[Play Neffex - Six Shots]

Welcome To My Party
We're Just Getting Started
A Life Is A Dream Or A Nightmare Scaring
Hand Me A Drink 'Cause I Think I'm Going All In
Get Me A Shrink Who Can Catch me When I'm Falling

A tanned male was seen running across streets and jumping over ledges, singing to himself as his hearing was replaced with music. He wore a black t-shirt under a black hoodie with the words SAMURAI running down the sleeves in silver with red luminescent on the inside of the hood, jeans, and high tops colored Black, White, and Red. He had short, messy black hair that faded to blond around the tips and crimson eyes, something he enjoyed about his optics. He landed safely in an alley after grabbing several pipes around him to slow his descent.

Cover Up My Scars, Flip The Handlebars
Crashing My Car, Wake Up In A Bar
I'll Be A Superstar, Dress Up My Avatar
This World Is So Bizarre
Empty Out The Reservoir

The male grinned as he looked up, seeing a group of bullies look over the edge of a railing to look down at him. The male stuck his tongue out before bolting, running out of the alley and down the street, running past various people of different heights and builds sporting various cyberware mods from mouth guards, multiple eyes, multiple limbs, you name it. The male just ignored them all, focusing on his music. Looking behind him, he saw the group of bullies he had tried to avoid earlier. The leader was a tall bulky male with blond hair and punk-ish attire, sporting chrome along his cheeks and nose. The two side cronies were of opposite builds, one slim and the other pudgy.

I'm Taking Six Shots, Yeah, Straight To The Face
And I Wanna Get Lost, I'm Sick Of This Place
Don't Know How To Stop When I'm Feeling This Way
So I'm Taking Six Shots Till I'm Feeling Okay!

Upon spotting him, the bullies charged, trying to push their way through various people to get to the male. Simply grinning, he went back to running, this time climbing onto a building and onto a balcony. He then hopped over the balcony ledge onto the next one, doing it repeatedly until he ended up on a walkway. The bullies broke free from the group of people from before and spotted the male, the slim one pointing at him. "See ya, suckers!" The male shouted, giving a two-finger salute before running off once more. The leader cracked his knuckles, saying, "After him!" The male ran through a shop and out the back, ignoring the various complaints from customers and workers.

I Think I'm Going Crazy
Don't Think I'll Get Home Safely
So I'm Taking Six Shots All Straight To The Face
I'm Taking Six Shots Are You Coming With Me?

The male climbed up the side of a building once more, using pipes, ledges, and scaffolding to get to the top. It was there that he finally sat down, relaxed that he possibly finally avoided his bullies. If he didn't then they couldn't get up to his location. He continued to hum to his music, blurring out the outside world. A voice tried to talk to him, but it was blurred out by the music. "Mi-" The voice slowly got louder, but he couldn't hear it. "Miles!" The voice finally became clear as a hand shook his shoulder. The Male, Miles, turned around, closing out of his music to see who it was, hoping it wasn't the bullies he had outrun. Fortunately, it wasn't, but it was his best, only, and childhood friend, Touma "Garie" Harisaka, the son of an Ex-Corpo. "Garie!" Miles said, the two then performing their secret handshake. Garie was a rather slim person, wearing a black beanie where his red hair poked out from underneath, a white shirt under a gray hoodie, ripped jeans, and black and white sneakers that were slowly falling apart.

[Pause Neffex - Six Shots]

"I see you're still so absorbed with oldies," Garie commented, taking a seat next to Miles. "Oldies? Come on man, these are classics!" Miles reasoned, waving off Garie's accusation. "Guess you're right once again," Garie chuckled before saying, "Come on now, share the music." Miles grinned and opened a virtual music share, inviting Garie to it. The two usually skipped out on school, or at least what you could hardly call a school in Night City, to hang out, listen to music, and make absolute fun of the more brawly people of his school. The two hummed as they tried to sync up while the music slowly chimed back in.

[Unpause Neffex - Six Shots]

I'm Taking Six Shots, Yeah, Straight To The Face
And I Wanna Get Lost, I'm Sick Of This Place
Don't Know How To Stop When I'm Feeling This Way
So I'm Taking Six Shots Till I'm Feeling Okay!
I Think I'm Going Crazy
Don't Think I'll Get Home Safely
So I'm Taking Six Shots All Straight To The Face
I'm Taking Six Shots Are You Coming With Me?

The two sang together like the best buds that they were. It wasn't long before the sun decided to close shop and let dusk take over. "We should probably get going Hermano," Miles said, closing out the link as they finished their Eleventh song for the evening. "Ah, you're right. Mom's probably tuckered out and sleeping almost nude again," Garie sighed, checking the time. The two got up and jumped down, Garie landing on some garbage bags while Miles once again grabbed onto pipes to slow his descent. Upon hitting the ground, he held his hand with a wince, having hurt his hand while sliding down. "You good man?" Garie asked, glancing back at Miles as he began to walk away. "Yeah, I'm good. See ya later Garie!" Miles said, dashing off in the other direction.

