Chapter Text
" This is for Pablo!" One of the Valentinos shouts, striding forward with the rest following close behind, his pistol held tight, the barrel pointed at V. " ¡Muere!"
There's just enough time for V to figure out how to use his new and improved appendages for the first time. Activating the Mantis Blades is a surreal experience for V; it's an experience he can't compare to anything else. His arms open up and unfold, the jagged blades suspended off his forearms locking into place. It makes the chrome of his arms look gouged out and bare, exposed hardware and synth veins meshing together to form what used to be his flesh. A bright red warning paints across his vision, accompanied by a harsh beep. 'Warning: Your Raven Cyberdeck has been exposed to foreign malware. Attempting to remove [Hd@!!hi35oth?TYhfe7] will cause a system reboot. Proceed?'
V disregards the message without reading it, focusing all his attention on the fight that's seconds from starting. Everyone makes mistakes.
" Time to see what the hype's all about," V says to himself, lunging forward with the unfamiliar power produced by his new ankles. They send him flying into the Valentino at the front, knocking them both to the ground in a violent clash of metal and flesh. V blindly stabs his hand down, sinking a mantis blade deep into the gangoon's bowels until it scrapes against the pavement, the serrated edges catching on the man's guts.
Dum Dum's already engaging with the other four while V stumbles to his feet, eager to warm his own pistol. One of the unfortunate gangers has already had his brain blown out onto the wall, a mess of bloody viscera dripping down the polished glass.
" C'mon, putos! Is that all you've got?" Another Valentino spits. His heart is racing with adrenaline and fear as he holds up his assault rifle, only to have his head cleaved clean from his shoulders by V, sending it to the ground with a wet smack. The Valentino's eyes are forever stuck, staring out at the wet concrete street of Night City, just another body to fuel the machine.
The last two had the misfortune to bring knives to a gun fight. Both have their heads blown off in a show of terrifying accuracy, spurts of blood, spinal fluid, and liquified gray matter painting the sidewalk a dark red mess.
" So much for vengeance. Got zeroed like pathetic lil' meatbags." Dum Dum laughs, kicking the stomach of the first one V had mauled, his boot digging into the man's ribcage.
To V and Dum Dum's surprise, the gangoon starts to cough violently, rolling over onto his side as he clutches at his bloody abdomen, trying in vain to protect himself from more harm. " Huuuhk-" The man's breath is wet and ragged as he spits out a glob of blood and phlegm, his eyes squeezed shut to try and manage the pain.
V scans the Valentino over, taking in his deets. " Domingo Ortega." He mutters aloud to Dum Dum. " Whaddaya wanna do with him?" V asks.
" We'll take 'im to the Scavs. They'll pay good fuckin' eddies for a meatbag like this. Zetatech framing made from Zirconium and Tungsten, Kiroshi optics equipped with a preem night vision targeting scope, and a high-shelf chrome compress'... Fuck, we'll be rollin' s'long as he doesn't flatline on the way." Dum Dum explains while picking up the new 'talent' and shoving him into the trunk of V's car. " The big Scav op's down in Arroyo, but they've got smaller deals goin' on in Kabuki. Makes good scratch anyways, so shit, who cares what size it is. Let's delta."
The abandoned apartment complex they end up at is drab and depressing, devoid of any NC charm as it towers over them. All the windows are boarded up, and the neon lights that would have once made it welcoming are all out. " Can't imagine they make preem BDs in a place like this." V thinks out loud.
" The magic happens on the inside, choom. Don't be such a fuckin' skep." Dum Dum says, pushing open the front door like he owns the place.
V's caught defenseless with Domingo in his arms, a dozen guns pointed at them from every direction. Looks like they weren't expecting company. " Maelstrom? You weren't supposed to deliver until Saturday." One of them says.
" Complaining about extra product?" Dum Dum asks, his gun pointed between the Scav's legs. He's still itching for another fight, and the Scavs almost always forgive and forget when eddies are involved.
This Scav's all bark, no bite, and he knows it. Maelstrom is worth too much cash to start a fight with, and his pride isn't worth a loss in profit. Not during a dry season like this. " Fine... Fine. Hand it over."
