Restart (Kiwi X F.OC)

-Afterlife-

"I never believed I'd be demoted like this." I talked to myself, walking through the streets with a package wrapped in paper and rope under my arm.

I was an errand girl again... This is what I get for asking for my favors from the ripperdoc in addition to already buying myself into her workshop/home with my deal.... But doing errands like a newbie? Arg!

But I still did it, she said she'd scrap together all she has for netrunning, if I can set up in the tube it would be easier for us to take any netrunning gig and she shrugged, only asking for a payback so I was doing this.

I can't do this alone, I need an ally.

In Night City you can trust no one.

I stopped walking.

I... I taught that to Lucy and what did I do? Prove her I was right.

I walked again, lowering my head as I passed the Afterlife bar, it was dead in the day but the crews and others would hang around here.

I stopped again, planing to walk away before spinning on my heel and with a sigh, heading inside.

The bouncers looked like they saw a ghost, that's why I am now anyway.

"Well look at that, she's alive." said a voice with slight disdain. ( Friend, I needed a fixer and she is cool in Y/N's story so she cool with me)

"Rogue Amendiares." I said with a sigh but nodded, a living legend, not many of those exist in Night City as you become a legend while dying.

"I thought all your little crew got smoked." She said, it was daytime so the bar was quite empty but she always seemed to be here this woman, sitting on a stool at the bar.

I put my cargo on the bar top and sat down but two stools away.

"Pilar, Dorio, Maine and David.... And part of it is my fault." I said, looking at the drink menu even if I knew it by heart.

I could admit it to the woman since she was business above all unless I gave her a reason to throw me out.

My eyes stopped on a new drink's name, written in yellow and blue chalk on the menu.

"I'll take a David Martinez." I pointed at the drink before dropping my hand on the other.

"Yeah I heard, quite a dick move you pulled." There was displeasure in her tone and I was growing tense, Maine was one of the rare people that got a gig or two from her, hell even David got one, one is already legendary.

"Thanks of reminding me how much I hate myself." I said as my drink was slid over and stopped right in front of me.

"It is just my job but do tell me Kiwi. You look quite good for a dead woman walking, what is the face cream you are using?"

"One called X."

"That psycho ripperdoc? A surprise she didn't take you apart. Then again she is not the violent type, she is obsessed with always reinventing the wheel, I gotta admit I am impressed with some of what she does, a little corporation all to herself.... Tho she doesn't usually help people so you got lucky."

"I guess, she found me that day and for whatever reason helped me back too my feet. 'Saka, those gonks took me out of the system, I am a woman that never existed." I pulled out a straw from the cup on the bar and put it in the drink and the other end in the 'mouth hole' there was on this jaw piece, sipping once. "I was never born, I never lived, I never died, I am a ghost looking to fix its mistakes, that's all."

"So that's why you staying with the crazy doc." Even if I am on a thin edge of being thrown out, even then she'd have the decency of telling me if I needed to worry so this just proved my logic was right, she was not telling me to be careful or rethink our agreement. "To redeem yourself?"

"I messed up, I let fear get the best of me and scurried where I thought was my safety but it brought only pain to those I wanted to not hurt.... I destroyed Lucy's happy end."

"There are no happy ends in Night City."

"There almost was one... I need to repay my debt to X for saving me so I can get money."

"But for that you need gigs."

"But I need gigs." I agreed. 

"Hmmm.... I could have use for a dead woman, you net skeleton is gone, you are no one, no trace, no one can track you as your new footprint when you netrun will come from you and not the outside that kept track of you but careful dear, that would also mean the moment someone catches on that trail it will lead right to you."

"I am willing to take the risk if it means I can move forwards and redeem myself for my mistakes, my regrets of letting a scumbag working for 'Saka trick me."

"Hmmm.... I'll contact you if I find anything." 

I gasped softly as I looked over but she already stood and was walking away.

I looked back to my drink, swirling the ice around in it.

It felt like I passed some test and, knowing her, it probably was a test... I don't know how I passed it or what would happen if I failed but I got THE Queen of Afterlife willing to contact me if she has a gig.

I looked at my drink, quickly finishing it, leaving a tip on it and leaving the bar with my cargo.

She was right, no one could find me on the net anymore unless they find me through my own mistake so this is a double edged sword, being a ghost in the system.

'Saka you made you biggest mistake yet, declaring me gone when I wasn't.

"What took yah so long?!" I was snapped from my thoughts when X's voice cut through the air, I had walked all the way to the entrance of the shop that finally had a door.... That she made me buy.

"Chill, I took a detour." I said, holding the package up. "But it is here isn't it, don't blew a fuse."

A robotic arm snatched it from my hold as she was working away on something, a welders mask on and sparks flying.

I covered my face to not be blinded by the bright light, these eye implants are sensitive.

I sighed, hoping we'd soon get the promised call