Chapter 5: Grief

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!

V comforts Misty and talks to Vik. But there ain't no rest for the wicked.

-x-X-x-

Last time around, V had been too busy recovering from being dead to do what needed to be done. He hadn’t been able to properly talk to Misty about Jackie’s death until right before his funeral, when they’d visited his garage together. Vik had probably been forced to do the lion’s share of the consoling in the immediate, but even then he’d also been busy with keeping V alive.

This time around, it only seemed fair that V do the heavy lifting, even if he’d rather face Adam Smasher again than take the last few steps into Misty’s Esoterica. But he hadn’t gotten where he was by taking the easy route, and just because he got a new lease on life didn’t mean he was going to pussy out now.

Stepping inside, V immediately clocks Misty staring up at a screen detailing the attack on Konpeki Plaza. It’s clearly a rerun of a news report that probably originally ran an hour or two ago and from the way she’s clutching at the hem of her sweater, this isn’t the first time she’s watched it. Of course, at his entrance she whips around, her eyes widening when she sees him, filled with hope and worry.

“V! W-Where… where’s Jackie?”

Immediately, V catalogues the obvious. They weren’t supposed to tell anyone the details of their latest job, especially not the time or the location of the heist. Operational security and all that. In the original timeline, V hadn’t been in any state of mind to clock it, but here and now… yeah, it becomes obvious that Jackie told Misty where he’d be going tonight.

Honestly, V can’t blame the man. Jackie was head over heels for Misty, in the best way possible. Besides, Misty was good people. She would never have leaked anything knowingly. In the end, it wasn’t a leak that had fucked them anyways. It was just pure shit luck.

“He didn’t make it, Misty. I’m sorry.”

Misty’s face immediately crumples in despair, and V quickly moves to her side, grabbing her before she can collapse entirely. As her legs give out under her, V pulls her over to a chair and sets her up in it, even as Misty starts to shake.

“H-How? He… h-he…”

V wasn’t very good at this part. Never had been. Last time he’d gotten away with it because of his situation. This time he was fit as a fiddle. Where was his excuse? He had none. So… V speaks from the heart.

“Job went sideways, Misty. Shit hit the fan and we lost T-Bug early on. Jackie and I, we had to get out together but… but we fell. We fell hard. Jackie got hurt the worst from the fall. I got away with some bumps and bruises. From there…”

V’s eyes start to glass over a bit as he remembers it. It was just a few hours ago, but it was more than half a year ago. Not that it matters. His memory of the whole fucking disaster is too damn perfect for its own good.

“We fought, Misty. We fought so fucking hard to get out, you gotta believe me. Jackie fought the hardest too. Even hurt, even bleeding from his side the entire time, he fought so damn hard to get back to you. I wouldn’t have made it out of Konpeki if he wasn’t there by my side.”

It was crazy to think about. Him and Jackie, two comparatively green mercenaries, against the whole of Konpeki Plaza. The best Arasaka Corporation had to offer. And it wasn’t any of Arasaka’s goons that did either of them in. It was a fucking fall for Jackie Welles and months of being overwritten by a damn relic for V.

They’d fought their way through what had to have been at least a hundred Arasaka Guards. They’d even destroyed a couple of Arasaka Mechs. And then they’d escaped in a goddamn Delamain with Adam fucking Smasher himself on their heels.

Fuck, if they’d both survived the night, even with nothing else going to plan, Konpeki Plaza alone would have been enough to put V and Jackie on the map in Night City. They would have gone from no names to celebrities overnight… if they’d lived. Instead, Jackie had died and it was everything else V had done in his death throes, taking Night City by storm like he had and becoming a Living Legend and King of the Afterlife that anyone remembered him for.

Letting out a shuddering breath and realizing Misty was hanging off his every word, V finally continues.

“He was amazing, Misty. He got us out of there. He saved me. But… the fall hurt him more than he let on. He’d lost too much blood. He… he died in transit.”

Misty’s lips thin out and for perhaps the first time V has ever seen, she suddenly looks angry.

“T-Then why didn’t you bring him here? Why didn’t you bring him to Vik so he could patch him up?!”

