The Mechanical Animals: The Conversion Of Lucas Part 1: The Conversion ________________ The cold steel table clung to his fur, its icy chill quickly sobered him as he came to his senses. His head throbbed and ached, he could hardly remember the night before, though quick flashes made their way into his mind regardless. He had gotten off work, made his way home, and went to a bar, the usual nightly ritual. Something else though, something different. He remembered meeting with his drinking buddy of two years, Garry, little bastard got a little cocky at the billiard table and went down three hundred on impossible bets. That's what it was, his friend got himself indebted to some smart ass proto. “Fuckin’ Garry…” he groaned to himself “...little idiot should’a never bet against a machine” He chuckled slightly to himself before trying to sit upright. He quickly found out he was unable to move, not even an inch of clearance, his entire body bound tight against the table he lay on. His confusion quickly replaced with panic as he became aware of the restraints. Quickly flicking open his eyes, he took in his surroundings as he attempted to free himself to no avail. The room was dim but not indistinguishable, it was rather bland actually, the table he was pinned down to was the only piece of furniture in the room, if you could even call it that. A single lone closed door stood a few feet from the foot of the table. The walls were solid red brick, adorning them were several band posters for a small indie group Lucas immediately recognised as ‘The Mechanical Animals’. Typical prog rock group, nothing much to note about them other than their entirely non-biological ensemble, made entirely of Synths and Protogens, he hated to admit it, but he was a fan of them despite the member’s less than stellar backgrounds. Continuing about the wall his eyes quickly fixed on a hanging rack full of various tools and gear that would be found in a BDSM dungeon. Whips, flairs, assorted knives, gags, harnesses, collars, even a collection of buttplugs of increasing sizes from XS to one simply labeled ‘Goodbye’. A slight nervous chuckle escaped his mouth as he finished examining the wall. “Well damn, I’d hate to be the guy to use that thing” he caught himself saying out loud in an attempt to ease his nerves. ‘What the fuck did Garry get me into this time?’ In response to his thoughts, the door swung open as a man made his way inside. Lucas almost immediately remembered him as the man from the bar Garry lost in billiards too. “Good morning Lucas, sleep well?” He asked casually “Probably would’a slept better if I wasn’t strapped down to a damn table man” He replied, a slight hostility in his voice “I would imagine so, but then again, I doubt it’ll be of much issue in a moment…” He continued, making his way over the table, placing his paw on Lucas’ lower calf and giving it a slight squeeze “...Do you need me to remind you of our agreement last night?” “Let me guess, Garry sold me to you in order to cover his debt? I no doubt agreed since I was probably hammered out of my damn mind too” “Something along those lines, yes. Though you seem to have either left out, or forgotten the most important part” “And what would that be? Did I sell you my kidneys or something?” He joked, in an attempt to ease the growing tension “No, you did indeed sell me your body, but nothing internal, that's simply a bonus for me” “What do you mean ‘bonus’?” “Well, what you neglected to mention, was that during our very long conversation last night, you let slip you were a fan of my band, you no doubt remember whom they are, no?” He finished, gesturing to the posters “Yeah…” Lucas answered, now even more confused “... You said, and I quote, ‘I love them. They are one of my favorite bands’, that is what you said right?” “That sounds like something I would say… What does this have to do with me in your sex dungeon though?” “It’s simple, today is your lucky day my friend. You get to join us as our latest member. I must say, you are very lucky to have run into me last night. Not every day I meet a fan as dedicated as you. You and Garry brought me to your home, you showed me your collection. Every single album, EP, and piece of merchandise, signed nonetheless, you certainly are a super fan” “Well, yeah, I do have all that stuff, they are local and It’s hard to find good music… Did you say your band?” “Well yes, I am the manager, most people sadly don’t get to know me as I am in charge of recruitment and dealing. But you are a special circumstance, you not only get to meet me, but you get to know me” “Wait just a second man, you, the manager of the MA’s? I find that hard to believe, I just happen across the manager of my favorite band? No way man” “Small world isn't it?” “I guess so. I just can’t wrap my head around this though, you want me in the band? How would that even work? I'm not a synth or a protogen, or whatever the hell you guys are, how would that work?” “That is where things get interesting, Lucas. I