Cyberpunk 2077

Day 0 - 2077

Hey Jack,

Not sure why I'm writing this, Misty seems to think it will help me deal with what's happening, and writing to your ghost, rather than a nameless journal or the psycho eating my brain, just feels right. Everything's so fucked. Your dead, T-bug's dead, and The Relic, our ticket to The Majors, has turned out to be nothing but a ticket to Hell.

A lots happened since you died, even though it's only been a few weeks: I died, came back from the dead, and found out I have a rocker-boy turned terrorist taking over my brain; oh and Parker seems to have dropped off the planet, so even if I could get this piece of shit out of my skull, I've got no way to sell it. Seems our big break turned into a massive bust.

How did we end up here? When did it all turn to shit?

I still remember the day we met, our first job together; smuggling that iguana over the border. What did you say it was, a "lesser antillean?" Even then, we couldn't catch a break. Maybe we should have taken it as a hint, sold the lizard and went our seperate ways. But, you had big plans, and dragged me along for the ride.

Night City may not have been what I imagined when I left The Badlands, but you took me in and made me family, and I'll never forget it.

Those early days of working for Wakako and The Padrè might not have been the most glamorous, or the easiest, but they were good days, with you at my side, and T-Bug watching our backs; god you'll be missed, both of you.

Things were good, not great, but good. The work was steady, and as a bonus we got some of Night Cities biggest scumbags off the streets.

But it wasn't enough, not for either of us. Had to reach the top, become Legends in this city, and like all the others before us, we came crashing back down.

And then, I died; and met Johnny for the first time.

I woke up in the dump, presumably where that fat bastard left my body. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for him, I woke up just in time to watch him die. Seems Arasaka wasn't satisfied with being told I was dead, dragged him out there to show them proof; which didn't go well for anyone involved.

I suppose since the 'saka agent didn't kill me, it could have ended up worse. At least for me, for him... Well, after being attacked by his own people while delivering me to Yorinobu, he realized there was more going on than what he'd been told and, with the help of Delemain, rushed me to Vic's to get patched up.

I hate to admit it, but I owe them all my life, at least what's left of it.

Day 1 - 2077

Well Jack,

Seems like things haven't gotten better for poor Takimura. After getting attacked on the road, he became more suspicious than he already was, and dug a little too deep into what really happened that night. Now, his boss wants him dead almost as much as he does me.

He seems to think we can help each other, but I have my doubts. The corpo stink still hangs heavy on him, doubt he'll ever wash it off.

He did point me toward a former Arasaka engineer, Anders Helman. You may remember the name coming up during our meeting with DeShawn. He vanished shortly after Saburo's death, probably terrified he'd be next. Still, he's more likely to have a solution than Parker, if I can even find her.

I stopped by to see Misty after meeting with Takimura; wanted her input on these weird glitches I've been seeing all over the city. Apparently, they're related to the Tarot, messages from beyond or something. Personally, I think Vic's right, and it's some issue with the soft in my implants.

Anyway, Misty's holding in there, but I can tell she really misses you; we all do, even Vic.

As I was leaving my apartment to head to Lizzie's, in hopes that Judy might be able to point me toward Evelyn, a couple of badges stopped me to ask if I knew Berry, guess he suddenly quit the force and they're worried about him. Personally, I can't blame him, being a cop in this city has got to be the worst job out there.

From there, I did my best to track down Parker, but she's nowhere to be found. Even Judy doesn't seem to know how to get in touch with her; though she did point me in the direction of Clouds. Seems Evelyn was a Doll, probably how she knew Yorinobu.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, it seems that those repairs you got done to my car after the Dorsett job were a waste. I'd barely started the engine when out of nowhere a Delemain rammed into me and sped off; yes, a Delemain. He asked me to come by and discuss the accident, and asked for my help. Apparently some of his cars have gone rogue and are causing havock in the city. Not sure I have time left on the clock to hunt them down for him, but since I basically owe him my life, figure I should at least try, plus he said he'd pay and I'm in no position to turn down eddies.

Toward the end of the night I got a call from Mamma Wells. She asked if I would come by The Coyote; she was setting up an ofrenda and asked that I come by to help send you off. You'd have been pleased to know there was quite the turnout, even some of your old chooms from your time with the 'Tinos showed, and your mom and Misty seem to have found common ground in their grief.

