Title: Pitched Battle of the Air Force (Part II)
Category: Cartoons » Hero: 108
Author: Cahaya Sidur
Language: English, Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
Published: 11-7-17
Words: 2477

Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108.

AN: This is the last chapter I've written for this small arc thing.

To AR4M1A.05: Yep, I've definitely thought of Kowloon/Lin Chung before. Yeah...I guess it's understandable. Lin Chung is very pair-able...haha. This is the last I've written for Mano/Lin Chung, but I'm thinking about writing one for Kowloon/Lin Chung. Thanks for the review!

And, as an additional side note, I just want to try this out...any requests?

Part II:

Mano was waiting at the Air Force when Highroller turned up. His mind had still been occupied with Lina holding his hand, as stupid and cheesy as it was. Rosefinch, the sharp-eyed scout, had noticed and was now sending him smug looks. Honestly. This ribbing was going to get old one day, but until it did, he was forced to keep silent and try not to blush. Even though Master Chou called for their rockets, Highroller had called for their Commander.

While hesitant, Master Chou had no other choice but to call them, seeing that Highroller himself had found it important enough to show up. Highroller was a child at heart, meaning that he would only show up if he had something huge up his sleeve. For all his pride, Master Chou did not become head of the Air Force by being stupid.

The Commander arrived quickly, even as he sent out another announcement. "Highroller has been spotted heading our way! First Squad, make your way to the Air Force Hangar immediately!"

They arrived promptly, within a minute, as usual. Upon seeing them, Highroller smirked and turned his gaze to the Commander.

"Hey there, square head!"

"Square head?" Apetrully asked, confused.

"I think he's talking to you." Lina said quietly, trying to keep the respect in her tone.

The Commander's head popped up indignantly. "I happen to love the shape of my head!"

"Tell your warriors to surrender!" Highroller commanded.

"You'll never coerce me into doing such a foolish act!" Apetrully shot back.

Cackling wildly, as if that was the answer he had wanted, Highroller smirked and gestured behind him. "Then face your doom!"

The clouds behind him turned dark, lightning crackling out of it. Smoke billowed out from the clouds, revealing a menacing black and red figure. Its eyes glared at the group as it roared, sending a strong gust of wind into the Hangar.

"Oh no! The black dragon!" Mystique Sonia shrieked.

"Scary!" Jumpy shuddered.

"He'll eat our bones!" Mighty Ray shouted in alarm.

"He will destroy us with his dark fire!" The Commander wailed.

"Magnificent, I must sketch him!" Lina cried out, voice full of admiration and wonder. Looking at her, Mano couldn't even find it in himself to be exasperated. Her uniqueness and strangeness, different from what people considered the norm of society, was what attracted him to her in the first place. With Mystique Sonia right next to her, the comparison became that much obvious.

Lina and Mystique Sonia were almost on opposite sides of the spectrum; Mystique Sonia was what everyone expected from a girl: she was pretty, flirty, and not afraid to take advantage of those who adored her. If anything, she was the life of the party. She was the sun, in every way. Lina was different – she didn't conform with people's expectations of her, always exceeding in everything she did. She was independent, able to take care of herself in a situation and not afraid to stand up for herself if she felt she was being coddled.

Interrupting his internal monologue, Highroller's eyes narrowed in triumph. "Surrender, or be destroyed!" He ordered.

"I am not afraid." Woo proclaimed, walking up the Hangar while fanning himself.

"Woo, what are you doing?!" The Commander asked in alarm.

"I believe in Science, and Science does not believe in dragons!"

Highroller's eyes narrowed even more, but in anger this time. He waved his hand at the dragon. "You are making the Black Dragon angry! He commands you to surrender and evacuate Big Breen base!"

If he had intended to intimidate Woo, it clearly didn't work. The scientist only sniffed contemptuously. "If he's real, let him destroy us with his dark fire."

"Woo!" The Commander yelled.

Mystique Sonia jumped on top of Woo, silencing him. Jumpy quickly followed, with Apetrully jumping on top of Jumpy. Highroller looked incensed now, waving his arms around wildly. "You can't talk to the Black Dragon like that! Face the fury of the Black Dragon!"

"Quickly! Close the Hangar doors!" Master Chou ordered. Following instructions, the small member of First Squad rolled the door close. Mano caught sight of Lina struggling to see the dragon from under the closing Hangar door and suppressed a smile. At least not all of them were panicking.

