Not Quite Back to the Future

Nyx prowled through the neon-lit streets of Night City, the concrete jungle where shadows held secrets and every step felt like a dance with danger. His target, Isabella Stryker Chen, was etched into the algorithmic pathways of his mission – a woman desperate for vengeance, and was in quite a lot of trouble very recently.

Isabella, the lone survivor of the Neon Nexus crew, fueled by grief and manipulated by the former Voodoo Boys, had become a pawn in a deadly game. Her quest for revenge fixated on Helen, whom she likely held responsible for the demise of her companions. Although it is not like it was Helen’s fault she had literally hit Arasak tower causing a mass panic yet Adam Smasher was not there for her to distract. The sins of the past cast long shadows over the present, and Isabella's pursuit of Helen had marked her as a potential tool in Nyx's calculated plan to dismantle Arasaka.

Although to think his quest would take him to the former warehouse district of Watson was a rather perplexing thing… It made sense though because there is no way that anyone would think to go looking for her here. 

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Isabella sat in the dark planning. This planned assassination was proving to be rather difficult because by all intents and purposes her target should already be dead. The amount of failed attempts on her was honestly humbling, and the trail of bodies in her wake would give any other assassin uncertainty.

Isabella clenched her jaw, frustration etched across her face. "There has to be a way to get to her. I won't rest until she pays for what happened to my crew."

The holographic display flickered, revealing an encrypted message. Isabella's eyes narrowed as she decrypted the communication, a mysterious figure named Shadow offering insights into Helen's patterns. Enemies and contacts which she could no doubt use to try and kill the bitch once and for all.

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The sound of shuffling boxes echoed through the apartment as Helen and Elena embarked on a pivotal moment in their relationship. Heavy cardboard containers, carrying the remnants of Elena’s individual life, now merged into a shared space. The journey to this point had been filled with challenges, misunderstandings, and moments of doubt, yet the bond they shared had proven resilient.

Elena carefully unpacked a box, her gaze shifting between the items that held memories of her past and the anticipation of creating new ones with Helen. It was a step into the unknown, a leap of faith, and the weight of the decision settled in the air like a promise.

Helen, with her cybernetic strength, effortlessly moved the heavier boxes. As she set down a particularly bulky container, she turned to Elena with a warm smile, a silent reassurance that they were in this together.

The apartment, once a solo sanctuary for Helen, was transforming into a shared haven.

The next step, as uncertain as it may be, held the promise of growth and a shared future. Helen and Elena, their lives now intricately woven tog

“Did you need help setting up the server?” Helen asks

“Where could I possibly fit it?” Elena asks

Helen gives the cat girl a follow me motion before leading her over to a corner and tilting a picture sideways, the hiss of pneumatics going off filled the airways as a massive mechanical door opened. 

“You have a secret room?” Elena asks in shocked

“Rooms multiple. Where do you think i keep my guns?” Helen asks with a smirk. 

“That is awesome!” Elena states 

“Yep, so what kind of VPN protocol are you running? Cause I don’t feel like having random people trying to knock on the door.” Helen states

“You are running a VPN? I mean that’s like ancient.” Elena states

“Really? I mean i guess so but its fairly effective and on top of that, I run my own operating system so when people try to figure out what I am doing they are stuck trying to decrypt IOS and forced to go into bionary and assambley to even try and eek out an understanding.” Helen states

“Did Nyx see your custom operating system?” Elena asks

“Yes he did however it’s not like its good at attacking although its defense being an unknown operating system is pretty good.” Helen states

Elena looks at Helen her ears twitching before glancing at the small pallet on the floor holding the server equipment.

“Could you move that over here please?” Elena asks

“Ah right sorry, I tried to take a peek at the wider net to see if I could locate Nyx based on him running the new OS. No luck, unfortunately.” Helen states picking up the pallet.