Chapter 8: Relics and Revelations
A/N: This was originally meant to be a serious fanfic. Unfortunately, I cannot write any fanfic seriously due to my consumption of 'Writer's Juice'.
The ride back from the Aldecados' Camp had been largely uneventful. Scotch drank and drove, which was disconcerting, but he was still arguably better than Jericho. The Vehicle Zen that he'd used allowed him for seamless control of the car which sped through traffic, weaving around other cars and the unfortunate pedestrian who jaywalked across the streets. He turned corners sharply, manipulating the brakes individually and causing the car to occasionally jump onto two wheel as they skidded through Night City. Upon entering the small rear parking lot behind the Coyote Cojo, he ripped the emergency brake causing the car to spin into a parking space perfectly aligned with the parking lines. V understood why Scotch was considered the team's driver.
V and the group exited the small car, walking over to the garage they'd been using as a base. Hildegarde opened the door and led Scotch into his new home away from home, the Panzerboy looking around a bit before settling in.
"Ah, you've returned. And you've brought Scotch. How nice.", Jericho announced popping out of the side door. "We're nearly ready now. V, I suggest you get a good night's sleep and return here tomorrow morning. Prepare yourself. Tomorrow you will learn what you're in for."
V just nodded, and began to make his way out of the garage.
"Oh, I almost forgot, here is your stipend for retrieving Scotch.", Jericho added, wiring V another 50k Eddies. "Please do not spend it all on booze again."
V just thanked the mysterious man and jumped back into his car. The vehicle ran perfectly. Whatever Scotch had done made a lasting impression on the car. He headed back to his apartment complex to visit Wilson and prepare himself for whatever came next. No more retrieving funny teammates, Jericho's plan was to take effect the following day.
Back in the garage, Jericho turned his Empathy Circuit off. There was no longer a need for it. V seemed like he'd do pretty much anything. Hildegarde had mentioned that if he'd attempted to leave, the chipset would be removed. If the Chipset was removed, as it was keeping V alive, he would die. This was true. Everything came for a price.
"Now. Back to our original plans.", Jericho noted, his voice now significantly less electronic and cheery sounding. It was now more sinister, back to its original cold tone. "As long as V doesn't go the way of Vostok, he'll be a powerful ally."
"And if he does go the way of Vostok?", Hildegarde prodded.
"Then you can kill him, as promised. I apologize for the excessive use of the Empathy Circuit, but it was necessary to convince the kid we're on his side. That he's safe with us.", Jericho mused, clasping his hands together. "Vostok was a loose cannon. A lot of promise, but in the end he wasn't even compatible with the Chipset. He was barely even able to activate any of its cores let alone function with an AI. V has been able to activate a maximum of three cores with no auxiliary power core. A feat within itself as I require nuclear fission, Hildegarde requires nuclear fusion and the two remaining members have Radioisotope Thermo-electric Generators powering their Chipsets."
"Aye. The kid may have a few screws loose, but no matter the abuse he takes, he keeps on keeping on.", Scotch added. "When we're finally ready, I believe he'll follow us willingly."
"It's not like he could even resist. He's not augmented like us. He's still got off-the-shelf cyberware: gorilla arms, a ballistic co-processor, Kiroshi ocular impants, nothing special.", Hildegarde mused.
"But I feel kinda sorry for him. He seems like a nice guy, just in the wrong place at the wrong time.", Asher added.
"Don't feel sorry. If he'd stuck around in that Nomad Camp six months ago nobody would've died and he would've been free of the Relic far earlier.", Hildegarde noted.
"Hildegarde, you've worked with him, aside from the obvious influence from Johnny Silverhand, has he shown any... undesirable... traits?", Jericho asked.
"No. He's capable for what he's working with. He is only using the passive cores, however. He has shown none of the more... interesting... talents yet.", Hildegarde noted. She thought for a moment. "Why the AI? None of us use them."
