Cyberpunk 2077 - The Ballad of Lost Souls

V crosses the doorstep of the No-tell Motel's entrance. The sound of rain stops deafening him, ceasing to shield him from his uncontrolled thoughts. Slowly, V drags himself to the second floor of the old building, holding up the sleeve of his tuxedo, torn by one of the many bullets that hit him. He finally finds himself at the end of an old dark hallway, in front of room 204.

V knocks repeatedly on the door, first slowly and then insistently. Finally the door opens, revealing a bodyguard in sunglasses who lets him through. Behind him, in the center of the room, there is Dexter de Shawn, clinging to the television, visibly shaken.

Dexter: WNS…N54… Even the pirate networks… You've blowin' up everywhere! 

Dexter turns to V, staring at him with hatred. He does the same, reflecting in the black lenses of Dexter's glasses.

Dexter: And the Jackster? Is he out in the car?

V clenches his right fist, visibly shaken.

V: Don't care to know how Jackie is?

Dexter: Tone… You'd best watch it.

V: Bled out in the back seat. Dead.

Dexter turns away from the television set, taking cover in the dimness of the room, lighted only by his cigar.

Dexter: Sorry to hear that. The Relic?

V, with a quick gesture, points to his temple.

V: Got it right here.

Dexter: Hhm. I was afraid of that.

V: What?!

Dexter: Saburo Arasaka? Dead?! You got any notion of the shit you pulled me into?!

Dexter turns to the television, tuned to a news broadcast, pointing to it with his hand clutching his large, lit cigar.

Dexter: You offed the fuckin' emperor! HIS MAJESTY! Anyone with so much as a pinky toe dipped in this mess is good as dead!

V: Gotta leave Night City.

Dexter: You don't say!

V: Ring Evelyn. We close our deal, collect our cut and drop off the radar.

Dexter lets himself down on a large black leather corner sofa, puffing from his cigar.

Dexter: A'ight. Settle down. Gotta be tactical about this… Parker, eddies, then we leave the city limits behind, but first… Your face… got blood all over it.

Dexter points to a door behind V, he turns slowly.

Dexter: Bathroom's there. Go get yourself cleaned up.

V walks through the door, finding himself in a small bathroom, with a sink and a mirror, lit only by a small white neon lamp. 

After a while, V walks over to the sink, massaging his right hand and then his face under the cold water, losing his gaze in the blood-filled drain. After raising his head, the mirror presents his image to him, V tries to restrain himself, before giving in, exploding with a violent punch against the mirror, which scatters into a thousand pieces, distorting his image.

As soon as V comes out of the bathroom, he is hit in the face by Dexter's bodyguard, falling to the floor.

V: Dex… The fuck are you doin'?

V tries to get up, but is reached by a kick in the chest, which spikes him to the floor.

Dexter: Can't risk it, V.

The bodyguard hands Dexter a golden gun, as V writhes on the floor.

Dexter: 'Member our first convo?

Dexter aims the gun at V's head, as he raises his hands, trying to protect himself.

Dexter: Seems I've choosen the quiet life, after all. No blaze of glory for me.

V's pupils dilate as a huge fire blazes from Dex's gun. In an instant everything goes dark and silent around him, all he can hear are static noises, while red error messages pop up on his interface, one after another. Then, in an instant, everything falls silent.

Out of the darkness emerges the silhouette of a familiar object, V tries to squint, recognizing an old car door, stacked among some garbage. V slowly lifts his head, half sunk into the mud, dragging himself toward an opening, outside the garbage tomb in which he woke up.

V keeps dragging, until he reaches a plain, surrounded by huge mountains of garbage. Everything around him becomes a blur, while his vision is disturbed by a series of blue interferences that he cannot recognize. 

From behind a pile of wastes, two shadows emerge. One of them grabs V by the arms, dragging him for a while, setting him down on a pile of old TVs.

