~Chapter 2: Blade~

Courtney pulled up a chair and sat in front of the girl, seeing that she had curled up in an attempt to put pressure on as many injuries as she could. Her body trembled as she hyperventilated shakily, tears trying to escape her tightly-shut eyes.

"...You saw them, didn't you?" Courtney asked her softly. "The cyborgs?"

"The terrorists," the girl hissed darkly as some tears escaped her pain-filled eyes. "They took away my village... They killed everybody!"

"...I'm very sorry," Courtney said awkwardly, attempting to have sympathy. "How did you survive? Were you spared? Lucky? What happened?"

Instead of responding this time the girl was silent. She was in no mood to talk about what had happened. Courtney observed her for a moment as if trying to read both her posture and facial expression before she stood up from her seat. "I'll see what we can do to treat your injuries here," she assured, leaving the room. The first person on her mind was Wilhelm Voigt, commonly known as Doktor to his colleagues.

On the way to find Doktor Courtney passed by Raiden, seeing that he was stood with his back against the wall. Raiden looked at her and stepped forward. "How is she?" he asked.

"I can't say that she's alright," Courtney admitted. "Though I'd recommend that you stayed well away from her; cyborgs seem to freak her out."

"Kids shouldn't have to go through these sorta things," Raiden stated, looking down slightly as he recalled his past once again. Courtney knew that it was never good when Raiden had flashbacks, deciding to snap him out of it.

"You're right, Raiden," she told him. "Can you do me a favour and get Doktor? He must know something about treating wounds."

"Probably, though he specializes in cybernetics more than anything else," Raiden reminded.

"I'm sorry, but do you know anyone else who could do a better job?" Courtney interrogated, folding her arms. This caused Raiden to frown and turn away in defeat. "That's what I thought, Mr Lightning Bolt," the young woman smirked slightly as she concluded the fact that Doktor was in fact the best choice for healing somebody's injuries.

"Alright, I'll go get him," Raiden responded, leaving the room to find Doktor. Courtney watched him leave, deciding to continue with her work as she knew that there was nothing more she could currently do regarding the girl.

...

Doktor entered the room, seeing the state of the young girl. Unlike most ordinary people, Doktor was more impressed than sympathetic, finding it amazing that a girl her age wasn't screaming in agony by this point. If she was in shock then she wouldn't be responding to the pain at all, but it was indeed obvious that she felt something.

"You seem to be handling your injuries rather well," Doktor acknowledged, speaking in his heavy German accent. "I'm quite impressed."

There was no worded response from the teenager, though she did shoot him a rather hateful and pain-filled glare, silently telling him that she actually wanted the pain to stop. Doktor noticed this and let out a sigh. "Very well," he said, sitting down in the chair which Courtney was sat on previously. "I will do all that I can. This might sting a little."

...

Raiden paced back and forth, silently wondering when he would be allowed to leave. In theory he could leave at any moment, but when it came to children he was often rather weak. However, it could be argued that his "weakness" for children also motivated him. Just like when he pushed himself to stop Desperado and help those children. Sure, they may have become cyborgs, but at least they weren't being used like he was.

The weak yet pained screams of the girl were just audible from behind the closed door. Raiden listened to the shrieks for a brief moment before deciding to walk out of hearing range. He headed over to Kevin.

"Kevin. I want you to tell me exactly how that kid's doing once Doktor finishes with the surgery," the cyborg commanded. "I'm gonna head off to see how Sunny is doing; it's been a while since I last saw her. George and Blade Wolf too, of course."

"You're not gonna stick around?" Kevin asked him, slouched in his chair.

"I don't want anything more to do with this company," Raiden replied blatantly. "I only do the odd favour. Don't try to re-hire me or anything."

"Alright, buddy," Kevin responded, almost sounding quite sad. Out of everyone at Maverick, Kevin was the one Raiden was the most friendly with. They were like best friends a lot of the time, unless Raiden was in a bad mood.

Raiden said nothing more as he made his leave, not saying any dramatic goodbyes as some people would do. He left on his motorcycle, making his way to the company where Sunny worked: Solis Space & Aeronautics.

...

After Doktor had finished performing the surgery (or what he could do, at least), the teenager remained asleep for about an hour. She had been placed into one of the bunk beds while she slept, but now she was awakening slowly. The girl rubbed her head and grimaced, clamping her eyes shut; she felt as if she had just been run over by a tank.

Eventually the girl managed to adjust to her surroundings, climbing out of bed. Her legs stung a little due to being stitched up and treated, so her walk was more of a hobble. The young teenager supported herself against the wall, easing her way to the door. Hesitantly she punched the button on the control panel on the wall beside the door, causing the door to slide open. She then proceeded to drag herself out of the room.

Courtney caught sight of her, instantly throwing herself from her chair and rushing over, seeing that the girl was about to collapse. "Hey, be careful!" she warned softly, reaching to help the girl walk. The girl pushed her away angrily.

"Don't touch me!" she bellowed. Courtney stared at her, unsure what to do. It was clear that the girl was extremely angry and possibly dangerous, looking like she would lash out at just about anything. The girl panted heavily, staring at the floor. After a few moments, she seemed to calm down, looking up at Courtney. "Where am I?" she asked darkly.

"You are at Maverick headquarters," Courtney answered.

"Where are my family?!" the girl demanded. Courtney was unsure how to respond. She couldn't just tell her that her family were probably dead. But then again, what else could she say?

The girl glared angrily at her. "They're dead, aren't they? They were killed too!"

"Listen... I will explain everything to you if you just calm down, okay?" Courtney promised. At first the girl looked like she was going to once again become hostile, but instead she decided to take in a deep breath and calm down, sitting herself on the same chair from before. Courtney wore a face of relief.

"Alright then, can you start by telling me your name first?" she asked.

The girl looked up at her, her stare quite cold. "To you, my name is Blade."

~End of Chapter~