The One Who Survived
Chapter 7
Cirro was no longer a minion to Mandarin. Because of the crimes she was about to commit, she'd would be shunned by her siblings and master. But changing the future would also mean the difference between life and death for Chiro. But Cirro would do this act in secret. She was always good with hiding things. Because of the lack of light in the lab, Cirro couldn't see anything past her own hand if she was looking in the opposite direction. I need a crowbar, Cirro thought. A clever move. After her first adventure in Chiro's cell, Mandarin wouldn't falter the use of hiding the swipe card that opened his cage. But where would a crowbar be? Cirro remembered Mandarin keeping all hard metal tools that you'd find in a tool box in a back cabinet. Yes, that was it. Cirro believed it was the cabinet next to the book shelf.
Cirro clumsily walked to the back wall, placing a hand on the lip of the desk and skidding her hand across it for direction. Go left, she ordered her brain. Cirro thought she looked pretty farce at this point, walking sideways with her buttocks sticking out like a blind bat. Suddenly Cirro felt the end of the desk and was now reaching out in the dark air, eventually touching feeling a cold handle.
"Gotcha!" Cirro whispered. "One step closer to getting you out of there, Chiro." Cirro lightly tugged at the door, opening it wide. In an instant, a huge heap of crowbars, sledgehammers, saws, and a few power tools came tumbling out from their wooden prison. Cirro stared at the clutter that engulfed her feet like the shallow tide pools along beaches. She bent down at the pile and began rummaging through it to feel a long crane's neck-like tool. It wasn't very hard to discover almost a dozen crowbars, but none the right size. All were too small. Cirro needed a large bar if she was ever going to pry that door open.
By the time Cirro had gone through at least half of the pile, she found a medium sized crowbar. Good enough. She knew getting that door open, or at least ajar, would be difficult. It was at least 2 ½ feet thick. So Cirro felt around for a few power saws and a hammer or two. Now she must've been fully equip. Cirro was totally dedicated into rescuing Chiro. She knew he couldn't get out on his own, even if the Hyperforce were to burst in at that moment. Oh, the Hyperforce. Cirro wondered what it must be like to have creatures who'd care enough about you to come and rescue you. Or to love you and to have a bond that couldn't be broken.
Yes, that was defiantly something Cirro wondered about and wanted. She wanted to see, feel, hear, and know what it would be like. Even if for only a little while. Cirro made her way to the back door of the lab and down the even blacker stairs with nothing but a burnt out bulb hanging at the bottom that could've been her only light. She tripped once or twice but regained poise without fully stumbling and falling to her death. It seemed like time had stopped as she made her way down those cold steps. But in no time flat, the smooth surface of the first level greeted Cirro's heavy ebony boots. She trotted to the door and just flat out dropped everything onto a spot beside her. Cirro would need the room.
She started with the crowbar. Cirro squeezed the arched flat base in between the door and the wall just at the target point of the lock. When she heard a click of metal hitting metal, she pulled sideways. Cirro wrenched and squirmed for release of the door. Lucky for her, the lock was rusty and ancient. No problem. It would be a challenge, however, for Cirro to break the lock. She'd just have to settle with unlocking rather than breaking.
After about three minutes of pulling, Cirro had managed to break the door free of the lock. She heard a loud crack confirming it. Excellent. Cirro had managed to crack the lock in half, much to her delight. Now her job was made easier, but only by a fraction. Cirro picked up the hammer next. The head of the dangerous tool was just the right size to fit between the door and cause damage to the lock. Cirro struck once. The force of a one, very weak, hit was enough to break the lock fully. It snapped into a thousand pieces of metal and scattered everywhere on the floor in sounds that resembled a bell tinkling lightly. The saw was no longer required. Cirro handled the crowbar and wrenched it back to the crack in the door, tugging with all her might. It was working. The soft squeak of the rusty hinges grew louder and louder until the portal popped open, sending Cirro to the floor.
"Oh, that's the second time today!" Cirro whispered through gritted teeth. Ignoring the pain of her decent, Cirro pulled up to two legs and started to the door. She wrapped her hands around the handle, left over right, and pulled gently. The heavy barrier came swinging open. Cirro stared at the cell now. It was completely different from the last time she'd been in there. The stone covered walls had turned black and absolutely no light could be seen anywhere, accept for a small bulb of light cascading from the far corner of the room. Chiro. There, his hunched frame sat with his head buried into his hands. Cirro could just barely make out the cuffs around his wrists and ankles which bonded his hands and feet. In short, he looked miserable. But then again, he had a right to be.
