Chapter 9: Who can it be Now?
Smasher vs Willy: Whitebeard rap by Daddyphatsnaps.
Viv's Memories: Horse With No Name by America
-Arasaka Tower, City Center, Night City-
"Do you have his vitals connected?" An Arasaka medical engineer questioned as the team scrambled to stabilize a stasis locked Adam Smasher.
"One moment… Yes, they're connected." Another medical engineer replied with a nod after doing a quick check.
"Then let's get him back in shape." The first Arasaka member declared as Night City's boogeyman was fully secured.
Smasher's vision slowly turned dark as he went into stasis so he could undergo repairs to his damaged body, and his vision slowly drifted to a dreamlike state, remembering a day long passed…
-Flashback-
-Badlands, SoCal, 2072-
The sun beat down on the dusty plains of the badlands as a family of four Nomads stood at one side of the clearing and an army of Arasaka soldiers and top hit men on the other, led by Smasher, Takemura and another man, Oda.
The man at the head of the family of Nomads was a man in his seventies, with a fully muscled physique and graying short black hair, as well as a mustache. Height wise he was close to nearly 10 feet tall, and was dressed in a pair of black boots, green pants, and a white admiral's long coat, bare chested.
Additionally, he had what looked like titanium implants in his arms and Tremor Fist gauntlets meant for demolition workers.
Slung over his shoulder in one hand, seemed to be a glaive of some sort.
It had a black grip with what looked to be a locking mechanism for an ammo clip, a dark gold chassis, black and gold guard and a black blade with a crimson edge.
"I hope you realize that you're going to have to make up for this little clusterfuck you started here, Bronzehand." A woman in an Arasaka business suit with purple hair and visor implants said to a Nomad who their medics were patching up amidst the standoff.
"I warned you guys he would be this strong!" The man retorted in protest. "After what he did to you guys before, I thought you'd remember that!" He added.
The one that said this was a guy who looked like he hadn't had his drugs in over a month and had an aftermarket Arasaka cybernetic right arm that was colored bronze and was dressed rather ratty.
"Regardless, it seems like you'll be able to have some fun, Smasher." The woman smirked, turning to the borg.
"Yeah it does. It looks like I'll get to show someone else that metal beats meat, too." Arasaka's top enforcer nodded, itching to start fighting.
"I'd like to see you try." The glaive wielding man retorted. Then he turned to the other three Nomads. "Honey, take the kids and go." He ordered, much to the woman's shock.
"But pops–!" The boy, a young V, tried to protest.
"I said go!" The man, now clearly Willie Night, yelled as he stepped towards the army of Arasaka soldiers before him.
"... Kids, let's go." The woman, clearly Holly Night, told her children reluctantly as she led them away from the inevitably explosive brawl that was about to take place.
Holly was a woman with fair skin, black hair and brown eyes. In terms of age, she was in her forties, and had a height of 5'8" to match. She had an E-cup rack and a heart shaped ass. Her clothes consisted of a blue bra, a black leather jacket with a Bakker patch on it, blue shorts and a pair of tactical military boots.
She also had a Copperhead assault rifle slung over her shoulder along with two pistols on her hips and a pair of combat knives sheathed on her biceps.
When his wife and children were out of range of the stand off, William then charged up his Tremor Fist gauntlets and then slammed them at his sides, causing the sky to tremble and the ground beneath him to shake from under him.
"Wh-What is happening?!" Takemura exclaimed as he tried to keep his footing.
"The Tremor Fist "Quake Quake" model, circuit 1997." Smasher hummed as he stood his ground against the mini earthquake. "Construction site implants meant to level entire cities to make way for new ones. Huh, thought they discontinued that model." He mused.
"He must've gotten lucky and found some that escaped being recycled." Oda commented as the shaking ended, allowing him to regain his footing.
"Doesn't matter. He'll die like the rest." Adam declared. He then gestured for the soldiers to attack, allowing one using a walker mech to rush William…
Only for the man to slam his fist into its side, causing it to crumble to pieces, then a larger soldier touting a machine gun came at him, firing, but William deflected most of the shots, tanked others, and then cleaved through the soldier with one clean strike of his glaive.
This continued for several minutes until both sides ran out of ammo, and William then punched in front of him and caused a large sumo armored soldier convulse from the tremors in his body before he blew to bits–allowing a full Borg similar to Smasher (but with completely different implants) to take his place.
"Vargas, tenderize this slab of meat for me." Smasher ordered the borg.
"You got it!" The second borg nodded before he charged at the old man. "This is as far as you get!" He yelled before he started swinging his sword around and eventually swung at Willie… only for him to block it with hardly–if any– strain, much to his shock.
"You're blocking my view. Get out of my way." He grunted before he shoved the Arasaka borg back and threw his glaive into the air. The moment it stabbed the ground, he did something no mere mortal should be able to do.
He tilted the land with his gauntlets!
"What the–?!" The woman questioned as she saw William grab ahold of the air above the ground, and drag his fingers across it, causing the tremors to move the earth itself, causing everyone to start sliding and falling–and vehicles crashing.
"Oh crap!" V exclaimed as he tripped. Val, meanwhile, found herself about to fall into a ravine only for her mother to grab her.
"I've got you, honey!" She exclaimed, pulling her daughter back onto solid ground.
"Ngh, this is insane! There were no records of this being possible with those implants!" Adam grunted as he found himself having a hard time staying standing.
"He must have been tinkering with them for years! Who knows how much extra power he's got?!" Another man yelled.
This act caused Vargas to lose balance, giving William the chance to channel his power through his glaive and cleave through the ground, sending a shockwave slice at the army, cleaving Vargas in two and sending dozens flying.
Then Takemura went up to the plate, utilizing some kind of pyromancy-like implants and sent a fist of flame at the old man, but he just countered it with his own punch.
"Out of my way, fire brat!" He growled as he sent the Japanese man flying. He then let out a gasp as he felt a pain in his chest and coughed up some blood. "Damn!" He cursed.
Takemura used this chance to punch a hole in the absurdly strong old man's torso, causing him to grunt slightly in pain.
