Have You Ever read an article, watched a documentary or a simple action movie , that served as a warning to humanity about the effects of technology and the negative effects it would have as time passed?

Who would have thought there was truth in what they were saying...

The United States or The New United States is a shell of its former self, corporations ran the country, there was no middle class anymore, and you could now stay in this world much longer thanks to improved medicine and cyberware.

Wherever you lie, Nomad, Streetkid or Corpo, a difficult road lies a head, someone always needs something, and when eddies are needed, you better know how to use a weapon, this rings especially true in a very paticular place in California.

The City Of Dreams, the home base of many powerful corporations, packed with organized crime, gang violence , corruption and police force that houses many that would prefer to look the other if you place a generous donation in their pockets.

It where those seek to hit it big, looking for an opportunity to pull themselves from a life of poverty or achieve something they could only dreams, however there are very important things one must understand when living in night city.

There are no happy endings and no one leaves, unless it's in a body bag, that is the reality, so whats you need to decide whats best.

The Quiet Life or a Blaze of Glory?

Welcome

To

Night City

2076, 11:35 AM.

We go down to to Heywood, where we see two mercs that have been making a name for themselves, Jackie Welles and Vincent Thornton, the latter preferring V for those he doesn't consider close to him..

The two were streetkids and have best friends for a few years now, currently they were on the job and having a bit of a discussion along the way.

"Jackie I don't know about this .." V said as he walked with his arms crossed.

" calmate broder, this gig padre gave us is of the heavy variety we could use an extra pair of hands." Jackie said with a charming smile.

" I get that but I just find it odd that padre wouldn't give us any details on this new guy, why keep us in the dark?" V said concerned tone, padre was a no nonsense fixer and was always upfront about the details.

"He said it would be surprise, and that we wouldn't find more reliable help." Jackie said then he swatted Vs arm lightheartedly. "It will be fine , don't go soft on me now V." Jackie said to his usually cold as ice friend.

V shook his head and began to smirk "Me? Never." Jackie was right , he would let things unfold, whatever happens he will be ready.

The two would walk a bit more eventually they reach their destination, it appears to be a small bar.

"Our guy is here?" V said as they came to a stop looking at the small structure.

"CRASH!"

A goon burst from a nearby window and lands right in front of V and Jackie, they both took a look the guy, it was a 6th street goon, with a chunk of his head spilling  over the floor , he twitched a bit then laid dead.

"Il take that as a yes"  Jackie said as he pulled out a gun, V did the same.

They kicked open the doors and were greeted with quite the sight, several six street members on the ground beaten to death or cut open.

The mercs looked to the center of the room  and  see 3 armed  thugs  surrounding one guy.

He was taller than v but still shorter than  Jackie, preety lean, didn't seem to have any noticeable cyberware and wore dark clothing ,  black headband and mask, a loose sweater , black skinny jeans and  black combat boots, his left arm had tattoos.

He was currently wielding a kunai  covered in blood  which let the mercs know this was the guy cutting down these gonks.

V took aim to zero the 6th street gonks but jackie motioned him to put it down which confused him.

" I think he's got it under control besides.." jackie crossed his arms with an interested look. " I want to see the action."

V couldn't help but chuckle and followed suit, keeping his gun low but still in hand should things escalate.

A 6th street goon with a baton took a swing at  the mystery guy , the man caught the goons wrist and proceeded to break  his arm Atop his shoulder and wielding his kunai in a reverse grip stabbed his throat and kicked him to the ground.

The next goon took wild swings with a machete that were which the guy seemed to confidently dodge

And ducked under a bat swing from the other goon who behind him

The masked man wasn't at all phased, he began taunting both goons with arms wide open.

"You Bitch!" The goon with the machete growled and went to thrust his machete, aiming for the masked mans torso, but that was anticipated, he simply shifted his position and slashed the mans throat, who fell to the ground desperately trying to stop the bleeding.

