Chapter 11: Life is Bizarre

V awoke to the AV suddenly banking hard to the side, he was tossed from the small cot like a ragdoll as klaxons blared inside. He rubbed his eyes and clambered to his feet, were they being attacked? How long had he been asleep? What the hell was going on?

"Asher! Grab the bloody controls!", Hildegrade shouted as she tumbled towards the cockpit., Everything was in disarray and the group was tossed around in the turmoil.

"I'm trying! I don't know how to fly this thing!"

"Get Scotch off the damn pilot's seat! He overdid it again, those Radioisotope Thermo-Electric Generators aren't designed for long-term usage!"

"He's heavy!"

"Calm down. I'm on my-", Jericho was cut off as he fell onto the opposite side of the AV as it once again, banked hard and caused its occupants to tumble around. A lighthouse suddenly entered their view rising from the ground like a giant middle-finger.

"Don't hit the sodding lighthouse! Put the AV down in that junkyard!", Hildegarde screamed from an awkward position on the floor.

"I don't know what all the buttons dooooo!", Asher panicked.

"Pull up! Pull up! Aaaaasherrr! Aaaaaaaagh!", Hildegarde screamed as the ground suddenly took up the entirety of the view outside of the windshield as the AV pitched forwards.

"Just land this thing!", Jericho shouted.

"Land it now!", Hildegarde added.

V didn't know that this was how his life was going to end. He just grabbed onto the metal table and braced for impact. This was going great.

Down below, two younger girls rummaged around a junk pile in the junkyard. They'd been on their own mission to find a missing girl. Particularly one of their best friends who had gone missing a few weeks ago. After finding a terrible hidden room under an old barn, they'd gotten a message that their rival, Nathan was planning on executing the girl. They knew that she was hidden somewhere around here since they'd found some incriminating photographs.

"Max! Keep digging! She's gotta be here!", a blue-haired girl yelled. She was tall and lanky and wore a grey beanie over her azure-dyed hair. She had basic arm and leg cybernetics and a series of plates that signified sub-dermal armoring and wore some dark ripped jeans, a white tank-top and a black jean jacket.

"Chloe, I know! I'm going as fast as I can!", Max, the other girl responded. She was shorter with light brown hair and a rather obvious Media Camera augment that was attached to the left side of her skull. She had no other cyberware and was dressed in a grey hoodie and pink shirt.

"Here! A manhole cover! Help me open it!", Chloe called.

Both Max and Chloe slowly pried the metal covering off the cistern, revealing a long ladder that descended into a small chamber. They could see a girl lying on a NetRunner's chair with an IV hooked into her arm. She didn't move, but the EKG beeped quietly.

"We did it! She's safe, Max! Now, let's get down there and save Rachel!", Chloe announced triumphantly.

"Got it- Wait... What?", Max was cut off as an out-of-control AV soared overhead. Chloe also ducked and looked in the direction of the aircraft.

The AV turned way too fast, spinning in a circle before it began to hover nearly 20ft from the ground. Its landing gear extended and retracted several times before the AV just lost all power and crashed to the ground with a resounding Ka-thoom!

"Max... Hide!", Chloe whispered, pushing the shorter girl down behind some scrap. "That thing's a friggin' battleship! What the hell is it doing here?"

The rear hatch of the AV opened slowly, the interior of the aircraft not visible from the angle the two girls were sitting at. A much taller and extremely dangerous looking woman stepped down the ramp and looked around, briefly staring in their direction.

"Who the hell is that?", Chloe whispered.

"No... No damage. You did land on some poor guy, though...", the woman noted, looking around the AV.

"...Is he dead?", a voice called from the interior of the AV.

Pfoom! A violet burst of energy shot from the woman's firearm killing whatever or whoever they'd accidentally landed on. "He is now..."

"Is there anyone else out there?", a different voice called, this one much deeper.

"Hmf. Yeah. I'm getting three heat signatures. Two hiding behind some scrap and one underground,", the woman announced. "Come on out, we won't kill you... I promise!"

Max and Chloe just stared at each-other before they both stepped out from behind their cover, walking slowly with their hands held up towards the sinister looking woman. Messing around with an obviously dangerous mercenary was not what they had planned for tonight.

Hildegarde just shrugged. The two girls that were approaching couldn't be older than 19 years old. One looked like a Media with her camera cybernetics attached to her skull and the other looked like some random street-punk, maybe a Fixer? They were probably out here to get high and drunk, nobody in particularly worry about. Hildegarde refrained from killing children whenever necessary and this was not necessary, at least not at the moment.

"Names. Both of you.", Hildegarde commanded.

"M-M-Max... Uhm... Max Koffield.", The Media girl stated, cowering behind the taller girl next to her slightly.

"Chloe Preiss.", said Chloe confidently.

"Great. Media girl, I suggest you scrub my face from your footage. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen would we?", Hildegarde half-threatened.

Max complied, stretching her hand out in front of her and manipulating a holographic display that only she could see. She scrubbed the sinister woman's face from her footage. "There. Done."

