"Well, that's it. Everything's hooked up, and his condition has been stabilized." Dr. Gilmore announced. The finished sight was horrifying.

009 had nearly every part of his body hooked up to some machine through both thin and thick tubes. A ventilating mask covered his mouth and his eyes and forehead were covered completely by a mask-like piece, covering over half of his features. The mask that covered the eyes and brow that was hooked up to a big machine that recorded very odd readings that Dr. Gilmore explained as brainwave readings. Compared to normal ones, 009's was extremely high and rapidly moving.

"But… what'll happen to him if he wakes up? You said that he was connected to so many machines that anesthesia would be dangerous." 008 inquired worriedly.

"Well, thankfully, I've been informed by 007 that 001 has woken up. With his telekinetic abilities, he surely can communicate to 009 while he is conscious, seeing that he will most likely be afraid of his new surroundings."

As if on cue, there was a knock at the metal doors of the room.

"That's him." 002 said, walking over to the door. He gripped the heavy metal bars, and swung open the hefty door.

007 stood there, holding 001 in his arms. When he first caught a glimpse at 009 on the mattress, a look of shock spread across his face.

"My God… is it really that bad?" He said in surprise.

.: Of all the operating us cyborgs went through, I've never seen a sight like this. :. 001 commented.

"Well, 001's here in case 009 wakes up." 007 remarked, handing 001 to 002. "Good luck."

Dr. Gilmore nodded in acknowledgement.

00

007 walked back into the living room of the apartment glumly.

"Well? How is he?" 006 asked impatiently.

"… horrible." 007 said quietly. 003 felt dread and fear flow through her.

"He had at least 50 little tubes connected to every part of his body, and this oxygen mask and a weird thing that covered the top of his head…" 007 continued sadly. "And the worst part is, they couldn't risk giving him any anesthesia, so he may wake up."

"How horrid…" 003 murmured. "What did he do to deserve this?"

"Nothing. He was one of the bravest young men I ever knew and he was kind to everyone; even with such a bad past life as an orphan." 006 replied forlornly.



"But 009's a fighter." 007 said, trying to lighten the mood. "He's in a nasty situation now, but maybe with our support, he could get through this."

"I'll do whatever it takes for him to recover." 003 said with a hint of determination. 007 looked into her emerald green eyes and smiled.

"We all will."

00

Everything in the medical room was quiet, pardoning the racket that all of the radars and machines were making. Nobody said a word to one another.

Suddenly, the heart rate monitor began to pick up, as did the brainwave monitor.

"He's waking up." Dr. Gilmore noted, cuing 001.

009, hooked up by many, many small and big tubes, was petrified. He felt like knives and needles were pricking every inch of his body, and everything hurt. He couldn't see a thing, which frightened him even more. He felt everything connecting him to something, and the noise that the machines were making horrified him. Then, he heard a voice in his mind.

.: 009, calm down and don't be scared. The incident before put both you and your surroundings in a lot of danger, so we've got you hooked up to a lot of machines right now. :.

"001…? Ow… everything hurts… please… can't you at least make the pricking stop…? What's going on here…? Why can't I see? I'm scared, and I know you don't want me to be, but… it's just so scary. Why is all of this happening? When can I take all of the plugs off? Please, just make it stop, 001. It hurts…" 009 thought miserably.

.: I'm so very sorry… there's nothing we can do. Just try and relax yourself. :.

"001? Please… don't let anyone else come here… they'll be scared." 009 said to 001 through thought.

.: Fine. :.

"So, is he okay?" 002 asked.

.: I could read his mind, and he's in a lot of pain and confusion right now. :. 001 replied.

"The poor guy… we can't even give him any painkiller injections or anything." 004 remarked.

"You all should go. I'll handle business here, so don't worry about it. I'm sure the others are lonesome." Dr. Gilmore said. "It'd really be best if you all tried to recuperate after the little mishap."

"Yeah… everybody else here has the right to know about this." 008 said quietly.



"And I can only imagine how they're holding up with all of this anxiety about 009's condition." 004 added.

Silently, everybody else left… well, except for 002. He pulled up a chair and sat next to 009's bedside.

"002? Aren't you leaving?" Dr. Gilmore asked. 002 shook his head, no.

"009's in a lot of pain. I can't just leave him." 002 replied.

"But, he might be better off alone. Don't worry- I'll take care of him for you-"

"Look! I never cared for anybody else but me in my life, and I really regret that! I just want to repay 009 for what happened, and I can't just leave him alone. I don't care if he can't hear me or I can't hear him." 002 replied angrily. Dr. Gilmore remained silent.

"Suit yourself…" Dr. Gilmore replied.

00

Hours had passed. 002 was still sitting there, gripping 009's hand in uneasy silence. 009 needed somebody there for him, so 002 hadn't moved since. 001 had been placed in a crib, next to 002 so the infant cyborg could be easily watched over. Surprisingly, he was still conscious.

.: 002. :. 001 said plainly.

"Hm?" 002 replied.

.: 009 wants to say thanks for staying with him for this long, and some of the pain has eased. :. 001 informed. 002 smiled.

"Good to hear. Is he still in a lot of pain, though?" 002 asked.

.: Yes. Very much, still.:.

"…"

.: 002, you've been sitting here for hours. Surely you're tired. :.

"Not one bit." 002 lied. Sure, he was exhausted and was begging for sleep in the back of his mind, but his top priority now was staying with 009.

.: I can tell you're lying.:.

"So what if I'm lying?! I don't care if I collapse from exhaustion; 009 needs someone here for him, and I'll be there.

Then, 009 slowly and shakily lifted his left hand, and rested it on 002's arm. He put in every ounce of strength left in him to give him a comforting squeeze.



.: I can read 009's thoughts. He said you should go. Just because he can't move doesn't mean you can't. :.

After a few tense moments, 002 finally sighed. "Well, if anything happens, just let me know." He slowly got up, and walked off.

00

"Oh, 002, there you are." 005 mentioned as 002 walked into the apartment room.

"Geez, you look beat. You should go back and take a rest." 004 remarked.

"Yeah. Go on ahead." 003 said.

002 sat down, sighing.

"Yeah, but if I do that, then how will I know if something happens to 009?" 002 retorted.

"We'll wake you up if we get any news. Go on now, get some sleep." 006 reassured. 002 gave in, and walked upstairs, leaving anything to happen.