Cirro cautiously made mute steps over to the boy, making sure she didn't startle him.
"I came to release you," she spoke in a hushed yet firm tone. Cirro was determined to get Chiro free, and the only way that was going to happen was to get him to obey and trust her. Chiro looked up, fresh tear tracks running over his mask-like orange streaks.
"Did Mandarin send you to get me for another experiment?" he said Mandarin's name like it was the most accursed thing on the planet. Cirro took another step towards him. Even in his bindings, Chiro could still damage her. She tried again.
"No. My master isn't behind this. I am. And I've come here to free you." Chiro was silent. He stared at her like it was a joke.
"And why should I believe you?" he asked coldly. "You're nothing but a heartless clone." Cirro wore a hurt look for a moment, but then tightened up.
"Please believe me. I truly want to help you. You and I will be killed if we don't work together. Just trust me, okay?" Chiro processed this for a minute. He cocked his head this way and that examining Cirro fully. Then, he let out a sigh.
"Are you really going to help me?" Chiro asked in a agog tone. Cirro could see this talking was taking its toll on Chiro. Feeling a burst of courage, she sat down next to him.
"I just broke the lock on the cell door. Now Mandarin can't lock you back up. Escape is easy. But you'll never make it out of here by yourself. You'll need someone who can get you out of here safely. Someone adroit who knows every hiding spot in this accursed factory." The last part Cirro said to the sky, more on her own as she was more so reflecting to herself. Cirro couldn't see Chiro give a huge grin.
"And I'm guessing that someone would be you?" he asked sarcastically. Cirro returned his smile. Nodding, she got up and walked back to the entrance. The door was still wide open, casting a dim shadow of light in its wake. Sitting on its side was the crowbar, the dull orange paint was scratched off and chipping in places while the once sharp edge was now dull. The crowbar sort of reminded Cirro of herself. It was tattered and beaten like her and looked like it was used one too many times.
Cirro picked the tool up and walked back to a hunkering Chiro. He sat and looked quietly, not protesting or questioning what the device was for. He knew.
"Now, lie down on your stomach," she commanded. Chiro did as he was told and automatically laid his arms out in front of him, the locks of the cuffs facing upward. Cirro knelt down and gently positioned the crowbar's sharp head to the locks, pulling up and swinging down like a batter in a baseball game. It wasn't very hard to break the shackles. One heavy blow to the lock was all it took to release Chiro of his upper bonds. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Chiro recoiling slightly and wincing. "Sorry." She muttered. More metal shards dropped from their tight hold on Chiro's wrists, dropping to the floor at random times.
"Now for your ankles," Cirro said, mostly to herself. Chiro immediately understood and flipped himself over to his back, the locks of his lower bonds facing skyward. She repeated the same procedure, striking hard and fast. The cuffs broke in seconds.
"Thank goodness those cuffs are gone. They were digging into my skin!" Chiro replied.
"Mandarin designed them. I helped with the basic blueprint. He said he wanted restraints that would stop the flow of your powers. I now regret it. I never meant to hurt you," Cirro spoke ashamed of herself. Her tone was low and she hung her head down. Chiro ducked his head down into Cirro's line of vision and looked into her eyes with his own understanding. They didn't need words to understand emotions. No one did. But they were connected by more than just a sense of each other. They were closer than that.
"Well, now that your free, I'd better get you to the exit of the factory. Or I could just keep you here until your teammates come for you. Besides, you'd have a better chance of defeating Mandarin with your friends than alone. As you once said, "Your not as good without all your pieces," Cirro said. Chiro gave her a puzzled look. She now realized there was a lot he needed to learn.
"How did you-?" "Information interflow." Cirro quickly answered. "I was created with all of your memories. I know and understand everything you've experienced and am just as good a fighter as you." Cirro gave a small smile, but then turned quickly to the window looming over them. "C'mon. We need to go. It'll only be a matter of time until Master Mandarin comes back." She stood up to leave, Chiro at her side, into a bomb field. Never knowing what would happen between them getting out safely or letting the whole escape plan crash and burn. But nothing could prepare them for the blaring of the oncoming intruder alert, blaring rapidly throughout the factory. Now it was definatly a bomb field.
Author's Note: This took only two days to write. Saturday night I began writing it and stayed up until midnight doing only about a quarter of it. The rest I finished sunday. It wasn't that hard. I was really getting into my writer's mojo yesterday so this is probably resembling a actual book. A short book. Yeah, I call it writer's mojo. R&R!