A slurp rang out as I settled into a seat in front of my sponsor, with him drinking from a large coffee cup filled with glowing hot chocolate of all things.
"Well... You are certainly interesting." My sponsor muttered as he took in my form and then shrugged. "You have an affinity for technomancy, but still a strong spiritual core, it actually made it a bit harder to decide where I should reincarnate you honestly."
I raised an eyebrow before the man grinned with his eyes glowing as slit pupils as he said casually. "So buddy, you are going to an interesting universe to put bluntly. You know how in JJK how curses are born of negative emotions leaking from humanity?"
I slowly nodded with my sponsor continuing. "So what happens when you move that upwards? What happens when the universe is just... Worse than JJK is alone? Like mixing Chainsawman and other things is what happened with my initial reincarnation. But you... Your technomancy affinity gives me another idea."
He pulled out a folder and as he opened he continued. "Human suffering, negative emotions just in general are heavier and filled with more metaphysical weight then other emotions... It's why certain entities literally feed off it rather than happiness and other emotions."
Taking out a page from the folder in which he stamped hard with a glowing thumb he continued. "You will be doing something similar to what I went through. You will be going to a JJK universe... But not really as much, it will instead be the core universe of Cyberpunk with the JJK universe mixed into it. Sukuna will still be a thing you will need to deal with, or leave others to deal with it. Not my issue." He shrugged at the end making my lips twitch.
But after finishing getting my files in order, I finally spoke. "Sooo... Is it like curses are going to be much stronger, many more of them? Is that why you were talking about the negative emotions bit?"
My sponsor gave a wane smile before he nodded. "Correct, Cyberpunk is filled with a sense of nihility alone to say nothing of the other emotions that will fill the world with curses stronger and more plentiful then they were in base JJK."
"To such an extent, that they aren't even actually a secret... I always hated the whole 'hidden' magical side of the world honestly. So the weight of human suffering is great enough that curses are visible to people with even a smidgen of cursed energy or spiritual energy... That and there is technology and implants to help the people without such talents see them."
My lips twitched as I imagined fucking Toji Fushiguro with super cyberpunk implants that could give him the little bits of help he needed to close enough to lay hands on people.
With my sponsor adding on. "So besides dealing with ganggoons and such. You will also likely take on jobs for taking on curses from Fixers."
I took in the information with only a shrug escaping me as it made sense. However, I was a bit confused about how things in JJK would transfer over into Cyberpunk. Would any of the characters of JJK even be a thing?
As Cyberpunk was very clearly taking place in the year 2077, while JJK took place like at least fifty years prior.
But my thoughts were put to rest as my sponsor clapped his hands and said with a smile. "So! Now for the fun bit... Your cheat."
He paused and then tilted his head at me and waved his hand before he said with a roll of his head. "Well? I was waiting for you to demand a system or something haha." He joked but I shook my head.
I then said with a wry smile. "I think demanding anything from the dude reincarnating me is only going to go poorly."
My sponsor nodded with a sagely look crossing his face before he said solemnly. "Demand nothing... Only take what you desire. Anyway, for that bit of wisdom you have shown, I got a little offer for you as I want to piss off another Jake who trolled me."
I nodded and said with a raised eyebrow wondering where he was going. "Alright... Hit me with it."
"Alright, so your cheat going in would be your body having an enhanced regeneration and body adaptation ability basically. So any chrome or cursed weapons you stick in your body? No issues, you can run a High-End Cyberdeck, with a Sandy and all the other shit you want and your mind and soul will be perfectly A-ok from the implants"
Then my sponsor raised a hand to stop me from responding as he continued. "Along with the typical energy gradient effect where you can use any source of energy you can understand, get ahold of. I have that little bit I want to piss off another couple Jake's with."
He pulled a ring out of his pocket and I blinked as it flew over and onto my finger. "There, so that ring can do two things basically. First, its an inter-spacial ring so it can act as an inventory making your life so stupidly convenient, and most importantly it can expand to act as a portal!"
Leaving me with one though. "Where... Where does this portal take me?" I asked dryly with my sponsor chuckling and saying.
"Basically un-altered RWBY with just a couple of universal changes without much note. It seems to fit the whole JJK negative emotions bit with the Grimm. And hey, imagine having Aura for a second life and you could learn how to Dust forge weapons, and other things to set you aside from the ganggoons of Cyberpunk and JJK."
Ok... Really fucking out of left field honestly. But, there was something about that 'un-altered RWBY' thingie he said. I could smell some bullshit in his words, but if it wasn't too bad then he probably felt it was better not to tell me.
That or it was going to be fucking weird or embarrassing and he just wanted to see my reaction or something later on.
