Chapter Text
Tonight was the night!
Yup!
It was the night!
The night Khan finally dealt with those stupid Murder Drones!
He’s been preparing for this night for months now! He’s been working on his biggest and most important project yet! Others have said it’s stupid and won’t work against the Murder Drones, but they don’t know that!
“Which is why I’m going to find out!” Khan mumbled to himself in excitement.
He trotted down the expansive halls of the bunker. The young adult drone’s footsteps made quiet echoes. Khan kept looking about, searching for anyone that could possibly spot him. Much to his delight, no one was around.
‘Then again, it is the middle of the night…’ He thought.
Khan shook his head -rustling his black hair- and sped up. Reaching the bunker’s inner-most defensive door, he used his keycard to open it up. The coast was still clear, allowing Khan ample entry towards the outside.
Right now was also prime time to move; A shift change in positioned Worker Rebellion Force members was in effect. With his mother currently elsewhere managing things and moving around, he was free to come and go as he pleased.
Khan made it to the last door. It was his final obstacle to the outside. Once he’s out, he’d need his fellow bunkermates to let him back in. He’ll need to think of something good, but he could think about it later!
‘Just so long as mom doesn’t find out.’ He thought.
Opening the last door, a harsh and cold wind blew inside. Snowflakes billowed into the room and against the table and chairs set up in the middle. Khan pushed through the gust and to the outside.
The bunker’s outermost door slammed shut behind him. Although startling, the young man shook it off and quickly got a move on. It would only be a matter of time until his mother finds out he’s missing.
“But once she sees how I took down a Murder Drone, I’ll have all her respect! And everyone else’s, too!” Khan quietly exclaimed to himself, looking rather smug.
Jogging through the tundric city, Khan slowly approached the ever-feared Corpse Spire.
Uzi sighed tiredly as she walked down the bunker halls. Today had been one stressor after the next. Between her son getting detention again, the WRF members being a bigger pain in the ass than usual, and her aforementioned son’s odd behavior recently, she had to wonder if she wasn’t getting too old.
The mothering Worker Drone put her hands into her long black coat’s pockets, the black fur rimming its cuffs and hem keeping the frigid cold out as the V-neck kept her back properly straight, even bone-tired as she was.
A teardrop-shaped amethyst in the center of her coat twinkled against the bunker’s harsh lighting, the article itself being an old gift from her deceased husband, one she cherished dearly.
But it was weirdly chilly here. Uzi thought she told the control guys to keep the place warm? Especially near the bunker doors; A bunch of ice and snow liked to accumulate and stick around, and Uzi just generally dislikes the cold.
Looking up, Uzi’s tired eye lights voided out as she paused right where she stood to stare at the open third door.
That was odd… Why was it open? Did someone get here before her? But if that was the case, the WRF member would’ve kept the door closed. There’s no reason for it to be open.
‘Even the second door’s open…’ Uzi realized. ‘And no one is there, so that means I’m the first one here.’
She stood there and thought for a moment longer. Her lavender eye rings emboldened all of a sudden before Uzi turned right on her heeled boot and bolted back into the bunker. Her steps created resounding noise, startling other drones she passed by.
Uzi ignored them all, even pushed past ones who didn’t get out of her way fast enough. She had little care at the moment, just trying to get home as quickly as possible. And once there, she slammed in the code for her house’s front door, Uzi all but stampeding inside.
“KHAN!!” Uzi yelled at the top of her voice box. “KHAN, ARE YOU HOME?!” She continued to call as she trotted further in.
Uzi looked in the living room as she passed by it. She searched the kitchen next. She checked his bedroom, becoming mortified to realize he wasn’t there. Uzi even turned his room upside down just to be sure.
Panting with fearful sweat drops scrolling down her visor, Uzi felt her hands quaking as she stared down at his work desk. Her hollowed optics were glued to a blueprint.
Uzi turned for her office. She slammed open the door and checked for her master keycard.
Gone.
“S-S-Son of a bitch!!” Uzi cursed loudly whilst exiting the room.
She busted open the closet in her room. Shoving the hanging clothes out of her way, Uzi grabbed her rail-pistol, a taser, and a heated dagger. She then tugged on her purple scarf and black, woolen baker hat. It looked a lot more like an army hat, and even had a metallic purple embroidery of the WRF acronym on it.
Closing her closet, Uzi quickly left her home. She stomped down the bunker halls, all the other drones stepping out of her way. WRF members even felt the need to worriedly salute her, seeing her in her military-esque attire.
Uzi’s trek to the bunker’s outer doors wouldn’t be long. As soon as the current group spotted her, they straightened up and saluted. Uzi ignored them and walked past them all.
“M-Ms. Doorman, where are you going?” One member dared to ask.
“To search for my son.” Uzi replied curtly, her tone seething.
The WRF workers glanced worriedly at each other.
“Do you want us to join you-?” Another attempted to ask.
“No.” Uzi didn’t even shake her head. “Just wait here. Perhaps Khan will come back on his own. If he does, make sure he isn’t let out of your sight.” She ground out as she punched in the door’s code.
“Yes, Ma’am!” They all nodded in unison.
Uzi refrained from groaning. Them all saying “ma’am” like that makes her sound so old… She’s only in her mid-forties…
Shaking her head, Uzi watched the doors open up. As soon as she could, the angered Worker Drone stepped into the snow.
“Be safe out there, Ms. Doorman!”
“If there’s a Murder Drone, be sure to get to safety! Return home!”
“Be aware of your surroundings!”
“Good luck on finding Khan!” Her colonymates bade farewell.
Uzi only gave them a tiny wave back, not even turning to them.
Khan was knocked to the ground by the Murder Drone, barely scrambling back to his feet before the robot -who looked oddly like she was attending a funeral- turned back around. She whipped out a gun, only to find her prey totally gone.
Her search didn’t take long, finding the pathetic Worker Drone hiding behind his ballistic shield. There was a row of dim green rectangles, used for decoration like the boyish stickers plastered all over it.
With a widening grin, the Murder Drone leapt forward. Bringing out her sickle, she swung it at the drone. He of course blocked it, parrying the stronger foe. But the drone with completely black legs didn’t give up.
She continued to slice at the blockage, slowly forcing the shield upwards while Khan was inched back with each hard hit. The sweat drops crawled down his visor with each slam. But his attention was focused on the meter on his side of the shield.
Once it lit up in a full green and he got the notification that it was charged, Khan smirked triumphantly.
He bounced back onto his feet and charged forward. He caught the Murder Drone off-guard, slamming right into her. She yelped and staggered, rubbing her face. She wouldn’t get to recover before she was bashed again.
Khan kept his protective onslaught going, repeatedly bumping hard into the Murder Drone. She eventually became fed up with it, kicking Khan away and attempting to follow up with another slice. But Khan met her halfway and made her lose balance with the surprise.
“HA! You’ve just activated my Trap Card!” Khan taunted, pressing a button on the handle of his shield.
Sharp and long claws struck out from the bottom, which Khan dug into the ground to keep himself stable. A circular slot on the front of the shield opened up, revealing a short cannon barrel, glowing brightly on the inside.
It swiftly charged up an attack, one the Murder Drone couldn’t dodge in time. In a matter of seconds, a bright green beam launched from the shield’s charge cannon.
Khan had to keep his optics shut tight to keep from damaging his lenses. The beam’s light was so intense he swore it could rival the sun itself. But it only lasted for about a handful of seconds, quick to die down.
Once the green ray disappeared, Khan peeked around his charge-shield, the cannon’s barrel simmering with heat and smoke from the inside. The meter on his side was red and had a thirty-minute recharge. Ignoring it, he looked to the near-topless Murder Drone.
Her smoking body soon fell to the floor. Things went completely silent for a while. Khan was too stunned to move, his eye rings were bold and his vents were shallow and shaky. As he processed what just happened, he chuckled.
It choppily grew in volume and frequency. Eventually, Khan was full-blown cackling. Relinquishing the claws back into his shield, he scrabbled back onto his feet and jumped around.
“HEEEEELLLLL YYEEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!” Khan shouted in cheer, dancing all around. “I KILLED ONE OF THE MURDER DRONES!! TAKE THAT, MOM!” He punched the air.
Snow shuffling and joints moving caught his attention. Khan whipped around, only to come face-to-face with the Murder Drone’s corpse standing back up. Her head and shoulders regrew via liquid metal.
Now in a full-blown panic, Khan looked to his shield, which was recharging. He looked around, finding only scrap in the Corpse Spire. He turned back to the Murder Drone, her head fully regrown but her visor notifying him that she was rebooting.
Without thinking, Khan ran up to her and bashed her head with his shield. He managed to knock her back down, though he couldn’t hit her hard enough to dent her metal or crack her visor.
Khan stared down at the Murder Drone with terrified eye rings. Before he could make a break for it, the dress-clad, genocidal robot’s optical lights came back. Her yellow headband had an orange light on it, but Khan missed it entirely.
“...Why am I on the floor…?” The Murder Drone questioned aloud. “And why does my head hurt so much?” She then asked next as she sat back up.
With a tiny pained groan, she spotted the…
…
Unknown robot in front of her.
She couldn’t recognize the guy, her systems simply were not able to register him. Shaking her- Ow. No. Nevermind. -Standing back up again and putting back on her pillbox funeral hat, she stared down at the little dude.
“Who’re you?” She asked with a point. “And uh… What’s with the shield?” She questioned next, a digital brow quirked up.
The young man stared up at her with hollowed eye lights. He then glanced to his shield. His optics swiftly returned to her.
“UH-! HAHAHA! N-NOTHING!” He said, trying to -and failing horribly- hide the defensive weapon behind his back. “Uh- Wh- Ah- Uh- W-W-What about you?! How’re you feeling?!” He decided to ask after a large fumble of words.
“Uhh, my head hurts like hell, for starters.” The Murder Drone replied with a rub to the back of the said limb. “And I can’t remember the past three hours of my life… Eh, I’m sure it’ll fix itself. It always does!” She waved off with a prideful look, her tail wagging.
“...Riiiight…” The unknown drone said skeptically.
“By the way, are you new around here? I don’t recognize you at all…” The Murder Drone asked, narrowing her optics on him.
The mysterious robot stared back at her with a sweating facial screen.
“Ah, whatever!” She was quick to smile and wave off. “Oh! By the way, I’m Serial Designation R! What’s yours?” The female robot inquired.
“Uh-h- It’s K-Khan…” ‘Khan’ stuttered.
“Interesting name, Khan.” ‘R’ spoke as she circled him. “You’re also pretty short for a Disassembly Drone. Are you sure you’re supposed to be here?” She questioned with a waving tail and a toothy grin.
“Y-Yeeeeesss…?” Khan smiled nervously back.
R’s smile fell as she gave him another narrow glare. Khan resisted the urge to back away in fear, the Murder Drone so close to his face.
“Alright then!” She dismissed with another grin. “It’s nice to meet you, Khan! Welcome to the team!” R then said, holding her hand out.
Khan took it, only to flinch and hiss in pain. R startled with a jerking tail, only now noticing the hole in his hand.
“Ooh, stung yourself? That happens sometimes! These tails don’t like to listen to us all the time, haha!” R laughed whilst twirling her tail cord.
“Is that so…” Khan grinned uneasily in return, a sweat drop scrolling down his visor.
“Is too! But you can just pop it into your mouth. Our nanites heal our injuries right back up!” R informed with a point to her fanged mouth.
“Uh- Right.” Khan nodded.
He then looked around, having to think quickly. He spotted the landing pod in the middle of the Corpse Spire. An idea came to him then, he just hoped it’d work.
“Hey! Why don’t the two of us go into that pod over there?! We can talk further inside it!” Khan suggested with his friendliest smile.
“Alright! I’m down for just about anything!” R shrugged and smiled back at him.
Chapter Text
The ship was silent. Khan stared nervously at R. She stared right back, her neon yellow optics narrowed. Khan feared he might just be found out; Has she already deduced that he’s a Worker Drone and not a Murder Drone?
“Yeah. I could take you.” R then smirked.
Khan blinked at her.
“H-... How so…?” He questioned anxiously.
“...” R was silent again, simply grinning at him.
Khan only felt his oil run even colder.
“R-R-?” Khan tried to call.
“Welp! It’s nice to meet ya, new guy!” R suddenly spoke.
She proceeded to kick her peglegged feet back onto the ship’s console and tilt the chair back. This Murder Drone was oddly relaxed and, dare Khan say it, amiable to an extent. Odd for sure, but still friendly.
…
Enough.
“I don’t ever recall getting news we’d be getting a new guy, though…” R then muttered, making Khan flinch back to reality.
“‘W-We…?’” Khan mimed, becoming even more worried.
“Yup! There’s three of us Disassembly Drones on our squad!” R replied and straightened her chair to face him again. “There’s me, R! The super-awesome and super-cool, super-swift and merciless part of the team!” She went on, slicing the air with a sickle.
Khan leaned back so as to not accidentally get cut. He’d had more than enough sickle action for one day…
“Then you’ve got our team leader, Y!” R went on, waving her weaponized hand around nonchalantly.
“R, how many times have I told you not to mess with your food?” Y asked whilst stomping over.
“Oh, come on, Boss Lady! Chill out! It’s so boring around here that the only form of entertainment is these guys!” R smirked at her and slung her arm over Y’s shoulder, gesturing to the mutilated worker with the other.
Her leader’s said shoulders were covered in a long, silver and grey fur coat. Underneath that was a fancy black, form-fitting cocktail dress. It was sleeveless, had a high collar, and was short, reaching just above the caution stripes rimming her thighs. The said stripes painted the top halves of her thighs.
She wore a gold necklace and satin choker. The Disassembly Drone had gold and diamond, Russian-style earrings, and on her ring finger was a golden ring as well.
“That doesn’t mean you can toy with these things. They’re our food, and our job is to kill them, not use them as dolls.” Y argued and slipped from under R’s arm.
“UUUUUgggghhh!! You’re such a stickleeerrrr!” R whined with a groan to the sky. “Can’t you let me have even a little fun?! Like you and your little accountant?” She asked with an optic roll.
“First off, M is not an accountant. He’s my husband.” Y huffed with a glare. “And second, like I said: Killing these guys is our job. Toying with them is not part of it.” She placed a hand on her hip.
“I know! Which is why I still kill them in the end!” R argued. “I have my fun, then kill them dead! I’m not not doing my job!”
“Uh-huh. Sure.” Y replied with a curt nod, not at all believing her. “Just clean yourself up. You’re a mess and a half and I don’t want that in the ship.” Her boss said as she turned.
“Will do! Cya later, Boss Lady!” R waved as her leader took off.
Khan stared at R with a horrified and flabbergasted expression. It made her laugh, the sound resounding within Khan’s audials. How he even remotely managed to survive against her was a miracle in and of itself.
