Chapter 38: The Mercs Aren't Alright

Johnny Silverhand's classic 1977 Porsche shot down the highway like a bullet. He was heading towards the Afterlife to go and bother Rogue a bit more. The two of them had hit it off like two old lovers, because they were. Rogue didn't feel bad about submitting V to her kinks and instead did what she'd always wanted with the Rockerboy of her dreams. He slid the car into a parking space before hopping out and proceeding down the stairs and into the punk-bar itself. He walked past Squama as he stood at the doors as a bouncer and swaggered his way into the establishment as he usually did.

Rogue sat in her booth, her eyes lighting up slightly as Johnny made his appearace. Johnny had actually changed. It might've been all that time he was locked inside of V's head, but he was genuinely a better person than he had been back in 2023. He was learning to live and that was a good thing. She just smiled as Johnny slid into the seat across form her.

"Johnny..."

"Hey, Rogue..."

"What brings you to my humble abode?"

"Just lookin' for a place to lay my head. I know this place has some rooms... Willing to rent one."

"It does... How about mine? I'm not using it right now... Besides, when I need to use it, I'm sure you won't have any problem with sharing it."

"Sounds great! Knew I could count on you! Hey... So are we cool about what happened way back when? I mean, I'm a changed man!"

"Johnny... That shit happened forty years ago. I'm over it. And honestly, I've been missing you."

"And I've missed you... Dearly... Should've just let Alt rot and come crawling back to the one woman I knew would never let me down..."

"Aww, Johnny! I didn't know you cared.", Rogue noted somewhat sarcastically.

"No, really! It was a mistake and she wasn't that great of an input."

"Johnny..."

"Yeah?"

Rogue just pulled Johnny out of the booth and towards a locked room down the service hallway. She just shoved him through the door and tossed him onto the bed. She pulled her shirt off and launched herself onto Johnny. This would work and if she'd suddenly had a heart-attack in the middle of coitus, she knew she could just get a fresh new body just like Johnny's. Then she wouldn't have to deal with aging, menopause, hot-flashes, osteoporosis, arthritis, wrinkles, and all of the terrible things that happened who you got old.

V's Aerondight just drove itself silently back towards his mansion in Pacifica. He could see the massive floating London in the distance. There was a subtle, low humming as the entire city structure began to move. London was leaving Night City. He wondered if Kerry knew or even cared that his new home was leaving without him. It probably didn't matter too much, Kerry could always fly back to it. As his car parked near the entrance to his own house, he quickly got out just in time to watch the Albion as it carried London out to sea, a set of large flattened-octagonal jet engines powering the entire structure as it turned towards the open sea. A Cherenkov-blue glow grew brighter until it was nearly blinding as the massive ship left everyone behind in its wake. As V stared at the backside of the Albion, he took notice of the even larger and lower-mounted Mass Driver on its rear deck; A mobile city, who knew it was even possible. V just sighed and walked into his own home.

Upon entering his own house, V was immediately inundated by a swarm of Yarnlings. Those tiny yarn-covered mini-robots that Asher had shown him. Yarn-Johnny was one of them and appeared to be having a party. He recognized another one as Molly, Asher's own and wondered where the quirky NetRunner was at the moment. He ignored the other few yarn-things and walked around them as he headed for his bedroom. He needed sleep, right? He was tired, right?

"You still think you're V, and that's a weakness...", Hildegarde's voice echoed in V's head. "Jericho took what was thrown at him and became something far greater..."

V just walked out onto his balcony instead. He wasn't human anymore, even if his cybernetic body simulated all of those nuances for 'peace of mind'. Then again, if he wasn't the same old V from before, what had he become? During his time with Johnny Silverhand and the Relic in his head, he'd become a successful Mercenary, a badass, someone with street-cred that could be trusted with any job that was thrown at him. When did he suddenly give up? Oh right, back when he'd nearly ran out of time, almost died, gotten roped into an unfortunate adventure with a bunch of crazies, tried to betray them and then gave up again and headed for the hills. At this point, he was sure he knew who he was. It was time to become something greater.

It was the later evening, but V decided to Holo-call Hildegarde anyways. He wanted to set up an Arena fight. He really wanted to test his skills against someone who was obviously on equal grounds with him. The phone rang a few times before the Outlaw answered it.

"Hello, V... How would you like to annoy me tonight?"

"Hey. Just wanted to set up an Arena match with you. I think I can take you, this time!"

"You think you can take me?"

"I know I can. A No-holds-barred beatdown to the knockout."

"If you feel like losing again, so be it."

"How about we do this right now? I've had enough time to think about who I've become and I know what I am now, a fuckin' badass Solo."

"A Solo? Really? Maybe when Johnny was inside your noggin, but not anymore. I'll be waiting for you, V. Don't back out..."

"Ha! I'll see you soon!"

