The Great Escape

[Allot]

END THIS INCESSANT SUB-PLOT.

[Allot]

((FINE. I WILL THEN.))

Isabelle winced and gritted her teeth as the doctor drew back the stopper from the syringe, filling the small glass vial with dark red blood. Isabelle looked away. Knowing that her insides were being extracted and put into tubes was too much to look at, so she closed her eyes and sang the My Little Pony theme song in her head.

"Annd....there we are," said the doctor, snapping a plastic top onto the vial of blood. "All done with that one."

"That one?"

"Oh yes, just six more and we'll be good to go," said the doctor, discarding the needle and fitting a new one onto the syringe.

"Isn't that against medical standards? Do I even have that much blood?"

"Oh probably, but as soon as you start to faint, tell me and I'll stop. Here, eat this." The doctor handed her something white and fluffy.

"What is this?" said Isabelle, wary of the strange object.

"A wool cookie. It should stop you from feeling faint from blood loss."

Isabelle lobbed the cookie into the garbage bin, and stared out the window of the IRS Jayatar. "OK, hurry up."

----------

Isabelle was resting. The extracting process has taken all day, and the doctor had advised her not to do anything that required motion of blood (this included blushing, so seeing Shapur was out of the question), so she was stuck in bed, lying in the dark (apparently eyes took too much blood as well). She was contemplating the meaning of life when she heard a faint rustle, and a click as her door opened and closed again. Even in the pitch black, she could see someone standing in the doorway. Isabelle tensed, waiting for the person to make a move. As soon as the person came within arms reach, Isabelle lept out of bed, hit the light switch with her face, and nutted herself on the floor. She awoke to a grey beard, which pulled back to reveal Percy Rutherford.

"Most impressive. I assume that your total failure to incapacitate me is due to lack of blood."
"Err...yes," said Isabelle, rubbing her head. "It seemed a small enough price to pay for saving Elwynn, you know?"
Percy scowled at her. "No need to get tetchy, Allot. I was merely commenting on the fact that you have once again given the Khan another weapon against Elwynn."
"What did you call me?" said Isabelle.
"Hm? Oh, I apologize my lady. My wits are wandering nowadays."

Isabelle stared at Percy, who stared right back. Isabelle's eyes kicked down the door to her brain and held the operators hostage until they relented.

"Nevermind," said Isabelle, dropping her gaze and sitting down (her legs had come to join her eyes in the hostage situation, and had brought a bazooka). "What did you mean about a weapon?"

"It is really unfortunate that your father forbade me from taking a role in your upbringing. At least then I would have been able to prevent this ridiculous infatuation with that boy!"

Isabelle's eyes snapped open, and she stared a Percy again (despite a pistol-whipping administered by the eyes to the brain). "What?" It was more a whisper than anything.

"You understood me. Now he has two weapons. He would have no qualms killing his son, nor would he hesitate to drop a bomb on the Glass Mountain. Either way, some of your friends will die. If I understand the man correctly, I believe he will make you choose between the two. That is, of course, after he has killed your friends Leo and Cho'Gall, and all of their spidery friends."

Percy made to leave. Isabelle called for him to stop, and he turned to look at her.

"Well?" he said.
"Why?" said Isabelle.
"Why indeed? Because," said Percy. "But also, sense perception, emotion, logic, reason, intuition, divine revelation, and authority."