Chapter III-Sickness

August 31, 2000

Every step was a struggle. The boy's clothes were heavy with blood, and his body tired at a quickening pace. It seemed as if no place was safe. Where is there to run away to if you can't find a safe destination?

He found himself on the steps of the same building that had birthed him. He felt like a child again, staring up at the looming gray figure. The boy rested his head on the top step, breathing in the wetness of the night as the weakening summer heat warmed his back. It was morning; the artificial sun peaked over man-made hills as the city still slept.

Soft footsteps padded on the wet ground. "Brother!" Naomi fell to her knees, grasping the boy's head to her soft chest.

"I'm fine," he breathed, but he was too weak to pull away.

"You-" she grabbed his head and began picking through his hair. "Your hair is turning white!" She took his wrist and tugged him to his feet. "We have to tell the doctor!"

"I'm fine!" he repeated, his voice much stronger. "Naomi, just…help me to my room."

The fourth experiment went to protest, but thought better and wrapped her brother's arm around her small shoulders. "We must hurry, they will be waking soon."

Tenshi and Oni rounded the corner, pressing their backs against the cold brick of the building. Tenshi's finger danced on Oblivion's handle, but Oni holstered her weapon.

"What is this?" the younger sister whispered, fixing her glasses on the door.

Tenshi waited until the two entered the building. "Remember how Dean mentioned about a private science laboratory?"

Oni nodded, swallowing hard. "You think these are the culprits?"

"Look up there." She pointed to a sign on the roof that said Kaizer Co. "This organization practically recreated Earth in the Underground. They went as far as simulating sunlight and precipitation for farmland. Who's to say they cannot create artificial humans…like…for an army?

"Our target was obviously not human. He's much more powerful, and his movements were basically robotic. We followed him here…"

"You really think Kaizer Company is creating an army of androids?" Oni couldn't hide her skepticism.

"Dean's intel only leads me to believe this. You saw our target!"

"Dean gets his intel from fortune cookies and drunken bums," Oni retorted. "You can hardly believe anything he says. Besides, the kid looked like any ordinary person. I think you're letting this get to your head. We are thousands of meters beneath the Earth's surface. The only enemy down here is the darkness that seeps up through Hell."

"Oni, that darkness is what compels people to do horrible things!"

The door began to groan as it started closing. The girls quickly darted inside.

The main lobby was much like that of a hospital's. There were chairs lined up the walls, accompanied by coffee tables with magazines and a flat screen television within watching distance. In the middle of the room, four desks were arranged in a square behind glass that reached the ceiling. Inside were several secretaries sorting papers, talking rapidly on the phone, and typing frantically on computers. Doors were placed erratically throughout the room, seeming to lead to no definite place.

The assassins ducked behind a table covered with women's magazines.

"I don't see our target," Tenshi whispered.

"Do you have an appointment?"

Tenshi and Oni jumped, nearly giving themselves away. Gleaming green eyes peered out at them from under the table. Oni clutched her sister's arm, frightened.

A young girl crawled out from under the table. She wore a silk blue shawl around her shoulders, but didn't appear to be wearing anything else. Her blond hair was cropped short and spiky, and she had freckles all over her face. Her hands were irregularly small, almost the size of an infant's.

She cocked her head to the side, blinking mindlessly. "I cannot let you in without an appointment."

Tenshi put her hand over the child's face. "Will you be quiet?!"

Oni pushed her sister away, but the girl didn't seem bothered.

"Yes, thank you. I will be expecting your call," the girl said almost monotonously. She smiled.

The sisters exchanged glances. The girl casually stood up and walked up to the desk. Tenshi and Oni peered over a chair as a man in a lab coat followed her.

"Esna," he stroked her hair lovingly, "who let you out of your room?"

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked in the same tone as before.

Oni looked at her sister questioningly. Tenshi shrugged.

The doctor sighed. "When will you start speaking? You can't keep mimicking the secretaries."

"She's a chimera, Bells. It's natural for her to have similar qualities to the animal we merged her with. Be happy she speaks at all," another doctor snorted, stepping up behind the two.

There was something odd between the two of them. While one appeared gentle and concerned, the other stood tall and arrogant. Bells was almost a boy; he had a youthful look that threw off his professional stature. His hair was black as night, and pulled back in a low, sophisticated ponytail. His eyes, however, were clearer than ice, with the slightest hint of blue. Oni found herself leaning over the chair as Bells spoke to the other.

