Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

About 50 miles west from home. No life spotted. Body count; 245. The largest body count since the trot leaving the manor. People were dropping like flies. She could only hope it was the drones and not some sort of radiation poisoning. Wildlife left; burrowing animals and insects. Unfortunately misquotes have survived the bloodshed. As they have every major genocide of various populations on earth. Squirrels do not make good food but if she holds her breath she can imagine it's a really small chicken leg. Only eat when there is no other food around. Tessa didn't know if people could get rabies from eating infected species. She was only half sure she had the shots to combat the virus.

Fire at the church is still blazing. As it is all the time. Shouldn't it have burned down by now?? Anyway, this area can be marked off as a safe zone. No drones will get within a 4 mile radius of the fire. Reason; unknown, for now. Maybe they just don’t like fire. She didn’t like fire either. The smell gave her a headache. The sky was still a nasty dark orange color. That black hole void thingy was creepily shining as bright as the sun. On some days she swore it whispered things illegible to her ears. It might’ve replaced the sun. It’s been there for 2 years since its appearance. The drones seemed to linger around it. Strangely enough they popped out of it from time to time? Tessa didn’t dare to investigate the mass. She knew her limits. It was far enough away that there wasn't a need to get close.

What was left of the military pressed still pushed on the mutated drones. Choppers circled the skies. From what Tessa believed the last humans could be living in there. No other humans have been seen for weeks. The last person she saw got eaten before her eyes. Grim but Tessa had a tough stomach. She was more worried about the fact that she hadn't found any of them. Every drone that caught her eye lacked any of their features. They were violent. Hard to come across without being immediately put on the offensive. Tessa always made sure to thoroughly look over their lifeless bodies before moving on with her search.

Luckily, even robots were weak to guns. Tessa was just fortunate to be equipped with a M1911 pistol. Other military personnel dropped their inventory, that included a much more complicated arsenal. However Tessa had no idea how to use them. Plus the heavy artillery had a kick back that she learned was too much for her body to handle. In a moment where she had to use one the pressure knocked her off her feet, damn near giving her a concussion. When she gazed at what was left of the drone that attacked her it was blasted in half. Blew its core to smithereens. Its whole midsection to be specific.

Definitely made note to work out to handle the power of those bad guys. 

In the meantime, Tessa stocked up on bullets that apparently exploded? Sick as all hell by the way. They weighed her backpack quite a bit. Being that all that inhabited the storage was bullets, whatever food that she’d stolen from dead bodies and medical aid. Tessa wasn’t happy with her roster to be completely honest. She had a stash elsewhere but even that wasn't up to par. It lacked much needed items like water. Water, oh sweet dear water please come soon. Tessa made it her mission to seek out water at least twice a week. Even that wasn’t enough. Her current source of hydration was near empty bottles often found resting by the dead. She went as far as to start eating healthy looking plants for moisture. Only half the time did she end up inebriated. Once or twice doing so led to a nasty stomach ache.

Enough daydreaming about what she didn’t have. Most importantly Tessa had her life. She’d escaped the manor years ago with the help of humans that specialized in instances with “zombie drones” as they called them. Seems like Cyn actually did have something serious wrong with her and wasn’t just silly and quirky. Obviously now. The humans let her live at their camp. Things went well. Until a year later these upgraded murderous drones showed up at their doorstep. They came in, killed everyone like there was no tomorrow. Tessa didn’t waste time fighting or trying to save anyone. Hell no. She jumped out the window the second she heard screaming. Had to put herself first. 

Looted the bodies on her way out. That was where she got some insulated overalls to pair with a cropped hoodie. The only things that would fit her. An egregious pairing but she was happy to get rid of that raggy dress. Thank you random technician that was laying dead by the window. You didn’t die for nothing. 

Tessa truly escaped by the skin of her teeth. Drug herself around with a broken ankle for months before it healed and she became a scavenger. Since then things have only gotten worse. Tessa didn’t want to believe she was the only human on the planet, but the feedback on the radio indicated the human race was coming to a close on this rock. However, she’d heard talk of other exoplanets. Humans lived there. Thrived. It seemed like a long shot but if Tessa wanted to live another year, it seemed like she had an objective added to her queue.

1. Find V, J & N. Kick their butts and rewire them (if necessary) so they don’t kill you on sight— Ongoing
2. Find a steady source of water Multiple failures but keep searching Find any fucking water!!
3. Find a way off this damn rock— Pending

Seemed easy enough.

Find three drones that you haven’t seen in years, expect them to look similar enough that you can recognize them, and drag them with you to the nearest planet. Yes. That was the plan.

Tessa closed her notebook and shoved it into her bag. She’s tried everything to find them. Called out to them, left batteries with rope around it in hopes of catching them in a cartoon trap (she really thought that would at least work on N), asked other drones before she finished them off. They didn’t, or couldn’t, talk. Just made animalistic sounds. Another stick in her ass, prepare for your three not so innocent not so little anymore drones to lack the ability to communicate! Assuming they got the same upgrades as everyone else. The most she knew was that V had fleshy wings and claws and sharp teeth the last time she saw her. Those versions of drones were rare now. All of them having a more sleek design.

Ha ha ha. What else universe? 

“Maybe I’m thinking too hard. What haven’t I tried?” Tessa thought aloud. 

At the same time she stepped on something. A book under some rubble. She wiped off the cover. Rebel Ladies Who Brazen Rocked The World by Pénélope Bagieu. She gasped, clutching the publication. 

“Hehehe I gotcha now sucka.” Tessa ran out into the open manically giggling. She whistled with her fingers waving the book in the air. “Woe is me! It appears I’ve stumbled upon feminist literature! Ya hear that ya ol’ sticky beaks? Oh— whaaaats this? Additions from women of color? What a bloody coincidence!”

The ruckus attracted some company. Three drones appeared from within the clouds. Tessa squealed, thinking that she’d gotten all three in one go. On second thought, taking on all three at once without killing them would be a challenge. Task accomplished, she retried the book into her bag.

Two of them crashed down, looming in the shadows. Tessa made a mental note that one still covered high in the air. She gripped her pistol, shooting one in the chest immediately. These things severely lacked real battle iq. All their moves were the same. Rigid. Made up for with brute force strength. The other drone lunged at Tessa with its claws aiming for her face. She side stepped out of the way, blasting a bullet in the side of its head. It faltered, using its wing to attempt to cut Tessa’s side. She parried the attack by whipping out her sword from her tool belt. Thank goodness for keeping that beauty. From the major damage it slumped backwards. A final bullet blew a sizable hole in its chest to finish it off. 

Clearly those two weren’t any of her drones. Well— not the ones she was looking for. These didn’t even have hair or clothes.

Tessa looked up into the sky for the final drone. It was.. gone? No. Impossible. They never just disappeared. That’d be too easy. Tessa kept her guard up. Sword in one hand, pistol in the other. She forced herself to slow her breathing, listening for any sounds that might indicate an attack. A minute passed by of her frantic searching around her, the skies, the ground, squinting at weirdly shaped objects. Then, a high pitched trill pierced the silence. Tessa turned around to a drone coming full force at her. It cackled manically. She used her sword to take a swipe at its neck. That of which was performed too late. It grabbed onto the blade and swung Tessa into a fit of disorientation. She landed bodily against a surrounding car. The drone was on her tail, crashing into the vehicle when its target moved out of the way. Tessa hopped onto the hood in a squat, getting a good look at the drone. Two two tails accentuated with very familiar bows. Was it really??

“Is that my girl J?” She’d asked the dazed drone.

Unlike the other bots, she wasn’t just mutated and fleshy. She’d gotten a whole new upgrade. Five strange bulbs glowed on her head. Her limbs were larger— she was larger. Taller and more sturdy. Causing patterns outlines the edging of her arms and bottom of her— pegs? Not feet. Who on earth designed that? Her old maids outfit was scrapped for sleek business casual dress ending at her mid thighs, over a yellow dress shirt with a tie fastened around her neck. The dead give away this was in fact J was the band around her upper arm that marked her for disassembly. Bingo. Now time to get serious.

J shook her head then peered up. Much like the rest of the drones an amber X replaced her eyes. She smiled wide, displaying rows of choppers Tessa did NOT want to be on the receiving end of. This would be about as hard as she expected it to be.

“I’m guessing you’re not a total dunce like your new pals, eh?” Tessa chuckled.

No answer came as J took to the skies, switching out her arm for a laser that split the car clean in half. Tessa stumbled off of it as the parts fell. Shellshocked, she stared up at J. She almost wanted to praise the drone for the skill.

That’s not good. So wasn’t expecting them to have lasers. 

Not giving Tessa a chance to breathe, J hurdled back down with a sword of her own that clashed against Tessa’s. The human was forced backwards by the force being put up. Her eyes widened at the ever present grin on J’s face. Losing concentration, and subsequently her footing, she slipped onto one knee. At this point Tessa feared for the quality of her spine from the daunting angle her back was being bent at. In a quick, and childish, moment of thinking Tessa looked down at J’s shirt.

“O-oh my! Is that a meticulously placed wrinkle on your shirt?? Not very professional.” Tessa ridiculed, managing a halfwitted smile. J took the bait, comically looked down and the other blew a raspberry as she slid her blade away from the drone, causing her to stumble forward. Swiftly she rammed the hilt of her sword onto the top of her head. J yelled out, holding one of the bulbs that was busted in the process. “Ha ha made ya look, silly.” She taunted.

Celebration was cut short when J’s tail wrapped around Tessa’s legs, dangling her a couple feet in the air. Caught off guard Tessa dropped her gun, sword and bag in the attack. She grabbed at the wire, equally impressed by the strength of it and petrified by being caught. The yellow vial pointed at her side. She grabbed at the hazard curiously. Twisting and turning it around. Regardless of the severity of the situation, Tessa couldn’t contain her excitement about the technological advancement. The vial was brighter up close. When J wasn’t in the process of killing her she’d find a way to study the liquid. For now she oughta focus on surviving to do so.

“Darn. Ya caught me. What’re the chances you’re vegan?” Tessa shot finger guns at J. 

She was met with being lowered to her mouth that was unhinged enough to take Tessa’s face off with one bite. Horrifying but also cool! Such conflicting feelings! Who knew her cute little maid had the capability to become creepypasta adjacent?

“Holy Hanna! Wait wait!” Tessa smacked J’s visor, causing her to draw the woman back. “Damn Cyn that cunt. Uh— let’s see— J my bestest friend, ya really gonna have me for tea without any veggies? Wait no— I think I’d fancy being a sanger than pot roast.” She posed with two peace signs. Totally not breaking into a cold sweat. 

If J didn’t have a miraculous moment of strength she'd be shredded rather than turned into a proper meal. Actually becoming a warm bowl of chicken noodle soup was better than both options! What was she thinking?? A universal comfort meal that everyone loved and perfectly paired with crackers. Now what would be the drink on the side? Ginger ale for if you were sick. What if you were in good health and wanted the soup? Wine? An untested combo. Way more time was needed for this decision than previously anticipated.

J froze. The X glitched in and out between her usual optics before blinking and settling on hallowed eyes. Her aggression died down, fazing into disbelief. “Boss?!” She dropped Tessa on her head. The woman groaned, laying flat on her face, nursing the knot to come on her scalp. 

“When in doubt, use cartoon logic. Gaah…” Tessa sat up, rubbing the sore spot. Now hopefully a peak didn’t spew from her head using that same logic.

Attempting to overlook the thumping at the top of her head was a taxing task. One that took several seconds to succeed in. J was having a bit of a breakdown. Rightfully so. She was staring down at Tessa with more fear than she’s ever seen on her face before. Looking at her body like it was the first time she’d ever seen it. Was it? She hyperventilated, staring at the other before her like she was a ghost.

While on the ground Tessa made sure to pick up all her belongings. Pulling herself upwards, she stood before J. Now surely concussed, heaving with her hands on her knees. “Finding you was worth the onslaught of brain damage. Was it the feminist literature or just my big mouth?”

“Wh- what?” J stammered anxiously.

“Yapper mouth, got it. Saving pleasantries for later, any sight of Cyn?”

“She—“ J was cut off by her own sobs. Her arms wrapped around herself. “Are you real?”

Tessa put both hands on J’s shoulders, snapping her to attention. An unimaginable amount of sympathy was felt for her girl. Woefully they stood in an active war zone. No time to have a therapy session. That could be arranged at a later date. “J, I know you’ve been brutalized and traumatized and a whole lot more ‘ized’s while also turned into this— weirdly hot thing, but I need to know where Cyn is? Do you know?”

“I-I—“ J squeezed her optics tight in thinking. They morphed into an error symbol. “Administration blockage on her location.”

“Administration block? Who superintend that lug of baloney? My parents are dead.” Thank the stars for that. They were the only admins the drones ever had. 

J tensed, looking side to side then displayed on her screen. ‘She is listening.’

She? No freakin’ way. So not only did Cyn massacre at least a hundred people in a matter of minutes, mind control every drone in the area, rebuild those drones into killing machines that might’ve taken over the planet, now she was all of their admins?? That would explain the mind control bit. Tessa’s head would explode if she didn’t get a proper explanation some time soon. How did this one freaky drone cause so much destruction?! She should’ve listened when J said to get rid of her at the initial incidents. The overwhelming impending sense of doom whenever the devil entered a room should’ve been enough of an indicator. She was beginning to think the drone could’ve broken out of the basement but chose to stay for some “me time”.

“Ah, that ain’t good. Come, come. Follow your savior to salvation.” Tessa grabbed J’s noticeably larger hand, pulling her along. If she didn't do so surely the drone would've stayed stagnant.

5 miles behind the blazing church. An abandoned camp stood behind some foliage. Tessa figured if no drones would go near the location then she might as well keep what wouldn’t fit in her bag elsewhere. Also what wouldn’t fit on her tool belt. 

With the rest of her tools she could crack open that little head of J’s and reset the administrative settings since there was no way she’d find any computers to do so. Suddenly Tessa halted to a stop. Rethinking her choice. Cyn, having such control, meant she surely could track J. And if Cyn could track J while they were together, she would be tracking both of them. That wasn’t good. 

“On second thought.. Can ya access your control center panel?” Surely there wasn’t a block on all of her internal commands. What are the odds? Cyn is cheeky, not that smart. Right?

“Negative.”

Okay so smart and cheeky. Bad combo. Also a pain in her butt. Leaving Tessa to take part in drastic measures. No camp. No kicking Cyn out of J’s head here and now. Leaving—

“Ugghhh. Okay! This is fine. I’m going to do something but ya need to trust me. Ya still trust me right? I know it’s been a while. I would understand if the answer is no.”

Tessa left out how heart broken she’d be. Utterly crushed. Not a moment passed without Tessa thinking about if her drones were still up and running. With J okay the chances of collecting N and V increased exponentially.

“I— trust you. Always boss.” J said with certainty.

“Righty’o! Onward to—“ Best not to tell her where they were going. Just in case. Even if it were somewhere Cyn might not be able to access. “—infinity and beyond!” Tessa proclaimed. Hand in hand they walked to the next location. The sound of bullets flying and nearby explosions filled the silence. Nothing like the sounds of the world ending to make a girl feel secure.

Chapter Text

The walk to their destination was tantalizing. For Tessa at least. J hadn't uttered a word for miles. Walking over debris that made Tessa stumble in her too big boots. Stepping around bodies. Slipping on blood and other bodily fluids. There was a moment J tripped on a crack but with their still intertwined hands she didn't completely wipe out. Pretending it didn't happen and not laughing for the sake of preserving J’s pride was the hardest task she's done in a while. Dodging bullet shells that fell out of the sky since miraculously those humans managed to get killed by drones yet. If they can handle those things and come out on top Tessa would rather not engage with them. 

See the plan was to not think about water but– with little to no water in her system and sweating like the dickens Tessa was in desperate need of a pick me up. At this point the next puddle she saw was getting licked up. Scratch that. Any water on the ground was destined to be swimming with viruses that would dissolve the skin off her lips before it made its way into her stomach.

The location made her condition no better. Smoke from the church made her nervous for her lungs. It was thick like smog. Wouldn’t wanna breathe that in. The distance to her hide out was close enough that she was 99% sure no murderous bots or eldritch monstrosities would bother them. All the action was occurring further away anywho. Seems they migrated to mess with the helicopters.

“Ah, finally! My feet are killin’ me!” Tessa relaxed at the sight of the tent. “We should be safe in here.” She pushed aside the cloth to enter. Collapsing on a pile of papers, her so-called bed. Unexpectedly shredding the papers by hand made the material softer. Or Tessa was delusional because anything was better than sleeping on the ground. She was no better off than a bird trying to make a nest in a lacking environment. Wait– that's exactly her situation. Was she a bird now?

Now onto the elephant in the room– tent- thing. It was safe to finally talk about their situation. To stop acting like things were normal. They weren’t. At all. J stood in front of Tessa. Her stance was reminiscent of the oh-so suffocating properness of the manor. As soon as their hands disconnected it’s like so did her processors. 

Tessa sat up on her elbows looking over her drone. “Ya right J? Besides.. everything.”

“No. I—I ate people. A-and—” J’s hand came up to her mouth. “I want more. I’m so hungry.” There was a growl in her voice that reeked of vicious desperation. And slight lag?? Was lack of fuel messing with her ability to function?

In any case, Tessa most definitely didn't flinch at that. Calmed her nerves because it's just J. With a taste for human meat… Several upgrades that gave her capabilities to hunt. Sharp ones. Quit it Tessa! J is not going to eat you. Don’t freak out. There had to be a solution for this, a reason for the hunger that could be countered. Analytically, why would Cyn make them eat people? Why be dramatic and not wipe out everyone herself, if she was even capable of murder of that altitude.