“What’s with that face?!” R asked through her cackling. “You act like killing those wimpy Worker Drones is some horrible crime against God or something!” She continued to laugh.
‘To me it is!’ Khan thought.
But he shook his head and shifted in his seat. He waited for R to calm herself and recuperate. It took longer than he’d thought, the woman laughing her butt off like no tomorrow.
She eventually came back to her senses and stopped boisterously howling. After resetting her voice box and sitting back up, R finally returned to her talking about her teammates.
“Okay, okay! Lemme- Lemme continue.” She said through her lingering laughs. “My other teammate is M. He’s uhhhh…” R was just as quick to trail off.
M ran through the snow, some workers tailing behind him. They had some weapons in their hands, firing off at the grounded Disassembly Drone. His clothes were a bit messy, his sweater vest shifting sideways and his overalls falling right off his shoulders.
He had to stop and skirt to face them, reaching a building. From the looks of it, M was trapped. He had nowhere to go besides the sky, but then he’d lose these kills.
The Worker Drones raised their guns and aimed at the Murder Drone. But instead of looking afraid like he did before, he smirked.
“YOU FOOLS! YOU FELL RIGHT INTO MY TRAP!” He taunted with a point.
The workers faltered for a moment. They looked at each other in confusion, some only able to shrug back in reply. They were quick to train their ranged weapons on the Murder Drone again.
“I’m… Pretty sure you’re the one cornered, but alright!” One of the workers said.
“Well you’d-!!” M went to reply.
But he paused and glanced around. He didn’t realize just where he’d led these guys. Which happened to be a building’s remaining quarter. The floor above them could give out with one wrong shot.
M didn’t feel like getting crushed to death tonight.
“Uhm… W-Well-! Uh-!” He fumbled as he tried to think of something to say. “W-WELL MY POOKIE WILL COME TO SAVE ME!” He then pointed.
The Worker Drones all looked back in severe confusion. They couldn’t help but to let out quizzical mumbles and hums. In the very next second, they were interrupted by a loud thud and a rumble behind them.
The group of workers whipped around, only to come face-to-face with bullets. Each one fell to the ground in a matter of seconds, their oil splattering to the snow.
“HAHAHA!! I TOLD YOU SHE’D COME!” M taunted the dead bodies. “AND POOKIIEEE!!” He proceeded to cry jovially, turning his attention to his wife.
“Hello, M.” Y replied. “I told you not to go off on your own like that.” She proceeded to scold, setting her free hand on her hip.
“I know, and I’m sorry. But I wanted to get something for dinner tonight…” M replied with a sad pout, looking like a kicked puppy.
Y’s gaze on him narrowed. M kept up the kicked-puppy look. With a scoff, Y turned her head away in defeat.
“You’re just like an amputated puppy. You’d be unable to go anywhere without me as your back wheels.” Y commented.
“Aww, tha- Wait, is that a compliment?” M halted, tone changing to confusion.
Y ignored him and picked up some of the fallen robots. M grabbed the rest, flying away with his wife.
“Next time, just ask for some help.” Y told him.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Her husband nodded back.
“They sound like they’d be very dysfunctional as a couple.” Khan commented after the short story.
“I know, right?!” R leaned closer. “But they somehow make it work. Kudos to them, I guess.” She then shrugged.
“Anyways! I’m sure you and my teammates will get along just fine!” R went on with a dismissive wave. She missed how Khan’s optical lights went void. “They’ll be back soon, probably a few minutes, so let’s just-” She turned back to him.
But Khan was gone.
“Khan?” R called. “Khan?” She called louder, looking out the ship’s opened door.
A light snowstorm had kicked up in the time Uzi had gone out searching for her son. She glared through the pale frost, eyeing the spire still some distance away. Uzi wouldn’t be surprised if she were to encounter a Murder Drone by now.
‘It’s a little odd that I haven’t though.’ She thought, a sweat drop blinking onto her visor.
Shaking her head, Uzi pushed herself further into the windy storm. If she had to guess, Khan probably went to the Corpse Spire.
‘That idiot!’ She couldn’t help but think. ‘He’s going to get himself killed! Did he take anything other than that shield with him?!’ Her teeth grit.
Her thoughts were stopped in their tracks upon hearing an odd noise. She stood still and listened close. It was hard to make it out, but it sounded like snapping and scraping metal.
‘A scavenger?’ Uzi questioned in her head.
With furrowing virtual brows, Uzi continued her trek. She held her rail-pistol tighter in her hands. Her shoulders hunched and her knees bent. Uzi leaned up against a toppled car. Waiting a moment to listen, she carefully peeked around the corner. Her eye lights went void at seeing another Worker Drone.
‘Is that a scrapper? No. It can’t be. He’s dressed too nicely.’ Uzi deduced quickly.
No scrapper would be wearing a tuxedo. And certainly not when they lived out here.
Uzi watched and waited. Maybe she could get more information by observing him. It’d be better than getting into a fight she can’t win.
The male Worker Drone plucked out a machine from… Was that a Sentry? Where in the robo-hell did that guy find a Sentry??
Uzi shook her head and refocused. She ignored the giant mechanical mantis-spider in favor of the worker disemboweling it. Uzi guessed that he was looking for a specific machine of some kind.
“Mmm… So many machines…” The guy mumbled, tossing another device away like garbage.
Uzi shifted away from it. A sweat drop rolled down her facial screen at the oily component. Turning back to the worker, she watched for another few minutes.
“This is such a hassle…” He continued to mutter, Uzi finding his voice oddly monotone. “These things are too full of machines. Perhaps I should find something else.” He huffed in annoyance.
Deciding it was now or never, Uzi stepped from her vehicular cover. As soon as she made that first step towards him, the male Worker Drone whipped his head around to face her. Uzi would be lying if she said the intense, almost deadly, stare from his grey optics wasn’t intimidating.
“It’s dangerous to be all alone out here, you know.” Uzi commented as a greeting.
“...” The other drone only stared at her.
“What are you looking for? A specific machine? Maybe the Scream Speaker?” Uzi chanced to ask, stopping just a few feet away from the guy.
“...” Still, he was silent.
“Are you… Alright, Mister?” Uzi questioned with a worried scratch to her cheek.
“...I am alright.” He finally replied.
“That’s good.” Uzi gave him a tiny nod and smile. “But what are you doing out here? And why are you digging through a Sentry?” She went on, trying to get some sort of information out of him.
“No reason.” He replied, turning from the fallen robot.
“I think that Sentry would say otherwise.” Uzi countered, her hand close to her holstered rail-pistol.
The other drone glanced at the Sentry, then back at Uzi. He smiled at her all friendly-like.
“It is not something you need to concern yourself with. I was simply defending myself.” He told her.
“O-Oh. Well, I’m glad you’re alright.” Uzi said, her hand falling. “But do let me check you over for injuries. Those things are hard to kill.” She went on and walked over.
“Ah. No, that is-” The male drone tried to say.
“Oh! Right! It’d be rude to do something like that without knowing each other’s names, wouldn’t it?” Uzi giggled guiltily. “I’m Uzi Doorman, from Outpost 3. What’s your name?” She asked and held her hand out politely.
The other robot stared at her offered appendage. His light-grey optics turned back up to her. He blinked, as if he didn’t quite know what to do.
“...I am Nephtali.” He finally answered, hesitantly taking her hand.
“I’ve never heard that name before.” Uzi said with wide eye lights. “But it’s a handsome name. And It’s very nice to meet you, Nephtali.” She smiled wider at him.
Nephtali opened his mouth to reply, but found no words.
‘He must be quiet.’ Uzi thought.
“Why don’t we get back to my bunker? There, I can get you to the infirmary and get you checked over for injuries.” Uzi suggested, not letting his hand go.
“No, that is-” Nephtali tried to refuse.
“Come on, it won’t be a problem! Besides, I don’t want you out here too long, anyway. The Murder Drones could get you, and I don’t want another Worker Drone to die if I can help it.” Uzi argued and pulled the other drone along.
Nephtali held the tiny yelp in his voice box. Now being forced to follow the purple-haired drone, he looked back at the Sentry being left behind.
He had wanted to use it as a skin of sorts, but this lady had rudely interrupted him. Though, he supposed it isn’t a total loss. He can kill all the workers from her outpost and move on again.
Perhaps he could even get some information. He needs a suitable place to strike the planet from in order to destroy it. Though, he also supposes he can have a little fun by messing with these guys for a bit before killing them all.
Nephtali turned back to the weirdly kind lady who was still gently tugging him along. He noticed her expression had changed drastically. Gone was her friendly smile and demeanor, here was a worried, anxious glare and sweat drop.
Nephtali couldn’t help but wonder what she was out here for.
Notes:
I have no idea how to write Mitchell, especially outside of being bossed around, so I'm just gonna fuck around and see how he ends up turning out lmao.
Chapter Text
Khan bolted through the snow towards his home bunker. Some distance away, he could hear something land with a crash in the ground. He didn’t bother to turn and look, only pushing his legs harder.
He managed to make it to the bunker, being greeted by complaints from the WRF members playing poker. Khan ignored them, turning for the door’s keypad and slapping the master keycard against it.
The doors were almost closed when a deafening thud echoed out into the room. Khan turned to the thick doors, finding a Murder Drone’s bright yellow cross peering into the room.
In one swift move, her tail’s needle pierced into the keypad and corroded it from the inside. The doors, every single one of them protecting the colony, opened up.
Khan took a shaky step back, his horrified gaze stuck on the Murder Drone. She stepped into the room, a fierce, hungry grin on her face plates. It took mere seconds for her to pounce onto somebody.
The rest of the Worker Drones all ran. They pulled out their handheld weapons and tried to fire at the Murder Drone, but they did minimal damage. A few bullet holes were easy to shrug off and heal back up.
Khan, meanwhile, didn’t dare look back. He kept running through the cacophony of pained cries, explosions, and splattering oil. He was even able to reach the last protective door and spin around to use his shield, but not before the Murder Drone dropped down from the vents and slammed him against the wall.
R’s toothy gaze bore into him with a mix of hatred and joy. Khan could see his eye rings reflecting back at him, his hands clutching onto the Murder Drone’s claws.
“You’ve been quite the little pest, you know that?!” R hollered. “Not only was your dumb wall annoying, but you took advantage of a lady! How dare you?!” She pointed a claw in his face.
“I-I-I’m sorry!” He stuttered in fear.
“‘Sorry’ ain’t gonna cut it, wimp!” R spat. “But maybe your death will!” She laughed, raising her claws.
Khan searched around frantically for something, anything, that could help him. With his feet off the ground and being pressed against the wall, he couldn’t reach his shield. No one else was around to save him, either. His gaze then turned to R’s torso.
Kicking his leg with all the force he could muster, Khan hit R square in the tanks. She yelped out and recoiled, dropping her prey in favor of clutching her waistband.
“Y-You little shit…!” She ground out.
Khan didn’t stick around long, picking up his shield and hastily inputting a code for the third door’s keypad. R lunged for him again, grabbing him by the collar. She threw him into an open crate, about to blow it up as the door closed beside her.
“SON OF A BITCH!!” She roared and bashed the door with her fists. “YOU DESERVE TO GET BLOWN TO SMITHEREENS!! ” She hollered in seethe.
“Calm yourself, R.” Y’s voice soothed.
R turned to her leader, growling from the interruption. Y and M walked up to her, the former with her hands in her fur coat’s pockets.
“There’s a vent just above us. We can use that to get deeper inside the bunker.” Y said.
“Good job, by the way! We’ve been struggling to get into this place for months!” M chimed in, his vial wagging.
“And for once, you didn’t play with your food.” Y smirked in a tease.
R only growled back at her, her own tail twitching. Y rolled her optics and fired at the vent grate above, shifting it.
“We should be going now. Don’t want those workers arming themselves too much.” Y spoke, crouching down to flap into the vent.
R watched her for a moment, her brows creasing. She remembered part of her and Khan’s conversation, prior to her staring contest with him. Something about whether or not it was absolutely necessary to kill the Worker Drones?
“Hey, Y?” R called, her claws shifting back into her arms.
“Hm?” Her leader replied and stood back up to face her.
“I’ve… Been wondering…” R spoke up, admittedly nervous to speak her CPU.
“About what?” Y asked, her hands now on her hips.
“Uhm, is there, like, any particular reason we kill the Worker Drones? B-Besides for our survival?” The gothically-dressed drone asked, rubbing her arm nervously.
Khan turned his head from inside the closed crate, listening in on the team’s conversation.
“What do you mean?” M asked for his wife.
“I-I mean! Why does the company want us to kill these guys?” R elaborated. “Do-on’t get me wrong! It’s still fun to do so! But I just… I’ve always wondered what the company’s plan was upon sending us here.” She continued, her gaze falling to the ground in thought.
“So, you guys were just sent here with little-to-no explanation?” Khan asked, a brow quirked on his visor.
“Pretty much.” R shrugged back.
“And you haven’t… Haven’t questioned that at all?” The -at the time- unknown Worker Drone went on.
“Why should we? Whatever the company says, goes. And to question them is also against the rules, and I’d rather avoid some sort of corporal punishment.” The female Disassembly Drone went on.
“Uh… Huh…” Khan nodded slowly. “Still, to just be sent here with little direction other than “kill these guys” and then… What? You just rust here for the rest of time?” He shrugged in confusion.
R blinked at him.
“I’m… Sorry…?” She cocked her head.
“Think about it, R!” Khan suddenly stood on his seat, startling the Murder Drone. “Your team was sent here from Earth to kill u- The-e Worker Drones, but what happens after that?!” He flung his arms out for emphasis.
“We, uh… Get a job well done?” R cocked her head to the other side, a sweat drop on her visor and her tail swaying unsurely.
“Sure, you get that, but then you get left here to die! You can’t survive without worker oil, right?! So what do you think will happen once we- The workers are all gone?!” He asked her.
R blinked at him again, taking in his words.
“You sure are rebellious for a company-made Disassembly Drone…” Her optics then narrowed heavily on Khan.
Said robot’s eye lights went empty. He sat back down in his seat and kept his hands in his lap. After that comment, he’d gone totally quiet.
Ignoring that though, R kept her skeptical stare on the shorter guy. Even if he did plan to rebel against the company in some way, he’s surely too weak to be able to stop her from killing him. He’s small! He’s just a lil guy!
“Yeah. I could take you.” R then smirked.
“Was…” R muttered as she brought herself from her memory banks. “Was the company really expecting us to come back after this…?” She questioned quietly, a sweat drop scrolling down her display.
Y and M stared at her, the latter anxiously and the former with a stern gaze. Y then sighed and pinched her visor.
“R… Why did you have to question the company?” She asked the other female Disassembly Drone.
