A New Meaning

[A week later - The Afterlife, South Watson]

Although not any worse for wear, all things considered, Miz was beside herself for day or two following their run-in with Fingers and the Sofa King. It was a hell of a thing, having to stare down the man who cut you open against your will; not wanting to leave Billy in the dark, Miz opened up to him fairly immediately that in that very moment, she felt the same way as when she confronted Kenji Yamada almost nine years prior. She didn't like the way she felt, but at the same time there was an undeniable catharsis in all of it.

To his surprise, she bounced back pretty quickly from all of it and was back to her usual self in no time at all. He wasn't going to complain. Any step forward, no matter how small, was progress, and he was just happy to have her back to her usual spunky antics.

Tonight was Miz making good on a rain check to V; a night of no obligations or expectations, just two chooms having a drink and shooting the shit. Billy of course was invited to tag along, but he decided against it, knowing the three of them in close proximity without supervision would only increase the chances of another trip to the back room. As much as they would have enjoyed it, they all agreed on V's point; it was bad for business to mix in pleasure with her best crew. It only muddled the focus they needed to get shit done.

Even though it didn't need to be said, Miz still stressed the point to Billy that she wouldn't dare make a move without him, which he of course found hilariously adorable. He trusted Miz with his life, as she trusted him with hers; they held no secrets from each other, so there was no worry in his mind. He even joked that it'd be hot to think about them fucking each other silly without him there to distract them. This, of course, did nothing to quell Miz's anxieties, prompting her to tease him right to the edge before leaving him a bricked-up mess as she sauntered out the door with a kiss and a smile. All of this made for amusing conversation as V choked on her drink, "Jesus! Harsh, babe!"

Miz laughed as she flipped her hair out of her face, "Eh, I'll make it up to him when I get home... he knows I'm good for it. Plus, I get a few more of these in me, Tiger won't have much choice."

Claire had a raised eyebrow as V made a joke growling sound, prompting all of them to burst into laughter. It had been a fun night so far, and was only looking up. Miz didn't want to be the one to bring it down, but she had a burning question she needed to know the answer to, and V was starting to catch on as she leaned in, "Hey... what's wrong...?"

Miz wrinkled her nose and tried to push the thought away, but it wasn't going anywhere. After downing the rest of her glass, she looked at V and asked, "What really happened with Fingers after we left?"

V shook her head with a sip of her own drink and a grunt, "Mm... not your problem, anymore."

Her tone was frank, but understandable in that she didn't want Miz dwelling on something from her past; instead, V wanted her choomba looking forward, working on healing. It wasn't the answer Miz wanted, but she was willing to accept it before Rogue called over from the end of the bar, a little looser with her words than normal, "C'mon, V! Toss the kid a bone, will ya?!"

V spun around and flashed her teeth, "About all that's left of you that ain't chrome is bones, ya old broad!"

Rogue raised her eyebrows and turned back to her own conversation with a laugh as V turned to Miz flashing big hopeful puppy eyes; the Living Legend sucked her teeth and said, "That's not fair, ya know..."

Miz wasn't breaking her stare, and V finally caved, "Alright, ya really want to know?"

The younger merc looked down for a moment, thinking hard, before she locked eyes with V again and nodded. The Legend continued, "Nix scrubbed his eye-dent and any other records from all public databases in Night City... last I heard, the 'Caldos tuned him up pretty well before Panam herself dropped him in No Man's Land on the other side of the Border... hence not your problem anymore."

That was more than Miz had expected, and it hit her harder than she expected as she sat back in her seat for a second before slumping over on the bar top. She nestled into the crook of her elbow, leaving only her eyes visible as they darted every which way, a thousand thoughts racing behind them. V's heart sunk at seeing her friend like this as she moved in a little closer. Miz's eyes cut to her as they clouded over before she felt V's head rest against hers, an arm around her back, "I told you I look after my people, especially the ones I care about..."

In an instant, Miz turned and crashed into V, wrapping her up tight as she whispered, "T-Thank you..."

V smiled as she closed her arms around the shinobi and held her tight. It wasn't much, but it was something, and V could feel the tension leaving Miz's body before they pulled apart. They both filled the silence by lighting fresh cigarettes as Claire prepared another round of drinks. They hadn't meant to swerve into the deep shit, but it was for the better that they did. Now Miz could focus on moving forward, and V could see the darkness disappearing in her eyes. Before long, Claire unceremoniously crashed two glasses against the bar top as she said, "Want to see smiles out of you two for the rest of the night, y'hear?"

Miz watched as Claire turned and walked away, admiring her ample sway before she leaned in, "Hey uh... next time we should invite her."

V's eyes went wide as she nearly choked on her drink for the second time that night. Miz obviously wasn't joking about the booze going straight to her head, as she was never this brazen except for their back room encounter. Still, V had to be the voice of reason, for multiple reasons; not the least of which was, Claire was Liv's best friend, so how awkward would it be for Billy?

They both shared a laugh before V noticed's Miz's eyes flashing orange. A holocall was coming in, and Miz's eyes beamed as she answered, "Heya Luca! How've you been?!"

He answered weakly and out of breath, "No time... I'm sorry, Miz, but I need your help."

"What is it?", she didn't hesitate for a second, "Tell me what's going on..."

