Chapter Eight

(Sasha P.O.V)

25 minutes ago,

"Yeah, I'm sure he's a friggin' goner."

It's been over 5 minutes since Pilar uttered those words after Manny had upped and left for the Animals Den. Though for that, the Mohawk gonk had a kick and straight hook right to the guts and chin—courtesy of an irritated Sasha and Rebecca.

Nevertheless, while Sasha hated the annoying thought of Pilar being right, she couldn't help but admit that the Techie had a point in saying what he had just said.

There was no denying that Manny was special: his charismatic demeanor, drawing peculiarity, totally nova skills—even his hot looks—everything about him had this S-Grade feeling to it.

After some measly hours spent with the big guy, Sasha—despite her way of thinking—came to realize that in a few months to come, she'll be hearing his name on the lips of Night City.

Even so, all that was nothing more than speculation—a budding expectation made in a place like this… And by now, anyone that isn't a leadhead would understand that such speculations mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Which is why…

Sasha took in a deep breath and nodded at Maine.

"5 minutes: we'll see how things go in 5 minutes. If nothing changes or the situation gets worse… We'll be doing things according to the original plan."

"Heh, that's my girl," Maine smirked. "Nice to see golden eyes hasn't swayed your common sense away from you."

Meanwhile the short-stack gremlin, Rebecca scoffed.

"Remind me to record your faces when Manny comes back with Stella."

"Come off out of it, Becca. I admit Manny's a nova guy and all. But you've got to admit: ain't nobody truly superhuman in this City. Not even someone like him."

Maine cranked the large iron in his arm.

"All that's needed is a lucky shot or an unlucky day, and even the Big Guy comes down like a fucking domino."

Meanwhile, the Netrunner set the timer in her neural ware and turned on the [Eavesdrop] function from the device she had given Manny.

"It's not like I don't share your hopes, Becca," Sasha explained. "But that's my sis in there. I won't be risking my big sister for something as abstract as expectations…"

Rebecca eyed Sasha for a moment and shrugged.

"Eh~ then again, you won't exactly see me arguin' …"

With that, Sasha put the device on loudspeaker, reclined, and waited.

'Do it again, Manny. Surprise me in a way Night City has never done before.'

… And maybe—just maybe—the Edgerunner could once again HOPE to DREAM.

ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ

20 minutes later,

"Bwahahahahahaha… Come on bossman, smile for the camera~"

"Get that fucking thing off my face."

"Nope can do, choomba. Gotta commemorate this for posterity."

With a cackle, Becca kept on clicking the button of a hand-me-down IO (Image Only) agent from before the Time of Red in Maine before turning her attention to her brother.

"Now now, don't be shy and pose for the camera, Pilar. You're right on the fucking list!"

"Ugh, would you freaking CUT it out, sis?" Pilar groaned irascibly.

Unfortunately, the mad gunner wasn't having any of it.

"Nuhuh. Weren't you the one who said: ahem, 'Yeah, I'm sure he's a friggin' goner', right?" Rebecca cackled once again for good measure. "Seems like he's a goner alright—just not in the way you'd expected him to go!"

Sasha smiled in exasperation.

'She's gonna be insufferable for the next few days.'

Sasha mentally thanked whoever was upstairs that she isn't Pilar at the moment—well, there's also Maine, but considering Rebecca, her onslaught is mostly going to be focused on Pilar.

Poor bastard.

With that, the Netrunner turned to the man of the hour—and more importantly, to the woman beside him as she felt an indescribable weight fall off her shoulders.

"Rough day huh…"

"No kidding, who would've thought a little outing would lead me to be kidnapped by those Animal fuckers."

Stella stood by the entrance of the vehicle, rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish look on her face.

"Must have caused you guys quite a lot of trouble to get me out of there in one piece… Sorry about that."

"Hold your thanks right there, Stella." Dorio interrupted.

"Ain't nothing we won't do for Sasha's sis—and NC's upcoming idol. And honestly, getting you out of there didn't cost as much as you thought it would… All thanks to the big guy beside you."

The girl in question glanced at Manny with a light blush.

"Yeah, I noticed—umhp…"

Whatever Stella was about to say was cut off by Sasha's unexpected embrace.

Despite appearances, Sasha couldn't keep herself from being all sentimental at the sight of her sister being hale and hearty.

"Whoa, Sasha…"

"Whoa, your fucking self," Sasha mumbled as she squeezed her sister tighter. "Got me so fucking worried I thought my chromes were gonna fry from fucking stress."

The Netrunner has seen all kinds of death in Night City.

Most if not all weren't pretty to look at.

The lucky ones were the ones who flatlined painlessly—others, well, there's a reason why some fetish XBDs are always fresh in the Black Market.

There was no denying sooner or later, the Pale Rider would be coming to get her.

Sasha has gone far too deep into the World of an Edgerunner for her to start thinking of washing up and starting afresh—not like she has the eddies to do so anyway.

But Stella is different.

