"Mphf!  What-" Cyber 5000 groaned at the insistent ringing of her phone, "Ahh crap!" she muttered as she rolled over and grabbed at the phone, only to knock the receiver off the hook and onto the floor.  She fell out of bed and scrambled for it. "WHAT!???" she almost shouted into it when she found it.

"Reba! It's me, Quaren!"

"Quaren!  I'm on night shift and need- "

"We've got a problem!" Quaren interrupted.

"What is it?

"I'm in Meridiana with mama, trying to recover 356, except it wasn't her, but Six herself!  There was a shooting-"

"Go on!" Reba said, then suddenly got a chill, "Mama's here too?  Quaren, if you're calling because you screwed up..."

"Mama's okay, but Six got hit!"

"Where?"

"Shoulder and left side."

"Oh no!" she gasped, "When did this happen?"

"Four-five hours ago!  We've been calling the hospitals, trying to find out where they took her, but since Cornazon was involved, everyone's imposed a news blackout.  We just found out that she was taken to Meridiana General!  Can you-"

"I'm on my way!"

She frantically went through her drawers and pulled some clothes on, cursing Cybersix's bad luck, since it was Dr. Bordias who was on the day shift at the emergency room.

She didn't want to think about what By The Book Bordias would do to her sister.
-----------------------
When she got to the hospital, it was being besieged by the news media trying to find out about the hooker who had stood up to and killed the great Cornazon.  They initially charged at her, but a yelled, "Dammit!  Lemmie through!"  brought immediate results in the form of two policemen shoving the reporters aside to escort her through the police barricades.  Once inside, she made a beeline for the Emergency room.

She arrived not a moment too soon.  Dr. Bordias was sweating bullets looking through the latest test results, dithering and wondering why the hell his patient was not recovering like she was supposed to! "She's running an impossible fever!" he said frantically to her as she glanced through the test results and the charts, "I gave her O-negative blood!  It must have been misclassified, but we can't find microclots in her blood!"

"You took out the spleen?" she asked, a feeling of dread growing in her as she scanned the surgery report.

"Standard procedure!  The bullet went through it, causing massive internal bleeding.  I had the sutures double checked by Dr. Josias, so I know the major vessels are sealed off."

"Yeah.  Standard procedure." she nodded morosely, "Perhaps she's allergic to the anesthetic?" she said, glancing at the Anesthetist's report and wondering what was causing the high fever so soon after losing the spleen.  The anesthetic was a recently developed one with few side-effects, but obviously only for humans.

"You think so?" he got pale too, realizing that that might be a contributing factor, "That's rare, but her blood workup is quite unusual-" his voice trailed off.

"You betcha it's unusual!" she thought, "Can I take a look at her?" she asked.

"Yes!  Yes!"

Reba's heart sank the moment she saw Cybersix lying on the bed, skin as pale as the sheets, sweat pouring from every pore, the strands of her hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks.  She walked up and gently put the back of her hand against the wet, hot skin, "She's in bad shape," she said finally, "I'd like to take the case over, if you don't mind."

He didn't mind.  In fact, he couldn't sign the patient over fast enough, as well as letting the press and hospital administration know who was in charge of this high-profile patient.

The moment he signed, Reba turned to the nurses, "I want her taken out of 114 immediately and put in 230."

They looked at each other, "Are you sure?" the senior nurse asked, "There's no monitoring equipment there."

"Yes, I'm sure." she said firmly, turning and walking to the pharmacy.

Once inside, she gazed up at the shelves of bottles and boxes, struggling with the knowledge that she knew she had to pass on.  She pulled her cellphone out and hit the "call-back" button.

"Reba?" Quaren answered on the first ring.

"Yes, It's me."

"Is she really there?"

"Yeah.  Better get everyone over here quick.  Too bad Father can't-"

"He just got here an hour ago!"

"He is?"  She asked hopefully, almost not believing.

"Yes."

"I need to talk to him!"

She could make out the excited voices on the other end of the line as Quaren passed on the news.

"Reba?" Von Richter's voice came over the phone, "How is she?

"They removed the spleen.  It was hit by a bullet and was causing massive internal bleeding."

He was silent for a moment, absorbing this bit of bad news, "I see.  Well, there still may be time to get her to the compound and come up with something, even if it's only temporary."

