Coping With The Answers

Sasha didn't consider herself annoying. Many people thought of her as an extrovert though. A social butterfly. The outgoing woman could make friends with just about anybody. It was this quality of hers that brought her to Maine's crew. 

The gang was all here. In front of the Turbo Bar. All her friends were talking about different things. The cat girl herself slid in between conversations, joking and all. 

Everything was great right now. The food was good. The drinks were good. Another gig had been completed. So what was that feeling deep down? Why wasn't she focused on the present?

"Siiigh."

Sasha looked at her display once again. There was only one person that hadn't responded to her messages. The one person she actually wanted to hear from. She still couldn't forget how beautiful but terrifying Drifter looked in combat. 

It was unsettling to know someone could just slice you apart before you even noticed. Not to mention that it would burn. A lot. A searing pain. How in the hell did she get such a weapon? There was no doubt that if the corporations truly wanted, they could make it…but such a thing would cost too many resources. 

A laser blade. Red. The cat girl could tell that this creepy merc was overly familiar with the weapon. Like an extension of her body. What did she look for in life? What were her goals? Why was she in Night City? Sasha wanted to know it all. 

Unfortunately, she'd only be able to ask if the merc stopped by. Who knew when that would be? What if it never happened? A woman like her probably had better things to do. 

"Siiiigh."

'If it wasn't for her, I'd be dead.' Sasha thought.

"You're huffing and puffing again. Doing that a lot recently. What's up?"

A feminine voice had spoken up. The cat girl turned to the source. There was a small, petite woman that only reached Sasha's waist. Pale green hair that matched the eyes. Red sclera instead of white. 

"Rebecca…"

"Well? What's the deal?"

"Ahh…it's nothing."

"Sure don't sound like nothing." Rebecca mocked. 

She didn't push any further though. Instead, the bite sized woman strolled away with hands behind her head. Most likely to get another drink. 

"You shouldn't be drinking."

An older man covered in weird cyberware spoke up. His face was hidden behind an infovisor. Not to mention the golden hand. He seemed weird. The burger he was eating seemed good though. 

"Fuck you, big bro!"

"Hey! Did you already have a drink?! When?!"

"None of your business!"

"Is that how you speak to your older brother?! Why I oughta…"

"Cool it, Pilar." Maine spoke up.

He was a tank of a man. Brown skin and a blonde flattop…but rippling with cyberware. Definitely a borg. Not to mention that he was ex-Millitech. A veteran by all means.

Sitting next to him was Dorio. His right hand…and his babygirl. His input. Don't let that fool you though. Dorio was a macho woman. The silent type. Big and buff as hell but not nearly Maine's size. She also had blonde hair and seemed much more serious. 

"Tch." Pilar clicked his tongue but dropped it. Rebecca then went off to get another drink.

"I swear, those two love each other too much." Maine grunted. Dorio downed a cup of alcohol before answering. 

"They sure don't act like it."

"What do you see from it?" He asked.

"Rebecca is a firecracker. It worries Pilar." She explained.

"That's pretty obvious."

"You asked." Dorio rolled her eyes.

Sasha went over to the last two people in the crew. At the edge of the lot, a car was parked. Beyond it was a decent view of the city. A man sat in the driver seat while smoking a cig. The wisps of smoke trailed out the window.

Another woman leaned on the hood of the parked car. A cig was also in her hand…but it wasn't lit yet. She seemed to be brooding. Looking out at Night City. With radiant white hair that turned iridescent toward the ends, and a pretty face that made models look like normal people…Sasha hated to admit it. This woman was more beautiful than herself.

"Falco, Lucy. What's new over here? Not joining the others?" Sasha greeted casually.

"Too noisy. My ears were buzzing." Falco joked. 

"........................." Lucy didn't respond. Her gaze remained unchanged.

"Wow, Lucy. Ignoring me huh? Rude. Don't make me tickle you!"

".........................."

"Did you at least eat?"

".........................."

Lucy raised an empty wrapper and shook it. A burger wrap. Looks like she was already done eating. Sasha nodded with a sigh. As long as she was taking care of herself. 

The white haired girl was a few months new to the crew. She'd been brooding ever since she joined. Nobody asked about it. It was an unwritten rule in the crew to not ask about someone's past unless they tell it themselves. Sure was easy to tell that Lucy had a story though.

BEEP

A notification popped up on Sasha's display. When she looked at it, she froze. Her eyes widened. 

