The operating room was all chrome and clinical precision. Every surface gleamed under LED lights that cast no shadows, only harsh white light that made everything look sterile and alien.
The air tasted filtered, recycled through HEPA systems that stripped away every particle of dust, every trace of humanity. It smelled like ozone and antiseptic, with an underlying metallic tang that Teo couldn't quite place maybe the scent of expensive chrome, or maybe just fear.
Medical equipment lined the walls in perfect rows diagnostic monitors displaying scrolling data streams, surgical arms folded like sleeping mantises, refrigerated cabinets holding god knows what in labeled vials.
Everything hummed with a low, constant frequency that Teo could feel in his teeth.
The ripper chair dominated the center of the room, a throne of black leather and restraint systems that looked more like an interrogation device than medical equipment. Servo assisted arms hung above it, tipped with instruments that gleamed with surgical precision.
Teo stood at the threshold, his heart hammering against his ribs.
'This is insane,' Fucker whispered in his head, their voice tight with anxiety. 'We don't have to do this. We can walk away right now.'
'And go where?' Teo thought back. 'The arm's already cooking my brain. This is the only way forward.'
Julian was already prepping, his chrome fingers moving with practiced efficiency as he laid out instruments on a rolling tray. Scalpels, dermal clamps, neural threading tools each one placed with precision. His red optics flickered as he ran through internal checklists, his Aegis arms glowing faintly with power.
"Strip off your jacket," Julian said without looking up. "Sit in the chair. We need to get you prepped before the anesthetic window closes."
Teo peeled off his jacket, then his shirt, the cool air raising goosebumps on his skin. The Aegis arm gleamed in the harsh light, its carbon fiber plating reflecting distorted images of the room. He could feel it humming against his shoulder, a constant vibration that had become background noise over the past weeks.
He approached the chair like a man walking to his execution.
The leather was cold against his bare back as he sat down. Immediately, the restraints activated, smart-fabric straps sliding across his chest, waist, and thighs with pneumatic hisses. They tightened just enough to hold him in place without cutting off circulation.
"Comfortable?" Julian asked, moving to stand beside the chair.
"No,"
He reached for a syringe filled with pale blue liquid. "This is a localized neural suppressant. It'll numb the pain receptors in your skull and neck, but you'll stay conscious throughout. I need you awake so I can monitor your responses in real time."
"Great," Teo muttered. "Love that for me."
'Teo, seriously, we can still-'
'Fucker, I need you to trust me on this.'
The needle slid into the base of Teo's skull with a sharp sting, and then a wave of cold spread through his neck and scalp. It wasn't numbness exactly it was more like his head was wrapped in ice.
Julian stepped back, his optics scanning Teo's vitals through the chair's integrated sensors. "Neural suppressant is active. Heart rate elevated but stable. Aegis arm showing standard power draw." He paused, his expression thoughtful.
"Your neural architecture is... unusual. More adaptable than standard baseline. That's probably why you survived the arm's initial integration without flatling."
"Lucky is it." Teo said, his voice sounding strange in his own ears.
"Actually, yes." Julian moved to the head of the chair, positioning himself behind Teo.
"Most people would've stroked out within forty eight hours. Your brain's been compensating, building new pathways to handle the load. It's impressive, but it's also unsustainable. The Neural Manifold will give you the infrastructure you need."
Teo felt Julian's chrome fingers on his scalp, cold and precise, mapping out the surgical site.
Then came the dermal clamps, four of them, each one biting into his skin with sharp pressure. They locked into place with mechanical clicks, holding his head perfectly still.
"Starting the incision," Julian announced, his voice calm and professional. "You'll feel pressure but no pain. Try not to move."
The scalpel was a line of cold fire across the back of Teo's skull, from the base of his neck up to his crown. He couldn't feel the blade cutting, but he felt the wrongness of it, the sensation of his skin parting, the warm trickle of blood running down his neck.
'Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck,' Fucker chanted, their presence flickering with panic in Teo's mind.
'Stay with me,' Teo thought back, forcing himself to breathe slowly. 'I need you calm.'
"Dermis separated," Julian narrated, his hands moving with mechanical precision. "Exposing the skull plate. Teo, I'm going to drill the anchor points now. You'll hear it, but you won't feel it. Just breathe."
The drill whined to life, a high-pitched mechanical scream that made Teo's teeth ache. He felt the vibration through his entire skull, a bone deep buzzing that seemed to rattle his brain inside his head. The smell of burning bone filled the air, acrid and nauseating.
"First anchor point set," Julian said. "Three more to go."
The drill screamed again. And again. And again.
By the fourth anchor point, Teo's hands were clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms. Sweat ran down his face despite the cool air, and his breathing came in short, sharp gasps.
