*NOTE: This document is intended for free distribution as long as it is
completed and
unchanged. It was written to be read by fans and to help promote the cartoon
series:
Cybersix. If you have a website you may display this work there.
“Midnight Five” was created by Mark Charke. If you wish to use this
character in a story, I would probably be more then happy, but please contact
the author first.
It had been six months since the explosion. Time was told in Mercadia
based on that event now. People referred to it as a base point for all their
activities. They measured how much they had restored the city and their lives
since they were so devastated. They repaved a street and renamed it memorial
lane to commemorate the dead. They tried to move on, and ever day since “day
one” was another day towards the normal lives they had once had.
Cybersix had only seen Jose once since the explosion, briefly, when he
tried to set one of the surviving abominations after her. She knew he was
managing Von Richter’s operation now. Although she had hunted down a number
of Fixed Ideas and Techno’s, there were still plenty of them. That meant Jose
was making new ones and supplying them with sustenance.
It was discouraging in a sweet and sour kind of way. She would not die
for lack of sustenance but her crusade to end Von Richter’s work was not
finished. It made her feel tired. She had thought it was over. She considered
that, perhaps, this situation was better. Jose acted much like a child. He
was impulsive and more predictable then his creator. Perhaps he too knew a
way to cure her of the need for sustenance. She had to hope.
Cybersix continued her nightly rounds, always on the lookout for new
creations. She never saw any. Only a large number of Fixed Ideas or Techno’s
presented her with any kind of serious threat. When Data 7 was with her,
which was often, the number was doubled. When she was with Midnight Five, the
only survivor of the second cyber series, there probably wasn’t enough of Von
Richter’s creations in the whole of the city to pose a serious threat.
Unfortunately Midnight Five was very solitary. He got along best with Data 7
This evening was dark with little moonlight and plenty of clouds.
Cybersix went looking for Jose. She guessed that he was probably constructing
a lab of some sort. That would explain his absence in the city. He was busy.
She opened the shutters on her apartment and let the wind speak to her. Her
hunt began.
She and Data 7 raced across the town. It was a large city but there were
only so many places that would make a good laboratory. Several abandoned
buildings that had not been torn down or occupied were her first choices.
Jose had a taste for large and posh. She considered more protected locations,
underground or well hidden. It would take days to inspect them all.
Hours later two black silhouettes dropped from the rooftops above and
landed on the overgrown grassy lawn of a large mansion. There had been some
vandalism. One side had spray paint on it. Some of the windows had been
broken and boarded over. The plants were untended. Somehow it had Jose
written all over it.
So many times she had gone into such buildings suspecting a trap and
still falling right into it. She proceeded around to the rear of the
building. She looked into different windows, watching for light and listening
for sounds within. It was silent and dark. Finally she leaped up and through
the boards covering a second story window.
It was a noisy entry as wood broke. She rolled across the floor and came
up on her feet. The room looked unused. Furniture, that which was still here,
was covered in dusty white sheets. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling. Data 7
followed in after her and soon let out a sneeze.
She carefully opened the door and looked around. The hallway was empty.
The dust on the floor was thick and there were no footprints. Data 7 shook
his head. He could smell nothing. They went from room to room. They checked
each floor and even snuck down into the basement with a candle taken from a
wall bracket. The building was empty.
Cybersix sighed and threw herself into a covered chair. Dust billowed up
around her.
The two left the building and took to the rooftops again. Each house was
the same, a long and cautious search with no results. By early morning they
were both a little tired and sat on a roof. A larger, masculine shape
approached.
Midnight Five landed with the grace of a bulldozer. He often forgot his
strength, and weight, and would collapse weak rooftops. The roof creaked when
he landed but held. He winced, as he landed, embarrassed by his carelessness
“You look tired.” Lucas said before stuffing a bagel into his mouth.
They sat in the little cafe. A news report spoke about a series of
break-ins into abandoned buildings. The report noted that nothing was stolen
but windows were broken. Lucas watched the article.
