Chapter 6: Tears of Steel
Harry sat in Kozumi's study, curled up in a plush armchair he'd nicked from another room as he slowly sounded his way through a Japanese children's book.
He'd told Dr. Kozumi that he wanted to actually learn Japanese, so he could help when the man went into town for various chores and errands. And he knew at some point they'd have to go to the city. For what, he wasn't sure, but he knew they couldn't stay in the professor's home forever.
That, and languages had always fascinated him, written or spoken. Not even his disastrous fourth year had managed to take that from him.
It had been roughly two, no, three days since 0010's attack.
At Dr. Gilmore's insistence, they'd set up a new routine for their continued stay at Professor Kozumi's. One which included the cyborg members of their team regularly patrolling the man's property for threats.
It was a reasonable idea, but it left Harry feeling like a soldier. But, he supposed he was one. To a degree at least. Gilmore had assigned him the early morning shifts, as he always seemed to be up at that time anyway (mostly because he rarely went to sleep in the first place. Not that he'd told the man that), which was fine by him.
He looked up from his book at the faint groan that came from the couch.
Albert had volunteered to take the morning patrol with Harry, though the teen didn't understand why.
He still suspected that he kept waking the man in the morning, but he had no way to confirm it. And the German certainly wasn't telling him if he did. The two had been chatting the night before about Harry's interest in languages and how he planned to learn them (which led Harry to learning about the translator chip installed in his brain, but that only worked for spoken word).
At some point, the older man had dozed off on the couch, and the wizard hadn't had the heart to wake him. So, he'd just thrown a blanket over the silver-haired man and let him sleep.
A frown tugged at Harry's lips at the expression on the man's face.
Albert's eyes were squeezed shut, his brow furrowed, and his mouth curved into a frown. The lines of his face were drawn and tense, and he looked very distressed. He was making anxious sounds in his sleep, as well.
Harry didn't like seeing that expression on Albert's face, he decided.
The German man wasn't supposed to be distressed; disapproving, amused, even comforting, but never distressed. He was supposed to be the breath of calm cynicism that kept the rest of the group grounded in the insanity that surrounded them.
Harry quickly marked his page as he unfurled from the chair and quietly padded over to the sleeping man.
"Albert?" he called softly. Albert was a light sleeper. It never seemed to take much to wake him. Though he claimed he'd grown used to Harry's soft movements in the next room over. Reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder, he called again, "Albert?"
The adult jolted up, a choked gasp of alarm escaping him, startling Harry. Albert's breathing was heavy as his eyes swept about the room, with that kind of franticness of someone trying to find something or even someone who wasn't there. Blue-gray eyes finally landed on alarmed green ones, and recognition finally flashed through them.
"H-Harry? Oh, it was a dream. I was dreaming." The man let out a shaky breath, burying his face in his hands. "Just a dream."
"U-um… Are- are you- alright?" he asked softly. He wasn't used to dealing with other people's nightmares. Normally, he wasn't around for them. And if he was, they were minor things that a quick word of reassurance or encouragement could fix. This didn't seem like one of those times. And most people had never shown him very much concern for such things.
Except for Albert, and the other cyborgs. He couldn't help thinking.
Misty-gray eyes turned to him and simply stared for a few quiet moments. Harry nervously shuffled his feet at the look. Had he said something wrong? Should he have not asked that? Did Albert not want him to help? The older man sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I will be. I-I don't want to talk about it. Not right now." After a moment, the wizard gave an accepting nod. He wanted to know what was wrong, but he wouldn't let himself be a hypocrite by trying to force the man to tell him. It wouldn't be right.
Clutching his book against his chest, he carefully trotted back to his seat. Albert gave him space when he needed it, so he would do the same. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the older man pull a golden ring on a chain out from under his shirt. Was that- an engagement ring?
No, he wouldn't ask. He glanced out the window at the slowly brightening sky.
"We should probably get ready, 008 and 005 will be back soon." He commented, trying to find something to talk about. He honestly didn't know what else to do in this kind of situation. He heard the man behind him let out a confirming grunt, followed by the rustling of cloth.
