The cyborg's eyes shot open, first blurry then clear, as he inspected the room he was in. His arms laid a few inches from his side. The sounds of industrial computers beeping rhythmically faintly streamed through his ears. He laid flat on a steel bed tilted slightly upward toward a beaming overhead white light. Wires connected to him like snakes slithering into his body. To his right was the elderly doctor jotting down notes on his clipboard.
A dark, bruise-like color streaked under his eyes and his lips looked like they hadn't been exposed to water in a while. Not only that, but Dr. Stench seemed worn down by something. Whatever it was, it didn't stop him from smiling down on the teen like there wasn't a worry in the world. A folded stack of what seemed to be new clothes were stacked on a table beside the doctor.
"Doctor?" Genos muttered in a dry, hoarse voice.
"Ah. Good evening, Genos," the doctor said as he loomed over the body."How are you feeling?"
He answered with a low groan. It felt like he had been thrown onto a train. "W... What happened to me?"
"Besides finding your body scrapped away in a landfill yesterday, I don't know. You tell me," he said as he examined the cyborg's right arm. He had begun to remove the tubes from the teen's body.
What was the doctor doing in a landfill? The cyborg told Dr. Stench how he had been in a deep slumber for nearly six months. Genos then told him about the fight he had with the malevolent ninja. He recalled the utter humiliation and helplessness from his encounter with Sonic. The bellowing weakness. He left that part out.
"Do you think you can move your fingers?" Dr. Stench asked. Genos was able to move his fingers, wrists, arms and legs just as his doctor checked his appendages. He helped the cyborg sit up to examine his shoulders. "You started rusting in your joints, which is most likely the reason why you froze during the quarrel."
"That's not my main concern. More importantly, how could I have let myself remain dormant for half a year, doctor?"
"You wanted to, remember? You demanded that I install it into you."
Hibernation system? Demanded?
"Around early October, you pestered me for weeks and weeks to restart your systems, even after my rejections. I only turned you down because it would have been onerous to construct, not to mention dangerous. Yet, you had grown so restless, so frantic that I had installed a reboot system to calm you down. Apparently it worked a little too well." Again, a soft smile had, "But it's good to see you again."
A myriad of questions ran through the teen's mind. He wanted to know the answers, so he asked them all:
What made me want to re-boot his system? Why would I want it in the first place? What made me so desperate to have it installed in me? etc...
The doctor refused to answer. Genos could see how much it pained Dr. Stench to hold back from him, but he was bent on getting answers. He persisted on. He continued for what seemed like an eternity.
"What about Sensei? Surely he must be well aware of my absence. What happened to him?"
The color from the doctor's skin seemed to flush from his face as if having seen a ghost. Genos felt his artificial muscles tense at the doctor's action. With it grew uneasiness. He repeated his question. A tense silence filled the room for a moment.
The doctor finally blurted, "Genos," he scratched his unkept hair and continued,"how much do you remember exactly?"
Genos tried to think back before six months ago. He could remember grey images and faceless bodies, but nothing much. Why couldn't he remember his teacher? He was able to mold a simple body, but not a face. Why? A splitting ache shot through his head as he tried to remember. Dr. Stench advised the cyborg to sit back down, to which he did. He finally spoke, "The last thing I can remember before six month ago would be me and Sensei fighting an alien creature. Though I can remember a little farther than that, but nothing after that."
"Thats good," said. "That means it worked."
Genos grew even more concerned. What is he talking about? What's the meaning of all this? Dr. Stench tightened his lips to a line. He paid his attention back to the clipboard in hand in an attempt to play off his previous mistake. He had written more onto his entry, ignoring the teen's pleas for reassurance. Genos knew that his words carried emptiness, but he had hoped it would reach him, even if for a moment. Was there someone holding a gun to his back? Who?
"Is there something restricting you from giving me the answers I seek?"
"Not something," he said. "Someone."
"Who?! Tell me please!"
The doctor set his notes down on the table beside him, eyes locked to the clipboard. "Try to get some rest. We'll settle this tomorrow."
"But I want it settled now!" He shouted as he slammed his fist onto the table near him, which collapsed under . The folded clothes and clipboard scattered on the floor. In a calmer tone, he continued, " Doctor I beg you. Why can't I remember? What's going on?"
The doctor's brow furrowed with a look of remorse like one would give to a beggar. He placed a hand on the cyborg's shoulder, meeting his amber eyes. "As your guardian, I swore to myself to seek out what's best for you. I see you as my own son you know, and it hurts me deeply to see you so distraught. However, I can not go back on my word. I made a promise."
"A promise?" Genos repeated. He removed the doctor's hand from his shoulder, holding it in his own. "So, you're keeping everything from me because of some ridiculous pact you made. Thats pretty selfish, Doctor."
"Watch your mouth! You do not understand the magnitude of this situation!"
"Then explain it to me!" He barked. "I have the right to know what's going on. I want to know what's wrong with me. What made me want to restart my systems? Why can I only picture blank faces? Please doctor! Tell me! I want to see memories. I want to relive them. I want to recognize old faces. Enemies. Friends. Please, I want to see Sens-," as Genos tried to stand up, he collapsed onto the floor. The doctor rushed to his aid. Again, helplessness consumed the teen. He clutched onto the elderly man's coat and said in a tone of heartbreak, "Please doctor, I want to remember."
The doctor could do nothing but help erase some of his distress through an embrace. He wanted to tell him everything right then and there. But he had to hold himself back. He knew it was the right thing to do. If only the teen understood.
The teen heard his name under Dr. Stench's breath. He could feel a cold hand resting behind his head, followed by a series of rapid clicks. "Get some rest."
Before the cyborg could react, darkness consumed him again.
Author's Note: I finally got a job! Sorry if this seems rushed, but I got super busy and I wanted this DONE to move onto more refreshing chapters.