“This is the real deal” Kogen whistles “High grade too, won’t even find these on the black market”
Ellie claps her hands “Good, how soon can we get to installing it?”
“You sure you wanna do that? Whoever owns this is gonna be pissed”
“The previous owners can suck my left teet.” Ellie states simply “Besides, that’s what the blackmails for. Their little experiment disrupted a whole floor's worth of drug running. All I have to do is point and the dragons will feast on their soon-to-be corpse”
“You know who set that thing loose?” Aki asks
“Nope! But I will if they make a fuss”
“And what about us? How do we know we’re safe?” Sasha asks
“You’re a ganger girl, you’re never safe. But to answer the real question, I don’t know! But there are no cameras on that floor, or the elevators, we made sure of that”
“What about in the city? We were covered in blood after leaving Gamma”
“Taken care of girlie”
“Since we’re all asking questions, can I ask one that’s a bit off topic?” Alex asks
“I’ve a feeling I know what it is”
“Why’d you lay claim to me?”
Ellie’s smile doesn’t reach her eyes “That’s for me to know, and you to be grateful for”
Alex freezes at the shift in demeanor.
Ellie’s smile widens as she looks up at Alex before moving on to the others.
“Now! Onto you’re pay, it’ll have to be adjusted” Ellie muses “I’m thinking fifty-thousand each”
-
The three of them were practically catatonic after that statement, to Ellie’s endless amusement. They simply accepted their cred chips and were shooed out of the room. It was only halfway back to lost hope that they regained their senses.
“I’m getting new eyes” Sasha resolved
“I’m getting bionics for my ribcage” Alex stated
“Not your leg?” Aki asks
“Too expensive, besides” She pokes her wound “I don’t want to have to worry about getting shot in the lungs anymore”
-
After re-stocking their ammunition (by a lot), buying satchels to hold all the cylinders and shell magazines, and buying a new set of armor alongside the appropriate paint, they finally headed back to Lost Hope.
“Votes to make Aki paint the new armor” Sasha raises her hand.
Alex joins her.
Aki grumbled but acquiesced.
-
The ribcage and its interstitial muscles are surprisingly cheap to enhance, totalling up to forty-thousand for an above average upgrade focused mainly on defense. Which was odd to Alex once she found out, she was prepared to cheap out but apparently not a lot of people want stronger protection for their lungs and heart.
People are dumb.
Then again, most people don’t have the kind of creds she’s carrying right now, and those that do tend to go for cybernetics. Cheaper and overall better quality, but Alex decided to heed the advice of the dream-monster for once.
Or should she just call it monster now? She’s pretty sure it’s real, considering all the oddities that’ve happened since she received its ‘gift’. She’s also pretty sure Micheal could see whatever mark was left by the monster, his ‘little monster’ comment wouldn’t make sense otherwise.
Convincing Sasha not to escort her here was a pain.
As she enters the clinic, she’s assaulted by the smell of antiseptic which causes her to sneeze. Ripper Docs generally don’t need a dedicated clinic, but Flesh Maestroes do, they need rooms reserved for monitoring to make sure the body doesn’t reject the new additions, and to let the patient recover. She’s already informed Clarice that she’ll be taking a week away from the orphanage.
“Hi, I’m Alex, I'm here for an appointment.”
The lady at the front doesn’t even spare her a glance “room four, he’ll be with you in a few minutes, leave your weapons in locker sixteen” Alex stands there awkwardly for a moment before heading off to the directed room.
It doesn’t take long for the Maestro to join her.
“Holy shit you’re tall” He says “aren’t you supposed to be fifteen?”
“Well hello to you too”
“Oh, sorry, names Damian. You’ll be in my care for the foreseeable future, now, I know you’re excited to get your new additions, but first I just have one question”
“Ok…”
“Great. Now, are you being coerced and/or forced into this procedure?”
“No, does that happen often?”
“Solomon’s Kingdom exists, so yes”
-
The bone implants don’t need her to be put to sleep, which was a shame because it hurt like a bitch. They had to jab into each bone and slowly drip feed some sort of mixture that’ll apparently strengthen her bones through osmosis. Apparently some people go for multiple seasons, although the effectiveness drops the more of the weird magic liquid your bones absorb. The sternum was straightforward, the ribs were not. He had to angle each infusion in a unique way so that he didn’t accidentally jab between the ribs. Apparently her procedure at the hospital was extremely complex because her bones were shattered beyond repair.
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Anyway, now that that's over, it’s time to get to the real surgery.
Damian pushed a syringe’s worth of anaesthetic through an IV.
Now, she just has to wait.
Huh, her brain feels tingly-
-
Alex woke up to excruciating pain.
Unfortunately she didn’t add painkillers to the package, It cost five-thousand creds! The fuck do they think she is, rich? Though to be fair she did blow eight times that amount to improve her ribcage, little do they know that was most of her money. Is she dumb for spending most of her money almost immediately? No, this’ll keep her alive, it was definitely worth it. Definitely.
The curtain of her room slides open, revealing a girl who can’t be older than Alex, next to her is a vitals machine. Alex recognizes them from her time in the hospital.
“You’re awake!” She exclaims, like it’s some sort of surprise “That’s great! Let’s get some vitals from you to make sure you’re all preem.”
“Sorry, who are you?”
“I’m Anya!”
“And why are you here?”
“I’m an apprentice Maestro, and i’ll be your nurse for the next week, or until you feel like leaving”
Alex gives her a look “you’re my nurse?”
“Yep!”
