My hearing came back first. I heard computers being, footsteps, some muttering, all from a distance. My vision was blurry as I started waking up, though my head was pounding from the tranquilizer. I immediately felt that my hands and legs were bound into place on the chair I was in. I heard footsteps walking away, then the opening and closing of a sliding door nearby, then silence. I squinted through the bright light and thought I was looking in a mirror, but my reflection didn't move when I did. I gasped when I remembered what I had seen before I was knocked out.

"What the fuck…" I breathed.

The replica sitting across from me was almost exact. His hair was red and styled the same way, he had my jaws, even my damn stubble, his eyes had chrome lines around them just like mine, but now his eyes weren't glowing. They stared blankly in my direction, not locked with mine or following my movements, but almost like he was catatonic.

A voice echoed out from the darkness behind the replica, "Magnificent, isn't it?"

I recognized the voice and snarled as a pair of glowing blue eyes approached. Mr. Blue Eyes appeared in his black suit and usual appearance, identical to the man I had Panam shoot earlier in the day. He stood next to the replica and looked from him to me.

"I told you that I had a solution for you," he chided and started pacing around me. "You could've found out all of this the easy way, but 'to each his own,' I guess."

My breathing quickened and I swallowed hard. "Where's River? And Judy and Vik?"

He smiled amusedly. "We let them go. Now that you know I can make good on my threats, I'm hoping you'll know I can make good on my promises, and you might actually start listening. Just look at it, a whole new body, V. Top-of-the-line implants, all of your senses still intact, and most importantly: a healthy, new brain that's not being ravaged by broken nanites."

I clenched my teeth. "It's not new if you fuckin' harvest it from a corpse!"

He shook his head. "Fine – 'refurbished,' if you want to split hairs. Given that you destroyed two of mine, you should probably know that the bodies with the best combat implants cost almost two million Eurodollars each."

"Then why make 'em?" I growled. "Re-wiring brains and memories not doin' it for ya anymore? Needed a reason to sell the Peralezes to Militech?"

"Don't be dramatic, V," he replied with a shake of his head. "Night City may be the center of the universe for people like you and me, but to Militech, it's just one city out of a whole world. Jefferson will never accept corporate sponsorship or show preference to Militech, but some of his policies will simply align better with Militech's goals instead of Arasaka's."

"Oh, joy," I groaned and rolled my eyes. My stare was drawn back to the replica. "Who was he?"

"I thought you'd be happier knowing it was someone who shared your desire to get even with Arasaka," he offered and placed a hand on the replica's shoulder. "His name was Gerald Winkler. We put some pieces together and found out that he used to work for them as a low-level technician, then he 'supposedly' suffered a stroke on the table of a budget ripperdoc. But when his record was wiped clean from Arasaka's systems, we figured out he was an early test subject for their 'Secure Your Soul' program. Since the experiments, he's suffered paranoid dementia and has lived on the streets under the more eccentric name of 'Garry the Prophet.'"

My gut dropped with a thud. I looked back into that face, looking past the familiar but blank appearance, scanning for any sign of Garry being in there. Johnny appeared next to him, studying closely and knocking his digital fist against the replica.

"My god, I didn't think they could make you any uglier," he quipped. "I'm not sure which is worse – Arasaka taking your soul and leaving the body, or these bastards keeping you stuck in your body, forced to watch while it's being mutilated and used."

"You…" I seethed, "You fuckers… He figured out what was going on, so you killed him."

Mr. Blue Eyes scoffed. "Please, he thought we were 'lizard people,' and his system was so polluted from eating garbage that he had less time to live than you."

"Then why'd you do thisto him?!" I protested. "He doesn't even know me that well, he didn't deserve this!"

"I already told you, I have to keep Night City from being destroyed," he repeated condescendingly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, by kidnapping its people and turning them into your puppets? Help me out with this one."

He folded his arms, then looked over at the screens. They each changed to live feeds from various parts of the city, changing every few seconds.

