Dr. Aki: And pudding!! For the love of Pete, don't forget the pudding!!!
Sal (that's me!): What are you doing here?
Dr. Aki: Looking for pudding, of course. Do you have any?
Sal: No… but I think Henry does. He'll look after you.
Henry: Why me?
Sal: I'm busy. Okay people, this is chappie three, with some changes…Hell the entire story has had changes made.
~ * * * * * * * * *
Chapter Three: Soap Operas, Appointments and Interesting First Impressions
The small group of people wound their way through the streets of (Tokyo?), with the destination of Medabot Corporation. (AN: Why are they walking, you ask? Only because they seem to do a lot of walking, and it's convenient for my plot.) There was conversation in abundance, or at least Erika sure was talking a lot, asking Bunny a continuous stream of questions, Bunny trying to answer them in order, Metabee was complaining about missing his favourite soap opera, which was almost over, and Brass trying to comfort him, but not knowing what to say to do so. Their chatter was cut short by a voice.
"Bunny!! Wait up!" Bunny turned and smiled toward the voice and the others simply turned in all directions trying to find its source.
"Over here, Silver!" Bunny waved. The turquoise and silver/white medabot ran up to her friend. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up." Bunny smiled teasingly at her medabot. "Is all well in the world of soap operas?" Metabee's head perked up at the words 'soap opera'.
"You watch them too?" He asked incredulously
Quicksilver clasped her hands together and looked liked she had just found a kindred spirit. "All the time!! You too?" Metabee was on the verge of a complete freak-out. "I can't believe it!! All this time, I thought I was the only one!" (Considering how much I hate soap operas, I'll let you imagine this conversation happening in the background while I move along)
Quicksilver caught Metabee up on what she had been watching while the others chatted amongst themselves for the remaining time it took to reach Medabot Headquarters (Dialogue is my most evil nemesis.)
They all got through the security check with little problem (almost, Ikki got thrown out twice, but it turns out the guard was just having some fun), and went up to the 12th floor (Wherever the lab is), and saw Dr. Aki leaving a small room, carrying what appeared to be an empty container of pudding. (Dr. Aki: Pudding!! * knocks Henry over trying to grab one * Henry: Kill me please. Sal: Shh!!)
"Hey Doc!!" called Metabee, "You got a visitor." Dr. Aki turned and saw Bunny.
"Oh, you must be Elizabeth, correct?" Bunny smiled.
"Yeah, that's me. And this is Quicksilver." Quicksilver did a little curtsey. "I am pleased to meet you Dr. Aki." Dr. Aki looked at his watch.
"I'm really sorry to do this, but I've got paperwork up to my ears and I'll have to cancel our appointment until Tuesday. I apologize, but feel free to look around while you're here. I've got some people in the training room, if you want to watch. " The group followed the Doctor into a small room where they could see through a transparent glass into the testing area. Through the glass, two medabots could be seen duking it out, and their medafighters were standing at the rooms opposite ends. Then Dr. Aki left the room, presumably to do some of that paperwork.
"Hey, it's Sumilodon and Belzelga." Metabee pointed inside the room, and indeed, it was Sumilodon and Belzelga, along with their medafighters Koji and Miss Caviar.
"Wow." Said Quicksilver admiring Sumilodon, "He's good." Metabee looked angry that Quicksilver had stopped paying attention to him, and that anyone could think that Sumilodon was cooler than he was.
"Hey!" he protested, "Sure Sumilodon is good, but he's nowhere near as good as me!! I could kick his 'bot with my hands tied behind my back!" But his words fell on deaf rabbit-like ears, as Quicksilver's attention was completely on Sumilodon.
"It sure is nice to see Belzelga up and around again isn't it?" Everyone jumped and turned. There was Karin standing at the doorway. Bunny of course, didn't recognize her, but did notice that Ikki seemed to turn into a small puddle of goo at the sight of her, and Erika looked a bit exasperated at Ikki's reaction. Karin saw Bunny and walked up to her smiling her cute little redhead smile.(she is rather adorable isn't she?)
"Hello. My name is Karin." Bunny smiled as well, and extended her hand.
"I'm Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Bunny. This," gesturing to Quicksilver, "is Quicksilver." Quicksilver gave a cute little wave, and then went back to watching the robattle in the next room, fascinated by the speed and strength of the competitors.
"Who's in there right now?" Asked Bunny.
