As Leo looked upward towards the other planet, he saw the red and yellow cherry blossoms of explosions, confirming that they were getting hit too.
I'm guessing this war is between us and them… Did they come here and cause this disaster just to attack us? Do they think that we are doing the same thing to them? Both models sprinted up the slope toward the burning city as the cubes coalesced into one gigantic form that dwarfed even the tallest buildings. Cole stopped and looked up in surprise as the cube formed itself into an enlongated triangle with it's pointy end pointed at our intrepid heroes.
"Leo! Barriers up now!" Cole yelled Leo obliged, just as the mobile fortress launched it's motion wave gun.
The sensation of the beam impacting upon the fused shield was indescribable, as the mental feedback produced the sensation of Leo's brain beginning to overheat. He screamed, pounding his fists upon the capsule, begging to be let out. Cole, eyes watering and head burning, checked and found Leo's barrier held steady despite the anguish of it's pilot.
"Cole?" Leo said. Cole was shocked by how quiet the link's mental words were, despite the screaming still continuing from the other room.
"Take that sucker down for me. I can handle things down here. Try to do something about the missiles while you are up there! Good luck mate!" Cole nodded and threw himself into a sideways roll out of the line of fire and behind a building. With his barrier surrounding Model R's hands, he lunged at the skyscraper and began to climb it. His barrier-coated hands and feet worked like those of a gecko, as he scampered up the building.
Leo grimaced as he felt blood well up in his face. He could hear his fur begin to singe from the extreme heat. He was literally being boiled alive. Suddenly, a voice rang out over the outside link. Leo opened his actual eyes and saw the Raichu standing over his capsule.
"I can help you…" Leo heard him say, just as his image began to flicker. "Let me take control of the barrier…" Leo initially objected-this barrier was his sacred duty! "If I hold the barrier, you can attack...We can destroy this thing easily with our thunder." Leo breathed a sigh of relief as the beam stopped firing, only to gasp in horror as the cube reshaped itself into a double ended spindle. One point still focused on him, and one beginning to charge for an attack on Cole.
"Cole's climbing the building-he won't see the attack coming!" Leo yelled. "Will he die?"
"It is possible, and rather likely." the Raichu said.
"Well, alright then." Leo said. "Take control of this barrier!" Leo felt a warm sensation blow through him, lifting the pain from his face and paws. In the back of his mind, he heard a sound that might have been laughter. The barrier flickered, and then began to glow a steady yellow extending from just one hand. As Leo watched in amazement, the barrier began to form from intersecting squares, more powerful than his own loose triangles. Leo clenched his other fist, still getting used to the sensation of fingers, and unleashed his spark. The capsule recorded the signature, transmitting thousands of packets of data to Model Z, who unleashed such a torrent of lightning that even the sun was temporarily eclipsed. The cube fractured back into it's component units, creating a glorious display of glowing blue outlines which promptly exploded.
Cole reached the top of the building, readying his ember inside his chest as his shades gleamed, only to see the massive explosion result from Leo's first attack.
"Leo! What was that!" Cole shouted. Leo grimaced, and tentatively formed a small barrier. It was his to control again.
Thanks, Raichu. You saved our lives… How did you do that? Do you have a portable neural connection to Model Z or something? There was no response. Leo smiled. I guess you're a bit shy… It's alright. We'll talk more about this once the city's saved! He felt a sense of approval. So you do have some sort of connective link to this model…
"LEO!" Cole yelled, one arm preoccupied with lifting a large I-beam of the building's fire exit that he was standing upon. "You just zoned out there again. Are you sure you are alright, man?"
Leo straightened up, and gazed up at the planet up above their gigantic heads. An idea popped into his head, and he had a hunch that the Raichu was somehow turned to Cole and said with a smirk,
"Cole? Can you climb that?", as he pointed at the tallest building in the city . Cole stared back at him in disbelief.
