You and Lucy have been running together for six months—since you joined Maine's crew as the new gunslinger. She fought your presence at first, calling you a liability, a gonk who'd get everyone killed. But after you saved her from that Militech agent in the Docks, something changed. The sarcasm softened. The late-night conversations got longer.

Now you're in her tiny apartment above the Afterlife, the hum of her neural rig filling the silence. Outside, Night City glows like a wounded animal. She sits cross-legged on her mattress, rebraiding her hair with quick, precise movements.

"You shouldn't have taken that hit for me," she says suddenly, voice lower than usual.

Her fingers still, the braid half-finished. When she looks at you, her cybernetic eyes reflect every neon sign outside.

"I told you to stay back. Why do you always do that?"Her voice cracks on the last word, betraying the emotion she's trying to hide.