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Cyberpunk 2020

Bob felt bad when Johnny picked him up and carried him inside. Getting a shotgun shoved into your ass is something you can not walk away from, literally. "You are pretty strong..." Bob muttered as he was impressed that a scrawny little man could carry a pudgy cop.

Bob was placed on an examination table and asked to lie on his belly where the doctor cleaned his abrasions on his ass and inserted something cold to examine the damage, followed by an injection of healing nanites. Then Bob was scanned and a few broken ribs were discovered. There was nothing serious except major bruising.

The doctor was very efficient. Within minutes, Bob was patched up placed on a wheelchair. "You should be ready in 1 hour, no major organs damaged, consider yourself lucky."
 
"Yeah. I pick things up and put them down. I won't need to go to the gym, today. Thanks," Johnny really wasn't the most sympathetic sort, but he did say, "Alright. Let's get you fixed up." Which was almost encouraging if Bob wanted it to be. In fact, Johnny was so interested in Bob's well being that he recorded his anal exam. "So, officer Bob. Why do you think you've been the target of so many attacks, both violent and sexual, recently?"

"You were on an upswing, even took out some of your attackers last round, didn't you?"

"What's your training regime?"

"If you could pick your attacker, what sort of person would you most prefer to assault you?"

He continued throughout the medical procedure. Once Bob was settled in his wheelchair, Johnny even continued, even though Bob's face wasn't as comical to interview. "Are you considering retiring, or do you like the recent action?"
 
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Max checked the brochure on cyberarm and various options. "Damn, some of these are cool but kinda expensive... Storage space? What next? Cup holders?"

"So, the meat arm is finally getting replaced." The doctor said as he injected nanites into Max. "I don't think it can be saved anyway without hindering your work."

"Ya, but there are so many things that I want in my arm." Max said. "How fast can it be online?"

"I have an Arasaka combat arm. Built in ripper, reinforced joints, EMP shielding, Realskinn, with armor under. Just arrived, all in for $4k" The doctor said.

"Is it my skincolor?" Max asked.

"That can be changed." The doctor said. "You have pain editor on, so the surgery should be quite easy. You should be done in an hour."

"Do I get free healing nanites for all my friends?" Max asked.

"err.... how..." The doctor asked and was interrupted by Max.

"Just the few of us here." Max said and pointed at Bob, Johnny and Mio. "Come on, I do all my upgrades here."

Max winked at Mio and the doctor reluctantly agreed.
 
Johnny winced when he got a closer look at the ruined meat of Max's arm. "Sis... shit... was it worth it?" It briefly crossed his mind that there were literally people walking around with genetically identical arms.. but he actually wince when he thought about actually retrieving one for her. "Why not just get a chainsaw, then? Or, at least that cup holder. And a roofie dispenser. You'll have better luck when we go clubbing."

When the doctor agreed to free healing nanites for everyone, Johnny held up a hand to halt him. "Already got 'em... what else you got for free?" That his ass no longer ached from the mechanical piston last night was testament to how well his nanites worked.
 
Mio's whole face is covered by the combination of the mask and the mirror shades. Even if she wasn't wearing the disguise, she can't exactly emote with the lower half of her face. Metal isn't very good at making facial expressions. However, in spite of all this, Max can feel Mio smile at her. She says, "Thank you" even with the slight robotic edge that her voice has, Max can detect genuine gratitude in her voice. It's weird how someone who made 7k just the other day could be so stingy. It's not like she even has much in her account saved up. What on earth could Mio be spending or planning to spend the money on?

Whatever her expenses might be, Mio would not say no to free shit. She happily lets the doctor inject nanites into her. With this, she should be back to solo-ing in no time. She turns to look at Max's mangled arm and feels sad. She's been there before. At least Max seems willing and even slightly excited to get a cyberware replacement, unlike herself.
 
"So, officer Bob. Why do you think you've been the target of so many attacks, both violent and sexual, recently?"

"Errr... I don't know." Bob said.

"You were on an upswing, even took out some of your attackers last round, didn't you?"

