XelofBloom

23.8

March 1, 2070, at 0739

Otherworld Seattle, Outer Wastes, Jungle Trap#6

Outside the Seattle city’s sprawl, Crystal upon exiting Rabbit’s body found herself in a peculiar situation.

"Did you know your ears are pointed now?" Fluffyfeathers clucked, her spirit chicken-enhanced feathers ruffling in the wind as she exited Rabbit.

“Pointed? What the frag?” Crystal said, her fingers brushing against the tips of her now pointed ears.

Fluffyfeathers flapped her win...

23.7

March 1, 2070, at 0739

Watson, Outside Arasaka Waterfront, Totentanz, Parking Lot #3

An armored RV was parked unassumingly in the Totentanz customer parking lot. A certain cyber-chicken Netrunner had already sliced into the security, paying the parking fee from the club’s slush fund.

It didn’t help the beleaguered hen being dressed down by her vampiric owner. “You are bad with money,” Crystal said bluntly, staring down at Fluffyfeathers as she stood above the normal-...

23.6

February 29, 2070, at 0242

Heywood, Wellsprings, Bulwark, Submerged by the Pier

Rabbit dipped into the sea’s shadows, the RV immersing itself beneath the neon-tinged waters under the chrome pier. With their water tight interface humming to life, the AI jacked into the Net via a fluid virtual dance, dodging the grid's standard I/O ports that most would use. Unlike meatbags, it operated at speeds incomprehensible to mere mortals.

Inside the submerged RV, a scene straight out...

23.5

February 14, 2070, at 1419

Heywood, The Glen, Basketball Court #2

“That’s creepy as fuck.” Padre said, glancing at Crystal lying stretched out beside him on a bleacher. “Total invisibility now instead of just being unseen by electronics. What a nightmare. So? Are you going to turn Arasaka into a bloodbath?”

Crystal shook her head negatively. She’d shifted her clothing to something that approached normal. A T-shirt reading, “Death is the next great adventure.”...

23.4

February 13, 2070 2241

Watson

Underground Northside

Church of Eternal Network’s Relic Chamber

“Monks are bullshit.” Crystal gasped as she ducked another concrete-cracking punch. Even worse, all six of these possessed punching pricks were synchronized. Attacks were not singular as a wave like the finest set of chrome dancing groups.

As she turned to escape, the circle of monks locked tight, their faces cast with glowing red eyes.

There was a weird effe...

Chapter delay till Wed

On the other hand, good news.

I got a firm job offer for a new job today. Been doing all the legal paperwork.

I'll be escaping the difficulties plaguing my current ship and heading for a better, brighter, supercarrier with a Captain at the helm.

Thank you for your patience during this life adventure!

23.3

February 12, 2070, 0719

Sixth Street, Underground Bazaar, Tunnel Eight-Two-Seven

Through the haze of the bustling market and artificial mist, the scent of fried goods wafted prominently. "Stop acting like you've never seen a chicken nugget before," Crystal communicated over her spiritual link with Fluffyfeathers, her tone a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Fluffyfeathers, a cybernetic ninja Netrunner hen, recently shapeshifted into an adorable baby chickling, redirected he...

23.2

February 12, 2070, 0719

Badlands, Rocky Ridge Overlook, Nameless Hill #4

With a vampire’s eye for detail, Crystal monitored the NCPD's maneuvers through strategically positioned cameras around the farmhouse. The NCPD elite team known as S.W.I.F.T. showed deft and coordinated movement. Not far behind them were four NCPD detectives who meticulously scanned the scene.

"Do you think they'll appreciate our...generosity?" Crystal mused aloud, catching sight of a detective pickin...

23.1

January 27, 2070, 0214

Rocky Ridge, Edgewood Farms, Farmhouse #6

Crystal was drained. It wasn't the toll on her body; her vampiric nature ensured she was robust beyond human limits. It was the psychological weight she bore. The task of tidying up after a monstrous individual like the Meatman took a considerable toll on her psyche. What made it graver was her heightened mental sharpness, which would have imprisoned those grotesque images in her mind permanently, had it not been for...

23.0

January 19, 2070, 0214

Rocky Ridge, Edgewood Farms, Farmhouse #6

A weather-worn truck groaned as it approached the isolated farmhouse, its paint flaking and tires kicking up the dirt road behind. While the truck hinted at a world of agrarian simplicity, its driver was far from it. Anthony Harris emerged, sharp features contrasting his rustic surroundings. Emblazoned in loud, contrasting orange letters on a gunmetal gray case, read, “All Foods: Supreme Cow Feed!”. He hoisted it...

