Sweet Vendetta //Danger Days//

13. Almost Human

    There was something seriously wrong with Sugar. When I creaked open the door of the house she shared with GoGo and a few other Killjoys, it was completely empty. There was absolutely no light, and everything was dead silent.

"Sugar?" I called her name cautiously. Nothing. I crept down the tiny hallway towards her bedroom. The spunky girl lay calmly in her bed, her eyes wide open and staring at the wall. Her skin was pale, and it appeared to be cracking.

"Oh my god..." I rushed towards her, a sick feeling in my stomach.

"Hey, city girl." She croaked weakly, focusing her attention on me instead.

"What's happening to you?" I asked, stroking my thumb against her cheek. She felt like porcelain.

"Just the radiation. Nothing that sleep won't fix." She smiled, but I saw right through the bullshit.

"No, something's wrong. Tell me so I can help you." I demanded.

"Honey, even if I did tell you, there's nothing you can do." Her black eyes glinted with humor, despite the fact that she looked so dismal. I had never seen Sugar look so deflated. She was a strong girl, and would never be this frail.

"Please, just tell me." I begged, my tone beginning to show panic. 

"Feel my back." She sighed deeply.  

Tentatively, I crept my hands under her warm blanket. Everything felt relatively normal, until I felt my fingertips brush against a square piece of metal. I yanked my hand away in surprise, but Sugar just chuckled.

"You're an android?" I gasped quietly.

"Pornodroid, to be exact." She explained.

"But, how?" I tilted my head.

"I was made in a factory, dumbass." She teased, rolling her eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"I'm not supposed to live forever. To be honest, I didn't think that I'd last this long outside of the city. There's not enough electricity out here for me to survive." Sugar told me.

"I can go get batteries or something. Don't worry." I gripped her hand tightly. She just chuckled quietly.

"I'm reaching the end of my life span. It doesn't matter what battery you try and put in me. I'm dying, Atomic."

I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to come to terms with whatever she was telling me.

"You can't die now." I pleaded, my eyes welling up with tears that I didn't want to let out.

"I have to. I'm sorry." Sugar patted my free hand.

"Please, I need you here." I choked.

"You don't. You'll be fine here without me. You're a strong girl." She reassured me.

"What about GoGo?" I asked, wiping my eyes.

"She's the only one who knows, besides you. Please don't tell anyone. I don't want them to know I exist for the sole purpose of sleeping with people." She requested urgently. I nodded vigorously.

"I promise." 

---

        "Hey, kid! Get out here!" Val ordered. Mad Gear groaned when he heard the man from outside his house.

"What do you want?" He responded through an open window.

"You have a visitor!"

Gear tilted his head, walking towards the door.

'What is he on about?'

The boy opened his screen door. Looking around, all he saw was Val waiting for him, tapping his foot impatiently. The he saw a girl sitting on the steps from the house across from him. Her curly brown hair was done up in a high pony tail, and her dark skin was caked with dirt and a bit of blood. When she noticed the unfamiliar looking boy standing across the road, Missile shot up from her seating place. 

Gear's pupil's widened when he saw her. She didn't look like the Missile who ran away five years ago, but he knew that it was her.

"No way..." He hurried down the steps of his porch, running past Val.

"Where the fuck did you go?" He pulled the girl into his arms, holding onto her very tightly.

"Oh, just around." She laughed, strong emotion lacing her voice.

"You've grown up." Gear observed, beaming down at his best friend.

"Why the hell are you so tall?" She asked, returning his smile.

"Five years can do magical things." The teenager chuckled.

Ghoul and Party were in the common house, and when they saw Missile Kid, they broke into a sprint. Kobra and Jet were quick to follow. Missile shot her head around, seconds away from breaking into tears when she caught sight of the old man.

"Missile!" Party lifted the girl off of her feet, holding onto her like she would turn to sand if he let go. Missile threw her arms around the former leader, sobbing into his shoulder.

"I thought you were dead." She clung onto his neck.

"So did everyone else." Kobra quickly wiped away a teardrop from under his eye.

Missile's black cat came up beside Gear, rubbing against his leg.

"Who's this?" He asked, crouching down to scratch the cat's ear.

"I found him a few years ago. He's just sorta been around." She told him as Party finally let the suffocating girl go.

"Have you seen Atomic yet?" Ghoul asked, clearly just as happy to see the girl as everyone else. Jet was too busy staring in shock at Missile to even speak.

"No, I haven't, but I will right away." She promised.

"You grew up so fast." Jet sniffled.

"Aaaaaaawe." Ghoul patted the tall man's back.

"I missed you so much." Missile walked up to the man, giving him a well-needed hug. He looked so touched, it almost made Val emotional.

Key word; Almost.

He didn't understand what it felt like to be reunited with someone who was practically your child. This made Val a bit ticked off.

'Just add that to the list of reason's why you're a complete and total monster.'

With Velvet dead, Missile alive and Atomic slowly falling out of his grasp, he just assumed that he deserved to think poorly of himself. He wanted to feel happy to see the Killjoys reunited with the long-lost girl, but there wasn't anything there. The man shook his head at the ground, pulling his Killjoy mask off of his face.

'Whatever you've done, you have to make it right.'

_______________

Sorry this was such a short chapter, I've been really occupied.

Guess who's booked three concerts for her band this month?

It's me, because I'm a winner, a musical winner.