"Let's get ready then."
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~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~
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Albert stared at his engagement ring, sighing softly as he once again slipped it inside his shirt. The morning patrol had been quiet, and there wasn't a single hint of trouble in any direction. Which was good for them. Black Ghost wasn't sending the next enemy after them yet. Therefore, they still had time to heal and recover from 0010's assault.
Harry had decided to use the opportunity to practice (and learn) animal training signals with his owl, Hedwig. Albert was rather surprised by how well the two worked together. He hadn't seen such a good match since he was a child, and had seen an animal show at the Hageback Zoological Gardens.
Hedwig seemed to have a perfect understanding of her owner, following each instruction given to her whether it was a word, whistle, or snapping fingers. It was impressive, to say the least.
Breakfast had been made by 006 by the time they returned, so all they had to do was sit down and dig in. Everything had been relaxed, filled with idle chatter from Professor Kozumi, 007 asking 003 to take another look at his manuscript about their "adventures" (without much success), and Dr. Gilmore conversing with Harry.
The last one seemed to center around the Doctor trying to sneakily pry more information from the teen about his secret powers. Not that it was working, Harry was alarmingly good at verbal misdirection and giving non-answers to questions. He almost had Albert going for a few of them. (He wondered just how the teen had gained such a skill. An uncomfortable feeling in his stomach made him think he didn't want to know the answer.)
"009, there's something I've been meaning to ask you." Harry looked up at Professor Kozumi, curiosity glinting in his eyes. The look was enough to let the professor know he was listening. "Just how old are you? I know you look rather young compared to the others, but I don't think anyone's asked."
Harry blinked at the man.
"Well, um, what month is it?"
"April 1996."
"Ah, then I'm still fifteen. My birthday's July 31st." Albert almost dropped his drink, while 007 spat his tea across the table, almost coating 002 in it, and Dr. Gilmore made a strange strangled sound from his seat next to Kozumi. Even 005 and 008 had stilled, turning to look at Harry in surprise, with a trace of alarm on their faces. Green-eyes blinked in a kind of innocent confusion at their reactions. "What? Is something wrong?"
"You're only fifteen?!" 007 wheezed out, obviously not believing his ears. "You weren't even out of school when Black Ghost took you!"
The teen's face scrunched in confusion at that.
"Well… Yeah, but… I doubt they would've cared about that…" Harry trailed off, seeming to shrug off the shock held by the rest of the team.
Albert wanted to give him some form of admonishment. To tell Harry that it was not okay that he had been dragged into this, that he shouldn't just shrug it off. The responsible adult in him wanted to jump up and tell that he shouldn't have to fight Black Ghost. Harry wasn't an adult, he wasn't even legal age! They should have never brought him in, he should be safe at home with his friends or his family not-
Albert abruptly halted his train of thought.
No, that wasn't right, none of them wanted this to happen to them. Harry never decided to join this fight, just like the rest of them. The only one who had chosen to fight against Black Ghost was Dr. Gilmore, and that was more from guilt, regret, and even betrayal than the rest of them. And Harry had implied (never outright said, just implied) that he wasn't close with his remaining family. He took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, and cut into 006's near panic attack over Harry's age.
"Sorry, 009, we were just surprised." He said, carefully picking his words. He didn't want to give the wrong impression to the kid. He didn't want him to think they believed him to be in-capable just because he was younger than them. "I guess we were all under the impression that you were older than that."
"It's fine, I get it a lot," Harry assured them, a small smile on his face.
The rest of breakfast was rather subdued, as everyone mulled over the new information. Though 006 was still making displeased noises over Black Ghost bringing in someone as young as Harry into the Cyborg Soldier Project (not that Albert could blame the man). Albert couldn't help noting that the doctor looked much paler than before.
Just how much information about them had Black Ghost hidden from the man to keep him working for them?
