"Tohru?"

Kyo pulled himself out of the dregs of his dying dream and blinked away the drowsiness. Depression fell upon him heavily as soon as he realised that all he experience, was just a lovely dream. With each passing second, remnants of memory fell back into place, along with flashes of Tohru's tortured expression - her eyes terrified and pleading..

His head exploded in such a pain - it could only have meant that he earned a big bruise there. Red hot anger licked at his veins. He clenched his fists and scowled into the dark shadows of the room. He didnt even care where the fuck he was. After all, it wasn't exactly the first time, he'd been plunged into a totally unknown place.

If anything, the room looked a lot like Yuki's office, but smaller and lacked the crisp evening air from an open window. For once, it was insanely hot. Someone had removed his shirt thankfully - revealing the muscles he'd gotten from training with Kazuma - on them, were hints of yellowing new bruises and cuts.

It looked as if someone had lost patience with him, whilst he was out.

He shifted his weight a little - his injured leg throbbed with strain. Thick ropes cut into his ankles and wrists as he moved.

So that's how they're playing it, huh? The idea almost made him laugh out loud. Gene - the big bad villain, had managed to steal his girlfriend and have him tied to a chair. The idea would only have been made better, if there was a huge train hurtling towards him.. He made a mental note to congratulate him later.

Kyo clicked his tongue irritably as the meeting with Gene, played through his mind. He could easily pick out that man's smirk in an entire crowd. Just thinking about it, made his knuckles clench and turn white.

Reluctantly, he pushed his anger aside for one second and focused his mind on Tohru. Where had Gene taken her and for what purpose? Nothing made sense. None of the pieces fit together. He almost wished that Yuki was on hand to help solve it.

It didn't matter anyway. Not matter what conclusion he could manage to come up with, he couldn't do much while tied to a chair.

Kyo shifted his weight again and rubbed his robe-bound wrists on whatever surface was behind him He managed to continue the friction whilst slipping the rope down onto his hands a little. It was long work and his arms were tired, but the sweat on his hands caused the rope to allow itself to be slipped easily off his wrists altogether.

He pulled up his hands and moaned in relief, nursing the deep red grooves in his wrists. It didn't take long before he tore the rope from his ankles and limped out the door.

The hallway was cold and uninviting. A few lights adorned the walls, leaving a few dark spots along the path. An obnoxious looking sign, told Kyo that he was roughly a floor below from where Tohru was taken from him. He groaned. Tha woould make tracking her down a lot more difficult.

Not to mention that he was also wandering around with no shirt..

He set off at a jog toward the nearest flight of stairs with his ears listening hard for any sound of danger. It was a long shot, but he figured that Gene would not want to draw things out, and drag Tohru to one of the closest rooms to where she disappeared - probably also providing Gene with a quick escape route, plus it was the only idea tha Kyo really had. So it would have to do.

He found the stairs with ease and jumped over the banister, landing expertly on the balls of his feet on the floor below. He crouched in a dark spot and paused, there did not seem to be any footsteps running towards him, niether someone barking orders or Tohru screaming.

Everything seemed as dead as the silence, the freakishly clean wall and floor glistened in the darkness. Down the passage, it looked as if someone hadn't bothered to turn the lights on again. As much as he squinted, he couldn't determine any hidden dangers.

Once again, he set off at a fast walk this time. He slipped off his shoes and hid them in the darkness - the heavy, loud boots were not doing him any favours.

It occured to him as he continued into the darkness, that there was an eerie green light at the end of every corridor he followed. After a little while, he began to chase it out of mere whim. Using the light, he figured that he was roughly on the north side of the building and had covered at least all of the west side. He could feel his bandaged leg twitch with pain every minute, so he didn't have much choice but to slow to a mere crawl. Not to mention that with every new hallway he entered, the air had steadily grown colder and caused goosebumps to rise on his bare chest. Even the floor under his soles, felt like pure ice. He continued to pad numbly along the path, until a flurry of hushed whispering stopped him in his tracks.

