Peach Headz Addiction

El Coyote Coyo.

Aoi hadn't been in such a dump in her entire life... though she had become famous before she would've been allowed into a bar like this.

It wasn't dirty or anything, quite the opposite. As she leaned back on her elbows on the bar counter, it wasn't sticky or dusty, which you'd expect even from some high class bars. It was just run down.

The leather on the barstool under her and on the couches in the booths was frayed, revealing the padding underneath. The fabric on the pool table was scratched up and had blue chalk marks all over it. There were empty bottles around the place, kept like trophies.

Yet everyone else inside the bar seemed content.

V had went to his old ripperdoc's clinic to get himself checked up, and Aoi had been allowed to tag along, but only because no trouble was expected. She ended up getting checked out too, getting many compliments from Viktor on her choice of chrome and her cyberware hygiene. It was all very friendly, but too much so for them to be considering her as one of the crew.

Aoi sighed to herself, knowing that Kerry had probably said something to the merc, a warning. The rockerboy had taken it on himself to try and guide her and the other Us Cracks girls away from the more dangerous paths that could be taken.

Aoi couldn't help but feel like the ghost of Johnny Silverhand was holding her back, through both Kerry and V. She was trying to figure out ways around it, some path to getting in on the action... but there was a distraction, pulling her attention away.

V the Supermerc, Viktor the Ripperdoc and Misty the Mystic were chatting at a table a little way from the bar counter, likely about whatever the real plan that V had in mind for Arasaka.

Aoi was trying to eavesdrop with her cyberware, pretending to wait for the bartender to fix her a cocktail, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the fourth person around the round table.

Judy Álvarez.

Aoi couldn't get the braindance girl out of her head. She was pretty, and in a different way to the professionally groomed people that usually hung around Us Cracks. She seemed like she had a thousand stories to tell too, and not all of them the fake-happy tales the music executives preferred. No, Judy Álvarez was real, not manufactured.

It was a contrast to the image of Aoi as Blue Moon. That was as manufactured as could be, and the facade would only last so long. The more Aoi hung out with V and Judy, the less she liked the idea of being forgotten on the trashheap of faded pop stars and left alone for the rest of her life. They were a weird sort of family.

And she hadn't even met the Panam yet.

Aoi needed to somehow get more involved with V's plot. Then she could win glory, and maybe Judy too... She hoped.

Daydreaming a little about what that might look like, she barely noticed when Viktor came up and took the stool next to her, until he tapped the counter and she felt the vibration of countertop under her elbow.

Startled slightly, she turned to him. "Hey Viktor," she smiled, "Having fun?"

"Sorta," Viktor replied, "Seeing V in Night City again is sorta a mixed blessing. The guy hasn't had it easy."

Aoi nodded slowly, now fully aware of his story. "It's amazing he's still walking around," she said, "And it's still unbelievable to me that he took time out to help me, when everything else was happening."

Viktor smiled, as the bartender delivered another beer to him. "I wouldn't be too flattered," he said, picking up the glass, "I'm sure V got paid for his trouble, and he was in big need of all the eddies he could find at the time."

"I didn't pay him that much," Aoi protested, putting a finger on her chin as she tried to recall the exact amount, "Only as much as a security team for a night, I think. He did a better job though."

Viktor shook his head and then drank from his beer, before setting it down and leaning in towards her. "You gotta remember that the sort of money you have is far more than what we have," he said, "And V had to spend every cent on his cyberware, just so he'd survive."

Aoi felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment, realising that she had casually flaunted her wealth. Not the right move if she wanted into the crew for real. "Sorry," she said quietly, "I didn't think."

"It's okay," Viktor breathed, amused as could be, "You meant nothing by it, and I'm sure in your regular social circles, dismissing a big spend is as regular as acid rain. Just be careful. If you want to hang around with V, it's something to keep in mind. Take Kerry's example."

Aoi's spirits lifted. The ripperdoc's friendly demeanour was soothing, strangely. "I'll try," she smiled back, "I'm happy to be here, I don't want to offend anyone."