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~~~MAGICA~~CYBORG~~009~~
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Albert stood silently at his position just outside the tree line on Professor Koizumi's property, right where they'd initially planned their fight against 0010 Minus. He let out a deep sigh, looking out at the distant line where the sky met with the sea.
I just can't put it aside. He thought tiredly, scrubbing a hand through his hair. If he was the same age as 002 or 003, it would be easier on my mind, but I just can't push back the thought that 009's only fifteen. He's being mature about all this, but it still bothers me.
Which brought up the question of why he was so mature. It would take a very difficult childhood to make someone grow up so quickly, not even 002 (who claimed he grew up on the streets) was as mature about what was happening to them as 009. That was… troubling, to say the least. To imagine a good kid like Harry being put through something like that.
No child should be put through that, or anything like what his mind was creating as an explanation.
He looked down at the radar Dr. Gilmore made, hoping it would provide some distraction from his tremulous thoughts. So far, the radar wasn't showing the approach of anything dangerous. He could hear 007 speaking over the radio built into the gadget.
"*Heh! Well if you ask me, it looks kind of like a baby monitor-*"
"*I can hear everything you're saying, 007!*" the Doctor snapped, drawing a slight smirk from the German. This was followed by an irritated huff. "*We've got radar, electromagnetic field detectors, and infrared devices. Not to mention the audio and electrical detectors you're using. I'm confident that, no matter how the Black Ghost approaches, we'll be able to detect them.*"
Albert looked up to see a faint, white shape curling high above the cliff-side, far from his position.
Hedwig.
Harry seemed to have decided she would accompany him on all his patrols. When asked why, he simply said "She's a smart girl, and far more aware than you'd think." He believed it. That bird was just too smart to be normal.
The radar in his hand abruptly went off, buzzing and flashing, and emitting a frantic beep. 003's voice echoed from the device.
"*I can sense a large, round object heading here.*"
"*Whatever it is, I can't identify it.*" came the Doctor's voice, immediately putting Albert on guard. It had to be something new if the good Doctor didn't know what it was.
"*It's approaching K-point 1! 005, 008, it's nearest you!*"
"*North? South? Come on, 003! Where's this thing coming from?!*" asked 008, his tone frantic. 005 was the one to answer him.
"*Below!*" Even from Albert's position, he could feel the earth shaking beneath his feet as the mystery object surfaced. Shoving the radar in his empty gun holster, he ran to 005 and 008's location, easily determined by the fallen trees, the tremendous cracks ripped into the earth and the large, spider-like machine that pulled itself from the ground.
The robot shot a strange, white goo into the air, trapping 008 and 005 inside. The laser knife in Albert's left hand slid out and he hurriedly used it to cut any piece of the substance that came near him.
"Guys! Are you alright?" No response. Why didn't that surprise him? He turned to their assailant, keeping one's back to an enemy was generally a bad idea. "I'm not sure what you are. Are you some kind of cyborg, like us?"
"Correct, my designation is 0011." Answered the robotic voice of the gigantic cyborg, 0011. The large cyborg loomed over Albert's significantly smaller form. "And I was sent here to eliminate all of you."
"No thanks! You can take this back to the Black Ghost!" He opened fire on 0011 with his machine gun hand, but the bullets did little more than bounce off 0011's entirely metallic body. He swallowed the curse on the tip of his tongue.
"If you're a cyborg, they must've created you as well. Why don't we look the same?" asked 0011, confusion echoing in his computerized voice.
"How should I know?" He gritted out. 0011 released a fresh barrage of his strange capture substance (which honestly, kind of reminded Albert of highly magnified spider webbing), forcing the German man to fall back to avoid being ensnared. The giant cyborg proved himself to be rather chatty, as he spoke up once more.
"Once all of you are gone, Black Ghost will allow me to reclaim my own body once more."
"Can't help you!" Albert snapped, glancing back over his shoulder. The action cost him though, as his foot was caught in a glob of webbing that landed in front of him.
One of 0011's eye-like ports opened, revealing a ray gun of some kind, but it closed just as quickly to protect itself from a blaster shot. Harry and 002 surged onto the battlefield, their weapons at the ready, with 006 and 007 following close behind. The youngest cyborg placed himself between Albert and 0011. An instinctive reaction to seeing a teammate on the ground before an enemy.
