Medabots: Open Ring
Chapter VIII : Juxtaposition
=====
"There is always a question
of when a catastrophe will arrive. The fact is, it never comes at
the time you expect it to occur."
- Nicator
=====
"Well, nothing here of interest," Metabee muttered to himself. The Shizuken docks appeared to be utterly devoid of anything that could be connected to Siden's disappearance, and frankly, Metabee was getting frustrated with the lack of progress.
Metabee kicked over an empty crate and turned to Ikki. "Well, nothing here. Ikki, you found anything?"
Ikki shook his head. "Nope. It's like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack."
Erika and Brass were busily trying to peek into several warehouse windows for clues, but dirty glass prevented them from getting anything of use. Brass finally stepped down from one of the piles of crate she was standing on and sighed. "I don't think we'll get anything this way. Did Mister Kasumi and the others get anything else?"
Metabee was about to answer when a shout of greeting and running footsteps met his audio receptors. Turning around, he saw a pair of very familiar faces running towards the group at high speed.
Ikki grinned and waved. "Hey, Rintaro, Kantaroth! What's up?"
The vertically-challenged, hyperactive medafighter and his angular KBT-type medabot screeched to a halt and stood in front of the group. "We heard about what happened at the Expo." He suddenly pulled a packet of papers out of his pocket. "By the way, I've got some stuff for you guys. Kantaroth and I were on the 'net when we found these stats on a website. It's listing several recent events that happened around town."
"What the-?" exclaimed Metabee as he examined the packet. "It's nothing but listings of medapart and medal theft in and around several local hopmarts and department stores... Is this more RubberRobo activity?"
"Seems like it," answered Rintaro. "I was at the local 24-hour hopmart just yesterday. Henry was blowing a fit! Over half the shop's inventory of high-end medapart weaponry has been pilfered. He said something about losing his job while at the same time streaming a blur of profanity that I couldn't pick up."
"This is getting weirder all the time," Erika remarked. "First a rogue medabot shows up, then Kasumi's friend Siden disappears, and now a wave of theft. And I'm getting no answers! Just more questions!" Erika's temper was beginning to rise. "I'm getting si-"
Erika's last sentence was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Select Corp. sirens wailing into the morning air. Ikki turned to the others. "Looks like something's going on. Let's check it out!"
The group began to run in the
direction of the blaring klaxons.
=====
Kaito was underneath his console, finishing up the last few adjustments to the final system check-out when NAVI's electronic voice suddenly came on over the intercom, filled with some trepidation.
"Administrator, my remote sensors indicate a group of intruders at one of the old HEX Corp. storage facilities. Some of the security locks have been breached. Several prototype medaparts and Tin-Pets are being stored there."
Kaito quickly slid out from underneath the console and turned to the audio pick-up as he turned on the display. "Initiate lockdown sequence. List location and give me a GPS scan. I want to know where they're getting in."
"Acknowledged."
Sonicstag and Helixbeetle walked into the room. "Hey, Kaito, what's going on?" questioned Kaito's KBT-type.
"There's a break-in at one of the old HEX Corp. storage buildings. Looks like someone's trying to steal HEX Corp. property."
NAVI's voice came back over the intercom. "Security lockdown now active. GPS scan and location coordinates confirmed. Now transmitting..." Lines of numerals began to flash on the data window. Kaito quickly began jotting the numbers down. "Good work, NAVI. Try and get me a remote real-time security video feedback."
"Confirmed, Administrator. Real-time video uplink now in progress..."
Helixbeetle turned to his medafighter. "So, what are we going to do?"
"We're going to find out who's behind this. And when we do, we're going to make sure that they don't touch whatever's in that storage area." Kaito began pulling on his trenchcoat and shoes when NAVI's voice came on again over the speakers.
"Real-time video uplink completed. Now displaying."
Kaito turned to the monitor and stared as video media began playing through the screen. Kaito abruptly pushed a key on his terminal. "NAVI, zoom in on vector 35-1. I want to see what's on that screen a little more clearly."
"Acknowledged."
