Show me the meaning of being lonely Is this the feeling I need to walk with?*
A month later...
Freedom... The wind brushed her face before moving past it at a massive rate. It wasn't the wind that was strong, it was her. She was running down golden plains, passed the glamorous big city, passed a Japanese temple, to a cliff... Now she was soaring. She had launched herself on the edge, and now she was flying, leaping, in a graceful arc, her arms outstretched and her legs stretched like a ballerina. It seemed like she could land on clouds, but her toes touched down on the other side before running again. Run, jump. Run, jump. She did not think; her senses were shut, letting the power of her legs take her away. Africa, Europe... did it matter? All it mattered was that she was moving, running. For years it seemed like she did nothing but move, run, chase shadows. Fueled by anger and revenge, she searched far and wide for a man who caused her so much suffering. But she rarely found him. Or when she did, she became fearful at the last minute, that he would recognize her for what she was: the last Cyber... his daughter.
Her eyes opened. Her senses registered. Her wind chimes tinkled against the breeze. She sat up and buried her face in her hands. It was that dream again... When would she ever be free?
The door unlocked and opened. She came in and closed the door with her back, her eyes closed. She had a hard day at work; but at least work distracted her from her mind. She didn't have a lapse, but she was very hungry. She ate well though; she had no idea why she was so weak. Her arm tingled, today a green electric field surrounded it for a moment before disappearing. She rested against the cool wood, very, very tired. Her head hurt, her eyes hurt from staring at the screen so long. She dropped her purse on the ground, and pocketed her glasses. Her hand reached up to unclasp her hair. It tumbled down her shoulders in black waves. She slipped out of her shoes and collapsed on her couch, groaning softly. She heard faint giggling and looked up. There were people beneath her balcony. Curious, she stood up and looked down. It was a couple, happy and wrapped up in each other. She envied them; from above their lives looked so complete and simple. Not like her; some sort of twisted pretender in someone else's body. No, no, that isn't right. You are Kayla. But she didn't feel like Kayla. She watched the couple longingly, her chin in her hands. They had come from a dance; the woman was wearing a red dress, the man a suit. She giggled as the man kissed her on the cheek, then the lips. She had short black hair. Wait a minute... It was her sister. Cybersix.
Frightened, she sucked in her breath and backed away from the window. She was being silly; there was no way they could look up and see her. Cautiously she returned to the window. She looked at them jealously: they had each other. She didn't even look a little sad for her poor sister suffering. Then again, she was the one to run away. They were whispering to each other, and Kayla knew even with her superior hearing, she would not hear what they said. Because their words were only for each other's ears, the language of lovers. Suddenly Kayla felt very, very lonely. Cybersix is like me, but she is still loved and I... have no one... Once she did, didn't she though?
She was confused and disoriented. Everything was blurry through her veil of tears... or was it because of the ghosts blocking her vision? Someone was holding her... when she looked up, his face was distorted and melding- who was it? A Japanese boy, a redheaded lanky teen, a man, a cruel, hard face half shadowed- "Stop it!" she screamed, "You're not real!"
She tried to run, but his grip was iron. He was uncertain what to do. She wept, her black hair hiding her face; a young woman in tasteful fashionable clothes. More gently, he brushed away her hair. "Who are you?" he said, trying to make his voice soft. He felt so awkward and clumsy; he was not meant to deal with a creature like this, he was meant to fight things who attacked him.
"Who are you?" Who was she? Even she didn't know. "Leave me alone," she said, her voice echoing through the past, "Please! go away!" Another painful seizure wracked her body and she cried out. Electricity ran around her wrists.
He raised her slender wrist in curiosity. It was reacting to withdrawal from sustenance. Cautiously, he pushed up her sleeve and inhaled sharply. There was a tattoo on her arm: CYBER 338. This was no human. This was a creature of Von Reichter.
"She was the 338th...and she has lived a very different life than I. She insisted on being called her given name... Kayla." "Cyber 338," he said breathlessly. She looked at him in wonder, as if she was seeing for the first time.
Images faded away like fog that was clearing. It was night; she was outside, in the cool breeze. On a rooftop... she didn't know where. There was a man in front of her; a big man all in black. Their silhouettes were outlined silver in the moon, one white form, the other black. Frightened, she tried to run away, but his hand was on her wrist. He was not hurting her though...he was just standing there, calling her by the name of her true nature. "I- what?" Confused. "Cyber 338... Kayla... it's you!" Both names ran through her mind, echoing. Something inside her broke, like crystal, like glass. "Yes," she said, "it's me. Who are you?" "I am Midnight Five," he replied, suddenly uneasy. "Your sister was looking for you." She stiffened. "You can tell her I'm fine. She doesn't have to look for me." Another seizure; she began to crumple. He held her, steadied her. "You're weak... you need sustenance." He shouldn't do this; he worked for Jose. Jose would definitely want this Cyber destroyed, or else brought to him. What was wrong with him? Or else find Cybersix, return the lost Cyber to someone who cared for her, her sister. Why wasn't he moving then? She didn't seem like a Cyber. She was strange; she seemed free, uncontrolled, but so much unlike Cybersix. He felt himself becoming fascinated with her. Who was she? Not a cyber... someone like him... "What is sustenance? I.. I don't understand." "It's something you need to survive. I don't know how you lasted so long without it. I'll bring you back to your.." He hesitated. "Do you have somewhere to stay?" She nodded. "My apartment... I was there and..." She was even more confused. "How did I get here?" Sustenance must have more withdrawal effects than I thought... "It doesn't matter. You need rest. Let me help you." She let him help her back to her apartment. She had gotten so far from home; she was miles. But they leapt across the buildings like dancers, with the city as their stage; they covered distance at an impressive rate. She closed her eyes; there was wind rushing past her eyelashes. She loved it... and it seemed familiar.
He spoke in a tone she had never heard before. It was as if his mind was far away. "She was strange.. I've never met someone like her before. Yet she is so much like me: strong, confused, incomplete. She told me that she saw things in her mind, things that she supposedly did but had no recollection of. She had no idea what they were." He saw the look of hope in Cybersix's eyes and continued. "She thought she was going insane. But also...she did not know she needed sustenance to live. It made her weak; I think this resurfacing of her memories is a side effect of her lack of sustenance." He closed his eyes. "I do not know for sure. But I do know that she used to be someone different... but she isn't anymore, Cybersix. This is why I will not tell Jose. If she was a Cyber, she isn't anymore; and she presents no danger to him either. Do not worry; I will keep this a secret from Jose."
She seemed weak with relief. Cybersix leaned against the wall, both of them several stories dangerously above the ground. But neither were afraid. "Thank you, Midnight Five," she said softly, looking at the ground far away from them. "If I see you again, this changes nothing. You know that. I can't let Jose, or you, capture me." He nodded. "I know. And I must ensure that Jose must carry out his father's dream." Her tears fell, shining like diamonds. He turned back to the sleeping form inside, unaware of what happened. "It is strange," he mused, "I never felt this connection with anyone before; not with Jose, not with Data 7, not even with you. I think of you as my sister, even if you are a Cyber and I am a Midnight. She doesn't feel like my sister... or a Cyber." She turned to watch her sister. She was even closer to her than Midnight Five, or even Data 7.. how could they be so far apart? She turned back to the philosophical Midnight and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" "She had been through so much pain.. I think I can understand it, somehow. She is like-" he hesitated "-A kindred spirit."