"One other problem.  She's running a terribly high fever, and there's no explanation for it."

"Really?  How bad is it?"

"Slightly elevated when they got her on the table, but climbing quickly to about 109 and staying there."

"109?  And she's still alive?" Despite having designed them, his creations continued to astound him at times.

"Amazing, isn't it?  They've shot her full of Tylenol, but its not working.  They also gave her a new anesthetic and about three units of O negative blood because of the operation.  Do you think that's causing it?"

"Hmm.  I'm not sure." There was silence as he thought, "Try getting Techno 1954.  He might have an idea."

"I'll get him.  In the meantime, better get over here as quick as you can." She said.

"We will.  See you soon."

Techno 1954 was the head and sole employee of the "Advanced Concepts Division", placed there by Von Richter himself to ensure that less imaginative divison heads didn't squelch any of his "wildass ideas".  Reba punched in his number.

"Hello?"

"Hi 54.  This is Cyber 5K."

"Reba!  How are you doing?" He asked brightly.

"Sorry, but no time for chitchat.  I've got a cyber here in Meridiana with a high fever after the spleen was removed."

"Umm, not good.  How high is it?"
-----------
"Hello!" Henrique flashed his wallet badge to the nurse at the station, "Detective Henrique.  I'm checking on Miss Charybdis."

"She's just been moved to room 230 per Dr. Pearce's orders." the nurse replied.

"Dr. Reba Pearce?  I thought-"

"She's taken the case on, which is good news for that poor woman."

"What's wrong?"

"The surgery went fine, but she has developed an impossibly high fever." the nurse noticed Henrique's pained look and felt sorry for him, "Dr. Pearce is the best doctor in the hospital.  If she-"

"CRAP!"

"HEY!  WATCH IT!"

Their heads jerked around.  Reba had kicked the pharmacy door open hard enough to force the stop into the wall, as well an punching a hole in it with the doorknob.  She scrambled while turning, then ran up the corridor, dodging and weaving around the hospital staff, patients, and carts in her way.  The pharmacist on duty stepped out, shaking her head as she inspected the damage.

"Uh oh." The nurse muttered, grimacing.

Henrique ran after her.
-----------
Reba dashed into the doctor's lounge and nearly tore the door off of her locker.  She searched through the contents and found two cylinders wrapped in electrical tape, which joined the hypo in her pocket.  She slammed her locker shut and left as quickly as she came.

Scorning the elevator, she ran into the stairwell and bounded up to the second floor in two leaps.  She then headed for Room 230.

Cybersix had just been wheeled in when Reba arrived.  The nurses tucking her in took the scowl she threw at them as a hint to leave, and promptly did so.  Quickly, she opened a vial of sustenance, sucked the contents into the hypo, and jabbed her sister's arm with it, injecting the stuff directly into the vein.

"C'mon Six!  C'mon!" Reba felt close to tears, stroking the cyber's wet cheeks frantically and pushing the limp black hair aside, "Please don't leave me!  Not now!  C'mon!"

Of all her sisters and brothers, Cybersix knew.  She knew what it was like to have programming you couldn't obey through no fault of your own.  They had talked too many times together, wept on each other's shoulders too much, encouraged each other for too many hours on end, argued about ethics into the wee hours of too many mornings, to just part like this, without a word.  Not like this!  Not this way!  So close.  Oh so very close...

Cybersix's eyes fluttered, "Wha-" she started, "So cold!"

"Whew!" Reba was wildly relieved.

"5000?" Cybersix recognized her, "Where-"

"Meridiana General.  I'm your doctor now."

"Oh.  How nice." Her half smile caused a flood of memories to surge through Reba's mind that she didn't need right now, "How bad am I?"

"Shoulder wound.  Also, you took a bullet through the spleen."

Cybersix grimaced, "They had to-remove it?"

Reba nodded.

She sighed, "How long have I got?"

"About an hour.  Maybe less."

"An hour?" Cybersix tried to sit up, but winced at the staples in her side and flopped back down on the bed, wincing again, "But-but sustenance waste poisoning takes two weeks to be fatal!  Have I been out that long?"

Reba was about to answer when there was a knock at the door.  Making a face, she went to open it and glanced up at the huge man, "What is it?  I'm busy!"

