Fractured – Chapter 8

Higa had only three minutes in which to get Eugeo's real body out of the specialized tank that held it, otherwise... He shook his head; he could not think of the alternative. He frantically banged at the frozen, cracked control panel. Hissing at how cold it was, his bare hands could barely touch it for more than an instant.

"Out of the way!" Rinko yelled.

Higa staggered backwards and was shocked to see his co-worker raise a fire extinguisher above her head and smash it against the tank. Sharp cracks shot up the glass, and green, murky liquid was leaking from them.

"What are you doing?" Higa asked incredulously.

"What...does…it…look…like!" she snapped, accenting each word with a smash of the extinguisher. With one final swing, the glass shattered completely and Eugeo's body began to slide out of the tank.

"I've got him," Higa said, his arms going under Eugeo's. "Rinko, grab that cot over there."

She did as instructed, and together, the two of them lifted Eugeo and laid him out on it. It was difficult to get a good visual on him seeing as they only had the emergency lights on. She placed the back of her hand by Eugeo's nose and frowned, not feeling any breath.

"Do you have any medical equipment in here?" Rinko cut in quickly.

"There's a box under there with a lot of portable stuff, but I don't know how to use any of it."

"I do." Rinko bent down, flipping the lid open. Finding what she needed first, she took out a portable breathing apparatus. She placed a clear mask over Eugeo's nose and mouth, then flipped the switch on the small, attached tank. Eugeo's chest began to rise and fall once again, the mask fogging with signs of life.

Rinko continued to pull more equipment from underneath the cot, then reached for Eugeo's left arm. Her breath caught at how cold the teen's skin felt, but continued with the task at hand. She placed a needle into the back of Eugeo's hand, placing a strip of white medical tape over it to keep it in place. Another needle was placed further up into Eugeo's forearm, with more white medical tape criss-crossed over that. From each needle, cords wound themselves up onto a metal holder. One led to a clear liquid filled bag while the other held an opaque liquid.

"It's just an IV drip," Rinko told Higa.

"I'm a computer guy, not a doctor," Higa huffed.

"Let's put it this way, in this bag is a mixture of vitamins, saline solution, and electrolytes. Basic compounds that help to hydrate a body, and regulate nerve and muscle function, even blood pressure. Pretty basic stuff, but since Eugeo's body is new to all of this, we'd better start slow."

"What's in the other bag?" Higa asked curiously.

"A sedative," said Rinko.

"Why? It's not like he's waking up without his soul."

"It's nothing heavy, just enough to keep him…comfortable," Rinko offered lamely. "Anyway, the last thing would be to place these nodes along his chest and we can keep an eye on his heartrate." She ran the cords back to a small tablet, which she clicked on. Various graphs and numbers lit up the screen. "Seems all of Eugeo's vitals are holding steady. The only thing left is his low body temperature and cold skin. Do you have any blankets?"

Higa nodded, then crossed the room to rummage through a pile. "Here's a heated one," he said, passing the blanket to Rinko.

Before placing it over the blonde, she took scissors from the box, then went to cut away at Eugeo's damp shirt. Higa raised a brow at her. "What? It makes no sense to put a blanket onto something cold and wet." Blushing slightly, she placed it around Eugeo's body, being careful around all the wires and cords. She pulled the blanket up to his collarbone, leaving both arms outside of it. She clicked the blanket on, and it started to warm instantly. Her eyes floated back to the monitor, watching as Eugeo's body temperature started to make a slow climb towards normal. Satisfied the blonde was fine for the moment, she looked back at Higa.

Rinko furred her brow. "What happened? Why did everything suddenly go berserk?"

"I don't know," Higa replied, equally confused. He stood, arms crossed, looking at the remains of the tank. Nodes, wires, and tubes hung lifelessly inside it. Broken glass and murky green water littered the floor. "Whatever happened, we're stuck. No more memory transferring. Once Kirito gets his friend's soul out, we'll just go straight to the implant procedure."

Rinko looked over to where Kirito lay in his STL bed. "How is he?"

"I was able to reboot the STL bed rather quickly, so I'm sure Kirito is fine." Higa rushed. He squinted through the dim security lights, stepping carefully from one teen's bed to the other. He'd seen Kirito's body flinch physically, which was impossible while his soul was inside the Underworld. That was enough to have him deeply concerned.

