Medabots: Open Ring
Chapter IX : Complications
=====
"Even the best laid plans will
go awry."
- Cliches 101
=====
Kasumi sighed as he returned his IMD back to its spot on the bookshelf. Turning to Hiyori and Granbeetle, he began to speak. "Well, that's about it. Ikki just called back, stating that Kaito's found someone that could be of interest concerning Siden's situation."
"Anything else?"
"This person is an ex-RubberRobo," added Kasumi with a brief, sharp exhalation.
Granbeetle shook his head. "Should we even trust this fellow? I mean, think about it... What guarantee do we have that this person isn't laying some elaborate trap for us this very instant?"
"All we have is Kaito's good faith," replied Kasumi. "Like we have any choice?" he continued. "Siden's life may be on the line, and any sort of help should be welcomed."
There was a tap on the door of Kasumi's room as he finished talking. Blazer-Multi's voice sounded off on the other end. "Mr. Kasumi, Shingawa Kaito and a friend of his is here. Shall I let him inside?"
"Yes, please do so," replied Kasumi. Turning back to Hiyori and Granbeetle, he shrugged. "Well, they're here. I guess the only thing left to do is get as much information as we can."
The door opened as Kaito, Helixbeetle, and a girl with long black hair stepped into the room. The girl paused for a moment, and whispered something in Kasumi's ear, a look of concern on her face.
Kaito simply nodded as he replied to the girl's whisper. "I'm sure they'll understand. You can let her come in."
Kasumi and the others stared as the same VAL-type medabot that had gone missing at the Expo suddenly walked right into the room. Kasumi turned to Kaito, a puzzled expression on his face as he spoke. "What's the meaning of this, Kaito? Wasn't this the same medabot sto-"
"Hold a minute, Kasumi, everything will be explained," Kaito replied as he held up a hand for silence. Turning to the girl standing next to him, he nodded her over to a chair and began to speak. "This is Makoru, formerly known in the RubberRobo gang as Sharkscout. She's got some information on that person you mentioned... MACHINA, was it?"
Kasumi nodded. "Speaking of which, Fubuki's gone back to get more data, but I guess any sort of information would be good." He turned to Makoru. "So, what have you got?"
Makoru shrugged. "Some information, including a bit of what the RubberRobos know about MACHINA. MACHINA is well-known in unsavory circles as a dishonest medafighter and rather shady dealer in black market components and medaparts. His actual name is Moyotema Kizure, former Select Corp. officer, politcal left-wing party whip, and he was also once an employee of Robattle-Research. Did some of the project work for Op. Neru."
"Op. Neru? Who's this Op. Neru?" asked Hiyori.
"Not who, what. Op. Neru, or Operation Neru, was a Robattle-Research project dealing with an experimental Valkyrie-type medabot called Neru. Neru proved to be a powerful medabot, but its instability in combat as well as its constant tendency to overwork its shielding designated it in the eyes of the developers as a failure. The project was shut down and Neru was stowed away somewhere on the Robattle-Research station known as CLUSTER-001." Makoru brushed some hair out of her face as she continued. "Getting back to Kizure, he's also been known for cutting no corners in trying to win a robattle, including using hidden EMP devices, as well as using medaparts and equipment that are designated as illegal by the World Robattle Regulations committees."
"Has he ever been caught?" questioned Kasumi.
"Not often," replied Makoru, "but his connections to Robattle-Research, Select Corp., as well as his substantial financial assets have always enabled him to grease the right pockets with his questionable lucre, which allowed him to get away scot-free every time he did get caught. Finally, Select Corp.'s chief executive was replaced with a more upstanding character, and Kizure was kicked off Select Corp.'s payroll."
"What happened after that?" asked Blazer-Multi.
"It's been said that he dropped his official name, took the handle of 'MACHINA', and disappeared somewhere into the city's underground after that," answered Makoru. "Some say that he's after Robattle-Research technology in order to get back to the top of the political heap. But that's all just a rumor. No one really knows where he is or what he's doing; the only clues he leaves are the traces of some well-planned break-in and a small calling card emblazoned with a picture of a cracked medal."
"So, then, what's he got to do with Siden?" Granbeetle asked.
"It's obvious. From what Kaito's told me, Siden was well-known with Robattle-Research's publicity department and VIP access coding, so he's essentially the skeleton key to the secrets of Robattle-Research. It wouldn't surprise me if MACHINA was trying to cut a deal with Siden to gain access to Robattle-Research and then abducted him when the bargaining turned sour."
