When Marcus first met his new brother, V, much wasn't said about his accomplishments in-depth, or the kind of person that he was; only word of mouth from Saul, Mitch, or Panam. Now, however, he could say with a degree of certainty that V was built differently.
The way that he dealt with the threat in front told him all he needed for the future ahead.
''Come on, that's all you got, you fucker?!'' V taunted, his movements appearing blur-like, and too fast for Marcus or Kim to track accurately through the night. Whoever the murderous cyberpyscho resembled before making the ultimate choice to fuck themselves over should have gotten a second opinion. Most of the clan had rarely seen or even dealt with cyberpsychos enough to give an accurate assessment of their abilities outside of what the veterans had dealt with in the war. It was something Marcus hoped never to see the light of day. Something that he did not know was why Arasaka was following them this far into their journey.
''H-Huh, this motherfucker is crazy for real,'' Marcus laughed to himself as he fought to calm his breathing, firing another shot of his rifle at the cyberpyscho who just refused to go down. Something else inside of Marcus told him, no matter what, V's mindset would always be the one to prevail in the face of adversity, even when it came to one Arasaka following them this far. ''Kim, w-whaddya think?''
''He's a crazy bastard, but effective; I'll give him that.'' Kim responded, keeping his rifle's sight trained toward the fight that appeared to reach its climax as V began to make short work of the cyberpyscho's erratic movements. Almost appearing to glide across the desert landscape, V came face to face with cyberpyscho, his change in position failing to register with his opponent as he unloaded the remainder of his revolver in her face with a final shout of defiance. Piece of corrugated metal and scarred flesh spread out, the sparking and unintelligible garbling of the cyberpyscho final moments coming to a close as she fell over on the ground. ''Think I know why Panam is with him now.''
Lowering his gun, V breathed a sigh of relief as he switched the gun to safe and had a better chance to look at the cyberpyscho. The more pressing thought in his mind was more along the lines of trying to find out what angle Arasaka attempted to play. While he didn't want to cash in his chips on his hunch, a part of him also considered different possibilities. A cyberpyscho; out in the middle of basically nowhere, in the same place as them, and after Mikoshi?
''Too good to be true,'' V muttered to himself, using his optics to ping the area around him, intent on unearthing something to substantiate his claim. He looked over at Marcus and Kim briefly. ''You guys okay?''
''Y-Yea, choom; we're good. Jesus, you're faster than I thought.'' Marcus said over the holo, V chuckling to himself a bit at his attempt to control his breathing and sound confident at the same time. ''You figure that freak came from somewhere? Does Arasaka have some kind of next-day cyberpyscho delivery shit?''
It was a good thought, and the more that the merc mulled over that particular thought, the more that Marcus being right worried him If Arasaka was daring enough to follow them, he knew they would likely send more than one little cyberpyscho barely posed a threat to the same level as someone like Adam Smasher; and V blew what little of his brains out personally.
''That may be the wrong question to ask,'' V said warily, his attention on the rock structure that stood a small distance away. According to his ping, and his own common sense at the situation, it showed the merc a sublevel just underneath the rocks, giving way to a partially developed tunnel system that spanned out for quite a distance. What stood out to V the most had to be the shapes of machinery, though the exact make and model were something lost to him. ''I see some underground stuff, and I got a hunch our little friend here may just be the beginning,'' the graveness in V's voice was not lost on the pair. He would have to do something without too many people in play.
''What are you thinking?'' Kim's voice came over the holo, his tone a bit wary, almost as if he knew exactly what V was thinking.
''You two stay here, I can go and take a look.''
''Yea, that's a big negative, chief. We should probably wait for Panam and Saul to get here with some backup, even if you are one of the best, there's no knowing that was the only one, and I don't want to be the one to tell Panam I let you go off by yourself when she's as devoted to you as she is.'' Marcus contested V's idea, already not liking the fact that he had to deal with talking to Panam herself when she asked for a situation report regarding V.
''I'll be fine, don't worry about it. Plus, the longer we stay out here staring at each other is the more time I could use to see what's down there; it looks pretty narrow on the way down, and my gut's telling to go down there.''