V throws Domingo at the Scav, forcing him to drop his gun to catch the Valentino. " Сука!" The Scav grunts, trying to keep his grip on the blood-soaked ganger. " Go find, Aleksandrov. Lower levels."
Dum Dum waves V over to the staircase, his optics shining through the darkness pervading the complex. " Check out the lay of this joint. Fuckin' sick. I'll meet ya' after I get our eddies."
The basement is illuminated by fluorescent lamps and neon blue LEDs, a stark contrast to the building's dead shell. " Another one of you, huh?" A Scav comments as V walks by. He's dressed in bloodied scrubs that look black in the light, his accent thick but indiscernible through the thick gas mask strapped to his face. It's the first time V's been in a Scav den where he wasn't expected to shoot them all dead, and it leaves him on edge despite knowing nothing will happen.
Domingo's already been hooked up to a chair, and the Scav beckons him closer. " Want in on a show? It's on the house, y'know, since you brought him in." He offers.
" Sure," V agrees, sitting down next to the ripper chair. " So how's it work?
The Scav holds an innocuous shard up to the nearest light, giving V a look before he chips Domingo in. " Hooks 'em straight in. It's just a raw braindance, nothing innovative. No. The real thing's terror. Pleasure's been burned out of most people's minds; only so many holes to plug. It has become another mindless fix." He runs a diagnostic on Domingo while V listens. " Terror is what the average city scum lacks. Wasting away at a corpo job while their life goes down the drain... they want to feel alive, even if what they're actually feeling is death."
Well, isn't that surprisingly deep for a Scav ripperdoc? " Wake him." The Scav tells him.
V huffs, but keeps his comments to himself, leaning over to slap Domingo across the face so hard his neck cracks. " Good enough?"
The Scav's eyes peer at him from behind his goggles. " You metalheads are all show-offs." After a moment of silence, Domingo starts to wake up, and the Scav reaches over to grab a scalpel. " But yes. Good enough, прия́тель"
" Mmph... What's... What's goin' on?" Domingo slurs, his eyes gradually focusing on the scalpel nearing his restrained arms.
" It's nothing personal." The Scav mocks, sliding the blade beneath the Valentino's skin, splitting it open as he drags the scalpel upwards 'til the metal of his cyberware is revealed. " Not bad... Zetatech. The entire internal frame of this one's arms is some sort of proto-tech. Lucky. For us, anyway."
V watches as Domingo tenses and squirms, eventually biting through his lip to keep from screaming as the Scav strips his skin off in pieces, pulling at it with forceps while simultaneously slicing it from the muscle to reveal the chrome he wants. " What's this for?" V asks, poking at an LED light previously buried underneath muscle and fat.
" ... No idea. There's no use for diodes in internal cyberware." The Scav digs the sharp tips of his ripper glove inside to rip it out, tearing at the flesh as Domingo's senses become increasingly numb, his eyes slipping shut at irregular intervals while his breathing slows. The Scav reveals a chrome compressor. " This fucker is a mess. A compressor in the forearm? This should be lodged in his stupid skull." The Scav complains, hitting Domingo on the side of the head with a harsh thunk.
He continues to mutter under his breath as V keeps an eye on Domingo. The Valentino is rapidly declining, his body seizing violently at random moments, straining against the straps that dig into his wrists until eventually his bones give away and snap. Pain doesn't seem to register to him anymore, and V's breath stops in anticipation. He can't imagine what he's feeling. To be in such agony that all human instincts leave the body and mind. Domingo's shutting down in front of them, and all V can think about is replicating that feeling. Is this what Maelstrom means when they say they aim to strip away their own humanity? Is this his new nirvana? V stands up, muttering a silent thanks to the Scav as he goes to find Dum Dum, his mind tangled up in a knot he's not sure he can untie by himself.
After asking a nearby gangoon, V figures out that his companion is already outside. He's hesitant to call the borg his friend, even though he feels something strong growing between them, and he's even more reluctant to call him anything more. Trust no one, that's how it always starts. It's hard to hold onto that distrust after a while though, and V'd done the same with Jackie.