"He's wounded!" The woman called to the soldiers around her. "Now's your chance, men! Get him! Get him now!" She yelled as Takemura jumped back.
Several Arasaka soldiers immediately charged in and stabbed him while others shot at him with their guns. One soldier with a projectile system actually fired a rocket into his face, much to the worry of his family.
"We'll save you, pops!" V and Val yelled, determined to assist their father as he fell back from the attacks he just tanked… or at least, it looked that way before he caught himself.
"No, stay back!" He ordered firmly, causing his children to cease their charge. "You brats think that's all it takes to defeat me?! Just a few toy swords and guns?!" He questioned, stepping forward. "I could tear you all apart single handedly, but you know that don't you?" He continued, looming over the trembling army. "Because you quake when you hear the name, WILLIAM NIGHT!" He roared thunderously.
This caused the soldiers to rush at him again, getting in more strikes and shots, but the man cleaved them asunder, leaving only Takemura, Oda, Gordon and Smasher left standing.
"Oda, Takemura, keep him busy. I got something I wanna try on this guy." The borg ordered.
"Understood." The two men nodded in reply before they rushed the man.
Takemura then wordlessly rushed William again, his fists hot like before as he tried to strike him again–only for the man to dodge.
"What?!" The Arasaka employee exclaimed, looking for his opponent–only to feel a massive shiver of fear go up his spine as William stood behind and loomed over him ominously.
"You attacked my son, my wife, my daughter? You must be a glutton for death!" The man growled as his Tremor Fist activated again as he punched down on Takemura's head.
He would have crushed the man's head into paste, had Oda not tried to slash at the old man with his sword. Takemura let out a breath of relief that he was still alive before he joined his comrade in his attack.
The two then attacked at the same time, Takemura's fist singing half of William's face and impaling him a second time while Oda slashed him at least twenty times before the mountain of a man delivered a devastating side Quake punch to their bodies, sending them flying and crashing to the ground.
The two groaned as they tried to get back up, but they were forced not to when their bodies screamed violently at them in protest. That punch had truly taken them out of the equation in this fight.
Getting slugged by an earthquake will do that to a person.
Meanwhile, Adam was finally ready to carry out his plan of action.
"You're pretty strong for a man your age, old man. I'm surprised you haven't keeled over yet." The borg said as he stepped forward, auto shotgun in hand.
"So, you're Adam Smasher, the boogeyman of Night City in the Chrome." William commented. "I'm far from impressed." He added.
"Big words from someone who's nearly at death's door." Smasher retorted. "Not so much as a single implant save those titanium bones. You really think you can take me?" He added.
"Yes I do." The elderly man shot back without missing a beat.
"Then let's go." Adam said before William tried to strike him with his glaive, but the borg used his Sandevistan to evade it.
"Slippery little eel, aren't you?!" The man yelled as he reloaded the magazine and started firing plasma blasts at Smasher, causing the borg to stumble backwards–leaving him open to a devastating strike to the chest, but was able to catch a Quake punch with his own hand, feeling the full brunt of it.
"Fuck! This is what an earthquake feels like?!" Adam gasped, swearing he felt his hand come dangerously close to falling apart.
"It is, and I have a surplus of them to share with you!" William growled, swinging his glaive at him. As soon as the glaive caused him to go off balance again, he then punched Smasher again, causing another quake straight to the borg's chest, sending him skidding back and making his plating fall off.
"Is this… Pain? I forgot the feeling." The merc groaned, before taking his auto shotgun and pressing it to William's gut, and unloading.
To his shock, however, the old coot didn't even flinch! All he did was look down at him with a raised eyebrow!
Throwing down his empty item, he then started firing with his arm cannons, only for William to tank them, and even catch one round and send it back at him! Then the old man grabbed the cannons and tore them off of Smasher's arms, tossing them aside and then kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying.
The merc landed on the ground in a heap, William standing across from him, as if waiting for him to get back up. Getting to his feet, Adam spat out some oil before he reared his fist back and charged at his enemy and punched him in the chest… and didn't do shit. The old man just gave him a look that outright screamed 'would you like some help with that attack?'
Growling, the Arasaka borg started punching him as fast as his body would allow in hopes of getting some kind of reaction from the old Night patriarch. When he landed his last punch, William just brushed off his chest and gave him a plain look of pity.
Feeling his anger spiking, Adam used his Sandevistan to punch him at Shonen speed, delivering 365 punches in 20 seconds and ended it with a Shaolin double punch much like present day V had done to him.
William still stood.
"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" The boogeyman of Night City yelled angrily, now at his wits' end.
"Because I have something you don't." The man said, charging up his gauntlets again.
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" The borg growled.
"I have something to fight for!" The strongest pirate in the Post-Holocaust yelled as he punched Smasher again with an earthquake punch.
Adam could only groan from his spot on the ground as William straddled him and clenched his fists and started punching him.
"Die! DIE!" He roared as he punched Adam into the ground repeatedly, forcing him into the ground like a cartoon would be. "DIE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" He thundered, rearing his fist back with his gauntlet at maximum power before…
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
He threw his punch down at his helpless target, caving the ground below them as the man hit the ground–and created a crater the size of Watson inside the one that he'd created before! The force even created a shockwave that sent all other people nearby flying in addition to a faux mushroom cloud!
Adam Smasher was effectively out of action.
William staggered backwards as the exertion and his injuries started to catch up with him, before he turned his attention to the woman from earlier, Gordon and his gang of Raffens.
"Don't just stand there!" The woman, Kate, snapped as she threw Gordon two gauntlets. "Use these, they're dark matter gloves. Take them and kill that bastard!" She yelled.
"On it!" The traitor nodded before he put the gloves on and went to engage William.
As the two clashed, Gordon managed to catch the old man's punches, and the dark matter his gloves made actually nullified William's Tremor Fist!
"Zhehahahahaha! Well whaddya know?! Not so tough now, are ya old man?!" He laughed.
William growled as he did his best to land a blow, but the little shit nullified each of his attacks. One of the blows Gordon landed made the old man's glaive go flying into the air, too.
"You just don't learn, do you, old man?!" Gordon laughed. "You'll never hit me with that!" He exclaimed.
