After all the engrams were erased from Mikoshi's system, V helped Alt break into Arasaka's network. She immediately took control of the entire tower. But to reach Mikoshi itself, they still had to get through two more halls — and in one of them, Adam Smasher was already waiting. His task was simple: let no one near the heart of the system.
The moment the group entered his line of sight, Smasher opened heavy fire. The squad dove behind cover, but Takashi wasn't so lucky — he was practically shoved forward.
He had no choice but to take the fight. Luckily, he wasn't alone: V stepped up beside him. He had his own unfinished business with the metal executioner. While the two of them engaged Smasher, the rest of the squad held back Arasaka reinforcements rushing to aid him.
Takashi silently thanked Kota for the intel he'd provided earlier: he knew what implants Adam had and how he fought. It made things a little easier, but not by much. The armored frame was nearly impenetrable, and Smasher himself was ninety-nine percent machine.
The fight was brutal. Dodging blows and barrages of built-in weapons, Takashi spotted a weak point in the enemy's armor — a slight gap in the chest module's mounting. Coordinating with V, he managed to land the decisive strike.
Soon, Smasher fell. All that remained of the once fearsome figure was a charred torso and a deformed head, exposing part of a naked brain.
Takashi was breathing hard, hands on his knees, trembling. If not for endless training, he would have been dead for sure.
"Thanks, V. If you hadn't helped… I wouldn't have made it," he forced out.
"Don't thank me. I had my own score to settle with that metal bastard," V replied, catching his breath.
"It's not like I had a personal score with him," Takashi said with a tired smirk. "I was just forced to fight him."
V only patted him on the shoulder. Meanwhile, gunfire still echoed behind them — the rest of the team finishing off Arasaka troops. Soon, silence fell.
Panam rushed over to V, making sure he was unharmed. He smiled, not hiding how much he enjoyed her concern: beneath the mask of a cold merc, Panam was always gentle.
Takashi, on the other hand, stood off to the side. No one checked on him. No one even asked how he was. The others gathered around Smasher's remains. Beaming, Kota grabbed his shotgun — a trophy he fully intended to bring home.
Takashi stared with a blank expression. He caught himself thinking: if Yuki were here, at least someone would have cared about him. As for his mothers… they would've just said this was how it was meant to be.
"Man, you guys really tore that beast apart," Lutz chuckled. "Not a single patch of him left intact. Even his brain's sticking out. Creepy."
"He's not a robot," Kota pointed out, hugging the captured shotgun. "Smasher's more like RoboCop. There wasn't much left of RoboCop either."
"What's the difference? Still a hunk of metal," Ghost shrugged.
"There is a difference," Soap grinned. "You just don't get it."
And so the argument began. Some compared Smasher to movie characters, others debated where the line was between human and machine.
Takashi stayed silent. No one praised him for the victory. No one even said a simple "good job." Inside, his irritation boiled. He wanted to go home, complain to Yuki, then to Alex — through their mothers. But he knew: Yuki would support him, while Gloria and Namiyo would just repeat their worn-out line that Alex was doing it all for his sake.
"Well done, Takashi. You completed your task," Price finally said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Thanks, Price," Takashi forced a crooked smile and glanced at the others. "At least someone said something."
"What were you expecting?" Jake smirked. "It was your job to take down that metal freak."
"You could've at least helped a little!" Takashi snapped. "That bastard was too damn tough!"
"Nope," R waved him off. "We're just the extras here. Your scene, your fight."
Takashi clenched his teeth."Bastards… I hate you all so much," he growled, pointing a finger at the guys.
"We love you too, Takashi," Soap laughed, and the others joined in the laughter.
The group of guys laughed, and Takashi's face grew even darker. He once again regretted agreeing to this mission. No — he remembered: no one had even asked him. He had been literally forced to be here.
What hurt Takashi the most was that even V and Panam had started laughing along with the others. For the first time, he regretted not smoking: right now, more than ever, he wanted a cigarette to calm his nerves.
"Alright, guys. Enough laughing at the poor bastard," Lehm said with a smirk. "He's got that look on his face like he's about to shoot one of us."
"Mikoshi's in the next hall," V said, pointing at the massive doors at the far end of the chamber.
"Then let's move," Price said with a nod. "While you're connected to Mikoshi, we'll cover you. Then we'll get you out of here."
V gave a short nod and looked at Panam, silently asking if she was ready. She nodded back and squeezed his hand tighter.
