(This is the transcript for an audiodrama. Click the link to listen to the episode. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1231289/5210023-k-8-and-the-grand-reunion)
Rain poured down upon the ruined buildings around me. Vines grew out of the ugly concrete and decaying buildings. Gaudy golden statues that once stood high above everything else now lay on their side, torn down and rotting like a corpse in the streets. I must have been the only person around for miles. People avoided this place, some out of superstition, some out of anger for the past, some were just ignorant. For me, this place was home. That white skyscraper standing that stands reaching for the clouds. A massive sign on the front of the building read "Tengen Labs. Creating the better men for a better tomorrow." That sure worked out well for them. I walked inside and went right for the bottom laboratory. That was where I had come from. My cell door was still shut tight, making sure nothing would ever get out. Look how well that worked out for them. Anyone who got the chance to escape this place took it and vowed never to come back. I leapt up and tore down a chest full of my things that was stored above my cell. I brought it down and opened it up.
On top of everything was a selection of... I have no idea what all this is for, maybe they're torture devices that the people here forgot about? Whatever, I'll leave those here. Next up were worn out bed sheets with more holes than not, and the thinnest pillow you'll ever see. I have a pillow already, and I use a sleeping bag rather than a bed. There's a tool kit down here. That's a good find, I can use this to repair my legs if needed. They might be rusted thanks to all the rain. They do feel a little stiff. The last thing is an old photograph of me and everyone else I was imprisoned here with. I looked at the photo, and then at the two bodies nailed to the wall, eyes hollowed out and bodies completely pale. I miss you guys.
I looked back at the photo, at my younger self. God, did I really look like that? My hair only went down to my shoulders, I looked so dopey like that. I still had my normal legs, they were cut off later on and replaced with robotic ones. I was also wearing that horrible jumper, with my number printed on. 008. Since I was part of the "kill" experiments, people started calling me Kate. Get it, Kate, like k-eight? Never mind.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see you back here.” There was someone behind me. No way. Another one of us. Kill 27, I think. Still, what is he doing here? Maybe he's just collecting his stuff? “I thought you wanted to leave this place. What are you doing back here you worthless failure?” Asked 27. I slowly backed away. Maybe he won’t kill me. Maybe he's not too far gone yet. There was a pretty heavy divide among those Tengen experimented on. Some, like me, wanted to get the hell out and get as far away from them as possible. Others wanted to restore the “glory” of Tengen. It was to help further their ultimate goal of… I don’t know, world domination? These people are deranged. The problem comes in with the numbers. They aren’t just labels, they’re power levels. Higher numbers have stronger abilities than lower ones. My number is eight, and I’m pretty sure this guy's number is twenty seven. Do the math. “Answer me Eight.” Said 27. He walked toward me, I could get a full view of him. He was dressed in a Suit and red tie, with slicked back long hair. Apparently he couldn’t find someone to cut his hair either. “I remember what you helped do to this place. You tore down this utopia, and led us to this failure of a future.” Yeah, this dude is pretty clearly nuts. I threw the photo and Billow into my backpack and ran as fast as I could. I could probably just break down whatever wall I ended up running into. “Kill her!” Shouted 27. Oh crap, he had friends. Two guys, on with a gun, one with a machete. I ran for the opposite wall and did a running kick at it. It didn’t even leave a dent in it. I forgot about the reinforced steel walls. I ran up a flight of stairs as gunfire rang out behind me. I was getting into the parts of the lab I wasn’t very familiar with. Basically all of it. I was only ever kept in the bottom areas, and the very top floor. Okay, new plan. Get to the top floor and hope to god there's another skyscraper in jumping range. If not then I’ll figure it out later. I think there was an elevator somewhere around here. Gah! I’ve been shot. Right in the back. I’ll deal with that later. You know what, no, I’ll deal with it now.
I turned around and ran back at the goons 27 sent after me. I kicked the head off of the man with the gun, and the machete guy swung at me. He nearly hit me, but I got out of the way and put my foot through his chest. I ran for the elevator, praying that it still worked. I got in and hit the button for the top floor. The doors didn’t quite shut, but the elevator did rise. 27 got to the base of the elevator just after I began to rise. I heard him curse me, then head for one of the other elevators. I was shot up to the top, and came out on the top floor of the building. The church. A statue of Tengens founder was placed at the end, holding a massive sword in the air. There was no way out, just stained glass windows, each of them having at least a crack in them.
