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10
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Genesis looked at the sea as she walked the familiar pathway. The garden had taken a small hit since she'd last seen it. She brought a hand up and ran it through her incredibly shaggy hair. The more she had thoughts like that the more she started to think about what she was missing. She could hear voices, and see faces, but she couldn't piece together what memory it was or why she saw it. What need did she have to remember a school uniform. Granted, it showed up in a picture of her that Koizumi had. He seemed so relieved to see her, and had made sure she knew it by giving her a hug that felt too much like home for her comfort. She wished that she could happily return that hug, but she didn't know how to do so genuinely. She refused to give him a false hug like that. He was too kind, letting them stay at his home. She looked up from the ground when someone joined her.
"Hello," she quietly greeted 004. "You're an early riser too?"
"Yes, you know Koizumi?" he asked and she welcomed his blunt nature.
"I should…but I have a whole year of memories missing and judging from the photo he has it lines up with the gap," she admitted before sighing. "I wish I did remember…he deserves that courtesy."
He watched as she slowly moved towards the house and took a seat on the engawa noting the daffodils planted close by. Something that was new, she only knew that because they were unfamiliar in a familiar environment. 004 stiffly sat next to her and she was slightly amused by him. He was a kind man deep down, he just liked to pretend he wasn't. A breeze went through the area and she welcomed the odd warmth of the yukata she was wearing. She had a room, and it had clothing in it that still fit. Her suitcase was filled with work clothes and one casual outfit, it wouldn't do for her to stand out too much. She looked at the flower patterned cotton and felt the need to scratch her eyes out. Maybe it would stop the uncomfortable feeling of missing something, but not knowing what she was experiencing any time she looked at something nearby.
"You might upset him with that uncomfortable face," 004 informed her and she let out a soft sigh.
"Right, sorry," she apologised, slowly closing off her expressions. "Would you like some breakfast."
That was how 004 found himself helping the former black ghost scientist in the kitchen. She gently walked him through the recipe for crempog, something that was just a pancake. She was able to flip them, she just couldn't whisk anything. Koizumi had woken up to a very familiar smell and felt years younger as he checked in the kitchen to see the once teenage girl cooking with help. She had changed, and he knew that she didn't remember Gilmore kindly filling him in, seeing as she didn't know how to, she was outwardly cold but that warmth she had was still the same. The same girl that had been put under his care during her final year of high school, the same girl that had bruises and scars that she hid from everyone, and the same girl that had become his family. It didn't matter if her parents refused to sign over the legal papers, that was still his granddaughter. She started to dish up the crempog as the German cyborg put the scrambled eggs onto a separate plate. It smelt wonderful, and he was excited to eat her cooking again. It was a nice change of pace from the Japanese breakfast he always had. He became excited when sausage came into the picture.
"Thank you, 004," Genesis said, her tiny smile reaching her eyes. "I appreciate the help,"
He gave a curt nod, to her slight amusement. He was acting shy? It was oddly refreshing. He helped further by bringing the plates to the dining table. She came in with a kettle of boiling water for tea, and then another one with coffee. The others slowly walked in and took their seats. Koizumi noted that they were all strangers to one another, not really knowing how to act. 004 and Genesis had a strange truce going on where he would talk to her and try to get to know her. While 003 politely talked to the other wo,an about modern fashion and everything else that had changed. Genesis welcomed her friend in the blonde cyborg and slowly began to bring her into the twenty first century. They would have to go shopping together at one point. That was one of the few ways to get the French woman integrated and used to her abilities in a modern setting. She'd wait until she was sure the other woman could handle it. Not wanting to push her too far out of her comfort zone. Breakfast finished and 006 put 007 to work by cleaning the pots and pans. Genesis went to protest and the kind man simply waved off her concern. She was kind enough to make them breakfast, the least they could do was clean up.
"Sorry I wasn't able to tell you myself," Genesis said as she sat across from Koizumi at a shogi board. "I didn't know how."
