Phoenix Rising - revised

 Phoenix Rising - revised version

     The situation is as dire as these two could imagine. So Mi is dying fast although by inches at a time, she feels her life slipping by. 'V' is dying by the Relic chip poaching her brain, the nanites following their programming and excising her mind to make way for Johnny's. Although that path is not as far along as So Mi's, 'V's concern is just now showing its face. As they crouch in the NCX Spaceport Control's main shuttle tower, watching the first of the NUSA operatives along with Militec's soldiers start pouring in to the holding area to stop 'V' from getting So Mi to the Lunar shuttle waiting for her. 'V' feels her anger and rage rise as So Mi's hopes of getting to the shuttle plummet. 'V' feels the waves of despair flowing off of So Mi. Since they first met, they have both felt something building between them. At first they just thought it was 'friendship of shared circumstance', now So Mi realizes it is something more and fear begins to take hold of her. Fear that she could lose 'V' to the soldiers, to Myers locking up her in a black site prison, or to the 'secret' she has kept from 'V', the secret that the 'cure' she holds will only work for one of them.

     'V' grabs hold of So Mi's hands, "I am going out there, keep these doors locked until the tram gets here." "NO! Please, don't go out there, they will kill you and if they do, I do not want to live without you!" So Mi almost screams these words, only her fading strength lets them come out just above a cracked whisper. 'V' tells her, "I have to, we both be dead for certain if I do not. Do not worry for me, If I could take out that Chimera mech after you were yanked out of it, I can take these clowns. Besides, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve that I believe they are really not ready for. Watch if you can, then you will see what I have been doing in that isolated training yard. Just be ready for me when that tram gets here." 'V' pulls the iconic katana called 'Black Unicorn' from its sheath and looks over it. From the first time she got her hands on it, she has worked to upgrade it, enhance it. She feels like she has put a part of her soul into it, for she swears she can hear it sing to her, and the song it sings is one of blood and death. She stands and goes to one of the two doors, and slips it open just enough for her to slip out, as she goes she turns her head to So Mi, still sitting on the floor, barely holding on to what life she has left and vows that she is coming back, "Remember, close and lock this door. I will keep our comms open, tell me when the tram is entering the area." She is gone as So Mi, with tears beginning to run down her face whispers to 'V's retreating back, "I love you, 'V'. And I am sorry for what I did to you."

     'V' looks at the grouping of the soldiers and operatives, noting what types and the weapons they carry. She activates certain implants in her body, ones that give healing when she sprints, another that seriously reduces damage taken when she is dashing to and fro on the ground, and allows her to take no damage if she is mid-air dashing, and utilizing a 'power' attack when she is in the air. This action will pull her to her target, help her overcome obstacles in her way. But she knows if she is high enough when she triggers it, well, her target is likely to lose their head as she reaches them, setting her up for the next one. And so she chooses the toughest opponents to target this way, taking them out in a single hit, when otherwise it would take several. The lesser ones she knows she can kill as she ducks and weaves between and around them. Her implants feeding her stamina as she runs. Putting all of this together to synergize with her needs and style of combat was not easy or cheap. Her 'Ripperdoc' Vic was of tremendous help, letting her use credit to get started, she then quickly earned enough to pay him back and continued then to buy from him when she had the funds to do so.  

     The combat was going well, 'V' was able to make them keep their distance from the control room with So Mi locked inside. Occasionally running back up the bridge across the tram tracks and around the control room at the top of the arc, clearing the operatives who snuck around as the others were dying to give them a chance. Then a huge armored and armed helicopter unleashes its heavy guns and 'V' runs for the control room. Once inside, the two takes stock of the situation. 

     So Mi: "What are we going to do, 'V'? Only channeling the 'Black Wall' can help us now and I am too weak."

     'V': "Then I will hook into you with my neural link, share my strength with you."

     So Mi: "Yes, that could work, can always use a proxy. But 'V', prepare yourself, this is going to be bad." 'V' shrugs it off, "Do it."

     With the link connected, 'V' looks out at some operatives outside the windows, trying hard to break them down and get inside. 'V' hears So Mi in her head, "Reach out and release the 'Blackwall'." 'V' takes her free hand and reaches out with it, fingers curled as if grasping something. Then she lets it go in a throwing gesture. What she feels of the power flowing through her is indescribable. She can feel it as it burns its way through her and out from her hand controlling the targeting. Those close by but outside the window are covered in some form of 'black' energy, shot through with vertical streaks of red. She swears she can hear echoes of pain filled cries as if they came from the depths of some distant hell. But she also feels something like emotion on another level of the energy flow, and it echoes her anger and rage. The energy tracks her victims neural paths as it shorts and burns them, even as she can hear their mortal cries of agony, and see the twisting, contortions of their bodies as they fall in their tracks, dead before they hit the ground. She then looks to the helicopter, still firing heavy rounds at them. She gathers another burst and releases it at the helicopter. A part of her marvels as the metal of it twists and bends, then it loses its thrust keeping it aloft and it tilts and shoots forward, turning toward one side as the blades impact the concrete and break apart. A scant few seconds later the helicopter impacts the control room as 'V' grabs So Mi and drops to the floor.

