Medabots Fan Fiction ❯ Brass and the Knuckle of Doom! ❯ Knuckling Up! ( Chapter 3 )

Notes: This chapter will provide more info on the K.O.D's abilities, as well as Henry's Theme o' the Day. Sorry, but Brass won't be in another Robattle until next chapter. But there will be one in at LEAST every other chapter after that, I promise. Maybe.

Something else important to realize: Brass is NOT Metabee. To my knowledge, she has no rare medal to speak of, and if I have anything to say about it, she won't ever use the Medaforce. So she has the mysterious Knuckle of Doom to help her out. And despite not being Metabee, she will take much the same path, in that she'll face the same opponents…but not in the same order, or under the same circumstances. As a perfect example, Metabee was able to defeat Peppercat in his second official Robattle (not to mention TWO Medabots at once in his first). Brass can't do that. At least, not without some help. But keep in mind, Brass has had SOME training prior to this story. She's defended Erika (and once even turned on her) with fairly impressive results. So while she's not really a rookie, she doesn't have tons of experience like Metabee. That will change…

Summary: Erika meets the Phantom Stranger, and Henry goes through another weird change.

Brass and the Knuckle…OF DOOM!

Chapter 3: Knuckling Up!

Erika and Brass both stared at the Knuckle of Doom.

"Well, it doesn't look dangerous. Just really, really heavy. But I guess that's what makes it so effective."

"My rapid shots have never had that much impact before," Brass pointed out. "I think we should keep using it."

Erika looked doubtful. "Yeah, but you still have trouble lifting it. How do we decrease the weight?"

"I think…the Phantom Gentleman was right," Brass murmured, sweatdropping a bit. "I have to get used to the weight."

"You may have a point, Brass. Since you have to move quickly in a Robattle, we have to figure out how you can run with that thing."

Brass laughed weakly. "Shouldn't we try WALKING with it first?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." Erika blinked. "But we can only do it for so long. Since Karin isn't around today, Neutranurse won't be here to heal you, and the K.O.D. will gradually drain the strength out of your arm."

"Perhaps I could be of assistance," said a voice in her ear.

Erika turned, not entirely surprised to see a blue mask staring her in the face. "You would be?"

"The Phantom Stranger, at your service!" said the masked man, taking a bow. He was dressed exactly like the Phantom Renegade, save for the swirling spiral lines drawn into his eyes.

Erika looked bored, as if strange men popped up in her yard on a daily basis. "How can you help us?"

"First, it's very clear that neither of you is a science whiz. Your problem is you expend too much energy trying to move the gauntlet. Your focus should be on moving the Medabot."

"How do you figure that?" Erika asked.

"Simple, really. In your case, the Medabot moves in an opposing direction of the gauntlet. But if you move them together in the same direction, you get even more speed."

"But Brass can barely lift the thing!"

"Then allow the gauntlet to lift itself," Phantom Stranger replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Erika shot him an exasperated look, then turned to Brass. "Well, try jumping with it."

Brass stared at her Medafighter for a long moment before realizing that she WAS serious. Suppressing a sigh, she carefully put on the K.O.D.

"Now, you have to move the K.O.D. up, too, so act like it's an uppercut."

Brass nodded and prepared to spring, poised for an uppercut.

At first, Erika thought the K.O.D. would drag Brass back down before she got anywhere. But just as Brass left the ground, she grunted with effort and slung the K.O.D. upward, her pink eyes widening in shock as the momentum carried the gauntlet (and her) several feet higher in the air than she'd been aiming for.

Then the K.O.D.'s trajectory suddenly curved, and Brass hit the ground fist-first with a terrific crash.

"Warning: Right Arm, 7% Damaged," reported Erika's Medawatch.

Brass slowly got up and shook her head. "What just happened?"

"We just figured out a shortcut to weightlifting, that's what," Erika replied. "And once you've got this down, we'll try moving it horizontally."

Phantom Stranger cleared his throat rather loudly.

"Okay, YOU helped, too. Thanks, and now you can leave."

Looking a bit hurt, Phantom Stranger shuffled away.

"That wasn't very nice, Miss Erika," Brass noted.

"I'm just getting a little sick of these costumed clowns. Especially after what almost happened to Ikki. I haven't even seen him since we talked to Metabee yesterday…"

Brass could sense that Erika was worried about her friend. "Couldn't we cut training short to visit him?"

"I guess. And we could even call it scouting an opponent."

Brass decided not to point out that Erika probably knew the way Ikki and Metabee Robattled better than anyone. She had nearly all their public battles on tape, after all.

* * * * *

Ikki was currently sitting in the front of a police cruiser. He'd only come along to make sure that the police didn't hurt Henry when they arrested him. Or maybe it was to keep Henry from biting anyone. Either way, Henry was still his friend, cannibal or not, and the least Ikki could do was see him off to jail…strange as that sounded.

