Medabots: Open Ring
Chapter XI : Fatalistic Rivalry - (Feat. "Down and Dirty")
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"Competition... The spur
of contest, the goad of the accursed."
- Second Maxim
=====
Quick note:
This chapter, through inspiration from the written structure
made by Legend Maker in Chapter 4 of "War's Song", features a song that
I had written in my freshman year of high school for a small English assignment.
The title that I gave to this song was "Down and Dirty", and was derived
from troubles I faced when I first came to high school. Anyways,
onwards!
=====
Kaito looked at Lt. Katoko with a hard eye. "Under arrest? I find that extremely hard to believe."
The Select Corp. lieutenant merely smiled as he turned to a figure in the shadows. "You would then better start by believing it, kid. Let's see... Sergeant Hitome, do you have anything of interest to report?"
A portly Select Corp. agent walked out from underneath the copse of nearby trees and saluted smartly. "Several illegal server set-ups, including that of a 'cracker' connection. Not to mention this..." the sergeant finished with a contemptuous gesture as he backed away, revealing two more Select Corp. agents, and hanging between them, the limp form of a white KWG-type medabot.
Kaito stepped forward involuntarily as he stared at the battered Sonicstag in dismay. "Sonicstag! What happened!?"
Sonicstag managed to raise his head as he looked up weakly at the stunned Kaito. "They... overwhelmed me. I couldn't take them all-" The white KWG-type gave a sound of agonized pain as the two Select Corp. agents that were carrying him roughly threw him onto the ground. Katoko walked over, and after looking Sonicstag over for a trifling moment, suddenly gave the KWG-type medabot a brutal kick which sent him sprawling further into the dirt.
Kaito's expression of horror changed into a gaze of pure anger as he looked up at the lieutenant. "Why you... you BASTARD!!!" Ceasing to speak another word, the young medafighter charged towards Katoko with a yell of fury, and was promptly tripped up by the extended leg of a nearby Select Corp. agent. Kaito stumbled and was sent sprawling into the dust in a similar fashion to that of Sonicstag.
The lieutenant and several of his men laughed scornfully. "Pathetic. You want to give it another go?" the lieutenant asked with derisive solicitation.
"You're even more pathetic than a legion of Kaitos put together."
Everyone looked up in surprise at Helixbeetle, whom up to this point had remained completely silent. The KBT-type medabot walked up to Kaito's side and had begun to help Kaito onto his feet when he looked up at the Lieutenant with a hard glare in his visor.
"You're just like all the other bullies and weak-minded fools I've met while my old boss was still alive. Making yourselves appear strong by picking on those weaker than you, and making yourselves stoop even lower by glorifying the downfall of those stronger than you." Helixbeetle electronically spat in contempt as he finished. "You disgust me."
Katoko, however, didn't even bat an eyelash as he regarded the gray-green KBT-type medabot with slight amusement and interest. After a moment's consideration, he turned his steely gaze upon Kaito. "Interesting... I've never seen a medabot with a personality quite like yours, kid." After another moment of thoughtful pondering, Katoko continued. "Tell you what. I'm a coarse gambling man in my free time, and it often amuses me to challenge fellows with a similar gambler's instincts, namely; reckless courage and fine-tuned instinct."
"I find it rather difficult to convince myself that the 'honorable' lieutenant has such qualities," Makoru muttered out loud to Skyelder.
"Regardless," continued the lieutenant, as if ignoring the ex-RubberRobo's curt remark, "I have a small... 'proposition' for you. Frankly, your medabot's rather... 'gutsy' personality here piques my curiosity. Although I am not a professional medafighter, I enjoy playing in robattles and have often won. So here is my challenge: If you agree to take me on in a one-on-one robattle and if you win, I will let you and all of your friends go. I will act as if nothing here had ever happened, and as if I had known nothing about this at all. If you lose..."
"Yeah?" Kaito spat with a slight grimace.
"I will simply proceed to take all of you, including your medabots, into custody. Does that sound fair?" The lieutenant had a smug grin on his face as he finished the sentence.
