The chimes over Misty's Esoterica jingled gently as V and Jackie stepped inside.
The warm scent of incense and oils clashed against the tension hanging in the air.
Misty was pacing behind the counter, juggling burning sage, a half-packed satchel, and her data pad.
"Oh, damn—Jackie! Sorry, dear, I completely forgot to call you."
She spun around like a whirlwind, eyes wide with worry.
"It's chaos today. Vik had to cancel all appointments — emergency treatment."
Jackie straightened, the easy calm in his posture evaporating.
"Emergency? Vik doesn't cancel. What happened?"
Misty hesitated, eyes darting, then lowered her voice.
"You remember Emilia? From Arasaka counter-intel?"
Jackie's face twitched.
Alright "The sharp one. Soft voice. Friend of Judy?"
Misty nodded solemnly.
"Her division got gutted. Abernathy made a power play — pulled her from the list, disabled her chrome manually and left her bleeding out inside Lizzie's. She's barely holding on."
V frowned.
"I know Emilia. She used to come here for chakra cleanings. Soft soul, sad eyes."
Jackie looked stunned.
"A corpo hit… inside Lizzie's? That's..."
"I want to help," V said firmly, already stepping toward the door. "I'm also a ripperdoc — specialized in chrome systems, combat installs, and emergency stabilization. Might not have Vik's years, but two docs are better than one. I can help."
Jackie stared at him, then nodded once, jaw clenched.
"Then let's not waste time."
They moved fast — just across the alley to the old clinic. Vik's shop was tucked under ground level, its battered neon barely visible in the daylight.
But at the top of the concrete stairs, just outside the door… stood Judy Alvarez.
She was shaking, arms wrapped around herself, her usual composed look shattered.
She didn't speak as they approached. Just turned slightly, eyes glassy.
As V and Jackie crossed the street from Esoterica, they spotted her.
Judy stood at the top of the stairs outside Viktor's underground clinic, arms wrapped tight around herself, legs jittering in place. Her eyes were red — from crying, or fury, or both.
"Something's wrong," V muttered.
Jackie's hand instinctively hovered near his shotgun.
As they approached, Judy saw them and stepped in front of the clinic door.
"You can't go in," she snapped. "She's in critical condition, Vik's—"
"Judy," Misty cut in gently, catching up behind them. "This is V. He's... not just a merc."
V held his hands up, slow and calm.
"I'm also a ripperdoc," V repeated calmly. "Engineering background. Chrome compatibility, diagnostics, damage control — I've handled my share of emergencies. Let me try."
Judy stared at him, unreadable.
"Jackie?" she asked, suspicious.
"That's me," Jackie said, offering a short nod. "My girl says V's solid."
"I've heard about you. Misty talks."
That softened Judy — barely.
"Okay. You get five minutes."
She stepped aside. Misty gave V a reassuring squeeze on the arm.
"Go. I'll stay out here with them."
Jackie nodded.
"Keep her calm," he said, meaning both women.
🩸 Viktor's Clinic – Crash Intervention
Inside, Viktor was elbow-deep in red — blood, coolant, maybe both. His gloves glistened, his jaw clenched in total focus.
The woman on the table was a mess of torn flesh and glossy black chrome. It had clearly been elite — preem, high-end Arasaka gear — but it was offline. Worse than dead. It was fighting her.
V didn't need to scan. He felt it.
"What's the situation?" he asked, pulling his coat off.
Viktor barely glanced up.
"You the ripper, huh?"
"Sort of. Engineering-side. You hold the bleeding. I'll check the firmware."
Misty was already helping, cleaning clamps and setting out tools.
"She's dying," Vik said. "Katana strike severed her lateral spine, cut into a subdermal cooling node. Chrome's offline, but still cycling toxins back into her system. It's causing systemic septic shock."
V scanned the chrome through his Kiroshi. Confirmed everything Vik said — and more.
"That's Arasaka-grade," he muttered. "Mid-level access model. Best hardware... but firmware locked to her division level."
"So?"
"So they never gave her root access. Every time she got promoted, they just unlocked the next tier remotely. Kept her out of the operating system."
V leaned over the medbed, eyes flicking.
"But now it's sealed — deliberately. Locked when they purged her. And her chrome's trying to run with corrupted routines."
"Can't remove it. Not fast enough."