" Dig it?" Dum Dum asks, handing him a loaded chop while slinging his arm around V's shoulder, the sudden heat causing the ex-merc to swallow hard. " Cause ya' look pretty hot and bothered, choom. Fight still got your blood boiling or did those Scav's show ya' somethin' ya' liked?"
" Could fix that, y'know." Dum Dum suggests, sliding his other hand down to cup V's crotch, squeezing his bulge until V has to hold back a moan.
" Yeah?" V shoots back, his voice dropping to a raspy drawl. He needs to be inside Dum Dum. Or have him inside. Scratch that, anything. " I'm not the one with his hand on a cock. Seems like you're hot and bothered."
" Heh-" Dum Dum snorts, pointing past V to his car before he squeezes V's shoulder, the warmth spreading from V's face down to his groin. " Then I suggest we do somethin' 'bout all this bullshit."
They both clamber into the back of the car in a frenzy after that, pushing aside whatever junk V had left in the seat to the floor to make room. " Been thinking 'bout this since Totentanz. Couldn't get your cock outta my head." Dum Dum says, lifting his hips up to unbuckle his belt, roughly forcing his pants down to his ankles before he strips them off with his boots.
" My cock? All 'ganic and boring?" V taunts, completely unsuprised at Dum Dum's lack of underwear. He takes a moment to get his clothes off too, pulling his shirt over his head, the fabric clinging to his optics until he has to yank it free.
They're both naked in the back of V's car, blood pumping down south as the heat between them gets to a potent level. There's only one way things can go, and it's exactly what they've been wanting. Neither is sure who moves first, but they meet somewhere in the middle, their bodies tangling together until it's hard to tell which limbs belong to whom. Lips, arms, legs, cocks. Everything is ground together, a violent passion driving them past any and all inhibitions.
One of V's hands grabs at Dum Dum's metal dreads, pulling their faces closer so that he can press their lips together. V wants it to hurt, he wants so desperately for it to fucking hurt, but all he gets is a warm tingling that leaves him feeling empty, his pain editors holding him back.
" Wait-" V pants, pulling away much to Dum Dum's dissatisfaction. V fumbles with the cyberware lodged in his skin, finding the pain editor and shutting it off.
The pain hits him hard and fast, forcing V to catch himself, almost overloading his cyberdeck to a lethal point. V gags, fighting to keep down puke as nausea spreads through his head like a disease, an uneasy knot forming in his gut where the pleasure still lingers. He can feel his brain pulsating with every heartbeat, the thin lines spread across his body where he's been stitched back together, every individual optic nerve that's been soldered to a heavy chrome optic. Each feeling is its own agony, but he feels them all at once, overwhelming him until-
" V-" Dum Dum grunts, his tone serious as he shoves an inhaler against V's chest, holding it there until V takes it from him. " 'Dorph, nothin' special."
V nods, swallowing a groan as he parts his lips to take a whiff. It doesn't hit like lace, but it takes the edge off, makes the pain bearable, enjoyable even. " Mmm... thanks," V says, forcing out a pained breath as he leans back in to capture Dum Dum's lips in another kiss. This time, he can feel it, the ache as their lips press together too harshly, bruising the delicate flesh. The pain makes him feel so fucking alive. He wants everything, pushing himself against Dum Dum until he can feel his muscles moving with not just his hands, but his whole body.
An extreme, but momentary, flash of pain jolts through V's optics as his vision blurs out of focus, unable to close his eyes like he should to block out the extra sensations. He groans into Dum Dum's mouth, slamming the borg's head into the window with a violent crack that only ends up exciting them more.
V's hands leave Dum Dum's skull, the smooth chrome on his palms squeezing every inch of Dum Dum's body as they travel down. Dum Dum takes it further, his fingers digging into the flesh of V's ass until he's sure V can feel the pressure. " It'd almost be a shame to get rid of this 'ganic meat." He mutters to V, his lips curled into a grin, kneading V's ass while he gets in his quips.
" Mhm... yeah, keep talking, chrome cock." V mutters, slowly growing impatient as Dum Dum teasingly prolongs the foreplay.
