Vicissitude Yang Side

by Destine Williams

  “I’m here.”

  My throat pinches.“You won’t always be.”

  “Not in body maybe. But I’m here right now.”

  “What am I going to do when you’re gone?”

  “You don’t need me to keep you safe anymore. You’ll be fine on your own.”

  How can she say that for sure? After what we’ve lived through? “But Mom, I’m scared.” The moment the words leave my mouth, I realize what I said and purse my mouth.

  But Mai only responds with a soothing, “I’m here.”

  We stay like that: me crying into the phone and Mai patiently listening for the entire night.

  Morning comes.

  My face feels tight and dry. I reach up and rub the sleep out of my eyes. I find my phone dead under my jaw. I scoop it into my palm. Must’ve fallen asleep on Mai. I should’ve asked her about Amaterasu’s trial. Though I’m not sure how much Mai could really help in that department if it’s the sum of my memories.

  I wonder how Vampire and Pan got through the lab security. Haven’t seen much of them since they started working on it. I get up. My shoulder pain is only a dull soreness now thanks to the Pua Moana medicine. And a little stiff from the bandages.

  A knock at the door gets my attention.

  “Come in,” I say.

  The door opens just a cracks. Bo pokes his head in. “Hey, hey, mind if I check on that gunshot wound?”

  “Sure. Do you want me to sit? Or stand up?”

  Bo nudges the door open with one hand, revealing a duffel bag with a white cross next to him.“You might want to sit. I’m going to put a poultice on it.”

  I sit back down on the edge of the bed while Bo brings the duffel bag around. I hike up the hem of my shirt on my injured side.

  Bo unwraps my bandages and the gauze pad and tosses them into a paper bag designated as a makeshift trash can. He inspects the puckered red hole in my skin. “Not looking too bad. Doesn’t look like there’s any infection but let’s still be safe.” He wipes the wound with a wet towel before Bo brings covered bowl out of the duffel bag. A faint grassy smell wafts from it.

  An insistent tingle attacks my nose. I turn my head and sneeze into my uninjured arm. “What is that?”

  He takes the lid off. There’s a lumpy mustard-colored paste inside. “Marigold mana imported from Pua’alowhe.”

  “I thought that stuff wasn’t supposed to get wet.”

  “They make varieties that can.” He dips in a tiny brush and dabs it onto my wound. “Doesn’t act as fast or last long, unfortunately. But it’s cheap in bulk so hey. Whatever works.”

  I try not to make a face as he works. The poultice is warm and moist like a clammy handshake from an asshole you don’t like. “Are Vampire and Pan downstairs?”

  “The Damning Duo?” Bo grins and reapplies an adhesive gauze pad to my shoulder and holds it there. “Pan is having breakfast. Vampire might still be sleeping.”

  “They took shifts?”

  He covers the poultice bowl. "Yeah. They have to keep Vampire’s computer open for whatever you’re doing.”

  I hope we won’t have any battery issues when we get out there. “Do I have to do anything else for about my shoulder?”

  “At this point you don’t really have to worry about opening the wound again.” Bo starts putting his stuff away. “But exercise your arm a little. I’ll check on you again before you leave. If you want some food, there’s some downstairs.”

  My stomach rumbles at the invitation. It would be good to get my strength up now. Facing mechs wasn’t that hard in the simulator, but that was when it was a game. I can’t afford to push my Akuma genes in real life.

  I head downstairs. At the table, a sleepy-eyed Vampire rests her chin on Pan’s shoulder, pointing to something on the laptop screen. The pair notice acknowledge me with the briefest of glances.

  “How’s the security-cracking going?” I ask.

  “Surprisingly fast all of a sudden,” Vampire says, pouring creamer into her burgundy mug. “I don’t like it.”

  Bo disappears into the back and reappears with a plate of toast, a boiled egg, and shredded hash browns in pancake form for me. I thank him briefly before I pull out a chair from the table. “Isn’t it being easier a good thing?”

  “I like being a lazy fuck as much as the next person, but no,” Vampire says flatly. “For security systems in Tokaido, it sometimes mean that someone’s been messing with it already.”

