Another Choice

Part 1: Return, Chapter 10

The crew was to meet at the Aldecaldo's North camp the day River's contacts were scheduled to relay their information. Judy and V were some of the first to arrive, in the early hours of the morning, when the sands were still cool from the previous night.

The last couple days had been hard on V. She was now getting sickly episodes at least twice a day, which was only worsened from the stress the coming mission brought. Judy had been doing her best to care for and comfort her output, but V was still getting worse by the minute. It was probably a good thing the plan was set in motion so quickly.

The rest of the team trickled in over the next several hours. Misty and Viktor arrived shortly after V in Vik's old Thorton, and they got set up right away with the resident Aldecaldo ripperdoc, Joel. Johnny and Takemura came in with Weyland and Claire, along with the volunteer merc crew around noon. Kerry followed just behind them. Weyland had managed to scrounge up twenty Afterlife mercs, which was a very welcome addition, as it nearly doubled their forces. They had barely parked before beginning to unload crate after crate of equipment from their black vans, carrying it into the central HQ tent where Saul was. Several branched off, joining other specialists around the camp. Two went up to join the ripperdocs, three went down to where Mitch had the Basilisk, and one went over to Judy and Carol in the Netrunner tent. Still more took up security positions, supplementing the Aldecaldos who were already patrolling the outskirts. Weyland and Johnny joined V and Saul in the HQ tent.

"Impressive amount of personnel," said Saul, shaking the large Jamaican man's hand. "We're glad to have them."

"How'd you round up so many?" V asked, watching in awe as they moved about the camp like a well-oiled machine.

"You 'ave more allies than ya realize, girl," said Weyland. "Dey came, because da Queen of da Afterlife called dem. More loyal soldias, ya will not find."

"I wouldn't agree with that," said Panam, walking up to the group, with River right behind her. "We Aldecaldos watch our own. And since V's family, we're prepared to do anything for her."

Panam looked V in the eye, giving her a wide smile. V returned it, already feeling more confident than she had been the previous nights. Weyland didn't acknowledge the comment, and waited for the meeting to start. Saul installed a datashard, displaying the construction site on the central terminal. He then motioned to River, who stepped up.

"Alright, my guys got the last of their intel this morning. Originally, the site was patrolled and operated by Militech, but since the war declaration, Militech had its guys pulled out days ago. That's also why the drills stopped when they did. They didn't want to keep digging a hole for Arasaka. The tunnels are scheduled to be demolished, but that won't happen for weeks since they need to get the SERCs out. Now, the site is patrolled by Arasaka soldiers. Luckily for us they're not a Special Forces or android unit. There's approximately two dozen of them around at any given time, though my guys suspect they're rotated out on shifts, so there are probably more in the area."

River rotated the hologram of the site, then zoomed in and highlighted the main gate.

"The gate has about 10 guys on and in front of it. It's made of reinforced steel, but the fence around it is just concrete, so blowing through it shouldn't be a problem with the Basilisk."

River highlighted another portion of the hologram.

"Past the gate is a bunch of construction equipment lining the road, which can be used as cover. Another 10 or so guards patrol the inner site. The control room access is up the right side of the tunnel, and the SERC itself is 1,800 feet down. At least two guards are in the control room, and we don't know if any are in the tunnel."

River rotated the hologram one last time, then zoomed out. He highlighted a station a few miles from the construction site.

"This station was used as a Militech staging area for the region. They had the ability to provide reinforcements to the site if necessary. But since Militech pulled back into the city, I don't know if it's currently being used by Arasaka. If it is, we have about 10 minutes from first contact for them to get reinforcements there. If they're coming from the city, we'll have about 20 minutes if they use AV's, and 40 minutes if they drive."

"We'll get a team to check out the station," said Saul.

River nodded in acknowledgment. "Other than the reinforcements timing, we should be able to clear the site easily. We outnumber them twofold, and we'll have the element of surprise. The difficult part will be holding the site."

"'Ave no fear, cop," said Weyland. "Nothing will get past my men."

Following River's update, Saul once again laid out the plan that had been developed at The Afterlife. Infiltrate, upload, drill. Pretty simple really, but V knew even the best laid plans can go to shit in seconds.

