by Nika

This is finally getting to an end.
Dedicated to Pikie, Aelis, who got addicted just recently, D.H:, winterfall
[btw I like When you're Gone], Ondria and all of those others out there,
who followed the heroic battle of our heros.

Please feel free to mail me any logical mistakes and open questions.

We left when the four recuers were entering the secret lab of Shinya`s
father in order to save Toshiya.

Part 20.

Surprisingly the corridors are empty and sober, almost
like there are made of strange fantasies that are transported into
reality.
"It's somehow very....empty", Kyo whispers, the fear is hard to control and
it's even harder when no one is saying anything. Shinya nods: "Father tends
to work on his own, there will be only his cyborgs helping him."
In his mind he replays the times when it had been him helping out, sitting
by his father's side in the middle of the night and feeling almost close to
the busy man. Probably the only time ever they were bonding on a private
level, sort of. "Cyborgs? Possibly the ones that took him?", Kaoru
inquires, his voice drying up in his mouth.
"I guess so."
"How...", the leader feels pain and hugs himself again by instinct.
"How do we get past them?", Die finishes for the other guitarist.
Shinya shrugs: "They're not a problem, the only real problem are the two
other humans. Security Guards, but they often sleep in their little room,
since they believe this place is totally safe. Almost no one knows about it
and all the people who do know are actually Goki-Motors staff or cyborgs."
"So we have to trust our luck and hope the guards are asleep?", Kaoru
ponders aloud, "Luck is not necessarily on our side in the moment,
considering the events in the last months."
Die throws an arm around the leader's shoulder, making the thin man wince:
"So it's payback time now for that damn luck, isn't it?"
Kyo tilts his head: "I'm going in there, I don't care about guards, cyborgs
or hellhounds. We have to hurry."
The drummer gives a tiny: "I agree!", before the leader looks at all of
them: "So it's decided and final. We go and rescue him."
He looks in the eyes of every other man, smiling lightly: "Just so that you
know, I really enjoyed my time being with you. You're the best thing that
ever happened to me in my life, now I can see that much clearer than before."
All of them smile and Kaoru extends his hand, immediately covered by Die's,
Shinya's and lastly even Kyo's.
"We're in this together!", Die states and they part, nervousness and
pressure spreads in everyone of them, as they nod determinedly.
Shinya leads the way again, they press to the walls as he does, sneak
through endless, hopeless corridors, countless doors lining the walls, some
with names, most without.
Suddenly the drummer raises a hand, and the three other men stop, racing
heartbeats loud enough to echo in the silence.
Somewhere a door opens and steps come closer to them.
Two men, at least, maybe more.
"The guards?!", Kyo mouths without a sound.
Shinya shrugs and gestures for all to back a few steps before the figures
emerge, with unnatural precision and frighteningly friendly, smiling faces.
They don't fit the emotionless surroundings or maybe they do fit too well,
because showing on their faces is only the arithmetic equation of a smile.
Fear shoots through them like liquid fire, boiling their remaining shreds
of courage, before Shinya straightens with a nod and says with a low but
firm voice: "Ichirou, Mitsu Sleep!"
Instantly the two rather impressive men's eyes turn empty and they lower
their heads, life leaving them, only two unmoving humanlike corpses remain.
With cruel ease, Shinya opens the neck of the first cyborg, plugging in his
laptop. Then he hurries through the set-up, typing rapidly, almost with the
rhythm of his drumming.
"Kaoru, help me", he squeezes out between clenched teeth and points to the
second cyborg. Nodding, the band-leader takes his laptop and mirrors
Shinya's actions, asking after a while: "What should I do now?"
"Enter the passwords "towa" afterwards "inochi"."
Kaoru follows Shinya's instructions and enters the core program of the
old-series-cyborg.
"I'm in the core...", the leader whispers in awe,
while the drummer only nods.
"They're really simple, you see?"
"If you say so..." Kaoru is still deeply impressed.
"Now, what should we insert here?", Shinya ponders loudly.
"What do you mean?"; Kyo asks, looking over the thin man's shoulder
interested and studying the many windows there.
"Now we can enter anything we would like... In conclusion: Make them do
what we want."
"Really? Cool!", Die smiles, "Make them into our willing slaves."
"No, make them dance with impassive faces! That would look incredibly
stupid!", Kyo giggles, earning a disbelieving look from the red-head.
"I got an idea", Kaoru says, "Make them into roadies!"
They stare at Kaoru, before Die begins to giggle first, joined by Kyo and
even Shinya chuckles a little.
"That would cut the expenses of the band, wouldn't it?"
"Okay, then all we have to enter is: stand around, smoke a lot and give
unfitting comments to every note like you own the fucking band", Die adds.
Soft laughter scares away the silence in their respective hearts.
"I'll make it so"; the drummer laughs and enters a few commands, "Is it
okay if they meet us at our practice-room?"
"Perfect, Shinya-kun", Kaoru agrees and Die nods with an irresistible grin,
before the lithe drummer enters the same commands into the other cyborg.
After the laptops are unplugged, the two tall artificial men straighten and
head right for the exit.
"Just like real roadies..."; Die whispers.
"Didn't even lower themselves to say Good Night",
Kaoru perfects the sentence, chuckling. The eyes of the two guitarists
meet again, softened and full of wordless understanding.
Shinya's business-like voice breaks the exe-contact:
"When we encounter the other cyborgs you just have to name them and tell
them to sleep, understood? Then they won't be able to move or hurt you,
just use their basic programming, okay? The other three cyborgs are called
Nikki, Keiichi and Kimutaku." "Kimutaku?", Kyo's eyes grow wide.
"My father likes SMAP."
"Well, well, well..."; Die grins, "Now I finally know why our little Shinya
likes pop-music so much!"
"Shut up!", Shinya snaps and the three men giggle.

