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...
A gun... fired.
In midair, his crimson eyes flickered like a faulty circuit, stuttering with sparks.
He looked at the half-burned man, at the massive weapon still glowing at the muzzle as it slipped lifelessly from his grasp, and at the jagged, sparking hole torn through his own chest.
Through that hole, he could see the night sky—black and endless.
The colossal body dropped helplessly from the air and hit the ground with a thunderous crash.
A rifle that could pierce the Caliburn's engine from over a kilometer away could just as easily tear through a human chest.
Even if he'd been wearing a tank for armor, it wouldn't have mattered.
The night fell silent again...
The Giant's chamber was empty.
The world spun, blurred, shifting in and out of focus...
Tragedy didn't intend to spare him.
It wrapped around Arthur's soul in the dark, gnawing and endless...
Davey... Sean MacGuire... Susan... Hosea...
They appeared, asking how he'd been..?
How am I?
He quietly watched the sun rise over the treetops, his eyes narrowing out of habit...
The world went silent again.
This time, it was broken by the shriek of brakes tearing into his head. The sound wasn't strange anymore—he'd heard it too many times.
Damn it. He saw Jackie flying through the air...
...
Blinding light stabbed at his eyes. He tried to raise a hand to shield them, but pain—raw and rigid—seared through him.
Like sharp metal had been stitched into his flesh.
"Ugh...
I knew it...
Damn it!!"
His throat felt clogged with sand. His cracked lips parted just enough to force the words out.
...
When he woke again, the pain was worse—sharper, heavier—but his mind felt clearer.
"Awake again?
I know... you probably just want to pass out right now. But tough luck—you've been out for days. Your brain won't play along."
The familiar low voice reached his ears. Arthur lay flat on the bed, so drained he couldn't even close his eyes without agony.
The lamp above him snapped off. Vik was as thoughtful as ever.
"Your right eyelid's burned clean off...
Tsk tsk...
Can't believe I brought a piece of charcoal back to life.
In some ways, you're damn lucky."
A shadow moved in front of him, Vik's hands busy over his body.
"How... are they...? Did... uh... they make it?"
Arthur forced the words out, then gave up trying. Talking hurt too much.
"They're alive.
Jackie's heart ruptured, his guts were shattered like porcelain. Lucky for him, the Emergency Cyberware Kit V gave him kicked in. Pulled him straight from Death's grip."
Vik exhaled heavily before continuing.
"Rebecca—the little brat—took a shotgun pellet through the ribs, snapped two of them. Bad, but compared to the rest of you? She got off light. Hell, she's the one who dragged your sorry asses back.
As for V... her Neural Link were already fried. The crash made it worse. She was still out cold when she hit my table.
So yeah—no one walked away clean, but at least you all walked away."
In Night City, unless your brain's mush or your genes are shot, a Ripperdoc can drag you back from the grave.
Plug someone into a MedPod and, even if they're just a head, they'll keep ticking.
Harvest some cells, clone the organs, shove them into a chrome shell, and you've got yourself a rebuilt person.
Sure, the body might glitch. A leg won't move, a hand won't obey. But alive is alive.
"Damn... how long till I recover?"
Arthur's voice was rough as his eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Time... Look, there are ways to speed it up, but I don't recommend them.
Those growth boosters leave nasty surprises. Your nerves can't always keep up with the flesh, and you'll end up losing sensation.
So just lie still and heal."
"I meant... how long till this pain stops?"
"Pain's a good sign. Means you're not dead. You'll just have to deal with it."
...
Time bled by, and the world went quiet.
Arthur thought back to his first days here, when his arms had been nothing but twigs.
Rebecca and V were the first to recover—their injuries the least severe. It wasn't long before they came to his bedside.
"Arthur, your head—ha ha! You look like an egg."
Rebecca swung her arms around, laughing so hard her eyes squeezed shut.
"Is that right?
You should probably check a mirror before talking. Have you seen yourself?"
Arthur twirled a finger over his head, mocking.
"Like what? A little short-legged sheep fresh from the shearing?"
At the last moment, though the Armored Vehicle's glass had blocked most of the shotgun blast, a hole still opened.
Flames poured through and scorched Rebecca's green hair. Now she had nothing but uneven stubble.
If not for that fire, she might still be unconscious.
Rebecca lunged at Arthur, ready to pounce, but V grabbed her and tossed her aside with ease. Then V cut straight to business.
"Can you describe the attacker again?"
Her eyes were sharp, though worry flickered beneath them.
"Why bother?
...
Black full-body Cyberware, swollen pale head.
Had an Arm cannon. Judging by the incendiary rounds, it was high-end gear."
Arthur replayed the images in his mind. The bastard had given them hell. But... so what?
"I killed him.
The bullet went straight through his chest. Left a hole you could see the night sky through.
I saw it before I blacked out."
V met Arthur's eyes and spoke slowly, her words sharp and deliberate.
"You know who that was?"
Arthur shrugged and frowned.
"Who cares?
Doesn't matter anymore. He's dead. I killed him myself."
V blinked, then a grin split her face.
"That was fucking Adam Smasher.
Every merc in Night City dreams of killing him.
And what I'm telling you is—don't bet on him being dead just yet..."
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
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