Firepunks Chapter One: It's Too Late, a 9 fanfic

TF: So, Twintailz wanted to see what 66, 99, and 78 all looked like – like, a drawing or something, something to better imagine them by. I decided the best way to release a picture of them was to create a little story or something, post it, then release a picture of them as a cover. I had no idea the story would become this long ... and it's not even finished! I just wrote the first chapter on my iTouch!

Wilbur: Yeah, but creating this was really fun, took a lot of effort to make everything realistic and just right, from the Machines to the events to the dates! We don't really live in England, but hey, we don't live in 3009 either!

Skye: TF doesn't own anything except for ourselves, our family, and the Firewall Source. Everything else is owned by Tim Burton/Shane Acker, except for iPhones, those are owned by Apple Inc, and "As In The Days Of Noah", which is owned by Misty Edwards. This is also kinda dedicated to Twintailz!

TF: Fun fact. I had no idea the Rebel Underground was a real thing in the movie, I just thought it was a made-up location by the creator of ... whoever created the Numbers 19 to 25, the Morlock Clan? Forget her name ... anyway, I found out that it wasn't made up, it's a real place. In the film, anyway. Learn something new every day, huh? :D Enjoy, and review if you want!

"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind." – John F. Kennedy

Firepunks

Chapter One: It's Too Late ...

July 31, 3009

London, England

Several rays of light from the sun straggled through the thick, gray clouds covering the sky, brightening the quiet, tranquil city of London. Brick buildings stretched out line after line, block after block, the people in them content to try and spend their Sunday in relaxation, to try and forget the events taking place outside their sheltered world. Church had ended a while ago, and already, the sun was beginning to look a bit low as evening prepared to set in. Near the center of the city stood a small, two-story house, red brick with white trim, and a tree stood in the front yard. A white picket fence surrounded the grassy lawn, and there was a white porch attached to the home, with dark brown curtains drawn over the glass-paned windows.

If anyone were to happen to pass this house, they would most likely be able to notice the teenaged boy perched on one of the tree branches, leaning against the thick trunk as he drew something in a black sketchbook, oblivious to the world around him. The sixteen-year-old boy had messy, jet-black hair and pale blue eyes, wearing a dark blue hoodie with navy jeans and black and white All-Star sneakers. The hoodie was edged with cyan, the hood pulled over his head, and a bluish, T-shaped shard of plastic hung on a string around his neck. In one hand was a yellow No.2 pencil, which he was using to draw with at the moment.

The boy, Wilbur Internal Firewall, stopped drawing to chew on the end of his pencil, studying the sketch he had made. It was a large rectangle with various lines and engravings running through it like wires, side-notes scribbled hastily at the ... well, at the sides. Sticking the pencil in his mouth, he pulled out his iPhone and, unlocking it, went to Music and flipped through the albums. Selecting one by Misty Edwards, he put the ear-plugs in his ears and tucked the device back in his pocket, leaning against the tree to resume drawing as the music started ...

Time

Is ticking

And I

Can feel

An explosion

Inside ...

Wilbur was the eldest child of the Firewall family, having two younger siblings named Skye and Felix, as well as several pets. Their parents, James and Linda Firewall, managed a computer shop called Firewall Source, and specialized in all types of computer-related topics and subjects. At the moment, they were back at the Source, catching up on customer papers to be filled and the usual taxes. Therefore, he was in charge, and was passing the time by designing a computer chip prototype. He didn't want to brag, but he was very good at designing those, especially anti-virus protectors. The seventeen-year-old hummed softly along with the words as he took the pencil out of his mouth and added another wire to the sketch.

And time

Time

Is ticking

And I

Can feel

An explosion

Inside ...

Wilbur's mind wandered away from the drawing as he reflected on the events of the past several months, particularly the world-famous creation of the first ever, evolving AI robot – Binary Reactive Artificially Intelligent Neurocircut, or for short, the BRAIN. The BRAIN had been created by a man named Dr. Julius Bergone, a scientist that had originally been a toy-maker in his younger days. Matter of fact, he lived in this area of London, a few blocks or so down. Wilbur's mom said she used to get her toys from him when she was a child, and would recount stories of how she used to watch him create various types of dolls, some no bigger then a hand but detailed right down to the painted eyes.

As in the days of Noah ...

