Think it's safe to say during my writer's block, I've beaten Cyberpunk three more times. So now I'm back and writing another fanfic. As usual, all characters belong to CD Projekt Red, and all respective song titles and lyrics belong to the respective bands, who will be credited in bold at the end of each chapter. Enjoy!

BornVillain5150 Presents….

Cyberpunk: Doomsday Clock

V could feel it. He knew the feeling better than most during the Arasaka raid. But this time it was different. He wasn't in the heat of battle, much less actually shooting Corpo's in the face. He wasn't even inside Mikoshi at all stabbing Adam Smasher in the stomach with his Mantis Blades.

He was at home, in his own bed somewhere in Des Moines, Iowa, dreaming about the events of Mikoshi. But it was much worse this time. And it definitely didn't feel as easy as it happened in real time where not many lives were lost. For V, it was arguably his worst nightmare.

The aches in his head were pounding more than usual, and people were dying. His friends willingly risked their lives for him to gain a second chance without a second thought. With each bullet that was fired, or another that he saw hit someone square in the heart, it in turn fueled his rage. But that rage was a double edged sword, as it only gave him more pain.

But like Johnny said, life is pain. And this time, V enjoyed dishing out his pain onto others.

As he, Panam and Saul made their way into the Mikoshi core, Saul and V lifted up the steel door that led them closer, but as they did, after Saul patted V on the shoulder giving him reassurance, the back door behind them was blasted open.

"Now what…" Saul muttered before he was cut off by the sight. Clad in black, and with red eyes burning hotter than hell itself, stood the fully borged boogeyman of Night City.

"Smasher." V breathed. But before either of them could move, Smasher bull charged both men, sending Saul and V to their feet. Panam was also knocked back, but so was her rifle.

"Saul!" Panam shouted, but there was nothing she, nor V could do. But Saul had no fear in his eyes as he grabbed his shotgun and aimed it high at Adam Smasher, in defiance of Night City's residential slaughter robot as he aimed his hand cannon down at him.

"Aldecaldo's!" Saul shouted as he fired a shot right into Smasher's shoulder, sending a large portion of his armor flying, and exposing some of the metal ugliness underneath. Smasher grunted in annoyance.

"Fucking meat!" snapped Smasher he raised his boot and stomped on Saul's head, causing it to explode, sending chunks of blood all across the room, and right in V's face. Panam shrieked in horror, while V cursed under his breath.

"Fuck…." he muttered. Of all the deaths he had witnessed that day, Saul's was the most brutal. Smasher simply scoffed as he repositioned himself.

"Bold! And stupid." The borg said smugly. Panam fired a shot from her sniper right behind V, and it hit Adam right in the face, sending him reeling.

"How's that for stupid?" She snapped before retreating behind cover.

"Agh! You mother…" Smasher was cut off as V tackled him like an angry linebacker, furiously punching Adam in the face with whatever shots he could. If Viktor saw this, he would be proud. But it didn't last long as Smasher punched V right in the stomach with a shot that sent him halfway across the hall.

"Panam! Give me cover fire! I'll deal with this son of a bitch!" V shouted. Their plan was unanimous as V and Panam found ways to evade Adam and damage him, with V taking most of the abuse in the event that he was forced to throw hands with the murderous bodyguard. To no ones surprise, when he managed to clean a good clean shot, Smasher would hit him with another one much harder in return.

"You hit hard! Not bad for a little man!" Adam boasted. V stood up after their fourth exchange and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"I could do this all day, Smasher." He said. Adam laughed hard at V's remark, and hearing him laugh sent a severe chill down V's spine.

"You make me laugh. It'd be funny if it didn't sound so pathetic. I almost feel bad I have to butcher you and your precious girlfriend!" V pulled out his Malorian Arms 3516 after that one and furiously aimed at Adam.

