<( Hiya! Before I unleash you upon the chapter, quick note: Monday chapter will be delayed until Tuesday because of the birthday of a dear friend! So, Tuesday will be a double posting day. )>

It took another three days for Yuri to finally reach out to us about our requested cybernetics.

As expected, the cybernetics themselves weren't so hard to get. Finding a truly reliable ripper, though? Much harder.

Even with Yuri's assurances that the ripper he'd picked out was reliable, though, Amelia was having doubts.

"I'll need access to her operating suite first. I don't understand why this is so hard to understand. I can take care of Adrian first, and then she can work on my eyes."

"Little menace, I got the ripper to agree to work on ya despite a very restrictive contract." Yuri didn't even sound angry or disappointed, just tired. "And now ya want me to persuade the woman to leave you alone in her operating suite, so ya can work on one of 'her' patients?"

"Yes!" Amelia snapped, then sighed and closed her eyes. "Listen… I'm not gonna get into too many details, but Adrian's cybernetics are… special. Rare. I don't want just anyone getting scans and then examining them too closely."

Yuri had been very thrilled to see his niece again, even just over the scroll. Really, the two of them were almost too careful not to give Amelia's father a single chance of catching onto our trail. Still, the longer Amelia protested, the more 'done' the man got.

"Okay! Okay… We've been arguing about this for almost twenty minutes now, little menace. Yer too much sometimes. Don't see ya for a few years, and ya turn into a copy of yer mother…. Fine. I'll try to convince the ripper. Hopefully this won't result in more delays. I'll get my guys to visit and transport ya to the clinic tomorrow, ey?"

"That's fine, Uncle. And thank you! Knew you'd see it my way!" She sent him a dazzling smile, which only made the man snort.

"Ya mean ya knew ye could bully me into agreeing. Fair enough, little Amelia. Fair enough. Catch ya later, kids. Need to cut this short, since it's dragged on way too long already. No cause to give yer father more chances to catch on."

"Yeah. Thanks again, Uncle. Really." She sounded so sad and resigned, but she nonetheless closed out of the call quickly before flopping onto the bed next to me with a loud groan. "I just want to visit him, you know? I know it would be stupid, but still…"

"You miss him," I said gently. Running my fingers through her hair, I brushed it out of her eyes, careful not to let it get tangled with her glasses.

"Exactly! It really sucked when I was stuck with my father, but… I mean, I was stuck. Not a lot of chances to go out or feel sorry I couldn't visit Yuri. Now that I'm out? I'm free and all, but I still can't go out too often, or visit the places and people I'd like to visit. And it feels like I should be able to! You know?"

"Yeah, yeah I do." I really did. Of course, the 'people and places' I wanted to visit were much further away and locked out by all sorts of checkpoints and identity examinations, but still.

"Of course, s'not so bad. I've got you!"

She sent me a cheeky grin, and I couldn't beat back a flush at the memories we'd made together recently. With my faster-than-expected recovery, our cuddling sessions were growing more and more… spirited.

It still frustrated me at times what a consummate professional of a ripper she was, though. I mean, I was fine with some small risks to my health if it meant getting more kisses! But not her medical majesty, of course. Never.

"By the way… how long will it take me to recover from this upcoming procedure? Cause, I trust you and all, but you did tell me you're planning to replace pretty much my whole skeletal system. Which, I'll be honest, freaks me out a tiny fucking bit."

"Ugh, please don't remind me how bad my equipment here is? Not that I actually have any. I have my arms and a few pharmaceuticals, and that's it. Trust me, I can take you apart and put you back together, and you'd be walking, fighting, and getting into trouble just fine within forty-eight hours. If I had the right equipment and medicine, of course."

"You can call them drugs, you know. Everyone calls them drugs," I teased, knowing this was a pet peeve of hers.

"Well they're not narcotics, Adrian! Do you want me to pump you full of 'drugs'? 'Cause I can! But then you'd be useless to everyone, including yourself. And that's not what a proper ripper would do."

"Had rippers prescribe me drugs before," I bone-headedly repeated, barely holding back a smirk now.

"And you never will again. This is why I'm not letting some hack put their hands on you! It's either me operating on your sorry ass or no one, from now on."

"You focus on my ass a whole lot for a medical professional, Doctor."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Her left eye twitched while her lips did a funny little spasm. I'd spotted the tic the first time she'd had to hold back from tackling me and forcing me into obedience due to injuries. I cherished every time I got it to resurface by being a little shit.

"You will be fully recovered eventually, Adrian. And when you are, my revenge will be swift and merciless."

I lost the battle against my grin. "Sure, sweetie. Sure."

A growl of inarticulate rage left her. Still, she got up when I did, hovering anxiously around me until I shooed her away once I got to the bathroom door. I'd gotten a lot more stable recently, and my arms' range of motion had expanded a ton, which meant I didn't strictly need the help anymore.

And while I would never object to her climbing into the shower with me, I wasn't okay with letting her tag along for the toilet breaks, even when I was at the peak of my pain and misery.

It was also a convenient way to hide my apprehension from her. Because, let me tell you, as I let my hands dry and just stared into my reflection in the mirror, I was experiencing a lot of apprehension.

