The Doctor is [Under the Influence]

[doctor_dismemberment]

Characters: Dr. Richtofen and you; Dr. Richtofen and Ganondorf
Setting: Dormitory hallways (closed to Ganondorf); floor 48 (the graveyard), floor 2 (the infirmary), floor 19 (the second library), floor 1 (the cafeteria), random characters' dorm rooms.
Format: Starting with action, but I'll match you.
Summary: Dr. Richtofen gets punched, has a chat with an empty grave, does his job, searches through some books, goes batshit because his collar is orange, and crawls under beds after the rumor about him comes true.
Warnings: Usual Richtofen warnings apply (swearing, violence, mental instability - see his permissions post for details). Character death in the first prompt, and anyone who tags into the cafeteria one is at risk of injury/death.

Dormitory Hallways (Closed to Ganondorf; backdated to the day after the most recent Evil Meeting)

[Richtofen has been making a point to avoid Ganondorf after the travesty that was the Dark World, so of course he ignored the invitation to the latest Evil Meeting. He has very little patience, and sitting around listening to Ganondorf spout off some new, ridiculous plan while a bunch of idiots who think he's insane shoot him dirty looks is not something he wants to deal with. Even though he's fairly certain the others are plotting against him somehow, listening in on their plans still isn't enough motivation for him to actually sit still in a room with that big-nosed douche.

So that's why, when he sees Ganondorf walking down the hallway in his direction, Richtofen turns his head away and pretends like he didn't see him. He even starts to hum a cheery tune to himself.]


Graveyard

[He's been coming here a lot recently, and he's not quite sure why. Maybe he needs the pretend companionship after realizing that he hates the only person he considered something like a friend in this place. Whatever it is, he doesn't bother psychoanalyzing himself.

He refuses to believe that he actually misses him, but, as he sits by a gravestone marked "Tank Dempsey," he finds himself thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have that meat-headed brute around to use as a punching bag every now and again. Dempsey has the honor of being the only person from his world who's ever showed up in the Tower. Even if he was from some sort of weird timeline, the anger Richtofen felt when he ran into him was an exhilarating sort, one that nobody in the Tower can ignite in him. He'd operated on that dumb American sack of shit himself, wiped his memory and made him something just short of a slave. He doesn't have a bond like that with anyone in this place.

He's reclining back on his hands, talking to the empty grave like he'll actually get a response.]

The writing on the walls this month have been ridiculous, Dempsey. It ruins the decor of the place. I think it all would have been better if it were written in blood.

[He pauses and thinks that over for a second. With a wince, he lifts his left arm and looks down at it. Bandages peek out from under his sleeve.]

Actually, that is a shitty idea. [He sighs and rolls his shoulders.] You stupid Yankee bastard, sometimes I wish I had the luxury of seeing your stupid face all screwed up in pain around here...

[He all but collapses back onto the grass. Chatting with someone who can't answer you sure is exhausting.]


Infirmary

[Richtofen's glad that the rumors seemed to have stopped appearing on floor 2, because he was getting pretty sick of having to look at them every time he went to work. He was tempted to change a lot of them, but it would take a special set of circumstances to get him to consider carving even more useless words into his own body. At least his clothes cover the scars he has now.

Whenever someone wanders into the infirmary, Richtofen greets them somehow. Sometimes it's with a scowl, other times it's with a bored glance in their direction. Still other times, it seems like they've startled him while he's in the middle of talking to someone (even though no one else appears to be nearby), which causes him to jump and whip around in their direction with wide, suspicious eyes.

And every time, he asks the same question:] What can I do for you?

[Maybe if you're lucky, you can actually get him to dress your wounds.]


Second Library

["DATA EXPUNGED." It jumps out at him in black from pages dipped in red on almost every book he pulls off of the shelf. Richtofen had been excited to see that the missing sections of the library were finally restored, but this? This is just infuriating.

He pulls books out only long enough to flip through them, and when they're invariably altered in some way that makes reading them impossible, he tosses them behind his back onto a table covered with books he's already looked at. Some of them miss the pile and slide to the floor, and all of them land with a loud thunk. As well, Richtofen is muttering to himself as he scans the pages, and those mutters occasionally venture into the "shouting" territory. All in all, he's just not being a very considerate library patron.]


