Chapter Text
(Third Person POV)
Loud beeping occurs within a somewhat decrepit house. Blinds barely held upright as the sun lights the room. "House" is kind of a strong word. This place was built more like a studio apartment but without the extra floors. But hey! It has all the necessities. A bed, a kitchen, a functioning bathroom. What more would a man need?
Soon the beeping stops as a man starts to put his hand on what seems to be an old alarm clock. Can't really question it when you live in the outlands. He groggily opens his eyes as he starts to look at the clock. It was 6:00 AM.
"Shit... Welp. Better get up."
(Second Person POV)
Now starts the usual morning routine. Get out of bed, make breakfast (just plain toast and some bacon that totally wasn't stolen from one of your neighbors), make cheap coffee you brought from work, take a cold shower because you wanna save money on the bill, grab your coffee, leave your house, remember to barricade it because the lock doesn't even work. Speaking of work, it's time to walk all the way there and-
VRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
You begin to step back wide eyed forgetting that you need be mindful of all the damned bikers and gang bangers speeding across the road!
"STEP THE FUCK OFF THE ROAD, YA GONK!"
Shouted a pale man sporting a mohawk and three eyed goggles as three other bikers followed him shouting like wild animals.
"Figures."
You said taking a swig of your coffee before crossing the road to get to your job. You begin to mumble to yourself in a very disgruntled manner.
"Wish I could rock some cybernetics. I'd love to just trip one of those fatherless dipshits off their bikes and watch their bodies skid across the road- Nrrrrgh..."
You begin to take another swig of your coffee. This time downing the whole thing before coming face to face with your destination: A gas station with barely any customers.
(Third Person POV)
The young man began to sigh.
"Alright. Time for another day at work."
Y/N said before walking in and going up to the terminal to punch in and sit at the counter waiting for the shift to be over. A couple of people would come in. Some more interesting than others but it should say a lot when the most exciting part of the day for the gas station worker was having a few gang members actually walk in and buy something! Not rob the place or anything. What were they called... The Animals? Sounds more like a band name but whatever. Y/N didn't question it. Giving the brawny men their items before watching them leave in what looks like a huge armored vehicle painted with hot rod flames. As they drove off, the young man couldn't help but stare into space as he waited for another customer to come in. He sighed.
Y/N looked at his surroundings. The dull interior of the convenience store. Floor showing its age. The muted colors the paint gave off, the empty sand surrounding the area with only the road and a few buildings separating it. This really was it. Sure there's the trailer park a few miles down but like... What's even there? Most people would tell Y/N not to go there because of all the gangs but damn it! It looks more exciting than being here!
"I wonder if Night City's any better."
The young man thought to himself. Remembering how on some nights he'd look at the lights the city provided from his front yard. Well the patch of sand he could call a "front yard". It was mesmerizing to him.
Soon hours passed and finally came nightfall. Y/N punched out at the terminal and left the station to finally go home. The road was surprisingly empty. As he made his stroll back, the young man was suddenly grabbed from behind.
"Mph!"
A somewhat athletic man with green hair, purple tank top, a red visor, and some sort of rifle walked up to him before knocking Y/N out by hitting him with the butt of his gun.
Several hours later:
A silver haired man is shown taking a drag of his cigarette blowing smoke as he smiles looking at the preservation tank in front of him. An operating table next to him covered in blood with the preservation tank showing an unconscious Y/N floating. No signs of scarring, just fully naked with a few obvious bits of plating on his face and spine showing he's been given cybernetics.
"Surgery was a success. Looks like all the implants given to the subject fit just right..."
He began to jot down notes.
"The possibility of the subject undergoing cyberpsychosis seems relatively low."
"Ugh! Finally! That means it's over! Now where's my pay!?"
The green haired punk shouted causing the man to turn to him.
"Ah yes. No need to worry about that, your patience will now be rewarded."
Static was shown in front of Y/N as he began to wake up.
"Huh?"
The young man thought to himself trying to get a hold of his surroundings.
"Those absolute fools at Arasaka never understood my genius. Maybe if they stopped using chromed out soldiers and literal children, we'd have progress on giving us more borged solos like Adam!"