Miles maneuvered between various Alleys and over fences and ledges, being careful with his hand as he made his way home. Along the way, he strolled through the almost closed market, swiping some items for later. Unlocking the front door through his ID Chip, he was met with the snores of his father. His father was a man named Harvey, a man with a decent street-cred for a merc of his caliber. He worked during the night and slept during the day, making it an awkward schedule for both of them. Sighing, Miles pulled the blanket over his sleeping father, letting the man snuggle into it. Then took off his hoodie and hung it on the coat hanger, revealing the graphic image of a sleeping black cat surrounded by broken samurai armor on his shirt. He then walked into the kitchen and opened up the makeshift first aid kit, using some of the bandages to wrap his hand. He then began to cook, using what they had to make breakfast for dinner. He flipped the stove on, kicking the oven in the process to get the fires to light up. He opened the cabinet and got out some pans.

He hummed to another song as he prepared, laying down some bacon, bread, even cracking a couple of eggs. As dusk turns into night, Miles finishes up cooking and tossed a rag over his shoulder after putting some of the food on plates. He picked up the plates and took them into the living room to see his father up and awake. His father was a very slim man with heavy bags under his eyes, wearing a white jacket with white luminescent material on the inside of the hood and red outlining the fabric, a worn out gray beanie, a white tank top with two gold chains, one having a small locket, black cargo pants, and steel toe black boots. "Trying to leave without even eating first?" Miles said, prompting a laugh out of his father. "Guess not. Shouldn't leave without something in my belly at least," His father said, taking a seat back onto the couch. Miles took a seat next to him, handing his father a plate.

The two ate together, sharing the meal. "I'm gonna put the leftovers in the fridge in case you want any when you get back from your job," Miles told his father. "You know I will," His father said through a full mouth, making Miles laugh. "Papa! Talk after you swallow!" Miles laughed, nearly choking on his own food. His father did so, smiling. "Heard you skipped school again..." His father brought up after their laughter died down, causing Miles to grow silent. His father sighed, deciding to continue talking, "Look...I know this is all hard on you, but you need to go to school. Both me and your mother wanted you to have some form of an education that wasn't influenced by violence like ours." "But... Why?" Miles questioned, making his father look at him. Miles was looking down with his hair covering his eyes. "We're struggling for eddies, we barely have enough to keep the apartment and nearly nothing for food. I had to steal this stuff just so you'd have something to eat!" Miles argued.

His father sighed, not sure how to respond. Miles waited for a response and when he saw that he wasn't going to get one, simply got up and headed upstairs. "I'll finish my food in my room. Try to stay safe out there," Miles said. His father looked at the stairs solemnly. He always found it hard to relate to his son and being an only father was difficult. The man finished off his plate before heading outside, entering a Militech Van that waited outside his apartment complex. It was there that Harvey met with a Militech Woman who worked as a fixer for Militech's dirty work. Her name was Melissa Scott, a woman with dirty blond hair and dark blue eyes that wore the standard Militech business suit. "I hope you're ready for this one Harvey, cause this one may very well be out of your league," Melissa told him while the Heywood resident settled into his seat. "Just give me the details, I'll figure it out," Harvey told her.

With Miles, the teenager settled into his pallet of blankets that made his bed, placing his unfinished food on the small wooden stool of a table. Their residence wasn't that bad as it seemed, two bed two bath with some of the modern features, but with their budget, they weren't able to get the more readily equipped apartments. Miles sighed, laying back and staring up at the ceiling. For a moment, he scrolled through lists of music to find something to listen to, something that might help him sleep. Finding something, he selected it and blurred out his hearing, replacing it with the music.

[Play Neffex - Things Are Gonna Get Better]

Growing Up, Parents Got Me A Guitar
Said, "You Can Do Anything, Kid, You Can Go Far
You Can Be The President, Fireman, Race Cars
The Sky's The Limit, Kid, So Shoot For The Stars"

Miles sang softly to himself, letting the notes ring in his head. Music was an escape for him, blurred his reality to where he only had the world that the song created for him. He found music to be like an extension of him, a description of who he was. Miles rolled over onto his side, looking at the unfinished plate and a picture frame. It had a picture of his mom holding him when he was just born. She was a fair lady, black hair and cobalt blue eyes. He didn't get to spend much time with her in life. He still hasn't been told what happened, but after he was born, something just went wrong and his mother ended up dying. The doctors weren't fast enough to save her.

So, I Strummed That Guitar Every Day
Found A Passion For Music, Never Went Away
I Joined A Couple Bands And Played A Few Shows
Tried To Impress The Girl In The Front Row

Ever since then, his father had been doing his best to raise Miles with every intention that his mother would've had. He didn't have to do it alone, as old friends of his father's helped, coming from different families of Heywood such as some of the The Valentinos, Padre, even Guadalupe Welles. His father had support from people, but even that combined with his nightly runs didn't add up to give them everything they wanted in life. Miles curled up, holding his knees to his chest as he closed his eyes, wondering if it was ever going to change.