The Holo-call ended. V just jumped off the second-story balcony and landed back next to his Aerondight. He programmed the destination into it and headed back into Night City and the Gladiatorial Arena. He'd show Hildegarde what he was really made of this time. No Johnny to influence him, he was going to use all of his skills in the best ways that he knew. It would be easy since he had full access to everything that the Chipset allowed.

Meanwhile, back in Samurai's Penthouse, Kerry just watched as London sailed away from Night City. His bar and his mansion were disappearing into the horizon without him. He panicked for a moment before remembering that he had a luxury AV and that returning to London would probably take a little bit longer but wouldn't be impossible. Now fully dressed in his usual outfit, he just turned around to the rest of the band. Johnny had run off, probably to sleazily paw at Rogue. Denny just stared daggers at him as Henry sat next to her.

"Look, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just drunk and in the mood to party... I wasn't trying to throw Henry off the sober-bus!"

"Uh-huh...", Denny noted.

"Hey. I'm good. I've been clean for two years. You guys don't have to worry about me falling off the wagon, I've had therapy."

"Still..."

"Hey, I know! Why don't we hit the town? Visit some of the old neighborhoods! Maybe we can find some classic Samurai records at one of the stores?", Kerry added.

"Really?", Denny sighed.

"Yeah! It'll be fun. Maybe we could sign some autographs, chat it up with fans and that shit."

"Yeah, I'm down. Hey, maybe we could get some of that cheap-ass pizza. I miss the taste of that scop for some reason.", Henry mused.

"Fine. But if you run off like a pair of brainless gonks, I'm not coming after you.", Denny noted.

Kerry and Henry just high-fived before giddily joining arms with Denny and hauling her out of the penthouse. A night on the town sounded like fun. It was better than waiting for Johnny to inevitably show up drunk, high, or hung-over. It would give them something to do and besides, Night City had really changed over the past two years. It was actually pretty safe at night.

V's Aerondight just parked itself in the parking lot of the Gladiatorial Arena, a section of the parking lot was cordoned off with a set of cones with a large body-shaped crater in the middle of it. V just chuckled lightly to himself, that's where the one Bozo had landed during the knighting ceremony. Perhaps V would find himself also flying out of the ring as well. The Arena itself was almost empty, nobody was fighting at the moment and only the outside concessions and arcade had anyone inside of them, late-night fights weren't a thing, apparently.

"Took you long enough... Did you run into traffic?", Hildegarde noted as V entered into the lobby of the massive arena. She was preoccupied with a large stick of candy-floss and ate gobs of it while she gawked at V.

"Nope. Just had to prepare myself."

"Have you? You're not even wearing armor, just that stupid Samurai gear. Did you even bother to clean your guns?"

"Don't need it. I've got pure skill. No more Johnny inside my head to goad me into doing something stupid."

"Sure... Of course, Johnny was the one goading you into doing stupid shit. You didn't do any of that all by yourself."

"Well... If you mean the shit two years ago... No, that was me."

Hildegarde just slurped the last of the fluffly candy off the stick before tossing the barren stick into the nearest bin. She stared at V. "Well, are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be... Hey, by the way, do you know if I can even get knocked out? Ya know, since I'm an Engram in a borg-body."

"Hm. Maybe you should've asked Jericho. I have no idea. There's only one way to find out..."

"Yeah, I know. Uhh... What if I get... Flatlined? Are there any back-ups of me?"

"Why do you think I would know that?"

"You and Jericho... You're sorta a thing. I dunno..."

"Oh V... There's only one way to find out. Are you having second thoughts? Wanna go home, have a wank, sleep it off and deeply think about it while faffing about taking in the sights?"

"No. I've got this. Let's go."

Hildegarde just sighed and headed off into the arena's prep area. V went across the hallway towards the other side of the ring and his own prep area. He reloaded his guns with the non-lethal Arena-Ammunition, checked his Bio-Monitor taking not of his overall Core-Power and got ready. He didn't need Johnny to switch Core-Processors for him anymore, he could run all of them whenever he needed although they seemed to draw an awful lot of power when all seven of them were active. He vaguely remembered what Hildegarde had mentioned about their power-cores, if he ran out of power his cybernetic augments would fail, his reflexes would return to human levels and then he'd get ripped to shreds. He made a personal note to make sure that didn't happen. A stalemate was better than being sent home in a bucket.

V and Hildegarde entered the Arena floor, the floor having been changed into a perfect simulation of Urban-Warfare with several prop buildings and streets for the two of them to fight on. The announcer and referee briefly announced the rules; a fight to the knockout or ring-out, no time limit. V just got ready on his side, pulling out both his Monarch 3516 and Archangel. Hildegarde just stood looking slightly bored on her side. Soon that match had begun.

