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I could faintly hear the steady beeping of hospital equipment echoing in my mind, wait… Why exactly am I here? The sheets of the bed I was lying on were uncomfortably soft, yet I couldn't move, see or do anything other than feel and listen. I don't remember what happened exactly… oh wait, I do.
*****
"But you, Johann… What about you…?" My superior looked up at me with a horrified yet pitiful look on his face, one I had never seen or thought he had the capability to make.
I smiled softly even as the lights continued to blare red and my coworkers screamed and cried.
"Well, maybe next time… Some other time."
I said as I cupped his cheek with my hand, how cute… then I shoved him into the last escape pod and ran into the endless hallways, gun at the ready to strike anything that dared to stop me.
*****
"Really, it is miraculous his brain managed to stay intact in that cocoon… for all these years too…"
"Almost impossible I might say, but his vitals have been improving significantly, he may wake up and be able to communicate soon"
"H-hey, look he's moving…!"
Johann's eyes slowly opened as he adjusted to the bright lights. Three researchers stared down at him as he observed his surroundings.
The first thing he took note of was that he was not in a hospital but rather a labratory. The second thing was the people who were looking him dead in the eye. A young lady studied him as if it wasn't normal for a human to blink and move while a younger boy (maybe in his 20s?) Frantically wrote something on his clipboard, flipping through the many papers that were attached. There was also a man, definitely older than the other two, staring at him, expressionless.
"Uh, hi?" he rasped, his voice more hoarse and strained then he remembered. The boy suddenly stopped scribbling as the lady out a soft gasp.
"He's regained his ability to speak so quickly… Or maybe he was resting longer than he needed to?" the lady mumbled to herself as she continued to examine him, although not addressing him directly.
"Are you lot gonna keep staring or are ya gonna say something?" His throat hurt like hell..
He moved his hands to the sides of the bed and tried to push himself to sit up, he was able to but it was a lot more harder than it should be. The people surrounding him backed up as if he was going to attack them or something.
The lady came to her senses and had the decency to hurriedly say, "Ahem, my apologies, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine just tired is all, I do need context though, why exactly are you guys staring at me?"
The lady turned to look at the older man who seemed to ponder on something before giving a nod.
Another thing which Johann had noticed was that all three of them were using glasses, it reminded him of the round glasses of his superior who used to love mentioning the visual benefits of the aforementioned glasses… ah Hohenheim…
The lady turned back to him and said in a soft voice as if talking to a child, "Could you tell us about yourself first? What department did you work for? And what exactly is your name?"
He sighed, judging from their long white coats and their armbands, they were probably researchers, of course they would want to get information from him before he could get information from them.
"The name's Johann, I work in the lobotomy corporation under uh control team." He paused for a moment, wondering if what he was going to say next was actually relevant, "I'm also known as Mr. Hohenheim's right-hand man!". He straightened his posture (his bones absolutely needed that) and gave a little prideful puff.
Silence, absolute silence was what met his reasonably enthusiastic introduction.
Now that he thought of it, the last place he was in before he ended up here was lob corp, he distinctly remembered shoving Hohenheim in an escape pod before running off into the endless corridors with what was left of his team, shooting down abnormalities as he went. But they were never supposed to escape right? No one was coming to save them as lob corp was being permanently sealed off from the outside world, leaving him and his team to die… Did they save him though? Is that why he was here? Had he survived long enough to be rescued? How long has he been lying in bed?
His thoughts were cut off by the very audible whispering between the lady and boy.
"Hohenheim? I didn't know he worked at the Lobotomy corporation…"
"He must've hopped into an escape pod to save his skin… Very in character for him huh?"
"Do you think he would even care to visit this guy?"
"I feel kind of bad now Ms. Lila… Is he seriously still loyal to Mr. Hohenheim?"
"I don't know Milo… It must have been… ten years since he had been preserved, maybe he had grown some hatred towards his superior?"
"Hey, can ya not talk about Mr. Hohenheim like that?" Johann suddenly spoke up, halting their mumbled conversation.