Before I left, your mom gave me the keys to your bike. I wasn't sure about it at first, felt a bit like betrayal, but then I heard her purr.

I see you made the modifications I recommended; not sure where you found the time in the hours before The Heist, but I've never ridden a bike that handled better.

I'll take good care of her Jack, her and Mamma Wells, you don't need to worry. As for Misty, we both know she can take care of herself, but I'll be there if she needs me.

Day 2

Today started somewhat better, was a little short on the funds Rogue wanted for the info on where to find Helman, but Wilson called about a shooting competition, and it was the perfect opportunity to try out a new pistol I'd "found." Walked away with another new pistol, and enough eddies to finally pay The Queen of Fixers.

Before doing that though, decided to check and see if Berry felt like talking today. I know being seen working with badges might not be the best for my recoving rep, but I've talked with Berry a few times, seemed like a good guy, so I figured I could spare some time, and it's a good thing I did. Something's not right with him, I mean, his best friend died, that's gotta be rough on anyone... I'd know. But, his "best friend" was a turtle, some pet his grandma had when he was growing up. I let his cop buddies know, hopefully they can help him before he falls deeper into whatever darkness is eating away at him.

Rogue gave me the detes about Helman's plan to escape Arasaka. Apparently the new boss wasn't happy that he'd ratted him out to Saburo; seems like Yorinobu is cleaning house and removing all allegiences to his father.

She also pointed me to a local Nomad that she said could assist in bringing down the AV he was in. Unfortunately, she wouldn't do so without me helping her first. I suppose I can't blame her, not many people in Night City help anyone just because, and the heavy weapons on the truck she needed to recover will definitely make bringing that AV down easier.

Turned out Rogue had partnered her up with some Wraiths, a local group of Raffen Shiv. I know you spent your life in the city, so if you don't know, Raffen are to us Nomads what the Scavs are to you city types. The lowest of the low; murderers, rapists, those the family has cast out. No Nomad would willingly work with a Raffen, and Panam was understandably pissed.

By the time the job was done, we were both exhuasted and in no mood to plan another assault. So, I suggested sharing a room at the nearby motel. Sadly, while she thought it was a great idea, her idea and mine were not the same.

Day 3

Just as I was about to go to bed, alone, I got a call from that Militech agent we worked with to get the bot; wanted to show me the rest of her tats. Now, I know she's a corpo, and kinda screwed us over with that spiked cred chip, but who can turn down an offer like that?

I was starting to stink though, so I stopped by a nearby street vendor to grab some threads before heading into the city.

When I returned, Panam was as good as her word; was gearing up her rig, and already had a plan. While things didn't go as intended, she had a plan B ready to go. Nothing hotter than a beautiful woman with a really big gun.

Unfortunately, I never seem to run out of bad luck. Some of Panam's people took the AV for a civilian transport, and rode out to see if they needed assistance. It did not go well, most of them died, and Helman ended up escaping. Though we finally tracked him to a nearby chooh station.

We took Helman back to the hotel to ask him a few questions. As agreed, I called Takimura once I got what I needed.

Unfortunately, Helman had nothing new to tell me, other than details on exactly how Johnny is killing me. If even the chips original designer doesn't know how to remove it, I don't know what to do.

Takimura seems convinced that we can turn the rest of Arasaka against Yorinobu, and they'll help. Putting my trust in a corp though, not sure I'll ever agree to that.

Hopefully Evelyn knows something.

Oh, and apparently Johnny and I inheritted a cat. Not sure what happened to its original owner, or if it's the same cat that used to hang out outside of Vic's, but once I fed it, it wouldn't leave.

Day 4

Well Jack, things are starting to get weird. Helman said that eventually Johnny would just take over and I'd be gone; but suddenly seeing his face in the mirror was a bit of a shock. I think I'm just going crazy, cuz I looked again and I'm still me. God, what's happening to me?

After that, the weirdness continued. I don't normally give rides to strangers, especially half naked ones, but seeing as I'm about to die anyway... Apparently, he'd had a small issue with his Mr. Stud and needed to get to a ripper stat. Boy was he unhappy when I showed him your bike. Thankfully, Del had just finished fixing up the ride he wrecked, so I got him down to Ryder's with no further injuries.

