Cyberpunk 2077 - The Ballad of Lost Souls

V walks calmly toward the stairs of the H8 Megabuilding, crossing his gaze with some Tiger Claws chatting near some cars and motorcycles, one of them turns toward him, returning his gaze in a threatening way. V ignores them and proceeds to make his way through the crowd, among the neon signs of the vendors populating the building's lobby. He finally enters the large elevator in the center of the lobby, and as he presses the button that says "Clouds'' on it, Johnny appears before him.

Johnny: Way I see it, only thing waitin' for you here, is getting off or getting offed. Place your bets.

The elevator closes as V spreads his arms wide, annoyed.

V: What've I missed this time? Enlighten me.

Johnny: Braindance chick is hidin' somethin'. No coincidence we already saw two Tigers Claws. They must control the building.

V: Think Judy is lying? Why?

Johnny: Little somethin' called intuition V, ever heard of it?

V: Oh what you meant to say is that you are full of shit, got it.

Johnny disappears in a cloud of pixels, displeased. Finally the elevator door opens, bringing V into the heart of the building. A long hallway leads V to the door of the club, illuminated by a large pink neon sign.

V walks through the doors, finding himself a hallway filled with gray majolica tiles, completely covered with graffiti. The air smells musty from the thick pipes running through the ceiling.

At the end of the hallway, there is a woman with blue hair standing behind a counter. V approaches her as she smiles at him, he smiles back.

Receptionist: Welcome to Clouds where we know what you're looking for. Would you care to jack into the terminal?

V stares suspiciously at the terminal in front of the receptionist, then pulls his link from his wrist and plugs it into a small black device on the counter.

V: Alright. Let's do this.

Receptionist: This will be a live session, so events may take an unexpected turn. But don't quit if you feel uncomfortable…You could miss out something truly remarkable.

The receptionist begins to type something on the terminal's keyboard.

Receptionist: If you feel unready to handle what comes next, you can interrupt the session immediately.

V waves his right hand in the air, annoyed, while his left hand is still resting on the counter, connected to the terminal via the link on his wrist.

Receptionist: Now for your safeword.

V: Afterlife.

Receptionist: Saved. Now… Bear with me a moment…

A purple window appears on V's interface, he steps back, impressed.

Receptionist: Scanning your personal profile. You should see all compatible dolls in just a second.

 A list of men and women appears on the purple interface, accompanied by a loading bar. The pictures slowly disappear as the loading bar progresses except for a woman with purple hair and a man with short hair and makeup. 

Receptionist: Two matches. Interesting.

V raises an eyebrow, puzzled.

V: Is that normal or…?

Receptionist: Who can say what is… "normal"? You are a unique person with unique tastes. So who would it be? Angel or Skye?

V smiles, mockingly.

V: Rather go with Skye.

Receptionist: I couldn't have chosen better myself. Now for the payment and you can venture into the Clouds.

V sighs, opening his own interface, ready to transfer eddies to the receptionist.

V: There you go.

Receptionist: And… The payment's come through. The entire floor is open to you if you wish to come wind down first.

V walks toward the door near the receptionist, attracted by the purple lights passing through it. The receptionist blocks him by clearing her throat.

Receptionist: Ahem. We have a strict no-weapons policy here at Clouds. Please deposit any and all hazardous items with me.

V turns to lockers to his left, storing his gun. Johnny appears to him sitting on the leather chair next to the lockers, crossing his legs.

Johnny: Only two willin' to spread their legs for you? Sad.

V: Go eat a dick, Johnny!

V turns to the receptionist who watches in bewilderment. He gives her a smile and quickly walks through the door that leads him into a huge lobby, lit by soft purple light. All around him are large numbered metal cubicles, enclosed with black mirrored glass. V wanders around the maze of cubicles for a while, until he finds the one with "9" written on it. After pressing the white button and opening the cubicle, he finds a woman with pink hair inside, sitting on an armchair in front of a bed.

After closing the glass sliding door behind him, V stays inside the cube for a while. After exiting, he stops for one last time to look at the girl behind him, with a sad and resigned look. V walks briskly toward the VIP area of the club, toward the red stairs leading to the upper floor. In front of him is a man in a white jacket arguing with two Tiger claws blocking his way.

Man: I can't get in? I'm here every motherfuckin' week!

Tiger Claw 1: You're not authorized to get inside the VIP area.

V leans against a wall in the background, while eavesdrops on the conversation.

Man: Yes! I fuckin' am!

Tiger Claw 1: No you are not. You can take it up with the manager. 

Man: No dog, I'm taking it up with you. Right here, right now.

Tiger Claw 2: Sir, your VIP membership has been revoked. 

Man: Say what?!

Tiger Claw 2: Sir please stay calm sir. Or we are gonna escort you out.

The man stands still for a moment, staring at the two Tiger Claws, his hands clasped on his hips, looking menacing. After a while he turns and backs away and heads for the exit.

