But before Pilar could pick me up, Maine moved in and with his arm under me, He lifted me easily. Rebecca swung the crate up on her shoulder. Pilar fell in at our side. The bell on Misty's door chimed. She stepped out first. Her gaze hit the bandage. Then my face. She didn't flinch. "Oh, Yumi."
Jackie pushed out behind her with his hair a mess. He took one look and stopped like he'd been punched. His eyes went from my missing leg to the circles under my eyes, then snapped to the people with me.
"Who the hell—" He pointed right at Maine. "You. Put her down."
Maine didn't blink. "Back up."
Jackie stepped closer. "Say that again."
Rebecca slid between them without lowering the crate. "Not now, Wells." He cut her a look. "You're with her and you let this happen?"
"Solo run," Rebecca said, jaw tight. "We didn't know."
"Solo—" he started, and his voice climbed. "She's got one leg, and why did you let—"
"Stop," I said, already getting annoyed. I pointed at my chest. "I went on my own, I figured I could do it by myself."
Jackie stared at me. Anger cracked, and something else leaked through. "You look like shit, Niña."
"I know."
His hands opened and closed like he didn't know what to do with them. He looked at Maine again, and I could tell he was trying to figure out our relationship. Maine stared back.
Pilar lifted a palm. "We gotta move, choom."
Misty hadn't taken her eyes off me. Her head tipped like she was listening. "There's a color around you," she said, softly. "Pink. Not yours… close. Like someone's trying to hold you. They don't want you to feel alone."
My throat tightened. "Must be the chemicals in the air," I said dryly. Her mouth made a small, sad curve. "If only." Jackie heard that and looked confused, but he didn't ask. He reached like he might touch my shoulder, then thought better and dropped his hand.
Maine shifted his grip, so I ended up resting my full body on him. "Inside," he said. Jackie followed us. "You call me next time," he told me. I gave him a blank stare. Couldn't promise what I couldn't keep. Rebecca jerked her chin at the clinic. "Door."
Pilar moved first and opened it. Rebecca took the crate through sideways without clipping the frame. The clinic air, warm light, it was starting to feel like a second home. Vik looked up from a tray, gloves already on, lenses catching a glare. "Put her on the chair," he said.
We crossed to it. Maine set me down like I was glass and stepped back. Rebecca parked the crate by the wall and popped the latches so Vik could see what he was working with. Jackie hovered in the doorway, and Misty stood behind his shoulder, hands together.
Vik's eyes ran the fast checklist over all his tools. He nodded once. "We're gonna make you right," he said. "But I'm not doing it with a crowd." He pointed with his chin. "Out."
Rebecca opened her mouth like she might argue on reflex, then shut it. Pilar looked me over and gave me a nod. Jackie looked like he wanted to stay put until Misty touched his arm. Maine stayed a beat longer. He didn't try to talk. Just met my eyes, checked the room, then followed the others.
The door hissed closed. Vik rolled closer and flicked a switch. "We'll put you under," he said, voice even. "You look tired, kid, and this'll hurt if you're awake."
"Fine by me," I said. He nodded, set the mask within reach, checked the drip line, and glanced once at the crate. "Nice pieces," he said. "Looks like you and your girl spent a sum of eddies on it." He placed the mask on my face, and slowly the air filled it... I stared at the ceiling light until it doubled. Vik's hand hovered over the switch as I went under. The world narrowed to the edge of the table and the hum of the machines and the sound of my own breath.
POV: Misty
The door sealed behind us as everyone finally came outside. We climbed the narrow stairs up to behind my store. I asked it before anyone else could start arguing. "Who died?"
Jackie had been about to bark, "What happened to—" and he stopped like a hand hit his chest. Maine flicked a look at Rebecca. Pilar stared at the chipped paint on the rail like it was suddenly interesting.
Rebecca answered. "Sasha."
Jackie frowned. "Who's Sasha?"
"Yumi's girl," Maine said. "One of my crew, hell of a good hacker..."
"Girlfriend?" Jackie asked.
"Yeah," Rebecca said. "A week official. But much longer unofficial."
Jackie dragged a hand down his face. "Shit." He let that hang, then shook his head. "She didn't say a word."
We took the steps like a bench. Maine dropped onto the top one, elbows on knees, eyes towards the street, well, bits of it that he could see from here. Rebecca sat below him, cigarette tilted between two fingers. Pilar paced once, twice, then posted near the door.
