Chapter 5. I enjoyed writing this one!
Chapter 5: Up the Tower
Bomberman and Pommy traveled together to the hill. While they were walking, Bomberman told Pommy about everything he had experienced on Bautnaut so far (when he wasn’t busy chasing after the little creature, who simply had to investigate every patch of metal he saw in the grass), hoping that his other Charaboms were listening from within their Charaboxes. “And so, our goal is to do something about this Mecha Mage and that robotic impostor so we can unfreeze Bautnaut. The next place to explore is the Lightning Tower,” he concluded.
The two of them climbed up the hill until they were standing in front of the tower. It was so tall that they could not even see the top from where they stood. “Here we are,” Bomberman said. He cautiously pushed the door open and stepped inside with Pommy following. At the entrance they found themselves in a dark spacious room connected to a hallway; electric currents flowed up and down inside pipes on the walls, creating some light.
Bomberman felt a little uneasy about this atmosphere. “You’re an Electric-attribute, so all this electricity can’t hurt you much,” he told Pommy softly, “but I’m not so lucky. We’d better be careful or we might get the shock of our lives!” They quietly entered the hallway. There were two doors on each side of the hallway, but what really caught their attention was the room on the other end. Its main feature was a winding staircase that went up as far as the eye could see. “These stairs must lead to the top of the tower,” Bomberman said, “But they’re so long it’s almost dizzying. Do you think there’s an elevator?”
Pommy jumped and pointed to an elevator door on one wall. Bomberman ran over and pushed the button next to the door, but nothing happened. “It’s an elevator all right, but it’s not working. I think it needs to be activated somehow.” He noticed a small light above the door that flashed when the button was pressed but did not glow otherwise.
Pommy spotted a small opening in another wall that led to a tunnel – a vent. He was small enough to fit inside, and he had a good feeling that something useful may be on the other end. “Myu myu!” he said, pointing to the opening.
“You think you can find a way to activate the elevator if you go through that vent?” Bomberman asked. Pommy nodded. “Then go for it!” Bomberman encouraged. So Pommy scurried off into the vent. He ran through the tunnel until he came to the exit and peeked out. The coast was clear, so he came out of the tunnel and investigated the room it had led him to. It was a somewhat small space that appeared to be a kind of control center, with switches, buttons, and machinery at work inside.
Pommy saw a lever underneath a sign that read “Elevator”. He quickly ran over and pushed it, and then tiny green lights bordering the sign glowed. Thrilled to have been of help, the Charabom hurried excitedly back through the vent. He then found Bomberman waiting for him by the elevator door, which was open and the light above it glowing green. “Good job!” Bomberman praised, “Now we can use the elevator!” Pommy beamed proudly and followed him into the elevator.
Bomberman pressed the button for the top floor and the door closed. The elevator went up…up…and stopped abruptly. “Why did we stop?” Bomberman wondered worriedly, “We’re only about halfway to the top.” He pushed a button to open the door and carefully stepped out. “The elevator’s out again,” he sighed, observing the dim light above the door.
Pommy regained his balance after the sudden stop had knocked him down; he walked over to his friend pouting, upset that his helpful deed had somehow been undone. “Myuuu!” he whined, wanting answers. Who could have done such an awful thing?
Instead of getting answers, Pommy found Bomberman’s hand covering his mouth. “Shh! I thought I heard something!” Bomberman whispered. At that moment he caught sight of something moving out of the corner of his eye. He froze and slowly turned to face it.
Right in front of them stood a purple alien like the ones Bomberman had encountered at the control center, but he wore a yellow hat and cape. He was pointing a type of laser weapon at the heroes. “Don’t make a move or you’ll die!” he hissed.
Before anyone else could react, Pommy leapt at the alien and knocked the weapon out of his hand with surprising speed. In response, the enemy tackled both him and Bomberman, but their struggle did not last long before a voice shouted “Halt!”
The alien promptly scrambled to his feet. “Mecha Mage, sir!”
A familiar villain emerged from the shadows. “It is not your job to deal with this Bomberman,” he said plainly, “If you destroy him now, how will I watch my superior creation send him into utter defeat?”
