Monday - May 16th

"Please tell me you're not planning on going in there alone…" Morgana all but pleaded. Despite any previous agitation, the cat was genuinely concerned.

V hushed him and continued looking through a detached rifle scope.

For now, the duo had parked the borrowed Butte truck just behind a large rock formation a distance away from V's target. The mouth of the cave was barely visible, only the various abandoned industrial equipment signalling any signs of prior occupancy. According to Dakota, the mine used to belong to Biotechnica. An old copper mine. One that had dried up decades ago.

"Of course I'm not." V finally replied, earning her a brief feline sigh of relief. "You're comin' with."

"WHAT!?"

V hushed him once again. She grinned and was barely keeping the laughter in. Even still, there was a very distinct focus to her gaze. As she stared through the scope, her visage went from jovial to completely stoic.

Her breathing slowed.

Silently, she tapped a finger against the metal of their truck. Counting.

"Six patrolling," she began to whisper, "hm, low grade iron… scavenged fix ups. Could jam." She looked to the sky and quietly hummed to herself. "Clear skies. Damn." She sucked air through her teeth. "Gonna get messy."

As she spoke, her tone took on a cold aura. Calculating and single-minded.

Mona gulped. He wasn't looking at the V he had come to know. Now he was looking at a hunter. A predator zoning in on her prey.

"Alright Morgana, I need you to be my eyes." Before Mona had a chance to make a break for it, V tucked him firmly under her arm and clipped something to his collar. As it turned out, it was an object that looked alarmingly a lot like an eyeball. "Literally."

"W-what the heck!? Gross!"

"Relax, it's just a repurposed Kiroshi implant." Even still, that didn't seem to calm the cat down much. V shrugged and slid a shard into her personal link. Her eyes briefly flashed a distinct blue glow. The eye attached to Morgana also glowed with the same blue. "I can wirelessly connect to it, allowing me to see what it sees. It also has a miniature cyberdeck installed. Nothing fancy, but it does its job."

"You built this?"

V scoffed. "Fuck no." Mona rolled his eyes at that. "Judy rigged it up a few months ago. Congrats. You're the first field tester."

"Lucky… me…" Mona sighed. As much as he really didn't want to do this, V wasn't giving him much choice.

"Don't look so glum, choom." V patted his head and quickly scratched behind the ear. "I'm doing this for the kiddos. Well… specifically Lynn. Not being allowed to contact her folks is something I can't let slide."

The two fell into silence after that. V had returned to her recon. The patrols had yet to spot them. Sadly, their formation didn't leave many openings. Either V had to be incredibly careful or just throw caution to the wind and directly engage. She may have preferred the latter way, but these Raffens were dug in deep. They also had some heavy defences set up. Not to mention she had yet to lay eyes on the target.

"Hmm… only one entrance I can see from here. Oh? Hellooo…" V cut herself off and focused her sight on a large pylon with loud speakers affixed to its peak. It looked like a siren. What was more, it looked almost new compared to the rusted mining equipment.

Wires coiled down the pylon and fed into a large terminal. The terminal was - in turn - affixed to a generator.

"An alarm system. Looks like it's wired into the rest of the mine too."

One of the most sinister grins Morgana had ever seen crawled across V's lips. The sight alone sent a shiver down his spine.

"I dread to ask… but… what are you planning?"

The merc looked down, winked and simply spoke a single word; "violence."

"CA-CAN YOU FEEL IT!? CA-CAN YOU TOUCH IT!? GET READY 'CAUSE HERE WE GO!"

The drum beat thumped and the speakers screamed as gunshots and explosions rocked through the tunnels. Dust and debris flew through the air and urgent yells filtered through the cacophony of music.

The mine had fallen into complete chaos within seconds.

On an almost instinctual level, both Morgana and V had settled into a morbid rhythm. A dance macabre.

The cat bolted from vantage to vantage, allowing V to send Pings through the Kiroshi. Each enemy lit up like a christmas tree as the Quickhack did its work. Although it wasn't as long lasting as if she had her own dedicated deck, it was still enough.