Kaito looked around once... at his medabot, at Skyelder, at Sonicstag, at Makoru... and at the contingent of Select Corp. agents and medabots that surrounded him and his friends.
The young medafighter turned, looked up at Katoko as he returned his impassive stare, and nodded. "It's a deal."
The lieutenant's grin only widened as he nodded in return. "So be it." He turned to the silver-plated KWG-type medabot standing next to him. "Silverthorn, it's go time."
Silverthorn merely gave a small grunt of affirmation and strode forward towards the center of the clearing, awaiting the opposition to make its own signature of readiness.
Kaito turned to Helixbeetle. "Are you ready, Helixbeetle? I just want you to keep in mind that this fight isn't about honor or reps, it's about..."
Helixbeetle nodded as he finished Kaito's sentence. "I know, I know. It's... it's about friends. Friends that are counting on us." Kaito's KBT-type medabot turned, walked up to Silverthorn, and then silently signaled his own readiness with a nod.
A Select Corp. agent walked out of the mass of Katoko's men and then suddenly popped his helmet off, revealing once more the face of...
Mr. Referee!!
Raising his armor-plated left arm, the WRC moderator signaled the preliminaries of the match. "Then it's agreed! I hereby declare this to be a conditional robattle! The winner will hereby claim whatever actions and privileges agreed upon beforehand!! Medafighters ready!?"
"Anytime that Kaito's ready, I'm ready," Katoko answered with a smile.
Kaito gave a thumbs-up to Helixbeetle as he made his reply. "Bring it on!!"
Mr. Referee made a slicing downward
motion with his armored left hand, signaling the beginning of the match.
"MEDABOTS, ROOOOBATTLE!!!"
=====
The next moment abruptly brought
a clanging, jarring noise to the ears of both opponents. Both of
Silverthorn's triple-pronged blades had clashed and then locked with the
armored bulk of Helixbeetle's upraised left arm as Kaito's KBT-type medabot
barely managed to parry the fearsome blow. After a moment's stalemate,
the two medabots violently disengaged, as both were sent skidding backwards
by the force of their mutual impact.
It's 8AM
Katoko nodded as he lightly applauded
in approval. "Not bad, kid; not bad at all. Very few opponents
that I've faced have been able to block Silverthorn's Tridentsword, let
alone both of them at once. But thick armor isn't going to save your
medabot's hide... Silverthorn, skywards!"
Everything's cool
Kaito looked up in bewilderment. "Skywards-?"
Silverthorn, without warning,
leapt straight upwards into the treetops without a sound, as Helixbeetle,
being the less agile, remained standing on the ground and looked upwards
in puzzlement as the sound of snapping branches reached the ears and auditory
receptors of everyone on the ground.
The engine's runnin' smooth
Katoko smirked, then softly spoke
into his transmitter. "Silverthorn, use the Spikesurge."
At least until you see that
bully step through that classroom door...!!
Helixbeetle suddenly dove for cover as a hail of energized bolts bristling with high-voltage electricity rained down onto the field of battle.
Makoru yelled a desperate warning to Kaito. "Kaito! Look out! That's the same move that Silverthorn used to paralyze Skyelder! It's some sort of EMP shockbolt!"
Kaito nodded as he grimly observed
the battle in front of him. Several craters had been left behind
in the dust, the only traces of the fiery rain that Silverthorn had thrown
at Helixbeetle's position.
Down and dirty,
It ain't pretty!!
Kaito's KBT-type shook one of
his armored fists in Silverthorn's direction. "Damnit!! Stop
being such a coward and-YLAAAH!!" Helixbeetle's last statement was
abruptly cut short as one of Silverthorn's three-pronged blades sliced
through the air where Helixbeetle's head had been a moment before.
Scumbags and buttheads just
take up your time...!!
(Screw 'em!)
As Silverthorn jumped down from
the branches of a nearby tree, Katoko grinned. "Who's being the coward,
Helixbeetle?"
Nothing's goin' your way!
(Detour!)