V just launched himself out of his corner, taking aim and looking around for his opponent. He flipped sideways as he detected sudden movement from the side and dodged Hildegarde's first volley of shots. He landed gracefully and returned fire, his Reflex-Core fully active and his own speed matching hers. Even with his heightened perception, Hildegarde still moved faster than normal. He traced her motion and fired a few shots in advance as she ran nearly sideways around him, a few of his shots finding their mark and tripping up his opponent. Hildegarde just scowled at him.

"Oh, this is new. Did you finally learn how to fight?", she mocked before she backflipped behind him and shot him four times in the back. "Not quick enough, V."

V just turned off his Pain-Receptors and ignored the shots for now. He wasn't human, so this wouldn't even leave a bruise. He just swung around and threw an Incendiary Grenade at Hildegarde, they'd worked during his Knight Ceremony Fight, and this one stuck itself to her right hand.

"Oh... This again?", Hildegarde sighed as the grenade just blew up in her face, the flames licking up her hand and across her nano-fiber-mesh bodysuit. "It was all fun and games last time, V. There's no audience this time. Just a brutal bollocking."

V just jumped over the nearest cover. That didn't work at all. Hildegarde wasn't playing around with him this time. She was fully powered up and he had no real defense. In mild desperation, he just tossed a flashbang out in an attempt to blind his opponent, diving out of cover and unleashing a volley of gunfire onto her. Hildegarde could still see him and just dodged out of the way before returning fire onto him, a dozen shots hitting him in the chest and face. Although he couldn't feel the pain, he still felt the force from the shots and tumbled to the ground in a heap, scrambling onto his feet and narrowly dodging a downwards kick as Hildegarde landed next to him.

"Come on, V. Is this all you've got?"

V just swung Archangel around in an attempt to smack Hildegarde since she was too close to fire upon. She easily dodged his attacked and spun backwards slightly. V just raised his Monarch 3516 and shot her in the gut, the force from the gunshot knocking her back even farther. Hildegarde just stared daggers at V before jumping over his head and landing on his opposite side, once again, V just mocked a pistol-whip and shot her again. She looked absolutely furious at being duped again by his shenanigans.

"Lucky shots..."

"Not lucky, I just know how to read my opposition!"

"Really? What are you going to do now? Grab my tits and tell me you love me?"

"If you insist!"

V just did exactly that, grabbing both of Hildegarde breasts and pulling her forwards before uppercutting her in the face and sending her flying backwards away from him.

"I love you!", V mocked.

Hildegarde just landed in a backflip into a crouched landing before launching herself at V and tackling him to the ground. Before he could react, she just rained down punches onto his face. V blocked most of the punches, but every blow felt like it was fired from a cannon. He pulled his knees up, planted his feet and pitched forwards bringing his forearms into Hildegarde's face and once again, knocking her back as he threw himself to his feet. Now knocked onto her ass, Hildegarde quickly dodged backwards as V launched a kick towards her face. She just jumped upwards as V's leg soared overhead and caught his foot. She jumped upwards and reversed their positions, this time with V on his back. Still grasping his foot, she pulled him backwards and swung him up into the air before turning and punching him in the middle of his chest and slamming him into the ground, the arena floor cracking from the blow.

"Maybe you were right about me, V. Maybe I do gloat too much."

V just launched himself back onto his feet before taking a few steps backwards. Close-Quarters combat was not his forte, but he was doing as best as he could. He remembered that body-shots did mostly nothing to Hildegarde except make her angry. He had to aim for her head and neck. Although he'd technically killed her body-double, this fight was significantly harder for obvious reasons.

"You do. That'll be your downfall, Hildegarde. You'll die mocking someone to death while they aim their killing shot!", V shouted at the glaring outlaw. Hildegarde just scoffed at him. In this moment, V just aimed his Monarch 3516 and shot her, his blow hitting her in the throat. Although non-lethal, the gunshot still sent the plum-purple clad outlaw reeling.

Hildegarde gasped for a few moments, letting her guard down. Yes, she did gloat and mock too much. And yes, that would be her ultimate downfall. It was obvious now as V closed distance with her and simply grabbed her by the throat and squeezed. She was still mostly human and still needed to breathe and V's grip was mechanical and unrelenting as she was lifted into the air. Her eyes narrowed on V's in utter hatred for the loss she was about to endure. She'd never failed in combat before, except for that one moment years ago over the Mediterranean sea when she did and nearly sacrificed herself for everyone. This would not happen again. She just tucked her legs up and kicked backwards with both of them, pressing them against V's stomach as she launched herself away from the wannabe-merc, breaking his grip on her neck.

"Seems I've underestimated you, V. I truly do owe you a bit more respect.", she gasped. "Let's see what you've really got!"

Hildegarde shot forwards faster than V could react to even with all of his cores active. She just landed a drop-kick into his chest and launched him backwards and through one of the prop-building's walls. She looked around for V as he lay in a heap on the other side of the wall. Full Power. No Games.

V just turned and rolled to the side as Hildegarde came crashing into the building he'd been thrown into. He jumped to his feet and twisted in mid-air and shot a few more times, these gunshots hitting and seemingly not doing anything. Hildegarde just turned to him and walked towards him.

