New Path, Goals and Training

David stumbles to the ground, the blue flames flicker out as he comes back to normal time. The Sandevistan felt different than the first few times he used it. Easier, in a weird sense.

He looks up to find himself in a room, He also spots the polished wood desk in the center, along with the old man seated behind it. He was a short man with a long nose and large eyes, and wore an immaculate black suit. Hands folded at his desk, he smiles and speaks in a squeaky, high pitched voice.

"Greetings David Martinez. My name is Igor." he raised his right hand, gesturing to their location. "Welcome to the Velvet Room."

'Nope! Not doing this!' It might have been paranoia from strangers, or adrenaline from escaping from Maine and his crew, or just the experience of being set on fire, not dying from it and getting brought there, but David's first response was to run. So he did. He got up, turned arround and ran.

Suddenly, a blue blur rushed him, grabbed him by the arm, and slammed him back into the ground. David groaned as he looked up to see a platinum blond with amber eyes, garbed in a blue uniform.

"My Employer summoned you here to speak. It is in your best interest to hear him out." She spoke in a cold tone. "Or, you could resist, and I would break your limbs. So by all means…" She gave a sinister smile. "Please resist. Give me some excitement."

David gulped. 'This chick's gotta have a Sandy, only way to catch me. Probably had it for far longer.' He weighed his options, but it wasn't hard. "Alright, I get it. No running." the girl gave him a look before helping him to his feet. David didn't fight her; he reasoned that he'd fail if he did. David saw the other seat across Igor's desk, and sat down.

"Thank you Regala. You may leave now." Regala nodded and walked away. Igor turned to David. "I apologise for the rough handling. I understand that much has transpired on this day."

David narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure where the hell he was, and couldn't spot a way out. On edge didn't begin to describe how he was feeling. "You sayin you were watching me?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Igor admitted. "You would have succeeded in convincing Maine to give you a chance, then you would have joined his team, become an edgerunner. You would even run the team after Maine. I know this for a fact. Even still, I believe you have so much potential that can be tapped into."

David huffed and leaned back into his seat. "Let's skip the ass kising get to the main score. What do you want from me, propin me up with all this 'leader-of-the-crew' and 'untapped-potential' shit?"

Igor nodded. "My role is that of a guide, often to youths. Often they would spend their days and nights living their lives while drawn towards some goal, whatever that goal becomes. End a supernatural threat to the world, the most common. Solve a mystery of murders, more rare. Expose the sins and crimes of the corrupt and powerful." Igor drew on. "I would offer them the power to aid them on their journeys. They would go about their lives, form connections-"

"Cut the Bullshit, ALL of it!" David snapped. "You take me for a damn fool? I don't know what kinda game you're playin but I don't know what's going on, but you don't honestly expect me to buy this crap you're sellin do you? Why the hell would I believe anything you say? Why THE HELL, would a stranger bother to ever help me?"

"Because no other human in this hope forsaken, DOOMED city will give you the chance I can." Igor roared back slamming his fist into the desk. "And someone damn well should."

David flinched back. He wasn't expecting that kind of reaction.

"You humans have always been a fascination for me, especially those whom I have been tasked to watch over on their paths. I offer support. I watch. Observe. Offer counsel. I enjoy my role no matter what world, what dimension, what reality I am tasked with. The Human Soul is a wondrous thing that I am privileged to see at work time and time again." As he spoke, blue sparks and embers started to gather arround them. David fliched back, afraid to be swallowed by the flames once again.

"And yet…" Igor raised his arm, the flames stilled at his hand. "The humans of your world, Night City in particular, have, on average, lost that human spark, that drive to better themselves, the feeling of granting hope. you devolved to a Corporate pissing match, obsessed with the latest peice of chrome, the latest drug, the latest brain dance, or whatever mediocrity you people worship. You people waste your time on your own fleating delights at the expense of everything and everyone ELSE. the bonds of mortals, more valued than diamonds, forsaken for Worthless metal surgery, strength of man traded away to be ruined constructs in a wretched machine."

"You say your only worth is the piece of metal on your back; You say that people are only worth the chrome in their bodies or the families they come from. They are wrong, every single one of them, including yourself. A lying fool self deceived. You and every single one of them."

