Night in Night City.
Lights flickered like stars scattered across the earth. Neon drowned out the sky, leaving only artificial constellations—billboards, holoscreens, drifting AV headlights, and thousands of windows glowing with human ambition, desperation, and vice.
Above the Santo Domingo Dam, the wind was dry and restless.
V stepped out of the Delamain cab and looked across the water. Waves churned in the darkness—angry, powerful. Strange, shimmering shapes gathered and dispersed beneath the surface as if something alive were stirring restlessly.
"Wait by the road for me," she told Delamain.
"As you wish," the AI answered.
V walked to the railing, staring at the lake.
The sight should've been soothing.
It wasn't.
She could feel it—the turbulence, the pressure, the faint metallic ringing in her skull like distant machinery grinding.
Her body still wasn't healed.
Her senses were off.
And her mind—too sharp in the wrong places, too dull in others.
She reached into her jacket.
A shard—clear blue.
She slotted it into her neural port.
A warm rush of data spread through her system.
A short lesson.
A meditation program.
One of the few things that helped her keep her thoughts from running wild.
The world blurred.
Her pulse steadied.
Her breathing slowed.
Not perfect.
But enough.
V pulled the shard out, exhaling.
"Good… I'm still me."
She rubbed her temples.
Although—maybe she was lying to herself.
She had died once.
Lived again.
And now walked through her own past with knowledge she shouldn't have.
What she called "me"… was that even accurate anymore?
The wind rose, carrying dust and the faint smell of oil.
V closed her eyes and let the breeze hit her face.
Then—
A faint mechanical hum.
An AV approaching slowly from the north.
V opened her eyes.
A bulky, military-built AV hovered into view—sleek lines, reinforced hull, familiar silhouette.
Militech.
As it descended, floodlights hit her like a wave.
The ramp lowered.
Boots tapped down metal.
A figure stepped out—crossed arms, sharp features, fur-lined coat blowing dramatically in the wind.
Cold.
Imperious.
Beautiful.
Meredith Stout.
Captain of Militech.
The Iron Queen of Procurement.
A woman whose entire aura screamed:
"Obey or die."
V's eyebrow twitched.
Last lifetime, things between them had gotten…
Well.
Messy.
This was going to be awkward as hell.
Stout looked down at her from the ramp, expression dark, voice like a blade:
"V."
V lifted a hand. "Yo."
Stout's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You're late."
"I arrived early. You arrived earlier."
"That makes you late."
"Uh-huh. Corpo math. Got it."
Stout exhaled sharply, clearly annoyed already.
She descended the ramp, heels clicking with precision, as if even sound itself obeyed her command.
Stopping a few steps in front of V, she scanned her from head to toe.
Her sharp gaze softened imperceptibly.
Just a little.
"…You look different," Stout said quietly.
V shrugged. "Lost weight. Stress diet."
"…No." Stout's brows knit. "It's your eyes."
Shit.
Stout was too perceptive.
V quickly covered it with a grin. "What, prettier than before?"
"No."
Stout crossed her arms.
"More dangerous."
V froze.
Stout stepped closer, lowering her voice:
"You weren't like this before.
You've changed."
V forced herself not to react.
But Stout didn't push. Instead she turned away, gesturing.
"Come on. We talk inside."
V followed her into the AV.
Stout kept two meters between them the entire walk.
——
Inside the AV, the air smelled like sterilized plastic and gun oil. Militech soldiers lined the walls, all armed, tense, and staring at V like she was a potential threat.
Stout waved them off.
"Leave."
They obeyed instantly, filing toward the cockpit.
Now only two people remained.
Stout and V.
Alone.
The hatch sealed.
Silence.
Stout sat. V sat opposite her.
The fur collar on Stout's coat brushed against her cheek as she rested her chin on her fist, legs crossed, gaze sharp.
"Explain," she ordered.
V blinked. "Explain what?"
"Why Counterintel contacted me." Stout's voice was icy. "Why you requested a private meeting. And why you're the one representing Arasaka instead of Jenkins."
V nodded. "Sure. Simple. I want to cooperate with Militech."
Stout stared at her.
Then laughed.
A cold, humorless laugh.
"Arasaka wants to cooperate with Militech.
Do you hear yourself?"
"Not Arasaka," V corrected.
"Me."
Stout's expression stilled. "…You?"
V leaned forward slightly.
"I want a partnership. Counterintel for you. You for me."
Stout tapped her fingers on her armrest. "And why should Militech help you?"