Midnight Five opened his eyes. It was dark but he could see everything in
his room. His senses were all extremely sharp. It was a sparse room. He had
few things. The walls were bare. He owned some books and kept them on a small
shelf. Unlike Cybersix he had slept well. He got up and dressed in black. The
hunt continued.
The steel muscles in his legs pulled tight and he launched from his
window. His first moments of freedom he always enjoyed the most. He landed
carefully. It would not do to leave a trail of destruction back to his
apartment. He began the search immediately. He and Cybersix had made a list
of locations and which of them would search them.
He moved across the city choosing to search the most likely sites first.
His first target was an old dark building that once served as a hospital. It
would have many facilities, already installed, that a lab would require. It
had an elevator and sublevels but had been abandoned when a large hospital
was built nearby.
The large man landed near the building silently. Immediately he suspected
he had found the lair. There was activity within the building. He could hear
someone moving around and there was a dim light in the window. Suddenly a
Fixed Idea came out of the building. Midnight Five moved so fast the dull
creature did not see him. Midnight Five watched from a nearby tree.
He watched for hours. He counted the different Fixed Ideas and noted the
equipment that arrived early in the morning by truck. He saw Jose. The
kid-like clone struck a chord in Midnight Five; recognition. This was what he
was looking for. He was surprised but accepted the condition quickly.
Midnight Five stepped out of the tree and walked over.
On some level Midnight Five recognized that the Fixed Ideas where
preventing him from reaching what he had been trying to find for so long.
Midnight Five attacked the Fixed Ideas as they came at him. His first punch
finished one off. The Fixed Ideas were too well programmed to disobey Jose
and listen to the fear they shouldn’t have been able to feel but did.
Midnight Five was not Cybersix. He hit harder, faster and more often.
More importantly, he finished them off, each and every one of them. While it
is true they were tyring to finish him he showed less mercy then Cybersix or
Data 7 would have. He did not truly consider these programmed machines more
then that. Also the dark man was driven by something he could not explain.
Jose looked terrified. The toothy smile he usually wore was long gone.
Midnight Five stepped through the mess he had made, towards Jose. The clone
skittered backwards tripping over his own feet. He had never truly been
afraid of Cybersix. He had, in fact, often been more afraid of Von Richter’s
more sinister creations then either Cybersix or Data 7. He was now more
afraid then he had ever been before. He was afraid of Midnight Five and the
calm look he wore.
The abominations had killed because they had been programmed to. Jose
could understand that, especially when he controlled them absolutely.
Cybersix and Data 7 generally did not kill unless they absolutely had to.
Before him was a very intelligent creature, fully aware of what it was doing
and with free will and choice, who was also one of the deadliest creations
Von Richter had ever made. It had chose to destroy the Fixed Ideas. It
probably could have defeated them otherwise.
A tall thin humanoid exited the hospital. Jose saw it and became
noticeably relieved. The smile returned to his face.
It took Jose a minute to realize he wasn’t going to end up like one of
the many deactivated Fixed Ideas which smoked up the lawn nearby. Then he
smiled. Jose knew about the midnight series. Von Richter’s notes and files
were accessible to him now. They should have all died by now, their
programmed life span having passed. The notes said that any voluntarily loyal
Midnight would be allowed to live beyond that. It did not say how Von Richter
had planned to alter them so that they would live. Perhaps loyalty alone
would keep them alive? He would run some tests.
It was almost just a test to see if Midnight Five would really listen. He
did. Jose was overjoyed as the last midnight followed him into the old
hospital. Jose first ran a few tests. This midnight used a radically
different form of sustenance that did not need to be replenished nearly as
often. It could operate in the field longer. It was incredibly strong. It’s
reflexes were amazing.
By morning Jose was still busy with tests, oblivious to all else.
Jose frowned, thinking about this. Midnight Five had mentioned, during
the examination, that he had an alter ego. This was cybersix’s idea, no
doubt, the clone decided. He did not want Cybersix looking for the missing
Midnight but, at the same time, he wondered how much he could trust this
creature. If he told it to tell Cybersix that it had not found him, that the
hospital was empty, would it really obey?
