𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐱
𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙨 . . .

The room was filled with clinks and clanks as the children played with the toys in the Rainbow Room. Play was one way to put it, they weren't exactly touching the toys in the first place, using their mind to move the objects and bend them to their will.

001 was one such child playing with a toy. She sat on the floor, legs crossed and hands lightly tightened up into fists as she made a small wooden car move around in circles, doing small loop-dee-loops and figure 8's. She smiled softly as she watched it.

Her peace was soon disrupted as she felt a harsh tug on her hair, breaking her focus with the car as it came to halt. She whined and turned her head to see a boy around the same age as her, head buzzed and face pulled into a snarky smirk.

002.

Even if they were only 12 years of age- or at least, 001 guessed they were around that age, she couldn't be certain- 002 had quite the knack for teasing and bullying 001. From time to time 001 would see him pick on a young girl that looked around 9 years of age, which she found rather unfair given the age gap. 001 had played with the young girl before after 002 had teased her, if she remembered correctly she was number eleven.

"You think you're better than me, don't you?"

002 spat out, leaning forward to take her long tresses again and tug on them once more. 001 flinched and tried to push his hand away but he just shoved her back with a look of disgust.

"Don't touch me!"

'You touched me first.', 001 thought, but she knew if she spoke up it would only anger him more. She knew she was a prime target of bullying, given her name and her appearance that stood out from the others. None of the other children had hair. 001 did. Long wispy locks of pale blonde hair that neatly sat on her head. 002 didn't like that she was different, it was as if she was special, and he wasn't. He didn't like 001 at all.

She glanced around the room, noting how none of the other children were focused on what was going on between One and Two. They were afraid of Two. But they were also afraid of One.

001 did note, however, that the handsome blonde attendant was sending a deadly glare towards 002. He didn't move from his post, or even turn his head towards them, but his eyes fixated on the back of Number Two's shaved head. If looks could kill, 002 would have been six feet deep.

Another rough tug on her hair made her eyes snap back to the boy in question, she held her head slightly, rubbing her scalp to relieve the pain as she drowned out 002's words. She watched his mouth open and close, but she didn't listen. It was always the same things. "You're worthless", "Don't think you're better than me", "You better watch your back".

They both jumped in surprise as the double doors opened, and they looked up to see their Papa walk in. 001 and 002 rushed forward along with the other kids to stand in line, letting out a chime as they greeted the man.

"Good morning children, ready to get some work done I hope?"

"Yes Papa."

Brenner nodded firmly, glancing briefly at One and Two, as if he knew they had been squabbling, before turning on his heel and walking out the door. 001 was the first to follow, 002 behind her, and so on so forth, the numbers filing out one by one behind their Papa. The orderly's left their posts to follow after the children from behind, and 001 briefly glanced behind her, down the hall, to meet eyes with the blonde attendant. Their glance was no longer than a second but it was enough to encourage the young girl.

Entering a dimly lit room, the children lined up against the wall in numerical order. In the center of the room sat a chair that faced a wheel of lightbulbs. This was a regular test they did. A test to see if they could light it up, a test to see if they had gotten any better at using their abilities. 002 was better than 001 at it, but to be fair her collar didn't help much.

Brenner nodded at the boy beside 001 and he moved forward to sit in the chair. 002 always went first as an example, something 001 could never understand. She was always last, despite being the first.

With wires straped to his head, 002 focused, and one by one, he slowly lit up the lightbulbs. He spun the lights in a circle, and Papa seemed very pleased with him, 002 was getting stronger. Last month he could only spin the lights a few times. But now he kept going until Papa told him to stop.

One by one the children went, and 001 watched with hope as 011 sat in the chair, but it didn't amount to much, as per usual. 011 wasn't very strong, as were other children. 001 and 002 were the strongest.

"Alright, and lastly. One. Please sit."