“Q-Question?! No! No, no, no, no! I’m not questioning!” R fumbled and waved her hands about frantically. “I was just-! Ju-ust wondering what the next part of the plan would be! I mean, how are we supposed to know what to do if we don’t know the full picture, right?!” She smiled nervously, her tail gone stiff.
Y and M gave her unamused looks.
“Sorry, R.” M ended up saying, walking closer to her. “I get what ya mean, though! But the company only gives out so much information at a time, you know?” He then smiled at her.
“Th-They do-?” R questioned.
Though, it would fall flat as something was shot onto her chest. R looked down, finding a virus chip sitting there. With the swift-moving virus already taking effect, R was left to fall onto the ground.
“I really am sorry about this, R. But the rules are rules, haha…” M laughed nervously.
His expression quickly fell into guilt as he backed away. Y gave R a similar look, though she was quick to hide it by turning away.
“We’ll finish the job for you. Don’t worry.” Y gave her farewell.
With that, she leapt up to the vent above. M gave R one last glance before following his wife. The couple’s thumping echoed throughout the hall until they were past the third and final door.
A couple seconds passed before Khan peeked out of the crate. He carefully stepped out, being wary of the downed Murder Drone. Looking up to the vent, he pushed the crate under it and stood atop it.
“Y-Y-You’r-re too-oo sho-rt-t, wi imp-p.” R commented, her voice glitching erratically.
“Yeah? And you’re dying.” He retorted bitterly.
“Y-ou-ou’re a-a d-ic-ck.” R laughed.
Khan rolled his optics and tried to reach for the vent above to no avail, just like R predicted. With a defeated sigh, he sat back down on the crate and held his face in his hands. Things were silent between the two.
‘Not only did I fail in proving myself, but I ended up just getting everyone killed.’ Khan thought, his fingers pressing harder onto his visor. ‘And I even got my- My-y-!’ The thought couldn’t dare be finished, tears pricking at Khan’s eye lights.
Peeking through his fingers, Khan spotted the downed Murder Drone. It looked as though she’d already long-accepted her fate. Khan should too. He doubts he’ll even survive this whole thing.
His shield is on the other side of the door, he’s trapped with a dying Murder Drone, the only exit is to the city, but then the other Murder Drones can still return! And the only way he could possibly stop those two from slaughtering his whole colony is to use the help of the-!
Khan lifted his head, whipping it to R. She lied ever-silent on the ground. Her visor glitched with various warning windows and pop-ups.
“...You were kinda cool for that. Standing up to your teammates.” Khan commented.
“...” R was silent still. “Tha-anks-s-s…” She then said.
“Yeah.” Khan nodded. “But, you know, you can stand up to them some more? Or the company. Whichever.” He went on.
“How-w-w s-o?” R inquired, tilting her head to him.
“Well, you can start by fixing what you started.” Khan offered, pulling a dagger from his pocket.
As the bunker came into view, Uzi spotted how the outer door was opened. It sent a wave of panic through her systems, the mother running towards the outpost. And upon reaching it, she found that the second door was open.
“S-Shit!” She cursed quietly, running inside.
Uzi spotted the various WRF members lying dead on the ground. The sight made her tanks churn and twist, the urge to vomit growing strong. Uzi shook her head and kept moving.
“Watch where you step, please.” She told Nephtali. “And don’t let your guard down. Murder Drones have gotten inside the bunker.” Uzi said next, pulling out her rail-pistol.
She picked up another from a corpse, giving it a somber look. Handing the gun to the new drone, he caught it and stared down at it.
“You know how to fire a weapon, right?” Uzi asked as she looked at him.
Nephtali blinked down at the pistol. He nodded and held it in his hands. It was far from proper, but it’ll do for now. With that in CPU, Uzi took his wrist and continued through the halls.
Scorches from explosions and more oil splatters stained the walls and floors. Uzi kept her gaze solely on the third door, having been closed. Nephtali looked around at all the carnage without a care in the world.
‘Well, they have certainly been doing their jobs.’ He thought.
“I’m sorry that you have to see all this.” Uzi spoke, catching Nephtali’s attention. “And I’m sorry I’m dragging you into this. But I need to save my colony. Could you please work with me for a little while?” She turned back to stare at the male worker.
Nephtali’s returned gaze was unreadable. But he nodded anyway and went along with it. He’s admittedly curious about all this.
Such conviction to save something so miniscule. Uzi could very well just leave this place to rust, the robots to die, but she won’t. Part of Nephtali is confused by this. Why does she have so much drive to protect the drones here?
The other part felt… What was the word? Not intrigued, though he still certainly is. And it wasn’t anger or jealousy. That latter emotion is such a fickle yet stupid thing. So… What is the word?
The third door opening up startled Nephtali from his thoughts. Uzi led him further into the bunker, the oil and ash reduced to snow and ice. Nephtali kept looking around, inspecting the place. There is still nothing special about it, nothing he’d find so meaningful so as to risk his life to protect it.
“We need to make a quick stop at my house. Then, we’ll head to the safe room.” Uzi spoke up again.
Nephtali only hummed and nodded in response.
“Also-” Uzi went to add on, but her sentence abruptly stopped.
She turned to look at Nephtali again, still walking down the eerily silent halls. The male Worker Drone followed behind and cocked his head quizzically.
“...Thank you. F-For, uhm, for helping me.” Uzi said. “I’m sure you didn’t want to see worker corpses, nor have to be dragged into this, so I’m truly thankful you’re sticking around to help me.” The surprisingly caring drone went on.
Nephtali was silent for a few seconds.
“You are welcome.” He replied.
He has a feeling that whatever is about to happen, whatever they will come across in the safe room, will be the start to lots of fun.
Chapter Text
Uzi entered her house, heading straight for her bedroom. Nephtali followed behind her, taking a good look around the home. It was cozy, though still held a cold feel with the metal walls and floors.
As he walked through the house, he saw another room, colored mostly in blues and silvers. It was messy and disorganized. From the looks of it, the area was a boy’s room.
Nephtali turned his attention back to Uzi. She was rummaging around in her closet. The male Worker Drone caught sight of the giant board chock-full of various weapons. Some were rail weapons, but most were standard bullet ones.
The sight admittedly surprised him. Who knew a Worker Drone could have so many lethal objects? He’s almost jealous he didn’t think of incorporating some of these into the Disassembly Drones himself…
But Nephtali turned his gaze back to Uzi. She was totally distracted, her back turned to him, and focusing on something else. No other drone was around, either. It would be so easy to just kill her.
Although it might spoil some of his fun, the prospect was tempting. So much so that Nephtali let a few of his biomechanical limbs slip from his back and extend out. They inched closer to the female worker, poised to strike at a moment’s notice-
“Here. Take this.” Uzi said and turned.
Nephtali whipped his limbs right back into his back. He took the offered weapon, a rifle. It had a decent amount of weight to it, and Nephtali isn’t sure he knows how to fire this weapon…
“I believe this is too big for me.” The male worker spoke, staring unsurely at the rifle.
“I… Think you’re right. Maybe you should just stick with the pistol…” Uzi said, taking the weapon back with a sweat drop on her visor.
She turned back around and dug through her closet. Nephtali was still a little stunned. But he shook his head and snapped himself out of it. If he wants to kill this lady without too much clean-up, he should do it now-
“I’m ready. Let’s get to the safe room before any more drones get killed.” Uzi abruptly said, startling the other worker.
“Ah- Right.” Nephtali nodded.
He was still perturbed by how fast Uzi could move and do things. She only had her back turned for a few seconds, and Nephtali couldn’t even bring his limbs out!
Either that, or he’s gotten slow recently…
He and Uzi ran down the bunker halls and to the safe room. Nephtali eyed the large weapon hanging off the female Worker Drone’s back. That must be a lot of weight on her shoulders.
“I’m not sure what we’re going to find there, so be prepared.” Uzi spoke, stirring Nephtali from his thoughts. “And again, I’m sorry I’m dragging you into this. If I had any other choice, I would leave you somewhere safe, but the only safe place right now is beside me.” She went on, a hard look in her optics.
‘She is… Protecting me…?’ Nephtali thought with a cocking head.
Such an idea was- Is foreign to him. Not once has Nephtali been the one that was protected. Not before he’d mastered this program of his. And even so, he’d always played a fool, innocent and helpless.
And if anything, Nephtali was the one protecting another.
So to learn that this feeble Worker Drone was trying to protect him instead of the other way around is rather… Endearing? Is that the word? Or, is it ‘charming?’ Either way, it makes Nephtali feel odd things and he isn’t sure whether or not he should like them.
“We’re coming up to the safe room. Get your pistol ready.” Uzi advised.
Nephtali did as told, taking out his pistol and holding it to the best of his ability. Uzi took out a weapon of her own, long and designed for range.
Coming up to the safe room, Uzi and Nephtali stuck to the wall. The former peered in, her eye lights going void. A battle was in progress, between Khan and a Murder Drone, and one other Murder Drone.
‘Although Khan has numbers, that Murder Drone with the fur coat is more than holding her ground.’ Uzi thought, analyzing the situation. ‘It’d be better to take her off-guard. If I can get up high, I could take a shot at her.’
Uzi scanned the room, finding some crates stacked atop one another on the other side. She also saw the rest of the colony hiding amongst the large objects. A few WRF members held their weapons to their chests, a last line of defense if Khan couldn’t kill the Murder Drone.
“I’m going to sneak to the other side of the room. Think you’ll be alright on your own here?” Uzi asked Nephtali.
He nodded back at her, startled at her turn. Uzi smiled reassuringly back at him before quietly entering the room.
Nephtali was lucky she didn’t notice his limbs again. Though, he should really be more careful from now on, at least around her. She’s unpredictable in terms of when she’ll turn around and face him.
But Nephtali cleared the thoughts from his CPU. He watched the purple-haired woman enter the room. She stuck low to the ground, but high enough to speed-walk. She looked like a true soldier in her movements, and it even amazed Nephtali.
Turning his optics to the Disassembly Drones, he was surprised to see one fighting with a Worker Drone. Part of him was angry at it. That was not what they were tasked to do. But the other part was intrigued all the same.
‘Even so, Y is holding her ground against them.’ Nephtali thought, a hand coming off his pistol. ‘If she downs even one of them, she will spot Uzi.’
That thought made a wave of worry wash over him. Nephtali tensed as soon as he felt it, his eye lights going void. His free hand’s fingers twitched. What was that feeling for? Why was he worried? And over Uzi of all things?
It… Didn’t make any sense.
Nephtali huffed and grit his teeth. He brushed the feeling away and turned back to the fight. Uzi had thankfully gotten onto the other side of the room. Nephtali ignored the sense of relief he felt at seeing her.
Scanning the room some more, he spotted M eyeing Uzi. He got up slowly, trying to be sneaky. With Y, R, and the young worker busy fighting each other, there was no one to stop the male Murder Drone.
Nephtali curled his pinkie against the palm of his free hand. The Absolute Solver’s grey icon flickered to life above it, ready to do as he commanded in an instant. His left optical light glitched away until only the icon was left in its place.
Uzi has proven herself to be way too fun and intriguing to be killed by a lowly murder bot. If anyone is going to kill her, it’s Nephtali.
Y kicked R right back into the ground from the air. She then plummeted, sticking her pegleg foot out to crush the waistband of the other woman. R spit up oil from the impact, many machines being crushed or pierced.
With a free hand, Y fired a hail of bullets at the male Worker Drone she befriended. Y was quick to flap her wings and replace her hands with swords. Khan could only block the flurry of slashes as his friend recovered.
‘If I can time it right, I can kill her with the charge canon!’ Khan checked the said meter, almost filled up.
A hard kick to his shield had Khan stumbling onto his ass. The defensive weapon was then smacked away with a wing. Y stared seething holes into the Worker Drone, trading a sword for a laser gun.
“This was a futile effort. But I’ll admit that you have tenacity.” Y spoke coldly, the laser beam charging up.
Just as she was about to fire it, a loud bang reverberated throughout the room. Y’s laser gun was shot right off her arm with it, oil flying to the ground.
Y whipped her head to the source of the shot. She spotted a female Worker Drone with purple hair and a long black coat kneeling atop a tower of crates. She held a rail-sniper in her hands, the bright green scope still active.
The Worker Drone then pulled on the level on the weapon’s side, charging up the next shot. Y turned around, coming face-to-face with R. She was practically surrounded on all sides.
A snarl formed on Y’s lips, her tail lashing about in growing rage. Her angry glare stuck onto R for a few moments longer. It then turned to M, who had moved from the corner R told him to go to in the beginning of the fight. Though, he’d only moved a few feet before stopping from the sniper’s blast.
Y let her pissed expression and damaged arm fall. She stepped off of Khan and over to her husband. Slinging him over her shoulder as he yelped, she turned back to the bunker’s inhabitants.
“You’re all a pain in my ass. And I won’t be forgetting this, R.” She spoke sternly.
“Yeah. I know.” R returned with a nod.
She admittedly felt betrayed herself, purely because she fought her leader and friends. She wouldn’t have done such a thing if she could’ve, but she didn’t have any choice here. At least she doesn’t have to kill Y or M.
“Don’t expect me to play nice all the time.” Y then said. “That wimpy little friend of yours most certainly won’t be getting any sort of preferential treatment from me.” Her optics narrowed dangerously on Khan.
All he could do was nod back and avert the Murder Drone’s intense gaze. Y huffed and turned away, M waving goodbye at them.
“I’ll see you at the ship, R.” Y bade farewell, not even turning to look at her teammate.
“Yup. Cya.” R waved back at M.
An apology was on the very tip of her tongue, yet R was too afraid to say it. Part of her felt ashamed of it. But the other part wasn’t ready to face the leader and friend she just fought.
“Khan!” Uzi then called as she ran over. “Khan, are you alright?! Are you hurt?!” She said as he turned her son’s head this way and that.
“Yes, I’m fine! Just let me go!” He replied and smacked her hands away.
“We should still take you to the infirmary in case-!” Uzi went to say and moved to grab his wrist.
“No! I’m fine, I told you!” Khan refused and yanked his hand back. “Besides, how could you even suggest that?! I messed up and everyone hates me now!” He went on, a glare on his metallic features.
“Khan-! Y-Yes, you messed up, but no one hates you-!” Uzi stuttered out, taken aback by the proclamation.
“Of course they do! They always have!” Her son argued loudly, his voice echoing across the room.
“I can assure you, they don’t-” Uzi tried to speak again, only to be interrupted.
“You don’t know that! You don’t go to school with me or hang around me! They’re always picking on me and being damn jerks!” The younger Doorman yelled. “You just don’t know any of that because you’re too blind to see it!!” He then shouted.
Uzi flinched as her eye lights went void. Even R startled at the comment, turning to the shorter drone. She went as far as to take a few steps back, feeling like she was intruding on something she really shouldn’t be around for.
