It was a scene all too familiar for the Professor; one of many things that caused him to escape reality. Whilst it took great will power to remain seated in the chair next to Sandy's hospital bed, Kurtesy couldn't be anywhere else. There wasn't anywhere else he could go. He abandoned the monastery, breaking the vows he swore to uphold to return for Sandy's well-being. He no longer has access to any of his former known locations; Kurtesy was living on the road as he had sold his home & handed over his clinic. Tonight, there was nowhere else for Kurtesy to be other than by the side of his friend; his confidant, Sandy.
Despite being confined to a claustrophobic room and asleep in a hospital bed, Sandy wasn't as injured as first expected and was merely being kept overnight as a precautionary measure by the doctors. Some were worried that the damage Dr. Zeus did to Sandy's neck could have caused something similar to the suffering that Kurtesy felt when he was ambushed by the potential Elite X contender, Isabel Stone. If there were any complications, Kurtesy wanted to be there to help Sandy every step of the way as he knew how hard it was to cope without the ability to speak and transition to a potentially wrestling-free life, something Sandy has shown she has been unable to deal with... but it was different the second time around.
There was no permanent damage to Sandy but Kurtesy felt it, taking on the pain as he watches from the chair next to her bed. Kurtesy wasn't angry, the calm and collected Professor learned to channel himself during his stay at the monastery, but felt guilt and sympathetic towards Sandy. There were so many thoughts running through the mind of the Professor that he almost shut down his entire body trying to process it all, attempting to piece the answers together for questions he didn't entirely understand.
Suddenly, Sandy awoke from her slumber, wearily trying to absorb her environment around her as she rubbed her eyes. There wasn't light entering the room, only the bulbs in the hallway and the flickering lights on the machines in the room provided everyone with the ability to see during the night. Sandy knew she was in the hospital but as she turned to see Kurtesy look up at her, grabbing her arm, she became surprised and almost jolted. Kurtesy stood up and tried to calm her down but Sandy wanted only to move away from Kurtesy, despite being confined to the hospital bed. Kurtesy stopped himself, sitting back in the chair and letting go of her hand. Slowly, she lowered her guard and relaxed back in the bed, unsure of how to react next, keeping an eye on Kurtesy to see if he would make a move. She tried opening her mouth to speak but she wasn't in the mood to talk to the last man on Earth she wanted to see.
In the eyes of Sandy, Kurtesy had betrayed him and his presence was like a kick to the face. Against her own will power, she decided to stay in the room as well, not wanting to make a disturbance for the rest of the hospital staff and patients. After all, who else would want to see her? Just like Kurtesy, there weren't many people on the planet that Sandy had enough of a connection with to warrant a visit. Michelle Frost, who seemed to be her only friend left, was the one who called upon Kurtesy to come back and aided him in "protecting" her from Zeus even though she told Michelle that she didn't need help. At the very least, Kurtesy provided company and a chance to discuss with the silent speaker.
The room was awfully quiet between the two colleagues with the sound of the machines overtaking the acoustics of the room. The noise pulsated through the room as both Kurtesy & Sandy tried to figure out a response. Kurtesy wanted to speak so badly with Sandy but his voice-box never fully recovered properly after the surgery. Short grunts and distorted sounds was the only voice Kurtesy had left before he experienced another coughing fit. The could communicate through writing and sign language but Sandy was in no mood to look at the Professor. She didn't want to acknowledge his presence any further, preventing all forms of eye contact, and it remained that way for Kurtesy's entire stay. He sat by her side, watching over her like a guardian whilst Sandy refused the help, wishing that he was never there to begin with so she could figure out her own life by herself.
Once the nurse came around to Sandy's room and informed them that the visiting hours were over, Kurtesy slowly got to his feet and took one last look at Sandy, who was still defiant at facing him. He let out a small smile before turning his head and exiting the room, leaving Sandy by herself. She turns towards the door as Kurtesy leaves her vision for a few seconds before moving around, getting into a comfortable position to go back to sleep.
Kurtesy, on the other hand, continues exiting the hospital, heading towards the elevator and pressing the button as he waits for one of the doors to open, arms folded. The thoughts returned, with all the variables clouding his mind as he tries to focus on the constants that are on the path ahead for Kurtesy - the doctors. Being inside of a hospital and seeing medical staff walking through the corridors didn't help as not only did he had to contend with Dr. Zeus and finally finish what he came back for but to fight against another well-known doctor but not for the same reasons as Zeus & Kurtesy.
No, this "Dr. Coberer" wasn't on the same level as Zeus & Kurtesy were, ignoring the malpractice and incarceration involved, he was merely a deranged lunatic who referred to himself as a doctor... well, as far as the word in the locker room had said. It was foretold that Coberer's experiments and high levels of intelligence gave him the delusion that he could pass for being a doctor, "curing his patients" with what was apparently poisonous nails that could cause the toughest competitor to drop within seconds, striking them like an opportunistic snake. No doubt that Kurtesy had his hands full with a specimen like Coberer, let alone the ring rust that Kurtesy developed during his extended hiatus, but he knew that coming back to fight Zeus wasn't exactly starting off in the shallow end. He needed to properly prepare for what Zeus, a man with a long grudge against Kurtesy, was planning to execute and Coberer was that challenge to take to prepare himself but at least he had one advantage over both of these doctors?
They feed on inflicting pain but what happens when the man you are facing has had all his pain stripped away from him, physically and emotionally? How does one make someone suffer who has nothing to make him suffer for? Kurtesy doesn't have a death wish but the way he has been broken, there is nothing that could stop the onslaught of the professor.