"SEED IS SOWN - I'M CHIPPIN' IN!"

An erratic spray of assault rifle fire zipped through the air. Its barely controlled spread was easily dodged.

"ROLL THE BONES - I'M CHIPPIN' IN!"

V returned fire. Seraph spat flaming lead.

"EMBED THAT CODE - I'M CHIPPIN' IN!"

She pulled the pin from a grenade and hucked it toward a group of enemies taking cover. The great boom shook the tunnel.

"MAYHEM FLOOOOWS!"

The music fueled her adrenaline. The beat urged her on. From his current vantage, Mona couldn't help but look on in awe at the sheer skill the merc possessed.

Crude and brutal to be sure, but V was in complete control of the whole engagement. She knew - thanks to Mona's help - exactly where to shoot, where to take cover and where to move in. Mona's awe was only tempered by the constant internal reminder that these were people dying and not shadows.

As things progressed and the body count climbed, V seemed to have gotten more focused. More restrained. Her initial brutality had settled into an almost surgical elimination. Even as the heavy rock music blasted over the alarm system.

Finally, the last Raffen fell to the ground and with a motion of her wrist, the music cut off instantly.

The sudden silence felt heavy.

The whole thing hadn't even lasted two minutes.

V signalled for Morgana to regroup. She held the confidence of a professional but even she had to admit to herself that fatigue was starting to worm its way in. She took slow breaths and forced herself not to cough.

"There's another level lower down." She spoke calmly. "The stragglers will be diggin' in their heels down there."

Morgana frantically objected, earning a quiet irritated groan. "Can't we just leave? The cargo should be in here, right?"

With a shake of her head, V's expression melted into one of solemn seriousness. "Raffens are like cockroaches. Don't kill them all, might as well not kill any. Besides, it's part of the gig. No half assing it."

"But… these are people. Humans…"

She shrugged. "Murderers, rapists, slavers, traffickers. The Raffen are not good people, Morgana." Although Morgana was being incredibly naive, V couldn't help but sympathise with him. An innocence she had all but forgotten. Sadly, it would only get him killed if she didn't teach him the harsh truths of this world. "Trust me, we're doing a service zeroing them."

"Is there really no other way?"

"Wrong city. Wrong people."

"Someone kill this fuckin' bitch!"

The lower floor was a lot more populated than V had predicted. Dakota's intel of their being around forty turned out to be completely off the mark. Mona and V had stumbled into an entire damn hive.

After finding an old maintenance passage that led down to the lower level, the two found themselves entering a huge cavern. The natural cave had been converted into some kind of facility. Old Biotechnica structures filled the space, blending natural with man-made and rendering it into a multi-levelled labyrinth of steel and stone. Honestly, it was somewhat impressive that it had lasted this long.

There was little time to take in the view. The moment V stepped through the hatch, the Raffen opened fire.

She was barely able to fire up the Sandevistan and bolt for cover.

Bullets missed by mere millimetres.

"Mona, get up to that catwalk. I need eyes on these fuckers." The order was partially drowned out by gunfire pinging off the metal of her cover. Morgana looked absolutely terrified. Not that she could blame him. "You're doing great, just keep above them!"

Clearly hesitating, Mona erratically looked around. The assault had pinned them both down. There was no way of getting up to the catwalk even if he wanted to. Which he clearly didn't.

V let an irritated growl rumble in her throat.

"Have to do everything myself…" She mumbled under breath and hucked a grenade into the air. With a precise movement and near perfect aim, the merc shot the grenade midair. Mona had expected an explosion. What he got was a sudden blinding flash of light and an incredibly loud ringing bang. The suppressing fire stopped momentarily.

V grabbed Morgana and with an exerting grunt, threw the cat up towards the catwalk.

His protests continued even after all was said and done. Still, he was up where he needed to be and for V, that was good enough.

She took a glance through the Kiroshi and huffed. There were way too many to take on all at once.