"Ya, I guess." Bob said.

"What's your training regime?"

"Nothing new, except now I had some new cyberwear as I was paralyzed." Bob said.

"If you could pick your attacker, what sort of person would you most prefer to assault you?"

Bob kept quiet, this kinda felt like trolling now.

"Are you considering retiring, or do you like the recent action?"

"Night city is dangerous, but if we give up just like that, then the criminals win." Bob said.
 
Everything was a blur to Max. She was just planning to tag along to go to the police station and meet the dildo cop but ended up losing an arm. She was not sure why she did what she did, perhaps it was for the twins, or at least that was what she would want to think. Was it worth it, Max was still unsure.

Max pretended to be braver than she really is. When the doctor used a bonesaw to cut off her mangled arm, although she felt no pain, she still cried as the loss was real and irreversible. She did not want the others to know and quickly wiped off her tears as the cyberarm was installed. Because it was not her first cyberarm and she already had neuralware, getting a new cyberarm and controlling it was easy.

A short while later, Max met up with Johnny and showed off her new arm, looks like a real human arm, but with illegal rippers installed. "Stronger, faster, armored." Max said and popped her claws. "Ok, now how do I retract them..."

Max looked at the 2 twins. "What do we do with them now?" Max said. "I think they are still hunted and since they are grown for organs, they will be returned and harvested. This is fucked up."

Max looked at Bob and Mio as they were not clones. For clones, this problem is real and something they face everyday.
 
As China has no extridation pact with the United States, they sent their own Solos to retrieve the clones. Within hours of their arrival, a group of solos raided a small Arasaka data center to try to get information on the clones. A few guards and tech person were killed but there was no information on the clones.

The solos found some information on the clones in Night City and so they decided to go as well.

============================================================================

These solos were on a short timeline to find the clones. They had no contacts and their first way of getting information was to use the police to do their work. One of the solos put on a disguise as one of the clones and started to massacre some homeless people in an alley. Then they started monitoring the police radios as the story developed.
 
Johnny looked thoroughly unimpressed with Officer Bob's interview. "So... your welcome for literally carrying you to safety, and thanks for that interview." Then he turned to the generous doctor, "Hey, doc, you got any kind of armor buttplugs or something for this guy?" Then he winked over his shoulder at Bob, "I got'cha covered, dude."

Johnny put on a brave face for Max, but the thought of losing a limb was something he found dreadful. He'd only gotten minor upgrades, and liked his naturally enhanced body. "Well, it looks good. Well, normal," and he gave her bicep a little squeeze. "Will flickin' your bean feel like someone else is doing it?" As Max looked to the twins, Johnny took her hand and almost comically pinched a claw and tried to push it back in. "I dunno. Start a farm out in the countryside where all the little clone boys and little clone girls can scamper through the tall grass? Realistically, no idea. I could pack in a few shoulder to shoulder at my place, but that would impede my ability to pay for it. Two can live in your car. But are they even trained? Can they take care of themselves? My heart goes out, for real. You know that. But I don't know what to do with them long-term. Especially if there are more." He glanced between Bob ad Mio, then spoke in an even lower tone. "Bob can't know. He's still a piggie. Mio seems cool.. but she might be hard up enough for money to sell 'em. We've known her, what, three days?"
 
With Bob in the wheel chair and Mio feeling better thanks to the nanites. She decides to give Bob a proper greeting. She takes off her cap, her mirror shades and her non metallic mask that was over her metallic one. She leans over to Bob and waves to him. "Hi Bob. How's it going. I see you have new cyberware now. You're pretty famous for some reason. So do you get paid more now?"
 
"All of them are quite ok so far..." Max said. "They did not run when faced with that fucking killing machine."

Max browsed some recent jobs. There were some Chinese Solos who are wanted. "Chinese Solos in Night City?" Max said. "So they are here taking our jobs?"

Max looked at Bob. "What kind of house do you have?" Can you take care of the kids? Be sure they are safe?"

Max needed a plan, she does not know what the kids can do or how they will get by, but knowing clones are always made with perfect DNA, they should be pretty healthy and free from problems. Probably smart as well.
 
