The Strange, Mad Effects of the Notorious Doctor

Because I've been heavily reduced on ideas, this will be a shortfic comedy/action written by Violetofen4.

A novella midquel to the upcoming Echo: Revolution.

Chapter 1
It was dark, and cold, and damp. 935's remains laid out in the rubbled ruins. Cracked ceilings and walls, barely anything remained.

HISSSSS! The sound of a cryogenic freezer down the main lab halls made such a loud noise as it opened on its own. From years of long unconscious slumbering torture, the door creaked open. All the ice inside had melted away and evaporated into nothingness. And there Kramer von Frederick stood.

At first he was confused, not sure who he was, and why. It was very hard to tell where he was. Everything in his mind, if it was his mind, was jumbled and thrown together in strange words.

''Good! Complete the device... You're the only one who hears... ''It sounded like Richtofen.

''I can't! The flesh, if they knew they'd... ''he didn't understand the other voice. Kramer was just confused. Who or what was talking to him? Or did he accidently pry into a telepathic conversation they didn't know he could hear?

''Something's pulling me away....complete...Avogadro....heat overload...Only you can... ''It clearly was Richtofen's voice he heard, but where? Kramer's eyes lit up in relief.

"Edward!" he called into the shadows. There was no reply. The words, were they just memories? No, they couldn't be, he didn't recognize the other voice.

He can't hear you, Kramer, another voice whispered. It was the pleading tone of Doctor Maxis.

"Maxis!" Kramer breathed.

It's good to hear you well and awake, Maxis replied.

"Where are you? I can't see you. How do I get out of here?"

''I'm dead, Kramer. You saw it happen with your own eyes. When Richtofen killed me, I transformed into a Whispering Soul, ''Maxis explained. Kramer sat down in confusion.

"Whispering Soul?" Kramer asked, clutching his head. For in front of him, a blue light, making a pale, barely visible shape of his deceased friend in the midst.

''Richtofen cannot hear you because he's turned away from you. You can hear him because you are still near. I can speak to anyone because I am able to travel through the air, like the wind.''

Kramer thought about this for a moment, then scowled. He put his hand on the ground only to draw it back from it landing in a melted puddle of water.

''Doctor Richtofen is in control of the zombies. He's been corrupted by power and is corrupting a man named Samuel Stuhlinger. Stuhlinger can speak to Richtofen because he's eaten the flesh of an infected arm... ''

Maxis' voice was raspy and hoarsely audible, but it had just the touch of loneliness that made Kramer wonder whether or not Maxis knew more than he was saying.

"I don't want to see him suffer, does he even know what he's doing? Where's Adelina, Kristina?" Kramer whispered shakily.

''His mind has completely been flipped point of view. He's no longer the Edward Richtofen we knew. And yes, I have seen Adelina, Kristina, and others such as Xena and Rosemary are fine.''

Kramer stood up, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"...you didn't mention Charlotte."

Kramer knew full well of Maxis' secret affair and relationship with Charlotte, and how he tried to mask it by pretending to have affections for Sophia.

''Charlotte and my son are well enough. I do not talk to them, for they do not know I am dead, and I do not want them to know. But you can do something about it. Link up with the survivors on the Moon, and change Richtofen's point of view, and maybe his tyranny will end.''

So Kramer did. In ways you wouldn't expect.

Chapter 2
It was dark, cold, and damp. No, this isn't a copy of Chapter 1's intro. This is about Griffin Station. And the MPD.

Edward Richtofen had easily become accustomed to the surroundings of the MPD. It was like a shelter to him. He could hear everything, and see everything. But that day he grew troubled. He knew it was temporary, but something had shut off his communications with his new play toy, Samuel Stuhlinger.

"What!? How!?" he snarled under his breath. He closed his eyes and thought carefully through the invisible wires threading his way to speak to the earth beings below.

It was a heavy clot, he saw, but also whatever it was, was able to absorb and hear any conversation he spoke of.

"Listen haxor," he hissed, "I'm hoping you reply to this so I identify you, you dirty haxor you. If you don't, I'll...I'll..."

''You'll do what? ''The voice sounded familiar in the reply. Richtofen's heart leaped for joy. Someone who he could manipulate, someone who could hear and speak to him now that he opened up to a new person!

"Oh goody! So you can speak! Listen, where is your whereabouts? I want to know for I can find some errand for you to do..."

Richtofen, are you seriously kidding me??

Edward Richtofen narrowed his eyes.

"And how do you know my name, haxor? Answer or I will have zombies on your ass!" he demanded, enfuriated once more. But then he stopped with a faint gasp of alarm. The clot vanished, and he could see exactly who he was talking to. It was Kramer.

"Oh joy, Kramer, there was no way the freezer would've thawed! I intended on leaving you there....hmm...I wonder if I have any more freezers..."

Interesting concept, Kramer retorted, if I broke out of one cryogenic freezer I can bust out of another one.

"You are no use to me. Now lemme see where I can find some zombies..." he grinned with delight at pestering someone he knew, someone so intent that Richtofen was pure and clean that a few tricks up his sleeve would probably blow him over dead.

''If I am no use to you, does this mean Charlotte is no use to you? How about Xena or Rosemary? I bet you don't even care about them while they're out there, scavenging for food in the zombie-infested wilderness, or shaking in fear because they didn't lose just their mother, they lost both parents!'' Kramer was shouting.

"Whatever," Richtofen chortled, "Charlotte is a young woman and she can take care of herself and learned at a young age how to care for her siblings."

And care for a baby.

"PFFFF WHAT?" He was startled by Kramer's additional sentence.

"What the hell, how!?"

Kramer was silent. From what Richtofen could see he was smirking.

''Oh right, Edward, I'm useless, remember? I sat with you in the hospital when you broke your ribcage, remember that?''

No answer.

''How about when Groph and Schuster attacked and shoved you in a teleporter. I doubt you remember that, but I comforted you after you were traumatized.''

"Fine you win, okay? If you do what I say, I'll leave you as zombie-clean as I can get you. If you don't I'll kill you, deal?"

I don't think that's a fair deal, according to Maxis.

"Maxis isn't a part of this."

Actually, yes, I am. Maxis said out of nowhere. Richtofen's hands balled into fists.

"I'm in charge of the zombies here, not you, Ludvig! Stay out of this or I'll gut your organs again. Your spleen will look very nice on the wall of my MPD."

This isn't The Wizard of Oz, Richtofen.

"I never said it was, now shut up before I send your ass to the Emerald City!"

This argument is getting nowhere.

Go figure, Maxis.

"Hey, hey, I'm the one who's supposed to break up fighting!"

No you aren't!

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH THIS IS TOO CONFUSING, I'M GOING BACK TO MANIPULATING STUHLINGER!"

Before anyone could argue any further, Richtofen furiously shut off his communications to both of them then returned to his work.