V's awoke to the raging blare of her holophone alarm. She didn't want to get up, as the green woman was in desperate need of more sleep. What little shut eye she did get wasn't very restful, making her feel extra groggy. Still, V shut off the alarm and stretched. They couldn't stay put for much longer. Survival required her to get a move on.
"Come on, Wander," V yawned, trying to start up her half-conscious brain. "We need to get up." She reached over to shake the furry alien awake. But her hand met only air and wrinkled bed sheets. "Wander?" V lifted up the blanket to find that there were a few orange hairs where Wander was laying when she fell asleep.
"Wander?" V sat up looking around the motel room. Her first thought was that Wander went back to sleeping with Sylvia, but the Zbornak was alone on the other bed. Another glance around and the edgerunner realized that Wander's green hat was also missing. "WANDER?!" V leaped out of bed, panic forcing away the early morning drowsiness. She sprinted to the bathroom only to find it empty. Then she checked under the beds and even looked in the small, motel dresser. Wander wasn't in the room.
"FUCK!" V punched the wall with her right fist. "That moronic freak! Don't have time for this."
"It's one less thing to worry about," Dominator shrugged, the phantom appearing at V's side. "I say we forget him and hightail it out of here."
"You might be right," V mumbled, "as much as I hate to admit it." She turned to the still sleeping Zbornak and tried to shake her awake. "Sylvia… Sylvia, wake up!"
"Hu?" Sylvia snorted as her eyes cracked open. "Just five more minutes," she mumbled, rolling on to her back.
"No. Not five more minutes," V scolded, "Now! Wander's missing, and we need to delta."
"Wander's missing?" Sylvia forced her head up, and looked around the room to confirm her friend was gone. "He's always up super early," she said, brushing off V's concern. "He's probably out helping some granny carry groceries or something. He'll be back by sunrise." Sylvia stretched before lying her head back down with a smile. "Little bugger always it."
Before Sylvia had a chance to fall back to sleep, V cranked up the volume on her phone and placed it by the Zbornak's ear.
SEED IS SOWN, I'M CHIPPIN' IN
ROLL THE BONES, I'M CHIPPIN' IN
EMBED THE CODE, I'M CHIPPIN' IN
MAYHEM FLOWS!
"Yeeow!" Sylvia screeched as her head shot up, hands over her ears. "Alright, I'm up already. Crop…"
"News flash, Zbornak," V spat, turning off the music. "I can't wait till sunrise. In case you forgot, people know who I am now. The corpos are probably already looking for me, which means I need to get the grob out of dodge."
"I'm not leaving without Wander," Sylvia said.
"You can come back for him if you want, but my main concern is not taking a bullet to the brain." V glanced at the time on her phone. "5:06 AM. If he's not back by 5:30, we're leaving without him. I'm gonna get dressed."
V grabbed her bag and went into the tiny bathroom, closing the door behind her. She didn't have time to take a full shower, but still made a point to wash her face and wipe the outside of her right eye socket. Getting dressed proved to be more of a challenge than she anticipated, as moving her left arm too fast caused a bolt of pain to shoot through her shoulder. But the edgerunner's motivation was great enough to push through.
"Hey, V," Sylvia asked through the door.
"What?"
"Let's assume for a second that I'm okay with leaving without Wander," Sylvia pondered. "Where exactly do we go?"
"Yea, V," Dominator mocked, content with being a voice in V's head. "Where we gonna go?"
V let out a heavy sigh as she tried to get her bra on. "Not many places we can go. Our best shot is to head out into the Badlands to hide."
"The Badlands? Sound's lovely," Sylvia responded, her voice thick with distaste and sarcasm.
"So long as we avoid hostiles, we will be fine. We'll be out of the city, and can hunker down in any one of a million places to get our bearings. You can even come back for Wander once I'm out of the corpos' reach."
"And we will cry in the fetal position in the corner of a rusty shack till you return," Dominator chimed in, her cruel smile audible in her voice.
