A shiver passed from the base of my spine to the top of my skull. A howl in a place where wild animals were rarer than hen's teeth and the domestic ones are but a memory. Could it be? It sounded far from here, likely miles away, and by the time I could've tracked it down, whatever had called out would be long gone. Yet a small fire burned in my gut. Hope reared it's head.

  "Mith, please be okay." I whispered.

  I heard a sharper more piercing howl, much closer now. The beast would had to have been moving faster than a car. A keening whine ripped through the air as a tear formed in the air in front of me. Before I'd time to fully register what was going on I was buried in fur and driven into the ground as a huge shaggy form pinned me. A whine filled my ears. Followed by continuous yips and yelps of joy.

  'I found you! I found you! I found you!' A tongue larger than my body, tried to drowned me in endless slobber. I couldn't have gotten more soaked by falling in a river.

  While I was certainly joyous at the return of my friend, I was about to die of suffocation. I struggled a bit before remembering I could resort to psychic communication.

  'Mith, let me up. I need to breathe.'

  He bounced back, covered dozens of yards in a simple motion. He performed a play bow while making a "Rururururururu" noise. Then he proceeded to bounce around some more.

  'Sorry, Sorry. So happy!' He'd gotten so much larger than he was before. Nearly double his original size. From horse-like to elephantine. Yet for all of his mass, he moved with an enviable gracefulness. It was an awe inspiring sight. I managed to get back to my feet and stumbled over to him, and had to reach upwards to give him a hug.

  "You've gotten huge, you're like a Doggosaurus!" He was still as fluffy as before.

  'Yes, I'm big now. I can even Dance, now.' He bobbed his head. His tongue lolled out in a dog grin.

  "Dance?" I reached up to scritch behind his ears.

  'From place to place. Step through and between. Dance.' He jiggled in place, as his hind leg started to try to match the movement of my hand.

  Ah, the tear in the air before he ran over me. "Wait you can teleport?" A giant teleporting dog? Okay now that was just silly, but I loved it.

  'Yes, Dance, here and there. Everywhere.' His tail was wagging so fast that it was generating storm like winds behind him. I stepped back while keeping a hand as close to his ear as possible, sadly it was now out of scritching distance. Folks were staring in disbelief at the giant canine. Yeah, that was going to be a real problem.

  "Ah, people's reactions are going to be a problem." I considered shooting everyone nearby to keep information about Mith from spreading.

  'It's okay. Worked on trick with others. Hold on.' His happy mental voice jumped a bit. He chuffed and began to circle. I felt mana being drawn into him. After the third roundabout he was smaller by half, and by the sixth circle he was half of that size. Soon he was the size of a very big dog, though well within the realm of normal. I placed my hand on his head, it felt like his real fur. So this was shapeshifting as opposed to some form of illusion. That was really cool.

  Soon enough folks mostly went back to ignoring us. A few glances now and then, merited by the uniqueness of a hound roaming the streets. Who knows what they thought about before, if their ad-rotten brains could even hold a thought that long anymore.

  "Nice! You'll still stand way the fuck out, but nobody should call the cops about you. Oh, buddy I've missed you!\" I knelt down to hug him again as he began a relaxed pant. He got all the scritches.

  'Couldn't find you, very sad. Then felt you again, came to find. Happy! Happy!' His body wiggled so much it was hard to hold him.

  I cast Purify on myself, to get rid of the slobber, and checked Mith over. He was in excellent health. Someone, presumably the Nomads, had been taking care of him. I'd have to find a way to properly thank them later. There were not words to describe what this meant to me. As I talked to Mith about what happened to me, I realized that things were starting to look up. This was a great first step on this new path.

  We spent a while just talking and sharing space. I felt no need to rush and it was good to take the time to relax.

  After a short time, we both walked the last few hundred feet to Lizzie's. Despite being god awful early in the morning, their business was booming. I queued up behind a few partygoers as they were being looked over by none other than Rita herself. Mith stayed plastered to my side but otherwise seemed comfortable even with all the excitement and noise. Oddly other than a few glances no one seemed to be agitated by the large dog's presence. Maybe they thought he was a bot of some kind.

  When it got to be my turn, of course, Rita didn't recognize me, no surprise there. She stared a few seconds at Mith and then shrugged.

