I'm on spring break right now (joy!) and that means more time to write! So here's a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it. As always, thank you for all the kind comments. Your support means so much to me. Also, slightly off topic, my birthday last week was really great! I'm 21 at last!

The Season of the Witch
By Angel Maxwell

Chapter 6: Discovery

"Hello Subaru. It's been awhile."

The voice was much more vitriolic than Subaru remembered, and yet it was unquestionably that of Seishirou. This creature not only looked like the Sakurazukamori, he sounded like him too. And he knew Subaru's name. He stood there in black drawstring pants that were still dripping with the green liquid he had emerged from, as was his dark hair. It was as if the grave had opened and released him back amongst the living. And yet… something was wrong, Subaru knew it.

"You… your eye," the baffled medium uttered, addressing Seishirou directly. "The Seishirou I knew lost his right eye protecting me. If you were really cloned from his flesh, both of your eyes should be restored. But you… you're missing your left eye."

Seishirou's cunning expression melted into one of confusion. An emotion Subaru had never seen the real Seishirou communicate. His brow furrowed over his mismatched eyes, one brown and the other silvery white. Then his gaze shifted to his creators.

"There is a logical explanation I assure you," the scientist Elizabeth Silver stated calmly. "When I first created him, Seishirou here did have two perfectly intact eyes. We simply had to remove one of them in order to fit him with the implant."

"Implant?" asked Subaru curiously.

"Yes," Silver responded. "Implanted in his left eye-socket is a delicate device containing all of Sakurazuka's personality data and memories… Or rather, his memories that I felt he should retain to ensure he is just as willing and talented as the original. It is in the left eye so that when he looks in any mirror he will see who he was meant to be."

"You didn't know the Sakurazukamori," Subaru sneered. "How could you know what memories he should have? You're sick."

"I thought you'd be a bit more happy to see me," said Seishirou. Apparently Silver's speech had been enough to satisfy his programmed brain. "After all these years, dear Subaru, I can finally grant you your wish."

With that, Seishirou raised his hand and aimed his fingertips, like a sword, at Subaru's heart. The onmyouji pulled with all of his might against his restraints, the metal cutting into his arms and legs. Shear determination gave him seemingly unnatural strength and the fetters finally broke, releasing him just as Seishirou's hand pierced the spot where he had been lying.

As soon as Subaru had rolled off of the stretcher he fell to his knees, too weak and dizzy from lack of blood. Seishirou was now trying to free his hand, which was lodged firmly through the center of the bed, and Subaru used the time to carefully pluck the IV needles from his arms.

"What's the matter?" Seishirou asked. "Wasn't it your wish to have your life taken by the hand of Sakurazuka?"

"That was my dream at one time," Subaru answered. "But that was a long time ago… And you're not Seishirou!" He paused and closed his eyes before continuing. "The real Seishirou Sakurazuka couldn't grant me my wish… he couldn't go through with it. In the end, he gave up his own life so that I would go on living. It was not what I would have chosen, but I could not question his decision."

"I remember," Seishirou spoke slowly, reaching out and stroking Subaru's chin. "I remember your dear sister bleeding in my arms, muttering her last spell. I remember the exquisite pain of your hand piercing my heart. Whether you accept it or not, I am Seishirou."

In that moment, Subaru became rapt in the illusion. Tired and anemic, he let his heart believe for just a moment that this really was the man whose life had long been bound to his, that the past fourteen years had all been a prolonged trance. He closed his eyes and leaned into Seishirou's consoling touch.

"Would you like me to grant that wish now?" Seishirou asked softly. "I can make all your pain go away, Subaru. Just say the word… you can join your sister…"

"And that little brat of yours too," the long-silent Tetsuo Ishida added. He realized, seconds too late, that saying this was a critical error. Subaru's eyes shot open, his sense of reality instantly restored. With a growl, he wrenched Seishirou's hand from his face.

"Impostor!" he barked. "Seishirou is dead! And the only reason you exist is to commit murder in his name! And you two," he snarled, turning to Ishida and Silver. "You two made this monstrosity, and the blood of everyone he kills will be on your hands as well!"