It really pissed him off to hear Hohenheim being talked about like that but what's more important is how exactly did they know Hohenheim and what was that about being preserved for ten years?
"I can here yall talking ya know? Can you actually answer my question first? Who are you guys?"
The older man walked closer to the bed Johann was sitting on. The man's stare was really stern, but he finally started speaking.
"Johann we are researchers from the LCE and the Lobotomy corporation burial ground was recently dug up, you're the only survivor from those who didn't escape using the escape pods. And it has, in fact, been ten years"
HUH?
*****
Hohenheim sat quietly at his desk fiddling with his lunch.
His subordinates, Marton and Alyssa were at the canteen having lunch together however Hohenheim had never set foot into that noisy place, it simply had always been like that.
Not too long ago, the LCB had had their regular check up and they had gotten a glimpse into Hohenheim's past. He was glad his assistants hadn't gone with them to explore his fathoms, he didn't realize how vividly. distorting would refresh his memories of the time he spent with… Johann at lob corp.
He sighed as he put down the fork which he had used to mercilessly stab a cherry tomato. He held his face in his hands again as he sighed, what an uncharecteristic thing for him to do…
The researcher donned in the shock centipede EGO gear spun around and around his office chair as if testing the limits of it's hinges. He missed the bento Johann used to make him when he found out that Hohenheim often did not eat lunch, the free catering provided by the company simply did not fulfill him the way Johann's bento did.
He ruffled his unkept blue hair, making it even more messier, Johann used to criticized him a lot for how little he took care of himself and, to be frank, he had developed more… advanced feelings for the man in the process.
Maybe it was truly a mistake to conduct the distortion experiment for now he could remember everything he missed and longed for in excruciatingly painful detail. The hazy face of his right hand man had now been renewed and burnt permanently into his mind.
Sighing and reminiscing was not something the chief researcher of the LCE department should be doing so he quietly ate his lunch, completely ignoring the slaughtered cherry tomato.
*****
A soft knock came from the door, "Mr. Hohenheim?".
He knew this voice, it was Lila that obnoxious researcher that was sweet to everyone, him included. However he knew what she really thought of him, she was no special case the only exception was…
He did not reply to the knock, but nonetheless, Lila slowly opened the door anyways, she stood still at the door frame as Hohenheim kept his eyes on his food, not even acknowledging her prescence.
"Good evening, Mr. Hohenheim, I was just wondering if you knew a Lobotomy corporation employee named Johann?"
Now that caught his attention,
He kept his gaze downwards onto the meal he couldn't care less about, it would be rude to dismiss her immediately wouldn't it? He paused before saying,
"Yes he was a rather… unique employee who worked under me, why do you ask?"
He noticed that behind Lila stood a small boy, probably a new hire he thought. But there was another taller figure behind the boy, who seemed to be using crutches. It couldn't be Oswald, that man was much too strong and disciplined to be injured that severely by anything in his clearance level in the department…
"We will leave you two alone then" Lila said before stepping aside as the crutched figure entered his office, he finally looked up as the boy waved goodbye to the crutched figure before departing with Lila.
*****
Hohenheim couldn't help it, he stared at the slightly disheveled figure who gave him a bright smirk. (It's simply impossible…)
Tears that did not belong in his eyes started yearning for freedom as they traced the side of his cheek. (Why cry for someone who is long gone?)
"Unique employee eh? Didn't think ya thought so highly of me Mr. Hohen!"
The man of yellow hair said, he still did not take a step forward, his legs seemed to fail him at the moment. (What… happened?)
Hohenheim struggled to stand up as he stumbled forwards, eyes locked on the man as got closer. (Is it really…?)
The prideful man tenderly held the face of his previously beloved, or at least beloved to him as he never had the courage nor opportunity to tell his right hand man how he truly felt. (Do I finally get to tell you..?)
The disheveled man embraced the touch with familiarness. (It really is you isn't it?)
"Johann…?"
"I told you we'd meet again some other time, who am I to break my promises eh?"
( 𖤜♡𓆨)