Chapter 8

"Hell yeah! The looks on their faces when I showed up to class with this thing disguised as an old-gen device were fucking priceless. They were straight-up sneering at me, but then they got left in the dust by its processing speed—watching them scramble to catch up was hilarious! Man, I wish I coulda shown Jugra that shit!"

I forced a strained smile at David, who was grinning at me like he’d just pulled off the funniest joke in the world. Meanwhile, I was internally reeling at how spectacularly I’d derailed the original plot.

So, the day I picked up David in front of the tower was the same day Doc got his hands on that device.

Which meant I’d also completely wrecked that fateful day—the one where the device malfunctioned and took down every other piece of tech around it.

And, of course, Gloria never got called to the Academy over David’s screw-up, so that drive with her never happened.

Meaning they never got caught up in the Animals’ corpo-car ambush.

...Shit. What the hell do I do now?

Gloria was an EMT, but she was also a low-key scavenger—the kind who stripped cyberware off corpses. The day before, she’d ripped a military prototype Sandevistan off a cyberpsycho named James Norris.

And it was supposed to end up with Maine—the leader of the crew David would eventually join.

But in the original timeline, after the attack, Gloria didn’t get picked up by Trauma Team. Instead, she got dumped in one of Night City’s shittiest hospitals.

From what you hear in the original story, that place had some fucked-up system where the more patients they crammed in, the more they could dodge taxes. So anyone without trauma insurance got used as corpo points fodder, chewed up and spat out. This city’s a real shithole.

Then, with Gloria barely treated and likely killed for something, David would’ve ransacked their home for cash to cover her hospital bills—only to stumble on the military-grade Sandevistan she’d hidden.

And after getting bullied at Arasaka Academy over his tech, David would’ve taken it to Doc… That’s how it was supposed to go.

"Oh yeah? Then check this out. This thing’s literally spec-ops miltech—it’s gotta still have the footage."
"Seriously? Hell yeah! Heh, wonder what Katsuo and them would do if they knew their pathetic faces got recorded?"

By fixing the device issue, I’d saved Gloria’s life. Now, the future was a blank slate.

Well, I’d been wrong about one thing.

In the original timeline, David becomes a legend a year before V hits Night City as a solo merc.

Meaning he was supposed to go out in a blaze of glory, fighting Adam Smasher in a straight-up inhuman battle at Arasaka Tower. But right now? This was the exact same timeline as Edgerunners—one year before David’s big finale.

…Yeah, I really screwed up.

But hey, maybe a future where he becomes an edgerunner without self-destructing wouldn’t be so bad.

Honestly, the David I wanted was the one right in front of me—not the one who’d get his hands on that military Sandevistan, install it, and burn himself out.

That Arasaka miltech was a goddamn wild beast.

The compatibility rate was barely 1%. External implants like mine were one thing, but a Sandevistan that digs into your spine and tangles with your nerves? No way that ends well.

I mean, come on—thirty seconds at 5% perception, with just a one-minute cooldown? That’s monster specs.

Even in the original, the top-tier QianT Sandevistan Mk.5 "Warp Dancer" only gave eight seconds at 10% perception with a thirty-second cooldown.

Anyone with half a brain could see how insane David was for running that prototype nonstop.

If Maine had installed it? He’d have flatlined on the first try. Heh, talk about next-day news.

So… what now?

Originally, David was supposed to meet Lucy in Maine’s crew, bond with a bunch of cyberpunk veterans, and go out as a legend.

But this David? No hunger, no drive to claw his way up from rock bottom. Just a sixteen-year-old kid who’d laugh off wrecking some rich brats.

…Wait. Maybe I’m thinking about this wrong.

What if I just make him a cyberpunk? I’ve got all the control here.

Hell, if he joins Arasaka later, V’s just gonna burn it all down anyway—better to skip that mess.

Heh, talk about insider trading. Arasaka’s stock’s gonna crash harder than a drunk Maelstromer.

"Oh man, look at this! Veins popping, desperately trying to keep up—fucking gold!"

"Damn, his face is red. Imagine if we posted this on the boards?"

Actually, David didn’t need that military Sandevistan.

His reaction time’s gotta be around 20. Which means… yeah, I want that Warp Dancer.

Where was it sold again? Downtown Ripperdoc, the one with all the Legendary gear?

Even Finn had a Sandevistan Mk.4 in the original, and that guy looked like he couldn’t afford a pack of smokes. Must be some plot-convenient supply chain.

For continuous use, triple-stack Legendary Heat Sinks and a Bioconductor would be ideal.

I’ve got the specs, and my skills are more than enough to craft it.

A Legendary Bioconductor slashes cyberware cooldown by 30%.

Warp Dancer’s base cooldown is 30 seconds. Each Heat Sink cuts 4 seconds (so triple-stack = 18 sec), then the Bioconductor shaves off another 5.4, bringing it down to 12.6—call it 12, like in the original.

