Chapter 6: Revelations
"I think I have something." Henry said.
Ikki blinked. He hadn't been expecting this. He'd woken up, had breakfast, and then went down to the Hop-Mart to meet Erika. And then Henry had called him over with this bit of news.
It wouldn't have been one Henry would have normally had, but he was still smarting from his loss to Flute, and to take his mind off things, he had tripled his efforts of going through the Medabot catalogues. And lo and behold, his eyes caught something, which they probably wouldn't have caught if he hadn't met, and lost to, Flute.
"You asked me to look for your medabot. Well, I didn't find an exact description, but this rang a bell." Henry said, pointing to a picture.
Ikki looked it over.
It was called Starlight, a female medabot done in very light and pure white colours, and dubbed a "Jack of All Trades" type. And it DID sort of look like Starkiller…or was that just him?
"Hey Metabee! Come take a look at this!"
The two humans and medabot perused the picture.
"You think this is it?"
"Well…it kinda looks like it…but that was different, and that, and that wasn't there, and that had been replaced with…ARGH! It's too damn generic!"
"Well, that was the point. The Starlight was of a small group of medabots, the "Jack of All Trades". Their main strength, and at the same time weakness, was that they didn't have a specialty. You could customize them with a greater degree of control then you could with say, Metabee, who would have a problem if you equipped him with melee parts. This made them rather difficult to Robattle with…too difficult, in the end: the line was discontinued a few years ago. But they were favored by a few expert medafighters, who could use the extra customization process to their advantage. Are you sure?"
Ikki took another look. He was SURE there was SOME resemblance, but he couldn't be sure his mind wasn't just making it up.
"No, but there's something there. Thanks Henry."
"Not a problem."
Ikki told Erika of what he had just learned. Erika and Brass took a look too and came to the same conclusion: Maybe, maybe not.
"Well, any port in a storm people! Let's go to the library and see if there are any stories with this Starlight type in them!" Erika said, and took off, with Ikki and their medabots vainly trying to keep up with her.
Ikki got a pleasant surprise at the library.
"Karen!" he said, immediately getting all dreamy-eyed as he saw the girl he felt such a strong affection for. Metabee groaned and waited for someone to snap Ikki out of it. When no one did, Metabee did it by kicking Ikki in the shin.
"OW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ikki yelled, and proceeded to get into another brawl with Metabee. Karen smiled.
"Come on now boys, be nice."
Ikki stopped immediately. Metabee muttered something about being whipped and headed into the library after Erika and Brass.
"So what are you doing here Ikki?"
Ikki told her.
"Oh! Sounds mysterious! Can I help?"
"YES! I mean, uh, well, why are YOU here Karen?"
"Oh, I'm escorting my uncle to the library: he likes to go to quiet places on weekends sometimes. I decided I'd keep him company…but he'll surely bury his nose in a book eventually, and then I can help!" Karen said in her so-sweet-it'll-give-you-cavities way. Ikki went dreamy-faced again, and since Metabee was gone, I zapped him on the butt with another lightning bolt.
"YEOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Well, see you in a bit, Ikki." Kaen said, and went into the library as Ikki rubbed his sore rear. He sighed and went in himself.
Some time later Erika had given out assignments. She and Brass would look through the computer records, Ikki would check the microfilm in case it hadn't been transferred yet (Considering how much material they probably had they probably wouldn't have finished even by 2122). Karen and Dr. Aki (who had been roped into it by Karen) would look through books on medabots, and Metabee would do whatever he wanted provided he stayed out of their hair. He went to go look up something for himself.
Two hours later Ikki had a slight headache from squinting so much and had gotten nowhere. Same with Erika. Karen had shown him a few things on Starlight medabots, but it was mostly technical stuff and nothing that was historically significant. Metabee, at least, wasn't bothering them: he had found some books he was reading with interest.
"Just what is that anyway?" Ikki finally asked, unnerved by his medabot being so quiet.
"Shakespeare! If that Flute is going to quote it, I'm going to quote it right back!…If I could understand what the heck these people are saying half the time!"