"It was needed. V's biodata is corrupted, the AI allowed for seamless integration and the usage of the Chipset without a power core. Regardless, Johnny Silverhand is egotistical and thinks more of himself than he's actually capable. We have nothing to worry about even if the old Rockerboy takes control.", Jericho mused.
"Don't know about you guys, but I don't have any of that custom Black Project cyberware. I only have the Chipset and a recoil compensator.", Asher noted.
"If he ends up like Vostok, I'll let him live long enough for you to fry him. How does that sound?", Hildegarde added.
"Sounds good. I like how they crackle and pop when I do that! Smells like bacon!"
"So, what was the reason you brought this kid into our group?", Hildegarde asked, still idly wondering what was so special about that random gonk.
"The Relic. I have been able to deconstruct the architecture and coding of the biochip and my fears have been confirmed. It is of Ouroboros design after all, at least the base chip is. It may have taken Arasaka nearly thirty years, but they have been successful in their clone of the Chipset, if only partially.", Jericho explained, the others nodding in approval.
"And? What's our next move?", Hildegarde asked.
"There's a programmer in the City. Anders Hellman. Find, capture and eliminate him after the data has been found. We're looking for the source-code.", Jericho noted. "He has defected from Arasaka to their competitor, Kang Tao. Most likely he has an office at the headquarters in the Corporate Center."
"Aye, a raid then. Going loud or nice and quietly?", Scotch asked.
"That depends on how helpful Hellman is. From what I have learned, V had contact with him before and may be able to help us locate him. Otherwise, loud. This city doesn't know of us, nor does it mean anything to us. It can burn.", Jericho noted.
"That's all I needed to hear. Kid gloves are coming off.", Hildegarde exclaimed.
"Aye, and I've got the mobile base hidden away. The Horus is tucked inside a cavern not far from the City.", Scotch noted.
"Good. Then everything is ready. Our plans are set and our escape is guaranteed.", Jericho concluded.
Jericho sat down on the couch in the living space of the garage. Hildegarde took the seat next to him with Scotch pulling up a small folding chair. There wasn't much point in trying to run around Night City at the moment, not when there was so much to do already. Jericho didn't have the need for sleep and instead meditated on the upcoming heist. Asher had already expanded their Veil and was busy downloading maps and layouts of the Corporate Plaza. Scotch was drinking again as usual.
Hildegarde thought of Vostok, who had been their previous fifth teammate. Vostok had betrayed them, sold the team out when it mattered the most. He'd caused them to have to split up three years ago and go into hiding. She was aware of the inevitable, the mercenaries that had been hired to kill her and everyone else would soon be back once they'd made their move on Kang Tao. She relished in the thought of killing Starhawk, the leader of the rival team. She'd been the one to kill Vostok, after all, hunting him down in Prague after his betrayal. Jericho's only complaint was the fact that it had looked like she'd ripped the Chipset out with pliers after bringing back half of Vostok's skull. There were still too many loose ends left in Night City though, and she hated those. The Aldecados should've been eliminated as they had no use for them anymore. The Afterlife needed a new interior paintjob as well, maybe a nice shade of crimson courtesy of Rogue, Claire and Squama. The Ripperdoc V had given the shard to earlier also needed to go on 'vacation', preferably somewhere dark and cold. A lot of people were no longer needed. She just smiled to herself and imagined the chaos, the screaming and the terror.
V sat in his apartment, he watched the news for a bit before changing the channel to something else. Johnny sat across from him, feet up on the table with a cigarette hanging from his lips. "I don't like this, V."
"You never like anything. You only like being a real bastard and sticking it to the corpos."
"You're one to talk! You stuck it pretty hard to Arasaka a few months ago!"
"That was because of you, Johnny. I didn't have any other options!"
"You could've eaten a bullet."
"Yeah? But I didn't."
"And? You got rid of the Relic. Finally you're free. But now you've gotten yourself roped into even more bullshit. Should've just cut and run, V."
"Oh really? And have Jericho hunting my ass all over the world for ditching him?"
"At least you'd go down like a legend..."
"Jericho's not even half the problem, either. Hildegarde would probably come after me as well!"
