Everywhere there were strange, inexplicable sounds, terrifying and jarring. Every time V heard them, she was forced to hide in panic.
At first, it was only sound, then came an unknown, writhing giant black shadow. It occupied almost all of V's vision, wantonly moving the darkness on its circular body, like a rising tide.
That profound darkness was watching V.
The thought of it caused immense panic in V's heart, like falling into an abyss.
No matter where V hid, she could feel that writhing mass of darkness watching her; it was alive.
V suddenly realized this fact, and her limbs went numb.
Alive. It could breathe, see, and hear, yet it wanted to devour V, its ridiculous prey.
She fled frantically, seeking refuge everywhere, but she couldn't hide. No matter where she hid, she was seen, and being seen meant being consumed.
First, V couldn't see anything; her vision was just a gray blur. She couldn't see anything, yet she could feel the black shadow still watching her.
Next, her hands, feet, body
—all her senses drifted away from V, completely consumed.
She was numb, yet terrified.
V stood still. She wanted to walk, but she didn't know if she was moving. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't feel any tears.
In this place, which felt like neither the end nor the beginning of time, she lost everything. Finally, she wanted to scream, to prove she could still do something, but she didn't even know if she was screaming.
"...V...V..."
"V!"
V gasped for air, waking up in terror with wide eyes.
She was desperately panting, like someone who had been drowning.
The feeling before had been too horrific, bringing that indescribable despair and loneliness into reality with her.
"V-jie, look at me. It was just a nightmare, I'm right here!"
Berry cupped V's terrified face, forcing her to look at her.
"I'm Berry, your lover. Do you remember?" Berry's eyes were anxious as she repeatedly stroked V's head, soothing her emotions.
"It's, Berry?" Gasping, V finally recovered from her panic and recognized Berry's face before her.
It was Berry.
That's right, it truly was Berry. Looking at Berry's small, familiar face, V slowly remembered everything.
"Oh my God, what happened?"
Grasping Berry's hand, V finally calmed down and regained her senses.
Even so, she was still shaken by the nightmare.
That feeling didn't feel like a dream at all; it felt like... reality.
Seeing V, who was now recovered but slightly dazed, Berry lovingly used her sleeve to wipe away the cold sweat V had broken out in from the fright.
This was their third day at the safe house.
When they first arrived, the unconscious V had terrified Berry. Fortunately, V's wounds hadn't reopened; she had simply passed out from exhaustion.
For the next two days, the two of them had been hiding here.
The abandoned auto repair shop was surrounded by rusted car shells covered in dust, but the concrete factory building itself was still sturdy, offering shelter from the wind and rain.
However, the basement beneath the factory building was a world unto itself.
Small generators, long-lasting food, water, firearms, ammunition, and medicine
—everything was available.
This was the safe house Viktor had arranged for them.
The two of them were currently holed up in the basement, waiting for a chance to return to the city.
"...Berry, tell me, am I completely useless?"
Now fully awake, V couldn't help but recall that chaotic, world-shattering day.
Before they set out, everyone had been so smug, believing victory was within reach, but now? Everything was gone.
Arno died, Jackie fled to Pacifica, Berry and she were stranded, and as for herself, she was now useless, unable even to walk.
The two of them, isolated from the world, had no idea what the situation was like in the city.
How was Viktor? What about Misty? Would Arasaka track them down? Would they be in trouble?
And all of this was for that damn chip.
V glared resentfully at the small cooler containing the relic chip in the corner.
Shit.
Thinking of all this, V cursed herself. When she should have been standing up and fighting, she had become a damn cripple.
"V, don't talk like that. It's all my fault." Seeing V's self-deprecating state, Berry's nose stung, and tears threatened to fall.
V had managed to remain optimistic on the first day, but that night, when she discovered she couldn't even lift her legs, she broke down crying in front of Berry.
Since that day, V's mental state hadn't been good. She often woke up screaming from nightmares at night, and in less than two days, her health had visibly declined.
Just watching her was painful for Berry.
"V, it's going to be fine." Berry forced herself to cheer up, wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, sniffled, and looked up at V, cupping V's face to make her look at her.
"V, I will help you. You know my ability. Once we get back to the city, Viktor and I will replace your spine with cyberware. You will definitely get better."
Looking at Berry's earnest face, V managed to force a smile onto her sickly features, reaching out to brush Berry's stray hair aside.
