I might need butter because I'm on a roll with these. I've almost caught up with my outline…
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13
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"The break is healed, but the bone will still be weak for a while," Koizumi said as he checked the x-rays they had taken of her arm on the ship.
They'd been at her grandfathers long enough for her arm to heal. Genesis sighed in relief and looked at the cast that had the drawing of a dragon on it, courtesy of 006. 001 had simply drawn a childish smiley face and she wanted it laminated. But it was right where they'd be cutting the cast open. She readied her arm on the table as Koizumi grabbed the small saw. She was ready to take a real shower and finally get rid of the gunk on her arm. He sawed through the hard material and soon she was flexing her stiff fingers. Her arm was incredibly small compared to her other one, but it made sense.
"Look at that it came off in one piece," Koizumi commented, looking at the cast like it had been a secondary skin.
"It's nice to have it off," she admitted. "I'm taking a shower, and throwing out the cast."
He chuckle at how ready she was to do things with both hands. She missed being able to cook without help, or take a shower. She didn't need help for the later, but she liked being able to take a normal one without sticking her arm out of the stream of water. He headed back to the house with an amused grin on his face. He didn't see her again until she was heading out, her hair slowly being pulled up into a ponytail. It had grown quite a bit. She hurried towards the ship, the shoes she pulled on simple flats. She wanted to see how they were painting the ship. She came up just as 002 finished his masterpiece at the front.
"While it's interesting, it's a little too noticeable," Genesis softly said, startling 008. "Ah, sorry. It wasn't on purpose to startle you."
"It's fine," 008 waved off her apology. "You're right the coloured paintings is incredibly noticeable."
They both blinked when she stopped a bucket of paint from hitting them both. He groaned at the two of them and she let out a weak chuckle, stepping back from the paint can. He followed suit and handed her his paint brush. He was going to give the two of them a piece of his mind. He rushed after them and the paint can finally slid off the small shield she had created. She was aware that 007 had taken to tossing things towards her to try and trigger the shields. She had no control over it, and Koizumi didn't know much other than she could do it before she lost her memories.
"Get back here!" 008 yelled at 007 and 006.
"Not again," 004 sighed.
"This happened before?" Genesis asked, slowly moving to help paint the ship, picking up where 008 had stopped at.
"Yeah, last time it had been the red paint," 004 answered and she sighed softly.
"Mr. Koizumi, what's wrong?" 003 asked, the older man walking up to them looked at the ship and saw the different personalities shining through.
"My dear girl can I borrow you for a time?" Koizumi asked and Genesis blinked.
"Sure," she said placing the paintbrush down in a manner that it would be easy to be picked up once again.
Genesis wondered why she agreed to go with him. She sat in the car, watching as the small forest passed them by. A part of her refused to look at the other side of the car, the cliffs bothered her greatly. Koizumi had a small conference to go to, and he had dressed for it. She was still in her casual clothing, she was going to stick out like a sore thumb. Koizumi slammed on the breaks and she held onto the car door when they skidded to the side.
"What are they doing?" Koizumi questioned, looking straight ahead at two cars.
Genesis had a bad feeling about those cars. She watched as the doors opened and revealed a short man with a cane in his hands and strange goggles. No, she narrowed her eyes. Those were cybernetic enhancements. Koizumi watched as she tensed up. He did as well.
"It's a trap," she stated. "We need to head back."
He put the car in reverse and started to back up. A sword to the engine saw them stopped. A second man joined the one with cybernetic eyes. He held an…umbrella of all things. Her eyes widened when the man held up a gun and shot something towards them. The smoke pluming from the small device caused them to evacuate the car, and right into the waiting arms of the men. A cloth covered Genesis's mouth and nose and she fought not to breathe. She felt the man press the cloth even harder against her face and she glared up at him. She couldn't pass out, not yet. She needed information as to what they planned to do with her grandfather. The man brought a hand back and slammed it into the back of her head. Dark circles filled her vision before everything went dark.
"We'll take him to Tokyo," she distinctly heard a voice say. "She'll be bait for the cyborgs, 0012 will make sure she doesn't make it out."
