A/N: I have to give a lot of credit with this fic to my beloved brother. Sure, we have our occasional spats, but we have it where it counts-- we really do like each other, and we plot brilliant stories! Anywho, if you like this, besure to give him a smattering of applause-- after all, he bought the lego sets that got me interested in the story. Read and REVIEW!! (Reviews make me happy. I finally discovered the reply feature, so now I can reply to them too! Isn't that exciting?)
Chapter 2: Another One of Those Days
Sensei Keiken sighed. He was definitely having one of those days. First, Hikaru and Ha-Ya-To had stumbled into the regeneration station complaining of bruises, headaches and other calamities. After tending to the two pilots, Keiken headed to the Battle Machine hangar to check up on Ryo.
When he arrived, the first thing the Exo-Force leader had found was the Gate Guardian in a total state of disrepair, and the Stealth Hunter face down on the ground-- tools scattered everywhere. Sighing, Sensei Keiken glanced around, looking for the culprit of these and other disasters.
"Ryo!" Keiken called, casting his gaze around the hangar bay. Dozens of computers, on and not being used, each completing dozens of different processes and crunching numbers for the brilliant
"Over here," Finally, Keiken located a miserable form huddled up behind one of the Stealth Hunter's legs.
"Where?" Keiken asked, waiting to see if Ryo would tell him where.
"Behind the Stealth Hunter," Came the dismal reply. Ryo's head peeked out for a moment before sucking back behind the giant battle machine.
"What happened here?" Keiken asked gently, coming around the leg and staring down at the battle Machine Engineer, doing his best to ignore the tear-streaked cheeks.
"Stealth Hunter fell over," Ryo said simply, now sounding more frustrated than teary. "Stupid Hikaru! I could kill him if I wasn't more concerned about the preservation of human life."
"Why?" Keiken asked, trying to figure out exactly how this giant battle machine had managed to topple over. It wasn't particularly top-heavy…
Frowning, Ryo wondered why on earth Sensei was asking why he wanted to kill Hikaru. Frustrated that Sensei Keiken hadn't listened the first time, Ryo glanced up, eyes snapping angrily. "Because Hikaru's stupid," Ryo repeated.
Keiken's eyes widened. This problem was more serious than he'd originally thought. Clarifying his question, Sensei Keiken shook his head. "No, Why did Stealth Hunter fall over?"
"Because I kicked it," Ryo said, frowning and rubbing his booted foot. "Hard."
"Why did you kick it?" Keiken asked, careful not to allow the question to be misinterpreted.
"Because I hate my life," Ryo replied. "I hate everybody. I hate you, Sensei."
Taking a deep breath, Sensei sighed, he wasn't angry at all. However, he was concerned, and slightly sympathetic of the young techie. Although Ryo was a very sensitive young man, Keiken had learned from experience that tough love often worked best with the mechanic. "You sound like a toddler." Keiken scolded, shaking his head.
"I know," Ryo snapped irritably. "That doesn't mean I care."
Standing, Sensei Keiken turned and walked away several steps before stopping and turning around. "There's no way to work with you when you're like this, Ryo."
"I know," Ryo muttered from where he sat, still hunched in the fetal position behind the Stealth Hunter's armor plated leg.
"What's wrong?" Keiken asked after a long moment of silence.
"Well…" Ryo sighed gustily, "it's just that-"
"Hello, anyone home?" Takeshi stuck his green head through the door, glancing around. "Sensei? What are you doing here? Where's Ryo?"
Ryo jumped to his feet, tools clattering from his lap to the floor. "What in the name of sanity do you want Takeshi? Don't tell me you did something to your battle machine!" Ryo howled, looking ready to tear someone's head off.
Takeshi brightened at the prospect of working on the Grand Titan. "Well, actually, now that you mention it, I've been meaning to replace the--"
"JUST SECURE THAT RIMA ORIS BEFORE I MURDER YOU!!"Ryo yelled.
"Just take it easy," Takeshi suggested. "No harm done. You don't have to work on the Grand Titan if you don't want to. Besides, it looks like you have enough going on with the Stealth Hunter and Gate Guardian."