"One more question," Kasumi cut in. "How can we trust that what you're saying is true? After all, you're an ex-RubberRobo. How do we know that you're not laying some false track to take us off base?"
Makoru's eyes narrowed as she spoke. "Listen here, bookworm. My ties with the RubberRobos are finished. Finished! They abandoned me! I risked my neck in order to get a pair of lousy medals, and all they did was leave me to the Select Corp.'s flunkies in order to ensure their own escape!!"
There was an uncomfortable silence, as Kasumi reluctantly nodded. "All right. We'll take what you're saying as the truth... For the moment. Right now, we're going to go to Ikki's house in order to relay this information."
Kaito turned to Makoru. "By the way, do you still have with you that medal you nicked from the storage facility?"
Makoru nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"I'm curious as to why your superiors
wanted those medals," replied Kaito thoughtfully. "There's something
about this that bothers me."
=====
"Metabee! Seeker missiles!!"
"MISSILE LAUNCH!!" A pair of rocket-propelled projectiles shot down the length of the street, impacting head-on with Kantaroth's torso. Kantaroth took a massive tumble and collapsed to the ground.
Rintaro wasn't fazed a bit. "Hang in there, Kantaroth! Get on your feet and give 'em a revolver shot!"
Kantaroth struggled to his knees and immediately began to pelt a volley of slugs in Metabee's direction, as the older KBT-type immediately vaulted backwards and landed with a clunk onto the asphalt.
"Go, Ikki!" cheered Erika. Brass looked on with unspoken admiration as the two Kabuto-types continued to duel along the length of the sidewalk.
"Okay!" yelled Ikki into his medawatch. "Give it all you've got! Full power to all weapons!! BARRAGE!!"
"You got i-Auuugh!!" Metabee was about to aim his submachine-gun and revolver when he suddenly dropped both his arms, fell to his knees onto the asphalt, and began clutching his left arm in agony as he simultaneously yelled. "Dammit, that hurts!!"
Brass was the first to reach Metabee, as she tried to assist him back onto his feet. "What's wrong, Metabee?"
Ikki soon reached the two medabots and tentatively raised Metabee's left arm, which he immediately lowered when Metabee gave another yell of pain. "What's this? What's going on, Metabee?"
"I was about to go for the barrage when I felt this jarring surge in my Tin-Pet's left shoulder," Metabee explained as he tried his best to ignore his throbbing head. "Next thing I knew, I couldn't even lift my repeater arm!"
Ikki cursed. "We're not going to be in any condition to compete in the World Robattle Cup if this gets worse... Erika, see if you can call Henry, maybe he can figure out what's going on." He turned to Rintaro. "Rintaro, I'm sorry about this, but we're going to have to continue our practice match later."
Rintaro waved away the apology. "No problem, dude. Me and Kantaroth will be waiting anytime."
"Hey, guys, what's going on?"
Ikki and the others looked up to see Henry standing in front of the group, holding a couple of shopping bags. Ikki sighed in a bit of relief. "I was just about to send Erika off to call for you. There's a problem with Metabee's arm."
"What? Gun-barrels jammed again?" joked Henry.
"No. Rintaro and I were just robattling a few moments ago when Metabee suddenly couldn't lift his left arm," explained Ikki. "Or at the very least, he can't lift it without being in a massive amount of pain."
"Hmm. Let me see that," murmured Henry as he set down his shopping bags and pulled out a small device. Kneeling next to Metabee, Henry hooking the device up to Metabee's left arm, he began pressing several buttons and then looked hard at Metabee's armor. He abruptly shook his head, disconnected the device, and got back on his feet. Turning to the others, he gave his diagnosis. "Metabee's parts are falling apart... all of them. Missile launcher pods warped and twisted from overheating, revolver locks torn, ochitsuiker knee joints battered... his submachine-gun arm, though, is in the worst condition. The internal circuitboard in the repeater is cracked, plus the casing is starting to fall apart from the inside, leaving foreign debris and metal fragments inside his Tin-Pet's joints."
"So what?" Metabee muttered. "I can still roba-OWW!!" he yelled as his left arm sent off another paroxysm of pain.
Henry pointed his index finger at Metabee's chest. "You, my metal-plated friend, are going nowhere for a while. If you keep trying to use your medaparts in the condition they're in, you're eventually going to put too much strain on that Tin-Pet of yours and permanently damage it; or even worse, break it completely beyond use."
"So what can be done?" asked Brass worriedly.