"Detective Henrique, Dr. Pearce.  Is Miss Charybdis in this room?"

"Yes.  So?" She replied suspiciously, ready to throw him down the hall.

"He's okay!" Cybersix called out weakly, "We worked together.  We're-" she smiled, "friends."

"Sorry," Reba apologized, opening the door wider and letting Henrique in.  She glanced at Cybersix, who nodded and winked.  Half smiling despite herself, Reba left to talk to the police about letting the Von Richters through the barricades.

Henrique walked up and took her hand in his, "I ought to arrest you."

"For what?" she asked softly, a bemused look on her face.

"Stealing police property, namely my gun."

"They had AK's.  Your popgun wouldn't have worked."

"I'd gotten TWO automatics from the weapons locker."

She shrugged slighly, wincing at the pain in her right shoulder, "You," she replied, "are too big of a target.  Look what they did to me."

Henrique frowned, "You feel awfully hot." he said, feeling her forehead and wiping the sweat from it.

"I'm freezing to death.  I must be wearing one of those ridiculously thin hospital gowns with no back I keep reading about."

He grinned, "I'd be glad to check for you."

"And make me colder than I am now?"

He laughed.  She started to laugh too, but the staples made her settle for a smile instead, "So, how is everybody?" she asked.

He sighed, "The Diorttis are fine, as were the customers.  Everyone's worried about you, especially Julian, Tomas, and Gordo."

She sighed, "I hope I can arrange something for those boys."

He frowned, "Hey, what kind of talk is that?  They only took out the spleen.  You sound as if-" He stopped.

"Yeah." she replied morosely, "Well, I'm-kinda different."

"I noticed." he said quietly, "So, how long?"

She glanced off to the side for a moment, then turned her eyes back to his, "Less than an hour.  Don't know why, but I trust the source."  She glanced down at his hand engulfing hers and squeezed his thumb, "Hey, thanks for last night." she said, smiling, "I enjoyed it.  Did you?"

He smiled, "I'll never forget you." he said, leaning forward.

She winced while reaching her right arm around and put it on his chest to stop him, "Promise me."

"What?"

"That you'll be happy.  That you won't let me get in the way of you finding someone special, okay?"

He shrugged, "That's a tall order."

She frowned, "Why?"

"Because to me, you redefined special."

Of course she had to let him kiss her.
-----------------
"They're here!" "Who's that?" "Open a path up!" "Out of the way!" "Dammit!  Get some photos!"

Quaren and Kayla glared as they helped the police push a path through the crowd to let Von Richter, Maria, Jose, and Elaine through to the Hospital entrance.

Cyber 5000 was waiting for them just outside the door, fighting to keep a straight face when she saw her parents, "Hello, I'm Dr. Reba Pearce!  I'm your daughter's doctor." she said in a businesslike tone as she stepped forward to shake Von Richter's hand.

"I've heard of you!" Von Richter replied, playing up to the cameras and microphones around them, "My daughter couldn't be in better hands."

"Thank you.  If you'll come this-"

"DR. PEARCE!" A reporter yelled, "What's Miss Charybdis' condition like?"

Reba paused, "I want to tell her parents first, please." she said, turning and ignoring the other shouted questions.

She led them to the elevator.  She pushed the button for the second floor, but as soon as it began to move, she opened a box and turned a key to halt the elevator.

"How bad is she?" Von Richter asked.

"I can tell you now, or we can go on and let Six hear it too." she stated, adding, "But every minute counts."

"Let's tell her then." he replied without hesitation.

Reba turned the key and the elevator rose to the second floor.  When they got to room 230, Reba paused, knocked lightly, waited a few seconds, then opened the door.

Henrique had turned to throw a glance at them.  He then turned back to Cybersix, bent over, and kissed her gently.

"You promised." she reminded him in a weak voice, blinking her eyes.

"I'll try." he replied.  He let go of her hand, nodded at the family, and withdrew from the room.

Everyone looked at her from across the room, almost unbelieving.  Then Jose ran up to her, "Cybersix!" he laughed nervously, "You sure fooled the training board!"

"That's nice to know." she said, smiling wanly.  She rolled her hand palm upwards and twitched her fingers, so Jose slipped his hand into hers.

