"Did you enjoy my present, Zero?" No.1 asked with a grin. "It took longer for you to beat than I expected."
“I agree, though thanks to their valiant efforts….I was able to attain extremely useful combat data. Bravo on defeating Subject 01; both of your gifts need to be studied more than I had realized.” Dr. Verrat said, not looking up from his tablet once.
“Are you telling me…..all of this…..was for combat data?”
“Yes, of course. I wouldn’t let you get this far for no reason, would I? By recreating life-or-death situations, the experiment becomes all the more real. The desperation to escape, the appearance of an insurmountable wall, the deep worry for your companions. All of those feelings combined can induce heightened combat, and thus, better data.”
“What if we had died? My father wouldn’t have taken too kindly to that.”
“Subject 01 was flawed in many ways. I had assumed you all would have defeated it in the end. Although I didn’t account for No.1 killing No.6….” He said as he looked up for the first time and furrowed his brow at No.1.
No.1 shrugged and tapped his new gun on his shoulder.
“Her power would have been rather troublesome in the future. If she escaped, it would be impossible to find her. What’s worse is if she awakened and could turn other people invisible, it would render everything we’ve done mute.”
“It doesn’t really matter; it all ended in the way I expected. Now, it’s time for you to go back inside Subject Zero.”
I gently set No.9 down to the side and turned back to face them.
“Do you think you can stop me? Sorry to spoil your mood, but I’m in top form today.”
“I won’t be doing anything to stop you, nor would I even try. No.1 here will be your opponent.”
No.1 stepped forward and spun a little dial near the end of his pistol. Looking at it closer, above the barrel was a strange glass box that had liquid swirling around inside it. From the box were multiple tubes spread and connected all throughout the gun, with the same liquid going through each of them.
The dial stopped spinning, and the gun glowed yellow as he aimed it at me. I reached for my katana and bent my knees in a battle stance. We stared each other down, with the tension so thin it could be cut by a butter knife. Until it was completely shattered by the sound of steam releasing to our right.
We both glanced over to see two small figures stumble out, and once the steam cleared it was revealed to be 963 and no.5.
“963!”
I ran over to him, and as I got closer, I saw how heavily injured he was. He had bruises and cuts all along his body, and a gaping hole through his combat suit in the abdominal area. There were multiple puncture wounds along his legs and arms, and it seemed he was only standing thanks to No.5’s support.
“Are you ok?” I said as I helped no.5 hold him up.
“I’m….fine…..you?”
He’s still worrying about me in that condition…..
His eyes shone with slight relief as he shrugged off both of our arms to stand on his own. He seemed to want to show that he was still capable of fighting, but it was obvious he could barely move.
“I heard about what’s happening here from 963. How could someone even think to do that? Creating monsters out of children for research? I can’t even believe I ever thought this place was safe.”
It seems 963 told him of our adventures in the Forbidden Area. I’m glad he was on our side, we needed all the allies we could get in this situation. Especially because No.9 is unconscious, and 963 is barely standing.
“Zero….I see No.9 over there…..I know my sister was on the other side as well. Is she invisible…..? Or did she choose to stay back…..?”
“No.5….She’s–”
“I’m sure this has been a touching reunion, but I’m afraid we’ll have to cut it short. No.1, subdue Zero, but the rest have far outlived their usefulness. Feel free to do as you please with them. Their evolutions were interesting, but my project is nearing completion. If need be, I can study their corpses.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Ahhh… so I can kill the useless ones, is what you’re saying?”
“Precisely.”
He once again aimed his gun at us. I got in a ready stance, but 963 took a wobbly step in front of me and pulled out a gun of his own.
“Very well, I’ll do as you ordered, Doctor.”
However, what he did next betrayed all expectations. With a sinister smile, he turned around and aimed the gun at the Doctor’s head.
“No.1! What is the meaning of–!”
“It’s as you said, Doctor. You’ve far outlived your usefulness.”
No.1 pulled the trigger, and a yellow laser shot out of the gun and blew his head clean off. Blood gushed from the top of his neck, as what used to be there was no longer to be seen. Disintegrated into dust from No.1’s strange weapon.
“What….?” No.5 murmured.
“Why did….?”
“....”
“Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA! This is perfect, too perfect!” No.1 screamed.
I had never seen him show this much excitement toward anything. He had always been well-spoken and reserved, but his earlier demeanor was suddenly replaced with a manic smile, covered with the blood of the now-deceased doctor.
“The gang’s all here! The heroes fight through all of the odds and come out on top in the end! What a touching story! I’m almost moved to tears!” He yelled sarcastically.
“What is it you're trying to accomplish....?” 963 finally spoke.
He held his arms out wide and looked up into the sky.
“What is my purpose? Why was I born into this world? All of this is to answer those questions. And I’ve deemed that this way is the fastest method to reach that answer.”
“What’s your deal, man?! Don’t you want to be free too? Don’t you know what’s happening here?!” No.5 yelled.
“Huh? Of course I do. I swear….I’ve had this conversation at least three times already; there’s no need to repeat myself a fourth time.”
“Then why–?”
“Again, with the same questions. Can’t you think of something far more interesting to ask me? Like say, oh…..I don’t know. Why isn’t my sister here?”
No.5’s eyes widened as he stared at no.1.
“No…..”
“Yes.”
“No!”
“Death is such a fickle thing, is it not? She did nothing wrong, and yet here I am, standing before you all, unjudged for my sins. While she died without warning, right after she found the determination to find you upon learning the truth of this place. Such a shame, truly. ”
“You….BASTARD!”
No.5 pulled his hand back as if he was about to do something, but before he could activate it, No.1 quickly aimed and shot a laser in his direction. Before No.5 could even react, 963 seemingly mustered what little strength he had and kicked him out of the way before it hit.
The laser whizzed past no.5’s cheek and went straight through the metal wall.
No.1 sighed in exasperation and shrugged his arms.
“Still playing the savior, I see. Doesn’t that role get boring?”
“This isn’t a game, No.1. This is life and death. I don’t care if you’re immortal, I’ll make you wish you weren’t by the end of this.”
“Ah, figured out my gift have we? I did say Zombie before, but I purposefully left a lot out. You seemed to have caught on to the hints I dropped, though. Good job.”
“No.5, can you fight?” I asked.
He got up and glared at No.1.
“Till I die.”
“We’re going to rush him. Our gifts work together pretty well, so if we play this smart, we can take him. No.9 is out of commission, and 963 can’t fight, so it’s up to us.”
“I can—”
“You can rest up, while you support us with that brain of yours. Give us direction so we can deal with this freak.”
963 looked defiant for a moment but nodded his head as he backed up and leaned against the wall.
“Well then, are you all done talking? Let’s give this cliche story a twist ending, shall we? Where the last thing you’ll see… is the faint glimpse of moonlight you so dearly strived for.”
He spun the dial on his gun once more, and all signs of his playful expression from earlier disappeared completely.
“Zero, No.5, get ready. This is our last obstacle. Losing isn’t an option.” 963 said with a glare.
“I know!” No.5 yelled back, clenching his fists.
“We got this,” I said, taking hold of my sword for what I hoped to be the last time.
And with those words….the final standoff under the watchful gaze of the moon began.
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Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 3:00 PM! The chapter's word length will compensate for that, I promise!