Chapter 5 – Hour of Desperation

Quickly, yet covertly, Tails, Draco, Lily, Percival, Jeremy and Amy snuck past the fray and made their way towards the huge command tower. They searched around for an entrance, until they found a door at the back.

"Okay, guys, this is it," said Tails. "We must be on guard as we enter the tower and head up to the top floor. Without a doubt that Eggman's robots will be patrolling the inside of the ship."

"Yes, but nevertheless, we only got an hour to complete the task, so we must be quick," replied Draco.

Tails pressed the button next to the door, and in response, the door slid open. Aware of the dangers that awaited them, the team slipped inside cautiously as they began their trek to the control room of the tower. The interior of the command tower was full of all kinds of machinery which appeared hostile. Even though they did not have to worry about fighting Pachytron and the E-50000 robots, Tails and his team knew that danger is still present inside the ship.

"Better take care and keep a low profile while we explore the command tower," whispered Tails. "The last thing we want is for the robots to be alerted to our presence."

"Sneaking around and finding some places to hide whenever any robot shows up would be a good bet," suggested Percival.

"Sounds like an idea," said Jeremy brightly. "Of course, we must try not to waste any time. Cynder, Sonic and the others are counting on us."

The team crept their way around the main floor in search of an elevator, watching every corner in the hopes of not getting spotted by Eggman's robots. Each time they heard something approaching nearby, they took cover or did their best to appear inconspicuous. At last, they reached what appeared to be the elevator as they saw a wide rounded tube with two sliding doors and arrows above it that pointed up and down. Tails pressed a button and the team took cover while they waited for the elevator to arrive, anticipating for any robot to be inside. When the elevator made a chime, followed by the doors opening, the team peered as close as they can without revealing and noticed to their relief that there was nothing inside.

"All clear," whispered Tails. "Come on, let's get in."

Tails, Amy and the dragons entered the elevator, which was fortunately wide enough to fit a small group. The doors closed and they felt the elevator raising them up to the top floor. In no time, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened to reveal the floor they arrived on. As the team entered the floor, they saw a series of monitors which displayed some of the most famous landmarks of the world. One showed the Big Ben clock tower, so the team instantly recognised the screen to be set at London. Another screen displayed the Meiji Shrine, belonging to Tokyo.

"Whoa, look at all the landmarks!" exclaimed Draco. "I see the Eiffel Tower of Paris, the Tokyo Skytree, the Capitol Building, and even the Sydney Opera House!"

But Tails' expression was very grim. "They must be the cities Eggman is aiming the nuclear warheads at," he said. "We better stop them from being fired and fast, as we have less than half an hour!"

"How are we going to do that?" asked Amy as she looked at the controls. "There doesn't seem to be anything that can deactivate the warheads."

"No need to worry, Amy," assured Tails. "You're forgetting that I'm a computer genius, so maybe what I can is try to open up the interfaces and reprogram the warheads so that they will not be launched out of the ship. Instead, I could seal them off, and they will all blow up inside the Egg Convoy, blasting it to smithereens!"

"Absolutely clever, Tails!" laughed Draco. "That will put a dent to Eggman's plan!"

"There is a catch, though," added Tails. "Once the warheads disintegrate the ship, we will all have to evacuate as quickly as we can, for according to my calculations, we will only have five minutes before it explodes."

"Let's get to it then!" urged Percival.

All at once, just when Tails was about to open the interfaces, the area started flashing red and the alarm blared loudly. Draco checked another screen, and to his horror, he saw a bunch of robots racing to the elevator.

"Uh-oh," he said. "We got company, everyone."

"There's a bunch of them coming!" exclaimed Amy. "There's no way we could hold them off and then reprogram the warheads!"

"Not if you guys take care of the robots while I focus on our mission," said Tails. "I'll try to do this as quickly as I can, which hopefully won't be too long as it's only eight cities that Eggman is targeting. Get ready to fight, guys!"

Tails started to open the first interface which controlled the warhead aimed at Tokyo, and in a minute, the elevator opened revealing the first wave of Egg Pawns. Amy and the dragons assumed their stances, and once the robots started charging, they battled it out with them.

