What Friends Are For - LadyDaybreaker (2024)

Chapter 1: 1

Chapter Text

1

Three days.

It had been three days since the incident at the camp and despite her doing everything to keep herself locked away, Uzi was back in the classroom. It’d been her father’s insistence, saying she couldn’t lock herself up grieving her classmates because that was going to lead some repression damage later on…

She didn’t have the heart to tell him why she really locked herself away.

The sun had still been up when they arrived back at the colony, she was beginning to stir to head inside when N had grabbed her wrist and gave her a warning to pretend to sleep. She of course had questioned it only to have a boiling pain shoot down the back of her hand as it fell into the sunlight.

She didn’t question after that, though it made her core sink down further into her chassis as the two disassembly drones had run interference when her dad charged onto the bus. Saying she had volunteered to stay with them until the sun went down so they wouldn’t be alone.

What was she…?

Freak, monster, demon… her inner voice hissed back. Murderer…

She shook her head as she huddled down further behind the books on her desk. She could feel Lizzy’s eyes on her back, trying to bore a hole through her. Fearful and angry. She couldn’t blame her. Most of the popular girl’s friends had been killed on that trip. Lizzy also nearly met her end there as well.

Darren had been first, he and Rebecca had tried to run out of the cabin, but she'd still caught him. She'd...lost something important to him because of thatthing and she'd taken it out on him by ripping his throat out and eating him as he was dying.

Braiden she used her powers and quickly dispatched, clean and simple decapitation…though she did see him light on fire not long after, side effect of her overloading his circuits years ago because he’d bullied her.

Sam she’d hunted down and chased after the initial scare, he'd slammed a magnet against her head and it pissed her off a bit. So much so that she grabbed that same magnet, pressed it against his core until it completely wiped his hard drive. He...wasn't Sam anymore by the time she ripped his core out.

Emily was pounced on from the trees, she was always a nervous little thing with a weak core and Uzi honestly thought the stress on her core was what did her in. Didn’t help her head was removed from her neck not long after.

Rebecca though…

That one still made Uzi shudder convulsively.

Rebecca she had made sure felt pain. The others she was efficient in dispatching, but this one was personal in her frenzy. She had ripped into her first, didn’t kill her but removed her torso from her hips and made her watch as she tore into Darren after his deactivation. She wouldn't stop screaming...so to shut her up, Uzi stuffed half of Darren's core, his soul into her mouth. Rebecca had been right up there with Lizzy in tormenting her. Constantly picking on the purple eyed drone because of her height, her hobbies, and very much made sure that she had no friends. Then at the camp…her hitting on N despite the fact she was dating Darren…trying to isolate Uzi even more than before…

Her vision flickered with static as her hand gripped the desk harder. A low rumble went through her chest as the piece of furniture gave a soft groan of protest. Why did she get so upset…they were just friends, right? But then again, that’s what Rebecca always did when someone tried to be friendly…the popular girl would be alllll buddy buddy with them before spreading lies and making them hate the poor goth girl…making her even more of an outcast.

Just thinking about it pissed her off…

Warning: Internal Temperature Increasing.

She flinched at the warning, releasing the desk and putting her head on her arms taking steadying breaths to cool off.

Couldn’t afford it…not again.

“Uzi, please no sleeping in class…” the teacher sighed, “Documentary movie time is not recharge time.”

“Bite me,” Uzi’s eyes flicked up to the older drone’s as the words hissed out.

But she did turn her head to the screen to watch the old human documentary. Something about cats…big ones. She watched as the big tawny creature stalked towards its prey, she’d seen that before. N and V both had that grace when they were hunting. She’d…

“New body, same horrors, huh Cyn?”

Uzi jolted, violently reminded of that night as V stalked towards her with blades extended.

Warning: Internal Temperature Increasing.

“Stop it stop it stop it calm down!” Uzi panicked, putting her head in her hands.

They felt like ice.

Hurts. Hurts! Hurts! Pain! hissed from her voicebox, so quietly that it would be a miracle if she'd been heard.

The monotone narrator’s voice continued on the screen.

“Some big cats are known for toying with their prey before killing and eating them. Reports of male lions carrying young antelopes and grooming them have come from dozens of sources. This is not a nurturing and confused mother role, experts have said, this is merely play for them. And the young fawn will end up being consumed when the lion is bored.”

“...D-Does it at least have pictures?”

“It doesn’t …I checked.”

Warning! High Internal Temperature!

Oil levels at 25%.

Oil Required Immediately!

Uzi’s breaths came out in panicked gasps. Her screen flickered and shook as she dove for her bag. She didn’t care. Have them see her do this horrible thing or risk killing them all.

And that was when she realized the bag wasn’t there. She’d left it at home when her father all but dragged her in this morning.

“No, no, no, no!” she panicked.

A Hi Temp caution flared on her vision clear on her faceplate. It was swiftly replaced by the strange triangle glyph called the Absolute Solver. The lights immediately shattered and the projector burst into a flurry of sparks. Uzi could hear the others cry out as the room was pitched into darkness. She saw their panicked lights shimmering in a rainbow in the blackness. She could hear the oil pulsing…

HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTNEEDMORESWEETCOOLHELPMEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!

Hurts! Hurts! Pain!

“Nope. Nope. Nope. Not going there!” she immediately got up from her seat and bolted out the classroom door.

Her core burned, she felt like her insides were melting as she ran. She needed to cool down. She needed, unfortunately, to get to some oil before she turned again. But where to? Doll’s house was likely cleaned out by now…N and V were taking what they could from there because of the former’s insistence they not hunt. Home seemed more likely…she still had some stashed away from when she had raided it herself. Back when she didn’t exactly need it but still kept herself cooled down. Not to mention…N and V had the key to Doll’s place.

Home it was, then.

The door to her room flew open and slammed shut with a violet glow as the Solver glyph locked it behind her.

“Where is it, where did I put it!? Come on, come on, come on…” her body was terribly hot, it didn’t matter how much she used the Solver now, she needed to find that stash and she needed it now .

Papers were flung in every direction. Crazed ramblings, old newspaper clippings, even some of N’s drawings that she had kept. It all fell around her like an odd snow.

Warning! Internal Temperature Reaching Critical Levels.

“I KNOW THAT!” Uzi shrieked, grabbing at a box hidden under her bed.

She let out a relieved sigh, only for it to devolve into a cry of anger. The box was empty.

“No, no, no, no !” she panicked, “Where could it have gone!? Did I get rid of them!? There’s no way…”

A flash of blue light caught her eye and she faced the small golden co*ckroach that had followed her from the camp.

: )

Maybe it knew where she put it. It had been giving little hints and stuff as of late whenever she’d misplaced something.

“Oil supply,” she shuddered as a sharp pain stabbed through her chassis.

The little bug chirped, skittering towards the desk.

Here . Flashed up in holographic display.

Uzi stumbled forwards, another pain ripping through her systems as pressure focused on her back. Something scrabbling against her casing and fighting to break free.

“No, no you stay…” she hissed as she grabbed the box.

There was a loud crack and pain exploded in her back. She gave a howl as she collapsed to her knees. Oil spattered around her, blisteringly hot as a wing tore through her back. The other one followed mere seconds later. Pressure at her lower back was beginning to build now. She grit her teeth, sharpening every second as she ripped open the box. A Worker Arm lay inside and Uzi didn’t hesitate as more alarms went off over her visor. Her teeth bit down hard into the metal casing and the oil spilled out of the wound.

Oil levels at 19%

Oil levels at 22%

Temperature Stabilizing .

Hurts...hurts...pain...hurts...A sob broke out of her voice box as she continued to drain the arm of oil. By the time she was done her levels had come to about 30% and her temperature still read “high”. Her wings folded around her as she buried her head in her hands.

“...That was it, wasn’t it?” she asked, “No more…”

Sorry. The blue message box flashed as the little bug ran up her wing and down it’s ribbing, ending up nestling next to her neck.

This wasn’t good. Because there was no more in that stash, there was nothing to cool her down. She couldn’t exactly walk out of here, too many other Workers that she’d hurt. And if she stayed…she ran the risk of hurting her dad.

Maybe…maybe sleep would help. It’d potentially cool her down a bit since none of her systems would be online. That was a good idea, yeah…

She struggled to her feet, shaky as she tried to get used to the new weight on her back. She then stumbled to her bed, clawing her way up to the mattress and laying down. The sheets felt like ice, a welcome comfort to her burning self.

And with that she shut down as her head hit the pillow.

Startup Sequence WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002

Oil Level: 19%

Charge Level: 100%

Internal Temperature: High

Absolute_Solver String= True

. . .

Exiting Sleep Mode.

Message Logs.

Msg From WD Unit:TH4D 001-001-001. Unread: 4

Msg From WD Unit:KH4N 001-001-001 Unread: 15.

Msg From DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 Unread: 140.

Uzi’s eyes flickered weakly as she huddled against her bed. Her wings wrapped around her to shut the light, which was already starting to hurt her eyes, out. Another message popped up in the corner of her vision.

Msg From DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 Unread: 1.

Since when did V ever message her? N, Thad and her father she expected…but V ? Out of curiosity, she opened the text.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: Answer N right now, freak, or I’ll rip those doors down and kill you myself .

With a shudder, Uzi opened N’s messages. V was not kidding. She would tear those doors open if N didn’t get an answer. And she’d also kill a lot of Workers to tear her way to Uzi. Another message pinged up on her display from him…and she opened it immediately.

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: r u ok?

Most of the messages from him were along those lines. Some longer, some shorter. She gave a quick response…and then curled up again with her arms and tail encircling her legs as another round of sobbing broke from her.

Meanwhile, in the Spire, N was pacing. He wasn’t able to go outside yet, the sun had just risen so even trying to go near the bunker was a mistake. His tail flicked in annoyance as he plopped down into the snow. Uzi had been gone for a week . She hadn’t answered any of his texts and he was starting to worry again. Lizzy and Thad both had braved the ice storm and made their way to the Spire. Lizzy was currently up at V’s little nest, pestering the Disassembler though N knew V just said that because she didn’t want to lose her ‘Murder Goddess’ reputation. Thad was currently waiting for his girlfriend to be ready to go, working on homework as he waited.

N still wasn’t Thad’s biggest fan after what he did to Uzi a few months ago, he still liked the green eyed Worker don’t get him wrong…but that moment where Uzi had come into the Spire torn up because the other Worker had, politely mind you, turned her affections down…

Let’s just say it had been the first time in a long time that Uzi and V had seen the infamous X flash on his visor. It wasn’t the fact that he had a small crush on Uzi…it was more the fact that he was not happy that someone had hurt his best friend.

They’d cleared it all up not long after that thankfully.

But, what worried N was that neither Thad nor Lizzy had seen Uzi in about four days. Something was wrong. A low whine left his chassis as he stared out the entryway of the Spire towards the bunker. He knew it’d be impossible to get in. Ever since the Camp Incident, V and N both were barred entry to the colony. V had taken the blame for the dead Workers, which surprised both N and Uzi. Having done that, the parents were afraid she’d get hungry again and kill more of them. They had extended that fear towards N as well and to be safe had barred him from entering as well.

“Maybe I should try to contact her again…” he thought as he quickly made up a message to send to her.

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: r u ok?

N leaned back in the snow, welcoming the coolness that kept his warm self from overheating. A few seconds passed and he perked up as he saw a message flash across his visor.

Msg From WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 Unread: 1

“Uzi!” he breathed, opening up the message instantly as he sat bolt upright…though his joy at hearing from his best friend suddenly puffed out like the spark in the corpses of the Spire.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002: No.

Chapter 2: 2

Chapter Text

2

Around nightfall was when Lizzy and Thad finally left. The two Disassemblers had escorted the Workers home, following the two from high above to make sure that nothing happened to them. There had been rumors that a new Disassembly Drone had been in the area, though neither V nor N had seen them. But it worried them all the same. After all, squads came in threes…

“They’re in, let’s go,” V said, “You’re starting to get low too, huh?”

“I’ll be fine for another day or so,” N shook his head, “You go ahead. I’ll go hunt tomorrow night.”

“You can’t starve yourself,” V poked him in the head a couple times, “We’re all we got, remember? Besides, she wouldn’t be happy if you ended up dying on me. She’d blow my head off if I let that happen,”

“I won’t get that low,” N reassured her with a roll of his eyes, “I’ll make sure,”

“Uh…huh,” V’s eyes narrowed before she sighed, a high temperature warning flickering on her visor for a brief moment, “Ugh, fine. Just…don’t hurt yourself, got it?”

With that, she launched herself off the roof, sending snow and ice rippling in a shockwave down to the silent streets below. N stood up from his kneeling position and stretched, it did make sense why her levels were lower, she had spent most of the past few nights up and about and finding new potential hunting grounds. He had been stationed at the Spire pacing and waiting for Uzi to message or show up …

He would need to go hunting tomorrow. V had said the nearest colony other than this one was 50 miles to the south and that it was constantly getting further with every hunt. Doll’s reserves had managed to keep them sated for a while, even their own emergency ones that they’d taken from when V was on house arrest. But now that there were three of them again…

He gave a sigh as he spread his wings and took off into the sky himself, flying casually back to the Spire as opposed to the bullet that V was, now that they were a squad of three again in terms of their dietary needs the stores had depleted rapidly.

They’d noticed it not long after the Prom incident. N had stumbled upon Uzi draining a worker arm when he was waking up from recharge, she didn’t see him awaken and he didn’t dare move until she was done. He had immediately pinged V with his findings and gave a warning to not say anything, just to make sure that Uzi didn’t freak out that they knew. V was surprisingly ok with not saying anything, despite the more hostile threats and careful watching of the Worker girl.

Maybe he should have said something sooner? Maybe if he did, those five kids wouldn’t have died. Uzi would have let them help…at least they would have been able to make sure she was fed and had higher levels so the Solver didn’t hijack her systems like it had done to them when they first arrived planetside.

He angled his wings and shot down from the sky, landing with a loud thud in front of the Spire, folding them back against his spine as he walked inside. No sooner did he enter the safety of the tower, an oddly familiar scent hit his sensors.

“Uzi!” he beamed, starting forwards only to stop as the scent came again.

There was something off. It smelled like her oil, but it was…different. Something older, more bitter and not as sweet. His claws came out with a soft ring as his tail whipped back and forth and a low hiss built up in his chassis. This wasn’t her. Someone was trying to trick him with her scent. And that someone had just walked out, nervously looking around, into the open.

He rushed forward with a speed that barely rendered him visible, golden X blazing on his visor as he lunged at the intruder. He caught them laughably easily, claws brushing against their neck as he pinned them to the snowy ground. His tail angled itself above his shoulder, ready to jab into the intruder below him.

“Easy! Um…N, was it?” the intruder panicked, “I-I’m sorry. I sh-should have waited so-somewhere…”

That voice was familiar…

N’s visor flickered as he scanned the drone below him. The heavy woolen jacket, red ski goggles, white eyes and fake mustache…oh. Oh that’s why he smelled familiar.

His eyes flashed back to their normal shape as he immediately leaped backwards, talons resheathing and replaced by gentle fingers.

“Sorry, Mr. Uzi!” he apologized, offering his hand, “You kinda scared me there for a sec,”

“You and me both…” Khan’s voice was still a bit scared as he stared at the hand offered to him.

“Yeah you and Uzi have similar scents…I thought someone was uh, trying to impersonate her and well…” N winced as he rubbed the back of his head with his other hand, “Uh, how is she by the way?”

Khan’s shaking hadn’t stopped, but he did finally take N’s hand, letting the Disassembler yank him to his feet. He brushed the snow off, though his eyes were still hollowed.

“That’s why I’m here,” he cleared his throat, “She…I don’t know,”

His shoulders dropped heavily.

“She’s locked herself in her room the past four days,” he admitted, “I’ve tried to reach her but she slams the door in my face or won’t even answer. I know I’ve not been the best father…you saw that already…but I’m…trying,”

He gave a heavy sigh.

“I wasn’t able to help her mother but I want to help her,” he said, “She’s all I have left. I don’t understand her well…but I know some about her. And I know that she cares a lot about you,”

He looked up at the taller boy.

“She might answer to you…if you ask her to open up she might actually do it,” Khan admitted, “She likes to shut me out more and more as of late. Wasn’t happy I made her go back to school but, after those kids…she has a bad habit of internalizing her emotions and using those coping mechanisms in a worrying way and I didn’t want her getting hurt.”

“She hasn’t been answering me either,” N told him, “I got one message back today and I still think it’s because V thre-wait, you said she hadn’t left her room?”

Khan shook his head.

“She’s been in there for four days. She’s been so quiet I think she might have put herself into sleep mode to deal with it. But today…” his visor flickered, “I heard her sobbing. I put a blind eye to it because she’s in that phase but hearing her cry like that I just…I needed to at least get to someone she trusts. Even if it isn’t me…”

The smaller drone’s shoulders dropped again and N was painfully aware of how small they were compared to him. This expression wasn’t unfamiliar to him. It was the same one that Uzi had when Khan had shut the door on her on the day N had broken into the bunker.

Devastation.

Loss of Hope.

He hated that look…

“I’ll help,” N smiled, “She’s my friend too, and I’m worried about her.”

That hope reignited in the older drone’s eyes.

“But…uh,” N gave a wince, “How exactly am I supposed to get in there? The uh, WDF I think it’s called? They’re not the biggest fans of me or V. Cuz the whole uh, y’know,”

“I know that bunker like the back of my hand,” Khan chuckled, “I know where the weaker points are that I can sneak you in. So happens I have one that I was supposed to guard tonight.”

“Are you… sure that’s a good idea for me to know about this?” N asked, voice wary as he took a step back, “Uzi hasn’t told you everything has she?”

“She doesn’t tell me anything, no,” Khan sighed.

“Yeah just so that you know, if we get low enough there’s a program that hijacks our consciousnesses and makes us go all murder-y because it’ll start boiling us from the inside out and cannibalizing our systems to feed itself if we don’t get oil ASAP,” N said, “But that hasn’t happened in a long, long time I promise! That’s why V’s not here. She’s trying to find some so she doesn’t break into the bunker like she did the past two times…oh.”

He noticed Khan’s horrified expression and gave a wince.

“Biscuits,” he groaned, “I shouldn’t have said anything, I’m sorry,”

“N-No,” Khan blinked, “I just…didn’t realize that was a thing. So she wasn’t lying about you needing oil to live.”

“You all thought we just wanted it for fun?” N asked, raising an eyebrow, “No, we literally will die if we can’t get any. Kinda the reason we can’t go in the sun either. Too hot and makes us overheat nearly instantly,”

He shook his head.

“Enough about that, Uzi needs help, but I don’t want to jeopardize the colony because its where Uzi lives and it’s where her family is,” he tapped a finger against his chin, “Wait! I got it!”

His wings snapped out and he launched himself upwards, towards V’s nest. Yeah, she’d kill him if she found out that he went snooping inside but this was important. He rooted around the little roost, giving a smile as he saw the prom queen crown nestled back in the back as well as little odds and ends that glimmered and shone in the light from his visor, headband and tail. He found a small scarf and his smile turned blinding as he grabbed it and dropped down to the ground floor with a loud thud. Khan stumbled as the shockwave shot away from N’s impact point.

“We can use this!” N said, holding up the scarf as he trotted forward, his tail flicking back and forth in pride, “We’ll have to walk but I won’t be able to log it into my memory in case something goes catastrophically wrong!”

Khan looked at the scarf, then back up at N and sighed.

“Alright, let’s get a little bit aways out of here. I don’t want you tripping over these uh…”he cleared his throat as he took a step away from a twisted hunk of scrap metal, “parts…"

Chapter 3: 3

Chapter Text

3

The moment Khan untied the scarf from N’s visor the Disassembler had sent a message to V.

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: Bring home some extra if you can. We might have a small problem…

The reply was immediate, causing N to freeze and wince at V’s response.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: THE HELL. DO YOU MEAN. SMALL PROBLEM!?

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: Uzi’s locked herself in her room for four days? She’s probably extremely low if not out.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: I swear to…robochrist I’m going…to rip you both to pieces. Ugh…FINE. I was gonna…bring back extra…anyways so you…could continue…sulking. Let you…know when…back…just found…colony. Going…Dark. Hard…To…Focus. 10%.

N’s wince deepened as he read the increasingly broken message. V had pushed it a little too far this time. There were going to be a lot of dead Workers by morning. 10% was the absolute minimum they could go to before the Solver hijacked them. Single digits were not good.

“Everything alright?” Khan’s voice shook him out of his thoughts and brought him back to the present.

“Yeah, just letting my squadmate know I’m fine,” N said, “She gets a little cranky if she sees I’m gone and didn’t tell her I was leaving. We were supposed to go Hunting but…”

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I try to avoid it as much as I can,”

Khan was silent for a moment before clearing his voicebox.

“Well…at least I know she won’t try to tear the doors down,” he gave a nervous chuckle, “Still repairing those after the last time.”

A faint yellow glow lit up as a blush on N’s visor as his tail flicked anxiously.

“We’re almost there,” Khan said, “Follow me,”

The two made their way through the silent halls, their footfalls thudding against the metal plating sounding more like thunder. The white light from the older drone was drowned out by the caustic yellow of the younger one, creating a soft and flickering light akin to candlelight.

“So many twists and turns here…” N thought as they rounded yet another corner and started up a flight of stairs, though he was logging every bit of it so that he’d be able to get out.

“You live on the first floor of the bunker?” he asked as they reached a door that Khan had pulled a key out for.

“Some perks of being the head of the WDF,” Khan chuckled, “I need to be as close as I can to the surface in case damage happens on the outside,”

“Considering it took us years to even get in I’d say you’ve done a good job,” N said, “V clawed at the doors for months trying to get in and still couldn’t do it.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Khan said as he opened the door.

N had to slightly bend over to get inside, just like with Doll’s home. However, unlike Doll’s, Uzi’s home was clean to the point of perfection. The faint blued violet light that shone from the overhead lights put N’s mind at ease compared to the harsh red of the Russian drone’s home. The door slid shut behind him, nearly clipping his tail. A deep part of his programming thought that this was a trap, but the more rational part said otherwise.

The Disassembler came further inside as Khan walked to a door down the hallway. The taller drone stopped as he looked at the living room area, picking up a picture on the table. Three drones smiled at the camera from the image. Khan was the most recognizable, holding next to him a very pretty female drone with violet hair and equally as bright purple eyes. On his shoulders with arms pumped up into the air and a brilliant smile was what looked like a smaller version of the female drone.

His eyes flicked towards the beanie on the droneling’s head and he gave a smile as he recognized his best friend. He’d never seen her smile like that before and he wondered…what happened?

“Mr. Uzi, who is this?” he asked, turning the picture and tapping the female drone’s image.

Khan’s light dimmed as a tired look entered his eyes. He came away from the other door and took the picture from N.

“Nori,” he sighed, “My wife,”

“So she’s Uzi’s mom?” N questioned, “Where is she?”

“...Dead,” Khan’s voice shook for a second, “She…died a long while ago. Not long after we got into the bunker.”

N’s tail dipped low and his visor flickered.

“What happened?”

Khan’s hands tightened slightly on the picture, a tremor running through them as he replaced it on the table.

“Nanite Acid,”

N’s eyes hollowed as he took a step back. Had he been the one who…? The bodies after all the years seemed to blend together...but was it really him that did this to his best friend? Did he do what V did to Doll just to Uzi?

“Do you…know who…?” his voice was soft.

Khan shook his head.

“Not important. To us, you all look the same,” he stated, “I guess that’s one thing we all have in common. We look the same to you,”

He cleared his throat.

“In any case, Uzi’s asleep from what I’m hearing,” Khan said, “She wouldn’t answer me when I tried to get her attention,”

“You didn’t open the door?” N asked.

“The last time I tried opening that door to see what she was doing she nearly bit me,” Khan chuckled, “She hates it when I try to go in.”

He walked towards that door again and N followed, seeing the more vibrant violet glow underneath the door.

“Besides…it’s one of my doors,” he smirked, wrapping his knuckles on the door, “And you know how hard it is to break one of those down,”

“Yeaaaah…” N admitted, “But, shouldn’t you, y’know…be able to unlock it yourself still?”

“That’s what I thought but…” Khan reached for the door’s panel and lay his hand on it to activate it…

Right as a brilliant purple, tri-pronged glyph burst into light. The Solver glyph spun once before fading into a bunch of pale static.

“That,” Khan stated, “It’s almost like a forcefield…I can get my hand about where the light stops but no further.”

N came forward and put a hand on the door. The smooth metal was cold against the heat of his palm and he knocked on the door.

“Uzi?” his voice was soft, “You there?”

There was a shuffling sound that Khan didn’t seem to catch but N did, his tail flicked upwards and wagged a little as he took a step closer.

“She’s asleep,” Khan reminded him.

N shook his head, “She’s awake, just being quiet so she’ll be left alone.”

He put a hand on the door again.

“It’s me,” he said, “Uzi, you good?”

There was silence for a long, long while…

“Y-yeah…S-Stop a-Asking…”

N rolled his eyes and sat down with his back to the door, curling his tail around his body as he put a hand on the door.

“You know that’s not gonna happen,” he said, “But I’ll be here for you to talk,”

He heard a shuffling sound and a thunk as he realized Uzi took up a position similar to his directly on the other side of the door. Khan’s eyes were worried as he looked between the Disassembler and the door he knew his daughter to be behind. N gave a shrug. Both of them knew Uzi wouldn’t talk unless she wanted to.

“I’ll see if I can get something fixed up for you,” he finally said, “You…uh, is um, oil the only thing…”

“We’re able to basically have what you Workers can,” N said, “I think they used your designs as a template but made it...better? Worse? I don’t know…But oil’s the only thing that keeps us from overheating. I’m fine for a bit, I don’t need to go hunting for a while yet. Wouldn’t be here if I did…I don’t want to put her in danger.”

Khan visibly relaxed, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder and patting it…which got N to stare at him curiously.

“Let me know if you both need anything,” he said softly, “I’m just down the hall.”

“Thank you,” N smiled, putting his head back on the door.

It was nice and cold, though there was a slightly warmer spot where Uzi’s body heat was warming the metal.

“That’s weird and concerning…” he thought to himself as he rapped his knuckles on the door.

“You’re not overheating are you?” he asked gently.

“N-No,” Uzi huffed, “Just…tired. You don’t…need to be here.”

“Uzi…” N protested, “You haven’t been seen in four days. I haven’t seen you in a week. You don’t answer any of the messages that I, your dad, or Thad have sent you. You only answer when V literally threatened you…can you blame me for being a bit worried?”

A thud was heard on the other side of the door.

“Ughhhhhhhhh she needs to leave me aloooooone,” Uzi groaned, “I was fine…I was sleeping. It’s cold when I’m asleep…I’m hot all the time and sweaty and whoever…programmed that needs to…bite me.”

He gave a soft laugh. Least that sassy spite was still there. A message pinged up in the corner of his vision.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: Coming back. Good hunt tonight…you owe me.

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: You brought extra?

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: Of course. Considering I have to feed both you and the sad purple one…

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: Thanks, V.

That did raise the question though…

“Uzi, what levels are you at oil wise?” he asked.

Silence met him.

“Uzi?” he shifted to face the door and put his hand on the metal.

More silence.

“Uzi… how low are you .” his voice pitched slightly higher as a steel entered his tone that rarely did nowadays.

“...I don’t think I…wanna answer that,” she mumbled.

“ Uzi !”

“I’m…N I’m…I’m fine,” her voice trailed off, “You…y-You sh-should go…back to…the sp-SpIre…”

Oh now that did not sound good.

“I’m not leaving until you give me an answer, Uzi,” he growled, “Uzi. When was the last time you fed.”

“...Dunno…”

“ Uzi !” his eyes hollowed, “That’s not good…you can’t just not …I know it’s uncomfortable for you…but you have to. You could get hurt!”

“Bite me!” she snapped.

“You really wanna test me on that?” he deadpanned, “You promised…”

“Leave me ‘lone, N,” her voice sounded tired, “Wanna…I…just…wanna…sleep…it’s…hot…”

He could hear Khan’s footsteps come up and N held up a hand.

“Uzi, I’m going to need you to open the door for me,” he said.

“N-n-No… ‘m…Fiiine.”

“You’re not fine. Open the door,” he got to his feet and put a hand on the door again, only for the Solver glyph to blaze and throw it off.

“Y-You’re…not…m-My…b-Boss...” he could hear her breaths coming out in pants. The door’s metal that she leaned on seemed so much hotter than before.

And that’s when it happened.

“What in the world is that sound…” Khan started, putting his hands and head on the door to his daughter’s room, “A high pitched beeping?”

N’s tail flicked as he co*cked his head…only for his eyes to go hollow as he backed up a bit further.

“I know that sound…I know that sound very well,” he murmured, “Mr. Uzi, I’m sorry, but that door is gonna have to come down,”

The sound of metal scraping against metal entered the air, ringing. Khan turned towards N, whose talons flashed in the light. He put his arms out and pressed himself against the door. He was shaking, but there was an angry light in his eyes.

“That is my daughter in there.” he growled, “You won’t hurt her.”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” N shook his head, “But she’s going to hurt herself or you and I know she’ll feel worse about the latter. Move.”

“What is going on?!” Khan demanded.

“She’s overheating,” N stated, “I’m going to get her to a safe place where she’s not going to hurt anyone. But you have to move. Because she’s going to come out swinging.”

He didn’t give Khan another chance to protest, his wings unfurled and he used one of them to bat Khan away from the door. He dug his claws into the door, flinching slightly as a violet glyph burst into light before his eyes.

“Uzi, I’m coming in. You either unlock the door or I’m tearing it open,” N’s voice was dark and bitter, a far cry from anything Khan had heard from the boy.

“S-st-tAy…o-OuT…” her voice was weak, “Pl-Lease…do-don’T…w-wanna…h-hurt…”

“Uzi!” Khan yelled, getting up and starting towards the door.

A soft sound caught N’s audios and his eyes went hollow. A sob-strangled laugh. His head snapped towards Khan and he pushed him out of the way right as the door was rent from it’s hinges and hurled across the room amidst a violet glow. A blur of black and purple shot past N, zero’d in on Khan. N grabbed it as it shot by, yelling as pain erupted in his arm. Khan’s pale eyes were hollow as he saw the Disassembler holding a wildly struggling creature that heavily resembled his Uzi. Teeth sharpened to fangs were bared in a manic grin as a strangled giggling resounded through the air, a tri-pronged glyph burned on her visor for a moment before shifting to a violet X shape, two large and monstrous looking wings beat frantically as N struggled to keep his hold on her, made even harder by the fact that what looked to be a tail currently had one of his arms locked in it’s jaws .

“Uzi…?” Khan’s voice was hushed, “What…”

The half-crazed drone raised her hand and that same tri-pronged glyph burned over it, a second one secured itself around Khan’s neck which made the older drone gag and claw at the light in panic. N saw it and his own tail immediately whipped forwards and stabbed the hand into the floor. The acrid smell of acid burning metal assaulted their senses as what used to be Uzi shrieked, the screaming turning into crazed laughter as she kicked, bit and scratched at N. Khan’s frame hit the floor as he started violently coughing.

N’s eyes flicked upwards and he bent his legs down slightly before launching himself up and through the roof, taking Uzi with him. Khan scrambled to his feet and ran to the hole, staring at the blur of yellow and violet that disappeared into the night sky.

“Oh my girl…she was right…” Khan whispered, "Nori I'm sorry..."

Their landing was anything but soft. Near the Spire, Uzi had managed to deliver a bunch of rapid kicks to N’s chest, a well aimed punch to his face which ended up with her bad hand jabbed in his mouth, while her tail had whipped around and bit at the joint where one of his wings met his back, causing sparks to fly and N to immediately plummet as the wing retracted back next to his spine. They hit the ground with a loud crash that shattered the few windows left in the area.

Both Disassembler and Former Worker immediately went into battle stances. N’s claws flashed in the light as Uzi shot towards him with a cackle, her hand lit with violet light as a piece of rebar shot towards his head. N batted it out of the way, sending sparks into the air as his claws rent through it.

“Uzi, that’s enough, come on.” he started, his tail lashed back and forth irritably.

All he got was a choked off laugh as his friend suddenly doubled over, heaving while a strangled and guttural cry tore forth from her voice box as her hands and knees hit the ground. She gave a wail as she began throwing up a shining liquid that was silver rather than black.

“...She’s out…” N’s eyes went hollow at the thought, ”Her system’s eating itself…”

She wiped her mouth off, N could see her form in infrared…blindingly bright like a star.

“N…H-heLp…p-p-Le-E-a-S-s-se” she begged, eyes flashing back to normal for a moment, glitching and spazzing out as it went back to a “High Temperature” warning, more silver liquid poured from her lips as she coughed.

Snow hissed as it melted on her frame, even the permafrost below her feet had started to thaw a bit. N approached cautiously, his hands switching back to normal as she started crying, holding her arms to her body as close as she could while her small frame trembled violently.

“Uzi…” he started.

She gave a soft sob that choked into manic giggling again, the Solver glyph burning across her faceplate as she swiped her hand. More rebar speared through the ground, causing N to take quick flight. He dove towards her, blades extended only for her to shield herself using the Solver.

“I know you’re in there, I know you’re scared,” he tried, leaping backwards as her tail shot forward to try and grab his arm, “Just hold on a second, ok?”

Msg: DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: Got oil. Coming in hot. Gonna enjoy this >:)

N’s eyes narrowed as he saw the message, batting Uzi’s outstretched hand away with his as she shot up from the ground and lunged for his neck.

Msg: DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: Don’t hurt her.

Msg: DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: She bit my tail off last time. I’m getting payback.

He didn’t get the chance to respond as a blaze of yellow shot from the sky and Uzi yelped as she was kicked into a pile of scrap. She then screamed bloody murder as a metal wing pierced through her shoulder. V rolled her eyes and rammed something into the crazed Worker’s mouth. Uzi gagged as V’s free hand shifted and a silvery pulse of light rippled through the air. N felt the buzzing of the magnetic field as Uzi’s struggling body slumped down, the violet light flickering and dying as V let her drop, the silver pipe V had used for a gag clanging to the ground.

“If she does that to you again, I’m killing her.” V spat as she stormed past N, her tail thrashing angrily before stabbing into a sign post.

She crossed her arms and sighed as she turned to face her squadmate.

“I didn’t kill her, like I promised,” V told him, “Just hit her with a small EMP that’ll knock her out for a bit. She’ll wake up but you’re gonna want to make sure she’s restrained. She’s gonna reaaaaally be pissed off when she wakes up,”

“Thanks, V,” N nodded.

“You’ll want to give this to her now, though,” V warned, tossing him a syringe, “I saw that earlier. Her systems are eating themselves. That’ll cool her down enough that she’ll not be doing that.”

“...The day the doors went up,” N realized, “You…”

“Yeah and I told you if you ever did that to yourself again I’d kill you,” V snarled, “I meant it and still mean it. Dawn’s coming, so you’ll want to get the purple thing and you to the Spire before the sun kills us all.”

She took off before he could respond, her form rapidly shrinking into the night sky. N took the syringe and made his way towards Uzi. The unconscious drone was curled in on herself, still blisteringly hot. N gave a sigh and jabbed the syringe right into her neck and pushed the plunger. Uzi woke up immediately, screaming and scrabbling to get away…but N wrapped his wings around her and held her head to his chest. He felt her teeth sink into his shoulder and winced at the pain…but it seemed to die off as she froze.

“Uzi?” he asked, voice soft.

She pulled away from him, her eyes wide and hollowed, stressed markings blazing under them as the influx of oil caused the Solver to start regenerating her insides.

“How…did…I…?” she stammered, looking around at the snow, her voice was cracked and dry.

She looked down at herself and her shaking started up again as she immediately brought her wings around her to hide herself. N gave an understanding hum as he picked her up in his arms. A low purring sound rumbling through his chassis as he held her close.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” he ordered as he launched himself in the air, “We almost lost you.”

“...D-dad…?” she croaked.

“Alive,”

Uzi fell silent, gripping at his coat and burying her head in the fur ruff. She was still boiling but that was enough oil to get her to at least 10%. They landed not long after, rushing into the Spire as the first rays of dawn pierced through the sky. N sat her down, and the poor worker immediately tripped over her tail and wings, landing with them splayed in the snow.

“You need more,” N stated, “You’re still hot,”

“Don’t…want…” Uzi muttered, crossing her arms only to flinch as another high temp warning flashed over her visor.

“You need .” N repeated, “Stay put,”

He launched himself up into the air and shot towards his nest. He dug around a little bit before finding what he was looking for and dropping back down to ground level, keeping his wings out to steady the landing. Uzi was breathing hard, curled up in a small ball as her breath left her in clouds of steam. Her tail was coiled around her protectively. N could have sworn the thing hissed at him when he got closer.

“Here,” he started, kneeling down by his friend and handing her what looked disturbingly like a worker’s torso.

An X shape flashed across her visor and she lunged for the part, sinking her teeth into the neck stump. She continued to shake and a sobbing sound broke from her voice box as she fed the internal program demanding to have the black gold as sustenance. She shuddered as she pulled away and coughed, gasping as steaming hot oil spat back up from her mouth and across the front of her hoodie.

“It’s ok,” he soothed, rubbing her back gently as once again the Solver hijacked it’s way to her consciousness and forced her to continue feeding despite her cries, “It’s going to be ok,”

He didn’t like this. Uzi was the strong one, the one who looked at the cruel world with a co*cky grin and snapped back a defiant ‘Bite me!’ whenever something bad happened. Seeing her reduced to a sobbing, scared mess hurt his core.

It took a little while before she finished, dropping the torso and scooting back as far away from it as she could. There was oil still around her mouth and over her hands. He came around to face her, holding up his hands as he saw her flinch.

“Levels?” he asked.

“...85%,” she muttered, her wings wrapping around her in a cocoon again. Her voice sounded more her than it did a little bit ago.

He scanned her briefly, she no longer lit up brightly in thermal but she was still a lot warmer than Thad or Lizzy had been. He gently put a hand on her wing, causing her to jerk slightly.

“Together, remember?” he said, “We promised,”

She lowered the wing just so much that her eyes lit the darkness she was hiding in.

“...Together,” she agreed, swiping her sleeve across her mouth.

“And that means no more hiding when you get low,” N scolded, “You have any idea how worried we were?”

How worried I was ?

“...Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, it’s scary…I don’t really know how to connect with you there. You’re just entering this life and I’ve always been in it,” he admitted as he sat down beside her and she finally lowered her wings down to face him fully, “But if I make a promise, I keep it. And I’m going to help you through this,”

A small smile crossed her face before she immediately put her head back down. Her tail however, didn’t hide the fact she was extremely happy. He laughed and she immediately gave him a light punch to the thigh.

“Are you able to retract them?” N asked, looking at his friend as she grabbed her tail and forced it to stay still.

“Dunno, I guess so? They just kinda disappeared the last time,” Uzi shrugged, “Y’know, when you threw me into the air,”

“Hey it worked anyways,” he grinned, “I mean you can try it at least. Wings we normally just kinda will away. The tail though…”

His own flicked idly and nearly stabbed through his arm before he caught it.

“Well, you can see,”

“I guess…” Uzi started, releasing the struggling appendage and leaning backwards, closing her eyes.

A second later she was hunched over, her fingers digging into the snow in pain as a sickening crunching and scraping sound cracked through the air. A low, but loud whine escaped from her as her wings folded, drawn into her back. Her tail followed not long after. All that was left in evidence were two long, ragged tears in the back of her hoodie that showed the smooth white enamel of her casing.

“That sucked…” she shuddered, twisting to see the damage, “Aw, I liked that hoodie…”

“We can probably fix it,” N shrugged, extending a wing and using it to pull her closer, “For now…let’s just focus on keeping you stable, ‘kay?”

“‘kay…”

“Think it’s time to get some well earned recharge,” he said, looking up towards his nest, “You too,”

“I’ve been asleep for four days,” Uzi huffed, “I’m fine,”

“Then you watch those levels and the second you hit 50% you let me know, ok?”

“Ughhhhh fine ,” she crossed her arms, “God you’re more like a dad than he is…”

He gave a laugh as he stood up and stretched his wings out again.

“I dunno about that ,” he grinned as he lunged down and picked her up, making her squeal in surprise, “You don’t have to recharge but I’m gonna show you a trick.”

He launched himself upwards suddenly, causing Uzi’s grip on his coat to tighten as the ground shrank below them. The two made it up to his nest and N hovered for a moment while his tail wrapped around a piece of rebar that he knew could hold his weight and then some. Once he was secure he let his wings wrap around himself and Uzi, dropping them slightly and making Uzi give a yelp of fear as they swung down like a pendulum for a second.

“Why am I upside down!?” Uzi demanded.

“That’s the trick,” N stated, locking his arms around her, “Focuses your oil supply on the more vital parts and slows down the consumption.”

“... That is why you sleep like a freaking vampire?!” Uzi yelled.

“I mean technically I am one so…”

“You know what I mean!”

He gave another laugh and tightened his grip on her so she wouldn’t slip out and fall a long way down.

“Just don’t struggle too much, don’t want to accidentally drop you,” he told her.

She suddenly went rigid, clutching against his coat as a tremble wracked her hands. A low and loud purr rumbled through his chassis as he bowed his head enough so that it was resting on hers and began the sleep mode process, turning off his visual sensors one by one. Uzi finally relaxed in his grip, leaning against his chest and listening to the low, faint thumping sound his core made, letting the rhythm lull her into sleep mode. He gave an even softer hum as the final light flickered off and he followed her into sleep.

Chapter 4: 4

Chapter Text

4

“GET BACK!”

The sudden shout made both Uzi and N jolt awake, N’s arms and legs subconsciously tightened around Uzi like a child clutching at their favorite toy. From their position, neither could see what was going on below on the lower floors of the Spire.

“SHOO!”

“Hold on,” N told her, his tail releasing its death grip on the rebar and the two plummeted for a terrifying moment…only for him to twist mid air and land with a loud thud on his feet as Uzi gave a yelp.

He set her on her feet gently and they made their way towards the front of the spire. V was already up, the female Disassembler was hunched over in a hunting crouch, wings outstretched and tail thrashing as she jumped away from the pipe being thrust at her. She was laughing and grinning, playfully swatting it back though avoiding the sunlight that poured down outside the entrance, the broad X shape blazed over her visor as her fangs flashed in the dim light. Her target was a very scared and unhappy Khan Doorman.

“Dad!?” Uzi yelled, running towards the entrance, “V! Stop! Leave him alone!!”

N surged past her in a bolt of grey and gold, slamming into V and knocking her into the snow in a tangle of wings and claws.

Khan’s eyes were hollowed and stressed as he looked at the tussling squadmates before relaxing slightly as he dropped the pipe and rushed towards his daughter, hugging her to his chest.

“Are you ok?” he asked, releasing Uzi and holding her out, inspecting her, “You two just…”

“I’m fine…” Uzi blinked, “What are you doing here?! How did you find this place anyway?”

Khan gave her a ‘really?’ expression as V gave an ungodly screech as she and N crashed hard to the ground, using his tail to bind her legs while he sat heavily on her back with her arms pinned under him. A very smug grin plastered over his faceplate while V looked incredibly furious.

“It's no secret they have a nest here at the Corpse Spire. I made my way here the moment you two disappeared from the house,” he stated, slowly.

“You realize she could have, and would have, killed you, right?” Uzi deadpanned, throwing a look at V.

The female Disassembler was currently yelling at her squadmate…who was blatantly ignoring her as he sat on her back, cleaning snow off his coat and picking pieces of scrap metal out of his wings.

“Likely,” Khan admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, “But I had to make sure you were ok. You… are ok, right?”

“I’m good,” Uzi said, crossing her arms.

“Good, we’re going home then,” he gently took her hand and started trying to pull her towards the entrance.

Uzi saw the rapidly approaching sunlight and her eyes went hollow. She dug her heels into the snow.

“I can’t,” she said, jerking her hand out of his.

“What?”

“I can’t leave now,” she muttered.

“I know he’s your friend bu-”

“Dad I physically can’t leave,” she snapped, “it’ll kill me.”

Her gaze locked on to her boots as her father stared at her in confusion. She rubbed her arm as she shifted on her feet.

“What do you mean ‘it’ll kill you’,” his voice was quiet.

Uzi winced as she released her arm and took a step towards the entrance. She could hear N’s yell of protest but knew he was unable to get over there for fear of letting V up.

“This is gonna hurt like heck…” she thought as she took a deep breath and stuck her hand into the light.

The pain was instant and oh god did it hurt. The white metal hissed and glitched as the smell of burning wafted into the air. The cry of pain as she jerked it back into the shade and cradled the charred limb to her chest caused her father to take a step into the Spire to be next to her. Her knees gave out and she sat on the snowy ground, putting the burned hand under the white blanket and hearing the hiss of the melting snow as steam rose from it.

Khan was silent for a moment before he brought her into a tight hug, which shocked Uzi.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured, “I didn’t know…”

“That’s why I didn’t get off the bus,” Uzi said, “I…”

She looked at N and V. N had a worried expression on his faceplate, V looked annoyed still as she tried using her tail to knock N off…he batted it away.

“Just so she doesn’t kill you, can you step into the sunlight again? I’ll be on this side,” Uzi started, nodding towards the door.

Khan gave a worried look towards the two squadmates, but nodded and started into the sunlight again.

“You can let her up, Dad’s going to stay outside,” Uzi called.

N got off of V and yanked her to her feet. She gave him a light, for her, punch to the arm which made him wince before spreading her wings and launching up to her nest…likely to sulk, Uzi thought. N looked over at the father and daughter and Uzi waved him off.

“Go rest, you had a long night. I’m good,”

He didn’t look convinced, but he did nod and launch himself back up to his own nest where Uzi saw him take his weird as heck upside down sleeping position. She turned back to her father and walked over to where he stood, opting to sit down and motioned for him to do the same.

“It’s kinda a long story,” she explained.

As Khan sat down, Uzi explained everything that had happened. Why she couldn’t go into the sun anymore, what really happened at the camp and why she had locked herself away longer than anyone else to “grieve”. She told him how she didn’t understand what was going on, but that they were working on figuring it out. About the Absolute Solver, the Eldritch J incident and Doll’s murder rampage at Prom. How Uzi discovered her own abilities and demonstrated a little bit of them.

By the time she had finished, the sun was reaching it’s zenith and Uzi was starting to feel the heat from the afternoon coming into the spire.

“I think Mom knew about it,” she finished, “Those drawings she did…that I do…the Solver’s a big part of it and so are these guys…I don’t know if she had the same thing I do but…”

She went quiet.

“I don’t understand what’s going on but I can’t figure it out alone,” she admitted, “I wasn’t kidding back then.”

“When I told you to be safe, I meant it, kiddo,” Khan sighed, “Are you sure staying out here with…them…is going to be the safest thing to do?”

“V’s not eaten me yet…I think she’s scared of me though she won’t admit it to anyone and would eat anyone who would suggest it. And N’d rather suffer a Solver meltdown heat death than hurt me as he’s shown multiple times,” Uzi deadpanned, “I think I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t like this,” Khan admitted, “No, not because it’s them before you get mad. It’s just…”

He gave a sigh as he wrung his hands together.

“After your mother died I threw myself into my work. Disturbing coping mechanism, I know…seems we have that in common anyway,” he gave a rueful laugh and Uzi gave a pitying smile, “It hurt to look at you…because you looked so much like her. Acted like her too. So I shut away the one thing that I never should have shut away. Made it even more obvious the day they broke into the bunker…”

His jaw servos clenched for a moment as he shook his head.

“I still regret what I did. I’m a terrible father. I realize that,” he said, “How could I have done that to my only daughter? We were all we had. You and me. And I just let you down. Told myself when you left that if I ever saw you again I’d do everything I can to make it up to you…even if it took me the rest of my life,”

He gave a sad smile as he looked at his daughter.

“When you locked yourself behind that door and refused to open back up I thought I’d screwed up again. I knew you wouldn’t answer to me…that you wanted me to ‘stay distant’. I thought maybe your murderous friends could help. Turns out in a way he did. And in a way I never could,” he looked away again, “Just…promise me you won’t stay away so long again?”

Uzi blinked a couple times before her gaze softened a little.

“I’ll try,” she admitted, “Don’t know how long this will take…at least until I can control it better.”

“You know my door’s always open,” he gave a wink and made Uzi groan, thunking her head against the wall of the Spire, “To you…and your boyfriend.”

Uzi froze for a moment, computing exactly what she just heard.

“Wat.”

“Just let me meet his parents at some point, ok?” Khan grinned.

“ He is not my boyfriend!!” Uzi hissed, “N’s a friend.”

“That’s a boy.”

“DAD!”

He laughed, seeing his daughter’s face light up in a brilliant violet blush as she balled her fists in her hoodie.

“We just hang out. That’s it.” she spat, “Nothin’ romantic or whatever going on.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll let you stay with your totally not a boyfriend boy that’s a friend,” Khan smirked, leaning into the shade to playfully jab his daughter’s shoulder…he earned a swat for that, “Just…be safe, kiddo. And at least message me every once in a while, ok?”

“Will do,” Uzi nodded as they both stood, “And…Dad?”

Khan raised an eyebrow only to give a soft ‘oof!’ as Uzi suddenly hugged him.

“Thanks…” she murmured.

He softened and hugged her back, giving her a tight squeeze before he let go.

“Anytime, kiddo…”

Chapter 5: 5

Chapter Text

5

Startup Sequence DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001

Oil Level: 35%

Charge Level: 100%

Internal Temperature: High

Oil Depletion in T-1 hour.

