Chapter 72b: Karma and Me

It took many, many nights of patience, talks, and paperwork, but Riku was finally able to get Alice into a CT Scan that only he was able to review the results of.

His reputation really proved to be a useful tool, one not readily abused.

She didn't say much throughout the process, and quickly fell asleep upon being returned to her bed.

Her body felt weaker by the day, reflected mostly in paler skin and drier, discolored hair.

But he tried to focus solely on the results of the test. Nursery's presence could be found in the data, but it didn't seem capable of fighting back, and thus all the data came out clean.

Also confirming Alice's remarks that it only moves through eye contact.

There were…startling revelations he discovered through this scan. Stuff he only wanted to speak of in Alice's presence. Others…he wasn't so sure what to make of them.

He waited until most of the other doctors were preparing to leave and be replaced by the night shift before returning to Alice's room, where the nocturnal child was now awake and gazing outside at the moon.

A deep sigh from him put her on edge, and she delicately turned to face him with a more…natural smile, one yet fraught with unease.

"Back so soon, doctor? Am I to assume you found nothing?"

Riku closed his eyes and gently gestured a hand out, "Lay down Alice. Get comfortable. We have…a lot to talk about, I feel."

Alice lingered in her position, and then sank into her bed as he approached. He sat down, waited for her to close her eyes, and then gently waved his hand out.

"The CT Scan showed how Nursery interacts with your body. He functions almost like a second nervous system, overlapping with many parts of your body that take care of your health and motor functions."

"However…he primarily lives in your brain synapses."

Alice remarked, "You claim he's…a symbiote?"

Riku chuckled happily, "I'm surprised you know the terminology, but yes. Though on a spectral level."

Alice then jumped ahead in assuming, "...A-And you say he's…attached to my bodily functions. Then…he's making me sick?"

Riku shook his head, "That doesn't mesh with the pattern of behavior he's shown so far. From inflicting strangers with nightmares, to constantly wanting to remain within range of you…No. Nursery is…your guardian."

Alice's eyes engaged a rather…puzzled look as she turned to face him, "G-Guardian…? Then…why am I so, so sick…?"

She then stuttered, "H-How do I know you're right about this, doctor?"

To which Riku looked into her eyes and smiled, "Have I led you astray so far?"

She swallowed and let out a couple coarse coughs, before meekly going, "No…"

Riku then held his breath and looked away, muttering with regret, "You will not like what I have to say though."

When Alice said nothing in return, he looked at her once again and delayed the truth no further, "It's your state of mind that is responsible for your illness."

He let the words sink in. This was a process that would take time, and he didn't want to overwhelm her.

A strange diagnosis, but she had always been a strange girl…

Nothing changed about his resolve though, only the methods through which he can cure her.

"You've heard of symbiotes. Do you know how they function?"

A pause, followed by Alice puckered her lips and shaking her head. Perhaps an attempt at feigning ignorance? No…she simply did not want to confront the truth.

Nevertheless, the truth was going to be illuminated through his voice, "Symbiotes feed off their host. Whether it's to their benefit or destruction varies. Fortunately, we've seen enough consistent behavior to identify 'Nursery' as a benefactor."

"That rare illness you acquired was cured by 'Nursery', wasn't it?"

"...Y-Yes." Alice muttered.

"But…" Riku felt somber saying this, "A power wave of negative emotions overwhelmed Nursery's will all at once, warping him into something he was not meant to be, and in turn…inflicting you with pain and illnesses, because that is what you believe you deserved."

Alice's arms shook under her sheets.

"And all of this can be traced back to the gap in your tale. Alice…" Riku looked her dead in the eyes. Stern yet soft…and asked her, "What did you do to your parents?"

Her face tensed up and her eyes quivered. With a quick glimpse of panic at him, she slowly rose upright in her bed and gripped the edge of her sheets.

"Y-You have the police outside my door, d-don't you…or the FBI…or the CIA…!"

Riku shook his head, "I would never do that."

"LIAR!" Alice shouted like a cold banshee, the echoes of Nursery throbbing visibly outside of her frail frame, "A-All of you adults…think you can lie and hurt me more…!"

"STOP!" She shouted again, but as a pulse of haunting, spectral energy shot out of her body and threatened to throw everything into a whirlwind of chaos…

Riku simply stood and with one swift but gentle gesture, kept even a bolt from flying out of place.

Alice gripped her sheets tighter and gasped, quickly falling back into bed looking weaker than before.

"This isn't a matter of law and order. I am asking you this as a doctor." Riku said calmly while he sat back down.

"Doctor, doctor…are you…a-actually a doctor?" Alice wondered aloud.

Riku nodded again.

Alice turned to look at him briefly and then faced the other way entirely, curling the sheets around her body and trembling.