Judy, Carol, and the Afterlife Netrunner Kai delivered their hacked datashard during the meeting. They then got to work preparing the mobile rig they were bringing along, in case the cyberspace access point in the tower didn't work for whatever reason. V thanked God they didn't need to use Mikoshi directly for this. The mobile rig needed to have enough power for two uplinks, so Carol was making all sorts of modifications to make sure it worked. Worst case scenario, they'd have to drag Yuna's body out of there alive if the uplinks didn't work. Carol was making sure it wouldn't come to that.

Similarly, all around the camp a flurry of activity was happening. Several mercs and Aldecaldos were unloading and testing crates of weapons. They were also mounting machine guns, launchers, and other gear to the fleet of desert vehicles parked by the Basilisk. Another team was working alongside them, performing maintenance and upgrades on the vehicles. V spotted Claire amongst them. A large group was scurrying over the Basilisk, directed by Mitch. Several people had joined Viktor and Joel, making medical kits the team could carry, and converting one of the vans into a trauma vehicle. Misty had joined the cooking unit, who were preparing a huge barbecue for that evening.

V stood on the rocky outcropping overlooking the camp, just watching. It stunned her that all these people, from so many walks of life, were working together to help her. She had been a nobody streetkid just months ago, and now here she was, commanding the loyalty and dedication of all these men and women.

At some point, River had joined her on the outcropping. He sat in silence, looking out over the bustling camp just as V was.

"Haven't really been able to catch up since everything went wild," he said softly after a minute. "Was worried 'bout ya, V, when I heard you went into that tower. Thought I might never see you again, which woulda been a damn shame. Ain't a lot of good people like you left in this world."

V glowered at that. "I can't be a good person. Not after everything I've done."

River snickered at that. "After everything you've done? V, it doesn't matter what you do, it's your reason for doing it. And you're one of the very few people I know who's willing to get their hands dirty to do the right thing."

Do the right thing. That phrase echoed in V's skull, reminding her of the decision she had to make the next day. "Sometimes it's not about doing the right thing, but about doing the least bad thing," said V.

"Maybe so," said River. "But still, I've dealt with a lot of different people, V. And somehow, you still continue to amaze me."

Another minute of silence passed, with V still trying to organize her thoughts.

"You know, I followed your advice," said River. V looked at him curiously. "I got that Private Investigator position you told me about. Called up Regina Jones, and I was practically a shoe in. Now I can take my own cases, work my own hours, be my own boss. After so many years on the force, it feels oddly freeing. And I've got you to thank for that."

V scoffed. "Please, you were born for this job. I was merely giving you a nudge."

"Well, it was a damn good nudge," River replied. Then his face softened. "Although, that wasn't the only thing you inspired in me."

V listened on attentively.

"This is kind of embarrassing, but you know when we were sitting up on that water tower, with that shitty bottle of whiskey? And I tried to, you know…"

"Kiss me?" V asked teasingly.

"Yeah, that. I see now I was probably stepping on someone's toes." He nodded over at the Netrunner tent. "But I still couldn't deny the longing. I had been ignoring my own loneliness my entire life, first taking care of my sister then being a cop. You made me realize, that having someone close to you isn't a bad thing. So, while I hope you don't mind, I kinda…"

"Asked out Panam?" said V knowingly. She'd kept on eye on her two friends ever since the first Afterlife meeting, and she'd secretly hoped something would spring up between them.

River's cheeks colored instantly, visible even on his dark skin. "How'd you…?"

"I notice things, River. It's what I do. And no, before you ask, I don't have any issues with Panam as your output. What I'm curious about, is how you managed to nab her. 'Cause that woman is the most stubborn human being I've ever met."

"You're one to talk," said River with a smirk. "Well, it wasn't easy. First time I tried to talk to her, I almost got her fist imprinted on my face. Catching her fist before it hit is what I think impressed her. From there, we just started talking. And it just feels, so, natural, around her. You know what I mean?"

V nodded, her mind turning to Judy. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It's how I felt about Judy, even from the first time I met her."

River smiled. "I'm glad you two have each other, truly. Though, you coulda told me you were batting for the other team a little earlier-hey HEY HEY!"

V had started smacking him with her jacket. "Who I fuck is none of your business, officer," V said tauntingly between whacks.

"Alright, alright, mercy!" River yelled out. V finally let up, tossing her jacket to the side.

"Glad you and Panam have each other too," she said.