Instinctively, he crouched and pressed his body against the cool wall, as two figures shuffled towards him.

"If I knew you were this bad at directions - I would have gone by myself!" Someone grumbled. The second figure laughed airily, not at all bothered at the insult. Kyo's eyebrows rose and he side stepped into their path.

"This is an interesting date fir you two.."

"Shush you," Hotrah snapped and jabbed a thumb in Shigure's direction. "At what point were you and Yuki going to mention, that your cousin here, is completely useless?"

"Ouch," Shigure chuckled. "And I thought you enjoyed my gentlemanly company!"

"Gentlemanly?" Hotrah hissed. "You all but asked me to marry you!"

Shigure shrugged, nonplussed. "It's not very often I encounter a fiesty woman," he turned and eyed Kyo. "Speaking of which, where's Tohru?"

Kyo sucked in oxygen and didn't answer straight away. He didn't dare to meet Hotrah's accusing stare. He had a feeling that she may end up wringing his neck or something crazy.

"Gone," he hissed. "Gene - a comrade of mine back in the military - ambushed us and kidnapped her." God, did anyone else hear the pounding of his heart? As the situation dawned on Shigure and Hotrah, he could almost taste the tension and anxiety that hung around them, on the tip of his tongue. Hotrah's eyes ignited a black fire. Both she and Shigure had the same tortured expression that Kyo held a little while ago.

"And you just.. Let him take her... Just like that?" Hotrah whispered, hysteria leaking into her voice and her face paling. She took a violent step towards Kyo. Shigure's arm shot outwards and stopped her in her tracks.

"I did not let them take her," Kyo growled. "He got his thugs on me, while Gene got his dirty hands on Tohru and disappeared with her!" His fists involuntarily clenched and anger licked at his spine. Hotrah matched the hostility and threatened to take another step until Shigure tightened his grip on the woman.

"Hotrah," he cautioned. "I'm sure that Kyo tried his best. He wouldn't let Tohru go without a fight." His voice subtly turned authorative and Hotrah was left with no choice, but to settle for a disgusted expression. Kyo ignored her and focused on his cousin.

"I know she's definetly still in the building and probably on this floor. The problem is tracking her down. I've looked into every room I've passed but.." He sighed. "No luck yet."

Shigure studied him seriously for a few moments, before walking towards him and clapping him on the shoulder. "We will find her and go home, alright Kyo? She'll be okay."

"I know. I just didn't like the way Gene was looking at her.." Kyo said darkly. He frowned at the floor, Tohru's face flooded his memory. He heard Shigure's whisper something unintelligable to Hotrah and she stopped glaring at Kyo. She stomped down the hallway without another word. Shigure prodded Kyo to follow suit.

They walked in silence for a while, plans formed in Kyo's mind for every situation they could face. Every so often, he'd still peer into the windows and doors of the side rooms they passed. Anxiety ghosted his every footstep along with Tohru's voice in his head. Gah. He could he lose her again?

He only hoped that she was resisting Gene as much as she could. Nethertheless, they must be running low on time. Gene was playing them all like puppets and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Kyo would make him pay.

"I'm sorry about Hotrah," Shigure said quietly. "That girl loves Tohru like her own sister. You could say that she saved her, like she saved us." A small smile played on his lips. Kyo recalled his life as a cat and his intense relief and joy at escaping what should have been his fate. Not even Shigure could have known his pain of being shunned from the zodiac for so long. But yet one girl managed to somehow tame him and give him something to life for.

"I suppose I can't be angry at her for that." Kyo said grudgingly.

Shigure nodded in agreement. "I had a long talk with her earlier. She is very similar to you in many ways. Easy to anger.. Grew up alone.. She even has a family somewhere."

"You have a lot of interest in her."

He shrugged. "It's rare that I get to talk to interesting people." A teasing smile appeared on his face. Kyo inwardly rolled his eyes and made mental note to warn Hotrah about his cousin later.