Henry shook his head again. "You're going to have to get new medaparts," he muttered. "The problem is, I don't have any more KBT-01 model series medaparts in stock at the hopmart, and I doubt that any of the other hopmarts or department stores carry them either. The KBT-01 model series was discontinued several years ago, even before I started as a medafighter."
Ikki cursed. "So you're saying that Metabee's going to have to stay incapacitated for the rest of his operating life unless I can find new medaparts?"
Henry nodded. "I'm afraid so." He thought for a moment, then his face lit up. "I've got an idea, why don't you go see Dr. Aki and ask if you could use some new KBT-type medaparts? I'm sure that he's got some somewhere in that massive office complex of his."
Ikki looked up at Henry hopefully. "You think so?"
"Yeah." Henry picked up his shopping bags and began walking again down the street as Ikki began transporting temporary medaparts for Metabee to use in order to move.
Ikki took a long look at Metabee's original parts before recalling them back into storage with a drawn-out sigh. "Metabee, you're going to have to take it easy for a little bit until we can find some new KBT-type medaparts for you."
"Well, you better hurry up," Metabee
grumbled. "I have no intention of being laid up like some long-term
member of a P.O.W. camp."
=====
Dr. Aki finished the last line of his data records and shut the terminal off as he slumped back in his rolling chair and sighed. It had been a long, difficult day at the complex, and with the need for repairs on the assembly lines damaged or destroyed by Luminoustag's attack, the mounting costs and pressures did not go well on his psyche.
Suddenly, there was a buzz on the intercom. Wearily leaning over and pushing one of the flashing 'receive' buttons, Dr. Aki began speaking. "Dr. Aki here. Something wrong, secretary?"
"No," replied Dr. Aki's secretary. "But someone named Ikki Tenryou was quite insistent on seeing you at this moment, sir. Shall I let them in?"
Dr. Aki smiled at the tenacity of his former pupil. "Sure, why not? Send them in right now." Clicking off the intercom, he got up and stretched as he tried his best to make his office look more presentable within the short amount of time before Ikki came in.
The door opened, and Ikki Tenryou came in, followed by a medabot that seemed to be essentially a mix of different parts, almost as if the parts had been randomly slapped together at the last moment to make a working system. Dr. Aki smiled at the two.
"So, what brings you here, Ikki? This ramshackle medabot?"
"RAMSHACKLE!?" the medabot bellowed.
"Hush, Metabee," Ikki motioned as he tried to calm the medabot down. Dr. Aki lifted an eyebrow.
"Metabee? That's Metabee? What happened? He's certainly got the same attitude."
Ikki turned somewhat apologetically to Dr. Aki. "Well, Metabee's parts are deteriorating, and unless I find some new KBT-type parts soon, I won't be able to use Metabee anymore. His parts have gone so bad that Henry says that if I use them anymore, his Tin-Pet will be damaged."
Dr. Aki nodded. "I see. Yes, that's common in older medaparts. Have you tried getting replacements?"
"I just checked all of the surrounding hopmarts and department stores in town... They're all out of stock on KBT-01 series models. I don't know what to do."
Dr. Aki pondered the situation for a moment, and then remembered something. "Wait, I forgot something that I was supposed to give you, Ikki. Now's a good a time as any to give you this, seeing the trouble you're in," he finished as he began opening one of the closets in his office. Pulling out a large, oblong white box, Dr. Aki wheeled it out of its niche in the closet and set it down on the ground in front of Ikki and Metabee.
Metabee looked somewhat suspiciously at it. "Just what is that?"
Dr. Aki merely grinned. "Open it."
With a puzzled glance at Metabee and Dr. Aki, Ikki promptly unclamped the straps that held the lid shut and lifted the lid off.
A few moments later, Ikki and
Metabee could be heard loudly cheering from Dr. Aki's office.
=====
Siden continued to sit inside his rusty cell, still pondering over what he'd just seen.
Ragnarok...
The weaponry that was intended for the Apocalypse-type medabot simply staggered Siden's mind. To destroy entire cities... Siden conceded that the idea had been well thought out, but...
Siden shook his head. MACHINA was definitely a lunatic gone loose from the asylum. A slight whispering noise suddenly caught Siden's ear, almost as if he'd felt something slip by his cage. The young teenager got to his feet and peered out into the darkened chamber, still unable to see exactly what was on the other side of the bars on his cell.
Siden abruptly jumped back as he came face to face with two gleaming red eyes... Luminoustag's eyes.
"I see that you're awake."
Siden's eyes narrowed. "No thanks to you. What are you doing here anyway? To mock my current predicament?"
