towerofanimus | The Doctor is [Busy]

Entry tags:

The Doctor is [Busy]

Characters: Dr. Richtofen and you!
Setting: Over the course of the week - floor 15 (the workshop), floor 27 (the lab), various monster-heavy floors
Format: Action to start, but will match
Summary: After being released from Jason's cells almost a week ago, Richtofen is on the move. He's hustling from floor to floor even more than usual, attempting to construct a weapon for himself since ~~the douchebag~~ their kind administrator refused to give him one.
Warnings: Normal warnings for Richtofen - swearing, insanity, possible gore, possible sensitive subject matter of the WWII-era variety.

Workshop

[Anyone who wanders by the workshop will see a curious sight: Richtofen, who normally sticks to floors like the infirmary and the morgue, is working dilligently. He not only seems to know what he's doing, but he looks like he's good at it. He handles the machinery as if he's been acquainted with it for years, welding and sanding and polishing both wood and metal with impressive dexterity.

In fact, at first glance, with his hat off, a lab coat over his Wehrmacht uniform, and his face covered by a surgical mask and goggles, this calm, focused man hardly looks like Richtofen at all. The only indication that he's everybody's favorite doctor is that he occasionally mumbles incoherent little things to himself in that distinct, German-accented voice of his, but over the buzzing and whirring of the machinery, even that is often difficult to make out.

Early in the week, it doesn't look like he's making anything of substance. However, look closely and you'll notice a book lying open next to him that he keeps consulting, full of designs for what seems to be a large gun surrounded by messy scribbles and technical jargon. Later in the week, the body of this gun seems to take shape.]

Laboratory

[Once he's fashioned himself his weapon (and it's impressively-made, though not quite as perfect as it would have been if he'd had all the equipment he used back home), Richtofen sets off to make ammo and get himself a power source. It's at this point when he starts to spend his time in the laboratory, a floor he's more accustomed to.

Someone who encounters Richtofen while he's in the lab will see him hunched over futuristic-looking machinery, deeply engrossed in what he's doing, but more on-edge than he was in the workshop. He's working with what looks to be some sort of rock, black with lines of red that almost look like veins running through their surface. It's the red part he's interested in, because that's the stuff he's careful to extract and place in his gun.]

Around the Tower

[Finally, after a lot of hard work, labor, and intesive efforts being a paranoid asshole, Richtofen's finished. He waits up one night, eager for the monsters to show their ugly faces (or lack thereof). Not just any monster will do, though - no, he's looking for a group of monsters.

Once he finds enough of them, he decides to give his new weapon a test. He steadies his aim, pointing at just one monster, and a crazed grin spreads over his face as he places his finger on the trigger.]

Oh, ja, you all want to play, is that it? [He waits until the monsters lurch forward, hoping, hoping he did everything right, because test runs be damned - this is his test run.] Then come on and let's play, pretty ones!

[And then he pulls the trigger, and the result lights up the place bright as day for a split second. This gun doesn't shoot a bullet; it shoots pure electricity, which hits the first monster, and bolts of lightning arch off of its body to connect with several others in the vicinity. The air is filled with the sounds of crackling, inhuman shrieks, and Richtofen's crazed laughter, the latter of which keeps going even after the monsters fall dead to the floor.]

Yes! Hahaha! Yes, die for me! Take your medicine, yes, good!

[Richtofen will fire off a few more shots that night. Be careful; if you're too close to any of the monsters affected by his weapon, you'll get hit, too, and it won't be a light shock by any means. The trails of bodies Richtofen leaves behind, up to ten at a time, can attest to that.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[At first, Richtofen doesn't hear her come in. He doesn't even hear what she's saying for a while, engrossed in his work as he is, but the voices rear up and gnash their teeth in warning, and he shuts off his equipment in time to hear the tail end of a familiar voice.

He turns to look. It's that girl, the one who tried to - urgh - comfort him back after the incident with Ruana. Just remembering it makes bile rise in his throat, but he bites back his feelings of displeasure to address her.]