"Good. I'm Hildegarde. Now that we know each-other's names, what are you doing out here?", Hildegarde asked, her firearm still out.

"We're trying to save our friend! She was kidnapped and held captive in a cistern below the junkyard! I think she's stuck in the Net and neither of us are 'Runners.", Max explained somewhat hastily.

Max looked around for a moment. The AV was definitely a mercenary one, it wasn't Militech despite the obvious design. This thing was built like a flying tank and had guns powerful enough to level the entire town. She glanced down at the landing gear, a man with a goatee and now broken glasses lay crushed underneath the AV with a gunshot wound to the head, he held a small pistol in his tightly clenched hand. "M-Mr. Jefferson? He- He's dead."

"Hope he wasn't important to you...", Hildegarde mused.

"Well... Uhhm..."

"Asher! Get out here, there are two chavs that need your help!"

Another girl, a little older than Max and Chloe ran down the ramp and into the dim lighting lit by the parking lights on the AV.

"...What are chavs?", Chloe asked to nobody in particular. Max shrugged.

"Hey! I'm Asher. I'm a NetRunner! What's up?", the incredibly cheery girl noted.

"We need your-", Max was cut off again.

"I heard. Your friend is down in the cistern right? Last one down buys me an icecream cone!", Asher yelled before running off in the direction of the manhole and jumping down, skipping the ladder entirely. Max and Chloe followed behind in bewilderment.

"Anything to note?", Jericho asked, now leaving the AV.

"Not really. Just two young girls.", Hildegarde sighed.

"Ah. They're probably from the Academy here. It's a... Special Learning school. Kids get to learn how to be 'Legendary'. It's all bullshit if you ask me. It takes real experience to become what you aim to be. Nobody can just take a class and expect to become a 'Legendary' Media, Solo, NetRunner, or anything else.", Jericho noted.

"Hrrm..."

Down inside the cistern, Asher worked her magic on the seemingly comatose girl in the chair. She looked at the setup, tracing the various wires that held the girl captive in the Net. This was going to require a bit of 'shock' to get her awake again. Otherwise the girl appeared to be in good health despite being held hostage underground for several weeks. If anything, she was probably in some sort of bizarre simulation.

"Oh yeah. She's burning up. Trapped in the Web, to say. Lemme just administer some coolant... Then I'll force an eject. Might wanna stand back a bit, the adrenaline shock can cause them to do weird things.", Asher mused, connecting her Cyberdeck to the chair.

Chloe didn't move from her comatose friend, it had been too long since she'd gone missing for her to leave her friend's side.

"Guh... Eeeeyaaaagghh!", the comatose girl, Rachel, screamed as she was kicked out of the Net. She reached out for the nearest object and grabbed Chloe's chest and squeezed the girl's assets with a gorilla-like grip. Chloe bent downwards in agony as this occurred.

"Oooowaaaghhh!", Chloe exclaimed as parts of her body that weren't designed for rough handling were suddenly being crushed.

"I told you. It's never pleasant when Net Ejection is forced. Those bruises are going to hurt for like... a month.", Asher noted.

"C-Chloe? What- What are you doing here? Did he get you too?", Rachel asked groggily.

"No! We came to... ow... rescue you!", Chole added, removing Rachel's hands from her chest.

"Rescue me? Oh thank the gods!", Rachel sighed, getting up from her position in the chair. "Did you get him? Kill him?"

"Who?", Max asked.

"Frickin' Jefferson! That man is pure evil. He lured me, drugged me with Blue Glass and then had his way with me! Tell me you killed that son of a bitch!", Rachel cursed.

"No... But he's dead. An AV landed on him. It's a funny story, actually.", Chloe glossed.

"Yeah. That was kinda my fault...", Asher noted.

"Who's this!?", Rachel exclaimed.

"Just your friendly neighborhood NetRunner!", Asher noted. "I saved you by the way. You were about to fry your brain on the Net."

"Oh... Well... Thanks, I guess. And thanks for killing Jefferson!", Rachel added.

"We should probably get out of here. The whole town's been looking for you, Rachel! There are posters everywhere!", Max added.

"Shit. Okay. Just gimme a sec to stretch my legs...", Rachel sighed. She'd been out for longer than it had seemed. Although it only felt like hours in Cyberspace, several weeks had passed in the Real World. No doubt her parents were worried sick about her if they hadn't already had a simple funeral for her.

V stood idly. Scotch had finally woken up and apologized for dropping out. It had been some time since he'd used his Vehicle Zen and it was taking a toll on his power core. The main issues was that the Core itself wasn't powerful enough to run the Chipset full-time and an auxiliary capacitor stored energy. When the capacitor ran out, the power draw exceeded the core's output and a sudden loss of consciousness occurred. A drawback to the new radiation-less cores, as Jericho noted, along with the need for Anti-Rad when around the other Nuclear Powered mercs of the team.

"So what's so great about this town, anyways?", V asked.

