- Within A Hospital, The Fortress -

With a click, the door of the room swung open, and a doctor walked out of it, before gently shutting it behind him.

"How's her condition?" I hurriedly asked. Of course, I was referring to Mei Gui, who lay within the room.

The doctor sighed. "I've never seen something like this. She appears to be perfectly healthy, yet is still remaining in a half-unconscious state. She also doesn't need food or water, and doens't need to urinate either."

Half-unconscious...

"It's almost like...she isn't human or something," the doctor muttered. "The problem is, everything else about her point to her being a living being just like you and me. And yet..."

I clenched my fists. That damn scientist...just what the hell did he do to her...?!

"I understand. Thank you," I said, and the doctor nodded in response before walking away.

I took a deep breath, and entered the room. The girl - Mei Gui - lay motionless on the bed, as if dead. But her eyes were open, and the pulse monitor beside her also said her heart was beating perfectly fine.

The whole food and water thing the doctor mentioned is because Mei Gui's an elemental, but...this half-unconscious state she's in right now is what concerns me.

"Mei Gui...can you hear me?" I asked gently, sitting down beside her and clutching her hand.

But she made no response. Not even the slightest of movements. Not bothering to even look at me, she just remained still, completely ignoring my existence like a pro. I sighed, realizing this wasn't going to work, and stood back up, and headed for the door.

Well...first, let's get some information out of that bastard. Hopefully, that'll lead me to a clue as to how to bring back Mei Gui.

*****

- A Nearby Room -

"Get him awake," I ordered, and Qing Yue nodded, filling up a bucket with ice cold water from a sink nearby, then dumping the entire thing on the bed, where a man lay. Old Xia, Old Man Leng and his wife, and all the girls with me were also here in the room.

"W-Woah!" the man's eyes flew open, and he leapt up in bed...not. He tried, at least. But he was bound by ropes on both of his wrists, tied down to the bed. "W-W-Where am I?"

"You don't need to know," I replied mercilessly, sitting down near him and glaring into his eyes. "I only want one thing from you - information. Tell me...what did you do to Mei Gui?"

"M-Mei Gui? Who the hell is that?!" the scientist yelled, trying desperately to break the ropes, to no avail.

I leaned in closer and grabbed his collar. "Don't play dumb with me, bastard. That girl you experimented on. What the hell did you do to her?! How do I turn her back to normal?"

"H-Hah...there is no way to turn her back!" the scientist laughed hysterically. "She is my ultimate product - Apoxyia!"

"Her name is Mei Gui," I cut him off, tone deep and dangerous. "Not your Apoxyia. Now...tell me exactly what you did to her. Unless you want to die a long and painful death, that is."

Hearing my words, the man flinched. "I-I already told you! There's no way to turn her back!"

"I want to know what you did to her, so you're going to tell me exactly that," I said, eyes never leaving his. "Now. Talk."

"T-Tch...never!" he yelled defiantly.

I narrowed my gaze, and let go of his collar. Turning around, I spoke two soft words.

"Kill him."

"W-What?! You dare-! T-This is a hospital, isn't it? You can't possibl-"

SLASH.

Amane, before the man could even finish his sentence, used her mechanical claws, and sliced his throat, silencing him - forever.

"Well...there he goes. How we gonna deal with the corpse?" Old Man Leng asked, folding his arms.

"My men and I will take care of it," Old Xia replied, before promptly lifting the dead man's body from the bed after untying the ropes, and...casually jumping out the window. I looked over the ledge to confirm he landed safely, and he waved us goodbye.

"It's goin' to be a while before we see him again," Old Man Leng said with a chuckle. "Despite how he seems, he's quite the busy man. I'm honestly surprised he agreed to help us out this time 'round."

I sighed. "I wanted to learn some Starfire magic from him too...damn."

"Now now, don't get greedy, boy. Starfire ain't somethin' just anyone can use, y'know."