"Wait. You're not seriously talking about Adam Smasher, right choom? I thought he was just an urban legend."
"Don't worry about it. You're being paid to make sure their soldiers don't storm the apartment. Not think about such information."
The young man in the tank raised an eyebrow.
"Arasaka? They're nowhere near the outlands. The biggest corpo here is Militech... Wait. How far did those bastards take me!?"
Y/N moved his body despite the little space given to him while the two men were distracted. He opened and closed his right hand trying to gain feeling. A sudden rain of muffled gunfire could be heard from the hallway. Both men looking in the direction of the open door.
"What the fuck is going on!?"
A tiny screen pulls up showing that the punk is currently in a call.
"Mercenaries! A whole group of 'em! They're here to storm the lab! You need to get the client out of her- BOOM! KSSHHHHHzzzt!"
"Hey! Hey! Arrrrgh! Fuck!"
"Those two aren't going to keep me safe. Even if they could, I'm going to be used as a labrat... Not sure if that's better or worse than being stuck in the ass crack middle of nowhere."
As the scientist began to get up from his chair Y/N noticed an couple of interesting prompts appear in front of him. "Blind", "Shoot Ally", and "Suicide" with the doctor having an extra option that reads "EMP". With nothing left to lose, Y/N selected "Suicide" for both the green haired gang banger and the doctor. Raising his left hand up in the finger gun sign before mimicking the "Bang!" motion while executing the command.
"Don't just stand there! Escort me out of here with the test subject! I'll pay you double your contract if you- PSSHHHZZZzzt!"
Static started to form around both the gang member and the doctor. The green haired punk reached for his rifle and put the gun into his own mouth before pulling the trigger. Causing his head to be blown open.
"How the f-"
The doctor began to notice his hand moving on its own. Reaching into his coat pocket to pull out his pistol. His green eyes widened before looking at Y/N fully awake inside his tank.
"You! You aren't supposed to awake! Do you realize what you are doing you insolent hick!? Cancel the order or I'll make you regret-"
Y/N selected the "EMP" option. Static started to flood the young man's eyes as the silver haired doctor began to gasp. A bass like digital "boom" was heard as all the electronics within the room shut down. The doctor stared soullessly at the floor. His body automatically moving as it still followed the kill command given to him. Pistol loaded as he slowly pulled the trigger. Vitals are now completely flatlined. Due to the EMP shutting down the rest of his cybernetics, there was no way trauma team will be alerted about his passing until it's too late. Unfortunately for Y/N. This means he won't be able to escape either... No matter how much he wants to.
"God damn it... Not now... Got. To. Escape...
Blackness is all that surrounds him as he is once again, knocked out.
Few more hours later:
Static flooded Y/N's vision. He could feel himself be naked still but he could also feel a breeze on his skin.
"Wait... A breeze?
The young man could finally see again and he finds himself... in a trashy looking room with a worn out couch. Surrounded by what seems to be the gang that stormed the "lab" he was in. Sitting on the couch was a large black male in sunglasses, a biker jacket, and a flat top haircut that you feel like you've seen from somewhere else before. Behind him was buff woman almost the same size as him wearing a large jacket and sporting some really short hair. To his right at the back corner of the room stood a young girl with short hair, a leotard, and a jacket. Standing beside his left was a tall, lanky white male with long arms, a mohawk, goatee, red visor, and a small jacket with a smaller girl who's just as pale sporting a large jacket, twin tails and... no pants?
"Jesus Henry Christ. So we have nothing on this guy or whether or not he was part of the job?"
The large man said pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Ah. We'll just have to wait until Kiwi finishes extracting data from him."
The lanky man said casually.
"Huh?"
Y/N looks from the corner of his eye and sees what looks like a bathtub filled with ice water and a tall, slender, naked, older woman submerged in the water with no sign of consciousness and some cables plugged into the back of her head...
"Are those connected to me?"
"Hey, Maine. Our luggage is waking up. Put him back down before something happens to Kiwi."
"Wait wait wait wait-"
The big guy they called "Maine" soon injected something into the young man. Causing him to be knocked out for the third time in a row.