"'Can you climb that,' he says. I just climbed this building, didn't I! I PILOT MODEL R! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!" Cole shouted at the top of his lungs. Leo remained unfazed as his brain worked for a second. His response was entirely his.
"I still don't know who you are, really. We've only known each other for a few hours, if that even really counts. But, I do know one thing about you." Leo said.
"Oh? What is that, please enlighten me, noble one." Cole replied with more than a hint of sarcasm.
"I know that you're strong. And devoted to your orders and your ideals. You protect and believe in your friends. And I would appreciate it if you would believe in me. I have a plan."
Cole looked somewhat relieved that Leo wasn't angry with him. He tried to work well with this newcomer, but like most fire types he had a notoriously quick temper and plenty of hot blood, which are two things not suited to teamwork or collaboration. But he tried. Oh, how he tried.
"What is it, Leo." Cole said. "We're out of time here." As if to punctuate his reply, another explosion shook the ground as missiles impacted the bridges leading out of the city, cutting off the main evacuation routes. Leo tried to be as brief as possible.
"Well, if you can climb up that building, shouldn't you be able to jump down to the other city and attack their launch fields directly? I think I can keep them occupied down here, as long as we do this quick." he said.
Cole turned to Leo and grinned.
"Leo, that's genius! With that strategy, we'll be able to attack the enemy directly from above while minimizing casualties and destruction down here." he said. Leo smiled in return, grateful to be of use to his more experienced comrade. Cole activated the capsule's scanners, connecting to the security camera network, which was holding up surprisingly well considering the city was bursting into flames. A quick scan and he realized the source of missiles that were impacting the surface- a seemingly endless swarm of fighter jets that were literally taking off from the inside of the upside-down city, pulling nearly straight upward into a stall, and then letting the gravity of the other planet catch them, launching their missiles, and pulling up for another dive.
"Cole! Heads up!" Leo yelled, as the next barrage of glowing fire threw itself against their raised barriers. This time around, Leo found that holding the barrier up didn't take all of his concentration, and he didn't have to use both hands either.
Did the Raichu give me some kind of gift or something? My barrier has the squares like his- but it's still orange! And I thought the other planet appearing in the sky was strange...
"Bad news." Cole intoned. "They just took out the bridge and half the evacuation effort."
"Is there any other way for the mons in the shelters to escape?" Leo yelled as he awkwardly dodged a stream of bullets. Cole sighed and let loose another gout of flame from his hands.
"There are underground tunnels, but that requires the authorization of someone higher up at SEAL. I would open them, but I don't have the security clearance for that." Cole said. Leo scrunched up his forehead in frustration as he blasted a plane out of the sky from behind Cole's back.
"So SEAL trusts you with their giant flame throwing robot that can defy the laws of physics, but you can't just open some doors to save people's lives?"
Cole blinked. He had never thought about his frankly bizarre security clearance before. Fortunately, before he had to answer Leo, a triumphant voice rang through the radio system.
"Not to worry, ace pilots of SEAL! The doors have been opened and evacuation efforts are proceeding with all possible speed. Man, I wish I had your job." Both Leo and Cole's jaws dropped.
"GUY?" both the pilots cried in unison.
"Yep, as it turns out, I've got level ten clearance according to the big boss! He told me to look after you and see that you don't get into too much trouble." Guy said. Cole palmed his face.
"Why didn't you say anything until now?" Cole said. "Maybe we could have used your help a few minutes ago when fighting the world's largest Rubik's Cube!" Guy, despite only having one eye, managed a smug expression. "I figured to make my dramatic entrance into the main story with some good news for a change." Guy said. "It really seems like you need some too." Leo became puzzled for a second.
"What do you mean, talking about the main story. This is real! This is really happening to me and you and to Cole over here!" said Leo.
"Yeah, maybe I should have said that differently." said Guy. "What I meant was that you probably didn't expect me to show up again, so I decided to make a spectacular entrance. I'm not just some one scene wonder! Maybe I'll even make Ensemble Darkhorse!"
