Sara's House, Two days Later, 8:30 PM
All of Sara's friends in Meridiana arrived at Sara's house within minutes of each other. Six
and Lucas had arrived together, with Reba, Dr. Zack, and Erin arriving a few minutes later. They all
stood outside of the dark house, and contemplated what had happened to Sara in their own ways.
Soon, Six walked to the front door and picked up the door's spare key from where it had been taped
to the eaves-trough. She then unlocked and opened the door, flipping on the foyer light for the ones
who hadn't been gifted with amazing night vision.
Soon, everyone had entered Sara's house, and Six pulled a wrapped package from the paper
bag she had brought with her. She set it on the table in the living room, and watched as each of her
friends did the same with items they had decided to bring. The four people that had gotten letters
placed the unopened envelopes onto the table, one at each corner. Erin broke the unnerving silence
before it became too tangible, and rushed into the statement she had mentally rehearsed for the last
two days.
"Well, today we pay the last respects for someone who could be considered a friend, a
colleague, and a prankster. Sara D'Arnise, who I considered a friend and confidant, was killed two
days ago, in front of all of us. I only wish that I could rewind time and get there in time to help her."
Erin finished speaking, then unwrapped the object she had brought, revealing a twelve-pack
of Dragon's Breath beer, Sara's drink of choice. "To your spirit Sara, wherever it may rest." Erin left
the small case underneath the table, then sat down in one of the plush chairs near the couch. Dr. Zack
stood up then, but paused and cleared his throat before he started speaking.
"Well, I knew Sara as a competent, if unconventional, teacher, and as someone who could
cause anyone to laugh or cry in just under ten words. I saw her make her entire class crack up in just
under a minute with a presentation, and I saw her cause half the teachers break down in tears during
the first Aikido class she taught." Dr. Zack smiled at the often-humourous memories of Sara's acerbic
wit cutting apart some dimwit who didn't know when to quit.
"To be honest, she knew that she was dying anyhow, but decided to go out in a bang instead
of a whimper. I just wanted to try and help out a bit more."
"Tony, we all have regrets about what we could've done, but we can't change what happened.
Now, I was less than ten feet from them when Sara detonated those cards, and I could've saved her
if I was moving at Mach Two." Erin spoke up, interrupting the entire group from self-recrimination.
"Okay. Well, it appears that I may as well give this to you, wherever you are." Dr. Zack
unwrapped his gift, revealing a computer disk and a roll of papers. "This is all you needed to get back
to a normal routine in life. Looks like it's not really necessary now, but hey, who knows?" He sat
back down, then glanced at the shortest member of the group, who was sitting in the middle of the
couch, with her legs barely touching the floor.
"Well, I didn't know Sara that well, but from the way everything has been going along, it
appears that none of us knew her that well. Well, when she was either bored or hospitalized for her
monthly transfusion, Sara used to help out the virology department, and managed to find at least two
bugs that were easily wiped out by immunization. I think she'd like this." Reba pulled out her
package, and opened it, revealing a bundle of hand-made thank-you cards that had been sent to the
hospital after a particularly nasty virus had been defeated due to the efforts of the entire hospital.
Lucas stood up next, leaving CyberSix as the last speaker. "I knew Sara for the longest period
of time, as I had to suffer from her jokes during a fair chunk of university. To be honest, she never
really opened up, even when smashed, and never spoke about her life before she had turned nineteen.
I had lost touch with her until she showed up in the school six months ago, and she really upended
life there. Heck, I'll never forget what she did to my car for chuckles. To be honest, Sara could be
considered a thorn in my ass, but she managed to make teaching the students entertaining for most
of the year." Lucas grinned to himself, then revealed his gift. "She always wanted to expand her
knowledge of biology, but loved pranks."
Lucas unwrapped the object, revealing a can-of-worms, and a new edition of 'biology for
dummies'. "I hope you have fun, wherever you are." Finally, it was Six's turn to speak, and everyone
looked at her as she stood up. "I-I really don't have much to say about Sara, especially as she kept
enough secrets to fill a skyscraper with. She saved my life directly at least once, and kept our little
friend on a very short leash. As far as I know, Sara destroyed at least one plot against us, and
managed to keep a larger lid on the Fixed Ideas than I could.
"I'll probably have nightmares about what I saw for a long time, but no matter what, Sara will
always live on within our hearts." Six unwrapped her gift, revealing the scorched metal of Sara's
knife. "You may as well have this back any time." Six stood up after placing Sara's knife in the middle
of the table, and wiped away some tears that had gathered themselves in her eyes.