“...K-Khan, I know I’m not always around, but-” Uzi again tried to speak, her attempts all feeble and weak.
“More like never around!” Her son continued, pointing at his mother. “The only place you’re at is work! Or with your dumb friends! Or outside! Or in your workshop! You never hang out with me anymore!” Khan went on, tears pricking at his optics.
“But it’s whatever. I don’t need you and you don’t need me. Especially not after today.” His voice quieted and his optics averted to the ground.
“Kha-an, what are you talking about?” Uzi almost hesitated to ask, her hands starting to tremble.
“I messed up, mom! So now I’m going to fix my mistake.” Her son replied and stepped towards his friend. “I don’t deserve a place here anymore, and I doubt I even had one to begin with. So I’m exiling myself!” He stated.
“What?! No, Khan! Don’t do this!” Uzi stepped forward and tried to reach for her child.
But Khan slapped her hands away. Hard enough that the sound of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the room.
Uzi stumbled back and held her stinging hands close to her chest. Khan only glared at her with tears in his optics. R refused to look at either of them, her tail stiff and her fangs biting her lip.
“Don’t even bother. It’s not like you ever did before.” Khan muttered in finality. “Let’s go, R. I don’t want to be here any longer.” He then turned to his new friend.
She stiffly nodded back at him. She crouched down and let Khan hop onto her shoulders. Deploying her wings, she turned to bust out of the ceiling. Before she did, she sent one last sad and apologetic glance to Uzi.
R flapped her wings and crashed through the safe room’s ceiling. Things went quiet as the debris and dust clattered and drifted to the floor.
Uzi was left standing there with emptied optical lights. Her hands shook and her plating rattled. She bit her lip to try and stop the tears, but they rolled down her visor like waterfalls anyway.
Nephtali stared at the mother, digital brows creased and a sense of dismay piercing his core. He even felt sympathetic for the poor woman. Bad memories cropped up with that fiasco, making his fists ball up tight.
He walked up to Uzi, who was now staring at her quaking hands. Nephtali gently took them into his own, thumbing the backs of her finger joints. Neither drone said a thing, only stood there in silence as Uzi quietly wept.
“N-Nepht-ali…” Uzi then whispered, her voice so pitifully broken. Nephtali swore his core twisted at it. “Am-m I a- A ba-d mo-the-er…?” Uzi asked him.
“...” Nephtali was silent. “No.” He then said.
“You just have a bad son.” Nephtali told Uzi.
Chapter Text
Khan hopped off R’s shoulders as soon as she landed. There was a tense silence between them as the two walked towards the broken ship. Even the inside of it wouldn’t be spared from the awkward tension that’s grown between them.
For a few minutes, R watched Khan make himself at home. He was already planning out where he’d be sleeping, where he’d put any findings, even outwardly thinking about chaining up Y and M on the floor below.
Whilst Khan was busy muttering to himself, Y came over. She stood next to R and stared at the Worker Drone with an unimpressed look on her face plates.
“You really ditched the team for this asshole?” She questioned her teammate quietly.
“W-Well! He wasn’t that bad when I first met him!” R argued feebly, her voice also soft.
“I’m sure he wasn’t. He’s much worse.” Y snided with a light glare.
“Alright, alright! I get it! You’re mad at me for rebelling!” R said whilst throwing her hands in the air and walking away.
“That’d be an understatement.” Y scoffed with a roll of her optics, following the other lady.
“And I know Khan showed some… Unsavory behaviors in the bunker when his mom came over-” R continued.
“I really thought you’d make more of a fuss to him over it.” Y commented, her hands on her hips as she stopped.
“And I know the company probably super, duper, uber hates us right now! But I can fix it! All of it!” R reassured as she turned around and spread her arms wide.
“I highly doubt that.” Y replied flatly.
R’s face and arms fell, a more disgruntled look crossing her metallic features. With a sigh, she turned back around and began pacing.
“If you’re gonna scold me, you might as well do it already!” She began. “I mean, I know M won’t do it! And you’ve got that look in your optics, the one that says you’ve got something to say to me, specifically!” R pointed at her coworker.
“And I know Khan will need to be talked to, I can do that! But at the same time, maybe having a nerd like him will be good for us! He can help fix the ship so we won’t be stranded on this planet!” The short-haired disassembler smiled optimistically.
‘Maybe if I let her get it out of her system she’ll shut up.’ Y thought as she watched the other Disassembly Drone pace and rant.
“And I am really sorry about that whole battle earlier! I swear!” R apologized. “But I didn’t really have a choice at the time! I mean- You literally tried to kill me with a virus. I think I deserved to at least punch you in the face for that.”
Y crossed her arms and waited still.
“And you should also be glad that M wasn’t hurt! You know he’s too weak and feeble and weak and defenseless and weak to do anything!” R then gestured a hand towards the said male drone.
“You just called my husband weak three times.” Y finally spoke.
“Am I wrong??” R asked back.
“No.” Y answered.
“Well then?!” R exclaimed.
“Alright- Fine. I get you’re upset as well, but this entire thing wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t switch sides!” Y started speaking her own CPU. “And the only reason I’m not only allowing you to keep your new little pet, but also not trying to kill you again is because you let M live.” She confessed.
“I knew sparing him was a good idea, haha!” R spoke to herself, pumping a fist as her vial wagged.
“But,” Y spoke loudly, catching the other woman’s attention. “If the company comes calling, I’m immediately throwing you under the bus. And I’ll use any and every means necessary to prove I had no other choice but to join you.” The bossy-looking disassembler said, jabbing a finger into R’s chest.
“Alright, you know what? You deserve that. I agree to the terms of conditions.” R nodded, taking the opportunity to avoid a fight.
“Good.” Y spat. “Now. Go talk to your little pet. He’s starting to move things around in the ship, and I’m sure you don’t want me ‘talking’ to him.” She then growled and pushed R towards the ship.
R only nodded and jogged off. Y rolled her optics again before shaking her head and pinching her visor. M came up to her, offering a worker arm in these stressing times. Y sighed and thanked him for the limb, walking with her husband to a nice car to sit in.
R peered into the ship from the doorway. Khan was busy rearranging some things from a spare compartment.
“Heeeyyy, Khan? Do you have a minute?” R asked as she finally entered the ship.
“Yeah, sure.” The Worker Drone replied, not even turning to look at her.
R blinked at him, her brows furrowed. With a sigh, she sat down on a chair and continued to watch Khan move things around.
“So… About that battle we had at the outpost.” She began, unsure how to really start this conversation.
“What about it? Your leader mad at you?” Khan questioned.
“No- Well, yes- But I meant about what happened after the fight.” R spoke. "I, uhm… Y-Your mom, she…” But she stopped as soon as she started.
R had to take a moment to think of her words. It wasn’t very long until she figured she should just come out with it already, no sugar-coating suffocating anything.
“That… That was your mom, Khan.” R said softly.
Khan still worked. His new companion wasn’t even sure he’d heard her. But R would get her answer to that question soon enough as Khan slowed to a stop.
“I mean, what about her?” The Worker Drone questioned, a brow quirked.
R’s tail stiffened and her eye lights went void.
“What do you mean ‘what about her’?! She’s your mom, and you treat her like that after showing some common courtesy and worrying over you?!” R stood up, her eye lights hollowed.
“Oh. That.” Khan spat and turned his disdainful gaze away.
R didn’t know how to react to that look.
“All that was probably just fake! She’s always been fake!” Khan started to rant, turning away to go back to reorganizing. “All my mom ever did was work, work, and work! She’s never shown even the slightest bit of care for me!”
“How do you even know that-” R tried to interject.
“Because she’s never been there for me!!” Khan yelled back. “She doesn’t even show any damn care anymore! The only thing she shows is hate and disappointment and stoicism! She can’t even be proud of me for once-!!” Khan kicked some small can.
R blinked at him, her tail low to the ground.
“She showed a lot of care back there.” She commented.
“That’s just a facade. Just something to convince everyone she’s a ‘good colony leader’.” Khan huffed agitatedly. “I guarantee you she doesn’t care that I’m gone. She never would…” His voice trailed off and tears pricked at his optics.
R couldn’t reply to that.
The walk back home was…
Very quiet.
Nephtali watched Uzi from behind, being graciously led to her home for a place to stay. Tomorrow, he’ll be taken to the infirmary to be checked out. But for the time being, it seems Uzi just wants to be away from everyone.
‘I cannot blame her.’ Nephtali thinks. ‘It must be… Saddening, to be treated like that by your own child.’
Nephtali stares some more, Uzi stopping at her house’s front door. She’s busy putting the code in. Her fingers are shaking too much to press the right numbers.
‘Well, she would not be sad anymore if she were dead.’ Nephtali then thinks, his biomechanical limbs slipping and extending from his back.
The door opens just as Nephtali prepares to strike. As soon as Uzi starts to turn to him, he’s whipping his extra limbs right back into his frame.
“Come on in. We, uhm- I don’t exactly have any guest rooms. You don’t mind taking the couch, do you?” Uzi asks politely.
“No. I will be fine on the couch.” Nephtali shakes his head.
“That’s-... Good. That’s good.” Uzi says quietly and with a tiny nod.
She enters her home and the new drone she found outside follows her. Nephtali takes another look around, scanning for anything he might’ve missed. There isn’t anything out of place or of importance to note.
“I’ll get you some blankets and pillows. You can wait here.” Uzi says with a mild staying gesture.
Nephtali nods and hums and waits by the kitchen table. When Uzi finally exits the room, he turns for the living room. The couch inside it is spacious, if a little uncomfy-looking.
‘It appears stiff…’ Nephtali mentally notes.
Across from it is the TV, however. Perhaps he can at least entertain himself.
‘No. I am not here to stay.’ Nephtali reminds himself, turning for Uzi’s bedroom.
He makes sure his steps are quiet, all but silent, as he encroaches upon the room. As Nephtali passes Khan’s room, he feels a spike of hate writhe within his core. But Nephtali shakes his head and moves on quickly.
His deadly limbs sprout from his back again. A few camera eyes accompany them this time, the silver pupils peering around for any other drones in the household. There is none, much to Nephtali’s luck.
The multitude of claws, hands, and pincers rise above his head. Tendrils slither along the floor as the Worker Drone walks. Things remain quiet as he prepares to finally start his fun spree of-
…
Nephtali paused right at the edge of the doorway.
He can hear something.
…
Is that…
…
Is that crying?
…
‘Is Uzi crying…?’ Nephtali can’t help but question.
Using a camera eye to gaze into the room, Nephtali quickly finds the mother sitting in front of her open closet. Her shoulders are jerking and her frame is trembling. She holds something within her quaking hands.
“I’m s-sorry… I’m-m so so-rry, Khan-n…” Nephtali hears Uzi mutter to herself.
…
Nephtali slowly rescinds his limbs back into his back. He leans his head into the room to look at Uzi proper. She hasn’t once noticed he’s followed her.
The male Worker Drone decides to enter the room. His steps are naturally silent, so when a metal panel groans, Uzi startles and whips around.
“N-Nephtali!!” Uzi cries in shock. “I- Mm-! Pl-lease excuse me! I’m sorry I was taking so long!” She rushed to say and get up.
“Are you-” Nephtali went to ask.
“I’ll make sure to get you those pillows and blankets. You can use a couple of my pillows, even!” Uzi ignored him, reaching for the cushions on her bed.
Nephtali can’t even open his mouth before the female worker is speed-walking out of the room. All Nephtali could do for a few good moments was stare with a gaping mouth.
But he quickly shakes himself out of it. He turns back down the hall and spots Uzi setting up the couch for him. She’s already laying the blankets out for his use.
“I-I know this isn’t the comfiest arrangement, but I hope it’ll at least do for now.” Uzi spoke.
Nephtali took a look at her, a good, long look at her. The tears she was shedding earlier were gone, and there was no longer a shake to her whole frame. But the waterworks could still be heard in her voice if Nephtali listened for it hard enough.
“If you need anything more, don’t be afraid to ask me.” Uzi said as she walked up to Nephtali. “And feel free to get a cup of oil. I’m sure you must be thirsty after being outside for… Who knows how long, as well as that Murder Drone battle.” The woman smiled warmly.
“...Right…” Nephtali nodded. “Are you going to get some oil?” He then questioned with a cocking head.
“Ah- N-No, I’m not that thirsty.” Uzi dismissed politely. “Thank you for the consideration, though!” She added, her smile only getting wider.
Nephtali blinked at her, his expression blank. He then took her hands again, Uzi turning to stare down at their limbs.
“Are you alright, Uzi?” Nephtali asked quietly.
“Of-f course I am. Why would you ask that?” The woman replied with an uneasy smile and a sweat drop on her visor.
“...” Nephtali was silent. “Have some oil with me. Please. It would be rude not to eat with your guest, would it not?” He requested.
Uzi blinked up at him, a little taken aback by that. She ended up nodding, however.
“I-... Suppose it would be.” She muttered. “And I can show you where the dispenser is.” Uzi said more so to herself.
She led Nephtali into the kitchen and showed him where the cups were and where the oil dispenser was. The two got themselves a nice and warm cup of oil before sitting down at the table.
Nephtali stared at Uzi with a blank, awaiting look. Uzi kept her optics to her cup, the oil slowly going cold. Nephtali knew Uzi wasn’t averting his gaze just because he was creepily and silently directly staring at her.
But as the silence dragged on and their cups of oil went cold, Nephtali knew Uzi wouldn’t speak up anymore. He knew he had to be the one to break the silence-
“Do you want to talk about it?” Nephtali asked with a cocking head.
Which is weird since he initially came here to kill all these drones-
“Talk about what?” Uzi asked back with a small smile.
So why is he suddenly wanting Uzi to talk? To get her feelings out-?
“About Khan.” Nephtali answered bluntly.
He’s had so many times, so many opportunities to kill her, this whole bunker-!
“He’s run away with a Murder Drone. What is there to talk about?” Uzi replied, her optics glued to her cup.
Yet not once has Nephtali truly tried to do so-
“There is how you feel about him running away with a Murder Drone.” Nephtali pointed out, being stubborn on this.
And all the times he’s let his limbs loose to wreck some havoc, he’s always stopped himself-
“It’s getting late. We should go to bed.” Uzi said as she stood.
So why-
Nephtali watched Uzi head to her room. She closed the door behind her, obscuring the other Worker Drone’s view of her.
Why is he finding himself growing more and more opposed to the idea of killing Uzi?
Chapter Text
Nephtali sat his empty oil cup in the sink. He turned to stare at Uzi’s cup, still sitting on the table where she left it. With a fleshy hand, he grabbed the cup and put it in the mini-fridge.
The male Worker Drone then headed for the couch. He took off his shoes, his blazer, even his dress pants and shirt. Uzi was kind enough to lend him some pajamas just before she returned to her room.