"Was that supposed to make any more sense?" Cole asked.
Guy sighed. "Fine, fine. It's not my fault that you two don't get the jokes. Whatever! Right now, we've got more pressing issues! Move out!"
Leo ran down the open city street, turning Model Z's head to see Cole scrambling up the building to attack the enemy base directly. Guy's words from the impromptu mission briefing still rang clearly in his mind.
"First off, you need to find a long-range weapon to support Cole while he's climbing. Without any covering fire, he'll be a sitting duck for their airplanes and any other defenses they have. There's a weapons cache a few blocks south of here, with a positron cannon."
"Layman's terms, please? If I'm going to be using it, I need to know what it does." Leo said.
"Right. Essentially, a giant sniper rifle that shoots lightning." Guy responded.
"Why does Leo get all the cool toys?" Cole complained.
"Because right now, the power is out all over the city." Guy responded. "One of the first things the enemy targeted was our power grids. Leo, you should still be able to fire the cannon without it's external power source- Model Z should have more than enough juice to spare! Just use the computer to assist your aim, and take out anything that poses a threat to Cole. Do you understand? Good. Move out. I'll keep you posted."
A simple plan, and one Leo believed he could carry out easily. Well, maybe not easily, but it was something useful. For the first time in his short life, Leo felt useful to someone else as a participant in something greater than himself. It was a good feeling, and he could understand why someone would willingly fight for it. Guy's voice came over the radio again.
"Leo, the stockpile building is just around the corner toward your right. I've just unlocked the front of the building- the cannon should be lying inside." Leo grimaced as he blocked several more missiles with his barrier. It both interested and bothered him how casual he was about stopping an explosive that would have certainly killed him outside of the model with a glowing shield of light. He hoped that SEAL had a psychologist somewhere under their employ.
"Great. Now how do I use the sniper rifle?" Leo said. "I've never fired a gun before or anything- hell, I don't even have any training with the model at all!"
"Just charge up the Model's hands with electricity when holding the gun." Guy said. "Then, when the little red light inside the scope turns green, push the button and fire! The aiming computer should be already calibrated, meaning you can lock on to targets and have a guaranteed shot at them if you can put the crosshairs over them in the first place. Just stay calm, and trust your instincts. I don't really know you that well, but there's only so much each one of us can do. I trust you to do your job, and I hope that you will trust me to do mine."
Leo looked down at the model's still running legs.
Wait- Legs? I'm on my hind legs? Why didn't I even notice this happening? At least this way I have got my arms free for shooting and barrier purposes. Heh.
"Gotcha, Guy. Thanks for the help!" Leo shouted as he dove forward toward the supply building. Model Z smashed through the half-open blast door as if it was made from tin foil, and pulled the sniper rifle free from it's wall mounts with a strength that could have easily torn a in half. Leo whirled around, rolled forward, and took aim at the sky. The scope worked beautifully, easily magnifying his view of the planes diving towards Cole. Leo breathed in and out, trying to ready his spark and push it into his paws-corresponding to Model Z's hands, which were now gripping the gun tightly.
A voice in the back of his head whispered, 'Charge…' and the model's hands began to crackle with unleashed power. Inside the capsule, Leo could faintly feel the power running over his body, even as he focused on the model outside of the base. Two long steps and a crouching leap, and he was on top of a nearby office building. He crouched down to balance the gun on a chimney and took aim with one hand, the other hand projecting a passive barrier to shield against explosions. Guy responded once again. He sounded pleased with Leo.
"You got the sniper rifle and managed to charge it! Great job- just line it up and fire at those planes circling around on the right side of the building where Cole is. Keep in mind that if the beam can destroy something, it will usually penetrate that object, so try to kill two birds with one stone, if you catch my drift!" the Yamask said.