Luminoustag simply stepped out from the shadows that concealed him and sat down near Siden's cell. "Unlikely. I have something else in mind."
Siden spat in disgust. "And why should I be stupid enough to listen to you? You're just one of MACHINA's pawns. And even if you weren't, you'd backstab me the first moment it would be to your advantage."
Luminoustag looked up at Siden. "Because I'm your only key to getting out of here alive... Am I right?"
Siden's eyes narrowed even further as he answered. "Why should I trust you?."
Luminoustag vented an electronic sigh and shook his armored head. "Because I do not agree with MACHINA's actions. His plan is pointless. I suspected as much the first day he came to me with his proposition."
"What sort of proposition?" asked Siden suspiciously.
"He was supposed to get for me information regarding my origin in return for my abilities," replied the blue KWG-type. "My developers had always told me back on CLUSTER-001 that I was meant to be a weapon of war. At first, I accepted it as the truth and as the purpose of my existence. However, one day during some tactics trials I overheard an argument between one of my custodians and an agent of sorts who was identified with a rogue military group that called itself STARLEAF."
Siden abruptly interrupted Luminoustag. "STARLEAF? Did you say STARLEAF?"
Luminoustag nodded. "My custodian was trying to convince the STARLEAF agent that it was for the best if I were told of my past. However, the agent flatly refused the request, and said that it would be better if I was kept ignorant about my origins."
"What happened after that?"
"The argument soon flared up and became uncontrollable," continued Luminoustag. "The agent then lost his temper and gunned the custodian down. When he stepped back into the room I was in, I took the only action I felt was logical. I slipped away from the agent as quietly as possible and escaped on a shuttle bound for Earth. I've spent my days ever since then wandering the city streets, looking for answers to my questionable origin."
"And that was when MACHINA came to you with his 'proposition'?"
"Yes. However, he's been nothing short of unscrupulous. I've been at his beck and call for nearly a year now, and he still hasn't handed me any sort of information regarding my past."
"So, what are you going to do now?" asked Siden with a raised eyebrow.
With a quick swing of his sword arm, Luminoustag suddenly sliced the bars of Siden's cell apart. Siden stared at the KWG-type in surprise.
"I am going to get you out of here," replied Luminoustag. "MACHINA's plan is nothing short of lunacy. There is nothing left for me here. But I do have one request... Both from me, and from my deceased custodian."
Siden shrugged as he stared at the pieces of the cell bars lying on the floor. "Well, you've done me a favor, that's for certain... All right, what's your request?"
Luminoustag stared up at the ceiling
of the chamber. "Once this is over, just try your best to find out
where I came from. That's all I ask."
=====
MACHINA opened the door with a cynical air as his lackeys began to switch on the lights. "Well, young Siden, have we had a restful sleep? I'm 'pleased' to announce that Ragnarok is-" The hooded figure stopped short of his last statement as the lights of the chamber illuminated the scene in front of him. Siden's cell was completely empty, its bars hacked to pieces.
One of MACHINA's lackeys bent down and picked up one of the bars of Siden's cell. "Looks like it was cut by some sharp object. Should I-"
MACHINA interrupted him coldly. "Luminoustag."
"Hmmm?" asked the lackey.
MACHINA turned to the lackey.
"Are you deaf, you stupid sap!? This is Luminoustag's doing.
Get everybody combing this complex from top to bottom! I want that
boy found!" The hooded man began to pace the floor and curse.
"This is the worst time for this to happen! Ragnarok's medals aren't
even ready..." He turned back and stormed out of the room as he began
to mutter a single line to himself. "So it seems that what Tensuo
said was true. 'Pawns will turn against their players, and the slaves
their masters'."
=====
Ashton stood waiting on the balcony of Siden's room, still watching, still waiting. A swirling train of thought passed through his mind.
First meeting... A young brown-haired boy, dressed in a suit, surrounded by well-wishers at his birthday party. A smile, and a simple wave. A giggle runs through. More thoughts...
First robattle... Smoke. Crackling bullets. Explosions. A single, solitary shot of an energy break... A pounding slam of an armored fist. Victory. Cheers. Praise. His smiling master.
More robattles. More opponents. More victories. And losses.
CLUSTER-001. Kasumi. Granbeetle. Loss. Respect. Chaos. Sirens. Master. NAVI. Escape. Survival.
Ashton's computerized mind suddenly cleared as Granbeetle's voice cut through his reminiscing like a cleaver. "Hey Ashton, buddy, are you okay?"