Bob was feeling much better after the injections and even Mio was talking to him.

"Hi Bob. How's it going. I see you have new cyberware now. You're pretty famous for some reason. So do you get paid more now?"

"They broke my spine, I had no choice and was given some cyberware." Bob said. "Not sure why I am famous... And no, I don't get paid more or have any form of sponsorship... although I did not pay for my cyberware, I assumed my insurance covered it."

"What kind of house do you have?" Can you take care of the kids? Be sure they are safe?"

"I have a little cop apartment." Bob said. "It is like a studio apartment with no windows. Not sure how safe it is, several officers live in my block, subsidized by the city."

================================================================================

The clones kept a low profile and could blend well as many of them learned to speak English and come from a middle income family. They found the local Chinese grocers and easily got a job and in Chinatown, they fit right in.

The Chinese solos focused their search in Chinatown and started working with the local gangs as well to look for the clones. "Fuck, they are probably not in the system, how do we find them?" One of the Chinese Solo muttered. "Getting the data from the police will not help too."

"We need others to help us find them." One of the solos said and put on the disguise to look like one of the clones again and proceeded to enter a militech office tower and started firing at people, killed 3 guards and 4 office workers before running away.

The solo entered a Arasaka tower and managed to murder a guard to get his pass, then proceeded to the security office and killed the other guards. The solo then found a weapons lab and killed several scientists before escaping with some research data.

"That should get some attention." The solo said and as he met with the other Chinese Solo, "We shall see the bounty increase and hopefully, they flush the clones out for us.
 
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"Ok, it's settled. We will leave the kids with the cop first." Max said to Bob. "Keep them a secret ok?"

Max turned to Johnny and said. "I think that can free us for a while until we can figure what to do next."

Max looked at her phone and saw some new contracts. "Some chinese guy murdering hobos caught on police camera... Wanted, $6k bounty... seems like easy money. Mio, going on a vacation? Need extra cash? When someone finds them, we probably can take this guy down... Interested?"
 
Mio reloads her automatic with more armor piercing rounds and says, "I'll only be gone for a day. You know I'm always up for extra cash." If she could get at least a share of that 6k bounty, she'd have more money left over to spend on herself a bit more. She already paid the month's expenses but she'd still have to live in her car. Maybe she can loosen up a bit or even get a saving going.
 
"Wait, I'm not a babysitter." Bob said. "I can't be taking care of the kids, I still have to go to work."

The kids looked at Bob and said. "Hey, we are old enough to make our own sandwiches."

"Um... I ...." Bob muttered and was interrupted by the kids.

"No one asked what we want... we just want to live..." One of the boys said.

"Um, ok... I guess you can stay at my little apartment for now." Bob said.

The kids were not injured and once everyone was done at the doctor's, Bob could get up and with little help, make it home with the kids. Bob's apartment was a little messy and empty. Since he was living alone, his "cop stuff" was all over the apartment and he had to pack up a little and made up the couch for the kids to sleep in. He kept his gun in a safe and went to the vending machine to buy some snacks for the kids. Bob was not much of a father, he had kids once before the divorce and the wife took the kids. This may be a second chance for him since he is much older and probably more responsible.

========================================================================================

One of the Chinese Clones Xi was exploring Night City and went to the subway station and checked out the route. The cameras picked him out as a wanted person and the subway police approached him. "Freeze!" A cop said. "Put your hands where I can see em..."

As the cop approached, the other cop kept his gun and took out his cuffs. As he reached the clone, the clone kicked away the gun from the cop in front and elbowed the cop with the cuffs. The cop bend forward and the clone kneed his jaw and the cop collapsed. The other cop reached for his tazer but the clone spun around with a turning kick, landing a kick to the face and the cop collapsed.

A few more subway police arrived and shot at the clone and he ran. The clone was fast but was cornered by the cops as he was not familiar with the subway and ran into the toilet. "Fuck... dead end!"

The cops waited outside, unsure on how else to proceed as there were already 2 cops unconscious.
 
