I totally have the right to post this; I've just updated one of my two fanfictions. Now that I'm a little less guilty I can tell you how this oneshot came to be. Ok, so not really as it was a random burst of muse. I get those a lot. It would help if any of them were a smidge of good…
But the events that probably (please note the key word in that is probably- I have NO IDEA how my mind works) gave me my muse were a contest on devART and my random Wikipedia addiction. Yeah so Desire-Dessis having a contest on dA for poetry, prose and photos around the theme 'beginning'. I was really bored at work, wrote a (very crappy) piece and the need to write stayed with me after that. The other contributor is my intense love for the show Cyborg 009 and my random love of searching Wikipedia. Just yesterday I was on the Cyborg 009 Wikipedia page as well as a review of the series from another website and I found myself missing that old show SO MUCH. Then I read that the episode where Joe went to battle Black Ghost and he and Jet fell through the sky was actually meant to be the end of the manga and anime series. But the fans made its writer change his mind. I still couldn't get the idea of that being the end out of my head, though. It would have been a pretty good ending.
Anyway, I wrote this and I thought: What the heck. It's written already so I might as well post it. It's not like Anyone reads my random shiz anyway. Enough of my random babeling; let's get to the actual fic. Hope ya enjoy. Reviews will be more loved then cookies. And everybody loves cookies.
Disclaimer: I do not own Cyborg 009 or anything to do with it. If I did, 009 and 003 would be locked in a room until they stopped trying to hide their true feelings.
It Takes A Near-Death Experience
"Where would you like to fall?"
He couldn't believe that was it. After years of danger and situations that made adrenalin more prominent then blood in his veins he was going to die by falling. It could be poetic, if one was into that sort of thing. Dying like a shooting star. He was not into poetic things.
"Just let go," Joe pleaded again below him.
"I already said I'm not gonna," he replied, slightly irritated.
The heat was getting to him. He could feel it all around. There was no escape from the uncomfortable feeling or the growing pain. He wondered what hitting the ground would feel like. Would death take a long time to claim him, or would it be short?
"Why?" the younger cyborg asked him.
Jet realized he must be in even more discomfort then he was; 009 had been in a pretty intense battle prior to the fall.
"I'm damn sick and tired of you being the only hero. This is my moment of bloody glory."
"You know, only one of us was meant to die today."
Jet Link had no reply to that.
-x-x-x-
Shocked silence. It was a blanket that smothered the battered, exhausted team as they trudged on. Seven of them were cyborgs too and the eighth was an elderly human. Nobody was speaking. Their hearts were heavy; some more so then others.
"Jet will get him," 006 finally said, sounding as though he was convincing himself.
"Yeah, but who will get Jet?"
More morose silence. Then suddenly 008's head jerked up as he stared into the sky.
"A shooting star?" 007 wondered, following his gaze.
"Burning rock does not have that glow," Dr Gilmore said. "Burning metal, however…"
They all quickened their pace almost sub-consciously. 008 was in the lead with the majority some paces behind him. Bringing up the rear were Dr Gilmore and 003 who was carrying a sleeping 001. She kept staring at the small infant, willing him to wake up and save the two cyborgs. The thought of losing him…
Their came the tremendous crack of something hitting the earth very hard from a way in front of the group. 008 nearly started running. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that had nothing to do with hunger. As he reached the place the sound had come from, tearing away shrubbery to make a path for himself, he found one thought flickered though his mind.
Please, Joe, we need you…
Yanking back the last bit of hanging creepers he stopped stock-still. Staring at the ground in front of him his face twisted into a mask of pain that the rest of the cyborgs, who had at that moment caught up with him, found it was unbearable to look at.
"What?" 004 asked him, gruff as usual. Deep down he knew the answer; he just didn't want it. "What is it?"
He and 007 tore back some more of the hanging creepers so the whole group could see. They all stopped breathing.
In a hole of cracked earth about five inches deep lay the bodies of their two comrades. Neither was moving and both were lying at odd angles. Tears started forming in nearly every eye.