      The helicopter crashes and breaks into the control room, the blades narrowly missing 'V' and So Mi laying flat on the floor. 'V' rouses herself first, moving debris to free her body to look to So Mi. "So Mi!", she cries out, "Are you alright?" as she removes the debris covering her. "I understand now, what you went through in your missions for Myers to the 'Blackwall'. Damn her to the depths of all the Hells for doing this to you! And now hunting you like prey because you could not take it any longer!" 'V' looks at So Mi, seeing now the full extent of the damage her excursions to the 'Blackwall' did to her, The efforts of the NUSA technicians in replacing the damaged organs and tissue with cybernetic prothesis to keep her alive and functional for yet more missions. She estimates nearly half of So Mi's body is prosthetic from the back of her skull, down her back and spine. Seeing this, her rage is supplanted with tears of deep sorrow, both combining, backed by the remnants of the 'Blackwall' power still coursing through her, seeking release to yet kill and destroy more, MORE, MORE! Now she joins the ranks of the very few to truly understand why Rache Bartmoss caused the 'Datakrash' so many years ago. And the thought races through her mind of all that she has read and heard of why he did it, realizing that all of it is wrong. That despite what came after, the way the corps have usurped what he intended, turned him into the ultimate scapegoat, made him a hunted man in every country on this world. A man who. like a vampire, placed himself in a ice filled freezer to wait out time and return when people knew the true reason why he did what he did. Only he did not allow sufficient time to pass, and when the contract supplying power to his self-made prison expired fifty years later. It was disconnected, and tossed in the local landfill for 'V' to discover his body, two years later. And so perhaps one of the most important of this world's saviors, passed into the forgetfulness of time and history. The truth of him and what he did lost except for a very few, now one more added to their number.

     'V' knows they must get moving, so she picks up So Mi, still connected by her neural link, she feels the near constant pain So Mi is feeling. "Hurts, so much." So Mi mutters as she feels herself rising in 'V's arms.  "Sorry to cause you pain, but we must get moving. Your shuttle will not wait all night." As they start to move to the tram, now sitting on the rails beneath what remains of the control room, more operatives move in to stop and take them. 'V' gestures once more and the 'Blackwall' power reaches out to snuff yet more lives it considers to be insignificant. This time, 'V' feels more confident in using it and increases the range to reach all the way to the end of the tram, to kill a fresh team rounding the end to come at them. Now there seems to be a break, or Myers has so few troops left she cannot afford to waste them. 'V' continues with So Mi in her arms, entering one of the tram's cars and gently placing So Mi in one of the seats, leaning her against the window. As the tram begins to move to the launch pad, 'V' does her best to keep So Mi awake, fearing if she slips off into sleep it will be permanent.  Along the way So Mi remembers? relives? confesses? "I have hurt so many, betrayed so many, Alex, Sol, you." 'V' looks concerned for So Mi, is she mixing up her memories, and with a growing sense of unease in her soul, "How have you hurt me, So Mi?" Then she gets the answer she feared most but buried away as deep as she could. "I lied to you. The 'cure' can only be used once. The AI will die and fade away when it is released." 'V' feels her heart clench in a vice, what does she do? So many possibilities, and their consequences. She remembers what Misty counseled her with regard to what the Tarot was trying to tell her. And then the memory of when the Zen Master answered her question when she asked why he was training her in how to meditate. "I do this, so that you may make the right choice when you must decide your path." The questions that sprang up then went until now unanswered, when the full reality of it all is laid out for her to make her choice. Then she shuts out all of the conflicting choices, and listens to her heart, in whatever ending comes her way, to be true to herself. Then she makes her choice.

     So Mi's presence weakens as her end nears and Johnny appears giving his take on all of this. He seems to be impressed and respectful of how much she managed to outwit everyone involved in this fiasco, and bring it all together to a close, but 'V' also sees another side to this sordid story of pain and betrayal. She sees that So Mi cares for her now. Why else would she, here, now, so close to the end of this road, finally tell[ng 'V' the truth and putting her fate in 'V's hands. The trust it shows is not logical, cannot be calculated in analyzing who makes what decisions in this situation. And this is what it tells 'V', So Mi is telling her the truth, and the hidden gem of incalculable value in this sparks something 'V's mother once, long ago told her. "If you want to know if a love you have is meant to be, let it go free. If it comes back to you, then it is meant to be. If it does not, you will know you did right to let it go." This tilts the scales in 'V's heart, mind, and soul, and lets her make the decision she must now make. 

     Carrying an almost comatose So Mi, she makes it about half way to her goal, the small access way to the shuttle's hatch is in sight when a figure steps out, Solomon Reed. 'V 'had hoped against hope that this confrontation was not going to happen, for she knew only one was going to walk away from it. She felt sadness in this, for she liked Reed, even respected him, but was in no way going to let him have So Mi. For she and So Mi had earlier in the maintenance tunnels, overheard the conversation Myers had with him as they met on the spaceport landing complex. It was not hard to see and understand that even though Myers couched her wishes as what was best for the NUSA, both 'V' and So Mi, knew she had put them all in this position for her own personal goals. That Reed was the only one going along with this for 'duty' and 'country' was not lost on 'V', So Mi having some time ago lost that foundation and the 'house of cards' that was her life in the FIA came tumbling down. And 'V', viewed herself as only owing So Mi in this, since it was she who hired her for this job, not Myers, and she turned down giving oath to the NUSA for that reason and also that she did not believe in it.