"Well, less like a legend and more like a bitch then."
"I'm doing whatever it takes. Jericho needs me for a job and then I'm out? Easy."
"Don't think it'll be easy at all, V. He's looking for his memories, not some random data shard. This isn't one job, V.", Johnny noted, ashing the holographic cigarette on V's couch. "You're in this neck-deep in shit headed up a shit river with a shit waterfall at the end that goes even deeper into a shit cesspool."
"Poetic as usual, Johnny. I know, alright. But, what else can I do? Not go with them and die?"
"No clue, V. This is all you this time. I'm just an AI remember?"
"Fuck you, Johnny."
V just got up, put on his pajamas and finally slid into his bed properly. He pulled the covers over his head and closed his eyes. He fell asleep soundly and began to dream for once. In his dream, he was back in the desert with Panam, she smiled at him as they rode off into the sands, the horizon gleaming as the sunrise glowed over the endless landscape. He leaned over to give Panam a kiss, but recoiled in horror as a bullet blew her head off leaving her headless body to fall into the dust.
"Thought you could run, V?", a visage of Hildegarde called, her gun smoking. "Nowhere to hide... Come out and play..."
V's vision blurred as he also fell out of the vehicle, the dust swirling around him. Soon he was sitting in the Afterlife. He shared a booth with Rogue, Squama and Vik. He picked up his glass and recoiled again, his glass now filled with blood and a single eyeball that stared back at him. He dropped the glass and looked over towards his friends who now sat dismembered on the table.
"V? You said you'd help me. Look what you've made me do. I had to kill them V. They stole my memories.", a nightmarish visage of Jericho noted, his arms and legs replaced with hundreds of arms. The arms had no hands, only long blades that dripped with blood. The blades shot towards V's face, the edgerunner screaming in terror as his vision went black.
V sat in his apartment again. Johnny sat across from him. The Rockerboy strummed on a guitar playing old tunes without a care in the world. He didn't seem to even notice V at all and just kept on playing some old forgotten songs from his past.
"You cannot run. Nor hide. You're one of us now, V. Come and join us... forever...", a visage of all of them, Jericho, Hildegarde, Scotch, and Asher all morphed into one nightmarish creature with multiple limbs, multiple mouths screaming and eyes staring at him. A nano-ceramic blade shot into his chest, blood pooling at his knees.
"Oh sorry, I'd help you, but I'm just an AI. I'm not real, remember?", Johnny added, still strumming away. "I thought we were friends, but I was wrong. Goodbye, V."
"Aaaaaaagghhhhhh!", V shot up out of his bed, briefly banging his head on the headboard above. He looked around the apartment in confusion and terror. Just a bad dream right? He checked over his body for wounds, there were none. He called Panam. The phone rang for a few minutes.
"V? It's four o'clock in the morning... Are you alright?", Panam asked groggily.
"Panam!? Oh thank god. Yeah I'm fine. Just wanted to hear your voice."
"V... We'll talk later. I have a lot of things to do for the clan later today..."
Panam hung up. It was just a dream then. Nothing bad had happened. Everything was good. He slowly got back into bed and reset his covers, pulling them tight and falling back asleep. This was the first real nightmare he'd had since getting the Chipset and he hoped that this would be the last one.
V awoke rather abruptly, after having been kicked in the gut by someone. Begrudgingly, he opened his eyes and wiped the crust from his eyelids. He looked around groggily.
"Get up."
V was definitely seeing things. Hildegarde was standing over him. She was in his apartment and didn't look particularly happy.
"Wh- what? Are you in my house?"
"No, V. I'm just a figment of your imagination... Of course I'm In your house, you bloody bell-end! Get up and get dressed, you're late!", Hildegarde shouted before grabbing V by his shoulders and hoisting him out of the bed.
V stumbled to his feet after the impromptu awakening, he hurried into his closet and shut the frosted glass door. He could still see Hildegarde through the pane and she didn't look particularly happy. He whipped off his pajamas and quickly got dressed in his Samurai jacket, Johnny's pants, Johnny's boots and grabbed the Malorian 3516 from its plaque on the wall. He double-checked its ammunition, grabbing a few extra clips as well, before leaving the closet. Hildegarde just stared at him.