Cynder, Torden, Jakkin, Moonracer and Bowser helped Viper in the fight against the powerful E-50000 robots. The fight lasted for a fairly long time, but despite all their efforts, they found that their combined strength was not enough to bring them down.

"Blast!" pouted Torden. "Those robots are far more resilient than I ever imagine!"

"It looks like we'll have to resort to our Elemental Brooches," said Cynder as she took out her Shadow Brooch. "This might be the only chance we have to defeat the E-50000s."

"In that case, hurry and power up so we can take out those dirtbags!" urged Jakkin. He also picked out his Earth Brooch from his pocket, followed by Torden making use of his Lightning Brooch.

Viper looked at the brooches with curiosity. He had never seen them before. "What are those?" he asked.

"Those are Elemental Brooches," replied Moonracer. "Blaze the Cat has made them for Cynder's team to use, each one corresponding to an element they are strong with."

"What about that big turtle over there?" Viper continued. "Doesn't he have one?"

"No, I'm afraid not," said Moonracer. "But those three should be able to defeat the robots once they're powered up."

Moments after wearing their Elemental Brooches, Cynder, Torden and Jakkin have achieved their respected powered forms. They hoped that they were now strong enough to take on the seemingly unstoppable robots. At first, it looked as if they finally had the upper hand as they delivered more forceful blows, but even though the E-50000 flinched from being knocked back and forth, somehow they were still able to recover.

"Well, so much for that," said Jakkin irritably. "Those guys are still a pain in the patootie!"

"It just couldn't be," said Torden, feeling bewildered and scared.

Even Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge and Jimmy were in a difficult situation as they found that Pachytron was too much for them to handle. As the elephant robot incapacitated them momentarily, he turned to the struggling dragons.

"So, I see that not even your altered selves could be able to overpower the E-50000s," he said in a smug-sounding tone. "You should never underestimate the genius of Doctor Eggman. He cannot be outsmarted by anyone."

"We're not going to give up!" declared Cynder. "The lives of many are depending on us to stop you and him!"

"Typical of living flesh to make very foolish decisions," said Pachytron. "And speaking of which, I know about the other members of your group snooping around inside the command tower. They are going to be utterly destroyed, I'm afraid, as thousands are set to capture them."

"What?!" exclaimed Bowser, feeling a sudden burst of anger. "I can't let you do this to Draco, Jeremy, Percival, Lily and Tails!"

"And what is a big, lumbering brute like you going to do about it?" asked Pachytron. "You're obviously no match for me and the E-50000s, especially when your friends can't do it in their powered forms."

"THAT IS IT!" bellowed Bowser. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANY LONGER! I'LL INCINERATE YOU BASTARDS AS IF THERE WERE NO TOMORROW!"

Letting out a loud, animalistic roar, Bowser unleashed a stream of flames on the E-50000 robots, but they were not like the kind he would breathe usually. As a result of his fuelled rage, the flames were so hot, that parts of the robots started to melt. Everyone was stunned, even Pachytron.

"Whoa, look at him go!" exclaimed Torden. "I have never seen Bowser that pissed off before!"

"That's how powerful a Koopa's breath can get when pushed over the edge," said Jakkin. "But this is now the time to resume fighting them since they're weakened by the flames."

The dragons unleashed their own breaths against the E-50000 robots, and this time, they were at an advantage. Viper fired his rifle, downing some of the menacing machines.

"You guys carry on dealing with these robots," said Bowser after he finished his powerful fire breath attack. "I'm going into the command tower and help Draco's group."

"Alright, but be careful, Bowser," replied Cynder.

Bowser raced off towards the tower while everyone else resumed their battle. "Hang on, Draco!" he shouted. "Here I come!"

Author's Note: Bowser's all worked up and is ready to kick some butt! Will he make it in time to help his friends in the command tower? Will Tails be able to reprogram the warheads to blow up the Egg Convoy before they get launched off? And can Draco, Lily, Percival, Jeremy and Amy hold off the squad of robots long enough for Tails to finish the task? Next chapter will reveal the answers!

Oh, and to Fedr, my favourite Pokémon is obviously Charizard, and my favourite of the main cast of Dragon Heroes is of course, Draco as he's basically my Charizard sona going on all these adventures. Glad to see some growing interest in my series. ;)