Judy stood in the cold empty apartment that V had left behind. The place still smelled of the woman, still held her personality, and Judy could almost hear V's voice echo through the small apartment. Judy sat down on V's dusty couch and her head fell into her hands, sobbing as her memories of the woman filled her mind. It felt like just yesterday that they had shared their first kiss, the night they spent together at the lakeside, all the nights that V made sure to come home to her even when battered and bruised.
Judy could almost feel the woman's arms around her, could almost feel her soothing touch. Judy's sobs were interrupted when a small device that had been left on V's coffee table made a chirping sound before a soft voice spoke from the device.
"Hello Judy!" The device mimicked V's voice as it said her name. "You have one message waiting for you!"
Judy stared in stunned confusion at the device. It was a small black box that had a touch screen on it with a large play button in the center of it. At the bottom of the screen, in bright yellow lettering was just one phrase.
I'm sorry.
Judy reached out a shaking hand and picked up the box, pulling it into her lap. Judy placed a finger on the play button and a recording started playing. At first the screen showed the lake view there Judy had brought V for their first date. A few seconds passed and the view turned to show V sat in a chair on the pier leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. The woman was dressed in her favorite leather pants, an old tattered Samurai tank top and her Samurai jacket, a pair of dog tags hung from around her neck and she held onto a pair of dark aviators.
Judy covered her mouth, trying to hold back more tears. V's face was etched in defeat and sadness. The woman lifted her head to look directly into the camera she had pointed at her.
"Hey Judy." V started, her voice soft, "I'm recording this with the hope that you never need to see it. I know I told you, but I'm dying and far as I can tell, there's no fixing me."
V took a heavy breath and Judy knew the woman was fighting back tears of her own.
"I have some options, I have ways I can end all this." V looked past the camera. "But I don't know what to do, I don't know what to choose. I have no good options, no matter my choice someone doesn't make it out alive.
"I have a deal from Hanako Arasaka, I have Panam and her clan that I could ask for help, and I have Rogue and Johnny's old crew. I'm not a idiot either, and I know that no matter what I pick, I have slim chances of coming back alive and even if I do, more than likely there will be a lot of blood on my hands."
Judy watched as V rubbed her hands together as if already trying to scrub them clean. "Then why this?" Judy asked aloud.
"I know that if I die, I'll leave you behind, leave you wondering what happened and why I couldn't just stay with you. I put heavy consideration into just ending it myself, just putting a bullet in my skull again. Every thought that I have however, it's always what happens to you? And it makes me wish I had never met you."
V's angry words made Judy close her eyes and clench her chest in pain. V's voice sobed out the next words as the woman struggled to keep her emotions in check.
"But you are the best part of my life. In the twenty seven years I've lived, nothing, no one, has even held a candle to you. And that just makes my choice even harder. I wanted a life with you, to try and grow old with you, to be happy with you."
Judy clutched the box tighter, she could almost feel the pain in V's muscles and could hear how much the merc struggled with this.
"Johnny and I, we've got a plan. One that will cause the only person to be in danger to be me. I'll fall into my grave with my gun in hand and you in my heart. Or maybe it will work and I'll come back to you a legend.
"No matter what happens, no matter if I die now, or I die from the chip killing me. I wanted you to know. Judy Alverez, you were the brightest star in my life. You were the only person to make me stay safe on missions, the reason I drew breath. You are the love of my life and I wish so many things had gone differently. I wish we could have our happily ever after, but that doesn't exist in Night City.
"Goodbye Judy, I love you."
With the merc's final words, the recording stopped. Judy held onto the box and began sobbing again. She loved V with all her heart and she never told her, they never got the chance to say those precious words to each other.
Judy didn't know what had happened in Arasaka Tower that fateful night until now. Judy only heard the reports from the news. The collapse of Arasaka Tower was caused by the merc who had somehow managed to single handedly slaughter her way into the tower, crush it's defences and detonate a bomb in the basement enough to cause the entire tower to implode.
"You should have chosen anything else, I would have stayed with you no matter what." Judy sobbed. She fell to her side, holding the box tightly to her chest. Judy thought she could feel V's arms wrap around her, but the ghost feeling disappeared when the woman opened her eyes.
"I love you Valorie."