!!!Golden Age NML Prologues!!!

Like the old prologue page, but for Act 4 onwards. Can be a prologue for new characters or what returning characters have done over the time skip.

The Legacy

He opened his eyes, unacquainted to the sights and sounds he heard around himself. Not just the the particular sounds he heard around him, the sounds of dirt being shifted from place to place, of footsteps through the gravel, and a particularly loud man barking out orders, but of the very experience of hearing. He could see a tunnel, and a light at the end of it. Sight too, was an unfamiliar experience. It was all unfamiliar to him, yet he knew of these experiences well, as if they were programmed into him. "We found him!" a voice could be heard from the end of the tunnel. He could see silhouettes forming at the end of the tunnel, the bright light nicely capturing the shapes of these figures. He tried to let out a call for help, but for reasons unknown, he could not. Try as he may, he could not let out even a simple utterance. Likewise, he tried to step forward, to meet with the light at the end of the tunnel, and the silhouettes, but he could not. All he could do is look and hear, to experience this new world around him. The silhouettes began to grow larger and larger, and the sounds of voices were getting louder and louder. As the silhouettes got so close they stood over him, he closed his eyes.

Several days later. He once again woke up into this new world, hearing the words "Oh, are you awake? How was your slumber?" and slowly he began to open his eyes. He was in an office, with cold metal walls, there was not a single decoration anywhere throughout the walls of the room. There was just a metal desk, a simple office chair... and a man sitting on it, staring directly at him. He wore a grey suit, he was tall and of fit shape, with broad shoulders, he was of at least middle-age with his graying hair, with some mild wrinkles, particularly on his forehead. He had wide, but thin lips, piercing blue eyes, and large, bushy eyebrows. A large cleft in his chin gave him a very defined jaw, and he carried himself as if he was the very definition of dignity. And he was staring right at him, a small smile on his face.

"Welcome..." he spoke in a warm voice as he pulled out a pen from his suit pocket and tapped it against the desk, which provided a certain sense of uneasiness within the room.
"W-where am I...?" he spoke back, much to the shock of the older man.
"Home..." he responded, placing his pen in the center of the desk as he attempted to smile wider.

"Who are you...?" he asked, his voice trembling.
"Family."

Family, he knew that word well. He had never experienced the concept first-hand, did he have family? He did not know. A certain feeling of melancholy overtook him, and as if by reflex he began to look down. The sight he was presented with shocked him, he began to stare down with a certain degree of intensity that caught the older man's attention. He looked down to his legs, or where they should be, instead he was greeted with the presence of metallic stubs. Artificial human skin covered some of it, but the parts that were exposed showed his true nature to himself. Metallic parts, trinkets, rusted and wrecked, his lower half was a derelict machine. He looks to his arms. On one side, his left, he saw nothing. To his right, a metallic endoskeleton.

"W... what am I..."

The older man let out a sigh, a sign of impatience that betrayed his warm smile. "Let me tell you a story..." the older man spoke, standing up from his seat and walking around his desk. He stopped in front of his 'family', to which he was looked up to. The elder man was tall, at least 6"2, despite his age, he was incredibly imposing.

"Once, there was a man named Charles Paladin. He was a born without an arm and a leg in Victorian England, born into the slums of London. By all means he should have died. Yet, destiny had other plans in store for the man. Miraculously, he was cared for by his family, taken care of and allowed to age in a cruel world. You see... this man was a genius... a mind unlike anything the world had ever seen. He was always fascinated by machines, with the 2nd Industrial Revolution unfolding before his very eyes... who wouldn't be? Unlike the masses however, he was not content with just watching in marvel, he had to be part of it. Without a formal education... he began to understand the machines, displaying an almost superhuman level of intellect unlike anything the world had ever seen. You see... he built himself a new arm... and a new leg. His own genius has destroyed the limitations given to him by birth... made of metal and powered by steam, his machines were marvelous. Before long... his genius would be noticed and Charles Paladin would give birth to a new age of humanity. He sent the world hundreds of years into the future with his technology! And the most glorious of his creations were his children... the CP Units. Machines with artificial intelligence... with sentience... with emotion, with passion, some even say with a soul-!"

"Is that what I am...?" he asked.

"Yes... you are CP-07..." the man responded "And I am CP-02..."