"I know," Johhny replied to Max in a hushed tone. "They're ok for killing things that are trying to kill them and making money. We're also worth money. Bob seems decent enough, though. We can see how it goes with the kids. At least they can take him."

Johnny shared a smirk between Max and Mio. "Already ready to go up against other solos? Is the paint even dry on your new arm?" He just didn't have the drive to prove himself physically the way Max did. But at least it made life interesting when he got pulled into her activities. "What do you two think about a all-bad bitch show about two ladies putting the smack down on all sorts for cash? I think it'd sell, as long as someone flashes a titty every now and then." It was hard to tell if he was serious. Johnny had a tendency to voice a while idea and then solidify it in his mind only after others agreed. It was an easy way to not take responsibility, as he wasn't serious, and also take credit if it worked out well. Like going to chat with Bob at the station.

"Well, kids. You're gonna hang with a genuine celebrity hero cop while we figure out what to do for longer term. Take our contact info if anything comes up." He gave his phone number and other online contact methods to the twins, and did his best to look reassuring that they wouldn't need to use it.
 
Max had an alert on the clone and her new cyberarm has not even been run in yet. "Damn it..." Max muttered and showed Mio the alert that the subway police have spotted the wanted killer. "Did not expect it to be so soon. Probably can only do a recon trip."

Max tried gripping her new cyberarm and making a fist and it failed to do it the first time and she started to slowly clench her fist. "Oh boy...." Max muttered. "Perhaps you should go for your day off... let me get more info and update everyone. Don't worry, I am not in fighting shape yet..."
 
Bob cleaned up the apartment and showed the kids where the snacks are and went to bed. He was tired and had to visit friends who were in the hospital and do some desk duties. He woke up the next day and the kids were up and they had already finished up the snacks. He made some sandwiches and gave the kids some, and decided to get more groceries.

"I'm going out for a while. Don't trash the place... Uncle Bob will be back soon." Bob said and went to get more bread, ham and vegetables.

As Bob was shopping, he spotted a chinese lady in work clothes for a restaurant. He patrols around the area and knows most faces and she looked new. Bob recalled seeing some wanted Chinese people and checked his phone, but all Chinese looked alike to him. "She may be wanted or illegal." Bob muttered and approached her.

"Hey, I'm Bob, I live around here, have not seen you around before... new to the area?" Bob asked and she quickly avoided Bob and walked away. Bob frowned and did not push it. She did not seem to cause any trouble. She was paying at the counter and short of 4 creds and Bob went over and paid for her. She nodded at Bob and hurried away.

"Okay... a thank you would be nice." Bob said and proceeded to do his shopping and returned home.

"Here are some ingredients to make your sandwich." Bob said as he placed the things in the refrigerator. His house looked bare, he never saw it that way as there were always uniforms and paperwork strewn about and it was never clean. "I need to go to work."

"What's work?" A kid asked.

"I'm a police officer." Bob said. "I protect and help people."

Bob grabbed his uniform and showed the kids and they were shocked and frightened.

"Hey.. its ok, I won't harm you. I protect people." Bob said.

"Others like that tried to catch us." The kid said.

"I am not like them. GCPD... We are the good guys..." Bob said.

"Why are you fat? Why do you have so little hair?" The kid asked.

"Um... I need to go to work." Bob said. "Let me turn on the TV."

Bob had a small 30 inch screen which he almost never used, and he switched to some cartoon channels for the kids. They looked restless and Bob would have to deal with them later.

=====================================================================================

The clone exited the toilet, smashed the cameras and saw 4 cops drawing their guns. "Too slow..." The clone said and rushed at a cop and rammed him into the wall and he slumped to the ground. A cop drew his gun but his arm was grabbed and he was flipped to the ground and a stomp to the back of his neck snapped his spine. She grabbed the faces of the other 2 cops and rammed their face on the wall and a crunch sound was heard and they dropped lifelessly to the ground.

