The cult welcomes its newest recruit Raijin to its most blessed ranks, truly their efforts are as grand as they are impressive (no corruption here, no siree!)
------
Before we even managed to take three steps away from the clinic I paused in my tracks.
The duo kept walking but the lack of the constant metallic clangs of my feet made them turn back to me.
"We didn't forget anything, did we?" Jackie asked worriedly.
I just sniffed the air and looked down to my shredded and bloodied clothes and chassis "They let... creatively decorated people into Lizzies?" I asked.
Misty covered her mouth and Jackie snorted, shaking his head "Don't think they would be too eager, what with-" He waved his hand around in my direction.
"Right, cyberpsycho paranoia" I nodded and considered for a moment "There a carwash nearby?"
It was Misty who answered "There is one a block down... why?"
"Why do you think?" I deadpanned and the look of morbid realization in their eyes almost made me laugh.
---
"-fuckin' weirdo borgs, I swear to-"
I tuned out the shop owner's grumbling as I left his store feeling like a man reborn.
And one dripping water like a broken pipe.
"Where to next?" Jackie asked, still baffled by the fact he had just powerwashed a person.
"Clothes." I declared.
---
The mildly terrified Tyger Claw paraphernalia stall owner nodded rapidly at my request and quickly brought the bundle closest to my request "This is the best I have for someone of your size, no shoes though" He winced "Those you will probably have to get custom made."
I waved him off with my still slightly twitching right hand "Not a problem."
"Of course, of course" He nodded rapidly before sharing a quick look with a nearby onlooker and very hesitantly speaking up "That uh... paint." He winced "Who is it from?"
I blinked and deadpanned "Scavs."
"Ah." He visibly relaxed and made an awkward chuckle "Always good to see less scum on the streets."
"Mhm" I let out a synthetic hum that perfectly transmitted how little of a shit I gave about his platitude "Anywhere I can change?"
His hands trembled slightly as he pointed behind him "The back of my stall should cover you, honored customer-san."
Nodding I ignored the trio of actual Tyger Claw gangoons watching me with hesitant looks in their eyes and pitiful weapons in their hands, and got to removing what little remained of my bullet hole riddled clothes.
Apparently, not even the gangs wanted to fuck with a big borg covered in other people's insides, who would have thought?
How I loved barbaric civility when it was to my advantage...
New set of stretchy jeans, a new hoodie that actually fit me, and a fresh synthleather coat of a similar coloring to my previous one later, I left the little open market, not forgetting to tip the stall owner a few eddies for his trouble.
Jackie and Misty were waiting by the van, and the moment they saw me, the Latino's eyebrows went up "You some kind of hidden 'Saka fanboy, Mike?"
His tone was half-teasing and half genuinely curious.
Instead of taking the bait, I merely shrugged "Saburo doesn't own black and red."
He snorted "Aha, trying to make a statement?"
I looked down at him like he had just said something incredibly stupid, Misty once again covering her mouth to hide her smile while Jackie took an instinctive step back.
"Black and red is simply a nova combination." I deadpanned "Gonk."
He was outraged "Oi! Just because you are right doesn't mean you get to talk shit!"
"My superior color scheme begs to differ" I resumed in my deadpan.
The staredown was broken as Misty finally lost it and began laughing, the two of us quickly joining in a few moments later.
"Think they will actually let us in now?" I asked as the duo calmed down.
"Shouldn't be a problem" He shrugged "They aren't some high and mighty corpo to care about that shit." Then he looked down at my still bare feet "Just try not to fuck break anything, yeah? My bones are a bit more fragile than yours and those Mox girls are fucking terrifying."
"I will consider it."
He just began grumbling.
We returned to the van, Jackie taking the driver's seat, Misty sitting behind him, and myself stowing in the rear.
"So, Michael" Misty spoke up as Jackie started the engine "How does it feel to finally be free?"
Vik had asked me the same question, and finally I had no excuse to distract myself.
She looked worried for a moment as I didn't immediately answer but I still spoke up before she could apologize "Like I had just awoken from a nightmare. I am still not sure all this isn't just a cruel hallucination."
"Weren't we trying to get him to relax?" I heard Jackie whisper.
"He needs to talk about this" Misty whispered back before speaking to me again with a gentle smile "I don't think I am a nightmare, shouldn't that be a good clue?"
I rolled my Optics "You asked me how I felt, not what I knew."
"Some things are better said out loud" She answered, expression just a touch teasing "An issue is much easier to move on from if you acknowledge it."
"Tricky woman" I shook my head, to the amusement of both of them "Fine, this isn't a nightmare and I won't suddenly wake up in the chair."
