Chapter 99: I Want This City
"Well, look at us. Moving up in the world. Rolling around in Delamain cabs now."
On the road to Watson, Rhys and the crew were split between two rented Delamain cabs. They didn't have their own wheels right now, so they had to make do.
The two cars couldn't fit everyone, so Dorio and the others were waiting for the next ride.
Currently, one cab held Rhys, Maine, Sasha, Lucy, Gloria, David, Jackie, and Anna. The others—Kiwi, Dorio, Pilar, and Rebecca—had been left behind.
Surprisingly, Rebecca hadn't thrown a tantrum about being left behind. She just stood next to Dorio, stomping her foot and looking grumpy. She knew now wasn't the time for fits.
They weren't just meeting up at Lizzie's; they needed to find a new apartment in Watson.
Rhys's apartment in Santo Domingo had been repossessed by Night Corp after he missed a month of rent.
In Night City, you could be late on your water, your power, your appliance rental, even your net bill. But you never missed rent.
Finding a new place to crash was priority one.
"Forget Delamain for a sec. I got a question," Jackie piped up.
"Shoot," Maine said cheerfully.
"Rhys, what's the deal with your weapon? Back at the 6th Street warehouse... it turned from a sword into a gun, right? How the hell does that work?" Jackie asked, his curiosity burning.
Seriously! A black curved blade suddenly becoming a pistol? Jackie had never seen anything like it. Hell, he'd never even heard of tech like that.
As soon as Jackie asked, Sasha and Lucy turned to look at Rhys, their curiosity piqued.
Rhys was sandwiched between the two netrunners in the back seat. Jackie was up front. Maine, Gloria, David, and Anna were in the other car.
Maine's voice crackled over the comms. "Yeah, Rhys. If I didn't know better, I'd say Pilar built you a gunblade."
"But Pilar doesn't have the skills for that. Vick doesn't either. So where did it come from?"
Rhys hesitated. He didn't want to lie to them—they'd been through hell together, trusted each other with their lives. But... how do you explain that?
I'm from another world? I have a system?
Yeah, they'd think he was cyberpsycho for sure.
"This weapon..."
"What's the mystery? Shoko already explained it. It's old-tech from the DataKrash era. Nanotech. Micro-assemblers reconstructing the molecular structure," Sasha interjected smoothly.
Just one look at Rhys's face, and Sasha—who knew him intimately—could tell he was struggling. She jumped in to cover for him.
Beside him, Lucy paused for a second, then nodded. "I've been to the Old Net. That tech exists."
Well... it exists, she thought, but the nanotech I saw was for medical reconstruction, not... weapon morphing.
But she wasn't going to rat him out.
"So, I'm asking how you got it," Maine pressed.
Sure, nanotech. Sounds fancy. But that wasn't the point.
He wanted to know how Rhys got his hands on it!
Everyone said Adam Smasher had a gravity well generator. Maine didn't know how it worked, but he knew who gave it to him—Arasaka.
But Rhys?
He had no corpo backing. Where did he get high-end tech like that?
Oh, wait. We have Michiko Arasaka now.
But the weapon appeared before they met Michiko!
"Questions, questions! Who cares?!" Sasha hissed like a cat.
"Instead of worrying about that, why don't you worry about how a pistol can have a personality? How it can curse at people? Or how it doesn't need ammo, just eats eddies from your account?!" Sasha shouted.
Maine: "..."
"Shit!" Jackie turned around to look at Sasha. "Yeah! Why is that?"
"?"
Sasha gave him a look that said Are you stupid?
"You're asking me?!"
Maine and Jackie immediately launched into a debate about sentient guns and eddy-based ammo. A gun with a network interface? Maybe. But where did the bullets come from?
It defied physics!
Afternoon. Lizzie's Bar.
Lizzie's usually opened at 6 PM, but the staff arrived early in the afternoon to prep. Most Mox members worked as dolls, but unlike streetwalkers, they had the safety of the gang. They took jobs from the Mox bookers and went where they were sent.
But when Rhys arrived, the bar was empty. The front doors were half-closed. A few women stood outside.
"I gave Susan a heads-up," Anna said, patting Rhys on the shoulder and winking. "Go on. Susan, Korna, and Rita missed you."
Rhys pursed his lips and looked at the group.
Susan, Korna, Rita... and Judy.
He walked up to Susan.
She glared at him, raising her hand as if to slap him.
Rhys didn't flinch. He just looked at her. But the hand—tipped with pink claws and black plating—just landed gently on his head.
She ruffled his hair roughly. "Did you eat?" she asked, her voice calm.
Rhys blinked, then shook his head.
"Come on. I had food prepped as soon as Anna called."
Korna smiled at him. Rita grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
"Come on in, everyone," Korna invited Maine and the others.
In the basement of Lizzie's, Maine and the crew were treated to a feast. Rhys ate a few bites, then Susan dragged him into her office.
She sat in her chair, hands folded in her lap, staring at him. "Talk."
"About what?" Rhys wiped crumbs from his mouth.
Susan sneered. "About the massive shitstorm you kicked up."
"Killing an Arasaka exec on live TV. At first, you had a jammer blocking your face, but WNS got close enough to break it. Instead of zeroing him and running, you stood there and gave a speech? Rhys, what the hell goes through your head? Yeah, you're famous now. Big badass. Everyone in Night City knows there's a crazy new merc who kills corpos and declares war on the system. Why did you..." Susan stopped.
