Night 67: Disciplinary Therapy Room 1 [M-U for Kratos Aurion]

[damned_doctors]

Despite all their efforts, magic was still something unattainable. Technology was something that the doctors here understood, but magic was mystical and strange and always worthy of further study. Landel, of course, understood it all, but Landel was another matter entirely, wasn't he? Not even his staff knew everything about him, or even close to it.

The point was, Kratos here contained an item that was of great use. Something that could be installed on a person (with enough skill, that is) and used to boost their strength and give them access to all sorts of wonderful abilities. Built right into the man's hand was a way to breed a whole team of soldiers.

Really, it was a shock that they hadn't brought him up here before now, but the time had finally come, and the doctor in charge of his case watched with a smile on his lips as Kratos laid there on the exam table, breathing nice and even after he'd been sedated and dragged up here.

It should be fairly simple, to remove Kratos' Cruxis Crystal and replace it with a replica. The doctor knew the whole story, though, of how that sort of thing could have unwanted consequences. He didn't want to completely destroy Kratos, just alter him. One small donation to their cause, and they'd even put him back together in the end. It wasn't such a bad deal, compared to some.

With the light set up to shine over Kratos' prone body, the doctor waited in the shadows for him to awaken.

Comments

[damned_doctors]

It happened much, much faster than the doctor could have anticipated. He'd heard all of the reports about what took place when someone was given a fake Exsphere, but reading about it was different from seeing it. What he'd expected to be gradual took over Kratos' body like a wildfire. It happened so quickly that he could barely track it with his own eyes, and trying to take notes on it would be completely impossible.

No, instead the doctor was going to have to react. One restraint had already blown free due to the sheer girth of Kratos' transformed arm, and that would only continue if he let this proceed any further. There wasn't time to play around.

Quickly, he dashed over to the closest counter and grabbed for one of the stabilizing injections, holding it tight in his hand as he popped the cap off and moved back toward Kratos. At least the patient seemed too overwhelmed by the pain and shock of changing to actually try to lash out with his newfound strength.

It made it simple enough for the doctor to move around the table and then jab the syringe into Kratos' unchanged arm.

[forsworn]

He could feel his tenuous grasp on his mind slipping, and as the darkness began to descend, Kratos gathered the last of his strength to plead for his death: far better that than a murderous rampage. He inhaled, a long, shaky, distorted breath that was probably one of his last--and then nearly choked as the contents of the syringe plunged into his other arm began to circulate.

The pain did not immediately begin to subside: the monster in his flesh, faced with extinction, fought back, the mana intensifying in its flow in an attempt to overcome the new obstacle now halting its progress - so much, even, that he did nearly pass out - but eventually, it surrendered, and slowly, far more slowly than the original transformation, the drug began to beat his body back into its original form.

His left arm was still free and now probably back under his control, but the world was still a hazy mess of white light, and regardless, Kratos was too exhausted to do much more than lie on the table and stare mindlessly upward while his mind tried to reassemble itself into something resembling functional.

[damned_doctors]

The drug took some time to get going, but that at least gave the doctor a chance to record what he'd just seen. It was hard for him to even believe that something like that could happen at such an alarming rate. On the other hand, Landel clearly had the ability to change patients into monsters (and to cure it, as he'd just done with that syringe)... The real point of all this was obtaining that crystal.

The doctor continued to watch as the monstrous changes to Kratos' body reverted, though the sight of that human arm laying there without any restraint spurred him into action. He grabbed for a set of handcuffs from one of the room's drawers and then moved over to cuff Kratos to the table. It was a crude restraint method compared to what they usually used, but after what Kratos had been through, the doctor doubted he'd be able to break through.

A few more moments passed by, and eventually Kratos' breathing started to slow. The doctor smiled and drew close again. "I told you we wouldn't leave you to rot. I imagine you could have used that drug a few times yourself." The doctor knew exactly what sort of horrors Kratos had seen, and saw no reason to step around them.

[forsworn]

And then, just like that, it was done. His entire left side was still tingling, as if he were being jabbed with a series of tiny needles - nerve damage, he reminded himself; the human body wasn't built to effortlessly accommodate a sudden evolution into a giant monster - but the debilitating, blinding pain was gone, having drained away seemingly through the crystal still sitting innocently in his hand.

Kratos barely flinched when the doctor handcuffed him to the table, still too worn out to even bother with a protest, not that he would have made one even if he did have some strength left. That a restraint was still needed, though, suggested that more was in store, as if an encore was needed after the magnificent performance he'd just put on. That possibility was just a bit frightening--no, actually, it was incredibly frightening. Now that lucidity was returning, he remembered that, as much as he had been thoroughly looking forward to it not more than a few seconds ago, he did not actually want to die. He had given up on that desire, convinced himself (or, been convinced, more like) that it was more worthwhile to battle through all the mess he'd made of his life over the past four thousand years than to just give up.

The problem now was that he had no idea how much more he could endure; what he did know was he was hanging on to life by a single thread, and sanity by a considerably thinner one.

The doctor drew close, close enough that Kratos could feel his breath on his face, and then decided it was time to bring down the figurative hammer on the other weak spot in his shield. This one, at least, he'd grown slightly less sensitive toward, since it had been brought up so often in the past month. Regardless, the allusion, no matter how slight, to Anna and her manner of death was still toxic enough to elicit a reaction: "Go...to hell," Kratos rasped as he met the doctor's eyes with about as much steel as he could muster. It was a totally pointless and unhelpful thing to say, but somehow, it felt very satisfying. He could, occasionally, surprise himself.

[damned_doctors]

What a typical response. Though coming from someone like Kratos, it could be seen as a victory of sorts. The doctor only smiled, though that was hidden by the shadows that consumed most of the room. He sighed and spun on his heel, stretching up into the air as he realized that tonight would count as a job well done. The crystal had been retrieved and Kratos had been preserved, which meant that he'd met all of Landel's requirements.

"Don't you think we might already be there?" he teased. "But no, it's good to see that the drug to suppress those monstrous tendencies of yours works as expected." Otherwise he would have had to call in a team to deal with the raging beast in the exam room, which would have more or less ruined his week.

"We'll have to keep an eye on you, of course, and observe just what kind of long-term effect that crystal has." The doctor couldn't assume that Kratos was completely off the hook now, but that was what made this all so interesting, wasn't it?

[forsworn]

Long-term effect...? Well, there was always the effect of eventual death to consider; that would be - Kratos laughed inwardly - enlightening--and wouldn't it be well-deserved, a painful, drawn out death by Exsphere? It would certainly match his life.

There was another name on the tip of his tongue, a murky demon from the far past that had recently come to light, but its full identity was cleverly eluding him. Perhaps he was better off for it: he could save the dread for later, when his brain wasn't so utterly preoccupied with trying to comprehend what had just happened to him in the past ten minutes or so.

"...'m sure you'll find it" - Kratos didn't know why he was bothering to talk at this point, but his mouth was still moving, however slowly, the words coming without much thought; it had to be instinct, a last-ditch attempt to keep up some kind of appearance - "...fascinating."

[damned_doctors]

Well, there was no doubt about that, was there? The doctor smirked and nodded, the action pronounced enough that Kratos might be able to make it out if he was paying enough attention. Which wasn't likely, seeing what he'd just been through.

With the doctor's job all done, and in a neatly and timely manner, he had to wonder if he should set Kratos loose, let him stumble out to see if he had any friends (or family members) coming to find him.

On the other hand, he might want to keep him for just a little bit longer to make sure that nothing went immediately wrong...

"Well, it's certainly something you should remain aware of yourself," he said at a delay. "You can tell Lloyd all about it."