"Ikki! Come here! Now!" Erika suddenly called. Ikki left his medabot to his play-reading and scampered over.
"Take a look!"
Ikki looked at the picture. There were two figures in it. One was a Starlight medabot. The other was a mid-adolescent boy wearing what looked to be rather expensive clothes. He had straight hair whose color couldn't be told from the black and white news picture and serious, mature, handsome in a kind of Peter Parker way face. He had a slight smile on his face and a hand on the medabot's shoulder, looking quite pleased for some reason. The medabot just looked happy to be with the boy.
"Who is that?"
"I have no idea. Let me take a look…" Erika said, as she tried to get the story that went with the picture. Ikki felt Karen and Dr. Aki come up from behind him: They must have heard Erika as well.
"Oh my." Dr. Aki said. "I know who that is."
Everyone whirled.
"Who?" Ikki and Erika said at the same time.
"Why, that's Merer Pimon…I knew his parents. They used to be good friends…my god, it's been so long since I thought about him…" Dr. Aki said, his face taking a serious and slightly sad disposition.
"Why?" Ikki asked.
"That's why." Erika said, as the story finally came up.
SON OF COMPUTER TYCOON DIES IN HORRIFIC AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT
Rain-slick roads claim five lives in one night…Terrible driving conditions and a howling rainstorm turned a stretch road running along the Asuju mountains into a graveyard. Among the victims was 16 year old Merer Pimon, son of multi-billionaire Williard Pimon and retired singer Serenity Pimon. It is believed that the boy lost control of his car along Route 37 and went over the edge…
Ikki didn't read any more. He didn't have to.
"He died in a crash huh?" Ikki said. Behind them, Metabee walked by holding open a book and loudly reading from it.
"To be or not to be, that is the question! Whether tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune…"
"Yeah. It was a terrible tragedy…it really hit his parents hard. After it they basically just stopped interacting with us, the world…Williard even sold his company. It was horrible…such a terrible loss to them…and us…" Dr. Aki said sadly. Metabee walked by again.
"Oh she does teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs apon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear. Beauty too rich, for earth too dear!" Whoa! I gotta use this stuff on Oceana the next time we see each other…"
"What do you mean sir?" Erika said, tempering her "go for the throat and make them spill everything" reporter instincts in respect for Dr. Aki's feelings on the matter.
"Well…Merer was a genius. A prodigy in every sense of the word. Especially when it came to mechanics. But his specialty was…"
"Medabots?" Ikki ventured.
"Yes. He said he found them the most challenging…in fact I believe he was coming back from a Robattle tournament when the accident happened. I think that might have had something to do with it…according to his mother before she just stopped seeing us, he lost under very questionable means…he was quite upset by it from what I heard."
Ikki and Erika looked at each other.
"I'm sorry uncle." Karen said, trying to improve the mood of his now depressed relative.
"It's ok Karen…it just saddens me that a random act like that could end a life with such potential…I mean, I knew Merer from since he was a child. He was so quiet, so unassuming, so humble about his talents. Never lorded it over others: his parents raised him well. I was going to offer him a job the second he graduated…with his abilities, I swear if he put his mind to it he could have built the ultimate medabot…"
Ikki gulped.
"Well, sorry if I intruded on your search. I'll go back to my books." Dr. Aki said. He turned and left. Erika looked excited.
"This is it Ikki! The link we were looking for! This story will be pure dynamite!"
"I certainly feel like I'm holding something with nitroglycerine… " Ikki weakly replied. If it…could it…ULTIMATE MEDABOT?
Metabee walked by again.
"Lord what fools these mortals be!" Hey, that's a good one!"
"Metabee!" Ikki said, pulling his medabot aside. He quickly filled Metabee in. Metabee's green orbs went wide.
"So you think…but Ikki, he's dead!"
"This reeks of a cover-up…I need more information!"
"But where are we going to get it?" Ikki asked.
"Straight from the horse's mouth! We go interview the Pimons!"
Ikki and Metabee sweatdropped.