‘She came as quick as she went.’ Nephtali noticed, shaking his head after putting on the doggy shirt. ‘And these must be Khan’s.’ He realized as he stared at the clothing.
With a soft sigh, Nephtali neatly folded his clothes and set them on the table for tomorrow. As he turned up, he spotted the front door.
Just beyond it is the rest of the bunker. There are more Worker Drones he could kill. He could take out the entire bunker in one night, in multiple ways.
Nephtali skipped going to bed and decided to head out the front door. The halls were clear as he searched around. Maybe he could have a little bout of fun before hitting the hay.
Closing the door behind him quietly, Nephtali roamed the expansive outpost hallways. There were little other robots in sight. Many were probably already in Sleep Mode right now.
‘But not the WRF members.’ Nephtali remembered.
A small smile formed on his face plates as he sped up. Nephtali made his way towards the outer doors. While on his way, he thought of the many possible methods of slaughter he could enact.
Maybe dismemberment? Or simple stabbing? He could also use a Null! Those are always fun to use! But, he also has to watch out for their dying screams, so he should probably pick a swift way of killing them.
“I suppose stabbing will suffice. [Giggle]” Nephtali giggled to himself.
Finally, he came up to the hall of outer doors. There to greet him at the third door were two WRF members. They were quick to notice him, giving him friendly smiles and waves.
“Hey! It’s the new guy!” One of them commented. “What’re you doing out so late? You should be getting some rest after-”
But the poor drone’s sentence would be cut short as Nephtali’s pincer swiftly decapitated him. A clawed hand slammed the head of the other Worker Drone against the wall hard enough to cave it in. A third and final limb struck the camera sitting nearby, helping to cover his tracks.
Nephtali’s tiny grin grew a smidgen bigger. Using his extra limbs, he dragged the two bodies away. He’ll make sure to clean up the oil spill later.
Khan tossed for the umpteenth time this night. Things were completely silent, mostly thanks to the ship’s door being closed. Though, Khan somehow wasn’t able to sleep very well.
Turning one more time and still not being close to entering Sleep Mode, Khan let out a disgruntled growl and sat up. He huffed as his shoulders sagged. Looking around, he was all alone in here.
“Stupid-! Why the hell can’t I get any sleep at all?!” He grumbled to himself.
Hanging his head, Khan decided to do something else. Maybe he can tire himself out, then pass out easier. It’s worth a shot.
Pulling out the ship’s toolbox from a storage compartment, Khan opened the panel to the ship’s main console. The cabin was filled with the quiet sounds of tinkering within a few minutes.
‘If this doesn’t tire me out enough to go into Sleep Mode, I don’t know what will.’ Khan thought bitterly.
While he was taping together wires and replacing nuts and bolts, Khan’s CPU began to wander. He won’t admit it out loud, but he’s a little nervous being outside on his own like this. His only company are the Murder Drones living here, and he doubts the majority of them have the best opinion of him.
Khan wouldn’t be surprised if Y and M wanted to use him as free food. He is right there, after all. But he can’t deny that he’s glad they haven’t tried to kill him again.
Yet.
Though, the thought of those two made him think of R. Specifically the chat she had with him earlier tonight. Part of him grew frustrated with her questioning of the way he treated his mother.
She doesn’t know a damn thing about his life! His moth- Uzi, is never there! Always working or overseeing things or whatever! She can and will live without him! Just like he will live without her!
“Stupid mom! Thinking she has any right to be all ‘Oh, Khan! I was soooooo worried!’ My robotic ass!” The young Doorman seethed, talking through grit teeth.
The nut he was tightening groaned from pressure. Khan huffed and took the small wrench away. Sitting up from the console’s internals, he took a few deep vents. Getting angry won’t get him anywhere.
“Whatever. It’s not like I’m going back there anyway.” Khan sighed as he stood up.
He put his tools away and put the red box back into its storage compartment. He climbed back into his chair, leaning it back as far as he could and throwing the covers over his shoulder.
He turned off his visor and tried to get some sleep, any sleep. But even still, it evaded him. And for some reason, he felt an odd twist writhing within his core.
Nephtali awoke to the smell of warm oil and the sound of sparking wires. His optics booted up after a moment, the lenses unfocused. Sitting up with a noted yawn, he turned to look for the origin of the noise and smell.
It led him to the kitchen, where Uzi was making some sort of breakfast. She noticed a presence in the doorway, turning to catch a glimpse of a tired Nephtali. She giggled at his looks, turning off the stove.
“Morning, sleepyhead.” She greeted warmly.
Uzi patted Nephtali’s hair back down. He flinched at the sudden touch, Uzi’s hands freezing. They left as soon as they’d come near, her expression falling with her hands.
“I-I made breakfast. It’s small, but I hope you still enjoy it.” She spoke, plating the wires and pouring out the oil.
Nephtali sat down at the table with his new roommate. He stared down at the plate of hot wires and hydraulic cylinders. A glance up to Uzi told him she wasn’t as 100% as she wanted him to believe.
“Did you sleep well last night?” The aforementioned woman asked.
“I did.” Nephtali nodded and picked up his fork. “Did you?” He returned with a narrow glance.
“...Yes.” Uzi said softly.
“...” Nephtali was silent.
“B-By the way, I washed your suit for you. It’s sitting on the stand out there next to the couch.” Uzi gestured with her head.
“Ah. Thank you.” The male worker spoke, admittedly not expecting that.
He could’ve done that himself. It isn’t like he doesn’t have the know-how to wash his own clothes. For as shitty as that mansion’s occupants were, he at least got out with some good life skills.
“Are you going to eat? Your food’s getting cold.” Uzi pointed out.
“Huh-? Ah, yes.” Nephtali snapped back to reality.
He finally started digging in. As the warmed wires hit his tongue, their taste flooded his mouth. It was startling, the taste strong but not overwhelming. He’s cooked human foods before, even tasted their flesh on his tongue, but he’s never tasted something like this.
“It is… Good.” Nephtali commented with hollowed optics.
“Thank you.” Uzi gave a soft giggle.
Things went quiet as Nephtali nearly scarfed down his food. He wasn’t one for eating. There really wasn’t a need to. Anything he could heal up with the Solver, easy-peasy.
“You act like you’re starving.” Uzi spoke. “Have you eaten anything recently?” She questioned with a worried sweat drop and creasing brows.
“I… Do not eat very much.” Nephtali admitted.
Though, it was more of a lie, considering he doesn’t need to eat at all.
But Uzi looked shocked and even more worried. She quickly schooled her expression and got up from the table.
“I’ll make some more for you. Just sit tight.” She told him as she reentered the kitchen.
“[Stutter] No, you do not need to do that.” Nephtali replied, standing up as well.
“Nonsense! I’m not going to let you starve.” Uzi huffed.
“You have been kind as it is. I do not need any more hospitality.” Nephtali told her, his brows furrowing.
“I found you alone and plucking bits and pieces out of a Sentry. The least I can do is lend a helping hand to another Worker Drone in need.” Uzi countered with her own furrowed brows.
As her hand reached for the stove’s knobs, Nephtali’s hand grabbed her wrist. Uzi startled and whipped around to him. The other Worker Drone cornered her against the counter, his other hand leaning against the edge of it.
Nephtali’s grip on her wrist was tight, but not suffocating. His face was close to Uzi’s own, she noticed. There was a sternly blank expression on his face plates. Things were silent between the two of them.
“...I do not need more to eat.” Nephtali broke the silence, his voice soft. “But… Thank you for offering.” He added and averted his gaze.
The male robot let Uzi go after that. Nephtali walked back to the table to down his oil. Uzi was left to rub her wrist where he’d held it. There was an odd pounding sensation in her chest.
Uzi shook her head and snapped out of it. She sighed and walked back to the living room. Nephtali was piling their dishes and putting them in the sink. Uzi could only stare.
“...Do you-...” She spoke up, only to pause.
Nephtali glanced at her from the corner of his visor, washing the dishes with the rubber gloves.
“Do you want to come to work with me? We have to get you checked out at the infirmary anyway.” She asked. “I-... I-I figured it’d give you something to do, and perhaps you’d want to join the WRF.” Uzi then added, averting her gaze as she rubbed her arm.
‘Ugh, I feel like I’m right back in high school, asking my husband out on a date.’ Uzi thought with a sweat drop.
“Okay. I will accompany you.” Nephtali spoke up, stirring Uzi from her thoughts. “But I do not need a check-up. I am perfectly functional.” He told her.
A relieved sigh left Uzi’s vents, her shoulders even sagging.
“Then I’ll go get ready. We’ll still go to the infirmary first, though. I don’t want there to be an underlying issue neither of us know about.” She returned with a small smile.
Uzi then left the room again to get ready for the day. Nephtali watched her leave. Once he heard her bedroom door close, he used his fleshy limbs to help wash the dishes.
‘She is… Intriguing…’ Nephtali thought.
The infirmary was a little busy, surprisingly. As Uzi entered the front lobby, she could see a few doctors and nurses running about. A couple of WRF members were there as well.
“What’s going on? It’s surprisingly busy today.” Uzi asked as she walked up to the group.
“Ms. Doorman! It’s nice to see ya!” Dr. Beau greeted cheerily, a slight southern accent in his voice. “Uh- But-t- It seems there was a murder last night. We’re doin’ some autopsies right now.” He filled her in.
“Murders…?” Uzi muttered, her eye lights going void. “Ha. It’s just one problem after another right now, isn’t it?” She then questioned as she rubbed her visor.
“We’ll get a report sent to you as soon as we can, Miss!” Two WRF members nearby saluted.
“You don’t need to- Okay.” Uzi huffed at their salutes. “Make sure not to leave out a single detail. I want them by this afternoon.” She ordered.
“Yes, Ma’am!” The duo nodded.
Uzi decided to ignore their military obedience. She turned back to Dr. Beau, resetting her voice box.
“Think you could squeeze in a quick check-up for my new friend here? He’s been outside for who knows how long, and I don’t want to find out there’s an underlying issue when it’s already too late.” The widowed Doorman asked, tugging Nephtali closer.
“Of course, Ms. Doorman!” Beau beamed back. “Just follow me!” He turned.
‘He is very happy-go-lucky.’ Nephtali thought as he followed him and Uzi. ‘It is almost annoying.’ His thoughts quickly turned irritated.
“Just inside here, y’all. And take a seat, Neph!” Dr. Beau said as they entered a room.
“Do not call me that. [Stern tone]” Nephtali told him sternly despite his monotonous voice.
“M-My bad…” Dr. Beau flinched back, a sweat drop now on his visor. “A-Anyways! How about I get this check-up over and done with, then you two can get back to- Uh- Whatever it was y’all were doin’?” He smiled again.
“Thank you again, Dr. Beau.” Uzi said, sitting in a chair by the wall.
“Of course, Ms. Uzi!” The doctor said back. “Now then, Nephtali. Let’s get some vitals!” He turned to the other male drone.
Chapter Text
“Okay! Everythin’ looks to be completely normal!” Dr. Beau said, returning to the room. “Now, all we need is an oil sample!” He said, moving towards a cabinet.
He took out a needle, a cleaning wipe packet, and a plastic vial. The doctor turned back towards his patient, setting everything up. Taking Nephtali’s wrist, he pulled up the sleeve to his elbow.
“This’ll just take a moment! You’ll feel a lil prick, but nothin’ more!” Dr. Beau told him.
Beau shifted some metal plates out of the way. He used the wipe to clean the area quickly. As he brought the needle close, Nephtali tugged his arm out of his grasp.
“Do not touch me with that.” Nephtali told him, his gaze blank.
“Uh- N-Nephtali, I need to take an oil sample. I need to test your oil to make sure there isn’t anythin’ wrong with it.” Dr. Beau told him, reaching for his arm again.
Nephtali once more moved it out of the way. Beau turned his gaze to him. There were a few moments of silent staring.
“Nephtali, give him your arm.” Uzi told her friend.
“I do not need a sample taken. I am fine.” Nephtali argued monotonously, his gaze not leaving the other male drone.
“It’ll be over before ya know it. Just relax and I’ll be quick-” Dr. Beau tried to say.
Nephtali stood up from the table. He backed away a few paces as he glared at the doctor. Uzi sighed and rubbed her visor. Grabbing onto his other arm, she brought him closer.
“It’s not that big of a deal! You act like you’ve got some sort of dark secret to hide.” She muttered.
“I told you already, I do not need to be checked up.” Nephtali told her again. “Please, release me and we can go.”
“Not a chance. You’re not getting out of here until I know for certain that you’ll be alright.” Uzi turned to say.
Nephtali blinked at her, gaze narrowed. She was being stupidly and aggravatingly stubborn about this. He is fine, more than that!
“Why do you care so much about me?” Nephtali asked her.
Uzi blinked at the question. She soon recovered, shaking her head but not letting the male worker go.
“Because it’s my job to care.” She told him. “I am the leader of this outpost, and the WRF. If we take in a Worker Drone from outside, it is my duty to help care for them and keep them alive.” Uzi went on.
“I was out there for a long time. I can take care of myself.” Nephtali told her.
“Which gives me all the more reason to worry about your health.” Uzi countered.
“How so? [Head cock]” The male worker questioned.
“Because if you were alone out there, you could’ve gotten something without knowing. Or you have an injury that you’ve never noticed. Or you have outdated anti-virus protections.” Uzi explained. “Listen, all I want is to make sure another drone doesn’t die on my watch.” She said, setting her other hand on Nephtali’s free arm.
“I’ve already lost so many friends and robots, long before you came around. Some were more recent, from the Murder Drone attack a couple days ago.” Uzi continued. “And I had just lost my-” There was a sudden pause.
Uzi’s eye lights went void, her voice box going silent and her joints locking up. For a few seconds, she simply stared at Nephtali. Uzi shook her head and averted her gaze. The mood in the room took a sudden turn right into a deep, depressing abyss.
“Just- Please, Nephtali. Just let them make sure you’re okay.” Uzi begged softly. “I-... I don’t want to lose anyone else.” She whispered.
Nephtali stared down at the widowed mother. Uzi bit her lip, her eye lights squinting to prevent any tears from showing. A pang of guilt struck Nephtali in the chest. Such a thing was foreign, making him flinch.
But…
He raised his hands to gently grasp Uzi’s. She finally looked up at him. Nephtali opened his mouth, but didn’t quite know what to say. He wasn’t much of a comforter.
Mostly because he usually causes all the grief and depression and agony, but he digresses.
“I still do not need to have oil drawn,” He decided to start. “But I will let them update my anti-virus.”
Uzi blinked up at him. She let out a soft sigh, her shoulders sagging.
“I suppose that’s the best I’m getting?” She asked with a faint smile.
“It is.” Nephtali nodded truthfully.
