Four days in the Gandole facility and I’ve already regained most of my strength. My broken bones are still tender. The doctors have taken x-rays of my leg each day showing me its speedy recovery. My leg has gone from five breaks in the bone to small fractures in an accelerated amount of time. They have hypothesized my body will be completely rejuvenated within the week.

With Reaka’s monstrous strength each hit she laid on me was enough to rupture any organ in its path. I heard one of the doctors say being hit by her was the equivalent of being hit by a steel girder, that when I first arrived my insides looked more like soup than body parts. The nanites are efficient workers. They first repair any major organ without which I would die then move on to the less important. Over the past four days most of my organs are fully healed without any surgery or the rest of Reaka’s nanites.

Dr. Genome has come by to visit several times but had not said anything since my admission. He watches the doctors as they checked on my progress. Aihl, on the other hand, has not checked in on me even once. That freak is most likely back in Aidon piloting the Myrmidon and destroying the rest of Ralkain; Aidon’s precious capital.

I look up at the white tiled ceiling then out the window at the thick brush that line the forest’s edge around the facility. I think back to Aihl’s words.

“Of course not, how could you betray something you never were? You were used then thrown away when you were no longer of value. That’s why you are not with the Oracle now, right? They got rid of you like the trash they believe you to be.”

They wouldn’t do that I assure myself. Of all people Fantasia wouldn’t leave me to die. We practically grew up together, we fought together, and we survived because we relied on each other. I saved her many times in the past and she saved me even more. There is no way in Inferno’s fire she would abandon me.

Tink, tink, tink. I hear something hit the metal headboard of my bed. I turn to see Dr. Genome tapping against it with his cane.

“We have good news for you my friend,” he says.

I sit up in the bed. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say friend, Doctor.”

He walks from one end of my bed to the other. “Hmm. Well, let’s see if we can’t change that, shall we. We aren’t enemies you know.” He looks calmly over me.

“What are we then, victims of circumstance?” I ask.

“No,” he replies with conviction. “What we are was brought about by more than mere circumstance. You were guided to me so that I could show you the way.”

I grab his shirt. “There is only one thing I want you to show me and that is Lucy! Where is she?”

“She is the reason I am here today,” he says as two nurses walk in with a wheel chair.

I let go of his shirt and he steps back straitening it out. “Get in the chair and let's go.”

“Where?” I ask.

“My genetics lab, your girlfriend is there.”

I scoot to the edge of the bed. The nurses help me into the wheelchair. He walks into the hallway one of the nurses pushes the wheelchair behind him. The other stays and proceeds to clean and remove the sheets from the bed. I see her out of the corner of my eye as she folds them into a neat stack. She glances at me and gives me a fake smile before continuing her work.

As I near the door I remember the hall on the lower level covered in dried blood, bullet holes and human remains. A nightmare, empty of compassion and any regard for human life. After seeing how nice the room I stayed in was, it’s hard to believe the torturous room is a part of the same compound. Outside in the hallway doctors run from room to room looking like they haven't slept in days; people on stretchers bandaged and still bleeding waiting for an doctor to work on them.

“It looks like a busy day. Shouldn't you be tending to your own instead of a foreigner and an enemy scout?” I ask.

“Our soldiers are acquiring the necessary attention,” Dr. Genome says calmly. “But you’re special. You have something in you that makes you more than some wounded warrior.”

“Yeah. Reaka’s nanites,” I say.

“The nanites kept you alive,” he says. “But I see something more. The Aidoshians might not have seen it but I do.”

“What?” I ask.

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“The true warrior spirit within you. Come on. Think about it. You survived the fall of Aidon. You survived crossing paths with the Alpha Myrmidon and its pilot. You killed Reaka, a super soldier who was enhanced to God-like status because of Black Technology and you did all this without Univer. You, Kai, are more than what the Aidoshians have caused you to believe. Gods would fear a man like you.”

I cannot think of anything in my defense. I have truly grown tired of defending Univer, He has not once revealed even the slightest concern for me or my family. So I sit here and listen to the doctor. At least he is trying to save me.

We finally make it to the door of Dr. Genome’s genetics lab which is situated on the highest floor of the hospital. The lab door is solid steel with a single guard behind bulletproof glass who, “buzzes” us in. The door zooms down into the floor revealing an empty white tiled room with a domed roof. Genome walks in and the nurse pushes me in before excusing herself.

“What is this some sort of trick?” I yell.

“No trick. This is the laboratory of my own design.” he says. “Voice recognition. Dr. Genome and guest.”

