Cyberpunk?

| Police Department |

"Mr. Starscourge right?" The man in an NPCD outfit looked up from the paper in his hands. Looking back down he continues, "No state identification number, are some sort of junkies from the streets? But judging from your clothes, you don't look like one. Where are you from exactly?"

"Let's just say I'm not exactly from this city."

"So a nomad then?

I met him with only silence.

"Fine, I won't press any further."

He took a long deep breath.

"Honestly, I would like to finish this quickly. I finally had a peaceful day today with no calls about any cyber psycho. I would gladly confine you guys for the charges against you. So I hope you don't ruin my good day. If you catch my meaning, I'll let you both off for today, so cooperate nicely. I know you're both new to night city so I'll only be giving you this one warning, don't screw it up."

"Sir, I'm thankful and I would rather not make any excuses. Out of respect, the situation is a bit complicated for us. So we can only answer what we can," I said.

Taking a long stare at me he replies, "Very well… although, it sounds to me you're hiding something."

Breaking the small silence he continues, "You know, you're only making things more suspicious with your silence."

A few seconds later the silence was broken by the sound of the door clicking open. A man in a suit walked in bending his back to whisper something into the officer's ear. The officer nods and only looks back at us with pity, as he leaves the room.

Seeing the guy in the suit sitting in front of us, gave me a bad feeling, but not a dangerous one.

"Hi, my name is Frank Nostra, I work for Arasaka. I'm a special operations agent and I'm here today to investigate why you two were caught messing with Arasaka property."

The guy looked down at the paper for a moment.

"So Mr. Starscourge and Miss Riannon. What strange names. Both of you care to explain what happened out there?"

Before we could answer we were once again interrupted by the door opening. A woman wearing NPCD armor walked in breathing heavily.

"A gang war is happening in the next block!"

The guy was met with an awkward silence.

"I just thought I'd let you know," the woman said.

"I understood clearly, however, what does that have to do with me exactly? I have no concerns over some gang war, I'm currently in an investigation as you can see."

The woman was left speechless for a moment before leaving reluctantly.

"So where were w-"

The Arasaka agent suddenly stopped mid-sentence. He taps the side of his forehead. His pupils are now glowing blue.

Trying to understand the situation I entered his mind. I saw a terrified woman that seemed to be caught in the middle of a gang war.

"Allison?"

…

"Where are you?"

…

"I'll be there soon, don't do anything stupid."

Not long after he taps the side of his forehead. Standing from his chair he says one last thing after leaving in a hurry.

"It seems you both are very fortunate."

…

Is this a coincidence? It seems too convenient.

"Strange," I say aloud.

Ciri replies, "You're telling me, what's with all these people, they all have strange markings on their faces and do things I only see robots do."

Raising my eyebrows I ask, "Riiight. So what world did you fall into that had robots? I remember you telling me a little about your world, it seems to be in the medieval age. You shouldn't have knowledge about them yet."

"It's a long story, to put it short. The world seemed to be at constant war and the different nations were relying on these robots to fight for them. Do you want to know more?"

"No, you lost my interest."

"Hmph, fine. How about we blow this joint?"

"And where did you learn that from?" I ask.

Sticking out her tongue she laughs and answers, "Not telling."

Outside the building, I could see Ciri looking around like a girl shopping in a mall for the first time.

"Ciri"

Turning around she looked me straight in the eyes expecting me to continue.

"How long does it usually take for your energy to replenish?"

"It usually only takes me no longer than a day why?"

"Then how close are you right now to being able to use that ability of yours."

"Well, I could have used it a few minutes ago when we were in that police station."

"Huh? Then why are we still here? Don't tell me your—"

She cuts me off, "Yeah I am, come on Art! Have a little fun!"

It would be nice if she could get some kind of control over her teleporting. I'm already getting tired of this, I want to go home. I already know I'm in the cyberpunk world as if an ad saying Welcome to night city didn't give it away.

Don't get me wrong, this world seems fun to explore. But it's not all rainbows and sunshine. There are a lot of messed up things going on in this city. You know it's bad when a city has ads selling bottles of fresh air.

We're also not exactly in the best situation here, we already have Arasaka's attention. There is also the fact that we have no money.

Taking a deep breath I say, "Fine but only for a day, after that we leave."

Walking around the city I noticed there seemed to be a theme going on. Cybertronics and neon lights. Ciri and I felt really out of place here, we would get weird looks from time to time. It's given since she is still carrying that sword on her back and we don't have any cyberware on our faces. I forgot to mention that there were so many ghetto areas in this city, almost every street looked like a perfect mugging spot.

After walking for a few minutes, we reached a market stall area and I instantly got the aroma of food. It wasn't exactly pleasant. However, when you're hungry, anything will taste good. We both decided to sit down at a stand, with the owner looking somewhat decent.

"Welcome! What would you like to eat? Don't be shy, take a look at the menu."

"We're not here to eat, we came because we have a question. You see, we're new to the city and don't have any money. Do you perhaps know where we can earn some?"

The owner laughs and answers, "Ah, new to the city? My friend, you did not have to tell me that. One look and I could tell. Another giveaway is that no one calls it money anymore, it's called eddies."

"Well you came to the right place, I happened to hear that there is someone looking for mercenaries to do a simple job."

"We're not mercenaries though, why would you recommend us?"

"For starters, we all start out somewhere, I remember when I was like you. Finding a stable income isn't easy in this city, you know."

"Get to the point," said Ciri.

