World Runner: A Merc's Trial in a Spiritual Dystopia Ch.23

— Gloria —

Her sirens blared as she sped toward her destination with tired eyes locked onto the road.

It took everything in her power to keep herself awake and prevent a fatal car accident. 

At the moment, she was sixteen hours deep into her shift and she wanted nothing more than to pull the van over and take a long hibernation away from all the stresses and dangers of Night City, but she had a job to do, one she’d be fired from if she entertained that desire for even a few minutes.

Which would make all her hard work meaningless. All of the long hours, the sleepless nights, and the hard hours she put it would be null and void.

Which means she wouldn’t be able to send David to school!

That lone fear woke her up and her eyes narrowed at the road.

Gloria couldn’t risk such a fate. She wanted nothing but the best for her son, which is why she sent him to the best school she possibly could, even if the tuition was abysmally high. It was all for him, so she wouldn’t stop here.

It took around fifteen minutes of driving, but she eventually reached her location. A factory building within (gang fight location)

The area was on fire. Debris was burning and pieces not caught by the flames were utterly destroyed.

An explosion caused this destruction, Gloria could tell that much through her experience on dealing with so many nasty events that occurred within Night City.

“Ah, Gloria, you’ve arrived.” 

Gloria looked behind to see her co-worker and one of her closest friends, Veronica Miles standing with a tired frown.

“Veronica.” Gloria greeted, equally as tired.

“You’re antsy, this shifts getting to you too huh?” The black-haired Latina woman asked as she pulled out a cigarette.

“…Yeah, do you know what happened here, and if there are any survivors?”

“Explosion, NCPD says it was a gang battle, shots were fired, mini explosion were set off before the big bang. As for survivors.” A dark humorous smile came to Veronica’s hardened features. “You think anyone would survive this?” 

“…” Gloria didn’t answer that as she looked around, the landscape made it obvious that no one would be walking away from an explosion this bad.

“Should be an easy shift ender.” Veronica shrugged. “We just gotta look around a bit, maybe find some bodies and call it quits. The higher ups won’t expect much more, especially not for gonkhead mercs.” 

“Yeah, you’re right, silver-lining I suppose?” Gloria smiled tiredly and Veronica returned it.

“That’s the spirit, now let’s get to work.”

The walked over to the officers on the scene, before they went tampering with anything, they needed to get the detectives permission to begin their search, and once they got it, they split up. 

Veronica made her way to the perimeter since if anyone managed to survive the explosion, they’d likely be as far away from the center as possible, while Gloria trekked through the recently put out flames . Stone and debris crunched under her feet as she looked for bodies.

She fell into her mind as she worked on autopilot. She didn’t ask any more questions in her mind about what had happened here. At the end of the day it didn’t matter. It was Night City, shit happened. As long as it didn’t concern her son, she would continue to thank God for his mercy.

Gloria unearthed a piece of charred flesh and immediately realized it was the remnants of a person. 

The moment she saw the flesh, she sent a silent prayer to whoever it was, good or bad, and stood up. 

If someone died here, everyone else was likely dead as well, and after nearly half an hour of looking, she saw no signs of anyone else. It was time to call it quits. 

There would be people after her to conduct a more thorough search for bodies, but her job was to save lives, not identify bodies. She began making her way back toward her van, a dejected look on her face as she moved through the rubble.

Her mind wandered to her son, she wondered if he woke up yet and had already begun getting ready for school. She hoped to all that was holy that he had, or her chancla would strike the back of his head with the might of a thousand men.

A tired giggle escaped her. “That boy will be the death of-” 

Suddenly, her entire body was pulled down into a pile of rubble. Gloria attempted to wrestle out of the grip of whatever snatched her, and her blood ran cold when she felt a hand on her mouth. 

“Please stop struggling.” A deep voice whispered close to her ear, which made her do the opposite of his request. She needed to get the hell out of here! 

Gloria tried her best to fight her way out. She used every part of her body to try and wiggle out or attack the person who had grabbed her, ultimately the slow, cruel realization that this person was too strong for her to escape began to set in. 

Tears filled her eyes as she realized that she may die here. 

