The flight passes much quicker than it should. The entire ride I can't see straight. I really knocked my marbles lose. The medic tells me to just rest for a bit and when I get to the foundation they'll patch me up at the medical facilities of their choice. I decide to wait to confront Kassandra after my medical stay. Just in case I make her mad and she goes full mad scientist on me. I really don't want that.

The flyer lands and the ramp door opens up. I stumble out into the waiting arms of a medical worker. The flyer takes off as soon as I am clear of the ramp and am half-carried inside. I am laid down on a medical bed once we make it to a medical room. I just lie there as a doctor and his assistants hurriedly move around the room hooking me up to vital machines. They have me remove the body armor and my boots and I am left in my piloting suit. They stick something in the port in my back and I instantly lose consciousness.

I have no dreams as the sleep is induced through means I have no clue of how they work. Eventually, I am brought back to reality and wake up with a start. The room is empty and I already have full control of my limbs and my vision is normal rather than blurry. I yank the cable from my back as it feels really awkward to lie on. I stay where I am for a few moments before Kassandra enters the room nose buried in her tablet doing work no doubt. She sits down in the chair next to me without saying anything and still working. I speak to her,

"Working hard or hardly working?"

She is startled by my sudden speech and looks up at me with a squeak of surprise. I let out a chuckle and say to her,

"What wack shit did yall do to me this time?"

She collects herself to her usual demeanor and replies,

"Nothing too much. We fixed your concussion with some experimental techniques. It seems to have worked considering you can hold your head straight. Aside from that nothing really at all. We put you to sleep with what is effectively anesthetics but I mean you'd probably like that for the procedure we did. So yeah, no mad scientist stuff this time."

I nod following along and realize my head isn't spinning nor does it hurt at all. I guess they really did fix my noggin. I find all my bits and pieces are all together and I have no issue wiggling every finger and my metal feet articulate correctly. I am still in my pilot suit so I ask,

"How long was I out? "

She nod and replies,

"About a day, no time to send in someone to strip you and change you to anything more medical. Probably need a shower."

I nod in agreement with a light laugh and ask,

"You pick up Wendigo?"

She lets out a small laugh and a very annoyed sigh. I am about to get an earful. She then starts speaking,

"While your actions got us a lot of amazing data, both the Alaska and academy fights, I really cannot stress enough how mad I am that you overextended and almost lost Wendigo. Our biggest gamble almost went down the drain because you got a little angry. Apparently, you acted calmer and collected inside their facility despite the situation most likely making you angrier. I will admit though, and please don't be mad... It is partially my fault you lost control like that. You've only gotten angry like that once before and that was because you were badly injured already. We... I may have removed some of your internal limiters when it comes to things like that. Your mind, if you couldn't tell is a little fractured... certain reactions may be a little extreme and improper. I can try to get in there and fix some of it, but it may bring back some... let's say negative memories..."

She seems really awkward towards the end. Embarrassed it seems. It seems she admits to screwing up when it comes to my brain. I don't want to lose my cool too bad again. I don't want to lose control for a good reason but still kinda useless. Why wasn't I like that when I saw the girls? Is it a memory I'm lacking? or are there two different types of anger? I don't know. I might ask Wendigo the next time I can. I look at Kassandra and say sternly,

"Fix me so I don't lose control like that. I don't know why I did, but I don't want you screwing with my memories. You understand?"

She seems surprised and then replies in a quiet and almost sad voice,

" I see you have finally realized that... That is what I am referencing when I say fix things. The limiters I am talking about are memories of self-control. What you did is almost like a toddler's tantrum if that makes sense. You had no rational place to reference what to do with your anger and it kinda just boiled over without any way to stop it. It's hard to describe because brains aren't simple, but somehow after you were knocked out by Wendigo you gained a small bit of memory back. Most likely due to prolonged exposure to Wendigo. But that tiny bit of memory or whatever made you the terminator in contrast to a berserker like before. If this makes sense. It shouldn't but what I hope to do is pick and choose memories to implant to keep you straight. Nothing to make you weird but enough to help you deal with things properly. Your personality may change a little but not much. Back in the day, you had a special way of dealing with high-stress situations. Your face just dropped and you let logic and tactics take over ignoring any emotional stuff. What I hope to do here is to put a little of that into you but not enough to where you become a full killing machine during those situations. Sound good?"

