timeandtides_backup | At the Mercy of a Madman

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At the Mercy of a Madman

Characters: Dr. Cidolfus Demen Bunansa, Vincent Valentine, Shelke Rui, Reeve Tuesti & possibly Cid Highwind?
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: A fatal error in judgment has caused a man's life to hang within the balance. Unfortunately for this man, he's supposed savior is really a confessed devil in disguise.
Location: Dali
Date: April 17th (Backdated)
Warnings: PG-13, swearing & blood

After spending more than a month hidden away within Dali, the mad scientist was starting to grow bored of this humble prairie town. Dali may be a slightly more scenic than Wutai or Lindblum, but Cidolfus found bored of the everyday grind of the common man. With Ffamran wandering off beyond the blue yonder with his Viera sidekick in tow, the old genius found himself with naught a things to do. His previous aspirations to thwart their Occuria overlords have soon faded from memory now. It honestly felt as if his grand speech he gave upon the Pharos was nothing else than elaborate dream hatched by an imaginative mind. With the sales in nethicie-powered goods rising, it feels as if the once revered and feared stone was nothing more than a common household good now.

"Is this it, Cid?" He muttered to himself as he wandered along the avenue streets. "Your wretched life has come to a metaphoric end, hasn't it?" Letting out a deep sigh, the doctor ducked into a local shop to fetch a few supplies for his clinic. With the simple-minded townsfolk only knowing the doctor by his alias of 'Alejandro', Cidolfus could walk the streets of this village in peace without having pitchforks flung his way. With Cloud and his ilk hanging about within Lindblum, the doctor didn't want to risk having another unfortunate run in with that bastard's friends.

"Two dozen syringes, please. I have a clinic to run!" He ordered from the shopkeeper before meandering outside again. It was a bright and cheerful day, far too cheerful and bright for Cidolfus' liking.

"I miss Archades..."

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Dali was a calm, quiet town, far different from the constant bustle of Lindblum. Vincent would have welcomed it, had he come to the town on his own, without another reason for being there. At the moment, he would have gladly traded this place for a large city like Lindblum, in order to avoid coming in contact with Dr. Cidolfus.

The possibility of getting out of the situation through not finding the Doctor was eliminated when they turned onto another of the town's streets to see Cidolfus standing in front of one of the shops. Even if the man had not yet noticed them, it wouldn't take long for him to spot them, and Reeve wouldn't let Vincent slip away. He understood that Reeve was doing his best to help him, but after Hojo Vincent had a hard time trusting doctors of any sort. That the man had experimented on Nanaki didn’t make trusting him any easier.

The nethicite could not be left inside of him, though, so with obvious reluctance, he approached the man standing outside of the shop. “Doctor,” he said, stepping forward only so that the man could hear him. “ Reeve told you about the nethicite problem?”

Giving the moody looking sod a slight look, Cidolfus had no idea how badly his day was about to turn in about several minutes or so. “Now, now! Who are you?” The doctor wasn’t quite used to having potential patients converse with him out of the blue. This was because Cidolfus usually had his secretary Shelinda screen the patients first before ever meeting with them in person. However, this was a different circumstance and it seemed this grumpy fellow is a friend of Tuesti.

“First off, I don’t even know your name so how to do you expect me to asset you? Second, I am off duty right now. Therefore, whatever malady you are suffering from must wait for no---“ The doctor trailed off quickly once he realized that Vincent mentioned ‘nethicite’. Remembering the brief conversation, a memory about Cloud and his companions popped into mind which caused the doctor to literally snarl at Vincent now.

“Oh, you’re one of his friends…” Cidolfus grumbled as he glared at crimson-cloaked man with such disdain. “Why is it then even when I put one-thousand or so miles between you and your wretched friends, you heathens still manage to make my life hell?!” Letting out a stressed sigh, the grumpy doctor started to stalk away.

“Listen, to me; I don’t want anything to do with those who are friends of that mangy clod, Cloud Strife. That goes for you, Reeve and whoever the hell else decides to run their asses here in Dali today!”

Stepping up beside Vincent, Reeve watched the man begin to stalk away and lifted his voice to attract the man's attention. The man might not want anything to do with them, but he still held something which needed returned to him as well as the necessity of gaining his aid to help Vincent with the nethicite currently still endangering his friend's life.

"Dr. Cidolfus Demen Bunansa? I believe you still possess something of mine. Have you managed to put it back into the condition in which you first acquired it, or does that task fall to me?"

Just when he was about to make haste back to the clinic, Dr. Cid came to a screeching halt once he heard Reeve’s words. He almost forgot about Cait Sith, the darling feline automaton he fetched from the bottom of the well. The people of the village sworn the toy cat was real, so they hoped that the doctor would be able to save the water logged creature’s life. Little did they realize that the feline wasn’t real, but rather a robot of some kind designed and crafted by genius from another realm.