“Voice recognition successful,” says an automated female voice. “Bio-scan successful. Welcome, Doctor. Hello guest my name is Sasha. I am this labs A.I. support system.”

“Hello,” I say.

“Ah, yes, Sasha could you bring out project 15-F32,” he says in response.

“Of course, Doctor, Reconstructing,” Sasha says.

“Reconstructing? What does that mean?” I ask.

Suddenly the tiles all across the room shift like water except the one underneath me and Dr. Genome. Unexpectedly, the tiles move forward as the tiles in front move out of the way. Through the holes as the tiles shifted I can see an extensive structure underneath the floor that is shifting the ground with a constant flow of electrical impulses. The floor stops its crazy churning and I find myself in the middle of the room right next to Genome. Then the tiles directly in front of us lift up with a huge steel box that is rounded at the top and only a small glass peep hole too high for anyone without a ladder to see through.

“This is not what I meant when I said I wanted to see her!” I yell.

“I know what you want. This is the transport unit. Your girlfriend is just one of many in stasis. Sasha access project 15-FXI and manual control, holo-computer.”

“Of course, Doctor,” Sasha says.

By Dr. Genome’s word the box splits into four sections revealing the twelve stasis chambers within. Each has a female suspended in a purple liquid. The fluid is being pumped into the top of the glass chamber and out the bottom. The temperature of the room instantly drops as soon as the box opens. As I look closer at the women in stasis, I can see a familiar trait on all of them—the ears of a wolf like Ailh’s ears.

“Don't worry. Those are preserved husks from a long time ago. They are all dead. I’m using these pods to rapidly age the corpses,” he says noticing they caught my eye. “You see I can still grow them although they never lived. Sasha, retrieve living patient Lucy.”

The stasis pods begin to turn and one of the pods extends towards us.

“What are those things?” I ask out of pure conviction. “What is Aihl?”

“All my creations, the Ultima. Aihl himself is the only living one of his kind. A shame really. He is so genetically different, He can't reproduce with a human, and these corpses do not produce eggs. Not to mention genetic alteration on humans of this magnitude is illegal. So without the means to create more, the Ultima die with him.”

“What is the purpose?” I ask

“To create the ultimate soldier,” he replies. “Aihl’s body is more durable and naturally stronger than humans. He is immune to most toxins and diseases. His reflexes are enhanced beyond superhuman. Because of his animalistic instincts and enhanced senses, he is a more efficient killer. If only I could isolate the gene that created him into a female…”

“That’s madness,” I interrupt him.

“No, it’s war,” he says. “And almost the birth of humankind’s first synthetic race.”

The stasis pod is set down in front of us. The tiles underneath it disappear and a metal claw rises out of the ground grabbing hold as more wires connect. Unlike the other pods, this one is red and glows brightly. I can only see the shadow of the figure inside.

“What's with the lights? I want to see her.”

“The glow is a natural reaction when the chemicals are introduced to living human flesh.” Dr. Genome responds as he types on one of the three holo-computers which encircle him. “It can't be dimmed unless your friend suddenly dies but my computer can see past the light.”

“Show me,” I yell as I wheel myself over to him.

He motions one of the holographic monitors over to me and I watch it carefully as a live black and white image of Lucy's breathing body appears on the screen. She looks peacefully asleep. I cannot imagine her pain. I swear I won't rest until she is safe and sound in Doku with her brother.

“She will have to be sent to Gandalia for her surgery,” Dr. Genome says turning to me.

“What? Gandalia? That was not the deal,” I say angrily. “Aihl said if she came here she would be saved.”

“I understand your strife but for injuries as intense as hers, we simply do not have the equipment or man power. This is a war hospital in the enemy’s territory. Supplies are a bit short.”

“Then send her to a Dokain hospital,” I say.

“She'll die in transport. The Dokain do not have the technology necessary to keep her alive in stasis. Hell, they don’t even have stasis technology yet. The war will cause a quiet transfer to be an impossible task. Gandalia is her only chance for survival and her survival is the most important thing.”

I wheel my chair over to the pod and place my hand on the warm glass. I don't expect Univer to give me a miracle after all, He's left me to rot. I don't need Him. I don't need a false God of light. I need real help. I will do anything to save Lucy. This is my new credo. I don't care whose side I have to be on to save her. I'm Kai Excalibur a Januian and I hereby sever all ties that once bound me in lies. I will find the destiny I was cheated of by Univer and the Aidoshians.