Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait, I had a lot of things going on at work so it was kind of difficult for me to edit this chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for the review! It was the main reason I rushed to edit this chapter and upload it as fast as I could. Really glad to have favs and follows but reviews help me understand how you feel about the story.

I tried for this chapter to be more descriptive, so it became longer than I expected.

Enough of my blabbering, on with the story!

"Cyborg" talking

Cyborg thoughts

- change of place


They got out of the laboratory with ease and head out to the north coast. The explosions were to start very soon, so they wanted to be as far as they could from the lab. Suddenly, 009 came to a halt which confused everyone else as they too stopped behind their leader. Then, they saw the black-uniformed cyborg standing in front of them, blocking their path towards the north coast.

"Well, well, I never expected you antiques to give us such a problem. But hey, this might entertain me for a little longer, right?" said Alpha with his arms crossed and shrugged, making the 00 cyborgs take fighting stances.

"Huh? … 009? So you didn't die back there, huh?" said Alpha as his expression turned serious and continued "I thought that you had learned your lesson with our last fight, but I guess I wasn't clear enough... This might just turn out to be more interesting than I thought it could be" finished the cyborg with an evil smirk.

003, 004, 007 and 008 had drawn out their blasters and were pointing them at the enemy cyborg. 008 cringed at Alpha's smirk as he remembered how he caught all of them with ease inside the laboratory. He knew they couldn't let their guard down even for a second or they would end up as prisoners in the best case scenario, or as scrap in the worst case.

The only one that didn't seem affected by Alpha's words was 009. This didn't go unnoticed by the black-uniformed cyborg as a scowl made its first appearance in Alpha's face. 009 never took his gaze off Alpha, with an expressionless face but with bright red eyes drilling into Alpha's soul.

Alpha tried to act as if 009's gaze didn't bother him at all or the simple fact that 009 could still be in front of him ready to fight. No, Alpha knew there was no way he could lose, he was the strongest cyborg ever created. His expression relaxed and his trademark playful smile reappeared on his face.

"Now come, everyone attack at the same time." said Alpha and put his arms to his sides. 007 growled as he noticed how Alpha was enjoying this way too much. Before any of the other 00 cyborgs could do anything, 009 took a step forward and raised his right arm to indicate to the cyborgs to put down their weapons.

The team looked at him confused by his actions and he gave them a nod and a smile in response. "I'll be your only opponent" said 009 firmly to Alpha. Before any of his teammates could argue with his decision, he told them his plan through the intercom "Keep going to the coast and get into the Dolphin. I'll join you in just a second. Just trust me, okay?" finished 009 with a half-smile. They all nodded in response and put away their blasters.

"Oh man, I wanted to have fun." said Alpha disappointedly "You sure have some confidence in yourself 009, I hope you last longer than before." taunted Alpha "I guess I can give the four of you a head start to try to escape but in the end it's just useless, all of you will suffer the same fate, the only difference will be that you'll have a couple more minutes to breathe." Alpha stepped to the side for 003, 004, 007 and 008 to keep going to the north coast.

They understood what the motion meant, but 003 still hesitated to leave 009 all alone. 004 rested his hand on her shoulder as reassuring her that everything would be alright. "We trust you 009, be careful" said 004 and 003 nodded at him. "We'll wait for you, 009" said 008 and all of them resumed their run to the north coast.

Once the other cyborgs were out of sight Alpha looked at 009 directly with a serious expression "Fine then, I will not restrain myself this time. When I'm done with you, you will not be even useful as scrap." "Bring it on." said 009 in defiance with a smirk.

Both of them activated acceleration mode at the same time and the fight began. It was fiercer than the previous one. Punches and kicks were flying from one side to the other. This time, 009 could block some of Alpha's attacks, and hit some of his on the enemy. Alpha was surprised that 009 could have become stronger and faster than he was in their previous fight. With and exchange of punches both of them took a step backwards and turned off their accelerators.

009 was panting and used the back of his right hand to wipe out a thin trail of blood running down his mouth. He winced and held his left shoulder with his right hand as he felt a surge of pain traveling through his left shoulder down to his left hand. It was obvious that his body was reaching its limits and that it could become non-responsive in any moment. He had to finish the fight soon.

Alpha was also panting but seemed in better shape than 009. Still, he was surprised that the Japanese cyborg had inflicted some damage to him, considering the advantages that Alpha's body design give him in the fight. He straightened his posture and a smirk appeared on his face "See? You are no rival for me. Just give up already befor…" Alpha couldn't finish his taunt as sudden pain took hold of him. It came right from his abdomen and obliged him to hold his stomach with his left hand while he coughed out blood. Alpha realized that 009's attacks had affected him more than he thought they would. He used his right hand to wipe out the blood trailing down from his mouth. For a moment, he stared at his hand, stained with his own blood, in pure shock. This was the first time anyone had inflicted enough damage to make him bleed. He clenched his fist and directed his gaze to 009, he was pissed off now.