"So yes, I want to give you a chance; a chance to prove you can be something greater than anyone can imagine. If you don't want to believe that… then I'm going to convince you otherwise, no matter how long it takes. Days, weeks, months… When you exist as long as I have, you gain a great deal of patience. Now the question remains… what the hell are you going to do about it?"

The silence between them was deafening at this point. By now the flames behind him were settling down. David wasn't sure what to make of his tirade. It wasn't clear what Igor wanted from him.

"…So…you're an alien then." David lamely said. What was he supposed to say after… all of that?

Igor sighed and then gave a light smile. "Alien in origin, I suppose." He seemed calmer now, having got all that off his chest. He then reached into his coat, pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his hand. "David, you are here to receive my support; whether you accept right this minute, in an hour, tomorrow morning, a week later or any other time hereafter. I am here, in this world, for you."

David just stared at Igor for a few more minutes. "...If you know what it's like to live in Night City, then you know exactly why it's not easy to take a stranger at their word."

Igor leaned back into his seat and sighed. "I really wish I could argue otherwise… but you're right." he snapped his fingers; David instantly noticed a bright white light come into being behind him. He turned arround to see a door of pure light. "If you wish to leave, the exit is behind you. I will contact you again by other means."

David stood up and started walking, but he took his time, lost in thought. 'This guy's not from here; hell, I doubt he's even human. He literally teleported me here, just to speak to me. Me, a kid from Arroyo.' He stood right at the door, about to leave, except he started thinking how this could go. Odds are, he's spouting shit to waste me; on the other hand, if he was being serious…

"… One more question… Maybe two." David said as he turned arround to face Igor. "If I said yes to your offer, how exactly would you help me?"

Igor brought a hand to his chin in contemplation. "Your situation is a bit different to past wildcards whom I have provided counsel to in the past. Ordinarily, I would slowly allow them access to a power that would allow them to channel the power of the Metaverse."

"But in your case, before the supernatural comes into play in earnest, I will offer aid to you in three, practical ways: I will provide you with physical training to be able to fight; I will provide you a temporary room you may stay in, At least until you can find another place. And I will provide you a simple yet sure fire method to make cash and get paid, utilizing the training you would undergo."

David sighed. "You know about the rent at my place then."

Igor nodded. "Aside from that, I will provide counsel and guidance, specifically towards any goal you have."

'That's…much more concise than I expected.' David scratched the back of his head in thought. "Okay…and what if I just…don't have a goal or…" He trailed off, not sure how to say it.

"That is hardly an issue." Igor said with a calm smile. "We can discuss it then, narrow down your interests and derive a goal from those. Let's start with your schooling…" David flinched; Arasaka Academy was not his favorite subject, despite doing well. "Of the subjects you took, what were you most interested in? What subjects do you excel at?"

David shrugged. "Overall, I'm a top student, keeping in the top 10 of my grade. Best part is that unlike most of the corpo brats in my grade, I don't use data shards or neural implants to get there."

"And the subject that sparked your interest most?"

David gave a non committal hum. "Probably… History, though more from the few stories my mom told me than from school lessons."

"Then perhaps you could become a teacher on the subject?"

"Screw that, I ain't good with kids."

"With your intellect, you could be a Scholar then."

"Nope. Too dull for my tastes."

"How about a place in Law enforcement?"

"In this City? Fuck No, I aint workin with the pigs!"

Igor pinched his brow. He hasn't accepted yet, but they are still in discussion. Progress. "Let's try a different approach. Why did you put so much effort into your schooling to this point? What was your motivation for that?"

David gave a long sigh. "…My mom. She, ah… wanted me to climb up the ranks… stand on top of the Arasaka Tower. She wanted to…" He took a breath to calm down, Emotions still raw from the incident. "She wanted me to have a better life than her."

Igor gave a slight nod. They settled into a solemn silence for a minute before the elder spoke again. "...The hope that their child will flourish past them is the hope of any good parent."

"..." David leaned back in his seat, and held his hands together to calm his nerves. "I guess… I don't have a goal right now."

Igor nodded. "That's fine." David gave him a look before he explained. "Lacking a goal is acceptable, so long as you admit it. For now, let's think short term."

