Chapter 19 Fighting the Truth

Split (Cynder/Rojo)

Rojo 1st then Cynder

When I woke up, it was dark. Candles flickered in the soft breeze of the night. I had no idea how long I was out, but I knew one thing for sure. I was still in immense pain.

I should've died out there. How is it that I'm still alive?

I asked myself this as I looked around. It looked like I was still in the War Room, but things had changed. I could hear snoring in various parts of the room, but I felt that I was being targeted for some reason.

I need to stop thinking about the events that happened in the past. What happened in the past stays there. I need to keep moving forward.

I scolded myself. I lifted my head off of the makeshift bed I was on. With this new ability, I was able to look at even more of the room. The room had been arranged in such A way that I was the most visible thing in the room. I didn't like being visible, but I didn't want to look secretive. I heard shuffling close to where I was, so I whipped my head to see who or what moved to my right side.

"Oh, it's you"

I said with relief. The individual laughed.

"I wouldn't know the Great Leader Rojo would be scared of A little Lab Lizard like me"

She said as she pushed my head gently with her hand so that I was laying on the pillow once more.

"Lemon, I'm fine"

I started to say, but she shushed me quietly.

"I need to look at your injuries, you've sustained A lot of them out there when you went up Mount Glacial"

She said as she took off the blanket that covered me. Through the moonlight that filtered in from the windows, I could see the damages that covered my body.

"You really don't need to Lemon, I'm fine"

I said as I felt the internal heat of the Fire Element course in my veins. Lemon sighed with frustration.

"I have no idea why you want to ignore your wounds all the time!"

She exclaimed softly as she started studying the rocks that were still stuck in my arms and legs.

"I'm not going to be able to take these out of your body without the tools I have in my Lab"

She told me quietly. She seemed to be distressed about something. It was then that I caught something out of the corner of my eye. It seemed to be coiled around her fingers.

"Are those wires still around your fingers?"

I asked as I saw them shine softly in the moonlight. Lemon took A quick breath.

"The others haven't noticed them yet, but I do fear that they will see them if I am not careful in hiding them"

She said as she turned her attention from my wounds, to the window. She got up from the floor and looked out of the window.

"What are you looking at?"

I asked as I struggled to sit up. I heard scrabbling sounds go across the floor. I didn't react fast enough to see what it was, but whatever it was, raced up my back, jumped off of my shoulder and landed on Lemon's shoulder. She jumped in surprise and stifled A yelp.

"What are you still doing awake!?"

She hissed to the object on her shoulder. Whatever was on her shoulder hissed at her. She nodded and looked back out of the window.

"I can feel an evil presence here as well"

She said as she looked to the floor.

"I can feel something has changed too"

I told myself. Lemon looked at me.

"Are you able to walk Rojo?"

She asked me quietly. I tested my arms and legs. They hurt, but they didn't hurt enough to keep me bound to the bed I was on. Only at certain angles did my arms and legs hurt.

Normal walking shouldn't do much harm to my wounds. After all, bleeding is A sign that you're working harder to strengthen yourself.

I told myself as I stood up. I could feel the rocks in my arms and legs. There were sounds of liquid hitting the floor as I started to walk.

"Make sure that you are quiet Rojo"

She started as the pattering sounds became more frequent.

"I don't want to explain to the others why I took you out of the War Room this late at night"

She told me as we both walked out of the place. Lemon closed the door quietly and we both stood in front of the door and admired the moon. It was glowing A Yellow color and had A Blue ring around it that sparkled in the night. Stars twinkled in the sky. It was then that I could see what was on Lemon's shoulder. It was A lizard that looked similar to the Assassin Lizards that were all over the United Island Archipelago, but it had A large fan around its neck. It seemed to be cut, as the fan's edges ended too sharply to have been not artificially made. The color of this lizard was odd as well. It had the base color of Yellow, but it also had Orange dappled all over its body. The lizard seemed really skittish for some reason. It constantly looked at its surroundings and ran from Lemon's right shoulder to the opposite one and then back again.