…Still, against someone with the military prototype, he’d lose. That 5% perception gap is the difference between human and monster.

Adam Smasher was probably running a full miltech loadout—official release, not the beta crap.

My guess? The "prototypes" floating around were just data-collection toys—seeing how much they could downgrade before normies imploded.

All just to fine-tune Adam’s gear. Fucking disgusting.

"Hey, David. Got a question."

"Huh? What’s up, Jugra?"

"You really wanna be a cyberpunk?"

In the end, that’s what it all came down to.

No point backing someone who doesn’t want it.

But if there’s even a shred of that hunger in him? Maybe it’s worth believing in.

Because this is David Martinez. The legend who rode the edge in another life.

…Sure, yesterday I panicked when he called me out. But in the end, this is why I trust him.

"What if I said yes?"

"I'm gonna be your patron. I’ll be your personal ripper, your fixer liaison, and support you through every step of your cyberpunk journey."

"...Huh?"

"Hey, don’t give me that look, Legend Kid. You’ve got talent—I saw it. David, the response speed I pulled from your data on this device? It’s way above average. You’ve got legendary potential."

"...Me?"

"Yeah, you. I don’t plan on dying as just some ripper doc. I wanna see a legend rise. What do you say, David? Wanna take a bite out of it? Become more than just another tale—become a living legend?"

Not some no-name rogue who survived by the skin of his teeth—I want to witness the real deal.

I want to see someone rise beyond that bastard Smasher, stand at the pinnacle of Night City, stomp Arasaka into the dirt, and become a true legend.

I mean, come on. We were born in this city. This filthy, messed-up, and somehow impossibly dazzling place.

Forget the old stories—those grave-marker legends people just recite. I want to see a legend the whole world has no choice but to recognize.

The real thing. That rush and brilliance V gave us when they defied death itself.

And more than anything—I want to aim for the absolute best, in an environment where we can actually reach it.

Keep David Martinez alive. Stop the tragedy that was Jackie Welles. Stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Valerie’s legend.

Tell me—who wouldn't want to see that golden sight?

As someone who lived through V’s brutal path firsthand, this is the only flower I can offer up in tribute.

It’s all because of whoever it was that broke the chain called “Dad.”

Guess that’s proof I was always meant to live as a true cyberpunk.

I didn’t have the body for combat, so I ran down the path of a techie—but with this kid beside me, backing me up, there’s nothing I can’t do.

"...Sorry. Can I think it over?"

"Yeah, of course. Mull it over. Think hard and give me your answer."

I glance sideways at David, watching him stare at Katsuō’s pathetic mess with a bitter expression.

Right now, David's nothing more than a 16-year-old kid with dreams of being a cyberpunk.

It’s not like Amuro, driven by necessity. Not like Simon, chasing after a way of life he admired.

I’m just some devil whispering temptation to a kid who’s still just... David.

Well, I do need a backup plan, so I’m not gonna force him.

Sandevistan’s got a fatal flaw, after all. It’s great for dodging bullets, but it can’t handle close-quarters combat.

Once two users activate their Sandevistans, it becomes a battle of who lands the first hit.

Anyone who farmed MaxTac to grind blade skills in the original knows—sure, you can dodge mid-range gunfire, but close-range strikes? Those were always lethal.

If it’s a straight bullet, maybe you’ve got a chance. But a melee strike, a sweeping line of force? That’s harder to dodge—and the closer they are, the less time you’ve got.

Which is exactly why my Monowire is the trump card in a fight against a Sandevistan.

It literally is a line that attacks. The only way to dodge is backwards—and if we’re moving at the same speed, even that’s not possible.

If he says no, I’ll go it alone. That’s what a Plan B usually is, anyway.

"Alright then, David. Let’s get to work. Starting today, you’re suiting up for the job."

"Uh, yeah. What am I supposed to wear?"

"Snagged it off the NCPD’s med team—legally, of course. Gotta admit, it’s got a vibe, huh?"

David’s yellow jacket—the one he wore throughout Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

It’s an EMT jacket, just like his mother Gloria used to wear—but this one’s brand new.

My funds aren’t so shallow I’d make him wear hand-me-downs. And more importantly, it’d be meaningless.

He already crumbled under the weight of someone else’s dream. No way I’m giving him something secondhand.

That gloomy expression from earlier vanishes, replaced by pure joy. He looks just like a kid again.

"...Wait. Wasn’t I just about to shove my dream onto him?"

Good thing I snapped out of it.

Damn, that was close. I almost ended up being the one to force a dream on him—just like Gloria did.

No way... is this what they call narrative convergence? Like fate pulling things back on track no matter how hard you resist?

...Nah, that’s ridiculous.

If anything, this is the real charm of David Martinez.

He makes you want to believe in him. Makes you want to entrust him with your dream.

...Well, maybe it's fine for him to stay just a kid for a while longer. Just another student at the Academy.

That innocent smile, beaming with pride at wearing his parent’s uniform, ends up stealing my heart again.