Big O Fan Fiction ❯ Season 2: Highway to Hell ❯ Act 15: 3, 2, 1 ( Chapter 2 )

The Big O : Act 15
(Season 2: Highway to Hell)
3, 2, 1
(Rough Draft 1 Edition)
by Crystal Acids

FOREWORD: Main difference between this and the final is some tighter dialogue and that it was finished. At the start I added about two paragraphs telling how Angel gets back to the office so quick and small talk with the "boss". Otherwise, all that's missing is the actual ending. A summary version has been added to the end of this file.

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Note: These events take place four days previous to Act 14. In other words, starting just seconds after Act 13 of the TV series ended. To bring you up to speed:

The sky was bright and sunny. The sea, however, was as choppy as a stormy night with a hurricane blowing in. Along the harbor shore was the military police in full force. They had quickly established themselves as a defensive wall between the incoming nightmares and the ravaged city behind them. Standing just ahead of the military police was another well known Paradigm City citizen: The Big O. The stage was set as Roger Smith and R. Dorothy Wayneright stood ready to do battle once more. The Big O's powerful beam rips out across the sea...

***

...and scored a direct hit on the center megadeus.

The center megadeus was the Atlas. A heavy armor unit with the head slightly offset being a part of the chest on the right shoulder but the face resembled that of an iron mask forced on a human for torture. The main body, arms, and legs were all thick. The Atlas took the hit to the chest and it didn't even slow the megadeus down. However, the Atlas was not going to leave The Big O without a response. The head lifted outwards and then rotated to the top of the body. The chest cover folded open to reveal row after deadly row of missiles in a spiral placement.

On the shore, Major Dastun ordered his troops to position themselves behind the mobile armor vehicles. Major Dastun grabbed the C.B. inside one of the vehicles and got on the horn.

"This is Major Dastun, over" he shouted.

"Major Dastun, this is dispatch headquarters, report over." came a female voice.

"We need backup, immediately! Have all citizens within a 15 block radius evacuated, over." Dastun replied.

"Roger, Major Dastun. Backup units are on route, over." replied the same soft voice.

Dastun tossed the C.B. unit back into the armor car and snagged the bullhorn.

"Alright, troops. I want anyone not handling heavy artillery to pull back and evacuate the surrounding blocks. Move it!" the Major barked.

***

Patricia Lovejoy lowered the C.B. mic down and looked behind her. Located in the Paradigm Group's main office on the top floor, she looked around through the glass to the city below. Rosewater had given her the strict order to stay up here in his office. Normally, she wouldn't think twice about an order issued to her from Alex Rosewater, but this was different. Memories were one thing but.. this was playing with human lives.

***

Inside The Big O, Roger Smith and R. Dorothy Wayneright were both a little stunned over the past thirty seconds of events. Sure, the beam wasn't known to destroy everything it hit, but the Atlas didn't even flinch.

"Dorothy, I think we're going to have to do this the old fashion way." Roger spoke, slightly shocked still.

"I understand," replied Dorothy, "I can adjust to whatever condition we face."

"That's good," Roger lightly phrased as he nodded. Smith's arm was bothering him and the temporary bandage R. Dorothy had applied was only prolonging the bloodloss. And yet she knew he would need her at his side for this.

The Big O stepped forward into the cold sea to close the distance between the four warriors. Roger knew that Dastun would need time to clear out the locals and Roger aimed at filling that need. The Big O's arms raised toward a more defensive boxing position. The Atlas still had its missile banks open and was moving forward, but the other two had stopped when Big O started into the sea. "Are humans piloting these?" Roger wondered.

***

Lovejoy sat quietly in the oversized office floor. "Why is this bothering me so much?" pondered the blonde secretary. Lovejoy slowly took off her fake glasses and placed them on the table next to the C.B. radio. Turning, she walked towards the side facing towards the harbor area.

***

"Damn, where is that backup?" Major Dastun shouted at no one in particular. Several officers turned around and shrugged. "Something's not right," he thought, "I know every member on the force and she didn't sound familiar."