"That's Koji and Sumilodon. They're a great team, and Miss Caviar and Belzelga. Belzelga was practically destroyed, and Miss Caviar and the rest of her team managed to put him back together. Right now they're testing to make sure everything is back to normal, and Koji volunteered to help, since he and Sumilodon were here anyway for repairs." Bunny looked impressed.
"Koji's pretty good, especially for someone his age."
"He sure is, plus he's the Number two ranked medafighter for Japan."
Having recompiled his formerly Karin-induced gooey self, Ikki jumped into the conversation, and determined not to be outdone by Koji of all people stated proudly, "Well, I ranked number three, and I've been robattling for only a little while." Instead of sounding impressed, as Ikki expected, Bunny simply asked, "Who's ranked number one?" Ikki fell over anime style (what's that called by the way?), and Karin giggled like the cute little girl she is. (She really is adorable I can't state that enough)
Having not said anything for a while, Erika decided to take over the conversation and explain to Bunny who the best medafighter in the world was. She began mysteriously.
"The Number One ranked Medafighter in Japan is a very mysterious young man who doesn't have a name. Everyone has tried to figure out his true identity, but none have succeeded. He remains a complete enigma, a dark figure whose true face is covered by a golden mask. He is known only by the name, (pause for effect) Space Medafighter X." There was a profound silence as Erika allowed her tale to sink in.
'Wow' thought Ikki, 'She's getting pretty good at that.' The silence continued, and then…
"Is he cute?" This time, everyone except Karin (I don't think Karin knows how to fall over), fell over. Whoever this Bunny person was, she certainly didn't react like most other people would.
Not waiting for an answer, Bunny peered through the glass. "Hey, they're finished. I want to meet this Koji kid." Again without waiting for a response, Bunny walked out the door to the door leading in to the testing room. Quicksilver trotted after her since she was equally interested in meeting them as well. Karin and Erika followed closely behind, while still in the room, Ikki and Metabee seemed to be oblivious to the fact that they were alone.
"She's weird." Stated Ikki. Metabee agreed.
"Yeah, but her medabot is a meda-babe." Ikki decided to take a risk and say something back to that.
"You only think that because she's the only one who doesn't think you're a total loser for watching soap operas." Metabee got angry.
"I am not a loser!! Besides, she's totally hot for me!" He stated vehemently. Ikki scoffed.
"Oh please. I think you're confusing yourself with Sumilodon. She probably only talked to you because she felt sorry for you." Metabee, if this was even possible, had steam coming out of his ears, he was so mad.
"Hey!! You take that back!!" His fists were raised in a hostile gesture (Ikki: you mean he just gave me the finger?! Samantha: No you idiot!! She said fists, not finger!! She meant he's gonna punch your lights out! Ikki: What are you doing here? Sal: I invited her. It's the least I could do for ignoring her in the last two chapters.), and Ikki suddenly feared for his life. He raised his hands in self-defense, but before the attack was launched…
"Ikki!! Everyone's leaving, hurry up!" Whew!! Saved by Erika who just popped her head in through the doorway. Ikki ran out the door so fast, it would have left the roadrunner in the dust. (Roadrunner: Meep!! Meep!! * The roadrunner jets off screen, and a very tired looking coyote follows several seconds later on an ACME bicycle * -Quicksilver: Wow. He's fast. -Henry: That was random. - Sal: Yeah, it's like I always say, 'A bit of randomness per day, keeps the men in white coats away.' -Henry: You also say that reality doesn't exist and that the universe is a figment of its own imagination. –Sal: Hey, Douglas Adams was onto something.)
Ikki, Erika and Metabee catch up with the rest of the people, now including Koji and Sumilodon, who are chatting amiably with Bunny and Quicksilver. Since the Author doesn't feel like coming up with a whole conversation she decides to speed things up a bit and presses a small button, speeding everything up a bit, and everyone starts squeaking like rabid chipmunks. Arriving at a random point, the Author releases the button. Everyone blinks. Ikki ventures a question.
"Did everyone feel that?"
"Yeah." Says Erika. " It's like the whole world sped up a little just now."
"What was it?" Asked Brass.
"When random things like that happen, it's best not to question them. If you try to explain or understand it you'll just give yourself a headache." Everyone blinked again at Dr. Aki's sudden appearance from apparently nowhere. Where did he come from? (-Metabee: And what was that about ducks? -Ikki: Don't worry about it.)
