Dead Flowers (Mad World) • Tank Dempsey

10

Sitting inside Richtofen's tiny lab where his teleporter laid, Love sat on chair looking directly at Richtofen staring at her back. He is also sitting down in his own chair directly in front of her. Love had her arms crossed staring directly in his eyes, she didn't know if she had to say something or not. She didn't know if he was thinking of what to say.

This staring contest started to trigger something in her mind, her nerves running a marathon in her veins. The Doctor could see she's shaking, because of this he stood up from his chair and walked around it. "Jou've been acting very strange lately, frauline liebe."

"Sorry.."

"Nein, none of zhat." He gripped his hands on the back of his chair "vhats on jour mind?" Love tilts her head looking at the Doctor with many thoughts running in her head. For one, why is this psychotic man trying to get deep with her? It must've been Dempsey's doing, he wouldn't know what to say if he tried to get into her brain.

Love looked down and away, not bothering to look at this Doctor just trying to help her. "Dempsey thinks I'm crazy"

"Vell, obviously, but...zhats only because you have been acting strangely for a while. Dempsey says it started way before I found jou four, enlighten me on what's going on in your mind?"

"You think I'm crazy too..."

"Liebe" Richtofen starts to chuckle at her hesitance. "Jou are talking tzo ein Mann who has voices in his head."

"Really?" Richtofen nods his head casually.

"Also, ein liebe for watching people suffer und BLEEDING!!" He then starts to laugh harder, this frightened Love a little bit. Even though they already knew how psychotic this man really is. She liked his calmer and smart version of himself better than this.

". . ."

". . . ahem. . .continue."

Love questioned herself thinking back on everything she wanted to say, everything she had courage to say. She had fears of being laughed at, but Richtofen is crazy too, so he won't laugh right? Also, he's a doctor, which would be unprofessional to laugh at a struggling patient. Finally Love built up the courage to speak. "Fine." She stands up and crosses her arms, she could see Jack running in through the entrance he barked for her attention then he sits down by her feet. "I see bad things"

"Bad things?" Love nods, this intrigued the Doctor. "Well, keep talking! Every detail bitte."

"I see dead animals and entities other than those zombies we see everyday. But unlike those my visions comes and goes whenever it pleases." Now this intrigued Richtofen, of course he heard a case like this before..from somebody in a insane asylum.

"Anything else? Is zit happening now?"

"No. Everything is normal for right now. Even if it wasn't I'm used to it by now. I've seen it all. Demons dismembering my corpse, entities trying to choke me, in a hospital Dempsey was a skeleton and not a person. I've seen dead foxes and deers in my basement. Dead fetuses floating in a pool of blood. I've seen everything."

Richtofen tilts his head, Love seen his eyes widen while he's deciphering a diagnosis in his mind. He had a couple things in his mind, but he needed to know more background. "Mein gott...do jou remember when zhis started?" He watched her shrug her shoulders, she can't remember at all. "Jou mentioned hospital, could it be at zhat time?"

Love shrugs again "maybe..."

"Have jou ever had ein blunt object bashed against jour head before?"

"I don't know..."

"Hmm..." he looked at her pretty head, he had the urge to look himself. "May I?"

"Sure"

With consent Richtofen ran his hand through her hair looking for a knot or something that could lead to her having a hard hit at a point in her life. He found a hollow dent on the side of her head from the guns butt smack which her hair covered. "MEIN GOTT!"

"What?!" Thats not good, if it shocked this psycho.

"Nothing!" He started to laugh out of nervousness "tis nothing liebe, promise. Don't listen to me...I'm crazy remember?"

• • • 

Richtofen walked alone along the court yard into the church used for science, this church is full of machinery and Noctis,the dragon head, levitating over the fireplace from the wall warming the area up nicely from the snow.

Dempsey is sitting next to his wife by the fire, he's holding his arm around her waist and they're leaning head to head on one another. This was a moment Richtofen was about to spoil, in a way he didn't feel guilt for it. Then again, he hates Dempsey's existence because he exists. Also he's American, but Love gets a slide for being American he actually likes her existence.

"Ahem." Both their heads turn to him when they heard him "Dempsey, ein word."

Dempsey looked back at his wife then got up from the floor and followed the Doctor downstairs to the crypt where a table of bow n arrows laid. While they were gone, Jack showed up and laid by Love's lap, laying his head on her thigh like a pillow and she stroked his magical fiery fur.

"What is it, Richtofen?" Dempsey crosses his arms, mainly in annoyance that he dragged him away from his wife.

"Answer mein questions, I've examined her like jou asked. Now jou answer me. Why is zhere ein dent in on her head?"

Dempsey looked up at the ceiling, remembering that traumatic memory like it was yesterday. "Well... I took her to my stations military ball and some lunatic bashed one of our shot guns against her head. Had to of been the gun butt side. She lost so much blood she could barely stand and she was out of it for a long time at the hospital."

"ein gun tzo zhe head jou say?" Richtofen moves his hand to his chin and scratches it in thought. "So I am more zhan likely correct!"

"I never found that son of a bitch who did it! He's probably dead now but I'm PISSED THAT IT WASN'T ME WHO KILLED HIM!"

"Ja ja ja we get zit jou're mad because jou're ein failure its not always about jou, American." Dempsey rose his eyebrow at him in confusion "now, if jou want mein logical opinion, I say with the blunt trauma she is experiencing some sort of schizophrenia. Only because she says she sees things that only see can see."

"Jack..."

"Ja" Richtofen nods. "Und...other things."

"What was that?"

"It's nothing!" Richtofen smiles "I did vhat jou asked, Frauline liebe iz not crazy, she's sick."

"SHE IS NOT SICK!"

"Yes.....she is....scientifically speaking—some would say I am sick too. Gott Americans are so stupid." Richtofen picked up one of the bow n arrows and walked right passed Dempsey down the stairs into the APD room where another Noctis is breathing fire in the air.

Dempsey walked back upstairs into the church growling under his breath. He started to walk back to the fireplace where he could see she is scratching behind the ear of air. Just like there was a dog in front of her. Schizophrenia Richtofen says..it's schizophrenia.....it sure looks like it.

He sat down again next to his wife who said nothing to him. Shes too happy with the air she's cooing over. Dempsey wraps his arm back around her warm west and just watched her scratch under the chin of something he couldn't see, he just had to trust that she could see it and he's not the crazy one.