***

The titans approached each other. Atlas with the head moved was towering over the equally powerful Big O now. At this close of a range, missiles would end up damaging both warriors from the flak, but that didn't mean it would stop them from using that option. Roger scanned over the megadeus looking for some kind of weakness. Smith's eyes were clouding over from the stress and wound. He needed a quick stalemate or an impressive victory if he was to end this quickly.

"Stalemate, Roger Smith." Dorothy kicked in flatly.

"What do you mean?" Roger questioned.

Before Dorothy could explain, the Atlas took a few steps back. Roger quickly swung across the controls to get some distance between them, as well. Roger knew what was coming. "First rule of engagement, size up your opponent." he quietly thought. The Big O's arms raised to full block as Roger reversed his actions and forced The Big O to charge towards the Atlas. At the same time, the Atlas released the first wave of missiles at the closing Big O.

The missiles ripped across the forearms of The Big O with little damage and didn't keep it from charging forward.

"Roger, the city!" Dorothy exclaimed. Rare but important, Roger cocked his head back only to see a pack of missiles freely heading towards the harbor.

Roger swung the controls once again and winced. Dorothy had been matching his every move but the sudden crisis had thrown her off sync. The Big O turned and started to fall on its left side before R. Dorothy composed herself and helped straighten the megadeus out. Roger knew that only one thing could stop the missiles without severally damaging the city.

"We need to punch." he spoke quickly as his hands darted over the controls to activate the pressure valves.

"I'll aim, you fire." Dorothy confirmed in step. It was a long shot on aiming a high-pressure blast at something so small, but Dorothy knew just where to target.

***

"Incoming missiles," shouted an officer.

"Aim and fire. Take them out before they reach the shore." the Major ordered. Dastun grabbed a shoulder missile launcher and pointed towards the swarm of trouble.

***

The Big O's pressure arm unlocked and pulled back to full strength. In one swoop, the pressure cannon fired and The Big O was hit from behind by the Atlas. The cannon rang out but the blast was knocked downwards into the sea to a huge splash like throwing a boulder into a pond.

"Aim again, " Roger ordered.

"It's too late." Dorothy replied in an almost sad tone. They could only helplessly watch the city be hit or they could return the favor ten fold. Smith & Wayneright chose the latter.

The Big O faced the three invaders. A loud explosion could be heard in the distance behind Roger and Dorothy.

***

"Good shot, sir!" shouted several of the officers and other cheered.

"Get ready for another wave," barked Dastun, "we can't let them have all the fun now, can we?" Major Dastun grinned. He was damn lucky and he knew it, but there was something about pulling off the impossible that you just couldn't help but smile at.

***

"I have an idea," Roger broke the tension with. "Aim the arm just before the feet of the megadeus." Roger was looking for a way to stop the onslaught before the other two warriors decided to join in. Dorothy simply turned and acknowledged that she had acquired the target. Roger grinned and pushed the fire trigger.

The Big O's arm pin pulled back to full strength once again and then ripped into the sea with a mighty blast just below the Atlas. The ocean floor, briefly, could be seen as the ocean worked on filling the sudden gap. The Atlas lost its balance in the sudden current changes and fell face forward into the now swirling sea.

"Prepare to fire, again" he said proudly. Roger knew he had only angered his opponent. Dorothy, once again, handled the controls to engage the pressure valves. Roger's arm was growing limp, but the pseudo replacement knew the motions with great skill.

The sea rumbled as the Atlas rose from its cold grave like a boxer dizzy from a knockdown. The Big O aimed straight for the head in hopes to collapse the frame with the head as a its cannonball. Immediately, the Atlas' body pulled backwards and another furry of missiles streaked out over the fifteen feet of distance between the two. Dorothy adjusted her thumb and pushed the fire trigger before Roger could react.

***

A huge fireball could be seen from the harbor shore. The both victims were blown backwards with the Atlas crashing into its two partners and The Big O taking a backbuster into the deep blue sea. The officers stood in shock. Could either have survived that devastating blow?

