Sunset's Isekai
Strangers in a Strange Land (Wolfwalkers/Cyberpunk 2077)
By Wanderer D
"Ugh, I've been to a lot of cities before, but not one that smells this bad," Sunset growled, grimacing as she looked down from the balcony of Ciri's apartment. "And you're pretty high up here, there shouldn't be that much smell, right?"
"I'm not sure that's how it works," Ciri said with a laugh, "although I think you're exaggerating. Night City smells bad, but not much worse than many other cities we've been to, right, Avallac'h?"
The elf shrugged. "Elven cities don't stink."
"Yes they do," both Sunset and Ciri said at the same time. The pair glanced at each other and giggled.
Avallac'h snorted in disdain. "Humans."
"Where?" Sunset asked pointedly, and smirked when the elf looked away uncomfortably. Her smirk didn't last as she started noticing certain things. "Ciri, is it normal to see the scent trails of people in this world?"
Ciri, who had been in the middle of setting up some tea, paused and looked at her. "No. That's not normal in most worlds."
Sunset sighed and glanced at the fading bitemark Rarity gave her earlier. "Great. I think I'm a werewolf."
"Nonsense," Avallac'h said, slumping down on a chair and grabbing a nearby box of variety tea bags. He started shuffling through them as he spoke. "This world barely has enough magic to stay alive, much less create a werewolf."
"Yes, but I'm not from this world, and I was bitten just before crossing the doorway that brought me here."
Ciri and Avallac'h looked at each other, then back at Sunset. A moment later, Ciri was rolling onto her feet at the other side of the room, silver sword in hand, while Avallac'h had backed away and had raised his hands, ready for battle.
"Hey, hey," Sunset said quickly, raising her hands. "Chill! I'm not feeling change-y… the only thing so far is those changes I noticed."
"So… is the one who bit you a werewolf?" Ciri asked, not lowering her sword.
"Not… as far as I know?" Sunset said. "It was Rarity."
"Who?" Avallac'h asked, although Ciri looked, if anything, more worried.
"Why would she, of all things in the multiverse, curse you?" she asked.
"I'm not sure, alright?" Sunset replied, sighing. "Anyway, I'm not feeling like I should eat either of yo—hey, no disappointed looks, Ciri! You know what I mean. This is serious!"
Avallac'h groaned and stalked over to the table sitting down again. "This is ridiculous."
"We should still make sure you're contained at least for tonight," Ciri said, sheathing her sword. "Do you think you could enchant the guestroom to keep you inside if you turned feral?"
Sunset sighed. "Sure. Dammit… I was hoping to go look for Robyn tonight." She sat down at the table, selecting a tea bag and allowing Ciri to pour hot water into her cup. "I hope she's doing okay," she muttered, glancing at the sky. They only had a couple of hours of daylight remaining.
"Alright, thanks Rogue." Panam sighed and sat down. "Alright, that's Rogue, El Capitan, Wakako, and Regina Jones," she said. "I'd be surprised if Rogue hasn't heard anything about your missing family by the end of the night, but one of the others surely will know about it."
Robyn's hand went through the stove and she sighed in annoyance at that before facing Panam. "Thank you, Panam. I really don't know what I would do if I wasn't here with you. I'd surely be lost by now."
Panam snorted. "Maybe. But you're a wolf, right? A hunter. A fighter. I'm sure you'd be okay."
"I don't know." Robyn's hand passed through a mug and she sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. "This place… this world is so different from the one I know. The technology you have… if you hadn't told me otherwise I would have thought you were talking to the spirits when you called these… fixers."
Panam raised an eyebrow. "I am talking to at least a spirit." Robyn gave her a dirty look, which made Panam chuckle. "But I sort of understand a little of what you're going through with that."
Robyn looked surprised, moving over to sit on the available sofa. For a moment Panam wondered why Robyn could just sit on chairs, but go through other things, but decided it was probably better for her mental health to not question that. It was convenient, and that was that.
Instead, she took a deep breath leaning forward to rest her elbows on her legs, clasping her hands together. She stared at the empty bottle of moonshine on the table, remembering when she and V had finished the thing off, not that long ago.
"I guess I need to explain a little about my people," she said eventually, glancing at her ghostly companion. The young girl had been surprisingly patient, most of the kids back at the camp would have already been whining about having to wait. "Nomad packs were created after we were kicked out of our lands, or dispossessed, or fired by the corporations. Homeless families, carrying only what they could on their wheels eventually started getting together… we had mechanics, teachers, doctors, anything and everyone. A little of everything a city has to offer… and we became families."
