Chapter 4: Runnin' from My Heart

-El Coyote Cojo, Heywood, Night City-

"Hey Pepe! Slide me down a Dark 'n' Stormy!" V called at one end of the bar at the El Coyote as he and Jackie were enjoying a drink after their latest job together for Wakako Okada.

The job had been pretty simple in and out in Tyger Klaw territory–and they were able to get it done without much hassle since Wakako had pulled some ears to have the Tygers stand down.

"Comin' right up." The bartender nodded as he got to work. "Anything for you, Jackie?" He asked.

"Mexican Mule for me, Pepe." The bruiser told him. "Ya know, it sure pays to have a deep state Tyger Klaw basically in our pockets, eh ese?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, no kidding. That job would've been real different otherwise." The Nomad grinned in agreement as Pepe served them their drinks. "But the way it went down is one to be glad for." He added, grabbing his drink.

"I hear ya." Jackie nodded as he grabbed his own and held it up. "Cheers!" He exclaimed as he and V clinked their drinks together before taking a sip each.

V set his glass down and reached into his Edgerunner jacket's pocket to get one of his cigarillos, specifically Tatiana brand, before he felt something that he hadn't before.

Pulling it out, he looked at it whilst lighting the mini roll of tobacco, and saw that it was a ripperdoc card, with an address and a pass code on the back.

"The hell…?" He muttered, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to figure out what this was for.

"Somethin' wrong, mano?" Jackie asked, noticing his choom's expression.

"Found this card in the same pocket as my cigarillos. I never noticed it before." V replied, showing him the card.

"That's David Martinez's jacket, right?" Pepe asked, wiping a glass clean as he went to the two.

"Yeah. I got it from one of his old crewmates." The Nomad nodded.

"Must've made an impression on whoever was holding it to actually get it." The Hispanic man commented. "Anyway, if that card has an address, it could be worth looking into. You never know what could come in handy in this city." He stated.

"Well, I have had some good luck finding some stuff of theirs, could be worth a look." The man nodded as he continued to drink.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, in Judy Alvarez's apartment, the Widowmaking assassin was busy making herself some coffee when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Figured you'd be up around this time." The Moxx girl said, both of them dressed in robes.

"You know how things are. Just can't get back to sleep sometimes." Val shrugged. "Thanks for letting me crash here, that last job caused Watson to get closed down so I couldn't get home and I really didn't want to deal with that metro that late at night." She sighed.

"I know, and that's a real pain." Judy sighed before the assassin an incoming call from her brother.

"Hang on. V's calling." The Nomad woman told her Moxx friend before answering. "Sup, bro. Still going on a scavenger hunt for the Martinez gang's stuff?" She asked casually.

"How'd you know?" V questioned on his end as he appeared on her optics.

"Lucky guess." Viv shrugged. "Anyway, need help with something?" She asked.

"How's your hacking skills these days?" Her brother questioned as Judy started fixing breakfast for the two.

"Pretty good. Why? Need something cracked wide open?" The assassin asked in reply.

"Hard to tell at the moment. I found a ripperdoc card in David Martinez's jacket–yes, I'm wearing it right now– and I may end up needing a skilled hacker to crack something open later on" V explained. "Think you're up for it?" He asked.

"Assuming I won't get shot at, I say sure." Val shrugged. "Just let me have some breakfast first." She added.

"Fair enough. I'll flick you the address of where to go in a separate message." V nodded before the call ended and Viv received an address.

"Alright. See you then." She nodded as they hung up. "Nuking a couple XX-L Burritos for breakfast, Judes?" She asked as she saw the burritos being popped into the microwave.

"Not like we got much else." The BD editor shrugged in reply. "Anyway, what's the deal? Doin' some stuff with your bro?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's been really into finding out more about this crew he learned about last month." The Assassin nodded. "Ya know, David Martinez and his chooms?" She added as Judy took a sip of her coffee, which caused her to choke on it.

"What?! He's looking into them?!" She coughed as Val rubbed her back.

"Yeah, and he's gotten some good shit so far." The Night girl nodded in reply. "He thinks he's gonna need something hacked, so he's calling me in for that." She added.