Luca collected himself for a moment as he tried to catch his breath before he answered, "C-Claws... h-hit Lizzie's. W-Whole place is fucked up... I-I'm in the Afterlife parking lot with Rita... M-Miz, it's b-bad."

"I'm actually downstairs. Can you get down here?", Miz asked as she stepped off her stool and headed for the doors, "I'll be waiting with Emmerick."

"Yeah, I carried her this far...", he chuckled, "S-See ya soon, choom..."

The call dropped as V stepped off her stool, "Hey, what's up?!"

"Lizzie's just got hit...", Miz's voice trailed off as the door's opened, "Emmerick, got a friend inbound, keep the doors open!"

Emmerick nodded as he kept watch, Miz turning back to V, "Get a 'doc up here ready to go!"

V nodded with a steely resolve, breaking away from the bar to find what they needed. As it turns out, the back reaches behind the main room of the Afterlife were good for more than just clandestine meetings or wild threesomes; as mercenary crews came and went, they often needed space to regroup, re-arm, and seek medical attention. The Afterlife provided all of these services and then some.

Miz stood ready and waiting, watching and listening for any signs of someone coming down the main entrance. After several seconds, Luca stumbled into sight as he nearly lost his footing, using all of his strength to prop up another person, her arm draped around his shoulder as the weight of her body pulled him to one side. They were both covered in soot and sweat, out of breath and exhausted.

The woman had a tattered and torn tanktop barely clinging to her svelte form, accented by empty double shoulder holsters hanging loosely; she wore a pair of high-waisted skintight syn-leather pants running into hot pink stiletto boots. She had a distinctive cyberware threading running the bridge of her nose and across her cheeks, and her magenta hair was pulled up in twin space buns with bangs framing her face on either side; there was an impressively large 'Moxes' tattoo running across her chest. Both of her arms were spike-plated and chrome, but in her current state, her left arm had been removed at the elbow, loose leads and wires hanging from the joint. She was covered in cuts and bruises, blood trickling down her face and body, not unlike Luca, although he was all in one piece.

Miz called out to them as she ran to try and help any way she could before the woman hissed at Luca, "I told ya to leave me, kid! I still got one good arm, could take those kami-krazie motherfuckers apart all by myself!"

Having recognized the voice, V appeared in the doorway before she cried out, "Rita!"

Miz knew the name, but didn't know the woman well, and was careful to keep her distance as V barreled into them both. She wasted no time in hoisting Rita off of Luca as she hurriedly carried her injured choom into the main area of the bar. Miz stayed with Luca for a moment as ne nearly collapsed in the hallway, kneeling down to catch him. He had the makings of a black eye and his lip was busted open, among other visible wounds. She held him close and cradled his head before she felt his grip tightening around her. He whispered weakly, "I... I ran away... I got scared..."

She didn't even know how to answer that, stifling a scoff as she shushed him. After several seconds, she could see the tears forming in his eyes as she comforted him, "Hey, you didn't run... you got Rita here alive... we'll get the rest back..."

Luca tried to smile as he reached for Miz's face before his injuries overtook him and he passed out in her arms. She immediately checked his pulse, sighing with relief. He was out cold, but otherwise alright. She shifted her grip to carry him under his back and legs as she joined V. Emmerick gave a sincere nod as she crossed the threshold and the doors closed behind her. One of the Afterlife ripperdocs was already fast at work checking on Rita despite her profane objections, another 'doc directing Miz to lay Luca flat on a table as they prepared a medkit.

Miz breathed in deep with a sharp exhale before turning to join V at the bar; her host was already deep in conversation with Rogue as several operators were gearing up in the background. Although Miz was as welcome as any at this point, she didn't dare interrupt Rogue while speaking, instead leaning in against the bar to make her presence known. Rogue stopped mid-sentence, turning to Miz as she changed her tune, "We got this one covered... you can stay here."

What?!

"The fuck I can!", Miz spat back, drawing the attention of everyone within earshot as she continued, "Luca's my choom, and I got major beef with these motherfuckers!"

Rogue's eyebrow raised at the audacity before V stepped in between them, "Miz, it's your call to come with."

Her eyes cut to Rogue as she continued, "Nobody can tell you otherwise", eliciting a slump and a defeated grunt from the former queen. Miz wanted to scrap, but V placed a subtle hand against her shoulder. She knew Rogue meant well, was just trying to be objective about it. V had a vested interest in Lizzie's, so it was only practical that the Afterlife be the ones to deal with it. But that her childhood choom got wrapped up in it, all logic went out the window at that point.

There was a fire in Miz's eyes, and Rogue smirked in admiration, "Jesus, kid... last time I get on your bad side. Alright, you and V got this. I'll talk to Nix, get eyes on..."

Both V and Miz nodded as Rogue stepped off her stool and disappeared behind double doors. V turned to Miz with a look, prompting the younger merc to blow her off, "Just don't..."

The Living Legend flashed her teeth, "Then stop pickin' fights with royalty, alright?"

They both shared a laugh as the tension subsided, before Rita interjected, "Get that fucking shit out of my face! V, give me a gun and I'll take Lizzie's back myself!"

V snapped, turning and stepping towards the bouncer with a pointed finger, "No the fuck you will not! Sit your ass down before I make you sit down!"

The sheer volume of V's voice nearly knocked Rita back, a look of disbelief and a hint of blush painting her face before a cheeky smirk set in and she conceded.

