The song ends 1

Night City – 6:35 PM – Sora's House

"Musashi, doesn't the city feel noisier today? More hectic than usual?"

I spoke as the NCPD sirens echoed from somewhere outside. Looks like someone's making them earn their paycheck today, I thought.

"What do you expect from this damned city... Some punk—or as they call themselves now, 'Cyberpunks'—probably stealing from some corporation. Or maybe not even that. Maybe they're just doing it 'for the laughs'... It's times like this I really don't understand why Hanako-sama wanted us to raise Sora here."

"It's true that this city reeks of danger, no matter how kindly you put it. But doesn't it have a certain beauty? Some of the people—"

I was interrupted mid-sentence by a proxy IDN message from Hanako-sama. She had given us this contact for emergencies only. As I read it, my blood ran cold. I instantly connected her message to the strange commotion in the city that afternoon.

"Musashi, turn on channel 54. It looks like Sora's doing a show… like the one you told him not to."

My husband looked at me, confused at first—until his face turned pale. Without saying a word, he used the pad in his hand to activate the wall-mounted TV.

When the image came up, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There, on top of a moving firetruck, was a young man—one we recognized immediately. It wasn't hard to guess who he was, especially with that young driver acting like a sidekick in what could only be described as... something a punk would do for the laughs. The kid was firing water at the police cars, making them veer off the road or crash into each other.

I had no words. I could only laugh, trying to reboot Musashi's brain, which seemed to have gone on strike at the sight of what our grandson was doing.

"Ara-ara, Musashi-shishō... Are you sure you were awake when Sora swore he'd follow the teachings of bushido before acting? Or did you wake up in your bed right after he said it?"

"SO-SO-SO-SO-SORAAA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?!?"

"Ara, the same reaction as Hanako-sama."

"HANAKO-SAMA!? She contacted you? Was she the one who warned you?"

"Yes. She sent me two messages. First: 'What the hell is Sora doing?' Then: 'Put on channel 54 RIGHT NOW. I WANT AN EXPLANATION.' The explanation I leave to you, sweetheart. You get along with Hanako-sama so well."

"That damn kid… I saw that disappointed look in his eyes when I blocked his training strikes with killing intent, just to spite him. And now... since he couldn't kill me himself, he wants his mother to do it instead... Fucking Sora."

"Where are we going? They still haven't caught him," I said as Musashi stood up after cursing. Maybe he didn't notice, but there was a slight smile on his face. He's changed a lot since we moved to this city he claims to hate so much.

"We're picking up the Alvarezes first, then we're heading to the Watson precinct. Dammit... I knew the kid wouldn't stop just because he nearly blew up the house. And I'm sure he's got some kind of hideout—some abandoned place to store all the junk he doesn't want us to find. You know how he comes home some nights smelling like explosives, chemicals, and welding... Fucking Sora."

POV: Sora

"Shit, there's no end to them! If the NCPD always acted like this, Night City would be the world capital of public safety."

Before I realized it, the 7 patrol cars chasing us through Watson were joined by 3 more. That made 10 NCPD cars tailing us. I stopped messing around and cranked the truck's power to 120%. I had spent two whole months working on it. Judy really should've supervised me more if she wanted the truck working sooner...

Soon after, I brought the number of pursuers down to 6 by taking out 4 police cars with the water cannon's ridiculous pressure. Problem is—I'm running out of water... and the song's about to end. Time to figure out how the hell I'm getting out of this without getting BUSTED.

I cut power to the water cannon to conserve the remaining pressure. The 6 remaining NCPD cars had stopped firing. That couldn't be good. I had a bad feeling. When I looked ahead past the curve Judy was taking—

We were heading into a straightaway. The bridges toward the Corporate Center… and the alley entrance to Afterlife.

No time to overthink. Ahead was a massive NCPD blockade—cars, armored trucks, the works. Cops entrenched behind them, guns raised.

Even the Barneys had run out of patience. Judging by the big guns, this looked like their final play.

[YOU IDIOT, CYBERPSYCHO! What the hell do we do now?!] (Judy)

[I find that offensive. I don't have any cyberware in my pure, virgin body.] (Sora)

[...] (Judy)

[Sora, even now... do you have to make jokes?] (Judy)

[Judy, even now... do you have to call me an idiot? I have a heart too, you know. Every time you insult me, my shy little heart cries… silently…] (Sora)

[...] (Judy)

[Hehe. You calm now? Judy, before we reach the blockade, take the detour to the bridge.] (Sora)

[...] (Judy)

[Oi, Sora... do you hate me?] (Judy)

[Uhm… I don't know why you'd think that. If anything, I'd say I like you. Why?] (Sora)

[...] (Judy)

[I thought I liked you too... but then you said 'take the bridge,' and now I think maybe you hate me and you want to kill me.] (Judy)

[Are you planning to get us killed?!] (Judy)

[Nope. Not unless there's a Dark Sora inside me I don't know about.] (Sora)

[Great. Because I still don't see how going to the FUCKING CORPORATE CENTER helps when I might as well just stop the truck and declare myself a hostage.] (Judy)

[Sure, I'm the bad guy now. Like you did nothing. I admit, I started it. But you're just as guilty, so go ahead—play the victim. But if we get caught, I'm pulling the 'shy Asian guy' card and blaming everything on you and your hot-headed Miss Alvarez from the Valentinos.] (Sora)

[...you motherfucker... cunt, jackass, pendejo, retard, stupid... demon...] (Judy)

[Stop it, Judy, you're making me blush. Trust me—I've still got something prepped for the drones. We're almost out of water and they're still tailing us. When we cross, take the exit back to Watson. Don't waste time—got it?] (Sora)

Judy didn't say anything else. She prepared to take the detour.

As we passed the alley entrance to Afterlife, I noticed three people watching everything from the shadows. Judging by their expressions, they were... entertained.

I couldn't help but smile and make a theatrical bow to the queen of Afterlife.

There they were—Rogue, Dorio, and Maine.

Dorio and Maine chuckled. Rogue just smiled. But when our eyes met, her expression changed. She dropped the cigarette from her fingers, like… she recognized me.

No way. She couldn't possibly know who I am just by looking at me… It's not like she's my mother.

Just thinking that gave me goosebumps.

I shook it off. Back to the chase. Judy took the exit just in time, leaving the cops at the barricade looking dumbfounded. It hadn't even occurred to them the truck might swerve before hitting their wall.

As we crossed the bridge, I waited for the remaining NCPD cars to follow—then reactivated the water cannon and aimed at the nearest one.

FSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! (Water Cannon Activates)

I kept the stream on one car until its windshield shattered, sending the vehicle into a sharp turn.

Screeech! Screeeeeech! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

Three cars crashed. That left only three chasing us. The bad news? We were officially out of water.

[Judy, I'm coming back inside. We're out of water.]

[GREAT. Now when they kill us, they won't have to look far to find us...]

I grinned, climbed out of the cannon hatch, and made my way to the roof of the cabin as we sped across the bridge.

Reaching inside my jacket, I pulled out three shiny, silver orbs—each the size of a small grenade.

"Hehehe... Come to me, drones."