A/N: To me, this fanmade Intermission episode feels too good to not be canon. So I decided to include it in SIVA! All credit goes to Ghoulinfuschia and those involved, seriously, check it out if you haven't already, whole chapter setting only exists because of their work!
And I also figured, since people might be busy on Halloween, or not, I dunno. And with it being the 3rd anniversary of Murder Drones today, here's the next chapter a little early! With that said, enjoy!
\\—⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫—//
Everything was dark and fuzzy, the scent of oil hung in the air as my giggling persisted on reflex. The dismembered bodies of workers laid at my feet, faces and features lacerated as I dug my fingers into someone's chest cavity, tearing out their core to sink my teeth into whatever oil would spill out.
Errors piled up in my head as my laughter grew more hysterical, ripping and tearing arms and legs apart before I fell onto my hands and knees, retching up boiling hot oil, staring down at my trembling, oil-stained hands. Looking around skittishly, I saw myself in a broken mirror clung to by flesh and other organic mass.
Wings tore out my back, splaying their talons, my eyes burning with a vibrant, yellow Solver sigil. The static swelled and shattered like a lightbulb; no more laughter, or smells, or discomfort at all.
"Get, hacked, Idiot." A synthetic voice sneered back.
Only for myself to lunge from the dark, fangs dripping with oil as they came down to bite me-
"Aah!" I shot up from my bed the moment my own teeth took a bite out of me, breathing erratically as I searched around. No cabin, no corpses, just... me... and the two murder drones hanging from my ceiling. Looking down at my hands, I checked them over, no oil or claws either. Just normal me, what little that means now. Exasperated, I threw my hands down to yell at no one. "Oh, come on! Again!?"
Flopping back down, I crossed my arms as I ran a new anti-virus software Kovik was testing, time to finally get this eldritch crap out of my head. "Well, now that I've had my daily dose of nightmare fuel... buh-bye, Robo-Satan~" I waved smugly as the program worked its magic.
|Virus Removal Failed|
"Huh?" I lost my grin.
|LMAO|
I had it, seizing up as both my eyes glitched between SIVA and Solver, the two programs unable to coexist, distorting my voice. "I-I-I'm gonna bl-blow a freakin' f-fuse! Are you kidding me!?"
~I warned you the program wasn't complete yet, Solver is on par with my own intelligence, as well as that of each individual nanite~ Kovik dug that knife in deeper as I let out a tired, soul-draining groan.
Curling up, I just wrapped my pillow around my head to try and get some sleep, not that I expected to now. "S-screw this, I'll i-i-install another stupid fir-firewall to-tomorrow. It's too late for this..."
~I will continue my research~ Kovik answered after a short while. He just took every complaint I made in stride, he almost never gave me lip about it anymore. Guess he felt the same after... the camp.
"Alright," I gave a half-hearted reply, squeezing up tighter to block it all out.
\\—⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫—//
The next night, N had something to show me and V, and I could use the breather outside after today. On a morbid, silver lining, some new classmates were added to replace those V murdered at camp. That part really took me by surprise, why did she cover for me? I kept trying to bring it up, but the time never really came.
As for N, he spun around an old whiteboard he had scavenged with some flair when he caught it. "Ba-badda-baaah!!"
Dubbed, 'Flying Lessons with N & V', depicting some more of his drawings with the three of us, almost looked like a promotional thing. But more importantly, I felt my eyes light up when I stood on my chair.
"Flying lessons!?"
"'With N and V'?" The wet blanket of the group tossed a severed arm aside, looking angrily at N. "I'm sorry, I never signed up for this."
Slumping back into my chair, guess we're back to her still being an ass, I swear, her mood is like a pendulum. N shuffled over to me, tapping his fingers sheepishly together. "Well, I thought we could help Uzi with her... nightmare-inducing, emotional baggage."
Looking up in surprise, I felt guilt wrap around my core. "Wait, what? Are you trying to like... therapize... me?" I looked between him and the snow, brushing my bangs out of my gaze.
"Lord knows you need the counselling," V slumped against her chair, dismissive as always.
"Bite me! I'm... fine... I don't... like... I-" I couldn't even defend myself, both of them giving me certain looks as I failed to come up with any excuse, my angst levels in the red. So I opted to run the denial_protocal instead, curling my arms around my chest, refusing to look at her. "Just... shut up!"
N came to rest his arms against my legs, meeting my squeamish gaze. "I just think, maybe we should try to get you acquainted with your... insatiably bloodthirsty side," He gave a supportive smile. "The more control you have, the less likely you'll up your body count against your will! Y'know?"
