Cyberpunk 2077 - The Ballad of Lost Souls

The giant robot begins to swing back and forth. Panam lowers the rocket launcher, satisfied. Suddenly the robot regains control, spinning the turrets on top of it. She lets the rocket launcher go, walking backward toward the wall.

Panam closes her eyes, while hearing a strange metallic noise. The robot stops without firing, she opens her eyes again.

Faith: PANAAAAMMMM!

Panam turns to her right and sees Faith with her red optics staring fixedly at the robot, with both arms straight out in front of her.

Faith: I CAN'T… HOLD IT… FOREVERRR…

Panam looks at Faith, stunned.

Faith: THE CORE, PANAM!

Panam begins to run toward the robot, jumping on one of the mechanical arms and begins to climb to the top. Meredith watches them smiling, amused and intrigued.

She reaches the top of the robot, trying to stay balanced, then she looks around, searching for the service panel.

Faith turns her head slightly to the right. Suddenly, all the panels of the robot open, including the one in front of Panam. Then she slowly approaches the panel, a wave of hellish heat sweeps over her, she turns around covering her face. 

Panam looks inside the panel and sees a series of wires and cables, beyond which is a huge metal sphere.

Faith: THE…CORE… PAN..AAAMMM…

Panam looks up and sees Faith desperately trying to stand up straight, as blood pours from her nose. She takes courage and slips his left arm into the compartment.

Panam continues to rummage in the compartment, as the heat begins to burn her arm, slowly melting her skin. She finally manages to grab the top of the metal sphere.

Panam: AAAAHHHHHHH!!

Panam grits her teeth with all the strength she has, choking on the pain, managing to pull out the piece of metal, rolling away from the robot's head that begins to sway dangerously. She loses her balance, falling down, on the ground.

The huge robot continues to sway, as Faith's eyes return normal. She quickly recomposes herself and runs toward Panam, taking her in her arms. Behind them the robot collapses, exploding into a million metal pieces and fire.

Faith: Panam?! PANAM?!

Faith grabs Panam, shaking her.

Faith: C'mon Panam…

Panam begins to cough and move, Faith smiles.

Faith: Good girl.

Suddenly, Faith hears somebody clapping. She looks up and sees Meredith holding V like a puppet, moving his arms, making him clap.

Meredith: Well done! Who do we have here?! The desperate housewife…and then they say you get bored at work.

Faith gently rests Panam on the ground, while Meredith throws away V's body.

Faith: The fuck are you?!

Faith tries to approach Meredith but Panam grabs her leg.

Panam: No…No…Run…

Faith: The fuck did you do to her, you fucking slut?!

Meredith approaches Faith, laughing, as Panam tries to get up behind them.

Meredith: I just wanted to get to know her a little better, I like making new friends.

Faith: Feelin' lonely?! Then you'll fucking love me.

Meredith smiles with a mocking grin.

Faith: Goodnight.

Faith raises her right arm toward Meredith by turning on her optics again. Meredith suddenly freezes.

Meredith: Nooo…

Meredith draws her gun and aims it slowly at her head, as she begins to breathe faster and faster.

Faith: Go to hell, fuckface.

Meredith pressed the gun against her temple, gritting her teeth, then suddenly loweres it, bursting into thunderous laughter.

Meredith: Your...Your witchcraft tricks don't work on me….

Faith quickly draws her knife.

Faith: Then we'll do it the old fashioned way. I'll fucking carve that smile out of your face.

Meredith sticks out her tongue and licks Panam's blood from her lips, sighing as she enjoys it.

Meredith: Can't wait, Faith. Know what?! I feel you and I are going to be best friends.

Meredith suddenly vanishes, leaving no trace. Faith widens her eyes, stunned.

Faith: What the?!

Panam: NOOOOO!

Panam grabs Faith with both hands and holds her tight, looking at her teeth chattering and panicking.

Panam: Faith, you have to get the fuck out of here, go… Go to your son, PLEASE!

Faith: Panam, the fuck are you talking about?!

Panam begins to turn around, screaming.

Panam: LEAVE HER, PLEASE! YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO ME, BUT LET HER GO!

Faith: PANAM, CALM DOWN! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Suddenly Panam is knocked, again, to the ground, as Faith's hair is moved by a gentle breeze. Faith looks at her hands and notices that she no longer has the knife. Panam looks at her with a wide eye as Faith stares into the void.

Faith: Fuck.

Meredith appears behind Faith's back, resting her head near his ear.

Meredith: Booh!

Panam: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Meredith stabs Faith violently in the stomach. A shower of blood cascades from her belly.

Meredith: If I kept digging would I find the defective part?! Or should I cut your husband out as well?!

Meredith continues to cut Faith until she almost reaches his chest, then lets her go along with the knife. She falls in a pool of blood, lifeless.

Panam: Noooo…nooooo…

Meredith looks back at Panam.

Meredith: You see Panam?! All my friends always leave me in the end.

Panam tries to crawl away on her back, scared to death. Meredith blocks her, putting a foot on her ankle.

Meredith: Where are you going?

Meredith crouches down next to Panam and grabs her head with both hands.

Meredith: I promised you that you would see him die. You broke my toy before its time, though. I'm afraid we'll have to call it a day.

Panam turns toward V's body. Meredith starts banging her head against the floor.

Meredith: LOOK AT ME, NOT HIM!