The wicked pair and their creation were all three taken aback by the hostage's sudden eruption of courage. They could see by his shaky attempt to stand, however, that Subaru was still very feeble. His outburst was an act of desperation. Yet, he refused to back down. With newfound purpose burning in his eyes, the medium struggled to his feet and steadied himself by holding on to the bed he had been previously confined to.

"I'll see to it that you pay for your sins against nature," he continued. "I won't let Midori's death be in vain… My new wish is to destroy you!"

Seishirou clucked his tongue. "I'm afraid that's a wish that will go unfulfilled. Now say goodbye to this life, dear Subaru Sumeragi."

Once again, the assassin poised his hands to strike and once again, he missed his target. This time, however, it was nothing the medium did that saved his life. In the blink of an eye a small explosion occurred between the Sakurazukamori and his prey and Subaru found himself yanked roughly from his place and being carried swiftly away. It took him a minute to realize that he was slung unceremoniously over the shoulder of a rapidly running individual. It was a young man, no older than eighteen, with a mop of strawberry blonde hair and clad in the standard Ressurectors uniform.

"Who are you?" Subaru asked, baffled.

"My name is Ken," the boy answered. "And I'm here to help you."

Four passengers stood in silence as the elevator plunged ever downward. Midori felt like a dwarf alongside the three grown men who accompanied her. Sei'ichirou Aoki, Kusanagi Shiyuu, and Fuuma Munou had all come with the young girl on this mission to recover her father and she couldn't help but sense a bit of low-level tension between them.

"This place must be at the center of the earth," she said nervously, trying to lighten the mood.

"We have been in this elevator for a long time," Fuuma responded, chuckling slightly. "I'm happy to help, of course. But I am a bit curious as to why you changed your mind all of the sudden and decided to invite me along."

Mr. Aoki opened his mouth to answer but the elevator creaked to a shaky stop before he could say anything. It was for the better, as Aoki hadn't actually come up with a decent explanation. The party shuffled out cautiously, with Kusanagi in the lead because he was the only one who had been here before. Or rather, he was the only one who remembered having been here. In front of them was a single door, which the former Dragon of Earth opened with a card-key Kanoe had given him.

"They probably use a different entrance," the massive man informed the group. "I don't think anyone has been down here for a long time."

"I think you're right," Midori agreed, coughing as dust billowed out from the opened door. "Say, is there by any chance a light switch around here?"

"I think I feel one on the wall here," said Aoki. A second latter bright light filled the space around them revealing a cavernous chamber. A collective gasp escaped the throats of the three onlookers who were not familiar with this room.

"Whoa! What in the world is that?" Fuuma asked as he stared at a twisted mass of rusty dusty metal.

"That," Kusanagi said calmly, "was the super-computer known as the Beast."

"The Beast?" Midori asked, wrinkling her nose. "Mr. Shiyuu, what exactly was this place used for? And come to think of it, what are Dragons of Earth? You mentioned them back at Maki's house."

"Uh…" Kusanagi's face took on a somewhat nervous expression as he tried to think of the words he could use. "The Dragons of Earth were a group of people who did some… some pretty bad things, and I was unfortunately associated with them."

"So it was a gang?" Midori inquired.

Kusanagi thought about for a minute before answering. "That's actually a pretty accurate description. Now, the door should be over there." He pointed towards the far end of the room and there was indeed a large metal door. While the three men walked casually towards it, the teenage girl bounded ahead enthusiastically.

"Come on! Let's go!" she shouted. "He could be right behind that door! Hang on Dad, I'm coming!"

The door was locked tight, of course, but there was a flat glass panel on the wall next to it. It was a handprint identification grid. Mr. Aoki and Mr. Shiyuu both tried pressing their hands on the grid but nothing happened.

"You should try it, Mr. Munou," said Kusanagi politely.

"Alright," Fuuma responded skeptically. "But I don't know why you think it will open for me."

