A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to the new chapter of Neon Knight! Things have happened and more things have gone down, but it's here.

Now, time for the (non-bot) responses:

Juliojesuslopezmontalvo: Thank you, as for pairing, yes, there will be but I'm taking it slow. You know, introducing characters, writing them, seeing how they interact, stuff like that. Maybe it'll be multi as nothing I write isn't self-indulgent, but we'll see.

Sagittipotenta: My beta reader brought this exact same thing up and I ignored them. If you ever have a beta reader, listen to them. Anyway, I should have fixed it up so should be fine.

Eisenhower Haloway: Hello again, let's just say that that's not a question I can answer.

XenoomegaX9: I'm glad you like it. Let's just say a lot of changes might happen.

Now, that's it for responses. Before I forget, I don't own Arknights or Cyberpunk.

This story has also been inspired by many others from Atomos, We're not really Doctors, The Strongest Sorcerer of Tomorrow, Rhodes Island's Psychologist, and more.

So, fun fact, there was a section last chapter that was pretty important. And this little story? It's also fairly important, though it will be kinda disconnected because it is somebody telling a story rather than it happening that some details will be overlooked or kinda mixed.

Note: The efficiency of guns and ammunition types vary on official dice rolls according to the Cyberpunk Red rules(or Cyberpunk 2020). For example, Light pistols that use 6mm rounds would hurt and possibly kill civilians but wouldn't hurt an Operator and they use 1d6(or one six-sided die). Medium pistols use 9mm and will probably injure and kill any combatant and hurt non-defense Operators and kill while they use 2d6. So, every dice is one star, and depending on the required dice is what kind of Operator they can injure.

Of course, this is according to Cyberpunk and this fanfic doesn't adhere completely to the rules, so there will be exceptions and this explanation is to give people an idea of how it'll work, mostly. (Obviously, this is baseline without skills or armor taken into consideration, but, again, at most, this is a guideline so take this with a grain of salt.)

Musical leitmotif- Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder

The Agent's ringing interrupted Josue's thoughts, his singular meat eye opening as his cybereye followed. A pair of meat arms, even if one was implanted with a frame, reached up and rubbed his eyes, a familiar smell coursing through the room that was definitely not his.

On both sides of him, a pair of idols sleep, beautiful, attractive, and very naked. What started as a small gig managing sound equipment ended with him pleasing the twins that would be singing in Night City, a pair of sensations charging through the world. In more ways than one. Slinking his way out of their bed, he makes his way to where he dropped his pants as he was about to put them on and the door opened.

Josue, mid-way to putting on his pants, stared at the wall of a man and his scrawnier partner, the bodyguard and the manager of the twins behind him respectively. Considering the situation, the smell, and the stains, it didn't take a genius to figure out what happened.

So, with a bundle of his clothes in hand, the Japanese Idols, twins, waking, he decided before the city could completely wake up or the manager could tell the brick of a bodyguard to do something.

Run.

"Josue?" Ch'en asked, waving her hand in front of the man who hadn't said anything for a minute or two with an amused grin on his face. Once she did so, Josue shook it off as he looked at her.

"Yeah?" He asked while Swire raised a brow.

"Weren't you gonna tell us a story?" She noted as he perked up and nodded.

"Right, right. Sorry, got distracted." He admitted, catching Hoshiguma sending him a knowing look before he continued.

Once he was back home and away from an angry Agency, he checked the message he had received from his Agent. It was from his Fixer, 'Trixster'.

The last time he spoke to him was at least a week ago when he loaned him a submarine to find a Deepdown. Now, he wonders what kind of job he has next.

He answered the message and waited, which wasn't too long. It had a location and a single term, a 'gig'. Long one. Bring extra clothes and pack light on weapons, except for him. Bring as much as he can reasonably carry.

After doing so, Josue went to the Afterlife, a bar in Night City for Legends. It wasn't his goal—revenge was his goal—but he was there for a job. To perform revenge, you need money and information.

So, Trixster, the Fixer, was a bit of a nut-case, Chemskin all over his body of varying colors, making him resemble a clown with a third eye on his forehead, and a pair of 'horns', or antennas in this case, rested atop his head. "Well, well, look what the cat dragged in, or cats. Heard about your little… dance routine with the twins. Well done."

Josue threw his carryall with his tools and extra clothes on the floor and sat down. "If you're expecting a play-by-play guide on how I did it, you're talking to the wrong choom."

"Old-fashioned as ever, but I might have to." Trixster started, airily as usual.

"Why's that?" Josue asks, ordering a Johnny Silverhand and drinking it.

"You're in luck I need you," Trixster said, looking at the young Nomad, his eyes glowing blue while Josue's right eye did as well, Chyron displaying something that made him stiffen slightly. "This is how much I was gonna be paid for your location, though," he shrugged before adding, "I don't think they'd be a big problem for you, Josue 'Tiger' Mondragon, the last of the ferocious Northern Tigers. You don't have the chrome, but you can still fight with those that do. Know some tech better than the creators and can drive any vehicle or maintain them. A hand steadier than some of the best Solos and the accuracy to outmatch more."

Josue scrunched his face, returning to his drink while he continued, "I'm guessing you took care of it."

"Count your lucky stars I don't know a better driver who has as much free time as you do choom." Trixster reminded him, "Managed to wipe it off the Net before any curious Runners could get a hand on it. Though," he added, relaxing before he flicked his finger and Josue's eye flashed before both of his eyes widened and he nearly spat out his drink, "the girls told me you were the best they've had in a while. Give 'em a call before they leave, eh? They do get awfully lonely."

"Who does? Our charming Tiger managed to snag some more women?" The Medtech asked, leaning over the couch they were using, Josue unconsciously, and consciously, hooking his arms around her neck and twisting her, a blush on her face at the distance while he put her in a headlock, tussling her short blonde hair and forcing her blue eyes close. "Uncle, uncle!"

"Shut it, Mad." He hissed a light blush on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"With you, we don't need a Rockerboy." Another voice started, sitting beside Trixster. Stern and strong, he had white hair and red eyes, albinism, a Sandevistan on his spine, and various other cyberware on him. He was their Solo, Alvino.