"To be honest, I never expected to see another one of my friends die, especially when I
couldn't help her. Now, I read the letter she had given me, and part of it said that her will was in the
upstairs safe, waiting for us. I think we should take a look at it, just to see what Sara wanted us to
do with her stuff." Dr. Zack nodded, Reba smiled slightly, and Erin's eyebrows raised themselves into
her hairline.
"Well, to be honest, I think she'd want us to find out what she wanted to do, but I think that
the one who knew Sara the best should get the document. That would be you, Six." Lucas smiled at
his significant other, and chuckled quickly as she blushed slightly.
"It looks like I've been voted to get it, so I now get to nominate a second person to help out.
Erin, you're it. Let's go upstairs." Erin stood up, and followed Six upstairs, where the two removed
the painting, unlocked the safe with the key hidden under the night-table, and collected the two folded
letters there, leaving Sara's magnums, her grandparent's journals, and an unmarked book in the heavy
metal container.
The two went back downstairs, and after entering the living room, they revealed the two
letters. "This one seems to be a pre-written obituary for the newspaper, so you get it Lucas. Hand
it over to the editor of El Independente when you get the chance. This second one seems to be the
will, and I think you should look at it, Tony."
Dr. Zack nodded, then broke the seal on the envelope. He then unfolded the long letter, and
muttered to himself as he silently read the entire will, unknowingly keeping the rest of the small group
in suspense. He finally smiled and put the will down onto the table. "Well, apparently we all get
something.
"The will stipulates what we're getting, and I'll start at the beginning. 'If you're reading this,
I'm dead, and here's how my belongings are going to be distributed. First, for my good friend and
crony, CyberSix, aka. Cyb. You're getting the laptop with all the games, half a million dollars, and
the house, co-signed between you and Lucas. All you two have to do is sign on the dotted lines and
you get the house. By the way, I left some green presents somewhere in the house, and the search
will help you feel at home.'
"Now, that's what I call overkill. You get a house as well as half a million dollars, most likely
in Canadian funds. Anyhow, let's continue. 'For Lucas Amato, commonly known as the gorilla, you
get the few gag gifts left in the house. Most of them are stashed in the front closet, but a few are in
the back room. For Erin Cheng, friend and comrade in crime, you get the twin magnums in the safe,
as well as all the ammunition. Just to add insult to injury, you also get a quarter-million dollars to
spend as you see fit. My opinion is for a T3 internet line. Also, you get the deck of death cards that
I tormented the biology class with.'
"That's interesting. Looks like Sara really liked you Erin."
"No surprise. We sympathised with each other's conditions, and exchanged jokes with
alarming regularity."
"Really. Let's see, what else is here... ah! That's new. 'To Doctor Reba Pearce, you get all
the medical research on the diseases I've encountered, as well as a donation to the hospital in the
form of a million dollars. Also, you get my unending gratitude and respect for tolerating me enough
to let me help out in the hospital, even though I was more often in there for stitches than for some
blood.
'Finally, to Doctor Anthony Zacharias, you get the thirty-millimetre gun, with every remaining
slug in the house. All the ammunition is in the safe upstairs. You also get my grandparent's journals,
primarily for safekeeping, but you can read them if you wish. Also, in the basement is a small room
with three stacks of cards. All of them are yours. Be careful, as they are contact detonated, which
could have dangerous consequences if you decide to poke at the red ones.
'By the way, there is a safety deposit box in the main branch of the Meridiana Bank. Access
the box with the following password, and send the files inside to every respectable newspaper in the
world. The evidence in that box will put a massive dent in Gen-Core's operations, and may force the
company to shut down for an indefinite period of time. Thanks for reading this, and have a good life
without me. Oh, yeah. The last million and a quarter dollars left will be donated to the school in order
to upgrade the classrooms and such.' Wow. Sara's definitely gonna wreak havoc, even when she's
not around to watch."
Six spoke up then, looking like she was about to break down. "She's been utterly selfless. I
only hope that she could finally rest. From what I've seen, Sara had less than a few hours of sleep per
day, and she always seemed to get by without any problems."
"True. Sara was always kind and courteous, even when she added a stripe down the middle
of my car." Lucas also looked like he was going to cry, but swallowed convulsively before he spoke
again. "I really think we should talk about this somewhere else, but we can leave everything here for
a few more days. Let's go and get some coffee and try to figure out why she did this."
There was a general round of assent, despite the way Lucas managed to mangle the way he
tried to explain his feelings.
Undisclosed Location, North America. 9:25 PM
"Sir?" An unfamiliar face popped its head through the partially open door, staring at the
withered CEO.