"Now I'm glad I sent Hedwig back to Kozumi's when my radar went off," he heard the teen mutter while keeping his weapon trained on 0011. One of 0011's eyes opened again and he fired on the five. Albert felt 002 wrench him backward, freeing him from the goo he'd been stuck in, before the red-head shot into the air again.
Harry was the first to fire back, followed closely by Albert and 002. Their attacks did nothing to deter the giant in his pursuit of the rebel cyborgs as he released more of his webbing into the air.
"That's it! Guys!" Harry's shout cut through the air. "Aim for the opening the second the cover slides off! It always closes when we fire, so it must be a weak point!"
Albert charged forward, wordlessly falling into position for 002 to lift him into the air. It was a familiar tactic that the two made use of during Black Ghost's "testing" procedures. The shielding that made up his knee clicked back, prepping the rocket inside for launch. He fired, silently praying his timing was right. It wasn't.
He heard the tell-tale sound of rockets igniting and watched as, to his unspoken disbelief, 0011 took to the air as well. It looked incredibly awkward, as the large cyborg shot over the forest with incredible speed for something so large.
"I didn't think it could move that quickly!" 002 said, sounding just as disbelieving as Albert felt. Gray-eyes narrowed in determination.
"Just get me close." He saw an eye open and fired as quickly as he could. Unlike their previous shots, this one had struck at just the right moment. A small explosion echoed from the spider-like robot, emitting a narrow column of smoke, followed by another explosion that blew out a few of the other eyes. It was probably from the circuits damaged by the first explosion.
0011 slammed into the narrow cliff edge. 002 dropped them down just in front of their opponent. 004 aimed his blaster at the spider-cyborg.
"There's something I wanted to ask you." Albert started. 0011 made a sound like he was groaning.
"Wh-What is it?"
"You said you wanted to get your own body back. Was that what Black Ghost promised you in exchange for killing us?"
"That's right." Answered 0011's metallic voice, sounding more human than Albert had expected right then. "I have a family, but I'm not allowed to see them. With this body, I can't even hug my wife and daughter. Can you understand that? I used to look the same as you before I was captured by the Black Ghost. He made me into this… thing you see in front of you. All I want is to go home. I want to be with my family. That's all I want. That's all I ever wanted."
His voice broke at the end, and his body shook as he cried tears they all knew he could never truly shed. It left a bitter taste in Albert's mouth, knowing that the man before him still had a home (unlike so many of them), but could never return to it. He found himself hesitating to pull the trigger.
"What are you doing, 004?" 002's voice cut through his thoughts like a freshly sharpened knife. He saw the redhead pull out his own blaster and aim it at 0011.
"No! Wait!" He rushed forward, grasping the American's hand to stop him, but he'd acted a few seconds too late. The laser-cut into the ground just in front of 0011's giant body, destabilizing the outcropping they were on just enough for the ground beneath him to give way, sending the giant cyborg falling into the ocean far below.
He saw a single rocket be shot from 0011's body into the air, but it did little more than fly high and explode harmlessly, far, far above their heads. Though, somehow, it created a sudden rainstorm above them.
"We should have killed him." He heard the brash cyborg mutter.
"Hey, guys?" Harry's voice came over the radio. "Could you come and help us get 005 and 008 back to Kozumi's house? I don't think me and 007 can move 'em by ourselves."
"Yeah, we're coming." 002 answered, sounding as aggravated as he looked.
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~~~MAGICA~~CYBORG~~009~~
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Albert looked out at the sunset.
He'd hesitated in killing 0011.
No matter how much he thought about it, once he'd learned 0011 had family, all his nerve to end the other cyborg had fled his body. He hadn't been able to pull the trigger. That could have been a fatal error, one that could have cost his entire team their lives.
One that 002 was oh-so-happy to remind him of.
"You couldn't kill him, but you would have let him kill us." He snarled. "You're a danger to our health."
