Strike One (Open/Mod)

[Sam]

Suspicion had arisen in Fitzgem City that night. Many people rushed home faster and some found some excuse to get out of the city. The war jet had been sighted at exactly 9:26 PM. Kids were rushed to basements of houses, buildings were evacuated and, at, at exactly 10:42, every light in Fitzgem city was off and 5 different bombers had been seen. The city was in fear.

High above the city, in the first bomber, James sat in the cockpit, fumbling with the controls. Feraligator was next to him, signaling to the other jets to hold fire and making sure that Aaron would let fly a spray of bullets down upon the Malum. Using a radar, James looked down upon the city to make sure no one was preparing fire. An infrared scanner found no one outside on ground level. He sat back and smiled. They were ready. He turned to Aaron. "If something tries to attack you, I want you to get inside the plane and out of firing range. Got it?" He turned back to his controls and placed his hand on a switch. He flicked it and felt the jet rumble as the bottom opened and the bombs were exposed. He heard four other sounds as the other jets prepared to drop the explosives. He signaled to Feraligator to give the countdown. He tapped the button with a five on it. On a screen in the middle of the two, everything dissapeared and a huge five appeared, counting slowly to zero.

5

4

3

2

1

Feraligator had to stop James from jumping up and unbalancing the jet as he screamed, "FIRE" and slammed his fist upon a large red button in front of him. The bomber jerk as its contents spilled out into the cold night air. He looked out the side window to see dark objects falling from the bombers and turned towards Aaron to see how he was doing.

[nightwolf84]

As they flew by Fitzgem, Aaron realized the full scale of the war. They were not just fighting for Aero. They were fighting for their lives. He watched the dark stream of bombs fluctuate from the bay of the plane. In the distance, explosions could be seen and the shrill shriek of the air raid sirens blocked out all other noises from the ground. James looked at him, and Aaron nodded. He let loose a stream of bullets from the plane's turret. As the projectiles found their targets, the explosives that had been installed in them activated, sending shock waves through the city.

Already panic was arising as the bombers flew on their second run, this time targeting vital military infrastructure. Aaron watched as the other pilots dropped napalm from their aircraft, lighting fires throughout the city. Aaron took out his matchbox, and lit the whole pack. He swung the turret around, and shot another spray of munitions at the oil refinery. Aaron then proceeded to throw the box over into the hole that he had blown in the petroleum tank. Luna added her own twist by unleashing a flamethrower onto the structures below. In the split instant that the matches submerged into the oil, a great inferno arose, lighting up the entire eastern side of the city.

Aaron grinned at his accomplishment, then shouted at James; "There! I lit up the eastern edge. Bomb the vehicle depot!" He fumbled with his sack for a moment, then found what he was looking for. His prototype bomb. It wasn't much, just a drill attached to a cluster of grenades, but it would do. He tossed it into the bomb bay, and motioned for James to let loose the bombs.

[whitedragon]

The bombing started and it looked to the Aeroians that this would be an easy battle. The men in the other bomber jets were letting out cries of victory already, as if they expected no resistance. It started that way. There was a boy in the jet right next to the one that occupied James and Aaron. He was 15 and a strict War Aeroian. He looked over at Aaron, smiled, and waved to him. He turned back towards the city and turned on his own gun. He pressed a small red button on the gun and it shot a small red light that could only be seen under a special glass, which was right in front of him. He looked through and pointed it right near the bottom of the largest building in the city. If he destroyed the foundation, the building would surely topple over and smash many facilities next to it. He smiled and began to press down on the trigger. It was a high powered missile launcher that was built into the jet. He felt it rumble as it slowly gathered energy into its great, steel body. He heard a click and knew it was ready to fire. Instead of pulling the trigger to its limits and releasing the missile, he gasped and his finger let go of the trigger. He looked down at his chest. Blood was spreading across his shirt and he felt a searing poison wrack his body. Sweat trickled down his brow and he fell forward with a grunt and was lost forever into the swirling mist of the dark Fitzgem city.

