Previously in NWC-
While Reno was off fighting for his life, Luna and Medusa were playing. Luna, after hearing multiple gunshots, and Reno not retuning, goes to investigate. She finds that Reno was in the care of a doctor, barely holding on to life. Using the information the doctor shared when talking to himself, Luna goes to get Medusa's mystery medicine and leaves it for Reno after almost being caught by the doctor...
He wanders over to the window, opening it completely. He looks down at the strange object before him. In front of him was a vial of dark purple liquid of unknown origin. He looks around, looking left and right before walking away from the window. Intrigued, he begins studying it. "Weird… there are little green particles that almost look like…" The man's voice trails off as he instinctively glances at Reno's blood sample. "No way!" The man quickly begins separating a small sample from each vial, observing them through his microscope. "That plant like substance in his blood! This is it! But how did it end up here?! The man glances at the window before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. When I introduced Reno's blood to the sample of poison from the bandit's sword, his blood began eating the poison like white blood cells would any other virus! I thought it was Reno who was odd, but it was what's in his blood that makes him unique! I don't know where he get's this stuff, or how it ends up in his blood stream… perhaps via direct injection? Ahh, I'm getting side tracked! This is it! If I could get more of this in his blood stream then he should theoretically begin to improve! But there's only one issue… I don't know what exactly this is, and the concentration of these green particles is much higher in the mystery gift than in Reno's blood… the method used to introduce this in the bloodstream that would result in this substantial difference in concentration… He must have consumed it orally!" The man begins collecting the sample again, putting it all in one container and walking over to Reno, staring at him menacingly. His eyes glow with a devilish tint as he holds the vial over his head in a threatening manner. "Time for your medicine- Doctor's orders!" The man's hand comes down, putting the vial to Reno's lips then tilting it, the man massages Reno's throat to better aid in getting the liquid down his throat. After a couple second's Reno groans. "Never… gets… better." He turns to his side, his face looking more disgusted than pained. The man observes Reno's condition for the remainder of the day, with Luna making one more mystery delivery.
Back at the FTG, Medusa sit's in the same spot, her expression slowly shifting from excited to worried by the end of the day. Luna hovers next to Medusa, trying to find the words to make things better. "(I can't just tell her he's dying; she'll go looking for him right away! Perhaps I should stretch the truth?)" Luna clears her throat, which slowly manages to catch Medusa's attention. "Medusa, sweetie? Your daddy won't be coming back for a bit." Medusa's expression becomes slightly worse as she looks at Luna, borderline about to cry. "(How do I save this?!) You see, Medusa… the celebration they had made a very big mess, and, umm… Reno needs to help clean up?" Medusa looks at Luna for a couple seconds before her expression shifts to one of understanding. Although no longer worried or saddened, Medusa still sits in the same spot. "(What am I going to do with her…? I'm getting hungry again, I miss Reno making food, even if it's nothing fancy…)" The two sit with each other, waiting for Reno to return. Luna makes occasional visits, but her fear and anxiety make it so she tries to do it as few times as possible. Two days later, Reno finally begins waking up and his fever goes away.
"Ughh… Why does my mouth taste like shit?!" Reno groans as he tries to sit up, a sharp pain sending him back down as he winces and gently places a hand over his wrapped wound. "That's right… I got fucking stabbed!" Reno's heart begins racing as he slowly comes back to reality and begins recollecting the events that transpired days before. "How the hell did I live?! I'm assuming that because I'm alive that we won? Ughh, my head hurts… and everything tastes like Medusa's damn medicine." Reno slowly lays back, thinking about what he'd just said. "Medusa!" Reno quickly snaps up, pushing through the pain that cripples his entire body for a couple seconds. "Ughh… I gotta go back! How long has it been?! Where's Luna?!" Reno begins to slowly descend into a panic before the door opens and in comes the man.
