Chapter Text
“Live David…live for the rest of us…live on for…me”
NO
Eyes snapped wide open, the lone man spring up from the bed covered in sweat. He looked down at his shaking hands, gripping it into a fist in an attempt to stop it. Eyes stared into nothingness as his mind replayed the scenes in his head. The nightmares he’s had for decades now. Nightmares of that very fateful night where he had lost everything .
It didn’t help how old he was or how long it had been since that night, nothing would stop the tears from flowing down his face as he sobbed silently in the dimly lit room with only the deafening silence as his companion.
Wounds heal but scars don’t
Gloria’s untimely death mentally broke him while Lucy’s death tore a hole in his heart. In her final minutes before the journey to the beyond, she took the other half of him as well. The pain and events of that night still vividly fresh on his tired mind. Those close enough to him and worked for him or with him knew enough to never mention anything about it.
But that’s enough dwelling for one morning, he had work to do and a shuttle to catch.
After his morning routine, he went about his business. A duffle bag that laid on the King size bed, partially filled with clothes and other sorts of belongings. There wasn’t much to pack, just menial things and necessities. Nothing important, nothing of value or significance. Much like the rest of the room.
The room was supposed to accommodate two people but instead, it only became one. The man, much into his later 60’s sat on the large bed that seemed almost too big for him alone. His hair no longer held the same spiky style that had been so iconic in his early youth and was now shorter and gray all around. Brown eyes once filled with passion and determination that burned brighter than anyone else were now replaced with dull eyes that tell the story of a man who had seen it all and lost it all.
Such sorrow depicted upon oneself could only belong to an aging David Martinez.
A living legend by Night City standards and a well-respected Fixer. Every up and coming merc heard of his name along with many other achievements he had in his prime. To David, for all his accolades and status, it didn’t matter to him at all. In the past, it might have been something he would take massive pride in and even brag about it. Afterall, it was every Edgerunner’s dream to hit the major leagues. Such accomplishments should have been celebrated and would have been celebrated but…
Who was he going to celebrate it with?
Himself?
Ever since that fateful night, everything he had gained, all the respect and fame felt nothing more but a curse. Even his mere existence now felt like a curse, day by day he considers if the bullet he had engraved his name upon it should finally find its rightful home in his head.
But…A dying lover’s last wish could not be denied. Not when she had given her life in exchange for his.
David’s eyes turned towards the two urns that stood on a small table by the window overlooking the barren landscape of the moon.
The urns belonged to the two more important women in his life.
His mother, Gloria Martinez. The determined and iron will woman that worked to the bone just so he could get a proper education and future. A kind soul swallowed by the merciless nature of the city.
The next was his soulmate, his best friend, his lover, his everything. Lucyna Kushinada. The person that had brought him light in his life, a sense of purpose to live a full life his mother had to desperately try to ensure.
Both had wished nothing but the best of him. In the end, he had fulfilled both their dreams. He might not have reached the top of Arasaka for his mother but being miles away from the tower bound to earth is considered a win in his book. For Lucy, he had accomplished the dream that she shared with him all those years back. To reach the moon and be free of Night City.
For all his failures and shortcomings which had led to her untimely demise, he made sure that at least her final resting place would be the one that she had dreamed of. At the very least, he could tell himself that he had done something right, to alleviate the guilt for all he had done. Even if just by a little bit.
He hoped that wherever in the Afterlife Lucy, his mother and the rest of his crew were, they were happy and free. Maybe Lucy and his mother were already best friends, who knows? David chuckled at the thought of it.
While they could enjoy their freedom, David was still bound to the world of the living. In fact, he would call it a punishment for the deeds he had done and people he had failed. To live with regrets, loneliness and guilt on a daily basis was something David had deserved.
In her dying breath, Lucy had wished David to live a full and happy life. Thus in the aftermath of it, after going through a long road to recovery. He wasted no time to make a name for himself once again. He went on countless gigs under the likes of various notable Fixers. The most notable being the Queen of the Afterlife herself, Rogue Amendiares.
His reputation had been stained once word got out his entire crew was wiped out on a gig, no one wanted to work with him. Hell, he didn't really want to work with them either. He tried once…ONCE and they kept shooting him questions and lowkey insults about his dead crew and input.
So what did he do? Give up and cry? Put a bullet in the head to end it all?
No. Gloria didn’t raise a quitter, Lucy didn’t love a crybaby. If no one wanted him, he went solo. Choosing but the most dangerous jobs he could find that were deemed borderline suicide.
People call him crazy but what else did he have to live for? For all he cared, everyday he stood living and breathing was just another bonus. He should have died that night but he didn’t.
Although he still wished that he had.
His fate had been sealed that night. Adam Smasher was to be his judge, jury and executioner, David had given his all in ensuring Lucy's survival. Instead, Lucy proved to be a stubborn woman. Imagine his shock when the large borg facing him down suddenly had sparks flying all over, his metal body seizing up before he could put a hole in his head. Lucy had managed to finally breach the borg’s Black ICE through sheer willpower and came to retrieve his broken body back to safety.
In an alternate universe, they might have managed to get away safely together scot free but those thoughts were only for the wishful. The quickhack while effective was not enough to subdue the Borg for long as the moment Adam Smasher regained the movement of his limbs. He wasted no time in unleashing a hail of heavy ordnance and lead upon the retreating couple and the van parked near them. Miraculously, most of it had missed or had exploded harmlessly near them but luck ran out at the worst possible timing.
The next few seconds that played out would forever be ingrained into David’s mind for as long as he lived.
Two separate hits landed on Lucy as she attempted to shield David, one on the shoulder and another in the abdomen. The bullets tore through her body as Lucy let out a pained scream but somehow she managed to pull David into the van while still bleeding out.
Falco had managed to drive as fast as he could away from the borg but as David would come to find out later on, he too was hit by a stray bullet and would later die from his wounds. Lucy on the other hand laid beside David, bleeding out. She held his hands, the light fading from her eyes as with her last breath she gave David her final wishes.
Lucyna Kushinada, the prodigy Netrunner that would no doubt rival the likes of Alt Cunningham and Rache Bartmoss died from her wounds beside her lover.
Such was a common ending in Night City. Individuals of limitless potential and future, snuffed out before one could reach their peak. Though she has passed, her name would be forever immortalized in the Afterlife.
David had the honor of creating her drink and name. It was called ‘The Lucy’ to symbolize the moon, her dream. A mixture of Moonshine to symbolize the moon as her dream and Broseph as her favorite alcoholic beverage.
Needless to say, the drink became an instant hit in the Afterlife. All sorts of mercs drink to her name and it was especially famous amongst the Netrunners. To do what was thought impossible, hacking Adam Smasher. Now her name and drink had become a symbol and status that all sorts of Netrunners wanted to achieve. Monowires grew in popularity as well as many wanted to imitate Lucy’s footsteps.
David had to admit, there were skilled Netrunners from what he’s seen but none could ever come close to what Lucy could do. She wasn’t just skilled, she went above and beyond to fulfill her role. A mindset many runners lack these days.
Finally finished packing with what he wanted, David did a final look over for anything he had missed out. He made sure the small table that held the two urns was cleaned and properly lit while facing the great view of the moon and earth down below. With a final glance, he turned everything else off and wished goodbye.
“Be seeing you Mom” then he moved his eyes towards the next urn “Love you Luce…”
Just before the door closed, he swore he saw the figures of two women smiling back brightly at him.
He hope at least…they were proud of him