Of course, her incredibly fair question and righteous fury only serves to ignite V’s own anger, barely simmering beneath the surface. His hands curl into fists and his jaw clenches as he snarls, his voice deep with regret and grief.

“I tried. Damn it Misty, I fucking tried! The fucking Fixer sprung for a Delamain to take us too and from Konpeki Plaza though. It got us there and it got us out just like advertised… but Dexter DeShawn didn’t pay for any detours. The Delamain wouldn’t divert from the course and by the time it finally stopped moving… Jackie was already gone.”

And then, because even if Misty doesn’t seem like the type to care, V figures he would want to know in her shoes… he gives her a vicious grin.

“Killed the bastard though, Misty. Shot Dex right in the fucking head for the part he played in getting Jackie killed.”

And to his surprise, but also paradoxically not… Misty matches his energy for a moment, baring her teeth right back and spitting out a single word in response.

“Good.”

It’s not like her. Not like the Misty he knew both past and future. But at the same time, V hadn’t exactly been ‘present’ at this point the first time around. First he’d been dead, then after Johnny’s relic brought him back to life and Takemura had dragged him here, he’d been recovering over in Vik’s clinic for weeks.

By the time V and Misty had gotten a chance to talk, she’d had time to overcome her grief. She’d-

“I’m sorry, V.”

Blinking, V watches as Misty reaches out and grabs his hand, giving it a good squeeze.

“I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. Stuck in that car, watching Jackie’s life ebb away and helpless to do anything for him. You must be hurting bad, V.”

And there it is. The Misty who he’s most accustomed to, the one who barely spares the time for her own feelings and is so damn empathetic that she’s always thinking about others first. V almost wants to shake her, to demand that she actually focus on herself for a change… but he knows this is just Misty’s way of coping.

Silently promising to himself that he’s going to be there more for her this time than last time, V smiles a crooked smile.

“Won’t be hurting nearly as bad once I’ve gotten revenge for him. There’s one man who’s truly responsible for Jackie’s death. Even more responsible than the fucking Fixer I zeroed. I’m going to get him, Misty. I’m going to kill him dead. I swear it.”

Misty looks torn for a moment, part of her still wanting blood, still wanting vengeance of her own. It’s funny, V always thought that Misty seemed too good for a place like Night City. He’s realizing now that she’s got that darkness in her just like everyone else in this godforsaken place. She just chooses to bury it deeper than most.

Finally, she shakes her head… but she doesn’t try to stop him. Doesn’t try to tell him not to do it. All she says instead is…

“Just don’t get yourself killed in the process, alright V? Jackie wouldn’t want that. He wouldn’t want you dying for him… not when he died so you could live.”

V’s jaw clenches at that and he finds himself deflecting.

“I’ll tell you what Jackie wanted, Misty. He wanted you. He wanted to make something of himself so he’d be worthy of a woman like you. He wanted to prove to you and this city that he was more than just Valentino Trash. I’m sorry he’s not with us anymore, but that last one… he proved that last one tonight. Jackie Welles spit in the face of Corpo God themselves and when they came down on him for it… he made them bleed. Never forget that, Misty. Never forget him.”

Misty smiles, a soft and sad thing. V’s not sure what impact his words have on her. Probably not much of one. Only after it all comes spilling out does he realize they were meant more for himself than for her. And Misty probably knows it too. Still, she doesn’t call him out on it. She just pats his hand and lets out a light little laugh.

“I won’t V. I could never.”

They sit in silence for a moment longer before V finally pulls his hand away and rises to his feet.

“Sorry Misty… but I gotta go talk to Viktor. Gotta let him know and… gotta enlist his help.”

Misty blinks before understanding dawns in her eyes. He doesn’t have to really say it, she knows what he means. And so V leaves her behind to process her feelings and heads out the back of the Esoterica. But before he heads to Vik, he pauses for a moment in the back alley and clears his throat, wiping his face clean of any additional tears.

“… Thanks for giving us a moment.”

Beside him, Alt Cunningham flickers into view, an understanding smile on her face.

“You looked like you needed it, V.”

Nodding to the AI in gratitude, V proceeds forward, making his way down the stairs where he pulls open the fence-gate to Viktor’s Clinic.

