The Afterlife — Night City's premier hangout for edgerunners.
Metallic walls and flooring glinted under pulsating neon. Bass-heavy music pounded through the club, shaking both body and soul. On the dance floor, people moved like sparks in an electrical storm, losing themselves in noise, sweat, and flickering lights.
In one booth, a crew of mercs were celebrating a job well done—drinks raised, laughter booming, swapping stories like trophies.
Across the room, a lone figure sat at the bar, drinking in silence. He'd lost everything not long ago—team gone, mission failed, and now he walked the city alone.
Joy and grief lived just a booth apart, but it might as well have been an entire world.
Inside a private room were Sasha and her crew.
Maine, the team leader, was built like a tank—heavily chromed, all muscle and alloy.
Dorio, equally tough, was his lover and right hand.
The last member was a tiny green-haired girl with twin-tails—Rebecca.
Sasha suddenly let out a yawn.
Rebecca smirked in her scratchy rooster-voice.
"Seriously? It's not even late. Don't tell me you were rewarding yourself with some X-rated braindance again?"
"Get lost." Sasha curled her lip. "I don't care for fake shit."
"What's wrong with fake? BD is king. I'll lend you some of my premium collection later. You'll thank me when your worldview expands."
Rebecca was ready to start evangelizing again, but Maine cut her off.
Despite his rugged appearance, the man had a soft core. He looked at Sasha and asked, "You sure you're okay? We can cancel tonight's gig."
"I'm fine. Just been waking up too early lately—kinda sleep deprived." Sasha downed her drink, grabbed her small sling bag, and stood up. "I'm off. Get it done early, finish early. I have to report at Arasaka Tower in the morning."
"Be careful."
Sasha stepped into the night, heading toward Corpo Plaza.
It wasn't a short walk, but she didn't want to drive.
She liked the colors — the chaotic beauty of Night City's neon.
Sometimes she stopped just to watch the flickering holograms and glowing signage.
Others saw dull, repetitive ads; she saw dreams floating just inches away.
Night City never lacked beauty—only eyes willing to see it.
When Sasha stopped, beauty appeared.
Ever since her mother's death, Sasha had sworn to live every single day happily.
The Pink Cat arrived at the Biotechnica Tower.
Thanks to the backdoor she'd planted earlier, she easily hacked the front entrance. Having been here once before, she slipped past the patrolling Securitech mechs, looped the cameras, hijacked the elevator access, and rode up to the executive offices on the 66th floor.
"Easy."
Sasha smiled, hung her coat on a chair, and pulled the personal data cable from her wrist, jacking into the terminal.
Instantly, a fortress of zeros and ones surged into her vision. Sasha dove in like a sprite dancing through circuitry.
"Move it, Sasha. The signal jammer won't last forever," Maine messaged.
"Relax. I'm always quick. And with the backdoor I left, it's even easier. Yeah—got it." Sasha's eyes lit up. "Uploading the data now."
"Data acquired. Great job. Now get out before you're spotted."
As if that needed to be said. Maine always nagged.
She grumbled internally, but the corner of her mouth lifted. She didn't hate the concern—she kinda liked it.
This job paid well, enough to cover Maine's crazy cyberware maintenance fees for a while too.
She was about to unplug when her gaze caught a familiar word in the data-architecture she was navigating.
Confidential File: SECURICIEN
Her heart lurched.
A white hospital room.
Her unconscious mother.
A bottle labeled Securicien.
Her mother had taken that drug every single day. In her final weeks, Sasha had helped her swallow it with her own hands.
The memory collapsed; Sasha opened her eyes again.
She stared at the word Securicien.
She knew she didn't have time.
She knew she shouldn't.
But hesitation gave way to a deeper instinct.
She tapped the file.
It wasn't long. Just a few lines.
But enough to make Sasha cry.
Lies don't hurt people. Truth does.
The illusion she'd worked so hard to maintain cracked apart. The real world returned, raw and bloody.
Her tears stopped—not because the pain had lessened, but because she had no tears left.