0012? They made another cyborg? Genesis felt hands tugging on her body and something was against her back. It was cold, and felt like stone. Her vision slowly cleared up and she squinted when she was left alone in the dark. She slowly looked around and tried to make objects out. There was a sheet of glass in front of her, the texture was what made it stand out to her. She went to get up, but found herself unable to stand. Metallic clanging and force on her limbs informed her that she was chained down. She let out a soft sound of disbelief before dropping to her knees. She was going to die, and image wasn't able to help her grandfather. She cursed in Welsh before leaning against the wall. What she was she? She would just get in the way and make peoples lives worse. She had already done so to her family. Her eyes became half lidded. Was it her fault that Koizumi had been targeted? He would've been able to get away if she had reacted faster, if she hadn't been such a cowards and chosen to stand up to the men and allow him more time. Her eyes fully closed and when she opened them, she was looking up at a blue sky.
"Oi, Amelia!" was shouted at her and she blinked in confusion.
"Who are you calling for?" she coldly questioned.
"You idiot, you said you hated your first name! So I decided to call you by your middle name, besides you look like an Amelia."
Genesis looked at the person and watched as she ran a hand through her bobbed dark brown hair. Her dark eyes were focused on her, and amusement showed through them. She had never been on the receiving end of someone giving her a nickname before, even if said nickname was her middle name. She slowly sat up and looked down at the uniform she was wearing. The blue blazer and gray skirt of kokusai high stared back at her. That…that was the school she had been attending in Japan, it was the reason why she even knew Koizumi in the first place.
"Finally," the other girl said, walking up to her. "Do you know how hard it is to crack the damn barrier in your mind?"
"Who…who are you?" Genesis asked, slowly standing up and preparing herself. "And what do you mean by barrier?"
"You really haven't gained any memories back since returning," the girl observed, she briskly walked up to Genesis and the taller girl gave her a confused look.
It swiftly turned to pain when the shorter girl head-butted her. The illusion of her being in the high school uniform was broken and she was back in her favourite clothing. The gothic harajuku style clothing she preferred appeared as she held onto her nose. The shorter woman laughed before grinning. Her fashion was prim and proper, a salary woman that seemed to be doing well judging by the quality of her clothing.
"What the hell?" she questioned, her voice a little nasally.
"There's the fire that I was looking for," the woman said. "Amelia, you were one of our best and look at you now. You can't even create a barrier."
Genesis looked around and saw a film protecting the area. It was silver in colour and seemed to waver when she gazed at it. It felt familiar to her. It came from her, she knew that much. She brought a hand forward and held it palm up. The strange film shrunk until it fit into her palm. She watched it with a sad look, not knowing why it made her sad. The strange shape of a star felt…wrong. Like it should've been a different shape. The shorter woman gave a snort, and Genesis wondered if she should've asked if she knew go undignified it sounded. An arm came from behind her and she watched as a flame appeared between two fingers, the dark red nail varnish causing her eyes to widen.
"You leave my child alone," a voice said, the slightly soft tone causing tears to appear in Genesis's eyes.
The flames removed the shorter woman from the area and Genesis looked down towards her feet, the star in her hand cracking into a million pieces. Her hand fell to her side and she gazed down at her feet. The black canvas shoes a personal favourite of hers. She felt lost all over again. The feeling echoed in the area around her as it cracked, showing it for the facade that it was.
"You…you agreed to have your memories taken," the woman's voice continued. "You did a brave thing, and I'm proud of you."
The tears started falling and Genesis couldn't stop them. Arms wrapped around her and she hurried her face into the faux fur coat that smelt like cigarettes and smoke. Fingers glided through her hair and the familiar sensation made it worse. This was kaa-san, the person she saw as her mother. She stepped back and watched as her face came into focus, the gentle smile on painted red lips and kind green eyes. One of her hands stayed on Genesis's face and she held onto her hand.
"You've changed from that stubborn child to a kind woman," Kaa-san said, watching as her daughter looked down once again. "But you want to protect those cyborgs."
"How?" Genesis asked before sighing quietly. "Are you a part of my subconscious?"
"You already know the answer to that, there is more in this world that cannot be explained than can," kaa-san said and Genesis nodded her agreement. "So, work hard and protect them. You seem awfully fond of them."
"They didn't deserve what was done to them," Genesis stated.
"Then start to remember and protect them," kaa-San said. "Oh, and I approve of that German one if you were wondering, a good man like him is difficult to find."
