Heyo! Chief here giving your daily dose of Author Note! Good feedback about the last chapter and I'm not stopping! Enjoy!
Chapter 11: Learning about Maliwan
Angel wasn't sure what happened back on the Maliwan Space Station, most of it was nothing but a blur from what she could remember. She remembered pain, and a lot of it, she remembered a voice that filed her with anger and then she remembered Nickoli's scream. After that, she didn't remember anything. Angel opened her eyes to see she was in the hospital in Crimson City. She tried to move her arms, but found that she could barely move her Siren arm.
She sat up and looked around the room to see her dad slumped in a chair, her mom right next to him with her head on his shoulder and Nickoli right next to her bed. She looked down at her Siren arm to see that it was bandaged to the point to where she could barely move it. Angel took a deep breath and sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair and tried to remember everything that happened. She tried, but could only bring up bits and pieces of the events on the Space Station. She shook her head and looked around the room again with a small smile on her face, thinking "I'm safe now, and all the people that care about me are right here."
She brought her legs up to her chest and rested the side of her head on her knees with a smile as she looked over at Nickoli. She reached out with her Siren arm and poked him in the shoulder until he started to stir. He groaned a bit and slowly opened his eyes to see Angel smiling at him. A wide smile grew across his face as Angel put a finger to her lips and then pointed at her sleeping parents. Nickoli nodded and very quietly exclaimed "I'm happy to see that you're okay."
Angel's smile grew and she quietly replied "Yeah. What happened? I don't remember a whole lot."
"Well, after the Elementals took us from the city, they brought us to the Maliwan Space Station. Me, Patrick and Justin were locked up in a jail cell and had to do an old style prison break. We found an Elemental that uses all of the elements, Lynn, and she helped us find you. We ran into a few problems and had to find another person to help us, some experiment called Project Assassin. The designation for this guy was Zer0-12, but there were a bunch of other guys that help us."
"Wow, you guys went through a lot to save me."
"You actually saved me in the end. I ran into Inferno while we were trying to escape and he nearly fried me."
"So that was probably why I heard Nickoli scream. Inferno was trying to hurt him." Angel thought, feeling a bit of anger sparking in her stomach. "But then you went Super Siren and iced the whole area over, saving my life." Nickoli replied as he put a hand on hers. "I owe you Angel, I really owe you now Angel." Angel was about to say something when she heard her dad grumble "Angel?" Angel looked at her dad to see that he was starting to wake up. "Dad!" Angel cheered as she felt her eyes start to tear up.
Her voice fully woke her father up, causing him to jump and wake her mother as he cheered "Angel!" He ran to her bed side and wrapped his arms around her, crying "Oh my baby girl! Oh thank god you're okay!" Nickoli moved as her mom ran to the other side and threw her arms around her, crying the exact same way as her father was. Nickoli smiled at the happy family moment, Angel with tears of joy in her eyes and her parents holding her in their arms. He decided to let the family have their moment and he stepped outside into the hallway and leaned next to the door.
He waited for a moment until Angel's dad, Zer0, walked out and was wiping his eyes. "Nickoli." He called. "You saved my daughter's life." Nickoli moved off the wall and was going to say something when Zer0 wrapped him in a hug, proclaiming "I am forever in your debt. You've saved the most important thing in my life. I can never repay you Nickoli." Nickoli felt Zer0 drop his head onto Nickoli's, feeling the grown man begin to cry once again. Nickoli wrapped his arms around the crying man, letting Zer0 let it all out.
Zer0 finally let go of Nickoli and exclaimed "If you ever need anything Nickoli, you can come to me about it." Nickoli nodded and replied "I will sir, thank you."
"No Nickoli, thank you."
Zer0 returned to the room while Nickoli headed out, allowing the family to be together. Nickoli headed for his home to find it empty, as usual. Lilith was at the HQ a lot since the attack on Crimson City and Nickoli knew it was her responsibility to keep the city safe, but he would still get lonely. He heated up the oven and pulled out some rakk breasts for dinner. He made meals for two a lot, since Lilith would come back from work late and he figured she would enjoy a home cooked meal after work.
He sat on the couch and turned on the TV, just occupying his time until dinner was ready. He cooked and was about to eat when his ECHO went off, seeing that it was Angel. "What's up Angel?" Nickoli questioned. "I'm sneaking out of here." Angel exclaimed.
"The hospital?"
"Yeah, I've got questions for the two people who helped rescue me but the hospital won't let me out."
