Wake Up, Samurai
Rating: Explicit
Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Category: Multi, Other
Fandom: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Relationships: V & Jackie Welles, Johnny Silverhand & V, Panam Palmer & V, Judy Alvarez & V
Character: Male V
Additional Tags: Canon - Video Game, Action/Adventure, Organized Crime, Street Kid V (Cyberpunk 2077), Canon-Typical Violence, Betrayal, Found Family, Survival, Moral Ambiguity, Novelization, Gritty, POV Third Person, Noir vibes, bisexual V, Story focused - not romance/smut focused, new ending
Language:English Published:2025-01-25 Updated:2025-02-10 Words:25,337 Chapters:3/?
Summary:
V is a merc with big dreams, but when a high-stakes heist goes sideways, he’s left with a ticking time bomb in his head—the digital ghost of Johnny Silverhand, a long-dead rockstar-turned-revolutionary. The Relic is killing him, and every path to survival demands a sacrifice he refuses to make.
With time running out and no good options left, V and Johnny set out on an impossible mission: to carve out a future where they both live. In a city where nothing is free and no one plays fair, they’ll have to gamble everything on whispered conspiracies that might hold the key to their salvation.
Night City doesn’t promise happy endings. But if one doesn’t exist, V will make his own.
[a novelized retelling of Cyberpunk 2077, written with my personal choices shaping V's story, with an original alternative ending]
Notes:
Before diving into this story, I want to take a moment to give a huge shoutout to DameZoomALot [on Ao3] [on tumblr] for being the most amazing Beta Reader anyone can ask for!
Their input has been a huge inspiration and motivation for me, so please join me in giving them all the love and appreciation they deserve! 🙌
My goal with this story is to bring the world of Cyberpunk 2077 to those who haven’t played it—whether due to preference, motion sickness, or lack of tech—and for myself, when I want to revisit Night City without replaying.
Since the game lets you make choices that shape V’s personality and the outcome of events, this version will follow the choices I personally like best. While I’ll take some creative liberties for flow, I’m sticking to the main story (sadly side quests would make this never-ending, but I'll try to include some fun ones if I have the patience for it).
I’ve also decided to add something extra with certain unromanceable characters, and to create my own alternative ending. I’ll try to stay as true to the lore as I can. My goal is to tie the main game and the expansion Phantom Liberty together into a more cohesive whole—having them depend on each other to reach this new ending, rather than feeling like two separate conclusions.
updated: 18-02-2025