Chapter 2:  “Activation - GenoGear:  Rapid” (written by Michael Keens/ Exodus)  

Nate returned to his home, to find lots of police there, including his mother, 
dressed in her bright blue and white uniform and hat.  
“Mom, what happened?”  
“Its your grandfather...  We have reason to believe that he’s been abducted.”  
“What, how? Why?”  
“We don’t know, his lab is a state and he’s disappeared, definite signs of a 
struggle.”  
“That weird old guy from earlier, he must have done it...”  
“Nate, what do you know? Tell me.”  
“There was this old guy earlier, and Grandpa didn’t look very welcoming towards 
him, I didn’t see his face though...”  
“We’re going to check for prints and DNA, so please, be a good boy and stay at 
the house.”  
“I’ve been staying at the house my whole life...” grumbled Nate, tired of being 
so alone at home, but more angry that while he was out having fun, Grandpa was 
attacked and kidnapped, probably by that man, if he’d been there, surely he 
could have done something...  

A week passed and no evidence came up, Nate had been depressed, his grandpa 
might have been a very busy man with not much time to devote to his family, but 
he was loved by Nate, the police were obviously not trying hard enough he 
thought, if Nate only had a GenoGear, then he’d be able to-  
An obvious thought struck him, usually his mother would want him to go to school 
and stay at home, but if he competed in the next GenoGears tournament, he’d be 
legally allowed to travel around the world, and able to search for Grandpa in 
the process.  
All he needed was a GenoGear, and if Grandpa had followed through on his 
promise, then he might just find something to work with inside the lab.  

Nate waited until night before crossing over the police barriers surrounding the 
lab and entering it, he’d gone through Zenon’s stuff and found a rough map of 
the lab and his credit card.  
If he was going to be searching for and saving his life, then a little loan 
wouldn’t be too much to ask for.  
Inside the large lab were many scattered GenoGear parts, and broken weapons, 
desks were overturned, and lab notes littered the floor.  
“This place is scary” trembled Nate, before shaking his head and laughing, “I’ve 
been watching too much television.”  
Nate crept quietly around, trying to find a private lab that was barely legible 
on the map, but all that lay ahead was a wall.  
Nate sighed and fell against it before sliding to the floor, a hollow thump 
sound occurring as he did.  
“Wait a minute, that sounds like-”  
He stopped speaking as a distant voice could be heard, Nate rolled into a corner 
behind a large console, as two flashlights waved left and right around the lab, 
held by two nasty looking men, one was large in size with bushy hair and beard 
wearing shades, while the other was thin with long hair, both were wearing navy 
blue outfits.  
“The boss said it was around here.” said the thin one, “The west side of the 
lab.”  
“Have you seen the size of this place Bennett?” questioned the large one, “That 
doesn’t narrow it down by much.”  
The two split up and searched rooms that Nate had already been to, he really 
started to shiver now.  
“They must be the ones who captured Grandpa, and now they’re back for his 
stuff...” he thought, before checking a small box sticking out of the wall that 
was causing him discomfort, accidentally opening its flap to reveal a numerical 
code.  
“But what could the password be?...”  
“Hey Gordon! I found something!” shouted Bennett, holding a flat silver chip 
with a strange symbol on it.  
“This is useless, its a worker-bot M Chip, the boss said not to bother with 
them.” grunted Gordon, throwing the chip away.  
It landed next to the wall where Nate was.  
“A worker-bot chip?...”  
He reached out for the chip, grabbed it, and fell to the floor, causing a small 
thump.  
“What was that?” questioned Gordon.  
Nate panicked and fell back as the torchlight shined on the area he was in, he 
squeezed himself tighter against the corner, despite the annoyance and slight 
pain, if those two thugs caught him, they’d surely kill him.  
“Must be imagining things...” said the big man, before walking into another 
room.  
Nate sighed, but released that he wouldn’t get out of here without alerting 
those two, his only hope was to get inside the private labs, and stay there 
until the men were gone.  
“Its a four digit code, now, what numbers are of any relevance to Grandpa?...”  
Nate thought back to his sixteenth birthday, a significant day because his 
grandpa was around the whole time.  

“Awww, no GenoGear.”  
“Have patience Nathan, you haven’t learned enough to control a GenoGear.”  
“But Barclay has a GenoGear.”  
“But he doesn’t have the experience to master it, I won’t let the family name be 
branded as rookies or failures, you still have much to learn, and I will teach 
you, and if you learn from it all, you might just have a special surprise on 
your seventeenth birthday.”  
“Aw thanks Grandpa...”  

“Of course.” said Nate quietly, before typing in the four digits that made up 
his birthday, one for the day, one for the month and the last two digits of the 
year.  
The wall slowly began to rise, only making the smallest of sounds as it did, 
Nate somersaulted forward and hit the button on the panel at the other end to 
close it again.  
“Phew.”  