The synth-leather is devoid of sweat since neither of them has any organic skin left to produce it, making Dum Dum's back and thighs chafe against the seat while V climbs into his lap. " Shit... look at you." Dum Dum smirks, gripping V's hips and bringing him forward so that their cocks rub against one another.
V feels lightheaded, his body firmly settled onto Dum Dum's muscular thighs, the head of his cock dripping precum onto one of Dum Dum's implants. " Get to it." V hisses, watching the Maelstrommer tilt his head down, the only indication of where he's looking.
" Aw shit, someone's impatient." Dum Dum snickers, lifting V up while V works with him to guide himself down onto Dum Dum's cock. The hard metal of a Prince Albert piercing is the first thing to make contact, rubbing against V's anus before the head pushes in, making them groan in unison.
At first, V thinks he's got a ladder piercing, then he realizes it's an implant, the solid titanium piece's slotted on the underside of Dum Dum's shaft along with two abrasive nodules on the base. It drags along V's inner walls, making him cringe from the sting, blood welling up to wet Dum Dum's cock, the fake skin gleaming now that it's soaked with blood. " Dig the chrome? Bet ya' don' wanna go back to no 'ganic after this." Dum Dum pants out, his voice slurring slightly while he bounces V on his cock as fast and hard as his arms can handle.
The 'dorph makes everything ten times more intense, every harsh thrust from Dum Dum making his vision blur and glitch, the interior of his car blending until all he can make out is the vibrant red cast from their LEDs. V's lips are parted, a strand of spit dripping down between them, wetting Dum Dum's thigh in an obscene display. V can barely think through the pleasure and pain, thoughts coming and going too quick to comprehend as the hands on his hips hoist him up and down the thick, modified shaft, gaping him open. His own hands dig into Dum Dum's back, his right forearm bearing down on the borg's external veins, the hard plastic making it an awkward angle for V to hold onto.
V leans in again, capturing Dum Dum's lips in yet another violent kiss that leaves him dazed and desperate, his chest heaving as he tries to hold onto the ecstasy for as long as possible. Dum Dum's pace increases, his cock plunging deeper into V's ass, the metallic tone to his voice becoming a deafening, grating sound in the small space. " Close-" He hisses, teeth bared in a snarl, his jaw clenched as his hips begin to stutter.
He doesn't pull out, doesn't even offer to, but V can't find it in him to care. Dum Dum has obviously kept some vestige of his testicles because V feels something dripping out of his asshole and onto the cock still buried inside of him. The desire and arousal within V start to take over, and he needs his own release now.
" Aw fuck..." V pants, reaching down to stroke his leaking erection. Dum Dum's too out of it to watch, his head slumped against the back of the seat, his hands still loosely palming V's sides. The ex-merc rocks himself on Dum Dum's cock, his hand moving furiously over his shaft while he gets closer and closer. He can barely hold himself up, his thighs and ass burning while the pain creeps up on him again. " You're so stupidly hot-" V spits, unaware of what he's saying.
His orgasm crashes into him before he can feel it coming on, V's optics glitching out, an acidic, circed-out mess melting down his vision while his body gives out, collapsing onto Dum Dum's sturdy form. After a minute, the implant still inside of him begins to feel painful, the sharp metal edges digging into his soft tissue, causing him to lift himself off, the moment over, but well worth it.
" We sure crossed that off the fuckin' list." V murmurs, sitting beside Dum Dum, an ache shooting through his ass. He could reactivate his pain editor, get rid of the agony that'll soon be going through him, but he'll hold off on it for a few hours.
" Uh-huh." Dum Dum agrees mindlessly, hitting the dorph inhaler until his lungs fill. " Wouldn't mind-" He coughs slightly, blowing out a cloud of thick smoke that obscures his features, taking a moment to shake his shoulders out as he sits up. " Wouldn't mind doin' that again."
V laughs slightly, his hands still twitching from short-circ'ing, the cyberware malfunction still fresh. " Anytime, choom." Especially if it makes him feel this alive every time.
" Like the sound o' that." Dum Dum grins, pulling his pants back on while climbing into the front seat. " I'll drive us back, ya' look a lil'... gonked out."
V's got no complaints.