Chapter 8

The first flight of stairs took me to the bunker, just as Ryuu said. After a few moments of further exploration, and another zap of electrical current through my cybernetic arm, I discover the location of the next magical doorway with descending steps.

The further I go down, the more the temperature drops to inhospitable levels. With visible puffs of breath in front of me, I continue until I reach the last step. What looks like an empty doorway is shadowed in inky blackness. My heart hammers inside of my chest as I take a step forward, keening my hearing to everything around me as I swivel my ears.

When my foot crosses the threshold, the room automatically illuminates itself in a wave toward the back of an enormous room that houses tables, computerized systems projected on the walls as well as strange cylindrical chambers in the middle, filled with bubbling liquid.

Tapping my cybernetic arm, I enter the code that syncs my systems with the watch I left at home. A small holographic image projects into the air above my forearm as I twitch my head accordingly to see if I can tap into the house's mainframe. With my concentration on the information I'm gathering, I almost miss the lab files on everything that's been happening down in this strange room.

My breath hitches when I go back a few pages and open a few more windows to clarify what I think I'm seeing. When the information marques across the screen once more, I snap my head up and quickly make my way toward the large cylinders.

Pressing my hands and face against each one of the ten that lines up beside one another, I desperately search to see if there is any familiarity. But the liquid is too opaque and the bubbles askew whatever is inside.

"Please, please!" I whisper under my breath as my body temperature rises from my desperation, going from cylinder to cylinder, pressing my nose against it, hoping to see something.

Chassis Black's computer systems are not just chalk full of files, blueprints, and plans involving Sparktec Omnicorp and the technology that runs through Neo Opus on the eastern lands toward the Pacific but also of a secret, forbidden experiment held in this very lab. The plans indicate theories on synthetically merging human and monster DNA in specific increments, utilizing specifically chosen mitochondria strands in order to create the ultimate biological weapon. Some of the information is written in ancient text I'm unfamiliar with, leaving more questions than answers.

Blinking back tears, I slow my steps to the last cylinder and press my hands against the glass.

Si-Jung Laska's name flit through the multitude of files and I made myself scroll back to double and triple check to make sure my eyes weren't betraying me.

A hand emerges from the bubbles and hits the glass from the inside. Holding my breath, I slowly raise my eyes to where her head should be. Is she still here? Am I getting anxious for no reason? The files were dated farther back than her reported kidnapping per the media. But how can that be?

Maybe it's another Si-Jung.

It can't be her.

When dark hair comes forth, my heart stops as I let out a shaky breath, eyes sharp on the sight before me. Her eyes are closed, face in a relaxed expression as her head floats forward.

Tears blur my eyes as I wrack my brain on what to do. What started as a simple retrieval mission has turned into something much more morbid in a grander conspiracy.

The heiress of Milicron Corporation is both victim and weapon against her own father's reign.

A whisper from the shadows has my hackles rising as I twitch my head and quickly tap onto my cybernetic arm to gather as much information about the experiment as I can before I'm caught.

One of the walls shifts as an air lock is released and I duck. "There was movement here. You two go to that side of the room and the rest of you follow me."

Their boots move in synchronization as if they are soldiers and my eyes widen. How am I going to escape this unscathed and free? Tucking my tails between my legs, I crawl along the floor away from their footsteps. The entry point is a few yards too far as I stay in place, waiting.

"Nothing on this side."

"This side is clear too."

"Check near the cylinders."

Crap.

My ears flick back as I hone my hearing toward the soldier that's sent my way. Gritting my teeth, I wait a few minutes before I risk it all and bolt for the doorway.

"What's that? Right there! Stop that person!"

Lasers hit the wall, sending rubble to the ground as I slide in my boots with my body bent down beneath their line of sight until I pass the threshold. Thank goodness for boots.

These corporate enforcers gain speed as I grab my dress and ascend the steps as fast as my legs can carry me. One shoots out an arm and I leap, kicking him in the face, tumbling him against the rest down the stairs as I make my way through the bunker. Frantically looking around, I tell myself there must be an emergency lock down system somewhere.

Tapping on my arm, I scream into my cybernetics. "Bring up the blueprint of this house!"

The information I siphoned flits through the many windows until it lands on a holographic of exactly what I ask for. Throwing my hood down, I leap toward one of the smooth walls and feel along the seams until lights come to life. Tapping the walls and praying, an alarm blares and the sound of locking mechanisms engage.

I need to be quick. With all the agility I can muster, I dive for the direction of the next set of steps. My periphery catches one of the enforcers beginning to cross the threshold only to have the airlock slam down on his torso, cutting it in half as blood sprays the empty walls in patterns. His cry of agony rings in my ears beyond the blaring of the sirens as I swallow down bile and turn, never looking back.

When I exit the office, I run my hands along the books until hitting the magic field, moving the wall back into place. The moment it settles, all sound has cut off as if nothing happened. But I'm not a fool to think that will be the end of my problems. The house's systems are probably all interconnected and the owner has been notified.

Slinking out of the room, I smooth down my dress and bring my hood up, quickly schooling my features as I sashay out the area in search for Ryuu. The living room and bar are empty, telling me everyone has migrated outside. Good. It might buy me some time.

Exiting the glass doors, I grab a drink off a servant's tray and search my surrounding area while pretending to take a sip of the expensive drink. As if reading my vibrations, Ryuu's head snaps up from the group he's conversing with and he excuses himself to make his way toward me with a soft smile.

When we're close enough, I can see the strained tension in his eyes at trying to hold up the act.

I discreetly look left and right, sure I have eyes and ears on me before clearing my throat. "M-Master, I wish to return home."

Ryuu's eyes dilate as his nostrils flare but he doesn't miss a beat as he takes my arm and sends a few farewells as he swiftly takes us down the driveway and contacts his hovercraft driver to take us back.

A few minutes of standing and the tell tale signs of chaos ensues. Shouts come from the distance, behind the home and I begin wringing my hands in front of me as we watch Ryuu's hovercraft approach. One of my ears swivel at the sound of footsteps running toward us right before Ryuu shoves me into the back of the hovercraft unceremoniously, following right behind me.

The driver peels off before Ryuu is completely in and my eyes widen at the angry faces missing their leap toward his leg. On the next hard turn, Ryuu turns and slams the back door shut before he turns to me. "What did you find?"

My lips tremble as I begin to ramble everything that's haunted my mind. His face is stern but he listens intently, nodding every now and then.

"Some of my demons remained behind. We head back to one of the clubs on the outskirts of Fortune City for the time being instead of the Nexus."

"What do we do, Ryuu? How do we get her out of there?" As much as I try to figure out a strategy, I come up with nothing. Other than hacking into his security systems and bringing in a larger group for retrieval, I don't see another other possible way. And now that they are alerted to an intruder, their surveillance will be increased two fold. The possibility of them changing the lab locations is also high, leaving us to start from scratch once again.

How can I fail Si-Jung yet again? Guilt threatens to shatter any last semblance of confidence I have.