So much for getting this finished before the New Year, huh? -_- Like I said, I can dream, can't I? Anyways, only two (maybe three) chapters to go!
That being said, I have been considering trying to get Sucker Punch published as an original work once it's finished. Obviously, all the names will change, but I already have some picked out for a majority of the characters. Still, how many of you would be anxious to see this as a real book? New characters, new look, same premise? It's been my dream to get a book published since I was nine and I wrote my first short story. At only five pages back then, Sucker Punch will definitely have broken 300 by the time it's finished, and I really feel like this is my best work to date. Can I count on you all, my loyal and amazing fans, to back me in this endeavor? I'd like to know what you all think.
In the meantime, our tale with Elsa and Anna isn't quite finished, so enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-One: Keep on Fighting
Let it be known that agreeing to this fight against Hans was not one of my smarter ideas. Yeah, I might have come off as cocky and sure of myself when I had accepted his proposal in the first place, but I really did have the gut feeling that there was going to be some dirt thrown.
Of course, the minute two of Hans' goons jump me in the middle of what had been a pretty legit fight between Sideburns and me up to this point, I knew all those rules were thrown out the window. This was now a brawl.
"See where loyalty gets you?" Hans hisses after delivering another swift punch to my stomach, me being unable to do anything since his buddies are now holding my arms behind my back to allow Hans all the access he could ever dream of. "See where respect gets you?"
"That's what this is all about?" I grit out past the blood and swollen lip. "Elsa's failed loyalty to you and her not respecting you anymore? You treated her like a prize to be won! She was loyal to you! As much as any best friend would ever be, yet you took that and turned it in to some twisted idea of ownership in that demented brain of yours!"
A punch across the face is his retaliation, and honestly, I'm so riled up I don't even feel the hit.
I refuse to think that the reason I don't feel anything anymore is instead because I'm so wrecked I've become numb to any more pain.
"She embarrassed me in front of the entire school!" Hans barks angrily, though the fact that he's saying all of this through a black eye, a busted lip of his own, and gripping his shoulder after every physical expel causes a smile to work its way across my face. Apparently I had landed some pretty good hits of my own before this fight went south.
"It was high school!" I shout back. "Everyone gets horribly embarrassed at some point during those four years! Learn to live with it, Hans; let it go!"
"She embarrassed me in front of the world when she beat me out of the Olympic team!" is his next futile attempt to sound like he's truly the one in the right here.
"You only started boxing because she did!" I refute. "Don't try and act like boxing was anything more to you than a way to get back at Elsa! Boxing is something she was passionate about, and still is to this day, despite all the shit that she's had to suffer recently. Do you even have any idea what happened? Did you even care to listen to her reveal on TV? Or were you too busy absorbing any and all rumors you could get your hands on?"
Before he can get any other kind of retort in, I bend over and yell, "She lost her fucking parents!"
Immediately, I feel the grip of Hans' friends slacken, and I break free with a push before sending up both of my fists to conveniently bash both of their skulls in. Getting to shaky feet, I loom over Hans, and perhaps if I weren't so emotional, I'd notice his slack jawed look and twitch of fear and guilt on his face.
"But no, you wouldn't have even cared about that, would you?" I continue my tirade, my injuries fusing with my adrenaline and keeping me upright and going. "Hell, you're probably glad, right? Now you finally have something Elsa doesn't!"
That spurt of adrenaline wasn't to last, however, and I'm sinking to my knees before I know it, tears from my injuries and still-heartache for Elsa's losses breaking free and streaking down my dirtied cheeks. If the situation were any different, I'd probably be critically embarrassed that I was crying in the middle of an abandoned lot, in the middle of the night, and in front of some jackass, but I couldn't care less in this moment.
I am surprised, however, when I notice Hans come to his knees as well, a heavy hand being placed on my shoulder.
"I… I didn't know about her parents," Hans utters. "You're right; I didn't watch her on TV that night, and I only knew about her arm because I overheard someone the day after discussing it. I had no idea her parents had died. You have to believe that, despite the fallout Elsa and I had, I had always cherished the relationship I had struck up with her parents in that time. They treated me like their own son, and that was a hell of a lot more than I ever got from my parents."
