Chapter Two

This may seem stupid, but Sasha has always believed in the saying, 'karma's a bitch n' half.

She knew that most would dismiss such a saying, deeming it as some sort of spiritual bullshit—all they need to do to support their bias would be to point out the spanning Night City and the giant edifices situated at its very center.

There is no such thing as karma, they would say. And Sasha would also believe them.

Heh, funny and fucking confusing at the same time, right?

The thing is that Sasha has seen many things in her short and always precarious course of life to come into her own little belief—if it could even be called that.

Sasha has seen Scavs nabbing some unlucky bastard off the streets, only for their 'workshop' to be wiped off the city map by mercs sent by vengeful relations. Yonos by the alleys, targeting any unlucky joytoy or gonk that crosses to star in some gory XBD, only for their luck to run out as their latest victim was a pissed-off cyberpsycho.

She's seen situations like that—even had gigs about issues related to that.

That's why, while Sasha would respect that others don't believe in such a thing as karma. That would not mean she does not believe in it herself.

She is not a good person. Sasha knew that truth more than anyone else, blood stained her hands in hundreds be it explicitly or implicitly, and some of that blood had innocent people mingled in it.

Klepping files or classified archives from corpos' facilities, meant that someone had to take the blame, and if there is one thing that's known in Night City is that megacorps aren't meant to be a charity—unless, you're Saburo Arasaka.

The bay had its fill of poor bastards whom the megacorps had written off.

Street shootouts meant casualties that would inevitably involve people who were harmlessly going about their day—caught by a stray bullet heading their path.

… She knew giving Beggar Boris, chump change as alms wasn't going to change that for all intent and purpose, its blood eddies. Eddies, that she would use to survive another day, to which she would ruin some poor bastard's life or zero another.

But even so, she wouldn't give it up. It's not because Sasha dreamed of making it to the big leagues, like how Maine always puts it, or getting a drink in the Afterlife named after her like Jonny Silverhand— Sasha Yakovleva would make a terrible drink name.

She wasn't truly a fan of living fast—cause, it gets one killed all too quickly.

No, her reason is simpler and baser than that; Night City wouldn't let her make that call.

Every day is all about survival.

Going out, Sasha leaves her home with her cyberware and deck at the ready. Irons are placed where she can easily reach them. Pockets are arranged in a manner that doesn't draw badges' eyes to her.

Every single day, she goes out into a city where there's an 80% risk of getting klepped, nabbed, or flatlined... Or where she's the one doing the klepping, nabbing, or zeroing.

… … … Sasha Yakovleva knows that sooner or later, she would be just another number among the city statistics that had lost their lives for the day.

Another soul devoured by the gluttonous City of Dreams.

But even so... Is too much for someone like her to hope that when her time comes, Sasha will stare at the reaper with a smile.

That when she flatlines, she flatlines for what she thinks is right...

"Hah~ what am I saying…? It's not like Night City would grant me that much, anyway."

ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ

(Manny's P.O.V)

"Come right in."

The woman—Sasha, gestured at Manny after opening the door to her house using some sort of keycard.

Candidly speaking, the house was kinda like how Manny had expected it to be. Clean with enough to space fit at most a normal four-person family.

But the thing is that Manny is certainly not normal... At least, compared to an average human.

"Excuse me," Manny muttered as he walked right in, careful not to step on anything.

Then again, his superhuman senses made such concerns obsolete.

As soon as Manny had stepped right in, his senses; eyes, ears, nose—heck, even his skin and tongue extended out as the entirety of the building's structure had been laid bare before his 'Mind's Eyes.'

Manny knew of the two rooms in the house and the items that were in them, he could even feel the basement and the system humming coming from there. Manny reckons it's probably some sort of computer room.

Damn, it sure felt creepy, or stalker-like to be more apt.

Withdrawing his senses, Manny strutted to one of the worn cushions and sat down. Wincing as the furniture creaked.

"Sorry about that," Manny said.

Thankfully, Sasha brushed it off with a light chuckle.

"Think nothing of it. It's an antic piece of crap, I'd managed to scrounge off the black market for some eddies. I'd been meaning to go buy another anyway. All you're doing is giving me the motivation to do so."