With a seriousness she'd never felt before, Sasha began downloading and retransmitting the file—to Network News 54.
The world deserved to know.
The company's ugliness had to be exposed.
She wanted vengeance.
Revenge.
Revenge.
Revenge.
Even if it cost her life.
"The jammer's down! Sasha, get out! We already got what we came for!" Maine messaged again.
"You know, Maine… Night City isn't beautiful at all. Everyone's covered in blood, pretending they can't feel the pain. Everywhere you look—it's the same."
"Sasha! Don't do anything stupid! Run! Please!"
"…Sorry."
She crushed the comm unit with one hand.
Sasha smiled. "I get it now—why someone would burn themselves just to shine."
Footsteps thundered outside—Biotechnica security mechs.
She glanced at the screen. Upload at 14%.
"Come on. I'm not afraid anymore."
Her cable remained connected. She crouched behind the desk, pulling out her Lizzie pistol, waiting for the curtain to rise.
The actors were in place.
The performance began.
The door exploded open. Four Securitech mechs unleashed a torrent of gunfire at the desk.
Still Kang-Tao models. Efficient, relentless, precise.
A pulse grenade arced out from behind the desk—exploding mid-air.
"Zzzraaaap!"
Electric lashes cracked like whips. Two mechs collapsed instantly. Sasha leapt out, a mother cat defending her last kitten—her hand-blades ejecting as she plunged them into a mech's head.
One left.
Sasha gasped for air. Her lungs burned, heart thundering, every bone and muscle screaming. Every chrome piece of her cyberware flashed error warnings.
But she couldn't stop.
She finally had a reason to fight—something real.
The final mech raised its weapon. HJSH-18 bullets rained out.
Sasha grit her teeth, flipping backward, then sprang upward.
In midair, she whipped out her Lizzie.
Aim. Fire.
Bang. Bang. Bang—
Time slowed.
Bullets crossed paths, trailing sparks like dying stars.
Ping. Ping. Ping—
Lizzie rounds struck the mech—three little bursts of light.
Not enough.
Her sidearm couldn't pierce the armor.
She hit it. She gave everything.
But she was too small.
A bullet hit her. Then another. Then more.
A blossom of blood exploded midair as Sasha crashed backward into the office's floor-to-ceiling window. The glass shattered and her body tumbled out into the open night.
It hurts.
It hurts so much.
She saw the upload: 78%.
Sorry, Mom. I wasn't strong enough. I failed you again.
Sasha fell.
She saw the night sky.
The moon.
The stars.
The lights of Night City sweeping past her.
Then—she saw V.
A hallucination?
No.
V yanked open the AV's door and caught her mid-fall.
"Not that I'm one to talk, but for a data heist this small, you kids sure managed to make a shitload of noise."
"V?!" Sasha stared wide-eyed. "Why are you here?!"
"You were having a fireworks show up here. Hard to miss. I live nearby, y'know." V pointed toward Arasaka Tower.
RATATATATA—
Rounds peppered the AV, sparks flying.
V glanced up at the shooting mech. Her eyes flashed blue—its head sparked, smoked, and the whole thing toppled out the window.
"You did that?" Sasha gasped. "Yesterday you couldn't even breach basic ICE!"
"Upgraded a little. Don't make a big deal of it." V waved it off. "Come on. You're badly hurt. I'll take you to a hospital."
But Sasha grabbed V's arm.
"No. I'm not done. Send me back."
V blinked. "You're risking your life… for the job? Were mercs in 2076 always this dedicated?"
"It's not for the job… it's… it's for my mom."
V frowned and zoomed in on the monitor using her premium Kiroshi Oracle optics—advanced functions disabled, but basic zoom still worked.
Twenty meters away meant nothing. She focused and read every word clearly.
Biotechnica Confidential Document
Product: Securicien
Category: Pain Suppressant
Side Effects: Progressive Neural Degeneration
Final Resolution:
Side effects will not be disclosed to the public.
Product will remain on the market.
V's pupils constricted.
A few lines.
Countless tragedies.
