\+/ PAST \+/
The pitter patter of rain on the megabuilding's window provides a white noise in the room... the warm atmosphere of the cozy apartment contrasts the cold harshness just outside, desperate to get in. Marilyn on her third smoke remains in deep contemplation... staring out the window with tonight being a bit different than most others. Tonight... she understands full well what's being asked of her... it carries risks and stakes higher than anything shes taken on in the past and she feels it. The experience shes gained... the skills that shes acquired over the course of her evolving person have lead her to this very moment as she bares the weight of it. She buries her nervous energy in layers of experience as she mentally prepares for the edge. The bright neon glow of the City cascades outward.. away from the window shes staring out of... the wet buildings and pavement grab hold of the light making them shine... reflecting with a glossy neon soaked finish.
Several attempts to get her attention have now passed... Marilyn hears Judy's voice in her head: "The truly lost ones... set no limits for themselves... They're committed to the edge..."
"Mare."
"...They're committed to the edge..."
"Mare.."
"...They're committed to the edge..."
"Mare!" Brian shouts, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looks over and nods.
Brian looks over at graves and nods up at him; Graves understanding the signal gets up and promptly leaves the apartment.
Marilyn looks on confused before sitting up on the couch... resting elbows on knees and fingertips on forehead. The door slides closed leaving the two alone.
Brian feels her tense, nervous energy... breaking the silence, he softens his deep voice.
"Do you remember... when we first met?"
She looks down and away.
"Jig Jig street." She mutters.. taking a final drag of her smoke before flicking it in the room.
"What were you doing there that night..? I never asked."
She pauses... crossing her arms and shiftting weight in her seat. She matches his tone.
"My sister... she'd been trying to get me to leave NC for a while at that point. I guess... the deeper she got into the merc world the tighter her grip on me became."
She gets up off the couch... a slow pace around the room.
"Shes more like a mom to me than she ever was a sister... can't blame her though... things weren't easy when we were young. She's... never seen me as someone who could become... well... me."
Brian listens on... a serious look of admiration on his face. She continues.
"She came at me with a fucking one-way to Oregon. THAT SAME NIGHT! To our AUNT'S HOUSE OF ALL PLACES! That crazy bitch... she hated our mom. Tch.. Ev knew it wouldn't've worked... hate seeing her when shes desperate."
"What did you say to her?.. Why not leave?" Brian asks sat on the now free couch.
"I just... ran." She mutters... a glance out the rain washed window. "And i didn't stop running..."
She makes her way to the window by the couch near Brian. Gazing out into the neon cityscape with a sense of awe... mesmerized... the towering cityscape stares back at her with an intimidatingly silent glow. The power of Night City's beautiful allure on full display and undeniable... creating sensations in those who gaze into it rarely able to explain. She places her hand on the window firmly... looking past her emerald green eyes in the reflection. "I don't know... this City... it... it calls to me... I feel it at the core of my being."
She stares deeply into the city... the pattering rain keeping the glass windows cold takes over briefly...
"Can you feel it Varga?" She whispers in awe.
"....I do..." He whispers back with closed eyes.
Marilyn removes the palm of her hand from the glass, staring at the city. She finally breaks her gaze... looking down before stepping away from the window.
"Ended up on Jig Jig street... talking to some.. joytoy about.. nothing. Music was too loud to hear her anyway. Bouncers had just finished cleaning up a barfight... sweeping up glass and dragging some unconscious, lead headed gonk out the front door to make way for the next batch of loud bar hoppers. It felt... familiar. Warming... like home."
She continues to pace the room. "Eventually we went outside for a smoke... she insisted we walk down toward the storage tunnels away from the bar... was a pretty slow night... didn't carry much foot traffic through the back streets. It was late enough most people'd already decided to delta. That's when they grabbed me... Scavs... I was... so overwhelmed... the only thing i could do was... scream." She looks over at Brian who picks up on it.
"When i heard your scream I... I didn't even think about it. I just came runnin'... to be honest... heard the fear... the desperation in your voice more than anything."
Brian pauses... glancing out the rain filled window. "Three shots, three dead scavs. ... flatlined em all. ... 'cept one."
He looks over at Marilyn. "Do you remember."
"The one you were wrestling with on the ground? Yeah."
"And what did you do Mare." Brian asks leading... making that eye contact with her that she craves. She looks away... visualizing the events of a night that would change her life forever:
The joytoy that lead Marilyn down into the storage tunnel entrance pulls iron and places it at the back of Brian's head. Marilyn wraps her arm around the joytoy's neck from behind and yanks back... making her misfire and send the gun flying out of her hand. It slams onto the tile and scrapes across the sewer grates causing a loud echo in the tunnel. The joytoy struggling to get Marilyn off of her flails her arms trying to turn around and face her. Marilyn moves with her momentum, never letting go of her neck causing the both of them to stumble. The joytoy falls face first onto the hard tile floor of the storage tunnel... splattering blood with Marilyn riding her back.. allowing the grip to sink in even tighter. The Joytoy struggling to breath clasps Marilyn's forearm gripping it tightly... kicking and flailing her legs. Marilyn buries her head behind the joytoy's... closing her eyes tight and squeezing as hard as she possibly can. The joytoy goes limp as Marilyn continues to squeeze with all of her strength.. roaring a blood curdling scream through her teeth. The pressure Marilyn applies causes the joytoy's body to twitch uncontrollably before finally seizing lifeless.
The area has long cleared of stray bystanders as Brian goes to grab Marilyn, struggling to pull her off of the dead joytoy.
Marilyn stumbling to gain her balance grabs hold of Brian's jacket before looking up at him. He sees her cut up, bruised and bleeding face while holding her shoulders... they lock eyes for the first time.
Strangers with a kinship being forged through violence... where life and death hang in an uneasy balance for all. The moment is suddenly broken as their attention is turned toward deeper into the storage tunnel by a shout.
"FREEZE!! NCPD!!!" Two badges yell running toward them in the storage tunnel with iron drawn. Brian grabs Marilyn and yanks her closer to his chest as he points his Nue in the direction of the badges. He fires a shot, hitting a climate control unit causing sparks and the fan blade to fly directly at them while sending several more shots their way forcing them into cover. The pair of them take off back toward the north entrance of Jig Jig street fleeing the area.
Marilyn looking down and finishing the recollection looks back up at Brian. He stands up and walks toward her... she meets him in the center of the warm apartment.
He hands her the wreath and the BD before gently placing her forehead onto his. They both look down... embracing each other in their arms as the rain on the window leaves behind only their silhouettes.