AU NOTES
There is actually an anime-tag with Cyberpunk;Edgerunners now here in fanfiction, but for now it only has one M-rated story, so in the future I might migrate this work over there. However, for now it will remain here for you chooms to enjoy. Thanks for your time in reading and leaving reviews in my works!
You all are the best-best!
Ryujin Maou out!
Chapter 05: [Some things are inevitable]
[Cyberpunk;Edgerunners]
David sat on a nearby chair, feeling his entire body numb to the world around him. He supposed that he should consider himself lucky to be in Vik's clinic, else he'd have been an easy target for any two-bit thug that would have tried to test their luck on him.
His mother had suffered from continuous hemorrhaging and was hanging on by a thin thread to life. No one could say that Gloria was not a fighter, since damn was she fighting to hold on to life. She was in some sort of protective capsule that doubled as advanced life-support, a myriad of machines hooked up to her and displaying her vital signs. He was not an expert in the medical field, but those low numbers on display were not inspiring.
Jason had left him alone in the room, giving the duo of mother and son some privacy.
How did things derail so bad? He wondered, holding back tears. Vik had explained through an audio-message a bit of her situation, but most of it flew over his head in a daze. Supposedly she was already suffering from malnutrition and overwork, the incident with the cyberpsycho only springing forth her condition and tipping over the casket. For now Vik managed to stabilize her condition, but it was unclear if things would get better unless she had access to higher-tier treatment and maybe replacement synth-organs for some of her more damaged organic ones.
The ripper doc was willing to offer his services, but Mama Gloria needed aid and she needed it quick. The stability of her health was highly dependent on if he could afford those replacements or not. As things stood, he had a dwindling cache of credits that could barely afford to keep their apartment running for the next month or two. He needed eddies, and he needed it now.
Once more the teen was reminded of his condition.
He gave his mother one last look. "I promise that I'll get you better." His face was tight with determination. The teen from Santo left the room, seeing Jason waiting for him.
"How are things?" The tattooed man questioned with his arms crossed over his chest.
David sighed. "Not great." He began to make his way out of Vik's clinic, the start of a plan forming on his mind. It was not that well thought out, but it was something. And that would start with that mil-spec piece of chrome hidden in his room.
The duo returned to Vik's main clinic room, the ripperdoc finally done with the subdermal armor implant on the other man. Having some free time, the man approached the two.
"You understand the situation, D?" The doctor asked, the teen sullenly nodding along. "I did my best to help and stabilize her, but now things get tricky. She is fighting against time and so are we. I want to get her a new synth-spleen, but unless you have 300.000 credits stashed somewhere that you are not using, it may complicate things. I'm doing my best with what I got." The more Vik explained the more David felt the urgency build up in his head. He could not overly rely on the kindness of the ripperdoc, he had to make do.
Jason interrupted, patting the teen on the shoulder. "We will find a way, doc. Just make sure to keep D's mom well."
Vik wanted to discuss a few more things, but seeing the state of the teen, he decided to send them home. It wasn't like them sitting here would aid the woman, so it was better to focus on what could be done. But then again, that was the million-eddies question, right? What could be done?
The returning ride on the NCART was silent. David's mind busy with wild thoughts; even if he were to fully sellout for 'saka and the corpos, they would never lend him that kind of money upfront like this. No bank would do so either since he didn't have anything worth that much cash. He might luck out with that chrome, but then again the chances of them simply locking him up for possession of the thing was too damn high.
When they reached his home the teen headed straight to his room, leaving Jason to his own devices as he took the chrome hidden under his bed and unpacked the piece out of the plastic and laid it close to his computer, connecting the two through a less than safe-looking manner. Various needles were stuck into the metal spine, soon giving the teen the information he was looking for.
The chrome piece was named after its own operating system, hence the reason it was called [Sandevistan] and it was one mean machine. He opened a few websites and compared the specs between what was available on the market and was left with his mouth hanging open. The Sandy – as he nicknamed it – blew everything out of the water, its operating system leagues ahead of anything he could find out in the net. Hell, with the way the thing needed its own custom cervical spine module it was nothing short of amazing.
And to think that he had been willing to chip that in without knowing anything about it.
Hell, the thing would require a total removal of his organic spine to make space for the anchoring of the cervical module. It was one extremely invasive piece of chrome and it would be one hell of a surgery. Not cheap either.
Still, it was either that, or try to sell it off; in all honesty David wasn't exactly confident in his abilities to find a buyer that would not short him out on the deal. That left the option of chipping it in, the notion becoming more and more attractive the more his eyes glanced back at the screen of his computer.
