"Lei?"
Nana called out to the eerie figure standing in the darkness. The drifter didn't so much as twitch. No hitch in breath, no heartbeat, no swirling thoughts…nothing. Only a blank gaze remained. No expression. Her empty eyes seemed to be glazed over. Only the deep pulse of red within her pupils showed activity.
"............"
VRMMM
The beam saber ignited. As if the terrible sound meant the end of all things, reality turned red. Tiny embers of data flickered throughout the surroundings. Almost like burning shards of glass.
Emi and Nana prepared for battle. Their hands went to their blades. This time…it didn't feel like Lei would hold back. Both twins could instinctively feel it. Lei wasn't acting normal. She was scary.
"Lei…do you recognize me?" Emi asked softly.
"Inquiry received. E-e-e-e-e-e-e…Pending…#@%$..." A glitching robotic voice answered.
Beneath the breather, Lei's lips hadn't moved at all. Johnny Silverhand, who was watching from the side, slumped to the ground with his back against the wall. Sunglasses covered his eyes as he looked to the ground. A cigarette lit up in his hand.
'...Damn it all.' His voice sounded sad.
Nana understood what he meant. He only cursed, but the meaning was clear. She didn't think any further than that. She couldn't bear it. If they survived this encounter, what then? How would Emi handle the truth?
The braided twin couldn't help but frown. What the hell? That didn't sound like Lei at all. It sounded like a malfunctioning robot or program. An error in the code. It sounded like…AI.
"Target location confirmed." Loralei stated.
Suddenly, the drifter's body dispersed into data fragments. All of the red particles zoomed toward the ceiling, passing directly through the material and reaching the ground above. Lei's figure materialized on the surface outside.
Time slowed down and she accelerated. Her body disappeared. Only pressurized rings of air were left as evidence. Her destination? The Black Sapphire.
Back in the underground bunker, Nana and Emi stared at the ceiling. Both of them stood in shock. They'd never seen such a strange thing before. Where the hell did Loralei go?
"We need to find her." Emi spoke with determination.
"............" Nana didn't know what to say.
It felt as if a rock was stuck in her throat. Only nodding in response, she rushed out of the bunker with her sister. What direction to go? Shit. Senpai was too fast. Nana didn't know how to break the news to Emi. Her eyes watered up.
'Before the illness flared up, she was looking for a woman named Songbird. Heard of her?' Johnny spoke up.
An image popped up in Nana's HUD. Nana's eyes widened with recognition. As someone who'd cut a deal with Kurt Hansen, she knew of the woman who'd been standing by his side.
"I know where she's going."She said. Emi prepared to take off.
"Where?"
"There's a gathering tonight at the Black Sapphire. Lei's target is there."
Immediately, the two exploded into a force of motion. The surroundings grew windy as Nana and Lei accelerated with their airburst heels. Every step sent them multiple city blocks away. They were incredibly fast, specialized to match Loralei's speed.
As they grew closer to the tallest building in Dogtown…they saw it. A red glow was pulsing out of the building. It was as if hell's gate was hidden within its walls.
—
Before Lei had entered the building, she stood on the side of the skyscraper. A glowing white humanoid figure had appeared beside her. Floating in the air.
'Fascinating. You've reached it.' A feminine voice resounded.
'Alt.' Lei answered.
'Even now, you struggle. I find it nonsensical. You are only putting a pause on the inevitable. 99.7 percent of your body has digitized. Only 0.3 percent of you remains. Why do you fight it?'
'................'
'Your mind can now handle the data strain of our communication. Have you decided to join me?'
'Demand: Prepare a space shuttle for launch.' The drifter ignored Alt's question.
'We could discover the very structure of Night City's core. We could fix the world. Together we could-'
'Proceed as demanded.' Lei interrupted.
There was a moment of silence that could be perceived as disappointment. Alt's shining figure vibrated slightly. The data silhouette glitched before returning to normal.
'Proceeding. Shuttle is being outfitted. All resources loading. Craft will be launching in approximately…1 hour and 15 minutes.' Alt said.
Without a shred of acknowledgement, Loralei disappeared. A red light entered the building. In the main plaza of the Black Sapphire, more than 3,200 hundred people were socializing.
Actors, Net Celebrities, Musicians, Artists, Politicians, NC Government officials, Joytoy escorts, and more. The Barghest military were stationed around the perimeter and exits.
Kurt Hansen could be seen on the third floor of the plaza. Sitting on the balcony, he discussed arms deals with corrupt officials. He was a muscular white man with a large stature. His clothes resembled a military general in casual wear. Nothing was left to the imagination due to his buzzcut.
While discussing deals that would improve his position in the world, his gaze constantly fell down to the second floor. A Korean woman was standing on the terrace. Her expression was one of melancholy. She watched the events happening below on the ballroom floor.
It was like an adult casino. Multiple tables of Blackjack, Poker, Roulette, and Baccarat were all over the place. Not to mention the bars. Supermodels were walking on stage, showing off their outfits.
"I've been looking all over for you. Now I finally find you just to see you sipping wine at a party?" A deep and rigid voice sounded. Songbird turned to the voice.
