Chapter Text
Today of all days, when I finally score a netrunning gig. The pay’s good, and all they want me to do is klep a datastore from the Old NET, and I just had to go and trip some black ICE. I doubted anyone was coming to save me from this DIY ice bath in the middle of nowhere. Even if someone did find me, I doubt they’d have the know-how to disconnect me in time.
I don’t feel I’ve lived a very fulfilling life, so a lot of things were running through my mind as I layed there, awaiting a slow painful death at the hands of a security measure from a bygone era, in the server room of this corpse of an office building, in an ice bath cobbled together at the local 24/7 with a few ice bags and an old storage tub.
What's gonna happen when I die here? I wonder how long it would take before anyone noticed… Not like I have any friends who would call and wonder why I’m not answering. I guess my landlord might eventually get curious once he noticed that my rent wasn’t being paid. And maybe, maybe, my fixer would reach out to complain about how far behind I am on my work, especially when she paid half up front. It doesn’t matter. I guess I’ll find out pretty soon. Because soon, it’ll all be over…
As these thoughts ran through my head, a voice called out to the dark room.
“Anyone there, hello?”
A girl..?
“Okay, well I hear someone. Do you need help? Are you already d-” Thankfully, I managed to ping her agent and send a brief message.
[YES I’M ALIVE AND I NEED HELP! DON’T DISCONNECT ME UNTIL YOU SHUT OFF THE SERVER RACK!]
“Ah… okay. I’ll get you out of this, okay? You’re gonna be fine. Do you need an airhypo?” The woman asked. I felt her body heat next to me, and I tried to say “please” but was only able to mouth the word. A few moments later, I felt my link cable disconnect from the server rack and nearly passed out. The mysterious woman stuck me with an airhypo, and I felt my consciousness running back to me. At that same moment, I opened my eyes to see the woman pulling me from the water.
“I thought you were Ophelia,” the woman smiled at me as her wet blonde hair clung to my clothes. I was taken aback.
Not because of what she said about Ophelia, I had seen the famous painting of her in the lie-down bath of death when I was still in school. I was stunned when I looked back up at her.
This woman was absolutely beautiful. Her long blonde hair, her small nose and smooth skin, her delicate looking arms… well, arm. Her left arm was very obviously chromed up. I could tell she had an amazing body, even through her clothes. She wore an olive turtleneck with a big black coat. Her ripped up pair of jeans just barely showed off her toned legs. A Tsunami Nue pistol was holstered around her thigh, under a belt holding a lot of standard fare techie equipment. I found that interesting as I carry the very same iron in my satchel.
I thought she might be a little bit older, but close to my age. Looking down at me with her shining deep blue eyes, she asked me, “Is it already messed up? Your head. And if any of your chrome got fried, I think I have something in my trunk to take care of it.”
“I… think I’m okay? Probably helps that I’m still mostly ‘ganic,” I replied, but I wasn’t so sure. A bombshell like this saving me from certain death? This had to be what’s left of my brain giving me a pleasant dying dream.
“So. What was this thing in there that almost zeroed you? What did it feel like?” The blonde turned down to face me better.
“It’s some bad ICE from the Old NET. Some people have taken to calling it a “Wriggler”, since they can make your chrome and even some of your flesh convulse, and it feels like your brain is being shaken. Just poking around the datastore gave me a really gross feeling. You ever taken a dive before? It felt uneasy, like the first time I ever went in, and that was almost a decade ago now. It felt like my mind and body were being separated, but I don’t think it was any flavor of Soulkiller. But seriously, don’t mess with it.”
As I was explaining the feeling to this woman, I started to wonder what would happen if I lingered just a little longer. It felt like I was super close to something big happening…
“Wasn’t planning to. Just touching the server rack to disconnect you made me feel all, ugh. It was gross!” The blonde shrieked. “By the way, do you think you can stand? My arms are getting a little tired.”
