Me: Here comes number 6!
GS: You're enjoying this story huh?
Me: Of course, you know me. I think I have become a Naomi Fan.
GS: (sighs) Oh no...
Picup: Now she has three things to do.
Me: Let me get this out of my head.
GS and Picup: ... Alright?
Disclaimer: Trauma Center is owned and created by Atlus.
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Delphi: Under Wraps
Disobedience
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Days passed and the car chase was nothing but another operation in Nozomi's mind as she walked through the halls of Old Brooks St. Hospital, her black lab coat fluttering behind her. It was weird, but she had become accustomed to working here now ever though it was Delphi. If you looked closely, it appeared like any other hospital, though it was more for development than operations and treatment. Her hand grasped the doorknob and she turned, stepping into the room and looking over at the counter, spotting Michael, once again, pouring over his notes. She sighed, shaking her head, "You'll never get better if you keep working like this you know..."
"Hm..." was all he said, scratching something out with his pen and writing something else quickly. That, she was use to as well, noting that every time that Michael was working on his precious research, she would have a better chance talking to a wall instead. Silently as possible, she walked over to the counter and looked at his back, placing a hand carefully on his wounded shoulder. He stiffened as her touch, his pen halting momentarily.
"... Just a little moisture..." she mused, pulling her hand away and looking at her fingertips. No traces of blood were present, "And it's not blood. Finally giving it time to heal, are you?"
"Anything to keep you from watching my 24/7..." he mumbled.
She smiled, "You are such a..."
Their lab door opened and five Delphi operatives entered, standing before the door as it closed. Michael rose from his chair, confused but he hid it well. Nozomi's silver eyes glanced at all the operatives, only identifying two of them as a familiar. Christopher stepped forward, shaking his head. His sea green eyes looked at Nozomi, disappointment evident, "You just had to be a doctor... didn't you?"
"What?" Nozomi asked, but Christopher shook his head, "Modern medicine is strictly taboo for all uses unless it is your special case operations Ms. Weaver..."
"I didn't use modern medicine to treat Michael's wounds..." she replied coolly, glaring sharply at Christopher, "He told me not to himself..."
"But slipping medicine into his coffee," Christopher said, shaking a finger like he was scolding a child, "That... is forbidden as well."
"Dr. Weaver?" Michael asked, looking at her sharply, his brows furrowed, but Nozomi was silent, her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly.
Christopher shook his head and, with a smirk, looked at the other operators, "Well, her look is evidence enough. Seize her."
Three of the Delphi members instantly swarmed her, two grabbing her arms tightly and dragging her out the door. Nozomi struggled in vain efforts to get away, looking at Michael desperately. He just stared, that same cold gaze in his eyes, but he did have a something to ask.
"Why Dr. Weaver?"
"…I still don't believe your leader's ways and no matter where I work, it's still my job to save people… good or bad…" she replied, bowing her head. A forceful tug on her hair made her wince and forced her to look up at Christopher.
His eyes were leering at her and his lips were curved in a vicious smile, "And that is exactly why you're in trouble… take her away and get ready to see the Leader…"
"Adam?!" Michael barked and Christopher nodded, "Of course. This is the second rule she's broken, both of which are already stepping over the boundary. It wouldn't be as bad if you didn't tell us about her attempt to destroy GUILT."
Michael fell silent.
Soon, the room was emptied and he was the only one remaining.
'But.... I didn't tell anyone...'
Nozomi was forced to walk down the hallway, more eyes watching her than her first day here. They almost seemed to be laughing as her wrists where shackled behind her back and Christopher shoved her into a cold room. She sat up, shivering, but still glared back angrily at the Delphi man. He just laughed, "Get acquainted with your new friends. You might be joining them if our Leader is in a foul mood."
As he closed the door and locked it, she looked around, realizing in a moment's time where she was. It was Delphi's morgue. She rose to her feet and stumbled back, horrified as she backed into a gurney. Slowly, she turned around, and gasped when she saw it was a young child, its skin ominously gray and eyes shut. Nozomi wasn't aware she was moving away until her back met cold steel, allowing her to see all the twenty or more bodies in the room.
With as much will as she could muster, Nozomi turned her head away and shut her eyes. Even though she had been to a morgue many times, she wasn't use to seeing it mostly filled with children.
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"Uh!"
Her shoulder scrapped against the metal floor as she was unceremoniously tossed into a pitch black room. Nozomi didn't remember arriving on the boat or falling unconscious back in the morgue. With a little difficulty, she rose to her knees, looking around and spotted someone or something looking back at her with piercing red eyes.
"Do you not see your futile attempts to defy death?"
She scrambled to her feet, moving away from the red eyes as they flashed angrily and bumping into one of the five Delphi operatives there. Michael wasn't among them. In an instant, the room filled with a chilling blue light, illuminating a large glass container filled with a bubbling solution… and a decrepit body with swirling gray hair and shimmering blue markings on his blackened skin. The man's red eyes blinked slowly, surprising Nozomi.