The fuck is that about?, Miz thought to herself as she could almost taste the tension between these two. It wasn't hostility... it was something... deeper.

V retracted her hand as she called out to the ripperdoc treating Rita, "Get her dressed and cleaned up, then take her over to Vik's for a new arm... take Bison with you in case she tries any shit."

The 'doc nodded as a burly beefcake of a former-Nomad operator in Afterlife tac-gear stepped up next to them, giving a casual two-finger salute to V. As she headed for the doors, her eyes locked with Rita's and they shared a brief smile, leaving Miz wide-eyed and trying to figure out just what the fuck was going on between them. A one-time fling? Unresolved feelings? A trembling love that could shake the very walls of Corpo Plaza? Miz chuckled to herself as she shook the thoughts from her head and followed V up to the parking lot. She took advantage of the few moments' peace to ping a quick call to Billy, "Heya Tiger..."

"No, I haven't cranked one out in the shower yet...", Billy fired back with no hesitation, "Y-You okay, Em...?"

She sighed, "Lizzie's got hit by TCs... I'm on my way over there with V to raise hell."

She could hear Billy scrambling, "I'm on my wa—"

"No", Miz stopped him with all the grace of a brick wall, "I don't know what we're walkin' into, but I got a bad feeling..."

That was NOT what Billy wanted to hear, his tone shifting, "E-Em... I can be there in—"

Miz smiled to herself, but stood her ground, "We got more than enough bodies, Tiger. I don't want anything to happen to you... I know these fuckers... please."

Billy wasn't thrilled, but he obliged her regardless, "Alright... babe, be careful."

"I will...", Miz reassured him, "I love you."

"I love you too...", Billy answered, and the call dropped. Miz walked up the stairs, trying to shake another thought from her head as she stepped up next to V, who looked her up and down and said, "So, he comin'?"

Miz tried to clench her jaw through a smirk as she rolled her eyes, "...yeah... give it thirty minutes tops."

V scoffed, "Kid loves ya, babe. Can't really expect 'im to sit one out just 'cause you tell him to, right?"

She's got a point, Miz thought to herself as she gave a playful punch to V's arm, "C'mon, let's do this."

--

[Fifteen minutes later - Kennedy and Bellevue]

It was only a short drive around the bend of Palm View onto Kennedy. They could have charged right into the front of Lizzie's at the intersection of Sutter Street if they really wanted to; V voted against it. There was no telling who got caught in the crossfire, and she wouldn't risk anything happening to the Moxes if she could help it. Instead, they pulled off a block early onto the cross street for Bellevue, before the Cartwright Bridge overpass.

The van was tucked neatly under the Bellevue Overwalk as V and Miz hopped out. There was a small tunnel across from a noodle joint that ran all the way to the back of the club, specifically to two basketball courts. As Bellevue was on an upward grade approaching the Allen Creek Loop, what they saw as the 'back' of the club was actually the roof. Kabuki was good that way; 'labyrinth' didn't even come close to describing it. Combine all the different areas into one, and Kabuki really took on the form of an Escherian clusterfuck, only truly navigable by native denizens, especially in the dead of night with only a polluted neon shimmer to light one's way. For Miz, it was all old hat; for V, it always took some time readjusting and getting her bearings, but she held her own well enough.

As they passed through the dark tunnel and cleared the buildings, they were met with a freight van painted over with TC graffiti and wild colors sitting under a flickering streetlamp. There were no bodies in plain sight, but V knew better. She remembered in the past regularly encountering goons pestering the kids playing basketball. The two courts were separated by a 12-foot fence between them; for no other reason than the Mox didn't want kids accidentally wandering into the club. Lizzie's was a famed braindance bar throughout Night City, but because of that, it was also a place no child should ever be.

V scanned the van, finding nobody inside, but she could detect a single tall warm body on the far side, readying her Malorian and stepping forward carefully. Miz followed suit, approaching the opposite side of the van as they nodded to each other before a familiar voice called out, "Y'know, perks of almost 2 years together is... I can smell you comin', Em..."

She blushed... hard... as her jaw clenched and she holstered her Unity. Sure enough, Billy appeared from behind the van, carrying a dead ganger by the collar before dropping him. He had his signature smile as Miz tried her damndest to look disappointed... it was a losing battle. As she barreled into his chest, V asked, "How the fu—"

Billy cut her off as he pecked the crown of his output's head, "Had Miz let me actually finish my sentence, I was already at the lockup, cleaning up some inventory for Wilson..."

Miz blushed again as she tried to defend her point before Billy interjected again, "I know... but I can handle myself. And we're better together."

She wrinkled her nose as he leaned down and whispered, "And I got to make sure you get back in one piece to finish what you started earlier..."

There was a scoff followed by a playful punch to Billy's stomach before Miz pulled away. V flipped her hair with her hands on her hips in a futile effort to hide her own blush as she quipped to both of them, "If you two are done playing grab-ass, can we get on with it?"

Miz gave a middle finger as they all shared a laugh before refocusing on why they were here in the first place. V pinged a crew-wide holocall, including her own mercs setting up on the street level, "Afterlife crew, set up in front, but stay out of sight until I give the word. Be ready to move. We got the roof entrance... try and keep it quiet for as long as we can. We can't risk whoever may be trapped inside."