"V... You've got a finite amount of power. I don't."

"Yeah you do. Your fusion-core only lasts for so long before it runs out, you told me! Once it does, you're human. I'm not human, Hilde!"

Hildegarde just cackled for a few seconds before sighing and staring into V's soul. He'd shortened her name. She hated that. "Oh, you're human, V. You always will be..."

Fully powered, Hildegarde just shot forwards and picked up V as he scrambled to get to his feet. She just grabbed him by the head and lifted him into the air. She just stared into his eyes with her own cold grey eye. She spat into his face. "You'll always be human, V."

V struggled against the outlaw's grip, but it was useless. Hildegarde was much, much stronger than he was. Her core was nearly limitless and his own was blaring warnings at him as it began to wane. This wasn't going to end well for him. "I am what I think I am! If I am what I think I am, what am I!?"

"A pathetic mercenary...", Hildegarde noted. "Nothing more... Forevermore...", The plum-purple clad outlaw just tightened her grip on V's throat, crushing it. She planted her hand on his shoulder and pulled downwards, severing his head from his body.

V's Bio-Monitor just blared warnings at him as his head was severed from his body. All of his Power-cores were active, but had nowhere to go. He looked down and saw his own body fall to the ground, headless, as Synth-Blood poured out of his wound. He was still alive, but how? His vision began to darken as the power from this own power-core left him. Darkness overtook him. The last thing he saw was Hildegarde as she held his head high above her in triumphant victory. He'd lost. Badly.

Meanwhile, in the bowels of Monarch Tower... Jericho just stared between Hildegarde and the remains of V's body. His head had been forcibly removed and sat on the table in front of him. Something had happened and he wasn't exactly pleased with the outcome. He calmly just picked up V's head and began to work on putting it back where it belonged. The mood was icy.

"You ripped his head off..."

"So what? He's not human, can't you just stick it back on with gaffer tape?

"You ripped his head off..."

"He wanted to fight. Didn't you say something about testing the combat abilities of these hybrids?"

"I did... But I didn't expect you to go so hard on him. His cybernetic body is more complex than an Arasaka Robot, it's a perfect replica of a human body; remade with fully artificial cybernetic organs."

"Oh... So... You can't put his head back on?"

"No... I can... Just please refrain from doing this again."

"I can't promise you anything, Jericho. He is actually a half-decent fighter without that Rockerboy lolling around in his head."

"Hilde, just be a little more gentle. Wasn't the Arena fight supposed to be to the knockout, anyways?"

"It was, but I didn't think V could be knocked out."

"He can be! If his Radioisotope-Thermoelectric-Generator Core runs out, he will fall unconscious!"

"Oh. Oops."

"Yes. A big 'oops'. His entire body relies on that power-core to function, once its power has been used up he will fall. It's not like the ones used on Asher or Scotch where their still mostly-human bodies can function without them!"

"Why not just outfit the future 'hybrids' with fusion-cores?"

"I require materials sourced from Phobos in order for that to be a possibility. Monarch's acquisition of Orbital Air and their shuttles allows for that type of transit, however Janus is still limited to only this planet. Janus would need to be uploaded into the Inter-Planetary Relay on board the Crystal Palace. How are you with spaceflight?"

"Never been up there. Honestly it scares me, just a little bit of wire and glass separating me from floating off into the void. I'd still do it for you, if that's what you're asking."

"It is. I'll travel with you obviously, since Janus is symbiotically connected to me. We'd require V, Johnny, and Asher. Janus will handle our flight, landing and escape."

"Wicked. Another fun heist! And in space too! What do you think about V attempting yet another 11th-Hour Betrayal? Can I flush him into the void if he does?"

"Yes. You can. I've already performed a Save-State on V's Engram, so the destruction of his body is irrelevant. Regardless, please refrain from causing unnecessary damage to it. It does take quite a while to rebuild a Bio-Cybernetic body."

"In for a penny, in for a pound... As long as it isn't a damp squib like last time, I'll be chuffed."

"Indeed."

Jericho finished what he was doing with V's severed head and headless body. Hildegarde had both pieces of the wayward merc brought down to the lab, much to Jericho's chagrin once he'd seen what had happened. He repaired the damage, refilled V's Synth-Blood supply and reattached the severed head without difficulty. V's power-core had entered a Stand-by status and was reactivated quickly with the merc awaking from his sleep-like death-state groggily. V just looked around in confusion.

"Awww... Shit... I died again, didn't I?"

"Yeppers! Don't forget that either, V. I can do it again.", Hildegarde noted with a sinister grin.

"Right... Cool..."

"Do you have any aches or pains? Or... Questions about your body?", Jericho asked quizzically.

"No... Can I die?"

"Well, the tragedy of it all is that you're never going to die. You're going to live a thousand years... You're going to live forever... Unless you choose, of course..."