Kaito suddenly started back in surprise as he recognized the figures. "They're RubberRobos! And that's... Sharkscout?! She's probably leading them. Now this is getting serious... Sonicstag, you stay here and watch NAVI. Helixbeetle and I are going to see some 'friends' of ours at the HEX Corp. storage area."
The two dashed out of the room as Sonicstag turned to the console and emitted an electronic sigh. "Well, I've been consigned to babysitting again."
NAVI's voice came over the speaker,
still maintaining its dead-pan feminine tone. "I am not a
juvenile."
=====
"Skyelder! Crystal Halberd!!" Sharkscout ordered.
The automated SEN-type medabot fell to the floor in six separate pieces as the VAL-type finished her attack lunge.
The entire complex had been thoroughly roused from the RubberRobos' break-in, and now the built-in security systems were on full alert, deploying grav-nets, stun guns, and large groups of automated medabots. Plus, Select Corp.'s agents had now arrived on the scene.
All in all, not the smoothest of operations.
Several of the gang had already been taken down by the building's security systems and Select Corp. agents, and some of Sharkscout's detachment were included among them. Sharkscout turned to her timid-looking vanguard as Skyelder turned away from the SEN-type's smoking wreckage. "Fishfin, I want you and Scorpius to move to center vector. This room's getting flooded with too many security units."
Fishfin gave a hesitant nod and gestured to his Scorpion-type medabot to follow him as he went out of the room. Sharkscout motioned to Skyelder to follow as she flipped open her communicator. "HQ, this is Sharkscout. Recommend we abort operation."
RubberRobo veteran Gillgirl's face appeared on the communicator screen. "Negative, Sharkscout. Acquisition of the target pair is of utmost importance."
Sharkscout's voice took on a hard edge. "Listen, Gillgirl, we're already getting nailed by the security system here, and now Select Corp. has appeared on the complex grounds. We can't take them all!"
"Don't argue with me, Sharkscout! You've defied my orders one too many times already! Now acquire our targets, or I will personally replace you with a more obedient officer! Do you understand me!?"
"Yes, ma'am," Sharkscout fiercely muttered as she switched the communicator off. Turning to Skyelder, she gave a cynical, reckless grin. "Well, Skyelder, shall we go recklessly mock the long arm of the law?"
Skyelder merely looked up at her medafighter before speaking. "Where my medafighter goes, I go."
Sharkscout smiled in pride at
her medabot as the two began moving down the hallway towards their goal.
=====
"NAVI, stand down to level 3 security systems. Detain all Select Corp. units from entering the building until further notice."
"Acknowledged. All sentries have engaged to SECPRO-3. Cordons regrouping."
Kaito shut off his communicator as he and Helixbeetle dashed down the main hallway. They had barely managed to get inside the facility without being noticed by any of the Select Corp. agents stationed outside the building, and they still had yet to find any RubberRobos.
Helixbeetle looked around the building as they continued to run. "That's funny... Aside from some of the security locks and a few blast doors, nothing's been touched. What's going on?"
"They seem to be after something specific," murmured Kaito. "But what would they be after?"
There was the sound of a massive explosion as part of a section of wall in front of them collapsed. Kaito and Helixbeetle quickly took cover behind a pile of nearby boxes and miscellaneous electronics as a contingent of RubberRobos and their respective medabots began pouring in, pursued by a group of Select Corp. agents as they desperately tried to hold their ground. Kaito cursed as he reinitiated his connection to NAVI.
"Damnit, NAVI, what happened?"
"There were several sections of the building that I could not get access to and therefore could not monitor. I'm... sorry for my failure, Administrator."
Kaito sighed. "Never mind. What I need you to do right now is shut down the security net, since I don't want Select Corp. to know about your existence. Set all security to level 1. Helixbeetle and I are going to check this out by ourselves."
"Understood. All sentries engaged to SECPRO-1. Returning all units to original staging positions."
Several of the that were present in the hallway immediately began an orderly retreat to parts unknown in the building as the RubberRobos' and Select Corp. agents' medabots continued to crater the hallway due to their conflict.
Kaito gave one final look at the
hallway and turned to Helixbeetle. "Let's take another route."
=====
Sharkscout silently snuck into an adjoining hallway as she and Skyelder sidestepped one of the Select Corp. patrols that had entered the building. She turned to her VAL-type medabot.