"No… C'mon… It can't… It can't end this way…"
Dr Gilmore slowly made his way forward, feeling a hundred years older. He had to be the efficient scientist now to remove himself from the agony of what they were all seeing. He bent down next to 002 first. He made mental notes of the burns and other wounds but did not say them out loud. His hand was shaking badly as he rested it on the base of the American's neck, searching for a pulse. For a moment that lasted forever there was nothing and then a faint throbbing reached his fingers. His eyes flew open in shock.
"But how..?" he gasped, quickly looking the cyborg over again. Then he let out a breath of air in surprise.
"Dr?" 003 asked him, her voice shaking.
"009. One of his parts is wedged into 002… He took one of his breaking off parts and made sure 002 could keep breathing…"
Only one of us was meant to die today.
"And… and 00…9?"
Dr Gilmore turned to the cyborg that was technically the youngest of the lot. As was the usual he had a peaceful look on his face as he lay, only slightly twisted. Now the doctor's hand shook even more as he tried to find a pulse. All the other cyborgs were waiting, hoping, crying.
"He was very well built," the man finally broke the silence by muttering. "Perfected from the tries before him… His body was precise and able to heal itself…"
Still none of the others moved. Their hearts became heavy with the doctor's words, but they still did not let themselves give up. It sounded like Dr Gimore was giving a funeral speech, but he could mean otherwise. He could.
Please… Don't let him be dead…
"And that precise body healing is what saved him."
-x-x-x-
Even though 009 was capable of healing himself the process would still take a long time after that event. Somewhere in-between the battles and falling that ability had lost most of its power. It had still been enough to save him, but he'd have to heal just like a human. He and 002 had been put into separate rooms, one next to the other.
"He's in enough discomfort already. We'd just be plain sadists to make him put up with 002 for weeks."
He had, of course, been yelled at quite a lot when he regained consciousness. Understandably most of his 'family' weren't too pleased he'd gone on a suicide mission without even telling them first. They seemed to think whatever craziness had made him agree to that was still within him, as a member was with him at all times, despite his protests. In the end he had just given in, finding arguing was a waste of time, energy and breath. Arguments actually broke out over who was going to be on his watch; he was a much easier patient then 002.
"You know what you can do with that thermometer? You can shove it-"
009 couldn't help but smile as 002's voice was heard through the wall. It was obviously 004's turn to check the American. He actually almost wished he could see the battles between the German and the American. They sounded pretty funny.
"Shouldn't you be asleep?" a female voice lightly scolded him.
"All I do is sleep," he replied. "It's unnerving. I'm so used to five hours a night max and now I'm sleeping for fifteen."
"Because you need it," she said firmly, remembering his suggestion the day before of taking a walk around.
Dr Gilmore had threatened to chain him to the bed if he even thought about it again.
"I suppose," he sighed lightly, staring up at the ceiling. "You babysitting me tonight?"
"It's not babysitting," she replied with a small laugh. "I'm making sure you don't do anything stupid."
He rolled his dark eyes but didn't reply.
"Don't worry; I have a very interesting book to keep me busy," she said, sitting down on the only chair in the room.
It made an ominous creaking noise as she did and both cyborgs looked at it.
"That's the chair we threw out because it was on its last legs," 009 said, raising an eyebrow.
"Brilliant…" 003 said as it creaked again.
A snapping sound issued and she quickly jumped out of the chair, giving it a distrustful look.
"There's no way you can sit on that," the teen told her.
"There's nowhere else."
"Sure there is; the bed."
She gave him a sharp look.
"It's a king-sized bed," he argued spreading his arms out as if to prove a point. "Where and why you got me a king-sized bed is beyond me but here it is. I use not even half of this thing. There's plenty of room for you to at least sit."
For a moment she contemplated it, biting her lip. Then she gave in and slowly came towards the bed, keeping her skilful eyes on his face so she could see his expression. Very slowly, her eyes still on his expression and watching for any sign that she was causing him pain, she sat on the edge of the bed.
"See? No explosion."
"Maybe not, but you're good at hiding your emotions. 002 screams blue murder at the sight of a needle but you can get hit by a truck and somehow get yourself to not wince."
