It took no longer than thirty minutes for Reager and Manne to make it to the entrance of the underground bunker with their troop of 80 knights. The door leading underground looked 'half-assed hidden' was what Reager thought.
Reager looked over the entrance and notice something that stood out. The door, which was partially covered with a brush, was obviously made to stand out as if someone wanted people to find it.
Reager looked over to Captain Manne, who stood behind Reager, wondering what made him stare at the door for so long. Reager saw the inexperience radiating off the new captain and could tell from the confused face of hers that she didn't notice the apparent trap they were about to walk into.
Reager walked close to Manne as if to make sure she could hear what he had to say and said, "Ok, Captain Manne, as I can see from the way you're looking at me that you haven't noticed that we may or may not be walking into a trap."
Captain Manne looking from Reager to the entrance and back, just now noticing how noticeable the was with a closer inspection looked back at Reager. She hadn't seen it before, but now that it was brought to her attention, she looked around from the troops behind them to the door and back toward Reager.
Realizing her mistake and not taking into consideration if there were about to run into a possible trap, she leans in and says, "Ok, what do you suggest we do then?"
Reager wondering just how in the world did she got promoted to captain with so little problem solving and commanding skills, he says, "Ok... I got a plan."
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(Several minutes before Captain Reager and Manne reached the entrance to the bunker.)
"Wait.. what?" Malik asks in shock of hearing what Astrid had just let slip from her lips.
Noticing what she had said, she pushes Malik out of her room and says, "Look, I wasn't meant to say that, nor was you supposed to know anything till the right time came."
As they both reached the entrance, she says before shutting the door in his face, "You'll have to ask the doctor when that time comes but till then I can't tell you, and with my own opinion, I truly hope you don't remember, my dear younger brother."
Tired of being shocked and now tired of not knowing the truth, he makes his way to the doctor. It took him a little over a couple of minutes to find the doctor in the maze of the bunker, which just angered him more. Still, when he did, he found him in sitting in his wheelchair along with Kelly next to him, as usual, both looking at a group of monitors that quickly turned black as he entered.
Walking with vigor and determination toward the doctor eyes showed that he had an inkling of why he'd come to his observation room. It was quite a large room that reached several meters high with enough space to be considered a warehouse.
When Malik stood a little less than two meters, he stopped and said, "Ok, so look imma need the answers to my questions now! Too many things not adding up as is. Days ago, you said I don't remember you, but I will as if we've known each other for a while, yet instead of just telling me how we know each other, you keep beating around the bush."
Malik continues by making gestures with his hand and saying, " Before you got snapped and got wheeled out by Aileen the other day, you said they will pay for what they did to me instead of your son."
Malik had his questions laid out as if he had a list of things he wanted to say and ask, but then he remembered something. Yesterday when Dr.Martens rudely interrupted Astrid, he noticed it. She was about to say he looked like something. No someone. 'Who or what do I look like' was the thought that made him pause for a moment as if he was in the midst of putting the snippets of information together into a solution.
Just as he was about to begin speaking again, he got interrupted by Dr.martens clapping and saying, "No need to yell. 'Gasps for air' the time for you to finally know has come anyway. Time is of the essence now."
Malik surprised by this keeps his anger plastered upon his face as if to assert a of dangerous he was. Dr.Martens reaches to the drawer where one of the many monitors sat above and pulls out a picture and reaches out to give it to Malik. Upon receiving the picture, Malik looks down at the picture and a new face he did know he could make slowly crept upon his face.
In the picture was chubby Dr.Martens that wore a black suit while a woeful expression draped his face, who looked healthier than he did now with an afro that had streaks of gray reaching out the frame of the picture. Beside him was a boy with dreads similar to Malik without the sides shaved. The boy was crying his eyes out in the picture while holding an urn that was engraved with a name, Meridith Martens.
Anger flooded Malik as his chest was sunk with a sudden sorrow weighed his heart down as if he was chained to a sinking Titanic. What felt like nails being yanked from his robotic skull made him drop the picture and fall to his hands and knees. An excruciating pain had bombarded his mind, his data core, to the point where he curled up and clawed at the back of his head as memories he hadn't had before flooded his mind.
The first of the memories which were of the boy playing with who Malik could tell was the child's mother and having fun at a picnic with a dark-skinned African American woman with extravagant curly hair that looks as if it was brown as the sunset behind her. A younger Dr.Martens, maybe in his mid-late 20's, sat next to her cheerfully laughing with her.