     When Sol began threatening to shoot, 'V' carefully put So Mi down on the concrete floor and backed away a few steps so they could talk. As she raised back up, So Mi's eyes looking at her for reassurance, noted that 'V' had palmed a revolver and kept it hidden by half turning her body away from Sol. Sol had a few things to say about the situation, nothing that 'V' had not already heard, but thought at the time it was not the right time to voice her opinion on them, now however was. When Sol pressed for why 'V' was doing this, referring it to treason against the NUSA. 'V' strongly replies, "And breaking international treaties by sending So Mi on missions to the 'Blackwall' seeking a way through it is not treason against the NUSA? And don't say she was only doing this to strengthen the NUSA, to give it an 'edge'. We both know it was for 'her' that this was done. And as for 'treason', it is only treason if I took the 'oath'. As I was hired for the job by So Mi, I could not take that 'oath' for it would cause divided loyalties for me between the NUSA and my client. You certainly cannot expect us to believe a word of what you say about wanting to help us, about standing between us and Myers." Sol realizes they know more than he first thought, "You heard our conversation earlier." 'V' nods her head, "Every word of it." Sol comes back, "Then you know that we will find you in the end. You both need help to survive." 'V' spits out, "And the NUSA is going to help? How about another one while you are at it. Getting medical help only to spend the rest of your life in a 'black' prison cell is not life, Sol, it is 'hell'. No matter what you say, Myers is not going to allow us a chance to live, you know that and I know that.

     But I also know a few things from my own research and contacts, the NUSA knows a lot of things that is true, but they know nothing of the kind of care I need. One I can find to deal with the Relic, there are a few really good ones and the NUSA has no sway with them. I do, for I have something they want. And for the second, they also have a sister clinic that can take care of the other half of my problem. And with my reputation, I would not mind doing a few jobs for them if I needed to. So you and Myers need to see that you are not the only options out there. In fact, you are not even the best options I have found. But in the end, it really does not matter, not for you anyway, for I am not letting go of So Mi. Not to you, not to Myers, not to anyone." And with that, 'V' eyes are locked on her target point, never wavering, she raises the revolver she had palmed and kept hidden, then planted two shots, into the base of his neck. As he dropped to his knees and before he died, 'V' heard him say, "We will still find you." To which 'V' replied to his departing soul, "Let her try it, I will be ready for her."

     'V' then returns to So Mi, "Come on, let me get you to that shuttle. I have not brought you this far to have you die on me." She looks at So Mi's nearly closed eyes and feels her heartbeat, weak but still there. "Come on, my love. There, I said it, and I hope you remember that while you are on the moon, that someone down here still loves you." Tears begin running down 'V's face as she puts So Mi in a passenger seat and connects her to 'life support'. She listens as the system diagnoses So Mi and begins treatment as it is able. "You did not have to lie to me, I still would have helped you. But considering what your life was like as a FIA agent, I can understand. And because I love you, there will always be forgiveness for you. I give you my 'heart' and maybe one day it will find its way back to me, and you with it."

     'V' makes her way back down to the observation deck to watch the launch. While she waits, she asks Johnny, "Have you ever launched a shuttle before?" He replies, "No, that I have never done." A few more seconds of silence and he says, "You know 'V', she made it. She showed them all up that tried to stop her. She had that something that I lacked, whatever it took to never give up, to go the distance, to keep fighting to the very end. You can disagree with all that she did in her life, but you have to respect this. You did the right thing, 'V' putting her in that shuttle. Now that she has escaped, I hope she makes it. But I gotta ask, why send her on that shuttle? You had every right to put a bullet in her head, or give her over to Reed for what she did to you." 'V' thinks for a few seconds and tells him, "Sometimes you have to do the right thing, even if you risk everything to do it." and she gives an almost inaudible whisper, "and sometimes you do it to prove your love for someone, and pray they come back to you." She looks to Johnny and says, "Come on, we are back to square one, but we still have each other for a while longer and we still got places to trash."

     She goes on with her life, still wondering from time to time, if So Mi is alright, if her medical treatment worked. Then she receives a text, "'V', I left a little something for you in that place where I had you meet me. It's yours now, I hope you remember me fondly when you use it. So Mi." 'V' immediately tries to respond only to get that the number has been cancelled. She drops what she was doing, turns her car south, to Dogtown, and proceeds to break every speed limit along the way. Somehow she manages to avoid the roving patrol cars of the NCPD, not that they particularly care about minor traffic violations, but you never know with them. 

     She passes through the security checkpoint entering Dogtown. The 'pass' that 'Hands' had installed for her in the system still working. She makes her way to the spot she is looking for and parks down at the base of some stairs that go up to the level she wants to go to. Quickly she sprints up to the correct level and steps to the side into the overgrown weeds, following a narrow path deeper in. She then comes upon a few of the locals already preparing food at a cooking grill. She finds the bench she is looking for and at the end is a small package. She scoops it up, sits, and opens it to find a commemorative 'Luna' pin, and So Mi's 'Canto' cyberdeck. She looks around to see an older, local man sitting at an adjacent bench, so she asks, "Sir, did you by any chance see who left this here?"

     The older man looks at her and replies, "Sorry, but no, noticed it there a few days ago but not who left it. I surmise it was put there for you?" 'V' glances down at it, tears starting to flow, 'Yes, someone I helped, texted me with the location, told me it was here for me." The older man notices her tears, "Must be from someone special then, judging from your reaction. Always good to have someone special in your life. I take it they are not here now." 'V' looks up at him, "No, she needed medical help she could not get here, so I put her on a shuttle to the moon to get the help she needed. This tells me she is ok now. That she got to the help in time."