What would David do? How would he manage without her? He was a smart boy, but there was no way he’d be able to afford school. Not to mention, her death would break him.

“...Please.” Gloria breathed out through the hand of her grabber. “Please don’t kill me.” 

“I have no intentions of doing anything like that.” The gruff voice answered her. “Trust me, regardless of what you say going forward, I promise to get you out of here safe and free.” 

Gloria’s body tensed more than it was before. Her tired mind was doing her no favors as she could barely even process what the hell he said. But the one word that played over and over in her mind was “safe,” and that’s all she wanted right now. To return to safety, to hold her son in her arms. 

“Listen, I got into a bad fight, and this explosion was the result. I’m pretty banged up and could use a check-up and some meds. Do you think you can help me out and keep it a secret? I’ll pay if need be.” He asked as he loosened his hand over her mouth until she was free to speak without obstruction. 

It was her job to help anyone caught in the blast anyway, although she truly believed there was no way anyone could have survived it. 

Gloria attempted to look back at the man who had grabbed her for a moment before she closed her eyes and thought about his offer. 

Secrecy wasn’t part of her job, though she wouldn’t get in trouble for patching someone up under the table. In fact, there was no harm that could be done to her job if anyone found out…and she needed the cash. 

“How much?” She asked as she glanced back at the man. The rubble over them made it hard for her to see him, but the near-glowing light of his sky-blue eyes both sent a shiver down her spine and brought her body to relax a bit. 

“Ten thousand eddies.” 

Her mouth dropped open as her vision tunneled. That was a lot of cash, enough to give her some breathing room for a while. Every part of her body was prepared to accept it, but there was one problem. 

The fact that he offered that much cash means he really can’t be found out, which means he’s probably wanted. 

“I’ll help you.” Gloria breathed out, ending any hesitation she had. She needed to do this for David’s sake and herself. She couldn’t pass up on that many eddies. 

The man slowly let her go, letting her relax a bit as she shifted around under the rubble to face him. 

“Thank you.” He smiled at her, and though she couldn’t see his face clearly, she could make out his eyes and a well-groomed beard. “Do you have an ambulance van?” 

“I do. We should be able to get over there unseen, and I can take you out of here.” Gloria explained in a slightly shaken voice. 

“Works with me.” He smiled and began to stand up, pushing the rubble off of them. As the rubble was pushed aside and the man stood up, she could finally see him clearly, and her heart sped up for a few moments before she shook her head and focused closer on his face. 

It was no secret that Gloria’s sex life was nonexistent, so her drooling over a strong, attractive man, while sad in her eyes, was completely understandable. However, there was a part of her that felt strange looking at him. He looked…familiar. 

She knew him from somewhere, but her tired mind couldn’t quite pinpoint where she knew him from. 

“Where’s your ambulance?” He asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. 

“That way.” Gloria pointed, and the man nodded. 

“Alright, you lead the way and keep your eyes peeled, I can’t be spotted here.” He frowned, and that only solidified that he was more trouble than she wanted, but those eddies were calling out to her. 

She did as he said and stood up before she began her trek toward her ambulance. It was quite a ways away; they first needed to get away from the rubble of the destroyed building, and then they’d have to work their way around the NCPD and other medics on the scene. 

Being spotted was going to be their greatest issue, especially since he insisted on going unseen, so she’d have to find a way to get around all the responders that had gathered. 

Gloria looked backward to see the large, shirtless man behind her, and momentarily she doubted if they could go unseen. The guy was huge after all! 

“There’s a lot of people out and about.” The man let out a low whistle and Gloria nodded slowly. “Well, we gotta find a way to distract em.” 

“How can we-”

BOOOOOOM

A huge explosion rang out behind the two, blasting them backward. Her body went airbourne, and her tiredness was completely pushed aside as panic, fear, and adrenaline filled her body. 

Suddenly, her body stopped flying backward as she felt a hard body pressed against her left side. She looked up to see the same bearded man holding her in a princess carry as he glared over at the origin of the explosion. 

“Y-You saved me!” Gloria breathed out as relief filled her entire being. 

