Cyberpunk 2077 - The Ballad of Lost Souls

V sits near Panam on the left side of the elevator, while Eric and Faith sit on the opposite side. The open service elevator rapidly descends to the ground, squeezed between the old building on the right and the city landscape on the left. It's night. An unnerving silence stands between the four of them.

Johnny: I sense some tension here.

V: Yeah, me too.

V looks at his right arm cut near the upper elbow, some wires and oil coming out of it, then he turns to Panam, still unconscious, and smiles slightly.

Faith: HEY, ASSHOLE!

V turns to Faith and looks straight at her. Faith's expression starts getting infused with pure anger until her teeth are completely exposed.

V: Don't have to explain you a goddamn thing.

Faith brings out her knife trying to jump at V. Erics quickly stop her.

V: C'mon lady. Give it your best shot.

Faith starts to push Eric around but can't free from his hold.

Eric: C'mon Faith, REMEMBER THE PLAN!

Faith finally frees herself and puts her knife away. A single tear drop from her eye. 

V: You can't, do you?

Faith: Fuck you.

Faith turns to Eric and pushes him away.

Faith: And fuck you too, Eric.

The elevator finally comes to an alt into a parking lot. Faiths quickly jumps out and starts running to his van, near it, two dead Arasaka agents, both holding guns, laid in a lake of blood. Eric gets out slowly adjusting his broken glasses while V gets up and lifts Panam laying her on his left shoulder.

Faiths quickly opens the sliding door, revealing Max sat on the back seats, crying.

Max: Mom!

Faith hugs Max strongly, almost choking him and starts crying profusely, then releases him, holding his head with both of his hands.

Max: Mom?! Why are you crying?!

Faith: No…nothing honey. Everything will be ok… I promise.

Eric appears behind Faith.

Max: Dad!

Eric caresses Max's hairs, looking at him, trying to hold tears.

Eric: Hi, Max.

Faith: Mom and dad have to settle something, ok?! Then we are going home, I swear.

Max: But…What happened?!

Eric: Bad guys wanted to hurt mum and dad but it's over, you don't have to worry about a thing, ok Max?! Now wait there just for a minute.

Faith closes the van's door and turns back to V.

Faith: So what's your plan now, uhm?!

V: To be fair… I don't exactly have a plan…

V forgets Faith for a moment, focusing on a covered car behind her. V starts running toward it, still holding Panam.

V: ERIC! Help me here!

Eric walks toward V, helping remove the cover over the big parked car, revealing Panam's armed Torton.

Eric: HOOOOLY SHIT!

Johnny: Better than that fucking minivan for sure.

V uses Panam's hand to open the backseat door, he delicately places her on the seat and closes back the door, then both Eric and V go back to Faith.

Faith: So I'm going to ask it again. What's the plan?

V: Gonna use Panam's car to open a breach to Arasaka's perimeter. You and Eric will follow through.

Faith: Ah. You're going to drive. How?!

V looks down to his severed arm.

V: Well… Yeah.

A big explosion interrupts everybody. V draws his gun, while Eric tries to cover Faith.

The Basilisk tank appears through the smoke and debris. The top hatch opens revealing Mitch and Garrison.

Mitch: HERE THEY ARE!

Mitch and Garrison crawl down from the tank hatch and run to Eric, V and Faith. 

Mitch: Where is she?! Is she ok?!

V: Yeah we arrived just in time.

Mitch hugs V.

Mitch: Thank God!

Garrison: Who are these two?!

V: Friends, they helped me out.

Eric starts looking at the tank, putting both of his hands over his head.

Eric: Where the hell did you find that?!

Garrison: We borrowed it last year from a Militech convoy, your friend helped us out.

Eric: Militech?! Jesus….Nooo….

Mitch: I'm Mitch. Nice to meet you.

Mitch stretches his arms into Faith's direction to greet her, but she doesn't return the handshake, instead she crosses her arms and starts watching both Mitch and Garrison with suspicion.

Mitch: Well… Uhm… Ok.

Garrison: Mitch told me everything…So you are V after all, uhm?! I was mad at you for that punch… But it seems you had a tougher day than me. You look like shit man.

V: You're always so kind, Garry.

Mitch: C'mon, let's move. We are going to cover you, we camped just outside Nix.

Mitch and Garrison get back to the tank, while V runs toward Panam's Torton. Faith and Eric walk toward their car then she opens her car's door.

Eric: I'll drive, Faith.

Faith pushes Eric away, looking at him, angry.

