"What's the situation Schnee?" General James Ironwood asked, lacking his usual authoritative tone which seemed to have been replaced by curiosity. The same kind of excitement that one would expect of finding something extraordinary.
"We don't know sir." Specialist Winter Schnee replied, with equal candor. "The fact that he is alive is mind boggling, the speed at which they must have frozen is beyond anything we have ever seen. It's an effect I highly doubt we will be able to reproduce." She tapped a few buttons on a nearby terminal, which brought up rows of text displaying all the available information on the strange knight and his tiger cub.
"We did some dating on his armor, and while it must be some kind of mistake, our initial results place it as brand new. Which of course can't be right because the depth we found him at meant that the ice was easily several hundred years old!" Winter's voice was one of equal frustration and the suddenly unknowable mystery, and excitement about what this could mean for the history of Remnant.
She caught herself before she started speaking again, reigning in her emotions in order to return to a more professional tone. "We found no traces of Dust on him or his gear. But there were other substances that we don't recognize that seem to act in a similar manner." She tapped a few more buttons on the terminal and it switched from rows of information to a video feed that allowed the two Atlesian officers to watch the doctor's operate on the injured man.
The doctors hovered over him, carefully extracting the numerous long arrow shafts that stuck out of the poor knight one by one. A breathing tube was stuck down his throat, pumping air into his lungs. Everyone else in the room was in sealed environment suits, as a precaution against any ancient diseases that may have laid dormant within the man. The Tiger cub sat at the head of the operating table, nuzzling and licking at the man's hair in an attempt to get him to wake up. Occasionally it would hiss and growl at the doctors if they got too close, but thankfully none had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of a bite from the feline's large canines.
Even with the anesthetic, the man's body occasionally shifted in pain, should one of the doctors accidentally become too forceful with their operations.
"When do you think he will wake up?" The General asked, wincing as one of the doctors removed one the final arrow shafts from his body, prompting another shift from the man.
"It's uncertain, sir. We don't know if he will ever wake up, we don't know how his stay in the ice affected his mind or his body. His muscles seem to work fine, but the brain is an entirely different matter. We know there is activity, we just don't know where it will go from there." Winter replied, hopeful but still realistic. She wanted him to wake up, but she wasn't going to pretend that it was a likely possibility. "If he does wake up sir, what are we going to do with him?" She asked once again. And the General just shook his head like last time.
"Let's make sure he wakes up first before we decide on anything, Specialist." The General murmured. He was hopeful that he would wake, after all, the tiger seemed to be just fine. And believing in the doom and gloom wouldn't get them anywhere.
The doctors finally finished their operation, having just removed the last of the stray arrowheads or other miscellaneous items. They moved away from him, confident that he was stable enough not to die if they moved him to another room to be monitored.
"Keep me posted Schnee. I've got some business to attend too." The General spoke quickly. Clearly unhappy that he wouldn't be around to monitor one of the most important discoveries of the decade. He did however, trust Winter Schnee with the proper handling of the situation, and so as much as it rankled him to leave, he knew the iceman and his cat were in good hands.
The Specialist nodded, and the General left without another word. Leaving Winter to sit down to once again review what she knew about the man and his tiger. It was convenient that's he was found where he was. It was a hell of a coincidence that he was there, but considering his circumstances, she was willing to let slide the fact that he was exactly on the spot where the General had planned to create a new weapons research lab.
She could only wonder how long they would have stayed in the ice had they simply decided to move the location a few meters over. They were an incredibly lucky find, and she supposed that she should simply be happy that they were actually found.
She moved over to a nearby table, which was wear his gear had been haphazardly left as the doctors rushed the man into surgery. The most notable objects weren't his weaponry. While the sword and shield were obviously of quality craftsmanship, and beautiful in their own right, it was the armour that really stood out. The most obvious being the helmet, which had the depiction of a battle above its visor.
The Cloth attached to the chainmail was of high-quality as well, with the greenish-blue against white designs that ran along the border creating an almost regal feeling. The Fur and extra padding gave the impression that it was designed for cooler climates, which wasn't all that surprising considering where the man had been found.
Winter meticulously wrote down every detail about the armor and weaponry, speculating on their origins and what the designs meant. She swung the sword around, testing it more out of curiosity than for any real important reason. She found it to be somewhat underwhelming, for it was genuinely a simple longsword, albeit perfectly crafted and balanced.
A beep sounded from a machine, and one of the exhausted doctors moved to check it. He let out a disbelieving scoff before he turned to Winter just as she was putting down the sword, before saying "Ma'am, blood test it done. There is no danger." He hesitated for a few moments, an action which the Specialist noticed, and gestured for him to continue. "Ma'am he is simply impossible. There are no traces of viral infection, none. That means he has never been exposed to a virus before in his life. And as strange as that is, it gets weirder. There are numerous toxins present inside his body that is concurrent with chemicals attributed to modern day venomous snakes, AND he seems to have been exposed to modern day chemical weaponry. None of this is dangerous to us, or to him, but it does bring up plenty of questions." The Doctor looked frustrated with himself for a few moments, before continuing to speak "I'll run the tests again, but I highly doubt it will be any different. So the bottom line is, he is perfectly safe for us to be around, and thanks to some other outside influences, he shouldn't have any problems with any of our germs."
