Ziggurat Industries…hopefully not the grave of Jr. and Gaignun…

The sliding doors opened as we went in. I couldn't help but have this small disturbing sense that something was going to go wrong. But, that was easily blown away when I saw the design of the building from the inside. It was like one of those extra fancy, extra expensive 5 star hotels from a dream! The floor and the walls were made out of a shiny stainless steel and looked extremely polished. You could pretty much see your reflection when you looked at the floor or the wall!

Sakura had noticed the same thing I did and started making all of these goofy faces at the floor. I laughed with her and started making goofy faces along with her. It was just too fun to resist!

Some people walked past us, and made funny comments on our faces. Then they looked at Jr. by the floor and thought that he was really good at making spines on his face until they saw it. They then asked what the heck he did to actually get them on his face. Sakura and I struggled not to laugh as he answered as politely as he could. After creating a very convincing lie, he turned to me with his hands on his hips.

"C'mon! You're supposed to be responsible!" Jr. chided. "Have you forgotten that I am dying here?"

That immediately got me to attention. That's right! I totally forgot why we came here in the first place! C'mon, MOMO…focus! Keep your head in the game! Gotta get'cha…get'cha head in the game…wait! This isn't the time for singing! "Sakura! I think we've had enough about the faces…"

Sakura blew her cheek in anger and folded her arms across her chest. I heard her faintly mutter, "Fine…party pooper…"

We decided that the best course of action to see Daddy was to straight up ask if we could see him. So, we went up to the receptionist and greeted her. She stopped working and then gave us a strange look as if she seemed to know us.

"Aren't you…Mr. Sauer's children?" She asked, looking at both of us up and down quizzically. She looked at me and said, "You're Sakura…" She then turned to Sakura and said, "…and she's MOMO, right?"

Sakura shook her head no and corrected her, "No, she's MOMO and I'm Sakura."

The receptionist looked like she had been slapped in the face. "Oh, my apologies then…" The receptionist looked down at a list and flipped through the papers. "You don't have an appointment to see your father."

"Do we really need one?" I asked. "We're his daughters…"

"Your father is an incredibly busy man…" The receptionist typed a few things into her computer and then looked back at us after she saw our sad doggy-eyed faces. "I'll see what I can do then."

Sakura bowed. "Thank you."

"My pleasure. You can have a seat over there," She indicated the waiting area by the elevators. "I'll call you when I get a reply."

We all moved over and took a seat. They had a bunch of magazines so I took one up to read, a newspaper. The main article was about some man on the loose robbing banks. Though, it always ended up with him speaking some kind of revelation of money being the root of all evil. At least that's what the witnesses said.

"Huh…" Sakura commented, looking over at what I was reading. "Sounds a bit familiar, don't you think?" She was referring to the article that I had just read.

I thought about it and it did seem a little bit familiar. But, it could be a coincidence. "It couldn't be…" I replied.

"What?" Jr. asked, looking up from his Sports Report Magazine. Gaignun looked up from his Teen magazine and seemed interested as well to hear what Sakura and I were talking about.

"Oh, it's nothing for you two to worry about," Sakura said. Jr. was about to say something when Sakura was paying attention to something else. She got up and then prompted us to get up. "Hey, the receptionist is waving at us. Guess we got in!"

Well, at least Sakura got us out of telling a long story. It's something I don't want to talk about…but I'm over it now. Just remembering it still bothers me a little.

"Your father said to use his elevator to take you straight to his office," The receptionist explained. "It's right over there...the one with the number eight on it."

"Wow, pretty fancy, huh, MOMO?" Sakura asked as we strolled on over to the elevator. "Never would've thought Dad had it this luxurious…"

I nodded in agreement. The elevator opened and we were amazed at what was inside. It looked like a regular room; it had a nice huge comfortable couch near the back window, a table with some snacks on it, and some plants which added a nice comfortable feel to the room.

"Holy crap!" Jr. jumped on the couch and started eating the snacks as we got on. "This place is getting better and better!"

The elevator started to ascend upwards as we sat down on the couch next to Jr. We watched everything from below start growing farther and farther away as we continued up. We got to see more of the building and it was just as fancy and impressive as the lobby. We even got to see some really cool parts of the city!

