Time's Up

...

*Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock*

So went the clock hanging up in Yarrow's cell. He'd gotten used to the sound by now, even welcoming it as a friend, but as of now, it felt like a countdown to his...

His surgery.

The loudspeakers blared above him, causing him to cover his ears from the shrill chirp before announcements.

"Hello, dearest employees. Our Stitch-life program is about to commence starting today, so prepare your experiments for their surgeries!"

Alejandro, the leader of Silver Lake Industries, called over the loudspeakers. Yarrow knew her voice. Cool, melodic, fear-inspiring if you wronged them.

Yarrow didn't want to think about that last bit.

"Yarrow! Are you ready for your needle test?"

He jumped up and held out a paw to the nova scientist, taking the needle from them. Very carefully, as he always did, he pricked the needle into his wrist and-

Woah.

"Wait... you... di-did you... l-l-lie to me?"

The scientist tapped their fingers together.

"Would you have done it if we hadn't?"

Despite his consciousness fading, Yarrow found the energy to say one last thing.

"T... Touche, friend... Tou... che..."

"-kay? Yarrow? Are you okay?"

He blinked. His sight didn't feel right. Quite literally, something was wrong with his right eye.

He went to feel his right eye a-

"WHERE'S MY EYE!?"

The surgeon jumped.

"Well... the eye of the nova we used was... damaged... but the good news is, we're going to put you under again to transplant your original right eye!"

Yarrow breathed. 1, 2, 3, 4... 5, 6, 7, 8...

Okay. He could do this.

"Alright, jab me up, Surge'."

It was much quicker this time.

This time, waking up felt normal.

Yarrow stretched his paws out in front of him, licking his coal-black furred paw to clean himself.

...

Wait.

"It... worked?"

He gazed excitedly at his black paw. It would've been normal to see a little kid staring at his right hand after a skin graft to it, but this was more than a skin graft. This was Stitch-Life, bringing life to those lost in battle in the form of a new body half.

Well, the nova used in this surgery wasn't lost in battle, but it was still cool as fuck.

"Do you like it?"

Yarrow jumped into the surgeon's arms, yelping like a puppy-dog – which, Yarrow could admit, was very un-experiment-like – and snuggling into them.

"Of course I do! I've been dreaming of this my whole life!"

"Well, we still have to get you back to your adjustment cell. C'mon."

Yarrow got off the surgeon, and stood with no difficulty. This prompted a gasp from the surgeon.

"You... you can walk?"

"Well, duh, why wouldn't I be able to?"

To prove his point, Yarrow walked a few circles around the surgeon.

"See? I'm fine! You can release me now, show the world that Stitch-Life is a better future!"

...