Immortal

Mr. Fujisaki leads us through a labyrinth of underground hallways, passing through a gauntlet of biometric scans and security checkpoints. Eventually, we emerge into a large facility with a few scientists in lab coats running around frantically. I recognize Dr. Ito, but I don’t know if she sees me before walking into one of the side rooms.

We proceed to a room containing large vats of rare earth minerals surrounding a table with arm and leg restraints. One look at the table tells me exactly how much the process hurts. Poor Chiyo, and I could do nothing for her.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Hop on.” Mr. Fujisaki gestures to the table. He’s really impatient, huh?

“You know, Mr. Fujisaki, I just realized, becoming a robot and all, I’m not gonna lose a very important part of my body, if you catch my drift, and I was wondering if I could just have one last… you know?”

Once again, he starts giggling uncontrollably. “You’re a funny man, Mr. Tsuruta. I like that. Maybe I’ll enhance that aspect of you in a couple of your clones, and you can start a comedy act. Well, I don’t see why we can’t spare a few minutes, assuming you can find a willing partner.” He turns to his guards. “Well? Any takers, ladies? He’s a fine, physically fit specimen, the best Japan has to offer.”

I look pleadingly at Saionji, and she returns a disgusted expression. “No way. I can’t believe you’d even ask.” Yup, I recognize her voice.

“Look, lady, it’s a very important part for a man.”

She rolls her eyes. “OK, I’ve had enough of this charade.” She turns her gun on Fujisaki. “I’m placing you under arrest for carrying out illegal human experiments.”

The other guards follow suit and point their guns at him, but Fujisaki just shrugs his shoulders. “Good luck getting out of here alive.”

“The army has a fix on my location,” Saionji says. “They tracked me all the way through your little maze, and reinforcements will be here in minutes. You can either come peacefully, or we’ll take the whole facility by force.”

“Go ahead. You won’t be able to keep me for more than two days. No judge is going to sign an order to hold me longer than that. I own them all.”

Saionji shakes her head. “The media will have a field day with this, and once the public knows, no judge will risk their reputation by letting you walk free.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but if you publicize my work, every country in the world will come after it. If the empire doesn’t appreciate what I’m trying to do for it, I’ve got no qualms selling it to the Americans.”

I knew all his patriotic talk was just a scam. Hold on, what’s that crystal he’s got in his hands?

“Watch out!” I dive at Saionji and push us behind a vat right before the flashbang goes off. It shields us from the blast, but the other guards are caught by surprise and are temporarily blinded. By the time I get to my feet, Fujisaki is booking it further into the building, and guards are pouring in from the outside.

Wasting no time, Saionji opens fire on the vanguard. I’m impressed. Figured someone like her, raised with a silver spoon in her mouth, would be squeamish about taking lives, but she doesn’t even flinch.

More flashbang crystals roll into the room from outside, but I kick them back out the door. We’ve bought enough time for the others to recover from temporary blindness, and they take up positions behind the other vats.

“The flashbang disabled our implants,” one of them shouts between bursts of gunfire, “but we can guard your rear. Don’t let Fujisaki escape.”

Saionji doesn’t need to be told twice. She quickly withdraws from the battle, and I follow close behind. We race through the door that Fujisaki left through and down a long hallway.

“What are you even doing here?” I ask as we run.

“Saving your sorry ass. I told you trying to play their game was a bad idea. Something like this was bound to happen.”

“And you somehow figured out that you’d be able to do that if you infiltrated Fujisaki’s private guard?”

“Hardly. I figured you could take care of yourself. My real target is Fujisaki. Once I learned what he created, I told a friend of my father’s who’s a general that—”

“You actually used your family connections? What happened to earning your own way?”

“Shut up. This is obviously bigger than any single person’s issues. Besides, you showed me that being a xyronin isn’t something you can do half-heartedly. If I don’t use every resource at my disposal, I’ll never surpass you.”