"You're hardly a truck. But I suppose I can hide emotions. For a very long time, I've found out," he said quietly.
She looked at him in surprise.
"What emotions have you been hiding for a long time?" she asked him, trying to joke but sounding curious.
He looked at her, his dark eyes meeting her lighter ones.
"I…"
He had started to sit up to lean towards her and her instinct was to lean towards him so he could stop straining himself. But he didn't relax again and she found herself suddenly very close to him. She took a slightly giddy breath to say something, her heart pounding at the closeness of him, but she never got to say anything. His lips silenced her.
At first the shock of him actually kissing her prevented her from doing anything. She had been utterly surprised when he had held her hand before 001 had teleported him off but this… The news sunk in with a jolt. He was actually kissing her. She needed no prompting to return the kiss. It was sweet and warm and gentle as he started it and it made her feel warm and wanted. Without knowing exactly who deepened the kiss it became a little wilder; more passionate yet still with the undertone of more then just lust. Finally she had to break away, unable to breathe from the sheer wonder of it all. She opened her eyes to find his filled with bewilderment and shock.
"I… I'm sorry… he mumbled, blushing. "I didn't mean to… You were just… I shouldn't have-"
"Shut up," she gasped at him. "Shut up. I love you. Shut up."
Her lips and his met again and this time her head spun a million miles an hour. It was flying like she had never experienced it before. It was the perfect ballet routine a thousand times over in one second. It was wild and loving and most of her fantasies come true. A thought stopped her joy and made her jerk away.
"Wha…?" he was confused again.
"You're hurt," she told him, taking in the white pallor of his face and the slight sheen of sweat. She would bet anything that he was shaking slightly, too.
He groaned in a way that made her wince instead of react in pleasure.
"François… I really don't care," he told her, reaching and pulling her towards him.
The action and her body hitting his made an agonising seer of pain shoot through him, but he paid it no attention.
"Joe…" Her voice was worried as she looked at his bandages.
But even though she was worried about his wounds she had no will-power to stop him as he kissed her again.
"We can't do this, you're hurt…" she said loudly one last time before fully giving in.
It was even better now that she was close to him, now that he could hold her and touch her…
-x-x-x-
"Hey, Dr Gilmore? It think those chains are going to be necessary, after all," 006 said as he entered the living area where everybody except the two wounded cyborgs and 003 were.
"You want to chain 002 up?" 004 asked, quite hopefully.
"He wasn't that bad after I took over from you," the Chinese man replied. "No, it's for 009."
"Is he still going on about getting up?" Dr Gilmore scowled.
"I'm not sure. I just walked past his room and heard 003 say 'We can't do this, you're hurt'. Sounds like he has some crazy scheme in mind."
"Hmm… Knowing 009 he probably wants to start running around the country again. I'll just check on him to make sure," 007 said, standing up and going to the large monitor on the one side of the room. "What room is he in, again?"
"14," 008 replied.
007 tapped away for a few moments and then looked up at the screen, waiting for the camera that was in 009's room to show him what was going on. His eyes bugged out and his mouth actually fell open. Then he let out a yell that made the rest jump.
"Are you mental?!" 004 growled.
007 didn't reply. Instead he stared dancing around the room in an utterly crazy fashion.
"After so many years! Finally! FINALLY!" he yelped, still hopping around like a bunny on steroids.
"What are you on about?" Dr Gilmore was astounded.
"Look!" 007 hooted, pointing to the screen. "Finally!"
Very curious they all got up and walked over to the screen, peering at it almost cautiously. The scene that greeted them was that of 009 and 003 both seated on 009's bed. Her legs were wrapped gently around his waist and one of his hands was on her thigh. Their lips were very securely intertwined. For a moment there was pure silence and then the group erupted.
"It took a near death experience to make them stop trying to fight it…"
"FINALLY!"
"I thought they'd never see it!"
"I could sing!"
"This calls for Champaign and celebration!"
005 gently reached over the excited, happy, babbling cyborgs and one human and switched off the camera, a smile on his face.
"Enjoy the privacy while it lasts," he murmured.
Because we all know they like each other.