Everything hurt. Her head was splitting open. The world was noise, color, static. V was dying—she knew it. Then the chip in her head pulsed.

The darkness rippled.

Suddenly, she was standing in a strange place—a sterile, metallic hallway that shimmered like oil on water. The walls pulsed with code.

A man appeared from the blur.

Johnny Silverhand.

Long black hair. Combat boots. A tactical vest over a sleeveless shirt. A silver cyberarm gleaming like a blade in the light. Cigarette in his mouth, sunglasses hiding whatever emotions might have been hiding behind those eyes.

Johnny: "At last... look who's awake."

V stumbled back, hand instinctively going for a weapon she didn’t have.

Johnny: “Who the fuck are you?” she demanded, her voice cracked.

Johnny didn’t answer right away. He just looked at her like she was a smudge on a mirror.

Johnny: “Name’s Johnny. Johnny Silverhand. And congratulations, sweetheart... you’ve got a front-row seat to the end of your life.”

She blinked. “What... what the hell is this? Where am I?”

“Your head. Your brain. More or less,” he said with a grin. “You're not supposed to be here. But neither am I.”

His voice was smooth, cocky—too casual for a situation that felt like a glitch in reality. She lunged at him.

Her hand passed through him.

"What are you?!"

"A memory. A ghost. A bad idea. Take your pick."

The world flickered—images flashed. Explosions. A burning tower. Alt Cunningham’s face. And Johnny—standing in front of a nuclear bomb, flipping the bird to Arasaka as the world melted.

V clutched her skull. “Make it stop...”

Johnny stepped closer, crouching to meet her eyes.

Johnny: “You got chipped. That relic you stole? It’s not just data. It’s me. And now... I’m in your head.”

She stared at him, breathing hard, fury mixing with fear.

V: “Then get out.”

He lit another cigarette, chuckling.

Johnny: “Not my choice. Thing is… one of us has to go. And it ain’t gonna be me.”

Suddenly, she was back—gasping awake in a dirty ripperdoc chair. Sweat poured off her skin. Her chest heaved.

He was still there. In her head.

And from that moment on… she was never alone again.

Johnny: “You don’t get it yet, do you, V? This city chews people like you up. But with me in your head… maybe you’ll live long enough to burn it down.”