"Because I can give you information no one else can."
"What information?"
V grinned.
"Zetatech internal restructuring. Kang Tao's upcoming R&D shipment routes. Night Corp's classified personnel shuffles. Pick one."
Stout's pupils constricted.
"…You have those."
"I do."
"How?"
"Does it matter?"
Stout clenched her jaw.
"…What do you want?" she asked.
V took a breath.
"I need a way to repair my nervous system."
Stout's eyes sharpened instantly.
"You're damaged."
"A little."
"How bad?"
"Enough to kill me."
Stout's expression shifted—so fast V almost missed it.
Worry?
Anger?
Something complicated.
Stout looked away.
"You idiot," she muttered.
"…What?"
"You."
Stout's voice trembled a little—barely, but V noticed.
"You reckless, insane, lawless dumbass."
Her gaze snapped back to V.
"You should have come to me sooner."
V blinked, stunned.
Stout shook her head, exasperated.
"You always act like you don't need anyone.
As if you can survive everything alone.
As if you're invincible."
She leaned closer.
"If your system crashes—what then?
Should I pick up your corpse from a landfill?"
V stared at her.
Stout realized she'd said too much.
She straightened abruptly, clearing her throat.
"Forget it. That was unprofessional."
V couldn't help laughing softly.
Stout glared. "Don't."
"What? I didn't say anything."
"You're smiling."
"I always smile."
"Not like that."
V smirked. "You gonna shoot me for smiling, Captain?"
"Don't tempt me."
Their eyes met.
Silence again.
This time… not the cold kind.
After a moment, Stout spoke:
"Your condition. Is it Relic-related?"
V stiffened.
Stout's gaze sharpened immediately.
"So it is the Relic."
"…Yeah."
"That thing eats your neurons alive," Stout said flatly. "If you don't stabilize it, you'll be braindead in months."
"I know."
"You're too calm."
"I already died once," V said quietly. "Hard to fear it again."
Stout flinched almost imperceptibly.
She stared at V for a long time.
Then—
"…I can help you," Stout finally said. "Militech has black labs specialized in neural regeneration. The procedures are… experimental. Risky. But if anyone can fix you, it's them."
V's heart thumped hard—but she didn't show it.
"What do you want in exchange?" V asked.
Stout's lips curved—slowly.
"Loyalty."
"To Militech?"
"No." Stout leaned in.
"To me."
V's breath caught.
Stout's voice dropped to a whisper.
"I don't share my assets."
"Assets?" V raised an eyebrow. "Is that what I am now?"
"Yes."
"You're arrogant as hell."
"And you like it."
"…I'm not answering that."
"Then it's 'yes.'"
V rubbed her forehead. "God. Why did I come to you first…"
Stout smirked—the self-satisfied smirk of someone winning a game only she fully understood.
"Because you trust me."
V opened her mouth to deny it.
But—
Did she?
Last lifetime, they'd gone through hell together.
In ways V couldn't forget even now.
V sighed.
"Fine. Let's say I trust you. What's next?"
Stout's expression returned to business mode.
"We'll start with diagnostics. Full mapping of your neural decay. Then a stabilization protocol. After that, we decide the treatment."
"Sounds good."
"It won't be pleasant," Stout warned. "The pain levels—"
"I've had worse."
Stout gave her a long look.
"…I know."
V met her gaze.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Stout stood.
"We leave in two hours. Militech blacksite in the Badlands."
V nodded.
Stout walked toward the hatch—but paused halfway, without turning around.
Her voice was quieter.
"V."
"Yeah?"
"…Don't die."
And she left.
The hatch closed.
V sat alone in the AV, staring at the empty seat across from her.
She rubbed her eyes.
"Shit."
Night City's wind hummed outside.
The AV cabin felt too warm.
"Really… what am I supposed to do with you, Meredith…"
She laughed under her breath.
Then stood.
Walked out into the night air.
The lake below churned in chaotic, twisting swirls—like a giant beast turning over in its sleep.
Stars glimmered faintly in the polluted sky.
V looked up.
"I'm not dying," she whispered.
"Not again."
She turned and walked back toward the road.
Delamain rolled forward, headlights cutting through the dark.
"Your mood seems improved," the AI observed.
V smirked.
"Yeah. Take me home, Old De."
"As you wish."
The car door opened.
V stepped inside.
The AV ascended.
And somewhere far behind her, beneath the surface of the dark waters of the dam—
Something enormous moved.