Chapter Four: Medaforce Away!
Larry stopped dead in his tracks as he entered Jane's store. It was quite literally, packed to the rafters. He could see Jane running around, finding parts and handing them to other customers. And even though she looked exhausted, she seemed to be having the time of her life. He and Sheena waited until the crowd had abated slightly, and then walked to the counter.
"Looks like business is booming. Guess we've been hit by Medabot fever."
She came back from one of the shelves behind the counter and smiled. "Larry, how are you doing? Did you have a problem with the medal?"
Larry shook his head. "No, no problems. In fact, I remember you saying that if I did get that Medabot working, I should come and pay you a visit so you can meet her."
"Well, I'm about to close the shop for a few minutes to have some tea. Would you like to join me?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll just call Sheena. Hey, Sheena! Get your lazy butt in here and introduce yourself. If it wasn't for Jane, you'd have been turned into a toaster or something by this time."
Sheena strolled in from outside, hands once more laced behind her head. Her eyes were still slightly narrowed by the afterglow of her victory, and she gamely shook Jane's hand.
Larry sat on top of the counter and pulled Sheena up. They watched Jane go over to the door, and she was about to close the door when something caught her attention. He couldn't see very well from his vantage point, but it looked like she was talking to someone.
"I'm sorry, I'm closing for the next half-hour. Come back at one."
A reply, which he couldn't hear, and then she shot the two of them a troubled glance. "I don't see how it concerns you if the two of them are in here. Now, would you please leave," Another reply. "I am warning you, if you don't get out of here, I'll call the police."
Larry gave Sheena one glance and the two of them jumped off the counter. Sheena ran ahead, but Larry had scarcely made it to the door when she was blown back in. Jane gave a small shout of surprise and fell down. Through the door came Granitedon and Nunchar. Both were barrelling towards Sheena, and it was apparent they had less than noble intentions.
Sheena ducked behind the counter as Nunchar fired a torrent of shurikens at her. "Hey, two-on-one is against Medabot Federation rules. Larry, we have a problem."
Larry looked up from where he had been helping Jane get up. "I know, I know. And you're still damaged from Fellyne's attack. Can you heal yourself?"
"I could, but my healing isn't meant to replace repairs. I could probably knock about sixty percent of this damage off, but if these two are going to be fighting dirty, it won't be enough."
"Alright, do it and then head outside the store. I don't want us smashing up Jane's stuff."
A dull green glow came from behind the counter and Larry ran outside. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Hank and Jeff, both with identical grins on their faces.
"What are you two thinking? You're really that obsessed with winning that you'll break the rules and risk getting expelled from the WMA?"
The WMA was the World Medafighter Association, an arm of the Medabot Federation. It kept track of every single medafighter, their robattles, wins, losses...And infringements. If you seriously broke the rules and they expelled you, your respect in the Medabot community would be nil. You also risked having your Medabot taken away, and getting blacklisted. Get put on the blacklist, and you're forbidden from ever owning a Medabot again.
Jeff replied in a small, mocking voice. "Oh dear, get expelled? I don't care, and neither does Hank or Kara. We don't need respect, fear is a better alternative."
"I'm not seeing Kara around. How sure are you about that?"
"She's the leader! Do you think we'd do anything without her permission?"
"And the blacklist? Being allowed no Medabots puts a mild dent in your vision, don't you think?"
"Hello, we're rich! My dad makes more money in a day than your little league father ever will. Anything can be found or arranged for the right price."
Sheena suddenly came bolting out the door, Granitedon following close behind her. She stopped abruptly and flipped backwards. She landed behind Granitedon, but before she could fire, Nunchar appeared next to her and sent her flying with a sweep of his sword. She hit the ground with a dull thud, but managed to scramble up to avoid Nunchar's leap at her. But she didn't have enough time to recover before Granitedon struck her with the full force of his body tackle.
She collided with one of the junked cars standing around the yard, her body smashing into it with enough force to leave a sizeable dent in the door. Larry's Medawatch squalled out a warning in a much louder manner than usual.
Sheena: All weapons systems off-line. Arms - Function Ceased. Left Leg - Function Ceased. Head part - 93% damage. Core circuits overheating. Be advised that any further damage might cause irreparable harm.
Larry ran over to her, any thoughts of robattling driven from his mind. Kneeling down, he lifted her into a sitting position.
"Hey, Sheena...You still okay?"
She rested her head against the car, looking at him. "Sorry about that. I promised you I'd never let you down, and now I've gone and done just that."
Larry patted her on the back. "Hey, you didn't let me down in any way. No one would have been able to last that long against two Medabots. Besides, I bet if you were running at full, you'd be throwing them around like stuffed toys."
"Appreciate the sentiment..."
Jeff interrupted her. "Oh, please, you're going to make me cry. Nunchar, let's mess up their little moment. Take out Sheena."
Nunchar raised his arms, the shuriken launchers warming up. It seemed to Larry that everything slowed down. He saw the sun glinting off Nunchar and Granitedon. He saw Jeff's sneer widen, to the extent that it looked in danger of slipping off his face. He heard Hank yelling some obscenity at Sheena. He saw Jane in the doorway, a look of horror on her face as she watched these events unfold. He glanced back and saw Sheena narrowing her eyes and awaiting the impact. When time had resumed its normal speed, Larry had already made his decision.
Immediately, he stooped down to his knees and draped his body over his Medabot.
"Larry, what...Get off me, you're going to get hurt!"
