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Night City Legends

Chapter Eleven: Never Fade Away

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"Hey Danny, I've been meaning to ask you." Gloria spoke while they climbed back into their rig, each carrying a bag from a little roadside vendor selling what was probably the best seven scopbean burritos this side of the river. "How's your family doing?"

Once settled, they tore into the bags and opened their food. Considering they just dropped off three corpses at the local morgue, two of which were burnt to a crisp, many would've probably lost their appetite but they were pretty desensitized to it by now.

Danny shrugged, opening his burrito to add some hot sauce from the bottle he had stashed away, "Outputs doing pretty good, his parents can't stand me but that's nothing new," he grumbled, expertly rewrapping his burrito.

"You know, I always wondered why they didn't like you." Gloria took a bite and washed it down with her bottle of Real-Water, "I mean you got a job, pay your bills, and you're not some devient… I think."

Danny chuckled, "I wonder that myself honestly but It's mainly his dad… I think," he sighed while she took another bite, "Old school gonk, probably has something against me pounding his son on our date nights,"

She choked on her food, coughing and scrambling for her drink while he laughed at her. "You gonk,"

"You asked," he took another bite and waited for her to get situated, "Lets see, my ex-wife is still a bitch and our son doesn't want anything to do with her since she's been hooked on glitter, ugh oh and get this…" he took a swallow of his Nicola and turned to her in his seat, "Stupid junkie bitch tried selling his wreath for glitter, his damn school wreath. I don't know what my ass was thinking when I made her my mainline, the only good thing that came outta her is my son,"

"Dios mio, sorry your having to deal with that Danny,"

He waved it off, "Eh, it's whatever. Junior's been keeping up with his studies though, think he's aiming to land a gig with Medtech. Speaking of kids, how's David doin?"

"He's been accepted into Arasaka Academy," she gushed, grinning from ear to ear, "Best scores out of his entire year, got a scholarship and everything,"

"Nova," he grinned, "Congrats, you've always said you wanted him to go there,"

"I know!" her grin faded a little, "But i'm a little worried, it's gonna be a big change for him and he'll be around a bunch of corpo kids." that made both of them grimace, "I just don't-"

"Unit 12, we got a call about an assault at Megabuilding H6. Need you to go patch up a paying customer." Came the call from their dispatch.

"Well that's not too far away I guess," he mused, taking another bite of his food, "They didn't mention a GSW so at least we don't have to rush."

-xXx-

I saw in you what life was missing

You lit a flame that consumed my hate

I'm not one for reminiscing but

I'd trade it all for your sweet embrace

"Naru, baby that tickles," her giggling made him grin, the sound soothing him down to his very core. Laying together with the muted holo playing the early morning news and the radio playing, Naruto groaned into her stomach, arms wrapped around her while her fingers played with his hair. "Wait, didn't you have something important going down today," she asked playfully, "You keep on and I'm not gonna let you go." He nuzzled his face into her tanned stomach and huffed, blowing a raspberry into her stomach that made her giggle again.

There's a canvas with two faces

Of fallen Angels who loved and lost

It was a passion for the ages

But in the end I guess we paid the cost

"Don't wanna," he whined, looking up at her over the swell of her bare tanned breasts, "Rather stay here with you," Never before had he ever felt so comfortable, so peaceful. He felt like he could just let go and rest.

She hummed, a thoughtful look on her face, "You sure about that Naru? I mean I'm more than happy to have you all to myself but the way you said it made it sound important… like life or death," her fingertips lightly brushed down the back of his neck then trailed to tease his ears, making him twitch.

"Eh, just a little while longer," he wiggled his arms out from behind her and returned the teasing by lightly stroking her sides with his fingertips, making her shiver with goosebumps appearing. "Hey baby… what's the name of this song"

I see your eyes, I know you see me

You're like a ghost, you're everywhere

I'm your demon, never leaving

A metal soul of rage and fear

Her eyes lit up at the question, "Never fade away by Samurai… well depending on who you talked to it was mostly by Johnny Silverhand."

"Hmm, I like it,"

She laughed, "I know right, pretty preem huh… but baby." her tone turned serious, "You need to get up." he felt her hands caress his face, making him look her in the eyes over her bare chest and wince as her grip on his cheek got tighter.

"Ow babe, what's wrong?" the side of his face burned, his ear felt like it had been torn off

That… one… thing that changed it all!

That… one… sin that caused the fall!

"You have to get up Naru,"

Yeah!

We'll never fade away!

"You have to wake up!"

-xXx-

With a groan, Naruto's eyes snapped open and a rush of agony enveloped him as his entire body screamed at him. Blinking several times, he coughed and spat out blood which only caused more pain to flare up in him while he tried to process where he was.

Laying facedown in a puddle of his own blood.

Biting back his agony, he pushed himself and rolled onto his side and looked around, he was surrounded by what looked like a destroyed vendors stall, shattered glass and broken display cases of now ruined products all around him with the smell of something burning filling his bloody nose. His heart pounded against his chest, each beat sending jolts through his broken ribs.

But deep inside he could feel the heat of Kurama's chakra working to heal his battered body, slowly fighting all the damage while keeping him alive… at least he hoped that was what the burning feeling was and not the charred flesh of his torso.

'Gunner!' he thought suddenly, remembering how he got here.

Looking around for the man caused pain to shoot up his battered body but he had to find the man, make sure he was dead. It took a few moments of scanning what he could see until he spotted the man's broken corpse half broken in two atop a broken grill half wrapped in the canopy above the stall and smoking.

"Hehehe," he couldn't help it, a sick part of him relished at the sight of his state, twisted and broken, the synthetic cloth tangled around him melting and starting to bubble under his corpse. No doubt it would catch fire soon, a fitting end for the son of a bitch in his opinion.

He'd done it. He'd killed the ones responsible for Cami's murder. Pervy sage once told him that the path of vengeance left you feeling empty when they were talking about Sasuke, how it only brought about more misery in the end and that he'd come to regret his choices but at the moment, he felt great… relatively speaking. Maybe he'd feel worse later on when he had more time to think.

His holo chirped with a notification, showing he had missed a call and a message from Jackie.

"Hey Holmes, figured you're still sleeping but Mama wants you to know that she's holding Camilla's Ofrenda today around 1. Wanted to hold it before we tackled the thing at the Megabuilding, thought it'd be good for you. Anyway, hit me up when you get this and I'll come pick you up."

Oh yeah… Jackie was under the impression he'd gone back to Cami's place to rest. He needed to get to the bar… he didn't want to miss her memorial. The only question though was how he'd manage it in this state, for now though, he'd at least answer the message.