“Are ya wantin’ to eat people because it’s all you know ya can eat? There has to be a—“ Less horrifying alternative. And that's coming from the girl that had a collection of skulls in her room. “A more stable source of nutrients for you.” 

How did they even digest humans? Tessa never stopped to think about that. All the moisture should fry their internals the same way a cup of water would be deadly. It went against basically robot logic. Stay away from water, and anything overly hydrated. 

Stop thinking about water!!

Tessa hopped up. She rummaged through her things. Throwing trash arbitrarily until she found the right collection in her horde. Wires. Nuts and bolts?? Spare parts? All together in one rubbish bag. All the drones were known to eat before was batteries and it was more of a snack than anything. A means of persuasion if you will. J could try anything here. Her collection of metal adjacent items was hefty. Sticking with the basics she handed J a battery. Double A, her favorites! The drone frowned at it. Hesitantly popping it in her mouth and swallowing. Yikes. Didn’t even stop to chew. By the look on her face it wasn't as much as a delicacy as it was back in the day. She wasn’t satisfied. So to save time Tessa handed her the whole bag.

“You can eat the batteries and junk. If it looks important, leave it alone, might be able to use it to fix things. Let’s see how long that holds ya..” Tessa stretched her joints with a couple pops. “Crikey. You’re so big now. ” Standing next to J, there was a considerable height change. They were almost the same height! Tessa still had an inch or two over the other.

Sticking her hand in the bag and pulling out the spare pieces to munch on, J spoke, “You have also grown a considerable amount.” 

“Don’t mention it. Might’ve been taller if my growth wasn’t stunted by malnutrition.” Blah bla, living on the brink of starvation, normal end of the world stuff.

Suddenly J winced, dropping the bag in exchange for holding her hands to her head, covering her audials. Her screen blinked with blue feedback. “What the– That’s getting l-o-o-oud.. D—d—o yo-ou he—he- hea—ar th—i-it??” 

“What?? What’s happening? I don’t hear anything! Here, lay down.” Tessa urged J to the “bed”. Laying her down while she glitched out. The lights on her hands began blinking red. So did the bulbs on her head. After a minute her screen powered off and J went slack. In the darkness white font flashed.

[Electromagnetic Interference. Cannot Reconnect…]

For further help contact JCJension or see a certified technician

Tessa clicked her tongue in annoyance. She is a certified technician and has no idea what is happening. What could the electromagnetic interference be? Something she ate? No, that's silly. Something in the area? But everything was trashed. Anything of good use was taken, by Tessa. She looted this area to hell and back. Didn’t miss a single microchip. This would explain other drones avoiding the area. Because they shut down when overstaying their visit. Perchance rather than anxiety J was overly quiet due to her systems being slowed. If it were those pesky helicopter inhabitants she would give them a piece of her mind! Metaphorically of course, she still wanted nothing to do with them. To make good out of a bad situation, now Tessa could take a look at her revamped friend.

Kneeling down next to J, she poked her cheek a couple times for assurance of her being offline. Wouldn’t wanna get caught. When she didn’t respond the woman started by taking a good look at her. Tinkered with her hands. The ball joints moved much smoother than in her worker body. Same goes for her wrist joints. Seems like there’s been an improvement in material. Whatever JcJension used has nothing on this. And that cool crown deserved some kudos. If only she knew what it did. Knowing that liquid sloshed inside rather than it being an internal light gave no insight to the objective of the crown. Just to look cool?? A stylish headband! No harm in that. Tessa was sure J’s new garter straps had no purpose. With a tug at them it didn’t seem like they were holding anything together. She followed one of the straps up the drone's leg. Far enough to find caution markings similar to the ones on her arms. That was definitely purely aesthetic. Aaannd her inspection comes to a pressing close. 

Patting J’s still form Tessa stood with a huff. She found herself lost for what to do next. Obviously look for the cause for her friends’ shut down. How would she do so? No idea. This was still better than being controlled by Cyn. Here, Tessa knew for a fact no one would get to her. 

Time to search for what the hell could be causing an undetectable electromagnetic intercession of this caliber. This wouldn’t be fun. All while still having no water in her system. Man she really hoped it rained soon. She would rather sit outside with her mouth open like a dog than go another day without hydration.

Please for the love of the dying company that is JcJension– stop thinking about water. It only makes her want it more.

—

Not long into her search and she was ready to kill someone. Mostly staying in the area as she didn’t believe the signal would stretch that far, Tessa checked head to toe for a large device. Maybe it would be further out but she'd still stick close to home first. 

Nothing. 

Like, come on. 

As previously stated, Tessa has been here long enough to loot everything. Was the device actually small and she wasn’t being thorough enough?? Hidden in plain sight?

There was a place she had yet to search. Didn’t want to. That damned church. There was nothing holy about it. The atmosphere around it gave her goosebumps. At a time like this Tessa really wished J was here with her instead of being out of commission. The place looked like a halloween attraction. Tessa loved spooky but this wasn't fun haunted, it was if you go inside you'd likely never return scary. 

The closer the woman neared the building the more she rubbed her arms to settle the creeping feeling. Preservation instincts told Tessa to go on somewhere else for her hunt. Yet here she was. At the doorstep. It took a while of giving herself an internal pep talk but she opened the front door and entered. Her hair immediately stood on end. Not metaphorically either. Her hair slightly lifted, as if this place had less gravity than outside. Instead of the heebie jeebies Tessa felt tingly all over. Almost ticklish. This atmosphere was insane. The air felt like a whole different planet. A buzzing stuck in the back of her head. Staticky. Nothing on fire though. In spite of the very clear flames surrounding the outer walls. Suspicious.. 

Each step deeper in the building sent chills up Tessa’s spine. If she didn’t know better she’d be worried about being struck by lightning. With the amounts of electricity she was soaking in from the area she felt like with a touch she could successfully power a light bulb. 

If she thought the place was big, the interior made the exterior seem miniscule. Overly spacious. All the seats had been removed along the sides, switched out for metal tables. On one of them was a single computer with all kinds of wires hooked up to it. To be inspected later.

Ominously in the front was a single radio. Tessa gasped, hurrying up to it. There hadn’t been a single radio intact that she could find. All smashed to small pieces. Unfixable. Just as she reached out to touch it the tingling got worse. She paused, shivering. Now wasn't the time to get cold feet. Now or never. Don’t back out. Just hope there are no long term effects.

Tessa yoinked the radio off the floor, forcing herself to ignore the vibration on her skin that rattled down to her bones. The thing seemed basic enough. Not big and bulky, fit nicely in her hands. Black in color with gold accents. Included all its buttons and accessories. An antenna stuck out the back. Tessa meddled with the nobs. Resetting everything to hopefully turn it off. Finally retracting the antenna. Then everything stopped. Her hair fell, mostly, flat. She didn’t feel like she was inhaling enough electricity to rearrange her neurons. This sucker was powerful. Definitely stealing it. 

Attached to the back was a sticky note. On her way out Tessa plucked it off, reading what was written on it. 

‘If you found this, it means I’m dead. Killed by one of those murder drones, aka, disassembly drones. I sure hope I died in a cool way anyway, I'd say I am was a pretty capable individual. We don’t know where they originated from but we hypothesize they are descendants of the solver virus. They’ll kill anything they see. Earth is compromised. The human race on this planet won’t last much longer. Nothing on earth will last much longer. My hope is that whoever found this note is efficient enough in survival to warn the rest of society living on other planets. Cooper-9 has the largest population of drones and humans, not counting earth. This entity will strike there next. A spike in odd unexplained activity among worker drones there was detected and is already being tested. If the testing persists another planet will fall at the solvers' hands. We haven’t been getting rid of it, we’re spreading it.. There is an emergency spaceship nearby to escape. Damn sure hope the unlucky sucker stuck with this knows how to pilot. 

Back to the radio, 

This device has been rewired to emit frequencies that keep away the disassembly drones. Before my team was wiped out we managed to create a custom channel that is strong enough to send the drones into a sort of disengaged state. Like this they are no harm to us. The channel is acquired by turning to frequency -000.000 then blasting the volume. Turn the radio to channel 168.55. Once you hear humming, you’ll know it’s begun to work. It's a tedious task but worth it. Fully extend the antenna for at least 4-6 miles of protection. 

Whatever you do, DO NOT turn off the channel without annihilation of all threats. Drones affected by it will immediately begin to awaken. If you do, turn the radio to back to the proper settings as fast as you can.

Good luck and may the universe be on your side. You’re gonna need it.’

“Oh come on why would you put that at the end of the note?!” Tessa exclaimed, crumbling the paper and stuffing it into her pocket.

Just then clinking was heard behind her. Gulping, Tessa dared to look back. Four drones rose to their feet, seemingly out of nowhere, and they didn’t look happy. Claws out, mouths dripping with saliva. Looks like it’s about time to—

RUN!!

Tessa ran for the hills. Running through the stamina she had left. Her lungs burned and bullets flew from behind her. She ducked and rolled behind some ruins. With shaky hands she fumbled with the knobs. Damn adrenaline was fucking up her fine moter skills! As soon as one of the drones lunged at her, Tessa got the radio to work. The low emitting hum, that she could hear now that she was listening for it, let her know she wasn’t a complete dunce when it came to following intrusions in high tension situations. A skill she was still working on. The drones crumbled down. Tessa was about to shoot them in the chests but had a better idea. Why waste parts??

In the heat of the moment she didn’t notice the fire on top of the structure behind her flickered in and out of existence. 

—

“Jaybird~ Reboot faster sleepy head.” Tessa patted J’s cheek to motivate her to wake up. With the addition of the crown, waking up must take longer now. The lights blinked on severally.

After a good minute J blinked awake, pulling herself upwards in a daze. With a big smile Tessa displayed an amalgamation of fleshy bits and robotic parts. More commonly known as a drone core. J appeared petrified at the sight of it.

“What did I miss? What are you holding a core…?”

“I found a cracked item that makes us untouchable. Well— it makes me untouchable and knocks you out. Long story short, some poor souls sought to eatin’ me up. They lost. I figured these have enough organic parts to satisfy your strange cravings. Just try.”

Tessa dropped the core into J’s hand. It stared at her with a single optic, quivering in fear. It was still alive… It’s claw limb things wrapped around J’s arm, making her even more squamish. She gagged, holding it away from herself. 

“Eating this would make me a cannibal.” J rasped behind her hand in repugnance.

“Huh, guess it would. Don’t worry, fella’s gonna die either way. I blast ‘em or you munch ‘em. No pressure—“

Before Tessa could finish J was slurping the poor thing up. It struggled to escape her mouth but she bit down with those sharp teeth, releasing juices that dripped down her chin. Finishing with a concluding slurp of the spindly limbs. Swallowing with an innocent look. Her tongue, holy tongue that shit was long as all hell, lapped up the reminisce off of her face. The woman held up questioning thumbs up. J nodded her head.

“Speared the rest on my sword for ya. Bone apple teeth. I think that’s how the saying goes at least?” Tessa handed over the core shish kebab. Moving on to the corpses on the ground. She made a point to cause as little damage as she could. Preserving them in their most peak condition meant better results. “Wanna watch me take a gander at dissecting these bodies? Gonna try to use my research to help me find out what’s going on in that new body of yours. Or is that too gruesome?” 

Mouth full of.. core.. J wordlessly sat down next to Tessa. Watching as she pulled the plating off one of the disassembly drones. Skinning the poor lad. Her efforts to take notes were directed to the arms. Inside was, nothing? Of course there were mechanisms but nothing that explains how J and all the others can go from a hand to a canon blaster. There just weren't enough parts. Materials did not just appear out of thin air. Yet when Tessa mistakenly drew close to wires near the elbow joint, a claw made itself known. Inside of the compartment all that made sense were sensors andconnective wires that held the weapons to the limb. It actually morphed out of nothing! That made no sense, and she kinda loved it. 

Next up; defacing! Tessa used her sword and started her cuts at the softer silicone. For the glass of the drones visor she hammered the all the way around its face up until the hairline. A very can opener type style. Uncapping the face from the head was horrifying. The sheer amount of teeth was startling. Besides the sharpness, nothing she hasn't seen before.

In remembrance Tessa gasped, gracing a finger over one of the bulbs on the drones head. She tried to find wire connecting to the headband. If there were any. Everything looked to be stuffed inside the cavity without a care in the world. None of this made sense either. With this much disformity all the murder drones should be short circuiting 10 seconds after booting up.

“What are those?” Tessa pointed to the 5 lights. “Do they do anything or are they just there to look pretty? Everything is a tangled mess.”

“Optical sensors. They’re how we see now. The screens just for sho—“ J paused as Tessa covered her visor, lifting up a hand in view of the crown in a burst of excitement. Leading to J pausing her chewing of the sentient core. The things truly weren't supposed to have sentience. Morally or rationally. Put that in the good ol’ mental box of horrors. Aaaand, repressed!! Ah much better.

“How many fingers am I holdin’ up?”

“4 fingers.” Unimpressed, J lowered the hand from her visor. “I have two other visions including; ultraviolet and infrared.”

Tessa squealed at that. Sounded super technological! Like in murder mysteries she used to watch “Oouu! That’s useful for detecting people— I think? I’m right, right?”

“You are, boss.” J affirmed.

“Neat’o! Ahhh my little war machine. That’s good to know. Sorry for whackin’ ya in the head then. Must’ve been scary that I kinda partially blinded ya.” Tessa stopped herself from touching the bulbs on J. She wouldn't want anyone to touch her eyes. Maybe another time she’d ask for an awake body inspection.

“No need to apologize. I’m the one that tried to kill you first, you acted in self defense.”

Tessa halted what she was doing. Putting down the tools in her hands to pull J into a side hug. Testing the waters. Not sure if she was ready to fully embrace the other after so long. Inside somewhat scared? Was she scared? “I missed ya so much. Like sooo much.” She rocked them both side to side. To get a laugh out of J but also knock those silly thoughts out of her head.

“My memories aren’t in order but, I know I missed you in my brief moments of lucidity. I was so scared to lose you.” J murmured, resting her head on Tessa’s shoulder after a beat.

The drone had no idea how broken Tessa was after first losing them. For months she could hardly function. The group that took her in basically left her alone, only checking to make sure she was feeding herself. Other than that she rotted in the cot provided. Guilty of the fact that if she didn't take in Cyn they wouldn't be in this predicament. Dooming the whole world was a lot to hold on your conscience before your prefrontal cortex developed. Tessa could only hope V and N were found with as much ease as J. Their light hearted nature didn’t fit in this apocalyptic mess. At the same time, N was naturally good at feelings and better at this than her. Could give her some pointers.

Soaking in the moment didn't last long. An idea appeared in Tessa’s head and she felt like a lightbulb hovered a couple inches from above her noggin.

“Epiphany!” Tessa pulled away to ecstatically shake J. “You can’t track Cyn but could you maybe track V and N?”

J looked up in thought then nodded. “That I can do.” In a minute's time she had pulled out hopeful information. “V is 25 miles westward, as is N. It appears they’re in the same area.” She rolled her optics at that. Classic J.

Typical of them as well. Those lovebirds were attached at the hip.

“High traffic. 38 other drones in and around the location. Air traffic clogging the sky. Can’t say how many humans aboard.” J informed.

“That is a pain in the ass. Okay, plan, I bring the radio to knock ‘em all offline. Drag Romeo and Juliet to a safe zone then we come back here. You would have to stay 6 miles away to not be affected by the frequency though…” Tessa tapped her chin in deep thought. “Ya could fly me to their location, I’ll drop in like “Aha ya damn lackeys!” Find V and N in the mess and you fly us back. Is that too much baggage for you to carry?”

“Do I have to carry the liability…?” J whined.

“J!! Not the time to be petty girl! You be good to him!” Tessa scolded, pinching J’s cheek. She yelped, nodding obediently. Rubbing her face plate with a pout. “Good girl. Let me take a nap beforehand. I am pooped.” The woman leaned, relaxing her weight into J’s side. It wasn't long before she was out. Her little murderer kept a lookout for danger the whole duration of her rest.

Chapter Text

“Well this isn’t gonna work..” Tessa muttered.

See the very simple and straight forward plan she’d come up with was just turned on its head due to a couple things not taken into account. Starting strong with the fact neither Tessa nor J anticipated how clustered the other disassembly drones would be. They all clobbered on fresh carcasses in such concentrated groups. Leading into the second most problem, there were too many heads to tell which ones were N and J. From the skies every silhouette looked the same. Lastly, 3 helicopters circled the area. Pushing J out of the sky, unless she wanted to be shot down. Maybe her drone companion could take a drop from thousands of feet but Tessa didn't feel like becoming a stain on the ground.

A simple solution was to shoot the copter down before its occupants could get them. Would create a pretty good distraction for the drones, keeping them off their heels while initiating the plan, however, Tessa didn’t want to kill the humans. If they died themselves— sure whatever natural selection. If Tessa was involved then she’d feel bad about it. So what if prioritizing keeping her conscience clear at a time like this was stupid. She didn’t need another thing keeping her up at night. 

Let’s say no humans have to die for the plan, Tessa uses the radio and knocks out every drone, J gets far enough away on foot to not be affected. A new issue arises; the humans could see the drones drop like flies then get curious enough to investigate. Second new plan, not involving the radio, J and Tessa use their weaponry to snipe the drones. The sound draws attention to them and they get jumped. Let’s say against the odds they survive that. The humans still end up getting involved. They try to take out all the disassembly drones in one go since they’ll clump together while attacking, they all get bombed. Fatality. 