"Nothing. It's a tourist trap for those that actually aren't rampaging Nomads and are actually some poor gonks looking for a nice road-trip destination.", Hildegarde sighed.

"From the data I was able to procure, this town was once called Arcadia Bay back in the early 2000's. A small private corporation ended up buying the entire town, the Prescott Foundation. There is nothing to note about them aside from their Weather Control Technology that keeps this place a verdant paradise all-year-round.", Jericho mused. "The only landmark is the Academy which also bears the town's name. It is a prestigious school for students looking to learn about our... lifestyle."

"Paradise? This place is stuck in 2013.", Hildegarde noted. "Whatever, I don't care. As long as they have room and board I'm okay with letting them live."

"No killing and no starting problems, Hildegarde. This is a layover while I repair the AV and craft more ammunition for the GAU-8 cannons. I'll stay with the AV, you and the others head into town and enjoy yourselves.", Jericho added. "Perhaps find a Fixer and take a few non-violent jobs..."

"Well, at least we met some locals. Maybe they know a bit more about this place.", V mused, noting that Asher had disappeared with the two younger girls into a cistern of all places.

"Heyyyy guys! We're baaaa~aaack!", Asher announced climbing out of the manhole, the two other girls now accompanied by a third on who was dressed in a red flannel shirt, ripped blue jeans and a black t-shirt with an anthropomorphic hot-dog man on it.

"You. Your name too.", Hildegarde commanded.

"Me?", Rachel asked pointing to herself. "Rachel Aurum."

"Great. I'm Hildegarde, make sure you forget that name. This imbecile is V, also known as Vincent Silverhand, but goes by V. Just... Vee. This stunning mechanical wonder is Jericho and the short boozy man is Scotch. We're mercenaries.", Hildegarde introduced, the others nodding to the trio of younger girls that had just appeared. "V has an imaginary friend, if he gets weird that's because he's having an internal conflict."

"Oh shit! Mr. Jefferson really is dead!", Rachel added, taking notice of the rather flat glasses-clad and goatee'd man underneath the landing gear.

"Yeah, We'll scrape him off in a moment. You can take him back to wherever in a bucket.", Hildegarde sighed apathetically.

"No, no, no. That's fine. He was a piece of shit. Just leave him to rot.", Chloe added.

"Okay.", Hildegarde noted. "So where's there a good place to eat? You're from here so you're driving and I dearly hope that you have half-decent vehicle of some sort."

"Well, there's the Two Whales Diner. Chloe's mom works there. The food is... good?", Max noted.

"Great. Fantastic. Lead on.", Hildegarde sighed.

"I have a Mackinaw. It's parked over there. Um... It only has three seats, so you'll have to ride in the bed.", Chloe noted pointing to the ramshackle older model Thorton Mackinaw near the exit of the junkyard. Even by Nomad standards, this thing was a pile of shit with mis-matched wheels and several body panels painted a different color.

"If you drive like an asshole, I will remove you from the truck and take control... Forcibly.", Hildegarde mused.

"Nope! No worries, I've been driving her for years!", Chloe reassured.

Chloe, Max and Rachel piled into the front bench seat of the Mackinaw and left V, Hildegarde, Asher and Scotch to climb into the bed of the truck. This thing was even worse than V's Rattler and its back window was missing both causing a terrible draft and allowing for conversation to the passengers in the bed of the truck. Chloe eased onto the clutch and shifted into gear before driving out and away from the junkyard. Jericho waved to them as they left, a Mag-Lev freight train whistling past in the background. Small town charm, V guessed. He sat back as best as he could in the cramped bed and settled in for along journey.

The ramshackle truck sped down the road at its posted speed limit of 40mph. Chloe was being extra-careful not to piss off the obviously dangerous woman in the bed of the truck. The last thing she needed as to be tossed out into traffic for driving like an idiot. She sighed and turned to Max.

"...Can you believe Nathan actually shot me? I mean, if It wasn't for Frank and his backwater chrome I'd be dead. This sub-dermal armor is worth it, Max!"

"I dunno, Chloe. Frank is kinda shady. I mean, I've never heard of a Ripperdoc operating out of an RV... But it has saved you a bunch of times already..."

"He's cool once you get to know him. His kick is SynthCoke and Boosters... Also, baked beans...", Rachel added.

V sighed, taking note of the conversation happening in the front seat. This town had nothing modern, nothing like Night City. It barely had a Ripperdoc. It was scenic for what it was worth with its pretty lighthouse and nice view of the coastline, though. Maybe this was the place that Judy had spoken about? He could only dream, it had been a while since Judy had left Night City, leaving to find her own path outside of the madness that embodied Night City. He hoped that she was doing well.

"...But what about Nathan? He's still out there being a creep...", Max mused.

"He had daddy issues. Now that Jefferson is dead, he won't be a problem.", Rachel added. "And if he is, we just met some Mercenaries... They could rough him up a bit."

"If you need help with some gonk-brained cockwomble, I can take care of him for you. He'll just disappear, never to be seen again...", Hildegarde added.

