"Aah, so yur the three eejits causing trouble for the troops?"
He brought his face closer to the screen to get a better look at the trio. After squinting his eyes and adjusting his glasses, he relaxed his gaze and leaned back.
"Hah hah hah haaah!" he cackled loudly, "I'm sorry, that just hit me funny. You three were the ones to take care of Genrallas, aye?"
"So you're the one behind all this?" Klonoa asked, a hint of anger in his infliction.
"AY ASKED YOU FIRST, YA BLOODY BAMPOT!"
The man switched from humoured to angered in a matter of seconds, startling the heroes. It was like somebody flicked a switch on his back.
"Pfft! Made ya jump! HAHAHAHAHAAA!"
Klonoa and Lolo looked at each other in complete confusion - they were starting to think that this guy may or may not have all his marbles.
Regaining his composure, the enigmatic figure slapped the sides of his face to re-focus on the matter at hand.
"Ahem. Anyways, ah was hoping this wasn't a waste of ma time, but ah also cannae have ye messing up the big man's plans at the moment."
"Oh yeah?" Popka spouted out arrogantly, "And what are ya gonna do to stop us?"
"Nothing." the figure grinned, revealing rows of sharp, pointed teeth. "Ah've already distracted ye long enough."
The heroes, suddenly realising what the cyborg just said, looked away from the screen. They were surrounded: robot soldiers blocked both sides of the bridge, weapons at the ready, and were slowly getting closer.
Popka frantically scoured the area, hoping for some way to even the odds. He noticed wires littering the walls around him, green, luminant energy flowing down each of them. He also spotted a flight of stairs leading up to the level above - was there something powering the wires up there?
"Klo, Lo," Popka whispered, as to not let the figure on the screen hear him, "Do ya think you can take care of these bolt-brains without me? I have an idea."
"Wait, what?" The Priestess was understandably confused. "What are you going to do?"
"Just trust me, 'kay? I know what I'm doing."
There was no time to think things through, and all three of them knew that. Lolo knew that Popka had a habit of being impulsive and getting into more trouble, and she wanted to stop him. But, deep down, she knew that there was no stopping him.
Before they could talk further, Popka made a break for the stairway, jumping over the other bots in his way. While the soldiers were distracted, Lolo took the opportunity to gain the upper hand - she focused her magic, held her hands up, and formed a green energy bubble around herself and Klonoa.
"SHIT!" the cyborg cursed, "That mongrel's headed for the core! Stop him!"
The robots blocking one side of the bridge turned their attention on Popka, and chased him up the stairs. The figure on the screen then turned to face Klonoa and Lolo again.
"As for those still here, the one who brings me the heads of these two will get a promotion and a nice armour polish! So go get'em, lads!"
The remaining troops aimed their weapons at the duo and started firing. Luckily, Lolo's bubble was able to nullify the bullets and energy blasts.
"Since when could you do this?" Klonoa asked, impressed. This girl was full of surprises.
"Years of training, haha."
Although her shield was working, it was taking up a lot of her energy, and the flurry of projectiles being fired upon it were gonna break through eventually.
"Klonoa," Lolo continued, "When I say go, run to the room behind us."
"Right!" The cabbit wasn't sure what she was planning, but she had an idea.
"Aaaand….GO!"
With a strong yell, Lolo threw her hands forward. The forcefield that was previously protecting the two flew forward, towards the enemies. As the bubble advanced towards the firing squad, Klonoa and Lolo made sure to race to the area behind them.
They looked back at the shield, which glowed brighter and brighter with each shot - the cabbit realised that the bullets weren't being nullified, they were being absorbed. Eventually, without someone like Lolo to maintain it, the bubble was going to overload with energy, lose control and-
-BOOM!-
-burst.
The energy from the blast not only knocked back the robots, some of which fell over the bridge sides and crashed onto the ground below, but the bridge also started to crumble and collapse.
Klonoa and Lolo hastened their run to the next room, the bridge giving way behind them. The cabbit's fast feet allowed him to escape the plunge and reach the other side, but Lolo wasn't as quick, especially after she used most of her energy to keep up her shield. Although she got close, she wasn't able to outrun the crumbling structure as it disintegrated beneath her feet, causing her to start plummeting along with it.