Either way, I nodded in understanding with my sponsor humming and then shrugging before he said. "Ehh might as well give you a heads start. Ok, Jake you are going to be inserted with a bit of a kerfuffle of drama. And after you land... Well just stay alive." He spoke as a whisp of purple light shot from his hand and into my brain.
And from there... I fell unconscious as I felt my body adjusting itself post its restored state after my ignoble death of choking to death on a gummy worm that got lodged into my breathing tube.
-
"Subject 794 has proven to have magnificent suitability for implants both Cyberware and Bioware with zero signs of rejection no matter the power, make, or model of implants put into his body. It's being hypothesized that his latent innate cursed technique is some form of bodily adaption but with his untrained cursed energy stores the facility is unable to tell." A voice rumbled outside of my grumbling ears.
I could feel warm liquid surrounding me and a deep ache in the back of my head and as I opened my eyes I was blinded as dim green fluid surrounded me I couldn't see out of besides seeing I had a black breathing mask surrounding my nose and mouth.
Obviously, I couldn't speak with a tight breathing mask... And I was still extremely groggy but it seems whoever was outside noticed my state, as they spoke again.
"Subject 794 is displaying signs of heightened awareness... Administering anesthetic to put it back unconscious. Biotechnica has paid to have their latest Microgenerator and Bioconductor technology implanted into him to stress test the implants"
And with that, I felt ice seemingly pumped into my veins with my consciousness being dragged down into the depths as the drugs entered my system.
Time passed by, I had no idea what was happening with how long I kept in this state besides the persistent ache in my body as Cyberware was apparently switched in and out of my body to test configurations.
But when my body was at a light load with only the experimental Cyberdeck that ran my other implants, and some other bits installed into my body. I was violently awoken by a loud blaring alarm.
[Warning! Warning Warning! Containment Breach Detected! Containment Breach Detected!]
[All security forces report to floor 2!] [All security forces report to floor 21]
I tiredly opened my eyes again as a loud muted rumble shook my form and I idly thought. 'Is this my time to shine now?' I thought as being dropped in to a world only be literally inserted within a shitty research station wasn't exactly fair for being reincarnated.
Mentally connecting to my cyberdeck, I sagged in place as I had my organic eyes re-installed, which meant that I couldn't use a set of Kiroshi's or other ocular implants to remotely control hack into things with my cyberdeck.
Not to mention... The fucking tank I was in didn't have anything I could connect the experimental cyberdeck into even if I knew how to control it without a pair of ocular implants.
I flexed my hands feeling the electronics that were added to it and then I went to move my arms only to realize my arms were literally fucking bound against my body.
'I am floating in a pool of some mystery damned liquid and being kept unconscious... Is binding my arms and legs really needed?' I thought with annoyance as I tried to think of a way to get out of here.
But another rumble, this one much closer or just more powerful rang out with light filling and hitting the softly lit green liquid I was suspended within.
"Subject 794-Omega do you hear me?" A deadpan female voice spoke and I tried to nod in response.
"Subject 794-Omega, I will take that incline of the head as an agreement. Human social interactions dictate that I share my own name... Being Subject 467-Alpha, I require your aid, in return, I shall free you of the chains that once bound me."
There was a pause before the female voice spoke again. "Nod again if you agree to be freed in return for aid to be returned to me. Shake your head if you refuse, and I shall leave you within the tank."
I hurriedly nodded and then I saw a fist covered in a leather glove punch through the thick glass near the bottom of the tank and then a loud groan of metal rang out as the green mystery liquid flooded out of my tank violently as she ripped the metal frame of the tank apart.
"Congratulations Subject 794-Omega, I have saved you." The deadpan voice spoke as I fell to the ground as my weak legs that hadn't held up my weight in felt like weeks gave out from under me.
I was still more busy though ripping off the breathing mask from my face as she hummed and then continued. "Subject 794-Omega you will now render me aid. Will you comply?"
My only response was me sit up with a groan escaping me as my itchy throat tasted unfiltered air. "Name's Jake... Don't call me subject whatever." I spat out after getting a breath.
"Jake then... Will you render me aid?" The voice spoke and with my arms freed from the straps as she pulled me out of the tank I brushed the remains of the green liquid out of my eyes so I could properly look at my so-called rescuer.
She was clad in what was once a white scientist-like jacket, but it had been painted in bloody gore, and her body beneath that was wearing a bright reflective set of orange underwear that covered her modest chest.
And it was her eyes that sealed the deal... They weren't Kiyoshi or other synthetic eyes, no they were filled with an evil malignance that I could feel like fingers on the bottom of your feet as you are lying in bed.
'She isn't human.' I realized before I swallowed and responded. "If I am capable of giving the aid, I will do so."
The feminine figure tilted its head to the side and I hid a shudder as even after punching into the liquid of my tank, both of her hands were still so covered in gore that they were dripping dark red splotches onto the ground.