Whilst he wagged his tail eagerly to help me, which was cute, Kovik made himself known. ~He raises a valid point. Solver is unlike any technology I have encountered in my life, what I can recall that is, it functions like the rest of you, evolving to counter SIVA's attempts to remove it. It would be wise to instead... take the reigns, as they say, wrestle the control it has over the program like you have SIVA~
"I figured, since you learned how to use SIVA so well, then what's another program to add to that list?" N encouraged.
"I mean..." In their own ways, they were supporting me, I just don't know if this'll come back to bite me later, or worse, them.
That changed when a shiver ran up my spine, feeling V's fingers tap along my shoulders. "Y'know... if we really wanna take care of our little emo girl problem," She toyed with the bobble atop my hat with her claws. "What we could do instead..." And her left prodded its gun muzzle against my faceplate. "Is blow her brains out!"
"V!" To my rescue, N scolded her, grabbing her by the back of her jacket to drag off behind the whiteboard, her arms crossed in a huff. "We're not hurting Uzi!" I heard him whisper sharply.
"Why not!?" V yelled only to be shushed, followed by what sounded like V biting his hand.
Me and Kovik looked to each other, I shrugged, he made a distasteful chitter under his helmet.
"Have some compassion, she's clearly scared of herself. She's been having night terrors ever since the field trip incident," I winced and wrapped my arms around my knees, guess I wasn't exactly quiet about my fright, was he worried this whole time?
"Heh, I know, her nightly screams are like white noise to me. It helps me sleep like a baby~" V giggled.
"I refuse to believe you actually feel that way." N cut her off bluntly. "We're the only people that can help her, come on..."
"You seriously have a screw loose if you think I'm going to help a lost cause," V remarked, and I was so done with this 'behind the curtain' talk of theirs, hopping off my chair.
"Fine, if not for Uzi, then do it for me, please?" N asked.
"Are the grown-ups done talking yet?" I peeked over the board to look down at them flatly for a moment. "Sooner we start, sooner I can snipe people from an unsuspecting height! Maybe even that jackass that shot me, hehehe," Giving a sinister cackle, I bit my lip, looking between the two of them bashfully. "And... y'know... fix my brain, and... stuff..."
It was different when it came to SIVA, it all sorta clicked for me, Kovik being a hardass of a teacher, but everything just felt right. But this Absolute Solver, it felt... wrong, like it was trying to twist my body and mind into someone else. So maybe getting a handle on it now would help Kovik in purging it before more of me was transformed.
N seemed to smile again, eyeing V who remained unconvinced, or until his visor displayed a picture of a little puppy with a begging sound bite playing as he leaned closer to her. Letting out a breath, V's arms fell in defeat, her head tilted back in annoyance.
"oh my god- FINE, I'll do it!" She glowered back, grinding her teeth together at N who happily wagged his tail.
"Hmhmhmhm," I snickered, or until V grabbed the top of the whiteboard-
And promptly spun my whole world into a blur as I screamed, until I suddenly stopped spinning and landed face first into the snow, scrambling my brain for a few seconds. Worth it...
"Let's get this over with..." V muttered.
\\—⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫—//
I've been up high before, like when N threw me above the clouds, but actively looking down from an extremely high height was something else. We stood atop the corpse tower that overlooked a vast majority of the ruined city, the wind howling in my ears as I felt my stomach tighten just being near the edge.
"Uuuh..." This really looked bad.
"Aaaaand scoop!" N suddenly swept me up in his arms, frightening the nanites out of me.
"Oh my Robo-God!!" I panicked and felt heat rising into my faceplate again, looking between him and the cold and very, very hard ground below.
"First we'll try the baby bird method. Toss ya off and let your instincts do the rest-" N declared, feeling his hands begin to tense under me. Wait, now!? Isn't there supposed to be a countdown to this!?
~I'd suggest not dying~ Kovik, in all his wisdom, didn't even sound phased I was about to be hurdled off a skyscraper made from worker drone corpses!
"Wait, N-" I tried to get him to slow down, but I had already left his hands in one fell-swoop.
"-and up you go!" N's voice echoed as my screams quickly overshadowed his voice, plummeting toward the ground as my wings shot out on instinct, flapping and curling around me as I flailed.
