On A Doorstep (unedited version)

Chapter 6

  Heyo! So hopefully you're all enjoying this feelsy mess, I sure am. Also I'm writing the sequel to Maybe as we speak. I don't know  when it will come out because it has a billion plot things going on, but hopefully not too long. Anyway please enjoy! 

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When the weekly outing did come around, Maurice decided to stay behind and spend a bit of time with Mandarin. Maurice wasn't even sure what to talk to him about, let alone what to do with him.

Maurice grabbed a book and went looking for him. He checked his room, the Torso tank, and the laundry room but he didn't seem to be in those usual places.

He kept walking around the robot, unsure where to look next.
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"It seems they're doing well, I would just eat a bit more to have the babies at a healthy weight." Gibson advised.

He would wait for an angry response like, "Have you seen how I've been eating lately?! What do I need to eat an entire buffet or something?"

But no he just nodded a bit, trying at least to be respectful.

"Sounds good to me." Mandarin said as Gibson wiped off the gel from his stomach.

As he sat up and Gibson shut the ultrasound machine off the door opened and Maurice came inside.

"Gibson do you know where-oh never mind." He said as Mandarin felt the fear coming right back.

"Oh hello Maurice, I was just working in here." Gibson said, trying to cover up the real reason what he was doing.

Maurice nodded and looked at Mandarin, who flinched at his glance.

"So uh do you got plans today or something?" He asked the two.

"Not really." Gibson said as Mandarin shook his head a bit.

Maurice kicked some dust away with one foot.

"Then maybe we could watch a movie or something? I kinda want to see Galaxy Battles." He said awkwardly.

Gibson nodded.

"Sprx will get a bit peeved but I don't see why not. He is a rather big fan of the series." He said before looking up at Mandarin.

"If you do not feel comfortable then I would understand if you would want to-"

Mandarin shook his head. As long as Maurice didn't get too close he could stay around.

Maurice nodded and walked back out.

"Okay maybe after dinner?" He asked.

"Alright." Gibson chirped before Mandarin stood up.

Ooh boy, this was going to be fun.
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Gibson and Maurice were fully watching the movie, while Mandarin just sat a bit away from them. Maurice was confused to say the least. How was his brothers and sisters so caught up with him again? All he really seemed to do was stay away and look sad. Aw well maybe there's something that he just isn't seeing yet.

That and the movie was fantastic. He sipped on his water as he saw Mandarin glance at the screen a few times here and there. He blinked and looked at Gibson.

"Should I go over and...I dunno say something?" Maurice asked.

Gibson flinched a bit as he saw Mandarin stare at the wall. He wasn't too sure if the kids were ready to interact with him nor is Mandarin but they keep interacting with him so....

"I'm not sure maybe after the movie."

Maurice nodded and kept watching the movie, frowning as the screen flickered a bit. Without any warning the screen and lights shut off.

"What the-?!"

Gibson huffed and stood up.

"It's the power again, I keep telling Otto to fix that wire! I'll be right back." He said, using his flashlight and going towards the tubes.

At least they won't fail him.

Maurice watched him go before the room became dark again. He looked over to Mandarin's spot.

"Umm are you okay?" He asked.

"C-could be better." Mandarin admitted.

Maurice nodded. The two sat in silence for a bit until Maurice looked over at Mandarin's spot again. Would it be possible if he would go over to him? Just to feel safer?

Maurice got up and slowly went over to Mandarin, whose breath hitched when he realized where he was going.

"E-erm is this ok?" Maurice asked.

Mandarin shook a bit as he came over, feeling sick.

"I-well I wouldn't...j-just stop there." Mandarin said as Maurice was a few feet away.

Maurice frowned a bit as he sat down.

"How could you tell I was here?" He asked.

Mandarin wanted to explain, he really wanted to but he just couldn't find the nerve to actually speak.

"Is it because of the Power primate or something?" Maurice asked.

Too smart for his own good! Mandarin sighed, a bit relieved.

"Y-yes..."

Maurice nodded, a smile growing on his face.

"That's interesting, Antauri and I were going to cover seeing without looking after a few lessons. I can't wait to learn it." He said happily.

Mandarin then listened for a while as Maurice went on all of the things he learned from Antauri ever since he got here, and all of the arguments Antauri and Roland got into. Which interested Mandarin a bit.

"Then they argued over how the training room was colored, like that even mattered! The room's color is fine! But Roland was set on it being black and yellow." Maurice went on.

He then laughed.

"I bet they're at the pancake restaurant, arguing over types of syrup!" He snickered, and was surprised when he could have sworn he heard Mandarin snicker back.

"Th-that wouldn't be too surprising."

Maurice nodded.

"Yeah but he's a good kid, he's just uh...very very passionate and protective about the things he cares about...even if they're over the smallest things." He sighed.

Mandarin nodded, it sounds like he has anger issues similar to how his were.

"Especially over Penny, I mean as sweet as she is she's pretty naive to the world...and I get it I mean she's four but..." Maurice sighed.

"I dunno...she's so trusting of everyone. It's gonna really hurt the first time someone's gonna misuse her trust." He muttered.

Mandarin nodded, it was something she will have to go through one day. Just the thought of that pains him.

Maurice sighed.

"But they're all good, they're all good..." He said, his voice drifting off.

Mandarin tilted his head a bit, something about his tone was a bit off.

"Are you...I mean..." Mandarin began before huffing, internally scolding himself.

"Is everyth-thing...alright?"

Maurice looked towards him before looking down.

"Oh, it's nothing it's just...I was just thinking about the people that left me and the others here." He said, sending chills throughout Mandarin's spine.

