Cyberpunk 2077 - The Ballad of Lost Souls

Finally the door opens. Both Panam and V fall on the marble ground outside the garden, hitting their heads, while a gunshot suddenly explodes from the Malorian in Panam's hand.

She slowly stands up, kneeling near V. She looks at her chest, seeing a bunch of red dots. She slowly stands up, seeing a long white hallway, with some red stripes on the walls. On top of her, huge walkways, filled to the brim with Militech soldiers, aiming their rifles at her.

On the walkway in front of her, appears Meredith, clapping. Panam looks at her, then she bows her head, defeated.

Meredith: I really, really need to thank you, Panam!

Meredith lies her arms on the walkway railing, lighting a cigarette. Her words echo in the long hallway.

Meredith: Know what?! From woman to woman... For years I doubted the choices I made in my life. God forgive me, sometimes I even doubted the corporation…

Meredith smokes some more, then her eyes light up, starting to glow in a bright red.

Meredith: But today you've proven I haven't really missed anything. Look at him, Panam, look.

Panam stands still, with her eyes closed, holding the gun. Meredith slams his fists violently on the railing.

Meredith: I SAID LOOK AT HIM, YOU STUPID SLUT!

Panam slowly opens her eyes, sobbing. Then she looks at V, that lies on the ground, still, almost lifeless, except for his left hand that still moves slightly.

Meredith: That poor asshole cared about you and what you did?! You failed him. Twice. Fuck, I can't think of better proof that trusting anybody it's stupid.

Suddenly Cassidy and Carol burst into the room, running. They all stop looking at V on the ground. Carol kneels near him, while Cassidy puts his hand on Panam's shoulder.

Cassidy: Pan…

Carol: Shit! That bitch is still alive?!

Meredith bursts out laughing.

Meredith: You… You know there is whole fucking office dedicated to you?! With a huge screen with your fucking faces on it and all. Militech has spent millions and armies of employees to capture you all… If they can fucking see you now, damn…

Panam turns to Cassidy, while Carol connects a small tablet to V's plug on the neck.

Panam: I'm… I'm sorry.

Cassidy: For what Pan?! We all knew the risks and by the way…This is not a bad way to go.

Cassidy lifts his guns in the air, but Panam stops him with his left hand. He looks at her, disappointed, while four Militech soldiers surround them all.

Panam: Nobody has to die anymore…It's over.

Militech Soldier: ON YOUR KNEES YOU ALL, NOW!

The Militech soldier starts handcuffing Panam, while the other one aims his rifle at her. The other two stand behind Cassidy and the others.

Carol: Panam… 

Panam looks down at V and Carol, who turns, looking back at her.

Carol: He's still alive.

Panam's pupils dilate. She quickly raises her head in shock, then hits the Militech guard behind her with her head so hard, that his helmet explodes into pieces, falling to the ground behind her.

The other soldier tries to shoot her, but Cassidy kills him with a shot to the head, then he quickly crosses his arms, poking the barrels of his guns out from under his armpits, killing the soldiers behind him, without looking at them.

All the other soldiers on the walkway start shooting at the Aldecaldos, they find shelter behind a pillar on the right, while Panam takes shelter behind one on the left, still handcuffed.

Meredith looks at them all from the walkway, disappointed. Then she puts out the cigarette.

Meredith: What a huge pain in the ass.

Both the Aldecaldos and Panam are struggling to hold on behind the pillars. Bullets are flying everywhere, along with chunks of marbles and concrete, filling the air in a white myst.

Cassidy: PANAM, YOUR ARMS!

Panam slides across the floor, raising his arms behind his back. Cassidy shoots at the handcuffs freeing her hands, she stands up and leans back against the pillar, seeking shelter. Finally Cassidy kicks the Malorian that slides on the floor, Panam quickly grabs it.

Panam: CAROOOLLLLL, HOW MUCH DOES IT HAVE LEFT?!

Carol keeps touching his tablet, frantically.

Carol: I… I don't…

Panam: HOW MUCH?!

Carol: THREE HOURS, NO MORE!