"P-Please don't make me remember…"

"...In that past, I could respect that request, Alice. But now…now that I know definitively how to save your life," Riku had to be a little blunt, "I can't look the other way from the secrets you've been forced to bear the pain of."

"So can I share that burden with you?"

"..." Alice needed a few minutes to herself, but time felt like it passed by in terms of hours before she turned to face him once again.

There were soft, lingering trails of water resting on her cheeks, and a trickle of blood coming off her lips, "...Y-You're too kind. Yet you waste it all on the worst kind of person…"

"...You guessed correctly, doctor. I…I…" She squeezed her eyes shut and choked, "I killed my parents…!"

"T-The procedures to save my life cost them a fortune. And…they blamed it all on me for not being their perfect little girl."

"They would've continued doing what they did before in a much crueler fashion, and I would've let them…"

"But then when they blamed my imperfections on those 'wretched fairy tales', when they cast all my books into a fire…"

"I snapped."

"I grabbed their throats in one hand each and strangled them to death as they screamed and cried and for the first time in my life, showed vulnerability much like my own…"

"But I laughed in their faces and enjoyed flushing the colors from their eyes. I was a screaming banshee, ugly and horrible yet all too happy to think straight…"

"B-By the time I got up I was limp over their bodies covered in their blood. I screamed and cried and-and…"

She bit her lower lip until she bled, "Stop making me relive this, doctor…!"

Riku had long since closed his eyes in response to her pain. Imagining vividly the events that took place, it wasn't hard to fill in the gaps from there…

"I agree. You have…suffered enough."

He was never the best of fathers.

But it always hurts more to learn of those who were so much worse.

He needed a moment to relax his nerves, while Alice spoke in a childish voice of fright, "I'm a bad person, doctor…That's the kind of soul you're 'saving'."

Riku pulled his head back and murmured, "I can't judge you."

"Why not…?" She said with some frustration.

Riku looked up at the ceiling for a while and rested his hands on his legs with a sigh.

"It doesn't make it right, but…What else could you have done?"

Alice creased her lips together with a firm slant of her brows and whimpered, "I-I'm going to Hell. So what's the point of living…?"

"What about Wonderland?" Riku answered sincerely, but Alice continued to break down before his eyes.

"T-That was just a childish f-f-fantasy! Only good girls get to see Wonderland!"

Riku was disheartened by her blunt lies, but this was expected. Yet she needs to confront this pain if she ever wants to keep living.

All he could do right now was be the inverse of the Cheshire Cat, and guide her concisely.

"If fighting to live is a sin, then we all deserve Hell."

Alice responded after a gasping breath, "B-But I'm also a leech…a good for nothing leech…!"

"If that's what you truly believe, then I will help you find a way to give something to the world."

"Y-You…" Alice tucked her face into the pillows and cried out in pain, "I'll make mistakes again…I'll kill more people…!"

"Alice…!" He raised his voice for her attention and then said gently, "The world doesn't become a better place if you die."

Alice pulled her head from the pillows and there was a cataclysmic lack of light in her eyes.

"Ha…ha ha…" She laughed coarsely, "Every doctor wants to save my life. Just. ONCE, why-why...couldn't you let me die…."

She dove headfirst into her pillow and screamed, "I-I've had enough…! Of empty promises…! And my sickening, horrible self…!"

"Just kill me now! PLEASE!"

There was a tight, painful gasp, and then complete silence.

Riku stood right up and the moment he looked at her, her arm fell limp off the side of the bed. There was a raspy breath in the air, and then the color faded from her skin and hair…

"..." He squeezed his fists and turned the other way, forced to listen to her heart monitor flatline.

He rubbed his face and let out a deep, regretful sigh, shedding a single stressful tear, "How do you keep making this look so easy…?"

He snuck over to the heart monitor and unplugged it. He left the curtains open, shut the door, and with a gesture turned the security cameras off.

He then positioned the chair to face her bed and put his hands under his chin.

There was no admission of defeat in this man's eyes.

But he had to think…

"I pushed too many expectations on her. No…I pushed myself onto her."

"I…I only meant well, but…'well' and 'right' are not morally entwined."

"Maybe…the right thing to do now is…take this as a cruel, cruel lesson."

All he needed to show himself was that she was capable of smiling to punch that stupid thought of his head.

He took his gloves off and flicked them into the trash. He stood tall and resolute, taking a moment to step aside and wash his face off at the sink. Then, staring at his reflection in the towel dispenser, he saw his younger life gesturing at a letter sticking out of his inner coat pocket.

"...Thank you, but I didn't forget this," He said with a hearty laugh before tapping the letter back into place, "Nor how to perform a miracle…"

The reflection gave a nod and vanished like fog.

Riku returned to Alice's bed and held both hands aloft. One bright with light, the other burning with darkness.

He took a deep breath and plunged both elements together into Alice's body, mixing them boldly in perfect unison.