But Soon Enough Everything Starts To Change
As You Grow Up, Nobody Treats You The Same
They Try Take Your Future And Make It Real Safe
You Could Be A Doctor, Accountant Or Something Sane

[Pause Neffex - Things Are Gonna Get Better]
[Night City - Heywood, The Glen]
[The Next Day]

Miles got up from his makeshift bed, stretching a little to pop his back. Getting up, he whispered a few words and used his fingers to plant a kiss on the picture of his mother. He then went downstairs, putting on deodorant as he did so. However, when he came into the living room to say morning to his usually sleeping father, he wasn't there. This wasn't strange per say, just uncommon. Most jobs his father could get done during the night, but there were ones that sometimes took longer. Sighing, Miles threw on his hoodie and headed up, locking the door behind him. Taking in a breath of Night City air, he began his daily run, or rather daily parkour. He leaped up and grabbed onto a metal pipe, climbing up so he could step onto another pipe. He then pushed off the wall, jumping up so he could grab the ledge of a roof and climb up. Once up, he looked over the edge and down in the streets, seeing the late nighters and early risers roaming the streets and sidewalks.

Miles then sighed, focusing back onto himself. He ran forward, leaping over to the next building. He continued like this for a while, making his way to school. Of course he wasn't actually going to go inside, just had to stick around long enough to find Garie and possibly even the usual jock bullies. He stopped at the entrance where people were going in, pausing the music he had left playing in his ears overnight. It didn't take long for his good friend to show up, the Corpo-Kid running up shouting his name. "Yo! Miles! What's up!?" "Nothing much man, just woke up not long ago," Miles said as the two did their handshake, bumping elbows at the end. "Yo, did you hear? Arasaka's been on high alert since a couple hours ago," Garie told him as the two started walking away. "Really? What for?" Miles asked, raising an eyebrow. "No idea. They haven't disclosed anything. But my money's on one of the other corporations," Garie said, setting a bet unintentionally.

'Hmm, I hope Dad isn't involved,' Miles wondered, glancing up at the sky to see various vehicles fly through the air. "Anywho, let's get something to eat. Been saving up a little here and there so we don't have to steal this time," Garie told him. Miles nodded, agreeing, "Just don't choose anything terrible. Don't wanna have to take you home all sick and everything like last time." "Come on, I swear that octopus was undercooked and you know it!" Garie tried to argue with Miles, who was chuckling to himself. The two ventured off on one of their usual days, stopping at a diner to eat, doing locals small favors, even pissing off the local jocks once school was out for the day. It wasn't until Miles got home that shit hit the wall. "Hey dad, I'm h-" Miles stopped mid-sentence as he walked inside, the first thing he saw was his father seated on the floor by the couch, holding his side where blood had flowed freely and created a puddle under him.

"DAD!" Miles shouted, running over to his side. "Oh... Hey kid, sorry ya had to see me like this," his father said, weakly joking, "Thought you'd get to see your old man die in some honorable way." "This is no time for jokes! We gotta get you outta here! Get you to a ripper stat!" Miles said, reaching to help his dad up only for the wounded man to bat his hands away. "No no... Not this time son... 'fraid I won't be able to joke my way out of this one... Sora's callin my name," his father said, before harshly coughing up blood into his hand. "Oh boy... 'Saka really did a number on me this time." "'Saka!? You were involved!?" Miles asked, shocked. "That doesn't matter anymore... What does matter is this," his father said, reaching for a case next to him. He grabbed and pulled it up onto his lap. Opening it, he presented the contents to Miles.

Mantis Blades. Fucking Arasaka Mantis blade equipted with sharp chainsaw blades, the RealSkinn being a cool silver color as it wasn't installed. "Take these... and run... run like you never have before," his father told him as he struggled to get his jacket off, revealing the gnarly opened wound in his side. Harvey wrapped the arms up in the jacket and handed it off to Miles, keeping the case with him. Lifting up his pant leg, Harvey then took out a Lexington from a holster on his ankle, handing it to his son. "B-But... What about you?" Miles questioned. "I'll be fine," Harvey managed, turning the case around and pulling some grenades out from under the couch. "Sidewinders... Powerful, but hard to throw." Miles looked at his father, already seeing the suicide mission the man was set out on. "Dad..." "Miles, I know you, I know what you can do... You belong at the top, not down here with your old man. The big leagues... Yeah, that's where you belong," his father told him, the life already starting to fade from his eyes.

Harsh knocking came to the door, with someone shouting, "Open up!" "No way that's NCPD... Miles, you need to go. Now!" Harvey told his son, grabbing his shoulders. Miles sniffled, wiping away his tears before looking around for an exit. He saw one through the window in the kitchen. Making a break for it, he rushed towards the window and held his arms up over his face as he broke through. At the same time, the front door broke open, revealing several armed Arasaka troops. Looks like they weren't going to let NCPD handle something this important to them. "Hey fellas..." Harvey jokes, weakly giving them the bird. "Hand over the case!" one told him. "Alright alright..." Harvey kicked the case over which was stopped by the same guard.

