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Heart tightens his fists and continues his assault on the monster, the Kamen Rider who's been hurting his comrades. All Krim Steinbelt's work, of course. Who'd have predicted the man would find a way to stay alive even after Heart had killed him personally? He's simply found a human willing to become his puppet, to do the fighting for him now that he has no real body of his own.
I'll kill you for good this time, Krim, Heart snarls internally as he smashes the Kamen Rider's armor. You'll never be able to hurt my beloved comrades ever again! He can feel himself skating precariously on the edge of the Dead Zone, and oh, how he wants to give in, but he can't, not now. Not when so much has already gone wrong. His comrades will need him to help put them back together and rebuild their ranks. He has to stay cool for now, the way Brain does.
The human inside the armor isn't fighting back anymore. He cries out painfully with every blow of Heart's fists, and Heart grins in satisfaction. That's right, take it! Every blow you gave to my comrades, I'll give back to you tenfold, you evil monster! I'll break all your bones and pound you into dust for what you've done! He lands a kick right to the Kamen Rider's chest and sends him flying. His body smashes into the wall behind him, and his armor crumbles and disappears, revealing his feeble human form. The human drops to his hands and knees, and Heart steps slowly toward him.
Nice try, Krim, he thinks, but no matter how many times you come back, I'll be here to kill you again, along with whatever pathetic puppets you con into doing your dirty work. Heart reaches down and picks the human up by his neck, raising his body high. The human clings desperately to his wrist, gasping for breath, feet scrabbling uselessly in the air.
"Proto-Drive!" Krim yells. Heart grips the belt in his free hand and tears it from the human's waist. Want to watch him die? The same way I had to watch him trying to kill my brothers and sisters? Heart throws the belt aside, and hears it hit the wall with a loud, decisive thud. Maybe that's killed Krim already. Heart will make sure, once he kills this infernal human.
He tightens his hand around the human's neck and grins at the sounds he makes. Surely he'd beg for mercy if he could spare the breath; if he did, Heart would spit in his face. You showed my comrades no mercy. I have none for you. Heart draws his other hand back in a fist and drives it into the human's chest, shattering all his ribs--
Or at least, it should. The force of that blow should be enough to break a human's frail bones to pieces. Heart should know; he's done it before. But there's nothing breaking under this human's skin, no satisfying wet crunch as his bones and organs are smashed beyond repair. Instead Heart's fist meets with something as solid and strong as the armor had been, and there's a strange resonating sound, almost like a bell or a gong, the unmistakable clang of metal on metal.
Heart's body freezes in place. But. But that means…
The human's body goes still, and then starts to flicker, the soft, warm skin shifting into hard, cold metal. His face is still human-looking, in a way - not fused with anything else, no animal features - but his body has the same frame as Heart's, as all of his comrades', and emblazoned in a pentagon on his chest is the number 000.
"No!" Heart shouts, feeling sick with horror. "No, no, no!" He lowers the Roidmude's body to the ground, cradling it in his arms. How could he have done this to his own brother, how could he not have realized-- Of course Krim would do this, use a Roidmude as his tool rather than endanger a fellow human. And Heart hadn't suspected a thing, had tried to kill 000 when he should have been trying to rescue him. "No, please, I'm so sorry, please don't die!" He touches the side of 000's face, and the body shifts in his arms slightly. Not dead yet.
Heart shifts his own form back to the guise of a human; if 000 wakes up, he’s likely to recognize Heart from their fight. And even if he doesn’t, seeing the face of a Roidmude might frighten him, thanks to whatever monstrous brainwashing Krim must have done to make him willing to fight his own kind. He lays his hand over 000's number and strokes it tenderly. I didn't know I had an elder brother, he thinks. They told me I was the first one, and that I should love all the rest as my little siblings… And love them he does, with all that is in him. He'll do the same for 000, if he can save him. Please live, please don't let this be the end.
000 stirs a little more, groaning softly, and suddenly his body starts to change, the human skin reforming and covering him. Heart's breath catches in his chest. If his body has the strength to maintain the human form, then there's still hope of saving him. 000's eyes open halfway, and look up vacantly, as though they can't quite focus on anything.