Merely saying the words felt like trying to crawl in my pathetic meat body, but the moment they left my Vocalizer, my entire existence felt just the tiniest bit lighter.
Misty's knowing smile made me want to grumble at her, but that would have been petty.
"Oh!" Jackie suddenly perked up, eyes teasing as he gave Misty a sideways look "You going to do your magic trick now?"
Misty's lips pursed "My skills aren't a trick!"
That only made Jackie's expression grow more amused.
"What kind of magic trick?" I asked.
"I said it wasn't a trick!" Misty complained without heat.
"She does this thing with the cards" Jackie answered, ignoring the pokes he received as punishment for each word "Does a reading of past present and future, it's scary accurate."
"Oh, that?" I blinked "She already did one for me."
Both of them looked confused at that.
"Remember when you called me 'little chariot' a few years back?" I elaborated after a bit and her eyes widened "I looked it up the moment I got the chance, it was pretty accurate as far as my past goes. Did wonders for my ego."
Jackie grinned at her teasingly.
She muttered something I didn't quite catch before looking back at me, a bit of genuine interest in her eyes "Curious about the rest?"
"No" I answered immediately, completely taking the wind out of her sails.
Jackie snorted.
"Viewing my past and getting perspective is good" I elaborated, absently raising my mostly repaired arm "But the present and the future are mine to shape, and mine alone" My fingers clutched into a fist and I felt the final connection snap back into its proper place.
For whatever reason, the two of them remained completely silent for the rest of the ride.
---
The van stopped a few blocks away from the venue itself, the massively increased traffic in the area and the coinciding end of the evening shift made finding a safe parking spot anywhere close an exercise in futility.
And leaving a van filled with looted weapons and cyberware in the open was just asking not to find it later.
But a bit of searching, and just a touch of hacking later, our spoils were safely deposited inside an abandoned garage belonging to some kind of missing lower corpo.
Not that it mattered who it belong to anyway, we'd be gone long before anyone got the chance to be annoying.
"And there it is!" Jackie grinned as we approached the bar "Lizzie's! Best place to relax after a good gig."
"Don't let Mama Welles hear you say that" Misty teased.
"Oi!" He flinched "Don't wish that kind of torture on me, hermana."
"Mama Welles?" I blinked.
"Guadalupe Alejandra Welles" Jackie puffed out his chest "Bravest and most dedicated woman in all of Heywood." He chuckled at my blank look "Remind me to introduce you one of these days."
Misty's enthusiasm dimmed slightly, so much so I almost missed it.
But before I could satisfy my curiosity, we had reached the bar's entrance, and were blocked by a brightly purple haired woman with a spiked metal bat leaning against her shoulder.
One that looked to be heavily cyberized if the amount of RealSkinn on her and two solid but middling military-grade cyberarms were any indication.
She also sported a number of visible tattoos that marked her as a member of the Mox. The gang whose entire existence was based around protecting the Lizzie's bar.
...And making money off of sexual braindances.
"Ritaaa!" Jackie greeted her with arms open.
"Welles" She answered, not taking the offered hug "You haven't been in a while."
"Ah, you know how it is" Jackie scratched the back of his head, not missing a beat "Work hasn't been going too quick in a while, and you know I don't come here just to fry my brain with BDs."
"Yeah, yeah" She rolled her eyes "Just don't give me the Valentino speech about the 'real thing' again, or I might actually smack you this time."
He covered his heart as if hurt.
Which only made her roll her eyes more before sharing a quick look and nod with Misty and then facing me "Who is the borg?"
"The 'borg'" I drawled, my synthetic voice making her tense barely enough to be perceivable by my Optics "Is Magos." Jackie and Misty both looked confused at the name "And perfectly capable of speaking for himself."
"You some kind of Maelstrom wannabe?" 'Rita' raised her chin.
"I dunno" I grinned and leaned in, enjoying how the sight made her tense even more despite her bravado "Are you some kind of wannabe joytoy?"
For the entire exchange, Jackie had been motioning for me to back down, looking increasingly panicked.
But that turned out to be unnecessary as the bouncer threw her head back and laughed "You are alright."
"Happy to have pleased, madam" I kept my drawl on as I did the most awkward Japanese style bow ever.
That only served to entertain her further as she snorted and waved us in "Get in you three. Biz hasn't picked up too much yet so there should be some spots free to sit down."
"Orale!" Jackie grinned and quickly dragged us into the bar.
The Latino seemed to know everyone inside, as we spent the next five minutes just waiting for him to greet everyone while somehow managing to diffuse the side effects of my presence, getting us through the bouncing crowd without much hassle and dragging us into a booth just as a group of seven teens got there a few seconds later.
