As usual, the swordsman was rather unresponsive when the doctor first spoke. Luke had always been a bit of a heavy sleeper, though that didn't mean he had a good sleep: he often was plagued with nightmares, first of the soldiers that he had fought (killed) when he first started his adventure, and then nightmares of what he did at Akzeruith.
So when he heard someone murmur his name, the boy perceived it at being part of his dream, and didn't think much of it. Until the next thing he knew, something was choking him. Luke's eyes flew open, and he really didn't like what he was seeing.
Maybe this was just another nightmare.
"Uh?" came Luke's rather intelligent response to the whole situation.
At the angle that Luke was laying in, the doctor's face was shrouded in darkness, only leaving the redhead to use his imagination when the man stood there silently. However, the pause didn't last long, and he began to move about the tiny room, quickly prepping for what was to come.
"Luke fon Fabre, that's your name isn't it?" The doctor spoke amusedly, fiddling with something underneath the examination table.
"Funny, I remember seeing another patient with the same name. In fact, he looked just like you. Would you two be related by any chance? Brothers?" His voice was smooth and casual as he went about his work.
Luke's body tensed as the faceless figure before him started talking again, this time about his name. Ugh, talk about hitting him where it hurt. It might have been a smarter idea to just keep quiet, but Luke glared, trying to struggle against the straps. He would not just lie down and take this, he had to at least try to get out, damnit!
"I'm..." He tried to find the words, but the damned doctor had a point. He really didn't have anything to say, since it was true. But damnit, this wasn't the time to be thinking about these kinds of things.
"Gah, shut up! Let me go, damnit!" Luke all but screamed, with a false attempt at bravado.
"I'm afraid I can't do that just yet, Luke." The doctor made sure to emphasize the single syllable of his name, almost like it was coated in a thick and putrid slime for being stolen from its original and tacked haphazardly on this fake.
"You see, there's a few questions I'd like to be answered. I could always call 'Asch' in, but it'd be such a waste if I killed him. At least if I accidentally killed you there's always the chance of making another."
That was made Luke stop. He hated being reminded that he was simply a replacement, a copy, a fake, but it did have it's advantages, however slim. It meant that Asch wouldn't be the one strapped to this table, whatever that meant.
This thought was the only thing that kept Luke from breaking down and he was determined to stick with it.
"..." He kept silent, but there was a look of pure hate on Luke's face as he turned to the shrouded figure once more.
Just like the rest of the doctors, he always enjoyed watching the tormented face of his patient, knowing that he had hit Luke's soft spot with words alone.
Now, it certainly wouldn't be fun to share his evil schemes so soon, so he kept his mouth shut as he pulled out something from underneath the table. The aforementioned instrument looked to be nothing more than a long, curved slab of metal with a strap at the end. He kept its purpose unknown for the moment, though it was easy to picture what he was going to do with it.
"How does it feel?" The doctor asked out of the blue as he tightly bound the device over Luke's forehead.
"How does it feel to know that you stole someone’s life?"
The metal was unbearably cold as it pressed into Luke's skin, and he started to struggle again. Right, this looked like an experimentation lab, so naturally... Luke wasn't oblivious to the fact that to certain scientists, he was a special case and something that would be worth experimenting on.
How funny. Was that all he was good for?
"I didn't... I didn't have a choice! I didn't know!" Luke panicked, trying to wriggle his way out of the bonds and failing miserably. He tried to think of anything, anything that would get him out of his mess. Was it going to hurt? Was he going to die?!
"Let me go! I didn't do anything! It's not my fault!"
"Of course it wasn't, and with that in mind I'm sure other things weren't your fault either. How could one person possibly steal thousands of lives in the blink of an eye? How could someone remain so blissfully ignorant of everyone else besides himself?" By now the doctor pushed away some professionalism for the sake of burying Luke's face deeper in his own filth.
The shadowed man walked away, but only for a moment to slip on a protective apron, picking up a pair of matching gloves and setting it off to the side for now.
More than happy to take advantage of the situation, he began to pull several tables closer, each holding some kind of device that measured some kind of vital sign.
"That's different!" Luke screamed back, almost as a reflex. The combination of the strange instruments being produced at the table, the accusations, the unbearable truth of the accusations, and all at once, was starting to get to Luke and it showed in the replica's eyes as he fearfully tried to turn his head.
What was that guy doing?
The replica took deep breaths. No, he couldn't forget everything that Tear taught him. He didn't get so far to just back down now! He had to keep his head clear, and he had to think. He'd been through worse than this, right? He could get out of this!
"I'm not like that anymore," Luke hissed, trying to regain his composure. "When I get out of here, you're gonna regret it!"
The doctor pointedly ignored the redhead's screaming, busying himself with prepping the various devices that would eventually find themselves strapped to his patient in some way or another.