"Uh Erika…freedom of the press and all…but it sounded like the Pimons were really hurt by the loss of their son. I don't really think it's fair if we go barging in asking a bunch of nosy questions, or raise their hopes on…"
"Ikki, give me some credit. I know. I'll just say it's for a school project…we're doing a retro-report. Very professional and kind. I don't plan on working for the Enquirer when I get older, you know." Erika said. Ikki felt some relief.
"But Erika…why would our school be reporting on him? I doubt he went to our school…he'd probably go to some extremely fancy private…" Ikki trailed off. They all looked at Karen.
"What?" Karen said.
Some time later, everything was set. Dr. Aki had said he was fine alone, so Karen came along. A little checking of computer records turned up the address of the Pimons. As the duo walked there, Karen and Erika had formulated a story.
"Ok, so what are we doing Karen?"
"Rosewood is doing a report on its best students, past and present. We have decided to make Merer our principle subject…and you're all helping me with my end of it." Karen said.
"Bingo!"
"Erika, I don't feel right about lying to these people…"
"We're not lying! Well, persay. We do want information on Merer, and it won't be used to hurt the Pimons. Besides, we can't exactly tell them the truth about our suspicions." Erika said.
"I suppose…"
"Ok Metabee, same to you. No yelling, no bragging, no complaining! You will be quiet and respectful, or I'll turn you into a microwave!" Erika warned.
"That's right Metabee." Ikki said, looking smug.
"You too Ikki!"
"Hey!"
"We're here." Brass said. Everyone turned to look at the wrought-iron gate that stood before them. Behind it lay a lovely field of flowers and trees in which a strip of road ran up to a large Victorian-style mansion. The upkeep was top-notch, but a sense of gloom hung over the house like a shard of death's murky black cloak.
"Nice place." Metabee said. "I wonder if the front and back of that house is in the same time zone."
"Metabee!"
Erika rang the buzzer. A second later a prim but stern female voice came on.
"Yes? What do you want?"
The harsh tone threw Erika, but fortunately Karen was there to pinch-hit.
"Good day miss. My name is Karen. I'm from Rosewood. I was wondering if we could speak to the Pimons."
"About what?"
"Um…their son, miss."
There was silence. A slight bead of sweat rose on Erika's brow at the sudden stillness in the air.
About 43 seconds later (if you really want to know), the intercom crackled again.
"Come in. But I will warn you know, if you are planning ANYTHING, you WILL regret it!" the voice said, snapping the last sentence like a whip. The intercom snapped off with all the cheeriness of a funeral, and a few seconds later the gates swung open.
"Why do I feel like I'm being invited to hell?" Metabee muttered as he followed the others in: All the Shakespeare he had read had put him in a dramatic mood.
The kids walked up the long driveway and up the stairs to what they assumed what the front door. Karen's ring brought a sour-looking woman who looked to be about sixty with graying hair and no makeup. She was dressed in a way that basically said "I work for people, but they make sure I look good doing it."
"Um…Mrs. Pimon?" Karen ventured.
"No. I'm her maid. And quite frankly, don't think because I invited you up here that I trust you! You children! You might think what you're planning to do is funny, but let me tell you…!"
"Let them in Suzanne." Another female voice said from the shadows behind the woman. "It's been eight years. Children may be senselessly cruel, but they also forget quickly." The shadow said, before disappearing back into the room she had come out from. Suzanne looked back at her employer, then turned back to the children and medabots.
"Ok, you can speak with her. But just remember one thing: prove her faith wrong, and you'll wish you'd never set foot on this property!" Suzanne warned, and turned down another hallway.
"I guess certain unenlightened people made the Pimons life even harder after the death of their son." Brass said,
"Why are people so senselessly cruel Karen?" Neutranurse asked. Karen had no answers for her medabot.
Serenity Pimon turned out to be a tiny Japanese woman, five feet at the tallest. She was about fifty, but looked twenty years older, with deeply-ringed eyes with a haunted, sad expression. From the pictures Metabee was look at on the nearby mantel, she had once been a beautiful woman, even in later years. Then her son had died, and with it, it seemed, Serenity's life as well.