The masked man then stood up and caught the metal bat of the last goon with his free hand , the goon desperately tried to get his weapon back but to no avail, the masked man put his blade away, ripped the bat out of his hands then swung the bat down with a vengeance, knocking the goon of his feet and breaking his right leg in the process.

"Arghh!!!!!" The goon cried out in pain holding his broken, he shifted his faze to the mask man who simply leaned on the bat and watched the him groan in pain. "Why....the fuck did you do this ?!" The goon shouted while still holding in the pain of his leg.

V and Jackie noticed the masked man look at the goon with an "are you serious?" Look.

" You spill beer on me and then you and your boys tried to have me kicked out." The masked man spoke, V and jackie noticed he sounded young, early to mid twenties it seemed.

"So you decide to kill everybody?!" The goon shouted then a hit to his broken leg for his trouble. "AAGH YOU...FUCK!!" The goon said as the pain in his leg was doubled.

" Be Fucking Foreal, Did you suddenly forget the part where your leader threatened to kill me and you and the rest of your chooms decided to watch?" The Masked man said irritated at the dumb question the gang member asked.

"When ...My boys hear about this... Your Done." The goon growled still holding in the pain.

The sucked his teeth and rested the bat on his shoulder .

"Il take all of you mother fuckers on if thats what it comes down to and heres what i know for sure..." The Masked Man gripped the bat with both hands. " you're bitch ass is not gonna be alive for it." Y/n said simply.

The Goons eyes widened and tried to shuffle back in fear.

"Wait DO-!" The goon didn't get to finish and the masked man swung and caved tore most of the mans head off as a result, blood and head chunks now splattered across the wall.

V and Jackie didn't know what to say but one things for sure, they were impressed, the guy handled the 6th street gang like they were dirt on his boot, he was something serious.

Suddenly a middle aged bartender showed his face from the other side of the bar, clearly hiding from the action.

"Is it over?" The bartender said peaking around to see if the coast was clear.

"Yeah..sorry about that frank, this should cover the damages and cleaning." Y/n said as he sat down and sent the man what must of been a generous amount of eddies if his reaction was anything to go by.

"Oh, T-Thanks kid, you don't have to do all that."Frank said in an astonished tone,

"Don't sweat it, im half the reason the place is like this, the least i could do is cover the damages." The masked man said as he took a seat at the bar placing the bat between his legs . " can I get a broseph?

The bartender grabbed ome from under the bar and placed in front of his customer. " On the house kid." He said as he began organizing some of the merchandise. " and you two gonna stand there all day or get something?" The bartender addressed the audience of two.

V and Jackie looked at each other, Jackie shrugged and motioned his Choom to follow, soon the mercy took seats right next to the masked man's left and right side respectively.

The masked man glanced at both men. " and you guys chose to sit this close to me because....?" The masked man trailed of, it was like going to a urinal right next to someone when there's plenty of others open, it was just weird.

"Well you're the man of the hour carnal." Jackie said with a simple smile as he leaned on the bar with his arms.

"We've been sent to look for you." V said simply.

" ah so people are just hell bent on fucking with me today.." the masked man said in a serious tone , he began to hold his beer in a certain way, this let V and Jackie know he was preparing to use the bottle as a weapon, Jackie immediately went to clear up the misunderstanding.

" we didn't come here to fight Holmes." Jackie said gesturing for the man to chill. " We got a gig given to us by El Padre."

"He said to pick you up for some extra man power, even said you would know all the details." V said on guard, prepared if the guy was still looking to fight.

It didn't come to that as once the to explained he seemed relaxed. "Oh so your the guys he sent, you gonks should have lead with that!." The masked man said lightheartedly as he turned his chair and stood up,drinking his bear through his mask.

" in that case introductions are in order , I'm y/n." Y/n said offering a hand shake , despite his mask covering his face the two mercs could tell he was smiling .

"V" V said accepting the handshake.

Jackie meanwhile looked like he was in shock and awe, something that confused both V and Y/n. " Jackie what's up?" V asked wondering why his friend was like that.