A screen appeared, and a woman entered, short with a shaved head that Josue had slapped on more than one occasion and would then have some data leak on 'accident' in retaliation. Her eyes lit up an artificial blue while an artificial voice rang out. "Good morning." It started as the others returned it, and she sat down while Josue wrestled Mad to the ground. The two acted like children rather than the young adults they were. They at least had the presence of mind not to bother the people passing by while they wrestled.

Soon, they were done, joining the others in the seat as Alvino was the first one to speak, "So, funny it might be to needle Tiger on his tastes in women and his ability to charm many of them," Josue glared at him, "Who's this client and what's the job?"

"Well," Trixster started, looking around, "there are a few too many ears around but we can't exactly go talk about it just yet. So, I'll let Josue say the results of his last job."

"The dome at the floor of the ocean, right?" He asked, getting the interest of everyone else, but only slightly.

"All Deepdowns have been accounted for." Set, their Netrunner, started, using the artificial voice of her Agent. "It's nothing special, it's a wonder you weren't shot."

"I could have been shot?" Josue asked, eyes wide, and turning to Trixster while the Fixer shrugged as if he didn't leave that tidbit of information out.

"A troupe of idiots and their ringmaster." Someone spoke harshly, everyone in the Crew turning to a woman in a dress, a man behind her, a bodyguard probably, as he looked around. "I didn't expect much, but for not even my lowest expectations to be met…"

Before Josue could open his mouth, Mad and Set clamped their hand over his mouth before Alvino kicked him in the stomach and he curled up, all of them aware of Josue's attitude and the jobs it's cost them with, admittedly, dickish clients. Sadly, they need this job in the same way that this Exec needs them quickly. They could hire anyone, but they went for Trixster, a Fixer notorious for finding good help quickly. Sadly, because he's known as such, he doesn't get to flex his connections much to make an amazing team come together for a gig without a long time.

"I don't believe I'm very welcome." She noted while glancing at Trixster. "Where's our ride?"

Trixster turned to the only one with a vehicle, Josue, as he stiffened and slumped, Set and Mad releasing their grip around his mouth and Alvino prepared another kick in case he began to say something stupid. "It's outside." He said as the woman nodded.

"Nomad?"

"Or Tech," Josue added while she nodded, looking him up and down.

"Northern Tigers…" She noted before turning, "Let's go then."

"This is Grid, the Exec that will be joining you," Trixster said, standing up as everyone in the Crew made their way to the outside of the Afterlife and filed into Josue's kombi. All of them are aware of the rules as they pull up the seats, the bodyguard doing so for Grid as all of them sit down and Josue sets himself on the driver's seat.

"Tlaloc, jam any communications coming in or out. Where are we headed, Trix?" Josue asked. A second later, his Agent received the information and he began to drive the kombi.

"Are you sure no one can listen in?" Grid asks as Josue scoffs.

"I am, " he confirms as he turns on the radio and lowers the music. "So, you want to tell us the deets?"

"'Course. Just making sure everyone's here." Trixster confirmed as he placed a small cube on the table. "So, let's start with introductions. Grid is our client and so is her corporation. A few days ago, she and her corporation, Iskar Industries participated in an auction." The lights of the kombi dimmed, Josue jacked into the car, idly driving the kombi as he turned over to the hologram that popped up. "They managed to snag a bit of data, that was then run through their Netrunner where they came across some information."

The image changed into a paper laid flat, filled with information as Josue recognized it. "A shipping manifest by Daytech?"

"You know them?" Mad asks as Josue nods.

"Yeah, you ask any Nomad and they'll tell you that half of what they have was from Daytech originally. A general appliances corporation, manufactured things like beds, tools, and other things made for, well, things to be used during the day. Still…" He started, narrowing his eyes, "Are you sure this isn't forged?"

"Why's that?" Grid asked as Josue hummed.

"Don't quote me on this, but DayTech filed for bankruptcy way before the dates on this." Josue noted as he continued reading, "Not to mention… well…"

"Well, what?" Alvino asked and Mad interjected.

"Medicine, drugs, food, appliances, and even clothes?" She noted, "You'd think they were looking to supply a supply store."

"I don't know, " Josue said, touching his chin. Appliances are pretty useful for smuggling."

Those words caused silence to come over them as Josue turned, making sure he was going the right way as Trixster nodded. "Exactly. And check the weight. Way over what normal appliances and from I was able to pull out, the ship carrying DayTech's assets from before they went bankrupt? Disappeared. They searched but couldn't find it, trust me, they had a bunch of overseas assets, gold, silver, supplies for their more luxurious appliances."

"Not to mention power tools and, probably, weapons," Josue noted out loud.

"But, where would it be?" Alvino asked, realizing something. "Wait, but… aren't they…?"

"All Deepdowns have been accounted for." Set pointed out.

"One of them hasn't," Grid interjected, the image switching to something else, emails, and the like. "While many files were corrupted, we did manage to find mention of something called 'Suburbia'. The references start way before Deepdowns were a thing."

There was silence once more as they nodded. "So," Trixster started with an easy-going smile, "here's your gig. You will be taking a boat to a Drift Nation, making contact, and commandeering a speedboat. I will set up a communication relay there and we will work from there. Your first job will be going and scoping out the situation, finding a way inside, and seeing what you can find. I will start making some connections, digging up some old ones, and supplying you with what you need. From there, find a way in, secure a way out, and we'll go slow. Expand our search to the different areas until we find Suburbia and what we need. Once that's done, we'll get what we need, leave it with Grid, get paid by Iskar-."

"In cash, right?" Alvino asked wryly while Set nodded.

"Stocks are good and all, but cold-hard Eddies are best." Set agreed and Grid frowned.

"Yes, you will be renumerated with eurodollars." She started as they sent her a strange look. "Only eurodollars unless you want a pick of the technology found."

"Reasonable," Josue noted as he looked ahead.

