Ghost in the City: Cyberpunk Gamer SI

[SparrowOnCherryBlossom]

holy crosspost batman

 

[NihilSupernum]

Not that I don't appreciate the effort, Seras, but what's the point of making a thread on QQ specifically for the perverts to post horni, but putting it in the SFW section?

 

[Travisplo]

Oh fuck, this took at least two hours to crosspost everything. I'm so sorry Seras. I hope that you didn't get too bored during the transcribing.

 

[WaldfeeGunter]

Yoo whats this on QQ, though I just got through the SB threat like last week, now i have to read it again just to like it, curses!

also respect for posting everything here in like 2 hrs, take a break pls.

 

[jayofgrey]

Didn't expect to see this on QQ. That crosspost took some dedication, commitment and sheer will!
Are/will there be any differences compared to RR and SB versions?

 

[Seras]

Didn't expect to see this on QQ. That crosspost took some dedication, commitment and sheer will!
Are/will there be any differences compared to RR and SB versions?

Click to shrink...

Nope. It's the SB version basically.

 

[M.Hatter]

Nope. It's the SB version basically.

Click to shrink...

Yay.

Now I don't have to reread the entire thing searching for changes... instead I can reread for fun.

 

[Guardian Box]

Kinda a shame it's not in the NSFW section, so we could be degenerates about lil' 'toko openly.

 

[ChainsawNagitana]

I'm fully expecting someone to write a separate fanfic of this in the NSFW section full of Motoko Yuri. I'm Hoping for some Jun scenes. I'm expecting things that make me want eye bleach.

 

[Billbo baggins]

If you are going to put this into the NSFW section purely for more visibility I >>"HIGHLY"<< suggest that you add the no smut tag. This lets people know that there will be no smut in the main story cause if you do not you will get a lot of really annoying people bitching about it being falsely put up. I won't even lie I would probably be one of them. At least as it is I'm not coming in here expecting smut. Just a hopefully decent story lol.

 

[DannyPhantom619]

Well nice to see this from Spacebattles.

 

[Despacitoleo]

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO ITS ON QQ HOLY SHIT I LOVE THIS EVEN MADE SOME CRAPPY FANART OF POKEMON VICKY AND NOW WE GOT MOTOKO YEEEAH BABAAAAY

edit(saw the other stories):un prepared for the lewds i saw but now i can use this *I KNOW WHAT KIND OF MAN YOU ARE*

 

[Seras]

I got home and flopped on the couch. That netdive had taken a lot out of me, and I honestly felt ready for a nap, but first.

I looked at my stat screen.

During the dive I'd destroyed so many Daemons I'd actually hit a level up.

*Level up achieved!*

*One Stat Point Gained.*

*One Skill Point Gained.*

Heh. It made me kick my feet a bit as I stretched out on my stomach on the couch.

Levels levels levels!

And it was time to put the point into my stats as well, so what did I want to level?

Intelligence again? Very tempting. 16 in my netrunning stats sounded pretty strong, but…

It was also a lot already. Maxing out a stat probably was a smart thing. If I could get my Netrunning maxed out, I'd be… Scary.

But… Was that what I wanted? Body, and Reflex were both maxed out, and ready for a level up… Ugh I really needed some Cyberware to add some Cyberization to Cool. Otherwise I'd pick that in a heartbeat. Stealth was still my favorite thing.

So… What do I choose? Try to maximize Netrunning? But with Sasha's thing done, I was free to do my own thing for a while…

Or I could max Netrunning to try and get more Daemon hunting grounds for more XP.

Blegh. I hate making decisions!

I perked up as the door opened and I pushed myself up looking over the back of the couch as Jun walked in.

"Hey Jun."

"Motoko." He greeted as he dropped off his stuff, his jacket thrown at me, and I reacted, rolling forward and dodging it.

"You were supposed to grab it." He grumbled at me.

"No I wasn't, you were trying to cover me with your stinky jacket."

"It's not stinky!" He snapped instantly, sounding actually offended.

"Stinky Jun~"

"Oh you're in that sort of mood." He grumbled, as he hit the fridge and pulled a beer out and then walked over to flop on the couch.

"What kind of mood? I'm not in a mood!" I hissed at him, my fingers itching to start poking him for daring to say I was in a mood!

"That kind." He pointed out which was really offensive! As he fended off my fingers. "Not right now Motoko. I'm tired." He groaned as he put his feet up on the living room table and I did stop but not because he asked or anything! He just looked done.

His beer ran up and rested against his forehead for a second.

"Something going on?"

"Nothing crazy. Just had to run around a lot. Fujimura is running us all a little ragged… It's nothing you have to worry about. I see that look."

"Is it some gonk klepping shit again? I can kill them."

"Heh. Not this time. We're getting close to the end of the year, so the numbers for everything are being double checked."

I blinked. I guess that made sense?

"What is he worried about Taxes?"

"Taxes?" Jun asked almost tasting the world as if he couldn't quite figure it out. "Where do you get these things? No, the end of the year is when the bosses meet up and hold a big party. All the numbers everyone ran through the year get brought up."

"Ah. Christmas Bonuses." I whispered, and Jun sent me another funny look before chuckling.

"I guess you could call it that. Or Christmas beheadings… You know?"

"Does that happen?"

"Not unless people haven't been reporting things. Which is why I'm double checking all the little side work that Fujimura runs."

"Makes sense I guess." I whispered, and then since Jun was relaxing.

"What do you think is the most important? Being Strong, being quick, or being smar-" I of course didn't get to finish my question as Jun simply brought up his arm at the first question and flexed showing off his stupid fake muscles.