"How long has she been like that?" Jackie asked. He meant the leg.
"Two days," Rebecca said. "Sasha was taking care of her for that time."
He whistled low. "You think she will need someone to take care of her while she's recovering?"
"She'll walk out," Rebecca said. "Vik told us her body's weird. Takes chrome like a fish to water. Wouldn't shock me if she's standing by sundown."
"Running by tonight knowing her," Pilar muttered. "If he doesn't chain her to a chair."
"Vik won't," Rebecca said. A beat. "But he should." Jackie shifted his weight off the wall. "And the other thing? The… Sasha thing." He asked. "When?"
"Today," Maine said, " around early midnight."
Jackie nodded once. "Alright." He looked around, not sure what to do. "So what now?"
"Hands off. She doesn't like pity, and she sure as hell doesn't need ours."
Pilar said. "She's gonna do something stupid. Not if — when."
"Of course she will. The question is whether we know before or after." Maine said.
Jackie dug a thumb into a knot in his shoulder. "I know she just got to make sure one of us is close by."
"Let her be," I said. "Just do your usual. She'll notice if you start acting weird. She will reach out when she's ready."
Maine nodded. "I'll bring some of Sasha's stuff by later." He stared at the curb, jaw working once.
Rebecca cut him a look but didn't argue. She'll keep movin'. That's all she knows how to do, cause standing still ain't her style."
Pilar blew air through his teeth. "What did they even have in common? Besides, both being stubborn."
Maine almost smiled and didn't. "Same kind of stupid. Same kind of brave."
Jackie huffed. "That tracks." Down on the sidewalk, a vendor fought with a crate that squealed louder than him. An AV flew overhead and blocked the light for a second. Jackie nudged my arm with his knuckles. "You really think she'll be okay?"
"Okay's a story we tell ourselves," I said. "She'll move. Moving is what she has."
Rebecca stubbed the cigarette under her heel and didn't light another. "Think by the time mounts seal, she'll be at a hundred." She tilted her head at the door. "That body'll bounce back. Always does."
Pilar rested his head back against the frame, eyes closed. "And then she'll go hunting. You know she will." He couldn't help but smirk.
"Then she'll do whatever she was going to do," Maine said. "With or without us."
Jackie's mouth twitched like he wanted to say something. "I'll be around," he said. "I'll talk with Ma, see if we can bring her some homemade food later."
"Good," I said. "Be around. Not on top of her."
We fell quiet again. Through the door, the drills changed pitch. Mainelooked up towards the sky. "We'll keep tabs," he said.
"Right," Rebecca said.
POV: Yumi
I blinked and slowly regained awareness, first thing i did was check the time, 4:02 PM glowed in the top right of my optics. I blinked again and looked at the ceiling tiles. Clinic light and the mask was off my face but now my mouth felt dry. My body felt… heavy and light at the same time.
"Hey, kid," Vik said from somewhere to my left. Chair wheels, a tray bumped. "You back with me?"
"Yeah." My voice sounded like I'd slept in gravel and I swallowed. "How long was I out?" I hadn't checked they time when I came in.
"Couple hours." He leaned in, lenses catching the light. "Do you feel any Pain?"
I checked but felt nothing off. "Nope nothing at all."
"Good." He tapped something on a slate. "What about Mentally?"
I stared past him for a beat. "Not great," I said, because he's Vik and I didn't need to lie. "It's… a lot to process you know..."
He gave a small nod that didn't try to fix anything. "Yeah kid, i get it."
I flexed my toes without thinking and it felt like my old foot. I did it again, slow and spread my toes then curled them. The synth-dermal sheath tightened and settled.
"So how does it feel?" he said.
"It feels just like i havent lost my legs at all."
"Alright. Go on and Slowly sit up." He slid a palm under my shoulder, the other at my back, and helped me up.
He pulled the footplates away. "Okay, we are going to test how your new legs respond. Go on and try to stand. "
I set one foot to the mat and felt my pads flattened. It was strange, but also i could feel the vibrations in the floor.
Vik watched my eyes. "Any numbness? Pins and needles?"
"A little" I said.
"Good." He rolled his stool back, gave me space. "Now Stand fully."
