Chapter Text
The day was supposed to be normal like any other day, but Mulberry found herself staring at the staff she had left in the cafeteria of Rhodes Island. She had been called over to the Medical Department a while ago to explain what she had written in her report for their latest rescue mission.
Some notes she had made about the injured people they rescued from a catastrophe were vague and only understandable to her. It happened sometimes when they were rushing to save as many people as possible.
But because she was in such a hurry, she had failed to bring her staff with her and now the once crowded room was quiet. Save for a few kitchen personnel snacking on something Matterhorn had made for them.
Mulberry slowly walked over to her staff and poked it. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about it seemed different. The staff was in a distinctly different position than she remembered, but couldn't determine if it was due to her paranoia or something else. It was safe to assume the other operators in the cafeteria were trying to deliver her staff to her but left it alone for her to come back to it.
Mulberry sat down on the seat of the table and gently laid her staff across her lap before she continued to eat her food, which had now gone stale and cold from being left alone for too long. "It doesn't taste very good now…" She muttered to herself, but because of a strong sense of guilt if she trashed it, she ended up finishing it.
Afterward, she delivered the tray to the staff, who gladly accepted it and went about cleaning it.
Mulberry was about to leave the cafeteria when she spotted the Doctor walking out. She didn't note much about it other than the Doctor's rare presence in the cafeteria. And so she continued with her day, unaware of the new amulet secretly tied to her staff.
Mulberry sat in the office chair near the assistant's desk at the Doctor's office, tending to some of the paperwork that was chewing away at his sanity. She was sorting them by date. Just in case she missed something, Mulberry flipped through them again, mindlessly staring at the spot where all the dates were.
She gently shook her head to focus on the task at hand and started over from the beginning. With a sigh, she took a peek over to glance at what the Doctor was doing. He was busy clicking away on the computer with his mouse and his head resting on the palm of his hand, which was propped up by his arm.
Despite his mask covering his expression, the Doctor looked bored. Bored to death by the unfortunate mundane tasks Amiya assigned him every day. Mulberry reached down to grab her doll, peering out from one of the fanny packs tied around her waist. She set it on the table before she engaged with her prosaic, but necessary task once again.
It didn't take long before she finished up. Mulberry stood up from her chair and quietly made her way over to the Doctor, who slowly turned his head around to focus on her. Even his motions seemed lackluster and defunct with emotion. The Doctor stopped slouching and turned his attention to her after typing on his computer.
"Did you need a break? I could finish up the rest, so you can relax." The Doctor said as he pointed at the area where she could place her neat stack of categorized papers.
Mulberry shook her head. "N-No, I'm fine, Doctor! It's not challenging at all... If anything, is there something more I can do to help you out? Perhaps your throat is feeling parched? Would you like some tea? Or is there more paperwork that can be sorted?"
There was just something about witnessing the diligent work of the Doctor, even with the absence of some gusto in his conduct. From the missions to the small stuff to caring for every single operator. Even the new ones weren't neglected, nor were the ones who had been aboard for a long time. It was special to attest to his kindness and effort.
But to reciprocate that kindness was difficult when the Doctor seemed to do everything all at once like a well-oiled machine. It was difficult to comprehend, but she overheard on many occasions that he was a workaholic. He didn't have to be happy all the time with it, but at least he completed every task that needed to be accomplished whenever she was his assistant.
But if it was possible, she wanted to repay him for all that he did for her. And making him some tea was something she could do immediately, no matter how small of an action that was. If it came straight from her heart, maybe he would find it hospitable and cherish it.
"Actually, I'm just about done, so if you want to take off a little earlier than usual, that's fine with me..." The Doctor stared listlessly at the ceiling as he trailed off. "But some tea would be nice. That's if you don't mind."
"It's not a problem, Doctor," Mulberry responded, beaming with contentment. But that quickly went away when she couldn't find the kettle that was usually in his office missing. "Um... Doctor? What happened to the kettle that used to be here?"
"Well, let's just say Kal'tsit wasn't too happy with my misuse of the kitchen appliance..." The Doctor responded before going off on a mini tangent. "Which is funny since I didn't use it for anything other than dried noodles or coffee, so how did I misuse the appliance if I was employing it for its intended purpose?"
