Chapter Six: Friends in Cold Places
Dr. Vinschpinsilstien stared blankly for a moment at what she'd caught in her net.
"Once." She sighed, kneeling by the net and cutting it open so she could pull out the motionless body. "Just once, would like to catch only fish."
Being so close to The Wall, catching a corpse or two wasn't uncommon. They had the bad habit of just dumping their bodies and trash into the ocean, making it harder for the scientist to catch only her next meal, which was the entire reason she'd decided she should move away from that area of the cliff.
This, however, she noted as she pressed two fingers to the body's neck, was not a corpse. He was still breathing, just barely, and she could feel a weak pulse beneath her fingers. Corpses didn't have pulses, and they certainly didn't breathe.
She glanced to the top hat and gold chain alongside him, somehow not lost to the ocean. It'd gotten tangled in the net with him and told her all she needed to know: Toppat. The leader, in fact, by the look of it. She'd heard that Reginald had handed over leadership in return for mercy, however, she didn't think it'd be someone she recognized.
"Never thought I'd see the day you returned to the Toppat Clan, Suave." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien stood up, lifting the Toppat in her arms. "Last I heard you ran after your father died, what happened to you?"
The only response was a moan of pain, but he didn't wake up as she carried him inside and laid him on a bed. His left arm was obviously and likely irreparably broken, twisted at more than one odd angle. Even then she could see frostbite was already setting in and likely was going to take it if she didn't. She began examination, experimentally testing reflexes and rolling him over to check his injured back.
She didn't need an x-ray to know his spine had been broken in more than one place, likely from the bullet hole she found as well as the fact it looked like he'd fallen into the sharp, jagged rocks that lined the cliffs. If he had any hope of recovery, or even survival at this rate, it'd need to be completely removed and replaced.
Why was she even considering any of this? She had told herself she would never help the Toppats again after she left. She had already refused to assist them once, when they called asking her to come save Right, and she really didn't want to give them the satisfaction of giving in at any point. Hell, she only knew Henry because he was Terrence's son and with how much trouble he'd gotten into, even as a child, it was hard not to know him.
She could, and honestly should, just toss him back in the water. He was already half-dead, and she owed him and the Toppats nothing.
Her fingers nervously tapped the table at that thought. She could do it, yes, but would she? Hell no. It felt...cruel to leave him to drown or freeze to death. It wasn't her place to decide who got to die based on her emotions. Did she hate the Toppat Clan? Yes. But was it right to leave someone to die because of her own experiences with them? Certainly not!
Briefly she wondered why he was even in the water. Was it a denouncement ceremony? It didn't look that way, if she was honest. The gold chain and his hat would have been taken if it was, but no one seemed to be looking for him.
Then again if he fell into the rocks, why would they? She wondered briefly, looking at him. He was obviously quite weak, struggling to even take a single, faint breath. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was still alive at this point. She knew his lungs had to have water in them, which on its own could be fatal. They probably assumed him to be dead.
She briefly wondered how Right and Reginald were holding up. She knew they loved Henry as their own son, losing him all those years ago, getting him back and then immediately losing him again must be tearing them apart. She didn't really want to, but she could imagine the heart-wrenching scream of Reginald, and the blank but grief-filled stare of Right as they had lost him for a second time.
Her hand balled into a fist.
Finally she made a decision. She'd stabilize him for now, then call Reginald and Right to come get him. Maybe she'd perform the surgery to replace his arm and spine, if they paid her for it.
Time to get to work. She sighed.
Stabilizing Henry had been harder than Dr. Vinschpinsilstien thought it would be.
Even unconscious and injured as he was, he had fought like hell when she put a tube down his throat to drain the water from his lungs. It had been pitiful, honestly. Dr. Vinschpinsilstien certainly didn't pride herself on her bedside manner, but she couldn't help but gently try to reassure him that it was alright, and it would be over soon.
Sighing heavily, she sat in her chair before sending a call through to the Toppat Clan's airship division. Straightening up, she took a deep breath as the call was accepted, and Right responded.