He opened it and saw the missing product, making him point his gun at Harvey. "Where's the Cyberware!?" the guard questioned. Another guard looked around, seeing the broken window. "Hey, over here!" The guard called, drawing the attention of the others. Seeing the opening, Harvey pulled the pins on multiple Sidewinder grenades, rolling them over around the guards, making the guards panic as the grenade began to shake and jump as the shell rapidly began to rotate. "See ya punks... Love ya... Mijo..." Harvey muttered before his eyes went dull. Seconds later, the entire apartment opened up, the explosion ringing out and smoke rising.

WIth Miles, he fell several feet out of the apartment, unable to grab anything that would stop him due to how full his arms were. Fortunately, he landed on several piles of trash. "Ouch..." Miles groaned, digging his way out of the garbage to hold his head. He flinched when he heard the loud explosion before his eyes widened. Looking up, he saw the smoke rising from the hole in the wall of his apartment complex. "Dad!" He shouted, getting up to his feet. He began to run towards the apartment entrance, but stopped when he remembered what was happening. If he went in now, there's no way he was going to make it out without either being captured or killed. Biting his lip and digging his fingernails into the palms of his hands, he reluctantly turned around and ran, grabbing the bundle that was his dad's jacket and the Mantis Blades as well as his father's Lexington. He ran and ran, not even stopped when it felt like his legs were going to give out.

He didn't stop until he had somehow found his way into the deep parts of Japantown, Westbrook. The night had already slid through and morning dawn began to break through, rousing people through the city. The daily news already began to air, spilling the ruse from the night before. Arasaka attacked, prototype stolen, the assailant... the deaths... Miles had trouble sitting still as he hid in an alley, his arms coiled tightly around the bundle and his knees up to his chest. His sweat ran cold and his body shook, flinching at almost any loud sound. His pupils shoke and glowed softly as he got multiple voicemails and messages from various people he and his father knew.

[Message] [Sebastian "Padre" Ibarra: I am so sorry for your loss. I offer my condolences and assistance to you.]

[Voicemail] [Mama Welles: Miles... I understand what you're going through. I am here for you if you need somewhere to stay.]

[Message] [Garie: Dude! What happened!? Are you okay!? I saw what happened on the news! Please tell me you're okay!]

However, a call stood out as bright as day. This one, he actually picked up.

[Call] [???: Hey Miles, haven't talked to ya since you were just a babe.]

[Call] [Miles: Who... is this?]

[Call] [???: Name's Yuri. Use to run in a crew with your parents back in the day, taking Gigs, killing psychos.]

[Call] [Miles: Use to? What happened?]

[Call] [Yuri: Everything. My sister, your mother, you. Kinda got enough of it so to speak. Now, I just rip the ones who do it, chrome the mercs instead of getting chromed so to speak.]

[Call] [Miles: You're a ripper?]

[Call] [Yuri: Yeah. Look, I may have stopped talking to your father, but that doesn't change the fact that I still owe him one. So if you need anything, anything at all, give me a call.]

Miles looked down at the bundle in his arms, seeing one of the cyber hands poke out. He stared at it for a moment before coming to a decision.

[Call] [Miles: Actually... There is something. Where are you at?]

[Call] [Yuri: Heywood, Vista Del Rey. Why?]

[Call] [Miles: Easy... It's time I finally got chipped.]

[Call Over]

Miles ended the call there and got up, taking a deep breath. He couldn't believe he was going through with this. He stepped out of the alley, looking both ways for NCPD or Arasaka. He then slid the Arms into his hoodie pocket before slipping his dad's jacket on. It felt... just right... maybe even a little sickening. The zipper in the front clicked together, sealing up the front. He slipped the hood over his head, the translucent material glowing softly before dimming, shadowing his face so to speak. He then ran forward into another alley, climbing his way up onto the roof. From there, he did his usual stunts of traveling, parkour. He jumped over to the next roof and then the roof after that, even landing on a couple of balconies if the building was taller than others. It didn't take long for him to end back up in Heywood, but it also didn't take long for the sense of dread to come floating back to him as soon as he thought back to hours ago.

Taking a deep breath, he refocused himself and continued with his objective. It took a while, but after asking a couple people here and there, he got the location of the local Ripperdoc. The entrance was in a long dark alley, barely illuminated by neon signs and heck, even the sunlight. Walking down it, he took a flight of stairs down to where a lone door was waiting. Opening it, the first thing he saw was the main operating room of the ripper doc. Second thing was the woman seated next to the operating table, tapping away on a tablet as a TV played in the background. Yuri was a big woman with a natural body for a Russian of her stature. She had long black hair with a military-sk outfit reminiscent of old-school Russia, a tattered, bloodied, and worn out baseball jacket resting on her shoulders. Her left arm was completely cybernetic, grooves and slots modeled into it for various tool attachments. "Took you long enough to find me," the woman said, turning around in her chair to look at Miles, "What cha got?"

