"Hey, Stiles. C'mere a sec." Victor, the black haired researcher of Caduceus USA beckoned to Dr. Derek Stiles, one of the main surgeons.

"Oh, uh, okay." Derek walked into a small room littered with glass vials, syringes, and whatnot. Angie Thompson was also standing by a cramped table on the far side of the room.

"Hello, Dr. Stiles." Angie greeted Derek warmly, and Victor growled.

"Enough of that, I need you to do something, Stiles." Victor pointed to what looked like a puzzle, scattered in many colored pieces, a pair of forceps, and a colorless solution to the puzzle.

Derek backed away. "Oh no, I'm not good at puzzles. Actually, that's an understatement. I SUCK at puzzles. Please don't make me do this. No, I'm serious."

"Too bad, Stiles. You're doing it anyway." Victor snarled. Derek decided not to argue.

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"So, here's the deal. I need you to help me design a nanomachine to help defeat the GUILT that's invading Secretary Anderson's body. To do that, I need you to solve a puzzle. Obviously, a genius like me would choose the quickest solution, but I need someone, uh… well, you know… yeah. I need someone who's not quite as adept at academic studies as me." Victor finished with a slight cough that sounded suspiciously like "you".

"If you think I'm an idiot, just say so." Derek muttered under his breath.

"Anyways, all you need to do is solve this puzzle. Good luck! Not." Victor stalked towards the other side of his lab, fiddling with some sort of experiment that looked like frozen vomit mixed with mashed potatoes.

"Um, okay, let's give it a try." Derek gulped, picking up the pair of forceps and grasping one of the puzzle pieces.

"Good luck, Doctor." Angie smiled. "You'll do fine."

At least Angie was sincere.

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(End chapter one.)

(Yes, this is my second attempt at a Trauma Center fanfiction. It's based on the puzzles that Derek does to get rid of Pempti for the first time. Sorry this chapter's short. It's more of the pre-op chapter thing.)

(Disclaimer: I don't own Trauma Center or any of the characters. Most of the text is actually in the game.)