Chapter I: Attack One-- Rokusho
"Hey, Roks!" Rokusho called, walking through the green park. "Roks, where are you?"
"Rokusho? Who're ya' lookin' for?" Metabee asked, walking up to the KWG, Rokusho, his arms folded across his chest.
"Yeah, uh, Metabee, have you seen Roks?" Rokusho returned.
"No. I thought you went to see him at Zuru's place," Metabee stated.
"I did. But he went berserk and attacked me, then ran off, and I don't know where he went."
"He attacked you?!"
"Nothing serious. Miss Nae repaired me. From what I hear, he almost attacked Zuru, too."
"Oh my gosh…"
"My sentiments exactly."
"Well. Can I help you look for him?"
"Please."
"Ok. Where do we start?"
"No clue."
Metabee sighed, bowing his head and letting his arms drop down by his sides. Then he suddenly stood straight. "Wait! I think I have an idea of why Roks attacked you, and almost attacked Zuru! I don't know how he got it, but… there's this kilobot who looks like Roks that has been causing a lot of damage around town! He attacks ruthlessly, and he doesn't even have a medafighter! And, from what I hear, he has a Neo Ex Medal, but he still acts like a normal kilobot!"
"Why? And where did you hear that?"
"Well, I heard it on the news last night. And nobody knows for sure, but people think it's a virus or something along those lines."
"What damage has he done?"
"Uhh, he injured a few animals, like a dog, a cat, and something else…"
"Oh, so he doesn't just attack other kilobots and medabots."
"Right. And he hospitalized a human boy and put his medabot in intensive care, and no one knew that 'till 'bout two days ago. They say the boy got amnesia from that attack, and didn't remember anything about it 'till he got a visit from his medabot at the hospital. That jogged his memory."
"That's terrible! He must be a strong kilobot to do that."
"Not necessarily strong, just merciless."
"Yeah."
"Are we gonna' look for Roks, or what?"
"Yes. We can start by the river. He knows that's where I used to spend most of my time, so it would make sense for him to go there. Unless he wants to make sure neither I, nor anyone else, finds him. But I think he does want to talk about it, but maybe not openly," Rokusho shared. He and Metabee headed out of the park for the river side-by-side.
"Done searchin' my side of the river!" Metabee informed, jogging up to the Kuwagata.
"I'm done. Didn't find him. You?" Rokusho returned.
"Nope, no luck. Sorry," Metabee apologized.
"That's ok. It's getting late, so why don't you head home?" Rokusho asked.
"Ok, I'm sure Ikki's wondering where I am. I took off after that robattle. How long are you gonna' stay up searching?" Metabee asked back.
"As late as I have to. Whether I find him or not, meet me here after school tomorrow, ok? I'll explain when I see you about who, what, when, where, why, and how," Rokusho promised.
"Ok. Buh-bye! Goodnight!" Metabee ran away, looking over his shoulder and waving on his way up the riverbank. Once he touched flat ground, he stopped waving and looked ahead, running along the brown, dirt road.
"Bye! Goodnight to you, too!" Rokusho called after the KBT, also waving, and stopping once Metabee stopped. "Now, to find Roks," he uttered to himself.
"C'mon, Roks! Where are you?" Rokusho called, wandering the outskirts of town. "Roks, I've searched the entire town! You must be here somewhere! If you hear me, answer!"
"Ok, ok. Stop yelling, I'm up here," Roks called back, waving from a high tree branch. Rokusho looked up at a nearby tree, and waved back when he spotted Roks.
"Could you come down?" Rokusho asked, putting his hand down.
Roks let his actions speak, and jumped down from the branch, landing next to Rokusho.
"Thank you. Now, can I take you home?" Rokusho continued. Roks shook his head 'no'.
"I can't go home. I might end up hurting someone again. In fact, I shouldn't be talking to you right now for that reason," Roks answered. He turned and headed away, but Rokusho grabbed his shoulder.
"If you won't go home, stick with me for the night, and, if you haven't changed your mind tomorrow, you can come with me to meet Metabee on the river bank in the afternoon," Rokusho said, a smile forming in his eyes. Roks looked back at him, turned around, and grabbed Rokusho's hands.
"Thank you," Roks said.
"No thanks necessary. We'll sleep here for the night. I figure you don't want to be around anybody, because you might attack, so we won't go back to Hushi's space station," Rokusho returned.
"But what if I attack you?" Roks asked.
"I can defend myself," Rokusho answered quickly.
"Ok. So we're meeting Metabee tomorrow. Sounds good to me."