Up ahead, Hotrah had stopped moving and was peering around the corner into the path ahead. Kyo saw that the strange, eerie glow was stronger now and illuminated them. As they reached Hotrah, she pressed her finger to her lips and pointed around the corner. Kyo stepped forwards to take her place and peered around the edge.

Ahead, were two armed guards situated either side of a huge mental doorway. The eerie glow was a lot stronger and caused the walls and the floor to glow with a beautiful aura. Kyo's gaze fell upon the large machine guns they grasped. One glimpse of him, and he would be on the ground, riddled with holes. He slowly retreated back and grimly faced the others. He saw the same worry and caution in their eyes that was mirrored in his own.

"We outnumber them. But they are more than likely to win," Hotrah spat in disgust. "Stupid odds."

"Kyo's a black belt," Shigure half smiled. "Go out there and work your moves on them."

Kyo resisted the urge to punch his cousin in the face. "Last time I checked, martial arts didn't involved guns." Nor did he feel like testing the theory out. This obviously wasn't the training ring anymore.

Ugh. Do we even have the time to be arguing about this? There's no telling what that bastard is doing with Tohru right now! The urgency of his thought, sent a fresh new wave of anxiety flowing through his body. If she even knew what he was considering, she'd kill him herself for coming so close to danger. But to be honest, his mind was already long ago made up, the moment Tohru agreed to being in a relationship with him. She would just have to yell at him later for his stupid, reckless ideas.

Before either Shigure or Hotrah could stop him, he casually stepped into plain view, shoved his hands in his pockets and sauntered forwards.

It was quite clear from their expressions, the two armed guards did not know what to make of the shirtless, shoeless teenager, walking towards them calmly. As he neared, they rose their guns and took a defensive stance.

Kyo held up his hands. "Hey, I don't want any trouble here."

"Then state your name and business here. It better be good too - this is a highly restricted area." The guard on the left lowered his gun slightly, obviously not thinking Kyo as much competition. The orange haired boy fought ot mantain his stoic expression.

"I know that already," he shrugged. "You really think I'd be down here otherwise? The general would go crazy." He faked a pained expression and pretended to sigh. The guard on the right, raked his eyes over Kyo's form and narrowed them a little.

"Name and rank." He repeated slowly.

"Private second class. Julius Ragna. Cell 7." Kyo lied automatically. He hoped that his face was still blank. The guard still looked suspicious, but he seemed to relax a little. His comrade dug out a carton of cigarettes and popped one in his mouth and lit it. A small cloud of smoke swirled around slowly in the air, before diappearing within the air filter in the ceiling.

"So Julius," one of the guards said conversationally. "What brings you here, eh? Cells 1-10 usually don't stray below ground level. They don't like the danger." His face darkened slightly and there was a slight hostility to his words, that made Kyo strangely uncomfortable. He forced himself to take a step forward.

"Major Gene," he tried not to hiss the man's name. "Wants me to explore new lines of work within the military. He's thinking of transferring me down here due to my scientific abilities. You could say I came for the tour." He hoped that Shigure and Hotrah wouldn't try and launch an escape for him. He could feel their tension from somewhere behind.

The guards looked satisfied with his answer - much to his relief. One pointed at his naked torso and feet and asked him where the rest of his uniform had gone.

"Training excercises upstairs. It got a little warm." Man, it was getting so easy for him to lie.

"Yes well. In the future, you will need to carry your ID badge around everywhere with you. The Major has been a little panicky of late.."

This caught kyo's attention. "Oh really?"

The guard suddenly coughed and looked very uncomfortable. He shared a quick glance with his comrade and muttered something under his breath.

"Get going Private," the second guard barked. "Before the Major kicks our asses for letting you in without the proper identification." Obviously he and his partner had been caught in Gene's wrath before.

