Chapter Text
The FauxLeather steering wheel felt cool in David’s hands as the bass of the radio shook the car. He was parked just outside Embers, a high-end restaurant that, according to their intel, the infamous Jimmy Kurosai would be dining tonight. Kurosai was known for making braindances featuring gruesome and bloody deaths, with his most popular work those of cyberpsychos. What set them apart from other xbd’s was the complete and utter removal of anything that would separate the viewer from the recording. David had peddled a few back at the academy to get some extra eddies, and naturally checked out a few before selling them. Needless to say, experiencing yourself slaughtering countless innocent people before being brutally executed by elite soldiers was something that left David with many sleepless nights. Any masochistic freak with deep enough pockets knew Jimmy Kurosai, and that was exactly what they were counting on.
Their true target was Tanaka, a higher up in Arasaka whom they were hired to capture. He happened to be a frequent customer of Kurosai, and had lined up a private meeting to discuss his latest project. This would be potentially the only time that he would be without bodyguards, so they had to strike while the iron was hot.
Just as David’s nerves reached a new peak, the smell of fresh food wafted from outside the car. Looking up, Kurosai exited the building and began to stroll down the street. The engine quietly revved as David brought the car into drive, tailing after him. Just as he begins moving, he notices a call coming through:
“Hey there hotshot, got a status update?”
“Yep, he just left the restaurant and I’ve got eyes on him right now. On the taller side, long purple coat, the most hideous gold implants I’ve ever seen on his face-”
The sound of Lucy’s quiet laughter fills the comms, heating up his face as she interjects, “Alright alright, I’ve got eyes on him. Looks like he’s headed for a parking garage. Security cams show it’s pretty empty, and I’ve already alerted Maine. They should be coming in right after you, so go ahead with the plan.”
As the call cuts off, he rounds the corner towards the parking garage and notices Lucy on the corner. She blows him a kiss as he passes by, and a wide grin lights up his face.
He’s totally got this.
After a few moments, he glides into the parking garage. Kurosai is approaching one of the only cars in the lot, so he pulls into the spot next to him. There’s a lot riding on this, so the timing has to be perfect. Maine was on his way, ready to sneak up behind and take him out, and David just has to distract him until then.
Taking a deep breath, he swings the car door open.
“Jimmy? Jimmy Kurosai? Oh my god, it’s actually you! I’m sorry if this is awkward, but I’m such a big fan of your work! I helped a ripperdoc push some of your stuff in Arroyo, would it be too much if I ask for an autograph?”
David tried laying on the starstruck fanboy schtick as much as he could, hopefully to good effect. Kurosai looked unbothered, beginning to turn away and dismissing him quickly.
“Thanks kid, but I got places to be.”
“Please sir, it’ll only take a sec!” David reached forward and grabbed one of his arms, doing his best to direct as much attention towards himself as possible. Kurosai’s face curls into disgust, and David only has a second to put up a block as an elbow flies towards his face. In an instant, the man’s head whips around, noticing Maine peeking out behind a concrete pillar. Curiously, he drops a hand down to his waist and begins to fiddle with something on his belt.
Just as David prepares to rush him, his chrome decides to go haywire: his eyes fill with static and a droning noise fills his ears before quickly being replaced with tinnitus. The Sandevistian seems unaffected, but it’s still dead weight unless he can stand up straight. Without vision and hearing, he stumbles down before a hand catches him. It deftly pushes something into his neck, and suddenly he can't feel anything.
—
David’s head is pounding. He blearily opens his eyes and realizes he’s already on his feet. The room he’s in doesn’t look familiar, nor do the countless bodies slumped on the floor.
Oh god, he’s surrounded by dead bodies.
Piled up across the room, littered with gunshot and stab wounds. The world seems grey, the only color left is the deep crimson of the blood pooling around his feet.
Holy shit holy shit holy shit what is happening?
He raises his hands up to his head before realizing that both are covered in blood as well, limply holding an auto-pistol in his right hand. Instinctually, he checks the gun for ammo. 7 rounds. He doesn’t know what fucked up game this is, but Kurosai has got to be behind it. Maybe he’s put David in here as a more exotic chew toy for whatever monster did this.
His train of thought is cut off as a door is kicked open, and a heavily armed officer bursts into the room.
“Hands above your head now!”
“Thank god you’re here, you gotta help me, I think there’s a psycho on the loose and-” He attempts to raise his hands up into the air, but his right arm is stuck in place by his side.
“Drop the weapon or we will be forced to shoot!”
“I’m trying! It’s stuck right now, I think my chrome is bugging out!”
“Put the weapon down!”
“I’m telling you-”
His hand raises,
“DROP IT NOW!”
