by Joy
NOTE: Thanks a bunch for all the wonderful reviews people! Especially my most loyal supporters: Gabby-Damioh, Golden Eyed Falcon, C-chan, and Sean Fogle. I won't let any of you down for this chapter - hopefully it will be just as action-packed as you've been expecting! ~_^
I've also concretely decided on what my third story is gonna be (finally). You'll get details after the end of this story, I promise. It should be made of the same uniqueness and excitement my stories have become known for. Perhaps you'll even see the next generation of Boggs! *wink*wink*
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Chapter 12 - Fight in the Sky
"I don't believe my son's going after Bruton alone. . ." Rayford sighed worriedly, shaking his head.
It was in the jungle training room that the previous generation of Boggs had heard the news of Randall's bold move to save his hometown. This news was, frankly, a big worry to his parents - who were already banding the remaining SSO agents together to conduct a counter-attack. Rayford stood by the training room exit, monitoring agents as they made their way out to man their battleships. Caylin, Siarra, and Naomi were with him.
"He's not alone," Caylin corrected him. "Leia's there too."
Naomi gasped. "She's with him too?"
Caylin nodded.
"That isn't enough to take on Bruton!" Rayford replied.
His mind was racing. Why, oh why, did he send his son on such a mission? He suddenly began to regret having sent a new recruit on a big mission - especially since that new recruit was his son. And now Bruton was going to kill them. If Randall did anything drastic to stop the attack, there was no doubt he'd come back dead. He was worried. He was really worried.
"Should Caylin and I hop in one of the Stealth Hawks, sir?" Siarra asked. "We could fly out there in seconds flat and serve as back-up if anything happens."
Caylin nodded. "I'm ready for action, just say the magic words, Mr. Boggs," he said, saluting.
Naomi folded her arms. "Rayford, you're not going to send them out after our son alone," she said. "Bruton will get rid of them."
Siarra put her hand on her hip. "Well, um, no effence Mrs. Boggs, but I think I can handle him," she said.
"No, my wife is right," Rayford replied. "Naomi, can you take over for me?"
Naomi was stunned. "Take over? Why?" she asked. By the look on his face, she immediately knew exactly what he was thinking. "Oh no. . .Ray, you're not. . ."
Rayford set his jaw and nodded in reponse. "Yes, I am," he replied, his voice softening as he took Naomi's hands in his. "No one else knows Bruton like I do. And it's for our son. There's no better reason than that. If I don't go I doubt he'll make it out alive."
Naomi looked away for a moment, as if thinking over the consequenses, before meeting his eyes again. "You're right. . ." she finally gave in. "But, please, be careful. Last time you and Bruton squared off it sent you to the hospital for a month. . ."
"Ouch. . ." Caylin added.
"I'll be okay," Rayford tried to reassure her, smiling to ease her tension. "I've learned from that experience."
"Well, I sure hope you did. I'm just worried is all," Naomi replied, matching his smile and kissing him on the cheek. "But you vcan count on me to hold down the fort for you."
Rayford returned the gesture and gave her hand a final pat. "Thanks honey," he said, turning to Caylin and Siarra. "And as for you two. You're coming with me. I'm going to need a capable hand to help me with the flying and someone to make communication with my son's jet."
"I'm the girl for the job, Mr. Boggs," Siarra replied.
"And I'm the guy for the job!" Caylin added, chuckling. "Everyone says I talk too much anyways. . .Might as well make it my job."
Rayford grinned. "Great, we'd better get a move-on," he said, jogging up the stairs towards what remained of the desolated SSO hangar. "Lucky we were able to save at least five of our best fighter jets."
Naomi watched them disappear out the door and sighed, looking back at the line of agents getting ready for battle. She couldn't get one looming thought off of her mind. . ."I hope they come back. . ."
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"So, Randall?" Leia asked. "What exactly is your plan for stopping a whole fleet of Shockwaves on your own?"
They were speedily approaching the outskirts of Monstropolis. The moonlight shone in their path, which made following the fleet of jets much easier. Randall's mind seemed to be elsewhere at the moment, though. He seemed as if he were trying to think over his plan. The front window of the Shockwave revealed the other jets getting into formation. Maybe it helped them harness their power more effectively. Randall wasn't sure.
Randall replied by picking the manual up and handing it to her over his shoulder. "Try to get as much as you can out of this," he said simply. "You're gonna need to take over for me."