Eventually, Dr. Bergone stopped toy-making and decided to become a scientist, using his genius towards technology for the benefit of man-kind. Goodness knows they had needed it. Wilbur himself had met him a few times – a nice guy, quiet, loved to invent, seemed pretty curious about how things worked if he didn't know, and was very understanding. Intelligent, too, so it was easy to see why he'd become a scientist. Dr. Bergone had been hired by the current president of England, Chancellor Ferdinard, someone whom Wilbur hadn't been particularly trusting of ... and thus, the BRAIN was created.

There will be drinking

Marrying

Laughing ...

As in the days of Noah

What a fool!

They say

To build a boat on sand

What a fool!

They say ...

America had collapsed as a nation hundreds of years before, during the deadly World War III, and now England was the superpower of the world. It prospered, but in doing so, exhausted the resources of the other, poorer countries around it, and no matter how many times the countries protested about their mistreatment, England brushed them off, very much like America itself had done. Eventually, the rest of the Earth decided that enough was enough, and World War IV had broken out between England and everyone else. Years – decades – of fighting passed, with millions of lives lost and cities destroyed, and finally, England won with it's superior weaponry, leaving their country victorious while the other countries were even worse off then before, on the verge of crumbling.

It's never rained before!

As in the days of Noah

So it will be

In the coming of the Son of Man ...

Then, the President, or "the Chancellor" as he was nicknamed, had stepped in. He began spreading the news of technology and science being the new future of Earth, about how, with Machines to do everything, the entire world would recover from the horrors of war and cease fighting. About how they must join together as one and unite, settling into a rich and prosperous era of peace. Peace ... that was what was worrying him.

"For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape ..."

And what a fool!

They say

To fast and pray

And what a fool!

They say

C'mon

It's been two thousand years

Do you really think that He's coming?

Come on and just get

Real ...

The Bible wasn't wrong. The Bible was never wrong. As a devote Christian, Wilbur paid a lot of attention to what it said, and what the Chancellor had been saying then sounded a lot like what was written in the words of Paul. At first, nothing bad happened. The Chancellor assigned Dr. Bergone to the project of creating an AI robot to lead the progress of technology, one unlike any other AI created before, one that acted human. After many failed attempts, the AI had been created, the BRAIN itself. Dr. Bergone had given them the BRAIN, and it was placed in the famous Fabrication Factory, even being given a new, mechanical body attached to the building itself, called the Fabrication Machine. There, the BRAIN had set to work producing robotic technology as programmed, and people had been genuinely impressed.

Key word.

Had.

But remember this verse

And many

Many scoffers will come ...

That had been almost a month ago, in July. Linda and Dr. Bergone had been sending letters to each other, being old friends since she was ten, and once the news of the BRAIN being activated for work had been released, something ... changed. Dr. Bergone had written to Linda, distraught, and explained to her that this wasn't supposed to be happening. Despite what the Chancellor was telling everyone, he had not given the BRAIN to the president. It had been forcibly seized, without warning, the moment he said it was finished. The action had sent Dr. Bergone into a panic. The AI could indeed create technology, but it was so advanced that it almost had the mind of a human, and it's seizure had prevented the scientist from properly testing it out.

It could turn, he explained. It was that human. The Chancellor didn't know that he was playing with fire, if pushed too hard, something terrible could happen. The BRAIN was capable of so much more then just creating technology ... Dr. Bergone didn't go into detail. But he did say that the Chancellor wanting the BRAIN so soon, and willing to use force to get it, had caused him to begin doubting if it really would be used the way he said he'd use it. He also pointed out something interesting to Wilbur's mother. The Chancellor had indeed announced the BRAIN was working and creating more Machines – but only after it had already been set in motion.

Why? Why would he announce it after everything was already done? If he really was aiming for peace, then he would've told the nations while the BRAIN was still working, to boost their hopes, maybe even before the BRAIN had started. But not after. Not if he was really looking to create peace ...

Then, on July 17th ... war broke out.

And when the rain

Starts

Falling

It's too late

It's too late ...

