A/N : Hello everyone ! New fic, new crossover! I'm knee-deep into my second run of Cyberpunk 2077 and I had to get this out of my system. And i thought, our best gals CaitVi would be welcomed in Night City! So here we go! This fic won't be too long, maybe 8 chapters or so.

WARNING : Cyberpunk 2077 spoilers.

Some infos : Female V, in relationship with Judy. The story happens after the Star ending, where V and Judy leave Night City along with Panam and her clan, but V only has few months to live.
My V : Street kid, hellbent on being the best merc NC had ever seen (at least she used to). Netrunning build, high focus on stealth and quickhacks.

Have fun, let me know if you like it!

Title and chapters : inspired by Big Bad Wolf, from In This Moment

Even in these Chains you won't stop me

"Fuck," groaned V. "I really thought I was done with this place."

In front of her, lights pierced through the windshield of her Type-66 Chtulu, and Night City dominated the earth and sky on the horizon.

"So did I," answered Judy with an equally annoyed voice.

V reached across to grab Judy's fingers into her palm.

"I really wished you'd stayed at camp..." she whispered. "But I'm also happy you're here. I realize now how much harder it would have been on my own."

Her girlfriend smiled fondly.

"I know you're used to going solo, but why turn down backup when you can have some. Especially someone as cute as me."

V scoffed.

"It's been four months. Feels like yesterday and two lifetimes at the same time..."

"Tell me about it. I really didn't miss those towers."

Before V could answer, a notification popped up in her head. A quick blink, and she accepted the call.

"Panam," she said simply.

"V! What the fuck? Where are you? Is Judy with you?"

"Yeah, she is. Sorry we had to ditch. I left you a message though."

"I got your stupid message; that doesn't help the slightest!"

"Are you pissed we skipped our duties, or that I didn't take you along?"

Panam scoffed bitterly on the other end of the line.

"Dammit V. Now I know what Saul had to deal with when I was ditching in the middle of the night..."

"How the tables have turned."

"It's not funny V! I was really scared when I came back and couldn't find you!"

"Yeah sorry about that. It really couldn't wait, had to leave on the spot. I would have left Judy behind but..."

She received a gentle punch in her ribs, from her pissed-off partner.

"... but she caught me packing and wouldn't let me go alone."

"Can you please tell me where you are at least?"

"Night City. Well, almost in Night City. Couple of miles left to go."

Silence. The face of Panam in the video link went through all emotions. Shock. Anger. Sadness.

"Is it... Are you..."

"No, it's not that. I've been stable for the past months, not worse not better. If I still got two months left to live, I don't feel it. Which I'm grateful for. Plus, I wouldn't have left without saying goodbyes, come on."

"I wouldn't put it past you... But why the rush then?"

"Got a call from an old choom of mine. Said he needed help, urgently. The guy literally saved my life more than once and never asked for anything in return. Couldn't turn him down. I owe him that."

"You should have told me! I would have come with you! Be your backup again!"

"I know Panam. But I couldn't wait for you to come back. Had to leave right away. And the family needs their leader with them. Aldecados can't afford to have you AWOL for god knows how long."

Panam sighed.

"Yeah, I know. Dammit, fuck you Saul for dying."

V laughed gently.

"I'll keep you posted. Be back as soon as we can. Judy says hi."

"Take care, kids."

The call stopped, V's head went silent again.

"She's pissed?" asked Judy, looking through the window.

"A bit. But she gets it. I just hope we'll be back before..."

She trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence. Judy's whole body tensed under her hand. She knew the topic was still very hard for her. For all of them.

V had six months to live. That was four months ago. She wasn't feeling worse, but not better either, and was still occasionally coughing up blood or passing out.

She had made her peace with it. At first, she had cried for days. After so much time, so much effort spent fighting left and right, leaving blood and teeth on the concrete to stay alive, just to end up with a death sentence anyway. But after this time in the wilds, with the Aldecados, and Judy at her side, she had felt happy. Full. She deeply, deeply regretted not having more time with them, but all she wanted now was the chance to die among the people she loved. To be with them.

And before that, she had one last mission to take care of. She had to help Viktor.