Furious gray-eyes snapped to harsh brown ones, his metallic hand seized the front of 002's uniform, his lips curled in a snarl. For a fleeting moment, he considered punching the red-head. But that wouldn't help anything. He growled and shoved 002 from his path.
"Wait! I'm not finished talking with you yet."
"I have to go report for duty." He muttered, his tone indicating that they wouldn't be speaking any further, and stormed from the house.
He sighed as he strode to where 009 was on duty. 002 didn't get it. If he pulled the trigger without remorse, then he would be no different than the weapon the Black Ghost had wanted him to be. He would be the monster they'd made him to be. He refused to become that. He refused to become a mindless killing machine.
He could see 009 in the distance, standing on top of an outcropping silhouetted by the night sky behind him. The image reminded him of the fight against 0010 when the teen had rushed out to save them, even though he hadn't fully recovered from his first fight against the twins. He sighed.
"Time to change shifts." Green-eyes looked down at him.
"This is the place we first fought 0010." The teen commented, looking up at the sky. It seemed Harry was on the same train of thought as he was. "Before we knew about his brother. The twins who weren't allowed to touch each other, or they would die."
There was a moment of quiet between them before Harry spoke up once more.
"They reminded me of two of my schoolmates, to be honest." Albert paused, he hadn't expected that.
"Really?"
"Yeah, Fred and George Weasley. They were about two years older than me, and the older brothers of my best mate." He could see the smile forming on Harry's face, clearly thinking back to his school days (because he couldn't go back to his old life, just like the rest of them. It was just too dangerous when the Black Ghost was haunting them). "They were both red-heads and identical down to the last freckle, sometimes their own mum had trouble telling them apart."
"They always took advantage of that to pull pranks on pretty much everyone in school. Even getting a few of the teachers. I never had any siblings, older or younger, so those two were the closest thing I had to older brothers. And they would treat me like I was another of their brothers. Living like 0010, it would have been like torture for them." He sighed, his expression turning melancholy.
"I almost tried to talk 0010 into joining us, because of how much they reminded me of those two. But they never gave me the chance. Some people, I guess you just can't help them. Even if you wanted to…"
Albert could feel a lump in his throat. This was the first Harry had mentioned this, to any of them. This was the first time Harry had opened up to him on his own, without being pressured into answering something. Just how hard had it been for him to fight Plus and Minus? Here he was feeling terrible about 0011, when this kid, who wasn't even half his age, had faced down something as painful as that.
"I guess… that just proves we're still human. The fact that we can still care about others, yet still keep going. Right?" Harry smiled again.
"Yeah, I guess it does." The teen agreed. The Brit jolted suddenly, whipping around to face the distant sea. Albert followed his gaze and saw the spinning shape of what looked to be 0011. But the cyborg's eyes were red this time, instead of the electric blue he remembered. "Is that- 0011?!"
"That guy's still alive?!" Albert breathed. That shouldn't be possible, the internal damage should have been too much for him to survive.
"And he's heading for the compound!"
"Scheisse! We have to warn the others!" Harry nodded and disappeared from Albert's sight. He pelted after the younger male, praying they would make it in time.
By the time he caught up with Harry, the teen was practically carrying 002 on his back as he dodged 0011's attacks. All while cursing a blue streak in English, at least he was pretty sure the boy was cursing. His translator wasn't letting him understand everything Harry was saying, but the tone was there (also what the heck was an Acromantula? It sounded like some kind of spider, but Albert had never heard of it before). He saw one of 0011's legs lash out at 009's unprotected side, sending the two cyborgs to the ground in an ungraceful heap.
Only 002 pushed himself back up.
"009!" The American looked up at him.
"0011 clipped his head, he's been knocked out! The poison must've started to slow him down!" Albert felt a jolt of panic rush through him.
"Poison?!"
"Yeah, the rain had a delayed-reaction poison in it! The doc said it would paralyze our bodies. And it won't be much longer until we all succumb to it. You should have let me finish him when we had the chance before!" Albert gritted his teeth.