The cybernetic enhancements we were going to get the following day were great. Essential, even. I didn't want a repeat of using my arms too enthusiastically and almost losing my shoulders.

However… Well. How many of my cybernetics had I actually chosen?

My arms? Lopped off and replaced by a madman.

My eyes and the accompanying wetware? A desperate gamble to avoid blindness.

Every time I'd replaced a piece of myself, I'd also lost a part of my humanity, too. Creepy shadows infesting my eyesight and brain. All sorts of instincts I had no clue how to deal with. It was all… so much. Not too much, since I was still kicking and screaming my way to something approaching normalcy, but so. Fucking. Much.

The words jolted through my brain, and in my contemplative mood, I felt a little sick.

I'd gotten so comfortable with cursing recently. With how against it my mother had been, I'd always done my best to cut out crass vocabulary, even from my thoughts. And I had stuck to that conviction for a long, long time.

Then I'd let my stupid ass get involved with a ganger wannabe brat. Now here I was, months later: cursing on a whim, large parts of my body replaced by eldritch bits, and my mind only starting to become my own again.

At least I no longer startled when Amelia came near me and risked clawing her up.

Whether it was my increased mental stats, the Essence itself, or our strengthening relationship, I hadn't had cause to worry about her safety around me lately. Or maybe it was my sad physical condition quieting the Stalker's impulses?

I shook my head, hoping to shake those thoughts loose, too. Didn't really work, but it sure helped me fix a small smile on my face again.

No matter how much a part of me wanted to avoid the operation which was (fuck! fuck!!!) happening tomorrow, I wasn't going to let Amelia know about my churning emotions. Sure, she was neither stupid nor unobservant, but hopefully she'd just think I was nervous.

Not, you know, wondering if I'd wake up afterwards and be a little less myself.

When I emerged from the bathroom again, I found Amelia lounging on the bed with her scroll in hand, brows furrowed and expression focused. My smile got a whole lot more genuine at the sight. There was something indescribably beautiful and adorable about her features when she really buried herself in research.

"What's got you so absorbed?" I asked as I crossed the room and lay down next to her, ignoring the way her eyes briefly focused on me to make sure I wasn't being 'unnecessarily rough with myself.'

Once I was settled, she immediately went back to staring at the scroll, scooting closer to me and tilting the device so I could follow along with her.

"Just checking out my future eyes. They're a Machina combat model, so they're going to have all sorts of useful features. My uncle even managed to find a model geared more towards field medics, so I know they'll be useful for my work, too! Almost makes me want to have my installation first, so I can use them while working on you, but… Well, not a good idea."

"Why not?" I asked, genuinely curious. "My ripper installed my current eyes and released me right after. He did give me some meds to take… I think… but that was it."

Her expression as she shifted to look at me was mildly horrified.

"Adrian! Eyes aren't just some plug-and-play cybernetics. This isn't like one of those penis replacement surgeries where they install a port and you can just swap out models!"

I shuddered violently at the thought of popping my penis off.

"Didn't need that in my head, Amelia. Didn't need it one bit!"

"Well, don't ask stupid questions, then. New eyes, especially the first installation pair, shouldn't be stressed right out of the gate. You're supposed to lock everything other than their basic function — you know, seeing — for at least twenty-four hours before stress-testing them with advanced functions. And that's the minimum! I personally recommend at least two to three days. Things get a little better with future replacements, but you still need those first twenty-four hours the first time. Your brain's adjusting and rewiring itself due to the new cybernetic, you know?"

"Um…. I was totally responsible and didn't use advanced functions when I got my eyes."

She squinted at me. I looked away. Deeply, and with much disappointment, she sighed.

"You immediately downloaded some dumb app, didn't you?"

"No…?"

"You're a horrible liar."

"You just know me too well."

"We met a few weeks ago."

"And you still climbed into a shower with me the other day. What's your point?"

"Touché, Adrian. Touché. Low blow, but you get that one."

I flushed as she looked me up and down. "Anyway! So, what's special about these eyes? And, um, about the enhancements I'm getting?"

It was adorable how her face lit up. "Well, they have a whole suite of scanners they can use. Let me find them… Here! See this clip? They can diagnose so much on their own! No need to go digging through diagnostics, either. I'll be able to just plug myself into patient data, and the eyes will superimpose it all on their person, with readout, analysis, everything right there! Accessible with a single thought. Do you know how much easier doing my job will be?"

"A lot?"

"A lot a lot! Honestly, with these eyes, and a few other pieces of equipment I'm planning to acquire, I'll be able to start joining you in the field. No more 'watching' for me while some slut shoots at you, no sir. I'm gonna be right there, ready and able to shoot back! Well, once I get a bit better with a gun. And only when you're not too close to the target. But you get it!"

I did get it. And I was caught between amusement, appreciation, and utter horror.

Frankly, I didn't want her taking risks alongside me. So far, even if things went to absolute shit, it had helped me to know she wouldn't be affected. Not really.

Well, mentally, sure. But what's a little trauma in this day and age?

What she was asking for was for me to let her risk her life. Then again… who was I to 'let' her do anything? I sighed, feeling incredibly conflicted.

At least these new worries were doing wonders at keeping my mind off of my upcoming surgery.

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