"Stop now, and I'll forgive you."
The figure standing at the other end of the alleyway was a beautiful girl with silver hair and amethyst eyes. Sol's eyes narrowed, his internal sensors—honed by years of Night City's chaos—immediately flagging her as a high-threat, high-value individual. The way the air shimmered around her wasn't like a glitch in the braindance; it was something else entirely.
"Please return what you have stolen." She had a determined look on her face, but Sol could tell she wasn't the type to enjoy the violence she was threatening.
"Bruh. We haven't even stolen anything," the lead thug grumbled.
Sol stepped back, leaning against the cold stone wall, his hands out where they could be seen. "He's telling the truth," Sol added, his voice rasping slightly from the earlier exertion. "We're just the idiots who got caught in the crossfire. You're looking for a girl with blonde hair and a lot more speed than these three."
"Don't lie. Lying is bad," she said, looking at Sol and Subaru. "Please return what you have stolen from me. It's really important to me. I'll turn my cheek to whatever you stole from them, so please just give me back my thing."
The thugs looked genuinely confused. "Wait… you didn't come here to help these kids?"
"Well, no," she replied, "but—"
"Then you have no business with us. We ain't got any of your stuff, so scram." The small guy rudely interrupted her. "If anyone's got your stuff, it's probably that little brat that ran past us a few moments ago. Now shoo."
Emilia didn't go away, but the statement made her think for a second. "Well, you don't appear to be lying, so I guess I should chase after her…"
Beside Sol, Subaru was staring at her with wide, star-struck eyes. Sol, however, was focused on the dozens of ice shards that suddenly materialized in the air around the girl.
No projectors. No thermal-optic camo. That's just… pure manifestation, Sol thought, his rational mind trying to categorize the physics of it. Real magic. Great. As if the Sandevistan wasn't enough of a strain on reality.
"—but I can't ignore what is going on here."
The thugs didn't back down. "I don't care if you can use magic! We'll still kill you!" They started running at her. "She can't win if it's all of us against her!"
"Indeed. All of you against her may be unfair, so what about I join?"
A flash of light erupted, and a small, gray cat spirit materialized, floating casually in the air. Sol blinked, his hand twitching toward the Sandevistan activation site. A talking cat. Of course. Why wouldn't there be a talking cat?
"A spirit user? RETREAT!" The thugs didn't need a second invitation. They scrambled past the girl and Sol, fleeing into the street.
As they ran past, the cat called out, "That's right, run away. If you do anything to her, I'll haunt you and your kin forever!" After a slight pause, he added, "Not that there'll be anyone to haunt if I get my hands on you."
Subaru was in a state of absolute amazement. Sol just let out a long, slow exhale, the tension leaving his shoulders. He looked at the girl, then at the cat.
"That was… efficient," Sol said, crossing his arms. "Thanks for the save. Even if we weren't the primary objective."
Subaru jumped in, a wide grin on his face. "Wow! You saved us, thank you!"
"Wait! Did you steal my stuff?" The girl made eye contact with both of them. Sol didn't flinch, but Subaru quickly looked away, overwhelmed by her presence.
"A-ha! You looked away because you have a guilty conscience. Looks like I am still an excellent judge of character! Now, give me back my thing."
Sol rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Rationality check: if we had your 'thing,' why would we still be in the alley getting our heads kicked in? We'd be halfway across the city with the blonde girl."
The cat floated over, tilting his head. "I think it was an instinctive male reaction to avoid tension or rudeness, Lia. Besides, I don't sense any malice at all from these two."
"That's enough, Puck." The girl—Lia—pouted, then turned back to them. "Now, tell me who stole my thing?"
"It was the girl from before," Sol said, taking charge of the explanation. "Short, blonde, moved like she had a high-end reflex booster. She went over that wall. If you hurry, you might still catch a trail."
"Is that so? Thank you for this information." She turned to leave. "Now, I'll be making my way to find this girl. Have a nice day."
"Wait!" Subaru tried to call out, but the adrenaline finally crashed. His knees buckled, the injuries from the thugs finally taking their toll. He slumped against the wall, eyes rolling back as he passed out.