Cafeteria (Closed to first responder/any bystanders that want to get involved, but please, just one thread for this one!)

[Richtofen's carrying a tray to a table when it happens. Quick as a flash, like hitting a light switch, it's as if his higher brain functions shut off. They're replaced by a burning need, an uncontrollable instinct to rip and tear and shred anything he can get a hold of. The tray slides out of his hands and food splatters all over the floor as Richtofen surrenders to that urge. He stumbles forward, looking around with eyes vacant of personality but filled with venom, and charges toward the first person he sees. He growls mindlessly and tries his hardest to claw apart whichever unlucky person is closest to him.

But you shouldn't be surprised. His collar is orange, after all.]


Under Your Bed

[It just started making perfect sense all of a sudden. Why should he waste his time staying up all night in his dorm, casting paranoid glares at his sleeping roommates, when he could be doing much better things? If he manages to sneak into someone else's room and hide under their beds, he can hear whatever they're saying. He'll know who's plotting against him. To be perfectly honest, he's surprised that he didn't think of it before.

So here he lies, still and silent, underneath some poor sap's bed. The accommodations aren't ideal, but he can live with this. He has to know what they're talking about. What they're thinking.

He has to stay here for as long as possible.]

Comments

room 1-09

[funnystory]

[Ellen is, at heart, a child. A child who takes rumors about "things" being under the bed a little too seriously. It's a habit that she's never quite outgrown; checking the closet and anxiously peeking under the bed at night to ensure that no monsters were hiding there, waiting for her to go to sleep before dragging her under. The rumors going about about the various "somethings" being under the bed had only added to this paranoia.

So, when she reaches her bed and ducks down to check beneath it, it comes as little surprise that the normal sight of dust and various small objects that had rolled under it has been replaced with an adult man. It's not quite what she's been waiting to find all these years, but it nonetheless justifies her childish fear. So while her eyes widen upon seeing him, she quickly settles into an apathetic stare, like his being under her bed was perfectly normal.]

...hello.

[doctor_dismemberment]

[Richtofen isn't expecting to be found so soon, so when the girl greets him, he jumps. His knee strikes the underside of the bed and he curses under his breath before whipping his head toward her. The sudden movement knocks his cap off of his head, but really, it was a miracle that it had stayed on while he was crawling under the bed in the first place.]

Damn it! No! You don't see me. [He raises a hand as best as he can in the cramped quarters and waves her away with it.] Shoo.

[Yeah, that'll work.]

[funnystory]

[She doesn't shoo, doesn't move a muscle as she watches him take notice of her. Instead she simply watches him, eventually offering the slight shake of her head.]

I can see you.

[A beat.]

You're under my bed.

[Just in case he isn't already aware of that.]

[doctor_dismemberment]

...

[Richtofen stares at her for a long moment. He blinks slowly.]

No I'm not.

[Maybe he can convince her that he's just a figment of her imagination. That has to be possible, right? With all the strange things that happen in the Tower, nobody should doubt that it's a thing that could happen, honestly.]

[funnystory]

[...?

She seems to seriously consider that for a moment, a puzzled look on her face.]

Where are you?

Room 2-01 before her fourth rumour.

[culbutiri]

[There was someone under her bed. She noticed as she walked into her room and she was pretty sure she knew who it was. So she just flopped down and slipped off her shoes, bringing her legs up to fold under her.] Hello Richtofen, how do you be being?

[She is highly amused, even if this wasn't exactly what she had meant to write it was funny non the less.]

[doctor_dismemberment]

[Wh- Damn it, how did she know so quickly?! Richtofen tensed up under her bed, but he refused to answer her. Maybe he would still be able to convince Nesir that she was just being paranoid or something.

Hey, it was worth a shot.]

[culbutiri]

[She just smirked and flopped down so she was hanging off the bed.] You do be breathing loudly you do be knowing.