Viktor picked up his beer again, and examined her over the top of both the glass and his darkened glasses. She knew he was evaluating her somehow, and rather than take the tension, she smiled widely at him, giving him her best camera moment, sticking her tongue out the corner of her mouth in a silly pose.

The ripperdoc chuckled, setting Aoi herself off to giggling too. They laughed together for half a minute, before he had another drop of beer and set the glass down again.

"Look... Blue, you're a nice girl, nicer than most people with your wealth," he asked, "So I gotta ask... what are you doing here?"

Aoi pursed her lips, wondering what sort of answer he wanted. Was this a test?

"One clarification," Viktor added quickly, "What do you want other than Judy?"

Feeling her entire body light up as red as Red Menace, Aoi put her hands over her face, trying to hide it. Viktor sighed, and pat her on the shoulder. It wasn't any relief.

"Pretty sure she's cool with it," he said, "Though she doesn't know what to do about it. Pop stars aren't her usual crowd. But that's not what I'm talking about. Why are you following V around?"

Aoi stared at him for a second, still hiding her face behind her hands. "I'm not sure what you mean?" she said. It wasn't really his business.

"You're forgetting I got a look at your cyberware," Viktor said, much more seriously, "A few weeks after V helped you out, you went in for some heavy tactical updates."

He gestured at her face.

"Those lovely Kiroshi eyes would let you hit a cockroach at three kilometres with the right weapon. You have a tattoo that lets you interface with smart-guns, which is impressive in its own right. You have improved reflexes and hand-eye coordination. Your legs would let you jump seven metres in the air, maybe more. And that case at your feet isn't full of makeup and champagne."

The ripperdoc nudged the case with his foot, causing a small clattering noise as it bumped off the bottom of the counter. "I'm not judging, this isn't exactly a safe neighbourhood," he added, "But do you even know how to use whatever is in there?"

Now he was being offensive. Aoi dropped her hands to her lap, and looked him square in the eye.

"A stalker hunted me and wanted to kill me," she said, pouring as much determination as she could into her voice, "I know that someone like V won't always be there. So found the best to teach me, and not just for self-defence."

"Lessons from pros are not the same lessons a real fight teach you," Viktor replied at once, "I'm not harbouring any illusions about convincing you, but what V and the others are up to is not for the inexperienced. You better have damn good motivations for playing with fire like this."

The ripperdoc took another gulp from his beer, before pointing at her with the glass. "None of us need extra corpses in our nightmares," he added, "Particularly not those of pretty young musicians with real futures."

Aoi felt her stomach lurch with something. Anger? Guilt?

"I don't have a future unless I can break the mould I'm in," she replied, "Which is funny, I'm exactly the same as almost everyone else in Night City like that, as far as I can tell."

"Most people who try that out get killed," Viktor replied without hesitation, "The smart play is to find a niche and live with it. That's what I've done, and I've lived a long time because of it."

That sounded cowardly, like becoming a hermit ignoring the world was a virtue.

"That's hiding," Aoi said, "That's not something I can do, not any more. When my fame fades, the screamsheets will use my life as a sob story instead. After the incident with the stalker, I took a look around. I'm not blind any more."

Viktor hung his head for a minute, seemingly defeated. "Just be careful then," he said, "And know that this was me speaking, not V. He's not one to dictate to people about how they ought to spend their life. If you're capable, he'll want you on board for more than grabbing media eyes."

Aoi blinked, not having expected actual advice from the ripper. She put her hand on his. "Thanks Viktor," she said, "I won't forget this."

"Yeah, just promise me you won't get yourself killed," the ripper replied, "Actually, don't bother. That's not a promise anyone can keep in NC."

"Is everything alright over here?" came a soft voice, interrupting.

Both Aoi and Viktor turned away from the countertop, and found Misty standing there, hands behind her back and stern eyes moving between the two of them. It felt like she could see straight through them.

"Yeah Misty, just clearing the air," Viktor responded, "Giving Blue here some unsolicited advice."

