Steam rose from the freshly served cups, carrying a subtle, comforting aroma into the room.
Coffee for Jefferson, black tea for Elizabeth. Judy and Lucy had their usual: espresso and matcha, respectively.
There were no assistants, no forced displays of power. Both women served their guests themselves and took their seats across from them, separated by a low, dark wood table.
It was Elizabeth who broke the pleasant silence, just after taking the first sip of her tea.Her voice was soft, but loaded with intent:
"Just looking at you two... I can tell you're glowing today."
It was clear this wasn't the first time she'd met with them to… test the waters.
Judy and Lucy exchanged a quick glance. Not confused, exactly—just on alert.
"What do you mean by that, Elizabeth?" Judy asked, her voice measured, her expression hidden behind her CEO mask.
Elizabeth tilted her head, smiling faintly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"This isn't the first time we've met like this, is it? And today... you both feel different. Lighter. Without that solemn shadow you usually hide behind makeup and designer outfits."
She leaned in slightly, clearly enjoying the tension she stirred:
"It's obvious the three of you had a good night."
"Elizabeth, please..." Jefferson cut in, halfway between exasperated and resigned. "We're not here to make our hosts uncomfortable."
Elizabeth shrugged, sipping her tea without losing her smile, while Judy and Lucy rolled their eyes at her usual games. Then Jefferson turned and apologized for his wife: "I'm sorry."
It was Lucy who answered, after tasting her matcha: "There's no need. Yes, as the news has already reported—He is back. And as his fiancées, we couldn't be happier about it. There's nothing wrong or strange about that."
Jefferson visibly reacted to hearing the name, enough for Judy to catch it and go straight in:
"Is something wrong, Jefferson? Usually it's your wife who drops by to... check Iron Beast's vitals." Judy let the euphemism hang in the air a second, then added with a raised brow, "Mid-campaign visits aren't exactly routine. I've had to tighten security, just so you know."
Jefferson set his cup down on the table and spoke without preamble.
"I'll be blunt. I hope there's not a problem. But whether you see it that way or not... he's come back at the worst possible time."
Judy slowly turned the cup between her hands, playing with the swirl of black liquid. She already knew the answer, but asked anyway—for the sake of the back-and-forth.
"Because of the upcoming elections?"
"Yes." Jefferson nodded sharply. "After months of work, court battles, and orchestrating protests, we finally got Mayor Rhymes to lift the state of emergency he had the city locked under since..."
He looked at the woman across from him—aware of what she had lost—and finished, voice lower: "The tragic events four years ago."
A beat of silence followed. Tense. Then, urged on by the pointed glance of his wife, Jefferson pushed forward.
His tone turned bitter as he spoke the mayor's name, almost spitting it out. "For the sake of reconstruction."
"Everyone knows Lucius is just clinging to power." His voice sharpened. "And now, with the elections this close... I fear he'll use the return of one of the so-called causes of that emergency as an excuse for a desperate move."
Judy tilted her head with calm indifference, then—letting the pause draw attention to her next words—added coolly: "And what exactly do you expect us to do? We've already backed your campaign. You're not seriously suggesting we tell Sora to disappear for another three months... are you?"
"No," he said quickly—almost too quickly. Knowing exactly what she was implying:
If he asked for Sora to step aside, he might lose their support along with him.
And that, he couldn't afford, well aware of how much Iron Beast's support meant to his base—especially among Night City's younger voters.
Both founders embodied the dream of every born-and-raised in Night City.
Street kids who came out of the same underfunded public schools, only to become names respected—or feared—even beyond the city walls.
Judy — a young and stylish CEO whose company's meteoric rise had landed it among the top 20 most valued corps in record time — drew in voters of every gender.
The other founder... a figure more feared than admired, but just as influential.
Even if they didn't always see it themselves, both Judy and Sora had become something more than just names—they were cultural touchstones for a whole generation in Night City.
The way they dressed, the way they talked, smoked, moved—set trends across the streets.
Especially Judy—because getting a clear look at Sora was near impossible. Unless he wanted you to, like in the news.
Jefferson cleared his throat and added, trying to steady his tone: "I wouldn't ask that of you."
