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Part eleven:

A Fallen Angel

The team moved out just before dawn. There were five of them including Turbo. Two of them were azures and the others were mixes. No hunters were brought. This had been done because, ideally, there would be minimal fighting. They were to slip in, find Bob, and then slip out. Once through the Barrier they would have a clear fix on him, but getting to him was going to be fun. The one azure, an almost white-skinned woman, had with her a device that would produce one decently sized tear. When they had Bob, they would use it to make a portal straight to a waiting hospital. "If we find him processing at all," she said pointedly. She, like all the others, was sure he would be dead when they found him.

Turbo felt Copeland reassure him that Bob was strong and would survive. It drew up pictures of their times together. Copeland was a good friend. Copeland, it turned out, was very old and very renowned. It had been partnered with five Primes and countless First and Second Lieutenants. In fact, it had never chosen anyone that didn't make it to a very high rank. Turbo could not have wished for a better keytool.

He was jarred from the memories by the sudden smack on his back. "Wake up kiddo. Time to roll." Their transport had reached the wall.

Carefully they moved up to it, checking to see if there were any patrols. When their pale-skinned commander was satisfied, they went through. They waited for Bob's signal to clear, and when it did, headed out. He was in the center of her main sector, in Maleficent, in Daemon's Citadel itself, somewhere on the upper floors. They had little trouble getting to the castle, there really wasn't much in the way of guards. Why should there be? No one would be random enough to come here, right?

It was that mentality that got them in with little effort. They moved up ventilation shafts, keeping out of sight. But everything was not to go perfectly. A weakness in the construction of one of the ducts caused it to come crashing down as they moved through it.

They leapt out of it and deleted the few viral constructs that had seen them and readied for more troops. None came. Looking at the device they used to track Bob, they saw he was either on this level or the one above. Now it was just a matter of looking. They moved out of the room and into the hallway, clear. Turbo was kept in the middle, as he was the least experienced by far, as they moved down to the next room. They found it completely empty and were about to move to the next one, when five viral constructs burst in. They managed to destroy those as well, but not before an alarm was triggered.

This was when they had to run. Before any orders could be issued, more of Daemon's muscle was moving in. They scattered and Turbo quickly found himself lost and alone. "Copeland?" he whispered, "Can you scan for Bob?" Copeland responded by bringing up a display of Bob's location. Turbo smiled, Bob was on this floor. He was quite a ways down this hallway to his left. He carefully moved down to Bob. Once he ran into someone but Copeland's restraining bands were very effective. He hit the viral with a rest command and kept going. Turbo looked at the display again, as he reached a row of cells. The guards appeared to had left to help fight. Copeland couldn't pinpoint where Bob was exactly, and Turbo began to search every cell.

He had gone through twenty three of them when he looked in a window and saw Bob lying on the floor. The door was locked but Copeland had no trouble finding something to use. Turbo opened the door and slipped inside.

Bob was sprawled out like a puppet that had had its strings cut. His shirt was off and his torso, arms, and legs were covered in his own energy. Deep gashes were gouged across his chest and his arms. Bob was lying on his side facing the door, his long silver hair unbound and spilled over the floor. His right leg's wounds were the ones Turbo had seen inflicted, but others around it were new. Some of the injuries were as wide as two of Turbo's fingers, with rough, tattered edges, and some were thin, precision cuts. Others yet looked to have been dealt with energy whips and hot irons. This nightmare had been done in only one and a half cycles.

Turbo froze for a moment, unable to process what he saw. He could hear his friends breathing, it was shallow and raspy. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew something was wrong, but he couldn't focus on anything, too over-powered by the brutality of it all. "Bob?" He whispered as he took a step forward. It was then that he saw it, when he was close enough to see over Bob's shoulder a little. At the sight of it, Turbo's breath caught in his throat. He stepped behind his oldest, dearest friend, unable to believe what he saw. But there it was. There was no denying it. Where Bob's once graceful, silver wings had been, were instead two deep gouges in his back. By the look of it, Daemon must have ripped them off with her bare hands. Turbo rushed back to Bob's front and knelt down beside him. "Bob?" he delicately lifted his head up and (keeping clear of the holes in his back) began to pick him up. "Bob, it's me, Turbo. Bob…?"