  "You're new. You... "

  I leaned closer to her and whispered, "I'm Ryan." Interesting fact, Ryan isn't such a common name in Night City these days. Not a lot of guys named Ryan running around the mean streets.

  Her eyes narrowed as her brain did some calculations. "Prove it."

  I offered her my hand, "Sure."

  Now her eyes widened as she slapped her hand in mine. Rita was mostly chrome, I'd known that from before. This didn't stop me from gently stimulating her brain into feeling pleasure, not much, just enough to verify my identity. After all I wasn't out to have fun. Yet.

  She let out a small little gasp. "Ryan it's good to see you, we'd all thought you might have been flatlined. Look at you all squeaky new. 100% 'Ganic, again huh? That must've cost a pretty ennie. What's with the fuzzy bot?" She had a genuine smile on her face.

  "There's been some trouble, but I'm getting a handle on it." I gestured to my doggo, "This is Mith, the best boy. Treat him well."

  Her eyes widened, but then she scoffed, "Of course, any friend of yours is welcome here."

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  "Mateo in? Need some advise and info." I heard some impatient noises from the crowd waiting to get in.

  "Yup. He's doing his thing at the bar. Just watch out, a lot of the girls feel they owe you from before. And no one has forgotten how your 'special touch' feels, you might get mobbed." She grinned.

  "It's a blessing and a curse." I managed to get it out with a straight face, but we both started cracking up.

  "Hey get a move on!" Someone had lost their cool. Bad move.

  Rita glared over my shoulder. Her bat started tapping her shoulder. "You can shove off, Gonk. We don't need you tonight. Maybe you can come back some other night, when you learn to behave." She made a 'Buzz off' gesture.

  She looked back to me. "Head on in Ryan, and have a good time."

  "See you later, Rita." Mith and I entered Lizzie's.

  Maybe I'd get lucky and find the right Toy.

  As I crossed the threshold I heard Rita mutter behind me, "He's got nova colors now, the girls are going to love him even more. I hope he can deal... " Her voice trailed off as, I think she was messaging someone in the club.

  At the front counter, I let out an involuntary grunt. My senses were full of the the provocative nature of the place. With everything about my new form jacked up to eleven, I was suddenly drowning in sex. The sights, the smells, and the sounds. Thank fuck no one was touching me; I'd probably turn savage immediately.

  "Hey input, you okay?" I looked up to see Kimmie, she looked much the same as the first time I had seen her. Her outfit tonight was a green 'Bitch' halter top with a way too short purple miniskirt. She made sure to show me her assets, however something was different about her.

  I slapped a smile on, ignoring the part of me that wanted to reach over the counter and pull her to me. Primal Heart indeed. "Yes, just have to adjust to my new condition. I see you're still working the front, are you still having fun?" Something was off about her. What could it be?

  "Oh I'm having a preem time. Soon you will be too." She frowned and brushed her neon pink hair back. She was trying to place me, but couldn't. I guess Rita wasn't messaging her. As I handed over my weapon, I thought back to the first time I ever walked in here. Ah, that's it. She had toned the sex kitten routine down, no blatant leering and her cheerful demeaner from that encounter was gone. Maybe she'd seen too much. Or perhaps long nights full of messed up people had worn away the glamor of the place for her. Now it was just a job.

  "I hope you have a better night, Kimmie." I nodded to her and was about to leave when Mith stood on his hind legs to see over the counter. He planted his front paws by the catalogue and exuded that canine charm. His eyes gleamed with mischief and his grin brought a smile to all that beheld him. His tail was blurring in excitement at all the new things going on around him. Now it was more than obvious he wasn't a bot.

  'What are all these smells? So, interesting!' His nostrils were rapidity taking in all the air they could. There was comfort in knowing that having a human level intellect didn't in any way diminish Mith's canine behaviors. I ruffled his ears.

  "OH! Who's this adorable guy?" Kimmie squealed. She came around the counter and proceeded to molest my dog, her attentions quickly started to resemble the behaviors I first encountered from her. All it took was something truly interesting, like an extinct specie of fluff monster.

  A bouncer on the other side of the curtains leading to the main section of the club, leaned through, "Kimmie, you okay? Somebody giving you troub- Is that a dog?!" Soon enough the bouncer was on her knees in front of the the furball trying to him him all the scratches. Soon enough, a few dozen people were joining the Mith Appreciation Society that had just spontaneously been formed. Even the folks who came in after us seemed content to let it continue, some even joined in.