Genesis didn't get to question her on that when lights turned on in the room she was in, breaking the trance she was in. She…she remembered again. She knew what she was, but not why she forgot or what she had been doing in Japan. Kaa-San…it was nice to talk to her again. The last time she had, she had been dying in her arms. An esper, and she knew that was what 001 was. They were the same kind of human, and it explained his fathers madness behind his experimentation on his own son. Their illnesses when born. She sat up straight and looked around the room. It was completely made of stone with a single, large metal door. She looked at the wall of glass and noted the screens behind it showing her what looked to be a house.
"Oh, so you're awake," a female voice stated and Genesis looked around with narrowed eyes. "You're cyborgs have come for you, but they are too late."
"Oh, it's 004, and 009 I'll be fine," Genesis stated, sighing in relief even as water began to fill the room.
"What about the third one?" the woman asked.
"I also have faith in 007."
She said that, just as he triggered a trap. The rug of the hallway they were walking down started to follow them at such a fast speed that it made her genuinely concerned they might be taken out by a rug. 007 got caught up by the rug and 004 and 009 jumped out of the way as it continued on its trajectory. It stopped, and she watched in fascination as the rug slowly turned around. There was only one thing she could say to that.
"What the fuck? Who has a spike pit in their house?" Genesis had so many questions, and she could tell it was annoying the woman.
That had to be 0012, the one who was seemingly controlling the house. She brought a hand to her face in thought, ignoring the water that was steadily rising. Or the fact that the cyborgs keep bumping into trap after trap. She almost wished she could say something to them. She blinked as it hit her. The reason she couldn't hear 001 was because he was telepathically communicating, did that mean she could possibly do the same thing. She looked at the screens. 004 would be the best person to call on, she just hoped he would listen. She closed her eyes and focused, trying to use whatever power she could muster at the moment.
"How is he setting off every trap?" 004 had the same thoughts she did.
"Good question," she said and she got radio silence. "Listen I don't have long, the one in control of the house is 0012."
"That explains the traps," 004 muttered. "Is mr Koizumi with you?"
"No, he was taken to Tokyo," she answered, feeling the drain already.
She opened her eyes to look at the monitor. 004 was telling the others something and 007's shocked expression almost made her laugh. The water that splashed up against her chest was more concerning. It had risen quite a bit. She jolted when the image of a woman appeared before her, the clothing from the taisho era. The house couldn't be that old. Then again, black ghost most likely updated everything inside of it to make it blend in a bit more. The woman smirked when 007 set off a trap that made the water enter the room faster. She felt it crawling up her chest and slowly got up as much as she was able to with the chains.
"…where are…. you?" 004's question was like trying to listen to a distant radio station, so filled with static.
"In a room with rising water, it had only one door and from my end it looks like metal," she answered, struggling to keep her head above the water.
She didn't hear what he said in response as the water covered her head. Her connection was completely severed. She heard 0012 laughing and her eyes closed as she tried to remain calm. Her hair was floating when she reopened them. It was oddly calming to see. It also made her realise that she needed to act, and quickly. She slowly looked towards the door, and focused on it. A strange pressure began to build behind her eyes, and the familiarity of it was welcomed. It grew, and grew, until the wall around the door began to crack.
"What are you?" 0012's question didn't stop her from trying to get out.
Her lungs began to burn and she fought the urge to take a breath. The pressure was starting to get too much, and she started to wince. She refuses to simply sit there and die. She had to keep the cyborgs safe, she cared. Perhaps the other scientists were right, she was too soft. But…she could still protect others. Dark circles began to form in her vision and she fought down the panic that started forming. If she fainted, she wouldn't make it out! She was struggling to keep herself awake, sleep sounded too good but it wasn't. Bubbles escaped her mouth as she finally lost the battle of holding her breath. She lost her concentration, and floated aimlessly. Something silver moved through the water and came closer as she slowly lost the battle with her consciousness. She winced as something hard pressed up against her and heard the metal chains breaking. Whatever had grabbed her was fast under the water. She was thankful when her head broke the surface and she could breathe again.
"Doctor Marley!" 007's shout got her attention and she gave a slight wave in greeting.
"Are you all right?" 009 asked.
That only left one person that could've helped her. She gave a silent 004 a thankful look before nodding towards 009. He reached forward and helped the two of them out. She swayed slightly, feeling the strain on her system. They needed to leave, and quickly. They couldn't until 0012 was taken care of, as horrible as it sounded. 009 put a hand on her shoulder as she got her bearings. She did almost drown, she had the right to be tired. He watched as her expression turned thoughtful.
