Chapter 14: Revenge of the Lioness

Before I could finish my conversation with the White Dragon, something terrible happened. A great quake shook my cell, tearing my prison apart. I was nearly buried in the rubble, but a white light shielded me from injury, acting like an umbrella against the stones. I realized that the light must have come from the White Dragon. When I asked her what was going on, she told me that her father had come.

“Thisy! Is that really you?” asked Ryan as he beheld the magnificent sight of the Manticore-Classed Mecha-Titan rolling down the streets of Tarrus with alarming speed. The pink letters of Lioness shined brightly and proudly against the rising sun.

“Well who did you expect, you bloomin’ goat? Mary Poppins?!” Thisimius’ voice sounded just as gruff as ever, but as far as Ryan was concerned at that moment, it might as well have been the voice of an Angel.

“It’s a Mecha-Titan! They’ve got a Mecha-Titan! We’re screwed!” Ryan heard one of the guards shout out as he ran away from the gate in terror.

Security guards at the gate ran for cover as a gigantic mass of pure, mechanical power rolled over the fifty-foot-high electric, steel gates like they were Legos.

All this in a day, and after what a wreck it was in! Thisy, you the Ogre Man!

Ryan just barely caught sight of a battle-crazed Ogre and a cringing politician in the shielded cockpit of the Mecha-Titan as they bowled over force fields and defensive walls like dominoes. Dust and debris scattered in all directions as the Mecha-Titan’s six massive, car-sized wheels whirled and rolled with their spikes spinning like gargantuan buzz-saws.

However, even as big as the Mecha-Titan was, it still seemed like a mouse next to the overall size of Gregory Industries, which towered above casting a dark shadow on the horizon. The building defenses were in high gear trying to stop the technological behemoth. Automated turrets appeared everywhere: literally thousands of guns shooting everything from lasers to missiles.

They appeared from hidden panels on the ground or from the building itself. The security guards had been frightened into running at first, but when the defensive systems kicked in they regained their courage and fired on the Mecha-Titan with every arsenal at their disposal. Gregory Industries had quickly become an impenetrable fortress. Ryan thought for sure that Thisy was done for, but the shields of the Mech-Titan held against the onslaught. They seemed to be much stronger this time.

Not only did he get the old girl up and running again, but he also found a way to upgrade the shields!

Unfortunately, they still encountered a few problems. A massive wall, so large that it dwarfed the Mecha-Titan, suddenly sprang from the ground at the entrance of Gregory industries. The wall crackled and sparked with blue energy.

Thisy aimed the scorpion cannon at the wall to bring it down. The cannon hummed and glowed as its power charged up. With an unimaginably loud Clap! and a gust of wind that actually knocked Ryan and Leon from their feet, the cannon fired a massive ball of yellow energy at the wall.

Ryan thought for sure that when the dust settled, the wall would’ve been reduced to rubble. However, when the cloud of smoke finally dissipated, the wall still stood without a scratch.

“Thisy! Thisy!” shouted Ryan into the communicator in a panic. “It didn’t work! It didn’t work!”

“I can see that, ya yellow-livered pansy!” shouted the floating, holographic head of Thisimius. “Don’t shout so loud into the communicator! You’ll bust me eardrums!”

“Give me that,” said Leon, wrenching the mic from Ryan’s grip. The building’s defenses still pelted the Mecha-Titan relentlessly as Thisimius tried maneuvering the machine from side to side in a vain attempt to avoid damage. “Thisimius! I hope you have a plan B! Even with its shield’s upgraded, the Mecha-Titan will not last much longer against their defense systems!”

Ryan heard the guttural sound of Thisy’s laughter as the holographic image grinned manically. “Didn’t I say I’d have this hunk of junk prepared for battle? It took me a little while, but I finally found this beauty’s transformation systems. Just sit back and watch me doubting lad!”

Suddenly, the Mecha-Titan stopped moving, and the security guards took it as a sign of its defeat as they increased their rate of fire to finish it off. However, the battle was far from over.

First, Ryan heard the whirring and clicking sound of thousands of gears working overtime as the Mecha-Titan wheels seemed to push up on the ground, making the machine appear to grow. Then what happened next was difficult to put into words.

A mechanical arm sprang from the machine where one of the wheels had been. And then, another mechanical arm sprang from the other side as they both hit the ground so hard that the earth shook. The security guards actually stopped firing for a second or two, either from awe or from the fact that they were knocked from their feet.

Suddenly, hind legs appeared from the wheels in the back until all but two of the wheels of the Mecha-Titan had been transformed into legs. And then, the two spiked wheels on the sides vanished into the machine’s interior and reappeared on the lion’s head at the front of the vehicle. The spikes spun around the mechanical head in a way that made them seem like a mane.

The giant gun on the back of the Mecha-Titan moved more towards the rear, making it resemble a scorpion’s tale. Then the machine stood up on all four of its mechanical legs, rising to an even more imposing height. With a gasp, Ryan realized what had just happened. The Mecha-Titan had transformed itself into a giant, mechanical lion.

“It’s a lion!” exclaimed Ryan.

“Actually, it’s a Manticore, but close enough,” corrected Leon with a wolfish grin.

With a mechanical roar that sounded more beast-like than before, the Mecha-Titan, now turned giant lion, ran on all fours towards the massive wall. Its metal paws clawed the earth with the strength of innovation, and the mercenaries running around its feet looked like ants in comparison.

On all fours, it stood at least a hundred feet higher. Ryan shuddered to think how tall it would be if it stood on two legs. The rotating spikes quickly moved to the front of the head to act as battering rams as the machine bent its neck down to head-butt the walls. With a thud! that seemed to shake the heavens, the metal beast made contact against the massive obstacle and the walls caved in under the newfound power of the Mecha-Titan.