Nate searched the lower labs, they were smaller than the lab above, but 
everything down here was untouched by villains.  
“Its still too big, and those two thugs might get in here before long...  The M 
Chip!”  
Nate searched the lab and found the worker-bot stuffed into a lower cabinet.  
It ran on the same system as GenoGears, but it wasn’t a fighter.  
“Data...” muttered Nate, “You poor thing...”  
He pulled the robot out and had to reattach its arm, before adding its mind.  
The short duck-like purple robot came to life, but it sparkled on occasion and 
rattled.  
“Data...  I was about to ask for your help, but it doesn’t look like you’re up 
to anything, Grandpa’s been kidnapped.”  
“Terri---Ak---Ke---” spluttered the robot, obviously malfunctioning beyond 
repair, and unable to speak.  
“I’m looking for a GenoGear that Grandpa was working on, if its anywhere near 
completion, I might be able to finish it off, and find Grandpa with it.”  
The robot sprung to life as if reacting to this speech, even without words, it 
was trying its best to help out, Data was always that way, but it was usually 
tied down to labwork.  
The robot rolled over to a silver capsule on its four small wheels.  
It tapped into the console with its strange shaped beak and opened it up, cold 
smoke filled the air as it did.  
“Geno---Ge---Secret---Nate---Protect---”  
The smoke slowly cleared and revealed a pale violet female GenoGear.  
She had silver limbs and yellow stripes on the edges of her shoulder plates, 
skirt, knee pads, neck, upper feet and wrists.  
She had a black screen in the area of her eyes, surrounded by violet plates in 
the form of a helmet, face mask and ‘L’ shaped attachments that resembled hair.  
Finally were two red gun holsters attached to the sides of the skirt with 
weapons in them, along with a red gem planted in its forehead.  
“Da---Wea---Protect---Protect---”  
“I understand, it’ll protect me.” said Nate, placing its M Chip into its back 
and picked up a GenoComm matching the violet colour of the GenoGear.  
“Protect---Protect---”  
“Data, just what are you trying to say?”  
Suddenly an explosion destroyed Data’s body, and its M Chip fell out onto the 
floor.  
At the top of the stairs were the two men, Gordon was holding a gun, he pointed 
it towards Nate, and then Data’s remains, just to see him squirm.  
“I knew I heard something.” grinned Gordon, and fired.  
Nate ducked and screamed out, as the bullet hit Data’s M Chip and destroyed it, 
practically killing the robot altogether, Data’s chip was a very old and classic 
model, and not as strong as M Chips were now.  
“Data!!!”  
“I thought that one was supposed to be out of commission.” pondered Gordon.  
“You did it, you locked Data in a tight cupboard, you captured my grandpa!” 
accused Nate.  
“No kid, you’re wrong about that, I know exactly who did it though.” smirked 
Gordon.  
“Tell me!” ordered Nate.  
“No, I think I’ll shoot you instead, and take what I came here for.” smiled 
Gordon, aiming his gun forward.  
Nate screamed out, “Somebody help!!!”  
Gordon lifted his gun in curiosity, searching for anyone that might be crazy 
enough to intervene, and then smiled, and pointed the gun forward.  
“Shoot...” groaned Nate, ducking into a curled up ball.  
Suddenly a flash of explosions erupted from behind Nate, and blasted the gun out 
of the large man’s hand, but also caught the hand itself with several bullets.  
“Agh!” shouted Gordon, bracing the pain and hiding the hand under his left 
armpit.  
Nate turned around to the GenoGear robot remaining in a stance, holding its two 
handguns in position.  
“I am GenoGear RXC.  Are you the one I call Master?” asked the robot with an 
emotionless female robotic voice with a slight echo.  
“You what?”  
“Are you the one I am meant to serve?” questioned the robot again in an 
emotionless tone.  
Nate saw the anger in the man’s face and panicked, “Yes, yes, you are, I’m Nate, 
you have to protect me.”  
The robot dashed forward and slid to the side to position herself in front of 
Nate, before stopping completely and outstretching her guns.  
“You will not harm my master.” it said firmly.  
“Huh? What should we do?” questioned Bennett.  
“So you’re gonna get your girlfriend to fight us?” laughed Gordon, despite the 
pain in his hand, “Let’s show him what GenoGears are supposed to be like, 
Electrify!!!”  
“Get over here Chamelon!” shouted Bennett, and two robots ran into the stairway 
and stood in front of their owners.  
“Electrify, ready ta lock an’ shock!”  
“Chamelon’s back for a sneak attack!”  
“Hey! Two against one isn’t fair!” complained Nate.  
“I’m not a fair man.” grinned the big guy, “Let’s-”  
He was interrupted by the explosive sounds of the purple GenoGear’s gun, firing 
wildly, and hitting the enemy GenoGears with most of the shots, they were pushed 
back into their masters and all retreated into the main laboratory.  
“What was that for?!” shouted Nate.  
“You told me to protect you, I analysed that it would be difficult with the lack 
of space, I shall now be able to battle those robots with a higher chance of 
success.”  
“Uh sure, just make sure you don’t go shooting those people, I don’t think my 
stomach can take much more...”  
“But they might harm you, surely it would be wise to eliminate the threat of-”  
“No, you mustn't hurt them, you mustn't act like a rogue GenoGear, I don’t know 
why you have the ability to ignore your robot code, but I’m ordering you not to 
hurt any more people.”  
“Yes Master...”  

