Chapter 28: Fragments

A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

Let me know how I did writing a Fragmented!Rebecca POV!

-x-X-x-

They’d done it. They’d actually done it. Gone up against the Big Dog, taken back what was theirs. Looking at Lucy, held bridal style in David’s arms, Rebecca smiles.

“Glad to have you back, Luce.”

She can tell the groggy Netrunner is surprised by her words because of how hard Lucy jolts in David’s arms. To be fair, Rebecca and Lucy haven’t always had the most sterling of relationships. She’s a heavy, Lucy is a hacker. Two different roles. On top of that, they both fell in love with the same man… and that man loves Lucy more than he will ever love Rebecca.

Still, for David’s sake… Rebecca is glad Lucy is safe. And fuck Arasaka too, of course.

But before Lucy can respond, they’re interrupted by an explosion up above. Rebecca looks up with a snarl to see the telltale form of Adam motherfucking Smasher coming from the same window that David had crashed through mere moments before. Most people, upon seeing a Living Legend of Night City bear down on them with the force of an angry Sun, would have cut and run squealing.

… Rebecca has never been like most people. Instead of fear, all she feels is outrage as she hefts her pink and green Copperhead into the sky and roars.

“We’re having a moment here! F-!”

-x-X-x-

“-uck you!”

The instant she awakens, her entire body jerks. She tries to pull the trigger some more, but she can’t. Not just because there’s not a gun in her hands any longer, but also because she doesn’t have hands. The memory of why she was so enraged fades rapidly, even as she opens her eyes and cranes her neck to look down at her body.

No hands, no arms, no feet, no legs. Instead, her shoulders and thighs twitch as she stares at limb ports that are currently empty. She should have arms and legs… she thinks. Admittedly, it’s a little hard to remember. Frankly, it’s more than a little hard to remember… anything right now.

“… So that was a bad sign, right? That she came out of things immediately cursing us out?”

Blinking slowly, she pulls her gaze away from her empty limb ports and looks around the room she’s in. She’s laid out on an examination table currently… and there, off to the side, are her missing limbs. Literally within arm’s reach. That was funny right? She thinks that’s supposed to be funny.

Of course, much more interestingly are the people. Watching her from the other side of the room is a man and a woman. It was the woman who spoke up, her look of concern completely contrasting the man’s curious but reserved expression.

And then, all of the sudden, there’s two more. A blonde woman appears out of nowhere right beside the man. And a- Sasha. Her eyes widen, her lips parting as Sasha appears at the side of the table. Sasha with cat ears. Sasha with a cat tail. But… undeniably Sasha.

Smiling, Sasha runs a hand through her hair.

“No, that’s actually pretty par for the course for her. Might even be a good sign. Rebecca… can you hear me? Can you see me?”

Rebecca? Was that her name? Sasha was certainly talking to her, so it must be. But then, that left one wondering… how the fuck did she know Sasha’s name, but not her own? That kind of pissed her off, just a little bit. But any anger was muted due to being mixed up with her current confusion. After all…

“… Shouldn’t be seeing you. You’re dead, Sasha.”

Sasha winces at that and Rebecca finds herself continuing on, her voice slurring slightly as she reminisces.

“Was drinking with you, Maine, and Dorio one night. Nice of you guys to let me join you in the Afterlife. But then… you and Maine left for a gig, and only Maine ever came back. Didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye…”

It was so fresh in her mind’s eye. She wasn’t a tyke or anything, but she was young. Sasha had argued for Maine to let her join them for drinks after Rebecca and Pilar had had another fight. Maine had relented. But… how did Rebecca know that? She hadn’t been privy to the argument. She hadn’t been there when Sasha had cajoled Maine into inviting her to the Afterlife.

“Sorry about that, Becca. You’re right… I did die that night. Just like you died giving the middle finger to not just Arasaka, but also Adam Smasher of all people.”

She… thinks she remembers that. Parts of it. But it’s hard to think about. Hurts to think about, in more ways than one.

“Are we sure we should be opening with ‘you died’?”

