We've Been Here Before (Henry Stickmin Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Truth About The Game

Dr Vinschpinsilstein had waited a while now, just in her office. Visiting hours were almost over, and she knew she had to eventually tell Charles to leave so she can examine Henry's condition further.

But his bullet wounds were no longer her concern at the moment.

She examined the notes... She noted all the old scars Henry had. Not just the new ones he got during his 'lone mission'.

"Impossible.." She whispered to herself. "This man should not be alive... how did he survive all of this?"

She recognized what each scar meant. Burns... cuts....gashes... stabbing... and way more than humanly possible...

No regular man would be able to survive a few of these things! Let alone, so many at once.

"...what are you hiding, Stickmin...?"

She ran so many theories through her head.

She might need to make a call... to someone tthat might know what's going on amongst all this chaos.

Not now, however. She stood up and put the notes away for now. Then she started walking back to Henry's room.

She knocked on the door. "Stickmin, Calvin, visiting hours are over. The pilot needs to go home."

She opened it up, to see Charles sitting on Henry's bed, with such a shocked, pale face.

And Henry looking ashamed, but also relieved.

"H-huh? Oh! Oh right-" Charles gave Henry one last comforting hug. "I'll...I'll think about.. all of this...bye-"

He grabbed his jacket and headed  to the door. He took one last look at Dr Vinschpinsilstein.

"Please...t..take good care of him..." He whispered, before disappearing down the hall.

Dr. Vinschpinsilstein just stared at Henry, with her brows narrowed.

"Henry Stickmin," she said sternly. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

He,nry just mumbled something incoherently, before falling back on his pillow.

She sat on the chair next to his bed. "How did you get all of your scars? And when?"

Henry refused to answer.

"Answer me. I have to know." She then leaned towards him. "How did you survive all of that?! How!?"

Henry didn't answer.

"Answer me. I'm your doctor. Don't think I'm stupid. I'm not. You're not in trouble of you just tell the truth."

Henry's hushed voice shook as he spoke.

"I....I don't know how to d-describe it...in a way t-that makes sense.."

Dr Vinschpinsilstein tilted her head on curiosity. "Then describe it how you see it. How is it in your perspective? How are you able to survive such..... extremes?"

He looked down at his shaky hands... And he whispered.

"It's...l-like a game... so m-many options, yet not all of t-them are correct... I....T-Trial and error....until I get to where I need to b-be... And yet I....I still have reminders from where I m-messed up....most of the t-time...I die... but I'm given the option to t-try something else... And sometimes... there are d-different ways to succeed..."

The doctor set her notes down. "You mean....like a multiverse..."

Henry snapped his head back up, his dull, tired cyan eyes shocked at her words. "Y-you know!?"

"It makes more sense than you surviving it all at once... so you didn't survive all of this. You reset your own failures...cheated death itself, without the need of cybernetics! It's fasinating-"

He just stared. She knew about timelines? How!? Did she work with it before? How much does she know about the ability?

Did... She work with the CCC?

Panic settled in, and he went even more pale. The doctor nudged him to get his attention.

"I assume it's what you told your friend, correct? The look on his face suggests so. And I've heard of timeline jumping and resets before, but never met anyone with it before... how long have you had this power?"

".... since I was kid..." He weakly answered. "I...I just always been able to do it.. B...but only I am able t-to see the options, and the option to try a-again..."

Dr Vinschpinsilstein wrote all of it down. Not at all shocked, but still quite interested in what He had to say.

"Describe some of the scars to me. What errors lead to them being there?" She pointed to one of the scars. The one around his neck.

"U...um...I ... pretended to be a m-manaquin, and my h-head was held out a train window...I...I was d-decapitated from being h-hit at high speeds.."

"And this one?" Pointing to the line across his waist.

Henry looked down, almost embarrased. "B...bungee jumping with a plain rope through an elevator shaft..."

Her eyes widened at that. Okay, that sounded gory...

She pointed at another one. "And what about the burn on your torso?"

"Electrocuted... t-that one happened recently..."

She nodded and stopped. That was enough.

"I will give you more time to recover, Stickmin. Thank you for answering my questions. This will bith help you, and it will help some future research..."

She stood up and went towards the door.

"You will be allowed to leave the infirmary in a week. But the general suggests no drastic activity until you're fully recovered. Goodbye for now."

She left Henry alone.

He didn't know what to feel...what to think...

What do to next...