Sasha never did get down with what was buzzing in the entertainment industry—had to use that time to make more eddies—and she never tried to understand Stella's fascination with idols and why she wanted to become one.

Still, Sasha readily admits that Stella's got the voice and the passion to reach for stardom. However short it may be. Unlike her, Stella can still do something with her life.

This is why no matter what: before the Pale Rider comes to claim his dues, Sasha wants to see her sister staking her claim in this unforgiving World.

At the very least, let Stella be the one smiling for the rest of the Yakovlevas.

[Burn Bright and Never Die]

Thump… Thump… Thump…

'The fuck…?'

Sasha shook her head at those—scarily influencing—words and glanced at Manny who had been silent all this time as she silently mouthed a 'Thank You.'

"Thanks for saving my ass, sis. All of you guys…" Stella turned to look at the Adonis. "Even you too, hunk. Thanks for everything."

Manny lightly shrugged.

"It's nothing. Besides, in the end, it's not like I got the raw end of the deal."

"You know, a girl's gotta wonder..." Rebecca, who had the IO agent around her neck said. "When you said you had a plan for those guys: was it that you wanted to make them your minions or what?"

"It's nothing of that sort," Manny explained,

"All I saw was an opportunity. An opportunity Katz was willing to ignore and I was willing to take... And besides, you've got it wrong, Rebecca. Maybe they were minions before. But not anymore. Now they're something much more..."

What followed was an impromptu staring contest that spoke more volumes than the words Manny had just said.

And then...

"… Alright-alright. I can tell by the look in your eyes, big guy. Helios Wrath, huh? That's some fucking NOVA stuff you got going there."

Rebecca's lips spread in a smirk as her porcelain face lightly dusted in a blush.

"Make me wish I'd met ya 4 years earlier."

Something in Sasha's gut uncomfortably churned (?) at that.

Why though?

Honk!

The truck suddenly honked as Falco chimed in with a hint of impatience.

"Alright, folks, not to be a party pooper or anything. But, I, for one think it's time for us to giddy up and head on back. Here isn't exactly the kind of place to start going all lovey-dovey."

Rebecca threw him the finger salute.

"Fuck you, man."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm plenty satisfied with the service I get at Lizzie's Place."

Meanwhile, Manny turned to Stella and said. "… Remember to give your sis one hell of a hug when you're finally home. She pulled through for you today."

Stella laughed and pulled Sasha into another deep embrace.

"Don't you worry about that, hunk: I'll be holding on to her for the rest of the day~"

Sasha faux squirmed for a bit before throwing Manny a pouty look.

"I blame you for that."

"Heh, ain't that precious," Dorio commented as she nudged her Output.

Meanwhile, Maine who had been silent, finally sighed and rubbed the edge of his brows.

"Well, what do you know? You upped and did it: Took on the Animals by yourself and won. No, even more than that. You ripped off the Animals' image and replaced it with one of your own."

The truck was unnaturally silent as Manny walked right in—which buckled the vehicle with his immense weight—and sat beside the Crew Leader.

"I like to think of myself as a Man of his Word. If I say I would do something, then believe me: I won't back down NO MATTER WHAT."

"Man of his word, huh?"

The contemplative look currently fixed on Maine's face was one Sasha has seen from time to time—especially when he thinks no one is watching him.

Not like the gonk could hide it from Sasha and Dorio, anyway.

"So about those words you said before. You know… Night City's false stars and eternal sun." Maine began, "Those weren't you just throwing big words to impress the crowd, eh."

Manny folded his arms and stared right at Maine.

"What do you think?"

"Eh…?"

"Like I said, I make an effort to be a Man of my Word. I won't be making any promises. I'll let my actions do the talking for me… So how about we cut the skirt-chasing and get to the heart of it, choom."

Maine's palms sporadically opened and bawled into fists, but Sasha knew that was merely his way of releasing the tension from his body.

Sasha's eyes minutely narrowed.

'Is Maine about to say what I think he's about to say?'

Not like it would surprise her one bit considering Maine's dream, but—

"… … Well."

Maine started—before suddenly laughing in a deflecting manner.

"Nope. It's nothing. Just wanted to make sure our new Street Overlord ain't getting too bigheaded only to flop later on."

Ok, false alarm. It's just Maine still being Maine.

… Still too much of a tough nut to truly speak his heart out.

No one thankfully commented on the unladylike snort that followed soon after.

Seems like the resident gremlin wasn't too convinced—same with Manny as his face also had a look of uncertainty.

But that only lasted for a moment, before the Adonis sighed in resignation.

With a clap on Maine's shoulder, Manny stood up to leave the truck.

"So what's your score then?"

"My score? Heh." Maine huffed. "Well, you've got perfect marks in my book. Unfortunately, I'm not the one with the real red pen."

The brown skin Edgerunner gestured outside.

"It's the city who's gonna be doing the final grading."

Manny stopped and stared at Maine with eyes of gold piercing right back.

"Then I hope the city doesn't mind if I do a scoring of my own."

Sasha had to admit Manny at the moment look PREEM as fuck.

ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ

There was something—well magical—about watching the lights in the City brighten up at dusk in preparation for the approaching night.

It was at this moment that Night City truly became the City of the Night.

Normally, Sasha, in her alone time, would spend evenings like this with a beer in hand sitting on a chair on her home's roof terrace which had a preem view of the sprawling city while listening to the cool jazz beat.

What? A lady's gonna have to destress herself now and then.

Then again, that was in normal situations.

Now though…

"Alright, spill. Who was that HOTTIE and why haven't I heard of him before?"

This wasn't a normal situation.

"Hah…"

Sasha's face squeezed in longsuffering due to Stella, who still had the Netrunner in her hold with freaking stars in her eyes.

'Ugh, should have seen this coming from a mile away.'

There were many things to love about Stella, but that doesn't mean she wasn't without her flaws, and notable among those flaws was her penchant for hot guys.

Kinda like you, though.

… That thought didn't make Sasha feel better.

Sighing, the Netrunner futilely tried to push her sister away.

"His name is Manny, and you haven't heard about him because I'd only met him TODAY."

Stella thankfully pulled back and regarded Sasha with a raised brow.

"Come on, don't take me for a gonk, Sasha. Someone doesn't just come and do what Manny just did unless he's in for the eddies or he wants to get in your pants—or, he's your secret Output~"

"You tell her, girl~!"

Rebecca cheered as both girls chirpily clapped their palms in camaraderie.

"You know you've been perky for a girl who's been kidnapped." Sasha drolly commented to which her elder sister smoothly brushed.

"What's there not to be cherry about? I didn't have my ass busted out by those bastards. I wasn't forced to star in some fucking XBD porn. I lost none of my body parts. Heh, the worst that I got from all this was some dust-ridden clothes and broken fingernails which I got from scratching some bastard's face."

Despite saying all that, Sasha could still see Stella's hands minutely shaking.

'Ah…'

It was at that moment, Sasha realized that her sister was simply trying to brush everything up. She didn't want the others to worry about her: it was a very Stella-like thing to do.

"It could be worse." Stella said, "It could've been much worse."

'You… Leadhead.'

Sasha pursed her lips and held Stella's hand.

"Well, the worst is behind us… Although, after this, you're gonna have to start learning a bit of gun-fu and it never hurts to fill up your body a bit more: not like it'll ruin your figure. Besides, being your protection is the best form of protection in Night City."

Stella nodded with a—forced—smile. "Yes, mom~"

If this was how it ended Sasha could have called it an ending on a hopeful note—unfortunately, the World doesn't revolve around her expectations.

"Yeah, drop by in and I can show you some of my preem iron collections. They're powerful yet small enough to keep on close if you get what I'm saying." Pilar enthusiastically chimed in.

Now Sasha would have felt quite grateful to Pilar for his support—if it weren't for the lecherous grin on his face.

The fucker's planning something….

"Gah… Ow! What the fuck was that for Rebecca?!"

Thankfully, Rebecca spared the Netrunner from sending the gonk a 'little' shock to his chromes with a sharp kick to the chest.

"Maybe you should chill out for a bit and stop thinking with your dick every fucking time," Rebecca said, before turning to Stella.

"Don't mind Pilar. He's being a gonk like always. Anyway, come drop by our place from time to time, and I'll teach you how to score a 50-meter headshot with a Unity"

The gunner made a shooting gesture using her fingers.

"And like Sasha said: it never hurts to be your protection."

Stella lightly chuckled and said. "Thanks, Becca. I appreciate it."

The gun-toting gremlin winked.

"Ain't no probs, choomba."

Sasha crossed her legs and relaxed as the atmosphere slowly took on a happier ambiance.

Maybe the Netrunning Merc wasn't in the comfort of her home with smoke in hand and jazz playing in the backdrop. Nevertheless …

'Yeah, this will do.'

Chuckling at the sight of the bickering gunner and techie with the others doing their own thing in the background, Sasha nodded.

'This will do nicely.'

Sasha closed her eyes to enjoy her little corner until a voice quietly roused her up.

"So um, Sasha."

"Hmm, what's up, Becca? Why the whisper?

"Shush…" Rebecca squirmed and shifted a bit closer. "I just don't want to the others hear me, s'all. So, um, can you… You know… Send me Manny's deets so that I can chat with him later on."

Sasha raised a brow and sighed before she went into her contacts—before she suddenly froze.

"… …"

"Sasha?"

'Oh… Ooohh…!"

"Oi, Sasha? Anyone home in there?"

Rebecca tapped the Netrunner's forehead to no avail.

Sleep left Sasha's body right that very instant.

Sasha didn't have Manny's contact info—much less his number—and because he's pretty much a ganic, finding him is gonna easier said than done if he decides to delta.

Which considering what he is about to do would require some level of obscurity.

"… … FUCK ME."

"Thanks but I ain't that type."

Sasha dryly looked at the bemused Rebecca and rolled her eyes.

Ugh, just her fucking luck.