"Try it now!" Mitch shouted from somewhere behind the Basilisk. V nodded before connecting to the mechanical behemoth from the central cockpit. At first, the system seemed to boot up like normal, as stimuli from V, her co-pilot Panam and the Basilisk's surroundings melted into one. But then the first error message appeared, quickly followed by several more. And then the light sensation of burning pupils and a more intense throbbing in her head. Like her brain was trying to push itself out of her skull.

"V!" Panam shouted as she quickly disconnected. V followed suit, but the sensations didn't immediately stop. They never did. No, they slowly faded, resulting in V leaning back with a grunt and rubbing her closed eyes. "Are you sure you're okay? I felt-"

"I'm fine, Panam. Really," V quickly responded in her most reassuring voice. Something she was quite good at. And while the sensations hadn't quite stopped, she still leaned forward.

"You may say that, but we should still stop for today. You should stop for today."

"Yeah, yeah…" Once Panam had set her mind to it, there was no convincing her otherwise. Without any further discussion, V opened the cockpit and stepped out into the blinding sun with Panam.

"No luck today either?"

V could hear Mitch's voice before her eyes had adjusted to the sun. And once they did, she saw him leaning up against one of the tables that lined the inside of the tent. "No, sorry," she replied while rubbing her eyes again. While she didn't see it, it still earned her a concerned look from Panam behind her. "I wanted to help, but-"

"Oh, save it," Mitch cut her off. "We all know it. Hell, we can see it. Just take it easy, okay? It also allows us to concentrate more."

"Yeah, save your energy. You've got someone coming, don't you?" Panam added from the back, before leaning against V's shoulder. Though it did strain her a little bit, V managed to hide it as her co-pilot continued: "You should enjoy it, since we won't know where Ali takes us next."

"A week, right?" V asked.

"8 days," Mitch corrected.

"Really? Fuck…" As V sighed, Mitch and Panam exchanged a momentary glance. "Well, at least we won't need the Basilisk until then. So, you'll have plenty of time to figure it out until then." As Mitch nodded in agreement, V turned out towards the camp. The tent and makeshift workshop for the basilisk was situated atop a small cliff, with a view of the entire camp. The camp itself was an impressive sight, especially for a Nomad camp. Placed somewhere in northern Arizona in the NUSA, this was a crossroads for several Nomad routes, which had gradually resulted in a large, semi-permanent camp where several families mingled. Although right now was a slow period, so a lot of the makeshift living spaces, like trailers and such, stood empty. The whole area gave V a vibe not unlike Santo Domingo or perhaps Watson, just more… Nomad-esque. And this was also where to find a lot of people like Ali, information brokers and other types of dealers. Now, V was betting a lot on him.

"Then I'll go take a rest. You two don't overwork yourselves either." With that, V trotted down the cliff towards the camp and where they rested, while Panam and Mitch's eyes follow her carefully.

"And Randy?" River asked into the phone. The metal sheets that made up the motel's walls, warmed by the afternoon and evening sun, easily burned through his red tank top and onto his skin, though thankfully, the sun itself had disappeared down below the desert's sand and occasional vegetation.

"He's gotten more color in his face. It's going in the right direction."

"Good, that's good…" River's one biological and one mechanical eye turned away from the empty, dusty road and over the desert. Ever since she left with the Aldecaldos, those four long months ago, it had looked different to him, the desert. It had intrigued him. He understood why she chose it, but he didn't see the appeal in it. Something in the endless, open wastes, he could see the freedom in it. But also the lack of direction. However they decided what to do, he didn't know. Still, those were all things he could ask her soon. "Listen, Joss, I'm sorry I can't be there for Randy right now, but…"

"Shut it, you!" Joss' swift and harsh retaliation left him briefly silent. "You've worked your ass off for us. By now, I've got things under control. So, allow me to run this family for a bit, wouldn't you? Besides, you deserve a break. And you want to see her, no?"

"I… Yes, I do." That was all he could say.

"Then do it. And worry about us when you get back."

"… Okay."

"Then we're in agreement. Until then."

"Take care, Joss." And with that, the conversation ended. The arm holding the phone slumped down his side. With a sigh, he concluded Joss was entirely correct. Still, admitting that didn't mean he could just stop worrying within the next second. Then again, he'd just left yesterday, so maybe he could relax just a little bit. He hadn't even made it as far as he'd thought he would. He'd heard about how the highways in the NUSA were a hellishly labyrinthian mix of old and new constructions but hearing about them and driving on them were two entirely different things. But he should be able to make it.

Slowly, his thoughts began to drift away from Night City and onto their meeting in a few days. And those thoughts brought both excitement and nervousness. Partly to ease this nervousness, and partly to pass the time, River opened his phone again and replayed the voicemail he'd received.

In a matter of seconds, V appeared on the screen. She was wearing her new Aldecaldo outfit, which he'd only seen once in person, and sitting on some sort of mechanical construction he couldn't make out in the small frame. Though it looked too advanced for Nomads, he paid it no mind. Instead, the sight of V brought more excitement to him, as well as the pleasant feeling of anticipation, and forced his lips up into a smile.

"Hey, River," she spoke. "Long time no see, huh? Well, our trip hasn't exactly gone smoothly, and it would seem your little business as a detective has kept you busy as well. Which is why it's completely understandable if you can't make it, but…"

"Come on, just ask 'im," a second voice River hadn't heard before encouraged from the sidelines. Still, back in Night City, he hadn't seen this nervous side of V before. It was cute, he quietly mused to himself.

"Shut up, Mitch," V snapped back in the message. "See, given various… circumstances, we're currently sitting still in a camp here in northern Arizona. And we will stay here for… what, a couple of weeks?"

