Episode 3: The Meeting of Two Paths

The next day, Erika was happy to see Ikki, for once, getting to the bus on time. However, her smile faded when she saw his long, sad face. He took a seat next to her and set his backpack on the floor, but he didn't say anything in greeting. Even as the bus started down the road, Ikki remained in a depressed silence, which unnerved Erika. When they pulled to a stop at a red light, she finally broke down and asked him what was wrong, and Ikki told her what he had heard the night before. Erika sighed.

"Wow, tough break." she said, trying to sound supporting. "But I'm sure Henry's boss will hire him. Your dad's a good guy, and anybody would be lucky to hire him."

"That isn't even the real problem." Ikki grumbled. "I don't know if you noticed, Erika, but my family hasn't been doing well with money lately. It's getting to where my mom can barely afford a can of meda-roli."

He kicked the seat in front of him.

"It's all Dr. Aki's fault! He knows that my dad is a good man. He would never steal!"

"Ikki, calm down!" Erika said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not like Dr. Aki had any other choice. Thousands of dollars were taken from his company and placed into an offshore account under your father's name. If it weren't for the fact that the evidence found was so ambiguous, plus the fact that Dr. Aki didn't press charges, you dad wouldn't have gotten off so easy."

Ikki sighed and gave the seat one more kick. "I just feel so useless."

Erika found herself with nothing to say, but she left her hand on Ikki's shoulder as a sign of comfort. A little while later, the bus pulls a stop at the Riverview middle school, and the children started to pile out. Ikki was the last to exit the bus, and he trudged slowly towards the school building. He didn't really feel up for this, but he figured that he would persevere. True, things weren't that great for his parents, but thing could've been worse.

"Hey, Stinky!"

Ikki froze, and he groaned. Now things were worse. He spun about, and he could see the Screws stepping off the bus and making their way towards him. His first instinct was to run, but Ikki knew better. Spyke ran track in PE, and Ikki could barely do a sit up. He decided it would be safer, and healthier, to just stand his ground and take his lumps. Samantha sauntered over to him with a smug grin, and she leered down at him to make him look small.

"We missed ya at class, yesterday." she jeered. "Sure is quiet when you aren't around. Can't tell if I like it better that way or not."

Both Spyke and Sloan started to laugh, but they stopped short when Samantha held up a hand.

"Ya know, Ikki, I've always known you were a sap," she went on, "but I guess it makes sense when you live with a loser family. Take that dad of yours for instance."

Ikki's eyes went wide, and he gawked at Samantha. She wouldn't…she wouldn't dare go that far.

"My mom works at the plant where your dad works." Samantha explained. "Oops! I meant where he used to work. She said it was a total fiasco when the boss man finally turned him away. But I guess that's to be expected when you're a dirty creep that steals money and…"

"SHUT UP!"

Samantha froze. Spyke and Sloan became stiff with terror, and they stared at Ikki. Samantha ground her teeth together, and she went nose to nose with him.

"What was that again, Stinky?"

Ikki remained stalwart as he clenched his fists. "You don't have any clue what you're talking about, Samantha! You can do whatever you want to me, but you will not bad mouth my family. Period!"

"You did kinda go too far on that one." Sloan said.

"Yeah, boss." Spyke piped in. "Maybe you should just calm down and…"

Samantha suddenly whirled around on them, and she raised a fist.

"If I want your opinions, Screws, I'll give them to you, along with a knuckle sandwich!"

She turned back to Ikki.

"As for you, I'll badmouth anyone I want. You're nothing more than a sorry, shriveled up piece of trash that's should count himself lucky I give you the time of day. I'm gonna do whatever I want whenever I want, and there's not a sorry thing you can do about it!"

Ikki snarled. "Oh, yeah?!"

Before he even realized what he was doing, Ikki shoved Samantha hard and sent her sprawling onto the ground in a heap. Both Spyke and Sloan were struck blind and dumb as their boss hit the ground, and Ikki himself appeared mortified by what he had done, albeit a bit proud.

"Eh, Ikki." Sloan called. "Friendly advice: RUN!"

Ikki didn't need any further prodding, and he charged as fast as he could out of the front gate of the school. Samantha then jumped to her feet, and she looked like she was ready to kill someone. Particularly, the dark headed ten-year-old that was streaking down the sidewalk.

"That does it, Tenryou! When I'm through with you, you're gonna wish I just threw you in the dumpster! Let's put the screws to him, boys!"

She took off after Ikki with both Sloan and Spyke in tow, and from there the chase was on. From the front of the school and into the busy sidewalk, Ikki was plowing through the usual morning goers with all three of the Screws on his tail. His only saving grace was the sight of the midtown bus, and he was fortunate to have his bus pass on hand. The doors were just about to close when he dived inside. Unfortunately, Samantha dived for him and caught him by the ankle. Ikki seized the hand railing and pulled as hard as he could to escape. Suddenly, his shoe came loose, and Samantha went reeling backwards. The bus doors closed, and then it went trundling down the road as it left the Screws in the dust. As Spyke and Sloan helped their boss to her feet, Samantha scowled and waved Ikki's shoe in the air.

