Katana slowly rose. It began to crackle as its blade began to heat up even more, turning red hot.
My only option at this range is loading the man with a short circuit to disrupt his movement and shoot him point blank.
I need 0.8 seconds to upload it, and then only a moment to take out my gun and empty as much as I can. But if that doesn't work, I'll die for sure.
Commotion outside intensified, with more and more voices of people shouting and cars roaring, although muffled.
What is going on?
I still have no idea what the guy told me, but it seems like he is waiting for me to do something. No fucking idea why his katana is out.
"Can you repeat that?" I said, trying my best to sound nonconfrontational.
I quickly prepared to load alternating short circuits and cyberware malfunctions in the meantime, creating a proper script to load at the right time.
"Get. Out." he said, looking toward the exit, not maintaining his gaze on me.
I slowly straightened up from standing over the computer, but the man twisted his neck as his face transformed into one full of rage, looking back inside the server room.
"GO."
Without anything else, he sprinted out of the room with loud footsteps.
At this point there were two options, and both of them ended with me following the order. But I bet I had some time to benefit myself.
I quickly leaned back in and inserted my personal link, downloading all the data associated with Rosa María Quintana onto my system within 2 seconds and concealing it as if the information had been refreshed.
Even if this intrusion is found out, I can probably talk my way out of it, since I didn't touch anything besides those.
Then I ran, following the path outside.
Getting out of the room, I was greeted by even more people running.
Chaos followed as people rushed past me, clearly from the higher floors.
They all brandished guns and swords as they brushed past me.
This place is being attacked. Or everybody is gathering to attack.
Either way, I'm out.
I began running toward the exit. I received a notification that my connection jammed. My custom made program was made just to make sure I did not miss such a thing, after my last run in with the cult shitheads. Explosions rang out as gunfire started. Shit, the car.
"They are here!" one person screamed from far away.
I went further as other people began pulling out shit I didn't even know existed.
Machine guns that looked like carved volcanic glass, multibarreled rocket launchers, and electrified throwing knives.
Tyger Claws spoke in Japanese, but the tone was unmistakably hateful.
"あのイカれた連中はもう死んでる."
"支部を襲うとはな.自分たちが何を相手にしてるのか分かってない."
"This is personal!" one person growled.
More commotion was heard outside and the sound of a gunfight began.
Someone turned on techno music, which was barely heard from where I was.
I continued moving toward the entrance, and getting a look at what was going on.
Finally getting to a nearby window, I saw that it had been shattered, leaving only metal bars covering it. Taking a quick peek, careful not to catch a stray, I saw a full blown shootout on the road, with cars acting as cover for the people far away.
And the bikes and car of Tyger Claws were practically shooting targets for the assaulters.
The attacking force must be around 20 people. Holy shit.
"I will make you eat your own shit!" one of the Tyger Claws roared as she rushed in with a katana, managing to deflect some bullets, but then getting shot in her side, ruining her balance and getting shot badly.
There is nowhere to go. All around this building are extremely tall buildings, which left no alleyways or ways to get around. And besides, I can't leave the car.
Quickly shifting my sight to my Quadra, I got pushed to the side as Shoto pulled out a sniper rifle with sharp angles and tubes. I thought he was their fake identity guy, why the fuck does he have that?
"Please move over."
His sniper rifle began charging, and a second later it boomed as it shot. The loud sound almost made me deaf. He hit a guy way in the distance and made his head explode, making it splatter, which I could only notice because of the optic.
Looking back, my car was far enough from the action, with no visible damage. Yet.
More explosions roared as someone launched a grenade, exploding the street near the cars.
I tried scanning the faces of the attackers, but the distance was too great and the streetlights were too dim.
"Who the fuck are those?" I asked Shoto, who was preparing another shot.
He aimed again, biting his lower lip in concentration.
A loud crack rang out as his rifle gave out another blinding shot.
Bullets rained on us and we both ducked. The wall behind us began to chip away as small caliber bullets managed to slip by the metal grating.
Shoto turned to me.
"Competitors," he answered loudly.
"The religious kind?"
Shoto gave me a quick look. There were not many forces to guess within Japantown.
"Yes. Got a problem with them as well?"
I took out my Unity from my holster.
"Hate their fucking guts."
I peeked out to see that Tyger Claws began a massive counteroffensive, rushing in with blades.
Gunfire from the side of Tyger Claws focused on making sure their strike force went into melee.
I took the chance to run a ping, but nothing registers, as if they had no signal at all. They ripped all of their chrome for purity? That many people?
I haven't heard any news of anything like this happening in Japantown. Tech Orthodoxy was not involved in outright conflicts with Tyger Claws of all people. They are kings of this district.