***

The cockpit was dark with the exception of light being given off by the fires. R. Dorothy Wayneright laid unconscious with the edges of her skirt starting to burn. Roger, on the other hand, had been thrown for whiplash but kept in his seat due to his legs catching on the arm controls. His head was spinning but he couldn't open his eyes. Smoke was filling the room. He couldn't breathe.

"I need to get up," he thought. "I *have* to get up" his mind screamed. Roger forced his eyes open only to be greeted by a fuzzy darkness.

"Dorothy...?" a weak voiced Smith called. "Dorothy, are you alright?" No response.

Smith looked to his back left to see where the dim light was coming from. Dorothy laid in the corner of the ceiling with her dress quickly starting to burn away. Roger tried to unlock the arm controls, but they were stuck. He folded in his legs and pushed himself out of the seat. Turning over he grabbed his coat and tossed it onto Dorothy's skirt. Roger positioned himself and then reached out to smother the red devils nipping at Dorothy. Roger tried to lean further over to pull her up but she weighed too much for his angle of approach. Roger slipped his hands onto the wall grooves and pulled himself out of the seat fully to slip down next to Dorothy's lifeless body.

Tossing the coat onto the original source, Roger smothered the fire out but the jacket was badly burnt in the process. He looked over the lifeless body in front of him trying to see if Ms. Wayneright had suffered any major blows. Her legs were a little blacked from soot of the partly destroyed dress but nothing major physically that he could tell in the darkness. Dorothy's red hair had been flailed about in the fall, but Roger could see nothing bad enough to have knocked her out. Roger slipped his able arm under her head to check for any dents but felt nothing.

"Dorothy.." Roger tried again softly. A long silence came back. Roger could here the ocean moving about The Big O. He knew the seal between them and the sea wouldn't last long. The cockpit pressure was obviously lessening, as the other small fires grew dim.

"Roojaar...." came a weak metallic voice from the darkness. Roger looked down to see R. Dorothy slowly open her eyes.

A loud thunder came from outside the small room. He could hear footsteps crashing along the sandy sea bottom. Three pairs were on the move and passing them to head towards the harbor.

***

From the shore, it was obvious that the three challengers were heading inland again. To the left of the Atlas was the Glyphein. A tall body with a long mug with drills for hands and a metal feather on its cap. Unlike the Atlas, Glyphein looked to be a more hand-to-hand combat megadeus. To the right of the Atlas was the Minotaur. Tall like the Glyphein, the Minotaur had a thicker body and more rounded head. Horns sat on top of the Minotaur while the arms held steady at a forty-five degree angle.

"Oh no!" the Major said under his breath. "Is.. is the megadeus finished?" he thought while his face reflected his internal emotions.

"Sir. Orders, sir?" came young voice from behind Dastun.

"Is everyone clear yet?" Dastun asked without turning.

"No sir," his voice responded in a frantic tone, "and backup has yet to arrive."

"Then we fight." the Major mumbled as he reached down for his bullhorn once again. "Listen up," he shouted with command, "the minute they are in range you are to fire at will. When you run out, fall back and join the evacuation team. Get these people cleared out." A silent nod of approval came from his fellow officers.

***

Patricia Lovejoy sat crumpled on the floor next to the omni-scenic view. Her left arm rested along the glass pane as she held her head down in shame. Her dress was damp around the knees and a small puddle was starting to form on the floor Patricia was sprawled upon. She made no sound. She just stared at the floor with the harbor in view.

***

"Rooo.. jaaar.." she tried again. R. Dorothy's vocal ability was damaged, but Roger couldn't see anything that would have caused it.

"Still, she obviously took the hit hard." Roger thought. "Don't speak... Can.. Can you move Dorothy." he questioned with concern. Dorothy laid still for a moment. "Well?" he lightly added.

R. Dorothy Wayneright sat up and then repositioned her arms behind herself to keep steady. She glanced down at the rest of her body. She noticed her dress had gotten burned.

"My dress seems to.." she started slightly off key.

"We'll worry about that later." he stopped Dorothy with. She turned and saw his jacket in the corner still smoldering.

