Chapter 48: The Second Rebirth

'Master, the initial analysis of Miss D's enhancements are complete.'

At the end of the day after the discussions with the proper representative of All Intelligence, Brakagi found himself heading towards the prisoner's ward at the city police department, where the frozen body of Miss D is located. He explicitly asked Jozzor and Hong Fu to look into the identity of Miss D, particularly her enhancements. Something the kind of a technological signature is usually readily identifiable when it comes to the kinds of enhancement procedures performed, as each branch of the practitioners have their own unique styles when dealing with different customers.

After extensive analysis and screening, the examiners realized the obvious that the enhancement procedures are not the standard human variety, where it followed a two step process of going from physiological enhancements onto nano-sized drone injections. This one is followed a much more biological approach, where the nano-sized drones are replaced by programmable 'hypercells', the specifically programmed and created cells of the Aquarian variety.

Tracking this specific process down in the back log of the Aquarian bioengineers, the group soon came into the realization that this work is a result of a graduate from The Institute, the most prestigious Aquarian biotechnology institute the level of the Galactic Institute of Science and Technology. This isn't exactly a small group of people to look at, but it is certainly a good enough place to start.

Now, all that's left is for Hong Fu to step in and take that information further. It wasn't long before he brought the attention of a bioengineer working out of the Poseidon system, though he spurted out the answer without paying much attention before realizing who he was actually referring to, and things became awkward for the two of them all of a sudden. This bioengineer did a good jobto mask the specific structures of the procedure and her own tendencies, but Probable pointed towards her with one hundred per cent certainty right away.

It's not because there are any specific weaknesses or flaws in the system, but rather how perfect everything seemed thanks to the work done by Life Springer, the artifact itself. It was as if the enhancements never occurred in the first place, and what Miss D is capable of is a result of million years of evolution.

There is only one person in the Poseidon system that he was referring to, and that one is Anozee, the same bioengineer that turned him into a Rocky. However, he must not act strange now, or he will risk everything he has built tumbling down. At least now both Jozzor and Brakagi trusts him to an extent, and they are willing to share this finding with him.

Both him and Vindy need to be extremely careful over what will happen next.

'Poseidon 5 it is.' Jozzor said, looking over towards Brakagi who's glancing over reports on this so-called being named the Life Springer.

'Is this Life Springer person the real deal?' Brakagi asked, 'does anyone know of her?'

Hong Fu looked at the two awkwardly and didn't say a word. Thankfully, his reaction was read to be that he also had no idea.

'Well, let's pay her a visit then.' Brakagi said before looking over at Jozzor, 'gather Vindy and Cal.'

'Yes, master.'

There are no time for Hong Fu or Vindy to make special arrangements here, and all that he can do is to make sure that there are no dangers occurring towards Hong Fu and Vindy both immediately and in the distant future. Probable showed that they are just going to be following Brakagi and Jozzor around to Anozee, have a drink and a talk before doing some artifact training in the far future. Nothing seemed to be of the issue in the paths of probabilities.

So perhaps they will just have to act accordingly after showing up to Anozee's place.

Jozzor then took a small ship and sling shot the entire thing over to the Poseidon system before they went around in the orbits of Poseidon 5. Then, similar to before when Hong Fu used Probable to point towards the space station that Anozee is in, they have asked Hong Fu to do the exact same, and it wasn't long when Jozzor warped the entire squad into the hangers of Life Springer's space station.

The station guards immediately jumped into action, but all of them are taken down by Jozzor who dashed back and forth throughout the entire station at speeds faster than any of them can see and react. As the Aquarian and human guards dropped onto the floor, a human girl dressed in a white lab coat showed up angrily at the hanger and swung her fists spouting some gibberish.

'My name is Brakagi, the Rocky president, and I wish to talk.' Brakagi said, and the human girl stopped in her track. Then, she lowered her head in defeat and cursed out before 'welcoming' them into her office. She glanced over at Hong Fu and Vindy, and was shocked to realize that their identity. She glared angrily towards them, thinking that Hong Fu has given away her secrets, but before she had any chance to confirm her suspicions, Brakagi requested for the two of them to take a tour of the station.

Anozee has always been the one to take initiative in these conversations, but Brakagi simply budges in today and started telling her what to do. However, it doesn't take an artifact for her to realize how dangerous these group of people are.

As they moved away from the office where Hong Fu and Vindy are sitting down nervously, Caliditas found herself distracted by the displays on the shelves, and Jozzor found himself answering to calls from Geb 4 and working remotely, Anozee finally opened up.

'State your purpose, Mr President.' Anozee asked, though it sounded more like an order.

'You speak as if you are an arrogant Aquarian, Anozee.' Brakagi commented offhandedly before his eyes widened, 'wait...you transferred...?'

'Yes I have.' Anozee replied, 'Why are you here?'