"Not gonna try."
🧠 The Hack of a Lifetime
V's fingers moved without thinking, peeling open one of the access ports on her ribline.
"Bleeding's yours, Vik," he said sharply. "I'm gonna try to hard-boot the chrome — override the lockdown and bring her systems back online before her nervous system hits terminal feedback."
"You're gonna what?"
But Viktor didn't stop — just shifted, clamping another artery while V's neural link connected.
Inside Emilia's chrome core, firewalls bloomed like razor-wire. He bypassed the ICE — child's play with his modded firmware — and rerouted the check-in device to local host, cutting off any corporate call-back attempts.
He locked out Arasaka's override relay entirely, then engaged the chrome's emergency demo mode — the same test firmware used for trade shows and boardroom presentations.
"Welcome, Arasaka Staff Demonstrator: Local Channel Mode Enabled. Core 100% Operational."
"Gotcha," V whispered, sweat trickling down his temple.
0.01 seconds elapsed.
His brain was adapting faster with each deep-dive. The Ripperdoc mod was getting smarter.
Toxins flushed.
Coolant lines sealed.
Autonomic stabilizers came online.
Chrome shifted into passive-safe mode.
Emilia coughed hard, violently — a spray of brown-red fluid splashing the floor. But she was breathing.
Viktor stood frozen, scalpel still in hand, blood still on his glove.
"You... You hard-booted Arasaka chrome from a deadlock?"
"With local spoofing and a firmware echo, yeah. Took me a whole hundredth of a second."
Vik blinked slowly.
"You're a fraggin' monster."
V leaned back.
"Nah. Just… used to tight deadlines."
The chrome hissed quietly, syncing with breath and heartbeat.
Emilia's eyes fluttered open.
There was no pain.
Just… light. And the feeling of being lighter than she had in weeks.
The last thing she remembered was the blur of Lizzie's Bar, the scream, the flash of a blade. The shutdown. Her chrome going dead. Her body failing.
But now?
Now it was all alive again.
Breathing through her rib-cage plating. Haptic micro-currents syncing to her pulse. She felt stronger. Like her nerves were singing.
"Angel…?"
Her voice rasped, barely a whisper. But she was staring straight at him — V, still standing beside the table, chrome eyes glowing faintly under the surgery lights.
He tilted his head slightly.
"You're awake."
She blinked again.
"Angel," she repeated, more sure this time. "Dios mío… You look like one. Don't tell me you're real."
"Unfortunately," V smirked, "I'm very real. Just not the heaven kind."
That's when she saw Viktor.
"Oh, Vik!" she smiled, genuinely relieved. "You saved me. Again…"
Viktor leaned back and crossed his arms.
"You've got the wrong chrome cowboy, chica. I was ready to let you rest. He's the one who pulled a miracle."
Emilia turned her head slowly back to V, studying him now, more awake.
She remembered bits — pain, cold, pressure in her chest — then nothing.
Now she was lucid. Sharp. Awake and aware in a way she hadn't felt in weeks.
That shutdown almost killed me…
She exhaled sharply, and a rush of memories flooded back.
Abernathy. That bitch had swept through her division like a storm. Emilia was nothing more than mid-level, just under Jenkins. She didn't make waves.
And yet they clipped her — literally. Her chrome was state-of-the-art, yes… but firmware-locked to her clearance level.
It had seemed convenient at first. Every promotion unlocked more functionality. No new surgeries, no new implants.
One click and you're upgraded, they said.
Until that same click turned into her kill switch.
Now… she was free of it. She felt unlocked. Her body no longer struggling against the tech inside.
And Judy… Judy must've dragged her here. Her mind pulsed warm thinking about her.
Judy's the only reason I'm still alive.
Then she turned her attention back to V.
But damn, this guy...
Broad. Chrome sleek. That aura.
Candy.
She smirked inwardly.
Maybe I'll take a bite later. Judy wouldn't mind… right? Just a nibble? A little chrome snack?
Just as her mind was slipping into flirtatious chaos—
ZAP!
"AHHH! VIK!"
She yelped as Vik pressed a cold MadDoc patch to her abdomen.
He grunted.
"Relax, it's just for inflammation. You'll live."
She blinked at him, then at the table, then grinned sheepishly.
"Damn, doc. Buy me dinner first next time."