The police captain signaled to the other officers, then raised the megaphone to his lips. "We know you're in there, Henry! Come out with your hands up, and we won't have to hurt you!"

Without warning, there was a high-pitched karate yell, followed by a loud THUD on top of the captain's cruiser.

Ikki looked up just in time to see the captain being yanked up and out of sight, and soon there was another, heaving THUD on the roof. He sweatdropped and suddenly wished he'd brought Metabee along.

Suddenly, a maniacal voice rang out from the stolen megaphone.

"I am the horror that defies anything right! I am the deranged kickboxer in the twisted gym of justice! I am…KARAZEE KARATE KAMIKAZE! HIIIIIIIIIII-YAAA!!!"

Ikki sweatdropped again as the captain went flying off the roof and hit the ground hard. "This is just not my week," he murmured.

There was a blur of white and black as the Store Clerk Formerly Known As Henry threw himself at the police in a flurry of kicks and punches.

Ikki snuck out of the cruiser and made a run for it. He hadn't gotten far when there was a yell from somewhere above him.

"WO-CHAAAAAAAAAAT!!!"

Ikki spun around and looked up to see the S.C.F.K.A.H. headed straight for him at an incredible speed. Strangely enough, he wore a black mask that looked distinctly like the Phantom Renegade's, only painted…and recently so, as was apparent by the black smudges on his white karate outfit. His attacking hand was aimed straight at Ikki's forehead.

Ikki closed his eyes and covered his head with his hands.

"JUDO CHOOOOOAAAAAAAOOOOOOOWWWW!!!"

Ikki risked a peek…and laughed in disbelief.

Metabee had appeared at the last possible second, and the Judo Chop had come down on HIS head…which was, obviously, a bit harder than Ikki's, and much more painful for the Kamikaze.

"Metabee, you're a lifesaver!" Ikki cheered.

"We can talk about that after we RUN!" Metabee grabbed Ikki (by the arm this time) and took off.

The Kamikaze darted back inside the Hopmart and locked the doors.

"Oh no! He got away!" Ikki moaned. "That means we have to do this all over again tomorrow!"

"At least he wasn't trying to eat you today," Metabee pointed out.

"He was trying to KILL me!"

"Well…your shirt's okay…"

"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WEAR MY SHIRT!!!"

"If THAT'S your attitude, maybe next time I can just let him finish you off so I can inherit the shirt."

Ikki glared at his Medabot. "If I die, my clothes are going to Salty, and YOU don't go to the World Robattle Tournament!"

"WHAT?! You'll be DEAD! How're you gonna stop me from the grave?!"

Ikki smirked. "As if Mom would even let you stay in the house if you let me die. Anyway, Medabots aren't allowed to fight without a Medafighter in the championships."

Metabee snorted. "As if I couldn't get another. I'm the number three-ranked Medabot in Japan!"

"No, you're PARTNER to the number three-ranked Medafighter in Japan! There's a HUGE difference!"

"Yeah, I SHOULD be number one, but YOU'RE holding me back! How else could we beat Giganko and STILL not be the best?"

Ikki's left eyebrow twitched. "I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear that, Metabee."

Metabee crossed his arms over his chest. "Now I'm all fired up! Man!"

Ikki smiled a bit. "So…wanna get into a Robattle…?"

Metabee calmed down a little. "We might as well get some practice before we try to get Henry tomorrow…"

The number three-ranked Meda-Team in Japan grinned at each other before hurrying off to find their next real challenge. Little did they know, it was just a few blocks away, looking for them…but not quite for the same reason.

* * * * *

Erika sighed and came to a stop. "We've been looking for hours, Brass. I'm starting to think Ikki's hiding from us."

Brass stopped beside her Medafighter. "Maybe he went to visit Karin? She does live pretty far away."

"Yeah, but then his mother would've known about it. Something's weird, Brass."

Brass scratched her head. "If you say so, Miss Erika."

Erika started to walk again, then froze. "B-Brass…" she gasped softly.

"What? What did I say?"

"You….you….YOU'RE SCRATCHING YOUR HEAD WITH THE K.O.D.!!!"

Brass sweatdropped and immediately dropped the hand wearing the K.O.D. "I'm sorry, Miss Erika! I know it's meant to be treated with respect, but-"

"NO, Brass! You don't get it! When we started out today, you could barely LIFT that thing! Now, just hours later, you're acting like it was one of your original Medaparts!"

Brass looked down at the K.O.D. in awe. "I…I don't even feel it anymore…"

Erika nearly knocked Brass over in her excitement. "Brass!!! You're the best Sailor Multi-NO, the best MEDABOT!-ever assembled!"