"They're not going to destroy you, not on my watch."
Jeff didn't seem to mind Larry being in the way. "Nunchar, fire!"
The next moment, the shurikens hit Larry's back with a sickening, dull puncturing sound.
Medabot weapons were never meant to be used humans. They could hurt you, but were far from deadly. Nunchar's shurikens were an exception, though. They were sharpened to an incredibly sharp edge, and could slice through thin sheets of steel. Also, they were extremely heavy.
However, Larry was lucky, as the shurikens had been fired from so far, the velocity had been reduced by quite a bit. That still didn't mean it was any easier on him, as getting an inch of steel stuck in your back is definitely not pleasant.
Sheena heard Larry whisper, "Damn, that hurt..." and then he dropped next to her. His white shirt was rapidly being dyed red by the thin rivulets of blood beginning to leak from the wounds on his back. She turned on her one good leg and saw his face had gone pale; the only colour left being in his cheeks.
He slowly opened his one eye, pain evident in his eyes. "Hey, you're still okay, right?"
Sheena banged his head gently with her fist. "You idiot! You numbskull! Why in the hell did you do that? You could have been killed. Jeff...He saw you were there and he still fired..."
"Sheena, calm down. I'm still fine, so just chill..."
Sheena was now fuming. Rage was boiling deep down inside her, rising like an active volcano. "No, I'm not going to chill! They could have killed you, understand? It's reckless, it's wrong," She turned to Jeff and Hank, both of whom looked to be in high spirits. "You two, you're animals! You don't even deserve to be called medafighters."
Hank simpered, regarding her with disdain. "Ooh, I'm so scared. Man, your medafighter is the worst I've ever seen. What kid of person risks himself for a machine?"
Larry interposed, pulling himself into a standing position. "She's not just a machine, Hank. She's more a person than you'll ever be. If I had another chance, I'd do it again."
Both burst out laughing, Jeff draping himself over Hank to try and catch his breath. When they were finished, Jeff raised his Medawatch again.
"Hank, let's scrap them both. We'll junk his Medabot and send Mister Friendship over there to the emergency ward."
"Good idea. Granitedon, you go for Larry. Try to crack at least three ribs."
"Nunchar, make sure that Metabee stays down for good this time."
Larry started to worry, because these two were crazy, and meant to do what they had said.
Sheena was standing a few feet in front of him, head bowed and her shoulders shaking slightly. He wanted called her back, but she seemed lost in a world of her own.
Despite the impending danger, Sheena didn't move. Thoughts were running through her head at the speed of light.
"No problem. As long as we stick together, we'll be a hell of a team."
Larry, you gave me a second chance, even after I behaved like a spoilt child.
"You're depending on your Medabot to tell you what to do. What kind of medafighter are you?"
"One who trusts his Medabot..."
Trust too.
"I think you're the most impulsive, unpredictable Medabot I've ever seen, and this time I mean it in a good way."
Heh, you can even make a Medabot feel great while you're pointing out their flaws
"You did it! Sheena, we beat them!"
No one can beat you for enthusiasm. You can celebrate the good, and accept the bad.
"Larry, what...Get off me, you're going to get hurt!"
"They're not going to destroy you, not on my watch."
I can't see any casual medafighter doing that for his Medabot.
"She's not just a machine, Hank. She's more a person than you'll ever be..."
No, it's not going to happen. I'm not going to let them do this, I'm not about to let them hurt you or destroy me. This...This has gone far enough! I'm going to put a stop to this right now!
Sheena suddenly yelled at the top of her voice. "I'm ending this right here, right now! I've stood here and let you hurt my medafighter...No, he's more than that. He's my friend. And I...Won't...Watch this anymore! YAAGH!"
A bright blue light suddenly erupted from her, causing Hank and Jeff to halt their Medabots. She lifted her head, regarding her opponents with a gaze that had absolutely no mercy in it.
"Alright boys, let's dance...Medaforce!"
She brought down her laser cannon and an immense beam of blue energy burst forth, hurtling towards Granitedon and Nunchar. Hank and Jeff commanded them to back off, but it was too late. The beam struck both of them, and when it cleared, the duo of Medabots was lying on the ground, out of commission.
Jeff's mouth was agape. "What, what was that?"
Hank could only mutter something that sounded like "Bluh-Bluh?"
Larry stared at his Medabot, the pain in his back forgotten momentarily. "That was unreal."
Sheena gave a small sigh of respite, before tottering ungainly and collapsing on her face. Larry made it over to her and rolled her over. She looked as tired as a Medabot could look. His Medawatch showed that all her power, including the reserves, had been drained.
"Sheena, that was amazing! What was that thing?"
"A plug, a plug, my kingdom for a plug!"
Larry laughed, relief and pain simultaneously flooding his mind. A bolt of lightning suddenly ripped the sky in two, and a hard downpour started. He picked her up and started carrying her back to Jane's store. But, he still had a few words for Hank and Jeff.
"Get lost, both of you. I don't know if you two realise it, but you nearly committed murder today. Your fathers could get you a lighter sentence, but you definitely will not come off looking good. If you ever come near Sheena or me ever again, I'll make sure you fry. Not only do I have Jane's testimony, Sheena has the entire thing recorded in her memory banks."
The two seemed to understand his reasoning and wasted no time in getting out. The moment they left, Larry resumed taking Sheena back into the store. As he placed her on the workbench, a sharp twinge reminded him of the fact that he still had two razor sharp pieces of metal stuck in his back.