"Yeah, something like that," the voice she'd called Mitch replied.

"Yeah, a couple of weeks. So, if you can make room in your busy detective work, we'd… No, I'd love to see you again. Catch up and just… spend time together again, like before. What do you say? If you can't, then I completely understand. Just holler me, then we'll figure it out and I can send you the location. Until then."

The message ended and River had to admit that now he just wanted to see her even more. Because he'd missed her like crazy, of course, but in the message, she also seemed paler than he remembered when they said their farewells. Though that might just be the sun. And truth be told, he hadn't quite found a hole in his work. There were still cases back in NC that sat and collected dust, but he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate now.

"Just piling on the excuses…" he mumbled to himself while putting the phone back in his pocket. He wondered why he couldn't just admit that he wanted to see her, and that was that. It needed not be more complicated than that, but he just kept finding more and more excuses.

A mechanical, rumbling sound brought him out of his thoughts. Turning his eyes to the sky, he saw a series of AVs flying across the sky. They were too far away to make out any company's signatures, but given the ruinous state of Arasaka right now, it was probably Militech.

The sight of those vehicles made River remember his own. Standing up and walking around the corner, he found his red truck still sitting where he'd parked it. It was honestly a miracle that it could survive an entire day of driving without much in the way of trouble. After all, it was designed and bought with the intention of mostly driving around NC. Well, they both probably deserved a rest now. Only now realizing how tired he was, River stretched his arms over his head and walked inside the shoddy motel room he'd bought for the night.

"Goro-san."

The voice brought Takemura out of his contemplation. When he raised his eyes, he saw the Arasaka squad commander looking down on him. Outside, the rain was hitting the reinforced windows of the Arasaka facility relentlessly. If Takemura could've chosen, that would've been the only sound accompanying him right now. But he didn't have that luxury.

"Oda succeeded," the commander explained.

"I expected as much," Takemura replied. "Why tell me?"

"So you will be ready whenever we call."

With that, the commander left. Takemura knew what he meant by that. They expected him to remedy his mistake at a moment's notice. Without hesitation. There was a great irony in his situation, even Takemura could admit as much. Here he was, back at Arasaka, as he had desired. Yorinobu had been punished, as he had desired. And yet, they were sending him back out after the very same person that allowed all this to happen. If it was not all so utterly frustrating and disheartening, he might've smiled. Instead, he stood up and walked over to the window. The rain's flow distorted the dark clouds that covered the sky. Well, not that there was much to cover in the first place.

"Kuso-ama," Takemura mumbled while clenching his fist and steeling his resolve.

V placed the bottle back on the table with force, making the empty glass echo against the steel tabletop. "That's good…" she mumbled before turning back to Mitch. "And the Basilisk?"

"Eh, y'know, good news and bad news," he replied.

"Let's start with the good," Panam said from beside Mitch, with her own bottle in hand.

"Well, the good news is that I think I know what's wrong with it. The OS's corrupted."

"Corrupted? How?"

"Unsure," Carol was now the one to answer. "But to hazard a guess, connecting with V right before Mikoshi, where the engram had spread thoroughly, that might've done something."

"I see…" That was all V said, but it didn't take an expert to see she was blaming herself.

For a few seconds, the only sound among the group was Cassidy's muted guitar, but even that stopped when he spoke: "If you hadn't entered it and done what you did, you'd be dead. I'd happily trade a hundred Basilisks to save your life again," he said in his gruff yet comforting voice.

"Damn right!" Mitch enthusiastically agreed.

"I get that, but a hundred? That may be a rough choice." Panam joked.

"Screw you," V shot back. But it was with a smile. And the sight comforted everyone around the table.

"V, you're no longer just another NC gangoon," Cassidy continued. "You're an Aldecaldo. You're family. Remember that."

"I will, I will," V reassured him. After blinking a few times and taking a deep breath, she lowered her eyes onto the guitar in Cassidy's lap. "Can I try?"

"Sure," he answered as he handed her the instrument.

"Say, V, when was he supposed to arrive?" Panam asked.

Raising her head from tuning the guitar, V looked at her for a moment before answering. "Tomorrow, should nothing unforeseen happen," she said as she placed her fingers on the strings. She then began to play.

A small jolt when through Panam. "Jesus, the evening wind is starting to get cold," she complained while pulling her knees up to her chest.

"You could also just put on that coat of yours," Carol pointed out.

Panam laughed it off. Since she was the only one that had listened to the Night City-specific radio stations a lot, she was also the only one that recognized the tune V was playing: Chippin' In. But she didn't bring it up and instead just talked and drank with the others. It was only after a few more hours that V put down the guitar and stood up, stretching her arms out.

"Well, I think I'll clock in for today."

"Good work," Panam joked. With a quick wave, V turned around and walked along the side of the van until she reached the corner. She turned around and after only a few steps, she began to hasten her walk. She continued, quicker and quicker, until she was in full sprint. It only took a few seconds before she turned another corner and stopped, breathing heavily. She couldn't hear any footsteps behind her. Good. She couldn't hold it in any longer.

Her body cramped and V bent forward, falling onto her knees, blood gushing out of her mouth as she threw it up, into a bush. Her arms wouldn't obey her and just twitched helplessly at her side, each twitch sending another shockwave of pain through her.

But she didn't make a sound.

As soon as the blood had come, it stopped. Just like the cramps. Only a few drops still fell through her gritted teeth, as she managed to push herself up into a standing position.

"Not… now… Not yet…" With that whispered declaration, she wiped the blood from her mouth and kicked some dirt and sand onto the bush. "Not yet."