Jose was playing with fire and he knew it. If this thing rebelled, there
wouldn’t be anything he could do later. Right now, if he wanted to, he could
probably find a means of destroying it during the testing. This might be his
only chance to do so. Jose liked fire too much. This midnight, he figured,
could take eliminate Cybersix once and for all time. The risks, he figured,
were well worth it. Without Cybersix, Mercadia would soon be his and then the
sky would be the limit. With Midnight Five beside him, he would fear no more
rogue experiments.
Midnight Five agreed to say nothing. He went home, and tired, he went to
work. He did not see Cybersix. His purpose revealed, he did not know what he
would say to her. He truly felt that he should be loyal to his creator. He
wondered how Cybersix felt in that regard. She had referred to Von Richter as
her father, more then once. Midnight Five figured he felt the same, no
stronger, loyalty. The trouble was that Von Richter was his father, Cybersix
was his sister, and deserved the same loyalty. He had a lot to think about on
the job the next day.
What would he do? Certainly Jose would call upon him to defeat Cybersix,
but he couldn’t do it, could he? Even Data 7, who’s history he had learned by
now, was something of a brother. When work ended he was still tearing himself
apart with these thoughts, not noticing that he was not holding back his real
strength very much. People watched the thoughtless strong man in awe. They
respected the way he ignored their obvious praise and envy of his abilities
in their looks.
They knew. They had to know by now. “Mike”, they figured, was one of
those strange monsters, gone good. It’s too bad they didn’t know, he’d just
gone bad.
For two weeks Cybersix would go one way and Midnight Five would go the
other. She wasn’t sure what was going on but she knew something was wrong.
She went hunting for Midnight Five and could not find him. She moved across
the rooftops, tracing his favorite routes. It was little wonder he eluded
her, she realized. He was faster and could disappear into the shadows just as
quickly. He had a weakness though and she could contact him through it.
Mike was just leaving his latest worksite. He was dirty and looked odd
standing beside the clean and neat school teacher. He said nothing, at first
They walked together. They walked along an empty street. Birds flew by.
The two stopped on a deserted area of the road. They looked at each other
and stopped talking for a moment. The wind whistled dry leaves past them.
Somewhere, something broke. A tear rolled down Cybersix’s cheek.
There was fluid motion in opposite directions. And then the street was
empty, except of wind and leaves and dust.
(email: mcharke@aol.com)
There’s a time when the moon
Reveals it’s face through the clouds,
I let out a sigh
And want to cry out loud,
But deep in my heart
I feel love so alive,
In the depths of my soul
I know we will survive.
I'm the one they would break
In their greed and their pride
But deep in my heart
I feel love so alive
In the depths of my soul
I know we will survive
Cybersix
“Where is he?”
Data 7 pawed the ground leaving five long claw marks in the wood.
“Yes Data 7. Midnight Five would make the search twice as fast. I just
don’t want to ask him. He seems so occupied. I know he’s looking for
something. If I ask for his help, he won’t say no. I think he should find
whatever it is he is looking for. Perhaps,” Cybersix said with a sly smiled,
“my brother is looking for a companion.”
Data 7 let out a low roar.
“No, I don’t think Von Rictor made any other cats. I don’t think Midnight
Five is going to find a Data 8.” Cybersix hugged the large cat and laughed.
“How goes your search.” He asked Cybersix.
“My search?” Cybersix replied, surprised.
“Yes, I saw you looking at empty houses earlier.”
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to involve you. You seem to be busy.” Cybersix
shrugged.
“I don’t know what I am looking for. I might as well help you. Perhaps
I’ll find what I am looking for, or some clue.”
Cybersix nodded.
“No more hunting tonight. I have class in the morning.”
“Tomorrow I will be working on one of those buildings you were looking
through. Perhaps I could ask about other buildings I might be working on in
the future.” Midnight Five offered. He had been working in construction since
he and Cybersix developed his alter ego Mike.
Cybersix nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“What are you looking for?” Midnight Five asked.
“Oh right, sorry. I’m looking for Jose. When we first me he was the
little short
fellow sitting on the shoulders of the Fixed Idea.”
Midnight Five nodded. Dawn broke the horizon.