Calls of affirmation rang out as Miz and Billy both nodded to V and they turned toward their first obstacle; a big-ass fence. Miz wasted no time as she charged a jump up to the wall of an adjacent building before charging another off as she effortlessly cleared the fence with a back-flip, landing light as a feather on the other side. She stood up with a smirk before her face went blank as she watched V rip a chain-link door off its hinges and casually set it aside before sauntering in. She gave a heavy pat to Miz's shoulder as she laughed; Billy leaned in with a smirk of his own, "Hey, I'm impressed...", to which Miz spat out her tongue.

They were met with a pair of double doors, the indicators flashing red. V stepped in front, taking a chance as she cautiously held out her wrist. The adjacent bio-pad whirred to life for several seconds, processing the request as she hoped for green; instead, they were met with a series of three dissonant beeps and a red flash, 'TOKEN REVOKED - 2077/08/15'. Her jaw clenched as she looked down with a flush in her cheeks. One last gift, eh Jude?

Her face quickly contorted into a pained smirk as the realization set in, and she stepped back with a scoff. Miz could see her eyes clouding over and went to check on her as Billy's eyes narrowed with curiosity. He stepped in front of the bio-pad, flipping open a maintenance port on the side as he pulled his personal link out from his hand. He considered his choice for several seconds before he muttered, "Fuck it" to himself and jacked in. His eyes lit up blue as he connected to the pad and went to work trying to hack it. Since their second run-in with Farris, Max had dropped a few tricks and tips on him for hacking access points, nodes, and terminals quickly. Best case scenario, he opens the door quietly; worst case, he rips the door off the hinges. He was fine either way, but he wanted to keep to V's plan for as long as possible.

Miz approached cautiously from behind as she saw V's shoulders raising and lowering; she was taking deep breaths, one after the other, trying to calm herself and fight whatever was welling up. Miz took a chance and placed a gentle hand on her choom's shoulder, "Hey... it's her... isn't it?"

"She... she used to tune the virtus and braindances here", V answered with sadness in her voice as she stared at the ground, "I can't blame her for bein' upset with me... but it feels like more and more I'm bein' reminded of what I threw away..."

"What can I do?", Miz asked sincerely, to which V gave a light snort of a laugh. Her default answer was to shrug it off with a joke, but the gig was up between them. They were both open books to each other at this point. Instead, V brought her hand up over Miz's and gently squeezed as she sniffed up, "Just have my back in there... I know you will."

They shared a smile before the door dinged in affirmation, prompting a surprised look from both of them as they turned to Billy retracting his personal link with a shit-eating grin. He looked to both of them as he quipped, "Guess it's a good thing I showed up anyway..."

V laughed and shook her head as she patted Miz on the arm, "He's been around you for too long, babe. Let's go."

They all met in front of the now-open doors as they unholstered their iron. The pounding bass of Lizzy Wizzy's '4ÆM' moving through the building was enough to rattle your brains. Miz of course took point as she was the only one with a suppressible weapon; she attached the cylindrical accessory to the end of her Unity as she motioned the other two to cover her ass; she didn't have to tell either of them twice. She moved in, immediately clearing the corner to the left and down the stairs. It was oddly empty... why was it empty? A rooftop entrance like that was a preem spot for ambush, so why leave it unguarded?

V could read the skepticism on Miz's face and pinged a holocall just to her and Billy, "Don't read too much into it. All the doors here are tightly access-controlled. Even if the floor is open downstairs, they still won't have access to sensitive areas..."

Miz almost felt bad for asking, "And you had access to all of it, once?"

"Yeah, Judy gave me access early on when we were just working together", V answered, almost unaffected at this point, "Guess she decided it was in the best interest to revoke my access when we parted ways..."

Billy didn't buy it, "W-Wait... she didn't actually think you'd do anything, did she?"

V smirked and shook her head, "Nah... just Jude being Jude... woman scorned and all... she was, uh... anyway, c'mon, let's focus."

They both answered, "Yeah boss", and the call dropped. Miz moved down the stairs first, taking each step lightly. As she approached the bottom, there was a corner left and a door directly ahead. V stopped Miz with a hand, guiding her flat against the wall as they traded places, "Door ahead is a bust, goes straight out to the second level public areas... they'll spot us for sure..."

"And to the left?", Miz asked, to which V punched Billy's arm, "VIP rooms and the production booth... hey Wonderboy, think you can pull off another hack?"

Billy rolled his eyes with a chuckle as he cleared the hallway to the left before stepping out, followed by V, and finally Miz. As they passed a door on their left, V spoke quickly, "Just a bathroom, stay straight..."

Miz couldn't help herself amid the mounting tension, "Hard thing to do with you around, ba—"

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up.", V cut her younger choom off; not that it wasn't funny, but she had enough clouding her judgment at the moment, and she needed to stay clear. Judy or not, she had made a lot of friends here, and if she had a say, she'd get them all out safely.

As much as Billy wanted to chime in on the fun, he stepped in front of the access pad to the next door and went to work. There wasn't a lot to do for the moment, and Miz had a burning question on her mind since the Afterlife; she pinged a holocall directly to V, "Hey... hardly the time, but ya got a girl curious..."

"It was a one-time thing after Judy left... after this", V had already seen this coming and she sighed as she motioned to her body, "We both missed her... Rita came by one night for a drink, and one thing led to another."