So many annoying factors to consider. Her brain was going to explode! 

“Industrial nerd bot, whatcha think?” Tessa asked.

“I think..” She peaked out from the crumbled building they were hiding in. It was hardly cover for if any serious fight went down. The withering material would come crashing down. It worked for hiding undetected. “Set the radio up just enough to where it doesn’t completely debilitate me. Everyone will be lethargic so then I’ll go and look for V and N. I’ll bring them here and then we will go back to base. The other drones won’t attack me for obvious reasons. No human involvement, no drones attacking you.”

That’s good. That’s real good. Solves the gulf of their problems. Tessa was pretty worried about J being alone again but she was a big girl. Never has she ever seen two drones attack each other, backing up her claim. Would it be so easy? Just pulling the two over like lost kids. What happens when they come over and want to maul Tessa’s face off? So much could still go wrong. Not like the woman was about to disagree. There were no other options.

“You think they’re gonna let you drag them over here?” Tessa queried.

“Lethargic therefore dumbed down. Even more than usual.” J mumbled the last part. Tessa didn’t even scold her for the comment.

“Back up plan for the back up plan??”

“No need. This plan is rather exceptional, if I do say so myself.” J said with a flip of her hair. Modest as ever. Mayhaps not that much has changed after all.

“How coy… I’ll be here. Be careful.” Tessa properly set the radio, making sure to only raise the antenna a little so the signal wasn't as strong. Handing it off she eyed J, checking her condition in close contact to the item. Tessa offered a questioning thumbs up. J stared bug eyed for several seconds then nodded. Briskly leaving the building. 

From her position she watched J inch through the crowd. Some bumping into her in their frenzies. Less violently if she might add. More clumsy than anything. The drone looked at others suspiciously. Thoroughly inspecting the suspects. Seemed like no luck so far. These guys had hair. Must be the favorites. Why did some have hair and clothes and some didn’t? That wasn’t very nice. Surely if Cyn was going to mass produce them she oughta treat them the same.

A couple minutes into watching and she got too far away to spot, dissipating into the crowd. Tessa groaned, only at the fact now she was playing a waiting game. Sitting in this pile of rubble. Bored to death. 

When she turned back to sit against the wall a face was centimeters away from her own, or rather, a screen. She bit her tongue to hold back a shriek. Shaking in her spot while looking back at the bot before her. Its mouth was fully unhinged. Drool poured onto the front of her clothes as it panted ferally with its tongue lolling out. 

Seems like boredom wouldn’t be the only thing that killed her. Without looking down Tessa shakily reached her hand for her gun, gripping it exceptionally hard. Something stopped her from pulling and immediately shooting. For one, it was just staring at her, and two, that was an unnecessarily loud sound that could blow this whole plan up. 

“Good murder drone? You ah— want something to chew on that isn’t me?” Tessa released her gun to grab hold of her wrench, offering it to the drone. Hoping this tool, that she had plenty of stashed, was a worthy trade off for her bones. It tilted its head much like a puppy. Closing its mouth and making a confused shrill. 

Something about this one felt overly familiar.

“If you’re not N this would be the most atrocious and anticlimactic twist in history.” Tessa cautioned. 

He wore a trench coat, a hat and— eeyup that good ol’ mark for disassembly band. Why did she keep forgetting that’s a key indicator? Goodness Tessa you are off your game. Face palming she relaxed her muscles now that there was no imminent danger.

“You gonna turn off murder mode or do I have to read you a doggy encyclopedia to unlock your character?” Tessa poked his cheek, instantly regretting it on the off chance he bit her hand off. Propitiously he chose to stare at her with this look of vacancy. As if he had zero thoughts in his head. 

Oh how J would get a kick out of this. Was this docile behavior thanks to the radio? Was J even still in range for the item to work? She didn’t want to look away from N and check. In case he disappeared like in a movie only to jumpscare her at a later date.

As kind of cute as this display was, it was also creepy. N’s tail waved side to side behind him. He eventually got extra close again. His screen bumping against her forehead. Unexpectedly warm. To think of it, J’s hand was pretty warm when she held it. Later she would look into reasons for this high temperature.

“Oh-kay buddy.” Tessa inched her hand up to mush N’s face away. Easing him backwards till he was properly sitting in front of her. “Ya consumed so much dog related media ya turned into one. All you’re missing are the ears. Bummer mate. Would’ve been stinkin’ cute I reckon.”

…

Tough crowd.. 

“Glad ya not snackin’ on me. When I found J she was all like, “Yummy yummy Tessa in my tummy!” and I was like “Holy moly I’m gonna shit my britches!” but with the power of cartoon logic she snapped out of it! Is this working at all? Ya gettin’ anything from this?”

Another staring contest induced. 

“Might be pushin’ my luck here but hug?” Tessa extended her arms out to the drone. He kept his gaze trained on her as she shifted closer. Closer.. closer. Now they were in a weird hug with him stiff as a board. How pleasant. Wait he was moving— okay just resting his chin on her head. Wholesome as ever. He was huge. Towering over Tessa even in this kneeling position. To think she used to look down at her drones.

Interrupting their strange little bonding moment was something crashing through the wall. Debris flew in a puff of smoke. Tessa pulled N down to get both of them out of the way from flying objects, squeezing her eyes closed. A click sounded and shade cast over her form. The settling of dust made Tessa cough out. Once she opened her eyes she saw something shielding her. A wing sprouting from N’s back. In amazement Tessa poked the appendage, leading to it disappearing again. Instead of gushing over N she glanced over to see what made the commotion. In a pile of rubble was J.

Yeah… Nothing new. So normal. Not concerning in the slightest. Tessa had to remind herself that J was no longer a small maid but a machine of war. Whether or not they liked it.

“Ya’ good mate?!” Tessa called.

J pulled herself out of the pile, opening her mouth to answer before shooting to the ceiling, clinging to it with her claws like a cat, effectively dodging another drone that smashed into the spot she was previously occupying. She descended on the other, pushing them against the wall, shaking the building. With deep vents she yelled out, “Are you good?!” 

“Peachy. This is N by the way— how exactly did you piss off that fella there? I thought you said they wouldn’t attack you!”

When the drone didn't stop in its efforts J tackled the combative drone. Successfully pinning them down by the arms and straddling its hips. Didn’t stop the hissing and snarling. “My hypothesis was proven incorrect." J rolled her optics. “This is V. All I did was grab her arm and she lost her mind ack—!!” The murder drone, revealed to be V, slipped out of the pin, gnawing on J’s forearm. Oil poured down from the wound in large drips.

“N make yourself useful and help! What are you even doing?!”

The mute drone didn’t even respond to his name. Staying firmly planted on Tessa. She couldn’t even move. His dead weight had her stuck. His expression was hidden. She could only imagine it was still the same. “I think something is wrong with him.”

“That makes two of them.” J scoffed. Redirecting her attention she gripped the drone by her faceplate. “Serial Designation V this is grounds for a write up.”

Besides herself Tessa snickered at that. As if authority would be her breaking point in this headspace. Watching the two scuffle like cats was mildly entertaining. Clearly J was holding back. Not trying to cause damage to V. Mainly pushing her away or trying to pin her down. V on the other hand was being very vicious.

In other news she had her own issue.

Nudging the drone on top of her Tessa began with a sweet tone, “N? Hey look, it’s V. Don’t you wanna make sure she’s okay, or, I don’t know, have an awkward but cute interaction??”

From the other side of the room came a gag from J. “Ew please don’t.” 

Tessa grabbed N by his arms, using her depleting strength to roll them over, freeing herself. Poor guy wasn't reacting to anything. She wondered if he was malfunctioning. Genuine concern growing she felt along his head for any injury. Nothing physically. The possibility of it healing over was high. Imagining what could've hurt N made her sick. So she stopped.

The next thing Tessa knew was there was a loud sound then V yelped. “O-ouch J— w-what- Why do you look like that??”

That was one hell of a backhand she had. Would hate to be on the other side of that smack.

“Did you have to hit her so hard?” Tessa whined, cringing. She could almost feel the sting in her own cheek.

“For someone who sent me flying into a building and used me as a chew toy, I think she can take a slap.” J stood up, extending a hand to V. Despite her justifications she seemed remorseful. “I’m sorry. That was unprecedented of me but considering the circumstances I was within my rights to perform—“

“No need to read me the employee handbook… I accept your apology.” V took the hand, standing on her two pegged feet. She gripped a hand to her chest, eyes hallowing, abruptly disturbed. “Wait–Cyn! She–she really was evil. I thought she was cute in a strange way!!”

“That’s what I said!” Tessa added.

“Not cute! She's a synergistic nightmare!! The faster we come to terms with that fact, the faster we all—all— ahem—“ J paused, unsure of their next steps herself. “Back me up boss!” She pleaded.

“I can’t tell you guys but I have a plan. For now we get back. Even if we have to carry this goofball.” Tessa nodded towards N. He had his head turned towards her. “Ah.. creepy, aye?”

“N? Why aren’t you waking up?” V whimpered nearing the incapacitated drone. 

J pulled her back by her shoulder. “No bonding thing in the middle of a battlefield!! If you remember what she did to us then be serious. He’s here, he’s alive… That’s all that matters. Now we gotta go!” She moved to grab N’s hand, something that came as a surprise to all, including herself. 

“Wait, the radio!!” Tessa searched for the item, finding it broken. Explains why J and V moved so swiftly when it was supposed to be affecting their stamina. Must’ve broken on the impact of J’s entry. She pocketed the pieces, grabbing the shattered machine and turning towards V. “Alrighty. We go now.”

V took in her surroundings. The sounds of war, the sky. All the horrors. The taste of J’s oil in her mouth. The red stains on her clothes. It paralyzed her with fear. Tessa could see the horror on her face plain as day. Her thumb grazed her mouth, looking at the residue of oil it left behind. J was already pulling N out the building. Tessa eased over to V grabbing her hand. “I’ve got you. I don’t know what happened but I’m not letting it happen again. I swear on my life. N needs you, we need you.” Tessa proclaimed.

Not letting V the chance to take in her words Tessa pulled her out of the room. Out of the dark. And back home. With all family members acquired.

Chapter Text

On the entry of the church Tessa let out a groan, collapsing into the chair occupied by the computer. Her eyes searched the dusty desk. There were plenty of wires hanging around. Multiple on the floor. She hunched down to grab a handful of them. Most duds that she gave to J to munch on. V denied any. Lucky for them a couple matched the type needed for this task. Nothing in any of the drawers but some robo-roaches. Poor little guys. She let them freely crawl out. This place really was a dud. Wiped clean side for what was intentionally left.

Tessa motioned for J to bring N over. She pulled him over with the same force one would use to haul a boulder. The disassembler stood staring like he had been for the past hour. Even after she patted her lap he stood stagnant. Considering he saved her from being crushed earlier, his temporary aphasia was all the more puzzling. He couldn’t be completely doltish. “Could ya lay down for me?” A small frown pulled at his lips. Or perhaps she imagined it. 

Guiding him downward by his shoulders Tessa adjusted him until he was kneeling, similarly to an action figure she positioned his head onto her lap. 

“And you really sure going into his head will fix him?” V rubbed a hand against his back.

She should’ve lied. To give hope. Mostly to V… Okay, wholly to V. However, neither needed lies and falsities. They needed the truth. Even if it stripped her of some credibility.

“Nope. Never changed a worker— or murder drone… ah.. disassembly drones— admin while they were being mind controlled by an otherworldly bratty witch maid. I didn’t even know drones could be each other's admins!! I feel like that doesn’t make sense and should’ve been patched by the company!” Tessa stressed, the pep in her tone resembled that of mania more than elation.

Her fingers were busy with detangling the wires from each other. Whatever dunce left this place clearly didn’t care for proper upkeep and organization with the little materials they did leave.

“Our software has to be the same. Even if that isn’t the case then you’re the most capable human for the job. His head is half empty anyway, so it shouldn't be hard to find.” J snickered.

Tessa felt her eye twitch in annoyance as she repeatedly failed to pull apart the last wires. “J…” She sighed, shaking her head.

The woman pulled the two parts as hard as she could. Effective in separating them but also whipping herself in the face. Ouch. That was gonna leave a mark. Rubbing her face, Tessa connected the cable to the back of N’s neck then the other end to the old timely computer. It came on relatively quickly. For the cardboard box it was… To say she wasn’t used to the software was an understatement. Still, it was tech nonetheless. It was something. She worked through the lines of coding. Finding miscellaneous information. Every minor thing was blocked by the administrator. 

Contact Admin; Cyn this. Contact Admin; Cyn that. Something about the “Absolute Solver” Absolute bullshit.

Most startling option was, “Authorize Self Awareness”. Since when was that an interchangeable command? Giving robots sentience and enslaving them was heinous enough, being able to turn it off was diabolical. The company kinda sucked. Cyn having this power was— It was a taunt. Every little control she saw that name. Tessa had clearance to override all this! Screw you, you little shit! There was a back door way to do this. 

Woah— was it hot in here or was she just getting unreasonably angry?? 

Tessa swiped all the way down to a failsafe. Typing in a code she may or may not have found out about accidentally years ago. It factory resets worker drones default coding but if she edits the reset to only reset specific things, leaving the rest the same, nothing should go wrong. N should wake up his same loveable self. After the settings are reversed she’ll be able to make herself his admin. Easy peasy. No. It wasn’t easy! She’s so scared right now!!

“And done!!” Tessa said with a final tap of the keyboard. Not worried at all. 100% confident in her abilities… “It’ll take a long while to upload. Until then we won’t know if I failed or succeeded. Who’s up next?” She pointed between the two drones.

J offered up V as the next subject. She sure hoped it was an act of chivalry rather than fear of Tessa screwing up.

“Looking out for your subordinates. That’s grounds for a promotion.”

“Ha. I know.” J says pridefully, her tail swaying behind her. Did she know it was doing that? Why were they kitten coded? Or dog coded? Both? A secret third animal? Oh well it was cute so she’ll let it slide. Tessa chose to not comment. 

Rolling N out of her lap to lay him on the floor she motioned for V to come forth. The timid drone settled onto Tessa’s thighs, exposing her neck by splitting her hair. Once connected to the computer it was much easier to maneuver through her systems than N’s. For whatever reason. The option to force change her admin sat like low hanging fruit. The urge to snoop through other functions as she went along was strong but digging through someone’s head was a crazy breach of privacy. The only other thing she changed was all the permissions. Including the one that would allow someone on the outside to re-set admin control. The change would now need her authorization followed by a password. After V went J. The process went equally as smoothly.

Their biggest problem was solved. Still, Tessa felt on edge. The lack of difficulty led to a dissatisfying win. Silly, yeah, but in movies when the hero’s win too fast normally the evil kills at least one of the protagonists. 

“How does bodily autonomy feel?” Tessa huffed, feeling strangely winded. She took in two extra breaths to compensate, only feeling cumbersome in return.

“Like a trap.” V shuttered.

Yeah that’s what she was thinking… They didn't need to know that though. Someone had to be the positive one with N out of commission.”

“What’s done is done. Now onto the plan. I was always thinking about getting off the planet somehow but never knew how. Or where to go. According to this note here I found, along with the radio, there’s a spaceship stashed by a group of dead peeps. Doesn’t say where which sucks. It’s a start. New objective; we look for the ship and get the fuck off earth. This new planet we can run to is called Cooper-9. Plenty of other humans and drones that apparently need saving from the same virus Cyn has. The humans there are being nosy and spreading it without knowing. We find a way to destroy it there, then live happily ever after! How’s that sound?”

J sat atop the desk with crossed arms. Here comes the monologue that’ll kill all her dreams..

“Sounds like none of us know how to fly, we don’t know how long this’ll take and have no food or water for you. No spacesuit, and have no idea if this spaceship is still functioning. If it exists.” She listed off on her fingers. “Then even if we get to this other planet, what if the virus already took over and has left the planet in worse condition than here? We'd be going from one death trap to another. Who’s to say the humans are friendly? They don’t exactly have a track record of being decent with drones. Or their own kind. How are we going to destroy a virus that, with little to no effort, doomed a whole planet?! Cyn could destroy earth before we even get an idea of where the spaceship would be. She could find all of us, destroy us, then destroy the planet. This whole note could be a trap.”

Tessa nodded her head in understanding, caressing her chin with her fingers. “But besides those very minor inconveniences it’s promising right?” 

“No. No, not really.” V chuckled weakly. “I wouldn’t consider dying minor either. That’s pretty major.”

“Only losers die. And we’re winners. A little optimism goes a long way.” Tessa winced as she swiveled in the chair and got dizzy. “You are right about water J. I think I—“ She moved to stand up but her knees buckled, tripping on her knees. Both disassemblers moved to her side, aghast by their friends' sudden clumsy display.

Contrary to how cheery she was attempting to be Tessa was feeling a bit… off. Slightly burnt out. Literally. The atmosphere had gotten considerably colder due to the sun being blocked out yet she felt warm.

This couldn’t happen. She couldn’t get sick. In retrospect she should’ve expected it. That malnutrition bit wasn’t just a joke. No matter, she had to get up. They were so close. Her shaky muscles were a slap of reality. Being unwell in the apocalypse was the worst thing ever. She was as good as dead. Oh bloody hell was it the half open protein bars she ate a week or two back?? Or that time she slipped in shit. Tessa mentally kicked herself for not being more careful but the wasteland didn’t exactly have alcohol and vaccines. The cleanest she can be is after a full wipe down with wet wipes she found from an abandoned camp.

“Boss! Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?!” J put her hand on her back, rubbing reassuringly.