  I stood there quietly letting them have all the doggo therapy they could stand. Happy that some things were still the same whatever world I was in. Mith was in heaven at all the attention, I could feel his joy at being the center of a storm of praise and pets. I broke down laughing. I couldn't help it, it was all so silly. This is what these people were missing. The non-judgmental fuzzball companions that lost in the past. I didn't have the heart to stop it anytime soon.

  After a few more minutes, Susie Q came in and established some order with her usual attitude. She started ordering her folks back to work and tell the customers to have fun. By have fun, she obviously meant get in the club and spend some Eddies.

  'Aw.' Mith said as his ears drooped. He returned to my side and leaned up against my side. My left hand just naturally rested on his head. Like he planned it that way. Crafty, fuzzball.

  When the Mox had all returned to their posts and the customers had entered the club, Susie turned to me. "Anyways making trouble Ryan." She glared at me.

  I heard Kimie's sharp intake of breath, from off to the the side. Yup, Rita hadn't told her. Heh. I started to edge away from the fierce lady in front of me. "Would you look at the time, I best get to the ba-oof."

  Suddenly all the air was knocked out of me. Next thing I knew, my arms were full of the Mox's leader. She hugged me with genuine affection. "We missed you, you Gonk. Where've you been? What happened?" I would've responded but my brain was still trying to process Susie hugging me. What the fuck?

  "Would you believe I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque?" I had to joke, my mind couldn't handle anything else right now.

  "Huh?" She pulled back while not letting me escape. Mith followed along.

  "Sorry, old joke. Let's hit the bar or something and I'll tell you all about it." Instead of the bar, she latched on to my arm and practically dragged me into her office. It was tidy and clean. Her workstation was neatly organized her last task still sitting on her monitor's screen.

  "George will be thrilled to know you are back. We can't begin to thank you enough for what you have done for us. Our first child will be coming in a few months." Oh ho! That explained a lot.

  She guided me to a small loveseat. Mith laid down beside an end table, trying to follow the conversation. I sat and started to give her the rundown of my situation. It was Mith's first time hearing it too. He interjected with soft whines here and there. I tried to give him comforting scritches.

  "So the people that sent you here, screwed you over with no warning. Then tried to steal your memories and stuck you in a new body, and are holding your crew for ransom." She shook her head, "That's some glitched shit."

  "Yeah, so now I'm looking for allies. I'm going to get my people back and then I'm going to find some way to tear the Cockbag responsible for this a new asshole." I growled.

  "How can we help?" That right there, made my day. Hell, made my fricking year. No hesitation. Funny how if you help people, sometimes they help you when you need it. Though I was about to abuse that help. I gave it to her straight, I didn't sugarcoat what I was looking for.

  "You need an experimental subject. Really, you'd need more than one." She frowned, "That comes dangerously close to what we try to stop, Ryan. I'm sure you have the best intentions, but what happens if things go wrong." She look toward a window on her office wall overseeing the main floor of the club. I knew, without a doubt, she was running thoughts of her gang in her mind, sorting out their interests versus mine.

  Yeah, I didn't like the idea either. But I knew I could do so much more to help people, if only I'd learned how everything worked. I already seemed to be able to delay the encroachment of Cyberpsychosis, what if I could cure it altogether? Not that I wanted a bunch more Borgs running around, stable or not, but more people could have that choice safely. There are a few dozen diseases and syndromes that can occur from the integration of Chrome, I should at some point be able to fix them all. Instead of the messed up patch jobs I could manage now.

  Also, even if no one else could ever use mana, any data collected would be of some help to the current medical professionals, the ones who still actually cared anyway. A healthy baseline of tissue and chrome interaction, could provide models that paved the way for countless future innovations.

  "I'm not interested in screwing anyone over here. All I can promise is that I will do my best to both prevent accidents, and if they do occur, put anyone I'm working on back together. Once I have full control and understanding of my abilities, I'm sure I can improve what people already have going on." My hands were gesturing wildly trying to convey my sincerity, "I'm willing to both pay, and offer future favors, because I understand what a terrible thing I'm asking. If you want, you can have someone monitor everything from step one. So I can't go all Corpo on this.

  She nodded. I could see it left a sour taste in her mouth, but she could see the benefits. "Alright, but I have a few conditions... "