When Jackie said "rest for a bit", what he meant was this:
The moment he stepped into the bedroom, he face-planted onto the bed and fell asleep, snoring like thunder.
Vash had no habit of sharing a bed with another man. He left the bedroom and went into the garage instead.
He opened the case containing the Relic.
A pink, plug-in shard sat inside — quiet, innocent-looking, like it wasn't holding a ghost.
In the original timeline, after the jump from Konpeki's suite and the chaos that followed, the case had been damaged and the integrity readout had plummeted. To keep the Relic alive, it had to be jammed into a neural port.
Then came that fateful motel.
Dexter climbed the ladder, kicked it away, and put a bullet in V.
That gunshot forced the Relic to activate its self-repair protocol, and the engram stored inside — Johnny Silverhand — began overwriting the host.
But now, the Relic was intact. There was no need to slot it.
And that raised a different problem.
If the Relic wasn't used, Johnny wouldn't "wake up". And if Johnny didn't show up… then a lot of things that should be possible suddenly felt out of reach.
"Friday." Vash said, eyes on the shard, "There's an engram stream on this chip. Can you extract it?"
「Friday is parsing… Parsing complete.」
「Mr. Vash, with my current technical capability I can read and activate this data stream, but there is one problem: there is no suitable container.」
Vash thought it through.
In the original story, the Relic activated because the body was dying. The overwrite wasn't negotiation — it was an irreversible process. The host's brain became the container.
Logically speaking, he could shoot someone and then jam the Relic into their neural interface. It would "work" the same way.
But that kind of solution was garbage. He wouldn't do it.
「Mr. Vash, although I cannot directly create a biological carrier to host the data, I can nanofabricate a portion of your cognitive particles. You can also temporarily convert into a data-form for communication.」
Vash's eyes brightened.
That was… insane.
A way to bypass overwriting entirely and speak to Johnny directly? It sounded like the cleanest option imaginable.
「Mr. Vash, do you want me to establish a nanofabricated consciousness immediately?」
"Not yet." Vash said.
This garage didn't have the conditions for doing anything too heavy. More importantly, there were still bigger problems to deal with. The Relic could wait.
He transferred the Relic shard into a nanoparticle case Friday manufactured on the spot, then stored it in his Personal Space.
With that handled, Vash casually did his daily check-in.
『Check-in successful! Host has obtained the 〈Vibranium〉!』
『Check-in successful! Host has obtained the 〈Personal Space +10m³〉!』
『Check-in successful! Host has obtained the 〈Weapon R&D Blueprint (Tier 4)〉!』
The rewards this time were almost too generous — like someone had spoon-fed him and handed him the spoon.
The Tier 4 Weapon R&D Blueprint could help Vash develop an exclusive weapon.
And vibranium… one of Marvel's hardest metals. If he used it in cyberware, even Adam Smasher's chrome skeleton would get folded.
Most importantly, the expanded storage meant he could stash even more.
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Afternoon rolled in.
Jackie finally woke up.
Seeing Vash asleep on the couch, Jackie scratched his head and said apologetically, "V… when you get a sec, find a place to crash in Heywood, yeah?"
"Not a big deal." Vash replied, "We'll talk about it."
With Arasaka's eyes everywhere in Night City right now, neither of them could go back to Watson anytime soon. Heywood was fine.
They left Jackie's place, drove the Caliburn to the market, grabbed groceries, and then headed for Welles' House — an old-school apartment complex that looked like it had never left the '80s.
Standing outside with bags in both hands, Jackie shouted, "Ma! It's Jack! Open up!"
Footsteps sounded inside.
Mamá Welles opened the door with a warm smile, "Jaquito!"
Jackie lifted both hands to show he couldn't hug her, "Hands full, Ma."
Then he nodded toward Vash.
"Ma, lemme introduce you. The one I'm always talkin' about — my brother. V. Also goes by Vash."
Vash gave a polite nod, "Mrs. Welles. Just call me V."
Jackie's mom studied him for a moment, then smiled wider, "Jackie has plenty of friends, but he never brings anyone home." She stepped aside and opened the door fully, "Come in. Good kid."
Mamá Welles lived alone. The apartment wasn't big, but it was clean and cozy — filled with photos of Jackie and his mother. The warmth in the place was the kind money couldn't buy.
Jackie's childhood hadn't been easy, so Vash carefully avoided anything that would bring up his father.
At dinner, Mamá Welles served a spread that could've fed three people twice over, and kept pushing food onto Vash's plate.
It was a simple thing.
A warm meal, a home, a mother's voice.
But in Night City, it felt almost unreal.
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After staying a while longer, Vash declined Jackie's offer to help him find a place. Before leaving, he quietly left behind a money shard.
He drove out alone and rented a room in Vista Del Rey.
After a shower, he finally switched off the comms jammer.
The instant the signal returned, missed calls and messages flooded in — Dexter DeShawn, T-Bug, Viktor, Misty, Sandra Dorsett, Judy… even Meredith Stout, who he barely knew.
Vash called Judy back first.
"V — thank god you're alive." Judy said the moment the call connected, relief leaking into her voice.
Vash chuckled, "Didn't I tell you? You'd be looking at a legend — alive and breathing. Lizzie's gun was practically possessing me. I'm fine."
Judy forced a laugh, "You two made too big of a scene. I was just calling to ask what happened. Nothing else. So I…"
"Judy." Vash said, voice softer, "We're friends. If something happens, don't carry it alone. Talk to me, alright?"
Her tone was off.
Most likely Evelyn Parker had already gone missing.
But Vash also knew Judy. She wasn't the type to beg. If he pushed too hard, she'd shut down.
"Thank you, V. I'm fine for now. If something happens… I'll come to you."
They hung up.
Vash sat in the quiet for a moment, thinking.
It wasn't that he lacked empathy. Even if he didn't blame Evelyn for being reckless, it was probably already too late.
To cover up the truth of patricide, Yorinobu had brought Arasaka's hammer down on the city. They were cleaning house.
Someone as small as Evelyn Parker was likely already gone.
And Vash didn't think she was purely pitiful. She'd made choices too.
Beep. Beep. Beep—
「Incoming call: Dexter DeShawn」
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead, smut chapters or spicy images of this novel for just $5, or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations (free or starting at $1.5): MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
Take a look at the new book I'm translating on my profile, Umamusume Pretty Derb: I'm Just a Trainer! Its also on my website for $5 too!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)