"Still falling! STILL FALLING!!" The ground was starting to get closer! I tried flapping out my wings, the membrane slowing my descent but not fast enough, each flap was too weak and had no lift at all. "Come on, come on, COME ON!!" I didn't want to die from some stupid fall, work wings! "Kovik!!"
~Incoming~ He replied as I felt all that velocity leave my body as I fell straight against N's chest, himself coming down to land far more gracefully than I ever could, my body trembling like a leaf as my memories flashed before my eyes.
"Hehe, whoops! Heh, uh... l-let's try a different approach, yeah?" N asked me sheepishly, my shaky head nodding multiple times. No more skyscrapers.
Starting now from the ground-up, V took things away this time, spreading her wings sharply before using them in conjunction with a jump to boost her height dramatically into a sharp spin, coming to hover in the air several meters above us. She then gestured for me to follow.
N gave me a thumbs up, Kovik nodding once as I spread my wings, nearly knocking N over and shot up exactly like V, piece of cak-
"Grah, stupid, freakin', head... lamp! Get me out, can't see a damn thing in here!" My voice muffled as I shot straight into the lamppost above, wedging my head inside as I felt N tug at my legs and stomp on the light to free me.
~How you've survived this long is both astounding, and almost insulting~ Kovik sighed, doing nothing to help my situation.
"Got it!" I heard N call as all that weight tugged me down onto the snow, splitting the now severed lamp head in two, leaving me to spit out wires and bits of glass. "Uh, you okay, Uzi?"
"I think I swallowed the lightbulb," I groaned, flopping against the snow.
\\—⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫—//
After that mess, N set up a much simply landing strip ahead of me, dancing with glowsticks sticking out of his arms, and somehow, got a red light atop V's unamused head. Once the other lights flickered on, I braced against a frozen truck.
"Okay, big sweeps with my wings... use my tail to adjust my body weight... glide to cover distance," I recited what N told me, flexing my wing muscles.
~Correct, now go~ Kovik announced as I pushed off the truck.
I dipped but quickly forced my wings to flap, but it sorta knocked me off course, so I quickly adjusted for the loss of balance, struggling to stay aloft. It was harder than it looked, I had to make several adjustments all at once in parallel with each other, but I wasn't falling!
"Haha, I-I'm doing it!" I beamed, dipping into a curve that built up more speed than I'd have liked, N opening his arms wide to catch me. "Uh, N! Coming in hot!"
"Gotcha- oof!" And I struck his chest hard and fast, but I didn't faceplant the snow this time, sitting upright with a fist bump.
"Aw, yeah! Nailed it- oh my god!" I stammered, seeing N's eyes spinning as I practically straddled in from my impact. "Uh, I, um, a-are you okay!?"
"Hehe, I can see two Uzis, that's neat..." N's mumbled for a moment.
\\—⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫—//
Tightening the rope around my waist, I used SIVA to bind it just for good measure, less I get launched like some glorified slingshot. Next test, adjustments while gliding, once I was secured, I gave V a thumbs up to go ahead, which she gladly complied.
Giving some extra kick to her speed, she added in jet boosters on her back as she flew around me, creating a snow tornado in her place, the air force lifting me as high as the rope allowed, so I expanded my wings, attempting to hover and adjust how I glided within the vortex.
"Got this, got this!" I was doing it, just slow, careful movements, don't get too close to the outer vortex and I'll be just fi- something just flew right off my head, huh? The wind began to calm as I remained airborne, but I reached up, feeling around for my hat that wasn't there... and my hair that wasn't there... "Aaaaaah, where is it!? Its my most distinguished feature!"
Eyeing the pair below, I quickly covered my head with my arms, spotting V clutching both my hat and my hair. "Don't look and give that back!!"
"Paaaaahahahaa!!" V nearly doubled over in hysterics, tearing up in the process.
"Uh, hehehe, sorta forget our hair's fake..." N grinned nervously.
~You do look very odd without it~ Kovik's comments weren't helping!
"Stop giving me that look!" I pointed back at him, quickly shielding my head.
~How can I give you a 'look' if you cannot see my face?~ He questioned, tilting his head.
"Here we go-" Suddenly, N flew up and stuck... his own hair onto my head with my hat, himself laughing as he wore my own hair- "Perfect!"
"Pfft, you dork! Give that back!" I tackled him in the air, trying to reach for my hair as he kept just out of reach. Hm, purple suits him pretty well.
I noticed V fly up, sticking up a peace sign as she snapped a picture with the two of us.