"Then... what's the purpose of this meeting?" asked the Head of Cybersecurity—and one of Iron Beast's major shareholders, ever since her fiancé transferred all his shares to her, nearly matching the CEO's own.
"I'm hoping you can keep him under control. At least for the three months left until the elections. To avoid any public confrontations with a major corporation. Militech, for example."
Faced with Jefferson's absurdly reasonable request—which could be summed up as plain common sense—Judy and Lucy both shook their heads at the same time, as if what he was asking were simply impossible.
"That won't work," Lucy said.
Elizabeth frowned and asked, simply, "Why?"
With an exasperated sigh—not at the question, but at the answer—Lucy replied: "Because if you tell him to stop, he'll do the opposite."
Jefferson raised an eyebrow, incredulous. "Are you saying that if you ask your fiancé to behave and not go after Militech... he'll go straight for them instead?"
"Not quite so literally," Judy cut in, as she crossed her legs legs with composed elegance. "But he's got a screw loose."
Thinking of one of his progenitors, she offered her theory in a neutral tone: "Might be inherited. But the truth is, if we forbid something, he'll only try harder to do it."
"You'd have better luck reasoning with Militech," Lucy added solemnly, then sealed her lips with a sip of tea. "At least they follow the logic of profit and loss."
As the conversation reached a tense impasse, Elizabeth stepped in, taking over from her husband with a softer, more calculated approach.
"At the very least, ask him to come to the Glen Subdistrict renovation ceremony, four days from now. It's one of our small victories... and a sign of the direction we want this city to go."
Judy, who had read about the event in the news and remembered the disaster that happened there when she was a kid, asked: "The H3 memorial?"
"Yes..." Jefferson nodded. "Apparently someone from our association—who's responsible for the project—knows you. Both you and Sora."
Elizabeth allowed herself a faint smile. "He mentioned he'd love to see you there. It's been a long time."
Judy raised an eyebrow, mildly intrigued. "Who?"
"César Díaz," Elizabeth said casually. "According to his résumé, he used to work as a security guard at the high school you both attended."
Lucy exchanged a brief glance with Judy, slightly surprised by a name she didn't recognize.
Before either of them could reply, something in the room shifted.
Their eyes lit up in sync—triggered by the "good news" Jarvis had just sent them.
Reading the report, the impact was strong enough to shatter the professional masks they both wore.
So much so that Elizabeth and Jefferson noticed immediately.
"Is something wrong?" Jefferson asked seriously.
"Has something happened, darlings?" added Elizabeth, in a gentler tone.
"Sorry... something's come up," was all Judy managed to say before quickly stepping out of her own office.
Leaving Lucy alone, facing the puzzled looks of the Peralezes.
She took a deep breath and regained her composure in a second.
"Forgive us. Something urgent just came up," she said firmly as she stood."Don't worry—I'll talk to Sora about the memorial myself."
And with that, she walked out as well.
Leaving the Peralezes alone in the private office of the CEO of one of the top 20 corporations in the world.
-
Jarvis, however… didn't stop at sharing the good news with them.
Something that forever made Sora threaten to tear his code apart, line by line…
-
Japan. Yamanashi Prefecture. Hakone Castle.
In the middle of a meeting with the leaders of the Kiji faction, Hanako Arasaka froze in place, her eyes snapping open.A private, encrypted message flashed across her interface.
She read it once—and then again and again, compulsively—while each heartbeat grew louder than the last.Without a word, she stood abruptly and left the room, offering no explanation.
The executives were left speechless, too stunned to react. Even Yumeko and Oda—her assistant and trusted bodyguard—took a moment before following. They stammered a quick excuse before rushing after her.
"Ha-Hanako-sama, what is it? Has there been an emergency?" Yumeko asked, breathless, struggling to keep up—even with her cyberware—clicking along in elegant heels meant for boardrooms rather than sprints.
Hanako's own heels were taller, sharper, more punishing—and yet she kept her pace.
Hanako didn't answer. She said nothing as she strode through the castle's corridors. When she reached the entrance to her private wing, she didn't slow down. Only Niobe—her robotic pet—was allowed to follow.
The door closed behind them with a metallic snap. The section sealed itself off.
Inside, she walked straight to the most secure room: her bedroom.
She opened the door, crossed the polished dark wooden floor, and knelt by the left side of the bed.