"I'll be there,"

Rolling over again, groaning as he did and laying flat on his back, Naruto looked up at the open sky above him,ignoring the sticky slick feeling of his own blood seeping down his face, or the sensation of it on the back of his head from the puddle he was in. Each breath came in short haggard bursts, his body twitching painfully with each breath in and out.

"Mister?"

Naruto's eyes opened, he wasn't sure when he shut them but glancing over he spotted a boy standing a few feet away looking at him with wide eyes, it was the boy from before the one who's dad was being beaten by those gangoons. "Kid?"

The little boy turned, "Mom! Dad!" he called out, running away, "Over here, it's him! He needs help!"

"Andy!" a woman cried out some distance away, "I told you not to run off,"

"But mom!" the child whined, "It's the guy that saved dad. Dad, you have to help him!"

"Where?" a man asked, "Alright, son you stay with your mom, we'll help him out. Honey, call an ambulance."

A face appeared above Naruto, making him blink, "Holy shit," the man gasped,his own busted and bruised face twisted in horror at what he was seeing., "how are you still breathing?" the man placed a hand on his shoulder, quickly snatching it back as the blond groaned, "Shit, sorry ah… hold on, I'll get some help."

The man left his vision, leaving Naruto to look at the now bright sky above him. "Grant! Hey, give me a hand will ya choom? It's the guy that saved me!" Naruto heard several more voices approaching and the bruised man reappeared over him, "Hey choom, look we'll get you away from the fire alright, help's on the way. Stay strong ok?"

"Help me up," he groaned out.

The man grimaced, "Choom you need to stay down," he looked down at the gaping charred wound and exposed bone in his torso, "We got help coming, just-"

Naruto cut him off, "Help me… stand." he growled out, "Please,"

Once again, the man looked torn then turned to his choom and shrugged, "Alright Choom… Grant, you ready? Let's move him first at least '' another man appeared over him and nodded, looking queasy at him. The pair eased him up a bit to get a hold on him, counting down from three before hoisting him up much to his body's discomfort. They carried him for a few moments, away from the destroyed stalls he'd landed on and laid him on the ground next to one of the concrete benches next to the wall

"Alright, we're gonna sit you on the bench first alright?" the dad asked, getting a nod from him.

Naruto grunted, "Just do it. Don't worry about me, just do it."

They did as he asked, making him grit his teeth as his battered and broken body protested. The two helped him sit down and he leaned back heavily against the wall. Several more people seemed to filter in, the alarms having been shut off sometime when he was out and the power restored, which should've been easy, he only flipped the powermain.

Several people muttered about the damaged stalls, the owners appearing to try and pick up the pieces and put out the fire. Some looked over at him and grimaced, a few even wondered how he was still alive.

"Are you gonna be ok, mister?" he heard the little boy ask and slowly turned to look at him, how the kid didn't flinch at the sight of him he didn't know, "I'm Andy! I found your mask." the boy told him with a grin then held it out, like him, the thing had seen better days. The left side of it was broken and bloodied from where he'd been shot and the corner where the strap connected to it was broken off.

"I…" he wasn't sure what to tell the kid, reaching out to take the offered mask. He decided to put on his usual strong act and smiled, "Yeah kid, I'll be ok, I'm Naruto." He didn't want to tell the boy he'd probably never be ok, he'd heal, but be ok? He didn't feel like he would. "Thank you."

"He zeroed them all," someone muttered, "all those gangoons,"

"Good riddance,"

Naruto reached up and pressed the quick release clasp of his wrecked plate carrier, which sagged down as soon as it was released. He then did the same to the one on his side, letting the remaining parts of his vest collapse to the side next to him on the bench.

"Damn gonks deserved it."

His shirt was ruined, it was one of the last remaining pieces of clothing he had from home

"Help me with the fire choom,"

"Hold up, that's that asshole. What's his name… Gunner!"

Looking up at the people gathered near Gunners burning body, he laughed. It started out as a small shake that only hurt a bit but soon found himself laughing as hard as his battered body would allow.

"Fuck it, let 'em burn," another voice spat.

Damn he felt so tired… maybe he'll just rest a bit. Looking down, the gaping wound in his side wasn't bleeding… as much, he just needed to give it some more time

"Mister Naruto?"

Yeah, just rest. Despite the metal bolts embedded into the bench to keep the homeless from sleeping on them, one of which was jammed into the back of his thigh, he felt somewhat comfortable.

"Mister… Dad!"

Then he'll get to the bar and say goodbye to her.

-xXx-

"It's beautiful mama, Camilla would like it I'm sure," Jackie stood next to his mother and wrapped an arm around her as they stood in front of the memorial table holding Camillas urn and photo. Several small candles were placed around it, just waiting to be lit. The bar would be pretty much closed today, much to their regulars chagrin but Mama Welles insisted on it and Jackie agreed. They expected quite a few people to show up today and didn't need any more issues to come up with emotions running high as they were.

"Have you heard from Naruto yet?" she asked, turning to look at her son and patting the arm around her shoulder.

"Nah not yet." he shrugged, "But with how he looked earlier, I wouldn't be surprised if he sleeps for a few more hours at least." They turned and walked back towards the bar where Pepe was moving one of the small tables away from the walkway near where they planned for people to stand. "Sent him a message over the holo, offering him a ride over."

"Try and get him to show up a bit early, ok mijo?" she asked, a strange look in her eyes that made Jackie a bit suspicious. "I really have to tell him something before there's a bunch of people around."

"Yeah, you got it Mama," he saw her glance over to Pepe then turned to see the man look away with a weird look on his face. "Alright, wanna fill me in on the deets." he told them while crossing his arms, "Something I should know?"

"It's nothing Mijo," his mother tried telling him but from the look he had, she knew he wasn't buying it.

Pepe sighed, setting the table down and returning to move the chairs, "Just tell 'em jefe, pretty sure he'll know soon enough."

Looking between the two, Jackie crossed his arms with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face, "Tell me what?" he asked with a worried tone.

"Jackie, when Camilla died," she started, her eyes tearing up as she did, which made her son feel a bit worried. The woman seemed to be mulling over her words, looking down at the floor for a few moments before looking back up at him, "She was pregnant mijo."

Jackie's eyes widened, "she was…" he trailed off with a shocked expression on his face, "And Naruto was the-" She nodded. "Jesucristo, does he know?"

"I couldn't tell him, not at that time… and honestly, I don't know if I was ever gonna tell him." she admitted sadly, "Pepe convinced me though, he deserves to know."

Jackie couldn't believe it, Camilla was pregnant when she died. He'd never thought about having kids when he was with her and as far as he knew, neither did she. Did Camilla plan on getting pregnant with Naruto's kid, he was gonna be devastated- his eyes widened, he was gonna flip his shit. He massacred a bunch of gonks at that warehouse and burned the ones who killed her alive. What was he going to do when he found out he'd lost not only his girl but his kid too.