"Gotcha!"
Klonoa had managed to catch her by the wrist, just before she fell out of reach - a moment later, and she would've been lost.
Lolo breathed a sigh of relief as Klonoa pulled her back up to his level, quite effortlessly. But once he lifted her up onto the floor, she ended up tripping whilst trying to get her footing. Even 5 years later, she was still as clumsy with her feet as ever. Fortunately, Klonoa was still holding onto her, and managed to catch her before her face hit the metallic deck. Unfortunately, his legs also buckled from the weight of supporting another person, as well as exhaustion, and he ended up falling onto his back.
"Oof!" they exclaimed in unison as they both fell to the ground.
"You okay, Lo?" He rubbed the back of his head and re-adjusted his hat. He failed to notice that Lolo was unscathed, nor was she on the floor; she fell right on top of him. He looked up, inadvertently making eye-contact with the Priestess - her face bright red. He could feel his cheeks getting hotter as well, but he wasn't 100% sure as to why.
"AAAAH! I'MSOSORRYI'MSOSORRY!" Lolo stuttered, practically leaping off of him in panicked embarrassment. "I-I-IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, I SWEAR!"
"H-hey, it's okay, Lolo. Don't worry about it."
Klonoa was just as flustered, but was able to contain it. He had never really been in a predicament like that before, so he wasn't fully sure on how to respond to it. At least, that's what he thought to himself as he quickly got back on his feet and shut the door behind them. The severed bridge meant that no bots were going to be able to access the room through the entrance, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Lolo took some deep breaths and looked around, the room was empty aside from a pile of boxes and storage crates. There were no other doors or windows, and the only source of illumination was the light attached to the ceiling. There was also a computer terminal, but it was inactive, and neither of them knew how to switch it on.
"Sooo, looks like we're stuck here for a while." Klonoa said, assessing the situation likewise. "I hope Popka's gonna be alright."
Lolo sat down against the wall to rest and gather her strength, Klonoa joining her.
"What do we do?" he asked her.
The Priestess looked at him, concerned, before looking towards the ceiling, and by extension, whatever was above them in the tower.
"We pray that he knows what he's doing."
"WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING!?"
Popka spouted that question to himself over and over as he ran as fast as he could from the pursuing machines. With every level he moved up, he managed to garner the attention of every robot on said floors. However, the wires keep going up - there must be something at the tip-top of the tower, and Popka was determined to find out where all this energy was coming from.
The constant fly of steps reminded the dog of how many stairs he would have to climb to reach Lolo's dorm at the Temple, and how much it exhausted him. But here, he was running off of pure adrenaline and stress. He wouldn't stop because he knew he couldn't stop.
Eventually, the stairs ended, and he reached a floor with what looked like an elevator in the centre of the space.
"There!"
He made a break for the elevator, quickly running past the other robots in the room. They didn't even have time to react to his immediate presence before he closed the lift's door.
The enemies that were chasing him up the stairs reached the room; one of them aimed their blaster at the door, before another one motioned them to hold their fire. At the front of the metallic mob was the purple bot from earlier, snarling at the canine as the platform lifted him up to the next floor.
Popka took this time to catch a quick breath. He slumped against the wall of the elevator, slowly letting his body slide down it, until he was sat.
But before he could get too comfortable, a screen on his left lit up.
"There you are. Feelin' proud of yerself?"
It was the weird bird guy from earlier, sounding rather impatient.
"What do you want?" Popka rudely asked; he was too worn out to think of anything witty to say at that moment.
"What do I want?" the cyborg recoiled in an exaggerated manner, placing two of his hands on his chest as if he was offended. "What do you want? Yur one of the dunderheids who broke into wan of his factories and started causing a commotion!"
"Hah, do ya think I'm just gonna sit on my ass and let you take my home?" Popka responded, rhetorically. "Nah, we're tearing this place down, whether ya like it or not."