V slowly opens his eyes, in front of him are Dexter de Shawn and a Japanese man in a black jacket. V recognizes him as the man in Yorinobu's penthouse. After dragging V, Dexter limps toward Takemura. 

Dexter: Urgh… Heavier than he looks. Now Listen dawg. I've done exactly what you asked. So le'ss you an' me figure this… 

Suddenly, Takemura pulls a gun from his jacket, shooting Dexter in the face. Dexter's lifeless body falls next to V as he begins to pant, then Takemura calmly walks near V, looking at him.

Takemura: Mhm…

Takemura crouches near V, as his optics glow red.

Takemura: 荒坂様,お父様を殺した犯人を見つけました.間違いなく彼です・・・はい,1時間後にはそちらに着くと思います.[Arasaka-sama, I've found your father's killer. It's him, I have no doubt… Yes, I expect to be there in a hour. ]

V, still slumped on the ground, slowly extends his right hand toward Takemura.

V: Help… Meee…

Takemura slaps V. in disgust.

Takemura: Quiet!

V wakes up, lying on the leather seat of a luxury Shion convertible, speeding through the roads that cut the desert outside Night City. Behind the wheel there is Takemura.

Takemura: YOU HEAR ME?! I NEED YOUR HELP!

V begins to blink, as Takemura hands him a green syringe. V reluctantly shoves it into the center of his chest, arching his shoulders as he awakes.

V leans out of the convertible door, which is joined by a man on a motorcycle, who stares at V and Takemura with a sinister grin. Suddenly, the car is hit by a hail of bullets. Takumura quickly hands V a gun.

The car is surrounded by three motorcycles. V stands on the seat shooting at one of them who fires back. Takemura suddenly accelerates, crushing one of the three, which tumbles onto the windshield, breaking it into a million pieces.

The convertible continues to race through traffic, over the dam outside the walls of Night City. V manages to hit the fuel tank of one of the motorcycles, which explodes, enveloping the driver in a fireball. The last of the motorcyclists skirts the car, as Takemura tries to push it off the road. With a superhuman leap, the man soars off the motorcycle, landing on top of Takemura's convertible. The man smiles at V as huge blades come out of both his arms. V's face, instead, reflects in the metal of the man's face, coming out of skin melted by fire and bullets.

The man starts swinging the blades at V. Takemura suddenly breaks, sending the man flying under the hood.

Takemura: もう死ね! [Die already!]

From underneath the car, a giant metal blade begins to emerge, piercing the bodywork. The motorcyclist begins to climb the hood like a mountain, ominously coming toward V and Takemura. 

V starts shooting at the motorcyclist again, as the man's outlines are lost in blue interference that disrupts his visual interface. The man almost reaches the cockpit, swinging his large blade toward Takemura.

Motorcyclist: TRAITOR!

Takemura suddenly accelerates, crashing the car into the base of a huge billboard, crushing the motorcyclist. V is thrown from the cockpit, passing out in the impact against the asphalt.

V opens his eyes again, seeing Takemura at his side, holding his arm. In front of him, is the motorcyclist, wedged between the car and the metal pole, engulfed in a ball of flames.

Takemura: Don't you dare faint again… Keep your eyes open.

V: Fuck…

V raises his right hand, shooting the motorcyclist, killing him. Takemura grabs his gun.

Takemura: We both could use some medical attention. Do you know a ripperdoc whom you can trust?

V replies to Takemura in a trembling voice.

V: Viktor… can fix us up…

Takemura: We have to get there somehow. Call someone… ANYONE!

V: Alright… Alright…

V opens his interface and selects Delamain's number.

Delamain AI (Holo): Greetings. My scanner indicates you are outside of the service area.

V(Holo): Just… Just… Come pick me up. Need to come near Misty's Esoterica… Front of Vik's.

Delamain AI (Holo): Of course. A vehicle is on route. It should arrive in less than twenty minutes.

V begins to blink, ever so slowly, as his eyes close.