He placed his hand on the grid and, to his great shock, the thick door slid open with a mechanical whir. Both he and Midori blinked several times in surprise before continuing through the door. Inside was a long hallway that ended in another door, just like the first one only there was a keypad in addition to the handprint grid.

"Looks like this one needs a password," said Kusanagi. "Any ideas about what it could be?"

"How about 'Kamui'?" Aoki suggested thoughtfully.

"Ka-Kamui?" Fuuma gasped. "That was the name of my best friend when I was a kid. Why would his name be the password?"

"Please, just try it," Aoki pleaded.

Fuuma reluctantly palmed the grid and typed 'Kamui' into the keypad. The door opened and the party moved to go through, but Fuuma stood in the doorway, arm outstretched, blocking their path. His expression was grim and serious.

"Okay," he said bluntly. "It's time for you to tell me exactly what's going on. And I want the truth."

Ken's getaway came to an abrupt stop in front of a white door. He ducked inside and dropped Subaru rather roughly to the floor.

"Ow," he complained, rubbing his head. "You didn't have to drop me."

"Sorry," said Ken. "But you could try to be a little grateful. After all, I did just save your life."

"You just delayed the inevitable," Subaru sighed. "I have to face that Seishirou clone-bot sooner or later."

Ken snorted disdainfully. "You wouldn't have fared too well in your current condition. You're as weak as a kitten. You need to rest and eat something before you face him."

"Why do you care so what happens to me?" asked Subaru. "I can tell by your clothes that you're one of them."

"You'll just have to trust me," the mysterious young man answered. "Right now I'm the only friend you've got, Subaru Sumeragi."

Subaru's eyes widened, but he did not ask how Ken knew his name. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and leaned against a wall. Ken reached into the pocket of his black jacket and retrieved something. At first Subaru thought it was a gun and that Ken intended to kill him. Then Ken handed the object to him and Subaru realized that it was a bar of chocolate.

"It's all I have," said Ken. "It's not much, but at least it's food. You should eat it."

"Uh, thanks," said Subaru.

"Stay here," Ken added. "You'll be safe in this room for awhile. I'm going to stand guard outside." Then he vanished out the door, closing it behind him.

Subaru stayed put on the floor, slowly savoring the chocolate as his eyes adjusted to the darkened room. He wondered who Ken really was and what his true motives were, and before long the medium was feeling a lot stronger. He looked around the room curiously. It was a small room, reminiscent of a doctor's office. There was even a hospital bed in the middle and a metal cart like the kind that held surgical equipment.

With his vigor quickly returning, Subaru got to his feet. His stomach lurched. This room was wholly unsettling, and it wasn't just because of the bizarre vestiges of medical equipment. It took a few minutes before he put his finger on it, but when Subaru realized why the room disturbed him he gasped in alarm.

"I've been here before!" he breathed. "I don't know how, but I'm sure I've been in this exact room before. The bed, the cart, the file cabinet… it's all perfectly stored in my head… but how?"

Then he had another sudden epiphany. He hadn't visited this room in real life. He had visited it in the mind of a frightened young woman. Years ago Subaru had delved into the subconscious of a scared pregnant girl, in the hope of ending the horrific nightmares that plagued her. What he had discovered in the girl's mind was a vision of herself strapped to this very bed, legs splayed as people in surgical scrubs did things to her too gruesome to describe. Back then, Subaru never imagined that it was a true memory. He had simply exorcised it from the young woman's mind. Now, terrified, he had to know more.

He scrambled to the file cabinet, wrenched it open, and began frantically leafing through the files. There was a single folder labeled with the name of the young woman. Subaru's hands trembled as he opened it and began reading the documents it contained. The heading on the first page made his skin crawl: record of artificial insemination. Tetsuo Ishida's words echoed in his head; "We tried other ways to revive the Sakurazuka line… everything from sorcery to artificial insemination." Subaru continued to read, even though he was afraid of what he might find out.

By the time he finished reading the documents, Subaru's body was numb with shock. "I was wrong," he muttered to himself. "All these years… I've been totally wrong. I can't believe it… Midori's biological father is… was Seishirou…" Then he sank to the floor and wept uncontrollably.

To be continued…