"Wait," Swire began, confused, "why not stocks?"

"Because the Corporations that offered those that were small-time." Josue groaned, putting his face in his hands. "Jesus, the memory of the amount of times I was swindled into doing a job for free because it was 'in my best interests' fucking makes me sick."

Hoshiguma comforted him while she laughed, "Still, Grid reminds me of Ch'en a bit."

"Hey."

"In the corporate worlds, Ch'en's are a dime a dozen," Josue notes, ignoring Ch'en's glare. "Anyway, to skip-."

"Wait, but it was getting interesting!" Swire says as Josue sighs.

"It's literally just me and the Crew getting used to the Drift Nation. Found some old friends of the Northern Tigers who let me keep a speedboat I fixed." He says before shaking his head.

The waters of the Pacific have seen better days, but even so, with the suits they were wearing and Josue's waterproof bag, they were all ready. Everyone had a pistol, except Josue, who had a few explosives with him, as their wetsuits were operational. "Ready?" Alvino asked as everyone nodded, and he fell in, all of them following along.

Making their way through the depths, they had to pause for the occasional problem as Trixster rang out in their ears. "Right, all of you should be near the area where Tiger spotted the dome. You see anything?"

While their Agents answered, noting that they didn't see anything, Grid grabbed Josue's arm and pointed down. "Beneath us." Her Agent said while Josue looked down.

"That's a… tunnel?" Josue's Agent noted, a tunnel under the ocean floor, and the others stopped and began making their way there. "Seems like it was used to transport materials to a different dome."

"There was a Deepdown that was hit nearby." Grid's Agent noted before they reached the gap and made their way inside. They reached a door, a red light on it as Josue swam forward and looked around. Reasonably, there's nothing he can do, they'll all be shocked if he tries doing something with electricity, so maybe he can use his radio to send an override signal?

Bringing out a radio, stuffed in a plastic bag with tape on the end, he began fiddling with it. Set placed a hand on it, her eyes glowing while she used the signal to find the right signal before placing it on the door.

The door opened after lighting green, creating a vacuum, shoving them inside where they stumbled once the doors closed behind them.

"Ah, fuck." Josue was the first to groan, getting to his feet as he looked around. Set was out of the Net Space so he helped her up before doing the same with the others. "Well, we have an entrance, not so sure about an exit."

"Water would just push us out," Grid noted while looking at the water at their feet lowering. "Huh. Useful."

"Tiger, help me out here," Alvino said looking around while Josue went to the panel by the side, taking out some tools and fiddling with a few things as Mad gave everyone a checkup.

It took a second, but Josue managed to get the door open with a bit of a push from Alvino. All of them stepped out and pointed their weapons out, though they had their opinions on weapons, the fact that Josue had an M1911 was something that they couldn't help but tease him about. Except for Grid. She'd be shot if she did.

It was dark, something Josue rectified as he turned on a flashlight. Once there was some light, they spotted a bunch of things lying around, so Mad moved a few things to a corner, laying down a strip of glow-in-the-dark tape. "Here, let's mark our entrance. We can use it as an exit if we're that desperate."

"So, got anywhere to jack in?" Josue asked while he lowered his wetsuit, letting it hang around his waist, revealing his chest while Alvino did the same.

"No," Set said, disappointed.

"Let's keep going. Maybe find some way to leave without being crushed or an energy source." He noted, making his way through the empty hallway with his gun pointed forward.

For a long while, no one said anything, until Set whirled around. "What was that?"

No one else heard it, but that's probably because she has sensitive hearing. Crouching down, Alvino placed a hand against the floor and hummed. "No vibrations…"

"Echoes?" Josue offered and Mad shivered.

"Don't say something so scary so easily," Mad said as they tried again to look around, Josue is the least chromed individual there, so he has to be happy being able to see something with his flashlight.

"This…" Grid noted out loud, "It doesn't make sense." She finished, "If Set truly heard something, then wouldn't that mean there is something out there?"

"Grid, I-."

"No, she's right." Alvino interjected, "Humans can't survive for long without food or potable water. If this place was abandoned, there wouldn't be any sounds."

"So, Tiger was correct." Mad started before pausing. "But… how?" She realized, looking around as their steps sped up. "Like Alvino said, people can't survive long without food or potable water."

"Why was the tunnel underground?" Josue realized, turning to Grid. "Grid, which Deepdown was hit? Did it belong to Daytech?"

"No." Grid confirmed, "No, it didn't."

"Tiger," Alvino started, "you can't be for real. That's…"

Insane. Ludicrous. And so many more words coursed through their minds before Set answered. "I've been able to find a few ports to jack into, but their signals are completely different. One's older than the other. The older one is usually a level below the newer one."

"Think they built this level, the subterranean one, before the 'dome'?" Josue asked, the idea giving them pause before their communicators came to life.

"Shit!" Trixster yelled, his voice loud in their communicators. "Fuck! We're stuffed! Totally fucking stuffed, you need-." Their hearts dropped when his voice was cut off.

"Contacts!" Alvino yelled, firing as he tried to find cover, but a dart hit his shoulder, his body audibly hitting the floor while he groaned.

"Al-." Set couldn't say anything before she was next, her eyes closing as she fell. Grid's bodyguard shot at the darkness forcing whoever was firing at them behind cover.

"Fuck." Josue cursed, turning behind him and swerving his flashlight around. With each movement, he could catch the barest glimpses of more, shooting at them to ward them off while gunfire rang. "We're trapped!"

"Set off the explosives!" Grid insisted with the full knowledge that Josue was the one with the bombs and setting them off would blow him up. Meanwhile, she was a distance away being protected by her bodyguard.

"What?!" Ch'en said in outrage.

"Yup," Josue confirmed, taking a sip from his drink.

"And she knew-," Swire said, now a bit tipsy due to the alcohol.

"Knew that I had them. Bitch was expecting me to become a suicide bomber for her." Josue noted as Hoshiguma grunted.

"What a bitch."

Josue continued his story.