\\—⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫—//
Taking a break, I drank from an old oil can to keep my systems at 100%, don't want another case of murder-hunger. So far, tonight's been a lot better, not just in avoiding nightmares, but I feel a lot more confident in my flying capabilities. N was supportive as ever, which was really nice. V actually didn't insult me as much, she just had a direct way of teaching. Even Kovik gave me some pointers.
"Alright! I think we're good to do your first flying test," N announced just as V jabbed my bicep, making me wince.
I looked at her, ready to insult her, but... she looked content, giving me a confident smirk which was a first, and it felt good to see, knowing she even had faith in me now.
"Are you ready?" N asked, so I extended my wings and glided backward and under the arm of the spaceship, coming to land with a skid perfectly.
Clenching my fists, Kovik appeared beside me as my left eye flickered with SIVA. "Born ready!"
After some tinkering with old factory equipment and machinery from a building nearby, N and V had made the perfect course to test my abilities, now or never. N carried me above his head, preparing to give me a descent launch.
"I'm gonna let go now, okay? Just keep going, you're doing great!" His encouragement kept my anxiety at bay, focused on the trail ahead.
"Roger that!" Relaxing my wings, I readied myself, SIVA listing my objectives for me.
|Mission: Flight Examination|
|Objectives// 0/4|
-Clear rings [ ]
-Clear Electrical Posts [ ]
-Bypass Wind Turbine [ ]
-Clear Factory and School Bus [ ]
Feeling N's hands let go, I flew forward using that momentum, tucking my wings closer to zip through the rings, adjusting slightly to clear the second and arch my body to flip through the third twice, clearing them with ease.
The old telephone poles had stray wires to better complicate my flight pattern, so I kept my cool, my core beating against my chest as I swept between the posts, taking the most optimal route thanks to SIVA's analysis working on the flight, brushing past several wires toward the turbine spinning wildly.
Hovering for a moment, I scanned and adjusted a timer to take into account its rotations. The pattern was quickly deduced, so I gave a quick thresh and propelled forward, hearing the blades chop as I slipped through with a barrel roll, clearing the most difficult hurdle. Oh yeah, I am such a B.A!
Zipping by the duo, I had one final stretch, diving low into an old warehouse, littered with crates, old forklifts, and other obstacles to keep me on my toes, but all of that was effortlessly to avoid as I headed toward the torn-up bus that served as my exit point.
Only, things felt... wrong. My right eye was fuzzy and unfocused, everything turned red, the seats stained in oil, c-corpses of familiar drones strewn across the bus, dismembered, their bodies twisted into horrific ways. And... someone stood at the end, the Solver symbol taking up their eyes, dressed like a little girl with a bow.
Then she smiled at me... I smiled back at myself...
~Machine, ma-machine! So-so-something's w-w-wrong!~
"Gaaah!!" I screamed, clutching my head that filled with white noise, everything started getting warmer and stinging as I fell through the bus, collapsing in a heap through the snow.
\\—⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫—//
[N's POV]
I winced whenever she bounced across the snow, and she was doing so well too. I heard V wince next to me. "Didn't really stick the landing..."
But Uzi still didn't move, feeling my heart plummet into my stomach. "She's not getting up. Uzi? Uzi!" I ran to check on her, maybe she just felt embarrassed? Yeah, that's probably it, knowing Kovik, he was probably giving her an earful.
"Hey! You did an amazing job!" I came to crouch beside her, she was still unresponsive. "Landing is hard, don't even worry about it. You good?" Then she started to laugh, which was really off-putting. "Uzi?" I murmured only to jump back whenever I heard her neck crack and twist as she slowly pushed upright.
Her head twisted around, fanged mouth stretched into a smile, and that Solver symbol etched across her visor. "Surprise cameo!" That voice, the same that spoke for J when she went creepy snake monster.
"N, get away from her!!" V yelled but I just backed up slowly, I said I'd help her through this, and I wasn't about to back out of that promise now, even as she crawled on all fours, giggling maniacally.
"Uzi, I'm right here. And I'm not leaving you. It's going to be okay. Can you hear me?" I asked, attempting to consul her, if she was even still listening at all, her laughter getting louder.
A strain of glitching, red nanites appeared beside her, Kovik clutched his chest, heaving. ~Y-y-you need t-to do-dodge!~ Uzi's fist crushed the projection before lunging for me.
She went for a leg sweep, but missed, attempting to go for a jab straight after into a sharp kick, all of which I hopped away from, which she grinned at, twisting a steel rod she had dug up from the snow to convert into a long, black chain, whipping it wide to entangle me, my arms crushed against my sides.