  I lop a corner of hash browns away and fork it. “Someone else?”

  “Don’t ask me,” Pan says. “I haven’t got a clue. You know anyone who’d want something from the lab?”

  Dragons? After all, they attacked the lab with that possessed snake mech. My gut tightens a little. Do they know Amaterasu is there?

  Vampire frowns. I can tell that she’s probably thinking of the attack too. “Well, whoever it is. We still need to go, right?” She glances at me.

  “Right.” I can’t delay this. Especially not after that.

  Pan takes a watery sip of coffee and clacks away on the keyboard some more. Vampire pulls back and folds her arms. “Get everything that you think you might need. We can’t just poof back if you forget something. Be ready at three.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  Vampire tilts her head. “Shoot.”

  I lay my fork down. “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but… Why are you helping me?”

  There’s a beat of quiet. Then a severely delayed, “Huh?”

  My face heats. “It’s not like I have anything for you. And you’re doing an awful lot.”

  She sets her coffee on a waist-high table next to her. Rubbing her eyes, she shrugs. “Where I come from, we have a saying, Shalave ohanassase laleve ohanassashi silesse. It means—”

  “My family is your family,” I finish.

  Vampire’s sleepy eyes widen a bit. “You’re Pua Moana?”

  “Half. I wondered if you were from there.”

  Vampire stands up to stretch. “I know I don’t really have the magazine hula girl look like Heaven, but yeah. I’m one-hundred percent Pua Moana. And besides, it don’t feel right to sit by and twiddle my thumbs while a friend is struggling.”

  You and Tiff would get along. “Thanks.”

  She waves her hand. “Meh. You can thank me later with a selfie in front of the lab.”

  “A selfie?”

  “C’mon, bish… You’re about to break into a high-security lab. I think that’s worth at least two selfies,” Vampire says with a grin. “Before and after.”

  Pan holds her hand to her mouth, snickering.

  Vampire eyes her. “And what’s so funny?”

  Pan only shakes her head. “I don’t know where to start with you.”

  I cut my egg in half. Neither do I.

  The hours leading up to our trip are agonizingly long. My heart won’t stop quivering behind my ribs. I keep checking my already packed belongings. When I’m not checking obsessively, it’s pacing. If it’s not pacing, it’s looking at myself in the mirror. I don’t know where the sudden nervousness is coming from. I wasn’t nervous for Shig’s “request” (at least until he started freaking me out). Maybe it’s because I’m going to have my first trial. Or maybe it’s because I’m going to meet the big bad Amaterasu herself.

  I’ve never met an actual god before, unless our “meeting” at Ise counts. Mai doesn’t really count to me because she’s so human. But Amaterasu… she’s the one who chose me. Because of her, I’m going through all of this. I’ve never really been religious or anything, but now I’m starting to wonder if I should be.

  At exactly ten minutes to three, I help Vampire and Pan load up Pan’s car with the chi-energy converter for the laptop and all of our other stuff. A few minutes and we’re on the road.

  I stay in the backseat, distracted by the window for the most part while Vampire and Pan chatter on in their nerdy computer jargon. I send a text to Genji, asking if he’s okay. But the text
goes unanswered.

  The blocky silhouette Ise Technical Institute sits like a hunched hermit on the open grass. Vampire pulls up to the sandy bald curb-edge next the lab’s barbed-wire fence. A few sparse cars and freighter trucks dot the lot.

  I draw in a slow breath and put a hand on the door to calm my nerves. “Where should I go in from?”

  “Gimme a sec,” Pan says from the passenger seat.

  Vampire leans over. “ICU type stuff is on the basement floor by the look of it. Shortest route is probably through the…huh.”

  I crane my neck. “What?”

  “Place is on some bizarro emergency power setting right now,” Vampire says. “Don’t know what that’s about. But it’s probably got nothing to do with us. ‘Sides you’re a Hound anyway. You can see in the dark.”

  "Alright--"

  "Wait a minute."

  "What?"

  Vampire looks at me as if I asked a stupid question. ”Bish, we need to take a selfie."