"Are you insa-!" Josue started before the bodyguard landed a punch on his stomach, probably hoping to lay him down easily, but Josue was nothing if not stubborn. Fumbling, he took in as much air as he could and landed a kick right in between the bodyguard's leg, the taller man grunting and stumbling while Josue pulled him and rested his M1911 against the bottom of his jaw.

He fired thrice, the third one going through his Subdermal Armor and straight into his head as the life left his eyes and he aimed for Grid, her pistol boring down on him.

Neither could pull the trigger, darts landing on their necks where she fell unconscious first and he tried to fight through it.

Aiming his M1911, a single shot rang out, the slide racking back, clicking with the next pull, signaling its status as empty before he heard the group clamor followed by a body hitting the floor. He fell immediately after, his flashlight clattering to the floor and pointing in the direction of the enemies while he used his left arm, the one with the Interface Plug, to cover his right eye, his cybereye, before using his right arm, the one implanted with a frame and a Subdermal Grip, to cover that hand with his pistol, leaving his meat eye to catch something distinctive about the man boring down on him.

"That's something weird to point out," Hoshiguma noted while Josue grabbed his weapons and passed his M1911 to Ch'en.

"Here, feel this." He said, pointing the handle at her while she slowly grabbed the handle, taking note of its heavy frame.

"Steel." She noted before passing it to Hoshiguma then Swire.

"Now, feel this." He said, brandishing the M-2012 while Swire frowned.

"Not steel, but… something else." She noted aloud.

"It's an important detail, trust me." He suggested before continuing with his story.

Birthmark, almost scar-like over his jaw on Josue's right, so on the man's left. It stood out, for some reason.

The man crouched down and scanned him with a machine, the others doing the same as he tried to speak, but it all felt so goddamn hard. Finally, the man seemed satisfied before standing up and stomping Josue's lights out, finally letting him pass out.

When he woke up, he groaned, reaching up and patting his face where he was curb stomped and then on the mattress…

Wait… Why is he in pajamas?

He patted himself down, the cotton pajamas worth a fortune back in Night City being worn like it's nothing which brought up one question. "Where the fuck am I?"

There was a sun. Why was there a sun? Sunlight?

He moved to the window of the room and opened it as he looked at the street of the ideal suburbs of the Americas. If he looked down the street, he could spot some stores down the street, but he could see why this place is referred to as 'Suburbia'.

Also…

The cameras… There were so many, all of them scanning the area. Now, there was a problem when he reached up and felt his chipware socket. He paused at the feeling of a chip he did not slot in. He tried to display his biomon but it couldn't be displayed on Chyron, so he checked his arm where the biomon displayed his result, except…

Nothing's there.

"Morning neighbor!" Someone called out to him and he saw a woman smiling brightly at him, "You new in town?"

Josue nodded slowly, "Uh… yeah." He answered. "Just… finished packing up last night."

"Oh, so your wife was the one who left in the morning?" She asked, smiling, "She was beautiful, so kind."

Woman, beautiful, kind. So… Mad? If he's still alive are all of them? Well, not the bodyguard, he was a corpse.

He needed to figure this out. "Yeah, well, have a good morning." He said, slowly making his way back into his room. He opened the closet, hoping there were some clothes he could change into, which there were but they consisted of coveralls. "… Tiger?" He muttered, reading the tag on the coveralls while he experimented real quick. His cybereye came to life while he rubbed it to hide his eye before deactivating it, leaving him confused, more than he already was anyway. "What? If they were able to disable my biomon…"

He couldn't say more, he was being watched, damn it.

Whatever, it seemed like he was a mechanic. He needs to… get to work, and see what happens, that's what Pre-Four Americans did, right?

He made his way down the room as a woman sat down, sipping on some coffee while looking out the window. "Finally, you're-." She began while turning to him.

Josue spotted Grid and she stiffened.

"That's it for tonight." Josue finished, Swire now shit-faced, Ch'en a close second, and Hoshiguma barely looks drunk.

"What!?" Swire complained, swirling to him as she tried to stand and scold him, "Y-You can't just end it there!?"

"The rich bitch is right!" Ch'en cheered, a blush on her face, "Continue, continue!"

"It was getting pretty good." Hoshiguma agreed while Josue sighed.

"Look, it's a story that spans weeks, I'm not getting it done in one night." He grumbled, not exactly the picture of sobriety, but he's had worse nights. Turning to the chef, he asked. "So, how much do I owe ya, add in their share too."

The man told him a number and Josue frowned, raising a brow, "That's a lot less than I thought."

"Well, the story was really interesting." The man admitted with a shrug, "But it's probably not something I should spread. If you come here to continue the story, I'll give you a discount and keep my mouth shut."

"Well, here," Josue said, leaving a bundle of cash, enough to pay for their food and then extra. "For your silence. Good food too." He added, which, while not a difficult hurdle to overtake due to Josue being used to artificial food like Kibble, MREs, or snack bars, did mean a lot since good food is good food.

The trio of Lawmen were already outside, with Ch'en and Swire already arguing and Hoshiguma trying to act as the mediator, "So, you girls fine going home?"

"Ch'en and I live in the same building." Hoshiguma confirmed, "As for Missy here…"

"Exec's got her own Beaverville conapt, huh?" He muttered under his breath, Hoshiguma giving him a strange look while Ch'en and Swire continued arguing. "Well, I'll drive her over there."

"You will?" Hoshiguma asked, raising a brow as Josue shrugged.

"Sure," he said, "I'll get her on my bike, drive her over, leave her to whoever's there then come back."

"Well, if you're sure." Hoshiguma relented, making her way to Ch'en and grabbing her, "Just be careful. I don't think I need to say what happens if you try anything."

"She'll kick my ass?" Josue asked, calling his Parallax while Hoshiguma scoffs.

"That and more. Well, see ya." Hoshiguma said, waving as Ch'en turned to her and they began to talk.

"Tch." Swire clicked her tongue, "That bitch was spouting bullshit."

"Well," Josue started but didn't say anything, "yeah, let's go with that. Woah." He noted, placing a hand on her back and helping the drunk cat find her balance. "You're alright? I don't think anyone drank that much."

