"I'm getting there," the Head Doctor replied calmly to Kurogane's demand as he continued to keep his eyes on Fai. "And do you think, from what you've seen here, that I'd really need help controlling other Subverses, let alone traveling to a parallel Altverse on this plane? Please. You underestimate me."
While his explanation was of a condescending nature, his tone persisted in staying relatively neutral. His eyes went back to the screen. "What I mean to say is that we share a kinship, a... mutual background. In fact, I might even add that the reason I've been made caretaker of all of you is because, like you..."
The screens finally came to full life, displaying grainy security video that seemed to cycle through different parts of the Institute. One from a hallway still traversed by a patient here and there, one from an empty doctor's office, one from the basement Ball Room, one from the town's movie rental shop, and another from what seemed to be, against all logic, the rainy forest. The Head Doctor pointed at the patients that showed up on the screens, each in turn.
"...and like him, and her, and her, and him..." he paused, then looked back to the patients in the room with him, "I, too, am not of this world. I, too, am not what you'd call a normal human in the strictest sense. However–"
As the screens seemed to split off into sections and focus in on several groups, the Head Doctor lowered the remote control back down to the desk and folded his hands over it.
"I have learned from an... old friend that less overt methods than pure power are effective in fighting one's enemy. What I'm asking, I suppose, is for your cooperation in locating and eradicating a certain pest. After all," he said, with a small, almost sardonic smile, "a selfless and loyal group such as yourselves would be, I imagine, the type to appreciate the needs of the greater good."
no subject
While his explanation was of a condescending nature, his tone persisted in staying relatively neutral. His eyes went back to the screen. "What I mean to say is that we share a kinship, a... mutual background. In fact, I might even add that the reason I've been made caretaker of all of you is because, like you..."
The screens finally came to full life, displaying grainy security video that seemed to cycle through different parts of the Institute. One from a hallway still traversed by a patient here and there, one from an empty doctor's office, one from the basement Ball Room, one from the town's movie rental shop, and another from what seemed to be, against all logic, the rainy forest. The Head Doctor pointed at the patients that showed up on the screens, each in turn.
"...and like him, and her, and her, and him..." he paused, then looked back to the patients in the room with him, "I, too, am not of this world. I, too, am not what you'd call a normal human in the strictest sense. However–"
As the screens seemed to split off into sections and focus in on several groups, the Head Doctor lowered the remote control back down to the desk and folded his hands over it.
"I have learned from an... old friend that less overt methods than pure power are effective in fighting one's enemy. What I'm asking, I suppose, is for your cooperation in locating and eradicating a certain pest. After all," he said, with a small, almost sardonic smile, "a selfless and loyal group such as yourselves would be, I imagine, the type to appreciate the needs of the greater good."