As soon as she opened the door of her car, the scent assaulted her. The mix of heated concrete, gunpowder, chemicals, grilled food, melted plastic – all this mix that made the smell of the place she once called home came back with full force.

Judy seemed to feel the same.

"Damn," she said pinching her nose. "Never thought I'd say this, but I miss the smell of the desert! How did we ever live here?"

"I guess it's a matter of habit. Come on, it's this way."

She pressed on, hoping they were not too late.

She opened the door of Misty's shop, hoping to see her and say hello, but her friend seemed to be out, despite the unlocked door. It wasn't new; she liked it this way, and people of the neighborhood knew there wasn't anything to steal, and that doing so would piss off Vik, which would be a bad idea.

"That's an interesting place," commented Judy.

"As is Misty. You'll love her. That is, if we get the chance to see her."

V led her girlfriend to the backdoor, which opened to the courtyard where the entrance to Vik's underground shop was.

The Ripperdoc had been here since before V knew what a gun was. He was kind, skilled, welcoming, and generous – all qualities very, very rarely encountered in this nightmare of a city. They went down the stairs, pushed the gate, and V felt like she was thrown four months back, when she ended up here, coughing up blood within an inch of her life.

She first felt happiness and relief to find Vik working on a customer, sitting by the operation table. Then curiosity, looking at the woman with long blue hair sitting in the chair, eyes closed, some blood dripping down her face. Then concern when she noticed the other woman in the corner, with her short pink hair and the biggest Gorilla Arms V had ever seen.

Noticing the two newcomers, the woman straightened up and made a step in their direction, clearly close to engaging the combat mode.

V instantly flared up all the automatic diagnostics she had, ready to unleash an army of daemons to take her down. But the ICE protecting her was very, very high level. All that appeared was the result of the identity research: Vi Lanes.

Vik turned around and realized who had entered his shop.

"V! Thank gods! You're here!"

He quickly got up from his seat, almost ripping some wires around in the process, to grab her into a warm embrace.

"Kid, it's so good to see you! How are you doing? You don't look so bad. No more collapses?"

"Easy, easy, doc," answered V with a smile. "I'm doing okay. Not better, but okay."

The Ripperdoc's face tightened a bit.

"I see. Well, it's..."

"Hey, Doc!" intervened the voice behind. "Sorry to cut down your little reunion, but you got a patient on the table."

The pink-haired woman now looked more scared than scary.

"Yes, right. Apologies. She'll be fine. No major damage; the bullet just grazed her head. Got lucky, though. A centimeter to the left, and she was done for. The problem was that she entered Overclocking almost at the exact same time, and that short-circuited her. It's good she has the best hardware you can find. I can wake her up, if you want."

"Will she be in pain?"

"She'll have a hell of a hangover. But I got a few pills that can help her. She's got no permanent damage and nothing broken. Your lady's gonna be just fine."

Vi Lanes' shoulders seemed to have been freed of the weight of the world suddenly.

"Alright. That's good. That's... good. Thanks a lot, doc. You can wake her up."

While Vik turned back to his screen and entered a few commands, Vi approached V and Judy.

"I'm sorry. Not the introduction I wanted, but... Wasn't sure if you were friends or foes. Hard to tell in this city."

She extended her gigantic Gorilla arm, hand opened.

V took it, looking like a kid's doll in the hand of an adult.

"I'm V."

"I'm Vi."

Judy stared at them with a dumbfounded look.

"Really?" she asked. "Am I the only one that... Eugh. Nevermind. I'm Judy Alvarez."

Vi was about to offer her hand for a shake as well but was interrupted by a grunt behind her. She immediately ignored the two nomads and got back to the chair, running.

"Cait. Hey Cait. Take it easy. You got banged up pretty good, but we're safe here. Breathe."

The blue-haired woman moved, but the sound of her partner's voice seemed to calm her down immediately. Her hand reached out weakly, looking to grab one of Vi's.

"Sodding hell," she grunted. "What happened?"

"You got shot. Took you back to the doc. We're safe. You're safe. No permanent damage, he said."

The woman raised a hand to the bandage on her forehead and winced.

"Bullet got close," explained Vi, "but we got lucky."

"The...prototype? The girl?"

Vi sighed.

"Sorry, I had to get you out. Couldn't get them. Things went to shite."