"Preeeeeeem.", V sighed. "What time is it?"

"It's about half-past one in the morning. Tired?"

"Yep. I'm going home. Thanks for uh... reattaching my head, Jericho."

"Please try to keep it firmly attached, V."

V just nodded and headed out of Jericho's Lab. He punched the 'up' button inside the elevator and went back to ground level, hailing his Aerondight, hopping into it and heading back to his house. He'd go to 'sleep' tonight and think about what he was doing and what he'd be doing a thousand years from now. Who would be left at that point? Jericho and Hildegarde would be, and a whole new world that probably worshiped them as actual gods. He kicked himself, he had a chance to stop this ridiculous world-domination plan but had failed. Although it hadn't turned out bad and the world was actually doing better, Jericho still had ulterior motives, the Singularity was still happening and he knew that the body he inhabited was definitely one of the key elements to this whole deal. A Human Revolution... No... A Human Evolution.

Far away from Monarch Tower, Johnny sat in a small room with Rogue. She'd had a revelation and decided to do something about the fact that, yes, Johnny was back, he'd changed and she wasn't in a coma. She wanted to see this through, get to live again like she did almost sixty years earlier. It was possible. She'd get to live with the man she'd trusted, mistrusted, and ultimately loved, forevermore.

"Well, Miss Amendiares, the procedure is simple. We'll replace your blood with a nanotech-enhanced Synth-Blood. Proprietary Monarch technology. You'll receive a Version Five Chipset with enhancements to your reflexes, endurance and strength. Within a few days, you will de-age back to your mid-twenties to early-thirties.", a doctor noted.

"I'm ready. You can begin anytime you want.", Rogue sighed. No going back now.

"Did you want us to also create and Engram of you?"

"Sure, why not? Will it hurt?"

"Nope! In fact it's completely painless! We'll do a brain-scan of you while we perform the surgery. You'll be awake and aware the whole time."

"Preem. Do it."

The doctors at Monarch Medical simply hooked up an interface to Rogue's data ports and began the mind copying process. She wasn't submitted to SoulKiller, but a new program pioneered by Jericho called NoxAeterna. She was awake and aware the whole time and conversed casually with Johnny who held her hand while her own blood was replaced. The wrinkles in her face began to fade first as the synth-blood began to work its magic as soon as it entered her body. A Chipset was slotted into her data-shard slot with a pass-through port allowing data-shard access. She just smiled at Johnny as she began to feel younger, the arthritis in her joints fading away. Her hair suddenly fell out all at once and regrew in its original coloration. As the process completed, Rogue stood up and stretched her legs, feeling 60 years young.

"Johnny? How do I look?"

"Like a supreme..."

"Think I've got another century in me, now. How are we going to spend that eternity?"

"Any way you want..."

"I have a few ideas... But, Johnny... Let me be real with you. You... You have a son."

"What!?"

"I know... Sorry I never told you. His name is Trace. He went with Santiago after you... died. Told him he was Santiago's kid, but his face... He's yours. Without a fucking doubt."

"Shit... Kid still alive? Hell, he's probably older than I was when I kicked it."

"He's alive. He's down in Pacifica, works as a Media right now blaring screamsheets about Samurai and their reunion tour. Hell, he was even in the audience at Rockhalla!"

"I didn't even know... Shit... What do I do now?"

"Well, he found out on his own that he wasn't Santiago's kid; just didn't fit the lifestyle. He's technically retired from merc work nowadays but hasn't stopped looking for your remains, Johnny. When you can crashing back into the music scene, he panicked. He came to me asking if you were really back. Know what I told him?"

"It's just a mirage?"

"No. You're back for real. You traveled with the Nomads for a while, Snake Nation, before teaming up with a local merc and assaulting Arasaka tower just like you'd done before, but this time you succeeded."

"Does he want to meet?"

"Of course he does! He's part of V's clan, it shouldn't be too hard to track him down!"

"Shit... Never saw this coming..."

"Happy Father's Day."

"Fuck me."

Johnny just wiped his brow with the revelation that he'd accidentally had a child with Rogue at some point in 2023. Probably during their 'fun time' before the helicopter ride into Arasaka Tower. Rogue probably didn't even know it was his until the kid had been born. Santiago probably raised the kid with the Aldecaldo's principles, which was good. But the the kid went and found out that he wasn't Nomad-born and went solo, becoming a Media and screaming to the heavens just like his real father had done. Johnny sighed and took Rogue's hand again. In the morning, it would be time to go and visit V. He had some things to tell his best friend.

Later... The Next Morning...

V awoke in his house, in his bed, surrounded by various Yarnlings who just stared at him, as his door was knocked upon harshly. The knocking just got louder and louder to the point that he thought his front door would be knocked off its hinges. Groggily, he just got up and got dressed in his Monarch-Blue Armor, grabbed a coffee from his kitchen and walked to the front door, throwing it open to greet whoever was trying to bash it down. Coffee mug in hand, he just stared at Johnny Silverhand and a much younger looking Rogue as the stood on his doorstep.