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Our trio had entered the chamber Linel told us Pontifex had taken Eugeo. We charged in, expecting a fight, but the place was deserted. Renly approached the only thing in the room, an altar.

"Do we even want to know," Renly frowned, lifting the chains that were at one end.

"Careful," Leina warned, pointing down at another sacred arts circle. This time it was blue, and it flickered and pulsed slightly, as if whatever had transpired here had taken its power, and it was now attempting to recharge.

I looked at the altar, then up at the hole in the ceiling, through which I could see the colors of an early dawn.

"Now what?" Renly said, crossing his arms.

"I have no idea," I ran my hair through my dark hair.

"There doesn't seem to be another way out other than how we came in here," said Leina.

I could feel my frustration growing. "If that's true, where are Eugeo and the Pontifex?" I snapped. Renly gave me the stinkeye, so I swallowed any further comment and began to pace around the cavern like a wild animal. I didn't understand it, we'd follow tunnel after tunnel, and we were so close to our goal. So, where were they?

"Maybe there's a secret door or panel?" Leina began. She was running her hands along the walls, looking for any hollow sections or some type of switch.

Renly sat on the altar, he seemed just as annoyed as I was. "Maybe Linel lied to us. Maybe she needs a bit more persuading to give us the truth…" he said, twirling his Twin Winged Blades between his fingers.

"Even if we did want to talk to her, she's like a zombie back there," said Leina. "She blacked out after she told us to come here."

"Great," I muttered. "Another dead end."

"That's not like you to give up, Kirito," a familiar voice said.

The three of us jolted, and we turned to see a door opening up out of thin air. It glowed, and out of it stepped Fanatio and her Lesser Integrity Knights.

"How did you find us?" asked Renly.

"It wasn't easy, but Cardinal was finally able to locate you. With a little help," she looked directly at me.

I felt a pull on my bangs. "Wha?" My eyes glanced up.

"Hello," a small voice called out.

I'd had a spider on my head before, but Charlette had given her life to help us in the fight against Pontifex. Honestly, I'd hit my limit with spiders seeing how many we'd encountered so far. So who was this?

"I'm Rina," the little spider said. "Charlette was my mother."

"Come," Cardinal called from beyond the door. "There is much to discuss."

"My team and I will stay here and rescue any survivors," said Fanatio.

"There are people back in this direction who need help," Leina pointed back the way we came.

"Do not be ashamed, you did what was needed," Fanatio placed her hand on Leina's shoulder. She then turned to Renly. "We got your note about the spider attack back in the Northern Village. We've been following your adventures via the letters you sent back to Centoria. Although you should not have been so rash as to go out on your own. You are young and have only recently awakened."

"As a Knight, I have responsibilities to the people of this realm, just like you," Renly ground out.

"Regardless," Fanatio raised a brow. "The Knights look forward to learning more of what you've discovered."

Renly, Leina, and I looked at each other. We were hesitant.

"What about Pontifex?" I spoke up. "We've been chasing her and yet…"

"Do not dally, Star King," Cardinal's voice snapped through the door.

"Fine," I muttered.

"It'd be nice to get out of these caves at any rate," Renly murmured. He was the first to step through the door.

I looked over to see Fanatio and her Lesser Knights already taking off down the tunnel.

My eyes drifted back up to the hole in the cavern's ceiling.

"Kirito?" Leina began tentatively. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute," I told her.

She nodded and drifted back towards the door where she too passed through it.

"Damn it, Eugeo, where are you?" I muttered in desperation. If I didn't find him soon, his soul could further deteriorate, and I might never be able to get him out. Kikuoka had never told me exactly what was going on, but I was starting to put things together. Eugeo's soul was on borrowed time. I felt frustrated tears burning in my eyes, and went to wipe them away on my sleeve. I turned and headed towards the door. It was beginning to close, its glow dimming. As I was about halfway through, I felt him. I ground to a halt, glancing behind me. Through the darkness of the cavern, my gray eyes locked with a pair of green ones, which quickly changed to an icy blue. I could see light blue tendrils pulsing in the dark, snaking their way around something, or rather, someone.

I started to withdraw from the door, when I was immediately pulled inside it. It slammed shut, echoing in the chamber.