We emerge from the hallway into a much larger industrial room. This one contains very large open vats filled with a clear liquid, with walkways suspended above them.

“I know the army’s outside,” we hear Fujisaki’s voice from above us. “Release the Chiyos. They can push back the army and secure our escape.” A slight pause and then, “I’m sending biometric authorization now. Release. The. Chiyos.”

It doesn’t take us long to find him. He’s standing on one of the walkways, almost directly above us, talking on a phone built into some kind of control panel. Saionji points her gun at him. “Fujisaki, freeze.”

He glances down at us and presses a button on the panel. Clear liquid rises from the vat closest to us and forms into a wall, separating us from him. Saionji fires, but the bullets bounce off the wall, causing it to ripple.

“Is that liquid Xyrite?” Saionji asks aloud.

We don’t have much time to think about it. A wave of liquid rises from a second vat and threatens to crash down on us. We barely have enough time to dodge it and make a run for the stairs. After a quick climb, we’re meters away from Fujisaki, but the wall moves to block our path.

That’s when a rumbling noise, quiet at first, but getting louder, shakes the floor.

“Is that the Chiyos?” Fujisaki asks into the phone. “I need them on the surface, not down here. Tell them to—” He’s cut off by the thundering war cry of a hundred robot voices, echoing through the entire building.

“For Big Bro!”

Looks like Chiyo was able to get a message to Dr. Ito after all. Realizing that he’s been defeated, Fujisaki drops the phone and runs for a nearby door. Still blocked by the transparent wall, there’s nothing we can do but watch as he makes his escape.

But then, a few moments later, he backs into the room, followed by Ryuuzaki’s mother, who’s holding him at gunpoint. Ryuuzaki himself is close behind.

“W-What’s the meaning of this?” Fujisaki stutters.

“Simple,” she replies. “Once you’re gone, Ryuuzaki inherits the company. And I have you to thank for rewriting the bylaws to allow him to replace the board.”

“There’s a stipulation against murder,” Fujisaki points out.

“Yes, but not against industrial accidents.” Ms. Hosokawa grabs him by the collar and lifts him into the air. She must be wearing a power suit beneath her clothes, but even so, I can see the strain on her face. Ryuuzaki steps up to help, and the two of them manage to toss him over the railing.

There’s a sickening plop as he lands in a vat of liquid Xyrite. He plunges to the bottom and tries to swim up, but crystal solidifies around him, trapping him forever in a pose with his arm desperately reaching out above his head.

“I suppose becoming a statue is one way to achieve immortality,” Ms. Hosokawa quips. “What a foolish ambition. I hope you learned your lesson, Ryuuzaki. Next time you want to plan a conspiracy, come to me instead of some two-bit xyronin. I know how to play this game better than anyone.”

She glances at us, and I can see in her eyes that she’s considering vaporizing the witnesses, but when Ryuuzaki puts a hand on her shoulder, she pockets the crystal and turns to leave.

Ryuuzaki stays behind for a moment. “You were wrong, Mr. Tsuruta.”

“I’ve been wrong about a lot of things. You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

He points to the small Xyrite bump over his temple. “The implants made me a worse person. Without them, I would have understood how dangerous Mr. Fujisaki was. I still would have killed him, but I would have felt bad about it.” He looks down at Fujisaki in the vat. “Now I only feel relief, and it’s because of the implants.”

“Maybe,” I say, “but you can still choose to be a better person. You just need to make an effort.”

With a sad smile, he turns away and follows his mother out of the room. I can swear I hear him say, “I hope so,” but it may be my imagination.

Saionji and I return to the entrance to find that the Chiyos have subdued Fujisaki’s entire security team. Dozens of robotic heads turn to look at us as we arrive. “Is that?” many of them gasp. “Big Bro!” There’s a thunderous clanging as they all rush me at once, pulling Saionji away and glomping me. I’m being crushed between dozens of my little sister’s clones.

And I couldn’t be happier.