"Shut up," V whispered as to not tip off Sylvia to her state of mind. "Just. Shut. Up." The voice giggled in response and fell silent.
Once V was fully dressed and had her eye wrapped, she stepped out of the bathroom.
"Gather your things. Time to get moving," V stated as she put on her arm sling.
"Not without Wander," Sylvia defied. "Friends don't leave friends behind. Not that you would understand."
"Yea, yea," V sighed. "I'm a flarpin bitch with no understanding of basic, human connections. Heard it all before." The edgerunner had put on her weapon holsters and gathered all her things when she realized that she couldn't find the room key. "Hey, have you seen the room key? It's a blue key card, about this big?"
"I haven't seen it," Sylvia shrugged. "I'm guessing Wander took it. It would make getting back in easier."
"Oh, grob me! Forget it. Doesn't matter. We'll just leave without checking out." V started making her way to the door, but Sylvia stepped in front of her. "We don't have time for this, Zbornak." V was failing to keep her cool, an intense feeling of panic starting to creep into her chest.
"You need to calm down," Sylvia said. "I understand that you're scared, but you need to trust that everything will be alright."
"Are you kidding me?" V snapped, her teeth clenching extra tight. "This isn't one of your goofy adventures, Sylvia. In Night City, it's kill or be killed. And if I don't make a run for it, I'm going to be the one getting killed."
"Calm down," Sylvia smiled, trying to reassure the green woman. "This isn't my first rodeo. I used to be the baddest mercenary in the galaxy before I met Wander. Between the two of us, these corpo folks don't stand a chance."
"Bull grop," V scoffed. "You used to run around capping heads for cash? Not buying it. And even if it's true, the two of us are no match for a squad of corporate soldiers."
"V, please. We stick together, and everything will work out. Trust me on this."
The edgerunner stared at the Zbornak. V was searching Sylvia's eyes for some semblance of logic. As far as she could tell, Sylvia believed her own words. But V had seen too many things. She had killed too many people. It didn't work out for them. Why would it work out for her?
"Goodbye, Sylvia," V said, her voice becoming monotone. She pushed passed the Zbornak and reached for the door. Before she could open it, the door slid open on its own.
"We brought breakfast," Wander cheerfully sang, holding a paper bag high over his head. However, V wasn't paying attention. Her eye had locked with the Arasaka corpo who was standing next to the Star Nomad.
"Morning, beautiful," Corpo V smiled. "Coffee?" He held up a drink carrier with four paper cups as if showing her a peace offering.
Alien V was unable to answer. She could only stare wide eyed and slack jawed at the man. Without thinking, she began to reach for her holster, but Corpo V beat her to the draw.
"Don't even try it," Corpo V said as he pulled out his pistol and pointed it her.
"Whoa!" Wander exclaimed at the sudden threat of violence. "We're supposed to be making friends. Not trying to shoot each other."
"You heard him, Dominator. Just stand down, and we can enjoy a quiet breakfast and friendly chat."
"Fuck you, Vincent," Alien V spat, not taking her hand off her holster.
"Please don't call me that."
"Then you don't call me Dominator." The two stared each other down for a brief moment till Corpo V gave in.
"Fine," he sighed, lowering his gun a bit. "You can call me Vinny and I'll call you V. Just calm the hell down."
"Fine," V said and took her hand away from her holster. She stepped aside to let Vinny and Wander into the room. "Figures you would get to me first."
"I make a point to keep a close eye on my targets," Vinny said as he placed the coffee on the motel table. "The hard part is getting the target to talk. It's best to strike when they are under stress and vulnerable."
"Careful. I can still shoot you."
"Just being honest. How do you like your coffee?"
"Two creams," V answered, holding up two fingers. "Never drink that fast food junk straight."
