Cyberpunk: Archangel

Chapter 16: Angelus Ex Machina

Michael was pulled out of his catatonic state by a loud explosion erupting out of Eden's core. He said nothing as he looked down at Smasher's headless body one last time, kicked it off its knees, knocking it to the ground with a thud, and rocketed back up to the floor above him. Most of the team were still there, surrounding the crater that had formed around the hole to the second floor. The fire that had started as a result of his fight against Smasher had spread even further. Everyone surrounding the crater were all staring at Michael. Whether they were impressed, or it was out of fear, Michael did not know. "Well I'll be damned...." Rogue said in amusement, stepping forward to get a closer look at the severed robotic head Michael held in his hand as he landed back on the ground. "You actually did it. You killed Adam Smasher."

Michael remained silent as he walked past her, in the direction of the hangar. "Michael?" Rogue asked, concerned as to why he seemingly ignored her. Michael turned back to look at her, and her face sank, finally noticing who was missing. "Where's Falco?" She asked, although from the tone of her voice, it sounded like she already knew the answer. "Didn't make it." Michael replied, his voice completely devoid of any emotion. The sound and sight of several different explosions filled the entire space station, as the instability of Eden's core was causing the station to rip itself apart. Michael turned back around, and continued walking towards the hangar. The rest of the team followed behind him, as the massive tree in the middle of the artificial landscape collapsed through the floor, and crumbled in on itself.

The amount of forces they had left were only enough to fill one space plane, so everyone piled into the same one Michael rode in on. As soon as they stepped inside, Michael headed towards the cockpit, where the ice bath was set up for Lucy's netrunning. Michael's stature remained unchanged as the doors to the cockpit swung open, and he saw Lucy's lifeless body on the floor. She had crawled out of the ice bath, and was laying next to a pile of blood which had leaked out of her mouth and nose. Michael felt completely apathetic as he looked down at the lifeless shell that had once been a friend. He wanted to be sad, but he knew exactly what he was going to come back to. Michael felt a touch on his shoulder, and turned around, seeing V, as well as the others standing behind him. "Sometimes, you lose people you care about on the job," V said in a reassuring tone. "It's rough, but it's just the nature of the Biz."

While Michael appreciated V's attempt at consoling him, he stayed silent as he walked past him and everyone else, and sat down in one of the seats. Michael silently looked down at the Smasher's head, which he had still been holding, as the space plane started up and they began their flight back to the "City of Dreams".

Night City, North Oak Columbarium, July 20, 2081

Once the team had returned to Night City, the first thing Michael did was talk to Gary. He had Gary graft Smasher's metal head onto his shoulder, as a war trophy of sorts. After that, Michael had gone to the Columbarium, and he stood in front of Rebecca's niche, blankly staring at it. He did not move, and he did not sleep. It had been about a day straight, and Michael's actions did not change. Rogue and V both tried to call him, which Michael completely ignored. He stood, and he stared at the niche. Nothing more.

"Michael!" a voice called out. Michael recognized that it was Rogue, but he didn't turn to look at her. He heard two sets of footsteps approaching him, so he assumed V was with her. "Michael, you've been radio silent since yesterday." Rogue continued. "We just want to know how you're holding up."

Michael remained silent, and continued to stare forward. "Look, Michael...." V chimed in. "We may seem like we're all Biz, but we're just.... concerned. We just wanted to check up on you, to know how you're feelin'."

"You already know how I feel...." Michael responded, not moving his sight away from the niche. V walked up to Michael, and began to reach out to place his hand on his shoulder. But he awkwardly paused for a moment, noticing Smasher's head grafted to Michael's shoulder, and instead patted him on the back. "Lucy and Falco knew what they were signing up for when they stuck around for the job." Rogue explained. "Most Mercs would rather go out guns blazing, and I'd like to think it was the same case for both of them as well. I'm sure they wouldn't have wanted to go out in any other way."