I turned around and began walking for the door. "Yeah, but...how do you know if you don't try?"

"Where are you going?" Feng Mian asked as Old Man Leng muttered 'true, true'.

"Visting Mei Gui again. I'll keep trying to talk to her," I replied, slightly dejected.

"Hold on, human. I have a...suggestion," Obsidia interrupted, which was rare. She then tilted her eyes towards Old Man Leng and his wife, suggesting that they were outsiders. I nodded and walked out, Obsidia following me.

"So? What's the suggestion?" I asked once the door had shut tight behind us and I maked sure no one was loitering in the halls.

"Mei Gui...she has Chaos within her, correct? You mentioned that you defeated her - or rather, the eye - with a bullet created from your own mana - Chaos mana. That means...despite how much she's changed under the hands of the scientist, she still has Chaos within her. She's still a Chaos elemental."

I nodded. I had told them how I managed to defeat Apoxyia while we were on the way out of the movie theatre. It was a pain getting out, and lots of distractions were needed, but eventually we made it all out.

"I was thinking...the real her is still hidden in her body somewhere, just suppressed by the scientist's changes. If you can somehow awaken the real her..."

"And...you're suggesting I do so with the power of Chaos," I concluded.

Obsidia nodded. "Correct."

I sighed. "I've thought of this already, but...how exactly would I do this? I'm definitely not shooting her with a bullet made from my mana. I remember a while ago, when I fought against a member of the Midnight Syndicate, Mei Gui had somehow sucked poison out of me using Chaos mana, but I don't know how to do the opposite of that, injecting mana into her..."

"I believe there is a method," Obsidia said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is it?"

"Sexual interc-"

"Denied," I cut her off, not letting her finish that word. "I'm not taking advantage of this situation like that."

"This is to save her, human," Obsidia argued.

"...If I do it without her consent, that's just rape. Besides, we're both underage," I shot back. After a while, however, I sighed. "I'll...do it as a last resort, if there are really no more options."

Actually, wait...is Mei Gui underage? I'm only 14, but although Mei Gui looks like a 12 year old at best, who knew how old she really was? I remember...isn't she like, the sister of the multiverse?

"...Perhaps...a kiss could work," Obsidia said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin with her fingers.

"A kiss..." I echoed, looking at the door Mei Gui was behind.

According to what school taught me, a person's mana is all around their body - especially their bodily fluids, such as sweat, saliva, and urine. So...technically, a kiss could work, based on this logic. Alternatively, I could make her drink my sweat, but that's too gross. And urine is just out of the question. A kiss is probably...the best method.

I sighed. "Fine. Let's try it."

*****

- Shortly After -

"So...? Why are all of you here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Everyone except Old Man Leng and his wife were here - that meant all the girls with me.

"Obsidia told me you were trying to wake Mei Gui up with a kiss," Yu An Yan said, folding her arms. "I'm not against the idea, but if you do it behind our backs, it'll feel like you're cheating on us, so...we came to watch."

"..." I fell silent stunned at these girls' logic. "This isn't even a kiss...think of it as CPR."

"CPR or not, we're watching," Xiang Peng replied giddily. "Oh my god, this is like, Sleeping Beauty in real life! So exciting!"

I sighed, realizing arguing wasn't going to get me anywhere. Mei Gui was still the same as always, lying emotionless on the bed.

I closed my eyes and leaned in slowly as the girls all watched with excitement...well, and some jealousy.

Mei Gui...please work.

My heart pounded for some reason as our lips met, and I could taste a soft, cherry-like sweetness. She smelled like flowers, and I clung onto that beautiful scent as our tongues entangled. After a good minute, I finally backed away, eyes still closed.

And when I opened them again...

"Master...?" the girl before me whispered softly.

My eyes widened. "Mei Gui...? You're back?"

"Master...!" Tears began forming in her eyes, and she began crying uncontrollably.

I immediately pulled her into an embrace, and stroked her hair lovingly.

"I'm here...I'm here."