Miles opened up the jacket and walked over, putting the Mantis Blade arms on the table. "These." Yuri looked at them before looking at Miles. "You got a death wish?" Yuri asked, her vision glancing away from the blades and at Miles. "Wanna get back at em..." Miles whispered. "Petty vengeance... sound a lot like me..." Yuri muttered. "Huh?" Miles raised an eyebrow, looking at Yuri. "Nothing. I'm not going to do that if this gonna be about petty vengeance. If you got a better reason to use up that favor then spill. If not, leave," Yuri told him, glaring down at him. "I..." At that time, the Tv choose the wrong time to chime in with news.

"Good morning Night City! What a good day it is! Not everyday does the Good Ol' Arasaka rise from their seats to assault thugs out on the streets. Not only that, but another explosive assault coming from one of the Megabuilings! By god that's one explosive escape, or rather, suicide! As it turns out, Arasaka had to cut their losses after one of their prototypes meant to turn the edge in any unpredicted wars. Now whatever idiot decided to try and steal this fine piece of equipment ended up a stain in the crater they themselves made. Now I don't kn-"

The TV cut off as Miles couldn't help it anymore and walked over to it, smashing his fist hard into the screen. The glass shattered as blood dripped down onto the ground, pouring from the multiple open wounds now present on Miles' hand. "My dad... He believed in me, believed in what I could do... Some of his last words to me were where I belonged... and he's right. I don't belong here, at the bottom of the chain," Miles said, turning around to Yuri while removing his hand from the broken TV. "I'm gonna get to the top, for myself, for my mother... and for my father." Yuri couldn't help but laugh. "W-What? Did I sound like a gonk or somethin?" Miles questioned, making Yuri wipe her tears. "No, no, not that. It's just, you sound so much like him. Sigh Fine, I'll do it. But don't come crying back to me if it goes awry," Yuri told him, "Now get on the table. Jacket and shirt off." Miles nodded, doing as she said as Yuri walked off to the side into a small closet. Wincing, Miles started regretting hitting the TV as he pulled his jacket off. By the time he got his shirt off, Yuri had come back with a tool table, attachments ranging from a buzzsaw to a scalpel to even a pair of pliers.

"Table, now." Yuri demanded, pulling a canister, mask, and a numbing gun from a cabinet. "Yes ma'am," Miles said, climbing up onto the operation table. Yuri connected the mask to the canister and put it on Miles, releasing the valve. "This'll knock you out for at least eight hours, enough time for me to install these. After you wake up, everything's on you from there," Yuri informed him, injecting multiple doses from numbing into his arms vai the gun. Miles went to respond, but found he couldn't as his vision blurred and eyes slowly began to close before everything went black. Yuri looked over her tools before removing her cybernetic hand, replacing it with the buzzsaw. "Let's hope they sold me a good dosage of Lidocaine," Yuri muttered, getting to work. She was then marking out where to cut on Miles, choosing to just fully replace his forearms instead of interweaving metal and flesh. It didn't take long for her to get started after that.

The cuts ended up clean, the connection ports took a while to adjust properly to Miles' frame, but it was able to be done. The arms inner frame was added on first to ensure proper connection. More external wiring came next than the layer of realism, the covering and RealSkinn. Upon finishing the surgery, the RealSkinn immediately started its magic, taking time to match his skin tone. Yuri put away her tools and went to lay down in the back room where her bedroom was, locking up for the rest of the day while Miles was out. About mid-afternoon did Miles finally wake up, still slightly woozy and pain slowly becoming surreal in his arms. Lifting one of them up, he stared at his now current hand, using his other hand to run the digits over the palm and RealSkinn. It felt so different, so strange. To think people had implants like these everywhere. Miles got up and stumbled over to the area where he had discarded his clothes, catching himself on the wall.

Ringing sounded in his ears as his vision shook, reflecting just how dizzy Miles was from coming right out of being put under. Miles slowly got his shirt on and pulled his dadś jacket on after looking at his own, tossing the old one into the trash. He stumbled out of the Ripperdoc office and back out onto the streets, holding onto nearby walls to keep his balance. "Ah jeez... Really should've just laid back down," Miles muttered, his vision blurred as he wiped a bit of blood from his nose. Following his instincts, he had begun to make his way back to his home, forgetting the fact that it was now ruined. Upon entering the next district over, someone pushed him into an alley, kicking him harshly after he landed on the ground. "Well lookie here boys, suicide boy's back. Really though you would've kicked the bucket with your old man in that explosion," looking up, Miles caught sight of the bully jocks he always messed with. Looks like they brought the whole team this time. Now where there really weren't any sports-sports like baseball and football in Night City, there still were the typical stereotypes and each one of these bullies fit the bill and paid it.

"Oh, hey there Joshua... Didn't think I would see you so soon. Was just thinkin' about watching your fat ass try to climb a fence," Miles weakly jokes, taking a kick to the stomach right after. "Geez man, you really got a strong kick," Miles said, climbing back up onto his feet using a stray trash can, "But come on, I didn't mean it like that. We all know it would be more funny watching you use the bathroom." This brought on a few snickers from Jaoshua's entourage. "Oh you find that funny, huh? Let's see you talk after I bash your fucking skull open!" Joshua charged at Miles, who barely managed to dodge due to his currently wobbly nature. As Joshua turned back around and went to hit Miles upside the head, the boy moved out of the way, this time going to swing a solid punch right back at him. It connected, but hardly did anything besides make Joshua's head turn. "Shit," Miles breathed out. Joshua grabbed Miles and slammed him into the wall. "Really should've just bit the dust back then with your old man. Would've saved me the trouble. Now I gotta slice you up myself," Joshua said before throwing Miles back onto the ground before taking out a decently sized pocket knife. "Oh boy, compensating for somethin?"