"That didn't change one bit from when you were a teenager," Koizumi informed her in a kind voice. "Neither did your talent at shogi, you might actually beat me for once."
"We both know that's unlikely," Genesis said, her good natured tone causing him to chuckle.
There she was, subconsciously remembering, but not consciously remembering. Sometimes he wished to be able to see into her mind. It was fascinating how it seemed to work. Gilmore joined them, 001 was with him. The baby cyborg reached out for Genesis and she picked him up with a practiced ease. He relaxed immediately and fell asleep. Gilmore was surprised by that, 001 never wanted to be held while he slept. There was a connection between his friend and the cyborg, and it couldn't be the strange nature of her block or missing memories. He acted like his physical age when she was around.
"That little boy sure can sleep," Koizumi commented.
"You don't know the half of it, once he's down he's out for fifteen days," Gilmore stated, looking over the shogi board, having traded places with Genesis.
"Have you considered he might be part bear and is simply hibernating?" Koizumi joked before looking at the board. "You might want to concentrate on the game my friend."
No Gilmore made his move and nervously looked up. Genesis studied the board and looked to the side in slight humour. He might not want to do that. She quietly yawned and slowly started to doze off. Her head tilted to the side and some of 001's hair gently ruffled against it. He snuggled a bit closer and grasped at her clothes a bit more. Koizumi wished he had a camera.
"You sure you want to make that move?" Koizumi asked, always one to mess with Gilmore. "All right."
"Oh, I'm backed into a corner!" Gilmore stated, looking at the board in disbelief.
Genesis had even given him a lead on Koizumi, how could he mess that up! His friend bit into a rice cracker and waited for him to make his move, allowing him time to see how he had messed up. Koizumi got up to make some tea, chuckling to himself. It was always entertaining to rile Gilmore up. When he came back some of the pieces had mysteriously moved on him. Even while cheating Gilmore wouldn't be able to win.
"006, are you sure you don't want any help?" Genesis asked as said cyborg started to cut up a giant fish.
"I'm sure, go and rest now you're arm will never heal if you don't," he stated, waving her away.
She entered the sitting room and almost went right back into the kitchen. The atmosphere was suffocating! How in the world was 001 sleeping through it. 003 was frowning and staring at the table. Not wanting to look at anyone. Genesis wondered who the instigator was. 002 let out a disgruntled sigh. Ah, so it was him.
"How long are we going to sit here and do nothing?" 002 asked, and no one answered him. "We have the means and we've already stolen one of their warships. It's armed and ready to go, we can use it to our advantage. Let's find black ghost headquarters and attack!"
"I don't want to fight anymore," 003 informed him, and it was a sentiment they all shared. "Why do we have to be the ones to fight? Is it because we're cyborgs? Let someone else do it, I'm tired."
003 felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder and looked up to see Genesis giving her a concerned look. The second they broke free from black ghost was the second her true personality truly began to shine through. The Frenchwoman put her head in her hands and rubbed at her eyes. She could feel the exhaustion, not just from all the fighting but also from her own abilities making it difficult to fall asleep at night.
"I feel the same way," 007 agreed. "All we're doing right now is planning our strategy, by the way what was it?"
"Let's stop talking and do something," 002 stated, and once again he got no answer.
"We have no plan, or information on black ghost," Genesis finally said looking down at her injured arm, a small frown on her face. "Even if we wanted to do something, we don't have the means to do so…heading in now would only see everyone killed so please, just calm down for now."
"How can you say that?" 002 asked her and she sighed.
"She's not wrong," 008 said, agreeing with the scientists. "We need information to create a plan."
"Fine, if none of you want to help me then I'll go after black ghost myself," 002 snapped at them.
"What do you expect to accomplish?" 004 asked as 002 started towards the door.
"A lot more than you're doing here," 002 stated.
"We will be much more effective if we have a solid plan," 004 said, his agreement with Genesis small but there.