Tessa leisurely stood, with assistance. She waved off the concern. Feigning insouciance. “Ah, ya worry warts. Just lost my footing.”

“You’re sweating though.” V put a hand to the woman’s head before she could maneuver away. 

She was, wasn't she. So she wasn't imagining the dampness on her skin. Ew. A real shower would be great. Those wet wipes only went so far, and they left her skin feeling sticky. It was more than likely the products inside were way past expired. No wonder why she started breaking out recently. Still, a couple patches of hives were better than walking around smelling like death with a side of onion rings.

“Seriously, I’m fine. Maybe a little tiny bit dehydrated buut I’m ice cool.” Tessa strutted towards a couple feet away from the two. Ready to travel on her lonesome to collect her necessities. Then turned back around after realizing how maybe not smart that is. “I could use more inventory though, running real low on granola bars an’ whatnot. J, come help me ransack apartment complexes around. I could never get in alone but ya got fancy wings.”

V and J shared a knowing look. It made Tessa impossibly sweat more. Worrying that they weren’t buying what she was selling.

“I suppose I could do that. But I’m keeping an eye on you.” J narrowed her optics.

“If you insist.” Tessa shrugged. She looked over her shoulder, throwing up a peace sign. “Keep watch of N. Okie baii!”

“I think we should start at the top. Bust through the windows then take the non-perishables.” Tessa pointed to the first building she saw. 

J shot into the air, breaking a window then hovering back down to pick up Tessa bridal style. She brought them up and into the apartment. The place was expectedly dark. Everything was in order. Nothing out of place at first glance. The place was nicely furnished. Books around collected dust. Tessa made a b-line for the kitchen. She opened the fridge to the most putrid smell ever. Immediately covering her nose with her arm. The fumes made her stomach flip. Inside was rotted and molded food. She wasn’t looking for that. The price for burning her nose hairs was the full gallon of water. She grabbed it, testing the seal. Unbroken. Without an ounce of restraint she ripped the top off and chugged down faster than a person should. She didn't dare waste a drop. Even after choking she continued, only stopping when J put a hand on her back. Lowering the bottle hesitantly. Was she crying? Her hand touched her cheek. She was actually crying. That was the most refreshing water she's ever had in her life. And it was from a disgusting fridge with undiscovered species of mold.

“Drinking a gallon of water that fast will lower your sodium levels and lead to indefinite hyponatremia.”

Tessa let out a burp that made J recoil in mild disgust. “Pardon me. Hypo-what now??”

“Drowning on land. If there’s some salt then..” J paused to rummage through the cabinets, plucking salt out. She picked up a spoon, staring at it suspiciously before popping it in her mouth then pouring salt on it, handing it to Tessa.

“Woah there— one, that’s kinda gross. Two, that’s a load of salt.”

“Our saliva is alkaline which is effective in cleaning the definite germs in this utensil. No one told you to ingest a half gallon in two seconds. To balance it out you have to take this.”

Tessa opened her mouth to retort but gagged when J shoved the spoon in her mouth, holding her chin to keep her mouth closed. 

“Swallow.” J commanded. 

Tessa hated how quickly she abided by the command. Wasn’t she supposed to be the “Boss” between the two of them? How humiliating. Was it getting hot again? Oh goodness stop. She could die right now. She was dying. Not just from the overabundance of salt. 

That sterile mouth thing was kinda cool. If she licked a wound would it heal without infection? Ah no. dont think about her licking you that obscene!

The woman rasped, holding her throat. Her mouth watered uncomfortably to compensate for the heap of tang. As did her eyes, and they weren't happy tears this time. “Bleeh. So salty.”

“If we’re lucky we will find some medicine that hasn't expired.” J walked off with a hand on her hip.

Tessa pulled herself up, taking a last sip of the water to get the salty taste out of her mouth then moved on to the next area. The bathroom. Here they found supplies including half full alcohol, peroxide and bandaids. Toilet paper was also good to have around. Hair supplies that didn’t conform to her personal hair needs. Side for some scrunchies. And the holy grail, toothpaste and soap. No medicine besides birth control and expired men’s daily vitamins though. Beggars in fact cannot be choosers. This is a lot more than she was expecting. 

In closets were clothes and shoes, none of which were her size. Next up was the bedroom. Here they found the inhabitants of the apartment. Two crusted skeletons laid tucked under a blanket. Unlike in games she’s hear of there was no note to explain what happened. She could only assume with them still in tact along with the peak condition of the home that the death was self-inflicted. It did make her sad but the two dying together was poetic. Again the room contained many types of clothing. The only useful thing was a too big jacket. Would be of use when she wasn’t so hot. In the drawers was some mail dating back just before the attacks. These guys really had it in with their health insurance companies. What kind of issues did they suffer from??

Luckily inside the room there was a bookbag big enough to house all the items found. J insisted on wearing it and Tessa didn’t fight too much on that. She’d pull her weight by carrying the jug. Anyway, she was making more of a struggle for herself as in their trip to the next apartment she had to wear the bag on her front to dispatch her wings to fly.

In comparison to the first apartment, the next was empty. From the looks of it the owner left in a hurry. Leaving items scattered across the floor. This run ended in an abundance of clean underwear. Always appreciated. There were some batteries in the junk drawer that J confirmed to be empty. Still she indulged in them.

The next complexes varied from “wow thank you dead people/ person who left all this stuff” to “wow buddy, couldn’t have saved some for the people who’d stay alive after u kicked the bucket”. Anything and everything Tessa once needed was found eventually. When J started chewing on Tv remotes she figured it was time to focus on someone else’s needs. Grabbing a new bag for the parts they’d need to bring home, Tessa mentally prepared herself. A fight was nearing soon.

“No way.” J shot down, as if reading the others mind. Freaky..

“Wha—We literally have to fight to kill drones.” Tessa argued, crossing her arms.

“We don’t have to. Shooting them down from up here is more efficient. There aren’t a lot of targets so why waste the effort.” J switched her arm to a compact sniper. The disassembler leaned out the broken window, lining up her shots. Aiming for their heads. She took out 5 drones with ease. 

They flew down to reach the fallen bodies before the drones could get back up. J switched her hands for claws, staring at the drones with something akin to remorse before ripping their cores out. Tessa felt bad for her. She could avoid killing humans but they couldn’t do the same when it came to killing bots. Even if she did end up having to, it’s easier to kill off a human humanely. This was just cruel for all parties.

“V and N are not going to like this.” Tessa shook her head. Not to imply J liked it, they were just… less inclined to violent tendencies. Now if they switched to murder mode, that was a different story.

J tilted her head at that, frowning deeply. “They’ll have to get used to it.”

“Are you used to it yet?” Tessa asked, if only to make a point. Just because they had to eat this to survive didn't mean they had to like it. If Tessa was forced to be a cannibal she'd have a dozen complaints herself. Not everyone was as complacent as a certain top employee.

“I don’t want to die. And I don’t want you to die because I got hungry and saw a steamy rack of rips instead of you.” J deadpanned. Turning away. Silently indicating she was through with the conversation.

She felt really bad. J was so.. Different? Colder? More closed off. She didn't think the drone was doing it on purpose. There was still that obedience that made Tessa squirm. From time to time she almost wished J would yell at her. Disagree with her so she didn't feel like a servant. Those dynamics were shattered. Any and all ranks frittered away as soon as Cyn became top of the food chain.

Tessa pulled a mostly eaten granola bar from her pocket, lifting it to J. It wasn't a lot. Surely not enough to satisfy her ravenousness. “Try? If you can eat literal humans I don’t see why you can’t eat this.”

“I would rather not use up your rations.” J declined immediately. 

“It’s like a bite. I have way too many of these.” Tessa poked the snack to J’s face plate. “Mmmm a mixed blend of granola, almonds, honey and other mysterious flavors and additives that are definitely healthy and safe for consumption." She spoke, putting on a ghastly voice.

J reluctantly took her hand out of a body, accepting the remains, peeling it from the aluminum packaging and popping it in her mouth. Almost immediately after she grimaced, swallowed with an animated shiver. “The taste is adequate.”

“Yeah??” Tessa asked, genuinely unable to tell her true feelings on the snack. This new inconspicuous trait was throwing her for a loop. “Girl, you can say it’s the worst thing you’ve ever had. I won’t get mad.”

“It is the most flavorful thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” J instead stuffed her mouth with drone innards. The oil dripped down her chin. Like it was the best thing she's ever had. Her fangs flashed ever time she went in for another bite. Was it hot again?! Holy cow, she oughta invest in a short sleeve shirt!

Exclaiming obnoxiously Tessa kicked a piece of rock to get her mind out of the gutter. “I’ll take it! Anymore of these stinkers’ around?”

“The nearest is a group of 10, all in the sky.”

“I can wait! Break me into another apartment and I’ll sit pretty for ya there.”

“But—“

Tessa grabbed up the three left over cores and tied their bag closed. “How’s about after this we chill for a day. I know I’ve been working overtime. I just don’t wanna put a plug on any of our objectives in case something bad happens. It’s like you said, the planet could go boom while we’re still on it if too much time passes. We all take a mandatory 24 hour break. Ya?”

J nodded. “I can agree to paid time off.”

Ha! Imagine getting paid for this! Never a dull moment with J. What a gag.

“Bonzer!” Tessa cheered. Guess she was in for another haul afterall.

When J said “nearest group” she thought the drone meant a brisk walk away. Not 30 miles away. Walking would’ve been a bunion inducing nightmare. Good thing J could fly them there! Cautiously low to the ground so as to not get Tessa accidentally mauled by other murder drones flying about. Speaking of being mauled, watching J fight made Tessa nauseous. She had strategy that the others didn’t. Was graceful and all while keeping that needed viciousness. Only thing is, these drones fought like beasts. J seemed to be finding quick ways to take out these guys. They on the other hand, played dirty. For obvious reasons. Her fighting style could be comparable to a knight, of whom had murderous intent that made ‘em slightly honorable than the rest. Having faith in J didn’t change how Tessa’s stomach churned when they got hits on her. So no more of that. 

With this space cobwebs took over. No sight of spiders though. The place was more of a loft layout. The living room, kitchen and dining rooms were merged with a bedroom space up top. Separated by only railing. Less searching for Tessa to do. The first section had a thick blanket messily sprawled over the couch cushions. An abundance of dead plants let her know this individually had a green thumb. At a better time... Kitchen cabinets offered a heaping of seasonings. Useless without proper food. Not so much you can season canned goods. Tessa did immediately snatch up the sugar regardless of preconceived notions. Did sugar go bad? … Nahh.

A whole separate cabinet was dedicated to alcoholic drinks. She totally did not slip a bottle or two out for… evaluation. Unable to read what kind they were as every bottle was in a different language. Every language but English it appeared. 

Up to the bedroom, not much. Clothes, finally in her size, books— A safe! Score!!

Now there’s something interesting!! Tessa tried her hand at picking the lock. No dice. Then she threw it to the first floor. Made a huge dent but didn’t pop open like she was hoping it would. Did more damage to the wooden floor than the box.. Lastly she checked how many bullets she had in her gun's cylinder. 3… Should she? It would be loud. But curiosity! Is it worth it? Yeah, she has more bullets at home. Fuck it. Tessa went down the stairs, setting up the safe then shooting at the lock. Specifically aiming for the keypad. At first the bullet ricocheted off the metal, sparks flying, missing her by a hair. She gulped at how much of a close call that was. Note to self #936 don’t shoot metal at metal. On the upside, it worked. Stupid ideas can be smart if you survive!

Inside rested a butt loaf of cash. Too bad no one needs that anymore. A tape recorder, a single can of yams, and a card? 

Owned by a Dr. Ridley. Female. 6’0– holy giant. JcJension head scientist. 32 years of age. Basic information. The card had a barcode on the back, just above that was fine print saying, “Yes use this side idiot >:(”.

Tessa held the tape recorder in a tight grip. Analyzing it from all angles. On the side there was a label. “To My Family.”

“Boss—“

“AH! Holy mother of mackerel. My heart just about flew out of my body.” Tessa held a hand to her chest with a heave. 

“What’s got you thinking so hard?” J eyed the items in her hand. 

Tessa didn’t answer, tucking them into her pockets, running for the bottles of intoxicant and displaying them. “Hit the jackpot, aye? If only I could read ‘em.”

J squinted the bottles, eyes lingering on the text. “Five grain liquid, 52% abv. From China. This red one is.. uh? Soft puree?? 60% abv. Something ancestor something something. The rest cannot be successfully translated.”

“That’s alright. Rice substance and mystery goop. Hm, I’d rather rice.” Tessa set the red bottle on the floor. “What’s the happs?”

“Took down the original 10 targets with an additional 2 stragglers that joined at the last minute. Idiots didn’t know what they were getting into.” J smiled pridefully. 

Tessa playfully rolled her eyes. “Never doubted ya for a second. Onward back! Hopefully N powered back on. Got some more treasure that, by the way, outlaws all your pessimism.”

“Uh huh? I can't wait to hear this.”

Chapter Text

“I could get in a load of trouble for this. This is classified information, leaking it is punishable with the highest penalty level. I’m already taking this chance because I know something terrible could happen and I don’t want to be the one who sits around knowing my loved ones would die if I don’t take action. Do not disclose this information to anyone else, for it will indefinitely cause an uprising. 

As you saw in the safe, along with this recorder, I’ve left my spare master key card. You might be wondering what this card is, why is it so useful? It powers on an emergency spacecraft located nearby. A cathedra. You can get a hint from the password of its location. 

Radio in on the ship and locate me. I’ll reply from whatever planet I’m stationed to and guide you through automating it to fly to said planet. Open the can of yam and search inside for a baggy with a strip of paper on it. This is the location I mentioned earlier. Once you figure out the password you’ll gain access to the food supply and four spacesuits. One for all of ya. You mom. You dad. Sis and cousin Germy that son of a gun. If done properly, I will see you guys soon and explain everything when I next talk to you lot. Much love. Signing out.”

Yay! Plan successful! But also yikes.. Ouu awkward. Those people are 200% dead. What would Dr. Ridley say when Tessa called in after breaking into her house, stealing her ship, supplies and letting 3 drones tag along? Hopefully she's understanding and not an irascible hardass.

Ah, who cares. She’ll deal with that when the time comes. Extemorizing isn't her strong suit. Surviving underdeveloped plans is!

Tessa had yet to open the can of yams. Now was a nice time to do that. Without a can opener she was forced to dirty her blade with the sticky syrupy contents of the can. It smelled good. She took one of the slices to bring to her mouth, imagining the flavor after so many dry protein bars. J instantaneously grabbed her wrist, stopping her from tasting it. Her face was akin to a reprimanding parent. Ironically it affected Tessa more than it should've.

“If it was tampered with, its shelf life has been compromised and therefore shouldn’t be ingested.” J shook her hand, making the root fall onto the ground with a splat.

“Aw poo.” Tessa deflated, continuing to rummage through the can for the mentioned baggie. She cleaned her hands with a discarded piece of fabric on the ground to prevent ruining the small paper. V and J leaned over her shoulder to get a look too. What a great time to not know how to read coordinates. She could hear the audible crackling of V’s optics failing to focus. Leaving a last contender to save them.

“48.2084° N, 16.3735° E. That's our current location.” J declared.

It’s almost as if these people were anticipating she'd have to rely on drones to help her. Seriously, who knows how to reach a location with a bunch of random numbers?? Sure, she knew her directions, the rest was nonsense. Mayhaps if keeping her phone was an option that could’ve been of help.

Anyway.

Unless it was that one vehicle from that one cartoon underwater the ship was undoubtedly not here. This was the radio situation all over again! Why didn’t people make these things easy to find and not like an extreme hard level riddle?! Did this seriously science expect her family to have such an outstanding iq level to overcome these tasks?? What kind of super genius genes did they have?!

“That’s funny. It must be invisible.” Tessa scratched her head, looking around. “What was it called? Invisimoblie!”

“Maybe someone took it.” J gave a callous shrug. 

Giving up way too fast. Ugh!!

V on the other hand traveled around the room. She looked high and low. Knocking on things, tapping her peg. Feeling up and down empty bookshelves. The girl really was too into those mystery novels. But— maybe she was onto something? 

In due time she set her sights on a particular part of the carpet. She switched out her hand for a blade, cutting into the material then peeling it away. Tessa cringed at the display of brute strength. So the books weren’t just a nerdy interest after all. They walked to the area V was keen on tearing apart. Under the carpet was.. nothing? Some dusty warped and desaturated tiles.

V knocked on the wood. The sound was off. More echo than there should've been for solid ground. A basement? “You see it?” She rapped at the flooring.

“Uh.. No? Am I supposed to?”

J got on her hands and knees, tilting her head with a squint then a look of shock. “I do. With these.” She tapped on the golden bulbs. 

A chainsaw was equipped and sawed at the ground. A perfect square. When the wood under fell down Tessa pulled her flashlight from her belt, shining it down. It was a metal tunnel with a pretty deep fall. However there was clearly something down there. I mean duh, how often do people build suspicious tunnels where there isn't anything at the bottom of them?

“This is so exciting! How do we get in? The squeeze looks too small for ya wingspan. Do— and you’re just going to wiggle through. Okay.” Tessa paused when V slithered her way inside the hole, posterior in the air. They really gotta get her some pants.. Or a longer jacket.

“I’ll go next. Drop N down then we’ll catch you.” J instructed.