[-]

That night at the Aldecaldos camp was one of the best ones V could remember. All of her friends, her family, her coworkers, being merry and celebrating. They were all gathered around the central firepit, eating and drinking the spread laid out by the kitchen team. There was syn-steak, ribs, sausages and burgers, and even some real chicken. Bread and corn were being passed around as well. Somebody had broken into the liquor storage, much to Saul's fury, and beer, wine, and even some of the harder stuff were being imbibed as well. V was actually pleasantly surprised when she didn't see anyone getting absolutely hammered, avoiding the problem a hangover would cause the next day. Her soldiers were well disciplined, although they did have Weyland and Saul watching every their every move like hawks.

Cassidy had broken out his guitar, and the old cowboy had begun to play at some point. Two more guitars had been procured for Johnny and Kerry, Misty pulled out an old tambourine, and one of the mercs brandished a harmonica. All of a sudden, they had their own personal band.

V sat in the central part of the group, sharing a beat-up couch with Judy. Panam and River were on her left, and Viktor and Claire were on her right. Everybody was singing and clapping along to the old classics and folk songs their little band was playing. Johnny of course had to include a few of his old Samurai songs, but they lacked their usual power on the acoustic instruments. They actually had a much more melancholy feel than the rockers probably intended.

After another round of songs, Panam stood up, raising her beer bottle.

"Well, I think we all know why we're here. We're here because of that crazy woman there," she said, gesturing at V. "That crazy, brave, loyal city rat who holds a special place in all our hearts. There isn't a single one here who hasn't been positively impacted in some way by V, myself most of all."

Panam turned to fully face V. "She pulled me out of the darkest point of my life, singlehandedly knit this clan back together, and gave me my family back. I owe her my life, and I'd go through hell and back if she called me to, because I know she'd do the same. And how many of you crazy fuckers would join us?"

A cry went up through the camp. Panam held a hand up to her ear. "What was that? Didn't quite catch that." Another cry went up, nearly deafening in volume. V felt hot tears pool at the corners of her eyes from the display.

"See that, V? Every single one of these guys are your chooms. And you know what, tomorrow we're gonna get you in that goddamn tower, save your goddamn life, and stick it to the Corpo dirtbags. 'Cause we love you V, and we all know you'd do the fucking same for any of us."

"Here here!" cried Johnny, raising his own beer into the air. Everyone else followed his example, raising their own drinks in a toast as they echoed his call.

V flicked her eyes from person to person, face to face. Over fifty souls, all gathered together to save a hot-headed, stubborn, streetkid merc. The weight of that fact constricted in V's chest, into something she didn't think she'd ever feel again since her parents died. It was the feeling of home.

[-]

The camp was alive with a flurry of activity an hour before dawn. The plan was to start the assault at sunrise, when the guard shift changed. Hopefully, they'd catch them right in the middle of it, at the time all the guards would be the least alert, having just woken up or done an entire night shift.

V and Judy were gearing up in their tent. V had a Netrunner suit underneath her regular armored jacket and pants, and a combat harness over that. Judy was also dressed much more practically than her typical attire, sporting an all-black combat uniform, complete with helmet and vest. V had been unable to convince Judy not to come into the tower as part of the fire team, but as she had suspected, Judy refused. So V wasn't taking any chances with Judy's security. Judy had her own tech pistol and combat knife in case things got really bad.

V was equipped with her ever-faithful Ajax assault rifle, Rogue's pistol Pride, and a wickedly sharp katana. The goal was for V to not have to fight at all, but V wasn't taking any chances. If she didn't get to Yuna, the mission was all for naught.

Judy and V stepped outside, and walked over to the path to the staging area. A bright glow from dozens of headlights illuminated the still dark landscape.

V stopped at the top of the path, and looked up at the sky. It was just dark enough to see a few stars, twinkling softly against the slowly rising radiance of the sunrise. Judy touched V's shoulder, bringing V's attention back to earth.

"This is it," said Judy.

"Yeah, guess it is," V breathed out. Judy must've noticed V's uneasiness.

"It'll all work out, you'll see," said Judy with a smile. "Didn't do all this work for nothin'."

V couldn't help but kiss that smile. The kiss was soft, tender. Nothing like the emotion fueled ones they'd shared before. To V, it felt like a promise.

"Love you, Jude," V whispered.

"Love you too, Val," Judy whispered back.

[-]

V and Judy loaded up into Carol's car, since they were the team who would upload the virus. The Netrunner Afterlife merc and Cassidy joined them as security.