I simply scoff. "If you're looking for sympathy, you're not going to get any from me. I'm on Elsa's side here one hundred percent, and the fact that you didn't even bother to get your facts from anything other than rumors shows how bitter of a human being you really are. It's going to take a lot more than that before Elsa forgives you."
Hans removes his hand, and I look up hesitantly. I can see regret shining in his one good eye, yet I'm still cautioned against thinking it's real. It could all still be some kind of farce.
"Well, what do I have to do to get you to forgive me?" he asks.
I break out into a mocking guffaw at that. "You're kinda way past the point now," I tell him, gesturing to my entire beaten body. "But," I add once I see Hans make to stand up, "talking to Elsa—listening to Elsa—probably wouldn't be a bad start."
Hans smiles then and even though I'm still not entirely convinced, I give the boy some slack, hoping that maybe this time he's taking everything to heart, and that he could indeed bring himself out of this hole he's been digging himself for the past few years.
It surprises me even more when Hans asks for Elsa's number, deciding to start right then and there to start amending things by calling her and telling her I was injured, where we were, and that it was all his fault. When Elsa comes to retrieve me half an hour later, a bit of pride wells within me when I see Hans look small and nervous in front of Elsa's glare. Still, when Hans offers a simple meek apology, Elsa's face softens, as if she knows the apology is for more than just beating me up. Giving him a tight nod, she all but scoops me up and we leave Hans in the lot, surrounded by his still-unconscious friends.
"I can't believe you did that," Elsa mumbles as she hands me a new ice pack once we're back at her place.
"What, got beaten to a pulp or put Hans on the right path to hopeful forgiveness?" I smartly say back, sighing in content as the coolness of the ice is once again on my swollen eye.
Elsa rolls her eyes and grins. "I was mainly talking about going to the fight in the first place, but yes, I can't believe Hans is ever going try and work for forgiveness either."
"Well, he seemed pretty legit there at the end; though I don't know if that means anything, considering his apparent track record."
Elsa begins stroking my hair, my head having been in her lap this entire time, and she smiles fondly down at me. "Still, thank you for whatever you said, Anna. With any luck, neither of us will ever hear from him again. I hate to say it, but I doubt he'll try to get back in my good books anymore than he did tonight."
I shrug, moving the ice to my lip. "That works for me."
Leaning down to kiss my forehead, Elsa whispers, "I love you, my valiant knight."
"And I love you, my beautiful princess."
XxXxX
The following day, despite Elsa's adamant insistence of waiting until I looked more…well…presentable, we found ourselves back at Mt Sinai. Tadashi had called over the weekend saying that Hiro had finished a prototype of Elsa's prosthetic, and that she could come in for a fitting and "test run" whenever she wanted. Since Elsa needed to go in for therapy today anyway, we decided to kill two birds with one stone.
Therapy went well. Elsa came out happier than usual upon learning that Reilly was also starting to get fit for her own prosthetic; reassuring Elsa that there was no special treatment going on in her case. Upon learning that, her spirits for the study in general seemed to lift substantially.
Elsa had told Tadashi earlier to invite Milo when she would first be fitted with a prosthetic, meaning he was here today. I could see the nerves abound in Elsa's eyes as Tadashi walked in with the model, Hiro strutting in proudly behind. Milo was sitting away in a corner of the room, trusty notepad at the ready, while I sat beside Elsa as always, my hand interlocked with her left.
"Now, today is only a test," Tadashi tells her once more, but also in order to fill Milo in. "It's not supposed to fit perfectly, but we will still be able to gather how much damage has been done to the nerves. Collecting this data still in the test stage should ensure that when the final is ready, we'll be ready to jump right in to physical therapy and not have to worry about the little things like how well it fits."
"Right," Elsa mumbles, looking at the model with apprehension.
I lean in quickly to kiss her temple. "It'll be okay, Elsa," I whisper. "Just do your best."
Nodding, she takes in a deep breath before telling Tadashi she's ready, outstretching her right arm for further emphasis. Elsa had been working on not wearing her old prosthetic anymore as a challenge from Jane, so she was already bare and ready. Tadashi then handed the model off to Hiro, who began to explain the new one.
