(( Gaaaaaaaaaah. Upon further research I notice I have screwed up on how long he should leave the bandages on. Though I may have a possible reason why he would do that. Still working on it. We shall see what comes of it. ))

_________________
"Do your best and let the rest work itself out."
Doctor Void - Dr. Wretched - Impact Tower - Jackie Bones - MerryGoRound - Bella Facade - Dark Anima - Choose - many others.

(( Sooo I screwed up a little on a couple of things, particularly regarding how long the bandages would stay on. Mmmbut I may have come up with an explanation. ))

There was a pattern forming. Isabella could see it, but it wasn't troubling her. Until such time as it did, she would let it play out. Granted, it was only the second instance of it happening, but she could already see that this was something that could potentially become a routine. The doctor had given her a new knife, and, sure enough, after breakfast, had given her a brief history of the weapon (a tanto, this time) and how it was used, and what it was used for. This time, however, he left out the near-transparent mannequin, as he had finished his explanation of various organs and muscles (this time focusing on the back of the body) only a few days before. She actually found the instruction to be interesting, including the information on the weapon, and he seemed to be able to see that. Again, as they had done before, he instructed her on various techniques after the lecture, never telling her the target, only advising her occasionally on position, speed, and how much force to use. Once he had finished demonstrating, he set her to work on practicing what she had learned.

***

Later that evening, the doctor had brought Isabella to the room in the warehouse that he had outfitted for x-rays. He took a few pictures while she dutifully laid down and kept as still as a statue. When he finished, she noticed that he seemed more pleased than usual. He, in turn, noticed her puzzled look, and smiled even wider.

"Your progress has been so remarkable, Izzy-chan, that I believe we can take those bandages off tomorrow." Isabella nodded expressionlessly. "Also, I have a little...hmm. Surprise for you. You'll have to wait until tomorrow, though."

Isabella's brow furrowed in a curious expression.

_________________
"Do your best and let the rest work itself out."
Doctor Void - Dr. Wretched - Impact Tower - Jackie Bones - MerryGoRound - Bella Facade - Dark Anima - Choose - many others.

As he had said the previous day, the doctor began taking Isabella's bandages off immediately following breakfast. It felt good to finally have them off, though almost immediately she noticed a rather...distinct smell coming from her head. Her hair, after all, hadn't been washed in weeks. Even the doctor, who sat facing her as he unwound her bandages, had his usually unreadable face crinkle slightly.

"Hmmm...," he murmured, "Perhaps I left them on too long...well, no matter. You can wash it now, provided you follow my directions." Isabella arched a brow, then nodded. "Almost done...there we are." He finally finished unwinding the bandages, then carefully peeled the gauze pad covering her left eye off. "Now then, open your eyes, and let's have a look." Isabella did as she was bid, and then actually jumped in surprise. "Well, that was certainly the biggest reaction I've gotten from you, now wasn't it?" She barely took note of his words; she was too busy looking around.

She could see.

It was so jarring, she could scarcely believe it. She could see, for the first time in months, from both of her eyes. It was shocking. It was unbelievable. It was...disorienting, and something was...different. She continued looking around, the doctor watching her in silence. She looked back at the doctor. He reached behind him, picking up a mirror that he'd left lying there, holding it up for her to get a better look. Isabella leaned in, staring into the reflection of her face, ignoring for the moment her rather nappy hair with the larger-than-she-remembered spot that had been shaved, which was only now beginning to grow back. Where weeks ago there had been a milky, damaged orb taking up space in an eyesocket criss-crossed with three dark scars, there was a healthy, normal-looking eye that she could see out of. She squinted suddenly, staring at it more intently, absentmindedly taking the mirror from the doctor's hands. She stared closer at it, then switched to look at her other eye, then back again. She lowered the mirror slightly, looking at the doctor curiously. He cocked a brow.

"It's fake." she said. The doctor's jagged smile spread across his face once more.

"Oh?" he asked, "Are you certain?" Isabella nodded without hesitation.

"Couldn't tell at first, but the color's different, a little. And if you look close, it looks more...plastic-y." Wretched chuckled a little.

"Is there anything else?"

Isabella's brow knotted again. She looked around. She closed the left eye, then opened it and closed the right, then looked back at Wretched. "...Brighter. A little."

The doctor nodded. "That's to be expected, though I doubt it will throw you off much. That eye has something built into it called flare compensation. It protects against sudden bright flashes. For example..." Suddenly he held a penlight in front of her face, turning it on with a click. Isabella instinctively squinted, but found that her left eye adjusted far more quickly than her right.

"Feels weird," she said.

"It would," the doctor said, turning off and pocketing the light. "Since your other eye is still normal. It'll take some getting used to." Isabella nodded. They sat quietly for a long moment, Isabella's eyes looking down somewhere, Wretched watching her. Finally she looked up.

"...Why?" she asked. "Didn't ask you to do this." The doctor grinned.

"Think of it as...service," the doctor said, though Isabella noticed his pronunciation was more like saa-bi-su. She arched her scarred eyebrow at him.

"Must have been expensive." The doctor waved it off as though it were nothing.

"As I said, a free service." They sat in silence for a moment longer, until Isabella finally looked up at him again.

"...Thank you."

_________________
"Do your best and let the rest work itself out."
Doctor Void - Dr. Wretched - Impact Tower - Jackie Bones - MerryGoRound - Bella Facade - Dark Anima - Choose - many others.

The doctor moved forward in his seat, nodding with a small smile. "No thanks are necessary, my dear, but just the same...you're welcome." He gestured for her to lean closer. "Now, let's have a look at how that head of yours is healing, and I can tell you more about your eye." As he said this, he reached out to push some of her hair aside, his attention riveted on the bald spot that showed where he had worked.

"First of all, I should be honest with you; there is, right now, more than one implant in your head. Before you become concerned, the second implant allows you to access all of the functions of your new eye. That's all. Your eye's flare compensation is, though a penlight is hardly an accurate demonstration, rather very good. It's also an automatic function, so you won't need to worry about turning it on and off. There are several other functions as well, which you can activate just by thinking about it. Forewarned is forearmed, Izzy-chan. First is something that will allow you to see in the dark. It allows you to see into the infrared field of the electromagnetic spectrum. It won't let you make out details very well, but it should be useful. Second is...something of a zoom. You'll be able to get a close up view of things from a distance. It's not as good as a pair of binoculars, or a telescopic sight, but it should be useful." As he spoke, he carefully ran his fingers over her scalp in several places, never pressing too hard. Isabella noticed that the pain, which, admittedly, had been lessening, was now virtually gone. The doctor patted her gently on the shoulder. "I'll need to run another x-ray."

They went to the x-ray room, and while the machine took its pictures, Isabella asked, "What else?" The doctor looked up at her from behind the window to the control room. "My eye," she clarified.

"At the moment, that's all there is. Quiet, now. I need you to hold still." Isabella complied. A moment later, the doctor entered the room and took the lead apron from her. "Excellent work, dear. For now, why don't you wait in the living room? I'm going to be a few minutes while the pictures develop."

Again, Isabella complied. She made a slight detour on the way, though. She went into the doctor's study and took out a volume of the encyclopedia, taking it with her to the living room. There, she began flipping through until she came to the entry on infrared, familiarizing herself with the term, making mental notes of a few other words as she did so. When the doctor finally entered, she noted that he seemed particularly pleased.

"...What?" she asked. The doctor chuckled slightly.

"I am pleased to be able to tell you, your skull is nearly completely recovered from the surgery." Isabella cocked her head slightly.

"...Thought something like that was supposed to take longer. Didn't think skull breaks healed like that..."

Wretched grinned. "You've been reading a great deal when you're not exercising, haven't you? Yes, you're quite right. Ordinarily, it wouldn't. However...I am rather good at my job." Isabella cocked an eyebrow, her expression one of puzzlement. "I'll let you in on a little secret, Izzy-chan. I've been studying human biology for a rather long time. A side benefit of this is knowing a few things that modern medicine hasn't quite uncovered yet." She nodded her vague understanding. "Regardless, the point is, your recovery is going better than I expected. I believe that...is cause for celebration." The doctor wandered over to the kitchen. He took out two tall glasses, some milk, some chocolate ice cream, a tin of cocoa powder, and a bottle of chocolate syrup. "Tell me, Izzy-chan, do you like chocolate shakes?"

Isabella cocked her head in puzzlement. "...Never had one," she murmured, "but chocolate is...good..."

The doctor looked up at her and grinned. "You're in for a treat."

_________________
"Do your best and let the rest work itself out."
Doctor Void - Dr. Wretched - Impact Tower - Jackie Bones - MerryGoRound - Bella Facade - Dark Anima - Choose - many others.