Kyo nodded once and quickly bent down to arrange the hem of his combat trousers. He cocked his head and mouthed; "I'll go find Tohru." Into the darkness. Whether they understod him or not, Kyo couldn't tell. He quickly moved through the guarded passage and let the huge double doors, swing shut behind him.

The underground labs were a lot more beautiful than the dull, grey rooms upstairs.

For one thing, the hallway itself absolutely shone with undiluted colour. It glistened from the marble polished floors, up to the white tiled walls and mirrored ceiling. Kyo could hardly distinguish the dirty, orange haired man that glared back at him. For the first time in weeks, he could see that his hair had grown down a little to his shoulders and his crimson orbs were wide with caution, curiosity and exhaustion.

Just managing to tear his eyes away from the colourful reflection, he noticed that the hallway only consisted of just one glass door at the end of the route. To whatever was inside though, he couldn't tell. The glass was fogged up with tones of green and blue - spotlights glistened behind it.

Kyo padded past the trolleys of empty beakers and bottled chemicals. As he got closer, a sign on the door told him that it was a highly restricted area - not that he cared anyway.

Swallowing his anxiety, he seized the silver handle and burst through the door. He prepared himself to have to handle a group of panicked scientists and a group of guards running at him. Instead, he was met by another colour filled room. No scientists. No guards.

Hoardes of expensive scientific equipment littered the room. In the center, a huge grey desk sat - covered in hundreds and hundreds of unsorted papers and documents. Kyo edged closer and yanked one up - it was covered in complicated equations and phrases that only Yuki could understand.

He moved away from the table and glided past racks of dangerous looking chemicals and beakers - each held their own specific glow.

Now Kyo wasn't a scientist and he slept through most of high school science, but he knew that something didn't feel entirely right, about the strange rainbow laboratory. For one thing, he was pretty sure that the chemicals and jars were not supposed to glow. If not for the range of different shades and tones, he would have seriously believed that the room was once dipped in radiation and nuclear waste. Also, where were all of the staff and scientists? He wasn't too sure of the time, but surely people should be working?

He moved past the expensive looking machinery and gently thrummed his fingers across the surfaces. Very few had dust and looked new, which indicated that they had been used recently. He paused at a glass desk with a white laptop sat on it, and quickly moved on - they wouldn't be any point in trying to hack it.

He reached a half - concealed doorway, covered in strips of plastic sheets. He pushed through into another room that held yet more equipment. He girtted his teeth together, annoyiance etched in his every step along with his slipping patience. Was he even close to finding her?

Scanning the room, he found his answer.

Partially hidden in the corner of the room, Tohru lay still on a metal gurney, unmoving.

Kyo's legs marched him to the girl, without him even registering what was happening.

Her pale skin stood contrast to the dark surroundings and shone with a translucent glow. There seemed to be a frozen distressed expression on her face - as if she were having a bad dream. Purple shadows sat under her eyes and her lips were totally pale. Kyo's heart pounded loudly, as he struggled to find a pulse on her skinny wrist.

God no. Please no. He wanted to shout. Scream Cry.

Why wasn't she waking up and assuring him that she was perfectly fine and flashing her best goofy smile?

His heart wrenched his absolute agony - his eyes watered a little. His hands shook and scrambled onto the sides of her face and gently pushed the hair from her face. Her skin was icy. Lifeless.

"No!" He hissed. "No. no. no. Tohru? I need you to wake up. If you can hear me, tell me you're okay, please?" His voice turned to pleading. He held his raspy breath and waited, but Tohru stayed unmoving - not even a flinch.

He pulled his hands away and closed his eyes. How could he even stand to look at her - knowing that he'd failed and she was..

Tears clung to his eyelashes and spilled down his cheeks. He was faintly aware of the anger at the pit of his stomach - but honestly, what did it matter now? His life basically extinguished the moment Tohru's eyes had closed. The only girl he had ever...

Depression made him sink to his knees beside the gurney and supress the urge to vomit violently.