His spirit left his body, and time came to a stop.

He drifted into a deteriorating meadow, panes of sky falling like glass.

There, Nursery floated, cradling white embers that struggled to maintain a human shape.

With one step, Riku stopped the deterioration of this spiritscape and put Nursery on edge.

The tangled wraith slithered a few feet away and then locked looks with Riku, who gently raised his hand until they were at ease.

He looked at Alice's spirit, fading into the ether, and reached his hand out to instill some of his elements to pull her back in.

But Nursery tightly wrapped its form around his wrist and hissed.

Riku noticed that in another tendril, Nursery was holding onto bits of other spirits, and his curiosity was piqued.

"Hmm…" He then smiled and spoke at ease to the protective spirit, "Now I understand. You never stopped following your original desire to save her."

"The nightmares you inflicted upon other people were a test to prove the strength to live, and you harvested part of that will in hopes that giving them to Alice would heal her."

Nursery stared motionlessly, its grip loosening.

Riku raised a brow and murmured, "You've seen mine. So you should understand…"

Nursery paused for a bit before loosening its grip the rest of the way, and then it opened its tendrils up a little, releasing a very, very tiny, garbled, elfish voice, "please save her."

Riku bowed his head, "Let's do that together. And maybe someday…you can show me your true form?"

Nursery bundled itself up in its tendril and wiggled out of the way, letting Riku take hold of Alice's spirit and with a deep breath, commit to his choice to bring her back to the world of the living.

It was a gesture that took as long as a blink in the real world, and he quickly fell back into his seat with a gasp.

He brushed his hand across his mouth and noticed he was sweating, "Better than before…but still…"

He looked at Alice's body and saw her hand twitching. With a touch so subtle it was like he wasn't there, he helped turn her around so her face could behold familiarity.

He then watched her eyes be thrust open and she took the first breath of her second life in this world.

But she jumped to gripping the edge of her sheet and looked frightened. It took her a few moments to register that he was still here.

All he did was smile.

"...W-What did you do to me? I should be dead…I-I…" Her voice came out clearly, having a more notably childish cadence.

"As I said, the world would not be a better place if you died. And…" Riku finally tugged the letter of his coat and opened it up, handing the many papers over to her, "It wasn't exactly fair for you to leave before you saw this."

She took the papers with caution and held them up before her face. Riku turned the lights on, marveling at how the color seemed to be rushing back through her hair and skin.

"T-These are…" She bit her lip and swallowed hard, gasping her answer, "Adoption…papers…?"

Riku smiled pleasantly and hung his head, "I had a long talk with my wife, along with a few of my friends regarding the legal ends of this idea, but…"

"As it turns out, while you have a benefactor paying for all your medical bills, you have no listed legal guardian as of yet."

"So, I called in a few favors, put together all the documents and now…"

He looked her readily in the eyes, "All I need is your signature, and you will be officially welcomed into my family."

The girl pressed the papers against her tearful face and let it go, "E-Even after everything…you still show me too much kindness…"

"H-Huh…?" She put the papers down on her lap and moved her arms around. It didn't take long for them to fall slowly to her sides and for her to lean back, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Wait…I'm…not sick anymore?"

"I wouldn't say you're at perfect health. There will be damages to your limbs that are natural from your constant bed rest. And I have to check and make sure that there are no other lingering side effects."

Riku topped all this with a smile, "But…whatever happens next…to your body, to your future…YOU have the freedom to choose it."

Alice stared him in the eyes, unable to stop crying. She then faced the stack of papers on her lap, and back to him, wondering, "...And what if I decide life isn't worth living again?"

"...I'll make you this promise. I won't bring you back to life again. But it's on this vow, that I promise to give you a world of whimsy and laughter and excitement. I WILL…give you Wonderland."

"..." She wiped her eyes dry and with a hearty sniffle ended up laughing, "F-Fine…You are an odd one, doctor."

She waved her fingers out with a cute pout and Riku took the pen he had hidden in his coat to give it to her.

Her hands were shaking as she clumsily wrote her name on the paper, and quietly nibbled her stray strands of hair.

"...Here," She handed the pen and papers back to Riku, "Ummmm…"

"Is Nursery…gone?" She wondered with regret.

Riku paused and then gave off a laugh, "I think…they're going to rest for a bit."

"...And, maybe I should follow suit." Alice took a deep, clean breath, and after pausing to take that in, laid her head to rest on her pillow.

"Let me get you a clean one. And some sheets."

"...Th-thank you, doctor."

Riku had turned away briefly, but couldn't help but bring himself back and joke, "What, no 'father'?"

Alice's eyes sprung open and after she stared at him for a while without a word, Riku gestured his hands out and chuckled, "Relax, I kid. Call me whatever you feel comfortable with."

