Chapter 10
Exhausted, Enzan flopped back into his chair and resumed his silent vigil; since arriving at the hospital with Ben nearly ten hours ago he had quietly waited for his friend to regain consciousness, but the American never did. Doctors had come and gone several times, each taking some vital scrap of data: a few vials of blood, temperature, charts from the electroencephalogram, more blood, charts from the electrocardiogram, retinal response tests, still more blood. At Ben's earlier request, Enzan had made certain to prevent Meiru, or anyone else, from entering the room. If his friend ever awakened, he'd have to ask why.
Without a sound, another doctor walked in, lifting Ben's medical chart to his face. Enzan chuckled bitterly, "If you've come for blood, I don't think he has any left, they've been here three times already."
"You misunderstand, my name is Marichiko Henza, and I will be Mr. Bradt's attending physician."
"Excellent," Enzan rose and approached him, "I have some questions for you then, about his physical state."
Before he could get closer, the doctor raised a hand, and Enzan felt a nurse lay a hand on his shoulder. "I understand you're concerned about your friend, but he's safe in my hands, although I must ask you to depart so that you won't be in the way."
"In . . . the way?!" Enzan felt rage stirring inside him, but as he tried to approach the doctor, the nurse tightened his grip and proceeded to drag the net saviour out of Ben's room.
"If you have any information about your little friend's prior medical treatment, fill out the appropriate forms at the desk, otherwise you can come visit him in three days, after my preliminary tests are completed." The doctor pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose, dismissing Enzan with a wave. IPC's CEO left the hospital under his own power, but not before smashing a vase, kicking over a table, swearing profusely at the doctor and the nurse, breaking the arm of the man who escorted him out, and instructing his chauffer to stay at the hospital and ensure that no one but the hospital's staff was allowed to see Ben; it was the least he could do for his friend.
---
In the secluded corner of the Undernet they had chosen to set up base in, Dante stared out across the net, eyes vacant. Inside the building behind him he was dimly aware of Jezebel as she kept Enker entertained, at Dante's direction of course. As stupid and short sighted as the golden navi was, he was undeniably powerful, which made him useful. He could be rewritten much the same as Slur, but as the only one with access to battle chips and an operator, and any changes would be easily discovered and the plans damaged. For the moment, it was wiser to indulge his shallow whims, until such a time as his usefulness was exhausted.
A noise behind him told Dante that Enker was done with the girl, and he turned to face the gleeful golden navi. "You really broke the mold with that one, mate; she sure is a hot little number. And those hands . . ." Enker shivered in pleasant memory.
Dante clucked his tongue disdainfully, "anyway, if you're done with her, please tell her I have need of her abilities." Enker nodded and excused himself, and moments later Jezebel approached the green haired navi. "You have sensed the souls of so many navis; in your experience, before serving me, did you ever encounter navis with an . . . innate disposition similar to your own?"
Jezebel nodded, "there are a number of navis who might join our cause; navis who formerly served organizations such as World Three or Gospel. I imagine that there are even a few neutral navis you might be able to entice. You do have certain . . . ways about you." The girl batted her lashes at him, and for a second Dante considered the unspoken proposal; she was beautiful, and in life he'd enjoyed the company of women. But his life wasn't about enjoyment, it was about revenge.
"Create a list of navis, both with and without operators, who are worth approaching. Include not only prior or potential offenders, but neutrals who've deliberately avoided any sort of formal role in previous conflicts." Hiding her disappointment, Jezebel bowed her head and slinked back into the building.
As the beautiful red head reentered their base, Enker considered taking another go at her, but his helmet radio crackled to life. "Enker . . . ENKER this is Regal, respond."
The gold navi sneered, "Don't get yer knickers in a twist junior, I'm here."
The scientist ignored Enker's jibe, "the virus is loose, he detonated my PET and fled to the web. We need to reconnoiter and come up with a plan to track him."
"Breathe easy doc, I'm with him right now."
The same mixture of excitement and fear flooded Regal's vision, and for a second he could not speak. "Has . . . has he attempted to infect you?"