-
Alex wishes she could say time passed like a blur, but it really didn’t. At least now she has a phone to keep her busy. She's been scrolling through the news and watching shows for the past three days. The war didn’t get much attention on the major news outlets, which isn’t a surprise. Arthas tends to get ignored in the Euro-American Union, considered more as a city-state than an actual member. Mostly that’s because of its inherent lawlessness, with the gangs and corporations holding a significant amount of power through ‘donations’ to the Arthran government. There’s also the fact that the docks are the only real way in and out of the city, since the outskirts are teeming with nomads, only the more militaristic corporations can travel the roads. The docks are the main reason why The House is even relevant, most of their money coming from taxing those who use it, though officially the docks are owned by Ferrier inc., a company based in Europe that specialises in transportation over the high seas.
While the major outlets don’t have much to say, The Arthas Journal and Arthas Today have been covering it extensively. It’s too early to tell, but estimates predict that The House stands little chance against the combined efforts of two gangs. The borders haven’t changed but there’s been a few targeted attacks. There’s already been two attacks on Little Mexico, and that’s deep enough in House territory to be concerning. It’s probably going to end soon at this rate, with the House making concessions to stop the attacks.
“Alex!” Anya breaks her out of her contemplation “Hello! How are you feeling? need me to get you anything?”
“Some pain killers would be nice”
“That’ll be five-thousand creds!”
“Yeah, fuck you too”
Anya giggles, “Have you seen the news?” she asks.
“About the war?”
“No, no, silly. There’s a Hurricane coming by! Category three, their calling it Alpha-16. It’s already hit Orlando!”
“Why do you sound excited?”
“I’ve never been in a hurricane before! I just moved here from St.Louis in the spring, I was worried we might not see any this year”
“If only” Alex grumbled
“Don’t be like that, it'll be fun!”
“It’ll be a nuisance is what it’ll be”
-
The Flesh Maestros decided to take the day off when Alpha-16 hit Arthas. The ‘nurses’ and support staff weren’t so lucky. Something about not leaving the patients alone in case something happens. Alex can see the logic, but it feels a little shit to weather the storm all cozy at home while making everyone else stay in the clinic.
For whatever reason, Anya decided to spend most of her time with Alex, only leaving occasionally to check on the other patients. That doesn’t seem very professional, but Alex enjoys the company. Her phone hasn’t been able to connect to the internet for about an hour now.
“So is it everything you imagined?” Alex asks
“Honestly it’s kinda boring, do we just wait in here until the storm ends?”
“What’d you think we’d be doing, shooting at the clouds?”
“No, but the movies make it seem so much more dramatic”
“How old are you?”
“Twelve, why?”
“That explains a lot”
“Hey!”
Alex chuckles as Anya tries to curse her without actually using any curses, the girl is surprisingly sensitive about that stuff. Using ‘crap’ and ‘frick’ and all the other derivatives of not-swears, she doesn’t seem to mind when Alex curses though so she tries not to tease her too much.
“The fucks a wanker-doodle?”
“You are!”
-
Anya actually cries a bit when Alex gets discharged from the clinic, Alex had decided to give the poor girl her number, from what she’s seen (and heard) Anya doesn’t seem to have many friends. Alex kind of wanted to stay longer, not for the company, although it was nice, but because her ribs still ache. She’s pretty sure a weeks not enough recovery for any bionic enhancements, she wonders if anyone actually decides to leave early.
The streets are mostly untouched from the hurricane, the buildings of all the southern coasts are designed to withstand the heavy winds and rainfall, and vendors simply packed up their stalls for the day before heading home. There are some thrill seekers who stay outside during hurricanes, but they are colloquially termed ‘dumbfucks’. Alex wonders if Anya will ever do something stupid like that, considering her general excitement for the event.
Passing through the entrance to Lost Hope she enters Clarice’s Office.
The woman glances at her before returning her focus to the computer.
“I’m back. Where's Roan?”
“Training”
Alex cocks her head at that “You sure that’s a good idea?”
“Yes”
“You gonna tell me why?”
“No”
“Ooook then, he on the roof?”
“Should be”
With that Alex takes her leave and climbs the stairwell up to the rooftop. Kendo is organized in three categories: novice, apprentice, and adept. It’s based off the brackets in the annual tournament hosted by the Dragon himself. Attendance is mandatory, but to make sure it doesn’t disrupt the normal dealings of the gang it’s held over the course of May. The classes in Lost Hope are organised so that the higher your rank, the earlier you have to get up. Everyday is an hour of training (two for the adepts), an hour of gym, and an hour of history, algebra, or japanese, depending on the day. The rest of the time they have in the day is encouraged for either personal training or gang shit. Before Ellie, they occasionally got protection duty for loan sharks or drug deals.
She opens the door to see the novice class lined up.
“Strike” Say’s instructor Korin
They bring their bokkens up to the sky then down in an overhead strike.
“Stab”
Their bokkens become level with their heads as they pull back and thrust.
“Right slash”
From left to right they sweep their bokkens in unison.
It doesn’t take long for Alex to find Roan, he’s in the front, struggling to keep up with the rest of the class. He’s not the only one, but Alex doesn’t really care so she just ignores them. He’s more filled out, that’s true, especially considering his state when he first arrived. But he’s still thin, and severely lacking in muscle. His short black hair is matted with sweat as his arms struggle with the sword.
“Ah Alex” says instructor Korin “You’ve come to observe your juniors? Admirable.”
The whole class turns to stare at her, Roan waves excitedly, she gives a small wave back.
“I was just leaving instructor” Alex replied
“No need. I think it would be beneficial for the young ones to see a proper spar”