Panam(Holo): ERIC?! FAITH?! WHERE ARE YOU?!

Eric(Holo): Near an elevator to the D4 sector, you have to pass the loading zone.

Panam(Holo): WE ARE STUCK IN THE HALLWAY! THE FUCKING MILITECH IS SHREADING US TO BITS!

Faith(Holo): SHIT! Hold on there, incoming.

Panam turns back to the walkaway above them all, a Militech soldier walks near Meredith, that looks down in the room beneath her, slightly annoyed.

Miltech Soldier: Director, patrol teams report an unspecified number of Arasaka vehicles incoming..

Meredith smiles.

Meredith: Tzeh, just when I thought the day couldn't get any better.

Meredith turns back to the soldier, still laying on the handrail.

Meredith: I want a safe perimeter around the facility.

Miltech Soldier: Sir, I don't think we have enough men…

Meredith looks at him deeply angry, with her optics glowing in a bright red.

Meredith: I DON'T WANT ANY MORE FUCKUPS! I want all the available men, NOW. In a couple of hours I want to be in my fucking pool… With Yorinobu's head in my hands.

Miltech Soldier: What about them? What do we do?

Meredith smiles.

Meredith: They're just a bunch of desperate people… Activate the prototype, at least we are going to get some entertainment out of this whole thing.

Meredith slowly begins to walk down the walkway, behind her men, who continue to shoot at Panam and the other Aldecaldos. Some of the Militech men are hit back by them and fall to the ground, while below, Panam and the others slowly advance to the sliding door at the end of the hallway, carrying V on their shoulders.

Meredith lights another cigarette, as she walks among the bullets. One of her men falls to the ground, hit, and looks at her, frightened. She stares at him for a second and then walks over his neck, breaking it. Eventually Panam and the others manage to get almost to the end of the hallway, close to the door, as some Militech men come down the stairs to intercept them. For a moment Panam and Meredith's eyes meet. Panam looks at her with disgust and contempt, while Meredith is amused.

Eventually, only one Militech soldier remains, standing in front of the Aldecaldos, aiming their guns at him. Panam slowly walks to him, as he aims his rifle at her, frightened. Both of them stare at each other for a while, then she quickly disarms him, by snatching the rifle from his hands.

Panam slowly gets closer to him, as he remains petrified, then she gently puts a hand on his face, caressing his helmet. Finally, she gently unfastens it and removes it, dropping it to the ground, revealing his face.

A man in his thirties, with a beard and brown eyes, looks at her, frightened, trembling. She returns his look, for a while, smiling. Suddenly she grabs him with both arms, hitting him full with her head. He falls to the ground, unconscious. 

Carol: Fuck.

Panam turns to the others who stare at her, bewildered. Suddenly the silence in the room is broken by a chunk of concrete, falling from one of the pillars, exploding into a thousand pieces on the ground. Everyone turns to look at it, except Panam, who remains motionless, looking lost in the void.

The dust settles, revealing the room full of dead soldiers. The white walls are stained with blood as well as Panam. She looks at her hands for a moment, still holding the Malorian in her right, then slowly approaches Carol, who are carrying V on her shoulders.

Panam stares at him, sad. Her lips are quivering, she caresses his face, staining it with blood.

Panam runs her hand down to his neck, unplugging the cable connected to Carol's tablet, laying him on his shoulders as Carol gently let him go.

Panam drags V toward the sliding door at the end of the corridor, opening it with the switch on the wall. She then turns one last time toward the others, looking at them, with lucid eyes.

Panam: Go home.

Suddenly Meredith appears between Panam and the Aldecaldos. Panam stares at her, stunned, as Cassidy attempts to aim the guns at her.

Meredith: Hi, Pam!

Meredith kicks Panam in the chest, so hard, that he sends her flying to the center of a room past the door, along with V. Cassidy fires two shots at her, then stops. She slowly turns to the other Aldecaldos and looks at them with a mocking smile, while closing the sliding door behind her.