am going to quite literally make you a star” He finished as he rose from Lucas’ side, making his way back to the door he entered from “Hold tight friend, and don’t you go anywhere, I’ll be right back and we can get to business” And with that, he vanished from the room, his footsteps quickly receding down the hallway. “What the hell was he going on about?” Lucas thought out loud again. His thoughts returning to the night before, it was slowly but surely returning to him as fought to remember what happened. “I got off work, I went home, I showered, got ready, me and Garry hung around for a little while watching the beach hockey match on the TV, then we went to the club. We got there at like… nine thirty? Yeah, nine thirty, then we got to listen to a few of the live performances while pounding a couple of lagers. I think it was like, a hazy IPA or something? Something with cherries in it…” He continued to recount the night, slowly piecing it together “...Then we played a few sets of billiards, then that prick came up to use and bet that Garry couldn't beat him, he bought us a few drinks, made some friendly, and then we played, Garry crushed him on the first round. Garry then offered double or nothing, fucking idiot, I kept telling him that he was playing a machine, the prick could probably see the angles or something. They kept playing, went from fifty bucks to a hundred, Garry just kept doubling down and doubling down until he ran out of cash, I footed the idiot a hundred in exchange for his mini-fridge, then he lost again. Then that prick took us outside, we chatted for a bit as Garry paid the man, he made some more friendly with us before offering us a way to make the money back! That's what happened!” Lucas yipped excitedly, he finally remembered what it was “We offered to take him home with us for some game, he agreed and we went back to our house. We took him to my room, he noticed my collection, we talked a bit before Garyy got impatient and started attempting to undress the guy. I kicked Garry out my room, me and him got along and talked about the band, then he offered me to meet them. I said yes, obviously. Then we made out for a bit, then I passed out in bed… and woke up here” He finished his recounting. It all made sense to him now, though it still made very little, it did make sense. He asked for this, though, he was doubtful about asking for the restraints, then again, he doubts he didn’t either. The whole of last night made sense, a painful amount of it, this certainly wasn’t the last time Garry had got him into this kind of situation, there was one time that he still vividly remembered. Garry and him stopped by the Lucky Shoe Convenience Store to pick up their usual stockpile of assorted beverages and snacks for a weekend binge. They had just gotten done paying when the cashier, Max, had offered for them to “Stay the night” as his place, Garry convinced him to come along, and one thing led to another. Lucas still couldn’t look at a bottle of red wine the same. This felt similar to him, he figured that the manager was just hamming it up and he would most likely be lightly tortured or used by the band for a few hours before being allowed to leave, the usual gig. The door swung open once more revealing three figures in the hall. One by one they made their way into the room. The manager came in first followed by the lead vocalist and bassist. The manager's face panel showed a digital smile as he worked his way to the head of the table before passing it out of Lucas line of sight. The Vocalist and Bassist stood broad at the door, almost blocking it with their frames “So, how’s it going fellas? Having a good day, or night, or… whatever the hell time it is?” No response from them. Suddenly, an overhead light flicked on basking the room in light. He could see them clearer now. He could see the slim yet built frame of the bassist, his blue chrome plates reflecting the light into his eyes, causing him to squint slightly. The vocalist's fur shone too, a matte metal flare at the end of every fur, his signature frosted fur always turned Lucas head, there was something about it that just… caught his eye. The manager made his way back into view and Lucas finally got a good look at him again. His fur was either dyed or modified to be a bright, almost neon red, not glowing but radiating with this unmistakable energy, his gold lined visor added this charm to him as he lowered his head just inches from Lucas’ “I would imagine you're a hat size twelve no? You head seems to be of an average size” “If your going to put a mask or a blinder on me a thirteen is a better fit” Lucas replied, more than familiar with the proceedings “Gordon, got fetch me a size thirteen from storage, I want to do a fit check before we begin” The manager asked the Bassist “Yes sir” Gordon replied before leaving the room quickly “Lillard, come over here and get a sizing on his arms and wrist please” he asked the vocalist Without a response, the vocalist