Ebunike I

When Sora swung his way to Heywood, he landed on a rooftop near the address Rogue had given him, one of the buildings close to the Coyote Cojo bar. With two Fool`s crows hovering in the area before Sora's arrival. One of them landing on Sora's shoulder.

"What do you see?" Sora asked, kneeling and looking at the building entrance where two Valentinos stood guard.

Meanwhile, Fool established a connection with his helmet, displaying a live image of the other Crow flying over the building. After a few seconds, it changed again, overlaying the live image with the data obtained by the Fool system so far. It created a holographic projection of the building, revealing its floor and apartment structure, as well as the heat signatures of the people inside. Some of them were armed, corresponding to the Valentinos patrolling the building entrance and the client's apartment floor.

Examining the hologram of the building, Sora focused on the two-story apartment of the client. He noticed an armed heat signature guarding the entrance, and two unarmed ones inside.

One of the heat sources moved around the apartment, possibly in the kitchen, while the other lay upstairs, their heat signature weaker, indicating they might be sick or injured. Sora evaluated the situation in his mind, trying to understand what was happening and developing some suspicions.

Analyzing the blueprint and plotting a discreet route to avoid the guarding Valentinos, Sora stood up again. He reached out to his shoulder, where Fool was perched, and helped him regain flight with his hand.

Sora adjusted Getsuga at the back of his hip, securing it to his belt, and prepared to descend from the rooftop. He extended his cybernetic arm, using his grapple once again, and moved silently.

---

Inside the apartment, a Mother was carefully preparing her son's favorite meal. With each added ingredient and every aroma wafting in the air, her heart filled with hope, thinking, "Maybe this time..." It revealed her wish to see her son wake up and recover from his wounds.

Her son's gunshot wounds were slowly healing, but he still hadn't awakened. Due to the high expenses of a room at the city's Medical Center and his slow progress, she had to take care of her son at home.

Ironically, the Valentinos, her son's gang and her Ex-husband's gang before him, financially supported the revenge of their members but not his complete treatment. Nevertheless, she didn't care how long it would take. She would be there, never losing hope that one day her son would open his eyes again.

With a plate full of food in her hands, the woman climbed the stairs and entered her son's dimly lit room, illuminated only by the light streaming through the window.

With each step she took, her heart beat with hope, thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, this would be the moment her son would awaken to the aroma of his favorite meal. It was the only seemingly "foolish" idea she had conceived, whether to assist or merely to sustain her own hope, uttering a 'Maybe this time...' with every cooking endeavor.

When she approached and sat on the edge of her son's bed with the plate in her hands, she said, "Jackito, I've prepared your favorite meal. Please open your eyes, mi hijo..." and there was no reaction. She couldn't help but feel all the hope she had built with each step she had taken crumble once again into disappointment and sadness.

Gently touching her son's face, avoiding the IV lines on his arm. She prepared to rise and leave the room, still holding the plate of food in her hands. But suddenly, an unfamiliar voice startled her, saying, "If no one is going to eat it, I'd be happy to... it smells amazing, Mrs. Wells."

Despite the calm tone of the voice. Guadalupe Alejandra Welles, also known as "Mama Welles," scream loudly, throwing away the plate she was holding, startled by the presence of a stranger in her house. Following the origin of the voice, she saw two blue strips of light sitting on the chair in the corner of her son's room, and when she dropped the plate... the strips of light vanished.

Her heart raced as the stranger reappeared suddenly in front of her, holding the plate she had thrown, with the food that should have spilled all over the room, moving intensely within the plate.

Her surprise turned into confusion as she recognized the two glowing blue lines in front of her.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you, but it was a genuine compliment. It smells fantastic. May I? I haven't had dinner yet," said the stranger, bowing his head and scratching the back of his helmet.

"And what the hell did you think would happen...?" Guadalupe asked rhetorically, still with her heart pounding, sighing before continuing, "The mercenary, I assume? Weren't you taught to use doors?"