[doctor_dismemberment]

[Richtofen's eyebrows creased, and, looking offended, he put a hand over his mouth. Apparently he'd been wrong to think that the bed would effectively muffle any sounds he might make.]

...Shut up.

[He expected to be angrier at Nesir, he really did. He still couldn't say he trusted her, but his desire to jump at her and wring her throat had significantly decreased since the last time they'd met. The voices chided him for being found out so easily and told him to be cautious, but he brushed off their advice with an irritated groan.]

Move. I am not going to cramp myself up if you already know I'm here.

[There was an almost pouty tone to his voice when he said that. A bit awkwardly, he began to shimmy out from under the bed.]

[great_king_of_evil]

[ These past months have been very hard for everyone, more so for the Great King of Evil. Ever since the Dark World plot he has had to deal with his exponential decrease in popularity (not that he cared much about that anyway), the overall stupidity in the tower and many other important things-- Like the latest evil meeting that Richtofen didn't attend to.

He couldn't say he had missed his presence at the latest meeting. It had actually been pretty good and relaxing to finally have a reunion without having to see his face around. Besides, Doom had done a good job becoming everyone's favorite target in his place. However as much he despised the doctor, someone who had served as an 'ally' for so long suddenly walking away could be dangerous.

All the worse when it became apparent that the doctor ignored him in that corridor and openly mocked him. He had not planned to ruin his day by speaking to him today, but such behavior could not be tolerated. What to do then, reason with him? Richtofen couldn't be reasoned with. Bargain with him? Falling so low would be unacceptable. Threaten him? Richtofen was too foolish to have any sense of danger.

Skip the threatening part and accomplish the sentence before leaving any chances to the doctor? Obviously the best and only thing to do with such a nutcase.

And lo, Ganondorf walked through the corridor and seemingly ignored Richtofen, the same way the doctor ignore him. But as Ganondorf passed next to him, the doctor would have only a few seconds of warning in the form of dark purple energy gathering around Ganondorf's hand before a fist would be directed to his very person-- An attack of the Warlock Punch category.

An attack that would hopefully hit him and subsequently send him flying through the entire corridor only to splash against a wall and die miserably. At least that was the intent. ]

[doctor_dismemberment]

[Richtofen barely has time to let out a startled noise. He doesn't even have time to think more than oh shit before he's flying through the hallway, all the sense knocked out of him.

Not much to say, other than that it was a very effective attack, and one that Richtofen will get angry about once Jason gives him a body whose brains aren't plastered all over the wall.

]

[acceptedoblivion]

[After the meeting (which he noticed his... 'ally' in the Dark World had been absent from), he was going to simply lie low again, hopefully stay below the radar of the admins before since the others around him didn't seem so lucky. Really. That was all he was going to do; wander the tower and make sure some people weren't doing anything stupid and otherwise not really caring much about the hyjinx.

But apparently timing stats had other plans, because just as he was exiting the stairway a certain "doctor" suddenly flew by him. (Wait, when did he learn Glide?)

Blinking, he looked between the splattered brains on the wall where the sucker smacked into, then the one who sucker punched him.

...

Clap..... clap..... clap.....

No really; that's his only reaction to that scene.]

You don't want to know how many times I wanted to do that over a month ago.

[And to think... He thought today was going to be yet another dull and dreary day in the Helltower.]

[great_king_of_evil]

[ Ah, that was certainly a delightful spectacle! When Richtofen splashed dead against the wall, Ganondorf smiled, a genuinely happy smile he hadn't sported in months. And then he had only one word to say at what he had just done, spoken both with an amused and mocking tone: ]

Wunderbar.

[ You should be happy doctor, he learnt a word from your language. He then turned as he heard a clapping. Bad thing. He'd rather not have had any witness to this-- But that was Ira, so all's good. His smile widened and he walked back on his merry way, passing by him as he headed for the stairway. ]

You should try someday. That's actually even better than what it looks like.

[ Punching Nazi zombies is an awesome stress reliever, truth. ]

Infirmary - just after his first rumour

[neverbeamemory]

[Floor 41 isn't somewhere to be hanging around. He'd felt them creeping all around him in the darkness, even before he'd lit up with a small fireball and seen the writing on the wall. He'd felt them pressing in on all sides by the time he'd finished.

