After the End - Chapter 16
She is standing in the dark. The center of a room. She knows this place. She is only little. She feels his presence move behind her, getting closer, then leaning in. "It's very simple, Cybersix." The voice in her ear, hissing like a snake. "Obey me, and you get rewarded. Defy me, and you get hurt."
Cybersix jerks awake, clawing her way up out of the nightmare. She eyes open to her darkened room; so ordinary, so familiar. She tries to quiet her pounding heart, ashamed of what the dream has done to her.
She swings her legs over the edge of the bed and puts her head in her hands. Last night she discovered he - her creator, her devil, and yes, her master - is still alive.
As she told Yashimoto last night, it all made sense now: Why Sylvester and the others seemed to so readily accept Jose's rule, why that girl had had her eggs taken from her, why someone had saved her from those fixed ideas... Cybersix sighs once again; she knows all this, but she still has struggle to accept this new reality.
No. She doesn't like where her thoughts are leading. She hasn't
come this far be undone by this. She looks up at the sun streaming in through
the window. It's Saturday in early summer. She rises from the bed.
I'm having one hell of a nightmare.
He's inside a glass tank - well, a tank that appears to be glass but isn't. Just like the ones Cybersix told him about. Sylvester is standing not too far away, peering at him curiously. And that man over on the other side of the room - Lucas has never seen VonReichter, but this guy certainly looks like the quintessential mad scientist. This is Cybersix's nightmare he's having.
Sylvester shakes his head confusingly at Lucas. The VonReichter man walks over and also looks in the tank at him. "What are you thinking, Sylvester?" He asks.
"Just baffled by Cybersix's taste in men, Master." Lucas can hear them easily.
VonReichter snorts. "Ugly, yes. But you'd better get used to him. I think I may have a use for him beyond luring Cybersix. Did you have any trouble capturing him?"
"None at all, Master. I had to punch him once, in the jaw, but I didn't break it. That drug of yours worked beautifully."
Their words wake Lucas up like a slap across the face. He looks around him again. The room contains a lot of scientific equipment and machines; some he recognizes, some he doesn't. Can this be real? Has he really been captured? But VonReichter is dead, isn't he? He turns to look behind him, then stops as pain throbs through his head. That feels real enough. Panic starts to rise inside him. But he can't remember anything about how he got here. He puts his hands against the glass and looks back at the scientist, blurting out, "Who are you?"
The man grimaces a smiles at him. "Dr. VonReichter. Whom did you think I was?"
Lucas' head throbs again as he steps back, bumping into the other side of his prison. His heart begins to beat faster as he realizes this is real.
VonReichter's expression turns to one of anticipation mixed with greed. "Well, there's no reason to delay any longer." He turns to Sylvester. "Go fetch Cybersix."
Sylvester bows slightly, then takes off with apparent eagerness.
Cybersix jumps back onto the ledge of her building and reaches for her window. The night has been a total failure; she hasn't found Sylvester. She'd wanted to squeeze some answers about VonReichter out of him... literally if need be.
She opens the window and steps inside. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
"Greetings, cousin."
Sylvester is sitting on her bed, leaning back against the wall, his arms behind his head and his legs crossed at the ankle.
"Nice place you got here. I didn't think teachers were this badly off, though."
Only Cybersix's childhood training makes her able to get over her shock of being found out so quickly. "What you want, Sylvester?" She asks levelly.
He grins at her, inevitably. "I come bearing two messages." He pauses for effect. "First, that your beloved maker is alive and well."
She grins back, ruefully. "I knew that already."
"You did?" Sylvester seems genuinely surprised. "Well, here's something I bet you didn't know. " He reaches into his jacket pocket. Cybersix tenses. "Relax. It's just a gift I have for you." He tosses an object to her.
It's a small plastic bag. Full of blond hair. Cybersix's heart skip a beat. She opens the bag and sniffs the contents. Her nose is keen enough to recognize Lucas' scent.
"That's right, Cybersix." Sylvester says to her, obviously enjoying himself. "We've got your beau Lucas."
Suddenly regrets about the past few days come tumbling down on her.
"I was all for bringing you an ear, but Master says he might have a use for the man's body."
Cybersix doesn't really hear what Sylvester's saying. She sighs, resolutely this time. "Take me to him."
He nods respectively, like some kind of English servant. "Why of course." He gets up and Cybersix wordlessly follows him out the window.
They begin traveling over the rooftops, Cybersix trailing Sylvester easily; he's not exactly a good jumper. In fact, they only get a few buildings over before she sees him hesitate on a ledge and takeoff awkwardly into the air. He misses his target, plummeting to the street below.
Cybersix jumps down to where Sylvester has fallen. He lies awkwardly on the ground, the wind definitely knocked out of him. But judging by and the indignant expression on his face, only his pride is injured.
She shakes her head at him. "My, are you out of practice."