"Don't you dare touch her!" He shouted. And this time, Adam's arrogance had slightly gotten the better of him as the second shot V fired sent him reeling right into Panam, who shoved a grenade right into an exposed wound on his left arm. The grenade went off soon after, blowing off Smasher's arm, sending him flying into another room as his body went straight through the wall. Both Panam and V stood there looking at the giant hole, panting.

"Nice shot." Panam said. V looked dumbfounded.

"Nice last minute grenade."

But the two didn't have time to complement each other as a swarm of Arasaka gunmen stormed the server room, guns in hand, aimed at the duo.

Panam and V traded looks, with the former winking at the latter. V smirked, and activated his Sandevistan implant. Within seconds and as fast as The Flash, V quickly used his Mantis Blades to butcher the guards in seconds. Panam could only smile.

"Smooth." She teased, her lip curving a little. But before V could counter back with a complement of his own, Smasher had activated his own Sandevistan, kicking V back and grabbing Panam with his remaining arm.

"But not as smooth as you thought, boy." Smasher taunted. V aimed his gun at Smasher's head, his finger curled on the trigger. But if he fired, Panam would die.

"Put her down, Smasher. This is between me and you." V snarled.

"I don't think you understand how this works. No one leaves the slaughterhouse. Not alive." Smasher growled. V did not move as Panam desperately tried to break free of Adam's grip

"You listen to me right now you borged son of a bitch. If you hurt her, I will make sure I am the last thing you ever see." The edgerunner was firm in his words, but he could feel himself tremble.

"Heh heh…you're scared. You are going to die…even if you do reach Mikoshi and somehow get that construct shit out of your head, the damage is done. You won't even be able to live a precious life with her. Sad…but emotions are disgusting." Adam taunted. V moved closer, losing his patience.

"Put her down!" V shouted. But his eyes darted towards Panam as the color drained from her face. Smasher was tightening his grip, and tears started to fall from her face.

"V….finish the fight. I…love…you…" Panam choked. And all V could do was watch as Smasher snapped her neck.

"Love. Hmph…disgusting." He retorted as he let her go. Panam's lifeless body crumpled to the floor. But when her body hit the ground, V saw red.

"No!"

In a blind fit of rage, forgetting everything about Mikoshi, about curing himself, it no longer mattered as he plunged his mantis blades into Adam's chest, and piledrived him into the floor back first. Smasher yelled, but V could tell he was smiling somewhere in that metal plating he called a mouth.

"This one's for Saul," he ripped off the metal plating, exposing the flesh underneath. He then grabbed the flesh near the top of his head and ripped that off as well.

"For Panam," he placed one his last two grenades in the borgs brain as Smasher definitely looked at his soon to be killer.

"For Johnny Silverhand…" V taunted as he placed his last grenade in Smashers mouth, the name sending Adam into a violent rage.

"And for me." V said as he pulled the pin.

"Fuck you!" Adam shrieked before the bomb went off.

"No….NO!" V yelled as he aimed Johnny's gun at the bedroom wall. Panam lay next to him, waking up in a frenzy as V awoke from his nightmare.

"Jesus fucking shit, V!" Panam gasped. V panicked and looked to his left, and yet there she was, alive and well.

"What the…Panam…I…" V put the safety back on and set his gun on the floor, staring horrified at his girlfriend.

"I…I saw you die…back at Mikoshi…" He started choking on his words as Panam comforted him.

"Easy…it was just another nightmare. I'm here, you're alive. It's okay." Panam said calmly. V winced as the tears stung his face.

"No…no it's not."

V knew he was dying. And these nightmares were certainly not helping him. Even then, he couldn't hold himself back as he found himself crying into Panam's shoulder, struggling to accept that he was on the Doomsday Clock.

He was running out of options. He didn't want to die. But he knew that he could not live on this clock, or this nightmare forever.

Nightmare - Avenged Sevenfold

Feels good to be back. See you guys in the coming chapters!

-BornVillain5150