Chapter 86: Liberty, hold the Phantom

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

Also, for the NEXT TWO WEEKS (Feb. 22nd-Mar. 7th), you will get 50% off your first month when signing up to the first Tier of my ! This is to celebrate my NINE YEAR ANNIVERSARY on !

So Mi wakes up~

-x-X-x-

Waking up is a strange sensation for So Mi for two reasons. First and foremost, before she'd been put under, she still hadn't been sure if she was going to wake up at all. V and Alt continued to feel like they were too good to be true, but at the same time So Mi had decided to trust them… albeit with a bit of a fatalistic 'if they fuck me over, at least it might be quick and painless' sort of mentality.

The second reason is paradoxically both more nuanced and much simpler than the first, however. Namely… she feels good. Better than good, she feels great. Waking up in her new body, coming to consciousness without all of the old baggage weighing her down… So Mi can barely even begin to describe it.

It's like… it's almost like she was drowning without really knowing it all this time. Or rather, she knew it but it was so slow and stretched over such a long period of time that she just became used to it. Used to not being able to breathe. Used to not being able to function at her full capacity.

The connection to the Black Wall had given So Mi access to power, but it had also destroyed her bit by bit, inch by inch. And yet… that was all gone now. Her brain had been transferred from her old body to the Gemini with seemingly no issues… and her new form held no connection to the Black Wall whatsoever. Instead it was crisp, clean, and pristine, with a top of the line cyberdeck that So Mi finds herself mentally categorizing and picking up in mere moments.

"How are you feeling, So Mi?"

Of course… she might have gotten so caught up in her internal feelings that she sort of forgot she wasn't likely to be alone upon waking up. Jolting, So Mi's head twists faster and more sharply than she ever could have in her old body. V is standing a few feet away and has his hands lifted up in the air to show he means no harm.

Alt, meanwhile, is off to the side, her own arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her lips. The two of them… they'd done what they said they would. They'd given So Mi a second lease on life. At the same time though, this wasn't the cure she'd intended for herself. Instead of going with her first plan, she'd given up her original flesh, her first body… in exchange for this facsimile.

And yet… and yet, So Mi can't help but smile as she lifts her hands and moves her fingers, eyeing the way they dance at her whim. The connection is seamless. The transfer was flawless, likely performed by Alt's impossibly steady hands. Letting out a breath she knows to be synthetic, So Mi answers V truthfully.

"I feel… amazing."

V's lips curl into a satisfied smile at that. He looks genuinely happy for her, even as he lowers his hands to his sides and chuckles.

"That's what I like to hear."

Feeling a wry smile of her own tug at the corners of her mouth, So Mi tilts her head to the side.

"This is where you betray me, you know. No more connection to the Black Wall… means I'm practically defenseless now. No more Sword of Damocles hanging over head. No more mutually assured destruction."

She says it all casually… offhandedly really. At this point, So Mi doesn't really believe they have bad intentions towards her. Even her paranoia and distrust has limits. Still, Alt scoffs nonetheless, rolling her eyes as she steps forward.

"It was never mutually assured destruction in the first place, sweetheart. The moment you reached for the Black Wall, we were ready to cut you off. It was never an option… it was just better to let you think it was so you didn't feel too trapped."

… Huh. So Mi turns that over in her head, not sure whether or not she really believes it. Then again, it also doesn't actually matter if she does or not. Whether Alt is right or not is meaningless now that the connection to the Black Wall is gone anyways, discarded with her old body.

In the end, she just dips her head in acknowledgment of Alt's words, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the AI. Instead, she turns back to V and raises a brow.

"So… what happens now?"

V and Alt exchange a look before V turns back to her and shrugs.

"That depends on you, So Mi. You're free now… you make your own choices at this point."

Now he was just being ridiculous. So Mi's eyes narrow and she huffs.

"I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. Both for your help… and for doing it even when you knew full well I was planning to betray you all along. Look, I'm not one for swearing my life to people or anything like that, never have been… but I'm also not just going to fuck off and leave you out all the eddies you paid to help me… not to mention the eddies you missed out on by betraying Myers."

A shiver runs down So Mi's spine at her own mention of NUSA's President.

"… She's going to come after me eventually, you know. I can understand if you maybe want me to leave simply so you don't have to take that heat…"

V and Alt exchange ANOTHER glance. So Mi arches a brow as Alt answers this time around with a wicked grin.

"Oh, I wouldn't be worried about any of that. Myers has been defanged. As for payment… that's been delivered in full."

… What. How the fuck had they managed that? Unless they were still planning on turning her over… or already had. So Mi looks around the room, suddenly feeling a rising sense of panic at the idea that maybe she wasn't as free as they kept proclaiming and-

"Calm down So Mi. This isn't some trick. Myers isn't standing outside the door waiting to come in and call you her little Songbird."

So Mi shudders at that, causing V to wince.

"Sorry. I expect you would rather not hear that word more than necessary. Still, you're worrying over noting. Myers really is handled. And here… have some capital."

So Mi's mouth opens and closes wordlessly as… as she's digitally tossed five hundred thousand eddies. She stares at the offer in disbelief… but accepts it all the same, watching the eddies flow into her otherwise empty personal account.