"Well, how close are we to the target location?"
"Approximately 50 meters or so. We should be able to reach it without being detected."
Sharkscout nodded. "Good. Point out the way."
After evading several other patrols that were cordoning off sections of the building, Skyelder indicated a small, reinforced security door that had a 'RESTRICTED' sign prominently labeled onto its front. Sharkscout merely nodded to Skyelder, who tore the door off its frame with one well-aimed swing of her halberd.
A long, narrow hallway stretched forwards into the bowels of the complex. Sharkscout quickly slipped inside the corridor without hesitation, and Skyelder followed.
The hallway twisted and turned, and abruptly opened out into a small dusty room that was lined with row after row of medals, all mounted under glass on plastic shelves. Sharkscout briefly looked around before stopping before a particular shelf and smashing one of the cases open. Two medals sat inside the case, their cores softly glowing an eerie green.
The RubberRobo began to reach into the case... And then suddenly everything in Sharkscout's vision began to swirl.
What the hell!?
There was a sudden, sharp pain,
in Sharkscout's right temple, and everything went black.
=====
Where am I?
Darkness swirled throughout Sharkscout's vision... Images occasionally popping into view, as if they were firecrackers.
A voice. No... two voices.
Who are you?
The RubberRobo's mind began to slowly react to this new stimulus. What?
Who are you?
Another image. Another time. Sharkscout squinted, and watched the vision swirl and pulse. A small, young girl... With long, black hair. Her hair.
A boy. Short black hair. Something... familiar.
Sharkscout squinted some more, as if trying to recall something that suddenly tickled in the deepest recesses of her brain... Remember? Remember me? Do you remember me? I remember you...
There was a brilliant flash, and darkness once again overcame Sharkscout's mind.
Makoru...
=====
"Makoru!! MAKORU!!"
Sharkscout opened her eyes, as she looked up to see Skyelder intently staring into her medafighter's face. Skyelder gently shook Sharkscout's arm as she continued to stare into her medafighter's face with concern.
"Makoru, are you okay?"
Sharkscout groaned, and got to her feet as she tried to work a sudden crick in her neck. "Skyelder, how many times have I told you not to call me by that name? That name means nothing to me anymore..."
Skyelder backed away as she stared at the ground. "I'm sorry, boss..."
Sharkscout curtly nodded and turned to the case that she'd been about to rifle when that vision occurred.
She reached in, and...
Something... something familiar.
Sharkscout shook her head, and then abruptly let her arm dive into the case. Pulling out the two medals from the mounting rack, she turned to Skyelder as she sealed the medals inside a set of plastic cases. "Well, we've gotten what we came for. I just hope this is all worth it." She flipped open her communicator. "HQ, this is Sharkscout. Targets have been acquired. Requesting extraction team."
"Acquisition acknowledged. Extraction team will rendezvous with you at coordinate-vector 34/22.1."
"Understood. Over and out." Sharkscout began opening up a PA line to the other members of the RubberRobo team that were still active inside the building. "Team Robo-3, target pair has been acquired. Proceed to rooftop level and wait for extraction. Repeat: Proceed to rooftop level for extraction." Sharkscout flipped off the communicator as she turned to Skyelder. "All right, let's bust this popsicle stand."
Skyelder nodded and followed Sharkscout out of the room, only to promptly bump into Fishfin and Scorpius around the next bend. Fishfin got up from where he had fallen from the sudden impact and gave a quick salute. "Orders received and acknowledged, team leader. I understand that the targets are in your possession?"
Sharkscout nodded as she threw him one of the cases. "You're going to hold one of our prizes. Just in case I don't make it, one of us will have something to show for our efforts in this insane attempt."
Fishfin nodded as he dashed ahead of Sharkscout down the corridor and around a corner, when a powerful explosion rocked the building. Turning the corner ahead, Sharkscout found herself facing a large pile of rubble blocking the corridor, separating her and Skyelder from Fishfin and Scorpius.
Sharkscout flipped on her communicator. "Fishfin, continue to the extraction point. Skyelder and I will find an alternate route."