made his way over to the side of the table before clasping his paws over Lucas’ wrist and upper arm. “Roughly fourteen inches in circumference on his arm and six and a half for his wrist sir” the vocalist stated, releasing Lucas’ arm before returning to the doors right side “I must say Lucas, for a man who is above average in many regards, your proportions are quite standard” The manager commented “Thank you?” Lucas replied “I’m not quite sure how to take that” “Take it however you please, regardless of how you do, it is the truth, your body has quite nice, if not bland proportions, though I’d imagine you must make up for it in other ways?” “If your asking about my cock, your more than welcome to take a look for yourself, not like I could stop you” “That is not what I was referring to, I would imagine though, based on that statement, you have a more than average one?” “Well, you could say that, only one way to know for sure though pal” “I may take you up on that offer after we’ve finished, though I would prefer to remain professional until we’ve finished” “Well, I would imagine it would be hard to fuck me without taking my clothes off” Lucas jabbed “Who said anything about that?” The manager asked confusedly, “I never once claimed we would be servicing you or that you would be servicing us. I said you were joining the band, and I meant it. We are simply screening you before we begin with your induction” “Okay, so I did hear you right earlier, I thought I didn’t catch it, though, you plan on breaking your own rules and let a bio into the band?” “Not at all, not exactly anyways. We are currently fitting you for a suit so you can properly fit into our ensemble without… standing out” “Oh, I get it, your getting me fixed up for a full body, you wanna put me in like, a costume or something like that” “Exactly” He reassured “you see… most of our members, excluding me and the founder, actually started off as bios before getting fitted for their new mechanical forms, Lilliard used to be a hyena, still mostly is, spare the exoskeleton and wiring, Gordon, well, he was dying of brain cancer, chopped him up and set him straight, and our drummer, Mathew? He just didn't like his skin, you know how that goes I'm sure. So, in one way or another, they came to me, and I fixed them, and now, I am going to fix you…” These words hit Lucas like a truck, there was something about the tone of the manager that just made his skin crawl, the kind of tone said by a man who truly believes he is doing something good while doing wrong. Something you would hear from an executioner before the switch was flipped, something said by a judge before giving a sentence to an innocent man, that certain kind of malice only found in the worst of people. “...I promise you Lucas, when I am done with you, your body will not just feel brand new, but it will resemble art, a masterclass in biomechanical engineering, my latest and greatest in my ever growing gallery. And Lucas? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So just try your best to relax and allow us to make you beautiful…” Gordon had just returned with the mask on a roller cart accompanied by a wide variety of surgical tools, machine parts; arm bracers, leg plates, the standard external parts anyone could recognise at a glance, though, mixed in were a few unusual pieces that the untrained eye and mind could not recognise. Lucas struggled to make out the parts, partially in attempts to take his mind off the increasingly confusing speech of the manager. He continued to search the room, his eyes scanning Gordon and Lilliard, their chrome still shined bright and hypnotic in the overhead light, they seemed to be staring at him intently, not menacingly, but almost encouragingly, like a pair of old friends waiting to hear the answer of their buddy after asking him to come out to bar for a night with them, it was familiar and almost calming in a way. “...Now then Lucas, we are going to begin. Unfortunately, I cannot have you speaking during the procedure as the movement of your oral and occipital muscles could cause complications post op, I am simply going to give you a muscle relaxant to prevent this, as well as a steady dose of painkillers and additive to make this as easy of a ride as possible. Gordon!” “Yes sir?” “Dose him and begin to fit the visor” “Yes sir” Lucas was still stunned in silence as Gordon made quick work of grabbing a syringe from a drawer on the cart as well as a vial of a pale white liquid, he filled it before swiftly approaching Lucas left side. Before Lucas even had a second to process what was going on, the needle had already been inserted and drained into the side of his head, immediately causing his mouth to droop partially open from the numbness. Just as quick as the first, Gordon had grabbed another syringe before performing the same action on Lucas’ right side, causing his jaw to hang open like a puppet The table began to fade from mind as more and more needles entered him, causing him to