She knocked twice—softly—on a precise spot. The sound echoed back with a faint creak of wood.
Then she pressed her thumb against an almost invisible slat. Another piece shifted slightly, guided by a mirrored movement. The floor worked like a puzzle box, its parts gliding into place in utter silence.
When the opening pattern was complete, the once-hidden outline of a section of the floor lifted free, as if the wood itself exhaled and revealed its secret only to her.
Beneath it rested a safe.
No keypad. No screen. Just a mechanical dial and a built-in biometric scanner.
She turned the dial—an old combination, memorized to obsession. Then placed her entire hand on the flat surface. Five fine needles pierced her skin without warning.
It wasn't just scanning her fingerprint or DNA; the system verified, in real time, the presence of active nanobots in her bloodstream.
A safeguard ensuring only two people could ever open it—without triggering the contents to self-destruct.
After a brief flicker of green light, the lock released. The safe opened.Inside lay only a stack of photographs of her son, which Hanako lifted carefully, one by one.
Then, when the bottom of the compartment seemed empty… she pressed an exact point. With a dry click, the hidden panel slid aside.
Revealing an orange glass capsule. Sealed. Unmarked. Silent.
Hanako read Jarvis's message once more, projected across her retina. Then, after checking it again… she reached out and pulled it free without hesitation.
—
When the door to her private wing opened, Hanako appeared, cradling a dark cloth that concealed a half-spherical object. Oda and Yumeko were waiting there, silent.
Without pausing to explain, she ordered:
"Ready the new NeoHydro Blackbird. I need to be in Night City as soon as possible."
Under any other circumstance, Yumeko would have refused—or at least demanded an explanation. But something in Hanako's expression, in the fragile way she held whatever lay beneath that cloth, silenced any question before it could form.
"Yes, ma'am. We'll have it prepared immediately."
-
Back in Night City.
After the minutes it took them to descend from the Iron Beast Campus to the bunker's most secure level…
The holographic screens at the center of the lab washed the metallic floors in a greenish glow, their light scattering across the polished, frozen walls.
The capsules—and the lives they contained—were still there, hidden beneath the earth.
All so as not to disturb Judy's anxious pacing around the small blue capsule that dominated the room, nor her own mind, where those tragic existences could still wound her.
Sora himself had made sure of it: that she would only need to focus on the outcome, not on the price paid along the way. That burden was his alone.
At last, unable to wait any longer, Judy asked, her voice breaking:
"Are you finished yet?"
Sora, seated before the main monitor, kept his eyes on the data as he cross-checked the results shared by Jarvis. Only when it was over did he let out a heavy sigh and answer in a whisper:
"Yes…"
"Well?" she pressed, unwilling to let herself hope until it was real.
Sora turned in his chair with a perplexed expression—rare for him—not so much because of the result itself, but because of what it meant. Then, after staring at her for a moment, a foolish smile tugged at his lips as he gave a small nod.
The silence that followed was… heavy, broken only by the AI flickering into view at their side.
["I do feel a little insulted that you place so little trust in my results… both of you."]
Butting in uninvited, they both snapped back in unison: "Shut up, Jarvis!"
Even so, Judy couldn't bring herself to believe it—or perhaps she refused to, as though it were her last line of defense. She asked again, fearing it was all a lie:
"But how sure are you it would actually work?"
Sora turned back to the screen, giving the same answer as the simulation.
"Eighty-nine point nine-nine-nine percent…"
"That last ten percent still feels huge."
He shook his head, and with a steady, almost paternal tone, let his gaze fall on the capsule bubbling at the center of the lab.
"It's enough to say we have a path. I won't risk anything until I've refined the solution to perfection."
The determination in his words—and in his eyes as he watched that fragile embryo—shattered the last of Judy's resistance. Her legs gave way, unable to hold her any longer.
The other person in the lab started forward to catch her… but Sora was faster. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from his seat and appeared at her side, holding her in his arms.
Judy buried her face against his chest, soaking his shirt with tears, while he whispered the vow he had made the first time he saw her cry before a nitrogen tank:
"Our child is safe."
Hearing those words, in that deep, unsteady voice, Judy trembled. She barely managed a faint "Mm-hm…" while sobbing like a little girl in his arms.