"So you're going to sneak out?"
"Exactly. I need your help getting into the Crimson Raider building since you and Aunt Lilith are close."
Nickoli pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed "I'll see what I can do." Angel replied "Thanks Nicki! Let's say this starts your payments since I've saved your life so many times."
"Twice, and I recall coming to save you too."
"Whatever Nicki. Just let me know when we can get in."
"Got it. Later."
Nickoli hung up his call to Angel and then called Lilith, hoping that she would answer. Lilith answered "Hello?" Nickoli responded "Hey Lilith, its Nickoli."
"Look, not to sound bitchy, but this had better be important."
"I want to talk to Lynn and Zer0-12 with Angel and see what they know about Maliwan. Maybe they can tell us something we can use against Maliwan since I'm sure they are unhappy with our escape."
"We already tried talking to them but they clammed up. I doubt they'll want to talk to you or Angel."
Nickoli sighed and exclaimed "I think they'll talk to me. I've fought side by side with them and help me rescue Angel with Justin and Patrick." Lilith audibly sighed over the ECHO and replied "Fine. Just use the card I gave you and the front desk will let you in."
"Thanks Lilith. Dinner's in the fridge when you get home."
"Kid, you make my life easy. See you when I get home."
Nickoli hung up and grabbed the access card Lilith made for him since he would go to her office and help out every so often. He got dressed in appropriate clothing and called Angel as he headed out of his home. Turns out during his phone call with Lilith, Angel had already snuck away from the hospital and made her way to the Crimson Raider HQ. He found her leaning against a pillar near the HQ and commented "Wow, you really are the daughter of an assassin." She rolled her eyes and replied "So we're good to see…?"
"Lynn and Zer0-12"
"Right… Zer0-12?"
"Yeah, there were a bunch of canisters with people inside of them. All labelled Zer0 then a number."
Angel scratched her chin in thought as Nickoli went on "Then Lynn is an Elemental that can use all of the elements, but she couldn't be trusted since she always tried to escape." Angel crossed her arms as they went through the doors and exclaimed "Lynn huh? Is she pretty?" Angel wasn't exactly sure why that question came out, and Nickoli gave her a look that made him think the same thing. "Um… I guess? Why don't you talk to Zer0-12 while I talk to Lynn?"
"Sure. What do you want me to ask him?"
"See if he knows anything about Maliwan or Project Assassin, the project he was associated with."
"Got it."
They went down to the holding area and Angel stopped in front of the door to Zer0-12's room. Angel watched Nickoli walk down the hall and enter Lynn's room. "When were Nickoli's shoulders so… broad?" Angel thought as she watched the space where Nickoli was a moment ago. Angel shook her head and muttered "Focus Angel. Talk to this Zer0-12 guy and figure out what he knows." She opened the door to find a guy a little older than she was, maybe a year or two, that looked almost exactly like her father.
The guy was sitting in a chair wearing a suit that was similar to her father's old Vault Hunter gear and he didn't have the scar on his eye. Zer0-12 looked up at her with a raised eyebrow as she walked over and sat down across from him. The two looked at each other with the same look of curiosity as they slowly moved their heads side to side, almost mirror to each other. Angel broke the silence and muttered "You look like my Dad." Zer0-12 exclaimed in a voice similar to her father's, but younger, "You look like me, but with a few minor details."
"Nickoli says that you are called Zer0-12. Why?"
"Because that was the clone number I was, number 12. So they simply called me Zer0-12. If you ask me, that's too much of a mouthful. Let's just go with Z-12. Make life easier for everyone."
Angel shrugged and questioned "So you're a clone of… Zer0 the Assassin?" Z-12 nodded and questioned "Since I'm a clone of the Assassin Zer0, and you say I look like your dad, then that means that your dad is Zer0." Angel nodded and explained "Yes, my dad is Zer0 and my mom is Maya the Siren."
"Wow, so we're like… half-siblings, if you could say that. I'm guessing that you aren't here to discuss family matters. Why are you here?"
"We want to know about Maliwan and their plans. What can you tell me?"
"Jack shit. I don't know about what they're planning other than they really want a copy of Zer0. There are… were… thousands of clones of Zer0, until they blew up the space station was in."
Angel noticed Z-12's demeanor become sullen and depressed as he sighed "My brothers threw away their own lives so that I could escape. My brothers… my family…." Angel reached across the table and took his hand with a smile. "I'm sorry about your brothers, but you still have your sister here with you." She proclaimed, trying to help Z-12 through this. Z-12 smiled and returned the grip, replying "Yeah, I have a sister now. If it wouldn't be too much trouble… could I meet Zer0?"