"What the hell do you want?" The CEO growled at the new lackey, muttering something
about another putt being ruined.
"About the Meridiana Mission, sir? We have a development."
"Really." A raised eyebrow said it all.
"Both objectives have failed. Dr. Anthony Zacharias made a police statement yesterday about
several unknown assailants that had attacked his place, and the subject was not retrieved."
"What about the team?"
"There's only two survivors, and both are in police custody."
"Shit. Leave now before I get angry, and decide to embed my golf club in your spine."
"Yes sir." The door was quickly shut, leaving the CEO alone with his golf clubs and his
thoughts.
CyberSix's House, 11:32 PM
Six sat at the small desk where she had normally marked homework until the incident two
days ago. Sitting on the scarred and scuffed wood was two items, both of which were gifts from Sara.
The first one was the metal brooch that had been given to her after Sara had been tossed into the
hospital when she had been shot. The metal had also been scuffed, wearing away at the image of the
two older people holding the hands of a young child.
The second item was much less distinctive, being the open letter that Sara had given her
almost four days ago. She wiped her eyes, which were rimmed with redness, and picked up the letter
for the seventh time in three times as many minutes. *Why? We could've helped, and you embraced
the offer with open arms. Those bastards from that company will never get out of jail, but they still
killed you. I just want you back. Hell, I'd even enjoy your corny jokes or warped sense of humour.*
Six began to read the letter, having decided to get it over with.
'Dear CyberSix,
'If you're reading this, then the inevitable has occurred, and I have either died of natural
causes, or been killed by Gen-Core's bitch team.'
Six chuckled as Sara's bad jokes shone through, even in her writing. *Now I know why the
students liked her even more than they like Lucas.*
'Anyhow, I have a few secrets to tell you. In actuality, I am, or was, Selina Del Naryen. To
be honest, I haven't used that name since I was twenty-two, after my husband and daughter
died. Two years later, I broke away from Gen-Core, and collected my knife at the same time.
I went to Japan for several months afterwards, and learned about Silat while there. At the
same time, I got my sword, which actually has several undocumented effects, which you
don't want to know about.'
*Oh really? I bet Kayla would've loved to have met you a few years ago. Maybe she would've
liked you a few months ago anyhow, but she was too busy, and now it's too late.*
'My family thinks that I'm dead because I haven't been talking to them since I was twenty,
but if my body is recoverable, much less recognisable, I would like to be buried near my
grandparents in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.'
*I'd like to go there, but I'm sorta stuck due to the risk of an officious little prog of a customs
officer taking the sustenance supplies that I need to live, and that's not even counting on the fact that
you're still off the face of the earth. As far as I know, you're two hundred feet underwater right
now.*
'I know you have your own secrets, but I should tell you that I know you're Adrian
Seidelman.'
*What?!? How did she figure that one out? It took Lucas almost a year, and that was with
blatant hints to boot.*
'I first had suspicions when I met you face to face in the Cafe, especially considering you
didn't wince when that soccer player had an involuntary vasectomy. Also, you had an ardent
love of literature, so an English teacher seemed to be a perfect guise to do what you liked
as well as keep under the radar. By the way, never tilt your head back too far when drinking
a glass of water. You really don't have an Adam's apple.'
*Thank you for that observation. Still, I didn't know how to react to something that could
only be considered cruel and unusual punishment. After all, you didn't even blink through all three
replays. You could've been considered an ice queen at that time.*
'No matter what, I'm sorry for not being around to put a smile on your face, much less
torment you when you and Lucas eventually tie the knot. Maybe my ghost will show up every
once in a while. Cheers and Farewell Six.
'Forever. Sara.'
Six wept openly for several minutes, then stood up, pulling on her gloves before she jumped
out of the window of her small apartment, leaving the letter to flutter forlornly in the faint breeze,
keeping the last two words exposed.
El Independente Newspaper, Editor's Office, 6:30 AM
Lucas stood in front of his editor's desk, pacing angrily as the simple-minded twit looked over
Sara's handwritten obituary. "Look Lucas, I don't care where you got this from, but I've never heard
of this Sara D'Arnise person, so she isn't worth spit, much less an eighth of the obituary page."
Lucas' first impulse was to smash the editor's face through the wall, but he knew that his job
would suffer greatly if he did so. In a very strained voice, Lucas tried to reason with the cigar-
smoking moron. "Sir, you know me to be kind and fairly reputable with my research when I produce
a story for this paper. Now, I knew this person from my university days, and what is said in this
obituary is all true.