Before the cyborg could reply to him with another threat or question, the elevator door opened and Popka stepped out. He was outside, on the tower roof. A few feet in front of him stood a large, glass-like dome, emitting sparks of energy from both inside and out, casting a green light on the transparent hemisphere. Surrounding the dome was a dark grey base with wires attached to the sides of it, leading down into the floor below.
This was it. This was the source of the tower's power. All he had to do was find a way to destroy it and-
"Don't do it, lad. You'll regret it."
Popka looked to his right and saw the figure on the same screen as earlier, being carried by Nagapokos.
"Why not come up here and fight me yourself, if ya want me to stop so badly." the canine taunted, throwing his hands up, "Come on! I'll beat ya till you're black an' blue!"
"Hmm…enticing offer. But how about ah just leave ya wit this guy instead?" the avian said with a menacing grin.
"Shit!"
He had a trick up his sleeve, and nobody likes an ambush when they're unprepared. Popka braced himself for whatever the figure was gonna throw his way.
But nothing happened.
Popka looked around, checking for any signs that danger was afoot. But there was nothing but metal, clouds and a couple Pollys flying around in the distance.
"Uuuuh…is something supposed to be happenin' here? Or can I just destroy that core now and get it over with?"
Even the guy on the screen seemed confused; he scratched his head and seemed to be looking at something on his end.
"Huh, that's odd. Fur a second ah coulda swore ah sent that Cygore t-"
Abruptly, the ground shook beneath Popka's feet. He frantically looked around to see what caused the tremor, but still nothing. That was when a part of the platform broke open as a large spiked mace flew out of the crater and landed to the side.
"Aaah, there we go!"
Promptly, the wielder used the mace as a grappling hook of sorts to lift itself to the same level as Popka. It was the purple bot, and, despite its eyes being obscured by a visor, it seemed pissed as it growled at the canid.
"Oh, an' fur the record, ah'd hav' battered ya wiv three hands tied behind my back if ah was there. Toodaloooo!"
The screen switched off and the Nagapokos flew away, taking the display with them. Popka was now left alone with the Cygore. He brandished his claws and beckoned the bot to make the first move.
And that it did, swinging its left-hand mace above its head at a rapid pace before lobbing it at the boy. Popka swiftly dodged the flail, which left a large dent in its place on the steel floor. The Cygore reeled its chain back in, then lobbed the right-hand flail at Popka. This time it connected, knocking him back and drawing blood from the sharp spikes. It hurt, but the dog wiped his bleeding nose and got back up.
"Heh, that all ya got, botbrain?" he said with a smirk.
The robot then charged at him, but Popka was ready this time. It swung its flail for another attack, but Popka jumped over it and kicked the back of its head, sending it tumbling forward.
As it was getting up, Popka went in for a second attack. He extended his claws and stabbed them into the back of the robot's metal body. They didn't penetrate the armour all the way, but it was enough to get the Cygore stuck. Popka took this chance to lift the bot up with his claws and smash it down onto the ground multiple times, before retracting his claws and jumping off of the machine.
"Had enough yet? I think you've made contact with the ground enough times to consider marryin' it!"
The bot turned to face the jeering mutt, its helmet dented and its visor cracked, revealing a pair of piercing red eyes. The Cygore once again ran at Popka as it smashed its two maces together as a supposed form of intimidation.
But as Popka got ready to parry its assault with a counterattack, the robot hit the ground with both of its flails and jumped into the air.
The impact of the spikeballs allowed the bot to gain increased height, as it flipped above Popka, who watched in disbelief, before landing behind him. Before Popka could react, the Cygore swung its right flail behind it, hitting him on the side of the head, sending him hurtling before hitting the platform supporting the dome of energy.
Popka tried to get back on his feet, but stumbled and fell back down. The blunt force from the attack left him dazed, bruised and bleeding even more than before. But he was too stubborn to lay down and let the enemy win, even with the odds stacked against him.
His opponent walked closer to him with murderous intent written all over its face. It started swinging its flails over its head again, before slamming them at the canine in an attempt to crush him. Although Popka was still slightly staggered, he managed to dodge the attack in time.
