Chapter Two - Arrival
Author's note: You know the drill, I don't own Medabots, yadda yadda.
I'm setting up some things that will become important later on, so please forgive the slightly tedious bits in the this chapter.
The flight had been short and uneventful. 22nd century air travel made long-haul flights a lot quicker and easier. Ikki stepped into the airport lobby and peered around, getting his first look at America.
JFK International was huge. Tourists and commuters, as well as the many Medafighters, mingled freely among the large numbers of security people. Ikki blinked in surprise at he noted just how many uniformed security people there were wandering about the place.
"What's with all the security?" Ikki asked Koji, who was standing beside him. Koji shrugged and tucked and errant strand of black hair behind his ear.
"I hear they've had some trouble with a group called 'The Spiral'. I don't know any details." Koji replied laconically.
"Well they better not try anything while I'm here!" Metabee exclaimed, holding up a fist.
The medafighters were arriving from all different countries, Britain, Spain, Italy, Australia. The people wearing official 'Medabot Federation' uniforms efficiently sorted them into groups.
A young, dark-haired girl wearing a Union Jack t-shirt wandered over to them, completely ignoring the directions of the officials.
"Hi!" She said brightly to Ikki and Koji, "My name's Jayce. I'm from the British team." She said with a wide smile.
"Hi." Ikki replied, "I'm Ikki...and this is Metabee." He said, waving a hand at his Medabot.
"I'm Koji. And this is Sumilidon." Koji said. Jayce grinned and shook everyone's hand.
"This is Jetstorm." She said pointing to the purple and silver JET-type medabot who was standing beside her. Ikki looked over the medabot, noting the silver wings mounted on it's back, and the tiny jet rockets in the ankles, and remembered that the Jet-type's special ability was flying.
"Impressed?" Jetstorm asked in a distinctly female voice, striking a pose. Ikki was a little taken aback as the JET-type continued, "Well take a good look, 'cause I'm the medabot who's gonna be winning this championship!" Ikki blinked. This medabot sounded like a female version of Metabee.
"I don't think so! If anyone's gonna get that trophy, I'll be me!" Metabee yelled.
"Oh yeah? And outdated old hulk like you? Ha!" Jetstorm scoffed.
"Kkkkkk..." Metabee growled, his optics glowing with anger.
"Save it for the ro-battle, Jetstorm." Jayce said wearily, cutting off the brewing argument. She leaned close to Ikki and said, "Sorry about that. Jetstorm's a little...belligerent." Jayce apologised for her Medabot.
"I know how you feel..." Ikki muttered, not quietly enough.
"Hey!" Metabee protested.
Jayce just laughed.
"Actually, I'm here for two reasons. My Dad's one of the arbiters...he gets to check over the Medabots to check that there's no cheating or sabotage going on." Jayce added with a grin, then realised that the British team were calling her.
"Guess I better be going, hope to see you in the arena." She said with a wave.
"Yeah." Ikki replied as Jayce wandered off again.
"C'mon Ikki!" Erika said, appearing suddenly by his left arm, "The bus is here to take us to our hotel!"
Only a few hours later, Ikki had barely unpacked when Erika arrived at his door. He opened the door warily, knowing that his friend was bound to drag him off somewhere.
"Ikki!" She cried, as she marched into his plush hotel room, "I just heard that Space Medafighter X is going to be at Central Park!"
"So what?" Ikki asked, deliberately baiting her. Erika bristled, even as Metabee chuckled quietly.
"So we better get down there!" Erika yelled, grabbing Ikki's arm in a surprisingly strong grasp and dragging him along. Metabee just shrugged as Ikki was pulled out of the room and down the corridor with a hopeless look on his face.
Central Park was busy with people of all sizes, shapes, ages and backgrounds. Young successful business people mingled with homeless down-and-outs. At night this was a dangerous place where the strong prayed on the weak, as not even 22nd century technology could completely stamp out the crime here, but by day it was a place for shoppers, joggers, teenage couples...
And Medafighters.
Ikki watched with a slight smile as Space Medafighter X held court among the crowd of admirers around him, his gold face mask as impassive as always, but Ikki could tell that the mysterious Medafighter was enjoying the attention.
As always, Arcbeetle stood by the black-clad figure's side, occasionally answering questions put to him by some members of the crowd.
"Phft," Metabee snorted, "Glory hog."
