Bionica: Origins

Chapter Twelve

Sudo stands over me as I stare at Gayge's lifeless body. The only thing tying me to this world has left, and an invisible knot in my heart starts to undo itself. I hear a ringing in my ears, and out of it emerges a tinny, monotone voice. "Foolish girl," Sudo says. "She thought she could save you... she forgot that I am programmed for such tasks as this!"

On the ground I see his shadow raise one of the blades on his wrists. I roll out of the way as the sword impales the ground. Siren and Sprocket take Sudo from behind, giving me time to get off the ground. I get up as Sprocket tosses me one of his twin katanas. Now, here's the deal: I have very little experience with blades. But no one can kill my best friend and expect to get away with it. And if I use explosives, Gayge won't be the only dead one here.

I charge Sudo and take him blade-to-blade. It's intense, but if anything my senses are more acute. I am more focused on killing something than I've ever been in my life. And Sudo is the target. The little experience I have doesn't get me killed, but I can barely make a dent with the sword. I can feel Sudo wearing down, though. His circuits can't respond to my attacks quickly enough. Soon it'll be his turn to make a mistake.

"Ratchet!" I hear Sprocket call to me and see him toss his other sword. I block both of Sudo's blades, which are coming at me from the same direction. I catch the katana, and in one clean stroke, Sudo's robotic head hits the ground.

_______

President Tronyx watched the grand finale through a camera implanted in Sudo's head. He remarked to himself that breaking the girl's neck was a nice touch. The battle went somewhat smoothly for the next few minutes, but soon after that the boy fighting his prized assassin somehow acquired another sword.

As the camera went dead, the President stood up. "Servo!" he called. "Get over here!"

Servo moved no quicker than she usually did. "Yes, master?"

"What happened?!" Tronyx said, quickly swiveling around.

Evidently, Servo's circuit board didn't register the wild look in Tronyx's eyes. She retained her calm demeanor as she answered, "It appears that Sudo has been disconnected during battle."

Tronyx started pacing the room. "Get Steele in here, now."

"Yes, sir," Servo replied pleasantly as she bowed out, leaving Tronyx to fret over his apparent defeat.

Soon, though perhaps a bit slower than Tronyx would have liked, Steele entered the room. "What's going on? What happened to Sudo?"

Tronyx approached his business partner. "Your precious war machine was just dismantled by a love-crazed schoolboy!" he said angrily. "You promised me that we would win with this piece of equipment!"

Steele assumed an annoyed look. "I promised nothing. Besides, we may yet be able to recover the battle."

"How?" Tronyx asked. "Do you have another like him? Can you build one easily?"

"It's not so simple. I'd need a small source of uranium; all my newer designs are nuclear powered. I'd have to have a very specific type of metal, not to mention an appropriately-sized human analog to fit the suit onto."

Tronyx faced his window, silently cursing Steele and his damned designs. "So, tell me, how can we still win the day?"

Steele adjusted the cameras placed around the battlefield. "Sudo was not the only automaton doing meaningful work on the field." The scene that came up on the screens was horrific. Blood, wires, and metal covered every inch of the battlefield. The air was filled with the cries of the dying rebels. "My army now outnumbers theirs by at least three to one. It will not be difficult to lay waste to them with our remaining forces."

Tronyx turned to look at the screens.

And he smiled at the thought of all that carnage.

_______

I run, following Siren, not knowing the purpose. Gayge is gone; what else do I have to live for? I can hear Siren shouting for the rebels to retreat, and they all break away from their current skirmishes to follow us. We make it back to the rebel base safely, with no sign of Motors on our tail. Siren opens the airlocks and gets everyone inside.

"Go to your assigned sleeping areas!" she shouts. "We need to get a head count of the survivors!" As she says this, even she looks incredulous. And who's to blame her? She and Sprocket were the ones who brought Gayge in and took care of her after her brother died.

I suddenly see Eclipse, Crescent, and Glitch running up to us out of the corner of my eye. I can't look at them. I can't tell them what happened. God, please don't let them ask me what happened.

"You made it!" Glitch says excitedly. "When I heard about Sudo, I thought you were done for!" She looks around at me, Siren, and Sprocket. "Wait... where's Gayge?"

I reach behind me and take out the one thing I managed to take from the scene. It was a subconscious decision, but I'm glad I have it. Gayge's scythe appears in my open hands, and all I can do after this is meet Glitch's eyes. She reads the evidence and concludes what happened. "No..."

Sprocket steps forward for the rest of us. "Sudo was about to kill Ratchet. She intercepted the blade. She would've lived, but he noticed and broke her neck before we could get her out."

There is total silence among our group. I can't take this anymore; I quickly walk off towards my bedroom.

I slam the door and throw myself on my knees beside my bed. I don't care if the whole damn compound hears me crying. I just lost the only person I had left to live for.

The only person I have to live for...

I know what's in my top drawer. Under the few shirts that I have. I slowly walk over and slide open the compartments. Lifting up a few black tank tops, I look at the antique pistol. A Glock nine-millimeter handgun that's probably older than my grandparents. Beside it lies a box of ammunition. I'm probably never going to use this crap.

Except this once.

I've made up my mind; no one can change it. With shaky hands, I load a single bullet into the chamber and put the gun against my head. She broke her promise, now I'm going to break mine. I'll see her in another life, and maybe even get to meet her little brother. I smile at the thought, realizing that I have no qualms whatsoever about this.

I pull the trigger.

And hear a feminine cry of pain.

PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE: IT'S IMPORTANT

A/N: Hi, guys! So, in all seriousness, here's what I want to talk about this time: we're not there yet, but you're nearing the end of this book. Although this is a sad note, there's a bright side to it. I want to know if you guys want a sequel. And if so, I want to know what you think it should be about. So mull it over a while, put it in the comments, and I'll see what I can do based on your ideas. Wondering what happened in a situation that I barely touched on? Want to read from another character's point of view? This is the time to comment! I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!