Chapter Eight-
Ooooookay, you're all in for a treat on this one. Thanks for all of the suggestions. But at the beginning...you know what, what am I telling you for? You could read the damn thing and get just as much information. *hits self over head* Duh, Aamy.
Okay, read on!
The child lay there curled up in 009's lap, crying into his chest. But there were no sobs, no racking breaths. Just silence as tears poured onto the front of Joe's blue vest, soaking into it and wetting his chest. The other cyborgs all looked a bit downcast, then Kohana looked up to meet Joe's sad eyes, and said in a small voice, "But you promised..."
"I know I did. I'm sorry, Kohana. Miss Mitzuko...can't come and see you anymore," he explained, keeping Mitzuko's death subtle for the four-year-old.
"Why not?" Kohana asked, eye brows furrowed.
"...Because some of her old co-workers had to talk to her," Joe said quietly, voice on the edge of anger. Kohana nodded understandingly, and looked down.
"Black Ghost did it, then...didn't he?" Everyone looked at her wide-eyed. They didn't know she knew about Black Ghost. Joe, not knowing what else to do, nodded reluctantly. "I don't like him...he's the one who...made me like I am."
"He did the same to all of us, Kohana," Albert said softly. The girl looked at each of them, then her eyes landed on Ivan.
"Miss Mitzuko told me about it once. But she said it doesn't matter how we change...in the end, we're all human by heart."
"Then Mitzuko was really a good person," 003 said with a smile. Kohana looked at her, and nodded with a small smile of her own.
"Yep, she was. And that's how she'd want us to remember her, isn't it, Papa?" she asked, looking at Joe.
"I'm sure it is." Kohana gave him a childishly naive look of determination.
"Then that's my own mission now," she said, "I'm going to make the people who loved Miss Mitzuko remember her how she was. A good person..." Her eyes grew lidded, and she stifled a yawn as Joe cradled her closer, waiting for her to fall asleep. Two more yawns and a bit of the adults conversation later, she was sound asleep.
"She's a good little girl," 002 commented, getting strange looks from everyone and blushing. Looking away, he added, "When she's not a living terror."
007, whom was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, snorted in agreement. Joe stood up to tuck Kohana in, but 005 said, "It may be best to keep the child with us tonight..."
"Good idea, 005..." Joe lay Kohana down on the couch, and covered her up with her new favorite blanket that 005 and 008 had given her.
"009, what exactly did you say Kohana's powers are?" Dr. Gilmore asked suddenly. Joe looked over at him, and settled on the arm of the couch.
"Well, Mitzuko said she has the power to pull people into her dreams, and to make her dreams real. There's a specific phrase for it, but I can't remember..."
"Dream Telepathy?" Ivan offered.
"That's it!...Hey, you're awake!"
"Yeah, it's really difficult to get a little shut eye when the girl's troubled thoughts are disturbing even my sleep..."
003 looked up at him confusedly, "Please elaborate?"
"Well, being as we're both basically telepaths, she controlling the subconscious, I controlling the conscious, if one of us sleeps the other picks up on their dreams...she has quite horrific ones..." he said with a shudder.
"Could we use this to our advantage? I mean, she's still a kid, yeah," 002 said, catching 009's look of annoyance, "But she's sort of capable of making her dreams real. Could she dream of Black Ghost's whereabouts?"
"Probably, but not right now, 002," Dr. Gilmore said. "She's had a most traumatic time of it, according to Mitzuko...we'd better just let her bid her time on her own, for now. But, if it's all right with you, 009, I would like to run some tests on her, to see exactly how far her powers can go."
"It's not my decision, it's hers," 009 said, a sort of paternal tone to his voice. 003 studied him for a moment, wondering how the presence of a child could make him change so much. Instead of the quiet, shyly boyish man he was, he could now be called a quiet, fatherly one. As little as anyone could tell it, he was growing attached to Kohana, and hopefully...blushing, she looked away quickly.
"Well, seeing as Kohana's taken the time to rest, you all probably should too, from what I understand, she's quite a force to be reckoned with," Dr. Gilmore chuckled, glancing at 007.
"I agree with him!" 006 exclaimed, jumpuing up from a doze off. Everyone filed out, leaving 009, 003, and the sleeping Kohana.
"Aren't you going to bed, Joe?" Francoise asked with a note of worry.
"Nah, I think I'll keep an eye on her for a little while longer," he replied, looking down on Kohana with a strange glint in his eye. "I know what it's like to lose someone who's important to you...she might need me later." Francoise smiled then, and went over to him to hug him. His eyes widened slightly, but his arms wrapped around her waist, returning the hug.
"It's nice to see you so close to her," she whispered in his ear. A shiver ran down his spine, and his arms held her more firmly. "It makes me...happy that you can have someone to be close to..."