slip further into his mind. His short lived panic soon replaced with a feeling of emptiness. Lucas watched as the visor was lowered over onto his face, pressing hard against his snout as the trio double checked their measurements one final time. He felt them prod around at the base of his skull with pins and rules, protractors and tapes, making sure every last detail was perfect. They lifted the visor off his head, relieving the pressure on his muzzle allowing him to relax. “I would think his fur is a little thick on the mask” Gordon pipped up “I would think so too, but I doubt it” The manager replied, still pressing it hard against Lucas’ nose “If it fits, it fits” Lillard added “...True” the other two replied in unison The manager placed the visor back onto the table as he began to browse the instruments, carefully dragging his paw across them as he muttered something inaudible to himself. Eventually he settled on one as his grunts tapered off before raising the tool to inspect it. Lucas quickly shot back to what little sobriety he had as his attention turned to the instrument the manager held in his hand, a straight razor. Lucas hazily watched as the manager sharpened the blade against himself before approaching him. He watched, unable to move, as the manager began to shave him. He started with the top of his head with the ears, cleaning all the fur from both inside and out of them, then down the head to the snout, then the neck. The blade was painfully sharp, he could hardly feel it glide across his skin as he felt his fur fall to the floor. They cut his clothes off with a pair of shears before proceeding with his chest, arms, legs, and paws until nothing remained but the fluff on his tail. Placing the razor back onto the tray, the manager then grabbed the visor one last time before placing it back onto Lucas’ snout. As the manager continue to take the last of the triple checks, he overhead Gordon and Lillard idly chatting while waiting for further instructions “See…” He heard Gordon say with glee “... I told you the fur added some heft to him, look at the little guy!” “Yeah, he looks smaller now, way smaller” Lilliard agreed “Nice body though, got like, a surfer vibe to him” “Hell, look even better when we get him all chromed up” Gordon replied “Yeah, he looks great now though, kinda wasteful huh? Guy like this barhopping? Betcha he coulda got way nicer chicks or dudes if he just, i dunno, walked shirtless on the beach?” “True, he certainly would turn my head. But soon, he’s gonna be able to have anyone he sets his eyes on” “Yeah, this is gonna suck though, I still remember my time on the table, worth it, but damn man, I thought I was gonna die” “Be grateful Lil’, you didn't have your skin removed or your head opened up” “Thats ‘cause I didn’t have cancer dude, not my fault” “Come on, not like it was mine either, you don't choose cancer, you just get it” “Either way, you're all chromed up now, huh?” Lillard finished, knocking on Gordon's chest “Yeah, well worth it, better than dying anyways” “True that man, true that” “Wonder how he’s going to turn out, you think his color scheme will contrast or compliment?” “Knowing Gold, I’d say he’s gonna make ol’ Lucas here a bit darker than us, thinking a nice deep black iron grey, you?” “I was thinking more like a hot pink” Gordon Chuckled to himself “Hot pink? Might as well dye his fur periwinkle while he’s at it, pink and grey, what kind of sick joke is that?” “Just saying, Lucas had got a lot of potential with such a neutral color pallet, could make him look better than you ya’ know” “You take that back, nobody beats my highlights” “Exept my beautiful blue pure carbon fiber and steel skin, you still got fur on you, I would say I’m better looking” “Better? You look like a computer had sex with a can of spray paint, and my fur is what's beautiful, not your synthetics” “The fans would say otherwise Lil’, you remember last performance?” “Dude, she was gonna rape you, you know that right? That woman had the look about her, the one of someone crazy” “At least somebody want’s to rape me, I mean seriously, your the damn vocalsit and somehow have more fans” “Whatever man, I’m gonna go fuck with Mathew or something, have fun watching Gold torture this guy” Lilliard finished before making his room, leaving only the three of them left. Eventually, Gold finished his painstakingly long and precise measurements before removing the vision again and placing it back onto the tray. Gordon made his way up to the foot of the table before placing his hand on Lucas’ foot before uttering some reassurance “Don’t worry, this next part will only take a few moments, once it’s over, the rest will fly by. I’ll see you on the other side Lucas, I look forward to meeting the new you” And with that, Gordon made his way for the door before leaving the room. Now just Gold and Lucas remained “I won’t lie to you Lucas, Gordon isn’t wrong, even with all the drugs, this next part is going to feel very, very poorly, just