The mystic looked for confirmation. Aoi felt itchy, and was compelled to answer. What a strange woman.

"Yep, no problem at all," Aoi chirped happily, hugging the ripperdoc's side and putting her head on his shoulder, "Viktor here is a big softy, that's all."

He gave a rumbling laugh into his beer glass, and Misty's face relaxed. Aoi felt the tension leave the situation at once.

"Good," Misty smiled back, "Blue... Would you mind if I laid out tarot for you a little later? I feel an … aura around you. I'd like to see what it means? Sorry if that is a strange request!"

Liking the sound of that, Aoi shook her head rapidly. "I don't mind at all," she said, "I've never done a tarot reading before! Could be fun!"

Misty's mouth quivered with amusement for a minute, but she recovered and gave a single nod. She opened her mouth to speak... but a glass crashed to the ground. Aoi flinched, looking around for the source.

V had stood up from his stool quickly, the table beside him rocking so hard that a couple of drinks had fallen. His eyes glowed silver-blue; his cyberdeck was active.

"Netrunner!" he said loudly, "They ran up against my Self ICE! Everyone tool up!"

The room was a bustle of quick movement as weapons were pulled out. Pistols, rifles, shotguns, it seemed like everyone in the room except Misty was loaded up for a battle.

Her heart pounding in her ears, Aoi realised that she better get ready too. She grabbed the case from the ground and hauled it up onto the countertop, getting a curious look from the bartender, like he hadn't expected her to want to tangle with whatever enemy was coming. She ignored him and began typing in the code to open the case.

BANG went the front doors as they were kicked open. A truck had parked right outside them, and in the back of it was what looked like twenty gangoons, all dressed in gaudy green and red clothes and body armour. They held in their hands the largest swords and knives that Aoi had ever seen. She froze, terror latching on to every part of her body like chains. Yet her fingers kept moving, punching in the access code to her case, but they were missing, punching in the wrong numbers.

Why didn't she just carry her guns around on holsters like everyone else!

Everyone else seemed to glance each other once, something about the gang funny to them. Aoi understood what when all of V's companions raised their own guns. None of the gangoons had guns. They were dead unless they got out of the way, but instead, they continued forward, into the bar.

Click, click, click. The sound of triggers being pulled filled her ears, as Vitkor and the bartender tried to use their weapons. In vain. V's weapon hissed at him, followed by a verbal an overheat-warning. 'Weapon cooling failure.'

With a snarl, the merc threw the rifle onto the table. "The guns are hacked!" he said.

"You must be V," said the lead gangoon in Japanese, dressed in a radioactive green suit, "As you can see, this is now a gun-free zone." From behind him, he pulled out a curved machete and gave it a twirl.

"The boss wants you dead. He doesn't care about your friends. Come with us, nice and quiet, they won't be harmed."

V smiled, though his glowing eyes did not. He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a blade of his own... an old looking katana in a very ornate scabbard. Slowly, he unsheathed it, showing the blade to gangoons. Their leader nodded, like V had just said something.

"Pepe, bring down the bar subnet," he said, "Misty, get Judy and Blue out of here. Now!"

The sword came out into the air inhumanly fast, and Aoi was only able to follow it thanks to her own optical upgrades. V sprang at the gangoon leader with an overhead strike, the blade biting deep into the man's neck and collarbone. A fold-up chair sailed through the air into the others, cracking on right on the head and sending the others sprawling back against the door.

Aoi, not thinking straight, returned to trying to open her guncase, but her elbow was grabbed and she was pulled away from the bar, just barely hanging onto the case. Misty was dragging her and Judy to a back door. She went along with it after a second, knowing that slowing down would get them all killed. The clanging of metal on metal and the grunts of people exerting themselves filled the air, but she dared not look back.

They reached the door, and Misty released her two wards to open it, only for a red-hot blade to pierce straight through the lock.

The door started wretching and squeaking, as it resisted being rolled open... revealing a cyborg behind it, her glowing red combat opticals peering through the widening gap. Surprised, Aoi jumped back, her chrome pushing her all the way back.