Fishfin's voice rose in protest on the other end of the line. "Sharkscout-!"
"Just do it! I'll be fine!"
Fishfin hesitantly responded. "Well... All right. Just be careful, okay?"
"Acknowledged. Now get going." Sharkscout turned to Skyelder and motioned to her. "Skyelder, track alternate route to extraction point, and quickly!"
Skyelder nodded as she began to
lead her medafighter on a detour route down another hallway.
=====
Fishfin vaulted over several broken Select Corp. medabots as he and Scorpius continued to run as fast as possible to the given extraction point. Turning to Scorpius, he panted for breath as he spoke. "Scorpius, how close are we to the rooftop?
"Not much farther. Stairwell to rooftop level is just 10 meters away, around the next bend."
"Good... I hate exercise." The pair quickly began to climb up the stairs as a group of Select Corp. agents appeared from another room and began to give chase. Barely managing to stay one step ahead of the Select Corp. contingent, Fishfin and his medabot managed to reach the rooftop, where a RubberRobo gunship sat, patiently loading the last of the remaining RubberRobos that were still at liberty.
Gillgirl stood in the open bay door, sharply gesturing to Fishfin and Scorpius to hurry it up as she noticed the group of Select Corp. agents in hot pursuit. Fishfin and Scorpius finally jumped through the bay door, sitting down heavily on the gunship's metal deck.
Turning to the gunship's pilot, Gillgirl gave a quick order. "Pilot, get us out of here!"
"Wait! Sharkscout's still inside the building!" Fishfin yelled in protest.
"It's too late! If we stay
here much longer, Select Corp. will catch us!" Gillgirl slammed the
bay door shut as several bullets from some of the Select Corp. medabots
ricocheted off the sides of the rising gunship.
=====
Sharkscout and Skyelder stepped out onto the rooftop and stared in dismayed shock as she saw the RubberRobo gunship taking off, Gillgirl's defiant and Fishfin's regretful faces clearly showing in one of the gunship's windows. Several of the Select Corp. agents suddenly noticed the presence of the female RubberRobo as several more Select Corp. agents stepped onto the rooftop behind her.
Sharkscout cursed as she noticed that the Select Corp. agents had completely surrounded her and her medabot.
One of the Select Corp. agents stepped forward. "Well, well, well. It appears that we've found an elite RubberRobo. And in possession of stolen Medabot Corp. medaparts from the recent Expo, I might add. This just might turn out to be a certain Lt. Katoko's lucky day after all."
"You're not taking me without a fight! Skyelder, get ready!"
Lt. Katoko merely had a smug expression on his face as he suddenly turned to some indistinct shape standing on the top of a nearby building, which then suddenly disappeared. "I think not. Silverthorn, care to do the honors?"
Sharkscout blinked in surprise as a beam of blinding light suddenly shot from out of nowhere, blasting point-blank into Skyelder's torso.
Skyelder fell to the concrete pavement with a small gasp of pain as the VAL-type collapsed to the ground.
Sharkscout began to run to her side as a stun-gun blast from one of the Select Corp. medabots hit her in the side, sending her tumbling to the pavement. The female RubberRobo struggled to get back on her feet, and then mentally cursed herself as she found that she couldn't even lift an arm. She turned to her medabot as she weakly muttered a few words. "Skyelder... Are you all right...?"
Her medabot gave a small electronic rasp as she managed to reply back. "EMP blast. Can't... move."
Sharkscout abruptly looked up in horror as she noticed a KWG medabot in silver armor and sporting a pair of three-pronged blades on both of its wrists descend onto the rooftop from a nearby building with the silent grace of a trained assassin. One of its glowing yellow eyes were covered over by its lopsided faceplate, leaving an eerie expression on a face that already carried a sinister aura about it. The Select Corp. lieutenant smiled strangely as he spoke. "I would like to introduce my KWG-type medabot Silverthorn. He's quite good at incapacitating rogues... wouldn't you agree, Sharkscout?"
Sharkscout spat one final line in disgust as she fell unconscious. "Screw you, fuzz."