Takemura: HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOIN'!

V faints again, when he wakes up he is lying between Takemura's arms, in the back seats of the Delamain cab.

Takemura: The personal link is damaged.

V begins to blink, seeing Takemura fiddling with a cable.

Delamain IA (Monitor): Please proceed to insert the jack below the ear, though not too deep. There should be an auxiliary neurosocket between his lymph nodes, beneath the muscle.

Takemura: If I hit a vein by mistake, he will die.

Delamain IA (Monitor): Indeed. As he will If you don't do anything.

Takemura: I think I have the socket!

V's Interface goes off. When he regains consciousness, he sees Takemura dragging him, along with another man who is behind him.

The man turns out to be Viktor, who lets V go to the ground, running toward Takemura, who slumps tired and covered in blood, on the side of the Delamain cab.

Takemura: I need to rest…

Viktor ducks down next to Takemura, touching his neck.

Viktor: Is that your blood?! Misty!

V closes his eyes one last time, opening them again he finds himself lying in Viktor's chair. His face is barely visible, hidden by the thousands of error messages bombarding his interface.

Delamain IA: It's neurogenic shock. He's dying.

Viktor: Gotta cut my way through the occipital bone. No other way.

Delamain IA: There is a risk of…

Viktor: I know what I'm doing.

Everything goes black around V. The aseptic voice of AI Delamain, along with Viktor's worried voice suddenly disappear, as if they had been turned off.

Viktor: V? You in there?

V wakes up, lying in Viktor's operating chair, trying to get up and holding his head with his right hand, which is full of blood.

V: Ugh… my head…

Viktor: How ya feelin'?

V turns around confused, the lights in the room bombarding him, sieging his eyes, while a strange blue interference distorts everything around him.

V: Dunno Vik… Ears're ringin'. And I'm seein' shit…

Viktor: These… hallucinations. Describe 'em to me.

V tries to get straight on his back, staring at Viktor.

V: Blinding lights. It's loud. I'm on stage and almost can't breathe. I'm so full of… hatred. Then I let it all out into a mic. And I realize it didn't help, I don't feel any better.

Viktor covers his face with his hand, worried.

V: And then, promise not to laugh. I plant a bomb in Arasaka Tower.

Viktor: Nothin' there to laugh about.

V stares at Viktor with a grimace of pain, holding his chest, almost crying.

V: They killed me, Vik. Never been so afraid.

Viktor sits on his stool, defeated.

V: It was too real, even for a lucid dream.

Viktor: You weren't dreamin' V. Those were memories. There's a personality construct on that shard, dreams you had… were from his past.

V changes expression, dumbfounded.

V: Sayin' I experienced another psyche's memories? How's that possible?

Viktor: You two are connected in a way I can't make head or tail of!

V: Two?! Me and who Vik, who's the other?

Viktor: Johnny Silverhand. A terrorist… real talk o' the town back in my day. Anyway that's not what's important right now… 

V: What is?

Viktor begins to look around, as if trying to stall, frightened. After a while he breaks the silence.

Viktor: Biochip… It's basically a bomb, fuse lit already. You don't have much time left, much… life. A few weeks tops. Silverhand's construct is overwriting your consciousness… gradually takin' over your body, until one day you'll just be… gone.

Viktor covers his face with both hands, lowering his head.

Viktor: V, it's important you get all of this.

V stares at Viktor puzzled, hesitant, then slowly begins to speak.

V: You'll fix me up, right? Vik?!

Viktor: If I could, I would V, believe me. But this is… way beyond what I know how to do.

V: You're the best of the best Vik! Why can't you help me?! I have to die, I'm going to die? That what you're sayin'?! Prove it.

Viktor: Dex shot you, right? The bullet damaged your chipslot and your brain. The biochip revived and short-circ' you. Started uploading data into your head. As far as it was concerned, your body was just an empty vessel that needed to be filled with the data of the engram it was carryin'.