"What? We're a little busy at-"
"Ah, Doctor. 'Ave you reconsidered our offer to rejoin the Toppats?" He asked. She could almost hear the strained smile in his voice, and she quickly strangled the feeling of pity. She'd let herself feel sympathy for her patient, but the Toppat Clan would get no pity from her.
"Oh I'll join you alright, I'll join you in hell." She replied, teeth clenched. "But that's not why I'm calling. It seems you lost your leader."
There was silence for a moment.
"Did you...find the body?" He finally asked quietly.
"Oh I found a body, just not a dead one." She replied. "From here, you have three choices. I've stabilized him for now, you can come get him and deal with his injuries yourself, or you can commission me to perform surgery. If you do neither, I can always hand him over to the government."
"W'at kind of surgery?" Right asked a bit skeptically.
"His arm is broken in a few places and he's suffering from frostbite." She replied. "His spine is also broken in multiple places. Both will need completely replaced, likely along with his heart, as he's too frail to perform surgery on while still alive."
There was silence again, and she heard him take a trembling breath. "W'at do you want in return for saving 'im?"
"I won't ask for much this time." She replied. "I want appropriate compensation, for one. I'll go with the low end of one hundred, fifty thousand for both the spine and arm, and my time. These augmentations are not cheap to make or install. And I would rather like the dinner I lost from catching him in my net to be replaced."
"That's all." She confirmed. "I suggest you make a decision quickly. Henry is very frail, I cannot hold him for long."
"Done, we'll bring the payment as soon as we can." He took a breath. "...may we see 'im?"
"If you wish. But you need to find your own way here." She didn't particularly want either of them on her boat, but there was no way she could safely move Henry to the airship, and she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to revive him. Replacing his entire spine was experimental, even by her standards.
If she failed, this may very well be the last time they see their son alive. Who was she to deny them of that?
Dr. Vinschpinsilstien sighed, crossing her arms as she stared up at the airship.
Honestly she wasn't sure what she was expecting when Right asked if he and Reginald could see Henry. I suppose arriving in the airship and dropping down is better than trying to pick up the boat and bring it inside the airship. She thought, a little bitterly, as she watched Reginald, Right and a few others climb down a rope ladder. She raised an eyebrow upon noticing one of them was a government pilot. "Toppats working with the government? Is the world ending?"
"It's only temporary." Right grumbled. "We don't particularly want 'im 'ere."
The other person, a woman with fiery red hair, glared at him. "I did. We both owe Henry. You admitted he might not survive this, we needed a chance to thank him, even if he's not awake."
"I'm sorry," Dr. Vinschpinsilstien sighed. "Who are you two?"
"Charles Calvin and Ellie Rose." The pilot replied. "General Galeforce sent me on a mission to retrieve files so we can shut down the Wall. He thought that since the Toppat Clan were lying low we could at least take them out and lighten our workload. Ellie was a prisoner, she came with us."
"Henry broke us out." Ellie nodded. "We just...need to see him, just once."
It took a few moments for what she just said to sink in. "He...broke you out of the Wall?" She asked slowly.
"I'm going to want that story later." She turned away. "Come with me, I'll take you to my workroom, that's where I'm keeping him."
Leading them to the small room, Dr. Vinschpinsilstien blinked in surprise seeing that he was actually awake now. Immediately Reginald pushed past her, running to his son's side. "Henry!"
"Reg...inald...?" Henry breathed, meeting his eyes.
“I’m right here.” Reginald squeezed Henry’s hand. “I-I’m right here. I...I’m not going to leave you.”
"E...everything...hurts..." He squeezed back weakly, blinking as Right came up next to him. "Right...I..."
"You don't 'ave to say anything."
Henry shook his head. "I...I'm...sorry. I...hurt you. I..."
"I know." Right replied, voice uncharacteristically quiet. "It's alright, I'm not angry."
"Henry." Reginald's voice broke. "Please, hold on a while longer. The doctor is doing to fix you, I promise. You'll...you'll be alright."