"What happened?" he asks, his voice weak and painfully hoarse. Heart feels a stab of remorse; that's his fault, he was the one who'd beaten and choked him.
"You're hurt," Heart answers gently, stroking a hand through 000's hair to try to soothe him. "There was a man who was hurting you, but I've stopped him." He's not quite sure whether he means Krim or himself. "I'm going to take you to get help now," he continues, feeling like he might cry. "Just hold on."
"A-Alright..." 000's eyes flutter shut again, and his body slackens, but Heart can still see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes. He slips an arm beneath 000's legs and lifts him into his arms.
I'll take care of you, he promises as he carries 000 out of the alley. I'll fix everything, I'll make it better.
---
Brain is taking a brief respite from dealing with the damage the Kamen Rider has done to their numbers tonight - all the Roidmudes who came back wounded, or worse, as cores with no bodies at all - when Heart returns, rushing into the room in unceremonious panic.
"Brain," Heart says, his beautiful face contorted with anguish. "You've got to help me, please. I've made a horrible mistake."
He needs me, Brain thinks. He needs me. He knew he could make himself useful in Heart's sight eventually, if he was patient and diligent. "What is it?" he asks. "Are you hurt?" That would be just like Heart, after all, to go overboard and hurt himself.
"Not me," Heart answers with a shake of his head. "Just come with me, hurry."
He leads the way out of the room and Brain follows him, wondering what in the world Heart could have done that has him so distraught. Not that Heart wouldn't be distraught right now anyway, given how poorly their rebellion has played out, but this is something different, more personal. Brain doesn't have to wonder for long, though. Heart leads him into a chamber where a body is laid out on a pallet, lying still as death.
"Who is this?" Brain asks as Heart hurries to kneel down beside the body. "Another of ours?" Far too many of their comrades have come back to them like this tonight. Brain doesn't recognize this one, but that's not really strange; most of the Roidmudes hadn't adopted human forms before tonight, so the ones who have all look unfamiliar on the surface now.
"Yes," says Heart, taking the unconscious Roidmude's hand in his own, looking like he might weep. "He's one of ours. Our elder brother."
Brain frowns. "What?" Heart's weird notion of calling the Roidmudes his siblings had been foolish and confusing to begin with, but to Brain's recollection he'd never called any of them an elder brother. "You're not making sense, let me see him." He kneels beside Heart and lays a hand on the Roidmude's chest to scan its number.
0 0 0
Brain jumps back, startled. "What in the hell--" Had he made a mistake? Messed up the scan somehow? He touches the Roidmude's chest again, focusing all his considerable mental strength on doing the scan properly.
0 0 0
"That's not possible," Brain gasps, his chest going tight. "That number doesn't exist!" Heart is number 001, their leader, the first of their kind. There weren't any others before him. Or at least their creator had told them so.
"We were lied to," Heart says, the pain in his voice giving way to anger. "There was another of us all along, a progenitor."
That's not impossible, now that Brain thinks about it. "A prototype." No, not impossible, but still utterly surreal. They've known and accepted as fact for years that there were only one hundred eight of them, just that small number, and yet now, they've found one more. Heart ought to be weeping with joy over this discovery, but instead his eyes are full of rage and grief. "What happened?" Brain asks. "Where did you find him?"
Heart's mouth tightens. "He was Krim's prisoner," he says in a low growl. "Krim brainwashed him, made him do horrible things..."
"Krim?" Brain thinks for a moment, and then draws his hand back from the Roidmude's chest again in horrified realization. "You mean he was the Kamen Rider?" He stares at Heart in shock. "You brought the Kamen Rider back here, after what he’s done to us?!"
"It wasn't his fault!" Heart protests, still holding the hated Kamen Rider's hand the same way he would that of a beloved comrade. "It was Krim, he used him! He reprogrammed him to fight his brothers and sisters, and used him against us!" Tears are welling in Heart's eyes now. "He was our brother all along, and I never had a clue... I tried to kill him..."
You should have killed him, you infuriating imbecile, Brain snarls inwardly. They have no use for rogue numbers in their ranks; only the Promised Number of evolved Roidmudes is truly necessary to their cause. But Heart, by his very nature, refuses to see reason. To him, every last one of them is a precious friend and comrade. Including one who's done immeasurable harm to the rest of them.