What about your eyesight? [He sounds irate, but definitely calmer than he was the first time they met.]

[Oh no. It was Edward, the schizophrenic doctor who loved to torture people. While Tohko had only escaped last time because she could see and run away quickly, she wasn't sure if she could do that here. Being blind had almost no advantages when you wanted to run away. However, she tried to remain calm and spoke.]

Ah..sorry to bother you, Edward. It's this horrid cold..it keeps draining my senses. First my taste, and now my eyes. My other senses are pretty weak as well. However, if you'll just tell me whether this is the research library and how many floors I need to climb to reach it if it isn't, I'll be on my way.

[That seems to get Richtofen's attention better than anything else she might have said.]

A cold that took away your vision and your sense of taste..? [The cheer in his voice is unmistakable.] Why, I've never heard of anything like that! What's the rush, hm? Come and tell the doctor all about it.

[Well, to be honest, her sense of taste was limited to books in the first place, but she wasn't going to mention that. She sighed and tried to move closer to him, feeling her way with her crutch. But not too close.]

Well, you'll forgive me if I want to run away quickly. Our last meeting didn't give exactly make me want to see you again. However..this cold and it's symptoms are terrible. I hope my eyesight comes back soon, or I won't be able to read again..and if my hearing goes, I'm done for.

[She sighed.]

[Richtofen can't help himself; he chuckles. Half of it is because Tohko's only just walked into the room and she's already considering running away, but part of the laughter is simply manic, in that thinking back to his little breakdown makes him upset all over again. Leave it to Richtofen to solve uncomfortable feelings with off-kilter laughter.]

Oh, child, there's no need to run! Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. Now, tell me, did this happen quickly, or was it gradual? Perhaps I can figure out a cure!

[That's just a straight-up lie. Even if he knew a cure, he wouldn't bother giving it to someone as infuriating as Tohko. It would be much funnier to watch her succumb to whatever illness she had.

Speaking of illnesses, he's glad he's wearing a surgical mask. He does not want to get sick.]

[And that laughter does not fill her with confidence. Like she was full of it to begin with. She sighed.]

I don't think we got off on the wrong foot. When someone threatens to kill you and tries to do so in a conversation, I don't think that's called 'getting off on the wrong foot.'. That's probably called 'running away from a murderer and a sadist.'.

And we both know that you're not going to give me a cure. You're interested in seeing people squirm and wriggle before they die, not making miracle recoveries. However, to answer your question, it was pretty gradual..I lost my taste a few days ago..and my eyes just went today..

[Tohko sighed. If she ever saw Jason, she was going to smack him. Her eyes, her tongue, her ears..they were important. If you took them away, you might as well just kill her.]

[Richtofen's smile wavers, but even if Tohko could see, it's not like she'd notice through his mask and goggles.]

Really, child, do you think I went through medical school for nothing? Und here I was, trying to be the bigger person for once! But no, nobody listens to the doctor!

[All of that overdramatic whining. Have fun dealing with that, Tohko.

And good luck on the "smacking Jason" front, too, because Lord knows that didn't work out so well for Richtofen.]

[Tohko sighed.]

Well, you went through it to heal your allies and better torture whoever you felt like torturing.

[She sighed again. Well..it wasn't like she had anything to lose here..and he seemed a bit calmer. A bit.]

However..since there really is no medicine that I can think of to help, your advice might help. I apologize. Do you know of any illnesses that can cure this?

[She can dream!..And fail horribly when she tries. But, since she's stubborn, she probably won't give up.]

You have no idea why I did the things I did-!

[Richtofen's voice very nearly raised to a shout, but he manages to calm himself down again. He heaves a sigh as well.]

I don't know why I should help you after all of those things you said- [Weren't you just the one pushing her to let you help, Richtofen?] -but let me think... Blindness can be caused by any number of things, but loss of taste?

[He hums and taps his chin, deep in thought.]

Something like that sounds more like a neurological issue. Did you fall and hit your head?

