Hello, long time no see. Yeah, I am sorry it took so long to update, but it was my turn to drop off the face of the earth. But I hope this makes up for it partially.I also won't lie, I really got into my other story as well, and neglected this one more than I should've. Anways I don't have much to say other than enjoy this week's chapter and the first update in 2021. Enjoy.
The home of Mechanicus was not exactly what one expects a man of his caliber to make his base of operations. For one, it was an underground subway station that looked like it had been abandoned for well over 200 years. Firstly, the place had signs that someone had appeared to vainly tried to clean up the decades of built dust and debris. But it appeared that the task was too big or unimportant enough to continue it beyond what was already done. The floor tiles were cracked or caked in layers of dust while the ceiling was water washed and blackened with grime. It was impossible to see the walls because of the fact that an assortment of random junk and debris had more or less covered them up. In fact there was a narrow pathway that merely pushed aside all the junk away in favor of taking the monumental task of clearing all the junk. This small underground game trail led down to a singular door, that looked like it belonged in a submarine, that was illuminated by a singular flickering light.
In the silence of the forgotten station, a scraping and pained sound emerged from the door as its aged mechanisms struggled to do their functions. The heavy steel door still opened with a loud and resounding screech, and allowed a bright light from within its interior to push back the darkness. From within the stinging light a figure emerged from the world hidden by the old steel door.
The figure was about as tall as the average junior high student, but he looked even shorter with his body contorted into a hunchback. His arms were beefy and muscular, and were dotted with numerous metal implants with black wiring connecting each point. In the place of human legs, the figure had a pair of metallic velociraptor-like legs that were ill suited for the thick body of the man. Sparks could be seen emanating from the exposed wiring and circuitry as the large talons nervously clicked on the old tile floor. The form of the figure was hidden behind a set of heavy hooded red robes made from the same simmering fabric as Mechanicus' clothing. The only visible facial features under the hood was a triangle of three blood red lights that were eerily similar to the yellow eyes of Mechanicus. This man was known as Rakki, the assistant to the mechanical man.
Rakki remained as still as a statue while he stood vigil over the doorway into the light, but that would soon change as the familiar sound of clicky clack filled his receptors. Shuijin was home!
Sure enough, the familiar black coat and yellow eyes came into sight, but something was wrong with Shujin because he was limping with an unprecedented urgency in his stride. Rakki caught sight of the cane in the third limb of Shujin, and a small bundle was being carried in the arms of Shuijin. Worry, one of the few emotions that Rakki could still feel, tingled in his remaining fleshy bits.
"Rakki! Hurry! Our new Acolyte is in terrible shape, and we don't have much time to improve him before his flesh fails him!", Mechanicus half-shouted half-ordered.
Without any hesitation, Rakki moved out of the way so Shuijin could take the acolyte to the operating room. Once Shijin was past the doorway and deeper into the light, Rakki grabbed the rusting handle of the steel door and grunted as he used all of his strength to pull the door. Once the satisfying and clunky click filled his receptors, Rakki moved as fast as his robotic legs could carry him to get the preparations in order.
Mechanicus practically kicked open the rusty door to the room in which Kurai would begin his new life. The room used to be an administrative office before it was converted into an operating room by Mechanicus. Unlike the entrance, the room was surgically clean with clear signs that renovations had been done to suit its new purpose. The room was dominated by a large and heavy surgical table at its center with a set of industrial lights showering it with intense beams of light. An assortment of known medical machines and unknown devices were carefully placed around the table to prevent them from getting in the way of the patient. While a strange combination of surgical tools and machine parts were littered throughout the tables and trays. Mechanics continued his fast stride towards the operating table while his third arm leaned his cane against the wall.
"Sleep deeply young Kurai, and soon your nightmare will be over.", the ticking voice of Mechanicus said as he laid the boy down on a metal operating table,
The metal man then began to start up various devices and machines set around in the operating room, limping as he moved quickly without his cane. A low buzz-like humming began to fill the room with a kalightoscope of red and green lights filled the room.