"You were saying?" said 009 as he stood up straight. Alpha scowled and took a fighting stance once more. This time he would finish 009 for good.

Even when 009 had become somehow stronger, Alpha knew that he couldn't be faster than him. Both of them activated acceleration mode once again but this time Alpha went into his maximum speed, Mach 6. Even in acceleration mode, 009 wasn't able to block the attacks from Alpha, as they were faster than he expected. Punches and kicks poured down onto 009's body with a mighty strength. With one big and final punch, Alpha sent 009 flying towards one of the sides of the laboratory, causing it to crumble at impact. 009 was buried under the rubbish of the building, while Alpha stood up in the distance, with his acceleration mode turned off. Then, Alpha took out his gun and shoot a blast towards the pile of rubbish creating a huge explosion that was heard and seen from any corner of the island.

"Told you I wouldn't go easy on you this time" said Alpha with a dead serious expression. He put away his blaster and wipe out the remaining blood from his face before he disappeared in acceleration mode; he still had four cyborgs on the run and another four waiting for him in the ship they called the Dolphin.


003, 004, 007 and 008 heard the huge explosion and felt the tremor caused by it but didn't dare to look back since 009 had instructed them to keep going until they reached the coast. They kept running as he asked them to, even when they heard the clash between the two cyborgs. They had to trust their leader and follow his instructions. We're counting on you 009 thought 004 as he forced himself to keep running forward and push back any negative thoughts about the possible outcome of 009 and Alpha's fight.

They were closer to the coast as they were able to see the Dolphin waiting for them. They felt relieved and happy, but just for a moment before a voice caused them to stop and turned around to see the bluish-haired cyborg standing now in front of them. "Well, well, it seems that it's just the four of you against me now" said Alpha as he came out of acceleration mode. They could see that 009 had damaged Alpha, as his right arm was dripping oil, his chest had cuts and stains of blood and his forehead had a trail of a mix of blood and oil. Also, Alpha didn't have that annoying smirk on his face; his expression seemed more serious now and somehow tired from the previous fight. Still, the team was surprised to see him standing in front of them… if he was here, then it meant that 009…

One more time, the cyborgs took their fighting stances and took out their blasters. "At least you have to give me some credit. I gave you the opportunity to fight 5 on 1 but he refused. It's his fault only that he was destroyed" said Alpha proudly.

The 00 cyborgs froze at the idea of their leader to be dead, it just couldn't be real. It was the same feeling they had when they thought 002 and 006 had been vaporized by the cannon shot. "You bastard!" said 004 and shoot him with his handgun. Alpha moved his left hand and caught all of the bullets with it, he then opened his hand and the ammunition fell down to the ground. 004 scowled at this. He realized that his attacks would do nothing to the enemy.

"Now, now. Don't be impatient" said Alpha as he started to walk towards the cyborgs causing their muscles to tense up. Alpha noticed this and smile at the fear he could cause to the cyborgs. "Don't worry, I'll give you the chance to attack me first" he smirked.

"Then I guess it is my turn" said 009 as he materialized over Alpha's head and punched him in the face. This caused Alpha to fall face first into the ground with such a force that a crater was created and a screen of dust was raised. The shockwave of the impact caused 009's teammates to lose their balance and fall backwards, rolling a couple meters towards the coast.

009 stood between the crater and his teammates, giving his back to the 00 cyborgs. Then, Alpha rose up angrily and looked around to find his attacker. When his eyes fell onto 009, they widened in shock and he took two steps backwards while his mind tried to process everything that was happening.

"How..? How are you still standing?! I saw how you were crushed and then received my shot with full force!" said Alpha with a shaky angry voice as he was so confused now and a little terrified by 009's power. "I thought you were having fun, weren't you?" said 009 calmly with a smirk.

Even as 009 was standing tall in front of Alpha, he seemed to be in worse shape than before. Sparks and smoke were coming out from his left shoulder while a trail of oil and blood ran down his left arm, dripping from the tip of his fingers; stains of dirt, blood and oil were visible along all his uniform and his right knee showed a deep gash; a trail of blood ran down from his forehead over his one visible eye and down to his chin. It was something terrifying to see, even Alpha was surprised at the resilience of the Japanese cyborg, for he looked like he was ready for a third round.

Alpha's eyes widened in shock as 009 suddenly disappeared and reappeared just a few centimeters from him. 009 did a quick turn around and kicked Alpha right on the chest with such strength that he was sent flying back to the laboratory.