"I-I'm fine." She insisted, pushing him off as she found her balance. "Just a bit dizzy is all."

"Well, I'll be driving you home." He noted before jerking his head, "Come on, my ride's this way." He said while she followed after him with the occasional swaying, her eyes glancing at Josue from time to time.

"Something on my face?" He asked, checking his face for anything before she blinked.

"N-No." She started, "I was just wondering, why do you act like Night City is real?" Swire noted, bringing a hand to her chin. "It makes no sense, I've never heard of Night City from anywhere and it can't be real. Not to mention a 'Deepdown', it has to be a coastal city, but-."

"Probably because it might not even be the same world," Josue answered while she gave him a strange, almost shocked look. "After all, I've seen people like Ch'en before, but I've never seen Lungmen before."

"That's impossible!" She practically yelled, getting some attention before waving them away. "It sounds like fiction."

"Hmmm." He trailed off, bringing a hand to his chin, "You know, I might just do that one day. Publish an anthology of my jobs." Josue said before shrugging. "Still, it is real. I lived through it after all."

"Fine." She harrumphed before pointing at him, "I'll hire you. You were complaining about cars, as it turns out, I have my own. I'll pay for the materials, so all you need to do is modify it to your liking. If you can make it better then I'll believe you."

"You sure?" Josue asked, raising a brow, "You're kinda drunk at the moment." He noted out loud, to her offense.

"I'm fine!" She retorted and Josue shook his head.

"Look, we're at my bike," he motioned to his Parallax, "I'll get you back home and you can call me in the morning if you still want my help."

"Fine then!" She proclaimed while she sat down on the seat behind him. After giving him her address, he started it and made his way through the sparse streets of Lungmen. Her grip on his stomach wasn't bothering him, but the way she seemed interested in his bike was also interesting.

"Wh-Are your arms glowing!?" She asked, realizing that his Synthskin was activated. An upgrade from Chemskin and something he used rarely in performances or when working at night.

On his right arm, was a green and red rose bush crawling up his arm while his left, his cyberarm, had blue circuit-like marks going up it. Visible considering the sleeves of his jackets were rolled up.

"Yeah." He confirmed while taking a turn, the motorcycle smoothly turning. "They absorb light and can light up the area." With a few 'presses' of a mental button, the light of the skin changes to white, lighting up a good area. "Pretty useful for performing maintenance at night."

"Woah~." Swire started before he stopped in front of the building that was Swire's home.

"We're here." He warned her while she began to get off, "I'll let you have a good night's rest."

"You better!" She said with a pout. "You had us working late nights!"

"Well," he said with a huff, "I was raised a clerk, I know a bit about paperwork. Call me and I could probably help." Josue chuckled at the joke and waved at her. "Anyway, night."

Once he made sure the heiress was fine, he made his way to the scrapyard and entered his auto shop, his kombi hidden from most while he spotted a pile of books on one of the tables in the auto shop and Josue made his way over and checks the titles.

Manuals atop manuals of the sparse vehicles made by the various companies in Terra were piled on the table. "Thanks." He noted, grabbing them and putting them in his kombi before falling asleep, some extra cash in his account, and prepared for another day.

The next morning, Josue got up and freshened up before making his way through the city and into a corner store. He bought some cleaning supplies and made his way back to the auto shop as he got down to cleaning.

After doing so until mid-day, Josue sat down and got to reading the various manuals of the vehicles, leaving notes as his thoughts were only reinforced. The vehicles are not well-made compared to what he knows. Everything runs off of Originium, it's efficient, but it's also stupid to constantly rely on one thing to run a vehicle.

Vehicles are meant to be reliable, constantly being in danger of blasting yourself with what is possibly a biological sickness is not reliable. There's also the fact that there are no forms of alternative energy, almost like they only focused on Originium and ignored all the other resources. It… left Josue feeling conflicted that while this world won't experience what oil did, they have Originium instead.

Josue took it as a challenge, making his way to the scrapyard as he looked for what he needed and found it. The frame of a car with most of its innards removed. The parts were rusted beyond belief as he made some measurements, noting them down internally.

Replacements, or take it apart and make his own thing? Hmmm.

"Morning," Scarp said, stepping outside, a cup of tea in his hand as he looked at what Josue was working on.

"Morning." Josue answered, crouching back, "We don't have any engines, do we?"

"Nope," Scarp confirmed. "The law is that we have to turn them over. Why?"

Josue sighed, placing a hand on his knee and pushing himself to his feet, "Just thought it'd be easier to modify the engine than make one from scratch, but oh well. Got any jobs for me?"

"A few. I'm currently running down my list of contacts to check them out." He admitted, taking a sip, "Don't want you walking into a situation you have no idea about."

"Thanks," Josue responded, hopping onto the frame of the car and resting on it. His legs swinging slightly, "Still, I should probably start working on this." He noted, using his foot to tap the car. "It won't run on magic after all and Originium isn't any better." He grumbled, about to return, but was interrupted by his Agent. He opened it, answering the call, "Yeah?"

"Josue?" Swire's voice rang out, "Is that you?"

"Dunno," Josue answered, "Did you mean to call me?"

"Yes, actually," she started, his heart dropping for some reason, "you said you have experience as a Clerk?"

Slowly, Josue put a hand to his face and groaned while Scarp's face twisted in vague amusement. "Yeah." He answered in resignation.

"Perfect." She crooned, "Come to the LGD building."

Ending the call, he let his arm fall while he groaned and Scarp continued laughing.

"I should've started a fight on my way here." He complained within Swire's office, the cat watching slightly impressed and amused while he bowled through the reports and gave them to her to be stamped. "At least I wouldn't have been as bored."

"Now, now~," Swire crooned, enjoying the suffering the mercenary was going through. "You brought this on yourself, causing problems for four days straight, all the paperwork piled up, and now, here we are."

"This is your responsibility." He retorted, pointing at the stack. "Why don't you do it?"

