Ki seemed to blink, slowly processing this flow of information, "wait, I-I received a mission already?"

"Indeed. This is a means for Shadow to personally evaluate your progress," Isis replied gruffly. Ex didn't supply any comment. Ki was just confused.

"But, what about my training? Flame said I still suck at combat."

"There's no better training than on-the-job training," Ex replied, stiffly leaning against one of the walls.

"So what am I supposed to do? This seems to be going really fast..." Ki murmured, feeling overwhelmed for the first time.

"He wants you to scout: inspecting the area for vulnerable spots," Isis answered, searching around her desk.

"Vulnerable spots? For what?" Ki once again questioned. Isis' brow twitched, her temper flaring. However, she tried to gather the scraps of her patience before dealing with the Medabot.

"It's just gathering data for us - that's all."

It seemed to make sense. It was just reconnaissance. Not too hard for a first assignment. "...All right, I'll be okay as long as I don't get into any fights," Ki pondered hesitantly.

"You better not," Isis responded, "you bust our cover, we're done."

"Y-yes, ma'am," Ki straightened up.

Ex shifted against the wall, "when do I throw him out?"

"His assignment will start in ten or twenty minutes," Isis answered somewhat absently. Ex grunted in response.

'I don't have time to prepare for that!' Ki panicked.

Isis noticed Ki's stiffness. "You'll do fine," she tried to reassure.

"If you say so," Ki replied, doubt coloring his words.

Isis turned towards Ex, who gave a start when he realized she turned her attention to him. "What?" He asked defensively.

"Take Ki to your superiors for his briefing. Explain Shadow's order to them and they should give Ki instructions. Then, take him to the entrance," Isis instructed.

Ex rolled his eyes, "alright, bossy."

"If you wouldn't make everything so difficult, that'd be great," Isis huffed.

"Okay, fine, I'll do it," Ex responded with a resigned tone. He motioned to Ki, "you. Come with me."

Ki narrowed his optics, but obeyed the order regardless. He trailed after the operative, being careful not to make a sound. 'And now I'm stuck with him,' Ki thought, irritation sparking through his frame.

They passed through connecting hallways without a word. Ex suddenly stopped at an entrance, "we're here." He turned his head to make sure Ki heard him, "you'll be coming in here from now on to give your debriefs. Nothing too hard - just report whatever happens on your time outside. Understand?"

Ki nodded, "I got it."

"Good." Ex motioned towards the metal frames, "after you."

Some time passed before Ki and Ex made it to the ruined chamber. The board had been shocked with the orders that Ex gave them, but nevertheless had deemed Ki fit for field duty. Ex had huffed something about being privileged.

Ki blinked as Ex pressed on a certain spot on the wall. He looked around. The place certainly seemed older and more dilapidated then the rest of the base. He also had strange emotions - like he was in some sort of danger. Ki shrugged these feelings off as nervousness and the anticipation of finally going outside.

He jumped when a hidden passageway opened, revealing a staircase within.

"You ready?"

Ki blinked when he realized he was being addressed. "I guess," he admitted.

Ex grunted, "just go up those stairs; it'll take you outside. Do not reveal this location or tell anyone what you're doing. Do you understand?" Ex turned serious, staring Ki right in the eye.

"I understand."

Ex straightened up, "good. Now get out of my sight."

Ki scoffed and stomped past Ex, who waited for the Medabot to finish ascending the staircase. There was a bright light just ahead of Ki. He narrowed his optics slightly and burst forward, suddenly excited about the possibilities that light presented.

He stumbled through the secret entrance and out into the open.

Outside.

He was free.

Ki slowly looked around. He had obviously heard of the field missions, but actually experiencing the feeling of being outside was a whole new level. He was standing in a small clearing with the wild underbrush tangling into itself a few yards away.

It was obvious that it was deserted - the area was devoid of human life. Perhaps that's what made the location appealing for an underground base.

After about a minute of standing still, Ki started for a direction towards the city.

He found a trail that appeared lightly used - one that operatives used to travel back and forth. Ki slowly strolled down the path, taking in his surroundings. It was always good to be aware of your surroundings, Ki remembered Flame telling him.

It took twenty minutes of hiking before he made it near the entrance of the park. Ki suddenly slowed down to a stop. At first glance, there appeared to be nothing special about the general area. However, there was a certain atmosphere about it.

His vision suddenly started going hazy, static danced around his visor. He shook his head in an attempt to clear the fog in his processor; it seemed to dispel slightly after the action. However, there was a notable change that had come over him.

He had hands. Human hands. Those with a healthy tan to them.

"Wha-what's this?" Ki trembled as he repeatedly flipped his transformed hands over. A look at his own body revealed to be that of a young boy - a human. One with a red top and blue shorts.

"Th-this can't be real!" Ki started to shake the longer he inspected himself.

Suddenly, the illusion melted away, exposing his true form. Ki's optics were wide as he inspected his restored metal hand. He slumped in relief, "maybe I should have Isis look at me again. I dunno if I should be hallucinating like that... I dunno if I should be hallucinating at all!"