Meanwhile, the guys checked their ammo and grenades. While Takashi and V had been fighting Smasher, they'd had to hold off Arasaka soldiers that just kept coming like cockroaches. Once they were sure everything was ready, the group advanced toward the hall where Mikoshi was located.
Beyond the doors lay a grim, futuristic chamber lit only by a red glow. In the center rose a massive cylindrical structure — Mikoshi. Beside it was the pool for those who connected to the system.
V stopped, staring at Mikoshi. Only a few steps along the platform remained between him and the connection. Just a few steps to freedom… yet for some reason, they felt like the hardest steps of his life.
"Any last advice?" he asked, turning to Panam.
"Stay yourself. And everything will be fine," she answered with a soft smile.
"Not the best advice I've ever heard, but thanks, Panam," V chuckled.
"Oh, screw you, idiot!" she snapped, grabbing him by the collar. "And listen to me carefully: if someone else ends up in your body, I'll personally drag your ass out of Mikoshi and then kill you myself. You got that, V?"
V laughed, looking at the furious Panam. He was happy she had come with him to this place. Seeing his smile, Panam let him go and smiled too.
V turned his gaze to the group. He still hadn't figured out who they really were or why their mysterious boss had decided to help him. But one thing he knew for sure — without them, Aldecaldo losses would have been inevitable.
"Go on, V," Lehm urged. "We'll cover you. Just don't take too long, we still need to get out of here."
"I'll try, but no promises," V said with a shake of his head and a smile. "It's not exactly up to me."
Without another word, he walked toward Mikoshi. Pulling a cable from the panel, V plugged it into the port on the back of his head. His body went limp and collapsed into the pool, slowly sinking into the water.
"Take positions!" Lehm barked at once.
The guys spread out and formed a defensive perimeter. Only Panam stayed by the pool, her eyes fixed on V.
The rest waited calmly, though a nagging feeling gnawed at a few of them that this was all going a little too smoothly.
"Guys, is it just me, or does this feel… suspiciously easy?" R finally broke the silence, aiming his rifle at the corridor.
"R, how many times have we told you to shut the hell up?" Toji snapped. "Every damn time back when we worked with Koko, you opened your mouth and trouble started. If we get screwed again because of you — I swear I'll strangle you with my own hands."
"I was just saying…" R began to protest, but his words were cut short.
Before he could finish, red lights flared across the corridor and a blaring alarm filled the air.
All the guys turned to him at once, their glares so sharp it seemed like they really might strangle him on the spot.
R felt a cold bead of sweat roll down his back. He hadn't known this would happen again. And before anyone could throw even a single insult at him for "jinxing it," the massive iron gates in the corridor leading to Mikoshi began to rise.
Behind them stood an entire squad of combat drones and machines.
"Maybe it's nothing?" Soap said uncertainly, raising a brow. "Like… just a system check? Right? V's cyber-girlfriend has the system under control…"
"I, for one, really don't like the way those tin cans are looking at us," Mao muttered darkly, raising his rifle and aiming at the nearest robot.
"You're not the only one, Mao…" Ugo mumbled, peeking out from cover. "I don't like this at all."
And as if on cue, the robots opened fire.
The group instantly ducked behind the walls, dodging a storm of bullets. No one understood what had happened or why the system had failed, but there was no time to think. In the short pauses while the enemies reloaded, the guys answered with fire of their own. Even Panam joined the fight: she knew full well that if they didn't hold the corridor, V would be in deadly danger.
But the more robots they destroyed, the more appeared. It seemed the stream would never end.
When the corridor filled with enemies, grenades came into play. Explosions ripped apart steel bodies, and fragments rained down across the floor.
Kota decided to test the trophy weapon he had taken from the defeated Smasher. Peeking out quickly, he pulled the trigger. The thunderous blast drowned out the alarm, and a moment later, a powerful explosion tore through the robots, scattering them down the corridor in heaps of twisted metal.
"Shit! What the hell, why are they attacking us?!" Jake shouted, hiding behind the wall and reloading his rifle.
"How the fuck should I know?!" Soap barked, tossing a grenade. "Less talking, more shooting. They're not infinite… sooner or later they'll run out."
"Or maybe we'll run out of ammo first," Ghost snapped, pumping his shotgun. "Then we'll be swinging fists."
Jake snorted, pulled back the bolt, and leaned out again. His rifle spat another burst into the advancing machines. They pressed forward without stopping, using the bodies of their fallen as living shields.
The corridor was already clogged with wrecked metal. And then the heavy models rolled in — armored units with heavy-caliber machine guns. Taking them down was a whole different challenge.