-xXx-

"Don't worry Andy, he'll be ok. He's just… resting," his father told him upon reaching his worried looking son and giving the man a once over, "Go and find your mom ok?" Andy nodded and sped off as only a child could, leaving his father next to the man.

Tones winced as he looked at the young man that saved him from being beaten to death by those gangoons and in front of his mainline and son no less. His own body hurt from the beating but compared to this guy's wounds he wouldn't complain. The various vendors operating in the building had been forced to pay protection to 6th Street for years, annoying yes, but the gangoons actually did protect them from outside gangs and kept the peace for the most part. It wasn't until recently did these new gonks come in claiming there was a change in leadership.

They charged way more than before, more than he could honestly make at his little stall. He'd have to charge triple the amount just to cover these greedy gonk assholes but like all of his chooms running their own business, they scraped and did what they could.

Tones had been contemplating whether or not to just give up and leave, just pack up what little they had and take both his girl and son to find a new place. It was a foolish thought though, they'd be homeless and on the streets with the proles before they knew it. Shit looked bleak, he knew it, his mainline knew it, his chooms knew it… the only one who didn't was Andy, his boy and he'd keep it that way for as long as he could.

Then like some action BD Samurai, some masked Gatos rolled in heavy and proceeded to slammit on with the four gonks beating the shit out of him. It was like something out of those comics his boy liked, a hero helping someone in need, something he never believed in… until now.

"Hey Tones, use these." he glanced over to his buddy, whose mainline ran a small laundry service for the building while he did maintenance on most of the floors, "Gotta couple of air hypos from work, still in date I think."

He nodded and winced again as he kneeled down, getting a much closer view of the gaping wound in the blond man's torso. "Tough fucker," his buddy muttered behind him, "Must have some preem chrome keeping him going." Tones couldn't help but agree and jabbed the man in his shoulder with the first bounceback Mk1. he'd have to wait before using the second.

His wife wanted to take him to the docs but he stopped her, they already couldn't afford food and barely covered the damn rent thanks to these 6th Street assholes, but luckily he remembered just enough first aid to know that he'd only be sore as hell for awhile, they hadn't broken anything just yet.

Then all hell broke loose…

Shortly after the lights went out, gunshots erupted above them. It was like one of those BDs from the Metal Wars, gunfire, explosions, screaming, it seemed like it would go on forever. God he'd been so afraid, afraid that something would happen to his family, he just remembered holding on to them as tight as he could against the wall hoping that if by some ungodly stroke of bad luck happened and a stray bullet found them, it would hit him and not them.

But as quickly as it all started, it stopped.

When everyone started coming out of their hiding places and curiously trying to find out what happened, he's not proud to say that he let his boy run off by taking his eyes off of him for a minute. The loud commotion in their open air market area was what set him into a panic as he heard his boy cry out for them.

"Holy shit Tones," another choom of his spoke, "Just checked out the 19th floor, it's a goddamn warzone in there," It was an older portly fellow that was trying to set up a gunshop in the building until 6th Street stole all his hardware. "He sure as shit zeroed the lot of 'em,"

"About time someone stood up to 6th Street," another muttered. "Chooms a hero as far as I'm concerned."

Tones got a weird feeling in his chest as he thought about everything, nothing seemed to be going right and no matter where they turned all they could see was more hardship thanks to those goons but now… it was as if a weight had lifted off of them somehow. 6th Street was still there but surely, because of this they'd think twice wouldn't they? It wasn't like all their problems were gone but for the first time in a long time he felt… hope?

Grabbing the other bounceback, Tones checked the time and shrugged, choom was tough so he'd probably not OD… he hoped and jabbed him in the thigh.

-xXx-

A bit later, his mother was busy upstairs where some last minute paperwork needed to be handled, leaving Jackie along with his thoughts on the situation and sitting at the bar with a glass of the bar's club soda. He wanted a drink to go along with his troubled thoughts but he'd made a promise and besides it wasn't even noon yet.

"Looks like you're letting your mind wander a lot huh Jaquito?"

Glancing over, he spotted Pepe moving behind the bar with a small crate of bottles under one arm, "Eh, you could say that." he muttered under his breath, but was still heard by the man in the near silent bar.

"I wouldn't if I were you Jaquito," the barchoom told him, a small grin on his face, "It's much too small to be wandering on its own."

"Huh?" Jackie looked at him fully, still partly distracted but processing his words, "Hey!" Seeing the look when he finally realized, Pepe chuckled and set the crate down on the bar. Jackie slowly grinned back, "Eh sorry Pepe, just thinking on some stuff."

"Wanna share?"

"It's about Naruto and Cami's… kid." Jackie told him, "I hate to say it, but I don't know if Mama should tell 'em," seeing Pepe's face fall and a frown slowly forming, he held up a hand, "Hold on, hold on, I gotta reason." taking a quick sip of his soda, he continued, "Pepe, just a few hours ago I saw…" Jackie leaned forward and nodded for him to come closer.

Pepe raised an eyebrow and did so.

"Choom, that mess on the news about the road collapsing, he did that. Tracked down the ones responsible for Cami's death."

"Didn't they find like over 30 gonks there?" Pepe asked.

Jackie noded, "Zeroed them all. Not only that but when I went to help him, he'd found the two that actually pulled the trigger and when we got 'em, he…" he trailed off, remembering what he'd seen less a few good hours ago. "He tortured them for information, Pepe. Then burned them alive. He's planning on going after one more gonk and they're at a Megabuilding, what if… what if knowing about his kid makes him do something a lot more drastic?"

The man just listened in shock, trying to imagine the friendly young man he'd seen here with Cami doing that before deciding that yeah, he could see that actually. Were he in the blondes shoes and his Cynthia were ever taken from him, he could definitely imagine himself wanting to hurt the ones responsible.

"Well…" the man grumbled, pausing and looking as if he were contemplating his words. "Considering the circumstances, I can't say I blame the gato… don't get me wrong but if it were my Cynthia…" he trailed off with a small shrug which Jackie couldn't help but nod to.

"Not saying he was wrong. It's just I'm afraid of what he'll do once he knows. He just got back to NC. What, three or four days ago?" he looked at the glass and slowly rotated it with his fingers, "I got the feeling that he's been going non stop ever since he got those messages about her… Vato's burning himself out." he went on to mention some of the things he'd noticed. Bloodshot eyes, the vacant look he sometimes got when they talked, the wounds he was ignoring. After a moment of silence, he looked up to the man who was no longer paying him any mind.

"Hey Jackie…" the man started, " That Megabuliding… was is H6?"