Which… I guess I should have expected that.

I rolled my eyes and instead turned towards the TV as he flipped the channel on.

"Ugh I hate this show." I whined, but Jun just scoffed at me.

"Then go somewhere else."

"I was here first!"

"I'm older, so I was here first."

"Fuck off!" I hissed, sticking a heel right into his side as he dared say that shit to me.

He winced and soon he was grabbing at my foot as we dueled.

Him picking me up and throwing me across the room was totally uncalled for.

—---

"So you think that's good for the set list?" I asked the band.

Klein, Alice, and Jared all considered what I had said.

"Are you sure we should do Everlong? Wouldn't the other song, I Won't be Ignored, fit better?"

"It's called Faint. Are you sure?" I looked over the list. Hiromi and Alice of course had been working on the actual gig, and we'd gotten a gig from a rock bar. Not Red Dirt, but another of the bars that played that sort of music. A bigger club as well.

"I think it fits better. Everlong is more…" Alice started.

"It's a rock song." Klein called out spinning his drumsticks.

"It's a love song." Jared argued.

"It's a breakup song!" I argued and Alice scoffed just laughing.

"Right. Anyway, while this isn't the Totentanz, they're looking for something harder. Heathens is already going to be a bit more low key."

"Fine. We'll cut Everlong for the set, and… Yeah we can do Faint. You got the backup vocals?"

"Yeah I got it." Alice confirmed. She'd practiced Mike's part of the song, while I would take the incredible burden of trying to bring Chesters sound back to life.

"Alright. We'll add it in." I confirmed, the set list was easy enough, no great story arc this time, which was a bit disappointing, but if we ever did an album I could set the songs up to tell a story there.

Either way. Faint… Yeah alright. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Rise, Heathens, This Fffire, and The Pretender, then Faint. Maybe Let You Down? Depending on how much the audience was into it. Similar to the normal set, but adding in the new music… Yeah that would work for now.

We hadn't practiced No One Knows, enough to my satisfaction so that would have to wait.

And… Maybe I'll do Everlong at the end, if an encore is called for, cause I really did want to play it.

"Everyone satisfied?"
"I'm good." Jared said, tapping his bass. "I know you're wanting shit to be perfect Motoko, but I just want to get back up on stage."

"I feel that!" Klein called out, smacking his sticks together. "We got this. Not our first gig. We'll pull through."

I nodded not wanting to admit I had more hesitation than they seemed to. But I looked at Alice, and she was in it. There was no doubt in my mind she wanted this.

Which did reassure me a little. "Alright, in that case. Let's play through the set. Fair?"

"Yeah."

All of us found a spot, and the sound of music began. The storage unit wasn't the best place ever, but no one was complaining about the noise, and so we played through the night.

—--

"I swear it's taunting me." I grumbled, looking at the little stat in my character sheet. I just needed to pick. Just pick one. It was fine. I'd level all of them eventually. Just pick one.

I was feeling a little antsy the next morning. We'd practiced all night until the others had needed to stop and actually sleep. The gig was tonight.

And yet, despite that, the anxiety was seeping into other things. I should just pick an option. Live with it, and move on, but the point…

I should just go full Cold Blood, let everything become crystal clear, but I didn't want to live my life like that.

Sometimes being anxious about a choice was okay, and I shouldn't just control my emotions like that to dodge it.

Still sucked though.

Hiromi was at school, she wouldn't get off until later, and Ichi and Malcolm were doing guy things today.

Fairly certain they were at Lizzies, but I wasn't going to out them to Hiromi.

So I was just lonely today…

Huh.

Fine, instead of getting stuck in my head about this, I should go out and do something.

I pulled myself off the couch and grabbed my shoes. I had no idea where I was going, but I was going somewhere…

Right?

I took the elevator down, and stepped out into the cool December air. It was still California so it wasn't really getting cold, cold, but it was cooler than it was.

To think, it had been almost a year since I woke up in Night City.

I headed for the garage, deciding to get on my bike. It was perfect motorcycle weather right now.

My Kusanagi rumbled to life, and I delighted in revving her up a bit as I pulled out of the garage and onto the street. Let's see… Traffic wasn't super good, so there wasn't going to be any real speeding around unless I started really breaking traffic laws, and that wasn't worth it.

I ended up stuck in traffic rather quickly staring at the red light far in front wishing it would just turn red.

"Resist hacking the city traffic. Resist Motoko. You shouldn't do that." I whispered to myself, and finally the light went green. I waited, and waited, and traffic barely started moving when the light turned yellow.

"Resist shooting the traffic lights. Resist Motoko. You shouldn't do that."

—--

"Hmph! You get fat?"

"It's muscle."

"Yes of course. Fatty." The old woman hissed at me poking at my sides and I rolled my eyes, she was teasing, but still.

"Can you do it?"

"Me? Of course! I can make the clothes fit any gorilla."

I sent a very firm glare at the old lady and her scowl shifted into a smirk that I couldn't help but mimic.

"Thanks Granny."

"I am not that old!"

"Forgetting your own age again? That Dementia is hitting you harder and harder every time we meet."

"Little brat!" She tsked at me, but nodded. "I'll start a new set for your new dimensions. No more of that Animal slop if you get any bigger no leotard in the world will fit you!"

"I'm not taking drugs! I've been working out!"

"Hmm, perhaps the Gorilla DNA?"

"What's got your mood all shitty today?" I asked her, and she stilled for a second.

"Ah, forgive me. I have been irritated."

"Nah it's fine. You're just teasing… Anything you need help with?"