"Hey, Rogue... You're looking young.", V noted.

"Hey, V. You look like shit. Rough night?"

"You could say that. Hildegarde ripped my head off."

"Coulda told you she'd do that. How'd you piss her off this time?", Johnny asked, facepalming slightly.

"I grabbed her tits and told her I loved her."

"Well, that'll do it."

"What... What are you doing at my house?"

"Ehh, just came to check in, see how you were doing. Maybe play with that Yarnling a bit before we headed off into the seaside amusement park..."

"Really?"

"Uhh... No. Hey, have you seen a Nomad named Trace around lately?"

"Why?"

"No reason... It's-just-he-might-be-my-son. No-need-to-get-involved.", Johnny stuttered.

"Wait... What!?"

"Just answer the question, V.", Rogue stated firmly.

"Uh yeah, he's the story-teller at the bonfire. He's probably down at the camp. Camp's on the beach, can't miss it..."

"Preem. Thanks, V!"

"Wait- He's your son!?"

"See you later, V!"

Johnny just slammed the door closed on V's face, knocking the coffee mug out of his hands in the process. He heard a loud curse and the shattering of ceramic as the door shut. He just shrugged and began to walk around V's massive probably-compensating-for-something mansion and headed down to the beach where a small Nomad-Camp had been set up. A few tents and a raging bonfire lit up the early-morning. He could hear acoustic music being played, a few riffs and chords reminiscent of Samurai. He knew he was in the right place. All he had to do now was go and talk to Trace. Something that he dreaded.

On the other side of the door, V just stood in mild shock both from his spilled coffee and the latest revelation that Johnny had somehow reproduced. Sighing loudly, he just turned around and immediately tripped over Yarn-Johnny who was standing behind him. From the floor, V just sighed even harder before getting back up, shoving Yarn-Johnny out of the way and heading off to get himself cleaned up.

Farther away, Johnny and Rogue walked towards the raging bonfire in the oddly-placed Nomad Camp on the beachfront. Song and chatter could be heard as the got closer and closer. Rogue immediately stopped and pointed out a man who looked to be in his mid-forties with short dark hair and a stubbly beard. His facial structure matched Johnny's while his hair color and complexion matched Rogue's.

"That's Trace."

"Ahh..."

"Hey, Trace!"

Trace just looked up to whoever had called his voice before standing up and hurriedly heading over to the Fixer. His mother was looking great, a lot younger for some reason. He just assumed she'd finally decided to get that Gene-Therapy that everyone was getting. He'd gotten it and had never felt better. However, as great as it was to see a younger version of his mother, the man standing next to her, looking around awkwardly, was even better.

"Hey, ma. How are you doing?"

"Oh I'm great, Trace. I just had some anti-aging done. Anyways, this is Johnny Silverhand. Your biological father."

Trace just looked at Johnny, they both had the same face, but Johnny's, despite being physically younger than he was, looked more weathered and world-weary. Johnny stared back at Trace and saw a version of himself during the wars he'd fought in. A fresh new soldier ready to fight, but would ultimately desert the armed forces to fight a different war. Rogue was right, Trace Santiago, was in fact, Trace Silverhand.

"Uhhh... Hi dad?", Trace mumbled awkwardly.

"Hey, kiddo. Never thought I'd actually have a kid, to be honest. Wasn't my style to settle down and grow old. Had to live in the moment, take down the corpo slavers that ruled our lives. You know how it went..."

"Yeah... I do. Wild ride. But afterwards... You faked your death, went into hiding, found new friends and then forty years later brought the hammer down on Arasaka for good. You- You changed the world. That shit from two years ago? All the corporations fell! All of them, like dominoes. And from their ashes rose a single Ultra-Corporation; Monarch. Feels a little melancholy, doesn't it?"

"It does. But to be honest, Monarch really has done this city and the rest of the world some good."

"But even after all the fighting, the break-in at Mikoshi, the final attack on Arasaka's mainframe, Revolution in the Corporate Center, and the downfall of all corporations and the freedom of the people... A corporation still controls our lives. One single massive entity and no others."

"It had to be this way, kid. Night City was built by the corpos and will always be run by the corpos. Good thing it's run by a corporation I helped rise to power."

"You what?"

"Yeah, ran some jobs with another crew, a big bounty came up suddenly on one of them, so we went to go turn it in. One thing led to another and it turned out that our crewmate was actually the long lost heir. Monarch decided to help us in the end."

"Who? What? You- You mean that bounty on Hildegarde The Genocider? She's one of Monarch's heirs? Wait... You worked with her?"

"Yeah, shady shit, kiddo. All worked out in the end."