Looking back at me, he continued, "You want me to lay it all out for you? Fine, here it is: Night City is bursting at the seams with people who have nothing better to do but shoot each other. I'm dealing with overpopulation, nutrient shortages, and people so jaded to violence that they hold bets over the radio for the daily body count. Even now, I see children on the streets playing with guns. Gang violence is rampant, and that's even without the corporations inciting gang warfare. Arasaka, Militech, and the NCPD are burning through their new recruits like CHOOH2 trying to keep their own different versions of peace and 'justice,' and you can see how well it's been going. This program puts able bodies back on the streets to keep order. We're turning the useless garbage that you mop up on the streets into peacekeepers to put an end to it all. Isn't that what you were trying to do? Keep peace on the streets?"

Johnny grunted disgustedly. "He sounds like the fucking Nazis. 'Be like us or else.'"

I kept my teeth clenched, trying to hold back my anger. "So, what do you want from me? There's no way the Relic can just fix all that."

"Actually, it can," he countered. "You were right when you said that Militech wanted the Relic to reverse-engineer a competitor to beat Arasaka. That would help loosen their economic grip worldwide. But I still need you alive to help me beat Arasaka here in Night City. I may not be able to stop the corporate war, but I can keep Night City from being in the crosshairs. With them gone, this program will provide the manpower to help Militech and the NCPD realize a stable vision of peace in the city."

I shook my head. "How the fuck does that justify butchering people and turning them into your Dolls?"

"Conditioning and Doll Chips aren't enough anymore," he admitted freely. He resumed pacing and looked over to the side of the room where three large screens lit up with multiple scans of my brain. "We can fix issues in someone's brain, condition them to think or remember a certain way, even rewire certain synapses to help combat a debilitating disease, like your condition with the Relic. But we can only work with the brain we're given, and not every brain is flexible enough to handle the changes without damage. We couldn't even get a fully functioning engram to stay on the brain because we didn't know how to map it correctly. But with the new Relic, we can turn any street thug into an incorruptible veteran cop or soldier that won't need to be controlled by me or any other AI. I told you I wanted to avoid another war. Keeping peace will do that, and this is the best way forward."

"Build some fucking droids, then. Or maybe condition some training into rookie cops," I retorted. "You're just as bad as every other megacorp out there using people even after they're dead. How many more politicians will you have to condition or murder to keep the 'peace?'"

"Is that a Silverhand sermon I hear?" Mr. Blue Eyes chided. "How many more Scavengers will you have to kill to get what you want? How many people will you kill to get your own booth at the Afterlife?"

I struggled against my restraints and snarled, "I only ever kill scumbags that have killed other people and have a chance at fightin' back!"

"And I'm recycling them to be more than rotting corpses," he replied coolly. "Put aside your ego and your emotions and consider the hard numbers for a moment – would I be putting this much money and effort into this if drones and bots were enough?"

"Yeah, I do," I snapped. "Because it's the next phase of Project Oracle."

He eyed me curiously. "What do you think you know about Project Oracle?"

"You even admitted yourself that you had Maelstrom download that AI, Lilith, into one of their runners' brain," I explained bitterly. "Now you're building a whole squad of bodies? Don't tell me I'm not smellin' some shit."

He pondered it for a moment, then chuckled and smirked. "Heh… I see what you're thinking, and while you're close, you're still wrong. A few are for me to replace those that you destroyed, one is for Mr. Harford to act as his Proxy, and one of them is right here," he gestured to the replica of me, "waiting for you to get over yourself and realize that we both want the same thing – to get rid of Arasaka. I don't need an army of bodies for myself, V. I have eyes and ears everywhere, and even NetWatch doesn't try to come after me. What I need is for people to do their jobs, including you."

I studied the screens, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. I took a few deep breaths and looked at the screens. I saw dozens of homeless people in the first few views alone, and on another view, I saw a trio of gangoons rob and kill a food vendor.

Johnny walked over and got in my face. "Don't lose your fuckin' nerve. He's trying to get under your skin."

I took another breath and looked up at Mr. Blue Eyes. "Gettin' a bit stiff here. It'd be helpful if I could get up."