"Why would I when I can pay you to do it?" She asked, waving her hand, "All these files need are a quick read and a stamp. I already told you to put aside certain things."

"So, a glorified secretary?" Josue noted, his lips twitching again.

"Besides, I want to hear the rest of the story." She insisted while Josue rolled his eyes.

"If you want to hear it, so do Ch'en and Hoshiguma. I'm not repeating the story." Josue shut her down. "So, you don't want your car modified?" He asked, returning to last night.

"Really? You weren't lying?" Swire asked and Josue sent her a flat look.

"No, why would I?" He asked, returning to the paperwork.

"Just…" She trailed off before shaking her head, "Never mind. Fine, I'll accept your offer."

"Then I'll go later in the afternoon." He confirmed while Swire's eyes were on the clock on the walls where the sound of the movement of the second hand rang out. The sound was loud enough to drown out the scratching of Josue's pen until it rang out one last time. The hands of the clock on the wall pointed at four in the afternoon. Josue checked his Skinwatch and saw that it says the same.

"Right," Swire said, grinning. "Let's go." She proclaimed, Josue still working on the paperwork. She stepped out, her footsteps receding before they returned a second later, the door opening, before Swire's narrowed eyes pointed at him. "What are you doing? Hurry."

Josue blinked, pointing at himself while Swire rolled her eyes, "Yes, you. C'mon, the dragon is asleep at this time. Let's go say hi." She said, a mischievous grin in place while Josue shrugged.

He followed after her, the officers giving them strange looks as he passed by them until they found Ch'en's office. Swire opened it without fanfare before Josue followed a second later. "Damn, she really is asleep."

Unlike what Josue thought, Ch'en's office was fairly messy, the insignia of the LGD on the white wall opposite the entrance he walked into. In front of that wall is a desk with a pile of paperwork on one side and a laptop on the other. Pushed off to a corner of the room is what looks like a dummy for Chinese martial arts and in the other corner are some workout machines. To the right wall was a clue board, images, and files he didn't recognize connected via red string while the left wall had a bookshelf decorating it. On her wall were diplomas, certificates, honors, and more, all in frames and hung up in a cluster. Beside that was a cabinet, weapons behind glass, and Josue couldn't help but hum in interest.

He has always been more of a gun guy, but he's used swords, and he can see the appeal.

Still, in front of her desk, in between the door and the wall, was a coffee table with a pair of couches on either side, a single sofa in front of him. On one of the couches was the subject of his interest, Ch'en, supposedly, sleeping on one of them.

"Even Madame Ch'en needs sleep." Hoshiguma noted, walking to him with a smile while greeting him, "Afternoon, Josue. How's your day been?"

"Fine, don't like being inactive, so I was cleaning the auto shop I'll be working in." He answered, standing up and away from Ch'en, looking around. "Then, Swire called me, and now I'm contracted to help her with her paperwork."

"Hrm!"

"Really?" She noted, vaguely amused with a raised brow, "I'm the last person who should say this, but you don't seem like the type."

"My mother was a clerk," Josue informed Hoshiguma. "Not my best skill, but I've had some good teachers."

"Rrrrr-hm!"

"So," she asked, grinning, "you wouldn't mind me stopping by if I ever need my bike maintained or modified. Because I'll be honest," she said, spreading her arms and putting them up, "the speed your bike went at was insane."

"Sure, just be ready to pay."

"Hngh!"

"Don't expect too much." Hoshiguma scoffed, placing a hand on her hip. "I am still a cop, we don't get paid much, to begin with."

"Oh trust me, I know." He confirmed, the two chuckling until they finally turned to the fourth person in the room, by Ch'en's weapon locker, the glass open and Ch'en's weapon in her hand.

"Gah!" Swire groaned, trying to pull the sword out of the sheath, if Josue was still on Earth, he'd probably equate it to it being locked behind biometrics or something else. It is not an uncommon thing to add to a sword, especially a sharp one.

"So, does she usually do this?" Josue asked before Hoshiguma huffed in amusement, glancing at him with a raised brow.

"Like clockwork," Hoshiguma confirmed. "Ch'en usually sleeps at this time, so Swire usually tries to unsheathe Chi Xiao."

"Chi Xiao?" Josue asked, raising a brow while scratching at his head. The name bugged him for multiple reasons as it was involved with a job he had once that went wrong in more ways than one.

"Yeah, depending on the day or event, Ch'en lets the department try to unsheathe it," Hoshiguma explained while Swire pouted, walking to her and offering the sword to Hoshiguma as she grabbed it, "Check it." She said, grabbing the handle, and correcting her stance while her brow furrowed in concentration.

For a second, Josue could swear he saw a hannya mask behind her as she began to try to pull the sword from the sheathe, a vein popping on her forehead and on her arms as she grits her teeth. Despite such strength, the sword barely budged, which was not normal since he had forced apart some biometrically locked swords himself. Trying for a bit longer, Hoshiguma relented with a sigh, relaxing as she brandished it, "See? Nothing."

"Hoshiguma is our strongest officer here." Swire pointed out, "And even she can't unsheathe it." She added, grabbing the sword, "Does this bitch fucking glue it when I'm not looking?"

"Magnetic lock is probably the most reasonable explanation," Josue said, looking at the sheathed blade. "Still, beautiful sword, she must take care of it."

Swire scoffs, looking at the sword before brandishing the sword to him, handle-first. "Wanna try?"

"Well…" Josue looked at the blade, a strange feeling bubbling up from his stomach as he grabbed the sheathe with his left and looked at it.

Neither tried to hide their curiosity and anticipation and even Ch'en had partially given up her act of sleeping to peek over, one eye open and her lips tilted slightly upward in the vaguest images of smug superiority.

Swire noticed him looking over as she yelped, "Bitch! Why are you awake, shouldn't you be sleeping!?"

"Nah," Ch'en retorted, a vicious grin in place, "I'd rather see you attempt and fail at drawing Chi Xiao."

"Now, now…" Hoshiguma started, chuckling while looking at them.

