Chapter 10: Unwanted Reunion
For the next year and a half, my daily routine was the same. Every mealtime, a new tray of that same grey mush was shoved into my cell. I ate it reluctantly, knowing that it was my only means of sustenance. Some days strange men would come in to poke me with needles or hook me up to machines that made funny noises. Then they would leave me alone in the darkness once more.
This day, however was different. A few minutes after I ate my meal, two large men came in and dragged me away to another part of the Correctional Facility. I didn't bother to try and resist them anymore. Even though they had stopped using the drug on me a long time ago, I knew it was hopeless. I walked between them in silence, only the clinking of my restraints making noises as I went.
We halted in front of a large lab room. I could see multiple men and women wearing white coats and goggles holding flasks and beakers filled with strange liquids. Why did they bring me here? I wondered to myself as the two men directed me to the back of the room. There was a man standing behind a desk with his back facing us. He was tall and thin with short brown hair. There was something about this man that seemed familiar to me.
"Oi!" Said one of the men holding me, "we've got the new specimen you requested." The man with the lab coat ignored him as he continued his experiment. This made the other man angry as well.
"Oi! Rou! Turn around!"
At that, the brown haired man turned around. My eyes widened in shock and my body felt numb with fear. No way! I thought, it can't be… "Kichirou!?" I cried out loud without realizing.
"Sorry for the hold up, I was in the middle of something… I needed to wait for the chemical reaction to stop." Rou said as he twirled the flask in his hand a few times before he placed it on his desk. The liquid inside turned from red to green in a matter of seconds. He had ignored my outburst, pretending like he hadn't heard. "Thank you gentlemen, will you please put him in position for me?"
The two men pulled me into another room inside of the lab. It was very large and full of many things I had never seen before… Computers and screens, strange tools, microscopes, flasks, beakers. At the center of the room was a cylindrical tank of unknown fluid. Suspended in this fluid was a large and strange entity with many wires coming out of it.
They removed my chains and strapped me into a chair. Rou walked over and put a helmet with wires on my head and an IV in my arm that stung as its contents began to flow through me. I tried to move, but the leather straps were far too tight. I was shaking all over, panic stricken. But then I heard it. There was music coming from within the tank, flowing through the helmet to my head… Like a familiar lullaby… Just like the wind songs of the forest. I closed my eyes and tried to listen…
The winds will sweep away all of, our souls,
And people will try to steal our hearts.
Oh nature, oh wind, oh sky, oh light,
Please help us to remain in this sacred place,
Oh please hear our prayers and save us!
Oh souls, oh hearts, oh love, oh dreams,
Watch over us so that we may return,
And abide with you forever.
The winds will sweep away all of, our souls,
And people will try to steal our hearts.
Nevertheless, I shall remain in this place
and continue to sing all of your songs.
Oh please, won't you help me,
And sing my song for all to know!
Oh please, will you help send my message to,
All of my children?**
"Shizen-Gami!" I gasped aloud in disbelief. I opened my eyes to see Rou standing before me, an evil grin spread across his face.
"Oh yes, Munsuta," he cackled, "that was your precious Shizen indeed!" He walked over to the large tank and pointed to the contents. "When you showed Her to me, I didn't know what it was at first, but then when I saw Her demonstrate Her powers, I was fascinated. So the night before we left, I went back to that place you showed me and stole Her."
What!? What is he talking about!? Stole Her? How? He couldn't have!... I was shaking now, full of fear, anger, frustration, confusion… No way!
"Oh yes, we have Her now. We have taken Her and given Her a new name, Elyurias, the 'Queen Bee' of No. 6!"
This can't be… No! No! They took Her! Those monsters took Her! They killed my people, my family, destroyed my home, and even took our Mother!
I couldn't hold back my emotions anymore. Shizen's song was still buzzing in my ears. It was like Her final cry for help. My eyes were welling up. Tears streamed down my cheeks, unwavering, relentless. There was nothing I could do. The guilt that I felt from before had come back to me tenfold. Everything. All of this. It was all my doing...
It was at that moment that I realized that I would never trust anyone ever again.
**Listen to Elyurias's song on YouTube as sung by Nezumi's seiyuu:
I tried my best to match the syllables to the melody in English without changing the meaning too much… I couldn't get it to rhyme… It was challenging, but I think it turned out ok. ;)