think of it as a pinch and punch and then we can finish this all up” Lucas struggled to grunt a response as Gold returned to the table and retrieved a scalpel. Lucas watched as Gold slowly pressed it to his face and began dragging it across its surface. He felt nothing as Gold continued to cut into him, the knife giving him a slight chill as it slid across him effortlessly. He could feel the warmth of his blood dripping from the fresh cuts as Gold made his way to the halfway point, the front of his muzzle. Gold continued to cut as Lucas lay motionless on the table, all the while wondering what was supposed to be so bad, after all, for being warned by not just one person, but two people about how horrible this would be, it wasn’t so bad. Gold finished the incision as the knife circled back to the top of his skull before being removed and discarded onto the table. “Here we go” Gold muttered before grabbing a pair of surgical tongs and a small electric saw Gold approached Lucas before powering on the saw, its sharp cry piercing the silent air of the room. Using the tongs, Gold peeled off the surface layer of skin before placing it on the table. He pressed the saw to the top of Lucas’ eye socket before leaning into it, causing it to begin cutting the bone. His head rattled and vibrated as the saw caused his vision to blur. The shook his very being as it pressed deeper and deeper into him until he felt it break through, he felt Gold begin the process on the lower portion of his right eye as the motions continued with his left. He was now hardly able to see as his eyes sunk back into his head, floating in either some liquid, or on themselves as they dangled into him. Gold pulled them forward before severing the nerve, plunging Lucas into darkness. Yet still, there was no pain, though there was panic, the sudden and harsh disconnect from reality sent Lucas into an internal spiral. His mind desperately searched for some semblance of sight in the emptiness of his mind, it was not as if he had closed his eyes, it felt nothing like it. It felt like true and absolute emptiness as his brain searched futilely for anything to latch onto, anything to see Then he felt something, a weight being lifted off his head, a relief of pressure from his face, before it was harshly cut short with a rattling at the back of his head. The saw cut through his skull once more as it chipped away at what little reminder of his skull until a window was made. He felt Gold poke around, causing him to feel the strangest of sensations, he felt himself moving, talking, and feeling things outside of himself, like his body was acting but his brain was not. He felt Gold insert various things into the cavity of his skull before a sharp pain rang through his skull. It was brief but defined, like licking an electrical outlet. It hurt more than enough to feel, but just long enough to make you question if you even felt it to begin with. But he felt it, he felt it again, and again, and again, and again, for what felt like hours until the jabbing stopped. The window was replaced as his skull was fixed back onto him. A small jolt coming from his head with each staple being pressed in. He felt the visor against his head again, it pushed onto his raw flesh as he felt Gold lean his full weight into it before hearing a sickening pop as it slid perfectly into the holes of his eye sockets, locking it in place. A growing pressure in his skull as it seemed to expand in him, further cementing itself inside of him. It gave him a massive headache, he felt the machines crawling around in his head, wires stretching in and across about his brain, interlocking themselves with it pulling on his mind, merging with it. Then a slight flicker, then a tunnel of light, followed by a head up display showing him various bits of information, the name of Gold with a little tool tip next to him reading “Boss”, a couple of small instruments highlighted on the table simply marked “Used”, and a digital map of the room he was in in the top left corner. The map was just as empty as the room, it only showed the table he was on, the cart to his right, and a small golden dot moving slightly from side to side, also on his right. “Your vision is functioning well? Just blink twice if you can” Gold asked, putting up finger quotes when saying ‘blink’ Lucas thought about blinking but couldn't seem to manage, he thought he couldn't anyways, though Gold’s reaction seemed signal otherwise “Perfect…” Gold responded, seeming very pleased with himself “Now I am just going to run a quick diagnostic, then we get you off this table and into recovery, then we will begin work on the augmentation of your body. I promise you though, the worst has past, it will be smooth sailing from here on out, we just have to augment your limbs and body, then you’ll be good to go” Gold began to make his way over to the left side of the table before bending over and releasing one of the leather straps that bound Lucas down, he continued with the next, and