No one saw Josue's hand drop, left hand still on Chi Xiao's sheath while his right rested on his handle. They didn't see his hand curl around the sword and instinctively pull on it.

They didn't see the way his neural link lit up, his nervous system going crazy as Chyron displayed error messages, his biomonitor displaying to Chyron an increase in brain activity and heart rate. They didn't feel or hear the strange presence that reminded him of the first time he jacked into the Malorian before he got a Subdermal Grip or even got used to it. Before Eran modified it to fit him.

Unlike the almost psychotic focus and unending rage he felt being added into his when he first jacked into the Malorian, this one was calm, almost mute but still strong. As if its strength was displayed not through action, but through mere existence. It almost felt like a Sandevistan in a way.

The memory of the cyberware that nearly pushed him over the edge knocked him out of his stupor, glancing down at the silver of red peeking from the sheath. He pushed it back in subtly, shaking his head while he propped it against the wall and turned back to them. Barely a second passed as he felt… strange.

"Woah," Hoshiguma said, Josue barely noticing how dull it all felt, her voice causing Ch'en and Swire to turn to them. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just…" he started, rubbing his eyes, both of them feeling in pain before he shook it off. "Phew. Sorry, dizzy spell." Josue managed, hopping to his feet while he blinked. "Sorry about that, cyberware and stuff."

"You say stuff like that." Ch'en started, leaning over the back of her couch, "But how much of that is real?"

Josue raised a brow and turned to Swire. "Sorry to ask this, but please turn off the lights."

Swire understood what he was asking as she did so, the room becoming dark as he rolled up the sleeve of his leather jacket. "So, what no-." His arms lit up and what sounded like Cantonese came from Ch'en's mouth, falling off the couch.

"Ohhh~," Hoshiguma said, poking at his right arm. "Impressive. You train a lot?"

"I work with heavy machines." He answered before continuing with a shrug. "And yeah, a bit of training. Though I think the focus is supposed to be on my arms, maybe?"

"It's cool," Hoshiguma affirmed, Ch'en clambering over the couch to take a look.

"How?" She muttered, looking at them while Josue shrugged.

"Synthskin. Kinda like tattoos but they have a chemical that absorbs light and stores it for whenever I need it, like places with low visibility." He elaborated, the lights coming back on as the Synthskin is deactivated. "Very useful when you're maintaining a vehicle in the dark."

"So, you really are…" Ch'en trailed off, while Josue sent her a raised brow.

"You didn't believe me?" He asked before Ch'en sent it right back.

"With how drunk we were, I'd take anything said with a grain of salt." Ch'en pointed out and Josue rolled his eyes.

"As you should," Josue noted with a stretch. "Now, I tried pulling the sword out, failed, now I'm gonna get back to work." He said, walking out of the office before being stopped by Hoshiguma.

"C'mon, we're all on break anyway, join us," Hoshiguma noted with an easy smile, "if Missy over there," she jerked her head in Swire's direction, "is going to hire you to be an assistant, we might as well get to know each other."

"Can you do that somewhere else?" Ch'en complained, standing up from her couch, and making her way to the wall where Chi Xiao is propped up against. "I'm busy."

"No, you're not," Swire pointed out, "you're on break, dumbass dragon."

"Shut it you prissy cat." She said, grabbing the sword before pausing.

Something about it was… different, in a way. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it felt almost… distorted. No. A strange feeling tends to flow from Chi Xiao even if she simply held it by the sheath. It was like a string, in a way.

The string was frayed, and while a large part of it was still connected to her…

The other was connected to Josue.

And he knew.

It was a moment of weakness-no. Not weakness, but happenstance, intuition, and experience. She's no stranger to investigations, but of all the people who've grabbed Chi Xiao, the feeling only appeared after Josue grabbed it. There's also the fact that Josue was so nonchalant at her prodding eyes, her intuition telling her that beyond hiding many capabilities and secrets, despite his honesty and good nature, he's not mentioning it for a reason.

Ch'en shook her head, knocking her out of her stupor while wondering why Chi Xiao allowed someone like him to draw it. There's no illusion in her mind that she's some pillar of kindness or purity, she's hurt others, and she's led many to unfortunate circumstances. Despite this, why..? What made Josue worthy?

Ch'en's answer was not immediately obvious, or really visible as she held back to observe Josue. He was polite and rough, not being afraid to curse or speak his mind, the picture-perfect image of a punk especially in his leather jacket. Despite that… he was getting along with Hoshiguma and Swire.

Still, Ch'en had to get to her next event. Overseeing the training of some of the newer recruits. Something Hoshiguma joined her and Swire followed, leaving Josue to the mercy of the other officers.

"Hey, Tiger, bring me a coffee." One of them chuckled and Josue narrowed his eyes, the officer flinching as he did so. Seems like his handle was spread around as not many of the officers within don't know his name.

Placing the cup on the desk, he continued on his way while he continued signing off on the papers he brought with him. Correcting a few things as he began to note a few… discrepancies. For example, recurring calls of strange things that went bump in the night, supplies getting 'lost', and more. Closing his left eye, a reticle appeared on his cybereye, the feeling of images being saved and sent to his Agent coming through before he opened them.

W might find these interesting, for a price.

Still, he continued his job as he returned to Swire's office and worked through the paperwork at impressive speeds. Once he did so, he made his way to the training area where Ch'en and Swire were at, Hoshiguma having long since gone on patrol.

"Come on! Faster!" Ch'en yelled at the recruits, crossing her arms as she oversaw the training of the newbies from among them in the middle. The training room was filled with mats, dummies, both literal and in the form of some of the people in the room, practice weapons, workout equipment, and more. There was an area cordoned off where Swire was working on something on her tablet while seated.

"Most of the paperwork is done," Josue said, sitting beside her on a chair as she turned to him. "Rest are things I shouldn't touch, as you said." He reported as Swire nodded.

"Well done." She said with a proud smile, "You did well, it seems like I made the right choice to hire you."

"I'm glad you're paying me to sit around and write." Josue retorted, stretching his arms out as even his cyberarm felt the ache of not doing much even if he knew that it was just his mind.