Miz cocked her head to the side, "So what made it a one-night stand? There's a killer energy between you two..."

"It was too soon...", V confided, "We both thought Judy deserved more respect, and I wasn't about to hurt anyone else with my bullshit."

"But you weren't dying anymore", Miz's eyes went wide, still confused.

V smiled, "Maybe ya hadn't noticed at first 'cause you were too star-struck... I've never been the best at openin' up to people... death sentence or not..."

"What this city does to us, it's not fair...", Miz looked down at the floor, a sadness in her eyes, "But I found happiness... and you have it sitting on a table at the Afterli—"

"By now I'd hope she's at Vik's getting patched up", V interjected with a chuckle, to which Miz's eyes narrowed and she finished her thought, "We pull this off, you owe it to each other."

V didn't even know what to say to that, but she managed to muscle out, "T-Thanks, Miz..."

She could have hugged her little shinobi in that moment until the latter's ribs cracked, but Billy had already cracked the door and nodded back to them. As it slid open and he peeked around, he had a full vantage of the entire club's first floor, and the upper level balcony. Within a few seconds, he had over twenty Claws goons tagged as he shared the information over the wide-band holocall. V's HUD flashed as she moved into position, keeping low and out of sight. Miz moved behind her, and before long they were both at the production booth. Having a moment to breathe, V peeked her head over and confirmed the tagged targets as she scanned each of them for anything useful. All of them so far were small-time; two-bit shateis and nothing else, until her eyes went wide, and she grabbed for Miz.

The younger merc turned, startled at the look on V's face as she whispered, "W-What is it?"

V had to shake herself loose as she looked to Miz with a pained guilt for what she asked next, "D-Did you know Kenji had a nephew?"

Billy's eyes cut to V as Miz's face went stone cold as it had so many times before when his name was mentioned. Her face twitched and she snapped herself out of it as she shook her head, "No, first I'm hearing of it."

V flashed a rap sheet to both of them, "Ujio Yamada; son of Kenji's younger sister Hana, born around the same time as Miz... guess with all the shakedowns lately, he took advantage of his name's reputation. He's down there, likely running the show."

Miz poked her head up just enough to get a look with her own eyes. She didn't need to scan the first man she zeroed in on. He was one of three Tyger Claws not wearing a mask, and his face bore enough of a resemblance to nearly send Miz reeling as her threading flashed red and her breathing became uneven. In a second, Billy snaked his way over, careful to give her some space. She noticed him, her tone detached, "I'm fine..."

He wasn't buying it, "Em, you're anything but. I know the signs by now."

She hated that he was right; she wasn't okay. She wasn't anything close to okay. She was on fire with a flood of memories rushing back, each of them carrying only pain. She thought that name had died almost nine years ago; she was sure of it, and yet here was another asshole staring her in the face. Her hands trembled as she tried to compose herself with several deep breaths. She closed her eyes as she took each breath in, held it, then released through pursed lips. Billy knew better, but he placed his hand on Miz's shoulder anyway and gently squeezed. No matter what, he was there for her. She placed her hand over his as an unfathomable calm swept over her. With one last breath, her eyes opened, solid red, and she said, "Take whoever you want... Ujio is mine."

V and Billy both looked to each other with a shrug; they knew better by now than to get in her way. He stole a quick kiss against Miz's forehead before returning to his position overlooking the ground level. In between all the Tyger Claws were Mox and civilian alike, some putting on a brave face, others begging for mercy. In the middle of it all, a single figure was tied to a pole on the main stage, V recognizing her almost immediately. She had a heavily chromed face, with a golden-yellow faceplate contrasting her naturally dark skin between a distinct threading pattern. Her body was also heavily implanted, her arms bearing the same spiked armor as Rita's. There was no mistaking the face; it was Susie Q, ringleader of the Moxes gang and proprietor of Lizzie's Bar. While she normally draped her shoulders in a bright yellow edgerunner's jacket, here and now she had been stripped down to her white onepiece bodysuit. Her hands were bound with her arms secured above her head, and her neck had been lashed to the pole. She didn't look any worse for wear herself outside of a few bruises across her upper body, but a few of the other Mox were nursing each other's injuries as they tried to shield themselves from the Claws' prying eyes and prying hands.

V ushered Miz forward through the production booth to the other side opposite Billy as she called out orders to her mercs waiting on the outside; the play of the day was a blitz move. They'd drop flashbangs inside, which would cue V's team to breach through the front doors. The goons out front were child's play and would pose little threat or issue. The main focus was keeping Mox and civilian alike safe. Some rattled cages from a flashbang was a small price to pay if nobody got hurt or killed in a cross fire.

Billy had his vantage, flattened against a wall next to an opening leading out to the public areas of the upper floor; Miz and V had a similar path, and they all nodded to each other as they prepped their flash grenades. Three... two... one...

With deadly precision, they all timed their throws perfectly together as the primed grenades flew over the railing and into the lower atrium. Billy followed up with a second grenade thrown up high, for which Miz took aim with her silenced Unity as she gave a wink to her input before firing a single shot. The entire club was enveloped in a blinding light and a concussive blast as the walls shook and glass shattered. There were panicked voices, Tyger Claw and Mox both, calling out before three other explosions went off in rapid succession, assaulting eyes and ears from all directions.