A tall African American man dressed in a suit and tie. His eyes portrayed the experience of a veteran soldier. His gaze was stern. The Korean woman faltered upon seeing his face.
"Reed."
"So Mi."
"You shouldn't be here."
"Come back with us."
"Did Myers send you to 'save' me?" So Mi mocked.
She hated Myers. The President treated her like a personal AI. Stuck in a glorified cage, forced to Netrun across the most dangerous places…all due to one woman's greed. The Blackwall was one of those places.
"You don't want to stay with Hansen. He will throw you away once he's made use of you."
"Like you won't do the same?" Songbird snarled.
Solomon Reed couldn't help but sigh. His hand wiped his face in exhaustion. He seemed to be struggling mentally. Even then…the man was still dogmatic.
"I forgive you for all your mistakes in the past. Just leave this place with me, So Mi. Come home."
"Even if I wanted to leave, I can't. It's impossible. Kurt won't let me escape his line of sight."
"I'll handle it. Don't worry about such things."
Reed grabbed So Mi's hand, ready to pull her along. Her eyes flashed with Blackwall energy. Debating on whether to deal with this man or not…she paused. Damn this whole situation! She just wanted to be free from her cage…she wanted to disconnect from the Blackwall. She needed to get to the moon.
"Is there a problem here?" A calm but dangerous voice sounded behind them.
They both turn to see Kurt towering above them. His arm wrapped around Songbird's shoulder, pulling her close. Kurt had a use for her. She wasn't going anywhere.
"Kurt Hansen. A pleasure." Reed said. The leader of Barghest smiled.
"I disagree. Be grateful that you're still alive and standing here due to my orders."
The two men shook hands. It was cordial, but the tension was high. Kurt looked around the terrace.
"Where's your other player?"
".........." Reed was silent.
"Ah, there she is!"
Kurt had spotted her. A woman of Greek origin was sitting with one of the politicians further out. She pretended to be invested in the conversation, but her gaze kept flicking over to Reed.
"You're too perceptive." Reed finally said with a sigh.
"Two of Myers' dogs snuck into my party. Get the FUCK out while I'm still being nice." Kurt growled.
A squad of soldiers surrounded the two operatives, ready to escort them out or shoot them dead. Either was fine. They would prefer to shoot. Their fingers itched. That was how the Barghest did things.
"Alright. Alright. We'll go." Reed gave Songbird a deep stare. "So Mi." Only then did he walk out. The other spy was pulled along with him.
It was at this moment that the entire plaza went dark. Every single light shut off with the sound of lost power. Assuming it was on purpose, many of the drunk party goers didn't falter.
Only the higher ups knew something was wrong. Kurt immediately growled in So Mi's ear. Still angry from meeting Reed, he spoke.
"Fix this. Now." He said before walking back up to the third floor.
"I'm on it."
The Colonel stood over the balcony once more, silently calling for his own troops. His gaze bored down onto the Korean woman. So Mi worked quickly, trying to regain control of the power system.
'Someone has infiltrated the system. It's too hard to crack, almost as if a powerful AI is on the other side. I can't match its processing speed!' She thought.
Time froze at this moment. Reality turned red. The Black Sapphire had suddenly entered hell. Loralei appeared beside Songbird with a quiet rustle of her cloak. Her beam saber was already ignited, held in a backhand grip. Time finally resumed.
VRRMMMM
The sound of her beam saber washed through the entire plaza. As if the tension had reached its boiling point, the atmosphere exploded with noise. Every single person on the first floor dropped to the ground while split in two. Civilians and soldiers alike. There was no blood, only cauterized wounds.
Songbird finally caught up to the speed of everything. It was as if the world had cracked open. A shiver went down her spine upon seeing the instant carnage below. She knew what that was. Drifter. She'd seen through the merc's very eyes to know what her victims looked like. Drifter was here.
"Songbird…Will you help me?"
An emotionless but quiet voice sounded beside her. So Mi's heart rate increased. Lei's voice sounded ominous. Much weirder. Turning to the source, what she saw made her skin crawl.
The drifter wasn't even looking at her. Her blank gaze was staring off into the distance, almost as if she was blind. Her eyes were pulsing red. Tears were streaming down Lei's face despite the lack of expression.
So Mi didn't know Lei was fighting herself…but from her own experience with the Blackwall…she knew something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Drifter…"
"So Mi…will you help me?" The emotionless voice sounded again.
As everyone caught up to reality, pandemonium ensued. The surviving citizens on the second and third floor rushed to escape the plaza. Screams drowned out any other sound. The building started to rumble. It was collapsing. Lei had cut right through the support structures.
Kurt immediately turned to the second floor, finding a dangerous figure standing beside Songbird. Reed had also turned around. He hadn't left the terrace yet. His gaze locked onto the drifter.
So Mi quickly glanced at both men. Then her gaze went back to Lei. Two men…two cages. Lei though…there was a chance. A chance to be free. She'd made her decision. Grabbing the eerie girl's hand, Songbird spoke.
"We can help each other."
They ran off into the darkness. Destination unknown. Kurt immediately grew furious. Reed and Alex, his partner, immediately gave chase.
"STOP THEM!" Kurt roared through the comms.