He took a deep breath and glanced at the Sandy, the LED display shinning with a soft neon green hue of light. David found himself smitten by the tech. It was his chance to get his mother what she needed.
David powered his computer off and packed the chrome back, leaving it over his bed as he stood in front of his wardrobe. He shed off the school's uniform and quickly swapped it for his mother's EMT jacket, the piece a bit bigger than his frame, but the size was a comforting thing. It felt almost as if he was receiving a hug from his own mother. Safely securing his precious package, David exited his room, finding Jason on the living room's couch, taking a nap. He left a quick message to the tattooed man and then he was out of his apartment, quick steps headed towards the doc's place in Arroyo. It irked him having to rely on that grimy place, but the borg ripperdoc was cheap and most importantly, he would not ask unneeded questions.
The halls of the mega-building were full of the usual hobos, David feeling a bit exposed under their hollow gazes. Maybe he should have packed that Lexington pistol with him, if only for intimidation, but now it was a bit too late to regret that.
Taking quick steps to avoid stepping on anyone, David soon found himself on the usual beaten path that would end in the usual hole in the wall clinic.
He stood in front of the sliding door, the packed chrome hidden under his jacket feeling somewhat heavy now. If he crossed this line there was no coming back, that's for sure. It was not some Smart-Link tech that could simply be removed, it was something that would be with him most likely forever unless he was zeroed.
Still, staring at the metal door, David stood there for what felt like eternity.
Then, the door opened on its own, the ripperdoc's voice echoing from the small speaker on the door, but also from inside the place.
"Get de fuck in already, Davvy! I ain't running a daycare." The accented voice beckoned the teen in, though it was tinted with a degree of anger.
Not that the teen from Santo truly cared. He stepped in, clutching the piece of chrome inside the pockets of his mother's jacket. The door behind him closed with a quiet movement, the teen soon finding himself staring at the borg doc at his own table, the gross scene strangely enough bringing the teen some comfort. It was weird, but the sight of the Jamaican man with the joy-toy stuck to his crotch was at least something that he was used too.
The borg´ed doctor had a scowl, glancing at the teen like one glances at a particularly annoying problem. "Well? De fuck do you want now?"
David took a deep breath. This was it, he was going through with it.
"I need you to chip me in."
The ripperdoc raised a brow at the teen, staring him down while inspecting for something. "Fuckin' hell, Davvy! I thought you had gotten me in some trouble!" The man then scoffed, sneering. "Besides, ain't your wallet tight? You were asking to push BDs not too long ago, don't think you got de scratch to make it happen, choom." The older man began to wave his hand at the teen, shooing him away. "Go on, fuck off."
David remained in place, this time pulling the packed chrome he had been hiding. "I got the piece; all you need to do is chip me."
The doctor rolled his eyes and focused on the item; for a few moments the man barely reacted, but then as recognition hit him the borg'ed man did an uptake from his chair. "Oi oi oi Davvy, where de hell did you get dat Sandy? Shit looks preemo as fuck!"
It was quite wrong of him to do so, but the Martinez youngster felt a bit proud of his mother for managing to nick such a piece like this. "Doesn't matter. Chip me up."
The older man had risen from his seat and pulled his pants up, but he sat back down. "It ain't simple like dat, choomba. I gotta run some checks on it, feel it out." He, however, did extend one of his augmented hands towards the teen, likely expecting to be handed it out.
David clutched the packed tech, unwilling to simply part with it. Besides, David wasn't stupid. He might not be a ripperdoc himself, but when he run a simple check on the thing it showed him stats that were way out of the normal. The doc would likely try to get him to give up the piece or maybe sell it out. Whatever its worth was, there would be no way that the man would pay him for it. "No time. I want it up here now!" He stated while pointing with his thumb to his own back.
Doc sighed, one hand lazily pointing to the chromed augmentation. "Lookie here Davvy, dat thing looks like it packs a mean punch. You chip it in and try to fire it, you gonna be meat for de wagons. I like ya, so I ain't want your mama on my door here 'cause your brain became soup."
David almost cursed the doc out, but held it in by gnashing his teeth inside his mouth. He knew that the damn thing was experimental military-grade shit, but if he had an ace up his sleeve like this, he'd never be found wanting. Chrome like this was one-in-a-million, and he could not let the chance escape his grasp.
"I don't remember asking you shit." He spat out, grunting and shoving the thing back inside his jacket. He was taking a gamble here and hoping that the curiosity of the borg'ed ripperdoc got the best of him. It was either this or talking to Vik, but David felt that Vik would probably talk him out of it. He turned around to leave, hoping that doc did not call his bluff. "If you ain't doing it, then fine!"