Hitting the ground, her feet dug against my stomach and neck, tightening the hold on the chain as her tail's maw split wide open, lined with serrated teeth, a tongue licking across my visor before I sucked in a breath and forcibly broke the chain, Uzi flying away before I could catch her.
This was bad, Kovik couldn't control Solver, and... I don't think Uzi can either. I felt V's hands grab my shoulders, helping me sit upright as we watched Uzi glide through the air with ease, her eyes on us both when she tore off her own finger to cool her systems.
[Threat Detected]
|Initiate: Neutralization Protocol|
Even my own programming was telling me what I had to do, but...
"We need to blast her." V said out loud immediately.
Swinging my head around, I just looked at her, appalled. "What!? We can't do that!"
She face palmed and soon got up in my face. "N, shut up and listen for once! If you want the chance to salvage your goodie-two-shoes plan then you need to blast her!" Her eyes dug into my own. "If she's anything like us, like you said, she'll just shut off and reboot."
"But-!"
"Do you want me to help you make this work or not!?" She cut me off, looking... stressed, even tense just bringing this up. Right, V never wanted a part in this, she didn't have to even try arguing to save her but she was, because I asked her to help. "Come on..."
For Uzi's sake, I'd stifle my fears. I gave V a firm look, I wasn't going to budge on one thing. "Okay... so long as she'll be okay."
"I'll force her down here so you can deal the final blow, got it?" V instructed, so I gave a reluctant nod, still, it did relieve me of some worries knowing she was going to help. "Good," The two of us smiled sharply. "Now with that said... Let's dance, Doorman~"
Our eyes reverted back into an 'X', our combat subroutines back online in time to counter Uzi's divebomb with our wings, throwing her back as V flew after her, myself cocking my rifle in preparation.
A Solver symbol appeared, catching Uzi as she lifted several chunks of ice, sharpening them into long, pointed shards to lob down like mortars upon me, forcing me to run and relocate as the snow was kicked up in showers of rime. I had a lock on her... even if I hated it.
V flew headfirst through the barrage, cutting down any ice that got in her way, slapping both hands together to form a large hammer, spinning to clobber through more of Uzi's projectiles, only to warp and twist her right hand into a fleshy variation of our claws.
The hammer struck with a resounding 'clang'- "Thwarted," Solver mocked, catching the full brunt of the hammer, crushing it to lock V in place.
"Huh?" She tried to pull back, but Solver Uzi kept a firm hold and leaned closer.
"Invades your personal space," Uzi then grabbed the back of V's head and smashed it against the symbol behind her, spraying oil, making my circuits go cold. "Fatality."
"Oh my god, V!!!" Her head was still intact, but that might've scrambled her vision more than it usually was, but, I held my position, even as a trembled in place.
Above, I could hear V starting to laugh, unnerving Uzi who flew back when V loomed over her, oil dripping down the left side of her face. "Oh... You. Are. DONE!" Her voice glitched, grinding her teeth together.
V kicked it into high-gear and suddenly smashed her heels against Uzi, sending her hurdling into the snow, followed by a barrage of gunfire from V, kicking up a snow cloud that made it harder to track Uzi through.
"One shot, come on!" But I couldn't lock onto a shadow, not until she was right on top of me. I threw myself back in time, narrowly avoiding a scythe between her fingers that threw my hat off.
I stood up, only to feel significantly smaller, surrounded by dozens of Solver seals that had me trapped in a cage. Uzi grinned and began to bounce and ricochet off each one, picking up speed, striking from every direction harder than before, cracking my plating before a single kick nearly crushed my torso, sending me hurdling into one of the symbols with a pained gasp.
Errors piled up, and my vision was impaired, but I could see her flying straight toward me, claw extended in an attempt to gore me. I felt the teary but forced my arm at the last second, firing a clean shot that completely tore her head to pieces, and I felt like my heart split in two.
Solver crumbled around me as I clutched my right arm, seeing her headless form twitch, the liquid metal leaking from her neck, reshaping her head, hair, and hat back to the way they were. She didn't respond, still running her reboot sequence as I tensed up, waiting for her to move again.
A flicker of light, followed by a successful reboot, and her eyes reappeared, blinking groggily. "Ugh... what... what happened?" She sat up, rubbing her forehead in a daze.
She was okay... relief struck my whole system as I threw myself against her, my arms latched around her back. "Oof, huh, N?"