22.9

January 18, 2070, 2017

Watson, Konpeki Plaza, Employee Parking Lot #4

Leaping off her chrome-streaked Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X, Crystal shot a cocky smirk towards the neon-tinged horizon of Noir City. "Who needs those scripted Delamain rides or Combat Cabs when you can taste the raw asphalt under your own wheels?" She said with an edge, letting her fingers dance over the freshly downloaded maintenance manual for her beastly bike.

With that signature rogue smile, she reached for ...

22.8

January 18, 2070, 0802

Watson, Konpeki Plaza, Service Entrance

"Wealth," they say, "is just a word." But when it materializes into a luxury hotel that's the epitome of style and extravagance, it becomes something palpable. Crystal Moss had left the kids in the care of Mama Welles, vowing to settle the score within a week. Mama Welles was no charity worker, and it's not like the kids had homes waiting for them. Going back would guarantee a one-way ticket into the clutches of Arasak...

22.7

January 17, 2070, at 0003

Santo Domingo, Kendachi Headquarters

Lucy Kushinada gazed at the drop-box icon, shimmering with the neon silhouette of a chicken, ripped straight out of the Net. To the Overseers, it was just another pixel of darkness in an ocean of data. They were oblivious to it, but Lucy? She found it as impenetrable as the black walls of her cage. For a brief second, flashbacks of the fallen trainees engulfed her thoughts. Logic bombs and digital mines had claimed man...

22.6

January 16, 2070, at 2331

Santo Domingo, Kendachi Headquarters

Crystal's vampiric eyes scanned Kendachi's stronghold, the fruit of days of surveillance. The tight security mesh, comprising guard rotations, surveillance cameras, turret placements, and drones, moved in what seemed like erratic patterns. But she discerned the methodology behind the madness. Unlike Biotechnica, where guards strayed so far from one another they wouldn't notice a colleague getting jammed under a stealth...

22.5

January 10, 2070, at 0631

Heywood, The Glen, Basketball Court #2

Crystal slid onto the bench beside Padre, neon from nearby holo-ads casting a luminescent glow over the ongoing basketball game. The city's dim lumens didn't faze her more than mortality. The visible frustration of the guards orbiting them? Soothing to her nerves like sweet synth music. Nights with Judy, exploring the unknown terrain of their relationship had become her solace, and Padre's early summons today felt li...

22.4

January 7, 2070, at 0915

Little China, Afterlife

Crystal breezed into Afterlife, sleek as optical fiber gliding on chrome, her Unseen Terror—a spectral cloak spun from the fabric of her ability—rendering her invisible to the club's neon-soaked patrons. Her secondary trick of One with All Shadow from an eldritch passive did the same for normal vision outside direct sunlight. She wove her way through the rhythmic pulse of bodies, the crowd parting in unconscious deference, drawn...

22.3

January 6, 2070, at 2358

Pacifica, West Wind Apartments, Roof

Crystal leaned on the ledge of West Wind Apartments, letting her gaze drift over the sprawling Biotechnica protein farm stretching south of Pacifica. Like a neon-lit monolith carved from the rotting heart of Noir City, it was a sight that seized the eyes and throttled the mind - a neon oasis in a desert of darkness.

A colossal patchwork of hydroponic towers, artificial ponds, and sprawling greenhouses stood defian...

22.2 (NSFW)

January 6, 2070, at 1912

Kabuki, Lizzie’s Bar, Private Lounge C3

Lounging on the slick neon-drenched divan across from Judy, Crystal was the picture of vampiric perfection. Her recent attribute splurge had jacked all of them to a wicked twelve. Her Fluid Grace and Sword Dancing skills were also dialed to the max at twelve apiece. With her Blood Rites and Arcane Engineering barely a blip at three and two, they were the variables in this twisted equation that had brought them to t...

22.1

January 6, 2070, at 0700
Parque Del Mar, Apartment #317

Crystal's irises flared open on the couch, blazing red. The cocktail of varied blood had propelled her from a greenhorn Fledgling to a middling Commoner. But she had a grip on the Bloodline Rank gig now. From Fledgling to Commoner was all about quantity. Hitting Noble status would call for quality. And to leap Ancient? That required a lab, and her Blood Rituals and Arcane Engineering skills had to be on point.

And Soverei...

22.0

January 5, 2070, at 1001
Gold Beach Marina, Slip #4, The Holy Ghost

Draped languorously across the plush deck of a flashy yacht, Crystal floated in the glitziest harbor Noir City had to show. On the other side, Padre was slumped, channeling a Corpo on vacay, decked out in tropical prints, garish shorts, and flip-flops that would trigger a fashionista's gag reflex.

