The One Who Survived
Chapter 8
Cirro and Chiro were about half-way out of the stairwell when the alarm suddenly grew louder. It was an earsplitting whine that Mandarin had requested and Cirro had designed and built.
"Why is it so loud?" Chiro screamed over the shrill yell of the alarm.
"The alarm system is hooked up to a inferred security grid outside the factory. If the field senses anything alive moving, the alarm in here goes off." Cirro explained. "Because it's been going off for the last couple minutes, the automatic shut off should be kicking in any second." She lead Chiro to the door of the stairwell right when the alarm shut down. Thank my formless ancestors, Cirro thought. She cracked open the portal slightly, revealing the same dark lab that she left.
While the main computers were off, a few smaller cloning and surveillance monitors were still on, glowing menacing shows over the south wall. The sound of something mechanical heavily ripping apart metal could be clearly heard from the wall. Obviously, the intruders were attempting to break in through that particular wall. What luck.
"Heh, bet you anything that's your friends trying to break in. Looks like they came for you after all. Well, they'll have quite a party trying. That wall is made out of fifteen different types of the strongest metal ever found," Cirro said. Chiro dropped his grip on Cirro and ran to the wall, punching and kicking with his remaining strength. "That won't help them," Cirro quietly said. "The sediment that has short circuited your powers is still in your bloodstream. Plus, it's draining your energy." Chiro didn't respond. He stopped his feverish pounding after a few more hits and pushed his chest up to the wall, sliding down miserably.
Cirro cast him a look of sympathy. He just sat there curled into a ball, weeping loudly. Cirro walked to Chiro, kneeling down next to him and patting his back.
"It'll be alright," she soothed. Cirro pulled the crying boy into a hug and stood there for a moment, having the unbearable destruction of the wall behind her going on and calming down a scared, suffering boy. Chiro pulled Cirro in tighter and squeezed her bandaged torso, crying into her torn shirt. To a person who wouldn't of understood what was going on, it would've seemed sappy and weak for a teenage boy to be crying. But they also say there are strength in numbers. And after a few moments of letting all those evils sink in, Cirro started to bawl. She landed her face gently on Chiro's back and let the warm tears fall.
Cirro let all the horror of her life fall from her tears like a cloud that sheds the water it carries. Things will never be the same, she thought. I'm not Cirro the lab assistant. Nor am I Cirro the pushover. I'll never be harassed by Chira and Chiru again. And I'll never do anything for Mandarin again. I have no master. The noise was getting louder. The more fluently it became, the more the formless girl feared. But she couldn't move. Chiro had her locked in a death grip, as if they were about to die. Cirro then realized she had forgotten Inkspell. The book was surely to be found and burned. And Cirro desperately wanted to retrieve it and open the crumbling pages again, but she couldn't.
But there was no time for the next scenes of events. An amazing crash of sound exploded from behind Cirro, causing her to grip Chiro tightly and crouch down farther. Thick dust clouded Cirro's mind as she coughed up the particles. Metal rubble of all sizes hit Cirro in the back and on her legs. By the time it had stopped pelting, she had enough bruises to last a lifetime.
"Chiro?" a frightened female voice echoed through the mess. "Chiro, if you can hear me please say something!" the voice screamed. Chiro writhed in Cirro's arms, trying to summon the energy to speak.
"No, Chiro. You're still too weak to move or speak," Cirro whispered. Chiro just hugged her tighter. She dared not opened her eyes, but could hear the sound of robotic feet trampling over the debris.
"Chiro, please. We don't want to lose you. Please say something!" this time the voice sounded like it was on the verge of tears. Feeling an ounce of courage in her, Cirro opened her eyes and cocked her head towards the voices. Five child-sized cybernetic monkeys stood in a group, each with expressions of worry etched clearly on their faces. They were the most beautiful creatures Cirro had ever seen. Their metal parts were glossy and full of sheen while their fur covered parts were silky. Cirro instantly wondered what it would be like to pet one.
The green and blue ones had weapons instead of hands. The green one held glowing energy saws while the other had large drills. Both were spinning dangerously. Cirro instinctively became afraid and ducked back into Chiro.
"I don't see him, Nova. This is probably the lab," a British voice said.
"No!" the feminine voice yelled. "He's got to be…" the voice stopped and was replaced with a screech. Feeling tiny twinges of courage creeping up on her again, Cirro looked up to the creatures again. They all held looks of pure horror as each one was staring…at her.