"No. No child, nothing anyone can do. It is no matter. My grandsons are fools. Nothing anyone can do now. You'll leave this to me, and I'll get you sorted out. Your pants need to be adjusted as well. That I will not help you with."

"Yeah I know a place where I can buy some pants. I guess I'll do that now."

"Hmph!"

I tossed the eddies over and left, the old lady was the teasing type. Apparently after I'd forgiven her for using shit armor weave at first, she'd decided I was one step from family and was like that every time I walked in.

—--

I flopped on the couch bags of new jeans and other things that would fit better dropped on the bed.

"Okay. No more shopping." I decided. I had to go to a few stores to get everything updated.

Oh well.

I sat back up and considered what I should do for the rest of the day. We had a gig later. Back on stage…

Ugh. I rolled over and pushed my face into my blankets. I didn't want to think about that right now.

Stats.

Okay fine make a choice Motoko. I was tempted to add one into reflex because moving fast was really useful, but… Was getting another point in Blades something I needed right now?

If I dumped another point into Intelligence, I could raise everything to 16 with the skill points I had right now…

Making choices was hard.

I closed my eyes and clicked.

Opening them.

Intelligence 16 (20) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 10.
-Breach Protocol 14
-Quick Hacks 12
-Programming 15

Fine. It was fine. Sure Intelligence was lame, but hacking was fun, and it was the best way to get more XP currently.

I decided to throw a point into Breach Protocol too.

Breach Protocol 15

*1 Perk Point Gained.*

I weathered the storm of new information for a while. And now I had another choice to make. What sort of perk did I want for Breach? I had stealth, and I had the ability to break down most barriers… I'd just had a lot of time online, so I should have a sense of what I needed.

I thought back to the three Netrunners I'd just watched breach into a heavy data fortress.

Kiwi, Lucy, and Sasha all breached a little differently.

But Kiwi and Lucy had taught me something interesting. Working together on the same goal could create some synergy.

Sasha preferred delineated roles. One for breaching, one for wiping out Daemons, but Lucy and Kiwi shared roles, doing both, which…

Was probably the normal way a netrunner would operate.

No one would fully trust someone else to protect their back unless you were like Sasha, or me.

So… I looked through the perk list and found it.

Team Breach. Know how to work in a team of netrunners to break through even the strongest firewalls.

I wasn't going to be like Sasha, and I wasn't going to be like Kiwi and Lucy.

Teamwork was a power that none of them really tried to work with. I hummed as the perk knowledge flowed through me. How to work together with other runners while breaching systems. The know how filled me, when and how to strike a system to let another runner maximize their ability, and in turn how to guide other runners to take up system resources to give you an advantage.

It wasn't as strong as Strong Breach, or as difficult to deal with as Ghost Touch.

But, this was the perk of someone that knew how useful team work could be. Sasha owed me one, and next time I had to break a data fortress I knew who to call on, and the two of us would be on another level.

Especially once I finished leveling even more!

—-

Finding a spot I parked the Quadra, it was nearly time for the gig. The place was called the Electric Orgasm… Cute. But whatever. It was a club, and I was here to play.

I stepped out noticing the crowds gathered around, but I ignored them. Hopefully no one would be gonk brained enough to go after my Quadra, again.

I took a moment to grab my guitar and some of the easier to carry stuff as I headed towards the door. There was already a line forming, and I could hear music from inside the open door.

We weren't the first act after all.

"Hold up there." The Bouncer called out hand raised and looked me over through a pair of dark sunglasses.

"I'm playing tonight. Stand Alone Complex." I told him while I watched him scan me down. He took a second and then nodded.

"Go on in."

"Thanks." I moved past him and entered into a blistering array of noise.

There was a stage immediately to my right down a set of steps. Laser lights shooting down at it, and the band up there already was a bit…

Yeah. Loud would be putting it mildly.

I circled around heading to the bar and smiled a bit in relief as I noticed a familiar face.

"Yo Klein."

"Oh! Motoko!" He raised a drink up at me. "Got here early huh? Come to enjoy the free drinks for entertainers?" He teased laughing as I sent him a sour look.

"Yeah no." I brought my guitar in close and took the seat next to him. Glancing over at his Wild Hair, flashing colors, and very bright outfit. Not his usual jeans and a T-shirt. No he was wearing an expensive Holo Jacket, flashing some demonic looking thing on the back, he had lights running down his arms from a series of bracelets that all glowed and strobed.

"Like em?"

"Eh."

"Hah! They help a bit. Hard to see the drummer behind everything, but add some lights and you give the peeps a light show while you sit there." He explained and I nodded along. Made sense to me. I looked down at my own clothes, and how bland I looked in comparison…

Eh. That wasn't me.

"Jared said he'd be running a little late, but Alice should be here soon. Unless she runs off to grab him." He added after taking another drink and I just nodded pleased at that.

We had to wait for the other band to leave, but I was starting to get that antsy feeling. Excitement, and fear all coiled into one.

"Well now. That's a face I've been wanting to meet." I looked away from Klein, and into the aviators, of a man I hadn't yet had a chance to meet yet.

"Dino Dinovic." I greeted the Fixer. City Centers very own boss of bosses.

"Motoko Kusanagi." He returned smirking, the rocker jacket he wore gave him the look of someone just here to rock out, but this guy was serious. As powerful in some ways as Wakako. "You know I've heard a lot about you. About this scary kid making a name for herself."

"Thanks. I've heard of you too." I replied, and he smirked at that.

"Only good things I hope."