I stood and felt the weight shifted through calves. My balance felt a little off center if only for a second before it fixed itself.
Vik huffed a quiet, honest laugh. "Every time," he said. "If i didnt know how corporations are id tell you to go get checked out by em, cause your body is something else."
I took a breath. Let it out slow. "Id probably kill them if they didnt managed to cut me up."
"Yeah." He tapped the slate again, then pointed at the line on the floor. "Walk a meter. If you need help im right here."
I walked feeling everything feeling normal and the fuzzy fog in my brain leaving. Each pad hugged and released, so i could grip with my feet interesting. Sasha would have wanted to see this...
At the end of the line I turned without thinking. And walked back.
Vik rocked once on his heels, impressed. "Mapping's already in. No lag. No knee knock. Damn."
I looked down at the color where the calf met the ankle, the violet washed to blue. The tone had already started shifting closer to my skin color. "How long until it matches?"
"Should be a few minutes" he said. "But if you want it to remain that color you can just think it and it should do it."
I flexed my toes again, just because I could.
"Alright," he went on, back to business. "Normally I'd throw a pharmacy at you, anti-rejection, anti-spasm, nerve soothers. But your not Normal." He shrugged. "Waste of eddies. Your body didnt flagged it as not a part of you."
"So nothing?" I asked.
"Two ampoules to take the edge if it spikes tonight, but it really shouldnt." he said. "And as a gift I id made sure to fix your ribs and jaw. Just dont try to make yourself a hero."
I made a face. "Define hero."
"Anything beyond stairs and a bathroom," he said, dry. "Try to take it easy for a while."
I took another step, and moved faster. "Feels clean, Vik."
"It is. Doesn't mean you're bulletproof." He pointed at the practice bar on the wall. "Give me five heel-to-toe passes. Then I'll calibrate the pad sensitivity for you if you want."
"Fine," I echoed, and did the passes. He got up with a small grunt and knelt next to me and squeezed my leg. "Any hotspots?"
"Front third," I said. "Left foot, outer edge."
He tweaked a micro-dial by feel. "There."
I shifted weight. "Better."
He looked up at me then, really looked. "How are you doing," he asked, "not the legs. I heard what happen to her...."
I stared at the far wall. The words didn't want to come out. "Angry," I said finally. "And tired but honestly i just miss her, a part of me still thinks this is some kind of shitty joke.... like she is just running late.."
He nodded once. "Im sorry for your lose kid."
Silence settled for a breath. "You don't have to go out there yet just yet if you dont want to." he said, and the look in his eyes meant it.
"I know..."
"Id ask you not to do something stupid but if ky read on you is right you cant promise that."
I snorted. "Yeah."
He stood, wiped his hands on a towel, and hung it back. "You can jump," he said, almost like a dare.
I bent my knees and hopped in place, my jump hight was much hire then before and i have to make sure not to hit my head and Landed soft. The pads spread the impact, and no sound came from it but my ribs did complained.
"Soon enough you can go back to doing whatever gigs you were, but play it smart kid." he said, and patted my arm.
I sobered. "They still out there?"
He glanced at the door. "Yeah."
I rolled my jaw. "Of course they are."
"I told them to give you space," he said.
"Jackie won't, and knowing him, Mama Welles probablyalready knows" I said.
"Most likely," he agreed. He grabbed a small bag and dropped two ampoules inside with a thud. "Take this anyway."
I slung it over a shoulder. I looked at the back hall. "No back way," I said.
He gave me a look that said i knew there wasnt any other way out. "You're leaving through the front door, Yumi."
I sighed. "Figures."
He snorted. "You can hate me but its always better to deal with things head on if you can."
"I already hate you a little."
"Good," he said. "Means I did my job." We stood there a second. "Listen," he said, voice dropping. "You're going to feel like filling the next twenty-four hours with noise so you don't have to think. Don't get dead doing that."
"I won't," I said.
"Say it like you mean it."
I met his eyes. "I'll try not to."
He huffed. "I'll take it."
I rolled my shoulders once, ran a hand down the left thigh panel, then the right.
"Ready?" he asked.
"No," I said. And walked towards door and palmed the switch and popped the lock. Cool stairwell air slid in. Boots on concrete outside, low voices. I stepped through.
Jackie. Rebecca. And Mama Welles—arms folded, eyes locked on me....