They only needed to wait twenty minutes before the deep thrum of the Basilisk's engines enveloped the staging area. Mitch and Panam would pilot the Militech tank, leading the convoy. Weyland would follow with Johnny, Saul, and the Afterlife mercs in their two remaining black vans. Carol, Judy, and V would be right behind them. The Aldecaldos would trail and surround them in their desert cars, acting as scouts and security team. The converted Trauma van would take up the rear, where Viktor and Joel would stay. Saul had already dispatched a small team of Aldecaldos to the abandoned Militech outpost, and another small team would stay and guard the camp.

The Basilisk hovered smoothly out of the garage, and took its position at the head of the convoy. With a roar, two dozen engines were fired up, and Operation Save V was underway.

As they neared the dig site, V had a sudden feeling of dread. There was no way they'd get through this whole thing without casualties. All these people, put in danger because of her. She didn't have much time to think about it as bullets started whizzing by the car, and the concussion from the Basilisk's turret echoed across the desert.

"Here we go ladies!" shouted Carol. She gunned the engine, flying through the gap the Basilisk had made in the fence. Bullets were pinging off the modified car's armor plates like raindrops. V could hear other small arms going off behind her, so the merc team must've been returning fire already. The Basilisk stalled in the middle of the inner site, and V could hear Panam cursing over the comms.

"Something's jammed!" she yelled. "Don't engage, give us a minute!"

Carol screeched to a halt between the Basilisk and the front gate. Bullets were still ringing off the sides, but much less frequently than a minute before. Screams and shouts could be distantly heard, and V gripped her rifle so hard her hands turned white.

A harsh thumping sounded from somebody banging on the car.

"We have you covered, move to the stairwell!" came a voice from outside. V shot out of the car, using the door as cover to scan her surroundings.

The site was in chaos. Flames were pouring out of destroyed machines, and muzzle flashes could be seen against the dark backdrop of the tunnel. The mercs had taken up defensive positions around the Basilisk, using their own vehicles as cover. The Aldecaldos were scaling the walls and scaffolding around the site, slowly advancing towards the tunnel. V saw the stairway to the control room to her right, maybe a hundred feet over. Several barrels and mining equipment were stacked nearby, which could be used as cover.

"Stay on my ass!" V yelled to her team, who were hunkered down behind the tank. She signaled Weyland, who was parallel with the tank, slightly in front of their line. "Covering fire!"

A barrage of gunfire erupted from the merc's lines, and the enemy fire died down immediately. V grabbed Judy's hand, and together they sprinted for the barrels. They barely made it in time, with bullets kicking up dirt right where their feet had been. V looked around frantically for the others. Carol was behind a barrel just behind them, taking potshots with her rifle. The Afterlife Netrunner was with her. V's heart dropped as she saw the Aldecaldo who'd been riding with them, collapsed on the ground right next to Carol's car, a thin stream of blood leaking from the hole in his head.

"Motherfuckers!" V cried in rage, leaping up and raining fire on the enemy line, 100 yards up. She fired until her magazine emptied, and then Judy was pulling her by her harness towards the stairs. Carol moved up to cover their rear, and the four made it into the small stone outcropping of the stairwell. A yell sounded from above them, and V could only watch as an Arasaka soldier jumped down onto the upper flight. She barely even registered the threat when a crack echoed against the stone, and the soldier dropped. V looked over to see Judy, breathing heavily and holding her pistol aloft.

"Good job, babe," V said, before taking point up the stairs. Two more soldiers were on the upper flights, and another two in the control room itself. V dispatched them mercilessly. Once in the control room, Carol and Judy fired up the terminal while V and the merc kept watch.

"How much time?" V called to them.

Carol held up an open hand. "Five minutes!"

V moved to the window, keeping her head down. It looked as if their forces had moved into the tunnel. Saul's van was already driving for the opening. But beyond the front gate, was what made V's blood run cold.

Swirls of dust were being kicked up in the distance, and V could barely make out specks of vehicles even with her Kiroshi implants. They were heading straight towards the site.

"Panam, come in. I see possible Arasaka reinforcements in the distance. We have minutes before they arrive.

"Minutes?" Panam yelled through the comms. "How the hell did they get here that fast?"

"I don't know, but we have to prepare. Is the tunnel clear?" V asked.

"Looks like it."

"Then have everyone turn around and set up defensive positions."

"Basilisk is up and running again," came Mitch's voice through the static. "Don't worry kid, we'll give 'em hell."