An awkward quiet fell over the room as Vinny passed out the coffees and Wander handed out bagel sandwiches. Wander tried to warm up the room with small talk, but quickly gave up when he became the target of V's death stare. He decided to not speak for the time being. It would be best to let V and Vinny work out their differences and only interfere if the guns were pulled again. He sat down next to Sylvia and enjoyed his fruit cup.
"How's the arm?" Vinny asked as he pulled over the desk chair.
"Oh you know," V spoke, with an air of annoyance. "Got shot by my best friend, but it's no biggie."
"You can lose the sass." Vinny took a sip of his coffee before unwrapping his sandwich. "I'm just here to talk. And I got a squad watching the motel, so there's no threat of Militech barging in. We can chill for a bit."
"How thoughtful of you," V cheered, cranking her sass up past 11.
"I'd hate to interrupt, but who is this guy?" Sylvia asked. She was struggling to follow along, as everyone had been talking in English since Wander returned.
"Sylvia, this is Vinny," V sighed, switching to Galactic Common. "He is an Arasaka corpo, and very bad news."
"He seems nice enough. And anyone who brings us breakfast can't be all bad." The Zbornak took a big bite out of her bagel and frowned. "Even if that breakfast kind of sucks."
"That's what I thought about him, too. Until I realized the gonk managed to get info out of me without me noticing."
"You two talking about me?" Vinny smirked.
"We are," V sarcastically smiled. "I was just telling Sylvia how much of a lying dirt bag you are."
"I never lied to you. I said I wanted to ask you questions, and I asked them."
"You came at me while I was stressed and not expecting it. And then you threatened Mama Welles' livelihood to get me to comply."
"As I said: Talk to the target when they are stressed and vulnerable. All cards on the table," Vinny chuckled. "I haven't lied to you once. And I'm not lying when I say I'm here to talk. Hell, maybe we can even get a deal worked out. It's not my department, but I'd happily vouch for you. Give you a leg up in negotiating."
"So this is how it ends," Dominator sighed, appearing out of the corner of V's sight and strolling over to Vinny. "We either sell out, or get shot. Cause let's face it, there's no way Arasaka is gonna let us walk away."
"You must be a fucking nutcase," V laughed. "Me? Make a deal with you? Ha! That is too good!"
"Nice to know you still have some pride."
"Is it really all that outlandish?" Vinny asked. "Arasaka isn't the only corporation that has an interest in you. At least we want to build a partnership. After you're little announcement, all of the corporations are gunning for you. I wouldn't be surprised if Biotechnica wants to use you in their experiments, and we have reason to believe Militech sees you solely as a threat. They want you dead."
"And Arasaka? I become your willing slave?" V spat. "I'd be better off dead than deal with that."
"No, V," Vinny shook his head. "A partnership. As farfetched as it may sound, some of the people you hurt see value in keeping you around. It was Beeza who suggested that we identify you and make a deal. And the Emperor agrees."
"I got the favor of the great Saburo?" V sarcastically gasped before immediately dropping back into her distasteful mood. "Not buying it. Your greedy emperor maybe, but there's no way tiny Beeza would be cool with having me alive."
"Even if you don't believe me," Vinny said, taking on a softer tone, "you can't deny that this is an easy out."
"An easy out?"
"You sign on with Arasaka, and you will have immediate corporate protections. We can protect you from anyone who would want you dead. We can even move you to Japan. No one would dare hurt you on Arasaka's home turf."
V looked away and down at the ground. She sipped away at her coffee while she contemplated the offer. It was a good deal, she couldn't deny that. The edgerunner was quickly running out of options, and joining the biggest megacorp in the world could only be a good thing for her. But is that what she wanted? To be some techie in a guided cage, building at the whim of some random king?
"If you don't want our help that's fine, but what's the alternative?" Vinny continued. "You run off into the Badlands until a different megacorporation grabs you? Or you get flatlined by nomads?"
"Please, please, PLEASE!" Dominator begged, wrapping an arm around V's shoulders. "Do not take this deal! We should be running the show. Not running tech support for these hairless monkeys!"