Kaito slapped his forehead in
exasperation. "Helixbeetle! We'll never win like this!
Fire back! Don't let him intimidate you!"
The locker's jammed!
(Get me the torch!)
Helixbeetle responded to Kaito's command with a volley of energy bolts from his Tetracannon, which Silverthorn contemptuously dodged. "I don't think this is working Kai-GAAAUGH!!"
The KBT-type medabot had unwisely
chosen to take his focus off of Silverthorn and look back at his medafighter
for some reason or other, as Silverthorn decided at that exact moment to
launch an EMP bolt squarely into Helixbeetle's armored torso.
And your attendance record's
just been slammed!!
(You're busted nooooow...!)
Helixbeetle gave a staggered cry
and fell to his knees as sharp, raw currents of electricity continued to
spark and course through his joints and conduits, scrambling his actuators
and gyros.
Down and dirty,
Knocked down silly!!
All you want to do is cry
and squirm on your knees!
(In your dreams!!)
Kaito looked at his medawatch
in some frustration as his meters began to relay the effects of the immobilizing
blast, which was not only paralyzing Helixbeetle, but dealing out damage
as well. "Helixbeetle! Get up!! GET UP!!" Kaito
urged in desperation.
Get up
(Get down!)
Lt. Katoko merely smiled in that
same, damnably peculiar way of his as he gave another command through his
transmitter. "Silverthorn, A-type maneuver!!"
Don't just sit there
(Lyin' around...!)
The KWG-type medabot somersaulted
once and lunged forward, slashing and carving into the paralyzed Helixbeetle
with a devastating combination attack from his two Tridentswords, sending
Helixbeetle flying back as a searing pain shot through his entire body.
Stand up and be who you
are
(A devil's advocate!!)
"GYAAHH!!!" The KBT-type
medabot gave an agonized yell of pain and landed with a jarring 'clang'
as he was thrown backwards from the KWG-type's melee assault and sent sprawling
into the dust. The next moment, Silverthorn squarely landed on Helixbeetle's
domed helmet, pinning the KBT-type to the ground before he could even make
another move as he stabbed one of his three-pronged blades squarely into
Helixbeetle's chest.
Or be a nobody....!!!
(It's not you that we're
tryin' to educate!!)
Every single part of Helixbeetle's
body had been thoroughly slashed, his torso having been nearly cut in two
by the sheer power of SIlverthorn's blades.
Down and dirty,
It's all crazy!!
"NO!!! HELIXBEETLE!!!!"
Kaito watched in horror as the LCD on his medawatch threw the inevitable
into his face:
Screaming out to the wooooorld!!!
(No one's gonna hear you!)
MEDAL ACTIVE: HELIXBEETLE ONLINE
HEAD: HUNTER-RADAR:
5% - STATUS: CRITICAL
R-ARM: TETRACANNON:
0% - STATUS: FUNCTION CEASED
L-ARM: RAILGUN: 0%
- STATUS: FUNCTION CEASED
LEGS: WARPSEEKER:
5% - STATUS: CRITICAL
WARNING: SYSTEM SHUTDOWN
IMMINENT
Let it out!
(No one will hear you anywaaaaaay!!)
The lieutenant looked up at Kaito
as he gave another smug grin. "Face it, kid. Your KBT-type's
a weakling. The only thing that'll save your hide now is a miracle-"
Yell and shout!
(Yeah, just let it out)
Don't let those fools put
the blame on you!!
(Who needs the responsibility
anyway)
"Then call it a MIRACLE!!"
A brilliant, blinding green light suddenly started to glow and leak from
every hole, every open joint in Helixbeetle's armor, sending Silverthorn
stumbling off his perch on Helixbeetle's head, as the KBT-type medabot
painfully got to his feet and turned to Katoko with an eerie glow in his
eyes as he spoke in a hard, angry tone. "You know what I really,
really hate? Stupid punks like you that think there are such things
as weak medabots." Helixbeetle's voice abruptly grew softer, and
then rose to a rising crescendo as he concluded his two cents' worth.