"Alright then, the point is I can tell you both look strong and know your way out of a tough situation. So this job would be perfect for the both of you."

"Do we look strong?"

"Of course! You can't hide that toned body from me. I can tell you to work out unless you're taking steroids that is."

"Steroids? What's that?"

The man laughs

"That's a good joke chica!"

Seeing her serious face he continued, "Wait you're serious?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

The man looks at me and I just shrug. He looks back at Ciri as if she is an alien.

"Aren't you a little too innocent haven't your paren-"

I cut off his words by putting my hand on his shoulder whilst shaking my head at him. "Don't go there."

He nods with scared eyes, as Ciri stares straight into his eyes with an intimidating look. Looking around in awkwardness, he says aloud, "How about I give you guys a discount for being new to the city, free food, on me."

"Now you're talking!" Shouted Ciri.

A few minutes after looking at the menu, Ciri finally decides what she wants. Pointing at the menu she says, "How about this, can I get two of these?"

Looking over the counter the man answers, "You mean burgers? Alright, two burgers coming right up."

I ended up with five hotdogs. What? I was hungry.

After finishing our food I look at the man and said, "So about that job, can you tell us a little more about it? We might be interested in it after hearing what it's about."

"I knew you guys would come around."

"If you wanna hear about the job you gotta ask Blaze about it. You can find him in the motel over there," he said while pointing behind us.

Both of us turn around and see a glowing blue neon sign spelling, 'No-Tell Motel'. The motel was a five-story building. It was rundown, dirty, and covered in graffiti.

| Motel Image |

"Just head in there and find room 204, make sure to knock four times, followed by one delayed knock."

Waving his hand at us, he continues, "Alright now shoo, I have to pay the Tiger Claws soon."

Grabbing Ciri's arm, as she was glued to the tv, I replied, "Thank you for your hospitality, the food was great."

Hearing my words Ciri whispers in my ear as we leave, "You're lying right? The food wasn't even good at all, not to mention the horrible aftertaste."

Walking toward the motel I glance at Ciri. Pointing around the other stalls, I answer, "Well you're not wrong, but haven't you noticed it yet? All the food here seems a little weird don't you think?"

She nods, whilst looking around.

Entering the building I could see that it offered a few amenities other than a couple of vending machines located in the lobby where some kids were hanging around. The layout consists of a large atrium topped with a glass ceiling, allowing the room to be filled with natural light.

| Atrium Image |

Heading towards the staircase on the first floor we were led to balconies on each upper floor surrounding the atrium, following these balconies around the atrium led us to single corridors where rooms are located on each side. We saw we were only at the 100 numbers, so we headed to the third floor.

It didn't take long as we reached the last door in the corridor. 'Room 204'. I knocked four times then delayed one knock. The door opened revealing a buff woman. Leaving Ciri surprised as she expected to see a man.

"What? never seen a woman with the name Blaze before, little girl?"

I was unfazed and spoke up, "So are you the one looking for mercs to do a simple job?"

"Tsk, Pedro that idiot I told him to send someone with experience. Both of you look unfamiliar, are you sure your mercs? Hold on a moment, I'm taking a call."

She stopped as we saw a familiar scene, her eyes glowed. I couldn't help but eavesdrop, so I checked her mind.

"Pedro you fool, do you think this is a daycare? I told you to stop sending me inexperienced newbies. And I don't want to hear your speech again, we've been over this. Besides, these guys don't even look like they're running any cyberware!"

"Come on chica give them a chance, I have a good eye for this kind of thing and these two look perfect for the job."

"Perfect for the job? That's what you said last time! The guys you sent that time ended up in the hospital with barely recognizable faces. Good eye for this, my ass!"

"You don't have to remind me. This time I have a good feeling about these two. How about this? Why don't we make a bet? If they fail I'll give you my La Chingona Dorada. How about it?"

| La Chingona Dorada |

"You're betting that pistol away? Isn't that the pistol you won in a bet with a guy named Jacky? And the guy has been trying to get it back ever since. It took you forever to get it. Why bet on it now? Are you really Pedro? Do you trust these guys that much?"

"Of course! Why else would I? You should have a little faith in me chica."

"Fine. And if they succeed?"

"How about I get your ride? The QUADRA TYPE-66 'JAVELINA' right?"

"You're pushing it, try something else."

"Aw come on don't be like that."

"Pedro! You know it's not a fair deal so pick something else or I'll come over there and smash your face in."

"Alright, alright, calm your horses, I was only playing. Hmm, what about… aha! How about the new cyberware you recently bought, the Bioconductor."

"This still seems a little unfair, but I've been looking for a new sidearm for a while now, so I'll take the bet."

"Ahha! Prime! Chica. Prime!"

"Alright, I'm ending the call. I don't want to hear your voice for another second."

Shutting down the call, the woman's eyes turn back to normal.

"So what was that about? We were in a conversation, then you rudely stopped in the middle just standing there doing nothing with your eyes glowing. Are all people in the city like this?" Said Ciri.

"I was on a call with Pedro. It seems he trusts both of yo-"

Ciri interrupts, "Who's Pedro?"

"He's the guy who led you here."

The woman sighs.

"That sounds like Pedro alright, trying to be mysterious and cool. Ok, let's just get straight to business, I have places to go after this."

She gestures for us to enter the room.

| Author's Note: Should the cyberpunk arc be short or long? How much do you guys wanna see? I haven't decided yet so I'm asking here |