The last rays of the dying sun gleam from the miserable cracks of the distant mountains and join a line of inmates in entering the empty courtyard. The dark, cloudy sky hangs from invisible gallows as the rigid line of prisoners splinters into countless groupings across the yard.
Whispered hushes accompanied by howling winds scurry across the open gaps of concrete and make their way to intended audiences.
"I said a quarter-kilo, ya dumbfu—"
"...And he won't wake up tomorrow? Good."
"Just a quickie."
"You've killed before, right?"
"They give us an hour... barely enough to meet the federally mandated requirements for exposure to outdoor atmospheric elements." Cy steps out from the door and moves along the wall as Gray trails silently behind. "But at the same time, they divide it to stop anything big from developing during the end of the day."
They stop and face a group of three convicts standing closely together: a woman pushes two small, full pouches of an unknown substance into the hands of a conspicuous customer with transparent skin over his head; his companion shifts neurotically beside him, eyes shining like pale moons and hands twitching nearly as much as his lips.
Only from a few inches away can his soft mutterings be heard: "...they took my mind... took my mind... made me dumb... they took my mind..."
The man next to him quickly pockets the pouches and slithers a response as his head pulses underneath the translucent scalp. "Freshly transmutated. Wait until you see what this does to your mind, Doctor."
Gray leaves the scene and sits down at the only bench in the yard, a sturdy wooden structure that stands oddly intact and un-vandalized. Seconds later, he is quietly joined by the Android in the darkening yard.
"Why is she following us?"
Cy doesn't immediately react to the inquiry; the dark orbs of red light stare straight ahead amid the crowd of shuffling convicts several yards away.
"Same reason she follows anybody around here," he finally answers. "She wants to know something."
They sit motionless for nearly a minute as the activities continue around them; the haggling murmurs lap like waves against their ears.
"Don't look at her. Don't talk to her. Don't acknowledge her presence," Cy drones mechanically. "You do that and she'll have you pinned under more influence than you can possibly handle."
Ignoring the advice, Gray turns from the bench to face the spot where the Blonde had been sitting cross-legged only moments before. "Don't even bother searching for her, she's very good at blending away into the earth when she wants to."
As predicted, his eyes settle on open air and empty space. A few stragglers linger around keeping to themselves, but no one even remotely similar to the thin young girl who had been following them appears in the area. Just bare concrete... and a dead rabbit in the far distance.
They stay fixed in place as the far off prisoners shuffle about.
"She's a spy," Cy adds, and joins Gray's gaze. "Few things get past her and no one goes unnoticed. You don't want to trust Gaea... ... ever."
The two turn back around in the bench...
"She'll turn on you faster than a dirty—"
...and meet a pair of glowing violet eyes.
The Freak looms on top of the bench, her eyes parallel to Gray's and long strands of unkempt purple hair swaying between.
"You need my Angel," she whispers.
For several seconds, silence takes control of the yard: inmates laugh noiselessly and the angry clamor of blackmarket barter fads into the empty background.
"You need dirty water."
Her smudged face teases out into a ludicrous grin; she leaps away from Gray, lands daintily on Cy, and pulls her shackled hands directly up to his metallic face.
"But don't worry," she scoffs, like she's actually worried for their mental state, "I have clean hands!"
A red glow shines steadily on her face as the Android stares back at her radiant face, completely devoid of response. The Boy shifts in his seat, reaching into his pocket in anticipation of trouble. But the orange-clad girl sits still in front of the emotionless robot holding up her two thin, pale hands bound at their raw wrists.
"I see you two have taken to lesser company."
Red emerges from behind the bench and rests her hands on the backrest.
"I'm actually kind of surprised..."
Her voice softens as she leans in only inches from the two sitting prisoners' ears.
"...And here I thought I held the unpaid debt."
They shift their gaze rearward to the mischievous smile behind them.
"What do you want, Red?" Cy asks, forgoing the banter.
"Want?" She holds a hand to her chest in mock indignation. "Why, I don't want anything. I was simply intrigued by the sight of you two gentlemen in the company of her." Her smile fades as she pronounces the last word with a heavy dose of contempt.
