Joyous Reunion

–

The man known only as “Doktor” watched as his angry boss left the room, silent now behind his dark blue goggles and medical mask. The slamming of the door behind Daisuke was unreasonbly loud, but at this point Doktor was used to it. He let out a deep sigh as he brought one hand up to rub at his temple. “What an annoyance,” he mumbled to himself, not low enough to escape the ears of the other men in the room, but he didn't care. He took a few steps forward to the primary attraction of the room, a viewport into a connecting room, where his primary work room was. Laying on a table was Eve, her eyes open but unfocused as she listened to the headphones upon her head. Usually this was a normal, benign sight. Now...it was the sign of a very large, unexpected problem.

She had gone off the programming. More than that she actively rebelled, actively RAGED, against it. The true extent of the anger built into her had shown itself. In some ways it was a potent weapon, but in others it just represented a threat to the plans he had designed. The question now, of course, was what to do about it. One of the men in suits stepped forward, clearing his throat to get his attention. The Doktor slightly turned his head to indicate he was listening.

“What will you be doing now, sir?” he asked. Doktor fully turned to face him now, and let out another sigh. They handle her one time to bring her back and they automatically assume they'll be needed for anything to due with her from now on. How bothersome. But, airing his thoughts couldn't hurt. It could even lead to an answer uncovering itself. “Well, I'll be doing what Daisuke screamed,” he began, “and I'll fix it. But that is...problematic now.” The suited man let his silence ask the question for him. “Now that she's broken the programming once,” he explained, “and her brain has now felt “freedom” and “choice” she will now fight hard to regain that, possibly even if I were to submerge her deep into programming.”

The suited man nodded in understanding. “And more than that,” he continued, “I'm not entirely sure just how much of that her mind can take. Too much programming might just tear her mind apart, and it was hard enough to get one perfected the first time. I have no interest in making another one. So I can't just wipe and try again. I have to be careful.”

“So what will I do now?” he asked himself out loud. “Well, I'm going to give her another round of the standard programming. If nothing else it'll hold the cracks long enough for me to figure out where to go from there. After that, I need to determine the health of her mind, and whether it can take a harder round of programming. Indeed, a good examination in all might be needed, just to make sure everything is staying together correctly. Of course that's not exactly my area of expertise, but...”

He trailed off there, as a little memory popped into his mind. When he arrived at this facility and took in the lay of the land his creation would tread through, when he saw the name on the employee list. He did not believe in the concept of “fate” but it was certainly a gift from someone. The suited man could tell from the crease in the medical mask that he was smiling now. “But I know just the man to do so, yes....”

He nodded to himself, agreeing with his own thoughts. “Yes, indeed, this is the perfect time to establish contact. Luckily I have the few days the programming will afford me. A delicate matter like this, I'll need to be sure of how to approach it. We don't need any incidents like the other one, nooo...” he nodded to himself again. The suited man, apparently used to this, let his attention wander, turning to face the viewport, and immediately jumped back. Doktor noticed this and turned his head to look where he had, and jumped back as well.

Eve sat on the table, watching them, the headphones now around her neck.

Doktor stared at this sight for a moment, sharing a stare with the girl, before he quickly turned to look at the suited men, jerking his head towards her to indicate an order to them, with the men immediately moving to get into the room and making sure the headphones stayed on her. He watched and frowned. “Perhaps,” he mumbled to himself, “I do not have time to wait. I'll have to do it now, tact be damned.” He turned on his heel and left the room, ready to do what he needed to do. A happy reunion.

–

The man walked down the hallway with a brisk, happy pace. Today had been a good day, full of hard work and advances in his work. Though he still hadn't made any advances in the work of getting the stains from his work out of his clothing, but that was what tomorrow was for! He stopped in front of the door to his office as a feeling came over him. It was hard to explain, but it was like something in the air was just wrong. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he slowly reached out to grasp the doorknob, already having an idea as to what he'd find when he opened the door.

He opened the door and saw what he expected, and it felt like everything inside of him knotted up and began to weigh down in his stomach. Doktor sat on his desk, watching him. “Come in,” he said, “isn't it time we got reacquainted?”

The man looked back into the hallway, confirming no one else was around before stepping in, pushing the door closed behind him. His jaw set and he practically spit out the word. “Who.” Not a question, but a command. Doktor could only smile, behind his mask, and reached up to his face, pushing his goggles up long enough for the man to look into his eyes before pushing them back down. The man could only nod. “I'm not surprised.” he said, looking down. “Come now!” Doktor said, with no small hint of enjoyment at this in his voice. “Is that any way to greet me after all this time? We haven't seen each other since....why, just before that unpleasant business in Aruba.”

The man's fist clenched and Doktor smiled even wider. “Ah yes, that day we'll all remember. When the dream died, swept away in fire and agony!” he yelled, before hopping onto his feet and approaching the man. “Really, you should be happy. You received this long to live the illusion. Shouldn't you be thanking me for granting you this long before coming knocking?” The man's fist started to shake, but Doktor was not truly worried. He knew him well enough to know nothing would come of it. “What. Do you want?” the man finally managed to growl out, looking up to lock eyes with him. “Right to the chase! Why not sit down awhile, let us get caught up? I'd love to know how you managed to get into this line of work.”

The man did not respond, and the Doktor could only chuckle. “Ah, yes, even a child could hear how insincere that was. Oh well, no matter. I'll explain.” He gave it a moment, for that dramatic effect, before he dropped the bomb. “I succeeded.” The man's eyes widened in shock, and his words stumbled and stuttered out before he finally managed to get them out. “How. Even with the number of years you've had, there's no way you could have...” he trailed off, the light of recognition coming to his face, along with no small amount of horror. “The girl. The one with the scars, in the developmental camp.” Doktor clapped, nodding. “Got it in one. My little Patchwork Girl. She's truly amazing, is she not?”

“You actually did it,” the man continued, staring. “You made a monster.” Doktor's grin spread. “You're god damn right I did! And she is only the beginning! Once I perfect it, the potential is unending. I will be the first to reach the Apex we were meant for! And I'm so generous. You'll be helping me.” The man shook his head hard. “Wrong. I refuse to help you with your godforsaken ghouls.” Doktor's mask creased in an obvious frown. “Who said you had a choice.” he said, stepping forward, until they were face to face. “It's only the 9 of us now. We're the only ones left. I'd recommend you remember that day in Aruba, and think of how quickly the illusion can be broken.” The frown changed to that grin again. “How dreams can die.”

The man held the stare for a few moments, before he broke it, looking down in defeat. “Fine. Fine, I'll do it.” Doktor reached out and clasped the man on the shoulder. “I knew you'd make the correct choice. I'll be sending her along in the next day or two, with the paperwork you'll need to reference. I just need to know her physical and mental condition to start with. We can begin the more...extensive work, later.”

He began to move past him, opening the door but stopping to look back at him, the crease of the mask indicating an enormous grin. “Who knows,” he began, “at this rate you might even think to embrace your real name instead of the false one....” his voice took on a mocking tone as he said one final word. “Kuller.”

And he closed the door behind him, leaving Dr. Cyril Kuller who could only muse on how hard it is to escape.