"Himself!.... so may I?" the "Mercenary" replied, lowering his gaze to the plate of food in his hands before looking back at Guadalupe in front of him. "And about the doors... there were too many people waiting for me, like the one who is about to call the doorbell" he said, bewildering her until the next moment...

[Ring] The doorbell sounded.

"Mama Wells, everything okay? I heard a scream,"(Spanish) said Valentino in Spanish, standing guard outside, ringing the doorbell to alert before opening the door.

"Huh? Yes, it's nothing. I almost dropped Jackito's food. Don't worry. Do you know anything about the mercenary who was supposed to arrive?"(Spanish) Guadalupe replied from the second floor, keeping her gaze on the Merc who had managed to sneak into her house, easily evading the Valentinos in the building.

"Yes, "Padre" told us that the Queen of Afterlife has already given him the notice, so he could arrive at any moment. Don't worry, Mama Wells, even if it's 'Okami,' we won't let him see you without checking him first and explaining the rules!"(Spanish) Valentino confidently responded before leaving the apartment.

"Thank you, I'm sure you will!"(Spanish) Guadalupe said before the door to her apartment closed.

"How cute,"(Spanish) Okami responded, in Spanish, acknowledging Valentino's innocence, surprising Guadalupe.

"Let's go downstairs and talk. Let Jackie rest..."(Spanish) Guadalupe sighed and left her son's room, with "Claro!"(Spanish) Sora following her, but first throwing his pinky finger with a quick motion of his cybernetic hand towards the sleeping person on the bed before leaving.

Sora followed Mama Wells down the stairs carrying the plate of food in his hands as the nanobots in his arm moved forming a new pinky finger.

While the old one... crawled like a worm towards Jackie's head.... entering through his mouth.

---

15 minutes later...

"Um, that was delicious, Mrs. Wells. What did you say the dish was called?" (Spanish) Sora said, thinking that it had been worth slowing down his perception of time just so that such a delicious dish wouldn't go to waste.

"It's Pabellón a la Wells, my son Jackie didn't like the banana flavoring, so instead, it has... more meat. That's why Jackito grew up so big, but still... it's good that you took off your helmet. I thought no one knows who you are?"(Spanish) Mama Wells replied, sitting in front of Sora at the kitchen table.

"How can I eat if I don't take it off?"(Spanish) Sora replied, as if it were the most obvious thing, jokingly, with a chuckle before continuing. "Heh, I just think I can trust you, Mrs. Wells. And about the double meat, your son is lucky to have you!"(Spanish) Sora added, enjoying anything that had a lot of meat.

Taking the liberty of prematurely trusting Guadalupe or Mama Wells, knowing their personality and feeling nothing strange about it when taking off his helmet and revealing his face, as if she were trying to take a picture or a video.

"Uhmm... You really know Spanish very well. Did you learn it from a program?"(Spanish) Mama Wells asked curiously about the young man who was happily eating her food, doubting if he really was the supposed dangerous mercenary that "Padre" was against her meeting him.

"No, Mrs. Wells, from my girlfriend... since I know her, with 7 years old, when she gets angry with me, she likes to curse me in Spanish... so I learned little by little,"(Spanish) Sora replied.

"Hoh, you have a Latina girlfriend... if you want, I can give you the recipe for her to make it for you! There's no better way to a man's heart than through his stomach... although that doesn't change his heart," Guadalupe said with a certain sadness in her words, stemming from both the good and bad memories with Jackie's father.

"No, it's better if she doesn't make it," Sora said, shaking his head while covering his mouth, lightening the mood, thinking about Judy's cooking skills that she undoubtedly inherited from her grandmother. "Even if she follows the recipe, I don't know how she does it, but she turns it into something horrible. It's better if I cook." And he added with some embarrassment."Besides, she already has it" (Spanish)

"Haha... so young, with a whole life ahead of you, and you chose to be a Merc. What a waste. Does your mother agree with it?" Mama Wells asked, no longer speaking Spanish.

"Well..." Thinking about how to respond, Sora initially said a insincere "Yes," which quickly changed to a "More or less," and finally, after a few seconds, ended with a sincere "No, not at all." Going through all possible answers.

