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A man... leaned against the window. After a burst of multicolored static, he stood there as if he were real.
"Shit." Frowning, V strained to reach for the medicine bottle on the table.
Across from her, Arthur watched the red static reappear in his vision. It seemed... these glitches were indeed tied to V.
This time, they coalesced into a figure by the window—a shadow made of crimson pixels, flickering erratically like a faulty TV signal.
"You bitch!" The voice rang out, audible only to V. "Trying to shut me up? Slut! This body's mine now, and you... get the fuck out!"
In Arthur's vision, the eerie figure blinked instantly in front of V, slapping her arm hard. At that same moment, V's hand jerked out of control, and the medicine bottle fell to the floor.
The static still flickered, and Arthur could only see the shadow. But that didn't stop him from picking up the pills and handing them back to V.
...
"Your boyfriend sure loves butting in, huh?"
In V's vision, the man was still as crude and relentless as ever.
Frowning, V snapped, "Fuck you! Get the hell out of here!" She shoved the pills Arthur passed her straight into her mouth.
"Huff... huff..."
V panted heavily. As the medicine went down, the bastard finally disappeared. "Damn it..."
"Don't worry, we'll figure something out." Arthur offered reassurance at last. The business with the Blackwall... better to bring it up once she was stronger.
...
By the next day, V had mostly regained her strength. But... as things stood, her chances of saving herself were still a long shot.
In a noodle shop, V and Arthur sat across from each other, each with a steaming bowl in front of them. It was an Eastern-style eatery.
"I think... we should start by tracking down Evelyn Parker. She set this job up—maybe she knows something." Swallowing her food, V spoke between bites.
"Your call. I've never been good at this kind of thinking." Arthur's reply sounded half-dismissive, but V didn't mind. The guy really wasn't one for overthinking.
"Then it's settled. We'll hit Lizzie's Bar later. Her old flame's there—we can ask around." V clacked her chopsticks down onto the table.
Just as she finished and began to rise, a block of colored static suddenly materialized in the air. The terrorist appeared again, out of nowhere.
"You... and your idiot friend..." The figure sat on the restaurant counter, silver cybernetic fingers pointing at them. "Keep stumbling around like headless chickens, and you'll be back in the junk heap soon enough."
"Fuck! Do I really have to keep popping pills every day just so you'll shut up?" V glared at the phantom and shouted.
"Don't be like that." The figure carried on, unfazed. V saw customers pass straight through him, scattering bits of static as they walked. "Me... fighting against all the stupidity in your head... it's not exactly pleasant.
I'm Johnny Silverhand... a legend. Believe me, I can help you."
"You tried to kill me yesterday, asshole. Fuck off." V cursed harshly, drawing glances from nearby patrons.
"Relax... we don't need to talk out loud." Johnny Silverhand's tone was calmer than yesterday. At least now, his words didn't make V want to rip him out of her skull and crush him.
Spreading his hands, Johnny spoke easily: "Yesterday was yesterday. But today? I've changed my mind. I'm gonna help you live. With the legendary Johnny Silverhand on your side, every problem is bullshit."
"Who the hell said there's a 'we'?" V didn't move her lips, but the voice still reached Johnny.
Smiling, he shook his head before vanishing again in a flicker of static.
"You talking to that thing?" Arthur asked. Across the table, he'd been watching where the red pixelated figure had sat at the counter before vanishing.
Catching his gaze, V frowned, suddenly uneasy. "You can see him?"
"A red shadow. But I can't hear what you're saying." Arthur answered. As his words fell, the pixelated figure reappeared.
...
This time, Johnny Silverhand turned his attention toward Arthur. "And here I thought I'd seen it all. Never figured moving into someone else's head would make me visible.
Hey! Ask your sweetheart if he wants my autograph."
Ignoring the noise in her skull, V looked at Arthur with growing concern. Her tone edged into urgency. "What's going on? Weren't you supposed to be fine?"
"According to Vik... it's tied to that chip from when we saved you—and some weird file called the Blackwall." Arthur rubbed the chip slot at the back of his neck.
"Shit... you're not telling me this is real." V's eyes swept Arthur up and down before snapping back to Silverhand. "What the hell is happening?"
"I'm no fucking scientist..." Johnny Silverhand spread his hands, looking perfectly innocent. "If I had a choice... I'd sure as hell pick a body with balls."
...
"Let's go. Vik can't figure this out—probably just a small glitch." Arthur stood, resting a hand on V's shoulder. "Doesn't matter how many chances we get... time's never enough. Especially with you sick."
"What if we can't fix it? Then what?" V's movements slowed. The weight of death pressed on her shoulders—no one could shrug that off.
"Look at you. You're still here, still breathing." Arthur gave her shoulder a firm pat, speaking as if nothing had happened. "I'm not good at comforting people... but if you try to run, I'll at least cuss you out."
The two left together, boarding a plain Delamain cab.
Lizzie's Bar... If they weren't weighed down by all this, they could've sat and had a real drink.
But now, V moved quickly, heading straight for the basement.
The lighting down here was dim... seemed like every techie preferred working in the dark.
...
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