Maine's Dream
He was running.
No chrome. No pain. No noise buzzing in his skull. Just wind on his skin, breath in his lungs, and the rhythm of bare feet pounding the forest floor.
He laughed—freely, like a kid again. Because he was a kid again.
Young, strong, untouched.
The forest stretched endlessly around him, glowing with golden sunlight that filtered through the trees. Birds chirped overhead. Leaves brushed his arms as he pushed through thick undergrowth. It was beautiful. Pure. Real.
Then something shifted.
Up ahead, standing still in the middle of the trail, was a shadow.
He slowed—but only for a second—then pushed harder, faster, charging toward it like he had something to prove.
Branches snapped underfoot.
The air grew colder.
The light dimmed.
And when he finally stopped, just a few feet away, he saw himself.
Older. Bulkier. Arms made of steel, veins glowing with heated chrome. A face carved by war and regret. That spark in the eyes? Gone. Replaced with something darker. Hollow.
The young Maine stared up at his future self.
"What the fuck happened to me?" he asked, breathless.
The older Maine didn't answer. Just looked down at him, eyes full of something heavy—like guilt… or warning.
"You were supposed to be somebody," the young one said. His voice cracked. "You were gonna change things. You had dreams, man. Real ones. Not this… this monster."
"I know," the older Maine finally said. Quiet. Raw. "I know."
They stood there for a second—just a kid and the man he'd become.
Then the world started to break.
The trees burned into static. The sky tore open. The light went out.
Everything faded.
Reality
Maine gasped awake.
The first thing Maine saw when he opened his eyes was 8 standing over him, arms crossed, wearing that same deadpan expression.
"Hey man, you've been out for a while," 8 said calmly. "We had to downgrade you. Don't panic, but… we had to cut off your dick."
Maine's face went pale. The heart monitor next to the bed started beeping faster. His hands immediately shot down beneath the sheets—then froze.
Still there.
He glared up at 8.
"Motherfucker, are you trying to give me a heart attack!?"
8 burst out laughing. Full-on, from-the-gut kind of laugh.
Maine groaned and slumped back into the bed. "You're a real piece of shit, y'know that?"
"Hey," 8 said, still chuckling. "If you can get that pissed, you're probably gonna be fine."
Maine rolled his eyes, but a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
A few minutes passed in silence, the beeping of the monitor steady now. Then Maine spoke up, his voice low and a little groggy.
"What happened? Where is this place? And… what's with this helmet?"
I leaned back in the chair, arms crossed. "Well, what happened is—you went cyberpsycho. Full-on meltdown. We didn't have time to sit down and talk about it either, since Trauma Team's distress signal went straight to MaxTac. So I knocked you out cold, and Jackie dragged your heavy ass out of the building."
Maine winced. "Sounds about right."
"Now, as for this place—we're at our hideout. Welcome to the CyberDogs' base of operations. You're in the med bay. Had to call up Vik for help with your downgrade."
Maine nodded slowly, taking it all in. "And the helmet?"
I pointed to the rig still strapped to his head. "That's to help you deal with the cyberpsychosis symptoms. Truth is… it's the first time I've used it like this. But judging by what we saw on the monitors—your brain was fried, man. Stress levels off the charts, paranoia, emotional outbursts, the whole nine yards."
He looked a little shaken, but stayed quiet.
"You're the first cyberpsycho I've ever seen come back from the edge," I added. "That's no small thing."
Maine blinked, then furrowed his brow. "Wait… that dream I had. The forest. That was because of the helmet?"
"Yeah. I had a friend custom-make a BD for you. Beautiful forest, pure nature—nothing but peace and quiet. Figured that was the best way to calm your brain down."
Maine let out a low chuckle. "Man… I never been to a forest before. Never even seen a healthy tree. But that shit… it worked. I haven't felt that calm in years."
Silence.
"So… how long was I out?" Maine finally asked, his voice hoarse.
"About three weeks," I said, leaning back. "If I'm being honest, it should've taken two months for you to fully recover. Either you've got an insane will to live… or my invention's just that damn good. Personally? I'm putting my money on my invention—since you were just lying there like a lazy ass, dreaming in dreamland while I was working my ass off keeping everything under control."
Maine smirked. "I see. Thanks. I owe you one. But… I need to know—what happened to the others?"
"They're fine. Everyone made it out alive."
He exhaled, visibly relieved. "What a damn relief."
"Yeah, well—don't relax too much," I said, grinning. "Dorio was real worried about you. But also real pissed. Like, she's been waiting for you to wake up just so she can beat the living shit outta you."
Maine's expression turned from relief to pure horror.
"…It's best if we don't tell her I'm awake."