Causing Guadalupe to chuckle. "I understand... Jackito was also interested in the life of a Merc, only to end up choosing something not much better, joining the Valentinos, and look where it has led us..."

"I imagine that's also the reason why I'm here, and why I've been hunting Maelstrom in these past nights, at your request, right? Sorry if this bothers you, but how did Jackie, end up like that?" Sora asked, recalling Jackie's story, where before leaving the Valentinos, he ended up gravely injured, but not knowing the cause behind it.

Starting to speak with a faltering voice. "About a year and a half ago, Jackie fell madly in love with a girl named Gear, the girl... happened to be the daughter of the leader of Maelstrom in the city... She didn't share her father's twisted ideology and that of his gang," Mama Wells said, with Sora already fearing the tragedy of the young Romeo and Juliet.

"As time went by, their relationship grew in secret. Jackie, being a young fool deeply in love, decided to escape with Gear without even telling his own mother...

A month and a half ago, when everything was ready, he met with Gear with the intention of escaping the city, to live their lives together where nobody knew them. But above all, they wanted to get away from the Maelstrom and Gear's father, of whom she was growing increasingly afraid of what he would do, if he discovered her daughter's relationship with a Valentino.

And so it happened... their relationship was discovered by Gear's father, a ruthless and controlling man, at the worst possible time and place. On the same day that Gear was about to escape the city with Jackito, in the Valentino's workshop, who had helped them prepare for the journey."

"The Valentinos knew about it and helped?" Sora interrupted, opening his eyes, not expecting such behavior from the Valentinos.

"The Valentinos can be many things: violent, bloodthirsty, and vengeful, but they also respect certain things, like the relationship between a man and a woman," Guadalupe explained sadly. "In a desperate attempt to maintain control over his daughter, Gear's father attacked the workshop where they were, captured Gear... shot my Jackie eight times, thinking he was dead, and killed the Valentino friends of my son who were helping." Guadalupe couldn't help the tears streaming down her cheeks as she recounted the story.

Speaking again with great hatred in her eyes, still with tears "And that's not all that son of a "Satanas" did... When he captured his own daughter, who hadn't undergone the aggressive and bizarre cybernetic enhancements of the Maelstroms... " Guadalupe paused, struggling to control her emotions.

"Oh, damn..."That made Sora assume the worst.

"Yes... he installed all kinds of Cyberware in his daughter's body against her will... all at once... you know the price the human mind has to pay when subjected to that kind of transformation in such a short time.... Now imagine never wanting them. You wake up, and your whole body has changed forever, and all of it done by your own father... she... Gear became a prisoner in her own body... now more metal than flesh, and as a result... it didn't take her long to go insane... She killed all the Maelstroms in the base where she woke up... and since then, we haven't heard from her... we believe she took her own life..." Said Guadalupe having to wipe her eyes as she told the end of the story.

"Since then, Jackito has managed to recover from his physical wounds... but not from the mental ones... the doctors attributed it to the loss of blood and the severity of his injuries... but I believe Jackie simply doesn't want to wake up..."

Sora couldn't help but sympathize with the story, especially Gear's. In some ways completely different, he had also been unwillingly enhanced by his mother. He could only understand a small fraction, knowing that his mother had done it out of desperation to save him, not due to twisted beliefs like Gear`s father, if it can be called that.

"I... I'm sorry-" When Sora was about to reply, his eyes widened as he received certain information from the person sleeping in the room upstairs through the nanobots he had strained into his body

"Is something wrong?" Mama Wells asked, noticing Sora's sudden expression of surprise.

Sora refocused on the conversation and asked, "No, it's nothing. I'm very sorry for what happened to your son and... to his girlfriend, but why I'm here?"

Upon hearing Sora's question, Guadalupe's expression turned serious, maintaining the hatred in her eyes, and she said, "I want revenge. For my son and his girlfriend. I want revenge for the families of the young Valentinos who lost their lives while helping my Jackie.