Miz had her eyes on the prize, watching for Ujio as Billy and V went to work clearing the upper levels. Amid the chaos, there was the sound of gunfire from the front of the club as several heavily-armed operators poured in. They were deadly accurate, only hitting anything with a yellow outline. The gangers didn't stand a chance, and many of them scrambled into the back halls to find a way out. Miz took her chance, jumping over the railing and landing squarely in the middle of the floor. As she stood, she was met with Ujio staring her in the eyes. Her own narrowed, tipping him off as he dropped a smoke grenade and tried to disappear.

Miz took off in pursuit, trying every which way to keep him in her sights. If he were smart, he would have headed straight for an exit, and so that's what Miz did, gambling that the front door was the likely option. She pushed past another gaggle of Afterlife mercs with her Unity at the ready before she broke out onto the concrete surface of the parking lot. It was a massacre, chewed up pieces of Tyger Claws strewn all over, severed chrome and blood, both real and artificial, blanketing the whole space.

Miz kept watch for any signs before a crash and a clang drew her attention upward. She caught a glimpse of Ujio as he scaled the wall before pulling himself up and over to the roof. There was no time to lose as Miz holstered her iron and broke into a full sprint out onto Kennedy. She had to hope he would be stupid enough to hang the right onto Bellevue and she could cut him off. Otherwise, it was a chase through the Markets. Could even be fun, she thought to herself as she rounded the corner past the Cartwright Bridge overpass.

Their van was still parked across the street from the tunnel, and two Afterlife mercs had their weapons trained on something as they barked and fired warning shots. Miz stopped in her tracks as a flashing blur moved out of the tunnel at the speed of light, and before she could blink, both mercs had been sliced and diced into piles of meat and pools of blood as Ujio appeared out of thin air and holding a pair of blades. His back was to her, but he was aware of her presence as his head turned and he flashed a smile.

Shit, that's a sandevistan...

Like his uncle, he was well dressed and manicured, a tailored corpo suit accentuating every bit of his impressive physique, and yet doing a terrible job at the same time of hiding the walls of ink covering his body, and the top of the visible chrome reaching up his neck. If Miz weren't absolutely convinced he was as much a sociopath as his uncle, she might actually find him quite handsome, all things considered.

As Ujio turned to face her, his eyes locked on to the Unity in her hand, the markings along the slide immediately familiar as they reflected the neon lights in the otherwise pervasive dark. His eyes narrowed as he chuckled and called out in a striking accented voice, "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, girl. That iron doesn't belong to you..."

Miz smirked as she secured the weapon in its holster and held out her right arm to bear the dermal imprint, "The Lady of Westbrook Estate begs to differ."

"That old hag has forgotten her place in the natural order!", Ujio fired back, "I'll remind her myself that men like me are what propped her up in the first place!"

"Better men than you have tried", Miz flashed her teeth as she pulled both blades from their sheaths before dropping her jacket.

Her opponent broke into a laughing fit at the audacity of a challenge before he obliged and unbuttoned his blazer, shirking it off his shoulders to bare his chiseled upper body. Sure enough, the chrome Miz had noticed ran all the way down his back, interface with threaded panels as it glowed a dull green. Ujio took an offensive stance, readying both blades as he stared Miz down, "I'll deal with the old woman after I teach you a lesson..."

Miz blew a wisp of hair out of her face as she tightened her grip on her own blades, "Let's dance, choom."

In an instant, Ujio turned into a blur as a rush of wind kicked up dust in his wake. Miz was ready, having charged a jump as she launched into the air, flipping over and landing on her feet to face the opposite direction as her opponent blew past. He reappeared from the time dilation effect, pivoting on his foot as he leaned forward with his arms spread wide. Both blades were held up as they reflected the neon signs and streetlamps, flashing a glare into Miz's eyes as he teased and taunted her. He approached slowly, step by step, and Miz answered as they closed the gap between them. She switched the shorter of her two blades into an underhanded grip as she said, "If you need all that chrome to beat li'l ol' me... guess you're not the half the man you think you are."

Ujio's face contorted as the dull glow from his back dissipated; likely his opponents never had the chance to call him out like that. He swung forward, crossing both blades as he swiped horizontally, Miz deflecting and dodging backwards. He followed with a swift outward slash from his right as Miz stepped to his left, the clash of steel echoing through the street as sparks flew. She saw an opening and delivered a swift reverse roundhouse kick, catching him on the shoulder as he stumbled forward with a slight grunt.

Miz let loose a chuckle as she flipped her hair, Ujio turning with fire in his eyes to face her. He let the rage take over as he stepped forward with a flurry of wild swings and slashes, Miz doing her best to keep up and counter each strike. As he beared down on her, she nearly lost her footing, forcing herself to roll back before he was on top of her completely. He closed the gap quickly, swinging over his head and down as Miz caught both blades at the last second. She struggled under his raw strength, her left arm shaking as he pressed down with all of his weight. She let loose a shout as she gathered all her remaining strength and slashed inward with her right, the underhanded blade catching his stomach. It was enough to break his hold as he staggered back, Miz pressing up and slicing across with her liberated left as the tip of her katana caught his chest. She swung around with the momentum, the wakizashi in her right hand catching his next strike as she delivered a sideways kick to his gut.