V watched as the Basilisk roared back to life, and slowly turn to face the gate.

"How long?" V called to the techs.

"Ninety seconds!" came Carol's call.

The next minute and a half passed agonizingly slow as V watched the reinforcements close in. They were maybe a mile out when Carol grabbed her shoulder.

"Upload's done, let's get outta here."

V nodded, and they started down the rear staircase that led into the tunnel.

"Panam, virus has been uploaded. Have you reached the SERC?"

"Yeah, we're breaking into it now."

"Understood, we're on our way."

The team had barely made it into the tunnel when a shout was heard.

"Look out!"

An injured Arasaka soldier had struggled to his feet, and had just fired at V. V instinctively covered her head, but something else hit her from the side, away from the path of the bullet. V hit the ground hard as the tunnel erupted in gunfire, the lone soldier being riddled with holes.

V looked up, confused, to see a prone figure next to her. It was an Afterlife merc. The young woman was gasping horribly, blood oozing from her mouth. V immediately pulled the woman to her, looking for the wound. It was on her back, the bullet having pierced through the armor there, passing through her body, and getting caught on the armor on her chest. High caliber tech round. There was nothing V could do.

"Jesus Christ, what were you thinking?!" V choked out, looking the woman in the eyes.

"F-for the Af-aft-erlife," the woman gasped. She held her hand up, and V took it, squeezing the dying woman's hand reassuringly.

"Thank you," V whispered. The woman managed a weak smile, before going limp.

V fell back as her mind went numb. The poor girl couldn't have been older than twenty, and yet she dove in front of a bullet for her, and died for it.

Judy was suddenly in front of her, gripping her jacket hard.

"V! We gotta keep moving. We gotta keep moving."

V was lifted to her feet, and pulled down the tunnel. She didn't look back. She didn't have the strength to.

[-]

Panam already had the SERC up and running by the time V and her team caught up with them. They could barely hear over the roar of its engine.

Battle had already erupted outside, the Arasaka reinforcements meeting their hastily made defenses. According to Mitch, though, they were holding out alright. Hopefully things would stay that way.

V hopped up into the massive drill, with the rest of the fire team maintaining security outside. Amazingly, the planned team had all made it. Saul, Panam, Weyland, Johnny, Takemura, Carol, Judy, and herself. Several Aldecaldos and Afterlife mercs were there too.

"What's the sich?" V asked Panam as she surveyed the drill.

"Virus is up and working like a charm," Panam replied, yelling to be heard over the engines. "I just programmed the new route. See that lever there?" She pointed to a red lever above the control panel. An identical one was right above Panam's head. "We gotta pull these at the same time to get this thing moving."

V nodded, gripping the lever. Panam did the same, then held up three fingers. She ticked them down, and they both pulled their levers. With a metallic screech, the drill lurched forward. V could see mountains of dirt and rock giving way to the drill through the monitors.

"Two minutes!" Panam yelled.

V could hear the drill turning, into the storage room that the blueprints showed was right next to the tunnel. After an excruciating two minutes, V and Panam were thrown off their feet as the drill broke through the wall of the underground storage room. Panam leapt to her feet, shutting down the drill before it could get any farther. With the deafening roar of the engine gone, V could hear warning sirens from the tower just outside.

"Put these on," said Panam, tossing a pair of rocket boots to V. V threw them on quickly, before jumping out of the drill and onto cracked concrete. The rest of the team had already secured the room. Saul directed the remaining Aldecaldos and mercs to guard the drill.

"This way, to the elevators," said Takemura, slotting in Hanako's datashard. His eyes blinked blue several times. "I have the access codes. We must not delay."

The team moved out in single file, Takemura at the lead, V and Judy in the middle. The lower levels were eerily vacant, the only sound being the warning sirens. Storage rooms, research labs, huge servers, all empty of life. At each door, Takemura had to jack in and hack through it, but no other security measures were triggered. It wasn't until they'd almost reached the elevators when the first of their opposition showed themselves.

It was a squad of Arasaka soldiers, though they looked strange. They were each identical, standing seven feet tall and wearing the heavily armored uniform of Arasaka Special Forces operatives. Each carried a HJSH-18 Masamune assault rifle, with a JKE-X2 Kenshin tech pistol on their sides. But the most disturbing thing about them was their faces. Stark white, with only the barest cutouts for where human anatomy should have been. They looked like mannequins in combat gear.