"That thing's got Chiro!" the red one screamed. In an instant, the monkeys all activated their weapons and advanced. Cirro didn't know how long the attack was. Maybe a few minutes, but it was plenty of time for the robots to severely injure her. Cirro was ripped from Chiro and was flipped to a corner. Two split from the group advancing on her to help Chiro. They all had demonic looks of hate in their eyes. A gleaming silver one loomed in Cirro's fading vision, purple claws out to deliver the final blow. It raised a single hand and shot it down to Cirro. She closed her eyes and waited.
"Monkey Mind Scream!" the voice of her master banged into the lab, followed by the long wail of a monkey in pain. Cirro opened her eyes slightly to see the large fleshy frame of Mandarin beating the Hyperforce one by one. "Ah, my brothers. I see you have not faltered to save your Chosen One. But it is so unfortunate you will be destroyed." Mandarin did not make a move to pounce when all the Hyperforce members stood a good distance away. Instead he turned his crooked attention to Cirro, who laid there torn and ragged. She was struggling just to stay conscious.
Cirro looked around to all the other bodies. The monkeys all stood in a defense circle around Mandarin, beaten but able to fight. Chiro was standing in the middle, a sad longing glance staring to Cirro.
Mandarin caught the gesture. "So, you have met my lab assistant? Cirro is a very naughty clone for releasing you, Chiro. But she is about to correct that wrong all by herself." Mandarin raised a single hand, lifting Cirro off the ground by supernatural power. "Now, my formless clone, you will complete the mission in which you were created for." Mandarin gritted his hand into a fist, sending spasms of pain and energy into Cirro's exhausted muscles. It felt as if an inner power of epic fire had been awakened. And Cirro just hung there by meditative power, changing. Her skin grew dark, much darker than its normal albino color. It turned a dark gray and eventually became a black…formless black.
Then, her eyes lost their onyx pupils and became a cold icy blue. The back of Cirro's shirt tore open because of long ebony tendrils that sprouted, three on each of her sides. They resembled bat wings made to fit a human, but without the flap of skin in between. Her teeth became long, sharp, heavy fangs. After the whole process was done, Mandarin dropped the now demon child.
"Now, destroy the Hyperforce!" Mandarin laughed evilly as if watching the most gory thing would be pleasurable. Cirro fought the urge to tear the monkey team limb from limb until she gave in. She was just too tired to fight it.
"Cirro, no. You don't have to do this," Chiro said. "You're not mindless and you don't have to follow Mandarin's will. You are the only one who can make a decision!" Cirro's hands shed their gloves and braded into long whips, made for slashing deep gashes in flesh. She lunged at Antauri first. Cirro whipped the ends towards the silver monkey, slashing his black belly before he had a chance to move.
"I'm sorry, Chiro," she whispered. Cirro then lost control. Even though she was still conscious, her body was no longer her own. Mandarin was controlling everything in his mind. Using her tendrils, Cirro lifted herself up above the monkey team, and shot her left whip to Otto. The little green mechanic dodged the slash well enough, with only a small scratch on his arm. Nova was next. Cirro shot her whip, twisting it around Nova, and began to squeeze her like a snake. Cirro could just barely see Gibson running up behind her, drills at the ready. She pulled one tendril out from under her weight and pushed it into Gibson's belly, restraining the scientist to the ground.
"Whirling Destucto Saws!" Otto fired his spinning saws towards Cirro's back, grazing it enough to draw her ooze. It was enough for Cirro to lose her grip on Nova and Gibson. But as the formless clone fought the monkeys, she couldn't see Chiro just standing there, staring in horror at Cirro's actions. He wouldn't fight the being that had saved him. Even if it was costing his friends. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. Nova caught him. "Chiro! What are you doing?" At the sound of the boy's name, Cirro forgot everything. Chiro? She looked to the boy's position. He was just standing there, doing nothing. Not moving anything, no powers out to help. Cirro just slightly thought Chiro might have been suffering from the sediment still.
Chiro calmly took a few steps forward in Cirro's direction. He put his hands up in surrender.
"Cirro," he addressed. "I'm begging you. Don't do this. You don't have to. Mandarin isn't the one to control you. Everyone had a choice to make. Even you. Even if you feel your not the right one to do it." Chiro took a few more steps towards Cirro. She slowly lowered her body and Chiro swore he could see her skin becoming lighter. "You do have a meaning on this planet. You do have a purpose. Cirro, please just make a choice. I won't fight you, whatever your decision." Chiro held his hands up higher, proving his surrender. The monkey team was in shock. And apparently Mandarin was also.