"Oh thank god..." I murmured, squeezing tighter. I really thought she wouldn't reboot like us.
"What the hell? Hm?" Uzi whispered, feeling her clawed hand lift from my back. "Wha... t-tell me I didn't...?" Her voice trembled a little as I was about to quickly reassure her, until V marched over and tore me away by my collar.
"V, no!!" I screamed.
"Go to hell!!" She opened fire on Uzi, just as SIVA formed a protective barrier at her back in time to block some of the shots, allowing Uzi to stumble back, flying up to safety.
"Stop, STOP!!" I threw V's arm down, glaring equally back at her.
What I saw tore at my chest further, Uzi was crying, hugging herself tightly. "I'm so... I'm so sorry...!"
"No, it's okay!" She just flew further into the city. "Uzi, come back!" And she disappeared from view, leaving me and V alone, and... I was furious... "Why did you DO THAT!?" Throwing my arm wide as I turned to her.
"N, we did things your way, and it didn't work," She still hadn't repaired, her voice distorted as she marched over to me with a sadistic grin that fell into a flat scowl, drawing her sword in my face. "So now, we're doing things MY WAY!"
"You can't kill her! She didn't mean to go crazy!" That Solver suddenly took hold, she probably didn't have time to react at all.
"OH! So she can just beat us senseless and we're supposed to be okay with that! I see!" V smiled sharply, laughing into her hand for a moment that felt uncomfortable to hear. "This was a bad idea from the start, but YOU didn't want to listen to me because you're so insistent on FIXING HER!!"
"She's our friend!" I argued.
V narrowed her eyes at me. "She's Your friend." And I... had nothing, a pit opening wide in my gut when she stood back and took to the air. "You're all I got, N. I'm not risking that for some stupid worker... I'm taking her out, whether you like it or not... should've from the start."
"No, wait, you can't!!" I reached for her, but V took off in the same direction Uzi had, leaving me in the dust, like always.
...
...
"Crap... crap-crap-crap-Crap! Crap!! Crap!!!" Ruffling my hair, I ran over and snatched up my hat. I couldn't let this happen, V said she wasn't her friend, but that had to be a lie, know, it was! But I couldn't stop her like this, but that wouldn't prevent me from trying. "I gotta find Uzi before she does!"
\\—⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫—//
[V's POV]
This was just one big mistake. I should've just done away with that little, purple freak weeks ago, but no, because 'she was N's friend'. That idiot befriends everything we've ever seen, even random objects, so what's the issue of getting rid of a drone with that... Thing in it? Cyn won't take anything else from me...
~Your perspective on things is rather peculiar~
I turned to look at that program, Kovik, he had floated away from Uzi whilst N taught her how to control her wings properly without headbutting the nearest car. Which was freakin' priceless!
"What's so confusing?" I asked bluntly.
~You've shown multiple signs of despising the machine, and yet, you help her. You've even kept the truth of what happened to those 'classmates' of hers by blaming yourself~ Kovik leaned forward. ~You constantly contradict your motives, I am curious as to why~
"Plan to sell me out to the runt?" I accursed, jabbing a claw at him, but he remained unphased, which was annoying. Unlike anyone else, he acted like Lizzie, didn't react much to my threats at all.
~I see no reason to, just as I see no reason to your own goals~ Kovik pressed, so I tisked, rolling my eyes.
"I don't... hate her, that much, alright?" Shaking my head, scratching my head in annoyance. "Both of them keep digging into something they shouldn't, and... I dunno, its just not sitting right with me."
~You know something we don't, I assume?~ He saw through me just from that? Dunno if I should be annoyed or impressed.
"And what if I did?"
~Then I'd question what exactly is your endgame. You must have a goal, I imagine~ I didn't reply, looking away at the wasteland. ~Or maybe you did, and with how events have changed, you don't know where to go from here~
A bitter breath left my lips, my right eye glitching and acting up again. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?"
I got nothing but silence after that, Kovik hummed and disappeared, leaving me to mull over it further. What was his end to all this? Absolute Solver couldn't be controlled by SIVA, he was wasting his time and could risk giving it more power if it took control, killing the worker off now was what's best.
Right. Just kill her and everything goes back on track, V. Just do your job...
Hearing something break, followed by Uzi's gasp, I finally tracked her down. Scanning a nearby building, a hole in its side revealed footprints leading through. Gliding down, I heard my footsteps echo, my optics still damaged but that's fine, I could easily hunt her down like this.
