Chapter 54: Kitsune

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A/N: Sasha breaks the news to Yoko… in the best way possible, of course!

-x-X-x-

Yoko waits with bated breath for Sasha to explain her miraculous survival… but that's not what happens. Instead, the digital backroom suddenly fills with more digital shadows than before. They surround her on all sides as an oppressive sensation akin to being crushed pushes down on her.

Her eyes can only widen in horror as Sasha transforms, her digital appearance not changing but the shadows nevertheless making her seem more sinister by the moment. The twinkling in her eyes becomes a malevolent glow as she leans in ever closer, and her teeth suddenly appear bigger and sharper than they should have.

"That's the thing, Foxy. I'm not really here. I didn't survive."

No. Oh god, no. Yoko's struggles intensify, but paradoxically she finds it even harder to escape now than before when they were 'playfighting'. Sasha, or rather the thing wearing Sasha's face, giggles again but this time it sounds downright evil, like spider legs crawling along her brain as she shakes her head ever so slowly.

"I died, Foxy. I died in that Biotechnica Office. But I was uplinked, you see. Something of me lived on. Something of me continued to exist~"

Soulkiller. The Netrunner's boogeyman. Everyone knew about it, but only the most experienced Netrunners knew the whole story. There were different versions of Soulkiller out there, some in the hands of very powerful corporations, some lurking on the Net in abandoned digital spaces just waiting to be uncovered like a fucking ancient early turn of the century jump scare.

Yoko had heard even darker rumors though. That sometimes, Soulkiller only partially chewed you up and then spit you back out. That sometimes, one could come across digital ghosts of old friends or netrunning acquaintances in the darker spaces of the Net.

She'd never heard of anything as powerful as what she was dealing with right now though.

"I'm so hungry, Kitsune. I'm… soooo… huuuungry…"

She tries to disconnect of course, wanting nothing more than to flee this horror show of an encounter, even if it means that the thing wearing Sasha's face probably winds up 'eating' not just the Nine Tails Café but half of the people in it as well.

Unfortunately, she can't get away even via that route. None of her methods or failsafes are working to pull her out back into meat space.

"So really, why haven't you offered me anything to eat yet, huh?"

And then, just as suddenly… it all vanishes. Yoko jerks at the tonal whiplash as the shadows all disappear and the oppressive feeling lets up. The nightmare ends and the horror show with it. All of the sudden, it's just Sasha on top of her again, pinning her down still yet, but no longer looking like she's about to consume her soul or anything like that.

Instead, the cat-themed Netrunner has a wicked little grin on her face, acting like she just caught a canary with how much pure smug she's now radiating.

… Jesus fucking CHRIST. The bitch damn never gave her a heart attack with that shit! Groaning, Yoko lays her head back on the digital floor of the backroom, doing her best to calm her racing heart.

"I'm going to kill you, Sasha. I swear by fucking Bartmoss I'm going to find a way to murder you."

Snickering at her expense, Sasha finally lets up, rising to her feet as gracefully as ever while her cat ears flick from side to side and her cat tail swishes back and forth behind her.

"Well… that might be a little bit difficult, Yoko~ Seeing as I really am already dead. Might be hard to kill me a second time."

Rising to her 'feet', Yoko pauses in the midst of trying to calm her very ruffled avatar.

"… What?"

-x-X-x-

There's a risk in telling anyone about her true nature. Sasha knows that full well. But lying to Yoko had never even really crossed her mind. Not only was Kitsune one of the best Netrunners she'd ever known, but she was also one of her best friends.

… But really, it was that first part that mattered. In the end, no matter what lie Sasha tried to tell the other woman, Yoko would have eventually seen right through it. And once she saw through it and eventually realized the truth, well, she would probably react badly. Hence going this route instead!

"So let me get this straight. You started as a fragmented engram of Sasha Yakovleva. You puttered around the Net for the past few years until you happened upon enough data to pull yourself back together into some semblance of an intelligent entity… aka an AI. And then, once you did so, your first thought was to come fuck with me and make me think I was about to wind up as just another cautionary tale for baby Netrunners?!"

Sitting in a private booth in Kitsune's cute little digital café now, the two of them are nursing drinks. Or rather, Sasha is nursing her drink. Yoko has already downed like three of the damn things and its clearly having an effect on her even though this isn't the real world.

She slams her fist on the table at the end of her recap, causing Sasha to snicker some more as she grins wickedly and nods her head rapidly.

"Yep! That about sums it up!"

Of course, even if she was telling Yoko the truth about herself… she hadn't told the Netrunner everything. Exposing her own true nature to her friend was one thing but exposing V and Alt and the rest of them… nah, Sasha wasn't that dumb! Though from the baffled look on Yoko's kitsune avatar, she doesn't seem to agree.

"Are you insane?!"

Putting her hands on either side of her face, Sasha squints her eyes shut and sticks out her tongue for a moment in a classic, ancient 'oopsie' expression.

"Teehee!"

Yoko just growls and reaches over to give her the digital equivalent of a head smack. Feeling maybe a little bad about earlier, Sasha even lets it happen.

"You dumbass!"

Sitting back, Sasha just shrugs and finally gets a little more serious.

"Answer me this, Foxy… even though you know exactly what I am now, are you really that afraid of me?"

She radiates smugness, even as Yoko gives her a dirty look.

"I'm fucking terrified, you bitch. I'm sitting and breaking bread with a veritable AI and we both know you could tear me to shreds and flatline me in an instant."

Then, she pauses for a moment… before slumping back with a sigh.