One look at me was enough to get them to fuck off.
Lizzie's was exactly what I'd expected from a nightclub, but the fact I was actually here and not through some movie or video made it that much more enticing.
The blaring music, the bouncing bodies, the smells and tastes in the air... All of it was intoxicating to me.
So much so, Jackie needed to shake me out of it when the drinks were brought to us.
"You good, choom?" He asked, both he and Misty looking worried.
"I am fine" I waved him down and picked up the glass "Just getting used to everything."
"Hah!" He laughed "It will be old news before you know it. But for now" He turned serious and rose a glass of his own, Misty following suit "To new beginnings!"
"To safe returns!" Misty added, a wide grin on her face.
My glass reached to meet theirs "To freedom!" I said, and for the first time since descending into the hellhole, my voice carried my elation.
The glasses clinked, and we downed the cocktail, the hours blurring together as we discussed anything between Misty's work to my own impressions of the living world.
It was three of the best hours I had ever lived.
I was also treated to the amusing sight of the duo dancing around each other.
Misty's head snapped in my direction as I sent her a call, Jackie still reeling in laughter from something she said.
[Magos: So, when do you plan on making your move?]
Her entire face instantly turned completely crimson.
[Misty Olszewski: What are you talking about?] She returned, virtual voice full of panic.
[Magos: He is a charming guy] I teased, my mood lightened by the atmosphere [If you don't go for it, someone will sooner rather than later.]
A mixture of expressions shifted on her face before firming into determination, she stilled for a moment before 'accidentally' leaning into Jackie.
The merry, and mildly drunk, Latino, was not bothered in the slightest, and immediately pulled her into a sideways hug, continuing on with the joke.
I just shook my head and returned to my crowd watching.
An hour passed as the duo began lightly flirting and just as things were about to get 'interesting' enough for me to excuse myself, the music cut off and a commotion broke out in the back.
The crowd spread apart as a small figure rushed through them, though not before rounding on the dark-skinned woman following after her with arms crossed and a scowl on her face.
"Go fuck yourself, Suzie!" The green haired, red eyed, and very pale girl? covered in Mox tattoos, shouted "You can take your help and shove it up your gonk ass!"
"Rebecca" 'Suzie' whom I guessed was the owner of the bar, voiced warningly.
"I am done with this shit!" The girl? snapped again and turned to leave.
Before I knew it, my mouth was doing its best approximation of a disgusted sneer "They let children work here?"
Jackie, who had also been drawn to the commotion, barked out a laugh, as well as the few patrons closest to our booth.
The girl? rounded on us and glared with red eyes full of hatred, before cursing and leaving in truth.
"Alright everyone, get back to it." Suzie barked, minutely shaking her head in what I guessed was disappointment, and a moment later the music came back on.
Jackie spoke up a moment later "I don't think that was a kid, Mike."
"Really?" I blinked.
"Yeah" He chuckled "Not with those hips she wasn't."
I rolled my eyes as Misty smacked his arm.
The probably-not-a-little-girl was definitely petty enough to turn off the music and make everyone look at her 'exit' but I wasn't going to reveal that little tidbit.
An hour more passed before the fleshlings were done with their drinks, and ready for something else, and the three of us left the bar with our spirits lifted.
Jackie dropped me and the van off at my Megabuilding, and drove off on his bike with Misty riding behind him.
Leaving me to rent a garage for the van.
...Oh well, a vehicle was always useful. Even if I would have to get a Training Shard to learn to drive.
A challenge I accepted whole heartedly.
Leaving the lift, and walking back through my floor turned out to be an oddly... solemn experience.
The shop owners under my 'protection' had by now all learned about who I was in truth from their neighbors and none was willing to speak as I passed them by, remaining silent even after I dragged the chrome crate into my home.
My cameras informed me a full three minutes passed before they started settling down.
I shook my head, and allowed myself to slump against a nearby wall, allowing the day's experiences to flash into memory as they willed.
My thorough preparations for my cyberization told me I would need to let my brain rest after so much new overstimulation, and so I forced myself to shut my Optics, and began making my mind fully adrift.
Ten minutes passed, and I was standing inside my workshop, already forming the initial blueprints for a pair of cybernetic legs.
--------------------
The forge demands more of your toil, get back to work!
(Before someone asks me again, yes Sorcerer's Tale gets a new chap tomorrow)
The moste terrible locale of the Patreon has 11 chapters written in advance if you are into that sort of thing (at patreon .com/ Rastislav156) as well as 15 chapters of Sorcerer's Tale for those of discerning taste.
If you want to discuss the story or just meme about join my discord server: https://discord .gg /t2vH8Vkx (link should work for a week)