William, however, was far from done.
As his glaive fell, he caught it and the sight made the Raffen's bravado fade. Without a second thought, the old man swung his weapon down on his good arm, causing him to stagger back and fall to the ground.
"MY ARM!" He cried out in pain as he held his wound.
"This will teach you to go after my family!" The mountain of a man yelled as he slammed his hand into Gordon's face and caused a Tremor, shaking the ground–but pulled back when he was shot with a revolver. But not deterred, he kept charging.
"S-Stay back you monster!" Gordon yelled in fear. "Everyone! Unload everything we got into this useless old buzzard!" He ordered.
Everyone that was still breathing and had a working gun immediately opened fire on the mountainous old man. His free hand fell limp to his side as the Arasaka soldiers peppered him with bullet after bullet, Gordon's arrogance returning as the bullets flew.
This continued until all their guns started clicking, and Smasher managing one last rocket blast as he was propped up by Oda and Takemura, though the two of them had to push themselves greatly to help him.
"Hey! I'm out of bullets! Someone hand me another gun!" Gordon snapped.
"That won't be necessary." Kate stated as she stepped forward, jabbing a thumb at William as she cocked her hip. "Night here's unconscious, you could poke him with your pinky and he'd topple over like a domino." She scoffed.
"It's not you, Gordon." William uttered, shocking everyone.
"How the hell are you still alive?!" The bronze armed traitor shouted in disbelief, but was ignored.
"The man Leonardo Night, only son of Richard Night, was looking for, it wasn't you, or Saburo Arasaka. Not a damn chance." The man wheezed, his body slowly giving out. "Just as there are those out there that inherited Richard's will, soon enough, someone will carry on his son's legacy as well." He continued, fighting to stay alive long enough to finish his last words. "You can break their spirit, but you will never extinguish their flame. So it has been, and so it will continue to be until the end of time." He went on. "And one day in the future, when we're all dead and gone, someone will arise, carrying generations upon generations of history upon their shoulders, and he'll throw the gauntlet down in front of the entire world!" He added further.
The Arasaka people could only listen as the man uttered his dying words.
"Kate, you and Arasaka know what's coming: a war that will embroil the land and seas, far and wide! That's why you're so afraid, though nothing you do will stop it!" William told her. "I've no interest in it myself, but someday that Will shall turn this world upside down." He went on, causing her to tense. "You know what I'm talking about, and I'm sure someone will find it. Whether you and Arasaka like it or not, that day will come soon." He added before grinning while Kate stewed in outrage.
Feeling his life fading, William decided his last words would be loud ones.
"THE WILL OF NIGHT–IS REAL!" The old Nomad boomed once more, his words echoing throughout the entire mini canyon the fight created.
Everyone was speechless at his final words, none more than his family.
"YOU BASTARD!" Kate yelled, but William had gone silent. With his injuries, that only meant one thing.
"Zhehahahahaha! You finally shut up, didn't you ya old–wait…" Gordon laughed before his eyes widened. "No, no way–He's… DEAD! I can't believe that bastard! He just died on his feet!" He gasped.
Meanwhile, Holly, V and Val had tears pouring down their faces as they watched the strongest member of their family die as he lived: Owning his enemies, and protecting his family.
V and Val, in particular, felt the desire to avenge their father set in. Their targets: Adam Smasher, Gordon Bronzehand…
And the whole goddamn Arasaka corporation.
-Flashback end-
Adam groaned as he came back online, his repairs finished. When he was cleared to leave, he went back to his quarters to look at the trophy he claimed from that beyond brutal fight…
William's glaive.
"Your son is following in your footsteps, Willie. When the time comes, I'll make sure your old weapon ends up with him, should he beat me in our next fight." He said, acting as if the weapon was holding William's soul and that it could hear him.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, V, Jackie and Val were all loaded into the cab of Delamain and were trying to gun it to Vik's clinic as fast as humanly possible.
And with said Widowmaker– something was going on in her head.
(Elsewhere)
In a cyberspace reconstruction of Arasaka Tower, a cyber-armed man sat on the steps of the structure, when something seemed to flash before him, like frames from a projector.
-Flashback-
It was a hot day on the dusty California highways, barely any traffic to speak of. Heat hazes and road mirages waved about on the dry, cracked highways of the Post-Holocaust land of North-Cal.
Road signs creaked on rusted and worn out T-posts and tumbleweeds blew through the wind as a vehicle came over the horizon–its appearance obstructed by the wavy effects of the heat.
The vehicle in question was a Thorton Galena GA40XT that looked like it was kitbashed from a bunch of different parts, but the work that went into it was well done. It was colored tan, black and green. On the hood was a skull with a bat wing on the back of it.
The symbol belonged to the Bakker clan, but the driver wasn't driving for them anymore.
The car's windows were down, allowing the driver to enjoy the breeze that was kicked up while the radio played on the channel "Oldies But Goodies" and was playing "Horse with No Name" as the figure drove.
Said figure was a much younger Viv, probably only about 19 or 20 at this point, and she was leaving where the Bakkers had pitched camp after visiting where she and V had buried their parents one last time.
Her reason for leaving?
The Bakkers were joining Snake Nation, and doing exactly what the backstabber who sold her and V's dad out wanted. She couldn't stand them anymore after that. Her brother was staying behind, but not for very long. Only a year or two at most.
As the Nomad woman drove down the road, singing along to the song on the radio, she soon passed through a dirt road town before continuing on through a cactus lined back road.
Though as the back road led back to the main highway, she soon took notice of someone who was stranded on the side of the road–body halfway inside the engine compartment of a smoking Villefort Columbus.
"Hm, wonder what they're dealing with…" Viv mused before stopping next to the stalled car. "Hey, what's the trouble?" She called from the driver's seat of her ride.
The figure who was in the car soon popped her head out from it, revealing it to be a slightly younger Judy.
"Eh, this thing's crapped out on me, can't get it to start." The woman sighed, kicking the car a bit.
"Hang on. Let me have a look and see if it's actually dead or salvageable." Viv told her before getting out of her car and taking a look at the engine. "Hm… Yeah, this thing is dead as a doornail. The only salvageable things in this scrapheap are the circuits." She deduced after giving the engine a once over.