"Yeah Holmes, how'd you know?" Pepe motioned past him to where the Holo was on but silent. Turning, Jackie felt a pit form in his gut and cursed at the banner running underneath the news reporter. He wouldn't have…

Massacre in Megabuliding! Gang violence reported in Arroyo, Megabuliding H6.

The blond gonk did…

He felt betrayed that Naruto would leave him behind like this but as he saw the pictures, a sense of relief washed over him. That was a lot of gangoons, 6th Street gonks with plenty of hardware too from the looks of it. He'd hold his own just fine in a fight with most of the gonks on the street but that many Sixers? There was a reason why they held their turf despite being outnumbered to such a degree.

-xXx-

Opening his eyes, Naruto winced and looked down to see the battered and bruised man he'd helped before kneeling by him, a Bounceback jabbed into his thigh near one of the nearly healed bullet wounds with another used airhypo laying on the bench next to him. "Sorry about that," the man winced, "Looked like you needed it," he was actively trying not to look at the still gaping wound just below the blonds ribs on his left side.

He could feel the medicine trying to work its magic in conjunction with Kurama's chakra and shook his head, "It's fine, thank you… but, I have somewhere to be."

"What?" the father blinked, wide eyed like an owl as the heavily wounded man started to stand, still bleeding from his wounds and in no shape to be moving, "W-whoa, hold on choom!" he reached out and hesitated to stop him, not wanting to touch him and potentially make the damage worse. "Really, please, you need to wait. We called an ambulance, if it's about money don't worry, we all pooled some eddies."

Standing, Naruto steadied himself by grabbing the wall behind him, leaving a red smear on the concrete, then looked at the man, who motioned to several people around them. Most were still amidst the cleanup of the common area, all the while letting the now burning stall consume Gunners corpse while they glared at it. "It's not that… I got somewhere important to be." he left a few more bloody smears along the wall.

"Choom it can wait," he pleaded, the people around him nodding with concerned looks.

"I made her wait long enough," he responded, taking a few more steps and heading towards the entrance of the mega building, "Not gonna make her wait any longer."

The man looked between his fellow tenants who all looked uneasy, "Don't be a gonk dude," he tried once again, quickly stepping ahead of him but not blocking his way, "Your friend will understand. We'll call her if you want, let her know what went down.

That made Naruto stop completely, "I'd like that… more than anything." he started, wincing and holding his side gingerly while turning to look at him. "But they killed her. That's why I did… this," he finished, motioning with the remaining portion of his cyber arm towards the impromptu pyre, "I have to get back to her, say goodbye." The man winced again, especially at the way his savior seemed to deflate at the end before taking a few more steps.

"Daddy!" The man heard his son yell, running over to them from the entrance with his wife close behind, "they're here to help him!" With that, the boy turned and ran excitedly back to the entrance. His wife gave him a look and followed after him.

"Would you at least let them look you over?" he pleaded, "Let 'em patch you up as best they can at least?"

He saw the pleading look not only from the man and his wife, but several others around them too before he closed his eyes for a moment, sighing, Cami could wait just a few more minutes he guessed. If it meant that much to them…

"... Fine."

-xXx-

Upon reaching Megabuilding H6, Danny parked the rig outside by the front while Gloria yawned, "Damn, I shouldn't have eaten that whole thing." she mused, stretching as they opened the doors and climbed out.

Her partner only chuckled, "Told you," he said, nose in the air jokingly, "I said they'd have the best burritos in Arroyo and that you'd never resist finishing the whole thing off.

She shook her head and they went around to the back and got their gear, pretty much anything they'd need to treat injuries ranging from simple cuts, bruises, and burns all the way to amputations, broken bones, and gunshot wounds. "Wonder what's going on," Gloria muttered, nodding towards the entrance where a large group of people were milling about.

Danny shrugged, "Hell if I know," he then sniffed the air. "The fuck… that smells like…"

She grimaced as well once she caught a whiff and as one, they looked at eachother with pale faces, it smelled just like that garage with the burnt bodies. "Oh no, not another one." she groaned. Opening up a small cabinet where they kept their personal items, she grabbed the small bottle of scented lotion she kept and rubbed a bit on her neck to fight the smell.

Danny cleared his throat and she turned to see him with his hand out.

"It's orange scented," she told him, handing it over where he did the same as her.

"It could smell like scavs asshole for all I care." he grumbled, handing it back, "I've had enough burnt flesh for one day… hm, smells nice," the man held his hand up to his face, sniffing it. "What was this called again?"

"Hey!" They turned to see a little boy running down the stairs, nearly falling as he jumped down the last three and scrambled to catch himself. The kid ran over with an excited look. "Hurry up, Mister Naruto needs help! Come on hurry, he's hurt bad!" With that, the kid turned and scrambled back up the stairs, passing a woman who looked between the kid and them.

"Come on up!" the woman yelled, "He's just inside!"

Gloria and Danny shared a glance then quickly gathered their gear to follow after them. There was a small, murmuring crowd that blocked their way as they got to the top of the stairs. From the snippets of the multiple convos they heard, some gangoon shit had gone down and the local thugs had been flatlined by someone avenging his mainline.

"I'm the one who called," the woman told them at the top, her eyes lit up and their tablet pinged with a 'payment received', "he's right through there, you'll see him.

"EMT!" Danny called out as they approached the crowd. "EMT please make way! Please make-"

Following behind him, Gloria stepped on the back of his heels and bumped into him as he suddenly stopped ahead of her, "Ow, damn Danny what's up?" she asked, peering around him only to feel her heart drop.

It had been months since she last saw him but her conscience kept reminding her of him, the reason why she was able to support her son as much as she was able to these days, the guy she klepped thousands worth of eddies in gold and silver from. There had been several times where she pictured running into him again, would he recognize her? Had he realized that she stole from him? What would he say to her if he did, it wasn't like she could return them and most of the eddies were tied up with David's tuition. Gloria had imagined several different scenarios, some good… some bad, but honestly, she didn't imagine that she-

"Gloria?" Danny's voice snapped her out of those thoughts, "You good?" he asked slowly, looking at her with concern.

She nodded, "Yeah lets go."

It was him. Good lord above he looked worse than before.

"Sir," Danny called out as they rushed over. The blond looked at them with a shocking amount of clarity for someone wounded so badly, did he have a pain editor? "Sir, you're going to be ok."

"Danny, we need to get him scanned in the ambulance," she told him, running a scan of her own with their smaller issued scanner, "He's showing weird readings."

He agreed and took her bag, "I'll run to the rig and get it ready, you help him there alright?" Danny was gone before she could answer but her training took hold and she gently took his arm, noticing the bullet wounds with a grimace and lifted it over her shoulders, trying her best not to press into the open wound at his side, "Here, lean on me."