Heart gives him a pleading look. "We have to save him, Brain."
Brain clenches his teeth. "You can't be serious. Why should we!"
"He's our brother," Heart says plaintively. "I hurt him when I should have been helping him. And I promised I'd fix it."
You give your love away far too freely, Brain thinks, not for the first time. Heart's always been like this; Brain shouldn't be surprised by it anymore.
"Please, Brain," Heart begs him after another moment's silence. "I can't repair him myself. And Medic--" His voice chokes off in a suppressed sob. Only a few hours ago it had been Medic's body laid out before them like this, frozen and dead. Brain had stood by and watched numbly as Heart grieved over her. Once his tears had run dry, Heart had gotten to his feet with fury burning in his eyes and a vow on his lips not to come back until he'd killed the Kamen Rider with his own hands. "You're the only one who can do it. I need you."
Brain's chest goes tight. All I have ever wanted is to be needed by you, he thinks. But not like this… This is pure foolishness, reckless endangerment of their numbers. It's undeserved mercy for the one who's been hurting them. Brain can't possibly agree to it. He opens his mouth to refuse, but stops short when he sees the look in Heart's eyes.
I've lost so much already tonight, his face seems to say. Please don't give me another dead comrade to grieve. And if Heart's willing to forgive 000 even though he'd been the one to kill Medic, he must truly believe in the possibility of saving him, and returning him to their side.
"...You truly are an irrational, irresponsible, unbelievable fool," Brain scoffs. "But very well. I'll see what I can do for him."
Heart's sorrowful expression turns to one of relief and joy. "Thank you," he says, reaching out his free hand to cup the back of Brain's neck. "I knew I could count on you." His smile is so bright that Brain can't look at it for long before his chest starts to flutter unbearably and he has to look away.
"Don't mention it," Brain grumbles with his eyes lowered. He tries to ignore the nagging misgivings in the back of his head about 000. If you cause any trouble, he vows, looking down at 000's unconscious body, if anything goes wrong with you at all, I'll kill you myself.
---
Heart lifts 000's body up onto a table so that Brain can examine him properly, and Brain sets to work on him at once. It's incredible to watch Brain work like this, analyzing and collecting data. He's completely in his element, perfectly calm and in control. Heart's always loved getting to see this side of him; even in the midst of this grievous situation, Heart can almost smile, watching him. Almost.
"His body is heavily damaged," Brain says after a full scan of 000's body, and Heart's chest clenches with fear. "But not beyond repair, by any means."
"We can save him?" Heart squeezes 000's hand. We'll save you, I promise, just hold on.
"I believe so," Brain answers, and then he frowns. "It ought to be easy, if we can replace his Core Driviar, but..." He passes his hands above 000's body again, his eyebrows furrowed as he concentrates. "I can't find it."
Heart blinks at him. "What? What do you mean, you can't find it?"
"I don't understand this at all..." Brain lays his hand on 000's chest, right over where his number would be, and sends a jolt of power into his body. Heart feels the tingle of it through 000's hand - a small shock, not unpleasant. Just enough to force a shift. 000's human shell disintegrates away again, revealing his true Roidmude form with its strange humanoid face. Brain jerks his hand back, looking revolted. "What," he hisses, lip curled, "is that?"
"Our comrade," says Heart firmly. "He may not look like us, but he's no less our brother for it." He'd had a feeling Brain would react like this to seeing 000's face. Brain doesn't understand that this too is Krim's work, making him look different from the rest of the Roidmudes so that even if they did try to rescue him they'd only cast him out again for his ugliness. But Heart refuses to play along with that scheme. You cannot stop me from loving my brother, Krim.
Brain grimaces. "No wonder I can't find his core, then," he says. "From the looks of him, he doesn't have one."
Heart's eyes widen. "Is that possible? We all have them, how can he be alive without one?"
"I don't know," Brain answers. "But look at him. He's not a Cobra, or a Bat, or a Spider, and there aren't any other kinds of cores but those." He gives 000's body another scan, and shakes his head. "Nothing. There's not even a hole where a core would go." He glances up at Heart, looking nauseated. "His body wasn't made to hold one."