"...You," V whispered, looking at the girl in her arms.
"I killed my mom!" Sasha screamed. "I fed her that shit myself!"
V was silent for a moment. "I'm with Arasaka. If I'm involved, it'll get messy."
"I know, I know… but right now, you're all I've got, V."
V saw the bird again.
The one she'd abandoned last time.
This time?
She smiled.
The answer was already there.
The AV roared forward, crashing through the office window. V leapt down with Sasha, placing her gently beside the terminal.
"Do what you need to do," V said, turning toward the incoming mechs. "I'll handle the rest."
Sasha reconnected her data cable. The moment it clicked—two battles began as one.
V's eyes lit up like storms.
Her hacks tore waves through the net.
The nearest mech's ICE shattered instantly. By the time it pulled the trigger, Reboot Optics had already uploaded.
RATATATATA—
The mech fired wildly—aim completely scrambled. V walked through the bullets like a stroll, sending a Sonic Shock into its system.
Bzzzt!
Reboot Optics + Sonic Shock combo—insta-shutdown.
V grabbed the Lizzie Sasha dropped, stepped forward, and fired two rounds into the mech's head. Sparks flew but bounced off the reinforced frame.
Kang-Tao tech. Tough as always.
She needed a charged shot—but without arm cyberware, she'd break her own bones doing it.
Fine. She didn't need damage. She needed RAM.
Rebooted mechs restore 3 RAM per headshot. And the effect spreads.
She shot one mech—another got rebooted.
Then another.
Her plan was simple:
Upload Sonic Shock (cost 2 RAM).
Headshot.
Chain Reboot Optics.
Repeat.
More mechs poured in, but the doorway bottlenecked them. V never had to face more than four or five at a time.
Truth be told, if it were only these mechs, V could fight until Judgment Day.
Sasha stared, stunned.
The monsters who pushed her to death fell one by one—like a dream.
V was incredible.
But she only had three minutes.
Seeing the countdown hit 2:30, V shouted, "You done?!"
Sasha snapped back, saw the progress at 100%, yanked the cable, and gasped, "Done!"
V dropped another three mechs, somersaulted behind the desk, and frowned when she saw the receiving address: Network 54.
But said nothing.
"Get ready. We're leaving."
"But the mechs are blocking the door—how do we escape?"
Sasha gave a weak laugh. "Go, V. Forget me."
"Giving up doesn't sound like you. Didn't you say you wanted to live no matter what?"
"Someone told me a story about burning themselves to light the way. I want to try."
"Idiot. Dead people don't light anything."
"If it's for someone else, I don't mind."
V sighed. "That's not how you were supposed to use my words against me. Kids these days…"
Sasha smiled. "That's the charm of young girls."
Gunfire roared again. V cut the conversation short.
"I'm not letting you die. Give me your claws."
She took Sasha's hand. At V's nod, Sasha activated her hand-blades.
Five metal talons extended. V used one to cut her own cheek. Blood dripped down.
Sasha's eyes widened. "What are you doing?!"
V grinned. "Didn't you say you're not afraid of heights?"
"I—yeah? Why?"
"No reason. That's good enough."
V grabbed Sasha and leapt out the broken window.
Moonlight.
Wind.
Stars.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" V roared with laughter.
Sasha shrieked, "AAAAHHHHHH!"
She clung to V.
V clung to her.
They soared into the stars, then dove back toward the neon sea.
Was this death?
No.
Another AV sped in, deploying a mechanical arm that unfurled a large net, catching them perfectly.
"Trauma Team?!" Sasha gaped.
V spread her arms proudly. "I'm a Platinum member."
A medic walked over. "Ma'am, you play way too rough." He sprayed a repair mist on V's cheek—wound gone instantly.
"Treat her too," V said, pointing to Sasha.
The medic shook his head. "She's not a member. We aren't authorized to treat her."
"I'll pay extra."
"Apply meds. Now. Treat this young lady immediately."
Night City never changed—hell for the poor, paradise for the rich.
"Sleep," V said softly. "When you wake up, everything will be okay."