He studied me calculatingly, but without another word, the clamps around my arms and legs released. I slowly got up and massaged my wrists, then walked around the replica to see him from every angle. He truly resembled me, and I could even see edges of the tattoos on my shoulders by the hems of his shirt. When I had gone all the way around, I looked at the screens again, then back to Mr. Blue Eyes.

"Say… Say I believe you," I began, "Without the Relic's technology, how would you get my consciousness into that body?"

His mouth slowly widened into a small smile. "We'll start with a new scan of your brain, then while scanning we'll subject you to stimuli to see how your brain responds. We use the responses to rewrite the new body's brain to do the same, all while copying memories and sculpting the synapses. You won't become an engram, you're simply copied over, consciousness and all."

I shook my head. "That won't work. His psyche will fight mine, and the body will recognize that I don't belong. That's what's happenin' to me now."

"If we only did the procedure once, yes," he concurred. "Conditioning is a repeating process, V. It will take a few weeks to condition your entire psyche onto the brain so that it stays, and afterwards you'll need daily procedures to keep stable. The Peralezes still undergo their procedures during the night while they sleep. It keeps the modifications working until the brain accepts them permanently. We already confirmed that the new body's brain can physically handle the changes. Then, once your new body is stable, we can remove the Relic from the old one and start our takedown of Arasaka."

Johnny scoffed disgustedly. "You're not seriously considering this crap, are you?!"

"Johnny, I-" I began.

"NO!" he shouted. "This is bullshit, V! You can't possibly be falling for this!"

I massaged my temples and sighed. I looked over at Mr. Blue Eyes again. "Can you give us a few?"

He nodded. "Of course, but decide quickly. The longer we wait, the less stable your consciousness becomes, and the more difficult the transfer will be. Come outside when you're ready."

As he turned to leave, the replica's eyes lit up with their blue glow. The blank stare came to life as he seemed to wake up, then he quickly flashed an indifferent glance towards me before he fluidly stood up and walked out of the large room behind Mr. Blue Eyes. I shuddered at the dysphoric sight of my own body moving away from me, even though I knew it only looked like me. My head spun with question, pros, and cons. After seeing that the replica's chair didn't have any shackles, I dropped myself into it and held my head in my hands as I thought through the situation. Johnny sat across from me with his legs crossed and an expectant, angry glare on his face.

I huffed and shook my head. "Christ, gimme a sec to think, alright? Not like I see someone else wearin' my face every day."

"I've gotten used to it," he grumbled. "Every time you look in the mirror, some small part of me still expects to see my face. But instead, I see yours. Didn't start crying about it, though."

"You bashed my face into a window, repeatedly," I jabbed.

"So what are you waiting for?" he asked menacingly, leaning forward in the chair. "I woulda fuckin' ripped the thing's head off – if not for you, then to let your Prophet finally die."

"Easy for you to say. Your time isn't running out. If we just wait this out, you get my body once I die." I leaned forward and stared him in the eyes. "They want Arasaka gone as bad as you do. As bad as we both do. It'd be wrong not to at least think about taking their help."

"But it's wrong to take it after what they did," he argued. "And think of what they'll be doing to more people if all that techno bullshit actually works."

I scoffed and sat back in the chair with my arms folded. "Alright, fine. Let's say you have a few weeks left to live and two enemies to take down, but you can only choose one. People are gonna be screwed either way no matter which one stays standing. What would you do?"

He shook his head. "People are always gonna suffer and die as long as megacorporations exist to grind them to a pulp. Not a damn thing you can do about it on your own, V. Even if you make it to the top of the Afterlife, that won't be your job. But to answer your question, they're both evil as fuckin' hell, but my beef's with Arasaka. I'd spend every breath trying to end them, and I wouldn't let anyone exploit me or stand in my way while I do it."

"Even if you'd definitely die afterward?" I asked. "It'd mean giving up any chance of someone else helping you to survive it."

"You kiddin'? Only way I'd be able to rest is if I knew they went down with me," he added. "Wasn't it you that once said, 'It's first place or no place?'"