Kohana whimpered in her sleep, making both of them jump. Blushing furiously, Francoise stood and backed away, saying, "Well, I guess I should go to sleep...good night, Joe..." With that she turned and sped out of the room almost as fast as Joe's Acceleration could have been. He just stared after her, heart pumping at a thousand miles an hour.
"Um...what just happened there?" he asked no one in particular, blinking and blushing almost as badly as Francoise. Then Kohana whimpered again, turning his attention to her. The girl curled up into a fetal position, and he kneeled beside her as she trembled.
"Not..." she murmered. Joe's eyes narrowed as he leaned in to listen to her, "Not...a...killer."
"Huh?" Her 'father' stood up, a confused expression on his face, and shook his head to himself. "Probably having another nightmare...poor kid." He again tucked the edges of Kohana's blanket around her, and sat down in the chair nearby, watching her with his chin resting on his fist, until he found himself on a cloud...with Francoise...
Before he knew it, the sun had risen and Kohana was shaking him awake on his lap, "Papa, Papa!"
"Hmmm...ugh....huh?" 009 murmered, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, "Kohana, what's the matter?"
"Papa, I had a really bad dream then it was a really good dream and a lady told me that I could have a mommy again and my new mommy is Miss Francoise!" Kohana said excitedly. For a moment, Joe stared at her, then jumped.
"Wh-what did you just say?" he asked nervously.
"Miss Francoise gets to be my new Mommy! The lady said so!"
"......." Joe shook his head clear of the cobwebs forming there, and asked, "Lady? Which lady?"
"The lady with the wings and the pretty golden thing around her head and the harp and the long white dress and the-"
"Okay, I think I get the picture...did she tell you her name?"
"Gabrielle."
"...Da-" Looking at Kohana, he finished. "...nimals. Do you like yogurt?"
"YEAH!"
"Okay, then...yogurt...yeah...um..." Joe took Kohana into the kitchen, and gave her a big bowl of yogurt. While she made Sonic the Hedgehog look like a non-eating fool, he thought to himself, 'Great...now she has angels telling her that 003 is supposed to be her mother...damn...' Remembering the big moment the night before, he blushed deeply. Kohana barely looked up from her yogurt-splattered face to tell him something before the entire ship shook, sending both Kohana and Joe to the ground. Seconds later, 002's voice sounded over the intercom.
"Everyone, we're under attack here! Get to the cockpit NOW! Black Ghost's jerk-offs---err, I mean jerks, Kohana,---are here! Hurry up!"
Joe scooped up Kohana, and went to the cockpit...where they all saw the hugest ship that man was capable of creating....
Ooooookay, you're all in for a treat on this one. Thanks for all of the suggestions. But at the beginning...you know what, what am I telling you for? You could read the damn thing and get just as much information. *hits self over head* Duh, Aamy.
Okay, read on!
The child lay there curled up in 009's lap, crying into his chest. But there were no sobs, no racking breaths. Just silence as tears poured onto the front of Joe's blue vest, soaking into it and wetting his chest. The other cyborgs all looked a bit downcast, then Kohana looked up to meet Joe's sad eyes, and said in a small voice, "But you promised..."
"I know I did. I'm sorry, Kohana. Miss Mitzuko...can't come and see you anymore," he explained, keeping Mitzuko's death subtle for the four-year-old.
"Why not?" Kohana asked, eye brows furrowed.
"...Because some of her old co-workers had to talk to her," Joe said quietly, voice on the edge of anger. Kohana nodded understandingly, and looked down.
"Black Ghost did it, then...didn't he?" Everyone looked at her wide-eyed. They didn't know she knew about Black Ghost. Joe, not knowing what else to do, nodded reluctantly. "I don't like him...he's the one who...made me like I am."
"He did the same to all of us, Kohana," Albert said softly. The girl looked at each of them, then her eyes landed on Ivan.
"Miss Mitzuko told me about it once. But she said it doesn't matter how we change...in the end, we're all human by heart."
"Then Mitzuko was really a good person," 003 said with a smile. Kohana looked at her, and nodded with a small smile of her own.
"Yep, she was. And that's how she'd want us to remember her, isn't it, Papa?" she asked, looking at Joe.
"I'm sure it is." Kohana gave him a childishly naive look of determination.
"Then that's my own mission now," she said, "I'm going to make the people who loved Miss Mitzuko remember her how she was. A good person..." Her eyes grew lidded, and she stifled a yawn as Joe cradled her closer, waiting for her to fall asleep. Two more yawns and a bit of the adults conversation later, she was sound asleep.
"She's a good little girl," 002 commented, getting strange looks from everyone and blushing. Looking away, he added, "When she's not a living terror."
007, whom was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, snorted in agreement. Joe stood up to tuck Kohana in, but 005 said, "It may be best to keep the child with us tonight..."
"Good idea, 005..." Joe lay Kohana down on the couch, and covered her up with her new favorite blanket that 005 and 008 had given her.
"009, what exactly did you say Kohana's powers are?" Dr. Gilmore asked suddenly. Joe looked over at him, and settled on the arm of the couch.