Leo concentrated, staring deep into the rifle's scope, staring deep into the depths of the model's control software. It was surprising- for a second, it felt like he was lying there, holding a rifle, while another directed his movements. And then the moment passed. With a gasp, Leo checked the meter on the right side of the scope. It was green. The crosshairs danced over one of the planes, surrounding it with a red square and the words, LOCK ON.
I could just fire now, but Guy said something about killing two birds with one stone… He scanned the surface with the scope as the crosshairs followed the plane, noticing a large dish mounted atop a building that was surrounded with another square marking it as TARGET. Leo punched Guy's comlink and shouted, "Guy! Look at this!"
"Leo, that is the external apparatus of one of their weapons."Guy said. "Destroy it and the planes at the same time!" Leo nodded and concentrated once more, wondering what would happen this time. To his surprise, time seemed to slow. Each plane seemed to hang in the air, allowing him to move the crosshairs over all of them, locking them all on. A laugh rang in the back of his mind. Then, as the first plane passed in front of the tower, he pulled the trigger.
Cole's barrier was growing weaker, and he had to rely more and more on Model R's fingers. He had been climbing for nearly five minutes, and he was already getting tired. The building was very high, but he was getting close to the top and the hold of gravity on his body was beginning to lessen. With a thought, he revived his barrier and projected it passively out to his sides. If anyone shot at him, he could just let go and use his barrier to support him while he blocked the shots. He was worried about the range of his attacks though- trying to hit a fighter jet with one of Model R's flame bursts would be like trying to down a Pidgey with a squirt gun. And then they could just circle back around, and then
He mentally slapped himself. That sort of negativity was why he had gotten into these messes in the first place. If the planes hit him, they hit him. If he fell, he fell. If he ran away
He closed his eyes. Where are all these thoughts coming from? I-
He heard the sounds of incoming jet engines, and the wooshing noise of launching rockets. The enemy anti-aircraft defenses were coming to bear on him after he had climbed within easy targeting range. He pushed himself off the wall, extending his barrier to it's fullest extent, straining himself to the breaking point.
It's funny- my flesh is willing but my mind is weak. Heh…
And then the beam from Leo's gun fired, piercing through the attacking planes and slamming into the city surface far above with a massive explosion of lightning. Cole was so shocked that his barrier nearly failed him, but he managed to catch a pylon on the side of the building and hold on with his own strength. His comlink crackled to life. It was Leo, whose voice Cole had never been so glad to hear.
"Cole? I got the sniper rifle! I can cover you, so don't worry! I can see you through the scope- you're almost there! Keep going man-I believe in you. I know we can do this!" Cole grinned, an expression that was faithfully mirrored on Model R's giant face. He pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, and resumed climbing one hand over the other. With a mental command, he keyed up the comlink and selected Leo's name. "
Hey Leo," he said with no small amount of warmth in his voice. "Nice shooting there, mate. If you keep it up, you might be half as good as I am!"
Leo smirked. "I'd like to see you make that shot- I just saved your tiny tailflame right there!"
"Nice try, but I know about the computer lock on. Still a good job though. You know, considering one of us is climbing a mile-high building and the other is trying to snipe fighter jets off of him, we should probably stop talking."
"Roger that." Leo hit the red button, disconnecting him from Cole's comlink. For the first time in his life, he felt appreciated. He felt as though he had a friend who he depended on and who depended on him. It felt good. Really good, as though the previous miserable years were just time sacrificed for this glorious moment.
The first sign that something was wrong was the fighter jets veering off to either side, and the anti aircraft guns ceasing their fire. Leo absentmindedly lined up another shot and fired, hitting a cluster of planes smack in the center. He keyed the comlink to brag to Cole about that shot, just in time for to hear the explosion. Leo jerked the scope back to the tower just in time to see the massive hole in the side of the tower, Model R falling, and a duplicate of Model Z with the same glowing red eyes shocking Cole's model with lightning as they both fell.