"Well, let me give you a twopenny's worth of free advice. There are
no such things... AS WEAK MEDABOTS!!!!"
Down and dirty,
Feeling scummy!!
Feeling pity
Feeling guilty
Feeling crappy
(Unhappy!!)
Nothing's goin' your waaaaaay!!!
(Detour!)
Stand up
(Sit down!)
Lt. Katoko's face paled briefly
as he realized what was happening. "The Medaforce..."
Make a difference
(Or make none, same thing)
Be great
(A lotta dough)
No show
(No gooooooo!!!)
Then there was a massive explosion
as Helixbeetle suddenly unleashed the pent-up energy into the clearing,
sending a shockwave that sent the spectators, human and medabot alike,
flying in random directions as the explosion continued to throw medaforce
energy outwards like a child giving off a temper tantrum.
Down and dirty,
Feeling damnably
Unhappy!!
Down and dirty,
That voice's killin' me!
(See things your way)
It's my way
(It's my way or your freakin'
down and dirty waaaaaaaaaaaay!!)
=====
Just as suddenly as it had started, it then stopped, as the explosion had quickly spent itself simply due to its innate violence.
"Helixbeetle!!" Kaito was about to run towards the location where he'd last seen Helixbeetle when the sight standing before him took not only his breath away, but the breath of everyone else as well.
When Helixbeetle had unleashed the medaforce, his body had been already carved, filleted, sliced, diced, and cut in any other sort of conceivable style by the assault of Silverthorn's Tridentswords. But the Helixbeetle that was standing before them didn't even have a scratch on his body as opposed to Silverthorn, whose smoking body now lay in a crumpled, contorted jumble of parts nearby, with a charred Kuwagata medal lying next to it.
Kaito stared at his medawatch,
which was now relaying to him several updated statistics that made him
start back in surprise despite the fact that he'd seen this thing occur
before.
MEDAL ACTIVE: HELIXBEETLE ONLINE
HEAD: HUNTER-RADAR:
100% - STATUS: NORMAL
R-ARM: TETRACANNON:
100% - STATUS: NORMAL
L-ARM: RAILGUN: 100%
- STATUS: NORMAL
LEGS: WARPSEEKER:
100% - STATUS: NORMAL
Kaito looked at his medawatch, and then tapped the LCD face a few times... Just to make sure.
Mr. Referee raised his armored hand into the air, signalling the end of the match. "Function ceased!! The winner... Is Shingawa Kaito!!"
"IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Katoko screamed as he finally got his voice back. "THAT IDIOTIC KBT-TYPE SHOULD BE BATTERED!! BRUISED!! HE SHOULD BE THE ONE LYING IN A MANGLED HEAP!! HOW CAN HE-"
"It is more than possible, it is probable," Helixbeetle answered coldly. "My late boss Shingawa Tensuo summed it up best. The power of the Medaforce is the power to turn an impossibility... into a reality."
Katoko continued to rave as he tried to strenuously deny what he'd just seen. "BUT... BUT... BUT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!! HOW CAN A WEIRD CRATE OF A MEDABOT LIKE YOU BE ABLE TO PULL OFF A HALF-MYTH MOVE LIKE THAT!!? I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!!"
"Nevertheless," cut in Mr. Referee, "The winner has been declared to be Shingawa Kaito. The Medaforce is a legal move in any robattle. I now ask you 'politely' on behalf of the World Robattle Regulations Association that you graciously accept your defeat and let Kaito claim his earned prerogative, the freedom of both himself as well as his friends, as agreed beforehand. Ciao for now!" With that, Mr. Referee gave a piercing whistle as a Select Corp. squad car pulled up, hopped in, and rode away.
"That... that can't be..." The lieutenant's hands were twitching and contracting like a pair of dying spiders as he spoke. Looking at the corroded, twisted body of Silverthorn, then at Kaito, he suddenly straightened up, walked over, silently picked up Silverthorn's body and his medal, and began walking away.