"Also, the added information came from a very reputable source, and involves a lot of juicy
stuff like illegal surgeries, assassinations, and all sorts of gooey bits about a mega-corporation."
"Really?" The editor's piggy little eyes were beginning to light up, especially as he thought
of the publicity of a world-wide scoop on something that seemed to be as nasty as Microsoft. "Look,
let me go over this added information with legal, just to make sure that we won't have an unpleasant
visit from their own legal department."
"Fine, these are copies anyhow." Lucas handed over a small attache case full of close-typed
text, weighing about twenty-five pounds. "Look, Just print that obit, otherwise you'll never get
anything even approximating this again." With that, Lucas walked out of the stuffy office, leaving his
editor sitting there, gaping in awe at Lucas' actions.
Dr. Zack's House, 7:17 AM
Dr. Zack rubbed his bloodshot eyes as he looked at the old clock ticking away the time. It
took him almost a minute before he realized it was morning, telling him just how exhausted he was.
*God, this is amazing. I can barely believe that Sara's grandparents wrote in three languages, but they
easily interspersed French and German with English. It does produce an interesting cipher however.*
He looked at the journal he was reading, and slowly placed the old tome onto the small table beside
his easy chair.
He then put a bookmark in between the neat cursive writing to keep his place constant, when
a single line popped out at him. Translated to English, the line read: 'Today we got a new addition
to our extended family. A young child, with a '6' tattooed on her left forearm. He is kind, courteous,
and sweet, and helps out with the younger orphans. I am surprised by him more often than not,
especially as he shows an ardent love of literature, including Shakespeare, despite being only ten or
eleven years old.
'he came from a South American country, but even our young granddaughter loves him like
a sibling, which may not be much of a good thing, considering what her real brother did to her last
year.' Dr. Zack looked at the passage, mentally translating the German, and using a dictionary to
translate the French. He did that three times, and was forced to come to a conclusion that he would
keep from Six for the rest of his life.
*I am sorry Six, but apparently, Sara's grandparents were killed because they knew and
sheltered you when you were younger. I swear, you will never know of this, especially as it would
crush you.* Dr. Zack took the translation he had written down, placed it in his pipe's ashtray, and
burned the small note, careful to keep the journal away from the open flame. He then sighed with
exhaustion, closed the book, and went to call the school to arrange a substitute for the day.
Approx. 200 Miles North of Meridiana, 1:30 AM
The small cove was faintly lit by the semi-phosphorescent waves, but more light was being
emitted by the moon, mostly hidden by wisps of clouds that slowly scudded across the night sky. The
waves lapped slowly against a small form, which had three small counterpoints to the natural light
on its right side.
The first artificial light was a heavily faded amber, slowly turning red as the moon rose higher
into the sky. The second light was dark, except for a faint glimmer of reddish-purple, but most of the
source was in fragments. The third was slowly blinking, pulsing out a message with a dull blue glow
that remained constant.
The rest of the form was mostly hidden by shadow, but the one exposed arm was still holding
onto the grip of a long, dark blade. As the moon began to set, the blade began to glow, faintly at first,
but soon banishing the shadows in the cove with its lurid, meat-like pulse. By the time the moon had
disappeared into the forest, the body had tottered to its very unsteady feet. The left arm remained
limp, except for the hand that slowly dragged the sword behind itself as the body began to stagger
into the forest.
The legs moved stiffly, both knees apparently shattered into unrecognisable masses of bone
and muscle. As the light revealed the person's face, any normal observer would have run for the hills
in disgust, for the person's left eye was nothing but a gaping red hole that was large enough to insert
a golf ball. The body disappeared into the forest as one final change occurred, which only affected
the sword itself.
The sword, once black with silver edges, had slowly shifted to a milder shade, eventually
settling on a marbled ribbon of purple and dark green which slowly seemed to ripple like waves on
a pond. If an observer could enter the mind of the strange vision, they would hear something that
would surprise all but the insane: Exultant laughter.
Disclaimer/ Author's Notes:
-Kayla owned by Nightflower
-Erin Cheng / Stryk 12 owned by Syberkat
-Hazel Smith owned by Surferchick, and thanks for all the opinions of my writing...
-M-17 owned by Maggie Griffin, and I hope she doesn't kill me :)
-Dr. Anthony Zacharias owned by Ptah Aegyptus. Thanks for all the beta readings.
-Sara D'Arnise and Jess owned by me.
-Everyone else was created and are owned by Carlos Megelia and Carlos Trillio, who we all owe a
debt of thanks for creating such a unique and engaging character in the form of CyberSix.