"Something like that." I honestly didn't know much about him. Just that he was 'the' fixer of City Central, and to control the center of the city meant he was serious biz.

"Good. When I heard you were going to be playing I had to be here. Looking forward to you play, and more importantly. Looking forward to talking with you after. There could be a little work that someone like you could handle, been wanting to touch base, maybe add you to my payroll."

"I'll hear you out but no promises."

"Hey, that's good enough for me. Oh also, little tip?" He looked down the bar for a second, just a flash of his eyes. "Don't look, but you may have some real producer types here tonight. The band after you has been getting some attention. Maybe you can steal some for yourself if you play well."

"Eh." I shrugged. "I play because I like it, not to get famous…"

"Speak for yourself." Klein offered smirking into his drink.

"Hey! That's how it should be! Rockerboys should go wild!" Dino exclaimed, laughing. "Keep shooting up kid. Maybe you'll be the next big thing."

"Thanks Dino." I decided to say instead of repeating I wasn't that interested.

This was… I don't know anymore, but I couldn't deny that I did like getting up on stage.

I felt my fingers tap at the counter. I'd have to give my all tonight, not because I wanted to be famous or cared about a producer.

I just wanted to play the songs I liked.

 

[Axes]

I was just checking if there was a new chapter on sb and then I came here and boom a new chapter dropped.

 

[mpbjunkie]

Always a good day when this story updates. Thanks for the chapter.

 

[Despacitoleo]

as I've said on space battles level addict

 

[DannyPhantom619]

Can't wait to see how Motoko's band evolves through the years.

 

[Oglymogly]

I've decided to do a slow reread now that this is on the site I'm on the most. Good timing as I'm stuck home sick.

Just finished chapter four, and I think that's the one where this story really comes into its own. Not only is it Motoko's first 'mission' but how she reacted to it is unique in Gamer stories, and really shows that this one wasn't going to be another OP, straight-to-the-top, slaughter/snooze fest.

It's been interesting to see some of the early installment weirdness, but also some of the things that obviously intentionally changed. For instance I forgot Hiromi's hair was once green or how aggressive she acted to get Old-toko's approval. It's cool to realize how far positive reinforcement and validated self confidence has taken her, but she is still super clingy. Sidenote:A friend of mine in psych school was telling me about Borderline Personality Disorder, and Hiromi fits it surprisingly well, including the impulsiveness and having a "favorite person" whom they fixate on.

Also, I completely forgot how Jun use to call Motoko 'Toko' a lot. I wonder if he stopped because she grew up in his eyes, or if it's because of how much she changed post coma. Interesting stuff.

 

[Todologo]

Motoko wanted to get Gong-Fu at the beginning of the story. She even bought the improvised weapon perk for this. Will Motoko remember Gun-Fu?

 

[BoML]

So Motoko will be adding another fixer into her list. Now, whether he is *worth* her time is another thing entirely.

 

[Oglymogly]

I can't go outside! Murder is out there!

Click to shrink...

I just realized Motoko pulled a Batman. She feared the Murder, so she became the Murder.

But really, it is nice to see a story where the MC has normal reactions to traumatic events, and to see them grow to overcome them. It was also nice to see that the older generation recognizing the issues and helping out, even if the motives are slightly perverse.

"Oh? You actually brought your… friend. Hiromi."

Click to shrink...

I wonder if that was going to be a insulting word, or if even then her mother suspected that she had a slight crush.

Also, interesting that at this point Hiromi's family lives in a secondary apartment building, not Arasaka Tower, which is where I believe they lived during the bodyguard mission? I wonder if they just moved or its just early installment weirdness,

Morgan's Manual had helped. It made me consider what would push me to kill. No more like it had made me start making some rules.

And with rules came control.

I wasn't just some crazy Cyberpsycho killing anyone around them. I was a… Solo. A Merc.

Click to shrink...

A very foundational quote for who she forged herself into.

I also didn't realize she went from waking up from her coma to killing three men in a month. That's some Kill Bill level of dedication.

These early chapter do feel longer, because of the multiple disparate scenes stretched over days and weeks, which works compared the the future chapters, where multiple chapters can cover a hour.

That's chapter 5 down!

 

[Seras]

Also, interesting that at this point Hiromi's family lives in a secondary apartment building, not Arasaka Tower, which is where I believe they lived during the bodyguard mission? I wonder if they just moved or its just early installment weirdness,

Click to shrink...

Nope! The bodyguard mission had the issue where the client started in the Arasaka building, but couldn't stay overnight. No one lives in the tower.

 

[Oglymogly]

Nope! The bodyguard mission had the issue where the client started in the Arasaka building, but couldn't stay overnight. No one lives in the tower.

Click to shrink...

Ah, I misremembered, thank you! I thought they took her there to hide after the assassin showed up at the client's place.

I guess it was time for a reread.

 

[Oglymogly]

I never really thought about it, but with this gamer system you could pull a pacifist run. It's very possible to hit 10 in all skills and abilities while staying level 1. Very cool.

Ichinose

Another job, another chance to prove he had what it takes. To move out of being just another kid on the street into being someone important.

Click to shrink...

Weird to see this early Ichi as a leader.

His own first kill had been an accident

Click to shrink...

I did not remember that Ichi was the blooded one of the group. I guess between that and that he's the most dedicated to working gigs for eddies, is how he ended up leading,

"I still don't know why you went with purple though. There are better colors." Hiromi grumbled beside him pointing at her own riot of hair color.

Click to shrink...

Hiromi character has been the most consistent since the beginning. This overt way of saying 'copy me/follow me' is covertly saying "show you like me the way I showed I liked you". Much more as a friend at this point, but same message.