Fuck it. I decided to help and hacked one of their cars, making it drive off suddenly, revealing 5 people in civilian clothes with guns.
Blindingly fast, the majority of the attacking force was decimated in the melee charge of Tyger Claws. Screams of horror from women and men alike sounded between the unending gunshots.
None tried to retreat. Insane lunatics.
Shoto squatted down, placing his sniper rifle on his shoulder as it sizzled.
"At least it's over," he said.
A moment later, a huge explosion occurred, sending tremors through the ground.
He jinxed it.
One of the vans that the cultists came on exploded, spearing fire as CHOOH2 spread in an infernal fire.
Fuck.
A giant figure stood on top of the remains of a car, not even trying to block or dodge.
Corpses of Tyger Claws that led the melee charge littered the area.
Jesus Christ.
I ducked again. What the fuck do I do?
Peeking briefly again, I saw that the giant man clad in black body armor ripped apart a Tyger Claw, somehow standing 30 feet from the position he was in a second ago, moving to the other positions of Tyger Claws.
Gunfire rang unlike anything I had heard before, trying to stop the man.
That psycho was on the news. But he disappeared almost two months ago. I thought this so called Tyger Claw Nightmare got zeroed a while ago.
News repeated that he worked on his own and was a cyberpsycho with insane physical specs, but that doesn't explain why he took a pause in his killing of Tyger Claws and other gangs.
He is surely with the Tech Orthodoxy cult based on timing.
Worst of all, he might have enough augmentations in him to clear out everybody here.
"Shit."
Then, gunshots stopped.
I peeked out slowly to see if they got him somehow.
What I saw is that Tyger Claws stopped shooting because of a duel.
The tattooed man slowly circled the psycho with his thermal katana.
Designs of demons and buddhas began glowing as they revealed intricately designed cybernetics that integrated into the tattoos, giving a buddha on the man's back glowing yellow eyes.
"My name is Kenjo Genga, and I will be the one to kill you. For our fallen."
The giant in a black suit followed him with his head, without putting up any defenses.
Then he charged with lightning speed, aiming to strike overhead.
The response was immediate.
The man in black raised his left arm and prepared to launch an explosive projectile from his forearm. Point blank.
The Tyger Claw suddenly accelerated and brought the katana downward with lightning speed.
Then the projectile sliced in half, both halves exploding just behind the Tyger Claw, dangerously near my car.
Tyger Claws continued to place careful shots on the psycho, including occasional sniper rifle shots, and it did some damage, although clearly not enough.
I began to try to hack the man, but he also did not register as a target.
Is he some sort of cyberninja from Arasaka that is being sent out for testing? This is absurd.
They continued to fight in close quarters and I had to back away, thinking if this was an opportunity to slip out, get back to my car, and get out.
Finally, the police sirens were nearby. Though at this point I don't have a clue about reinforcements from the Tyger Claws themselves, or even where MaxTac is to take this insane shit down.
Jammers have to be crazy powerful.
"I'll come back after y'all sort out this shit," I said to Shoto, who looked confused.
I rushed outside.
Tyger Claws near the entrance let me through, but were on high alert, since I did not look like one of them, so I made my left eye glow as if I was on a call, showing that I have implants, not like those cultists.
I can't even do anything. If only there were no jammers.
There.
What?
My vision immediately shifted involuntarily into the evening sky among the towering buildings. Then my optic zoomed in until I saw a faint distortion above me.
It looked like a clutch of hot air, slightly rippled above me.
I shook it off in confusion, but the distortion was still there as I blinked.
What?
Instinctively, I aimed my pistol at it and shot once.
Tyger Claws around me were confused, as was I, and a few pointed their guns at me.
"What the fuck are you doing!?"
The air rattled and the metallic body of a flying drone shook as it tried stabilizing itself with silent antigrav engines. Then it slowly began to make itself invisible again.
You bitches.
I stood up and fired more shots, trying to hack it in the meantime, but it did not register as a target.
After 5 shots, it began falling straight down on me. Sidestepping, I watched as the body of a drone that weighed approximately 140 pounds and was the size of a dog crashed nearby.
Shards of metal scattered upward, raining tiny bits after a few seconds.
Shaking my jacket free of them, I gave a quick glance back to the duel.
It was still going strong.
Fire slowly crept up to my Quadra as tires began to melt. There was no time for hesitation.
/Signal Returned/
/…/
/Connection Successful/
The invisible drone had the jammer.
Immediately, I remotely started my Quadra. Its headlights lit up and the engine started, begging to move toward me.
But the NCPD was practically here as sirens became louder.
"I'm out!"
I rushed to my car, yanking open the door and revving the engine, the door shutting closed as I accelerated.