"OK… Just be careful, those guys really ruffled some feathers when they were still around." The editor told her. A beat passed by as their burritos finished cooking before she spoke again. "Hey, Val, I've been meaning to ask. Your bro, he got himself an output already?" She asked.

"He hasn't said anything, but I don't think so." Val replied with a shake of her head. "Why?" She wondered.

"Just wonderin' if they would be willing to make a couple of BDs." Judy replied with a small chuckle.

"Easy Judes." Val told her. "No he's never really gotten a girlfriend… But he did have a crush on someone for a really long time." She amended.

"Really? Who?" The Moxx woman wondered.

"He crushed pretty hard on a woman from another Nomad clan when he was 16. Charlotte Linlin of the Thelas Nation. But most people just called her Big Mom." Val explained. "Back when we knew her she was one of the clan's head honchos, to my knowledge she had about thirteen kids at the time." She added.

"Ooh, so ol' Vinny's got a thing for MILFs, eh?" Judy chuckled.

"If you saw how she looked and how she treated me and V, you would understand fully." Viv told her. "Not only was she an absolute bombshell, but she practically acted like a second mom for us, but V? It wasn't hard to see that he was falling for her. He was at that age." She continued.

"Did he ever confess?" Just wondered.

"He never got the chance to. He'd planned to do it on his twentieth birthday when we left the Bakkers to go back to sea… But then it happened." The redhead explained, a scowl coming over her face.

Judy knew exactly what her girlfriend was talking about: when Snake Nation's remaining Skivs and soon to be exiles sold out the Night Family and forced their father, William Night, to hold off an army of Arasaka goons and Adam Smasher on his own… and did so, but lost his life in the process–and died standing up.

Their mom passed soon after, most likely by a heart attack or a straight up broken heart. It was left unclear.

"And he hasn't found another chance since because of that." The Moxx woman sighed. "Man, I can't even begin to imagine how much that must've hurt him." She commented.

"It's been eating away at him. You wouldn't tell at a glance, but the signs are there, and he hides them well." Val sighed in agreement.

"Ever considered trying to find her? Set up a reunion?" The editor questioned.

"Not really, mainly because V eventually grew out of it." Val shrugged in reply. "Now, he only really sees her as a second mom, and quite frankly, I'm in the same boat." She admitted.

"Still, it'd do you both a lot of good if you got back in touch with her. So get on it sister!" Judy playfully ordered with a grin.

"Yes, ma'am!" Val laughed in reply.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, back with V and Jackie, the two were now in the Nomad's new car driving to the address on the card.

It was pretty quiet in the car for a bit until some Samurai tunes came on, in which Jackie broke the silence.

"Say, mano, you ever considered getting a cutlass for yourself?" He questioned.

"What, like how you got your machete?" V asked. "I mean, I got my grandad's knife, but I can definitely see why a sword would be a better melee weapon…" He mused. "But why a cutlass specifically?" He questioned.

"Well, given how you've got a penchant for pirate related stuff, I figured it would fit." The bruiser shrugged. "Plus, I think it would be good to see someone in Night City rockin' some pirate gear." He added with a grin.

"Guess so, yeah." The Nomad nodded a bit as they finally reached the address… and V recognized it. "The crew's garage? I thought I found all the stuff here?" He questioned.

"Maybe you accidentally skimmed over something. Let's have a look around and see what we find." Jackie said as he got out of the car, V following suit.

As the two got out, a van soon pulled into the driveway of the garage, opening to reveal Viv and Judy stepping out of the car.

"Hey, V. Why call me to this place?" The Assassin asked, looking at the garage.

"This used to be the Martinez gang's hideout." V replied. "The card I found led back here. I think I accidentally skimmed over something, so we're having a look around to see what we missed." He explained.

"Let's each take an area and see what we find." Judy suggested, getting nods from the others.

"Right on, chica. I'll check the top level." Jackie nodded as he headed up a ladder that V hadn't noticed before.

"I'll check around back, see if I find anything there." Judy nodded.

"Guess that just leaves us to try and see if we can find any hidden basements." V noted. "Think those Koroshi optics of yours can handle it?" He asked his sister.

"You know it." The assassin sibling nodded in reply as she started scanning around the building to see what was up.