"They're in the back!" Misty shouted back towards V, running past Aoi to the stairs. Judy followed quickly behind, pulling Aoi off the floor.

Together, they ran up to the balcony level, and around to the booths at the end, where Misty was waving at them to duck down. Aoi complied, huddling close to Judy as the fight below continued.

V was whirling around, deflecting blows here, cutting into the gangoons whenever they made the mistake of getting too close. There were at least four bodies at his feet, but only two of them seemed to have been taken out by V's sword. The others' skulls were smoking. V had killed them with synapse hacks or was having a sword battle while hacking people!

Aoi couldn't help but be impressed, the spark of hope that she might get out of this flaring up in her.

The others seemed to be alive too. The bartender had disappeared, but Viktor had taken his place behind the counter and was lobbing bottles as a distraction. It was working. Any time one of the gangoons edged around to try and take V out from the side, a bottle of liquor would strike their heads and explode into shards.

Cassidy the Cowboy could still be heard, loudly cussing below the balcony's edge, the people he was fighting moving back and forth just within sight as they tried to find a way to attack. Another fold-up chair came flying into view, just barely missing the intended target.

The tide seemed to be turning.

And now that the immediate danger seemed to have passed, Aoi saw a chance. She pulled her gun case in front of her on the ground, and tapped in the code. Error the case beeped back. She had put in the wrong code too many times and needed to use the longer unlock one. She slapped the top of the case in frustration, trying to remember the correct sequence.

"Oh fuck," Judy said beside her, "The borg..."

Unable to breath, Aoi looked up despite herself.

Judy was right. The cyborg that had cut her way through the back door was strolling along the balcony towards them, directly above the bar, watching V and the others. Aside from the red opticals, her arms had Mantis blades ready to strike, and her legs were entirely replaced with green lacquered cyberware, completely unrecognisable from anything a human had naturally. She was a killing machine.

"She's going for V," Judy breathed, before her voice rose to its highest volume and pitch, "No, no, NO!"

Judy bolted up, screaming at the borg in Spanish that the translation matrix didn't pick up properly. Aoi watched in horror as she pulled a baseball bat from one of the stalls, and moved towards the borg along the balcony.

"Come get some, you fuckin' metalhead bitch!" Judy roared, "You think we're going down without a fight?!" She banged the baseball bat off the railing as she walked, finally getting the attention of the killer. The borg seemed genuinely surprised to see Judy act this way. She stopped watching V's melee and stood, waiting, her arms at her hips rather than up to pounce.

Judy rounded the corner of the balcony and raised her bat, edging closer to the opponent. Running straight at such a person would've been immediate death. The borg continued waiting, inviting Judy to attack first.

Her insides feeling like jelly, Aoi looked on with a complete jumble of emotions. Judy was saving V, to stop him being stabbed in the back by a cyborg with nothing more than a piece of wood. That was the bravest thing Aoi had ever seen. But it was also the most tragic thing she had ever seen. It was almost certainly going to cost Judy's own life. Aoi felt an overwhelming sadness crush her chest at the thought of it.

She didn't want Judy to die. She wanted to get to know this brave, amazing person. The thought of losing that opportunity filled her with anger and loathing, replacing the sadness or any notion of its inevitability. Any thought of this whole event being a chance of getting in with V's crew disappeared too. It wasn't about that any more.

Misty recoiled as Aoi grabbed the gun case violently, and wrenched it open, straining the new cyberware in her arms to do it. The lock gave way quickly, and she pulled out the most appropriate weapon she had.

Judy got within range of the borg, and swung for the head, hard. One of the Mantis blades curled around and deflected it, the wooden bat catching on fire where the blade touched it. Judy backed off, swinging the bat around to discourage a follow up attack. It wasn't working. The borg walked towards her, raising her arms, threatening to strike but showing no emotion.

Remembering her training, Aoi took a breath, trying to calm herself but unable to contain the adrenaline. She flicked the safety of her bright-blue Masumune rifle with her thumb, and brought it to her shoulder. The scope came to life automatically as she brought it to her eye. The hack hadn't affected it in the sealed case, just like she had hoped.