The fight between the psycho and the Tyger Claw continued, without a clear winner, but both looked fucked up.
The former had big slashes across his body that melted and sizzled along with the black bodysuit.
And the latter was missing an arm and the side of his stomach, probably ripped out.
"この出来損ないのクズが!"
He attacked again, only to be low kicked in the thigh, that thigh exploding and sending the rest of the man's body flying across the pavement.
This caused an immediate reaction from other Tyger Claws that once again began a barrage of gunfire onto the man, but with a superhuman dash he charged toward my direction across the parking lot.
Each step rattled the ground as he picked up speed.
"Shit shit shit!"
As quickly as I could, I started up the turrets and activated them. My fingers shook as adrenaline ran across my entire body, causing me to shake.
He sidestepped the fireline and I had no time to adjust it, so I began reversing as fast as I could.
My wheels skidded on the pavement as I picked up speed, but the man was quick to approach.
This time he registered as a target for hacks, so I uploaded the script I prepared for the now dead tattooed Tyger Claw.
Electric charge from his cyberware discharged into the rest of his body, causing him to convulse slightly.
He got close enough and banged on the hood of my car, hoping to kill the engine manually.
The hood caved in, but it was not enough to stop it. It was made of solid fucking metal.
Another quickhack executed.
Another wave of gunfire hit the creature, staggering him enough to get shot with a loud sniper round in the back of the head.
The shot did not kill him, but rather made the psycho retreat suddenly, as the damage on his body was extreme, mostly because of the deep cuts from the katana.
Turning on a dime, he sprinted outside to the road. But it was evident that it was a last minute realization that his defenses could not hold.
Shifting gears, I pushed the gas pedal and adjusted my car to make sure every bullet hit that fucker.
Tyger Claws charged in as well, going out of cover and spending all the ammunition they had.
"KILL HIM!"
"Where the fuck are you going!?"
"DIE!"
Even with his insane speed, there was no man who could outrun bullets. He could not move farther than 10 feet before the shots damaged him to the point of no return.
He didn't even get to the destroyed cars of the cultists for cover.
Another quickhack executed. Electricity jolted from his body, this time much weaker.
Gripping the steering wheel with all the force I had, I continued the barrage. He should not be allowed to live.
"Finish him!" a Tyger Claw yelled.
He was decimated until all his limbs were separate and his innards were splattered out. And his head, which was shot off, was mutilated enough to not look like anything anymore.
All available ammunition in my Quadra ran out shortly before that. It also sent out critical messages of overheating.
As soon as I thought it was over, another problem came along.
NCPD sirens were here and I saw the flashing lights reflect on my windows.
"Fuuuuuck." I leaned on my steering wheel in despair.
I really wanted to avoid any interaction with them. I don't want any part of this. Fucking Japantown.
Do I really have to drive off as fast as I can?
One of the Tyger Claws banged on my roof twice.
"We'll handle them, choom. Sit tight."
I looked in confusion as a Tyger Claw dressed in bright leather, whom I don't remember interacting with, stood near my car with a bright yellow assault rifle in her hand.
"What the fuck do you mean handle? I want nothing to do with this," I exclaimed through my window.
I almost said you. It would be a big mistake.
Slowly, I heard impacts as people sat, leaned, or otherwise gathered around my Quadra, while police officers got out of their cars, approaching rather leisurely at the sight of destruction and bodies, if I had to say myself.
I rolled open my window to hear what was going on, ready to delta.
"It gets to a point," one NCPD officer said, kicking one of the dead bodies in disgust.
"10 thousand. No culture vultures," Shoto said, appearing from behind the car.
So he is a leader? Fuck. I was too impolite before.
A police officer squatted down and facepalmed, looking at the chaos around.
"Fucking hell. What am I supposed to tell higher ups?"
One of the Tyger Claws suddenly shot the remains of the Tyger Claw Nightmare with a pistol.
"Work of a famous cyberpsycho!"
Suddenly, the cop's face lit up as he smiled.
"Oh, can I take the credit publicly, Shoto san?"
Shoto nodded.
"Enjoy."
The officer walked through the rubble without care, approaching Shoto.
He happily shook the hand Shoto extended with both hands.
Shoto smiled slightly, then frowned. He walked over to the remains of the psycho and picked up the scooped up remains of the psycho's head.
"Thinking about it… don't take too much credit."
"Of course!"
They both turned around and began speaking to their men.
I heard only Shoto, who began giving out orders, and handed the mush of metal and brain to another Tyger Claw.
"Clean up. Recover the bodies. Get all the loot. Get it inside, fourth to sixth floor for now."
