Lazuli entered the house after Chiga had already left some time ago.
The moment she stepped inside, a strange feeling crept over her. Something was wrong.
Just earlier, she had noticed Lapis's motorcycle parked by the door, which meant her brother was already home. But none of the lights inside the house were on.
Lapis hated the dark. The very first thing he always did when it got late was turn on every light in sight.
"Lapis?" Lazuli called softly, waiting a moment for a response. Nothing came back.
She tried again, louder this time, "Lapis?!"
Still silence.
Frowning, Lazuli switched on the entryway light, slipped off her shoes, and shouted with irritation, "Lapis, stop sleeping! It's almost time for dinner!"
When the silence continued, she sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. Heading upstairs, she noticed that her brother's door was slightly open. Pushing it aside, she entered his room—only to find Lapis lying motionless on the bed.
Hands on her hips, Lazuli marched to his side, leaned over, and smacked him on the shoulder. "Hey! How long are you planning to sleep? Get up already!"
But no matter how hard she shook or scolded him, Lapis didn't stir. The longer she tried, the deeper her frown became. Panic flickered in her chest as she finally realized something wasn't right.
"Brother!" she cried, shaking him more desperately.
Slowly, his eyes cracked open. His voice was weak, trembling. "Sister… run…"
"Run?" Lazuli's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"
A sudden thud resounded behind her. Pain exploded in the back of her neck, and Lazuli's body collapsed limply onto the bed.
Standing where she had been was a sharp-eyed, purple-haired woman in a crisp military uniform. Her chest bore a striking insignia: a red ribbon with two white letters, "R."
"Red Ribbon…" Lapis rasped, trying to push himself up. Before he could even rise, the woman's cold hand chopped down on his neck, sending him unconscious once again.
With frightening ease, she hefted the siblings under her arms, shattered the glass window with a single kick, and vanished into the night.
---
When Lazuli finally stirred awake, her head throbbed. She tried to move, but thick, metal restraints held her to a cold operating table. Her eyes darted around the room in alarm.
Beside her, Lapis lay restrained as well.
Before them stood the purple-haired woman who had captured them. Opposite her was an old man in a white lab coat, his sharp gaze filled with cruel intelligence.
Dr. Gero.
The man smiled thinly. "Excellent work, Colonel Violet. You've contributed greatly this time."
The woman smirked. "Hmph. It's only right. Besides, thanks to your enhancements, I now prefer to be called Android Twelve."
Lazuli's heart clenched.
She had heard of the Red Ribbon remnants before, but to see one standing here as a modified warrior was chilling.
Android 12 snapped her wrist aside, metal sliding open to reveal a blackened cannon barrel within her arm.
"You… you're a machine?!" Lazuli gasped.
12's lips curled in disdain. "Machine? Don't compare me to those rusted piles of junk. I am perfection."
Dr. Gero spread his hands proudly. "These are my artificial humans. The pinnacle of science, the greatest invention in the world!"
"No!" Lazuli shouted. "I don't want to become some… thing like that!"
Her protest only made Gero chuckle darkly. He turned to a nearby console and pressed a switch. With a hiss, two glass containers rose from the floor, each holding a glowing metal orb the size of a fist.
"These," he said with reverence, "are Eternal Energy Furnaces. Once I implant them into your bodies, you will have eternal youth and unimaginable strength. You should be honored."
Lapis groaned awake, catching fragments of Gero's words. His jaw clenched as he realized what they had been captured for.
"You disgusting old man," he spat, glaring with defiance, "let us go, or else—"
Gero raised an eyebrow, amused. "Or else what?"
Lapis's bravado faltered, but he forced the words out. "Or else the police will come after you!"
Gero burst into wild laughter, shaking his head. "Police? Hilarious. I thought you were going to say Uchiha Chiga!"
The name made both siblings stiffen. Lazuli's heart pounded as her hand instinctively brushed against the necklace hidden under her clothes—a charm engraved with the Flying Thunder God seal. She bit her lip hard and, silently, desperately, she began to call his name in her heart.
Chiga… please… save us.
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Milestone
100 Power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter.
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