"What's wrong with that lizard?"

I asked as Lemon pushed me from my place.

"There's nothing wrong with it Rojo; why would you ask that?"

She said as she kept A brisk pace with me. Suddenly, I had A disturbing thought.

If I'm bleeding, that means that something can pick up my scent. If that were to happen, then my life and the lives of those who are with me would be put in compromising circumstances.

I thought this was I walked.

"I cannot allow this to happen"

I told myself under my breath. When I said this, Lemon stopped walking.

"What did you say?"

She asked me as she struggled to take her left boot off.

"It's nothing really Lemon; I'm fine"

I said as I looked around. Once again, we stopped at the beach.

"I need you to close your eyes when you see this object start to emit light, ok Rojo?

She asked me as I saw her produce A small metallic disk from her boot.

"Why would I need to do that?"

I asked as I watched Lemon put her foot back into the boot. It was rare that anyone of my species would take off their boots.

Most often, these boots were passed down by the generations before.

I remembered as she threw the metallic disk into the ground in front of us. The disk's topmost part rotated and opened, expelling mist into the surrounding air. The mist gradually dissipated and light started to come from the object. I closed my eyes and A bright flash of light exploded into my view. I felt A falling sensation for A few seconds, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself in Lemon's Lab. I had been placed by the Stainless Steel table that Lemon had used to Operate on NightShade. I sighed when I remembered his name.

NightShade would've been A great soldier if he would've worked harder to maintain A healthy body.

I thought as I ran my hand along the table.

"Did I say that you could touch anything?"

I heard Lemon ask from the other side of the room. I took my hand from the table and walked quickly to where Lemon was seated. She was doing something with the device on the Wooden table that had bowls that were stacked precariously halfway to the ceiling. I had no idea how she could use this device without causing the bowls to fall over, but it astounded me. Clacking sounds came from the device that had many projections with letters on them.

"What's that fancy gadget you have there?"

I asked as Lemon continued using the device that hooked up to another device. I watched in awe as her fingers moved quickly over the device with many projections. When I asked my question, she stopped causing the clacking noises and looked up at me.

"By the standards of others, this is very primitive Rojo"

She told me as she stood up and got her White coat from the back of the chair.

"As for the Fancy Gadget that you see here, this is A KeyBoard, next to the KeyBoard is A Computer, and the object here is A computer Monitor"

She explained as she went back to using the KeyBoard. I thought about the terms that she used to describe these objects.

The Computer Monitor seems to be displaying information that is desired.

I observed as Lemon looked at the screen.

Everything seems to be arranged into organized arrays of documents

I told myself as Lemon continued to search for A specific document.

The Computer itself seems to be really intricately designed.

I told myself as I looked at it. It looked like Lemon when she… became that monster I had to fight. I shuddered at the thought of seeing her like that again. Lemon was looking at me with an interested look on her face.

"Are you scared of the unknown Rojo?"

She asked me as I looked at the Computer. I shuddered again and Lemon laughed.

"I'm not scared of the unknown Lemon"

I said as I turned to her. She looked up at me with A confused stare.

"What are you shaking for then?"

She asked. Just then, her eyes widened in terror.

"What's going on Lemon?"

I asked as she practically flew out of her chair.

"Get on the operating table"

She commanded me. I put my hands up in defeat.

"Ok, ok. I'm going!"

I said as I walked to the table. I heard Lemon muttering to herself as she walked quickly around the Lab gathering materials and other objects that I didn't see. I then turned my gaze to the floor, and my breath caught in my throat.

"Lemon?"

I called, with my voice becoming weak.

"What's going on Rojo?"

She called as I saw her emerge from behind A shelf with A box. She walked over to the table and set the box on the ground next to where I was laying.

"You might want to attend to the floor"

I said, motioning with my head to the blood that was all over the floor. Lemon turned her gaze from mine, to the floor. Lemon shireked in terror and almost fainted, but she was able to overcome whatever she thought she saw somehow. I saw her put both of her hands on her cheeks and look up at the ceiling.