After a few short seconds, we reached our destination and the elevator went ding when it opened its doors. We got out of the elevator and walked down the hallway into a circular room.

Entrance to Mr. Sauer's Room...the Gateway to Hell…

"Makes you kinda nervous just being here…" Gaignun remarked. I halfway agreed with him. Daddy was a good father…albeit not a very…sensitive one. He was like the Zigginator off that one movie…tough and very protective to the extreme. I tried not to let the thoughts of Jr. and Gaignun getting their butts kicked by Daddy bother me.

We approached the doors that led into his office and they slid open to reveal none other than the company president of Ziggurat Industries himself, my daddy.

He was hard at work writing furiously about something ruffling his slicked back, blonde hair with his hand. He didn't seem to notice that we had entered the room. We all stood there in an awkward silence not to disturb his work…but more importantly not to piss him off or else this entire building would crumble.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally put his pencil down and looked up at us. "Oh, I'm sorry…this work is rather…MOMO? Sakura? What are you doing here?"

"Didn't the receptionist tell you that we were coming?" Sakura asked as she went to take a seat. We all followed her lead because we didn't want to seem like statues.

Daddy rummaged through his things until he found a pad with some scribbled writing on it. It pretty much stated that we were on our way up to visit. Unorganized as always…

"I really need to get me a projector or something with my notes on it…" Daddy said as he got up from his chair. "So, girls, what did you stop by for? Your mother isn't out on a drunken rampage, is she? I just paid off some damage repairs for the S.O.C.E building she trashed recently."

Sakura shook her head no. "No, we were here to see if you could get us some medical attention for this boy here…" She grabbed his hand and pulled him forward so Daddy could get a better look at him.

"YOU WERE WITH A…" Before he exploded like a volcano, he suddenly noticed the spines sticking out of Jr.'s face. "Oh…that must be painful."

"Just a little," Jr. replied coolly. I'm surprised he could actually respond so casually. He must've been used to the pain by now. It had been about an hour or so since the porcupine attacked him.

"So, that's what you came here for?" Daddy asked. "You girls didn't go on a date with these boys and they didn't treat you badly?"

Sakura nodded.

"Alright, I'll get you a nurse right away…" Daddy dialed a number in his communicator station and a woman's voice sounded through the speakers. She sounded pretty young too.

"Yes, Jan?"

"Melisse, I need you up in my office. We have a teenage boy here with needles stuck in his face."

The doctor totally exploded, "Jan, you did what?! How could you lose your temper again! I've told you a million…"

"That's not it! Geez, woman, don't go assuming just because of some accidents before!" Daddy shouted angrily. He looked like he was going to crush the phone but quickly calmed himself down to look at Jr.'s face again. "It looks like it's from a porcupine."

"Really then…? I'll be right up after I finish treating Lactis and his problem. Stupid bladder..." Melisse hung up and Daddy got up from his chair.

"You two boys," Daddy ordered. He pointed towards the two chairs facing his desk. "Over there. I need to talk to my girls in private."

Gulp…

Jr. and Gaignun hastily obeyed and quickly sat down in their seats without looking back. Daddy grabbed both me and Sakura by the waist gently and took us outside. I was surprised that he was actually this strong since he was a businessman. Guess it explains how he can break things so easily. Naturally, we didn't do anything or else he'd probably get suspicious.

Daddy put us down on the couch in the lobby. He sat on the table right behind him and looked at both of us seriously. He put his hands together and then asked, "Alright, where the two have you been? And what the heck happened to that red-haired boy?"

I shifted uneasily from my comfortable position to an awkward one.

"We were at a food drive for the school at the Miltian Park nearby," Sakura lied. "The red-headed boy, Rubedo, was attacked by Umi's insane pet porcupine when he donated some cans so that's why we brought him here."

Dang, Sakura sounded good. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought that it really did happen if I wasn't there. "Why would Umi bring her porcupine to a food drive?"

Sakura was a little startled by the question but easily answered with a quick reply. "Well, no one in her family could take care of it and seeing that she couldn't get out of volunteering, she decided to bring it along so it wouldn't get lonely."