"Ya sure did, girl!"  With a nervous laugh and a cackle of electricity, Grizelda appeared.

"Glad you could make it." Cybersix said with a smile.

"You're so hot!" Jose said, alarmed.

"I know." she replied.  Her eyes slid to Reba, "What's going on?"

Reba sighed, "The bullet wound in your side went through your spleen.  Per standard ER procedures, the spleen was removed and the blood vessels tied off to prevent massive internal bleeding.  Not a problem in Normals, but in a sustenance-based being like us, the spleen was augmented to remove sustenance fragments that are produced when sustenance is cracked in our muscles."

"I feel so weak and I'm having problems feeling my feet and being able to see." Cybersix complained, "That's supposed to happen after about two weeks without a spleen, not within a day."

"True, except they gave you three units of O negative blood, not A positive." Reba said, "O negative blood cells have a protein projection that A positive doesn't have, and which activates the sustenance fission reaction.  Your high temperature is not coming from your body because it's fighting off an infection or rejecting the blood transfusion, but from an uncontrolled sustenance burn.  I barely caught you before you ran dry."

"Ouch." Kayla said in sympathy.  Being barbecued from the inside didn't appeal to her.

Von Richter nodded sadly, "Well, that accounts for the rapid accumulation of sustenance poisons."

Cyber 5000 looked stricken with regret, "I-I didn't help things by injecting you with sustenance.  Yeah, it brought you back, but the poisons from a vial's worth is enough to..." she stopped and glanced around at her family.  Quaren went over to her, put her arm around her shoulders, and gave her a hug.

"You did the right thing." Cybersix said, her voice soft and quiet, "I can now say goodbye to everyone here."

"It's all that normal's fault! STUPID DOCTOR!" Jose raged.

"No!  No!" Cybersix protested weakly, struggling to put her other hand on Jose's so she could clasp it between both of hers, "He. They. didn't know, Jose.  They wanted to do the right thing, but couldn't because they didn't know.  I fainted while in the ambulance, so I couldn't tell them.  Jose!  Jose!"

The boy looked at her, lower lip trembling.

"I know you don't have my programming.  I can choose to love or ignore the normals, but I can't hate them.  You can hate them if you choose, but don't.  Please, don't.  That would hurt you more than them, and I don't want that.  Okay?"

He didn't say anything.

"Please, For me?"

"Only for you." he said, pulling his hand away and running into Maria's arms.  She lifted him up and went to the far corner of the room.

"Dammit!  I TOLD you to be careful!" Quaren groused, coming over and grabbing Cybersix's hand in hers, frowning at the feel of it.

"Ya can't touch me." Cybersix grinned bravely, "You'd pop my staples.  Besides, YOU screwed me up.  His car was right where I wanted it until YOU moved it!"

She made a face, "The bastards were shootin' at mama!  What the hell did you expect me to do?"

Cybersix barely nodded and matched Quaren's look of chagrin, "Just what you did.  You in trouble?"

"She sure is!" Von Richter said sternly, "I'll think of something suitable after I get over this!"

Cybersix smiled, "G'bye Seven.  Watch over mama and Father for me, okay?"

Quaren was making faces in an effort not to shed any tears, "Bye Six.  If there IS a world on the other side of death, say hi to 29 and give the bad guys hell for us, okay?"

"I will."

Quaren bent over to kiss Cybersix's cheek, letting out a quiet sob and leaving a few tears the moment her lips touched the hot, sweaty skin.  She turned and retreated to the same corner were Mama and Jose were.

Grizelda wasn't trying to hide the streams coursing down her face.  She had moved in while Quaren had been talking and was wringing Cybesix's hand with both of hers, "Shit.  *I* screwed you up, running into a firezone without checking the enemy!  I was so worried about Mama, and then when I heard your voice-" she closed her eyes, "I wish you hadn't-"

"I HAD to get you out of the way, sister."

"Always lookin' out for me, aren't you?" she laughed nervously, "Damn, I'm going to miss you!" She said, bending over to kiss her sister's cheek, sobbing and drenching it when she did.  Cybersix could only grimace, feeling bad that she felt too weak to even move her arm to embrace her sister.