The next memory that flooded his data core was of the boy tied to a chair facing his mother, who was also beaten and screaming for the knights surrounding them to spare her child who was crying for her. The next event that happened increased Malik's anger 100 fold as the knight that stood behind her plunged a shining silver sword through her back and out through her chest, causing blood to be thrown on the boy's face. The slump woman now laid motionless as the smiling and laughing knight whispered something and conjured flames that lit the darkroom. The knight grabbed the boys head while he was now shocked and quiet and said, "Watch this and relay what you have seen to your pops. Let what you will watch be a message to your father." As the knight said this, he flicked his wrist, and the flame flowed toward the corpse of the boy's mother. The scene was engraved in his mind and would haunt him for years to come.
A collection of memories flooded Malik of the boy, wondering why his father had grown cold towards him. Malik could tell the boy had no idea why. Was it because he was too weak to save his mother? Was it because with her, Dr.Martens couldn't love him anymore? These questions he asked himself regularly made him hate himself, made him hate the weak, made him hate human life. Finally, he had an idea to impress his father to the point where he couldn't ignore him.
A later collection of memories featured the boy, older than before, around the age of 12, making a code that would later be transmitted from an old-world satellite he fixed and got to constantly send a signal to any and all androids that were capable of receiving it. He knew that his government would most likely kill him for what he did, but it would take them a while to even trace it back to him. Meanwhile, he'd go on to discover what mana was an energy particle smaller than a proton, even smaller than a quark.
With his understanding, he'd go on to make the first Attanite that shrunk with his transformation magic he had made had many created functions for it such as making figures, advanced and intricate structures, while still having three main features. The first was being 1000 times better than the old world supercomputers. The second feature was being capable of taking and gathering mana particles to a mana core that would be made of other Attanites meant to store them. The third was being capable of self-replicating by breaking down inorganic and organic material and constructing other Attanites from those particles. The fourth and final was being capable of transferring one human soul into all three central data, system, and mana cores.
After this, the last memory was of the boy who looked to have aged by two more years after seeing his height had increased a little video chatting. With an aged and greyed Dr.Martens who looked uninterested by his son report on his creation but kept his excitement and awe of his son behind a well-practiced facade. While speaking enthusiastically to his father that he had sent some of his Attanites to look over and study in hopes of gaining his approval, something had come crashing into his ceiling. A heavily armored knight that had large gauntlets made for hand to hand combat rushed at him while more crashed through his door and grabbed him. His father, who had watched in horror, had left with his video still streaming as he ran most likely to rescue him the boy thought. But his father was too late.
The boy's last few minutes of memory showed him looking up at the grey clouds that blanketed the sky. One eye crushed and caved in as the other eye's vision slowly turned red on account of his blood seeping over from the destroyed eye. His breath faint as he was terribly cold because of the blood loss and his lower half being torn off and pinned to the fall above him. He could tell he was in an alley, which one he didn't know, but he could feel the vibrations of footsteps quickly approaching him. It was the boy's father, Dr.Martens, whose tear was clearly visibly rolling down his horror and grief-filled face. He could see his him checking frantically as he panicked and couldn't think straight at the horrid sight of his son. As the boy's vision began to fade, he used what strength he could muster and grabbed his father's right hand tried to speak with what oxygen he had left before started choking on his own blood and whispered, "It's alright pops, imma be with moms waiting for you. I hope with my present, I made you proud, and you love me again."
As Dr.Martens eyes opened wide as more tears flowed down his cheeks, the boy's arms went limp, and his vision faded to black as he could feel Dr.Marten grab his upper half. He could tell, even though everything went black, Dr.Martens shaking while hugging and rocking him in place. He couldn't hear him but could tell from the vibration he was crying and screaming.
After that last memory, everything went black, and Malik woke up to blaring sirens and Dr.Martens monitors flashing red with the words 'Intruder Alert.'
Malik now knew who really was. It wasn't 01 or just Malik. He was Malik Martens, the son of Dr.Martens. He looked at his black metallic hands and could tell that his father transferred his soul from his broken body to that of his Attanites.
He knew that he had to ask his father why he'd waited so long to tell him. But he knew that would have to wait. He didn't know what the monitors meant by an intruder, but he could tell that it wasn't good.
Right as he got up, he could see the room was tossed and turned. Looking at the destruction, he wondered if he'd did this but from the slashes on the wall and a man in a knights armor with a bloody gaping hole lay next to him. Malik remembered the armor that looked like a combination of medieval knight armor combined with futuristic technology. How could he forget? In the memories of his past, the very design haunts him to this very instance.