I stared at the floor, thinking through every possible solution, then something clicked in my brain. I thought it through, further and further. Then looked up at him with a focused frown. "Would you promise to do just that if I swear not to take that body?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes, no question. But I shouldn't have to."

"I'm gonna need you to," I grunted as I stood. "'Cuz I have an idea, and you may not like all of it, but we'll all get what we want." I extended my hand towards him.

He stood up and eyed me suspiciously. "You sure you know what you're doing? You've seen how they play."

"I'm sure," I replied confidently.

He kept his gaze on me for another moment, then reached out and shook my hand. I nodded, then turned for the door.

I sigh as I finish my recounting of events and look up from the floor at Yorinobu. He's still on the hard floor, staring calculatingly at the smooth tile as if reading from it. I absentmindedly play with the chain of the necklace I'm wearing, reminding myself of who I still am. Muffled shooting on nearby floors signal me of Hanako's approach, though I doubt she's pulling any triggers herself. My katana rests in front of me next to Yorinobu's pistol, which still only contains one bullet. My breathing has steadied, and I've stockpiled enough energy by keeping still, but my head still spins if I move too much.

Yorinobu finally looks at me. "After all that… you promised Silverhand that you wouldn't prolong your life at the hands of Militech. Yet you betray him by coming to Arasaka, coming to my sister for help, now closer to death than ever… Why?"

I muster a smirk on my face and a slight chuckle. "I would've thought you'd be tired of listening to me talk by now. But I'll tell you if you answer my question: I know why NetWatch wanted Johnny Silverhand's engram, the same reason the VooDoo Boys wanted it. But why give it to them on the prototype Relic, the only one that could also bring him back to life?"

He breathes. "Fear. Ever since I can remember. The one thing I cannot deny my father – he knew how to cause fear in people. He once told me anything of value is only a flag blowing in the wind, and wind is fear. And then… you know what he did? Blew in my face. That was the one time he was wrong. And others? It worked on them. They feared him. Even now, you saw! Idiots terrified of a dead man talking from a box! I would change that, if only you did not appear. Silverhand would change that."

I roll my eyes and scoff, leading myself into a coughing fit. Wiping a drop of blood from my lip, I wheezingly reply, "You wouldn'ta changed… a damn thing. You're exactly like Saburo… All you want… is power."

"Power?" he spits disgustedly. "Hah… truly? Power? Fifty years ago, Silverhand blew this building into smoke. And…? What it give us?"

"Not much," I answer with a shrug.

"Nothing!" he grunts. "But I learn lesson from him that day. If planting bombs not enough, what can you do? You become bomb. That is why I set him free – to succeed if I fail. And we both failed because of you."

I feel shocked as I process what he's saying. My jaw drops and my eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. I start to chuckle quietly to myself, as I tug at my necklace, breaking the thin chain and pulling it off my neck. "Then this ought to cheer you up…" I call merrily as I toss it over to him, the round metal pieces clinking on the floor as they slide to him.

He snatches them up and studies them, then holds them to the light. A chortle escapes his lungs, then he unleashes a bellowing laugh as he squeezes them in his hand. A door opens on the side of the office behind me. I hear two sets of steps, both walking casually, one wearing heels. I smile with relief as I hear them approaching. I look over my shoulder and I see Hanako gliding over from the doorway with Hellman. Her eyes are trained on Yorinobu, and she's holding the case with Saburo Arasaka's Relic. Yorinobu looks up at her defeatedly as she approaches, and slowly brings himself up to his knees.

"Hanako," he breathes as he keeps his head bowed.

Still standing, she calmly replies, "Nīsan," and places her hand comfortingly on his head.

He laughs quietly. "I've been waiting for you… When the world turns to rubble, you always appear."

She closes her eyes disapprovingly and kneels in front of him, letting his head rest on her thighs. "Quiet… Not in front of strangers." She glances at me and strokes his head. "I thank you, V. That will be all."

I smirk and lean forward, bringing myself to a kneeling position. "Not all… not yet!"