'Eddies, huh... Probably means something relating to money or currency.' Manny thought to himself, while he outwardly replied. "Then I suppose I should feel honored in spurring you."

"That you do... ..."

Sasha sputtered, before doubling down in laughter.

"Ok, seriously, cut it out with the high English. I may have gone to school for my basic education, but that doesn't mean I enjoy that kinda' talk. Reminds me too much of suits."

With her shoulders still shaking in mirth, Sasha sauntered to the fridge by the small kitchen and bent—whoa, there.

Manny quickly turned to look elsewhere feeling flustered.

Indeed, it seems even though Manny had become a warlike uber-superhuman, his base reactions were still there. He is still very attracted to beautiful women.

Her body-accentuated outfit certainly drew his eye. She was just that beautiful. Although, the sensual outfit part could be said for most of the people Manny had passed by, back in the more busy parts of the metropolis.

As painful as this may sound to some, this is one of Manny's very few meaningful interactions with the opposite sex apart from his mom or his 47-year-old neighbor, Aunty Becky.

'The benefits of an Adonis body, I guess.' Manny mentally summed up. 'Though she shouldn't blame me for looking—not when she's presenting it my way. A man's gotta look unless he's gay.'

Wise words Manny had gotten from the internet—and more than a few animes.

"So what's your poison, big guy? Hard or soft?"

"Huh?"

Manny would deny what came out from his lips that day had been a squeak.

"Damn, how are you the same guy who'd turned those gangoons into a bloody mist?" Sasha said with a smile, before raising two canned drinks. "So what kind of drink do you prefer, the one that'll shake your brain or the mild one?"

"Oh, that's what you mean by that."

Sasha's raised a brow as she strutted to him.

"Hmm~ what do you think I'd been inferring on, big guy?"

To not dig his own grave, Manny coughed.

"Nothing at all. Give me the mild one."

"Figure you might say that."

Sasha tossed him the white can, and settled herself on the furniture opposite him.

Meanwhile, Manny found himself in a new predicament—one more pressing than the fact of him being in an entirely new reality, that somehow seemed familiar, or that he was alone with a beautiful woman - now that Manny considered it, somehow that didn't faze him as much as he thought it would.

Manny was underage currently holding what was 99.9% beer. Mild yeas, but still an alcoholic drink. One that would make his mom and dad go on for an hour and 59 minutes rave if they saw him so much as glance at one.

'Is it right for a 17-year-old to drink?' Manny pondered.

All that remained was 6 months, and Manny would be deemed legal by national law. But at the moment, what he was about to commit was an offense at all levels.

Mom's words, not his.

But then again...

'Wouldn't it seem uncool if I didn't even take a sip?'

Manny discreetly eyed Sasha who was currently chugging her beer, before sighing and looking at the drink that comically looked small in his hands.

'Heh...'

In a way, this train of thought soothed him.

Like Manny had noticed about himself; becoming a Primarch has changed him on so many levels, and that didn't just stop at the physical level.

Even his thought process had changed.

The fact that Manny had not puked his guts back when he killed thought mobsters was a glaring reminder of his apparent change.

But this…

Manny shook his head.

'Mom and Dad aren't here to burst my ears off with their lectures.' Manny shivered. 'I'll just take it as one of the many secrets I'll keep from them and take to my grave.'

If you ever see them again.

Manny sighed as the voice grimly reminded him.

'If I ever see them again.'

Making a satisfied sound, Sasha dropped the empty can and said. "So where you from, Manny?"

"Hmm?"

"It'll take some time before my crew arrive and I can go get my sister from those Animals. So I figured I could use this chance for us to know each other. That is if you don't mind."

Shaking his head, Manny said. "No, not at all. Ask away. However, just know that I won't be able to answer all your questions."

In a way, Manny figured she could serve as a bouncing board for formulating his background.

'There's no way I can come out and say that I'd come from another reality and had been chucked into the body of a Primarch without sounding crazy. 'cause that sounds like crazy talk to me.'

"Fair enough. Nova enough for me..." Sasha said with a cheer. "I'm not asking much anyway. It's just that seeing you pull out those preem moves on those gonks. A girl's gotta ask if you're from around here?"

"And what if I am?"