'I'm around the corner. Be there in a sec.' ~ Drifter

Oh shit. Oh shit! Yes! The cat girl immediately skipped over to Maine, who was busy groping Dorio. Two large borgs feeling each other up. What a weird sight.

"Maine! Maine! Guess what?"

"Hmmm?" Maine paused his actions with a frown. Dorio took this moment to drink more alcohol.

"Maine!"

"What Sasha? What?" He grunted.

"She's coming! The merc from the Biotechnica job. She's almost here! Coming right now!" Sasha exclaimed. 

A few of the other crew members perked up at her words. The cat girl had told the story of her gig to each of her friends at this point. Now everyone was curious about the mysterious merc.

"You mean that badass you've been hyping up?" Pilar spoke up.

"Honestly thought you were in love." Dorio commented. Sasha frowned. 

"What? No! You guys don't understand. When you see her, you will. It's like…It's like the world moves for her."

"Damn, choom. You're riding this merc pretty hard. Sure it's not a crush?" Rebecca called out from afar. Sasha couldn't help but stamp her foot in frustration.

"It's called admiration! Geez! Why does everyone have to be such gonks?!"

…

…

…

VROOM

Lei's engine roared as it entered the parking lot. The loud rumble announced her arrival. Multiple customers at the bar turned toward the source, including Maine's crew. 

The motorcycle hadn't even finished parking yet but Sasha was already waiting beside it. Lei kicked out the stand before leaning back on her seat. Only then did she turn to the cat girl. 

"You…look different." That was the first thing that blurted from Sasha's mouth. 

She wasn't wrong however. Lei didn't use the infovisor anymore. Her empty eyes were now bare for all to see. Not only that. The breather over her mouth amplified the sound of her breathing. Quite intimidating. 

"Hmm. I trust that you've been okay since last time?" Lei said. 

Drifter casually removed the breather in the process. For the first time ever, Sasha was able to see the merc's whole face. What she saw made her frown slightly. Not to mention the rest of the crew who were peeking. 

Her face and skin was extremely pale. Empty grey eyes that almost seemed glazed over. Eyebags that recently took root, looking like she hadn't slept in days. And her expression…she was forcing herself to be social. After being around Lucy long enough it was now easy for Sasha to notice.

'Not going to even try to pretend?' Johnny spoke up.

'.........................' Lei didn't bother responding. 

Life sucked right now. Well…even worse than it already did. Especially for the sickly girl. She didn't want to go home. Didn't want to return to her suite. That would force her into a depression. 

As such, Lei had spent the days outside. Looking for ways to keep her mind busy. Obviously it wasn't working. It was clear as day on her face. Even then…Sasha realized that this sickly girl was quite beautiful. Hard to notice unless one looked closely.

"I've been okay but…you…" Sasha trailed off. 

"Drinks and a burger. I need that right now." Loralei said.

"Hmph! Of course! This meal is on me today."

"...Preem." A tiny smile tugged at the drifter's lips. 

As the two approached the bar's order window, the crew observed the sickly girl. A common occurrence that she was used to. Lei quickly scanned the area just to be prepared for anything. Dorio and Pilar were nervously rubbing their iron after all.

"You the merc Sasha's been yapping about lately? I don't see the big deal." Maine spoke up. 

"That's because I'm a nobody. What exactly has this cat girl over here been saying?" Lei responded with a tired smile. Her voice was like honey to the ears. Maine couldn't help but smirk.

"Heh. Not too long ago she said that the world mnynyun." His words stopped making sense due to Sasha's hand covering his mouth.

"Shut it! Shut it, shut it!" She hissed like the cat she seemed to emulate.

"Hey! You there!" Rebecca called out. Lei turned to the side and didn't see anyone. 

"..........?"

"Down here!"

The sickly girl lowered her gaze to find the tiny woman. Rebecca was glaring up at her. Hands resting on her hips. 

"Hello there. You're quite small aren't you…pretty cute." Loralei commented with a tilt of the head.

"What'd you just say?! Wha-Hey!"

Lei's hands went under the little woman's arms and picked her up like a toddler. Eerie gray irises stared into green ones. Rebecca was already growling…but a subtle dread stopped her from acting out. This merc was a bit scary after all. Didn't want her to snap. Was she a cyberpsycho?

"So tiny! Would you be willing to be my cuddle buddy? You're the perfect size for me." 

"Hell no!" Rebecca snarled. "You better put me down before I hit you!"

"But I think you would like it. Why not?"

