Chapter Two: Going All Out
There's no moonlight in this place...
Is it Hell on Earth?!
I'm used to people giving up on me.
The world gave up on me,
so I gave up on the world.
It's the nature of Nature.
Sometime, you win.
Sometimes, you lose.
And other times,
it's not even worth getting back up...
... No sooner had the four turned into their fifth corridor, a small group of robotic guards emmerged and sounded an alarm.
"So much for sneaking out!" The blue-haired man cried out in an annoyed tone; taking a step back.
The burnette looked back at the other two with a small smile. "004 and I will take care of the guards. You and 0020 stay back." He said before he charged after the guards.
'004?' The girl thought in confusion; looking at the blue-haired man fighting against the robots. 'Is that his name or something?'
'Yes. We are all code named like that. Even you... 0020. But don't worry, I'll explain everything once we're all out of danger.' The voice said in a logical tone.
'Does that mean I'm one of you, too?' She questioned; looking down at herself and seeing that she was in fact dressed exactly like the men helping her are.
'Sadly, yes. You are the twentith cyborg to be created by Black Ghost. And you most certainly won't be the last. Your code name is, "0020". But there's no time to go into detail.' The voice rang out in her mind; causing her to close her eyes tightly.
The girl-now known as "0020" looked up at the two fighters and seen the burnette disappear and five guards had crumbled around him when he reappeared. She gasped and looked at the older man, and seen that he shot bullets from his fingertips. She gasped and looked over at the boy next to her; shock written clearly across her face.
The duo made quick work of the remaining guards, and turned back to the rest of their group with arrogant smirks on their faces.
"Let's get the heck outta here before any more robots show up!" One of them said quickly; taking off down the hall with the others following closely behind.
After a few more fights, the group finally made it outside of the base. The sun beat down on them, and blinded the poor female cyborg. She squeaked and buried her face into the boy's arm; making him chuckle at her in response.
"Stay green, 0020," he cooed at her in a soothing tone; pulling her closer to his side, "your eyes will adjust soon. I promise."
And true to his word, her eyes adjusted. She looked up at him with a faint smile on her face; causing him to look down at her with a smile of his own. They all soon took off running away from the base. They soon came to a valley and the two males jumped high onto the rocks and made it to the top. They looked down at the two remaining cyborgs on the ground.
"Two can play at that game!" He shouted in an annoyed tone; turning back to 0020. "Do you trust me, 0020?" He asked in her in a lightened tone; his smile growing wider when he saw her nodding at him. "Okay, I want you to hold on tight to me. Can you do that for me?" He said before he scooped her up in his arms, and bent his knees slightly.
In the blink of an eye, they were flying high into the air. 0020 looked down at the ground, and noticed how high they were. She also seen that the boy holding her had flames coming out of the bottoms of his feet. She gasped and looked up at him with shock in her eyes. The boy looked down at her and gave her an arrogant smirk.
"We sure showed them up, didn't we, 0020?" He asked in a proud tone; decending down towards the ground and letting her go.
The girl looked up at the boy with a happy smile. She then looked back at the other two males and seen them both running towards them. "So, how did you like flying with 002?" The blue-haired man asked in a fatherly tone; giving her a teasing smile. "I bet it was real scary being all the way up there, wasn't it?"
0020 looked up at the boy she learned was named, "002", and saw him blush.
"At least I didn't drop her!" He protected in a defensive tone; frowning angrily at the man's teasings.
'... There's no way to hade the fear! ...'
0020 looked up at 002 and smiled up at him; causing him to blush, calm down, and smile back at her. She looked back at the other two and smiled brightly at them. She waved her hands in the air like a bird flapping its wings; making them all bust out laughing at her gestures.
"I think she's trying to tell us that she actually liked flying with you, 002!" The burnette said in a laughing tone; making 002 blush even deeper.
004 placed his hands on his hips, and smiled cheekily at 002. "It looks like you've got a new flying buddy, 002!" He teased the boy with a smirk.
002's blush deepened even more, and he looked away from the group. He mumbled something under his breath, and made everyone's laughter grown louder.
0020 was about to reach out to 002, but she stopped and jerked away; falling to the ground. The burnette reached out to touch her shoulder, but his head jerked away and he flew backwards. He knew what had happened... it was a bullet! He and 0020 were just shot at! He looked past 004 and seen a fair sized squad of robot soldiers marching towards them!
"It looks like they just won't let you go without a fight, huh, 0020?" 004 said in a slightly joking tone; giving her an apologetic smile.
He looked back at the burnette with a slight frown on his face. "Think you're up for another round, 009?" He asked in a concerned tone; watching him get back up off the ground.