Hitting Body four had made changes as well. I had actual muscles!

Click to shrink...

Body 10 Motoko finds this cute.

. I had already hit level 5 Body.

Click to shrink...

Damn, that was fast, considering it takes her like 9 more months to hit 10. Of course, she's devoting almost all of her time to working out at this point, verses how insanely busy she gets later.

"I'm proud of you." he finally says and I couldn't help but explode into a blush.

"Wha-!"

"I know you don't know them, but our parents would be proud of you as well." He said looking me over. "You have changed much, but they would have liked this you."

Click to shrink...

Pre-Borg Jun was a little more stoic and traditional when he was trying to be brotherly, huh? I can see why he was considered reliable to deal with casino cash at his age.

Losing his girl and social influence from the Kamikazi really left him more emotional and angry. We don't get to see much of Jun before everything, so I got to read heavy into what we do see.

Dammit. Can I shut this thing off? I am trying to be depressed!

Click to shrink...

One of the things I think that made this story to addicting was the masterful use of humor. Its tough to balance, as you need enough to cleanse the pallet and reset tension, bit not enough to to derail the story into crackville.

Oh, and it actually has to be funny, thats important too.

Gun-Fu. Use martial arts, and firearms as a coherent whole ensuring your bullets will hit their mark.

Click to shrink...

I forgot about this as well. Motoko is pretty close to reaching 10, so some Matrix esque bullshit is upcoming!

*Hey Hiromi. You are pretty good with a sword right?*

*Yeah? I go to a dojo and stuff.*

*Want to meet up and practice? I could use some sword work.*

Click to shrink...

Another bookend that I didnt realize was a bookend, with Hiromi starting her on the path, but not realizing how completely she's been outpaced until months later.

Yet even as the XP alerts kept coming in. Even as she kept winning. The difference between the two of us became apparent.

"Tired?" I asked as she was left panting after our third bout resting on her bokken as she sweated and gasped for air.

Click to shrink...

Or outpaced now, I guess.

I lay shivering under his shadow, but my mind was cool as ice.

Click to shrink...

The steady progression of Cool was shown very well, I think. Though I wonder how it'll progress with cyberwear.

My fingers started tapping on my knee as I thought it over. I don't know if it was Cold Blood or what, but I felt… Good.

It felt good. Like… Doing a mission or completing an objective. Or solving a NCPD mission in the game. It was satisfying. I even got a reward for it. A massive pistol.

My finger was tapping like crazy. I shouldn't like this. I shouldn't want to murder people.

Right?

Click to shrink...

One of the reoccurring themes in modern dystopian horror is the idea that people are easily led astray by the joy of 'number go up'. Making the character aware of that, but still susceptible to it, fits in very well with Cyberpunk.


Whoh, this got way too long, sorry about that to every poor soul who sees this.

 

[zecorezecron]

"Taxes?" Jun asked almost tasting the world as if he couldn't quite figure it out. "Where do you get these things? No, the end of the year is when the bosses meet up and hold a big party. All the numbers everyone ran through the year get brought up."

Click to shrink...

That sounds a lot like taxes to me. Or am I missing context?

 

[Seras]

"Motokoooo!" I was nearly attacked from behind as Hiromi charged up to the bar and against me.

"Hey Hiromi."

"Are you ready? Are you feeling sick? I brought a towel I could go wet down and-"

"I'm fine!" I laughed at her mother henning, as I looked around her and waved at Ichi who had followed her in.

"Motoko. How goes?"

"I'm fine!" I responded huffing a bit, he was looking worried for me too!
"Okay so Rebecca said she's coming, and Malcolm is outside of course."

"His car again?"

"Yes." Hiromi said, rolling her eyes. "He's going to get his car klepped."

"Hopefully not. Chasing down car thieves is a lot of work."

"Profitable!" Hiromi argued, poking me, looking pleased.

"That too."
"And, there is Jared." Klein called out and I looked up to see the Bass player walk up. Jared, like Klein, had a very Rockerboy inspired outfit. Where Klein went for lighted clothing, Jared showed off his body. No shirt, open jacket, Plastic abs, and chrome glowing up and down his chest.

"So do you turn the lights off most of the time?" I couldn't help but ask, as I remember he had glowed in our last gig too, but I didn't see it otherwise.

"Sup Motoko. Yeah the lights get annoying trying to chill out. I look down and end up half blinding myself. Need to get anti-Dazzle on my optics. But I just turn them off when I'm not on stage."

I just nodded, but couldn't help but notice his muscles he showed off were all fake, and he wasn't the buff guy that his clothes showed when he wasn't dressed up for it.

Might need to start exercising my Rockerboys too at this rate.

Why was everyone so lazy in Night City?

Oh right, exercise sucked.

Yeah fair.

We all settled in, the other band was still on stage, and playing as loud as they could, but, the audience was mostly just drinking rather than listening.

Sorry guys.

Finally Alice came in, carrying her gear and joined us nodding at Jared and Klein, giving me an up and down, and then looking at Hiromi. "Everything good?" She asked Hiromi a moment later.

"Everything good." Hiromi confirmed with a shark-like smile.

"Great. We need to go all out tonight then." She said, looking over the rest of us.

"Why what's up?" Jared asked, looking away from the bartender as he turned back to the group.

"There's a producer here. We go just before the band he's looking into. If we do well we can steal the hype, and interest." Alice offered smiling evilly, Hiromi's own smile matching.

"Wait… Did you plan this?"