001 straightened up her back as she walked to the chair and sat down. Instead of strapping wires to her head, the attendants strapped a heavy metal collar around her neck. It weighed down on her shoulders, making the poor young girl slouch slightly, but she tensed up and forced herself to sit straighter.

Brenner held a remote in his hand, and clicking it on, the collar lit up and 001 felt weaker.

"Alright. Go on."

001 fought off the drowsiness and balled up her fists, focusing on one of the bulbs. However it stayed off, and she could hear 002 snicker. This made 001 furrow her brows deeper in concentration as she dug her nails into her palms.

The first bulb slowly flickered on.

001 seemed to forget to breathe as she let out a gasp for air, taking in a few breaths as she looked to Papa for approval. But seeing nothing but disappointment in his eyes, One frowned, turning back to look at the lightbulbs. She felt defeated, looking at the singular bulb alight. It wasn't fair that she had to wear the collar. The collar weakened her. Messed with her mind to make her drowsy and dampen her powers.

001 felt angry.

She dug her nails further into her palms, feeling them trickle with blood but she didn't care as she glared at the lightbulbs in rage.

One by one they lit up in a circle motion and began spinning. Brenner was relieved to finally see some results, but as the lights spun faster and faster he looked to 001.

"One, that's enough."

She didn't listen and, consecutively, the lightbulbs got brighter and brighter until they exploded. The other kids let out screams of surprise, but as the glass was broken, the lights were not as they only grew brighter, the whole room a blinding light. The chair and lights began to tremble as blood profusely fell from 001's nose and ears, but before she could go any further, a jolt of extreme pain ran through her body.

She screamed in agony and fell from her chair, the electric shock making her body spasm, knocking her head back on the floor.

_________________________

001 groaned as she slowly woke up, taking in her surroundings. White sheets, white walls, white clock, if she had known any better she would have thought she was in her room but she recognised the infirmary all too well.

She brought her hand up to her neck and hissed in pain as she felt the heavy metal collar still firmly attached to her flesh. Though there were no more jolts of electricity, her neck felt bruised and painful.

She glanced around for the nurse, wondering if she could take anything for the pain, but she was alone in the long room, the other beds were empty and the sheets pristine clean and neatly folded.

She slowly sat up and held her head as it spun, groaning as she tightly closed her eyes. After a few seconds it calmed, but was replaced by a pounding headache, one that started from the back of her head and made its way to the front in waves. She must have hit her head.

001 glanced up as the door opened, and although she was disappointed it wasn't the nurse, it was quickly replaced by relief as she found it was the blonde man, coming in rather sneakily and shutting the door lightly behind him.

He quickly came over and took 001's hand as he sat on the bed beside her, looking her over.

"Are you alright..?"

He sounded worried, he even looked worried, and 001 frowned deeply as she lightly squeezed his hand, not trying to reassure him, but reassuring herself that he was actually there.

"I'm... sorry."

She spoke up with tears forming in her eyes, and the attendant cooed and lifted his other hand to wipe away her tears.

"It was my fault.."

"No, no, don't say that, you're still learning."

001's eyes only weld up with more tears as she choked out something, something that the attendant seemed to be waiting to hear for a long time.

"I don't want to hurt anymore.. Papa hurts me... Number Two.."

The blonde man cut her off as he squeezed her hand tightly.

"Don't call him that. Don't call him Papa. A real papa would never hurt his children. A real papa would never lie."

001 looked at him through tired eyes and furrowed brows. Lie? Papa lies too?

But she didn't get a chance to question him as he quickly took out a key card and handed it to her.

"Now I have no doubt you can get out on your own, without this. But you can use all the help you can get." His chuckle was bittersweet.

"What..?"

"You don't want to hurt anymore, right? You need to leave. Leave Papa. Leave the other children-"

"Leave you..?"

001 finished, he could see the sadness in her eyes. She didn't want to leave the man that had gotten her through all the hard times. He made her feel safe, almost loved and wanted.

He sighed and closed her hand around the card.