The Malum had been ready. They had concealed themselves from the infrared beam, making it look like to the radar that they were either dead or not there. Their suits were black as night and the fabric was cold as hell, but it was good enough to conceal them. They threw them off, exposing themselves and marched forward, under the command of one of the generals. There were three right behind the general and thew each a Pokeball in the air. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Legendaries in the past, an uncommon species today. They left the ground and into the sky to attack the planes. Fire, ice, and electricity shot towards the Aeroian bombers. On the ground, the Malum had opened fire. The one that had shot the boy was the general. His weapon was poisoned and he watched with a smile as the Aeroian teenager fell from life into death. He threw down his gun and took out another missile launcher, not even half as powerful as the one the kid was about to use, but if it came in contact with it, it would utterly destroy. He pointed it carefully, then released the missile. It shot through the air, right into the center of the bomber's launcher. Immediately, the entire thing blew into fragments and hit the sides of its fellow bombers, denting or scratching the surface. Behind the general, many were falling to the Aeroian blows. The general narrowed his eyes and picked up his old gun. Bullets rained from the ground, onto the many planes still airborne in the sky. As he shot, the general spoke into a radio, "Matey! Matey! Buildings on fire, Aeroian attack. Request backup immediately, over."

[Sam]

James yelled as the jet next to them exploded into small pieces the bumped into the bombers around. He almost lost control of the flight, but regained it immediately. He closed his eyes for a second, hoping that there was some way that they land a huge blow on the Malum without them being able to stop them before the hammer fell. He visioned himself running through, shooting Malum as he went, each falling down to his deadly pistols. Of course that wouldn't happen! There was no way he could run through the city with no protection and expect to stay alive. Then it hit him. He could do that, but not in the way he thought. He turned to Aaron and yelled back, "Hold on! This ride is gonna get bumpy!" He turned the flight engine on the bomber back on and they shot forward. He slowed down a bit and suddenly swung the plane around. Blazzer cried out as he toppled out of his chair and into James's lap. He swung himself backwards again as the jet stop turning and jumped back into his seat.

They were now facing the North side of Fitzgem. James turned the jet up to full speed and the whole thing launched forward. right before they reached the edge of the city, he turned the plane down and it's course changed sharply. "Hold on!" On their way down, they twisted in mid-air and James got the plane going straight again once they were at a good level. Feraligator pressed a button on his panel and the wings began to retract into the jet. He let go once they were thin enough to get through the buildings without hitting them. James smiled. His plan was working. They were speeding super fast between the buildings. The Malum were approaching. Fast. At just the right second, he released the bombs right over the soldiers. He swerved around a building and began to slow down a little. He shouted back to Aaron, "Once we go over them again, start shooting. We gotta take down as many as we can!"

[nightwolf84]

Aaron yelled a savage war cry as the plane suddenly sped forward into a dark alley filled with Malum soldiers. They took a sharp turn down and James released the plane's deadly cargo. Aaron looked to his own gun and started to unleash streams of bullets onto the unfortunate men below. He took one of the napalm bombs and fastened a can of gasoline to it that he had found earlier. Obviously, once the napalm hit the ground, it would ignite, and the fuel would amplify it's effect. It would take out quite a few and cause a lot of havoc there on the ground. He chucked it out of the bay window, and it bounced once, twice before smashing into a cluster of anti-aircraft vehicles and igniting.

The effect was magnificent. There was total confusion before the Malum realized that a wave of fiery death was descending upon them. The great inferno swept into a chemical plant, and a huge cloud of acidic toxins exploded over the northern side of Fitzgem. As they flew, Aaron unleashed spray after spray of bullets onto the defenseless infantry below. Twice, he was hit by a stray bullet from the AA emplacements, but they were minor wounds, one in the stomach, and the other in his thighs. It was a while before he realized he was choking from all the smoke and toxins. Aaron dragged himself into the cargo bay and managed to holler: "James! Get us the hell outta here!," before blacking out.