*click*
The door leading out of the clinic didn't open even after David pressed the button.
A huff and a chuckle. The noise had David turning around, seeing doc swap body parts. The transition was smooth, his previous common arms swapped by a pair of rather clean arms, the hands installed with a variety of tools. "Fine fine, you win. I'll chip you in." The way his fingers creepily wiggled pissed off the teen, but also indicated the precision of the piece. "Though I'll tell you dis now, Davvy! When dat thing turns your brain into goop and you come back here screamin' and beggin' for me to take it off, I'll get it for free!"
David scoffed and approached the table. It is high time I chromed the fuck up!
…
…
…
Describing the experience of getting chipped in was…well, there was no way to describe it as anything other than tortuous.
David had to lay down on the operating table and the first thing that told him he had made a mistake was the fucking metal bar that was right around the area of his mouth. He would have asked its function, but as soon as the doc began to slice away into him, David soon found its fucking purpose.
Looking back on the experience, it was only due to luck that he hadn't cracked his teeth biting down on the damn thing.
Searing white hot pain exploded on his back as he felt the scalpel slice away at his flesh. The pain was bad enough on its own, but hearing the noises also ate away at him and made each sensation seem like it lasted an eternity. The buzzing of the bone saw that precisely cut into his spine was a chilling experience that he wouldn't wish on anyone, but it was either that or fade into the void and David wasn't exactly willing to be unconscious on a table with doc. He bit down with all his might, fighting tooth and nail to withstand the pain of the procedure as flesh and skin were sliced off and pulled aside to make space for the spinal support of the chrome. For a moment David feared death as suddenly it was like his body did not exist, a weight removed from his body; only for the sensations to come back with a vengeance as something heavier replaced what was removed from his body.
Drills whined and everything became a hazy mix of pain as he endured until the end.
Finally the noises and the commotion ended, David barely managing to cling to his consciousness. The pain – ironically – helped him maintain his hold on his consciousness, the sensation of pins and needles stabbing into his back lingering. His jaw felt sore and at some point he had grunted hard enough to also have a bad case of sore throat, but it seemed that it was done.
"Well, I'll be damned. You pulled through." Doc's thickly accented voice reached his ears, David tired of his laid down position.
He wanted to speak something, but still had his mouth around the bite-bar. It felt disgusting and smelled fetid, but damn it was one of his sole distractions through this shitty installation process. How and why there existed chrome fiends/junkies was completely outside of his imagination. Did Katsuo had to go through this to get his damn arms? David could feel a modicum of respect for the corpo brat, if only due to his balls to withstand such procedure.
"…it's…done?" He groggily managed to ask, for good measure.
It earned him another scoff from the doc.
"Yeah, you are chipped in." Doc's affirmation was what David needed to move. Good God, pain flared around his entire back, his skin sticky around the metallic plating that now served as his own cervical spine. His eyes caught sight of his original organic bones carelessly tossed aside in a garbage bin, the image causing shivers to run down his body. Vertigo was also terrible, the nauseous sensations he was feeling causing the teen to fight to remain standing.
Doc observed him, eyes glancing up and down at him, almost as if waiting for something to happen. David felt like vomiting and he had the worst case of back pain he could imagine, but outside of that, things felt okay. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Now what?"
Doc sighed in frustration, the teen wondering the reason for it. "Now you pay me and get de fuck out of my shop."
Even after all of this, he is still a prick. Fuck, should have done this at Vik's.
Groaning as pain prickled along the entirety of his back, David opened his account and invoiced the doc the payment, the drain on his meager funds making the teen wince even more. Standing from the operating table and using it to regain his balance, David slowly made his way out of the clinic, still feeling the borg ripperdoc's stare on his frame. Either that or the pain on his back was driving him mad.
The teen had barely managed to drape his mother's jacket over his shoulders when he exited (i.e, was kicked out of the place) the shady clinic, the feeling of the cool metal meeting his skin a strange thing to get used to. Compounding on that was the gross, sticky feel of the blood that stuck to his skin. Fucking cheap bastard couldn't even bother with some RealSkinn, David mused, one hand lightly touching the back of his neck, feeling his fingers brush against the metal.
He brought the hand to eyesight, seeing his blood stain his fingers. It almost took him into a trance, his salvation being the pop-up alert that blared into his eyes. His wake-up alarm!
"Shit!" David exclaimed, only now aware that he was running out of time to get ready for school. The pain that lingered on his back was forgotten as he began rushing towards his apartment. Having chipped in the chrome was part of his plan, sure, but now he had little idea what to do next; quitting school wasn't exactly in his plans, Mama would kill him and Jason would certainly mock him for failing to stick to his promise.