"I remember you,"

That simple sentence chilled her down to the bone. Did he blame her for his missing stuff? Was he pissed?

"Gloria right?" Naruto continued, letting himself lean a bit more into her as they walked through the crowd and down the stairs, " Looks like you're patching me up again," he gave her a small grin, "small world huh?"

She nodded, still a little worried.

"Thank you,"

Loading him up into the rig, the two EMT's went about scanning him and trying to make sure that he wouldn't bleed to death, neither mentioning the fact that they'd waited a little longer to show up so that they could enjoy their lunch. "Multiple through and through GSW, dozens of microfractures in… well it'd be quicker to say which aren't cracked in some way. Must have a hell of a ripper with some nova chrome to keep you moving like this." Danny spoke as he went over the scan while Gloria did what she could to stop the bleeding.

"We really should take him to the Medcenter," she said, only for Naruto to shake his head.

"Just patch me up," he grunted as she cleaned the wound from Gunners hidden arm launcher. "Stitch up what you can and bandage up the rest."

The two shared a glance, "Sir, if that's what you want… I mean we can't force you," Danny started before huffing, "But she's right, you possibly need surgical help, the extent of your injuries-"

"No," Naruto took a breath after snapping, "Sorry… but I have something more important to do, besides, I can't afford the time or eddies for those vultures. The only reason I'm here is because those people asked."

"What the hell could be so important," the other man finally snapped before catching himself, "With all due respect sir, you need-"

"Have you ever found someone so precious that it changes the way you look at the world?" both EMTs stopped to stare at him, "Someone that gave you meaning and made you smile when you were at the lowest and had nothing? I did… I don't know how, but I did and those assholes took her from me." the pair remembered the murmuring about what had gone down from the other tenants, "Just found out her memorial is today… it's about to start and i'll be damned if I miss it,"

"We'll give you a ride there," Gloria told him, making Danny look at her. If the supervisor found out they gave him a ride somewhere there'd be hell to pay. "Just tell us where,"

A pounding at the back cut them off, through the glass they saw a small hand waving quickly before a young man jumped up, looking through the glass as he did.

"Mister Naruto, you forgot these!" the boy, Andy if he remembered right, told him as Gloria opened the door. He held out his nearly destroyed plate carrier and the damaged mask, making him realize he'd left it on the bench back there.

"Hey Gloria, can I talk to you for a sec?" the man asked, opening the side door to the rig and motioning for her to follow. "We'll give you two a minute to chat ok?"

Gloria followed and shut the door behind her, stepping out onto the street while Naruto took the offered gear.

"Thanks Andy," the boy grinned at him, reminding him strongly of Konohamaru back when he was a little shit with a missing tooth, which made him smile in return. Against his side's wishes, he moved to reach out and take the two items, holding the mask in his one hand while the vest hung over his arm.

"Hope you feel better soon Mister Naruto,"

"Me to Andy, me too."

-xXx-

"Ok Gloria, what was that about?" he demanded as soon as the door closed, speaking lowly as not to be overheard, "you've been acting a little weird ever since you saw him, you spaced out when you saw him, wanted to run a deep scan, and since he's refusing to go to the Medcenter your offering him a ride," Gloria grinned a little at him, feeling like a child that got in trouble with the teacher as he crossed his arms, "What's up choom, you know this guy?"

"We met him before Danny, remember?" He looked at her puzzled, "Few months back, call about a body in the street, the guy 'ganic missing an arm?"

Her partner looked like he was processing it, "Oh shit, it was that guy!" he muttered, eyes wide, "Holy shit… huh. But that doesn't explain why you're willing to risk going against SOP. You know that cunt of a supervisor will dock our pay if she finds out."

"It'll be fine," she said, waving it off, "that grubby puta's too busy trying to save her own job since that last review." turned out that when she couldn't suck out a good review from the new higher up, a serious bitch with no sympathy for BS, she'd been too busy trying to get her files in order before she came back for a follow up. "Besides, we left 'em on the street last time, least we could do is drop 'em off somewhere on the way back to the Medcenter."

With the way he looked at her, Gloria could tell that he suspected something else was up. "Gloria… you don't have a soft spot for the bad boy back there do you. Got the hots for 'em do ya?" Embarrassed, she punched him in the arm and uttered a slew of curses at the man, making him laugh which earned him another punch, "Ow fuck, I'm joking."

"I don't 'have the hots' for him," she growled, blushing lightly.

"Why not? Blood and wounds aside, he's pretty cute… If I didn't love my output so much I'd give him a shot." he smirked and looked thoughtful, "Hmm, wonder if he'd be down for a threesome?"

"You perv!" she smacked him again, making him laugh.

-xXx-

Jackie felt a pit forming in his stomach as the bar started filling up with the people joining them for Camillas Ofrenda, dozens of high ranking Valentinos had shown up for Gustavo with even more lower ranking gangoons showing up outta respect. The Padre himself, Heywoods top fixer, had shown up with his driver, offering his deepest condolences to his mother. Misty and Vik had shown up for him and were around the bar speaking to the other guests.

V called him to apologize, since the Ofrenda was last minute she wasn't able to show up but honestly, it was probably for the best with all the gangers around, nice looking corpo chica like her? Some gonk would probably try to fuck with her and end up missing limbs.

Several more people he only kinda knew came filtering in as time passed, he kept an eye out the entire time hoping Naruto would walk in soon. He'd sent a message saying he was on the way a little while ago but it was getting time to start and he was hoping to talk to him first.

"Still not here yet?" his mama asked, walking over and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"He said he was on the way… "

"As much as I hate it, we may have to start without him mijo." she patted his shoulder a few times and gave him a mournful look, "We have a few more minutes… but." He nodded slowly and sighed, turning to look at his mother. She gave him another sad smile and walked over to speak to Gustavo, who was sitting with his girl, who still had a few bandages on herself, on the couch by Camillas urn with his face buried in his hands.

She'd been so strong all day but he knew she cried when she thought no one was around to hear. He'd always thought that his mother got attached to Camilla because they were dating for so long but thinking back, he realized that his mama saw Camilla as the daughter his bastardo of a father killed so long ago and now she'd lost another child… and a grandchild.

-xXx-

"Look, don't do anything foolish, ok?" Gloria was in the zone, her work mode as David once called it. "The bleeding has nearly stopped but if you stress it you'll make it even worse, got it?" The blond was a gonk in her opinion for refusing to go to the Medcenter, by some miracle the bullets didn't seem to have hit anything vital and If she didn't know any better, she'd say that they looked like they were already healing by the time she got them bandaged. "You need to see a ripper or a doc asap ok. If any of your ganics are damaged you may need to get them replaced."