All of Sara's friends in Meridiana arrived at Sara's house within minutes of each other. Six
and Lucas had arrived together, with Reba, Dr. Zack, and Erin arriving a few minutes later. They all
stood outside of the dark house, and contemplated what had happened to Sara in their own ways.
Soon, Six walked to the front door and picked up the door's spare key from where it had been taped
to the eaves-trough. She then unlocked and opened the door, flipping on the foyer light for the ones
who hadn't been gifted with amazing night vision.
Soon, everyone had entered Sara's house, and Six pulled a wrapped package from the paper
bag she had brought with her. She set it on the table in the living room, and watched as each of her
friends did the same with items they had decided to bring. The four people that had gotten letters
placed the unopened envelopes onto the table, one at each corner. Erin broke the unnerving silence
before it became too tangible, and rushed into the statement she had mentally rehearsed for the last
two days.
"Well, today we pay the last respects for someone who could be considered a friend, a
colleague, and a prankster. Sara D'Arnise, who I considered a friend and confidant, was killed two
days ago, in front of all of us. I only wish that I could rewind time and get there in time to help her."
Erin finished speaking, then unwrapped the object she had brought, revealing a twelve-pack
of Dragon's Breath beer, Sara's drink of choice. "To your spirit Sara, wherever it may rest." Erin left
the small case underneath the table, then sat down in one of the plush chairs near the couch. Dr. Zack
stood up then, but paused and cleared his throat before he started speaking.
"Well, I knew Sara as a competent, if unconventional, teacher, and as someone who could
cause anyone to laugh or cry in just under ten words. I saw her make her entire class crack up in just
under a minute with a presentation, and I saw her cause half the teachers break down in tears during
the first Aikido class she taught." Dr. Zack smiled at the often-humourous memories of Sara's acerbic
wit cutting apart some dimwit who didn't know when to quit.
"To be honest, she knew that she was dying anyhow, but decided to go out in a bang instead
of a whimper. I just wanted to try and help out a bit more."
"Tony, we all have regrets about what we could've done, but we can't change what happened.
Now, I was less than ten feet from them when Sara detonated those cards, and I could've saved her
if I was moving at Mach Two." Erin spoke up, interrupting the entire group from self-recrimination.
"Okay. Well, it appears that I may as well give this to you, wherever you are." Dr. Zack
unwrapped his gift, revealing a computer disk and a roll of papers. "This is all you needed to get back
to a normal routine in life. Looks like it's not really necessary now, but hey, who knows?" He sat
back down, then glanced at the shortest member of the group, who was sitting in the middle of the
couch, with her legs barely touching the floor.
"Well, I didn't know Sara that well, but from the way everything has been going along, it
appears that none of us knew her that well. Well, when she was either bored or hospitalized for her
monthly transfusion, Sara used to help out the virology department, and managed to find at least two
bugs that were easily wiped out by immunization. I think she'd like this." Reba pulled out her
package, and opened it, revealing a bundle of hand-made thank-you cards that had been sent to the
hospital after a particularly nasty virus had been defeated due to the efforts of the entire hospital.
Lucas stood up next, leaving CyberSix as the last speaker. "I knew Sara for the longest period
of time, as I had to suffer from her jokes during a fair chunk of university. To be honest, she never
really opened up, even when smashed, and never spoke about her life before she had turned nineteen.
I had lost touch with her until she showed up in the school six months ago, and she really upended
life there. Heck, I'll never forget what she did to my car for chuckles. To be honest, Sara could be
considered a thorn in my ass, but she managed to make teaching the students entertaining for most
of the year." Lucas grinned to himself, then revealed his gift. "She always wanted to expand her
knowledge of biology, but loved pranks."
Lucas unwrapped the object, revealing a can-of-worms, and a new edition of 'biology for
dummies'. "I hope you have fun, wherever you are." Finally, it was Six's turn to speak, and everyone
looked at her as she stood up. "I-I really don't have much to say about Sara, especially as she kept
enough secrets to fill a skyscraper with. She saved my life directly at least once, and kept our little
friend on a very short leash. As far as I know, Sara destroyed at least one plot against us, and
managed to keep a larger lid on the Fixed Ideas than I could.
"I'll probably have nightmares about what I saw for a long time, but no matter what, Sara will
always live on within our hearts." Six unwrapped her gift, revealing the scorched metal of Sara's
knife. "You may as well have this back any time." Six stood up after placing Sara's knife in the middle
of the table, and wiped away some tears that had gathered themselves in her eyes.
