Part2

Chapter 36 Reputation Proceeds

"No, no! Don't go Ziggurat! Don't go! Don't leave me again!"

A light suddenly turned on and the pope rushed in to the hysterical KOS-MOS.

"Now, now, KOS-MOS. Calm down. It's over. There's nothing we could do for Ziggurat. He's gone and we have no idea where he went."

KOS-MOS had ceased crying out and looked over to the calm presence of Pope Sergius. "We could…go back to the pub. Find that man…"

"No, KOS-MOS, you're hurt. You ought to stay in bed."

The woman suddenly felt the bandage that was on her face. Her teeth gritted when her hand touched it.

"You're lucky it wasn't any deeper. The doctors would have had to stitch that wound of yours."

"Oh…he must have used his metal hand…"

"KOS-MOS, why did he do that to you? Why did he hit you like that?"

"You shouldn't hold any ill feelings towards him," said the woman looking directly at him, "I asked him to do it…to see if I was human or not. He does what he's told…well, most of the time."

"You know, for someone who loves you—he doesn't have any problems hitting you like that."

"You don't understand. He had to hit me that hard…it was the only way. An android would have seen his hand coming and easily deflected it. A human would have no such chance."

"So that is your excuse, eh?"

"He loves me, damn it," said a perturbed KOS-MOS turning her head away.

"You're Maria, aren't you?"

"No. I'm…not. As far as I know." KOS-MOS sighed heavily, "I don't really know anymore."

"Maybe you are."

"I don't know what I am. I told Ziggurat, when I first met him, that I was KOS-MOS. That's the name the Zohar gave me. I just don't get it—I thought I was an android. I mean, I may have been human for awhile, but now I'm out of the Zohar, I thought I would turn back into the android I originally was. This scar that I have…tells me differently."

"It isn't just a scar. It's a wound whose bandages need to be changed daily."

"Oh, get off it already. There's nothing wrong with Ziggurat. He does what he has to in order to get the job done."

"Including hitting you."

"Pope Sergius, where are we now anyways?"

"You're in my house now. I had to call 911 before we even got here; you were losing too much blood. I'm not sure if you remember any of it because you were unconscious the entire time. They patched you up and then I took you to my home. There's nowhere else at this moment that you could go. Angela's house is empty at the moment. You'll be safe here."

"I just don't like this—being safe when I could be helping him. It's not fair that I'm so snug in this bed of yours and he's out there putting his life on the line. What gives me the right?"

"So you would rather die than live?"

"No, I would rather I died alongside him."

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Early on, the cyborg had learned that everything became crystal clear when he emptied his mind of any emotion. Each step he took away from the woman the clearer his mind became until it was as if she hadn't existed at all. There was no need to look at the scrap of paper anymore; he had memorized it. Again there were the stares as he traversed down the street. His mind was so clear that it no longer mattered. Soon he had traveled far past the city and found himself on a lonely road. He saw the mass of trees up ahead. The trees were concealing some kind of fortress. His strides became longer and quicker as he approached. Then he slowed down just as he reached the trees. He walked deeper into the trees until he found one to hide behind in order to survey the area. His calculating eyes peered around the trunk of the tree and analyzed the situation. There were no visible guards. That was to be expected since he was supposed to be dead—no one was supposed to have followed Angela. A closer look revealed various machine-controlled snipers at the entrance joined by one solitary revolving camera with a range as far as the edge of the trees. Ziggurat's eyes narrowed as a plan began to form in his mind. Rarely were any of his plans flawless. He was innately aware of this and considered all scenarios. Despite popular belief, his mind was not wholly one track; he couldn't afford such a thing if he wanted to survive. His eyes scanned the ground for any sensors to avoid—there were none. Now he would proceed with caution.

His steps were slow and measured as he made his way past the neatly trimmed grass and to the entrance. As soon as he was in range, he used his silencer to quietly shoot down the camera. Obviously, no one had been monitoring the camera. Ziggurat was counting on this as he took out the snipers before they locked on to his presence. Carefully he opened the door. No alarm went off. He passed through the entrance quickly and gingerly closed the door behind himself. Suddenly he heard footsteps. Quickly, he hid behind the nearest thing, the stairs.

"Hey, who's there?" called a rough voice.

Ziggurat watched through the stairs as the man walked all the way to the place where he was just at. Before the man turned his way, the cyborg had already aimed his gun and simply fired it square at the man's head. The cyborg left his hiding spot after a moment. The unfortunate man lay on the ground resting in a growing pool of blood. The man's hands twitched one last time before he finally died. Ziggurat had already moved on by then concentrating on the next set of obstacles that lay before him, but he avoided them easily. All the while, he was checking all the doors he passed for Angela.

