Fuck, I hurt.
My head hurts. My arms and legs hurt. My eyes, my mouth.
Everything.
I don't know how long I've been laying here, but I've been half conscious for a while now. I came to internally after they finished the surgery, but I couldn't open my eyes. I think they were taped shut or something, so I didn't try and force it.
So, I've just been laying here, listening to what I can around me, letting them think I was still out until they decided to take whatever was on my eyes off.
A ton of new voices came by, but I only caught a couple names. Gale, Vito, and Nico.
They all asked Aster, who has been here the most, how the surgery went. And each time Aster said, "It was fine, I guess." I suspect he feels guilty about the fact that I was awake for so much of it.
From my understanding though, he did the whole thing in only twenty-three minutes. Me being awake motivated him to work faster, I guess.
I was grateful he tried so hard to make it as easy as possible on me. He had been the one to make the call to hit me on the head. And while it had hurt, especially now, I really was grateful I didn't have to feel the second half of my surgery.
Why wouldn't I pass out?
Even now, I was totally aware and conscious as I lay there with my vision striped.
I could just say something, but I don't know. I was enjoying just listening to people, I guess. You could learn a lot when people think you aren't listening.
Banks and Cole are apparently worried about me having York as a mentor, they think his ways will rub off on me. I almost wanted to say something then, because it offended me that they thought I was so weak willed.
I was not like York. That much I was certain of.
And I've never been one to succumb to peer pressure or change myself for the benefit of others. What you see is what you get, and if you don't like it, there are plenty of other people on this planet that may be more suited to your taste.
Being dead wasn't going to change that.
"I'm going to take these off now. His eyes should be totally healed by now, so whenever he is ready to wake up, he can."
Thank god. It must have been days I'd been laying here now.
I was so. Fucking. Bored.
My body didn't hurt anymore, at all actually. It felt a little tight, and strange. My proportions were definitely different now. It would probably take some getting used to.
As soon as the tape is peeled off my eyes, I open them up and meet the gaze of Aster, who jumps back a little at seeing me staring at him.
"You're awake?" He seems very surprised. "How long have you been awake?" He leans forward, his eyes looking over me.
I blink a couple times, trying to get used to seeing again. Everything felt too sharp and clear, too focused.
"I've been awake since you finished the surgery." I finally reply, still blinking and looking around the room.
I was on a rolling bed in the middle of Aster's room. Banks was sitting on the black armchair watching.
"You have not." I look back to Aster's surprised face. I seem to pull that emotion out of him quite often.
"I have. I didn't want to mess my healing up by moving too soon, so I've just been laying there."
"You didn't think to tell anyone?"
"Like I said, I didn't want to mess up my healing. I feel fine now though." I move to sit on the edge of the bed, looking down at my legs.
I'm still just in my underwear, so I can see everything they've done to my body.
They left the metal exposed, so the lower half of me looked like a robot now. My feet were still my feet, but I could see what looked like metal screws in the joints. I didn't know they had done that. Maybe they did it when my feet weren't attached.
"Do you have a mirror?" I look at Aster, who makes an "O" shape with his mouth and holds a finger up.
"I'll go fetch it. I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be awake so soon." He quickly rushed out his door, leaving me sitting on the edge of the bed in my underwear staring at my robot legs while Banks stared at me.
"How are you feeling, for real?" Banks asks, leaning forward in his chair.
I shrug. "I feel fine. I was in a lot of pain the first few days I was asleep, everything hurt. But slowly, all the pain has gone away. I feel like I need a good stretch, though."
Banks laughs loudly. "You really are strange, you know that?" I shrug again. I was getting a little more used to hearing that.
"Here!" Aster comes crashing back in with a rolling, metal framed mirror. "Check your new body out."
I'm more than a little nervous when I stand up and face the mirror with the men who created me watching my every reaction.
"Huh." I say at first.
I'm definitely taller. Six seven at least now. Getting close to being too tall for sure. My eyes were black and demon-like, and when I tilted my head to the side, I could see my new pointy ears sticking out from underneath my grown out black hair. I had been asleep for a few days I guess, because I needed a haircut.
I smack one of my metal elbows, holding it up to examine it in the mirror.
"You're still way too handsome. Maybe we should have added some fat to your face."
"Where would you have gotten the fat from?" I ponder, running a finger along my jawline. I still looked like me, just… like a nightmare version.
I was big, and with the black eyes and pointed teeth, I looked like I was out to eat humans.
I ran my tongue along my teeth, jumping a little when I drew blood.
"Very sharp." I say, making eye contact with Aster, who is still watching me for a reaction.
"Are you satisfied?" I ask him, still staring at him.
"Yes, you look the part." He nods, moving from behind the mirror. "How do your lungs feel?" I had forgotten I got new ones. I take a deep breath in.
"It does feel better, actually. I didn't know the way I was breathing before wasn't normal, I guess." I can breathe in deeper and hold my breath for longer than ten seconds now.
"Fingers and toes all work okay?" I hold my hands up and move my fingers around. My hands feel much lighter, which is weird. Like they can move faster, more fluidly.
"Everything seems to be in working order." I nod once and look at myself again in the mirror.
I didn't look totally horrifying, I guess. Not like Aster did, but I definitely didn't look human, or normal by any means.
"When do I get to start training?" I ask after a moment.