Williard, on the other hand, was a very distinguished gentleman, the kind of man who kept looking good even as he aged, with neatly styled white hair and a short beard. He kind of reminded Ikki of Sean Connery. However, he had the same haunted look in his eyes, and his once tall frame was now stooped and bent, as if he carried a great weight on his shoulders. Karen and Erika had explained their supposed purpose while Ikki sat with them. Neutranurse was with Karen, and with Serenity's permission, Brass was looking through a photo album the former singer had brought out and Metabee was looking at the aforementioned mantel.
"We don't want to cause you any pain Mrs. Pimon, so if there is anything you don't wish to speak about that's ok." Erika said.
"That is not necessary child. They say talking about it…helps." Serenity said. Ikki wondered if he could get away with calling the woman a liar because from the looks of things, it hadn't helped in eight years and wasn't going to start any time soon.
"Merer is an interesting name. Where did you get it?" Erika said, trying to start with something small.
"I study ancient languages as a hobby. It's from a corrupted Gaelic tongue…roughly translated it means "Wondrous Child." I thought it would just be a name, but it turned out to be a prophecy of sorts. Maybe all parents say the same thing, but my son was truly wonderous." Williard said.
"It's true. Complications with his birth left me unable to have any more children…so I swore I would lavish all my love on my child, no matter how plain or special he turned out to be. But from the beginning, I could tell there was something special about him. He was just so…perfect. He never cried as a baby…never complained when we were trying to do something like comb his hair…our friends would tell horror stories about their children and we sometimes wondered if there was something seriously wrong with Merer. But nothing ever happened. It was like we had won some kind of child lottery or something…especially when we first saw his…talent."
"What happened?"
"Well, we were watching television…Merer was about two at the time and too young to understand anything outside of the most basic shows. So I gave him the remote to play with. I didn't pay attention since I found the show absorbing, and Merer was so quiet that I didn't have to constantly check on him. Well, I looked back ten minutes later and he had taken the remote apart. At first I was angry…until we called someone to fix it. He managed to put it back together in five minutes because NOTHING was damaged. It was taken apart perfectly. Nothing was damaged at all." Williard said, looking wistful and yet sad as he remembered his young son.
"That was the start. When he was three, he took the remote apart and put it back together. And when he was five…he took it apart and did SOMETHING to it before he reassembled it. We haven't had to change the batteries since."
Whoa. Metabee thought. He sidled up to said remote and looked inside. The batteries certainly looked old.
"And that was just one thing. He would put his toys together by himself. By six he was doing complex models…by the time he was eight we'd met Dr. Aki. He is your uncle right?"
"Yes."
"Well, Dr. Aki introduced him to higher levels of technology…and the speed in which he could figure it out and even IMPROVE on it was scary. But his greatest joy was medabots. We asked him why he liked them so much, he was about 13 or so…he said on an intellectual level they gave him the greatest challenge. He was always studying the perfect combination of tinpet, parts, and medal…he'd even mismatch and put the wrong medals in just to see if he could get it to work."
Spyke shoulda met this guy. Ikki thought.
"But on a personal level…he said it was like having a child, in some way. That floored me. It still does." Williard said.
"Despite my son's abilities, he managed to avoid the traps most children fall into. My husband and I are a firm believer that nurture is much more of a factor in who a person is then nature. We made sure to teach Merer to respect others and not to look down on them. That is what makes special as a species, I believe, and I have done that all my life. And it had helped me greatly, in business and life." Williard continued. "Everything seemed to be wonderful. I had more then enough to provide for my family, and my son was growing up to surely be something great. Everyone at Rosewood loved him…in retrospect, perhaps I should have seen the flood of good karma as an omen. Because as you might know…it all went wrong after he graduated from Rosewood."
"I'm afraid I don't…if you don't want to speak about it…" Erika said.
"No. I want to speak of this. If only to help others…Merer would have wanted that. After Rosewood, we enrolled Merer in another school, Trinity Night, for the rest of his education…and that's where it happened."
"What?"