She sucked air through teeth. A small group had decided to move in closer. Under orders from a large, chromed up man with the stature of an Animal gang member. Firstly, she pinged the man with a marking Daemon before looking around for a plan.

Her initial assault had relied on surprise and speed. Now that the former had run out, things had gotten a little harder.

She took her own assault rifle and sprayed a burst over her cover. She grazed the arm of one of the advancing enemies. Hitting another square in the stomach. The distinct sound of lead striking chrome elicited a grumble. These Raffen were way better equipped than the ones upstairs.

"Fine. Rip and tear it is…"

She broke from her cover and charged.

The nearest Raffen took the full force of a shoulder tackle. He was knocked back into his friends. The impact sent an errant spray of gunfire arcing off harmlessly into the distance. V kept the momentum going and lashed out with electrically charged Monowire. Like a viper, it coiled around a Raffen girl's throat. With a sharp tug and a sickening wet sound, the girl's head fell from her body and thumped to the stone floor.

The man V had tackled looked on in horror. Before he had a chance to regain his balance, V levelled Seraph to his face. Incendiary gunshots mashed the chrome in his face and sent viscera splating against metal.

A distant group had also begun their advance. An attempt to provide backup, at least at face value.

They sent gunfire towards V with little regard to their allies still engaged with her.

Still making her way forward, V threw a haymaker, connecting with a Raffen's jaw. The impact knocked him off balance and with an iron grip, V grappled him. The incoming fire filled the struggling man with holes. He quickly fell limp in the solo's grip.

The advancing Raffen didn't seem all that phased by the friendly fire.

V grunted and gathered herself.

She was beginning to run low on explosives and the physical exertion was really starting to wear her down.

"Come on V. You got this." She panted and continued her advance. With a flurry of gunfire, lashing monowire and full bodied tackles, V slowly made her way further down into the depths of the cavern. She had taken a few hits, but now was not the time to stop and lick her wounds.

Eventually, she vaulted over the railing of the final set of metallic stairs. She landed heavily and barely was given a second to react.

Incoming fire forced her to take cover.

The last line of the Raffen defence were all down here. Including the hulking man V had pegged as the leader. As it so happened, so too was a pipeline. A petroleum pipeline.

She lent out of her cover and fired off a volley of incendiary rounds. The metallic clattering let her know she hit her mark. The pipe began to creak and clatter as it shook under the gathering pressure. Hub caps popped from their sockets and ignited petroleum spouted like firebreath.

"The fuck!? I thought we siphoned all that fuckin' shit!" The leader was almost screaming over the cacophony of growing sounds.

Then the inevitable happened.

As though a gate to the depths of hell had opened, a raging inferno sparked to life. Some of the remaining Raffen were engulfed in fire. Some more were struck, crushed and impaled by rusted debris. Although morbid, the screaming and cries for help served a purpose. V counted the various voices in her head. Her internal body count was gradually climbing. Dakota was likely going to throw in a nice bonus for this.

That thought elicited a somewhat guilty twinge in her mind.

Had she really become a cold blooded murderer for hire? Had death and suffering really just become a statistic to her?

She shook her head frantically.

Even if that was the case, these were Raffen Shiv. She grunted. The kids had somehow gotten into her head.

As V listened to the chaos from her cover, she watched as the Raffen were consumed in the inferno. The life of an Edgerunner was never an easy one, but this whole escapade felt normal. Almost comforting. A chaotic storm of bullets and chrome. This was familiar. This was what V knew.

It was completely the opposite of enjoyable, yet it was some of the most freeing few minutes V had experienced in a long time.

"EDGERUNNER!" The near scream startled her. It was filled with malice and rage. Most of all, it was coming from within the fire. Like the wrath of the damned had manifested to call out to her.

Out from the roaring wildfire, the monstrous form of the Raffen leader emerged.

V's heart stopped for a moment. For a fraction of a second, a Raffen wasn't staring her down. It was Adam Smasher. She shook off the sudden icy grip of fear. Smasher was dead. This was just a Raffen.