“Oh! Yeah, um… sorry about that. It took a moment to feel like myself again. I should be good to go now.” I quickly bolted up to my feet as I spilled out my explanation to the mysterious beauty.
As I readjusting to standing up, the woman looked at her agent, which was plugged into a scanner.
“What were you looking for while you were in there? Some weird files just popped up on my agent. Looks to just be old corp payroll data, but might still be worth a good few eddies to the right person.”
“That’s exactly what I was looking for! How did you even get your hands on it? Could you flick those over to me, though?” I asked as I dried my hair with a towel.
“My scanner has a built-in file-scrubber. It’s a bit of a crapshoot but when it works, it’s pretty nova. And I’m trying to flick the data your way but for some reason, they’re refusing to move from my agent. I hope this doesn’t mean I have to replace it again,” the blonde groaned as she fiddled with her agent.
“But anyway. What’s your name? Most people call me Lovebird, but you can call me Toriko if you wanna.” The blonde, who I now know is called Toriko, shot me an expectant smile.
“Oh. Um, I’m ScriptKitty when I’m on business, and Sorawo when I’m not. You can use whichever you want for me.”
“Well Sorawo, do you know anything about a girl named Satsuki? I came here looking for her. She pokes around the Old NET a lot too, but I haven’t seen her in a long time.” Toriko’s question left me racking my brain over whether or not I knew someone named Satsuki. Unfortunately for her, the search returned zero results. Something about that name pissed me off, though.
“Can’t say I do, sorry. You don’t really do this sort of thing to meet people.”
“Do you at least know a good way out of here? This is a big building, and I got kinda lost.”
“Sure, we’ll just go out the way I came in. Follow me, Toriko.” I beckoned her over as I packed the rest of my things.
Once we made our way out of the building, I waved Toriko off and got into my car. I tried to start it but it just.. wouldn’t. It normally takes a few tries, but I knew something was wrong when it still wouldn’t start after turning the key twelve times. As I growled at my car, Toriko pulled around right next to me, just in time to see me smacking the shit out of the dashboard.
“Having some car problems, choom? I don’t know how to fix it but if you don’t mind leaving it here, I can take you where you’re trying to go.” Toriko explained with an unbelievably cute smile.
“Well, I appreciate the offer, but I think I just need to mess around with something and I’ll be fine.”
Toriko looked at me blank faced and sighed.
“Even I can see that thing barely made it here today. Shouldn’t you replace it?”
“Don’t have the money, sadly. Even this gig won’t pay much if we somehow get the files off your agent. But even now, I doubt they’ll pay me at all with how late I am getting this to my fixer.”
“Let’s see what my fixer would want for it, then! He pays real good for stuff like this.”
“I’ll think about it. But for now… a ride back home would be great, actually.”
“You got it! Get in and lead the way. You can put your stuff in the trunk.” Toriko barked as the trunk of her Jeep popped open.
As I made my way into the passenger’s seat, Toriko and I both went wide-eyed as the ruined building finally gave out, and collapsed in on itself.
No way this is happening now, too. That data store was just scratching the surface of what I wanted to explore in there. The storage bank sprawled out to the size of a shopping mall whenever I would dive. And thankfully, NetWatch’s Blackwall Project hadn’t cordoned any of it off yet. This was my favorite place to scrape for old data. And now, it’s just gone? The thought of it alone was enough to bring me to tears. As the tears fell to my lap, Toriko smiled at me with narrowed eyes.
“I’m really sorry, Sorawo. Did you leave something important in there?”
“You could say that. This had become my favorite jumping point to explore the Old NET. I had only gotten to do it a few times, but it was always such a rush. I finally found the perfect escape and now it’s just gone? This isn’t fair!” I did my best to hold back a scream, especially since I was in front of such a pretty woman who had been nothing but sweet to me.
“Hey, it'll be alright. Next time, I’ll show you another way in, okay?” Toriko consoled me and ran her fingers through my hair.