“Surely you jape, sir!” Turning to face Reeve, a slight smirk settled upon the doctor’s face as he spoke. “Don’t you realize who you’re speaking to? I am perhaps one of the most ingenious minds ever to hail from Draklor Laboratory. Your little kitty is in fine condition, especially since I reassembled him myself!” Chuckling lightly, the doctor signaled for the two gentlemen to follow him.

“I hadn’t expected upon having guests today, but it seems that there’s no rest for the weary.”

That the doctor had so suddenly changed his mind once Reeve mentioned Cait Sith earned him a wary glance from Vincent. The man had been shouting at him only a moment ago. Still, he silently fell in a step behind Reeve as they followed the man, fully prepared to let Reeve continue to speak for them, if that kept the doctor from driving them out of town.

The conversation was not something he could easily participate in, either. He was still thirty years behind in his own world's technology, and knew nothing about the workings of Reeve's robot cat. There was only one reason that he was here, and it was not for a simple errand.

Cid was glad he hung back. Two-faced, lily-livered, spineless form of a man. That snobby voice made his skin crawl and want to punch him in the face for everything he's done wrong, but he held himself back for now. He man was crazy enough. Seeing Cid's face wouldn't help the situation right off the bat.

But once Reeve and Vincent started moving, Cid followed from behind the wall, keeping behind Vincent. He was tall, and while thin, his cape billowed making the perfect cover for Cid. Of course, he'd once they got to where they were going, Cid would probably take the chance to scare the living hell out of the good doctor. It only made him smile more, glad he tagged along.

Shelke had fallen away from the group as they had explored the town, her curiosity getting the better of her. She knew about 'farm towns' as it were, but she'd never actually been in one, not really. Farming was something that happened away from Midgar, and was out of her frame of reference.

Still, she managed to emerge at just the right moment, stepping out of the shadow between two of the buildings as Cid began to backtrack on the attitude he had just been giving to Vincent in the face of Reeve.

"If he has failed to fix Cait Sith, I can probably do so, Reeve." She offered, folding her hands behind her back as she came to a stop near the group.

Reeve had noticed the extra set of footfalls behind them and knew that Highwind had rejoined them, even if he couldn't actually see the blond man when he looked over his shoulder casually for him. If Cid wanted to stay hidden from their host, it was his business, so long as the other man didn't plan on making trouble with the doctor before they had finished their business with him.

Seeing Shelke emerge from the shadows and move over to join them, he gave her a quiet smile as she spoke. "Thank you Shelke."

Arriving at the doctor's house he waited for the older man to open his door and invite them inside if he was going to do so.

Giving the cheeky girl a slight glare from the corner of his eyes, Cidolfus chose to ignore Shelke for now. He remembered the girl from his brief encounter with Cloud and his brood; however, he couldn't exactly remember what happened to her during the battle. He figured the child must have left the fray in favor for safety elsewhere, but Cidolfus didn't allow his thoughts to stray for too long upon this topic. "Rest assure, Caith Sith is in fine condition." He repeated with a look of mild annoyance stretched across his aged features.

Leading this not-so merry troupe towards his humble home, the doctor was slightly apprehensive about allowing them in, but did so anyway. "Make yourself at home, but don't get comfortable." Cidolfus said as he led them towards the living quarter. There were enough chairs for everyone, even a couch or two. The doctor was doing quite well for himself in Dali, especially since he was the only licensed professional here to run a clinic. Taking a slight detour, Cidolfus hurried towards his studies to fetch the furry automaton from the desk. It still baffled him as to how Reeve managed to create such a life-like creature using what seemed to be simplistic technology.

"He doesn't run on nethicite, that's for sure..." The doctor muttered idly as he returned towards the living room with the cat. "But electricity can only so much, although this would explain why its' circuits are fired." Handing the creature to Reeve, the doctor gave the foursome---wait, since when was there FOUR of them?!

He didn't plan on making trouble, oh no. Cid knew better than that. He planned on keeping things in order one way or another. The guy tortured their friend and now Vincent was getting an operation done by the same person. He didn't like that at all. And while there was vague interest in another person who could work with mechanics, he kept his doubts foremost.

When the doctor came back, Cid didn't keep himself behind Vincent. He was looking around the house, off to the side from the group. And when he noticed Cidolfus noticing him, Cid looked over to him with the cockiest smile on his face. "Well heya, doc." He was being completely civil. In a casual way. "Thanks fer returnin' our friend."

Reeve took Cait back from the doctor silently, his attention for now mostly on the feline now occupying his arms. On the surface level at least everything appeared to be in good order, of course it was possible to be a very different story underneath.