Leia took the manual and looked up at him in puzzlement. "That's your plan? You want me to fly?"
Randall shook his head. "You're just going to have to take over," he said. "I'm not going to say anything about my plan just yet. I just noticed that they have listening devices in these jets. . .Not that I'm worried too much that they're listening in, I'm just taking precautions. This might be our only chance and I don't wanna screw up."
"I see," Leia replied. "Say no more, Rand. I'm not the best pilot, but hey, I've always been willing to try something new."
She laughed a bit, though she was nervous that SHE might be the one to screw up. She flipped though the pages dialoguing the basics of flying the new jet. It looked harder than the manual made it out to be, but she crammed as much information as she could into her head. Leia dropped the manual on the seat next to her and grabbed the extra control stick that was in the second seat.
"You ready Leia?" Randall asked her. "I'm gonna transfer the control to you and take care of a few things. If you need more navagation there's a monitor built into the back of my seat - or so the manual tells me. . ."
Leia grinned. "No problem," she said. "Transfer over."
Randall pressed a button on the complicated-looking consule and flipped a switch. The control immediately flipped over to Leia's control stick and Randall let go of his. She seemed to be doing a fine job for a beginner, so he unstrapped himself and took of his helmet. He set it on the seat. Suddenly, his radio crackled to life.
"Son, are you there? This is Rayford," came his father's voice.
Randall immediately grabbed the radio and flipped it on. "Dad? Yeah, I'm here," he replied. "What is it? Me and Leia are kinda preoccupied right now."
"What are you doing going after Bruton by yourself?" Rayford said in the typical 'worried father' tone.
"Yeah! He's gonna blow you sky-high if he gets the chance, man!" came Caylin's voice in the background. "Where are you guys?"
Randall glanced out the front window as they got closer to the Shockwaves. "We're right behind Bruton's fleet," he said. "And Dad, don't worry, I've got a plan. It won't include getting me killed. Randall Boggs, signing off."
"What?! Randall, don't-"
*CLICK*
Leia looked up at Randall. "Perhaps you should listen to your Dad," she suggested gently.
"My plan isn't the worst one," Randall said. "I'm almost positive that it'll work. All I have to do is find Bruton's jet, then dispose of him and that particular Shockwave."
Leia was suddenly hit by, at least, part of his plan. "You mean destroy the main Shockwave? I see. . ." she began. "His jet is the source of all the rest of the Shockwaves' power, so destroying it would disable all of the others. Then they wouldn't be able to blow up Monstropolis. . ."
Randall nodded with a smirk. "I guess the spy genes I inherited from my parents are kicking in, eh?"
Leia smiled and quickly looked down at the radar. She pinpointed Bruton's Shockwave. Luckily, they were nearing it. "Bruton's jet is only a few meters from ours," she said.
"Good," Randall grinned. "Pull up as close as you can to it."
Leia nodded. "Will do, Randall."
She breifly increased their speed and soon they found themselves flying right next to Bruton's aircraft. Randall hit a button on the main control panel and the roof slowly slid open. Leia watched, not shocked to see him trying to do such a thing. Since meeting him, she had learned to expect the unexpected from Randall. He usually calculated the risk before trying it, so she didn't object. If he was doing it carelessly, she would have thought differently. But Leia was confident in his skills by now. That didn't keep her from worrying, however. She knew how dangerous the BGB leader could be. . .
Randall climbed out onto the short, triangle-shaped wings, using the sticky pads under his feet and hands. "Try and keep it steady, Leia," he said. "I don't think things would be particularily great if the jet was wobbling around. Okay?"
Leia smiled. "Don't worry, I'll do my best," she said. "Good luck."
Randall returned the gesture and nodded, gradually making his way over to Bruton's jet. He made a small jump over to it and felt relieved to have made it. He was thankful for the suction pads he had. Without them, he was sure that he'd fall off. He glanced through the side window of the Shockwave and noted that Bruton hadn't realized that he had extra cargo - yet. Randall crawled over to the back of the Shockwave. There, he knew, they had built the main section of inner workings.
He began to unscrew the panel. If his plan went well, he would blow Bruton's Shockwave sky-high. The only downside would be that his dad's ingenious invention would be destroyed. But it would be way too risky to try and save it. Randall finally managed to take the panel off. Inside was a maze of wires and high-tech microchips. He had to look them over for a moment, before deciding what to do.