Panam regains consciousness, finding herself on the ground in the center of a huge cylindrical hall with no ceiling, from which the sun and the sky can be seen. The room is full with metal crates, while large chains descend from a metal bar above her. To her right, there are three giant monitors, behind which is a huge gateway. Away from her lies V, next to Meredith. Panam stares at him concerned.

Meredith walks toward V's body, her footsteps echo in the hall. She finally stops, lighting another cigarette.

Meredith: Panam…Palmer, right?! We finally have a chance to talk a bit.

Panam slowly stands up looking around for the Malorian.

Meredith: Looking for this?!

Meredith slowly walks toward her, waving the gun in front of her, while Panam stands up and looks back at her silently and defiantly.

Meredith: You must think I hate you, but no. You have been my greatest fortune, Panam! You see... When you and those peasants of yours friends stole the Basilisk, you gave me the chance of a lifetime. I had been trying for years to take the place of my asshole boss, and it is only you I have to thank.

Panam runs toward Meredith and starts punching her repeatedly in the chest and stomach, while hearing loud metallic noises. Meredith keeps smoking, staring at her boredly, until she stops, exhausted, with her fingers bent and bleeding.

Meredith: Panam, my bones are made of titanium.

Meredith puts out her cigarette on the floor, then grabs her by the torso, with both hands. Panam looks at her in the eyes, frightened and with quivering lips, gasping for air. Meredith instead, smiles with a sadistic expression.

Meredith: And yours... Look like butter…

A loud crack is heard, Panam lets out an excruciating scream, as Meredith lets her go to the ground, she twists and turns, coughing and spitting blood.

Panam: AAAAAHHHHHHH!

Meredith: Eh, I know Panam… the tongue bites where the tooth hurts. The truth is that I admire you, very much. It takes tremendous willpower to be you… Mind you, I had to swallow a lot too…literally. But you! Everything you touch, dies: your friends, that old asshole doctor, that….

Meredith turns around and sees Panam standing behind her, holding a piece of glass, she quickly strikes at her stomach. Meredith stares at the glass stuck in her belly, and then pulls it out, as if nothing happened, Panam looks at her, shocked, gasping while Meredith stares at her for a second, unfazed.

Meredith suddenly hits Panam full in the face, breaking her nose, causing her to fall back on the ground. Panam coughs up blood from her mouth and nose, writhing, as Meredith looks at her, annoyed.

Meredith: I don't like when somebody interrupts me. Anyway, I was saying… Your daddy Saul, even your knight in armor who came from the city, over there. 

Meredith leans close to Panam, who is drowning in her own blood, gasping for air and caresses her.

Meredith: Don't you understand Panam?! I want to free you…I want you to know the truth. And do you know what it is?! Everyone is playing the same game, the one you refuse to play.

Meredith gets up and starts walking next to V's body on the ground.

Meredith: You know he used to work for us, right?!

Panam, still lies on the ground, holding her ribs.

Panam: No… he… worked… for… Myers…the…N..USA…

Meredith suddenly turns to Panam, looking at her with her optics lit in a fiery red.

Meredith: Myers... MYERS?! DO YOU THINK MYERS WOULD MATTER WITHOUT US?! That bitch thinks she can change the country with.... pieces of paper, but at the end of the day we're the ones cleaning up her messes! WE ARE THE FUCKING UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PANAM! 

Meredith points at V's body on the ground.

Meredith: We had offered him a way out, a quick and easy operation. But he refused and went with you. You know why?! Because he wanted to change his life?! No Panam, he just wanted to quit! He just wanted to die and he knew you couldn't help him.

Panam: No… No…

Meredith: He felt death approaching and thought about all the shit he had done...He got scared Panam…He just wanted someone to blame for his mistakes. Because men are like that at heart…a bunch of cowards.

Meredith begins to walk around her.

Meredith: He is just a man, Panam…a mercenary. I knew him before you did, all I had to do was wave some pussy around him and he immediately jumped in, gun in hand to kill somebody. When the job was done he was panting…like a bastard. Because that's ultimately all they care about…It's all about ego.

Meredith stops and looks at Panam on the ground.