Katoko merely smiled in that peculiar way of his. "Thank you for the compliment, Robo, but I'm afraid that this is the end of the alley for you, my unscrupulous friend." His voice took on a hard edge. "Silverthorn, apprehend them."
Just as the KWG-type medabot stepped forward to apprehend the pair, a small metal canister suddenly bounced onto the concrete and landed at the lieutenant's feet. "What the-!?"
There was a small explosion, and then a blinding flash of light that sent everyone staggering back as the flashbang grenade overloaded the optical visors of both the Select Corp. agents and their medabots.
Katoko rubbed his eyes as he finally
got his eyes to recover from the grenade's effects... And noticed
that his quarry had given him the slip. He slammed the ground with
an armored fist as he cursed. "Damnit!! I'll find you no matter
where you are, RubberRobo scum! You can count on that!!" He
turned to the others and barked a few quick orders. "Finish securing
the other RubberRobos, and sweep this facility from rooftop to basement!
I want that girl found!" The other agents quickly saluted the lieutenant
as Katoko stormed down the stairs, Silverthorn following close behind.
=====
Sharkscout rapidly blinked as she regained consciousness. As her mind slowly lifted from the fog that the tranquilizer had inflicted, she found herself looking into a pair of dark-brown eyes, framed by a pair of sunglasses. At first, the RubberRobo thought that she'd been somehow rescued and brought back to RubberRobo HQ, but then that thought left her mind as she suddenly recognized the face that those eyes belonged to.
Kaito Shingawa sat on a chair nearby, regarding the female RubberRobo with some detached curiosity.
Sharkscout abruptly struggled out of the cot she was lying on as she tried to put a threatening tone in her voice. "If you've brought me here to play funny with me, you're going to seriously re-"
"I have no intention of doing so... And besides, is that any way to speak to your saviors?" Kaito cynically remarked.
The female RubberRobo shook her head in disbelief as the fact registered in her mind. "I... didn't know. Sorry."
Kaito nodded in acknowledgment. "That's an improvement. By the way, Skyelder's going to be all right. She took a direct EMP hit, but there's been no permanent damage to her systems, so she'll recover soon enough. Helixbeetle's keeping an eye on her right now."
Sharkscout slowly nodded her head. "Sure thing." She slid off the cot and got to her feet as she looked around the room she was in. "So, just where am I?"
"You're at the former HEX Corp. office HQ complex," replied Kaito. "Which is currently my home and base of operations."
A white KWG-type medabot walked into the room. "Kaito, Miss Skyelder's regained consciousness, so she's all right. I assume that our... guest is also back to normal?"
Kaito nodded. "Yes. Good work, Sonicstag. You're free for the moment, so just stay out of trouble."
"Understood." Sonicstag walked back out without even a sign of acknowledgement of Sharkscout's presence.
"Well... I assume that he's not one to socialize?" asked Sharkscout.
"You could say that. It's just that Sonicstag is a bit leery of strangers, so he requires some time before he trusts people he doesn't know. It's understandable, considering the fact that he's been a prisoner for most of his operating time."
"I see." Sharkscout's voice took on a self-conscious tone as she spoke again, this time somewhat hesitantly. "Thanks... I guess. For rescuing me and Skyelder."
Kaito shrugged. "No problem, Sharkscout."
The female RubberRobo's face turned red in slight embarrassment. "That's... You don't need to call me by that. The name's Makoru."
"Sure... Makoru." Kaito's face also turned somewhat red in embarrassment as he cleared his throat and turned his face to the wall, unwilling to let his embarrassment show to the girl standing in front of him.
"By the way," said Makoru, "just why did you rescue me? I'm a RubberRobo, a thief... a criminal."
"For one thing," answered Kaito, "I don't have the highest regard for Select Corp. They're corrupt, and they tend to take the worst approach when handling criminals. Besides, I couldn't stand that snot-nosed lieutenant's attitude."
Makoru grinned. "That's understandable..."
Kaito gulped a bit, then pressed on. "Also, because..."
"Yeah?" said Makoru expectantly.
"...You're cute."
Makoru stared in utter shock as Kaito's face turned bright red from his last statement. After a moment's silence, Makoru suddenly burst out laughing, as Kaito also started to laugh a moment later.
