Sanctify

Never had she ever felt such rage as she felt when she followed the power signals of the penthouse to the cyber-room. Noriko had only seen such a complex set up once and it was within the CIA base. Not to mention, she had helped set it up. It had been part of her missions and she completed them easily. But the most horrifying of all sights was the capsule in the center of the room, where a figure was trapped, wires and the like protruding unnaturally and scabbed from her body.

When the older man referred to the skeletal creature as Diem, Noriko no longer felt control. The calmness fell from her body and the anger she felt replaced it was more than enough. When she was about to make contact with the old man she presumed was Sanctus, another fell from above, guarding him.

Sanctus smiled and turned to Noriko, “Welcome to my home,” he smiled, and waved his hand over Diane’s eccentric body, “How do you know Diane Emery?”

“Bastard!” Noriko shouted, tears in her eyes.

Michel hurried over and tackled Rayner, who fought back without thinking about it. Michel lured him away, not letting him work his way between Sanctus and Noriko. He knew that, if he got Rayner into the dining room, Jenna could back him up.

Hayden leapt past Michel and stood just in front of Noriko as Jenna helped Michel with Rayner. The team had planned to fight together to optimize their chances of success, but this would be the second safest arrangement for them until Oren arrived. Things went from dull to exciting in moments. Michel knew better than to let Rayner out of his sight. Payback was in order.

Noriko charged without warning and Hayden moved to support her if she asked for it. Sanctus jumped out of the way just before Noriko made contact with him. Standing in the center of the room, Noriko looked around to see many wires connecting the room to servers and databases she could only assume, connected to the rest of the world. It was a great way to spend a million dollars, but what it created would be enough to entrap the most technologically advanced person.

At this thought, Noriko turned to turn to her left to look into the dilated blueness of Diane’s eyes. Tears welled up from Noriko’s eyes as she reached out to touch the dry skin of her much older best friend. “Di?” Noriko whispered, emotion choking her voice.

Diane seemed to force herself to look at Noriko. She sighed, “Nox…” before her body tried to pull from her restraints. Tears fell from her eyes and Noriko searched for a way to open the capsule.

“Let her out! Why are you doing this?!” Noriko demanded, turning to Sanctus.

The older man smiled and licked his lips, “Nox. Finally, it was brilliant to use Diane, eh? Your timing couldn’t be worse. I was just about to extract information about the Haven from Diem.” He smirked and watched Noriko square her shoulders Sanctus.

“It seems like I’m just in time to stop you from wasting your time. If she knew how to get in without me, she would’ve gotten in years ago,” Noriko stated, all of her attention on her anger.

Sanctus pursed his lips, “I thought it would be something like that. Care to tell me how I can get in?” he asked, reaching backwards. He counted on Noriko’s range to give her tunnel vision, and it worked.

“I’m good, thanks,” Noriko replied, lunging at him.

“GRAB HER!” Sanctus roared and along, pale, arm shot out from the open in the glass, and held onto Noriko’s right arm. As Noriko turned, Sanctus lunged forward with a metal rod from behind him. Letting out a vicious cry, Sanctus meant to spear Noriko to the capsule but, at the last minute, Hayden knocked the rod aside, shoving Sanctus off balance.

Hayden moved easily, dancing to the rhythm Sanctus set, jabbing and spinning, waving the rod in the air. Hayden moved easily and carefully, making sure to move the action away from Nox, who turned and glared at Diane, “Di, what is going on?” Diane’s eyes dilated as she tried to speak but her body continued wrenching around. The scabs where metal had been injected in to her shifted and opened, causing her to bleed. “Di, stop it! You’ll hurt yourself –” Noriko tried but a pop later, Diane’s body relaxed.

Noriko had to fall to her knees to look into Diane’s face. “Toph… gone…” Diane whispered, barely breathing.

Noriko reached out and held Diane’s face in her hands. “Di, are you… I saw you in my dreams.”

“You were… in mine…,” Diane replied. She opened her eyes and added, “Haven is… safe… Control… Kan…” she coughed out blood but Noriko didn’t let go. Instead, she leaned forward and embraced Diane’s head.

“I’m so sorry, Di,” Noriko cried. “I was too late,” she added.

On the other side of the room, Sanctus stepped back from Hayden and laughed, “Not bad, lab rat. But you still can’t be in two places at once, can you?” Sanctus raised his arm with the rod and Hayden turned, running to Noriko, who was huddled on the floor.

“Noriko!” Hayden ran over to her, eyes wide and very conscious of the steel rod, he raced to reach her. Just as Noriko let go of Diane’s head and turned, a speckle of blood splashed across her face. Hayden felt relief, seeing her look up at him, but she did not smile. Instead, tears swelled up from behind her eyes as Hayden staggered, his eyes wide, staring into Noriko’s. They were still for a moment before Hayden looked down to see the steel rod protruding from his chest. As his world fell away, Noriko grabbed him, holding him tightly. Tears fell from her eyes without her knowing and she pushed the rod out of his chest. She swallowed and breathed heavily, watching him blink in blind silence.

Noriko swallowed her intense emotion, “Hayden, no, we have to talk about… Hayden?” Hayden gagged and a great shudder ripped through his body.

