This chapter is Revenant PoV

The little family is once more reunited and they are discussing in the living room. Again, the door is blocking most of the chit-chat but some words pass throught.

I hear them checking about (y/n) health and asking her if i was annoying. She answers something like "i'm alright, he was just a bit angry at the current situation".

Cute. She keeps it on with that naive and cheesy attitude.

At least, i know her better and i expect her family to act likewise. Our last conversation showed me that she is quite stubborn and me mocking, insulting and screaming won't change anything.

Whatever I do or say, they won't kill me. I will have to be patient and wait for them to repair me enough so I can get away and do my things.

The door opens and so do the doctor's mouth:

" Hello Mr. Revenant. How are you feeling today?"

I just give a quiet grunt in response. Casual conversations aren't my cup of tea.

" My sister told me you had an incident with your eye. We are very sorry about it. How is it now? Anything to report?"

" Nothing doc. I just want my back to be fixed."

" I understand. Before we start, I would like to warn you about some... Inconvenients..."

" If you're talking about the straps, your sibling already told me why you have to use them. No big deal I guess. "

" Well, there is that. But also, since we don't know yet how damaged your spine is and how hard it will be to heal it, we can't tell how long and how painful the operation will be. It can last for hours or just some minutes."

" I'll do with it. What else?"

" Happy to see you're cooperating with us. We will also repair your right eye afterward."

They keep it quiet whereas they are installing me on an other bed. It's more of an operation table than a bed, with a hole to put your head in.
I'm resting on my chest with my face buried in the cushion slot. They strap me to keep my head, shoulders and hip still.

The girl approaches me while her father and sister are preparing the tools:

" Hey Revenant. I'm just checking if you're well installed and ready for the operation."

I hum gently. I can't see her since she is standing on my right.

" We'll respect your choice about the anesthetic but we want you to know that we keep it close in case you change your mind."

" You won't need it."

" I'm ok with that as long as your don't turn crazy due to the pain. We'll try to tell you as much as possible about what happens in your body and what we are doing. We'll also try to warn you if we need to do something that will generate a high level of pain, so you can prepare mentally. "

" How sweet of you... Uh!"

" That's all I needed to say. If you don't have anything to ask, we'll start. "

I just remain silent, so she stands up and grabs some tools.

The doctor speaks again:

" We will start by visually checking the whole spine. Then, we will dislocate every vertebra and open the core to get a closer look on the inside. Finally, we will repair anything that need it."

The father continues :

" We will warn you before dislocating since it will be very unpleasant. You will get a sting that might feel like an electric shock everytime. Just breath deeply, OK?"

Breath...

Hillarious...

I know he is serious and that my body can fake breathing depending on my health state. But asking to breath to someone who don't have lungs still sounds stupid in my ears.

Their hands are now touching different parts of my back and they share what they find out.

After some minutes, they come to the conclusion that the people who assaulted me knew what they were doing to me. My vertebraes present some signs of forced dislocation and some cut wires pop out of them.

The doctor sounds worried and after I ask her why, her reply doesn't please me:

" I will be honest with you, we've already seen those type of damages. It's definitely what the 'Core Harvesters' inflict to punish who they recognize as... Well... As 'Hammond little puppies'."

They are confirming my apprehensions.

Loba called that gang to help her with her revenge. She must have lied to make them believe I'm one proud Hammond soldier.

She always lies.

I'm already concerned by all of this when my host adds:

" The problem is, when they target a simulacra and choose to keep them alive, they know at some points that their victim will get helped. What bother us is that they certainly have put a parasite or some sort of spy tool to keep control over you. Or at least, to know where you're at."

...

Wait a minute.

" Are you telling me that they may already know you're fixing me up and they might come here to finish the job? "

" Well... Yes. But we won't let this happen. We already dealt with them and we can do it again.
Dad, call Sid and tell him we have a parasite. We need his skills right now. "

I hear the man leaving the room promptly.

" Who's Sid? "

" Our brother. He is specialized with programming and knows how to deal with the Core Harvesters codes. "

I feel both of the girls' hands holding my back tight as the Doc' tells me:

" We are very sorry Revenant, but we have to hurry up. We need to find that parasite as soon as possible. We will dislocate your whole spine at once. It will be very painful."

"Please, accept our apologies and take a deep breath. We will do this as quick as possible."

My host sounded very worried and concerned. She is sincerely sorry.

" When you're ready, Revenant."

I can't say no and I don't want to.

I try to relax and focus on their voices, then give my agreement.

" 1..."

" 2..."

" 3!"

They pull hard my hips and shoulders.

I first hear a loud metallic crack. Then, a shock followed by a huge burning sensation invade my whole body. I can't avoid screaming when the waves get to the highest point.

This is exactly what they did to me. This is the exact same pain than when Loba and her slaves tortured me.
I can't wait to see her face when I will do the same to her.

" You're holding well my friend. We just need to find it and once the parasite's away, we will go back on a slower pace and heal you."

" (y/n), I found it! It's here!"

I feel them catching something that doesn't belong in me and pull it away.

" I will start working on the parasite until Sid join us. (y/n), you can start fixing the cord wires meanwhile. If you need help, call me."

The doctor leaves the room. I feel my host stroking gently the back of my head.

" It's almost done Revenant. Those damages are pretty easy to heal. But I still feel bad for putting you in such pain earlier. After the operation, you can ask me what ever you want. Take it as an apologies gift."

Whatever I want...

Girl, you already know what I want and you won't give it to me.

Her hand go back on my spine and she starts fixing the wires that link the vertebra.

She only talks to tell me how things are going.

It's hard to admit but after all this agitation, her sooth voice helps me relaxing.

I should start thinking of my "apologies gift" before she changes her mind.