"I see... Aren't you concerned about what they're doing behind the scenes? The free housing, the free medical, the Chipsets, this AI Assistant that's accessible everywhere. The rumors, the conspiracy, it goes on and on."

"Not really. World's still a shithole, but it's better than it was before, that's what matters in the end."

"I suppose you're right... Will you stand against them if everything goes sour?"

"You bet your ass, kiddo. And you'll be right next to me, Rogue, and V when we take them all down!"

"You know V?"

"Yeah, good friend of mine. He helped me take down Arasaka. Couldn't have done it without him, to be honest. Best friend I've ever had and I'd trust him with my life. I'd even take a bullet for him."

"Really?"

"Kid, do I look like I'm bullshitting you?"

Johnny looked dead-serious. He respected V despite their initial differences. He'd spent so much time inside that gonk's head that he probably knew more about his life than he did. V had a decent life as a Nomad, it was peaceful and the open road and limitless skies called to him. V had living parents and a few siblings, two younger brothers and a sister that were still out there somewhere. He also knew V's real name, Vincent Vandrakke, and that his siblings still rode with Snake Nation somewhere in Northern California. The more he thought about V's family, the more he wanted one of his own. Maybe it was time to retire after all.

"No, you don't. You're serious, dad. Absolutely serious. You- You're different than I imagined. The stories that've been told about you, your demeanor, your hatred and your ego... You're not like that. You're just like me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I knew Nomad life wasn't for me. I went out on my own for a while, had a crew, did some jobs, wrote some stories that blew the lid off of some scandalous corpo execs. I screamed to the heavens and told the world about their lies. I sought a change just like you, but in the end... I just settled down, decided to go back to the Nomads and live out my life. But then, something happened. And I went to take up arms again. Expose Monarch's heresy. But... Then you came back. I wanted to know I was doing the right thing. That you'd be proud of me."

"I am, Trace... I am you father... And I am proud of the life you've lived. But, sometimes when things are going good for once, it's best just to sit back and enjoy the ride while it lasts."

"I- I understand... Do you want to sit down? Maybe hang out a bit?"

"Sure. You buying the drinks? Or better yet, you wanna come down to that amusement park?"

"I- Preem... Yeah, Cassidy nabbed this real expensive shit. Like 3 million eddies worth of whiskey from Monarch on one of their gigs. It's real nice."

"Like being face-fucked by a thousand angels, right? Yeah. Let's sit down a bit. It's always better to go to a carnival drunk than sober!"

Rogue, Johnny and Trace all headed back to the bonfire, taking a seat next to a few other Aldecaldos. Trace introduced Johnny Silverhand, not mentioning their relationship and encouraged the Rockerboy to tell his own versions of the stories they all knew and loved. Johnny sat there, surrounded by friendly faces, telling his stories. Rogue sat next to him and embellished every nuance with dramaticism. Trace sat next to his father and enjoyed the wild ride that they were both on together. This was nice. His mother and father, together again with him and new set of friends. It was as he'd always hoped it would be.

V had just finished showering as he was immediately Holo-Called by Jericho. Undoubtedly, this meant that there was some mission he had to go on with Hildegarde and he'd inevitably be mocked to death or have his limbs torn off in various ways. He answered and got ready for disappointment.

"Hello, V! Have you rested well?"

"Hey, Jericho... Yeah. Just got out of the shower..."

"Good! I've got some important business that involves our little group again. Please come to Monarch Tower immediately. Bring Johnny if you can."

"What's this about?"

"V, have you ever wanted to visit the Crystal Palace?"

"Are you kidding? Of course!"

"Well, that's where we're all headed. Bring anyone else you think would be capable of handling both spaceflight and combat if it comes to that."

"Combat? Why?"

"The Crystal Palace is a hive of scum and villainy. Best be prepared."

"Okay. Will do. I'll see you soon."

"Goodbye, V."

The call just ended. V knew that Johnny would be preoccupied with his fraternal duties and left him alone for the time being. However, he did know of one such merc who had wanted to see the Crystal Palace ever since he'd heard of it as a young boy. Jackie Welles. V dressed himself in his finest Monarch Regalia and left his house, jumping into his Aerondight and heading towards the Coyote Cojo; Jackie had taken over the bar with his mother and lived on the upper level with Misty. He knew the rambunctious amigo would be jumping with joy at the thought of going to space. The Big Leagues.

The car ride was uneventful, he'd gotten stuck in traffic, but had plenty of time to sit and relax as his car drove him through the gridlock. He read up on the latest and greatest, watched Nancy's interview on Jericho and Hildegarde, saw a newsreel about Samurai and their Reunion Tour. Soon he arrived at the Coyote Cojo and found himself sitting in a barstool in front of Jackie, who at this hour, was busy cleaning glasses and helping Pepe with various tasks.

"Heya, choom! What's going on?"

"Hey, Jackie... Got a little job coming up, you in?"

"Always, amigo. Where at?"

"The fucking Crystal Palace..."