"No. NO! Don't kill him. He's got problems, but a few therapy sessions should do fine. Max has all the footage of him being crazy.", Rachel argued.

"Ehh. Fine. Your funeral.", Hildegarde mused.

"We're going directly to the authorities. Chloe's stepdad is the Chief of Police. He'll listen to us!", Max reassured.

"A cop? Don't get your hopes up..."

"No really! He was a soldier in the war. He's really useful, if a bit of a hardass.", Chloe noted.

"A soldier? From the war? I'd like ta talk to him, it'd be nice to have a war buddy.", Scotch mused.

"He'd love a war buddy, too. He's been hella lonely...", Chloe mused sadly. "He was a Panzerboy. Not many of those up here..."

"Hah! A Panzerboy like me! We're gonna get along great! What's his name?"

"David... David Madison.", Chloe noted.

"Ach! An Englishman like meself! Well, na really. But it's still all tha same to me!"

"What's your story, Max? That's some pretty advanced chrome you're wearing.", V asked taking note of the ultra-high resolution Media Cam on her skull.

"Oh. I'm from a family of Media's. I'm trying to show the world in brighter light. 'Always take the shot' is what my dad told me.", Max mused.

"Aww. That's beautiful. I wish you the best."

"The world is a shithole. If anyone can do it, you'll be the first.", Hildegarde sighed.

"What about you? You mysterious Mercs?", Rachel asked, turning around to face the troupe in the back.

"We're mercenaries. Nothing more and nothing less. We've got our own skills and we're not to be messed with. This is just a layover until we can leave again.", Hildegarde noted.

"Yeah. A little time off in a nice town. It's a nice change from the hustle of Night City.", V stated.

"Night City? The City of Dreams?", Rachel asked, she'd wanted to visit Night City ever since she'd heard of the endless possibilities that could happen.

"Yeah, don't even bother. It's worse than you'd think. You get roped in, become a Solo, and then you die young. It's nice to look at, but you don't see the corruption from the postcards.", V mused.

"But- I've heard of so many people who-"

"No. If you've had problems with some backwater creep taking advantage of you, you won't survive more than 15 minutes in Night City. Some Scav is going to abduct you, cut your cyberware out with a rusty spoon and let his buddies use what's left over for their pleasure.", Hildegarde mused. "Go somewhere else. Or stay here. I dunno, It's up to you, but Night City is a death-sentence for a girl with your good looks."

Rachel just shut up, she stared idly at the roof of the truck as she realized that maybe the world wasn't as nice as the all the postcards showed. These were mercenaries and they'd seen the world for what it really is. This little town was a vacation to them, even if it had some bad parts. But those bad parts were luxury compared to what they'd experienced.

"Hey, quick pitstop at the Police Station. We need to get Rachel to her family as well as turn in our footage of Jefferson's rape room.", Chloe added, pulling the truck into a street parking slot near an older looking, probably early 1950's era police station.

"Now I'm glad I killed him. Not just because it was fun, but because I got rid of another worthless human being.", Hildegarde mused.

"We'll uh... We'll just stay out here.", V noted. Chloe, Max and Rachel headed into the police building. V and the crew had no desire to interact with cops at the moment given their current situation and just waited patiently for them to return.

"I dunno about you, but I like this town!", Asher added.

"Good for you. Maybe when we're done with all of this you can retire here. If you're still alive, that is.", Hildegarde sighed. She just wanted to leave, the kitschy romantic charm of this place was getting on her nerves.

"I wouldn't mind it either. A nice quiet town where nothing weird ever happens. Maybe Panam will come along with me...", V mused.

"Really? And what will you do here? Help elderly women cross the street for spare Eddies and play one-off gigs at the local bar?", Hildegarde half-mocked.

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan. After all this crazy bullshit, I'd like living in a place like this."

"I wasn't serious, V."

"I know, but you're still right."

"Lads, ladies, I think I'm gonna need a drink. Me stress levels are risin' and I need to lower them.", Scotch noted.

"Yeah, yeah. Ask the two girls about bars and clubs when they get back. We'll meet up at the AV whenever you're done getting piss drunk.", Hildegarde sighed again.

The trio of Mercenaries just sat and waited for the girls to get done with whatever they had been working on. This place was idyllic and strangely calm. It was a Corporation owned town and it showed, everything was owned by the Prescott Foundation. Even the weather was controlled electronically. It was entirely too boring here for the likes of them.

Inside the police station, Chloe, Max and Rachel ran up to the main desk. David Madison, one of the four Corpo Cops that worked for the town sat with his feet up, cigarette in hand and newspaper unfolded in front of them. He looked bored and tired.

"Hey, David! We found Rachel Aurum!", Chloe yelled, the tired man jumping up from his seat sending the newspaper flying.

"You did!? And... She's alive. Thank god.", David sighed. "Where? How? I demand that you tell me!"

"I have the footage right here.", Max added removing a data shard from her cyberware and handing to David who inserted it and began to review it.