Marcus scoffed, doubling down on his statement. Being stubborn was one of the many components of being a Nomad, and it never got any easier dealing with one the same as you were, no matter how many years on the road were spent, bonds made and fortified, and whatever else inbetween that came. Having a new addition to the family came with making sure that they understand the bond and commitment that came with leaving their previous life behind in favor of the family. Enough rouge Nomads became the likes of outcasts or Raffen Shiv due to not fufilling their obligation to the family, and all that it entailed. ''Don't really know how much Panam told you about family, but this is kinda the opposite of it.'' Marcus's words struck a chord within V as he creeped out of his sight.
''How so? I know you and Kim can't leave here, and you got each other's backs.'' V said, slinking over to the edge of the rock formation, peering further in to gaze upon a dimly, but consistent stream of light flooding the space leading down. It appeared like an old elevator shaft from the looks of it, covered a layer of desert and partial rust. A dull whirring was heard the closer V moved in, the system on his telling the year being dated around 2019. ''No skin off of my back, plus I don't expect you guys to jump after me.''
''You should, because we're family. And you should expect that because that's what family does for each other. Being family means just that; all that we have out here on the open road, where anything could happen, is each other. We need to know we can rely on each other and trust that we have the interests of the family first before any personal gain,'' Marcus said stiffly, his tone final and unwavering. ''And the most important thing to keep in mind is 'we', and not 'I'. You're part of that now, V. Trust me when I say, if you keep that mindset that you have, then you may not be long with The Aldecaldos.''
Pausing as he finished performing a quickhack to bring up the small elevator car, V's thoughts went elsewhere. To Jackie; to his childhood, the feeling of loneliness and regret that swallowed him every night as he fought to stay in the light, however much that was possible for someone like him with all that he had done. Flashes of gunshots, splotches of blood, and the ever-so nagging of Johhny Silverhand while laid on his deathbed multiple times consumed V. The glamor, the fame, the reputation of being the best merc in Night City all faded in an instant, as if it never existed to begin with.
And at the end of the tunnel was her. Panam. And everything he knew, and had yet to fully know that he wanted, no. . .that he needed. He hadn't really understood yet, but what he did was that V has a chance. A chance that many others never did, and fought with all their might to obtain, only for it to fail the very next second. A more stable lifestyle, in a way, from the hustle and dug-filled and murder laced bustle of Night City where one could barely hear themselves think. A support system founded off of the backs of trust, honor, respect and duty to the person that stood to the left or right of another, and belonging. All of these concepts seemed foreign to V, whereas the Nomads he met on his travels to Night City, to the one who's words V was carefully contemplating in favor of something that was not 100% sure on what he should feel about.
If he rushed into this by himself, again, he would surely only bring about more pain and hurt than what was needed, and all in the name of attempting to be the hero to save everyone when a crisis arose. And the look of hurt on Panam's face would be the last thing he wanted. The city had a funny way of taking everything that once was compartmentalized and throwing it out to the wind, leaving an organized mess. A lack of accountability was present in all facets of life, people came and went, and those who either chose not to, or could not adapt were no better than yesterday's trash.
''This is heavy, huh?'' Marcus asked, hearing V's breathing through the call. For a cityboy like V to come into a life like this at full speed, with no sense of direction was something he didn't fault V for. He couldn't. Being introduced into a system that gave less of a fuck about you than what could be considered humanly possible was something Marcus knew all too well. ''Family's here for that, too. To keep you centered when you feel lost.''
Sucking a breath through his nose as he stepped back and walked out towards Kim and Marcus, V nodded to himself, fighting his free-spirited nature in favor of something else. It was the least he could after everything Panam did for him, and did without hesitation. He would be a fool to let all of that amount to nothing. ''You're right. My bad, guys. Still kinda getting used to this whole family thing, is all.''
''You're good, V. Can't imagine how much of a change it is coming from NC to here. Just know, you don't do everything alone.'' Kim's words made V smile a bit. ''I know we just didn't manage to talk you away like that; what was it really?''
''Hahaha! Think about it, gotta be the thought of Panam strangling the life out of him if he went on by himself!'' Marcus came onto the holo, snickering. While he wasn't off the mark completely, that thought also contributed to him turning around, knowing that anything Panam did in regards to V was done only out of pure love and worry for him, which he would never be able to pay back fully, no matter how much he tried. The idea of being out in the open desert, with Panam and The Aldecaldos was going to take all of his power and attention to ensure it all went smoothly on his part. A few times during his interactions with the others, did V stop and truly consider if he was cut out to live the Nomad life true, and Arasaka and Night City aside, he had the world to find himself in the family.