She pushed her hair back, sighing. "Was it because of the Mox?"
Rhys nodded. "But I started it. The corpo dog I killed... he wanted me. He found out about my connection to the Mox and used you to flush me out."
"I started it, so I had to finish it."
"And your solution... my heart can't take it," Susan said, tapping her chest. "I'm getting too old for this shit, Rhys."
Rhys smiled.
"So what now? A few days after you vanished, the news cycle moved on. Tanaka's death was spun as an internal corpo dispute, a sanctioned hit. It's like someone wiped your slate clean. So... it's over?"
"Sort of," Rhys laughed self-deprecatingly. "I met a big shot. She smoothed things over with the corps. The NCPD won't chase me, and Arasaka won't target me openly."
Susan laughed, her eyes cynical. "Right. Only the law can suppress the law. Sometimes I think the 'good guys' are dirtier than the gangs. The privileges of the elite are beyond our imagination."
She looked at Rhys. "So, what's your next move?"
"Finish the Tyger Claws," Rhys said, taking a deep breath. "I've tolerated them long enough. I'm kicking them out of Night City."
"Orders from your new patron?"
"Something like that. But from now on, I'm going to be a lot louder. And I'm strong now, Susan. You don't need to worry about me. My crew is strong, too. They're with me on this." Rhys smiled.
The current Maine's Crew... thanks to Shoko's training, even Kiwi had leveled up. Dorio was still average, but Rebecca was a literal monster now.
According to the tabletop rules, empathy determined how much chrome you could handle. In the anime, David was special because of his high empathy—his mother's love kept him grounded.
Rebecca was even more special. Her empathy was off the charts. She'd jump into a gang war to save a puppy. She'd spare an enemy because he looked pathetic. Her dad said her kindness would kill her.
But now? That kindness let her slot enough chrome to rival Adam Smasher.
At this rate, Rebecca was going to become the new letter-designated legend of Night City. R.
The only issue was... she'd upgraded too much at once. Her aim was shit right now. But Rebecca didn't care. Spray and pray! Fast fire rate, high damage... who cares if you miss a few shots when you're a walking tank?
"What's your plan?"
"Regroup. Talk to Rogue. And... figuring out how to divide the Tyger Claws' turf. The Mox can't hold it all, right?" Rhys mused.
When he crushed the Claws, he was giving the turf to the Mox. Who else? The Animals? Maelstrom?
Susan's mouth twitched.
Rhys and his handful of mercs were already planning how to carve up a gang with thousands of members?
"What about the people you brought? Gloria and that kid, David. Are they staying?" Susan asked. She'd looked into them because of Rhys. She knew they weren't fighters.
"Yeah. I need you to look after them for a while. They can't go back to Santo Domingo. We zeroed a lot of 6th Street on the way here, including a Captain."
The news would spread fast. Gunner was a big deal. 6th Street would be in chaos, and the Valentinos and Tyger Claws would know instantly. Rhys's return would be common knowledge by morning.
"Fuck!" Susan cursed, then sighed. "Fine. I can't control you anymore. Do what you want."
She rubbed her temples. "The Mox can't give you much help, but Anna and Rita can back you up. If you need anything, just ask. Oh, and our radio station in Dogtown might be useful."
Rhys smiled and nodded. "I know."
Susan waved a hand. "Get out. Let me digest this."
Rhys stood up, hesitated, then walked over and hugged her gently.
Susan stiffened, then looked up and snapped, "Get off!" But she patted his back twice.
Rhys laughed and walked out.
Heading towards the others, Rhys started thinking about his next move.
When he first arrived in this world, all he wanted was to protect the Mox. He hated this world. People treated worse than dogs, the poor treated like weeds. He didn't fit in.
Everyone said it was normal.
He couldn't change them, and he couldn't change himself.
The Mox was his only link to this world. He just wanted to stay there, safe. He didn't care about the outside world because he didn't have the power to change it.
But now...
He'd met Maine, Jackie, Sasha, Lucy, Rebecca. He'd stepped into the edgerunner life.
He wanted to protect more people. He had people he could trust.
His heart, once dead ash, was reigniting.
Protection was passive. It was reactive. Only control—becoming the King of Night City like V—could put him above the rules.
If you didn't control the rules, you didn't even have the right to speak.
Rhys clenched his fist and smiled.
Susan thought he was fighting the Tyger Claws and 6th Street.
But really... Rhys wanted this city.
He wanted Night City.
His deal with Michiko Arasaka, the two-year timeline... that was just the fuse. The moment he killed Tanaka with My Heart is Fire, any chance of a quiet life vanished.
Unless he took everyone to the Badlands to start a new Nomad clan... no, even that wouldn't work.
The game showed that clearly. Even in the desolate Badlands, the corps were everywhere. Biotechnica, StormTech, Zetatech... they were all squeezing the Nomads.
In a world where growing food in your own backyard was a crime, there was no safe haven.
Rhys shook his head, slapping his cheeks.
Getting ahead of myself.
They were back, but Maine's crew didn't even have a base. Maine had talked about opening an office in Santo Domingo, but it never happened.
Maybe... Watson would be better?
He couldn't be a merc forever. And he didn't want to be.
So... let's start changing Night City.