"Like I'm sure you read on our site," he began, "all prosthetics made here are done so using only carbon fiber and a lightweight metallic alloy. When we scanned your left arm the other day, it allowed us to make this prosthetic bearing the weight of your other arm in mind, so this shouldn't end up being too heavy or too light and throwing off any basic functions once it's fitted.
"Hopefully, if all goes well and once you complete physical therapy, you will come to see this not as a robotic, but as real as your other arm. It should feel like muscle, bone and skin, and react like it too. Still, this is a study, so if need be, some tweaks and fixes are expected to be made. But will we do our best, Elsa, to make this as real for you as we can, okay?"
Elsa nods again, before Hiro flashes her a smile and slides the new robotic on. Elsa stares at it transfixed, and I can barely keep myself from reaching out and touching it. It just looks so…wow. I hold myself back, however, solely on the dream that the first time I take Elsa's right hand, it will be as close to taking a real hand as we can get. Not a moment before, should I spoil what I believe should be nothing but an extremely profound moment.
"Am I…supposed to be feeling anything?" Elsa asks unsurely once its situated.
"You're not supposed to feel like you can move it yet, if that's what you're asking," Tadashi says. "It's not calibrated to your nerve receptors, so even if there was no damage, you still wouldn't be able to move it. We're just testing the fit now; the rest will come here in a bit."
"How does it feel, Elsa?" I ask then. "Is it too tight?"
"No," Elsa replies, still somewhat in a daze as she moves her arm—now a full arm with a hand, screw the robotics aspect of it—every which way, as if all this is a dream and it will vanish in a puff of smoke any second.
I can only imagine what she must be experiencing.
"Too loose?" Hiro follows up. "We want it to be as perfect as possible. If it's too loose at all, it may not work properly once hooked up. It's supposed to be nice and snug."
Elsa admits then that it may feel just a little loose, but in minutes Hiro has adjusted it until Elsa tells him it feels just right. He and Tadashi then ask what she thinks of it, to make sure she's happy with what they have so far, and telling her to keep in mind they can change anything easily while it's still in this stage.
Elsa takes her time then, absorbing every little detail of it, running her fingers all up and down the smooth metal, stretching her right arm out and measuring the length of it with her left—they match each other perfectly—and tracing the small grooves of the palm. I have to admit, for a robotic part, it looks as human as it possibly could. It even sits so it gives her a semblance of having an elbow back.
I cast a glance over at Milo and grin when I see him staring at Elsa with so much pride. I also can't imagine what he must be thinking, having been working with Elsa from the beginning and remembering the struggles of even getting her to agree to any kind of prosthetic. Yet, here she is.
"I like it…" Elsa mumbles with a big smile. "It…looks nothing like what I was expecting. But…in a good—no, amazing—way."
Hiro beams at this and Tadashi ruffles his brother's hair with a chuckle.
"We're flattered, Elsa," Tadashi says. "Truly."
Hiro just nods, probably still too elated to speak properly, before he comes back forward to remove it.
"I promise you'll like the final product even more," he says with conviction upon getting his voice back.
Elsa's smile just turns into a grin before she lets him take it off. He hands it to Tadashi, who then walks over to a desk where several computers are set up. I had been wondering why we were in a different room today, it being much larger than your standard examination room. Tadashi and Hiro place the arm on a stand so it's sitting upright, the fingers all splayed outwards like it's giving the air a high five.
"Now, to start testing your nerve functioning," Tadashi speaks up, Hiro now busy attaching what look like small stickers all over the prosthetic. "Elsa, if you could please come sit here."
Elsa obeys, moving from the small table to a chair seated a small distance away from the computers. I roll the stool I had been sitting on this entire time behind her.
"In order to test this, we'll need to attach some sensors to end of your arm," Tadashi explains as he kneels before her, holding out similar looking stickers to the prosthetic. "These will communicate with the receptors Hiro has placed on the arm. Once we have everything set up, just try and imagine your arm and hand are there, okay? It may be difficult at first, since you've become used to them not being there, but you'll get the hang of it. We don't expect you to get it right away. Especially since it's just a prototype."