Meredith: To him, you and I are no different…Do you think he killed Santiago because he cared about you?! Because he wanted to save you?! NO! He was going crazy just at the idea of someone else fucking you. And honestly…I can't blame him.

Meredith kneels closer to her, while Panam looks at her back, in fear.

Meredith: You, on the other hand, sacrificed everything for him, even yourself. Wanna know what the tragic part is?! He even managed to convince you that he saved your life.

Meredith begins to caress Panam's face. She looks at her with wide eyes, trembling.

Meredith: Friendship, love and family...They're just diseases, Panam. Because at the end of the day everybody just wants something from you, giving nothing in return.

Meredith gets up, then points the piece of glass at Panam, showing her reflection while she closes her eye.

Meredith: Look Panam. Look at what love has done to you.

Panam refuses to look while Meredith puts her foot on her neck, becoming angry.

Meredith: I SAID FUCKING LOOK ! OR I'LL BREAK YOUR NECK!

Panam slowly opens her eyes and sees her reflection in the piece of glass. She looks at the eyepatch, her face is covered in blood, bruised. Her nose is broken, while her lower lip is stitched up on the left side; she stares at the piece of glass, trembling and then begins to sob.

Meredith: I saw your file. You were one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in my entire life.

Meredith lifts her foot off Panam's neck, throwing away the piece of glass, bitter.

Meredith: What a waste.

Meredith grabs Panam by the head, lifting her into the air. She begins to scream, grabbing and holding onto Meredith's right arm.

Meredith: I want to show you something, Panam.

Suddenly the three monitors in the room light up, showing a recording where a man appears on his knees, surrounded by Militech soldiers. Panam recognizes him and begins to sob.

Meredith: Who is he, Pam?!

Panam: Ethan…

Meredith: LOUDER PANAM, OR I'LL CRACK YOUR SKULL LIKE A NUTSHELL!

Panam: ETHAN!

Panam's shouted name echoes through the room in a mix of grief and despair, sobbing.

Meredith: ETHAN, GOOD! NOW LOOK!

The man in the video is crying, kneeling in the desert while the person recording the video is aiming a gun at him.

Ethan(Monitor): I told you… I don't know where she is, I swear! But… But… I can find her! I can convince her to come here… PLEASE!

Meredith(Monitor): You are useless. We don't need you, for shit…Release him.

Two soldiers approach the man and remove his handcuffs. He stands up and looks around, hesitantly, then begins to run into the desert but suddenly the person holding the gun shoots at him. He falls to the ground and stops moving. 

The monitors go off and Panam bows his head, closing her eyes. Meredith suddenly lets her go. She falls to the ground, hitting it with her face, while she begins to walk around.

Meredith: Do you understand what I mean Panam?! He... he didn't think a second about selling you…To barter you. You just have to understand this: how the world goes. After that, there is no limit on what you can do.

Panam, lying on the floor, slowly opens her eyes.

Panam: He…had…a…family…

Meredith: You are right. He had one.

Panam closes her eye again, in despair. Meredith stops then begins to laugh, after a while he turns back to her.

Meredith: Don't...Don't tell me that's why you're doing this, right?! Do…Do you want a family like those two poor idiots with the paralytic child?! Damn Panam…

Meredith closes her eyes and lowers her head, almost defeated.

Meredith: Jesus, Jesus...FUCK!

Meredith suddenly opens back her eyes, which are shining in a bright red, and runs next to Panam, enraged.

Meredith: I WOULD LIKE TO GET YOU IN THAT FUCKING PIT, JUST TO SHOW YOU HOW WRONG YOU ARE! You know what will happen, huh?! You'll save him and you'll feel like you've won, that you've gotten your fucking happy fairy tale but it won't last! DO YOU KNOW WHY?! Because when he will wake up next to you, every fucking day, seeing you disfigured.You will remind him of his failure and HE WILL FUCKING LEAVE YOU! 

Meredith turns away from Panam, with her back to her, and lights another cigarette.

Meredith: Because eventually, everyone does.