"What plan have you developed?" 002's question caused Genesis to grow uncomfortable.
"It's moo goo gai pan," 006 stated, unintentionally answering the question. "It's something hot and gooey cooked in a pan."
Genesis wilted slightly as the tension rose a bit more. 005 got her attention with the small squirrel that seemed to think he was a tree. She smiled slightly when the furry creature scratched at its ears before sniffing at her. The small animal was a welcomed distraction from all the anger. 006 looked ready to step back into the kitchen, the steaming plate of food in his hands lowering the slightest. He would have to serve dinner later.
"Please try to calm down, 002," Gilmore said. "You'll never get close enough to the black ghost to get rid of him, I myself have never seen him in person."
"I got a letter," Genesis stated the squirrel twitching at her voice and hiding back in 005's shirt sleeve. "That's the extent of my contact with the sociopath."
"We won't have to worry about going after them, they'll be coming after us," 004 said. "We betrayed them and that kind of behaviour isn't acceptable. They'll want revenge."
All the cyborgs in the room agreed. Yet, the tension was still high. Genesis hadn't expected 002 to be so anxious about black ghost, but she couldn't blame him. This was an organization that had funding where they were just a mishmash of people that could work together. She was brought out of her thoughts by the lights flickering before fully going out. The dark made it even more uncomfortable than it had been. She fisted the bottom of her yukata in her good hand and tried to ignore the unease she was feeling. It felt like something was coming, and she didn't know what.
"Must be a power failure," 006 lightly commented.
They heard footsteps approaching and everyone in the room tensed. All eyes focused on the door, the only entrance to the room that they had closed. 005 stepped up to protect Gilmore and Genesis, surprising the two scientists. His serious expression left no room for arguing, not that they would. The door slowly slid open and Genesis heard a click echo in the room. 004 turned off the safety of his hand. The door opened and Koizumi was soon illuminated by a small candle in his hands. 006 let out a scream at the sight of him and the plate of food hit the top of his head.
"Mr. Koizumi," Gilmore sighed in relief.
"Sorry about the lights, the wiring is pretty old in here," Koizumi said and Genesis let out an amused huff.
"I did offer to update them," she said without thinking, unknowingly remembering something. "You said you liked the idea of an old fashioned house."
Koizumi laughed at her words and she shook her head in amusement. She couldn't believe he still thought that way. She stopped shaking her head and rubbed the back of it with a frown. It was nice to get something back even if it was small, but it didn't help her know why she was in the predicament she was in. 006 licked some of the food that was slowly going down his cheek and his expression brightened.
"Hey this stuff is pretty good!" his exclamation caused 007 to give a light laugh.
A gust of wind carrying the scent of the ocean and rain blew into the room. Genesis held her hair down and watched as the paper from the typewriter, that held writing on it most likely from 007, flew into the air before landing haphazardly across the floor. Genesis was fine with it until a large clap of thunder went through the area. She flinched at the loud noise and blushed when 002 raised a brow. He was the only one to notice her reaction. She was afraid of thunder, sue her. Thunder storms were a rare occurrence when she was growing up. England didn't tend to get a lot like other countries. That, and extremely loud noises reminded her of the times her mother lost her temper. She didn't like being reminded of such things.
"Somethings coming," 003 informed them.
"Did they find us?" 008 asked.
"I'm not sure, but something is wrong," 003 answered. "I'm sensing danger nearby."
"Are any of you surprised?" 004 dryly asked before standing up straight. "How many are there?"
"And where are they coming from?" 002 added his earlier anxiety vanishing.
"They are coming in from the south west, about twelve hundred metres…wait a minute," 003 informed them before frowning. "I'm sensing only one."
"Just one is hardly worth our time, I'll get rid of it," 002 stated.
"No one moved without my permission," Gilmore said, getting up from his spot on the couch.