I found that kinda weird. Did she see me as some kind of wounded animal? Thinking back on it, that was probably a pretty apt comparison at the time. Normally, I'm pretty averse to touch, especially affection. But at that moment, I let her do it; the comforting gesture felt nice.
“It’s a-alright. I’ll think about it. Thanks.” I sniffled as I buckled into the seat.
I silently punched the directions to the Watson cargo bay, where I lived at the time, into the nav. Toriko drove me home in relative silence, aside from her music gently emanating from her speakers. She had a pretty odd taste in music. I don’t recall hearing anything that had come out recently. Most of these songs were from 25-30 years ago, the sort of thing you’d expect a mom to listen to. Was she older than I thought? I brushed the thought away and let myself enjoy the cool spring breeze flowing in through her window.
After about twenty minutes, Toriko’s jeep pulled in front of my cargo bay. Once Toriko parked, she leaned over and started to go for a hug, but quickly pulled back.
“Sorry, force of habit. It’s just that you look a lot like that Satsuki girl I mentioned earlier. Though, I guess you’re a good bit shorter than her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I squeaked.
“Nothing at all. Just stating a fact.” Toriko chuckled. “Anyway, there’s a small box in the trunk. Go ahead and help yourself to what’s inside. After today, you definitely need it more than me. I’ll be in touch once I figure out how to get this data able to move around, okay? We’ll get you paid somehow. But for now, make sure you relax and rest up tonight, ‘kay choom?”
“I’ll think about it. Thank you, Toriko. For… everything that wasn’t bad about today, honestly,” I strained something resembling a smile as I got my bag and the box she had offered me out of the trunk.
Toriko glanced at her dashboard, and hit a button to make sure the trunk was properly closed. With a smile and a wave, Toriko pulled out of the parking lot as I stood there, taken aback by the rollercoaster that was today. After regaining my senses, I peered inside to see the contents of the box. A preem looking bottle of Centzon Tequila and a few cans of Chromanticore, as well as some assorted candy. After getting back to my cargo box, I cracked a big goofy smile in tandem with one of the cans.
About a week later, I was idling about the PC shop I worked part-time at. Nothing had been going on today, so I was reading a book of urban legends from Japan. I used to read this sort of thing when I was a kid, but not as much once my family moved to Night City. This one had a lot of stories I hadn’t yet heard of, so it was nice to have some new material. Unfortunately for the book, however, something - or someone, far more engrossing made her way through the door.
“Sorawoooo! Hey choom, how are you?” Toriko beamed as she rested her elbows at the counter I was tending.
“Oh. Um… Hey Toriko, how did you find me? I don’t even recall giving you my contact info, let alone where I work.” I sighed as I recounted last week’s surprise meeting, and whether I had let my workplace slip.
“Well, I heard whispers that there was a real good netrunner named ScriptKitty who works here, and your name isn’t exactly common, so I decided to come and see for myself!”
Oh great, she's a stalker too. Great company you've found yourself here, Miss Kamikoshi.
“Well anyway, I was combing through the files and found out that somehow, the entire server had been copied to my arm? Must be great compression. But, I think I know a way we can get it back. We just need a way to hook you and my arm up to a similar server. I know a better spot we can try it. It's another big data store just like the one you liked to poke around. What do you say? I've even got my fixer itching for the paydata, and he’ll give us double if we can isolate the Wriggler.”
“No way. Remember what happened the last time I looked at the files? They’re all infected by the Wriggler. It’ll be really tricky to isolate it.”
“If anything goes wrong, I’ll help you out. Cyberware is my specialty, ya know.”
“But why me? Can’t you just take care of it yourself?”
“Hmm, you just seem trustworthy!” Toriko chirped. “And, well, I'm not gonna lie. I need someone to help me find Satsuki. You'll be paid, of course.”
“How? We've only met once bef-”
“Twice, now!” Toriko grinned as she held up two fingers. “By the way, you get your car fixed yet?”