During his excitement he'd forgotten to properly prep the replica, and clothes were such a bothersome thing to maneuver around. So with that in mind the man picked up a pair of sheers nearby and began to idly ran it up Luke's shirt, exposing the latter's chest for the first device. It was an EKG, an instrument used to measure the electrical activity on one's heart, and the wires were promptly placed along the ribcage for an effective reading.
The other was an EEG, which was used to measure and record brain waves. This device was somewhat harder to set up, seeing as that he had to keep Luke's head still while he pressed the wired cap down and strapped it underneath the redhead's chin.
He would've enjoyed using more equipment, but time truly was of the essence at the moment so he'd have to make due with what he could squeeze in.
That... that bastard! Luke still hated being ignored, although for a slight different reason: he now perceived it as he was doing something wrong, and as the doctor continued to set things up, Luke only struggled and did his best to at least make things worse. He wasn't going down without a -
"Ow!"
Luke's struggling ended up costing him as the bottom of the shear tip pierced his chest slightly, smearing the area that was cut with a minute amount of blood as the doctor continued to make his preparations. He was completely trapped now, a wired cap resting on his head (he did his best to throw the doctor off on that too, but the man's grip was inhumanly strong and cold).
"Just what the hell is all this about? Tell me!" Luke demanded, virtually unable to move. Only his green eyes were able to move, darting around as he took in the scenery.
"If you're that desperate to find out then I see nothing wrong with dropping a hint." The doctor finally answered Luke's plea now that he was finished with the preparations.
"Truthfully, I'm only concerned about a 'certain' ability you possess," He began as he donned on the pair of protective gloves that he set aside earlier. "You see, as I was looking at yours and Asch's records I came across the most trivial thing. I wasn't aware that a human being was capable of possessing a kind of power that destroys matter."
The power to destroy matter? It was worded a little differently, but Luke unfortunately got the gist of what the doctor was doing. They were going to ... they were going to.
"NO!" Luke couldn't believe this. What were they thinking?! He had... he had killed so many with that power! They couldn't just make him do it, not here, and not now!
"Don't you have any idea how powerful - how deadly it is? I could destroy this entire building!" Luke didn't want to be responsible for more deaths, not if he could do anything about it. "You don't know what you're dealing with! Don't!"
"Relax." The man spoke in a forcibly calm voice, bringing a hand forward to squeeze Luke's shoulder. Of course, the desired effect was nowhere near aimed to calm the redhead, so it seemed almost predatory in a sense.
"I know very well what it's capable of. Unfortunately, the scale that you achieved back in your world is a feat you simply can't accomplish here. You see, we don't have these 'fonons' required to trigger your ability."
He gave a hearty laugh as he dug underneath the examination table once more.
"So everything I'll use will be from your own body. I heard it's got quite a bit going for it, being a replica and all."
He winced, not liking the tone of the doctor's voice or how hard that squeeze was. Luke didn't like a lot of things about this, and his fears were hardly calmed by what the doctor was saying.
But they couldn't force him to do a hyperresonance, could they? Van had at one point, but Luke knew it wouldn't happen again. No, what Van did was trickery and taking advantage of him, but there was none of that here. They couldn't make him do it. He wouldn't.
"You can't," He glared, as best as he could as the shadowy figure rummaged under the table. "I won't do it. Hah, I don't even know how to use the fonons in my body!"
Of course he didn't! Last time was a fluke, Asch had to help him with that. For once, Luke's incompetence might actually be an advantage for him.
"Oh, there's no need to worry about that. You don't have to do anything in this procedure, really." The doctor pointed out to his patient. Luke's words may have rung some truth in them, but that didn't mean there were no other means to trigger his special little power. Improvising was always a doctor's specialty, so it didn't take much effort to hop over the hurdle and get the job done
( ... )
So when he heard someone murmur his name, the boy perceived it at being part of his dream, and didn't think much of it. Until the next thing he knew, something was choking him. Luke's eyes flew open, and he really didn't like what he was seeing.
Maybe this was just another nightmare.
"Uh?" came Luke's rather intelligent response to the whole situation.
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"Luke fon Fabre, that's your name isn't it?" The doctor spoke amusedly, fiddling with something underneath the examination table.
"Funny, I remember seeing another patient with the same name. In fact, he looked just like you. Would you two be related by any chance? Brothers?" His voice was smooth and casual as he went about his work.
"Or are you perhaps just borrowing his looks?"
Reply
"I'm..." He tried to find the words, but the damned doctor had a point. He really didn't have anything to say, since it was true. But damnit, this wasn't the time to be thinking about these kinds of things.
"Gah, shut up! Let me go, damnit!" Luke all but screamed, with a false attempt at bravado.