He soon found himself at the end of the hall. This door was larger than all the rest. Secrets were destined to be hiding behind it. His metal hand clinked on the doorknob. A small measure of fear began to settle down deep within him. His senses were even more alert. If there was anything that he trusted, it was his gut feelings…

He opened the door slowly and first beheld Angela strapped tight onto a chair in the center of the room. Ziggurat knew better than to rush in to save her. There was sure to be a trap set. He held his breath when he took note of her condition. Blood seemed to pool from her hair down her forehead, eyes, nose, and then chin. Her hands looked to be impossibly disfigured from constant attempts of escape from the cuff. Her ankles were bloodied because of the same reason. Those emotions that had been nonexistent for a little while began to come back, but he resisted their dominance over his actions. He surveyed the area and spied two guards readying their guns. Ziggurat's reaction was immediate and they both laid on the ground motionless. Now it was safe for him to come fourth yet he was still hesitant. This entire affair had been a bit too simple and straight forward. His hand went out to rip off the chains when a sudden shock flowed through him. It was electrocution and the cyborg was unable to let go of the metal chain until it stopped. The electricity traveled impossibly quickly through his body as he began to feel even more worn out than before. His vision began to darken.

"So, you had enough," said a man that he couldn't turn to. He couldn't even move his mouth."

Suddenly the electricity ceased and the cyborg yanked the chain apart.

"It's too late, cyborg. I do, however, commend you on your efforts. By all accounts, you should be dead."

The man watched as the cyborg checked the woman's nonexistent pulse. Ziggurat looked back up to the man with hidden malice in his eyes.

"What have you done?"

The gray-haired man grinned, "You don't plan to fight me, do you? You're already quite worn out. Do yourself a favor and go back where you came."

"I will as soon as Angela is in my possession."

"Can't you see her? She's dead."

"I don't plan to leave her body with you if that is what you are implying."

"You know, I tried to make this easy on you. Now I will have to—

In a flash of a second, Ziggurat's hand shot up and unleashed two bullets into his forehead. The man died just as quickly. Ziggurat then proceeded to taking off the rest of the chains from her bloodied body. He lifted the still woman into his arms. The cyborg dared not gaze at her face. A deathly chill would pass over him. Her pale skin would somehow frighten him. He looked up suddenly with a start as he heard echoing laughter.

"Who are you? Show your face!" shouted Ziggurat.

"It's starting to get to you, isn't it, Ziggurat? You should see your face—your eyes. Wilhelm told me to make it interesting." The voice began to laugh again, "And I will."

"Voyager!" exclaimed the cyborg as realization struck him.

"You would be correct."

The cyborg stepped forward a few paces waiting for something more, but his presence had disappeared by then. I must get back…KOS-MOS might not be as safe as I first thought. He went back through the door whence he had come and beheld bodies strewn on the hallway floor. This was no illusion as he smelled the rank smell of old blood. These bodies had been decaying for days. Shock entered his expression for a quick second before he moved on. N-no! This is just a damn trap! Leah…KOS-MOS…Sergius…His pace quickened considerably. There was no way to avoid this…but I must…I mustn't let him get the better of me. Think Sauer…think…

First thing was first—he had to give a report to the major. The captain had just died and it was apparent that he relayed this to the major so that she could be replaced immediately. It was a rather insensitive thing to think of, but Ziggurat's energies were running dangerously low. He needed a full maintenance or else he would be no help to anyone. With great pains, he sped down the road and then the street until he arrived at the right building. He gripped Angela's corpse gently in his arms. When he walked through the door, everyone stopped what they were doing to simply stare. After a moment, people began to leap into action. Angela was taken off of him and given to the possession of the local coroner. Then he was led to Major Mamoru to give his report.

Ziggurat was a cyborg and not considered a human being. Cyborgs did not have to deal with the police. Instead, the person who was responsible for that cyborg took all the heat. Angela was dead so the responsibility would go to the one next in line—Major Mamoru. The major was made aware of the situation and immediately sent Ziggurat to the maintenance lab with the first person who happened to be available; a scientist. A new captain would be assigned later.

After all the excitement, the cyborg was thoroughly tired out. The maintenance process would talk almost twice as long. The scientist sighed; he'd have to start from scratch.

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That's weird…he should be here. Kenshi knocked on the door to Angela's house for the umpteenth time. He was very persistent. Kenshi had decided to come early in the morning before his kids went to school to catch him before he went on one of his missions. Because of Angela's presence, he had not told Ziggurat the full story of what had happened at the park last night. He was sure it was important and that somehow it would be a valuable piece of information to Ziggurat.

Finally Kenshi turned away from the door and wondered how on Earth he could have missed him. He had been trudging slowly down the sidewalk when an idea struck him—the maintenance lab. There were three that were close by; he would check them and eventually run into the familiar emotionless cyborg.

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AN: Phew! Finally another update! The next chapter is even longer than this one if not the longest chapter I've ever written.