" it's him.." Jackie said looking at v and then began laughing. " hahaha! It's you!" Jackie said happily as he stood up and gave y/n a strong handshake."

"Uh yeah I've always been me." Y/n said shrugging

" you know him Jackie? V asked wonder why his friend suddenly recognized the knew guy in black."

" of course carnal it's him! The Raven of night city!" Jackie said excitedly.

Vs eyes widened, The Raven of night city, that was a name that held a lot of weight in the city.

" No wonder Padre was tight lipped and told us to wait and see, we are working with the guy who had a run in with Adam smasher and lived!, I should have put two and two together when I saw the mask " Jackie said with a bright smile as he looked at y/n, the mask was an essential piece of the Raven, you never see him without it.

Y/n suddenly became a bit bashful, scratching his head a bit. " Ah cmon , it's an exaggerated rumor, it's not like I fought the guy."

V stood up and crossed his arms with a smirk. " yeah but how many can say Adam smasher had them in their sights and lived to tell the tale?" V said with an impressed tone.

" Hehe thanks for the praise." Y/n chuckled at the two mercs. "Please though, don't treat me like a living legend, I'm just a little more lucky than your average merc." Y/n said simply then motioned for both mercs to follow. " now that you found me though, let's not waste any more time , let's get this gig done!" Y/n said in an excited tone walking out the bar, his two new allies following suit.

" So we're taking back stolen weapons from some maelstrom dickheads right?" Y/n asked wishing to confirm the details as he walked to his parked vehicle.

" si, maelstrom think they can strong arm padre, we're gonna show them that was a big mistake." Jackie answered.

" only problem is we are out-numbered, and we're good , but not that good." V said knowing that him and Jackie weren't invincible.

" Well don't worry, I'm all the man power you need." Y/n said confidently as they approached his vehicle , nothing special just a Thorton that got him from point A to B, he was saving up for something better.

" il drive us there but first things first, you guys need extra heat." Y/n said as he open opened up the trunk of his car, revealing a nice stack of ammunition and weapons . "Nothing special quality wise but should do the trick, grab what you need ." Y/n said as he grabbed a machete and a revolver.

" Now we're talking Holmes." Jackie said as he grabbed two twin pistols and several Mags.

V grabbed a neurotoxin combat knife and several throwing knives, V Knew his way around iron well but he had a preference for bladed weapons.

" alright, let's roll fellas." Y/n said as he entered his vehicle ,Jackie followed suit riding shot gun and v siting in the back.

Soon they were off.

5 minutes later

The three men were now engaged in casual conversation, it was difficult at first as when jackie asked certain questions, like why he had a run in with adam smasher or why he was solo , y/n just gave vague answers, which let the two know it y/n wasn't too keen on talking about his personal life, so they kept it simple out of respect.

" Were you born in night city Holmes?" Jackie asked curiously.

"Nah, I  was actually born outside on the open road, was part of the bakker clan but i left after they merged with snake nation, been living In night city for about 5 years now." Y/n said simply.

"Nomad huh." V said a bit surprised ,  y/n just seemed like a regular street kid.

"Yep, that's why i am so eloquently spoken mothafucka." Y/n said jokingly.

This brought a chuckle to jackie and v just shook his hid with a smile, there was truth to that,  they could  tell Y/n was very  articulate, it seemed the touch of slang he had was picked up from his time in the city.

" Well I gotta say holmes, i know you're more than capable in a fight you dont have any chrome on you" Jackie said curiously, it was recommended to chrome up a bit if you were gonna live this life and he didn't seem to follow that.

"Ah common misconception my man, I do have chrome I'm just more subtle about it." Y/n said as he hit a right turn. "Contrary to popular belief , you don't have to have gorilla arms to punch though solid concrete , you just need to be smart about it, make the right adjustments in the right places, this way i can be effective and not lose my good looks while I'm at it." Y/n explained maintaining his eyes on the road.

" not a fan of cyberware?" V asked, not taking offense just out of genuine curiosity.