This was A nervous habit that she had. It's kinda like how NorthWind scratches the top of her hand when she's nervous.

I mused to myself as I saw her look back to the floor again.

"T-There's b-blood o-on -t-the f-floor"

She stammered. I saw her start to shake.

"Lemon?"

I called to her. She whipped around to look at me. Her eyes were still widened in fear.

"It's just A little blood ok?"

I told her as she shook her head as if she was trying to clear something from it.

"You're right"

She said shakily. I could tell that she was trying to convince herself that it wasn't that bad.

Is this really what A germaphobe is like?

I thought as I watched Lemon bend over and take various tools out of the box that was next to the table I was on, one at A time.

"So?"

I started when Lemon had taken the last object out of the box. She stopped focusing on the tools to look at me inquisitively.

"What is your problem Rojo?"

She asked me as she turned from my gaze to line the tools that she took out of the box up near my body.

"For some reason I think I recall having someone else here at this time"

I heard Lemon murmur to herself as she started cleaning the floor. I was starting to become drowsy once again.

"Hey Lemon?"

I called as my eyes started to shut.

"What is it Rojo?"

She replied nervously.

"Am I supposed to be feeling tired?"

I asked with A yawn. Lemon looked over me while brandishing A knife.

"Yes you are, and now, you won't feel A thing"

She said as I saw something materialize behind Lemon.

Cynder's P.O.V.

It took me some time to reach Lemon's Lab, but I was able to teleport there after my third try. I made it just in time to see her threaten Rojo with A weapon.

"What are you doing!?"

I cried. Lemon yelped and jerked around to see who it was that had called her name.

"Were you expecting anyone else?"

I asked her angrily as she sighed in relief.

"Oh… it's only you Cynder"

She sighed. She started taking in large amounts of breath as she tried calming herself down.

"I suppose you're here to discuss the Devil Gene, right?"

She said when she had caught her breath. I nodded.

"I don't have much time to be here, but I'm going to need you to answer two questions"

I declared as we walked over to the Computer. Lemon flopped into the chair and started typing away on the KeyBoard. I scoffed.

"You need to start taking better care of yourself Lemon; this place is A total mess"

I grouched. Lemon sneezed, sending dust over the KeyBoard.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about!"

I stated as Lemon turned from the Monitor to look at me with disgust.

"Did you come to comment on my living conditions or did you come to find out more information regarding your...you know"

She started off angrily, but her voice trailed off as she finished her sentence.

"I'm surprised that you took A stand for yourself this time Lemon"

I said with A hint of amazement as she turned back to the computer. I watched her fingers move quickly over the over the KeyBoard as images that displayed the Devil Gene flashed across the screen.

"What have you figured out about it?"

I asked as I crossed my arms and looked at the Monitor.

"I've found that the Devil Gene is not normal..."

She said softly. I scoffed.

"That's it?"

I asked, looking at her with disappointment. Lemon growled.

"If you would've let me finish my sentence, you would've heard more!"

She exclaimed angrily. I turned my gaze from the monitor to look at Lemon.

"You've changed Lemon… what happened to you?"

I asked as Lemon looked up at me. Her eyes seemed to flash for A moment. It may have been A trick of the light, but it scared me for some reason.

"What happens in my life is of no concern to you, now let's get back to what we were discussing, shall we?"

She declared as she turned back to the monitor. I turned back as well.

"I also found that his parents were not normal either"

Lemon started. I felt A cold air mass move over my shoulders, causing me to shiver.

"What do you mean that they weren't normal?"

I asked as the Monitor showed A histogram of values.

"Emperor's parent colors were Gold and White, right?"

Lemon asked me as her fingers went across the KeyBoard once again. The table of values vanished and A complex Color Wheel appeared on the Monitor.