  I raise an eyebrow, ”You were serious about that?"

  "Yes! Now get over here, bish!"

  I open my mouth to say something, but I lean up in between her and Pan anyway.

  Vampire angles her digital camera above our heads. "Say saving the homies!"

  I roll my eyes. “No."

  Snap! A white flash blinds us.

  "Bish…” Vampire turns her phone screen on me. The phone captured her and Pan cheesing really hard, but it captured me mid-Bitchface. “That's what you call a smile?"

  "You know what?" I open the door. "I'm out."

  "Wait…"

  "If this is about another damn selfie—”

  “No, this is really important,” Vampire says, curling a finger at me to come closer. She points at her laptop screen. “You’re going to want to look at this.”

  I lean over again.

  Vampire’s laptop shows the four floors of the lab. The doors are glowing red.

  "What does all of that red mean?"

  “Those doors aren't active for some reason," Vampire says. “You can still use the back, but it wasn't like that yesterday. Just keep that in mind when you’re coming out. If something else comes up, I'll let you know by Gene Watch. And bish…"

  "Yes?"

  "You better not die in there."

  "I won't."

  “Because we’re taking a better picture than this when you come back.”

  I get out of the car and slam the door behind me.

  The reek of blood litters the pale blue halls the moment I step in. Red smears the walls. Toppled mechs spew sparks from their severed frames. But most disturbing of all are the charred bodies still staring on with their mouths open in mute screams, the light of life gone from their eyes.

  A cold weight settles into my gut. What the hell happened here?

  Footsteps thunder in my direction.

  I jump. Someone’s coming.

  I scan around, finding a wheeled cart that has its lower compartments covered by a curtain. I drop into my smallest fox form and push my way inside. The top shelf compartment bumps my back.

  This isn’t working. The sound of the footsteps grow louder.

  I freeze. I have to make it work. Pressing my belly to the shelf bottom, I crawl forward and pull in my tail. The footsteps move just outside the cart.

  Heart thumping, I keep still.

  “What are we supposed to do now if the doors don’t work?” One man speaks up.

  “There’s gotta be another way to revive the main power, right?” The woman asks. “Get that cart. That’s the one with the key to the gene gem room, I think.”

  The cart jerks into motion.

  I dig my paw pads into the shelf to keep from moving. Oh gods… where are we going?

  “I’ve tried the main exits, but they won’t budge. It’s pretty stupid that the outer doors run on chi power. We’re all trapped in here with… that monster,” the man mutters.

  Monster? A dragon?

  “What about the emergency exit on this floor?” The woman asks. “It runs on normal electricity, right?”

  “It didn’t work.” The man sighs. “Tried it. I think her power killed the circuits on it. We’re better off trying to get the main power back on.”

  “How did the Vermilion Bird get in here anyway?” The woman asks. “I thought Heaven said they both went missing.”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t want to get close enough to find out,” The man says flatly. “Best thing we can do right now is protect ourselves.”

  I raise my head until my ears graze the shelf above me. Vermilion Bird? That’s what caused all of this?

  The cart comes to a halt.

  My pulse jumps into my throat. Why are we stopping?

  “Shit, look at that hole!” The woman cries. “And all the security mechs are ruined.”

  “Yeah,” says the man. “She’s a goddess of war.”

  The cart starts moving again, but it doesn’t last long before we roll to a stop.

  “Electricity, wind, mountain for sure,” says the woman. “Err…there was one more element, wasn’t it? I don’t remember if it was fire or ice.”

  “You never heard the story as a kid?” The man asks, sounding astonished. “She had fire at first, but she stole the north wind from the Black Tortoise because she was so jealous. In the end, the sun goddess took her fire and gave it to the tortoise. She got to keep the ice, but as punishment, ice was her weakness too.”

  The woman huffs. “Some scientist you are. I don’t want to bet my life on a children’s story.”

  “You can take the fire gem if you want.” The man says flatly. “I’m not taking any chances. I don’t want to die. Besides, why do you think ice and wind are fused? That’s the lore behind it.”