Tyger Claws quickly hopped off my car and began carrying bodies, silently accepting the tasks.
I sat in place, not sure what I was supposed to do.
Looking out the window, I called out to the Tyger Claw leader.
"Shoto san?"
He turned around and slowly came up to my window.
"No need for honorifics. I owe you a favor."
"Killing the bastards has been in my plans. There is no need for favors, really."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. But no time for pleasantries. You may go. I will contact you when we stabilize," he said, waving his bloodied hand and gesturing for me to go.
"Was my plan already."
Shoto turned around and walked away.
I slowly began backing up and saw that Tyger Claws commanded the police blockade to move.
Moving past Tyger Claws, they nodded, and I responded in the same way, just to be sure.
The police acted as if I did not exist at all, letting me pass.
A staggering amount of cars were held up past the blockade. As soon as I got past it, I stepped on the gas and got away from this district.
I hope I won't see myself on the news. I think I saw a logo or two in there.
At least I haven't made any new enemies.
…
Stopping at the apartment complex in Kabuki, I stepped out of the car onto the sidewalk. Nobody is going to write me a ticket anyway.
On the way here, I noticed that the car was smoking, and I am still not sure what exactly it is. It could be that the turret overheated and melted its own wiring. No burned wire smell, but it's one of the guesses.
Popping open the hood of the car, I immediately saw the problem. The radiator is beyond repair. The entire top half folded and crumpled under the hood.
I don't know if the engine blew up on me, but at least it was not fully busted.
Still, just to be safe, I'll call a tow truck to tow it back to the shop.
I closed the hood shut and sat on top of it. Probably will need to get a new one.
I don't know.
Fuck this day. I don't get what is going on anymore.
What the fuck was that callout on the drone? How could anybody see that?
Function? Is this the search part of you as well?
Silence.
I called Sasha, who answered after a couple of seconds.
"What's up?" Sasha answered, sounding like she had a mouth full of food.
"Sasha. We need to nuke Japantown."
"Whoa," Sasha answered, startled.
"It's too fucked up in there."
Passersby gave me weird looks. They haven't met the insane cultist silent giant dude who ignores bullets.
"Worse than Pacifica?"
"You know, I've never been there and I'm absolutely fucking sure of it. I want to chill out now."
"That means you're ready to hang out?"
I looked up into the sky and saw the glow of the town below an empty sky.
"I'm already outside near your place."
"Why are you calling then? Come over. I'm having a snack."
Hungry.
Shut up.
I chuckled.
"Well, I'm not a spying piece of shit, so I wouldn't know where you live."
"Third floor."
I turned my head to look at the small apartment building, which looked to have around 5 flats per floor.
"You gotta throw in more details."
"I have the whole floor."
"Why?"
"It's preem. All mine."
"Not what I asked."
I stood up and walked over, entering while Sasha advertised her place like it was the Garden of Eden. Climbing the stairs, I saw that the place was remarkably clean and lacked distinct signs of a homeless population. Must be expensive.
"Well, I'm…" I said, staring at one of the apartment doors.
The door to the left of me swung open, with Sasha standing in pajamas.
"Calen. Long time no see."
"Yeah yeah."
Entering, Sasha smugly crossed her arms.
Multiple walls had been demolished, leaving a huge open area, with multiple kitchens, bathrooms, and TVs.
"I expected way more pink."
"Oh, I don't really use that direction," Sasha admitted, pointing to the other side of the space, which had a stupid amount of thick wires going out of it.
"Your setup?" I asked, walking slowly toward it, around a wall.
Sasha walked behind me.
"Want to check it out?"
"Nah."
I turned back and lay down on the first beanbag I saw. My whole body decompressed as I concentrated on getting into a relaxed position.
Sasha tossed another one from the corner next to mine.
"What happened in Japantown?"
I gestured for her to sit down lazily.
"You'll see it on the news. But…"
Sasha sat down, listening attentively.
"…I really want to do nothing for now. I'm exhausted."
"Awful, coldhearted person you are."
"Thanks, I…"
I yawned so hard my jaw hurt.
"…try."
I felt my eyelids grow heavy and I was unable to fight it.
Then I saw Sasha toss a fake wool blanket over me, covering my vision.
"Don't worry, not going to 'pounce' on you."
I adjusted the blanket and tucked myself in.
"…Thanks. But thinking about it…"
Sasha leaned in.
"What?"
"Isn't this the time cats usually go into heat? You pseudo exotic…"
The next thing I saw was a pillow flying toward my face, hitting my organic eye with the corner.
"Ouch. Hahaha."
"Cretin," Sasha blurted out angrily.
Despite the pain, I felt myself falling asleep and I already saw the dreams.
I was sleeping comfortably for once.