"Tohru.. Tohru.. Tohru.." It was the only word that couldescape his lips. Possibly every memory they had ever shared, rang clearly through each mind - hot pain drowned him in numbness. Darkness swirled around his eyes like a veil and clouded his vision. Or was it his knees?

There were faint sounds of tapping somewhere behind him. Kuo just barely had enough resolve left to seek out the cause of the sound. His eyes widened and his lips curled into a snarl.

Gene leaned casually against a machine and gently tapped his fingers over the keys - absentmindedly making patterns. He surveyed Kyo with an amused look, but said nothing. It took almost all of Kyo's willpower ot stop himself from tearing the man's head off his shoulders. Instead, he rose to his feet and took a defensive position in front of Tohru's still frame.

Gene's eyebrows rose. "You would still protect a dead girl?" He looked as if he enjoyed Kyo's visible wince at 'dead'.

"I'll always protect her."

"That body is nothing but a shell. A hollow prison with nothing to protect within it now," Gene tsk-ed and shook his head. "'Such a shame really. She was such a pretty little thing, though a bit timid for my liking.."

Kyo listened barely, just managing to control his shuddering spine. He gripped the sides of the gurney for support and glared back at the man stood smirking across from him. He estimated only three big strides it would take, before he could get over there and beat the shit out of him. Gene must have noticed the murderous look flash across his face, because in the next moment - he was holding up his hands.

"Peace," he cautioned. "It was all for the greater good after all.. Because dear little Tohru had to die, ensured the safety of the citizens of the city here. Now none of this would have happened, if she didn't chose to hang out with her pirate friend and get herself involved," a sympathetic look crossed his face. "Now, I have to go and waste my time to chase the other one down, plus deal with the rest of you!" He said exasperately and flicked the hair from his face.

And that was it. Before Kyo could think, he was across the room and holding Gene's fragile neck in his big hands. One tiny snap was all it needed..

Gene barely looked bothered that he was one step away from death, he shot Kyo a pitied look.

Come on - what am I doing? I could end him right now. I could teach that bastard not to play with other people's lives! Kyo screamed inwardly. He was so close to paying that sick bastard back for everything he had done. So why was it so difficult to break his neck and just walk away? Well he already knew the answer to that. He was no killer. Tohru would not have wanted it to end with him as a murderer.

During his silent battle, Gene had obviously gotten fed up and wiggled out of Kyo's grasp and rubbed the red marks that adorned his neck.

"At least she went painlessly," Gene reasoned, crossing the room and inspecting a huge metal chamber next to Tohru. Through the window, there was another eerie glow and a vapor-like substance within.

"Painlessly." Kyo repeated, forgetting the meaning of the word comparing to the emptiness he felt. It was just a word that related only to the absence of physical pain. Kyo could only imagine how much pain Tohru endured mentally and emotionally, being scared and lost and seperated from him. Not knowing what was going to happen to her or the family she'd grown to love and think of as her own.

Gene tapped his chin thoughtfully as he continued to mess with the chamber. "Come to mention it - she was a lot more cooperative than the others. Once I told her that'd I'd hurt you if she didn't comply, she even lay down all by herself!"

"Manipulative bastard."

Gene shrugged. "It's how you get yourself noticed in this business. I've tried countless techniques and ideas to get myself noticed by the Board of Science and the government - and up until now, all have failed. But that's changed now," he tapped on a keypad on the chamber's door. "The government has finally paid me back for all my hours of research and hard work!" He cocked his head and faced Kyo. "I also could not have done it without little Tohru's help."

"What do you mean?" Kyo growled.

Gene said nothing, but reach behind him and fumbled around with something. He stepped out of the way and the chamber doors slid open and and vapour poured out. Kyo coughed the vapour from his throat and stared in a mixture of curiosity and horror. The smoke cleared away and someone stepped out of the chamber and stared at him.

But something was very off. For one thing - the figure was definetly not human - mad obvious by its piercing yellow eyes and cold expression. He found himself taking an involuntary step back and strapped for air.

