Noctis slowly and carefully limped along behind Devroux, the brace he had received earlier from Cassius doing wonders for his ability to remain standing. The pair were still hurting from their encounter with Adder, though Noctis was in fire more dire straits than Devroux. Finding a medical professional to work on them was proving to be exceptionally difficult, on account of their new notoriety as well as the general outlook and willingness to ream prospective patients for every penny they owned. It was for that reason that visiting the Fifth District was impossible.

Just as Noctis was about to give in and mention Goldov, the criminal and potentially murderous doctor who had mended his wounds from Garrolt Taylor, Noctis' Baby Den Den began to ring out from within his pocket. The fact that Devroux was right next to him meant that there was only one other option for who could be calling, Niko Goldov himself. The doctor had given Noctis a Baby Den Den as a sort of consolation for letting him study the longleg, so the conclusion was clear. With a groan, Noctis motioned for Devroux to stop for a moment while he hesitantly pulled the Den Den up to his ear.

"Hello..?" Noctis answered, as he waited from a response from the other end, moments later clattering could be heard in the background as if whoever had called had forgotten about it almost immediately. "Yeah, hey. You remember the dwarf, uh.... let me see here..." the voice on the other end was undeniably Goldov's, the sound of paper turning breaking the silence. "Three, you called her? She's up and active, and she's making quite the mess of my medical equipment so if you could get down here, that'd be great."

The tone with which Goldov ended the call was almost identical to that of a receptionist or a doctor simply requesting something from a patient, but for Noctis who had spent a reasonable amount of time with the man, the implications were more grim. The only time Niko Goldov ever sounded so clinical was when he was trying to restrain his bloodlust. Placing the Den Den back into his pocket, Noctis directed his attention to Devroux.

"Well, our decision's been made for us, seems like. I didn't want to bring you there, but my hands are tied." Noctis explained as he turned around and began to move in the direction of Goldov's clinic in the Ninth District. Motioning for Devroux to follow, Noctis began to explain more of the situation. "It's a long story, and I don't want to bore you with too much of the details... So I'll just tell you the most pertinent of the information."

Pacing along slowly, Noctis continued. "The man who just called is a doctor who goes by the name of Niko Goldov. But more than that, he's also a serial killer. Not exactly the most reputable or trustworthy of company, so be aware of that." After a brief pause to let the news sink in with Noctis' mink companion, he elaborated. "We're acquaintances through desperation on my part. He's the one who fixed me up after I scrapped with The People's Prince and was dropped off at his doorstep. He's also the one I was forced to go to when one of my... friends was in critical condition."

Noctis sighed again, the memory of his past interactions with Goldov stressing him out. "He's the type of man who will 'fix' you, but not without doing something horrifically invasive as his stipulation. The reason he called now wasn't in regards to our injuries, but rather my friend who I mentioned earlier. She's recovered and awake, and Goldov's getting impatient. If I don't get over there, she's going to be in danger."

Noctis stopped in place, in part because of his ankle's injury beginning to wear on him significantly even despite the hasty treatment it had gotten earlier, but also to conclude his debriefing with Devroux. "You don't have to come with, but if we go, the chances we'll get fixed up as well are high and it won't cost us a dime. Just know that the price will probably come elsewhere."

With the final ultimatum, Noctis pressed onward. Goldov's clinic was only minutes away, and time was of the essence.

As Devroux agreed and followed behind Noctis, the pair moved in silence. There was an air of anxiety and anticipation from both sides, and Noctis could tell that his mink comrade was curious. He couldn't blame Devroux for such curiosity however, as Goldov was certainly a character worth understanding or at least interacting with. Moments passed as tension seemed to mount, before Noctis came up to the derelict looking home, which acted as a face for Goldov's clinic.


Understanding Devroux's likely reaction, Noctis explained. "Goldov's place is beneath. I assume this front of his used to be his home, until he became as reclusive and paranoid as he is."

Pulling aside a rug along the dust-ridden wooden floor, Noctis revealed a somewhat small square panel that had been cut out of the floor and replaced. Pressing the panel downward let out a large, mechanical thunk, indicating to Noctis that he had let Goldov know he was here. After a few moments, the long extinguished fireplace made a distinct whir as air began to flow in from behind, the fireplace now unhinged from adjacent walls. Walking up to the fireplace, Noctis hoisted the structure to the side, revealing a staircase spiraling downward. "Don't worry, it'll lock behind us." Noctis said sarcastically, as he proceeded slowly down the stairs, putting as little pressure on his ankle as possible.

As Devroux followed behind, the fireplace ground its way back into place before sealing itself shut, leaving the pair in darkness. Noctis was already taking his time, even more than he would normally in these conditions, so the pitch black darkness didn't much bother him as he proceeded down the stairs, and as Devroux was a bat mink, Noctis was sure he would manage if not barely notice. After a couple of strenuous rotations down the stairwell, the pair arrived at the bottom, where a large iron door was illuminated dimly with red light. There were no handles along the door, nor any noteworthy features that would allow anyone to guess how to enter.

Just as Noctis reached to knock onto the entrance, it opened with Goldov casually moving out of the way of the closed fist, his Haki now clearly active from Noctis' perspective. "Good, you're here, your companion is quite remarkable, I'll tell you that much." Goldov announced, sending a passing glimpse over to Devroux, the doctor seeming to size him up and inspect him much like one would inspect a menu at a restaurant before dismissing it entirely. Immediately after the short exchange, Goldov turned around and pressed back into his clinic, as Noctis followed carefully behind.