That’s the other woman again. The dusky skinned one. Even knowing who Sasha is and even knowing her own name, Rebecca still doesn’t recognize her. And yet, she looks worried for her… and about her too, weirdly enough.

Sasha turns to regard the people watching them.

“Better to not hold back, I figure. Rebecca… she’s not exactly ‘whole’ at this point in time. She was incredibly fragmented when I found her. I had to fill in the gaps as best I could with my own memories of her, but I myself was not a complete upload. It wasn’t until meeting Alt that I started to regain my sense of individuality and purpose.”

A lot of that flies over Rebecca’s head. But it seems to work for the strangers, because the worried woman slowly nods while the man continues to watch almost impassively.

Part of Rebecca is caught up on the idea that… she died. What did that even mean? How do you die and then wake up again? But a larger part of Rebecca doesn’t really want to make Sasha disappointed in her. The older woman had always been a bit of a big sis to her.

Maybe not the closest, and sure, Sasha wasn’t always there for her… but losing her had hurt. Losing people in general hurt. Rebecca wasn’t sure entirely why she knew that to be an indisputable fact, but she definitely did.

And yet here they both were. And here Rebecca was, falling back into old habits. She wanted to impress Sasha. She wanted her big sis to be proud of her. So she bottles up her emotions and keeps her cool. That said…

“Can I have my arms and legs back now? Doesn’t seem fair that everyone else gets them and I don’t.”

That finally draws a reaction from the man in the form of an amused snort. Sasha, meanwhile, gives her a wry smile and then reaches out. Much to Rebecca’s shock, the cat girl Netrunner’s fingers pass right through her body.

“Could be worse, Becca. You could have no body at all still.”

Oh. Was that why Sasha had just… appeared like this? And why she had cat ears and a cat tail now? But then, the blonde had done the same, hadn’t she. Rebecca’s tongue darts out to lick her lips, unsure how to respond to all of that.

“You’re in a Gemini Sculpt, Becca. Because you’re not entirely… human anymore.”

Not… human?

“What do you remember?”

Rebecca shoots Sasha a look at that. Honestly felt like the sort of thing the other woman maybe should have led with. But then again, maybe not. Remembering hurt. Remembering hurt a lot. And yet, once again, she didn’t want to disappoint big sis Sasha. So she tries. Fuck, she tries. It’s just… hard. Finally, she’s forced to admit the truth in a displeased mutter.

“… not much.”

Except, even as those words leave her (apparently) cyborg lips, something does come to mind. A burning hatred and rage that she’s been pushing down all this time. And yet, it rises up within her now as she bites out a single word.

“Smasher.”

There’s a pronounced reaction from the peanut gallery at the sheer vitriol and venom in Rebecca’s tone. Even Sasha rears back a little bit before letting out a soft sigh.

“He killed you, Rebecca. Adam Smasher killed you.”

Rebecca tilts her head to the side and tries to figure out how she feels about that. No… she tries to figure out how she feels about the fact that she remembers Adam Smasher and knows who he is, but doesn’t remember her friends or their faces or know who they are. That… that pisses her off. Forget the ‘honor’ of dying to a Night City Living Legend. She wanted revenge.

“I’ll kill him.”

And she didn’t care if that upset these people either. She didn’t care if-

“Stick around and you’ll almost certainly get your shot.”

Rebecca’s eyes snap to the man as he finally speaks. Both the dusky woman and the blonde on either side of him give him looks at his words. The blonde looks ruefully amused while the dusky skinned woman looks positively askance. Rebecca though… Rebecca notes how the man makes eye contact with her and doesn’t look away for even a second.

“… You serious?”

The man grins at her and nods.

“Oh yeah.”

Rebecca’s lips curl up into a wide, wicked grin as well.

“Preem. Then I guess we can be chooms.”

Sasha looks pleased by that. And if anything, those seem to be the magic words because the man suddenly starts moving forward. He reaches out and grabs one of her legs from the cart next to the examination table she’s sprawled on.

“V? Are you sure she’s ready?”