I want the Maelstrom leader, Gear's father, Wrench... alive." Guadalupe said it in such a tone that even Sora got goosebumps, imagining what she would do to him... alive.

"With the help of 'Padre' and the Valentinos, we've been hiring you to hunt down the Maelstroms. Pressuring Wrench by killing his men, hoping to find him when he takes action against you." Guadalupe revealed the motive behind Okami's recent jobs, without changing her expression.

"Fucking great! And how did that go?" Sora said sarcastically, realizing how they were using him.

"Not too well. Normally, we wouldn't leave something as important as revenge in the hands of someone from outside Heywood... until now," Mama Wells responded.

"Everyone has their own`s. That doesn't answer why I'm here."

"We couldn't find him."

"Huh?"

"We couldn't find Wrench. he went into hiding and no matter how many of his men die, he won't come out. According to the information we bbought from the Queen of Afterlife. He's hiding, waiting for a meeting with one of the Maelstrom collaborators, whose identity and meeting place are unknown even to her" Mama Wells said, causing Sora to furrow his brows, suspecting, "Could it be Ebunike?"

"That's why I wanted to see you, against Padre's opinion of not involving outsiders in Heywood's problems. Since the Valentinos can't find him, I want you to do it in their place.

It was Rogue's idea. She told 'Padre' to give you a chance to find him, and when I found out, I wanted to meet with you, that's why you're here..."

"Hmmm" While Sora listened to Mama Wells' request, he leaned back in the chair he was sitting on, lifting two of its legs, as simultaneously had a conversation on his IDn with Eddie, who had contacted him earlier than expected.

[I have a problem.]

[What's going on?]

[I've entered the supposed port where I think the Ebunike is going to arrive... but some people showed up, and I can't leave.]

[What people?]

[Maelstroms.]

Upon reading the response, Sora couldn't help but think, "I can't be that lucky, can I?"

Wanting to confirm, Sora replied, [Send me a photo of the tinplate who looks like the leader]."

Eddie, not understanding how a photo would help him in the dangerous situation he was in, responded puzzled, [What?]

[You're a journalist, right? Take a damn photo!]

[...]

[00238585.jpg]

[Tell me where you are. Don't do anything stupid and hide] Sora wrote, sending the nearest Fool to the address Eddie provided.

-

Sora, upon seeing the photo, said, "Mrs. Wells, does this Wrench guy have a Santa Claus beard with a big red eye on his forehead?"

"Yes! How did you-?" Guadalupe responded, her eyes widening. But before she could finish her sentence, Sora quickly stood up, put on his jacket, and prepared to leave.

"I've got it then" said Sora, grabbing his helmet and sword leaning against the table.

Mama Wells, bewildered and finding it hard to believe that he had found him so quickly, said, "Wait! Are you serious? Let me inform 'Padre' he'll surely send some Valentinos to accompany you."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Wells, but no, I prefer to go alone. Besides, it also seems to coincide with a personal issue. Don't worry, I'll bring him back alive in no time."

Guadalupe, still in disbelief, asked about a topic she had been avoiding "About your payment..."

Going against "Padre" and involving a stranger in Heywood's problems meant that Guadalupe had to take care of paying him herself, without the financial support of the Valentinos. She was willing to pay any price, even if it meant selling her beloved bar, "El Coyote Cojo."

Noticing Guadalupe's concern about money, Sora said, "Pay me with food. Your cooking has been truly delicious, Mrs. Wells. I would like to try it again when Jackie wakes up, at any time from now on." He ended with a mysterious snap of his fingers.

That interfered with the strange signal (isolated and recorded for further study) that was being transmitted by Jackie's IDn brain. Sora believed that it was somehow "fucking" with his consciousness, but he wasn't sure how.

Regarding the payment, Sora didn't ask for food just because he liked it so much, but because he thought it would leave a greater impression on Mama Wells that he could use in the future, for example, when a certain friend of her son lived in their house.

Furthermore, Sora intended to go to the Ebunike port anyway and could perform his good deed of the day by helping in a mother's revenge.