The Chancellor, without any warning or provoking at all, declared war once again and attacked the surrounding countries, using the new-found technology against them, using the BRAIN to create hundreds upon thousands of war Machines at a non-stop pace. The Machines were attacking, even deadlier then the human soldiers had been during the last War, slaughtering millions, gas-bombs, bullets, missiles, grenades, and land-mines wrecking havoc on the world systems. The death toll rose farther every day. The radio was constantly pouring out news of the destruction, the Chancellor saying how this War, World War V, would benefit the entire Earth.

And when the rain

Starts

Falling

It's too late

It's too late ...

Benefit? When did war benefit anyone? All the president was doing was blatantly destroying those he found weak, seeking out more power for himself and for his admitted dream of a one-world government, where he would rule the entire planet. At one time, Wilbur would have laughed at that – sounded far too much like some cheesy movie villain with his lame goals and constant failures. Not now. Now that he was in the middle of this kind of event, it no longer was a joke ... it was a threat. A deadly, deadly threat. Waging war against another country to protect oneself, like in World War IV, was one thing – attacking just for power was another all together.

As in the days of Noah ...

This was all part of the Bible prophecy ...

Wilbur shook his head, trying to wave away the thoughts of the War waging outside their city, looked back down at the drawing. In the back of his mind, when he thought about the BRAIN, he couldn't help but feel a cold chill of dread run down his spine ... as if his subconscious knew something he didn't. Kinda like the feeling you got when creepy music started playing in a horror movie and you knew, absolutely knew, that something bad was going to happen. After all, there had been those reports of several war Machines suddenly going wrong, killing both sides instead of just one. Of course, they had been destroyed as a programming accident, but maybe that was a warning sign of something else ...

Or maybe he was just being paranoid. After all, how much worse could their world get when they were already in the middle of the beginning of World War V? At least there was a small, faint flicker of hope it would all stop, that things would go back to normal ... Wilbur sighed, shaking his head and causing his black hair to sway slightly. As long as there was that little bit of hope, there was that tiny chance things could cha–

BOOM!

It's never rained before!

The ground shook violently, almost throwing Wilbur off the branch and sending the sketchbook plummeting to the lawn below. It hit the grass with a thud, and Wilbur righted himself, whipping his head around to peer out through the leafy foliage and out at the city, in the direction the massive explosion had come from. His pale blue eyes widened, and he gasped, covering his mouth with one hand. In the distance, a section of buildings had fallen to the ground, engulfed in raging flames that sent dark smoke billowing out into the cloudy sky. Screams rent the air as sirens began wailing, and in the sky could be seen flying one of the Machines, a huge, black bird-like one with eight red eyes.

Then it swooped down, but instead of stopping the fire with the chemical foam it was surely carrying, it dropped a small, black box down into another group of buildings. Instantly, another explosion shook the ground as flames leapt up from where the box had been dropped, the force of the blast leveling the houses and sending people running for their lives. More winged Machines appeared, dropping more boxes that could only be bombs, throwing a mixture of rubble, smoke, and dust into the air. Wilbur stared at the destruction in horror as Dr. Bergone's warnings of the BRAIN flew through his stunned mind ...

It could turn. It was that human. The Chancellor didn't know that he was playing with fire, if pushed too hard, something terrible could happen. The BRAIN was capable of so much more then just creating technology ...

One day

Two days

Three days gone by ...

And time

Time

Is ticking

And I

Can feel

An explosion

Inside ...

Wilbur sucked in his breath sharply. "Oh, Mod ..." the boy whispered, finally realizing what was happening.

That was it. The Chancellor had pushed the BRAIN too far. It couldn't handle creating that many Machines without any rest ... it had finally rebelled against him. Against them. Against the human race. And if it rebelled, then it's thousands upon thousands of death-dealing creations would rebel with it. World War V was nothing compared to this new war that had just broken out ... the War of the Machines. For humans knew when to stop. Machines ...

Didn't.

People get ready

Jesus is coming

And many

Many

Scoffers will rise in that day

And they'll say ...

Another explosion sent flames leaping into the sky, and green-brown dust filled the air, screams and crashes and sirens and engines adding to the chaos of noise as havoc was wreaked through the once-peaceful city. More mechanical birds appeared, some dropping bombs while others rained down a hail of bullets down at the fleeing people, and still others dropped bundles that exploded into swarms of mechanical, tiny, spider-like robots. The ground trembled from the bombs and planted land-mines going off, and Wilbur abruptly realized how close the chaos was coming towards him – and how fast. The Machines would be covering their block in no time, and here he'd be in the middle of it.

