"I see you've been enjoying the multitude of dreams I sent you, 009." The voice was dark as the inky black midnight sky, and cold as stone encrusted by ice.

009 slowly stirred, only to find himself amidst a deep black void. He looked around, and could see his friends standing there. They all surrounded him, and their faces carried absolutely no emotion whatsoever.

"Where is the voice coming from…?" He thought aloud. Wait… that voice was so deep and had that evil sound to it… it couldn't be…

"Black Ghost!?" 009 called out. "What do you want!?"

"Your pathetic cries of pain." The same voice replied darkly. Even though you couldn't see where the voice came from, you could almost feel that whoever said it was smirking with sick pleasure.

"No… this is just a dream… you're not really here!" 009 replied fearfully.

"Hmph… on the contrary, 009." The evil tone retorted.

"Y-you're… you're Black Ghost, aren't you?" 009 said.

"Yes, and I'm afraid that you may know too much about your little ailment." The voice replied.

"What?! That doesn't make sense!" 009 shouted into the darkness. He was too late. Black Ghost was long gone.

Then, there was a excruciatingly loud screeching noise that blared through the void. His friends did not carry any emotions at all, even when the world began to crumble to nothingness.

00000000000000

"For God's sake, 009, wake up!" That was undoubtedly 002's voice.

"What… what happened…?" 009 asked weakly.

"You were thrashing around in your sleep like a madman. God, what were you dreaming about?" His voice was oddly annoyed. That seemed somewhat unlike 002.

"I don't… know… can't remember…" 009 tried to think back on what he was dreaming about. Suddenly, he recalled Black Ghost's voice blaring in his mind. His eyes widened as the voice he heard began to replay in his head even louder. What was happening? He dug his head into his pillow, trying to keep himself from screaming bloody murder.

"Hey! Someone get in here and help 009!" 002 called out in the hallway. "He's freaking out again!"

003 burst into the room with a look of terror on her face. She ran over to 009's bedside as fear surged through her.

009 felt a pair of cool hands slip onto his forehead. He looked up, still trying to dismiss the awful voice that rang in his head like a song that never ceased to replay.

"Shh… it's okay… you're going to be just fine, Joe… it's okay… shh… I'm here…"

As 003's soothing words entered 009's mind, they overlapped the evil voice of Black Ghost. He slowly relaxed, and melted into 003's words. Soon, thankfully, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

003 sighed, and walked over to 002.

"How many times has this happened now?" She asked worriedly. "It seems as though this is more of a mental disease than a physical disease."

002 shook his head in disagreement. "The doctor did a full exam of his head; there isn't anything wrong." Again, his voice carried frustration.

"Do you think… maybe that… Black Ghost is somehow involved in all of this?" 003 brought up. She cringed as she heard the words escaped her mouth. That couldn't be the answer… could it?

"How the hell could Black Ghost be able to do this?" 002 growled. "That's the dumbest thing I've heard yet!"

003 was confused. Jet had been acting out a lot lately. What was his problem?

002 glared at 003. Normally, he felt empathetic for 009, and was always trying to help. As time went on, he began to grow more and more irritated whenever 009 was around. Something would go wrong, and 002 would get the urge to blame it all on 009. He didn't kow why he had these feelings of... almost hatred. He'd try his best to shove them in the back of his head and forget, but they'd always come back. Now, he just absolutely hhated 009.

"It was just a suggestion-"

"Forget it! I'm sick and tired of all of this!" 002 shouted. "All it's been lately is 009 this or 009 that, and I've had it! Ever since he's gotten sick, it's been all about him and nobody else!"

"I-it… it isn't my fault." 009 said shakily. Obviously, he really hadn't been asleep. He looked hurt as he struggled to sit up.

"Oh, now Mr. Help Me is up, huh?" 002 said, stomping over to 009's bedside. "Y'know, it wouldn't kill you to do some stuff for yourself one in a while!"

"Do you think I enjoy being like this?" 009 retorted weakly. "Do you think I want this?"

"I don't know, and frankly, I don't give a rat's ass about it!" 002 yelled.

"I'm not asking you to feel sorry for me; I'm not asking you to even care. Just don't insult me like that."

"Insult you? Oh, you got that all wrong, buddy. You're just a huge burden to everyone, and Dr. Gilmore's probably gonna end up sleep deprived after staying up every night, studying your dumb symptoms! Maybe you should just shut up and accept the fact that you're not gonna get better!"

"This is what you always do when you get mad at something." 009 replied. "Maybe you should try and swallow your pride and saying that you're frustrated with me without spewing it out like a nutcase." 009 had just crossed the line for 002.

"I don't have to listen to any of the crap that you think you know about, you… you pathetic son of a bitch Jap!" He fumed. Then, 002 grabbed 009 by the shirt, and shoved him across the room. "You shut up before I beat you senseless!"

003 gasped. "002, what are you doing?" She cried.

009 landed and crashed against the wall. The force knocked the wind out of him, and he struggled to breathe. He was deeply hurt by 002's words.

"You're just like a sad little puppy that's been kicked down. You enjoy all of this attention, don't you?"

009 bit his lip, trying to fight back the sob in his throat. 002 egged him on.

"Don't you!?"002 landed a hard blow to 009's chest, knocking the wind out of 009. Then, in one quick motion, 002 grabbed him by the shirt collar and hoisted him in the air.

009 struggled to catch his breath. The moment was tense, until, in a quivering voice, 009 shouted,

"I don't want any attention! I don't want any of this! I want to die!"

Then, 002's words came to him as he realized what he had done. He dropped 009 to the ground, and took a step back, shocked.

"009… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

009 shot him a look of pure anger. "You did mean to! You hate me!" He shouted. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he comprehended what 002 shouted at him. "You'd like it if I passed away! You'd love it!"

"009, I-"

"I don't need this! I don't need any of you!" 009 screamed. He summoned up every ounce of his strength, and he shot out of the room like a rocket.

As soon as 009 was gone, 003 approached 002 angrily.

"What the hell is your problem!?" She shouted. "What made you do that to him?! This is inexcusable, 002!"

"Look, I feel bad enough about what I did; I don't need this from you, 003." 002 said. He absolutely hated himself for what he did. How did he let that happen? He was usually able to control these immense feelings, but this time was just crazy.

"Oh yeah?" 003 said. She felt tears well up in her eyes. "How do you think 009 feels? You called him that awful word, tossed him across the room, and tried to beat his brans out! Can you imagine how much damage you've done? Why did you do that?"

"003, I don't know what in the world got into me, either. I'm really sorry, and now he's probably lost. Because of me. I'm going to find him and make up."

003 didn't respond.

007 ran into the room. "002, what did you do? 009 just charged out on us, and it looked like he was crying! What did you say to him?"

"I don't need it." 002 said. "I've got to go find him." He briskly walked out of the room. A few seconds after the two could hear the door slam hard.

"What happened here?" 007 demanded. "Did 002 and 009 get into some sort of fight?"

003 nodded sadly. She glumly told 007 all of the gruesome details of the fight the two got into.

After the explanation, 007 seemed shocked.

"How could something build up in 002 like that? He's always griping about this or that, but it's never been this serious." He said, dumbfounded. "That must've really hurt 009…"

003 looked away. "Yeah… well, I just hope that the two can work this out."