"Then I'll start wondering what the hell is going on with the corpos for letting someone like you leave. Because I don't think I've seen anyone move as fast as you do. And believe me, when you've crashed as much cyberware as I have, that means a lot. There's also the..."

Sasha trailed off, eyeing Manny contemplatively before shaking off whatever budding thoughts she had.

"No, nothing. I don't want to say something stupid right now. So..." Sasha gestured at Manny.

'Here goes.' Manny breathed.

"Heh, well you've got me, I'm out towner. This is my official first day in Night City."

The beautiful woman snapped her fingers at Manny with a beam.

"Thought so. Most people would have passed me by without as much as a glance. But you stayed back and helped. I would say that's a bad attitude to have in Night City, but you did save me. So thanks, choom."

Manny popped the can open and took a swing at its contents—only for him to look at the can in mild surprise. Manny had expected it to taste sour or English like he had seen it in most movies.

That was why Manny had not expected the mild sweetness—and the sour aftertaste. There wasn't any sort of head ringing or drawing like he had expected. This could attributed to the fact that what he was taking was a light drink… And also his Primarch physiology.

To Sasha who was in the process of opening another can, Manny said. "So what about you? What's the deal with those Animals folks and why were they after you, anyway?"

"Hell if I know."

With a frustrated look, Sasha smashed the can against the arm of the cushion, spilling its contents. It was only after a few seconds, did she remembered that she wasn't alone.

With a sigh, Sasha turned to Manny.

"So—sorry, about that… I-I do have an idea of what the posergang wants me to do. It's just that doing what they want would end up with me and the ones I care about being another body found in the bay. It's not worth it..."

With an arm, cupping her face, Sasha tiredly muttered.

"Fuck, am I that desperate that I'd just open up to the first one that helps me?"

"Well, it helps that I'm not from around here." Manny offered, as he took a sip. "And since I'm new in town and don't have much to do. Figure I can help my first official choom in Night City."

Sasha laughed at that. "Yeah, maybe you're right. But as your choom, I'll tell you it's not wise getting involved in the kind of shit I'm in."

"Why? You've seen what I can do. So it's not like I can't take care of myself."

"No, it's not that, Manny. You've got what it takes to survive in Night City. But the shit I'm dealing with involves people related to two of the top gangs in Night City; the Tyger Claws and Animals. So trust me when I say this; unless what you're doing is related to a gig, you do not want to cross their path."

Manny's reply to that was simple.

⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎

Maybe this was where it all began; my ascension story, as Night City calls it nowadays.

For me, it all began with a simple affair.

She was desperate. She was hurting. She wanted help.

I didn't know if I was truly in the galaxy of Warhammer, or an entirely new one. I didn't know if this physique and power of mine was truly a Primarch physiology or am I grasping straws trying to make sense of my new condition.

But what was irrefutable was that I could help her. Manny can help her. I'm faster than fucking bullets, a hell lot stronger than what is logically possible.

It isn't pride talking that for all intents and purposes, I'm practically a Superman.

And I hadn't even been fully acclimated, yet.

At that moment, I felt something stirring within me. A storm of sorts. A surge of power is familiar yet different from the liquid fire coursing through me.

Shaking and roaring at me to take the first step…

And with a grin, I moved.

⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎

"So what?"

"Huh?" Sasha blinked. "What are you saying?"

Manny folded his arms.

"I said, so what?"

Sasha gasped—before it turned into a scowl.

"Is all that cyberware getting to your head or do you not understand a single word I'd just said? Or maybe, you just don't seem to understand the kind of place you're about to live in? Get this straight. If you wanna live in Night City, and I mean, live to see forty, then you must understand that meddling with Tyger Claws and Animals business is most definitely a no-go. Unlike you, they've got bodies to throw, and even more to spare if you're a pain in their ass. The kind of shit I'm in could potentially bring them down on my head. That means getting involved means there's a real possibility that you could get zeroed for it."

It is possible that if Manny didn't have this 'Primarch mindset,' he wouldn't have seen it. That he would have just barged out deeming Sasha as one ungrateful bitch undeserving of his help.

But that 'if' wasn't possible so Manny could see. Feel it pouring out in waves from Sasha. All her anger was centered on the fact that Manny was going to get hurt.

That he could die, all because he wanted to help her.