As she tried to see if she could try something to at least get the car further down the road–only for the radiator to start spewing hot oil when she pulled the cap.
"Gah! Damn, I hate it when that happens!" She cursed, leaping back to avoid the oil. "Yep, this thing's done." She sighed before turning to Judy. "Come on and hop in, we can take my ride." She told the woman.
"Thanks, I guess." The woman sighed in relief. "Name's Judy Alverez, by the way." She added as she took out some boxes and walked to the Nomad woman's car before putting them in the trunk.
"Valorie Night, but I prefer Val." Val replied as the two women hopped in the ex Bakker's car.
"... Night? You wouldn't happen to be related to the founder of Night City, would you?" The multi-hair colored woman asked with a blink.
"That's largely unconfirmed at this point." The Nomad woman replied as she started up the engine. "My dad says that our grandpa Leonardo was related to Richard Night, but how we're related I have no idea." She added.
"Huh. That's something." Judy remarked before looking over the car. "This ride… Is this a Nomad car?" She asked.
"Yeah, but my clan has completely disappointed me, so I left." Val replied as she started driving again.
"How?" The girl questioned.
"They joined Snake Nation, the quote "biggest" of the Nomad Nations. Only doing that after my parents died." Val explained. "This is because my dad, William Night, was set to become the clans leader–but that was before we were betrayed–sold out to Arasaka." She continued.
"Wait a fucking second, William Night was your dad?!" The Moxx woman yelped in surprise. "People still remember him all over Night City! Who the hell sold you guys out?!" She questioned.
"A fucking scumlord named Gordon Bronzehand." Val scowled. "He likes to go by Gorgon. After he sold my dad out, he was kicked out of the Bakkers. Dad wanted the Bakkers to join up with Thelas Nation on the sea, but Brozehand? He wanted the Bakkers to join Snake Nation." She rambled.
"And your old Nomad family did what he wanted in the end." Judy deduced. "That must've really stung." She added.
"Like you wouldn't believe." The Nomad woman confirmed as she kept driving.
"Also… Bronzehand? Really?!" The editor chortled. "Blackhand and Silverhand make better names than that!" She laughed.
"Wayland Boa Boa." The Nomad retorted.
"And I retract my previous statement." The Moxx said with a blink.
"So where are you headed to, exactly?" Val questioned.
"Back to Night City, I was bringing some stuff back to my pad." She replied, pointing back at the boxes in the trunk.
"Oh, so you were picking up some supplies that weren't available in Night City. Okay." Val nodded in understanding.
"... I gotta pay you for helping me out, don't I?" Judy groaned in realization.
"You can pay me by letting me stay at your pad until I can get on my feet in the City." The Nomad told her. "I'm heading there myself, so I'm gonna need a place to crash when I need it." She added.
"Hey, as long as you're okay with splitting the rent, I'm down with that arrangement." The Moxx nodded.
"So I've heard that NC has a lot of gangs you gotta watch out for." Val hummed as they came by an intersection that bustled due to being near a small gas station town. "You a part of any of 'em?" She asked.
"Yeah. I'm with the Moxx, but since you're helping me out, I'll put in a good word for you so you can have some possible allies." Judy replied.
"Preem. That's a good start." Val nodded, knowing that a good start like that would be key to her settling in. "What's the Moxx's deal, anyway?" She questioned.
"We protect BD actresses and sex workers from harassment and violence, or that's what we used to." Judy sighed.
"Then things changed, like they always do, right?" The Nomad woman guessed.
"Yep." The Moxx woman replied with a nod before noticing a car pulling up behind them from the gas station they just passed. "Hey, what's with that car?" She wondered as it pulled up next to the left side of their car. Val looked at it and her eyes widened when she saw the symbol on the side of it.
"Shit! Raffens!" She yelled, just barely dodging a hail of bullets that came from the passenger.
"Who?!" Judy questioned as she ducked her head down.
"Rogue Nomads exiled from their clans!" The woman said as she reached down and pulled out a Revoker revolver and handed it to Judy. "You shoot, I'll drive." She told her.
"Got it!" The Moxx woman nodded.
Judy then leaned out the passenger side window and started firing her revolver at the Raffen's vehicles, popping one vehicle's tires–making it swerve off the road and into some cacti–with the passenger still leaning out, causing him to get stuck by two inch long quills.
Another round of firing hit the engine block of another car, causing it to explode and stop in the middle of the road, causing a pile up.
"Ugh, damned cockroaches!" Judy grunted as she got back in the car. "Think that's the last of 'em?" She asked, glancing between Val and the road ahead.
"Judy, when it comes to Raffens, there's always more." The Nomad woman told her knowingly. "But I think we stopped them for the time being." She added.
"That's good." Judy sighed, leaning back in the driver's seat. "... So, you got any friends you can call in NC? Help you get your bearings?" She asked.
"No, only person I really have in my corner these days is my twin brother, Vincent." Val sighed. "He's trying to get the last of our parents' affairs in order before he leaves for NC. So I'm on my own." She added.
"Well that sucks." The Moxx BD editor commented as they kept driving, eventually getting on a road that led to Night City. "But hey, you're not too bad. I can see us being friends." She added with a small smile.
"Yeah, me too." The Nomad woman nodded as they entered the outskirts of Night City, straight for the city center. "It's nice to finally have a friend who's a girl after being around guys my whole life." She added.
"Hehe, true." Judy nodded.
(Elsewhere)
In another section of the same digital structure, Val was experiencing a similar flash.
-Flashback-
The scene of a memory soon opened and became clear as a silver cybernetic hand and a 'ganic one opened a double door–a Malorian Arms 3516 in the left hand as the figure they belonged to walked down a hall.
"Hey." A joytoy in old looking clothes said to the stranger.
"Hey." The stranger responded in a male voice as he continued down the hall.
"You okay?" She questioned.
"Never better." The stranger told her.
"Sure don't look it." The woman retorted as the stranger left, only for a security guard to try and stop him.
"I can't let you in." He said, trying to stop whoever Val was seeing through the eyes of, only for him to be pinned against a mirror.
