Chapter 5: Uh title?
"Zero-one-eight!"
"Huh wha..."
"Zero-one-seven, where is zero-one-eight?" Jumba asked the sleepy female.
"I don't know, what are you waking me up for?" She groaned.
"He's probably in the gym, like last time." 003 said.
"What is with that...?" As Jumba and 003 left her room 017 rolled back over too sleep in.
...
"Zero-one-eight! There you are being." Jumba burst into the gym, 003 following, "I told you. Hey zero-one-eight, morning." 018 waved to him.
"Zero-one-eight your testing is nearly done and I'm already in working on zero-one-nine, so let's making this quick, ok?" Jumba advised.
"Now, I have this." Jumba held up a small 'pocket PC' looking device "Your antenna pick up radio signals like other experiments but also should be able to decode coded signal, be starting... now!" Jumba tapped the on-screen key.
018 was reluctance, 'he' slowly took off 'his' hat and showed his antenna, for some reason it wasn't as hard with Jumba in the room, or maybe it was 003's presents? "Come on, shouldn't take so long for the first simple code-" "Hey Jumba, I don't think he was ready, you should start over." 003 interjected.
"What, you and that hat. Come on, come on fastly please," Jumba reset the signal. "Now!" click.
018's middle antenna drifted back and forth between the outside two. About fifteen seconds later the device beeped, noting it had been hacked. "Good now try this one, now!"
Another twenty seconds later, the device beeped again. "Ok, now for hard one..."
"Just twelve seconds, that's very good!" Jumba praised, 003 shot 018 a thumbs up and a smile, 018 put 'his' hat back on.
"Ok, is big one been waiting for..." 003 was wondering what this last test would be and went a little pale when Jumba pulled a gun out of the firing range cabinet. "You aren't gonna-" Boom! "AHH! What are you doing!" 003 panicked but caught sight of 018, standing, still in place as if nothing happened. "Am testing bullet proof hide." Jumba called, as if it were natural to shoot people.
"He's bullet proof?" 003 asked, more to tell himself than to actually ask anyone. Boom! It was still unnerving to watch. Boom! 018 didn't seem hurt, as Jumba increased the fire power. Ka-Boom! "Last one you should be able to take." The shot charged, 003 cringed, Sha-Ka-Boom! "NO!" 018 fell right on 'his' back. "Uh-oh."
003 rushed over, there was a hole in 018's chest, blood spraying up like a broken faucet. "JUMBA!" 003 pressed down on the open wound trying vainly to stop it, Jumba walked up. "That shouldn't have happened, hide must not being as strong as thinking." "JUMBA! Aren't you going to help him!" 003 screamed "Yes, do not worrying, zero-one-eight won't die that fast." Jumba picked up 018, careful to hold 'him' away so he wouldn't get bloody.
...
018 was barely conscious as 'he' was laid down on a bed in the medical wing. "Don't worry, you'll be fine," 003 choked "I got your hat..." 003 waved it in front of 018, as Jumba was preparing some surgical tools at the table, 018 coughed up blood "T- ...tell zerocoughone-seven I cough sorry for getting her hat... bloody." "...You fool." 003 cried and tossed the hat across the room. "Jumba, hurry up already!"
After surgery; in the medical wing.
"...am kind of good at this thing." Jumba huffed at all the yelling 003 had been doing. "That was unfortunate setback, but now is stable, so can getting work on with zero-one-nine again."
Was that all Jumba cared about? After nearly killing one of his own experiments all he wants to do is make a new one? It seemed that was always what he did, usually starting a new experiment during the testing of the current one then moving right on again but this time he had almost killed one, and not just anyone it was his best friend! 003 thought.
"Come on, zero-zero-three." Jumba turned to leave.
"...no..." 003 nearly whispered.
"What... come, time to work on zero-one-nine." Jumba thought 003 didn't hear him right.
"No, I'm staying here!" 003 exerted.
"You refusing programming?!" Jumba was shocked.
"Yes, for my friend! My best friend!" 003 yelled.
"Fine, stay! ...You'll have to wash tomorrow." Jumba left.
"He left... he didn't force me to follow my program..." 003 noticed 018's blood all over his arms and chest as he sat at, the unconscious, 018's bedside pondering all of this for hours waiting for 'him' to wake up.
...
003's stomach growled, it was a few hours past dinner now, but he wouldn't leave 018 alone. "You should go eat." he heard Jumba at the doorway.
"..." But 003 didn't want to hear the cold hearted Jumba.
"Zero-one-eight will be fine, I wouldn't have left here if thought otherwise..." Jumba wasn't very convincing.
"...You did leave... didn't you care?" 003 questioned, he wanted to hear Jumba's poor excuse.
"Of course, if anything happened would have known." Jumba held up the 'pocket PC', showing a pulse readout onscreen.
"...When will he wake up?" 003 felt foolish now.