"EDGERUNNER!" The man screamed once more. He spotted V still clinging to the jutting stone. His arm unfolded to reveal a projectile launcher.

"Fuck!"

An explosive payload flew forward and blasted against her cover.

Its force sent V stumbling to the ground. She braced against the shower of debris. Instinct took over. She rolled to the side and narrowly avoided another explosive. The repeated shockwaves threatened to blow out her ears. She picked herself up, wiped a fleck of blood from her mouth and charged forward.

Her fear had all but vanished. She had faced much worse than this before.

Monowire whipped through the air with razor precision. As if slicing through reality itself, the wire effortlessly slashed across the Raffen's chest. A mixture of blood and mechanical fluid splashed from the open wound. He roared and tried taking aim once again. V had since regained her advance and closed the gap far too quickly.

With a grunt and a yell, she grabbed the projectile arm and began wrestling with the hulking Raffen.

"Want to shoot your load? Try a fuckin' facial!" She jeered. The Raffen snarled and rage burst across his burnt and scarred features. The grapple continued on for a further few seconds before the beast tore away. In the brief millisecond his sight turned away from V, she had vanished.

The Neural Overclocker had sent her into all out speedy offence. The implant allowed her to zip behind him with the speed of a bullet and finesse of a professional ice skater.

"You're done, boy…" she uttered before delivering the final blow. A single, precise shot from her ever faithful Seraph. The bullet punched straight through the back of the Raffen's skull and cleanly out between the eyes. Ichor, fluid and viscera erupted like a gory volcano. The man's stature - to his credit - was so solid, it took almost a full thirty seconds for his legs to finally give out and his body to crumble into a limp mess.

She briefly turned back to look at the inferno. Judging by the rate it was burning and the general layout of the cavern, she figured there wasn't much concern of it spreading to the surface.

As such, she brushed herself off and started the journey back up to the tunnels above.

All the while, Morgana was staring at her with a mixture of apprehension, fear and admiration. Thankfully, he remained silent for the time being.

Once again, as soon as V stepped foot out of the Butte, she was swarmed by excitable children. Some people may have found it irritating, but V felt oddly calmed by the reception. Each and every time she paid the camp a visit.

This time, among the child reception party was none other than Dakota herself. Patiently waiting with a motherly grin as V went about talking to the kids.

"You know, I have to admit I'm a little jealous," the Aldecaldo smirked and nodded a hello, "the little dust biters usually stay away from me."

Eventually, the children were satisfied and took the hint that important business was about to happen. They thinned out and, with the hesitance of a monk in a doll house, went back to their chores and other duties. V chuckled with a fondness in her tone. "They're good kids. They have respect for ya' that's all."

"Ha! Tell that to Panam next time they decide to 'prank' the guys in the shop." The two quietly watched the shanty town go about its midday business. "I take it - from that trailer hitched to the truck - you were successful?"

V slowly nodded. "The mine went deep. A huge abandoned Biotechnica excavation. Crawlin' with the fuckers." She sighed. Even if the job went well, she found herself feeling somewhat disappointed in herself. It should have gone a lot smoother. Still, the goods were delivered and the nest was exterminated. "I got them all, though. Did several sweeps for stragglers. I can zip you a spec for a salvage team if you want."

"That would help, yes."

The exchange of data and eddies took seconds. Plus a small bonus for the salvage data. Even though the eddies were going to be useless back in the other world, a paycheck was a paycheck.

Then there was the other payment. The comms tech. As far as Nomad equipment went, the radios were in good shape. Perfect for her intentions.

"It was good to work with you once again, sister. Won't you stay for lunch?"

Shaking her head, she handed the access key for the Butte back to Dakota. "I'd love to, but I need to get back to NC. Shit to do. People to see." She paused. "Things to think about."

Raising an eyebrow, Dakota seemed to want to press the issue. Mercifully - as if an act of divine intervention - Panam's voice called for Dakota's immediate attention. The old Nomad sighed and took a huff from her oxygen mask. "One of the boys probably fucked up an oil change again. Well… good luck, V. Don't be a stranger, sister."