Vik & V
Emilia ran out of the clinic, barefoot and laughing — her chrome humming, her soul raw but intact.
The door hissed shut behind her.
V and Viktor stood in the low light of the operating room, surgical drones folding away, blood already cleaned from the floor like nothing ever happened.
V pulled the spike from his socket, wiping the contact on his coat sleeve.
Viktor exhaled.
"So… I don't think we were properly introduced."
"Vincent," V said. "Just V's fine, though."
"Well, V," Viktor nodded, "you just pulled off a hard-boot on sealed Arasaka tech mid-op, kept her alive, and didn't even charge her for the time. Either you're crazy or you've got a chrome-plated heart."
V chuckled.
"You're Vik, right? Best ripper in Night City?"
Viktor snorted.
"Not anymore," he said, half-smiling. "Now I'm second best, apparently."
They shared a beat of quiet.
"Her core systems are stable now," Vik continued. "Back up to a hundred percent. But the rest of her augments? Still locked down — access is tied to her old profile. I'd say only twenty percent's even active."
He scratched at his chin.
"I'll need to rewrite her firmware from scratch. Safely this time."
V leaned against the counter.
"If I impressed you, wait 'til she's firing on all cylinders."
Vik looked at him sideways.
"You're the kind of scary I don't know how to place, choom. There's black market backroom docs in Dogtown that can do stuff like this — if you got a few million and no fear of dying. Ex-Arasaka soldiers go there to unlock chrome the corps shackled."
"But you?" Vik said. "You did it just to help. No paycheck. No promise. Just… heart."
V waved it off.
"C'mon, Vik. I heard stories about you, too. How many folks have you patched up for free 'cause they didn't have a single eddie? You're the one with a rep."
Viktor shrugged.
"Yeah. But now I know what it's like to feel old school."
They traded comms numbers without saying much else. Respect didn't need words.
🌇 Outside the Clinic — Sparks in the Night
The clinic door hissed open.
Emilia burst out, barefoot, half her skirt torn from the fight, chrome humming like a hot engine. Her revealing tank top clung to her sweat-slicked skin, showing off every scar, wire seam, and fresh-stabilized augment.
She didn't care.
"I'm a-ma-zing!" she shouted, arms raised to the setting sun. "You fragging hear me, Night City?! I fucked Arasaka!! BEEP BEEP!"
People on the street stared.
She didn't give a damn.
She spun in a half-circle, laughing, her arms wide like she could fly.
Judy, already halfway down the steps, caught her before she could go twirling into traffic.
They clashed into each other like magnets, limbs tangled, mouths crushed in a kiss that stole the air.
"You're alive, you're really alive," Judy sobbed, clutching her so tight Emilia squeaked.
"Alive and upgraded," Emilia whispered into her neck. "You almost lost me, choom. But I got this angel —" she pointed vaguely toward Clinic, "— who drop-kicked my chrome back to life."
Judy kissed her again.
"Don't you ever do that to me again."
"No promises," Emilia grinned, wild and sweet. "But you can punish me later."
They laughed. It was unhinged. Loud. Loud enough to make passing joytoys glance over, amused.
🌙 Misty Watches
Misty watched the pair from the curb, a warm smile playing across her lips.
She was holding Viktor's med bag, half full of tools and wipes — the stuff they'd rushed outside with. But her eyes were on V.
There was something about the way he stood.
Not just chrome. Not swagger. Something deeper.
V's like no one I've ever met.
She felt it the moment he walked into Esoterica. He didn't need a reading — he carried fate with him like a loaded pistol.
Jackie really did find someone special.
She looked back at the girls — Judy, sharp as a whip, soft as static. And Emilia, unfiltered, overflowing with raw life. She reminded Misty of an alternate V, someone with all the corpo polish and none of the walls.
She's got the training, the looks… but no real chrome. Just locked-down corpo junk and a lot of fire.
She was wild, but not unhinged. Open-hearted, impulsive, painfully human. A white canvas in a city full of overpainted ghosts.
💬 Girl Talk, Night City-Style
Emilia let Judy walk her slowly back toward the alley, her energy finally crashing into a buzzed warmth.
"You're bouncing like a hyperactive ping," Judy teased.
"Girl, I've got test mode turned on," Emilia grinned. "All my augments think I'm in a showroom. I feel like I could run across the skyline."