[whitedragon]

Three of the Malum, right out of their ranks, disappeared into a small shack that stood next to them. there were a few clicks and a rumple before the entire shack blew up and a thick, golden laser flew into the air, striking another Aeroian bomber, blowing it up as well. They smiled as the laser subsided and they saw the damage they had done. Some of the Aeroians had begun panicking once they saw the destructive powers of the machine. There were now three left. One of them attempted to flee, but the laser caught them as well. They Malum pointed the laser at the aircraft that did not include James and Aaron. It powered up and prepared to fire, but they were too late in realizing that they had another missile launcher. It came down on them and blew up not only the Malum, the laser, and the shack, but ten other Malum soldiers.

A large group of Malum fell to another attack from the missile launch and the general, now growling with anger, for he had shot many of his own missile without hitting it, had raised his regular gun again. This time, though, it was pointed at the plane carrying James and Aaron, for many of his men were falling to this one as well. There was the man, sitting in there. His first thoughts related to somewhere far off. What a fool Katherine was, falling in love with this man. She needed punishment too. She overrode him too much. Now...what would it be like to know that he was dead. He took aim, straight at his heart, then set off a spray of bullets, directly at the front of the plane.

[Sam]

The jet jerked again as James turned to catch Aaron as he fell. He turned back towards Blazzer. "Take the controls!" The Feraligator leaped over and onto the main seat as James jumped to the back. He closed the turret and propped Aaron up against a wall. He opened a first-aid storage compartment and took out an oxygen mask and placed it on Aaron's face. He turned it on and took out a water bottle, closing the compartment back up. He opened the cap, then closed it back, putting it next to Aaron. He would wake up soon, and he would be thirsty. He turned back towards the front, and saw Blazzer steering them through the war. He saw the lasers and bowed his head, in honor of the dead. They would not follow the same fate. He climbed back towards the front and took over the controls again. He was heading out of the city. He realized that he felt more tense then he thought he would. He turned back towards Aaron. Nothing else was wrong. He turned towards Blazzer. Nothing. When he looked back out the window, he saw why. The general was pointing his gun right at him, and he was shooting. The spray of bullets smashed through the window, breaking the glass. James fell to the side instantly. Blazzer almost fell with him. He had been hit as well. Blood dripped down his jaw and from his chest. He had been more lucky then James who had been his everywhere except for his legs and head. His arms dripped the red liquid, his chest was soaked with it. The Feraligator leaned over him and took the controls. He steered them up and away from the buildings. Bullets pounded on the jet's steel covering, but didn't break through. Blazzer growled in anger. Using his foot, he painfully pushed James out of the way so he could sit in the chair. Oh, great Arceus, please let James and Aaron be okay!

[nightwolf84]

Aaron woke up to a mess of confusion and chaos. They were already losing the battle, if they hadn't lost already. Blood was everywhere as he realized that both James and Blazzer had been hit by the spray that the general had unleashed, mortally for James. Aaron had been lucky - he was lying behind a crate when the bullets came, so he only had some splinters embedded in his skin and was still conscious. They were still taking fire from the Malum forces. The plane couldn't handle much more. Realizing this, Aaron took out a smoke bomb. Not lethal, but it would let them escape. He took his best shot, then lobbed it at the general and his squad of soldiers. The battle was winding down. Fires were being quenched, and a chemical crew was mopping up the hazardous residue. He looked at James, then his pouch, and shook his head. None of the herbal remedies was strong enough to cure this kind of wound. He ripped out a piece of cloth from his roll, and wrapped it around James's torso. It would be enough to stop the bleeding. Aaron looked around the plane. It was pretty beat up, but it probably wouldn't explode anytime soon. The plane lurched, as if it had read his mind. It would hold until they got back to Calava, at the very least. He held onto a overhead beam and looked his last at Fitzgem City, and then back. The plane soon disappeared into the night sky, a drop of water in a dark ocean.

END THREAD