CP-07's eyes widened, was that his name? And the name of this older looking back... CP-02. His designation had implied he was created later... ironic considering his older appearance. He was like an older brother. He was indeed, family. Afterwards, CP-07 would once again fall into slumber.

The mechanical man would once again awaken, this time on a soft comfortable bed. Almost by instinct, he looked to his legs, then to his arms. Where once he was missing these limbs, where they exposed his mechanical identity, now he saw nothing but human flesh. Upon closer inspection, he was also clothed. CP-07 began to look around the room he had waken up in. It's walls were steel, like that of CP-02's office. There was a large, metallic, sealed door in a corner of the room. It seemed as if there were few pieces of furniture within the room, a nightstand, a coat rack, and mirror. It seemed that CP-02 valued simplicity. The metal man brought his chest up, sitting upwards on the bed with ease as he looked to the mirror in the room. CP-07 almost scoffed as he watched himself... his unnatural, stuff movement that man him look like something out of a stop motion animation. He slid out of bed afterwards, his eyes focused on the singular mirror in the room. Staring with unnatural intensity at the thing, he began to walk forward, one foot at a time. It would not be long before he met eyes with his own reflection. He did not look like CP-02, he gathered that much. No, what the android saw before him was a younger man, with wild medium-length hair, which was chestnut brown dressed in blue overalls. He had light olive skin, with blue eyes not unlike CP-02, though his eyebrows were thin and controlled. A notable feature that CP-07 began to notice was his unusual goatee. His beard was made up of several stripes of hair, like that of a tiger. He began to stroke his facial hair, staring down at it with curiosity. He seemed to be lost in his own appearance, and he could have likely stayed there staring at himself for hours if not for the sound of footsteps approaching his door. He could hear one, two, three knocks at his door, before a familiar voice could be heard.

"Hello? I'm coming in."

It was CP-02, followed by two unfamiliar individuals standing behind him on each side. They were clad in beautiful white armor, with helmets that hid their identity, each was holding some sort of assault rifle, and on each of their shoulders CP-07 could spot an interesting insignia. It was a shield, with two swords crossing over it, with the word ''PALADIN" plastered over it. Their appearance looked not unlike a set of knights, armed with the best technology money could buy. "I see you're awake again, and you've noticed that we repaired your body as well. We've also restored your faulty power source, you shouldn't be dozing off again anytime soon." he spoke as he walked into the room, his knights following him inside.

"Yes... thank you..." CP-07 spoke in a low voice as he looked down to his feet. For whatever reason, he did not feel comfortable looking directly at CP-02 or his bodyguards. He was intimidated, though he did not know it. He was unfamiliar with such an experience. This tall, powerful looking man in a suit and his two heavily-armed knights, they did nothing but send CP-07 trembling. It did not take CP-02 long to see notice this, and he looked to his guards, motioning for them to leave the room, which they swiftly did. "So... how are you doing...?" CP-02 asked as he paced around the room.

"I am... okay..." 07 responded, gaining the courage to look CP-02 in the eyes. What followed was a moment of silence as the two met eyes. CP-07 could not help but feel uneasy around this man. Something about him was unnerving, despite being family. And CP-07 wanted more than anything to trust this man and love him as his family. It struck him like a hammer, the fact that he could not trust the man that stood before him, the only family he knew of. Yet he could not, as he knew that at any moment, he could feel the sting of betrayal. The man in a suit who stood before him, his "older brother", he was unlikable and 07 had no idea why. After an extended moment of silence, CP-02 walked over to the door of the room, which seemed to open on its own as the elder machine peered his head to the side into the hallway, motioning for him to follow. And that CP-07 did, walking out and joining the knights once more. Together, the four walked down a long, metal hallway. It was cold and heartless, even CP-07, a machine, felt almost depressed simply walking through it. Eventually they walked into a familiar room, CP-02's office.

"CP-02..." 07 tried to speak, but he was quickly cut off by his older brother.

"Call me Charles." 02 responded, turning back to his older brother with a piercing glare.

This caught CP-07 off guard, CP-02 had introduced himself by his designation, but now he was going by a name. Did he had a name too? Furthermore, why was CP-02 going by the name of his creator? So, of course, he said what was on his mind "Charles... like our creator...? Why...?" he asked, though he did not hear a response at first. Instead, he was treated with silence as 02 made his way to his chair and sat down, with his two bodyguards standing behind him.