"Oh... Oh god... Those poor girls... Ugh...", He retched as the footage played. "Oh. Urrgh... This is horrible. Wait... Nathan? That brat? Oh fuck!"

"I'm okay, David. I survived.", Chloe added realizing what part of the footage he was reviewing. It was the part where Nathan shot her in the gut a few days ago.

"I- I'm grateful. I really am. That backwater chrome really did save you. I'm sorry I doubted you- Wait, there's more? Goddammit! I knew there was something off about that fucker, Jefferson! When I get my hands on him... hrrrrmmm.", David continued to review the data. He grew more and more angry as it continued to play. He slammed his fist on his desk, leaving a small dent in its metal top. "Where is this bastard!?"

"He... He's dead. He ambushed us in the junkyard, but we ran. He followed us, but he didn't see the train... It was too fast for him to dodge and...", Max lied, she really didn't want those Mercs to find out she'd told on them.

"Eugh. The Mag-lev? That fucker flies through the countryside at over 300mph. I doubt there's anything to even collect, but I'll send a Clean-Up crew out for him in the morning. Saves me the trouble of strangling him myself...", David sighed. Every other week it seemed they were picking bits of drunken students out of the bushes along the train tracks. That train moved so fast you never saw it until it hit you and then you were human salsa.

"So, we cool?", Chloe asked.

"I still don't like that you took this upon yourself, but you did honorably. Now, I'm sure Rachel is tired and wants to go home. We'll take down her statement and then release her to her parents.", David noted.

"Preem. See you guys tomorrow, then. Bye Chloe.", Rachel added. She ran over to Chloe, giving her a kiss on the cheek before accompanying another officer into one of the private booths.

"Let's go, Max. I think our other friends are waiting for us...", Chloe sighed.

Back outside again, Chloe just hopped into the driver's seat of her truck and fired it up. The Mercs in the back didn't say much. Max climbed into the passenger seat and they were soon headed in the opposite direction towards the diner that Chloe's mom worked at. Everyone needed some food after this night.

It was nearly 11pm by the time they'd finally arrived and parked in the small lot near the Two Whales diner. For some reason a sailboat was perched on the roof of the restaurant, which V noticed.

"What's up with the boat?", V asked.

"Oh, funny story actually! You see, Max tried to be a NetRunner and failed hella bad. She thought she hacked the town's GPS, but actually hacked the Weather Control System!", Chloe laughed, remembering something from earlier.

"Look! I didn't mean to cause a Category-5 hurricane, it just happened!", Max defended.

"Yeah, and you destroyed half the coastline, the lighthouse and tossed a boat onto my mom's workplace! You should've seen Martin Prescott's face when he found out it'd been hacked!", Chloe cackled. "I did something similar a few years ago and got expelled for it. You're lucky you didn't get caught, Super-Max!"

"But... They fixed the lighthouse. It's fine!"

"Dude, that thing was like 200 years old. Prescott looked like he was about to blow a fuse!"

"Hehe. Nice. Sticking it to the Corpos!", V and Johnny noted.

"I wish we could do more, but the whole town is owned by them. They even have their own police force! It's not too bad, though.", Chloe noted.

"It's only one corporation, V. And a pathetic one at that. Hell, if we got hired to take them down, I doubt it'd take more than a stern stare and some arm twisting.", Hildegarde sighed. This place sucked.

"Uhh... How much would you want for that? Just asking, not really suggesting anything...", Chloe added.

"We require a minimum of 150 thousand Eddies for a job like that.", Hildegarde stated, watching the blue-haired girl's eyes widen.

"Heh. Yeah... Well, I'm kinda a Fixer around here, so if you want any... um... simpler jobs, just ask me!"

"Such as?"

"Oh, well there's a boy who needs 10 bottles of Pinot Noir taken to dorm room 115 in the boy's dormitory at the Academy. It pays about one-thousand Eddies.", Chloe noted.

Hildegarde just sighed and made her way towards the front door of the Two Whales. This was stupid. All she wanted to do was eat a nice dinner and go back to the AV and get the hell out of here. A shout pulled her attention back to the group behind her.

"You! You stupid fucking bitches have gotten in my way for the last time! You did something to Mr. Jefferson, I know you did. We were supposed to meet up, but now he's not responding!", a somewhat high-pitched male voice screamed.

"Oh no, It's Nathan!", Max added.

Hildegarde just turned on her heel and walked over to the boy, grabbing him by his throat and lifting him into the air. "Mr. Jefferson is dead. I killed him. A worthless man. I put a bullet through his skull. Would you like one yourself?"

"N-N-N-N-N- No... Who- Who are you!?", Nathan stuttered in pure fear, he didn't know who this was. He knew Mr. Jefferson was from out-of-town, but didn't know much else.

"I was hired to kill him. His brains are painting the street right now. It was easy. I barely had any fun...", Hildegarde whispered, nearly lips to ear with the boy. "Would you like to have some fun, Nathan?"