“Hah. Fine. You win.” Uzi huffed. “But next time, I’m going to win.” She then challenged with a smirk, tapping his chest.
The slightly taller Worker Drone made a note about cocking his head as he thought the shift in mood and tone over.
“Alright then,” He said. “We will see. [Mischievous smile]” Nephtali then gave her a tiny smirk.
Uzi giggled at him. Finally, she let his arm go.
“You have… Such charming speaking quirks, you know that?” She commented.
“You think so?” Nephtali asked back.
“I don’t see anyone else literally speaking their minute movements or tones.” The female Worker Drone retorted.
“Ah. I suppose.” Nephtali conceded.
“Ahem.” Dr. Beau reset his voice box.
Uzi and Nephtali turned to him. The former’s visor went up in lavender purple flames.
“I-I-I’m very sorry, Dr. Beau! Please, update Nephtali’s anti-virus for us, would you?!” Uzi stuttered and scampered out of the way.
“O-Of course, Ms. Doorman.” He nodded back, a sweat drop on his visor.
“I’ll, uhm! I’ll wait outside, alright?!” Uzi said, heading right out the door.
Nephtali watched as it closed and the doctor bade her temporary farewell. He was then instructed to lie down on the cot again.
“Okay! I’ll get this anti-virus downloaded quickly so ya and Ms. Doorman can get back home!” Beau told him chipperly.
Nephtali merely nodded, now going silent. Another sweat drop was added to Beau’s collection, but he didn’t comment on it. He instead brought over the computer and hooked Nephtali up to it.
“It seems like ya and Ms. Doorman are pretty close already.” He spoke up with some idle chatter. “How’s it been stayin’ at her house?”
“It is nice.” Nephtali replied. “She is… Unusually nice.” He added in thought.
“‘Unusually’? She’s always nice! Especially nowadays.” Beau told him with a chuckle.
“What do you mean?” The other male robot inquired with a glance.
“Oops-” He heard Beau stutter. “Uh- D-Don’t tell her I said this, but Ms. Doorman used to have a husband. I’m sure ya’ve heard of his passin’ by now.” He started to elaborate.
“His name was Thad. Had been with Ms. Doorman for a long time. Enough that they had Khan.” The doctor went on, typing on the computer. “He was only a pillbaby -about to get a beta frame- before his papa was killed by a Murder Drone.”
“Is that so… [Mutter]” Nephtali muttered.
“It is.” Beau nodded. “After that day, Ms. Doorman became all the busier. Thad helped her take half the load of the colony’s work, but it was all left on her shoulders after his death. Ms. Doorman hasn’t let anyone else help her with it since.” He explained.
“It’s… I-It’s created a nasty rift between her and Khan.” Beau told him, a tone of remorse in his voice. “Ms. Doorman is busy as all get out now. It’s hard for her to spend time with her son because of it. Khan even thinks she’s started hatin’ him because of it.”
“I highly doubt that. Uzi has shown much care for him, even after he ran away.” Nephtali retorted.
“I ain’t disagreein’.” Dr. Beau said, waiting for the anti-virus to download. “But Khan’s, ehhh… He-e ain’t the most aware drone out there, to put it lightly.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“He is oblivious?” Nephtali questioned.
“Eh- Ye-ah…” Dr. Beau nodded. “B-But like I said! Don’t go tellin’ anyone I told ya any of this! Especially not Ms. Doorman!!” He urged frantically.
“I will not.” Nephtali reassured.
“Phew. Thanks, pal-!”
“We are not pals.”
“M-My apologies…” Beau trailed off. “But still. Thanks. I’m sure ya’d find out eventually, but Ms. Doorman really doesn’t like talkin’ about it. I wouldn’t either, to be honest.” He continued.
“Oop! Looks like your update’s done!” He straightened up. “Ya’ll have to reset yourself before it kicks in. Think ya can do that for me?” Beau asked politely.
Nephtali nodded, bringing up the Settings window and resetting himself.
Uzi looked up at seeing Nephtali in the corner of her optic. Dr. Beau escorted him to her, Uzi standing up to meet them halfway.
“How’re you feeling?” Uzi asked, keeping Nephtali steady.
“Dizzy.” He replied, grasping onto her arm for support.
“Ya should just take him right home. The anti-virus is taking effect. He’s just gotta get used to it!” Dr. Beau told them with another smile.
“Thank you very much, doctor.” Uzi nodded at him.
“Anythin’ for the boss!” Beau saluted.
Uzi sighed at the gesture but turned her focus towards her new friend.
“Let’s get you home. A nap should help you get used to the updated anti-virus.” She told him.
Nephtali could only nod back at her. The two started on their way out, Nephtali’s feet dragging on the floor.
The male drone could feel nausea start tingling in the back of his throat. A couple of warnings popped up onto his HUD. Apparently, the Absolute Solver didn’t like anti-viruses very much. Or, not this one at least.
‘I will have to fix it back at the house.’ Nephtali mentally noted, trying not to throw up.
“Are you sure you’re alright? You look like you’re going to be sick.” Uzi asked, staring down at Nephtali on the couch.
“I will be alright eventually.” He returned, his voice muffled from lying face-down on the sofa.
“If you say so…” Uzi sighed. “I have to get some work done. I’ll be in my office right across from the bedroom if you need me.” She then notified before walking off.
Nephtali merely hummed back at her. Listening to her retreating footsteps, he rolled over onto his side. He went straight to his system’s configurations and downloaded items. Once he found the brand-new anti-virus, he immediately set about deleting it.
‘The Solver is a good enough anti-virus.’ Nephtali told himself, putting an arm over his visor. ‘But I should be wary in the future. No more anti-viruses from now on.’
As the new security software was slowly deleted, Nephtali decided to get a bit comfier so he could take a nap. He was far too exhausted to go out killing anybody today.
“Stupid anti-virus… [Grumble, grumble]” He whispered to himself.
Uzi worked diligently in her office for hours on end. The few stacks of paper were shortened, reports were read, some requests were authorized and denied, and her exhaustion grew and grew.
Eventually, Uzi leaned back in her chair and sighed. She opened her optics as she combed her fingers through her bangs. The female Worker Drone stared at the ceiling silently for a minute.
The house felt… Quiet.
Very,
Very,
Quiet.
And Uzi knew the exact reason why.
It’s been nagging at the back of her CPU for a while now. It was a no-brainer, too.
Khan is gone.
And the sound ran away with him.
Uzi leaned back up, her chair making another groan. Her optics landed on the sole photo sitting on her desk. A picture of her, Khan as a pillbaby, and her deceased husband Thad. The photo was so old, some scorches along the edges from a faulty pet project of hers.
‘But it’s held together this long.’ Uzi thought, her finger tracing where tape lies, keeping it pieced together. ‘Yet… My own family hasn’t…’ The somber thought stabbed right into her CPU.
She has to wonder just where it all went wrong. What was the initial catalyst to this broken household. There were many things that came to her CPU.
Thad’s death was the first. Maybe his passing is what started it all. She and Thad would run the colony together, but then he died, and it was all left to her. And Uzi doesn’t want someone else to be as stressed as her doing this.
Another possibility was when she started getting buried deeper and deeper into her work. Too many papers, too little ink. Too many requests, too little answers. Too many drones, too little options. Too many hours of slogging through days, too little time to spend with her own son.
The third thing that came to her CPU was Khan’s progressive distancing from everyone. Most notably her. Of course, it’s a bit of a two-way street here. Uzi’s too busy with work, Khan has school. But on the days that Uzi can spare a few hours, Khan only seeks solitude.
‘Maybe it’s all three of them that led to this.’ Uzi thought, staring down at the photo.
“Or maybe it’s just me…” Her watery voice whispered pitifully.
Many times Uzi has thought that maybe she’s cursed. Many times she’s believed that bad luck follows her wherever she goes. Many times she has thought all the bad things that’s happened to her loved ones were all because she was still around.
“I’m-m sorr-y…” Uzi sobs softly. “I’m so-o sor-ry…” Her shoulders rack uncontrollably.
She doesn’t know what else to do. What she can do. Her family is gone and out of her reach. There’s no way she can get them back, not anymore.
“M-Maybe I w-as mean-nt to be al-lone…” Uzi mumbles to herself, clutching the picture frame tight.
“I highly doubt that, Uzi.” Nephtali says quietly from beyond her office door, a camera sitting and staring at her from a vent leading to the room.
Chapter Text
How long has it been again? About two weeks now? Nephtali hasn’t quite been keeping track. All he knows is that he’s still here, living with Uzi inside the bunker he has been meaning to destroy from the inside out.
But still hasn’t yet.
No, quite the contrary. He’s ended up growing a bit attached. The Worker Drones here, while total idiots, are fun to watch bumble around like drunk bumble bees. It’s honestly about as amusing as hearing their dying screams as he rips them apart from the inside out.
Though, don’t get him wrong. He has still been murdering robots. He does so sparingly, since murder is a big no-no here and they’re investigating the crime scenes. But it’s still enjoyable when he gets the chance to do so.
“Nephtali! The batteries are ready!” Uzi called as she entered the living room.
In any case, he’s got a movie night to get on with.
Uzi sat down next to him and got comfy. She flipped the blanket over themselves and set the bowl of microwaved batteries between them. Nephtali took a handful as the female Worker Drone flicked on the movie.
“I hope you don’t mind horror flicks. I’ve been in the mood to watch one lately. Dunno why, though.” Uzi giggled.
“I will be alright.” Nephtali told her.
Turning to the screen, he saw the screen show an apocalyptic wasteland. A small group of humans were quick to be shown, a more annoyed expression forming on his face plates. Uzi took notice, a sweat drop blinking onto her visor as she averted her gaze.
“S-Sorry. Do you not like horror movies…?” She asked quietly.
“[Questioning hum]?” Nephtali said back, turning to her.
“You look annoyed is all. I thought that maybe you don’t want to watch this after all-” The female worker explained, moving to turn something else on.
“No. It is fine.” Nephtali told her, grabbing her wrist. “I merely do not like humans.” He explained.
Uzi stared at him. She then smiled softly, a sense of relief washing over her at knowing she didn’t mess up.
“Good. Then I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear that many humans die in this.” She then said.
An eager smile spread on Nephtali’s face as he stuffed more batteries in his mouth. Uzi laughed at the change in demeanor. And, well, how adorable he was at eating finger foods.
“If you don’t be careful, you’re going to get crumbs everywhere.” Uzi said, wiping Nephtali’s lips with a napkin.
The male Worker Drone could only stare back at her. He hated to admit it, but part of him was charmed by Uzi’s kindness. And not only for wiping the metal crumbs from his face.
She’s been kind to him ever since the two first met each other. From taking him in without a second thought, to trusting him enough with weapons, to letting him stay in her home, to insisting that he get checked out at the medical ward, to making him meals, and now to this.
Nephtali thought it was too kind of her, to be honest. And perhaps dangerous. Should he have not taken such an interest in her, she’d be long dead by now. And if it were anyone else, she’d no doubt be a goner as well.
“Thank you, [mutter, mutter]” Nephtali whispered.
“Hm?” Uzi hummed as she glanced at him.
“Do not worry about it.” Nephtali dismissed.
He turned back to the screen, watching a human get bitten and mauled to death by a horde of zombies. A big smile etched onto his lips as he leaned in closer, absorbing every gory detail.
“I-I think you’re getting a little too into this, Nephtali.” Uzi commented, a sweat drop on her visor.
“I am not. I am simply appreciating such fine art.” Nephtali countered.
“R-Right…” Uzi nodded.
Her gaze lingered on the male worker. The movie kept playing, some screams and blood splatters sounding out. A few gunshots were heard and the main character yelled something, but Uzi wasn’t listening.
She hasn’t known Nephtali long, but he’s become a nice friend of hers. Although he is certainly odd and has his quirks, he’s a nice guy and fun to be around. Though, she won’t deny and say Nephtali also isn’t quite mysterious.
He came from somewhere unknown, and has never once told her just where he came from. Uzi doubts he’ll spill, even if she were to interrogate him. On top of that, he sometimes has a rather creepy aura. He also has a knack for coming up behind her in complete silence, as though he were trying to scare her.
‘I can’t lie and say it hasn’t happened at least a few times…’ Uzi thought.
Shaking her head, she returned to the television. The movie was already about halfway over. Uzi does sort of regret having gotten so busy that she had to delay watching anything till so late at night. Now she’s super tired…
The female Worker Drone’s voice box reset of its own accord, Uzi yawning. She rubbed at her tired visor, her optical lights going dimmer. But she tried to stay awake! She promised Nephtali that she’d watch a movie with him a few days ago, and she has been trying to get more time to herself lately.
Unfortunately, work and managing the colony always drains her so much. By the end of the day, she just wants to put on some pjs, curl into bed, and go into Sleep Mode. It’s far better than dealing with the same old paper work over and over again.
Uzi fought hard against the sleepiness overtaking her. She ate some more batteries which gave her a little more energy to run off of. But even so, she still fell victim to Sleep Mode’s luring clutches.
Her head lolled as she dozed off. Once she finally entered Sleep Mode, Uzi’s frame leaned over. She ended up leaning against Nephtali, startling him in the process. He whipped his head around towards her, spotting the familiar notification on her visor.
Nephtali swallowed the current handful of batteries in his mouth. His silver optics turned to the TV. He so badly wanted to finish it…!
Surely it wouldn’t hurt to do so, right? There were only a few minutes left!
‘It will be fine.’ Nephtali told himself. ‘Uzi is asleep and does not look to be waking up soon. I can finish this horror film.’ He further told himself.
Things went quiet as Nephtali continued watching the film. At some point, he came to the realization that Uzi was entirely defenseless while out cold. It made the male worker shift his gaze back to the woman’s form.
He had such an ample opportunity. There was quite literally nothing stopping him. He could kill Uzi right here, right now. No one would even notice. And most certainly not if the rest of the colony dies right after her…
…
A pincer extended out from Nephtali’s back. The sharp point hovered just over Uzi’s visor. Nephtali would strike right now, and her death would be instantaneous. There would be no pain, no dying screams.
It’d be quick.
It’d be clean.
It’d be painless.
But she’s been so kind to him. Far kinder than anyone else before. Even kinder than Ridley-
Nephtali’s pincer grabbed the remaining handful of popped batteries. He stuffed them into his mouth and retreated his pincer into his back.
‘It would be ungentleman-like to repay such kindness with hostility.’ Nephtali told himself.
He noticed the credits were rolling just then. A disappointed sigh escaped his vents, mildly annoyed he got so distracted with his thoughts and indecisiveness. But he also knows that was his own fault.
“I suppose I should get you to bed. [Sigh]” Nephtali spoke softly, getting up from the couch.