then the final one. Despite the lack of restraints, Lucas could hardly move an inch, let alone sit up. His head ached, his body was limp, and his mind was clouded with a thick and dense fog. He watched as Gold swung open the door with a great enthusiasm before yelling into the hall “It was a success! Gordon! Get down here and help me move him to recovery!” Gordon quickly made his way into the room, making his way directly to Lucas before gently rolling him onto his side and pulling him into a bridal carry. “Seem to have taken well to the visor, it feels weird at first but you’ll get used to it, sure beats blinking anyways” Lucas hung limp as dead weight in Gordon’s arms as the two of them progressed down the hallway. The display was having trouble tracking anything as the rooms flew by him in a blur. Eventually the two of them made it into a bright white room, ‘Recovery Room’ Lucas thought to himself as he placed softly onto a bed. Lucas had no energy left, all he could gleam was Gordon pulling up a chair next to his bedside before he passed out… *** “Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life Lucas” Gordon said Lucas, still waking up, came quickly to his senses as his vision flickered on to reveal Gordon sitting at his bedside. The room he was in was comparatively nicer to the surgical chamber, though he had a feeling that wasn't the room's original intent. He made an attempt to speak, but no words came out. “Don’t try that yet, we haven't calibrated anything pal” Lillard chimed in from the corner of the room, leaned up against the wall with one leg on the floor “Yeah, just rest up for now, we’ll get you talking again very soon, Gold is prepping surgery for the finishing touches. We just have to get your limbs right, open your mouth up, and make sure everything is running smoothly, then you’ll be back to your old self… more or less anyways” Gordon reassured “Yeah, ain’t gonna matter anyways, getting that visor on you is gonna feel like a hack-job compared to the next part, like we said earlier, smooth sailing” Lilliard added, before kicking off the wall and approaching Lucas “Just gotta chop your parts of and give ‘em the old synth spin” “Stop Lilliard! The last thing he needs right now is that, the man just had what was probably the most traumatic night of his life, you still remember your conversion don;t you, how would have liked it if I did the same thing to you?” “I wouldn’t know, cause you didn’t” “You must have lost whatever of your mind was left, get out of here Lil, go check on Gold or something, just leave Lucas alone” “Okay, boss” Lillard answered before storming out of the room with an incredibly exaggerated stride. “Sorry about him again, he seems to enjoy tormenting you, he’s normally not like this I assure you” Lucas gave a nod of acknowledgment, though it caused him a slight headache. Gordon quickly rushed to hold his head, placing one hand behind it and one on his neck. “Best not to do that yet, you’ll need a few days before you can move like that again, just use your hands or tail to signal to me, keep your head rested” Lucas gave a thumbs up, lowering his head back into his pillow “Now, I know you are probably a little shaken up, I was too, so I’m here to give you an expectation of what Gold is going to do to you next, okay?” Lucas gave another thumbs up “Good. So what we are going to do, is take you back to the operations room, get an outline of your personality, take your body measurements again to get you fitted for your costume, do some demo for a color scheme, then finish calibrating your augmentations. Then, you rest up here for a few days. After that, we give you a day or two of training, then we show you off at the next concert” A wave of dread and excitement came over Lucas, just a day ago he was just another drunk at a bar betting on billiards. Now he was not only a member of his favorite band, but performing with them In less than a week. His head hurt, not just from the operation, but from the shock of it all. “Just wait here for a little while, I’ll be back in a couple minutes to check up on you” And with that, Gordon rose from his chair and made his way for the door. He looked back one more time, scanning over Lucas, before opening the door and leaving the room. Lucas now turned his attention to the room, it was sterile and white, not as bland as the operating room, but similar in tone. Plain white walls only adorned with a single mirror just out his sight to use, a small granite sink attached to the far right wall, and the small chair Gordon sat on. Besides the sitting bed he was on, that was all that was in the room, nothing else. This room conveyed something different to him though, instead of the danger and panic of the operating room, this one was more calming, more relaxed, it put him right at ease. His head still ached as he doubled back on his surroundings, nothing particular catching his eye. His HUD showed him a few random details about the construction the chair Gordon