"I- I- N- No. P- Please don't hurt me.", Nathan sobbed, piss running down his legs. This was an actual Mercenary. Not some wannabe from the school, not some pretender. An actual Mercenary hired from somewhere else for a Hit-Job.

Hildegarde just tossed the sniveling boy onto the pavement. "Get out of here. If I see you again, you'll find out firsthand why I've gotten the nickname, 'The Genocider'."

Nathan just got up and headed for the hills. He ran down the streets as a darker shade crept over the crotch of his pants. He was the son of Sean Prescott, the owner of the town, but that meant absolutely nothing to a Mercenary from outside of the idyllic village who killed for fun. He picked up his pace transforming into a full-sprint away from the diner.

"Wow.", Chloe noted.

"I didn't kill him.", Hildegarde added.

"I don't think he'll be back. Maybe he'll join some Nomads and rethink his life.", Max mused.

"We can only hope, Max. We can only hope...", Chloe sighed as she watched Nathan Prescott disappear into the distance. These Mercs were something else. She really wanted to be like them when she finally had the time to move out of this place. Maybe take Max and Rachel somewhere new, not Night City, but somewhere else.

"Time for food! And Icecream!", Asher screamed as she ran into the restaurant. This was taking too long for her patience.

The rest of the group just stared at each-other before heading into the establishment. V took immediate notice of the smell of fresh bacon on the grill and the odor of stale coffee in the air as they walked in. The Two Whales was your standard 'Small Town' greasy spoon. The food wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. $3.50 Eddies for breakfast which was served all day long.

Chloe's mom wasn't working this late, instead another waitress spied the group and led them to a corner booth. The nametag denoted her name as 'Betty'. The group settled in along with Asher who joined them shortly after running into the diner by herself a few moments earlier. V and Hildegarde sat next to each-other with Asher sandwiched in bewteen. Chloe and Max sat across from them. Scotch was missing.

"Hey, uh. Where's Scotch?", V asked.

"Oh your bearded friend? He asked about bars before we left the police station. There's only one in town, The Docks. An old bait and tackle shop that's now a bar. David likes to go there after work...", Chloe noted.

"Oh, Do you recommend anything from here?"

"Yeah. The All-Day Breakfast is really good. The seafood is terrible since the oceans are shit, and the steak is okay.", Chloe added. V just stared at the menu. He just ordered the All-Day Breakfast special with sausage, scrambled eggs and home fries. Asher put her order in for an icecream sundae and Hildegarde ordered a black-and-blue steak.

"Sooo... What's it like being mercenaries?", Chloe asked curiously. She really did wonder what life was like outside of Blackwell. Her biological father had gotten as far as fighting in the Unification War in California, unfortunately he was killed in action.

"It's dangerous, fun, pays well, and you get to meet a lot of interesting people.", V noted.

"It's not something you just walk into. It doesn't matter what they're trying to teach you at that 'school', you need street smarts, not extracurricular activities.", Hildegarde sighed. "You need to get yourself some decent chrome, a big gun and a set of balls."

"If you become a NetRunner it's not too bad. The jobs pay well, but you really need to hone your craft otherwise you'll end up crispier than the bacon here.", Asher added. "And it's not a pleasant way to go either. It hurts all the way down."

Chloe and Max just stared at each-other. They had been planning to ask about possibly getting a lift out of Blackwell and towards Seattle, but that didn't seem like a good plan at the moment. They'd ask Rachel if it was a good idea in the morning.

"So, you're pretty tough, huh?", Chloe added, asking her question to Hildegarde.

"Yes. Very. Feared in some places... and infamous in others."

The small-talk and banter abruptly stopped as Asher's ridiculous icecream sundae arrived at the table. It was piled high with various flavors of icecream, vanilla, banana-nut, pralines and sprinkles scattered everywhere. A side portion included Hildegarde's mint-chocolate chip. The waitress handed out some extra spoons and bowls and left them alone. This was somewhat better than expected, but even so, the sooner they left the better. This tiny town was too nice for a sudden gunfight to erupt in the streets when Starhawk and his crew inevitably found them.

Scotch was having a different kind of night. The bar he'd been directed to had some fishing poles hastily stowed outside. The shack he'd walked into had previously been a bait and tackle shop as well as boat launch. A few small fishing boats were tied to the pier that it sat on. A few locals sat outside at some wicker tables and drank happily. The inside of the establishment was no different, there was a cooler with live bait for sale in it and the wall behind the bar included all kinds of reels, lures, and accessories for fishing in the small bay. He quickly took a seat next to a stern-looking man.

"Huh? You're not from around here, are you?", the man asked, nursing his drink.

"Nah. I'm just passin' through.", Scotch answered.

"A traveler, huh? Not too many of those anymore... You're military, aren't you? I recognize your chrome."

"Yup! Royal Battalion, Tanker division. Fought in the Northern Conflict..."

"A Panzerboy? Not too many of us around these days..."

"Aye. Me name's Robbie, me friends called me 'Scotch'."