"I'll get you for this, Ikki Tennryou! You'll have to go back to school eventually, and when you do I'll be waiting! You hear me?!"

Ikki couldn't actually, even from his seat in the back of the bus. However, the fleeting sight of her red face and his missing shoe was enough of a sign that he had made a massive mistake. Resigned and unsure what to do, he slunk down into his seat as the bus made its way deeper into town. He eventually let himself off in the middle of the business district. He didn't have any sort of plan, to go home now would only worry his mother, so he chose to walk around and try to think of something to do. Given how busy it was in this part of Riverview City, Ikki was hardly noticed by any of the adults, so he went about at his leisure as he checked out the shops that lined the streets. Naturally, Ikki's first, and perhaps his only stop, was a certain toy store near the foot of a hill that led to a towering factory. This was the official medabot toy store, where all of the latest models and other related gadgets were displayed, and they all came straight from factory up the hill. With his allowance spent, Ikki knew he could do nothing more than window shop, but that didn't matter. What he was looking at now he knew he could never attain.

Through the window, Ikki could see a solid white watch on a display. However, unlike common time-pieces, this one possessed a digital read out and several buttons. This was the latest version of the Medawatch: model DX. To the unenlightened, the medawatch was the finest piece of technology devised by Dr. Aki. Thanks to a revolutionized, hard-light holographic interface, the watch could make calls, provided GPS, and, most importantly, could wirelessly interface with any medabot model and act as a remote. It was easily the most desired prize of any medabot fan, but, unfortunately, it was also the most unattainable. The price was near astronomical, and Ikki didn't have a prayer of making even a fraction of the asking price. Still, he was a kid, and, if there was one form of income that kids were well acquainted with, it was dreams. Ikki could almost imagine himself with the watch on his wrist. He could almost feel the smooth, futuristic plastic resting against his skin as he commanded his Totalizer model to attack his Bottafly model. He laughed, perhaps for the first time since his dad got home last night, and then he took a deep breath.

"If only." he muttered to himself.

Just then, a sound tickled his ear. He looked up the side walk, and his eyes jumped at the sight of a small white dog that came tearing down the way. Upon closer inspection, he spied a string of cans tied to its tail, and it was obvious that the sounds of the clinking were what was making it run. On the one hand, Ikki felt like ignoring it and going about his business. However, he was overcome with an odd feeling. Looking at the dog, for a reason he couldn't figure out, he could only see himself, and the three cans tied to its tail had an eerie resemblance to Samantha, Spyke, and Sloan. He huffed to himself, and he stood in the path of the running dog. Just as it came upon him, he bent down and grabbed him, and in one swift motion he yanked the string off the dog's tail. He then let the dog go, and it went skittering down the sidewalk a short way. It then stopped short, and it gave its three short wags. When it no longer sensed the weight, it barked three happy yips, spun around, and then tackled Ikki, licking his face repeatedly.

"H-hey! Knock it off!" Ikki laughed as he tried to push the mutt off. "I'm glad I could help! But, please, stop it with the salty kisses!"

He finally managed to pry the dog off, and he sat up. The dog remained sitting next to him, panting heavily while wearing a large doggy smile. Ikki smiled back and patted the dog on the head.

"Salty. That name really fits you, doesn't it?"

"Sure seems to."

Ikki froze, and it occurred to him that a shadow had been cast over him. He looked up, and through the glare of the afternoon sun he could see a man wearing a hat and trench coat standing over him. Ikki immediately jumped to his feet to run, Salty even growling for good measure, but the man raised his hands defensively.

"Woah! Woah! Easy there. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle ya. I was on my way to work, and I spied that little act of heroism back there. That was very good of you, kiddo."

Ikki studied the man carefully. He had his face partially covered by the bill of his hat, and only his mouth of visible. Through the gap in his coat, he could make out a white, button-up shirt, and he was wearing khaki pants. There didn't seem to be anything threatening about him.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

The man chuckled. "That's a good policy, and a sign you listen to your parents. Keep it up. I'll let you on your way in a bit; I was just wanting to give you a reward."

Ikki perked up at that. "Reward?"

The man nodded. "In my book, if anyone does a good deed then they should be rewarded. That's what we grownups call good karma. Now, let's see, where did I put the blasted thing?"

He reached into the large pockets of his coat and started digging. His search brought about a shower of candy wrappers and empty instant coffee packets, some nuts and bolts, a screwdriver, and several other miscellaneous items. Ikki quirked a brow while growing steadily more concerned. He was just about to run again when the man suddenly pulled out a black box.

"EURKA!" he exclaimed. "I knew it was in there. Stuck in that same blasted hole in the bottom of my right pocket. I need to get that thing patched up."

