Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System

'Hold on…' Dante came to a stop, his eyes slowly widening. 'What do you mean… missing?'

[Separated and inaccessible.] Volcan replied.

'... what?' Though he understood what he had been told, Dante still felt confused. Gathering his thoughts, he hurried with another question before his resident AI could answer the first. 'So, you had it before, and now it's gone?'

[Yes.] Volcan replied, sounding strangely solemn. [That seems to be the case.]

'You had the ability to upgrade things other than implants inside my body, but it's now gone?'

[Yes.]

At that moment, Dante felt an overwhelming urge to shout and curse. Just as he began grinding his teeth, a hand fell on his shoulder.

"Kid, you ok?"

He craned his neck to look at Megan, wondering when she would make it to his side. Turns out he was standing at the entrance to the building they were heading into.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, smiling wryly. "I'm kinda hungover, that's all."

"You gotta go easy on the booze. Unless you got a spare liver."

"Don't worry, I wasn't much of a drinker to begin with."

"Alright."

The tall mechanic patted him on the shoulder twice. Dante thought that was it, so he moved aside to let her in, but she didn't move her hand.

"Listen, Dante." As she spoke, her tone changed a little. "You… don't have to be around for the next part."

They both knew what she meant by that, so her intentions got across without a hitch. Giving it a thought, Dante shrugged his shoulder out of her hold and walked toward the door.

"I've seen worse."

They have a captive, one who stands above the rest of the lower ranks. It was clear what Rose and the others intended to do, and Dante couldn't care less. Turning his voice inside, he resumed the talk with his resident AI.

'Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?'

[It is not.] Volcan replied. [I have informed you of my condition during our first exchange.]

Dante searched his memory and soon recalled the conversation.

'I thought you only meant your data storage.'

At the time, after introducing himself as Versatile Omni-Lethal Combat Adaptive Nexus, he said that, due to some damage he received, parts of his data bank had been permanently erased, rendering him incapable of recalling his origin or purpose. Dante didn't pay it much mind up to now, choosing to focus on what the relic could do instead.

[The missing data is a part of the problem.] Volcan answered. [Because of it, I am incapable of determining the true extent of the damage I have suffered. Data relating to the external upgrade function is still available in my data bank, which allows me to recognize its absence, but without the remaining data, it is impossible to determine the true extent of the damage I have suffered.] The AI went silent for a couple of seconds. [Though I am incapable of determining the true extent of the damage I have suffered, my analysis has provided data on its nature.]

'It's nature?'

[Yes. The damage I have received was far too clean, almost as if the intent behind it was to sever parts of me instead of causing destruction. It is a very effective strategy, since it would prevent me from repairing any damage I might have suffered.]

'... shit…'

This didn't feel like the right time to drop all of that on him, so Dante was once again left standing still, his aching head struggling to process what he was hearing. Megan passed him by, but this time, she simply shrugged.

'So… let me get this straight…' he covered his mouth with a hand. 'You're telling me you have been damaged, and that damage removed one of your most important features?'

[That seems to be the case.] Volcan replied. [As I have said before, due to the missing data, it is impossible to determine the true extent of the damage.]

'You mean… There is more?'

[Unfortunately, I might be missing other functions, or maybe even entire armors.]

'... You've got to be kidding me…'

With how powerful and versatile VOLCAN has proved to be, it was a little difficult to believe it was damaged this entire time. Dante didn't know what to do with that knowledge. He had just been told that the damage was intended to prevent him from repairing the damaged parts, which could only mean that regaining them was going to be difficult at best, and impossible at worst.

'How do we get them back?' He asked.

[I am unsure.] Volcan replied. [I might be able to repair myself if I regained the missing components, if any still remain.]

'... guess we should just give up…'

The prospect of external upgrades was quite enticing, but with how strained for time he was, Dante had no intention of searching for something that might have already been destroyed. Same as before, he would have to find a workaround for his upgrade problem. Once he becomes fully cyborg, he will no longer have to worry about it.

'Still…'

External upgrades meant he could upgrade anything, not just bionic implants. It would allow him to take any weapon and create a superior version of it, greatly expanding his arsenal. It doesn't even have to be weapons. He could upgrade anything mechanical, giving him endless options. It would have been a game changer, and yet...

'No wonder they removed it from you.' Just as he thought that aloud, another question popped into his mind. 'Hey, how did you lose it in the first place? Did you have a tough battle or something?'

[The data pertaining to the circumstances is missing, but we can surmise that it was indeed the result of a fierce battle.]

'So… your previous host lost? Is that why you needed a new one?'

[Unfortunately, due to the missing data, I am unable to confirm that theory.] Volcan said. [Still, there is no other explanation for the state you found me in.]

'Man, you really had amnesia all this time?' Dante grimaced. 'To think I never noticed…'

One thing that came out of their conversation was the affirmation of how little he knew about his resident AI, and the relic from which he came. Then again, he wasn't too sure if he wanted to know. At the moment, the only thing that concerned him was power. Not the relic, not its previous host, and not the reason it ended up in this state.

'So long as I have power... nothing else matters...'