Serenity Pimon's sad look suddenly flashed into rage.
"Those bullies! Damn them! CURSE THEM!" she hissed. Erika and Karen recoiled at the sudden blast of venom. The anger left as quickly as it had arrived, and Serenity now looked like she wanted to cry. Williard tried to comfort her, but he looked pretty mad himself.
"I'm sorry…but even now, eight years after the fact…they changed everything. I don't remember most of them, which is just as well, since most of them were brainless sheep…but I remember the ringleaders…all too well. David Gralfs and Annika Devin! They were both American, living here because their parents moved here to make money in their respective businesses…and they ran Trinity Night. With an iron fist, and that's not just hyperbole. They were like dictators in everything: their look, their mannerisms, and the way they dealt with people…it was sickening. In any case, they took an instant dislike to Merer. At the end of the first day David challenged him to a Robattle, that was one of their primary activities, challenging people and then beating them for their parts. They didn't need the parts, their parents could afford anything they wanted, but they did it because they liked to do it. Monstrous little savages!" Williard cursed.
"Dear…you're scaring the children." Serenity cautioned. Indeed, Karen had the look of s scared rabbit, like she was worried that Williard's anger at these people would be transferred to them.
"What? Oh, I am sorry. I forget myself sometimes…as I was saying, David challenged Merer to a Robattle. Merer refused: he said he had other things to do. David wasn't used to being refused, and tried to badger Merer into it. Merer would have none of it and left David cold. That was the start of it. The next day Merer came back to school and no one would talk to him. Most weren't doing it to be cruel though. They were terrified; terrified that doing so would bring the wrath of David and Annika's clique down on them. Because their little group had basically declared Merer Public Enemy No 1. They probably expected a quick break before he joined the rest of them under his thumb. But that didn't happen. Because Merer wasn't just smarter then them, he was vastly more mature. I like to think Dr. Aki helped him with that…" Williard said.
"They tried everything. Catcalls, insults, vandalizing his property, even some outright assaults, which thankfully never happened due to Trinity's security. And Merer weathered it all without a scratch. He just didn't care. He knew that they were just one step in his life, and giving them any attention at all was too good for them. As for the school…well, Merer said that if they were so concerned with status they wouldn't have made good friends anyway. So he befriended other people in the area, people more…down to earth, so to speak, whom David and Annika scorned due to their supposed "superiority". But the main thing they tried was Robattles. Every day, a challenge. Merer had a medabot…Starlight, her name was…"
Ikki blinked. Starlight…
"But he didn't Robattle often. Starlight was more of an assistant, a sounding board, a companion then something he used to fight with. He was more interested in building medabots then fighting with them. He did accept on occasion, and he usually won. He came home amused one day and we asked what had happened. He replied he had made an error in a Robattle and one of David's clique had won. The moron acted like he had just won the Super Bowl, as Merer put it. Merer just shrugged and said perhaps it is best they took joy in such small things, because they lacked in character and drive to accomplish much else. He went down to the basement to fix Starlight and that was the last I heard of it. Once we even hired a psychiatrist to make sure Merer wasn't internalizing what he really felt. The doctor couldn't find anything. He said we had done a superb job in teaching Merer how to endure such treatment. There was one thing that Merer quoted that summed it all up. "They laugh at me because I'm different. I laugh at them because they're all the same."
Serenity stopped talking, as she took out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.
"And they HATED him for it. They hated him because he wouldn't give in. They hated him because he was smarter then them. They hated him because they KNEW they would be able to do nothing more with their parents' businesses when they inherited them while Merer would take ours and whatever else he chose to new heights. And most of all, they hated how he would build medaparts and give them away to his friends and other people, medaparts that allowed them to run circles around them and their ultra-expensive devices which had seemingly always gotten them victory. They hated him because he showed them the truth: they weren't superior beings, weren't "gods" that deserved to lord over other people. In truth they were pathetic, less then human…and I think that was what made them cross the line. They couldn't handle the truth."
Serenity stopped again. This time she kept dabbing at her eyes, and Williard picked up while trying to comfort her again.
