Pyrrhic Victory

The chase continued for ten more minutes, the group racing down the highway as Tyger Claws tried to stop them. The NCPD attempted to intervene too, but the Tygers were less than willing to share the bounty, blasting any officer who approached.

Eventually, their pursuers had to stop after the group entered Watson, unwilling to start fighting Maelstrom too. After that, getting to the oil fields north of the city was rather easy, the two cars dipped into a service tunnel and exited a good distance away, stopping the car on the far northwestern road out of Night City.

[GOD DAMN! We somehow made that shit work! Good job squad!] Maine laughs into the comms.

[Made it work? We all almost died back there! I ain't ever accepting a gig from that snot-nosed brat again!] - Pilar

[You seem to forget that you almost got us killed too.] Kiwi drawls

[How was your first real gig, Lucy? Bet you're regretting joinin' up now! Hahaha!] - Maine

[It was fine... Got some questions though.] - Lucy

[Ask later, now really isn't the time.] - Sasha

Ori disconnects the comms and retracts his grapple hook, grimacing at his dislocated arm... He pops it back into its socket and kneels down next to Six, whose body had been rolling about during the drive since Rebecca had been trying to help him.

"Ori I-"

"Don't. Not right now." he waves her off, "Sasha, we'll need to ditch the car for a bit, let the heat die down. Call a car, one that won't mind a body..."

"Alright..."

"What about your sister?" Rebecca quietly asks.

Ori's posture tenses, his expression conflicted. "Take her to Bats, get her looked over..."

"Don't you want to see her? She'd want to see you..."

"I can't. I'll be sick if I looked at her." he grouses.

"W-what? Because of what happened?" Rebecca questions, attempting to hide her anger but failing.

"Because I let it happen."

"Ori, cab'll be here in ten."

He nods, "Tell Maine I'll pay up later, I need to clear my head."

"Okay... If you need to talk jus-" Rebecca starts but is interrupted as he slams the door and walks away. "Yeah, love you too and all that..."

----------------

Rebecca and Sasha sit with Maine's crew and watch as the cab drives away with Ori and Six's body. Both look equally bothered by the situation.

"So..." Maine starts, "Are we gonna talk about 'that'? 'Cuz I feel like it's a pretty god-damn big deal."

"Depends if you think that kid's head gettin' popped like a zit a big deal?" Pilar adds, causing Rebecca to freeze.

"H-how'd you know about that!?"

"'Becca, we were jacked in, we saw what you did..." Kiwi quietly offers.

"You saw everything...?"

"Yeah, even you offing that psycho-buddy of yours. Nice shot by the way-Ouch!" Pilar yelps as Rebecca scratches his cheek with her Cybernetic fingers.

"I've never seen Cyberware that could do that... Restoring the brain..." Lucy remarks.

"Not to mention, getting back up and walking it off like nothing..." Dorio mutters, "'Least he stays true to his name, kid's as durable as the undead for sure."

Sasha shakes her head, "Look, whatever it is, you can ask Ori. It's his business, none of us like our problems getting revealed to the world, so he shouldn't have to explain himself!"

Maine chuckles, "I wouldn't really call what he's got a 'problem'... Hell, I'd give my balls for some chrome like that."

"I wouldn't, they're half the reason I like you..." Dorio says.

"And the other half?"

"The Eddies." she states, causing the group to laugh.

"What're we gonna do with the two in the truck? Kid left 'em here without a word." Maine questions.

"I'll take them to his uncle, they both need to see a doc anyway..." Rebecca says as she gets to her feet and walks over to the truck, Sasha silently following.

They open the door and find both Cat and Fujino in there, both unconscious in the car seats.

"Do you want to talk?" Sasha inquires.

"Talk about what?" Rebecca snaps with a scowl.

"Six... Ori...?"

"What about them? I killed Six and Ori hates me for it. Ungrateful-"

"He doesn't hate you, otherwise he would've said so. I can't blame him for wanting some time alone, maybe his injury left some spots in his memory too?"

Rebecca perks up, "You think so...?"

Sasha shrugs her shoulders, "I said maybe. Neither of us have any idea what Cyberware he has, besides, his friend just died. I didn't know Six long and I'm feeling it, you should be too..."

"He was a Cyberpsycho. He deserved what he got."

"Did he? You really believe that?"

"Yes-, no. I-, I don't know..." Rebecca shakes her head, "Kitty, he fucking domed Lampost! What was I supposed to do!?"

"It doesn't matter what I think you should have done, in the moment I would have done the same. The only thing that matters is what you think you should have done."

Rebecca sits on the backseat of the truck with a frown, "Ori almost died, and he was about to attack me. We didn't have any immunosuppressants so..." her expression falls and she curls up into a ball, drooping her head as she wraps her arms around her knees. "This-, this really fucking sucks." she quietly says, swallowing her sob and forcing herself not to choke up.

Sasha gives a sad smile and hugs her, and Rebecca finally lets the gates down and silently cries into her chest.

-----------------

"We really not gonna do anything about that kid's chrome?" Pilar questions as Sasha and his sister enter the truck.

Maine shakes his head and lights up a cig, "Kid's Rebecca's, which means he's one of us, even if you don't want it that way. Besides, I'd rather not test having my brains splattered anyway, that happens and we're probably fucked regardless of what happens."

"I guess..." Pilar grumbles.

"Hey, didn't you say something earlier about taking the truck out without my say-so...?" Maine asks Pilar with a malicious glare.

"Er, no?"

"Dorio, Pilar's your trainin' dummy for the week. If he complains, hit 'em until he stops." Maine states.

"Wait, what!?"

"Gotcha, why don't we start now, eh Pilar?" Dorio grins, approaching him.