Val was able to get a look at whoever's memories she was seeing, and saw a face resembling Keanu Reeves in the reflection. That, coupled with the silver colored prosthetic, told her she was seeing through the eyes of Johnny Silverhand!
"Hey, we're chill!" The man said defensively.
"Stay outta my way, Martin." Johnny told the man as he went on as another guard moved aside.
"Of course you're high." He sighed as the rocker solo got on the stage where Kerry Eurydine was busy singing Chippin' In.
Upon seeing Johnny approach the mic, Kerry was quick to get out of the way for him, allowing Johnny to get his guitar ready as he grabbed the mic.
"Tonight, I'm…" He started, trailing off a bit before finding the words he wanted to say. "Tonight I'm here to say goodbye to all of you." He told the crowd before he started strumming some notes on his guitar.
(Later)
At the end of the concert, Johnny then made his way out to the roof, when Kerry stopped him.
"Johnny, wait!" Kerry called. "Don't do this, you can still change your mind." He pleaded.
Johnny's face softened as Val felt his genuine compassion for his best friend before him, before he brought the rocker into a hug.
"Come here, man." He sighed. "Fuck this band. It's not your crowd, not your scene. Go on your own, carve your own path." He told him. "I know you'll do great." He added.
"You son of a bitch… I'm gonna miss you something awful." Kerry sighed sadly, hugging his friend.
"See you in the next life, friend." Johnny told him before he walked out the door, where a helicopter was ready and waiting for dust off, a younger Rogue waiting impatiently for him.
"You're late! I was about to leave without you!" She told him.
"Love it when you're mad! Gets my southern blood pumping!" Silverhand retorted as they got in the helicopter.
"Hey, Silverhand!" Another man greeted as the rocker got on the air transport.
"Hey, Shayton." Johnny nodded back before Rogue handed him a headset.
"Put this on, and it stays on, got it?" The woman told him as the helicopter took off.
"Where's Willie and Holly? Thought they'd be here!" The rocker questioned as he put the headset on.
"They're busy handling a separate part of the plan." Rogue replied as Johnny took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a single puff before he threw it out, idly spotting Kerry coming out the door.
(Later)
The helicopter continued to fly, allowing Val to see what Night City looked like in 2023, and feel Silverhand's hatred for it all.
"Pier's are on fire. Pacifica's cut off, shut down. APC's on the streets of Watson." Shayton told them.
"Sons of bitches!" Johnny cursed. As they came up on Corpo Plaza, they heard a noise that sounded like a heartbeat.
"That skull cracking out there, is that us?" Thompson asked.
"Johnny's idea. They're drawing Arasaka's attention from the tower with Wayland." Rogue told him in reply.
"Collateral damage part of the plan?" A voice added in, one Val recognized as her father!
"This isn't the cub scouts, Willie. Chew it up and spit it out." Rogue retorted as they came up to Arasaka Tower's roof.
It was then that Shayton started firing down on the roof of Arasaka tower before having to rear back when a turret nearly hit him.
"Taking over, duck down." Johnny told him as he started shooting, clearing the roof with rapid efficiency.
"Johnny, you remember the plan?" Rogue questioned.
"Get to the elevator, arm the bomb, let gravity do its thing. The bomb explodes, rocks the foundation, the tower crumbles–chaos, screaming, roll credits." Johnny recited as they hopped off the helicopter and rushed to the door, where Spider Murphy was at work hacking the systems.
"Murphy! Any luck getting an access point?" Rogue questioned.
"Jacking in now." Spider Murphy replied. "Can I find an access point? Is grass green? Do birds fly? Do cats eat bats? Do rats shit gnats?" The Netrunner questioned.
"Mainframe's not your playground, Murphy." Rogue told the netrunner. "Evac message, broadcast it across all frequencies and lets get moving!" She yelled.
"Jesus, who wrote this manifesto?" Murphy questioned.
"What's wrong with it? This terrorist bullshit is a front, remember? Gotta make it sound convincing." Johnny stated.
"Yeah, I get it. But 'Corporate Colonialism'? You've really gone off the deep end, Johnny. And that's coming from a chairjock." The woman sighed.
"I got the idea from Die Hard 7." He responded as the door opened.
Johnny was quick to rush in and start shooting up any and all Arasaka soldiers that got in his way. Viv noted that the gun's performance seemed similar to V's Bad Night Rising.
After a bit, they arrived at the elevator, and Murphy opened it for him to set the bomb.
"In Bushido II, the name of the bomb is what?" Johnny questioned as he tried to remember the activation code.
"Set it up, Johnny, we gotta delta!" Rogue called after him.
"The Demolitron. We're good to blow." The rocker said to himself as he remembered the code and armed the bomb. Then he got out of the elevator and shot the cables out, causing the elevator to fall.
"Saka elites incoming! You gotta go now!" Thompson told them.
"In a sec, gotta slip Alt's Malware into their subnet." Johnny told the two as he took out a hard drive.
"I fucking kew it! This was all about your output, wasn't it?!" Rogue growled in irritation, only for Johnny to whirl on her and point his gun at her with a pissed off look on his face.
"Alt's the only one who can keep Arasaka from keeping their data on Soulkiller, Rogue. You of all people should know that." The rocker solo told her as he holstered his pistol. "She left me this in a shard when we found her. It's called Technovore, it'll eat and delete every gigabyte of data in their system faster than their ICE can react. Meaning that when the nuke destroys the hard copies, it's game over." He added.
"... You have five minutes, or we're leaving without you." Rogue grunted before she went back to the helicopter
"Got the doors open for you. You've got 'Saka asshats incoming!" Murphy told him as the doors opened, allowing him to get to where he needed to go.
"Thanks, Murphy." Johnny nodded before he fought his way to the main office. As soon as he got there, he slotted the shard into the motherboard and let Murphy upload it to the subnet.
"Foreign ICEbreaker? Nice. And it looks like your Malware's cutting through the programming already." The Netrunner noted.
"Good. That's gonna make things move faster." Johnny nodded as the upload took its own sweet time.