A reminder of their shared smiles stays on their faces as they continue on
their way, quiet and determined. When they toddle around a corner, a calm voice stops them.
Kyo and Shinya recognize the speaker at once:
"Father!", the drummer
breathes out, almost without a sound, while the singer's eyes closed in a
moment of gathering courage and wit.
The inch closer to the source of the voice, finding it to come out from
behind a sliding-door, open so that the noises from the inside can float to
their ears. Distorted, like wings of a ghost fluttering around in the empty
corridors.
As they slide beside the door with the outmost caution, they are finally
able to make out, what exactly Shinya's father is talking about.
"....still does not respond to Basic orders. All tries to enter his
databases through the controlpanel in the medula oblangata region have
failed, since passwords were changed and access was denied. In the
meanwhile his batteries have been recharged, obviously there was a sudden
energy problems occurring during some activities I think were of sexual nature."
There is a touch of wonder and disgust in the otherwise scientific voice
Die and Shinya scrutinize Kaoru and Kyo with suspicious glances, but Kyo
only nods towards the leader, who looks at the floor with a guilty
expression. Die's hand flies to his mouth, before he gasps, Shinya looking
a little grim.

They found out!, echoes in Kaoru's head. He bites his lips and feels unable
to meet the eyes of his band-mates. They'll hate me... Despise me. And it's
absolutely their right to do so. His ribs hurt more then just a heartbeat before and he wraps his arms around himself again, before he feels a glare on him.
Looking up it is Die, who shakes his head and points towards the biceps in
his arms.

Right, Die said they need my strength now, not my weakness. I'm so
frighteningly weak in the moment, I must overcome this and face whatever
consequences afterwards.
The lips set in a taut line, Kaoru straightens again
and forwards his chin. I'm not beaten yet!

Professor Terachi's voice goes on: "I'm going to test if the cyborg is able
to move again after the recharge. At first I want to examine the abnormal
rhythm in the chest. This cyborg has no heart, since we had a lack of space
and the lungs with their ventilation took more space then we had assumed,
so we inserted pumps in the region of the lower main-arteries."