"I'm not," V whispered to herself.
"Pardon?" Vinny asked.
"I said I can't take your deal, Vinny," V announced.
"Yes!" Dominator jumped up and started to do a small, celebratory dance.
"I'm not made out for corporate work. I spent most of my life going against the norm, and that's what I'm going to keep doing."
"You'll be dead by the end of the week if you go it alone," Vinny said.
"Maybe," V shrugged. "Maybe it's better that way."
"Wait, what?" Dominator froze, her eyes snapping wide open.
"Now if you excuse me," V announced as she stood from the bed and walked over to the motel desk. "I need to think up a plan. Make small talk with the dorks and leave me alone." V sat on the desk so that she could look out the window, and began to contemplate.
"Are you actually going insane?" Dominator scolded as she sat down next to V.
"I'm talking to you, aren't I?" V joked, thinking the words instead of speaking them out loud.
"Well, look who's learning." Dominator rolled her eyes before turning back to V. "I'm trying to fix us. You know, actually keep us alive. But you just admitted to being borderline suicidal."
"I'm not suicidal. I'm just willing to accept the inevitable result of my actions."
"That doesn't mean you have to roll over and die like some animal. We need to keep on fighting!"
"I know. I know. And I intend to keep fighting, but that will only get us so far."
"So what's the plan? Just bail out? Not many places we can go that are even remotely safe for us."
"Major cities are a no go. Too much corporate influence. Unless we were to make a deal with a nomad clan, the Badlands are not any better. We might have to leave Earth all together."
"And how in the actual grob do we get off world?"
"Well…" V turned her head to the rest of the group. Sylvia and Vinny were playing a card game, though she wasn't sure where they got the deck. Her eye stopped when it landed on Wander. He was watching the card game intently, his usual gleeful grin painted on his face.
"No," Dominator dismissed.
"You have a better idea?"
"Let Militech kill us."
"Oh, for fuck sake," V quietly sighed to herself. "Yes, he's an annoying little twerp. But he's also the only person in the universe willing to stick their neck out for us. We get him to escort us somewhere safe and relatively isolated. A place where we can actually rest and gather ourselves."
"And then what? Become peaceful farmers? Death would be more merciful," Dominator griped.
"No, not farmers. If anything, we'd probably keep doing the mercenary thing. We're good at it. We would just need a ship, which we can acquire after we rest."
"Auuugh," Dominator dramatically moaned. "Fine. We'll do your idea. For now."
"Hey, Wander," V called in Galactic Common. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure thing, buddy," Wander said. He hopped up and joined V by the window.
"Don't… Don't call me buddy," V sighed.
"Too late," Dominator giggled. "You befriended him, and now you're stuck with him."
"What can I do for ya?" Wander asked.
"You know any planets I can hide on? It's obvious now that I can't stay on Earth," V said.
"Hide? Why do you want to hide?" Wander frowned at her. "I get not wanting to stay on Earth if you got people gunnin' for you, but you don't need to hide."
"You can't honestly tell me that it will be any different in outer space." V furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment. "The entire galaxy wants me dead. I need a place to lay low and regain my strength."
"And then what? Are you gonna hide forever?" Wander's frown grew, his head dropping a bit at the depressing thought. "You've spent so much time being lonely. Why would you want to go back to that?"
"It won't be forever," V tried to reassure him. "I only need to hide until people start to forget. Then I can go about my life doing whatever."
"Like helping people?" Wander perked up, a faint twinkle appearing in his eyes.
"No," V deadpanned. "That is never going to happen."
"Think about it. You could just join me and Sylvia. Then you wouldn't need to hide!" Wander started saying, ignorant of the grimace growing on V's face. "You could build a reputation as the mysterious helper, clad in leather and a biker helmet. A lone stranger out to stop evil doers and help the little guy!"
"Oh sweet crop, make him stop," V painfully muttered to herself.
"I warned you," Dominator sang. "Should have gone with the Badlands idea."