A mother that upon suddenly hearing the news of Wrench's location and the mercenary only asking for food in return, Guadalupe didn't know what to do or say as she watched the strange mercenary leave, now through the door, startling the Valentino on guard. he affably tapped his shoulder a few times before continuing on his way to the elevator.

But something made Guadalupe snap back to reality when she heard a noise upstairs. She quickly ran to check and found her son's intravenous hanger on the floor. As she reached down to pick it up, she felt a tug from it... seeing her son's hand moving as if he were... waking up.

Guadalupe grabbed her son's hand, closing her eyes. "Jackito... my son... please wake up," she pleaded, hoping for him to...

respond... "M-a is there any Pavilion left?" Jackie asked in a hoarse and weak voice, referring to his favorite food that he could smell, as he opened his eyes. Feeling as if he had just had a long dream, but unable to remember it

Upon hearing him, Guadalupe's eyes widened in astonishment before they were filled with tears. "Yes! My son yes" unable to believe that her son had finally woken up... shown by the tears of happiness in her eyes that wouldn't stop.... unable to contain herself hugging her son.

As she wiped her tears, she remembered the mercenary's last words before his mysterious snap. She couldn't help but think, "Did he do something?" unable to explain why she thought that... but...

---

At the same time a mysterious Snap interfered with a strange frequency...

In the gigantic landfill of Night City, beneath one of the mountains of garbage, in a cave almost entirely made of waste.

"NOOOOOO!!!" An intense metallic scream resonated, reverberating within the gloomy walls.

One of the hundreds of people connected to one of the cables in the cave cut it with the claws of their cyberware-enhanced hand, while shouting, "HE'S GONE!..."

"HE'S GONE!..." With a frantic and desperate voice.

"HE'S GONE!..." Repeating the same phrase, like a macabre echo, uttered by a human figure in a deplorable state, covered in dirt, small wounds inflicted by rats, and severe malnutrition in their heavily modified body.

"Master... HE's GONE..." whispered and screamed the figure in despair, approaching the origin of all the cables to which the rest of the people in a similar state were connected in the cave.

"Shhhhh... calm down, girl... calm down..." whispered the Being amidst the cables, in an unsettling tone, intertwining their words, "♩ Hmm-mhhh-mmm ♩" humming a sinister melody that hung in the air... "Listen to the melody... don't worry... I'll create another story just for you, girl... just listen... to the melody... ♩ Hmm-mhhh-mmm ♩" responded the Being, elevated above hundreds, if not thousands, of cables of different thicknesses connected throughout their body and...

A melody whispered by most of the people connected to the cables. The cables began to move towards her, as if they had a will of their own, connecting to any part of her body, more metal than flesh, immersing her once again in one of the "happy" stories of the master.

---

Back in Heywood....

When Sora exited the building, some Valentinos were surprised to see him leave it. Ignoring them, Sora headed towards a customized Yaiba Kusanagi motorcycle with a man wearing a black helmet seated on top.

As Sora approached and prepared to get on, it seemed like he would do so on top of the man, bewildering the Valentinos who were watching him. However, when he lifted his leg, it went through the man with the helmet. Turning off the hologram, leaving Sora as the only occupant of the bike.

Surprising the Valentinos who saw it.

"Thanks for picking me up, pal!" Sora said, looking at the screen of his Yaiba. With The animated face of Eco appeared, barking and asking on the screen, [NP!. Where are we going?]

The Yaiba Kusanagi that Sora was riding on also had Eco riding along. By decoupling the nanobots from his body and regrouping them onto the Yaiba motorcycle, it resulted in an improved and unique version.

The bike boasted an elegant metallic black finish with shimmering blue reflections, giving it an appearance that matches The Merc Okami. It featured black armor plates encasing the bike, while the engine parts were covered with armored panels showcasing a distinctive design in the shape of rectangles composed of smaller squares that slightly protruded. This enhanced its robustness, and straight lines.