After repelling another wave, Lehm leaned against the wall, lit a cigarette right in the middle of the firefight, and started reloading.
"Navi, what the hell's going on?!" he barked, staring into the air.
"One moment, sir. Receiving updated data from the system," the calm mechanical voice replied.
"Move your ass, you flying cockroach!" Jake yelled from the other side of cover. "We're not packing infinite bullets!"
"Data updated," Navi reported after a few seconds. "The cause of the attack is the Alt Cunningham engram. She has taken control of Arasaka Tower's systems and switched all robots into combat mode."
"What?!" Soap peeked out from cover and fired a burst. "Wasn't she supposed to be on V's side?!"
"She lost access to the engrams that, before being deleted, were stored in Mikoshi. And now, as humans like to say — she has 'gone mad with rage.' She has decided to vent her anger on you," Navi explained dryly.
Panam paled and snapped toward him:"And what about V?! He's connected to Mikoshi right now!"
"Do not worry, Miss Panam," Navi's voice remained even. "At this moment Vincent, Jackie Welles, and Johnny Silverhand are fighting Alt Cunningham in cyberspace. He is safe."
"Can you pull him out?" Panam stepped closer, staring at the drone with desperation.
"No. A forced disconnect would damage his brain. A full system shutdown would destroy Vincent. The only way is to wait until he finds his own way out," Navi said, drifting closer and hovering above her.
Panam clenched her teeth but said nothing.
"Damn… I knew I should've brought the spare ammo bag," Lehm cursed, tossing away the cigarette butt. "Alright, boys. You heard him. We just need to buy a little more time before we get the hell out of here."
Lehm peeked into the corridor and opened fire on the advancing robots. But no matter how much they shot, the number of iron machines didn't decrease. It seemed as if they were being stamped out on a conveyor belt nonstop and immediately thrown into battle.
Some of the robots managed to make it to the end of the corridor. But there was a silver lining — the guys could pick up weapons, grenades, and ammo from the destroyed machines. Panam was sent to watch over V: if he regained consciousness, she had to pull him from the pool immediately and prepare for retreat.
"Guys, I'm out," Jake exhaled, tossing aside the rifle he had taken from a robot.
"I'm out too, no grenades left either," Lutz admitted, showing his empty hands.
"'Simple mission,' he said. 'We'll go in and come out,' he said," R grumbled irritably, firing his last rounds. "And about an army of robots in a narrow corridor — he didn't mention that!"
"I'm out too…" Jonah said, wearily leaning against the wall.
Ammo was running low for everyone. Even Kota had emptied all the rounds from his trophy "Ba Xingchun." When it became clear they would have to fight hand-to-hand, gunfire suddenly erupted from deep within the corridor.
Soap cautiously peeked around the corner. He saw the robots simultaneously turn their backs to their group and start firing in the opposite direction.
"Soap, what's going on?" Price asked, noticing his stunned expression.
"Hell if I know… looks like someone got behind them," Soap replied, turning to the commander.
The guys exchanged glances and peeked into the corridor. The robots had indeed begun to retreat, and the sounds of a fierce firefight came from that direction.
"Hey, can you hear me?" a familiar voice rang out on the comms. "This is Chris Redfield. We were sent to assist you. Ammo is on the way."
"Redfield?" Soap exclaimed. "Didn't expect you. Aren't you the leader of the resistance?"
"We'll talk later," Chris snapped. "For now, hold on — we'll cover you until the ammo arrives."
The guys felt a noticeable relief: reinforcements had arrived just as hope was fading.
At that moment, a metallic screech echoed from above. Everyone looked up. A ventilation grate fell to the floor, and immediately after, a heavy bag of ammo dropped down. Almost immediately, Pierce Nivans jumped down in his combat suit.
"Pierce?!" Price exclaimed. "You're here too?"
"Looks like it," Nivans smirked, adjusting his weapon. "Damn ventilation in this building — a maze worse than any subway. Alright, grab the ammo! Chris and Leon can't hold these damn robots forever."
The guys grabbed the ammo bag, quickly reloaded, and opened fire on the robots shooting at their backs. The corridor erupted into a furious firefight once more.
Panam paced near the pool, keeping her eyes on V, who was still submerged in the viscous liquid. She knew that inside, he was dealing with Alt — and she clearly wasn't in a mood to help. But Panam also knew one thing: Jackie and Johnny were with him, so he wasn't alone. Still, her heart raced with anxiety.
The roar of gunfire and explosions didn't pause for a second. Panam kept wondering how long the guys could hold the line. Ammo would eventually run out. She nervously paced back and forth until suddenly she noticed V's eyelids twitching.