"And who are you supposed to be? Vincent Silverhand? Johnny's mentally challenged impersonator?", she mocked. "I hope you can actually play the guitar, it would be nice to actually have a Rockerboy for once, but one can only dream since it's you, V."
"How did you even get in here, anyways?"
"Asher's been keeping tabs on everyone. That's why I didn't have to slog all over the city looking for you when you decided to get piss-drunk and drunk-dial me. We know where you sleep, V. Keep that in mind if you're planning anything funny.", Hildegarde noted half-threatening him at the same time. She leaned closer to V's face, her eye focusing on his. "Oh and we also know where your friends live... Panam Palmer, Viktor Vektor, Rogue Amendiaries, Crispin Weyland, River Ward, Judy Alvarez, Misty Olszewski, Nix, Bugbear, Kerry Eurodyne and every fixer you've ever worked with. You wouldn't want something bad to happen to them, would you?"
"Look, nothing is going to happen! I owe this to Jericho and I'm helping him with whatever it is he needs. I'm not going to betray you!", V asserted.
"You'd better not, V. I've got my eyes on you..."
"You mean your eye, since you only have one."
"V...", Hildegarde just punched V in the face. Hard. Before she left the apartment. V just ran after her sliding into the elevator as the doors closed.
"Jeezus! Would you stop punching me!?"
"When you stop making stupid noises with your mouth, I'll stop punching you."
V just sighed and quietly rode the elevator down with Hildegarde. The N54 News blared about some kind of new male-enhancement pill that was being recalled for causing 'explosive interactions with Mr. Stud augments' and causing a number of men to have to undergo reconstructive surgery. V idly thought of the Flaming Crotch Man who had a similar issue and chuckled quietly to himself. The doors soon opened, and Hildegarde walked out. V followed her over to the Ragnar that was awkwardly wedged into the parking garage.
"Yes, V. You can ride with me."
V just got into the passenger seat and waited for Hildegarde to enter the vehicle. She threw the Ragnar into reverse, hitting V's Rattler in the process before driving out of the parking structure. V was almost certain she'd done that on purpose, but didn't say anything to her lest he be tossed out of the moving car and into traffic. Hildegarde didn't say anything during the drive, just driving sternly back to the Coyote Cojo. She did run over a random corpo on the way there, though, not stopping to check if the poor gonk was stuck in the undercarriage or not.
Hildegarde parked the Ragnar and hopped out, V following behind her as the approached Jackie's Garage. She flung the garage door open and headed further inside into the living quarters.
"Well, he wasn't drunk this time.", she announced to the group. "Just an idiot as usual."
"V. We've got a very important mission ahead of us. It's good that you've prepared accordingly. I suppose you should know who we really are.", Jericho noted, the cheery electronic-ness in his voice now gone and replaced with a deep and cold tone. "We are Sefirot. The remnants of a once powerful corporation. From what I am aware, I was at least one of its original founders and created both the Chipset itself and the cyberware that we possess. Who exactly is still a mystery as well as why the company is no more. That is what we're looking for, at least partially. Our end goal is a bit more complex."
"Never heard of them, Sefirot. But... What's your end goal? I already told you I'd help you find your memories.", V added.
"Very few have heard of Sefirot. My information concludes that the corporation was fairly small, although well-equipped to develop cybernetics and advanced electronics. The designs I gave you on the data shard are my own, of course. Designs that have been stolen from me, repurposed into other designs and sold to the mass market. I want those designs off the market. And I want all of those that have stolen from me to pay for what they've done.", Jericho explained.
"That's your end goal? Take down the corpos that stole from you?"