"Hmm?" The man glances up from his clipboard to see Reno staring at him in confusion. "You're awake?!" The man rushes over, quickly taking Reno's temperature and blood pressure. The man continues the steps of a routine checkup as he speaks. "How do you feel? 'Still alive', right? You can be honest; I wouldn't believe you if you said you felt anything but terrible. On a scale of 1 to 10, rate the pain you're feeling."
"Solid 11."
The man chuckles, seemingly expecting this answer. "I can only imagine. It's not everyday you have poison coursing through your veins."
"I was poisoned?!" Reno's eyes are widened and he stares at the man.
"That's right. It was pretty strong stuff too. The mayor got off lucky because there wasn't enough contact time for it to stick. You, however, took that blade right in the side. So you, my friend, are the lucky winner of today's hospital visit. Well, I guess today and the one before."
"I slept for a day?!"
"Closer to one and a half, but yes." The man finishes writing his report. He sets the clipboard down and turns to Reno, putting his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "So, Reno. Let's go over a couple of things. Only if you're up to it, of course."
Reno sighs and scratches his head, utterly lost at the moment. "Sure, I don't know how much I can say, but we can talk."
"Perfect! Let's start off with the obvious things. You're alive, and that's great. You should pray to whatever you believe in and thank them, because you've been on death's doorstep the past couple nights. The night they brought you in to me I could barely feel a heartbeat."
"I was that close to dying?!"
"Yep, and you stayed that way the first night. The only thing that seems to have kept you alive is a mysterious liquid I found in your bloodstream. Know anything about it?" The man's eyes narrow with curiosity."
"Strange liquid?" Reno's confused at first but quickly realizes what he's talking about. "Ahh, right. It's just a… random concoction of herbs I throw together."
"Really? So how did more end up on the windowsill while you were unconscious?"
"(DAMMIT LUNA!) I couldn't tell you. Like you said, I was unconscious."
"Okay, okay, my apologies."
"Am I being interrogated? Am I in trouble?" Reno shifts uncomfortably.
"No, no! I'm sorry I made you feel like that. It's just that I, as a man of medicine, am quite intrigued with this entire situation. I was just wondering so I could get an idea of what it is, then see if it has any practical use in the medical field."
"Ahh, well, I don't really know what to say other than a mixture of a bunch of stuff. Sorry."
"It's fine! Sorry again for making you uncomfortable. How are you feeling? I know you said you're in a lot of pain, but is there anything else? Do you feel like you could walk if you tried?"
"Yeah, actually. I feel like I could just walk out of here and go home."
"Interesting. Could you try standing for me? Make sure to do it slow so you don't fall, okay?"
Reno nods his head, slowly dangling his feet over the bed and standing up. "I feel alright. Just a little pain in my stomach, but that's it. I honestly do think I can go home."
"That's great that you feel like that, but for tonight I'll need you to stay here so I can monitor you now that you're awake. If everything seems okay then tomorrow morning I'll let you walk out of here with no issue."
Reno lays back down, holding his stomach as he does. "I guess I shouldn't risk it. Can I ask you a quick question?"
"Sure!"
"Is the old man okay?" Reno's voice begins shaking as he plans for the worst reply.
"The mayor? He left the next morning. He had a bad cut, but nothing a couple of stitches couldn't fix. He's doing great, and so is everyone else. I'd say you have it the worst, unfortunately."
"Well that's just great… I guess it's better than anyone dying. I take it we beat them?"
"Somehow you guys managed to beat them without a single one of us dying. So, I really do appreciate you pulling through to keep that number at zero. I was so surprised when I came back to town around midnight. The fighting had ended a half hour before I showed up. I meant to be back in time for the celebration but got caught up with something that kept me from home until a bit later. I know I chose to be a doctor, but the last two days has made me ready to retire 10 years early!" The man laughs as he begins walking out of the room. "Well, I'll give you a bit to gather your thoughts. The mayor wanted me to tell him when you wake up, but I'll give you a little bit of time before I do that. Wouldn't want him stressing you out right after you woke up." The man gently shuts the door to the room, leaving Reno with his thoughts.
TO BE CONTINUED...