     The older man comments, "She must really think a great deal of you to go to all the trouble of getting that down here for you to find. Not easy to do with all that ruckus at the spaceport. But I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, if the two of you mean this much to each other, ain't nothing going to keep you apart, you just wait and see." 'V' hears a few rifle shots in the distance as she looks to see what the cause was, when she looks back, the older man is gone. When she asks some of the others there if they saw where he went to, they tell her there was no one but her sitting there. That no one else has been there all day. She thanks them and heads back to her car, a prize that she had won in a 'statistics' lottery, this one was correctly guessing the body count over the past weekend. Only she did not remember entering that lottery. Still, the Quadra Type 66 'Hoon' was a real beauty. Armored, armed with twin thirty caliber machine guns, she could go anywhere in safety, from the heart of gang territories to the far end of the badlands. She has really needed a vehicle like this, one that could go almost anywhere, and take a tremendous amount of damage. And equally deal a tremendous amount of damage if needed.

     It had already saved her life a couple of times recently with Arasaka gunning for her. She has already destroyed six vans and twenty four of their agents. None stood a chance when she blew the vans into fireballs. 'Arasaka', she thought, 'No one outside of a very few at the top realize just how 'evil' this corp is.' The latest job she has started on is piecing together the parts of a puzzle. Finding the remains of an attempt to smuggle a small group of pregnant women out of the country. A group that 'Arasaka' was doing whatever necessary to stop, even to doing it with no survivors, as she had stumbled over the bodies left behind.

     One group on the beach at Pacifica, the ocean slowly trying to float the bodies out and claim them. The other at the Biotechnica plant testing facilities. Each one using a different 'fixer', different ex-fill group, but both involving Arasaka. And from the data shards she found on the scene, the hard cast instructions to get at least one of the women out. What are they working on now? The puzzle currently points to human genetic manipulation of some kind. And she does not like where she feels this is going, remembering the scattering of ads for volunteers to go to an off world colony. Couple that to what she learned from the Voodoo Boys about an upcoming war with the rogue AI's beyond the 'Blackwall' and they wanting to be on the winning side, hence their interest in Johnny Silverhand as a way to get to the AI called Alt Cunningham. She thinks to herself, 'Good luck with that, Alt is no longer human, doesn't think like a human, doesn't care about humans. All she wants is for Mikoshi to be destroyed, and the opportunity to assimilate all of the stored psyche engrams in there. Absorbing their knowledge like adding computer code to a program. It makes me wonder what else is out there beyond the 'Blackwall' that she must do, this in order to increase her chances of survival against it. And do I really want to know?'

     Her thoughts run back a few days, when she saved the life of Gary the Prophet, a soapbox preacher going on and on about the evils of the corps. Calling them pawns of their masters, the technomancers of Alpha Centauri. She started donating to his cause simply because he seemed so convincing in his belief. Then all the events click into place and she wants to slap her hand upside her head for not seeing it sooner. If she had she might have been able to keep him from being snatched off the street in Kabuki. He sent her to a warehouse close to the waterfront. There was supposed to be a delivery of some kind to be done that night. She went and hid behind a stack of crates until she saw two cars drive up. One was filled with Maelstrom gangers and the other had two people, dressed completely in black suits, definitely not looking like they belonged to this area. She crashed the meeting and Maelstrom being Maelstrom, lead began to fly. She nearly flew across the battle, jumping crates, rolling into the middle of the gangers and spinning her blade around. The two suits caught ricochets and went down. When the last of the gangers was on the ground she stopped to see what the meet was about, and saw it was a 'chip'. She checked for ID on the two suits, 'John Doe & Jane Doe'. Shit! These are elite corpo agents, but who are they working for? And why did they want that chip? She looks it over closer, no markings, no ID of any kind, but if it was Maelstrom that made it...then she remembered that cyberpsycho the Watson fixer, Regina, had sent her to investigate some time ago.

     The female ganger was immersed in a tub of ice water, with blood and body parts mixed in as well. The bodies of several others were laid out around the tub in some kind of pattern, possibly occult. The last thing she heard from one ganger still barely breathing was something about 'Lilith', she did not catch the rest. As she neared some kind of post placed at strategic points in the pattern, She was standing near one when she felt a shock from it. It was painful but not damaging. She felt a change in the air, Johnny warned her of company, just as a bloody figure with implanted eyes just as red as the bloody ice water, slowly crawled out of the tub. Then she moved as fast as lightning, slamming 'V' to the ground. 'V' got to her feet and made a short dash, then double jumped up the side of the nearby wall to crawl into an open window. There she could take a moment to catch her breath and decide what to do next. Seeing how fast this...whatever she was now, could move, she decided to play it safe and use quickhacks from the safety of the room. After the first 'Overheat' she swore at the resistance this ganger had. Her quickhack barely had much effect, this was going to take time. And her fixer Regina wanted this one alive. It seemed to take forever as 'V' has to pause and wait for her 'ram' to replenish before hitting the ganger with more 'Overheats'. The only advantage to using them is once you get them upgraded into the higher tiers, they are very effective, especially if you want to keep the intended target alive.

     Finally the ganger goes down and 'V' makes her way out of the window and drops down to the ground. This whole panorama was unbelievable. What could they have reached for that reached back and did this to them? Did the cyber cables somehow reach into the 'void' itself? And if so what came out of it to answer their calling? Then 'V' puts more pieces of the puzzle together, this Maelstrom cult, diabolical chips. Gary knew what he was talking about, but he had to couch it in heavy allegory! If he spoke straight he would have disappeared after the first words left his lips. Maelstrom were the Technomancers, the Corp suits were the puppets, but who were the vampires, the werewolves, and the lizard people? Damn it was starting to make sense once she realized he had warned everybody in the sound of his voice, if they had access to the right information to decode what he was saying.