“But-”
“Let it do the work. You have other things to take care of.” His minion reluctantly obeyed and walked away. Mecha Mage turned to Bomberman, who stood with Pommy hiding behind his legs. “Now then, Bomberman. How nice of you to come all the way here for a visit. I was just thinking about how I’d like to compare your inferior powers to those of my Mecha Bomber.”
Bomberman ignored the insults and got right to the point. “You’re the one who built that robotic impostor that’s been chasing me around, aren’t you? I bet you and your cronies are the ones behind this planet’s situation, too! But how-”
Mecha Mage laughed evilly. “How clever you are! However, I doubt that your mind could ever fathom my genius plans. As I said before, perhaps you shall find out in due time. Or maybe I will tell you later – if you survive long enough, that is! Get them, Mecha Bomber!”
The robot that Bomberman had faced in the cherry blossom garden flew out from the shadows. It tried to ram into Bomberman and Pommy, but the former ducked while the latter moved aside. Then it took out a yellow and black Thunder Bomb, and Bomberman’s mind raced. There was no telling how strong the bomb’s power was, and there was only one way to go. “Pommy, up the stairs!” he called out. He started to dash up the stairs with Pommy right behind him. But when the Thunder Bomb exploded, the sparks that flew from its blast rapidly caught up, even though Bomberman and Pommy ran as fast as they could. Apparently multiple bombs were being used.
Bomberman knew he had to get out – and quickly! He took Pommy in one arm, got out a Wind Bomb, and made it big. “Hang on, Pommy! We’re going for a ride!” he said, and he dropped the bomb right behind himself. When it was struck by a spark from below, it exploded and sent Bomberman and Pommy flying all the way to the top of the staircase; they landed on a balcony near the top of the tower. Bomberman set Pommy down and watched for any sign of Mecha Bomber, but all was quiet now.
Once he was sure that no one else was around, he looked down at Pommy. The Charabom looked up at him, his eyes wide with more excitement than fear. He had evidently enjoyed the flight to the balcony. “No, we can’t do it again,” his owner said softly, knowing Pommy well enough to guess what he wanted to say. Pommy was a little disappointed, for soaring to the top of a lofty tower in record time was not something he could do often.
Both of them gazed at the incredible view from the balcony. The main control center, Mirror Mountain, the Cheery Cherry Blossom Garden, and more places yet to be explored were all visible. Even though the sun had nearly set and Bautnaut’s moon was rising, there was still enough light to see the vast landscape. “You can practically see the entire planet from here!” Bomberman mused, “But once again, if only it wasn’t all mechanized…”
Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, Mecha Bomber suddenly burst onto the balcony with a Thunder Bomb in its hand. Bomberman stepped back, but there was nowhere to go; if he kept moving back he would fall from the balcony. “Mecha Bomber again! What do we do?!” he cried out, beginning to panic. The robot threw its bomb at two antennae on the very top of the tower, causing it to spark heavily. Suddenly there was electricity everywhere, flashing in the air like a fireworks display.
Bomberman stood frozen with terror when an electric blast came in his direction, but before it could strike, Pommy stepped in front of him. The little Charabom used his Defense against the electricity, creating a blue barrier that completely blocked it. Although he was an Electric-attribute and not much affected by electricity, a blast this huge was hard to control. “MYUUU!!” he screamed, keeping up the Defense with all his might until finally, the electricity exploded into small sparks and was gone.
Once again the area was calm, quiet, and visible. Mecha Bomber was already flying away, probably to avoid being caught in the blast itself. It was quite dark now because all of the electrical currents on the Lightning Tower had gone out. Pommy’s Defense broke with the final spark and he collapsed from exhaustion. Bomberman knelt beside him. “You saved my life, Pommy! Are you okay, buddy?” he said gently. Pommy looked tired, but he nodded. “You did a great job today. You should get some rest now.” Although Pommy enjoyed adventure he knew he needed to rest, so he obeyed and allowed Bomberman to return him to his Charabox.
Now that things had calmed down, Bomberman was beginning to feel sleepy. He yawned, his tension lifting as he looked at the starry night sky.
Speaking of rest, I’d better get some myself. It’s getting late, he thought. He pushed a button on his wristband to summon his spacecraft. When it arrived he got in, landed it beneath a group of trees at the edge of the field below, and closed his eyes. Despite the trouble at hand, he was too weary from the day’s events to stay awake, and he soon was fast asleep.