Looking up from Cait Sith toward Cidolfus, Reeve decided to see if the man was willing to allow him the usage of his tools. Considering his own hadn't been brought with him and there was no telling how long it'd take for him to gather a set of the needed ones, he'd rather see about fixing what he could here before he left.

"Might I use your tools and work area, Dr. Bunansa?"

Giving the rugged louse a slightly curious gaze, Cidolfus decided to try and be somewhat genial now. "Oh, your welcome." He quickly said before turning his sights over towards Reeve. Giving the stately dressed man a slight look of apprehension, the doctor agreed to his request. "Head down this hall and make a right, you'll find my tools there." He could tell that Tuesti was in a hurry to fix Cait Sith, and Cidolfus was just eager to see Cait Sith action as its' creator.

"I wasn't expecting much of a social call, therefore do not mind the mess here." Mess? What mess? For someone who seems to be absolutely batty, this entire house looked to be immaculate in every sense of the word. There wasn't even a piece of lint upon any of the furniture here, everything was just perfect.

"I suppose once your companion is fixed, we'll finally get down to business." Cidolfus stated before wandering to he kitchen to put on a pot of tea.

Reeve followed the directions given to find the specified room and idly hoped that the others would not get up to too much mischief while he was occupied with fixing Cait. He wasn't so much worried about Vincent or Shelke as he was, Highwind. From what he'd seen displayed so far from the gruff blond, Cid wouldn't say no to any excuse to possibly rough the doctor up given the chance to do so he rather thought.

Setting the feline down on a table within the work room, Reeve set about locating the various tools he wanted before he turned his attention to opening Cait Sith back up in order to check on the poor feline's mechanical innards. Hopefully he'd be able to find everything he'd need to fix what ever might be wrong here and not have to go seek it out or order it and play that unpleasant waiting game.

"It would be best if we did." Vincent murmured, ignoring the furniture in favor of leaning against the wall. If it was closer to Shelke and Highwind than he would normally stand, well, it was understandable.

He was silent while Dr. Cid made the tea, simply observing the room calmly.

Cid saw the doctor walk off to the kitchen. "You makin' drinks, Doc?" He was going to follow Reeve, but this was a perfect opportunity. He entered the kitchen only a few seconds after Cidolfus, looking at what all he was taking out to serve them. "Well I'll be, yer makin' tea? Not bad." He laughed, going over to the far side of the kitchen and leaning up against a counter, going through one of his pants pockets.

"Vince likes coffee though." He held up a small vial with a tiny, single, transparent pellet inside. Sleeping medicine from the local apothecary, the good doctor should note. His voice got a bit quieter; "Seein' as he's half he reason we're here, think it'd be any trouble to accommodate 'im a little?" The last thing Cid wanted Vincent to freak out about was this mess as a whole. And if Cidolfus wanted to talk about why Cid had what he did, why he was going to spike Vincent's drink, he would comply.

If there were ever a time he felt like a guest in his own home, now would be that time. Cidolfus wasn't very fond of the brute who followed him into the kitchen, but he tried to hide his mild agitation for the sake of keeping the peace. The last thing he needs is for his modest little home to be torn apart by these brutish knaves. "Does he now?" The doctor replied with false interest. Just when he was about to serve the tea, the unwelcome blond pried a small vial out of nowhere. Raising his brow at the man, Cidolfus listened with attentive ears.

"You wish for me to slip that in?" Not sure if he liked where this was going, the doctor decided to hear Highwind out before making any rash judgments. "Is there a reason why, sir? Surely he'll notice unless that pellet dissolves quickly."

"Yeah, I wish ya ta slip it in his coffee. It's damn near the only the man's gonna drink and won't tell this is in there." Cid crossed his arms and kept the bottle for now. He respected that, while they weren't on the best terms what so ever, the doctor still listened. Even if he didn't care that Vincent liked coffee. "If ya put this in the mug before ya pour the coffee, it'll dissolve before ya fill the cup. It's a liquid pill. The skin breaks down in heat and the drug gets nice an' even in the coffee."

He sighed, dropping his head and scratching at it before he talked again. "He's freaked out as it is, doc. He ain't gonna roll over fer ya just 'cuz ya say so or 'cuz it's good for 'em, he's gonna fight it. And he's gonna fight like hell, I think ya already know that from before." He paused, letting the silence sink in for the man so Cid could get his point across. "I don't wanna do this to 'im, but if it makes him calm down and get what needs ta be done done... then I'm all for it. He don't need ta freak out on the last second and kill all 'a us." He wasn't sure if that was an exaggeration right now, but he didn't want to find out.

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At the Mercy of a Madman

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