Nate and RXC charged up the stairs, the two other GenoGears were stunned, but 
not damaged, Gordon’s GenoGear was a Water/ Electric Class, with blue body 
paint, pale green reptilian like frills on the head and shoulder pads with the 
same coloured plates hanging from its waist, knees and feet, it had a long 
silver tail with a yellow sparkling end and a strange yellow bulb on the top of 
its head.  
The second was a Nature/ Illusion Class, looking like an orange humanoid robotic 
chameleon with pink spikes running down its head and back, shoulder pads, upper 
leg armour, with sharp claws, silver limbs and belt, and bronze feet and scales 
running down its chest and under, continuing to form a long curled thin tail 
with a silver spike at the end.  
“Fine, so your girlfriend’s stronger than she looks, I won’t underestimate you 
again, get them!”  
Obviously, these two didn’t care for rules, and their GenoGears must have been 
reprogrammed to ignore their robot code.  
This new GenoGear however had bent the rules to provide full protection to Nate, 
before he scolded her anyway, perhaps she was meant to be this way, because Nate 
was the grandson of a famous scientist?  
Gordon was still hurting, and Nate realised fully just how necessary Battle 
Cubes were for GenoGear battles.  

The chameleon faded from sight, and would ultimately sneak up on Nate’s GenoGear 
soon enough, meanwhile, she had another GenoGear to deal with right now.  
“Electrify, use your Goo Slap!” shouted Gordon, and the robot aimed a large 
cannon with some sort of squirting cap at the end.  
The female GenoGear prepared to counter this, but was hit by the invisible 
assailant from behind, and stumbled forward, Electrify sprayed a greenish liquid 
at RXC, which splashed all over, and covered her guns and legs, the goo hardened 
and kept her immobilised.  
“Nice one Electrify.”  
RXC was hit again and again by Chamelon, who could be heard leaping back and 
standing next to his partner GenoGear before reappearing.  
“Now! Shock Conductor!” screamed Gordon, and the hardened sludge filled up with 
electricity and travelled towards its target.  
“No!” shouted Nate, and thought for a moment, “She can’t fight two opponents 
without a little guidance, from what I’ve seen, she’s a Basic Class GenoGear, 
and so she can’t prey on weaknesses.”  
“I must protect...” said RXC, staring at her covered arms and reaching for the 
triggers on her guns, “I shall blast through this material and protect my 
master.”  
“RXC, don’t do it! Your guns won’t be enough! You’ll damage your arms!...  You 
have to listen to my instructions, I can see you were made to protect me, but if 
you just stand there taking every bit of damage and harm yourself by taking 
risks, then you’ll be destroyed, followed by me.”  
“But-”  
“Just hang on a little longer, that goo will crumble and you’ll be free, and 
then you should try using the fact there are two opponents to your advantage.”  
“I understand...”  
She nodded, and Bennett grinned, “What is he talking about? Chamelon, finish 
it!”  
The Chamelon dived forward and scratched the RXC’s body.  
Nate saw a crack in the sludge and stared at Gordon to divert his attention.  
“Kiss your girlfriend goodbye, Electrify!”  
“Hah!” laughed the GenoGear, pointing its gun forward.  
The sludge crumbled into pieces and the GenoGear was free, she immediately put 
the guns away, grabbed Chamelon, and held him in front of the electrifying beam 
that was fired.  
“Wait! Agh!!!” he wailed, and fell back, Electrify was surprised at what he had 
done, giving RXC enough time to retrieve her guns and fire on the GenoGear, it 
fell back weakened, but not defeated.  
“Behind you!” shouted Nate, but Chamelon leapt over Nate’s GenoGear and 
confiscated her guns.  
“Heh heh, I’ve been dying to try these out for myself.” he sniggered, and 
started firing.  
Nate ducked down while the GenoGear ran and dived behind a huge console with a 
trail of bullets firing behind her, the console was now taking the onslaught of 
bullets and threatening to explode.  
“Hah! You’re useless without these!” shouted Chamelon, and started to spin them 
in his hands.  
The console shot forward with energy from behind forced it that way, the 
GenoGear had other weapons, including the beam cannon shooting from the gem in 
her forehead.  
“Wait! No!” screamed Chamelon, as he was crushed by the machine, the guns rolled 
back to the female, who fired on Electrify as he attempted to fire a more 
powerful blast, the shot knocked his gun arm away from her, but the shot was 