"I see," Daddy said, nodding his head. "I feel sorry for the kid. Is Umi taking care of the stand then?"

"Yes…we told her we'd back as soon as possible." I then looked back into the office and saw Jr. and Gaignun waiting patiently. "This Dr. Melisse is a good doctor, right?" I asked slowly.

"Of course. I have only the best for this company." Daddy said, giving me a pat on the shoulder. "You don't have to worry about your customer. He'll be okay."

The elevator went ding to signal an arrival. The doors opened to reveal a beautiful woman who reminded me of someone I had seen recently...not sure who. I'll probably remember later. She looked a little younger than Daddy and had short auburn hair. The bag she was carrying had a red cross on it, probably where she kept her doctor equipment. Sounds weird too say…doctor equipment…maybe medical tools sounds better.

"So, where is he?" She asked, looking at Daddy. He pointed inside his room and she quickly went inside. After awhile, we heard screams of pain every couple of seconds. She must've been individually pulling each porcupine spine out as best she could.

"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, KILL ME WOMAN?!?!?!" Jr. screamed in agony. "STOP POKING ME WITH NEEDLES!!!"

The three of us were a little surprised and quickly rushed into the room to find out what was going on. We saw Dr. Melisse with a shot in one hand and pliers on another. There were a couple of spines on the floor with a little blood on them. Jr.'s face wasn't bleeding though which surprised me a little.

"Uh…Melisse? Just where were you doing?" Daddy asked, voicing my thoughts.

"I was administering some skin catalysts to repair the skin where the spine had penetrated his face," Dr. Melisse responded. "That way, blood won't come out when I pull out these spines." She demonstrated adeptly and I had to admit, it was as almost he had never been attacked by that porcupine. However, people that have been usually have scars which never heal. I don't know why Jr. was complaining.

"Maybe you should've told her you have a fear of sharp objects…or more specifically, needles..." Gaignun snickered.

Oh. That would make sense of the screams. Wow, Jr. actually had a fear of needles…well, everyone does have fears after all…I mean, I'm afraid of clowns. Their faces are just covered with all that paint…makes them look like one of those horse like things that you whack with a bat and candy comes out…

Another porcupine spine fell to the ground. "There, the last one." Dr. Melisse said.

"Wait, say what?" Jr. asked. He felt his face all over and did a big sigh. "Man, that was fast! I don't know how you did it, but zam, does it feel great to have a face!"

"Those spines seemed to suit you," Gaignun joked. "They brought out all the great captivating features of your face! The girls would've loved it!"

Jr. tackled Gaignun and they both got into a play fight.

"Well, looks like my job here's done," Dr. Melisse said as she put up her things. She stood up and turned to go. "Just make sure he doesn't get attacked by a porcupine again. He was lucky that the spines weren't infected."

"Don't worry, I won't!" Jr. called. He turned to me and asked, "So ladies, shall we go get something to eat to celebrate the removal of porcupine spines?"

Uh oh…Jr. just had to open his mouth. I wanted to slap him at this moment. A dark aura suddenly started to flood the room and create a very dark and grim atmosphere. I felt the familiar bloodlust that emanated from my Daddy when he was about to go in berserk mode. Sakura and I quickly hid behind a couch. We slowly peeked over the couch in fear of what was going to happen next.

Jr. turned around and noticed that we weren't there. He also noticed an enraged father about to explode.

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO MY GIRLS LIKE THAT!!!" He grabs the spines that Dr. Melisse had taken out of Jr.'s face and started to throw them at him and Gaignun.

"Hey, what'd I do?!" Jr. yelled as he dodged the needles of death.

"Way to go, Rubedo! You and your big mouth! You just had to piss him off!" Gaignun said as he ducked under a table for cover.

"I totally forgot!" Jr. suddenly found himself completely nailed into the wall by the spines. Daddy had two more left and threw them. Jr. struggled against the spines but they had dug through his shirt and part of the wall. It looked like he was about to get spined again in the face. "No choice…"

His muscles and chest began to bulge and he easily tore through the spines to dodge the incoming two. His eyes became bloodshot and he started to move like a wild animal towards Daddy. They both rammed into each other but weren't knocked away by the impact. They merely stood their ground and started to push against each other to see who was stronger. What is going on?!