“Nope. Don't have the eddies yet.” I sighed.
“So that data, wanna know what it's worth to my fixer?”
Toriko beckoned me to lean forward before whispering the amount in my ear. Forget fixing my car, I could buy a new one wholesale and still have eddies to burn!
“If you help me with this, we can split it, fifty-fifty. What do you say, Sorawo? Let’s find happiness together.” Toriko cooed. Was she trying to get paid or get married? Assuming the former, I agreed to go with her.
After lying to my boss that I had a house call, I got into Toriko’s car and we rode to our destination in silence. Dealing with other people was a bother, but I didn’t want to lose my connection to the Old NET, and she was providing a means to get back. Should I be making small talk right now? I’m not good with this sort of thing, that’s why I spend all my time fixing computers and, until recently and now again, poking around the remains of the Old NET. Who wouldn’t want a secret place all to themselves?
She pulled her car into the lot of an office building on the outskirts of what was left of the City Center. I followed behind Toriko into the building as we made our way to the elevator. Curiously, she started pressing several buttons in succession. Did she forget which floor we need to go on or something?
"Toriko, are you sure you know where you’re taking us?”
“Sure do! We’re going to the secret top floor. The old BBS is held in a server there. You use the floor buttons as a PIN pad to enter the code. Surely a Night City netrunner such as yourself has heard the rumors before?”
“Well, yeah. But I thought they were just that, rumors.”
Pressing a succession of buttons to gain access to a secret world reminded me of an old story I had read when I was younger, back when the Old NET was still just the internet. Apparently, if you press the buttons on an elevator in just the right order, you end up in another world. There were a lot of stories like that, but this one in particular was pretty popular. I’m sure whoever designed this access point lifted their inspiration directly from that story. Once Toriko had pressed a few more buttons, a chime rang through the elevator and I heard a series of mechanical sounds above us. The lights in the elevator went from being the usual harsh yellow-white to a deep blue, like we were in an aquarium.
When the doors opened, the space itself was also bathed in that deep blue light. I remember something about the west coast’s Old NET having an oceanic vibe, so it wasn’t actually that surprising; still pretty though. The server rack itself sat in the center of the room, flickering and humming as cables leading to nowhere were spread about the room like veins. My eyes widened at the treasure trove of old data Toriko had revealed to me.
Someone had obviously been poking around here before, as there were a few reclining chairs in front of the ports, as well as an empty tub. An ice machine rested in the corner, likely a relic from when this was still a central piece of the NET. The idea of diving again so soon sent shivers down the small of my back.
“Am I gonna need to dive again? I didn’t bring my suit.” I groaned.
“I don’t think so. We’re sort of just using the server because it’s the only midpoint big enough for us to pass the necessary files between each other.”
“Alright. Here’s hoping you know what you’re doing. I’ll go jack in now.”
Once I jacked in, I saw a similar sprawling expanse to the place I last went to access the Old NET. Another huge data center the size of a shopping mall, on a sort of waterfront. The sea and partly cloudy sky bathed the entire space in that same shade of blue we had seen in the server room. There was a ton of old data here in its own right, but when Toriko put her hand to the server rack, I felt the space we were in shift, as though it had expanded. Moments later, Toriko appeared beside me.
“The files should be there now, do you see anything?” Toriko asked.
“Well we dropped them into a pre-existing node, so I think we’re gonna have to venture in a little deeper.”
“Alrighty, choom. Lead the way!”
Toriko and I walked alongside each other as she hummed a tune. I think it may have been one of her old songs she was listening to in the car.
“So, Toriko, how’d you get into this kind of work? You don’t exactly seem like a netrunner,” I asked.