In a way, Manny admired her—despite, the precariousness of her situation, she still felt bad about getting someone involved in it.

Now, if only what she had just insinuated hadn't felt so insulting

An invisible pressure pulsed out from Manny. as the room ambiance grew impossibly heavy.

"Sasha, allow me to counter you with one simple question."

Manny knew something was going on with his eyes as he saw Sasha's scowl morph into fear. But Manny couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

Steepling his fingers, the Dragon narrowed his eyes.

"… Do you truly know me?"

ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ

(Sasha's P.O.V)

After living in Night City for over 19 years, Sasha Yakovleva felt like she had seen everything there is to be seen in this life—except Adam Smasher, of course. Because seeing him would mean an all-expense paid ticket to the grave.

"Sasha, allow me to counter you with one simple question."

But nothing. Absolutely nothing could describe the kind of fuck she was seeing right now.

Her guard had gone up when the room felt weird. Heavy to be more apt. Sasha felt like her optics were tricking her when she saw the slight shaking of the remote on the table.

'Maybe a gang fight's happening outside.' Sasha convinced herself—to no avail.

Turning to Manny, Sasha felt her breath immediately hitch.

'What the fuck's up with that?!'

Sasha has seen all kinds of Exotics, body-sculpting that screamed retro to ones that barely looked human. So Sasha felt that she was used to seeing all kinds of weird implants.

Especially ones used for intimidation effects.

The Maelstrom was useful for once, huh?

But nothing prepared her for a 9 ft. behemoth to stare at her with fiery eyes that seemed to be more on lightning than on fire.

By instinct, Sasha quickly deployed a QuickHack [OverHeat]. But delusion wasn't done with her yet.

'Hu-Huh?'

Sasha glanced at the notification in stupefied.

'No connection?!'

She couldn't even begin to comprehend how impossible that is.

In this day and age, cyberware is everything; the internet, messages, file storage, and eddies transactions. Even using smart weapons requires body implants.

Kids by the age of 10 have neural implants in them.

So why the fuck is she seeing, 'No Connection'?

This isn't a matter of having a powerful ICE. Even Adam Smasher, NC's boogie man would have a signal to latch no matter how powerful his ICE is.

No Connection would mean that Manny is a full 'ganic.

"Full 'ganic." Sasha dumbly muttered.

"… Do you truly know me?"

"Oh fuck..."

Her attempts at QuickHacking stopped as she stared at the impassive titan with a dumb look.

Being fully 'ganic would mean, cyberware had nothing to do with his size and the suddenly scary lightning his eyes were spewing out. Being fully 'ganic would mean sandavistan or speedware had nothing to do with his movements back then.

That was all his sheer speed.

Certainly, there's a possibility that Manny's physique is due to some special stim implants or body enhancements. But that line of thought died as soon as it arose.

Sasha lived in Night City. A city teeming with a posergang that doped on so much body enhancement that it made them look more beast than human.

Reaching Manny's size and even living after the procedure would require an absurd amount of eddies. Not to mention the body sculpting to hide all the scars...

Not even Sasquatch juices this much.

"… Do you truly know me?"

Sasha exhaled, hand over her face while chuckling.

"Message understood, big guy."

Manny blinked as a bemused look took over his impassiveness.

The room ambiance and shaking were spookily restored.

"Understood?"

At this, Sasha couldn't stop the bout of laughter from welling up.

"Someone ever tells you that you're a real enigma, Manny?"

Sasha took one last chug of her beer.

"One second, you're this scary demon. The other, you're one big puppy! Hah… Damn, I need someone like you in my life. It'll make every day seem more interesting if nothing else."

Straightening up, Manny tilted his head.

"Hmm... I don't know if I should feel gratified or insulted by that."

"Pick gratified."

Sasha rubbed the edge of her eyes, throwing a stunned Manny a smile she hadn't displayed in quite a while.

"Phew, it seems I needed the unwinding... Now that I see you still haven't gotten that blood off you... Hmm~ what's the worst that could happen?"

Standing up, Sasha beckoned Manny on with a finger.

"Let me show you the way to the bathroom so that you can go get yourself all cleaned up."

Couldn't let her new choom meet Maine and the others looking like he had come out from a slaughterhouse.