Mourn

Rebecca and Sasha deliver their new guests to Ori and Bats' apartment, carrying Cat and Fujino to the horrified-looking Ripperdoc.

He sprints inside to get his equipment ready and quickly begins work on them, first doing a periphery scan of Cat's body to make sure she wouldn't die in the next hour, then moving on to Fujino who'd received the most damage by far.

He didn't ask any questions, not about them, or the absence of Ori and Six. Whether that was because he was too focussed on his task or was afraid to know was a question no one wanted to broach.

Rebecca and Sasha wait on the couch, the former trying to distract herself by flipping T.V channels while Sasha attempted to be a comforting presence... After two hours they finally look up at the door where Bats had stepped out, washing his bloody hands in some sort of solution.

"Is she alright?" Rebecca hurriedly asks, completely dismissing Fujino's existence.

Bats lets out a sigh and nods, "Cat is..." he wets his lips, unable to force himself to call her 'fine', given what she'd been through. "Alive." he mouthed distastefully.

"And Fujino?" Sasha inquires.

The Doc's face falls, "Guy's been through a lot, and it'll take a lot to get him back on his feet. He'll need a new hand, fingers, teeth, surgery to cover the worst scarring, and a new liver... Whatever he was fed shot it to hell, he'll need a new one within a couple months if he wants to continue living."

"Yeah... The Tygers have a lot to answer for." Rebecca mutters.

Sasha shrugs, "At least the media is in our favour..." she nods at the T.V, "They're saying the whole thing was an NCPD bust on one of the larger Glitter manufacturers in Night City. No mention of us at all..." she glances at Bats, "Are they awake?"

He shakes his head, "No, and I'm not waking them up either. Cat's..." he trails off with a sigh, "I'm not really sure what I can say, I just know that I'm not the kinda person she can talk with about what she's gone through... Can one of you do it? If it comes to that?"

Sasha nods her head in affirmation while Rebecca just flexes her hands, "If she needs someone to talk to, sure. I think she'd be better off with Ori, however..."

"And... Where is he...?" Bats tentatively questions.

"He's-" Sasha starts, only to pause when the door to the apartment opens. Ori steps inside with a large rucksack filled with items, a sombre look on etched his face.

"Ori!" Rebecca starts, sitting up straight in her seat to address him. He holds his hand up however, stopping her.

"I know why you did what you did, I understand. Just, please, don't talk about it." he quietly states.

"Where've you been?" Bats questions as the merc tosses his large pack into his room.

"Sending my friend off, buried him next to Max." he mutters.

"Oh..." Bats mutters, "Then your friend, Six... Sorry..."

"It's fine." Ori sharply replies, "I got a message for him an hour after he died, prerecorded. He knew it was coming."

"Uh-ah... Drink anyone...?" Bats asks, walking to the fridge and pulling out two six-packs of cheap beer. "I figured we'd celebrate after you were done but, I guess mourning works too..."

Ori nods, cracking one open as the others do the same. He falls into the couch and just silently sits there for a minute, 'existing'...

"Rest in peace, Six." Sasha quietly offers while raising her beer. Only Bats copies however, causing the girl to sigh. "What did he ask you to do, Ori? Will you need help?"

Ori shakes his head, "Just reminding me of my promise. He wanted me to find that backpack and pawn off whatever was valuable in his house to help out... I've got a truck coming tomorrow for his arsenal, no way was I getting all of it out on my own."

"What're you gonna do?" Rebecca finally speaks up, "About Charlie?"

"Charlie?" Bats and Sasha parrot.

"Max's adopted daughter, Six was paying her hospital bills after he died and she needs some stupid-expensive Cyberware to get any better..." he lets out a tired breath, "I'll be taking her in, once I've got enough Eddies to make her better." he states with finality.

"You're adopting a kid? You sure that's a good idea?" Bats asks despite himself.

Ori shoots him a glare, "You want me to abandon her? Break my promise to Six? Fuck that. She's my responsibility now, if you don't like it, piss off." he growls.

Bats raises his hands placatingly, "Calm down, I was only asking... It's just, for someone in your line of work, you sure there's no distant relatives?"

"None." Ori spits.

The Ripperdoc runs the back of his neck, "Then, I guess Eman'll be getting a grandkid... Dunno how I feel about Cat becoming an aunt so early..." he jokes, attempting to cut through the dour mood of the room.

"Speaking of Cat..." Sasha interjects, "Do you want to see her, Ori?"

"No... Too early for that. Still too early." he finishes his drink, stands, and waves them off. "You guys stay if you want, I'm going to sleep." he says, walking away and closing his bedroom door behind him.

...

"Should we... Uh..." Bats utter uncomfortably.

"Speak to him tomorrow, let him process things for now." Sasha states as she gets up, "Call me if any of you need me." she briefly rests her hand on Rebecca's shoulder before leaving.

"Do you mind if I sleep on the couch...?" Rebecca asks Bats.

He shrugs, "I can spare my room if you want, I'll sleep here-"

"No. This is fine."

...

"Alright, if you insist, I 'spose... Lemme know if Cat or her friend wakes up, night." he says, throwing a blanket over her head.

"Night..." Rebecca mutters, curling up in a ball and beginning the arduous task of sleeping.