"It's just...I want to know why they left us here and one by one..."

Mandarin stared down at the floor, unsure of how to approach this. He didn't want to give himself away, but at the same time he wanted to at least give his son a bit of comfort.

"I mean I know they must have loved us and all, but I still want to know the reason why." Maurice said.

Mandarin tried to think of something to say.

"W-well maybe when this war i-is over..." He tried to get out but his own fear kept him quiet.

"Yeah...maybe I'll talk to Antauri about finding them after the war is over. Maybe then I can get some answers." Maurice muttered.

Mandarin listened for a bit more. He wasn't sure if Maurice will like the answers he has for him. He wasn't even sure on how he'll react. Either way, the truth will have to be shown soon, Mandarin just wondered if it will harm them in the long run.

The lights flickered and came on, along with the movie. Gibson came back up and sighed.

"Well I got that settled for now." He sighed before looking between the two.

"Am I interrupting something?"

The two shook their heads briefly.

"No you're fine." Maurice chirped.

Gibson sighed a bit before eyeing Mandarin.

"Alright, just making sure." He said before the three of them went back to watching their movie.

Mandarin looked at Maurice as he stayed in his spot, not really moving any closer to the screen.

Mandarin laid back against the bubble chair he was sitting next to. It wasn't a huge step in improvement, but it was enough.
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Chiro looked through several alleys, hoping to find something that would lead them to the labs. Yet it was just another defeating day.

Antauri noticed his frustration and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Chiro, we'll find the lab soon enough."

Chiro huffed.

"The other monkeys will already be in Skeleton king's clutches by then. We need to keep looking for it."

Sprx looked behind a dumpster.

"Mandarin could just tell us where it is." He huffed.

Antauri turned to him.

"You know he doesn't have the capability to speak about it right now. His mental state is very fragile and relaying those moments back to him will only make it worse." He explained.

Sprx grumbled but got it. He wasn't sure how he would act in a situation like this. He thought he saw something glittering and went over to it. He saw what seemed to be a huge covering to something.

"Hey guys, I think I got something." He called out to the two.

The two rushed over to him and Chiro tried to open the door but was unable to. Antauri grabbed their hands and they phased through the door and found themselves in a dark corridor that lead down a long staircase.

"I think we may have found our lab!" Chiro said with a smile on his face.

The team rushed down and came across a large opening. When Chiro pushed it open he came into a kitchen.

"Wha-?"

"Why is there a kitchen here?" Sprx asked.

Antauri looked around a bit.

"Perhaps they were attempting to try to make the labs have a 'home' sort of feeling." He suggested, causing Sprx to shiver in disgust.

"Like this is home to anyone in the slightest." He huffed.

They continued to sneak around the kitchen until they entered the hallway, leading to several rooms. Sprx peeked in at a huge bedroom with a massive bed, no doubting formerly belonging to Mandarin. Antauri peeked into what seems to be a operating room, having stained blood streaks staining the metal table. He shivered at the thought of the things that happened in here before closing the door. Sprx then peered into a room filled with small incubators, seeming to be a nursery. He looked at some of them and read the pieces of paper on them.

'Subject Rn-7'

'Subject Co-12'

'Subject Artms-1'

'Subject Os-12'

Sprx thought he heard something behind him and whipped his magnets out, but found nothing. He sighed, this place was giving him the creeps.

Chiro came across several large battle robots up in huge hangars. Chiro went up to one and touched the cool metal. They must have been created for the brainwashed monkeys to use eventually. He looked around and saw heavy like weaponry and armor labeled 'prototype: don't use'.

Chiro blinked in confusion. Why was that made? For the monkeys that didn't became robotized? Or was this for most of the army that will eventually use this against heavier machinery?

"Hey kid! You need to see this!" Sprx called out.

Chiro turned and went over to where Sprx and Antauri were standing. There were dozens upon dozens of monkey sized tubes connecting to large wires into a control panel not too far away. All of them were empty.

"Wh-what?! Where are they? There were supposed to be a ton of monkeys here." Chiro said, scanning them.

"Skeleton King must have gotten them before we came here...we were too late." Sprx sighed.

Antauri looked over the control panel and noticed something.

"Wait, Skeleton King took them the morning Mandarin came to live with us." He said.

Sprx and Chiro turned to him.

"Huh?"

The two went over to the control panel and read something on a small screen.

'Days since activation: One month'

They also saw that the date was right after Mandarin entered the robot.

"But why would bonehead take the monkeys while Mandarin was still pregnant?" Sprx asked.

Antauri closed his eyes.

"To still keep producing soldiers, even after Skeleton King sends his army out." He suggested, causing Sprx to shiver.

"It would just never end for him wouldn't it?"

Chiro stared down at the date.

"Not anymore, he'll never be forced to come back here." He huffed before he heard loud alarm noises.

"Intruders!" A metallic voice hissed as a group of robots barged into the room.

The three took out their weapons. One of the robots stepped back.

"You....you took our subject away!" It exclaimed before their hands turned into flame throwers.

The three looked at each other.

"Time to go." Sprx said before darting.

"Wait what about-?!"

"We'll come back later, there's too many of them!" Antauri told Chiro before dodging several bullets and blasts.

"Get back here!"

The team rushed into the kitchen and through the hole, closing it. They heard loud banging and clamping behind the seal before sighing.

"What do we do now?" Sprx asked.

Chiro sighs.

"Sometime later we'll take the whole team down here and search in case any other monkeys are still here. Then we'll figure out how to unbrainwash them." He said as the two nodded.

As they left and the robots still fuming, a small purple head peeked from behind a wall.

"Well...that was kinda fun to watch."
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