Raising one of its forepaws that still held a spinning, spiked wheel, the Mecha-Titan anchored its arm towards the building, and the spinning spiked wheel detached. The wheel traveled up the length of the left side of the building, smashing hundreds of turrets with its blade.

Then just as quickly as it detached from the forearm, the wheel traveled back to its point of origin. In wonderment, Ryan then realized that the wheel was still attached to the Mecha-Titan’s arm by a metal cable, which pulled it back like a giant yo-yo.

“Thisy! You’re a freaking genius!” shouted Ryan to the holographic head.

“Oh, aye,” said Thisy, blushing at the compliment. “That’s why you ‘all powerful’ Elementals still keep brainies like me around. Here’s one for technology!”

“Well done, Thisimius,” congratulated Leon. “Thanks to you, the plan is underway. Now get out of their range before they penetrate your shields.”

“Aye! I’ll take the old girl to the rendezvous point. Give me a ring when your team is ready for evac,” said Thisimius with a wink.

With agility similar to a real lion, the Mecha-Titan sprang away in a flash, jumping over buildings and debris. Then it climbed up the walls of a nearby row of buildings and disappeared from view.

Ryan had a realization that he could only describe as one of his stupid moments. “Oh, I get it, now! Lioness! No wonder Auntie Hannah had it designed like that.”

“Intriguing epiphany,” said Leon, grinning. “But now’s not the time for epiphanies.”

Speaking into the communicator at his wrist, Leon said, “Bravo team, this is Alpha. Their defenses are in turmoil and the path to the main entrance is clear. Make your way into the building interior and seek out your objectives. Ryan and I will make our way to the top and meet you at the center.”

“Roger, Alpha,” replied Rachel in a military style. “Approaching target.”

Ryan saw Rachel and the others moving swiftly across the ruins and fires that scattered across the main entrance of Gregory Industries. What few guards remained were quickly dispatched by either a blast of lightning from Rachel or a ball of fire from Tork, who flew close to the ground carrying the still-bound form of Silvia. Still hoping that she didn’t have to die, Ryan shared one last look at Silvia, who stared at him with yellow eyes before disappearing inside the building.

Then turning back to Leon, Ryan asked, “Alright, now we go in next, right?”

Leon grinned wolfishly. “Actually, there’s a little part of the plan that I didn’t mention.”

Ryan didn’t like way Leon said that. “What?”

“Well, we are going into the building, but we aren’t going in through the main entrance.”

“If not the front doors, then where,” said Ryan, almost regretting that he had to ask.

Instead of answering, Leon simply arched an eyebrow up towards the top of the building, where Lord Gregory’s personal penthouse rested.

A violent shaking like an earthquake roused Lord Gregory from his sleep. In a most undignified manner, he was thrown from his bed ... and in his red, silk pajamas no less.

“What in the Lord Corrupter’s realm is that godforsaken racket?!” cried Lord Gregory, his body shivering from the morning chill.

Galzar Slithe appeared at his side. Under any other circumstance, Lord Gregory might have taken offense at such an untimely intrusion, but given the circumstances, he felt rather eager for the Goblin’s protection.

“What the devil’s going on, Galzar?” asked Lord Gregory on pens and needles.

“The building is under attack by a transforming Mecha-Titan,” replied the Goblin coolly, as if nothing could affect his demeanor.

“Then it can only be the Elementals,” gasped Lord Gregory, his face paling slightly.

If the thought of the Elementals seemed frightening, the look on Galzar’s face was truly terrifying. “Do not worry, my lord,” said Galzar in his most sinister voice ever. “As soon as they enter this building, they forfeit their right to breathe.”

“Wait, what are we doing again?” asked Ryan, not entirely sure he had heard his creepy friend right as they stood by the wall of the Gregory Industries building.

“We scale this wall until we reach the top, then we blow a hole in the wall with explosives, attack Lord Gregory at his penthouse, capturing him and hopefully rescuing Éclair in the process,” replied Leon while adjusting his glasses in that habitual manner of his. The way he said it made it sound like they were about to sit down for tea.

“Right, let me just grow some wings, or get my Spider-Man suit on. Oh wait, I almost forgot! We’re Elementals! We shoot elementally crap out of our hands and junk! Last time I checked, that doesn’t entail flying!”

Leon smiled in that way of his that said, ’I’m smarter than you and you know it.’ “Oh, ye of little faith.”

“I don’t even know what ‘ye’ means,” grumbled Ryan.

As Ryan crossed his arms cynically, Leon pulled out a pair of small, black cubes with a triumphant grin.

Ryan studied the cubes for a second before saying, “We’re going to play dice to see who dies first?”

Leon shook his head just as the dice suddenly transformed in a flash of light into two pairs of glowing shoes that hovered in his hands. “If you’d take a little time to think before you speak, maybe you could feign some intelligence.”

“What can I say, thinking hurts my brain.” Ryan studied the floating shoes for another moment before saying, “So let me guess. These are flying shoes, right? We pulling a Hermes?”

Leon gave Ryan a blank stare that told Ryan that he didn’t get the joke.

“Hermes,” said Ryan waving his arms. “The Greek god with the flying ... Oh, forget it. You can’t expect all my material to be funny. You try keeping the audience entertained 24/7.”

“Back to reality,” said Leon still holding the four shoes that floated in his hands. “No, these shoes don’t fly, at least not in the conventional sense.”

“You know, I really hate it when you use big words during an exposition,” said Ryan.

Hey, just because you strike out with one joke doesn’t mean that you don’t keep shooting!

Leon ignored Ryan’s comment. “These grappler boots will allow you to defy the laws of physics, temporarily of course. By applying your psions to your feet, you will be able to scale up the side of this wall as easily as walk across a bridge.”