"009!" said 003 worried as she stood up from the ground at the same time her teammates did so. She looked at him with concern, worried about what was happening and that he was overexerting himself with this fight. She wanted to help him as much as the rest of his teammates wanted to, but all of them knew that there was not much they could do against Alpha.

"Keep going. I got this" said 009 without looking at them and then disappeared into accelerating mode. "Wait!" said 003 but her words were unheard by the Japanese cyborg as he had already left. She felt her heart ached from how powerless she seemed to be in this situation. The others felt the same, but they knew they had to keep moving, there was nothing they could do right now to help 009. "Let's go, 003" 007 said finally while placing his hand on her shoulder. "But what about 009? We cannot…" 003 was interrupted by 008 "There's nothing we can do to help him. Besides, he will be fine, he had come out of worse situations than this one. We have to trust him". There was a short moment of silence before she nodded at them and they resume their running towards the Dolphin which was just a couple meters away from them now.


The third fight was hard on Alpha, since 009 had the upper hand now. His punches and kicks became stronger and faster, hiring Alpha's body in any way possible. With a punch in his abdomen, Alpha was brought down to his knees. "How could this be happening?" asked Alpha while holding his right arm in pain and coughed out a mix of blood and saliva "I cannot be defeated, I'm better than you! I'm stronger and faster!" shouted Alpha.

009 was now standing right in front of Alpha staring down at him quietly with his red eyes. He inwardly enjoyed the confusion in his enemy's face. 009's red eyes didn't hold the usual expression that was merciful towards his enemies. No, this time there was not a trace of mercy, but neither cruelty was showed by his eyes. It was as if he had only one thing in mind: to defeat Alpha in order to protect his family. If Alpha wanted to keep on with the fight, 009 would make sure he will not be able to touch his friends.

"You cannot be faster than me!" said Alpha with a crazy look in his eyes and a crooked smile as he stood up suddenly and activated his accelerator up to Mach 6. He was ready to give 009 a full rain of attacks like in their second fight but this time something changed.

In a blink of an eye, 009 disappeared from his sight and reappeared behind him. The 00 cyborg had surpassed his own body limits by reaching a speed beyond Mach 6.

Then, 009 poured down his constant attacks onto Alpha. With each punch and kick, Alpha could feel his bones being crushed; at this time, he started to panic as he wasn't able to keep up the pace of 009's attacks. Then, 009 used the same attack that Alpha used with him in their first fight. 009 hit Alpha in the gut with such strength that he was sent flying up to the sky. 009 then jumped to the height where Alpha was stopping and started to punch and kick him really fast that his enemy couldn't even block one single punch. Finally, he hold both of his hands in fists over Alpha's head and bring them down with full force to send Alpha plummeting to the ground.

The crater formed this time was massive, showing that 009 used much more strength than Alpha had. Now, Alpha couldn't move even one muscle as he lied down on his back at the center of the crater. "H… how? How did… you do it?" asked Alpha between breaths while opening his eyes slowly and painfully "How... could you... have defeated me? It's just… absurd…" Alpha tried to raise his head so he could see 009 who was standing just on the edge of the crater. He didn't even seem tired; he was just standing there looking at him expressionless.

009 walked towards Alpha and knelt down in front of him so he was at his eyes level. His expressionless face turned to a dead serious gaze as he said "Don't you ever mess with my family again. Do you understand?" his face was just centimeters away from Alpha's as the latter could feel 009's breaths on his face. The bluish-haired cyborg felt fear travel down his entire body like an electric shock; he had never felt so terrified in his entire life, not even before he became a cyborg. He identify 009's expression as one of a person ready to go to hell and back just to protect the ones he cared about.

Then, he noticed 009's eyes. Alpha was in shock now with wide eyes; he knew why he had lost.

009 stood up and turned around to head back to the north coast, his expression relaxed once again. Then, he heard Alpha's hysteric laughter and he looked over his shoulder to see the cyborg still lying on the ground. "HAHAHAHA! I can't believe this! So legends are true! That is the only explanation! HAHAHAHA! The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi clan truly existed! HAHAHA!". Alpha was now in hysteria with a crazy look in his eyes, his hysterical laughter louder than before.

009 looked at him confused by his words when he heard one of the explosions coming from the laboratory. The detonation sequence had started and he didn't have much time before the whole island would become dust. He activated his acceleration mode and reached the north coast, leaving behind Alpha.

Alpha's laughter then quiet down as he move his left hand to touch his ear "To whoever is listening... I failed my mission... Never expected... to face a Tsurugi in real life… you better brace yourselves hahaha…" said Alpha between gasps through what seemed to be an intercom similar to that of the 00 cyborgs. Then, Alpha closed his eyes as one of the bombs exploded close to his body and engulfed him in flames. That was the end of the cyborg Alpha and finally Ryota, the bluish-haired boy, would be able to rest in peace.