     Some of his followers seemed to pick up on bits and pieces, just none of them had enough to really get to the meat of his words, and now he is gone. Snatched right off the street, hustled into an AV and gone. Wait! What was it he said about where their base was, ...Antarctica, yes that was it! Now did he mean that literally or was it allegory for someplace else? And are the ones behind this the same ones that scared the shit out of her in a holocall as she was going to a meet with Jefferson Perales about who was behind the spy room she found in his penthouse apartment. Damn! It all has to be connected in some way, but she doesn't know enough yet to make out the rest of the story, much less if she can do anything about it.

     In the back of her mind, the thought slips out, 'When Johnny put that 'nuke' in Arasaka Tower back fifty years ago, he got his hands on two of them, but he only used one. What happened to the other one? Is it hidden somewhere to be used if the first one did not do the job? Damn, and why am I thinking of this? Am I becoming the terrorist like he was? Or am I simply being pragmatic, knowing what I have done in the face of the problems I have had to solve. Knowing that sometimes in order to effect change, lesser actions will not do anything. You have to make a 'Grand Gesture', one that rouses everybody to pull their heads out of the sand and look around. Now where did that come from?

     Now I remember, that DJ on the 'pirate radio station', which one is it? Oh, yes, 'Growl FM', out of Pacifica. I have to admit, she does sometimes make sense, more so than the DJ's on the other stations. Hell, I know some of them are lying through their teeth, because I was involved in some of the things they are reporting on. I know the truth of what happened and they are reading off of 'official scripting' passing it off as 'news'. They are even worse than the TV news anchors, and there is not a word of the truth that gets past them. Had the opportunity to eavesdrop on a couple of them while I was doing that job at the 'Black Sapphire'. If people only could have heard that conversation, whew boy, heads would have rolled over that! Well got work to do, back to it.'

     A few weeks later, 'V' gets her world knocked sideways and upside down. A text message comes over her 'holo'. 'V', this is So Mi, I need to speak with you. Do you know somewhere we can meet and talk in private? I have much I wish to tell you about. Please, I hope you are not mad at me.' 'V' quickly replies, 'I am definitely NOT mad at you. I understand 'why' you did what you did, hell, if I were in your shoes then, I would likely have done the same. I have an apartment in the 'Glen', sending you the 'co-ords' now. If you get there before I do, make yourself at home. I will be there as soon as I can get there. Please wait if I am not there, I will be coming. I promise.' One last message comes across. 'Thank you 'V'. You do not know how glad I am to hear that. Be safe, I will wait for you. So Mi.'

     'V' is on the '101' in the 'Badlands' as she whips her Porsche convertible into a 'u' turn in midstride. Calculating how long it will take for her to get to her 'Glen' apartment, she figures she can do it in just less than an hour. She thinks she can shave some time if she cuts through 'Sixth Street' territory. If she keeps going and does not stop to look at the sources of gunfire, just pass them by this time, she can get there sooner. Any other holocalls will just have to wait.

     Going through 'Sixth Street' territory, you know exactly when you do. Just look for the cowboy boots, hats, and the flag painted on nearly every flat surface. You would think they are a truly patriotic bunch but nothing is further from the truth. There is no difference between them and the other gangs. They just dress up differently is all. She hears the gunshots, even a few stray bullets whizz by. She knows this is normal and she is doing fine. If any of them were on her tail, the bullets would be like a hailstorm coming her way. She is willing to cross their territory only because she has instructed them in the error of their ways when they tried to stop her not so long ago. The body count went so high that the gang bosses put the word out to leave her be. No need to attract MaxTac's attention to involve themselves in that kind of situation. For if they show, everybody is in danger. They said that if a single gang member fires a shot at MaxTac, the lead storm will not stop until every 'body' is bleeding out on the ground.

     Even 'V' has learned to take advantage of her bio-facial-adaptation implant tech riding under the skin of her face. When she activates it, she can for all intents and purposes become someone else, as long as she has a behavior shard with all of the biometrics data, personality, voice imprint. She can become that person. She used it after Colonel Hanson was killed by Alex, a NIA operative using that same tech to become a high level arms dealer, at the same time 'V' was using it to become the arms dealer's sister and business partner. Right before she left the 'Black Sapphire' with So Mi, and the neural matrix occupied by an AI, trapped about forty years ago and placed within the matrix by Militec. The 'cure' that was to cure both So Mi and 'V'.

     She used it later at the behest of 'Hands', the Fixer operating in Dogtown and Pacifica, to help him anoint a new leader to take over for Hansen. How he got hold of a behavioral shard for the Cuban Cartel assassin known only as Aguilar, he will never say. He gave it to 'V' along with a suit of clothes and a copy of the weapon Aguilar was known to use. She carried out the deception, finding a path to bring the two contenders together in running Hansen's operation. The increased stability that came about the area has greatly enhanced 'Hands' standing and he generously rewarded 'V' with a new car, one of a model line known for its appearance and handling. 'V' on the other hand lets it sit in a garage, as she has acquired a few really rare vehicles that she enjoys taking out onto the streets once in a while. The Porsche, just the latest acquisition saved from being repainted by the Wraiths. Stolen from the owner whom they killed just after she bought the car from another Fixer, El Capitan, who runs ops in Santo Domingo.