Looking around, V kept trying to find something like a switch, lever, or even a false floorboard, but to no avail.

His sister, however, had a much better search result.

"Hey bro." The woman called as she pulled back a rawhide rug in the middle of the floor, revealing a locked basement door. "Think I found something." She added.

"I can tell." The male Night sibling noted as he walked over to her. "Is this a lock that needs to be picked open, or something?" He wondered.

"Yeah. Standby while I crack it open." Viv replied before she started running her Breach Protocol.

Seconds later the lock disengaged, allowing the two to open the doors, which alerted Jackie and Judy.

"Hey V! You find something?" The bruiser called as he came back downstairs, he didn't seem to find anything in particular, just a Trauma Gold card and a few other odds and ends.

"Yeah! Me and Val found a hidden basement door under a rug!" V called back.

"Let's have a look at what's inside!" Judy grinned as she looked down the stairs. "... Wait, there aren't any traps, are there?" She asked after a beat passed.

"Checking… Hang on." The Netrunner Assassin said as she pointed her fusion sniper rifle at something and fired, causing several splinter mines to go off, causing a brief fire plume to shoot out of the entrance–forcing the group to hit the deck.

When the fire receded, the gang got back up and looked at the slightly scorched entryway.

"Wow. Whatever is down there must be pretty valuable for that kind of trap work to be done." V noted in surprise.

"Those were the only traps, so let's get in there and find out what the deal is." Viv nodded as she put her rifle away and walked down the stairs, the others following behind her.

"There's the door." Judy nodded as they came to another pass code locked door. "Hey Viv, think you can get this unlocked?" She questioned.

"Tried. Thing's locked up absurdly tight. Can't break through the ICE." The woman sighed.

"Makes sense. Lucy was apparently a once in a generation Super Dweller netrunner, so her ICE has gotta be top shelf cream." Judy noted.

"Coraquo! Now what're we gonna do? You mean we came down here for nothin'?!" Jackie cursed, stomping his foot.

V, meanwhile, slowly took the card from his pocket and flipped it over. Looking between its weathered edges and the passcode keypad, reading the code before he started typing it in.

86-843-6666

Seconds later, the machine started beeping and then the numbers started turning into letters and started arranging into a sort of phrase.

To the Moon

When the phrase was complete, the door opened.

"Bingo." V smirked as he looked into the room… And saw several things on a table, including a cylinder with a Sandevistan in it.

"My scans aren't picking up any traps. We're good." Val reported, and the gang walked in. V picked up the Sandevistan and had a look at it before spotting the Edgerunners logo on the lid.

"Wow. This was David's Sande." He noted. "MILITECH Sandevistan Mk. 50 Prototype… Edgerunner model." He read allowed on the serial number. "Damn." He hummed.

Similarly, Viv found her own Cyberware jackpot: a Prototype grappling hook that piggybacked off the design of the Monowire and evolved to become its own thing.

"Oh yeah. I like this. A lot." She nodded with a grin.

Likewise, Jackie had gotten his own jackpot.

"Aw yeah! Maine's arms!" He grinned in excitement as he looked at the arms. "Gorilla Knuckles with an arm cannon built in, and a machine turret swap out attachment! "Perfecto! Just what the doctor ordered." He grinned.

"Hmmm…" Judy hummed as she skimmed a few things. "*Whistle* Rare BDs scrolled by JK? Damn, the girls at Lizzy's are gonna freak out when I bring these in." She grinned.

As the gang looked over their loot, V took notice of a motorcycle key and a datashard that were next to each other. Curious, he slotted the shard into his neuroport and saw what was on it.

As he skimmed through its contents, he saw that it was something from Pilar. There were no specifics or info, other than a set of coordinates that led to the old oil fields to the north of the city.

"Hey, I found something else." He told his group as he took out the shard and picked up the key, getting their attention.

"What'd ya find, ese?" Jackie asked as he picked up his new Cyberware.

"A datashard from Pilar to something he left behind. The coordinates on it point to the old oil fields to the north." V replied as he held up the key. "It's likely a motorcycle, if this is any indication." He added idly.

"Well, we've gotten this far. I say we load up our loot and check it out." Judy commented as she picked up her BDs and started heading out.