Naruto winced as she tightened the bandage around his chest which held a trauma pad soaked with some kinda meds to his torso. "You got it doc," he wanted to scratch the itchy bandage she's stuck to his face, sealing up the gash in his face but she'd already popped his hand away twice, "I'll go see my ripper soon, promise."

She huffed, rolling her eyes at the promise, "Yeah if I had an eddie for every time someone promised that,"

"I always keep my promises,"

"I'm sure," she stood up and turned to one of the cabinets, holding herself steady like a pro as the ambulance went around a corner. "Since you're not gonna do the smart thing, here's something to hold you over for the pain." His eyes widened as she turned to him with what looked like a small gun, "It's just a local anesthetic but it'll keep-" he tried to protest as she stuck the end just below the bandage and pulled the trigger, "You from hurting too much,"

The thing hissed and Naruto jumped, feeling something get injected into his side which stung like hell before a good portion of his side went numb. "Damn that was quick,"

"Yeah just be careful, you won't be able to tell if you ripped anything because of it so keep an eye on it ok."

He nodded and she tapped a few things on her tablet. "Hey Gloria… Thank you for this." While he wasn't completely sure, with how the city seemed to run he was certain that she was going beyond what she was supposed to. Cami once told him about how those trauma team jackasses would leave you for dead if you didn't pay for one of their 'Packages' or weren't willing to pay right then for their services. Even if you could afford the most basic care from them you wouldn't get anything for the pain. It only made sense to him that the city's emergency medical teams would have to operate on the same basis.

His eye lit up and she turned to look at him in shock as she got a message from him with his deets, "You're sticking your neck out for me, both you and your partner. If either of you need anything, anything at all just ask. I really appreciate this."

Gloria felt a lump in her throat at that. She'd stolen from him and here he was thanking her and offering to pay her back. Yeah they were sticking their necks out for him but even if they got busted she was certain that they'd get a formal reprimand at the most. "You don't have to, really."

"Yeah but I want to. You seem like a good person, haven't seen too many people like that around Night City."

'Oh just keep kicking me, why don't you?' she saved the number either way, maybe she'd just call and check up on him later. After all she had told herself a few times that she'd try and make it up to him.

"Hey you two, we're here" Danny called from the driver's seat with a whistle, "Buncha Valentinos there too, you sure this is the place?" The rig came to a stop at the corner of Los Lobos and Skyline East in Vista Del Ray down the road from the bar.

"Yeah, this is the place." Naruto stood up from the gurney they'd made him sit on, easing himself onto his feet expecting his side to protest the movement but to his surprise he felt nothing, "Wow that stuff works." he mused, poking at the bandage, "Can't feel a-"

Gloria grabbed his wrist and pinched the back of his hand, "Gonk, didn't I say not to mess with it!" she snapped, eyes wide, "You might open it and bleed more!"

"Ow, sorry… I thought you had to swear some kinda hypocritical oath to do no harm?" he joked, shaking his hand and rubbing it against his knee to ease the stinging.

"That's the hippocratic oath!" Danny chuckled from the front, "and yeah, it's hypocritical in the end with how some of the city's doctors treat people."

"And to answer your question," She chimed back in, "No, we don't." The redhead moved to support him as he moved, heading to the back doors ahead of him. "I reserve the right to smack a gonk that doesn't listen when I say not to do something." Opening the door, she let him climb out.

The normally busy street that would have dozens of people walking back and forth going about their day was strangely empty aside from a few brave souls. Further down the street he could see several Valentinos hanging around the bar, their vehicles lining the sides of the roads.

He looked around for a moment and chuckled, "Thanks again you two," the driver leaned to look out the back and gave him a wave, which he returned, "I'll pay you back for helping me. Just let me know how I can help alright?"

Gloria nodded after a moment, "Ok choom, I'll let you know," she didn't really want to tell him no but she also didn't want him to try and repay her. She was trying to repay him after all. "Stay safe out there and here, don't forget your stuff."

"I'll try," He accepted his damaged mask and vest, the blood on them already half dry and tacky to the touch, "thanks again,"

With that, Naruto stepped back a couple paces and watched as she closed the door. A few seconds later the ambulance pulled a U-turn and headed on its way with the driver, Danny giving him another little wave while he could see Gloria moving to sit in the passenger seat.

-xXx-

"Well what do you know," Danny mused with a shit eating grin as they stopped at the red light, "Looks like you got his number after all,"

"Oh fuck off, he sent it to you too." she grumbled, crossing her arms.

When the light changed, he pulled onto the next street and continued his way back to the office, "Yeah but I gotta mainline,"

"Oh no," Gloria covered her face for a moment, "No, no, no, we aren't going there. I'm not trying to hook up with him." she leaned back and glanced over to see his girl get bigger, "I'm not!"

"I didn't say anything,"

"That shit eating grin says it all! Besides he's too young, he can't be more than what, 20 something?" when he didn't reply, she rolled her eyes and shifted in her seat to face him, crossing her arms, "What? Come on, let's hear it, I know your chrome is about to overheat. You want to say it so bad."

"What?" he pursed his lips together trying not to laugh, "I'm not thinking anything, definitely not thinking a single thing about how my choom needs a good interfacing from- '' Gloria started swatting at him making him lean away while driving. He laughed and continued, raising his arm to block her hits, "-a sexy blond with gorgeous blue eyes packing some serious heat down there!"

"I can't believe you!" she blushed at the thought, "You scanned his-" .

"Didn't have to, didn't you see the pistol he was packing?" Danny asked, glancing at her, if not for the rig's onboard computer helping with the driving, he'd probably have caused an accident, lucky it auto corrected for most things and sensed other cars on the road. "What did you think I meant?"

-xXx-

Looking down at himself, Naruto grimaced. He wished he had time to get cleaned up at least but he was already running late, 'Guess Kakashi-sensei rubbed off on me more than I thought,'. The thought brought a small smirk to his face with a little chuckle. Hopefully his state wouldn't cause too big of a scene but somehow he felt that was merely wishful thinking.

His cyberarm was basically gone, nothing but small jagged pieces of metal and wires. His shirt was in tatters, most of the torso shredded and bloodstained with bandages wrapped around him. Luckily it didn't look like it had bled through so hopefully he'd be fully healed sooner rather than later. The bandage on his face and ear itched but he'd rather keep it on than freak Mama Welles out by letting her see the chuck that had been taken out of him, he was just thankful that fucking homing bullet didn't hit bone, that would've really fucked his day up. His pants were also fucked, the orange fabric covered in all manor of stains, cut, torn, scorched in some places. He was so grateful for the reinforced seat of his pants, he was certain his ass would be hanging out if not for that little addition.

'Ugh I definitely have to get new pants,' he could never find badass pants like these that were orange, the few shops he asked about them acted like he was trying to buy Black Lace.