"You… I…"

Before she can muster up a proper response, Alt sends her something as well… it's a data packet rather than a financial transaction, something large enough to either be a video or a hack. Of course, at this point they wouldn't need to trick her into letting them hack her systems. They could have just installed a backdoor while she was unconscious if they wanted to.

So Mi accepts the data packet and furrows her brow at the video held within.

"… Why is this age-restricted, exactly?"

Without missing a beat, V shrugs.

"Because it's exceptionally debauched in nature, I suppose. That right there is the BD of my… experiences with one Rosalind Myers so far. So you can see exactly how we got to where we are now."

So Mi's mouth opens… but none of the questions she has feel worth asking when she could just watch the BD instead. With a huff, she opens it up. It's not an actual braindance experience of course since she's not using a BD Wreath. Instead, it's a first person video from V's perspective, starting from his rescue of Myers from Space Force One… and continuing from there.

She watches in silence as V escorts Myers to safety… and then gets propositioned by the naked NUSA President wearing only her shoes as she comes out of the bathroom. Then, she watches as V fucked Myers into oblivion that night, completely and utterly dominating the strong, independent leader.

After that, it skips forward to the next morning and the deal V and Myers make. It shows everything up to V passing Myers off to members of his crew and sending her away back to NUSA… back to safety.

It jumps forward in time far further now and suddenly they're in Myers' office. The perspective becomes a little confusing after that, but the activities do not. V and Alt threaten Rosalind Myers into compliance… and then upon finding out she's enjoying being threatened, they fuck her into compliance too. And she… she goes along with all of it.

No, not just that… Myers even reveals another fetish of hers as she begs them to make her give them MORE eddies, to pay them MORE money. So Mi's jaw drops open as the woman she's been under the boot of for so long… submits completely and utterly to the two individuals who have saved her life.

When the video is finally over, So Mi lets out a shuddering breath, feeling an artificial heat to her cheeks that was definitely new. She might be in Gemini now, but Gemini were specifically designed to mimic human biology as closely as technology could.

As such, So Mi is feeling a certain sort of way after watching the BD in full. Even if she didn't get the actual effects of the braindance… that was probably for the best. She didn't need to feel everything V felt in his male body while she was still settling into her new Gemini.

That doesn't stop her from feeling embarrassment and arousal in equal measure. Watching Myers get taken like that, not once but twice… well, it made her feel naughty, like she was watching something forbidden. At the same time, seeing her abuser be treated like utter trash… it was probably one of the hottest things So Mi had ever witnessed.

Down girl. Calm yourself. Focus. Don't get… weird about it.

Clearing her throat even if she doesn't need to, So Mi nods to V and Alt, acting as normal as she possibly can.

"Thank you for showing me that. It… helps. A lot."

Alt smirks knowingly… but V just smiles warmly, giving her an encouraging nod right back.

"Glad to hear it. You got dealt a bad hand, So Mi. I'm glad we were able to help you."

He actually, truly, completely means that. Fuck, people like V shouldn't even exist. It was ridiculous. And yet… here they were. Breathing in and out slowly, mostly to center herself, So Mi gets back to the matter at hand.

"You say I can do whatever I want now… but what about your plans? What are the two of you going to be doing next now that you've apparently turned the President of fucking NUSA into your fucking submissive pay pig? And how can I help?"

She was serious about that last part. More serious than before, even. She owed a debt yes… but more than that, she wanted to help them. She wanted to be a part of whatever they were doing next.

Before V can speak, Alt steps in again with a wicked grin.

"Well… I suppose we'll probably be finalizing our shadow takeover of Arasaka next. Cleaning out the trash, consolidating power behind our puppet leader… that sort of thing."

It sounds like a joke. Like 'oh yeah, we managed to make the NUSA President our bitch, and also we've got our hooks into Arasaka as well'. Haha, very funny. Except… So Mi doesn't laugh because V isn't laughing either. Instead he's giving Alt an exasperated look. Not the kind of look that says 'that's a bad joke', but rather the kind of look that says 'you've said more than you should'.

So Mi licks her brand new lips with her brand new tongue and… dares to ask for more information.

"Who… who is your puppet leader in Arasaka?"

Alt's grin grows at seeing So Mi is taking her seriously.

"Oh… nobody too special. Only the Princess herself."

So Mi blinks.

"Hanako Arasaka."

Alt nods.

"Yep! We spoke to her in the armored compartment of her float during that parade a few weeks back. By the end of the conversation, she'd stripped naked and was kowtowing to V here, practically begging him to take her in hand and take control of things so she could happily submit to him."

Alt gestures to V as she speaks, prompting So Mi to look over at the man… who still just looks exasperated with Alt. For a long moment, So Mi REALLY looks at the man. This man who had offed Kurt Hansen in the heart of his would-be power without missing a beat. This man who had dominated Rosalind Myers and made her his bitch. This man who had turned So Mi's manipulations on their head, only to use his own manipulations to do nothing but help her.

… She believes it. And with that belief comes a certainty that forms within her artificial breast. She's going to fuck V herself one day… but first she has to earn it. A man like him… she has to prove herself worthy of his bed.

So instead of propositioning him and Alt right now as she dearly wants to, So Mi just smiles and nods.

"Very well. Where do we begin?"

-x-X-x-

The Vote:

[X] Finish bringing Michiko Arasaka in line first - 97%[ ] Ignore her and reconvene with Hanako, she'll fall in line - 3%

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Thanks for reading!