"Your jacket seems to.." she started again.

"Again, we'll worry about that later." Roger interrupted her with. "Can you move?"

"Of course." she flatly replied. Her voice was still had a metallic tone but was seemingly correcting itself.

Dorothy gripped the sidewalls and hoisted herself up. Roger slowly stood up and looked around for a way to fix their dilemma. The metal began to squeal as the air pressure dropped. Roger grabbed a sidewall and the control panel trying to pull himself back into the command chair when Dorothy stepped over. She grabbed one of his feet and raised it. Roger, on the other hand, wasn't expecting the boost and fell over the hump to the seat headfirst.

"Dorothy.." he started.

"Your welcome." she broke in with.

"Well.." he came back with as Mr. Smith readjusted himself into the chair. "I think we've had a long enough break." R. Dorothy nodded. She could see he was in alot of pain, but wasn't going to spoil his attempts to hide it in humor.

Roger started looking over the controls when a light popped on from behind him.

"Thank-you, Dorothy." Roger said in a flat humor reply.

Again, he looked over the controls. Gripping the arm controls, Roger pulled the two units forward with resistance as the arms of The Big O struggled to move through the thick ocean water. Flipping a few more switches, The Big O slowly started to sit up until the upper chest and head were out of the water. Roger flipped another switch and the cockpit cover began to rise. The salty sea air flooded the small cabin along with the beams of sunlight. Dorothy hopped back behind Roger's chair again to help control the left and right arm movements. It was Dorothy who had done the aiming on both, but Roger still kept his hands on the arm stick controls.

Another loud explosion ripped across the shore behind The Big O. Dorothy popped a switch to close the hatch. She looked over at Roger who only smiled. Roger motioned with his head towards the harbor. She responded with a nod and a brief matching smile.

***

"Pull back! Pull back!" shouted Dastun over his bullhorn; "I want everyone to regroup two blocks back from this point."

The military police had struggled for only a few minutes, but it was already a lifetime for some of them. The bank of the harbor was covered in rubble and bodies. Where once stood buildings and warehouses now stood crumbling tombs. The military police had not even put a dent into the armor of the attackers. Sure, the missiles had helped delay the first volleys of air intruders, but nothing could hold back the beams that came from their eyes.

Another beam shot across Major Dastun's head as it hit the dome in the distance. Panels shattered and siren wails could be heard for miles around. Dastun looked around.

"You, you, and you" he said quickly two three armor transport drivers, "Grab an armor vehicle and follow me." Dastun hopped in to his own mobile fortress and pealed out as the giants took to the shore and first blocks of chaos.

***

The Big O chugged through the water heading inland. Attacking them with the city behind them was not an option at the moment. However, The Big O always has another option available for Roger Smith. Dorothy aimed the first anchor at the back of the Glyphein while Smith kept them charging but steady. From off shore one could see the true level of damage inflicted so far. Block after block of city street had been flattened from the weapons fire.

The Big O hit the beach in stride as Dorothy fired the first anchor. It sailed fast and furious towards the Glyphein as the chained wailed over the speed. The anchor started to pierce the back of the drill god. Roger smiled as he saw the anchor slice vertically through the center and poke out of the chest.

***

Dastun rounded another corner with three additional armor vehicles in close tow. He wanted this to be a frontal assault. Spotting the Glyphein to his right, the Major made a hard right turn and charged forward. Increasing his speed, Dastun suddenly noticed a spike pop out of the Glyphein's chest. Baffled, he slowed down only to see the Glyphein go flying backwards. Then he saw The Big O, with chain in hand, dragging the Glyphein into its arms. The Major smiles because he saw the silver pin unlock from its arm casing.

***

The Big O's left arm hoisted the Glyphein up by the black chain. The megadeus swung frantically with its drill arms trying to get a good swipe at its captor. Inside Roger Smith smiled.

"You know, they just don't build them like they used to." he joking stated.

"How do you know?" Dorothy came back with flatly.