David was in such a hurry that he barely noticed when the chrome in his back glowed with a green neon hue. Still, it was impossible to not notice the sudden slow down of the world around him. The world was dyed in shades of green in his eyes, the people around him moving as if they were in slow motion. He felt like lightning was coursing through his spine, his legs unable to sit still and he felt beckoned to run.
So run he did.
For the next twenty seconds David rushed through various streets and alleys with unparalleled speed. Shit, he felt like he had become the wind!
Then, as sudden as his rush began, it ended, the world returning to its normal pace as David stumbled and almost fell, his steps becoming mismatched. It was his luck that this particular alleyway he crossed was deprived of trash, else he was sure he'd have ended up unluckily diving onto such a heap.
Still, as the small vertigo dissipated and he took a glance at his own map, he felt his eyes widen almost to the size of saucers. He damn nearly crossed half the length of his destination, the small vertigo that he felt at the sudden acceleration forgotten under the excitement that his new shiny chrome provided. It almost felt worth to be stuck under the hands and blades of Doc.
Almost.
Still, he ran – normally this time – the rest of the way, ignoring the homeless loitering around the halls of the megabuilding and rushed inside his condo. He barely acknowledged the older man making some synth-coff on the kitchen while he rushed to the shower. Throwing his mother's jacket for a quick wash while he rinsed off, David tried his best to rush through his shower.
There was an itch to activate his chrome again. To fire off the Sandy and rush through his preparations, but he pushed that aside. He didn't want to alarm Jason off and running at top speed like some souped up Arongdinger would not help that; The teen knew that his bull-headed idea of chipping in the augmentation would make the tattooed warrior worried, but he wanted to keep it a secret for now. An ace only worked if people didn't know you had it after all!
[Cyberpunk ;Edgerunners]
Name: David Martinez
Age: 16 years old
Bank Account: You are barely scraping by, dawg!
Augmentations: Military-grade Sandevistan, secret Arasaka project: [Chronos Shift]
Tattoos: The heron, the spider, the shark.
[Cyberpunk ;Edgerunners]
The ride to school felt incredibly slow for him. Taking the NCART, waiting in lines, all the usual activities he used to do were all taking an unusual toll on his patience. Thankfully the ride ended before he ended up pissing off his fellow passengers.
Once his normal preparations were done, he quickly left his mother's apartment without bothering to each anything in hopes to avoid conversation with Jason. He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty, his reckless action of chipping in the Sandy sure to get him reprimanded.
Hell, he wasn't sure why he felt like this, considering that Jason was a stranger in his life not a week ago, but the teen didn't feel like disappointing the man.
Nonetheless, now he had to focus on his studies for the moment and later check out opportunities to get some extra eddies; or that would be his line of thought if he was less aware of his surroundings. He could hear whispers among the 'Saka students and the stares of their optics on his frame.
"…he is still coming to school?"
"…how terrible…"
"…heartless…"
The teen from Santo didn't have full context behind those comments, but if yesterday was anything to go by, he might need to have a conversation meal with Katsuo. One were he preferably was the cook to serve the corpo-brat a few knuckle-sandwiches. The itch to fire up the Sandy and search the halls of the building for the blue-haired bastard came, David unaware that his uniform jacket wasn't enough to hide the almost venomous glow of neon-green light that shone through.
Still, he resisted it. Causing a scene and getting expelled wasn't in his plans, and exposing his trump card this soon would not give him anything beyond some quick-to-fade pleasing satisfaction. He would plan out later some revenge against Katsuo, but for now David grit his teeth and called to mind some of Jason's words.
["Now you are no longer a boy…I'm only going to ink you if you prove to me that you have done that"]
The glow of the Sandy on his back faded away, the onlookers too unaware of the menacing light.
AU END NOTES
Well, it took a while to write this chap because I honestly had little to no idea where to head this story towards. I made it while huffing copium, but I also like/enjoy/love realistic consequences for actions taken by the world and the people living in it. Jason isn't the answer to "fix" Night City, since in all honesty he thrives for violence. Although I took the "Good" ending of Far Cry 3 as cannon, you can't say that Jason is reformed and capable of living quietly back in California.
Night City then is a paradise for him, though he is a man that tries to act in a good manner, the killer instincts he developed will not be tamed ever again. That doesn't mean he wishes his life upon others, hence why he is trying to mentor David into a better path.
Next chapter things will be better and more concise, I just wanted to push this one out already since I had the first part of it written and saved for about two months now, yet nothing that I subsequently wrote felt like it belonged there. Let's hope for more creative brain juices!