Why was there no sound?
Nuriko stared in slight confusion to her surroundings, looking back and forth along the long...seemingly endless...hallway of the hospital. The cool floor met each barefooted step in as much muted effort as those rushing around her.
Two nurses frantically ran by her, followed by three white-shirted interns. Their mouths chattering away with quick orders, yet, not a single sound escaped into her ears.
The slender asian turned, staring at the commotion of the staff. Something was wrong. Something was happening. Trolleys of medical equipment, and more staff sped past her, turning the corner down at the far end of the hall.
She slowly began walking, following the flow of other doctors. Her pace grew steadily, as she became certain that something bad was happening. She didn't know why, or how. But, she knew.
And her heart's pace quickened. The first noise she could make out. A constant thumping. A constant.....beeping?
She turned the corner of the hallway, expecting to find a terrible tragedy. Expecting to confront a gruesome sight. And, as her view rounded the corner, she was met with, simply, another stretch of hallway.
She began running. Faster, and faster, she ran. Following the hallway. Keeping pace with the rest of the nurses that sped by....and did not notice her.
Two double-doors stood still swinging from the last person to pass, a very large member of the security personnel standing to the side, watching with an obvious wish that he was needed in some way. That he could help in some fashion.
The nurses burst through the swinging doors, Nuriko following unnoticed.
A crew of physicians, lead by Dr. Ian McGregor, crowded the operating theater, scrambling around the center table. Nurses fumbling with throat tubes. Technicians firing up cardiac pads. They worked and scurried as one, these professionals. They scrambled as a team, trying desperately to fix some problem.
To right some wrong.
||Thank you for coming.||
Nuriko jerked around to the voice. A tall, elegant woman...a doctor, by the look of her white coat...stood near the rear of the room. Her red hair pulled tightly against her cranium, red-spectacles hid sightless eyes.
Where am I? Nuriko said with no sound. What's happening?
Before the woman could respond, Nuriko felt a warm hand place against her shoulder. She turned to find....
"Hey..."
Ozzy?
The barechested boxer smiled, small pads still lining his forehead. He slowly pulled her body close, embracing her in a warm hug.
"God...it seems like months since I last saw you..."
Ozzy, what's happening? Where am I?
"Well, see, there's been a.....problem...."
He turned, looking behind him at the center of the silent room. Nuriko followed his gaze back to the operating table. This time, she could make out Dr. Huerta sitting on the floor a few feet away from the scurry of activity, holding a small cloth against his nosebleed.
Huerta...?
||Dr. Huerta will be quite fine|| Barbara said. || I cushioned most of the neural backlash.||
Neural....I don't understand...will someone PLEASE tell me where I am and what's happe--
She stopped immediately, her eyes finally glimpsing beyond the sea of doctors and nurses....finally able to make out the form on the operating platform.
The body.....of Ozzy Baxter.
She turned, her eyes full of bewilderment, staring at the boxer who was standing right behind her.
He simply smiled, shrugging.
...Ozzy?
"Sometimes...." he began. "...sometimes...shit happens, you know?"
The patient on the operating table jerked suddenly, the cardiac pads contacting his chest.
"Every fighter steps out of the ring at some point...."
No... Nuriko mouthed, suddenly beginning to grasp the ethereal situation. Ozzy...you can't...
"It's okay....really...." he added with a warm smile. "...I had a good run, didn't I?"
Oh....oh...Ozzy...I....I... Nuriko stammered with no sound.
"Sorry if I caused you more problems than I was worth, okay? I can be.....I was....a real jackass at times..."
Nuriko felt something. Something in her eye. Something....wet...
A tear?
Ozzy....I implore you...
The patient jerked again.
...you can't die....not yet....not like this....
"It's not really up to me, now is it?" he added with a chuckle. "You get that knock-out clip to the jaw, you're going to the mat. That's just the way life is..."
Nuriko was speechless. Why was this happening? Why was she here? Why...why was she...crying?
"Listen..." Ozzy added, his face becoming serious. "...before I go...I just wanted...."
He stammered, trailing off briefly. She stared into his eyes, watching the honesty creep forth.
"...I just wanted to know if you could do one thing for me..."
...yes? she replied.
"I just wanted...." he said, stepping up to her, "....I just wanted a.......kiss......"
She stared back speechless, the dawn of realization coming over her. Of what was happening. Of what had to be done.
No.
Ozzy stopped. His face etched in confusion and uncertainty.
"...no?!" he asked incredulously.
No...MR. Baxter... she responded, her nerves of steel returning to their proper place. .....I will NOT kiss you.....
Ozzy was almost speechless.
"But....but...I mean....I...just...I...."
If you wish to kiss me, you will have to do it in the real world....
The patient jerked with a higher voltage, the expressions of the doctors increasing in concern, as they scrambled desperately to save this man.
...in reality...not this strange fugue, dream-state we seem to be sharing....
Barbara slowly smiled.
"But, Nuriko...it's my time--"
Are you not a figher, Mr. Baxter? she replied cooly. Is it not your profession to strive for victory in combat? Is it not your way to strike your opponents when they strike you?
"Nuriko...."
"Start fighting, Mr. Baxter." she stated with a defined clarity, her voice finally beginning to ring true in her own ears. "If you want me....."
He stared at her with a building determination....
....and the doctors hit the pads one last time....
"...then fight for me, Ozzy!"
There was a sudden loud beeping noise, emanating from the heart monitor across the room. It grew more rhythmic.
And louder.
And...louder....
.....louder......
Nuriko's eyes suddenly jerked wide, as she sat up in her bed, startled. Her pants were quick, as she surveyed her surroundings.
She was in a hospital bed, her hear monitor beeping with a loud, rhythmic pace.
"You're awake...." a nurse said, stepping quickly into the room.
Nuriko looked around with confusion.
"...where..." she tried to speak, her vocal cords dry and hoarse.
"It's okay. You're okay. Lie down, Ms. Sai....everything is fine." the nurse comforted her, helping her to lie back again.
The nurse checked the monitors next to her, studying the readouts.
"You are in London. The Metahuman Research Center." the nurse explained. "Doctor Henry Quantos had you sent here due to the exteme nature of your injuries."
"...am...I..."
"You're fine, now." she replied with a comforting voice. "We've corrected your spinal injuries, and your punctured lung seems to be mending nicely. Still, it's going to be a long recovery, okay? We'll need to keep you here for awhile for rehabilitation."
Nuriko sighed, taking in the information. Remembering what happened in La Perdita.
Her eyes suddenly grew very frantic....
"...Ozzy...?"
The nurse cocked an eye with slight surprise.
"Yes...yes, Mr. Baxter has been here for a couple of months as well..." she nodded. "How did you know---"
"Is...he....okay?"
"Well....funny you should ask that..." she said. "....we almost lost him about an hour ago. But, then, out of nowhere....he came back to us. He's in post-op recovery now, and all of his signs are stable..."
Her voice dropped off a bit, still staring at Nuriko.
"...what...?"
"Oh...it's nothing, really..." the nurse smiled. "...it's just....well, when Mr. Baxter finally regained consciousness...he asked......the first thing he asked.....was about you...."
A smile finally broke across Nuriko's face, as she lay back peacefully....