"Wander, stop. Just stop," V practically begged. Wander saw her desperation and quieted down. "Look… I know who I am-"
"No you don't," Dominator interrupted, but V ignored her.
"Who you are describing isn't me. I only need a place to hide out for a short time. That's it. Then we can go our separate ways and pretend that none of this happened."
"Because that's worked out great so far," Dominator mocked, irritating V enough to make her flinch.
"Are you ok?" Wander asked.
"Just the voice in my head. Nothing to worry about," V waved off his concern.
"Oh, uh… ok."
"So, we have a deal?"
"V, I really don't think this is the best way to do things. Sylvia and I can help you. Or maybe give Vinny a shot. I know his motivations are a bit skewed, but-"
"Oh, no no no," V shook her head, cutting off the Star Nomad. "He's not looking for friends. He just wants me to join his side in some apocalyptic cash war. And I'm not joining forces with any corpos! Got it?!"
"Ahem."
The sound drew V's attention, causing her to snap her head back to Sylvia and Vinny. They were both staring at her, the card game now forgotten.
"What?" V snapped.
"Anything you wish to share?" Sylvia asked, raising an eyebrow at the green woman.
"Go back to your stupid game," V mumbled, turning away from them. "We'll probably leave soon. That's all you need to worry about."
Sylvia didn't ask any further questions, and Vinny didn't seem inclined to ask what got her worked up so fast. Dominator had vanished, leaving V's head silent for the time being. Even Wander failed to speak up. He decided to climb onto the desk and sit next to V. They sat there staring out the partially open blinds, watching the city slowly grow brighter with the morning sun. The quiet was soothing for V, but is also seemed unnatural.
"Nothing to say, fuzz ball?" she eventually asked. "Isn't this where you usually play your flarpin banjo and harp on about friendship?"
"Only if I think it's needed," Wander calmly responded.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Some people need a happy voice in their lives. Take Hater for example. He's always all 'Muhaha! I'm Lord Hater! I'm so cool with my green lightning! I'm gonna conquer the galaxy, cause I'm just that awesome!'" Wander's mimicry of Hater was poor, but it made V giggle a little. "The guy is so full of himself; he needs an outside voice to cut through his silliness."
"His bull grop?" V suggested.
"Uh, yea," Wander nervously chuckled at the swear word. "His… that."
"Then what do I need?"
"I thought you needed the same thing. But once I realized how lonely you were, I knew you didn't need another voice in your life. You just needed someone to be there. Another soul to share the quiet moments with."
V didn't know how to respond to that. It sounded like some spiritual mumbo jumbo Misty would spew out. However, V couldn't deny there was some truth to Wander's words. Night City was a loud and hectic place. But every so often, if you were willing to stop for a breather, there were quiet moments to be had. All of her favorite moments in Night City were quite, shared with the Welles family. Shared with Jackie.
V's head slumped as her mind went back to her one true friend. "I miss Jackie," she quietly muttered so only Wander could hear.
"Give him time," Wander smiled at her. "He'll come around."
The two aliens went back to silently looking out the window. The orange tinted sky was starting to give way to the muted blue V had grown accustomed to. The ambient noise was starting to become more noticeable as traffic increased from everyone's morning commute. Night City was fully awake again.
The peaceful air in the room was disturbed by a ringtone going off.
"You gonna grab that?" V asked.
"I don't have a holophone," Vinny replied. "Cybernetics. Remember?"
"Oh. Right." V got off the desk and pulled her phone out of her bag.
INCOMING CALL
MAMA WELLES
ACCEPT CALL?
V hesitated for a moment. Why the hell was Mama calling? Surely, she wouldn't want anything to do with the green woman. V had caused too many problems for the Welles family. Still, the ache to hear a comforting voice was too strong. Even if that voice was probably going to crew her out. V hit the green button and lifted the phone to her ear.
"Mama?"
"V! Oh, Gracias a Dios. I've been so worried," Mama sighed in relief.