“What the hell gives you the right to stand in the presence of our master? He gave you everything, and you tried to run away! These people gave you everything, and in return you gave them nothing but grief and fear.” Yelled 27 furiously. I took off my scarf and draped it over one of the many booths. 27 grimaced. I couldn’t speak, but my injury spoke volumes. My mouth was wired shut, never to be opened again. I wasn’t going to be able to get out of this, so I may as well do as much damage as I possibly could. “A fitting punishment for someone like you.” Said 27. He sounded like he was in pain, straining to sound intimidating. He screamed as his skin and shirt tore open. Four bloody metal arms extended from his back, each one with a knife on the end. “Now you’ll die!” He shouted as he ran towards me, metal arms with their blades extended. I leapt over him and ran for the elevator. I got to see his back. It was like a piece of paper had been soaked in blood and then torn open. 27 turned around and slashed at me with one of his blades. It hit my leg, but bounced off. The knives had rusted, and my legs were far too durable to be destroyed. Maybe I could still win. I kicked 27 in the stomach, but he drove one of his knives into my shoulder. I would have screamed, but my mouth was held shut. I grabbed the blade and tore it out of my shoulder, forcing it to the ground. I kicked it as hard as I could, tearing it to shreds. I leapt into the air and kicked off the next blade. Two remained, but 27 gripped my neck as tight as he could. I managed to force him off me, but it wasn’t long before his third blade lashed out at my chest. It missed its target, leaving only a cut on the side of my stomach. I felt like I was going to pass out. I should have been dead a while ago to be honest. Wait. I think I can still win this. I leapt over 27, his blades going for my head. They barely missed, and I landed right behind him. I kicked 27 as hard as I could into the air. I kicked him hard enough that I fell backwards onto the ground, left to bleed out. I kicked him hard enough that he went flying into the roof. I kicked him hard enough that once he fell back from the ceiling, he impaled on the statue's colossal sword. 27 screamed and swore at me, trying to get off. After a lot of thrashing and screaming he went silent. I gripped the side of the booth and pulled myself up and leaned back in the chair. I grabbed a first aid kit out of my backpack and began to bandage myself up. That was nice. It went better than a lot of other reunions I’ve had.
Rain poured down upon the ruined buildings around me. Vines grew out of the ugly concrete and decaying buildings. Gaudy golden statues that once stood high above everything else now lay on their side, torn down and rotting like a corpse in the streets. I must have been the only person around for miles. People avoided this place, some out of superstition, some out of anger for the past, some were just ignorant. For me, this place was home. That white skyscraper standing that stands reaching for the clouds. A massive sign on the front of the building read "Tengen Labs. Creating the better men for a better tomorrow." That sure worked out well for them. I walked inside and went right for the bottom laboratory. That was where I had come from. My cell door was still shut tight, making sure nothing would ever get out. Look how well that worked out for them. Anyone who got the chance to escape this place took it and vowed never to come back. I leapt up and tore down a chest full of my things that was stored above my cell. I brought it down and opened it up.
On top of everything was a selection of... I have no idea what all this is for, maybe they're torture devices that the people here forgot about? Whatever, I'll leave those here. Next up were worn out bed sheets with more holes than not, and the thinnest pillow you'll ever see. I have a pillow already, and I use a sleeping bag rather than a bed. There's a tool kit down here. That's a good find, I can use this to repair my legs if needed. They might be rusted thanks to all the rain. They do feel a little stiff. The last thing is an old photograph of me and everyone else I was imprisoned here with. I looked at the photo, and then at the two bodies nailed to the wall, eyes hollowed out and bodies completely pale. I miss you guys.