"David. Nice to meet another soldier...", David sighed. He'd lost too many friends in the Unification Wars nearly 8 years ago. Chloe's biological father had been one and he'd made a promise to take care of the girl if anything happened to him. He wasn't doing a good job as it seemed since Chloe hated him.

"Aye, same to you. Unification Wars, right? I lost many a dear lad to the Northern Conflict, cannae imagine what ye've had ta go through."

"Too much. I was lucky enough to get a job as a Corpo Cop when I got back. Could've gone anywhere really, even joined the Nomads, but I made a promise to a friend- no, a brother. I was supposed to take care of his little girl, but I've done fuck-all to help her in any way. She hates me."

"And why's that?"

"She misses her old man. I- I'm just trying to make sure she doesn't have to grow up in a war like I did, but she's strong enough on her own. Hell, she even found that missing girl from the posters around town."

"Aye. I saw that. She's doing good in her own way, David."

"Still, she's acting out, dyeing her hair blue, getting backwater chrome, tattoos, stealing my gun and shooting shit in the junkyard, the list goes on and on and no matter how much I yell, she doesn't even listen to me..."

"Ah dinnae ken, but maybe ye should just offer yer support. Yer not her father and ye won't be. Just be around if she needs ya. Give her some space. She's her own person, ya know?"

"J- Just offer support? As in step back completely?"

"Nah, I mean be there for her when she needs ya to be. There'll be a time when she does. But right now, just let her live her own life. She knows ye were a soldier just like her pa. But yer not really her pa, yer her pa's best friend. If'n he were alive now, how do ya see yer relationship wit her?"

"I- I guess I would be like an uncle or a godfather. Just sharing war stories and hanging out. She's not my kid, but... I feel like I should do more..."

"Don't. Just be a good ole friend. Stop trying to be a replacement for her father, it's na gonna work, David."

David sighed. This odd man was right. He was trying to be someone he wasn't and would never be. He knew nothing of kids and was terrible at it. If William were still alive he'd come and visit them occasionally and he'd probably be a Corporate Cop in a big city. He'd sit in their living room and tell all kinds of stories, embellishing every detail. He'd be like a cool uncle. Exactly as Robbie had told him he'd be. He sighed again.

"You got kids of your own?"

"Nah. Not anymore. Never had a chance ta even see the wee little one. They both... died... during the Conflict. I just know what I'd do if I were in yer situation."

"I'm sorry... Buy you another drink?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll get the next... Tell me, were the American tankers as bad as the Bri'ish ones? Cramped and stinky?"

"Haha! Yeah. Shit... I used to share a tanker with this guy... His name was William, you'd have loved to meet him, he was a crazy bastard..."

Scotch and David bought each-other drinks for the rest of the night. Two old Panzerboys with their stories from different sides of the world. Two different people with the same experiences, Scotch's was more sad though, he had been fighting a war that was never truly won. He had nobody to come home to and David could see it in his eyes. He thought for a moment of an alternate future and quickly scrubbed the thoughts from his mind. Chloe was an adult now, he didn't need to hold her hand every time something went wrong. If and when the time came when she'd needed him, he would be there just as he was for William, her father.

The morning sun rose of the town of Blackwell. The night had passed and the three Mercenaries awoke from a slightly uncomfortable sleep in the only motel in the town, The Seabreeze Motel. They were the only occupants in the small dingy rest-stop. Their lives had been a bit strange as of lately, they'd met some interesting locals and eaten some sub-par food at a local diner. This place was perfect for the people seeking a road-trip and a blast from the past in nostalgia. It was time to head back to the AV, though. Jericho was undoubtedly done with whatever repairs he needed to make since it was apparent that he never needed sleep. V stretched and got up out of bed, he'd had to share a room with Asher who had tossed and turned and inadvertently bashed him in the face more than once during the night. Hildegarde of course, had bought her own room without them.

V got dressed, having washed his only outfit at the laundromat last night and got ready. Asher was still sleeping. He walked over to the smaller girl and shook her shoulder.

"Asher? It's morning..."

"Awh. V? Time to go already?", Asher snored.

"Yes. Let's go. Hidegarde is probably already a the AV right now..."

"Just let her wait. She's too high-strung anyways...", Asher yawned.

V just left the motel room. Asher could find her own way back to the junkyard. If she didn't, it wasn't like the town was hard to navigate. Jericho could deal with her weirdness. As he left the small kitschy motel, V just sighed and sat down for a moment. His life had gotten strange.

"V? I know this town. Samurai played a gig here before they were Samurai. It was nice. Paid well.", Johnny noted, now appearing after a bit of a hiatus. "I just had to be sure, but we played a gig here in 2006."

"And? How did that go for you?"

"I thought about staying here, maybe going north... But, Night City was always my stage. Hell, V, there wasn't even a Corpo presence here back then. Just a bunch of gonks who didn't know what they had at the time."

"Heh. Johnny the Hipster? Didn't know you ventured that far..."