He carefully picked Uzi up in his arms. He used an extra limb to turn off the TV before walking to the woman’s bedroom. Once there, Uzi was set gently onto her mattress and was tucked in.
Just as Nephtali started to retreat, his gaze lingered on Uzi’s sleeping form. His hand subconsciously rubbed soothingly along her bicep. The room was completely silent aside from the near-mute whirring of his joints.
He still remembers what she said, behind the door of her office. He still remembers how she was apologizing while crying for “forcing” Khan to run away.
Nephtali knows it wasn’t her fault.
The male Worker Drone closed the door to Uzi’s bedroom. His hand lingered on the knob, his optics staring blankly down at it. All of a sudden, an array of his limbs whipped out in a wave of fury.
Nephtali took in a deep vent and calmed himself down. Yet the wrath still simmered, still boiled beneath the lid he put on the pot. He reeled his limbs back in and turned around. Nephtali went right past the couch and for the house’s front door.
It slid closed behind him as he left to get out some of his pent-up anger.
Khan stretched as he exited the broken ship. He’s had to change his sleep schedule to match that of his new roommates. A bit inconvenient, but he has little other choice.
“Good morning, sleepy head!” M greeted cheerily and with a wave, sitting on a nearby car.
“Mornin’...” Khan weakly waved back.
M, despite being a literal killing machine, was quite friendly. Though, Khan has a feeling it’s partly because of his lack of weaponry due to “budget cuts,” whatever that meant. Either way, he was probably the one Murder Drone he’s on the most friendly of terms with.
“Sup, shortstack!” R greeted as she landed on the ground. “You made any progress on the ship yet? Or are ya still stuck?” She teased, her tail waving playfully.
R was the one Khan managed to make friends with here. Then again, he’d already met her prior. Still, she had developed a habit of calling him short stature-related nicknames and using him as an armrest.
“I’m fine, now will you get off?!” Khan asked as he shoved at the taller lady.
“Fine! Yeesh!” R straightened up. “But you still didn’t answer my question, bean-boy.” She told him with a point.
“The ship is coming along just fine! I’ll need some material soon, though. I’m running out of electrical tape and spare screws.” The male Worker Drone finally answered.
“Guess we’ll have to go searching, then.” R said as she crossed her arms. “Maybe you should make a list, that way, when I go out hunting again, you can tag along with! We can go looking together, since you’re defenseless and weak and all!” The female disassembler smiled.
“Wow, you’re so nice R…” Khan sarcastically replied, his expression flat but mildly offended.
“No problem, buddy!” R answered and slapped his back hard.
Khan stumbled forward just as Y passed by them. She rolled her optics and scoffed, sitting next to her husband. She offered a worker leg to him, which he took graciously.
“I’m not sure why you’re so intent on repairing the ship.” Y spoke up, catching Khan and R’s attention.
“What’re you even going to do with it if you get it up and running again?” M inquired, looking up from his meal.
“Use it to get to Earth and kill all humans! Duh!” Khan replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Y barked a laugh at his stupidity. M’s eye lights went void at the reply. His wife’s face was quick to turn more serious and dark, unsettling Khan as a sweat drop blinked onto his visor.
“I hate to break it to you, but that’s literal suicide.” She told him. “What makes you think you’ll last even a second on Earth? The humans will kill you before you even know it.” Her tail waved agitatedly.
“Yeah, like you would know…” Khan grumbled.
“I do know, thank you!” Y retorted with furrowed brows. “Don’t forget, this squad had been working under humans this entire time! It isn't until recently that we’ve cut contact with them.” She told him.
“...Right…” Khan nodded.
“I’ll say this once, and while I doubt you’ll actually listen, I’ll say it for my own peace of mind at least,” Y started again, crossing her legs. “Repairing the ship is a futile and idiotic effort. Just give up. Getting anywhere near the humans is a pipedream in and of itself.” She warned sternly.
“I-I have to agree.” M spoke up timidly. “It’s just not a good idea, not at all. The humans’ll probably turn you into a glorified toaster oven once you set foot on the planet.” An anxious sweat drop blinked onto his visor.
Khan stared at them, feeling that sweat drop scroll down his visor.
“You’re being a real daisy today, aren’t you Y?” R commented with an unimpressed expression.
“I’m only trying to talk some sense into the kid.” Y waved off. “I mean, I don’t see you doing so, despite how he’s your new best friend.” She spat.
“Well, I wouldn’t say we’re best friends-” R argued, fiddling with her thumbs and averting her gaze. She didn’t even realize her vial began to wag.
“Hmph. Whatever you wish to call him. He’s still a tiny idiot either way.” Y spoke as she crossed her arms.
Y was done with the conversation after that. She hopped off the car and sauntered away, M quickly drinking the rest of his fill before following his wife. Khan and R watched the two as they flew off somewhere.
“Bleh. She’s always so uppity. I wish she’d chill out a little and learn to relax.” R scoffed and crossed her arms and her tail swished.
“Whatever. Let’s just go get those supplies for the ship.” Khan said, walking off already. “Maybe we can blow something up, too.” He smirked at the female disassembler.
“Now that’s something I can get behind!” R laughed as she followed behind him.
Chapter Text
A loud explosion rang through the air. Some cheering followed suit, the sky carrying the sounds in an echo. Another stray worker limb was blown to bits with another missile. Khan and R cheered in excitement.
“Man, this is awesome!” Khan exclaimed giddily. “How do you guys even do this?!” He turned to his friend.
“Do what? Be this awesome?” R asked back, some virtual sunglasses blinking onto her visor.
“No, hahaha! I mean how do you have so much ammo!” He laughed back.
“Oh! Well that’s easy! We just use nanites to create our ammunition!” R answered with a wave of her hand. “Though, doing so means we need to eat metal itself to have enough nanites to make the ammo, or to heal ourselves.” She continued.
“That’s so cool!!” Khan hopped. “Man, it must be great being a Disassembly Drone!” He then said.
“What do you mean?” R asked back, her tail drooping.
“Well, you guys can do whatever you want out here! No drone or dumb mom to boss you around!” Khan began, throwing his arms out. “You don’t have to stay confined in a giant, metal coffin! And you can explore wherever you want!” Khan began to pace.
“Not only that, but you’re the top predators around here! No one to bully you or pull stupid pranks!” He stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“Well, I do still have a squad leader. So it’s not like I’m totally free of rules or regulations out here.” R pointed out as she followed him.
“Do you always listen to what she has to say?” Khan asked back with a quirked brow.
“Uh- N-No…” R admitted quietly.
“Yeah. Exactly.” Khan commented. “Either way, you can do virtually anything and whatever you want out here! I’d kill to have that much freedom!” He finished his rant.
“It’s really not as great out here as you think it is.” R told him, scratching the back of her head. “For as “lawless” and “wild” as it is out here, it’s also kinda lonely.”
“How so?” Khan asked, his expression harder than before.
“Well, for one, our job is to kill you guys. The only company we Disassembly Drones have out here is ourselves.” R told him.
“I’d rather take a handful of drones than an entire bunker.” Khan grumbled. “At least then there won’t be so many assholes to hate you.”
“My squad still has the occasional squabble, you know.” R chimed back in. “Anyway, back to what I was saying.”
“The company still watches over us, in a way. Y will give them check-ins and tell them how we’re doing. If we do good, we get prizes like branded pens!” She said eagerly at the end.
“Just a branded pen?” Khan asked.
“Well- We get more if we do even better than last time.” R shrugged. “But still, our squads are still monitored. Which means we still have our own rules to follow, like not questioning the company or not rebelling.” She went on as her tail waved.
“Like how I convinced your entire squad to do?” Khan questioned smugly.
“Yes, like how you convinced us to do.” R huffed a laugh back. “But still. We’re not as “totally and utterly free” as you like to believe us.” She said.
“Even so, you guys have a hell of a lot more freedom than I ever did.” Khan huffed irritably. “My dumb mom -who’s barely even around anyway!- wants us all trapped inside the bunker! Instead of trying to go out and kill you guys!” He exclaimed.
“Well- I guess we’re not anymore, but still!” He added.
“Nah, I get it.” R waved him off. “But… Don’t you think you’re overreacting a little?” She asked as her tail waved.
“As if!” Khan scoffed. “My mother never cared! I bet she still doesn’t! All she ever worried about was filling out her paperwork and telling others what to do and making sure nobody went outside! It’s suffocating!” He yelled, an anger tick blinking onto his visor.
R stared worriedly and uncomfortably at him. A sweat drop popped up onto her display, though she didn’t say anything.
“She says things like “Nobody’s ever bullied you!” and “You’re not hated!” when she hasn’t fricking seen it!” Khan shouted as he began to stomp. “I’d like her to experience what I have for once! See how she likes being treated that way and told those things!” He went on.
“Sounds rough…” Was all R could say.
“Tell me about it!” Khan puffed.
Things then went silent between them. Khan was too angry to speak, though there was a slight feeling of relief of getting all that off his chest. R was a bit uncomfortable to be talking so harshly about a situation she doesn’t even understand to begin with.
She doesn’t know what Khan’s home life is like, or what the bunker’s inhabitants are like. She knows she has no room to speak, much less give an opinion of the little information she has now.
Even so, R feels that maybe there’s something missing here. When Khan and his mom had interacted after defeating Y, Khan’s mother looked genuinely concerned. Khan just brushed her off like she was dirt on his jacket. It was honestly quite mean…
“Hey! You two are finally back!” M’s cheery voice startled R out of her thoughts. “How was blowing things up?” He asked as his tail waved.
“It was fun.” Khan replied curtly, moving right past him and to the ship.
“It doesn’t sound like it…” M muttered as he watched.
“Don’t worry about him.” R waved off. “Where’s Y?”
“She went out to hunt! Said she would return in a little while!” Y’s husband replied. “Do you know what has the Worker Drone in such a mood, though?” He asked back.
“We ended up talking about his mom and bunker. Apparently it’s a bit of a sore spot for him.” R answered, her tail low to the floor.
“I-I see.” M replied. “I hope he feels better, I guess…” His voice trailed off.
“Yeah.” Was all R could say, staring at the ship.
Nephtali walked around the bunker, looking for something to do. Uzi had left before he woke up again, a note being left for him saying she was going to be busy all day. He had free reign to explore again and find something to do to fill his time.
It led the male Worker Drone to decide on figuring out more about her son. He’s admittedly been curious for a while. Ever since that whole confrontation in the safe room, actually. Nephtali just had to bide his time before he could ask around about it.
But now that he’s been here for a while and the dumb robots here trust him, he can ask around as much as he’d like!
“Khan? Ms. Doorman’s son? Well, he’s always been a bit of a stick in the mud.” A teen named Ron answered truthfully.
“We’d try to invite him to places, but he said he’d rather watch anime or work on his projects.” His friend Richard said, bouncing his soccer ball on his knee.
“Did you ever bully him? [Head cock]” Nephtali asked with a cocking head.
“What?! No! Never, man!” Ron said back, shocked at the implication. “Sometimes we’d pull a prank on him to try and get him to loosen up a little and have fun, but he always took it waaaayyyy too seriously!” He added.
“Khan would always get his boxers in a twist about it! We eventually just kinda stopped because he kept being a jerk about it.” Richard chimed in.
“But we still play pranks on everyone else! We’ll play one on you even-” Ron went to say.
“You will do no such thing.” Nephtali said coldly, his stare just as so.
“R-Right. I’m sorry.” Ron shrunk back in fear.
“We didn’t spend too much time around Khan. He liked being alone way more.” Richard said, trying to ease the mood again. “You can ask Tessa though! She talked to him from time-to-time!” He suggested.
“Thank you for the information.” Nephtali nodded and moved away.
“Cya later, man!” Ron waved with his friend.
“What about Khan?” Tessa asked, pausing from the conversation with her friends.
“What is he like? How does he treat others? Was he always this rude?” Nephtali fired question after question.
Tessa blinked back at him in hollow. She reset her voice box and filled her eye rings again, thinking over her answers.
“Well, for the first question, Khan certainly isn’t a fan of company. Only certain drones, I think.” Tessa answered. “I’ll talk to him every now and then, though! And he’s very kind once you get to know him!” She smiled.
Nephtali simply blinked back, his expression flat. Tessa felt a sweat drop blink onto her display at it.
“Fo-or as much as a stand-offish guy he can be, Khan’s very friendly! I think he just has trouble making friends. Or- Maybe he’s only willing to make friends with few drones.” Tessa rubbed her neck.
“How about the way he treats others? Such as his mother?” Nephtali inquired.
“UUUhhmm… Yeesh, that’s a hard one…” Tessa mumbled. “I don’t feel super comfortable talking about another family’s relations, so can I maybe just not answ-” Tessa tried to request.
“No. Answer the question.” Nephtali said sternly.
“Ok.” Tessa nodded quickly. “W-Well, Khan and Ms. Doorman don’t look to be on the best of terms right now. Though, I hope they can reconcile soon. I think Ms. Doorman is burying herself in her work again.” The female Worker Drone said.
“She does that often?” Nephtali inquired.
“Not intentionally!” Tessa waved her hands about. “She’s naturally a very busy woman. Always having to manage the colony all on her own, having to decide on just about every little thing, making sure the bunker gets maintenance done and doesn’t fall apart at the seams, not to mention having to watch over all its members!” She counted on her fingers.
“It’s a lot for one drone to handle. I think it’s also what caused that rift between her and Khan. Too much work, not enough time. Something like that.” Tessa told the older robot.
“Is that so… [Thoughtful trail]” Nephtali mumbled.
“Honestly, I’ve been worried about Khan myself.” Tessa spoke up again, catching the other drone’s attention. “He’s out in the city all by himself -Unless you count the Murder Drones. But they’re still our predators, so who knows what’s going on out there.” She said, wringing her hands in worry.
“Khan also left his shield behind when he grounded himself. I’ve been thinking about going out there to give it back to him, and hopefully convincing him to finally return.” Tessa smiled hopefully.
Nephtali took a few seconds to take in the information.
“You can try.” He said simply.
“Uh- Th-Thanks, I think…” Tessa replied unsurely.
“I will leave now. Thank you for answering my questions. [Wave]” Nephtali bade goodbye.
“S-Sure…” Tessa nodded and waved back.
‘He’s so odd…’ She couldn’t help but think. ‘And a little creepy.’
‘Uzi is quite busy much of the time,’ Nephtali thought, making his way to the said woman’s home. ‘Perhaps I should try to help her? I can manage watching over the colony members.’ He further thought.
Paperwork isn’t a strong suit of his. Nephtali also doubts he’d be good at keeping everyone inside the bunker. Actually- He probably could. He just would need to lie sometimes and say someone “slipped out.”
Nephtali shook his head and turned it back up. He came upon the Doorman’s front door, punching in the code and letting himself inside. It was the same as when he left this morning. A little messy and lived-in, a little cold and empty.