"Right behind you, Juds." Viv nodded as she gathered up her own loot and followed her brother out the bunker.

(Later)

"Alright, this is a problem." Val saidas they looked at a padlocked garage door that was tucked away in an abandoned oil field service station.

"I got it." V said as he deployed his Mantis Blades–and sliced everything in front of them to pieces like a hibachi chef.

Then he lifted the door open… And the group collectively dropped their jaws at the wheels waiting inside.

Pilar must've found someone who watched the original Ghost Rider movie a lot as a kid, and stole their recreation of the most iconic part of that film: the Hell Cycle.

It was clear that no expense was spared in the detail. The skull housing the headlight, the chains connected to the front wheel, the backbone plate covering the rear wheel, the visual appearance of the engine– EVERYTHING!

It was like they were looking at the real fucking deal! … And it was the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen.

"HOLY SHIT!" Val yelled, taking off her visor to let her behold what she was seeing with her own eyes.

"Pilar, you magnificent bastard! This is beautiful!" V yelled, his own eyes wide as a grin broke out on his face.

"This… This is…!" Judy tried to say, words failing her.

"This is the most tricked out ride I've ever seen!" Jackie exclaimed, walking up to the masterpiece of a motorcycle. "Check it out, amigos! It's a literal Hell Cycle!" He hollered in excitement, raising his fists in the air.

"We know, Jackie! We can see!" Judy grinned as she and Val started looking it over.

"Let's start this hellcat up, and hear her engine roar!" V grinned as he sat on the seat and put the key in the ignition before turning it… And swore his very soul was crying in glee when the engine roared to life, the headlight being a menacing red.

"Oh, that is gorgeous!" Val practically moaned, the engine sounding like music to her ears.

"Yeah. It's perfect." He nodded, looking like a kid who just got his birthday and Christmas gifts early. Then the BD editor noticed something.

"Hey, what's this button do?" She wondered, pointing to a button on the left handlebar. V looked at it and pressed it… causing holographic fire to be projected from the headlight, both wheels and the exhaust pipes.

"... This is the most nova set of wheels in Night City, bar none!" The Nomad man declared.

No one refuted this declaration.

(Later)

V began walking to the address on the front of the card, and soon came to what looked to be an old Ripperdoc clinic that looked to be in the process of closing down.

Stepping inside, he saw that someone was currently taking a nap on a chair, sunglasses blocking out the green and blue lights of the clinic's interior.

"Knock knock, buttercup!" V barked, banging on the wall. This caused the man to jolt up as he took his shades off.

The man was an elderly trinidad/Jamaican fellow with long graying blonde hair, cybernetic eyes, mechanical arms, dressed in simple baggy green pants and boots. He also seemed to be visibly aged, possibly the same age as if not older than Vik.

"Hey, choom, can't ya read de sign? We're closed! Permanently! I'm retiring this gig." The man barked as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his optics.

"Relax old man." V said as he walked up to him.

The old Ripperdoc looked at the Nomad as his optics slowly adjusted to the light. "... Davie? Dat you, choom?" He questioned, rubbing his eyes again.

"Sorry, but no. He's been off grid for two years now." V corrected. "Name's V." He added, introducing himself.

"V, huh? What is it you want?" Doc questioned, laying back down.

"The only reason I'm here is because of this." V told him as he put the canister holding David's Sande on the table between them, causing the Ripper's eyes to go wide.

"Ya found David's Sande…?" He trailed off before noticing the Nomad was wearing a familiar jacket. "And Falco gave you his jacket too." He noted as he sat up.

"More or less." The Nomad shrugged. "I'm hoping you could tell me about this thing." He added.

"It's a powerful piece of Cyberware. To you, time'll slow to a crawl upon activation." Doc explained. "It'll also record things, including what a Cyberpsycho does before MaxTac zeroes 'em." He continued.

"Shit. That's hard core." The Nomad nodded. "... What about David?" He asked. "What can you tell me about him?" He asked.

"He took a ton of Cyberware mods, including some from his team like Maine." Doc replied. "He was confident that he was built differently to the point that he actually thought he could take all the Cyberware he wanted into his body. I tried to get him to dial it back when the Cyberpsychosis symptoms started showing, but…" He trailed off.