"I was not a hipster, V. I was just playing music- making artwork that the masses could relate to.", Johnny added aggressively. "You've got some tunes in your head right now. Maybe we could let those out?"

"I know. Kill the Corpos, Death to everyone who doesn't agree with you."

"No, V. Music to your ears. Music that makes sense for the moment. I know you know. Just... follow your heart.", Johnny sighed.

V just sighed again. Was he becoming a Rockerboy? Maybe, since his impromptu song during their Heist had seemed to calm emotions. It even made Hildegarde slightly easier to approach and she didn't even punch him when he'd asked about her eye. Jericho had mentioned the effects of using the Chipset. He and Johnny would become one, eventually. And the result would be something entirely new to both.

V just made his way back to the AV. It was parked in the junkyard to the north of where the motel was located. His walk was boring. This town had all the charm, but none of the excitement of Night City. There were no joytoys, no ripperdocs advertising the lastest cyberware, no pachinko parlors, no seedy nightclubs. Just a school, a few tourist shops and that was about it. There weren't even any BD shops. He wondered what the people here did for fun, but then remembered that he was in one of the last 'paradises' in the country and sighed. This was the life, nothing ever happened here. He'd be safe and sound. He and Panam could settle down and raise some children together here without a worry in the world. Maybe Jericho would be there, telling stories and embellishing every detail. He could only dream.

As V entered the junkyard again, a familiar Mackinaw was parked near the entrance. He walked on and saw the AV parked in a slightly different position, the flattened corpse had been removed and placed on the railroad tracks, probably something the two girls had recommended, since that hover-train flew through way too fast to even see and the remains would be scattered to the wind whenever it showed up. A nice accident. He just walked closer and took notice of the three girls near the AV. They had arrived far earlier than anyone else and were conversing with the only person in the AV at the time.

"...But really, can you take us to Seattle?", Chloe asked.

"It's possible. We may need to stop for a rest there before we continue on...", Jericho noted. "We're mercenaries. We are not responsible for what happens to you. We are not a courier service."

"Our parents are cool with it, really!", Rachel added.

"No, seriously! My stepdad, David, actually encouraged me to seek out new experiences! He had some weird change of heart last night. He's hella cool with it!", Chloe reassured.

"Hmm. Perhaps. We are nearly ready to leave. We just need to wait for my crew to arrive."

"A- Are you sure, Chloe? I mean we heard what Hildegarde said about the Night City...", Max added.

"Yeah! Your parents are down with it! Seattle is the City of Artists!", Chloe reassured even more vigorously. She wasn't wrong, despite Seattle not being a free city, it was still the heart of creativity. Corporate corruption was nearly unseen in the metropolis that rivaled Night City's expanse.

"I- I guess...", Max stuttered. "We could stay at my parents' high-rise apartment."

"Ah! V, you've returned. I'm sure the others are on their way. I was just speaking to the locals you met. I believe we'll be ferrying them to Seattle. Another pit-stop on our way north.", Jericho exclaimed upon seeing the wayward Rockerboy. His voice was overly polite and chipper again.

The three girls beside Jericho briefly fist-pumped and grabbed their belongings from the Mackinaw. They headed into the AV to make themselves comfortable. Jericho had randomly accepted to ferry three random girls to Seattle, another fun city for them to lose themselves in once they'd gotten there. The sooner the better, no doubt Starhawk was hot on their heels.

"Fuck, V? You couldn't wait for us?", Hildegarde complained loudly from behind.

"I tried, but I thought you'd already left and Asher was being stubborn...", V noted.

"I had to drag Asher out of the motel. Let's just get going before Starhawk finds us!"

"Ah, Hildegarde. We have some passengers. Please be nice to them, we are heading to Seattle for another pit-stop...", Jericho added, referring to the three random gonks who'd just joined them.

"Passengers? When did we become a taxi service?"

"Aye, and I'm back as well!, Hello, all!", Scotch announced as he entered the frame.

"Good, good. Everyone is here. Scotch, refrain from using Vehicle Zen unless necessary. Simply fly the AV naturally. Hildegarde, take over if Scotch falls out again. Asher, please wake up.", Jericho noted, trying not to sound exasperated even though it was blatantly obvious he was. "Settle yourselves in and give our passengers some room. We're in for a long flight."

Jericho simply headed back into the AV, the rest of the crew followed with Asher's still half-asleep body dragging on the ground as it was pulled by Hildegarde. Asher was unceremoniously tossed onto one of the cots as the plum-purple clad outlaw took a seat on the couch. The three girls were buckled into the jump-seats in the rear with their belongings on the floor in front of them, they looked scared. Scotch just climbed into the pilot's seat and connected his personal link again, engaging hover mode and lifting the AV gently up into the sky. The rear hatch closed, the landing gear retracted and the AV shot into the skies off and away north towards Seattle and their next destination of Anchorage, Alaska.

Chapter End.

A/N: I replayed the first Life is Strange game and thought about what would happen and how the story would've been different if Max and Chloe's misadventure had happened in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe. I might write a full fanfic later, who knows?