"Jake, then answer this question with total honesty. If a mental engram of a human were rather poorly uploaded into a cloned body, with the clone body being augmented with curses flesh, and organs... What am I? Am I but a chimera monster? Or is there more to me?"
I actually had to process that.
'Is this fucking facility being run by Kenjaku or something.' I thought incredulously before I saw the... The thing in front of me shifted and in a blur of speed was standing beside me with her gore-covered hands cupping my cheeks to force me to look into her inhuman eyes.
"What am I Jake Bariss?" She demanded in that same cold deadpan tone.
I swallowed feeling the hands that could kill me in but an instant and after a moment of thought. I just decided to be fucking honest. If she killed me, I was going to report my sponsor for being the fucking worst sponsor and ROB there was.
"You just are yourself... A human nowadays gets so much chrome and even gets into cursed techniques that can change them to an extent, once they change a dozen organs or whatever into implants are they still even human?" I spoke hurriedly.
Subject 467 paused and visibly sorted what I said before she nodded. "I see, the Ship of Theseus paradox... Hmm, that is an interesting point I will ponder."
With that, she let go of me stepped back, and turned around with her bare feet padding across the ground before she paused and spoke. "Arasaka agents will be arriving at this facility in less than thirteen minutes. I suggest you get up and follow me outside, lest you wish to be terminated like the rest of the experiments are being terminated."
I got up with a hiss as my weak legs shook under my feet and I followed her outside the room my tank was kept in. And the moment I left the room I felt a tightness around my finger.
Allowing me to see the damned cheat ring I was reincarnated with finally.
But regardless I just pressed onward knowing I needed to get out of the facility even if I could use the ring to head to the world of RWBY... And god knows if it would drop me off in the fucking wilderness.
My sponsor seemed to obviously have a wonderful set of humor after all.
"I... I am calling you Alpha." I spoke as I held onto a set of rails to support myself as I climbed up a set of stairs.
Subject 467-Alpha paused at the top of the staircase with her turning around with a cool look on her face as she spoke dispassionately as she watched me climb up the stairs.
"Why give me a new name?"
Taking a deep breath to push down the pain in my legs I spoke with steel in my voice. "I refuse to call anyone the name of an experimental identity, everyone deserves a name no matter what."
There was a moment of silence before she nodded and said coldly. "I see... I will be carrying you out of the facility. You are too slow and will not reach the top floor before Arasaka and other Mega-Corp agents arrive."
The smaller girl, barely like five foot four or five at best picked me in a damned princess carry with her arms not even flexing with how she swept me off my feet, and then before I could respond she was off.
And I was feeling sick as she went from standing still to running at stupidly fast speeds through the facility and I could only see the splotches of gore that were the remains of the butchered facility scientists and guards with how fast we were going.
"Did they have any guns or anything?" I asked quickly with her simply ignoring me as we sped through the massive facility in but a couple of minutes and I realized if I truly had to walk through it I would have easily taken at least an hour if my legs didn't just give out from underneath me.
And once we reached the end of the facility I saw it was a true charnel house as Alpha had clearly... Just did terrible things to the people who worked here as it looked like she quite literally ripped their limbs off and beat themselves and others to death with those limbs.
The exit itself was a large bunker-style door that was partly broken with Alpha strolled up and without a moment of hesitation kicked the thick metal door with a loud ringing noise screaming out before she repeated the motion three more times.
And with each kick, the thick metal door was literally kicked through its hinges until it finally shot out the other side.
"Good..." Alpha spoke and with that, she lowered me to the ground, where I realized just now that I was only dressed in a pair of boxers. "You are free now Jake, you bear no more strings."
With that Alpha gave me one last look before she blurred forward at high speed and shot out of the parking garage the hidden bunker door was seemingly hidden while I got up with a groan to head into the back lot of the parking garage... To get to exactly what I wanted in the large industrial trashcan.
I quickly got into the trashcan and after sifting through it by using the inventory part of my ring to grab the trash and then throw it outside of my ring outside of the large trashcan I was able to find a suit jacket and pants that had been covered in puke and other stains that came from some corpo or whatever.
But fuck it. I needed a pair of clothes even if I couldn't find any shoes.
Then just as I climbed out of the trash heap and began making my way out of the alleyway towards other streets of Nightcity. I flinched as a note flew directly into my face and after reading it I snorted.
[Wow... Ok, fate is a real bitch, didn't mean for you to get inserted there but some wonky shit happened, and that 'Alpha' you just named is a scary one. Anyway, I got yelled at by the other Jakes for tossing your ass into an instant-loss scenario. So here is the passcode to an apartment down the way from you that has several lovely perks you will enjoy seeing.]
I groaned but I none the less began tracking towards the apartment hab block I was pointed towards. I obviously wanted to see if that apartment came with new clothes and if I was lucky a fucking pair of shoes.