Winter nodded numbly. The day would seemingly only get more confusing from here. But before she could reply to the doctor, numerous other machines began wailing and beeping, keening alarms as the various medical staff began rushing into the monitoring room. Winter turned to the doctor who had just spoken to her, asking with a look as to what was going on.
"He's waking up!" He spoke excitedly, all previous ideas of exhaustion and frustration gone from his face as he quickly made his way to the door to the man's room.
"So soon?!" Winter called after him, jogging slightly to keep up.
"It's been four hours Ma'am, the anesthetic should have worn off at least an hour ago!" The Doctor called back, now practically sprinting down the hall.
Winter checked her scroll, making sure it had in fact been four hours like the doctor had said, and as he had said, had in fact been four hours. Goes to show what happens when you become so focused on one thing. Winter did not run. As much as she would have liked to have been one of the first people to speak to the man, she had a certain image to present, and so satisfied herself with a brisk walk.
They didn't have the time to move the man to an actual hospital, so they had to keep him on-site with an underprepared medical team. So it was a minor miracle that they had managed to get him stable. And as much as they may have wanted to move him to proper facilities, they had to maintain operational security on the new facility, regardless of what they found. It was a tough choice, but it seemed everything was working out just fine.
When Marcus slowly regained consciousness, he was surprised at the lack of pain. The lack of any real feeling really. However, it made sense, considering he was dead. Or at least, he thought he was.
He laboriously opened his right eye, only to be blinded by bright white light, causing him to flinch away and close his eye once again. Slowly, he fluttered his eyes open, to take in his surroundings. He was at first, happy to see Mira resting on his chest, purring happily, as if she knew he was waking up.
His eyes groggily flitted around the room, which was empty of other people, but filled with strange instruments, ranging from tubes to knives. He didn't expect meeting Faraam to take place in a setting like this, but then he supposed he probably hadn't earned the right to meet him. He had died without his sword in hand after all, and to cowards who fought from range no less. The thought made him want to cry, but his body felt too tired for that kind of emotion. He could just barely raise his hand off the soft cushion he laid upon, let alone break down into sobs like his irrational brain wanted too.
He very slowly moved his right hand to touch the tiny tiger on his chest, taking comfort that he had at least some companionship in the afterlife. Though he did regret that he couldn't protect her like had intended. His king would not be pleased when he inevitably joined him in the afterlife.
He looked down at his arm, and saw some kind of strange tube attached to it. Which he followed until it reached some kind of clear bag. He squinted, wondering at what kind of contraption this was, but was interrupted when the door to the room opened wide, spewing forth a number of people.
They moved around him like bees, talking strangely and animatedly, leaving Marcus with a quizzical look as he watched them move. This was certainly a strange afterlife. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but found himself unable to do so, instead sounding more like a croak.
Some of the people evidently heard the croak, as they turned to look at the Marcus in surprise. A pretty woman with white hair pushed through the throng, holding a small vessel of water in her left hand. She too, seemed at a loss as to what to do, so she simply held the vessel out for Marcus to take.
He tried, most certainly. He managed to move his arm off of the bed, where it simply flopped at an awkward angle, making him wince in sudden pain. Marcus and the white haired woman shared apologetic looks, before the woman moved the vessel to his lips and tipped it forward, allowing him to drink. Marcus sipped at it for a moment, thankful for the cold water that slid down his throat.
Some of the other people in the room started moving once again, slowly disconnecting various tubes and strings from Marcus' body, before connecting different ones in or around the same spots. He hardly felt any of it happening however, for he still felt unnaturally numb.
He tilted his head back, letting the woman pull back the cup, before he tried speaking again. "W-who…" He could barely get the word out he was so tired. And he could feel his consciousness slipping back into dreamless sleep.
He did see another round of shocked expressions circulate throughout the room, but the woman merely smiled slightly, and spoke "Winter Schn…" Her voice trailed off, as it echoed down the tunnel that was Marcus' fading lucidity.
"Winter Schnee" Winter spoke, happy to be the first person the man spoke to when he woke up. If for no other reason than for bragging rights. She saw a small smile on his face as he mumbled something, but it was easy to tell that he was no longer present.
"Alright everyone, I want to be notified the second he wakes up again! Keep him under watch, and try and ween him off of the morphine." Without another word she strode out of the room while she reached into her pocket for her scroll once again. She found General Ironwood's contact information, and quickly gave him a call.
After two rings, the connection was established, but before Winter could get a word out, the General spoke first. "Is he awake?" The General was excited, but subdued, signifying to Winter that he needed to return to something quickly.