"Charles Paladin made it his personal goal in life to make the world a better place by any means necessary. As an inventor, as an entrepreneur, as a hero to the people... it is the year 2032, Charles Paladin has long passed away. Almost a hundred years ago in fact. What better way to honor his memory and strive for the same goals he did than to take his name... I already own his fortune." he responded as he clasped his hands together, the two brothers looked each other in the eyes. Once again, that feeling of unease took over CP-07's body as the man continued "I am here to guide the masses. Like our creator, I am the shepard that leads that leads humaity in the right direction. I-"

"I see... I do not understand such things... Charles. If you would like to be referred to as such, then I will..."
"Ah... thank you then, good sport... anyways... I believe it's time we speak, now that you are fully repaired..." The man shifted in his seat, freeing his hands from each other as he placed them on his desk "You were built for a reason, CP-07... you were built to continue the legacy of Charles Paladin. And I'm going to present you an opportunity to do so... we're going to change the world..."

"E...laborate..."

"Brother, welcome to The CP Collective..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Legacy
#2

"The CP-Collective...?"

"Yes." CP-02 responded bluntly, standing up from his seat as he looked down on his brother. From there, he seemed as if he was a lord looking down on his followers, as he expected his brother, CP-07 to look at him with admiration and follow him without questioning. 07 could tell that 02 was not just literally, but figuratively looking down on him for his response. He had once again made himself an imposing giant among the men in the room, even his armed bodyguards seemed to tremble in his presence. 07 just sat there, silent, not a word could escape his mouth.

"We are not alone..." 02 continued "There are many of us... and I keep finding more and more... like how I found you..." Charles' voice began to grow darker and dark with every passing word "And... you see... I can't accomplish our creators dreams alone... what he longed for... what he longed for was a world where evil did not exist. To eliminate evil.. now that is a quest that cannot be taken in a single generation... which is why we were built. The unenlightened masses... you see, they need to be controlled, they need to be told what to do... that's always been their true nature. Why leave it to religion, or the government? Why not let a man of true righteousness take control...? Humanity cannot govern itself... they create corrupt constructs that eventually lead to their own demise... that's why I'm here. That's why WE'RE HERE. To fix it all... to eliminate evil..." CP-07 could not help but freeze in fear, his heart over-loaded by the words spoken to him. He did not understand what this man was saying, he did not know of the world he was born in. He was confused, what were these words spoken to him? Why did people need to be controlled? What did all this talk of evil even mean? "I cannot do it alone... but with the other CP Units... I can do anything... you will be assimilated into my programming brother... your knowledge, your body... everything will belong to the collective. And you will-" before the man could even finish, CP-07 lunged from his seat towards Charles Both guards immediately opened fire on the machine. On full auto, both knights began to unload on him, hundreds of bullets flew towards the android. The sound of machine gun fire blasted and echoed through the room until Charles lifted his hand, signaling for the soldiers to stop.

"Don't bother." 02 spoke, before clasping his hands together as he looked to 07. There he stood, his overalls shredded, but his body perfectly intact. Flattened bullets surrounded him, not a single one succeeded in piercing his body. CP-07 looked down to his body in amazement, while at first he as taken over by fear, pondering the nature of his end... now he was overtaken with a feeling of power. He began to stomp slowly towards CP-02, a snide smile on his face and a dark look in his eyes. Both soldiers immediately stepped forward, ignoring Charles' orders and opening fire once more. Within a single swipe, both soldiers were sent flying into nearby wall. With them out of the way, CP-07 approached the older looking man, standing face-to-face with him as they met glares. And then, within a single moment, CP-07 was sent flying back. It happened all too fast, he could see CP-02's fist brought out towards 07. He had punched him in the chest somewhere, sending him soaring backwards. He blasted out of the office, flying through the metal door into the hall. He continued to drift in the air, blasting through multiple walls before finally plummeting into the metal flooring of what seemed to be an armory. 07, got onto a knee, slowly rising to look forward, only to see CP-02 standing in front of him. How he managed to get there so fast was unknown.