Rakki briskly walked into the room with a surgical tray filled with various tools, drugs, and components. "I have the materials right here, Shijin!", said the wheezy voice of the henchman.
"Good. Now let's get started.", Mechanicus said in a pleased tone while taking off his coat.
The two men began to hastily do their job before Kurai was lost to them forever.
The sound of the mysterious machinery died down as the finishing touches were made, and the doctor stopped to examine his handiwork. Where there was once an ill and emancipated boy was a robot in his place on the operating table with various lines and tubes attached to it in different places. The mechanical form of the robot was still humanoid in shape but with hands and feet that only had three large and thick robot was sturdy with small but solid limbs that were a combination of hydraulics and wiring covered by carefully shaped plates of metal along major muscle locations. The face was rather blank with no mouth, nose, or ears. The eyes were large and bulbous, and looked more like lightbulbs rather than fleshy ones. Mechanicus hummed in a whirlwind of ticking at the sight of the perfected form of his latest acolyte.
"Rakki, turn on his systems and detach him from his life support. Let us see if we were able to succeed where nature has failed.", Mechanicus commanded his assistant.
"Yes, Shujin.", Rakki replied as he did as he was told. As the pink limbs of Rakki danced across the different colored buttons and switches, the wires and tubes attached to the robot fell off one by one. As the sound of an electro-magnet generation could be heard coming from the small robot as the henchman flipped off the last switch and the final tube detached itself from the robot. Not a single sound could be heard, save for the humming, as the two metal men awaited the results of the surgery.
…
…
...
"Young, Kurai? Can you hear me?', Mechanicus finally said out loud.
Right on cue, the bulbous eyes of the robot burned a bright blue as the lifeforce of Kurai flowed through the machine. The robot slowly rose to a sitting position. The head of the robot looked around the room, seemingly trying to adjust to its newfound vision. Not a moment later, the blue lights for eyes settled on the silver form of Mechanicus.
"Yes, I can hear Shuijin.", The synthesized voice of Kurai replied, "Shuijin, I feel weird."
"Weird you say? Describe it to me Kurai?", Mechanicus probed with a doctor's intuition.
"I don't feel anything, but somehow I can still feel everything.", Kurai said with worry in his voice, "Not my quirk, not any emotions, and...I don't feel a weight on my back anymore? Was I carrying something before you took me here? Shuijin, what is all this?"
Mechanicus began a hearty bout of laughter that sounded like gears rotating, "Do not worry, that is a completely normal feeling Kurai because what you are feeling is freedom. True Freedom."
The little robot looked confused, "F-Freedom?"
"Yes, freedom. Think back to all the things that have restricted you biologically or how the rules of quirked society prevented you instead. How everything you do or will ever do is restricted by that crushing weight on your shoulders that your body cannot bear forever. That is the reason you feel so light now, Kurai.", Mechanicus said soothingly.
The little robot looked away from Mechanicus and onto its own three digit fingers. A moment or two of silence passed before the expressionless face of the robot smiled brightly.
"I-I think...I like it", Kurai said.
"Good.", Mechanicus ticked, "Now let us not dilly dally anymore because we need to introduce you to the others. Rakki, go and get Kurai a set of garments to wear before taking him to the others."
Rakki got to work immediately and helped the little robot off the operating table. The little robot wobbled a bit at his first steps, but was stabilized by the lab assistant before being able to stand on his own. The two smaller metal men slowly made their way towards the door to the station, but paused when they noticed that Shuijin had not moved at all.
"Aren't you going to come with us?", the voice of Kurai whined
"Yes, aren't you going to see the others?", Rakki chimed in.
Mechanicus used his third arm to reach out and grab his cane and leaned heavily on it. He locked eyes with his two followers before speaking, "I am, but I want to do a bit of cleaning up and diagnostics on the equipment before leaving."