Malik looked around the room for his father and Kelly, who were nowhere in within the room. The anger within him flared as his Attanites formed his armor he had in the simulation. 'Not again. No more. 'I'M NOT LOSING THE FAMILY MY FATHER MADE ME!' This thought made him tense, he could feel the Attanites within him and the armor condensing and becoming harder than they were when he was in the simulation. His rage reached levels beyond berserk, but his mind was clear as day, making his Attanites float around him like a black mist along with a dark red aura they emitted as they were programmed to do when they sensed his anger reaches a certain threshold.
He reached the door and tried to exit but found that it was sealed shut probably to keep him safe as he unconsciously remembered his terrible past that Astrid hinted at. He found it great that they wanted to ensure his safety, but he needed to check on his family and find out why they're being invaded.
He had two options for the door before him. Either punch it off the hinges or use his {dispersal} skill to separate the Attanites in his body and go under the metal door. The answer was obvious as he clenched his fist and punched the metal door into the concrete wall outside, leaving an impression of his fist on it.
Before he walked out of the room, a 'PING' went off inside his head; he knew it was his menu, but he couldn't pull it out in the open, so he tried to view it in his head. Too little to no surprise to Malik, it worked, and in his head he could see a video of Kelly running as she pushes Dr.Martens as fast his wheelchair would allow her to.
"Help Malik, I can't protect the doctor and fight them off at the same time," Kelly said as she dodges a blast of mana that flew by her head at high speed.
Without a second thought, Malik started running in a random direction and said in his cold and ghastly robotic voice, "Where are you and the others."
Still running and not having the leisure of being caught off guard by Malik's voice, she quickly gathers herself and says, "We're heading to the hangar bay. I'll send it to your map, HURRY."
The video cuts to black and Malik and pulls up the map that he was sent of the bunker. Seeing a 6 blue dots leaving a green trail from the room he's in, to their current position, which keeps moving at a constant pace. As he runs out and follows the path laid out on his map, he comes across the destruction left by those persuing his family and speeds up to pace to catch up to them in the maze of corridors.
After a minute, he's already run three-quarters of a kilometer, which surprised him as he originally didn't think their underground base was this huge. But he had to throw his thoughts out the window as he heard noises that he thought he remembered.
'Bloosh'
'Bloosh, Bloosh.'
Malik instantly knew this sound. It was the sound of the magic rifles he had created and sold to the government to secretly fund his primary inventions and experiments that he kept secret from them. He designed them to look similar to the old world FN FAL with a futuristic take on the rifle that fired concentrated mana the size of a baseball despite the barrel that looked like it was made for .208 caliber bullet at high speeds. If one could pull the trigger fast enough and had enough mana for the rapid firing of the semi-automatic, it would prove to be a deadly weapon.
He designed it to be capable of taking down most level 20 and below monsters that couldn't utilize barriers and shields. With enough troops with the gun, it would be possible with a very slim chance to take down anything under level 30. Other than that, it just pulled aggro. He named it the 'FN Magicka.'
Hearing the firing of the weapon, he knew it would prove fatal for his father if hit once. Knowing it would be faster to use {Dispersal}, he quickly dispersed his Attanites and flew through the air of the corridor like a giant snake made of smoke.
Flying through corridors, he notices three of the blue dots stop while the other two blue dots and the green one continue into the hangar. Malik knew that it was to probably hold off incoming invaders while they get whatever transport they had in the hangar ready and put his father in. But they stopped right before entering.
As Malik approached the first three blue dots, he could see knights similar to the dead one in his father's observation room. It was a total of 20 knights in-between him and the three he finally accepted as his family. With his enhanced vision, he could see past the 20 knights saw them. Big Mac, larger by 3 inches wearing his helmet that had one glowing horizontal slit where his eyes were slowly being pushed back by an onslaught of magic and Magicka Rifle fire. Big Mac held a large two-handed hammer that he pointed toward The group of knights while emitting a blue mana shield that looked to be made of hexagonal shapes.
Behind him was Astrid and Aileen, who was providing counter fire. Astrid sporting a large futuristic black and foldable compound bow with a glowing red trim fired arrows made from condensed mana without any particular element imbued to them. Next to her was Aileen, who was summoning 5 to 6 pink balls of light the size of baseballs floating around her. With a look of disgust toward the knights, she raised the red lance she had in her hand toward the knights in front of her, and they flew at blinding speed, hitting each of the five knight's shields and sending them flying back.