"You need rest."
"I need a drink. And then rest. And then maybe…" she leaned close, lips brushing Judy's ear, "you."
"That's my girl," Judy whispered, cheeks flushing.
"Take me home. Throw me in bed. Shut me up before I get louder."
Judy laughed, but her eyes were still glassy with the fear of losing her. She guided her toward the ride-share waiting by the street.
Back to V and Jackie — Alley of Chaos
V stepped outside, chrome still warm from the hard-boot. Jackie lit another smoke, waiting on the curb.
"So… we savin' chrome-crazy chicas now, huh?"
Before V could answer, chaos bloomed behind him.
Judy and Emilia were deep in conversation, close and whispering. Then laughing. Then… flirting turned into something louder.
"So you'd actually—?"
"Yes!" Emilia chirped loudly.
"No!" Jackie cut in, waving a hand. "Don't even finish that sentence!"
Emilia stared at him, head cocked. Then slowly turned to V.
"But you?" She grinned. "Yes. Yes. YES."
Judy nearly choked trying not to laugh.
"She's got too much pent-up stress," she said under her breath. "If I let her off leash, she'll ride half the cute solos in Night City."
"You're joking," V said.
"Am I?" Judy smirked.
🩻 Chrome Plans & Surprise Accounts
Emilia twirled in place, then leaned close to V, voice dropping into that half-flirty, half-sincere tone.
"Alright pretty boy... You said something earlier, about fixing chrome? You weren't joking?"
V gave a small nod. "Not joking. I'm setting up a mini-clinic in my apartment — the workshop I rented has enough space. Give me ten days to finish the setup, and I'll look at your chrome properly. Full tune-up."
Her eyes went wide, then shimmered with excitement.
"REALLY? You'd do that for me? OH. MY. PRINCE!"
She threw her arms out like she was ready to faint, before laughing wildly. "What do you want me to do, my savior? I'll pay you, though — I swear, just... ugh. I'm blacklisted. They wiped everything."
She sighed, hand to her temple.
"I had 500,000 eddies saved. Now? Zero. All gone thanks to Arasaka."
V cocked an eyebrow.
"You sure you don't still have that money?"
Emilia paused. "What…?"
He tilted his head slightly. "Your account — try checking it again."
Brows furrowed, she blinked, HUD lighting up in her eyes.
Then—
"It's not frozen…"
V smiled just a little. "They didn't erase your money. They locked your chrome, which locked your access. Your core's active now — auto-security is off."
💸 Viktor Reacts
Inside the clinic, Viktor was washing his hands when the ping hit.
"The hell?" he muttered, checking his display. "She's got money?!"
He stepped outside just in time to see Emilia practically bouncing.
"Emilia," he called. "You have money?"
"Yessss!" she spun, finger guns blazing. "Turns out I was broke for no reason!"
He looked at V, eyes squinting.
"You did what?"
"Just... fixed some permissions," V said coolly.
Viktor stared a second longer, then shook his head.
"One thing is rebooting a core… but unlocking a linked financial AI chain? We're gonna talk later."
He glanced around. Still too many ears around — they were between his clinic and Esoterica, a tight alleyway but still technically public.
"Goux goux... later, choom."
💃 And Away They Go
Emilia winked at V again.
"Alright, pretty boy — we'll arrange that chrome-thingy, yeah? You better answer when I ping you. Wing wing~!"
Judy sighed, amused.
"Let's go. You need rest. And probably restraints."
"I need release, babe."
Emilia bounced toward the car, dragging Judy by the wrist.
Vik blinked.
"She's… a lot."
Jackie just laughed and muttered something in Spanish.
"Dios mío... esa mujer es una tormenta."
Misty smiled, stepping up beside him.
"Jackie, I'll make up the bed. You can stay at Esoterica tonight, okay?"
"Sure, sure. Anything for my love." He gave her a kiss on the forehead. Jackie gave Misty a quick kiss, then turned back to V as the others walked off.
"Cya, amigo," he said. Then paused.
"Actually — wanna hang tomorrow? Grab some grub, maybe hit the range?"
V gave a half-smile.
"Can't. Got some plans locked in tomorrow — a few things I gotta set up at the apartment."
Jackie nodded, thoughtful.
"Alright, alright. What about the day after?"