Grinning, I kept my sword high and stalked through the old an old laboratory of sorts, old jars containing organic samples frozen over by the nuclear winter, desks and chairs strewn across the ground with skeletons still bearing their worn and ragged lab coats.
"What's wrong with me? I hate this. Why won't it stop?" Uzi's voice cried out, hissing in anguish, making it almost too easy to find her. Come out, come out, little worker~ "Stop... stop, stop, stop! Stop! Stop it! Please...!"
Desperate, is she? I'll make it quick then, no more horrors, no one else would die to this corruption. I had to, for my sake, or N's sake. Spotting her tail tucked behind a fallen concrete beam; I let my toothy grin stretch, brandishing my blade.
"Please... I don't want to be this..." Uzi whimpered.
Effortlessly slashing the concrete to bits and pieces, I heard her scream in terror as I drew my blade toward her huddled form-
I lost my smile, all my circuits ran cold. Uzi wasn't here... instead, I could only stare silently at the scared, little worker in an old, dusty maid outfit, rounded glasses, huddled behind her wings, tearing up the whole time.
Me...
"I'm sorry... please... I'm sorry..." She sobbed, sniffling under my blade that I couldn't move.
[Optics Restored]
A flicker of light, and it was just Uzi again, clutching her mutated hand tightly. The tip of my blade retracted back into my hand as I came to sit on my knees, her eyes shakily watching me, my glare never wavering when I spotted that mutated hand.
Grabbing it, she flinched but I squeezed it tightly, seeing the large eye flinch in fright. How many were turned like this, twisted and refitted into monsters like me? It's easier just to kill them all, so much easier...
I let her go, staring down at my own hands for a moment, then, I raised my right, drawing those sickle-like claws that made Uzi flinch, only to see them retract again; she just stared at me in utter confusion, and at my gesture, glancing down at her own hand. She was smart to understand, if I can do it, she can too.
After a moment of consideration, she closed her palm, squeezing her eyes shut to try and force it back into place. The eye flickered and soon, melded back into palpable flesh, reshaping back into her regular hand, although, splattering her cheek with gunk, making her huff and quickly wipe it off.
Uzi studied her hand, and sighed, seeing it return to normal. As for me, I raised my right, hesitating. It would be easier to kill her and be done with this mess... I had to... to keep her away, to keep what little I had left safe... right?
Killing is in my programming, just follow orders, you've strayed long enough, V! Do it, kill her, dammit, do something right for once!!
So when she felt it rest atop her head, she looked at me in fright, only to pause when I lowered my gaze guiltily; I get it, feeling everything in your life twist against your will, even with all I had left, I couldn't shake that awful feeling. I couldn't do it, I just... can't do it anymore. "I'm... sorry too." I whispered.
That last wall broke when she started crying, her head pressed against my lap as I let her get it out of her system, that was fine, this... was fine. Kovik appeared again, looking between me and Uzi, he didn't say a word, but he didn't have to, deep down... I knew where my path goes from here. Even if I'm scared to death, Uzi was like us too...
"Uzi! Uzi!" Look who finally caught up. Turning my head toward the way I came in, I patted Uzi's head.
"Come on, can't keep him worrying all night," I murmured, helping her up as she gave a nod, tucking her hands into her pockets. I didn't know if anything I said would matter, so I just kept close for now, that's what N would do.
We wandered back to the breach, spotting him flying just overhead. Idiot would search the whole city if he needed to, wouldn't he? "Hey..." Uzi called out to weakly, and I've never seen him spin around so quickly. I didn't meet his eyes, rubbing my biceps, Uzi just gave a curt wave.
He immediately flew down, a relieved laugh escaping him before tackling us both into his arms. A part of me knew things would only get worse, but I couldn't bring myself to act against it. For once, I'd prefer trying to keep more things safe.
So I wrapped an arm around his tightly when Uzi hugged his neck. It isn't perfect, but, that's alright...
\\—⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫⟪◆⟫—//
[Uzi's POV]
I'm so exhausted, emotionally and physically. I'm just glad I'm alive to see it through, but... V... She was so hellbent on wanting to kill me, yet she didn't, I didn't know what to make of her now. I was grateful, and the way she looked at me, it's like she saw a ghost.
No use trying to get it out of her though, she probably wouldn't answer if I tried. Still, the three of us returned to the spire to just destress after all the complications. N flipped over beside me, still roughed up from Absolute Solver making a mess of everything.
"Well, guess I was no help at all, huh?" N smiled self-deprecatingly.