She leaned back on the couch, crossing her leg over the other and resting her arms on the head rest. "People in cities like to see us as little more than gangs… because we wear our colors, or fight and die together… but we're not just a gang. We take care of our own. Being a nomad… being an Aldecaldo is having all the brothers, sisters, uncles you could ever want. When I was a kid, our leader Saul would just go out with all of us kids and do crazy sh—stuff just to entertain us.
"When he and Scorpion came back, Mitch taught us how to shoot better; he taught me strategy and tactics. I learned how to fix things, how to take apart and put back together a whole car, how to pilot a hovercraft. We sometimes have to do things that are not… legal, but we're not a group of criminals doing things for money or power… we just try to survive. We get work when we can and well, sometimes that work involves fights."
Robyn nodded. "I understand… I had to break the Lord Protector's law in order to save my… um, mom and sister and the rest of the pack."
Panam smiled. "Exactly. If there had been another way, you would have done it right?"
"I tried!" Robyn said emphatically, nodding her head almost as if she felt that Panam wouldn't believe her. "I tried first to explain that if we let Moll go free, she'd guide the wolves out of the forest… but they didn't listen."
Panam reached over to pat the young girl's shoulder in reassurance, only for her hand to go through her. Coughing uncomfortably, she sat straighter. "I believe you. But, anyway… I guess what I was getting at is that… I grew up with the Aldecaldos. My family was two hundred or so people. We lived on the road, and we never stayed too long in one area. I never got much of a chance as a child to go into any city either… and then I left the family for a while and tried to make a life in that mess over there." She pointed through the window at Night City.
Even for someone like her, who had grown up seeing things like that from a distance, there was so much going on there, so much information to absorb, so many lights, moving objects, giant buildings, insane highways. They were thankfully too far away from it to hear the noises from the city.
"I… it really wasn't for me. I'm glad V talked me out of staying there, to be honest. It's not my world. It's not where I want to be, or where I had any fulfilling connections. The few things that felt familiar were twisted, or used for questionable things. People there get to the point of being more machine than human… there's rogue AIs, violence everywhere, there's almost no trust, no love, no friendship…" She trailed off, snorting at her words. Panam shook her head. "I was glad to be back… to go back home." She looked up at the young girl and smiled. "So not exactly, but I have an idea."
Robyn smiled back. "Thank you. It does make me feel better."
"Anyway," Panam said after a few moments of silence. "We're here, away from everything… and I don't think we'll get news tonight." She cleared her throat. "So… what's going to happen to me?"
"Hm." Robyn hummed. "I think it's easier if you just go sleep. I'll be here for you when you wake up."
Panam sighed and stretched on the sofa. "I think you're keeping things from me."
Robyn smiled. "I am. But it'll be easier this way. And don't worry, you won't be alone."
The world was completely black. Then, slowly, color came into it. Waves of light—red, pink, blue, purple—twirled into it, converging into ghostly shapes that seemed familiar, and yet weren't. Things like a sofa, but with hints of others sitting there. She could see a ghostly version of herself, lying down. She could see a human shape next to her, a bit superimposed, where V had sat. But what was she… she looked into her eyes, and she looked back and suddenly she scrambled back, yelping a bark as her hindlegs slid on the old carpet and she fell flat on her butt.
She looked as the smells and ghostly shapes faded into an aura of sort around everything around her. She stared at her paws, and turned around to see a fluffy tail. And then there was another creature there… younger than her, a grey wolf with blue eyes.
"Hello, Panam."
"Y-you…" The voice was familiar and calming. She took a deep, panting breath, and stared at the other wolf as she circled her. "Wow, you're… well, you look really strong!"
Panam carefully stood on her paws. It was natural. There was no struggle to really communicate her brain's instructions to her body, as she had feared. She walked around the room, looking at things with her new perception.
"Now that you're a wolf, you're much more sensitive to smell," Robyn said, unnecessarily, since she could smell everything. Yuck. "But that's not all," the girl continued. "If you close your eyes… the smells will show you what and who is around you. Your ears can catch the smallest of sounds…"
Panam could hear them. Mice and other small creatures that had survived in the wastelands around the city.