"Umm.. hmm.." Roger responded. He wasn't sure if Dorothy was serious or not. "Shall we?" he added to avoid the question. Dorothy nodded and pulled back the right arm. "Bye-bye." Roger cheerfully added as Dorothy connected with the Glyphein's head.

The explosion was tremendous. The Glyphein's body was blasted off of the anchor and flew crashing into some partly destroyed docks along the shore. Roger turned them around to see the other two warriors still causing havoc. Close to the domes was the Atlas who had already created an oversized door to enter through. Still in the harbor area was the Minotaur who was enjoying the sea life and the slice he could cut out with his beams.

"City or the harbor?" Roger thought to himself, "Dan must have cleared out everyone by now.."

"Dorothy.." Roger began, "let's head uptown. We have a date with a megadeus."

"What about the other one?" she inquired.

The Big O turned towards the Minotaur. From its other side, The Big O released its second anchor and caught the Minotaur halfway through the back.

"He's coming with us." Roger replied with a smile.

The Big O started heading for the Atlas while retracting both anchors. The Minotaur, understandably, was not a willing participant in this venture. The Minotaur turned around and fired a beam at The Big O's head but it just bounced off. Roger pulled back the right arm and grabbed the still retracting chain holding the Minotaur. In one pull, the beast was turned backwards and fell back onto the anchor. The anchor was driven deep, this time, popping almost completely through.

***

"Yeah!" exclaimed the Major, once again as he watched from a distance. "Have all troops focus on the one inside the dome," he relayed to an officer on his C.B. unit.

Major Dastun had pulled out of the harbor and joined the rest of the force several blocks inland after the first megadeus went down. However, the battle was not over yet. Power for half the city had been cut off with all the damage and the two largest water pipelines had collapsed under the pressure of the falling high-rises that sat on the interior dome border. The streets were lined with dead and wounded, but not as bad as it got out towards the harbor area.

"And have medical hurry up and get to these people," he continued, "If they need to, have headquarters authorize their using our troop carriers. These people need to get to safety."

***

Patricia Lovejoy had been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions the past few minutes. For every good, there was an equally bad event. Only a few large patches of glass were still a part of the domes that faced out to the harbor. Everything else had been shattered or taken with the collapse of a building. Explosion after explosion had rocked both the interior and exterior of the domes. And sitting helpless in total safety was the shell of her former self.

***

The Minotaur lay lifeless infront of The Big O. Roger was confused. Had the anchor cut through its power source?

"Well, I guess we can knock that one up to luck." Roger finally spoke. The more pain he was in the worse the jokes seem to get.

"Master Roger?" a voice came.

"Norman?" Roger answered.

"Oh good, you don't know how long I've been trying to contact you sir." Norman replied happily. "Will you be home in time for dinner?"

"Yes, Norman." Roger Smith jokingly replied like a child to their overly worried parent. "And have the medical equipment ready."

"You're not hurt, are you sir?" Norman asked with a monotone worry.

"Nothing major.." Roger replied. He looked over his shoulder at Dorothy. She was transfixed on the lifeless megadeus. He didn't want to alarm her of how bad he really was right then. Roger turned back towards the monitor with Norman.

"Understood, sir." Norman nodded. "I shall see you when you finish."

***

Norman Burg turned off the monitor. Master Roger was very pale. Norman didn't know the details, but the Master obviously didn't want to alarm Dorothy standing next to him. Norman turned on another monitor. On the screen appeared a lifeless megadeus on top of a pile of rubble.

***

End to Act 15: Roger is out cold (loss of blood) and Dorothy (with Norman's assistance) gets the Big O back into the transport. The 3rd megadeus continues on. In the end, Dan has the city blocks (which we see destroyed in 14) wired with explosives. He's gonna collapse the buildings on the megadeus as it goes down the street. He gives the order to clear the buildings but they aren't done yet when the megadeus arrives. Dan decides NOT to hit the switch so that everyone can get clear. The "officer" Roger met in 14 runs over and hits the switch. Angel, after leaving the office in tears, arrives at the scene to see everything go to hell.

This sets up the original Rough Draft for Act 16.