The Maad Doctor [The Maad Series #1]

|35| The Fall.

Bones and Sky were struggling to fight The Maad Doctor, his men, and the giant robot. Don knew if they didn't divide and conquer, then they would all die there.

"Hand me the gauntlets," Don told Stella, and she gave them to him without question. "Thank you." He gazed at the steam-powered weapons, and his heart sang like Joana. He turned to Stella. "Will you be all right?"

"Indeed," she replied.

"Then, protect your mother and stepfather."

"That is my plan." Stella sprinted to Lady Camilla and Barb Malley. Her stepfather had regained consciousness after they found him unconscious when they arrived.

Don activated the gauntlets, and they shook to life. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I can do this. He opened his eyes. "Sky!" he called.

Sky had taken Spider Legs from Barbie, using them to fight The Maad Doctor's men. With her being a mercenary, it wasn't a surprise she had learned how to use them with ease. "What?" she asked after killing a guard.

"Help me take down The Giant Robot," he said.

Sky used one of the Spider Legs' limbs to pierce the chest of four men in quick succession, then went to Don. "Let's do it," she said.

Maybe it was hope or adrenaline rushing through his veins, but all the fear in Don's body vanished. In its place stood heroism. It sounded stupid, but he believed it was his destiny to take down The Giant Robot.

"Ono!" Don shouted, and the leader of Bones turned to him. "You and your sisters take care of The Maad Doctor and his men. Sky and I will destroy The Giant Robot."

Ono nodded, then proceeded with her killing spree.

Don felt good giving orders. Though it didn't come naturally to him like most leaders, it was a good start. "Sky, are you ready?"

Sky rolled her eyes.

"Before we go, do you have anything you want to tell me? Like, how I'm handsome, and I don't deserve to die here?" he asked.

"Yes, ah have something to say to ya." Sky grabbed his hands and smiled at him. Don smiled back. But then she frowned, and Don's eyes widened in fear. And before he knew it, she kneed his crotch. "That's for locking me in ya bathroom like a slave."

Don fell on his knees and coughed, holding his crotch. "I'm s-sorry," he said with tears in his eyes.

"Ah forgive ya." She glanced at the robot. "It's time now."

Don stood and cleared his throat. Then he said, "Lead the way."

Sky used the Spider Legs to run on the building's wall while Don kept up with her from the ground. He fired energy waves at the robot. But as expected, they did not affect it. If the waves couldn't kill humans, how would they destroy such a thing?

Sky tried piercing it with Spider Legs but failed. It looked at her as though she was an ant. She dropped to the ground and stood next to Don. "Well, that failed. What now?" she asked.

"I have an idea. Follow my lead," Don said. He leaped on the wall and used the gauntlets to crawl upward. Sky used Spider Legs to run behind him. Below them, he heard The Maad Doctor calling out Stella before instructing his men to kill Bones. We have to kill it fast.

The Giant Robot fired laser beams from its eyes. It missed both, but the concrete beneath Don's hands and Stella's feet shook. One of Don's hands lost its grip on the wall, and he hung for dear life.

For a second, he stared at the ground and saw he was too far up to survive the fall. He shook his head, eliminating the fear, and kept on climbing. Once he reached the roof, he took a deep breath then threw himself onto the robot's shoulder.

Sky landed on the other shoulder.

The Giant Robot tried to swat Don off its shoulder like a fly. Don fired an energy blast at its hand and thrust it away. He moved closer to its head. "What is that?" he muttered, staring inside the robot's head. There was a chamber with wires and pins around it.

"It looks like a brain," Sky said.

"It might be." A light switched on in Don's head. "I have an idea." But before he could implement it, the robot swatted him off its shoulder.

Sky dived and caught him in midair. "This is the second time ah have saved ya life," she reminded him once Spider Legs touched the ground.

"Next time, I will be the one saving your life." Don turned to the robot. "The only way to destroy it is by shooting the brain. It's controlling the robot."

"That's all ah needed to know," Sky said. She unsheathed the revolver around her thigh. "Stand aside and watch a professional go to work." She used Spider Legs to leap, evading the robots swatting hands and laser beams. She landed on its shoulder and fired bullets through its eyes, breaking the glass. She kept shooting until she ran out of bullets. Then she dropped to the ground.

The Giant Robot swayed left and right, then fell. It destroyed the castle, sending a storm of rubble and dust towards those alive.

Don coughed once the dust cleared. He looked around and saw Ono holding The Maad Doctor by his shirt's collar. She dragged him to where he and Sky stood. The guards were also dead.

We did it. We won, Don thought.

Though they killed the guards and The Giant Robot, Don knew The Maad Doctor was still victorious. Virtue City was no more, as he had planned. It looked like this was a suicide mission for him from the beginning. The fact he got that far and caused that much damage showed how smart he was.

"Guys," Pipi called, running towards them. "We heard an explosion and came to help." He stopped and looked at the dead people and robot. "Never mind." He returned Shocker A back in its holster. Barbie was with him.

The Maad Doctor started laughing, and everyone turned to him. "You're all pathetic!" he snarled. "Before Virtue City blows up, how about we play a game of truth or truth... I hate dare."

"I've never heard of that game," Don said.

The Maad Doctor ignored him. "Let's start with you." He pointed at Barbie, who stood beside Pipi. "John is dead. Stella killed him."

Barbie gasped before she covered her mouth with her hands. Tears glistened in her eyes before they streamed down her face.

The Maad Doctor continued, "Father had hired John to find a mercenary to kill Stella, and that's where you come in Sky. Most mercenaries wouldn't touch a hair on Stella's head unless it's an extreme reason. You had that reason: The death of your sister. John and Barbie took your sister from your apartment that day and went with her to meet Father. After they agreed on the deal, Barbie killed Sandie–"

Stella snapped The Maad Doctor's neck and then let his body slump to the ground. "I think we know what happened after that," she said.

"Sky," Barbie turned to her best friend with tears in her eyes. "Ah am sorry."

Sky clenched her jaw and balled her hands. She pounced on Barbie and threw weak punches at her friend's torso. Tears streamed down her face. "How could ya? How could ya?"

"Does anyone else hear that?" Jojo asked.

They all remained silent and listened.

It was the sound of rotating blades heading their way. Before they knew it, a helicopter appeared above them. Then a rescue ladder dropped next to Barb Malley. The man stood, picked up the unconscious Lady Camilla, and placed her on his shoulder.

"Mother," Stella tried to go to Lady Camilla, but Barb pointed a gun at her.

"I'm sorry, but I can't be here when the city blows up," Barb said, then shook the ladder. It pulled him up. He entered the helicopter, and then it flew away.

"Did he say the city would blow up?" Don asked. "We should rush to the airship–"

As though fate had a grudge on the thief, multiple explosions rocked Virtue City. And before they knew it, Virtue City fell from the sky.