Elaine moved in and rubbed Grizelda between her shoulder blades.  She glanced up, wiped at her face, smiled sheepishly, and retreated to behind Von Richter's chair.

"Damn you." Elaine said, wiping at her face, "You faking your death made father haul my ass from Yellowstone to chasing after Amato and you on the housetops in this smelly city!"

"Thanks."

"Whatever for?"

"That rescue job."

"That?" Elaine laughed nervously, "You were the obvious choice, although Ryan later told me that it was too good of an operation to have been done by 356, who, by the way, was in the jungles of Peru qualifying for the Condors."

"I knew about that.  She told me how she was planning to do it."  Cybersix said, "Did she make it?"

"Sure did!"

Cybersix grinned, blinking her eyes, "Dressed as a guy, right?".

"As Adrian Seidelman." Von Richter put in.

"What?  Damn bitch!" she said with uncharacteristic anger, "That was the alias 29 developed in the Undercover Ops course, and he left all his stuff to me, including that!  I TOLD her not to steal it!"

"*I*'ll bust her ass for you!" Quaren volunteered.

"Please!" Cybersix turned to Elaine, "That rescue was very-satisfying." she said, "Unfulfilled programming is sheer hell."

"Damn right." Cyber 5000 muttered as she was checking Cybersix's pulse, frowning.

"Glad it helped." Elaine said, touched.

"So how'd you do with Amato?" Cybersix asked, changing the subject.

"Dumb as a brick!" she grimaced, "He's no threat."

"Nice to know I was right." Cybersix nodded, "Hey, ya notice the hunk that walked out?"

"Umm Hmm yes!" Elaine leaned in closer, "Someone you know?"

"Very intimately!"  Here, the two giggled like schoolgirls, "Yesss!  Plainclothes policeman.  Real sharp.  Help him forget me, okay?" Cybersix said, "That is, if you're interested."

Elaine looked doubtful, "Now how am I-" she started.

"Tell him I asked you to find a place to care of the boys.  He'll know who you're talking about." Cybersix added.

Elaine grinned wickedly and winked, "Just needed an opening!  Thanks sis!  Always thinking about your old students, aren't you?"

"Can't help it.  Programming." she replied, looking bemused when Elaine planted a kiss on her cheek that brushed the corner of her mouth.

Kayla was standing on the other side.  She rolled her eyes, fanned her face with her hand, and pretended to breathe heavily.

"What?" Cybersix asked, trying to look mildly peeved while blinking her eyes hard.

Cyber 5000 dropped her wrist, lifted the covers, and began to pinch her calf, "Can you feel this?" she asked, pinching Cybersix's calf hard.

"No."

"This?" she pinched her sister's thigh.

"No."

"And here?" she asked, pinching the side opposite of her wound.

"No."

She glanced at Kayla, then at her parents, shaking her head slightly.

"Not much time, it seems." Kayla said regretfully, "Just tell me this.  Why my katana, and how the hell did you fake all the blood?" she asked, eyes filling.

"I couldn't get. A cleaver from.  The kitchen.  Since it.  Was always.  Occupied."  Cybersix struggled to speak, "Rub.  Left shoulder hard."  Kayla did so, and rubbed the makeup off that covered a red scar that ran for two inches along the top of the collarbone.

Kayla tisked, "Messy job."

"Hurt.  Like it.  Too."  She made a face, "Had to use.   To make people.  Think I.  Was serious.  Sorry.  Forgive.  Me?"

Kayla bent down and kissed her sister on the cheek, touching it and letting a tear run onto the skin from her eyelashes, "Always and forever.  I love you."

"Love you.  Too.  Watch.  Juno.  Okay?"

Kayla threw a glance at the boy, who had finally let go of Maria, "Sure Sierra.  Golf and I were doing it already anyhow.  Goodbye."

"Goodbye.  Reba?"

"Yes?" she leaned over to look into Cybersix's eyes.

"'Nother.  Vial." Cybersix requested, gazing into her eyes pleadingly.

"It'll be too much!" she protested.

"Must. Talk.  Mama.  Father. Please."

Reba hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, then fished out the other vial.  In moments, it's contents were flowing into Cybersix's arm.  Reba wiped at her wet forehead, and could tell it was getting hotter by the second.

"Thanks Reba." Cybersix smiled, seeming to revive "I love you."