Heart feels his rage towards Krim starting to boil over, and he clenches his free hand so tightly it hurts. "He can't evolve, can he," he says, just above a whisper.
"The way his body is made... no, he can't." Brain looks like he's trying to stomach the same rage as Heart is now. "It's not possible."
Heart sees red, all his muscles going tense. He draws in a hissing breath and then lets out a furious roar that makes Brain jump back several feet. "They made him this way!" he shouts. "They made him so he wouldn't evolve, so even if we found him we couldn't give him a core!" How dare Krim do this, create a twisted, stunted version of what a Roidmude is meant to be! “He can't grow, can't evolve, can't…” Heart's fury turns to cold shock. "He can't be one of our Promised Number."
Brain's mouth twists for a moment as he stares at 000's misshapen body. "Shouldn't we just... get rid of him, then?" His words stab into Heart's chest. "What's the point, if there's not even a chance he could evolve?"
Heart breathes in slowly, clenching his teeth and taking a moment to blunt his anger; Brain doesn't deserve to receive the full brunt of it. He isn’t Heart's enemy. Before Heart even speaks he sees Brain falter, perhaps balking at the look on Heart's face. "We can't, Brain, aren't you listening to me?" he says at last, when he's calmed himself enough to speak without shouting. "That's what Krim wants us to do. He made 000 like this so that we'd reject him." He looks down at 000's strange, ugly face, and feels overwhelmed with pity. "Made to be discarded, with no purpose but to kill his own brothers and sisters, and go on killing until one of us kills him," he says, aching with sorrow. He looks up at Brain miserably. "It's too cruel. We can't let it end that way, not for one of our own."
"...Fine," says Brain. "I'll do what I can for him. It'll be more difficult, since we can't give him a new core."
"Thank you," Heart replies. "Do whatever you need to. I just want him to live."
Brain shifts into his evolved form to get to work, and Heart holds onto 000's hand more tightly. You won't be thrown away, he promises 000 silently. I'm going to give you a new purpose, and a place at my side, as my brother.
For a while they're silent; Brain needs to concentrate, and Heart isn't about to interrupt. Neither of them speaks again until Brain lays his hand on 000's forehead. "I don't think I can alter his programming," Brain says. "At least, not without endangering his life."
Heart's chest clenches again. He knows the dangers planted inside their minds well himself - failsafes meant to shut them down in the event that their programming was ever hacked. Whether those failsafes actually work is another question, but Heart has never been willing to risk a comrade's life to find out. And surely the risk is much higher with 000, given how long Krim has had to work him over. It makes Heart's stomach turn, thinking about Krim setting traps in 000's programming to ensure that attempts to rescue him would only destroy him. "There must be something you can do," he pleads. "I promised him..." Heart thinks for a moment; can they save 000 without touching his programming? Is it truly his programming that needs altering?
"I could," Brain says slowly, "erase his memory banks. Leave his programming intact, and erase his memories of being the Kamen Rider."
A spot of hope at last. "Would that work?" Heart asks. "There's nothing in his programming that'd make him attack us?"
Brain frowns and scans 000's programming again. "Nothing inherent," he answers. "His prime directive is to protect human life--"
"Of course," Heart grumbles. Thankfully Heart's Core Driviar had erased that part of his programming long ago; he and his comrades would still be slaves otherwise. But with no core of his own, 000 isn't so lucky.
"--and he isn't programmed with the volition to choose a target himself, except when defending." Brain taps a clawed fingertip absently against 000's temple. "He won't attack without an authority designating a target for him."
"Interesting," Heart says. "That sounds safe enough that even you shouldn't be able to disapprove." Even if he can't fight against the humans himself, 000 will at least be alive, and free from Krim manipulating him. Heart will find a purpose for him in time. He rubs his thumb gently across the back of 000's cold hand. "He mustn't remember," Heart adds more softly, sorrow creeping over him again. "He mustn't remember being Krim's prisoner, or fighting us." Fighting me. "It'll only hurt him if he remembers what Krim did to him, and made him do."
"He won't," says Brain firmly. Heart watches as a green glow spreads from Brain's fingers and reaches into 000's head.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Heart has the sense that he's somehow just sealed both 000's fate and his own. So be it, then. Wherever this leads us, we'll go there together.