"I will keep my end of our agreement," she reassures. "You will go with Hellman."

Hellman comes up to me on my left and claps his hand down on my shoulder. "Come," he offers cheerfully. "Time to look at your problem." He smiles at me and starts walking towards the elevator on the opposite side of the office.

My smile widens as I look at Yorinobu. "You asked why I came to Arasaka. Well, this right here is your answer – to get all the remaining Arasakas in one room with little ol' me."

Yorinobu lets out another low chuckle, and hums to Hanako, "You… you still don't know what you have brought upon us."

"Shh," she shushes. "We will speak in private." Turning to me, she authoritatively adds, "V, leave us."

"That's not V," Yorinobu replies, holding up a pair of dog tags for her to see while still resting on her lap.

Hellman turns around with a frown on his face. As Hanako looks down at the tags, I pick up my katana and lunge at her, driving the blade straight through her chest just above Yorinobu's head. She lets out a strangled gasp as her eyes widen and lock onto me, but I waste no time and swipe up Yorinobu's pistol. I whip around towards Hellman, who's still in complete shock, and fire the last bullet through his head, which snaps backward on impact and propels him to the floor. Yorinobu slowly pulls away from Hanako as she trembles, the front of her dress slowly staining crimson outward from the blade protruding from her chest. Her stare becomes more and more blank as she slowly falls forward to the floor. He looks at me in awe.

"You are Silverhand… but how?" he asks.

I take a breath to steady myself as my body punishes me for my quick movements. My head throbs and my vision gets clouded with coded distortions as I sit back down on the floor. "V lived up to his promise not to take Garry's body, but we both knew that Garry would've wanted to die taking down Arasaka, same as me. The Relic's blueprints allowed the AI to copy my engram and entire memory to the gonk Prophet's brain, but he's rejecting me just like V's brain is rejecting him. God, it fuckin' hurts… I won't last much longer. This damn chip better work."

He takes a deep breath. "Then you are just a copy, and Silverhand still lives?"

I nod and exhale slowly. "Didn't stick well with me at first… but I gotta say, this was fuckin' worth it. The real V and… the real me, I guess, are down in Mikoshi being lit up with Soulkiller right now, surrounded by an army of Militech soldiers… scouring Arasaka for everything they can like the corpo-rats they are."

"Then it is finally over," he sighs. "Militech rises and Arasaka falls…"

"Not… done… yet…" I note and look down at the glowing Relic on the floor. I pick up the case and look at it, then slide it quickly across the floor to him.

He looks at me nervously, then slowly takes the case. "I suppose I was never meant to live through this day, by your hand or my father's."

"Makes fuckin' two of us," I grunt as I crawl over to Hanako's limp body and slowly pull out the blade. My vision blurs for a moment as I try to keep my movements slow. "I ought to crush your neck with my bare hands… let both of you die the slow, miserable fucking deaths you deserve. But I won't risk the Relic saving you like it saved V." I turn to him and stand up, holding the katana firmly in my hand. "Arasaka dies today, for good… You want to be a bomb? Be a legend? Pick up Saburo and chip him in."

He breaths shakily as he looks up at me as if to beg for his life. I glare at him unwaveringly, then he nods and takes the Relic out of the case. The chip's light shines a red glow on his face as he moves it around to the nape of his neck. A string of rapid thuds rages like a jackhammer through my head, and I grit my teeth as I struggle to maintain my stance. He hesitates one last time as he stares at me, but then finally shoves the Relic into one of his slots with a click. His eyes softly glow blue as his system processes the chip. I raise the sword and grip the handle with both hands. He briefly nods his head at me, and I put every ounce of strength I have into the swing of the katana. The blade slices cleanly through his neck, destroying his slots and the Relic as his head flies off.

The momentum and force of the swing spins me around, and I lose balance, falling to the floor with a thud and a crack of my head on the tile. Every sense feels on fire, every cell of my body fights against me, every muscle convulses, and I feel my lungs let out a bloodcurdling cry as my mind is consumed by fiery blackness.