"I'm all good, Mama," V partially lied. "I'm holding up with Wander and Sylvia."
"Bein. I'm glad to hear you are alright." Mama smiled. "Are you still in Night City?"
"Yea, but I don't know for how much longer."
"Listen to me, hija. How fast can you get over to Viktor's Clinic?"
"Uh, why do I need to see Vik?"
"V, something is wrong with Jackie… He's dying." Mama whispered the last part, but V still heard it loud and clear.
"I'll be right there," V said before hanging up. She lowered her phone, taking a moment to process what Mama told her. Her left eye began to water, but the edgerunner forced the tears away. "Let's go."
"Off to visit Señora Welles?" Vinny asked.
"That's none of your business," V spat, collecting her bag. "Wander. Sylvia. We need to delta. Now!" She demanded in Galactic.
"What's the rush?" Sylvia raised an eyebrow at the green woman. "I'm about to win." She gestured to the card game she was playing with Vinny.
"We have bigger issues at the moment. Now let's go."
"Oh, alright," Sylvia sighed, throwing her cards down.
V began to lead Sylvia and Wander out the door, but stopped when Vinny tried to tag along.
"Not you!" She yelled, pulling her pistol on the man.
"You're going to need a ride," Vinny said with a surprisingly calm tone. "Arasaka is the only thing keeping the other corporations off of you. We'll take you wherever you need to go. I just ask that you work with us."
"Why do you even care?" V asked. "I already shut down your little offer. Is your entire job riding on this or something?"
"Not entirely, no," Vinny confessed. "Yes, my career is depending on this, but I won't get fired over a single botched job. Not after getting this close."
"Then why not just cut your losses?"
"Not everyone in Night City is a monster, Dominator. Some of us Earthlings are capable of sympathizing with others. You might be a total bitch, but that doesn't mean I want to watch you get yourself flatlined. And judging by your reaction to that holocall, neither does Guadalupe."
"You have no idea how badly I want to pull this trigger right now," V said, glaring daggers at the man.
"Is that your final answer?" Vinny asked sarcastically.
"Yea, it is."
"V, I think we should bring him," Wander spoke up.
"For fuck sake, Wander," V sighed, not feeling like putting up a fight.
"He wants to help. I know his reasons are sketchy, but you should give him a chance."
V turned to Wander. She wanted to scream at him and call him the biggest gonk in the galaxy. But his eyes held a strong, if somewhat depressed, determination in them. The Star Nomad was not going to back down on this, though V didn't understand why. She could only guess that Wander was underestimating the risk in involving Vinny, or underestimating her own acceptance of death.
"Just shoot them already so we can move on," Dominator whined, rearing her ugly head once again.
V pointed the gun at Wander, ready to do just that. She paused. Between her desire to remain in control and her strange, new found respect for the Star Nomad, V couldn't do it.
"Ghah, fine!" V relented, sliding her weapon back into its holster.
"You're hopeless."
"Vinny, you can tag along," V said, "but I'm not making a deal with you. And no corpo cars. We walk."
"I can agree to that," Vinny responded, giving a firm nod. He also gave a thumbs-up to Wander when V wasn't looking.
"Ma'am, are you sure this is the right place?" one of the guards asked.
"Yes, it's the right fucking place," V said. "Viktor's Clinic is in the back."
At some point during the group's walk to Misty's Esoterica, two Arasaka guards joined them. V could only guess how many more were in hiding. This was a show of force to the other megacorporations. Vinny managed to get his foot in the door. He wanted to make sure everyone knew that she was off limits.
Ignoring the "CLOSED" sign illuminating the door, V turned the handle and went inside. The shop felt unusually grim with all the lights off and no Misty to provide idle conversation. V led the group through the small shop and to the back door.
"V?" Misty's head perked up at seeing the edgerunner come through the door.
"Bout fucking time," Isabel mumbled. She was leaning against the wall next to Misty, still bruised from the previous day's fight. "And what's with the posse?"