V hauled herself up and over the final sandy ledge.

Her bike on the ground below looked like a toy from this distance. With a huff of relief, she laid down on the dust and gravel, letting her legs dangle over the edge. Morgana had since jumped off her back and was now sitting next to her. The dust of the Badlands had caked his entire body, putting the cat in one hell of a foul mood.

"What was that all about? We could have taken the path up here…"

"I like climbing."

V rested an arm on her forehead to shield the low hanging sun. The sweat from the climb glistened against grimey skin. With each breath, her chest rose and fell with purpose. A practised rhythm. That aside, her tone was blunt and her words short. Though she didn't seem irritated. In fact, the beginnings of a smile had unconsciously pulled at her lips. The adrenalin high from the climb had started to kick in.

"I see…" Morgana's tail curled as if clenching a fist.

V could hear him restlessly fidget. The sound of disturbed gravel and dry grass was seemingly amplified over the gentle wind and overall silence of the Badlands.

From here, the sounds of the city were all but a distant memory, long faded over the air. Even still, the skyline was still within eyesight. As the sun began its descent and the orange hue of the evening sky washed over the horizon, the city almost looked beautiful. Like a postcard or a billboard. The image of a pinup girl spouting some cheesy slogan crossed V's mind prompting a short giggle to break the silence.

Her brief mental comedy show only seemed to agitate Morgana further. With a grunt, the merc cracked open an eye to glare at the cat.

"It's obvious you got something to say. So spin it."

It caught him off guard and any animosity he had built up had temporarily shattered. He then gathered himself and frowned. "Why do you do this? The murder, the violence, the… everything?"

V groaned and rolled onto her side, turning her back to Mona. "Why does a bird fly? Why does a dog bark? Why does a fucking gang goon try to rape a little girl!?"

The two fell into a full minute of silence.

"It's just life. Fucked."

"But… why not try to ch-"

"Shut up, Mona. Just shut the fuck up." She finally sat up and shifted further onto the plateau. Her expression - surprisingly - was relatively neutral. Even if her tone was harsh and dripping with resentment, it wasn't outright angry. "What could I possibly do to change things? Hm? Exploit the Metaverse to brainwash corrupt corpo big wigs? Go blow up another corp HQ? Ask really nicely?"

She stopped herself from going further. She grit her teeth and took several deep breaths.

It seemed Mona had been shocked speechless.

"There isn't some black and white issue that needs fixing, here. Corruption, violence and greed are all so ingrained in Night City's DNA, the only thing that'd 'fix' it is a damn nuke. And someone tried that already. Did jack. Fucking. Shit." No doubt if Johnny was still around, he would be ranting and raving about the contrary. "You're a kind soul. All you kids are…" she paused and bit her lip. "That's what I like about you all."

"I sense a 'but' coming."

"But when it comes to life in NC… kindness is just seen as something to exploit, chew up and spit out. I'd give anything for things to change. Really, I would, but it's just a pipe dream. All we can do is fuck with things on the small scale. Little things. Like taking back a shipment of stolen car parts."

For now, V's words seemed to have placated Morgana's concerns. The two fell quiet and V resumed her laid back position. This time using her arm as a headrest.

Finally, she could do what she actually came here to do; think.

Judy's words from yesterday still swam through her mind.

"It's like you don't have any faith in your friends!"

Was that really the case? V's brow furrowed. For the longest time she was used to doing things for herself. Especially when she decided to make a go at moving to Atlanta. Although that plan didn't pan out as expected, she was still determined to keep her burdens her own. Up until now, she hadn't really thought about how that affected others. It was a foreign concept. She was so far up inside her own head that the very thought of people caring about her was all but alien.

She let a long breath filter through her lungs.

The fact of the matter was people did care about her. A lot. And she cared about them. She even cared about Johnny to an extent.