"He didn't, did he?" V frowned, seeing where this was going.

"No." Doc replied with a shake of his head. "When Davie's output got taken by Arasaka, he had to use a prototype exoskeleton to get her back, according to what Falco told me. Problem was, that thing was a nightmare on the mind and it was severe enough to push him into Cyberpsychosis without immunoblockers to keep him stable." He continued.

"And you never got the Sande back?" V asked.

"Nah, and quite frankly, I stopped caring about it after that fiasco." Doc replied with a shake of his head.

"Loss can do that to a person." The Wanderer sighed, looking down at his Mantis arms. "I felt the same way after my parents died." He continued.

"You look like a Nomad. You part of a clan?" Doc asked.

"I was. Left now… five months back. I left after my mom passed. She died after my dad did." He nodded. "And he–he died while fighting an army of 'saka soldiers, and going toe to toe with Adam Smasher." He added, wincing at the memory.

"Seriously? Who was your dad, exactly?" Doc questioned with interest.

"Willie Night." V replied, causing the old man to stammer in surprise.

"You're his son?! Kid, people are still talkin' about him in the Afterlife!" He exclaimed, eyes wide. "Da choom took on a hundred men strong and the boogie man himself, and nearly won! He's an ass licking legend in these parts!" He laughed.

"Heh, yeah. So I've heard." V nodded. "... Hey, if you're ever near the main square of the city, stop by Megablock 8. I'll pop a drink over and we can swap the shit." He added.

"Choom, with my retirement coming real soon. That sounds like a good idea." Doc chuckled. "Just remember, V." He continued seriously. "Know ya limits. Don't make the same mistakes David did." He added.

"Right." V nodded before getting up. "But that being said, it'd be insulting to let this thing collect dust forever." He added, picking up the Sandevistan's container. "And I'm not near my limits yet, so I'm gonna get in touch with my ripper about getting this implanted." He finished.

"Take care of it, and that jacket. It's probably the last thing that the kid left behind." Doc said.

"I will." The Nomad nodded as he handed him a piece of paper. "This is where Gloria and David's niche is, if you ever wanna, ya know–pay your respects." He told the man.

"Thanks. I think I'll pay a visit after I retire one of these days." Doc nodded.

With that, V left and set a waypoint for Vik's clinic to get his new Sande installed. He just hoped he didn't go Cyberpsycho later on because he got full of himself.

(Later)

"Hey, V. Welcome back to the land of the living." Vik chuckled as the merc came out of his anesthesia induced sleep.

"Urgh… How'd it go, Vik?" The Nomad questioned as he sat up, his back roaring in painful protest to the action.

"Pretty well, though I'm having Misty drive you home since you're in no shape to drive right now." The man told him.

"Yeah… I don't feel in shape for it either…" The Nomad groaned. "Thanks Vik." He added.

"No problem, V. Though I do have to ask, how'd you come across this Sande?" His ripper questioned. "This model, I've never seen the like before." He added.

"It was actually David Martinez's before he… vanished." V replied, much to Vik's surprise.

"Seriously?" He asked before he let out a chuckle. "Kid, you are going to turn into a powerhouse one of these days." He remarked.

"Definitely not today, though." V amended with a groan as his back roared at him in agony again.

"Go and get some rest. And take these." The doc told him, handing him three air hypos of immunoblockers. "One injection once for the next three days, with minimal activity. Should let you adjust." He added.

"Thanks, Vik." The Nomad nodded before he slowly got up to avoid agitating his back and walked to the stairs where Misty was watching. "Good thing I brought my car with me…" He trailed off, wincing as his surgery wounds flared briefly.

"At least you know I'm a safe driver." The blonde remarked as she helped him up the stairs.

"Yeah." V nodded as they got in the car and left.

(Later)

V sighed as he laid down on his bed, letting his back resting from the procedure he just went through…

Though this was interrupted when a holographic engram appeared, one of a person that V didn't recognize, but at the same time looked… Familiar.

He looked like an American teenager of Latino descent. He had light brown eyes and dark brown hair that he wore in a coiffed hairstyle, with the sides shaved. Additionally he was rather heavily built with various implants all over him.