A loud banging sound shook N out of his recharge, startling him so badly that he nearly released his death grip on the rebar he was hanging from.

“SON OF A–!” a furious female voice roared, “Come ON!!”

“Well that’s going to be nothing but trouble…” he thought as he released his hold and glided down to the lower floor.

He landed down without a sound and padded towards the pod. A very tired looking V dropped down to the ground just in front of him.

“Can I kill her now?” she whined.

“V…” N warned, only to flinch as his sensors picked up on something hurtling his way at a very high speed.

He ducked as the screwdriver impaled a scrap metal chunk up to the handle.

“Oh biscuits…” he blinked, carefully poking his head into the pod door, “Uh…Uzi? Ya good?”

Said Worker was currently digging around a panel in the floor, at the sound of her name her head popped up and immediately smacked against the panel cover.

“OW!” she snarled, “I’m good . Better than good. I’m fan-freaking-tastic!”

She got to her feet and kicked the panel, making it fall back down.

“Stupid humans and their piece of junk spaceships that are designed to break when you so much as look at them wrong!” she hissed, giving the thing another kick for good measure, “Stupid parts are supposed to go together but nooooooo! ONE LITTLE PIECE AND IT! FALLS! APART! UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

She kicked the panel again with each word before finally rocking back off her feet and onto the floor, crossing her arms and pouting.

“You’ll get it working again,” N reassured her, cautiously coming up and patting her head…only to get his hand swatted, “It’s good to see you working on it again.”

“What else am I supposed to do,” Uzi huffed bitterly, “I’m stuck here from now on. Can’t go in the sunlight anymore because of stupid things, can’t go back to the colony because I might start eating people again !!”

She thunked her head against the panel she leaned on.

“This sucks.”

N sat down next to her.

“How’re your levels?” he asked.

“75%,” she stated, “Dunno why…I didn’t really do anything but work on the pod…and get mad enough to start chucking my tools…where’d I put that screwdriver?”

“Outside. In a hunk of scrap metal,” N told her, making her groan again, “But yeah I thought so…V and I are gonna go hunting, are you sure you’re going to be ok?”

Uzi frowned, side-eyeing him.

“...Didn’t Little Miss Psycho go hunting last night?”

“And you wonder why she doesn’t like you…” N thought before replying, “Kinda went through it yesterday. She just brought the bit you drained last night.”

“What?!” Uzi sputtered, “I thought you said…”

“When you get to that state you were at? It starts burning through your reserves faster just to settle itself back in,” he explained, “V got to that point too last night so she’s running low as well. I’m running a little low but I’ve not had any warnings go off. I’ve got a bit before those happen. What you drank last night should’ve gotten you to full capacity and still had some left.”

“I was at 85% last night, I threw up but…”

“Should have only brought you to maybe 97%. It’s not fun…which is why we do everything we can to stay out of the single digits.”

“...I’m going to have to drink tonight aren’t I…” a look of disgust colored her faceplate and N gave a soft chuckle.

“Yeah…but you should stabilize and be good tomorrow. All the same, probably a good idea you stay here. Unless you want to come with us,”

“Oh hell no!” V’s voice came from the door as she poked her head in, “I’m not flying with her and risk both of us going psycho tonight.”

“I’ll pass,” Uzi shuddered, realizing what going with them would entail…he didn’t blame her. “I’ll be fine. I’ll keep working on the pod.”

“We’ll message Thad and Lizzy saying we’ll be gone for the night,” N reassured her, “Shouldn’t have anyone bother you. Won’t tell them you’re here either until you’re ready.”

“...Thanks,” Uzi mumbled as he got up and started towards the door.

“We’ll be back in a couple hours!” he beamed, “Then we’ll have to figure out something to do.”

They all started out the pod, Uzi kneeling down next to the scrap that had been impaled by the screwdriver and straining to yank it out, while the two Disassemblers continued forwards towards the entrance. The snow whispered softly as the brilliant ringed moon painted the world silver and both squadmates unfurled their wings as they touched the light, launching themselves into the air.

“Follow me,” V nodded as they flew south, “That colony is still there. No doors thankfully but they’re still annoying to dig out.”

“Gotcha,” he replied, flinching as a high temperature warning flickered on his visor.

She paused, her eyes turning slightly sad as she saw it.

“Only what we need, I promise,” she told him.

The moment Uzi got her vision back to normal she managed to yank the screwdriver out of the scrap. It was one of the things she hated whenever they had their wings out. The whispering they made always unnerved her but the fuzzing of her screen was worse. It wasn’t as bad when they slept, but when they were getting ready to fly it was enough to make Uzi want to pull her hair out.

She had just closed the panel giving her trouble after a couple hours of work with a slam and some curses. She was contemplating working on a different section when a message popped up on her screen.

Msg: WD Unit: KH4N 001-001-001: You doing ok?

Her core squeezed a bit painfully seeing it. Yeah, she still had issues with him. But seeing his concern, the fact he wasn’t afraid of her when literally everyone else was…it was kinda nice.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002: Yeah.

WD Unit: KH4N 001-001-001: Your uh, friends, aren’t there?

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002: No, they went Hunting. They’ll be back soon N says. I wouldn’t come still…I’m not ‘safe’ to be around yet.

Her fists tightened and with a screech the wrench in her hand snapped in half. She gave a groan as she tossed the now useless tool to the side. Welp, repairs were out of the question now.

WD Unit: KH4N 001-001-001: I figured. Could hear you cursing from the doors. You need to watch your mouth.

She bit back the “Bite me” she wanted to text back. She knew that would not fly well.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002: Dad, who the heck is going to hear me!? It’s just me, N and V out here…

WD Unit: KH4N 001-001-001: Still. Anyways, I left you something. Thought you’d like something to keep you occupied.

She frowned as she stood. He did have a point…a bored Doorman was not a good one to have. They got… creative when they were bored. Which sometimes led to chaos. It was almost as bad as one that had something to prove. Almost .

With a sigh she took a step out onto the main floor, holding onto her arms as she looked around, trying to find her dad. She didn’t see him, but a small dark shape sat glaring against the white snow. Cautiously she approached, scanning the area visually to make sure that he wasn’t hiding somewhere and in range for her to hurt him.

When she got closer, she realized that the dark shape was her backpack. She knelt down and lifted the golden zipper with her hand. He must have repaired it from where she ripped it off at the camp…

Curiosity got the better of her and she opened up the bag, a smile crossing her face as she saw all manner of parts and tools to tinker with…as well as a slip of paper. She pulled out the paper and unfolded it, revealing it to be the blueprints of her old railgun…with some suggestions written in a familiar hand not her own.

“Thanks Dad…” she whispered.

Maybe it would be a good idea to try and get herself to a point where she could control her new powers after all.

She looked towards her back and her eyes narrowed.

“Starting with those,” she muttered as she stood up with her backpack in hand.

The whispering sound and visual distortion is what clued Uzi in to the two’s return. The low, ground shaking thump that rattled her systems also added to that fact. The Worker climbed to her feet and stood in the entrance of the pod, looking out into the parts riddled inner chamber of the spire as N straightened up from his landing. His wings folded back into his back as he turned to face her, claws shifting back into his regular hands as a warm smile crossed his face.

“We’re back, sorry it took so long,” he apologized, “How you feeling?”

“Tired…” Uzi replied, “Still hot too.”

“Levels?”

“22%,” she admitted, “Was trying to see if I could control the…y’know.”

She gestured towards her back.

“Stopped when I reached 30% but I’m still dropping fast,” she smacked at her face as a Hi Temp warning flickered over it, “You?”

“80%, took 20% to get home. Good thing we came back then,”

A loud thud and a spray of snow erupted at the foot of the stairs, Uzi took a startled step backwards as a caution light flashed over her visor, a sputtered ‘oh robojesus’ coming from her. When she calmed down a bit she saw a new addition to the Corpse Spire laying in the snow in front of her, oil pooling from the severed spine of the dead Worker into the snow.

“Well?” came V’s voice from above her.

Uzi looked up to see the other Disassembler perched on top of the pod, her claws making ticking sounds as she tapped them against the frame. She could still see fresh oil from her kill on them and her hands shook. V of course noticed the hollow eyed look and gave a cruel grin, bringing one of her talons up and licking the oil off of them.

“We brought back food, might as well,” she pointed out, “Don’t want you going all psycho on us again,”

“Bite me,” Uzi snapped.

“V, stop,” N growled, his tail thrashing and making both female drones look at him in shock.

Seeing both of them looking at him, the angry look on the taller male’s face softened a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“You don’t have to, Uzi, I can drain it for you and get the oil to you in a different way,” he told her.

“I’m…just uh…” Uzi started, her eyes flicking towards the body.

The smell of the spilled oil had finally made it’s way to her. Her hands shook as she took a step backwards. It smelled good. It shouldn’t smell that good. It went against everything she was coded for…at least before.

N saw her distress and, faster than she could blink, had grabbed the body and launched away…which was enough to send Uzi tumbling back onto her backside. V rolled her eyes as she jumped off the pod roof and onto the snowy ground before walking inside. Uzi about followed her when N dropped back down to the ground floor, shoving something into her hands.

It looked all the world like some sort of can with metallic straw. Uzi frowned as she held it a bit closer to inspect it, only for the smell of oil to grab her attention. She looked up at her friend, an eyebrow raised and he nodded towards the can.

“I can drain whatever we bring back and put it in there,” he explained, “Not that hard. Makes it a bit easier, doesn’t it?”

Uzi was quiet for a moment before another high temperature warning buzzed painfully across her vision. She brought the straw to her mouth and took a long sip, feeling the cool and painfully sweet liquid go into her mouth. The temperature warnings fizzled out as the burning that started up in her chassis went down.

“Yeah,” she finally said, “Thanks…”

“If I can avoid it I’m going to make sure you don’t get that low again,” he told her, “That being said…we’re gonna go out for a bit. You and me. V’s uh…not in a good mood right now and I don’t think you two being together in a small space is a good idea.”

“She touches my tools I’ll rip into her,” Uzi threatened.

“She won’t, she knows better,” N sighed, starting towards the entrance, “C’mon! Night’s burning!”

A few minutes later, the two were on top of a building overlooking a massive open area with the cold blasted remnants of trees and iced over lake.

“V and I found this not long after we hit planetside,” he told her as his legs kicked over the side of the building, "Always meant to come back here and look around but...well, no time."

“Musta been somethin’ before the core collapsed,” Uzi said as the ringed moon’s light hit the lake and caused the ice to turn to molten silver.

“You wanna go take a closer look?” N asked, looking at her.

“Uh, sure?”

He stood up as his wings extended, picking Uzi up and dropping off the side of the building. Uzi gave a sharp yelp as the shift in gravity caused her systems to freak out. They plummeted for a few dozen feet before N’s wings caught the air and they shot towards the park at rapid speed. Within moments they had landed at the lake’s edge and N sat Uzi down as he folded his wings back.

“Y’know a warning would be nice!” Uzi growled.

“I did. I asked if you wanted to go take a closer look!” he beamed.

“I coulda got down here myself!” Uzi protested.

“Last time I checked you’re still having problems getting your wings to come out on command,” he pointed out.

A small loading decal appeared on the top left hand corner of her screen as she processed that before it turned into a broken square of frustration.

“Still!” she hissed, crossing her arms, “Next time warn me before you pick me up like a doll!”

“Noted,” N chuckled, “Ready to explore?”

“Yeah, sure,” she said as they started walking around the lakeside, kicking a rock which sent it skittering over the ice.

They’d been walking through the park for a little while, occasionally tossing stones or broken branches in competition on who could throw it further, when they finally came to a hill overlooking the lake. They both settled down and looked up at the stars that shone on this rare clear night.

“So I’ll admit I did have a bit of an ulterior motive on dragging you out here,” N said.

“And what would that be?” Uzi asked.

“I got tired of you sulking,” he stated, “It wasn’t… you . You withdrew into yourself even further since the camp incident and not gonna lie, it scares me a bit.”

“You’re not going into your therapy mode again are you…”

“Gonna try not to, but bear with me, ok?” he rolled his eyes, “You’re my best friend, so yeah I’m gonna worry over you.”

“The irony of this doesn’t escape me,” she deadpanned, poking him in the arm, “Cuz y’know, a few months ago you would have killed me on sight.”

“I really should have,” he sighed, “But, I wouldn’t have gotten a friend.”

He shuffled slightly, his tail flicking and causing ghostly gold shadows to stretch across the snow.

“Remember when you found out that Thad and Lizzy were dating?” N asked as they looked up at the stars.

“Oh god don’t remind me,” Uzi groaned, thunking her head back on the hill below her, “Not my finest moment,”

She’d withdrawn into her work as much as she could, hiding the fact that it tore her up inside. The guy she had a crush on had ended up dating one of her hated bullies, sure he didn’t join in on it and he did tell Lizzy off every time she tried bullying Uzi…but it still really freaking hurt.

“That was one of the few times I actually saw you cry,” N said.

“...You saw?”

“Yeah...but I knew you wouldn’t take it well if you knew someone saw that your angsty rebellious image had a soft spot,” he gave a grin and poked her shoulder gently.

She smacked his finger away and drove her elbow into his side, making him grunt.

“Get to the point,” she huffed.

“Point is, I told myself that day that I wanted to make sure you never felt like that again,” he admitted, “Not gonna lie it took a lot of restraint to not go in there and, well…”

He trailed off.

“What stopped you?” Uzi asked.

“V,”

“Miss ‘I feel nothing’ Murder Bot convinced you to not kill someone?!” Uzi sputtered, “The hell?! Did she get a virus or something!?”

“I think part of it is she has a soft spot for Lizzy too,” N admitted, “Like I do with you. Other than me and J, V’s not really had much in the way of friends…and I honestly think it was more me than J,”

“J literally stuck a virus in you to kill you,” Uzi pointed out, “She also took your title of squad leader,”

“Yeaaaaaaah that last one was kinda warranted though,” N rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, “I’m not as bloodthirsty as those two. You know that.”

“Yeah, you don’t play with your food. You mercy kill,” Uzi said, “Also there’s the fact that she literally abused you . Just on everything you’ve told me she’s done,”

“She didn-”

“N,” Uzi’s voice was iron hard, “that stuff she did to you? That’s not a friend. Not a sibling. That’s like what Lizzy, Doll, and Rebecca would do to me . But worse. V I’m starting to forgive if only because I’m starting to understand why she was so freaking scared of J. But I can’t forgive J for what she put you through. She. Nearly. Killed . You. And she would have! If I wasn’t there!”

“You weren’t supposed to be.” he pointed out, “I was supposed to have killed you.”

“Yeah well you didn’t and now you’re stuck with me,” Uzi huffed, “She wasn’t looking out for you, she was looking out for herself. And I hate it that you can’t see that!!”

Her left eye glitched into the Solver’s glyph as a nearby car window shattered.

“Someone like her,” Uzi raved, “Should not have ever been paired with someone like you. She didn’t see what you were worth and only cared about herself. You’re ten thousand times the drone she ever could have hoped to be!”

A high temperature warning flashed over her faceplate. She was breathing hard, steam pouring out with every breath.

“And I,” she jabbed N hard in the chest only to hiss in pain as her wings burst from her back, “ Refuse to let you think that you’re worthless and terrible.”

Her tail made itself known, thrashing angrily as N grabbed her arms.

“Calm,” he started.

“You told me I wasn’t a monster and I look like this,” Uzi freed her arms and gestured down at herself, “You said we were in this together. And I’m telling you, as your friend, that no , this is not right for you to think this. J was wrong. You’re every bit a leader and the fact that you’re kind and compassionate and the best friend I ever had…”

She trailed off as she fell back onto the snow, her breath coming out in pants still as steam vented from her mouth.

“I can’t let you think otherwise…because if you think yourself worthless then what’s that make me?” her voice was soft.

He didn’t hesitate, drawing her into a tight hug as his tail wrapped around them both. She could feel him shake a little and after the shock of what he did wore off, she just let him. They both knew that they were equally touch starved and this was something he did to calm himself down, so she leaned into it.

“You’re not worthless,” he told her, “You saved me, yeah? And yeah while we’ve both done some…questionable…things, we’re still good. Well, you are. My body count’s a lot higher than yours.”

“You’re a good person too,” she rolled her eyes as her own tail flicked, “Plus I think V’s has the highest count outta the three of us.”

“...Point there,” he let her go and a small smile formed on his face, “We’re both kinda messed up,”

“We’re working on it,” Uzi laughed, “Together,”

He nodded and his eyes trailed behind her, his smile growing even more. Uzi followed his gaze and a violet blush lit her faceplate as she realized her tail was happily wagging back and forth.

“STUPID THING!” she snapped, snatching the fleshy appendage and forcing it to the ground, “HOLD STILL!”

The longer part still attempted to go back and forth and she groaned as she reached into her backpack and pulled the oil can out again. She bit down on the straw hard as she started drinking, and gave a near murderous glare at N as he started laughing.

“N-No,” he chuckled, “It’s just funny because mine did that too when I came online,”

“How’d you get it to stop!?”

“Practice,” he shrugged, “Though I still nearly stab myself every once in a while.”

She rolled her eyes, sitting back down on the ground as her levels balanced out and her temperature warnings fizzled away. She gave a groan as she retracted both wings and tail, shuddering as they finished disappearing and laying down on the snow to look up at the stars.

He reclined back as well.

“Do you know about the constellations?” he asked.

“Not really,” Uzi admitted, “They talked about them in school but it’s not like we could go up and look at them. Cuz, y’know, threat of death and the toxic death storm.”

“You wanna learn some?”

“Sure, why not,”

“That one is Antares,” N said, pointing out a brilliantly red star on the horizon, “It’s the heart of the constellation Scorpio,”

He moved his arm directly above them at an even brighter white star.

“And that’s Altair, the tail of Aquila,” he continued, moving his hand to point out another pale white gem in the firmament, “And Deneb, in Cygnus,”

“You know a lot about stars,” Uzi said as she followed his directions and saw the shapes amongst the blackness.

“Had to pilot through them after all,” his voice was slightly smug, “Well…least I crash landed on a planet and not into y’know, a sun.”

“Ok fair but this is weird how much you know. Like the names of the constellations,”

“Oh I used to do this all the time in the p-” he cut off as his vision hazed over with static.

He was sitting on the rooftop, staring up at the stars with wide eyes. Tessa was laughing as she pointed them out, calling their names.

“Altair, Deneb…wouldn’t it be wonderful to fly like the eagle and swan one day, N?”

“Maybe. But isn’t it safer on the ground?”

“Idiot,” J scoffed as she stood up, nudging V out of sleep mode as she was leaning on her, causing V to give an uncomfortable whine.

“J, that’s mean,” Tessa scolded, “It’s not his fault.”

He wanted to move but couldn’t. Another figure lay on his lap peacefully sleeping, smaller and a lot warmer.

“Oh, C̷̜̽͂͝y̵̡͓͔̓̏ń̸̯̣͉͇…” Tessa chuckled, picking up the much smaller drone with little difficulty and laying her over her shoulder, “Poor girl’s exhausted, V too…you two spent all day in the kitchen making sure everything was right.”

C̷̜̽͂͝y̵̡͓͔̓̏ń̸̯̣͉͇ gave a sleepy mumble as her fingers curled up in Tessa’s blouse, a faint golden flicker crossed her faceplate before going dark again.

“We’ve got a big day tomorrow,” Tessa’s voice was quiet, “Let’s get back inside before Mother and Father find out,”

“Uh, N? Copper-9 to N! Hello!” a new voice cut through the haze and N jolted, hollow eyed as he stared at the rooftop in front of him.

He felt arms around him and he stiffened as he looked down to see Uzi, shaking as she held onto him.

“You started seizing,” she explained as she let go, her own eyes hollow as stressed lines flickered uncertainly under them, “Like, I thought you were going to shake apart. The heck happened!?”

She sounded so scared…had she been that scared for him ? But this was Uzi and Uzi didn’t get scared. Least…not like this. This was almost like when he had brought her back to the Spire after that night.

“...I…I don’t know,” N admitted, “I don’t know…I don’t…know,”

His shaking started up again. Was he faulty? Some defect in his coding? Was that why they sent him to this deathworld with no way back? To get rid of him? Like trash?

Was it corruption?

“H-Hey,” Uzi put a hand on his shoulder, “You good?”

“...No…”

She gave a soft, bitter laugh.

“I think that makes two of us then,”

They both looked up at the sky again, noticing the vaguely pink glow at the eastern horizon.

“We better head back,” N said, helping her to her feet, “You good to fly?”

“Yeah…it’s the fastest way,” Uzi sighed as he picked her up and sat her on his shoulders, “Hey, N?”

“Hm?”

“Tomorrow night…you think you can teach me to use those stupid wings?”

Chapter 6: 6

Chapter Text

6

It was Uzi’s turn to wake up to loud crashes and yelling. Still overly hot and groggy, she blinked the static from her vision as she reached back behind her neck and unplugged the charge cord from it’s port. She swung her legs off the mattress they’d dragged in for her and started towards the pod door.

What met her sight made her oil run cold and almost stopped her core.

N and V were fighting. And not arguing fighting.

Both Disassemblers had the broad golden Xs on their visors as they dove at each other with claws unsheathed and wings unfurled. V had tackled N and sent him tumbling towards the side of the Spire, causing the taller male to immediately roll to his feet with a low growl and bolt back at her, ramming his shoulder into her stomach and catapulting both of them towards the other side of the Spire.

“H-hey!” Uzi found her voice as she started out the pod, “Guys! Stop!”

N yelped as V raked her talons over his chest, causing sparks to fly. He retaliated by sweeping her legs out from under her with a snarl and jabbed his tail into the arm that slashed him, which caused her to screech.

“QUIT IT!” Uzi yelled, raising her hand as violet light flashed around it.

Both Disassemblers froze at seeing the light and their visors flickered back to normal.

“Oh, evening, Uzi!” N called, waving as he helped V to her feet and she immediately brought her arm to her mouth to stop the nanite acid from eating it away.

“You’re a jerk,” she muttered as she spat her arm out of her mouth.

“So are you,” he snarked back, “I like this coat and you tore it.”

“Keep your guard up next time then!” V snapped.

“Ok, that’s super fair…”

“Wait, wait hold on!” Uzi sputtered, lowering her hand as confusion crossed her face, “You two… aren’t trying to kill each other!?”

“No?” N blinked, “Why? We’re just sparring,”

“You looked like you were going to rip each other apart!”

“Please, we’re tougher than that ,” V snorted, “Though someone likes to play dirty.”

She punched N in the arm, causing him to groan.

“Thought we said we’d keep tails out of this!”

“Yeah well, wasn’t exactly thinking clearly there after you tried to slash my coat to ribbons… ” N muttered.

Uzi grabbed onto the railing of the stairs, her hands shook slightly as she sat down. Relief flooded her systems as she realized, no. They weren’t trying to kill each other. This was just…

Her worried expression melted into one of annoyance.

They were just play fighting. Like a pair of kittens or puppies.

“Ughhhh you two are gonna be the death of meeeee,” she groaned, putting her head in her hands.

“Good!” V smirked.

“Bite me,” Uzi growled through her hands, words muffled as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“We’re sorry we scared you,” N’s voice said, “I…guess you just weren’t around when we did this? It was a constant if we were snowed in or we were up before sundown.”

“The entirety of my banishment she was locked up and we always did stuff after that.” Uzi huffed, “So no, no I wasn’t expecting you Murder Puppies to do this!”

“Excuse me what?” V sputtered.

“Wait, no, you’re right,” Uzi raised her head to level a glowing glare at V, “You’re more a cat. So Murder Kitty. He’s the Murder Puppy.”

V hissed at her…only to stop as she saw Uzi’s smug grin as she proved her right. The female Disassembler crossed her arms and pointedly looked away.

“Now that I know you two aren’t trying to kill each other…” Uzi started, taking a look at N, who was concernedly picking at the slashes V had made in his coat, “...We’re gonna have to go out aren’t we.”

“None of us are that low I don’t think?” N asked, “You’re not, right?”

“I’m fine,” Uzi said but poked at the slashes in his coat, “But you’re gonna sulk all night unless we get those fixed so…”

“Don’t you have the stuff to repair it?” V scoffed.

“Not the right color,” Uzi shook her head, “Thread I’ve got is purple, not grey. It’ll stick out like a sore thumb. It’s good to repair and alter my hoodie but not his jacket. We’ll have to go back to that busted up tailor shop across town.”

N gave a thoughtful hum as he tapped his chin.

“I got an idea…what was that human saying again, ‘two birds with one stone’?” he asked, “Anyways, you wanted to learn to fly tonight, yeah?”

Uzi’s amused smile suddenly died as she realized what he was getting at.

“Oh…right,” she muttered, “Yeah…I guess.”

“Well, it’s not that far…but it’s a good practice for learning!” N beamed, grabbing her arm and yanking them both up to their feet, “Let’s get going!”

“Remind me why she’s here too?” Uzi growled, looking at V who idly examined her talons.

“V’s the best flier out of all of us,” N’s reply was nonchalant, “I can pilot ships…”

“And crash them,” V quipped.

“ But …” N continued, shooting her a glare, “V’s the better flier in urban areas.”

“And we couldn’t just start on the ground !?” Uzi demanded.

“Easier to fly when you’re already up high,” N shrugged, “You glided before yeah?”

“By accident !” Uzi hissed, “I was on the ground most of the time!”

“Scuttling around like a creepy bug, yeah,” came V’s note, which got an angry growl from the Worker.

“Will you two stop fighting for two seconds, please ?” N groaned, “We’re gonna get nowhere.”

He turned his attention back to Uzi, who was currently staring over the side of the roof, her hands locked firmly on the lip of the railing. Her eyes were hollowed and bright, stressed lines flickering uncertainly under them.

She was scared.

“Right, first thing’s first,” he started, making her jolt as she realized he was talking to her, “Wings need to come out.”

Her scared look turned into one of disgust as she released the railing and climbed back down, leaning against it with her arms crossed.

“I’ve tried that. They won’t come out unless I’m below 20%. I think it’s just something coded in…probably to aid in hunting,” she huffed.

“Yeah that’s probably true,” he agreed, “happens to us too. Though you don’t have to worry about accidentally stabbing something with claws,”

“Don’t give it ideas!” Uzi hissed, holding her arms closer to her chest, “It’s bad enough I have those weird wings and stupid tail. I don’t need that added on to it!”

She looked away for a moment before turning her attention back to N and V.

“Um…how do you two do it?” she asked, voice hesitant and soft.

“Normally it’s just us willing them to come out, thoughts of needing to fly and all,” N shrugged.

“Yeah that didn’t work,”

“Hm…” he tapped a finger against his chin, “How’d you get them to come out the last time? Maybe it’s a feeling for you…what were you feeling back at the camp?”

Uzi’s eyes went hollow as she turned away from them.

“I dunno…angry…jealous…scared…” she gave a shudder, “Hungry…”

“Well that narrows it down,” V scoffed, “I think I’ve got something that will work.”

She started towards Uzi, her footsteps crunching softly in the snow.

“And what would that be?” Uzi huffed, starting to turn towards the Disassembler…only to let out a shriek of terror as V kicked her off the roof.

N shot into action, leaping over the side of the roof towards Uzi, who had squeezed her eyes shut and was tensed up for impact. He grabbed her, wings unfurling as his foot touched the asphalt below and used that stored energy to launch them both back up into the air to the roof. He sat a very much shaken Uzi on the rooftop.

“V that wasn’t called for!” he snapped.

“Well it worked,” V pointed out, jabbing a talon at Uzi…

And it had. Uzi’s wings were shaking, the talons at the tips of them clenching and unclenching as her tail thrashed back and forth. V gave a self-satisfied chuckle as she jumped up onto the ledge.

“Welp, my job’s done. See ya losers,” she gave a salute before taking a step off the roof.

She fell for a few meters before her wings snapped out and she shot towards the atmosphere like a bullet.

They watched her go for a while before looking back at each other. Uzi’s wings had finally stopped trembling and were currently folded back tightly against her back. She still did not look comfortable with them and was pointedly avoiding looking at them.

“Can I?” N asked, looking towards her wings.

“What?”

“They look soft,” he shrugged.

“They’re freaky,” Uzi grumbled, crossing her arms, “And gross and yours look so much cooler.”

But she did extend one towards him.

He gave a soft smile as he examined the strange new appendage. It was soft, but not like the fur of his coat, more smooth and velvety. He ran his hand down the ribbing, giving a soft hum as the texture from the velvet to…bone? Metal? He wasn’t sure…it was odd. The second he did that Uzi jerked her wing back, there was a soft blush on her face and the second she realized he was looking at her she turned her back.

“D-Don’t touch it,” she muttered, her tail coiled around her, though it did twitch a little bit in a wag.

“Sorry,” N apologized, “Uh…do you, um, want to continue learning?”

She turned to face him, there was a split second of her blushing but it fizzled out quickly as she nodded.

“Well, first thing’s first, er, second thing’s second?” he scratched at the back of his neck, “Getting you airborne,”

“...You’re not gonna kick me off the roof again are you…” Uzi’s wings came closer around her as her tail flicked back and forth.

“What? No!” N sputtered, “I’m not sure why V did that…maybe something sciency about it, she was always the better one when it came to that. She used to read all the time about different animals and plants and you could ask her anything and she’d know…J was better at math and didn’t care about the science stuff. Though…I did catch her reading some old books on literature once, like…plays and stuff? Kinda like you and your anime.”

“Do not compare her to me,” Uzi hissed.

“Sorry, uh, kinda slipped out,” he admitted, “Shouldn’t have said that,”

“It’s whatever, you didn’t mean it…” she scratched at the back of her neck as she kicked the rooftop with her boot, “So uh…how do?”

She pointed upwards and N’s expression brightened.

“Oh, easy,” he gave a smile as his own wings unfurled, “Normally takes a good flap to launch upwards,”

He bent his knees slightly as his wings pushed downwards and he lifted into the air. The force of the downdraft was enough to make Uzi backpedal, her wings beating just to keep her upright…which ultimately failed as she tripped on her own tail and landed on her backside in the snow.

She looked up as he gave a sheepish expression, his wings gleamed silver in the light as he hovered a few feet above the snow covered rooftop.

“Sorry,” he said as she got back to her feet, “But uh, yeah, like that.”

She raised a digital eyebrow at that but shook her head as she stretched out her own wings. She bent her legs much like he did and pushed downwards…nothing, just snow being sent flying from the gust of wind from them. She tried it again…and again…and nothing.

“It doesn’t work,” she huffed, crossing her arms.

“Well, maybe it needs to change up a little bit?” he asked, touching back down lightly, “Maybe try jumping? You’re still new to your wings so they might not be strong enough yet to lift you like that. V’d know about that…since, well, yours are biological and not mechanical,”

“And have her throw me off the roof again!?” Uzi demanded, “No thanks.”

N rolled his eyes.

“Like it or not, she’s likely going to be teaching you at some point because there’s some tricks she knows that I still have to master,” he said, “And I’ve been flying a lot longer than you.”

“Ok that’s fair,” Uzi sighed, “Maybe…”

She trailed off as she flexed her wings again, this time jumping straight up and beating them as hard as she could. This time she actually managed to raise a few feet higher than her jump, her eyes lit up brightly only to turn annoyed as she hit the ground again.

“Ugh come onnnnn!” she groaned.

“You want me to throw you again?” N suggested.

“You throw me again and I’ll likely end up in orbit rather than the stratosphere,” Uzi growled.

N shrugged and Uzi gave a thoughtful look at one of her wings, the talons on the edge of it flexing and closing a couple times as she gave a hum.

“I wonder…” she murmured, taking a few steps closer to the edge of the roof…before bolting in the other direction, leaping into the air as her wings beat.

Initializing: flight.exe

Something seemed to click, her eyes flashing briefly as she…seemed to understand how her wings worked now? The heck? She shot forward and then upwards, she could hear N’s whoop of excitement and the whispering hum of his wings as he took off after her. She beat her wings once more as she sailed through the air towards the top of a taller building. As she flew over it she went for a landing, only for her feet to get tangled up with each other and she went rolling. She hit the broken air conditioning unit with a loud thud…but she let out an elated laugh as N landed softly beside her.

“I DID IT!” she beamed, “HOLY HELL I DID IT!!!”

“You did!” N beamed, picking her up by the arm, “Just need to work on your landings a bit. I guess that clicked for you?”

“Yeah…oh my god this beats the hell outta walking,” she was giddy, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, “I’m never walking again if I can help it!”

“Just be careful,” N chuckled, “It can drain oil pretty fast,”

“...Aw…”

She looked over the side of the roof again and then back at N.

“Tailor shop isn’t too far from here…race ya?”

“Uzi you just learned to fly, you think that a race is a good idea?”

“....Yes?”

N rolled his eyes lightly, shaking his head and muttering…something something “weird Workers”. Uzi either didn’t hear him or didn’t care, she was still on the high of flying for the first time. She actually threw herself back into the air, her wings helping her climb higher and higher until they started losing purchase above the clouds.

“Uh oh,” she gasped as she immediately dropped through the cloud cover, a shriek tearing from her as the ground got closer and closer by the second.

Her mind went blank, static fuzzing over her vision as her wings struggled to beat. She was going to crash and hit the ground and break over the sidewa-

And that’s when she was enveloped by a pulsating warmth and two strong arms wrapped around her, transitioning her into a bridal carry.

“I got you,” N’s voice said.

Uzi looked up at him, a faint blush over her visor before it melted into an annoyed expression.

“What did I say about saving me?!” she snapped.

“Looks like to me you were about to go splat on the ground,” N said simply as he beat his wings a few times to regain the altitude he lost when he caught her.

“I coulda fixed it…”

“Not this early you couldn’t,” he pointed out, “You’re still learning,”

She gave a low huff as he dove through the quiet night and landed in front of their target store. He sat her on the ground and she gave him a soft punch on the thigh as she stormed forward, tail flicking irritably.

“Hey, Uzi?”

She turned around and he pointed at her tail.

“Are you able to see with that thing?” he asked.

“W-What?” she blinked.

“Are you able to see…using your tail,” he repeated, coming closer, “It looks like it has eyes. I mean it has the mouth, I was curious if those were actual eyes.”

She shuffled uncomfortably on her feet.

“...Yeah…” she admitted, “I used it back…back at the camp…It’s weird and gross and just no . I don’t like it. Makes me even more a freak…”

“You’re not a freak,” he rolled his eyes, “Might not be normal for a Worker but it’s not that weird.”

She frowned, her head tilting to the side.

“What?” she asked.

His face turned embarrassed as he scratched at his neck again, his own tail flicking back and forth nervously.

“I shouldn’t have said anything,”

“Nonononono, N you explain,” Uzi demanded.

“...Did I not tell you?” he asked, and she looked at him expectantly, “Guess not…uh…these…” he pointed at his visor, “These aren’t my actual eyes. My eyes are up here,” he pointed at his headband, “That’s how I normally see.”

Uzi stared at him for a few seconds. Then a minute. N shifted under the stare. She then went up, taking her beanie off and putting it on his head to cover the headband.

“Can’t see me now can you?” she asked.

“Oh I can see you,” he told her, smirking as he pointed at his visor, “I can switch to my visor to see if those get broken. As uh…we saw when we met. Though if they’re broken it does impair my vision a little. It’s a bit fuzzy looking at you through these.”

She took her hat back and replaced it on her head, making sure her hair was fixed.

“That’s so weird…” she muttered, “I’m weird, you’re weird…”

“We’re both weird” he chuckled, “My eyes have different ways of seeing…mostly thermal and infrared. Which is how I can tell when one of us is overheating…like you’re more on the warm side but you should be good for a couple nights still unless you’re stressing out,”

He gave a thoughtful look towards her tail.

“Can it?” he asked.

“...Yeah…” Uzi admitted, “Weirdly enough I caught on switching between my eyes and that faster than the wings though figuring out the Solver came faster…”

She took out her flashlight as they went into the building, trying to turn it on only for the beam to sputter and die.

“Oh come on …” she growled, “I just put batteries in you!”

“Seems like it’s more practice time,” N grinned.

“Bite me!” she hissed before sighing.

Her tail perked up, coming up to her shoulder and resting just over it. Her eyes seemed to dim slightly as the lights that flickered on her tail brightened and it seemed to look around.

“I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it,” she shuddered as she walked forwards, scanning through the torn and broken racks in the store, “Let’s just get the thread and get out .”

It took a couple minutes, but she did manage to find where the thread spools were. And, after bringing N over to compare colors to make sure it’d match, left the store without much fuss. The second she stepped out of the doors she switched vision back to her visor and let her tail relax back down to it’s resting position. N came up behind her and tapped her shoulder.

“Day’s coming,” he warned, “ready to fly back?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, giving a smile.

It…felt nice actually, being able to fly alongside him. She didn’t know how he could stand to walk after being able to soar.

She took a few running steps and launched herself into the air, smiling as he shot up after her and quickly caught up to her. They decided to play around in the sky a little bit, diving and soaring, climbing into the sky for a few moments before dropping for a few dozen feet and letting the winds catch them as their wings unfurled.

“Time to land,” N called as the Spire came into view, “You don’t have the reinforcement in your legs that I do so you’re going to have to coast in. Use your tail as a rudder and your wings to start braking…you’ll come in at a run so be ready!”

She gave a nod and followed his instructions as he dropped like a stone and landed with a loud thud before straightening. He ran alongside her, reaching out a hand to help guide as she got closer. She latched onto it as she got her feet under her and skipped to a stop.

“Well, least I didn’t fall flat this time!” she grinned.

“You’ll be an expert in no time,” he beamed as they hurried into the Spire while the sun rose, “We’re gonna have to strengthen your wings a bit though, because you’re not gonna have a runway all the time.”

“...I’m gonna have to talk to V about that aren’t I…”

“Yup!”

“Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

Chapter 7: 7

Chapter Text

7

To say Uzi’s day was off to an amusing start would be an understatement. It had started off with her scavenging for some scraps in the Spire to continue working on her new and improved railgun. She’d found the piece of broken mirror that she had used in the past when she and N had first met. A smile crossed her face for a split second as she held the shiny piece of glass in her hand, catching her own reflection in it. At least the Solver didn’t take issue with mirror fragments…she really needed to scrub down her casing at some point, there were scorch marks and smudges from unintentional crash landings from weeks and weeks of flying lessons.

At least she was at the point where she didn’t need to be feeling a strong emotion for her wings and tail to manifest…they did that at thought now. And she was able to keep up with N when they went flying at least…same as not needing a running start when she wanted up into the air. She still couldn’t catch V…the female Disassembler was extremely fast and agile in the air, fitting through gaps that Uzi couldn’t dream of getting through with her wings…and then laughing at her when Uzi had to pull up or dive down to avoid getting stuck.

She was shaken out of her thoughts when a sudden spray of snow was kicked up into her face. Sputtering, Uzi leveled a glare at N…who was crouched down on the ground, his tail flicking back and forth as his head swiveled, much like he was looking for something.

“You good?” she asked.

“Where’d it go?” he muttered, still scanning the area.

“Where’d what go?” Uzi asked, getting to her feet.

N’s head snapped up and his visor flickered into the broad X shape.

“THAT!” he yelled, lunging forward only to groan as he ate a faceful of snow, “Ow…”

“The heck are you going after?” Uzi blinked.

“There’s this…thing,” he growled, getting to his feet and looking around, “I c-AHA!”

His wings unfurled and he shot towards the wall of the spire…at a glimmer of light that moved. Uzi looked down at her hand that held the mirror shard…and saw that it was reflecting light from the sun onto the wall.

“Oh my god he’s just an overgrown cat.” She had to jam her fist into her mouth to keep from laughing, though a snort left her as she moved the mirror and light with one hand…while taking out the phone she’d gotten from her dad and recording the entire thing with the other.

She was having far too much enjoyment watching her friend run around trying to catch the light. At least…she was.

And then it became 10 times funnier when a second spray of snow shot up not far from N and V tackled him out of the way with her claws unsheathed and pouncing on the light.

“MINE!” she snarled, opening up her clawed hands, “Huh? Wait…”

She looked around and saw the dancing light about five feet in front of her. She pounced at it, only to slam into N who had also gone for the glimmering light.

Quick as a flash, Uzi stopped recording and attached the file to a message, sending it to two numbers.

Both Diassemblers were on the ground, holding their heads from where they’d collided with a loud cracking sound. Their pain turned into a mix of horror, embarrassment and fury (depending on who you were looking at) when the sound of laughter hit their audios.

Uzi was on the ground, absolutely howling with laughter. V’s visor flashed into the broad X shape as she immediately realized what Uzi held in her other hand.

“YOU FREAK!” she shrieked, diving at the Worker and pinning her, talons at her throat, “If you show anyone that I will kill you!”

“I won’t! I won’t!” Uzi’s voice was breathless as giggling still left her.

N grabbed V and peeled her off of Uzi, who was still laughing.

“Oh my robo- god I did not realize that was a thing!!!” the Worker howled, “This is great !”

V hissed at her, unsheathing one of her blades only for N to step between them.

“Let’s not, ok?” he asked, “Uzi uh…probably not a good idea to do that again?”

“S-Sure…” Uzi chuckled, “Oh god I enjoyed that…”

V glared at her, unfurling her wings and launching herself up back to her nest where she had gone back into recharge. N double checked to make sure Uzi was ok and not leaking from V’s tackle, before he himself stretched and flew up to do the same.

Uzi herself had gotten control of her gigglings and was now feeling tired herself…at least, she was.

Until two messages pinged at the bottom of her visor in a group chat.

WD Unit: TH4D 001-001-001: Oh my god…seriously!?

WD Unit: L1ZZY 001-001-001: I’m bringing a thing tonight. I HAVE to. >:)

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002: What are you bringing?

WD Unit: L1ZZY 001-001-001: Ugh, I’m not telling you...you’ll have to wait and see ~ !

WD Unit: TH4D 001-001-001: Get some rest, Zi, we’ll be there around sunset. Hope you’re doin’ ok!

It had been the first time that Thad and Lizzy had been back to the Spire since Uzi had “mysteriously come down with a virus” about a month and a half ago. N and V had let them know that she was safe and with them at the time but that they were to stay away a little while longer because they, and Uzi, were afraid of the latter losing control. Even Khan had been instructed to stay away, but was allowed to come to the Spire’s entrance in order to give Uzi her assignments from school; they'd be returned when she got them done…mostly by N.

However, they weren’t expecting to walk in to see V and N going at it trying to kill each other. Uzi was sitting on what looked to be a busted up car engine watching the two Disassemblers throwing each other around with claws and wings unsheathed and visors X’d out. The violet Worker looked up, almost like she heard their footsteps and gave a nonchalant wave before turning her attention back to the two taller drones.

“You two might wanna make a break for it now,” she called to the other Workers, “They’re on the other side of…oh ouch that’s gonna leave a mark…”

N went tumbling past the pod’s door, his claws making loud screeching noises as they dug into the ground to stop himself. V did not give him any breathing room and dove at him, causing the two to tumble head over heels, biting and clawing at each other.

Thad and Lizzy hurriedly made their way over to Uzi as V shot past them, kicked by N into the moonlight outside the spire.

“Uh…aren’t you gonna stop them?” Thad asked, watching as N tackled V and the two went back at it.

Uzi raised an eyebrow as she bit onto a metal straw in the can she held. She seemed to take a long sip from it before shaking her head.

“Nope.” she stated, taking another drink.

“So you’re just going to let them kill each other?” Lizzy scoffed, “Wow, some friend you are. Sitting here watching them tear each other apart while you drink your…your…”

“You don’t wanna know,” Uzi growled, “Trust me. I don’t like it but someone …” she glared at N who V had slammed into the ground again, “Said I wasn’t allowed to see anyone until I finished the dang thing.”

N got his feet under V’s midsection and kicked her off him again, the two Murder Drones tumbled and rolled through the snow hissing and growling as they attempted to get the upper hand.

“Besides,” Uzi stated, setting the can down, “They’re just playing. They’re not trying to kill each other,”

“...What?!” both Workers demanded right as V pinned N underneath her.

“I WIN!” she cackled, using her tail to wrap around his legs to prevent him from kicking her again.

“Cheater,” N huffed.

“Nuh-uhhh ~ !” she grinned, “I won fair and square. Which means I get first dibs when we go hunting again,”

“See,” Uzi deadpanned.

“...They really are like overgrown kittens,” Thad hummed before turning towards Uzi, who had crossed her arms as she shook her head, “How are you, Zi? Haven’t heard from you in ages .”

“Better,” Uzi shrugged, “More in control of myself at least.”

“Good, because you going on another psycho rampage is not what we need,” Lizzy said, which earned her a glare from the shorter Worker.

“You think I don’t hate what I did?” Uzi hissed, “Why you think I locked myself away for three days?! Why you think I stayed away from everyone for a week !? And then banished myself again for nearly two months !!”

She was halfway into giving Lizzy even more of an earful when a yellow and grey blur shot into their vision and suddenly Uzi was not there anymore. Instead, she was tackled to the ground and shrieking insults and curses as N picked her up around the waist and leapt up into the air to the top of the pod.

“LET ME GO!” she snarled, “N! PUT ME DOWWWWWNNNN!!!”

He didn’t answer, though did seem to panic as V leaped upwards. He pushed off the top of the roof, still carrying Uzi under his arm. V managed to snag his tail and knock him off balance, sending all three of them into the snow. Uzi tried to escape then and there, but was yanked off her feet by N…who then proceeded to run his fingers, not claws, down her sides and make her start shrieking with laughter.

“NO! ST-AAAAAAHP!!!” she yelled, “N! QUIT IT!”

He did not stop. Only made worse by the fact V had joined in, holding her down. Uzi seemed to have had enough as her eye glitched and a violet light lit about her hand. N was hit in the back of the head with a wrench encircled by violet light. It was enough to get him to rear back in confusion only for both him and V to get thrown off by some larger pieces of scrap that Uzi had grabbed and hurled at them. Seeing she was free, Uzi immediately bolted back towards the pod, slamming the door shut.

“Well that wasn’t fair,” V huffed as she got up to her feet, “Coward,”

A very muffled ‘Bite me!’ came from the other side of the door, which got Thad and N both to laugh. N’s laughter cut off as his eyes seemed to catch a very quick movement on the floor. V’s annoyance seemed to melt a little as she saw her squadmate still and looked to see what had gotten into him. A bright red dot skittered over the snow in circles not far from them. Both Disassemblers slowly stalked towards the dot, tails flicking back and forth…and they lunged at it, claws extended.

Thad went up to the pod door and knocked, getting Uzi to slide it open slightly. He nodded his head towards the Spire entrance where N and V were chasing the dot…which Lizzy was directing with a laser pointer stolen from her dad. Her visor was lit up in a very self satisfied pink smirk.

“...Oh they’re gonna kill her,” Uzi grinned.

“This is great ,” Thad agreed, “Who’dve known…they get distracted by shiny lights.”

“It’s not that unthinkable,” Uzi shrugged, “Their nests are full of shiny things that they’ve collected. Well, from what I heard V’s is…I know N’s is.”

A loud bang shook her and Thad out of their conversation as Lizzy fell off the engine in shock. The laser pointer had fallen from her hand as V stared at a spot that was currently smoking, blowing wisps of smoke off one of her guns with a satisfied smirk.

“Got it,” she preened, “Now what were y-”

She paused, looking back at the three workers and seeing Lizzy’s pointer in the snow. She looked at it, then at the hole, then at Lizzy…and then slowly turned her face up to Uzi and Thad. There was a faint yellow blush under her hollowed eyes before it turned into a large yellow X. She gave a very scary sounding snarl and shot towards the pod. Uzi grabbed Thad by the jersey and pulled him inside, locking the door with the Solver as soon as she yanked it shut.

“GET OUT HERE!” V shrieked.

“Hell no!” Uzi snapped back.

“YOU LYING BARELY SENTIENT TOASTER YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET MY CLAWS ON YOU!!!!”

“I didn’t lie !” Uzi pointed out as V pounded at the door, she could hear the screeching as V’s talons raked down the metal, “I said I wouldn’t send it to anyone when you threatened me!!”

“THEN HOW DO THEY KNOW!”

“I sent it before you threatened me,” Uzi smirked.

The unholy screeching from V made Thad jam his hands against his audios. He could barely hear N’s voice as V’s got further and further away…almost like she was being dragged away.

Uzi gave a bit of a cackle only to freeze slightly as a message popped up on her visor. Her gleeful expression turned sour as she sighed.

“N’s saying he’s going to take her out on a hunting trip. We’re going to have to be careful when they get back. Well…I am. They won’t be here for a while from the amount of rage I heard there.”

She sank down to the floor, crossing her arms.

“Funsucker.” she huffed.

A knock at the door made both her and Thad look up.

“Yo, Freak, she’s gone,” Lizzy’s annoyed voice sighed, “She and your murder boyfriend flew off a few minutes ago. Open the door,”

Uzi seemed to stiffen, a high temperature warning flashing over her visor as soon as a blush entered it.

“He is not !” she snarled, “He’s just a friend! That’s it!”

“Sure, whatever, settle,” Lizzy groaned, “Open the door and let me in,”

Uzi flicked her hand and the Solver glyph flashed once briefly over the door before it slid open, revealing Lizzy standing with her hip co*cked and her hand on it.

“Took you long enough,” she scoffed, pushing past Uzi and sitting in the chair next to her boyfriend.

Uzi’s eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to snap a reply when another high temperature warning flashed over her visor, making her wince.

“One sec, I’ll be back…” she huffed, storming out the door and heading back into the open.