"Naw gov, he's an alright bloke." Enker's chuckling voice set the scientist at ease, "even made a sweet little bird for me to play with. And trust me gov, she IS sweet."
"So, he's petitioned to be our ally?"
"Correct, Doctor Regal," Dante's voice came across the transmission, the sweet baritone having the same effect as before as it snaked around Regal's neck, "I'm terribly sorry for any injury you might have sustained in my previous escape. I was confused and still adjusting to this magnificent body you've designed for me."
"It's alright Dante," Viktor smiled at his computer, "I've replaced the PET already. Why don't you three come to my computer, and we can discuss things. Like revenge," a tinge of hatred trickled into Viktor's voice, and Dante smiled at the unspoken opportunity."
"We would be delighted."
---
Walking home in the rain, fuming, the sudden alert from his PET nearly made Enzan jump out of his skin. "Enzan, it's an email, from Boushi."
The waterlogged boy mopped his soggy hair back from his face as he retrieved the device. "Bradt's navi? Read it to me."
"Mr. Ijuin, I have chosen to contact you as I have not been able to get any response from my operator for nearly twelve hours now. Is Ben alright, please respond. Boushi."
"Send a reply: Ben is in the hospital and has not regained consciousness, doctor's say they will observe him and expect him to awaken in three days time. I am skeptical. Enzan."
After sending the reply, Enzan dashed into the door arch of Higureya, staving off the rain while he waited for a reply. He didn't have to wait long. "Humans never cease to amaze me with their grandiose misconceptions of their own omnipotence. Please come to Mr. Bradt's home residence; the attached link is a map, and you will find all the doors unlocked. I will meet you inside. Boushi."
It took forty-five minutes to reach his friend's house, and as he entered the main hall through the unlocked door he was made audibly aware of the amount of water that pooled around his feet with every step. "Welcome Mr. Ijuin, I've been expecting you." An inhuman voice rang out in the unlit stillness, and as Enzan's eyes began to adjust, a door down the hall clicked open, and a soft red light spilled out. "Please come down to the study; you can dry off at the fire while we sort out this unpleasantness."
Down the hall and through the doors, Enzan found himself in a comfortable, fire lit library. Book shelves stretched up to the cathedral ceilings, painting the walls in a century's worth of knowledge. The fireplace roiled like a living being, and the waves of heat soaked into the boy's bones, finally beginning to eradicate the chill. A computer screen stationed atop a mahogany desk winked on, and Enzan found himself staring at Bradt's featureless red navi. "It's nice to finally meet you Boushi."
"You as well Mr. Ijuin, though I wish it was under better circumstances." The navi crossed his inhuman hands behind his back, "if you would please explain to me, in detail, the events leading up to my operator's hospitalization."
Enzan explained in detail the fight with Forte, the race through the cars, Ben's treacherous climb along the train's top, their attempts to disable the engine, Ben's decision to extract the primary conduit, and his subsequent ejection and collapse. "I'm not sure what happened exactly, but he almost seemed to slow down and just . . . stop."
Boushi nodded, "it sounds very simple to me. Adrenaline, like all stimulants, causes the body's metabolism to burn through nutrients and medications so quickly that they only actually have a third of their actual efficiency. The adrenaline in his system caused his internal stores of Dopamine to deplete sixty-six percent faster than normal, and once the stores were expended his brain could no longer function."
"What is Dopamine?"
"Dopamine is an experimental drug based off a synthetic cerebral enzyme, naturally produced in the body to stimulate synaptic response; as a side-effect of his accident, Ben's brain doesn't naturally release Dopamine, so he has to take regular shots of it in order to keep his mind active. Without it, his non-autonomous systems begin to shut down, and he enters a coma-like state."
"How does someone's brain just stop producing a natural chemical like that?"
"Extremely prolonged periods of erratic cerebral activity," the red navi began to pace, "say a hallucinogen was in your system and forcing you to perceive terrible things on a constant basis. This prolonged input would make it impossible for you to sleep, and eventually, after weeks and weeks of being unable to get a rest from the stimuli your brain would have produced so much of the chemical that the gland that secretes it would give out due to overuse."
"So, he has a prescription for Dopamine? How do I give it to him?"