He stood there with his mouth wide and his eyes reflecting absurd looks. He was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe his perfect clone could be swindled so easily. Cirro's boots touched ground, with her skin growing ever lighter. But something suddenly clicked in Cirro's mind. It was that annoying voice again. Chiro is right. You shouldn't fight the Hyperforce. They didn't do anything. But Mandarin has done more to you than anything. He had abused and mistreated you. He's the reason you're in so much pain. And what goes around, comes around. Cirro didn't falter to refuse the voice, she was too intoxicated to do otherwise. Instead, she let the voice lead her to think what it said was right. Mandarin did deserve all the horrible things Cirro had endured. And now she was determined to destroy him.
Gradually, Cirro's skin turned black again. Her tendrils grew longer and her eyes were more dark and cold. She turned on Mandarin, who stood there like a coward. Cirro's fangs stuck out like a vampire's. She must've looked like something out of a horror movie. And she was. Cirro stretched all her tendrils to Mandarin, hitting him to the wall. But, unfortunately, the large frame had hit the self-destruct lever that had been left by the previous owners of the factory. Cirro had doomed them all. Her whips made their way around Mandarin's torso, and began to squeeze him mercilessly. The orange primate was turning blue.
"You lied to me!" she roared. It only made Cirro squeeze tighter. "I thought you were my master. The one who was supposed to take care of me! Not cut me up into pieces. The only reason I stuck it out was because I thought you could change. But I guess I'm just to foolish to see reality." Cirro was choked up in tears when she said the last part. She really wanted to be dedicated to Mandarin because she thought it would bring her the chance of a father. Or at least a father-figure. Just someone who would take care of her and never let Cirro get into harm's way. But with Mandarin it was the opposite.
The self-destruct alarm had gone off, this one much louder and annoying. A gigantic red light began a disturbing pattern and through the walls you could scarcely hear the sounds of freaked out clones running a muck in the docking bay. The ceiling was crumbling as less could be said for the walls. The metal floor cracked and ran long streaks towards everyone. In short, the place was nothing but hell. Cirro continued to push force on Mandarin, him growing bluer every second. And then…
Crack! The loud sound of marrow and bone breaking in two could sickly be heard. Cirro fixed her gaze more sternly on Mandarin. He was sitting there still. She could no longer feel his pulse, nor his struggling breaths. Cirro had killed him. With tears choking up her eyes and the wind caught in her throat, Cirro released her lifeless master. Behind her, she could faintly hear the voices of the Hyperforce.
"We've got to get out of here! The whole freakin' place is going to blow!" SPRX-77 shouted from behind. They five forms made moved to leave, until Nova caught Chiro, still standing on the spot, staring at Cirro. Before Nova could grab a hold of the boy and drag him to the safety of the robot, Chiro calmly walked to Cirro, placing a hand to her shoulder.
"It's time to leave," he whispered. Cirro was mute and stood like stone, like she was paralyzed at killing.
"No," she breathed, wasting the gasp of air she had been holding. Chiro recoiled his hand and stepped a few meters back.
"No?! You'll die if you stay here! And do you really want this?" Chiro screamed. Cirro paused herself and then moved stiffly into Chiro's line of vision. "I want to be with my brothers…and father. Please understand my choice. You said once everyone had a choice to make. Even if they're not the right ones. Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again." Cirro flashed Chiro a sweet smile, the one he had seen so often during experiments. "Please trust me?" she breathed. Chiro wrinkled his brow and took Cirro's chin in his hands. Without a word, he kissed the formless girl softly on the cheek and said, "I love you…sister." And Chiro left with his family, never to look back.
Chiro and the monkeys made their way out of the passageway the monkeys had made. The arch overhead was relieved of pressure of holding a collapsing building and let gravity take it to the bottom, nearly crushing Chiro. He slipped and dived for the being ahead of him…Nova. As Chiro was chunked to the ground, his companions formed a protective circle around their leader and carted him the rest of the way to a small sand hill a safe distance away from the crumbling factory.
Chiro had just enough time to see the whole building collapse and fall to the ground in a pile of metal. They all could just barely see a huge puddle of formless ooze slinking around the metal heap.
"You're gone," Chiro blurted out through heavy tears. "You're gone. You had to be the big stupid hero. It just had to be YOU!" Chiro cried out before passing out, and falling into the waiting arms of his family. The colorful primates carried their injured leader towards the Super Robot. And away from all the death.
Author's Note: What a tragic ending to the unlucky Cirro. Please note this is not the ending chapter. I didn't miscalculate, but the next chap is foreshadowing the sequal, The Road to Freedom. Keep an eye out for it once I offically declair this book is done.