Meredith gently slides her hand over Panam's eye patch.

Meredith: What do we have here?! Is it some kind of battle engineering from the nomads?

Panam: No…No…

Panam begins to breathe faster and faster as Meredith begins to pull off the patch.

Panam: aaaahhhhh! AAAAAAHHHHHH!

Meredith rips off Panam's eye patch. A piece of her eye remains attached to it, leaving in her cavity only a piece of bleeding flesh. Panam screams at the top of his lungs , waving his arms around, crying.

Meredith: You should have used the Kiroshi, like mine.

Panam continues to cry as blood drips down on her face.

Meredith: No need to cry Panam…I'll soon go back to your friends in the other room… and then to the rest of the scum, hiding in the desert.

Meredith smiles in pure joy.

Meredith: I will devour them all Panam, even the children… 

Panam keeps waking her arms around, when she manages to grab a piece of metal on the floor.

Meredith: I like children so much, Panam…

Panam suddenly stops moving and crying, and looks Meredith in the eyes. She looks back at her, puzzled, closing her mouth.

Panam violently strikes Meredith's right knee. She quickly rises up, unleashing a scream that echoes through the room. She slowly stands up and quickly hits the corner of the metal piece with her foot, breaking Meredith's kneecap in half while the piece flies back near her.

Meredith looks at Panam with her red injected optics while she stares back at her, unmoved. She tries to throw a punch at Panam, she quickly dodges it, blocking her arm. 

Panam stares at her one last time, then picks up the piece of metal from the ground and hits Meredith violently in the chest. Meredith lowers her head and watches in disconcerting, as blood spurts out of her chest, following the rhythm of her heartbeat. Then she slowly raises her head again, looking at Panam with wide eyes and open mouth, while she brings her head close to her ear.

Panam: Swallow this, bitch.

Panam throws Meredith toward the rubble of the robot. She is pierced at the base of the neck by one of the metal pieces protruding from the smoldering pile of parts that once made it up.

The metal pole pierces the base of her skull, sticking out of her mouth, destroying her teeth. Panam slowly approaches her, as Meredith watches, powerless drowning in a gurgle of blood, as her right eye close, while the left remains wide open. The bright red of her optics fades, as do her hands, which finally stop shaking.

Panam turns and begins to limp toward Faith, with her head down, holding his left arm, eventually collapsing next to her. She gently turns Faith's lifeless body over, looking at her, exhausted.

Panam: Faith…

Faith suddenly begins to move and coughs up blood, Panam looks at her, stunned.

Panam: …Faith?!

Faith: Where… Is… Sheee?

Panam smiles, resting her head on her chest.

Panam: She…Went…Back to hell.

Panam let her go, sliding to the ground near her. Faith turns her head, looking at Panam.

Faith: Panam…Your eye…

Panam: Don't… Worry… I've got… Another…One…

Faith: I could tell…Right away that…You had a huge pair of balls…

Faith grabs her knife and clutches her stomach with her arms, standing up, screaming in pain.

Faith: AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!

Faith stows the knife and approaches Panam, helping her up and resting her on her shoulders.

Faith: C'mon, Pan.

Both waving and limping, approach toward V's body lying on the floor. Faith lets Panam go, who slowly gets near V, looking at him, sad.

Faith: Panam?

Panam looks at her left arm, completely burned. Then looks again at V, lying on the ground, moving her lip as if she is about to cry. She finally bends down and rests him on her shoulders, as Faith helps her. All three walk away from the room while Faith looks at Meredith's body, one last time.

Faith: Fucking Sandevistan, I should've have known.

Panam stops, watching the wound on Faith's belly slowly closing. She looks back at her, smiling.

Faith: Well Pam, I'm fortyseven. I've done some touch ups, too.

Panam: Good for you…

Faith: I'm pissed for the suit actually. It was a good memory of my job.

Faith suddenly winces in pain.

Faith: Fuck…I'm going to shit blood for a week.

Both go through the sliding door that takes them to the last white hallway. At the far end they catch a glimpse of Eric, who is holding open an elevator with one hand and holds a black suitcase in the other. Behind him there is Max, who sits in his wheelchair.

Faith: Maybe you should try it too, after the first two or three times you get the hang of it.

Panam: And end up like…that bitch…over there?! Fuck…I'd rather look like…a human…puzzle.

Eric: FAITH!

Faith lets V go and runs toward Eric, hugging him, while Panam continues to struggle to carry him toward the elevator.

Max: MOM!

Eric: Faith…

Eric looks at Faith worriedly, touching her belly, which is covered in blood.

Faith: It's nothing Eric, I'm going to be fine.

Panam faints and falls to the ground, still holding V's body. Faith turns toward her but immediately stops, raising her hands.

Faith: No…

From the corridor on either side of the elevator comes a small number of Arasaka soldiers headed by Takemura. Panam doesn't notice them and continues to drag V's body by crawling on her back, pushing with her legs. 

She almost reaches the elevator, then stops in front of Faith and Eric, slowly turning toward Takemura, who is standing in front of her. Panam looks at him with her right eye half open, panting and exhausted.

Takemura looks back at her, straight into the eyes. After a seemingly endless wait, he moves his head slightly toward the elevator.

Takemura: Go.

Eric and Faith grab Panam and V's body and drag them both inside the elevator, then the doors close.