"What a cock-up... I'm sorry Vi. I got surprised."

"Don't sweat it Cupcake. We'll get them back."

She deposited a gentle kiss on the injured woman's forehead.

"Hey Vik," interrupted V. "Sorry to bother you with your customers, but you said it was urgent. We just drove like twenty hours, and I'm beat. What's the problem you needed help with?"

Vik sank into his chair, the face now burdened with worry and fear, and he took his face in his hands.

"It's Misty, V. She got taken."

V's shoulders crumbled, and her vision went red. Literal red. She felt a deep, unbound rage rise from her guts and a horrible grip of guilt twist her inside.

She stumbled. Couldn't stay standing.

"V!" screamed Judy. "What's going on? Is it another crisis?"

She grabbed her and made sure she wouldn't fall to the ground.

"I'm okay Judy. I... Misty. She's Jackie's girlfriend. Sweetest girl this city has ever seen. I can't... Jackie would never forgive me. I gotta get her back, Judy. I owe this to Jackie. I owe it to her."

"I know, love. I know. You told me about her, remember? She's the reason you called me and Panam before storming Arasaka."

"Yeah. Exactly. Vik. What the hell happened? Where is she?"

Vik shook his head. He couldn't look up.

"It's a stupid thing, really. Shouldn't have happened. Then the whole thing turned into a giant mess."

"Tell me everything. From the start."

Vi was helping her partner out of the chair next to them, but V ignored them.

"I know you dabbled a bit into the underground boxing circuit before you left. Coach Fred told you about it."

"Yeah, I did. Beat those weird-ass twins in Kabuki and the show-off in the Glen. Then it started getting too rough for me. Too much cyberware; ain't my jam."

"I know, kid. If you recall, the local champ was the Animal, Rhino. If you beat her, you're king, or queen of the NC rings, and first in line to face some real pro-champs."

"Was?"

Vil sighed.

"Yeah. A couple of months ago, a new guy in the Animals, Deckard's the name, rose through the ranks at hyperspeed. Next thing you know, he smashed Rhino's head into the pavement and took her place."

"Okay, but how does Misty fit into that?"

"She doesn't. I do. See, Razor Hugh is coming back to town. Some marketing shit, getting back to his roots or whatever. Gonna fight the local champ, aka Deckard. Except the little brat ain't willing to take a chance; he wants to make sure the pro goes down. So he came to me, to sabotage his cyberware."

V raised an eyebrow.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Unless you've been hiding things from me, you ain't part of Razor Hugh's crew."

"That's what I told him! Even if I was, I wouldn't fix a fight. I'm a lover of the sport, you know. I told him, 'how do you expect me to get close to his cybernetics?'. But he told me to not sweat it; he had that covered. Next day, I got a call. Hugh's usual Ripper was dead, and they needed a replacement, fast, and apparently, someone recommended me."

V shook her head.

"Fuck... I think I get it. You told them to shove it, again, and they took Misty as leverage."

Viktor lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply.

"Yes," he simply answered.

"Sadly, the matter is more complex than this."

The blue-haired women had risen from the operation table and approached them.

"And you are?"

"Caitlyn Kiramman. You have already met my wife, Vi."

"Kiramman? I know this name..."

V triggered the facial reconnaissance software of her implant, and the results came in almost instantly. Caitlyn Kiramman. Affiliation: Hextech.

"You're the daughter of Cassandra Kiramman, head of the Hextech Megacorp board. Explain the massive ICE around your wares. Never seen anything like that before."

"Thank you. Wrote most of it myself."

"Doesn't explain why you're here, though. You're a long way from Europe. I didn't think your corp had any biz in this side of the globe."

Caitlyn sighed.

"Some prototype tech got stolen from our lab in London. Something that could change the world. We followed the trail all the way here."

"What kind of prototype?" asked Judy from behind.

"I'm sorry; I'm not at liberty to say. Trade secret and all; I'm sure you understand. What I can say, however, is that this is likely the reason why this Deckard rose to the top so fast. How he managed to implant this tech on himself and survive, considering we hadn't reached human trials yet, is a wonder."

"So you're saying that if Misty got grabbed, it's because of you?"