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"It's nice to see that you haven't lost your touch in a crisis, Rinko," said Kikuoka.

"It's been years since I've used my medical skills, you're lucky I remember how," she placed a hand on her hip.

Kikuoka's eyes slid to the remains of the memory tank. "Anyone care to tell me what happened here?"

"We don't know," Higa began nervously. "Things were humming along just fine, until Eugeo's brainwaves flatlined. That caused Kirito's to fluctuate at random. There was a system warning, then everything shut down, even the lights. The STL bed I got functioning rather quickly, but the tank, well, the controls were frozen over and…"

"We did what was necessary to save the subject," Rinko cut in.

"Business first as usual. That's what I like about you," Kikuoka smiled. "Higa? Why don't you see if you can turn on the auxiliary power from the generator outside?"

Higa nodded and headed out of the room. Truth be told, it would be nice for a breath of fresh air.

Kikuoka stepped up to the bed where Eugeo was lying. "How is he?"

"Everything is stable. For now," Rinko added softly.

"Hmm…" Kikuoka murmured, sliding his fingers along Eugeo's exposed right arm. Rinko saw them linger in the crook of Eugeo's elbow for a beat too long. They continued their trek up his arm, along his collarbone, until he ran the back of his hand along Eugeo's cheek. "Why is he so cold?"

Shifting herself over and 'accidently' knocking away Kikuoka's hand, Rinko said, "He's been like that ever since we got him out. I've got the blanket on the highest setting possible. Perhaps he just needs time."

Kikuoka glanced over at the STL bed. "And Kirito?"

"To be honest, we don't know. With only emergency power on, our access is limited." She chose her next words carefully, "Maybe you should pull him out…"

"No," Kikuoka snapped. "He stays in there until he finds Eugeo's soul and they get to a console. End of discussion."

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

"Put me back through that door, now!" I shouted at Cardinal. My eyes had changed to gold and I was furious. I was damn sure that was Eugeo, and he was clearly in trouble. I had to get back there and help him. I turned and started to pull on the handle when ice shards slammed into the wooden door. They were not able to penetrate the door fully, but their dangerously icy tips left more than a few scratches.

"Sit down," Cardinal pointed with her staff to a chair.

"I can't waste time here in the library…" I seethed.

"Enough," Cardinal glared at me.

I had to admit, being scolded like a child by what looked like a child was kind of strange. Cardinal looked like a ten-year-old girl, her brown hair tied back in two ponytails. She wore red, scholarly robes, complimented with a large red hat. Appearances are deceiving, as she was another Pontifex, one's who goal was to stop Administrator and help the Underworld get back on course.

"Who you saw back there was Eugeo…" she hesitated, "…in a way."

"What the hell does that mean?" I snarled.

"Patience," she barked.

I took a deep breath and tried to be calm, though inside I was a bundle of nerves, filled with anxiety, confusion, and fury. Cardinal approached me slowly, then carefully wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. "I remember you gave me a hug before. It felt so warm and reassuring," she said softly.

I closed my eyes, my arms slowly going up to embrace her as well. "Yeah," I spoke in barely a whisper.

Cardinal withdrew gently, then settled in a chair across from me. "First, what is this power you possess when your emotions run rampant?"

"Power? Oh, when my eyes are gold?" I sighed. "I guess it's something like a power surge. It usually happens during some type of finishing move. But this time, it's different. I can be doing nothing and I can feel the power overtake me. There's also a level of bloodlust that I didn't know I had and I, uh…" I hesitated, my voice growing quiet. "I think I like it."

"Well, don't," Cardinal whacked me on the head with her staff. "It's dangerous."

"Ow!" I rubbed at my head. "Fine, fine. I'll work on it. There's more though."

"Go on," Cardinal urged.

"I think when something happens to Eugeo, I get some sort of kickback, which fuels this strange power."

"Hmm, why would you say that?"

"Well, we're connected, in the real world. There's this experiment…"

"Say no more," Cardinal cut me off. "We mustn't speak of such things when others are nearby. We can continue this conversation at another time." Her eyes drifted off towards a far corner of the library.

"I suggest you finish it now," Renly ground out, rounding a corner of a bookshelf. He withdrew his weapons. "Real world? Experiment? Just who the hell are you people?" he reached for his Twin Winged Blades.