David just gave him a look, torn between interest and disbelief. Igor kept a neutral but friendly smile on his face, but he was grinning on the inside. This was his chance! "Perhaps, for the moment, why not work to repay Maine for the Sandevistan?"

David narrowed his eyes. "Work for the gunk who was seconds away from flatlining me earlier?"

Igor shook his head. "I meant earning the eddies, by other means, and paying him back when you have the full amount; Specifically so he won't have cause to flatline you."

David pondered it; he did owe the big guy for the Sandy… and he did work with his mom…However… "How would I get the scratch to do it?"

"By working for me of course." The reply came way too easily for David's liking.

David just gave a dull 'ahh' at that. 'With how he makes deals, maybe he is a demon after all. Then again… What do I got to lose?' "Fine, I'm in. What do you want me to do first?"

"Excellent." Igor snapped his fingers, causing a blue door to appear to his right. Regalla, who'd stood a distance behind Igor this whole time, proceeded through the door into the training room. "Before I assign you any tasks, I'll have you undergo a bit of training. Regalla will be your trainer."

"The platinum blond from before?" Igor nodded. "The one that wants to beat me up." Igor paused, then nodded. David just sighed in return "Fine. I ain't gonna be so easily pinned by her. This time, I'll take her down."

Igor grinned at that, pleased with his enthusiasm. Even if it would be short lived. "If you think you can fight her, even with the Sandevistan, then by all means be my guest." David accepted the challenge and walked through it to meet his sparring partner. Regala grinned at the prospect of a proper target. Maybe his day - well his night by this point - was looking up.

_The Next Day_

"Uh, this is not my night!" A young man in an Arasaka School uniform groaned as he walked down the hall after class. He checked to make sure his monorail was still working. He pulled out the razor thin wire and inspected it, then flicked it out in front of him. Once he was sure his primary weapon was in working order, he called it back, combed his green hair with his hands, and continued his pace. He'd need to be at his best if he wanted to deal with the son of Arasaka's Director of Technology and Development.

"Katsuo Tanaka, a whiny corpo brat to rule them all…" he droned on. The young Tanaka had an ego and pride as big as the old net and he made that notion clear every chance he could; he certainly does think of himself as above the rest. He could almost appreciate his determination, if he wasn't so petty. He tries to come across as an important big shot, but really, he comes across as more juvenile than most young teens their age.

Most students - himself included - would bow their heads to his whims, if only to avoid his wrath. Well, more him being an utter pain. 'Except for some female students… some of them have worse to fear from Tanaka Jr.'

The main bloody exception would be one David Martinez, who's been the subject of Katsuo's ire from day one. Rumor was that Katsuo tried to talk (IE: threaten or bully, as he often wasn't subtle enough to manipulate) him into being one of his goons. David supposedly told him to fuck off, leading Katsuo to resort to petty tactics to get him expelled ever since.

They never worked: David was hard working with solid grades, and Katsuo didn't have that kind of influence, no matter how loud he was when he bragged about it.

'And I tend to stand right smack in the middle. Though some days I wish I could say fuck it, and tell the R&D prince to go fuck himself too.' He tried to avoid Katsuo whenever he could, but when that failed, he resorted to being the charming chatterbox to keep him happy.

Sometimes it worked, other times it got him a punch to the face. He always walked it off - the latter happened at most once or twice every few months - and continued on as normal life. It helped that Katsuo spent most of his time trying to annoy or otherwise inconvenience Martinez.

Yet now Martinez is gone, having decked the shitstain in the face during a class, using some allegedly advanced chrome to do it. He's not sure how Martinez got his hands on a damned Sandevistan - it could be from his mom or a lucky deal with a Ripper, but he's not sure either way - but his stunt set the shiny pauper off. Now he has to deal with his rants; just his luck.

Well, there we have David meeting with Igor… to mixed results. David's punk who's lived in Night City; he was never gonna just say yes to any deal. I played it as naturally as I thought he'd act. Let me know what ya think.

I had fun writing Igor; this ancient, elder being with an interest in aiding aspiring Persona protagonists on their journeys. If you know Persona, you'll know the jokes & tropes I'm playing with.

Also introducing a new character, but He isn't an Original Character. His deal will be explored in future chapters. Kudos to anyone who can guess the anime character he's based on.