Genesis wondered if he realised that he was treating the cyborgs like his children. Koizumi was having the same thoughts. He watched as the red headed cyborg quickly jumped from the balcony before taking flight. It was incredible how Gilmore had given a human the ability to fly. Yet, it was horrible how it had been done.
"Wait!" Gilmore hurried towards the balcony. "You don't know what's out there!"
"You really can't talk sense into him when he's like this, Doctor Gilmore," 004 said, watching 002 from under his fringe. "You stay here, we'll bring him back in."
"I may not like this, but please be careful," Genesis softly told the cyborgs, getting a few nods out of them.
009 marvelled at how kind she was, and how strange that no one else really seemed to notice besides 006. They were the only ones to really see her how she was. 003 could as well, but was too distracted by what needed to be done. Gilmore raised his hands and sent the cyborgs a worried expression. He watched as they all left the room, leaving the three doctors behind.
"Do you still hate thunderstorms?" Koizumi asked Genesis, trying to lighten the mood.
A clap of thunder went through the area and she flinched. There was his answer. Gilmore was surprised that he'd learn more and more about the woman the longer she was around Koizumi. The man said she had taken a while to open up to him and even then she was incredibly tight lipped about certain things. Such as the abuse she had experienced from her biological family. The scars that he'd never seen before had been seen by Koizumi during one of her high school culture festivals.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Gilmore couldn't help but say.
He shared a look with Genesis. She nodded her agreement and they both went to get raincoats. She tied back the sleeves of her yukata with a ribbon and slipped her arms through the heavy coat she'd left behind. They looked towards the sea and saw the lightening and explosions. That was too close to the ground, and far away from the sky. Genesis felt a sinking sensation in her stomach.
"They used one of my ideas," she whispered in horror. "Doctor Gilmore, we need to hurry. I don't know how well they can handle being electrocuted."
"I thought you removed all traces of your ideas from the computers," Gilmore stated as they hurried down stone steps and towards the cliffs.
"I did, they must've been able to reconstruct one of the files," she said, worry in her voice.
Thunder sounded again and she couldn't help but flinch. A second one followed and he watched as she moved past her fear to help the cyborgs. The battle seemed to die down just the slightest before moving areas. Something cold and wet hit the top of her head and she looked up to see it had begun to rain. Gilmore and Genesis came across the cyborgs and they hurried towards them. 003 was still able to move and was surprised when Genesis put her raincoat on her instead. She could deal with getting sick, she'd make it.
"003, where's 009? I don't see him," Genesis softly asked.
"He's down there," 003 answered motioning towards the broken cliff.
Genesis gave her a nod of understanding and slowly moved to see if the Japanese cyborg was all right. She narrowed her eyes and slowly slid down, using the familiar terrain to her advantage. She stumbled slightly before kneeling next to the brown haired cyborg. She couldn't tell if he was all right or not. She slowly placed a hand on his chest and waited to feel if his cybernetics were working. She felt the machinery humming against his chest and let out a soft sigh of relief. All the cyborgs were going to need patching up. She slowly pulled one of his arms around her shoulders and heaved. She knew the proper lifting techniques, and honestly could pick up heavy machinery due to her love of cybernetics, but still found him difficult to pick up. She slowly made her way to the side of the cliff and looked for a way to get him up there. The rain was making it a bit difficult to see anything. It was slow, but she was able to get him up to a slope of sorts. Her small sandals made it difficult to get a grip on the wet rocks and sand. She slid a few times before finally getting him up there. 003 hurried forward and helped by slinging his other arm around her shoulders.
"We need to start repairing you," Gilmore informed the cyborgs. "We don't know how severe the damage is and it's better to be safe than sorry."
005 nodded, he was the least damaged and was holding onto his comrades. He'd carry them inside. 004 moved on 005's shoulder, his expression pained and he looked up to see the two women helping 009. They had lost that fight, and spectacularly at that. He let out a groan and fell unconscious.