As the bot retracted the spikeballs, Popka looked at the translucent dome behind him. He could now get a better look at what was inside; upon closer inspection, he saw something inside the dome, and it all made sense now.
It was the Element of Tranquility. It was being used as a borderline battery for the Generator, so that it could keep pumping out robots without ever losing juice.
The Elements were extremely powerful artifacts with unlimited potential, at least, that's what he heard from other Priestesses, so it'd make sense to use one as a power source. But he also knew that, in the wrong hands, the Elements could be used as a tool for destruction; Goddess forbid someone manages to get ahold of all of them. Leorina was proof of how dangerous shit could get if that happened.
But he couldn't dawdle. He knew he had to break the core and take back the Element, but that wasn't gonna stop the relentless Cygore from pummeling him until he was a small yellow stain on the metal floor. He needed to think of the best course of action. How could he do both? How could he kill two birds with one stone?
"Hmmm…could that work?" he thought to himself. "Nah. Don't be stupid, Popka! That's dumb….but I do like the challenge…..but this ain't no time for messin' around….but I don't exactly have any other ideas….ah screw it, let's do it!"
He moved his arms around and stretched to loosen up. Despite the pain, he felt invigorated to put his idea into motion, and that was enough to keep him pushing forward.
"Alright, 'Mr. Big Balls'. COME ON!"
With a smash of its weapons, the Cygore charged forward. Popka did the same, running towards the bot with a loud battle cry. The machine flung its left flail as if it was throwing a haymaker punch. Popka slid under it on his knees and held down the chain with his feet. The Cygore attempted to reel its weapon back in, but it wouldn't budge under the dog's weight.
Since the ball couldn't return back to the wielder, the Cygore decided to rush the canine to knock him off its chain. But Popka was ready for it; he curled his claws into a fist and punched the bot square in the face with all his might, before jumping off the chain. As the bot staggered from the blow, the speed of the retracting mace knocked it even further back.
Now was his chance! Popka ran towards the toppled troop and jumped on top of it, pinning it down. He used one hand to hold the bot in place, and the other one to grab onto one of its arms. With enough strength, he managed to rip the arm off the Cygore, and one of its flails to go with it. Sparks flew from the mechanical wound and thick black oil spilled onto the floor, seeping through the cracks in the metal. The bot started to get up, twitching from the external damage. It's body was starting to malfunction. And before it could get a chance to stabilise itself-
"HI-YAA!"
Popka swung the amputated spikeball with all his strength and sent the Cygore flying back. It managed to stop itself just as it got to the edge of the tower roof, using its remaining arm to balance itself so that it didn't fall over the side. That was, until Popka ran up to it and jumpkicked it in the face, sending it tumbling down the tower. It tried to grapple to the tower walls with its mace to save itself, but it was falling at such a velocity that the chain tore from the Cygore's arm. The defeated robot was unable to do anything as it grew closer and closer to the ground below.
With a loud crash, the Cygore was no more.
After he watched the robot fall to its doom, Popka took a few steps back from the edge, before collapsing onto the ground, debilitated. The cold, hard metal hurt his back upon contact, but at this point he didn't care. He won.
But it wasn't over yet. He still had to take care of the actual problem at hand. After catching his breath for a moment, Popka got back onto his feet and walked towards the Core. He furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his chin; he needed to think of a way to break the Core and take back the Element within.
Considering the dome protecting the artifact seemed to be a glasslike material, he wondered if it just needed a bit of brute strength to break it open. He got closer to the hemisphere, wound up his fist, and punched the structure. But the only thing that ended up breaking was probably his own knuckle, as he was sent back, reeling and cradling his hand.
He did his best to shake off the pain, before noticing that his attack actually left a mark on the dome.
A crack. It could be broken, it just needed a bit more strength.
Popka slowly looked behind him to see the severed Cygore weapon, a lightbulb flicking on in his head. He picked up the spikeball by the chain and started spinning around. As he gained more speed, the mace elevated higher, until he reached a point where he couldn't stop himself.
With an exasperated yell, he let go of the flail, launching it towards the Core.
-SMASH!-