It goes without saying that Ryo didn't take to this news very well. In fact, he began flinging the tools scattered on the floor with the sole intent of impaling the Exo-Force pilot.
"What the-- Ack!" Takeshi choked as a screwdriver embedded itself in the wall beside his head.
Then Ryo charged, swinging his lucky wrench like a club. "LEAVE THE JOB TO THE TECHIE AND STOP MAKING MORE WORK FOR ME!!" He howled, swinging it in the direction of the green-haired pilot.
Quite aware of the imminent danger, Sensei Keiken grabbed the wrench from behind, which caused an instant stop on Ryo's part. With a cry of surprise, the purple-haired Techie thudded backwards to the floor, landing hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Keiken turned to Takeshi who, with nary a whimper on his part, promptly fainted.
Keiken sighed and glanced down at Ryo, lying flat on his back and gasping for breath.
"Try and get some work done. I'll be seeing you soon. This warrants a discussion."
Ryo had no doubt this 'discussion' would end with him being stuck in the brig for a month. Still gasping for breath, the engineer tried to explain, but Sensei Keiken would have none of it. With a grunt, the Exo-Force leader lifted Takeshi and carried him out of the lab, slamming the door.
Sensei never slammed doors.
With a whimper, Ryo rolled over and tucked his knees into his chest, taking small breaths. Calm down, the rational side of his brain implored. You're overreacting. This is pointless, anyway. The thought didn't seem to help much. Then why did they have to start it?! Ryo wondered angrily.
Ryo stared in disgust at the Stealth Hunter. "Better get this done," Ryo whined in a mimicry of Hikaru's voice. "After all, Hikaru has practice to do within the hour, and heaven knows we'll need Hikaru to show us how everything's done around here," With a sigh, Ryo pried yet another glob of fused wires from the cockpit of the Stealth Hunter.
Then an idea crept into Ryo's mind. Shaking his head, the Techie tried to push the idea from his mind. No need for pranks, he thought. But he's such a know-it-all, he thought back at himself. Besides, this wouldn't hurt anything. It's not dangerous, just… well, sort of annoying to him. Let's see, if I tweak the stabilizers slightly and empty a little bit from the fuel tanks…
Grinning, the engineer quickly got back to work-- this time in a much better mood…
When Ryo arrived in Sensei Keiken's quarters, he immediately realized he was the last one to arrive. Grinning sheepishly, he wiped the oil on his hands off of them and onto his already quite dirty uniform. Glancing at Sensei Keiken, the engineer spoke up. "Well, I've finally decided that my tantrum was the result of hormone imbalance and a lack of nutrients."
Sensei Keiken nodded silently, then cleared his throat. "Don't you think you owe these three something?" He said, gesturing in the direction of three Exo-Force Pilots.
Frowning in confusion, Ryo thought. I wonder how much money would be compensation for the injuries… Sensei knows I don't have money! What does he mean, I owe… oh, yeah. "Sorry," Ryo apologized, glancing down at the ground. In return, the three pilots glared at the techie. Ha-Ya-To with his scratched face, bruised arm and fat lip. Hikaru with his black eye and sore nose. Takeshi with his loss of dignity.
"Now then, let's get down to business," Sensei Keiken suggested, clearing his throat. "Firstly--" Whatever else he said was cut off by the warning klaxons of a Robot attack. Shaking his head, the Leader changed his tune. "All pilots to your battle machines!" Keiken ordered.
Ryo's eyes widened in horror. Oh no! I forgot to change the 'upgrades' back in their battle machines!! The engineer turned to where Keiken had been standing. "Wait, they aren't-- Sensei?!" But the four others were already gone. Ryo scrambled wildly for the door and dashed out, face paling at the thought of what the pilots were heading out to face… disaster, and an army of robots to boot!!
Screeching to a halt as he entered the Hangar, Ryo was too late to stop the three pilots. "NO!!" Ryo screamed, "STOP!!" but the roar of dozens of battle machines lifting off drowned out the engineer's cries.