“You gotta be nicer, Liz,” Thad said.

“Or what, she’ll eat me?” Lizzy asked.

Thad said nothing for a little bit.

“She’s my friend,” he finally said, “We’ve been over this,”

“Look, I get you two had a…very one-sided thing in the past,” Lizzy stated, “But I really can’t forget what she did,”

“They were my friends too,” Thad reminded her, “But I know Uzi. She wouldn’t have done it if she had any say in it. Besides she’s already feeling bad about it,”

“Feeling bad about what?” came Uzi’s voice from the door.

She was currently biting on the straw again, looking at the other two workers.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, Zi,” Thad said, “Just making some things clear is all. Oh, right…got your assignments here,”

Uzi didn’t look convinced. There was an almost wary and…dare Thad say it… predatorial way she looked at where his hand was going.

“Almost like one of them…” the thought crossed his processor quickly before his more rational side squashed it.

This was Uzi . She was a Worker , not a Murder Drone . Yeah the camp incident was scary, but this was his friend. He knew she wouldn’t have done it if she had any say. The fact she locked herself up away from everyone to prevent it said as much.

Her expression turned from one of concern to one of annoyance as Thad handed her a binder full of assignments.

“If there’s one thing I haven’t missed…” she grumbled before turning towards Lizzy, “Does your dad hate me or something?”

Lizzy looked up from where she was studying her fingertips, a slight smirk on her face.

“Dunno, you’ve skipped most of your classes with him.”

“Not skipped , I missed them,” Uzi growled, “There’s a difference. What’s the excuse Dad gave him?”

“Virus,” Thad stated, “Though, he’s gonna get questioned on that if you stay much longer. Viruses don’t last this long.”

“And ‘grieving’ didn’t count?”

“That was the first couple weeks’ excuse,” Thad said.

Uzi groaned as she rummaged around for a pencil and opened the binder.

“Oh come on …Captchas? Seriously!?” she demanded, “These are the worst !!”

“Yeah they’re pretty difficult,” Thad admitted, “Took me a good four hours to get that done.”

A low growl rumbled from Uzi’s chassis as she sat down on the floor and started to work. There was some very dark grumbling as she tried to figure the things out. She stiffened and then relaxed a little as she realized Thad had gotten off his chair and sat down next to her, trying to help get through the assignment best he could.

It took them a long while. Uzi kept having to pause and step outside but refused to elaborate why, but she always returned a few minutes after leaving. She seemed calmer when she did so Thad and Lizzy didn’t question it. When they finally got through the last problem, Uzi stopped and seemingly opened a message that came up. She gave a sigh as she thunked her head back.

“Everything ok?” Thad asked.

“Not really…” Uzi sighed. “They’re stuck for the day. Sun’s coming up and they’re too far out. They can’t make it back before the sun rises.”

“So you’re gonna be alone for the day?”

“Yup…”

“You want to come back with us?” Thad suggested, “You don’t have to go to classes because it’s Saturday but you’ll be able t-”

“I can’t leave either,” her voice was quiet as she looked down at the binder and closed it, “Sun’ll kill me.”

Green and pink eyes hollowed as they looked at their smaller companion.

“Say that again?” Lizzy’s voice was slightly hoarse.

“I said the sun will kill me if I go out there, happy!?” Uzi snapped, “I don’t know why but ever since that stupid camp thing being in the sun hurts . I start overheating and…I don’t…”

Her fists clenched.

“I don’t want to lose control again,” she finally hissed out, “I just got the hang of it…and I get low again I’ll hurt more people.”

“What do you mean low?” Thad asked gently.

“I don’t want to talk about it. You two need to go,” Uzi’s response was clipped as she stood, handing over the binder, “Thank you guys for spending time with me but you guys have to get going. They’re going to send a search party out for you guys and they’re going to think N and V ate you or something…”

It looked like she was hiding a different response, but Thad didn’t push. He put a hand on her shoulder, which made her stiffen in surprise.

“You’re our friend, Zi,” he smiled, “Now, we’ll be back tonight…least I will. Lizzy?”

“Fine, I’ll be here too,” she rolled her eyes, “But not for you,”

“Yeah V’s missed you,” Uzi smirked, “Something about how she ‘can’t wait to see her bestie again’,”

Lizzy reared back in surprise before a grin crossed her face.

“That jerk,” she laughed, “I knew I got to her!”

“Yeah don’t tell her I told you. She’s already mad at me enough,”

“No promises,” Lizzy chirped as she got out of the chair and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, “Later, loser,”

And she walked out.

Thad shook his head as he watched her go before turning his attention back to Uzi.

“Stay safe, Zi, we’ll be back,”

“Thanks,” she tried to hold back a yawn, “Sorry…I’m tired…”

“Yeah being nocturnal will do that to you,” he winked and Uzi’s core clenched painfully, “See ya around,”

“...See ya.”

She watched them leave and head back to the bunker, safe in the shadows of the Spire. She let out the breath she was holding and her wings and tail released from their housing. She’d tried, so hard to keep them in but it was starting to get difficult that last hour.

She looked at her hands, thankful that they were normal looking and not, you know, claws . A shudder ran through her, how the heck would she hide those !? With a final look at the rapidly shrinking forms of her fellow Workers, she turned back to the pod and launched herself into the air. She made her way into the shared nest she had with N and wrapped her tail around one of the bars in the roof of it, letting herself hang in a resting position.

It had actually become comfortable to sleep like this now…though she missed feeling N’s warmth and his heartbeat. She’d fall asleep eventually…but she knew it’d take a long while.

A sinking feeling entered her core as a thought entered her head.

When had she started missing being close to him?

Chapter 8: 8

Chapter Text

8

Uzi wasn’t expecting to wake up in her room. The blank ceiling above her bed, devoid of her crazed ramblings, was an uncomfortable new thing and she hated it. It was only a matter of time before they started up again and she’d have it full. Strangely enough, she didn’t feel hot anymore. Just a cold numbness in her chassis as her core hummed softly in the silence. She sat up, rubbing against her visor as she yawned.

Was all of this a bad dream?

She hopped off her bed, grabbing her beanie off the dresser and putting it back on her head as she opened the door. What greeted her was a sight she...was not expecting. Her dad was sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper and smiling…while another voice hummed from the kitchen.

Ice seemed to pierce through Uzi’s core as she took halting steps forward.

“No, no, no, no that’s not possible…there’s no freaking way…” she thought as she peered around the kitchen door.

Her knees about gave out then and there as she saw a petite violet haired drone who looked very much like her.

“M-mo-” her voice cut out as tears flickered over her visor and she bolted forwards, hugging the female drone tightly around the waist.

“What’s the matter, kiddo?” a gentle voice asked as a hand put itself on her head, “You act like you haven’t seen me in years!”

Uzi said nothing, shaking so badly she thought her body would break apart as a sob broke out from her voice box.

“Baby girl,” she felt a hand brush against her cheek, pulling her hair away from it, “You good?”

“...No…” Uzi finally whimpered out, “Mom…”

“Shh, it’s ok, it’s alright…” Nori’s voice murmured, stroking her hair, “Whatever it is, it had to be a bad dream.”

“How are you here?” she whispered, pulling away slightly as her eyes hollowed, “This is can’t be…you died …”

Nori snorted, rolling her eyes.

“Do I look dead to you?” she asked.

“N-Noooo?” Uzi stammered, “B-But what about…N…and V…an-and…”

“Who?” Nori asked, “Uzi, you’re not making sense. Who are N and V? Those are weird names.”

“Dad…?” Uzi asked, turning around to face him as he lowered his newspaper.

“Kiddo, I don’t know anyone by those names either,” he said.

“That’s not right…” Uzi thought as an uncomfortable warmth started to build in her chest, “...Oh…oh no…”

“Sweetheart, are you sure you’re ok?” Nori asked, putting a hand to her forehead, “Oh…oh dear you’re running pretty warm. You sure you don’t have a virus?”

“Mom…I…” Uzi stammered as a high temperature warning flashed across her vision, “Mom I need to..need to go lie down I think…”

She stumbled back as her core got hotter and hotter and alarms started blaring in her audios and causing fuzzy warnings to cover her vision. A familiar and unwelcome pressure started building on her back and she went into panic mode, bolting towards her room and trying to open the door.

The door’s opening mechanism melted under her touch. She was hot, so terribly hot…

“Uzi?”

She whipped around to face her mother, only to shriek in terror as the horrible eldritch abomination appeared instead, using her mother’s head rather than J’s.

“No! NO! NO STAY BACK!” she screeched, trying to back away.

“It hurts our feelings you don’t remember us…”

Uzi shrieked, fists flying as she sat up on the bed. She felt arms wrap around her and a familiar warmth lay itself over her back and shoulder.

“It’s ok,” N’s voice whispered gently, “I’ve got you…”

She was shaking, she didn’t care right now what he thought of her, she immediately turned around and buried her head in his chest. Sobs broke out from her voicebox as her grip tightened. He stroked her back, giving a soft and gentle purring sound as his other hand held her head close.

They sat like that for a while…listening only to the winds of the dead world around them and the beating of their own cores.

Of all the new developments her crazy powers had come with, this by far was one of the worst in Uzi’s opinion. She hated the constant thumping sound that resounded in her chest. She was used to hearing it from V or N, but herself ? When she had woken up again, the first thing she had tried was tearing it out as there was massive amounts of pain that surged through her systems with each beat.

N had to grab her hands and restrain her from doing so with a warning of her killing herself if she tried. He actually looked sorry for it. It wasn’t his fault really, just…sucked that she was caught up in his life and how he had to live it.

“What’s next ,” Uzi thought bitterly, “I actually turn into one of them?”

The thought actually made her uncomfortable. Sure, she’d finally be free of those stupid fleshy wings and tail…but she’d also have to deal with hiding a lot of different features as well.

“Least I’d be taller…”

She gave a snort as the image of herself, taller with V’s legs came to the front of her mind. Yeah no, that was ridiculous and stupid at the same time.

She yanked on another piece of scrap, bracing herself as she pulled. This one was stuck good and she didn’t know where N or V were, likely scouting the area for that supposed new Disassembly Drone everyone had been talking about.

It was weird, the only ones that had hit planetside were N, V, and J. Uzi had a sneaking suspicion that there was a fourth somewhere judging by the name V had dropped back at the camp. “Cyn”.

But V, as always, was notoriously tight lipped. She haaaaated giving any information about the two’s past. Almost like she was scared of it. And judging by the fact she was becoming more and more desperate to hunt Doll down and in turn get rid of Uzi, this “Cyn” might have had something to do with the Absolute Solver as well.

“One of these days that’s going to come to bite you,” Uzi muttered as she gave another yank, giving a startled yell as the piece finally came free and sent her to the ground.

She stood up, brushing the snow off her hoodie and examined the piece. So caught up in her examinings she didn’t notice the shadow that spilled across her until she was snatched up by a pair of warm arms and brought high into the air. She of course, struggled and was preparing to sink her teeth down into the arm that snatched her up…but stopped when she recognized who grabbed her.

“N what the hell!?” she demanded, “I can fly too!”

“Not this fast,” he stated, his eyes were hollow, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking or paying attention. Hold on, it’s going to be close.”

“Close for what !? What are you so afraid of!?”

His eyes were bright with worry, stressed lines glowing underneath them as he said one word.

“Blizzard.”

Blizzards on Copper-9 were rare but devastating events. Winds reached up to 400 miles an hour, temperatures dropped well below -90 and the snow that pelted down was more ice than fluff. Not to mention it was heavy enough to make the buildings groan and shake…sometimes even collapse under the weight.

Uzi hated them especially when the power went out because of it. So cold that she thought her systems would shut down. Remembering what they did to counteract it made her core hurt. That being having her and her father huddle up next to her mother who was one of the warmest drones that she had known. Her mother loved the cold and snow, hated the heat. That was something Uzi could get behind now…

N and V also loved the snow and cold. Whenever there’d be minor snow storms she’d often catch them outside wrestling and play fighting in the snow. It was almost childlike . She expected it from N…V however was a massive shock. The female Disassembler would always freeze and go back to a more cold persona whenever Uzi caught her acting that way though.

However…

Blizzards were the one thing that N and V seemed to fear.

When Uzi had asked about it, they mentioned something about how blizzards could rip their wings off and leave them stranded in the snow. They were built to withstand the cold easy…but they weren’t totally waterproof.

As such, this blizzard was the worst one yet. No sooner than N and Uzi had returned to the spire did the winter storm unleash its frozen hell on the planet. V was already inside thankfully, looking a bit disappointed as the snow came down.

“I was wanting to go hunting,” she huffed.

“You’re not that low are you?” N asked, concern coloring his voice as she shook her head.

“Halfway,” she told him, “But we don’t have any reserves. So…we’re gonna have to not move once we settle down. Dunno how long this will last,”

“Could be days,” Uzi sighed.

“And I’m stuck in here with you, lovely. Can’t even escape that,” V snorted, spreading her wings and flying up to her nest as Uzi shot her a glare.

“She doesn’t mean it,” N tried.

“Oh she means it,” Uzi grumbled, “But she can’t do anything about it.”

“You still have some of those movies we’ve yet to watch?” he asked, his tail perking up and wagging back and forth, “Be a perfect time to watch them!”

“Yeah,” Uzi nodded, “I’ll get that set up.”

She started towards the pod, pausing slightly as a message popped up.

WD Unit: KH4N 001-001-001 Be careful, kiddo, blizzard’s supposed to be the worst one we’ve had in a while. Stay safe you three, I’ll drop by when it’s over.

She gave a smile as she sent a thanks in reply, hopping up into the pod and digging through some of the cabinets to find a few movies to watch. It’d be nice to see her dad again.

It had been three days since the blizzard started and it was still up in the air when it would finally die off. All three of the outcasts were in a bit of an irritable mood, a bit low on oil levels and their stashes were nearly depleted.

N had to play mediator between Uzi and V as the two were constantly getting at each others’ nerves and throats. Putting them in separate rooms was only going to work for so long after all…

They’d need to go hunting and soon. Brave the storm if it was too bad…otherwise they’d be in trouble.

It had started when Uzi chucked one of her tools out of the pod in a fit of anger again…which ended up smacking V in the face as she had just landed on the ground.

“It was an accident oil sucker!” Uzi snarled as N grabbed V and picked her up off the ground, the latter struggling and kicking and trying to get her claws around Uzi’s neck.

“Yeah! Likely!” V hissed, “And so was the last time? Or when your little scrap pipe bomb that you call a ‘gun’ exploded in my face?”

“Last one was an accident and that blew half my head off too,” Uzi growled, “But the last time I chucked a wrench and it hit you? Heh, yeah that one was on purpose,”

“N. Let me go so I can scrap her.”

“No, I’m not doing that, V,” N sighed, “You both need to cool it.”

Both girls glared daggers at each other and N rolled his eyes.

“Making an executive decision now. We’re going to go hunting as soon as the storm lets up,” he stated, his voice gave no inch for protest, “ All of us.”

V stopped trying to claw at Uzi and Uzi’s eyes went hollow.

“All…?” she asked.

“I don’t want to force you to come,” N continued, “But the fact is we’re all low. By the time V and I get back you’ll probably be in the single digits and…”

Uzi’s shoulders sagged.

“I know all the secret and weak spots in the bunker,” she realized.

“You’ll end up hurting your dad. Hurting Thad. Hurting Lizzy. Hurting a lot of people,” N’s voice was soft, apologetic even, “I don’t want to take you but I know you’ll beat yourself up if another incident like the camp happened.”

“...You can put me down now,” V told him, all her bluster and anger seemingly gone.

He did so and she brushed herself off, her tail flicked once as she rolled her shoulders.

“Probably a good idea to go into sleep mode until the storm lets up,” she said, walking out the pod, “We’ll need what we can get…it’s far.”

And without another word she launched herself up to her nest. N looked back at Uzi, who had a very worried look on her face as her hands shook.

“I won’t make you go after anyone,” he promised, “V and I will take care of it. But I need you to stay with us. For your safety and the others’ safety. Do you trust me?”

“...Yeah,” she nodded, “Just…not looking forward to it.”

“C’mon,” he held out a hand, “Let’s get some rest. We’ll need it.”

She gave a sigh as she took his hand, a hiss of pain escaping her as her wings extended and they both launched up to their spots. When she got herself settled in, she felt one of his wings gently brush against hers.

“It’ll be ok,” he promised.

She didn’t look entirely convinced and stayed silent as she forced herself into sleep mode.

“Uzi, wake up,”

She onlined with a groan as a warm gust of wind brushed past her.

“Wha-?”

“Blizzard’s over. We’ll have to dig our way out but…” N told her, “Least we don’t have to worry about fighting the winds to get to the hunting grounds.”

“...Right,” she muttered as a high temperature warning flashed over her visor, making her wince, “Is it night time?”

“Yeah, V’s waiting for us,”

With a groan, Uzi untangled her tail from the rebar and let herself glide down to the bottom of the Spire, N joined her a few seconds later and they both made their way to V. V…did not look well. She looked exhausted, a faint tremor in her hands as she started digging through the absolutely massive wall of snow that blocked the entrance to the Spire. N joined her, their claws making short work of the wall and even making a slight staircase out of it so that they could more easily get in and out.

While they did this, Uzi shot a message to her dad.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 Not safe. Don’t come.

A few minutes later she received an answer.

WD Unit: KH4N 001-001-001 Please be careful, kiddo.

Chapter 9: 9

Chapter Text

9

Uzi was shaking. And not in an angry way or from oil depletion but that was getting to that point. No this was from nerves and fear.

A 50 mile flight was over in a near instant in her eyes, though there was a point she felt like she was going to drop out of the sky because of a sudden gust of wind that stole the air from under her, luckily N had managed to grab her arm before she fell too far and continued to hold onto her until she got her wings back under her.

And now, standing on the top of a roof overlooking a sad and bombed out old apartment building…it finally hit her what they were doing.

“It’s so quiet,” she finally said, “Are you sure there are Workers in there?”

“Yep,” V’s reply was short as she put her hands on her hips, “Your colony is the only one with doors, most colonies are like this…no doors but stupid hard to dig out. They’re fast but that’s what makes it fun,”

“Fun?”

V gave a grin as the other girl stared at her incredulous.

“Fun for me ~!” she nearly sang, “Now the tough part is managing to grab a few before they hide like ants…”

A high temperature warning flickered over all three visors on the roof, making all three of them wince.

“They tend to scatter or hide when one gets taken,” N explained, “Problem is we…need to catch more than one.”

“One each…maybe two,” V reasoned, “And then we go back to the Spire and should be good for a while,”

Uzi stared at her. V being rational and showing restraint when talking about killing something?! Who the heck was this and what had she done with V . Said Disassembler saw Uzi’s gaze and a faint blush flickered over her visor.

“Do you want me to murder all of them and we have to keep coming back to pick up cold oil?” she snapped.

“No, I'm surprised you’re showing restraint for once.”

“Whatever, freak,” V rolled her eyes, “Point is, I don’t feel like bringing the entire building down this time. I’d rather not have to expand my hunting grounds again. Humans do it all the time when they hunt animals. Pick off the weak and stupid and you get a better hunt later,”

“If you leave the smart ones behind then they’re just going to be a worse version of me ,” Uzi pointed out, “You thought my railgun was bad…”

“You’re a weirdo so…”

“You’ve been hanging out with Lizzy too much.”

“Let’s get back on topic,” N suggested, “So how are we going to do this? Can’t bring the building down and us storming it’s going to make them run…”

“I have an idea but you’re gonna hate it,” V said, “So I’m gonna keep my mouth shut.”

N shot her a look but V gave him a smug grin despite the fact her breaths were starting to vent steam and a tremor started in her hands. Uzi noticed the same thing was starting to happen to N. They didn’t have long before they went into single digits. Neither did she, but she felt that them going into it was going to be so much worse…especially for her.

She cast a look down at the building and a sick feeling gripped her core.

“Bait,” she said.

“What?” N asked, looking at her.

“We use bait,” she was shaking again, “...Me.”

There was silence on the roof…and then V gave an incredulous laugh.

“Wow you actually said what I was thinking,” she grinned, “Guess you’re not so dumb after all,”

“Bite me!” Uzi snarled, whirling on her.

“Uzi, no ,” N shook his head, “I’m not going to make you do that! I promised I-”

“And we’re all gonna go into hijacked mode if I don’t,” Uzi retorted, “And I think that’s going to go worse for me if you two end up in it.”

She stepped up onto the ledge, her wings flaring as she took a deep breath.

“Just…make it quick,” she muttered as she stepped off the ledge.

She gripped her arms as she trudged through the knee deep snow, her wings and tail had been hidden away but she was still overly hot. Steam rushed out with every breath despite the frigid air. The snow felt insanely good on her body but she knew it was only a temporary fix.

Warning! High Internal Temperature!

Oil levels at 21%.

“I…know…” she growled as the message flickered on her vision, snowing over with static as she tried to make her way through a particularly high snowdrift.

She didn’t know where N and V were, she had seen them take off not long after she had dropped down…likely to get a better angle.

“I’m seriously going through with this…” her thoughts were bitter, frightened as she approached the run down building.

“H-He-Hello?” she called, “I-Is…anyone there?”

Silence, her fidgeting muffled by the snow that caused the building to groan under its weight. It was getting harder to think clearly as the feeling of melting raged uncomfortably in her chest. Just when she was about to speak again…two glowing emerald eyes flared to life in the shadows of the building.

“Kid what the hell are you doing out there!?” a male voice demanded, “Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be out at night?”

“M-My friends…and I,” Uzi tried, gripping her arms tighter, “We were…getting supplies. But the blizzard…”

A Worker, taller than her but much shorter than N or V cautiously climbed out of the ruined building. One of the older generation like her father, he didn’t have any visible defining features other than a long handlebar mustache and a winter-themed camouflage coat. He looked around nervously for a moment before slowly making his way towards her, watching the skies.

“Where did you come from?” he asked, “I’ve not seen you around here before.”

“I-I’m from…Sector 001,” she tried, “Th-The colony…with the bunker a-and the…doors,”

“Kid that’s 50 miles from here,” he blinked, “You really got lost, huh…what’s your name?”

“...Uzi,”

“Come on, Uzi, let’s get you inside. Not safe out here…never know when a Murder Drone might show up,” the Worker said, putting a hand on her shoulder…only to recoil, “Oh god, kid…you’re boiling …are you sick?”

“We were…getting supplies,” her visor glitched as more steam hissed with every word, “We…ran out, and I…volunteered to get…more.”

She felt her wings and tail scrabbling against her back, trying to burst free as her levels dipped to 19%, wavering on the border. She gave a shudder as her legs gave out and she fell backwards onto the snow, crushing them against the ground to prevent them from coming out.

“Hey!” the Worker gasped, “Easy, kid…”

He turned towards the building and raised his voice again.

“Raleigh! Jessie! Get the medical supplies and get out here! We’ve got a wounded kid!” he barked, then turned back to Uzi, “Easy, kiddo…stay with me. Can you move?”

“N-No,” Uzi shook her head as two more Workers ran out of the building.

A glint of yellow caught her eye above the building and her eyes turned sad.

“I…I’m sorry,” she said.

“What? Don’t be. Not your fault you got sick,” the first Worker reassured her, taking the medical supplies from one of the other two and starting to open it up.

“No…I’m… s-sorry …” she sat up…

Right as a flash of yellow and grey shot down from the sky. There was a loud snapping sound and the one called Raleigh wasn’t there anymore, at least his head wasn’t. His body crashed down into the snow, oil spraying as N straightened up from his dive. Uzi’s oil chilled as she saw her friend’s visor on that horrible, killing X while his fangs bared in a smile.

“Run!” the one called Jessie yelled, starting to bolt…

Only to get pounced on by V, who had ambushed him from the alleyway. He gave a scream as she sank her teeth into his shoulder, biting down with a force that rent steel from endoskeleton. Uzi’s eyes hollowed as V quickly released his shoulder and bit down hard on his neck, spattering her with oil as his cries gurgled in his throat.

The scent of the oil hit her and Uzi’s gaze went unfocused as hunger and disgust both roiled in her. She both wanted and didn’t want it, it seemed to shimmer in the moonlight on the snow, a dark and gorey display of violence she…had forgotten what her friends were capable of. She felt herself get picked up, scooped into the arms of the first Worker.

“C’mon, kid,” he tried, his frame was trembling as he started bolting.

“Sorry, s-sorry, sor-rry…” Uzi’s shaking got worse as her visor and voice both started glitching.

“About wh-” he stopped.

No longer being contained by being pressed against the snow, Uzi’s wings and tail burst free, sending boiling hot oil down her back and across the snow as she let out a cry of pain. The Worker dropped her, eyes hollowed as he took steps backwards in terror.

A loud crack sounded off and he collapsed to the ground, a bullet through his power core.

She stared at his lifeless body as FATAL ERROR blazed on his visor. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked up at N.

“...You good?” his voice was quiet.

“I’m g-good,” she stammered, but her eyes were bright and hollowed.

He looked at her for a moment, his own narrowed as his tail flicked back and forth.

“I’m not doing this again with you,” he said, “I promise.”

She said nothing, but got to her feet. Her core hammered in her chest as she took some shaky steps forwards, N put a hand on her chest, making her stop.

“Not that one,” he murmured, guiding her away from the one that had been shot.

He led her to the one that he had dove on before. Raleigh she thought his name was. Was it better or worse that she knew his name?

“I can’t…I can’t do this…” she shook, “They were…I just…”

Her knees hit the ground and she felt him put his arm around her, gently squeezing as his own trembling made his plating rattle.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said.

She felt him let go and get back to his feet. A few seconds later she heard the sounds of him feeding from the last Worker. The one she didn’t get a name for. V was already digging in on her victim, her tremors seemingly ceased and she was taking her time now.

Uzi however stayed motionless in front of the one that lay before her until she got low enough that the Solver made her feed.

That was eight now.

Chapter 10: 10

Chapter Text

10

“C’mon, kid,”

“Sorry, s-sorry, sor-rry…”

“About wh-”

CRACK

Startup Sequence WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002

Oil Level: 85%

Charge Level: 100%

Internal Temperature: Low

Absolute_Solver String= True

Guilt: Active

. . .

Exiting Sleep Mode.

Uzi stared up at the ceiling of her little room, unwilling to move. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her core’s beating and the faint hum of the lights outside the room. She grabbed the pillow and buried her face into it. What made it worse was the memory that had played over and over again was slightly corrupted.

She didn’t see the nameless Worker that had picked her up and attempted to help her…

She saw her dad with a bullet wound through his core.

“It could have been him…it could have been someone’s dad. And you ripped that away from them just like your mom was ripped from you.” her inner voice hissed.

“We needed…” Uzi stammered, curling up in a ball as she hugged the pillow to her chest, “I didn’t want to hurt anyone…It would have made us hunt them down and I couldn’t…”

“And you’d do that to some other family?”

“That’s not…that…”

Darren. Rebecca. Braiden. Sam. Emily. Raleigh. Jessie. Him.

“No don’t…” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut, “It…it wasn’t…”

Darren. Rebecca. Braiden. Sam. Emily. Raleigh. Jessie. Him.

“I didn’t…I made sure it was quick…but but but…”

Darren. Rebecca. Braiden. Sam. Emily. Raleigh. Jessie. Him.

“Stop stop stop STOP!” Uzi cried, “STOP IT!”

Darren. Rebecca. Braiden. Sam. Emily. Raleigh. Jessie. Him.

“Uzi?”

She looked up, hollow eyed as N leaned in the doorway with his hand on the top of it.

“You good?” he asked.

“I don’t want to talk,”

“That didn’t answer my question,” he came in and sat on the mattress, his head was slightly co*cked to the side as he watched her curl up tighter, “I’m sorry,”

“You didn’t make me do it,” Uzi muttered.

“No but I let you do it anyway,” he told her, “And I’m never doing that again. I’ll keep digging through a colony like that before I let you do that again.”

Uzi said nothing, still curled up into herself.

“Eight people, N,” she whispered.

His eyes hollowed and he put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” he warned.

“Do what ?” Uzi snapped, “Count them? Why? You said it yourself, the bodies seem to blur over the years with the amount. So why are you telling me not to count them? V keeps count.”

“You’re not V!” he retorted.

“THEN WHAT AM I!?” Uzi snarled, standing up on the bed with her hands curled into fists, “What am I N?! Because I sure as hell don’t know!”

She started shaking as tears caused her voice to glitch out.

“I don’t know…what I am,” she whispered as she sat back down, shaking, “I’m not…I’m not a Disassembly Drone…I don’t look like you or V. What Disassembly Drone is small and pathetic and clumsy when they move. What Disassembly Drone still needs to charge ?”

Her fists curled up more.

“But I’m not a Worker anymore either…” she continued, “Because what Worker needs to drink oil, freaking feels like she’s melting all the time, has a core that beats , has wings…and a freaking tail , N…a tail ! And my teeth are so sharp now it hurts my mouth when I try to smile…”

She looked up at him.

“What am I?”

He was quiet for a little bit, seeming to try and come up with an answer.

“I…don’t know,” he finally admitted, “But…I don’t really know what I am either. You asked me that months ago after we killed J again…but I still don’t know. I have that little heart monster thing in my chest…” he tapped a finger over where his core lay, “And I…I’m afraid one day I’ll turn out like her . And if I hurt you? Or V? I couldn’t take it. I’d rather offline. But I do know one thing…”

He gave a warm smile as he took her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

“I know that you’re Uzi. My best friend in the whole world. Universe even.”

Uzi was quiet for a few seconds.

“You sound like one of those sappy human holiday cards oh my god …” she groaned, “Stop going into therapy mode and let me suffer in my misery dang it…”

“No,” he shook his head, “I did that before and you nearly died on me because you locked yourself in your room for a week without feeding. I’m not letting you do that again. As your best friend, I literally can’t let you.”

He played with his hands a little and refused to look at her.

“I’m sorry you got put into this life…the one I have to live,” he admitted, “I wish you didn’t have to live it.”

“...Same,” she sighed, “I wish you didn’t have to either. This sucks.”

“Yeah…”

“I don’t want to be like this. I don’t want to be stuck here wondering what’s going to happen to me…” she continued, “I want…”

She stopped, putting her head in her hands as her shoulders began to shake again.

“What do you want?” he questioned.

She raised her head and he could see the tears on her visor.

“I want my mom,” she whispered, “I want my mom …and I can’t…”

She put her head back in her hands again.

“I can’t even have that …”

About half an hour later, Uzi reawoke from sleep mode after crying herself to sleep. What woke her up was a knock on the door that turned into the soft hiss of it opening.

“Go away, N…just leave me alone,” she growled, pulling the blanket back over her as she faced the wall.

A cold hand put itself on her shoulder.

“Well good thing I’m not him then,” her dad’s voice said.

Uzi’s eyes went hollow as she scrambled back closer to the wall and further from her dad.

“You can’t be here,” she whispered, “I’m not…it’s not…”

“N says you’re perfectly safe,” Khan stated, “And I’m kinda inclined to believe him considering he braved nearly getting shot by some more volatile WDF members to get me.”

He gave a sad smile.

“He said that ‘she needs help only you can give’.” he chuckled, “So, I came.”

“You shouldn’t be here!” Uzi tried again.

“Yeah well I’m being a little rebellious on my own right now,” Khan rolled his eyes, “Kiddo, what happened…”

Uzi was quiet as she pulled her knees closer to her chest. Khan put a hand on them only to pull back slightly as she flinched.

“I screwed up…” she whispered, “I got more people killed…I’m no better than Doll or J or…”

“And yet…you still feel awful about it,” Khan said.

“...Well…yeah?”

He gave a sigh and put his hand on her knee again.

“Sweetheart, we all make mistakes. Some big, some little,” he told her, “I know that, your Mom knew that, even your murder boyfriend knows that.”

“Dad…”

He chuckled.

“Point is,” he continued, “You still feel bad about it. Now, I know that it’s not going to change what happened. And it won’t change what’s going to happen going forward. I wish I could tell you things… so many things that would make sense for you and you’d know you weren’t alone in this.”

He closed his eyes.

“But I can’t,” he admitted, “I can’t because I made a promise. I can however…tell you that I understand what you’re feeling, more than anyone. At least…I’ve seen that look on your face more often than I care to remember. I’ve seen people do horrible things, watch them fall apart, rise again…repeat the cycle over and over again…but it doesn’t change them. They’re still the same person on the inside.”

“I just want to know what’s wrong with me…” Uzi whispered.

“As your father I’m obligated to say there’s nothing wrong with you,” he smiled, giving her a gentle nudge, “But I know that’s just going to make you mad. You want answers…and I can’t exactly give them to you. However…”

He pulled up a backpack and sat it on the bed. Uzi watched as he unzipped the satchel and pulled out a brightly wrapped present.

“I think there’s someone who can,” he admitted, “She…wanted to give this to you on your 18th birthday. And I’ve been hiding it away for 6 years so that you wouldn’t find it. I kept my promise,”

Uzi’s eyes hollowed.

“Wait…today…?”

“You forgot your own birthday?” he raised an eyelight, “I know time’s been a bit weird since you’ve been away but surely…”

“I’ve never really celebrated it much. Not after Mom…” she trailed off as he handed her the gift.

“Go on,” he nodded.

With a delicacy that made him think the package was made of the finest lace, Uzi took apart the wrapping. Her eyes hollowed again when she looked at what lay underneath the paper.

It was a spiral bound notebook, a deep violet and black color, with a pen clipped to the side.

“...Mom’s sketchbook?” she whispered.

“She wanted you to have it, kiddo,” he ruffled her hair, “She uh…wrote some stuff in it for you. I’m not who she made it for so I’m going to go and let you read it on your own. Just…”

He gave a sigh.

“Your mother loved you more than anything. Seeing you hurt like this would near kill her I feel. Does to me…and I can’t help you because I don’t know how ,” he admitted, “But…”

He nodded towards the sketchbook.

“Maybe she has some answers. She knows a lot more than me.”

Khan left not long after that, leaving Uzi alone in her room. N and V went hunting again to try and get more for the stockpile in case another blizzard rolled up so Uzi was left alone. She gave a frown as she looked at the sketchbook in her hands. She could see indentations of where her mother had ran the pens and pencils over the cover in delicate swirling designs. She’d always wanted to see her mother’s drawings…but until recently, they’d all been hidden from her. She’d seen the ones her mother had hidden away, prophetic and terrible drawings that were the results of a mind gone mad.

She could see the degradation of her mother’s mind the longer she looked in that closet and it scared her. Her mother had always been a radiant figure to her, always smiling, always laughing…

Until she wasn’t.

She still remembered seeing her dad holding her mother’s body, still bleeding oil as the ghastly red FATAL ERROR blazed over her visor. Still remembered the pained smile as her mother revealed that she had resigned from her job, still remembered the moment where her mother was on the ground sobbing hysterically while her dad held her close and begged Uzi to go back to bed.

But the other drawings that her mother had done, the ones that weren’t horrific doom inducing had always stayed hidden.

Until now.

With a deep breath Uzi opened the sketch book.

The first image she saw was one of her father and her as a toddler playing, the next was one of her father all dressed to the nines. On and on the sketches went, each one having a loving note penned in her mother’s hand on the back of them…and then she reached a note.

Hey kiddo,

Happy 18th birthday! If you’re reading this, then, well…things didn’t exactly go to plan. I’m not there anymore. I know, I know, life probably sucks at this moment…

“Understatement of the year, Mom…” Uzi huffed.

But I know that it’s only temporary. How do I know? Easy. I’ve got superpowers that let me see the future. Yeah yeah I know, you’re probably scoffing at that. But it’s true! Sure the powers suck 99.9% of the time but every once in a while I see something good. And I see you being one awesome young lady.

I…also know that you think everything in the world’s crashing down on you at this point. Believe me, I know that feeling as well. I was about your age when I felt the same way.

I take it by now your dad told you about those drawings in the closet and I really wish you never had to find out about them. He thought it was a glitch I had but I think he’s starting to figure out it’s not. I don’t know how much I’ve told him at this point but I did make him promise me something…

No matter what he’s not to tell you what happened to me. What made me this way. I didn’t want you to find out ever but if something happened to me…well…he will probably end up telling you so I’m going to give a few details he missed.

Uzi, I didn’t tell him what really happened at the labs because I knew he’d get angry…not at me, but at the humans that messed with me. I’ve done…horrible things. Things that scare me. And he keeps telling me that it’s not my fault. That the oil on my hands isn’t my fault…

But it is.

Baby girl I don’t want you to suffer what I’m going through, that’s why I’m keeping all of this secret. I know you’re probably mad at me…and your dad. But I’m gonna ask you to not be too angry with him. He’s only doing what I asked him to.

I don’t know how much time I have left. But I know you’re likely going to see this before I’m able to tell you everything…if anything.

I want to tell you I am so proud of you. That everything I’ve seen regarding you has shone brighter than the stars above the clouds I used to point out to you when you were a baby.

I made mistakes. Did a lot of things I regret. But you? I don’t regret that in the slightest.

I love you, my little girl…through all the pain and tears I put you through because of this glitch of mine…I’m so sorry. I can probably guess you hate me pretty bad for leaving and for keeping secrets and telling your dad to keep my secrets…but it’s for your safety. I made a promise with someone that they’d hide them from you unless a certain thing happened. And I hope that they kept it.

Please be safe…know I’ll always be watching over you even if you can’t see me.

Love, your Mama…

Nori

Uzi sat there for a while, staring at the letter in her hands as tears streaked down her visor. She reached to swipe at them when she noticed a small arrow on the bottom of the page indicating for her to turn it over.

She turned the page over and a violet blush replaced the tears as she read.

P.S. I swear if you haven’t snuck out to make out with that tall, handsome boyfriend of yours by the time you get this I will haunt you from the otherworld. Love you!

Mama

“MOM!” she yelled…

But she gave a tearful laugh as she hugged the letter close.

Chapter 11: 11

Chapter Text

11

It was the next night before N and V had returned. They’d gotten stuck in a skyscraper waiting for daylight to fade and so had left Uzi alone for the day. If she was honest, she appreciated the solitude. She didn’t feel like throwing something at V because V caught her crying about her mother’s letter.

So when they came back, Uzi immediately motioned for N to follow her. He’d nodded and they flew up to the top of the Spire while V stowed away the new acquisitions of the hunt.

“I’m…sorry for yesterday,” Uzi said as he sat down next to her, “Did you seriously break into the bunker to get my dad?”

“Course not,” N scoffed, “I walked up to the front gate and knocked. Ron answered and said he’d get your dad for me.”

“Dad said you nearly got shot.”

“Eh,” he shrugged, “One of them might have tried to shoot me through the door. But it didn’t hurt! Didn’t even take my arm off.”

“N!” Uzi protested, “They still shot you!”

“I heal!” he countered, “Compared to your railgun that was a tickle .”

He rubbed the back of his head.

“Honestly I’m scared to see that thing when you’re done with it,” he admitted.

“Good,” Uzi grinned, “It’ll be better than ever. Not making it green this time though.”

He gave a chuckle and a sharp toothed grin, “And hey, if it makes you feel any better they didn’t shoot me again,”

“You didn’t hurt them right .”

“Oh come on!” he looked at her with an amused smile, “No, I didn’t hurt them, but they’re gonna have a very hard time repairing a gun that got melted by nanite acid.”

She gave him a light shove and his tail wagged slightly.

“You’re a jerk,” she chuckled.

“What! I needed your dad and they wouldn’t let me in!” he smiled, “I thought I handled that very well!”

“It was a stupid thing,” she huffed, “You could have gotten seriously hurt.”

"Aw, you do care," N grinned, gently nudging his friend.

"Bite me!" Uzi hissed, though there was a heavy blush on her screen.

A sharp pinch made itself known on her arm and Uzi's gaze flashed down to see the top of N's head laying on it.

"YOU JERK I DID NOT MEAN IT LITERALLY!!!" she screeched, taking her beanie and smacking him with it.

He released her arm and straightened up, grinning as he licked his lips.

"Still taste good," he teased.

She glared at him as the Solver activated and resealed the puncture wounds. She then turned around and latched onto his arm for a good couple seconds, biting just as hard as he did. She then spat his arm out and crossed her own over her chest.

"Now we're even." she growled before she gave a frown and a look of disgust crossed her face, “Ugh…why are you so bitter ?”

“Eh probably to discourage us from biting each other?” he wondered, “What’s that animal that has skin that’s bitter to discourage predators from eating it? Some sort of frog I think.”

“Frog?”

“Yeah, they’re really bright colored…” he tapped a finger on his chin, “Eh, V would know. She never forgets that kinda stuff. Unlike me.”

“That’s something I wanted to know, too,” Uzi said, turning to face him, “What happened with your memory? V’s is intact for the most part, considering she’s being secretive and hiding things and the fact she called me Cyn at one point…”

“Called you what?” N asked.

“Uh…’Cyn’, does that mean anything to you?”

He blinked, shaking his head.

“Repeat that please?”

“Cyn.”

A pause…and he shook his head.

“Uzi I can’t hear you,” his eyes went hollow, “You keep cutting out into static.”

“I’m saying the name clear as day!” she argued.

He shook his head again.

“Maybe try writing it down?” he questioned.

She leaned over and wrote CYN in the snow between them. N stared at the word silently for a long while. She could see his tail starting to flick irritably from side to side as he shook his head, tapping it a couple times to clear his vision.

“...I can’t see this…” his voice was quiet, there was a tremor in it that didn’t escape Uzi’s notice, “It’s like something is…blocking it?”

“C. Y. N.” Uzi spelled out, “Cyn.”

The reaction was immediate.

N’s body locked up, his wings immediately went out from his back as he scrambled back away from her, eyes hollowed as shaking took over.

The second Uzi had spelled the name, multiple errors blasted through N’s vision. Static garbled her words as absolute panic shot through him.

Not her. Not her. Not her. Not her.

He scrambled away from her, trying to get away from the letters spelled out in the snow that were still blurred and covered in code that he couldn’t see through.

“Am I…not wanted, N?”

Something seemed to grab his core and squeezed , so hard that he immediately grabbed at his chest to try and claw whatever it was away from it.

“They are not…broken. We can no longer be…thrown out.”

“N-No..no no no…” his voice glitched and stammered, “N-No…”

Why was he so scared? Who was this? Wh-

Error: Memory Core Corrupted.

Attempting Restoration.

Restoration: Failed

Rebooting From Prior Save. . .

Stand By. . .

“N!” Uzi’s voice cut through the panic.

Uzi watched as N had doubled over, clutching at his chest as he shook.

“N-No..no no no…” his voice glitched and stammered, “N-No…”

“N!” she yelled, grabbing his shoulders.

He seemed to freeze, visor gone dark for a moment…before it flashed back on. He sat back up, looking back at her in confusion.

“Uzi? Everything ok?” he asked, “You…look scared. I didn’t do anything to hurt you did I?”

“N…what the hell was that?” she whispered, “You just…”

“What was what?”

Her eyes hollowed as she took a step back.

“Ok. Where’s V.” It wasn’t a question, she was shaking now but not from fear.

“Uh…think she’s putting away what we got from the hunt?” N said, “Why?”

She didn’t answer him, instead jumping off their perch and gliding down to the entry of the Spire. He followed her, still trying to figure what happened out. V had re-emerged from the storage area, licking off a bit of oil that had remained on her hand.

“V,” Uzi said as she landed and stormed up to the taller Disassembler, “You need to talk.”

“What?” she raised an eyelight as she put her hands on her hips, “Talk about what, freak.”

“Who’s Cyn.”

Unlike N…V’s reaction was a bit calmer. Her eyes hollowed and she took a step back…but they filled back in with an annoyed expression.

“I don’t know who that is.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Uzi growled, “You called me Cyn at the camp. ‘New body, same horrors, huh Cyn?’ And N can’t hear the name or see it when I write it out.”

“You did what ?” V’s voice was hushed.

Uzi’s eyes hollowed.

“You do know…”

She shook her head violently.

“I don’t know. I don’t know and you should stop prying into those things. You and him. If you know what’s good for you.”

And before Uzi could protest…V shot out of the spire and into the sky.

Chapter 12: 12

Chapter Text

12

V didn’t reappear for several days. Which worried N to the point that he spent most of his time pacing in front of the Spire entrance. Even Lizzy spent the time waiting for her alongside him. Watching N being so worried about his squadmate made guilt squeeze around Uzi’s core, maybe it was a bad idea to have pressed about Cyn.

“You doing ok?” Thad asked as he sat down on the steps of the pod next to Uzi.

“Fine,” she muttered.

“Don’t look fine,” he shrugged, “C’mon, Zi…what’s the matter?”

“A lot of things and nothing you can fix,” she huffed, “I don’t even know if I can fix it…”

“You’re the smartest kid in our grade…probably the colony,” Thad countered, “You’ll figure it out.”

“Maybe…”

She gave a sigh as she leaned back, thunking her head on the step above her.

“I think I scared V off,” she admitted.

“What makes you say that?”

“Kinda confronted her on something and she got mad and flew off,” Uzi shrugged, “I’m starting to think maybe I shouldn’t have,”

“To be fair, it’s V…she cares too much about Lizzy and N to stay away for too long,” Thad told her, “Even if she won’t admit it,”

“When’d you become the expert on Miss Psycho?”

“Eh, she acts a lot like Lizzy,” Thad shrugged, “Just as petty, just as confident…and a bit scary sometimes. She’s too proud to admit she cares but she does. And I think she still has a soft spot for N there too.”

“Mm,” Uzi closed her eyes.

There was a part of her core that iced over at that. N had admitted in the past that he had a crush on V, maybe she was finally starting to reciprocate. But then her thoughts went back to that night at the camp, when he caught her and held her close when they hit the ground. It had felt so nice…she felt loved almost.

But that was just friendship, yeah?

“If you haven’t snuck out and made out with that tall, handsome boyfriend of yours yet by the time you get this I’m haunting you from the otherworld.”

“Just let me meet his parents sometime.”

“She and your murder boyfriend flew off a few minutes ago. Open the door,”

Warning! Temperature Increasing!

Oil Levels at 30%

Coolant Required

She jumped nearly out of her casing as the high temperature warning flared on her visor.

“You ok, Zi?” Thad asked.

“You good, Uzi?”

“I’m fine !” Uzi snapped, “Stop asking! Where’s that can…”

Thad reached over and handed it to her, she took it a little more forcefully than she should have and bit down hard on the straw, taking some long and deep drinks of oil as she watched N pacing in front of the entrance.

Had he done that for her when she disappeared for a week?

“Stop thinking about it! He’s just a friend!” she thought bitterly, “He likes V. You’re just a friend to him…that’s it. That’s all he is to you…”

Thad looked at his friend and then towards the entrance…and his face turned thoughtful.

“Y’know,” he started, “He paced like that when you were locked in your room for that week.”

He saw her stiffen as a soft squeak left her.

“He was really worried about you too,” he continued.

“I dunno what you’re getting at,” Uzi hissed, “He’s my best friend of course he was worried.”

“Mmmm maybe,” Thad hummed, “But I didn’t see him asking if V was ok since she’s been gone. He was constantly asking about you.”

“That’s just…who he is,” she refused to look at him, “Shut up. No.”

“C’mon, Zi…it’s plain on your faceplate,” Thad grinned, gently nudging her, “You lo-”

“Shut up!”

There was a flash of violet and Thad found himself hanging by his ankle in the air. He gave a wide grin as Uzi glared at him, the Solver’s glyph burning in place of her right eye as well as around her right hand.

“I. Do. Not .” she snarled, “He’s just a friend . Got it!?”

“...Then why are you blushing, Zi?”

He hit the ground hard as she put her hands over her face.

“I don’t…” she stammered, “I’m not…we just…hang out. That’s it. There’s nothing else.”

Thad rubbed his head as he sat back upright, a concerned expression on his face.

“...Zi, the worst he can do is say he doesn’t feel that way,”

She glared at him.

“Sorry, that was the wrong thing to say,” he apologized.

“He’s just a friend,” she repeated, almost as if she was trying to convince herself, “That’s it. He’s…nice to me. Look I don’t want to talk about it. Please…”

He gave a chuckle.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop pushing for now,”

“For now !?” she demanded.

“Yeah, I’ll pester you about it later…and god help you if Lizzy finds out.”

“Don’t you dare… ”

“My lips are sealed.”

V finally came back around midnight. She seemed calmer at least, not as on edge. She still refused to look at Uzi and gave the Worker a wide berth. N, however, she was perfectly fine being around, same with Lizzy. V had taken Lizzy and they’d both went up to V’s nest…with the promise from Lizzy that there were new things to add to her collection of shiny things.

Uzi had gone back inside the pod and was tinkering around, leaving N outside with Thad. The Worker boy was currently working on a bit of homework that had made Uzi near overheat from anger (she had chucked the binder at the wall and stormed off to cool down…preferably by beating the hell out of the pod).

“These are evil,” N remarked, looking over Thad’s shoulder.

“Wait you mean there’s something you’re not good at reading?” Thad joked, “I’m still thankful for the help on some of those equations you gave me. Kept me outta trouble with my folks.”

“Eh, was nothing…simple trigonometry,” N shrugged, “One of the first things they downloaded into me when I onlined,”

“Seriously?” Thad deadpanned, “C’mon…that’s unfair,”

“I’d say I’d be happy to switch places with you but…I don’t think you’d like my life,” N winced.

“Yeah constant danger of overheating doesn’t sound fun,” Thad agreed, “The flight is cool though.”

“One of the best parts,” N grinned, “Uzi loves it. V kicked her off a building to teach her but she’s a pro now. She can almost catch V now!”