He turned back to Ikki, and he presented him the box.

"Go ahead. It's yours."

Albeit reluctantly, Ikki accepted the box and opened it. Suddenly, his eyes popped wide open, and nearly dropped the box. He reached inside and pulled out a brand new Medawatch DX. It was there, right in his hands, and it was yellow: his favorite color. He looked back to the man, half expecting him to burst out laughing before taking it back.

"Surprised?" the man asked. "Got the thing at a raffle last month. I thought I was entering for the weekend at Hawaii."

"So, wait! You're serious? I can just have it?"

The man nodded. "I don't need it, and you kids seem to be real hot for them. Besides, it's not like I'm just giving it to you. You did a good deed, so you earned it."

The man then turned and started to walk.

"Well, I've wasted enough of your time. Have a nice day, and remember. Stay in school!"

Then, just like that, he was gone. Ikki watched him go in stunned silence with his mouth hanging open. He stared down at the watch, to Salty, and back again to the watch. A surge of emotion jolted through his body, and he cried out with ecstatic joy.

"I can't believe it! I just can't believe it! I've got a Medawatch! A Medawatch!"

Salty yipped and barked, doing a small dance as he joined in the boy's jubilee. The two then ducked into an alley, and Ikki got to work setting up his watch. After a few failed attempts to switch it on, he popped open the face of the watch to reveal that its battery was missing. Returning to the black box, Ikki was surprised once again. Cradled at the bottom of the box was a medbot medal, not unlike the ones used to power his models. However, this one was much bigger, and it had the symbol of a Hercules beetle larvae on its face. Ikki took it out of the case, and he studied it for a moment.

"Huh, I guess they made the battery to match the one's for the medabots."

He shrugged at the thought, and then he placed the battery inside and shut the watch face. At last, it was the moment of truth, and Ikki trembled with excitement. He held out his arm, just enough so that it didn't feel awkward, then then he pressed the start button. To his joy, the medawatch whirred to life, and a holographic image lit up the screen, displaying the words "START UP".

Beginning registration phase. chimed a voice over the watch's speakers. Please state your name.

"Ikki Tenryou!" the boy declared proudly.

Thank you "Ikki Tenryou". the voice said. Initiating biometrics scan.

A beam of light shot out from the medawatch, and it scanned Ikki's face, blinding him momentarily.

Biometric scan complete. Beginning compatibility scan.

"Compatibility scan?" Ikki asked. This was perhaps the strangest registration process Ikki had ever seen for an electronic device. The screen readout was now flashing a red light, as well as making an annoying pinging sound. Just what was this thing doing?

Compatibility recognized! the voice suddenly declared, the light switching to a solid green. Congratulation "Ikki Tenryou". Registration has been completed, and compatibility has been found. Metabee awakening sequence has initiated.

"Huh?" Ikki said. The watch was starting to become warm and uncomfortable, and it was even vibrating. "What are you doing? What the heck is a Metabee?"

Medamorphis process has been primed, and initial merge is ready. INITIALIZE!

Suddenly, the medawatch exploded with light, and Ikki suddenly went stiff as his mind went blank.

(You know the words! Sing along with me! Engage intro theme!)

Medabots! (BOTS! BOTS! BOTS!) Go get your friends!

The medawatch vanished, and pieces of armor materialized around Ikki's body and began to slowly converge upon him.

It's time to battle! YEAH, ROBATTLE! Till you drop! (More medbots!)

Ikki's arms became encased in yellow gauntlets, the barrels of blasters extending beyond the knuckles.

Don't lose control! It's time to make it TO THE TOP! (More power! More power!)

White armor plating then covered his chest, followed by yellow armor surrounding his legs.

It's time to battle! YEAH, ROBATTLE!

An antlered helmet was then placed over his head, completing the beetle themed armor.

MEDABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTS!
Then, just like that, it was over. Where once a dark haired ten-year-old stood, there was, in his place, a yellow and white beetle medabot, standing tall and strong. The robot took one mighty step forward…and then fell flat on its face. There, it remained, with no witness save for a very horrified Salty.

Next time on Medabots Re-bot-ted:

A very confused Metabee awakens to find himself in a world far unlike any he has ever seen before. While desperate to find his missing comrades, he is shocked to find that he has, for the first time in a long time, bonded to an organic lifeform. While unsettling news to be sure it pales in comparison to a run in with a mysterious group of weirdos, a fellow medabot that has gone completely mad, and...wait, why is that guy in the bow tie shouting about? Hey, what are you doing? Leggo of th-

"AS WAS BEING SAID, THERE ARE MANY SURPRISES FOR YOUNG METABEE AND HIS NEW PARTNER! TUNE IN FOR THE EXCITING NEXT ENTRY: METABEE VS. WARBANDIT!

MEDABOT, ROBATTLE!"

...Yeah, what he said. See ya next time.