"Yea, I'm… still trying to figure that one out," V said, looking back at the small crowd she had amassed.
"Name's V, but you may can call me Vinny for simplicity sakes," Vinny introduced himself with a bow. "Arasaka Intelligence Division. We've been escorting V and her friends due to yesterday's events."
"They're not my- forget it," V rolled her eye before turning back to Isabel. "Is Mama downstairs?"
"Sí. She is," Isabel answered slowly. "Wait here. I'll tell her you showed up." Isabel pushed off from the wall, giving V a dirty look as she went down the stairs into Viktor's clinic.
For a tense minute, no one in the back alley spoke. The air was filled by Night City's ambiance and the late morning smog. Even Vinny and the guards were shuffling their feet at awkwardness of it all. Wander was about to speak up, but Misty beat him to it.
"You lied to me," Misty muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I didn't know he was sick," V said, staring off into the distance.
"Don't avoid this, V," Misty scolded, raising her voice. She immediately looked away, backing off. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell."
"Don't be. It's good to be angry sometimes."
Misty took a deep breath before continuing. "Look, I can somewhat understand lying about your fight with Jackie. Stuff like that takes time to process. But why did you lie about your past for so long?"
"Hey guys! Just a heads up, I was planet wrecking, genocidal freak before coming to Earth," V cheered with a fake grin. The smile fell as she looked over at Misty. "Not the kind of thing you bring up over morning coffee, is it?"
"Did you at least tell Jackie?"
"Of course not. He would have tried to kill me if he found out. OH, WAIT!"
Misty looked away, an angry pout painting her features. V stared at her for a second longer before going back to gazing off at nothing. She didn't have a chance to get engrossed in her thoughts. A pat on her shoulder drew her attention before she could.
"Little advice," Vinny whispered to her. "Try to avoid getting sarcastic. Even if you are kind of right, it doesn't matter if you're a bitch about it."
"No one asked you," V whispered back. Before they could get into it, Isabel came up the stairs.
"You're good to go down, V," Isabel said. "The rest of us have to wait here. Mama Welles wants a moment with just familia."
"That doesn't sound right," V questioned.
"That's what she said," Isabel shrugged. "Darse prisa. Don't keep them waiting."
"Woooow, he's in real bad shape," Dominator said.
Lying on the chair in Vik's clinic was a comatose Jackie. His skin had turned ghostly pale, and Vik had hooked the man up to a ventilator to assist with breathing. While Jackie's heart was still beating, his pulse was weak as his blood pressure was far lower than normal.
"What's wrong with him?" V asked, not taking her eyes off her friend.
"His brain is dying," Vik answered. "That telepathic bond thing between you two mutilated his neural paths beyond recognition. As far as I can tell, something snapped and it caused a cascade effect. Critical functions like breathing have failed, and his heart isn't far behind. He's got a few days left. Maybe a week if we move him to Trauma Center Hospital."
"Can't you do something?" V pleaded with the doctor. "Maybe some sort of neural stimulant? The bond broke when we fought. Maybe if we fix that, he will start to heal."
"And risk waking him up? He would be in pain, and it could kill him," Vik pointed out. "V, this is far outside the realm of medicine. None of this should have been possible to begin with. I can't save him."
"So you're giving up?" V was on the verge of tears. Her throat was becoming scratchy, making it had to talk. "Vik, you're the best! If there is a way, you can find it!"
"V, I…" Vik couldn't find the words, and seemed to be choking up himself at his young friend dying. He placed his hand on V's shoulder. "I'm sorry. But I don't think there is a way." He stood at V side for a minute, his reassuring hand resting on her good shoulder before he stepped away.
The quiet tears were flowing down V's cheek. Here she stood before her first and only friend. Jackie was the man who stopped the Wraiths from killing her, and led an army against Maelstrom to rescue her. Jackie was the guy who saved her from herself. He was like her brother. Her hermano. And now he was in a coma, dying because of her.