"Aw, c'mon. . .Where is it??" Randall muttered, digging through the various wires.
Suddenly, an invisible blast hit the jet. It wobbled and shook in the air and Randall quickly looked over his shoulder. There was another Shockwave. He didn't see that one. Another invisible shockwave slammed into Bruton's jet. Randall swore if this kept up, Bruton's own men would knock him out of the sky - unfortunately taking himself with it.
"Hey! You idiot! Why are you hitting my jet!?!" Bruton roared through his radio from inside the cockpit.
The radio crackled. "Sir, one of da Boggs is messing wit yer system! Looks like he's tryin' ta knock ya down," came the reply, loud and clear.
"Boggs. . .?" Bruton growled.
Randall heard all of this from the back of the jet and he knew he was busted. "Aw, the heck with finding the yellow wires!"
He moved back a bit and took out a lazer gun he carried in his SSO shirt. He aimed it steadily at the open panel and fired. It exploded in flames and the Shockwave began to wobble terribly in the sky. It was only a matter of moments before the whole aircraft would blow.
The radio crackled on inside the cockpit again. "Er, he jus' blew out yer controls," came the voice again.
Randall felt another shockwave of energy hit the back of the jet - stronger this time. He tried to hang on, but it was strong enough to throw him off of the jet. He tumbled though the air, free falling to the city below as Bruton's aircraft continued sputtering along overhead. At least, he had a parachute. . .
Pulling the cord on his small backpack, he hoped it would open. Nothing happened. He pulled it again and it broke. Just wonderful. He began to get closer and closer to the ground. Randall couldn't look and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt himself fall onto something - and it wasn't the concrete! He instinctively grabbed on, slowly opening his eyes again. Leia had caught him?
He looked through the Shockwave's window to see Leia briefly smiling up at him. Randall let out his breath in a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. . .The girl sure caught on fast and he was more than grateful for it. He gave her the thumbs-up to let her know he was alright and she inclined the jet upward towards the others.
"Where's Bruton's jet?" Randall yelled over the noise of the jet engines.
Leia pointed at the smoking aircraft up ahead. "He's right there! It looks like you did a good job!" she yelled back.
"Yeah! But why isn't he going down?" Randall added, squinting to get a better look at the jet.
"I just found out these things have a backup engine in their cores!" Leia replied. "They're protected from damage - unless we're able to give them a really devistating hit!"
Randall climbed towards the cockpit again and climbed in, closing the roof behind him. He grinned. "Then that's what we'll give 'im," he said. "I'm gonna transfer the control back over to me. You watch the monitors."
Leia nodded. "Roger."
Randall reversed the control and flew up right into the thick of the formation, pulling up through the clouds until they were right behind Bruton. Some of the Shockwaves were already destroying some buildings and homes, so he knew they had to act fast. He picked up the radio with one of his hands.
"Give it up, Bruton," Randall said. "Your main engine is down and we are fully able to annihilate your spare. Don't make us shoot you out of the sky."
Bruton's voice crackled over the radio. "YOU! How in the heck did you get one of MY Shockwaves?!"
"Just answer the question, Bruton," Randall replied sternly. "Would you rather be arrested or blown out of the sky? It's your choice."
"You won't catch me without a fight! Blast me out of the sky. . .if you can," Bruton answered, signing off with evil laughter.
"You know," Leia said. "I really don't think he's sane." She laughed a bit.
"I don't think many villians like him are," Randall joked, chuckling. "Looks like we'll have to blast him."
Randall raised the power on the energy blasters and set his aim to the exact core of the Shockwave. But before he could do anything, a devistating blast rocked the jet. Randall gripped the control stick, trying desperately to keep the jet from spiraling out of control. When it subsided somewhat, he gave a quick glance out the sideview mirror.
"What in the world was that?!" he asked.
Leia had a grave look on her face. "One of Bruton's thugs just hit our core engine. . ." she said.
"Great," Randall said sarcastically, still struggling just to keep the jet steady. "Who's the jerk?"
"Looks like Hunter and Sloop," Leia replied, trying to look out the back window.
Randall and Leia suddenly heard an explosion - and it wasn't Bruton's jet. Smoke could be seen trailing out the back of their own jet. "Boy, they just love to stalk us, don't they?" Randall commented. "Look, Leia, you look for some parachutes. I'm gonna give Bruton's jet one last hit if I can."