And then he was still.

Noriko closed her eyes, letting out an angrily frustrated cry. In that moment, she recalled her last face-to-face with him and the coldness in his stance. And just before that, the intimate kisses and touch of his hands that now seemed to make her numb all over. But footsteps stopped her emotional ride as she looked up to see Sanctus stop just outside of arm’s reach from her.

“Sad to see the lad go,” Sanctus stated, picking up the steel rod and looking over the blood as if it were dirt on fine porcelain.

Noriko’s eyes dilated as she fought for control of her emotions. It wasn’t so much that Hayden was dead, but more that Sanctus had killed him while he was protecting her. She was sure that, in some way, Topher and Diane had died because of her. The lives of Professor Egas, Naomi, and Evelyn had changed so drastically because of her. The emotions swelled up and then all of the strain and pain forced her to stand. Rage seethed through her as she sighed and wiped her bloodstained hands on her clothes.

“It’s a shame, really,” she murmured, pulling her hair into a bun. She knew that, if she entered her zone willingly, her personality and everything she did would be very different from her conscious personality. A personality glitch the Silent Program had called it, something special that they honed and crafted to their purposes.

“Isn’t it?” Sanctus smiled and then lunged at Noriko.

Quick and light on her feet, Noriko blocked with her left foot, stepping downwards to force the rod to the ground, Sanctus along with it. She trapped his hand between the rod and the ground and kneed him in the face. Surprised, Sanctus fell back and stared up to see Noriko stomp down on his chest.

“Three broken ribs and a punctured lung, you think?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

Despite the pain, Sanctus twisted his hand from the trap and rolled away. Noriko somersaulted to a horse stance and watched him prepare for an attack. She never let it happen. She grabbed two wires, too far gone to hear the disgusted sound of them being yanked from Diane’s dead body. Their ends sparked but Noriko was careful as she launched herself at Sanctus. He dodged the electrifying ends and moved quickly, looking for an opening that never came. Three jabs cornered him before she shoved the open circuit into his body, her hand entering his chest a little from the force at which she used.

Sanctus jerked and cried out. Completing the circuit with his body, his heart stopped moments after feeling the greatest shock of his life. As for Noriko, she knew she ought to have died the moment the wires reached Sanctus, but she found herself still in the zone, as if nothing had happened except a small shock that came with some friction. She could feel the voltage sizzle through his body and the last time his heart beat in her body but she never felt the end. Instead, a hyper-sensitive awareness kept her alive and well, which froze her to her spot. That, and the emptiness of understanding that she had nothing left.

From the entrance, Jenna entered with Oren. After handling Rayner with Michel and Oren, she hoped Hayden had done his duty and kept Noriko out of harm’s way. But to see Hayden’s blood pooling around him, she searched for Noriko. Eyes wide, she hurried over. Oren hurried to Hayden’s fallen body, his eyes wide with surprise. It was rare to see a Shadow dead, but not impossible. Jenna reached out and then froze, hearing Noriko’s strained voice as she warned, “Severe… don’t touch.”

Jenna swallowed and braced herself. She jerked Noriko away, feeling the slight tingle, as if being hit by a Taser. She held on to Noriko until the tingling stopped. She looked down to see Noriko close her eyes and breathe deeply. It took only moments before her face contorted in anguish and she sobbed uncontrollably in Jenna’s arms.

Michel entered, limping and holding his momentarily dislocated right shoulder. His eyes went from Hayden’s lifeless body to the sobbing Noriko’s in Jenna’s arms. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Tears welled up in his eyes as well, more for Diem than anyone else. Michel had no tears for Uncle, but that didn’t mean he felt nothing seeing the body twitch from the electrical stimulation.

Oren turned to them, and stated, “We have to get our people out and burn the place. Nothing remains,” he added, already wrapping Hayden’s corpse with an electrical blanket. Heaving it over his shoulder, he hurried past Michel, whose eyes fell on Diane’s fallen form.

“Was there any other way?” he asked to no one.

Jenna helped Noriko to her feet and, clutching her, walked with her out of the room. When Jenna returned, she pulled the information panel from Diane’s capsule before she and Michel lifted Diane’s body and carried it away. Neither felt the desire to pull Rayner and Sanctus from their graves.

For Michel’s sake, Rayner’s execution had been short and sweet. Michel forced Rayner to his knees as Jenna and Oren held their guns to his head. The questioning was brief and careful, ensuring the maximum amount of information in the least amount of time. Rayner revealed how he’d met Sanctus on the net and helped him develop a small team to scan and locate the Haven. Once that was found, they went head to head with the Guardians, who kept them out. Which led to the abduction of Diane, the murder of Topher, and what plans Sanctus had for his small group.

No one had a recorder on them but no one would forget those words, that confession, and the coldness in Rayner’s eyes. He’d mentioned being a Recycled Child, put in the system after his parents died in the service, raised by the system, and then rejected by the system because of their fully human capabilities and states. All of it, he told it with cold eyes and no sincerity nor regret. The friend façade was completely gone. All that was left was a cold and calculating operative who simply waited for death.

What offended Michel the most was that Rayner didn’t even fight to live.