Description¶

Pisces is the fourth Side Job in Judy’s questline, starting some time after the Side Job Talkin’ ’Bout a Revolution ends. By now, you should know how this works - drive away from Judy’s apartment and skip time until you get a message from her, which technically starts this quest, although to get things moving you’ll need to wait for a promised call at a later date. Skip time some more until you get the call, which is short and to the point - meet outside of Megabuilding H8 in the afternoon.

Clear the Maintenance Room¶

Travel back to Megabuilding H8 - where Clouds is located - and meet up with Judy and the dolls (you’ll be given a prompt to wait if the time isn’t right). After some chatter, follow them into the elevator and ride up to the maintenance level.

When you arrive, you and Judy will leave the dolls to their own devices and set off to complete your part of the plan, which involves getting past several Tyger Claw gangers. Take them out however you wish - there’s no real need for stealth here, but it is possible - then talk to Judy near the panel she needs to tinker with to hear more details of the plan.

Infiltrate Hiromi’s Penthouse¶

You’re on your own for the next phase of the job, so head into the indicated elevator and ride it up to the roof. When you arrive, exit the elevator and turn left head forward until you hit a wall, then turn left again to reach a glass railing, below which is the balcony you need to drop onto. There are Tyger Claws patrolling below, however, so throwing caution to the wind and jumping down might not be the best idea.

You’re actually spoiled for choice, as there are numerous ways to get into the penthouse. First, note that the entire roof is encircled by balconies - just strolling around the perimeter should reveal ladders you can descend, if you’re too timid to jump down. Most of them - all except the balcony directly outside of Hiromi’s penthouse - are completely unguarded, too, meaning all you need to do is engage in some platforming (probably not a good idea without Reinforced Tendons) or simply circle around the building to reach your destination.

Failing that, you can just jump onto the top of the penthouse (or bust down a section of fence [Body 5]) where you’ll find some skylights leading into the penthouse, a ladder leading to a garden balcony, and an Access Point you can jack into. It’s pretty ninja to shoot out a skylight with a silenced revolver and drop into the penthouse, but it’s arguably safer to just climb down the ladder, silently dispatch the lone guard on the balcony, then climb in through a shutter window. You can also just use the door on the balcony.

However you manage it, dispatch three Tyger Claws inside the penthouse (two downstairs, one upstairs) then head upstairs and enter to find Maiko waiting for you. Unsurprisingly, Maiko isn’t interested in any of Judy’s silly ideals, and has used the opportunity created by your operation to make a powerplay of her own. In addition to Hiromi are two even bigger fish in the Tyger Claws hierarchy, to whom Maiko hopes to make a display of Hiromi’s incompetence so she can replace him. Say what you will until Maiko wakes up the two bosses, after which your responses will determine how things play out.

First, during a timed dialogue choice you can pick between the following:

• “Hold on. Think you’ve gone too far.”
• “Judy, stop.”

The only difference between options (or saying nothing at all) is that during the next timed dialogue option you won’t have the choice “Maiko is taking over Clouds.”:

• “Clouds declares its independence.”: Provokes the Tyger Claw bosses into attacking.
• “Hiromi has to go.”
  • “Maiko’ll run things as she does now. Only officially so.”: Maiko is put in charge of Clouds.
  • “Clouds will be a doll collective.”: Provokes the Tyger Claw bosses into attacking.
• “Maiko is taking over Clouds.”: Maiko is put in charge of Clouds.
• “[Draw weapon] Let’s cut to the quick.“: Provokes the Tyger Claw bosses into attacking.

All in all, there are only two outcomes: either you end up fighting the Tyger Claw bosses, or you put Maiko in charge of Clouds. The former, of course, necessitates conflict, while the latter can be done peacefully. Fighting the Tyger Claw bosses is what Judy wants you to do, and will ultimately appease her, but you can also finish her questline by putting Maiko in charge, albeit with some nuance.

Defeat the Tyger Claw Bosses¶

To provoke the Tyger Claw bosses, just pick the option “[Draw weapon] Let’s cut to the quick.“ or declare Clouds as an independent doll collective by picking the options “Clouds declares its independence.” or “Clouds will be a doll collective.”.

You’ll start out fighting the two bosses, with the smaller one in the red attacking with a katana and the larger one in white using a ranged weapon. Best to deal with the former first, then gun down the latter, but be wary, as Hiromi will wake up and join the fray before long.

Once they’re dead, talk to Maiko and you’ll get two dialogue options:

• “What?”
• “I do. Either you leave Clouds or I kill you next.”

Saying “I do. Either you leave Clouds or I kill you next.” will provoke Maiko into attacking, while saying “What?” will prompt more responses:

• “Can’t know that for sure.”
• “That’s no longer your problem.”
• “You tried to cheat us all.”

Of the three, only “Can’t know that for sure.” will avoid a fight. Maiko, despite her claims, will attack rather crudely with a machete, and shouldn’t be difficult to put down.

Whether you fight or spare Maiko, grab the iconic katana Tsumetogi on a display on the table.

Maiko’s Power Grab¶

To put Maiko in charge of Clouds, you need to pick the dialogue options “Maiko’ll run things as she does now. Only officially so.” or “Maiko is taking over Clouds.”, which will lead to Hiromi being demoted, in a sense. After the bosses are done, grab the iconic katana Tsumetogi by pulling it from Hiromi’s corpse, then follow Maiko outside and talk to her, where she’ll offer you a reward:

• “Thanks”: Takes reward, angers Judy.
• “Don’t want your eddies.”: Forfeits reward, continues Judy’s questline.

If you take the reward (respond with “Thanks.”) you’ll earn a whopping €$12,040, but taking this reward will lock you out of the last job in Judy’s questline and her romance. On the other hand, if you decline by saying “Don’t want your eddies.” you’ll still be able to continue both Judy’s questline, and potentially pursuing her romance.

Aftermath¶

Whether you kill the Tyger Claw bosses or put Maiko in charge, all that’s left to do is exit the apartment and descend to the ground floor via an elevator, courtesy of Judy. Time will skip forward and you’ll chat with Judy, whose reaction will vary depending on what exactly happened earlier. Whether you killed the Tyger Claw bosses or put Maiko in charge, whether you killed Maiko or not, and whether you took Maiko’s money being the main factors. The job will end shortly after this, and assuming you did not take the reward from Maiko, Pyramid Song, the final job in Judy’s questline, should start up after enough time passes.