His eyes opened only a fraction and his voice was barely audible and was intermixed with small coughs. "Turbo…? What…?"

"Shhh. Don't talk, just hold on for me, will ya? I'm going to get you home. I promise."

The door swung open and Turbo looked up, ready to face Daemon herself. Instead what he faced was his pale-skinned commander. She stepped in quickly, with two others in tow. "You've found him. Good. We've-" she stopped mid sentence when she realized that there were no wings folded beneath Bob's still form. She just stared and the others gasped or said things like "dear programmer". The shear shock of it had them frozen, but Bob was hanging by a thin thread and there was no time for this.

"So throw the tear already!" Turbo ordered "We don't have much time!"

They snapped awake. She released the tear and formed it into the portal. Gently lifting him up, Turbo stood and rushed through. 'Sweet code, I hope they can save him.'

Part twelve:

Waiting

Bob slept a long time. Cycles pasted and he stayed still. Turbo remained by his side the whole time. He felt so guilty about the whole thing, he almost felt he shouldn't be there. What right did he have wait by his side, when it was his fault? Would Bob even want to see him after this? He would have left had it not been for one thing, he was the only one there.

Bob had always had trouble making friends. Non-azures assumed he would look down on them and azures didn't like his friendship with Turbo and only hung around him because of his status. And even the azure's that did like him wouldn't come. They were all acting completely random about it. Even Wispt wouldn't show. Even Bob's mother wouldn't show.

They said it had been noble of him to bring Bob home, that it wasn't right that he delete in that place. But they also said that it was wrong to try to save him. The loss of his wings was too great of a shame to ask him to bear. He was crippled and even if he survived, he would always be weak and sickly. "That's not a life." Wispt had said, trying to make him understand. "It's wrong to make him experience it. It would be kinder to let him delete before he ever knows what's happened to him." No one would come, not that they thought less of him because of it. Because it would be cruel for him to know anyone had seen like that, let alone, friends and family.

"No," his mother had said, walking away him. "I won't do that him. Better to remember him the way he was."

Wispt had begged him not to stay with Bob, "I know you think you're being kind, but you're just going to shame him even more." But, he couldn't leave him there, alone. It just seemed so wrong to him. He had been trying to call Ezia, to tell her what had happened and ask her what he should do. She knew him. But she was off on some mission and couldn't be reached. So Turbo stayed.

He sat there, waiting, "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I don't know what do or say. I can't ever hope for you to forgive me, I'm just sorry. I'm so sorry. What can I possibly say to you, nothing I could say would undo this, would it? This was my fault and you've paid the price. Wispt told me not come here. She said I would only hurt you more, and asked me what good it could possibly do for me to stay.

"I don't know, I can't just leave you here alone. I just can't."

"Very good answer, son." Turbo turned to see the Prime standing in the doorway. "Best I've heard ever." She was in her standard uniform, without the chains and as much gold. She smiled kindly at him as she walked into the room, careful not to look at Bob. "You were a good friend to him."

He laughed at that. "A good friend? It's my fault he's like this! I'm why he'll never fly again."

"That may be true, but he knew it was an honest mistake. You're just a kid. Kids are supposed to make mistakes. That's what childhood is." She stepped up to him and turned to keep her back to Bob. "And you're here, aren't you?"

He looked at her puzzled, "But I thought azures saw this as mean. To be here and see him like this"

She smiled at him, "Yes, and you're ignoring all of it. Doing what you think he'd want. Doing what you think is right. And I think you just may be right. If nothing, he'd want you here to tell you that he didn't blame you."

He stepped back from her, angry and nearly shouting at her. "Doesn't blame me?! How can he not? It was my basicness that did this to him, he only went through the portal to save me. I did this to him! Me." Nearly in tears, he fell back into his seat, "Programmer, why did this have to happen."