The burnette - or 009 nodded and looked over at 0020 with a worried frown. "What about 0020?" He asked in a worried tone; looking over at 004.
002 sighed and folded his arms over his chest. "I guess that means I have to go on ahead and take her to the check point," he said in a defeated tone, "001 and 003 will keep her safe until we can take out the trash."
'... Open the doors... and see what happens! ...'
004 and 009 nodded and took off towards the enemy. He watched them leave with a frown on his face. He shook his head to rid himself of his rising jealousy, and turned to 0020 with a cheerful smile.
"Ready for another ride with me, 0020?" He asked in a playful tone; holding his hand out to her.
0020 looked back at the other cyborgs running away from them with a worried look in her face. 002 frowned at her and took a hold of her hand; making her look back up at him.
"Don't worry about them, 0020. They can take care of themselves until I get back with help. Believe me. But right now, we gotta get you outta here so the enemy won't get you." He reasoned in an urgent tone; giving her hand a small tug.
0020 sighed silently and walked up to 002. He linked his arms under hers and fired up his jets. She looked down to see the others fighting with a worry in her eyes.
"I'm gonna drop you off with 001 and 003 and the rest of us will help 004 and 009. You'll be safe as long as you stay with them, 0020. I promise." 002 yelled over the wind; keeping his eyes forward.
0020 looked up at 002 for a moment. 'These people... why are they going out of their way to help me?' She thought in panic; closing her eyes tightly.
'It's true that we don't really know you, 0020, but we were taken away from our homes just like you. And now, we've all joined together like family. And we take care of each other, too.'
0020 looked down at the ground and seen four other people dressed exactly like her and 002 rushing into battle. She looked up ahead and seen a blonde woman holding an infant standing on a cliff. She looked up at 002, and seen him smiling down at her.
0020 dropped her head and closed her eyes tightly, as unwanted memories came flooding back to her. She remembered the fight with her mother that should've ended her life, and in many ways did. She remembered the knife in her side. The pain that burned through her body and all the blood that soaked the floor. She remembered drowning in her blood, but she remembered the look her mother gave her when she was standing over her.
Then, out of nowhere, these people came and saved her life. They didn't know her. They had no obligation to do anything for her. Yet, here they are; risking their own lives to save hers. They were being kind enough to give her a second chance.
0020 closed her eyes and tilted her face towards the direction of battle. 002 dropped her off like he promised and circled back around to help his friends fight.
0020 watched 002 fly off with a worried look on her face. She held onto the front of her uniform, and felt something just under the fabric. She reached into her uniform and took the item out. She gasped when she realized it was a blue crystal necklace.
'... Take it to the next level! ...'
It was a pink crystal pendulum with wings wrapped around it. It was a present from her brother. It meant a great deal to her. She could almost hear him laughing in her memory. He was the only person that meant anything to her, and that necklace was her only proof that her brother existed.
0020 was brought out of her thoughts when she looked over at the blonde woman holding the infant. She was smiling sadly at her. It was almost as if she were apologizing to her for something.
"Don't be scared, 0020," the blonde said in a gentle tone, "the others will be alright."
'003 is right,' the voice said in an understanding tone, 'we're able to handle things like this without hardly any trouble. Trust me.'
0020 looked at the baby and gasped in shock. 'You're the voice in my head!' She thought to the child.
The baby nodded in approval. 'Yes, I am 001. It's nice to meet you. I just wish we didn't have to meet like this.' The baby said politely; holding his tiny hand out to her.
0020 smiled faintly at the baby and was about to reach her fingure out to him, but she gasped and stopped short. She looked behind her in time to see everyone else running up to them with panicked looks on their faces.
'What's this feeling? I feel like I was the one fighting.' She thought to herself in confusion; holding her head in pain.
'That must be one of your special powers. You must have empathy.' 001 replied in an understanding tone; looking up at her. 'You can sense emotions from those around you as if they were your own. And quite possibily manipulate them as well.'
0020 looked up at the group. 'Empathy... manipulate emotions... now that gives me an idea...' She thought to herself, as she watched the others get blown forward, beaten and shot at.
'Don't do anything foolish, 0020,' the baby warned, 'you're still not at full strength yet and we don't know what other powers you might have. Let alone if you even know how to fight.'
0020 kept her eyes trained on the battle, and rolled her hands into tight fists. 'It's not fair... you all are being so kind to me - a complete stranger at that! And I... And I...'
'... Walk the distance from fear! ...'
"0020?" The woman said in a worried tone; reaching a hand out to her.
0020's shoulders shook and she looked up with her eyes glowing an angry red color. She let all the frustration and rage out through her tears. Without much thought, she bolted towards the battle before the woman standing next to her stop her from leaving.
