The communication was ended with crewmembers all staring at me with sly expressions.
"What? Is it a sin to have some love talk between a man and his girl?" I rebutted their looks with a stern tone.
"Oh no. No, of course not. It's just... entertaining, that's all," Roxan grinned as he winked.
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When the timer was at zero, five fiery spheres, all colored in shades of red and yellowish-orange constantly mixing with a tint of light green, appeared. The explosions were so devastating that the entire planet was shaking in its orbit. The mold shuddered and vaulted as gases shot out from the abyss. The liquid-like flames submerged the shields as several claps of blowout drummed the very air that our ships were wafting in.
Light and dark blue sparks and bolts flashed out from the center of the colossal luminaries. Their aflame tongues licked across the already atomized land, burning everything in their path into crispy objects that disintegrates into powders when touched.
Our vessel was jolting aggressively throughout the whole ordeal. Warning lights were issued as half of our powers were knocked offline. Emergency backup juices were poured into the generators.
"Holy shi-" Roxan shouted as the light coming from the giant view screen seemed to be invading our interior.
"Afren!" I yelled while the scene before me was strangulated into a white limitless void.
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It was nearly an hour after the Great Concussion that we charged in. We named this peerless event to remember it by. With nearly a hundred or so battleships, we had created a path of destruction with cannons blazing. Any obstructions that tried to hinder our greatest conquest were instantly vaporized.
Something was tugging at the back of my mind during all that time. Afren hadn't reported back after the detonations.
When we had confidence that all the available units the Federation had were gone, we touched down and began to sweep the sectors on foot. The great President tower rose before us.
I gave Roxan a nod as I limped toward the main entrance. Bursting down the gates, I stepped in. Towering all the trembling humans, I scanned the area for Mak.
Looking down at a terrified lady, I asked: "Where's Mak?"
"I... I don't know. He... He left two hours ago before you guys took down th- the... the defense of the Capital Dome... Plea- Please don't hurt me," her large, tear-flooded eyes gazed into mine with miserably.
"Where is he?"
"He's... I think he's at the small island seven miles away from here..."
Hearing the news, I snarled. Having no prime target in my claws, I slammed my fists onto the counter before me. It popped as the wood split in half, causing the entire structure to cave in.
People around me screamed with horror when they saw me losing my temper. I stalked out of the building in a rapid pace. Reaching the leader of the Rebel Force, I said: "I need to go. Get me a car, now."
Dazed with the sudden request, all the man could do was nodding.
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I literally flew down the highway that stretched along the coast. Ocean waves roared below the outspread road as birds sang above in the firmament. I stomped the accelerator all the way down and veered past the curves and other incoming vehicles. Horns blared as drivers shouted out a bank of rich profanities.
I knew where Mak had gone. I also knew that Afren was in trouble. How did I know that? I had no idea. It was just a hunch, a feeling that only she and I possessed. Mak was at the island that I had supposedly destroyed when I was a human. That was the place where I was created.
Growling, I pushed the motors to the limit as I drew the distance between the island and me closer and closer...
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When I had arrived, only a small, blackened entrance could be seen. A crater that I had made nearly two years ago replaced the rest of the vista. Stepping onto the ductile clay, my talons sank slightly from my weight. I headed into the shadow-covered portal as I descended down the rusty stairway.
The air was filthy. It was filled with the smells of chemicals and burnt materials. I glanced left and right as I took great caution into avoiding fallen debris. Some of them were extremely piercing.
I came across a room that was half opened. With a deep breath, I kicked down the decayed door. A monitor was on, but it was flickering from the half-damaged electron tubes. My pair of yellow eyes fixed onto the screen as I pressed the enter key.
Immediately, a file was played. It was the data recorded by the scientists that were working in this complex. In the documentation, there was a shot of a lab, which was filled with several large tanks. In each tank, unidentified creatures were floating in the dense, emerald liquid with wires and sensors attached to them.
As I was watching, I glanced back toward the hallway. Who knows that Mak was trying to do. When I returned my attention to the computer, a man's face appeared. Air stuck in my throat as I gazed at the facade of the person. It was Jason. The professor who had nursed me for sixteen years before I murdered him.
He adjusted the microphone at his shirt collar before clearing his throat.
"Day twenty-four," he began. "The project has been going on successfully. Unit One's vital signs are stable and his neural impulse frequencies are increasing everyday. Soon, he'll be ready."
I gulped, as I knew that he was talking about me. This was a data disc made for the conception of me. The screen went blank and a few seconds later, the image was back.
"It's nearly six months now. We've found some problems with the DNA structures of Unit One. The team is trying their hardest to correct those mistakes. God hopes that we'll succeed."
The video gradually faded out once again. Another delay and it was back on. I began to sweat as I learned how I was created. The film showed how they had used the most advanced machines to pinpoint critical areas of my genetic codes. It also showed me how I had progressed, how I had became powerful and stronger. All of these were achieved by genetic material manipulations. At particular points, the picture jumped wildly due to memory losses. For the most part, the information was intact.
When the CPU buzzed and a column of white smoke rose from the back of the monitor, I left the room. My life was supposedly, created for a military use. The main objective of creating me was to dominate all other opponents in the world today. I was a weapon. A weapon that didn't need refills. What Jason had said before was true. I was nothing but a tool.
My head was paralyzed at what I was seeing. My mind was filled with hundreds of different emotions. I felt tears rolling down my face. I felt my heart nearly stopped with agony. I felt as if my life had just being torn into two.
Finally, he stopped. Wheeling around with a look of satisfaction on his face, he grinned with bloodshot eyes. Sweat was covering his slightly wrinkled face as his hands trembled with excitement.
"God, I love the look on your face, Jake. You don't know how good it feels to me."
I gawked at Afren's blood soaked body. Her beautiful figure. Her wonderful face. I knew that I could never again hear her melody-like voice. I knew that I could never again see her smile. I...
"Mak... You're going to pay for this. You will pay for this..." I muttered softly as I slowly shifted my gaze onto my most hated enemy.
"Yeah? And what are you going to do? I have the gun and you don't. Plus, if you use your psychic powers, I can still finish you off before you can store enough energy to get a shot at me!"
I was now completely exasperated. My life was officially gone. There was no point of continuing to live on. In fact, due to my loss, due to my grief, I had decided that the best way to end this whole tribulation was to self-terminate. To me, that would be the most marvelous way to end my woe. To others, they would die along with me. I didn't care anymore. I didn't care if I had to kill thousands, millions, and billions of people. It did not matter to me.
"Time to say goodnight, Unit One," Mak whispered as he armed the device once again.
"Yes..." I mumbled. "Yes. It's time to say goodnight."
Everything disappeared with a spectacular glitter. I couldn't hear anything anymore. I could, however, hear the shocking cries of Mak. Then, everything went blank.
~End Chapter 23~