This was bad, very bad. His eyes narrowed, he had to keep 0011 from the house. He could still remember his conversation with 009 earlier, it seemed he would have to take a leaf from Harry's book and keep fighting even though he wanted to help 0011.
"Stop!" He fired one of his rockets, hoping to distract the large cyborg. He could feel the sparks of pain starting throughout his body. The poison was finally starting to affect him. He pushed through the pain and ran to the side and led 0011 away from the house. "I said stop!"
0011 managed to knock him off his feet, and Albert felt a searing pain in his right hand. His built-in machine gun had been rendered useless.
"You don't have to do this! Don't let Black Ghost take your humanity from you! Think of your family, of your wife and daughter! You don't have to be just another killing machine made by Black Ghost!" He shouted, praying he could reach the real 0011. The man who only wanted to see his family again, the man who just might listen to him.
"Don't talk to me, traitor cyborg! I will silence you!" Multiple eyes opened, revealing the ray guns behind them. The silver-haired man could feel his heart sinking, his chances of saving the others from the large cyborg had just vanished right in front of him. He was blasted into the rocks behind him.
"It won't be long, Hilda. We'll be together soon." He whispered to himself, knowing his chances of survival were near non-existent. He attempted to pull his blaster, to at least protect the others from 0011, only for his hand to fumble because of the poison running through his body. The pain was becoming overwhelming. A glint of gold caught his eye, his wedding ring.
"You're history, family man." Albert stumbled to where his gun lay, he only had one shot at this. Gripping the chain in his teeth, he looped the tiny gold band around the trigger and clasped the gun between his barely responsive hands. Body shaking from the effort, he aimed the weapon at 0011. He saw an eye open and fired.
The chain broke under the strain, and Albert fell back.
But the blinding flash of light and explosion told him that his aim was true, 0011 had finally been defeated. Just before his vision went dark, he couldn't help murmuring.
"Hilda, my love…" You saved us.
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~~~MAGICA~~CYBORG~~009~~
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This is starting to become a pattern. Harry thought bitterly to himself, as he came around. He did not find the number of times he'd awoken in the med bay amusing. At all. And his headache wasn't helping his mood. He sat up, rubbing his head as he looked around. The rest of the team (minus 003 and 001) were laid out on beds, groaning and tense as though they were in pain.
What on earth happened while I was out? 0011 couldn't have taken everyone out! Then again, 002 wasn't looking too good when I last saw him…
"What-? 009?!" He looked up at the use of his number to see Dr. Gilmore staring at him, looking utterly flabbergasted. "How are you up?! We haven't got an antidote yet!"
"Antidote?" He repeated, feeling rather confused. "Did 0011 poison the others?"
"The rain, boy! The rain 0011 created was laced with poison! All of you were exposed to it!" The doctor practically shouted, his stress becoming rather obvious. Kozumi poked his head in, probably wondering what Gilmore was getting so bent out of shape over.
"Really? But I feel fine…" He muttered, placing a hand over his chest. Was his magic filtering out the poison? Or was it suppressing the effects until his body could get rid of it? Now he wished Madame Pomfrey was there, this would be right up her alley.
Professor Kozumi stepped in, his expression thoughtful.
"Young man, would you come here for a moment? I just thought of something that I would like to check on." Harry blinked innocently at the man and quietly agreed. The next room over had been converted into an emergency lab, with beakers, flasks, needles, and bottles of various substances spread out on almost every available space. It reminded Harry of the few pictures he'd seen of chemistry labs. "Would you please sit down and roll up one of your sleeves?"
Harry nodded, rolling up his right sleeve. He heard 003 gasp in alarm and wondered for a moment what was wrong. Then he remembered that his right arm had the scar from his second year (which, now that he thought about it, probably looked like a cross between a chemical burn and being stabbed with a poisoned spear). He shifted uncomfortably in the seat, there was a reason he preferred to change when he was alone. And body shyness wasn't it.