"Too late," I said with a shrug. "Already contacted your crew."
His eyes widened. "The hell? When?!"
"In the middle of our conversation."
"What the hell, man?! You tryin' to get me killed?!"
I raised a hand casually. "Sorry, man. Dorio told me that the moment you woke up, I had to call her. Her exact words."
"Fuuuuck!" Maine groaned, looking around like he was planning an escape route.
"Come on, Maine," I said with a wicked grin. "Be a man. Take your punishment. You do kinda deserve it."
I smiled—real slow and evil.
About an hour later, the whole Edgerunner crew showed up. First thing they did? Question the hell outta our hideout.
Pilar and Rebecca, of course, went snooping like they owned the place. They found the kitchen and didn't even hesitate—helped themselves to whatever food they could grab. I caught Dorio's eye—she gave me an apologetic look. I just shrugged and motioned for the two troublemakers to follow me.
"Come on, you little gremlins," I muttered.
They trailed behind as I led them to Maine.
It was a hell of a reunion. Dorio walked up to him, didn't say a word—just slugged Maine right across the face.
Then she pulled him into a hug so tight it looked like she'd never let go.
The rest of the crew didn't hold back either, cracking jokes about how Maine looked now. No chrome bulk, no tank-sized arms—just a regular guy. Skinny even. They were brutal, but it was all love in their own twisted way.
Hours passed. Eventually, they all left. I had to physically stop Pilar and Rebecca from walking off with some of our gear. Caught Rebecca trying to stash a grenade launcher in her duffel.
Now, it was just me, Maine, and David. David was on the far end of the med bay, sitting next to Gloria, who was still in a coma.
Maine looked over at me.
"So… MaxTac really thinks I'm dead? How the hell did you pull that off?" he asked.
I smirked. "I got my ways. Their official report has you listed KIA. Database is clean. Nobody's gonna be up your ass anytime soon."
Maine nodded slowly. "Thanks, 8. For saving my ass… and my crew."
"No problem," I said, leaning back. "But the real question is—what now?"
Maine let out a breath. "Honestly… I don't know. This could be the end of the road for me."
"Sounds like something someone would say before they die," I muttered.
"No. It's just…" He paused. "What do you do when you can't keep going forward?"
I gave him a grin. "Then go backwards. Go sideways. Dig a tunnel. Strap on a jetpack and fly. If the path ahead's blocked and you can't do it alone, call your friends and bring explosives. What I'm saying is—there's always another way forward. You just gotta find it."
Maine was quiet for a long moment. Then he smiled. A real one.
A genuine, peaceful smile.
"Mom?"
I heard David's voice—surprised and filled with joy.
I left Maine alone and rushed straight over. When I got there, I saw Gloria, finally awake from her coma, eyes fluttering open with a confused expression.
"David… what happened? Where are we?"
"It's okay, Mom. You're safe," David said, holding her hand tightly.
Then Gloria gripped David's hand even harder, her expression shifting as the memories started to come back.
"David… are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
"I'm okay," he said, hesitating. "But you were in a coma for almost a year. A lot's happened."
Gloria looked at him with disbelief. "Wait… Arasaka Academy. You're still attending, right?"
David scratched the back of his head. "Well… I got expelled. Couldn't pay the tuition. And when EMT found out you were in a coma, they fired you too."
The heart monitor next to her started to spike. I felt a bad feeling rising fast, so I quietly began walking backward.
But Gloria saw me.
"And who is this person?"
"That's 8," David said quickly. "He's the one who saved us. We're in their hideout right now."
"Hideout?" Gloria repeated, eyes narrowing.
I opened the system, flipping through tools fast. I needed an exit plan.
"Who are they, David?"
"Well…" He paused. "They're mercs. We call ourselves the Cyber Dogs."
"We?"
There it was.
David scratched the back of his head, nervous. "I didn't have much of a choice. I needed money. So… I joined them. I'm a mercenary now."
The heart monitor started rising again — fast. She stared at me.
I didn't wait.
Without hesitation, I raised my hand, revealing a small black ball.
"Ninja vanish."
I dropped it to the floor.
Poof. A puff of smoke exploded, and I disappeared from the room.
I fast-traveled straight to my apartment, slumped onto my couch, and sighed. My phone buzzed—David calling.
I ignored it.
"Screw that. I'll deal with this tomorrow. No way I'm getting pulled into that mess — maybe she'll yell at Maine. He's still there, after all."
End of Chapter.
"I saw my fanfic on another website, so I just want to say hi! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It makes me happy to see my story slowly spreading. I'm not the kind of person who asks for likes or power stones—just thank you for reading!"