"Son of a…" Gaignun began before having a chair thrown at him. He quickly rolled backwards to dodge it and join with us. He wiped his forehead of sweat and breathed heavily.

"Gaignun, do you know what's going on with Jr.?" Sakura asked. "He's not acting normal...and that burst of muscles…"

I heard two fists smash together…Daddy and Jr.

"Well, um…how should I explain this…?" Gaignun wondered. A vase crashed near us and startled me and Sakura to hold onto each other. He took a quick look off the couch. "Hold on, I'll tell you later." He suddenly darts out and almost gets pegged by a plant. Luckily, he jumped into the air and then charged towards Jr.

Gaignun and Daddy started working together to try and take Jr. down. Gaignun threw a couple of kicks to knock Jr. off balance while Daddy tackled him. Gaignun put his hand on Jr. and then reached for something in his pocket. Whatever he grabbed for and used, it calmed Jr. after a couple of seconds.

Gaignun fell backwards and let out a big sigh. "Whew…close one…"

Sakura and I got out of our hiding place and looked at Jr. He seemed to be back in his normal state. That other form he took scared the living nanobots out of me. Daddy looked a little beat up but if he was in pain, he didn't show it.

"Just what the heck was that about?!" Daddy raged. "Instead of me trying to beat him up, he almost beat me up!"

"Just calm down," Gaignun raised his hand. "He didn't mean to do you any harm. You were the one that almost pegged him in the face with the spines."

Daddy leaned back against a couch and looked at Jr. "Well, serves him right for trying to entice my girls into getting them alone with him."

"Look, Mr. Sauer...I know Rubedo better than anyone…he's my brother."

Daddy looked a little surprised but didn't say anything in response. I could tell that he actually liked Gaignun somewhat…but not Jr.

"But anyways, he reacted to the spines coming towards him by going into RD mode."

Something told me that this wasn't going to be a pretty explanation. "RD mode?"

"It's like a super transformation..." Gaignun explained. "I don't really know much about it myself...but the doctors that have looked at it can't say much about it either…it seems that it's embedded into one of his genes."

"So…he can become an uncontrollable muscleman whenever he wants…into this RD mode?" Sakura asked. "So is it a disease or something?"

"No, it's a syndrome." Gaignun said. "What it does is that every part in his body is doubled in performance as well as his desire for lust."

"Then…what happened before…?" Sakura implied the wreck not what just happened between Jr. and Daddy. She was a lot quicker at figuring things out than I was…it took me a second to realize what she meant.

"Yes. He took some drugs before that to make sure that the RD mode didn't get out of control. The RD syndrome seems to trigger the RD mode in random periods…sometimes if extreme lust is involved or his life is in danger…but sometimes, Rubedo can actually go willfully into the RD mode which is what you saw just now." Gaignun stopped to catch his breath and then continued on, "Luckily, the doctors have created a drug which contains a neutralizer that can control his RD syndrome. However, the drugs have side effects as you already know...they numb his entire body and mind to a certain extent. Not life-threatening, just about three-fourth's performance like when he was tired.." Gaignun made sure not to mention the wreck or the dance to risk another berserk Daddy. "So in order for the RD mode not to activate, he periodically takes the drug in order to contain the RD syndrome."

Then the dance…he would've transformed if he didn't administer the drug to himself and possibly hurt me? And when he was driving around going back to my house, the drug must've numbed his senses so much that he didn't cause the wreck purposely…

I fell back onto the couch, trying to let all the information sink in. It was a bit much to absorb. Jr. had a syndrome which could cause him to become a monster at any time…whether by will, necessity, or just plain coincidence…I can't…believe it…

Sakura walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "You okay, MOMO?"

I slowly nodded.

"I don't understand what's going on…" Daddy began as he got up. "But it seems that you and the red-haired one seem to know my daughters quite well."

"You could say that." Gaignun responded.

He closed his eyes and then turned to the both of us. "MOMO. Sakura. I forbid you from hanging out with these boys from now on."

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