Laying her hand on him, tried her best to make him understand. "He didn't blame you. We all would give our codes to save each other. That's our lives, that was his life." She began to walk away. "You were a good friend to him."

He drew himself back up and wiped the tears from his eyes. "He's not deleted yet, so don't talk like he is. He hasn't given up. You'll see just how 'Unexpected' he can be." She smiled at him before leaving, not having any argument to that.

Part thirteen:

Scars

Bob woke up to a dull pain. Everything hurt. He had half expected to find himself still in the cell, but sighed relief at the safe hospital room. When his vision cleared completely, he saw Turbo sitting beside him, he had fallen asleep. He'd thought he'd dreamt his friend rescuing him and wanted to at least pat Turbo's shoulder for his courage, but the idea of moving at all was too hard.

His memories of the attack were fuzzy at best, but one… one he remembered clearly. He made a feeble attempt at moving his absent wings and got a blast of agony for his effort. He groaned, and woke his sleeping friend.

Turbo was up in a second, "You're awake! I'm sorry, I fell asleep. I…" His surprised expression turned to worry and he spoke quietly. "How are you?"

He forced a smile and breathed out, "I feel like the whole Azure sector fell on me. How do I look?"

His partner forced a smile as well. "Like the whole Azure sector fell on you."

Bob tried to laugh, but couldn't. He closed his eyes and focused on not crying. He couldn't meet Turbo's eyes as he asked, "My wings…?"

Unable to say it, the mix just shook his head and said, "I'm so sorry, Bob. I…" Tears welled up in Bob's eyes and he stayed very still, unable to grapple with the thought. "I… I'll go if you want. I'll understand. After this… I'm so sorry." Turbo began to stand, when Bob reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Wait. Wait, you don't have to go. I know you're here to help. You can stay, I want you to stay."

"Why? If it wasn't for me, you'd be fine. I'm to blame for this. I'm sorry, I…"

"To blame…?"

Turbo again tried to leave, shaking his head and removing Bob's hand. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I've no right to ask that, not after what I did. I just wanted you to know I'm sorry, that's all. That's all…"

But Bob kept his hold on him, "Forgive you? For what?"

"For causing this. For going through that portal. For getting you captured and…"

"This is not you're fault. You didn't do this. Daemon did this, not you. You made a simple mistake, and then you rescued me and sat with me all this time. You didn't do this, Turbo. There's nothing to forgive." Turbo started to sit back down and Bob placed his other hand on his. "Daemon did this, not you."

Turbo finally accepted this and eventually he went out to tell the doctors he was awake. The azure doctor didn't sugar coat it. He had sustained massive damage to his code, he would never be the same. He was totally crippled, with no hope of ever returning him to the way he was. Crippled.

The doctor (careful not to look directly at him) apologized for his staff saving him, saying that they had meant no disrespect. With his injuries as severe as they were, the emergency staff had panicked and just hadn't thought. He went on like this for awhile, then told him that the sheer fact that he had survived was a testament to his strength. "You're a fine man, the Collective will be the lesser from loosing you." He softly laid a small black box on the table beside Bob. "You will be avenged. You were an excellent Guardian, an excellent Guardian."

Bob laid there for a long while after the doctor left, staring at the box. He had thought he wouldn't hesitate, why would he. It was what was proper, what was right. So why was he hesitating? 'Crippled' he thought to himself and shuddered. He couldn't be crippled, he just couldn't. It wasn't an option.

Reaching over and taking the box, he opened it and looked at the small disk in it. All he had to do was snap it between his fingers and the deletion command would activate. That would be it. And yet he couldn't even pick it up. Why?

He guessed that it was because of Turbo and his illogical guilt. So he put the box back until Turbo really understood that he didn't blame him. He'd wait till then.