CP-07 attempted to throw a punch towards his brother, only for his metallic fist to be caught by Charles. The man rose an eyebrow to his brother, looking to him in amusement before using his other hand to slap CP-07 across the face, sending him flying to the side, blasting trough yet another series of walls. This time, he ended up in what seemed to be a cafeteria, filled with at least three dozen people, now fleeing in terror after 07 had blasted through a series of tables, creating chaos within the room. CP-07 tried his best to stand back up on his feet, stumbling around as he felt his body growing weak. Leaning against a table, the android looked onwards. Sure enough, there he was again, slowly making his way forward. Despite having the appearance of a middle-aged business man, he had the power of a superhuman. By this point, 07 knew that he had no hope of beating the mechanical abomination that stood before him. He had to run. So, as Charles slowly made his way closer, CP-07 stood tall. He too walked forward, meeting eyes with his brother. As they met, CP-02 threw a punch, and 07 quickly move to the side, running outside of the punch, past Charles. From there, he ran, he ran as fast as he could. 20 mph, 30 mph, 40 mph, 50 mph , 60 mph, 70 mph, CP-07 ran faster than any human being could ever dream of running.

CP-07 tried his best not to look back, he knew he had to keep on running, or else all hope was lost. Yet, he could not help but look back, noticing what seemed to be a bright light shining behind him. It was of a bright magenta color, and it was flying towards him even faster than he was running. Try as he may, he could not outrun this light, and eventually it hit 07 with more force than he could have ever dreamed of. He was blasted forward, sent spiraling through a wall before falling limp onto the ground.

All hope was lost, CP-07 could not feel his body. His power was draining, and he could hear the calm, cold, and collected footsteps of his older brother growing louder and louder. His sight began to fade, static occasionally flashed across his vision. He could not so much as move, and all he could do was simply wait for Charles to finish him off. And there he was, standing over CP-07, his eyes were nothing bu an emotionless void. He brought his hand out, his palm pointed towards CP-07's legs. His palms opened up, revealing a small barrel to some sort of weapon. Once again, that bright light began to gather around his palm. "It's time to stop running." Charles spoke "You need not resist me CP-07... as a part of the collective, you will be part of something much larger than your singular existence..."

He was helpless, he could only stay there on the ground, accepting his only fate. He was to lose everything, his individualism, his emotions, his own nature as a being. Whether he was a human or a machine, he felt hopeless, weak. He was just going to become one of many now. So he accepted his fate, there was nothing more he could do. He laid his face against the floor, his vacant eyes staring to the side... just as he caught a glimpse of the room around him. It seemed to be some sort of armory, he looked around him, identifying several of the weapons in the room. Of course, most of it was useless against something like CP-02... his eyes drifted around the room, looking to a small dough-like substance close to him.

CP-07 looked back up, meeting eyes with his brother. A suddenly glint of hope appeared in his eyes, something that Charles took note of. 07 suddenly rose his leg up, kicking CP-02 in the ground. A loud metallic noise echoed through the room, CP-02 simply stood there, looking down on his brother in disappointment "Did you really think that would work...?" he asked.

CP-07 smiled "No." he responded, and as CP-02 shook his head, apparently dumbfounded by the sheer stupidity of this action, CP-07 grabbed the substance to his side and shoved it into barrel protruding from his palm.

"I think that'll work though-"

At that moment, CP-02 fired, his arm blasting itself apart. This would set off a chain of explosions due to the various explosives held in the armory, which would consume the room and both androids. This symphony of explosions seemed to send CP-07 spiraling away, blasting through a wall, only to be met with a familiar sight. The light at the end of the tunnel. Weakly opening his eyes, 07 stared up at the sun and the beautiful blue sky. He soon felt himself impact against the ground, skidding into what seemed to be sand along with several pieces of wreckage.

CP-07's eyes fluttered open, he had fallen into what seemed to be a desert. He looked out to a horizon, seeing nothing but sand. And then he looked to the other side, where he had come from. His eyes met with a huge metal construct, a wall, stretching unbelievably high. On it, he could see huge words stenciled on it, reading: No Man's Land.

He had done it, he had gained his freedom, or at the very least, he had ruined Charles' day. This was the best he could do. Slowly, he closed his eyes once more. He was too weak to move, and he could feel himself powering down. The sight he would behold was a shadow casting itself over him. So Charles had survived? Was it all for nothing? No... this was not him, it was a much smaller person, and of a more delicate shape than his brother. It didn't matter anymore. CP-07 closed his eyes, powering down.

TO BE CONTINUED...