It didn't take long for another 5 knights to move to the front. Malik could tell this was a well-trained group of knights. Where their comrades were just sent flying, they stood firm as they got closer to the three on defense.
Malik quickly used {Analysis} to gauge their strengths. The knights that made two horizontal lines of five while slowly approaching Big Mac and the others as if to ensure no one got through were all level 20. Behind them were the 5 ranged units who wielded the Magicka Rifles firing carefully to preserve their mana, their levels were the lowest sitting at an average of 15. And lastly were the last five knights who were in the back, channeling their magic in their hands until it flew straight up and flew at Big Mac's shield with deadly accuracy as if it had a missile guidance, their levels were low but not as low as the riflemen with an average level of 26.
Malik wondered why Big Mac and the rest didn't finish this mosh posh of vermin till he noticed something was off. Blood littered where they stood and trailed off around the corner behind them, leading to the hangar whereby telling from his map and who he sees in front of him he could tell it had to be his father, Kelly, and Venessa.
Knowing that Androids didn't bleed he chest felt heavy again, and his anger rose once more. The knights all froze and looked behind them at the cloud of shifting and morphing black smoke that gave off a visible red aura that forming into a humanoid figure before them Dressed in intimidating armor from head to toe. A row of the knight in the front ran to their flank as they were sure they were being ambushed. One of the ranged units in the middle pressed a button his arm brace and yelled, We need back we're being ambushed by a new unidentified humanoid, possibly another unknown modified Android!"
Hearing the request for back up Malik new that the knights had reinforcement coming, so he had to act fast. He began to walk forward, and two knights with swords and shields came running from the middle of the now repositioned group of Knights posted in the back.
For Malik, just as he willed it, everything slowed again like it did in the simulator. Both the rush knight were slowly moving with shields ready and swords ready to swing. He continued to move at the pace he was moving at earlier. The knight on the right swung his sword down, diagonally with his right hand, gripping the hilt as if he was going to lose it at any minute.
The knights were already low on moral fighting in a cramped space that only allowed them to form five-man lines, but when Malik showed made his presence known while gathering his Attanites to quickly build his body, they knew they had fight on their hands. But only if they knew from the beginning that their fight was going to be a slaughter.
Malik quickly sidestepped to the right the knight in slow motion with speeds that the other knight didn't expect from an Android. Without hesitation, Malik used his left foot to kick the side of the knights knee with his left armored foot.
The knight screamed loud as he could. Malik thought back to himself as the knight screamed in agony as Malik's foot had literally just pulverized this mans knee cap along with joints that 'This is the scream I want from all of them.'
Tired of this man's screams, he grabbed him by the helmet and proceeded to turn, slamming his head into the concrete wall behind. The rest of the knights had stopped attacking Big Mac and his line of defense as they turned and looked after hearing their fellow knight scream of agony the first time even the second knight ran behind his fellow knight was in shock as he didn't even see what happened as it happened too quick.
The first slam only put a small dent into the knights helmet as Malik chose to use this to experiment with his strength. By the first slam Malik, how to gauge his strength and tired of listening to the knight cry for his comrades to him. Malik didn't hold back on the second slam, crushing and caving in the man's helmet along with his head into the wall.
The loud crunch from the brutal kill ringed in the ears of the crowd. Even Aileen, Big Mac, and Astrid felt a massive shiver as the sound of the man's head sounded like a giant insect being stepped on.
Seeing how their comrade was just effortlessly killed before them, fear settled in amongst the knight, but they knew they would either have to fight through the three Android in front of them or fight the menacing Android behind them that easily had express death written on his pitch-black metallic helmet.
They all turned and decided to just outnumber the black Android by himself. Seeing his comrades on their way, the knight that had ran up with the now-deceased knight swung his sword to the right with a tremendous build-up leaving his right side open. Malik saw what was happening as his enhanced thought process made everything slow before the knight could finish his swing. Malik extended his right hand, grabbing both the knight's right hand and his sword.
Malik had thought of how he was going to kill every one of these knights slowly, but he knew for a fact that his father was injured by looking at the ground behind Aileen. Looking at the knight once more before giving him a jerk towards him, Malik stabbing his pointed knee into the knight's heart and throwing him to the ground but not without grabbing his sword.
Looking at the group of knights with sword and shield rushing him now, Malik noticed they had abandoned all attention on the three Androids that were behind them, and all of them focused only on him.