Miles laid there for a moment as Joshua flipped the knife in his hand. "You really are a pain in my ass, Miles. Ya' know, I've been in your pad after the, y'know, explosion. Snuck in while the pigs were busy. Some of it survived, but your poor ol' pops? Well, he's not even a smudge. More like a smear. All over the wall," Joshua taunted, wanting him to experience absolute depression before dying, "And those photos? Man, whoever that woman is in them, would absolutely bend her over and well, show her what I'd be compensating for." Miles laid there, looking at the sky, wondering just how bad this was. He was angry, sure. Joshua kept bringing up his father's recent death. But bringing in his mother, now that was a league too far. Something just seemed to click in Miles' head, allowing him to get up and look dead at the jocks. "Oh, not talkin'? Thought you were all fun and games?" Joshua said, preparing to lunge at Miles with the knife.

Miles took a deep breath, closing up the front part of his jacket and pulling the hood over his head, the white luminescent light turning black as he pulled the strings. The jacket tightened up as the sleeves went up above his elbows. It was then that Joshua lunged, aiming to stab the knife directly into the side of Miles' head. Miles however, caught his wrist and held it tight, crushing his wrist and making him let go of the knife at the same time that his wrist began to unhinge, revealing a compartment in his arm. "W-What the fuck!?" Joshua screamed, freaking out while in pain. One of Miles' mantis blades sprung out from his arm, stabbing clean through Joshua's head. Everything was silent before the chain blades began to move, tearing cleanly through Joshua's head and spilling blood everywhere. It wasn't until he finally let go of Joshua's wrist and let the body fall to the floor that the jacket's luminescent material turned crimson, revealing a blood smear across Miles' face.

Most of Joshua's groupe turn and ran, others move in to get revenge. Miles just began to walk towards them slowly, his other arm opening up to reveal the other mantis blade. One pulled out a concealed gun, firing at Miles. The bullet tore into his shoulder, droplets of blood coming from the entrance point. Miles looked at it, staring at it in blank confusion. He both felt it and... didn't. It was like a dream, a very vivid one. The pain was surreal, the burning, bleeding, all of it. But he felt numb to it, like it didn't hurt, like it didn't hinder him. Miles closed up one of his mantis blades and dug his fingers into the wound, making more blood pour out, but he didn't even wince. Grabbing the bullet, he pulled it out, revealing the dented casing. "W-What the fuck are you?" the firer of the bullet stuttered, shaking as the others stopped too. Miles didn't answer that as he dropped the bullet, reopened his mantis blade, and sprinted forward. The blades tore through flesh and cloth like nothing. Cyberware and metal? The chainsaw teeth tore through it like butter. In a matter of minutes, the ones that had stayed were bits and pieces, blood piled all over the floor and stained all over his clothing. The blades were dipped in just about every ounce of red.

Miles stared blankly at the mess, unsure of how to act. His adrenaline was pumping, but this didn't feel like the cause of an adrenaline high. No, it felt like something much worse. Both his mantis blades closed up as he stared at his hands, looking at the blood smears. The feeling slowly died away as the pain came to the forefront of his mind. Miles fell to his knees as he held his head, screaming bloody murder while drenched in blood. It wasn't long before he clonked out, the pain being too much for him to stay conscious.

[Midnight]

By the time Miles came to, he was back at Yuri's where the woman was looming over him, stabbing an airhypo into him. "Good, you're back. Take this," Yuri told him when she saw he was awake, shoving pills down his throat. Miles swallowed, sitting up as he began coughing. "What... the hell...!?" Miles choked out, grabbing his neck. "Immunoblockers. Here," she said, dropping a bag into his lap. "Came to check on ya only to find you gone, went lookin for ya right after." Miles slowly remembered what happened, his eyes widening. "T-The alley... the b-bodies... I-I did that..." Miles shuttered, shocked. "Yeah, terrible suckers. Nothin but bloody messes on the floor. But that's what happens in Night City. It's eat or be eaten," Yuri said, taking a seat on a counter. "Yeah... I guess so... Still, it just... doesn't feel right that I killed them," Miles sighed, looking down at the bag of immunoblockers, "Sure, they were dickheads, some more literally than others with how they had their priorities. But, just something about it... it felt good, like I enjoyed killing them. The pain, I could and couldn't feel it at the same time. I even dug a whole ass bullet out of my shoulder for christ's sake!"