fired, and a lot of consoles and canisters were broken, fuel flooded the floor, 
and sparks were being emitted from broken machinery, setting the place on fire, 
and building up to an imminent explosion.  
Nate gasped, “Everyone out of here! Now!”  
Gordon and Electrify ran, but Bennett and Chamelon weren’t ready to run, 
especially the GenoGear who was damaged and angry, RXC hadn’t reckoned on him 
being so strong, the console ripped open and Chamelon screamed out before 
striking.  
“Sting Tail!”  
His long metal tail uncurled and shot forward, the spikes plunged a little into 
the female’s back and green zigzag lines could briefly be seen infecting her, 
and leaving her immobilised.  
“Burn baby burn!” laughed Chamelon, before he and his GenoMaster escaped.  
“No...  Sting Tail immobilises opponents for a set time limit, but that GenoGear 
specifically did it so that she’d be destroyed...” groaned Nate, as he stared at 
the GenoGear, lying on the floor, close to the burning fuel, “I have to be 
brave...”  
Nate dived around the lab as the fires caused other consoles to explode and send 
pieces everywhere.  
“I won’t let you die, not after you unselfishly fought for me...”  
“No... Master...  You must flee...” groaned the GenoGear, without moving.  
“I’ll never leave you.” said Nate firmly, holding his robot’s legs while 
supporting her body on his back, and charging towards the back exit.  
“Why do you risk your life for me? I'm just a machine.” questioned the robot.  
“GenoGears are more than soulless machines, I’m sure you’ll understand that 
soon...” encouraged Nate with a smile.  
“But I was built solely to serve humans, to do whatever my master told me to...  
Is that no longer true?...”  
“You are to serve me on some levels, but I want you to be an individual too, I 
don’t want an emotionless machine, I want a friend.”  
“Friend?...”  
Nate simply smiled, and continued on, but soon gasped at the sight ahead.  
The back way out was blocked by heavy boxes, but the GenoGear seemed to have 
control of her head.  
“I can deal with this situation, provided you hold onto me.”  
With that, the beam cannon was fired again, a thin but powerful multicoloured 
beam that tore through the wooden crates and moved the metal ones to the sides.  

Nate and his GenoGear charged out of the large building, as an explosion ripped 
through it, destroying all traces of his grandfather’s work, except for what 
Nate had gained.  
“So, RXC, do you remember anything about my grandfather? Dr Zenon?...” asked 
Nate, while carrying her home to the long way round.  
“I only aware of my programming, to serve whoever awakened me, and to do as they 
say...  But now, I am confused, according to you, I am not to harm humans even 
if they were endangering your life, and I am supposed to look out for myself 
rather than solely protecting you...”  
“Its not that hard to grasp, I just want you to obey those guidelines, and my 
occasional advice, other than that, you should learn to live as an individual, 
not a slave.”  
“You do not want be to be your guardian now?”  
“I’m not condemning that idea totally, but I want for us to be friends, that 
means looking out for each other, but also our own well being.”  
“But you risked your well being for me.”  
“No, I had every intention of me and you surviving, you however were willing to 
sacrifice yourself without once thinking of your well being.  Are you willing to 
try and adapt?”  
“... I shall, Mas-”  
“And no more of this master stuff, friends are equals, its Nate from now on, 
okay?”  
“Of course, Master Nate.”  
Nate sighed, “And as for you, I can’t go calling you by your code, you need a 
name that suits you, something like... Rapid.”  
“Rapid?...  Confirmed.  I shall now answer to that name...  May I ask where are 
we going?...”  
“To get you repaired, and then we’re leaving home, I’m on an important mission 
to find your creator, and I’m going to need your help Rapid, will you-”  
“Of course I shall assist you.  I was made to serve you.”  
“Rapid...”  
“But also, because you... risked your life to save mine, it is strange that you 
care for me when we only just met...”  
“That’s friendship for you.”  
“I... would be honoured to be your friend.”  

And with that, the two continued on, bathed in the morning light.  
Nate had finally found the GenoGear to call his friend, though she had a lot of 
learn of friendship, and soon enough, Nate would embark on his journey, to save 
his grandfather from those that had abducted him.  

End  

Chapter 1
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