The teenager quickly leaped off the branch he was perched on, landing on his feet as he snatched his notebook, then sprinted back to the house and, running up the steps, threw the door open. He bolted inside and slammed it shut again, pressing his back against the entrance, and yelled, "SKYE!"

It's never rained before!

There was the sound of swiftly moving feet, and a girl a bit younger then himself ran down the stairs holding the hand of a young child, a boy. Both of them stopped a few steps before the floor, the girl's eyes wide as she gripped the banister and the boy sucking his thumb while pressed his head against the girl's leg. The girl was sixteen-year-old Skye Uni Robinson Firewall, the middle child of the Firewall family. Being an albino, she had unusually pale skin with long, white hair done in a braid and streaked with dyed red, eyes a pale pink. She was wearing a dark red hoodie edged with scarlet, and dark brown jeans with red and white sneakers. The hood wasn't over her head like Wilbur's was, and she had on small, golden hoop earrings. Around her neck hung a red shard of plastic shaped like a U, not unlike the necklace Wilbur was wearing.

The younger boy was seven-year-old Felix Avatar Nano Firewall, the youngest child of the Firewalls and an adopted, Hispanic boy. He had olive-tanned skin with jet-black hair and deep brown eyes, wearing a dark green, hooded jacket over a lighter green T-shirt. His jeans were gray, one sock black while the other was white, and had neon-orange sneakers. His hood was on, and around his neck was another necklace, holding two small, green plastic squares and a silver paperclip.

Skye stared at her older brother. "Wilbur!" she exclaimed. "What's going on out there?!"

Rain

Go away!

Hide me from the

Wrath of the Lamb!

He stared back at her, panting slightly from his wild rush to the house, then closed his eyes and leaned his head against the door, facing the ceiling. "It's happened ..."

She blinked. "What? What's happened?!"

The teenager opened his pale blue eyes and looked back at her. "What Dr. Bergone said ... just happened."

And when the rain

Starts

Falling

It's too late ...

Skye took a moment to process that, then gasped and covered her mouth. "You don't m-mean ..."

Wilbur nodded. "The BRAIN rebelled, and now, it's creations are attacking us. The War of the Machines has begun."

His sister looked horrified. "B-but ..." she stammered. "But Mom and Dad are still out there! They're back at the Source! What about them?!"

"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?!"

Skye stepped back slightly, a little hurt, and her brother rubbed his forehead, taking a deep breath. "... I don't know ..." he murmured. "I don't know where they are right now ..."

"Later?" Felix asked, taking his thumb out of his mouth long enough to ask the question.

Wilbur nodded. "Yeah, they ... they'll probably manage to find a way back here tomorrow ... they're fine ... they have to be."

And when the rain

Starts

Falling

It's too late ...

He was trying to convince himself more then his siblings. The Machines had appeared to be attacking dangerously near where their parents had gone, so things looked rather bad. But they couldn't assume the worst. Most likely, Jamie and Linda were fine and just laying low until the Machines moved on to destroy another part of the city, then they'd come and get their kids. All they had to do was lay low themselves ...

"Okay," the teenager said, holding up a hand. "Mom and Dad are most likely laying low until the Machines move out of their area, then they'll come and get us. Until then, we'll hide out here and pray to God that these things won't try to bomb us. Hopefully, we won't have to be here long – Dad knows the way to the Rebel Underground system. We'll be safe there. We just gotta wait."

"Do you think they'll be stopped?" Skye asked nervously.

Wilbur blinked. "Who?"

She bit her lip. "The Machines ... the BRAIN ... do you think they'll be stopped?"

And when the rain

Starts

Falling

It's too late ...

Her brother paused, then looked out of the door-window and at the chaos in the streets. He sighed, reaching up, and pulled the curtain down to cover the glass as he shook his head. "I hope so ... I sure hope so."

Hope.

He'd have to cling to that.

Because if he didn't, that last, little bit of it would flicker out ... if it hadn't already.

And when the rain

Starts

Falling

It's too late ...

It's too late

"For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape."

1 Thessalonians 5: 3, NKJV (New King James Version)

TF (TFTime)

Wilbur (Wilbur-Nator)

Skye (RobinsInTheSkye)

Felix (Wreck-It Felix)