And now, with the kids and their wacky Metaphysical hijinx, she had another growing bond. She had only known the kids for a week, but it was still enough to have a huge impact on how she thought about things.

As her thoughts began to grow more abstract and unfocused, the general sounds around her began to ooze through. More specifically, the sounds of a cat doing his damn best to clean off dust and grime.

To very little effect.

"Alright, home time. I have some apologising to do."

V dragged herself up, brushed the worst of the dust off and then picked Morgana up. At first, the cat was confused. Then as V took a step toward the ledge, he turned downright hysterical.

"You can't possibly be thi- YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!"

The merc had indeed stept off the ledge and was now hurtling down the cliff at high speed. All the while, her grin was threatening to break the confines of her jaw.

The clink of glass bottles chimed through V's apartment.

With the quick remembrance toast that was almost instinctual now, the three drank up their beers. Although things were still tense between V and Judy, they had agreed to shelf the subject for later. For now, there were more pressing matters to discuss. First and foremost; "Confession… I was… uh… going to sneak out and take Morgana back to his world alone."

As expected, Judy immediately began to speak up. Although her efforts were quickly stalled with a pleading gesture.

"Emphasis on the word 'was', babe…" V glanced at River, hoping for some sort of camaraderie, though he too seemed quite pissed off. Granted, the solo couldn't blame either of them. "Then we had our talk yesterday. It got me thinking. I have some growing to do. Even if it wasn't intentional, I didn't have faith in my friends. I've been selfish."

"So that's why you were so weird in your messages yesterday…" River's tone sounded almost relieved. "I just thought it was… y'know… that time of the-"

"Fuck off, River." Judy had rushed to smack River back on topic.

"Anyway…" V glared at her friend. "Instead of charging off alone, I'm going to ask; do you guys want to go back to the other reality with me?"

A brief quiet spread over them. Taking the opportunity, V studied the two of them.

Judy's features were hard to pin down. She held the demeanor she usually had when pissed off, but her eyes seemed to convey appreciation. River, meanwhile, was a little easier to read. His furrowed brow was rife with conflict.

After a solid minute, Judy broke the ice. "Well I'm comin'. No question."

"River, I understand if you'd rather stay. Joss, Randy and the kids all count on you."

River shook his head. "I'm coming too. We have a way to come back home now. Besides, someone's gotta help Judy keep you in check."

She could have done without that little dig, but she let it slide for now. A conflicting mix of emotions began to brew in V's stomach. On the one hand, she was glad to have friends willing to join her. On the other, her instincts were screaming at her to keep them safe and out of it. The latter point somewhat tickled her having thought it through. They all had the means of entering the Metaverse on their own now. So even if she had snuck off like she originally planned, Judy and River could have just followed her regardless.

That would have just made the tension between her and Judy even worse.

At least this way, V could begin the process of working out her personal issues with the support of those she cared about.

All that was left now was to tool up and head back to Lynn's reality. V could only hope the kids hadn't gotten themselves into too much trouble during their absence. Especially given how Morgana wasn't there to offer his guidance.

Victor's Patient Record

Name: Morgana (Really, V?)

Age: Unknown

Sex: Male

Height: It's a fucking cat

Cyberware: None

Patient Records: I never thought I'd be able to add "vet" to my resume but here we are. I got no clue what V's expecting from me. The kid dumped this cat on my desk and just left him with me. Oddly enough, he's one of the most well behaved animals I've ever seen. Granted I ain't seen a lot other than roaches and rats. I gave him a physical examination and the little fucker actually played along like he knew what I was doing. Got quite the voice on him too. Wouldn't stop meowing. Like he was trying to communicate.

Didn't find anything wrong with him though. At least nothing I can see. I'm a Ripper Doc, not a vet. Vitals are healthy, no broken bones, no respiratory issues, his senses are all there. Only thing I can really say is his diet could probably use more variety. According to his blood work, he mostly eats sushi and not much else. Switch it up a bit, V! Damn. On the off chance you wind up reading this, V; MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!