"Come on, V!" protested Vik. "The girls ain't to blame."

Caitlyn raised her hand to shush him.

"We are. But not for the reason you think. We were trailing some of the Animals, and we saw them... kidnap Misty. But we were just too late. That's how we met Vik. He asked us for help and gave us some directions to find them, but..."

She pointed at the bandages on her head.

"We were underprepared. Rushed too much and were sent back with our tails between our legs."

"I called you as soon as I learned of Misty's abduction, V," added Viktor. "I figured that maybe if I just did what they asked, maybe they would let her go, but... I don't trust them one bit. I'd rather have the best merc in Night City to get her out and teach them a lesson. And not risk my life tricking Razor."

V let out a deep breath.

"Of course, Vik. You know I'd do anything for you, and just as much for her. It's just... I'm not a merc anymore. Haven't done a job in months."

Vik smiled weakly.

"I know. But I figured you were still one of the best netrunners around, and the only one I trust. Plus," he added, pointing at Judy, Vi, and Caitlyn, "you'd have backup this time. Hextech really wants their prototype back."

"When is that supposed to happen? The fight, I mean?"

"In eight days now. But Razor expects my answer by tomorrow. I stalled as much as I could."

"Tomorrow, call them. Tell them you agree. Conditions don't matter, but make it sound believable. Ask about salary, work hours, haggle a bit. Not too much, accept before the end of the call. Judy and I need some sleep; we can't do anything in our state. If the Animals call, tell them you accept, but ask for proof of life before. We need to know if Misty is alright."

Viktor nodded.

"Alright V. You got it. Thanks. For coming back."

"Of course Vik. I owe you both a lot more anyway. We'll get her back, don't worry."

She headed toward the exit, her head heavy and pounding. She felt like passing out. The exhaustion from the drive, the sudden weight on her shoulders. She was trying hard to stay straight. She had crumbled before Judy time and time again, and she liked being able to show this vulnerability. But Viktor... Right now Viktor needed the ruthless merc. Misty needed the merc.

"V..." whispered Judy behind her. "What about them?" She nodded her head toward the two mercs from Europe.

Caitlyn and Vi were looking at her, politely, but clearly expected to be looped in the process.

"I... eurgh. I don't know. I need to sleep; I'll think about it tomorrow. Do you ladies have a place to stay?"

"We had a room in a local hotel, but after the scuffle of today, I'm afraid we might be blown."

V triggered a command in her head. Her eyes went blue for a second as it executed.

"Here. I sent you the address to my place at Corpo Plaza. I added you to the guest list. Should feel like home for you."

Caitlyn smiled and almost bowed forward.

"We thank you for your kindness and accept your offer gracefully. Please call us tomorrow as soon as you are feeling well enough to get to work."

V grunted and headed out. She really, really, really needed her bed.

"Wait, V!" hailed Judy. Where are we going?"

"My place. In the Glen."

"You got a place in the Glen too? How many apartments do you have?"

V blushed a bit and shrugged awkwardly.

"A few. Too much, I guess. I just made a lot of money, doing all those contracts and spend all I could in the implants and quick hacks softs. Then I had some spare, and I... I figured, I could leave you something."

Judy choked.

"Are you telling me that you bought me not one, but several apartments across Night City... Right before we actually left town. For when you'll be gone?"

She looked almost mad.

"Come on, Jude, do we have to do this now? I'm beat."

"Yes, love. Sorry, but we're gonna talk about this now. Why did you hide this from me?"

V scratched her head as she sat behind the wheels of her car.

"I didn't. Not really. I just... didn't want to upset you. To make you think about... my death, more than we have to. I thought maybe it would be a nice surprise; might make you feel a bit better in your grief, I dunno..."

Judy sighed deeply.

"And if it can make you feel better," added V, "they are not all for you! There is one for Misty, and one for Vik, and one for Mamma Welles! It's all taken care of in my will."

Judy now looked at her dumbfounded.

"V. How many places did you buy?"

"I think, five?"

Her partner smiled in disbelief.

"The greatest merc Night City had ever seen, uh?"

"Yeah. Doesn't mean shit to me anymore. I..."

A violent cough interrupted her. She felt the iron taste on her tongue.

"I really need to sleep."