"Anchor points complete," Julian finally said, the drill falling silent. "Now comes the hard part. I'm installing the Neural Manifold itself. This is going to interface directly with your brainstem and spinal column. You're going to feel... a lot."
"Define 'a lot,'" Teo managed.
"Imagine every nerve in your body firing at once," Julian said matter of factly. "But only for a few seconds."
"Jesus Christ."
"He's not here right now. Just me." Julian's chrome hands moved with surgical precision, threading something into the back of Teo's skull. "Installing the manifold. Three... two... one..."
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
White hot lightning exploded through every synapse, every nerve ending, every cell in Teo's body. His back arched against the restraints, his mouth opening in a scream that came out as a strangled gasp.
The world dissolved into pure sensation pain and electricity and something else, something more, like his consciousness was being pulled apart and rewoven.
"FUCK! AGHHHHHHHHH!" The scream finally tore free like a caged wombat. (IDK LMAO)
"Stay with me, Teo!" Julian's voice cut through the chaos, firm and commanding. "Your neural pathways are adapting. This is normal. Just breathe through it!"
'NORMAL?!' Fucker's voice was a shriek in his mind. 'THIS IS NOT FUCKING NORMAL!'
The electricity pulsed again, and Teo's vision whited out. He could feel the Aegis arm responding, its systems flaring to life, drawing power from the new connection.
Data streams flooded his consciousness diagnostic readouts, power levels, system checks all of it overwhelming, all of it too much.
"Neural bridge establishing," Julian narrated, his hands never stopping their work. "Synaptic connections forming. Teo, I need you to focus. Can you hear me?"
"Y-yeah," Teo gasped, his voice barely a whisper.
"Good. I'm anchoring the manifold now. This is the final connection. It's going to hurt worse than anything so far, but it'll only last a few seconds. You ready?"
"No."
"Too bad." Julian's chrome fingers moved with final precision. "Anchoring in three... two... one..."
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
The second wave hit like a freight train. Every muscle in Teo's body seized, his jaw clamping shut so hard he tasted blood. The world became nothing but white noise and agony.
And then-
Click.
The sound was small.
The pain didn't stop, but it... changed. Became manageable. The chaotic flood of data streaming through his consciousness suddenly organized itself into neat, comprehensible patterns.
The Aegis arm's systems, which had been a constant background hum of strain, suddenly felt right. Integrated. Part of him.
'Holy shit,' Fucker whispered, their voice filled with awe. 'Teo, I can... I can see everything. The manifold's given us so much more bandwidth. I can process faster, run more protocols simultaneously. This is... OH YUH'
'Yeah,' Teo thought back, his breathing slowly returning to normal. 'I feel it man, It don't hurt."
"Neural bridge anchored successfully," Julian announced, satisfaction clear in his voice.
"Starting the reseal. Teo, how do you feel?"
"Like I got hit by a fucking truck," Teo rasped. "But... better. The arm feels different. Lighter."
"That's because your brain's no longer fighting it," Julian explained, his hands working to close the incision.
"The manifold's handling the processing load, distributing it across your entire neural network instead of bottlenecking at your brainstem. You should notice immediate improvements in response time, quickhack efficiency, and overall system stability."
He reached for a medical stapler, and Teo heard the rapid fire click-click-click as Julian sealed the incision. "I'm using dissolvable staples. They'll break down over the next week as the tissue heals. You'll have a scar, but it'll be hidden under your hair."
"Vanity's not really my concern right now," Teo muttered.
"Maybe not, but your aunt will appreciate it." Julian stepped back, surveying his work with a critical eye.
"Alright, procedure's complete. I'm going to give you a stim shot to help with the recovery. You'll feel like shit for a few hours, but by tomorrow you should be operational."
He produced a syringe filled with bright green liquid and jabbed it into Teo's arm without ceremony. The effect was immediate, a rush of artificial energy that made Teo's heart race and his vision sharpen.
"Dios mio!" Teo gasped as the restraints released, allowing him to sit up.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Julian said, already cleaning his tools with methodical precision. "How's the head?"
Teo rolled his neck experimentally, hearing several pops as his vertebrae realigned. "Feels like I got my skull cracked open and put back together."
"That's because you did." Julian's smile was brief. "But the good news is, you're now running at full capacity. Let's test it. See that tablet?"
He gestured to a device on the nearby table. "Offload a heavy quickhack into it. Kill the thing."
Teo stood on shaky legs and moved to the table. He placed his Aegis arm on the tablet's surface, and immediately felt the difference. The touch based breach protocol activated instantly, bypassing the security with almost contemptuous ease.
He offloaded most of his RAM into a Overheat quickhack, and the tablet's screen flickered, sparked, and died with a pathetic whimper.