Attire wise, his style was Kitsch, sporting two golden chain necklaces (one with a cross), gray cropped sweatpants with two yellow straps on the sides, and white tennis shoes with blue straps. And was also bare chested.

Lastly, he was wearing a familiar yellow EMT jacket.

"... The fuck?" The Nomad questioned, propping himself up on his elbows.

"...Who the fuck are you?" The engram asked with a blink as he looked at him.

"I could ask you the same thing, choom." V replied, sitting up to face the figure.

"David Martinez, and I have no idea how I'm in your head." The now identified NC legend replied, folding his arms.

"Dav–fuck me." The Nomad said, facepalming. "But… How did you get turned into an Engram?" He questioned.

"Hell if I know. All I know is that one minute I'm beating the scrap outta Adam Smasher, next minute I'm in digi-space." The street kid shrugged.

"Wait, what year was this?" V questioned.

"2075. Why?" David wondered. This made the male Night sibling's shoulders sag since this was what he was afraid of.

"David… It's 2077. You've been an engram for two years." V told him, not bothering to sugarcoat it.

David was silent for a minute or two as the information was processed through V to him before he spoke again.

"... Bullshit." The speedster stated.

"Oh really?" The Nomad challenged before picking up a magazine. "Look at the year in this magazine and tell me I'm lying." He told him.

David looked at the year, and couldn't deny what he was told afterwards. Looks like he really has been dead for two years, basically.

"Fuck… My crew is definitely not together anymore." He cursed.

"Bad news, David. Your chooms? All but Lucy and Falco are dead." V explained. "Lucy's up in the Lunar colony, and Falco–last I checked–just joined up with the Aldecaldos." He added.

"At least Lucy's still alive." The speedster sighed as he looked out at the night sky. "But none of this explains how I'm in your head, though." He added.

"Well, I did get your old Sande implanted today. Maybe your engram was stored on it somehow?" V offered.

"But how was I turned into an Engram in the first place?" David questioned.

"That I don't know." The merc sighed. "But don't worry. We'll figure something out together." He added.

"... Sounds good to me… never got your name." The street kid responded.

"Just call me V." The Nomad replied.

"Well, sleep tight, V. We'll talk again in the morning." David nodded before he vanished.

V could only sigh as he laid back down on his bed, Jerry Lee stretching a bit before the canine companion of the Nomad joined his owner on the bed, curling up next to him.

Sure, today was nova (the Hell Cycle he now owned was proof of that), but he was not expecting David Martinez to appear in his head via his old Sande as an engram.

That required some investigation.

(Elsewhere)

-Lunar colony-

A girl snapped awake as a random synaps fired in her head, causing her to awaken in a cold sweat.

A nude girl with pastel rainbow colored white hair and red eyes panted as she looked out her lunar window to see Earth in the distance.

'That feeling, it was so familiar… Could it…?' She thought to herself before an image of a smiling boy dancing around the moon's surface flashed in her head–it was… "David?" She gasped breathlessly.

Dragon Emperor0: And that's the last of the introduction chapters of our Cyberpunk story. Now we'll be skipping ahead about a month for the next chapter to start the actual campaign for the game, so the story can get underway.

ThermalsniperN7: I actually had fun with this chapter, particularly with the ride Pilar left behind. I said I came up with something, and I wanted it to be nova. Level with me, guys: What says "badass merc" more than riding around Night City on a Hell Cycle?

Dragon Emperor0: Not much else except the car and bike from the original promo art (the one based on Akira). Or an equally iconic weapon to go with it.

ThermalsniperN7: Touche. We even got some backstory on what happened to V and Val's parents… Yeah, it's not hard to see that they'll want Night City's boogyman dead for what happened to their father.

Dragon Emperor0: And apparently Val is hoping to set her brother up with a new/old face. I'm not sure if I should be glad or not.

ThermalsniperN7: Given who we based her on? I'd say glad. Anyway, apparently David's in V's head now as an engram via the guy's old Sande. How that happened is a mystery.

Dragon Emperor0: If I had to hazard a guess it would have something to do with Soulkiller, but I'm not sure. Anyway, guys. See you all next time.