     She parks the Porsche next to the apartment building and walks into the foyer area, straight to the elevator and keys it to her apartment. The elevator door opens directly to it, allowing her to see So Mi, standing and looking out of the window bank overlooking this part of Night City. As So Mi sees 'V' come in, she quickly walks to her. 'V' almost cannot believe her eyes. So Mi is now whole, the cybernetic prosthesis tech is gone. Her physical body restored, and also she has no sign of her former implants, not a one.

     As So Mi steps up to 'V', 'V' gently places a hand and cups the back of So Mi's head, then draws her into a deep kiss. Once they begin to break apart, 'V' wraps her arms around So Mi and embraces her. As So Mi wraps her own around 'V', her tears drop down onto 'V's shoulders. So Mi hoped 'V' would be polite and even cordial to her, but she never dreamed of this kind of greeting. The dreams she had during her recovery from the medical procedures came back. The medical techs had accessed the shuttle's security tapes, copied them, and played them for her, feeling that they would help speed her recovery. What 'V' did, how she treated So Mi in getting her to the shuttle, what she said to So Mi while she was near comatose. So Mi thought they were simply her own dreams of how she wanted to remember it all, wishful thinking. Now she knows it was a true recording of what happened, and what was said to her. She remembered hearing 'V' tell her that she loved So Mi, and that she was rescuing her in spite of all that she had learned that So Mi had held back and lied to her about. This was more than she could ever expect, it stirred and echoed feelings deep inside of her, feelings she never thought to be able to express, much less share with 'V'. But to see, hear, feel, that 'V' felt the same toward her as she does toward 'V'. It was like she had been born into a new life.

     Please let us sit down, there is much I need to share with you. As they sit, both facing each other, So Mi goes into what was done for her and its aftereffects. "As you can see, I no longer have any implants. I had to let them go, because for me to access the 'net' again will kill me. It came out a good deal for me because of the rarity and bleeding edge tech they represented. I was paid top 'eddy' for them. My bank account has so many zeros in it, I will never lack for anything I want in my life. I came back because you saved my life, and I want to help save yours. If nothing else, I want to spend the rest of your time with you. Caring for and loving you."

     'V': "I don't know what to say. I hoped and prayed you would come back to me. But I could not find it in me to expect that you could. Much less come back as you have. I look at you and the time between the beats of my heart are like an eternity, and I don't want it to stop." Softly 'V' asks with a hand held out to her, "C'mere." "For you, anything you want of me." And So Mi scoots over to 'V', half turns and lays herself back against her, feeling 'V's arms reach around and hold her, 'V's lips kiss the top of So Mi's head and 'V' then turns her head and lays the side of her face on So Mi's head. Then she whispers, 'I love you, So Mi. I don't know how long I can last. If we can find a cure for me or not, but I want you close to me for the rest of my life, however long or short that will be." So Mi closes her eyes and tears begin to run down her face, "And I will be here for you, whenever you need me, want me, and I will not rest until I can find a cure for you. Somewhere there is one, I can feel it. We just have to find the trail, and leave no stone unturned. Now I have waited for as long as I can before asking this of you." 'V' asks, "What do you wish to ask of me?" So Mi tilts her head back, "Will you make love to me?" 'V' stands and offers So Mi her hand. As So Mi takes it, 'V' gently pulls her up and leads her up the stairs to her bed on the mezzanine above. Hours later, they are asleep, entwined in each others arms. Their heartbeats are in sync, their breathing is in sync, even their dreams are in sync. They have found a state of being in and with each other that almost no one else in history has accomplished, even with many years living with the same mate. And this state of being is rock solid, unassailable, born out of shared need and love, forged and tempered in the crucible of pain, conflict, betrayal. Anyone who seeks to harm one, the other will see that they pay a high price, as some are soon to find out.

     A few weeks go by as 'V' is called on jobs by the fixers of Night City. So Mi has found a penthouse that she can rent for the weekends so they have time together to spend as they please with no interruptions. 'V' is especially grateful for this as she does not have to worry for So Mi walking the streets. She remembers the first time they shared a shower together. 'V' was standing in the water flow, letting it ease her tired body as the hot water ran all down her back. Then she felt soapy hands wandering across her back, shoulders, her neck. As she turned she saw So Mi, naked , skin glistening with water droplets. So Mi quietly seeing the expression on 'V''s face says, "Like what you see?" And 'V' responds with, "I believe I am seeing and will forever see the most beautiful sight in this world." So Mi, replies with a simple "Thank you", walks into 'V's arms and kisses her as the water cascades down their bodies in little rivulets. Later finds them both still naked, sitting out by the pool drinking coffee.

     'V': "I have never in my life dared to think that I could be sitting here, by the side of a penthouse pool, not a stitch of clothing on, drinking coffee with the love of my life." So Mi smiles, to which 'V' says, "I love it when you smile at me. I see your face light up with joy when you look at me and I realize it is me that brings that out and I thank all the lucky stars I have ever wished upon to have found you." So Mi, "I am with you on that. I never believed in 'love at first sight' until I met you, and then you went and made a believer out of me", as she gives 'V' a sly wink, and sees a shiver quickly move up her back, she sets her coffee cup to the side and slips into the pool. 'V' wasting no time diving in after her.