"Yes, Berry, I still have you." Hearing Berry's promise, a warm current flowed through V's heart, and she recovered slightly from her despair.
She still had Berry.
This was the only consolation she had in this world.
Berry was like a life raft.
It was as if no matter the moment, Berry would stand by her side and accompany her to the very end.
Thinking this, V smiled brightly.
"Berry, why do you stay by my side?"
The current V possessed a melancholic aura of sickly beauty. When she smiled, that tragic sense of sadness momentarily stunned Berry, who then realized V's question.
"Why?" V's question made Berry open her mouth in surprise, finding it somewhat absurd.
V's question felt like asking why water is water or why the sky is the sky. Weren't the two of them always together?
"But haven't we always been together? V-jie raised me, and besides, we're in *that* kind of relationship now. Isn't it only natural that we're together?"
By the end, Berry was blushing slightly.
"That's true, but doesn't Berry have her own dreams? Is there nothing you want to do?"
V stroked Berry's fair little face, asking tenderly.
She knew Berry was always tinkering with mechanical things, but Berry had never talked about what her true dream was.
"My dream is to make V happy!" Hearing V ask this, Berry answered without hesitation.
But V smiled and shook her head at this seemingly cheating answer.
"But it's true!" Berry countered.
It truly was true.
Berry just wanted V to be happy.
She didn't know why she wanted it so much. Did she need a reason? Of course, it was because she loved her.
Loved her to death and back.
To Berry, V was no longer just the character she had felt pity for in a game.
She was a living person, an older sister, companion, and lover with whom she had shared countless nights in bed and many memories of fighting side-by-side.
Berry simply wanted to be by V's side.
In this world that had rotted into a mud pit, if there was only one person she could save, it would be V.
V looked at Berry's captivatingly serious eyes, feeling even more love and pity.
She knew, of course, that Berry was telling the truth, but wouldn't that conflict with her own goal?
V's dream was to make Berry happy.
If she were a little greedy, it would be to watch Berry be happy.
Therefore, for Berry's happiness, V had to realize her dream.
"If that's the case, then my dream is to create a world where V can be happy."
A world without war, without suffering, where people understand each other.
In Berry's imagination, it was the peace of a gentle moon shining on a cold earth, her and V's paradise.
"Then Berry, I will help you achieve your dream."
Without any hesitation, this time V actively cupped Berry's face in her hands, looking into Berry's eyes.
"Mm..." Berry gazed longingly into the deep, ocean-like tenderness in V's blue eyes; just meeting her gaze melted her whole being into V's love.
Berry's face gradually turned a rosy cherry-pink, and V's cheeks were also flushed.
Without any words, the two gradually drew closer, finally embracing and kissing.
At this moment, in this terrible world, at least one corner was beautiful.
The two kissed passionately, desperately seeking the warmth of the other's body in the fear of losing each other, with a stronger desire than ever before for this moment to last forever.
Their breathing grew heavier, more passionate, and before they were further consumed by desire, V's cry of pain interrupted everything.
"Hiss~"
V grimaced and frowned, not daring to touch her bandaged abdomen.
"Hehehe, V, you're too impatient."
Berry covered her mouth, her face a cherry-pink, laughing incessantly.
V had tried to undo her clothes, but instead pulled at her wound, making her unable to stop laughing.
"Alright, alright, you should just lie down and rest." Berry narrowed her eyes happily, making the somewhat annoyed V lie down to rest.
However, after this incident, Berry was as happy as if she had eaten honey.
After V lay down, Berry happily hummed a tune and went about her business.
These past few days, she had been studying the relic chip containing Johnny Silverhand's consciousness.
Due to the extremely high temperature stability requirements of this relic, and the lack of tools here, her research could only be based on visual inspection and conjecture.
The specifics would have to wait until they returned to the city.
However, would she be too 'submissive' by humming a tune and narrowing her eyes happily while being intimate with her girlfriend?
Berry couldn't help but burst out laughing at the time.
One could only say it was wrong, terribly wrong.
On the contrary, I think this is a kind of confidence.
A true man, as they say, has a tiger in his heart, yet sniffs a rose.
When Berry's behavior was seen by others, they would immediately know that this was not a man without romance, but rather an open, romantic, and confident man.
In short, forgot the beginning, forgot the middle, forgot the end, just win.
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