Stellar Ascent: Part 5

*Finally, the story continues! Our last entry took us into the inner world of our favorite Bomb Duelist, '*Poppet'***.** She sees things differently, compared to the rest of us, and that's... not okay right now! She's joined up with the mercenary **Ryos**, and together they're bringing destruction upon the Great States' west border! **Gamound** has been dealing with Poppet's bombing runs for a while at this point, but now that Ryos is involved, the global peacekeeping forces up above the clouds have dispatched **Stell** to the front lines to stop and detain the destructive duo.*

~

**Ryos** was on the job. Who was the client? Who knows? Too convoluted at this point. He had received at least three different cash transfers this week, telling him to be at this spot and wreck as many robots as possible, be they active or not, belonging to a nation or not. Well at least, that's what the contracts added up to. None of them really contradicted each other, and if he completed all of the jobs, he could get all of the rewards.

He walked across the debris, keeping a steady eye on the battle. Explosions shook the dust and lasers split the clouds, and every time there was a lull, he would strike. Inhale, exhale, a flash and a bang. Ryos was unique - a man who could see and feel energy as though he were wading through water, and have it flow and crash around him as naturally as breathing.

Squad after squad of ABB robots stomped and clunked across the battlefield, and like clockwork they fried and fell to a hidden electromagnetic pulse. A series of ARLY robots would drop in from over head, and fall prey to a sudden series of shocks, locking them in place. An enemy would sometimes circumvent the traps, and that's when an overwhelming show of force was required - Ryos's favorite. He was a one-man army, and knew full well that armies need both tact and power to seize victory.

An sudden explosion annihilated the stray foe, sending shrapnel whooshing by the mercenary's head. Ryos remembered that was now part of a two-man army, where the other man was a psychotic teenage aristocrat.

The man spun, glared and let off a series of expletives punctuated with in-depth strategic philosophy. When another enemy blitzed through the debris, Poppet launched a volley of rockets, tearing apart its legs.

"Only a bit, like that? Is it broken the right way?!" the girl jointly exclaimed and questioned.

"Yes, like that." Ryos launched a spear of lightning to finish it off, siphoning its energy. "Use your power with brain, not your trigger finger."

His wisdom was met with emphatic nods.

This girl saw the world through a different lens, a different perspective altogether from all the soldiers, generals, rebels and officers that Ryos had faced off with on job after job. A different perspective from the crowd is the most freeing, powerful thing in the world - something that can't be taught.

However, this girl couldn't shoot lightning from her hands. She couldn't bench press a boulder. She was too young to know what her goals were. Hell, she could barely communicate like a normal person. When she dropped helplessly out of the sky, was it obligation or responsibility that Ryos felt?

Regardless, here she was, getting taught crucial life lessons between electric blasts and mortar shells. Poppet was in Ryos' school now, not a mansion, and the classes were "crush the enemy to get paid" and a charred tome he found called "The Pun Book of Funs" - she had to learn to read somehow.

The pair was up to 47 destroyed robots today, a new record. Ryos aimed to find dinner at 50, but Poppet and her bomber charged in towards the border's absolute defense line.

"I'm going to break the leaders! The two right there - yellow and green!! Then we can get to 100 easy!"

Ryos shouted, but Poppet was already too far forward to hear. Ryos had studied both enemies - one wielded a long-range Sky Thresher for destroying air machines, the other summoned allies from the sky to surround and disrupt. A beat-up bomber didn't stand a chance, no matter how erratic the attack pattern. Ryos commanded an ARK to combine and dash in after her while he caught up.

Immediately, the entire battle formation shifted. The clanging and explosions died down, and Ryos was surrounded. Nearly all the robots that had been fighting weren't his - they were duplicate makes and models to his. Beating on each other to simulate a battle.

"How?!"

* \* \*

Gamound let out a laugh and nearly choked on his hoagie. Stell turned to him in concern and disgust.

"See, space lady? All you had to do was mail order a bunch of his robots and drop 'em right in during the commotion. His dudes were generics, you can find ARKs like those anywhere. Think with your brain, not your trigger finger."

"A gross misuse of resources..." Stell replied, looking back into her viewfinder.

* \* \*

Poppet dove in and sped towards the border walls, skimming the ground, eyes ready for a good time.