V: EMPTY VESSEL?! BUT I'M RIGHT HERE, THIS IS ME!

Viktor: The shard doesn't read, it writes. From where the shard it's sitting, you, what's left… It's all a tumor that needs to be excised.

V begins to panic, almost crying.

V: Vik, if there is nothin' you can do to help me, then… well what the hell do I do?! Tell me please.

Viktor stands up.

Viktor: Wish I knew, kid.

Viktor leaves the room, leaving V, shivering, lying in the chair. Behind him appears Misty with a wheelchair.

Misty: You're askin' too much from an old timer like Vik. C'mon V, let's get you home.

Misty escorts V out of the clinic, all the way back inside his apartment. The sliding door opens as Misty pushes V toward her bed.

V: And then he died… and I thought I was going to die… with him, In my sleep.

Misty: Sleep's a…Small hint of death. The inevitable.

V: Can't actually tell I'm awake now. I mean I could be dead already, right?

Misty: Not something to focus on, V. Let it go. Here, got some meds for you.

Misty crouches in front of V, showing him two containers filled with pills, one red and one blue.

Misty: Omega blockers… Taken regularly, they'll keep things from progressing too quickly. Also they should keep that guest of yours calm, quiet.

V takes the box of pills from Misty's hand.

Misty: Pseudoendotrizine's from me. Effect will be opposite. It'll speed things up, free the demon, so to speak. 

V also takes the box of red pills from Misty's hands, then drags herself to the bed, lying on it.

V: Gotta lie down…

Misty: Here, got one more thing for ya.

Misty gives V a kind of circular pendant, at the center of which there is a bullet.

Misty: Vik pulled this outta of your skull… a lucky charm? Promise you'll try to get some sleep?

V: You're lovely Misty, thanks.

Misty: G'night, V. Sweet, peaceful dreams. 

V lets himself go on the bed as Misty leaves the apartment, turning one last time to say goodbye to him.

V suddenly wakes up in the middle of the night. From the dimness of the room, a figure with long hair, a pair of sunglasses and a metal arm is standing near his bed.

Johnny: Need a smoke. Where'd stash yours?

V gets out of bed, holding up his head. In front of him, the man in sunglasses stares at him smugly. V looks back at him, defiantly.

V: Don't smoke.

Johnny: Then go out and get some. Just need one last one!

V steps back, bewildered.

V: Jesus fuckin' Christ man!

Johnny: The fuck kinda Joytoy are you supposed to be?

V: Fuckin' ghost off! 

V begins to run for the door, Johnny teleports in front of him, pushing him to the ground.

Johnny: Who do you work for?! Start talkin'!

Johnny looks at his arm pointing to V, who is lying on the ground, and notices that his arm is also raised toward him, as if he is looking in a mirror.

V: Fuck!

Johnny begins to stare at his hands, while V does the same.

Johnny: Fuckin' chip!

V brings his right hand to the slot on his neck, grasping the Relic inserted in it.

Johnny: Rip the thing out myself!

V: No! Wait!

V's interface turns red and distorted by interference; returned to normal, V finds himself facing the large window of his apartment overlooking Night City.

Johnny: I'll take control!

V begins to bang his head against the glass, increasingly violently.

Johnny: I'll find a way! YOU HEAR ME?!

V takes a blue pill out of the box.

V: See you never, asshole!

Johnny hits V's hand, which pulls the pill to the center of the room.

Johnny: Not like that! Stick some iron in your mouth and pull the trigger!

V begins to drag himself toward the pill on the floor.

Johnny: I can feel it… our minds… touching… I'm like mold on fruit, creepin' into you… nothin' I can do about it.

V finally manages to take the pill and put it in his mouth.

Johnny: It's just a copy of the engram… I'm out there somewhere, gotta be…

Johnny disappears in a pile of pixels as V closes his eyes.

V: Ugh… Fuck me.