"Look, you can't take back what you did, you can only accept it and move it. There isn't a happy ending for anyone in Night City... Not now, not ever..." Yuri told him, grasping at the edge of her jacket, "But that isn't what's important right now. What's important is that you got your wish, the Mantis Blades installed, so what are you going to do with them? Lay down and go back to sleep while you think about it. You're free to stay here for a couple of nights till you get everything together. Just make sure to be out between 10 A.M and 4 P.M. That's when regulars what to come in," Yuri informed him, getting off the counter and heading to her room. Miles watched her leave before staring back down at his hands, allowing one of the Mantis Blades to come out. He looked at his own reflection of it, thinking to himself. "What I should do..." He muttered while the camera zoomed in on his back. Seconds later, it zoomed back out to reveal Miles ducking under cover with a pistol held up. Gunfire whizzed past him, missing him and either hitting the speaker he was using as cover or the wall in front of him.

[Night City - Watson, Northside]
[A Month Later]

[Call] [Miles: Geez, I know these guys owe some money, but you'd think they'd actually have something that packs a punch and not just sprays.]

[Call] [???: I know man. They just keep missing. They're like those Stormtroopers from those late 1900s and 2000s movies. What were they called again? Cosmos Wars? Star Races?]

Miles rolled his eyes before leaning out of cover and firing. He hit two guys in the leg, another in the chest right at the heart, and a fourth in the head, blowing it off. He went back into cover, missing the dozens of bullets that a submachine gun maniac fired at him.

[Call] [Miles: I believe those are called the Star Wars, Garie.]

[Call] [Garie: Oh, yeah. Never could get into the story enough to remember the name.]

Miles chuckled at his friend's shenanigans. He ran out of cover at the thugs, popping two in the head, blowing a hole right between their eyes. Grabbing a stray G-58 Dian, he dropped onto his back and slid between the legs of another thug, unloading the bullets left in the clip into the body of the thug. Once the now dead thug fell to the ground, he discarded the SMG and got back up, popping a final bullet in a half-dead thug whose legs were blown off. "Alright, think that's everyone," Miles sighed, pocketing his lexington. "Got another coming dipshit!" A voice shouted behind him. Turning around, Miles was met with the barrel of a shotgun aimed right at his head. The holder was a big man under the name of Titus, an Ex-Maelstrom member. How he managed to stay alive after leaving Maelstrom was a mystery, but today wasn't his lucky day. "Think again, choom," Miles snickered. Suddenly, Titus' whole head, cyberware and all, was blown off, tiny chunks sticking to the wall, ceiling, and floor being all that remained.

Looking over at the window, Miles gave a thumbs up, smirking. On top a building across the Megabuilding Miles resided in was Garie, staring down through the sight of a Nekomata. He gave another thumbs up, smirking back.

[Call] [Garie: Now, that's everybody.]

[Call] [Miles: Thanks man, see you back at the Coyote once I retrieve the target.]

[Call] [Garie: Got man, just don't take forever. I hate waiting sometimes.]

[Call Over]

Miles chuckled before he stepped over the dead body of Titus, whipping a few chunks of Titus from his jacket. "Garie never leaves a clean mess," Miles shivered, walking into a back room. In there was a computer as well as several tables of mutilated bodies torn open for cyberware removals. "Just get the money and get out. Just get the money and get out," Miles muttered, walking over to the computer. He moved his sleeve to grab his personal jack, plugging it into the computer. He typed away on the keyboard and swiped through several tabs on one screen while going through various code on the other monitor, his eyes blinking a couple times every few seconds. "Oh, looks like ol' Titus still was in contact with his old friends. Guess selling harvested Cyberware is one way to get Maelstrom to keep a safe distance away," Miles said, looking through Titus' recent messaging history. The code on the other monitor stopped as the credits locked away were transferred to a secure line. "Got the target, now to go," Miles muttered, walking away from the computer and towards the door. However, he stopped at the doorway, looking back a couple of seconds later.

"Geez," He sighed. Minutes later, he drizzled gasoline throughout the open apartment, dousing several of the bodies, including the thugs he had killed. Stopping at the hallway, he dropped the empty gasoline jug and took out an incendiary grenade. Taking a deep breath however, he traced a cross over his chest and muttered, "Descansa en paz y mira a Dios para el futuro, cuida de los que aún no se han perdido."

[Translating - Rest in peace and look upon God for the future, look after those yet to be lost.]

He tossed the grenade inside and shut the door. By the time he was in the elevator and heading down, the explosion rang out, signaling the destruction of the bodies. Meanwhile, he decided to give his and Garie's fixer a call to let them know a job well done. His eyes blinked a few times as he tried calling before the fixer finally answered.

[Call] [???: Ahh, Miles. Thank you. Always good to work with you boys.]

[Call] [Miles: Thanks Padre. Job went without a hitch. The credits should already be in your account by now.]

[Call] [Padre: Yes, once again, thank you. I'll send you and Garie both your fair shares for a job well done.]

[Call] [Miles: Yeah, welcome.]

[Call] [Padre: You burnt the bodies of those targeted by Titus and his group, didn't you?]

[Call] [Miles: Yeah... I did.]

[Call] [Padre: Sigh... I understand where your heart is Miles, but you can't mourn forever. Grieving will only bring regret to your father's decision.]

[Call] [Miles: I didn't even get to say goodbye... or that I even loved him.]