The ashen lips parted as the decaying man spoke, "Man created medicine and defied the natural order of life and death. You doctors are nothing but sinful beings allowing others immoral lives. My creations… my gifts to humanity will balance this tarnished cycle and cleanse the World of people like yourself."
The operative that Nozomi bumped into grabbed her shoulders and pushed her forward, "What do you want us to do with her?"
"Defying my rules is defying God's will," the man said, blinking, "Judgment must be cast, but with her will, she cannot receive it. Break her and bring her back… alone."
Once again, she was led out of the room, pulled roughly into the ship's dark hull and maneuvered away to another lab filled with similar tubes, the only difference being that small children occupied each cylinder, their hair fallen out and their eyes closed. They past them instead and forced her to sit before a stretcher. There was a man bound to it, wide awake and casting fearful glances around the room, his eyes falling on Nozomi.
"Mr. Makurami!" she exclaimed.
"H-Help me!" he gasped, trying to get free, but Christopher walked over with an aged man, more specific, Professor Blackwell who she just met the other day. Christopher laid a hand on Makurami's chest, forcing him down though he still struggled to move. Blackwell dug in his pocket, raising a capped syringe filled with a sickly green colored liquid. He uncapped it and injected it into Mr. Makurami's arm via IV hub.
Silence fell, the Delphi members awaiting a reaction and Nozomi held her breath. Mr. Makurami started to shake violently, gritting his teeth and clenching his hands firmly. Nozomi looked up at Christopher, "What are you doing!?"
"Just correcting one of your errors Dr. Weaver..." he replied, forcing her to look back at Mr. Makurami who was now letting out anguishing cries and pulling at his bindings in a fiendish attempt to escape. She closed her eyes and tried turning away again, but they didn't allow her, forcing her to turn back and watch as Makurami shuttered, his eyes bulging as his screams became mute cry to the lights overhead. Slowly, the gleam of life retreated from his eyes, his mouth closed and his body slumped against the stretcher. Nozomi stared, horrified, "W-What was...?"
"Paraskevi... one of the special GUILT," Christopher answered, "Truly the arrow to the heart... isn't it Dr. Weaver? Good job at advancing its movements Blackwell... Now take her back to Adam you three... Blackwell, lets move the body and get back to work, yes?"
Christopher and Blackwell watched as she was taken away without a fight or struggle and once more shoved into the room where the corpse man, Adam, resided. The red eyes were focused on her once more, the charcoal lips parting as he spoke, "He has been freed from his burden as all men shall... the time for the world to be cleansed is soon. As with God's design, death's sweet blessing will return to this world and no longer will your medicine infect the grand tapestry of life."
Nozomi leaned against the wall, the memories of what she witnessed still running through her mind, she almost didn't catch what Adam said. She shut her eyes, shaking her head and hissing, "...Then why give us a will to live?"
"The will to live is natural to all beings, but to use a great gift to defy your creator is inexcusable..." the man replied, eyes flashing angrily. The chamber started to fill with an invisible threat to Nozomi, but she remained unaware as she stepped forward, "We created medicine to allow us to use God's gift of life to the fullest."
"But now you go beyond your severed thread and live farther than his wishes..." the man hissed. Her vision was becoming hazy, the room starting to swim. She felt her legs shake and buckle. Nozomi noticed that it was becoming a difficult task to breathe the longer she stood and remained with Adam. She weakly pulled at her shackles, staring through the blur of colors.
"God gave us life... it is our choice whether to continue to fight... or follow nature's course..." she hissed. Mr. Makurami's death flashed through her mind as she fell forward, red eyes piercing through the memory and infecting her unconscious mind.
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Their Leader was situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and even on a good day, the trip was a few hours. Michael sat silently at the counter, his eyes closed and his chin resting on his hands propped on his elbows. There was a considerable difference without that surgeon, especially that growing ache bugging him.
Worse, it wasn't even in his back.
His eyes snapped open as the lab door creaked open and the light thump against his floor announced something or someone falling to the ground. Michael saw Christopher and Blackwell standing at the door, both of which were staring down at the stagnant form of Nozomi.
"She's lucky," Christopher hissed as Michael knelt next to her, "No input as to whether or not to rid of her. Too bad Blackwell, she might've been perfect for your research like the others..."
"Her ability is still of use to us," Blackwell grumbled, "Adam knows that and you should as well, Christopher... Michael, I suggest you take her home before anyone changes their minds."
Both turned and disappeared, the door shutting quietly. Michael looked down at Nozomi in the newfound silence, unsure of what to do really. After a moment, he sighed and carefully scooped her up in his arms- one arm supporting her shoulders, the other, under her knees. At the motions, she let out a muted whimper which made him freeze fearing she might be waking up. Her body remained limp against his form and she took slow, wavering breaths- so close to not breathing at all.
In a sudden haste, Michael proceeded to following orders.
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Me: Over 2000 words...
ITB, GS, Picup, World: And getting longer as you type this!
Me: N-Nyaro...
Note 1: YES, I KILLED THE NEWS REPORTER FROM Z-3!
Note 2: I TOTALLY SKIPPED THE KIDNEY TRANSPLANT!
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