Kozumi carefully took his arm, taking a moment to examine the basilisk bite, before picking up a syringe and sticking it into Harry's arm. Harry barely registered the pinch-like pain, as he watched Kozumi draw a strange, pale pink fluid from his arm. (Was that supposed to be his blood? He knew there was some kind of special fluid mixed in to run the cybernetic side of his body, but being told about something and actually seeing it were two different things.)
He pressed the piece of gauze he was handed over the now bleeding spot on his arm (it would heal in a little bit) and watched the professor examine his blood under a special magnifier (at least he thought it was a magnifier).
"Ah-ha, just as I thought! That just might work!"
"What could work? What do you mean Kozumi?" Gilmore asked. The elderly man looked back at them.
"009's blood has an extra enzyme in it, which is strong enough to combat the poison. I think it may be getting an extra charge from his powers, but it's still able to destroy the poison he was exposed to. I may be able to recreate the enzyme and inject the others with it to help them." Harry knew a few of the terms used by the Professor.
Madame Pomfrey had a slight interest in muggle medicine and studied the terms to make it easier to explain how her medicines worked to students from non-magical families. Harry watched the man for a few moments longer, then stuck out his arm once more.
"If you think it'll help Professor, then you can take as much as you need." The man nodded, drew two more vials out to take blood with, and set to work.
After the blood work was done, Harry was right alongside 003, fetching the materials the professor asked for (even if he didn't always know what they were. Science never was a high priority at Hogwarts).
Though even he had to admit that Dr. Gilmore's hovering was getting on his nerves.
"Will they be alright? And if they are, will they still retain all their powers? 009's abilities are still unknown…" Harry very nearly scoffed at him. Of course, his magic would work to help them, they were his and he wanted to protect them. Intention was half the battle in magic and if he wanted it to help them, then it would. It was as simple as that.
"Relax, Gilmore, stop being so edgy. It's distracting me from my work." Kozumi said, peering into his microscope, which still had a sample of Harry's blood in it.
"Terribly sorry, I'll try to be quiet." The Professor flagged down 003 and asked for a compound Harry had never heard of before.
"What relation do your cyborgs have to you?"
"What? What do you mean, Kozumi? I'm afraid I don't understand."
"You seem to care a lot about them," the Professor commented. "I thought they were just an experiment to you."
Harry faltered in the task he'd been given but forced himself back to work.
"What? This is no time for silly chatter. There are lives at stake. We've got to save them! I-I can't bear the thought of losing any of them." Gilmore said, his voice fading at the end. The wizard glanced over to the doctor, still holding the mixture Kozumi had asked him to make. The Professor let out a pleased hum as Harry handed it to him, and dropped it into one of the Petri dishes.
"This is it! It's done." He said, sounding pleased as the mixture changed colors. Standing up, he looked back at the Doctor. "Whether you care to admit it or not, my friend, it sounds to me like these people have become your family. Having a family is a gift. Nothing can take their place. And nothing feels better than being surrounded by them."
"I guess they are my family," the doctor murmured. "Imagine that."
"Young man, is there any way you can channel your power into the samples? I think the enzyme works best if they have just a little bit of a charge from it." The teen nodded, taking the tray and carefully coaxing the energy from his core and pushing it into the mixture. It was a bit like adding magic to a potion, now that he thought about it. "Also, dear girl, I'm going to give you and 001 a small dose as well. You may not have been out in the rain, but you did come in contact with those who'd been poisoned. As they say, 'better safe than sorry' right?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw the doctor look down at 001 in his arms.
"We're family now, alright?"
"As long as I don't inherit your nose." He stifled a laugh at that, but the doctor's words still echoed in his head.
Kozumi was quick to administer the antidote to everyone, and there would be a small wait as it took effect.
Green eyes examined the group until they spotted something at Albert's bedside. His brow furrowed in confusion at the sight of the broken gold chain. Where had he seen it before?
