Only darkness could be seen. It was silent and still. Suddenly, images
came rushing back to view. The destruction of two androids. Seeing
them fall to the ground and shatter. Then the image of choking a black
android, taunting him till an explosion rattled through his vision.
What had he done? What happened? It all was coming so fast. It
couldn't be.

"Jiro," a voice called out. "Jiro, can you hear me?" The voice called
out again. Slowly his darkness parted. The light distorted images so
that they were fuzzy at first, but soon they came into focus. The
image of an elderly man was seen standing over him. Lifting his hand
to his eyes, he saw the yellow mechanical hand come into view. He sat
up, and looked around. "Ugh... where am I...?" the boy said.

"Jiro, you're okay now. Just take it easy for a while; after all,
there are still repairs that need to be completed." The old scientist
looked up at the boy who was sitting on a metal table. The boy looked
at the elderly scientist and recognized him.

"Dr. Komyoji? How... where are we? What happened... wha...? I don't
understand." Dr. Komyoji held up his hand to silence him.

"All in good time Jiro, all in good time." He began working on the
open panel on Jiro's leg that didn't reveal flesh; instead it was a
jumble of metal, wires, and microchips. As soon as the doctor was done
he closed the panel and looked up. "Now Jiro, what do you wish to
discuss?"

"Well doctor... my first question would be how did we both end up
here? And where is here?"

"We are in the back-up libratory of my mansion." Dr. Komyoji declared.
"It was the only place close enough to bring you with the capabilities
of repairing you properly.'

"Well then, how did I end up here? I mean... I thought I was... well
dead... Oh no!" Jiro's face turned Grim. "Dr... I killed them. My
brothers, I killed them in cold blood. After that... I killed Gil...
and then... I don't know."

"Gil implanted a device in you that over-rode your Gemini. However, it
seems that your Gemini disabled it to some extent. I don't know the
exact details of what happened. But after I was recovered, I saw what
DARK was doing. After the explosion of Dark's weapon, I knew you had
caused it. I rushed over and found what remained of you. You were
badly damaged, and I could tell that your programming had been
tampered with. So I brought you here. After that, it was easy to tell
what my work was, and what was Gil's. But tell me Jiro, what
happened?"

Jiro began telling Dr. Komyoji everything that had happened after his
rescue. The meeting of a monk who had extreme knowledge of robotics,
his unfinished creations, the new threat of DARK, and the meeting of
an android who powered the weapon created by dark. Then he turned to
Dr. Komyoji and asked, "Doctor. How long have I been in stasis?" Dr.
Komyoji seemed to dance around this question with a light smile and he
began working on something on his desk. Jiro did not like this answer.
He pounded his fist against the metal table, leaving a dent.
"Doctor... I ask you again, and I want a straight answer. How long was
I offline?"

"Jiro," Dr. Komyoji began, "you may not like what you hear, but I
suppose it must come out sooner or later. You have been in disrepair
for a year an a half now. It has been long and hard trying to repair
you, Jiro. You were in shards when I found you. Luckily, your Gemini
Circuit and hardware remained, for the most part, intact. But things
have changed quite a lot. I have to be honest about two things Jiro.
One... well," the doctor paused, "Mitsuko... she waited but after the
incident she thought you were dead for sure. She was in a state of
despair. She found someone she could talk to. She and a young man
eventually went on date after date. Now they are engaged. You must
understand Jiro, she thought you were dead."

"It's ok doctor... It's better this way. She should forget all about
me. Anyone I get close to... they die." Jiro looked down towards the
floor. He could feel the Gemini produce sadness.

"Jiro..." Dr. Komyoji's voiced crackled, "we still think of you. She
still loves you... some ways, I know. But... I brought you back for
our own gain. I hate to say this but... You didn't destroy DARK."

"WHAT?!"
"You only took out Gil and their weapon, not the organization. Their
new leader... he's insane, a blood thirsty, power hungry dictator. His
only goal is to take over the world. His wants the kikaider schematics
and technology. I brought you back to protect us Jiro. I know it's a
selfish reason jiro, and I'm sorry to tell you this. I really do look
upon you as one of my own... but we need you now Jiro, now more than
ever."

"Is that all I am to you doctor? Am I a weapon, some kind of tool or
body guard, nothing more? Do you just want me to fight?"

"No Jiro. I knew you would not want to fight. I know that you despise
it. But the fact of the matter is that DARK wants you. They want to
know everything about you so they can create an army. And they will do
anything to get it. But Jiro. If you do not wish to fight I will not
make you. You are more than some kind of robot or mindless tool. You
make your own decisions, not me." Jiro looked up at the doctor.

"I'm sorry doctor. I look upon you as a father. But I refuse to fight.
I have seen enough blood shed on my account to last for an eternity. I
do not wish to fight anymore... I hope you understand doctor."

"Jiro, I understand completely. I respect your decision. You do what
you think is right. This is your life to live."

"Thank you..."