"And your paws can detect vibrations much easier than your human body," Robyn said.
The reminder made Panam turn to face her body. "Wha-how do I get back?"
"When you're ready, just touch your body with your nose or paw and wish yourself back in," Robyn said, "but for now, why don't we go run outside? I've been trapped in this place and the tent and the car all day!"
Panam glanced at the windows, where one was open. "I-I don't know."
"Oh, come on," Robyn said, shaking her tail excitedly. "You haven't lived until you've been a wolf!"
Standing next to the younger wolf—and her own human body—gave Panam a rough idea of her own size. And she was big. Much bigger than Robyn, she could probably carry her own human body without much problem. She whined, glancing from her body to the open window, where the wind brought sounds of so many things she didn't even know were there!
"Fine."
She didn't know wolves could grin like that, or at all for that matter, and had she been told wolves could smile like children in a candy store, she'd laughed at whoever told her that and called BS. But Robyn had proven her wrong. And it was really, really hard not to feel just as excited as she took a leap through the window, following a ghost girl-turned wolf that had bitten her and turned her into some sort of werewolf into the cold night.
And it was really, really hard not to bark happily as they found a rabbit and chased the poor creature all around the camp. And it was also hard not to laugh. It was hard not to play tackle, or play hide and seek with with Robyn. And it was nigh-impossible to not howl at the moon and hear the occasional coyote or stray yelp in the distance.
So she didn't even try not to do it.
To be Continued…
Frick yeah, I love this story. I should be going to sleep, but then I saw that this has updated, and read it instantly. You might be a little too good at this, ya know?
A lovely chapter and certainly worth the wait. Do keep up the good work!
I wish Sunset would turn into okami amaterasu instead of normal, boring wolf.
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Me too!
As one who haven't seen Wolfwalkers - I am finding their Wolfwalking seriously lacking in the fail-safe department
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It's a great thing to wake up in the morning to too
No worries on the delay. It was a good chapter and worth it. :)
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Heh. Why stop there? Maybe her magical nature has an unintended side effect even Rarity couldn't have foreseen, and suddenly Sunset turns into a five-foot tall unicorn pony when she sleeps? That would leave her conflicted. She gets her original body and magic back... but only when her human body is asleep at night.
I can imagine the frantic scribbling in the book after this, as she tries to get a second opinion to what would happen to her the next time she goes to Equestria. Is she a human when she falls asleep after this? Is she going to have problems getting control of either form in either world? And will she become an orange ball of neuroses trying to figure all this out while wearing a hole in Twilight's carpet in her castle as she freaks out?
That was very adorable. I am a big fan of Wolf Panam
I've only just come across this, but this cover art is absolutely fantastic
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At the end of the SG1 saga, Sunset was shown to already became an alicorn.
Were-alicorn! Does it contagious?
I think the wolf walker isn’t the rarity that this sunset knows but another one who is most likely in big trouble and the Rarity sunset does know knew that her sunset could help.
lol. Get your mind out of the gutter, Ciri
Wait, so is this Panam or Robyn saying/doing this? From the context it seems like it'd be Panam but that doesn't fit well.
And is Robyn still ghostly, or does Panam going Wolf make Robyn's wolf shape 'real' again too?
The Dreaded Remarks and Corrections Section:
> I'd be surprised if Rogue hasn't heard anything about your missing family
Fairly sure that should be "I'd be surprised if Rogue [has] heard anything".
> She could see a ghostly version of herself, laying down.
Should be "lying down".
Ya know I actually kind of like this.
It would be cool to see this series of chapters turned into a story on their own.
I've actually bought cyberpunk myself so I can kinda follow along but this wolfwalker stuff confuses me. Can someone please tell me exactly what that is, is it like a show or something because I find myself actually interested. I've always been a fan of werewolves and things like that.
10649277 One of the best animated movies. Easily on the top ten of most reviewers/people's list for last year. Currently on Apple TV, but if you've never used that and you have the option for a free trial, it's worth using it for that, as 10605931 can attest!
10649250 Thanks! I'll clean those up!
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Yeah that's not gonna work. The only I got is the Roku channel and YouTube. Will either of those work?
I'm hoping for either witcher 3, or mabey horizon zero dawn soon. Fingers crossed
10649292 unfortunately it's only legally streaming in AppleTV (I double checked). I'm sure it'll come out eventually on other platforms.
Sounds an awful lot like cities in real life.