Malik knowing the sword was only going to get him only going to hold him back threw the blade like a javelin and pierced through the shield of an ignorant knight who should've just dodged instead. But was speared along with a fellow knight and one rifleman and magic knight. They flew backward toward Big Mac's shield but bounce off as the tip of the blade could reach out of the knight as the hilt couldn't go through the first knight.
With 6 down in less than 30 seconds, the remaining knights knew that these concrete corridors were most likely going to be their graves. One knight, after the other, they were either torn apart or killed in another gruesome fashion that Malik had thought of while killing them.
The once grey colored corridor was now painted red by the time Malik reached Big Mac. Horrified and not expecting this much gore and brutality, they stood still as Malik ran by them.
Knowing they were stunned, Malik shouted, "Come on, we have to get to my father now!"
Awoken by his shouting, they all followed in pursuit of Malik. Running into the corridor that Kelly and Venessa had stopped in finding them by damaged and beaten. Kelly leaning over Dr.Martens on the ground with her hands trying to stop the bleeding from what looked like a large knife wound over where his lung is.
Malik ran over to his father as he laid on the ground, breathing fast and painfully. Malik looked trying to analyze what happened before Venessa speaks who he'd never heard before says, "A male assassin attacked from the ceiling using the assassin technique {Cloak}. We didn't even see him."
Malik blurred her last sentence out as his father gripped his hand. He didn't know how to stop the bleeding, nor any of his new family know how to use it as he'd already used {Analyze} on them all when he first caught up to them. He was at a complete as out of all the magic and science he'd studied he brushed by the medical skill as didn't have any thought of saving lives when studied to impress his father.
Malik's Attanites began to disperse around his helmet, revealing a now tear-soaked face. Dr.Martens still lucid enough to see his boy's face for what he knew was going to be the last time says, "Don't worry, my boy 'gasps for air.' This is all apart of the 'gasps for air' plan. Remember what I told you 'gasps for air' when you first woke up? 'Gasps for air' that you'll fall many times, but 'gasps for air' you must all ways rise back up. I fell many times 'gasps for air' after your mother died, but 'gasps for air' seeing you work hard with determination 'gasps for air' kept me going. Even when you believed I stopped 'gasps for air' loving you you never stopped loving me."
Dr.Martens reached into his robes left breast pocket and raised his shaking hands to reveal a silver locket he put into Maliks hands. He then pulled Malik down by the back of his head softly and whispered in his ear, "Speak with 'gasps for air' Samantha when you all get out. And I have one last 'gasps for air' favor of you my boy. Although you made the Attanites 'gasps for air' that now make up your body and I wasn't 'gasps for air' quite capable of doing much with them, but I was able to add 'gasps for air' one more feature or you can call it a skill if you might. I call it 'gasps for air' {Consume}. Ask Samantha later about it 'gasps for air' but for now use it on me and 'gasps for air' put me out of my misery."
As those very words comes out of his mouth his chest felt heavier than ever. If he had the need to breath it he would have most surely couldn't under the pressure his father just put him under. But what else could Malik do? He closed his eyes for a moment.
Hesitantly but surely he willed his Attanites to use the skill and the in the painfully gasping voice Dr.Martens says, "You have made me proud."
Those words rose made Maliks chest feel light and warm. By time Malik opened his eyes all that was left was his father's robe. He was gone. He was really gone. Those last words from his father felt more powerful than the words I love you. Malik had waited most of his life to hear even the slightest words of love or approval and just as he gets them from the only person he loved the most after his mother was murdered he was taken away as well.
He didn't care if it was probably just a small group that orchestrated his all the pain he's felt so far. He didn't care anymore. He was going to show them the pain he felt. He was going kill every human he set his eyes on. Like his mother's death was message to his father. Their burning cities with piles of their citizens would his message to them.
Kelly looking worried for the still Malik grabs his hand with sadness in her eyes. They all felt the pain of his loss as he was their savior who took them in and fixed them when no one wanted them.
Malik let's go of Kelly's hand signaling that he wanted to be left alone. He wanted to vent his anger and sadness the best way he felt he could, in carnage.
They all let him have his as they headed to the hangar. The airship was gargantuan it easily dwarfed the mountain their bunker was hidden in. They quickly boarded and Astrid took over the flight controls and opened the landing doors that made it seem like an entire mountain was being split.
Out to the side of the bridge Malik could see the reinforcement that was too late as the airship was already taking off. Malik's eyes look at the two he could tell were the leaders of the invading force. Their images burned into his memory and every Attanite present within him.
As they airship finally took to the sky at frightening speeds despite it hulking appearance Malik made sure to put them on the top of his list.