The borg caught the next bat strike with her hand, and raised her other to send the blade behind it through Judy's chest.

Aoi squeezed the trigger. A three round burst thundered out of the rifle, and straight through the neck of the gaudy cyborg, sending blood and sparks flying as the armour-piercing bullets half-decapitated her. Releasing the bat in her grip, the borg's hands both went to its neck and she fell backwards to the floor.

Elation rushed through Aoi's veins. She had done it. The threat to Judy's life was ended. The entire future opened up again.

Judy herself wasted no time in finishing the job, raining blows down on the half-dead cyborg and cursing her to hell between each swing. Thump thump thump was the only sound in the bar as the borg was beaten to death.

Feeling something was off, Aoi realised that the sounds of fighting downstairs had stopped. Peeking over the edge of the balcony again, she found the gangoons looking up and around, for the source of the gunfire. V was on guard, in the middle of three of them, boxing him off.

Strange, Aoi thought. It was just like the assault course. The gangers were arranged exactly like the Militech training dummies.

She shifted her position and aimed her rifle, this time down at the main floor, and started shooting. The first burst took a gangoon in the chest, his vest no help at all. The rest scattered, throwing themselves behind cover as Aoi sent bursts two, three and four chasing after them, crippling another two.

The staccato of her shooting was joined by the heavy booming of another weapon. A grey-haired lady in denim and leather appeared from the back door, walking forward and letting loose with an ancient looking shotgun. Another two gangoons that had been hiding from Aoi went down, huge gaping wounds sprouting on their backs as the lady came in.

This was better than the assault course.

The excitement of the fight and her own survival sending her blood rushing and her heart soaring, Aoi hopped over the balcony's edge straight from her crouching position, the chrome in her legs letting her clear the railing and land effortlessly by the counter. V quickly stepped out of the way, letting her shoot at the trio that was almost about to cut Cassidy into little pieces. Instead, they caught bullets to the spine and legs in turn.

Between V slicing and dicing, the grey-lady boom-click-booming, and Aoi's dynamic entry, the gangoons at last had enough.

The survivors rushed out the front door, desperately, throwing aside their weapons and diving into the back of the truck. They shouted for the driver to get the vehicle moving, even before all of them had gotten inside.

Aoi, the grey-haired lady and V advanced out the front doors as the truck pulled away, shotgun and rifle shooting the entire time, killing still more.

When those ran dry, V brought the show to a close. He raised his left arm to aim, and the synthskin parted at the wrist, revealing a launcher. A rocket pulsed out and through the back of the truck, and flames exploded out of all the windows. The burning wreck swerved and crashed into the traffic lights on the corner, ending the journey.

It was over.

Aoi felt all the strength in her arms and legs, as well as the fire in her belly, drop away in an instant. She fell straight back onto the concrete of the sidewalk, onto her ass and panting like a dog, the now-empty rifle released from her hands. She was alive, somehow.

V and the grey-haired lady approached, their faces grim.

"Jesus Blue, where did you learn all that?" V asked, offering his hand to get her off the street.

Aoi accepted the hand, though she was still wobbly, while the grey-haired lady picked up her rifle for her. "After the stalker, I changed my workout routine," she said with a hand wave and a shrug, "Red Menace has a personal trainer from Militech. I got one too. Seven months of workouts on assault courses in between concerts paid off, I guess."

The grey-haired woman scowled with disapproval, but said nothing.

"You'd think Kerry would've mentioned that..." V continued, "And the leg and arm implants?"

"Being able to get away is just as useful as shooting," Aoi replied, "Besides, being able to jump around is fun."

V nodded, and took her rifle from the grey-haired lady, looking it over. He took aim with it down the street towards the burning truck, before holding it out.

"This is a preem piece of iron," he commented, offering it back to her, "Don't suppose you'd be willing to put it to use for me? Nothing too hardcore, but you've proved yourself, that's for sure."

