Reaper of the Revolution

Flashback - Jane's lab - Interior

Dis is...bad. Yuri said, shaking his head as he looked down at Leo's charred corpse. The entire left arm was blown off, skin peeled back and vaporized. Not a single area on this poor boy wasn't charred. He's better off with a proper burial. Yuri continued, taking a long drag of his cigarette. No, I can still save him. I can still protect him. Cyrus said, standing beside Yuri and staring down at his dead friend. Yuri shook his head, holding the cigarette by his side while smoke leaked from his nostrils, Even if we brought him back as you want, the organ tissue has already begun to die. His brain...I don't know what I could salvage from it.
I'll worry about that, I just need you to keep what's left of him intact. He turned to leave, heading deeper into the lab to begin building the mechanical structures of what Leo would become before turning back, And Yuri, this is all kept between you and me. The others...they might not see what we're doing in the same light.
Dah, truthfully I don't know if we see what we're doing in the same light. Cyrus stared at Yuri for a long minute before turning and leaving the doctor to his devices.

----------- 3 Months Later ------------

For the next several months Yuri and cyrus would work side by side, toiling away. Cyrus would update Jane's lab, bringing it back on line while Yuri worked to salvage what was left of Leo and keep it usable within a refrigeration unit they found in the back of the lab. With the lab back up and ready to be used, Cyrus would begin designing the schematics for the new and improved Leopold. Yuri had said its brain function would be primitive, most likely forgetting or at least unable to interpret any memories it might have. Speech would be nonexistent, but it would maintain its primitive thoughts and instincts. It could breathe on its own, see, understand danger and how to react to a situation. For everything else Cyrus would craft a make-shift AI, similar to what he found while dissecting some of Jane's robots over the months. For the outer shell and appearance he would craft a completely new body. Golden armor to appear imposing and powerful, something that would carry Leo's legacy until the end of time. He'd have the titanium and seastone he'd need shipped in from Drum by his crew, at least until the new Ore Refinery was built here on Baltigo. With Leo's main nervous system still intact Cyrus would be able to create a system of harvesting and distributing the naturally flowing electro throughout the cyborg's body, allowing it to use all of the same skills Leo once knew.

On one particular day, about halfway through completion, Yuri asked Cyrus, Do you really think this is what he would have wanted? Cyrus stared down at the half-armored creation. He had already recreated a brand new left arm for the body and welded the remains of the skin to a new titanium leg. It took him a long minute to answer before finally, It doesn't matter, it's what's right. When he or you or anyone joined my crew, I promised to keep you safe. That so long as you served faithfully under me and under the Revolution I would weather any storm with you and we would come out the other side. If I let him die. If I throw in the towel and just bury him in some ditch somewhere, then that promise and my word mean nothing. The two stood in silence, standing over their dead friend, stuck somewhere between the land of the dead and that of the living. Yuri placed a large hand on Cyrus's shoulder, squeezing gently, He knew what was required of him when he joined. He was not assigned to you, he requested you. Remember that, Captain. With that, Yuri left and Cyrus went back to work.  

------- 3 More Months later -------

It had been six months since Cyrus's fight with Jane and Leo was finally completed. Rise. Cyrus instructed the half Mink half Cyborg and so it did, fully controlled by Cyrus's wishes. From the back corner of the lab Yuri watched, cigarette in hand, while Cyrus test ran the Cyborg's AI, making sure motor function was up to speed and it complied with all requests and actions. After several minutes of watching this display, Yuri finally spoke up, What happens when I kick the bucket then Captain? What happens when these death sticks finally take my life, clog my lungs and I go to the pearly whites? Are you going to rip me back down and stuff me into a mechanical suit like you did with Leo? How about Zoe? Maybe attach a gatling gun for each breast? I'm sure Alice will make a fine addition to the ship when you integrate her brain into The Dreadnaught's new AI. Yuri flicked his cigarette butt to the ground, smashing it with the heel of his boot, visibly agitated. Cyrus turned to look at the doctor he had called a friend for the last four years, The project is fully operational, thanks to you Yuri. You're no longer necessary for completion, thank you for your time, I know it's been stressful. You're free to take a vacation for the next couple of months, any funds you may need are free to use. Thank you. Cyrus said in a voice more robotic than anything he himself had created before turning back to his project. This creation...you might have the best of intentions Captain, but this is dark work. Do not worry, your dirty secret is safe with me, I'm a man of my word as you clearly are as well. I just have my limits. Yuri said before turning and walking out of the lab for the final time, Cyrus not even so much as turning around to watch him go.

The next few months would be dedicated to working on the cyborg's defensive and offensive systems. While it still had the function of Leo's original skills and abilities, Cyrus had plans for other tools as well. Of course he would need Daimos's help but judging on how Yuri had reacted to the final creation, Cyrus had no intention of letting the short blacksmith know what these weapons would be for. Instead he would collaborate with Daimos and then have the man notify him when they were ready. From there he would pick up the weapons and bring them back to the lab to integrate them into Leo 2.0 himself. It was long, difficult work, but necessary. Someday Leo would rise again, even greater and more powerful than before. This time Cyrus wouldn't lose him, he couldn't. All throughout this experience Cyrus kept wondering, kept pondering if he could somehow convince the others to go under his knife, to convert to a life of immortality. A life that could not be truly extinguished so that Cyrus would never have to lose another loved one or friend again. What a perfect world that would be. A truly perfect world indeed.

Words: 1204
Using 3800 words from accumulated words to finish out the 5000 word requirement.