Gotta be the strangest start to a day I've had, well, ever.

Sadly, it all went to shit from there.

Since I was already in that part of town, I headed down to the docks to check out some of the shops and found this monk calling for help. Jack, the guy had been tortured and mutilated. Maelstrom, the sick fucks, had gone and forced implants on him, and were about to do the same to his brother. Crazy part is, when I said I'd save his brother, he asked me to avoid killing anyone. Gotta say, not sure I could be that forgiving.

If you thought that was bad, it only got worse as the day went on. Regina called me about a friend of hers; one of those TV preacher types. Guy's son was kidnapped and murdered, and some sicko made an XBD of it. She asked me to get the original from the guys that edited it, hoping it could be used to track down the killer. Jack, these sickos had a wall of these things. You know me, I try to avoid killing when I can, but sometimes, sometimes people just gotta burn.

The downward spiral of shit continued once Clouds opened and I started hunting for Evelyn. Nobody there would talk to me, so I paid the entrance fee and did some digging on my own. Looked like she got hit by a runner while her Doll chip was active, scared her client half to death. According to the piece of shit that runs Clouds, she was a vegitable after the attack, so he dropped her off at some back alley Ripper Doc named Fingers. With a name like that, it couldn't be good.

I'd promised to give Judy a call if I found anything, so she ended up tagging along during my visit to see Fingers. Which was good, for him, otherwise I might have done more than knock his sick ass out. He got what he wanted from her, then sold her off to Scavs; fucking Scavs.

Bringing Judy along turned out to be a smart move though; she might not seem like it, sitting at her desk tuning virtues all day, but the girl can handle herself. Even helped me take out a few Scavs once we found where Fingers had dumped Evelyn.

After almost a full day of trying to track her down, we found Parker. She was alive, but Jack, the things they did to her; nobody comes back from that.

Day 5

Once we got her stable, we took Evelyn back to Judy's place. I doubt she'll recover, but at least she has someone that cares looking out for her now. Sadly, she was in no place to talk, much less answer questions about The Relic.

Apparently she'd been scrolling the entire time though, and Judy was able to find some clues in her memories. Get this, it all started with the Voodoo Boys. I guess Parker was only supposed to get them some footage of Yorinobu's penthouse; decided to cut them out of the entire deal, and brought us along for the ride. Probably the Voodoos that hit her at Clouds and turned her into a "free use" sack of flesh for the Scavs.

So, with almost nothing else to go on, I headed for Pacifica to look for some Haitian runners. Luckily, I already had a contact in Pacifica, Mr. Hands. While he couldn't put me in touch with their leader, Maman Brigitte, he was able to get me a meeting with her second in command, Placid. Though given his lack of knowledge about The Relic, I'm guessing he's more of a guard dog than anything.

Day 6

Well Jack, I should have known better than to trust any gangoon, especially not a VDB. Placid almost killed me, AGAIN! Sent me after some NetWatch Agent that was looking into their activity, and asked me to upload to daemon to track their agents. What he failed to tell me, was that the virus would kill them all, and me in the process.

Thankfully, the chip rebooted me, again. This little piece of 'Saka tech would be a the greatest piece of personal protection tech on the market, if it wasn't still trying to overwrite me.

At least it all worked out in the end. Well... maybe not for the NetWatch agent; no chip to turn him back on. Still, when I returned Maman Brigitte was waiting for me; turned out the Agent had been holding her hostage on the net, and the daemon was meant to set her free. Unlike Placid, she knew about the chip, and why the VDBs had hired Parker in the first place. Some crazy idea to get in touch with Alt Cunningham; Johnny's ex output, and one of the greatest runners in NC history. Strangely, also the person that created the Soul Killer program that 'Saka used to turn Johnny into a digital engram.

Once again, things got a little weird, the VDBs needed a piece of Johnny's memories as some kind of homing beacon for Alt to follow; turns out she used her own Soul Killer program to turn herself into an A.I. and now "lives" out beyond the Black Wall hiding from NetWatch and Arasaka both.

But we found her, and in the end Johnny talked her into helping us. Only problem, need to find a way into a top secret Arasaka research project called Mikoshi. So, it was time to reach out to our "good friend" Goro Takimura and see who's side he was really on. He has some crazy plan to confront Haniko, Yorinobu's sister, and try to get her to stage a coup against her brother. Personally, I think this is going to blow up in our faces; everything else has. Even Wakako seemed less than thrilled with helping us; though she did take a shine to Takimura.