"Hey, we're on TV! Look!" The netrunner chirped, prompting the silver armed rocker to turn to the TV and see that their attack had made the news, and that the mayor was promising swift justice against them.
"Typical. The government's always been chummy with the Corpos." Johnny scoffed.
As the report played on, Technovore was set loose on the subnet, allowing Johnny to delta on outta there, only to be blindsided by Adam Smasher.
"Shit! It's Smasher! Run Johnny, run!" Murphy told him.
However, before the borg could get to the solo, Shayton suddenly leapt onto Smasher's back and started fighting him, allowing the rocker boy to run while the two 'borgs fought it out.
After he fought his way to the roof, he jumped and caught Rogue's hand as the helicopter started taking off. Before the woman could pull him up, Adam caught up and shot at them, causing Johnny to fall back to the roof.
"Smasher…" The man groaned.
"Told ya, Johnny boy. Told ya I'd end you some day." Smasher growled as he activated his arm cannon, only to be decked by Morgan Blackhand and Willie Night as they tried to get him off Johnny, and a dismembered Shayton–
At least until the tower went up in smoke.
(Later)
Johnny couldn't even groan as he came to for a moment, seeing that he was being carted out of the tower on a stretcher by some Arasaka agents.
He couldn't hear what they were saying due to being in a daze as he was loaded into a van and shipped off to parts unknown while he blacked out again.
(Later)
Johnny grunted as he was backhanded by an interrogator a couple of hours later, and Val could make out the mushroom cloud of a nuclear blast in the background.
The interrogation wasn't really important, but what was important was when the man himself, Saburo Arasaka made an appearance.
"Why did you do this?" The centurion questioned, his aide translating for him.
"Because… you took the woman I love… from me…" Johnny replied with a groan, the pain from his fiasco at the tower catching up to him.
"And you took my husband from me. He died in the destruction of Arasaka tower." The aide told him before looking at her superior. "Forgive me, Arasaka-sama, but I needed to get that out." She told him.
"You are forgiven." The man told her in reply. "Is it ready?" He questioned.
"Yes." The woman nodded.
"I find that people always lie. Mostly to deceive themselves." Saburo said. "Not so the dead. The dead can be quite loud, but lying is not in their nature." He continued. "It is humbling, to hear the dead speak." He added.
(Elsewhere)
Val came back to the same cyberspace reconstruction and started wandering around after the flickering and moving engram of Johnny Silverhand at various parts of the pseudo room. Until she could finally get to him.
Putting a hand on his shoulder, he turned around.
"And you. Who are you?" He questioned.
(Meanwhile)
Back in the real world, V and Jackie finally reached Vik's clinic and rushed in. Their abrupt entrance got the Ripperdoc's attention and his eyes immediately snapped to Val's form where he saw the bullet wound in her head.
"Put her on the operating chair, now!" He barked, skipping the questions for the time being. V immediately complied and gave Vik space to work.
"We'll stand guard for you, Vik." Jackie told him as he went to stand in front of the stairs leading to the clinic, V following suit.
"Thanks, you two!" The Watson Ripper called after them.
Things remained tense for over an hour until the sun rose outside, and as soon as Vik removed the bullet and patched up Val's chest, the Relic started blinking and something kicked in.
With a groan, Val slowly opened her eyes and looked around before her gaze landed on Vik.
"What's…" She groaned, feeling weak.
"Easy, kid. I still gotta fix you up." The man told her before he sedated her so she wouldn't feel anything. The Widowmaker couldn't utter a sound as she faded back to dreamland.
Back at the stairway, V and Jackie maintained their vigil. The Nomad kept his eyes on the side entrance while the Streetkid's gaze was centered on the main entrance.
And as they continued to keep watch, the side door to the clinic was suddenly kicked open by someone, causing everyone to face it–with V pulling out 2nd Conflict and pointing it at the intruder.
The Nomad not only saw the Arasaka uniform the intruder wore, but also knew his face. He committed all the faces involved in the assault against his father to memory so he could hunt them down, and knew that the one before him was the Japanese bodyguard, Takemura.
"Stand aside. This is Arasaka business." The Japanese man ordered, but the trio was undaunted.
"Not a chance." V shot back. "I'm not letting you take my sister." He added, clenching his fists.
"I won't ask again." Takemura told them, raising his fists and igniting them.
Narrowing his eyes, V activated his Sandevistan and dashed at him before he punched him in the diaphragm, the part of his chest where his heart is, delivered a right hook to his face, clapped his ears to discombobulate him and– the cherry on top– a kick to the chest that sent him flying into the wall.
Takemura groaned in pain as his fists' flames were snuffed out, his body in bad shape.
"Nice one, V." Jackie commented as he smirked at his choom.
"Thanks." V nodded in reply before glaring at Takemura. "Leave, and be quick before I kill you for the part you had in my father's death." He threatened, and wouldn't hesitate to do so if prompted.
"What're you… Talking about?" The man groaned, having not recognized V as of yet, if at all.
"This should jog your memory: You were among a large battalion sent to kill William Night and his family, which consisted of a wife for him and two children." V told him. "You tried to kill his family, but got forced back." He added.
"Ah… That." The man nodded, as if finally recalling the event in question, body still roaring in pain.
"I'm one of the children you tried to kill that day, and you're lucky I don't cut your head from your shoulders right now." V finalized with narrowed eyes.
"How's Val coming along, Vik?" Jackie questioned.
"Got the bullet removed from her head! I'm just patching up the wound now without messing with the chip!" The Ripper called back in reply.
"Then we need to make sure this one wasn't followed by his pals at Arasaka." Jackie noted. "That's the last thing we need." He added.
"I agree." V nodded before looking at the downed bodyguard.
"No… I came alone. It was an assignment issued to me exclusively." Takemura replied, answering the unspoken question.
"That may be the case, but I've learned never to trust corpos at all." V stated as he stepped outside, going around the street corner to see if anyone was there
Looking around, he saw no Arasaka vehicles nearby. He was mildly surprised that Takemura was genuine.
"An honest Corpo… Don't see that every day." David commented as he looked around.
"Ain't that the truth." V nodded in agreement as he went to rejoin his group.
