Quiet, indistinct words penetrated lazily through the fog in Aurelia's head. She couldn't quite make out what was being said, only that the voice was getting louder and louder. "-ammte Sch-.... What the heck-...." It sounded like Parker and he seemed angry. Why? What happened again? Aurelia's thoughts slowly began to quicken, which ensured that she also began to feel the throbbing pain that ran through her body.

Oh. Yes. There was something. The memory of her action slowly came back to her. That explained Parker's mood. But hey, she had cleared the camp. If he doesn't act like that.

"And then you just kill people without even thinking about it, you fucking psychopath. Be glad that Bear told me to bring you back in any case."

Aurelia couldn't get "Urghh" out more, it felt incredibly difficult to move her body and talking was almost impossible. "Aurelia." she heard in her head, "I changed your nervous system so that I could move your body conditionally and treat your wound provisionally. You still feel the side effects of that and the drugs Parker injected you with to stabilize you." 'Drugs? Aurelia thought, 'What drugs? Why is he pumping me full of drugs?!' "I suspect it's standard first aid here outside the city, because hospitals are very remote from each other and modern medicine is very expensive. ' Fuck me. And how long will I be such a vegetable? I don't want to let Parker drag me around. ' "In two to three hours you should probably be able to move your body enough to get nano packs, from then on it only takes minutes. I really recommend you switch to an internal medicine unit as soon as you have the necessary coins. Then I would be able to help more directly and wouldn't be forced to move you like a meat doll. It's very uncomfortable." Aurelia could just about restrain herself and only think, instead of saying it: 'Flesh.... Doll? What the... Raya, why do you have to say it like that, it's disgusting. And please don't remind me that you can do that at all. ’

The thought disturbed Aurelia. She had almost forgotten that Raya had helped her in the attack on her monastery before. Although both cases were to save Aurelia, the thought drilled into her skull like a 50 gauge bullet. But another thought also began to spread. Parker injected her with some drugs and was dragging her around. She had to concentrate so as not to panic. She was completely helpless. Since she had been in the convent in Celestia, she had not felt helpless. And even then, it wasn't as direct a thing as it is now, where she was carried away by an almost stranger without motor skills.

Aurelia tried to gather all her strength to move her mouth and vocal cords, but again only unintelligible noises came out of her throat. Parker seemed to ignore it, because his steps slowed briefly and went straight to the previous speed. 'Damn bastard...' If I can move again, I'll rip his ass off' "Aurelia. Parker saved you, even if his approach .... unconventional. Shouldn't you be a little more grateful?" Raya sounded reproachful, however she did it. Aurelia had noticed several times now how Aurelia took on slightly human traits in her speech, but this time it was clearer than ever. And the worst part was that Raya's tone of voice made Aurelia actually feel bad about the way she was treating Parker in her head.

As expected, the way back to the commune took a long time, as Parker had difficulty dragging Aurelia with him. However, she had to admit that it wasn't his fault, but Aurelia's equipment and Cyber's leg, which added a lot of weight to Aurelia's own weight. Parker's lack of strength was therefore only a small part of the problem.

The sun had long since set when she felt Parker drop her to the floor next to his small workshop and collapse next to her. "D a nk e" Aurelia croaked softly.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

It took three full days for Aurelia to recover sufficiently to leave her allotted room. Hildi had apparently taken care of her almost motherly during this time, which led to a variety of different feelings in Aurelia, many of which, however, she could hardly classify. From gratitude, to scam, to grief, everything was there. Wonderful to work through even more. "Raya, did I miss a lot? I feel like I've been run over by a Mag Rail train." Raya's clear voice brought a little normality to Aurelia's head as she answered, "You should feel that way too, your body had significant damage and the nanites had their hands full. While you were out of action, I did everything in my ability to keep track of everything. Bear and Hildi seemed to have had some conversations with Parker about you and have come to the conclusion that they should keep you from doing any activity in the field for the time being until you can be better assessed. In addition, Blurr was gone for a few days and returned a few hours ago with a load of chips that are apparently intended for a deal with E.E.I. For a wandering mercenary, she seems to spend a lot of time here." "Oh wow... So I didn't make a good impression, huh?"

Aurelia dragged herself tiredly into the large dining room in the inn and waited until she saw Bear or Hildi. But when neither one nor the other was not to be seen for quite a while and no one else was present, she decided to go outside and look around.

With the opening of the door, a wave of noise and light broke down on them. Loud arguments and a burning sun made it difficult for Aurelia to orient herself and so she just stood in the doorway for a few seconds without moving. She could hear Parker talking to someone in a loud voice, justifying, she couldn't tell who the other person was, seemed to be female.

"Fuck you Parker, it takes you years to complete a single mission, piss off here like you're important and just don't forget that everyone here knows that you're the reason for most of the deaths here. I don't know what you're doing out in the field, but it's a damn clear trend to see in the result!" "I don't need to justify myself to a Ronin who only shows up here every few weeks. Get out, you want to be Cyberpunk!" A brief moment of silence. Then a blow. Slowly Aurelia could see what was happening in front of her. A crowd of people had formed around Blurr and Parker to watch the two argue, but now Blurr had attacked him and turned it into something tangible. In a very short time, a scuffle ensued to keep the two away from each other. "Call me that again and I'll rip your head off, you glorified scrapper!" screamed Blurr, her voice rising an octave. "I call you what I want, you are only tolerated, I am part of the community, so finally disappear!" Parker's voice was still in the same pitch, but the words sounded scratchy and even more hostile now.

"Aurelia. Good to see you back on your feet!" came Bear's deep voice from behind her. She turned around and the tall man took her in his arms and said afterwards: "You've caused quite a mess here with your little stunt. Luckily, we were able to get a lot of equipment, but promise me never to do anything like that again." Aurelia lowered her head and let out a soft "I'm sorry" when she heard from behind her how the crowd began to fight again. Bear raised his voice and only after he let out a loud "STOP!" did the roar become quieter and the argument subsided. Bear's voice was naturally very deep and penetrating, but this volume must have been a product of Augs. He could have just silenced a full football stadium with the volume and yet no one had damaged their ears. Not even she, who was standing right next to him. Aurelia still saw Blurr running towards Parker, punching him in the face and then catapulting himself away with a metallic ZISSSHHHHH.

Aurelia asked, "What was that just now?" Bär only said: "Children who argue because they don't think more than five meters ahead." And that seemed to be the end of the issue for him. He went into the crowd and talked to some people, while Aurelia stood a little lost, trying to understand what had happened. Was the dispute about her, or did Blurr have other problems with Parker? Now that she was thinking about it, Parker had called her a "provisional member only" and, interestingly enough, had mistold her name when Aurelia had asked him about it. She would have to talk to him about it.