"I'll have to talk to Commander Lilith, but I don't see what kind of harm it could do."
"Thanks… sis. So, what's Zer0 like?"
Z-12 leaned across the table as Angel answered "Well, he's strong and smart. He taught me everything I know about being an Assassin since I was 10 when I asked him to train me. He's caring. You should have seen him after I got back from capture, he was just a wreck." Z-12 questioned "So he's… just a father now."
"Yeah. Mom says that Dad retired about a year after I was born. He rarely went out on missions and didn't really fight in the Battle of Opportunity."
Z-12 nodded and seemed like he was going to ask another question, but the door to the room opened and Nickoli proclaimed "We've got to talk to Commander Lilith. Lynn knows something that she needs to hear." Z-12 raised his hand and questioned "Can I come to?" Nickoli looked at him with a raised eyebrow and questioned "Why aren't you handcuffed to the table like Lynn was?" Z-12 reached into his lap and held up a pair of handcuffs with a look of satisfaction. "Only took me a few minutes. I've been getting better." Z-12 bragged. "So can I go?"
Angel answered "Yes, you're going with us. Let's go tell Commander Lilith what she needs to know." Nickoli shrugged and lead the group up the floors to Commander Lilith's office. Thankfully, there was no one to stop them as they walked into Lilith's office to see her packing her bag. "Lilith. I think we've got something." Nickoli proclaimed as she looked up. Lilith looked over the group with a raised eyebrow and questioned "Why are those two not in their rooms right now?"
"Because I felt that this was a little too important to try and relay a message. I thought Lynn should tell you herself."
Lilith sighed and dropped her bag as she took a seat while Lynn stepped forward. "So, what is Maliwan planning?" Lilith questioned as she folded her hands in front of her face. "As you've already seen, they are making Elemental soldiers like they are preparing for war. But that isn't the major thing, the last assignment to the doctor that made the Elementals…" Angel interrupted "Dr. Harloc, the same woman who cut into me."
"Exactly, and for good reason. Her last assignment involved Sirens… and trying to make one."
The room was silent as Lynn finished that statement, everyone's jaws on the floor. Lilith broke the silence and exclaimed "That's impossible. Only six Sirens can exist at one time. A Siren's power is transferred to another woman after one dies. You can't just make that kind of power." Lynn nodded and replied "That's true, but she was given the task of replicating a Siren's power. She's trying to make an artificial Siren." Lilith ran her fingers through her hair and muttered "No wonder they took Angel. This Harloc wanted a Siren for her experiments. I'm not going to keep the two of you here, but I'm going to have eyes on the two of you, understand?" Lynn and Z-12 nodded and Lilith proclaimed "Good. Nickoli, you watch Lynn and Angel, you watch Zer0-12."
Angel corrected "It's just Z-12, but yes ma'am." Lilith rolled her eyes and grumbled "All of you go home. Nickoli, prep my Friday Night Headache cure, I really need it tonight." Nickoli nodded and proclaimed "I'll get the glasses prepped. I'm guessing Lynn is coming home with me?"
"Yep. Behave yourself Kid, but if you decide not to, you know the rule."
"Neck tie on the door."
Angel felt a little ping in her gut as Nickoli and Aunt Lilith went over the house rules. Z-12 nudged her with his shoulder and whispered "Easy there sis. Just relax." Angel took a deep breath and realized that her hands were clenched, so she relaxed her body. The group left and headed for their respective homes. They both stopped and Nickoli exclaimed "Alright. I'm guessing that we are going to be spending a lot more time together. See you two tomorrow." Angel wrapped Nickoli in a hug and replied "See you tomorrow. Lynn, see you tomorrow too."
"What? No hug for me?" Lynn questioned in a fake sad voice. Angel rolled her eyes and proclaimed "Come on Z-12, let's introduce you to our father."
BOOM! There's the next installment of New Pandora! Hope you guys are enjoying the reboot since I'm enjoying writing it. PM or Review any thoughts, comments, or concerns about the chapter. I know this is out of order from my usual rotation (Vault of Vytal, RWBY: Team Vanguard by SOVIETxEAGLE, Four Assassins, and New Pandora). There is a new story added to the rotation, the RWBY/ Destiny crossover, Killing Machine. Until next time.
-Chief