One notable feature was the wider wheels, set apart from the engine, featuring with a blue neon circle inside. This particular enhancement, exclusive to Sora, had no connection with Eco`s nanobots but activated only when he rode the bike. The effect was visually captivating, especially when moving at high speeds. The blue lights would flash, leaving a trail of blue neon.

Overall, this version of the Yaiba Kusanagi embodied a more imposing, sturdy, and formidable presence.

-

12 minutes later on Daniels Street in Northside, Watson.

Sora turned off the engine of his Yaiba in a dark area on the outskirts of the private port where Eddie was and it looked like a ship had just docked. Sora examined the images in the air from Fool to check Eddie's whereabouts.

"Eco, stay here," Sora got off the bike, ordering Eco, who didn't like the order to stay alone and started bombarding Sora with messages on his IDn.

"Don't be a kid, you're a bike, what's going to happen, someone steals you?" Sora joked, which didn't amuse Eco. Without permission, Eco removed one of the armor plates and created a small Eco puppy.

When Sora saw Eco disobeying his orders, sitting in front of him, he stared at him without saying anything... "Waf!"... until Eco barked at him like a puppy. Unable to contain himself any longer, he picked up the puppy version of Eco, which had just been revealed for the first time.

"Okay, you can come with me, but don't move, do you hear me?" Sora couldn't refuse the cuteness that emanated from the puppy version of Eco. Placed him on his shoulder, and Eco happily "Waf!" barked like a puppy, holding onto Sora's shoulder, poking his little head out. It was an idea that had occurred to Eco while observing the annoying Crow always perched on Sora`s shoulder... and Eco... feeling envious.

The two were interrupted when they heard gunshots coming from the private port.

"Tch, I told that idiot to hide," being able to see Eddie from Fool in the air, fleeing among the container area while shooting at him for being too curious and exposing himself by wanting to record the people coming off the ship.

-

Meanwhile, in the container section of the private port.

Eddie's POV

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

I curse as Maelstrom bullets whistle near my head, desperately running between the containers of the private port, trying to buy some time. I call myself stupid over and over again, recalling how I was discovered when the Ebunike docked at the port with a bunch of Maelstroms waiting.

During these three years since I've known him, this hasn't been the only time I thought I had something on Greyson... always ending up in a dead end. Imagining once again his sarcastic comments and jokes about my little to no value as a journalist if we don't find him tonight either.

Provoked by my own imagination of his damn comments, I foolishly risked myself to make sure Greyson was on the boat before Okami arrived, which led to be exposed t. "Stupid!"

My lungs were on fire as I was breathing heavily, trying to keep a fast pace. The echoes of gunfire reverberated among the containers as a reminder for me to not stop moving, looking for any small opportunity to buy more time.

But without realizing it, I reach the end of the container section, blocked by the tall fence surrounding the private port. Not knowing what else to do and hearing them getting closer, I grab onto the fence with the intention of climbing it. But as soon as I had barely climbed halfway, I feel something grabbing my leg and pulling me to the ground.

Watching as I recover from the fall,the prosthetic like red camera lenses instead of eyes of the two Maelstroms in front of me. They smile sadistically, aiming their weapons at me on the ground.

Making my heart race, starting pounding frantically and I take a deep breath, preparing for what I thought would be the end. But something unexpected happens... after a faint hiss of air, the expressions of the two Maelstroms changed drastically... when their heads... detach.

Literally falling apart from their bodies. The heads seemed unaware that they had been severed from their bodies until they saw each other on the ground. One of them even tried to scream in horror, but without vocal cords... couldn't produce any sound.

Speechless amidst the severed heads around me and the near-death experience. Until I heard an angry synthetic voice that snap me back to reality, "I told you to hide... Idiot!" Being able to see Okami, when the two headless bodies also fell to the ground. he was sheathing his sword back to his hip after executing a swift and clean cut that didn't even stain the blade with blood, and with... an adorable black fur puppy on his shoulder that "Waf waaf-waf... Waf!" also barked at me, seemingly angry, mimicking Okami's tone...