had sat on, a note about the origin of the granite countertop, and the manufacturing date of the mirror on the wall by the door. Overall, uninteresting. After a while of silence and Lucas reading through a few miscellaneous notes about various bits of the room, Gordon had returned with Gold “You seem to be taking to the visor well” Gold commented “Not many get used to constant vision as quickly as you. As I said before, you do seem to be rather remarkable” “He certainly is, and I’m sure he’ll only get better” Gordon added excitedly “That is to be seen, we still have to screen him for his outfit and persona. Then we shall see what he is truly made of” Gold retorted, making his way over to the bedside “we shall see” “That we will Gold, that we will. Should we transfer him now?” “Yes, get him ready, I’ll be waiting in the room” Gold finished before swiftly returning to the doorway and leaving without any further comments. “You ready Lucas?” Lucas once again gave a thumbs up, though he teetered it slightly back and fourth “Yeah, I understand that completely, I was nervous too. It’ll just take a few hours, then you can rest for as long as you need. Now lets get you on the way” Gordon finished before making is way from the door to the bed before bracing the back of Lucas’ head and legs before lifting him from the bed and heading out of the room The hallway flew by again, though with a clearer view, the walls were covered with various eras of the band, posters of old members, both new and old album covers, tour posters, and a few signed pinups of current members. Gordon pushed open the door to the operating room, the same cold steel table awaited him as the two of them approached it. Gold stood in one of the far corners of the room, reading over an anatomy textbook on wild dogs “Here he is boss” Gordon opened, gently placing Lucas on the table with his head facing the door “I’ll go get the cart” he added, making his way back into the hallway leaving Lucas alone with Gold “I would imagine Gordon told you about what we are going to do, yes?” Lucas once again gave a thumbs up “Perfect,” Gold said, seeming quite pleased. He closed the book, set it down on the floor, and made his way over to the table and began to tie Lucas down to it “We will start with you head and work our way down, do try and be still” He added, fastening the wrist cuffs “We are going to fix up the visor so you can talk, then we shall begin to work on the finer details” Gordon had now returned with the cart full of instruments. Or at least what Lucas thought to be the cart of instruments. Gold had just finished strapping down his head to make absolutely sure he could not move, Gold had now made his way down to his legs, and began to fasten them to the table “Ready when you are Gold” Gordon stated, now standing above Lucas’ head looking down at him with a reassuring glance “Perfect, get the oxygen solution ready to inject, same for the battery” “Yes boss” Gordon replied before leaving Lucas’ sight The two of them flew about the room with an almost rehearsed precision. Lucas could hear them assembling machinery, preparing tools, bringing more equipment into the room. Then suddenly he felt a pick in his neck as a fluid filled needle was drained into him. The liquid was cold and sharp as he felt it creep into him, his body shivering with each inch it crawled through him. He felt it slide into his mind as it clawed at his skull. It shockingly cleared him of his headache, it cleared him of all his pain, no aches, no headache, nothing, just pure empty bliss. His body felt light as he eased into the table. His vision faded as his visor switched off, plunging him into darkness. “Appoligies for turning off the lights Lucas, we wouldn’t want for you to freak out or anything” Gordon said to him. The phrase hung in his mind for a second ‘freak out, why would I freak out?’ he wondered, ‘what a strange thing to say to someone getting measured and calibrated’. He wondered for a while what Gordon meant. He felt cold, colder than before, even colder than the liquid that had been injected into him. His breathing felt lighter too, almost weightless, his whole chest did. It was a strange yet almost euphoric feeling. This feeling was new to him, something that no drug or drink had ever done to him before, he enjoyed it, he loved it. Then his vision returned abruptly, he lifted his head slightly to look around the room. That's when he saw it. Gold was hunched over him, bloodied knife in one gloved hand, and a fistfull of flesh in the other. He saw Gordon too, he was standing next to the tool cart, watching with an eager expression on his visor. His mouth hung slightly open as he leaned forward, watching Gold dig around inside him, he resembled a hungry animal watching its prey limp off to die in a ditch, like a hunter who had just landed the killing blow on his mark, just waiting for it to fall over. Gold continued to dig around, rearranging and inserting organs, removing others and disposing