Ujio flew several feet, landing on his back as the blood trickled from both open cuts. Miz could have charged in, but she bided her time and centered herself as she took a defensive stance. Once Ujio was back on his feet, he spat a wad of blood from his mouth before the dull glow returned as he fired up the Sandevistan once again and shouted, "This ends now, BITCH!"

Oh-h-h shit...

The corona of light from Ujio's spine engulfed him as he disappeared from sight; Miz could hear the wind breaking against him as he moved, but otherwise had no way of tracking him. She retreated back carefully, step after step, before she heard landing footsteps behind her. She didn't even try to turn, instead jumping forward into a roll as one of Ujio's blades reappeared briefly. It was enough to cut her tanktop and nick the flesh of her ribcage, but not enough to throw her off balance. She recovered to a crouch and turned as the blades both reappeared again, lunging straight for her head as she rolled to the right. One of the blades followed, Ujio appearing as a flash with a strained shout before he was gone again.

The next thing Miz felt was the full force of a knee in her stomach followed by elbow an elbow in her back, planting her face-first against the ground. She rolled as quickly as she could, losing both of her weapons and narrowly avoiding Ujio's blade crashing into the unfinished pavement a few inches from her head. She tried to recover before Ujio reappeared, standing over her as he laughed with both blades raised over his head. Miz took her chance, planting one foot against his knee with a crunch of bone as she pushed off of his torso with the other and rolled over her shoulder into a crouching stance.

Ujio's knee collapsed with another crunch as he shouted, Miz quickly closing the gap with nothing but her bare hands. He was leaning against his katana stuck in the pavement as he swiped out with the wakizashi. Miz blocked his arm, wrenching it inward as she drove the shorter blade through his stomach before pulling it back out. She sidestepped him and drove the weapon through his shoulder blade, eliciting a scream as he released the stuck katana and swung back wildly, catching Miz across the cheek with his bare fist. She took a few steps back from the strike and shook herself back into focus as Ujio forced himself to both feet. He wrapped both chromed hands over the protruding end of the sword sticking out of his chest and shoved it back through, falling with a spew of blood to the ground. His inked body was now covered in smeared blood from three open wounds as he grunted in pain before bringing his fists to the ready. Miz answered his call, taking another stance as he limped towards her before disappearing again.

Luckily the cut to her ribs was mostly superficial, but it didn't sting any less as blood stained the shorn shirt hanging loosely off her shoulders. She heard the rush of wind again before an invisible fist hooked her stomach and another caught her already bloodied cheek. Ujio reappeared as he grabbed Miz by the back of her neck before delivering a decisive strike directly between her shoulder blades. She could feel a crack as everything went limp just long enough for him to drag her along the ground before slamming her against the side of the van. She took the full brunt of it with her face as Ujio gave a closed fist to the base of her ribs on the left side. He pinned himself against her as he breathed unevenly in her ear, "You know what we do to feral bitches like you?!"

Miz could feel a hand working its way under her shirt before her eyes shot open, solid red along with her face threading. She swung with her elbows, catching the side of Ujio's head before tagging his ribs as he fell back. There was a rage burning in her eyes as she turned to face him. He chuckled as he wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth and charged forward again. Miz caught his first punch, countering with her own as they exchanged a series of blows back and forth.

It didn't take long for Ujio to fire up his crutch again as his fists became too fast to block, and Miz quickly lost the edge as he landed strike after strike on her body. Finally, he caught a solid hit on her solar plexus as she flew backwards against the van. Before she could compose herself, Ujio had her by the throat as he slammed her back again, the panels crashing against the back of her head. Everything went blurry as he tightened his grip and stared intently in her eyes. She tried to fight, but she could feel her strength leaving as the darkness closed in on her. Whatever was driving the man now, he was fueled only by a lust for blood as he barked in her ear, "Oh, the things I'm gonna do to your corpse, cunt."

Miz had all but caved before a single shot rang out, blowing a six-inch hole in the side of the van next to Ujio's head as V called out, "Hey asshole! Pick on someone your own size!"

Ujio turned his head and flashed a smile before releasing Miz as he disappeared into a blur. Miz nearly collapsed against the van before her eyes shot open and she screamed, "V, WATCH OU—"

She was too late, watching as Ujio reappeared mere inches from V with his arm opened to a projectile launcher. He planted the muzzle brake against her stomach and fired without hesitation, engulfing the both of them in an explosive blast. V was thrown up into the air before she crashed against the top protruding frame of the tunnel and fell limp to the ground

Miz couldn't waste her chance as she dove for one of the abandoned blades laying in the street, scooping it up as she rolled over to her knees. She saw the blur returning to where Ujio had her pinned against the van, and she charged a forward jump, crashing against him right as he reappeared. His entire body buckled from the impact before Miz shoved the wakizashi through his stomach, breaching the wall of the van and pinning him against it. Letting her 'feral' side take over, she gave a wild right elbow down on his collarbone, forcing the blade further up his gut as she extended the scratchers on her left hand.

Ujio screamed in pain as Miz dug the scratchers into the base of his neck around the top of the exposed Sandevistan 'spine'. He could feel the pressure as she tugged lightly and whispered ragged in his ear, "Tell your uncle... that Mizuki Hasegawa sends her regards..."