Ashton turned around and nodded at Granbeetle as he walked back into Siden's room. "Yes. I was just thinking about Master Siden. I'm still worried about him. You don't think that... he's dead, is he?"
Granbeetle considered for a moment. "Well, judging by how well I know him, I doubt that he's dead... yet. He's a fighter, remember that. Just like you. So, I wouldn't worry about him if I were in your shoes."
"Well... Thanks at least for the encouragement, Granbeetle... I'm just a little unsure about how this is all going to turn out. I've never handled the household by myself before, and everyone's still so worried. There's so much pressure for me without Master to handle it all."
There was a knock at the door. Granbeetle turned. "Yeah? Someone there?"
"It's Blazer-Multi and Skyelder. Can we come in?"
"Oh. Uhm, yeah, you guys can come in." Granbeetle sheepishly replied.
The BLZ and VAL-type medabots shyly walked into the room, staring at the ground. "Any news?" asked Blazer-Multi.
Granbeetle shook his head. "Nope. Still drawing blanks." He turned towards the French-style doors that led out to the balcony and emitted a plaintive sigh. "Kasumi's not getting any sleep lately. He's really worried about Siden too. I keep telling him not to sweat it, but..."
"...He's always worried when something troubles a friend," finished Blazer-Multi. "I guess it's something that humans have that we do not. Hearts."
"Really? I've always felt differently."
The four medabots turned sharply towards the direction of the voice. Standing in the doorway was Helixbeetle, regarding the three somewhat curiously.
"What do you want, Helixbeetle?" asked Granbeetle in a somewhat suspicious tone.
The gray-green KBT-type medabot shrugged his shoulders. "Not much. I was just passing by when I overheard you three talking." He turned to Blazer-Multi. "So you're saying that medabots don't have hearts? That's a pretty interesting viewpoint. My old boss used to say that real hearts weren't something physical... That they were something invisible deep inside your soul, your inner being."
"So, you're saying that medabots are capable of feelings?" asked Blazer-Multi. "I've always felt that medabots were... incapable of having feelings."
"Well, let's take what you just said," replied Helixbeetle. "You said that you 'felt'. You can only feel if you have a heart. Anybody can have... or lack a heart. Humans, medabots, aliens... You name it, you got it. When you stop caring about anything at all, that's when you've lost your heart. And when you find you feel deeply about something in your life, something you consider important, then you've gained a heart."
"Do you care about something in the way you described, Helixbeetle? To the point that you could consider yourself having a heart?" asked Ashton.
Helixbeetle nodded slowly. "I do. My deceased boss. Kaito... and everyone whom he considers a friend."
Helixbeetle began to walk back out the door when Skyelder suddenly grabbed his left arm. Helixbeetle looked at the white and gold VAL-type medabot curiously. "Something... wrong, Skyelder?"
Skyelder looked at him intently. "Just... just what sort of medabot are you really? You sound almost... almost human."
Helixbeetle looked at the open door for a moment, then chuckled as he turned to the four. "The world is a strange place. Stranger things have happened, Skyelder. Stranger things..."
The next moment, Helixbeetle was
no longer standing in the room, as the four remaining medabots pondered
the gray-green KBT-type's words.
=====
Kasumi, Hiyori, Kaito, and Makoru were sitting out on the porch of Siden's mansion as they finished their discussion concerning their next course of action. Kasumi yawned and stretched his arms as he got up off the cement pad. "Well... let's all go inside and get some sleep. We've got a lot to do tomorrow."
Kaito however, wasn't paying attention to Kasumi's remark. The black-haired medafighter was instead looking out into the evening's darkness, towards the street that bisected the driveway. "That's funny..." he muttered.
"What?" asked Hiyori.
Makoru pointed at something shifting in the shadows. "Someone's coming up the path."
Kasumi and Hiyori started back in shock as they suddenly saw Siden walking up the driveway, with a very familiar-looking blue KWG-type medabot following close behind.
Siden walked up to the front door as the group stared at the formerly-missing teenager's dirty and bedraggled form. "This is a fine greeting," Siden said with a grin. "I get abducted, imprisoned, kept up for several nights, I finally make it home, and all you guys can do is stare?"
Hiyori was the first to manage to get in a reply. "B-but... But what happened? How did you escape!? And why is Luminoustag with you?"
Siden held up a hand for silence. "I'll explain what's happened in due time," he replied. "But first, Luminoustag here wants to give us a message."
Luminoustag blinked at the quartet standing on the porch, then spoke.
"To all of Siden's friends, I
bring you this message: Beware, for the beginning of the end...
has come."
To Be Continued...