Several Valentinos were hanging around the front of El Coyote Cojo, chatting, drinking, and smoking while leaning on their cars or against the wall to the bar. As he got closer, some noticed him approaching and started nudging the others, nodding towards him and saying something he couldn't hear from where he was. When he didn't immediately cut across the street to pass by them like several others had, they started shifting as if expecting trouble.

One finally spoke up, stepping towards him, "I'm thinking you're in the wrong place holmes, this is a private affair." he told him, looking the blond up, "If you're looking a Ripper, you're definitely in the wrong place."

"Nah," Naruto nodded his head towards the bar, "I'm at the right place," he kept pace, heading to the door, "Here for… her memorial,"

The latino stepped in front of him as he tried to walk past, "I don't think so. Like I said, this is a private gathering." he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "I'm trying to be half ass civil for the bosses sake, do us both a favor and turn around." as he said that the seven other Valentinos moved, ready to jump in if needed. "Not gonna let some random ass gonk crash his little sisters Ofrenda,"

"Look, I've had a long couple of days," Naruto started with a sigh, "I don't have any problems with you. I'm here for my girls memorial and I do not want to miss it. So please, just move out of my way and let me go inside to say goodbye," he stepped in close to the man, head bowed, "I will go through you if I have to."

-xXx-

Unaware of what was brewing outside, Mama Welles cleared her throat and let everyone know that it was time to begin and everyone started nearing the corner of the room by the stairs where she'd set up her memorial. After waiting another minute for everyone to get situated, she nodded to Gustavo on the couch and looked at the gathered crowd, many of which she'd known for years.

"Everyone, thank you all for coming today," she called out to them, causing the murmuring to die down. "We are all here today to honor the memory of someone close to us all and to say goodbye." Her hands clenched together several times as she looked at the gathered faces, "I will not tell you what kind of a woman Camilla was or how much I will miss her…" they watched as she stepped over to the small table next to the couch and picked something up from the table beside it.

Returning to the front of the table, she held an old, dusty bottle in her arms. "I've known Cami ever since she was a nino, I've been blessed with several wonderful hijos but she was the hija I never had." she started, eyes full of unshed tears, "I remember the times she would help me cook, not too long ago she was with me, asking me to teach her some more…" she held out the bottle. "She gave this to me years ago and I've kept it safe ever since. I wanted to share it with her on a most special occasion…" the woman looked at the bottle, turning to face the table, "I had the perfect time planned out too… I'm sorry dear."

Jackie watched his mama place the bottle down carefully next to a few other trinkets given to honor her memory. A rosary from the Padre, Camilla's old straight razor from back in their wilder days, several handwritten notes from her friends saying how much they'd miss her.

Gustavo stood up, his girl placing a comforting hand on his arm as he did. "I was never the best hermano. Me and Camilla…" he shook his head with a little snort, "Well we've had more than our fair share of fights, I remember missing her birthday one day even though I promised to show up and damn did she let me have it. Knocked me flat on my ass and I had to get these." he grinned, showing three golden teeth. "I never broke another promise to my little sister." a tear fell down his cheek. "Dios mio… I wish it'd had been me instead of her…" Gustavo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wrinkled photo, leaning it against the bottle Mama Welles sat there earlier, "love you hermanita,"

There was a loud banging behind the crowd as the front door opened with enough force to dent the wall… again. As one, everyone turned to see a young Valentino slide across the floor, knocking over a stool which made even more noise as it tipped over and clattered to the ground partially on top of the groaning man.

The padre, who was upstairs overlooking the ofrenda stepped back with Marcus stepping half infront of him just in case, his pistol in hand. He didn't expect anything to go down here of all places with the amount of muscle here but there was the lingering worry that some 6th Street gangoon would try something stupid.

Several others had the same thoughts as well and were palming discreetly hidden weapons. Gustavo was gritting his teeth, face turning red at the thought of someone ruining his sisters ofrenda.

"Sorry!" a voice called out, throwing everyone for a loop, "Sorry I'm late!"

Looking through the crowd, Jackie couldn't believe his eyes as Naruto staggered in, looking like he'd just fought the entirety of the last Corpo War with his vest thrown over his shoulder and his mask hanging half out of his pocket. A few feet away, Gustavo was about to bark out something but Jackie surged forward, "Santa mierda, Naruto!" he headed towards the blond, his mother hot on his heels through the group that quickly made way.

"Chico estupido!" Naruto winced at the tone Jackie's mother used, feeling like a small child as she ranted at him, unable to understand her as she laid into him in spanish. He was certain she would've smacked him like Jackie warned if he didn't look like shit already. "And just look at what you've done to yourself!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he tried to calm her down, which had the opposite effect by sending her into another rant as she pointed at his missing arm then the various other bandages. The people around them slowly relaxed and went from on guard to visibly confused as only a few of the guests recognized the newcomer.

"Holy shit holmes," Jackie looked him up and down, "are you good? I mean-"

"No Jackie, I'm not good." he admitted as he looked past them and spotted the memorial, "I lost the woman I love." The ones close enough to hear that were surprised, they'd heard about Camilla's new output but many hadn't had a chance to see him in person before. Those that had talked to Camilla before only knew that he did some kinda solo edgerunner type work and that she was head over heels for him.

He winced, "Ah, yeah but I meant," he pointed at the bandage around his side, which had started to turn red as the wound reopened a bit. Naruto looked down and winced, pressing his hand against it. "You need help? Viks around here somewhere."

"Oh that… no, it can wait awhile, just a lucky shot. " he grinned half heartedly, "I didn't miss it did I?"

"Foolish boy," Mama Welles sighed, rubbing her face at the disregard he had for his own health, "No… we've only just started."

"Good, I didn't want to miss it." As they headed towards where the memorial was taking place, someone went and helped the valentino he'd thrown through the door up.

The padre's eye raised as the blond walked towards little Camilla's urn, the crowd parting for him like the red sea. "Marcus, have our people found out what he's done." He placed a hand on the larger man's shoulder as he stepped aside, relaxing now that he knew there wasn't a threat. "And see to it that his medical expenses are taken care off… for services rendered." he'd avenged his little Camilla, yes it was a selfish vengeance on the blonds part but either way, he heard that the two at the garage suffered for their part in her death and that was enough for him.

Naruto idly noticed the man standing by the table with Cami's urn, a large, well dressed, well groomed man wearing a red floral print shirt with a large collar under a black vest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the man staring at him hard but most of his attention went to the picture next to her urn. It was an older picture he figured, before Cami dyed her hair blue, she also had a golden cross hanging from her ear, the same cross the man staring at him wore.

"So you're Naruto," the man finally said after a few moments, "You and me… we are gonna have a talk." Naruto shrugged off the plate carrier he was still carrying over his shoulder and leaned it against the table leg.