Faith: Go with your friend.

Faith closes the door and starts up the car. Eric walks toward V sat in the Panam's Torton passenger seat. Eric opens up the driver's door, sitting in the driver's seat and startup the car.

V: Problems?

Eric: Faith is angry. She will calm down.

V smiles slightly.

V: Women.

Eric: Yeah.

The Basilisk escorts both Faith's car and Panam's Torton outside of the parking lot, through the hole created by the explosion. 

The convoy starts moving outside the old Softsys building. The plaza outside it resembles a war zone. Santiago's dead men lie on the ground along with some Arasaka's assault squad members. The buildings surrounding the plaza are in complete ruins: big fires stretching out of them toward the sky. Eric and the rest of the convoy dodge a group of destroyed and crashed Arasaka combat vehicles and Aldecado's cars. Two more modified Quadras join them.

Johnny: Damn V, look outside.

V looks outside, seeing his reflection in the car window while Mitch calls over his interface.

Mitch(Holo): V, we are going to escort you to the camp, ok?! We are going north, up the old route seventeen.

Eric(Holo): Like we have a fucking choice.

V turns to Eric.

Eric(Holo): Sorry guys. Still synched up on the channel.

Suddenly a loud siren interrupts everybody.

Eric: What was that?!

V: MaxTac.

A flying black vehicle, resembling a spaceship, flies over the group, following them from the sky. V turns around and sees two motorcycles rapidly approaching them.

V: Fuck! Arasaka is back.

A stream of bullets shatters the Torton windows , covering everybody in glasses.

Eric: V! DO SOMETHING!

V quickly connects to the car's interface and activates the Tortorn's turret.

He sees from the turret's interface two Arasaka's bikers approaching them. He quickly shoots at one of them, the driver loses control and crashes inside a small corner shop. 

V turns the turret and sees the other one tailing them from behind, holding a machine gun and attempting to hold the aim while driving. V tries to shoot him but the turret suddenly stops working.

V: Fuck, it's jammed!

Eric: Netrunner?

V: No. This piece of junk never worked properly.

Eric suddenly stops the car, the biker crashes right into the back of it, flying on the roof and hitting the ground.

V: Nice.

Eric: Safe distance is important.

Eric steps on the accelerator, losing control for a second, speeding back into the traffic and dodging some cars.

After some time they manage to get back behind the rest of the convoy. The MaxTac vehicle is still flying above them with the side door open while four agents are shooting repeatedly at the convoy.

Eric: Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

V(Holo): Mitch! Can you hear me?! You have to cover Faith's car ! Do something, goddamnit!

Mitch(Holo): We are doing what we can V… we're almost out of ammo. We used 'em all outside the building on 'Saka.

V: Shit.

V opens the car's drawer on the passenger side, finding gun ammunition. He quickly loads them and starts shooting at the MaxTac vehicle with his left hand.

Eric: What are you doing exactly?!

V: Shut up and keep driving!

Eric suddenly slows down and starts looking in the air. The Arasaka's helicopter starts flying above them, waving around with some smoke coming out of it. V starts shooting at it.

Faith(Holo): STOP, YOU FUCKING IDIOT! IT'S ME!

V looks in the air in disbelief.

V: Damn.

The Arasaka helicopter starts shooting at the MaxTac vehicle that crashes on a neon light above one building.

Eric: That's my Faith! 

V(Holo): Faith! How is Max?!

Faith(Holo): He's fine… Keep moving!

The convoy guided by the tank keeps moving through the city, dodging the incoming traffic and some pedestrians. Suddenly V sees a wall of cars in front of them.

V(Holo): Mitch! We have to find another way, look at the traffic!

Mitch(Holo): WHERE EXACTLY, V?! This is no motorbike you know?!

Eric(Holo): Fucking rush hour. Guys, take the left turn to the Nix's skyway.

Garrison(Holo): Negative, we will be an open target for the MaxTac.

V(Holo): Goddamnit, Garry! What do you want to do?! Squash some innocents with that fucking tank?!

Garrison(Holo): If it will help the survival's chances yes, I fucking will.

V: GARRISON, LISTEN…

Suddenly the Torton crashes on a shop's window, pushed to the side by a black van. V loses his gun somewhere on the car's floor. Eric lifts slowly his head from the steering wheel, his face is completely full of blood and glasses.

Eric: Fuu… uuu..ck.