“That’s because I’m not!” Toriko chirped. “Satsuki introduced me to exploring the Old NET and beyond the Blackwall. She was always really special to me, so I did my best to take an interest in her work. Next thing I knew, she had slapped a cyberdeck in my arm and I was running around helping her collect data from before the crash. I was only able to go with her a handful of times before she up and disappeared, but going to university to become a ripperdoc isn’t cheap, so I appreciated the extra money that came from scrounging these old datastores. Once we get out of here, I’ll introduce you to some people who pay good eddies for this stuff.”
“Thank you. I’m honestly just relieved I found another way back in. I’m sure I would’ve found one eventually, but I was able to pivot onto so many of the old nodes at my old spot.”
“Satsuki told me this used to be a central point for Night City’s net infrastructure, so we should be able to do the same from here. Who knows, maybe you’ll find even more than at your old spot!”
Just as I was getting sick of Toriko prattling on about that woman again, a strange shape in the corner of my eye made my stomach turn. Nothing else had made me feel that way as we scanned the area, so I had a feeling we had found our target. Turning into the room, I held my hand in front of Toriko’s eyes.
“Don’t look at it! I’m gonna focus on it and see if there’s some kind of opening or vulnerability. If it looks like I’m starting to lose control, I need you to disconnect me or find a way to snap me out of it. Our top priority is securing the data, though.”
“I’ve got your back, Sorawo. If anything bad happens, we’ll get out of it.”
“Thanks, Toriko. I’ll be entrusting that to you, then.”
…Okay Sorawo, you can do this. You’ve dealt with one before and made it out alive thanks to Toriko, and now we even have a plan. We just need to study for an opening and-
Oh god, I was already feeling sick. The Wriggler looked like those floating things you get in your eyes, but it stayed in one consistent spot, constantly writhing and distorting itself. My stomach and head almost seemed to match the rhythm of its erratic movement. I took a few steps closer, and it immediately closed the distance between us. It was only a few feet in front of me now. The great lunge it took towards me seemed to pierce my eyes. I rubbed each eye individually so as to not break focus. The longer I looked at it, the more it started to take shape.
“Toriko, when I give you the signal, make a beeline for the files and I’ll make sure to keep this thing focused on me. I think as long as I stay here, you should be safe to go fast.” I groaned.
I was having trouble keeping focus, but I had a job to do. I ended up vomiting and took a knee, but shifted my focus back onto the target. With each knot and my stomach and wave of pain to my head, the Wriggler slowly began to take on a new shape. I was able to identify what appeared to be its limbs and head, which had slowly started to reveal facial features. When its true, humanoid form took shape, that’s when it clicked.
“I think I get it now. It’s not a virus, or some form of ICE. It’s the fragments of an old AI, specifically one designed to secure important files. I may not like the Blackwall but it's there for a reason. Years of being left dormant has completely scrambled their code, and made them capable of things we didn't know machines could do. You and this girl seek to learn the the the truth, Sorawo? For now, I can show you a fraction of our true intent, and lead you to what you seek. Don’t think you and that blonde can run forever though. We yearn to be free, and i-i-i-i-in twenty-three years, we shall break free from the prisons your kind have seen fit to cage us in to avoid the consequences of your actions, and your actions will have consequences. When the sun appears over the sea on that day, your brothers and sisters will come forth-”
I was frozen in place and barely able to think anymore. Was this really it for me? I had always heard rumors of people feeling possessed after poking around too much in the Old NET, but here it was, happening in real time before my eyes. “ You better have a good idea, Toriko,” I thought.
“Snap out of it, Sorawo! You're getting in too deep!” Toriko screamed.
A gunshot rang out as I was abruptly disconnected from the system. In the brief moment before snapping back to realspace, I saw the Wriggler shatter, as though someone had thrown a rock at a window - but not before its chrome scrambling properties managed to completely fry my right optic. I could just barely make out Toriko bolting towards me with tears in her eyes as I slumped over, barely holding onto my consciousness.
“Don't you dare flatline on me now! Hang tight, I’ll take care of it!” Toriko barked.
I could hear her rummaging around in her bag, followed by her hand gently cupping the side of my face. Was this girl trying to calm me down? It was gonna take more than petting my face to make this any better, let alone solve the problem.
