A/N: writers block is lovely, don't you think?

Thank you to Kitkatkatester for reviewing the last chapter :)

Mike woke up in a dark room on what he believed to be the next day, lying on what felt like a bed.

"Looks like the maggot's come back from the dead!" He heard the familiar voice of Hatchet combing from a different part of the room.

"...what...what happened?" Mike asked wearily, trying to sit up and then failing. "Where...how did I get here?" The last thing he remembered was feeling his body being moved without him making any conscious effort himself, faintly hearing Ella's voice, then hearing yelling and loud footsteps before he eventually blacked out. His eyes had barely been open at that point so he hadn't seen the person who took him or what was really happening around him.

"Not sure, just found ya on that bed yesterday mornin'," Hatchet replied. "Somebody musta broken in to get you here, I made sure the door was locked when I left that night. You been knocked out for awhile" He then grabbed a ton of medical supplies from cabinets. "I been checking your condition since I found you and, well...I might not get everythin' healed. There's a lot of damage, kid."

Mike tried sitting up again, slower this time. He was well aware he was damaged, more so than Hatchet could know just by looking him over. The explanation confused him and he wondered who could have found him, brought him all the way back to his hometown from the capital on an hours-long overnight journey, then care enough to break into the doctor's office and leave him there. It made no sense.

Hatchet started treating what injuries of Mike's he was able to, asking questions and generally gawking at just how beat up he was. Mike answered vaguely and never called out the perpetrators of his abuse.

As he was finishing up there was a loud knock on Hatchet's door. "Hold up a second!" he called, putting the bandages he had in his hand down. He opened the door and Mike listened to the conversation that ensued:

"Are you damaged or are you just bothering me?" Hatchet asked, raising an eyebrow at the person on the other side of the door.

"There's a search going for someone who disappeared from the palace during the large ball that was held," the person replied matter of factly.

"Got descriptors or what?"

"Well, I've never seen him in person but he was quite tall, from what I was told before…"

"That's real useful."

"I wasn't finished-"

"Quit wasting my time, I'm trying to do my job right now," Hatchet said with a frown.

"Sir, if you do happen to see someone who might be the missing person, please report it-" the door was closed before the person could finish.

Hatchet rolled his eyes and walked back over to Mike. "Where was I?" he asked Mike.

Mike was silent as he pointed to the spot on his leg that Hatchet had been working on treating. Hatchet got back to work, unaware that Mike was the person that was 'missing'.

Review if you feel moved to, and I'll see ya next time :)