out.
"DAMMIT! WHY DIDN'T I USE THE MEDAFORCE? Let's see the script!"
The sun was just about to set as it gazed it's winking eye on Flute. He finished making the last few connections in the machinery in Starkiller's tinpet and closed it.
"There. All damage fixed. I'd got a new set of armour units, and your energy should be just about restored." Flute said. A few seconds later a computer chip slid out of a slot on the back of Starkiller's neck. Flute removed it and sent it back to his residence to be recharged. "How do you feel?"
"Much better." Starkiller said. "That Arcbeatle was one tough cookie."
"Well, the bigger they are the harder they fall."
"I felt like he fell on me." Starkiller replied. 'Well, what do we do next Master?"
"That…I am not sure about." Flute said. He was amazed how quickly this time had come. "Starkiller, how many Robattles did we fight today?"
"I stopped counting at thirty."
"And how many people challenged us?"
"Well, there was Space Medafighter X…and that Rintaro kid was good too…one or two others, maybe."
"Exactly. And we've bested the king and prince of Robattling as well. I think…there may be nothing left for us in Japan. Maybe it is time to move on."
"Move on Master? To where?"
"This is a big world Starkiller. Full of challenges. More stepping stones. Our quest has just begun, methinks. Maybe we should go to Kenya, and challenge the World Champion. Victor, his name is. Perhaps starting at the top would be the best way…"
"WAIT!" a voice suddenly rang out. Flute turned from his medabot as several figures ran at him.
"Hold that thought Starkiller." Flute said, as he watched the figures approaching. "Maybe we can do one more thing here."
"Wait…don't move…ahhhhhh." Ikki said as he finally reached Flute and Starkiller. He knelt, gasping for air. His companions and medabots joined him, both at his side and gasping for air.
"Anyone…ever tell you…to stop and smell the roses…?" Metabee panted.
"Gasp…HA! Erika, School News! Who are you? Why are you Robattling? The people have a right to know everything!" Erika said, as she ran over to Flute and started taking pictures. That lasted about two seconds before Flute snatched her camera. "HEY!"
"I don't photograph well." Flute said, putting the camera away in a pocket.
"Hey that's mine! You're violating the freedom of the press!"
"I'll give it back later. And as for the press, they can freely kiss my…"
"HEY! News later! We mustn't forget why we're here!" Metabee said.
"Right! My name is Ikki Tenryou, and I've come to put an end to your winning streak!" Ikki said.
"Right! Let's get medabusy!" Metabee said, as he hopped in front of Ikki.
Flute cocked his head, and then he began to chuckle.
"Ikki Tenryou…the name rings a bell. You're the Number 3 in Japan, right?"
"Right! You must have heard of my supreme skills!" Ikki said.
"Supreme skills? Buddy, I beat five Hercules-Types just today, all of them more advanced models then yours! I just beat the Number 1 seed!"
"YOU BEAT SPACE MEDAFIGHTER X!" Ikki said in shock.
"Indeed I did. And the Number 2 seed as well. You want to challenge me? I bested the king and prince! What are you, the court jester? Because you must be if you think you're going to beat me with that anachronistic medabot!"
"WHAT? Now I'm really angry!" Metabee said.
"Why you…THAT'S IT! I'm gonna beat you so bad, your children will scream in the womb!" Ikki shot back. Metabee's eyes widened, and he turned. "Whoa! Where did that come from?"
"Kings of MS Paint Dot Com! Now, are you going to fight me, or are you scared?"
"Dude, this guy's got mad skillz! You would be better off not challenging him!" Rintaro said.
"I don't care! I SAY I CAN WIN!" Ikki said, raising his medawatch. "Well?"
Flute cocked his head again, and then he suddenly raised his hands and clapped them for a bit.
"Well met, Ikki Tenryou. You did not back down. I merely had to see if you had the courage to match your convictions. You believe in yourself and your skills, even though you are nervous. Well then, I will Robattle you. I hope you are prepared."
"You betcha!" Metabee said. He did some shadow boxing and once again winced as the pain ran up his arm. Is it me, or is that getting worse?
"Then, it's agreed!" And a second later Mr. Referee pulled himself out of the fold of Flute's cloak. Flute jerked in surprise.
"A couple of days ago, I would have found that considerably more disturbing…" Flute muttered. "Starkiller! Get ready!"
Starkiller hopped forward.
"Hey! I wear my sunglasses at night…" Metabee sang as he saw Starkiller's shades, although the joke was a bit off as it was still evening and not yet night. Starkiller was not amused.
"And you are?"
"Metabee! Master of the Medaforce, Ruler of the Robattles, the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla! You will give me my props!"
"I'll give you something, but it won't be your props." Starkiller said, as she unsheathed her Nova Sword.
"Ok then! Medafighters ready…"
The tension between Flute and Ikki could be cut with a knife, as their medabots stared each other down. Neither showed a hint of apprehension or fear.
"ROBATTLE!"
"YAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Starkiller yelled as she leapt at Metabee, as he aimed his laser cannon.
The battle was on.
Well, it's come to this! Flute has left a trail of wreckage, including Space Medafighter X! Can Ikki and Metabee hope to defeat this devastating duo? And does Starkiller wear her sunglasses at night? Since when does Arcbeatle have cluster bombs? What, you thought they would be interesting? Works for me! And speaking of myself, how long before the author runs out of ways for me to make an entrance? Find out in
Chapter 5: Metabee vs Starkiller
I ran out of fancy titles! More Medabots, More Power!