The opposing doctor was tall and lanky. He walked in a discomforted manner, almost as if he hadn't quite grasped how to use his legs. His hair was short and gray, and his eyes were a dark blue. Although his body was awkward and aged, his face was strong and commanding, much like a soldier's. While Bells had his lab coat casually slung around his shoulders, the other doctor made sure to close every button.

Bells frowned at the man. His eyes fell on the Oni and he gasped. Tenshi quickly grabbed her sister's collar and pulled her back under the table.

"He…he saw me," Oni breathed, nervous.

"You think?" Tenshi cast a short glance towards the doctors. Bells was trying to cover up for his outburst. "Geez, Oni, you're gonna blow the mission!"

Oni removed her glasses and cleaned the lens. "That incubus already blew the mission for us," she grumbled.

"Why didn't you kill him, then?!"

"I was getting to it!"

Bells peered over the table, his handsome face curious. "Excuse me?"

Both girls froze. Tenshi stood abruptly, dragging her sister to her feet. Instinctively, the brunette looked at her feet, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

Tenshi assumed her role as well. She flipped her hair behind her back and smiled confidently. "Can we help you?"

Bells raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, last time I checked you were in my facility." He looked back at the stern doctor who was approaching them rapidly. "You should go."

"Intruders! What are you doing, idiot? Apprehend them!" the doctor ordered.

Bells' stunning eyes met Oni's and he smirked. She nodded knowingly. Tenshi glanced between the two of them, obviously puzzled.

"Oni, what-"

The brunette loaded her crossbow and released an arrow into the young doctor's throat, temporary paralyzing him.

Tenshi gasped. "I can't believe you just did that!"

As Bells collapsed, Oni grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her to the door. "We have to go!"

The elder doctor was already summoning guards after the assassins. Tenshi quickly ducked out the doorway, but Oni veered left, breaking through the door her target had disappeared into.

Outside, Tenshi hit top speed, her red hair flowing behind her like a fiery cape. Several guards chased her for a few blocks, but gave up the moment she jumped into Tex's truck.

Tenshi collapsed in the passenger's seat. "How…did you know…we were here?"

Tex revved the engine, his eyes never leaving the exasperated girl. "Oni just called. I was at the office. Are you two insane?"

"We…" she took a deep breath, then shot Tex a nasty look. "Will you stop staring at me?! Yes, I get tired! Women do that; although I'm sure you've never seen it." She pulled her hair into a ponytail and sat up straight. "We lost our target. I thought I had him…but there were so many others…it was like every fiend in the Underground had assembled."

Tex's eyes narrowed. "They're after your light."

Tenshi glared. "Shut up! God, you sound like Gambit. So what if I'm pure? There have to be others who were wrongly accused and forced into this accursed town."

"But you weren't wrongly accused," Tex noted. "You came down here willingly. Even I had a bit of darkness that forced me underground. As far as anyone knows, you're the only one under here that is not tainted by darkness."

Tenshi went to protest, but froze. "Where's Oni?"

"She's not with you?!"

*

Oni wandered the narrow halls, glancing nervously around at the rows of closed doors. She shuddered; there was something about the steely area that made her skin crawl. Beelzebub was like ice in her palm.

Something squealed from a closed door, and the assassin jumped. As if summoned by the shriek, a siren of wails erupted from every room, shaking the hallway. Oni collapsed against the wall, her head pounding.

The experiments watched her from a half open door at the end of the hall. Naomi leaned over her brother, hiding behind him every time Oni made a sudden movement.

"Who is she?" number four asked softly.

"Dunno, she was with another girl. They tried to kill me."

"What?!" Naomi gasped.

The first experiment shook his head. "No…it's not like that. At least…it didn't seem to be." His graying eyes never left Oni. "She's so pretty."

"Genesis!" Naomi pulled at his hair. "She tried to kill you!"

Oni looked up and met eyes with the boy. He drew in a quick breath.

"I think she knows," he said definitively. "Maybe she can help us. We were created into a world of monsters that wish to command an army of super human creatures. That is our purpose. This little assassin may be our key to civilization. I'm degrading…" Genesis ran a hand through his hair and a few strands attached to his fingers. "You and I, and the other experiments are unstable. She could possess the sanctity that we crave. That girl was after me for a reason. Maybe…maybe she can finally cure this sickness those doctors bestowed upon us."