"So they decided that since Merer seemed to be bulletproof, they would go after his supports. One of his friends was jumped by a group of youths and beaten…but he couldn't prove anything because he claimed he "hadn't seen any faces". Another one's parents were fired due to the connections Annika had…thankfully Merer used his own "stroke" to get them new jobs. But this was different. Merer could handle anything they threw at him, but the fact they were targeting others succeeded: it bothered him. Greatly. And the last straw came when David had one of his friends, whose father owned an advertising company, plant outright lies in on of the papers about my former company. At the same time, Annika wrote to one of those horrid tabloids with a bunch of supposed "dirt" she had managed to find out about my wife. The result was horrible. My company's stock plunged when the lies they had managed to get published came out. And in that, they succeeded. My son was absolutely furious that they had stooped to this level. He immediately went straight to the papers and exposed all the flaws and loopholes in both articles. They listened, and my company managed to rebound in a few days. The music community apologized to my wife as well for the nasty things they had supposedly claimed she did. But that didn't satisfy my son. He wanted more. They had finally awoke the sleeping giant within him, and he was going to show them they had played with fire, and were going to be incinerated."
Williard sighed.
"I'm not sure what he did, but from what I was able to gather, he went straight to them and threw down the gauntlet. There was a city Robattle tournament coming up, and David had won it three times, including the last two in a row. Merer finally granted him the Robattle he had wanted, but he said it would be at the tournament. If he beat David and Annika's medabot, they would have to confess their treachery. If not…I think he said he would "confirm" the false rumours they had published. They accepted, and for the following month, Merer threw himself into preparing Starlight. He'd come home early and work into the night, testing, studying, trying to perfectly prepare her for the tournament. He said he was doing it for us. He loved us, and he wasn't going to stand by and let some bullies affect our lively hood and our reputations. My son pulled every string he had. He even had Dr. Aki come in to take a look. Dr. Aki was a friend of Merer's as well as ours, and he didn't just come, he brought some of his top people. They went over Starlight with a microscope and gave Merer the thumbs up. It was THAT detail that haunts me to this day…"
Erika pondered, and decided she would.
"Why?" she asked, in the most respectful tone she could use.
"Well…the tournament came. And all of Merer's preparations served him well. He took apart every single opponent he fought, most of the time with ease. I think he set a new record when he bested his second opponent in twelve seconds. Some of David and Annika's clique were in the tournament as well. He beat them, but he wasn't satisfied. He wanted David and Annika, wanted their petty cruelty exposed before the world. And I could see it. David and Annika's medabot, Blademaster I believe, was powerful, and David had skills, but it was clear that Merer was going to take the tournament. They knew it, the crowd knew it, and Merer knew it. In a way they had succeeded: they had brought Merer down to their level. But Merer was going to show he was superior to them in that as well as in everything else. Merer actually met a friend of his in the quarter-finals, and I remember well what happened. He shook her hand, but said that he was sorry, he had to defeat her. And he did. It was clear it hurt him a bit, but he fought fairly and won rightfully. He bested his semi-final opponent almost as an afterthought, and then the final was at hand. Starlight vs Blademaster. And it was clear David was desperate. It radiated from him like an aura, a sour smell of fear and the realization his pride was about to suffer a blow from which it might never recover. It was clear David wasn't going to win…and then, somehow…"
Everyone was listening now, even Metabee and Brass, who had forgotten the picture they were looking at.
"The battle was about to begin when the referee came out and stopped it. And then…he said that Merer was robattling with illegal parts and disqualified him."
Oh no…Metabee thought. Erika looked like she would rather jam a needle in her eye then ask the follow up question, but somehow she managed to.
"Was he?"