"To be honest, I never expected to see another one of my friends die, especially when I
couldn't help her. Now, I read the letter she had given me, and part of it said that her will was in the
upstairs safe, waiting for us. I think we should take a look at it, just to see what Sara wanted us to
do with her stuff." Dr. Zack nodded, Reba smiled slightly, and Erin's eyebrows raised themselves into
her hairline.
"Well, to be honest, I think she'd want us to find out what she wanted to do, but I think that
the one who knew Sara the best should get the document. That would be you, Six." Lucas smiled at
his significant other, and chuckled quickly as she blushed slightly.
"It looks like I've been voted to get it, so I now get to nominate a second person to help out.
Erin, you're it. Let's go upstairs." Erin stood up, and followed Six upstairs, where the two removed
the painting, unlocked the safe with the key hidden under the night-table, and collected the two folded
letters there, leaving Sara's magnums, her grandparent's journals, and an unmarked book in the heavy
metal container.
The two went back downstairs, and after entering the living room, they revealed the two
letters. "This one seems to be a pre-written obituary for the newspaper, so you get it Lucas. Hand
it over to the editor of El Independente when you get the chance. This second one seems to be the
will, and I think you should look at it, Tony."
Dr. Zack nodded, then broke the seal on the envelope. He then unfolded the long letter, and
muttered to himself as he silently read the entire will, unknowingly keeping the rest of the small group
in suspense. He finally smiled and put the will down onto the table. "Well, apparently we all get
something.
"The will stipulates what we're getting, and I'll start at the beginning. 'If you're reading this,
I'm dead, and here's how my belongings are going to be distributed. First, for my good friend and
crony, CyberSix, aka. Cyb. You're getting the laptop with all the games, half a million dollars, and
the house, co-signed between you and Lucas. All you two have to do is sign on the dotted lines and
you get the house. By the way, I left some green presents somewhere in the house, and the search
will help you feel at home.'
"Now, that's what I call overkill. You get a house as well as half a million dollars, most likely
in Canadian funds. Anyhow, let's continue. 'For Lucas Amato, commonly known as the gorilla, you
get the few gag gifts left in the house. Most of them are stashed in the front closet, but a few are in
the back room. For Erin Cheng, friend and comrade in crime, you get the twin magnums in the safe,
as well as all the ammunition. Just to add insult to injury, you also get a quarter-million dollars to
spend as you see fit. My opinion is for a T3 internet line. Also, you get the deck of death cards that
I tormented the biology class with.'
"That's interesting. Looks like Sara really liked you Erin."
"No surprise. We sympathised with each other's conditions, and exchanged jokes with
alarming regularity."
"Really. Let's see, what else is here... ah! That's new. 'To Doctor Reba Pearce, you get all
the medical research on the diseases I've encountered, as well as a donation to the hospital in the
form of a million dollars. Also, you get my unending gratitude and respect for tolerating me enough
to let me help out in the hospital, even though I was more often in there for stitches than for some
blood.
'Finally, to Doctor Anthony Zacharias, you get the thirty-millimetre gun, with every remaining
slug in the house. All the ammunition is in the safe upstairs. You also get my grandparent's journals,
primarily for safekeeping, but you can read them if you wish. Also, in the basement is a small room
with three stacks of cards. All of them are yours. Be careful, as they are contact detonated, which
could have dangerous consequences if you decide to poke at the red ones.
'By the way, there is a safety deposit box in the main branch of the Meridiana Bank. Access
the box with the following password, and send the files inside to every respectable newspaper in the
world. The evidence in that box will put a massive dent in Gen-Core's operations, and may force the
company to shut down for an indefinite period of time. Thanks for reading this, and have a good life
without me. Oh, yeah. The last million and a quarter dollars left will be donated to the school in order
to upgrade the classrooms and such.' Wow. Sara's definitely gonna wreak havoc, even when she's
not around to watch."
Six spoke up then, looking like she was about to break down. "She's been utterly selfless. I
only hope that she could finally rest. From what I've seen, Sara had less than a few hours of sleep per
day, and she always seemed to get by without any problems."
"True. Sara was always kind and courteous, even when she added a stripe down the middle
of my car." Lucas also looked like he was going to cry, but swallowed convulsively before he spoke
again. "I really think we should talk about this somewhere else, but we can leave everything here for
a few more days. Let's go and get some coffee and try to figure out why she did this."
There was a general round of assent, despite the way Lucas managed to mangle the way he
tried to explain his feelings.
Undisclosed Location, North America. 9:25 PM
"Sir?" An unfamiliar face popped its head through the partially open door, staring at the
withered CEO.