Behind them, the "other" swallowed hard. Her lips curved into a fragile smile, heavy with conflicting emotions.
"I'm happy for you… truly."
Both of them turned toward the woman with the long, pearl-colored hair. Her sad smile, as if afraid of being left behind, pierced them like a sting.
Still crying like a child, Judy lifted her face to Sora.
"If I chose to wait… would our child be in danger?"
He shook his head calmly, never breaking his gaze from hers.
Judy lowered her eyes and nodded, as if that answer had lifted a weight from her shoulders.
"Then I want to wait."
Lucy blinked, startled.
"Wait?" she repeated in disbelief. "I thought being a mother was what you wanted most… after everything that happened."
Judy drew in a deep breath before answering.
"I know. It tore me apart to think I'd lost it. But now, thanks to Sora, I don't have to carry that weight anymore. And besides, I have two reasons to wait."
She stepped closer to Lucy and gently took her hand.
"The first one… selfish: I love the life we have, especially now that Sora is back. We're still too young. And I want to keep working before I retire and focus on being a mother."
Lucy raised her eyebrows. "And the second?"
"The second is that when the time comes… I want our children to grow up as siblings. And also… I know it's a little old-fashioned, but I'd like us to be married before becoming parents."
Lucy's face flushed red. She lowered her gaze, embarrassed, because that was exactly the envy eating away at her in silence: the fear of being left out, while Judy and Sora built a family without her.
"And what do you think?" Judy asked, turning toward Sora.
He thought for a moment before giving a weary smile.
"I'm in favor… but you could've told me earlier, you know? I would've taken things a lot more calmly."
Agreeing, after all the work that had been done, Jarvis chimed in with a solemn tone:
["Amen."]
Which made all three—Lucy, Sora, and Judy—frown and repeat in unison:
"Shut up, Jarvis!"
Sora, pulling his two fiancées into his arms, let a mischievous smile spread across his face.
"Well then… you know what we have to do now, don't you?"
The two of them exchanged a glance, electrified by the moment, and answered in unison with the same playful grin:
"Celebrate!"
"That's right." he replied, striding toward the elevator with his two beautiful brides-to-be in his arms.
"Should we tell your grandparents?" Lucy asked, leaning against his shoulder.
"We can have lunch with them tomorrow," Sora answered, brushing his forehead gently against hers. "Right now I want you both just for myself."
"Besides… we still haven't celebrated your return," Judy murmured, a spark of complicity in her eyes.
"Jarvis, book us a table at the best restaurant in the city," Sora ordered.
The AI's holographic eyes flickered as it scanned online.
["That would be Embers, sir. Shall I reserve a table?"]
At the name, Sora couldn't help but laugh before nodding as he continued walking.
Taking it as confirmation, Jarvis's projection tilted its head and, before fading away, added in a solemn tone:
["I'll use the ladies' profile so the staff won't panic."]
-
A few hours—and far too many drinks—later, the elevator of a tower in the northern Glen, just steps from Reconciliation Park, stopped on the thirteenth floor.
When the doors slid open, despite the soft piano melody that greeted them, the complete absence of staff or patrons in the restaurant instantly wiped the smile from Sora's face.
He drew his Malorian 3516 from beneath his leather jacket, its back emblazoned with the holographic insignia of his R.A.B.I.D.S. unit.
The gun's silver sheen caught the light in sharp contrast to the black of his cybernetic arm, which gripped it with steady resolve—while his nanobots burned every last trace of alcohol from his system.
Judy reacted just the same, her own nanobots clearing her mind as she, with a sober gesture, drew her engagement gift: her Malorian Sliver Gun, hand-crafted in a coppery finish to match her ring.
Lucy, however, lacking that luxury and unable to shake the haze as cleanly, did not draw hers. Instead, she powered up her Kiyoshis, ready to unleash the Quickhacks stored in her Cyberdeck.
The three advanced with weapons raised, crossing the corridor until it opened into the restaurant's main hall. There, two dozen security guards, immaculate in their dark suits, turned as one—drawing their weapons so that, in the span of seconds, every barrel was trained on them.
The air grew dense, heavy.
And still, Sora, Lucy, and Judy lowered their weapons.
Because waiting for them at Embers… was Hanako Arasaka.