"I thought you had paperwork to do." Erika said in an accusing voice. Dr. Aki simply looked innocent.
"Something came up." Erika switched into interrogation mode.
"Oh? And just what was something?" Ikki rolled his eyes.
"He was probably off eating pudding or something." Then he changed the subject, unknowingly taking the pressure off the doctor to come up with a suitable excuse, because he hadn't known where he had come from either. He would have to ask Karin later, since she was unaffected by things like this "Hey, what was everyone talking about before everything went weird?" Everyone thought for a moment, but of course, since Karin seems to be unaffected by things like massive shifts in the Space/Time Continuum, she knew exactly what had been happening.
"Bunny got introduced to Koji, we talked, and then Bunny mentioned that she was staying in a hotel until she could find an apartment, and then everything went back to normal, and then Uncle Aki came out of nowhere."
"You can stay with us while you're looking for an apartment." Metabee, once again usurping Ikki's authority, suggested. Ikki sweatdropped.
"Metabee!! You can't just go inviting people over without consulting me!" Metabee glared at Ikki.
"Why not? I live there too. It's as much my house as it is yours!!" The two were head to head, just waiting for the trigger. Then Erika comes to the rescue.
"Why not? You guys have a guest room, and your mom just loves having company over." Bunny intervened as well.
"Besides, it'll only be for a couple days, until I find an apartment. I promise." With that, Bunny gave a cute little, I'll-love-you-forever-if-you-help-me smile, and Ikki was bought. He sighed.
"Okay, but I'll have to ask my mom first, even though I know she'll say yes." Metabee was thrilled at the prospect of having Quicksilver under the same roof as him for the next few days. Sumilodon, on the other hand, was looking a little forlorn, because he had wanted to talk to this new medabot, but Fate, or Author Interference had taken away all his lines and left him silent.
Now that everything was settled, everyone split off and went home, and Bunny and Quicksilver followed Ikki to his house, stopping briefly by the hotel she was staying at to pick up her carryall bag.
* * * * * *
A lone figure sat among the tree branches, and happened to see Ikki and Metabee walk past towards home. As he sat, he also caught a brief glimpse of a young woman and her medabot walking with him. When he saw the girl's medabot, Rokusho gave a start. 'It couldn't be!!!' he thought. He moved quietly among the branches, jumping from tree to tree, trying to get far enough ahead so he could get a good look at the both of them. When he was in position, he peered through the tree branches, looking for the medabot he thought he recognized, but she had disappeared, already having entered the house. Metabee had run up ahead to the house, and the medabot had followed him, patiently listening to Metabee as he excitedly described some of his greatest robattles. Now Rokusho could only see the girl and Ikki.
Rokusho could see she had white hair and sunglasses, but she was wearing a baseball cap, so he couldn't see her eyes. He was about to give up, thinking he had finally gone insane, when after listening to Ikki tell his version of Metabee's robattles, she laughed. That's when it hit him. (Metabee: Was it a branch? Everyone else: Shh!) He knew that laugh. It was slightly different, older, but he knew it.
'Could it be? It's impossible!! She's dead!!' He thought a bit more. 'She looks to be the right age, but how could it be? Could she have escaped?' He watched the girl intently as she walked into Ikki's house and disappeared from his sight. To avoid being seen by anyone, Rokusho moved quickly, and a few minutes later, was in the park, sitting in a large oak tree.
"Elizabeth?" he said aloud. "Is it really you?"
There was no answer as a small bird alighted on the tree's branches and chirped, as if to say 'I don't know'.
'I will find out' he resolved. That night, Rokusho dreamed of a little girl named Elizabeth, and her medabot, Quicksilver.
~* * *
Will Rokusho and Bunny finally meet up again after so long? Will Dr. Aki finish his paperwork? And when will the Phantom Renegade make his appearance?
Henry: Did someone say Phantom Renegade?
Erika: What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working?
Henry: * nervous smile * ummm, day off?
Erika: * glares at Henry* You're acting awfully suspicious.
Henry: You think everyone acts suspicious.
Erika: Ah ha!! That's exactly what a suspicious person would say.
Sal: Erika, leave the poor guy alone. You can rag on him next chapter. Anyway, hi everyone!! Here's another re-tooled chapter. The changes may or may not be obvious, but they've been done, and the story is better for it.