"There will be no fighting in my library," Cardinal snapped, sliding in front of Renly, staff raised.

"Get out of my way," Renly ground out. "Or I will kill you."

"Don't threaten her," I snarled. I raised my sword in response and slid into an attack position.

"Now children," she scolded. "We have bigger issues."

"Such as?" Renly scowled.

"Administrator is dead," Cardinal deadpanned.

What?" Renly and I replied in unison.

"It's true, her fluctlight was snuffed out merely an hour ago."

"Why?" I asked.

"How?" Renly demanded.

"Will you let me talk?" Cardinal huffed impatiently.

We both clammed up immediately, though grudgingly.

"Do either of you know how divine weapons are made?" Cardinal began, switching gears to a completely different topic.

"A little," I shrugged. "Eugeo told me the story of the Blue Rose Sword. He said it was created from a block of eternal ice, with a rose embedded in it."

"Yes, there are a few that are made naturally like that. Others are made when objects like plants or animals are converted through a high-ranking Sacred Arts ritual. These weapons can then be used by an individual when their soul resonates with the weapon's memory."

"Which in turn gives us access to use Enhance Armament, boosting the offensive powers of our weapons." I stated.

"That's right," Cardinal nodded. "In the Blue Rose Sword's case, however, there is something else."

"Like what?" I narrowed my eyes.

"A human being, one known only as Synthesis Zero."

"There was never a synthesis zero, Bercouli was the first," said Renly, crossing his arms.

Cardinal glared at him. "Zero's time goes back to when the Underworld was beginning. He was a young leader, proving himself with his master of swordplay and weaponry. Whereas most leaders at the time were more interested in ruling over the common people, he wanted to work with them. The nobles and higher powers had scoffed at his ideas of erasing judicial authority and the Taboo Index. And so, he took his ideas to Centoria, where he approached the Administrator. He had laid out plans on how to reorganize the Underworld, and found feasible ways to actually make them work. This worried Administrator, who, as you know, loved her control over the Underworld."

"How was he able to think outside the box and want to break the rules here?" I wondered.

"There were a few who, in the beginning, had thought differently than the masses. Either way, Administrator needed to keep this man in her sights and under her control. So she began working on what she called "The Synthesis Ritual," subjecting Zero to it first. This was a new process, one in which she hadn't quite perfected yet. Something had gone terribly wrong, and instead of creating a puppet that would serve only her, Zero had become wildly unpredictable and extremely dangerous. She couldn't let her failure be known to the anyone. Despite the fact she could not full out kill him, due to her own binding to the Taboo Index, she decided instead to constrain him into one of his precious weapons. He didn't go willingly by any means, and was forced into the sacrificial arts, further deteriorating his mind, and this time, his body. Once that was completed, she took the sword, left it inside the Northern Ice Cave, and had the White Dragon guard it, burying it in its pile of treasure. The Story of Bercouli happened after that, and while it is true, the true origin of the sword remains buried, until now."

"What else?" I eyed her.

"I believe Administrator performed a new synthesis ritual on Eugeo, one in which she inadvertently had awoken Zero. I think it was he who killed her." She glanced over to the ice sticking through the portal door, it was melting, leaving trails of cold water. "I could never believe Eugeo would attack you, of all people, and that leads me to assume that he is no longer in control of his own body."

"Oh god," I paled, "If that's true, then where is Eugeo's real soul?"

"I'm not sure if it even exists anymore," Cardinal averted her eyes. "In the meantime, we have an incredibly powerful opponent to defeat. He is not only our problem, but everyone's."

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Kikuoka's phone buzzed. "Yes?" he answered. He frowned deeply, then turned to Rinko. "I have to take this, I'll be back later." He put the phone back up to his ear and continued to talk in muted tones. He exited the room and headed down the tunnel.

"What are you up to?" Rinko frowned. Kikuoka was always so cryptic about things. Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and looked at Eugeo. "Looks like it's just us for awhile." She gave a yawn, stretching her arms above her head. Even since getting the text from Kikuoka, she'd forgone any sleep in the past three days. Giving a glance over all of Eugeo's vitals, she nodded, satisfied all was as it should be. "Just a quick powernap, fifteen minutes, tops," she told herself. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep immediately.

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Sugu nearly crashed right into Alice when she stopped abruptly. "Oof!"