"Grrrrr!" Rebecca finally swung a fist. Lei dodged with a tilt of her head and smiled. 

"Alright. Alright. I'm sorry. Don't be mad, okay? You'd definitely be much cuter with a smile." 

"Fuck off!" 

After Lei put her down, Rebecca stomped off into the distance. Sasha and Pilar watched with shocked gazes. That was a totally unexpected outcome. Last time someone picked her up, the gonk had to go to the hospital with an exploded ballsack.

Time passed as the group hung around. Lei's food and drink came out after a few minutes. Sitting down at the table, Sasha followed suit. 

"Turbo's burgers aren't half bad. I think you'll like it."

"......................."

The drifter looked at the burger. Hmm…looks pretty good. Nice and juicy. Hopefully it will taste good too. Would she still be able to taste food if she converted too far on the side of AI?

Would she still be herself? What would happen to her psyche? Would her goals change? What if she killed everyone she'd ever known? Would this change make her a tried and true cyberpsycho? Damnit. Lei started to drown in her thoughts.

'A fucking robot zombie. I'm turning into a robozombie! Fuuuuuck.' She thought. 'It was better when I thought this was just a heart disease. Now I'll just be an animated corpse. Ugh.'

"Drifter?"

'I don't wanna die like that…I have to find a way to the moon. Or send someone there. Who do I send, though? Who can I trust with that? Who has the skills to even strong-arm the moon facility into helping?' She thought. It was a downward spiral. 

"Drifter?" Sasha's voice rang again. Lei snapped out of it for a moment.

"The name's Lei." She commented before biting into the burger. 

It was quite good. Not as good as the one Meredith gave her though. Speaking of Meredith…wasn't there a bonus she was supposed to get from the last gig? Right. Like an extra benefit. Lei would have to call her later.

"Lei…you have a nice name." The cat girl immediately updated the contact info with the newly acquired name. 

"Hmm."

The sickly girl didn't wolf down the food. Instead…it was more tiny bites. Like a rabbit. Didn't seem like she was as hungry as she thought. Come to think of it…Lei hadn't eaten in two days. Her new outlook on life stopped her from feeling hungry.

"Lei, can I ask you something?" Sasha couldn't help but speak up again. She'd been eyeing the merc this whole time. 

"...Sure."

"How did you learn to fight like that?"

"I was taught."

"Was that person stronger than you?"

"...Yes." She hummed…but her mind continued. 'At least he was until we both got sick.'

Loralei glanced at her cup of alcohol. Just to find it empty. When in the hell did she drink it? More. Lei needed more. 

"Give me a sec." She said. Sasha nodded. 

The drifter went back to the window and put in another drink order. Immediately after, she walked to the edge of the lot. Her gaze went to the city…then she fell into her mind once again. 

'The least I can do is find out how this ends.' She thought. 

To find out for her people. Her little brother. Her grandmother. The people who didn't survive this shitty curse. All this work just to learn that she was turning into artificial intelligence…damnit…her mind kept going back to that. It was a hard pill to swallow.

Especially…because she could FEEL the changes. The differences in her calculation speed, her combat decisions, her use of natural gravity. Not to mention…this newly acquired ability. Something to do with technology…almost like a sixth sense? She couldn't tell. 

Loralei's eyes grew watery. She couldn't help but choke back a sob…but she promised herself. After this it was right back to the grind. Right back to finding a way. For now though, she would just find time to accept her condition. 

"Hey." A voice called out beside her. Lei turned to see a beautiful white haired woman. 

Lucy was still leaning against the car, but the cig was finally lit. The brooding woman raised a pack of cigs. An expression of…familiarity on her pretty face. 

"...You look like you need a smoke." 

"........................"

"...No?" Lucy lowered her hand. 

"I'll take one. Thanks."

Loralei didn't have a lighter. It seemed Lucy already knew this. She brought the lighter to the sickly girl's lips so Lei could inhale. Once it was lit, they both turned back to the city. A comfortable silence followed. About five minutes later…Lucy spoke. 

"I'm Lucy."

"...Lei."

"Hm."

"........."

As Lei navigated her way through this shattering mental blow, a message popped into her inbox. She didn't bother looking at it. The message could probably wait. This cig was more important right now. So was that alcohol.

'You've gone past the Blackwall. So have I…Let's talk.' ~ S+#g*^%d

The glitched out characters slowly fixed itself until a clear name was revealed. 

~ Songbird