Tessa saluted. “Yes ma’am.” She hurried over to where N was still laying, powered off. A wheel with an incomplete download session was the only indicator he wasn’t completely broken. Thank goodness. Right now was the worst possible time for a fatality. She pulled his limp body into her arms with an exasperated breath. Bringing him over to the hole. By the time she made it J was already fully inside. Tessa kneeled down, stuck on how to go about this. Perhaps head first? Laying him on his front she slid him down. “Incoming!” She held her breath as his body descended. There was a crash and a yelp. For a moment Tessa was scared he smashed to the ground.

“my… ribs..” She heard from in the void of darkness. Did he fall on one of them? She couldn’t differentiate the voice from so far away.

Well. She was last. Tessa climbed over the hole, positioning herself to fall straight down while holding onto either side. “Don’t let me fall to my death!” She yelled down. 

Adrenaline rushed into her body as she fell down. She screamed in both fear and exhilaration. Her stomach was in her throat. It seemed that she was falling forever. Till she wasn’t. A pair of hands caught her mid air. From who, she couldn’t tell. Not until bright lights blinded her. The darkness was filled with fluorescent harsh blue light and a ventilation system started up. She made brief eye contact with V, her savior. Her eyes searched for J. Down below them she was looking up at them with her arms crossed.

The room was not at all what she was expecting. First off, it was huge. Way bigger than she could’ve imagined. Almost overwhelmingly so. Bad time for megalophobia to abruptly kick in. To think this place had been under their feet this whole time. She’d been hiding out near here for months!! 

They hovered to the ground where her feet were put on stable ground. There in front of her was the space ship. The sight looked unlike any ship she’s seen before. Normally ships looked more like bullets, this one resembled a spider creature with its long legs. Something that may or may not come alive if they looked away from it at 3a.m. Then again, for what points it gained for being creepy it lost by its lack of size. Sure it was big. Just not as big as you’d think one would be.

“Seems it’s real.” J stated evidently. She shot upwards, standing on top of the ship. She examined it from every angle before sitting down with her legs swinging off the edge of it. “Any chance the percentile value of this being a trap weigh in our favor?”

Tessa laughed dryly. “Trap by who? Not to be morbid but everyone is dead as all hell.”

“Cyn..?” V injected.

No her heart didn’t skip a beat at the possibility. That was just— heartburn. A fluke. The idea was hardly plausible. If Cyn was going to magically show up she would’ve ages ago. There were plenty of chances. 

“Nah. What would be the point of giving us a way to escape? Come on guys! Have a little faith! We frickin’ won! We’re out of here!” Tessa cheered.

She searched for where to put in a code. In a far wall from the ship was a keypad. She gazed at the password again to refresh her memory, inputting it into the keyboard. It opened with a hydronic hiss. Behind the doors was a walk in closet setup. More canned goods than Tessa could comprehend. All essentials. Medical supplies, sanitary products, clothes, hair supplies, spacesuits. Better than anything she and J stole from abandoned homes. Everything a person needed was here. One issue—

“Crud! What are you guys gonna eat? Sure you could have people food but is it filling or like just for taste? I don’t think there are enough cores upstairs for the trip. We don’t even know how far away the planet is!” Tessa suddenly panicked. This just got ten times more complicated. What do you give robots on a trip to space?! There are literally no more batteries upstairs!! She didn’t need their hunger drivesanguinolency reminding them she’s edible and probably pretty tasty!!

“Don’t worry about us.” J brushed off.

“I’m worried about us! She’s right.” V argued. “Also since when can we eat human food? That’s like robots 101… #indigestion??”

“The same thing that Cyn did to make humans digestible to us made anything edible.” J informed, idly walking to and fro on the ship.

“Anything??” 

“Ignoring possible Within reason.” J hopped down, gesturing to the vehicle. “Are you just going to pretend to be one of this scientist's relatives? If not, I don't see the humans being gracious enough let you, let alone all of us, get a free trip to a new planet.”

“That wouldn’t work.” Anyone with a brain would be able to recognize their own family, therefore call her bluff. “Ya think we could get this all started without her help? I mean, I already napped her junk. That’s all we really need. Can’t be that hard to fly… or find the planet… Objectively speaking.” Tessa looked off vacillating her predetermined idea’s. Would it be hard to do those things? It isn’t rocket science— oh. It kinda is. 

“Sure but, if this planet is going to be filled with humans, wouldn’t by default they either hate us or be terrified? We don’t exactly look friendly.” V twirled a finger around her tail for emphasis.

“Oh stop, you’re angels. Once they see that you won’t attack me then everything will be fine. One thing about humans is they find things that are enslaved less threatening. No offense, just a fact proven by certain historical events.”

“None taken.” V huffed a laugh. “It’s not a solid plan but it’s all we have. The only one where we don’t die. What do you think J?”

Said disassembler wandered over to where N was lying down, nudging his leg with her peg. More gentle than expected of her. Was she finally going soft on him? “I can’t believe I’m asking this but what about N? Is he—“

“Fine! N is superb! Give him some time impatient much.” She spoke a couple octaves too high to be believable but she didn’t feel like unpacking that yet.

Tessa climbed up to the ship's door, waving the keycard next to it. Tapping the plastic to the metal. She squinted, touching it to her chin. Suddenly she spotted a place to slide the card. Thoroughly embarrassed she coughs, slipping it into the insert. The door opened into the ships wall. The two disassemblers flew up, entering as well.

The inside was nothing short of a sci-fi masterpiece. Sure there were the typical things like beds, specifically two sets of bunk beds next to each other. A bunch of storage space. Plenty of buttons to press. Lack of room to do anything other than sleep, stand or sit.. Then there was the huge holographic screen!! It displayed all kinds of data. Charts, an image of the ship's model; including its stats. 

“Small, but technologically sound.” J commented. It sounded like a compliment but her tone was so flat, irascible even to the literal computer system.

Tessa countered her negativity with raw excitement, squealing and hopping into the pilot's seat. “I know right! Look at all this! I am in a space ship right now. Didn't even have to go to college to do it!” All of a sudden things seemed less fun and more ‘wtf do I do here’ as her eyes tried to zero in on a single one of the dozen buttons. Her hands hovered over the panel, conflicted on what to tackle first. What could she press without blowing their ship up with them inside within the first ten seconds of claiming it?

“There. An analysis of nearby planetary bodies.” J pointed to one of the many diagrams. 

She looked at the control board, cringing at the overwhelming sight. Being that the screen displaying planets was the 3rd in the row she selected that option. The image enhanced and all other windows shrunk to either side, leaving their main focus in the middle.

The biggest planet displayed was Earth, below that imaging was the solar system and positioning of satellites in the area. The easiest way she could think of was clicking each individually until she found the target. No matter how long it would take. Of course avoiding the most known ones. Zooming out to the edge of their solar system Tessa looked through the listed exoplanets. On the screen they were in order of how they're positioned. On a touchscreen next to the controls, they were in alphabetical order. Thank the stars for that. She scrolled down till she reached “C”. Lucky for them there were only two known exoplanets under that letter. She tapped the name and the beauty pulled up on the screen.

The exoplanet looked like a replica of earth. Sort of? It was covered in some snowfall and particle sections of water. Enough water for plant life to prosper. Joining it were two unidentified planetary bodies. One with rings one without. The one with rings was significantly larger. Almost half the size of the exoplanet itself.

Status was great. Air is sort of toxic but that's a nonissue. If humans could survive off oxygen tanks in their fancy suits, so could she. Time to take travel time into consideration. The distance from the Earth is— EH?!

“4.2 light years?! That would take like a million years to get to.”

“Actually it would be a little over 70,000 years or roughly 700 human lifetimes.” J corrected. Like the dork she is.

V and Tessa scrutinized her. In turn she closed her mouth, smiling sheepishly.

“Anyway. If this scientist expected her family to join her, there has to be a way to get there quicker. Surely she knows that Humans only live 100 years at best.” V theorized. 

“An average of 75.8 to 81.1 years to be precise.”

V cartoonishly face palmed, ”You’re the worst.” 

“That’s besides the point. She didn’t even specify that she was on Copper-9. It could’ve been a closer exoplanet that wouldn’t have taken 700 times the average human lifespan to journey to.” J searched over the panel with her finger, stopping at ‘emergency coms’. She pushed the dial all the way up then turned the nozzles for different number combinations until static was heard. 

Tessa leaned into the speaker-looking part. “Hello? Requesting help from Earth? Do you copy?” She tried to mimic astronaut lingo she’s heard in movies. When spoken aloud, coming from her mouth at least, it sounded rather silly and elementary. More static followed so she just kept talking in hope someone would answer. “Earth is toast. An evil little robot took over the world and only we—“ V nudged Tessa’s arm, gesturing against that. “I mean— Wha–? Anyway..  If anyone is there you better answer!! Anyone? Dr. Ridley?” 

The static continued on. 

“Maybe it’s the wrong one?” V suggested, whispering to avoid possibly being heard.

“You saw me tinkering! All the other stations are flat.” J crossed her arms in a hushed fury.

“Or maybe we’re too far away!! I don’t know, and neither do you, huh?”

“Inapposite analysis, thank you very much. Last time I checked we’re all evaluating at same time, V. Leaving the planet while remaining ignorant of the status of this exoplanet we know little to nothing about seems dangerous. Does it not?” J speculated.

Okay where and when did all this hostility come from?! Did they already have cabin fever? It’s been like a day?? Or two?? Blaa doesn’t matter!! Not even a week! Talk about feral street cats.

“I’m really loving all your concerns for safety but I’d rather float in a spaceship with you guys for the rest of my life than through whatever Cyn is planning here. I know I agreed to a day off but…” She gestured to the ship, the whole new place discovered. It was marvelous. Despite living in a mansion that was supposedly the highest class, that old place was boring in comparison to what was here. “Like come on.”

“Following your line of thinking, just— Too many foreseeable miscalculations.” J muttered concernedly. Devoid of her usual confidence.

“What could go wrong?” A buoyant voice asked from behind them. A shiver of fervent fear ran up Tessa’s spine. The three yelled out battle cries, huddling together with weapons drawn, only for there to be no real danger at all. It was a familiar golden retriever adjacent drone. He furrowed his digital brows, waving at them. “Sorry you guys seemed really focused and I didn’t—“ N was cut off with a huff as V threw herself at him in a tight hug. She whimpered muffled sorrows into his chest. He pat a hand on her head. 

“Someone took their time.” J muttered, regaining her composure. Slight shakes in her servos didn’t go unnoticed. Tessa surely was getting aftershocks of adrenaline from that scare.

When V finally pulled away N smiled brightly. Tessa couldn't believe it. She's seen him standing up but with a lazily hunched posture he seemed shorter. Now he was taller than her! “This is so weird. You’re towering over me right now. And not just cuz I’m sittin’ down. How do you feel?”

“Oh, flattery. Im refreshed! And confused. Is this like an elaborate fever dream? ” N chuckled with wide eyes.

“Uh oh..” V adlibbed.

“What is your last memory file saved?” J asked.

N squinted in intense thinking. His screen displayed a gravestone. “Tree. Crows. I was about to die? Death by pecking!! AM I IN HEAVEN?!” He panicked with his hands on his head.

More like hell. Though that's besides the point..

“Long story short, Cyn is evil and throwing a tantrum that is going to end up in our solar system having one less planet. She also turned you lot into human eating war machines but everything is fine because we stole from the scientists and found this ship to escape the planet! How does that sound?” Tessa rambled.

“Like I should wake up. Now. Someone pinch me— AWOUCH!” N stumbled when J knocked him upside the head with her fist. Clearly the impact wasn’t softened by his hat. Damn, even Tessa felt that. Heavy handed much.. “That was not a pinch!” He whined.

“And this is not a dream. Due to the fact that dreams can only replicate things you’ve experienced or seen, your processor couldn’t even replicate this same situation because you have never seen the inside of a spaceship!”

“Oh. So Cyn is really evil?” 

“Super evil.” Tessa nodded.

“Huh…I always thought when she verbally expressed her desire for flesh she was quoting some scary movie.” N rubbed his arm, only slightly horrified. Dude was sort of too good at repressing.

Now that Tessa did not remember! Did everyone just experience these allusions to her inevitable evil heel-face turn?! Sure, she wasn't innocent in not reprimanding the worker when it was required but it could have been a coming of age phase! All robots have a mild hatred for humans. Just not all act on that urge to mangle every human on earth and their drone brethren. Keeping vigilant of her behavior didn't work but perhaps if Tessa would've heard her say something on that level of bluntly wicked she would've at least powered her off until a finalized solution came to be.

Why didn’t he remember anyway?! Was this a malfunction? Did he wake before the download was completed?

“Whenever did she say that?! Why wouldn’t you mention that to literally anyone? That’s very weird and concerning.” V shuddered.

N chuckled, “Yeah… I’m putting some pieces together and it is starting to make sense. Getting kinda scared a little bit.” He posed with a peace sign, a shaky smile present on his face.

Tessa looked at him then looked at the control panel, thinking of a way to sneak away. “I’m having a thought. Pilot N! Take a gander at learning the controls, yeah?”

“What?!” V and J exclaimed simultaneously. Then J cleared her throat. “Boss, respectfully, you’ve got to be kidding.” 

“Ah, finally losing hope in me Jaybird?” Tessa smirked. Aware of her deferential nature that’d ensure the flourishing of her plan.

“Wha—N-no. Of course not!” Ha! Gotcha girl!

Tessa raised a challenging brow at V. Her eyes widened, giving a shaky thumbs up.

“Me— a pilot! Wow! I won’t disappoint!” He saluted.

“I see a rise in team spirit in our future! Let’s look through that storage closet. Okay laterr!” Tessa hooked her arms around J and V, pulling them out of the ship. They all climbed down where Tessa continued to pull them away. She brought them a decent distance away before stopping. “I screwed up his reboot. I accidentally got rid of some of his memories. I think?? If the last thing he remembers is dying then that means after that Cyn started altering his systems which is why this much was erased. Maybe it wasn’t my fault. I don’t know. Is that a bad thing? Of course he's entitled to his memories but I kinda don't wanna restore trauma then re-traumatize him and kill his vibe. At least not now.”

“Company forbid his innocence is spoiled.” J sneered sarcastically. The witticism paired with the cold deadpan she sported peeved Tessa on a deep level. This and every other taunt poorly disgusted as a humorful quip.

Tessa scowled with a shake of her head. Having no words for the grim sardonic. She hissed through her teeth in a failed attempt to conceal her annoyance. “We are going to get to the root of this conflict between you and him.”

So much for a dignified and clarifying side conversation.

“Just because we remember doesn't mean he has to!” V voiced, curling in on herself when J cut her eye at her.

That… Checks out. They shouldn’t have to suffer together. Is that— what she wanted??

“Ignorance is bliss.” Tessa muttered in realization. It sounded like a dream. To be unknowing of the hard truth at a time like this. Unless you got the short end of the stick and avoided the blessing. “Are you upset he doesn't remember?”

J scoffed, crossing her arms tight against, her tail lashed as she stepped back. Seems like that hit the nail on the head. For a girl that spent her life yakking to robots she could catch a body language fairly quickly. Having abrasive parents will do that to you..

“I don't care what he remembers and I don't have conflict with him. It's not relevant anyway. Just… do what needs to be done to ensure the plan is a success. That’s my main prerogative.”

Woof, severe absence of buzz words. Yeah, she was pissed at him. But why?? What could N have done?? This goes deeper than surface level.

“So do you not have conflict or is it not relevant? Can't be both J.” Tessa

The disassembler's arms dropped. She assumed this new defensive stance. “What is this? Why am I being interrogated?”

“Maybe fix your attitude.” V mumbled then her eyes hallowed as if she didn't mean to verbalize the thought.

Appears everyone was opening a labyrinth of hidden personality quirks today. If only one would be healthy communication skills!! 

J growled, inching closer with venom on her tongue. “Come again?” 

“Oh, we’re not doing this!” Tessa stepped in front of V, making J stand down. “V. Give us a minute. Go take count of our inventory, please.” She narrowed her eyes at J. V quickly scurried away, leaving the two alone. 

When she was out of range J backed up, wringin her hands out, staring at the floor with a blank expression. “I'm sorry.” She said plainly.

“Uh huh. For what?” Tessa pressed, crossing her arms with a raised brow.

Kicking out her peg folding her hands behind her back J started haphazardly, “Adaptability in terms of workplace dramatization is my personal responsibility as the highest authority in the group, other than you of course, meaning—“

“No, no, no! You’re not gonna backdoor your way out of an apology! I speak ‘Jayglish’ or ‘Jay-nish’? I’ve known you long enough to speak company, and I’ve know you long enough to know you’re emotionally intelligent enough to know when you’re wrong. No excuses.”

“I’m sorry for getting pugnacious with V.” J deducted.

“And??” Tessa egged on.

J shifted uncomfortably, worrying her bottom lip. Unwilling to say what she knew Tessa wanted to hear. This is not what she was thinking when she hoped J would cease her streak of conformity. She’d actually rather her be hard headed about anything but this. What was she so afraid of?? 

“I won't accept a half apology. Now more than ever we need to be cordial with each other.” Tessa recuperated, putting this in a way J couldn’t turn a blind eye to. “You’re officially under review. Your new temporary job is self evaluation.”

She moved to walk away for a dramatic exit, only for her hand to be grasped. She couldn’t hide how she flinched at the sudden touch, taken aback by it. J looked like, in the nicest way possible, a wet cat. Her posture was hunched and her tail hung low behind her. Tessa had to remind herself to not go back on her word. It’s just— she’s never seen J so defeated. The sight was disheartening. The overwhelming affinity of the moment chipped away at Tessa’s drive to power through her gravitas callout.

“Are you… mad at me?” The disassembler finally spoke. Graveling. Fraying at the seams. The question was so small, so guileless she was surprised it was spilling from J’s mouth. 