"If you were to combine Gold and White, you would get A lighter shade of Gold, but Emperor is not Gold"

She murmured to herself as she studied the Color Wheel.

"My question is what happened to make him A Green color rather than Gold"

Lemon told me as she looked at me. I returned her gaze with an annoyed gaze.

"How does Emperor's color have anything to do with the Devil Gene?"

I asked as I noticed that she was fidgeting with her hands.

"Are you nervous or something Lemon?"

I asked her as I looked at her fingers. They seemed to have wires that were tightly wound around her fingers. I laughed to myself.

It's probably one of her nervous habits.

I told myself. Lemon looked back up at me.

"I...I…"

She started as I looked back at the screen. She cleared her throat.

"I'm fine Cynder, even you don't think I am"

She grouched as she looked at the screen with me.

"Anyways, Emperor's color is different than his projected outcome"

She started as she went over the KeyBoard once again. The histogram was then replaced with A Genealogy flow chart.

"I looked into Emperor's past and found that none of his family had the Devil Gene"

She continued, but I cut her off.

"Then how does he have it?

I asked. Lemon took A deep breath.

"Let me finish please"

She said evenly.

"It was then that I found something odd: it wasn't until that I found that Halcyon's father, Gold, had the Devil Gene"

Lemon said with her voice becoming wavery. I turned my attention from the screen to look back at her. She was looking in disbelief at the screen.

"Gold then became the husband to his mother Siren after dropping his first wife"

She said slowly. Then she fell silent. I was amazed by how intricate her works were. It was then that I realized why I put her in this place.

"Wait"

I started. Lemon looked up at me.

"How's it possible that he could've re-married?"

I started.

"I thought we had an island-wide rule that said that this can't happen"

I finished with an ominous tone. Lemon looked up at me in fear.

"Are you upset with me Cynder?"

She asked fearfully as I saw her start to quiver.

"I'm more surprised and concerned that upset for starters"

Still, Lemon did not stop quivering. I turned my attention back to the Monitor.

"This is exactly why that rule was put into place"

I growled to myself as I watched licks of flame come from the corners of my mouth.

"W-what's g-going t-to-h-happen-n-now?"

She stammered. I was astounded by this fact.

"You know"

I started while I pointed to the Monitor.

"I think that I solved the reason for Emperor's Devil Gene"

I said as I looked at Rojo. suddenly, A thought ran through my mind.

What if John is responsible for everything that's been going on? If Emperor fought him and received the Devil Gene when he fought him in his awakening,wouldn't it mean that Pain Split caused the Devil Gene to move from Abyss to Emperor?

Lemon sprang out of her chair.

"Are you serious!?"

She said as she put both of her hands on my shoulders, nearly knocking the lizard off of my left shoulder. The lizard ran down my back and to the floor, where it ran up the table leg and scampered across the tabletop to look at the Devil Gene information that was portrayed on the Monitor.

"If I wouldn't have said it, I wouldn't have meant it"

I snorted as I shrugged of Lemon's surprised grasp to walk over to Rojo.

"That was incredibly rude"

I heard Lemon mutter under her breath. I half-smiled to myself as I walked to Rojo. as I made my way over to the table he was on, A substance started causing my walk over to the table A little more difficult.

"What's on th-"

I started to call to Lemon, but I didn't need an answer. I knew that this was blood, but I didn't know where it had come from. I then looked at Rojo. He seemed to be asleep, unmoving.

"I saw it Cynder"

Lemon said with half-annoyance and half-anger in her voice.

"I would offer to clean it up"

I said. Lemon stopped cleaning tools and looked at me with interest.

"Really?"

She said with A hint of hopefulness in her voice.

"But I think that I would end up only spilling more blood in the process"

I said with A smile. Lemon turned from my gaze with unamusement.

"You know I have Hemophobia Cynder"

Lemon said quietly as she started taking rocks out of Rojo's legs. I watched Lemon for the entirety of the time that she needed to take out all of them. It was interesting to see that Lemon had Hemophobia, but was able to help others that often had spilled blood coming from their body. When Lemon was done, most of Rojo's arms and legs were covered in Gauze and two lines of bloody rocks were placed next to Rojo's unmoving body.