The light in the clinic was fluorescent, much as you'd expect from a regular doctor's office or operating room. The clinic itself consisted of two rooms, the incredibly large open area where Goldov's office, operating table, and equipment were located, and his room where he slept. While the instruments and table were thoroughly cleaned to a medical standard, the flooring and walls were still stained with blood, and other visceral fluids. Despite the scene, the room managed to smell relatively tame, almost akin to a retirement home.

Falling into his office chair at one end of the room, Goldov stress-tapped along his leg. "This woman you brought, she can't remember anything from her past, yet the things I've seen her do in the past few hours alone..." the doctor trailed off as if lost in his own intrigue. Impatient, Noctis raised an eyebrow before bringing the man back to reality. "And...?"

Even then, Goldov sat in wonder for a few moments, "How should I phrase this... this woman, Three you called her?" Excitedly, Goldov snapped his attentions back to Noctis and Devroux, practically leaning forward out of his chair. "She's a savant! I've seen her instinctively perform procedures on cadavers that take months of dilligent study to understand, let alone perform."

With a sigh of relief, Noctis then asked what was truly on his mind. "And where is she now? If you didn't notice, I could use some of that treatment now." the longleg said, motioning to his splinted ankle.

"Oh, that's exactly why I'm so excited. Now I'll be able to observe how she treats live subjects, excuse me, patients." Goldov suspiciously elaborated, lumping in Devroux without even asking for his approval. "I had to sedate and lock her in my room to stop her from absolutely ransacking my supplies. But before I retrieve her, I just have to gather some preliminary information from your friend here. Nothing crazy, just name, age, species, sexual history. The usual stuff." Goldov sat back, waiting for the mink to answer so he could write it down. Rolling his eyes, Noctis immediately regretted exposing Devroux to such a unilateral man.

"Good. Good." Goldov casually responded to the mink, giving Devroux one last look over before placing his clipboard back onto his desk. "Everything else seems to be in standard order. And son, don't exert yourself too much. I'm no threat to you, not now anyway. So you can stop prodding with your Color of Observation, it's distracting."

With that parting word of advice, Goldov stood up and approached the door to his room, where Three was currently being held. After a moment or so of jiggling the handle to the door, Goldov finally managed to unlock it and proceeded inside, shutting the door behind him. Silence lingered in the room for a moment, as Noctis took his seat atop one of the operating tables. "Things are going smoother than I anticipated, I'll be honest. You're probably alright to relax a bit." Noctis mentioned to Devroux, carefully unwrapping his splint and tossing the pieces of wood into a trash bin next to Goldov's vacant desk.


Seconds later, Goldov emerged, Three standing on the man's open and extended palm. Her eyes were groggy as if she had just woken up, and she rubbed them in a haze. As her vision cleared however, her eyes were immediately met with Devroux's intimidating form. Three's already pale face flushed as her eyes darted around before finding Noctis. Noctis was the only familiar figure that brought her any sense of comfort, though if the longleg was able to non-nonchalantly linger in Devroux's presence without so much as a worry, he must not be too terrible of a man.

Hopping from Goldov's hand and onto the operating table, Three's attention almost seemed locked onto Noctis' injury. "Go crazy." Goldov assured Three, sensing her hesitation to use his medical supplies after what had happened last time. Immediately, Three hopped down from the table and ran towards the back of the room where the supplies were located. As the dwarf began to open and close drawers almost in a trance, Goldov returned to his office chair, pulling his clipboard back into his hands and folding one leg over the other. "You're in her care now. Pretend I'm not even here."

"Uh huh... I'll be sure to do that." Noctis replied, sensing Goldov's borderline sarcastic tone. As the clatter came to an end behind them, Three pushed up a medical cart with a plethora of utensils and equipment. Bringing herself back onto the operating table, Three spoke for the first time since emerging. "Please lay down. How did you manage this anyway?"

"I.. uh... -Ah! Fucking hell that's cold!" Noctis retorted, as Three poured a small amount of liquid onto Noctis' ankle, rubbing it in with a cloth that was largely the size of her. Almost immediately, the pain in Noctis' ankle began to fade, replaced with a numbness that made him a bit uneasy. "A better question is where you know all of this from."

Increasing the pressure slightly, Three sent a dull radiating pain that caused Noctis to wince. "You're right, that IS a better question. One that I'd love to know the answer to as well." Three's response was filled with an irritation and vitriol that Noctis couldn't help but notice. Deciding not to press the issue about her memory any further, Noctis decided to just shut up. With Noctis' ankle now fully numbed with a local anesthetic, Three pulled a scalpel from the table. "You're gonna feel some pressure. Probably don't look."

Opting to heed her advice, Noctis pulled his head back down as he looked straight up at the lights above. The sensation in his ankle was incredibly unpleasant, but not painful, as Three went to work, diligently resetting Noctis' ankle and bringing the bones back in place. The operation took no more than an hour before Three sealed the incision she made with a glue. Covered in blood, Three didn't seem to mind or notice that much, as she turned to Devroux, now no longer intimidated by his appearance. "You're up next. Noctis, you can get off the table now."