"But Shuijin, you look really tired and you had to do the surgery with a lot of stress. I can take care of the equipment later in your stead.", Rakki frantically said.
"I am fine Rakki, and the diagnostics won't take too long. You also don't know the ins and outs of them like I do, and I just want to be certain I do not have to replace any parts or electronics.", Mechanicus shot back.
Rakki froze up at the reply that his Shijin had given him, and looked rather torn. However, he didn't seem to have it in him to argue with Mechanicus. "As you wish, Shuijin.", was all he said before taking Kurai with him through the door.
The mechanical man stood there in silence for a minute before speaking to the empty room, "You cannot fool me with whatever quirk you are using to hide in plain sight, So let us skip the game of cat and mouse, and just get straight to the point. Show yourself invader, I want to know why a fleshbag is in my lab."
"My oh my! I am certainly impressed by your skills of perception or perhaps by whatever device you installed in your head.", said a taunting voice.
From the darkness of the room, a figure revealed itself from the shadows. The intruder was a giant of a man, eight feet tall with thick and powerful limbs. He had a head of long white hair that was neatly trimmed and cared for. He was dressed in a fine black suit without a tie, and a pair of expensive dress shoes. However, the most terrifying feature of the man was his face, or lack of one to be precise because it was all hidden beneath a layer of shadow. Except for a mouth that was etched into a wicked smile that reminded Mechanicus of a boy who took glee from tormented small animals. This man screamed power and death with his presence.
The man crossed his powerful arms around his chest, "Ahem, where are my manners. I do apologize at the intrusion of your home, but you certainly caught my attention when you found that boy. I just couldn't resist seeing what you were going to do, and I certainly glad I followed. You are certainly a remarkable character, and I believe that I can do business with a man like you."
"Apology accepted at your intrusion, and what do you mean by business? Mr. ?", Mechanicus said carefully.
"Please, just call me Sensei.", said the man.
"Very well. What do you want of me?", Mechanicus said in his ticking tone.
"Well, what I want is quite simple really. What I want is for you to work under me.",Sensei said with words laced in honey, "You are man or machine that I should say that is capable of things that many would deem to be impossible, and I would be the fool to pass up this opportunity."
Mechanicus merely continued to silently observe the trespasser. Everything in his system told him that the man was a huge danger, and was not someone to be taken lightly.
"So with that in mind.", Sensei said while picking up and examining a piece of equipment, "I have a deal that you cannot refuse. If you should work for me I can provide you with a plethora of resources to continue your work, in the form of money, materials, test subjects. In return, I want any quirk from any of the individuals you take under your wing, and most importantly I have a special project for you to work on as well."
Mechanicus' third limb came down as rubbed his chin as he tried to ponder the meaning behind 'wanting the quirks' and the project. "If you would be so kind as to elaborate?"
The man smiled, "Only after you agree to my offer. So...do we have a deal?"
That final statement was laced with something that Mechanicus had dealt with so many times before he evolved. The deal was not a deal, it was a demand disguised as one.
"What should happen if I refuse your offer?", the metal man ticked.
The smile of the man grew even more wicked for a moment, "I'll leave that up to your imagination, but do keep in mind that you have other people or machines to look out for, Mechanicus."
The sensors within Mechanicus warned him about an immense capacity of destruction within his guest and a zero percent chance at stopping his rampage. What little pride was left within the metal man was swallowed as he took the deal with this devil to save himself and his acolytes from their doom.
"I will accept your deal on one condition.", Mechanicus stated.
"Which is?",the man asked intrigued.
"I want you to be utterly honest with me with your goals and who you are."
Boisterous laughter could be heard in the room as the man maniacally laughed at the robotic man. "Very well, I accept your condition. So, allow me to introduce myself in earnest. I am All For One...