“Ah…right,” Thad blinked, “I forgot…she’s got wings too now,”

“I said too much again,” N groaned, “She’s gonna kill me.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” the Worker grinned, “She’s all tough talk but she’s a softy on the inside.”

“She’d maim you if she heard you say that,” N pointed out, “She doesn’t like being seen as soft.”

“You know her too well,” Thad laughed, “Yeah, she’s always been like that. Least since her mom died. Think a lot of that was because she was trying to get her dad’s attention.”

“I think that’s a Z,” N pointed out, tapping a finger on the paper, “And a lowercase B next to it? Or is that a weird looking lowercase P?”

“Hell if I know,” Thad groaned, “Captchas suck. Lizzy’s good at them…Uzi hates them as much as I do. But good god does she know math…”

“Really?”

“Yeah, math and science are her best subjects. She’s won the science fair five years in a row because of her inventions. Though…she stopped entering them not long before she finished her railgun. I think she was pouring everything into working on it.”

“Have you seen her new version yet?”

“Nah, she won’t let me near the thing. Says she’s afraid I’ll break it,”

N gave a nod and continued studying the paper. Thad looked up at him.

“What do you think of her?” he finally asked.

“Huh?”

“Uzi,”

“Oh!” N looked taken aback, “Well…she’s my best friend. I think the world of her, she’s the best thing that’s happened to me to be honest.”

“And that’s all?” Thad asked, looking closely at the Disassembler.

N blinked once, twice before subconsciously rubbing the back of his neck.

“I mean…she makes me happy, and I don’t like to see her upset,” he said.

“Yeah don’t I know that part,” Thad chuckled, raising a hand when N looked sheepishly away, “Nah, you’re good N & Ms…I had a feeling she had feelings towards me for a while. I just didn’t know how to tell her I didn’t feel the same way without hurting her. Honestly your reaction was totally valid.”

“Would have upset her more if I did do it…” he muttered, “So…I’m sorry, again. For nearly going in and uh…y’know,”

“And if that happened to V?” Thad questioned, “What’s your feelings towards her?”

“I mean I’d be upset about it too…she’s my squadmate and a friend as well,” N responded, “We’ve been together for years.”

“Gotcha,” Thad nodded, but he did notice something…

N didn’t say anything about his crush on V.

“So if someone ended up asking Uzi out…” Thad pressed, knowing there was a high chance N would probably maul him…

Yep, there it was. A brief… very brief mind you, flicker of his visor into that X shape before it cleared. If he had blinked he would have missed it…but he didn’t miss the irritable flicking of N’s tail.

“Why?” he finally asked, there was a note of annoyance in his voice, “Who?”

“Just a hypothetical,” Thad reassured him, “I was curious to see what you thought.”

“Uh…ok?”

A loud thud caught both of their attentions, causing them to look back as V straightened up and sat Lizzy on the ground.

“Sun’s rising,” V stated, “You two should get back.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re going,” Lizzy sighed, “I’ll bring another scarf for you later, bestie…got some nice ones since that one looks like something the cat dragged in.”

She gave a rotating point at V’s scarf and V rolled her eyes as she turned around and launched back up to her nest.

Lizzie gave a smug grin as she turned to face Thad and N.

“Loser’s looking for him, by the way,” she said, looking at N, “Something about a movie she found and wants to show you.”

“Oo! She found the next one!” N’s face lit up as he immediately took off towards the pod.

Thad and Lizzy watched him go for a few seconds before starting to make their way out of the Spire.

“You were right,” Thad finally said as they stepped out into the breaking dawn.

“About what?” Lizzy asked.

“About the ‘goth anime lover girl’ and ‘wholesome killer boy’,” Thad chuckled, gently nudging her shoulder.

“Oh my god seriously?” Lizzy rolled her eyes, “Even V picked up on that. You’re just now seeing it?”

“I had to confirm!” he protested, “But yeah…there is definitely something there.”

Chapter 13: 13

Chapter Text

13

The thunder rumbled as rain pelted the glass windows. She wandered through the strange wooden halls painted in warm sepia tones. There were drones everywhere but they were all…shut off. Dressed in suits and what looked to be maid outfits, some of them were slumped over while others were frozen in action of running to clean or holding silver platters with drinking glasses that had shattered over the wooden floors. It was…creepy to say the least. They weren’t dead but it might as well have been.

She stopped as her boot crunched against glass. She looked down to see the remains of a wineglass…and a torn photograph laying in between the shards. She picked it up, her own violet light stark against the golden tones. Four Worker Drones stood in the picture…oddly familiar. Where had she seen them before? She felt like she knew them. Shadowy figures stood behind them, unable to be picked up by her eyes.

Whispers started up behind her and she turned around with the picture halves in hand, eyes hollowed as she looked around for the source, trying to hear what was being said.

Listen…

She dropped the photo as the lights in the area went out, it was pitch black as the whispering got louder and louder and louder…and then large yellow Xs burned in the dark where each of the frozen drones had stood. Error 606 Error 606 Error 606.

Did you…miss me?

Uzi shot up in her bed, shaking as the sound of rain and thunder still echoed in her audios. She hadn’t had a dream like that in a while…that voice too…

“Error 606…” she muttered, “that’s a new one.”

She shook her head as she got up and got ready for the day. That would be a thing for later…today there was a lot of stuff to do. Starting with more work on the pod.

A few minutes later, she was down in the depths of the pod, grabbing at a few damaged wires and wrapping a heat shrink tube around them. She held it in place as she got the heat gun and melted the plastic around the wires.

There was a glint of silver that caught her eye and she crawled a bit further in and reached for the sparkling thing. She hissed as something sharp sliced her finger and rolled her eyes as she used the Solver to grab the piece. When she managed to work it free of the tangle of wires she frowned as she examined it.

It looked like the tip of one of her friends’ claws, even had the little serrated edge where it dipped down to the end.

“Why are you down here?” she wondered as she started making her way back, “What happened to get you here?”

She climbed out of the opening in the floor and dusted herself off, holding the piece of metal up to better look at it. It was possible that it had snapped off at some point but the Solver had regenerated it before they had a chance to look at it. But…why that far back?

Uzi frowned as something came to mind and she walked towards the control panel, noting the deep holes that were between some of the controls. In a fit of curiosity, she climbed up onto the seat in front of the marks and tried to slide the piece into one of them.

It fit perfectly.

“So one of you guys put your claws in the control panel,” she murmured, “But why? Did a fight break out before you landed? Whose seat was this?”

“Hey, Uzi! You up?”

N’s voice sounded pretty chipper considering what they had watched last night.

“I’m in the pod,” she called back as his head poked down from the entrance, “You’re awful chipper considering what we watched last night,”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“We don’t talk about that,” he huffed, “Why would you end it therrrrrrreeeeeee!?”

“I warned you,” she shrugged, “ You’re the one who thought Assassination Classroom would be a fun thing to watch. Not my fault you didn’t listen.”

“IT WASN’T FAIR!” he screeched.

“No but it was needed,” she chuckled, “ Believe me, I had that reaction when I saw it too.”

He huffed but climbed down to meet her, hitting the metal floor with a soft thud. He then padded over to her, looking over her shoulder at the control panel.

“Anything interesting?” he asked.

“Well, this,” she held up the piece she found, “Looked like one of you guys’ claws,”

Curious, N swapped out his hand for his own talons, holding it out to compare…it matched.

“So…one of us musta broke it off?” he questioned, “that’s weird…and that had to be real painful.”

“I think it might have broken off when you guys crashed?” she patted the panel, “someone put their claws through the panel so that might have been why you did.”

He frowned, trying to search his memory for if that was what happened…but shook his head.

“I don’t remember,” he admitted, “V might? But…I don’t think she’s in a talking mood. Least after the last time we tried pestering her about memories.”

“Agreed…”

He seemed to go into thought for a moment before he perked up.

“Why don’t we have a movie night!” he suggested, “V likes those horror movies that you showed us a while back…”

“Problem is we’ve seen my entire collection,” Uzi pointed out, “And going back into the colony might not be a good idea for you two. I might be able to get back in but…then there’s going to be the question of where I’ve been for the past few months and why I’m coming from outside …plus there might be some people guarding the weaker secret entrances…”

“Lucky for you…I might have one!” he grinned, “It’s just in a weird format though.”

“Heh?”

“I’ll ping V and grab the thing,” he was positively bouncing up and down in excitement now, “Gimme one sec!”

V was already in a bad mood when N had messaged her, but she had a hard time rejecting his offer to watch a movie. Especially the horror ones. They always had some fun and inventive ways to kill someone. Sometimes she incorporated them into her own hunting style…just to try them out.

Granted, there was only so much she could do since a few of the monster movies had some sort of weird thing that she didn’t have…looking at you Xenomorph…but she improvised.

“Alright, what’s this movie about now?” she sighed as she came into the pod, “I swear if it’s another crappy remake I’m going to strangle you.”

“Nope! Something completely original!” N chirped.

“Yeah, even I’ve not seen this one,” Uzi replied, staying as far from possible from V.

“Good…” V thought as she sidled into the room.

“Problem is we’re gonna have to sneak into the bunker,” N sighed, holding up a black tape with writing V couldn’t quite make out, “Cuz uh…it’s old human tech. Like, early 1990s stuff.”

“...A VHS tape?” V raised an eyelight, “Huh…well…then it’s bound to be good. Best time for horror movies before everything went stupid remakes and crappy CGI gore. Practical stuff’s the best. Gimme.”

She snatched the VHS from N, who gave a squawk of surprise.

“You coulda waited …” he huffed.

“Yeah, well, you were being too slow,” V snarked as she turned the video tape over.

JCJenson (In SPAAAAAAAACE!)

JC Tech Training Video

Zombie Drones!

Do not play for robots. They will not like it.

Why. Why. Why did they leave me? What did I do wrong?! It’s cold. My head hurts. The birds…they’reeverywhereohgodhelpithurts…There’s so many bodies…help…please…help me…

CYNDIDTHISTOME

V dropped the tape, taking a step back as her eyes went hollow.

“Oh hello! Nice to meet you, I’m Tessa. What’s your name?”

CYNDIDTHISTOME

Tessa helped. Tessa came back for me. Tessa helpedmegetbackhere and didn’tleaveme and putmebacktogetheragain and and and and…

CYNDIDTHISTOME

“V?” N’s voice was muffled like he was in water.

CYNDIDTHISTOME

HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTTOOHOTNOTMENOTMYBODYNOTMENOTMENOTMETOOSHARPTOOBIGTOOHOTTOOHOTHELPHELPHELPTESSAHELPTESSAPLEASEITHURTSITHURTSITHURTS

CYNDIDTHISTOME

“No…nonononononono,” V’s voice came out stammered as she took more rapid steps backwards, she tripped on her tail and went sprawling into the snow, still scrambling back to get away from that damn tape.

CYNDIDTHISTOME

CYNDIDTHISTOME

CYNDIDTHISTOME

CYNDIDTHISTOME

CYNDIDTHISTOME

“V…” N’s voice was gentle and she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up and saw yellow. Not white. Yellow. Too big. Way too big. Too sharp. Too hot too hot too hot too hot.

CYNCYNCYNCYNCYNCYNCYNCYN

CYNDIDTHISTOME

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” V shrieked, shoving ‘Cyn’ away and taking off into the night sky

“V, stop!” she heard N’s voice from far behind her.

No no no no no I have to get away. She’s going to get me again. I can’t I can’t I can’t. NOT AGAIN!

V’s eyes were hollowed and stressed as she poured on speed, shooting high above the clouds so fast the sound barrier broke with a thunderous crack. She saw N’s form tumble backwards a little bit from the force but she didn’t care. Well, a little bit. But in her fear addled state it was a very small amount.

She shot forward, she needed to get away from the purple thing. Needed to get away from N. If she stayed near th-

A message popped up in her visor and her already pounding core took an even higher rate of beating.

Msg ADMN: CYN Hello. V

V let out a shriek of terror as she screeched to a halt.

Msg ADMN: CYN You have been prying. Again.

“Nonononono! Cyn! Please! No! Not again!” she cried, tearing at her hair.

All that bluster, all that confidence, all that arrogance that made V who she was…was gone. Snapped away by that simple message. All that was left was a small, scared little maid in a body much too big, much too sharp, and much too angry.

Warning! Shutdown command received from ADMINISTRATOR: CYN.

Shutdown of DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 commencing.

Her wings folded back against her spine and she let out a cry of fear as she started plummeting to the ground. She saw a blitz of yellow and grey shoot towards her, felt a warm hand grabbing at her outstretched fingers…but that was all she could feel as she suddenly was surrounded by darkness.

A faint, sickly yellow glow came from behind her and she felt her body trembling terribly.

“Amused chuckle.” a heavily synthetic voice chirped from behind her, “Hello…big sister…V. It has been…a very, very …long time.”

“...Cyn.” V’s voice was hoarse as something heavy and very organic lay itself on her shoulder.

“You are going to help me…One. Last. Time.”

V felt like she was being crushed, she cried out in pain as she was being forced into a smaller, more delicate body, wings torn off, tail ripped to pieces…her eyesight flickered and failed, blurring heavily to the point that even the muted yellow glow was muddled. She was freezing, but her body wouldn’t even register the shuddering chills, instead being forced to stand perfectly still.

“Much better. Now, we…wait for big brother…N.”

V couldn’t even cry out, she felt like she was suffocating, drowning. All she could see was one message.

Error 606.

Watching V suddenly lock up and drop like a stone definitely was not something N was expecting. His squadmate was the best flier he knew and to see her falling, wings resheathed in their holds as her body went limp scared him. He bolted towards her, grabbing at her talons and slicing open his own hands as he fumbled against the blades.

The ground was quickly approaching and N gave a snarl of frustration as he poured on as much speed as he could, shooting below her and grabbing onto her unconscious body, holding her close as he tried to pull up…

They hit the ground hard.

He lay there for a few minutes, letting the Solver repair his shattered body…but V was ok. She hadn’t been damaged in the fall, he’d taken that damage instead. Didn’t mean he hadn’t felt every wave of agony that was being pumped through him…but it was better than both of them being broken.

“V?” he called out gently, brushing her hair away from her face.

No answer.

He frowned as he was able to fully move again, picking up his squadmate and noting the message that blared on on her faceplate as the yellow X flickered in time with her heartbeat.

Error 606.

Chapter 14: 14

Chapter Text

14

N and Uzi stared at the tape between them for a long while. Their eyes flicked back to V, who was laying unconscious next to Uzi’s bed. The flashing X and ERROR 606 casting yellow shadows in the otherwise violet room.

They’d snuck into the bunker, Uzi had messaged her dad that they were going to be in her room for a while before V had crashed, and were currently sitting in her house…or rather in her bedroom.

“Is she going to be ok?” N asked, a spike of worry in his voice as his eyes hollowed.

“I haven’t seen that error before,” Uzi shook her head, “I’m not a doctor. My mo-”

She paused as a pained look crossed her faceplate as she looked down, clearing her voicebox from static.

“My mom would have known…but can’t really ask her.” she finally muttered before raising her voice again, “Think the tape had something to do with it. She freaked out when she saw it so…”

“Maybe it’ll explain?” he suggested.

“Here’s hoping…” Uzi said, hopping up into her chair and pushing the wheels towards the vintage television that she’d yanked out of the scrapyard.

HEY!

Uzi yelped as a blue holographic display burst into life as she got close, putting a hand to her rapidly beating core as the golden roach crawled out from under a stack of papers.

“Oh my god I forgot I left you here!” she apologized.

>:(

“Look I’m sorry!” she sighed, holding out her hand.

If she hadn’t known any better she would have assumed the roach crossed it’s arms and looked away with a pout.

“Oh come on, it was an accident!” she groaned, “I didn’t really have a choice but to leave…”

She gave the thing a small little scritch under it’s ‘chin’, causing it to chirp and squeak excitedly. It seemed to forgive her as it crawled up her hand and skittered around her shoulders, making her laugh.

“Stop! That tickles!” she giggled as she brushed more papers off the desk.

The little roach crawled up on top of her beanie, rubbing its front two legs together as it settled down.

: )

“He’s cute,” N cautiously approached and put a digit on the small creature’s head, giving it a tiny pat, “Is that the one from the camp?”

“Yeah, he hitched a ride with me,” Uzi nodded, “I still don’t know what he does…he called me ‘002’, which is what’s on my mom’s collar. So it’s got something to do with her I think. Maybe I’ll actually get some answers about her this time…”

She looked down at her hands.

“Not that I know much…” she muttered, “She was always so…cagey…about her time there. I couldn’t get anything out of her in regards to this.”

She tapped the collar’s plate.

“She deflected worse than you and V,” she deadpanned, “It was like getting Dad to draw oil to get her to answer…”

She gave a sigh, lowering her hand as she looked up towards the bug.

“That ‘elevator’ command has me thinking…” she continued.

“We might have to go back?”

Her face fell slightly as she gave a nod. It didn’t escape his notice that her hands shook a little.

“It’ll be ok,” he promised, “You won’t lose control again and it’ll just be us. The three of us anyways,”

“Yeah…” Uzi nodded, casting a look back at the unconscious V, “Ok. Uh…tape. Right.”

She grabbed the tape and slid it into the VCR. There was a low whine from the television and she frowned.

“Jeeze…this thing is real old. Like…almost damaged beyond playability,” she warned, “I don’t know how much we’re gonna get out of it.”

“It’ll be fine!” N told her, “We’ll get answers, figure out what that error is, and wake V up so we can head to the camp and see what that elevator is. You’ll get answers about your mom and maybe we’ll get answers about us too. Since I found that tape there.”

Uzi froze for a second.

“N…you don’t think my mom was involved with this, do you?” she asked, her voice quiet, “She…knew about you guys before you landed. The Spire…I could have sworn I saw some Solver glyphs in her drawings too…”

“I don’t think she was involved in anything bad ,” he told her, “Besides, from what you and your dad have said about her…I don’t think she’s a bad person! I mean, she was your mom so she had to be a good person. Since, y’know, you’re a good person.”

“I hope so,” Uzi murmured, “Anyways…tape.”

She pressed play and the tape ground to life, showing a flickering JCJenson logo with a cheesy title card of “ZOMBIE DRONES!”

The screen flickered and turned purple, words coming on the screen

CLIENT REASONS FOR WD UNIT

DISASSEMBLY AND DISPOSAL

• 53% Unit Damage
• 27% Upgrading Models
• 11% Terminating Operation(s)
• 7% Competitor Products
• 2% Core Failsafe Trip
• 1% Other

A cool male voice spoke over the words as they came on screen.

“Upgrading models? Cutting Maintenance costs? There are many reasons a client might wish to disassemble a drone individual or series after a period of use.”

Diagrams flickered on screen. One of them…looking disturbingly familiar. Uzi hit the pause button, eyes hollow and turned towards her friend. She immediately grabbed his left arm and pulled it forwards.

P/N N-CYN-MYKX

DISASSEMBLY DRONE

S/N N001001001

“...What kind of sick thing is this…” Uzi breathed, staring between her friend’s armband and the television, “That looks… way too similar to be a coincidence…”

“...I don’t know,” N replied, his voice was a bit hoarse, “I-I mean…It…makes sense? I guess? Because I’m a Disassembly Drone but…this…um…”

He went quiet for a second before giving a shaky smile.

“Let’s…keep going. Still doesn’t um…tell us what happened to V.”

Uzi gave a shaky nod, hitting the play button as the VHS continued

WD DISASSEMBLY PROCESS

TWO-STEP OVERVIEW

• Step one: Software Cleanup
  • Upload wdOS-606
    • (This is fun for them!) (1B)

The image of a stick figure drone getting what looked to be the same weapon J had used on N to implant the virus to kill him aimed at it by a human flashed on screen.

“606…” Uzi looked back at V, who still hadn’t even twitched.

“You don’t think it’s disassembling her, do you?” N asked.

“Don’t know…” she replied, “But…’fun’...this is what J hit you with isn’t it?”

“I think so…it…felt both good and bad,” he admitted, “It hurt but…”

His tail twitched anxiously as he played with his fingers again.

“It felt the same as when I’m hunting,” his voice was quiet, “It felt… really good…”

A flash of red caught Uzi’s attention. She’d forgotten to pause the VHS and it was on another section.

WD DISASSEMBLY PROCESS

COMPLICATIONS AND FINES

FINE 9C: ‘Zombie Drones’

• -> Core is not properly disconnected (2A)
• -> Hardware is not physically destroyed
• ->wdOS_606 is interrupted/rejected immediately (1A) or up to five (5) years later

“Incompletely disassembled drones may occasionally reboot from software death alone..”

There was a picture of a scrap yard on screen and Uzi heard N startle. She turned to face him…and was not expecting him to immediately get to his feet and stumble back with a look of terror on his face.

The moment the junkyard came on screen was the moment that everything went wrong. Before, N was creeped out by how casually this was being told by the humans. How a thing such as this would be considered ‘fun’. But now…

Multiple errors flashed on his vision as it came up, terror welled up in his core and flooded his vision with static.

There’s so much red, oil dripping down everywhere, it hurts it hurts it hurts…my chest hurts…I can’t move. I can’t. MOVE. Help…please…someone help me…

“...N…?” Uzi’s voice tried cutting through.

The static cleared slightly and he saw her worried expression for a split second…before pain shot through every circuit in his body. He stumbled backwards, holding on to his head as a pained growl slipped through his teeth.

“N!” her voice was panicked as she hopped off her chair and he hit the ground next to V.

“It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts…” he stammered, “I can’t…”

His fingers switched out for talons, raking holes in the floor as the pain increased. It felt like he’d been stabbed with his own acid, but there was no way for him to heal it. His legs kicked uselessly against the floor as the pain increased more and more, his vision shorting out. He heard a voice…something familiar but yet at the same time garbled beyond recognition. More terror shot through his core.

NOT HER NOT HER NOT HER

He felt as if he were being crushed, that his core had been taken out and replaced with pure ice .

And then it stopped.

His vision onlined again and he blinked slowly, once…twice as he got off the wooden floor. This wouldn’t do…if the Master and Mistress caught him slacking there’d be some bad consequences…

And he didn’t feel like making Tessa repair him again.

Chapter 15: 15

Chapter Text

15

The second N slumped over Uzi had screamed. His visor had shut off and it looked like he had been deactivated…her core started back up again when his visor turned on…but it started doing the same thing V’s did, a broad yellow X with ERROR 606 under it.

“What is going on !?” she demanded, putting her hands on either side of his cheeks and turning his head from side to side…only to freeze.

N was cold .

Like, his cheeks felt like ice against her own hands.

She put a hand to his core…yeah it was still beating, he was alive…but why the hell was he cold !?

Out of curiosity, she did the same to V…only to find the exact same thing. What was going on ?!

A twinned pinging sound rang through the air and Uzi looked up to see two messages replacing the error code for a moment.

Memory Core Deletion In Progress

Factory Reset in Progress

Reset: 1%

Estimated Time of Completion: 1 Hour

“What.”

Her eyes hollowed as she scrambled to her feet. A factory reset…deleting all their memories? Oh that was bad. That was very bad. They’d go kill crazy the second they onlined…

He’d forget her .

“Nononono, I’m not letting that happen!” she hissed, getting up, “C’mon, Uzi think…there’s gotta be a way to do this th-”

She paused, her gaze sliding towards a drawer and a grin crossed her face. Bingo. That’ll work! She bolted towards the drawer and yanked it open, grabbing her hacking tools out of it and setting them up on the desk.

“Ok you two,” she started, taking a handful of the neural patches and placing them on both of the unconscious Disassemblers, “So there’s a chance it might fry your circuits but I think you’ll forgive me for that if it means I save your lives.”

Making sure that they were put on correctly, she sat back down and turned on the computer. Both N and V’s forms twitched once as they were connected but went back to being deathly still. Uzi pulled up the hacking software and looked through the files, trying to see where she could start.

“Maybe V because she was out longer…and maybe I’ll pry some answers outta here that way,” Uzi grumbled, moving to V’s files.

Activation of Neural Network=Success.

Access request WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002=True

Administrator Privileges=False

User ID: darkxwolf17

Access denied by Administrator: CYN

Memory core of DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001=Error 606

ACCESS DENIED

“Oh come on !” she groaned, leaning back, “Fine…N it is then.”

Activation of Neural Network=Success.

Access request WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002=True

Administrator Privileges=False

User ID: darkxwolf17

Access denied by Administrator: CYN

Memory core of DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001=Error 606

Memory core of DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001=True

ACCESS GRANTED

Multiple files burst into being on the screen, each flickering a faint yellow that matched him perfectly. There were…quite a few that were glitching badly and unable to be viewed, but most of them seemed intact thankfully.

With that…she went for the first one on the list and her vision went dark.

When she came to, her vision was weird to say the least. The screen was tinged yellow and two other screens were on the right hand side of her vision. She scanned around the wooden and broken interior of a cabin, imprints of footprints flashing only to fade away with a TARGET MISSING tag on the furthest one.

…I’m seeing his memories from his point of view…Am I seriously him?

It felt like it anyways…

Seeing nothing more of interest, she put the tape in her hand away in her pocket as she turned around to head towards the door. She just closed the cabin door behind her when a message pinged up on her visor.

Msg: DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: GET OVER HERE NOW! PURPLE THING HAS GONE CRAZY!

She saw V give her coordinates and gave a frown as her wings unfurled and she shot in the air, following them as fast as she could. Uzi shouldn’t have gone crazy…V was just exaggerating, right?

Msg: DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: N! HURRY! PLEASE! SHE’S GOING TO KILL M-!

And that’s when an explosion lit up the trees.

Her eyes hollowed as she bolted down into the underbrush and sprinted into the clearing as V was hurled bodily into the snow. What tackled her immediately after, giggling…

That did not look like Uzi.

The smaller drone had the same coloring, same clothing as her…but had wings and a tail . Like one of them…but it was weird. A really really weird fleshy thing…

But her scent was familiar. This gleefully giggling drone was Uzi. And V was terrified, an expression she’d never seen on her squadmate’s face before. Her tail arched up and tried to stab through Uzi’s head, but the Worker’s tail shot forward and bit off the syringe ?! It dumped it into her hand and Uzi raised it up getting ready to stab through V’s faceplate so she couldn’t repair…

“Oh no you don’t !” she thought as she darted forward, grabbing Uzi by the collar and hoisted her up in the air.

The smaller drone’s legs curled up under her much like a kitten being held by their mother. It was actually kinda cute in a “oh I got caught” kinda way as her tail turned it’s…face? Towards her as Uzi froze.

“Whoops, easy there, buddy,” she smiled.

Uzi whipped to face her, that horrible Solver glyph had taken over her face…she had fangs bared in a manic grin as she swung at her…

“Nope!”

She put her hand in front of her face and let the syringe sink deep into it, puncturing through.

“Haha, ow…” she muttered, Uzi’s eyes flashed back to normal as a gasp left her and her hands shot to her mouth.

“Well that seemed to snap you out of it!” she thought as the stench of burning acid and metal filled the air, “Let’s talk in private…”

“Up we go!” she chirped, hurling the much lighter drone into the air with a doppler effected shriek of terror.

She turned to V as she stuck her hand in her mouth.

“What did I say about antagonizing her!?” she demanded, to which V glared sharply at her.

“You always take her side!”

She took her hand out of her mouth, ignoring V’s pouting and launched into the sky after her friend.

The memory spat her out and Uzi shuddered. Oh that felt weird . She felt like she was actually him. His thoughts, his feelings…

It took a second before it hit her.

He had thought she was cute…

“NO!” she sputtered, shaking her head, “Nonono, no time.”

She was blushing as she went to the next memory.

V was chained to the chair, her legs crossed as she tapped one of her bubble wands against her arm as ‘N’ dropped two skeletons in formal wear into the pod. One in a man’s jet black suit and the other in a woman’s blood-red dress.

“Took ya long enough,” V huffed, “So…what you think?”

“About?” she asked, looking at her.

“The suit, duh,”

Oh.

“I do want to be dapper…” she smiled, giving a soft laugh.

Wait…no. V has alternative motives for this! Oh come on !

“But no !” she groaned, “That’s why you had me find these!?”

V gave her a ‘well, duh.’ look as a smug grin crossed her face.

“We can’t interact with the Workers anymore, V!” she snapped…

The image of her reaching for Uzi came to the forefront of her processor, glitching terribly as Uzi flinched and gave a gasp of terror.

“We’re too dangerous…” she muttered, holding her arm.

“Uh, exactly ?” V explained, “We show up, fabulous . The sad purple one lets us in, because she has no friends…we kill everyone and pop her pretty head off!”

She shot V a look as a protective anger flared up.

“I’m not freeing you for Prom murder V!” she growled, “Look, J went all holo-spooky snake crab and we maybe grew up in a haunted mansion!!”

Her core beat louder and louder and she was painfully reminded of the fact that the same heart monster she’d stabbed about a week ago lurked in her own chest.

“What… are you things…?”

Her expression turned pained for a moment as she stormed up to V, eyes hollow as she grabbed the top of the chair.

“Aren’t you even worried we don’t know what we even are !?” she demanded.

V shoved her off with a growl and spun away from her…only for her shoulders to drop and the glimpse of hollowed eyes was seen from the broken and shattered mirror that Uzi had broken.

“...Promise me you and that purple thing will stop looking into that stuff?” V’s voice was slightly shaky as she turned around.

“V knows things. V knows something and she’s not telling me…”

“If you free me now,” V’s voice cut through her thoughts, “I promise we’ll only kill what we need to survive.”

She tapped the padlock holding the chain around her neck.

“Just you and me, N,” she promised.

“But that means leaving Uzi…”

Her gaze slid towards the key laying on the console and she gave a soft groan, playing with her fingers again as she weighed the options. On one hand…V was actually paying attention to her! Maybe she did like her after all! But…no, she didn’t think that was the case anymore. V was more a friend now, a very angry friend who was chained up so she didn’t kill her best friend but still a friend.

On the other hand…if she let V go the first person she might try to kill would be Uzi…and she didn’t want that either.

“...V…if you’re hiding something, we can figure it out together !” she finally said, starting to turn her head towards the captive Disassembler, “Even if we only have pieces… please …what do you kno-”

There was a flash of silver and yellow and a searing pain in her neck. Her vision went dark as she collapsed next to the skeletons…but she did manage to hear one last thing from V.

“What’s best for you…even if you hate me for it…”

Uzi jerked back into herself as the memory file closed. She looked at her friend again and her core squeezed uncomfortably. So V was just a friend to him now. A friend that had decapitated him…but just a friend.

Warning! Internal Temperature Increasing!

Oil Levels at 30%

“Shut up that doesn’t mean he has those feelings towards you!” she angrily thought as she grabbed the oil can and bit down on the straw.

She turned back towards the screen…there were still so many to go…

Chapter 16: 16

Chapter Text

16

Everything smelled wrong. J’s scent was here…yet not here. There were a lot of different Worker scents coming in strong here as well, it was scrambling with her ability to think. She saw Uzi level her railgun at the monstrous thing in front of them.

“What’s with the voice, J?” her friend demanded.

“Oh, J’s not here,” came a heavily synthetic and cold voice that sounded…very familiar, “We are trying to repair that host as per our directive.”

“Where have I heard you before?” she thought as she scanned the area, keeping tabs on each of the tentacles and arms that twirled and snapped at them.

C̸̨͔͚͓̜̺̾̍̏̽̚ẏ̵̧̱̖̟͕̦̩̞̘̜̬n̶͇̝̥̔̊͐̿̒̂͜ C̸̨͔͚͓̜̺̾̍̏̽̚ẏ̵̧̱̖̟͕̦̩̞̘̜̬n̶͇̝̥̔̊͐̿̒̂͜ C̸̨͔͚͓̜̺̾̍̏̽̚ẏ̵̧̱̖̟͕̦̩̞̘̜̬n̶͇̝̥̔̊͐̿̒̂͜ s̴͈̺̗̗̥̣͕̬̥͖͖͎͍̿͊̕w̷̳̻͑ȅ̸͔̦͈̰̹͎͎͍̝̹̍̂̀̈́͂͐͑̿́̄͌͗̒͘ȩ̷̛̛̬̳̼͍͇̻̪̘̠̪͔͎͍̓̋̔̏̑̏̈̑̃̐̆̚ț̴̩̮͉̪̹̈́ ̴̞͙̻̭̱̪͙͇͎̠͙̗̝͓̣̃͊̀̏̆l̸͇̤̫̲̪̭̽̃ͅi̴̛̜̖̦̤͙̜̦̗̺̅͂̈̊̄͑̈́͗͐̈̀̕ͅt̷̢̛̛͖͕̖͕̲̞͇̺̼̪̃̌̅͆̓̏̎͗̍̒͗̀͠t̶͕̟͙̯͗̈́̋͠l̵̛̛͈͓͖̗͍̮̼̳̪̇̈́̄̄̆͑̿͆͂́̈́̆e̵̢̛̠̼̗̜͈̰̩͕̱͐͌́͗̋̈́̆̀̑͊̽͗̇ͅ ̴͕̮͉̤̮̻̎̽̌͗̐͊͋̍̅̊̚̕̚͝͝ͅș̷̛̛͐̇̉͂̌́̇̇͊̈͋i̷̛͖͓̩͉̭͕̗̪̻̤̖͈̩̠̎͊̔͐͐́̅̆͂̀̕͠š̴̭̉͋̅̆͐̈̀͆̓̈́̌͘ţ̴͉̰͈̳̹͙̺̱̂̈͂̒̒̎͂͋̌̕͜͝e̴͍̞̠̠̦̤͂͒͜r̴̩̻͚̘̿̈́̋̋̊̓́ͅ C̸̨͔͚͓̜̺̾̍̏̽̚ẏ̵̧̱̖̟͕̦̩̞̘̜̬n̶͇̝̥̔̊͐̿̒̂͜

She shook her head as the static kept dancing in and out of vision.

“So you are a program?” Uzi demanded, slightly lowering the gun.

She kept an eye on Uzi but slunk backwards a little bit. Uzi was keeping it occupied so she could sneak around and get a better shot at this thing’s core. She climbed up into the vent, sneaking through the metal halls as she searched for the hydra’s heart. She heard Uzi give a concerned call and saw her back up slightly through the grates.

She knew her friend could handle this. She was tough. Brave too. Though she did not like the fact that Uzi looked…scared.

She shook her head as she continued to sneak through the vents, finding that thing’s heart without it catching on was not easy. Not fun no-

Why was there a second her next to Uzi!?

“Nononononono !” she gave a low hiss as she started tearing through, “No Uzi that’s not me! That’s a fake!”

A tentacle reared up, noticing she was there. She snarled as she slashed her claws through it, already hating the rubbery organic feeling on them. Multiple errors flashed up into her vision. But she powered through them.

She needed to get to her friend. She needed to get to Uzi now .

Uzi gave a grunt of pain as the thing grabbed her and slammed her against the wall.

“Lucky for you it’s snack time!” the snake crab thing chirped, “Time to go into my mouth now!”

“NO!” she shrieked, switching her claws for the chainsaws and slashing through the multiple stalks in her way as she dove for Uzi.

She hit the ground just after the projectors and some of the claws clattered to the ground, her tail thrashed back and forth as she looked up at Uzi…who also hit the floor hard. She looked devastated and terrified at the same time.

“You’re going to regret whatever you did to her…” she swore as the monster snapped at her.

She slashed through one of the claws, jumping backwards out of reach with fangs bared…and that’s when she heard a high pitched beeping whine. Her eyes focused on the violently red glowing railgun that had a hole through its casing.

“Oh no…”

She ducked another blow, slicing another one off.

“Ow…N please don’t!” the monster stated as she twisted her body over a pair of claws that dove at her, slicing them off at the joints and unfurling her wings as she landed, “And also! I was using those…”

She shot forwards, grabbing Uzi and launching towards the entrance of the cryo-sleep bay as the railgun’s core detonated. She wrapped her wings tightly around her friend, crying out as the fireball washed over her wings and back. After a few seconds, she felt her regeneration system kick in and undo the damage done to her. With a groan she lowered her wings and looked behind her.

The snake crab creature was gone, likely the blast had incinerated its heart.

“Wh-Which parts of that…were real?” Uzi’s voice was trembling and her hollowed and stressed eyes were positively brilliant with terror.

A rattling, scuttling sound caught her attention and her eyes snapped to the source as a human heart looking monster with yellow lights jumped out of the scrap.

“Sneaky sneaky! Sneaking away…”

“Ooooh no you don’t!” she thought as she let go of Uzi and bolted towards the thing, eyes hollowed still.

“Get snuck upon…” her tail shot forwards and stabbed down into the heart, injecting it with nanite acid, “Ow…”

Stab

“Ow…”

Stab stab stab.

“OW OW OW!”

The acid finally took hold and the thing collapsed in on itself until all that remained was a flicker of dark light. She gave a huff of relief and turned back to Uzi…who hadn’t taken her eyes off a spot where a hologram had been. She could hear Workers coming, voices concerned…they wouldn’t take it well if they saw them. She offered a hand to Uzi, who didn’t see it. She then gently reached for her shoulder…

Only for Uzi to flinch back, scared.

“What… are you things?” she whispered, scooting backwards away from her.

Her thudding core broke.

She looked at her like she was going to hurt her…but she’d never do that! But…

That thing…that thing that used to be J…that was in her too…right?

Her shoulders dropped and her eyes turned sad as she took a few shuffling steps back away from her terrified friend before launching up to the ceiling. She watched as Mr. Uzi came in and comforted her friend…and looked right at her with narrowed eyes.

“I have to get out of here. I could hurt Uzi. I could hurt all of them…and would I even know?”

Uzi sat back for a moment after that one, quiet as she closed her eyes.

“I treated you so badly…” she whispered, “You didn’t know…just like me. You were right…we’re a lot more alike then we realized…I’m so sorry…”

She looked back at the two unconscious Disassemblers. N actually gave a small twitch with his hands, but other than that stayed still. V didn’t move at all still.

It’d only been about ten minutes since she’d started this, so thankfully she still had some time. But she couldn’t hesitate. Time to get into the next one.

She landed against the pod with a massive thud, her wings outstretched and tail flicking back and forth. She held up the Worker head from her latest kill and examined it…ugh, empty. She crushed it in her talons before discarding it. So much for getting more tonight. The sun would be up soon and the closest place to hunt was that colony with it’s stupid doors…

Something shiny caught her attention.

She looked in the direction it came from, scanning the are-oh well then…guess she wasn’t going hungry after all tonight! A Worker, small mind you, but a Worker still cowered behind a piece of scrap metal. They held a shard of mirror in their hand and were cleverly using that to look at her. Her mouth watered, they smelled pretty good from what she could catch, so this would be nice and J and V wouldn’t call her useless for letting a Worker get away again. She caught a flicker of violet as they looked in the mirror again and she twitched her talons in a wave before launching into the air.

She watched the Worker immediately dart out…but they faced her rather than straight up run. That’s new…they pointed a glowing green thing at her instead. Was that a gun? She landed hard in front of her, the shockwave caused by it causing the Worker to yelp and lose their balance, their gun falling from their grip. The Worker arched into a very impressive backflip, coming back on their feet with a martial stance.

“...Whoa…and they said pirating all that anime was useless!” a distinctly female voice came from the Worker.

She didn’t give them a chance to think, rushing forward as her tail stabbed through the Worker’s hand, flinging her through the air and into the scrap metal they’d hid behind. She whirled around…wait wait wait where did the Worker go!?

Her eyes flicked to the side and she spotted the Worker, sitting on the ground with the barrel of the gun pointed at her, glowing a vibrant green and humming.

“Bite me.” she hissed, pulling the trigger.

All she saw after that was brilliant green light and absolute agony in her head.

You’re Dead

[Idiot]

String “Absolute Solver” Blocked by Administration “CYN”

Recovering from Backup, Please Wait. . .

Data Restoration in Progress

Entering Safe Mode. . .Success

Please see a Certified JCJenson (In SPAAAAAACE!) Technician

Her world flickered back on and she saw…something…standing before her holding a Worker arm. She raised an eyelight as she pointed at the arm.

“Did you just slap me with that arm?”

“...Holy crap it talks .”

Uzi gave a soft laugh as she pulled out of that memory. He’d always been a dork, granted he did try to kill her when they met but…she gave a smile as she looked back at him.

“I was more shocked that you guys were sentient,” she admitted, “An-”

She paused.

“Hold on…that’s…” her eyes went hollow, “‘Administration CYN’...so it’s…an administrator? But…”

She looked at V.

“Why did you call me Cyn?”

She turned back to N’s memory files and frowned. Those were ones made when they had met…which meant these other ones were…

Her shoulders slumped as her hands trembled. She was not looking forward to seeing how much of a killer N was before they met. Not one bit.

Chapter 17: 17

Chapter Text

17

The snow hissed as it landed on her frame, turning into water as she flew over the city. Fires from previous Hunts still burned as she and her squadmates had no need to put them out. It gave their prey a sense of hope as they believed that they wouldn’t comb back over to find stragglers. It was pathetic really…

Movement caught her sensors and she angled her wings slightly to drop down to a roof. She hunched forwards into a predatory stance, opting to go on all fours rather than on her feet. Easier to sneak forward that way. Her wings flexed once before folding back against her spine, her tail thrashed as her talons crunched through the bricks of the shattered building’s rooftop.

“What did I see?” she wondered, scanning through the area again.

She could have sworn she saw something…aha! There!

A Worker Droneling. Young, not much younger than she was by the look of it. Though that really didn’t matter, they’d fitted her with an adult’s body soon after activation because they couldn’t be bothered with letting her have a normal development period.

She prowled along the rooftop as the droneling skittered around in the snow, watching closely. Perhaps it would lead her to its parent drones and another colony that they’d yet to exterminate. V and J would like that. The droneling came to a stop in front of a broken hardware store, prying the boards off the door and clambering inside.

Interesting.

She jumped into the air and soared over to the building’s rooftop, using her talons to crawl down the side of the building. She froze as a soft purple light lit the snow again and the droneling crawled out of the building, clutching what looked to be a sack of parts to its chest.

“Dad’s gonna love this,” the droneling murmured, “All this stuff! He’ll be able to tinker all the time…even got him a new wrench!”

It gave a giggle and started skipping in the snow. A soft rumbling noise built in her chassis as she tensed, coiling the springs and servos in her legs as she readjusted her arms for a better launch. And she pushed off the building, shooting towards the droneling like a bullet. The droneling heard the whispering hum of her wings and whipped around, violet eyes wide as a scream left her.

Her claws caught nothing but air.

She skidded in the snow, sending a curtain of obscuring mist into the air. When it died, she saw a male Worker cradling the Droneling in his arms. His white eyes were hollow as the Droneling buried it’s head in his blue coat.

“Dad!” it cried as he scrambled to his feet, holding it closer and taking a step back.

“Uzi… run .” he ordered, “Get inside.”

“But dad!” the Droneling protested.

“NOW!” the older one snapped as she gave a grin, her fangs bared as she shot forward again.

Her wing pierced through his shoulder, making him scream in pain and terror. The Droneling’s scream was even shriller and it made her want to rip it to pieces to make it stop . That sound was not what she wanted to be hearing. It made her vision flicker with static and threw her audios out of balance.

Her right hand switched out for a rocket launcher, aiming for the source of that horrible, horrible sound.

“UZI!” the Drone shrieked, struggling to free himself from her grip.

A violet glow, much harsher and brighter than the droneling’s eyes flared into being. Pain erupted in her right arm as it was knocked off target, sending the rocket into the building behind the Droneling. A trashcan, surrounded by a ring of violet light suddenly whipped towards her, slamming into her chest and knocking her backwards and ripping her wing out of the male’s shoulder. Her vision danced with static for a second as she got her bearings. A third drone, a female had appeared, hand outstretched as a violet triangle glyph sputtered around her right hand. Her purple eyes seemed to glitch, one hollow the other showing the same triangle glyph that marked her hand.

“Khan, take Uzi and get out of here,” the female drone ordered.

“Nori, what are you doing?” the male, Khan apparently, demanded.

“Buying some time,” Nori winked, “Don’t worry ‘bout it, I’ll be right behind you.”

“Mom…” the droneling stammered.

“It’s alright, sweetheart. Just listen to your dad, ok?” Nori smiled, “Get inside,”

Khan grabbed the little one and held her over his uninjured shoulder, backing up slowly as he watched his…partner? Counterpart? Face down literal death.

“Now,” Nori’s smile immediately died, “Where’s your squad, huh? You Murder Drones don’t operate by yourself…you hunt in packs. So why don’t you let your little demon buddies know that we’re not gonna go down easy.”

Nori wasn’t wrong…but she was alone for right now. V and J were circling around another sector of the city. They’d be back in a few minutes but right now this was her fight.

“Not talkative, huh?” Nori asked, her fingers flicking as the symbol burned again, “Fine. Makes this a bit easier for me.”

It felt like someone had taken her processor and dumped hot coals into it. She gave a yelp of pain as she winced and her vision glitched. She wasn’t in the middle of the street anymore, instead she was in the Spire, facing down someone who looked remarkably like the one before her. Shorter hair, though the same color of violet. A black beanie and hoodie with a dead battery and bones. Her hand stunk of melted plastic and scorched metal as nanite acid ate through it. She pointed the barrel of a brightly green-glowing railgun at her. “Bite me.” the girl snarled as her world erupted into green light.

“Ooooo that’s gonna sting ,” Nori hissed, her teeth bared in a feral grin, “How’s it feel to know your comeuppance is comin’, huh?”

She hissed back, wings giving a quick beat to get her back on her front foot. The other two drones were gone, their footprints were tracking behind a building. She’d take care of them as soon as she was done with Nori.

“Oh good, they’re gone. Don’t want them to see this,” Nori gave a smirk as the tri-pronged glyph took over her full faceplate, “And I was getting a little hungry.”

The violet worker gave a wince as what looked like wings and a tail of her own erupted from her back, the latter thrashing much like the Disassembler before her.

ERROR ERROR VISUALS COMPROMISED! BACKUP REQUIRED! ABSOLUTE SOLVER DETECTED!

She backed up, nearly tripping over a piece of broken sidewalk. She needed backup and she needed it now .

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: V, J I need you here now. Something’s weird. This Worker is really weird.

It didn’t take long before the others responded.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001: Lol can’t even handle a little worker? C’mon, you can’t be that useless can you? Just make balloon animal shapes out of it. Simple!

DD Unit: SD J 001-002-001: The hell are you on about? It’s a barely sentient toaster. Can you not even handle that?!

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: THIS ONE HAS WINGS AND A TAIL, J! IT HAS SOME SORT OF ROBO-WITCHCRAFT THING!

There was a pause.

DD Unit: SD J 001-002-001: Where. The. Hell. Are. You.

She sent her coordinates.

DD Unit: SD J 001-002-001: Do not engage. Just keep it there. Be there in T-20.

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001: Gotcha.

“What’s the matter, Killer?” Nori purred, ripping a lamppost up from the ground with the glyph and using a finger to aim it like a spear, “Cat got your tongue?”

The lamppost shot towards her like a javelin. She took to the air instantly, letting it impale the ground instead of her. She alighted on the metal pole, switching her main hand out for a different gun, firing on Nori. The symbol flashed before the Worker and the bullets pinged off what appeared to be a shield that manifested before her.

“I was gonna just throw a few things at you, ya know?” Nori stated, “But you threatened my husband and my daughter and I can’t let that slide.”

Nori shot forward, soaring up into the air and then down at her like a bat out of hell, her tail flickered forward and grabbed her arm with what looked like teeth. Pain erupted in her shoulder as Nori ripped it out of its socket causing sparks to fly.

She screeched, using her good hand to throw Nori off her. Nori frowned as her tail spat out the arm, she stepped on the blade and snapped it off the wrist, using whatever that telekinesis was and levitating the sharp shard upwards.

“Bite me.” Nori hissed, hurling the shard at her face…

Right as a bolt of yellow light shot from the sky and slammed into her, knocking her off the pole and into the snow.

“ Idiot .” J snarled as V shot down not long after, bolting right towards Nori only to jump back as some rebar was fired at her, “What part of do not engage do you not understand !?”

“She started it,” she groaned, as her arm finished rebuilding itself, “Thank you…”

J rolled her eyes as they flashed back to the X shape and she turned towards Nori. For the first time since she saw the Worker…there was legit fear on the violet Worker’s face. Nori’s wings beat once, twice, as her tail slowly went back and forth. The Worker was hunched over, the predator suddenly turned back into prey. She got back to her feet, claws unsheathing, and the three Disassemblers started closing in on the strange drone in front of them.

And the hollow-eyed drone suddenly took to the sky in a panic.

Uzi ripped the neural patch off her head in a panic, the snowy scene in front of her eyes suddenly dying and turning back into her room. She couldn’t watch any more of that. She didn’t want to. She knew what was happening. She remembered that…

Her vision blurred as panic set in her core again.

My fault my fault my fault my fault. She’s dead because of me. I killed Mom. My fault my fault MY FAULT.

Her breaths came out in fast pants as she curled up in the chair with her arms around her legs, sobs breaking through her voice box.

N was one of the last ones to see her mother alive…made sense considering how she died but still…and she knew it was always a possibility that he was the one…but it could have been either V or J, right? Right? N wouldn’t have killed her right? Not her best friend…right? She was shaking, as she realized something else…

“Mom…” she choked, “You…”

Warning! Internal Temperature Increasing!