"Babe, not here," the woman sitting on the couch whispered, reaching out and touching his hand. When he looked back at her, she motioned to the other onlookers along with his friend Jackie, who was looking at him while motioning to not make a scene.

Mama Welles stepped between the two, "Let's continue Camilla's ofrenda alright?" her tone left no room for arguments as she looked at the two of them. "Naruto, please have a seat, Gustavo…" she stared at him hard and the man grumbled. Neither were certain but when they were made to sit next to each other on the couch, they both felt like she was treating them like a pair of children that couldn't get along. Especially as she stood across from them and would glance over every now and then.

The ofrenda continued, several people took turns approaching the table. Some brought up little items and left them on the table, a couple would tell a little story or give a little speech about how good of a friend she was to them. Naruto found himself lost in the stories about her, picturing it in his mind as they spoke.

After the last person spoke, Mama Welles stepped forward, "Would anyone else like to speak?"

He stood up, surprising both her and himself as he approached the memorial, looking at her picture one more time before facing the crowd. "Cami… she meant the world to me. She found me at… probably my lowest point here in Night City and showed me the better sides of the city," he closed his eyes, remembering their first 'dates' "I'll always cherish the memories I have of her, someone once told me that so long as we hold on to those memories, our loved ones will always be there… that they'll never fade away."

He turned away from the crowd and faced her urn, eyes tearing up and a lump forming in his throat, "Cami… I'm so sorry, I can't help but keep thinking if I'd just stayed, if I hadn't left the city that I could've done something… that I could've saved you. I hate those bastards that took you from me and… and now." he took a few deep breaths, tears now falling down his cheeks, "I killed them, I killed them all and I loved every second of it but now I just hate myself. God… all those people, what would you even think of me?"

Several uncomfortable looks were shared among those in attendance as he casually admitted to killing those responsible. Those more in the know took it as a confirmation that not only did he launch a campaign of vengeance against one of the main streetgangs in the city, he took them on and won.

Reaching down, he grabbed his broken, bloodspattered mask from his pocket and stared at it for a moment, "I love you babygirl, rest easy and… I'm sorry if I let you down." slowly, he set the mask down next to her picture and stepped away.

Gustavo saw the mask and felt his heart sink, looking down at the vest the blond had dropped, he just could see the faded 6 painted on the back and connected the dots, realizing that his little sisters input was the fucking Shino. It felt like a horrible fucking joke. His baby sister was killed by members of 6th Street but she was in love with the Shino… and he killed the ones that did it? The more he thought about it the more his head spun.

The bar was already quiet when he first started but now, with his admission it was silent. To break the awkward silence, Mama Welles stepped in, tears also falling down her cheeks, "I would like to say a toast," Pepe stepped up with a few dozen shots he'd prepared earlier, letting everyone who wanted grab one.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Naruto turned to see her offering a small square glass to him with a sad smile, which he took, feeling half numb. "Thank you."

Grabbing her own glass, she raised it up, "To our dear Camilla,"

"To Camilla!" they all called out.

Taking one last look at her picture, Naruto raised his glass, "To you babygirl," then downed the liquor in one go, letting it burn the whole way down. The crowd behind them dispersed, some of Camilla's friends said their goodbyes and left, thanking Mama Welles for a beautiful ofrenda and how much they'd miss their choom. A couple of the girls looked like they wanted to speak to him, wanting to talk to the guy she'd told them about before but never introduced them to but the look in his eyes set them on edge.

"Goddamn kid!" Vik muttered while looking him over, "Look, I'm gonna head to the shop and get things ready. Get there asap you understand," the genuine worry in his voice made Naruto feel a bit worse. "Well at least it's better than last time… you didn't melt anything right?"

"Nah, not this time Vik," he replied, the suspicious look Vik gave him earned a small grin, "I promise, nothing melted… blown up maybe." he wiggled the cyberstump. "But I'll be there in a few, I just need to speak to a few people first."

-xXx-

Rico sighed, holding a ice cold broseph to his forehead as he finally got home and said fuck it. 6th Street was in a panic with all the gonks that psycho kid flatlined. Morton was slinging orders left right and fucking center putting out fires wherever he could and the only saving grace was that Gunner had gone quite.

'Hopefully those two psychos zeroed each other.' he thought with a snort before sighing. He didn't actually hope the kid died, he was just annoyed and pissy with all the shit going on. His sister was finally speaking to him again… well, she was screaming at him since his niece, her daughter, had been held hostage because of him and had just left him a rather nasty, hurtful text which she later apologized for.

*BEEP*

Looking at the call he was receiving, hoping it wasn't his sister changing her mind to scream at him some more, he nearly choked on his beer when he saw who it was on the caller ID.

'The Psycho kid'

"Oh fuck that," he muttered, rejecting the call. He wasn't fucking with him anymore, his nose was still swollen and his face was more bruised than before. He went back to his beer and let the holo play as some background noise while contemplating on whether or not to break out the Rez or go get a SCOPburger.

After ignoring another call, he groaned as it lit up and notified him of a message. 'Fuck it, might as well.'

Opening it he blinked at the short and simple yet highly threatening message.

'Answer the call or we'll have this talk face to face,'

He stared at it for a second before it rang again.

*BEEP*

"Yeah kid, what is it?"

"Gunners dead." he blinked at the information, "Figured that I owed it to you to at least let you know. He and his boys took over a floor of Megabuilding H6.

"And his boys?"

"Dead"

He sighed and took a sip of his beer, smoking up his stash of rez was looking mighty tempting now "So that's it."

"Not yet, I have a message I want you to pass on to your General." he hummed in return, "The war between 6th street and the Valentinos, it's over. The shit with Gunner should've never happened in the first place so keep your people in line or else and make it clear that if he continues this gang war, I will step in and no ones gonna like the results. Goodbye Rico." The line went dead and automatically closed on his end, leaving him wide eyed at the threat and made his next decision much simpler. He was done, he'd help Morton pick up the pieces but after that?

He was done with 6th Street.

-xXx-

The end…

(of Act one)

-xXx-

Yay it's the end of Chapter 11 and the end of Act 1! Never really thought that I'd ever write this much considering my last account but then again that was damn near 10 years ago. Probably gonna keep adding on to this story instead of starting a new one for Act 2 but I'm gonna be taking a small break before then to finish healing up from being sick.

Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed Act 1, Act 2 will start after a timeskip and will be going into Edgerunners.

As always, please overlook my mistakes, I know I've probably made a ton but I hope you enjoyed the ride either way and look forward to the next part. Oh and of course, I love you guys!

Feel free to review or even PM me if you want to ask something, I'll try my best to get back to you just know that if you ask something story specific I will most likely spoil it and tell you unless.