"NO! Dr. Aki looked over Starlight with a fine-toothed comb, and found nothing. And even then, Merer would have never done that. He would have found no satisfaction in beating David and Annika via cheating. It was bull…er, crap, and the crowd knew it. They began booing and pelting the ring with garbage, but the referee said he had accurate evidence and his decision stood. Merer threw a fit, but the referee didn't budge. But I know my son. He as much had illegal parts in Starlight as a fruit fly has depleted uranium in its stomach. I had taught Merer to play fair, and in the most important day of his life that coda had betrayed him, for David…he cheated. I know for sure it was him and not my son. But…I couldn't prove it, and neither could Merer, as he watched David and Annika accept their "victory" trophy. The crowd nearly booed them out of the building, but they didn't care. All they saw was Merer, their faces dripping with self-righteous smugness…David actually said "Pretty good Merer, but I think you need a little more practice!"
Ikki jerked.
"Are you ok son?" Williard said at the sudden movement interrupted his recollection.
"Uh…yeah…someone must have just walked over my grave."
Wrong choice of words, as Serenity suddenly began to cry. Erika and Metabee gave him a dirty look, which Ikki replied with a look that said "Oops my bad sorry". Not really paying attention, Brass turned a page in the album she had forgotten and staring her in the face was the picture she had seen on the computer, the one that had appeared in the newspaper.
Williard was trying to comfort his wife, but at the same time he kept talking.
"That was the last time we saw him. He said he couldn't bear to look at us, that he failed us, shamed us…he ran out, got into his car, and drove out into the rain-swept night…and…"
And his car crashed, and that was the end of Merer Pimon…and perhaps the…?"My son was too good for this world…" Serenity sobbed. "I'm sure he'd in a better place now…" and that was all she got out before she broke down completely. Suzanne came running in and gave the children a furious look, but Williard stopped it with a shake of his head and a gesture. The children took the cue and got up and moved away as Suzanne replaced Williard as Serenity wept into her hands. They moved towards the fireplace, where Metabee could once again see all the awards Merer had won. And he understood now. It was a shrine.
"I'm sorry if we upset your wife." Karen said.
"It's ok. It wasn't your fault. You have been nothing but respectful to us, unlike some people after our son…moved on…I hope your article will be the same." Williard said.
"It will." Erika said, looking a bit guilty at the continuing white lie.
"It is ironic…about a year later there was a massive upheaval in the business world as mass corruption was brought to light in several companies. David and Annika's were among them…I think Annika's father lost everything, and David's dad commited suicide in the boardroom. I guess there is karma…" Williard said.
Yeah, but in your case I somehow think it was too little, too late. Metabee thought
"Is there anything else you son liked to do, Mr. Pimon? Just to wrap things up."
Williard glanced at some of the pictures on the mantel.
"Yes. My wife was a singer before we met…quite a good one too. She retired after we had Merer. My son loved her voice and music, and one of his few disappointments was that he hadn't inherited any part of her voice. So he compromised and learned how to play a few instruments, using them to make the music his voice couldn't."
The group looked at each other.
"Any particular instrument?" Erika asked.
"Yes, there was one. He liked to play the flute."
The Pimon house was gone, but the revelations there still hung on the three children and medabots, as they walked in stony silence.
Metabee finally broke it.
"Dude…if this was a soap opera…I'd mock it for being just a tad too unrealistic. I guess truth is stranger then fiction."
"We're not wholly sure it's the truth." Brass said.
"Yes! Let us just look at it. A mechanical prodigy who has a particular love and talent for medabots loses a crucial battle in which he was trying to redeem slurs against his parents, whom he loves dearly. He then FAKES HIS OWN DEATH, and vanishes for eight years while he presumingly turns a Starlight into a Starkiller, and comes back with a goal of becoming the greatest medafighter on the planet! YES, THAT SOUNDS REALISTIC!" Metabee bellowed.
"But who else could it be? We have motive, means, and opportunity…oh god, what if that was an act? What is the Pimons helped their son fake his death, and are funding him in his quest?"
Everyone stared at Erika.
"Ok, maybe that's too far." she agreed.
"This scenario we have at the moment is too far! Surely this must be a coincidence!"
"If this is a coincidence, its odds are as large as the Grand Canyon. Why are you so sure about this being a red herring, Metabee?" Ikki asked.
"Uhhhhh…" Metabee sweatdropped.
"Metabee…are you WORRIED?"