"Any drawback?" Julian asked, watching him carefully. "Migraines? Neural feedback?"
Teo took stock of his systems. The usual post quickhack headache was... gone. Completely absent.
"No. No migraines. Nothing."
"Good." Julian set down his tools and turned to face Teo fully. "Then the procedure was a success."
Teo looked at Julian's Aegis arms, which were glowing faintly with residual power. "You said my arm was a prototype. What are yours?"
Julian glanced down at his chrome, flexing his fingers experimentally. "These? Strength focused Aegis units. They're designed for raw power output think Gorilla Arms but exponentially more advanced. I can punch through reinforced steel, lift half a ton without breaking a sweat. But they don't have the netrunning capabilities yours does."
He moved closer, his red optics studying Teo with genuine interest. "Your arm is the cutting edge of neural interface technology. It's designed to amplify quickhack efficiency, reduce RAM consumption, and provide direct breach capabilities through physical contact. It's more advanced than mine in terms of pure technical sophistication. Mine are just... blunt instruments."
"Blunt instruments that could probably rip me in half," Teo observed.
"True," Julian admitted with a slight smile. "But that's not the point. We're built for different roles. I'm the hammer. You're the scalpel. Together, we're a complete toolkit."
Teo nodded slowly, processing this. Then he fixed Julian with a hard stare. "I need something from you. A promise."
"Name it."
"Fucker stays secret," Teo said, his voice low and intense.
"No reports, no data logs, no whispers to your corpo friends or business partners. They're mine, and they stay hidden. If anyone finds out about them, if NetWatch or Militech or anyone else comes sniffing around because you couldn't keep your mouth shut, our partnership is over. And I'll make sure you regret it."
Julian held his gaze for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he nodded. "Agreed. Your AI, your secret. I won't breathe a word to anyone. You have my word on that."
"Your word," Teo repeated skeptically.
"My word," Julian confirmed.
"Look, Teo, I'm not stupid. An AI augmented netrunner with military grade chrome is a strategic asset beyond measure. But I also know that if I betray your trust, you'll burn my entire operation to the ground. And honestly? I respect that. So yes, you have my word. Fucker stays between us."
Teo studied him for another moment, then nodded. "Alright. Then we're good."
"We're good," Julian agreed. He moved to a sink and began washing his hands, the blood and surgical residue swirling down the drain.
"As for contract work, I'll be sending you jobs soon. Elections are coming up in Heywood, and I might need you to run security for some of my operations."
"Me? What about your bots?"
"Those are tower protection," Julian explained, drying his hands on a sterile cloth.
"If Militech saw them out in the open, they'd file complaints with the corporate boards. Political optics, you understand. But a freelance netrunner providing security? That's just good business."
"Fucking Militech," Teo muttered.
"Agreed." Julian tossed the cloth aside.
"Alright, I'm done with you for today. Get some rest, let the manifold settle. You'll probably feel like shit for the next twelve hours, but after that you should be golden."
Teo moved toward the door, his legs still a bit unsteady. "Julian. Remember no more fuck overs. Clean slate from here on out."
"Clean slate," Julian agreed, meeting his eyes. "Partners."
They shared one last look, an understanding passing between them that didn't need words. Then the door slid open with a pneumatic hiss, and Security Bot Nine stepped into the doorway.
"Wasssssupppp," the bot said in a cheerful, synthesized voice.
Teo stared at the massive machine. "You should be fired."
"Negative," Nine replied, its optical sensors glowing with what might have been amusement. "My performance reviews are exemplary. Would you like to file a formal complaint?"
"I would like you to shut up and give me my gun back."
"Request denied pussy." Nine's chest compartment opened, and Bon Bon emerged, looking none the worse for wear. "Your firearm, Mr. Welles. Please handle with care."
Teo took the hand cannon, checking it over with practiced efficiency before holstering it. "Alright what the fuck."
He turned to Julian who just shrugged.
"You are welcome. Please note that Mr. Vane has authorized me to escort you to the hangar exit. This way, please."
As Teo followed the bot down the corridor, he felt Fucker's presence in his mind, clearer and stronger than ever before.
'So,' Fucker said quietly. 'We really doing this? Partnering with a corpo?'
'We're doing this,' Teo confirmed. 'But on our terms. Not his.'
'I can live with that,' Fucker said. 'Just... be careful, Teo. Julian Vane is dangerous. Useful, but dangerous.'
'I know,' Teo thought back. 'But so are we brotano.'
The hangar door opened ahead of them, revealing the rain-soaked streets of Night City beyond. Teo stepped out into the storm, feeling the cold water on his face, the new weight of the Neural Manifold in his skull, and the steady, powerful hum of the Aegis arm at his side.
He was whole now.
ANNND He needed to punch something.