[Call] [Padre: Aye... But you can't let that hold you down. After all, silence can speak stronger than any action. Even to those looking above us. I'm sure he understands what you wanted to say without needing to hear it.]

[Call] [Miles: Yeah... Just wish he went out in the glorious way that he wanted.]

[Call] [Padre: Hehe. That he would've enjoyed.]

[Call] [Miles: Yeah, he would've... I'll call back later Padre to see about more gigs. See ya till then.]

[Call Over]

Miles stepped out the elevator and out into the lobby, walking past people to make it outside. He took a breath of the air, taking in the contaminated air of the world, and looking up, shading his eyes from the sun. The camera zoomed out before it all turned black and red, showing Miles' silhouette next to the title.

[Opening - Neffex - Legendary]

Hands wrapped
Knuckles Taped Black
Picked My Gloves Up Off The Mat
Fighting's All I Ever Had

It cut from the title to show a young Miles and Garie hanging out atop a roof, running from bullies, before showing him before his destroyed apartment complex.. Then it showed a young Tae looking at her mom, happy about her Mom working at Arasaka, but it cut to her being the only one in the Arasaka Plaza before her mother's and multiple other mutilated bodies. Then it showed both a young Aves with his fists bloodied in an alley around several other kids and a young Neon playing in a Nomad camp. However, it shortly revealed Aves firing at a firing range and Neon rocking out on a stage.

Wasn't Born With Tons Of Gifts
Had To Work Hard As A Kid
Know That Everything I Did
Was To Catch The Other Kids

It then did a jump cut to Miles sitting across from Padre in the Coyote, the camera spinning around to change it to Miles talking to Rogue in the Afterlife. The camera continued to spin, showing Miles and Tae fighting various corpos on a train, Miles looking over JB's shoulder as he worked on a gun, Neon rocking on stage with Aves on bass guitar and JB on drums, to Percival laying in a bath, her cobalt colored eyes slowly opening to look at the camera before the camera glass shattered.

Slowly Built That Self Esteem
Turning Myself To A Machine
I'd Compete So I'd Be Seen
I Would Lose And I'd Succeed

It then showed Miles standing in Arasaka Plaza, his hoodie tightened and his Mantis Blades opened, blood dripping down the saw teeth. The light flickered before showing Tae in a darkened room, standing in a pool of blood with smoke rising off her pistols. The light flickered again to show Aves sitting on an operation table, his cybernetic hands clasped together in his lap. It flickered again to show Neon standing in the wastelands, the cars around her all busted and smoking with bodies around her.

But You'd Never See Me Quit
I'd Always Get After It
Knew I Had A Different Gift
I'd Outwork Any Other Kid

It then showed a young Miles picking up his father's jacket from a pool of blood, the white still perfectly clean. He fell to his knees as he held it close. However, he slowly got back up to his feet and put the jacket on, taking a deep breath. He then looked at the camera with a serious look as he pulled the strings and the luminescent material turned red. He took a step forward, the background changing to various locations.

Deep Within Our Souls
We Can Feel There's Something empty
We Need Something More
I Feel Destiny, She Tempts Me

Behind Miles, his friends, both new and old joined him. First was his father and Garie who then disappeared, Padre, JB, Tae, Rogue, Neon, Percival, Aves, V, Johnny, and multiple silhouettes. When it got to Arasaka Tower, it changed to show multiple pieces of cyberware. The first was the mechanical inner workings of Miles' Mantis blades, pistons shifting and wires coiling. It then showed a Sandevistan, a silver glow emitted between the plates that changed to a bright lime green to a crimson red.

Tells Me There's Two Paths
They Both have A Different Ending
Choose Wise And You'll Find That
Pain Leads To Ascending

It then showed the slim machinery of the Beowulf, a pair of forearm and leg cyberware reminiscent of gauntlets and boots. Plates shifted as claws ejected and retracted from the fingers, sparks of electricity coming off the knuckles. It then showed a full mechanical body from head to toe, slim and reminiscent of a human silhouette without RealSkinn.

Till I'm Dead And Buried
Deep within A Cemetery
I Will Fight
Never Wary

It then showed Miles and his crew busting down the front door to Arasaka, firing upon Corpo guards and machines. They tore through various people, JB raging with his berserker and Aves cracking skull together. Neon let out blasts from her SMG, opening new holes in walls, people, and anything else in her way. People all around Percival exploded into sparks, the Netrunner scoffing with her arms crossed. Miles used his Mantis Blades to rip and tear through people, picking up various guns to either bash people's heads in or to shoot at people.

I Wanna Be Legendary
Till I'm Dead And Buried
Deep Within A Cemetery
I Will Fight
Never Wary

MIles kicked down a door, entering a room with his gun held up. He pointed it at the silhouette of someone, obviously panting from his eye. The silhouette sat atop a desk, covered in shadow and outlined in yellow. The camera slowly zoomed out before zooming in on a lexington falling to the floor, smoke rising from the barrel.

I Wanna Be Legendary

[Opening End]

[Miles - StreetCred 780]
[Garie - StreetCred 710]