"I'll make sure to hire you the next time someone tries to escape the building." Swire retorted, rolling her eyes, "Or if I ever need a driver or who knows what other skills you might have."

"Violence." Josue summarized as Swire stared at him. A part of her forgetting that this man was the one that stabbed one and probably would have killed the ones with him on that night. The idea caused her stomach to turn at the almost casual way he fought that one night. "But," he said before she could think further, "driving, lying, and paying the guitar."

"Really?" Swire asked, almost surprised while turning to him. Leaning back, he placed a hand on his chest as if he was offended.

"Jesus, don't sound so surprised." He noted out loud as some of the facts began to connect.

He always seemed to have a presence to him, beyond simply his charisma. Kind of like a celebrity, but a small one. "Sorry, it's just…"

"Yeah, the label tried to get on my ass a few times for being…" He trailed off, as he pointed at himself, "Me."

Swire snorted, already imagining how that conversation went. Little did she know that she was somewhat right. She only needed to add the death of the manager and then she'd have been right on the money.

"Yeah. Didn't really get too popular but was pretty good at it." He admitted with a shrug. "I was better at playing songs for my Family and the like."

"You don't say?" Swire asked, almost amused as a shiver ran down his spine. "That said, how are you feeling?" She added, a little worried, "No more dizziness?"

"No." He confirmed, not feeling anything lingering from whatever Chi Xiao did to him. "I'll be fine, though I'll probably leave early and start working on your car."

"Excellent," Swire said, almost proud. "In that case, that's enough for today. I'll call you if I ever need you and your payment should have already gone through."

"Jesus, I'm gonna have to do this all over again." He huffed, practically turning into a puddle while he slumped. "Fine~. Guess I'll just go and perform maintenance on your car."

"You do that~," Swire said, satisfied as he made his way out of the building and to Swire's home.

There, the employees let him in as he opened the trunk of the car and began to inspect the luxury groundcar. Reminiscent of an old luxury sports car, his newfound knowledge of the various engines and their systems runs through his mind as he begins identifying some problems.

First off, every system ran off of Originium, which meant things like AC. Second, the car seemed to run off of mostly code rather than machine, of course, this meant that he could insert a port to interface with, but the problem is that the code isn't very advanced and simple. The final detail, but the material of the car isn't very solid, so if there's a crash, there's a chance it'll crumple.

So he should start inspecting and see what he needs. First off… Hmmm…

Actually, the problem was that the engine was in the front where they had all this dangerous stuff, could he move it to the back?

It was an idea, one among many but for now, he'll have to inspect the various systems and connections, probably forcing him to do a complete overhaul.

A dangerous grin plastered itself on his face. It was going to be fun if nothing else. He got to work deep into the night until Swire appeared later, the two falling into idle chatter until he left once he did as much as he could.

"Right…" He trailed off, peering into the depths of the engine before closing it as he turned to Swire. "So, I haven't made too many changes. Small things here and there," he elaborates, "but nothing too big. I can make anything that'll be needed, but I'll need the materials."

"What do you need?" Swire asked as Josue sat on the hood of the car.

"What do you want? I can make it faster, make it stronger, make it so it doesn't run off of Originium, what's your choice?" Josue asked as Swire raised a brow, bringing a hand to her chin.

"Well… make it… stronger? More efficient." Swire finished, still unsure, but a lot more confident. "Originium is widely available and used, any alternatives are probably only going to be available from you." She explained as Josue nodded along, impressed.

"Good point." Josue relented as he hopped off the hood with a piece of paper in hand and proceeded to write on it. "Efficient… copper wires, coolant…" He trailed off before turning to her, "You want to go really really fast at the press of a button?"

Swire didn't answer for a second before nodding. "Mh."

"Alright, some NOS, an alternator, and a battery…" He trailed off before finishing as he presented the paper to her. "Here, let me warn you, it's pretty expensive."

She rolled her eyes at that, "Please, can't be any more than what the car itself is worth." She said, grabbing the paper and raising a brow at the notes. There was a lot of information that went way over Swire's head, trying to understand it made her eyes spin and her mind constantly freeze. "What…? Well, the more problematic thing will be the wait. Some of these will take some time to get here."

"I can wait," Josue said, hopping off the hood. "I'm not going anywhere any time soon, besides, I can just grab some scrap and-."

"No, that won't do." Swire interjected with a stern frown, "I'll get the material and I'll call you when it gets here."

Josue raised his hands, "Well, alright." He let them drop before continuing, "That's about all I can do at the moment. Your car should be fine, but call me if something goes wrong."

"I'll keep that in mind." Swire answered, a smile on her face, "Same to you, if you need some help, call me."

"That's a dangerous thing to offer Swire," he said, "remember, I'm not exactly on the same side as you and Ch'en. Who knows what I'd use a favor like that for."

"Then I'll arrest you." Swire countered, crossing her arms, as Josue chuckled.

"I'll keep that in mind. Though don't worry, if I do get down to some mischief, you won't hear about it." He retorted, making his way out with a wave. "Then, 'till later Swire."

"Good night, Tiger." She responded as Josue got on his bike and made his way back to his auto shop.

Once there, he stretched and made his way to his kombi as he had a week or so until Swire called for him, possibly. With what he has, it should be enough time to make a groundcar.

A week or so should be enough.

Lying on his bed, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

A/N: With that, Josue is introduced to the Lungmen Trio and we get a look into the life of an Edgerunner. Admittedly, as I write, some details are being changed and I'm deciding things. The sections that are Josue telling the story will be… fairly short and lacking in details since he is retelling the story and it isn't exactly the focus of the story itself. As in I've written quite a backlog, like a pretty big backlog.

Let's just say that I haven't written up to the main story yet. I'm nearly… or… Actually it'll be a while before I get there and I have developed at least four(4) plot points for Josue. To not spoil anything, one of the plot points has to do with one little fact.

Smasher is not, in fact, the strongest thing in this universe. But he's there.

I hope that's vague enough. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review if you did.

Until then.