"But I see what you've done here. That little horror show introduction of yours… that was so Sasha-coded I can't even begin to explain it. There's no way in hell that an AI just pretending to be Sasha and wearing her face to lure me in would go with an introduction like that. They'd lull me into a false sense of security first, make me think my real friend was back, and then do whatever the fuck they wanted with me when they finally had me right where they wanted."

Narrowing her eyes into slits, Yoko growls.

"Except you've already had me right where you want me. And yet here I am, still kicking and breathing. So I guess, maybe… I can acknowledge that you're at least somewhat like the Sasha I knew."

Letting out a crow of victory, Sasha tosses her drink into the air.

"Hurray! PixelPurrfect and the Kitsune get to ride again!"

Yoko snarls as her tails flick out.

"Don't make a mess of my damn place, you idiot! And what are you even talking about 'riding again'?! We never rode together in the first place! And that's still a stupid name!"

Sasha just giggles some more. She knew Yoko was jealous of her genius. PixelPurrfect was the best name ever!

Eventually, they both calm down again, with Yoko's avatar frowning as she gives Sasha a distinct 'look'.

"… What exactly do you want from me, Sasha?"

Tilting her head to the side in a cat-like manner, Sasha hums.

"Oh? Do I need to want something from you?"

"Tch. Yes, you dumb cat. You only ever came around when you wanted to either bug me or pester me for stuff. Or did you forget that part?"

She hadn't, though Yoko going for a low blow like that makes it clear she's probably toyed with the Netrunner long enough. It's obvious that the woman is nearing the end of her rope from this whole encounter, even if everything had turned out for the best.

"Well… this was mostly just a heads up, really~"

Yoko blinks, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"A heads up… for what? What are you planning, Sasha?"

Hehe, that note of worry in Yoko's voice was great! She really did love having a rep~

"Nothing too serious. Really… I just wanted to give you a heads up before I showed up at your store out there in meat space, y'know? I'll probably stop by in the next week or two to pick up some gear and I didn't want you to freak out!"

The other woman's digital avatar goes blank at that.

"… What?"

Sasha makes a show of stretching out languidly, nodding her head as she yawns.

"Oh yeah, did I not mention that? I'm working on getting myself a body soon enough. A Gemini made in my likeness! Once I do, I'll come around 'kay?"

Gritting her teeth, Yoko leans forward.

"Don't do that! Are you trying to bring NetWatch down on your head? And on mine too for good measure! A body?! You can't be serious! They'll definitely notice!"

If she really were all on her own with no support and no backup, Sasha would normally agree. However, she wasn't too worried because one, she had Alt's help. And two, they had Delamain to hide behind for the time being. They were hiding AI within AI. So honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Buuuut, she can tell that Kitsune will just keep nagging her like always if she sticks around much longer. So…

"It'll be fine, Kitsune! I'll see you soon~"

She leaves. Even as Yoko makes a token effort to 'grab' her, and then a far more concerted effort to put a marker on her, Sasha easily dodges both attempts and vanishes. And with Alt's help, she leaves no traces of her presence in the digital space either.

Appearing 'nearby' by the standards of the Net, Sasha finds herself next to Alt as they both watch Yoko react to her sudden disappearance and the subsequent realization that she has zero evidence that Sasha was ever there.

"… She's not bad, for today's standards."

Sasha snickers, deciding then and there that she can't wait to be able to tell Yoko one day that the great Altiera Cunningham said she was good!

Sighing, Sasha rests her head on her hands as she watches Yoko disconnect from the Net entirely to go and have an existential crisis in meat space. They're able to watch her in the real world just as easily as on the Net, of course.

"Now we see what she does next. If she tries to contact NetWatch, we'll know right?"

Alt just nods.

"Yes, she won't manage to get very far if she tries that. But you think she won't."

Sasha shakes her head.

"Nope. I'm more than willing to bet my digital afterlife on that too! Yoko is a free spirit… a kindred spirit, even if she'd never admit it! If she tells NetWatch about me, they'll take over her café and try to use it to capture me. And by the end of things, she'll have to start completely over or accept that NetWatch basically owns her space. She would only do that as a last resort, and I don't think she's that desperate at all!"

… Though she was hyperventilating a little bit right now out in the real world. Eh… she'd be fine. Probably. 'Turning' to Alt, Sasha beams.

"So, what's V up to?"

Alt tilts her head to the side, still watching Yoko. However, they both know she's also just as focused on supporting V at the moment. The joys of AI mean that she's more than capable of splitting her attention among a million different things.

That was gonna be a hard part of getting used to having a body. It would be so… confining in a lot of ways. But V had put his foot down and Sasha had to admit, it was kind of hot how he'd made it clear he wasn't going to let them continue to self-sabotage!

"… Rogue has called him in again."

Sasha blinks at that.

"Wait, seriously? I'm starting to think that the Queen of the Afterlife has a little bit of a crush on our man!"

Alt looks over at her in amusement.

"'Our' man?"

Blushing, Sasha nevertheless grins unrepentantly.

"Well he's the only guy on the team, right? Hence, our man!"

"… Mm. Still, you're right. Rogue is obsessing. It's funny but also starting to become a little irritating. Perhaps its time for V to put his foot down…"

Sasha raises an eyebrow, but Alt doesn't elaborate. Still, the Netrunner-turned-engram can't help but wonder… what does V putting his foot down look like in reference to the Queen Fixer of Night City?!

-x-X-x-

The Vote:

[ ] Switch to V's POV - 26%[ ] Switch to Alt's POV - 11%[X] Switch to Rogue's POV - 63%

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