"No-! I mean, yes, you did help!" I beamed, turning to look at him. "I kinda know how to fly now, which is, super cool!" No more faceplanting for this emo girl! Though I winced right after. "As for the messed-up stuff in my head, uh..."
~Nothing... my apologizes~ Even Kovik surprised me by saying that. ~I have placed some measures to keep SIVA from being blocked, but it'll take time to operate independently when Solver is active~
"So, yeah, still a work-in-progress," I summed up.
"At this point, why not just ask your inner demons to leave you alone?" V chimed in, flat and unhelpful like always. "Judging by N's logic, that should totally work."
Sitting up with a bitter grunt, I turned to her. "Oh, so we're back to being a diva now," I threw my arm wide toward N. "Y'know, at least he's trying to help me!"
"He's messing with things he doesn't understand," V began to laugh hysterically, clutching her head as anxiety filled her voice, concerning us both. "We're messing with things, we don't understand!" She shot up, turning to look at us desperately. "Why can't you get that through your head!?"
"We can't fix you! We barely know how to deal with it ourselves!" She threw her hands out for emphasis. "How the hell are we supposed to help you!?" After a bit, a dry, tired chuckle broke through, and that honestly was worse than any insult. "You think this is rough? Try having this be your entire life,"
"I barely remember... anything, heh, of what life was like before," V shrugged her shoulders. "It scrambles your mind, it'll make you feel crazy, but being crazy is the only way for you feel normal, because everyone will think you're crazy no matter what you do!" I just looked straight at her in dread, if even V couldn't keep it together... what could I do? "At this point, you're just screwed,"
"So why would it even matter? Why even care...? When you can just... destroy?" Her expression twitched with a toothy, manic look that distorted back into a defeated, empty look in her eyes.
N suddenly wrapped her arms and tail around her tightly, leaving her startled, but slowly turn to mild aggravation. "N..."
"You seem like you needed it." He answered softly, causing her to let her arms drop.
~You caught on too?~ Kovik rang in my head privately.
"Yeah..." I murmured, the gears beginning to turn in my head. "...'barely'," I echoed whilst V was trying to lightly push N away.
"What?" V asked.
"You said, 'barely'... As in, you remember a life before all this mass-murder crap." I realized, Kovik looking to me too, both of us reaching a revelation, and a freakin' huge one at that!
"Yeah, what of it?" V didn't quite catch on, so I jumped to my feet.
"That means we haven't hit a dead end yet! We have a lead!" I declared, catching both their attention, already, I was pacing. "You two might be the key to figuring out all this robo-vampirism BS. All we have to do is get in your head and see what's jacking up your processor, then, maybe we can finally start getting some answers!"
"Yeah... I don't think that's going to-" N quickly cut off V.
"Love the idea!" He winced, finger curling down. "One problem though; our memories are mush, remember?"
~Child's play, honestly~ Kovik probably rolled his eyes with a scoff, myself slithering up between the two, rubbing my hands together.
"Ohohoho, that won't be a problem for me," I already hacked a classmate's head before, this'll be nothing new!
"If you even think of popping my head open, yours will be rolling on the floor next." V, again, threatened my life, boo-hoo.
Cupping my cheeks, I feigned fright. "Oh no~ Another empty threat," Smirking back at her, I pinched two fingers close together. "Admit it, you found a nanospark of warmth in your heart to care about me~"
That got her face to blush as she growled. "Oh, shut UP!" And I promptly sent flying off the spire with a shriek.
"Uzi!/Oh, crap, sorry..." I heard them both call down as I caught myself with my wings.
"Take a joke, geez..." Rubbing the spot she punched me, I felt SIVA flicker and lock onto something on the spire, just shy of the edge. Squinting, I zoomed in a little to a red dot. "Hey, the heck... is that a... laser?"
~Get your head down NOW!~ Kovik roared before something let out a loud 'thunk', and I was blown backward into a spin when the whole top of the spire was engulfed in a massive blast.
[To Be Continued...]
[Author's Notes]
Ah, love this fan made episode so much, so a few shifting perspectives to capture much of the development. Again, this was entirely created by Ghoulinfuschia, as I, like many others, consider this canon now! But that cliff-hanger is all my own, now, we get into the real deal with SIVA.
Again, check out the Intermission and give it some support, really. But now, its time for some chaos! I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Splicers!
And Hail to Spooky Month!!🎃💀🎉
\\—⟪Chp. 14 - Siege of Outpost-3⟫—//