The next day, Roks awoke late, leaning back against the thick, brown tree trunk, his counterpart laying on his side, facing away from him, sound asleep with his head on Roks's lap, and wrapped in his silk, beige cape for a blanket. Rokusho awoke later, at about twelve P.M., groaning.
"Roks, what time is it?" Rokusho asked wearily, squinting at the sudden brightness of the sun in his eyes.
"Uhh, twelve-ish in the afternoon," Roks replied.
"It's that late al-already?" Rokusho returned, astonished, as he sat up quickly, turning to face his double. He reached up and rubbed his lit-up red eyes.
"About," Roks said.
Rokusho sighed, and said, "Who knew sleeping late could get me feeling--not one hundred percent."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'm not feeling well." Rokusho stood up, followed by Roks, and fell over on top of his double when he lost his balance. Roks caught him and helped him stand straight. Rokusho massaged the sides of his head with his index fingers, hoping it would make an all-metal robot feel better.
"I take it you're dizzy?" Roks questioned after a moment.
"Yeah, and a few other things. Let's go on to the riverbank. Maybe I'll feel better if I splash some water on my face," Rokusho said hopefully. Roks nodded, and wrapped his left arm around Rokusho's waist. Rokusho put his right arm around Roks's shoulders, and they headed for the riverbank.
Rokusho dipped his metallic hands in the river water, cupping them as he pulled them out and splashed the collected water on his face quickly, before the water ran out of his hands. It definitely woke him up more, but it didn't make him feel any better. In fact, it made him feel worse because of the cold water. "This isn't working," the Kuwagata muttered, leaning back and rolling into a ball.
"Metabee will be coming soon, it's almost time," Roks assured, dropping to his knee beside his counterpart and laying a hand on Rokusho's back.
"Good," Rokusho replied.
"Yeah, I'd say. Whenever I'm here, it makes everything better, doesn't it?" a medabot joked. Roks and Rokusho turned and saw Metabee walking calmly down the riverbank, his arms crossed across his chest. "I see you found him, eh, Rokusho?" Metabee continued.
"Yes, in a tree just outside town. He's afraid he'll hurt someone again, so he didn't want to go home," Rokusho replied.
"Oh." Metabee noticed the water dripping down Rokusho's face, and asked, "Uh, why are you wet, Rokusho?"
"I'm not feeling well, so I tried splashing river water on my face. All that was good for was giving me the shivers," Rokusho answered.
"Ok, so you're not feeling well. Great," Metabee responded sarcastically. "How 'bout a sleepover 'till you two are feeling better?" the KBT offered.
"You mean, Rokusho and I stay with you and Ikki?" Roks asked.
"Yep. What do you say?" Metabee pressured.
"Sounds good to me," Roks responded.
"Yeah, I guess so. Why not? I'll only be here for a few weeks, so I might as well have some fun while I'm here. Staying with you and Ikki is as fun as it gets," Rokusho agreed.
"Thanks," said Metabee.
"And It'll be an adventure, staying in the nut house for a night or two," Roks chimed in.
"Not thanks, Roks," Metabee returned angrily. Roks giggled, and Rokusho joined in after a moment or two.
As long as I don't go ballistic again, this time on Metabee or Ikki, this could be fun, and an adventure, Roks thought, forcing his giggles.
Later that night, about an hour before dinner, Rokusho was starting to feel better, and Ikki was just getting home. Ikki waved goodbye to Erika and headed for the door to his house as the brown-haired girl left for her house. Ikki opened the door and stepped in to find his mother, Mrs. Tenryou, leaning over the left-hand arm of the couch, adjusting two blankets that covered Rokusho, who was lying on his side, crossing his arms and pulling his knees to his chest, rolling into a ball on the purple couch. Roks sat next to Rokusho, at his feet, his hands folded in his lap. Metabee sat on his knees in front of the couch, helping Mrs. Tenryou adjust Rokusho's blankets.
Ikki slipped off his shoes and dropped his backpack next to them, and then stepped up onto the carpeted floor. He headed over to the group as his mother greeted him, "Hi, honey!" and walked away to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
"Hey, Ik," Metabee greeted. The two Kuwagata waved weakly.
"Uh, what's going on here?" the black-top-knotted-hair boy asked, sitting down on his knees in front of the couch, opposite his Kabuto medabot.
"They're staying the night!" Metabee blurted happily.
"Cool!" Ikki replied. "Why?"
"Rokusho's not feeling well, and Roks doesn't want to go home 'cause he's afraid he'll hurt someone again," Metabee explained.