The rest of the team had reached the Dolphin and prepared for takeoff. 007 and 004 were at the door waiting for their leader to show up, or, in the worst case, to defend the ship against Alpha. Both of them were the least injured of the team. 005 and 006 had been checked up quickly by Gilmore and 002 was now in the infirmary with the doctor so his leg could be fixed. 003 and 008 were at the bridge of the ship, preparing it for takeoff while 001 kept an eye on possible dangers. 005 and 006 joined in the bridge so they could help with the preparations.

When 004 and 007 heard the huge crash of a cyborg hitting the ground and felt the shockwave that came after the collision, they feared for the worst. He has to be alright, he has to… thought 007 while clenching his jaw. Then, both cyborgs saw someone materializing just a couple meters from the door. They let go the breath they were holding in once they saw the mahogany hair and the red uniform with yellow scarf. 009 was standing just in front of them.

He gave them a tired smile with eyes closed, and once he tried to take one step forward, he fell down to one knee. He was breathing heavily and his hair fell down so it covered both his eyes. He was tired, really tired and hurt, but didn't want to show this to his teammates. 004 and 007 rushed to his side; they stood up each one to either side of 009 and put his arms over their shoulders to help him stand up. "Let's get you inside, shall we?" said 004 and smiled at 009. "Thanks" 009 returned the smile towards 004. "No problem my friend, good thing you're not as heavy as 005" said 007 and winked at 009. The Japanese then turned a little bit towards 007 and chuckled a little bit.

"He's here; we're taking him to the infirmary. Ready for takeoff" said 004 through the intercom once they entered the Dolphin. "Just in time" came the reply from the African cyborg that was on the bridge. "Let's get out of here boys… and girl." said 008 out loud. As he said this, the Dolphin engines roared and they took off into the sky before the explosions could get them.

All of them contemplated the island they were just moments ago and thanked whatever God was above for them to get out of there safely. They saw how the laboratory was consumed by the flames and how the Lighting Cannon sank into the ground and disappeared in a cloud of dust, smoke and flames. "Well, that was a close one" said 006 as he sighed in relief. A silence fell into the bridge; the remembrance of almost losing their teammates still hurt their hearts. "Joe…" said 003 in a quiet voice when a big hand rested on her back. "Don't worry, Dr. Gilmore will fix him" said 005 and smiled at 003. She nodded at him and returned the gesture.

004 and 007 reached the infirmary holding 009 on their shoulders, as Dr. Gilmore was just finishing with the repairs on 002's leg. "009!" exclaimed loudly Gilmore as he was surprised by the state of 009's body. He had bruises, burns and cuts all over his body. He noticed that his left arm was soaked in blood and oil, sparks were coming out of his left shoulder and his right knee, and blood was trailing down his face. He could barely stand up, even with 004 and 007's help and he was gasping for air.

"Quickly 004, put him on one of the beds. 007 come here and help me finish with the repairs on 002" said the doctor as he rushed to patch up 002 and get ready to fix the Japanese cyborg. 007 let go of 009 carefully, making sure that 004 had him, and then move towards 002's bed to help the doctor. 002 was also staring in shock as 004 brought 009 to one of the beds; he couldn't believe 009 had fought for so long in his condition. 009… thought 002 as a worried expression appeared on his face.

004 sat 009 down on one of the beds and was ready to lay him down when the leader cyborg got a hold on 004's right wrist. It was a strong hold, stopping him to continue with his task. 004 then looked down at 009 with confusion. "Tell me 004… is everyone… is everyone alright?" asked 009 between gasps with his hair covering his eyes. 004 understood at that moment that 009's only concern was the wellbeing of the rest of the team; that was the only reason he had fought so fiercely and for so long. 009 raised his gaze to meet 004's grey eyes and at that moment 004 noticed again a difference in the leader's eyes. They were bright red and narrow, as he had seen them inside the laboratory, but this time they looked dimmer than before with tiredness embed in them.

"Is everyone…" repeated 009 with difficulty but was interrupted by 004 "Yes, 009. Everyone is alright. Just minor bruises and scratches, but everyone is okay thanks to you" said the cyborg and smiled gently. 009 was still gasping for air when he finally managed to say "I'm glad" as he closed his eyes and smiled toward 004. Then, 009 fell on his back on top of the bed and lost consciousness, still wearing that peaceful smile on his face.


Hope you like this chapter! I think it is the longest chapter up until now. Tell me what you think about it. The story is far from over, so keep up with the reviews so I'll push myself to continue with the updates.

Thanks again for reading, favorite, following and reviewing!

WTF (Where's The Food)