"Well, Mitzuko said she has the power to pull people into her dreams, and to make her dreams real. There's a specific phrase for it, but I can't remember..."
"Dream Telepathy?" Ivan offered.
"That's it!...Hey, you're awake!"
"Yeah, it's really difficult to get a little shut eye when the girl's troubled thoughts are disturbing even my sleep..."
003 looked up at him confusedly, "Please elaborate?"
"Well, being as we're both basically telepaths, she controlling the subconscious, I controlling the conscious, if one of us sleeps the other picks up on their dreams...she has quite horrific ones..." he said with a shudder.
"Could we use this to our advantage? I mean, she's still a kid, yeah," 002 said, catching 009's look of annoyance, "But she's sort of capable of making her dreams real. Could she dream of Black Ghost's whereabouts?"
"Probably, but not right now, 002," Dr. Gilmore said. "She's had a most traumatic time of it, according to Mitzuko...we'd better just let her bid her time on her own, for now. But, if it's all right with you, 009, I would like to run some tests on her, to see exactly how far her powers can go."
"It's not my decision, it's hers," 009 said, a sort of paternal tone to his voice. 003 studied him for a moment, wondering how the presence of a child could make him change so much. Instead of the quiet, shyly boyish man he was, he could now be called a quiet, fatherly one. As little as anyone could tell it, he was growing attached to Kohana, and hopefully...blushing, she looked away quickly.
"Well, seeing as Kohana's taken the time to rest, you all probably should too, from what I understand, she's quite a force to be reckoned with," Dr. Gilmore chuckled, glancing at 007.
"I agree with him!" 006 exclaimed, jumpuing up from a doze off. Everyone filed out, leaving 009, 003, and the sleeping Kohana.
"Aren't you going to bed, Joe?" Francoise asked with a note of worry.
"Nah, I think I'll keep an eye on her for a little while longer," he replied, looking down on Kohana with a strange glint in his eye. "I know what it's like to lose someone who's important to you...she might need me later." Francoise smiled then, and went over to him to hug him. His eyes widened slightly, but his arms wrapped around her waist, returning the hug.
"It's nice to see you so close to her," she whispered in his ear. A shiver ran down his spine, and his arms held her more firmly. "It makes me...happy that you can have someone to be close to..."
Kohana whimpered in her sleep, making both of them jump. Blushing furiously, Francoise stood and backed away, saying, "Well, I guess I should go to sleep...good night, Joe..." With that she turned and sped out of the room almost as fast as Joe's Acceleration could have been. He just stared after her, heart pumping at a thousand miles an hour.
"Um...what just happened there?" he asked no one in particular, blinking and blushing almost as badly as Francoise. Then Kohana whimpered again, turning his attention to her. The girl curled up into a fetal position, and he kneeled beside her as she trembled.
"Not..." she murmered. Joe's eyes narrowed as he leaned in to listen to her, "Not...a...killer."
"Huh?" Her 'father' stood up, a confused expression on his face, and shook his head to himself. "Probably having another nightmare...poor kid." He again tucked the edges of Kohana's blanket around her, and sat down in the chair nearby, watching her with his chin resting on his fist, until he found himself on a cloud...with Francoise...
Before he knew it, the sun had risen and Kohana was shaking him awake on his lap, "Papa, Papa!"
"Hmmm...ugh....huh?" 009 murmered, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, "Kohana, what's the matter?"
"Papa, I had a really bad dream then it was a really good dream and a lady told me that I could have a mommy again and my new mommy is Miss Francoise!" Kohana said excitedly. For a moment, Joe stared at her, then jumped.
"Wh-what did you just say?" he asked nervously.
"Miss Francoise gets to be my new Mommy! The lady said so!"
"......." Joe shook his head clear of the cobwebs forming there, and asked, "Lady? Which lady?"
"The lady with the wings and the pretty golden thing around her head and the harp and the long white dress and the-"
"Okay, I think I get the picture...did she tell you her name?"
"Gabrielle."
"...Da-" Looking at Kohana, he finished. "...nimals. Do you like yogurt?"
"YEAH!"
"Okay, then...yogurt...yeah...um..." Joe took Kohana into the kitchen, and gave her a big bowl of yogurt. While she made Sonic the Hedgehog look like a non-eating fool, he thought to himself, 'Great...now she has angels telling her that 003 is supposed to be her mother...damn...' Remembering the big moment the night before, he blushed deeply. Kohana barely looked up from her yogurt-splattered face to tell him something before the entire ship shook, sending both Kohana and Joe to the ground. Seconds later, 002's voice sounded over the intercom.
"Everyone, we're under attack here! Get to the cockpit NOW! Black Ghost's jerk-offs---err, I mean jerks, Kohana,---are here! Hurry up!"
Joe scooped up Kohana, and went to the cockpit...where they all saw the hugest ship that man was capable of creating....