“Listen to me.” The man started but he never took his eyes off of where the explosion occured. “Forget our deal, you need to delta, now!”  

“Wha-”

“GRAAAAAH!” A blood-curtling scream from within the smoke roared out, making her blood run cold. 

“Is…W-What is-”

“I said go!” He roared again as he put her down, and immediately he dashed forward toward the smoke. 

She stayed in place for several seconds, unable to move as she stared at where she last saw his body. 

BOOOOOOOM

Another explosion rang out, and out of the smoke came the man’s body flying toward her. 

CRASH

His body landed hard on the ground, and he immediately attempted to push himself back up.

Before he could though another figure came out of the smoke and placed its hand…claw on the man’s throat. As Gloria stared at the creature, she realized that it couldn’t be human. An ash white body, spikes that potruded from random places all around, six eyes and six arms, and sharp claws for hands and feet. It looked utterly terrifying. It mounted the man she had been ready to help just moments before and looked down at him. 

“GRAAAAAAAAAH!” 

“Get the fuck off of me!” The man shouted as the creature pressed the tips of its claws into his throat, making a concerning amount of blood pour out from the left and right sides. 

The bearded man kicked the creature hard in the gut, freeing him for a moment, but the sudden backward movement made the creature’s claws slide down his neck as it was pushed away. 

More blood began to pour out, and at that moment, Gloria’s rational mind came back.

He was in danger…she was in danger!

Gloria turned around and began to run, fleeing for her life. As she ran, thoughts of David filled her mind, but she quickly shook them out. She couldn’t die here! Not now! 

— Maliketh ‘The Beard’ Aeneas —

“GRAAAAAAAAH!” 

I pushed myself up to my feet and glared at the beast in front of me. It was radiating Nen as if it was created entirely of Nen, and I was knowledgeable enough about Nen to understand that it was. 

A Nen Beast, and by the looks of it, Asura’s Nen Beast. 

Fuck. 

I brifely touched my neck and feeling the wetness and pain told me that I making it out of this was going to be nearly impossible. 

Especially with NCPD all around us. They were likely closing in as we stare down at each other like a pair of idiots. 

The moment they saw our fight, they’d call in Maxtac and we’d both die here…

I couldn’t let that happen. 

The ugly fuck of a Nen Beast charged at me, and I jumped backward. Fighting simply wasn’t going to work. Even if I did win, it meant nothing. 

The moment my feet touched the ground again, I poured all the Nen I possibly could in that split second, and launched it out toward the Nen Beast. 

“GRAAAAAAAH!” It roared in the face of my “attack” and got ready to charge through it, like the ferile beast that it was. 

BANG

A bright light filled the area, and by the time it went off, I already had my back to it as I sprinted my absolute fastest toward Gloria. My Ren was activated and so was my Sandevistan, so it took utterly no time before I reached Gloria. I scooped her up and used the remaining time on my Sandevistan to make my way over to where the ambulance vans were parked. 

I deactivated my Ren and activated my Zetsu in order to stay hidden from the beast whenever it regains its barings. 

I’m so glad I invested some time into learning a flashbang technique, otherwise I never would have found a way out of that beast’s sight. 

As my Sandevistan ran out, everything returned to normal and as I put Gloria down, she let the contents of her stomach pour onto some rubble. 

Yeah…I probably should have thought about how such speed would affect a normal person. 

Eh, too late now. 

I patted her back as she let the last of her vomit out, and when she turned around to look up at me, I smirked at her.

“So, deals back on.” 

She stared at me in disbelief for a few moments before she began moving toward her van which was right beside the one we were behind. She opened the back door to it, and I hopped in and closed it. 

As I sat in the back of the dark ambulance, I heard the sound of a helicopter growing closer and closer. 

Just in the nick of time. 

As the ambulance began moving, I heard the helicopter stop right above us, and as I looked out of the window, I saw men dressed in heavy black armor rappelling down toward where the Nen Beast and I shared a quick clash. 

Well, at least I’d never have to see that fucker again. 

Deshawn is definitely paying more for the job because, with all this fucking heat, he owes me. Otherwise, I ain’t doing shit for him anymore. 