Damn it Tess! Stop being an empath for a minute and grow a pair!!

“Mad? No. I'm livid.” Tessa minded the way J looked hurt by the admission. She sighed, squeezing her hand. Not able to fully commit to the bit. The assurance made her perk up for less than a second before appearing all the more crushed. “More than that, I'm disappointed. Take a minute. Then help V.”

“B-but I don't need a–”

“I’m being mad at you right now. Take a minute, please.” Tessa reinstated, slipping away. She forced herself to look away before her body betrayed her.

It hurt to leave J like that but she couldn't teach her how to be better. She’s tried. Gave her a chance. That apology lacked any copacetic values to categorize it as an actual apology. This was something she had to do alone, unfortunately. Which meant Tessa had to give her tough love as repercussion for her actions.

She hoped she wasn't being too hard on her. J went through a lot too. Most Tessa didn't know but could only imagine the horrors. Truly she blamed herself for this issue. She's seen the bad blood between her two drones– or one sided feud. Always told herself it'd go away. That she'd grow out of it and realize N was a good guy. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. 

Why was every one of her drones teaching her that ignoring your problems didn’t make them go away?! Except V. Oh please. She’s the only hope that Tessa could be a good influence. 

The temptation to ask N was there but knowing him, he wouldn’t speak a word against J. If something went down between them she hopes they’ll maturely handle it so they can all go back to being the civil teammates.

Before entering the ship again Tessa exhaled. Breathing out all of those frustrating thoughts. All the complicated feelings. 

She stepped inside, alerting N. He spun around with a big smile. His screen glitched momentarily. Barely recognizable, something she’d need to check up on later. “Hi Tessa!”

“Hi buddy..! Havin’ fun there?” Tessa tried to match his energy, really did, however it came out strained and fake. 

If N noticed he didn’t verbalize it because of course he wouldn’t. “Lots! I found a control that disperses oxygen throughout the ship in the event there's no breathable air. It works in a similar way to a gas mask, filtering out the bad and giving you the good, but on a larger scale. Isn't that neat?”

Tessa ruffled his hair with a barely there laugh. “Very. Mind, showin’ me what else this baby can do?”

Chapter Text

In a very cool and totally not loser-esque neon purple room a certain purple worker took a swig of battery acid to replenish her energy. Who cares if the label says it causes damage to her core?! She is a force stronger than a stupid drink. She is GOD!! Anyway, she needs it since she’s been working tirelessly on a project to impress her mom and prove to her dad that they weren’t crazy and he was just a dumb scared little bi— 

“Hello? Requesting help from Earth? Do you copy? Earth is toast. An evil little robot took over the world and only we— I mean— Wha–? Anyway..  If anyone is there you better answer!! Anyone? Dr. Ridley?”

Yes. YES!!

Uzi gripped the handles on her chair, vibrating with excitement. It worked. It freakin worked! Why is she surprised? Of course it did. Suck on that dad!! Who else in this bunker was adept enough to build a fully functional communication device?! No one. Especially not that persnickety bitch Lizzy.

To backtrack, this super cool and effective thing she’s been working on in absolute secret is a transmitter strong enough to reach, and intercept, signals beyond the planet! With the help of stealing materials that may or may not have been important to the structural integrity of the bunker she’s succeeded in her efforts! Now it's time to display her excellence!!

“MOOOM!!” Uzi yelled as she hopped out her chair and peeked out of her room. 

In the living room Nori and Khan were playing a game. There was a clear winner and loser just based on their postures. A grunt of recognition came from Nori as she elbowed Khan in the side. A totally legal move in the gaming world. “Yes babes? ‘M kinda busy kicking ass here!”

“I did something really cool!! Remember how you were saying humans are going to smite us?”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.. Those flesh bags make me sick.” Nori intensified her button mashing.

“Maybe stop fussing about humans. You’re going to send her into a vengeful psychosis.” Khan worried, taking his eyes off the screen. Just as he did his wife upped the ante by hitting him with a triple combo that his heath bar suffered greatly for. He endured an elbow to the face as Nori cheered.

Uzi hurried near the TV, hopping and pointing to her room with urgency. “Using recycled parts that were just laying around I constructed a 100x amplified transmitter capable of sending skywaves off the planet that bounced until they found a viable signal to connect and lock onto and it finally got something!! I guess when they attempted to contact a “Dr. Ridley” they hit my transmitter instead of—” 

“Hold up. Back up like five steps. Dr. Ridley? You heard one of them say that name?!” Nori put down the controller, giving Khan the win he wanted. Less satisfying knowing that without the distraction he'd be toast.

“Yeah? So what?” Uzi deflated, slightly annoyed her mom was focused on a stupid name rather than her incredible accomplishment.

Nori frowned, climbing over her husband to stand before Uzi. “You’ve got my attention. Show me this genius device, my little manic.” She motioned for Uzi to lead the way to her room.

The worker totally did not squeal at the validation. Praise reeks and does not fuel her with happiness! She went back to her room with a burst of energy. Inside her mom inspected the device. Uzi flicked on the propagator and leaned into the built- in microphone. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

The two waited for any response. There wasn’t one for a while. Nori waited patiently, leaning against Uzi’s desk chair. The angsty worker growled at the lack of activity. Someone was just on a second ago! Now is not a good time to make a mockery of her. She actually let her mom in her room for this!

“Hello?” A crackly voice came through.

Uzi sat up in her seat with a large smile as she looked at Nori. She let out an evil giggle as she leaned in again. “Who is this?”

“I’m.. hm.. a human? A human person. Bones and flesh noises.”

What an idiot! As if anyone but a human would be on the line. That would be crazy. 

“Duh!! What’s this humans’ name?” Uzi groaned, rolling her optics.

“Right! Name! People have those. N–N—Nep— …tune? Yeah, that..”

The older of the two cocked her head, glaring suspiciously. “Like the planet?” She spoke into the microphone.

“Yuppies! I’m Neptune like the planet!” He thrilled.

Humans were so weird. Why would you name your child after a planet? Then again, she was named after a gun so how much can she slander in that department?? It was kinda a cool name.. Or whatever. There were cooler planets to choose from.

Nori pushed her way into Uzi's seat, smushing her against the edge. If not for the arms she would've fallen to the ground. “Okay Neptune. I’m guessing you aren’t in charge. Who are your superiors?” She questioned.

“Well my boss is J and her boss is Tessa. They're awesome! Don't tell her but J is slightly less awesome than Tessa, my personal opinion. She’s a meanie!! They’re sleeping. It’s funny because I think they're mad at each other. And then there’s V, she’s the coolest, she also mad but not at Tessa? I don’t know what’s going on between them and I don’t wanna ask because what if they get mad at me next? V’s also in sleep mode so it's just me.”

“What? J and V like the letters orrr–??” Now those were even weirder for humans. How lazy. They must have the worst parents.

“What? Oh–! Nooo… J like J-a-y! Like the bird! It’s because she's totally faithful but snappy and also tender on the inside! Or Jupiter, her namy name. A-and V like V-e-e, short for Venus! Tessa is just Tessa. Or Tess. Short for Tessa. Ha.. ha. Haha.”

Uzi scrambled for her notepad to jot down this information. Just in case it was important later. Listing them in order of rank and brain capacity, listing Neptune at the bottom for reasons she didn't need to explain as he was proving them himself. This “Tessa” is the highest rank. If only they could speak to her instead. This guy sounded like he was one minor inconvenience away from an anxiety attack, or worse, a brain aneurysm. 

Off topic from his unimportant mental state. 

Perhaps their planet names meant they were more dangerous than normal humans? Could human parents tell if their babies would grow into forces to be reckoned with? She'd have to ask that in school. If so, would she be lower than them in ranks??

…

Hell no! Scrap that idea!! 

“Are you like an intern or something?” Nori peaked at Uzi’s writing, giving her a thumbs up. 

“Naah! I’m the pilot. Hold your applause and your socks, I know it’s sooo impressive. I'm super handsome and hold doors for ladies and stuff.”

Was that impressive? Flying was cool but it's not like they could actually fly. Always reliant on machines to do their bidding. Did this mean he was on earth?? Were air planes an earth exclusive thing? Anyway, planes only stayed within the troposphere. Super uncool. 

And performative chivalry was almost worse than misogyny for the validation of other men. 

Hmmm.. Pilot could be an abbreviation for some bigger scheme. Pissing in lives of technologically advanced life. With the AL being silent of course. Best not to let the human know she was onto them..

“Pilot?? Like for an airplane? Lame.” Uzi snarked, blowing a raspberry.

“Nope. Get this, me and my squad are coming there! We’re totally gonna save you from innocent until proven guilty evil sister! What’re your names?!”

Wow he gave that up easily. Scratch airplane, that sucker was piloting a space ship!! Uzi put down to look up the distance between Earth and Copper-9. If far enough those humans were so dying on their way here. One thing school taught her is those boneheads don’t live nearly as long as drones. At least they could receive maintenance to prolong their lifespan. Humans just die for no reason!!

Nori stammered. “What are you talking about?! Evil sister—? You can't just come here! And our names are confidential information not up for disclosure."

See if they actually didn’t die and made it here.. that wouldn’t be good. Once they saw all their definitely dead companions things would get nasty. Other than the possibility of being enslaved again, which of course wouldn't happen because they're way more competent and more importantly, durable, than stupid humans, there were some inconsistencies. Some things weren’t adding up. Why are humans just now trying to contact others? How did they not realize they were calling a drone only populated planet?! 

Another important note, ‘Evil (maybe) sister of Neptune.’ Was there a single human plotting against them? If so and she had relations to this human that means he has a biased view and therefore is a compromised source.

Hold the phone! Uzi perked up, abruptly halting her writing. “Did you say Venus was in sleep mode? Like– sleep mode for drones?” She did hear that right– right? 

Nori frowned. “He did say that..”

Super suspicious.

A crash came from the other line followed by heavy breathing, “Whaaat?! That’s crazy! Guys—I totes said she was sleeping! Like us humans do. You know—mi mi mi.” 

Us humans? Did the human think they were human too? They weren’t filthy meat bags! “We aren’t—“ Her moms’ hand came to cover her mouth with a hushed but unrelenting “shhh”.

“Neptune, was it? Does sending the sky demons to Cooper-9 relate to your evil sister that you and your squad are coming to save us from?” Nori read off Uzi’s notes, tapping her finger on the paper.

“Sky demons?? Ah! You mean disassembly drones? Yeah they do relate. Cyn– My evil sister B-T-dubs– apparently turned u–the worker drones into DD units. We- Uh- They have a lot of names. Disassembly drones, murder drones and sky demons. Gonna save that extra name to ma brain. But to my knowledge they're all on earth so more of our problem than yours. They are super murdery—b-but— some of them are nice! Like three of them are nice and caring and sassy but maybe misunderstood with some trauma that needs to be unpacked!”

“Sympathizing with robots. Rare for humans.” Nori muttered, covering the mic momentarily. “Alrighty pal. Back to this sister. What’s her prerogative?”

“You would have to talk to Tessa about that. I’m not too sure. How about I ring ya later?? Promise to answer?”

So the idiot didn't even know the status of his own sister and has to ask his boss?? That downs reliability another 20%. On the level of threat Cyn was above Tessa. With Neptune and her being related he could possibly have a secret darkside. An ability to jump above all his peers in terms of strength. A bad boy.. 

‘Sky demons= Murder Drones= Disassembly drones/ DD Units. Three nice. The rest evil.’ Got it. Those must be the main characters that rebelled against authority! Grounds for a fire story. 

Write fanfic later about Murder Drones. Hehehe.. And make them hot. Oh yeah, that’s good stuff. Her followers are going to flip at that original idea!! 

“Pinky promise... Later alligator.” With that Nori disconnected the line, standing up and taking the whole machine and the notepad, much to Uzi’s dismay. That book had way more than her nerdy ramblings! There was some private stuff society wasn't ready for in there!! How was she going to remember her fanfiction?! The internet needs her!!

“What gives?! Where are you going?!” Uzi exclaimed, reaching for her masterpiece and documentations.

“Sorry babes. This is now contraband. You were such a big help. How about you go hang out with what’s his face! Tall blonde kid ya like so much!” 

Uzi displayed a puzzled expression. Once realizing she flushed. “Thad?! Ew why did you say it like that?!”

“Yeah! Man, I love that kid! You hang out with him. You can stay out past curfew—“ Nori shifted the device in one of her hands to open the front door then pushed her daughter out. “Actually.. don’t come home until tomorrow! I’ll make your fave. Baii!” The door slammed in her face, leaving her lost for what the hell just happened.

Oh well. Her mom now knows her potential and will prove to her dad that they are just as sane as all the other worker drones!! Only issue.. Where does she stay for the night? She was not going to Thad’s place out of hatred for his belligerent clone. Not any other reason.. Looks like she'd be sleeping in the storage closet tonight. 

N tapped his fingers together, giggling fiendishly. Springing out of his chair with poor balance, an innocent smile split into a toothy grin. He walked to peek out the ship's door. Eyes set on J who was working on keeping track of and checking the quality of stock with V. “With” being a heavy hyperbolic. They avoided each other like the plague in the close proximity. Tessa was on the other side of the room, gathering clothing items and whatnot. Unimportant.

“You’re next, Jaybird.” N’s voice morphed into one of someone who's been searching for them. For her friends. Her family. Her beloved puppets. “Thanks bi–g brother. B-but I’ll. Take it from. Here. Mcguffin.” His visor glitched into an amber X. The puppeted body staggered onward to its unsuspecting victim. Joints cracking with each step.

Chapter Text

300 protein bars, all of varying flavors, most predominant being birthday cake. 365 gallons of water for the predation of a year long trip. The ratio would be equal to the protein bars if V hadn't developed a fixation for eating them. As she counted at that. Made her think she was losing her mind when the number got smaller each count.

20 boxed pouch goods. She's only gotten to counting half of them. Each containing only one fruit, vegetable or other per box. Some being; apple sauce, mashed carrots, mashed peaches, mashed potatoes, and mashed beets, freeze and dried broccoli. Freeze dried lemons slices have caught her eye. They were particularly good. The sour taste fit her palette perfectly. A golden ingredient for tea.

A sort of nutrient glucose supplement was in bulk with a diverse catalog of vitamins in pill and gummy forms. 

Over a dozen rotten/ expired goods were cast aside to be taken out. Some had such vile smells she almost wanted to set them ablaze to ensure they were gone for good. 

That’s been J’s life for the past day. Unpack and repack. Separate the good from the bad. Oblivescence of her own hunger needs led to her being a bit grouchy. She took to munching on saltine crackers, dipping them in cold chicken stock. She didn't feel worthy enough to warm the can first. Canned goods were limited. Marked to be eaten before the trip off the planet. Really she was being thoughtful by not wasting them. At least, that's what she wanted to believe to excuse her obscene consumption of soup. 

24 hours and she still hasn't thought of an effective way to solve her problem of 2 out of 3 of her team having interpersonal conflict with her. Might as well be 3 for 3 with how N avoided her too.

AGHHH!!

Since when was V even one expostulate with her?! Her and her panglossian golden stud of a sycophantic– GAAA! She won't take insolence from her. V practically was begging for a fight with her outwardly discourteous commentary. Whatever. Whatever. As the bigger person she'll forget about it this one time. 

“Hello? I'm talking to you!” Speak of the devil.. V was standing over her with her hands on her hips.

J turned around mid crunch of her third pack of crackers. For the past 10 minutes she's been on her mandatory break to avoid inciting her murderous alter ego. “What?! Can’t you see I'm off the clock? Circle back in 5 minutes.” She chugged the remainder of the soup, immediately popping another one open.

“Well, Tessa needs medicine and you're in charge of the digestibles.” V pointed towards the many untouched boxes. Furthermore, she eyed the abandoned cans rolling around. She better not be judging! 

Anyway… the health and wellness of Tessa is a high enough priority to break code.

“Medical supplies are in the second most row, fifth from the right, third up. The one with the slightly ripped flap.” J jut her head in the direction of the exit. Outside the closest. 

Where V should be headed. Why isn't she leaving?!

V turned around then back to J. “The what?”

Sigh…

“There are 6 rows against the wall. The second row, fifth box, third stacked up. It's that one.” J repeated, slightly more irritated.

“Nah. Not following.” V shrugged. The smallest smile on her face made J think she was messing with her. “But sure. I got it.”

Before she had a chance to walk away N strolled in. Standing directly in V’s way. Like the jocular fellow he was... J seethed at another addition to the disturbance of her free time. At the same time she wondered why he didn’t greet V. They were besties or something. Even V seemed offended at the ignorance of her presence. 

“Hey. J, ya got a sec??” N smiled at her, his head lolling to the side as if trying to overshadow V’s presence entirely. 

Frankly, he was better off talking with her. J was not in the mood to manage Mr. Sunshine. This better be important. If he caused damage to himself with Tessa out of commission the responsibility fell onto her which she really didn’t need right now!! 

“Okay, let’s all neglect mandatory breaks! What can I do for you??” J asked in her most sickeningly sweet customer service voice.

N didn’t react. Didn’t even flinch. Usually he would be frantically apologizing and making his way out. You know– getting the point she didn't want to be bothered.

“There seems to be a connection issue messing with the ship. I traced it outside. How about you supervise me while I check it out?? I’ve never been out by myself.”

Cringing at his flat speech J. She shuddered with an uncanny feeling. “Why are you—?”

V cut her off, nudging N with her hip to get his attention. “I could help. No pressure, it's just we haven’t really hung out since you woke up.. with us being busy and all.” She picked at the fur of her coat, waiting for his approval. 