Mulberry let out a tiny laugh as she walked over to the entrance to his office. "Hehe… That's fine, I can use the kettle at the cafeteria... It won't take too long, Doctor. If you could, can you please look after my dumpling?"
The Doctor swiveled his head to stare at the black and white doll that represented a miniature version of a panda and nodded his head. Mulberry took this as her cue to leave the office to prepare some tea for him.
After exiting the Doctor's office, Mulberry sprinted gently towards the cafeteria while clenching her hood down with one hand. She was sure Matterhorn would give her a hand in her small quest to serve the Doctor some tea.
Unfortunately, she didn't get too far as she turned a corner and collided with another operator. One with red horns curving their way around her head to point downwards.
"Ah!" Mulberry yipped as she fell with the hood tumbling over her head from the impact, covering her vision. In a sense, it might have been a blessing since she didn't have to feel the bare fangs of W's initial scowl.
W buckled in the opposite direction, falling to her rear. She groaned, rubbing her neck where she had been hit in an exasperated manner as she glared at the Liberi, who had accidentally crashed into her. "Watch where you're going! Where are you off to in such a hurry, anyway?"
Mulberry froze in fear upon recognizing the voice of W. Wasn't she that Sarkaz most people weren't on friendly terms with and someone who despised the Doctor? Instead, she lowered her hood further down her face, stretching it past its limit in hopes she would disappear with every millimeter it traveled. "Uh... I-I was trying to make some tea for the Doctor... Sorry for crashing into you! I'll be on my way now!"
Mulberry got up quickly to escape W's rage, but when she felt a hand on her shoulder, the world turned into a pool of despair. But what followed next wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.
"Wait... Make some tea for the Doctor? Now you got me thinking... Do you want to help me play a prank on the Doctor?" W asked as she leaned closer to Mulberry with a mischievous grin painted on her face and a malicious giggle building up from her gut.
Okay, maybe it was bad, but not for her. Instead, the Doctor was the one sinking into the pit of trouble.
Mulberry couldn't shake the feeling something gruesome would unfold if she went along with W, so she voiced her thoughts rapidly. "What...? N-No, I wouldn't dare..." She trailed off, wishing some other operator would appear like a savior to rescue her from her distress.
It felt like there was an invisible boundary that she couldn't cross with W. She didn't want to reject her outright if that caused the Sarkaz to explode with resentment.
W swung an arm around Mulberry, pulling the frightened Liberi closer to her. "Oh, come on. It'll be the funniest thing you'll ever see in your life. Why don't we just pour a mountain of salt in the Doctor's tea and mix it until it dissolves, so it's unnoticeable before giving it to him? Imagine the reaction the Doctor would have if he took a sip of it and spat it out all over his computer and stacks of paper! Absolutely hysterical!" W laughed at how her joke would play out.
Mulberry stared at W with wide eyes of horror before she softly shook her head. "That sounds horrible!"
"No, it sounds wonderful! Or we could just plant a concealed, frail bomb on his office chair so when he sits down, boom!" W exclaimed, demonstrating this action by waving her free hand abruptly across the air with a maniacal smile on her face.
"P-Please don't do that..." Mulberry whimpered, yearning to escape from W's grasp to warn the Doctor.
Mulberry didn't know how much more anxiety her heart could take before it detonated, just like W's explosives. What W was visualizing for her was terrifying, and that was an understatement. The Doctor didn't deserve any of the pranks W was pulling on him, at least from her point of view.
Unbeknownst to Mulberry, in the Doctor's office, he would be the one pulling a prank on her by tying several more amulets to her unguarded staff she left there. Staring at Mulberry's doll, the Doctor was tempted to tie an amulet to it, but that would reveal he was the culprit too quickly.
The Doctor dusted his hands off before he looked at the secret stash of amulets he had in one of his drawers that was connected to his desk. He hummed to himself as he contemplated his next course of action. "Perhaps just one more." The Doctor spoke out loud to no one in particular as he reached into his drawer for another amulet.
This time, the amulets would not go unnoticed by Mulberry, who discovered it hours later when she returned to her room. Choosing to ignore who did it, Mulberry proceeded to stack the excess amulets on her lamp table next to her bed.
She couldn't help but wonder if it was the Doctor playing games with her. But her timid nature brought up fantastic arguments on why she shouldn't accuse him without some evidence.