After the act, he held his hand to his bleeding cheek and held it there as he headed urgently back to the lift; thankfully the elevator must have been close anyway else the bugs surely will have caught the scent of the blood. He punched the Floor 1 button as many times as it took to get the lift to close before the swarm cottoned on.

Getting to the Infirmary Sephiroth strode in and immediately over to a drawer where he knew there had been basic first aid supplies before, he'd been a drone here after all one leather gloved hand still held to his cheek.

Regeneration or not, the carving into his face was bleeding profusely for the time being and knowing the Tower it'd be his luck that it might heal wrong. He'd have to wait and see if it was worth it, he's not sure how other writings had been becoming true but he wouldn't be doing it again in a hurry.

He pretty much ignored that Richtofen was even there. Too busy rifling through the contents of that drawer, moving onto the next if he didn't find at least something to clean his new wound with.]

[doctor_dismemberment]

[With all the pain and torment that happens inside the Tower on a daily basis, Richtofen is surprised he doesn't see more patients. It's dull sitting in the infirmary sometimes, when he runs out of syringes to sort and drones to glare at, not an injured soul in sight. So, when a familiar person stalks onto the floor, bringing with him a scent sharp and metallic, Richtofen sits up and takes note.

He swears he could smell a drop of blood from a mile away. The scent is so strong, so pleasant, that it makes Richtofen's own blood boil whenever he catches a whiff of it. And from the looks of it, quite a lot of blood is dripping down Sephiroth's face. He finds he has so much less self control these days when it comes to that glorious substance.]

Hello? [Richtofen's voice is uncharacteristically low, so he takes care to sound more chipper the second time around.] ...Hello? Boy! Are you listening?

[Richtofen gets up and stalks over to Sephiroth, his eyes locked on that wonderful, gorgeous, liquid red.]

It is considered proper form to address the doctor when you need medical attention.

[Even though the title the Tower gave him is technically "Nurse," but whatever, fuck them. He earned his degree fair and square, and he will call himself a doctor if he wants to.

But details, details. He has more important things to worry about right now. Namely, getting his hands on that man's bleeding face.]

[neverbeamemory]

I heard you the first time, Richtofen.

[Sephiroth doesn't even turn look to the doctor who wasn't now more than a few feet away from him. Rifling through a drawer of medical supplies one-handed with his other hand pressed to his cheek. He pulls a small first aid packet out of the drawer and then lowers the bloodied glove from his face to hastily rip into it with both hands.]

I don't need your medical attention.

[The fresh, bloody words carved onto his cheek aren't visible much due to amount of blood staining his cheek but the lettering wells up with red again in seconds and starts to weep. A few strands of silver hair on that side are stained with it but other than that the pressure he'd been delivering to the wound certainly prevented it from becoming messier than it could have been.

A second later he raises a disinfecting wipe to his own face, feeling for the raw spike of pain so that he knows he's wiping clean the right area. He has to be quick with it, he knows that in a few moments his automatic regeneration will begin to close the wound. Or so he thinks.]

[doctor_dismemberment]

[The words hit Richtofen like a slap to the face. He jerks his head back, blinks rapidly, and wrinkles his nose, staring Sephiroth down the way a mother would look at an unruly child who's just discovered swear words.]

What?

[He takes another step forward. White-hot anger, perhaps more of it than what should be appropriate, temporarily overtakes his blood lust.]

It is bad enough that you ignore me when I'm speaking to you, but to pretend like you have the skill to patch up whatever that is? [He gestures at Sephiroth's face with one jerky movement of the arm, then makes a move to grab for the disinfecting wipe.] Don't insult me, give me that!

[He doesn't actually want to help Sephiroth, but that is an offense to his status as a doctor, and he'll be damned if he takes it lying down.]

Under the bed (is a double tag with Diarmuid okay?)