"Shh!" Alice pulled Sugu back against the tunnel wall and deeper into the shadows. They saw a man emerge from further down the tunnel who made an abrupt turn, thankfully, in the direction away from them.

"That's Kikuoka," Sugu said softly. "We're definitely in the right place."

The two girls stepped carefully and quietly down the tunnel. They approached the door from which Kikuoka had exited. Both peeked in, squinting their eyes. Despite the darkness and only a few dim lights, they could make out an STL bed at one side of the room, which was next to a large broken tank. Along the other side of the room was a lady sitting in a chair next to a person lying on a cot.

Alice stepped carefully into the room, her shoe making a squishing sound on the damp floor. She winced, the woman in the chair shifted slightly. "She's asleep," she mouthed silently to Sugu. The other girl nodded, and followed Alice inside the room. Alice approached the woman stealthily, her hand tightening around her wire cutters. It was the only weapon she had and she would use it if threatened. Once she came around to face the woman, she nearly dropped her weapon in surprise. "Rinko?"

The woman's eyes fluttered open. "Alice?" her eyes widened. "You're not supposed to be here," she frowned, reaching for her phone.

Sugu was first to react, swinging her backpack into the back of Rinko's head. Knocking her out, Rinko slumped back in her chair.

"Really? We could have at least questioned her first," Alice snapped.

"She was going to call someone, I had no choice," Sugu countered. In a huff, she turned and headed towards the STL bed. It seemed to be working, though a few bits were sparking randomly. She saw Kirito's phone lying crushed on the floor, next to a bag of his belongings. "Kirito!" she cried, full of relief. Looking into the STL, she could see nodes and wires attached to her brother. He lay asleep on the bed. She wanted to get him out of that device and wake him up, hug him, then slap him for being so reckless.

Meanwhile, Alice's blue eyes were wide as she stared down at the person lying on the cot. "Eugeo," she breathed. She reached tentatively towards her childhood friend. She rested her fingers on his arm and she could feel the blood pumping under his skin. Though both felt cold. Wait a minute. Blood? Skin? She was shocked. His body wasn't made of metal and machinery like hers was. She felt a flash of jealously surge through her. First, he'd beaten her in breaking the seal of the right eye, now, he was more human than she was.

"Is that really him?" Sugu joined Alice's side. She reached in, to smooth away some wavy blonde hair from the swordsman's face. "He looks so much like my brother." She furred her brow. "How is this possible? Kirito said he died, but if that's true, what is he doing out here, in the real world?"

"How would I know?" Alice huffed.

Sugu winced. "I..uh..noticed all the medical equipment. It's like he's really…real," she said in awe. Alice narrowed her eyes. "I mean, you are too, of course," Sugu rushed.

"Let's find something to tie up Rinko with, she has a lot of explaining to do." Alice said flatly.

"What if Kikuoka comes back?" Sugu looked at the door anxiously.

"We'll deal with him too," Alice replied sharply.

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

Inside Eugeo's subconscious, he was slowly waking up. He blinked his eyes, then frowned, seeing as he was still wrapped in icy vines with an ice cage surrounding him. He began to struggle against his bonds, even though the more he did, the tighter they became.

"I'm surprised you were able to awaken," a voice spoke. A soft glow appeared, resting in the palm of a person's hand. It illuminated what looked like an Integrity Knight, as he wore silver armor, marked with blue insignia, held around his shoulders and chest with brown straps and silver buckles. Underneath the armor, was a blue tunic, fringed in white. The Knight had a hood that covered his head. In his other hand, was the Blue Rose Sword. He brought it up to rest right under Eugeo's chin.

"That's my sword," Eugeo narrowed his eyes.

"Is it now?" the man replied arrogantly.

"I…" Eugeo began. He strained to remember something, anything.

"You seemed to recognize that boy in black too, seeing as you delayed my attack from killing him," the man drawled.

"Thank the goddesses," Eugeo sighed under his breath.

"Don't expect it to happen again," the man snapped. "I am in control of this body now."

"What?" Eugeo paled.

"It's a bit younger than I prefer, but it'll work."

"Who are you?"

The man went to pull back his hood, revealing shaggy flaxen colored hair and emerald green eyes. "Family," he smiled, revealing sharp fangs.

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo