[Jaykobell]

On the more populated outskirts of the Vast Plains, in a small area in-between the Plains and the Wilt'no Desert, was a town. It was rather modern, despite its location. It was somewhat far from Wilt'no, but at the same time, it still felt like a desert town. Computers, money, jobs; everything from a generic city could be found. A well-known hospital was also located there.

Further away from the city, the scenery progressively went from an acceptably modern-looking scenery to canyons and finally to the actual desert. Specifically, this area was very close to the prestigious Medicai. If one could endure the harsh travel through the desert, he would find his way to Medicai.

By the canyon range, two young men were making their escape. One was older and taller than the other, but they shared similarities.



The taller figure, whom was ahead of the smaller one, stopped in his tracks for a moment to look over his shoulder. "Amaury!" he called out, panting slightly, "You can't stop running." His hair was a light brown, starting flat to the left and ending in a spiky bush to the right. His right eye was patched, whereas his other eye was a shining sapphire blue. A stethoscope also dangled around his neck, and a long, pristine white coat hung over him. "They'll catch us. Keep running!"

[Jaykobell]

A little ways behind the doctor was a younger man, most likely in his early to mid-twenties. While he also wore a stethoscope, the boy didn't wear a white coat. Instead, he had a surgical mask around his neck, a teal shirtless top, and a white shirt and pants outfit. Around his waist was also a white cloth, on which one could see a red cross.
He was panting heavily, his speed decreasing as he finally caught up to the doctor. He stopped in front of the doctor, bending his knees and putting his hands on his knees so he could catch his breath. His fluffy, mildly-spiky brown hair was messier than ever, and his brown eyes showed tiredness.



"D-Doctor Hugh... I-I can't r-run anymore..." he whined as he panted loudly. "Wh-where are we even g-going?"

The doctor sighed softly at his partner. "I know, Amaury, but it's either chest pains or a jail cell," he warned the younger boy, his eyes showing just as much tiredness. "I don't like either, but I'd pick the former any day." He grabbed the boy's wrist and started running again, dragging the kid along. "Hang in there! We just have to find a way to lose them..."

[Jaykobell]

"Waaah!" Amaury squealed when he was suddenly forced to start running again. His legs, at this point, felt numb and heavy. They were burning with pain, and running further didn't help at all. As he let out loud, raspy breaths, Amaury looked over his shoulder. Him stopping had given the pursuers some time to catch up, and running speckles could be seen behind them. "Th-they're catching up!" the boy warned, feeling his legs flying off the ground as they tried so desperately to keep up with the older, taller, and faster doctor.

"They're slowing down; get your asses in gear! Catch up to them!" a voice ordered loudly from behind them, those unidentifiable speckles growing bigger and bigger as the pursuers started catching up.

"D-doctor...!" Amaury whined further, panting harder and trying to slow down. "I-I can't..." As much as the boy could assist the doctor at work, running away and any other kind of strenuous physical activity was usually something Amaury couldn't quite help with.

[Jaykobell]

"Ngh..." the doctor groaned, glancing over his shoulder at the boy and trying to slow down while still trying to maintain a good speed. That, really, was easier said than done. The two of them had been running for a long time, so it was no surprise that Amaury was so tired. While in better physical shape, the doctor's endurance was also running thin. This whole situation was just so surreal.

They were keeping up a good pace when the doctor suddenly stopped running abruptly. Amaury was also forced to stop, and the boy almost fell over; he hung on by latching onto the doctor's arm at the last minute. "D-Doctor?"

"Shit!" Immediately the doctor bit his tongue, mentally, for letting out that word in front of the kid, but it did describe the situation rather well. "Amaury... I don't think we can run anymore," the doctor said as he pointed at the next obstacle: a deep ravine. The gorge seemed endless, and a fall could be fatal from this high. "O-oh my God..." Amaury said softly as he stared down the gorge, and then back at the doctor. "Doctor Hugh..." What were they supposed to do? They couldn't go back, and they couldn't jump down the cliff.
The doctor simply stared down the gorge, his blue eye narrowed as he considered all the possible options.

"They've reached a dead-end!" the same voice from earlier screamed, as the pursuers noticed the two men had stopped running. "They're not so stupid as to jump down a gorge this deep. They're as good as caught!"

Amaury, upon hearing the echoing voice behind them, turned around to watch those specks coming closer and closer to them, and his heart started beating even faster from the stress. "D-doctor... Wh-what are we going to do?" Amaury inquired again, pressing his superior for an answer.

After a moment of hesitation, the doctor finally replied. "There's no other way... Amaury..." Once again, he quickly grabbed the boy's wrist, this time hanging on as tightly as he could, "We're jumping!"

With no time to react to being grabbed again — to be honest, Doctor Hugh had the really bad habit of doing that — Amaury simply turned around before feeling his legs getting dragged off the ground. "We're wha—aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...!" he screamed as the two of them fell down the ravine.

[Jaykobell]

As they were catching up, the pursuers could do absolutely nothing as they saw the doctor force the boy to jump down the ravine. The leader of the gang, baffled, quickly tried to stop his Cavallion from jumping along with them. "Everyone! Stop! Halt!" he said as he pulled, the Cavallion raising its front arms, neighing, and then stopping in its tracks, the others doing the same.

Quickly, the man got off his mount and ran over to the edge of the cliff, but he caught no sight of the two escapees. "I can't believe it..." he muttered as he squinted his eyes. "He actually jumped!" He said nothing, and after the others had joined him, he sighed impatiently. "Whatever. I guess that's that; there's no way he could've survive that fall. That freak of nature is better off dead." It was a shame for the younger man, but if one actually associated themselves with the likes of that doctor... Well, perhaps that kid was better off dead as well. "Consider this mission accomplished. Retreat!" Without any delay, the pursuing horsemen got back on their Cavallions and went back the way they'd come. Their work here was done...

[Jaykobell]

"Well... This could've gone better... but we made it."

Fortunately, the two of them were still in one piece, albeit injured. During the fall, doctor Hugh had tried, perhaps foolishly, to slow down their fall with his free hand and his foot. Of course, nothing came out of it except for terrible cuts and scratches on his hand, and a hole in his shoe. However, the most important factor had been the ravine itself, and how it was formed. Huge blocks stuck out from the side, creating a few flat platforms. The doctor had aimed for one of them, and from there, the two had managed to make their way down the gorge by hanging onto the rocks protruding from the side. At times, one of them would slip and fall down to the next platform, usually resulting in a bad bruise somewhere.

In the end, the doctor had suffered from deep cuts, scratches, a good amount of bruises, and some parts hurt more than others from the shock of falling on such a hard surface. As for Amaury, the boy hadn't been as fortunate. While he suffered from cuts and bruises as well, the boy had ended up spraining his ankle in a fall while they were going down the gorge. While the doctor wasn't ruling out the possibility of a broken bone, Amaury's foot moved normally, and while very poignant, the pain was somewhat bearable. Still, the child couldn't walk, and both of them had bleeding injuries. The doctor had used his coat as a cloth to soak the blood and clean, as much as possible, their injuries. He wouldn't be surprised if either of them ended up with infected wounds, but at this point, being alive was all that mattered.

[Jaykobell]

Amaury was trying his best to hold his tears of pain in as he clutched his swollen ankle. "D-doctor... It hurts..."

The doctor sighed quietly. "I know, Amaury. You're a tough kid; get your act together and hang in there. We have to keep moving." He felt somewhat bad for the child. Not only was he exhausted from running so much, now he couldn't even walk. When he heard the boy sniffle, the doctor tilted his head slightly at him. "But you've done well keeping up with me... They probably think we're dead, so no one's going to even search for us down here." He went to sit down besides the boy under the shade of a platform. The sun was especially harsh, since they were so close to the Wilt'no Desert. The doctor leaned against the rocky wall, and while uncomfortable, it was better than nothing.

The two said nothing for a while, and only the sizzling sun could be heard. Under the shade, the heat was tolerable, so the two men took it as an opportunity to rest. They were still tired from running so much, especially Amaury. At some point, the doctor sighed and looked up. "Honestly... I don't even know why you followed me. You know how it ends... They harass the sidekick, too."

"You're my doctor!" Amaury exclaimed at the doctor's thoughts, looking up at him. "You're a wonderful doctor... Why did they fire you? Why do they want you dead?" For years, doctor Hugh had served his hospital faithfully and treated everyone as equal patients, regardless of their social class, their race, their culture, or their age. And in a flash, the superiors had ordered for the doctor to be fired and to even be captured by the local authorities.

"You know why they turned against me, Amaury," he simply replied, sighing deeply. "They found out I'm not human, and of course, they're afraid I might be infectious or simply life-threatening." A secret that he had kept so well, and yet, it had leaked. Someone had, somehow, found out about his dark secret, and in turn, the hospital found out as well.

[Jaykobell]

"That's not true!" Amaury exclaimed, turning to the doctor some more. He couldn't walk, but he could still move about while sitting. "Doctor... Doctor, you're not the parasite... It lives in you, but it's not you." A shocking secret only the young man knew; he was the only one who had been told by the doctor. According to doctor Hugh, he was not human. While his mind and soul was in a human body, his true "form" was that of an intelligent, human-developed parasite living within the body and using it as its host. The boy knew no more than that; the concept, in itself, was unknown to him.

"That's what it is, Amaury," the doctor replied, glancing down at the boy. Perhaps it was because of the pain, but the doctor could tell the boy wasn't too happy about his words. "It is as I've told you... This human body used to be someone else's. When the person died, I took over. This body is only a disguise..." A parasite living within a human body, the two of them coexisting without one causing harm to the other: that is what the doctor, Paxton Hugh, was. Paxton himself, however, was the parasite, and not the human. His case was like that of a human using a computer. While texting, people are not computers, but simply humans using the computers as their "hosts." This, really, was the only way Paxton could explain his own existence. He was not a human, but his parasitic form could still use the human body as a host and a means of communication with real humans.

"That doesn't matter... You're not dangerous!" the boy insisted, clenching his fists. "Maybe you're not 'human,' but you act like one! And you've always been a good doctor to everyone who asked for your help, and you have an ability that saved more lives than all those other dimwits combined!"

Paxton blinked at Amaury's words, but didn't look at him. "As much as I resent them for trying to get rid of me, all those doctors had skills, Amaury. Fearing the unknown... is human nature, Amaury. Some of them thought the same... Still, the higher-ups decided and thought otherwise." A few colleagues had stood up for him, just like the boy. Some patients had even requested that he stays — however, they weren't told of his true identity, so their opinions weren't very valuable in any shape or form. Still, the higher-ups hadn't changed their minds and opted to fire him. Some of them had gone even further and requested for him to get arrested — causing this entire chase and this dramatic, fatal jump down a ravine.

[Jaykobell]

"Skills don't make doctors," Amaury argued, looking down at the ground. "Doctors should be kind and respectful... They should be supportive. And they didn't support you..." It had pained him to leave along with Paxton, but when things turn ugly, you get to see the real nature of some people. Amaury had been a prey to this whole charade, hearing rumors and hearing nasty things being said behind the doctor's back. Even though he'd built a reputation and a good job at that hospital, he couldn't stand the idea of working alongside people who couldn't even respect their fellow coworkers.

"Kind and supportive, eh..." Paxton mused, repeating the boy's words softly. "You're too soft for a fault, Amaury. There are tons of different doctors out there; bad ones and good ones. Ultimately, the personality can be overlooked if the skills back it up. Even morals and ethics can be overlooked if your skills are good enough." A sad truth, but the first step was admitting it. The personality helped, but the skills were all that mattered. Obviously, Paxton's abilities as a doctor hadn't been enough for them to overlook his identity.

A little while after the two had gone silent, Paxton slowly got up from his spot. "Come on, Amaury. We have to get help for your ankle. I could do it myself, but I can't do a lot with only rocks and dried plants." He put a hand over his eyes and looked as far as he could, the path stretching in front of them with no destination. It simply continued on and on, an endless road of yellow-brown rocks. "It's going to be a long walk..."

[Jaykobell]

As much as he wanted to simply stay here and rest, Amaury knew they would have to start moving again sooner or later. They couldn't possibly stay here forever. "R-right..." Slowly, the child tried to get up, but as soon as he put weight on his ankle, he had to quickly lift it up as he yelped from the pain.

Still watching ahead, Paxton looked over his shoulder when he heard Amaury whine. "What are you doing?" he asked, approaching the boy. "You're a nurse, yet you're trying to walk with a sprained ankle?" And the doctor knew the boy was smarter than trying to further injure his foot.

"No, I..." Amaury looked away and paused before looking back at the doctor. "I'm trying to stress it further to break the bone. You... you could repair it then." That particular secret, while well-kept, was known by some people. Not only was Paxton a parasite within a human body, but that particular parasite had a certain ability, which it bestowed to the doctor: Paxton could repair broken objects. Even something as big as a broken monument, or as small as a broken bone.

At the mention of trying to break his bone, Paxton's expression changed. "What did you just say?" the doctor asked, dumbfounded and even upset. "That power isn't a toy, Amaury! If it were that simple, I wouldn't even touch a surgical tool. I would heal anyone's injuries with a snap of my fingers! A sprained ankle is no problem, either. All I have to do is repair your ripped ligament." Not only was the power hard to manipulate, but using it put a huge strain on Paxton's mind and body. Healing a simple cut was also possible; skin could also be repaired. However, the point was that, no matter the gravity of the injury, it still asked for the same amount of energy on Paxton's part. Still, if he could really use the power to his will, Paxton wouldn't be a doctor to begin with. He would have studied something else, and he wouldn't have studied for years in order to become a doctor. "You're not a child anymore, Amaury, and it's about time you start realizing that! Get your act together and think with your head. I don't like it when people say stupid things." His tone was harsher, and he'd raised his voice. Amaury wasn't very courageous, and when things turned sour, the boy often forgot that he had a brain in that thick skull of his.

[Jaykobell]

Despite his impulsive reaction, it was uncommon for Paxton to get upset. He had a fairly impressive patience, but he did have his own buttons. Someone purposefully injuring themselves and thinking his ability was a magical heal-all were clearly two of those buttons. "I..." Amaury stammered before looking down in shame. "I-I'm sorry, doctor. I... that wasn't very bright."

"It was stupid," Paxton corrected, crossing his arms. "If I had had the intention to heal your ankle, I would've done that already, don't you think?" Assuming Paxton would look away from someone in pain or in need was another one of his buttons. As a doctor, that just wasn't his personality. If he could help someone, he would help them.
"I... Y-yes, doctor. I'm sorry," Amaury apologized again as he slowly let himself sit back down on the ground. He remained silent for a while, but he was well-aware of the doctor's single eye staring down at him. Still, the question remained. "But doctor... How are we supposed to move if I can't walk?"

It was a good thing that Paxton wasn't prone to getting upset, because he had the bad habit of not letting things go. He stared at Amaury for a little bit more before sighing loudly. He had to get his cool back; both of them were exhausted, and with reason. "Of course we can still move on," the doctor assured the nurse, finally replying to him. "I'm going to carry you."

[Jaykobell]

"I... Y-you're going to carry me?" Amaury repeated, baffled by the doctor's words. He wasn't all that big or heavy, especially not compared to the doctor. Still, Paxton was also fairly tired, so wouldn't carrying the nurse put even more stress on his body. "Are you sure, doctor?"

Paxton scratched the back of his head and sighed. "As long as I can afford to rest when my back starts hurting, it's fine. We don't have any other choice, do we?" The back of his mind mentioned his power for a split second, and his face reacted accordingly, with narrowed eyes. Tired as he was, fixing Amaury's ankle would make Paxton faint. Carrying the nurse was the only other option available.
The doctor bent down on one knee next to the boy and offered his back to him. "Come on, get on. You don't look too heavy, so I should be fine."

Amaury stared at the doctor's back for a while, seemingly lost in space. The nurse could still remember the very first time he'd met that doctor. He was but a young male nurse in-training at the time, trying to get a permanent job at that particular hospital. Even then, doctor Paxton Hugh was well-known and well-established in the hospital, and working alongside him was surreal for the young nurse. Even though he could only see the doctor's back, even that was intimidating...