Cy continues unfazed: "Roth? She's just standing—"
Gray follows Cy's stare to a distant corner where the Freak crouches, tenderly caressing a pattern onto a brick wall with a look of overwhelming affection. All three continue to stare at the enraptured girl.
"You know, there's a reason they only let her out once a month..."
Gray stands from the bench and faces the other two.
"Who is she?"
"Roth," comes the reply as Red slides into the empty bench seat. "No one knows where she comes from, and no one knows how long till she gets out."
"Nobody remembers how long she's been here," Cy added. "Mostly because she's got her own cell separated from the rest of us."
Gray nods and motions toward the Girl.
"Her neck: she's wearing the same metal collar you have."
The green eyes flash furiously and her jaw clenches as her hands clamp on the metallic ring that encircles the amber skin of her neck; the muscles along her nape are visibly tense.
"This... this... is a damper." Her arm slowly relaxed. "A damper on our power."
Wind rustles angrily across the shadows of the yard; the shouts across the area grow steadily and drag the blaring veil of silence over the inmates near the bench.
Shouts. Murmurs. Quiet deals and black trade. The microcosmic underworld moves on around them.
"TIME TO GO IN!"
Bodies press forward to join the growing crowd around the only entrance.
Cy stands silently and moves away toward the crowd; four sets of eyes watch him until he reaches the mass of convicts.
Hesitation.
Then...
Gray takes a tentative step forward.
"You want me to owe you even more than I do now?"
Red leaves the bench and walks beside him with a deviously curious sparkle in her eyes. "I'm listening..."
He watches the Android carry himself through the steel doorframe many yards away.
High above, the sky darkens to the shade of an ocean before a tempest; a large flock of black specks jerk across the sky, squawking loudly and flapping towards the distant horizon. The winds gradually whips about faster through the bodies left scattered around the yard.
"Do me a small favor..."
BREAK
"You know the deal: one meal skipped for each word I hear!"
CLACK.
The lights die and darkness takes its place instantly. With it comes a dead silence that walks up and down the corridor past every jail cells and threatens each and every inhabitant.
The hulking mass of metal sits crouched in the corner of his cell, connected to the wall and completely inactive. Three feet away, his cellmate lies motionlessly in bed, arms behind his head and eyes drilling holes into the shadowed ceiling.
Silence...
Gray rolls to the side and drops off of the top bunk of the beds; his feet make a gentle tap on the ground as he crouches to the floor with his landing.
"Cy." He glides up next to the Android and stops a yard from the dull robot. "Wake up."
The robot remains motionless as Gray stands in place. Silence except for a quiet breathing from far away.
"You can't fool me," he whispered, "they can't shut you off completely with the tools they were using. At worst, you're in hibernation."
Faintly, a light flickers in the Android's chest. There is no sound and he makes no further movements.
"It's time, Cyberion," he replies. "Time to do what I have to do."
His cold eyes glare back as the robot sits unmoved. Gray reaches into his prison uniform, pulls out a small gun, and points it directly at the Android's head.
"It's time to kill you."
"You'll take the entire prison with you."
A violent lull fills the two feet between them as the gun stands as motionlessly as the robot it is pointing at.
A full minute passes in absolute silence.
Two.
Five.
Ten minutes.
"There is weapons-grade uranium in my core. If at any point, the biological link to my system is interrupted, even for a nanosecond, it would trigger an explosion that would wipe this prison and all of its guests off the face of the earth." Two red orbs glow back to life as Cy twitches in his seat. "And how did you manage to smuggle an EMP gun into prison?"
The Boy answers without moving in any way: "They never check under the skin."
His robotic eyes peer through the darkness and catch sight of a bloodstain on the prison uniform near the lower left ribcage.
"Impressive," Cy answered, "and much better than any of the other ones. I have to say you truly earned your wings with this one." His eyes continue to stare mechanically back at the Boy. "Who sent you?"
Gray continues to hold the gun up.
"Doesn't matter," he replies stoically. "The only thing that does is this..."
Slowly, the gun moves down and points at the ground.
"I'm no one's Apprentice," the Boy answers with a slight spark of anger in his eye, "and it's high time I becomes my own Master."
Gradually, a crooked smile made it's way across Gray's face.
"And you, my mechanical friend, now have an offer before you…"