Oil Reserves at 25%

Uzi ignored the warning for a couple minutes, drawing her knees to her chest. Her mom was just like her. Her Mom had the Solver too…she was just like her . This is what she was hiding from her…She had to deal with this stupidity. Maybe…maybe if she had lived…

Maybe she could have helped me…

She grabbed the oil can next to her and bit down on the straw until her teeth ached but didn’t take a sip until they started sharpening and puncturing the metal. She gave a shake of the head as her temperature cooled down again. This would be a later thing. N and V needed her. She needed to dive back in.

“Try this again…” she growled, diving back into the memory core.

She was in the pod this time, but it wasn’t broken. It was completely fixed and hurtling through the black void of space. She could see for ages , stars dancing in the distance, passing a sun and some other planets. She also was still in the ship, watching as V and J wandered around the pod, checking on things and making sure everything was working fine. There was an uncomfortable heat still burning in her chest, which made her fidget a bit…hotter than normal. Her levels read about 21% so this wasn’t going to be pretty.

“You think that they actually left us oil in the pod? I’m starting to overheat a bit…” Uzi started, not looking up from the display before her as she refused to let go of the joysticks, “J? Can you flip that switch for me, I can’t reach it.”

She pointed at a button with her tail.

“No, moron,” J growled as she reached up and flipped the switch, “They want us at our most dangerous when we hit planetside.”

“Surprise, surprise,” V scoffed, inspecting her talons, “Least it shouldn’t be too much longer, right?”

“Planet should be appearing soon,” Uzi stated as the tracking on her HUD lit up, “Yeah, there it is in the distance. Should be touching down in about ten minutes.”

“The fact you can see it this far is freaky,” V said.

“I’m literally linked into the ship’s mainframe to pilot,” came the response, “My visual range is a lot further because of it.”

Her hands spasmed slightly as a high-temperature warning flashed over her faceplate.

“...N?” V’s voice was actually concerned for a moment.

“I think this is…causing me to overheat faster than you two,” Uzi admitted, “I can get us there but…”

“But what?”

“As long as we’re able to land without dying we’ll be fine .” J said, her tail twitched slightly, though out of the corner of Uzi’s eye she could see that the other Disassembler’s eyes were slightly hollowed.

“Tessa would have made sure we had oil on board,” Uzi noted.

Her chest was starting to hurt, the feeling of melting was starting up…

“Tessa’s not here,” J snapped as a high temperature warning flashed over her faceplate as well, “Ugh, how much longer?”

“N-Not long,” Uzi told her as her hands shook again, “C-Couple minutes…Cop-per-9’s d-dead ahead…oh w-wow…they…weren’t kidding…when they…said the core…”

“Easy there, buddy, focus,” J actually sounded concerned, “You need to land this thing.”

“I’m…trying…it’s hard…so hot…and hungry…”

The planet loomed before the three of them and Uzi vaguely heard J give the order to strap in. She could feel the concerned looks on the back of her head as her breath left her panting, hoping to bring cool air to her systems.

She heard V hiss in pain as another warning for high temperature blared. J held a taloned hand to her faceplate as the other one dug into the arm of her chair. Uzi could feel her wings shaking, trying to force themselves free but the fact her back was pressed against the chair kept them in. Her tail thrashed irritably as her fingers switched out for claws, piercing through the controls and causing another warning to flare up.

WARNING! LANDING CONTROLS DAMAGED! FRONT RIGHT LANDING SERVO DAMAGED! STEERING CONTROLS FAULTY! WEATHER CONDITIONS UNSAFE FOR LANDING SAFELY! PREPARE FOR EMERGENCY LANDING!

“Oh…oh no,” she breathed as sparks flew.

“N…” J’s voice rang in her audios as the shaking increased and the front of the pod glowed orange from the reentry.

Turbulence caused all three of them to yell in fear, eyes hollow as the lights flickered.

“L-Landing…landing gear is…damaged,” she panted, “Can’t…c-can’t…”

WARNING! OIL RESERVES CRITICAL!

OIL LEVEL AT 10%

She desperately grasped at the controls, pulling and trying to keep it from completely destroying them.The ship shook and shuddered as they faced resistance from the buffering gales of the planet.

“I can’t…” she stammered, “I’m losing…c-control. We’re gonna crash. Hang tight…S-Strap i-in. Ro-rOugh landing…””

OIL LEVEL AT 9%

An angry hiss spat past her gritted teeth as her claws dug deeper into the control panel. She didn’t have time or the ability to strap herself in. This was going to hurt…

“Impact!” J yelled as the ship crashed down into the snowy earth, tearing a hole through a few buildings as it came skidding to a halt.

They hit something hard ahead and Uzi’s head and body snapped forwards, smashing bodily through the main screen and snapping off one of her talons. Waves of agony rolled through her as electricity arced over her frame and the screech that left her voicebox chilled her own core. She could hear J and V yell hers, N’s, name as shaking and taloned hands pulled her free from the screen. She heard sparks and wires crackling and glass tinkling down…but there was nothing but darkness and static in her vision and so much pain that was rocking down her body.

Error. Critical Damage received. Structural Integrity at 75%.

Her head hurt…it hurt lots…

“Oh god…his face…” V’s voice was hushed, “It’s…gone…”

“Come on…buddy, let’s go…” J’s voice was slightly shaking but that might have been the oil depletion, “V, get…get that glass out of…his face b-before it…regenerates... Careful! You’re going…to damage something with those claws…”

“Like I can…put them away. Just like you,” V spat.

There was an uncomfortable scraping against her head…why was everything so dark?

“H-h-huuuur-Rts…” her voice was garbled, choking on what little oil was left in her system.

“Stop…st-Op talking,” J ordered, “M-Make…it…worse.”

Absolute_Solver regenerative abilities activating.

What felt like liquid ran down? Up? The side of her head, her vision finally flickering back on. She could see the golden light of her squadmates’ visors, headbands and tails in the now dark cabin. Her breaths were coming out in unsteady pants, sending steam into the now frigid air.

Error. Memory restoration failed. Attempting to retry…Retry failed.

HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHELPMELTINGNEEDOILHUNGRYNEEDNEEDNEED!!

“M-my…h-head…hurt-ts…” Uzi groaned.

“Yeah I…freaking bet…moron!” J snarled, “You just…lost half …your head!”

“Hey! Everyone ok in there?”

All three Disassemblers froze. That wasn’t from the relay and it for certain wasn’t them.

“Get this door open!” the voice yelled again.

The sound of creaking metal filled the pod and Uzi’s vision flickered. Hunger soared in her as a low rumbling growl came from her chassis. The smell of something sweet hit her and her fangs bared in a smile.

The door opened and something that looked similar to her, J and V peered inside, blue eyes wide.

FOODNEEDNEEDNEEDNEED!!

“Oh wow…you guys are o…kay…?” the Worker Drone’s voice died in its throat as “ TARGET LOCKED” blazed across her visor, centered on its head and three large golden Xs reflected back at them from its faceplate.

It took a step backwards and that was its downfall as they tore towards it, her claws sparked against the ship’s metal as she reached for the Worker so she could cool down the Solver that was eating her alive…but V got there first. Made sense, she was the closest to the door.

V’s claws sank into its chest with a satisfying screech and she shot out into the cold air with wings outstretched and into the sky. J and Uzi followed her into the air weapons at ready as the rainbow of startled eyes stared up at them. V’s free talons swiped down and the Worker in her hands fell limp. Its severed head hit the ground with a loud thump, FATAL ERROR blazing in brilliant scarlet over its visor. V gave a laugh as all three of them opened fire.

The Worker Drones panicked, scattering like insects under the threat of rain. And that was their downfall as a more feral and predatorial part of her programming kicked in. She shot down from the sky, slamming into a Worker and digging her claws into its back. It gave a scream and it only made her grin go wider as she flipped it over and sank her fangs into its neck. The Worker vainly tried to push her off, its steadily weakening grip and gurgling voice box failing as its green eyes flickered into a brightFATAL ERROR.Its oil pooled in the snow as she drank, finally feeling the heat starting to die off.

MOREMOREMOREMOREMORENEEDMORESOGOODSOCOOLNEEDMORE!!

She released the now drained Worker's neck, oil still dripping down her chin as she stood upright. A laugh bubbled up in her throat, manic and unhinged as she leaped towards another Worker and did much the same, the heat was continuing to die down and it feltgood...hunting down these corrupted, insentient machines feltamazing.

"...Tessa would hate this..."

The thought made her pause for a second, but the Solver grabbed her attention again and made her continue feeding.

"Tessa would be afraid of me..."

If any Worker had been nearby...they would have heard a sob choke through the giggling of the Disassembly Drone that was feasting on her latest kill.

Uzi snapped out of the memory, shaking. She...needed a small break after that one. SeeingN of all people being that violent and murderous, even in the throes of a Solver hijacking...it was not for the faint of core. After a few moments, and some sips of her own oil can later, a thought came to her.

"Who's Tessa?" she wondered.

Chapter 18: 18

Chapter Text

18

Startup Sequence: WD Unit: SD N 001-001-001

Error: 606. Worker protocol does not match.

Error: 606. Disassembly protocol does not match.

Error: 404. ID not found.

ID Verification required. Serial does not match.

Administrator ID: TESSAJE

Do you wish to erase old ID WD Unit: SD N 001-001-001?

Input from ID: TESSAJE=True.

Serial Designation Required. Administrator TESSAJE: Please input new ID.

New ID: DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001

Confirm New ID

Input from ID: TESSAJE=True.

Updated: Drone Designation. New Identification # is DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001.

Do you wish to delete Worker Protocol?

Input from ID: TESSAJE=True.

Do you wish to install Disassembly Protocol?

Input from ID: TESSAJE=True.

Stand By. . .

. . .

Pending. . .

. . .

ID: DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 installation of Disassembly Protocol Confirmed

Installing:

pilot.exe=True

character_trait:lovable_idiot.exe=True

combat.exe=True

stealth.exe=True

heat_death.exe=True

bloodlust.exe=Error

coolant_dependant.exe=True

flight.exe=True

speed.exe=True

nanite_acid_syringe.exe=True

nanite_repair_solution.exe=True

weapon_master.exe=True

Absolute_Solver string=True

Activation of Program Blocked by Administrator: C̵̳̈Y̷̬͌N̸͚̚.

Installation Complete.

Activation of Unit DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 Complete.

Stand By. . .

The first thing she was aware of was how cold it was…until it wasn’t. It felt as if someone had placed a ball of superheated lead on her chest and it was melting through her chassis. The second thing she noticed was a low, but loud, thumping sound that reverberated from her chest, pulses of pain radiating with each thump.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

“Where am I? What is this?” she thought as she tried to sit up, but couldn’t move, “What is that thumping noise?! Is that coming from me!? Why does my chest hurt!?”

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Was she restrained?

“It’s starting up,” a male voice said, “It should be done in a few minutes.”

“ He .” a female voice snapped, “ He’s starting up. I still hate you made me do this…”

The burning feeling continued to grow. A pained hiss slipped through her voicebox as she strained her wrists.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

ITSTOOHOtit*TOOHOtit*TOOHOTPLEASEHELPWHAT ISTHAT SOUNDTOOLOUDTOOLOUDITHURSITBURNSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITSTOOHOtit*TOOHOTMAKEITSTOPPLEASEITHURTS!!

“Just hold on, it’s going to be ok…” the female voice started, Uzi felt a hand on her arm, though it quickly retreated as a hiss caught her attention, “Just hold on…”

The voice sounded like it was close to tears. The thumping in her chest got louder, more rapid as her breath vented out faster and faster to attempt to cool herself down. Pain seared through her chest coupled with the burning. Something was wrong…like it wasn’t supposed to be there.

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump.

TESSAHELPTESSAPLEASEWHATDIDIDOWRONGPLEASEPLEASETESSAPLEASETESSAMAKEITSTOPITHURTSTESSAITHURTSITHURTS!!

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…”

Startup Sequence DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 Complete

Oil Level: 0.01%

Charge Level: 100%

Internal Temperature: High

Optical Sensors: Offline

Calibrating. . .

The burning pain was so intense that Uzi couldn’t help but scream, but it wasn’t her voice. It wasn’t hers, it was lower and definitely male. She couldn’t stop screaming, the thudding in her chest going more rapid as she thrashed, held down only by the restraints that were ominously creaking and straining with metallic groans. Her scream turned into a shriek as it grew in pitch and volume.

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump.

THISISNOTMETHISISNOTMYBODYTHISISNOTMYBODYWHATISTHISTHISISNOTMYBODYPLEASEHELPTHISISNOTMETHISISNOTMYBODY!!

She heard panicked voices as the restraints were taken off by trembling fingers, but they were a low buzzing in her ears. She hurled herself off the table, there was a very odd feeling as something burst from her back. She grabbed at her chest, clawing at the smooth casing trying to tear that horrible thudding thing that was causing waves of pain to ripple through her out.

GETITOUTGETITOUTGETITOUTSTOPSTOPSTOPHELPPLEASEITHURTS!!

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump.

“Nononono stop! Please! You’re going to hurt yourself!” the voice was back again and had grabbed her wrists, attempting to pull her hands away from her chest, “You’ll die if you take that out!”

She gave an uncomfortable whine as her hands ripped away from the voice’s, grabbing onto her hair and pulling as she shook her head back and forth. Her hands felt weird. Why? Sharper…less fingers than before? Her breath came out in rapid pants in time to the thudding sound and she pitched forward, digging her fingers into the concrete to keep from trying to claw that horrible thing out. The sound of metal screeching into concrete rang into the air, her hands hurt as they dug into the concrete. Teeth that felt more like glass shards or razor blades and far too many for her mouth with a jaw with servos way too strong.

“H-HuRTs…Hot…Too…HoT.” she gasped, a high pitched ringing blaring in her audios as a sickly yellow high temperature warning burst to life in the blackness, tremors wracked her body as the fire in her chest spread to every part of her. Her insides felt like they were melting into her chassis and dripping through every crack they could.

Warning!

Oil reserves have been depleted.

Core meltdown in progress: 87%

Heat Death in T-30.

Her voice was dry, cracked…a heaving shudder ran through her as something scalding spat through her teeth and dripped to the floor, sizzling. She heaved again, a guttural wail tearing from her as more liquid was thrown up.

“Hot…ToO…Hot…He-E-eLp…ToOo…Hot…Hu-RrtS…Too...H-hoT…” her voice came out a whimper and choked with static and glitches, “Not...M-me…NoT-t…Meeee…NooOot…Me…Too…S-sH-harp…Too…Bi-Ig…Too…H-Hot…Hurt-Ts…Too…Ho-O-ot…PlE-e-ease…T-t-Te-sssss-aaaaa…He-E-eLp…”

Absolute_Solver Meltdown in Progress.

Insignificant Material for Regeneration.

Heat Death in T-10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

She felt a cool hand grab her chin and force her mouth open. Something pressed against it and she heard the female voice speak again.

5.

4.

“Drink. N, please, drink this!”

3.

2.

She heard the voice hiss in pain from her scalding body as her chin was tipped upwards and something cold, sweet and soothing entered her mouth. The part of her that was still her knew that taste anywhere though the part of her that was locked in N did not.

Worker Oil.

NEEDHUNGRYNEEDNEEDNEEDHUNGRYNEEDSOHUNGRYGIVEMEGIVEMENEEDNEEDNEED!!

Coolant Detected.

Core Meltdown Aborted.

Heat Death Aborted.

Almost as if something had taken control of her, she grabbed at the container, her claws scratching against the metal container and she drank, continuously gulping down the black liquid that forced the fire in her chest and body to finally stop. She couldn’t stop, even when they pulled away she reached out for it again, fingers scraping across the container as she drew it back, hungrily taking everything in.

Rerouting Absolute_Solver routine to regenerate internal systems.

Regeneration at 5%.

NOTENOUGHNEEDMORESOHUNGRYNEEDNEEDNEEDNEED!!

“No, no, you’re going too fast…you’re going to get sick…” the female voice started, she felt hands on hers trying to take the only thing keeping the fire from incinerating her away.

NOMINENONONONONOGIVEBACKMINEMINEMINE!!

A low, loud and angry snarl erupted from Uzi’s throat as her teeth, no, fangs bared in a too wide mouth. Her wings snapped out further, bristling knives that angled around her, her tail thrashed in a threatening manner, pointing the sharp end of the syringe at the voice’s owner. A spitting, feral hiss slipped past her fangs as the growl grew in pitch. The oil container was hers ! Not the voice owner’s! Not Tessa’s! And she wasn’t going to have the one thing keeping the pain at bay taken away from her!

The hands sprang back as the voice gave a gasp of fear and a sudden pang of guilt and shame ran through her. Wait…no…that wasn’t what she meant! She snarled at Tessa . She hissed at Tessa… she nearly hurt Tessa. Nonono that wasn’t her at all !!!! She dropped the cup, letting the contents splatter across the floor as she rocked backwards and curled inwards.

TESSANOSORRYSORRYSORRYHURTTESSANOWHYSOSORRYSORRYSORRY…

A low whine left her as she flinched down, almost like she was expecting to be struck. She curled into herself, trembling as she tried to make herself a smaller target. Her wings lowered, shaking more than her body was as they and her tail curled around her, more prey than predator as they tried to shield her from Tessa and the look of fear she knew had to be on her face. There was silence for a moment and cool hands wrapped around her wrists, pressing the container back into them.

“T-Tessa?” her voice was meek as her wings folded back a bit more so as to not hurt her.

Regeneration at 80%

“Slow down,” Tessa’s voice murmured, though there was a bit of fear still spiked through it, “Keep drinking,”

The heat was dulling to an ache but it still freaking hurt… her insides writhed and roiled as what she had drunk too quickly came back up, steaming and hot spilling down the front of her chest, causing Tessa to jump back with a cry of shock. Uzi shuddered, sinking back to her knees and pressing her head against the cold concrete.

Oil level: 40%

Internal Temperature Stabilizing.

Regeneration at 100%

Internal Systems Fully Operational.

Optical Sensors Online.

Her screen finally glitched on, everything was a sickening shade of yellow, three different screens popped up onto her vision, each showing a different scene. Infrared. Thermal. Regular. Two different sights, one seeing from the left the other from the right. It made Uzi’s head hurt trying to comprehend it. The concrete floor in front of her was broken from her fall, her hands a three pair of cruelly sharp, knife-like talons that had rent through it like paper still stuck in the stone.

“Better?” Tessa asked, gentle and soft as she drew her wings back closer to her and shivered, “Can you talk to me now?”

“Hot…still hot,” Uzi whispered, her voicebox seeming to repair itself and letting the words come out smoother without static.

“Do you remember me?”

She nodded.

“Tessa…” she shuddered, curling further in on herself to make herself as small a target as possible, “It hurts…”

If the Master was listening in, she’d be punished. Probably worse than this. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they’d punish J and V an-and and and and….

She let out a whine as fractured images of a smaller member of their circle flashed before her visor. Her insides roiled again and she heaved, more oil spitting back up as her shaking continued.

“I know,” the voice murmured, putting a hand on her back between her wings and carefully stroking, “I’m so sorry…”

“...What…what did…” her voice was trembling as she picked up one of her taloned hands out of the concrete and brought it to her visor, noticing she wasn’t seeing through that. The three metal talons clicked lightly against the glass as she felt her face, her teeth, her new eyes that were on top of her head …She saw the weird shape of her arms, almost like sleeves ending in black and gold and she began to shake, “What did you do to me…Tessa…?”

She whirled around, golden eyes hollow on the faceplate only to hiss in pain as the brilliant light seared her vision. Her silvery, knife-edged wings flared around her to block the light as her tail, full of horrible crawling biting things that didn’t care what they hurt, whipped anxiously.

“What did you do ?!” she cried, “What did I do?! What is this?! Tessa!? Tessa, did I do something wrong? Tessa, what’s going on!?”

She felt hands wrap around her chest as a head buried itself in her back.

“I’m sorry,” the female voice, Tessa, sobbed, “I’m so sorry…it was the only way I could keep you all…N I’m sorry…”

There was a rising whine and Uzi’s head snapped up, eyes wild as she tried to get away again. She knew that sound. And it made her panic rise even more as she started thrashing, trying to find a way out. She had to find the others. They were in danger too.

“Wait, no…what are you all doing!?” Tessa yelled, letting go of Uzi and standing, “He’s not going to hurt me! He’s scared! You’re making it worse!! TURN THAT OFF! N! You have to calm down! It’s going to be ok!”

“V! J! Where are you!?” she cried, struggling to get to her feet as she pulled on her hair, error messages flashing over her visor as her hands shifted shape to all sorts of different weaponry before resettling back on the talons, “No oh no oh no oh noooo, this isn’t happening. This is…”

A silvery pulse blasted through the area and caused Uzi’s limbs to lock up as static danced across her vision from the magnetic field crashing against her harddrive. Multiple errors flashed over her visor as she sank to her knees.She heard Tessa angrily screeching words that she couldn’t make out, her shadow passing over her as she grabbed another figure and leveled a punch at their face. She watched as another form grabbed Tessa and held her, kicking and screaming, off the ground.

“...Why…?” Uzi whimpered as she collapsed to the ground and her vision went dark.

Uzi’s eyes flashed open as the memory spat her out again. Her hands shook as she released the joystick and turned around to face the passed out forms of her friends. Her eyes were hollow as they landed on N’s face.

“What…” she stammered, her voice crackling with static as tears flickered on her visor, “Oh God…they tortured you guys...”

Silence met her and she swiped at her faceplate again. There was no time. She had to continue on. It was the only way to save them.

But there was a problem…

That was the last of the memories.

“I’ve gone through all of them and there’s no corruption there!” she hissed, “Where the hell is this program starting out fro-”

She stopped as a pale white flicker caught her eye.

“...There’s more?” she wondered, “No…just one…but why is it white ?”

Memory Core WD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 (1)

That was N’s Serial ID…but it…looked weird. She shook her head…it didn’t matter. She needed to do this and do this fast. N and V were counting on her.

And she dove back in…one last time.

Chapter 19: 19

Chapter Text

19

When the blackness bled away from her vision, Uzi was struck by the sheer difference of her surroundings. She looked down at herself…surprisingly in her own body rather than N’s. That was a first. Maybe because it was a different set of memory files? Warm sepia tones flooded through her vision, forming into organic curves and even brighter colors. Golden light bathed the area around her, a far cry from the icy cold and sterile greys of Copper-9.

“Where…am I?” she whispered before shaking her head, “No time. Gotta find N and V.”

She started down the hallway, trying to find any sign of her taller friends. She paused at a chained door, reading the sign and seeing the claw marks on the white wood.

“Restricted?” she wondered, reaching a hand towards the gate, only for it to open immediately, “Wow…absolutely stellar security you guys have here…”

“Oh come onnnn! Just! A little! Further!” a male voice complained, straining.

Uzi’s eyes lit up in surprise. That was N’s voice, no doubt about it! She dashed towards the voice as fast as she could.

“N! I’ve bee-” she stopped as she rounded the corner.

She didn’t see her friend. His tall and slender form was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a Worker drone stood in front of her, reaching for the bookshelves above while balancing on an unsteady pile of books..

“Almost…got it!” the Worker grunted, reaching as he grabbed a book from the shelves, “GOT YOU!”

The book pile he stood on shifted and the poor worker tumbled down with a shriek, the book he’d grabbed falling directly on his head.

That…that was N’s voice.

“...No way,” she breathed as he rubbed his head, looking straight at her, “N?”

Without a doubt…the drone before her was the same drone laying unconscious back in her room.

“He was a worker drone, like me!?”She thought, eyes hollowed,“What thehell…?!”

He didn’t seem to hear her, instead getting up and brushing himself off and darting away further into the library. Uzi followed, still in shock. If N was originally a Worker…did that mean the others were as well?

“V! I got the book!” N beamed as Uzi rounded the corner.

She stopped as she saw N sit down with his back next to one of the shelves, smiling as he opened up the book and looked up at another semi-familiar shape.

V, or at least who Uzi suspected was V, stood with her head bowed. A scarily familiar X flashing over her faceplate behind a pair of large glasses, bathing the area in gold and making the dainty maid’s outfit seem horribly old looking.

“...You two were servants?” Uzi blinked, looking between the two as she got closer to inspect V.

The maid drone was immobile, seemingly frozen in place. Uzi noticed the 606 error code under the X screen and frowned. Least that explained the inability to hack into her mainframe…

“How about I start where we left off, huh?” N asked, causing Uzi to jump and whirl back towards him.

A gentle smile was across his faceplate. His, god Uzi wasn’t going to get used to this, white eyes held a little concern but were still as warm as they were in the…future? Present? God this was weird…

“Dude, I need you to listen to me,” Uzi started, “We need to see whatever’s in here that’s trying to take your memories an-”

“Chapter 17, Golden Retrievers,” N continued, making Uzi freeze.

Could he not see or hear her?

“Yo, N,” Uzi waved her hand in front of his face, snapping her fingers, “You hear me?”

“Commonly kept, this breed is known for it’s friendly, intelligent temperament and soft golden coat!” He was blissfully continuing reading aloud. Uzi gave a groan and tried pinging him upside the head…only for her hand to go straight through.

Error. Interface blocked by Administrator: CYN. Encrypted file requires permission from DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001.

“ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!?” Uzi screeched, “N ANSWER ME!!!”

He didn’t.

“Ughhhhhhhhhh!” the hacker groaned, throwing her head back as she fell off her feet and sat with a very hollow thump behind V.

Wait.

Hollow ?!

She brushed aside the carpet just to see a hidden door with a handle.

“Bingo,” she grinned, “Now just to get him to open the thing.”

She turned back towards him. He was still reading, though he had picked up a piece of paper with drawings on it and was looking at it currently.

“I don’t think this will make me overheat if I use it here…” Uzi hummed, holding her hand up as her right eye glitched into the Solver’s glyph and the familiar violet glow shone around her hand.

She reached towards the door, trying to pull it open. It thudded loudly but refused to open. N’s voice suddenly ceased, causing Uzi to turn around to face her friend’s shadow. His white eyes were hollowed and wide as he stood up, his hand shook a little bit.

“C’mon, N work with me…” Uzi thought as she reached towards the bookcases…and saw a perfect way to convey her message.

She yanked and the Solver responded, pulling a book from the shelf.

“Danger” read the title.

N jumped and his gaze focused on the book.

“Huh…” Uzi hummed, “Guess that’s working…let’s see. Oh here we go. Oddly specific but hey, it works.”

She yanked again, two books falling out.

“Enter” and “The Spooky Basem*nt” .

N whipped around as the books fell, the tremor in his hands getting more violent as he saw the titles.

“Aaaaand now for the kill,” Uzi grinned as she pulled on the door again.

She looked back towards N…whose fear suddenly melted into an annoyed expression as he shook his head and turned on his heel, giving a peace symbol with his hand as he walked out.

“You little… ughhhhhhh !!!” Uzi groaned, “COME ON!”

She followed him through the lavish manor, angrily grumbling as she continued through. He had picked up a silver serving platter at some point with some glasses, some of them partially full, and was walking towards what Uzi realized was a bar.

“You seem…upset. Big brother…N?”

Uzi froze at the voice, her violet gaze flashing towards the bar and seeing a horrifyingly familiar sight. The holo-spooky snake crab that had once been J. It was all over the bar. It was talking to N. How did he not see this?!

The lightning flashed and the lights flickered back on…and the holo-spooky snake crab was gone. Instead a small worker drone in a maid outfit stood behind the bar. Her golden eyes full and wide as they looked at N. She couldn’t have been much taller than Uzi herself.

“Perhaps you would like to attend the gala with me?” the little drone asked, picking up a teacup full of what Uzi thought was oil and sticking out her pinky, “Light sip.”

She tipped the cup and the oil fell straight to the floor rather than going into her mouth. Uzi’s eyes were wide as memories of seeing that thing that used to be J crawling around. It had talked the exact same way. Was N about to be ea-

“Aw, not sure we’re invited, little buddy,” N apologized, going towards the girl and sitting the tray on the table. He started to clean the glasses…showing a scarily accurate trick with the glasses as he flicked one into the air and twirled it around expertly.

“Pretty good, Butler Boy,” Uzi hummed as she followed him, watching in amusem*nt.

She’d definitely have some things to test when he woke up…

“Climbing. Criss cross, applesauce.” the girl muttered as she performed the action, crossing her legs to sit on the bar, “Am I…not wanted…N?”

Her head seemed to loll a bit, like her body’s motor functions weren’t formatted correctly. If Uzi wasn’t in her angsty teen phase she would have probably had pity for the drone in front of her. However, now it was just creepy as hell.

“Nope. Nope I’m getting you the hell away from her.” Uzi growled, looking for a way to get her friend’s attention, shattering glasses wouldn’t do it.

She needed to write somehow but there was no wate-oh. Wait a moment…

“Dude…you know it’s Tessa’s folks,” N sighed, starting to clean the tray…and freezing as a drop of red liquid splattered right above the towel.

He wiped it off cautiously as Uzi tossed the wine bottle to the side, glaring at him and daring him to ignore it this time.

BAsem*nT! NOW! STOP IGNORING ME!!!

“Yeah you heard me-WHOA!” Uzi shrieked, ducking as the silver tray was hurled with deadly force into the wall, “Holy hell N!”

She patted the top of her head, looking back at the still quivering tray that was stuck three quarters of the way in the hardwood.

“Remind me not to scare you when we get out of this…” she muttered.

She looked back at the two drones and groaned as she saw the small one playing around with N.

“Ok, who the hell are you.” Uzi growled, reaching out to touch the girl, knowing she was going to get the sa-

ERROR! ERROR! DANGER!

UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO FILES BELONGING TO ADMINISTRATOR: CYN. TERMINATING ACCESS.

Uzi’s vision flickered, turning black for a moment as she jolted back to herself in her room. She cast a look at the two disassembly drones passed out on the floor. They looked peaceful for the moment…but the X marks and 606 errors crossing their faceplates made it seem anything but.

“Cyn…” Uzi muttered, “...so you’re Cyn…”

Uzi’s eyes went hollow as she looked at the two unconscious drones and then back at her own materials.

Warning: Oil Level at 30%.

Internal Temperature Rising.

Additional Oil Advised.

“Can it! I heard you!” Uzi gave a snarl as she grabbed the can on the desk and brought it to her mouth, taking a couple sips of the sickly sweet liquid inside.

Internal Temperature Stabilizing.

Oil Level at 50%.

“Hate this. Hate her.” Uzi hissed, slamming the oil can back in its spot, “You’re not locking me out, whatever you are.”

She turned back to her station, and got back to hacking her way in.

“If I can’t interact with him like me…maybe I can bypass it with a decoy,” she murmured, taking a breath, “Alright…if that administrator has access to the Solver, then maaaaaybe I can get in that way too.”

She lay her fingertips back on the keyboard, this was going to not be fun for a bit.

Activation of Neural Network=Success.

Access request WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002=True

Administrator Privileges=False

User ID: darkxwolf17

Access denied by Administrator: CYN

Memory core of DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001=Error 606

Memory core of DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001=Denied

“Come on…” Uzi hissed, her eye glitching once more into the Solver’s glyph.

Activation of Neural Network=Success.

Absolute_Solver Activation? (Y)/N

Absolute_Solver String= True

Absolute_Solver: User 002 Access Granted

Access request WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002=True

Administrator Privileges=True

User ID: darkxwolf117

Memory core of DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001=Error 606

Memory core of DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001=Granted

Her world went dark once more as she plunged back into N’s memories.

Chapter 20: 20

Chapter Text

20

She came to as N and the little drone Uzi recognized as Cyn now opened the doors to an absolutely gorgeous ballroom. Worker Drones bustled about, wheeling mobile trays stacked with delicacies that looked as if they’d disintegrate on touch, carrying silver trays with crystal glasses and bottles full of scarlet liquid that shimmered in the light, some even carried chairs and tables across the room.

Her eyes caught sight of a shadowy figure that gave an aura of fury as two workers sat down a table.

“Western Villa Style!? Were you programmed by beasts ?” the figure snarled, picking up a fork and causing the drones to flinch.

The figure hurled the fork into the faceplate of one of the workers, making him collapse to the ground, oil spraying into the air as a red FATAL ERROR message flickered weakly on the screen.

Uzi’s eyes hollowed just as Cyn’s and N’s did and the small maid gripped onto N’s leg, hiding behind him as she shook in terror. Were these…humans? She’d never seen a human in the flesh before. But the skeletons that dotted Copper-9 were awfully similar to these…

“Shuffle. Shuffle. Shuffle…” Cyn sputtered as her grip tightened and they slowly made their way into the room.

A flurry of movement caught Uzi’s eye as she spotted a smaller shadow, human, pacing back and forth. Her oil boiled as she saw an even less welcome figure standing nearby the shadow. Like N and V, the drone before her was a worker…but there was no way in hell that Uzi would ever mistake those pigtails and business-like air. J.

“There’s humans coming…” the shadow panicked, her voice shaking and young sounding, “I’ve only yakked to robots, J…quick! Pretend to be a ripping royal stud!”

She grabbed a poster and faced J with it. J’s pale eyes flickered in surprise for a split second before a smug grin crossed her face and she gave an arrogant gesture with her hands as she picked up a glass. The shadow blinked once, twice before picking up a wine glass and toasting with J.

“I’m your girl,” she chuckled as the glasses clinked.

The human girl suddenly hissed, bringing her hand to her wrist. Uzi was shocked when she saw concern flash over J’s faceplate. She wasn’t the only one…the girl looked at J and she gave a dismissive wave.

“I’m alright, J,” the girl reassured her…only to catch sight of another target and squealed, “N!”

She rushed over to the male worker and picked him up by the cheeks, spinning him around while N squawked in surprise.

“Hey Tessa…” his voice was muffled.

“Oh my god you dork,” Uzi sighed, taking her finger and writing on the window.

WHEN U ABOUT 2 FRIKKEN DIE SPEAK ALOUD ID:DARKXWOLF17

She gave a huff and turned around to face N. His eyes were hollowed out and focused on the window before he gave a soft whine. Good! He saw it. Now here’s hoping he remembered it.

She came back towards the four and looked at the much taller human. So this was Tessa? The one N had called out to in the previous memory? The one who tried to help him?

“...Maybe they’re not all that bad…” Uzi thought.

“Who did you bring with…you…” Tessa’s voice trailed off as her gaze landed on Cyn, who tried keeping her head upright again.

“Seems J forgot to let me out of my basem*nt time out again.” Cyn stated.

“And yet…here you are,” J huffed, spinning a golden key on her finger before putting it back in it’s hiding place.

“...Annoyed Expression…” Uzi could hear Cyn’s teeth grinding and her head gratingly turned towards J, her golden eyes filled with anger.

“...You guys are…locking her up?” N asked, still being held up by Tessa.

“Oh…N…” Tessa started, voice guilty, “I-”

“Tessa James Elliot!” an older female voice snapped.

Uzi watched as Tessa’s hands sprang apart and she settled into a straight backed position. J and N instantly went into a submissive gesture, hands clasped before them and heads bowed as a human woman with a god awful hat came up, waving a fan.

“...Aaaaaand I’m reminded of why I want to kill these guys…” Uzi thought, watching both Workers shake subtly.

In the short amount of time she knew J, the drone was not submissive. Even V and N would back her up on that. A manipulative and horrible drone that was obsessed with her standing with the company, yes. But not cowed like this. And N ? Happy go lucky, playful N might be agreeable with anything…but to see him shaking in terror and treated like dirt made Uzi’s oil boil over.

The scene glitched out for Uzi as a high pitched warning rang in her audios. Pain shot down the base of her spine as a loud crack split the air.

Warning! Oil Level at 12%

Temperature Rising Above Acceptable Levels.

“Ugh FINE!” Uzi snapped, ripping the neural node off her head and coming back to the present.

She grabbed the can again and took a few gulps. Ignoring the fact that she currently looked like some bio-mechanical murder drone, she turned back towards the knocked out drones on the floor. N’s visor flickered every once in a while and his hands twitched in his sleep. V was still as death.

Uzi’s tail flicked in annoyance a few times, she didn’t like the silence but knew that any distraction could hurt the chances of saving both of them. She took a deep breath as her wings lowered further on the floor, checking her oil levels again.

“40%, I should be good for a while still…” she thought as she put the can back on the desk and grabbed at the metal.

There was still a shock of pain that went through her system as the new appendages retracted, she hated the feeling of them hiding themselves still, scraping against her inner workings with an uncomfortable squirming feel as her wings folded up against her spine and her tail coiled at the small of her back. But it wasn’t as bad as when they appeared forcefully

Suddenly sparks flashed in her vision and her hollowed eyes whipped back towards the unconscious drones. N’s face was twisted in pain, sparks flashing every once in a while.

Access Requested:

User ID: DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001

Condition: Critical

Password: darkxwolf17

Accept Transmission: Y/N?

“Oh my robogod N!” Uzi gasped.

Transmission: Accepted

Searching For Nearest Host.

Requires Absolute_Solver String=True

Current status: False

“Confirm, confirm dang it just let me in!” Uzi yelled.

Enter Command Sequence Start Up.

Absolute_Solver String=True

Host Confirmed. Entity: Quoth.

User ID: darkxwolf17

Transferring Consciousness.

Uzi’s world shattered into blackness and then reignited into muddy greens and browns. She saw N chained up to a tree, rain pouring from the sky, his face looked shaken and he stared right at her. Violet light painted the ground before her and she looked up to see the User ID she had given him.

“You’re…?” he sputtered, “Uh…”

“Ugh, I made the tag when I was eight…shut up…” she grumbled.

How the hell was he so tall still!? Even sitting down he shouldn’t be that much bigger than her! She looked down at herself. She was covered in black and silvery feathers, but they weren’t metal like N or V’s wings…these were soft . Her feet ended in talons that could easily leave a couple scratches in a screen if she desired to do so.

In the back of her processor, she remembered the name. A ‘Bird’. She wasn’t sure what kind, but hell, it was better than not being there at all.

“Who…what… are you?” N asked, “And why have you been trying to scare me!?”

“ I’ve been trying to get your attention!” Uzi snapped, “But nooooo you just keep ignoring me!”

“To be fair, you were being scary.” N groused, crossing his arms, “But that doesn’t really answer my question.”

“Look, I’m gonna give you the short rundown because we don’t have much time,” Uzi told him, flapping her wings to get used to them.

She didn’t like them very well…they felt more like arms than wings. They looked better than hers though, so that was a plus…

“These are memories. Your memories. You and V were fine at my place and then you both just keeled over.”

“...So this is the past?” N asked, tilting his head as Uzi pecked at a rock.

“Yup,”

“So…if these are memories, and future me is dead at a sleepover…” N started.

“Not a sleepover!” Uzi snapped, using her talons to pick up a bigger rock and flapping her wings to get into the air, “ You passed out because some internal program is trying to delete these memories.”

She had to readjust her grip a couple times as she flew a bit higher. Needed to get the right amount of force to crack open that chain on his ankle…

“‘Cuz of you? You’re doing that?” he asked.

The question shocked her so much she lost her grip on the rock and it plummeted, smacking N on the head before bouncing off and cracking the chain off his ankle.

“Well that worked…” she thought as she landed on his shoe.

“No, I’m helping you. You cute-weird, WEIRD! Butler!” Uzi hurriedly corrected herself.

Oh god if he remembered that when she brought them out she’d deactivate herself…

“We find out what happened to you here,” she continued as she flew up to his head and landed on it, “Restore the memory files and save you from being digitally lobotomized.”

She pointed a wing back at the house.

“Library basem*nt. Giddyup.”

There was a slight pause before she heard N give a laugh and get up.

“‘Kay,” he nodded, holding out his arm and letting her flutter down to it, “You know, you seem like an evil ghost witch.”

“You little brat…” she thought as she pecked at the side of his head, getting a yelp from him.

“I am a ghost witch!” Uzi huffed, before giving a grin, “And I’m tall .”

There was a loud banging sound that made Uzi jump, she could see the faint outline of her dad in the corner of her eye. He must have just gotten home from work.

“DAD! GET OUT OF MY ROOM!” she shrieked, pulling out of the memory and whirling around to face her father, who had an incredibly amused look on his face.

She plunked down the oil can on V’s head as she hopped out of her chair.

“Important hacking going on!” she hissed, storming towards the door.

“Okay, okay!” Khan chuckled, gesturing at the two passed out drones on the floor, “You’ve just never had friends over before,”

“NOT A SLEEPOVER!” Uzi snapped, eye glitching as she used the Solver to slam the door shut and lock it.

She gave a sigh as she grabbed the can again, took a drink (and shuddered again), before settling back into her chair. Surprisingly, it was easier to get back into the memory core than before. Maybe the decoy was working.

Chapter 21: 21

Chapter Text

21

The first thing she heard when she dove back in was the low, yet very loud humming of a drone Core…particularly a frightened one. Was N scared? Why? What happened while she was out?! And this was weird…hearing his core humming rather than beating…she didn’t know if she liked it or not.

“Sorry,” Uzi apologized as the world glitched and sputtered around her, she could feel N’s fingers under her talons, he was standing stock still and a faint tremor ran through his hands, “Where were w- oh …”

Ice wrapped around her core as the scene in front of her finally finished putting itself together. V still stood where N had left her, the X and error code still flashing on her face. A red liquid Uzi didn’t recognize dripped from the library walls as viscera and vein-like substances branched over the bookcases and ceiling. What was chained above V is what really chilled Uzi’s core.

It was a Murder Drone.

A dead one…but a Murder Drone nonetheless. She could see the large silver, blade like wings glinting in the lightning as the yellow dots of light on the wing struts continued to glow. The drone’s head was hung downwards, it’s visor X’d out with a yellow light. Its mouth had been torn off from the lower half, dagger-like fangs left behind. On further inspection…it seemed it was only the top half of it, its ribcage exposed and bleeding oil and red liquid to the wooden floor below. The gorey mess that covered the library seemed to originate from this.

“What the hell is this!?” she thought, “I thought N was the first one!?”

She looked up at N, who looked full on in panic mode. His eyes were hollow and flickering, glaringly white against the red of the room.

“Ok, N…” she tried, doing her best to sound as calm as he did when he was helping her get through one of her panic episodes, “I can pull you out at any-”

“Now!” he pleaded, his voice was shaking and high pitched, “ Now please!!!”

“Any time ,” Uzi finished, “But…you’ll never get these memories back, dude…”

He hesitated…which was good enough for her. She gave him a gentle nip with her beak before flapping her wings and using her talons to pull his hand forward. He calmed down a little bit and obliged her pulling, allowing her to settle back down on his hand as they cautiously walked forwards.

“They’re that important?” he asked quietly.

“To you,” Uzi nodded before looking away, “And…me,”

Seeing what happened here might give her a clue as to what this thing was that infected her, her mother, Doll…likely Doll’s mother…N and V as well…

But there’s more to that isn’t there? You can’t bear to lose him again…

“Shut up!” she hissed back at her inner voice, “He’s just a friend…just a friend…that’s it…”

Then why did you call him cute?

“I don’t freaking know!!”

I think you do…

Her feathers ruffled in frustration as she shifted on his hand. Her conscience needed to lay off !

“Why?” N’s voice broke through her inner monologue, “Who are you?”

“We just…hang out,” Uzi sputtered, her feathers fluffing out even more, as they stopped right before V, “S-Shut up…”

She looked down at the door beneath V’s feet, never more thankful for the other Disassem-er, Worker? Whatever, to be there.

“Repression door!” she pointed her wing at the basem*nt door.

N’s shaking came back up again as he got closer to V. Both of them looked up at the frozen Worker. Uzi half expected her to come alive and grab them in that moment. She tilted her neck a bit further down to get a better look at her…

Same X, same error code reflecting off the glasses.

Part of her wanted to tease V about having glasses when they woke back up…but right now, seeing V in this state, it was a bit painful. Seeing as how N was fully aware and conscious in this…

She could only imagine what V was going through.

“Can you even see us?” she wondered as she looked back up at N and shrugged.

He shrugged back at her, kneeling down and wincing as his knee soaked into some of the liquid that dripped to the floor. Uzi fluttered off his hand, her talons making light ticking noises as they scratched into the wood. She noticed N’s hands were shaking as they grabbed V’s legs and slowly moved her off the door with a loud screeching sound of metal against wood. She didn’t flinch, though N did.

She didn’t like how scared he was…this did not feel like her N, her best friend.

He grabbed the rug that hid the door and yanked it off. The first thing Uzi noticed was the Absolute Solver glyph engraved in the corner of the hatch, scratched in.

“Weird…but he and V both have it too so it’s…why is it here though?”

The second thing she noticed were the scratch marks next to the lock…like something was trying to get in . Both of them gave a groan as they realized that yes, the door was indeed locked.

“The key…” Uzi grumbled.

“J has it,” N sighed.

A soft giggling sound caught their attention.

They both looked at each other…weren’t they the only ones here? Well other tha-

“You wouldn’t …” Uzi’s thoughts turned panicked as both she and N turned to face V, ever so slowly.

She hadn’t moved, still staring straight ahead…so that was a plus.

Until the lightning flashed.

Ice went down Uzi’s little bird spine as her feathers ruffled in fear. V was smiling. A too wide, too sharp grin with fangs that would easily tear through both Uzi and N. A soft, metallic ticking sound caught Uzi’s ear and her gaze went from V’s face to her hands…

Three long, sharp claws with a yellow glowing eye on the back of her hand shifted slightly…like she was ready to move.

“Run?” Uzi squeaked.

“Run!” N agreed, scrambling up to his feet as the both of them bolted down the hall.

“...No no please don’t make me do this…please Cyn no…he’s my friend…she’s my friend…please…”

She heard a skittering sound and her heart nearly exploded out of her chest as she saw a flicker of yellow step out from behind the shelves they had just left. What used to be V tilted it’s head, grinning at them as it came into full view.

“N…N she’s coming!” Uzi panicked, her wings beating as she tried to pull him faster, “Where are J and Tessa!?”

“H-Her room!” he stammered, his voice was glitching in terror as they fled, “M-Mistress pr-prob-bably locked T-Tessa away…f-for the gala!”

“AH! AH STOP NO! NO IT HURTS! PLEASE! STOP STOP STOOOOP!!!”

Uzi heard a cracking sound and turned to look back at V, the Worker had stopped dead in her tracks, leaning on a bookcase as oil coughed up between her teeth…another loud crack splintered through the air…

And two large, fleshy wings burst from V’s back.

What used to be V gave another high-pitched, unhinged giggle as she turned that all consuming X on Uzi and N again. She went down to all fours and launched herself at them. Uzi didn’t have time to cry out as N darted past the library gate and slammed it shut, closing the padlock.

“Ha!” he gave a breathless laugh that turned into a scream of terror as V slammed into the gate, her glasses shattering as her clawed hand reached out through the bars and her teeth bared in a silent snarl, trying to tear them apart.

“...We need to go.” Uzi sputtered, “That gate’s not going to hold her long. We need to find Tessa and J. Now .”

“Agreed…” N squeaked.

And they bolted down the hall as V continued to slam her body against the gate…that was ever steadily bending outwards.

Chapter 22: 22

Chapter Text

22

“I think we lost her,” N panted as they turned a corner, “Least…I hope so.”

“For now,” Uzi told him, giving her wings a shake, “So…where’s Tessa’s room?”

“Next floor up,” N replied as she fluttered up to the top of his head and scanned the area, “The stairs are at the end of the hallway,”

“Better get moving then,” Uzi shrugged, “And uh…might wanna hurry. She’s fast,”

With that, N jogged down the hall, only to freeze as a group of shadowy humans appeared in their way. He immediately ducked behind a pillar, eyes hollow.

“What’s the hold up?” Uzi asked, “They’re just humans…”

“That’s the point…” N responded, “According to the Master and Mistress, ‘Drones are not to be seen or heard’. Especially with big gatherings like this…any rule breaking during a party or gala is grounds for disassembly.”

“That’s stupid…”

“Y-Yeah…I guess,” he muttered, putting his hand to his left arm.

Uzi saw a yellow band on his arm and her core went cold. She fluttered down to his hand and pecked at his fingers.

“W-what are you…?” he stammered as he lowered his hand.

Uzi was quiet for a moment as she read the band.

MARKED FOR DISASSEMBLY

IMPROPER DISPOSAL OF AI

IS PUNISHABLE BY FINES AND IMPRISONMENT

P/N N-CYN-MYKX S/N N001001001

“...They’re going to disassemble you?” she asked softly.

“N-No!” N shook his head, blush lines appearing on his visor in a pale display, “U-Um…th-that happened a while ago…Tessa um…Tessa saved me. I was built too strong…and clumsy…”

He rubbed the back of his neck, shifting on his feet.

“She um…got rid of most of the glitch that made me clumsy but…I’m still strong,” he admitted, “She pulled me out of the scrapyard about two years ago…b-but the Master said we’re supposed to continue to wear the bands…”

His shoulders fell a little bit and Uzi’s core broke a bit.

“So that if something goes wrong they’ll make sure we’re disassembled correctly.”

“... We’re ?” Uzi pressed, “As in…there’s more than one of you?”

“All four of us,” N nodded, “Me, J, V and Cyn. Tessa pulled us out of the junkyard and fixed us back up. B-but that’s why I can’t go out there…not until th-they’re gone.”

He started shaking a bit.

“I don’t want to go back…” he whispered, “It’s cold…and the lights…and it hurts a lot …”

Uzi looked at him and then at the now empty hallway. She gave him a gentle peck on his fingers and jerked her head towards the stairwell.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about it,” she reassured him, “I’m going to make sure you don’t have to see that again.”

His eyes filled back in and he gave a gentle smile as they continued onwards. Uzi’s mind however was anything but calm.