"Shit... You serious?"

"Yeah. I am. Don't know what exactly, but we're going there. Got a crew already. Need one more."

"Madre de Dios... The Big Leagues, V. The biggest. I'm in, doesn't matter what it is. That's some serious street cred..."

"I know... By the way, T-Bug is still alive. She sold us out back at Konpeki. She's living up there somewhere. I've got some choice words I'd like to say to her. Sounds a bit like 'You bitch' and 'Die'."

"Bug is still alive? Shit... Knew it wasn't just a coincidence. You gonna flatline her?"

"If I have to... Depends."

"Well, I've got your back, V. You know it, broder. When are we leaving?"

"Don't know yet. You wanna come with me? Gotta talk to Jericho at Monarch. Also gotta grab Johnny from wherever he's hiding."

"Real preem shit, V. Lemme finish up here, you want anything in the meantime?"

"Yeah... Gimme one of your specials. A Jackie Welles."

"You got it, choom!"

Jackie poured V his namesake drink, making extra sure to add that little splash of love to it. V was about to take him on an adventure into space. The Biggest Leagues. The Crystal Palace. This was a game changer. This was the height of his career. It didn't matter if he lived or died, he was about to become a Night City Legend. For real.

Johnny Silverhand, Rogue and Trace still sat around the bonfire. Johnny had gotten horrendously drunk off the 80 year vintage whiskey and had taken over telling stories to the Aldecaldos. Panam and the rest of the veterans had eventually come over to enjoy the alternate versions of their own stories from someone who had actually fought alongside Santiago Aldecaldo way back in their early history. Johnny didn't glorify Santiago, instead told the truth about the man, which rubbed some folks the wrong way. It was a lot like finding out that Jesus was a drunken womanizer. One thing led to another and Johnny found himself being hauled out of the Nomad Camp and tossed into V's mansion. Rogue and Trace just followed along and went to help Johnny get sobered up. Some of his 'stories' had actually been fiction that came rolling out of his drunken mind.

It wasn't long into the sobering up process that V's own household automatons came over to help the slobbering Rockerboy. Yarn-Johnny just stood on the coffee table in front of the three as the Real-Johnny laid back on the couch with a cup of strong coffee in hand. Panam had briefly lectured them on 'desecrating the memory of Santiago', to which Johnny noted that no, no, Santiago was definitely an asshole, to which Panam gave up and left the drunken gonk alone. The rest of the gang of Yarnlings that had been in V's house began to stream out of the front doors on their way back to their owners. V eventually came home and had to wade through the sea of tiny yarn-covered robots.

"Ey, V? What are those?", Jackie asked as the Yarnlings passed him.

"Yarnlings. They're like little robot assistants... For children. And Asher."

"Oh... Who's Asher?"

"You'll get to meet her later, she's like fifty pounds of weird in a ten pound bag."

"Preem."

V and Jackie just walked farther into the massive pyramid-like mansion, ignoring V's personal secretary for the moment and entering into the massive living room. Johnny and friends were here, with the Rockerboy surrounded by cups of coffee and snacks. He was drunk. Again.

"Hey, Johnny... This is Jackie, Jackie this is Johnny."

"Hello, Jackie...", Johnny sighed.

"Real legendary solo, V. Right in your living room!", Jackie whispered to V, prodding him slightly with his elbow.

"He was also inside my head for a while."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Relic did it..."

"Ooohh..."

"What's up V?", Johnny noted.

"Jericho wants to see us. Told me it's okay if you want to bring a plus one. I'm taking Jackie."

"Why?"

"Don't know yet. Probably something big. It involves the Crystal Palace."

"Seriously? The Las Vegas of Space? We going on a vacation!?"

"Maybe... Probably not, knowing Jericho, though."

"You two wanna come along?", Johnny asked motioning to his son and Rogue.

"Space? I- I've never even thought of going... I'll need to gather my things...", Trace uttered.

"You only live once, right? Might as well, could be interesting...", Rogue noted.

"Then it's settled. We're in, V. When are we flying?"

"I. Don't. Know. We need to see Jericho first. Are you ready?"

"I am, what about you two?"

Rogue and Trace just nodded. They really needed to know what was going on before they packed up and headed into the most exquisite location of all time.

"Then let's get the fuck outta here, V!"

V just led his new team out of the mansion. He hailed his Aerondight, which was too small for the group. A few moments later, a Rayfield Excalibur AV landed near his house instead, the group climbing on board with Johnny grabbing the charcuterie board and heaving most of it into his mouth. The AV soared off into the distance towards Monarch Tower. V and his little group that had always been and always would until the end headed towards their destiny. This was going to be epic.

Chapter End.

A/N: I'm still trying to end this before the so-called Epilogue outruns the actual story. Maybe I'll just rename the whole fanfic, the first 22 chapters were the setup now we're headed into uncharted territory in an Alternate Universe after the end of Cyberpunk 2077.