Brass blushed. "Miss Erika…"

"You ARE! And we're going to prove it to everyone!" Erika raised a fist in the air. "One Robattle at a time, we're going to take Japan by storm! Then the World Robattle Tournament! And then…then…"

"Ikki and Metabee?" Brass asked, blushing still.

Erika gave her an odd look, but there was a definite hint of pink in her cheeks. "Uh…let's just find them first, Brass. And remember, they can't know we're training!"

Brass nodded and followed Erika down the street, glancing at the K.O.D. every few seconds. It was hard to imagine it ever being a part of Eldersaur. In fact, it looked nothing like Eldersaur. Even the ugly green color was now a bright, forest green that went nicely with the rest of her Medaparts.

* * * * *

"…and THEN, Brass just BROKE right through Neutranurse's Waiting Room Wall, Uncle Aki! It was…AMAZING!"

Dr. Aki rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So, Erika and Brass are training, huh? This could be interesting…" His once stylish shades flashed in anticipation, even as his niece rambled on about Erika and Brass. "I wonder…could those two have the same potential as Ikki & Metabee? Maybe they could become…even greater…"

Karin actually paused in the middle of her rant, something she'd never done to date. "What are you thinking, Uncle Aki?"

Dr. Aki grinned. "I'm thinking it's time we sponsored another citywide Robattle Tournament. As in next week. Only…it'd be a lot of work, in so little time…"

Karin beamed. "Not to worry, Uncle Aki! I have a secret weapon!"

Dr. Aki paused. "You blackmailed some high-ranking official in the Medabot Corporation?" He suddenly became nervous. "It's not me, is it…?"

Karin giggled. "No, silly. My phone!" She whipped out her cellphone and began to dial.

Dr. Aki sweatdropped. "Who could she possibly be calling?"

* * * * *

Space Medafighter X began his famous (or perhaps infamous, depending on who you asked) posedown. "Arcbeetle! It's time for the True Power of the Sun! The Pillar of Fire! The Prom-"

*BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!*

Space Medafighter X sweatdropped and tripped, landing flat on his facemask. "Gah! My posing! Ruined…!"

Koji laughed nervously. "Sorry, SMX. It's my emergency line." He answered the phone. "Hello?"

SMX slowly picked himself up off the ground, groaning in disappointment.

"Maybe next time, boss," Arcbeetle said, trying to sound comforting (although the effect was ruined by the huge sweatdrop on the back of his head).

Koji's face lit up. "Karin?! What a lovely surprise!"

Sumilladon sighed in a here-we-go-again sort of way and wandered off to do something more interesting than watch his Medafighter become putty in a certain rich girl's hands.

"What's that? Really?" Koji sounded hesitant. "I don't know. You're sure?" His eyes widened. "My own tournament? I can…DO that…?"

SMX looked slightly interested then.

"You're right! I AM the number two-ranked Medafighter in Japan! I CAN do this! In fact, I WILL!" He paused and grinned. "Well, of COURSE you're invited, dearest! YOU can have a seat of honor next to me, and we'll-oh, FINE, Ikki can come, too! Yeah, he can bring Metabee…Erika & Brass…Rintaro… Yes, you'll all have good seats. Okay…bye…"

SMX cleared his throat as Koji hung up.

Koji looked up. "Well…looks like I'll be hosting my very own Robattle Tournament a week from tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, just for people who didn't make the Top 20. The winner will have the honor of having their picture taken with me. Karin's idea, really, but I could use the exposure. I'll have it on the school grounds, so there'll be enough room and everything."

SMX looked thoughtful. "Part of being a good Medafighter is making public appearances…even if you're not going to Robattle. But in that case, I'd better teach you EVERY pose I know!"

Koji sweatdropped. "Um…you really don't have to…"

"Nonsense! How else will you impress the public and the media?"

"Well…there are the multi-acre grounds themselves…the amusement park…the lake…the new island resort for advanced students…the Olympic-sized pool…the arcade…"

SMX coughed rudely. "Yes, yes, but none of THAT will earn you a front page cover story! What you need is a pose that says, `I AM THE NUMBER TWO-RANKED MEDAFIGHTER IN ALL OF JAPAN!' Now, let's get started!"

Koji yawned loudly. "Oh, look at the TIME! I'd better get to bed! Tournament to prepare for and all." He quickly ran from the room.

SMX frowned. "Kids these days. No respect for tried, true art of posedowns."

Arcbeetle sweatdropped, glad that he didn't have to pose, as he was shiny and pointy enough to attract attention on his own.

* * * * *

Continued in Chapter 4: Way of the Knuckle

Erika & Brass take on all comers in preparation for Koji's Tournament, while Karin recruits her Rinty-Poo to help lure Henry out of the Hopmart.