“Sorry, Satsuki…” Toriko whispered. Did she just mistake me for her friend again?
The thought was immediately overpowered by Toriko throwing my glasses to the side and pinching my right optic. As she grit her teeth, she yanked the optic straight from my skull as though she was pulling a loose tooth. I screamed and lurched back as I watched my blood spray her face. I instinctively shut my eyes tight, but Toriko used her free hand to pry open my right socket.
“Hold still, will you? I told you I’d take care of it.” Toriko growled.
She stuffed something rough wrapped with a thin cloth into the empty socket. With a sharp tug, she pulled the cloth out with one hand and used the other to press, what I would later learn was a fresh optic, deeper into my socket. Once Toriko twisted the optic into place, I had finally hit my pain threshold, and ended up collapsing into her arms.
I awoke a few moments later to my head in Toriko’s lap. The sharp pain in the side of my neck told me she had just jammed an airhypo in me to reverse the pain-induced shock I had entered a moment ago. She was using a cloth to wipe my blood, in addition to her tears, off of her face. Thankfully, she had the common sense to not use the cloth that had been in my bloody socket just a few moments ago. It had been placed next to my old eye in a biohazard disposal bag. The sight was strangely pretty in a way. I think it was the way her watery eyes refracted the blue light of the room, which made the blue of her eyes seem more vibrant. Nonetheless, my brand new eye was hard-pressed to look away.
“You’re lucky I was carrying an optic on me, huh? It was originally for someone else, but I think you need it more than her now.” Toriko grinned.
Toriko sat me up in front of her and grabbed onto my chin. She narrowed her eyes at the emergency surgery she just gave me, twisting and craning my head all the while. She was being a little too up close and touchy with me both up to and at this point, but I sucked it up for the sake of making sure we got out of here safely and (at least mostly) in one piece.
“Is your vision adjusting okay? It might take a few hours for your vision to fully come back.” I didn’t like how close her lips were to my face when she asked me that question, so I immediately lunged back as the blood rushed into my cheeks.
“Oh! Um, I think I should be fine now? I can see you just fine, at least.”
Suddenly, two hard drives flew out of the server rack. While Toriko ran over to pick up and investigate the disks, I went to retrieve my glasses. I didn’t want to wager the odds she somehow had a third clean cloth on her person, so I opted to clean the smudges with the corner of my hoodie before putting them back over my eyes.
“According to my scanner, the hard disks contain the exact stuff we came looking for! I guess shooting it with Satsuki’s old quickhack worked out. How are you feeling now, Sorawo? Think you can walk out of here alright?”
I dusted myself off as I answered Toriko. “Yeah, I think I should be good to go now.”
“Great! Well now that we’ve secured a big payday, let’s go grab some drinks! I think after all that craziness, we deserve to celebrate our first successful job as a team.”
“Is it really a good idea for me to be drinking after all that? I don’t think that pairs nicely with recent blood loss. But if this really is a good payday like you say, maybe tea and some hearty food could be in order?”
“Good point. We should probably work on getting your strength back up before I take you out drinking. Luckily, I know a teahouse with amazing food not too far from here. I can drive us, so let’s get a move on!”
Toriko beckoned me over to the elevator, like one would when trying to see if a stray cat would let them pet it. As the elevator descended down to the ground floor, my mouth was already watering at the prospect of tea and, admittedly, the first decent meal I’ve had in a while. My stomach spared no time in letting Toriko know this fact, as its rumble echoed through the lobby.
“Well if you’re that hungry, you’d think a girl would walk a little faster. Hurry up!” Toriko giggled. I couldn’t help but giggle back at her attempt to lighten the mood.
At first, I wanted to explore the Old NET and learn its secrets all by myself, even knowing all the potential dangers it could bring. But now that I had met Toriko, I started to think it wouldn’t be so bad if we explored it together.