     Some days later, 'V' is on a job in Westbrook, a call comes in from So Mi. ""V', I needed to speak with you. I have begun contacting some of my old associates. I have told them what I am looking for and they will see if anything can be found that could...What? NO! GET AWAY! ...'V'!..." "So Mi, what is wrong?! So Mi!" "She is ours now. If you wish for her to remain unharmed you will not attempt to find her. If we see you looking for you, she will die." *End of transmission* "Shit! Now what? That voice, accent was Haitian, that means Pacifica, the Voodoo boys." 'V' switches the call over to 'Hands'. It rings twice before he answers. "'V', My favorite merc, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call, any biz for me?" 'V's voice is cold and deadpan, almost speaking as Aguilar. My 'output' has been abducted. I am quite certain it is a faction of the Voodoo Boys, for what purpose I do not know and truly do not care. I just want her back. I am going to their old hideout beneath the church, down in the old maglev tunnels. I suspect they will move her before I get to them. Have some of your people observe them and let me know where they take her. I believe it will be in Dogtown." "I will get right on it. As soon as I have anything I will pass it on to you." "Thank you, Hands. I will not forget this." "If not for your efforts in Dogtown, I would not be enjoying the greatly elevated status I have been granted. Hence, I owe you. When you find her, wait in your car for me to contact you. You will need a visa installed in the Barghest databanks to get her out through the checkpoint safely." "I understand, thank you, Hands." "Good luck, 'V', but I doubt you will need it, people like you, make your own luck. Come back alive, there are far too few like you these days."

     'V' redirects her destination in her vehicles mapping console for the church in Pacifica. Then she mutters to herself. 'If they harm even a single hair on your body, I will massacre all of them. It will be open season on Voodoo Boys, I swear it.'  A half hour later, she pulls up into the parking area in front of the old church. Steps out and opens her stash that she keeps for emergencies in the 'trunk' of her car. She pulls 'Black Unicorn' and straps it across her back. Looking over the pistols, she selects 'Her Majesty', the silenced semi-automatic that was once Alex's weapon of choice before she gave it to 'V'. Finished, she shuts the hatch and it locks to her biometrics. She strides to the heavy front doors and opens one, letting herself inside the deserted building. Going to the back, she enters a narrow hallway off to the right and follows it down as she did once before seeking information from one , Maman Brigitte, who after 'V' realized she was not supposed to survive her sojourn past the Blackwall, came back and 'took care of business' with the Voodoo Boys.

     One by one, she tracks them, groups them by three or more within range of each other and unleashes 'Contagion' quickhacks. The 'poisons' leaking from their implants caused by the quickhack are quite debilitating and as she examines each group for information, once done, she puts a silenced round in each of their heads. She would have at one time let them live, but now they have crossed the line. And knowing she could never trust them not to do something like this again, she would rather end them all now and be done with it. She has never truly considered herself a 'killer' as many lives as she has ended, many more she let live. Now she realizes that they care not if any other than themselves live or die. And how many times have the decisions of those shaped her into what she is becoming now. And at the same time she sees how those higher powers have seen this and chosen not to take pity on her, or judge her, but reveal to her as they are able the path she is going down, and that there are other paths she could avail herself of and walk one of them instead. She then thinks, 'This is why So Mi came back to me. They found a way to let her return to me, to guide me to another path. But what path is this one, what makes it different from the others. That they have not shown me or am I to discover this on my own? Then it comes to her, no, not alone, So Mi is to show me this other path, by the life we live together. And together we will walk it. This is what I am feeling when I am with her, This is why we both love and care so much for each other. Neither one of us can walk this path alone, but the two of us. Together, we can and together, we will.

     Far, far away, in a time, a space, more distant than even the AI's of this world can factor and calculate, a pair of eyes looks at 'V' making sense out of what is happening to her.  "Yes, my child, you are now stumbling in the direction of where you need to go. Just a little farther now, and it will be revealed to you what is happening, your place in it, if you should so wish. Those powers that are guiding you, even they do not see, cannot yet see, where you could go. But if you choose this, you will be the way to show them the path to follow you. Go on and finish what you must, save she who will complete you, balance you, and become the guide to save your world. Stephenson filled the need to set the stage for you to step upon. You were right when you saw him as the true rebel, the revolutionary, not the Messiah others mistakenly thought he saw himself as. He saw this as well thanks to your words to him. He asked you to be the one to drive the nails into his body, to set the stage he was to step up onto. To prepare the way for you. All those who live in Existence and are called to be prophets, say this, 'Those who are the greatest and highest of the Gods, do their best work with the most broken of souls. Stephenson was the first of yours, the first of many. And you will one day soon meet the one who you will join yours with. And together embark upon a journey beyond anything you or anyone else on your world, human or AI could imagine.

     'V' feels something, the best she can describe it is as a weightless weight upon her shoulders. Ephemeral whispers guiding her, but whispers she cannot hear, cannot understand, only know that they seem to be guiding her in a direction she cannot fathom the purpose of. But deep within her the desire is growing, the 'want' to follow those whispers if only to see what possibility they might be the harbinger of. She somehow knows that So Mi is also involved, that this direction she is being led to leads to her, and so she unerringly follows it, to find So Mi, find the heart she sent with So Mi with that shuttle when it lifted off to the moon. The heart that is still with her, leading her to find them and save them.