Day 7

While I waited for Goro to come up with a plan for reaching Haniko, I decided to earn some eddies doing a job for Wakako. I normally hate doing hit jobs, you know my stance on killing when it's avoidable, but Wakako reminded me that I do owe her for the information she provided Goro and me.

Unfortunately, the client wanted to pull the trigger himself, and it did not end well for him.

After that, I decided to spend the day with the intended target; a death row inmate that found God behind bars.

Personally, I'm a little glad the client took a bullet. First, he was an asshole; he said the target was alone, failed to mention the NCPD escort, or that he was already on Death Row. Second, he kept talking about some crazy plan Stephenson had to get out of his sentence, but that wasn't it at all. He's planning to die on his own terms by making a Brain Dance. He's going to play Christ, and die by fucking Crucifixion, and he'll be scrolling the entire time. He thinks that by allowing people to live through his suffering, the same suffering Christ went through, it will bring people closer to God. I think he's a madman, but who am I to judge? We grabbed a slice of pizza and had a good talk, it's a shame he's not long for this world, I feel like we coulda been chooms.

Unfortunately, I had to cut our lunch short when I got a call from Panam asking for help. Of course I couldn't say no, especially not after so many of her family died in the confusion around Helman's downed A.V.

So I rushed out to the Badlands and found out that the head of the Aldacaldo clan, Saul Bright, had been captured by Wraiths, and they needed help busting him out without risking more of their people. Only a handful of the family has any real combat experience, and none running this kind of op. So with a bit of help from Panam on overwatch, and a sand storm straight from hell, I snuck in and pulled him out.

We ended up sheltering from the storm in a shack in the middle of nowhere. It was pretty run down, but I managed to get the power going, and we did find some booze that didn't make us go blind.

Unfortunately, I'm still getting a bit of mixed signals from Panam, can't tell if she's into me, or just likes my lap as a foot rest.

Day 8

Well Jack, finally some progress; with Panam, not the chip. Apparently, she's just not "that kind of girl." But she did give me a quick kiss goodbye before heading off into the sunset on some mission for Saul. I guess I'll have to play the long game, provided I survive that long.

Before heading back into the city, I ran by the Aldaldo camp to help say goodbye to those they'd lost during the Helman mission; including Panam's friend Scorpion

While it hurt to watch a good car go up in flames, Scorpion's sendoff was quite the show.

After that, I headed back to the city to meet up with Takimura. He had a crazy plan to infiltrate the Dashi Parade, jump onto one of the matsuri floats and confront Haniko.

I guess I'm just as crazy as he is, since I agreed to it.

In order to do that we had to ensure the float would stop where we wanted, and that the security was disabled. Which meant infiltrating an Arasaka facility and uploading a virus to their system. This time, thanks to a stolen van and uniform, the op against Arasaka went off without a hitch.

DeShawn really was a shit Fixer, couldn't plan an exit strategy out of a paper bag.

Day 9

Well, today started off well, and then turned to shit. No word from Takimura, so I decided to do some gig work and earn a few eddies; in case I survive this shit.

Regina called about a possible Cyberpsycho, so I went to investigate. Was able to take her alive, like Regi wanted, but I'm still not convinced of this cure she keeps talking about.

After that I got a call from Clare, not sure you remember the bartender at the Afterlife. She needs a wheel man for some annual race going on. Sounds like some easy eddies, so I told her I was in.

Also, I need to remember to never trust Sixth Street to play fair. I've been doing a bit of underground boxing on the side. Usually, when I win the loser is understandably upset, but a good sport about it. Not this time, no, fucker tried to get his whole gang to take me out; all for some silly riffle. Sixth Street is just way to into their firearms. Who needs a sniper rifle, when you have a gold plated bat with spikes?

Jokes aside though, the day went to shit from there. Judy called and asked me to come by, turns out Evelyn couldn't live with the memories of what had happened to her, and took her own life.

Judy is understandably upset. No, upset isn't the right word. Destroyed, destraught? I'm just hoping she doesn't do anything too stupid, I've lost too many friends to this fucking city already.