"Is not unconscious, is asleep, you could just be waking zero-one-eight now." Jumba assured him, just now fully realizing what he had done by leaving.
"Really?" 003 shook 018 "Hey, how long you gonna let me starve?" 003 was joking but also genuinely hungry.
"Sorry." 018 woke up near immediately, or had he been up?
"No... I didn't mind waiting, come on let's go eat... er, are you hungry?" 003 was back to being nervous.
"Yes." 018 hopped off the bed apparently fully healed. "Wait," 003 looked to Jumba "Is he ok to get up?"
"Ask 018, is one with X-ray eyes." Jumba pointed back to 018, thinking this whole incident was more or less over, Jumba turned to leave. "having goodnight."
"Goodnight." 018 said, replacing his hat.
"Why..., are you ok? And why say goodnight to him, he nearly killed you!" 003 was baffled, 018 seemed to always think it was a goodnight.
"I'm fine. He healed me." 018 explained as plainly as he could.
"But he shot you in the first place!" 003 took to the halls, 018 following, on their way to the cafeteria.
"He was supposed too, it is an ability of mine for him to test, he didn't have any obligation to heal me though." 018 reasoned, having known that shot was coming all along.
"Do you mean he was going to let you die?!"
"I don't know. That was the end of my reason to exist, as far as I know." 018 explained as if living didn't matter to him.
"What! Wh...what about ...me?"
018 actually turned to look at him. "...?" for the first time 003 could see the expression on 018, 'he' was confused. "Our friendship, isn't that something to live for?" 003 thought the worst, but would 018 really kill him-itself because of Jumba?
"Yes, I love your friendship. But if Jumba needed me dead, then I would be dead."
Love!? 003 stammered at the thought. "Then don't you get it? That if you die... How it would make me feel?"
"You would still have your purpose."
"But there's more to live for than just some program, ironically you taught me that, if you died I'd lose a reason. A good reason..."
"..."
"Don't you think, what would you feel if I died?"
"You're not in danger."
"But it can happen at any time and if it did how would you feel?"
"Lonely." 018 realized, "Exactly, we all live for more than one purpose... and our friendship is part of that. So don't go thinking you can just up and die whenever you feel like it!"
"I won't." 018 reached a hand out, 003 took it. "That's a promise."
The two friends were at the cafeteria doors now. Upon walking in they found quite a surprise, a new experiment was sitting at the usual table. He was the most bizarre blend of orange and purple they'd ever seen, strips like tie-dye swirling in a hypnotic rhythm as he grasped for a milk pint on the table.
"Hey, are you zero-one-nine?" 003 called out.
The experiment looked around, scanning the room several times, eventually seeing the other two he waved off to his left and said "Hello." to his right. "Yes, I'm zero-one-nine. Who are you?"
"I'm zero-zero-three." "And I'm zero-one-eight." They introduced themselves, kindly moving toward the table.
"Nice to meet you zero-zero-three, but how are you two numbers?" 019 put a hand forth to 018, 018 took the hand. "He's zero-zero-three." 018 redirected the hand to 003's.
"Oh! There's two of you, sorry." 019's head darted around to see the experiment that was only just beside 018. "I can't see too well, Jumba said something about being cross-eyed."
"Well... that's an odd choice-" "It wasn't a choice Jumba messed up, says he'll fix it though." 019 was a little defensive but didn't seem mad.
"It's cool, but hold that thought." 003 ran to the counter with their food, grabbed the trays, with milk, and dashed back. "Sorry but I'm starving. Here." He sat down and placed a tray down for 018 as well.
"Thank you." "Hey, we're friends right?" 003 gave 018 a little pull to sit down.
"So how long have you been up?" 003 focused back on 019. "About an hour, but Jumba said my testing's not until tomorrow. He also said the others were asleep and not to bother them, why are you two up?"
"Heh, long day." 003 left it at that.
"...ok."
"We are a bit off schedule form the others anyway." 018 put in, but didn't elaborate.
019 went back to trying to grab his milk pint. "Want help?" 018 offered. "Yes." 019 admitted no at all shy about his condition, 018 steadied 019's hand and placed it on the milk for him, 018 finished by opening the small carton for him as well. "Careful."
Although he was trying, 019 struggled to move it to his lips. He stopped, closed his eyes and found his lips, "Everything's a lot easier this way." he mused at the odd dexterity in being blind, and downed the drink.
"Well it was nice to meet you both but I'm going to bed." 019 got up. "Goodnight." 018 and 003 said as he... walked into the door. "I'm ok." he called back and stumbled out of the cafeteria.
"You'll have too keep a watch on him until Jumba fixes his eyes." 018 was still finishing 'his' food. "Yeah..." 003 got up when 018 finished.
...
"I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight." 003 said as he left 018 at 'his' room. "Goodnight."
018 entered 'his' room, hoping not to wake 017, crawled into bad and fell asleep.