"He's still alive?"

I asked in amazement. Lemon nodded.

"I can feel A pulse, but it's very weak"

She announced as she took off the leather gloves I never saw her put on in the first place. I felt something run up my leg, up my back, and place itself on my shoulder. I looked at my shoulder to see my pet lizard Slayer look at me with beady eyes.

" How were you able to check his pulse and confirm that he was alive if you didn't listen for A heartbeat or press your fingers against his neck?"

I asked as Lemon went to the opposite side of the room to get something from A storage closet. She returned from the closet with A bucket and A mop.

"I would appreciate it if would clean this up for me"

She said as she gave me both of the items.

"And what are you going to be doing?"

I asked as I snapped my fingers. Water appeared in the bucket.

"I've staved off my reactions to my fears, so now, I'm going into the nearest corner to cower"

Lemon said as she started to shake again. I was about to open my mouth to speak when she fainted. Slayer hissed on my shoulder. I shushed the lizard and continued to clean the blood off of the floor.

"Why is it everywhere that I go, someone has to faint with me around?"

I asked myself as I dumped the bloody water out of the bucket and into A small grate I found in the floor. I then walked back to the storage closet, but as I made my way to the closet, A wave of cold air passed over me, causing me shiver for A couple of seconds. What was odd about this was that Slayer never hissed or curled around my neck to keep heat. Often, individuals saw me with Slayer on my shoulder and they would confuse Slayer with being my pet, but it's actually shared between Lemon and I. Lemon was the one who had created Slayer in her Lab. it was actually her first creation in this setting! Suddenly, I was remembering how he had come to be.

She explained to me how she had created Slayer, and it's interesting how she did this. Lemon took A dead Assassin Lizard that she shot with an arrow and de-spined it back at the lab. She burned the spines and the took a DNA sample of the lizard. After this, she created A body for the new lizard. She told me that she was inspired with animals from other places, so she created A body that portrayed all of her likings from every lizard that she knew of. She told me that she created this lizard cell by cell in her lab, but I don't think she did, but what I did understand was her final addition to Slayer. This was adding Magic to the lizard. When Lemon presented this project to me, I was infuriated at first. I thought she was wasting her time building lizards, but when she explained to me that this was just the first step in her "Genetic Engineering Program". I remembered asking her how this lizard could be used in A combative setting, but she told me in A roundabout way that the lizard was not to be used for that situation. I also remember telling her that if it wasn't to be used in this way, that I would be the one to name it. Lemon was ok with that so I named it the best thing I could think of at the time, which was Slayer.

By the time I had finished my flashback, I found myself standing by Rojo's side. It was odd to see him on an Operating Table. Next to his body was A bloody knife. The knife was so well kept, that I could see my reflection perfectly in it, as if it was A mirror.

"Rojo?"

I called softly to him. He groaned and opened his eyes slowly.

"Wh-what's going on?"

He started as he groaned again.

"Where am i?"

He asked softly as he tried to sit up.

"Do me A favor and don't get up"

I told him as I gently pushed him back to his original resting position on the table. Rojo looked at me, then past me at something else.

"What's Lemon doing in the corner there?"

He asked softly. I didn't even need to look to know that he was mentioning her cowering in the corner.

"She's just going through A bout of Hemophobia"

I said dismissively while I looked at the extensive use of Gauze and cotton that was keeping Rojo's scars from expelling any more blood.

"Hemo-whatia?"

Rojo asked as he closed his eyes once again. I chuckled to myself, which sent some embers to the floor. Just then, Slayer ran off of my shoulder, down my arm, and jumped from it, onto the table. He landed with A clang on the table along with some scratching sounds.

"What was that?"

Rojo asked softly with A soft moan.