There’s a small click as they turn off the safety,
“I’m trying, you gotta believe me!”
It’s aiming at the man’s head now,
“OPEN FIRE!”
The sound of bullets roaring fills the air for a split-second before dropping octaves, fading into background noise as the Sandevistan activates. He pulls the trigger. He ducks out of the line of fire right as the time speeds, bullets barely whizzing by his face. 6 rounds.
The body drops to the ground instantly, a hole straight through one of the man’s eyes. A moment later, the pistol falls out of his hand.
Oh, god.
He was going to shoot me. I was going to die, I had to.
Sirens began to sound outside, obviously indifferent to David’s internal struggles. More badges are sure to be swarming in after hearing gunfire, so he does the only thing he can - run. He jumps over bodies, making a mad dash through the building and praying there’s a back exit. Rounding a corner, the red glow of a fire escape lights the end of the hallway. In the blink of an eye he bursts through it, the smell of blood attempting to follow him briefly before vanishing back into the building. The familiar neon lights of night city surround him, hopefully a sign that this nightmare would be ending.
Where am I? Where am I gonna go?
He glances around, not noticing anything besides rows and rows of apartment buildings, only broken up by a freeway overpass a few blocks away.
Odds are I’ll get maxtac called if someone sees me covered in blood running around, overpass it is.
He sprints towards it, hoping to find a dumpster that he can hide in until all of this goes away. He glances side to side, praying to Cyborg Jesus nobody spots him. Too late, he looks back at where he’s going and runs straight into somebody’s back.
“Oof”- pulling back, the white lettering of NCPD on a dark blue overcoat fills his vision. The figure spins around, and suddenly another gun is shoved towards his face. Muscle memory kicks in, his left hand going numb as a large glowing blade suddenly emerges from beneath the synth-skin. The mantis blade flies up, hitting the officer just beneath his chin. He goes limp as the blade cuts through his brain, a geyser of bone, brain, and blood erupts from the top of his head like old faithful. Just as quick, the blade retracts with a sickening sound, dropping the body to the ground.
He retches on the ground, every hair stands on end as the smell of ozone fills the air. Aggressive red lights shine from overhead as Maxtac comes down from the sky.
He lifts his arm over his eyes, blocking out the visual assault. A shot rings out from the floating vehicle above, and suddenly pain sensors register that there is no longer anything beneath his elbow.
Cables drop from the ship, heavily armored soldiers sliding down moments after. They train their guns on David, surrounding him like rabid dogs waiting for the perfect moment to attack.
You are a weapon, your one purpose is to kill everything you can.
What the fuck????
People are flesh, and you are above them. You are gunpowder, circuitry, motors, wires, metal.
What the hell are you talking about!?
You saw your pathetic, weak body and made yourself better. Embrace steel and cast away your flesh.
The soldiers shuffled closer, looking for any sign to blast his brains out
Holy shit holy shit holy shit I’m gonna die, I gotta run-
Fight, resist, thrash, maim, kill
He hears the cocking of a gun, sees its barrel pushed up against his face.
“What a fucking monster.”
They can’t see it like I can. You’ll make a beautiful weapon. You just need a little more convincing.
The sound of the gunshot never reached his ears. In front of his eyes, a mess of pixels obscure everything. In an instant they vanish, leaving him sitting in a chair. The wreath on his face cools slightly as the braindance fades, his arms handcuffed to the chair. The room is cold, his gasping breaths hang in the air before fading away. A spotlight shines down from above, leaving the rest of the space in complete darkness. His sweat turns to ice, leaving him shivering as sharp footsteps echo.
“Awesome, isn’t it? Experiencing your own death instead of someone else's."
“Are you crazy!?! You’re a fucking psychopath!”
“Hey now, you told me you were a fan! How about you give me some constructive criticism instead?”
“Go fuck yourself.”
“Well, first you ambush me all by my lonesome, and now you’re insulting me? Youth these days really have lost all respect.”
David says nothing.
“You knew where I was, and your friend back there was packing some pretty large guns… You’re a cyberpunk, right?”
“...”
“Ah well, I’m sure you’ll be much more talkative after you’ve had a few more meet-cutes with Maxtac.”
He vanishes from view, the click of his boots on the cold floor retreats behind David’s head. He tries to strain and see what’s going on, but a cuff around his neck prevents it.
“Wait wait wait, I’m a cyberpunk, we were hired to-”
“Ahhhh, there will be plenty of time for that later. You seem like a hardy kid, I'm sure you've got a few more rounds in you at least.”
The pulsing blue light of the halo started up, which meant there were only a few seconds before he dropped back into the braindance.
“NO I-”
The world dropped away, leaving David stranded in some quiet corner of night city once again.
Welcome back.