"What in the fuck-" said Johnny, before the strange soldiers suddenly opened fire on them. Everybody dove for cover as the soldiers started advancing.

"Grenade!" Weyland yelled, tossing an antipersonnel GASH grenade over the counter he was behind. The room was lit up with light as twenty-one lasers were emitted from the specialty grenade. It disabled two of the soldiers, but the rest kept coming. Panam and V leapt up to return fire, but their bullets seemed to be doing little effect. V even saw one of the soldiers take a headshot, and not even flinch. Blood and other fluids leaked from its skull, but it still kept coming. V noticed the two disabled by the grenade sparking.

"They're cyborgs!" she yelled out to the fireteam.

"No shit!" Panam yelled back, finally bringing one of the monstrosities down. Weyland took out another with a point-blank blast from his shotgun, and Johnny was grappling with third. V watched in horror as the thing literally tossed Johnny across the room, who slammed into the opposite wall. In desperation, V targeted the nearest one and began a quickhack on it. But its firewall codes were so obscure and complex, she didn't even have a chance. The one she'd targeted had turned its attention on her, and was now running towards her while firing. V dove back behind cover, sheltering Judy, but then the cyborg stopped in midstride. A moment later, its head erupted into flame. Two more followed suit. V looked around in confusion, and saw Takemura standing up, his focus on the remaining two cyborgs, who had also frozen. Smoke began pouring from inside their armor, and they too dropped to the ground.

"The fuck was that?" Carol said into the silence.

"Those were Arasaka's new super soldiers," said Takemura, rubbing his temples. "Developed by Saburo. They are cybernetically enhanced clones, each with a custom chip holding a modified Engram of a Special Forces soldier."

"Why the fuck didn't you tell us that sooner?" groaned Johnny, rising up from his place on the ground. Panam had rushed over to him, jamming an airhypo into his arm.

"I did not think they would be deployed so quickly. They were still in development when I gained this information."

"Well, fuck. These are the fuckers they've got guarding their tower now," said Saul. "How'd you make them stop like that?"

Takemura tapped the side of his head. "Override chip. It can decrypt their firewalls fast enough to upload quickhacks."

"No kidding," said V. "I tried that, and the firewalls on those things are the most complex I've ever seen. Would take way too long with just a neural processor."

Takemura nodded. "Be on your guard, more shall await us."

The group gathered themselves, reloaded, and moved past the smoking bodies to the elevator. Takemura jacked in, and forced a car down. Once they all were in, Takemura quickly unjacked and rejacked in the car.

"I must constantly re-hack my way into the controls. The access codes change every 10 seconds," he said. "Be prepared in case the elevator stops."

Getting to the 70th floor was a war unto itself. Nine times the elevator stopped at a floor, each time with a security team of either cyborgs or Arasaka soldiers waiting in front of it. The team had learned to fire immediately as soon as the doors opened, buying enough time for Takemura to re-hack the elevator and get it moving again. They had to swap elevators halfway up, as their original one became too bullet-riddled to function correctly.

It was at the 60th floor that they had to abandon the elevator. Someone had figured out they were in the tower, and disabled the elevators through a hard connection line, something Takemura couldn't even hack through. The team filtered out into Arasaka's indoor forest. V recalled that this was where her last mission to infiltrate the tower started, but that they had to go down instead of up. She wondered if Johnny was thinking the same thing, as he was in control of her body at the time.

The goal was to get the middle of the forest, where the tree canopy was less dense, and use the rocket boots to ascend to the balconies of the 70th floor. From there, they only needed to find the Save Your Soul laboratory. So of course, who else would be waiting at the center but Colonel Graves.

The MaxTac leader was surrounded by a mix of other MaxTac officers and Arasaka cyborgs, each with a gun trained on a member of the team.

"Not bad, that whole thing with the big drill down in the basement," said Graves. "Too bad your little escapade has to end here. Now, the boss would prefer you alive, so don't make this too hard on yourselves. Drop your weapons."

Nobody moved.

"How 'bout this. I'll give ya 'til the count of three. If you don't drop your weapons and surrender by then, we'll just execute ya right here. One, two, thr-"

All of a sudden, three of the cyborgs collapsed, flames erupting from their skulls. Nobody noticed Takemura silently move away from the group before they encountered Graves. He had flanked around, and disabled half of the Arasaka Cyborgs with quickhacks. That action lit the forest up with gunfire, people diving for cover wherever they could find it.