Alright… dusky was starting to get on her nerves. She could tell the bitch meant well, but damn if she wasn’t a bit of a sourpuss.

“She’s fine, Panam. There’s a reason we got Rebecca here a body before Alt or Sasha. She needed it the most. Being able to get back on her feet and move around will be good for her. Right?”

V directs that last word towards Sasha and Alt, even as the now-named Panam falls silent. Alt and Sasha both nod though.

“Yes, I can confirm from checking Sasha’s work that she’s not going to recover anymore than she already had by sticking around on the Net.”

“Becca was always more of a tactile and kinesthetic learner anyways. Being back in the real world sooner rather than later will do her far more good than it would have either of us I should think. We’re used to long dives on the Net… she’s not.”

Despite being the one to ask the question, V is already plugging in first one leg and then the other while the two women speak. It seems like he’s already made up his mind, or he already knew they were going to be in agreement. Rebecca isn’t sure what to make of the man. He’s… different to say the least. Interesting, really.

And also his hand is firmly gripping her legs when they suddenly come online, making Rebecca stiffen up at the human touch.

“You feel that?”

Suddenly mute, all that she can do is nod silently in response. If V notices, he doesn’t comment on it. He’s too focused on her legs to be fair.

“Wiggle your toes for me?”

Rebecca does so and V nods, smiling appreciatively.

“Looks like everything is in working order so far. Arms next.”

He doesn’t even hesitate either. Giving her back her arms… that gives Rebecca back full mobility. And it’s obvious that they were worried about how she’d react and what she might do. But their worries don’t appear to be V’s worries. He has no problem connecting her arms into the empty limp sockets at either shoulder.

The dusky sourpuss over on the other side of the room tenses up like she thinks Rebecca might lunge out and wrap her hands around V’s throat the moment she can do so. But… no. She’s got this. She’s in control.

Soon enough, V is helping her down from the examination table. Rebecca’s feet hit the floor and she stands there for a moment, just… experiencing sensation. Her memory is like Swiss Cheese, but as she stands there feeling the air across her skin, the floor beneath her feet, and… just everything, she realizes how much she missed it.

Seeing as she can’t even remember what happened between Smasher smashing her and waking up here, that’s kind of strange. How can you miss something that you didn’t even know was gone?

“How are you doing, Becca?”

That comes from Sasha. Looking up at her big sis, Rebecca opens her mouth to respond, but Sasha cuts her off.

“No platitudes. No ‘I’m fine’ or ‘I’m good’ if you don’t one hundred percent mean it. I want you to answer truthfully… how are you feeling?”

Well… damn. Rebecca hums consideringly for a moment before giving the most honest answer she can.

“Lost. Empty. Confused.”

Once she says the first one, the other two just spill out of her as well. Rebecca shifts a bit from foot to foot, squirming in embarrassment. But she doesn’t see condemnation or judgment on any of their faces. If this were Maine’s Crew, those sort of admissions would draw derision… especially from her own brother. But Pilar isn’t here. Maine isn’t here. Dorio isn’t here.

Sasha looks contemplative for a moment before turning to the others.

“We need a source of memories separate from my own to help her rebuild. Preferably memories from the things she did after my death. We need to contact Lucyna.”

That name… that brings up all sorts of twisted emotions for Rebecca. And she doesn’t even fully understand why. Does she hate this Lucyna person? Does she like them? Does she love them? Fuck if she knows.

V tilts his head to the side and Rebecca realizes at long last that he’s definitely the one in charge here. Even if it might not fully be apparent at first glance because he doesn’t act like Maine or… or… well, anyways. He definitely has the final say.

“Alright. But who contacts her exactly? You? Alt? Me and Panam? What would be best to keep her from running for the hills screaming. We did just resurrect her dead teammate after all.”

Heh. Part of Rebecca likes the thought of Lucyna running around with her head cut off. But then part of her wonders where that even came from. So Lucyna was a woman? What exactly were they to one another? Fuck this was frustrating…

[ ] They decide to hold off on contacting Lucy for now, too risky - 6%

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