"He has several prescriptions, located on the window sill in the kitchen, over the sink. The Dopamine comes in pre-measured hypodermic syringes of sixty milligrams each, to be administered into the vein in the crook of the elbow. Although," Boushi scratched his chin, "considering the preexisting degree of depletion, I would suggest injecting the Dopamine directly into the jugular, ensuring immediate cerebral contact and rapid results. Do you know how to administer an injection?"
Enzan nodded, "I have an uncle who's diabetic; he taught my cousins and I how to administer his insulin boosters in the event he ever went into hypoglycemic shock."
"Then take all of the medications to him, and administer the Dopamine shot. He has not taken any of the other medicines since eleven PM yesterday, and without his immuno-suppressants his body will attempt to destroy the organic implants and transplants he's received in the course of his life; after twelve hours his body will begin attacking the implants, at twenty-four hours the nerve interfaces will begin to reject the grafts. His artificial organs will cease functioning correctly at thirty-six hours, and his life functions will cease at forty-eight. It is eight o'clock now, which means you have three hours in which to administer his medicine, before his body begins to reject the nerve grafts. Once it reaches that point, the chain reaction of system failures is all but irreversible."
"Don't worry Boushi; I'll bring him home safe, I promise." The two shared a mutual nod before Enzan went to the kitchen, collecting the assortment of medicines Ben kept in the window sill; before reentering the rain, he stopped to grab an umbrella from the hall closet.
---
Concealed by a fichus and a rolling rack of nurse's uniforms, Meiru cautiously spied on Ben's hospital room, and the suited gentleman who stood between her and her ailing American friend. Enzan had been turning her away all day, and when she saw him leave she thought it'd be her chance to slip in, but the ever cautious VP had left his chauffer to stand guard. For the past hour, Meiru had watched him put away cup after cup of the hospital's bitter coffee; finally, after finishing what must have been his twentieth cup, the older man ambled off in search of a rest room. Grinning to herself, Meiru dashed across the hall and into Ben's room, totally unprepared for what she would see.
The American was unconscious, lying atop an examination table with only enough clothing to conceal his modesty. His body was a map of scars, bone white ridges that told the story of a pain unimaginable. Had they been simultaneous injuries, one would assume he could not have survived, so Meiru told herself that he must have undergone numerous surgeries throughout his short life. She could see now the metal appendages, glinting in the harsh light, tracing back to his body and an ugly nest of scars where the metal touched his flesh. Around him surged several doctors and nurses, swathed in white masks, and as she had gone unnoticed they made no attempts to censor their voices.
"God, what a freak, I don't know whether or not to call an electrician."
"Check out the cybernetics, I've never seen anything so advanced."
"Look at these x-rays, he has artificial implants."
"Figure out how to take those limbs off, we'll need to submit them for study."
"Why not? It isn't like he's using them." A chorus of laughter rippled through the room, "and someone contact Oshidura Medical Center. I want life support machines up here by morning; I want to be able to send some of these artificial organs in with the limbs."
"That's disgusting!" Meiru didn't realize she had said it until the physicians turned to face her, "He's a human being, and you're talking about parting him out as if he were a car! You're a bunch of monsters!"
"Remove her," the lead doctor pointed at Meiru, and two nurses grabbed her arms and started dragging her out of the exam room.
"Let me go, let me go!" Meiru struggled against the two orderlies, but they were much stronger than the girl, and her thrashing attempts were futile. As they walked into the hallway a flash of blue caught Meiru's eye, and one of the orderlies released her as a length of metal slashed across his face. Enzan shouted wordlessly as he charged, wielding the umbrella like a sword, and rammed the other orderly in the gut. The bigger man fell backwards, and Enzan dragged Meiru into Ben's room. Once inside, Enzan gave Meiru the umbrella in favor of an IV stand, and the pair drove the doctors out of the room.
While Enzan barred the door, Meiru ran over and began trying to wake up the American. "Ben, Ben wake up, we need to go!" She shook him a few times, and then shouted at Enzan. "I think they've got him drugged, he's not responding."