"What the hell do you want?" The CEO growled at the new lackey, muttering something
about another putt being ruined.
"About the Meridiana Mission, sir? We have a development."
"Really." A raised eyebrow said it all.
"Both objectives have failed. Dr. Anthony Zacharias made a police statement yesterday about
several unknown assailants that had attacked his place, and the subject was not retrieved."
"What about the team?"
"There's only two survivors, and both are in police custody."
"Shit. Leave now before I get angry, and decide to embed my golf club in your spine."
"Yes sir." The door was quickly shut, leaving the CEO alone with his golf clubs and his
thoughts.
CyberSix's House, 11:32 PM
Six sat at the small desk where she had normally marked homework until the incident two
days ago. Sitting on the scarred and scuffed wood was two items, both of which were gifts from Sara.
The first one was the metal brooch that had been given to her after Sara had been tossed into the
hospital when she had been shot. The metal had also been scuffed, wearing away at the image of the
two older people holding the hands of a young child.
The second item was much less distinctive, being the open letter that Sara had given her
almost four days ago. She wiped her eyes, which were rimmed with redness, and picked up the letter
for the seventh time in three times as many minutes. *Why? We could've helped, and you embraced
the offer with open arms. Those bastards from that company will never get out of jail, but they still
killed you. I just want you back. Hell, I'd even enjoy your corny jokes or warped sense of humour.*
Six began to read the letter, having decided to get it over with.
'Dear CyberSix,
'If you're reading this, then the inevitable has occurred, and I have either died of natural
causes, or been killed by Gen-Core's bitch team.'
Six chuckled as Sara's bad jokes shone through, even in her writing. *Now I know why the
students liked her even more than they like Lucas.*
'Anyhow, I have a few secrets to tell you. In actuality, I am, or was, Selina Del Naryen. To
be honest, I haven't used that name since I was twenty-two, after my husband and daughter
died. Two years later, I broke away from Gen-Core, and collected my knife at the same time.
I went to Japan for several months afterwards, and learned about Silat while there. At the
same time, I got my sword, which actually has several undocumented effects, which you
don't want to know about.'
*Oh really? I bet Kayla would've loved to have met you a few years ago. Maybe she would've
liked you a few months ago anyhow, but she was too busy, and now it's too late.*
'My family thinks that I'm dead because I haven't been talking to them since I was twenty,
but if my body is recoverable, much less recognisable, I would like to be buried near my
grandparents in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.'
*I'd like to go there, but I'm sorta stuck due to the risk of an officious little prog of a customs
officer taking the sustenance supplies that I need to live, and that's not even counting on the fact that
you're still off the face of the earth. As far as I know, you're two hundred feet underwater right
now.*
'I know you have your own secrets, but I should tell you that I know you're Adrian
Seidelman.'
*What?!? How did she figure that one out? It took Lucas almost a year, and that was with
blatant hints to boot.*
'I first had suspicions when I met you face to face in the Cafe, especially considering you
didn't wince when that soccer player had an involuntary vasectomy. Also, you had an ardent
love of literature, so an English teacher seemed to be a perfect guise to do what you liked
as well as keep under the radar. By the way, never tilt your head back too far when drinking
a glass of water. You really don't have an Adam's apple.'
*Thank you for that observation. Still, I didn't know how to react to something that could
only be considered cruel and unusual punishment. After all, you didn't even blink through all three
replays. You could've been considered an ice queen at that time.*
'No matter what, I'm sorry for not being around to put a smile on your face, much less
torment you when you and Lucas eventually tie the knot. Maybe my ghost will show up every
once in a while. Cheers and Farewell Six.
'Forever. Sara.'
Six wept openly for several minutes, then stood up, pulling on her gloves before she jumped
out of the window of her small apartment, leaving the letter to flutter forlornly in the faint breeze,
keeping the last two words exposed.
El Independente Newspaper, Editor's Office, 6:30 AM
Lucas stood in front of his editor's desk, pacing angrily as the simple-minded twit looked over
Sara's handwritten obituary. "Look Lucas, I don't care where you got this from, but I've never heard
of this Sara D'Arnise person, so she isn't worth spit, much less an eighth of the obituary page."
Lucas' first impulse was to smash the editor's face through the wall, but he knew that his job
would suffer greatly if he did so. In a very strained voice, Lucas tried to reason with the cigar-
smoking moron. "Sir, you know me to be kind and fairly reputable with my research when I produce
a story for this paper. Now, I knew this person from my university days, and what is said in this
obituary is all true.
