Undying Paternity (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter X - That Which Burns You, Restarts You

"So..." The Doctor began to ask,

"How have you been, A18?"

Pale as Death, the reborn man began to form words on his dirty cracked tongue, the words descending on it now imbued with hues of red in response to that question.

"How... have I been..." His slow, faint exhales sped up and grew harsh, infrequently interrupting his groggy speech.

"I've... been in a box, for... I don't know how long and... I... had to punch my way out of it and this... this fucking suit is... stuck to me. It's covered in shit and, and mud and, I'm a... I...
Oh why the fuck do you even care... There's no point saying anything to you."

The Doctor felt rather offended by that last part, pulling out the chair opposite him and sitting down at the table.
"What makes you think I don't care? I've known you since you were 18. That confused, raging, chaotic boy, who would've ended his life if not for my intervention... I saved him, and from him, I helped the real you emerge.
If I didn't care about you that day, you'd either be spending the rest of your days rotting behind bars, or hanging from the ceiling.
If I didn't care about you, you wouldn't have a home. You wouldn't have healthy food, the expensive means to purge your anger... and if you still somehow managed to evade suicide and prison, you'd be forever plagued by those poor eyes and ringing ears. Who put you back together, hm? Reassembled your shattered mind? Made you better? Made you powerful?

I did, because I care, A18. I've always cared about all of you. All of you have served me well.
Never say that again. Understand?" He needed him to say yes.

"Sure," the pale man weakly said before letting out a hoarse cough.

"Here," Dr Desuviaet pushed the glass of water in the center of the table towards him.

"Thanks," A18 murmured before bringing it to his lips and taking a gulp.

"Hmph," The Doctor let out a faint laugh, and a faint smile had formed on his old, wrinkled face.

"What's so funny?" A18 asked, putting the glass back down.

"It's just... strange, to say the least, to see you without your hair, your eyebrows, and your eyelashes. Heh, it completes your dead man look. One might even say you resemble a ghost."

"I'm not bothered. At least now I don't need to maintain it, right?" He responded.

"Indeed. Even after your supposed death, you still haven't forgotten my words... that pleases me." Dr Desuviaet told him with a smile.

"How's, Sofia doing?" A18 paused as he asked, eager to know if she was alright or not, even if he had only been away from her for a few hours.
To him, even a second without her, a second of not being by her side to ensure she was safe, warm, fed and happy, was torture itself. Even in death, she was everything to him. Everything he did, and would do, was and would always be for her. No one else was worth more to him than this child.

"She's fine. She's sleeping at the moment." The Doctor replied.

"That's.. good, to hear-" A18's words were cut off by a violent splutter. The water before him was flecked with blood, visibly putting him off of it.

"Maybe talking about what you've been doing will take your mind off of the pain." Dr Desuviaet kindly suggested, wanting to both comfort his resurrected soldier, and learn more about the potential of his experiment. "Tell me everything, from the moment you woke up."

After one of the Doctor's assistants came in to replace the bloodied cup, A18 began to tell his side of the story.

"When I... woke up, every, thing was dark and... I..." He gulped as he racked his altered brain to recall what happened that night in the cemetery. "I... punched, and, kicked my way out, and then I, I collapsed on the grass..."