Erika was busy jumping around with her camera, trying very hard to get a decent picture of Space Medafighter X and his medabot, but it wasn't easy because of the crowd of much taller people standing in front of her. Ikki grinned as the young reported tried to get Brass to lift her up so she could get a better angle.
Ikki started in surprise as he felt something dig into his ribs.
"What is it Metabee?" Ikki asked with a trace of irritation, glancing down at his yellow Medabot.
"I'm getting bored of just standing here, let's go take a look around!"
Ikki shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" Ikki replied.
They set off walking deeper into the trees, wandering down the various paths. They saw fewer and fewer people the further they walked, until they came to a place where the branches overhead had grown so close together that they created a canopy overhead, blocking out the sunlight and creating an eerie twilight. Ikki got a sudden uneasy feeling.
"Metabee...I think we should go back." Ikki said.
"You're not going anywhere, little boy." A cold voice purred from behind him. Ikki and Metabee both whirled around and came face-to-face with a woman dressed in a grey suit. She had a black Medabot of a completely alien design at her side, and her expression was the coldest he had ever seen on a human face. Her eyes were grey, and devoid of emotion.
"Who are you?" Ikki demanded.
"That isn't important." She replied in that same emotionless voice, "You might as well come quietly with us, I don't really want to hurt you."
"Forget it lady!" Metabee yelled back, "We don't surrender to anyone, right Ikki?"
Ikki nodded decisively, but the unease in him had only grown...something terrible was going to happen, he just knew it.
"Let's get meda-busy!" Metabee cried, bracing himself for battle. The woman sighed.
"Very well, if that's how you want it." She gestured to her black Medabot, "Scion, go."
Before Metabee could make a single move, a wave of black light emerged from the black Medabot's hands...and headed right towards Ikki.
"Ikki!" Metabee cried in horror as his medafighter was sent crashing backwards into a tree. Metabee saw a trickle of blood run down from Ikki's nose...and all rational thought left him.
"You'll pay for that!" Metabee almost screamed as he charged the black Medabot, rage clogging his processor so he didn't even think of trying to use his missiles or lasers, he just wanted to rip the other 'bot apart with his bare metal hands. He didn't get very far when a sudden blast of white-hot flame struck his back and sent him sprawling to the floor.
Metabee crawled stubbornly to his feet again and looked behind him. Another human, this time a man in a black trenchcoat, was stood there. Accompanying him was another unusual Medabot. This one was black and maroon, with what looked like a fusion cannon mounted on one arm. Metabee's optics glowed in disbelief...fusion cannons were highly dangerous, and illegal. Not even the RubberRobo gang had gone that far.
"I thought you would never get here." The cold-eyed woman called to the man. The man in the trenchcoat just grunted, his eyes fixed on Metabee. Metabee growled and threw a volley of laser fire and the maroon 'bot. The bolts simply bounced off without leaving so much as a scratch. Fear began to penetrate the rage that was clouding his processing.
"Ikki...wake up!" He called to his friend and Metafighter. But Ikki didn't stir, the blast he had taken had knocked him senseless. Metabee was completely alone.
The maroon medabot raised the arm with the fusion cannon, and Metabee just barely managed to dodge the bolt of white-hot plasma that was sent hurtling his way. The dead grass under his feet set on fire as the plasma bolt hit the ground, and Metabee quickly found himself standing in the middle of a circle of flame, smoke beginning to obscure his vision.
"Ikki! Help me!" He cried, but Ikki couldn't even hear him. Metabee actually did feel scared now. He and Ikki might argue sometimes, but Metabee did genuinely care for his Medafighter, and deep down, he know that Ikki was a skilled Medafighter, and Metabee needed him.
A blast of black light came at him through the smoke, almost sending him into the fire that surrounded him, "Ikki!" Metabee cried again. He tried to get to his feet, tried to gather himself to invoke the Medaforce...but it was no use, he couldn't even see his opponents for the clouds of obscuring smoke. More blasts came at him now, and Metabee felt his strength ebb, felt his legs cease their functioning.
He caught a brief glimpse of Ikki's unconscious form through the smoke. The sight caused him something akin to physical pain as the realisation came.
"Ikki...I'm sorry...I failed you..."
Then everything went black.
Across the park, Space Medafighter X looked towards where Ikki and Metabee had gone. His eyes narrowed behind his face place...something was dreadfully wrong.
If only he knew what it was.