"I wouldn't say I'm not a fan, I mean I recognize the cool shit some good chrome will get you , believe me I've been tempted to get some mantis blades, those things are cool  as fuck." Y/n said with a smirk.

" Im with you there." V said smirking to himself, getting mantis blades was a personal goal he had once he had enough eddies on hand.

"I get by just fine without it, I mean look at Johnny Silverhand , that man's only chrome was that arm of his and he only got it because he lost arm" Y/n said give it the two mercs an example of someone with not much chrome to speak of.

" Buen Punto,  and avoiding cyber psychosis doesn't  hurt." Jackie pointed out , knowing the danger that getting too much chrome held.

"Exactly, so Im not opposed to getting cyberware but I'm only gonna get it if its an emergency not because i got the eddies to do it casually, thankfully I've avoided getting seriously injured this far."  Y/n said smirking under his mask.

Y/n soon came to a stop in front of the maelstrom building where the stolen weapons were located. " we're here" y/n said turning off his car and stepping out, v and jackie following suit.

"Theres bound to be dozens of those chromed fucks, what do you think V, how do we play this?" Jackie said  as his friend was the more tactical one of the two.

"Hm...knowing maelstrom they're probably partying , leaving security to be an afterthought, so we could sneak in steal the gear from other their noses." V said believing a stealthy approach would be effective in this situation.

"Stealth then, not a bad idea , what do you think y/n?" Jackie asked wishing to hear what he thought.

When they got no response they turned their heads to see y/n  wasn't near them anymore, instead he was at the front doors of the building.

"LETS DO THIUUUUS!!"  Y/n yelled as he kicked open the doors and  ran in unloading his revolver causing chaos in the building if the shouting and gun fire was anything to go by.

".....or we could just barge right in and improvise." V said unamused as he pulled out his combat knife and  and a throwing knife.

"I like that plan too!." Jackie said with a smile pulling out his pistols and heading inside with V.

V stabbed a maelstrom gonk in the neck on his way in, and thew a knife into a headlights of another causing his headlights to combust killing him instantly.

Jackie opened fire on several, sliding into cover as he fighteres upon some goons that were a floor above.

Y/n  was up ahead , blasting through the heads of two unlucky goons that popped their heads outside of cover.

A bold  tried to cut him up with a machete of his own, y/n dodged with ease even putting his hands behind his back to taunt him.

"Cmon dickhead hit me!" Y/n yelled, his smirk almost visible under his mask.

"RAGH!!!" The Goon began swinging  angrily

Y/n parried the mans blade, he then placed his machete in a reverse grip and sliced the goons head.

Y/n then shifted behind a pillar  , several goons firing at home with very little success.

" Still Alive Fellas?!" Y/n said in an excited tone, he loved being in the middle of action.

" Yeah no thanks to you!" V said behind cover. irritated things escalated this fast.

" Relax Broder, these gonks dont stand a chance!."  Jackie said as he emptied a magizine into goon who was behind a glass door. " The rooms almost clear!" Jack said noticing maelstroms dwindling numbers

Y/n popped out of cover and shot  the last to goons that were above them, the headshots sounded like music to y/ns ears.

It looked like the room was clear but then a large maelstrom brute showed up  with an lmg in hands.

"Chingada madre" jackie said looking at the powerful weapon.

The brute began opening fire at the pillar y/n was behind. "AHAHAHAHA!" The brute laughed as he had y/n pinned down.

" Hey Secure the weapons, I can handle this fat fuck!"  Y/n said  confidently as he placed the last 4 bullets  had in his revolver.

"Jackie on me!"  V said as he ran out of cover and headed to the basement, jackie  followed suit.

The brute shifted his aim to the now unprotected targets, this proved to be a mistake as y/n went out of cover and fired.

"AGH!" The brute said as a round pierced his shoulder.

" im still standing big man." Y/n said bring the mans attention back on him.

"Cocky motherfucker!!!" The Brute sounded as he let loose with his lmg.

Y/n smirked and be lined it towards the brute.