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"You see, there's a few questions I'd like to be answered. I could always call 'Asch' in, but it'd be such a waste if I killed him. At least if I accidentally killed you there's always the chance of making another."
Reply
That was made Luke stop. He hated being reminded that he was simply a replacement, a copy, a fake, but it did have it's advantages, however slim. It meant that Asch wouldn't be the one strapped to this table, whatever that meant.
This thought was the only thing that kept Luke from breaking down and he was determined to stick with it.
"..." He kept silent, but there was a look of pure hate on Luke's face as he turned to the shrouded figure once more.
"What are you going to do to me, anyway?"
Reply
Now, it certainly wouldn't be fun to share his evil schemes so soon, so he kept his mouth shut as he pulled out something from underneath the table. The aforementioned instrument looked to be nothing more than a long, curved slab of metal with a strap at the end. He kept its purpose unknown for the moment, though it was easy to picture what he was going to do with it.
"How does it feel?" The doctor asked out of the blue as he tightly bound the device over Luke's forehead.
"How does it feel to know that you stole someone’s life?"
Reply
How funny. Was that all he was good for?
"I didn't... I didn't have a choice! I didn't know!" Luke panicked, trying to wriggle his way out of the bonds and failing miserably. He tried to think of anything, anything that would get him out of his mess. Was it going to hurt? Was he going to die?!
"Let me go! I didn't do anything! It's not my fault!"
Reply
The shadowed man walked away, but only for a moment to slip on a protective apron, picking up a pair of matching gloves and setting it off to the side for now.
More than happy to take advantage of the situation, he began to pull several tables closer, each holding some kind of device that measured some kind of vital sign.
Reply
What was that guy doing?
The replica took deep breaths. No, he couldn't forget everything that Tear taught him. He didn't get so far to just back down now! He had to keep his head clear, and he had to think. He'd been through worse than this, right? He could get out of this!
"I'm not like that anymore," Luke hissed, trying to regain his composure. "When I get out of here, you're gonna regret it!"
Reply
During his excitement he'd forgotten to properly prep the replica, and clothes were such a bothersome thing to maneuver around. So with that in mind the man picked up a pair of sheers nearby and began to idly ran it up Luke's shirt, exposing the latter's chest for the first device. It was an EKG, an instrument used to measure the electrical activity on one's heart, and the wires were promptly placed along the ribcage for an effective reading.
The other was an EEG, which was used to measure and record brain waves. This device was somewhat harder to set up, seeing as that he had to keep Luke's head still while he pressed the wired cap down and strapped it underneath the redhead's chin.
He would've enjoyed using more equipment, but time truly was of the essence at the moment so he'd have to make due with what he could squeeze in.
Reply
"Ow!"
Luke's struggling ended up costing him as the bottom of the shear tip pierced his chest slightly, smearing the area that was cut with a minute amount of blood as the doctor continued to make his preparations. He was completely trapped now, a wired cap resting on his head (he did his best to throw the doctor off on that too, but the man's grip was inhumanly strong and cold).
"Just what the hell is all this about? Tell me!" Luke demanded, virtually unable to move. Only his green eyes were able to move, darting around as he took in the scenery.
Shit.
Reply
"Truthfully, I'm only concerned about a 'certain' ability you possess," He began as he donned on the pair of protective gloves that he set aside earlier. "You see, as I was looking at yours and Asch's records I came across the most trivial thing. I wasn't aware that a human being was capable of possessing a kind of power that destroys matter."
The doctor stretched his gloved fingers.
"I'd like to exploit that, if you don't mind."
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"NO!" Luke couldn't believe this. What were they thinking?! He had... he had killed so many with that power! They couldn't just make him do it, not here, and not now!
"Don't you have any idea how powerful - how deadly it is? I could destroy this entire building!" Luke didn't want to be responsible for more deaths, not if he could do anything about it. "You don't know what you're dealing with! Don't!"
Reply
"I know very well what it's capable of. Unfortunately, the scale that you achieved back in your world is a feat you simply can't accomplish here. You see, we don't have these 'fonons' required to trigger your ability."
He gave a hearty laugh as he dug underneath the examination table once more.
"So everything I'll use will be from your own body. I heard it's got quite a bit going for it, being a replica and all."
Reply
But they couldn't force him to do a hyperresonance, could they? Van had at one point, but Luke knew it wouldn't happen again. No, what Van did was trickery and taking advantage of him, but there was none of that here. They couldn't make him do it. He wouldn't.
"You can't," He glared, as best as he could as the shadowy figure rummaged under the table. "I won't do it. Hah, I don't even know how to use the fonons in my body!"
Of course he didn't! Last time was a fluke, Asch had to help him with that. For once, Luke's incompetence might actually be an advantage for him.
Or so he thought.
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