"I'm way ahead of you, Randall," Leia replied, quickly digging through compartments in the back.
Randall tried to shoot Bruton's jet, but only a weak shockwave eminated from the front, indicating that they really had been badly damaged. He sighed with frustration. His idea was really not working like he had planned. . .and now Bruton was going to get away with destroying Monstropolis.
Just as he was about to give up, another jet came out of the clouds and gave Bruton's jet a killer hit. The jet blew up within seconds afterwards. It looked just like the Stealth Eagles that his dad had showed him back at the SSO. His face brightened to see his father in the pilot's seat. Caylin and a female agent seemed to be with him. He waved towards them with one hand, trying to get their attention. They didn't seem to notice.
"Randall, we don't have any parchutes. . ." Leia said with dread. "They must have taken some to stock up the others or something."
"Perfect. Just perfect. . ." Randall sighed. "Okay. . .Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna try to land this thing somewhere. It's our only chance. That jet that just hit Bruton's Shockwave - my father's in there with Caylin and some gal. Call him up on the radio and get his attention. We're gonna need all the help we can get. . ."
Leia immediately picked up the radio and clicked it on. "Rayford! Me and Randall are in the burning Shockwave jet," she said urgently, not able to hide the fear in her voice. "We're going down. We need some kind of help now!"
The radio crackled to life. "Leia?" Rayford replied. "You and Randall are in that Shockwave??! Aren't there any parachutes in there?"
"No, I can't find any! Randall's going to try landing somewhere," Leia answered. "Can you help us? Randall's never flown before, so I'm more than a little worried about this. . ."
"I think trying to land might be the best choice," Rayford replied, uncertainty in his voice. "Son? Can you hear me?"
Randall nodded a bit. "Yeah, I can," he said. "Dad, we're going down fast!"
"Take it easy on the stick and try and keep the nose up, it'll be a less disastrous crash that way," Rayford dictated calmly, though one could tell there was a bit of a panic going on in his mind. "Hopefully anyways. I can't guarantee you what exactly will happen. Every aircraft handles differently."
Inside the Stealth Hawk, Caylin held on to every word in the conversation. He was just as worried as Randall's father. This was a terrible situation for anyone to be in, nonetheless someone who had never flown before.
"Be careful, Rand!" Caylin added.
The radio crackled on. "I'm trying," came Randall's voice.
"We're heading for a building, Rayford!" Leia said, her voice dulling. "And, unfortunately, I think it's the top floor of Monsters Inc. . ."
"What?!?" Caylin exclaimed.
Siarra grabbed the radio. "Listen guys, Siarra Dessart here," she said. "Try to find a window and go through it."
Randall's voice came back on. "A window? Why??"
"It's better than going through a wall, let me tell you," Siarra replied.
"Yeah, listen to the girl," Caylin added. "She knows her stuff."
"It looks like all wall from here. . ." Leia replied.
"Dad! We've totally lost engine power and-"
*CRASH!*
The last they heard from the transmission was a loud, concrete crash before it fizzled out. The radio went blank. Not a single fizzle or crackle came out of the other end. Rayford's eyes widened and he tried one last time to contact them.
"Randall? Leia? If you're still able to, pick up!" he said.
The three waited in silence for a few moments. Nothing came. They had totally lost the connection. Caylin exchanged glances with Siarra. Rayford piloted the aircraft in shock for a few moments. The Shockwaves that had once flew in formation towards Monstropolis, destroying everything in sight were now turning and heading back to their headquarters, now virtually useless. He knew he didn't need to worry about them anymore. Surely his wife would have a majority of them arrested as soon as they landed.
"We're going to Monsters Inc," Rayford finally told Caylin and Siarra. "My wife will take care of the BGB agents. . .But I must know what happened to my son. I hope you two understand."
Siarra nodded respectfully. "No problem. We'll be there to help, sir," she offered. "Right Caylin?"
Caylin nodded too. "Right."
Rayford turned the Stealth Hawk in the direction of the Monsters Inc building. It descended down through the clouds, so that it was just over the city. The huge MI building loomed in the distance. A plume of smoke rose from the front of the building, close to the uppermost floor. CDA trucks surrounded the MI property and a lone CDA helicopter approached the damaged area of the building, surveying the damage. A giant hole where part of the black Shockwave stuck out was a clear indication that things had gone wrong. The sight pierced Ray's heart. He hoped they were, at least, alive. . .