"Yeah," V said. "Works for me."
"Chido. I'll ping you." Jackie bumped fists with him. "Take it easy, choom."
As Jackie turned to leave, Misty lingered a moment by V's side.
She looked at him, eyes soft and curious. "Hey… I didn't get to thank you properly. For helping Emilia. For being there."
V offered a faint nod. "Did what I could."
"I'm Misty, by the way," she said, offering a hand with a slight smile. "You know… Jackie's chaos, but I like his friends."
V shook her hand gently. "Vincent. But everyone just calls me V."
"Vincent…" she repeated thoughtfully, then nodded. "Has a steady kind of sound to it."
He smirked. "Not sure about steady. But I try not to be the storm."
Misty smiled a little wider. "Well… Night City doesn't need more storms. Glad you're around."
They stood there for a moment in the dim alley glow, quiet understanding passing between them.
"Rest well, Misty."
"You too, V. And take care of that soul under all that chrome, okay?"
☕ A Quiet Endcap
As everyone else departed, the alley quieted.
Only V and Viktor remained, bathed in amber light from the glowing street adboards.
Vik looked sideways.
"You drink coffee?"
"Do scavs bleed?"
Viktor grunted, motioned with his thumb toward the back door.
"C'mon in. We've got things to talk about."
Inside the clinic, Viktor poured two chipped mugs of synth-coffee and handed one to V.
"So," Vik said, leaning against the counter, "what the hell did you do back there?"
V took a sip, eyes scanning the posters and tools on the wall. "Hard-patched her core firmware. Swapped it to a modded Arasaka baseline."
Vik blinked. "You what?"
"Yeah. Thing is — even if Arasaka tries to update or re-encrypt it, the system will treat their patch as a continuation of the mod. Every new hash gets rerouted and accepted like it's native. It won't trigger any lockdown protocols."
Vik's brow furrowed. "So they'll never even know it was tampered?"
V nodded. "Not unless someone physically pulls the chip and compares internal registry history. And even then? Good luck decoding the shell wrappers I baked in."
Vik let out a low whistle. "Damn, m8… what did they feed you when you were growing up?"
V gave a humble half-smile. "Mostly war propaganda and nutrient paste. Guess it left a mark."
Viktor chuckled. "And I thought I was old-school. You're somethin' else, choom."
They sat in companionable silence a while, nursing the coffee.
The TV hanging above the surgical sink flickered to a local news feed.
"Breaking News: Arasaka Internal Unit Under Fire"
Footage played — shaky, pulled from a bar's surveillance feed.
V froze. It was Lizzie's.
Music thumped. Neon lights pulsed. Emilia was there, dancing, smiling, unaware. Then three suited figures entered, weapons drawn.
A flash. A blur. One of them gutted her from behind.
Vik sat up straighter. "That's her."
The anchor's voice cut in:
"Arasaka officials state the target was dangerous and posed an imminent threat. However, leaked footage contradicts this claim. The individual — reportedly an ex-executive — was unarmed and enjoying a private event."
Then the screen shifted to a clean-cut Arasaka PR spokesman.
"These three agents acted without proper clearance. We are ashamed. We will strip their chrome, turn them over to NCPD, and provide compensation to the victim's next of kin. Arasaka takes full responsibility. We follow the code of Bushido…"
V snorted. "Bushido. Right."
Vik shook his head. "You think they mean it?"
"Doubt it," V muttered. "They just didn't expect the cameras. But karma hits hard."
"They probably thought it'd be a clean sweep. Do the job, file a quiet report, get a pat on the head."
"Instead," V added, "they get disavowed and thrown to the cops like yesterday's trash."
Vik grunted. "One hell of a morning."
They both sipped their coffee in silence as the report droned on in the background.
After a while, V stood.
"Time for me to clean up the apartment. Tomorrow's a big day."
Viktor nodded, setting his mug down.
"Cya, best ripperdoc."
Vik smirked, not missing a beat. "Second best!"
V grinned over his shoulder and walked out into the alley.
As he stepped into the Warlock and settled into the leather seat, he spoke aloud.
"Take me home."
The engine rumbled, the HUD blinked to life, and the massive machine rolled smoothly into the neon glow of the sleeping city. V let his head rest back, eyes closing, letting the ride handle itself.
Tomorrow would come fast.