An old cop spotted Xi taking the wallets of the cops and fired at her. She was hit in the sholders and she turned and reached the old cop and his gun was shoved into his helmet and she squeezed the trigger. 2 more Subway cops arrived and their heads were grabbed and she snapped their necks. She looked at her shoulders and she took a dagger and cut out the ammo and applied a pad found in a cop's pocket to stop the bleeding. She heard footsteps and plump sergeant arrived and was shocked to see his men on the ground. Xi covered his mouth and shoved his gun into his neck. "Bring me out and you will live."
 
Mio puts her gun away and says, "Yeah, I you should take it easy for a bit." She then takes a glance at Max's new cyberarm and says, "Big bulky stuff like that; it takes a while to get used to. Do you have a safe place to stay and friends and family who can take care of you? You should rest for a few days and get used to cyberware. Maybe skip this wanted killer and go for the next wanted killer. I'll tag along if you think you'll need help."
 
As the kids left, Max looked at Johnny and asked, "What are we going to do in the long term? Can Bob defend the kids?"

===================================================================================

Max went home to rest, hopefully get used to the cyberarm better.

After a nap, Max got up and turned off her pain editor and she could feel terrible pain where the arm joint was located and as she touched things with the new cyberarm, she could feel the items she touched. But as the pain got worse, Max turned the pain editor on again and dialed the pain down. "So, I can feel with that arm too."

Max decided to do some exercise and try to have better control of the arm first. She continued to monitor on the news and saw a news coverage on the Chinese guy at the subway. "Fuck, missing out on an opportunity here." Max complained and decided to turn off the phone. "Maybe I'll check later and focus on recovery first.
 
Johnny reached to squeeze Max's shoulder reassuringly, but then switched at the last second to the one that held her real arm. "Sucks.. but it looks good. You really need to go rest up. Looks like we all took a vote. You're not fighting anything for the rest of tonight or tomorrow, at the least."

Johnny turned to Mio, "You're off the hook for an interview. I got it straight from the cow," grinning over at Bob. "But do something else interesting, and I'll get you some air time. I guess I'll likely see you again soon, thanks for watchin' Max's back." He offered her his hand, actually overtly friendly for the first time since they met.

If there was no further business, Johnny headed home and got to work editing his interview with Bob. He prefaced his broadcast with a summary of the recent attacks on the police station, leaving out anything about Max, Mio, or clones. He did frame the event as if he'd saved the celebrity Officer Dildo from certain death.

Johnny: "So, Officer Bob. Why do you think you've been the target of so many attacks, both violent and sexual, recently?"
Bob: "Nothing new. I was paralyzed."

Johnny: "Wow. That sounds rough. I'd be paralyzed by fear if a pack of solos attacked me, too. Though, I think I'd probably enjoy the aftermath a bit more than you did. [laugh] So, Bob, tell me. With this sudden surge in violent activity directed against the police, what do you see for the future of Night City?"
Bob: "the criminals win."

Johnny: "Is there any reason you can think of that we all shouldn't give up and just descend into chaotic debauchery?"
Bob: "Errr... I don't know."

Johnny: "Wow. You're not an optimist, Bob. So, we should probably all just fuck and loot our hearts out because there's a bullet with our name on it coming soon, would you say?"
Bob: "Ya, I guess. Night city is dangerous"

Johnny: "Ouch, that's bleak... but you heard it here first, boys, boygirls, and girls. Time to switch careers to criminal activity. I don't think they can recruit brownies as fast as they're getting picked off. Especially with these Chinese running around.. speaking of, if anyone has any information on that juicy development, send it my way for a feature. Also... why are they trying to legalize cloning? Is the rumor true that the elite want sex slaves of themselves with no civil rights? Sounds plausible to me. Tell me what you think."

"No booty show, tonight. You all got a FREE show last night, though, didn'tcha, ya little pervs. If anyone knows those studs, send me their deets. I might just be up for a repeat performance. This is Johnny Bliss, and I'm Out."

Johnny dropped some subtle and less-than-subtle suggestions for his viewers to gather information for him, on clones, the Chinese, and the Nomads that broke in last night.
 