Isn't that… The chain Albert had a ring hanging off of? Where did the ring go? The chain was broken, had it fallen while the older man was fighting? He patted the sleeve where his wand was hidden. Maybe, I could look for it real quick? It's not like they need me to stay here the whole time…
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~~~MAGICA~~CYBORG~~009~~
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It was sunrise by the time the antidote finally took effect, much to Harry's relief. With how long it was taking, he had started to think it wasn't going to work. The others pulled themselves up, soft groans escaping them as the soreness left behind from the poison faded.
"What happened? Did I overdo the garlic?"
"Somehow, I feel refreshed now." 008 commented. 005 gave his head a slight shake.
"That's some medicine you gave us, Professor." 007 said. "What was it?"
"A compound strong enough to destroy the venom. I found it in 009's blood, once I realized the poison wasn't affecting him. Which means you have him to thank for your recovery." Harry shifted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck.
Really, the Professor was giving him too much credit. He hadn't even known his blood could do that. (Though it did explain why the last time he could remember getting sick was back in the second year. He usually credited Madam Pomfrey's excellent care with his quick recoveries)
007 shook his head in disbelief.
"Once again, 009, you've saved our sorry necks. Where would we be without you?" Harry gave an embarrassed smile. Both the Professor and the Doctor were quick to yank the others from the room and run tests to ensure that they were really okay and that Harry's blood wasn't just acting as a temporary helper.
He wandered over to Albert's bedside, noting that the man now had the broken chain in his hands.
"Umm… Albert?" Gray eyes looked up at his own green ones. "I, well, I noticed your ring this morning, and I saw that the chain's broken since then but the ring wasn't there anymore. So I, um, went looking for it."
He pulled the small gold band from his pocket, it wasn't the same as when he first saw it. Harry knew rings were supposed to be perfectly round and smooth, especially if they were engagement or wedding rings. But Albert's ring had since become bent, with a few tiny chips in the metal.
"It looks like it's been bent a bit but it's important to you, right?" Albert very carefully took the ring from him, the man's expression showing his relief.
"Yes 009, I- thank you. For returning it to me." Harry couldn't help it, he beamed at the older man.
Dr. Gilmore said we were family now, Harry thought. He looked up at the idly bickering members of the team, a warmth settling in his chest. I think I can get used to being a part of this family.
AN: AND DONE! Finally, sorry for the wait guys. This chapter was just NOT cooperating with me. Like, at all. I think it was getting out Harry's age that gave me the hardest time, 'cause everything went much easier once I got that out of the way.
On a different note, did you know that everyone in Cyborg 009 also voiced a character in Digimon? I'm serious guys, 001 is voiced by Gomamon, 005 is voiced by Ogermon, 002 by Gabumon, and 009/Joe is voiced by Tai (and sometimes Ken). I want to see a picture about that, I need someone to make me a picture about that!
2021 Edit: Alright, this one is up and readable now!
And, as I said in my last note, I'll give a quick sum of the points I made in the Author's Note chapter that I deleted:
"Are you going to do more POV's than Harry and Alberts?" Yes, but only in the episodes that were specifically focused on them, or if a filler chapter focuses on a different character. Otherwise, it's just gonna be those two.
"When will the Cyborgs Learn about Magic?" Probably London? But they'll have picked up on a lot of little details and formed theories of their own before then. I may also be doing episodes out of order for the sake of filling out more of the 009 storylines before everyone gets dragged into the HP one.
"Is this a Bashing fic? Ae good characters are going to be made Evil?" Yes and No. Bashing fics are about pointing out and emphasizing a character's flaws to justify hating them, but I don't have plans of doing that. I will be dragging out and making my feelings about characters' problems clear, but I don't hate or plan to write them as outright evil. I plan to give the character's the chance to redeem themselves/become better than they were before when I can.
"Is Harry going to become Super/OP?" No, because that's boring and I don't wanna do that.
"How come Harry can use magic while being a Cyborg?" Because I want him to. Because humans are built to adapt to anything, and I do mean ANYTHING. (It's practically a superpower on its own.) We're one of the few species in the world that can get immunity to poison in a single lifetime, while other animals have to gain it over generations. This is basically the same thing, at least in this story.