What the brute didn't expect was the small man in infront of him to experly dodge the bullets he was sending his way.

Y/n  found his opening and fired at the brutes  kneecaps.

"AGHHH!" The brute shouted as he crumpled to the ground, he still tried to maintain his grip on the lmg  but bullet pieces through his right hand. "AHGHHH!!" The brute said dropping his weapon as his  right hand was rendered useless.

"Oooo im just way too good!" Y/n said as he danced his way towards the brute.

"Im gonna kill yo- SCHLUCK" the brute  wasn't allowed to finish  as a machete caved throw his head.

"Yeah thats what all of  you bitches say." Y/n said  amused , he pulled out his machete and flicked some blood of it. " Now let's see if ole V and Jackie survived." Y/n said picking up a Nue pistol of the ground."

Y/n made his  way down stairs, his finger on the trigger should there be more goons to zero, as he entered the basement though, he saw that V and Jackie had the situation handled as several goons laid dead and they were now checking if all the weapons were there.

"Sup Guys, everything in order?" Y/n said laying the blunt side of his  machete on his shoulder.

" Si, it's all here." Jackie said looking over the case of weapons with a satisfied smirk.

V however wasn't too pleased, as he strolled up to Y/n. "You just had to bust through their front door." V said not pleased with what just happened.

" Aw cmon, everything turned out fine we're all in one piece right? I wouldn't have done if it wasn't possible" Y/n said not seeing the issue.

"Yeah Except you went off on your own expecting us to follow through, had me or jackie got hurt that would've been on you." V growled, the whole thing was reckless and it didn't need to be.

Y/n lost the smile under his mask as he saw this clearly bothered V.

Jackie walked up and placed his hand on Vs Shoulder.

" Easy Holmes, remember we needed his help to get it done and he proved that, we handled it well and  like he said we're in one piece." Jackie said hoping to deescalate this.

V still look unconvinced.

" Alright look, Il admit  i did  go off on my own there, i usually work solo so you could say it's a habit of mine.  Y/n holstered his revolver. " but i can understand thats not how you or jackie usually operate,  so im sorry" y/n  outstretched his hand. " we good?" Y/n asked, he didn't wish to cause bad blood when they've been very cordial  thus far.

V  took in the mans word and appeared to ease up,  he nodded and shook y/ns head . " we're good." V could see that y/n wasn't looking to cause trouble and he made a valid point, if the guy was a solo then working with others must've been out of the ordinary for him .

" Mucho Mejor, Now cmon , let's get these goods to padre."  Jackie said as he picked up a case, V and Y/n picking up the other two.

Later

Y/n, Jackie and V soon gave Padre the good News, and they all get a hefty reward troubles, now y/n was currently dropping off Jackie and V in fornt of el Coyote Cojo.

"Alright fellas, here we are" as he slowed his car to a halt. " It's been a pleasure." Y/n said bidding them farewell, and he really meant that, they handled themselves and seemed like good guys.

" Hold on carnal, you should join us, you dont got another gig lined up already do you?" Jackie said with a smile.

" Well No but i mean.." y/n trailed off, caught off guard a bit from the offer. "  you guys dont need to keep me around,  business  got handled."  Y/n said not wishing to come of rude.

"Well sure but no need to send you off like a stranger, you had a backs there and that earns some respect." Jackie said truthfully.

V then nudged y/ns shoulder  with a fist. "And sure you went of the rails a bit but its easy to see you weren't just in it for yourself, now cmon  choom not gonna take no for an answer.

"Choom huh" Y/n  thought and he couldn't help but chuckle and held a genuine  smile.

" alright i guess a drink couldn't hurt." Y/n said as he turned off his car.

"Excelente, Cmon!." Jackie said with a jolly smile as he excited the car , with y/n and v following suit.

They entered and y/n was impressed with the interior, it was a well put together bar complete with a large selection of Booz and pool tables.

Then a woman who appeared to her late 50s approached jackie

"Jackito." The woman  said as she hugged jackie with a smile. " Hola ma." Jackie said returning the hug and placing a kiss on her mother's head.