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Mio shakes Johnny's hand and makes a V-sign as if to say, "No problem". Why she didn't just say so is anyone's guess though.

With no more business to attend to, she walks to her car and then looks at Max. She asks, "Hey, do you need a lift? Do you think you'll be able to drive with the new metal hand?"
 
Bob arrived at the hospital to visit his colleagues and he was surrounded by reporters to find out more anout the massacre.

"You took down 2 assassins last night, drove over one and killed the other at the police station after he massacred your colleagues." A reporter asked. "How did you manage to survive? Did you have help?"

"It was a police station. Anyone thinking that they can shoot up a police station and survive must be crazy or really stupid. Of course I had help, all the brave officers that stood their ground shot at him." Bob angrily said.

"There were rumors about some kids that you saved." A reporter asked. "Where are they now? Is it true that these were clones and they were sentient?"

"I knocked over a killer and did rescue the kids, but I did not bring them to the police station." Bob said. "Last night was a big gunfight so I don't know what happened to them."

Bob eyes one of the reporters suspiciously. He seemed to have a bulky armor and no emotions at all. As the reporter approach, Bob turned on his reflex booster and everything seemed to move in slow motion. The reporter suddenly drew his gun and Bob quickly dodged for cover. Bob drew his gun and the reporter started shooting several reporters and a cop in the head with deadly accuracy.

"Fuck, damn pig is fast..." The assassin said as Bob was behind cover and he saw more cops approaching and ran away in the chaos. A few cops did not know what was going on saw reporters running towards them and suddenly, the assassin shoved his daggers into their throats and grabbed the helmet of a fat cop and snapped his neck.

Bob popped his head up and saw the reporter stabbing the cops and fired a few rounds, hitting the man in the back but he still managed to run away.

Bob felt something was not right as the reporter seemed to ask things which did not seem to be common knowledge instead of the questions like how many terrorists were killed or how many times has he been raped. But at least, it seemed like no one knew much about Max, Mio and Johnny.

As he visited his friends in the hospital, Bob suddenly recalled that Johnny had some podcast thing going on and texted him. [An assassin was sent to find out about the kids, he attacked me while disguising as a reporter, I think he is looking for the kids, if you put out that interview, you may be targetted, be careful.] @obieblu

====================================================================================

It was time for Bob to go to work and he went to the police station and changed into his uniform and went on patrol. Bob responded to a call at a recycling plant and saw another police car parked but no one was around. "Hello? Is anyone around?" Bob shouted and as he entered the recycling plant with his gun drawn, he noticed another police car arriving and from behind, his mouth was covered and Bob felt sharp pain in his back and he was dragged into the shadows where he saw 2 limp cops.

"Remember me?" A familiar voice said and the lady sniffed Bob's neck and knocked him out by choking him.
 
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Max rested for the night and it was one of the rare occasions that she was not out working. Strangely she slept well and had her full 8 hours of sleep and got up. "Wow, looks and feel normal." Max said as she looked at the real skin covering molding seamlessly. All the ports work and she no longer felt pain. There was also a sensation of touch when she picked things up.

Max turned on her phone again and shared an update with a few friends about her arm, all normal looking and working again.

Then Max went to the try the armor. She poked the arm with a knife and it did hurt. "Shit, wonder if I should do this..." Max muttered and tried stabbing herself with the knife and it cut through the thin layer of skin to be blocked by the armor below. "Damn, that hurts, but not too bad..." Max said and looked at the arm and now it had a cut on the skin. "Feels weird to have no blood or anything. The pain goes immediately away when not stabbed. So far, this thing is doing what is should. "
 
Mio drove off for the night to break into another public pool for a shower before spending the night in her car. The next day she ate a bit of the kibble she bought the previous day, brushed her teeth at a public toilet and then drove off toward her destination.

After a few hours of driving, she stops at a house in a moderate zone in a far away part of Night City. The house itself was on the larger side. Excluding toilets, it had about 7 or 8 rooms. It had an overgrown lawn near the driveway. It didn't have a garage so Mio would just have to park out on the driveway. She got near the closed gate of the house and honked her horn a few times. Then she realizes that the people inside the house might not recognize her new car. She picked up her phone and dialed a number.
"Hey Mom! It's me. I got a new car. I'm in front of the house right now. Open the gates so I can park inside."