V, still dazzled, tries to move his left arm around, looking for his gun, but with no luck. Two armed men surround the left and right side of the car, holding everybody at gunpoint. A woman with blonde hair and a black Miltech armor suit starts walking calmly toward the Torton.

Meredith: Hello there, V.

Meredith leans herself on the Torton broken left window and starts touching V's face.

Meredith: What did they do to you?! Did you end up in the basement of a discount ripper? What a shame. I loved that jaw.

Meredith gets out a torch from the back pocket and starts pointing at the Torton passengers, while holding V's neck with her left hand.

Meredith: What do we have here?! Is this your crew?! Damn I thought you were a professional. I think I've overestimated you and it's not the first time.

V: S..cr..ew you…

Meredith starts holding V's neck even tighter.

Meredith: Please V, I'm working.

Meredith aims the torch at Panam's face.

Meredith: Hello honey! Finally we met.

Meredith puts away the torch and looks back at V.

Meredith: Do you have any idea of how much trouble you and your girlfriend over there caused me?! Too bad Santiago already had all the fun.

A loud gunshot interrupts Meredith that moves away from the car window at inhuman speed. The bullets hit the man behind Meredith on the shoulder. Eric quickly grabs the other soldier's rifle, putting the car in first gear and speeding away. V rapidly turns and sees Panam, barely standing straight, holding the Malorian and looking at him with one eye open, gasping.

V: Panam...

Eric: V, I've got to ask… Do you have somebody else to introduce me to?!

V, still confused, shakes his head.

Johnny: You know what, V? Your life seems like a bad remake of mine.

V: Johnny… Just shut up.

Eric keeps driving the damaged Torton through the incoming traffic, attempting to take the exit to Nix's skyway.

Eric(Holo): Faith, do you copy?! How is Max ?!

Faith: ERIC! Are you ok?! Oh thank god! He is fine but scared…We lost you for a moment we thought…

Eric(Holo): We met an old friend of V it seems.

Mitch(Holo): Guys, are you ok?! Who was it, V?

V(Holo): Corpo bitch from a life before this one, probably still mad about that fuckin' tank.

Eric: Faith, how is the helicopter holding?

Faith(Holo): Not well, it's barely flying, you need to reach us, now!

Eric speeds up the Torton dodging some crashed cars on the road and finally reaches the rest of the convoy.

V: Here they are!

The Arasaka helicopter is still covering the convoy, waving around with the left side completely engulfed in flames. Mitch sticks out from the tank cockpit, shooting at two police cars that are tailing them.

V: It's not over yet.

Eric: We are over Cave Creek, almost there!

One of the police cars sides near Faith's van and starts shooting at it.

Eric: NO! NOOOO!

V: C'mon Eric, speed up!

Eric pushes the Tortorn to the limit and crashes into the back of the police car. The car starts to roll to the side until the car completely squashes it, passing over. Mitch manages to shoot at the other police car, that crashes on the side of the road.

Garrison(Holo): It's over guys! WE DID IT!

The convoy manages to get out on the skyway, back on route seventeen. Slowly the landscape changes from skyscrapers to small buildings to the emptiness of the desert. V turns one last time back to the lights of the city then closes his eyes, letting the darkness of the night hug him.

After several minutes the convoy manages to arrive back at Aldecaldo's camp. Eric quickly opens the Torton's driver's door. V slowly gets out of the car as well. The tank hatch opens up, both Mitch and Garrison jump out of it. Faith gets out of the van, Eric runs toward her, hugging her.

Eric: It's over, Faith.

Faith looks at Eric, straight into his eyes, crying.

Faith: Just for a moment I thought…

Eric: But I'm here…I'm here…

Faith leaves Eric and starts walking slowly toward Mitch, quickly cleaning her eyes from tears, becoming serious again.

Faith: Are you a mechanic?

Mitch: Uhm?! Yeah…

The Arasaka helicopter crashes down in flames near Mitch. Faith closes her eyes and grabs Mitch's arm, leaning on him, attempting to stand straight.

Faith: Get… Get to work then…

Eric grabs Max from the van, while Mitch and Garrison run toward V.

V: Guys I'm so happy…

Mitch opens the rear door of the Torton, getting Panam out with Garrison's help. The two of them quickly bring her to the camp, ignoring V.

V: to see you.

Johnny: Don't worry V… I'm not going anywhere.

V closes the door of the Torton and leans on the door, then slides on it, finally sitting on the sand.

Johnny: V?!

V: Yeah.

Johnny: Are you ok?!

V: Don't worry, just tired. I'll die another day.