"Not just the corporations, V. Everyone. Another war is coming, a 5th Corporate War, but this war will not be between other corporations. It will be between humanity and the chains of greed that the corporations bind them with. A Human Revolution of sorts.", Jericho added, he looked directly at V. "I understand I have only asked you to help me find my memories, you will be allowed to leave with the Chipset when we have. However, I cannot guarantee which side of the War you will be on when it comes. For those that feed on carrion shall feed for an eternity upon the bones of their fallen kings."
V just stared at Jericho. That last sentence was odd. Cryptic and more than usual. Jericho was planning on starting a war? Undoubtedly, Johnny would love this since it meant taking down more corporations, but this was something that V had little interest in. He promised Panam a new life on the road, a better life with a friend. But, Jericho was planning something global. A plan that would change the world if he succeeded. If the war turned out to be as bad as the last one, there would be no roads to freedom for the Nomads.
"Y- You want to start a war?"
"V. Understand that I have reasons for everything that I have done. We all do. JANUS, the JERICHO Project, Sefirot, they're all classified Black Projects. They cannot fall into the wrong hands, best they stay close to their creators. And when they've all been found, the war can begin. Humanity will stand tall over the corporations that have enslaved them while all the others... will perish.", Jericho noted. "This is bigger than what I'd originally asked. You will be allowed to leave with the Chipset after we have found my memories as promised, but I cannot guarantee which side of the War you will be on when it inevitably comes. We may cross paths again, but on different sides of the same coin. And you will not be spared."
V thought to himself. Johnny was right, after all. It wasn't just a simple in-and-out job. It wasn't just a data shard to download. It was an actual Revolution. He really was up shit creek without a paddle and headed face-first down a shit waterfall. He could leave and go back to the life of a nomad, but at what cost? Would he live forever scavenging the ruins of the world until he died of old age? Or would he fight for something better, a world without corporate greed? A tough choice.
"Look, Jericho. I can't tell you what I'm gonna do right now. Let's just find your memories, I promised you that. I'll decide what I'll do afterwards.", V concluded. Johnny appeared suddenly and excitedly.
"An actual goddamn revolution. Holy shit, V... I think I like this guy."
"Yeah, yeah, stick it to the corpos, collateral damage, blah blah blah. Johnny, you only like him because he's planning on destroying all the corporations.", V mentally argued, best not to look like a mental patient in front of Jericho and the team.
"Well, what would you do? Ride off into the nuclear sunset with Panam? Or go out as a real legend?"
"You- I- I already told Jericho what I'm going to do right now. I'm not repeating myself for you, you should've been listening!"
"Just saying, V. No more corpos means a better life for the nomads."
V just shut up, shut out Johnny's rhetoric and took a knee on the floor beside the couch. Jericho stood in front of everyone, a holographic pad in his hand. It displayed the layout of the Corporate Plaza in downtown Night City. This was the mission he'd been waiting to hear about.
"Right. The plan is this, Asher has discovered that the target, Anders Hellman has an office on the 133rd floor of the Kang Tao corporate headquarters. Scotch will retrieve out mobile base, a heavily modified Militech Manticore. We will airdrop onto the roof of the the building and make our way inside. The target is not to be harmed until we have extracted all the data we need. Stealth is the key, however going loud is acceptable if we are found. We do not know this City and it owes us nothing. We will be extracted on the 135th floor's atrium. You all know your roles.", Jericho explained.
V knew Anders Hellman, the creator of the Relic. Jericho needed him now, for some reason still unknown. It probably had to do with his designs that had been stolen, but the Relic had little in common with the Chipset. He knew that Takemura had promised to get Hellman out, but it had appeared that hadn't happened and Anders Hellman went back to working with Kang Tao.
Jericho just motioned for the others to follow him. He walked out of the garage and towards the parking lot where the Ragnar was parked. He stepped aside, getting into the rear passenger seat behind the driver. Scotch entered the driver's position and Asher took the front passenger seat. Hildegard slid into the spot beside Jericho and V was left with the outer-most position on the rear bench seat. He strongly disliked sitting next to and this close to Hildegarde, but Jericho was right there in case she decided to strangle him. He swallowed hard and got ready. It was time for a heist.
Chapter End.