Dr. Vinschpinsilstien's breath caught in her throat as she got a good look at Henry's face. His eyes were half-closed, dull with hopelessness and clouded with pain. He was struggling to stay awake, to even stay conscious.
Charles tapped her shoulder. "Doctor...is he going to survive this?"
She shook her head. "No, but I need to completely replace his spine, and I can't do it while he's alive, anyway."
"But you can bring him back?"
"...'m tired." Henry murmured.
Reginald covered his mouth to hide a sob. "I...I know, Hen."
“...it’s so cold...so dark…” He breathed. “D...Dad...I...I don’t...I don't want to die...not like this...”
That was all it took for Reginald to break down into sobs, hunching over his son. Right held him tighter, reaching to join his husband in holding Henry's hand. “You’re not going to die!" Reginald finally choked out. "I’m not going to let you die, I refuse to let you go like this!”
"...'Enry...?" Right asked, eyes clouding with grief.
Silence. Henry's eyes stared sightlessly up at the ceiling, no breath leaving his lips.
Reginald screamed. "HENRY!"
"That's your cue to leave." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien cut in, pulling Reginald away. "Go wait outside so I can work."
"T'ank you, Doctor." Right spoke up, leading his husband out. "I trust you with the rest."
______________________________
It'd been a few hours since Dr. Vinschpinsilstien had begun surgery.
Right sat against a wall, Reginald sleeping against his chest. He'd only left once to help her remove Henry's left arm, but he hadn't lingered long.
Seeing Henry hooked up to life support, so unnaturally still and pale, was too much, even for him.
(He'd briefly wondered where she'd gotten a ventilator, but it was keeping oxygen flowing to his brain and preventing brain death so he wouldn't complain.)
Right glanced over at Charles and Ellie, the two in a corner leaning against each other. They, too, had fallen asleep, it'd been an exhausting day for them and he didn't blame them for wanting some rest. He himself only remained awake so he could recieve the news as soon as Dr. Vinschpinsilstien was finished.
Suddenly there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. Right looked up, seeing the good doctor peeling off her gloves.
"Alive. But he's very weak." She replied with a frown. "I hope you know it is unwise for him to return to the Toppat Clan."
Right stared at her blankly a moment. "I...I'm sorry, w'at?"
"It is unwise for him to return to the Clan." She repeated. "Right, Henry's augmentations are not nearly as stable as your own. I've managed to connect his heart replacement to his spine in a way that his brain thinks it's his heart, so he won't have any problems with that, but the second that spine is damaged his body will begin to shut down again."
"So? No one cares if 'Enry has to be more careful. But you left, so I wouldn't expect you to understand our familial bonds."
"Do you really believe that? You have over a thousand members, what will happen if a small group, or even a single person, decides Henry is weak and unfit to lead? Do you want Henry to live past the age of thirty-five?"
"Of course!" Right forced his voice to stay steady so he didn't wake the others, despite the rage bubbling in him. The nerve of this woman!
"Then let him go. He has a chance to get out of this life, you have to let him take it."
Right fell silent, glancing down at Reginald. "...we can't say goodbye again. Not after all of this."
"Who says you have to say goodbye?" She knelt down. "Just give him a chance to leave, if you think he'd never speak to you again you're dead wrong."
"...can we just see 'im?"
The doctor sighed. "Go ahead. He's asleep for now, but I suspect he'll be complaining if he wakes up and none of you have visited."
It took a few minutes for Right to wake Reginald up, but soon enough they stood before their sleeping son.
His left arm was completely gone, even the shoulder was missing, replaced by smooth metal. There were patches down his side for easy connecting a disconnecting, and a blue light glowed on his chest, becoming brighter with each inhale before dulling slightly upon exhale.
She'd explained his spine was exposed, since there was just no way for her to get skin over the metal without it shredding like paper if it ended up strained. Just another reason for Henry to leave the Toppat Clan, permanently this time.
Reginald will not like that. Right noted, staying quiet as he sat down by Henry. Reginald squeezed his hand, giving him an exhausted smile.
Right couldn't help but smile back.
At that moment, it felt like everything was going to be just fine.
