1.3 Rise of the Planet of the Mushroom Apes

"Lucky bastard," Sabermancer thought to himself, carefully making sure he did not reveal his thoughts to Partisan.

The battle raged a few levels above him. Mek V and Omni Dan were surely giving Obsidian forces a run for their money and Partisan had two girls clinging to him...

 As for him? Countless hardware to store data or a bunch of ill-intended scientists who did not think twice about shooting him or attacking him with strange, experimental weapons. 

Sabermancer did not take any chances—not wanting to be a second case of what happened to King Shifter— and so he went all in cutting down anyone who showed ill intent but he secretly wished for some thrill.

He walked down some stairs at the end of level 15 with all the calm in the world, not minding revealing his presence to anyone who would be in the vicinity. Down he walked until he ended on a catwalk above what appeared to be a large storage area containing many cages and water tanks holding something that made Sabermancer lay back in confusion.

"Apes?" He uttered as he spied from the darkened catwalk.

Scientists came and went like black-coated ants, checking the vitals of their test subjects as the apes calmly accepted a life of damnation at the hands of Obsidian. Sabermancer noted the closest cage, and something made him look at one of the apes too much until it stared back. 

The ape had a few scars across its black body and one grayed eye. Sabermancer could feel it: this simian fellow was capable of higher cognition, akin to humans, though he had no way to prove his hunch, as the young man in his mask (which was probably the reason why the ape was staring at all) did not know anything about genetic engineering. 

A scientist who spotted the ape transfixed on something above followed its line of sight until his own eyes stumbled with Sabermancer.

"SHIT, Dr. Heston, they're here!" He shouted.

The chief scientist turned and spotted, alongside everyone else, how Sabermancer's cryptic figure now stood erect. He immediately ran to the alarm, and the whole room lit in red ambiance. 

"Security, engage the intruder! Jones, prepare the gas!" he said, desperately.

"Doctor! You mean to kill the subjects?"

All apes understood that sentence and rose agitatedly to the cage bars.

"No you idiot!" the chief scientist said, alarmed, "We're just putting them to sleep! To sleep!"

It was too late, however, to try and appease the increasingly panicked simians now trying to break their bondage. The cages and some tanks where apes were conscious enough began to rattle unnervingly.

"Time to shine!" Sabermancer thought as he stepped into thin air, and his body landed right at the center of the laboratory, trying to make an epic entrance.

However, he miscalculated his landing speed and struck the ground with his knees rather than with his feet. He felt his lower body going numb by the impact as the masked boy did his best not to reel in pain in front of everyone. He clasped his hands around the hilt of his sword as he supported himself by engraving it to the ground.

The sudden boom of his body hitting the concrete was followed by a silence.

Scientists and apes alike stared at this kneeling, seemingly praying figure as he finally had the strength to stand. The simian subjects stepped back, unsure, but most of them felt it...

Their freedom was at hand.

"Everyone, clear the area, go to the railroad now!" Ordered Dr. Heston, "Security!" 

The Obsidian security troops surrounded Sabermancer. 

"Uh-oh..." He said as the sword gleamed in green light. 

The soldiers fired relentlessly at him, but Sabermancer quickly launched his big blade toward them as he ignited his laser sword and deflected the shots. At first, his mind was hasty with repelling the attacks, but as the number of enemies dwindled and he gained confidence, he opened up to the rest of the team.

"Um guys," he said over his telepathic link, "I found a floor full of apes."

"Come again, you said apes?" Omni Dan responded.

"Plain-looking apes—well no. Now that I look closer, they do seem to have mushrooms on their backs" he said, leaning towards one of the cages.

"What are they doing?" Mek V asked.

"By the looks, this base was used to test stuff on chimps." 

"No they didn't, they kept someone I think is important down here too," Partisan said.

"For a small base, a lot is going on. Guys, they're launching drones at me like an angry nest." Mek V commented.

"Yeah, if this is the real deal with small ones, I don't want to see how their big bases look," Omni Dan said.

"Are they roaming free or are they locked up?" Partisan said, "I should be over floor 30 now, coming back from level 100, one usually falls down faster than one can climb up."

"They're locked up, for now, I've been extra careful not to release them."

"Why?" Mek V said, "Do we need chimps in our new home?"

"Not really," Omni Dan said, "and I don't feel okay with fighting apes either..." 

"What should I do, ya then?" Sabermancer said as he deflected a shot straight back to the soldier's face. He was getting good at it.

"Free them, lead them out, I'm sure they'll be a nice distraction for the Obsidians," Partisan said, "I'll be there shortly to help."

Sabermancer tightened his grip over the laser sword as the giant blade came back to him, "Right."

The blade flew towards the lock of some cages, bursting them open immediately. This allowed those apes in turn to free more apes, making the whole area roar in moans and growls as the simians grew too excited, but as they came forward towards Sabermancer, they all halted.

Some apes looked at the masked slim guy in sheer awe while others aimlessly looked around, scratching their heads, armpits, and derriere.

Sabermancer pointed at the fleeing scientists toward the giant main gate, "Go! You're free now, go!"

No one batted an eye, as they seemed too transfixed on him, making him feel uncomfortable.

"There! Move! Move! Move—why aren't you moving?"