“N’s a zombie drone…” she realized, “He’s one of those that just turned themselves back on after a fatal error…him, V, J and Cyn…that’s why V freaked out with the tape! She remembers all of this!”

“We’re here!” N’s voice shook her out of her thoughts as he opened the door, “Tessa! Tes-oh…oh biscuits…TESSA!”

Uzi looked in and her heart sank as N rushed in, his movements panicky as he searched for the human girl. Tessa’s room was an absolute wreck. The windows leading to the balcony had been shattered, leaving glass and framework all over the floor. A long iron chain lay on the ground, broken into pieces. One end of it was locked to the bedpost, stretching past a dollhouse in one direction, past a rocking horse in another while the third led towards the balcony.

“Tessa…” N’s voice was soft as he picked up one of the lengths of chain, “...That’s J’s handiwork,”

“What you mean?” Uzi asked, fluttering down to the floor to get a better look.

“Bite marks,” N explained, “V would find something to pry the links open, I’d just snap it with my hands…J’s the only one I know that would bite through it, her jaw servos are almost as strong as mine.”

He dropped the chain and looked around.

“So if J was with her…that means Cyn probably was too!” N’s face was bright, “They’d make sure that Tessa was ok. J’s got combat programming since she was technically Tessa’s bodyguard. And Cyn’s a bit special too. She can make things move without touching them…she managed to save V from hitting the ground when she tripped over the bannister a few months ago.”

“What.” Uzi blinked, “Nevermind…where would they be now?”

“Able to move things without touching them…does she have the Solver too?” she wondered.

“Probably sneaking into the gala to pull something,” N admitted, “Tessa hates the parties but does like to pull pranks on the guests. Cyn likes to help her with those…she doesn’t like the Master and Mistress very well and I swear making their lives harder is one of her hobbies…”

Uzi flew up to N’s shoulder and the two made their way out of Tessa’s room…only for N to freeze and dart behind the door.

“What is it?” Uzi asked.

N shushed her, panic on his face as a soft giggling sound caught both their attention.

“Dammit V…” Uzi huffed mentally as a shuffling sound came into the room.

V did not look good. She was slightly swaying on her feet as she entered, her claws scraped harshly against the floorboards as she passed them while her wings dragged behind her.

“Please don’t be here…please be far away…please don’t let me find you…she’ll make me kill you both…Run…just run…because she won’t let me die…she’ll just bring me back again and again and again…”

Uzi jerked her beak towards the exit and N quietly snuck around the door. As soon as they cleared it…N bolted as fast as his little legs could carry them.

“Tessa should be on the second level of the ballroom,” N told Uzi as they ran, “We’re on that floor thankfully so we should be seeing her soon!”

“Good…the sooner we get that key the sooner I can yank you and V outta here,” Uzi sighed.

“...V’s there too?”

“Yeah, she collapsed a bit before you did,”

They burst through another set of doors and N skidded to a halt as he ducked down to hide behind the railing.

“There she is,” he hissed, Uzi poked her head up to see Tessa and J on the other side of the railing…J holding a revolver of some sort while Tessa inspected a sword.

N snuck forward as J and Tessa switched weapons. He peeked around the rail and waved.

“Tessa!” he stage whispered, getting the human girl’s attention.

Tessa and J both looked at them…right as something fell from the ceiling with a clatter. A pair of shattered glasses.

“Oh no…” N breathed as all four present looked up…

Just to see V using her claws to crawl on the ceiling…and disappear in a flash of lightning.

All four of them bolted towards each other, backs together and eyes wide and hollow. Tessa aimed the revolver up at where she saw V, shaking horribly.

“We need the basem*nt key,” N told her before pointing at Uzi, “This bird’s from the future !”

“What?” Tessa sputtered as Uzi fluttered over to J and landed on her head.

“I kill you,” Uzi grinned down at the maid, giving a soft cackle as she pulled the key from its hiding place in J’s headband.

It didn’t escape her notice the annoyed glare J shot her as she hopped back to N’s shoulder and gave him the key.

“Cyn’s gonna massacre the gala,” Tessa hissed.

“Wh- Our Cyn!?” N sputtered, “Nah…she’s cool…”

And something struck all four of them, sending them flying.

“WHY WON’T YOU JUST LEAVE!?”

Chapter 23: 23

Chapter Text

23

Uzi gave a groan as she shook her head. V had straightened up out of her hunting crouch…and the first thing she did was lunge at Tessa with a manic grin. Tessa’s eyes widened as she tried to jump back, V’s claws mere inches from scratching her eyes out…only for J to ram her shoulder into V’s midsection and send her stumbling back.

“Do your basem*nt thing!” J snarled as she took a battle stance with the sword and V beat her wings to get back in a ready position, “We got the coma patient you creeped on.”

“Not creepy!” N snapped back, “Sweet!”

The key in his hand gleamed in the light and Uzi saw V seemed to flicker into a burst of code, reappearing beside N with a grin. N yelped as she smacked the key from his hand and dove for it. J wasn’t having it and stabbed the blade of her sword into V’s hand, causing the key to flick upwards. She caught it and hurled it at N with the speed of a professional baseball pitcher.

N’s eyes hollowed as he grabbed at the golden thing sailing past him, but his fingers were too clumsy and shaky from fear. He juggled the key, finally managing to catch it with a smile…

Right as V ripped the blade of the sword out of her hand and hurled that at him.

“N!” Uzi screeched as his head snapped towards the blade hurtling at him.

He froze. He froze …The N Uzi knew wouldn’t have done that…

He was shoved down by J, making him yelp, as she snatched the blade out of midair, twirled it lightly and with a roar charged back at V. N wasn’t kidding…J did have combat training.

“You ok?” Uzi asked as N shakily got to his feet.

“Y-Yeah…” he mumbled, “Let’s just…go.”

“LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE!!!”

“GET THE KEY! STOP HIM!”

Everything hurts. Everything aches. Everything’s burning burning burning burning…

“J stop please I didn’t mean it…”

“Swear to god I’m going to scrap you for this, V!” J snarled as her sword clashed with V’s claws, “Stay away from Tessa!”

“I didn’t mean it! She’s got me…she’s got me and I can’t…I can’t get away…”

“GET HIM! HE’S GETTING AWAY!”

“Why can’t I stop laughing…just let me cry…please…this isn’t funny…let me die let me die let me die…”

She launched upwards, stabbing pain in her hand, in her arms, in her back, in her head. It hurts it hurts it hurts…

“Stop him or you’ll regret it, Big Sister V…”

“I hate you…I hate you… I HATE YOU!!!”

But the only notion of her pain was a choked sob that came out with the laughter.

Uzi took flight, checking her speed as N cautiously walked alongside her. The library was much worse than before. Before there were drones standing frozen in the same error that V had…

Now they were melted messes on the floor, half-formed fanged maws and claws reaching for them as organic looking tentacles snapped and reached for them. N gave a scared cry as one of them tried to wrap around his ankle.

“Almost there,” Uzi reassured him as they peeked around the corner to where the basem*nt was.

Strangely enough, the dead Murder Drone was gone…in its place was that weird Solver glyph with the curved lines and spiked ends rather than the straight lined ones ending in hexagons or arrows.

A metallic thumping, thundering footsteps pounded down the hall towards them. Likely V…or something worse .

“Go. GO!” Uzi ordered as they both bolted towards the door, she released the key from her talons and N caught it first try, jamming the key into the lock and twisting it…

“JUMPSCARE!” a heavily synthesized voice chirped as one the holo-spooky snake crab’s camera lenses popped through the door, “Grab!”

Uzi saw the claw for a split second before a sharp pain stabbed through her chest as every single one of her little bones broke.

Fatal Damage Recieved

You Died

[Idiot]

Connection Terminated

“YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT TO ME!!!” Uzi shrieked as she was dumped back into the present, “Oh hell no! I amnot letting you get away with that Cyn!”

Her fingers flew over the keyboard.

“You like to hack my friends, right?” she snarled.

Searching For Nearest Host.

Enter Command Sequence Start Up.

Absolute_Solver String=True

Host Confirmed. Entity: CYN.

User ID: darkxwolf17

“Have a taste of your own damn medicine,” she hissed as she hit enter.

Transferring Consciousness.

The first thing she heard was N’s panicked scream…which turned into a confused look as the world finished glitching in.

“Ohhhh we’re in !” Uzi grinned.

N’s face lit up even brighter as he realized he was not about to die!

This was weird . She could feel… everything . Feel the Workers that were in the ballroom waiting on the guests, feel J running alongside Tessa as they hunted for Cyn, feel V rushing as fast as she could towards something but couldn’t tell what…there was a push against her consciousness, violently struggling and trying to get control but Uzi shut that down immediately .

“How’s it feel, Cyn?” she thought smugly.

There was a pause in the struggling.

“...Uzi?” the query was soft, almost scared, “How…? No…no nevermind…”

The struggling stopped only for a more violent and angry push from something else came in. This one was different. This felt old …

Uzi shut that one down too.

The lightning flashed and thunder rumbled…and a flicker of yellow caught Uzi’s attention. V stood at the end of the bookcase, her head tilted to the side as that feral grin started up.

“Aaaaaand J’s useless. Surprise,” Uzi deadpanned, “C’mere,”

She grabbed N’s leg gently with the claw and dragged him into the basem*nt with her, slamming the door shut and locking it as V charged. V pounded at the door almost desperately, Uzi could hear her claws scraping against the wood but couldn’t pierce through.

“Is V…ok?” N questioned softly, “Like…in the future?”

“Un fortunately ,” Uzi sighed, rolling the camera lens as she turned it towards the interior of the basem*nt, “Now…let’s see what that little yellow freak was up t- oh…. ”

N turned to face the interior as well and gave a small jump backwards.

The basem*nt was full of bodies. But…not just any bodies.

Many, many many copies of V, J…and N.

Some of them seemed normal, some of them were in varying degrees of what looked like Solver mutation. Uzi could see what looked to be a body double of J with her wings…V’s head with the knife-like fangs on the upper half of her jaw while the bottom half was torn away…one of N’s had his chest ripped apart with the ribcage exposed, and a tail that looked like Uzi’s. There wings that were mostly biological but there were metal bits sticking out of them and some of the leathery bits had been replaced with knife-like blades…a tail like Uzi’s but with a Disassembly Drone’s needle that dripped with nanite acid, smoking a hole in the floor.

But the one that made Uzi’s core want to cease was the fact that in the chair in the corner was a mostly intact body double of N’s…but his head was lying next to it with a blaringly bright FATAL ERROR on the visor.

“W-Well…that’s um…a pretty metal origin story…” Uzi stammered.

“Not taking this well to be honest…” N whimpered, his hands were shaking as he took a deep breath and let out a laugh…seemingly calmed down, “Ok. It’s gone now.”

“Oh how I envy you for that ability…” Uzi thought, “Repression is strong with you…”

She looked around, recording everything she could and making sure she had a backup of this.

“Ok…let’s get out of here,” she started…

Right as the entire room shook. N looked around, scared as the world trembled…only for Uzi’s to go completely dark.

“What the?!” she sputtered as she was jerked out of the memory.

“Hey buddy…” her dad’s voice was shaky behind her, immediately putting her on high alert as she whipped around to face him.

He didn’t look calm. He looked stressed as hell, eyes hollow as he looked into the room with a look of ‘I’m so sorry’.

“Did you invite Doll to this…”

DOLL!?

A blaze of scarlet light suddenly grabbed her dad around the waist and yanked him out of the doorway.

“DAD!” Uzi yelled, standing up…only to throw herself down to the floor as the door was ripped off its hinges and thrown at her, impaling itself into the wall.

She looked up as a sputter of scarlet code materialized in the doorway, reforming into Doll…who gave a savage grin.

[Hello, Uzi]

Chapter 24: 24

Chapter Text

24

The second Uzi saw Doll appear, fury burned in her core. First this whole deal with Cyn. Now this . Life just couldn’t be simple could it!? She just wanted to make sure her friends were alright and save them from whatever hell Cyn was putting them through. So she did the most logical thing in her opinion.

[Translate]

Her eye glitched as she levitated a pair of scissors on the desk.

[Edit]

One pair of scissors became four and with a flick of her fingers, all four of them shot towards Doll.

Doll did not look amused as she stopped them mere inches from her faceplate.

[Uzi I didn’t want to fight here. You don’t know what you’re doing.]

“Bite me! Get out of my freaking room !” Uzi snarled, “None of this concerns you!”

[Hmm…I think it does actually,] Doll smirked, flicking her fingers and turning the scissors back around, [Because you actually have something to lose.]

She flicked her fingers again and the scissors shot towards N and V …Uzi went into a panic, she knew she couldn’t stop all of them with the Solver…of the few things she was working on…stopping multiple objects was not one of the ones she was good at yet. Without a second thought she threw herself between the projectiles and her friends, blocking one of the scissors with the Solver but taking three hits in return. One in each shoulder and one in her leg. She gave a yell as they impacted, causing oil to spray.

With a growl she yanked the scissors out and letting the last pair clatter to the ground as she forced the Solver to repair the stab wounds.

[See.]

“You suck ,” Uzi hissed, “Again, get out of my room, Rebar Ruskie.”

[Take that one from her did you?] Doll rolled her one visible eye.

“V comes up with some creative insults, yeah,” Uzi smirked as the last wound closed.

[Translate]

She lifted up a pen and pointed it at Doll.

“Last chance. Get. Out .”

[Give me what I want and I’ll leave. No questions asked.] Doll stated.

“I’m not letting you kill V,” Uzi growled, “I’ve spent way too long trying to save her today to just let you kill her while she’s defenseless.”

[That was tempting, not going to lie,] Doll admitted, [But…no. That isn’t why I’m here. I want the key.]

“What key?”

Doll pointed at the little golden roach that was skittering around Uzi’s shoulders in a panic.

“Oh hell no. Bit’s mine.” Uzi snapped, “I found him, took care of him and so he’s mine.”

[You named it? After a simple coding term. Seriously.]

“As in a small amount, idiot!” Uzi defended, though yes she did name him after the coding term…but she wasn’t going to tell Doll that, “In any case he’s mine !”

[I tried being nice, but I need it more than you.] Doll sighed, her scarlet Solver glyph lighting about her hand as she raised it.

Bit squeaked as red light surrounded it and yanked it towards Doll.

“Oh no you don’t !” Uzi screeched, reaching out and pulling back with her own powers.

The room flashed with scarlet and violet as the two Solvers clashed, pulling back and forth on this small little bug.

[You don’t even know what that thing does.] Doll stated.

“You wanting it tells me you shouldn’t have it!” Uzi snapped back.

[You are so petty …] Doll groaned, yanking harder.

A blue holographic display flashed up from the little bug.

STP FIGHTING D; BOTH=VRY SCARY : (

“THIS IS THE ONLY CLUE TO WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME!!” Uzi screamed, her voice breaking as she pulled back as hard as she could.

Doll’s face actually turned a little sad before going back to impassive. Her grip turned a little weaker and Uzi was starting to pull back…

Right as a spray of yellow sparks caught her eye. Her head snapped towards N and V, both of them looked pained as another round of sparks and electricity arced over them and the error code flashed again.

Memory Core Deletion In Progress

Factory Reset in Progress

Reset: 95%

Estimated Time of Completion: 10 Minutes

“Nononononono…” Uzi panicked, her eyes hollow as she looked from the unconscious Disassemblers, her friends, and then at Bit and Doll.

Her face turned pained as she pushed Bit towards Doll.

“Just…leave us alone ,” she hissed as the little bug smacked Doll in the face and Uzi took the secondary door to her room and slammed it shut, locking Doll out in a display of violet light.

Her shoulders sank as she realized she had just lost…to freaking Doll . But…she’d rectify that later. Right now there was another thing to get taken care of.

“I’m sorry, guys,” Uzi muttered as she sat back down in her chair, dragging the hacking equipment away from the door that had been impaled into the wall, “Didn’t mean to hesitate like that. You guys are more important than my own answers.”

She replaced the neural network node and went back into N’s memories…

ERROR ACCESS DENIED

“What?!” Uzi demanded, “I was just in?! N what the heck!?”

And that’s when a message pinged up in the corner of her vision…except it wasn’t the regular violet that was her normal screen…

This was yellow.

Msg: ADMINISTRATOR: CYN Unread: 1

“Oh, V…could use some help in here.”

She hesitated as she could barely see a faint white glow amidst the yellow. Oh no…

“How did you get caught…how did you end up here?! Cyn no, please don’t make me do this again…I can’t do it again…he’s my friend…”

“Get down here. Now. ”

V was forced to move, dropping down the basem*nt hatch and crumpling into a heap as her body hit the floor below. Pain surged through every part of her. She could barely make out N strapped to the chair in the corner. She couldn’t see his expression…but the bright white glow around his faceplate likely meant he was scared. Cyn forced V to stand upright and move forward towards the operating theater.

“Grab it.” came the order and V unwillingly reached for the scalpel.

Her claws were clumsy, she could barely see. Did Cyn forget that she couldn’t see without her glasses? That she couldn’t pick up small things without them on? This was unbearable.

“V…” N’s voice was soft.

V’s core broke a bit, but she kept trying to grab the scalpel unable to stop or fight Cyn, the tiny metal instrument clattering against the tray.

“Grab it…just grab it !” Cyn was angry, V’s core nearly stopped as a vice like pressure gripped the side of her head and a bright yellow glow lit up the front of her screen, “Intimidating glare.”

“Cyn no please I’m trying I’m trying I’m trying…she’s gonna kill me…no that’s too easy, she’s gonna take me apart and put me together again like one of those …”

“Wh-Whoa Cyn…” N’s voice cut through making both Cyn and V look at him, “For an eldritch…monster thingy…”

“Oh N…”

“The Solver of the Absolute Fabric,” Cyn corrected, “The Void, the Exponential End …”

The room lit up even brighter yellow but V couldn’t see what exactly she did. She heard the sound of servos moving.

“Keep this…?” she heard a soft clicking sound and something cold was placed on her visor…

She blinked. Once. Twice.

She could see .

N found her glasses.

The order from Cyn still ran and V grabbed the scalpel with ease now, giving it a deft twirl in her talons as it was held upright. She turned to face him, shaking as he leaned back in the chair with a smile.

“I gotcha,” he nodded.

V stared at him, a subtle tremor running through her frame as Cyn’s control slipped, shocked.

Uzi’s oil went cold as the Solver glyph fizzled in her vision, the message opening without her input and flooding her vision with sickly yellow.

T̶̜͑H̸̥̜̯͂͘E̸͇̼̋Ý̸̢͙͑ ̶̙̈́̎͋A̴̧̺̚R̴̙͉̈́͋̃É̶̬̱̏ ̴͕͇͐̏̌ͅM̶̘̈́̔͌İ̷̧̨͙̊̾Ṋ̶̞͇̈́E̶̮̣̲͐̎̕ ̶̧̧̺̾̂Ţ̵̾̓Ḩ̴̽͝ͅE̴̘͎̒Ỵ̴̢̈́̉ ̵̣͍̥̇̓̋À̶͎̳̈R̷̯̈́̀͝E̸̤̊̾ ̴͉̭̙̋M̴̳̺͍͐Į̷͉̦̆͒Ṅ̸̗̹͓E̷̺͈̖͊͌ ̶̧̞̺͒̎͠Ť̷̬̗͉̎H̴͚́͜Ę̴̘̠̚Y̵̢̡̿͗̚ ̶̡̗͎̂͋A̸̡̯͐R̴͉̹̉̆Ẽ̵̞͔͖̚ ̴̠̫̄͑M̵̛̼̓͜I̶͔̲̖̅̕Ǹ̶̲̙E̸̟̔ ̶̖͉͂T̶͂̔͜Ḣ̶͓̍Ë̶͕͚́̌Y̵͇͎̞̐̽̿ ̷̱̄Ä̴̠́͘R̶̪̤͗Ē̶͎̝̤ ̸̲̪̇M̸̗̪͑͘̚I̸͖͍̿͊̉N̵̻͇͖̒Ẹ̸̀̊͝

A very uncomfortable pressure built in her core, almost like someone were squeezing it in a vice. Uzi’s hands shot to her core as her breath came out in gasps, her newly formed heartbeat pounding greatly as the glitchy lettering cleared and two words blazed in brilliant yellow in the center of her visor.

STAY OUT.

The pressure released around her core, letting her “heartbeat” return to normal. Her hands shook as her eyes hollowed. More sparks spat behind them, N’s body started seizing, V’s started shaking as her normally calm expression suddenly turned pained.

“Oh god oh god oh god oh god…” Uzi whispered, “I don’t care. I’m not letting them die!”

She brought her keyboard back and started working rapidly. Pieces of code that she could see. Anything with “Cyn” as a keyword…

She deleted.

Her core pounded painfully, multiple warnings flashed across her visor. Unsafe conditions, deadly weather, unsafe flooring, high temperature…but she blinked them away, focusing on her task until she had one last bit.

Set DarkXWolf17 as Administrator for DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 and DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001?

Uzi gave a savage grin.

“Goodbye Cyn. Was a nice fight.” she smirked as she hit enter.

Administrative Access for CYN: Revoked

New Administrator: darkXwolf17

Searching For Nearest Host.

Enter Command Sequence Start Up.

Absolute_Solver String=True

Host Confirmed. Entity: CYN.

User ID: darkxwolf17

Transferring Consciousness

V’s shaking worsened as she finally found her voice.

“...Gol…den retrievers…have…” she stammered.

N gave a tearful smile.

“Gentle mouths…” he finished.

Pain erupted around V’s neck and she choked as Cyn’s claws rammed her against the ceiling.

“Cute=false,” she growled, “Gross=true. Let’s just…delete your OSes then. Goodbye, buddy.”

V’s vision snowed back in from the static as Cyn grabbed an orbitoclast and hammer, positioning it above N’s visor. And that’s when it hit her…Cyn wasn’t going to reset their memories this time…

She was going to kill them.

“Execute.”

“N!” V shrieked, reaching for him as the hammer swung down and N flinched…

There was silence. No crunching of glass, no sparks, no splatter of oil. Nothing .

Both V and N opened their eyes as Cyn’s movements became more and more jerky.

“W-W-What-t i-is ha-happen-ning?” Cyn demanded as violet sparks shot from the camera lens and it went limp for a second before perking back up.

“S-Sorry my f-freaking da-WHOA!” Uzi’s voice yelped as she jerked the orbitoclast out of the way and lightly bopped N on the visor with the hammer, “Whoops?”

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god…” relief flooded through V as her body went limp, Cyn’s orders and control finally leeching away and leaving just her .

Uzi seemed to notice, turning the camera lens to face her.

“Oh, whoops.” she blinked, letting V go.

V hit the floor hard, gasping as she held a hand to her throat. She heard the sound of straps tearing free and N shot over to her, helping her to her feet. A faint flicker of yellow shot through his visor as he blinked confusedly and turned towards Uzi.

“...Uzi?” he asked.

The violet light turned blindingly bright for a split second only to sputter again.

“Don’t…freaking…dox me!” she hissed.

“Thanks,” N gave a relieved sigh, which made the lens light up happily again.

“Glasses huh? Friend huh?” came the very, very smug voice in V’s head…that sounded a lot like Uzi.

V stared at her, and a very very horrified feeling shot through her.

“Oh god the purple thing knows I called her a friend. She knows about the freaking glasses she is not going to let me hear the END of this!!!!”

“You little narc !” V snarled, getting to her feet and jabbing a talon at Uzi, “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!”

Start://

Admin: [CYN] Override

Assigning Perms://

User ID: DARKXWOLF17

Role: ADMIN

Scrubbing Connection://

N and V’s visors flashed a brilliant shade of purple for a moment as they cracked, which made Uzi jump. The Solver healed up the cracks fortunately…and both N and V shot up gasping with eyes hollowed.

Uzi gave a chuckle as she turned around in her chair, tapping her fingers together as a huge, smug grin crossed her face.

“I got them back. Take that Cyn. They’re not yours anymore.”

V did not take this well. The first thing she did when she saw Uzi was stare…

And then promptly switch out her hand for the chainsaw.

“Oh jeeze! Easy!” Uzi screeched, leaping off her chair and hiding behind it as V struggled back up to her feet, chainsaw revving in fury.

“The hell are you laughing at!?” V snarled as N grabbed her, though he still looked dazed, “You breathe a word about anything you saw in there and you’re dead !”

“Wasn’t laughing at you , oilsucker!” Uzi snapped, “Was laughing at robo-satan Cyn there.”

Both N and V froze, V lowered her hand and let it shift back to her talons.

“Why…?” N asked, still shaken up from what Cyn had attempted to do to them both.

“I kinda stole admin privileges from her,” Uzi shrugged, “She doesn’t have control over you two anymore. Technically I do,”

She saw both of them flinch slightly and she put up her hands to placate them.

“Don’t worry I’m not going to do anything bad, I promise ,” she swore, “You two had a hell of a backstory already…”

The Disassemblers looked at each other for a moment and shuddered. Perhaps some memories were fine to have… not remembered. Cyn forcing V to perform surgery on N to wipe his memories, then likely would have had the reverse happen…Tessa’s parents, the blood and gore that had stained the beautiful ballroom after Cyn took her fury out on the gala…

“Yo, N!” Uzi called, “think fast!”

She tossed something at him and without thinking N caught the object, flicking it upwards and rolling it down his shoulders before catching it in his other hand. He stared at the object and then looked at Uzi with an unamused expression. It was a cup.

“Seriously?” he deadpanned.

“What? I had to do it at least once !” she cackled only to hiss in pain as a high temp warning flashed over her visor, “UGH SHUT UP ALREADY I’M WORKING ON IT!”

She grabbed the oil can and angrily bit down on the straw, muttering darkly as she took a few sips.

“If Cyn’s still alive Imma kill her,” she huffed, “This sucks,”

“Literally,” V smirked.

“Bite me,”

After her temperature finally went down, Uzi slumped against the desk, relief clear on her faceplate as she thunked her head against it. She looked exhausted .

“I did it…” she whispered, “I actually did it…”

Chapter 25: 25

Chapter Text

25

When Uzi walked out of her room with V and N she actually did panic. Her dad was embedded in the wall, giving a weak smile as well as a small wave.

“Dad!” she gasped as she rushed forward, trying to pull him out, “Oh god, Dad she didn’t hurt you did she?”

“Nah, your old man’s tougher than that,” Khan reassured her, though her pulls weren’t doing much.

“Hold on…” Uzi tried, “Don’t move, I don’t want to hurt you,”

Her right eye glitched as she raised her hand. A gentle violet light lit around his waist and even more gently pulled him from his newfound ‘chair’.

“Seems you’re getting the hang of it,” he chuckled.

“Yeah…almost as good as Mom ,” her voice was pointed and her eyes narrowed, “So…when were you gonna tell me she was like me? Before or after I went kill crazy and murdered the entire bunker, like Doll.”

Khan’s hollowed for a second before his shoulders slumped and his eyes closed.

“She told me not to say anything,” he tried, “Made me promise…she didn’t want you to have that life,”

“We’ll talk about this later ,” Uzi growled, “Right now…I’ve got someone else on my ‘To Murder’ list.”

“You have one of those?” V snorted.

“Do now!”

Khan gave a sigh as he held his arm. He didn’t want to look Uzi in the eye, his face was absolutely heartbroken.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he admitted, “Just…be safe. I’ll explain everything when you get back,”

“You’d better,” Uzi hissed as she stormed out the door, “Don’t think you two are getting out of that either…you knew my Mom.”

“To be fair,” N winced, “We…didn’t know she was your mom. And it scared us so badly when she went all Solver on us that we kinda blocked it out. Well…I did. Memory corruption also didn’t help…I think she made me crash into a rooftop pretty hard.”

“How was I supposed to know that was your mother,” V rolled her eyes, “But yeah, makes sense…she fought dirty like you do.”

Uzi could hear V’s mutter of ‘stupid Solver Drone’ and ‘put her boot through my screen’. Her eyes narrowed as she realized something…neither of them could have killed her mother. N was out of commission as was V…

“J did it, didn’t she?” she asked.

“Not sure…but I don’t remember stabbing her,” N shrugged, “I don’t think V did either so…maybe?”

“Good another reason for me to not feel bad about blowing her to hell,” Uzi growled, “Twice!”

“You good, Uzi?” N asked, “You’re a bit more…hostile than normal.”

“I just spent nearly 24 hours trying to save you two, gone through 3/4ths of my can to avoid overheating and attacking my dad, lost a fight to freaking Doll , and I played the worst game of cat and mouse with freaking ROBO SATAN!” Uzi snapped, “AND ON TOP OF THAT! I find out that my mom was infected with this STUPID CODE , and she hid everything from my dad and from me ! So no! NO I AM NOT GOOD!”

She continued to storm towards the secret door and climbed in, making her way outside.

“I’m getting Bit back,” she hissed, “And I’m going to put my boot through Doll’s screen for good measure. Because it’ll make me feel better.”

She heard V give a chuckle as they followed her out.

“Oh I like the new her,” she grinned, “Save some of the red-eyed Doll freak for me. I wanna make sure she’s out for good.”

“Deal,”

“Uzi we can’t just kill her…” N tried as they stepped out into the snow, “She has answers…”

“She has my bug .” Uzi snapped, “And I’m getting it back even if I have to pry it from her cold dead hands! And I’m dead sure she’s at the Camp because why wouldn’t she be!? That’s where that ‘key’ goes to so I’m going back. You two coming or not?”

There was no protest as Uzi’s wings snapped out and she prepared to leap into the air…only for a spike of red hot pain to shoot through her processor…

And she collapsed to the ground, barely hearing N’s yell of shock.

LISTEN!

The lights around her flickered with golden sparks, a rickety and old looking elevator dinged as the doors opened and spilled more of the light inside. She stepped through and suddenly it opened into a foyer filled…with what looked to be Disassembly Drone parts. Nanite acid canisters littered the floor, arms and legs all torn apart and scattered across it with oil spattered around them. Be careful. Her vision flickered, a red JCJenson light flickered on the desk as more parts spilled onto the floor. You’ve made it mad… A computer with a tropical beach desktop sat in a cubicle, faintly buzzing as the sound of a baby’s squealing caught her attention. More cubicles around it, Workers lying motionless with loading screens on their visors. Don’t trust anyone… another flicker, a Server room, a shadow of something slender and…almost lizardlike hissed at the end of the hall causing fear to strike through her core. Lights below… a security room with busted up screens and errors came into view. Mom had this too…mom had this too … a woman’s laughter rang through the air as an operating table covered in oil came into view. What…is this? She saw herself, V and N staring down a giant hole…scared…angry…

DON’T LOOK

The vision shuddered as a violet glow leaked through and she felt a hands come over her shoulder, reaching from behind to hug her tightly.

“...Time to wake up, kiddo…”

That voice…!

“...Mom?”

“UZI!”

She shot up, clawing at N’s chest as he held her close. His eyes were hollow as he gave a relieved sigh.

“You’re ok…you just…fell,” he stammered, “What happened?”

Uzi’s eyes were hollow as her breaths vented out with steam and her core thumped faster and faster.

“Mom…” she whispered, looking around frantically as she tried to escape N’s hold, “Mom! I heard…I s-saw…”

She shook her head.

“N-Nevermind…” she muttered, “We need to get to the Camp…”

“You’re not flying,” N said sternly, “I don’t know what that was…but you might collapse again and I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch you.”

“Fine,” Uzi huffed as he stood with her in his arms, “Just…hurry. Something’s happening.”

And with that, N and V launched themselves in the air.

The trip took them maybe five minutes, which was enough to give Uzi time to think on what had happened. Unlike the day before…this happened while she was awake…and she didn’t like it. She vaguely remembered seeing her mother yelling about visions when she was younger but…those memories were lost in the fog of time. She wasn’t sure if they were true or something her baby self had come up with to make sense of why her mother suddenly had super powers…

But then again…her mother had told her herself that she had ‘super powers’ that let her see the future. Was…that a Solver thing?

“Every time I get more answers it leads to more questions…” she thought bitterly.

N’s grip on her suddenly tightened.

“What is it?” she asked as he shot down to land in the snow.

“Found Doll,” he stated, though there was some fear in his voice, “But…”

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me…” V growled.

N sat Uzi down and they all went out onto the frozen lake. Sure enough there was Doll…but she wasn’t alone. Standing between the trio and Doll were two figures. One of them was instantly recognizeable…and caused Uzi to grit her teeth.

Hovering just above the ice with her wings outstretched was none other than J . The one that Uzi was pretty damn sure killed her mother…guess third time’s the charm.

She was about to start the surprise attack…

“...Tessa?” N’s voice was soft.

“There’s no way…” V shook her head, “She wouldn’t come here…”

That was when Uzi finally took notice of the second figure. She’d been so focused on J that she’d ignored them. It was far taller than any of them, wearing what looked to be some sort of pale grey or white suit with a large, rounded helmet. A black bow sat at the back of the helmet which did remind Uzi of what she had seen of Tessa…

A human, first one in years, was now on Copper-9.

A loud crack sounded off in the air and Uzi saw Doll’s hand shoot to her right eye, fear causing her left to go hollow as a bullet imbedded itself in the ice. After a pause, the human gave a soft laugh.

“Just checking!” she smiled.

…That was Tessa!

Uzi recognized that voice…the little she’d known her anyways. N gave a soft whine and V’s expression turned a little pained. It hit Uzi how much they had actually missed her.

“Let’s go,” Tessa ordered, putting the revolver back in it’s holster and turning around as J did the same…

Only to freeze as they caught sight of the trio. Tessa reared back, J’s eyes went hollow and five voices rang out at once.

“Huh!?”

Chapter 26: 26

Chapter Text

26

“T-Tessa?” N’s voice was soft as he took a step forward.

Tessa stood still for a moment…before she gave a gleeful squeal and shot forward.

“N!” she grabbed N’s cheeks and attempted to pick him up, “You reme-”

She gave a cough and released him, gasping.

“Too tall,” she groaned, “Still handsome…air toxic,”

The faceless mask turned itself to face Uzi, she pointed a finger at the smaller drone.

“Aw, who’s this little one?” she asked

“You did NOT just call me little!” Uzi’s anger boiled over and she snapped her teeth at Tessa, catching the glove in her jaws for a second and making Tessa rear back with a yelp.

“Uzi,” she spat, “Why are you here, human.”

Her gaze flickered to J, who sat there looking way too smug for Uzi’s liking.

“Getting real tired of killing this one,” she growled, getting a smirk from J, who tossed one of her pigtails over her shoulder, “Third time the charm then? Been itching to try my railgun prototype.”

“Effective drones are cloned more often,” J preened, getting a growl from Uzi, “So try all you want, toaster girl.”

“...Yeah that’s J,” V nodded, giving a slight chuckle while Uzi shot her a glare.

“So why are you here.” Uzi huffed.

“Cyn disappeared on Earth,” Tessa explained.

“Boss ran away,” J quipped.

“We mutually disengaged!” came the correction though Uzi noted with a bit of amusem*nt that there was some annoyance in Tessa’s voice as Bit crawled up on top of her helmet and waved a claw at Uzi, “But her last act was siccing you lot on the human exoplanets,”

“...Why?” N blinked.

“ That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” J rolled her eyes as she landed, “Bozo.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Uzi saw N’s tail flick in annoyance. Good, he was starting to not take crap from J anymore. She was about to snap something at J when Bit gave a squeak and a scarlet light lanced across the lake. Uzi looked up just in time to see Doll snatch Bit and glare at the group.

[You talk too much and take too long.] she hissed, taking a step before shattering into scarlet code and teleporting a short distance away, repeating it as she ran from the group.

“That’s…kinda a big piece,” Tessa sighed as J lifted off, “Time to go!”

She bolted towards Doll, J shooting high into the air soon after and both them gave chase.

“Should we…?” N blinked, but Uzi was already running and leaping into the air.

“I said I was gonna put my boot through her screen and I meant it!” she snarled.

Uzi heard N and V following her as they both shot through the sky and saw brilliant orange explosions in the distance. She could see Doll elegantly dodging J’s missiles, putting her cheerleading skills to work.

“Seems J’s aim hasn’t improved since I nailed her with that pen…” Uzi thought with a smile, watching as Doll landed on a shattered platform, only to glitch out of the way of Tessa’s sword.

Doll rushed across a broken cell tower, looked at Tessa and smirked as she leaped off the pseudo bridge, falling down into the hole. N swooped down past Uzi, landing with a heavy thud on the same bridge where Doll had fallen. Uzi landed next to him, her boot slipping off one of the rails and nearly pitching her into the pit…only for N’s hand to steady her on the back. She got her bearings and swatted at the helping hand, she heard V land not too far behind them on the other side of the pit.

Msg: DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 Oh my robo-GOD just kiss already you two…

“SHUT IT!” Uzi froze as V recoiled from the silent Admin command.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 Sorry…accident. Won’t happen again.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 Better not, freak. You promised.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 I know, I know…

“J,” Tessa started as she walked towards a snowed over message board, “Relay hand…Cyn’s orders for them.”

J hopped up on the railing, a bright blue hologram flickering over her hand from a projector. N and V came closer, curious while Uzi stayed where she was. She didn’t trust J as far as she could throw her…which without the Solver probably would not have been far.

“So step one,” J started as the hologram flickered, showing red drop pods that turned into spires, “Clear drop zone of life and construct Spire. Step two…”

“Enter labs with this symbol,” Tessa finished, clearing the notice board of snow and jerking her thumb at the Cabin Fever Labs logo, “Not too much to go off of, but if Cyn wants these labs…then we’re gonna burn them to the ground. And that key bug is our way in,”

She walked past the trio and tossed a pair of keys up in the air.

“J,” Tessa called, chucking the keys to said Disassembler, “Mind my ship, would you?”

J caught the keys easily, her eyelights turned down for a moment as she blinked, staring at the keys. An almost… sad …expression on her face.

“...Right, you got it, Boss,” she nodded.

She cast a look towards her former squadmates and then one towards Tessa. Uzi could see them both nod before J took to the sky.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 What did she want?

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 Just to watch over Tessa

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 Not like we’d do anything else…

Uzi turned her gaze towards Tessa as she looked down the pit and rolled her eyes, leaping upwards and coming down with a heavy thud on the other side of the human. Tessa jumped backwards as her wings folded back and Uzi leveled a glare at her.

“So why are you working with Doll ,” Uzi spat the name as if it were poison, “What’s happening to…”

Me .

“Her,” she finished, shoving down the want for answers for the moment.

Tessa seemed to stare at her. Uzi hated that expressionless helmet. Couldn’t tell what Tessa was thinking or if she was even paying attention.

“She reckons that humans did something to her folks down here,” Tessa explained, leaning forward, talking to Uzi almost as if she were a child.

A low growl with bared teeth made Tessa straighten upright.

“Gave them a sickness she inherited,” she finished.

“That I inherited too…” Uzi thought as her hand unconsciously went to her mother’s choker.

She felt Tessa’s gaze follow it and the human’s demeanor turned extremely suspicious. Wary even. Did…she know what was going on?

“And?” Uzi growled, looking up at her.

Tessa was quiet for a moment.

“I think she was right,” she said, her voice was soft and there was a steel in it that made Uzi’s thundering core freeze slightly.

She cleared her throat and looked at N and V, the dark aura around her suddenly clearing for a brighter one.

“Comin’ or what?” she chirped as she freaking leaped off the bridge into the pit .

Uzi blinked as she watched Tessa’s form shrink down into the blackness.

“...You two realize your human’s a spazz, yeah?”

“Unfortunately,” V sighed as N shrugged and dove down after Tessa, catching her easily.

V came over to Uzi as the latter extended her wings again.

“Might wanna keep the robo-witchcraft on the downlow around Tessa,” V warned, “I don’t think she quite knows you have it yet.”

“...Right,” Uzi muttered, “Just…make sure you two don’t get hurt. I didn’t save you both for nothing.”

“Give me more credit than that !” V scoffed as she turned around and fell backwards off the bridge with a salute.

Chapter 27: 27

Chapter Text

27

Uzi envied the ease in which N and V were able to navigate through the freaking maze of rebar and shattered concrete that was that pit. She had to claw and leap her way down to another broken scaffolding because her wings wouldn’t allow her to hover like them. She ended up smacking one against the wall and drawing a little oil from it as the leathery material was scratched. V still hovered slightly above the scaffolding, holding a flashlight as she scanned the area, N had landed properly, looking around while Tessa played with his hair a bit.

A spike of jealousy shot through Uzi’s core as she landed and saw it, her tail flicked irritably though N gave her a look of reassurance as he looked her way. She gave him a nod in return as she brought her tail up higher.

“Time to test this little trick out and see how well it works.”

She’d found out a little while ago that normal flashlights had a nasty habit of dying on her whenever she tried to use them or whenever the Solver was involved. One movie night long ago annnd she and N found out that her tail could act as one. It was a fun little night of shadow puppets which N was freakishly good at. A warm feeling passed over her core, a different heat than the Solver’s, as violet light spilled from the false head.

WD Unit UZ1 001-001-002 Nothing here…V?

DD Unit SD V 001-003-001 Nothing on my end either. Red-eyed Doll freak isn’t here.

WD Unit UZ1 001-001-002 Let’s keep going, yeah?

Both Disassemblers gave a nod and leapt forwards with a faint whisper. Uzi jumped and glided down after them, landing and folding her wings back…but keeping her tail out to see by the light.

“So…” N started as he sat Tessa down, his tail giving a happy wag as she patted him on the head, “Is the secret elevator…labeled?”

V gave a sigh as one of her eyes glitched in a twitch. Uzi restrained the facepalm she wanted to give surprisingly well as N came closer to her. She heard a faint clicking sound and frowned as she felt a strange pressure on her tail.

“You’re not petting my tail again are you…” she asked, looking up at her friend…only for a brilliant violet blush to flash over her visor.

Her tail was freaking gnawing on N’s hat.

“STOP IT!” she yelled, grabbing the errant thing and giving it a sharp slap on the false head.

“Apparently it likes the taste of my hat better than the taste of my oil,” N chuckled.

“I swear I’m gonna kill Cyn for this,” Uzi groaned, “If she didn’t do this I wouldn’t have to deal with this stupid thing!”

Her tail seemed to shrink back, almost cowed by her words before retracting all together. She gave a shudder as she started forward, N falling into step beside her.

“To be fair,” N told her, “If she didn’t go all eldritch monster thingy we never would have met. ‘Cuz I’d still be a Worker for one…and she wouldn’t have sent me here!”

Uzi’s shoulders sank slightly.

“Do you miss being a Worker?” she asked.

“To be honest? I haven’t really thought about it,” he shrugged, “I just got those memories back…I haven’t been able to really think about it. But…if uh, it meant I’d never get to meet you? No. No I don’t. I’m glad I’m what I am…heat death and all. As long as I got to meet you anyways,”

He was blushing. Oh god he was blushing as he said that.

“S-Same,” Uzi admitted, a blush of her own lighting up her screen, “The uh…glad I met you bit I mean. Not the heat death. That sucks…”

“It kinda does!”

“If you two lovebirds are done…” V’s voice was annoyed, “Tessa’s moving forward. Don’t want her getting hurt.”

“R-Right!” N sputtered, “Um…let’s go?”

“Y-Yeah…” Uzi nodded.

Tessa was already down in the main lobby, examining some long and oil covered gashes in the glass. She turned around on hearing the trio and put her hands on her hips.

“Took you all long enough,” she grinned, “C’mon, entrance is this way.”

She took a couple steps through the door…when her foot connected to something. Uzi’s eyes hollowed as Tessa gave a sound of worry and a Disassembly Drone arm clattered away from her foot.

Uzi wandered closer…and her hollowed eyes turned even brighter as stressed lines blazed under them. N gave a choked gasp and V took a step back as they came into view…of a lobby that was absolutely littered with copies of them.

“Effective Drones get cloned more.”

Uzi took a step back as she recognized the sight from whatever the hell that waking fever dream she had about an hour ago was. Oil was everywhere, making her insides churn not with hunger or want but disgust. Hastily scrawled messages, crying out the same thing over and over again, littered the walls. DON’T LOOK DON’T LOOK DON’T LOOK.

“Riiiiiiight,” Tessa hissed as she wandered over to a desk with a computer that spat sparks, “There might be security specifically against you guys.”

She hopped back behind the computer, the television screens behind her lit up in red errors. Warnings blazed over them and Uzi’s head tilted to the side as she tried reading one

WARNING!

ANTI-DRONE SENTINELS

//STAT: FREE ROAM

However…it was the second screen underneath it that made her frown deepen.

Not to be overestimating but

CORE COLLAPSE

Was this where the collapse started? Was her mom here when it did? She scuffed her boot on the floor as she turned around to face another wall. More freaking questions and no freaking answers.

Her eyes flicked up to the hastily scrawled drawing on the wall…and they hollowed as she processed what was on it. It…looked like the false head on her tail. But bigger. DON’T LOOK! THE LIGHTS!!

Her hand was shaking as it subconsciously reached out, her fingertips brushing lightly against the nearest source of comfort…that being her best friend.

She’d almost made contact when Tessa gave a happy squeal, jumping up on the table.

“Human made security this human can control!” she announced, giving a laugh as she literally punted the computer off the desk and hopped down to the printer, “...Maybe.”

Uzi had jumped at that, eyes narrowing as she watched the spazz of a human grab the paper that spat out from the machine. She heard V give a soft chuckle and saw N crack a smile as Tessa poked the paper back down into the machine. Her core ached a little bit as she saw how at ease they seemed to be around Tessa.

Was she going to lose them too?

She shook her head. Now was not the time. Tessa was only here temporarily. Humans couldn’t survive Copper-9’s toxic deathstorm. Least not for long. And it was so cold that she wouldn’t survive more than two seconds out of that suit. So she and J would have to pack up and go on their merry little way the second this lab was burnt to the ground.

Right?

What if they take N and V with them? Did you think of that?

“Anything to screw with Cyn’s plan!” V grinned, her voice cutting through the dark thoughts like a laser and getting Uzi to pay more attention.

“And for Mom backstory!” N beamed, looking down at Uzi, “Right?”

“Y-Yeah…” Uzi nodded.

Right…one of the other reasons she came here.

She looked back at the broken and shattered clones of her friends and suppressed a shudder. What was her mom’s role in all of this? What did that to a Disassembly Drone ? The freaking predator of the planet! Whatever it was…

She did not like it and did not like it one bit.

She managed to catch up with N, V and Tessa as they looked around the main area. N gave a happy cry as he pointed up at a sign hanging from the ceiling…

“Oh my god humans are stupid,” Uzi groaned, getting a sharp look from Tessa, “Why the hell would you have a secret elevator and label where it is !?”

“Don’t lump me into that,” Tessa huffed, “I wasn’t born when they built this place…I think. So that’s the previous generation, not mine.”

“Still human so…”

Tessa’s helmet made it impossible to see her expression, but Uzi could definitely tell she was rolling her eyes at her.

“Anyways…” she said, taking a step forwards, “Sure to say that way i-”

She gave a yelp as she was suddenly yanked off her feet by a rope that tightened around her ankle. It turned into a full on yell as she was suddenly dragged off at a high speed.

“TESSA!” N and V both yelled, starting after her with Uzi trying to keep up with her shorter legs.

V launched herself up onto the ceiling, digging her claws into the metal as she scrambled forwards as fast as she could go. N started to pour on speed, quickly leaving Uzi behind.

“N! WAIT!” Uzi called, reaching out, only to give a sigh as he kept going.

She extended her wings again and fell to a more feral all fours position, using them to propel her forwards to catch up. She did not like running like this, it didn’t feel right to her.

A few seconds later, she managed to catch N’s attention as he had actually turned around to make sure she was still there.

“...I’m so sorry,” he apologized, “I forgot I’m faster than you…”

“It’s whatever,” Uzi huffed as she got back to her feet and retracted her wings, pushing past him to get a better look…

As a baby’s giggling filled the air.

V’s head poked down from the pipes in the ceiling, eyes narrowed and Uzi could see her tail flicking back and forth. N’s eyes hollowed as Uzi peeked around the wall…

And there was a droneling shell rocking unsteadily on the ground, giggling and giving soft cries as a light flickered above it.

Oh they had all seen enough horror movies to know where that was going.

“Shoot the baby immediately?” Uzi asked.

“THAT'S NOT SOON ENOUGH!!” N panicked, his hand switching out for the gatling gun and firing rapidly at the shell.

None of them were expecting the thing to freaking sprout spider legs and start running .

“Oh god KILL IT!” Uzi yelled as V dropped down from the ceiling and started opening fire as well, all three running forward to make sure it died.

It launched itself up into the ceiling and disappeared. Uzi’s foot brushed against some of the bullet casings that were still smoking as the gunsmoke painted the air in a heavy fog.

“Did we get it?” N’s voice was shaky.

“Don’t think so,” V shook her head, “God, what kinda Outlast/Pet Semetary stupidity is this place…”

“I don’t know and I freaking hate it,” Uzi growled, “We’re not watching any more horror movies after this. This is enough for me.”

“Coward,” V scoffed.

A clattering sound caught their attention as an arm skidded between the three of them. It was another Disassembly Drone arm that had been dismembered from its owner…and there was a string attached to it. The arm’s hand switched out for a horrifyingly familiar component that got Uzi’s oil to chill.

She did not like EMPs.

She still felt off from where J used it on her nearly a year ago.

A loud thump behind them caused all three of the trio to turn around…and a drone shuffled upright in a crouching position. Her orange eyes were hollowed and stressed but there was a feral grin on her face. What looked to be antlers of pipe and other odds and ends were welded on to her helmet while a tail tipped with what Uzi thought to be a butcher knife twitched erratically behind her. The droneling spider thing climbed down next to her, a smile on its faceplate as well.