She followed up with a raw scream as she tightly gripped around the column and ripped it clean out of his back. His entire body went limp with an explosion of both organic and synth blood, bone fragments, and chunks of claret painting the side of the van deep red. The chrome spine fizzled and sparked in her hand before she dropped it with a heavy thud against the ground. Her mind was blank as she breathed deep, her mouth agape, sweat and blood pouring off of her. She had to check on V, but before she could even move, her legs buckled and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

--

There was a dull rumble of several voices mixed together rattling overhead, barely intelligible; through the lonesome black, Miz was able to make out only some of the conversation, but she could her Billy's voice among them...

"Is she okay?!"

"She's pretty tuned up... bruises, some internal bleeding, maybe a few cracked ribs, but she'll manage... looks like she caught the business end of a blade, but it's just a surface cut..."

"Jesus, babe, what the fuck happened...?"

"You'll want to get her to a ripperdoc to be sure... hey, you got a BounceBack?"

Miz's eyes shot wide open as she gasped for air with a cry, the adrenaline running rampant through her body. It took every ounce of restraint she had to not swing at the first thing she saw; good call, as she would have caught Billy square in the face. She tried to relax, but every bit of her felt like she was on fire. Billy smiled as her looked in her eyes and said softly, "Welcome back..."

She smirked with a groan, "I fuckin' hate BounceBacks, man..."

Billy laughed as he looked up at an Afterlife merc watching over them, "Yeah, she's alright."

Her eyes shot open again as she cried out, "V! Where's V?!"

"Right here, ya gonk", a rattled voice called out. Miz looked over, seeing something resembling her favorite Living Legend crashing into the side of the van and struggling to stand on her own two feet. All the RealSkinn covering the left side of her upper body had been blown away, exposing the chrome of her entire left arm, a titanium-reinforced ribcage and, a dented panel of subdermal armor protecting her internal organs. Her face was bruised with trickles of blood running from her mouth, nose, and ears, but she wore a weary smile as she locked eyes with her favorite shinobi.

Miz smiled as V continued with a tinge of sarcasm, "Thanks for the heads up, by the wa— o-o-O-W!"

V grabbed the dented armor with her chromed hand as she collapsed to her knees. Maybe she was a little worse for wear, as the same Afterlife merc stepped up, "We need to get both of them to Vik's... fast."

Billy nodded as he carefully placed his arm under Miz's legs, bracing his other arm around her back and gently lifted her up. She wrapped her arm around him before looking up at him, "You know, I can probably walk, Tiger..."

He wore a smirk as he locked eyes and leaned in, "I don't care if you can run a fuckin' marathon right now, Em... let me have this."

As much as she wanted to fight it, she instead curled into his chest as she tightened her grip on him. The last thing she heard before she was out cold again was V protesting, "Yeah, alright, fine! But I'm walking out of here on my own two fuckin' feet..."

Attagirl...

--

[Vik's Clinic, Urmland Street]

Miz's eyes opened slowly, the distant operating lamps causing her to wince slightly. She could feel an IV running to her arm, and she had already been bandaged over. She blinked a few times slowly as her vision came into focus. Vik was sitting in his usual spot, conversing casually with Rita as he worked on her damaged arm. They were laughing and goofing off like two old chooms in a sitcom. Before long, V stumbled in from the back room, still bracing her exposed and dented armor, much to Vik's protests. V waved the 'old man' off as she tried to laugh before doubling over in pain. She had more damage than she was letting on, and Vik knew it. But if anyone could fix her up, he was the guy to do it.

She collected herself in a few seconds as she tried her best to stand up straight; it was a losing battle, but she managed to muscle out between the pained grunts, "Hey... Vik... give us the room for a sec...?"

Vik looked to Rita over the rims of his sunglasses before he nodded with a smirk, "Yeah, take your time. Joint's repaired, new plate and mating collar are all set... just got to pick out an arm to go with it. I'll be upstairs..."

"Thanks...", V smiled as her older choom pushed away, the stool rolling back towards his desk before he up and disappeared from the room. Miz was careful to close her eyes so as not to draw attention; she wanted to see this, and didn't want to ruin the moment.

V struggled around the examination chair as she took a seat on a stool to Rita's right. Of course the Mox bouncer was trying to play it tough, but the flush in her cheeks was clear as day, and a light smile crept in.

"Been a long fuckin' time since anyone yelled at me like that, V", she said with a smirk. V laughed quietly with another wince as she returned fire, "I-I know... just how you like it... is all."

There was a moment of silence before V asked, "Rita... back then... what happ—"

"You were still broken up over Judy...", Rita cut her off, "On top of everything else you had going on... and I felt like I was stabbing a choom in the back..."

Another several seconds of silence before V followed up, "W-Was it all bad...? When she left, I—"

Rita cut her off again as she sat up in the chair, "Judy loved you, V. From the moment she walked out on you until the moment she left this city... she still loved you. She just didn't want to hurt anymore, so she did what she had to..."

Miz could hear a light sniffle as V brought her hand up to her face, "I-I just... I wish I could go bac—"

"But ya can't... we can never go back", Rita chided V almost as if speaking from personal experience, "All we can do is look forward... and maybe finally focus on what's right in front of you..."

Wha-!

Miz's eyes shot wide open at that, and the last thing she saw, before whatever Vik had her hooked up to took full effect, was Rita's hand reaching up to stroke V's cheek, and V taking the hand in her own before bringing it to her lips as Rita smiled...

--