Sol caught him before he hit the dirt, grunting as he lowered Subaru to the ground. "Hey, kid, stay with me. Damn it." Sol looked up at the girl. "He took a few hits to the head. He's not going anywhere."
The cat, Puck, stopped her. "Hey, that kid just passed out from his injuries."
She hesitated, her feet already pointed toward the exit. "Well, I really need to get my insignia…" She looked back at the unconscious Subaru and the calm, wary Sol. "Yeah, we should go… we can leave him like this. It's none of our business…"
Puck smiled. "But you're still going to help him, aren't you?"
"Be quiet, Puck! I will not!"
Despite her protest, she walked back and knelt beside Subaru, her hands glowing with a soft, green light. Sol watched closely, his analytical mind recording the way the bruises on Subaru's face began to fade.
"Thanks," Sol said quietly. "If you hadn't shown up, things would've gotten… messy. I have a habit of overcompensating when things go south."
"I'm only doing this because you gave me that information about the thief," she said, her tone stern but her eyes kind. "Don't take any of this the wrong way, okay?"
"Sure," Sol replied, a hint of his usual sarcasm returning. "Strictly a business transaction. I get it."
She shot a quick glare at him but returned to her work. Sol sat down across from them, keeping a silent vigil. He looked at the cat. "So, his name is Puck? And yours?"
The girl hesitated, her eyes flickering with a strange shadow. "My name is… Satella."
Sol's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't know the history of this world, but his years in Night City had made him an expert at spotting a lie. The way her voice hitched, the way the cat went still—it was a fake name. A heavy one.
"Satella, huh?" Sol said, his voice neutral. "Well, nice to meet you. I'm Sol. The sleeping beauty here is Subaru." He looked at her directly. "You're a terrible liar, by the way. But if that's the name you want to use while you're saving our lives, I won't complain."
She looked guilty, and Puck shook his head at her. "Well, she goes by Emilia, so you can call her by that, right?" Puck gave Sol a mock-threatening look, though his tail was twitching playfully.
"Emilia. Sounds a lot less… ominous," Sol remarked with a small smirk. "I have a plan to help you find your insignia, but we should wait for the 'hero' to wake up first."
Time Skip
Subaru's eyes fluttered open. The first thing he felt was something incredibly soft and warm beneath his head.
"Are you awake?" a voice asked.
Subaru rubbed his head, a goofy smile forming. "Well, it's kinda weird for a cute girl to be this hairy, but I guess it's fine."
His eyes snapped open. He wasn't looking at Emilia. He was looking at a giant, man-sized version of the cat spirit, whose lap he was currently using as a pillow.
"What?!" Subaru shrieked, scrambling backward.
Sol, who was leaning against a nearby crate, let out a sharp bark of laughter—the first real laugh he'd had since arriving. Emilia and Puck joined in soon after.
"Was this your idea, Sol?!" Subaru yelled, pointing an accusing finger.
Sol nodded, still grinning. "You looked like you needed the rest. And Puck offered. He's surprisingly comfortable, isn't he?"
"Well, screw you!" Subaru huffed, though he couldn't help but look relieved.
"Hey! That's not a nice thing to say!" Emilia said through her giggles.
"Subaru." As soon as she spoke his name, he shut up, looking at her with wide eyes. "How do you know my name?"
"Well," Puck said, shrinking back down to his miniature size. "Your friend Sol here introduced you. By the way, my name is Puck, and this is Emilia."
"It is nice to meet you, Emilia," Subaru said, giving a stiff, formal bow that made him look ridiculous.
"I-it's my pleasure," Emilia stuttered, clearly not used to the attention.
Sol stood up, dusting off his tactical jacket. The sarcasm was gone, replaced by a focused, calm intensity. "Alright. Since Subaru's done with his beauty nap, let's go get that insignia. I've been tracking the sun—we're losing daylight, and that girl had a massive head start."
He looked at Subaru and then at Emilia. "Let's move."