Author's note: You know the drill, I don't own Medabots, yadda yadda.
I'm setting up some things that will become important later on, so please forgive the slightly tedious bits in the this chapter.
The flight had been short and uneventful. 22nd century air travel made long-haul flights a lot quicker and easier. Ikki stepped into the airport lobby and peered around, getting his first look at America.
JFK International was huge. Tourists and commuters, as well as the many Medafighters, mingled freely among the large numbers of security people. Ikki blinked in surprise at he noted just how many uniformed security people there were wandering about the place.
"What's with all the security?" Ikki asked Koji, who was standing beside him. Koji shrugged and tucked and errant strand of black hair behind his ear.
"I hear they've had some trouble with a group called 'The Spiral'. I don't know any details." Koji replied laconically.
"Well they better not try anything while I'm here!" Metabee exclaimed, holding up a fist.
The medafighters were arriving from all different countries, Britain, Spain, Italy, Australia. The people wearing official 'Medabot Federation' uniforms efficiently sorted them into groups.
A young, dark-haired girl wearing a Union Jack t-shirt wandered over to them, completely ignoring the directions of the officials.
"Hi!" She said brightly to Ikki and Koji, "My name's Jayce. I'm from the British team." She said with a wide smile.
"Hi." Ikki replied, "I'm Ikki...and this is Metabee." He said, waving a hand at his Medabot.
"I'm Koji. And this is Sumilidon." Koji said. Jayce grinned and shook everyone's hand.
"This is Jetstorm." She said pointing to the purple and silver JET-type medabot who was standing beside her. Ikki looked over the medabot, noting the silver wings mounted on it's back, and the tiny jet rockets in the ankles, and remembered that the Jet-type's special ability was flying.
"Impressed?" Jetstorm asked in a distinctly female voice, striking a pose. Ikki was a little taken aback as the JET-type continued, "Well take a good look, 'cause I'm the medabot who's gonna be winning this championship!" Ikki blinked. This medabot sounded like a female version of Metabee.
"I don't think so! If anyone's gonna get that trophy, I'll be me!" Metabee yelled.
"Oh yeah? And outdated old hulk like you? Ha!" Jetstorm scoffed.
"Kkkkkk..." Metabee growled, his optics glowing with anger.
"Save it for the ro-battle, Jetstorm." Jayce said wearily, cutting off the brewing argument. She leaned close to Ikki and said, "Sorry about that. Jetstorm's a little...belligerent." Jayce apologised for her Medabot.
"I know how you feel..." Ikki muttered, not quietly enough.
"Hey!" Metabee protested.
Jayce just laughed.
"Actually, I'm here for two reasons. My Dad's one of the arbiters...he gets to check over the Medabots to check that there's no cheating or sabotage going on." Jayce added with a grin, then realised that the British team were calling her.
"Guess I better be going, hope to see you in the arena." She said with a wave.
"Yeah." Ikki replied as Jayce wandered off again.
"C'mon Ikki!" Erika said, appearing suddenly by his left arm, "The bus is here to take us to our hotel!"
Only a few hours later, Ikki had barely unpacked when Erika arrived at his door. He opened the door warily, knowing that his friend was bound to drag him off somewhere.
"Ikki!" She cried, as she marched into his plush hotel room, "I just heard that Space Medafighter X is going to be at Central Park!"
"So what?" Ikki asked, deliberately baiting her. Erika bristled, even as Metabee chuckled quietly.
"So we better get down there!" Erika yelled, grabbing Ikki's arm in a surprisingly strong grasp and dragging him along. Metabee just shrugged as Ikki was pulled out of the room and down the corridor with a hopeless look on his face.
Central Park was busy with people of all sizes, shapes, ages and backgrounds. Young successful business people mingled with homeless down-and-outs. At night this was a dangerous place where the strong prayed on the weak, as not even 22nd century technology could completely stamp out the crime here, but by day it was a place for shoppers, joggers, teenage couples...
And Medafighters.
Ikki watched with a slight smile as Space Medafighter X held court among the crowd of admirers around him, his gold face mask as impassive as always, but Ikki could tell that the mysterious Medafighter was enjoying the attention.
As always, Arcbeetle stood by the black-clad figure's side, occasionally answering questions put to him by some members of the crowd.
"Phft," Metabee snorted, "Glory hog."