of them in a small, nondescript bucket, all the while Lucas watched in horror, no pain, not even feeling, just him and his mind, watching his body being picked apart as Gordon watched from the side with an ever growing expression of interest grew on his face. After what felt like days of Gold cutting and inserting various things in and out of him, he finally began to sew his chest up. Though blinking in and out from panic he was able to make out a few things said by Gordon… “Your so good with your hand Gold” “I wish I could have seen you work on me” “If only we did the same things to Lilliard, I bet he could use an upgrade” he complimented, all the while leaning closer and closer to Lucas Gold had finished up with the chest and made his way back over to the tray and grabbed a small rotating saw. Lucas and Gordon watched as Gold approached Lucas’ right arm and proceeded to turn on the saw and press it hard into his shoulder, almost instantly severing the arm from the rest of Lucas' body. The expression on Gordon's face grew from interest to pure excitement as he leaned back in awe. Lucas nearly fainted, his arm was gone, just like that, in less than a second. No blood poured from the wound either, not a single feeling, it, in fact, still felt like the arm was there, still lying down on the table. Gold took the arm and placed it on the table. Lucas watched as he cut it open to reveal the rest of the bone, he watched as Gold inserted various devices into it, little bits and pieces of machinery here and there, he watched as Gold shocked the limb, causing it to convulse, and then he watched as Gold approached where his arm used to be. Gold placed some kind of disc against the wound, this he felt. Lucas felt it dig into his flesh, his bone, as it grabbed onto him, almost merging with his body as the small wires burrowed deeper into him. They crawled up his neck and into his brain just as the drugs did. He felt something snap into place as the back of his head lit up in pain. Gold then did the same to the arm, placing the disc and watching the thin wires slide around under the skin. This process repeated with each limb, the pain growing slightly more bearable with each passing one. Now all that remained of him on the table were his head and torso, each other part neatly severed and modified on the tool cart next to him. Gold began to move them from the cart One by one, Gold attached each limb to their respective disk appendage, sending a jolt of electricity throughout Lucas’ body. He felt whole again. Then, after gold had finished reattaching his right arm, he made his way up to Lucas’ head, meeting his vision almost directly. “Gordon, take this cart out and go fetch me dental, we just have to finish with the head and he should be good to go” “Yes boss” Gordon responded, the same as always A few minutes passed as Gold continued to poke and prod at Lucas’ new face before Gordon had presumably returned with the new cart as Gold had let up and made his way out of sight. He then swiftly returned with a small drill in hand before promptly pressing it hard into Lucas’ mouth. The drill punctured the visor and made contact with his tongue, its cold surface caused it to instinctively retreat further into his mouth. Gold left sight once more and returned with a small electric saw. Gold cut from end to end of Luca’s maw until he could fully open his mouth, Gold placed a spacer in to keep it open before uttering something to Gordon “Get me the tray, would you Gordon? I need something to put the teeth in” Lucas heard shuffling as footsteps receded then approached and stopped just outside of sight. Gold left his sight one more time before coming back with a pair of pliers and a scalpel. The drugs were wearing off at this point as feeling was beginning to return to his body, ‘there couldn't t have possibly been a worse time’ he thought to himself as he felt Gold make the first incision. A slight tingle of pain shot through him as he felt a trickle of blood escape the fresh wound, Gold did the same on the back side of his gums before fixing the pliers firmly and ripping the first tooth. Gold continued this for each of Lucas' forty two teeth, each one growing in pain and severity as the meds continued to wear off, the same process with surgical precision for each. Cut, cut, rip. Cut, cut, rip. On and on it went as each one shook Lucas back from the recesses of his mind. When Gold finally finished, Lucas’ headache had returned tenfold, it throbbed in pain, not just from the machinery slithering around inside him, but from the rattling of his jaw for each pulled tooth. Gold continued his worth nonetheless not even missing a beat. Shortly after the removal, Gold had grabbed a dremel and began to shape the outside of the visor to resemble a mouth. His jawbone vibrated, worsening the growing headache turning migraine as he worked. Though it seemed nearly impossible to do so, Lucas felt himself drifting off to sleep as the world faded from view one final time…