"Oh, ok," Ikki said, dumbfounded. "What's wrong with Rokusho?"
"No clue," Metabee answered. Ikki sighed.
"Is there anything you can do for Rokusho?" Roks asked hopefully.
"I don't know, for Rokusho or you," Ikki returned.
"Maybe I could ask Doctor Hushi. He should be able to help," Rokusho pointed out, eyes closed, and half-asleep.
"He should?" Roks questioned, "Whoever started my virus must be smart, and I figure that's what might be wrong with you. Do you think he would be up for it? I mean, he did leave for several years after your house burned down, as you said."
"He went to stay with the Medallorians, as he calls them, and he had the chance to come back, but he saw the chance to study them and stayed to do research. He already apologized for leaving me alone for all those years. He didn't just take off on purpose!" Rokusho explained angrily.
"Do you think he could do it?" Roks went on.
"Of course he could! Whoever started this virus probably is smart, but 'whoever' can't outwit Doctor Hushi! He developed medabots! If it wasn't for him, neither you, nor I, nor any other medabot would be here today!" Rokusho exclaimed, his anger rising, "You should respect him! I respect him, and every other medabot should, too!"
"But, like we both said, whoever started this virus must be smart. 'Whoever' would probably be careful about it so someone like Doctor Hushi wouldn't be able to fix the virus!"
"Doctor Hushi is smart enough to fix anything! And I've seen him do it first-hand! Stop insulting him!" Rokusho shot back.
"B-but, Rokusho, I don't mean to be--" Rokusho, who lashed out at him with his Chanbara Sword, cut off Roks by hitting his counterpart on the side of his neck, his red eyes glowing brightly.
Ikki and Metabee jumped, yelping and scooting back. Rokusho sat up on his knees, pulled his left arm back, and extended the three yellow screws lining the end of his forearm. He punched forward with his Hammer Fist, which connected with Roks's chest, leaving a dent when the out-of-control Kuwagata pulled his Hammer Fist away, pulled his right arm back, and punched, the top-most point of his Chanbara Sword digging into Roks's metal chest. Roks screamed out in pain and horror as his so-called friend repeated the punches quickly.
"I-I'm sorry, Rokusho!" Roks managed to get out.
Just then, Mrs. Tenryou came running in, and gasped. She covered her mouth with both hands, eyes wide in fear and surprise. Her legs froze to the spot, and the rest of her paralyzed in fear.
Rokusho stood up, pulling Roks up with him by his neck. He lifted his double high in the air, tightening his double-handed grip on his neck.
"P-put me down, Ro-Rokusho! I'm sorry!" Roks apologized and pleaded. Rokusho didn't respond, but let go of Roks's neck with his right hand and pulled back his Chanbara Sword. His arm shook.
Ikki lifted his medawatch to his mouth, closed his eyes, and shouted, "Metabee! Laser Fuser!"
Metabee reluctantly stood, ran around Rokusho, and straightened his right arm out in front of him. He aimed for Rokusho's chest. "I'm sorry to do this to you, Rokusho," Metabee apologized, and fired his Laser Fuser at pointblank range. The shot hit Rokusho right on the mark, and the Kuwagata's back hatch opened. Rokusho shut down as the shot sent him flying backwards. Roks fell, landed on his blocky feet, froze for a split second, and fell back onto the couch, breathing heavily, eyes closed, and holding his neck.
Ikki jumped and rolled out of the way, as Rokusho crash-landed where he was just sitting. He stared in awe at the damage Metabee's single Laser Fuser shot inflicted, then turned to Metabee. "G-Good job, Metabee!"
Metabee bowed his head and sighed, eyes closed. After a pause, he walked over to Rokusho. He kneeled down by the Kuwagata's body and slipped his left arm around Rokusho's upper back, closing his back hatch, and his right arm around the back of his knees. He lifted the KWG up and carried him over to the couch as his eyes lit-up. They were closed, and Rokusho was resting. Metabee turned and sat on the couch, cradling Rokusho in his arms. Roks sighed as he stared at Rokusho sympathetically.
"Can I hold him?" Roks asked quietly. Metabee stared at him, surprised, then nodded, "Sure." and handed the sleeping KWG over to his counterpart, who cradled him as Metabee had.
"D-dinner, Ikki," Mrs. Tenryou finally said, breaking her gaze from the medabots and looking over at Ikki, who nodded and stood. He walked over to his mother, and then followed her into the dining room, glancing back at the medabots one last time, flabbergasted.