Kaito and the others had been watching the entire scene with the quiet detachment of prison camp victims. Kaito's initial elation at his upset victory and the consequent freedom he'd won both for him and his friends had faded away as he watched a man, so used to having his pride in gleaming order, now walking away with as much dignity as he could salvage from his defeat.
Kaito tentatively began to speak as the lieutenant continued to walk away. "Lieutenant, I..."
"Save your words, kid. I let you win. No; slight correction. My pride let you win." Turning around, Katoko then gestured to his men to leave as he continued. "Nevertheless, you deserve your victory, kid. But the next time we meet, 'I' will be the victor. And I will have won it fairly, just as much as you have won this one."
With that, the lieutenant and his men turned away, and left the quintet of medafighters and medabots silently pondering on Katoko's words.
Up above, the moon continued on
its voyage across the ebony skies, unmindful of the battle that had just
raged below.
=====
"NAVI, have you got a link yet?" Siden asked through his audio pick-up to the HEX Corp. server.
The supercomputer system gave a small beep as it answered Siden's inquiry. "Negative. I have scanned several prominent areas that would be suitable for a long-range para-atmospheric transmission route, but nothing has appeared as of yet on my sensors. Shall I switch to active scan?"
"No," replied Siden. "We're not taking any sort of risks with you. From what Kaito told me, Select Corp. nearly got a hook on your presence, which could have jeopardized your safety. Stay on passive systems, and wait for my next command orders."
"Acknowledged." NAVI beeped once, then clicked off as Siden's connection to the HEX Corp. server was terminated.
Siden sat back and sighed.
"Something wrong, Siden?" Kasumi asked as he stepped through the door.
"It's just that I'm finding it so difficult to get a lock on MACHINA's base... Stupid me. I was so freakin' relieved to get out of that dirthole that I didn't even think about getting an orientation of where the base was even located."
"Doesn't Luminoustag know where it is? He's been there before, hasn't he?" Kasumi observed.
Siden shook his head. "Unfortunately, Luminoustag doesn't know either. MACHINA's base is heavily concealed in a labyrinth of sewage systems, and the only way that Luminoustag even got there in order to receive assignments was by a specialized frequency that MACHINA had used as a homing beacon for Luminoustag to lock onto. When Luminoustag quit MACHINA's little circle, MACHINA's apparently disabled the homing frequency."
Kasumi sighed in turn. "This is bad. Ikki's just had a talk with Dr. Aki, and he's calculated that Ragnarok's going to probably launch its ICBM payload within the next 72 hours."
Siden nodded as he pondered the information. "Makes perfect sense. The moon reaches its closest point in its orbit within Earth's gravity at about this time every month. Anything else?"
"Fubuki found some more information from her old 'contacts' in the city's red-light district. It's sort of sick..." Kasumi gulped for a moment, then continued. "A contingent of Select Corp. found a group of dead RubberRobos lying in a flood-control channel somewhere near the South-East sector. They were all killed by .26 revolver shots."
"Wait a minute... A .26 caliber shell? That's the same kind ranged meda..." Siden's face paled.
"...That ranged medabots use," Kasumi nodded as he finished Siden's sentence.
Siden silently pondered this news as he then looked up. "Who could have possibly done this? The RubberRobos are stupid, but they aren't THAT stupid to get themselves killed like this... Do you think it could have been MACHINA, Kasumi?"
The bespectacled teenager shrugged. "Who knows? Of course, I-"
Kasumi's sentence was suddenly interrupted by a beep coming from the intercom. Siden quickly turned around in his chair as he activated his audio pick-up. "Yes?"
Mizore's voice came on over the other end of the line, sounding somewhat unnerved. "Siden, Kaito just called me over the IMD. Apparently, he was monitoring one of the scan grids when the HEX Corp. NAVI system detected a secondary high-end homing frequency. When NAVI traced the frequency, all that it returned was a single output line. It sounds sort of... weird."
"What sort of message was it?" asked Kasumi.
Mizore was silent for a moment
before he replied. "The HEX Corp. NAVI server said... 'SISTER'."
To Be Continued...