[puppy_lancer]

[Cu Chulainn usually has a sharper sense of hearing than regular humans. Tonight, it seems more sensitive than usual because of several factors. First off, he was still getting nightmares. Even though everything had been relatively peaceful for the last couple of weeks, and even though his brother was at his side right now, he still felt that if he let himself sleep he would just sink into another nightmare. Second, there was a horrible feeling of dread that seemed to be resting in his stomach. He knows that the bogeyman is here, and that it's not friendly. And he knows too, that something strange might be going on with his friends. Then there was the matter of Rin's corruption. He hasn't seen it yet and he has to wonder where it is now. All these factors combined to put him on edge and keep him from sleeping.]

[He almost jumps when he hears a noise. Like someone scuffling around on the floor. For a second, he wonders if he imagined it, but he hears the noise again.]

[He wants to get up and look around and see what's in his room, but part of him is convinced that he won't like what he'll see. At the same time, he knows that if it's something dangerous, Diarmuid will need to be prepared as well. With that thought in mind, he rolls over and pokes his brother in the arm.]

Bro, you awake?

[He whispers.]

[oathshackledbird]

[At first the only response that Cu Chulainn gets is a sleepy mutter. Diarmuid had been just at that point of sleep where it is very hard to wake up. Honestly, as a trained warrior and a servant who doesn't actually need to sleep, that probably should worry him a little. He should be able to wake up immediately. His life or someone else's might depend on it.

Finally, after a few more moments and another sleepy sound or two, he rolls his head toward Cu Chulainn at the same time unconsciously expanding his senses to check the room as he always does. He hears a light scuffling, but really doesn't think much of it. There are always sounds like that in this place. It's never completely quiet especially to a servant like Diarmuid who has enhanced hearing.]

What is it? You should be resting, brother.

certainly! Cu Chulainn -> Diarmuid -> Richtofen?

[doctor_dismemberment]

[This is a really good idea. Richtofen is absolutely convinced that his plan is flawless. He hates that bastard Lancer, hates him so much that it's palpable, so why not spend time under his bed? He can listen to all his private conversations, get a feel for his weaknesses, the whole package.

Maybe he cries himself to sleep at night. That would be a fun thing to listen to.

Richtofen tries to minimize the noise he makes as he shuffles under the bed, but there's only so much he can do. Once he's there, he lays still and silent in hopes that the inhabitants of the room will pass it off as an innocent noise to be ignored and forgotten about.]

Alright!

[puppy_lancer]

[Lancer had starting poking harder and faster when his brother failed to wake up at the first poke. As a result, when Diarmuid turns his head toward him, he ends up poking right on Diarmuid's mole. However, apologizing for that isn't on his mind right now.]

Can't you hear that?

[He continues to whisper.]

There's something in this room. Something other than us.

Infirmary

[godheals]

[Occasionally, Raphael would wander into the third floor library to skim a few books before heading back towards the infirmary. He mostly read whatever non-fictional book about medicine that was lying around, but he had slowly taken to reading some fiction. He was hoping that it would help him understand normal humans so that he wouldn't mess up in the future.

While he wasn't expecting anyone to come into the infirmary while he was out, and while he didn't mean to startle the man that badly, the question made him smile. A doctor was always good to have.]

I need nothing, at the moment. I am a healer, just like you.

[..Which was far from the truth, but, sadly, Raphael didn't know that about this man yet.]

[doctor_dismemberment]

[Richtofen gives the man a skeptical once-over, as if he'll be able to tell whether or not he speaks the truth simply by looking. After a moment of silence, he speaks up.]

Oh, really?

[He's a bit of a territorial doctor. It's apparent in the way he bares his teeth, leans back in his chair, tenses up like he's readying himself to strike if the stranger comes too close.]

[godheals]

[Richtofen really didn't have to worry. Lying was..pretty much impossible for Raphael. It wasn't built into him. Sadly, neither was body language, so he just kept on smiling as he walked closer to the man.]

Yes. It is the reason I exist.

[doctor_dismemberment]

Oh, the reason you exist, how quaint. [Richtofen's voice was thick with mocking.] Have you come here to spread sunshine und laughter to the injured?

[Someone's in a bad mood today.]