Meredith hears a noise behind her and quickly turns around. In front of her is Panam, who is trying to stand with her legs at an angle. Panam aims the Malorian at her, holding her with both hands, shaking. Meredith looks back at her, disappointed.

Meredith: Yeah, you took the gun back from me.

Panam, struggling, in pain, pulls the Malorian's trigger with his bent fingers. Meredith gets hit in the face, just above the nose. Her head is thrown back, as the cigarette falls to the ground, while she steps back to avoid falling.

Meredith slowly lowers her head again and stares at Panam. The bullet continues to spin, becoming red hot and crackling, spilling blood everywhere on her face. Panam stares at her in disbelief, frightened and trembling. Meredith then pulls the glowing bullet from her forehead and puts it out in her mouth, then spits it on the ground. She then looks at Panam, disappointed and sad.

Meredith: You're willing to die for him, don't you?

Panam lowers the gun and backs away, scared to death, sobbing. Meredith slowly approaches her.

Meredith: Why, Panam?! Why?!

Meredith grabs Panam, hugging her, she tries to pull back but the hold is too strong. She moves her head close to Panam's ear, whispering something to her.

Meredith: You taste like despair and crushed dreams, Panam. Like me.

Meredith begins to kiss her neck. Panam tries to pull away in horror, then shoots her three times in the stomach, doing nothing.

Meredith: You are my beautiful, little anomaly.

Panam: AAAAAAHHHHHH!

Meredith bites Panam like a ferocious animal. Panam's scream quickly becomes an incomprehensible gurgle. Meredith lets her go and she falls to the ground, immediately Panam tries to cover her neck. 

Blood begins to splash between Panam's fingers. She writhes on the ground, her eyes widens , staring at the sky above her, as everything blurs around her.

Meredith looks at her almost sad, mouth open, as Panam squirms in front of her.

Meredith: I must…I must have hit your artery, Panam.

Panam makes incomprehensible sounds, vomiting blood as she moves slower and slower.

Meredith: You are changing color… You are of no use to me like this.

Meredith tosses a MaxDoc to her, who quickly stuffs it into his mouth, inhaling it. Panam's wound on the neck slowly closes down, as the bleeding from her nose and mouth stops. 

Panam slowly lifts his torso, resting on his elbows, looking at Meredith. Meredith starts walking away from her, near V's body. Meredith slowly sits on the ground near him, resting his arms on her legs.

Meredith: You know what?! Good for you…Good for you.

Meredith's optics turn on again. Suddenly, two metallic bangs can be heard coming from the huge doorway in front of them, both looking at it.

The gateway explodes, pieces of metal fly everywhere, while Panam is covered by a huge black shadow that wraps around her like a blanket. In front of her, towers a huge black robot with five mechanical limbs and three huge red cameras on top peering down at her.

Meredith: R&D department gave it an incomprehensible name…I call it Cerberus, it's much more effective, in my opinion.

The huge turrets on either side of the mech begin to spin, Panam quickly stands up.

Meredith: I want to give you one last gift, Panam…If you can hold on for more than a minute...I'll let you watch…

Meredith looks at V's body on the ground.

Meredith: As he goes off.

Panam begins to run, as the robot fires a stream of bullets at her. She dives behind metal crates, just in time, before being hit.

Panam crouches, as bullets fly everywhere. She tries to fire a few shots, but the robot is unstoppable.

Suddenly the bullets stop. Panam slowly sticks her head out and sees the huge robot standing still, motionless. She remains confused, as she hears some kind of whistle. Suddenly an explosion hits her, throwing her against the wall.

Meredith: WHAT'S THE MATTER, PANAM?! THOUGH YOU LIKED OUR TOYS!

Panam slowly gets up and sees a rocket launcher dropped from a crate. She quickly grabs it, running off to the right side of the room, hiding behind another stack of crates.

The robot unloads another burst of bullets, Panam turns her head the other way, gritting her teeth, as the bullets destroy the crates around her.

The last burst also stops, Panam quickly comes out into the open, firing a rocket straight at the top of the robot, which is enveloped in a huge explosion. Meredith looks at them with an annoyed expression.