"What are we going to do? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!" Commander Apetrully wailed in despair, his voice going higher and higher with each repetition of the question.

"He's going to torch us!" Mighty Ray roared.

"Hey, everyone, look at these drawings!" Lina held up pictures of Deer King, Hens, Snake King and Crocodile King.

"Lina, now is not the time for an art exhibit!" Mystique Sonia scowled.

Mano frowned at the shallow girl; Lina rarely wasted anyone's time, especially during times of distress such as this.

"I can combine these animals to make a dragon of our own!"

"That would be really cool, if we weren't about to be destroyed!" Mystique Sonia snapped back. She paused when Woo sprung between the two girls.

"Wait! Lina's discovery is important! Using the new modifications to my invention, we can create our own dragon to fight the black dragon."

Within minutes, Deer King, Crocodile King, Snake King and two Hens (one of them Hen Queen) were standing in a neat line in front of Woo, who had returned holding a ginormous cube with tiny tiny squares all over them. He opened the cube in half, which sucked in all five animals in a ray of golden light.

"Excellent, now to make our own dragon. All I need to do is to twist the cube into the proper setting." Woo tried twisting the cube, his voice going strained. He scowled, hands shaking as he attempted to open. "It's stuck!"

"Let me do it." Mighty Ray snatched the cube. "I am Mighty Ray." He chuckled as he tossed the cube in the air casually, twisting it this way and that. He opened it, revealing one type of hybrid, only to suck the hybrid back in again to release another one.

"Be careful, you might-" Woo protested.

"Whoa, that invention's pretty cool!" Mystique Sonia praised.

Woo turned red with pleasure. "Oh, that's nothing!"

Mano withheld the urge to roll his eyes. Even the Big Green resident inventor wasn't immune to Mystique Sonia's charms.

"This is fun!" Mighty Ray laughed.

Lina looked up, eyebrows creased, eyes set in determination. "Let me try."

Mano would never tell anyone, but there was something beautiful in Lina as she twisted the cube with deft fingers, a concentrated and determined look in her eyes. She took longer than Mighty Ray's random quick hybrids, but it was clear when she had got it. Her eyes lit up with delight and she smiled exuberantly, glancing up at Mano with that bright look. Mano could almost feel his heart stop at the beam she gave him, looking down and revealing the hybrid that she had created.

As everyone oohed and ahhed over the new hybrid, Mano could only focus on how Lina was smiling at her creation fondly. Feeling slightly brave, he walked over to where she was standing, at the edge of the crowd. He gave her a warm smile.

"Nicely done."

Lina's smile widened. "Thank you, Mano."

Less than five minutes later, Master Chou nodded at one of the Air Force staff to open the Hangar doors. Mano waited for a while before joining the others outside, eyes wide upon seeing the Zebra Brothers desperately order the Black Dragon to do something...which it didn't. His eyes widened even further when the strong gust of wind that their hybrid dragon sent revealed four eagles carrying a puppet and smoke sticks.

"Hey! It's just a puppet dragon!" Mighty Ray yelled out indignantly.

The hybrid dragon let loose a mighty roar at the revelation.

"It's just a puppet dragon?!" Both Zebra Brothers cried out in unison.

Highroller crossed his arms and glared at them. "Of course it is, you dummies!" The hybrid dragon flew through the eagles, easily knocking them and the puppet down. Highroller's confident facade dropped. "Let's get out of here!"

The blast woke up Bearstomp, who Mano just realised was asleep. An angry growl escaped him and a cannonball fired at the dragon's nose. The hybrid narrowed his eyes, flying over to the Bear King and picking him up between his teeth. With a mighty swing of his head, Bearstomp was sent flying into the retreating group. Three eagles who had attempted to fly off was electrocuted by a fiery blast from the dragons.

With that, the group fell in front of Big Green.

To be honest, Mano had been wondering if that was the end of it. A confrontation with Highroller almost always ended with a large battle of some sort, and it felt strangely anticlimatic to end it without the Air Force.

Of course, as soon as he had thought it, Apetrully's horn went off. "Air Force, we need your help!"

As soon as they flew out, Mano dived down low, where he saw Lina remove the hat she constantly wore. Her hair blew away from her face as she leapt onto Mano's plane without stumbling, pushing on the white hat that all Air Force members wore. His eyes widened upon seeing the monstrosity that he was sure the cube had created.