     She looks around this level. She remembers seeing all the cyber couches now empty, powered down. The equipment also lightless, soundless, empty of purpose, She feels nothing from them as she passes by. She finds little that she can use, a few documents, shards, the rest is clean, they have already left. Now she must hope that 'Hands' people were quick enough to see where they went. She has some suspicions as to where So Mi is being held, but it would take time to search them all, time she does not have much of if her suspicions are correct in what her captors intend So Mi's fate to be. She then feels a buzz from her holophone.  She opens it and reads the text message from 'Hands'. Good, she thinks, he is making certain no one else knows who he is sending information to and what that information is. Then she sees a photo of a building scarred by fire and bullets. She knows this place, once known as the Luxor Spa, a splinter faction of the Voodoo Boys now uses it. A faction that makes its living as mercs, delivering services and equipment to the highest bidder. And their leader, Ayo, a name known and feared in Pacifica. But 'V' knows she can stand up to her, if she first deals with Ayo's underlings. One on one, Ayo will go down, but with her underlings providing distractions, 'V' would be in trouble. And with So Mi as a hostage, she must tread carefully, be quiet and lethal, live up to the nickname that Night City's fixers have given her, 'The Ghost'. Able to penetrate any place, perform any task, and get out again with no one the wiser. And no one but the Fixers, know the identity of 'The Ghost'. All are sworn to secrecy, for 'The Ghost' is the greatest weapon in their arsenal. As long as they keep the secret, she will perform tasks for them. Tasks no one else can accomplish, that no one else will even attempt.

     It is even said that 'The Ghost' first came upon the name when he or she, no one is certain, came back from the dead, the sole survivor of a heist at Konpecki Plaza.  A heist that resulted in the death of Saburo Arasaka, head of the Arasaka Corporation, and called by many, the 'Emperor'. 'The Ghost' was also said to have infiltrated Hansen's 'Black Sapphire', a feat long thought impossible. What the goal of that job was is still not known, but it went down in the midst of a party Hanson gave there. Everyone who was anyone of importance was there, Gang bosses, celebrities, political leaders, the 'Who's Who' of the 'Who's Who' were there. It is considered 'a gem in the crown' of the Legend of  The Ghost, now heralded at the 'Afterlife' as a 'living legend' of Night City. Drinks lofted in salute praising the feats attributed to the elusive figure. Some say 'The Ghost' does not exist, but the Fixers of Night City say otherwise, as does 'Rogue', owner of the 'Afterlife' and considered the top fixer. Much speculation is passed around as to who 'The Ghost' is. The few 'Legends' still above ground, all say it is none of them. And that is the source of great consternation, for who could it be, who could carry off the feats attributed to 'The Ghost'. To those who say it has to be more than one person, Rogue says no, it is indeed one person. A person who has earned the anonymity, the right to secrecy of only being known as 'The Ghost'. For 'The Ghost' would be hunted by every major country, corporation, criminal organization, on the planet. The 'hunt' for 'The Ghost' would be bigger than the one for Rache Bartmoss, fifty years ago. No, whoever truly knows the identity of 'The Ghost' will not say, will not even admit to knowing who they are, and so this secret will remain a secret. until 'The Ghost', himself or herself, decides to reveal it.

     'V' carefully stays in the brush outside the 'Spa' looking for any guards, lookouts, cameras that have a view of the outside. She spots where she wants to go in at, a broken down wall on the side facing another building next to it, She spots two guards watching, which means there is at least one more staying out of sight inside. She waits until the two visible ones are close together and hits them both with an 'Overheat' quickhack. She thought about adding 'System Shock' to it to silence any notification the guards were in distress from the 'Overheat' combat quickhack. No, this time she wants it known, to draw a response from the hidden one and allow her to establish a target on them. Once sent, the upload is complete, and activated, she watches as the guards bodies begin twisting, arms flapping, trying to put out the 'flames', which are internal not external. If left alone, they will wake up with a monster headache later, but these have taken So Mi, holding her captive, likely for the bounty, NUSA President Myers has out on them both. No they are going to die for the mistake of thinking she will not come for So Mi. The guards are contorting now, very soon to lose consciousness, and after that receive a bullet to the head. For now, 'V' will not leave an enemy behind her alive to call for reinforcements, back trail her, or give her position away to their comrades. She knows they will not hesitate to put her down, a matter of shoot first and ask any questions later if at all. They go down, and 'V' resists the desire to run up, kill them, and hunt the third one.

     'Patience', she thinks, 'The third one will show their face soon if they think I have moved out of the area to avoid detection. There he is, hmm, a netrunner. Change of plans.' 'V' draws the sniper rifle she took out of the 'Black Sapphire', a  Tsunami Rasetsu. Compared to the Spec Grad, they are both easily neck and neck as the best sniper rifles made. But 'V' favors the 'Rasetsu', its power delivery means a hit practically anywhere is deadly. Hit an arm, poof, the arm is gone, same for a leg. A 'gut' hit will blow a hole big enough to step into and your foot will not touch the sides. With the special silencer attached, it is a machine of death. She makes a single shot and he goes down. She then carefully makes her way into the building, moving quietly, and taking care to check for cameras. Finding any, she disables them, then takes control. she jumps from one to another, looking to see how many more Voodoo Boys are present and where they are. She could use her quickhacks, transmitting them through the cameras, but if the camera has not been disabled first, it will sound an alarm when the body is noticed.

     Now that she knows where they are and how many, she can plot her course. She knows where So Mi is being kept, not because she could see her, because she could not. Knowing where the cameras were placed, where they could not see, knowing they are going to have her where they can watch her and get to her in a hurry, means she is not in a separate room. In the empty large size pool converted to work on drones, a number of equipment bays blocking a clear view inside it. Yes, that is most likely, especially if they want her close at hand. Now 'V' readies the sniper rifle for its range, saving the quickhacks for cameras and turrets. Too bad her view is restricted by the entrance to the main 'spa' area, will have to move around a bit, but I have plenty of cover. And if the netrunners try quickhacks against me, I have a little surprise for them.