One Year Later
After years of being his own master, returning to a life under the service of someone else was tough for the machine man. But at the very least, All For One was a man of his word and kept his end of the bargain up, and much to Mechanicus' displeasure so did he. Old memories involving his life as a quirkless boy stung at the few emotions that remained in him at the explanation of his new master's quirk. A quirk that could take and give other quirks, it was one of the most vile things he ever had the misfortune of learning. It was only made worse by the fact that he was directly feeding it and completely tainting his own dream with the glutinous greed of the ancient villain. But every corpse had its cadaver and Mechanicus found his technological progress and his own following's number grew exponentially with All For One's resources supporting him. What might have taken years of work to complete only took months. It was a strange normalcy that he grew accustomed too, that was until All Might had attacked.
.
"What do you mean you cannot do anything!", demanded the frazzled Doctor of All For One.
Mechanicus merely glared at the doctor with as much emotion that his artificial eyes allowed him to. There were a few things that Mechanicus could say about his esteemed colleague under the patronage of All For One, and most of them wouldn't be positive. The doctor was by far one of the most brilliant minds that Mechanicus had ever crossed. But any admiration he would have for his fellow doctor was quashed by the man's blind loyalty to All For One, his unnecessary sadism in his 'research', and his disgusting obsession with quirks. Dr. Ujiko was a man that Mechanicus hated dealing with and the feeling seemed to be mutual with the quirk-doctor, and with All For One currently fighting for his life and not mediating, the two doctors were at each other's throats.
Mechanicus sighed and brinched the bridge of his metal mask, "I told you that the process to replace organics with my mechanisms is already risky enough with a normal healthy human. But the injuries he sustained complicate things greatly, and combine that with his near alien biology and numerous quirks. Well, I would calculate that any effort on my part would only make things worse."
The shorter doctor huffed in frustration, "You made a deal with Sensei, and I'd expect you to pull your weight and help him in some way!"
Mechanicus clenched his metal fist with a soft clack as the urge to beat the life out the small fleshbag that was attempting to boss him around as if he was some orderly with his iron cane. However the fact remains that Mechanicus still needs the vast resources behind All For One to continue his work in a reasonable amount of time. As tempting as it was to just kill the other doctor and let the amalgamation of everything he hated die while choking on his own blood, he still needed to play the good servant for the time being. At least until he possessed the strength to break free of this forced servitude.
"I can use some of my equipment for ascension to help with the surgery, and I believe that you find some of my inventions and medical equipment to be superior.", Mechanicus said as he hid the anger in his voice.
That seemed to lift the spirits in the older doctor as a satisfied smile crept across his face, "Well? What are you waiting for!? Go get it!"
"As you wish.", Mechanicus replied.
Even with the efforts of both the doctors, it was nothing short of a miracle that All For One survived his injuries from All Might. Dr. Ujiko used every manner of quirk pertaining to medicine in his arsenal to heal the worst of the damage. On the other side of things, Mechanicus' equipment and artificial organics enabled the two to circumvent procedures that would have been deemed too dangerous. Yet, it was not enough. All For One was still a shell of his former self with much of old strength sapped away and was largely dependent on Mechanicus' machines to be able to function. Until more time could pass, the shadow villain was restricted to a throne laced with tubes and wires while wearing a black life support helmet that hid his injured face from the world.
Mechanicus merely leaned on his cane and watched as Ujiko was giving their shared master the rundown of his health and what it meant for their future plans. That was until a teenage boy with shaggy bleached hair came in and addressed the titanic villain. Mechanicus for his part was deliberating his next course of action. For now, he was to continue his project involving the creation of a robotic super soldier, one that would serve as a vanguard in their war against heroes. This was his role to help create the future that All For One envisioned with that child, and it was one that he would not allow to pass. Mechanicus had bent his knee to his superiors when he was a human long ago, but he resolved to never be subservient to anyone ever again. So let them believe that he was a good and loyal machine, let them believe that a machine was only a servant. Until it was too late...
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