The ambulance drove for only a mile or so before it stopped, and Gloria hopped to the back to take a look at me. She immediately administered some burn cream, which did ease my pain a bit. The burns from the explosion were restricting my movement because of how painful they were, and no, I don’t turn off my pain receptors; I only dim them a bit. 

After quickly applying the burn cream to the worst areas, she began cleaning my neck of the blood that had already started to dry. She then took some gauze and lightly wrapped it around my neck. It was tight, but not so tight that I felt like I was being choked. 

Finally, she took out a syringe, which she injected me with, and energy filled my body. 

“That’s some good shit!”

“A-Are you a junkie?” Gloria Martinez asked with a shaky voice. The entire time she’d been treating me, she still seemed very scared, which was understandable. 

“Nah, I’m not. I rarely take drugs.” I shook my head with ease. The affect of drugs, while pleasing for a time, were utterly toxic for my body and mind, so I didn’t use them much. 

“That’s good, we wouldn’t want a-any reactions to emerge.” She rubbed the back of her neck. I nodded and held my hand out. She seemed to realize what I wanted from her, so she gave me her arm. I then transferred ten thousand eddies to her. 

“Thank you for the help…” I trailed off and her eyes lit up in realization. 

“Gloria!” She said quickly. “Gloria Martinez, and no, thank you!” 

“You’re the one that helped me.” I chuckled and stood up. “The name’s Maliketh Aeneas.”

Her eyes lit up in realization and I was genuinely surprised to see that look. She knows who I am?

“The beard should have gave it away.” She whispered to herself and I let out a low chuckle as I walked over to the backdoors of the ambulance. 

“Again, thank you for all your help, Gloria. I wouldn’t mind staying longer to show you more of my thanks, but I must get back to my people, they’re probably worried about me…well at least some of them.” I finished with a hearty laugh, and Gloria stared at me with slightly widened eyes from her place on the floor. 

“You’ve…done me a great service, thank you.” She lowered her head as tears began to stream out of her eyes. 

I smiled down at her and walked forward. I crouched to her level and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Guess you really needed the money, huh?” I asked, and she wiped the tears out of her eyes and nodded.

And I need something from her, now it’s time to reel her in!

“Then, this doesn’t have to be the last deal we make with each other.” I grinned at her, and she looked at me as if she was prepared to cling onto my next words like her life depended on them. 

“Another?” She asked quietly and I nodded. 

“Look, my gang and I are in need of some cybernetics, but getting some of the good stuff is a lot harder than you would think.” I rubbed the back of my head. “Since you work as a paramedic, you come across deceased and dying gonks all the time with a fuckton of chrome in them. All I’m asking of you is to send that chrome our way if it looks valuable, and we’ll pay you for it.” 

Her eyes widened before she looked down at the ground in thought. She bit her lip as I could tell she was weighing out the positives and negatives of such a deal. 

First of all, if she was caught, she’d definitely be fired, and maybe even arrested and prosecuted, but it’s not like it was easy to be caught. She was the first person to truly inspect the people she picked up, she could easy remove some chrome from them and then carry on with her duties. 

Hell, it’s what she was doing for Maine in Edgerunners.

“...I’ll do it.” She said with a tone of finality. 

“Great.” I grinned and put my hand out again; this time, she put her hand in mine a bit faster, and I sent one thousand more eddies along with my contact info. 

Her eyes lit up as I stood back up. “Consider that an investment in our business. I’ll contact you in the future with a list of chrome to look out for; until then, Gloria.” 

“Thank you.” She lowered her head, and I could tell she was crying again. I opened the backdoor to the ambulance and walked out. Immediately after I stepped foot outside, I activated Ren and launched myself into the air. 

That entire fucking job was chaos; honestly, that may be an understatement, but hey, at least now it’s time to link up and get paid! 

— Chapter End —

Author’s Note: I had fun writing this chapter and closing it out. More fun than I usually have when writing this fic surprisingly. I wanted to post one of these chapters for the month.

I’ll drop two Vegeta chapters next week to make up for a lack of one this week.