Erika was busy jumping around with her camera, trying very hard to get a decent picture of Space Medafighter X and his medabot, but it wasn't easy because of the crowd of much taller people standing in front of her. Ikki grinned as the young reported tried to get Brass to lift her up so she could get a better angle.
Ikki started in surprise as he felt something dig into his ribs.
"What is it Metabee?" Ikki asked with a trace of irritation, glancing down at his yellow Medabot.
"I'm getting bored of just standing here, let's go take a look around!"
Ikki shrugged.
"Sure, why not?" Ikki replied.
They set off walking deeper into the trees, wandering down the various paths. They saw fewer and fewer people the further they walked, until they came to a place where the branches overhead had grown so close together that they created a canopy overhead, blocking out the sunlight and creating an eerie twilight. Ikki got a sudden uneasy feeling.
"Metabee...I think we should go back." Ikki said.
"You're not going anywhere, little boy." A cold voice purred from behind him. Ikki and Metabee both whirled around and came face-to-face with a woman dressed in a grey suit. She had a black Medabot of a completely alien design at her side, and her expression was the coldest he had ever seen on a human face. Her eyes were grey, and devoid of emotion.
"Who are you?" Ikki demanded.
"That isn't important." She replied in that same emotionless voice, "You might as well come quietly with us, I don't really want to hurt you."
"Forget it lady!" Metabee yelled back, "We don't surrender to anyone, right Ikki?"
Ikki nodded decisively, but the unease in him had only grown...something terrible was going to happen, he just knew it.
"Let's get meda-busy!" Metabee cried, bracing himself for battle. The woman sighed.
"Very well, if that's how you want it." She gestured to her black Medabot, "Scion, go."
Before Metabee could make a single move, a wave of black light emerged from the black Medabot's hands...and headed right towards Ikki.
"Ikki!" Metabee cried in horror as his medafighter was sent crashing backwards into a tree. Metabee saw a trickle of blood run down from Ikki's nose...and all rational thought left him.
"You'll pay for that!" Metabee almost screamed as he charged the black Medabot, rage clogging his processor so he didn't even think of trying to use his missiles or lasers, he just wanted to rip the other 'bot apart with his bare metal hands. He didn't get very far when a sudden blast of white-hot flame struck his back and sent him sprawling to the floor.
Metabee crawled stubbornly to his feet again and looked behind him. Another human, this time a man in a black trenchcoat, was stood there. Accompanying him was another unusual Medabot. This one was black and maroon, with what looked like a fusion cannon mounted on one arm. Metabee's optics glowed in disbelief...fusion cannons were highly dangerous, and illegal. Not even the RubberRobo gang had gone that far.
"I thought you would never get here." The cold-eyed woman called to the man. The man in the trenchcoat just grunted, his eyes fixed on Metabee. Metabee growled and threw a volley of laser fire and the maroon 'bot. The bolts simply bounced off without leaving so much as a scratch. Fear began to penetrate the rage that was clouding his processing.
"Ikki...wake up!" He called to his friend and Metafighter. But Ikki didn't stir, the blast he had taken had knocked him senseless. Metabee was completely alone.
The maroon medabot raised the arm with the fusion cannon, and Metabee just barely managed to dodge the bolt of white-hot plasma that was sent hurtling his way. The dead grass under his feet set on fire as the plasma bolt hit the ground, and Metabee quickly found himself standing in the middle of a circle of flame, smoke beginning to obscure his vision.
"Ikki! Help me!" He cried, but Ikki couldn't even hear him. Metabee actually did feel scared now. He and Ikki might argue sometimes, but Metabee did genuinely care for his Medafighter, and deep down, he know that Ikki was a skilled Medafighter, and Metabee needed him.
A blast of black light came at him through the smoke, almost sending him into the fire that surrounded him, "Ikki!" Metabee cried again. He tried to get to his feet, tried to gather himself to invoke the Medaforce...but it was no use, he couldn't even see his opponents for the clouds of obscuring smoke. More blasts came at him now, and Metabee felt his strength ebb, felt his legs cease their functioning.
He caught a brief glimpse of Ikki's unconscious form through the smoke. The sight caused him something akin to physical pain as the realisation came.
"Ikki...I'm sorry...I failed you..."
Then everything went black.
Across the park, Space Medafighter X looked towards where Ikki and Metabee had gone. His eyes narrowed behind his face place...something was dreadfully wrong.
If only he knew what it was.