I shake my head both disagreeing as well as doing my best to comprehend the wall of information I just got. I reply,

"Why not give me everything back?"

She looks down and says in a low voice,

"That's because I am protecting you from yourself. There are things in that head of yours that could lead to the destruction of everyone around you and most likely yourself. PTSD, a little sociopathy, and hatred, those things are buried in there. I don't want to see you like I did that one time again... you don't understand and I don't expect you to, but please just trust me here."

I bite my tongue hard thinking of a response. I feel almost betrayed, I knew she had screwed with my head but actually having it admitted to me is still a little upsetting. I feel anger stir inside me and feel as if she is right somewhere in her explanation. I don't want her to be right as it sounds like the old me was a horrible person and I don't want that. I may not have done been the most morally sound person since I woke up, but the whole time I have attempted to be a good person. I want my memories back, but at the same time, I don't want to become someone different. I let out a long sigh of frustration at the whole situation and reply,

"Okay, I'll let you poke around in my noggin again, with one major rule in place. You can put in whatever you like, but do not take anything purposefully. I know brains are weird sacks of fat and neurons so I might lose something on accident, but I want that at a minimum okay? "

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I raise my eyebrows as I stare her down. She doesn't shrink or anything instead seems to grow a bit rosy in the cheeks as she smiles and replies,

"Of course, I wouldn't imagine taking anything. If I give you what I plan to our data should be even better. The main thing I am giving to you is combat knowledge among other things. You'll find out soon enough though. If what I have planned and ready is correct it should not only help you think on your feet better but overall increase what you know when it comes to fighting. Most of all though, it should keep you from flipping out in the event you are forced to kill someone again."

I nod and then ask,

"But the war on terror? Shouldn't I be killing again soon?"

Kassandra shakes her head and says,

"That place in Alaska was one of their major installations. That and it gave us the location of all their other major installations too. Your rescue of the girls has led to a renewed sense of urgency to stop the terrorists. That and you will be sidelined for a few months as we rework Wendigo. You and your AI have submitted some interesting combat data both in the arena and field of battle. We will make upgrades accordingly and even give ya a better gun or two. Overall same idea for the overall AMS just some strength upgrades and armor upgrades. Maybe a better targeting computer, who knows? WE have enough money and determination."

She giggles at the last statement and I nod with a half-smile. Despite how frustrated I have been with ehr and despite her actions I can't help but feel happy when she gets excited about work. It's almost pure and wholesome if you ignore the fact most of her work is to poke around in my head and then chop me up and put me back togther. I then have an idea and ask,

"Can you please put a handgun inside my pilot's chair? Like those old survivors kits, we had back during the war. I got jumped in the hangar back at the academy. A nine mil would've solved my problem a lot quicker."

She pauses and then nods before saying,

"Stay calm, but civilian gun ownership is pretty much banned across the board. Sadly has resulted in higher crime rates, but it's mostly to keep the feudal style in place. Ya know keep the peasants down and whatnot, but yeah I'll put one of your old favorites in there, just don't go around showing it off... don't wanna get either of us in trouble."

Ignoring the first part of her statement as I don't feel like thinking about politics today, I nod and smile before saying,

"Alright, doctor. Knock me out and scrambled my eggs."

She nods and stands up next to me before connecting the back cable to me once more. She smiles at me and touches my cheek lightly. I feel confused for all of one second as I am knocked out with the flip of a switch...

It's weird having memories pumped into you. In this state normally you would just see black and then instantly wake up whenever you do, but when you are getting information downloaded into you it is odd. They feel like dreams, except are extremely vivid and you can feel inside them, even pain. I receive many memories but not the full ones. I get the substance like I get the idea of what's going on. I feel the motions, the punches, the logic behind each move, and why I do what I do, but I can see faces, or remember names or places. It's like I'm in a textureless simulation. Everything is a flat blank blob of gray with no features aside from basic shape.