The girl didn't know what was happening to her. To her, it felt like something inside of her was forcing her body to act on its own. She couldn't help herself even if she wanted to. She knew she had to do something to help those people, and something inside of her told her that she now had the power to tip the scales in their favor.
She arrived at the scene and saw that 002 was outnumbered and on the ground. She wasn't thinking when she clapped her hands together, and a metal staff formed when she pulled her hands apart. She jumped high into the air and launched herself forward, and into the crowd of robots; sending them flying away from her and 002.
002 looked up at her with shock on his face. "Are you crazy?! You could've gotten yourself killed with a stunt like that!" He shouted angrily; jumping to his feet.
He looked over at her, and seen that her eyes were still glowing red. "Uh-0020? Are you okay?" He asked in a baffled tone; taking a step backwards. "What's wrong with your eyes?"
Even though she ran so far and fast towards battle, and protected 002 without thinking, 0020 was still crying. Thus further worrying 002 in the process.
"Hey, don't cry, 0020," he cooed in a gentle tone; grabbing a hold of her shoulders, "I was just worried about you. That's all."
'They're risking their lives for me... and I... and I...' She thought to herself as she took off again.
002 watched 0020 take off in shock and amazement. She kept attacking the robots and tanks like a wild animal would after it has been threatened. He was relieved when her strength had returned. He was surprised to find that 0020 was able to rip a robot apart with just her bare hands. One of the robots had grabbed her from behind and self-destructed; sending her flying through the air.
Instead of falling flat on her face like everyone expected her to, they had watched her land on all fours as if she were part cat. She then growled like said cat and bum-rushed the closest robot to her with her hands out-stretched also like a cat. She broke straight through the robot; causing it to explode after impact, and take out a few nearby robots like she did the first one.
"Wow! Look at her go! She's like a locomotive now!" The bald man said in a shocked tone; watching the female cyborg attack the robots relentlessly.
'...This dog will have its day... ...'
"I'd hate to run into her in a dark alley that's for sure!" The short, plump man commented in a nervous tone; watching 0020 dart around and destroying the robots with little to no trouble.
004 and 009 stood next to 002 and watched the girl clap her hands and drop to the ground. She placed her hands on the ground and electricity shot up through it; shorting out the surrounding robots. She stood up and disappeared. The rest of the robots crumbled around her as soon as she reappeared.
"Did you see that?!" 009 said in shock, his mouth slightly ajar. "She's got an accelerator just like me!"
004 frowned and watched the girl fight. "Well, at least now we know why Black Ghost wants her back so bad." He said in a grim tone; folding his arms over his chest. "She'd make a great wild card against us."
"We have to keep her as far away from Black Ghost as we possibly can..." 002 said with determination in his eyes; watching 0020 run around.
'... Never Give up! ...'
0020's body suddenly stopped moving, and everyone carefully walked towards her. 002, 004, and 009 were the first ones to reach her. Everyone else stayed back to secure the area.
"You sure did a number on those robots, 0020!" 009 said in a brotherly tone; looking around at the damage she had caused. "And it looks like you've got your strength back, too!"
004 smiled proudly at the girl and placed his hands on his hips. "Thanks for the help, 0020," he said in a fatherly tone, "even though we could've easily taken care of it, we're still grateful to you."
002 smirked and claimed his place at her side. "You did real good back there, 0020, and thanks for the save. I owe ya one big time." He said in a grateful tone; placing his hand on her shoulder. "Whatdaya say we all head back and have a break? I think we've all earned it, don't you?"
0020's knees buckled and she fell forward. 002 quickly caught her and steadied her.
"Are you alright, 0020?!" He asked in a fearful tone; keeping a slightly firm grip on her arm.
"I guess I was wrong about your strength returning, huh?" 009 said in a sheepish tone; stratching the side of his face.
"Don't you worry, 0020," 004 said in a fatherly tone; offering her a kind smile, "we have a friend that can help you feel better."
0020 looked up at 002 for the first time since she stopped attacking, and he could see that her eyes were no longer glowing and were back to their normal silver color. He couldn't deny that he felt a great sense of relief when he learned that she could handle herself in a fight.
002 was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the female cyborg in his grip pull away from him. He looked around and noticed everyone was walking away from him. He looked back at 0020 and smiled brightly at her.
"So, how about it, 0020? I bet you could use a hot meal and a place to lay your head. Not to mention getting your voice back to normal."
0020 looked behind her for a moment, she looked back at 002 with a brave smile. She nodded and turned to walk away. 002 watched her for a moment; before darting off after her. He quickly caught up to her and held his hands behind his head. He kept talking to her and kept her company until they reached the others. Then they boarded the Dolphin and headed off towards their temporary home...
'... Everything's about to change! ...'