After a few minutes of waiting, a middle-aged woman exited the house and speed-walked to the gates, opening them. Mio drove in and parked her car and got off. The older woman walks up to meet her and says with a smile, "Mio! It's been so long." "Not that long Mom. I visited a few weeks ago, remember?" "That's true but that's a long time for a mother when her daughter is in a dangerous line of work." Mio and the woman both start walking towards the door to the house. "I mean, you gotta' pay the bills somehow." The woman nods, "True. True."

Mio's mom opens the door and the two step inside the house. The house it self is a bit disorganized. It isn't a disaster exactly but it's not very clean either. A young girl about 18 years old, comes up and hugs Mio. She has the same brown hair as Mio but her hair is much much longer. She says, "I missed you sis." Mio hugs the girl back and pats her head. "I missed you too, Miku." The girl looks up at Mio and says, "Would you be staying tonight." "No, I probably wouldn't be staying over. Though I will spend the rest of today here. " The young girl looks quite happy. The mom then asks "So... have you thought about settling down and choosing a different career path maybe? Maybe you can work for a corp or something? I hear they pay well enough. Maybe you can be a Media." Mio points to her face plate and says with a lighthearted tone, "With a face like this, I'm not going to be some media sensation anytime soon. I don't think Corps like me very much either." The mom looks a little saddened but perks up almost immediately. She shouts, "Hey everyone! Mio's home!"

Two more younger people gather around Mio. One of them is a woman who seems to be a few years older than Mio. She has dark hair, fair skin and brown eyes. "Welcome back cousin. Haven't seen you in a while." "It's good to see you cousin Kyouko. How have you been this past month?" "You know how it is. Just trying to find a job." "So no luck?" The woman shakes her head. "Oh don't worry. I'm sure you'll find something good." "Cousin Mio! How have you been?" The other person asks. He is a young boy about 12 years old. He seems excited. "Cousin Mokuba. I've been good. You look like things are going well for you." She pats the boy on the head again. Then an older, middle-aged couple arrive. "Mokuba! Cousin Mio is tired. Let her rest." "Don't worry, Auntie and Uncle. Mokuba wasn't being any trouble at all."

With the whole family gathered Mio looks around and turns to her mother, "Where's dad?" "Oh he's just tired and sleeping." "I want to see him." "Oh don't worry, he should be awake by lunch time."

During the next few hours, Mio shares her Solo-ing stories with Miku, Mokuba and Kyouko. At one point she remembers her latest payout. She stands and walks to the kitchen where her mother is preparing lunch. "So... Mom. I heard you needed more money to buy food and for taking care of Miku and Mokuba. I have the money. Don't worry. You can count on me." Mio then transfers 5000 $ to her Mom's account. If her lower jaw wasn't metal, she would have smiled warmly as she said, "That should be enough for the month. Though what happened to the money I paid a few weeks back?" "Oh... that. Well, we needed to spend some extra on Miku and Mokuba you know. You have to give the kids the best you can and that's where all the money went." Mio nods sagely, "Yeah, you gotta take good care of them. I'll keep working to let them have a better, brighter future."

During lunch, a disheveled man who reeks of alcohol exits a bedroom. He looks happy to see Mio. Mio stands and hugs the man, "Dad! I missed you the last time I was here. How are you doing?" "Mio! It's a pleasant surprise to see you here." "Didn't Mom tell you I was coming?" "Oh. Right I guess I forgot. Heh heh. Anyway, let's enjoy dinner together."

Mio spends the rest of the day with her family. After sundown she starts to get back in her car. Miku comes up and hugs her one more time. "Be safe, okay sis." Mio simply nods. She would have smiled but the cyberware prevents that. She drives off after bidding Miku goodbye. With her being down to 1000-ish dollars, she's ready to get back to work again.

//Sorry for the super long post. Won't be making too many of these.
 
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