Tiger Claw 2: Tzeh. Can't say this job is boring. I'm gonna take a piss.

The Tiger Claw heads for the bathroom to the left of the stairs. V seizes the moment, moving away from the wall on which he was resting and follows him, finding himself in a tiled room, barely lit by white neon.

The man begins to fiddle with his pants, then stops, noticing V's reflection in the ceramic in front of him.

Tiger Claw 2: THE FU…

V grabs the man's head, slamming him against the ceramic, which cracks on impact. The Tiger Claw falls to the ground, unconscious, and V begins to search him. Before long he finds a key card, which he slips into his pocket.

V then gets out of the bathroom, passing again the other Tiger Claw, left guarding the door. He waves the card in front of him with a mocking smile, as the sliding doors open, giving him access to the staircase to the upper floor.

After climbing the stairs, V finds himself in a luxurious room with a bar in the center, brightly lit by white neon lights and a thin pink one. The floor is covered with elegant black stone, while above him, the ceiling is completely covered with soft white pillows. V lingers for a second, staring at the ceiling, impressed. After a short while he proceeds briskly to room number 2, while Johnny appears near him, again.

Johnny: He better keep this short and sweet. Two braindead sex zombies in one day is too much to process, even for me.

V ignores him, entering cubicle number 2. In the center of which he finds a bed covered with black linen. Lying on it, there is a black man in a purple shirt and shorts.

Tom: Hi, uhm… Think somethin' might gone wrong here…

Tom stands up, alarmed.

Tom: Not really sure, uhm… Don't have your details. Sorry, no idea on what I'm supposed to do.

V: Need to get in touch with Evelyn Parker. It's important.

Tom: You and me both. Tried calling her a bunch of times… No luck.

V: Mean to say she's not here?

Tom: She had an accident. Needed to go to a special clinic in Osaka… or Oslo?I think it was Oslo. For a new faceplate. 

V: Tell herself she was skippin' town?

Tom: Nah, just didn't show up for work. Wasn't picking up either, so I asked Woodman what was up. Told me she left.

V changes expression, as if he had found what he was looking for.

V: Woodman, who is he?

Tom: Mr Forrest. But everybody calls him Woodman. He's kinda like our caretaker. Finds new talents, deals with ugly situations… 

V: Where?!

Tom: In his office in the private section…

V runs toward the exit of the cubicle, returning to the main room, approaching discreetly toward a door marked "No entry" near the bar. Covered by the crowd, he quickly opens his interface, disabling the camera aimed at the door and after walking through it, he finds himself in a bare, dark hallway.

He continues to roam the service corridors, crouching, passing by two more Tiger Claws. After hacking two more doors, V finds himself in a small room full of lockers, on one of them there is "Evelyn" scribbled on a nameplate. V carefully opens it.

V: Left her purse.

Johnny appears near the locker with his arms crossed.

Johnny: Could have more than one.

V: All her shit's in it, though. Must've left in a hurry.

V throws Evelyn's bag on the floor and leaves the room, heading back out into the hallway. After a while V finds a metal door from which comes a man's voice who is talking on the phone with a heavy Irish accent. V presses the button, and the sliding door disappears into the wall, revealing a luxurious wood-covered study with pictures attached to all the walls. In the center of the room is a large desk beyond which sits a muscular man in a smart black jacket with white stripes. 

Woodman: The fuck are you? No clients allowed in here. Now, be the choom and close the door on your way out, would you?

V stares at Woodman, unmoved.

V: Lookin' for a girl named Evelyn Parker.

Woodman: Got nobody here workin' under that name.

V: But she used to. What happened?

Woodman looks away from V, annoyed by his questions.

Woodman: Probably did what all the dolls try to do… found an unicorn to set her up for life. Look, why don't you try Roxie over at booth two? Same heart-shaped ass and the behavioral chip will do the rest. 

V smiles slightly, resting his hands on Woodman's wooden desk.

V: You look to me like a reasonable man. I think we can work somethin' out.

Woodman: And you look to me like a psycho prick who's never been ghosted by his beau or belle before. But go on, I'm listenin'.

V: You sit in this dank hole you probably call your "office" and think you've made it, don't ya?

Woodman: Congrats. Your read minds better than your own fucking AI. Someone get this gonk a job.

V: Ever stop to think who's behind the Tiger Claw puppets you call your "bosses"? They've got their very own bosses, case you didn't know, you're just too small to see 'em.

Woodman: Oohhh, 'cause you're such a big shot?

V: Let's just say a certain member of the Arasaka clan wouldn't be pleased if he knew something bad happened to Evelyn. And that you're one of the responsible.

After a brief silence, Woodman gets up from his chair, walking thoughtfully toward a small wooden cabinet where there is a bottle of whiskey. Woodman pours himself a glass, while V follows him with his eyes.