In an instant, his eyes flew open. He yanked the cable from the back of his head and surged toward the surface. Breaking through, he gasped for air as if he had just escaped a nightmare.
"V!" Panam rushed to him and helped him onto the platform. He was breathing heavily, his face drawn as if he had teetered on the edge of death dozens of times and barely pulled back each time.
"Is it still you?" Panam asked quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"It's still me… Panam. Still me," he exhaled, lifting his gaze.
"What happened in there? Why did Alt attack?" she asked, worry etched in her eyes.
"The engrams…" V clenched his teeth. "She wanted to use them. To run an experiment."
"What kind of experiment?" Panam frowned.
"War," V replied, pounding his fist against the iron platform. "She wanted to resurrect Saburo Arasaka and unleash him on Militech. To set the world on fire and see… if humanity could start over."
Panam frowned, then decisively shook her head.
"But she failed. And you got out. We need to leave before they completely corner us."
"Jackie and Johnny stayed behind. They helped me get out… I don't know what happened to them." V's voice trembled.
"V, they made their choice. They saved you. We can't help them now. If we stay, we'll all die. Let's go!" Panam grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the exit.
V looked back. He didn't want to leave. A dull guilt throbbed in his chest: Jackie had once again sacrificed himself for him, and Johnny — the one they had argued with so many times — stayed inside to give him a chance. And now both were fighting Alt in cyberspace while he ran.
He still remembered Jackie's smile — warm, alive, just like that last day. But he knew there was no turning back.
When Panam dragged him to the corridor, V saw the scene for himself: the guys, gritting their teeth, were holding back a wave of robots. He also knew another truth — in reality, Alt wouldn't stop and would kill everyone who came with him.
"Guys, V is out of Mikoshi!" Lehm shouted loudly. "Break through to the exit! We go back the same way!"
"Forward, forward! Suppressive fire!" Price bellowed, tossing a grenade into the thick of the robots. "Chris and Leon are waiting for us on the other side!"
Opening fire to suppress the enemy, the guys slowly advanced down the corridor. V raised his weapon as well and, breathing heavily, joined the fight. Step by step, each bullet reclaimed the ground they had lost.
Leaving the corridor, the group spotted Leon and Chris holding the line on the other side. The entire hall was littered with debris and scrap metal from dozens of destroyed robots. Waving to them, the squad pressed onward toward the exit.
Alt seemed to have gone mad. She threw everything left in Arasaka Tower against them: ceiling turrets rained fire down the passage, steel gates slammed shut right in front of them, blocking the way. Yet step by step, through fire and smoke, the group fought their way into the basement rooms — the very place from which they had originally infiltrated the tower.
When the massive doors slammed shut behind them, everyone allowed themselves a brief moment to catch their breath. They were all panting from the exhausting dash, dodging hordes of machines, evading turrets, and slipping through closing airlocks at the last second.
"Chris, aren't you supposed to be the leader of the resistance?" Lehm asked, lighting a cigarette. "What happened that brought you here with us?"
"Oh, that's a very funny story!" Leon snorted with a grin. "During one of the council meetings, Chris just snapped, threw the table out the window, sent everyone as far away as possible, and walked out."
"I didn't snap," Chris muttered, shooting him an annoyed look. "I just got tired of listening to these idiots argue."
"And how did you end up here?" Soap raised an eyebrow.
"We were picked up after Chris called Alex. Then we were issued gear, given a quick briefing—and sent straight here," Pierce shrugged. "Only no one warned us we'd be dealing with an entire army of robots."
"Welcome to the club," Price smirked. "Alright, guys, let's move on. Who knows what Alt will come up with next."
Everyone nodded in agreement and headed toward the shaft drilled by the rig. Descending, the group slowly made their way toward the exit. The tension eased a bit — everyone knew the mission was over and that they had made it out in one piece. Some were already talking aloud about hitting a bar for a beer, and even Panam and V tiredly agreed that a little celebration wouldn't hurt.
When light appeared ahead, everyone quickened their pace. Emerging from the tunnel, they saw Aldecaldo waiting for them, clearly astonished. Curious about what had stunned everyone so, the group all turned forward — and froze.
Before them lay a scene of mass carnage: bodies cut down everywhere, twisted vehicles smoldering. At the center, sprawled across a motorcycle, lazily swinging a leg and exhaling smoke into the sky, sat Alex.
"Hopefully that's not an enemy," Panam said cautiously. "Judging by what happened here, we couldn't handle him."