I looked back at the photo, at my younger self. God, did I really look like that? My hair only went down to my shoulders, I looked so dopey like that. I still had my normal legs, they were cut off later on and replaced with robotic ones. I was also wearing that horrible jumper, with my number printed on. 008. Since I was part of the "kill" experiments, people started calling me Kate. Get it, Kate, like k-eight? Never mind.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see you back here.” There was someone behind me. No way. Another one of us. Kill 27, I think. Still, what is he doing here? Maybe he's just collecting his stuff? “I thought you wanted to leave this place. What are you doing back here you worthless failure?” Asked 27. I slowly backed away. Maybe he won’t kill me. Maybe he's not too far gone yet. There was a pretty heavy divide among those Tengen experimented on. Some, like me, wanted to get the hell out and get as far away from them as possible. Others wanted to restore the “glory” of Tengen. It was to help further their ultimate goal of… I don’t know, world domination? These people are deranged. The problem comes in with the numbers. They aren’t just labels, they’re power levels. Higher numbers have stronger abilities than lower ones. My number is eight, and I’m pretty sure this guy's number is twenty seven. Do the math. “Answer me Eight.” Said 27. He walked toward me, I could get a full view of him. He was dressed in a Suit and red tie, with slicked back long hair. Apparently he couldn’t find someone to cut his hair either. “I remember what you helped do to this place. You tore down this utopia, and led us to this failure of a future.” Yeah, this dude is pretty clearly nuts. I threw the photo and Billow into my backpack and ran as fast as I could. I could probably just break down whatever wall I ended up running into. “Kill her!” Shouted 27. Oh crap, he had friends. Two guys, on with a gun, one with a machete. I ran for the opposite wall and did a running kick at it. It didn’t even leave a dent in it. I forgot about the reinforced steel walls. I ran up a flight of stairs as gunfire rang out behind me. I was getting into the parts of the lab I wasn’t very familiar with. Basically all of it. I was only ever kept in the bottom areas, and the very top floor. Okay, new plan. Get to the top floor and hope to god there's another skyscraper in jumping range. If not then I’ll figure it out later. I think there was an elevator somewhere around here. Gah! I’ve been shot. Right in the back. I’ll deal with that later. You know what, no, I’ll deal with it now.
I turned around and ran back at the goons 27 sent after me. I kicked the head off of the man with the gun, and the machete guy swung at me. He nearly hit me, but I got out of the way and put my foot through his chest. I ran for the elevator, praying that it still worked. I got in and hit the button for the top floor. The doors didn’t quite shut, but the elevator did rise. 27 got to the base of the elevator just after I began to rise. I heard him curse me, then head for one of the other elevators. I was shot up to the top, and came out on the top floor of the building. The church. A statue of Tengens founder was placed at the end, holding a massive sword in the air. There was no way out, just stained glass windows, each of them having at least a crack in them.
“What the hell gives you the right to stand in the presence of our master? He gave you everything, and you tried to run away! These people gave you everything, and in return you gave them nothing but grief and fear.” Yelled 27 furiously. I took off my scarf and draped it over one of the many booths. 27 grimaced. I couldn’t speak, but my injury spoke volumes. My mouth was wired shut, never to be opened again. I wasn’t going to be able to get out of this, so I may as well do as much damage as I possibly could. “A fitting punishment for someone like you.” Said 27. He sounded like he was in pain, straining to sound intimidating. He screamed as his skin and shirt tore open. Four bloody metal arms extended from his back, each one with a knife on the end. “Now you’ll die!” He shouted as he ran towards me, metal arms with their blades extended. I leapt over him and ran for the elevator. I got to see his back. It was like a piece of paper had been soaked in blood and then torn open. 27 turned around and slashed at me with one of his blades. It hit my leg, but bounced off. The knives had rusted, and my legs were far too durable to be destroyed. Maybe I could still win. I kicked 27 in the stomach, but he drove one of his knives into my shoulder. I would have screamed, but my mouth was held shut. I grabbed the blade and tore it out of my shoulder, forcing it to the ground. I kicked it as hard as I could, tearing it to shreds. I leapt into the air and kicked off the next blade. Two remained, but 27 gripped my neck as tight as he could. I managed to force him off me, but it wasn’t long before his third blade lashed out at my chest. It missed its target, leaving only a cut on the side of my stomach. I felt like I was going to pass out. I should have been dead a while ago to be honest. Wait. I think I can still win this. I leapt over 27, his blades going for my head. They barely missed, and I landed right behind him. I kicked 27 as hard as I could into the air. I kicked him hard enough that I fell backwards onto the ground, left to bleed out. I kicked him hard enough that he went flying into the roof. I kicked him hard enough that once he fell back from the ceiling, he impaled on the statue's colossal sword. 27 screamed and swore at me, trying to get off. After a lot of thrashing and screaming he went silent. I gripped the side of the booth and pulled myself up and leaned back in the chair. I grabbed a first aid kit out of my backpack and began to bandage myself up. That was nice. It went better than a lot of other reunions I’ve had.
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