"Uh well…you see…"
"Metabee, you're the one who kept saying we should fight this guy! You were the one who said we could win! And now when we finally know the possible truth behind it all, you're having doubts?" Ikki said incredulously.
"Ikki, that's just it! I could deal with it no problem when Flute was just a highly skilled medafighter!"
"But he still us. Why not just think of it that way?" Neutranurse suggested.
"Because I know we're not dealing with a skilled medafighter anymore! We're dealing with a mechanical genius with an IQ of 196, a talent for mechanical devices of which he specialized in medabots, a medabot he's had YEARS to work on, and an attitude! That even worries me!" Metabee said. He hated to show weakness, but in this case...
"But…Metabee…" Ikki stammered.
"Oh god, I just figured it out." Karen suddenly said. Everyone turned to her.
"Starkiller. It's not just a fancy name…or a hardening of a previous name. It's a double entendre."
"Starkiller…as in Killer of Stars…as in someone who beats the best…a star…killer…" Ikki whispered.
"Holy metaphors! Why didn't I think of that? Now I can see it! Everything about him…it's an extension of what happened. He cloaks him in a dark mantle that resembles the Grim Reaper, aka DEATH. He quotes Macbeth, which is a play about a man who does horrid things to get what he wants and pays a terrible price for it. Even Starkiller's colour scheme is an extension of it!" Erika said.
"What…she's coloured black and blue…black and blue…I'm gonna beat you black and blue…" Metabee said. The look in his eyes showed he'd like to crawl under a rock, and was going to any second…
"Snap out of it Metabee! Believe in yourself!" Brass said. Metabee blinked.
"What? Believe in myself?"
"That's right! A year ago you and Ikki were arguing all the time, with you stuck in that medabot equivalent of ancient body. To think Ikki would get anywhere was laughable! And yet here Ikki is, the No. 3 Robattler in Japan! And you Metabee, a medabot with a rare medal, with the power of the Medaforce! Flute might beat you, sorry, MERER might beat you, but he won't even have to bother if you beat yourself!" Erika said. Metabee blinked again.
"You're right! Why should I let this guy scare me? With you, Ikki, he doesn't stand a chance!"
"Right! We'll make him play OUR tune!" Ikki said, as he and Metabee locked hands.
"The Metabee Bop!"
"Till he drops!"
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling confident again, so I'd better get back to my uncle. I'll see you later Ikki. Good luck." Karen said. She turned and left with Neutranurse.
"I have to go too. I want to do some more research. But I'll see you in a few hours! I want to make sure I see this Robattle!" Erika said. And then she and Brass were gone.
"Well, we got a few hours before we start looking. What do you want to do Metabee?"
"Me? I dunno."
"Well, I'm going back to the library."
"Can't let your precious Karen out of your sight, huh?"
"NO! I want to look something up!"
"Oh, ok! Well, I guess I'll head home! Meet you in a few hours?"
"You got it!"
The two went their separate ways.
In a nearby tree, Rokusho rose from his kneeling position.
"You think they're ready?" Baton asked.
"As they'll ever be. But all we can do is believe. Believe in them…and believe in possibilities."
The dark eye kept its gaze on Ikki as he headed back towards the library. The short figure who stared out through it snickered.
"Hope you enjoy the next few hours Mr. Tenryou. It will be your last!"
He turned on his heel, looking at another eye, which showed four dejected figures walking along the street.
"My former employees…BAH! How pathetic they have become without my aid! But it doesn't matter…they will serve for this. Because once this is done, nothing can stop me. THIS TIME, I WILL RULE THE WORLD! I WILL BUILD MY CONQUEST ON THE ASHES OF MY ENEMIES! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Whoa! Well, looks like Ikki has more problems then he knows! Who is that (well you probably know but I gotta try and stay mysterious)? Why does he desire such a horrific fate for Ikki Tenryou? Isn't it ironic in the chapter in which we learned Flute's identity he didn't even appear once? Is Metabee aware soap operas don't play on weekends? Find out next time in…
Chapter 7: Prodigy
More Medabots, More Power!