"It's my pet lizard"

I said as I looked back at Lemon. She had stopped cowering in the corner, as I saw that she wasn't there anymore.

For someone who fought Rojo, she's interesting. How could she fight Rojo, but be scared of mostly everything?

I asked myself as I watched Slayer run all over Rojo, tearing open the Gauze that Lemon had put on Rojo's wounds.

"Slayer!"

I hissed. The lizard stopped running over Rojo and looked at me.

"Come here"

I commanded the lizard. The lizard jumped off of Rojo and walked around him, jumped off of the table, to my arm, where he crawled up my arm and settled on my shoulder.

"Don't you know that you have claws!?"

I hissed to the lizard. Slayer looked up at me with his beady eyes once more.

"Look at what you did to Rojo!"

I said as I took him off of my shoulder and placed him in my hand so that he could look at Rojo, who was bleeding once again.

"I think that you're going to have to take A step back Cynder"

I heard Lemon say as she pushed past me. She got on her knees and and started scrubbing the floor with rubbing alcohol. She worked furiously scrubbing all the area of the floor that had blood on it. When Lemon was about to go to the next spot, I tapped her shoulder.

"What is it Cynder?"

She asked with frustration in her voice.

"Rojo is bleeding again"

I said as I pointed to him. Lemon growled to herself.

"How did he start bleeding again?"

She asked herself angrily as she got up from her work in progress. She ran over to Rojo and moaned to herself.

"Did you let Slayer walk over Rojo?"

She asked as she turned back to me.

"I did. I really didn't think that he would've caused that much damage"

My voice trailed off as Lemon went back to work on Rojo's wounds.

"You should've known that Slayer has extremely sharp claws"

She muttered to herself as she worked. I didn't feel welcome anymore, so I used the Teleporter to exit the Lab. I waited for the object to work, and I then went through the teleportation procedure. When I opened my eyes, I was on top of the CourtHouse.

"Well that's just great"

I growled to myself.

At least this gives me time to think about the Devil Gene and what happened to Lemon

I told myself as I looked off into the morning sunrise.

The Devil Gene is something that's passed down from generation to generations

I recalled.

It's only through the generations that certain traits are passed down to the next of kin. From there, the child then receives something from every generation before, and something from the new generation

I thought.

But what makes Emperor so special is the fact that he isn't what color he was supposed to be and the fact that he inherited the Devil Gene from his father, or was it his brother?

I wanted to know the reasons for these things, but everything that I knew of now was was given to me by Lemon.

She taught me how to read, how to write, how to build simple things, and how to build computers. There were some things that she didn't teach me, and the biggest one was Magic. It took me many revolutions, but I eventually was able to use it efficiently and effectively. I learned it from NorthWind and Frostbite.

The only thing that bothered me still was the fact that all of this was going on. I wanted to know what exactly was at play here.

If Emperor loses control of himself again, there's no telling what he could do.

I told myself. I sat down on the side of the roof and let the sun wash over me. The sun brought warmth to my body, easing the tensions that ate at my insides.

How am I supposed to protect the United Islands if my husband-to-be is A threat himself?

I thought as I looked at the ground. I heard running coming from the road. I looked up from the ground and from my thoughts to see Venom running up the the CourtHouse.

"What are you you doing here so early Venom?"

I asked from the roof. Venom looked up from his current path and stumbled, tripping over his own feet, which caused him to fall the to the ground. He looked up at me with A scowl.

"I needed to run something here for Halcyon"

He told me as he brushed himself off. He then looked up at me when he had finished dusting himself off.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to watch the sunrise with you"

He said as he jumped from the ground. He landed next to me on the roof, causing some of the tiles come off of the roof. I watched them fall to the ground and shatter. I looked up at Venom, who was looking at me sheepishly.

"I'm probably going to be repairing that am I?"

He asked fearfully. I nodded slightly.

"I guess so then"

He said as he flopped down next to me.

"So, whatcha want to talk about?"

He asked me as he turned to look at the sunrise.