"They're assigning me a new kid?"

The first words he'd heard from the doctor, and he'd bent his head down in shame. As a newcomer, assisting one of the most amazing doctors the hospital had to offer was not only a great honor, it was also a challenge the young nurse couldn't possibly take on.

"Amaury? Are you getting on or what?" Paxton pressed, now looking over his shoulder to see the nurse staring off into space.
Upon being called out, Amaury blinked and gasped. "A-ah, yes. I-I'm sorry."

After the child was hanging on tightly — he wasn't too heavy, as Paxton had predicted, but he sure could feel that extra weight... — Paxton slowly got up and started walking. Neither of them knew where they were headed, but anywhere was better than nowhere.

[Jaykobell]

The child was looking down at his feet shyly, his fluffy hair almost bigger than his head. Despite his age, he still looked like an overgrown teenager. Truly, he wondered what he was doing here, in such a prestigious hospital, and in the presence of one of the best doctors. He did not dare look up at the doctor as he stared down at the little nurse.

"There's nobody else?" the doctor inquired the older, more experienced nurse, but she simply shook her head at the doctor. The doctor didn't reply right away, and instead stared some more at the little boy. "Well, that's fine. Hey, look at me, kid," the doctor inquired, and when he didn't look up, the doctor forced his head up with his hand. "I asked you to look at me."

That tough, hard tone was enough to make the nurse's heart skip a beat. "Y... Y-yes sir," he replied nervously as he looked into the doctor's single eye, since the other completely patched. "I... I'm sorry sir."

"You could be a monkey, for all I care," the doctor said as he tilted his head this way and that as he looked the kid over. "Those who work with me have to be quick, obedient, and they have to be dedicated. You have to be able to keep up. If you think you can do that, then you're welcome to assist me when I need your help." He let go of the child's chin and put his hand on his head, the hair soft to the touch, but also slightly spiky. The small nurse was staring at the doctor, and he was welcomed with a bright, honest smile from the superior. "There's no better experience than the real deal. Get your act together and do your best. You'll know if you're made for the job or not."

After a moment of silence, the child nodded with determination. "Y-yes!"

[Jaykobell]

The heat wasn't any bearable, even though Amaury didn't have to walk. His ankle was still swollen and burning with pain, but the fact the doctor was carrying him helped the nurse relax. He let his head rest on the doctor's shoulder, with his arms gripping Paxton's coat so Amaury wouldn't fall off.

The sun was sizzling above, and it was more and more tempting to snooze. Amaury was still lost in thought about how his whole adventure with Paxton had started, back when things were simple and — dare he say it — normal. "Doctor?" he asked quietly, his voice just a little over a whisper.
Paxton didn't look over his shoulder, nor did he glance at the nurse, but he did reply. "Hmm?"
A bit slow from the heat — and from his own hesitation — Amaury eventually added, "Why did you accept to let me assist you?"

Paxton blinked slowly and he, too, didn't reply right away. It was a strange question, but it was also sudden. "I thought I'd already told you. You could be a monkey for all I care; as long as you have the dedication to do your job."
There was a short pause before Amaury replied back. "But I was just doing a stage there, at that point. I could've really messed up or I could've killed a patient from inexperience or negligence... That would've hurt your reputation." If the students from a class all failed their tests, this often meant the teacher was doing wrong. Likewise, if a doctor didn't have a helpful assistant or two, it could put the patient in danger.

Again, Paxton reacted somewhat passively to Amaury's comment. "What are you even talking about? I told you. There's not better experience than the real thing. Of course you could've made mistakes; at your age, you couldn't know everything. But that's why you're paired with someone experienced; so if something goes wrong, I'm here to make sure things still go smoothly." At that moment, the doctor stopped walking and turned to the child on his back. "If you never get over the paranoia that something could happen, you'll never be able to give the new ones a chance. If you take your job seriously, and if you do want to become what you want to become... You'll be just fine."

Amaury stared back at the doctor without replying anything, and even though it looked forced, the doctor smiled a little. "You're doing just fine." He felt the kid slipping off to dreamland as he continued walking down that endless rocky road.