Slower than before, Ki continued on his way towards the end of the path until he reached the park entrance. Surprisingly, there wasn't as many children as he was expecting, but perhaps they were still in school. It would account for their disappearance. It would be easier to walk around in public.

"Feels rather peaceful, " Ki mused, "however, I need to check the city's security - let's see how watchful they are."

He made his way to one of the many sidewalks that led to the intercity. As Ki weaved through dense crowds of people, he noted the abundance of security cameras. 'Good thing I'm small. They won't catch me easily,' Ki thought.

As the day wore on, Ki passed countless blocks, inspecting certain security points or noting police patrol. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Well, nothing except him, apparently.

Ki noticed the glances and pointed looks he received. 'What's their deal?' Ki wondered, warily keeping his distance.

He meandered towards an area where adults would be exercising or spending time with their kids. He also spotted kids who were on their own with their Medabots. Ki blinked a few times.

"Kids can be partners with Medabots? I get adults, but kids? Isn't that dangerous?"

As Ki stood there pondering to himself, a rock suddenly shot through the air and cracked him on his helm. It didn't even register as a sting - much less cause any damage - but Ki became irritated and confused nonetheless.

His sensors indicated the source of the projectile - three kids snickering and getting ready to throw more stones. One sailed it right at him and Ki smoothly caught it, much to their shock.

"Is this yours?" Ki snapped, bouncing it in his hand before lobbing it right back at them. They panicked but couldn't get away in time; it smacked the boy with messy dark hair and knocked him over. He appeared to have passed out.

Ki cringed, "maybe I should've adjusted my strength a bit... uh oh." A few people stopped in their tracks to stare at him in shock. Ki just slowly moved away from the area, trying not to give off the impression that he was nervous.

"Okay, I probably shouldn't have done that, but they were asking for it," Ki attempted to casually jog off. He managed to enter another section of the park before he slowed down.

Unsure what exactly to do, Ki meandered over to a nearby tree and sat against it. It was about 1430 or so, Ki noted. What was he supposed to report when he got back? There was nothing of interest that he found so far, except for putting some dumb kids in their place.

"Hey, there he is, boss! That's the Medabot that cracked me on the head!"

"I know; I was there."

Speaking of which...

'That was quick,' Ki idly thought before snapping back to reality. 'Just great! I don't need them tailing me!'

Ki easily outran his pursuers. They gave chase for a while until they gave up out of a mixture of exhaustion and exasperation.

He briefly twisted his head to check for them, not looking where he was running. One moment he was darting down a path and rapidly turned the corner, the next thing he knew was that he was on the ground lightly dazed.

"Ugh, I've got to stop meeting people like this... You okay?"

Ki quickly rose to his feet, warily looking around him. "Sorry," he apologized meekly, "I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"No big deal."

Time seemed to slow down as Ki inspected this stranger. Some of the details were off, but Ki was sure that the other Medabot looked just like him. They could have been the same for all he knew.

The other seemed to get uneasy - which manifested itself into impatience. "What?" The other folded his arms, "you want a picture? It'd last longer."

Ignoring the snappy remark, Ki recalled from his brief a person, or rather a Medabot of interest that he had to observe. This one seemed to match all of the descriptions: a Hercules Beetle type with Saikachis armor. Had a special ability that only the select few with rare medals have.

He had acquired the target.

Thirty minutes earlier found Metabee helping out with his daily quota of chores. He had almost fit in after almost two weeks and was becoming more of a asset to Nae. However, she still had that uneasy feeling in the back of her mind. None of this was right.

It would continue to be that way unless Ikki was found. The question was, would her young friend be found dead or alive?

Nae shook her head- she couldn't dwell on anything other than her work. It kept her grounded and focused - the two things she needed right now to keep her sanity in place. She slowly balled her hands into fists. Distractions weren't working.

Nothing was working.

A light, cool touch brought her out of her turbulent thoughts. She looked down at her right side and found Honey looking back at her, concerned. Honey pulled at her sleeve gently and Nae followed, 'does she need to tell me something? Something she doesn't want Metabee to overhear?'

"Honey?" Nae softly inquired, curious. They were outside at the side of the garage. Honey looked towards the door once before focusing on her Medafighter.

"Ms. Nae, I am concerned about your wellbeing," she stated, looking down at her hands, "I understand you are very worried about Ikki, but I fear this is taking a toll on your health."

Nae gave an abrupt start. Physically, she felt okay, but her mental state was almost shot. "I'm fine, Honey," Nae gave a unconvincing smile, "these last couple of weeks have been difficult to process."

Honey tilted her helm, "I understand that... and that's precisely why I don't believe you; you are not 'fine'."

Nae combed her fingers through her hair in frustration. Honey usually didn't pry when it came to her emotions, was she acting so abnormally that it caused Honey to notice?

"Really, I'm fine - you don't need to worry about me," Nae stated firmly, leaving no room for arguments. Honey sighed - a habit she picked up from her Medafighter - and nodded.