"He's in a coma," the other net saviour came over to Meiru's side, pulling several medicines from his coat pockets, "his navi said he needs these or he'll die. If we give him one of these shots, he should wake up."
As Enzan prepared to give Ben the shot, a crash alerted him, and he turned to see the doors coming open. The larger orderlies from before were using a gurney as a battering ram, and the first blow had all but destroyed Enzan's barricade. He set the needle down and ran across the room, bracing himself against the doors. He looked back to shout instructions to Meiru, but found the girl already administering the shot into Ben's jugular, then running over to Enzan's side. She tore the power cord out of a nearby floor lamp, and as the orderlies rammed the gurney through the gap of the door she touched the bare wires to the metal frame of the battering ram, eliciting howls from the attacks as the electric shock made them jump back.
Enzan stared at her, eyes wide with surprise. The pink-haired net saviour chuckled, "what? In the years I've had Dekao chasing me, you don't think I would've come up with at least a few non-lethal deterrents?"
The boy smiled at her, "that's twice today you've impressed me Sakur-, I mean, Meiru."
The pink-haired girl smiled broadly, glancing over as she heard Ben stir, "let's see if we can make it three."
---
"Hit them again," Doctor Marichiko snarled at the orderlies, "I can't believe you allowed two children to stall us for this long. Who knows what might happen to the specimen?" As the orderlies prepared to ram the doors again they opened, and on the other side stood Meiru and Enzan, each flanking the imposing form of Benjamin Bradt. Seeing his patient awake and angry, the doctor rushed forward, placing a hand on the American's shoulder in faux concern. "Mr. Bradt, you shouldn't be up yet, let me escort you back to your bed for some rest."
Glaring pitilessly at the doctor, Ben jabbed with his right fist, slamming the prosthetic into the doctor's crotch. Even with the glove on the leather served little to cushion the impact, and Henza collapsed into a heap, retching into his lap. "That's for stabbing me under my fingernails with a pin to prove to the others I was unresponsive before cutting me up for sale, you son of a bitch." The angry American took two steps toward one of the nurses, who bolted into a run; had he stuck around, he would have seen Ben tip backwards, stopped from hitting the ground only by the quick intervention of his friends, who each caught an arm.
"Enzan," Ben said weakly, "please don't leave me here; I'm afraid I'll wake up as nothing but a head."
"Don't worry my friend; I'll take you straight home."
Ben sighed, "thank you Enzan, Meiru." He went limp, and the pair escorted him out to Enzan's limo.
---
When Ben next awoke, he was in his own bed, still dressed in the backless hospital gown. He dressed slowly, body aching, and slowly stumbled toward the kitchen. Upon entering the tiled room, a cup of coffee was thrust into his hands, and as he groggily nodded his thanks Meiru's kind voice greeted him. Blinking slowly, he squinted, only to find that Meiru really was standing in front of him, and that his robe really wasn't tied. "Sweet Jesus!" The American spun around, nearly throwing his coffee onto the counter as he rushed to tie his robe closed.
Meiru giggled, "You were covered, relax." Ben checked himself, sighing in relief at the sight of blue satin shorts. "We stayed the night to make sure you woke up in the morning, but that alone made this entire sleepover worth the wait."
"Good morning Ben," Enzan smiled slightly as he entered the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast bar, where a second cup of coffee sat. Like Meiru, he too showed the signs of dishevelment akin to a night on a couch. "I did some research last night; apparently, the vast assortment of medicines you take aren't listed on the FDA's approval list. Hell, they're not even listed in the medical registry. So I'm asking, again, for your explanation."
"Come on Enzan," Meiru glowered, "don't be so rude, he just woke up."
Ben shook his head, "I owe both of you my life, for last night and the day before; you've each saved my life at least once in the past seventy-two hours. I owe you at least an explanation, but I expect to owe you an explanation, and breakfast."
Enzan nodded, and Meiru giggled as Ben set about the kitchen, pulling various implements and ingredients from the cupboards. "Wow, nobody's ever cooked breakfast for me before."
"Then you are a deprived child," Ben said teasingly as he began to crack eggs onto the griddle, "and it's my pleasure to be the first."