"Of course! I was looking into things, and got a bit of a tip off that this producer was looking into a band. So I checked on when they would next play, and set up our set before them." Hiromi said her head practically tilted back as she spoke as her ego grew larger and larger.

I felt like if I poked her head, she'd pop with how inflated she was.

Oh well. Hiromi was cute when her little plots worked out.

"We'll play the best we can and see what happens. No stress." I decided to say looking at everyone. But the others were definitely looking stressed, but not in a bad way. Jared's face shifted into a serious look, and Klein, who had already known about the producer from Dino, nodded with his buddy.

Well I guess I was outvoted.

"Well if Faint doesn't catch their attention. I don't know what will." I offered and Alice smirked evilly.

"Exactly."

"We got this. Hell yeah." Jared whispered, pumping himself up.

I just wanted to sigh, but it's okay. Hopefully everyone just had some fun.

I shook off my thoughts and focused as the other band finally seemed to be wrapping up.

A few minutes later they headed off stage taking off their equipment, and Dino pointed at us, while the music of a radio kicked on to cover the wait.

We all got to work, taking stuff up to the stage, then heading outside to grab drum sets, and other equipment. Ichi and Malcolm helped out. Malcolm pulling himself away from a much older woman who'd been a little too interested in him, but we got everything set up and we were ready to get started.

We all did a check, making sure everything was good, and a nod at Dino was all we needed to get the music to stop.

Then… I realized I needed to talk. My throat clenched, but I opened my mouth anyway.

"Hello! We're Stand Alone Complex, and we're going to start with Smells like Teen Spirit!" I instantly started the power chords to the start of the song. Letting my hands soar over the strings as the song began, and brought the others into my momentum.

"Load up on guns, bring your friends." I sang, my voice husky, crooning into the mic, but I needed more than that.

This was important to the band.

My fingers danced, my voice boomed over the crowd, and more and more of them were looking up. Their eyes caught mine, and when they did, I dragged them into my rhythm too.

Playing, singing. Those were only a part of what being a Rockerboy meant.

I flashed, smiles, winked, moved around, and let the energy of the song flow from not just the music but my performance.

"Ooh well, whatever, nevermind." I crooned, rolling my eyes visibly, letting that teenage angst flow through me. And the crowd was liking it.

I played around when Jared flubbed a chord, making it seem normal. I altered the rhythm when Alice needed, or as Klein got into his drum solo,

I didn't just repeat a song verbatim. I played the song along with a band.

And at the end, I shifted to Alice, and she figured out what I wanted, and we both dueted the last loong line. "A Deniiiiial!"

Her voice would have ruined it solo, but the electronic quality of her singing voice worked with me dueting against it.

I stepped back as the song ended, and Alice was absolutely thrilled. I could see the way her eyes lit up as the crowd reacted, plenty of stomping feet, and whistles and shouts.

"Oh you liked that? We'll I think you lot will like this one even more. Come with me and RISE!" I turned and the sound played out, as the electronic part of the song went over, and everyone took their positions.

We played through RISE, and as expected, the song was well liked, the crowd was getting into it, I could see people scanning me, wanting to find out who it was, but that was fine.

Hiromi was actively walking through the crowd passing out shards of some sort.

I didn't want to know. So I wasn't going to ask.

But I needed to be more than just someone playing a song. This was a gig, a stage show. I roared as I roamed the stage, I got the crowd sticking their fist up when I yelled Rise, the crowd roaring along with me as they fell under the spell of a good song.

And then it was time for something new.

As Rise ended I checked on the band and they were definitely into it.

Jared was playing up the crowd, his Bass guitar's strumming drawing the eye of some of the women in the crowd. Klein though was already sweating, but in a good way. He was absolutely in the groove.

Good.

I nodded to Alice and she nodded back. Time for the big reveal.

"Stand Alone Complex is showing off something new this time! I'd like everyone to enjoy, because I know you're all just, Heathens!" I shouted out, and then the stage went silent for a moment. I was smiling because I wasn't playing an instrument this time. My guitar was on a stand, and instead a guitar case was next to my feet.

"All my friends are Heathens, take it slow." I crooned, capturing the audience as the music came out. Whether because no one had heard this before, or because people liked it, they listened as the melody started, the quiet lyrics, the faint sound of something wrong slowly getting louder.

And while I sang I moved along the stage, I kneeled down, sang to the small dance floor in front of the stage getting them in close, letting them think everything was normal.

Then it was time.

"But after all I've saaaaid!" And I kicked out, Mic slipped back into the stand, just as the case popped open, and yes I may have practiced this a few times while we tested things for this song.

My Carnage, the Shotgun flipped up and into my arms.

"Please don't forget!" I cocked the Carnage, the grinding metal ran right through the mic, and everyone flinched, the people rocking out the chillers, the producer at the bar, even Dino who had been head bobbing to the song flinched.

The rest of the band took over. Alice's voice was perfect to sing the heavily electronic bits, I reached out for the flying shotgun shell, grabbed it and in one movement underhanded it right towards one of the people closest to the stage.

The guy reacted snagging it out of the air and then looked down at the very life shotgun shell he now held.

"Watch it!" The distorted voice of Jared echoed out as I cocked the Carnage again. The second shell flew out and I threw it again. Again it was caught, and the crowd was reacting. This section of the song was the fastest, the hardest pace, everything had been brought up to this point, and the appearance of a shotgun, cocking over the room had only added to the theater of it all.

I went back to the mic as the section ended and waved behind me with the shotgun in one hand.

"All my friends are Heathens, take it slooow."