"If you say so," she murmured, thoroughly unconvinced.

Nae nodded firmly, before looking back at the side door, "we need to get back to work; there's a bunch of orders we need to get finished."

Nae looked around, "huh, I wonder where Metabee went..."

"I recall he was looking for a specific part for one of our orders," Honey tried to helpfully add.

Nae didn't reply as she scanned the rest of the compound. She sighed and pressed her palm to her forehead, "Metabee must have left while we were outside."

"What for?" Honey sounded genuinely baffled.

Nae wiped some sweat off her temple, "he must have overheard us. I suspect he thinks he's being a burden." She breathed out slowly - surely, he went somewhere to blow off some steam. She noticed that he was attempting to put up a strong front. However, she knew him too well to be fooled.

Metabee was highly emotional by nature: everything about this situation stoked a rage she'd scarcely seen before. She pressed her lips firmly. She had faith that he wouldn't do something especially drastic, but his anger made him unpredictable. Who'd knew what he'd be up to...

The Medabot in question was walking quietly alongside the river, wandering towards the park. He hated how dazed he felt all the time. His anger was mostly tempered down in order to function, but it was constantly present and eating away at him. While he definitely had a temper, his fury had a different feel to it - hatred.

He shook his head side to side. It was no use thinking like that, it wouldn't bring Ikki home faster. 'But I have no idea where to even look. For all I know, he's not even in the country.'

Great. He was trying to calm down, and that thought just made everything worse. With a dark growl, Metabee drove his fist into a tree. The bark formed a crater around his fist, a few leaves floating down.

'Okay, that didn't feel too bad... Maybe I need to spar with somebody.' The last thing he needed was to wreck something and be branded a menace.

He continued his walk, arms crossed and emanating an aura that caused people to avoid him. That is until a black blur knocked him off his feet. 'Are you kidding me?' Getting knocked down seemed to be a thing as of late.

"Hey! What gives?" Metabee snapped.

"Sorry! I guess I wasn't paying attention..." The stranger turned to look at him, suddenly freezing.

'Oookay, that's weird.' Metabee waited for the other to snap out of whatever trance he was under. When that didn't happen, he crossed his arms in irritation, "what? You want a picture? It'd last longer."

The stranger slowly got to his feet, unnerving Metabee the longer he went without saying anything.

"What are you anyway?" Metabee questioned, "some sort of KBT type?"

"You can say that," the other replied, "we seem to be similar enough."

Metabee studied him for a moment before dismissing him and side-stepping to the right. Whatever, he had more important things to do anyway. Suddenly, the other Medabot appeared in front of him, blocking his way.

"Hold on a second."

"What?" Metabee snapped.

The stranger looked startled which morphed into resolution, "I want to challenge you."

Metabee stared, dumbfounded. Of all the-! The spark of irritation transformed into irrational anger. This guy runs right into him and demands to robattle?

Before Metabee took the chance to run his mouth, he quickly thought about it. He had been itching for a fight - maybe it would distract him for a little bit and allow him to practice fighting by himself.

From the looks of it, his double didn't seem to have a Medafighter nearby. "Where's your Medafighter?" He asked.

The stranger blinked, "my what?"

Impatience flared, "your Medafighter - partner!"

Understanding registered in the other's optics, "...I don't have one."

Metabee didn't know why he bothered being surprised; everything about this guy was weird, of course he wouldn't have a partner. Then again, maybe this wouldn't be so bad - he was itching to blow off some steam.

"...Why not? I'll fight ya."

"R-really?"

"I could use a warmup."

"Then it's agreed!"

Metabee calmly watched as Mr. Referee somehow materialized out of the tree next to them. The stranger jumped - which told Metabee that either he was new to robattling and hadn't met the Referee, or he was a total stranger to this city.

"I officially declare this match a submission robattle!" The man furiously patted all the leaves off himself before continuing, "as such, I, Mr. Referee, shall act as referee so no one gets hurt! Medafighters - wait a minute! Where are they?"

"We're going solo today, old man!" Metabee stretched his arms in a sort of warm-up.

Mr. Referee took several moments to think before shrugging - it really wasn't something he hadn't seen before. He got into his ready stance as a group of kids started to crowd around, curious and excited at the prospective robattle.

"Medabots, ROBATTLE!"

A/N:

Well, look at that.

Chapter that I've been working on and off for 2+ years reeks of writer's block/forced writing. Ugh.

I'm now officially enlisted in the Navy as an air traffic controller - which means I'll have to spend most of my time learning the manual and trying not to kill people. Stress for daayyysss.

But yeah, between the Navy, severe depression that's been plaguing me for the longest time, and the ever-present writer's block - I just have little to no motivation anymore. I'll keep trying, but I don't want to pump out a even more mediocre product. Which means I can easily go years without updating, which I don't want either. I suppose it's all about finding balance.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my latest chapter and sleep-deprived author's note, I'll be off.

Hopefully it won't take me another 2-3 years to update.

-Winterbornbree