Elsa nods once more, her and I watching with interest as Tadashi places a cluster of sensors at the end of her right arm. He walks back over to Hiro behind the computers and we can hear them tapping away on the two keyboards behind the four monitors. I look to Elsa and grin, my stomach flipping pleasantly when she immediately smiles back, no trace of fear present anywhere on her face.
"Exciting, isn't it?" I ask playfully.
"It really is," she responds, her smile only widening. Squeezing my hand she has barely yet to let go of, she adds, "Thank you for convincing me this was the right thing to do."
"Hey, you wanted it," I tell her, refusing to take credit for any of this. "You just needed…"
"A push?" she finishes with a giggle. "I think we've already established I needed several pushes, Anna. I just needed the right person to do so."
Kissing her quickly once more, I tell her, "And I'm thankful I was that person."
"I am too."
"Ready?" Tadashi asks then, and I look over to see him and Hiro smiling somewhat cheekily at our affectionate scene.
Blushing, Elsa nods.
"Okay. Elsa, can you try moving the arm at all?" Tadashi prods. "Just try and focus on the arm right now; we'll get to the hand later."
Elsa nods her head again before she's basically glaring at where her right arm should be, trying to will it to move from across the room. I grasp her left hand tighter as I keep a trained eye on the prosthetic, watching for any little movement.
"It… It's weird," she finally pipes up. "Am I doing anything?"
"You are," Tadashi replies. "It may not feel like it, but the receptors are responding."
"How much?" Elsa asks.
Tadashi just smiles sympathetically and shakes his head. "Enough, Elsa."
"What about wiggling your fingers?" Hiro questions next.
Elsa's back to staring in front of her, and in a few seconds I hear her start to breathe a bit heavier, her body becoming tense.
"Anything?" she asks.
I see Tadashi and Hiro exchange a remorseful look with the other and my heart sinks. That can't bode well. They see me looking—Elsa still conveniently concentrating and not paying attention to us—and give me a shake of the head.
My heart shatters.
What does that mean? I mouth over to them. I see Tadashi sigh heavily before he mouths back that he'll tell me after.
"There's a small flutter, Elsa," Hiro finally answers her, and I may not know if that's the truth or he's just trying to keep her morale up, but I know it's not as good as what everyone had been hoping for.
"What about now?" Elsa inquires, now with sweat beading on her forehead.
I'm immediately kneeling before her to get her to look at me.
"Els, hey," I whisper softly. "It's okay; you did great. Remember, we weren't expecting any great lengths to be taken today, right? You did great, baby."
"Yeah?" she breathes, a small smile flickering on her lips.
I'm trying my damnedest to hold back tears because damn it, something's wrong, but manage a comforting smile anyway.
"Yeah," I echo. "Awesome."
"She's right," Tadashi agrees, coming up behind us. "Why don't we call it quits for the day? Hiro and I have enough to go on to make the real thing now, and we have some good readings to give Callaghan for when you start physical therapy."
"Okay," Elsa sighs.
Once all the sensors are removed, Milo asks to speak with Elsa before we leave, giving me ample time to confront Tadashi and Hiro about what really happened back there. Elsa looks over her shoulder at me as Milo leads her away, but I just nod for her go on ahead.
"I'll catch up," I tell her.
Once she disappears, I turn to the brothers who are looking very meek, not doing much in hopes to reassure me of anything.
"So?" I prod. "What happened?"
"The arm responded well," Tadashi speaks first. "Exceptionally, even. We didn't see any visible results, obviously, but that's most likely because the model is just a prototype. Once we have the real deal before us, if Elsa does what she did today, it would've moved."
"But the hand?"
"There was some response; that wasn't a lie," Tadashi explains. "It just… It was only a flicker."
"But couldn't that also be because it was just the prototype?" I ask, yet having a good idea what the answer is going to be.
"Even so, the prosthetic should have been receiving a signal of at least six," Hiro discloses.
"What was the reading instead?" I can't help but ask, my stomach knotting up.
Another glance between the brothers.
"Two," they answer in unison.