Too tired to be excited but happy anyway, Aoi opened her mouth to accept... but stopped as Judy stepped out of the front doors, relieved. She realised she had killed people and found it fun. They were scum of the Earth, but still. She wondered if Judy approved of that, or if she would begin having the same sort of nightmares that Viktor had talked about.

"I'll think about it," Aoi said to V. The merc just shrugged, signalling that the subject would be revisited later.

The rest of the crew stumbled out of the bar too now, bottles in hand, open and drinking directly from them. Even the bartender. Aoi stood aside as the others crowded around for a talk about what just went down, Judy leaning against the wall beside her.

"Thanks for the assist, Mama Welles," V said to the grey-haired lady, "Not sure we would've made it without one of us getting zeroed without you."

"Are you going to tell me why Tyger Claws attacked my bar?" Mama Welles replied, "Or rather, why they're attacking you while you're in it?"

"Could be a few things," V admitted, "I killed two of their bosses in the Clouds dollhouse last year, and a whole bunch of others besides."

"The Coyo is deep in Valentinos territory," Mama Welles replied, "This is a declaration of war. Since when do the Tygers have the cojones for that?"

"Maybe they didn't want it either. They tried to do it quietly, offered to let everyone else go if I went with them, and they didn't use guns," V countered, "But you're right, it was still a huge risk on their part. Probably means Arasaka is behind it."

"We knew they would try it," Cassidy growled, "Didn't think they'd take away my damn guns though. Look at these!" He held up his left arm, and showed off six or seven intersecting cuts, where blades had gone short of taking the whole limb.

"I'll upgrade our firmware so it can't happen again," V promised, "But it looks like they knew their own guns would be affected by the subnet hack too, since they didn't bring any."

"In other words, they won't bother with it next time," Viktor said, "Hopefully I won't be anywhere nearby when next time happens."

"Yeah, best if we don't have socials until it's all over," V agreed, "You and Misty should probably get out of here before the pigs show."

"Good idea... Too much blood here," Misty agreed, turning to leave, "Blue, drop by to the shop and I'll give you that tarot reading. I think it's more important than before that you do. Don't forget!"

Aoi gave a thumbs up from her waist, feeling too tired to speak. Coming down off the adrenaline was hitting hard. Misty waved back, satisfied. Viktor shepherded her away and into his waiting car, and they drove off.

"Mama Welles, I heard Gustavo is back in town," V said, "I need a sit-down with him. Tomorrow if possible. Can you arrange that?"

The woman nodded. "I can, but be careful V," she said, "He would have been happy to see you before this, after you let him live. But now... A war isn't what he was looking for."

"Yeah, well, it's not like I invited the Tyger Claws personally," V replied, "Gustavo is gonna want to hear what I have to say anyway."

Mama Welles grunted a doubtful response, and walked back to the bar with the shotgun over her shoulder, shouting at the bartender to not touch anything inside as the police would want to see it. They both disappeared inside, leaving just V's close crew behind on the street.

"So what now?" Judy asked, "The NCPD drag us all in for questioning?"

Aoi wanted to groan. That was the last thing she needed. Her manager would have a fit if she ended up with a police record.

"Na, they'll let us go," V said, "I scrolled the whole thing. It's all the evidence they'll need"

"A bunch of gangoons try to kill us," Judy said flatly, "And your first thought was to record it all?"

"That's one way to keep the cops off your ass," Cassidy commented.

"Not for the cops, but for our project," V smirked, "It's preem braindance material, Judy."

Judy rolled her eyes. That whole project was a cover, after all. Aoi couldn't blame her... but then she remembered it wasn't just V making moves in the bar.

"Wait a second," Aoi said, "Am I in the recording?"

"Well, yeah," V grinned, "You were kinda hard to miss, cutting down Tygers like you were born to it and landing like a meteor." Her instinct for opportunity flaring back up again, clearly the whirlwind of death around her hadn't hit her that hard. But there'd be time to think about that later.

Aoi grinned back at the merc. "Nova."