However, as if on cue, several motorcycles suddenly came screeching down the street.
"Shit. Looks like the 'sakas found out Takemura was taken down." David cursed.
"Of course they fucking did." The Nomad sighed as he turned to address the assassins as they stopped in front of him.
One of the Arasaka assassins tried to take a shot at him, but V whipped out 2nd Conflict and shot him in the head, sending his brain matter all over the place.
More came rushing at him with Mantis blades drawn, to which the Nomad then took out Bad Night Rising and started blasting their cyberware–blowing them clean off before blowing out their knee caps, and then popping six rounds in their heads, blowing one guy's jaw clean off.
Two tried to catch him in a pincer maneuver with their swords, but V activated his Sande at the last second and dodged, which made them kill each other.
"We better get back inside." David told him, kicking one of the Arasaka corpses in disgust. "I'm starting to sense another engram." He added.
"Yeah. We better go check that out." V nodded as he went back to his group. For real, this time.
(Days later)
In the days since, V and Jackie soon pieced together that Takemura was apparently set up by Yorinobu. The team that had appeared soon after his arrival wasn't to extract, but terminate.
His company implants ceased working soon after.
After getting some replacement implants, the now ex-bodyguard was forced to go into hiding for the time being with the intent of meeting with Viv when she was well enough. V had told Jackie to keep an eye on his movements as best he could, just in case.
Jackie had also left a little get-well-soon gift at Val's apartment, but never said what it was.
V, meanwhile, was busy with taking care of Beetlejuice. He would sometimes expect T-Bug to come into view and help him out… But she didn't, and he knew she never would again. It was painful.
Soon, Val was ready to wake up.
"Val? You in there?" Vik questioned as the woman woke up.
"Ugh… What the fuck hit me…?" She groaned before wincing as she held her head where her bullet wound was.
"You took a shot to the head." Vik replied. "V and Jackie filled me in on what happened; Should've known Dex would lose his cool like that." He added with a sigh.
"No shit. Bastard flipped his lid and panicked over what happened." The Widowmaker grunted as she sat up slowly. "There's… something I also saw when I was out." She added as she took a breath.
Her vision seemed to pixelate as she looked around.
"What'd you see?" The Watson Ripper asked, sitting on his stool.
"I saw… memories. Johnny Silverhand's memories." The assassin replied as she recalled what she saw. "They were from his last concert with Samurai, the bombing at Arasaka Tower back in 2023, and my dad was on his crew back then." She added.
"That sounds about right." Vik nodded. "The chip you slotted, it had his personality construct on it." He continued, stroking his chin. "Silverhand's crowning achievement happened about fifty four years ago in 2023, the bombing you witnessed. He, your pops, Shayton, Morgan Blackhand, Rogue, they were all on that team. Trying to end the Fourth Corporate War." He added.
"I'm sensing a but, here…" The woman said, struggling to sit up despite the pain in her chest.
"The biochip in your head was able to save your life, but the engram on it isn't just gonna do nothing now that it has someone to talk to." Vik told her. "You got hit in the head. Normally that would mean that you'd only have a few weeks. But the bullet hit you on the side away from the chip, so it isn't damaged and probably won't malfunction." He added.
"Then… if it's not happening in a few weeks… how much time do I have?" Val questioned.
"My count? Six months, at best. Your neuro network was saved from deterioration due to the type of headshot you took, fast enough where your body can resist the chip's effects. But since you still died, it's made it where your body can't function without it until the engrams set in, letting it take its sweet time taking over your brain." The Ripperdoc explained.
"Oh, of all the stupid, shark jumping, asinine bullshit of this stuff…" Val groaned in dismay. "Is there any possible way to save my own life?" She questioned.
"One idea that comes to mind is getting a clone of yourself made by BioTechnica, since they specialize in that sort of thing." Vik mused in reply. "But that's gonna cost you an arm and a leg, though." He continued. "And as for separating your and Silverhand's psyches… I got nothin'." He sighed.
"It's okay, Vik. This kind of hardware, it's way outside of your wheelhouse." Val told him, knowing for a fact that even a Ripper of his caliber was not and could not be expected to be able to make heads or tails of a prototype biochip from Arasaka. "I'll… Try to figure this out myself. But I'm grateful, really." She added.
"Thanks, kiddo." The man nodded with a smile as Misty walked in with a wheelchair. "Misty'll help you get home." He added.
"Jackie was kind enough to leave you a get-well-soon gift at your apartment." The blonde told her with a smile as she helped the assassin into the wheelchair.
"Oh god, I forgot." Val groaned as she buried her face in her hands. "V's gonna kill–wait." She said before turning to Misty. "The guys, Judy, is she, are they—?" She asked.
"She's fine, but when she found out what happened, she was ready to kill Dex herself before V told her he took care of that." Misty replied, seeing the incomplete question. "Other than that, she's been worried sick about you." She added.
"Thank goodness…" The woman sighed in relief that her friends weren't in danger as she laid back in the wheelchair as she was rolled out of the clinic.
(Later)
After a surprisingly quiet drive through the streets (there was usually the sound of gunfire somewhere along the way), Val and Misty arrived at their apartment. The assassin had to be helped up the stairs since there was no elevator available, and when they entered the apartment, Judy was there to greet them.
"Val!" The brain dance editor exclaimed as she ran to her girlfriend and hugged her. "I heard what happened– I'm so–is there anything I can do?" She asked, the red dyed woman's head in her hands as she knelt in front of her.
"I… have a lot on my plate right now. Just give me some time to sort through it all." Val replied as she let out a breath. "I've been through a lot recently." She added, holding her still healing wound.
"Take all the time you need, Val." Judy told her, stroking her cheek before looking at Misty. "Thanks, Misty. I'll take it from here." She added.
"Sure." The blonde nodded before she handed the Moxx two containers. "Omega Blockers and Pseudoendotryzine. Blue pills should slow things down and keep Silverhand calm, red pills will do the opposite. I also prescribed some for V a little after he got his Sandevistan." She told them, getting their attention.
"Wait, why?" Judy asked in confusion.