[Though his words are truthful, his tone when he asks the question is condescending, as if he's talking to a small child.]

I admit, I don't know the specific reasons. I have no idea what your motivation is. I can guess, but I'm not sure if that guess would be correct.

[Tohko sighed and bit her lip when he brought up that her loss of taste might be a neurological issue. He wasn't too far from the actual truth, but that passed quickly when he suggested that she'd fallen and hit her head. She gave him a small glare due to his tone.]

To be honest, I did, recently..but that was after this cold had gotten to me and after my senses starting dying. The cold has also come with other symptoms-small to medium fevers, congested nose, shivers. Normally, this would just be an average flu, if not for the fact that my senses were going.

[He chooses to ignore the talk of his motivation for becoming a doctor, and instead concentrate his efforts on figuring out what sort of illness she has.]

So you've had no head trauma at all before your senses began to fail? Were you in a fight, or did you get hit by a monster?

No, I had no head trauma before my senses started to fail. If you're asking how I fell, Sephiroth pushed me over with telekinesis. If you're asking me how my senses started going..I just woke up a few days after I got sick and found that all of them were dulled. It got worse from there, obviously.

Hmm, how strange...

[He rummages around in his brain for some sort of diagnosis to give her, but he can't think of anything.]

You haven't been sniffing, licking, or otherwise messing with any of the chemicals in the laboratory, have you?

It is rather bizarre..and of course I haven't! I know better than that! After all, after dozens of moronic characters have died by doing that, I wouldn't do it either.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry! [He isn't.] I am a doctor. I have to ask, even if it seems unlikely.

[In truth, he just wouldn't put it past her to do something stupid like that. Everyone but him is stupid!]

[Tohko is a book girl, and she's read plenty of stories with poison in them, Edward. She knows better. She does sigh though.]

It's alright..I guess it's part of your job, as a medical doctor.

[Even though she knows he'd like to enjoy butchering a person rather than helping them.]

So..any idea of what sort of illness this could be? Or do you think it's the Administrators again?

[Richtofen sets his chin on his hand, muttering:] The administrators, hmm... That's very likely. [Even more softly, he continues:] I have to admire their ability to create such intriguing illnesses...

[When a person couldn't see, their ears really helped bring them up to speed.]

I'm not sure what part of this is admirable, but this does seem a likely possibility.

Are you joking? Of course it's admirable! It does not even look like they've harmed your eyes or your ears directly, und that takes skill. Was it brain surgery, perhaps..? Ah, but you don't have scars on your head... Ooh, what I wouldn't give to get mein hands on their technology...

[Oops, you've gotten him to go off on a tangent, Tohko.]

[Okay, despite the situation, Tohko couldn't help but chuckle. Edward, you sound just like her when she's into a really good book.]

While the technology they have could be used to help cure quite a few illnesses, it's not quite good that they've used it to steal away my senses.

Oh, pah!

[Richtofen waves his hand dismissively. It leaks into his voice how irritated he is that she laughed at him, despite having been robbed of her senses.]

Curing illnesses is no fun.

Oh..I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad. Your passion just reminded me of someone else for a moment. But..not everything in the world is going to be fun, Edward.

[Richtofen blinks. He's really not sure what to make of that "passion" statement. He knows he's passionate about his work, of course, but he's not used to other people being so... okay with it.]

Er- Hmph. I know that, child, I am not ein idiot. But I may as well try to make things as fun as possible, ja?

[Tohko's okay with the passion. However, she's not okay with the actual work. There's a difference.]

And I know you're not an idiot..but how is hurting people rather than curing them fun?

[Richtofen gives Tohko a look like she's completely stupid. He hopes that, even if she can't see, she'll be able to feel how he's looking at her.]

Because it's just better. [He says it like it should be the most obvious thing in the world.] Who wants to deal with a bunch of people who are running around happy und healthy? They both look und act much different when they're in pain und dying, so that's what I like to see.

The Doctor is [Busy]

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