Klein got his moment a few lyrics later, slamming the drums as the song picked back up again. Alice singing into the mic, her electronic throat working perfectly for this section, while I hyped the crowd,

"WATCH IT!" Jared roared, and I once again cocked the shotgun, another shell racing across the crowd as hands were rising up for it now. Cries were heard.

Then again, I was playing it up. The crowd was loving it. Rebecca I noticed was cackling like a maniac from the bar, her legs waving in the air.

Rebecca's leg thing was so funny, but I didn't have time to process it.

The end was coming! The last crescendo, the last shell thrown out, and I turned back to the mic.

"I tried to warn you just to stay away." I crooned, as the song mellowed down.

"And now they're outside ready to bust." I teased them moving like I was going to cock the shotgun again.

"It looks like you might be one of us." I crooned out the last line and then flipped the Carnage, sending it spiraling forward. Right into the arms of one of the Girls I'd had my eye on the whole time. I'd played her up. Singing to her at the start. Then threw the shells around her, but never at her, despite my eye grabbing hers and drawing her in.

Then the heavy carnage landed in her shocked arms, as I sang right to her.

That she had been the one the song was about all along.

Instant quiet as the lights cut off, and the band were silent, giving the room that moment of shock to breathe.

I stepped back without a word, as the girl, her eyeliner glowing, looking around, everyone looking back at her, with massive whiplash, as I simply sauntered away pulling on my Guitar, the lights still out.

I got back to my position, and just ignored the girl who was calling out about the Carnage wondering what to do with it.

"This Ffffire!" I roared, the lights came back on, and Klein started the cymbals, as I joined him moments later with the guitar.

And soon everyone forgot all about it. Carnage Girl was soon shouting one hand raised up in the air while the Shotgun was wrapped in her other arm.

There was no longer any question about whether the audience was into it. Once the beat and song got started, I had the crowd yelling out the chorus back at me and hyping everyone up.

By the time the song ended, I was feeling it, and of course Hiromi was there tossing up a water bottle for me, and the towel for some reason?

I chugged the water as I ran the towel over my head, cooling off a bit and then tossing both to the side.

"The Pretender." I spoke almost soothingly as I introduced the next song. We had this down.

There was no hesitation, as the band played, there was too much energy. Klein was hammering the drums, as I kept the lead guitar, just tearing through the song as I roared.

"What if I say, I'm not like the others!"

I roared out over the crowd, noticing that even Dino was fully into it behind the bar. He was bouncing, along with the roaring vocals.

So I went even harder.

"Yeah who, are you!?" I roared, putting as much energy into it as I could, and in turn the crowd ate it up.

The song ended and I backed away from the mic breathing a bit heavily just because of how much I'd been roaring. I checked on everyone and nodded.

Yeah. Everyone was good.

"We got another new song for you tonight." I said almost coyly into the mic. "Do you think you're ready for it?" I asked, and held out the mic.

""Yeah!""

"Yeah you sound ready." I repeated back smiling as I looked over the crowd. "But you aren't." I added almost sinister, as I turned and flipped on the music box.

"This is Faint." I whispered, as the sound began.

The electronic intro wailed, giving me a few moments, before the song blew up. A power chord and then Klein slammed into the drums full bore, and the energy that had been spiking up from The Pretender instantly returned.

Alice stepped up, as I stepped back, hammering the guitar as she opened up, covering Mike Shinoda's vocal parts.

I could have done both, but this was perfect for her her electronic vocals fitting the Cyberpunk era.

We shared Guitar as well, letting me really hammer away while she was rapping, and then when it came to my Chester solo's I could give it my all.

The vocals were the heart and soul, messing them up was not allowed. Plus, no one else had ever heard Chesters screams in this world. I was the only person alive to know what it sounded like.

My love of Nirvana was a childhood sound, but my love for Linkin Park was all my teen angst, and I was going to let it all out.

Alice was loving it. All the eyes were on her, as she rapped. "But I'll be here, 'cause you're all that I got!" Alice called out, and I could hear the joy in her voice as she was able to rap this part of the song without her vocal issues.

"I CAN'T FEEEEEL THE WAY I DID BEFORE!" I let it all out. My voice crashed down on the crowd the sudden change, something they couldn't have expected practically causing the mob of bouncing faces to stutter.

"Don't turn your back on me, I WON'T BE IGNORED!" I dropped down to crowd height and roared and the crowd reacted. Carnage girl screamed right along with me.

Yeah I thought she had a bit of Heathen in her.

Alice jumped in, more energetic than I've ever seen her taking on the rap sections and blazing, throwing all her energy into it, and that energy was magnetic.

Switching in and out, Alice and I played through the crowd.

"I WON'T BE IGNORED! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I belted it out, anger frustration and everything tearing out of my vocal cords splashing across the crowd.

"Hear me out now! You're gonna listen to me, like it or not, RIGHT NOW! HEAR ME OUT NOW!"

There was howling in turn, the crowd roared back, the walls felt too small, and I knew that this was a song meant for larger crowds, and someday it'd get it.

"Don't turn your back on me! I won't be ignored!" And the sound stopped. Everyone was breathing heavily as I looked over the band, and the crowd was screaming.

Linkin Park was my favorite band after all. I smiled and laughed, my throat was okay, I knew exactly how to scream my heart out without messing with my voice, but I still felt voiceless as the noise of the shouting crowd just didn't let up.

I held up the mic and the crowd screamed louder.

Huh.

—--

Eventually we managed to get everything to calm down, but there was no doubt that Faint was a new favorite for a lot of the crowd.