There. The perfect distraction to get him off her back. Gives her more time to come up with her… letter of recognition. V gets her closure for his weirdness. Boomshakalaka! She gets her alone time again! She was looking to enjoy her lunch without an abundance of heads in the room. 

This soup is delectable! If eating before didn’t formerly mean immediate death then she’d be eating it all the time. And by all the time she means on every allowed lunch break, plus times Tessa encouraged her to not follow through with her cleaning duties.

“Maybe later.” He dismissively patted her on the shoulder, turning back to J with a piercing stare. 

Ouch? Second hand embarrassment called, they want their reputation back. Seriously, what's his deal?? 

“V has the proper credentials to supervise almost as well as me. Don’t be a dummy. Go away and frolic in the post-apocalyptic grass or something.” J waved him off, sticking her hand into the soup box. 

Empty.. 

Had she eaten them all already? So much for watching her figure. Bummer.

Fast metabolism with limited supplies made for a troublesome trip in space. Apparently these cans had staggering amounts of protein which kept humans full. How would she translate that to herself? Hmmm. The average human eats around 4 gallons a day to ensure satisfaction in the hunger department. A box of chicken soup is definitely over 4 gallons. But is she actually hungry or is she eating because she’s bored? Man, has she ever had this much free time before?! Working with food makes it hard to not ingest it all.

In spite of J’s averse to spend alone time with N, perhaps it’d do her some good to get some fresh air. Eh— if you could even call it that.

“You know what, if it’ll help the mission. Come on. Let’s get this over with. It shouldn't take long.” The last bit was solely for V’s reassurement. If it made her feel better she didn't show it, walking out to complete her previous task.

She pushed herself up, for the first time all day walking out of the storage closet. With a crack of her stiff joints she exited after N. She forced her optics to disregard Tessa’s existence on the other side of the room she flew upwards. A whole bunch of feeling there that needed to be sorted out later. She climbed through the opening and pulled herself out the other side. N didn't even wait for her, halfway out the cathedral as she was still picking herself up. 

Rude much. 

Assuming he was leading her to the problem she followed close behind him. Out the cathedral plus some further distance. A mile or 2 south of their original location. As they walked N took in every detail of his surroundings. She’d never admit but he was freaking her the hell out. He should be asking her a million and one questions, or rather be answering her questions of why he was behaving so suspiciously. 

Also, how did he track a disturbance without the ship's assistance? There was no other machinery to aid in such a search. Other than themselves and she wasn’t sensing anything so he couldn’t know by himself. Had something like, for example, the radio that’d been modified to be capable of taking out drones, been out here the effects have all of them dysfunctional.

J looked behind her. At this point she could barely see the top of the church through the smog of the wasteland. Considering the interference recently appeared, how could it be so close when no humans have been around? They're all in the sky or possibly other places in the world. Or dead. No other drones either. Not for a couple more miles out. 

He stopped. J looked around in confusion. Deepening the erie locality, the only sounds were the wind blowing their hair and her own blinking. She inched closer to him, peaking over his shoulder with hands on her hips. He was literally staring at nothing. Rolling her eyes she kicked a stray rock. At this point J was ready to go back and check out the ship for herself. 

“Is it somewhere here? Tessa insisted she searched this area—“ J paused, a shiver crawling up her spine as she slowly turned to N. His eyes morphed into a single X and he came at her with his claws. She blocked him with her forearm, not going without three slices to her casing. The force pushed her back a couple feet into a totalled truck. “What’re you doing?!”

Her oil ran cold when he let off several rounds in her direction. She used her wings to repel the shots. Pulling the appendages out of her view she caught him lunging at her for a second time. She sent a knee to his face, transitioning into a flip that reversed their positions, sending him crashing upside down into the truck. The move didn't phase him. He picked himself up, licking the oil that spilled from the healing crack to his screen. She hovered slightly above him, looking down in horror.

For a split second J couldn’t help but wonder if this is what she looked like to Tessa when they first regrouped. Ferocious and barbaric. 

“Look if this is because of my… slightly dishonorable treatment of you– I was drafting a structured way to settle our sitch. Ignore my lacking penitential approach, you know I'm not going to get overly emotional. No need to be a quidnunc about it, be patient.”

With insane strength he grabbed her leg, pulled her down with a manic giggle. J slammed into the ground, jerking her head away from an incoming slice to where her head previously sat. Just as she rolled to get up he pushed her back down by straddling her. Though not wanting to cause damage too vexing she sucked it up and whipped her tail to strike, that of which was pinned down by his own.

J grabbed him by his throat, crashing onto their sides as they tussled like cats for the upper hand. N slid his sword against her cheek, giving her a gash that healed in seconds. Throwing him off, she flew into the air. She heaved, holding her artillery shakily. Her systems heavily objected to friendly fire. As if he didn’t start the altercation on his lonesome! 

No time for being soft. If he wanted a fight she might as well give him one. They could strategically converse thereupon, anger out of the way.

J let off a missile that N instantaneously kicked back at her. She narrowly dodged, the bomb flew into an apartment complex in an explosion that rattled the atmosphere. The exterior of the building came crumbling down in large chunks. Fire lighting up the area, setting up an ill-omened terrain.

“What has gotten into you..?” J grumbled.

N chased her through the sky till he gained enough air to grab her by her arm, spinning her into a fit of disorientation. When he tried to throw her elsewhere J held the front of his coat for stability. With her free hand she switched out to an EMP, aiming it at N’s face. The most effective yet nonlethal in her lineup. Too bad he flipped the script by grabbing her arm to aim it at her. In the end the pulse affected neither of them since J’s arm was directed outwards. She used her wing to slap N away. He propelled three shuriken she ducked out of the way off.

“Why do you have those?!” After a quick check in her inventory J could affirm they for some reason have throwing stars.

Too focused on N she didn’t catch onto the helicopter that had gotten closer. It shot at her which hardly did real damage besides startling her. She was ready to get out of sight but a glowing golden tendril sphered the rotorcraft, making it detonate in a gust of hot air and metal segments. She’d only seen those things in one other place. Originating from the one drone they did not need to come into contact with.

“Pause the hostile work environment!!” J yelled out, diving out of sight. N followed her down. 

Not for the reason she thought. He was right back at a dishing out attacks. 

In that case, screw him. J made the move to fly back to their hideout. In her journey someone grabbed her by one of her twin tails. Instinctively J grasped the offending hand, assuming it was N still being a nuisance. “Peek-a-boo.” Said a certain maid. 

J’s eyes hallowed as she sliced those hands clean off. Analyzing possible escape routes. With N now landed behind her, Cyn in front of her, her chances weren’t looking good. Did she seriously fall for a trap? And N was in on it?? She glanced towards him. Was he working for Cyn? Being a spy? 

No, not him. He wouldn’t do that. Cyn had to have done something to him like how she took control of every drone in the manor at the start of this mess. 

“What do you want?!” J growled.

Cyn floated, unbothered. Hand resting under her chin. Secondarily, since when did she have wings?! “Visiting. Can’t I talk t-to. My favorite em—ployee?” 

“Funny. I remember hating you, and I could’ve sworn the feeling was mutual.” 

“Incorrect assumption. Will you not. Come. Willingly? I miss you. Feigned sadness.” Cyn adjusted her head. Without letting J answer she grabbed her with a tendril, arms trapped against her body, pulling her in uncomfortably close. “Too bad. Your backups will be. More complacent. I think. You should. Slip out of s-something. More comfortable.”

Most of the time Cyn just talks but that really bothered her. She just had to correct that terrible usage of the saying.

“Isn’t the phrase, ‘Slip into something more comfortable.’?” J jeered nervously.

“Not for. You.” Cyn pushed her hand into her chest, pulling out her core with a giggle. J’s body slumped in the tight hold, ‘Fatal Error’ replacing her eyelights. 

Cyn tossed the core between hands like a ball for a moment then punted it at N’s visor. “New pet. Meet. old pet. Treat it with. Much. Artificial and cr-crushing affection. Let’s go home.” She bat flew out of the area, N flying steadily behind her as core J gripped onto his head with as much strength as her slippery claws would allow her to.

“Oh em gee!! Look who it is!” 

Uzi cursed under her breath, eating her lunch significantly faster so she could escape. It appeared that even her fastest efforts were too slow. The vacant seats at the relatively empty table, other than herself, were filled with Rebecca, Doll and worst of them all, Lizzy. The trio made the wise decision to sit right in front of her. Uzi protectively cupped her food. Reasonably on edge from the she-devils presence.

“Yum! Whatcha got?” Lizzy inquired. Knowing damn well she didn't care about her lunch…

Without a word Uzi flashed the sandwich, taking a large bite. When she reached for her energy drink it was taken because– of course it was. Rebecca took a fat gulp. As dramatically as possible she choked on the liquid, seemingly repulsed. “Ewww. This tastes like TV static and inferiority!”

The three started laughing like it was the funniest joke of their century. 

“No one forced you to drink it.” Uzi took another bite of her sandwich. The last bite actually. She’d really love her drink to sooth her dry mouth but it's just been passed to Doll who guzzled down the entire can. Talk about gluttonous. 

“Did I mention that she's staying at my house? Her parents finally abandoned her. How tragic.”

“Like your mom abandoned you? Is that why you bother me?” Uzi spat, collecting her trash. Across the table went silent. Both Doll and Rebecca went looking for Lizzy to spew a comeback. One never arrived so Uzi took that as a win. She couldn't help but chuckle. “Daddy too apathetic to give you attention so you seek it through being an asshole?? No offense to Thad. It's not his fault he got stuck with you.”

“Damn Liz. You gonna let that slide?” Rebecca instigated.

“Uh-no!” The blonde countered, still without providing a proper retort.

“Darn. Your snarky remarks have a cooldown. Can’t just throw them out back to back? Or was that last one your ult so it's taking longer than usual?”

Lizzy frowned, “What are you even talking about?”

[In video games, when it comes to your defense there's the normal attack you can spam, your special move, then your ultimate move which normally has a minute cooldown. The joke was a refer–] A palm to her face ceased Doll’s explanation.

“Thanks, yeah. Sweet. Got it.” Lizzy dismissed.

Favoritism. Doll gets to be all weird and creepy and knowledgeable about gaming references but the minute Uzi does something remotely atypical everyone gives her dirty looks. Just because she's hot– or whatever, she can do whatever she wants.. It’s like everyone but has reached their peak so they’ll grow into adults that think they’re better than everyone. 

“Sticks and stones or what have you. Not like I care about her opinion anyway..” Famous last words from a butt hurt prick.

Got her right in the mommy and daddy issues. Hopefully it distracts her enough to not follow her into the bathroom to spend the rest of her lunchtime. Since clearly public areas were too public. 

On the way to her locker to retrieve her headphones for the added peace a leg stuck out and tripped her. She flopped onto her face. Flashing of cameras went off behind her followed by laughter. Uzi stayed down, played dead. In case they chose to come back if she got up. Once the workers left the hall she stood up to finish her walk. Unfortunately someone took the books she normally kept there to reach. All classes were already full for lessons and she was not about to barge in for books so everyone could stare at her. Instead she hopped on her tippy toes to grab the padlock. Without being able to see it took 3 times for her to guesstimate whether she was inputting the correct combination. Alas, she got her headphones and closed the locker. Now she could go to the bathroom and quietly read manga on her phone—

Aaaand there goes the bell. 

UGHH

Screw it. She’ll listen to music during class. Who even cares about the rules? The teacher doesn’t care about his job enough to actually make her listen.

Except it’s never that easy. She just had to run into, literally run into, Lizzy of all people. Somehow the empty halls had groups of people watching for the next course of action. Doll who arrived at the same time sat in her usual seat. Like a normal person. She didn’t like her but at least the drone had her limits. Also kept her mouth shut.

“Eugh, it touched me. Wait, take this off.” Lizzy snatched her headphones off her head, throwing them behind her where a distinct breaking sound came from. “Oops. Sorry not sorry. You look like a furry with those. Technically doing you a favor.”

Her headphones. Her freaking lifeline. Gifted by her mom when she was little. All because this hypocrite doesn’t like the cat ears on them. Uzi blinked back tears, sucking in a deep breath. That still didn’t help her fathom the levels of unprecedented audacity.

“Me—I— Your bow makes you look like a kemonomimi dumbass! Worrying about the wrong subgenre!”

“Huh? Is that supposed to mean something??” Lizzy asked thoughtlessly, barely paying attention anymore with her phone triggering her short attention span. She herself was chronically online but come on! They were currently engaged in a debate. At least finish it!!

“It means…” Uzi caught sight of her smashed headphones. She came to the conclusion she must avenge her moms honor. Revenge must be had. She frowned deeply, smacking Lizzy’s phone out her hand. Eye for an eye, now they were even in the broken property department. “I wanna fight. Right now!!”

Students “ouuu”ed at the proposal. Phones were already coming out in anticipation. Teacher was asleep at his desk like the marvelous instructor he was. The fact he hadn't been fired yet is the biggest allusion to everyone in the bunker being careless useless frauds. 

With ironic timing an announcement cut through the chaos. The stupid upbeat jingle that didn't fit the vibe of the moment sounded. “Doll, please come to the main office. Долл, пожалуйста, подойдите в главный офис. Thank you.” Said the announcer. For a moment all eyes turned to her while she walked out. 

Cutting an eye at Uzi, Doll brushed past her. [Excuse me.] There goes a pinch of the home training she has peeking through.

That was weird. Anyway! Who cares. Back to their more important cutscene.

“Fight. You? Nah I’m good. Just got my nails done.” Lizzy flashed her pink glitter nails. Matching both her eyelights and her pink tips. Okay that match job is mildly impressive. 

Not the point!!

“Fuck you and your nails.” Uzi slapped her hand. “I’m serious. Or are you scared of little ol’ me?” She taunted.

Lizzy smiled tightly, an ikari mark visible from under her bangs. “Fine.” Rolling up her very much imaginary sleeves, the blonde stood ready.

“FIGHTFIGHTFIGHTFIGHT!!” Students egged on.

Uzi stood about a foot away. Really she’s never actually fought anyone. Though, how hard could it be? She’s watched enough anime and played enough mortal combat to learn some things. She was tired of the talk, others making her life miserable. And for what?? What did Uzi ever do to any of them? The harassment came out of nowhere. 

Lizzy yanked hold of Uzi’s jacket to bring her closer then almost manages to land a punch. The purplette blocked with her forearm then smacked Lizzy. The reverberant sound gained reaction from the crowd. She gripped her shirt and pushed her into several other desks. Some complaints came from people who hurried out of their seats. 

Should’ve moved when they had the chance!! This is an open battlefield!

With Lizzy down to her level she landed a punch that was dealt right back. The blonde was more heavy handed than expected. She yanked a fist full of Uzi’s hair, pivoting her into the surrounding desks, effectively cornering her. Not ready to back down, Uzi leaned back into a kick to Lizzy’s middle. Creating enough distance for her to regain her bearings. By now Uzi caught people in the hall looking inside. She rolled her eyes, cracking her joints. Might as well give them a show.

“Guys! Stop!” Thad said from the door.

Whilst Uzi was distracted by him Lizzy charged for a punch. A cheap gambit that she was not going to let take her down. She weaved out the way then tackled the blonde down football style. Ironically enough. Subsequently unable to hold her down, Uzi was kneed in the stomach and kicked away. Now winded and Lizzy towering over her she lost confidence. In a panic she grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be a fallen bag, and threw it at her. The weight of it made Lizzy flop to the floor. When she didn’t move to get up for a hot minute Uzi laughed. Others gasped. 

Uzi stood, rubbing her sore cheek. “That’s all you got? All bark no bite. That was freaking light work—“

An exasperated wet cough cut off her main character monologue. Lizzy pulled herself into a sitting position, flopping forward like a rag doll, hand over her side. Oil spilled from out of her chassis. At first Uzi thought that the diva might literally be made of sheet metal for being hurt by a mere blunt bag. Then she saw it. The glint of a blade's end poked through Doll’s discarded bag before Lizzy could clutch the bag closer to hide it. Oil dripped down her mouth to be wiped with the back of her hand.

Uh oh spaghetti-o…

Gasps filled the room once again. Thad was finally able to push through the crowd and hurried over, kneeling next to her. Lizzy whispered something to him and he nodded. He put a hand on her shoulder, at the same time slipping Doll’s bag onto his own and helping the fallen worker onto her feet. 

Did he not see the murder weapon?? Did he know something? What would make him go for the bag anyway?! Why are they both protecting Doll? This transcended glossing over her other quirks. 

“I’m fine. You don’t have to.” Lizzy groaned, though didn't push away when he put an arm around her.

He spared a silently scolding glare to Uzi. “Not cool man. Not cool.” He reprimanded. “Talk later.”

“But she— Ugh! Damn it.” Uzi muttered. She turned to the several documenters of the incident. “Bite me! I’ll take all you punks!!” 

A cheery jingle rang off from the loudspeaker. “Uzi Doorman, report to the principal's office immediately. That’s, Uzi Doorman, Khan's failure of a daughter, report to the principal's office with your belongings now. Thank you.”

Fuucckkk. 

Also slander?? How about, ‘Yeva’s creepy weirdo of a child and danger to society fuck off to the office and kill yourself afterwards?!’

Who even told? That just happened!! Uzi turned around and saw Teacher next to the classroom phone. 

Double fuck.

Uzi face palmed. The oil spilt on the floor only filled her with mild amounts of guilt. No, she didn't want to kill the girl. Not truly. She just wanted to be left alone. For the popular kids to pick some other target so she could get a breath of fresh air and not be on edge every fucking second in this hell hole. 