A flying creature, with Highroller's face in the front, Bearstomp's head residing on top, the two Zebra brothers at the back, and six eagle heads - three on each side. Who let this sort of thing happen? Flying out in formation, Mano was careful to duck the arm that tried to catch all three planes, and smirked to himself when the eggs returned fire.

"With these mind reading bats on our side, we can't be beat!" Master Chou declared proudly.

"Don't be so sure." Highroller chuckled as he drew out a bunch of grapes and handed it around to the six-eagles currently positioned on the monstrous thing. Each of the eagles immediately fired on them, causing Mano to wince and flatten himself to the plane, with Lina following suit. They barely dodged a round of grape seeds.

"Even with the bat radar, we can't dodge all these seeds!" Rosefinch called out over the sound of grapes hitting and missing their targets.

Mano could faintly hear Mystique Sonia shouting something, but Mano couldn't hear it over the sounds of battle. Lina leaned forward, pressing her arm against his back as she narrowed her eyes, trying to get a closer look at...something. Honestly, Mano was too busy trying to dodge all the seeds to find anything.

Just then, Lina let out a cry, and Mano half-turned, afraid that she had been hit. He only turned back when she reached out an arm, just in time to see the rest of First Squad disappear into Highroller's mouth. "Hm...not bad, but they could've used some sugar frosting."

Mano turned to the girl, worried as Lina's eyes narrowed.

"Hit them with all you've got!" Master Chou ordered. Mano passed Lina some grapes, which she gratefully took, and then they all fired at the creature. Bearstomp growled and closed his eyes, falling asleep. A bubble formed from his nose, spreading out to cover the whole creature.

"We've gotta pop that snot!" Master Chou called out.

"Let's use the crossbow attack!" Rosefinch replied. Master Chou nodded, standing up on his plane. Burly connected his arms to the side of the master plane, and Rosefinch eased her plane down slowly. As the sole occupant of her plane, it made sense rather than to have Mano and Lina get off their plane.

"Ready?" Master Chou pushed the plane back further. "Fire!"

The rocket merely bounced off the bubble and was sent crashing to the ground.

Lina looked up, eyes faintly narrowed. Leaning back, she looked up at Master Chou, her voice ringing clear in the destruction of the other plane. "Put me on the nose of the place. I can get through."

Landing on the master plane, Master Chou once again went through the motions, with Lina crouching on the nose of the plane. Mano watched with no little worry as the plane was released, and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Lina toss her staff, leaping forward to catch it and go into a spin.

He recognised this move.

Her 'master stroke', as it was known throughout Big Green. Highly effective and deadly, yet hard to pull off as well. As soon as Lina penetrated the bubble, the rocket followed in the small opening she left behind. Lina didn't hesitate, bounding off Bearstomp's nose and into the air.

"Ahhh!" Both Zebra Brothers cried out as the rocket connected with them.

A mighty bang sounded, and the creature came apart. The three other members of First Squad fell through the air, with Master Chou maneuvering the plane to catch all three in rapid succession. Lina landed on the nose of the plane, before bouncing off it and falling onto the ground.

Once they landed on the ground, they saw Highroller rub his head. "I've had enough for one day. Let's get out of here!" With that, all of them retreated into the dense crops growing around the path.

"You'd better run!" Commander Apetrully threatened, waving a fist at him.

"There's only one thing to do with an invention like this." Woo the Wise sighed as he approached the cube. Drawing out a large hammer, he smashed it down repeatedly onto the cube, destroying it into tiny pieces.

Gasps sounded. Mano's own eyes were wide.

"It's just too dangerous." Woo lamented.

Lina walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. She gave him a small smile. "That was a very wise decision."

Woo seemed to glow in response, smiling up at the warrioress. Despite himself, Mano felt his eyes narrow at the supposed competition. There was a low chuckle beside him, and Mano turned his glare to Rosefinch, who was doing a poor job of hiding her amusement at the situation.

"You do realise that Woo is probably never going to get with Lina, don't you?" Rosefinch asked quietly, grin playing on her lips.

As always, Mano turned and chose to ignore her.

"Let's go." Rosefinch laughed, wrapping her arm around his and starting to drag him back to Big Green. As Mano stumbled, turned slightly to look at First Squad, who had descended into quiet bickering, he caught Lina's eye. Lina smiled at him, waving a hand with an unreadable yet fond look in her eye. Mano hastily returned the gesture before he turned back, hoping his cheeks didn't turn too red.

Rosefinch giggled at his expression, turning back to see something before continuing on. "Come on, you lovesick fool. We still need to get two new planes in production."