Recovered, but never truly.

3

MePhone didn't know when he had fallen asleep, but he knew the moment he heard the sound of one of the doors to the lab open, he was both sitting up, and wide awake in an instant, his gaze solely on the hallway he heard it coming from. He listened to the footsteps, thankful they were different from what he was used to. This set didn't click against the floor with every step. This was probably TestTube, but he kept an eye on the hallway, waiting for her to show up for sure, just in case. He could never be too sure anymore, could he.

Thankfully, it was just the scientist, who looked over in his direction as she walked into the main area of the lab, almost surprised that MePhone was awake right now, but she quickly recovered from that, her expression softening a bit.

"Good morning, MePhone,"

He just gave a small hum.

"I spent most of last night working on designing that arm for you. Erh... What you wanted was different to what I had planned, so I had to sketch up something new, but--" She moved a hand to the pocket of her lab coat, this movement honestly making MePhone's stomach twist with a sense of dread, only to be greatly relieved when she only pulled out a rolled up blueprint. So he was scared of pockets now. That just made him feel stupid, really.

"I still think this might be up to your standards." She unfurled it, moving to stand next to the table so the both of them could look at what she had drawn up. It really did just look purely robotic. Like the prosthetics that a few of the other residents at the hotel had, though where those usually tried to emulate some sort of human style, this did not.

"It'll be completely metal. Do you want any specific colourations on it, or?"

"Just gray is fine." His voice was still quiet. Honestly, he didn't hate how the sketch looked. As long as the arm looked like it couldn't be easily destroyed or harmed, he was fine with it. As long as nobody could leave deep, lasting, painful scratches on that arm, or easily tear it apart, It was fine.

He didn't like the idea of looking more robotic than he already did, but he supposed this was a needed sacrifice. He couldn't let himself be hurt the way he was hurt again.

TestTube just gave him a small smile, moving to furl it back up as she stepped away. It was clear she was trying to keep the mood up, and though it wasn't working too much, MePhone still appreciated this. It was far better than feeling like she was just pitying him. That was the last thing he would need during all of this. In some ways, too, it helped him feel just a little bit more secure. Not a lot-- he still barely felt safe here, despite being told Cobs was dead-- but... Maybe it was some sort of start.

At least, he could hope so.

For now, the scientist stepped aside;

"I'll try to get started on it soon, but erh..." A sudden, slight drop in her expression. She almost looked nervous; "I might need to check some things. Run a few tests."

"... What?"

"Your technology is a lot different from what I'm used to. It's... Harder to just modify-- it was hard enough fixing you up in the first place, and I just... Might need to figure out some things to get your new arm to actually work."

Oh. So she'd have to do some poking around. The thought made MePhone feel sick, but she... Was only trying to help, right?

"I don't think... I'm ready to agree to that," MePhone glanced away. He... At least wanted to hope she had his best interests in mind, but the thought was too scary.

"That's fine, too. No rush. Other than that, I know you declined, but I really would suggest using some sort of walking aid--"

"No. Absolutely not. Like I said before, I don't need it. I especially don't need anyone at the hotel looking at me weird. That's only going to draw attention."