Hiromi, Malcolm, and Ichi I noticed were going through the crowd selling shards. No doubt Hiromi had dragged them into it, and where before the little bar had seemed more of a place to hang out and drink, now it felt like an actual concert. There was an energy to the room.

And Carnage Girl was standing right up at the front, in her neon glowing eyeliner, and glowing fishnet stockings clutching the old Shotgun like she was the winner at life.

I was flattered honestly.

We'd obviously been given a flag to play more, but I shook my head. Let you Down would not be the right song to play right now. Definitely not, and we'd already dropped two new songs tonight.

I'd just brought up the energy to an insane level. Let You Down would do just that, let the crowd down after that level of energy. Besides… It was the next bands problem now.

We started breaking things down, and eventually the Bouncer had to step up, the massive black man standing in the way of the crowd to give us a way off the stage and let us start taking our equipment off stage so the next band could get up there.

I felt bad. We mostly ran in circuits throwing things into the back of Alice's little Mahir Supron, throwing things inside, and then rushing back to get the rest. Malcolm thankfully joined us, keeping an eye out so no one klepped anything, and we managed to secure all the equipment off the stage without more than a few grasping hands.

"Hey." Alice called out to me as she slammed the back of her van closed and looked at me. "That…"

"That was awesome." I decided to say. Sure I felt like I wanted to puke, but with getting the equipment off the stage there hadn't been time for it to hit me yet. I was riding that wave that would eventually lead me straight into a freakout, but for now I was good. "You did perfect. You hit the lyrics perfectly."

"I-Thanks, you really went all out. Holy hell." Alice whispered, running a hand through her sweaty hair.

"That song means a lot to me." Was all I could really say and she nodded.

"I felt it." She agreed, a fire in her eyes as she looked at me. "Everyones going to hear about that song after this!" She wiggled, pumping her arms, unable to keep the energy in.

"I'd like to think so." A new voice cut in and we looked over at the man that approached us. He was getting looks from everyone, but the fact Dino was walking with him, meant the Bouncer didn't intrude. "Charles Davis, CCT Records." He pulled out a business card and offered it to me, but before I had to do anything Hiromi popped up beside me.

"Hiromi Mitsunashi, Manager of Stand Alone Complex." Hiromi offered, pulling out her own card and offering it to the man.

He only took a second to change tracks and smiled at Hiromi.

"A pleasure. An indie band with a good Manager only makes them more valuable." He offered and Hiromi smiled at the flattery, but she looked like a shark.

"Ah, Mr. Davis… The reason you are speaking to us, is it because you're interested in signing our band?" Alice cut in, getting to the heart of the matter, and I noticed Hiromi glance at her, but she didn't tell Alice to be quiet.

"CCT would be interested in discussing the possibility. I can't deny that it's rare to see an unknown band bring that much energy into such a small stage."

Alice I noticed was practically buzzing, but I noticed Dino was side-eyeing me and I jerked my head to the side and he nodded.

I broke off as Hiromi started grilling-I mean discussing things with Charles Dino and I walked around a bit around the back of the building getting some quiet from all the talking.

"Before we get into the bizz kid, let me say. Hell of a show. I was halfway to ducking under the bar when you flipped up that Carnage. Turning the thing into an instrument? Rockerboy as hell. I dig it."

"Thanks." I couldn't help but smile a bit at his words. "The cocking sound was always part of the song, but for the live performance, I figured I might as well integrate it a bit into the show."

"Heh, it fucking worked. Those kids going home with a round are going to remember that shit for a long time. Preem shit." He looked around after that checking on things. "But I wanted to talk to you about biz. Got a gig, something difficult, need it done clean, no one sees, and no flatlines."
"Stealth Op?"

"Yeah, need something picked up and replaced. Just a shard, nothing big. Gotta be done within the next few days, and I hear you're the girl to reach out to if you need something done sneaky. You interested?"

I shot him a message, with my contact information. "I can't promise, but if you throw me the deets, I can confirm I'm able to do the gig, and we can hash out the details."

"Heh, not confident you can do it?"

"I'm capable of a lot of things, but I'm not perfect. I can't tell you if I can do it without the info."

"Fair enough. Alright. I'll forward some data, and we'll talk."

I nodded, turning to look as he walked away to see Hiromi and Charles speaking hurriedly about all sorts of things.

Seemed serious, but that was a worry for another time. I was tired and still felt like my stomach was going to decide to rebel. I wanted a quiet drive away from everything.

 

[588963-B]

Sweeeeeet!

 

[BoML]

Well, Hiromi and the band are very happy right now, and Motoko got an in with new fixer. Now, let's see how this plays out...

(Hopefully better than it did with Regina, I'm still convinced that she gave Motoko that gig with Exotics because she needed an excuse to not give Motoko new gigs until she either gets better...or grows older. Either one could be right.)

 

[SomePenguin]

but my love for Linkin Park was all my teen angst

Click to shrink...

Besides my love for Linkin Park, I hope there is a chance the joke about sounds mothers make and the intro of Given Up gets thrown in there somewhere.

 

[NitroNorm5688]

One will get you ten that Carnage Girl would have totally gone backstage if you had asked. Probably to the hotel as well. I mean, the number of times a musician was able to pull someone from the crowd after they got them high on the music is nuts. All those rumors about the backstage room? Totally justified.

Motoko could have definitely had an orgy going with Motoko, Hiromi, Carnage Girl, and Alice. Boyfriends not included.

Great Chapter. I wasn't sure I'd like some of that music. As a matter of fact, I don't think I liked some of it when I was younger. But I like Smells like Teen Spirit and Faint definetly.

Please, keep on writing.