Crystal, undisturbed by their current predicament's ins and outs, sank deeper into the deck chair. Meanwhile, Sgt....

21.9

January 4, 2070, at 2044
Jig-Jig Street, Megabuilding H8, Clouds

Crystal sauntered through security as though it was a phantom. The clucking chicken somewhat hampered the task in her arms, but the hiccup was nothing her Unseen Terror ability couldn't handle. She was there to visit a friend and wasn't inclined to play nice. Dolls gave her the heebie-jeebies, no doubt about it. People insisted their memories were wiped clean, but Crystal was skeptical. In her book, information was pow...

21.8

January 4, 2070, at 0122
Metro, Glen South Line, Car #2

Barely scraping by the 01:30 mark, Crystal finally skidded into her appointment with Jackie Welles, brushing off the remnants of a handful of inconveniences that were now nursing shattered egos and broken noses. Just as she shot past Megabuilding H2, her brain vibrated with the arrival of a packet of compressed data, adorned with the imposing logo of a fire-breathing chicken.

During her mad dash to the Metro, she hadn't h...

21.7

January 3, 2070, at 1949
Parque Del Mar, Apartment #317

Crystal observed a peculiar spectacle unfolding before her. Nestled at a table in her lobby, two figures were locked in a silent, intense exchange. On one side sat Nota, the enigmatic Eldritch AI; on the other perched a spirit familiar, the hen named Sgt. Fluffyfeathers. A bizarre, unspoken conversation seemed to be transpiring between the duo—eventually, Sgt. Fluffyfeathers clucked in what appeared to be agreement. Nota exte...

21.6 Interlude: The Padre

January 3, 2070, at 0511
The Glen, Penthouse Suite #2

Sebastian Ibarra, the city's preeminent troubleshooter, was roused from his slumber by an urgent notification. His profession demanded availability around the clock, given the unpredictable nature of the city's underworld. As he read the message from his recent asset, his eyes expanded with astonishment. Wasting no time, he contacted Jose Ortiz, a novice in the Valentino gang notorious for his engagement in Animal gladiatorial co...

21.5

January 3, 2070, at 0019
Parque Del Mar, Apartment #317

As the thin veil of sleep lifted, Crystal stood on the precipice of an unfathomable lake, the liquid shimmering a deep, intense red. Her hair, now flowing to her feet like a silver river, began to shift in color, absorbing the ruby hue of the lake beneath her. A chilling realization crept over her - her hair consumed the red substance. Then the word flashed in her mind, breaking the trance-like serenity.

Blood.

Her ...

21.4

January 2, 2070, at 1328
The Glen Metro: North Line, Car #6

Crystal had slipped into the Metro at the last moment, her fare for a monthly pass secured by the generous mercy payment of two hundred Eurodollars from Padre. Courtesy of her Shadow Armor, which turned her outfit into an eerie Halloween costume, most passengers barely glanced in her direction. "Isn't it amusing how less attention you get when you try to stand out?" Nota, her Eldritch AI companion, quipped as she arranged h...

21.3

January 2, 2070, at 1114
The Glen, Basketball Court #3

The journey to the Glen had taken Crystal many arduous hours, her path marked by a string of disregarded fatalities. 6th Street appeared to be pressing in for a territory grab again. Her innate intelligence told her the surveillance cameras wouldn't catch her executing her self-defense, a choreography of survival. Guided effortlessly by Nota, her Eldritch AI, she was at the basketball courts. There, spotting the man known as Pad...

21.2

January 2, 2070, at 0803
Megabuilding H3, Apt #4381

Awakened by the reproachful stare of a mother hen, Crystal Moss shook off the haze of sleep. "Ah, neglected your breakfast, did I?" Crystal muttered, a yawn breaking her words. Her hand lazily directed an automatic dispenser, sending a share of Chi-Grain tumbling into the food bowl. Sgt. Fluffyfeathers, the indignant hen, shot her one final scolding glance before succumbing to the allure of the food. But a lingering question troubl...

21.1

January 1, 2070, at 1959
Megabuilding H3, Apt #4381

Crystal Moss held her gaze transfixed on the email on her laptop screen. It bore the grim news that her application to the prestigious Arasaka Academy was rejected. She didn't meet their stringent requirements. There would be no subsidized housing, no monthly stipend as she had so ardently planned.

Damn, Crystal thought, her eyes lingering on the harsh words of refusal. I don’t have Eurodollars to cover next mon...