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I would be all for Aloy getting roped up into these shenanigans
I've been eagerly awaiting the next chapter in this arc & you really came through with this one. Soon as night hit, everything with Panam really touches well on the Wolf Walkers side of things. Can almost hear the song!
Now I'm excited! Can't wait to see how Shimmer reacts. Hopefully, her grin is just as wolfish~
Also, I've been meaning to mention this for a while, but I keep forgetting. We've had a few tidbits touching on how Sunset had been to the DBZ universe. I must admit, kinda hoping there's a small couple chapters arc for them somewhere down the line. Maybe even a Horizon Zero Dawn chapter too. ... Not till we get a good 'run' out of this one though.
[Grumbles about there still being no Luna emoji.]
I wonder how many times the bar has had to deal with Arasaka nanodrones and tech by the time Sunset gets back?
Please forgive my asking but how many more chapters in this Wolfwalkers/Cyberpunk arc? I gave up trying to read it due to being so clueless about everything happening in it lol.
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Yea, I fully admit I Yarr Harr'd it. It's so annoying with so many different platforms these days
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Haha, same. I extremely clueless about whats going on
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In all fairness, Sunset's current companions are apparently Witcher characters. I don't know what they're doing in this setting, but it's probably not too dissimilar to what Geralt was doing in Soul Calibur 6.
Unicorn, human, angel, demon, cat, wolf, werewolf, Saiyan probably counts as ape... At this rate, Sunset's going to become a card game changeling through the checklist method. And Rarity's already there.
And a little more magic finds its way into the outskirts of Night City. I can only imagine what that will lead to. We've seen how introducing the supernatural to a world nearly devoid of it can lead to certain... complications.
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Ciri can make jumps between worlds and in The Witcher 3 it is implied that she had once been to the Cyberpunk 2077 world.
I’m basically just waiting for Sunset to show up and do stuff since I have no clue who any of these people are. At least you describe their backstories well enough.
Well, now I'm all caught up, but I can't really despair that there isn't currently any more, as my "Read it Later" selection seems to have mysteriously grown since I started
Boy it's been fun to venture through this collection of worlds the Isekai has touched. There have been various stories I'm not familiar with (current subjects included in fact), but you've done such a good job at introducing the important elements without bogging down the story with info dumps that most of the time it doesn't even matter. Absolutely loving it, and looking forward to more!
Just a bit of a shame I managed to catch up in a multi-parter so I have to wait for the conclusion.
Sounds like an authentic Cyberpunk game experience.
gah! can't read wolfwalkers or cyberpunk
not finished the game or started the show
driving is hard on mouse and board, I hit so many people.
Haven't seen Wolfwalkers, or heard of it, but neat
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Yeah, see, all I knew was that dimensional travel was canon to the Witcher and has been used for official crossovers before. That was all I needed to know to be okay with Ciri popping up.
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I’d like to think something that is mentioned in the Witcher game is relatively more “canon” than, say, appearances in a Capcom game, but whatever. Not really important.
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Official crossovers plural. I knew about the Monster Hunter one as well, but doing it twice is what makes it clear that it's A Thing.
And yes, primary sources are preferred. I just had no need to look for them because the stuff I already knew let it fit.
And Rarity turns Sunset into a wolfwalker without her knowledge or consent. Another check on the growing list of reasons why Sunset's Rarity is actually a pretty shit person. Please don't tell me this gets handwaved away. Rarity has already played coy with information, did the above, drug Sunset to hell despite knowing how Sunset felt about being a demon. Sunset really needs to either set her straight or cut her off.
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I mean, Rarity never really shied away from the fact that she's not a nice person. But then, she's immortal. Or at least as close to one can get without being a god. Standards of morality are bit different for people who measure their lifetimes in the lifespans of a universe.
As far as I'm concerned Rarity did this to Sunset because either A: Sunset can already shapeshift at will, so having the necessary instincts and abilities of a wolfwalker wouldn't actually be a bad thing. Or, B: the bar will remove the affliction upon her return, though I doubt that one since Rarity was able to pass on said affliction in the first place, implying the bar never removed it from her.
Also, potential option C: Rarity understands that narrative causality is both a thing and even she is beholden to it.
Or she's a cunt that likes throwing people into situations half-cocked. Honestly, it could be a little bit of everything for all we know.
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This version of Rarity is all but confirmed to be a Demon Lord, so...