'The fact is that an assassin has recently arrived onto Geb 4 and attempted on my life not too long ago.' Brakagi said, looking over at the various of displays on the ground floor as the two off them walked along the rails near the top of the station, 'and on here are a set of rather...distinctive enhancements. Our trails then lead to you.'

'And are you sure that you haven't mistaken me for any other number of Aquarian bioengineers?' Anozee retorted.

'Possible, but that's why we have Hong Fu with us, who pointed us straight to you.' Brakagi said, and Anozee felt her eyebrows twitch unnaturally. So it is Hong Fu after all, but it doesn't seem like he has much of a choice here. Still, that doesn't mean that he is out of the clear, 'artifacts and that, I am sure you are familiar.'

'You sound like you are not a stranger to it either.' Anozee said, looking over at Brakagi who shrugged. So Hong Fu was right all along back then. However, Anozee simply can't imagine Brakagi being the one to start the Falling Star months earlier. How is it possible that this short hairy Rocky right in front of her can change the fate of an entire galaxy?

'And what are you here to do then?' Anozee asked, 'she was just one of my customers. You know how contract workers work.'

'Yes, I do.' Brakagi said with a cunning smile, 'and I do not intend to impede in your businesses. I have merely come here to offer up another contract.'

The walk and talk that Anozee and Brakagi went on continued for another ten minutes or so, and in this time, Hong Fu have been checking Probable on whether any harm would come to both himself and Vindy for the longest time. He then excused himself towards the toilet and attempted to look clearly into Probable for the most likely fates for the two of him, and he saw both of them lying down with Life Springer performing some sort of procedures on them.

Shit! Hong Fu cursed underneath his breath, but there isn't anything that he could do really at this time. There is no way that Anozee will protect the two of them, and there is nowhere for the two of them to run to on this station.

Then, they returned, and a talk between Life Springer and the groups of artifact users started after some tea was served for the group.

'Let's start with the truth.' Anozee explained, 'I am Anozee, the Life Springer, and I was responsible for Miss D's enhancements under the instructions of her employer, who were another group of Rockies. However, I don't know much more beyond that. Brakagi has brought me another set of contract, and I will be performing the highest end enhancement procedures for the rest of you that haven't already gone through it.'

'That sounds good.' Hong Fu said, though his response surprised himself too.

'Yeah.' Vindy nodded.

Caliditas didn't seem to care, but she is going to do whatever Brakagi wants her to do.

'Also, Miss D will be joining your ranks after some procedure to...alter her motivation.' Anozee continued, 'this will result in you having six artifact users in total. I will remain neutral in whatever fights you will start soon, and this is all I can offer.'

'And you will also be paid handsomely for your service.' Brakagi promised, 'as this is nothing more than a contract.'

No...something about this doesn't seem right. Hong Fu thought as he looked down to the aromatic drink in his hand with his own reflections, and yet he couldn't quite tell what it is.

'Now, without further adieu, let's begin....' Life Springer said, clapping her hand together excitedly.

'Wait, right away?' Jozzor asked, looking over towards Brakagi, who nodded firmly.

'If you would be so troubled,' Brakagi asked politely, 'could you bring Miss D's pod here too?'

The procedure began without a single hint of hiccup, and Hong Fu and Vindy found the two of them being put into sleep before Life Springer began her work. She, of course, got a great view at each of their artifacts and managed to work around the individual limits. Right now, all she had to do is to perform the tasks exactly as Brakagi has instructed, with some added bonus on top of that.

Her style of physiological enhancement and programmable cell injection enhancements operates on principles similar to that of the conventional human performed enhancements that Alrith usually performs. Aquarian procedures take longer to settle in, but once fully acclimatized to the environment within the host's body, the more biological enhancements usually perform better in the long run, and it tends to adjust with the changes in the host, offering a kind of flexibility not allowed by nanotechnology drones who are incapable of reprogramming itself and performing functions beyond the original intended purpose.

Brakagi asked for the procedure to be started on Hong Fu, as he is yet to truly trust the Aquarian turned human bioengineer in front of him. Anozee simply ignored Brakagi and continued with her work as if no one else is there, and the baseline procedure continued for a couple of hours before she sealed the deal with Life Springer towards the end. As the injected cells gradually fused into Hong Fu's body and started to duplicate and spread itself through the body, she then turned towards Brakagi and nodded.

'The settling progress will take at least a week, but if you perform rehabilitation process with it, the settling process will become a lot faster.' All of this is in the same veins as when Hong Fu first turned into a Rocky, as the process of relearning is always the same whenever someone's rebirthed into a new body.

Then, she continued her work on Caliditas and Vindy before handing over a piece of meat matter towards Brakagi.