"No Sir, but he did wake up briefly. He seemed to speak our language, I could at least make out the word 'Who' from him, though he didn't say anything else. I replied with my name." Winter spoke quickly, so as not to take up the general's time, while she also hoped she hadn't overstepped herself by talking to the man.
The General didn't waste any time lingering on that subject, instead replying "Good job Specialist, keep me updated. If he wakes up again, try and get some information out of him." And with that, the General hung up, no doubt to prepare some kind of statement about what they had found in the ice. Winter didn't envy his position, he had to explain why they were digging where they were without revealing any incriminating secrets.
After she was finished with the call, she went about moving the man's gear to his observation room, just in case he gets any ideas that he was being held captive. She frowned at the thought, she really didn't know whether or not he was being held captive or not, she couldn't just let him leave, but she didn't have any valid reason to legitimately detain him.
She pushed the thought from her mind, just as she pushed the rolling cart she transferred his gear to, down the hall.
Over the next several hours, the man transitioned in and out of consciousness, never long enough to start any real conversation or interrogation. It was frustrating, but as time went on and the various drugs afflicting his system slowly wore off, he became more and more awake.
He was still weak of course, but his eyes were clear and his movements were easier. When he had initially spotted his gear, he had attempted to get out of bed, which was surprisingly successful for a few moments before he agitated his wounds and he collapsed onto the cold floor. He did manage to get a grip on his sword, thankfully. And regardless of the amount of drugs in his body at that moment, he was sure he would never let it go again.
When the doctors found him on the floor, they seemed to be in a panic, much to his confusion as he tried once again to stand. Instead, he was hoisted back into bed, sword in hand, as he gave each doctor strange looks of confusion, which were returned in kind by the doctors, not understanding how he could be moving at all.
The cat simply looked curiously between her companion and the doctors, swishing its tail side to side.
Winter had taken intermittent naps throughout the rest of the day, she gave orders to be awakened whenever the man woke up. And while it was frustrating not being able to get a good rest, she was more than willing to surrender that luxury so that she could get more information out of him.
She entered the room once again, surprised to see the man sitting up on his bed, gripping his sword and becoming increasingly agitated with the doctors. She hadn't managed to get more than a few words exchanged between herself and the man before he surrendered himself to sleep, she hadn't even thought to ask his name. So she was noticeably happier now that he seemed full awake and aware.
She waved away the doctors, allowing only those necessary to the man's wellbeing to stay as she pulled a chair over to the bed, before sitting down and offering another cup of water. The man accepted with a nod, and quickly finished the drink before lowering his hand from his mouth, and turning his gaze to lock eyes with Winter's.
His eyes were a frosty blue, but as he smiled they lit up, removing any pretense of the man being predisposed to being unfriendly. Winter had to work to match the man's expression, while she didn't consider herself to be the 'Ice Queen' everyone thought her to be, she did recognize that she had a certain 'presence that might not be particularly conducive to welcoming someone back to life.
Before she had a chance to speak, he beat her to the punch. "Winter? I didn't hear your last name." He spoke with a smile, and his voice was equally friendly while being tinged with an accent she didn't recognize.
She inclined her head in response and replied "I am Specialist Winter Schnee, I don't think we managed to get to your name yet." She tried to match his friendly tone, however, she wasn't exactly practiced at this form of diplomacy, so she figured it came out mildly strained.
The man frowned, though it seemed to be more out of confusion than any unhappiness with Winter herself. "It is a strange afterlife that angels cannot recognize the names of the dead." Had Winter been any lesser person she might have blushed at the comment, but she had more self-control than that. He continued, "If you truly don't know, I am Marcus Antony of Eleum Loyce, Knight in service to the Ivory King. Now, tell me, kind angel. What becomes of my kingdom?"
Winter raised her eyebrow at his comments, though she wasn't as surprised as she thought she would have been. The man had just woken up in a very strange place after freezing for a very long time. "Marcus, you are not dead. You have never died." She smirked slightly "And I am no angel."
A variety of emotions flew across Marcus' face, fear, surprise, anger, confusion until finally he settled on hesitant happiness. It quickly went back to confusion as he looked Winter up and down, before stopping himself and returning his eyes to Winter's own.
"Forgive me, my lady. This is a lot to take in. You are certain that I am not dead? Then how is it I came to this," He looked around the room "Strange place?"
Winter went to reply, however before she could do so, the door opened behind her and General Ironwood strode into the room, nodding to both the Specialist and the Knight, as he too grabbed a chair to sit down.
Alrighty, Authors note once again.
So I've been writing these at like 4 in the morning, and against my better judgment I'm not really proofreading them, just a heads-up.
Another warning, I'm toying around with the idea of switching points of view to experiment with it so I can see how I prefer to write my stories. So don't act all surprised if it suddenly switches to first person, then third person, or change from there.
Once again, thanks for reading. Please Review, even if it's just a "looks good dude, keep at it." It definitely helps. If you have any suggestions for the story, I'm all ears.
Don't expect updates to be consistent, they will be sporadic as I get the inspiration to write, sorry for that.