At some point Mama appeared by V's side and wrapped an arm around her waist. V returned the gesture, wrapping her good arm around Mama's shoulders. Together, the two women wept in silence, trying to comfort each other through the grief.
"Some friend you turned out to be. Good thing the doc is wrong," Dominator smiled, stepping around to the far side of Jackie.
"What?" V breathed, looking up to meet eyes with her phantom.
"Oh, I'm sure you can figure it out. This is an alien problem after all. You can't expect a primitive Earthling to have the answer." Dominator's smug grin was haunting V, as if this hallucination was taking pleasure at teasing and torturing the edgerunner.
"Just tell me already."
"V? Who are you talking to?" Mama asked as she wiped her eyes.
"Uh oh! Your crazy is showing," Dominator laughed.
"Tell me!" V demanded, her yelling causing Mama to stumble back.
"V, what has gotten into you?" Mama's voice was becoming worried, more so then when they talked briefly on the phone.
"I'm yelling at my hallucination."
"What?"
"Some actual honesty, that's a start," Dominator nodded. "If you want to fix your dearest Jackie, ask someone who's an expert in weird situations. The kind of person with loads of experience with all sorts of alien life forms and cultures."
V thought for a moment before it hit her. "Wander."
"Ding! Ding! Ding! Give the girl a prize."
"V, you need to calm down," Vik said, trying to sooth the girl. "If you're seeing things, then I need to look at you. Make sure-"
"Not now, Vik," V interrupted the doctor before rushing out the door.
"Steam them for 10 minutes or so then throw them in the fridge for an hour. Then cook them in the oven. Dude… best damn synth-wings I've ever made," one of the guards said.
"I'll have to try that," Isabel nodded.
While waiting for an update on Jackie, everyone outside fell into polite small talk. Isabel was expecting the awkward silence to continue, like it did between her and Misty before V's posse showed up. But somehow that didn't happen. In just 15 minutes or so, she had learned the guards' names were Iwata and Martin and had started trading cooking tips with them. Off to the side, Vinny was sharing card tricks with Sylvia despite them barely using words. Wander was sitting on the ground next to Misty talking about who knows what.
Isabel blamed Wander for the friendly atmosphere. The furry alien seemed to have some weird, positive energy about him. It was a rare thing to witness in Night City, but it seemed to be contagious. Any other day, the Latina thug would be trying to beat up most of these people in a back alley. But today, she was making friends.
"You ok there, Misty?" Wander asked the girl as he sat down next to her.
"Is that a rhetorical question?" Misty raised an eyebrow at the Star Nomad.
"Oh, you know. Never hurts to ask."
"I feel like shit," Misty sighed. "Pardon my language."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"What's there to talk about? My childhood friend is dying, and I can't tell if V is still a monster."
"V's got a pretty hard exterior, but that doesn't make her a monster," Wander said, his cheery demeanor faltering for a moment.
"She was a monster when she showed up," Misty mumbled. "Even when V was wounded and we were helping her, she managed to get in my head and mess with me. But I could see the potential in her. And I thought Jackie was helping her be a good person. I'm not so sure anymore."
"She's going through some stuff," Wander reassured Misty. "It's a big shift going from super villain to bar tender. And now she has the whole world coming at her. V's feeling scared and lost. She needs her friends now more than ever. Even if she won't admit it."
"I hope you're right."
"WANDER!" V screamed in desperation as she ran up the steps. "Wander, I need you to come look at Jackie," she rushed, stumbling over her words. "Maybe with your magic, or something. He can get better and you can fix him and-"
"Whoa. Whoa. Slow down, chica," Isabel said, rushing to V's side. "Take a deep breath and slow down."
V nodded and took a long, deep breath. After she steadied herself, she locked eyes with the Star Nomad.
"Wander. Sylvia," she addressed in Galactic. "It's Jackie. He's dying and we don't know how to fix him. I need your help."