'These bunch of cells will incorporate themselves into your vocal cord, and when you speak at a certain frequency, it will compel the mechanisms located in Hong Fu, Vindy and Miss D's brain to follow your orders willingly.' Anozee explained, 'a sort of biological brainwashing agent, if you wish. Here are the instructions...I have also thrown a few bonuses at your request.'

'Just how many of these things have you got?' Jozzor asked.

'Enough.' Anozee said, pointing her fingers towards the drinks in the cup, 'that was a soft agent, which makes Rockies more agreeable.'

'That makes sense.' Jozzor nodded before realizing how agreeable he just was, 'SHIT!'

Brakagi nodded, and took in the piece of meat in without a moment of hesitation. He swallowed it whole, and felt a creepy crawling sensation coming from his throats. His instincts are to cough or swallow, but instead, he waited patiently until the inch has gone away.

After the procedures on the three Rockies were done, Anozee took a small break before returning and work on Miss D. The task here is different from before, though Brakagi has messed up her body pretty badly. Anozee looked over at Brakagi, and noted in her mind to never cross the Rocky as Miss D's body is on the verge of total collapse.

Despite the fact that it initially appeared that Miss D's body is simply put into a sickened state, where all of the systematic functions have failed at the same time, upon closer inspection, the deconstruction was methodical and precise, something only capable in this age by an artifact. Something that Anozee can do and undo if she wanted to, but clearly, Brakagi was the author of this masterpiece.

Everything that needed to be done was done at the end of the day, and Brakagi and Jozzor took the four beings back towards the ship before a handsome sum was transferred to Anozee for her troubles, and her silence. Brakagi didn't need to explicitly warn Anozee of the consequences of her breach of privacy, nor that she cared for the consequences, being an artifact user herself. As the ship disappeared from the scanners of her space station, she sat back into her chair in silence and pondered all that has happened.

When performing the procedures on Hong Fu and Vindy, she also added an extra layer of safety, wiping out any connections they had previously with her, so all that remained when it comes to Anozee in both of their minds are that of blurry memories of their visit, and it is highly likely that he will chalk the two separate visits into one later down the line, a clever application of the Mandela effect, where false memories are reinforced.

And yet, she felt incredibly uneasy for what she has done. But there is nothing further that she can do now, is there? Looking over to the contact details that Rydel left behind in case Absolute Being is there to bother her, Anozee wondered if this is something worth talking to the bearers about.

With what she has just done, the Rockies have become the single strongest group of artifact users, with incredibly strong artifact users underneath the leadership of Brakagi...what will happen in the galaxy next as a result of her actions?

Hong Fu consciousness floated in the midst of an endless ocean, as a strange warm fluid bathed his body and tingled his senses as he awake from his slumber. It was a similar sensation to what he felt after the...after the...No...

Something is terribly wrong, and yet Hong Fu cannot tell what is. All that remained in his mind is a lingering sense of unease. He sat up from the Aquarian recovery pod located in the recovery room of Brakagi's private training compound, and saw three activated pods in the room too. He was the second to awake, and Vindy and Caliditas are still suspended in the fluid.

He rolled away from the edge of the pod and started walking towards the exit of the room, and his entire body was stiffened like a tin man. No.....the stiffness wasn't quite it.....it was rather a protective mechanisms from...from his own strength?

He looked down at his arms, and gripped onto the edge of the pod. His grip strength tore through the thin outer surface, and a warning signal goes out from the pod as a maintenance droid rolled towards it. Hong Fu tried to move out of the way, but even taking a step was way too much, and he thrown his body into the side of the wall, leaving a Rocky shaped dent in the wall.

'You might want to bring Probable with you.' Jozzor's voice came from the exit, and he turned to see Brakagi's right hand man standing there with arms crossed.

Yes, Probable, my artifact.....Hong Fu nodded, and reached out to pick up the marble. He then glanced over at Caliditas and Vindy and asked, 'what about them?'

'Each person awakes at different rates.' Jozzor said, 'that was the suggestion, and it turns out to be true. Now...come, you have been sleeping for too long.'

'Has something happened?' Hong Fu asked, trying to remember the last thing that happened before he went down under, but nothing came to mind. He remembered the battle with Miss D, and yet it felt like an eternity ago.

'Yep.' Jozzor said, turning around and walking out.

The recovery room is located on the top of the compound overlooking the training centers on the lower levels, and down below, Miss D is fighting with Brakagi. However, Jozzor doesn't seem the least bit concerned.

'What...what is going on?'

'Miss D changed her mind.' Jozzor said, 'or her mind is changed.'

'Huh.'

'But that's not the big deal.' Jozzor clicked his finger on his personal interface and showed the latest news towards Hong Fu. It was a hologram of Zero, and upon seeing that man's face, a feeling of disdain welled up inside him. The footage showed him being released from the prison colony and welcomed by General Kuviar.