"The room I was in had screens behind the glass pane," she stated, her voice thoughtful. "The central room might be close."
It made sense and the three males nodded. Genesis made a face as she was put behind them to be protected. 009 and 007 seemed incredibly worried, but 004 hadn't said a single thing to her. She didn't blame him, yet it felt like they'd stepped back several places from their friendly- if not a little strained and uneasy- conversations. Her focus left her thoughts as she reached out and stopped 007 in his tracks, effectively stopping him from springing yet another trap. He let out a surprised sound and her kind look let him know she wasn't annoyed. She looked up at a large painting and tilted her head.
"That's Surgat," she stated.
"I think I've heard of him," 009 stated, thinking back to his religious upbringing. "He's the demon who opens all locks."
"It's on the nose," 004 stated and she nodded her agreement. "But, it's better than nothing."
"I feel like I've missed something," Genesis muttered, looking at the three men.
007 let out a sheepish laugh while 004 heaved out a heavy sigh. Huh, maybe he wasn't angry at her. Now she needed to know what 007 did. 009 slowly reached for the painting and she felt a nervous energy fill the room. Enough sprung traps would do that. A laugh echoed around them and Genesis looked around with narrowed eyes. 0012 was playing with them.
"We need to hurry," 009 stated. "We found Doctor Marley, we can deal with 0012 later."
"Can you keep up?" 004 asked Genesis.
"I can try," her unsure answer caused him to frown, but she gave him a serious look. "We need to get going."
They all began to run down the hallway. Genesis felt her heart thumping and she winced with pain every so often. Oh, her body was going to hate her for the next month. She stopped in her tracks as a wall shot up out of the ground. 007 slammed into it full force and she winced sympathetically. That had to have hurt. Another wall quickly followed suit before they even got the chance to escape the way they came.
"How nice of you to end up in my stomach," 0012 stated, and Genesis gained a faraway expression at the false sweetness of her voice.
A bubbling green liquid began to fill the room and Genesis quickly snapped out of her strange expression. A nervousness appeared instead. She didn't think she'd survive that liquid like she would the water. 004 held an arm up and slowly pushed her back. Her eyes widened when he simply picked her up and placed her on a piece of furniture. His eyes narrowed considerably as he noted something. They soon joined her on the furniture.
"That's digestive fluid," 004 stated. "She's trying to melt us."
"The ray gun won't work on her," 009 stated.
"I'm All out of energy so I can't just break the wall," Genesis softly admitted. "Getting that message out to 004 took a lot of energy…I'm rusty."
Granted it had been five years or so since she'd used her abilities. It made sense that she couldn't use them like she used to. 004 stood up straight and fired his ray gun at the wall, much to 0012's amusement. 007 stared at the bubbling liquid as it rose even further.
"Why'd it have to be this way? I'm going to die by digestion," 007 stated. "I thought I'd live a lot longer."
"Would you stop babbling?" 004 asked, not in the mood for the other cyborg to start waxing poetic.
"Let's aim at the same place together," 009 suggested.
They collectively nodded and soon did so. Genesis backed up a bit when the bubbling liquid started reaching the furniture. She didn't have anywhere else to go. She reactively winced, of course she gets into this type of situation after her arm heals. That was just the universe's way of balancing things. 007 stopped firing for a second as his feet began to burn from the liquid and all of them turned towards him.
"Don't stop firing!" The three stated, and he went back to firing at once.
Soon they created a few cracks in the wall before switching modes on their guns. 0012 let out pained grunts as a large hole appeared. Genesis couldn't help but be amazed at the three. She let out a quiet yelp of surprise when she was picked up by 004 of all the cyborgs. He jumped through the hole and she wasn't even jostled by the landing. He placed her on her feet and she sighed.
"Thank you, 004," she said, and he simply nodded.
"We need to find her," 009 stated.
"I think that's the only way we'll be able to get out of this nuthouse," 004 agreed.
How was it that 004 seemed to be the one she was relying on the most? She tried to not move as he sprinted down a crumbling hallway with her on his back. She didn't want to get in his way, and was ignoring the bright red blush on her face. It was slightly embarrassing being carried around in such a way. A part of her knew that it was because it threw her condition in her face without meaning to. 004 wasn't that cruel, nor was he really. A bit nihilistic and sarcastic, but not cruel. His head moved to the side as he looked around for a door, any door at this point.
