THE BEGINNING OF A NEW END: The story of Cyborg 009 and Cyborg 003

CHAPTER #1- The Worst Fear

Francoise had just yesterday confessed her feelings to Joe, but she could hear him with another woman. The woman was a colleague and friend of the doctor's. She was there to do upgrades on their cyborg tech. Francoise's acute hearing, made it easy to listen in on the private conversation. But hearing wasn't believing, so she used her advanced eyesight to confirm her fears. Instantly she regretted looking, as Joe was kissing the woman. Francoise's heart hurt, like nothing she'd ever felt before. Unable to breath, not able to even scream, she turned and ran away. He didn't even go after her. All the years they had been teammates and friends, disintegrated in seconds. With pain came anger and then intense hate.

"Am I running so hard that my eyelids are sweating?" Francoise asked herself. Then she realized it was tears. It had been so long since she'd cried, that the sensation had been forgotten.

Even though she was a cyborg, that looked 19 years old, in reality she was older than 60. Her heart and soul were human, but her body and mind had mechanical enhancements. Humans hated cyborgs, alienating them from society. Yet those same people demanded assistance when in dire straights or when the world was threatened. Dating was not possible after becoming a cyborg. Prior to that, her life had been dedicated to ballet. Socializing replaced by lesson obligations. But when she'd met Cyborg 009, Joe Shimaura, hope had entered her heart. He knew about her dark past and often had protected her during missions.

"Was it brotherly love? Am I just a burden to my teammates?"

These and other questions tormented her mind. There was no place to run, she had to return to the house. Their old house had been blown to bits by the UNG troops. They found an island in the Pacific Ocean, close to Mariana's Trench. It was called Agrihan and was part of the Northern Mariana Islands. It was made by a stratovolcano and had dense forest. Other than them, the island was uninhabited. The side where they'd built their new home, had an underground cave system that went into the ocean, allowing them to hide the Dolphin aquatic airship. Also the volcano had a spring, providing fresh water at all times. The island was the perfect place to disappear, unnoticed by most of the world.

She had been so distracted by the hole in her heart, that she didn't remember going to bed or anything until seeing him the next day. The pain was still raw and upon noticing Joe, she went in the opposite direction. That brought her to Ivan Whisky, who looked like a baby infant, but in fact, was incredibly smart and their central command during missions. He looked annoyed by her appearance. Feeling the negative vibe, Francoise continued on. Every member of the team, seemed unhappy with her. Depression set in and again the day disappeared, without her remembering anything except pain.

The new day started with questions about her abilities and how she contributed to the team, by the woman who'd kissed Joe. Separating her feelings from the session was hard, yet true to her nature, Francoise remained polite.

"So you have acute hearing, x-ray vision and can hack electronic engineering. With a basic knowledge of emergency medical training, that's all you've got?"

"Yes ma'am."

"You're the navigation and reconnaissance specialist and support. Right now your hearing is up to 4 kms and vision is 50 kms in 360 degrees?"

"Yes ma'am." She felt like the woman was dismissing her abilities.

"That won't do. From what Joe told me, you were useless during the fight to defeat The Blessed. I'll put a program for some mixed martial arts, as an upgrade in your system. That will give you some defensive moves."

"Thank you."

The session ended and the pain in her heart was debilitating. Her hate for Joe escalated. How dare he talk behind her back to his lover. She felt like her skin was on fire, so enraged did she become. Unable to control her emotions, everything erupted when her hearing eavesdropped on Joe and the woman kissing again. Coming upon them, in an embrace, caused Francoise to attack. Joe was too slow in response and she squeezed his neck until his eyes bulged and his legs spasmed in death. The scream that almost caused her to go deaf, was her own.