One of the apes turned to his peers, suddenly and seemingly empowered to represent his simian kind. He proceeded to step forward and face Sabermancer directly. Once he was face to face, the boy realized the ape towered over him.

Shit, I should've known they are not friendly! Sabermancer thought as the ape lifted his hand and bumped his chest.

"Ape... Savior!" He screamed, his fist wildly beating his chest.

The ape army burst into roars, beating their chests repeatedly. They rushed the door and engaged the arriving security forces, also slamming any unfortunate scientist they found. 

Sabermancer found himself alone in the large storage area, and he playfully checked the many panels as he gave himself a bit of leisure. 

"Saber, come in!" Partisan said.

"Yes, what is it?" 

"You freed the apes!" He yelled, angrily.

"Yeah, you told me to." 

"I didn't tell you to lead them to me, I told you to lead them OUT!"

Sabermancer chuckled and proceeded to run towards the exit.

"All right, all right, I'm coming."

******

The sudden liberation of the apes caused a massive stream of increasing chaos across all the upper levels of the base, as dozens of simians hurled at every single person either dressed in black coats or clad in purple armor, ultimately reaching a trio of young people just trying to get outside.

For Partisan, he ran his hand through his hair as he saw a group of angry chimps charging at him as they roared and squealed. He stepped back, pushing the girls to the back and adjusting his gear. He disassembled his sniper, splitting the barrel from the gun's main frame, and attached power generators to both. The guns' trigger and handle areas reformed to generate an energy shield, while the barrel formed a two-bladed saber.

"I hate melees!" he yelled, "Damn you Saber, you gotta control these riots man!"

His worries were unfounded when the girl Zoana stepped forth and her eyes whitened. The Apes convulsed and recoiled in pain and fear as Partisan saw lights break and the concrete around them fracture. When all was done and they were left alone,  he gave the girl a thumbs up.

"Mind powers, cool!"

"You don't really think that..."

"I mean, if it were aimed at me, I'm not sure what would happen, so yeah, they're terrifying..."

Zoana and Somni pointed beyond him, and Partisan turned to see Sabermancer emerge from the darkened hallway, his mask dimly lit by the beaming lines on its cheeks and forehead, and the rest of his body lighted up by the gleaming mega sword on his side.

"Sabermancer you bastard!" He said, "You knew they would come in like that towards us."

The mentalic girl saw Sabermancer differently, the dark shadow cast upon this new arrival the same way it had been on Partisan, she was unable to lock him mentally, as if these two individuals, these... monsters... were somehow immune to telepathic powers and all she could see was an esoteric understanding of it.

Somni, on the other hand, had never seen plasma technology used like the two guys, it was something truly astonishing, and she could feel her curiosity mounting and mounting. Nevertheless, she was terrified at the somber vision of a masked man spewing bloodlust at them.

"How would I know you guys were just landing on this floor," Sabermancer said,  "besides, you told me you were close."

"Where are these guys going anyway?"

"There's supposed to be an underground railroad on level three, I saw some corridors leading to it on the cliff hangar."

"T-that's—!" Somni yelled, "We were going to use that to escape!"

"Well, I'm sure we can find you a chopper or something in the hangar too, assuming this idiot did not destroy everything there," Partisan said.

"I can't remember, we have to go back there..." Sabermancer said, walking away towards the hangar.

"Come in, Saber!" Mek V said.

"Yes, I'm a little busy here"

"We've got incoming from the shore, apparently some ships were in the vicinity and they're now firing missiles at us!"

 "Why are they defending this site with tooth and nail?" Omni Dan said, "I'm starting to doubt this was a small base at all..."

"Sabermancer... should we retreat?" Partisan said, "At this point, we don't know if possess the firepower to go against the combined forces of the Obsidian, they might as well start to send us mechs if we press on..."

"Mechs! They're deploying mechs from the ships!" Mek V said, "Shit, get off me! Get off me!"

"I'm pinned down, the incoming missiles are not letting me see or plan anything at all!" Omni Dan said.

"We need some help!"

"Sabermancer, let's use the railroad and escape!"

"Even if we could escape, Omni Dan will be trapped and Mek V won't be able to cut off his pursuers..." Sabermancer said, clenching his fists.

A sudden tremor pulled everyone to the ground. Pieces of metal from the ceiling and rock. They all closed their eyes as they felt rocks and dirt hitting them until Zoana's eyes glowed and a dome-like force field protected them from the impacts. When Sabermancer and Partisan opened their eyes again, there was no underground base anymore, and they were standing on the precipice of a huge whole.

"Oh my," said Mek V on the chatter.

"What is it?"

"I think we forgot about one crucial thing about King Shifter..."

"What—oh wait..." Omni Dan said, "Now I remember..."

"Only because you're seeing it too!" Mek V responded.

Sabermancer and Partisan stuck their heads out to the sea, now open for every survivor to see. Apes climbed the rubble of the base as they desperately tried to flee a massive frame that cast a shadow upon half of the collapsed installations. 

"Shit I remember too..." Sabermancer said, "King Shifter's ultimate trigger..."

Zoana and Somni took a peek, and their eyes opened wide in horror, unable to fully understand what was in front of them.