"009, over there!" he shouted, motioning towards it with his head.
"Right!" 009 stated.
Genesis closed her eyes as they burst through the doors and into a relatively nice sitting room. She slowly released her hold on 004 and dropped to the ground. He needed to be able to fight without her hindering him. She noted the chessboard and saw the pieces that had fallen. Someone had been playing, perhaps that woman. The one with the green hair and purple dress?
"She's not here," 009 commented.
"I'm impressed you made it this far," 0012 informed them, and it was obvious she was feeling some pain from their man made pathways. "But you'll go no further. Checkmate."
Genesis was confused when 007 dropped to the ground in pain. 004 and 009 were still standing, but holding their ears. She didn't hear anything, but maybe that's because she didn't rely on cybernetics in her brain. Whatever they were hearing was attacking that part of them. She thought back to the modifications she had made to the first generation of cyborgs. The inclusion of the inner radio allowed her to see other parts. She needed to think. It was Theo super hearing! Sure, none of them could hear as good as 003, but they were able to hear on another level that a human couldn't. The only way to beat it…was…
"009, use your acceleration!" Genesis shouted towards the Japanese cyborg.
His brown eyes closed before he did as she said. She held up an arm in surprise when she noted he was gone from where he had been and glass was suddenly falling to the ground. That speed, it truly was incredible. The two cyborgs near her suddenly felt relief and lowered their hands from their heads. She was glad they weren't in pain anymore. She turned her attention towards the giant robot that had been hiding behind the glass. A one way-mirror. Smart, but deadly. A woman was lying inside a glass coffin, and above that was a brain. It had to belong to her.
"So, that's 0012's true form," 007 stated.
0012 was going to take them out with her. Genesis watched as wires came from the robot and her eyes widened. She stopped 007 from rushing forward. It was too late, that woman was already dead and had been for a long time. He turned around to say something and saw her expression. A small explosion came from 0012 as she released 007. She held an arm up to cover her eyes at the hot air that burst forward from the explosion.
"Let's go, 007," 004 said, putting a hand on the British cyborg's shoulder.
He moved quickly and Genesis found herself back on his back. She couldn't help but bury her face in his back to stop from inhaling the smoke. 007 broke through the front doors first, than 009, before 004 and Genesis. They all welcomed the fresh air and sat on the ground to rest for a bit. Genesis felt something in the back of her mind and slowly looked back at the house. The woman was standing at a window, and a man slowly joined her. She didn't know what the cyborgs were seeing, but she could see them. The woman gave her husband a loving smile before looking down at them, an apologetic expression on her kind face. The man simply nodded before giving his wife an adoring look. So, that's why 0012 was a house and a human corpse. She was waiting for someone.
"Impossible," 004 stated.
"I don't think so," Genesis quietly disagrees.
The conversation died when the house crumbled into rubble before disappearing all together. The sounds of a forest at night filled the area and Genesis hadn't even realised that it had been so quiet. An owl hooted in the distance as crickets began to chirp.
"In the end, was she…" 009 trailed off.
"Maybe a soul," 004 finished, not really believing in such things.
"A soul?" 009 questioned.
"The soul of that woman, waiting for her husband to come back, even after death," 004 said, looking down at the ground with a frown. "I bet her feelings were so strong that her soul stayed on this land."
"She had to have waited for a long time," Genesis stated, her voice carrying an odd tone to it. "No wonder Black Ghost went after her…when you wait that long you get desperate for any help you could possibly get."
"That's unbelievably cruel," 009 said, more in reference to black ghost.
"That's just a hypothesis," 004 said, shrugging.
"007," 009 called and the bald man slowly turned to look at them.
"Let's go," 004 stated. "We don't have the time to hang around here."
"We need to find Mr Koizumi," 009 agreed and Genesis gained a determined look.
"We'll need to start heading to Tokyo, hopefully they haven't left the area yet and he's still in Japan," Genesis stated, waking forward.
She ignored the feeling of rocks digging into the bottom of her feet. The bottom of her shoes were gone, completely destroyed by 0012. It was all right, shoes could be replaced. Her grandfather could not. She let out a slight shiver as a cool breeze went though the area. Her wet clothing was not the best thing to be wearing. Still, she needed to push past that discomfort.
They were going to need all eyes out for Koizumi.