" Hey Mama Welles." V said politely and accepted a hug that came his way.

"Good to see you V." The woman known as mama welles  said with a smile.

The woman then took notice of y/ns presence, " and who is this ?" She asked jackie.

" ah, this is the guy that  helped me and V complete a successful gig,  Y/n this is my mother, Guadalupe,  everyone calls her Mama though, she runs the bar." Jackie said to Y/n with a smirk.

Y/n couldn't help but shift a bit, the woman seemed to be analyzing him, particularly his wardrobe , oh he knew that look too well, he knew to an old school woman like her his attire was not setting the best impression, so he decided to do something that he knew would put her at ease.

Y/n made sure to keep his hands out of pockets to avoid being rude and inclined his head a bit in respect to the matriarch. " Disculpa la molestia, es un gusto conocerla  señora welles." Y/n said in fluent spanish,

Mamas Welles eyes widened in astonishment, V raised his eyebrows  and jackie just had his mouth open in shock.

Mama welles  then gained a bright smile, she looked very pleased.

"Igualmente muchacho." Mama welles then proceeded to give y/n a hug to, which suprised him but who was he to deny a hug. "Thank you for looking out for the boys." Mama welles said as she patted y/ns back a bit before detaching. " please sit down and rest." She said as she motioned the boys over to an empty tabled.

"Holmes, you speak spanish?!" Jackie asked the moment he sat down.

" Yeah my father was Colombian, i picked it up from him." Y/n explained simply.

" why didn't you say anything?" Jackie said , not that he was mad but it would have been nice to know.

"There really wasn't a reason to say anything until now." Y/n said as he sheepishly shrugged.

"Ah great,  now i feel like mama  is gonna expect me to pick the language up faster." V said shaking his head lightheartedly.

"Hehe sorry, i only brought it out because i felt like she was gonna disapprove of my presence, my fashion sense  must scream delinquent to her." Y/n said gesturing to his mostly dark clothing.

"don't worry carnal, she gave V the same look when she saw him, its a motherly thing." Jackie explained with a smile.

"Believe me i know." Y/n said holding in some sadness as he can safely say missed that look from his mother.

V seemed to see the brief sadness in his eye didn't pry.

"Here you go boys." Mama welles said as she placed  beers on the table for each of them, she then looked at y/n. " you look thin y/n, let me make you something to eat." She offered with a smile.

Y/n was grateful but he didn't want to make the woman cook for him. " oh its fine im not that hungry." Y/n declined politely with an eye smile.

Though it appears his words had the unintended effect as Mama Welles seemed to disapprove of his answer, V and jackie stared at him like he grew a second head and several other patrons even the bartender seemed shocked at his words.

Y/n realized that denying the woman was not very smart, and even saw Jackie silently motioning him to fix his answer to which he wasted now time. " T-Then again, I haven't eaten anything to day so, si por favor." Y/n said hoping to take the heat of off him.

The like nothing happened Mama Welles gave him a motherly smile. " Tamales coming right up." As she went on her way to begin cooking.

"Phew..." y/n said grateful that he got out of that.

"Solo Hay Una Regla Aqui Carnal." Jackie said with a smirk.

" When Mama welles offers food you, accept." V finished, amused by the situation.

"Noted."  Y/n said leaning back on his chair , not wishing to be on the receiving end of the woman's anger.

"Hehe ease up holmes , you're family now."  Jackie said patting y/n on the back.

V then lifted up his beer to toast. " to future gigs."

Jackie did the same. " and our new choom."

Y/n chuckled to himself, he didn't expect to walk out of that gig with new friends, the sadness from before emerged once again, this feeling of camaraderie, he felt something like this no too long ago....

He pushed down the feeling, that time has passed, it was time to look ahead.

Y/n brought his beer up as well. " and to the future."

"CLINK!"

——

Boom!

This was very fun to write :)

Brownie points to whoever can guess where "LETS DO THIUUUUS" is from

Let me know your thoughts!