The four men exchange glances, Kaoru pointing to the
door, showing with his hands that they should get in, grab Toshiya, while Die
should hold the professor at bay.
They all agree, even though it feels like a suicide-mission.

I really, really hope he will be able to walk, Kyo
thinks and his teeth are pressed together so tightly, that his jaw begins to
hurt.
Die inches to the door, he is the first to get in and go for Shinya's
father, next is Kyo, waiting at Die's side and followed by Shinya. Kaoru is
the last one, since he is the weakest at the moment.
Die casts one last look over his shoulder on his waiting, tense band-mates
before taking in their fears, hopes and nervousness, then he looks to the
small slot in the door again, gulps and nods. Then he leaps forward. Elegantly like a red phoenix, spreading his wings towards the eternal flame.
Still, his moves are so sudden despite all of their
planning, because Die makes it real.
This is the moment, this is the opportunity. Either succeed or fail, there
is no way back now.

Adrenaline rushes through Kyo, as his muscles tense to
break into the short sprint inside the room.
The first thing he sees is the long body of Toshiya on a silver table,
just like in his vision, his heart jumps in fear, before he sees Die, hand
clamped over the mouth of Shinya's father, who struggles against the
red-head. Shinya grabs the legs of the cyborg and Kyo runs towards the
head, when suddenly behind him he hears a loud, pain-laden cry. The blonde
whips around to see Kaoru being tossed to the ground,
blood colors the PVC, dripping from the leader's nose.
"Kaoru!!", all of the other three call out, when Kyo realizes there is a
tall figure behind the fallen man.

That must be one of the other cyborgs! Damn, what were
their silly names again?

But already Shinya's voice is in the air: "Nikki,
Keiichi, Kimutaku, Sleep!!"
The tall figure steps over the band-leader without care and another man
succeeds, wearing the same not too unfriendly expression, horrifying for
the band-members.
The third is not too far behind. "Nikki, Keiichi, Kimutaku! I order you: Sleep!!", the drummer repeats, panic makes his voice rough. Then he crumbles, his
hand over his mouth: "It doesn't work!"
Die and Kyo stare at the younger man in unmasked horror, Die letting go of
the professor and running towards the drummer, grabbing his hand and
looking for another exit.
"Can we get out of here any other way?!", he screams, frantically.
Shinya shakes his head blankly, staring at the three man-machines, closing up.
Kyo has run to Toshiya, shaking him "Wake up, Toshiya, wake up, I beg
you!", only when he hears his own voice he realizes, that he is sobbing.
Tears are on his cheeks, tears of despair, anger and defeat. The figure
does not move, while Kyo sinks to his knees, the slightly cool hand of
Toshiya still in his own. "Toshiya...", he breathes.

Die shoves Shinya behind himself, sheltering the
younger man with his own body, opening his arms, almost as if he welcomes the first blow handed to him in his stomach.
"No, Die-kun!", Shinya screams, before the body in front of him crumbles.
With a pain filled moan the red-head sinks to his knees, clenching his
guts, while the drummer is grabbed by two of the three cyborgs and pressed
into the wall.
"Let me go, Nikki, Keiichi, Kimutaku, let go of me!!"
Die lies on the cool floor, the world around him blurry and distorted., he
moves his head and meets the eyes of Kaoru, still
bleeding a little.
"I'm so sorry, I couldn't help you protecting them",
he whispers, but Kaoru closes his eyes in refusal.
"No, you have the bravest soul", the leader whispers, before a loud they
hear Shinya whimper. Both men try to get a glance, but all they see is the
back of Shinya's head, dangling over the shoulder of one of the cyborgs.
Silence ensues, a sad quiet, so disturbingly deadly.
Despair sparks between Kaoru and Die, while Kyo gently draws Toshiya's palm
to his lips and places a small kiss right in the middle.
It is a sort of goodbye. And the understanding sinks in cruelly:
We've lost.

Nika

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