Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 598: Black Skull. (Part Thirty)

In the end, Rose failed to say anything. She wanted to turn down the offer. She wanted to cut ties with him, to say that they can't meet again, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Whether it was the influence of Monica's words or her own desire to escape, Rose couldn't stop herself from clinging to that small hope—the hope that she would be able to escape. The hope that she could start a new life with the man she had grown to adore.

Sirius took a few photos he needed to create a new identity for her. Apparently, he was doing the same for himself as well, registering them as siblings to make it possible for the two of them to travel without problems.

As he described the details to her, Rose found herself wondering how much all of that costs. Money didn't seem like a problem to Sirius, but creating fake documents in this day and age definitely costs a lot more than what it takes to rent a doll for a few nights. Still, Rose elected not to mention it. Instead, she chose to tell Sirius what Jason had told her to do.

It was for that reason that they planned their escape one week after that night. The new passports would be ready by then. Since the gangster was expecting her to bring in more money, Sirius began giving her double the amount each night under the guise of making a reservation.

In the next few days, they discussed the details of the plan and everything they needed to do. They settled on the Lumeria as their destination, not because she had some latent desire to find her biological father, but because it would make it easier to blend with the crowd, seeing as the color of her hair was common in that region.

Rose joked that Sirius only wanted to go there so he would be surrounded by people who look like her, which led to him saying that he only has eyes for her, and that he would never look at anyone else.

The two got closer each time they met, and Rose gradually realized that she was developing a crush on the man. It got to the point that she found herself smiling just at the thought of being together, and for the first time in her life, she got to experience a small part of what it felt like to be a normal girl.

~[ ]~

The day finally arrived, and the anxiety Rose felt shot toward the sky. The girls from the dollhouse were allowed some freedom, despite how risky that might sound. It wasn't out of the goodness of their captor's hearts, but because they needed the girls to handle some stuff for them, like gathering information, keeping an eye on the territory, and earning extra cash by pick-pocketing and shoplifting.

They always have someone following them around, but since the others would get punished if one of them tried to escape, the girls are forced into keeping each other in check.

Rose cared little for her group, so she didn't mind putting them at risk. Sirius was going to drive by in a rented car, which they would then use to reach the airport after he picked her up.

Their flight was scheduled for that afternoon, and the time leading up to it was some of the most stressful Rose had lived through. Making one excuse after the other, she tried to remain near the road as much as possible, keeping to the area where they agreed to meet. Her heart got louder with each passing minute, and the fear that something might go wrong fed into her anxiety.

The time for the pick up was fast approaching. Rose prepared to make her move—to do everything it takes. She would escape, leave everything behind, and start a new life. She would finally be free.

"Get in."

For the past few days, slowly but surely, Rose forgot all about how cruel life could get. She had deluded herself into thinking that things might work out for her this time, but that had never happened before, and this time was no different.

A car did appear around the intended time, but when the windows went down, what met her wasn't the kind face of the man who promised to whisk her away. Instead, she was met with the despicable faces of a bunch of thugs, and going by the skull tattoos each of them had, there was no questioning their affiliation with that accursed gang.

When she thought back to it, Rose realized that things were somewhat similar to how they were back then. Despair had grasped her heart both times, and in each, she found herself at the center of a warehouse, beaten and battered, waiting for death to come and claim her.

CLAP…CLAP…CLAP…

Twenty years have passed, yet here she was, back in the same situation. The monster responsible for her suffering was there, the ink that had once covered the left half of his face having spread to the rest of it. Age had left its mark on his body, but one thing has never changed. That smirk he always wore—the smirk that showed whenever things went his way.

"Amazing. Truly amazing." Jason said, bringing his hands together in one last clap. "That was a Level 4 Ascended you just took out. The best weapon we had on our hands, and all it took was a single bullet. To think that something like this was possible." He turned his gaze to the right, looking down at the other skull-faced monster. "Truly amazing. Don't you think so, boss?"

"Ja…son…."

Struck by a second Sun Flare before he could recover from the first, Harry was left frozen like a statue, unable to move anything but his eyes. His broken voice leaked from his glitching vocal implant, but he could do no more than curse the rival he supposedly had defeated.

"Don't worry," Pulling on the glove covering his right hand, Jason lowered it slowly, placing it on the cyborg's head. "I will make sure to tell everyone you went out fighting."

"JjJJJAaaaAAaaAaaaAAAsSSOooo-"

Lines appeared on the frozen Harry's head, spreading from the palm placed on top of it like cracks splitting a piece of glass. Color seemed to fade everywhere they went, and eventually, the cracks grew too numerous. A click echoed through the silent warehouse, and as if he was made entirely from glass, the chosen heir to the Black Skull throne shattered, splitting into a million pieces as he scattered on the ground.