V yanked Judy behind a stone bench, making sure she was safe before returning fire. In the center of the clearing, Johnny had tackled Graves during Takemura's diversion, and the two were grappling on the ground. V killed the MaxTac officer who was trying to separate them. A thunderous clap sounded, and V looked over to see Saul with an anti-material rifle, having just blown the head of a cyborg clean off.

In the midst of the chaos, Johnny and Graves continued to trade blows. Graves had gotten on top of Johnny, and was raining hits down onto his head. Johnny had his arms up around his ears, trying to lessen the damage from older man. Graves reached down, pulling out a combat knife, and attempted to plunge it into Johnny. But Johnny caught the man's wrist just before he could stab him, wrenching him to the side. Graves rolled away from the force of the throw, but Johnny was already charging, ramming his shoulder into Graves' side. Graves collapsed again, and Johnny extended his monowire. The shimmering orange whip crackled with electricity. Johnny swung at Graves, who rolled away at the last second, moving much faster than he had been before. Graves swung himself up, and extended a shock baton.

"It's all over for you now, Gallagher," he said, a crazy glint in his eyes. Blood was leaking from the corner of his mouth. Johnny spat to the side.

"We'll see about that."

Graves charged, and Johnny barely blocked his overhead swing. He could hear the buzzing of the baton. The monowire flashed as it made contact with the baton, energy arcing from both weapons. Johnny dodged another three precise, deadly swings from Graves, before one finally caught him on the arm. Johnny felt his nerves seize up as electricity arced through the limb, rendering it useless. Sensing an advantage, Graves pushed his assault, jabbing Johnny over and over with the baton. With his limbs failing and pain flooding his mind, Johnny used the last of his strength to spin away from one of Graves' slower attacks. Surprised at the move, Graves didn't have time to react as Johnny's monowire wrapped around his throat. Graves immediately began choking, even as the monowire injected its own painful arcs of electricity in his body.

"Fuck-you-Gallagher-" he rasped. Johnny tightened the hold around the man's neck, his body beginning to jerk from the amount of energy coursing through it.

"Not this time," said Johnny, tightening his hold even more. "And the name's not Gallagher, it's Silverhand."

With a final yank, Graves' head was sliced clean off. It fell to the floor, bouncing sickeningly. With a grunt, Johnny pushed the smoking carcass away from him, and retracted his monowire. He was finally able to notice the destruction around him. Corpses littered the clearing, some shot, others having sustained lethal damage from quickhacks or grenades. To his relief, none of the bodies were familiar. The fireteam slowly began trickling into the clearing, coming out from behind hastily formed cover.

"Well, that was awesome," said Panam, coming up to Johnny. "Brutal, but awesome. Nice work, Silverhand."

A groan sounded through the clearing, and everyone turned to the source. Weyland was swaying on his feet, a hand clutching a wound on his stomach.

"Oh my God," said V, rushing over to him.

"S'just a fleshwound girl, don't'cha worry 'bout me." He pointed up at the ceiling. "Finish da mission."

Panam and Saul had knelt down to inspect the wound.

"Weyland's right, we can't stay here any longer than we have to," said Saul. "We'll take care of him, you guys keep going. "

V was about ready to object, when Panam put a hand on her shoulder.

"Go, V. We'll be alright. Go do what we fuckin' came here for."

Reluctantly, V, Judy, Carol, Takemura, and Johnny readied their rocket boots, and soared up to the overhanging balconies high up near the ceiling of the forest. Takemura guided them down several hallways, each lined with a different, large research lab. Finally, they arrived at a large, fortified door at the end of a central hallway.

"This is the one," said Johnny. "Came outta there just a week ago."

Instead of jacking in, Takemura simply walked up to the door and knocked. Three sharp raps. Another two sounded from the other side of the door. Takemura knocked back, three quick taps, a pause, then another two. V realized it must've been a pre-planned code.

The door slid open, to reveal Hanako Arasaka in a lab coat.

"I am glad to see you have made it. This way, please."

Hanako led them into the research lab, and into a side room. The room looked like a hospital, everything colored the typical Arasaka white. Beds and monitors lined the walls, all unoccupied save one, at the very back. V's eyes widened as she saw her salvation for the first time.

Yuna Arasaka was quite young, especially compared to her family. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, with smooth porcelain skin and a serene, beautiful face. Her hair was stark white, pulled up into a bun. The monitor by her bed beeped slowly, indicating her heart beats.