"You're strong enough without the card. But you're weak right now. You need to rest. But promise me you'll get out when you feel better. You deserve better. You deserve to see the world."

001 felt her anxiety rise as she started to panic, but the attendant didn't give her a chance to worry as he brought his hand up to her cheek and stroked it, a flash of sadness glimmering through his own eyes. He seemed to snap out of it as he cleared his throat and brought his hand up to pat her hair lightly, before standing.

"Rest, ok? And then get the hell out of here."

He grinned lightly, before turning and leaving the room as quickly as he entered.

_________________________

Alarms blared through the laboratory as the pitter-patter of bare feet slapped on the tile floor. 001 ran through the halls, key card firmly in hand. The collar was heavy around her neck but she pushed forward, ramming through doors and using her powers to slam them open.

Behind a set of doors stood a group of guards, yelling at her to turn back, but she yelled back incoherently, moving her hands up and watching the guards fly back. She pushed on, making it to a stairwell and running up to the upper levels of the lab, the levels above ground.

She continued on through the halls, pushing past shocked scientists and shoving them out of her way as she came up on the entrance of the facility.

But she stopped dead in her tracks.

There stood Brenner in front of the glass double doors, about a dozen of guards standing around him, guns pointed at 001. She froze, wide eyed, her hands trembling at the sight of the weapons.

"One.. this is all a misunderstanding. Come back home with your Papa."

001 looked towards the man, but his words only seemed to flip a switch in her mind as she glared at him, her hands no longer trembling with fear, but with anger.

"Papa's don't lie. Papa's don't hurt."

Brenner began to look frustrated, and he glanced at the guards, nodding at them. About half of them started to get closer to 001, but she raised her hands and roughly pushed them back with her telekinesis, causing them to stumble and fall over.

Brenner took the remote out of his pocket and held it up.

"This is your last chance, One."

001 threw the key card forward, and with her abilities it hurtled forward and sliced through Brenner's cheek. He flinched back and held his hand up to his face, and seeing the blood, he glared at the little girl and pushed the button on the remote.

Jolts of electricity flashed through 001's body, causing her to scream in agony as she falls to her knees, but slowly the screams turned into screams of anger as she shakily stood back up on her feet. Brenner turned up the volts but the more it ran through her body, the angrier she became, until she finally seemed to explode.

The lights at the entrance exploded, along with the collar around her neck, and she waved her hands forward roughly, sending a surge of power towards Brenner. He flew back and crashed through the glass doors.

The guards watched in horror, raising their guns and firing at will, but 001 raised her hands, the bullets stopping mid air in front of her. Wave after wave, the bullets were suspended, and when the guards ran out, 001 pushed her hands forward, sending them flying back.

001 slowly walked forward, ignoring the blood that pooled out of her nose, dripping down her chin. She stepped through the double doors and walked on the broken glass towards her Papa, the shards cutting into her feet but she didn't seem to feel the pain. She stood beside Brenner and glowered down at him.

"You don't deserve my anger.. or my pity."

She spat out, watching him stare up at her in fear, before she began walking down the drive way they led out of the lab. The guards standing at the towering metal gate were pushed away without hesitation, and 001 bore daggers at the gate, watching it groan and contort, creating a hole for One to walk through.

As she left the grounds of the lab, walking down the road, she stared at the sky and the fiery colours that erupted from it as the sun slowly set.

The symbol of the end of a cycle.

The symbol of a new beginning.

-•-
author's note 。

I'm baaaack!

Sorry for making you all wait, but I thought that a flashback chapter was in order, and we finally find out why she named her cat Sunset!

ALSO???

100K???

HELLO???

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH???

I was not expecting this book to get some many reads but I'm so honored to have you all here on this wonderful journey, and I can't wait to finish this book and watch Willow and Eddie grow together eeeee!!!

Sincerely,
𝔎𝔥𝔞𝔬𝔰 。