Time passed, and slowly Bob healed, somewhat. Turbo tried his best to comfort him, but couldn't. He'd lost everything. "In a society that identifies themselves by their physical abilities," a friend of his had told him. "there's no place for a cripple."

He had received word that Bob's engagement was called off and now he would never find another woman to marry him. Not the way he was. Also, he couldn't be Patriarch of his house, that would go to one of his younger cousins. That, and no keytool would bond with him. His whole life was gone, everything and everyone he had ever had was gone. Only he (and Ezia, he assumed) were left. It was all gone and he could see that fact gnawing away at Bob.

It was like he was already dead, drained of all energy and left for deletion. Speaking rarely, he mostly just laid there. His misery was clearly visible, even though he tried to hide it. He just didn't have the will to try anymore. He felt hollow. He just wanted to delete. Just end this shame, this nightmare.

One morning, he decided he was sick of lying there. It was over, everything. But Bob wanted to face it. Once. Head on. So he drug himself up and, clenching his teeth to the pain, stood up.

Across the room was the closet. Its door was always open, in order to hide the mirror on the outside. Bob walked over to it and with his eyes closed, shut it. He needed to see it. He couldn't really believe it until he did.

He inhaled deeply and straightened himself as best he could, and open his eyes.

He focused on his face at first. It was untouched and his long hair was still neatly pulled back. Daemon had intentionally left his face perfect, so it could "always remind him how beautiful he once was", not that is was exactly the way it was. The beating she had given him had damaged his code to the core, and thus blunted his features somewhat.

His chest and arms were covered with wide pale scars and unhealed wounds. From what he could see, his legs and feet were just as bad, with his lower right leg mangled beyond recognition. The doctors had done a wonderful job of piecing him back together. If he waited for all the cuts to heal, he would be able to walk around and such with almost no trouble.

He then forced himself to look past his shoulders, at the empty space behind him. That was too much. His heart just collapsed. This wasn't a life. It was a body that didn't know when to quit. 'Well,' he thought looking at the black box behind him, in the reflection. "I know when to quit." He was about to turn and get it when Turbo walked in. He stopped just inside the door, seeing Bob was up and looking at himself.

He walked over to him, trying to help, "Oh, buddy… I'm so sorry." Bob had closed his eyes. For Turbo to see him, in the bed, covered, was one thing. But for him to see him like this…, Bob wanted to disappear. He couldn't stand to be seen. Not like this.

Turbo had stepped up behind him. Bob grimaced at his touch, but Turbo stayed, "Bob, I'm so sorry. I just… I wish there was something I could do."

Bob opened his eyes to this, he hated to hear Turbo beat himself up over this. Looking at him in the reflection, Bob went to say something but stopped and looked at the two of them.

They didn't look that different anymore. He certainly couldn't call Turbo a weakling, now Bob was as weak as he was. And just as grounded. Bob really looked at his friend, for the first time.

There he was, wingless and weak and what did he care? He and every other mix never felt the less for not having all the gifts of the full azures. He was strong enough to break into Daemon's citadel and get him out. Strong enough to get a keytool. Turbo had none of the things that Bob was traumatizing about loosing, and didn't care. Bob had always been the first to say that the mixes and sprite Guardians were just as good as any azure, and yet there he was, falling to pieces, 'and for what?' he thought. 'Wings do not a Guardian make', he had once jokingly told his mother.

Bob looked over them again and really saw both of them. "sickly and weak" the doctor had said, 'What he meant was that I'd be just like a mix or sprite.'

'What am I doing? I was about to delete myself and for what? Because I've been dropped down to his level?'

It was so ridiculous. He looked at Turbo's worried face and thought about what he had almost done and just started laughing. And he couldn't stop.

Turbo got very worried, "Bob?" Bob turned and leaned on his concerned friend, still laughing at himself. He didn't even try to share the joke, he couldn't begin to explain it. Not in his state. "Bob? Are you okay?"

"What?" he managed in-between laughs as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Bob slowly stopped laughing, thought about this a moment and looked back their reflection… and smiled. "You know what. I think I am."