The melody of "Never Fade Away" only lasted a short while, but Kerry's eyes had already widened to the point where it wouldn't have been surprising if they popped out of their sockets.
"This…"
Kerry looked at the dog that had just finished playing the guitar, then turned to Karl. "This… this…"
He took a deep breath for several seconds, then exhaled deeply, as if trying to calm himself down.
After a few moments of heavy breathing, Kerry's thundering heart seemed to settle. Suddenly, he reached out and gave Karl a strong hug.
"Thank you, Karl. Thank you, all of you."
Karl was still trying to figure out why Kerry was thanking him when Kerry let go and turned to the dog with delight in his eyes. "You guys actually managed to upload Johnny's playing into a dog, and you even brought him here as a surprise for me—seriously, thank you so much!"
…Huh?
Watching Kerry rush to pick up the dazed dog, cradling it and examining it like it was some precious treasure, Karl paused in confusion—then realized what was happening.
Wait… did Kerry misunderstand something?
Karl quickly recalled what he'd said earlier.
"My dog can't play the guitar—but Johnny Silverhand can."
Could that also be interpreted to mean: "I installed Johnny Silverhand's old performance program into the dog so it can play his music note for note"?
That… kinda tracks, doesn't it?
Watching Johnny Silverhand's utterly baffled dog face in Kerry's arms, Karl was left speechless for a moment.
Then again, it made sense.
After finding out your best friend has been dead for over half a century, then one day a buddy mysteriously shows up with a dog that can play your friend's exact melody—of course you'd think it was some big surprise. No one would guess their friend had been reborn as a dog.
Even if you believed in resurrection, people still held fixed ideas: a person should come back as a person. What kind of joke is it if your friend comes back as a dog?
A dog? As your resurrected best friend?
Karl thought to himself: Even if I believed in coming back to life, I sure as hell wouldn't believe my friend came back as a dog.
You joke about this kind of thing with your bros, sure. But when it actually happens? Who would believe it?
And yet, this absurd situation was playing out in real life.
Karl stared at the dog in Kerry's arms. Johnny's face had gone from mild confusion to full-on existential horror, slowly twisting with the realization of his situation.
Now that he thought about it…
Wasn't Johnny's current situation the definition of social death?
He'd been reborn as a dog, and now he'd just played a tune in front of his old friend—who hadn't even recognized him. Just thought he was a cool surprise.
How could anyone live with that?
If Karl had been reborn as a dog, and V, Jackie, Oliver, and T-Bug were all passing him around like a plushie, he'd probably have dug a hole and buried himself.
Come to think of it, was Johnny's system about to overheat and crash?
Was shame really powerful enough to cause that kind of breakdown? …Maybe?
Watching the system monitor flood with alerts, Karl had to admit: Johnny Silverhand's pride might be stronger than he gave him credit for.
Realizing this could go badly if he didn't intervene, Karl quickly disabled the speech suppression on Johnny's muzzle.
The very instant he did, Johnny's projection popped up next to Kerry and exploded:
"Kerry, listen the fuck up! I swear to God, if you cradle me like a plushie again, I'll beat your whiny ass into the floor! Don't think I won't!"
"Ah?!"
Startled by the sudden projection, Kerry instinctively let go. The dog immediately jumped to the ground in relief, while the projected Johnny kept raging:
"Kerry! I thought after fifty damn years you might've grown a brain! I play one of my most iconic riffs and you think it's a surprise gift?! Surprise your ass! What is your brain stuck in the '20s?!"
"Ah…"
Kerry, hit with two rounds of full-blown yelling, was completely dumbfounded. Hearing that unmistakable voice, and seeing the projection right in front of him, he blinked, then looked at the dog and back at the hologram in disbelief:
"Johnny?!"
"Damn right it's me—Johnny fucking Silverhand! What, fifty years pass and you can't even recognize an old friend anymore?"
"No… That can't be…"
Kerry looked between the dog and the projection again, still in disbelief. "Johnny should've been…"
"Kerry! I'm back from the fucking dead! And stop looking at me like that, like some sappy little shit! Fifty years and you're still the same weak-ass punk!"
"This…"
It wasn't just Kerry who was struggling to process it—Brown was also stunned.
He looked at the projection of Johnny Silverhand, then turned to Karl and the others, pointing at the dog. "Is this…?"
"Johnny Silverhand," Oliver said. "Never seen him like this, huh?"
"Well, I've never seen Johnny Silverdog… But are you saying this really is—"
"Same name, same asshole attitude—Johnny Silverhand, the dog version."
Hearing Karl say it so plainly, even Brown—who was normally level-headed—scratched his head. "Am I dreaming or something? This is insane. The legendary Johnny Silverhand shows up, and he's a damn dog."
"It's alright. Everyone reacts this way at first," V said, offering a sympathetic pat as Karl stepped forward to explain things to Kerry.
After Karl's concise summary, Kerry finally seemed to understand.
"So what you're saying…"
He looked at the projection of Johnny, arms crossed. "This really is Johnny—but his consciousness is inside the dog?"
"Basically, yeah. Think of it however you want—but this is definitely the Johnny you knew."
Karl shrugged. "That foul mouth of his? You won't find another dog like that."
"Kid, I swear, if you call me a dog one more time, I'll—"
And just like that, the muzzle filter came back online. Johnny was silenced mid-rant.
"Whoa."
Watching Johnny struggle to claw the virtual muzzle off his mouth like some cursed game character, Kerry let out a low whistle. "Damn, Johnny. Long time no see—and you've really upped your game, huh?"
After the joke, Kerry turned to Karl.
"Alright, Karl. Don't worry about it. That's just how he is. Let me talk to him for a bit. After all…"
Kerry grinned like he was about to enjoy a show. "Johnny's got a lot of old friends around these days—and I think everyone wants to see Johnny Silverdog."
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🔥🦾 CYBERPUNK: THE RELENTLESS 🦾🔥
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