  “Hmph. Wish we had some chi stones around here. Then we wouldn’t all be sitting ducks,” The woman grumbles. “What should we do with the cart?”

  “Just leave it here. We can get another if we need it. And don’t take that lab coat. I think she can track you from the smell of blood.”

  “There’s gotta be one more door we could try,” the woman says. “What about the one in the back? Where we passed earlier?”

  “Doesn’t that one only work from the outside?”

  “I bet we can get it to open as an exit if we tinkered with it,” The woman says.

  “Gods, if this works…” The man never finishes.

  A light scuffling sounds above me. Then footsteps. Then silence.

  I poke my muzzle out of the cart. They’re gone. Emerging, I look around.

  Racks of clothing crowd the room with spare lab coats, pants, gloves, and other gear built for dealing with chemicals. The clothes the couple discarded are on the floor, smothered with blood stains. There’s a glass case of gene gems, but naturally, the spaces with the electricity, wind, mountain, and fire gene gems are empty.

  So this is the store room. I shift into human form and activate my Gene Watch. It was ice that he said was the weakness, right? That chi stone that Vampire gave me should come in handy in case I run into that bird. I go into my equipped chi stones. I change the auto default from wind to ice. I wish that I thought to take the gene gems. Those would’ve been perfect for this. I draw my gunblade and mirror then leave the store room.

  Darkness greets me. My eyes adjust. There we go. I strain my ears, listening for signs of anyone else. But the halls are quiet.

  Red signs hang overhead. Chi Transfusion. Destabilization Room. Supplies Room. Stairs —>.

  There we go. I slip down the hall, giving all fallen mechs a wide berth until I get to a non-sliding door. Dim emergency light barely carve the outline of the stairs. There’s no scent of people or blood thankfully.

  Before I can take a step down, my Gene Watch pings. Lyra appears and pulls up the hologram screen. “There is an incoming call from Pan M. Would you like to take it now?”

  >>Yes

  Lyra disappears and the screen changes to show both Pan and Vampire’s face. Bot
h of them frowning.

  “Yo, bish. Are you almost done yet?” Vampire asks.

  “Vampire, I just got in here. I’m on my way to the basement,” I say, hurrying down the first flight. “What do you want?”

  “To tell your ass to hurry up and finish. Our screen started showing something with a really high chi reading moving around on the top floor. It was copying your movements for a little bit,” Vampire snaps. “You know, knock on wood and all, hopefully it’s a coincidence. But knowing your luck—”

  “Just be careful.” Pan says. “It disappears and reappears. If we see it again, we’ll tell you.”

  Disappears and reappears? Maybe that’s the Vermilion Bird? Chilly prickles erupt through my spine. I hope not. More importantly, I hope that the copying has nothing to do with me. “Alright, I’ll keep a look out.” I hang up and continue down the stairs.

  Much to my surprise, I find lights on. The walls here and the tiles are hauntingly reminiscent of PoleControl’s maze. So much in fact, that I gaze up at the ceiling, looking for where I could flip upside down.

  Whirr. Whirr. Whirr.

  I whip around.

  A blue rabbit mech opens its mouth, revealing a gun barrel inside.

  Alarm jolts through me. I jerk my mirror arm up to my face.

  The shot pings and glance off my mirror. Every bullet forces me back. I grit my teeth and wait it out.

  When the shots stop coming, I return fire with my gun blade. The ice bullets rip through mech’s frame. It slinks to the ground, inactive. Something ejects from the mouth.

  With a quick glance around to make sure no one else is coming, I pick up the Yang chip. I’ll keep this just in case. I run down the next hall.

  Doors line the walls. Their windows don’t offer promising views. Lab rooms. Empty offices. Not that it matters. None of them are compatible with this chip. Finally I get to the end of the hall where there’s a black door with a Yang chip missing. I put it in.

  The door opens. I only get one foot over the threshold before I hear: “Bok-bok-bok. Cock-a-doodle-BOOM!”

  And a stream of fire hurtles at me.

  Heart thumping, I raise my mirror. Even with the mirror protecting me, I can feel the heat. The stench of burning stings my nostrils.