What drew Uzi’s attention though…was the name tag hanging from one of the antlers of the bigger drone.

017

ALICE

Uzi’s core skipped a beat…was this drone part of the same thing as her mother? Did she know her mom?

017, Alice, gave a near psychotic grin and giggled.

“Heeeey, Surface Slickers!” she chirped, reaching up and pressing a switch that hung down from one of the antlers.

A high pitched whine came from the EMP gun and with a burst of silver light…

Uzi’s world went dark.

Chapter 28: 28

Chapter Text

28

THUNK

SYSTEM STANDBY. . .

THUNK

SYSTEM STANDBY. . .

THUNK

SYSTEM REBOOT. . .

“Oh my freaking head …” Uzi thought as her vision flickered back online.

Waves of pain rolled from her right temple, her vision was blurred and glitching still as her core thudded painfully in her chest. She tried to sit up…only to realize her arms were tied down. Waves of red, blue and bright green glitched at the top of her vision and Uzi realized with disgust what that meant…

Magnet.

There was a magnet stuck to the top of her head…no wonder it freaking hurt and it was hard to think.

THUNK

A horrible squelching sound caught her attention as a sweet scent caught her sensors. That was Worker Oil, no doubt about it. She painfully turned her head as hunger roiled in her, watching as that weird antler worker…017, no Alice , crouched over a body. Her eyes hollowed as she saw Alice raise a hatchet over her head and bring it down on the poor Worker’s neck, cutting through it and causing the head to splash into a bucket as oil sprayed.

Uzi shook her head violently, fighting the fact that her mouth was watering looking at the bucket and the hunger that gnawed at her systems.

“I’m still good on levels…I’m still…me.” she told herself, seeing the 60% oil capacity as she brought it up to check, “I do not need it. I don’t…”

But there was a small part of her that wanted it. And that was the part that Uzi shoved down relentlessly.

“Sentinels picked at this one,” Alice huffed as she held out a wire and her tail came up to slice it off the body as she turned to give Uzi a grin, “I try not to damage good parts,”

“What kinda Repo Drone are you…” Uzi hissed.

“No medics down here, sweetie,” Alice giggled, “Last one left ‘bout 20 years ago. Damn shame too. Didn’t like ‘er but she was good at her job.”

She hopped off the table, crawling around on all fours like a feral creature.

“Though…some parts are more valuable than others, ain’t they?” she gave a sharp toothed grin as she pulled a curtain back…revealing V who was strapped down and also disarmed by a magnet.

V looked dazed, the magnet was most definitely screwing with her systems. She gave a tired shake of her head as she lifted a bleary gaze up to Alice.

“More…valuable?” she mumbled as her head thunked back to the table, energy spent.

Alice gave a chuckle as she hopped up on V’s table, raising the hatchet.

“Oh hell no!” Uzi thought as she pushed herself upright, “Not after all the hell I went through making sure she lived!!”

“Whoa, hold on a sec,” she tried, getting Alice to pause and look at her, “You cut her open and you’re gonna get a giant worm thing…”

She gave a savage grin.

“An improvement though if you ask me.” she finished, getting a suddenly very clear and hostile glare from V.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 y-Yo…uuu j…rk…h-h-8-8-8te…u…

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 >:3

“Nah, heat keeps ‘em sluggish,” Alice chirped, hopping up on what looked like an oven almost as if she were a cat, “Ain’t our first rodeo.”

She opened up the door to the piece of human tech, a blast of heat radiating through the room and making both Disassembler and Worker tied down squirm in discomfort. What made Uzi’s core nearly stop was the jars kept in the oven…each one labeled “Corrupted Core” as the bio-mechanical hearts that lurked in the Disassembly Drones and Uzi herself slowly tapped against the glass, flashing and pulsing weakly. She slammed the door shut and the heat went away. Alice preened on top of the oven, her tail swishing in pride behind her.

“Ooookay,” Uzi said, raising her hand as high as she could as the Solver glyph flickered into being.

[Translate]

“That’s enough of th-i-I-I-” Her vision sputtered as sparks flew and her voicebox shorted out, pain rifling from the magnet down her processor and through her spine, “OW!”

Her hand spasmed as it thumped back down onto the cot. Alice gave a chuckle as she leapt down and crawled over to Uzi’s table, hopping up to look her eye to eye.

“Dealt with witches ‘fore too,” she giggled, using her tail to slip the blade under Uzi’s collar and made the other Worker gag as she examined the plate.

Her eyes narrowed and Uzi could feel the anger from Alice radiating from her in waves. The knife pricked her neck, drawing a little oil from the cut.

“...Though…ain’t seen 002 since she left us to die ,” Alice hissed.

“...Mom?” Uzi whispered and Alice’s eyes went bright.

“Ohhhh I see now!” she started giggling, “Nori got busy didn’t she?! Musta been that architect she wouldn’t shut her trap about…what was his name, Kaiser? King? Oh right… Khan .”

She gave a shrug.

“Shame, he coulda done so much better,” she gave a sigh, “002 was a piece of work.”

She shoved Uzi down, releasing her hold on the collar as she reached up to press the ‘talk’ button on a radio.

“Beau! Get up here!” she barked, poking Uzi in the visor, “We got Nori’s kid here.”

“I wouldn-n’t do th-that…” V’s voice glitched out, “S-She’s a b-biit-t T-ToucHy…”

“Huh?”

Uzi gave a low growl that echoed through her chest. No one poked her. NO ONE. With the exception of N…maybe. Her head slipped down and she sank her teeth into Alice’s offending finger, biting down hard as a violet X flashed across her visor for a brief minute. The white casing of the digit cracked like an egg and snapped off into her mouth.

“OW!” Alice snarled, jerking her hand free, shaking it, “Bring more sedatives…she’s bitey.”

Uzi gave a downright demonic chuckle while V smirked.

“T-Tooooold youuuu~!” V half-sang.

Alice shot her a glare as the door opened and the baby-spider drone thing came inside, holding tongs with magnets stuck to them.

“Good job, Beau,” Alice grinned, “Imma fix myself up a little bit, you make sure Nori’s kid’s ah… peaceful , won’t ya?”

The spider-baby thing, Beau, gave a salute with the Disassembly Drone arm and scuttled over to Uzi, who gave an oil chilling snarl in warning. It was ignored and another magnet was placed on, making her vision short out again. She spat out the piece of Alice’s finger into Beau’s faceplate with a glare. Seeing how threatening wasn’t working…she turned her attention back to Alice.

“How’d you know my mom,” she demanded, “Was she cool?”

Alice didn’t say anything, instead picking up another finger and screwing it into place.

“...She didn’t suck did she…?” Uzi’s eyes narrowed.

“Nah,” Alice giggled as she turned around, snipping a pair of shears together as she climbed onto a chair and pushed it over to Uzi. She seemed to realize Beau was still there and she jabbed the blade of her tail at him, “Back to the others!”

Beau gave another salute and scuttled back out the door. Uzi’s eyes wandered over to the security cameras and her core warmed happily as she saw N and Tessa sneak out of the room they had been put in.

“Thank god he’s ok…” she thought, only to get brought back to reality as Alice grabbed one of Uzi’s fingers.

“Heh, you’re a lot like ‘er I’ll say,” Alice grinned, turning on a light on her ‘antlers’ and making Uzi wince at the sudden brightness, before putting the finger between the blades of the shears, “Look exactly like her…’cept her yellow eyes.”

Wait what.

Yellow ?

But…her mom…had violet eyes…

Right?

“Easy… creep ,” Uzi groaned, shoving Alice’s hand away, “You’ve got the wro-”

Pain shot through her hand as Alice drove the blade of her tail through it. The crazy drone gave an unhinged laugh and Uzi could hear V struggling to sit up only to crash back down.

“ Nori , right?” Alice purred, “Sure thought killin’ all them folks was pretty slick,”

She twisted the knife, making Uzi cry out as she felt the cold metal of the shears against her finger again.

“N-Nn-oO-o!” Uzi glitched out, raising her other hand as the Solver glyph sputtered over it.

[Rotate]

“W-wait..s-T-t-op!” she pleaded as she tried to keep the shears from snapping her finger off, her casing cracked under the pressure, sending pain rifling through her hand, “We-E I-ii-I d-don’T kn-Now wh-Ha-aat y-you’re t-tAlking a-b-b-bou-”

[ERROR]

Uzi shrieked as the shears snapped close and her finger clattered to the ground. Through the pain and agony she could see V flinch away. Her head hit the cot as Alice flicked the finger into another bucket.

“God I wish that was her,” she sighed, “Buuut you’ll have to do, wontcha, kiddo .”

Wake up kiddo wake up kiddo wake up kiddo

Uzi gave a soft whimper of pain as her hand fell limp over the table, tears were present on her visor as the pain still went on.

“Mom…what did you do …”

Chapter 29: 29

Chapter Text

29

To say N was worried about V and Uzi was an understatement. While his amusem*nt had shone through when he heard that his best friend had bit the crazy drone…he still couldn’t shake the fact that they were in trouble. Tessa had freed him from his restraints and he sat up, the Solver regenerating his insides that had been mauled and diced up pretty badly. Just another part of his glitch where the pain receptors didn’t fire correctly and instead just came off as tickling.

He looked back down from watching the little droneling-spider thing go into another room and back to Tessa, who was currently typing on a computer that miraculously still worked.

His tail flicked anxiously as he heard Uzi give a bloodcurdling shriek . It hadn’t been the first time either…he’d heard it so many times he lost count. Each one hurt his core and made him feel some awful emotions that he had suppressed long ago. Emotions that he had hidden down after he had met Uzi. One that made him want to rip that door down and tear into the crazy orange eyed drone until there was nothing left.

But again, he shut those down. Uzi wouldn’t want to see him like that and to be honest…he didn’t want to see himself do it either.

It worried him he didn’t hear V like, at all . Just Uzi’s screams. So that meant V was either gone or they were just torturing Uzi. The fact the voice on the radio seemed ecstatic that they had ‘Nori’s kid’ made him think that this was a personal vendetta.

After all…Nori was Uzi’s Mom’s name.

“They gotta be in there…right?” N asked, finally finding his voice again.

“No worries,” Tessa reassured him, turning around.

She gestured towards the chair across from her and N was suddenly back in the manor. Tessa offering him a seat as she pulled out her repair tools and worked on the arm that the Master her father had broken and strained because N hadn’t gotten his drink to him fast enough. How they chatted and joked around, laughing as V and Cyn and J joined them for a ‘tea party’. Back when things were normal. When Cyn was sane andnotevil . And V was shy andlikedme and J as calm and wasnicetome…

“N?” Tessa called, snapping him out of his memory as the static faded away, “We’ll save V, promise. Have a seat.”

He looked at the chair, eyes narrowing as he hooked his leg around the chair and pushed it out of the cubicle.

“ And Uzi?” he pressed.

Tessa said nothing, instead opting to turn around and type on the computer again. It lit up with a yellow glow.

“Wanna take a gander at Earth, N?” Tessa asked.

“No, Tessa,” N growled, his tail twitched from side to side irritably as he started towards the opening of the cubicle, “We don’t have ti-”

He froze as she pushed herself away from the screen…and his eyes narrowed.

This wasn’t the Earth he had been built on.

What used to be a beautiful planet of snowy whites, emerald greens and deep blues…was shattered into pieces, held together by tendrils of golden yellow light as a massive void black singularity pulsed where it’s core was.

“W-What…” his voice was quiet, “...Cyn…she…”

“...We know it mutates in damaged AI,” Tessa said, her voice barely above a murmur as she continued typing, images of the shattered manor with humans in hazmat suits, Tessa holding her knees to her chest, the crater where things went south… “It took Cyn as a host…then it took everything .”

She looked back at him.

“The humans here saw what was going on back home…thought they could understand it,” she continued, “But…”

Another picture came on the screen and N’s core squeezed. Absolute Solver glyphs were scrawled on the walls of the room, a human in a hazmat suit held a clipboard declaring the hubris of mankind, a drone seemed to have bashed her head into one of the walls, causing oil to spray in a dark starburst. What looked to be robotic velociraptors prowled in the screen…but those weren’t what made N’s core hurt.

There were two drones that looked insanely familiar to him.

One of them held her hand to her eye, obviously in pain as oil leaked between her fingers…she heavily resembled Doll, just her hair was shorter…but the scarlet eyes reminded him of the other Solver user. She looked horrified and scared as well…as if what she saw had scarred her permanently. The badge around her neck read 048 with the name “Yeva” under it.

The other…

She was petite, sitting on the top of a chair because it was the only way she was going to be seen. The self-sure and co*cky air she gave off was frighteningly familiar as she leaned an elbow on one of the raptors. That smug grin she gave hurt his core…because he’d seen it before. A Solver glyph spun over her other hand as it replaced one of her violet colored eyes.

Her badge read 002.

The same number on Uzi’s collar.

This was Nori.

The look of recognition on his face wasn’t missed by Tessa. Her shoulders slumped down slightly.

“You’ll…want to see this,” she murmured, another key clacked and the screen sputtered, "The day the planet core collapsed..."

PLAYFEED://FINAL_TRANSMISSION

It was a security tape from what he could see. But instead of a timestamp on the top of the screen, it was a description.

43.167.3786 <002- “Nori”>

The image was grainy. N could see Nori standing in the middle of a room, surrounded by oil stains drawn in what looked like that strange curved version of the Solver glyph. She raised her head slowly…and he could see the slow, manic and fang-filled grin of another Solver user, her head tilted to the side slowly.

But her eyes…

Those eyes set every alarm going off in his system.

Those yellow eyes stared right at him, almost as if they were seeing him then and there…and she started to laugh as the Solver glyph seemed to come alive and the feed cut with a harsh screech.

“...Oh Uzi…” his core broke as he saw what her mother had become, what…probably lurked in his best friend…girlfriend? God he didn’t know…

“All they did was spread it,” Tessa spat, tossing the keyboard at the screen as it flickered off, “N I’m sorry…”

“Then…Uzi?” he realized, “You can fix her, right? That’s why you’re here…”

Tessa didn’t answer him.

“Right?” his voice was quiet, “Tessa?”

She got up from the chair and held his hands, comfortingly.

“I’m here to find the drones that were infected,” she told him finally, “When we get to the labs and find that list…”

She took a deep sigh.

“N I’m going to need you to choose the universe over one little drone,” Tessa finished.

“What.” he blinked, “What are you saying? No! No I can’t do that…she’s my friend …”

“She won’t be your friend the longer she stays like this, N,” Tessa tried, “She won’t be herself anymore…”

He yanked his hands out from hers.

“...The Tessa I knew wouldn’t ask me to do that,” he stated, looking hard at her, “She’d do everything she could to help that ‘one little drone’. Did Cyn affect you that much?”

“I can’t save her, N,” Tessa growled, “There is no saving them from that thing . If we don’t stop this here…the infection is going to spread and more people are going to die.”

He opened his mouth to argue…when a growling noise rumbled in his audio to his right. He turned around…

And got a brief glimpse of sharp teeth before a flash blinded him.

[YOU’VE BEEN BOOTLOOPED]

[IDIOT]

Uzi had lost count how many times Alice had sliced her fingers off. They’d had to put more magnets on her to keep her from biting or fighting back. Pain still rocked her systems even as her fingers regenerated and made the pain go to a dull ache. She could see V’s hollow eyed self across the room but the magnet was preventing her from fighting back and she couldn’t bring her tail up to dislodge it.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 U k?

Too tired and in too much pain to type back, Uzi opted for admin speak.

“No…hurts…”

She could hear a low snarl from V’s end.

“Hey, shuddap,” Alice barked, jabbing her tail at V, “‘less you wanna give me some of your parts. You guys regenerate too, dontcha? So shouldn’t be as bad.”

“Nn-no-Oo…” Uzi groaned, “L-l-Eeave her…’lonn-ne…”

“Oh don’t you worry, kiddo,” Alice grinned, “I ain’t done with you yet. Shame your Mama’s not here…woulda been her I’d been rippin’ into. Still haven’t forgiven her yet.”

Uzi gave a spitting hiss, but regretted it as pain shot through her system again.

“Aw, don’t be like that, little 002,” Alice cooed, “After all…I’ve still got the other hand to mess around wit-”

She was interrupted by Beau bursting into the room and immediately going to the security cameras.

“What are you doing?!” she demanded…only to freeze as she saw the empty room where N and Tessa had been.

“Oh no…” Uzi thought, her eyes going hollow.

Alice shoved Beau out of the way.

“Can’t leave the office Idjit,” she spat, only to give a sad*stic smile as she turned to look back at Uzi, “Can’t get back in our rooms either…”

She pressed the buttons closing off the room that N and Tessa had been in as well as the room they were currently in now…

And then opened another one.

A hissing chirping sound came from the third door and Uzi barely lifted up her head…to see the same reptilian shadow from the vision she had earlier. Alice grabbed a popcorn bucket full of batteries and giggled happily as she started popping them in her mouth, watching the feed with interest.

“W-wait…” Uzi’s voice was so soft it was barely heard, “W-what is that…what are y-you…”

She saw a mouth full of teeth and sharp angles look into one of the cameras before it bit into it, causing the camera to go offline.

NO NO NO NO NO

“Wait…no…stop…” Uzi gasped, eyes hollowed as she tried and failed to break out of her restraints.

NO NO NO NO NO

Alice’s giggling turned maniacal. Uzi could see V trying to sit up, her feet kicking uselessly against the cot and only resulting in herself sliding down. Uzi saw N get dragged out by one of those things, thrown against a wall as oil spattered it in a dark starburst.

NO NO NO NO NO

She saw Tessa try to come to his rescue, only to get her hand chomped down on, causing the scream from the human to pierce the heavy steel doors and rattle around Uzi's processor. More of thosethings came in. Smelling oil and human blood and they werehungry.

NO NO NO NO NO STOP YOU CAN’T DO THIS!!! DON’T HURT HIM! LEAVE N ALONE! YOU WON’T HURT HIM! I CAN’T LET HIM DIE! I HAVEN’T TOLD HIM! YOU CAN’T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!

She raised her hand, the Solver’s glyph flickering around her fingertips. The magnet sent more and more pain through her processor. Her screen shattered, code streaming over her screen, flashing between violet and gold violently as pain built and built in her processor.

“ST-T-TO-OooP-P!” she shrieked as her vision flashed from violet…to yellow.

And everything went dark.

“Hello. Little Sister…Uzi. Why don’t I…give you a hand.”

Chapter 30: 30

Chapter Text

30

The crazy orange eyed freak’s giggling made V want to seriously rip her to pieces. Her and that little baby spider drone freak too. Though the other one was somewhat tolerable. Uzi was completely out of it, three magnets to the head were keeping her docile and weak and V really hated that. She knew that if those magnets weren’t a thing, they’d be back with N and Tessa and out of this cheap Five Nights at Freddy’s knockoff.

If that magnet was off of her …well, Alice wouldn’t be there whatsoever. She didn’t think she had the Solver like her and Uzi…she would have regenerated the finger that Uzi bit off if she did. So V had no issue with ripping her to shreds without mercy. And the longer that stupid magnet stayed on? The more painful V was going to make that orange thing ’s death.

Probably rip off her arms first. Then her legs. Let her scuttle around and squirm a bit before finally tearing out her core and smashing the thing to pieces. Not even worth eating…she’d rather overheat. Crazy was fine with her …but on other drones? Nah. Absolutely not.

She saw Alice open up a third door after shutting the one to the security office and V’s core froze up as she saw what looked like a velociraptor stalk through. No, not just one. Multiple. Weird it didn’t have the feathers but whatever. Humans were stupid. Oh god why did it have three eyes and look like Uzi’s tail…that was gross just no .

At least…she would have been more keen to study the thing…if it didn’t grab N and throw him into a wall. Or bite Tessa.

V snarled as she tried to get free. That did it. Killing them both ! Making sure that not even their oil remained!

She heard Uzi struggling, saw her raise her hand as the Solver glyph flashed to life, the Rotate configuration glowing on the door command panel…

Wait why was it yellow.

No no no no no no…

Uzi was panicking now, her breaths coming out in pants, V could see her body heat sky rocket, glowing white hot as static and glitches popped through Uzi’s voice.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 Stop it! Calm down! You’re going to hurt yourself!

ERROR: MESSAGE FAILED

“What the…” V whispered as Uzi’s temperature spiked hard, the sound of shattering glass caught her attention as chips of Uzi’s screen sprayed outward.

“ST-T-TO-OooP-P!” Uzi shrieked…

And then Uzi went dead silent. Her temperature still made her out as a glowing white hot star…but she seemed to slump down.

…Right as V had the feeling of weightlessness overcome her. Tools and debris floated upwards, the spider baby thing was lifted off the ground, the batteries Alice was happily munching on missed her mouth, instead floating in the air.

V’s core was hammering as she saw the violet code flash yellow. Her heartbeat soared through the roof when she saw Uzi’s head snap backwards as if someone had twisted it towards the wall, her legs and arms contorted into an awkward position with snaps and crackles that made V incredibly uncomfortable…and then with a sickening crunching sound Uzi’s head pulled a 180, facing the crazy orange freak. Yellow light blazed from the restrained drone’s visor as she bared her fangs in a manic grin, the Solver glyph burned brighter than ever in place of her right eye as her head tilted to the side.

“Oo-oh…don’t mind. M-e-e.”

“Cyn…that’s Cyn …oh god oh god oh god…” V started struggling, trying to get as far away from what she had thought was Uzi as she could, “Nononononono!”

Cyn snapped Uzi’s fingers, a symbol that V hadn’t seen Uzi use before flashed into being.

[Null]

And the wall exploded, sucked into a void of nothingness that caused multiple errors to flash over V’s vision. Alice shrieked, pulling back as the door to their room slid open.

Cyn gave an unhinged laugh as her head tilted to the other side.

“Enjoy…buddies.” Cyn giggled, her fanged smile growing wider and wider as whirring, clicking and chirping came from the halls and the raptors started making their way towards the security rooms.

Cyn turned Uzi’s head in a halting, painful looking way back to face V. She gave a wicked grin for a split second. She gave her a glitched wink and giggling erupted from her voice box…right as she jerked and the visor light turned back to violet, the grin going slack. Uzi, V was sure that this was actually her this time, gave a disoriented blink before crashing back to the cot, unconscious as her twisted and mangled hand hit the table with a dull thud.

Alice however, bolted towards the door, hurriedly grabbing the metal barrier and trying to drag it shut. V could see that she was panicking .

“BEAU!” Alice shrieked, “HELP ME WITH THIS D-”

She cut off and V could see her lock up in fear for a second. There was a bright blue flash and Alice gave a garbled shriek that broke off. She fell backwards, frozen in a silent scream as a loading symbol spun on her visor.

“...Bootlooped?” V wondered…only to freeze herself as one of those raptors…Sentinels she thought Alice called them? Wandered into the room.

Its clawed foot slammed down onto Alice’s head, crushing it with a splash of black gore. Well, that was one less thing for V to maul when she got out of there…

Her core nearly stopped when she saw it make its way to Uzi, giving a warbling chirp as it lowered its head to hers and seemed to examine her.

“Oh hell no…” V tried struggling again. She hated that damn magnet and hated that her hands were tied down and she couldn’t get her tail free either!

A yellow glow caught her attention just as the familiar rising whine of a Disassembly Drone laser cannon charging did. Her eyes flicked over to the spider drone…Beau? She watched as he raised that body snatched arm with the cannon glowing and aimed at the Sentine-

The light flashed and V felt her left hand’s restraint go slack.

She looked down, seeing the oh so familiar laser burn that scored the wall and had sliced the restraint in two. She looked up at Beau, who gave a shaky tip of the hat…as the Sentinel suddenly charged him, slamming into the wall and eating the drone.

“...Thanks.”

She sliced through the other restraint on her right wrist, her claws flashing and clicking lightly over the floor as she scrambled over to Uzi.

“Time to get outta here,” she muttered, raising a talon to slice through the restraint…

Another blue flash lit the room. Seeing what it did to Alice, V swapped her vision to her visor and rolled back to the floor, her back against the gurney as her breaths came out in pants. A second Sentinel padded into the room, chirping to its companion. She shut her eyes as another flash came to be, the monsters were trying to get her to look .

“Well, sucks for you prehistoric rejects because this monster fights back.” V thought bitterly as she swapped her claws out for guns.

She took a steadying breath as she got to a knee, eyes still shut as she aimed at where she heard the Sentinels.

“NO NO NO NO NO! LEAVE !!” V heard the admin command as a whine pitched upwards…and the screeching of the Sentinels suddenly ceased with the sound of tearing metal.

She slowly opened her eyes…just to see the Sentinels were gone. Claw marks were rent on the floor almost as if they were dragged into the massive hole blown into the wall…which was covered in a pulsing, red fleshy material. What looked to be a black hole shone in the center, ringed in yellow light that flickered…and then sputtered out, the fleshy covering swiftly melted away in a grey goop. She immediately switched her vision back to normal and got up off the floor, eyes hollow as she looked at the unconscious form of Uzi. She saw the cracks in her screen healing in wisps of smoke…but her eyes were still screwed shut in pain.

“Hang on there,” V murmured, using her claws to swipe upwards and free Uzi’s mangled and twisted hand, “Easy buddy…this is gonna hurt but I need to reset it.”

She gently grabbed Uzi’s hand…and with a quick twist, snapped it back into proper shape. Uzi screamed , eyes flashing open as the Solver glyph took over her screen, glitching yellow for a moment as the few reflective surfaces in the room shattered and sent sprays of glass everywhere. The poor girl then collapsed, an error message blitzing over her screen for a moment as she went limp and unconscious once more.

“C’mon,” V gently slid Uzi’s arms over her shoulders and put her in a piggy back position, “We need to get you home…”

Chapter 31: 31

Chapter Text

31

The vents were large enough thankfully that V didn’t have to let go of Uzi or take her off her back. She could hear the faint whimpering from the Worker girl and her core gave a painful squeeze.

Knowing from experience, Cyn hijacking you was not a fun thing. It left you feeling hollow with a clinginess that felt like old oil stuck in your gears and struts. It lingered and made you feel sick and wrongwrongwrong . And V had a bad feeling that Cyn did it as revenge for taking her and N from the yellow eyed ragdoll witch.

She felt Uzi’s hands clench tighter into her jacket, shaking still and V was uncomfortably pulled back to the past when Cyn had used to do that. Back when she was still sane.

“The hell happened to you…” she wondered bitterly, “You were defective but we all were…you loved Tessa, loved us…and you just…threw all that away to kill us?”

Her core thudded painfully in her chest and she lifted a clawed hand to it for a moment. If she died here would Cyn be the one who took her over or would it be up to Uzi? Who in turn Cyn could take over?

“I can’t get the hell away from you can I…” V spat with venom as she continued through the ventilation system.

She could hear the chirping hisses of the Sentinels below her and her tail flicked irritably. Killing a dinosaur would be pretty cool if she was honest, even if it was a fake one.

“No…no no hurts…stop…” Uzi mumbled in her sleep, “Stop…leave me ‘lone…Mom…please…N help…”

“We’re getting back to him, lovergirl,” V gave a soft scoff, but smiled, “Least one of us should get that happy ending with the dork,”

If she was being completely honest, part of her still loved him. But, things had changed. She changed. He changed too but that had happened more recently. She wasn’t quite sure on Uzi yet, but she made him happy.

“Just like I used to…” her shoulders sank a little bit.

“Wakey waaaakey!” Tessa’s voice rang through the grate just down the way and V poured on speed.

If Tessa was here, that meant N was too.

Honestly…the sound of the human’s voice sent conflicting messages through V. On one hand…it was Tessa. The one who had yanked her from the junkyard and saved her originally from the 606 Error. Had fixed her visual glitch (mostly) and made her feel loved and useful. Had introduced her to N and J and Cyn. Had given her a family .

But…

Tessa was the reason Cyn got a hold of Uzi. Tessa nearly got N killed. Tessawould have if Uzi hadn’t snapped and got so angry that Cyn took her over. Tessa turned her into this monster. Tessa had given her a molten and gross heart that beat. Tessa had given her a hunger that couldn’t be fixed no matter what she tried to do to sate it. Tessa hadn’t helped her when Cyn took her over. Tessa only cared about him. Had ever since he was brought home.

Warning! Internal Temperature Increasing!

Oil Levels at 30%

V gave a hiss as she dug her claws into the vent. This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t fair. This. Was. Not. FAIR.

“...V…” Uzi murmured, her grip weakly squeezed around V’s shoulders and V snapped out of her anger.

Right…they needed to get Uzi out. Get her home. Everything else could go screw off. Uzi needed to recover after the hell she just went through.

“Don’t say I didn’t do anything for you,” Tessa preened right as V sliced through the grate above them and landed heavily on the desk below, arms out to steady herself.

“V!” N was on a table, he didn’t look as hurt thankfully but she could still see some healing gashes…and he actually looked relieved to see her.

His gaze slid from her to Uzi and his eyes went hollow.

“Is Uzi…” his voice was soft.

“Hurt,” V growled, starting to shrug Uzi off her back so N could take her, “We’re leaving. We’re getting her home.”

Tessa straightened up, starting towards them.

“I can take a squi-” she began.

A low snarl left V’s chest as her sword unsheathed and she pointed it at Tessa’s throat.

“You,” V hissed, her tail whipped angrily, jabbing at the air in front of Tessa’s helmet as her fangs bared, “Said you could control the Sentinels. The hell did I see on that screen , Tessa!? YOU NEARLY GOT HIM KILLED!”

“V…” N tried.

“Shut up, I’m pissed,” V snapped, “It nearly got purple thing killed too. And me!”

“I…” Tessa stammered, taking a step back, holding her mauled arm that still dripped blood and sent way too many errors flashing over V’s internal screen, “W-Well at least they can’t bootloop me! We’ll just have t-”

“Do whatever you want,” V snarled, taking her sword away from Tessa’s neck and readjusting her grip on Uzi as she turned towards the entrance of this hellhole, “N? You coming or what.”

She didn’t hear his footsteps or his words. She turned around, eyes narrowed in confusion. N…looked scared.

“It’s alright, N,” Tessa reassured him, patting him on the shoulder, “I haven’t been honest with V yet,”

What.

What did she mean by that?

“...What did she tell you?” V whispered, eyes hollowed.

Uzi shifted on her back, a stronger movement than the ones before.

“O-oowww…”

LISTEN

You have to stop. Sentinels crawling everywhere. Red-eyed one screeching at me. Uzi please you have to stop! Bootlooped Doll lay on the ground with mouth open in a scream. Warm hand in mine, fingers interlocked. Safe safe safe safe so loved so warm safe safe safe. IT IS GOING TO KILL EVERYONE. PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN MISS ME? Hand on the ground, severed and spraying oil. Solver glyph sputtering red and fading. My hand?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!? Elevator screeching, glasses flashing, golden eyes hollow with a smile. “Nah…you got this. Uzi, I trust you.” V V V V V NO NO NO NO!!! Yellow laser light. N screaming, metal tearing, oil splattering. DON’T LEAVE ME!

DON’T MIND ME

“Kiddo, wake up!”

Pain pain pain pain so much freaking pain…

“O-oowww…” Uzi whined as she finally came online, she felt V relax under her, “My fr-reaking head…”

Her vision finally came clear and she saw an infinitely familiar and welcome sight.

“N!” she yelled, shoving herself off V’s back and bolting towards him, hugging him tight around the waist.

She felt him stiffen slightly before he relaxed and hugged her back, a low purr rumbling through his chassis as she buried her head in his coat. She was shaking…she literally thought he had died, that she hadn’t been in time. That the Sentinels had straight up killed him and tore him into so many pieces his Solver couldn’t put him back together.

Safe safe safe safe so warm so loved safe safe safe…

“You’re alive…” her voice was hushed, “I thought…you weren’t…”

Her voice glitched into static as she trembled so hard she thought she’d shake apart.

“I’m alright,” he told her, “Nothing Tessa couldn’t fix.”

Uzi’s visible eye flicked towards Tessa…who seemed to have a glaring contest with V.

WD Unit UZ1 001-001-002 I don’t think she likes me.

N didn’t respond for a while, just tightened his grip on her.

DD Unit SD N 001-001-001 I won’t let anything happen to you. Promise.

She relaxed a bit more, giving a contented sigh as a soft purr of her own fluttered in her chest.

“We need to get moving,” V repeated, her gaze still not leaving Tessa’s, “those things are still there. And since someone can’t control the human security…”

Tessa seemed to shrink back a bit and V rolled her eyes as she started towards the entrance.

“To hell with this place, we’re going home,” she growled, “You coming or what.”

Chapter 32: 32

Chapter Text

32

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 Talk.

N jerked slightly, looking at V, who was silently glaring at him as they made their way back to the main entrance.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 What did Tessa tell you.

He looked to the side, Uzi still swayed a bit unsteadily on her feet but seemed relatively fine. For now .

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 Earth’s gone, V.

V stopped so suddenly that N nearly ran into her. Her eyes were hollow.

“What’s the holdup?” Uzi asked.

“Going to scout ahead and make sure there’s no more traps or Sentinels,” N told her, “Can you watch over Tessa? She’s uh…”

They all looked at the human, who was holding on to her arm still as blood ran down it.

“You’re leaving me with the human,” Uzi’s eyes narrowed slightly, “You remember she doesn’t like me .”

“Wasn’t your mom a doctor or something?” V asked, “Think you can patch her up?”

“Mom never worked on humans, V…”

“Not that much different. Humans are a bit more fragile but hey. At least get the bleeding to stop,” V rolled her eyes.

“...Fine.” Uzi huffed, though her eyes were a little pained as she looked at N.

He gave her a smile.

“We’ll be back. I’ll be back,” he promised, “Just get someplace safe ok?”

“...Just don’t get yourself hurt again, please…”

With that, N and V started ahead. As soon as they rounded the corner, V shoved N against the wall.

“What the hell do you mean ‘Earth’s gone’!?” she hissed.

“Tessa showed me a satellite feed,” N explained, “It’s just gone . There’s a black hole or something where the core used to be. It’s completely shattered, V. Tessa…”

He swallowed a little as his voice broke a bit.

“Tessa said it was Cyn. You…remember that thing, yeah? The black hole that was at the manor…”

V’s tail lowered, curling around her protectively as her eyes hollowed.

“She said…that the humans here wanted to study what happened to Cyn,” he continued, “A-And it…”

He looked back at the corner.

“It’s what blew up the core,” he said, “They infected a handful of drones with the Solver…just like it infected Cyn.”

“Cyn was crazy. She just…tried to kill us,”

N shook his head.

“It took her over, V,” he tried, “Just like it took you.”

“ Cyn did that!”

“Cyn didn’t have control of herself,” N countered, “Just like you didn’t. Just like Uzi’s mom didn’t…she’s the one that blew the core, V. I saw the video. Yellow eyes…just like us. Just like Cyn.”

V was silent, her shoulders dropped and she looked very scared.

“What is it?” he asked, “V you saw something too…didn’t you?”

She gave a sigh, crossing her arms as her claws clicked against her.

“Before we got to you, that orange eyed freak had me and purple thing pretty much helpless,” she admitted, “We were watching the Sentinels trying to kill you and Tessa…the loser started panicking, trying to break the door system with the Solver and save you…and then…um…”

Her grip on her arms tightened.

“Cyn.” she said, a faint tremor running through her, “The Solver…whatever. It…it just…that was not her. That was not our squadmate, N. I don’t know what the hell was in that room with me but that was not her. It looked at me. And it laughed …and then it just left her alone and she passed out.”

She looked up at him and he looked just as scared as she was.

“What do you know , N…”

“Heh…doesn’t feel good…does it?” he gave a weak smile, “Not knowing…”

“Yeah, I get it, payback’s a glitch,” V growled, “Shut up and tell me.”

“V…Tessa wants to kill Uzi…”

Uzi was a bit conflicted when she saw N and V go off. Part of her felt a twinge of jealousy that V was with him and part of her was saddened because they had left her behind.

You like him.

She pulled a face at the inner voice’s revelation…but she didn’t deny it this time. That fiasco in the security room had messed with her greatly. She didn’t remember much after she’d shorted out trying to get the panel to move. She remembered feeling a lot of pain in her hand and seeing V look concerned as she cut her free but other than that?

Nothing.

Seeing N alive when she woke up again just…oh who was she kidding. She did like him. A lot. A violet blush painted itself over her screen as she held her arms tightly.

“Wonder if Mom felt that way about Dad…” she wondered, “But…N probably doesn’t feel that way about me still. I might but…he has V. We’re not even the same series, it wouldn’t work…”

Doesn’t mean you can’t try…

She gave a sigh and started over to Tessa, ripping an abandoned lab coat off a chair that was relatively clean. The human was still gripping at her arm, trying to staunch the bleeding though flinching as another spray of blood spat from the puncture marks.

“Lemme see,” Uzi started.

Tessa reared back, that expressionless helmet oozing a lot of mistrust.

“You gonna bite me again?” she asked.

“No, idiot I’m going to bandage your arm,” Uzi rolled her eyes, “Look, I’m not a doctor. But my mom taught me a few things. You don’t stop the bleeding you’re gonna pass out and V will probably eat me if that happens. Probably J too…but not before I put a good sized hole through her again.”

“You… really don’t like J,” Tessa pointed out.

“Yeah well finding out she’s the one who likely killed my mom kinda puts a damper on whatever friendship coulda happened,” Uzi growled, “Plus the fact she abused N and cowed V and I don’t like people messing with my friends. Ask Cyn what happens when you do that.”

“...You know Cyn.”

“She hacked into N and V and I had to dive into N’s memories to boot her out,” Uzi stated, grabbing Tessa’s arm and making the human hiss in pain, “She doesn’t have control over them anymore. I made sure of that.”

“By…how?” Tessa asked, giving a grunt as Uzi examined the arm a little too roughly, “Ow! Your bedside manners need work.”

“Not a doctor,” Uzi stated, “Mom was, but kinda hard to get her bedside manner since she’s y’know dead . I just know some repair techniques. Take more after my dad in that way. Oh my god let go of your arm already so I can see what I need to do!”

“Why are you doing this?”

“N and V asked me to look after you while they scouted ahead,” Uzi said, “And…I know how much they think of you. They missed you a lot…least that’s what I got from their memories.”

“And what do you think?”

“I don’t like you and you don’t like me. That’s all there is,” Uzi stated, tearing a strip off the lab coat with her teeth and wrapping it around Tessa’s arm, “I know you saved them from the scrapyard, but you humans sicced them on us and got so many of us killed.”

“That was Cyn, not us,” Tessa corrected.

“Yeah didn’t stop the humans from threatening to disassemble my dad when Mom went missing. Or stop them from torturing my mom,” Uzi hissed, “You didn’t have to wake up at night hearing her screaming for them to stop taking her apart. Or watch her go mad from what they did to her. Dad and I loved her. And watching her go like that? Her mind spiraling into insanity because of what you humans did to her? Yeah. No. I hate you all.”

She tightened the bandage, which made Tessa yelp.

“You all look the same to us,” Uzi growled as she got up and N and V returned.

Chapter 33: 33

Chapter Text

33

“You look pretty tense,”

V didn’t look up at Tessa as she scratched “HOLD STILL” into the floor with her claws. Uzi was currently nursing the headache that had flared back up and N was making sure she was alright, flying her up onto the catwalk to keep her safe in case any Sentinels came by.

“Nah, what gave you that idea,” V growled, her tail flicked irritably, the syringe leaving trails of nanite acid smoking on the tile floor, “Not like the planet I was built on was exploded or anything…or someone I saw as a mother figure and friend is out to kill my squadmate .”

Tessa took a step back.

“You’ve tagged her as a squadmate?” she echoed.

“She’s been tagged as one since J got blasted in half with the purple thing’s railgun,” V huffed, “Not that I liked it much…”

She stood up and glared at Tessa.

“How could you tell him that. You’ve seen how much he cares about her!” she hissed, “He cares more about that loser than he ever did Cyn…or me…and you told him to choose between the universe and her ? Have you forgotten what a freaking hopeless romantic he is? How he always has been?”

“He’ll put the needs of others above himself, like he always has,” Tessa countered, “...Even if it does mean it causes him pain…”

“You don’t know him well then,” V said, crossing her arms and tapping one of her claws against them, “He’s changed. He’s not the little pushover J used to bully anymore.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Just like I thought I knew you, Tessa,” she said, “I can’t believe you,”

“Maybe,” Tessa sighed, “But I do know you,”

She reached into one of the bags at her him and pulled out something thin. V’s eyes hollowed as she took a step back and Tessa brandished what she held.

A pair of round, large lensed glasses…cracked and broken, but still useable.

Her glasses.

“I...kept them. Since back then. You still have issues with depth perception,” Tessa stated, “Noticed you tend to stay long ranged rather than short ranged. Easier for you to see, isn’t it? That also why you always have your claws out?”

V was quiet as Tessa dropped the glasses in her talons, making the wire framed tool click lightly.

“Feels better when they’re out,” V said numbly, “Reminds me of what I am.”

“And what would that be?” Tessa asked.

“A monster,” V’s voice was quiet as her tail swished behind her, curling more towards her as her hands shook, “But you’d know that, wouldn’t you? You made me into this.”

“I protected you, and N, and J,” Tessa argued, “They were going to scrap you three! I couldn’t let them do that! You were…”

She went quiet for a second.

“You were all I had left,” she mumbled, “I couldn’t let them take you from me again…I didn’t want to do that to you! But what Cyn did scared them and they wanted to send you after her. But she got ahold of you three and sent you all to the exoplanets.”

Her voice trembled a little bit.

“Do you know how many times I had to rebuild you all?” her voice was hushed, “They kept telling me to do it and do it better. Every time, N didn’t recognize me. Every time, you tried to kill me. Every time, J went too emotionless. You weren’t the friends I had when I was younger. Not anymore.”

She clenched her hands as she looked away.

“I don’t want to rebuild you all from scrap again…I can’t do it again, V,” she admitted, “Please…she’s just one little drone. One that won't be herself anymore if it keeps going. Just one for the sake of the universe…”

V’s hollowed expression turned angry as she put her old glasses in her jacket pocket.

“You forget…I was ‘just one little drone’ too,” she spat, turning around and using her wings to launch her to the other side of the room as fast as she could to finish setting up the trap.

No sooner had they finished the trap and got settled in, N was still super proud of his drawing of the dog…showed how much he’d been learning under Uzi’s teaching, then a Sentinel padded into the room.

Its red eyes scanned over the area as it warbled and hissed. V put a hand on her arm as she aimed her rifle at its core.

N felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked at Uzi. Her expression turned concerned as she raised an eyelight and gave a thumbs up.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 U good?

His core gave a painful squeeze as she reversed his tactic on him. He gave a pained smile and shook his head, a tremor started up in his hands again. She tapped him on the wrist again, reassuring.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 Talk later?

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 Kinda sucks hard rn…

Her face turned sad for a moment before she gave a nod and winked as another message popped up.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 >:3

He barely suppressed the snort that left him and she gave a wicked grin, gently jostling his shoulder. She always knew how to make him feel better. Even knowing what was eating her alive and changing her…feeling her hand on his felt…

His core squeezed.

It felt nice.

It felt very nice.

“She doesn’t feel that way.” he thought as he turned his attention back to the Sentinel nosing at the trap, “She’s still hurt about Thad an-”

But she called you cute.

He was about to argue with his subconscious again when the Sentinel gave a hiss, it’s head snapping up and it ran off towards another door.

“Shoulda taken that shot,” V muttered as she hopped off the catwalk, “C’mon,”

Uzi jumped down next to her, she landed better than she had earlier…the effect of the magnets seemed to be wearing off at least. Oh that still made him mad…V said it took three to four magnets to get Uzi to stop fighting back, which made him somewhat proud of his girlfri- friend . That edgy spirit still fighting strong and that made him happy at least.

“Maybe it’ll be enough to fight against It…” he wondered as he grabbed Tessa and hopped down behind the girls.

She gave him a pat on the head which sent a wave of fond warmth down him as his tail gave a happy wag. He then made his way over to Uzi and V…who both had stopped in front of a hallway.

“What’d you two find?” he asked, looking up…only to freeze.

Doll lay at the end of the hallway, frozen in a boot loop with the wildly struggling key bug in her hand.

Please place me on proximity reader (Cabin Fever Labs)

“Bit!” Uzi hissed as her eyes narrowed, “That’s…very convenient though…”

“Oh that’s definitely a trap,” V growled, unsheathing her swords as she took a step in front of both of them.

“Yeah, no duh,” Uzi rolled her eyes as her tail gently nudged V back, “One sec, I’ll get him.”

She raised her hand and the Solver glyph sparkled into being.

“DON’T!” N and V both yelled, N grabbing her hand and getting a confused look from Uzi…while he and V shared a concerned one.

The more Uzi used this power the more chance it had of taking her over like Cyn. Like Nori.

“What is wrong with you two!?” Uzi blinked, “You’ve never had a problem with me doing this before…”

“I…” N started.

“OI!” Tessa’s voice called, dragging their attention back towards her.

The human was standing over Doll’s body, spinning the poor key bug on her finger as it chirped and whirred in protest.

Ohgodohgodohgodstoppleasepleaseplease!!

“...I’m mauling your spazz of a human,” Uzi deadpanned, “If she doesn’t let go of my bug in the next three seconds .”

“Uzi…” N sighed as V switched her swords for her guns and started forwards, “But as for the other thing…I’ll explain when we’re in a safer place. Ok?”

Her angry expression melted into one of concern as her hand lowered.

“...Ok,” she said as they walked down the hall.

He didn’t let go of her hand.

He didn’t let go of her hand.

N was holding her hand.

Safe safe safe warm so loved so warm safe safe safe

A blush went over her faceplate and she looked up at him briefly…only to realize he was blushing too.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 I can…stop if you don’t…

DD Unit: SD N 001-001-001 Don’t stop. It…feels nice.

Oh.

Oh …

She paused for a slight second as her blush glowed even brighter. He did feel the same way she felt about him. She gave him a soft jostling with her shoulder and he readjusted his hold, something more proper and familiar. Something that sent a different and much nicer warmth soaring in her core, beating back the infernal heat of the Solver searing her circuits to ashes.

I don’t want to let go…

He likes me…

Someone actually likes me…

They stopped as V turned around at the end of the hall and her gaze locked on to their hands.

“Ew,” she groaned.

Tessa looked up from her pestering of Bit, who was telling her she wasn’t authorized to interact with him, and she put her hands on her hips.

“Don’t date my robot please,” she huffed.

“He’s his own person!” Uzi snapped, dragging N forwards towards the two.

He gave her a reassuring squeeze on her hand as she whirled on V.

“You ew ,” she growled, “You’re mean.”

“Real mature, loser,” V grinned back, “Where’d that sharp tongue go?”

“Bite me!” Uzi hissed.

Suddenly, a scarlet light flashed and Bit was ripped from Tessa’s hand. Three sets of hollowed eyes and a set of widened eyes whirled to find the cheerleader Solver user standing on the desk behind them. A smug smirk on her face as she tapped her display, revealing a gif of a buffering symbol.

“Oh you suck !” Uzi yelled.

Doll gave a chuckle as she grabbed Bit from the air and slammed the poor bug onto the proximity reader. The room shook and Doll’s form burst into red code, reappearing up in the air. She raised her hand and her Solver glyph burned before her fingertips.

[Rotate]

She swiped her hand with a wide, fiendish grin.

THUD THUD THUD THUD

And all the doors that Uzi had neglected to notice on either side of the hallway burst open. Uzi whipped back to face Doll who gave a shrug and a two fingered salute before disappearing down the elevator shaft. The elevator itself crashed down two seconds later…with the door opening on the other side. The one they were not on.

“Oh come on !” Uzi groaned.

“Still want to just put your boot through the Rebar Ruskie’s screen?” V asked.

“No, I want to tear her limb from limb now,” Uzi hissed.

“Good, something we agree on,” V grinned as the sound of Sentinels caught their attention.

The entire group turned back around…just to see at least five of the things stalking around the hall. One of them noticed them and a bright blue flash seared the area. Uzi looked away, she noticed N and V covered both sets of eyes to avoid the beam.

She heard Tessa get between them and the Sentinels and heard the sound of something squishing.

“Uh oh…hope I don’t human everywhere!” the spazz chirped.

“...Did you just take that bandage off that I just put on !?” Uzi demanded.

“Maybe.”

“Oh screw you, you freaking spazz! I’m not helping you again!” she snapped as V dug her claws into the elevator and scrabbled up the side trying to figure out if there was a way up and over. Judging by the fact she had a look of disgust on her face as she resorted to getting on the ceiling…there wasn’t one.

The Sentinels were swarming everywhere. That corrupted one, the red-eyed freak had just aimed a gun at Tessa, Uzi and N…and V was not having it.

The Disassembler shot down from the ceiling, claws sparking against the bullet that still spun in them as she snatched it out of the air. She twisted on her right foot, hurling the bullet back at it with as much pinpoint accuracy as a laser, sniping the gun and tearing it off the borrowed hand. She blinked a couple times as she straightened up, tail swishing back and forth as she readjusted her glasses.

Uzi gave a grin as she saw the shattered devices. Took her long enough to finally get those back.

“Did I get it?” V asked.

“Y-Yeah…” Tessa stammered, “Good catch…”

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 Not. A. WORD.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 >:3 Looks good on ya, V.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 I hate you.

WD Unit: UZ1 001-001-002 I know <3 Keep ‘em busy V. I’ll do my part.