"What has this got to do with Tohru?"

"Prototype 117," Gene said calmly. "Functions only by organic sources. I transferred her life energy to my creation here, and thus gave it life." The way he gazed at the cyborg was sickening - like a father obsessed with his child.

Kyo gazed at the cyborg again. It stood rigid and made no indication that it had even registered others in the room. It's metallic skin was rather flawless- with only a heavy, black cloak draped modestly around its form. Kyo choked the rising bile back down his throat. Tohru.. Had died for this? For such an abomination? Because of some crazy guy and tin can fantasy, he had lost the only person that meant more than life itself to him.

God, he wanted to laugh at the absurdity.

Words were way beyond him now.

He grappled behind him behind him for something - anything, that could double as a weapon. His hands fell upon a bronze pole, that stood verticle. He seized it up and gripped it tightly, knuckles turning white.

Gene shrugged. "I hoped it wouldn't come to violence and end so.. Messy," he turned to the cyborg. "Kill him and show him just exactly how much dear Tohru has helped us."

Before Kyo even had a chance to blink - Gene took a seat and watched as Prototype 117 nodded mutely and shot forwards at lightning speed.

He flipped the pole outwards in a horizontal slash, but the cyborg ducked and slid its legs straight under his, and sent him crashing to the floor. The gunshot wound in his leg, throbbed and split slightly. Dazed, he kicked out at the cyborg's rock hard chest and spun on his heels, kicking out again. It reeled backwards at the impact but appeared totally unharmed.

Kyo dared to inwardly smirk a little as Kazuma's training flooded back to him. He felt good, powerful at not having to hold back on his opponent. He wanted revenge.

First he would kick the robot's ass - then shortly followed by Gene's. Then he would find someway to restore Tohru's stolen life energy to her. The plan was set. The cyborg was fast and overly responsive - but he was stronger and real.

Once he landed a punch, he just couldn't stop and repeatedly pounded the cyborgs body, over and over again. Through the air that whirred through his ears, he could hear Gene's distinctive chuckle from the edge of the room.

Kyo quickly took his eyes off the target for a quick second, in order to tell the man to shut the hell up. In that moment, a robotic fist collided with his abdomen with such a force, that it knocked the wind from him. He sailed peacefully for a second and smashed into a glass shelf with a sickening crunch.

For a second, he was blurry eyed and deaf - but yet still could make out Tohru's form across from him.

Shit. I'm sorry Tohru. I may not be able to avenge you. He coughed - blood splattered beside his glass-ridden hands. Everywhere screamed out in pain like spikes piercing his skin. Above, the cyborg closed in with cold, blank eyes.

There were muffled yells and something whisked across the room and knocked the cyborg to its hands. Kyo took the opportunity to smash a glass beaker over its head and scramble to his feet - blood dripped down his arms and legs, spotting the linoleum.

There was a flurry of footsteps and Shigure was at his side, supporting him. Another sharp movement, and Hotrah was at his other side.

"Old man," he coughed. "Run. It's stronger than it looks." He indicated towards the cyborg clambering upwards. He caught sight of Gene's furious expression and grinned.

Shigure followed his gaze. "So this must be the infamous Gene?"

Gene himself, rose from his chair and pasted a fake smile on his face and ordered Prototype-117 to his side.

"Friends of Kyo's?" Gene looked delighted. "Now it's a big reunion party! It's only too bad the guest of honour couldn't stay long enough to join.." He deliberately stepped sideways to reveal Tohru's body to them. Kyo looked the other way and winced at the utter silence, shame and regret on his expression.

"Tohru..?" Hotrah whispered, her voice was laced with disbelief and confusion. Kyo could feel her shooting him questioning looks.

"What's going on here?" Demanded Shigure. He placed a hand on his cousins shoulder and forced him to look at him.