“V!”

Viktor looks surprised to see him, but not in a worried sort of way. Immediately, V clocks that despite being boxing buddies, Jackie hadn’t gone completely ham and told Vik alongside Misty. The man has no idea what’s happened tonight. So he goes ahead and tells him everything.

The look on Vik’s face, of shock, dismay, and horror, makes it clear just how in over the head they’d really gotten with Konpeki and DeShawn. Viktor Vektor was no innocent maiden. He had seen lots of shit and done plenty more. And yet, even he can’t help but be horrified when V describes what they went through, how they lost T-Bug, how he lost Jackie.

He doesn’t mention Yorinobu killing Saburo. He’s not going to put that kind of knowledge in Vik or Misty’s head if he can help it. Does them no good to know something like that, really. But…

“I need chrome, Vik. Lots of it. If I’m going to accomplish my goals, if I’m going to do what needs to be done, I can’t be this weak anymore.”

“V…”

Viktor sounds like he doesn’t know what to say, so after a beat of silence V just flicks over a list of the cyberware that he and Alt have compiled. All of it is stuff that Vik should be capable of getting his hands on with enough time and eddies. The stuff he can’t get his hands on, V and Alt are already making plans to get themselves.

The Ripperdoc’s eyes glow blue for a moment behind his shades as he receives the list, and then he quietly goes over it before huffing.

“This is some expensive shit, V.”

Snorting, V nods before remembering that he’s still in debt to Viktor at this point.

“Don’t worry. I’ll pay you back for the Kiroshi Optics before I expect you to do anymore work on me, Vik. In fact, here.”

Vik winces, looking half-ready to forgive that debt again, just like he did the first time around. Except this time around, V isn’t dying. And from Viktor’s perspective, he probably looks a little suicidal. He also just came into eddies courtesy of Dexter DeShawn's assassination, which he flicks over to Vik to settle his old debts.

“… Fine, all squared away, V. And I’ll start asking around about this stuff. But V… you’ve gotta be careful. Too much chrome too fast and you’ll go cyber-psycho.”

From the side, Alt scoffs at the very idea, causing V to smile crookedly. After all, the first time around he’d chromed up way faster than was recommended, going from barely augmented to practically a borg in just a couple months. The Relic, the very thing that was killing him, had also prevented him from going psycho. He’d been completely in control of his faculties, all the way to the end. Now…

“You don’t need to worry, V. Neither of us are truly human. You’ll feel more at home the more metal you incorporate into your body, not less.”

He liked the sound of that. Giving Alt a slight nod that looks like he’s nodding at Viktor, V makes a show of raising his hands.

You don’t gotta worry, Vik. I’m not going to throw away my life for the sake of revenge. I’m going to kill the bastard who got Jackie killed and then I’m going to live a long fucking time. But if I’m going to survive… I can’t afford to be weak anymore.”

Viktor looks like he’s heard it all a million times before from a million other wet-behind-their-ears mercenaries. He lets out a long, drawn-out sigh and just nods in the end.

“I’ll be here for you V… once you’ve got the eddies.”

V’s grin widens at that into a positively wolfish thing. It’s obvious that Vik thinks he’s at least going to hold V off for a while. Possibly even months. Hell, for most mercenaries, the list of chrome that V wants Viktor to get his hands on for him would be the work of years to pay for.

V isn’t most mercenaries. There ain’t nobody who’s ever done it like he did, not even the greatest of the greats.

“I’ll be back soon, Vik. Be ready for me.”

“… If you say so, V.”

Turning around, V walks right back out of Vik’s Clinic, filled with fresh purpose. Beside him, Alt walks similarly, feeding off of his excitement… or perhaps feeding into it? They share a brain at the end of the day. He can’t really be surprised that she’s just as enthusiastic as he is.

“Where to first, V?”

V considers the question for a moment before huffing as he considers the black sky overhead.

“Sleep first. Then… the sky’s the limit.”

Night City is a hell pit that chews people up and spits them back out. But it’s also a fucking gold mine if you know what he knows. He’s spoiled for choice, really. But in the end, he knows who he needs to call first thing in the morning. Regina Jones.

[ ] Stick with V's POV - 30%

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