"It was at his request. Apparently, David Martinez had an engram of himself sealed in his Sandevistan somehow when it was linked with the Cyberskeleton." Misty explained, surprising the two women.
"Well that explains why he wasn't surprised by what happened to you." Judy noted.
"Or why I keep seeing him look in odd directions, seem like he's talking to someone in his head, or popping red and blue pills on jobs." Val nodded. "Maybe I'll ask him for pointers on how to talk with Silverhand when he starts acting up." She added.
"I was actually about to recommend that." Misty commented. "Wonder why he never told you." She mused.
"No idea…" Val sighed as Judy rolled her inside their bedroom, where an egg laid in a makeshift nest on Judy's work desk, under a heat lamp. "Uh… What's with the egg?" She asked with a blink.
"Oh, Jackie dropped that off for us. Said he nabbed it from the Konpeki penthouse." Judy replied.
"... That crazy bastard gave us a Lesser Antillean Iguana egg…!" The Nomad woman gasped as she recalled the only reptile in that penthouse.
"It's a few days from hatching, last I checked." The editor told her as she helped her into their bed. "We can talk more in the morning, let's just get some sleep." She added.
"Yeah… Sleep on an actual bed sounds great right now…" The assassin yawned as her friend helped her into the guest bed before leaving the room, the assassin falling into a peaceful sleep.
(Later)
Later that night, Val soon woke up to the sound of something in the room as a figure walked to her side of the bed.
"Wake the fuck up, Samurai." The figure said, kneeling down in front of her and revealing himself to be Johnny Silverhand. "We have a City to burn." He added, taking off his combat aviators.
"Johnny…?" Val groaned as she rubbed her eyes. "Give a girl time to recover from a bullet wound before going on a rampage, would ya?" She added, sitting up slowly to avoid agitating her wound.
The engram didn't respond as he just walked over to the window and leaned against it.
"Need a smoke, where'd you stash yours?' He questioned, knocking the back of his head against the window, repeatedly.
"I'm not a big time smoker." The assassin deadpanned in response.
"Oh, just my luck. People like that are the worst." Johnny groaned. "And I thought Willie was a killjoy about it." He added.
"I knew dad's no-smoking lifestyle was genetic." Val chuckled lightly, causing the engram to pause.
"... Did you just admit that Willie's your old man?" He asked with a blink.
"What? You didn't already know?" She questioned.
"I only just saw it and finished processing it." The rocker shrugged in reply. "So old white-beard kicked the bucket, huh?" He questioned.
"Yep, and he nearly zeroed Smasher too." Val nodded as she got up and walked into the living room. "Now me and V are trying to exact our revenge on Arasaka in any way we can." She added as she sat on the couch.
"Hm… Maybe I can help with that." Johnny hummed as he appeared next to her. "You help me, and I'll help you." He added.
"I think we can manage that, especially if it involves Arasaka getting hurt along the way." Val chuckled before turning serious. "But mine and V's chief objective is locating the Last Will of Richard Night." She added.
"I heard whispers of that back in my time." Johnny nodded. "They only ever talked about it, though. No one knows where it is, other than that it's inside Night City." He added.
"I've got some ideas on where to start." The assassin told him as she thought about asking Rogue for contact info on any of Richard Night's old associates that were still alive.
"Guess we'll have to see then." The rocker nodded as he disappeared, letting Val go back to sleep.
"Fuck me…" She sighed, falling into slumber.
(The next morning)
Val groaned as she felt herself being shaken awake, causing her to open her eyes and see Judy standing over her.
"I'm up, I'm up." She groaned, groggily shooing her hand away.
"Are you okay?" Judy questioned.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." The woman nodded as she sat up.
"Wanna take a shower before I gotta go to work?" She asked.
"Sure. I'm in need of one, anyway." The Nomad shrugged before she went into the bathroom and stripped herself bare before entering the shower, setting the water to the most comfortable temperature possible.
(Later)
After her shower, Val was finally able to get dressed, and soon found that V had left her a couple boxes of threads to wear, which she decided to put on.
It was mainly a crop tank with the same design as his shirt, a pair of black jeans, sneakers, and a bullet charm necklace that Misty apparently made for her.
As she finished doing this, she got a call on her holo. It was V.
"Hey, bro. Just put on some of the clothes ya got for me." She told him upon answering.
"Good, cuz I need you to meet me and Jackie at Tom's Diner. Something just came up." The Nomad explained.
"What's up?" The Widowmaker asked as she grabbed her guns.
"Takemura wants to meet, I'll explain it more when you get here." He told her as the woman stepped out of her apartment.
"Okay, I'll see you then." She told him as they hung up, the woman making her way to the popular diner.
Act 1 closes, and Act 2 opens.
ThermalsniperN7: And now, we get to see what plot twists unfold for V and Val. We even got to see William Night's last stand… One Piece and Metal Gear fans, you're welcome.
Dragon Emperor0: Now you get to see just why Willie was such a legend and that V wasn't exaggerating. Also, in Val's Flashback that Johnny saw I got some Breaking Bad vibes from that first half.
ThermalsniperN7: Never saw Breaking Bad, so I dunno what you mean. Anyway, apparently NC's boogeyman took Willie's glaive as a trophy. Knowing how things can go, that thing'll probably end up in either V or Val's hands after a certain point.
Dragon Emperor0: Probably. Also, Val will likely get rid of the chip after the job with the Voodoo Boys, seeing as they or Netwatch will likely be able to get it out once they have the schematics that Helman has. So while the chip will be gone and the job finally done, Viv will likely still have to deal with Johnny still encroaching on her mind since it'll be way farther along by that point.
ThermalsniperN7: Probably NetWatch, since the goal was to get the chip to them. The VDB are more liable to kill her, and if that's done after the chip gets removed… You don't need me to finish. But that'll get the Aldecaldos, Thelas and maybe even the Animals on the VDB's asses.
Dragon Emperor0: That's true. And it looks like that with the chip not being damaged, Johnny was far more nice with his first interaction, which I think will be beneficial to both of them in the long term.
ThermalsniperN7: I agree. And watch out for the big search for the Last Will of Richard Night; That's gonna be a major point in the story once it's found. Anyway, see you guys next time.