He
She snorts. "Oh that's right, I'm sorry. You must be awfully busy, what with fawning at both Jose's and VonReichter's feet like a dog."
An expression flits over Sylvester's face, gone too fast to be identified. He rolls his eyes theatrically. "Yeah, tell me about it. I'm run off my feet. Not for much longer, though." He grins evilly, then starts walking down the street.
Cybersix catches up with him. "What do you mean by that?"
He's still grinning. "Master has plans to kill Jose."
"Ah, I see." She says acidly. "Just like he's done to everyone else who's disobeyed him."
"Yes." Sylvester replies matter-of-factly.
Frustration wells up in Cybersix. "And that doesn't bother you in the least? You think you're immune to that kind of thing?"
"Oh, but I would never disobey Master." He answers emphatically. "Not that it matters anyway. If He ever says I should die, then I should."
She opens her mouth to say something, then stops and shakes her head. "I just don't understand you, Sylvester. You could be free..."
He stops walking and turns to her. He rolls his eyes again, sighing exasperatedly. "Stop trying to convert me, Cybersix, because it's not going to work. VonReichter made me; I'm his creature. He has the right to command me."
Cybersix scowls, becoming angry. "He's not God, Sylvester. He-"
"Yes he is! He's my God... our God. You're the one who's a sinner for disobeying him."
"Oh, come on. He's got you brainwashed, Sylvester." A note of sadness enters her voice. "You used to know the difference between right and wrong, when you were very young. It's only because you've never known joy of being free, of being your own person..."
He shakes his head. "That's where you're wrong, Cybersix. Freedom would be no joy to me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You just don't get it, so you?" He looks as if he's trying to explain something to a small child. "VonReichter designed me to be his servant. It's what I am... what I was meant for. And every animal on this Earth is happiest when doing what they were born to do. It's just like you with your jumping ." He pauses, looking her in the eye. "We are exactly what VonReichter made us."
He turns and begins walking again. Cybersix follows, thinking. We are exactly what VonReichter made us... if that's true, then he must have made a serious mistake when he made the Cybers, because they didn't turn out the way he wanted-
Cybersix almost trips as realization strikes her. A mistake... why hadn't she thought of it before? She is VonReichter's greatest mistake... he called her a failure...
If the Cybers are failures in the eyes of an evil man, what does that make them?
She takes a deep breath, inhaling the sights and sounds of a night that
suddenly seems peaceful.
"We're almost there." Sylvester's voice breaks into Cybersix's dream.
Suddenly reality crashes back to her - the reality of Lucas in terrible danger.
They're almost at
She needs a plan. Or at least an advantage. Making a snap decision, she attacks Sylvester.
"Whoa, wait a second!" He protests when she grabs him.
She stops despite herself.
"There's no need to be rough. I only request that you do the left side this time. " He turns his head to the side, exposing his neck.
"You're going to let me bite you?" She asks confusedly.
He shrugs. "Master wants you alive. And healthy."
Cybersix doesn't know what to think about that. "Uh, actually, I don't need sustenance right now."
"Oh. Well, all right then-"
She grabs him again, getting him in a headlock and wrestling him down to the ground. "Open the door."
"You knew about this place?" He asks surprisingly.
"Yup." He doesn't need to know she only just found out about it last night.
Sylvester puts his hands on the sensor and the trap door opens. Cybersix punches him hard in the side of head and knocks him out. She looks down into the hole and sees a ladder. Draping Sylvester around her neck, she starts down.
The trap door shuts itself once she's inside. No surprise there.
The ladder ends in an area pitch black and completely silent. She waits.
A faint overhead light comes on. A figure appears out of the darkness. "Well, Cyber. We meet again." Type 2 says menacingly.
Cybersix drops Sylvester unceremoniously to the ground and prepares to defend herself. Suddenly a host of other figures emerge from the shadows. Types, five of them. "What's the matter?" She asks Type 2. "The one-to-one odds last time weren't fair enough for you?"
Type 2 only snarls. She and all the others start advancing.
Master wants you alive. And healthy. Well, if that's the case, she's not going to let him have her easily. VonReichter wants her body for some reason; she won't give it to him in good condition. With a wordless cry she attacks the nearest type.
For a few minutes she's able to keep her attackers at bay, striking out in all directions, fighting like an animal cornered but refusing to go down. But courage and determination can only bring her so far. There is only some much of being attacked from all sides that anyone can take.
Minutes later, she reels backward from a male type's punch to her jaw. Blood from a head wound rolls down into her left eye. Weakened, hurting from blows all over her body, she fights to stay steady on her feet. She grimaces against her many pains, preparing for another parry.
Then one of the types positioned behind her lands a heavy blow between her shoulder blades. Cybersix falls to the ground, landing sprawled on her stomach.
For a moment everyone is silent. Type 1 walks over and nudges Cybersix with his foot, rolling her over onto her back. "Stubborn bitch," He comments.