From what I can tell I go through basic training and specialist training. I go through learning combat sports growing up and learning to shoot with my father. I experience almost every battle I fought in and every competition I had with my sports. I feel the motions and my mindset. I gain the experience without the situation behind or around the moment of learning. Nearly nineteen years of training and experience, maturation, and in some cases just plain knowledge, all installed into my head in a matter of what feels like moments. To be honest I quite like it and I think this is how we should do school instead. None of that sitting in classrooms bullshit that they want us to do. By the end, I can feel myself become more comfortable with my body as well as more able to analyze my recent fights and battles. I can think through every perceived mistake and issue I had during these fights and learn even more from them than what I could before because I now know what to look for. It feels as if a whole new world just opened up for me. Suddenly the memories stop and slowly I regain consciousness. The last memory I get is one I recognize even without substance. The killing of the Solar Emperor, the last potential memory from before...

I wake up gracefully this time simply my eyes blink open and I am awake. I sift through memories and see they are all there showing Kassandra kept the bargain, but now I feel... different. Everything feels odd. I can't explain it but I feel somehow a deeper understanding of my surroundings, I notice subtle differences in objects, I know every exit and potential place a threat can be. I notice each individual who passes by in this lab. I scan each machine looking for any perceived flaw. I let out a long breath suddenly overwhelmed by sensory overload. My mind instantly wanting to learn more about everything rather than just taking things at face value. I kinda like it just not all at once.

When I get myself together I realize I am in a really fancy lab on an exam table. Every port on my back is hooked up to cables and there are tons of what look to be supercomputers all around me. This is an expensive operation. Every technician is garbed in clean suits but has their face uncovered. Someone realizes I am awake and am unhooked and handed a shirt. That's when I notice I am completely naked except for a pair of underpants. Even though I am more perceptive than before due to my new old idea of what to see, my senses need time to get used to this new super analytic mindset. The overload has made me rather blind to immediate things. I just have to calm down and eventually, I will be able to work out the issues. Most of all just get used to the sudden blob of information I gained.

I slide off the table and my metal feet hit the tile floor and I give a big stretch as a pair of pants are handed to me. I put them on and continue stretching until I am satisfied. I for some reason am quite sore. No idea why but I just am. After being satisfied I am directed out the door. I head in that direction and Kassandra greets me there. She leads me with a few words to the hospital room before. I sit on the bed and we go through a series of questions. I am unable to answer a few which she seems happy to see. I don't even understand the context, but I'm sure she is trying to make sure she didn't put too much in. I hope she is satisfied.

She seems to be and leaves me alone promising to come back with food. At this point, I realize I am quite hungry. I stay seated and slowly work through all I just gained. I manage to calm down and my senses catch up finally going to a neutral state and everything seems normal again but with higher detail. I got over my first hurdle with this new information in my head. That being the sensory overload.

She eventually returns with a packaged tuna sandwich and a can of some new brand of dark soda. I thank her and down the food and drink greedily. Satisfied I turn to face her and ask,

"Alright, you kept your deal. What information or whatnot do you need now?"

She shakes her head and replies,

"None, In fact, we don't need you here and I'm sure you don't wanna be trapped here again. We are sending you back to school. Classes won't start again for a few months but they are letting people stay in the dorms. I trust you will behave?"

I nod and reply,

"Thanks for not keeping me cooped up. I'm guessing the only thing I can't do is have an AMS duel?"

She nods with a laugh and replies,

"Just about, and don't get arrested. Aside from that, you are good to go."

I nod and she motions for me to follow. I guess it's time to go right now.I follow her to the same car as before and she gets me inside. Before I duck into the car she suddenly wraps me up in an embrace and says to me in a low voice,

"Don't come close to dying again. You have no excuse anymore to make that same dumbass mistake... You have no idea how much I worried when Wendigo transmitted major structural damage... You and Marshall are all that I have anymore. I can't explain I am sorry, but much has changed since back then... and I'm sorry I can't just give you your old self back... I just can't... forgive me please..."

I am stunned by the sudden outburst of emotion from the very quantitative-minded woman. I wrap a single arm around her in reply and say,

"I don't know whether or not I should or am even able to forgive you. I can say I don't hate you, but I promise not to die. Not yet at least. I don't know your reasoning, but I will for the moment assume it's a good reason to do what you are doing. I just hope that I can eventually gain what I lost back."

She lets go and gives me a kind smile. I slide into my seat and the door closes behind me. The car has already left and about thirty minutes later I realize I am not wearing any shoes...