Woodman: Allright, fine. Girl you're lookin' for… Parker? She ain't here.

V: Tell me something I don't know. Like, where is she?

Woodman leans against the table, sipping again from the glass and staring at V.

Woodman: Think you know how things work around here, but you don't know shit. Dolls aren't here to give you pleasure and satisfaction out of the goodness of their soul. They're workers. Their job's to generate profit.

V: Yeah, yeah. Is this you talkin' it out straight? What happened to Evelyn?

Woodman: Got an order up high to recycle her. 

V: You killed her.

Woodman: No, but I found a ripperdoc who was willin' to take a look. Said he knew somethin' or other. 

V: The ripper. Name and address.

Woodman takes a long sip from the glass, emptying it.

Woodman: Don't know a last name.

V: Don't fuck with me.

Woodman: I'm not. Goes by fingers. Clinic's in some god-forsaken alley up in Jig-Jig street. Wanna find Evelyn? Look there.

V stares defiantly at Woodman. After a moment he walks slowly toward the office's door.

Woodman: Don't come back here. Never. And while you're at it, take the elevator. Quicker you're out of here, the better.

V stops on the doorway, unnerved by Woodman's words. Without turning around, he walks through the door and down the long service corridor, finding himself in front of a small elevator. V uses it to get back to the club's lobby, where he finds the lockers with the weapons he had stored. He walks past the receptionist and waves to her, heading thoughtfully, toward the elevator of the mega-building. 

V walks toward the elevator, pressing the button on the liquid crystal monitor. Johnny appears to him, leaning against the wall.

Johnny: Got a real charm, this place. In that slimy, subterranean kinda way.

V: Thinks Fingers got her? Think we'll find her there?

Johnny: V, if I could see that far I wouldn't be a ghost on a chip in a corpse's head right now.

V puffs, stymied by Johnny's answer, then enters the elevator, selecting the ground floor. The screens inside the elevators show images of Night City in ruins, destroyed by the atomic explosion fifty years prior as V stares at his image, reflected in the screen, as if it was projected into the ruins. Arriving on the ground floor, the elevator doors open, V feels a tingling sensation at the base of his ear, which soon turns into an unbearable pain. After swaying for a while, dodging the crowds filling the building's lobby, V collapses to the ground in a corner. Johnny appears to him again, frustrated.

V: Fuuuck!

Johnny: NO, NO, DAMMIT!

V: Jesus, the fuck do you want from me?!

Johnny grabs a stool as V stares at it in disbelief, then sits on it, scratching his forehead.

Johnny: It's all goin' too slow! Gona decomish before we learn how to rip the chip out!

V: Wanted me dead. Said so yourself.

Johnny: Made it pretty clear since that I changed my mind. Want you to live now. 

V: Asked you already… What the hell ya want from me?!

Johnny removes his glasses, staring V in the eyes.

Johnny: Gotta get-outta-jail free card. I'd be a fuckin' fool not to take advantage. See, me n' Arasaka, we got a half-century-old score needs settling, and I plan to do it. That's what I need you for.

V: Tzeh. Might even laugh if It didn't hurt so much.

Johnny: Listen, I know things, where we can save your life, who can help us do that. You'll get rid of the chip, I'll smash 'Saka. Win-win kid. Soulkiller is what we need and Mikoshi's how we grab it.

V: Ok, so. Mikoshi. What is it, exactly?

Johnny: Ok, basics. If you're jacked in, cruisin' the Net, Arasaka can use Soulkiller, an AI to trap, fry and pack away your psyche, your mind and soul. Followin' so far?

V: Yeah, seen the memories.

Johnny: Anyway, when Soulkiller fries, roast and boils you, you die. But the contents of your mind get copied to an engram first.

V: Sure, that's how you became a construct…

Johnny raises his hands toward V, pleased.

Johnny: Exactly. Now, Mikoshi's the place, Soulkille operates out of, where it stores its victims' engrams. 

V: Still don't see how Mikoshi's linked to my chip problem.

Johnny: Not the brightest bulb on stage, are ya? Fifty years back, ops on the human mind… Mikoshi was the sole place on Earth where they did anything like that. Bet it still is today. Tellin' ya all roads lead there. 

V: And, uh, how do you plan to smash Arasaka this time? Got another nuke tucked away?

Johnny: This time bomb's named Alt Cunningham. 

V takes on a perplexed expression.

V: I'm s'poused to know who that is?

Johnny: Not yet, but you will once we'll find what we need.

V slowly gets up from the ground, while Johnny does the same.

Johnny: For now, we got no time to lose, need to get inside the Mikoshi.

Johnny disappears in heaps of pixels as V opens his interface, selecting Judy's number; after a few rings she answers, appearing on V's interface.

Judy: V? You called. woah.

V: Evelyn is not at Cloud's anymore. But I might know where she is.

V walks out of the building, disappearing through the streets of Night City.