Shattered Skies: The Morning Lights

CHAPTER 39: Fantine's Confession

Chapter 39: Fantine's Confession

TSAB L-Class Inspection Cruiser Arthra

First Recovery Ward

Erika Kurumi's eyes opened just a crack. The glaring light from above was much too bright for her, so she groaned and squeezed them shut again. It took more effort than it should have, like the command got stalled on the way from her brain to her eyelids.

"Erika!" said a familiar voice next to her. "E-Erika, are you awake? Please say you're awake!"

"Dun' wanna," Erika muttered. She rolled over to go back to sleep... or attempted to, she didn't get far.

The arms that seized her around her neck and hugged her tight were Tsubomi's; nobody else smelled like a fresh-cut spring garden even weeks removed from any real flowers. "Erika..." said Tsubomi, choking back more tears.

"Oog," said Erika in reply. Surprisingly articulate for first thing in the morning. Or whenever.

"I was so worried, I thought I'd lost you, I thought—" A nervous, shaky laugh as she caught herself. "S-sorry. I'm sorry. How do you feel?"

Erika's brows crinkled together in thought. "Fuzzy," she said after a few seconds.

"F-fuzzy?" Tsubomi drew in a breath. Her voice went up in pitch. "What does that mean? Is she—"

Another voice, one Erika didn't know. "Don't worry. That's from the anesthetic, it'll pass."

"Anewhazzit?" Again, Erika tried to turn herself. All she accomplished was an awkward flopping motion, like a landed fish. Ugh. "I dun' geddit."

"Kurumi-san," said the unfamiliar voice. "You're aboard the Arthra, recovering from major surgery. How much do you remember?"

Good question. Erika frowned, searching through her muddled thoughts. She remembered boiling over with fury for some reason... Ah, there it was. "Assholes," she said. "Laughing assholes." And those assholes, whoever they were, had been laughing at something that wasn't in the least bit funny.

Tsubomi made an odd noise, a sort of half-giggle, half-sob.

"You were extremely lucky," said the other voice. "Kaioh-san told us you survived an attack from Joker himself."

Erika chuckled low. "Shoulda brought Batgirl with us. Who're you?"

"I'm Dr. Mariel Atenza," said the other voice. "You can call me Mary-san, if you'd like. I'm a Device engineer and cybernetics specialist for the Bureau. Or I was, rather. Pleased to meet you."

"Same." Once more, Erika tried to turn over and was unsuccessful. "The heck can't I—"

"Lie still," said Mary, her tone going grave. "I'm sorry, but we need to keep you confined to bed and mostly immobile for the time being, at least until you heal a little more."

"Heal?" Erika's vision began to clear. The way Mary was talking, it sounded like a bad medical drama. "Can't ya just magic stuff away and—" She paused. Even in her sorry state, she could tell something was wrong. Her body was lighter than it should be. Unbalanced. She stared down at herself to find the problem... her chest looked good. Much smaller than she liked, but that was normal. Arms and hands and fingers, check. It felt nice to stretch them. Tummy, all clear. Legs... She stopped. "Whe..." Some of the numbness clouding her brain spread down to her lips. Her left leg was bandaged and held up by some kind of fancy, high-tech wire and harness contraption. That explained her difficulty moving, but... there was an empty space at the end of her thigh where there shouldn't have been. She tried to wiggle her left toe and felt nothing. Her mouth opened and closed several times, she had to look more like a fish than ever. Ridiculous. With a supreme effort, she forced out coherent words: "Where'd you put my leg?"