Kaito finally quieted down and scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "Sorry... I shouldn't have been so forward."
Makoru smiled as she flipped her head back, letting her long, black hair ripple in a dark wave. "No... There's no need to be sorry. Besides, you're the first guy that's complimented me like that."
"Really? That's sad." Kaito chuckled a bit as he got off his chair. "I'm going to see how Helixbeetle's doing. You could come along if you'd like."
Makoru followed without hesitation as Kaito stepped into an adjacent room, where Helixbeetle was busy looking over several readouts on a monitor. Skyelder was sitting on a nearby worktable quietly as Helixbeetle looked up from his work. "Oh, hey Kaito. I see that Sharkscout's awake."
"Yeah... But I think she'd like it better if you just called her Makoru."
"Oh... Is that her name? Makoru... Sounds familiar," muttered Helixbeetle. He scratched his domed head. "Now where did I hear that name before?" He shrugged and turned back to the readouts.
Makoru walked up to Skyelder, who was still sitting silently on the worktable. "Hey, Skyelder, you okay?"
Skyelder nodded. "I'm all right... Just a bit dizzy from that EMP blast that KWG-type threw at me."
Kaito turned somewhat hesitantly to Makoru. "So, um... when do you want to leave? You're free to go anytime you wish."
Makoru had a puzzled expression on her face. "Leave?"
"Yeah, you know... Back to your RubberRobo friends."
Makoru's face darkened as she pondered this statement, and a few moments later after pacing the floor for a bit shook her head. "I've decided... not to go back."
"Why not?" Kaito asked in slight bewilderment.
Makoru turned her back to Kaito as she spoke, trying her best to hide the tears of anger and hurt that were threatening to spill. "Because I don't want to go back to some stupid group that turns its back on you the first moment you're in trouble, okay? Look what happened. I risked my neck as well as Skyelder's in order to get some sort of stupid junk that my superiors wanted. And still they abandoned me. To top it all off, my archrival is the person that comes to my rescue..." she finally muttered as her voice slowly drifted away. Wiping her face on her arm, she turned back to Kaito.
Kaito stood silently for a moment before speaking. "I... understand. Speaking of which, just what was it that you stole from that HEX Corp. facility?"
Makoru shrugged as she thought for a moment. "Not much. Just a pair of medals that some of my supervisors wanted... What they wanted with them, I'll never know. I have one of them here," she remarked as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the plastic case that she'd been holding.
"Where's the other one?"
"I gave it to one of my teammates during the break-in before I was left behind," she said with a resigned shrug.
Kaito was about to take the proffered container when a light on one of the displays began to blink on and off, as Helixbeetle interpreted the signal. "Hey, Kaito, there's a phone call for you. It's from Mr. Tenryou."
Kaito rushed over and clicked on the two-way speakerphone. "Oh hey, Ikki, is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," Ikki's voice answered over the other end. "I've got some news here. There's been a break-in at a HEX Corp. storage facility."
"I was there," replied Kaito.
"You were? How come Erika and I never saw you?" asked Ikki with a but of curiosity.
"Got in through the patio door," answered Kaito. "Anything else?"
"Kasumi called over the IMD," Ikki muttered. "Apparently, Fubuki went digging in several areas of the city's red-light district. She found several leads concerning Siden's disappearance, including..."
"Including what?" asked Kaito.
"...Someone named MACHINA," Ikki
finished.
=====
"MACHINA?" repeated Makoru with some incredulity. "Did your friend say MACHINA?"
Kaito nodded. "Yeah, that's what he said. Why? You know this character?"
Makoru spat in disgust. "MACHINA's a well-known independent radical in the medabot-industry underground," she remarked. "Formerly a political left-wing party whip, Select Corp. administrative officer, and freelance medaparts developer. Not to mention, a dirty cheat of a medafighter."
"How do you know all this?" asked Kaito.
"When you're a RubberRobo, you learn all this stuff," Makoru said with a bit of chagrin. "That's just the basics."
Kaito pondered for a moment.
"I think my friends should talk to you," he finally stated. "What
you know could be of vital importance. Mind making a quick visit
to the Tenryou residence?"
To Be Continued...