Kyo stared at his bare feet. "Gene." He said by way of explaination, but Shigure prompted him for more. "Gene.. Stole Tohru's life away from her, to power that thing." He indicated towards the robot disgusted.

Shigure nodded and failed to hide his apalled expression. He must have noticed the torture in Kyo's voice, because he shared an awakward, sympathetic half hug. Hotrah clenched her fists and began to scream obscenities and threats at the top of her voice. Shigure had to break away and hold her back by the waist.

"Hotrah!" He commanded. "Don't.. He's not worth it!"

"Not worth it? Are you blind Shigure? He fucking killed Tohru and he's stood there - daring to smile at me!" She turned hysterical. "Kyo! How can you just stand there and do nothing?" She screamed angrily and foughtto wriggle out of Shigure's iron grip.

Kyo pushed aside his anger with great difficulty. "Do you really think I'll let that bastard go free? That I would just fucking forgive him?"

"Of course not," Shigure reasoned, a little breathless. "Tohru wouldn't have wanted you to die needlessly. Never. Calm down Hotrah!"

Doesn't matter either way. Kyo nodded. I'm gonna join her no matter the outcome of what happens here today.

Gene - who had patiently let Hotrah continuously scream insults at him - stepped forwards and outstretched his arms in welcome. The cyborg hovered protectively at his side.

"Hotrah," Gene greeted like an old friend. "I can't tell you how good it is to see you again!"

"Liar!" Snarled Hotrah. "You would love to see me dead!"

"Well yes. But I'm sure if you were not such a filthy pirate - we would be good friends." He smiled and addressed Shigure. "Judging on how similar you look.. You must be Kyo's father?"

"Cousin," Shigure corrected. "You don't need to introduce yourself, I already know all about you." He gave a pained smile and Gene laughed airily.

"Good, that cancels out all small conversation," he smiled widely. "Now we're all properly introduced and friendly."

"Is this guy for real?" Hotrah screeched. "Or am I missing a really bad joke here?"

"He's real." Kyo replied flatly.

"I'm terribly sorry," Shigure said loudly. "But this is by no means a friendly meeting. We will be avenging Tohru and then leaving with her." His voice turned hard. "I'm afraid we won't take no for an answer." Kyo noticed that his cousin had taken a slight defensive position. Hotrah's lip curled back intro a snarl.

The smile fell off Gene's face. "Is that so?" He replied coldly. "And what kind of official would I be, if I let three more criminals just walk out?" He flapped his hands towards them. "117, destroy them all."

No sooner than the words left this mouth, Shigure seized Kyo by the arm and thrust him behind the cover of a workbench, as huge scraps of metal flew over them.

"Kyo," Shigure hissed urgently. "You focus on Gene and I will distract that robot as much as I can-.." He turned to check that the woman was safe and then continued. "I don't know how long we can hold it off - but take Gene down as soon as you can, okay?" He stopped and stared Kyo down, probing the dark corners of his mind. "I know it sounds insane, but let's not give up on Tohru yet."

Kyo desperately wanted to ask more and cling to what little hope that Shigure provided. But the intense way his cousin continuously stared at him, told him he shouldn't. He sighed and muttered a quick thanks.

The room shook heavily as the cyborg effortlessly grabbed a table and aimed it at Hotrah. She just barely managed to roll out of the way in time, as it smashed into tiny, wooden splinters.

"Is that all you got?" She taunted and danced out of the way, as something else was launched at her. "I thought robots were meant to be like, super intelligent?"

The cyborg shot past Kyo and tried to snap her spine clean in two. But she was fast and agile and leaped away laughing. Shigure seized a couple of metal stools and smashed them around the cyborg's head. He glanced back at Kyo and urgently yellled; "Go!"

He didn't need to be told twice.

Locating Gene was fairly easy - he was the guy sneaking out of the door on the far wall. As if he could feel murderous eyes on his back, he glanced back at Kyo and bolted ou of the room. Kyo tore after him without a seconds thought, as the metallic sounds of the battle behind him, faded out.