The only one with a more fixed look on the young Arasaka was Takemura. He had a look of sadness, longing, and joy, all at once.

Hanako motioned at the bed beside Yuna, waiting for V. V laid down on the bed, her own heart beating erratically.

"There is a Cyberspace access point by each of the beds," said Hanako. "However, they link directly to the Save Your Soul database. We need to make these two link to each other."

"On it," said Carol. She and Judy unloaded their mobile Netrunning equipment, arraying it on the ground. Carol started up the equipment's main terminal, and began to type vigorously. Hanako went to stand by V's bed, leaning in so only she could hear.

"You recall our deal, yes?" she asked. V nodded. Hanako's deal was to bring Yuna back so she could destroy Saburo's backup Engram, while V killed the man herself. V had agreed to it only to get the access codes Takemura had used to get them there. Hanako already knew that if V agreed, she'd die soon after, so V didn't want to make her suspicious. "Good. Bring back my cousin, V."

Johnny was next in the cue. "Feeling a bit of deja-vu yet, kid?" he asked.

V shrugged. "Couldn't tell ya, was out for most of your hijinks last time."

Johnny smiled, and V could still see that infuriating rocker boy behind that new face.

"Don't forget what I told ya, V. You deserve a second chance, this city doesn't. We need you here." With that, he left her side, taking up a security position by the door.

After helping Carol get the initial setup going, Judy had come to sit on V's bed. She grabbed V's hand with her own, and toyed with V's necklace using the other.

"Here we are", said Judy. "Where we wanted to be over a month ago. Jeez, it feels like a lifetime now, huh?"

"Yeah," said V. It was hard to imagine that the first infiltration into Arasaka, to grab that relic chip that spiraled her life out of control, was only a month prior. That Jackie's death was only a month prior.

"We're ready," said Carol from behind her terminal. "Jack in."

Judy herself pulled V's neural cord from behind her ear, being gentle as can be. She slotted it into the socket in the terminal beside her, the one designed to interface with Save Your Soul. Hanako did the same thing with Yuna's. Then Judy leaned down, kissing V with unbridled passion.

"Come back to me," she whispered. Then V knew only darkness.

[-]

For a moment, everything was calm. There was no stress, no sorrow, no fear. It was peace in oblivion, serenity from nothing. It was the void, where nothing was and nothing would be. But that infinite moment of blissful silence was not meant to be, as the blue glow of Cyberspace erupted into V's vision. The setting was the same as when she'd used Mikoshi, a long, thin bridge leading up to a stout pyramid. V ran up the path, and to the top of the Pyramid, to see Alt waiting for her.

The AI was in her human form, fluctuating blue fractals of code coalescing into the shape of a woman. Framing her from behind was the intense light of Blackwall. Next to her was another construct, much smaller, and also in the shape of a woman. V figured that to be Yuna Arasaka's Engram.

"Here we are, at the crossroads once again," said Alt, her booming voice echoing into the void. "It is here that you must make your final choice, for never again shall I allow a human mind into my realm. Whom shall gain the new body, and whom shall perish?"

For the millionth time, V's options ran through her head like a battle. Take Yuna's body for herself, and live a life on the run, on a war-torn planet. But it would still be a full life. with her friends and family, and most importantly with Judy. Or return Yuna to the world, and help her to stop the next great Corpo war before it even begins, saving millions. Then live out her remaining days in her own failing body, and eventually let her loved ones watch her die.

V's mind swirled in anguish. She hated Cyberspace, hated how she couldn't feel, couldn't breathe, couldn't do any of the human things necessary when processing a situation. So instead, V looked inward. She recalled that night on the rooftop with Judy, and the embrace that cemented her decision. V reached deep, deep into her soul, and found her decision to still be the same.

"These stand as my promise to you, Judy Alvarez. That no matter what happens, I'm never truly gone. And wherever I end up, I will always love you."

V looked up at the shining form of Alt before her, and answered.

END OF PART 1

And we have arrived at the split. As I said at the start of the story, I am writing two endings for V, giving you, dear reader, a choice for V's fate (though I know most of you will read both endings anyway cuz you love my writing lul). From here, Part 1 is over, and Parts 2 and 3 will begin. Each new part will be a different ending, separate from the other, and not consecutive. Please read one part at a time, or else you might get confused. Thank you for reading, I hope you've enjoyed so far. Be sure to follow/fav/review if you feel like it!