"Also, the added information came from a very reputable source, and involves a lot of juicy
stuff like illegal surgeries, assassinations, and all sorts of gooey bits about a mega-corporation."
"Really?" The editor's piggy little eyes were beginning to light up, especially as he thought
of the publicity of a world-wide scoop on something that seemed to be as nasty as Microsoft. "Look,
let me go over this added information with legal, just to make sure that we won't have an unpleasant
visit from their own legal department."
"Fine, these are copies anyhow." Lucas handed over a small attache case full of close-typed
text, weighing about twenty-five pounds. "Look, Just print that obit, otherwise you'll never get
anything even approximating this again." With that, Lucas walked out of the stuffy office, leaving his
editor sitting there, gaping in awe at Lucas' actions.
Dr. Zack's House, 7:17 AM
Dr. Zack rubbed his bloodshot eyes as he looked at the old clock ticking away the time. It
took him almost a minute before he realized it was morning, telling him just how exhausted he was.
*God, this is amazing. I can barely believe that Sara's grandparents wrote in three languages, but they
easily interspersed French and German with English. It does produce an interesting cipher however.*
He looked at the journal he was reading, and slowly placed the old tome onto the small table beside
his easy chair.
He then put a bookmark in between the neat cursive writing to keep his place constant, when
a single line popped out at him. Translated to English, the line read: 'Today we got a new addition
to our extended family. A young child, with a '6' tattooed on her left forearm. He is kind, courteous,
and sweet, and helps out with the younger orphans. I am surprised by him more often than not,
especially as he shows an ardent love of literature, including Shakespeare, despite being only ten or
eleven years old.
'he came from a South American country, but even our young granddaughter loves him like
a sibling, which may not be much of a good thing, considering what her real brother did to her last
year.' Dr. Zack looked at the passage, mentally translating the German, and using a dictionary to
translate the French. He did that three times, and was forced to come to a conclusion that he would
keep from Six for the rest of his life.
*I am sorry Six, but apparently, Sara's grandparents were killed because they knew and
sheltered you when you were younger. I swear, you will never know of this, especially as it would
crush you.* Dr. Zack took the translation he had written down, placed it in his pipe's ashtray, and
burned the small note, careful to keep the journal away from the open flame. He then sighed with
exhaustion, closed the book, and went to call the school to arrange a substitute for the day.
Approx. 200 Miles North of Meridiana, 1:30 AM
The small cove was faintly lit by the semi-phosphorescent waves, but more light was being
emitted by the moon, mostly hidden by wisps of clouds that slowly scudded across the night sky. The
waves lapped slowly against a small form, which had three small counterpoints to the natural light
on its right side.
The first artificial light was a heavily faded amber, slowly turning red as the moon rose higher
into the sky. The second light was dark, except for a faint glimmer of reddish-purple, but most of the
source was in fragments. The third was slowly blinking, pulsing out a message with a dull blue glow
that remained constant.
The rest of the form was mostly hidden by shadow, but the one exposed arm was still holding
onto the grip of a long, dark blade. As the moon began to set, the blade began to glow, faintly at first,
but soon banishing the shadows in the cove with its lurid, meat-like pulse. By the time the moon had
disappeared into the forest, the body had tottered to its very unsteady feet. The left arm remained
limp, except for the hand that slowly dragged the sword behind itself as the body began to stagger
into the forest.
The legs moved stiffly, both knees apparently shattered into unrecognisable masses of bone
and muscle. As the light revealed the person's face, any normal observer would have run for the hills
in disgust, for the person's left eye was nothing but a gaping red hole that was large enough to insert
a golf ball. The body disappeared into the forest as one final change occurred, which only affected
the sword itself.
The sword, once black with silver edges, had slowly shifted to a milder shade, eventually
settling on a marbled ribbon of purple and dark green which slowly seemed to ripple like waves on
a pond. If an observer could enter the mind of the strange vision, they would hear something that
would surprise all but the insane: Exultant laughter.
Disclaimer/ Author's Notes:
-Kayla owned by Nightflower
-Erin Cheng / Stryk 12 owned by Syberkat
-Hazel Smith owned by Surferchick, and thanks for all the opinions of my writing...
-M-17 owned by Maggie Griffin, and I hope she doesn't kill me :)
-Dr. Anthony Zacharias owned by Ptah Aegyptus. Thanks for all the beta readings.
-Sara D'Arnise and Jess owned by me.
-Everyone else was created and are owned by Carlos Megelia and Carlos Trillio, who we all owe a
debt of thanks for creating such a unique and engaging character in the form of CyberSix.