Reba bent down and kissed her cheek, "I love ya too.  Bye."

"Bye.  Mama?" Cybersix lifted her head.

Maria walked up, took a hand with both of hers, raised it to her lips, and kissed Cybersix's burning fingers, "Oh my child..." she started, then held the hand to her cheek to wipe the tears that welled up and ran down her face.

"Mama..." Cybersix's eyes welled.

"Why, child?  Why did you leave us?" she asked finally.

"I-guess I couldn't stand all the stares, the talk, the muttering, the anger, the shame, that was kicked up by the board's decision.  I felt like nobody.  I couldn't be allowed to be a cyber.  I think everyone else could tell, and it was causing trouble.  I figured if I just, disappeared, that it'd disappear too," she smiled lopsidedly, "Dumb move, huh?"

"Well, since it made things worse, then yes, that was one of your dumbest moves!" Maria sighed peevishly, "Right up there with becoming a prostitute!"

"Not my plan.  Didn't think about not having an ID until I'd arrived here" Cybersix smiled weakly, "It didn't need an ID, and it paid the bills.  I was surprised to find that my programming helped me really enjoy that kind of work."

Maria shot a glance at her husband that only he could interpret.  He sighed and looked at the cieling guiltily, as if Cybersix had discovered and exploited a loophole in his programming that he had been aware of, but had hoped that none of his creations, other than Elaine, would have noticed.  Cyber 5000 snickered despite herself and the gravity of the moment.

"And the leather suit?" Maria asked,  sounding highly displeased.

"Oh, a customer brought that by on a lark and left it with me.  I needed something to,  Run around in.  Everything I had then would have.  Been a bit drafty.  And cold.  I was short on cash.  At the time and couldn't.  Afford something better," She was starting to struggle again to speak, "I thought the cape.  And shoes.  And hat added.  A bit of class.  To it." she said weakly.

At any other time, Maria would have bitten her wayward daughter's head off, but Cybersix's labored breathing and speech jerked her violently back to the present moment.  Sniffing, she quickly bent down and embraced her, careful to avoid the damaged shoulder, "Oh, I've missed you, and I'm going to lose you again!" she murmured, voice breaking, "The days have been so dark without you around!"

"You mean..."

"Oh God Yes!  I never cared for that stupid leadership thing that you thought was so important!  YOU were important!  If I had a choice, I'd never let any Cyber out of the compound!"

"We wouldn't.  Be happy." Cybersix murmured softly.

"I know.  That's why I have to let you go.  Tell me something, my dear."

"What?"

"Were you happy out there, on that street, doing what you were doing?"

"Not really." she whispered, "I was happiest.  When I was fighting.  For my friends.  And the.  Little girl."

"Even when that fighting put you here?"

She thought a moment, "Yes.  They were.  Worth it.  I'm happy.  Now."

"Then I am too." Maria replied, "because you are."

Then Maria Schweitzer Von Richter gently planted a kiss on Cybersix's pale lips.  The others in the room straightened and looked at each other: Mama had never kissed any creation there before.  Until now.

Cybersix recognized it too.  Her lips trembled and her eyes filled and overflowed, the tears streaming down her cheeks in rivulets.  Cyber 5000, alarmed, came around, "What's wrong?" she asked as Maria retreated in tears.

"I-I couldn't.  Feel.  Anything!" Cybersix whispered weakly, "Can't.  See.  Either."

Cyber 5000 kissed her on the forehead, then looked with alarm at Von Richter and mouthed, "Hurry!"

It had been Von Richter who had made the others go before him.  He ran the wheelchair up to the bed and put his hand on Cybersix's, "My dear, I am sorry I didn't act sooner to keep you from leaving us.  I-I-" He tried to make the explanation shorter, but this was one of those things that was just too complicated to shorten.

"S-okay!" she whispered, "I love.  You."

"Cybersix, I wanted to tell you this, but never got the chance. Of-" he started, then looked at her, "Cybersix?  Cybersix?"

She didn't reply.

Von Richter waved Reba away and put his fingers to her neck, searching for a pulse.

He then reached over and closed the lids over the still glittering onyx black eyes.

Then he rested his head on her burning hot arm and cried.

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Chapter 15
Chapter 17