"Don't worry," Ghost shook his head. "That's not an enemy."
"Why do you say that?" V asked.
"Because that's our boss. And yes, this whole wreckage? His doing," Soap smirked, patting V on the shoulder.
Panam and V exchanged glances. They decided to check with Sol and Mitch about what had happened and were stunned by what they heard: Militech had noticed the loss of contact with this sector and sent reinforcements, but the entire force and all their equipment had been taken out by a single person. Alex alone had taken down a hundred soldiers and several dozen combat machines.
Meanwhile, the guys moved closer to him. Alex flicked away his cigarette, straightened up, and smiled.
"Great work, everyone. I'm proud of you," Alex said, giving the group a thumbs-up.
"You could have warned us there'd be an army of robots ahead," R grumbled, rolling his eyes toward Alex.
"I didn't know myself," Alex shrugged. "I told you, the system still updates with a delay. It's hard to predict when Alt will decide to start a massacre."
"And what now?" Ghost frowned. "Alt took control of the tower's systems. Doesn't that cause problems?"
"Don't worry," Alex waved lazily with his phone. "She's gone. The device I gave you opened a path for me. Removing Alt was easy — especially once she became part of the system herself."
"So, mission accomplished? Can we drink?" R cheered.
"Almost," Alex smirked. "One last step. But then — drinks are on me."
"What last step?" Takashi squinted, clearly expecting a catch.
"You'll see soon enough, David," Alex winked. "But you did an excellent job with Smasher. I'm proud of you. Kids grow up so fast…" he said with a theatrical, fatherly smile, even brushing away an imaginary tear.
The guys laughed, while Takashi's face showed nothing but irritation. But all of them shared one question—what exactly was the "last step" left to officially complete the mission.
Soon, the horn of a truck sounded in the distance. With a roar, it drove onto the construction site, made a sharp turn, and screeched to a halt right next to Alex and the group of guys.
Valerie, GIR, MIMI, and Stitch jumped out of the truck bed.
Panam shifted her gaze to the girl, noting with surprise her resemblance to V. The thought that V might have a lost younger sister flickered in her mind. V himself, seeing Valerie, had the same thought.
"Big brother! We're done. Praise me!" Valerie shouted happily, running up to Alex and looking at him expectantly.
"Good job. Any problems?" Alex asked, gently ruffling her hair.
"What problems? It was just a bunch of idiots from Maelstrom," Valerie replied with a wide grin.
"Can someone explain what's going on here?" Jake frowned, pointing at Valerie. "And why did you bring your little sister along?"
"Basically," Alex began, "we need to cover our tracks. Militech can't trace this back to Aldecaldo."
"What do you mean 'trace back to us'?" Sol interjected, hearing those words.
"That's exactly what I mean," Alex replied calmly. "You think Militech will forget what happened here? No way. As soon as they figure out who attacked their facility, they'll pin all the blame on your clan."
Sol frowned but said nothing.
"So the best option is to find a scapegoat," Alex continued, narrowing his eyes. "And guess who has the biggest problems with Militech in Night City? Hint: it's definitely not Arasaka."
"Maelstrom," V said immediately. "Especially after Militech stormed their hideout to recover the drone prototype."
"Exactly, Vincent," Alex smiled. "Royce is infamous for his insanity. Perfect candidate. So, get the bodies out of the truck and scatter them across the site. Make it look convincing."
"Wait," Jake said incredulously. "We're supposed to drag corpses around too? Are you serious?"
"Less talk, more action," Alex rolled his eyes. "The faster you finish, the faster we can rest. I'll clean up the rest myself."
He opened the weapons compartment on his motorcycle and pulled out a black cube. The guys immediately understood what it meant: Alex was going to blow the tunnel.
While the others grumbled and dragged the Maelstrom bodies to scatter across the construction site, Alex walked past V, patting him on the shoulder with a grin. Then he entered the tunnel and tossed the cube into the center.
Everyone was busy with the task—even Aldecaldo joined in, knowing that otherwise Militech would indeed pin the blame on them.
When everything was ready, Alex detonated the tunnel. The collapsing structures erased all traces. Now it looked as if Maelstrom had come to avenge themselves on Militech and carried out a sabotage at the construction site.
The job was done. It was time to relax.
Sol and his team returned to camp, taking the stolen equipment with them. V and Panam decided to join Alex's group to celebrate the successful raid on Arasaka. They chose El Coyote Cojo as the venue—a place where they could truly unwind and have a drink.
To be continued…
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