“It’s Jose. I haven’t seen him for a long time and I’m worried.” Adrian
said.
“Maybe he left, went to look for Von Richter’s lab.” Lucas shrugged.
“I don’t think so. He risked everything to save this town, his town.”
Adrian shook his head.
“That could be him.”
Adrian chuckled with a smile. He raised one eyebrow. “It wasn’t him.”
“Hmm?” Lucas muffled through a full mouth. “Oh.”
They laughed. Adrian got up and patted Lucas on the shoulder. “I’ll see
you later. Take care.”
Lucas jumped up and dropped some cash on the table. He grabbed a bagel
and ran after Adrian.
“Hey, I haven’t seen much of you lately. What’s up?” Lucas asked
“It’s nothing Lucas.” Adrian said. Lucas mouthed the works, predicting
them.
“It’s Midnight Five, isn’t it?” Lucas said flatly.
“No, definitely not. He keeps to himself mostly.” Adrian replied quickly
and firmly.
“Well, you could use some sleep.” Lucas said. “That or get some
sunglasses to hide the rings under your eyes. Whatever it is, you won’t be
able to deal with it if you are exhausted.”
Adrian nodded, yawning at the thought of sleep.
“What?” Jose said startled when the man in black appeared out of the
shadows. “Get him! He must be here with Cybersix.”
“Uh...” Jose couldn’t think of anything to say. He backed up into the
rear of one of the supply trucks. His eyes were riveted on Midnight Five as
he slowly advanced.
“My cyber will finish you!”
Jose’s “Cyber” attacked Midnight Five. In a fraction of a second there
was a glow and the cyber was deduced to smoke and clothing. Jose almost
fainted. He was a little too eager and too proud of his simple creation.
Midnight Five stepped into the truck and looked hard at the clone.
“Von Richter is dead. You are the closest thing there ever will be to Von
Richter.
It is to you I give my loyalty. I am your willing servant,if you will have
me.” Midnight Five dipped his head in submission.
“Excellent. First, clean this mess up. No, I have more important things
for you to
do. If you left any Fixed Ideas alive, they will clean it. Come with me!”
“I must go to work soon.”
“Work? You work for me!”
“If I do not go to work I will be missed.”
“Mike.” Adrian said the next afternoon.
“He will ask me to destroy you.” Mike stated flatly.
“What? What are you talking about? Oh, no.” Adrian looked horrified. He
paused thinking, figuring it out. “I don’t understand. Why?”
“Don’t you see what he is? He is driven. Look at what he can create.
Everything I respect in you is because of him. He should rule.” Mike tried to
explain holding his hands up.
“He killed thousands! Thousands!” Adrian practically shrieked.
“They meant nothing to him because he is driven. He must be allowed to
succeed. Then the destruction will stop. He can’t help what he is, can you? I
can do more good serving him, allowing him to succeed at his project, then I
can by fighting him. Who cares who rules? With his science, he could make the
world a paradise.” Mike said calmly.
“He’ll make it a nightmare!” Adrian shouted. “He’s insane. You can’t
think this will produce something good!”
“It produced you.” Mike countered.
“He considered me his worst failure!” Adrian snapped back.
“I must serve him. Jose must become Von Richter. I must find a way to
make it happen.”
Adrian shook his head. “But you care.”
“I care.” He stated, nodding his head.
“Then don’t do this. He’s dead. Let it all die with him.”
“When Von Richter achieves his destiny he will bring humanity to a new
level of greatness. He is evil. I know that but I believe in what will become
of it. I have to. It’s all I have.”
“I will stop you.” She said.
“I know.” Midnight Five wiped the tear off her cheek. “Good bye sister.”
“Good bye brother.”
As the rain falls on the mountains
On my soul just salty tears
I whisper you name
Until we’re together
Our love will conquer fear
Written by Mark Charke, Feb 2000.
Cybersix is Copyright © Trillo-Meglia
The tv series "Cybersix" is Copyright © Telecom Animation Film.
Their official site:
http://www.tms.kyokuichi.co.jp/cybersix/english/index.html