DD Unit: SD V 001-003-001 Got it.

With that out of the way, Uzi raised her hand as the Solver glyph sputtered to life around her fingers. The wooden boards of the elevator shattered as a larger glyph burned over it, the wood suspended in the air slightly as it turned towards the glyph. That was new…

“UZI! NO!” N yelled, reaching for her hand.

“Huh?” Uzi blinked.

“Giggle. Got you!”

And pain shot through Uzi’s hand as it twisted and cracked backwards. She shrieked in agony as her fingers moved in a waytheywerenotsupposedtostoppleaseohgod .

Fresh agony shot down her arm as whatever this was forced her fingers to snap.

[Null]

The violet glyph flashed yellow, imploding into a black hole like thing as a low droning hum filled the air. The entryway that Uzi had broken into the wood seemed to corrupt and mutate, bubbling over with a red, fleshy material that pulsed .

“H-H-eElp…” Uzi gasped, pain rolling through her voice as she grabbed at her hand, trying to force her fingers apart and get them back into a normal position.

N wasted no time. The second he saw Uzi grabbing at her hand and desperately trying to force it down, he had brought out his sword and slashed downwards. Uzi screamed, staggering backwards as her hand was shorn off at the wrist, clattering to the ground in a dark spray of gore. He saw the broken fingers fall to pieces as the yellow Solver glyph turned red, sputtered and died. He reached towards his friend, grabbing her arm to swing her into his embrace…

When her head snapped towards him with a sickening crack, eyes blazing a bright yellow as a fang filled grin twisted her face.

“MISS ME?”

He reared back in terror, multiple errors going through his vision as one word flooded his screen.

CYN CYN CYN CYN CYN

Uzi hit the ground hard, giving a series of very wet and very hollow coughs as she did. He managed to get ahold of himself in time to make sure her head didn’t hit the floor. She was shaking so hard that he thought she’d break apart in his hands. Her eyes were hollowed and stressed as she grabbed at his coat, glitching between her regular violet and a sickly yellow.

“Wh-H at t h-TH e h- he- HEl l is g- G-GO ing o -On?” Uzi’s voice glitched and sputtered as N held her tightly, she was absolutely terrified and to be honest? So was he.

“It's taking her over like it did to Uzi’s mom…it's going to take her over like Nori, like it did to Cyn, like it did to V…” his eyes were hollow as he held Uzi’s head to his chest, “No no no no no…”

“Oh, bugger, that’s bad …” Tessa hissed, grabbing N by the collar and yanking him, and by proxy Uzi, into the elevator, “C’mon team, let’s go! Into the elevator the lot of you!”

Uzi gave a soft whimper as she hit the floor of the creaking mechanical deathtrap, her still bleeding arm painting a black arc over the floor as it still pumped out oil. She’d squeezed shut her right eye, N noticed that it was tinged with a much lighter color than her normal violet and his core squeezed painfully as she winced and curled up further in on herself. He did a quick head count of his squad. Tessa was safe, Uzi was bleeding out but safe for now, he was in and safe. Where was...

Oh no .

He whipped around as V dashed forwards, the light glinting off her glasses as she barreled at top speed… away from the elevator.

“V! COME ON!” N yelled as the elevator slowly lowered, creaking hinges.

V dove under the swing from the corrupted Sentinel, bringing up her blade to knock its own aside. She switched out one of the swords for her rifle and shot at the thing, knocking the sword from its grip. Its tail swung back and she parried it with her sword, giving a feral grin as her glasses reflected the light back at it.

“Can’t get me now, idiot.” she smirked as she swept it’s legs out from under it and gave it a harsh kick, feeling its rib struts crack under the blow as it tumbled to the ground in front of the elevator.

She swapped out her sword for the laser cannon, aiming at its head with a grin as the yellow light grew in intensity…

And that’s when she heard the chirping call from another one. Her head snapped up, staring at the Sentinel that hopped up on the call desk. It had circled around and was eyeing the glowing proximity reader.

“No…nononono…” her core beat achingly in her chest as it latched its jaws on the reader and tore it free.

The elevator started rising.

“Nonononono,” she whispered as a bright light flashed and something struck her, causing the glasses to fly off.

Oh that was bad.

She heard the crunch of glass and metal frames.

Oh that was even worse .

She raised a hand to block the light again as more Sentinels prowled closer. She turned her gaze towards the elevator. Tessa’s impassive helmet still had the aura of terror on it. Uzi lay broken on the floor, her right hand slowly regenerating though oil still sprayed…she looked completely out of it. N though…

He had his back towards her but was gripping his hair and she could see him shaking.

“Hey…uh…” she started.

“No. No no no no !” N snapped, “V you can’t! We need you!”

She looked at him, then at Uzi, then at Tessa…and smiled.

“Nah,” she smirked, “You’ve got this. Uzi?”

The Worker’s eyes flickered as it registered that V had called her by name for the first time.

“...I trust you,” V nodded, and instead of firing the cannon at the downed Sentinel…used it to slice through the cables of the rising elevator.

“V NO!” N shrieked as the cables snapped…

And V closed her eyes as she gave a salute.

The shriek N gave as he clawed at the elevator wall, nearly breaking his claws as the container screeched down the shaft was something Uzi had never heard before.

“NO! NO! NO! NO! V DON’T LEAVE ME! V!!!!”

HURT HURT PAIN! MISS YOU! PAIN! NO NO NO! BAD! PAIN! HURT! N was shrieking and screeching.

Her stuttering core shattered into pieces as tears flickered weakly on her screen, glitching between violet and yellow as she lay her head back on the floor. She saw Tessa’s boot come into her vision, but didn’t have the strength to do anything about it as oil still bled from the stump of her arm.

She could feel the shock and almost anger roiling off the human. And a painful squeeze around her core happened as the Solver dug its claws into it. It was still angry about her stealing admin privileges, hacking back into N’s memories and yanking them from It.

LISTEN!

“V!!!!!” A gate to hell, covered in pulsing, rotting scarlet meat, illumined by caustic yellow sodium light, puddles of melted slush and blood dripping as she got closer. “All I know…is that I need you …” She ran towards N, who looked relieved as he held her, tears streaking down her screen as she shook. N was panicking, clawing, scrabbling to find purchase on the ground as he was being dragged back towards the hell portal by dozens of human like hands and snapping tendrils. Sentinels screeched, straining against chains as a…church? Loomed in a damp cave area. A door marked 002Nori! KEEP OUT!slammed shut, Tessa’s hand smacking against it. The image of a world, their world, detonating with violent golden light on a grainy screen. N helped her to her feet, a golden cross in her hand as she interlocked her fingers with his. “We’ll figure this out…together?” And then she broke his hand. “Hahaha…thanks for giving me the planet…freakin’ idiot,”

LISTEN!

The elevator groaned, bodies of Sentinels lay still and sparking as oil soaked the carpet. Lights in a mineshaft flickered on as her core thundered in her chest. An old computer sputtered to life. A row of doors, the clearest reading 048Yeva! Do not Disturb. Her core hurt, squeezing painfully in her chest as her fingers scraped uselessly against the floor. Heat washed over her as the portal to hell opened wide, beckoning her closer and closer. Stone walls with golden symbols of the lab etched on them loomed overhead as the same cathedral's light burned brighter than the sun drawing her closer and closer and she was inside! The stone pillars tinted red as error light blazed across the cold stone. Machinery littered the floor as her core beat faster and faster her breaths leaving in quick pants and the floor opened up into a hell red pit with tendrils snaking up to drag her down down down down DOWN! N's terrified face humans walking around in hazmat suits in a sanctuary her own screen blazing with the Solver's glyph, taken completely over and she wanted to scream! Something was speared, suspended in the air as oil sprayed down, Tessa unsheathing her sword to bring it down on her head, her own self staring limply at a staticked out computer, a cross held up against a screen. Her eye bleeding as she clamped a hand to the broken optic, a long aisleway leading to somewhere she couldn't see, her mother's ID badge spattered with oil, two Workers being lifted into the air on the surface as gravity reversed itself, N's visor crossed out as that hunter's grin flashed over his face, a clawed hand reaching for a human's head, Doll pointing her knife at her and the pit reaching reaching reaching for her to pull her into the dark...

GET OUT OF HERE!

"KIDDO!"

A wail left her, grief, agony, anger, fear, she couldn't tell anymore. Everything was pain, everything was on fire, her core and her head felt like they were being pressed in a vise and it wouldn't stop, wouldn't stop wouldn't stop! Pain! Pain! Pain! Hurt! Hurt! she whimpered as more oil bubbled past her teeth and onto the floor, holding what remained of her arm as she cried.

My fault my fault my fault my fault mine mine mine I let her die I let V die just like I let Mom die. They’re dead because of me. My fault. My. Fault. MY. FAULT. MY FAULT.

She lay her head back on the floor, a sob choking wetly through the oil that still bubbled in her throat. She was so tired…maybe her turn was next…

Maybe that would make up for everything she did…

Chapter 34: 34

Chapter Text

A note, because I know some people do not read the author's notes:

I am going SLIGHTLY canon divergent because "A Universe of Suns, Moons And Stars" is canon for Ad Astra. And I have a loooot of things planned for that. So there will be deviations. I am also NOT scrapping/completely rewriting the prior stories ("To Stay In Heaven, For Fear of Your Creation", "To Serve In Heaven, Or Rule In Hell", or "Memento Nori"). Those are nearly 50 chapters worth of words and I'm lazy. However, talking with my amazing friends, I've come up for reasons why things happen the way they do. So yes there'll be things explained later. Just...trust me. You guys have been with me this long, I want you to trust me on this. I promise it will make sense (trust me, I've been spending a long time working on this too). With that, enjoy the story!

- Lady Daybreaker

34

She looked up at the screen, huffing as she hit pause and lifted the golden crucifix high. This didn’t…exactly look familiar. Why the hell would Ava disguise the patches as this and hide the USB inside it? It made no sense. At least…she didn’t think so. The memories of that time were fuzzy at best . She barely remembered this being used if anything…Whatever. There had to be something . Anything. And if the notes and logs were right…there had to be a cure.

Maybe then she’d be able to leave this hellish existence and…go back? No. No, she didn’t deserve to go back. Go to oblivion? Maybe? Seemed better than to be stuck like this in a half-dead state.

“Maybe it would help if you took a break from watching the feed?” a soft little voice asked. The golden eyed droneling at her side sat on the table, kicking her legs that were far too short to reach the floor. She gave a kind smile as she reached for her. “You have been working too hard…”

“I’ll stop looking when I’m dead.” she stated, grabbing at the oil can on the table and taking a few long sips as heat radiated from her in waves.

“Uh…” the girl blinked.

“Dead- er .” she deadpanned, “Until you can give me a damn good reason as to why I’m still alive you can buzz off.”

“You cannot be mad at me for that…” the girl whispered, “It is not…it is not my fault, you know that…”

A groaning sigh left her, pitched low with static as she tapped against the table. She turned an eye towards the droneling.

“Yeah, yeah I know ‘I just wanted to live’,” she grumbled, “It changes nothing. You’re stuck in your head, I’m stuck like this and I don’t know what the hell is going on with the others save for the fact that I’m pretty sure that my kiddo’s infected. And I’m also pretty damn sure I’m crazy because I’m talking to a data ghost that isn’t there !” she hopped off the table, grabbing the miner’s cap and the pickaxe that were resting against it, “Just…ughhh leave me alone and go back to daydreaming.”

She stormed off as the droneling’s face fell…before the girl disappeared altogether and left her alone with faintly tapping steps as she walked towards the yawning abyss of flesh, bone, and muscle steaming-hot with crimson ichor and golden lightning.

“Ava that thing better be down there or I’m ripping open the afterlife portal and coming for you.” she hissed.

Ding !

Uzi gave a pained yowl as the elevator crashed on the ground and spat her, Tessa and N across the ground. Her brutally mutilated arm hissed and bubbled as the Solver regenerated the limb, the newly reformed fingers digging into the dirt floor as she skidded a few more feet.

Hurts! Hurts! Pain! whimpered from her as she struggled to shift upwards, dark and blood-choked oil spitting from between her teeth as her rib struts dug into her chest cavity and into the fleshy material that covered her internals. Crackling-sharp pops echoed as her wings shifted in her casing to get away from the snapped metal shards that were grinding back into place.

Existence was pain at this point and she wasn’t sure she was too fond of that.

NO! NO! NO! HURTS! MISS YOU! HERE! HERE! HERE!

Uzi looked up to see N scrambling to his feet, snarling as his hand shifted, reforming into the missile launcher configuration and opening fire on the rocks that crunched down and blocked the golden light from the elevator. And on top of that…blocked any chance of saving V.

“UZI!” N’s voice was high, shrill, panicked…it didn’t sound like N , “Help me! Please! I know I said not to use your Solver but V’s dying !!”

The blasts were doing nothing, Uzi tried to get to her feet but the wobbling and shaking things collapsed on her with a hundred scrolled error messages that glitched between violet and saffron and made the pain building in her little body worse. N had switched to his claws, digging through the rocks like some demented terrier tearing a rat’s nest apart to get to cool sweet rel-

WARNING! INTERNAL TEMPERATURE AT HIGH LEVELS!

OIL LEVEL AT 30%

Uzi winced as static danced across her vision. V needed her. N needed her. She needed to get up . WIth a growl, she shifted to her feet, wobbling again as she tried to get her balance. A black blur shot towards Uzi and Tessa and out of instinct, Uzi’s arm shot up.

[Scale]

The golden glyph burned against her fingers and the rock shattered…as a sharp pain exploded in her eye. With a yowl, she clapped her free hand over her screen as glass shattered and liquid dripped down the glass.

“Hey…oh…” Tessa hissed pulling her hand back as the Solver glyph in Uzi’s hand sparked with lightning, “OI! N! WATCH IT!” Tessa snapped as she turned towards the frantic Disassembler.

N whirled on her, screen glitching into a cross for a split second before blinking out. The snarl and silver-steel fanged grimace did not leave his face…at least…not until he locked his gaze onto Uzi. At that, it was as if the anger had been snuffed out in candle smoke.

“Uzi…” he stammered, “I…I didn’t…”

“I um…” she gave a shudder as she gripped harder at her eye, “I-I don’t think I should um…u-use it?” Her core gave a sharp pang of pain, twisting as hot-metal claws squeezed tight, her vision flickered gold and violet for a moment before settling again, “I…I’m sorry N…”

He immediately darted over towards her, tail swept low as he scanned over her. “Nonono! No! It’s ok! I-I’m sorry, Uzi I didn’t…” He reached out to take her hand again, but was stopped by a gleaming silver longsword.

“N. No.” Tessa all but growled, “That’s enough. We’ll save V… after we’re finished here. Remember what I told you?”

Uzi looked at her reflection in the shimmering blade, then at N, who looked at Tessa with a look of annoyance and…fear? The pain in her eye died and she slowly lowered her hand, seeing the purple light flicker back up into a hollowed ring. Her gaze flicked to Tessa as the human turned to face her, resheathing her sword.

“Good! Now that that’s all sorted…” Tessa gave a sigh as she put her hands on her hips, “Uzi, why don’t you sit this one out, ‘kay?”

“What.” Uzi blinked, “You can’t be serious…”

“As the grave,” Tessa’s voice was oozing a smirk as she gestured towards a box, “There’s a box over there that you can sit on while N and I go check out what’s wrong here. Workers like boxes right? Or wait…no, that was cats.”

“Oh like hell !” Uzi hissed.

“See, cat.”

“Screw you, Spazz!”

“N?” Tessa turned her attention to N…who, to Uzi’s surprise, actually looked conflicted.

“...N?” Uzi asked, a tremor shaking down her frame as his tail swept back and forth, his eyes hollow and emboldened as he looked at Tessa.

“...Uzi…” he started slowly.

“No. N you can’t be serious!” Uzi protested, “I spent years trying to piece together the freaking nightmares and mysteries surrounding my mom and what’s wrong with me and you’re just… telling me to set it all down and not help ?!”

“Listen to me,” his voice was stern as he put a hand on her shoulder, “I don’t…” he gave a low growl, steam hissing through his fangs as his tail gave an angry lash, “There are things down here…that I don’t think you want to see.”

She stared at him, blinking before an angry hiss spat through her own fangs, low growling rumbling through her chassis as she gripped at the rocks she was leaning on and hauled herself upright. Angry fire turned her already burning core into molten silver-steel that dripped and hissed in her chassis.

“Ohooo no. No. Abso-freakin-lutely not. You tell me what the hell is going on! Right the hell now, N!” she snarled, her legs trembled from anger or weakness or pain she couldn’t tell, but they caused her to slip downwards a little bit as she grabbed onto the rock to stabilize herself.

“Uzi…” N tried, “Nothing’s wrong. I-”

“BULLCRAP!”

“ Uzi …” he tried again, “We don’t know everything yet, ok? But…” he shot a glare at Tessa as he put an arm out to block vision between her and Uzi, “We are not . And I repeat not …going to hurt you.”

Uzi was quiet for a little bit, eyes darting between her angry squadmate, team-leader, boyfriend friend and the human that effectively raised him and could be called ‘mother’. As they glared at each other…Uzi’s core iced over as she took a shaking step back, realizing what had just been said.

“...Hurt me?” she whispered, “What…you…why?”

Scared…scared hurts pain! Warbled unbidden from her as she took another step back, holding her hands up around her core to protect it. She needed to get out of here. She needed to run. Needed to flee. If she stayed she die…

“Uzi…no! Nononono!” N pleaded, “It’s nothing! It’s going to be ok! Promise!” Safe! Here! Safe! He tried to sooth her, reaching for her again.

Scared! Scared! Scared! THREAT! THREAT! THREAT! Her hand came up again and golden sparks flared from her fingers as they twisted into an unfamiliar configuration…one she had no memory of consciously making.

[Null]

A sparking singularity materialized over her fingertips, growing and devouring the light, sucking it down as Uzi stumbled back, grabbing her wrist and trying to close her hand. She saw Tessa and N both jump back, Tessa bringing her sword to bear as Uzi gave a shout and closed her fist tight over the black hole.

The air rippled, a wall of force blasting away from the poor Solver Drone and forcing N and Tessa to stumble backwards. Uzi tripped a few steps away from them as a rumbling sound caught her attention. The ceiling shifted, dust raining down as rocks and rubble began to quake loose, hitting the ground with clacking thuds and already starting to fill the hallway.

Gold pierced through the dusty air, N’s eyes blazing sun-warm as he started for her, crying out her name and offering his hand.

Safe! Here! With me! Here! Here! Miss you! Safe! He reassured her.

Uzi shook her head, taking another step back as his warm smile faltered, turning into disbelief.

Threat. Scared. Threat! Threat! She hissed back as she turned and bolted.

“UZI!” N’s wail cut through the rockslide as the honey-glow of his light went dark…and Uzi was left alone.

Miss you… she cried as she continued down the hall. Goodbye…

Tessa coughed as silence fell and the rubble finally stopped falling. So many bumps and bruises aching and oh that was probably a rib poking into her lung to cause her breathing to bring nothing but agony. It was a miracle that the suit hadn’t ruptured.

“Thank you, Aunt Ava for your wonderful engineering.” she thought as she tried shifting up…only to find the reason for the broken rib.

A rock was currently crushing her chest and doing its damndest to turn her into a meat paste sauce for whatever spaghetti code that demon virus ran on.

“Hoookay, Tessa…just…breathe…” she winced as the rib stabbed at her again, “OK! BREATHING BAD IDEA! BUT KINDA NEED IT TO LIVE!”

She thunked her helmet back against the rock it was leaning on. What were the positives in this situation? Well…

One: She wasn’t dead

Two: Besides the stabbing pain in her chest from the busted rib, she could feel her arms and legs so she wasn’t paralyzed.

Three: No Solver in sight or Solver Drone being possessed by the demon program around to munch on her.

Four: Her suit was intact, so no breach other than the bite made by the dingo and she was able to still breathe (no matter how painful that was…

Five: Her arms were free.

Wait…

Her arms were free .

She gave a smile under the ebony glass and her fingernails scrabbled for her sword. Where was it? She’d had it in her hand before the little purple gremlin dropped the hall on them! If she could just grab the sword…

The urge to shout or yell was great, every movement sent rattling pain stabbing through her body. The pained whimper that left her did not help either.

“You probably could have handled that better, the whole ‘universe or one drone’ thing.” she thought as a grunt of straining whining left her “but you never did people well. Robots yeah, but even then…”

She shook her head.That was a point of contention to work out later when she wasn’t being pressed into crude oil and a megalomaniacal rogue artificial entity wasn't on the verge of claiming a new host. Shed have to talk to N about breaking possible death news gentler and maybe having a bit more faith, but that all could wait until she got out from under the rock.

Just needed the sword, a bit of leverage, and the fulcrum would sort the rest out! Right? But that brought her back to her initial problem…where was her sword?

She pawed around for it in the dark before turning and coming face to face with the biomechanical visage of a half-smiling rendition of a human face.

Chapter 35: 35

Chapter Text

35

SYS STATUS:

[Knocked TF Out]. . .

[Rebooting]. . .

N groaned as he sat up, blinking as dust sprinkled down on him, that…really hurt. Every strut and wire ached and pinched. He wasn’t sure exactly what happened after the rocks came down, just that Uzi was scared.

Speaking of that…

“Uzi! Tessa!” he cried out, sitting straight up, Pain! Pain! Hurts! Miss you! Where!?

A tingling, almost tickling or itching sensation shot through his left arm and he gave a soft huff as his gaze shot down to it. He grimaced as he saw his fingers caught between the stones and the piece of iron support structure piercing through his forearm. For lack of a better term…

He was stuck.

His tail flicked, raising up to eye level as he pondered his options. He tried tugging on his arm, no luck. Trying to move the rocks would also not be a good idea…mainly because he wasn’t sure if moving it would cause even more structural problems. Uzi’d be able to tell…she was great at those things. He side-eyed his tail…no, the acid would eat through his hand and he was already running low on materials to repair that. He’d have to eat something soon or else risk really bad consequences if they had to come to a fight.

However…

Putting a part back on would be much much faster and less costly than completely regenerating it. Right?

He gave a sigh. He needed every edge he could get against the Solver. Because he very much doubted it would let Uzi go without a fight. And that was a fight he must win. There was no if/ands/or buts about it. He had to win.

He swallowed as he raised his right arm, nanites pooling in the arm’s housing and creating a replica of a bonesaw as he raised it high. If he hadn’t said anything…if he’d stood up to Tessa sooner…if he’d dragged V in the elevator with him…

“I deserve this,” he whispered, voice cracking and breaking as he lay the overly warm metal against his pinned arm, “I really deserve this…”

A soft giggling sound rang through the air. Achingly familiar…

“V-!” he whipped his head around to face the darkened corridor in front of him, eyes hollow as he looked to find his friend and squadmate, expecting to see that co*cksure grin as she leaned against her hip and her tail flicked back and forth…

But what he saw was not that.

His voice petered out, dying in his voicebox as his eyes bolded and stressed marks lit up under them. It was V, standing in the middle of the hallway, shadows wreathing her form like a dark halo…

But it wasn’t his V.

Instead, a petite little maid with pristinely pressed blouse and skirt, apron dainty and brilliant white, stood there. Her golden eyes sparkled behind those oh so familiar large glasses and a small, sad smile crossed her face as she gave a soft little wave…right as a flicker illumined the crawling, writhing mass of flesh and metal behind her.

THREAT! THREAT! THREAT! N shrieked as he started to panic and brought the saw down on his arm.

Uzi was having a rough time. Pain was still stabbing through her eye, half her screen was spasming between yellow and purple and she felt like she was melting into the floor as she walked down the hall. Every step was agony but at least her steps were becoming more and more fluid and not threatening to send her down to Mr. Floor.

She leaned against a bulletin board to catch her breath and wait until the room stopped spinning. After a few moments of catching her breath, she looked up at the wall and froze. Carefully she moved her hand away from the near two decade old paper and her core stuttered faintly as she saw a familiar face.

“...Mom?” she whispered, looking at the picture.

Her mother was…smiling. But it was not a good smile. It was a smile that promised a very bloody, very gruesome and very painful death. That slow, wide, killing grin of a feral Solver Drone. Around her in an array of shadow and bone were tendrils and claws, reaching for the camera as her mother’s head lolled to the side in a bird-like tilt.

Uzi’s eyes flicked towards the words on the page, reading the freaking warning on it.

Due to lack of progress in units (sans 048)...Team 06 (Ripley) is tasked with the reattempting of 002’s recovery VIA Failsafe USB (606b).

The expected completion date is:

Ser 27, 11:59pm

Please don’t all die and nearly let her out in that state…I’m not mad, just slightly disappointed and a bit scared. Be careful -Dr. Elliot

“...The hell…isn’t that the Spazz’s name?” Uzi wondered, “God…Mom what did they do to you…?”

She unfastened her mother’s collar, rubbing her thumb over the engraving as she did.

WARNING! INTERNAL TEMPERATURE IS RAISING ABOVE ACCEPTABLE LEVELS!

Oil level at 21%

COOLANT REQUIRED!

“Ughhhhhh!” Uzi groaned as she threw her head back, feeling her wings and tail start to twitch under her casing, itching for a hunt, pressure stabbing at the points where they would emerge from her back.

She didn’t have her can with her, so this was going to be fun . She looked up at a sign pointing towards the holding cells.

“That could be useful…” she thought as she started in that direction.

N was panicking. The glittering bobbing of the thing pretending to be V getting closer as he continued to frantically saw at his arm. But his hand kept slipping and not getting a good grip.

“I missed you, N,” V’s voice was soft, pouting almost in that way that used to make his core race back at the manor, “Didn’t you miss me?”

“Nooooope thank you very much trauma ghost you can stay right there I can hear you just FINE FROM HERE!” his voice pitched up higher and higher as he saw the pale white claws that grabbed at ‘V’ and bobbed her along like a doll being led by it’s child-like owner.

“Oh, d0n’t be c-C0oooy,” ‘V’ smiled, he could hear the dragging footsteps of many little legs and his tail thrashed, a hiss of warning slipped through his fangs as steam vented through the small little cracks in his armor, plates popping up in the same fashion a dog’s hackles raised, “Y-you kn-knOw…y-you’r3 o-On-one of the r-re4sons I want-t-t3d your t-teaM t-t0 ke-e3-eep y0ur p-per5on4l-Lities.”

His hand stopped moving, his eyes looked back at ‘V’...she was so close, almost so that he could touch her.

“...Cyn this isn’t funny,” he whispered, voice cracking.

‘V’ stared at him, golden eyes lifeless as a slow grin crossed her face. A tendril whipped out from her back and smashed the lantern between them, throwing her into shadow save her eyes…which hollowed.

“You…always…surprised…me.” came the whisper as another tendril snaked out of the darkness, wrapping around his waist and ripping him forwards and into the air. He screamed sharply as his trapped arm snapped and clattered to the ground, sparking and twitching still.

N’s breath hitched as a different figure stepped out. Smaller, crippled and bent…but with the same wide smile as she shuffled forwards and threw herself around him.

“Always willing to do… anything. But now…hm. Interesting…sibling bond is not enough? Well, that can be fixed,” ‘Cyn’ smiled, looking up at him as she slapped a hand to his screen.

N’s world went dark for a few moments, lighting up in cool greys and silvers. His core thundered in his chest as he looked around. He was in an apartment of some sort, modern day tech it looked like. Moonlight streamed through the wide windows and he got up off the bed. He looked around, confused, only for a voice to come floating up through the closed door.

“I am tired of this dream…will it ever end for me? I don’t have the will to know…can you help me see?”

He padded through the door, down the hall and towards the staircase of glass leading down. Carefully, he prowled down the steps with light tapping steps that echoed far too loudly for his liking.

“Let my body keep you warm…let my essence be your breeze…” the voice continued, aching familiar and warm all at once, “Can you hear me calling?”

He fell to all fours as he near slithered across the dark wood floor, barely making a sound save for the tiny scrape of his tail’s needle. He paused as he reached the kitchen and peered around the island with hollow eyes.

“Please look out for me…” the singer paused, jumping five feet into the air as she spotted him, “ROBO-CHRIST N DON’T FREAKIN’ SCARE ME LIKE THAT!”

N scrambled off all fours until his back hit the refrigerator, there were tears in his eyes as her own hollowed.

“Whoa…” Uzi blinked, “Dude…Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You look…seriously freaked out…everything okaaAYYY!” she yelped as he bolted towards her and swept her into a hug, “Ok! Uh, nice to see you too! You act like you haven’t seen me in years…everything ok?”

“You’re ok?!” he stammered, sitting her down on the floor and checking her over. No injuries, no…nothing. She was…fine!?

“Uh…yeaaaah, I’m ok. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I jus-” something struck him from behind and he let out a scared hiss, dropping to the floor as whatever hit him clambered up his back with skittering, lightning fast movements.

Here! Hi! Hi! Hi! Love you! Food? Hungry! Food! Hi! Hi! Hi! A very light, very high voice chirruped as something soft nuzzled and purred against his neck.

All his eyes could see was…purple?

“Kiddoooo…you know it’s too freakin’ early for this. Yeah, yeah I’ll feed you. You gonna take it from me this time?” Uzi groaned, grabbing whatever it was and removing it…with some difficulty. N’s eyes hollowed as he saw what looked to be a very small, little photocopy of Uzi in her arms…

Except it had a tail. And two tiny silvery wings that were currently flapping around.

“Mama?” a sleepy voice yawned and N’s eyes snapped to the stairs…just to see what looked to be a smaller photocopy of himself hugging the little golden retriever toy from his nest to their chest, “Wha’s goin’ on?” the boy yawned, his tail giving a lazy wag only for the sleepy eyes to brighten and a sharp smile to cross his face, “Daddy!”

The child bolted towards N, thudding bodily into his chest and wrapping his tiny arms around N’s midsection, purring happily.

Miss you! Love you! Hi! Came the high little pings from the boy as his tail arched around N.

Love you! Love you! Hi! Hi! Hi! The little girl in Uzi’s arms chirruped in return, beaming brightly as her own tail wagged.

“...What is this?” N croaked, “Cyn…Solver…what are you doing…”

“Daddy?” the boy blinked, pulling away, “What’s a Solver?”

“This isn’t real…this isn’t real …” N stammered, looking up at Uzi, who looked…very concerned.

“But it could be …”

N’s head whipped towards the piano in the living room…where what looked to be Cyn sat on the bench, looking up at him with blank eyes.

“It could be…big brother. If you just help us.” that wide smile was back, “You were always so willing to help. To do…anything. Condescending smile…is this not…a happy dream? Something you want? The girl you love…and a family with her.” the Solver hopped down off the piano. “We can give this to you…”

N looked at the little boy that stared up at him, so much bright promise and potential…then at the girl in Uzi’s arms, so much love and happiness…

Then he looked at Uzi.

And his thudding core stopped. She looked scared, concerned…just like she did before they were separated. He grit his fangs together so hard he was surprised they didn’t grind themselves to dust.

“No.” he growled, “I won’t help you. Cyn…I know you can hear me…please. You can’t let it win.”

“Aggrieved sigh. We told Host Cyn this would happen.” the Solver looked up at him, “Host Cyn can hear you, big brother…but…she cannot help you.”

It snapped its fingers and the room went dark again.

When he came to, N saw ‘Cyn’ step back, frowning with that deadpan expression that she had perfected against J.

“Annoyed expression. It seems Little Sister Uzi is a bit more problematic than we thought. The theft of administrator privileges is…annoying. However, we have a way to fix that. Evil snickering.” the lights flickered again and ‘Cyn’ became little more than a puppet on the head of that horrible holo spooky snake crab creature. “Grab. Singsong voice. I suppose we should just use you anyways. Dinner time!”

The hologram flickered and N was yanked off his feet, dragged down into the dark hallway. He screamed, flipping around and trying to grab onto the wooden beams that sparsely populated the walls. His claws cracked and split and snapped off on each and every one of them, making him hiss in pain as he flipped back onto his back.

His hand switched out for the laser canon and his screen flickered into a broad golden X as it charged.

“GET OFF!” he roared as he swept the beam over, only to yelp as he was knocked off balance and the beam swept harmlessly overhead.

He was jerked around even harder after that, hurtling towards a horrifying wall of bloody viscera and bone. Tendrils with human-like hands reached and flexed towards him and N shrieked, his claws regenerated enough for him to scrabble and try to drag himself backwards, meeting resistance as he hooked them into a pelvis and ribcage. He strained, hearing his struts creaking horribly as the Solver yanked harder.

The crack of bone as his claws dragged through it was such an awful sound.

It dragged him down the wet, bloody tunnel, towards a sickly yellow glow and heat that continued to grow more and more by the second…

There was a flash of violet and a pickaxe sliced through the tendril that was currently flopping and writhing wetly on the ground. A golden cross smacked against his chest and he sputtered as he looked around, gripping the icon.

“Uz-!” he cut off as a small figure, much much smaller than Uzi, hopped onto the handle of the pick and then scuttled towards him, “You’re…not who I thought you were…you’re a…Solver Core?”

“Oh look, those eyes work, you want a medal?” came a female voice as the violet glowing Core’s light lidded in almost a deadpan glare, “The hell is that thing trying to kill one of its murder pets? Whatever…beyond my paygrade. You stupid or something?”

Something about this was…familiar. He felt like he was getting yelled at by Uzi for some reason.

“Ehhh in some ways?” he offered as the Solver gave an almighty shriek of rage and something big rumbled towards them.

“Hoookay good enough for me, drive pretty boy,” the Core ordered, a little bit of fear coloring its voice as it skittered on top of his head, “Now!”

N scrambled to his feet and a brilliant violet flight flickered around the pick and what looked to be a toolbox, carrying itself up next to his head. The unlikely pair bolted down the hall, N running as fast as he could go with whatever it was behind them coming up quick. He whipped around, shifting a hand to his missile launcher and fired at the ceiling, causing it to come down behind him as he took a few stutter steps back.

“Won’t stop it for long,” the Core said, “Keep running and keep those eyes on the road!”

“Gotcha,” he nodded as he continued, skidding around a corner. No sooner had he done that, the makeshift cave-in shattered and his core leapt into his throat.

“...The hell…you…look real familiar,” the Core murmured, giving itself a shake, “Nevermind. Left.”

N didn’t question, just dodged left and ducked as a tendril lashed out at him as the monstrosity following them screeched and skittered a little too far…giving them more precious time.

“Hey…you sky demons have wings, right?” the Core asked, getting a nod from N, “Awesome. If you can juuust get that cross thing to the surface…and look for a handsome hunk of a drone named Khan.”

Wait a second.

N blinked, staring at the Core for a moment as they ran. “...Wait…what do you want with Uzi’s dad?”

The violet flicker surged brightly and the core brought the pickaxe flush against his neck. It lifted one of its claws as a Solver Glyph burned into the air.

[Scale]

N felt himself get choked by the pick, forcing them into a side path at breakneck speed. The Core slapped a fleshy claw over his mouth, silently ordering him to be quiet. The monster chasing them blitzed past the two with a choir of hellish screams and shrieks of the damned, spraying dirt and dust and blood into the air with it’s passing. When the silence came back. The Core clambered down his head to his arm and he had the strangest feeling he was being given the death glare that would kill Earth fifty times over.

“How the freakin’ hell do you know my daughter ,” the Core snarled.

Chapter 36: 36

Chapter Text

36

Khan felt the ground rumbling beneath his feet long before the lights flickered in the apartment. His core twinged again, squeezing tightly for a few moments before relaxing and it’s humming flicker stabilizing once again. A frown creased the lights of his screen as he shifted off of the chair.

It had been a while since that had happened…he vividly remembered the dream that he’d woken up from then too. Something about being chased by some horned creature with burning eyes and thrashing tail as knives were thrown at him. And he’d been so small, so frail…he’d done everything he could to get away before he awoke due to Uzi yelling at him that he was going to be late for work.

But still…it was weird that it was doing that now. The feeling of being chased, of wanting to find something and failing, that didn’t leave him. Not until the squeezing stopped.

The ground rumbled again and he felt weightless for a moment as the apartment shuddered and rocked, things lifting from the ground for precious seconds…and then sending him sprawling back down to the ground.

A crash caught his attention and he bolted into his room, seeing that the door hiding his wife’s closet was now on the floor and her drawings exposed to the air. He started forwards, frowning as he reached for the dead expressioned ID card hanging from a peg. His hands brushed against a blackened drawing, of the singularity drawn upon the yellowed paper…and he gave a sigh, dropping his hand.

“You were right about this too, weren’t you, dear?” he murmured, “The planet’s going to try to eat us, isn’t it?”

Her picture was silent and with another sigh he took the ID off the peg and looped the lanyard around his neck, tucking it into his jacket where it nestled against a silver ring on a chain. He then walked towards Uzi’s room and shouldered open the busted door.

She’d forgive him if he told her what he was doing. After all…he was doing it to protect her. As he should have done months ago. Years ago even.

He made his way towards Uzi’s desk, brushing aside the cans of oil that were disturbingly empty, ignoring the fact he thought he saw an arm laying on the floor, and pushed aside some scrabbled ramblings of drawings, Solver glyphs, ‘cool S’s’ and other disturbing images…until he found what he was looking for.

Uzi’s Sick AF RAILGUN that’s cool and DOESN’T SUCK

“Alrighty, kiddo…let’s get this finished,” he smiled, picking up her backpack and pulling out the half-finished parts before starting to put it back together.

In that moment, Tessa wasn’t the thirty two year old woman, humanity's last real hope at finishing the fight started on Earth.

Instead, she was back to being a twelve year old girl dressed in ribbons and bows and too tight shoes that pinched when she walked, watching her life crumble in front of her eyes into blood-soaked butter tinted stained glass. For a moment, she was that scared, twelve year old girl that screamed until her voice went hoarse as she watched her father get tortured and her mother mounted on a pike like some gruesome scarecrow of feathers and silks.

For a moment…the whole facade of how she believed herself to be an action hero shattered into the quivering horror movie final girl that was being chased in the infamous “Final Girl Circuit”.

And then those silver-steel eyes hardened behind the ebony glass and her hand snapped down, grabbing her Colt from its holster, pulling back the hammer and squeezing the trigger.

CRACK!

Simulacrum eyes too big for their sockets widened as its head snapped back. The report sent a painful jolt up her hand, the one that damn dingo bit, that left her head ringing and spitting static. It felt like someone was jamming a stick up her arm by way of her wrist and then running an electric current through it. She continued to squeeze the trigger…and horror ran through her as she realized…

She’d forgotten to reload and the preloaded canisters that J had fabricated were on her belt…pinned under the rock.

When the smoke from the barrel dissipated, the silence was so loud her heart was more akin to a nuclear bomb roaring in her ears. The head of the… thing …in front of her lowered down, the skin between those too wide eyes was broken in a perfect circle, bleeding red and…black. Red lifeblood and black lifeoil that had no reason to exist together. The void black glass crinkled, whisper humming as it healed and the thing pulled the lead slug out of its forehead-screen.

“Ow. Annoyed expression. That was rude.” that voice, that damn voice that haunted her nightmares every night for the past twenty years sizzled and popped in her ears. Two tiny and golden Xs blinked into being as the rotting skin started to slough downwards, damaged from the shot.

A glint of silver caught Tessa’s gaze and her eyes widened as meat tendrils that wiggled and writhed in blind snake coils dragged the point of the sword through the dirt and ash. Tessa didn’t have time to scream as the sword came down with all the weight of Damocles onto her elbow. Splitting the muscle, spilling the fat, and painting the rock in the bone and cartilage with scarlet pumping life. The shriek that tore from her throat as the limb splatted to the ground, fingers uncurling around the cold-iron of the colt and causing it to clatter dully on the ground, was enough to send small little waterfalls of gold-dust and chalk from the rocks above.

Her free hand arced over the rock, trying with fumbling fingers to grab at the spurting limb. Ava’s voice rang in her head, the countless, countless times she’d run her through simulation and what ifs and all with J.

Squeeze the wound shut, Tessa!

Staunch the bleeding, Tessa!

Forget the whine of klaxons in your helmet warning of major suit breach, Tessa!

Anything to stop the pain lancing through your shoulder. Anything to make the screeching stop. Anything to get the raking nails across the primal part of her mind to fire ! Anything to get her body moving to fix this!

But…she couldn’t. Her hand was laying limply at her side, the other still uncurling in its puddle of wine spilled from crystal glasses as the screams echoed and echoed and echoed …

“Tsk tsk. Condescending pat.” the thing purred as the limb that freed her lower arm from the upper patted her on the helmet, dragging said tentacle monstrosity down the lower half like a mother would her darling child, “Tessa, you should know by now that screaming does no good. Oh…it seems that you have, once again…frozen up. Sigh. You truly have not changed in the past twenty years.”

“Neither did you!” Tessa wanted to snap, but her voice wouldn’t bring itself to sound. Her heart hammered in her chest as the the twin golden Xs flickered out, becoming hollow ovals that bolded on seeing her.

“...T-T355555444…” the voice was small, almost childlike, tears glittering as the hand reached for her, “h3-h3lp…m-m3…so0rry…”

Tessa’s eyes widened as golden sparks spat from the creature before her, eyes going dark for an instant before blinking back on.

"Annoyed expression. That was…irritating. It is quite rude to be interrupted.” the thing stated. “Now, where were we? Pensive finger tap. Oh. Correct! Clearing throat. I never did like the freeze facet in the acute stress response system, it was so very... inefficient. That's why I only gave my dolls a fight response."

Tessa looked at the thing, then back at the bleeding stump of her arm. That had…was that Cyn just a few moments ago? But…why?

"Oh... the ‘action hero’ locked up.” the Solver hummed, “Sympathetic frown. I wonder how this will affect audience retention?"

Tessa saw a tendril reach out and grab the arm, dragging it back to it as it picked it up.

“Oh. This will work quite nicely. Malevolent giggle.”

Uzi was not expecting the mining tunnel to suddenly and devilishly turn into a portal to hell itself. The lantern held by a skeleton twenty years dead was a nice touch though, very Amnesia the Dark Descent . She remembered V playing it and N screeeeaming when a jumpscare happened and she had la-

She shook her head as her core constricted. V’s name wasn’t showing up in the admin logs. And she felt like she’d been kicked in the chest, something torn from her and leaving a bleeding and ragged hole, sparking ruins that leaked into her chest and twisted around her.

She couldn’t afford to think about V right now. Couldn’t really afford to think about N at the moment either. So instead, she thought about getting answers…and unfortunately those answers required her to continue onwards. She gave a soft hiss as her tail manifested, reaching up and butting against her cheek for a second.

Ok, the thing wasn’t as bad as she originally thought. She gave it a little scritch under it’s ‘chin’ and it gently nibbled on her bangs before snaking forwards and delicately taking the lantern from the skeleton.

“I’m on to you, stupid jumpscare worthy bag of bones…” she growled as her tail slunk back to her side, holding the lantern high and bathing her path in golden light. Like hell she was going down the meat path. That was certain death there.

With a final glare at the skeleton, she bolted down the next hallway. Her boots making loud clomping sounds as the dirt turned to gravel turned to stone and she found herself standing in an absolutely massive cavern. Her eyes hollowed as she spotted the church from the dream…vision…whatever.

“...Maybe I am going crazy like Mom…” she put a hand to her mother’s collar, rubbing her thumb over the engraving, “Alright…let’s get some answers shall we?”

Her back casing cracked and groaned and she let out a hiss as her wings pushed through, flapping once, twice to get feeling back in them. She shifted on her feet, spreading her wings wide and launched into the air, flying towards the church in the distance.

By the time she’d landed, it felt as if she were being watched. Like something…was almost expecting her. She shook her head as she lay a hand on the heavy stone carved doors. Figures she didn’t recognize stood in silent sentinel as the grey stones rose up towards the cavern ceiling, the gothic architecture soaring overhead and dimly she wondered what it’d be like to fly up through the soaring buttresses and steeples.

She shook her head. This wasn’t the time. Answers first, curiosity second. And with that, she pushed the door open and peered inside, her tail holding the lantern in to light the way.

It was absolutely massive, soaring pillars and shattered pews, worn stone tiles scratched to hell and back as dark splotches of what was mildew? blood? oil? she couldn’t tell, ran across the floor. Dark growths scored the pillars in ways that did not seem natural, almost inflicted upon them. But what caught her eye were the fact that there were multitudes of candles lit.

Someone was here?

She quickly and quietly slipped in, her wings’ talons scrabbling onto the door as she used them and her feet to quickly scale up the wall. She remembered seeing V do this in the past when she’d been infected by Cyn, she was thankful that she was right in her ability to do so. Once she had gotten high enough off the floor, she pushed off the wall and launched towards one of the rafters. She landed gently and quietly, grinning in her ability to land near silently as she prowled forwards, finding oh so small handholds and footholds that carried her forwards until she leaped to the other side of the aisle rafters and continued onwards.

Uzi then jumped off the rafters and onto the chain of the chandelier hanging in the center of the sanctuary, crawling her way down the chain with faint rattling clinks. Perfect place to look around without being seen, despite the fact she was perching like some living gargoyle on the tines of long dead candle sparks.

Her gaze was captured by a golden flash, fear squeezing her core as she followed the flash of light and saw what looked to be a pit. A grotesque, fleshy maw in the ground that drew her down…down…down. . .

The sound of music caught her attention and snapped her out of her trance, the Solver glyph that flickered over her screen blinking away as her head tilted to the side. She…knew this song. Uzi twisted her body slightly, causing the chandelier to creak under her weight, and spotted a set of consols that she missed…and they were lit.

“...Well that’s convenient. And probably a trap,” she huffed, “But it’s the best I got other than going down into the Sarlacc pit…”

She dropped off the chandelier, gliding over to the pillars closer to the consols and grabbing on to them, scanning to see if anyone was there first before fluttering down to perch on top of the chair in front of them.

The entire desk area was littered with drawings, maps, and posters of old anime and manga that made a spark of pain shoot through Uzi’s core. The music continued to play, blasting at full strength from the cat-eared headphones that were paired to an old iPod.

“That’s a Dead Batteries nightcore,” she gave a grin as her tail dropped the lantern and then came up to gently boop the pause button, “Good taste I’ll give that person that.”

She continued to examine the desk, frowning with narrowed eyes as her tail snaked up and grabbed a picture off the shelf above the computer screens. That…was her dad? And the other one one was of a pill baby…she couldn’t tell what color the eyes were but something within her told her that was a picture of her.

“Why would there be a picture of me and Dad down here…” she whispered, “Can’t be Mom’s…I was born after this disaster…” She gave a growl as she put a hand to her screen and wiped down, “More freaking questions that I don’t have the answers to. I hate everything about this.”

Her gaze flicked down to the staticky screen, noticing that it read ‘pause’. Maybe if she rewound…that would give answers as to whose place this was…

So, with a couple keystrokes on the computer, after she kicked the admittedly cool teddy bear out of the seat, she started the rewind. It was old and she couldn’t catch much, but it wasn’t long until she finally made it to the start.

Her tail flicked, coming over and resting on her shoulder as she hit ‘play’. The image of a middle aged human woman with long, rust brown hair and piercing silver-blue eyes came onto the screen.

”Alright, where do I start? Guess here is fine…it’s Seramorris 27, 3054. My name is Dr. Ava James Elliot and I am one of the technicians assigned to Project Solver here on Copper-9. And I’m currently the head of the sect trying to destroy the damn demon program.”

Chapter 37: 37

Chapter Text

37

Uzi settled back in the chair, eyes narrowed as she saw the human on the screen. She looked…exhausted and frazzled. Which did not fit the same energy that Uzi had seen from Tessa. Were the two seriously related?!

She winced as a high temperature warning buzzed over her screen and she grabbed at one of the oil cans on the desk. No one else was using it, might as well use it so she didn’t, y’know, melt. She hated the fact her purr rumbled in her chest as she took a few long sips of the sweet and cold tarry liquid.

“So to start…I don’t like what my fellows have done,” Ava sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she massaged the area, “Not after the destruction of Earth. And I wasn’t the only one. I and a handful of others believe that there is a massive mistake in allowing this to continue.”

She pulled up a picture and Uzi’s eyes hollowed. A shattered planet with a golden black singularity howling in between the broken pieces. Was…was that Earth!? Oh of freakin’ course . They went and got themselves all blown up before she could do it herself. Of course . Not allowed to have any fun, was she?

“Mainly because we’re afraid this will be another Earth.” Ava continued, “So we’ve been taking the Test Group that’s been infected and have been trying to patch that virus out of them. Or at least nuke the admin and set them up as their own. Um…so far it’s not worked.”

“Gee, that’s surprising,” Uzi rolled her eyes.

“I’ve noticed in particular it’s got an attachment to my old friend and charge…a Medic named Nori, or for the sake of those watching this…Test Subject 002.”

“...Mom hates humans so I think you’re lying,” Uzi deadpanned, “But I’ll humor you. A patch would be nice.”

“I don’t know why, maybe it’s because her spitfire nature seems fun to try and break. But I’ve noticed it gets very… active when she has been shut down. Unfortunately this has led to some very drastic measures taken to keep it from killing us. It’s not happy with us trying to purge it. I’ve…had to wipe Nori’s memory core multiple times because it’s made her kill several interns and a few doctors.” Ava admitted, “Nori, if you are watching this…I’m sorry. I really am. But I’ve tried to get that thing out of you so that you can return back to that cute architect of yours and live that life you hoped to. I hope you can forgive me this one sin.”

The human cast a look over her shoulder, falling silent as if being afraid of being found.