"...Okay." Alice nodded, and then finally let herself rest like a regular girl should.

Riku left the room, and then checked his surroundings.

"Hrrmm…" Resting into a naturally perturbed expression, he dipped into his coat one more time and pulled out a small, deactivated computer chip.

An acquisition he barely managed to get out of Alice's brain without her noticing.

"...Just what are you?" There was only a name on the chip…'Dregs'.

"Hrrmmm…" He tucked the chip away in his coat, and decided to work towards solving this mystery in the morning…with the help of someone better suited for this.

And when that time arrived, and he was back in the safety and warmth of home, he was up a little earlier than most and went to knock on Lunalei's door.

She groggily dragged herself over to open it, still wearing her pajamas. But his presence shook her awake with a stuttering of, "D-Dad…?"

Riku puffed his fist against his mouth a few times and then murmured, "Good morning, daughter. I…know this is sudden, but…I could really use your help."

Lunalei's mouth gawked and she ran back into her room to get her glasses on, carrying a deep blush as she returned, "S-Sure, what's up?"

Riku flicked the chip out of his pocket into her hands and remarked, "I need some help figuring out what was in this chip."

Lunalei stared at the chip and her expression shifted funnily for a moment, "Dad where the hell did you even…"

She looked up and tried to hold her composure, mostly happy to see him needing her smarts.

"Never mind, it's work related I'm guessing? I…Ok, don't tell anyone, but I installed a chip reader on my phone months back, y'know, just in case…"

"Heh, you take after your teacher. I'll give you space. Just let me know when it's done." As Riku prepared to leave and get ready for breakfast.

"W-Wait!" Lunalei blurted out, "It's only going to take a few seconds. Just wait here."

She quickly shut the door behind her and Riku waited for her outside. And she did stick to her word, though when she came back her expression hung with disappointment.

"S-Sorry dad, the chip's frayed. And with how small it is, it'd take nanobots to repair it."

"I see. Well, thank you for putting up with my sudden request." Riku bowed with a smile.

Lunalei shook her head, "I-It's fine dad. Uhhh, do you want me to keep the chip, or…?"

"Yes. Just in case you can get in touch with Catherine during her free time."

"Ah." Lunalei hung her head slightly.

Riku then prepared to leave when Lunalei spoke up again, "H-Hey…!"

He turned around and was surprised to see her stepping closer, "...Do you have time this morning to get a cup of coffee?"

Riku nodded, "Certainly. Let me get dressed."

He left with a smile, which hid his more perturbed thoughts, "'Dregs'...How long has that name been avoiding my sight? And just how many more have they 'fixed' like Alice?"

Once her dad was far enough away, Lunalei sank back into her room and whipped out her phone.

There were only two functions accessible on this chip. One was a tracking signal which had been deactivated hours ago.

The other…was the code command: "Disintegrate" which only activated when a person's vitals ceased to function.

And given the chip had 'Dregs' on it…well, a lot of questions came attached to that regarding how this got in her father's possession.

But fortunately, he didn't seem to notice the name. It was in her best interest to hope that all he was doing was part of his job, and nothing more.

After double-checking to make sure nobody was watching or listening, she laid back on her bed and called S.A.N.C.T.U.M. up.

"S.A.N.C.T.U.M., big news. I just got ahold of a computer chip connected to 'Dregs'."

"R-Really…how?"

"...My dad gave it to me."

"...Does he know?"

Lunalei shook her head, "I…think he just wanted my expertise on the subject."

And she felt really happy saying that.

"Well, what are their contents?"

"Let me send the data to you real quick…" After she did, his response was swift and shocked.

"A-A disintegration protocol?"

"Mmm hmm…" Lunalei nodded along, "I always did think it was fishy that Hamazaki disintegrated after being struck by the Devil's bones."

"But the Valkyries didn't…"

"Probably because being overloaded by electricity in their bodies short-circuited the chips."

"You're suggesting then that only the superpowered members of 'Dregs' have these chips in their brains?"

"And not only that, I think this chip gives us evidence of something…I theorized about, but brushed it off for a long time."

"Oh?"

"...We still haven't found the leader of 'Dregs'."

"Haven't found…? But surely, the Devil would be…"

"I know," Lunalei sighed with some frustration, "No point fretting over it right now. We need to focus on stopping the Devil."

"...Do you have an idea, master?"

"Actually…yeah. This chip was just the gift we needed to turn the tide on them."

"Buuut…" She hid the chip away and reset her phone to normal settings, "For now, I'm…going to go enjoy coffee with my dad."

"Ah, wonderful news, master! I hope you enjoy it!"

"T-Thanks, I will…" With her body feeling lighter than air, Lunalei turned the phone off all the way and went to get dressed for a nice day…

Now, the nightmares are behind her, and she can start moving forward…

Next Time: Leo and the License