On the way out, unbeknownst to her, a chair came hurdling at her head. The whole classroom erupted in laughter when she toppled forward. She pushed it off her, trembling with rage as she dragged herself out. Actively trying to repress didn't stop tears pouring down her visor. 

The walk to the office was the longest it’s ever felt. She’s been for her minor shenanigans. Nothing like this. Of course the one time she defends herself everything goes left. The one time!! One, out of the dozens of times no one cared. Thank you society for making the victims the aggressor. Seems like still after beating Lizzy’s ass nothing would change. Whoever said standing up to your bullies makes them stop is full of shit and has the privilege of never experiencing it themselves.

They all better pray to whatever god they believe in that her mom actually did abandon her, or else she's going home and bringing her railgun and getting rid of all of them. ​​Malevolence fully charged and itching for a release. Fuck being the hero. Sympathy is earned, and so is retribution.

Chapter Text

Doll strolled through the halls back to class, more chatter than usual. She paid the students little to no mind. Her eyes were more focused on the bagged item given to her by her mother. At such short notice as well. For some reason it couldn’t wait till she was out of school. She also apparently wasn’t allowed to go home? Strange. Not a problem though, Lizzy never minded having sleepovers. This one would just be prolonged to an unknown extent. 

Out from the bag crawled a bug. Doll grimaced, smacking at it. The little creature scarcely avoided the assault. Putting its legs together like it was begging for its life. It scanned her face with a bright light then a Russian chat log came up. At the top read ‘С возвращением, 048!’ She remembered the number as her moms from her time at the Cabin Fever labs. Stories about that place were kept brief and purely informative. Whether having to do with the solver or the danger of humans, nothing good happened down there. So why would her mom give her this thing now? 

Rebeca walked up to her with Darren on her arm. Doll stashed the bug in her hair. “Late to the party?? Class is cancelled for the day. While you were gone Uzi, like, totally flipped on Lizzy. It was hashtag embarrassing af.”

Not surprising. With how their earlier stances Doll could’ve guessed something would go down. A cat fight at most. Uzi is small and Lizzy is capable. More than once she's watched the girl hold her own in a fight. A logical person could guess how this recent grapple would go. As for having an investigation, that was a tad extreme. She just left the room, what could’ve happened in such a short time??

Doll tilted her head. [What’s with those guys then? I need to get my bag.] Before they did..

“Ha! That’s the best part! I didn’t really see cuz it happened fast but here’s the video.” Rebecca presented her phone with the presumed fight. 

The video started shakily, lots of background noise. You'd think whoever documented the encounter would hold the damn camera still for better quality. With how shaky it was the camera person seemed to be having their own predicament behind the scenes. 

Just barely Lizzy and Uzi could be seen scuffling. Uzi actually got a hit on her. They were completely going ham on each other. The classroom was paying the price with out trashed it was getting. Students were pressed into the back of the classroom as they pushed around desks and knocked over chairs. At some point Uzi kicked Lizzy away and the camera cut to Thad in the doorway behind others. He was saying something that couldn’t be picked up due to loud chatter. Apparently everyone but her had been at the scene of the crime.

The camera was turned back to the two girls fighting. Uzi was handling herself pretty well. Quite impressive for her size. In the end Lizzy got the best of her and all of a sudden Uzi threw a bag, Doll’s bag, at the other. Lizzy fell back bodily. Down for a full minute. 

Surely she wasn’t knocked out. Her bag was heavy with… hm.. luggage. Not like there were bricks in there. A couple parts didn't weigh much. Less with the exclusion of oil.

Chatter settled down to quiet mumbling. Still, not close enough to catch whatever Uzi was saying. One could guess the script of her theatrical soliloquy. She could only imagine how her ego grew from that. The view switched over to Lizzy, finally getting up. It zoomed into her side. Oil poured down, staining her clothes. 

Doll snatched the phone, rewinding back 30 seconds, despite Rebecca’s complaints. She focused on her bag. Out the back was an undeniable gleam. You couldn’t tell what exactly it was. It may be confused for a light reflecting form elsewhere. A trick of the light…

When Lizzy got up and realized what happened she grasped the bag close. A bit too late. It’s the thought that counts. Doll clicked off and onto the comments. Nothing mentioned her bag. All too busy calling Uzi names and laughing at Lizzy. Clicking off she returned to the video. Thad entered in then it ended. 

Lizzy was not going to be happy about this. For more reasons than being hurt. Rebecca was right, that video was embarrassing. Painted all the wrong pictures. Being beaten by Uzi was a good way to get meme-ed for at least a month. If she brought out her blackmail tactics, a week.

[Damn.] Doll breathed, handing the phone back. 

“Yeah. That anime might actually be helpful in combat, or whatever. Anyway, smell ya later Dollface.” Rebecca casually walked away.

Doll was stunned by this information. Lizzy, hurt badly by Uzi?! Her bag?? Crap, she should've asked Rebecca if she's seen it! Are investigators going to find what was inside?! What if they find what’s inside? Doll felt herself start to sweat. Who programmed that?!

There was only one place they could be after an incident like that. She sped to the nurses office. Maneuvering around the crowds of students that did not have proper etiquette to move out her way. Inside was Teacher talking with the desk drone. Other than that Braidon was sitting down reading a magazine. With his head on fire… They all turned around at Doll’s sudden entrance. Braidon waved cheerfully. She gave him a thumbs up, turning to Teacher. 

[Is Lizzy—?]

“Room 8 hun.” The desk drone sighed. “You’re lucky you got here before anyone else, 2 visitors max.” With a press of a button the door buzzed and Doll entered the back.

She glanced above every door till reaching the desired one. Doll pushed open the door much more dramatically than intended. Inside Thad and a nurse flinched at the loud sound but settled at the sight of her. Well, Thad relaxed, the nurse only grew more uncomfortable.

Doll attempted to get a better look at the blonde but the nurse was in the way, performing some sort of mending job. Lizzy was still awake, somewhat, a magnet stuck to her head as anesthesia. Every so often her eyes with scrunch closed then stare at the ceiling blankly. In such a state she still managed to look peeved. Like getting stabbed was nothing more than a meager kink in her schedule. Thad sat next to her, holding her hand. He on the other hand had slight bags under his eyes. With his free one he motioned to the empty seat alongside his own. She came over, worry spreading over her features. Partly for Lizzy, mostly for herself. She was half expecting Thad to tell her the cat was out of the bag and she would be exiled. The way he wore his emotions on his sleeve was contagious. 

With an eye roll the medic put headphones over his head, continuing his work. Giving them more leeway to speak.

[I heard, and saw, what happened.] Doll broke the silence, fidgeting with her skirt. Though she didn't expect to be yelled at, not by Thad anyway, she was ready for a lecture. Being that she was at least to some degree to blame.

“Yeah.. Might I ask why you have a lethal weapon in your bag??” He picked it up to show the oil and a new tear from on the back of it. 

Her synthetic nerves were able to relax knowing he had it. When she reached for it he pulled back, frowning deeply. He couldn’t be serious about doing this here. Another denied reach for it let her know he was in fact serious. 

Doll sucked her teeth, peeking at the nurse, ensuring he was still not paying attention to them. Then she leaned towards Thad. [Had a big breakfast.] She motioned for him to unzip, which he did. Revealing the contents. Limbs that’d been sucked clean. In between parts was her knife. 

“Not a single book. How are you passing…?” Thad ridiculed, pushing it back to the ground where he zipped it back up. Funny since she didn't remember him being the boss of her academic standing.. “Maybe don’t bring that to school. Anyone can check your bag and bam. Exposed serial killer!!”

[No one touches my stuff.] Until today that is. [Not my fault my property was used as a projectile. Did you know they have detectives in the classroom??] 

“Detectives? No!! See what if—!! Man, you are too bold. Well I hope this is a lesson learned. Keep it at home! If someone finds out, you’re cooked.” Thad poked a finger into her cheek. 

[Robo-god… I get it mom. Blame it on Uzi. What are they going to do? Kick her out?? Her parents basically own this place.]

“No-ho way! I don’t like what she did but I’m not throwing her under the bus. I told Lizzy to stop picking on her and you’re not innocent either. Keep pushing her and she might make an anti-mean girl ray. She’s smart enough to do it! Or find out your kryptonite and use it against you.”

[Tuh. Yeah right.] Doll glowered at a thought. [So what?? Throwing me under the bus? ] 

“Double no! Never man. If it comes down to it my lips are sealed. You know I got your back. Buut, Uzi’s my friend. She could get in a lot of trouble for this.” 

Of course he wouldn’t push the blame on her. He’s too nice. Most of the school probably already blames her. When Lizzy is in her right mind she is going to blame her. Even if Thad changes her mind on that— even if they vouch for her, majority rules. The three of them against the whole school. Uzi is going to get in trouble no matter how this is flipped. 

She was not going to expose her secret for the sake of Uzi leaving with a slap on the wrist. No way in hell.

“Don’t make that face. Don’t you feel bad for her?” Thad made puppy eyes at her. 

Doll shook her head at his over complicated logic. Cute but no. She knew of Uzi because of their parents being long time friends. They had a couple of pleasant encounters. Play dates. That was years ago. The past is the past. She doesn't feel bad per se. She feels indifferent. A fight is a two person activity. Both are equally to blame. Did Lizzy properly push her to be physical? Duh. It's Lizzy. She gets in peoples heads, that's her thing. 

Assuming Uzi did get in trouble, she wouldn't hesitate telling what she saw. If she tells her mom, fine. The worst outcome in that case is that Doll’s mom gives her a lecture. If she tells anyone else then game over. So, they really were left with moving based on Uzi, huh? What a pain. Forced compliance would’ve been easier and taken less time. She is so dramatic and spontaneous this will take forever to negotiate. 

Doll swallowed her pride and chose to trust Thad. The second he messed up she was doing this her way. He’d forgive her eventually. [Plan??]

“Go home. Get rid of the bag, the knife, the body parts. Don’t answer any questions because you weren’t there. I’ll handle it. Don’t worry. Lizzy’s tough. She’ll pull through.” 

She wasn’t worried that Lizzy wasn’t going be fine. Maybe a little. The loss of oil was startling, yeah. The scar wasn't a small one. From what she could see. Still– It’s the outcome of this catastrophe that makes her timorous. If only she’d taken her bag with her.. No, that would’ve been suspicious too. There wasn’t an indicator to take the bag over the loud speaker. Now she wouldn’t be able to get rid of it in her own unit.

[Problem. I can’t go home. Mom said to stay with you.]

“Oh? Why?! Is everything okay?” Thad worried.

[I don’t know. I think it has something to do with this.] Doll held up the totebag. [Don't know what’s inside. Hold it for me. It’s a secret.] She pushed it into his lap. Thad raised a brow at the suspicious item but didn’t question, putting it into his own bag.

“And done.” The nurse pulled off his headphones and pushed back out of his seat, holding his back with a wince. “A major oil line was fractured so miss thang is gonna be hurting baaaad. The pain will linger for a while, wouldn’t do any strenuous work. It’d do her some good to miss a week or two of school. Tell your guardian. I’m taking an early lunch break.” The worker dragged himself out of the room, leaving the three kids alone.

Now that the nurse was out of the way Doll could see the full extent of the injury. Lizzy now had a scar stretching from her side to the middle of her torso. On the upside, Lizzy would like that the scar was welded together with pink material. In a gory way, it was pretty. The girl could pull off any look. Even this high dazed state. Pulled it off way better than Sam. 

[Lizzy? You okay?] Doll asked uneasily.

The blonde turned her head, optics narrowed, blinking out of sync. “I’m like actually mad at you.”

Right. There goes another problem on her list. 

Doll sighed. Nothing she could do about it now. [Where’s Uzi now?]

“Got called to the office. Probably still there. Keep your cool. I’ll deal with her too.” Thad hooked his arm around her, leaning his head on her shoulder. With nothing else to do at the moment she might was well relax.

In school suspension for a month?! What a load of bull!! So what if she kinda sort of maybe almost killed Lizzy, the girl deserves it! Plus it wasn’t exactly her fault. Her whole day— gone! Then to add a cherry on top, her mom won’t answer the phone. The principal called her father instead and he also didn't answer! Due to policy bullshit, without a guardian to pick her up she had to stay until school officially ended. 

Fuck it all. They can all bite her! All she needed was a good song to daydream to. 

Oh right. No more headphones!! Screw that. Dumb idea. She'll just go to sleep! 

Right as Uzi found herself drifting off, a boisterous voice scared her awake. “HELLO EVERYBODY!!” Uzi turned to it. Low and behold Thad waltzed in with a big smile. He stood right in front of her, shooting finger guns. “Sup. What’s the happs up in here??”

Uzi held her head in her palm, looking out the window to avoid looking at him. “What are you doing here??” Earlier was enough second hand embarrassment without him coming to check on her. He seemed pissed before. Making an appearance right after Uzi majorly hurt his sister wasn't the best look. 

“I said we’d talk later. Now is later. Walk with me??” Thad bashfully held a hand out.

Not like she has much of a choice now. Her parents are being weirder than normal and surely the janitor's closet isn’t available due to the cleaning of oil in the classroom. Man this is going to be painfully awkward.

Uzi allowed him to help her up then to be led outside. The walk was silent. Excruciating. Uzi realized they were walking back to his unit. She tightened her arms around herself. No way in hell was Teacher about to let her stay after what she did. He was indifferent about most things but her, he hated her. At least disliked her. More so after today.

Thad punched them into the unit. Ironically– No Teacher in sight. Not in his usual spot in front of the TV. No one but Doll. She sat on the couch, laying on the arm of it. This screamed intervention. Wait no– was she sleeping? What the hell does she have to be tired about? 

‘Woe is me, too many fans fawning over my every move.’ Such a hard life.. Stars, how can Thad associate with these people??

“What is she doing here?!” Uzi whispered, pointing at the danger to their safety.

“Apparently her folks are busy with a project, sooo. She’s staying too.” Thad threw up jazz hands. Like that was a good thing. It wasn't. It was the worst thing to ever happen in the history of ever.

Also–

That’s a huge totally not coincidence. Both their parents who have deep history are doing a project at the same time that their kids can't be a part of?? What could they be up to?!

“We just want to talk about what happened.” Thad chuckled guiltily. And he should feel guilty! 

Uzi smiled disparagingly, a hint of bane on her tongue. “Oh do you?? Let’s talk about why this one had a damn knife in her bag! And let’s also talk about why you’re so cool about it, like it was a toy or something!” She exclaimed.

Doll shifted in her spot, stretching then turning to the two of them. [If your mom hasn’t told you, I won’t tell you either.] 

What does that mean?! How useless! Might as well have stayed asleep if she was going to be as useless as a lump of clay.

“This is a waste of time. It doesn’t even matter. All the blame is going to go on me and I’m probably going to get expelled or something. The whole bunker hates me and thinks I’m crazy. My own father doesn’t care and I haven’t seen or heard from my mom in 2 days so yay! You won!” Uzi crumbled against the back of the couch, balled into a mass of shame and angst. 

[I knew you'd be dramatic. The solver needs oil. So I got oil. So if you even think of telling anyone, just know you'd be taking down all four of us.] Doll’s incredibly vague but telling confession made her shiver. If she had friends to bet she would've won a million bucks. No one looks like that and doesn't take sacrifices! 

“No. No way. You EAT people?? I don't know about your freaky genes but my mom does not do that!!” She turned to Thad. His lack of reaction was pissing her off. Like hello?! Ur friend is a vampire that feeds on the lifeline you're filled to the brim with! “And you’re just okay with that?! What if she buttering you up for a midnight snack?!”

“To be fair, she had plenty of time to eat me. This isn't her first time staying. We keep spare oil just in case.” And they enable her cannibalistic practices! Is she the only sane one in this room?  

Uzi looked back at Doll, uncertain of her. The solver symbol made a short-lived appearance on her visor. Matching her creepy nature, a bug crawled from out of her hair. It skittered up to sit atop her hat, bowing its head. Way, way, way too much sentience in a bug. She must have it!!

“Doll.. you got a little..” Thad pointed to the top of her head.

The girl put a hand on the hat. The bug crawled onto her hand. A speech bubble popped up over its head. 

“:) New friends??”

Holy crap why is a bug being cute right now? And why does Doll have a talking roboroach? Why is it green? Does that mean it's been domesticated or something? Another example of the universe rewarding her with things she didn't deserve.

Doll cupped the bug in her hand to hide it. Another bubble popped through. “PLEASE DON’T I’M SCARED OF THE DARK (＞人＜;)” Clearly someone wasn’t a nurturing caretaker.

“New pet aside— we all cool? No one tells on each other. Doll will stop bringing evidence to school. Squash the beef?” Thad pointed finger guns at them.

She thought about it. Really thought about it. At the moment this deal was lacking. Too one sided for her liking. Doll got off and what was in it for Uzi? According to her claim, if Uzi had the same solver coding then she should be able to do all that kinda cool witch stuff too. Yeah. She'll be better at it than Doll. Then she’ll take her pet. Hehehehe…

“New contract. I’ll forgive her if it means learning more about the solver. I want to know how to activate mine.”

[I’ll try my best. You keep your end of the deal, I'll personally make sure no one messes with you.] Doll held her hand out. The bug mysteriously out of sight. Uzi hesitantly took it. She really hoped she wasn't making a mistake. 

Most people in school were intimidated by Doll. Rightfully so. With them on the same team, the chances of being pushed into a locker dropped to zero. In no way did this mean she liked her now. This was a mere exchange. Uzi had leverage in this exaction. She had the upper hand! Time to climb the social hierarchy and become their god!!