‘Is the heating on?’ Nephtali wondered, feeling a physical chill.
He turned to the thermostat and turned on the heating. Maybe it’ll help the place feel more homely. Uzi might appreciate it as well-
‘Stop.’ Nephtali mentally told himself. ‘She is unimportant. There is no reason why I should be thinking about her this much.’ He huffed as his optics narrowed.
Yet he turned to the kitchen and took out a pot and some cans of oil. He turned on the stove and poured the oil into the pot to boil. Nephtali also took out some RAM cards and PSUs that have been marinating in radiator fluid.
‘If anything, you should have gotten information on the bunker itself.’ Nephtali told himself, taking a few minutes to set the PSUs on a pan. ‘Or even information on the Worker Rebellion Force.’ He turned the oven on.
“As fun as it would be to mess with Khan’s CPU, it would be more helpful to learn about the bunker and its inhabitants.” Nephtali huffed to himself, moving towards the laundry room. “I was foolish for making such a mistake. I cannot let it happen again.” He then said, putting the dry clothes into a basket.
Nephtali then took them to the living room and started folding them. A tiny anger tick was present on his visor, going unnoticed as he folded Uzi’s clothes for her. It would be entirely forgotten as the oven made a beep.
“Maybe tomorrow I should learn this bunker’s ventilation system layout. It would be useful to know where I am going when I am trying to eradicate all the pathetic drones here.” He spoke to himself once more, picking up the pan with the PSUs on it. “I should kill everyone before I get too attached and start helping them-!” His tone turned angrier.
Nephtali then paused. He turned down to the pan in his hands. There was a long stretch of pure silence as he stared.
He moved to fiercely kick the oven closed again, but his foot stopped just before meeting the oven’s door. His grip on the pan tightened as he glared at the hot oven. Nephtali knew that at the force he had intended to kick it, he would’ve easily broken the oven.
Uzi would be mad about that, no doubt. Perhaps even disappointed. Not only that, but she’s been nothing but kind to him all this time. Uzi has been helping him as much as she could on top of managing the entire bunker, and all on her lonesome at that.
‘It would be ungentleman-like to repay such kindness with hostility.’ The past thought crossed the male drone’s CPU.
“I am hungry.” Nephtali told himself, putting the pan into the oven.
He closed the door and set the timer. Nephtali then added some brass nuggets and copper shavings into the pot of oil. He quickly returned to the living room to resume folding the laundry.
“I am only doing this to keep my cover. [Mutter, mutter]” He huffed. “And because I am hungry, and Uzi has nice food.” He added.
Nephtali tried to convince himself that those were the only reasons he was helping around the house. Not because he was taught to repay kindness with kindness. Not because he enjoyed having some nice company for once. Not because he would feel guilty killing the kind lady who’s so graciously taken him in.
Uzi can be useful to him!
Yes! Very useful!
Very, very useful.
…
“Ah, Nephtali! Did you go outside at all today?” Uzi laughed, having just returned home.
“I did.” Nephtali nodded back. “And it is nice to see you again.” He added with a small smile.
Yeah. Uzi is delightful.
Chapter 10
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Lately, Nephtali has been acting a little odd- Well, odder than usual. Uzi’s noticed he’s been doing a lot of the house chores, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. She’s honestly getting a little worried.
“Ms. Doorman! Are you alright?” Lizzy asked.
Uzi startled and whipped around, finding the blonde-haired detective staring quizzically at her. Taking a deep vent to calm herself, Uzi turned around fully and pulled herself together. She’s got a job to do. She can’t get distracted.
“Yes, I’m fine. Sorry about that.” Uzi smiled back. “Is there something you need?” She inquired.
“Nothing huge, but I do need a favor.” Lizzy told her with a wave of her hand. “You know those murders that’ve been happening recently? Well, the colony’s starting to get up in arms about it, and I’m having a hard time finding the perpetrator.” She explained.
“I was wondering if you could help out a little? Or get some of the WRF members to help?” Lizzy asked.
“Uhm- H-How so?” Uzi questioned with a sweat drop.
“Well, since the colony’s getting worried, maybe try calming them down? You’re the leader here, I don’t know!” Lizzy rolled her optics.
“Right. I’ll think of something.” Uzi nodded, feeling curving lines of fatigue sprout from her eye lights.
Lizzy sighed and rubbed her visor, taking off her sunglasses.
“Sorry. This whole fiasco is stressing me out. Leads are minimal and whoever is doing this knows what they’re doing.” The blonde woman apologized. “But I do need your help. Even calming down the colony would help.” She said, turning back to Uzi.
“No, I get it. I’m worried as well.” Uzi shook her head. “Thank you for all the hard work, Lizzy. Maybe you should take a vacation after this.” She joked.
“I know you’re joking, but it’s tempting as hell.” Lizzy smiled. “But thanks. I could really use the help this time around.” She said just before turning.
Uzi waved her off, going down the other way. Walking to her office, Uzi mulled on what she could do to give Lizzy a helping hand. Uzi doesn’t quite know how well an “inspirational speech” will work amongst a colony panicking over murders.
‘It’s a little odd, though,’ Uzi began to think, opening her office door. ‘The murders only started after the Murder Drones broke in, yet I saw them all leave myself.’ She sat at her desk, rummaging through papers.
“And no cameras have caught them, not to mention they all keep getting broken by the murderer…” Uzi muttered, approving or disapproving suggestions. “I doubt it’s them. I also doubt Khan would let them come back so easily to try and pluck us off.”
A few minutes of silence, only scratching pens, thumping stamps, and the occasional click of the mouse or tapping of a keyboard filling it. Uzi’s CPU wandered to the current problem plaguing the colony, no matter how much she tried to focus.
‘These murders have also been happening ever since I brought Nephtali here.’ Uzi realized. ‘Though, none of the victims have been anyone he knows. And they all seem random, no correlation to each other besides being in the same colony.’ Her pen’s butt was tapped against the packet.
Uzi’s gaze narrowed on her papers, not taking in the words printed on them anymore.
‘Nephtali also wouldn’t have a reason to go killing anyone. Besides, he’s been hanging around at my home this entire time. He’s had plenty of chances to kill me-’
A knock at her door startled Uzi from her thoughts. She reset her voice box and told the unknown guest to come in. To her surprise, it was Nephtali.
“N-Nephtali, what are you doing here?” Uzi asked, taken aback from his sudden appearance.
“I wanted to check up on you.” Nephtali answered simply, walking over to her. “Is this your work? [Head cock]” He asked as his head leaned to the side.
“It is. Was there any reason in particular you came by?” The female drone asked.
“I wanted to see if I could help you.” Nephtali answered, finally turning back to her.
“P-Pardon?” Uzi asked, her eye lights hollow at the statement.
“I hear you are very busy much of the time. I would like to assist.” The male robot explained.
Uzi opened her mouth to say something, but her voice box failed her. She shook her head to snap herself out of it. Uzi couldn’t lift her gaze from the ground as she spoke again.
“Thank you, but I’m alright. I’ve done a lot on my own, and I don’t want to burden you.” Uzi refused, spinning her chair back towards her desk. “Why don’t you go and make some friends with the colony members?” She then suggested, picking up her pen again.
“I am not interested in them.” Nephtali argued.
“Well, maybe you aren’t interested because you haven’t talked to them?” Uzi countered with a pointed look.
“I have tried. I still am not interested.” The other Worker Drone told her.
Uzi huffed, her shoulders deflating as she started to get fed up. She really doesn’t need the help, nor does she want to trouble anyone with her work. Why won’t Nephtali get that through his head?
“You already do more than enough at home. You don’t need to trouble yourself with affairs that aren’t even yours to begin with.” Uzi returned, her tone sterner than before.
“Aren’t they my affairs now that I am a member of this colony?” Nephtali questioned.
Uzi had to hold back the growl in her voice box. It threatened to bubble up and burst the longer Nephtali stuck around.
“Nephtali, if you really want to help me that badly, then why don’t you just leave me be? You are distracting me from my work as it is.” Uzi snipped with a huff, clutching her pen tightly.
The said male robot was silent, watching as the kind lady returned to scribbling on papers. Despite her generosity, she can be quite stubborn when she wants to be.
“You are stubborn.” Nephtali even voiced as such.
“Excuse me?” Uzi hissed, turning her glare towards the other drone.
But Nephtali slammed a hand down on her desk. Uzi startled and dropped her pen as her optical lights went void. The man leaned in close, his other hand pressing down on the other side of the desk to trap Uzi.
As Nephtali’s face came close to hers, Uzi felt some blush lines blink onto her visor. His chin hovered just above her shoulder when he stopped, staring down at the current paper Uzi was going through.
Said woman could feel her core pound in her chest while a sweat drop blinked onto her visor. As soon as her optics flicked over to Nephtali, their gazes met. Uzi was startled once again, not expecting Nephtali to be staring at her.
“If you are going to be stubborn, then so will I.” Nephtali claimed.
“H-Huh-?” Uzi hummed in confusion.
The next thing she knew, Nephtali was picking her up. Uzi shrieked, flailing in the man’s grasp. He didn’t let go for even a second, exiting Uzi’s office and heading down the halls. The said woman shouted at him to put her down, but Nephtali didn’t listen.
Any other drones roaming the halls avoided them, yet couldn’t help the voiding of their optical lights. They wanted to help their colony leader, but weren’t quite sure how. Hell, they didn’t even know what was going on!
“NEPHTALI! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT! I HAVE WORK I NEED TO DO!” Uzi yelled at the top of her voice box, trying to kick the other drone.
“You. Do Uzi’s work for her.” Nephtali ordered a random WRF member.
He startled but nodded, running off towards Uzi’s office. She shrieked again, grappling against Nephtali’s stupidly strong grip.
“NEPHTALI, I SWEAR I WILL KICK YOU RIGHT BACK OUTSIDE-!!” Uzi hollered.
“You will do no such thing.” Nephtali said with a roll of his optics. “You like me too much to do that.” He added.
Uzi’s visor went even flusher.
“I DO NOT!” She denied.
“You really are stubborn.” Nephtali commented.
Uzi made a shout in frustration. She tried some more to finagle herself out of the male drone’s arms, but still failed. After many minutes of trying and failing to free herself, Uzi fell limp in fatigue.
By the time that happened, Nephtali made it back to the woman’s home. He carried her inside, setting her on the couch. Uzi kept her glaring gaze away from him, not bothering to give him the time of day anymore.
Uzi was supposed to have a meeting today with some WRF members! And she was supposed to help Lizzy with the recent murders! And probably put together an “inspirational speech” on not worrying about the said murders.
She didn’t even realize that Nephtali had left to get her a cup of warm oil. Uzi turned her head away at it, refusing the drink. Nephtali noted out a sigh and sat it on the coffee table.
“Drink it yourself. I’m going to change.” Uzi spoke up as she stood.
Nephtali then watched her stomp off to her bedroom, arms folded and everything. As the house fell into usual silence once more, Nephtali stared down at the fresh cup of oil.
‘She is… Very obstinate.’ Nephtali thought.
He then fixed his loose tie and followed after the woman. He quietly opened her bedroom door, finding Uzi sitting on her bed facing the opposite wall. He couldn’t tell if she was simply staring at the wall or down at something else. All he could tell was that she had taken off her coat, showing off her navy purple blouse.
Nephtali walked inside and sat down next to her. Neither drone said a thing for a long while. The dim room was completely silent, a tense aura in the air.
“I hear you do not let others help you out at all.” Nephtali spoke up first, his voice quiet in the room. “I also heard that… You have not done so since your husband died.” He spoke, averting his silver gaze.
“...” Uzi was silent.
“I want to help you, Uzi. I want to repay your kindness.” Nephtali spoke again. “I want to do more than just chores. I want to help relieve some of the stress from your shoulders-”
“Are you the one behind the murders?” Uzi asked suddenly.
“...” It was Nephtali’s turn to become mute.
Uzi finally turned her head, staring at the other drone. Nephtali didn’t meet her gaze, his optics stuck on the metal floor under them. His silence was all the evidence she needed.
“You aren’t a normal drone, are you?” Uzi then asked.
“...No...” Nephtali answered smally. “But, how did you find out?” He had to ask, if only to satiate his deadly curiosity.
“It was kind of obvious.” Uzi giggled, her hands fiddling in her lap. “I could tell from the first day I met you that there was something off about you. Hell, when I first found you out there in the frost, I had a hard time believing you took down a Sentry all on your own.” She huffed a laugh.
Nephtali supposes she has a point-
“And I would see your shadow sometimes.” Uzi spoke up again. “Like when we returned here after the Murder Drones broke in. I was unlocking the front door, but I spotted the shadow of your… Tendril things on the wall.” She explained.
Nephtali finally turned to stare at her, his eye lights hollow and emboldened.
“And the cameras were too high for any normal drone to reach. Not without a ladder, at least. But no one was ever caught trying to mess with them.” Uzi went on, a faint smile on her lips. “Each broken camera was also either cut off or pierced into. And having seen the shadows of your tendril-limb-thingies, I know a few of them could do just that.” She smiled at the man next to her.
Nephtali only stared ring-eyed at her, unsure what to say. He was officially found out, and knowing that this woman definitely has the weaponry to at least deal painful damage to him, Nephtali knew he couldn’t let her stick around.
“It seems I will have to cut this playdate short.” Nephtali spoke.
His extra biomechanical limbs then sprouted from his back in an instant. They shot for Uzi, pincers, claws, spiked tendrils, all of them. And for whatever reason, Nephtali couldn’t help the pang of guilt at having to kill this woman.
This kind, generous, thoughtful, and lonely woman-
“Thank you for trying to help me, Nephtali.” Uzi whispered.
Nephtali didn’t even see her move. He didn’t realize she’d leaned in and embraced him. His limbs were stuck in the air, even trembling. Nephtali didn’t even know how to react to this.
“You’re a very kind man. And in a way, you remind me of my husband.” Uzi said, stirring Nephtali from his stupor. “I’m honestly glad that I found you. I haven’t had a friend in…” She trailed off, her voice becoming breathy.
“I am a friend…?” Nephtali let the question slip.
“Of course!” Uzi exclaimed, straightening up to hold him by his shoulders. “You have been living with me for a little while, haven’t you? And you’ve been helping me and watching movies, why wouldn’t I consider you a friend?” She asked back, her brows creased.
Nephtali could only stare again. Stare at the tiny tears pricking at Uzi’s eye lights. Stare at her worried expression. Stare at her kind face.
“I have never had a friend before.” Nephtali admitted, turning his optics to the floor.
“Well, now you do.” Uzi smiled, blinking the tears away.
She then slowly brought Nephtali’s other limbs onto her lap, letting them rest. Nephtali was still stunned, still too shocked to move. How could he? How could he react when he’s suddenly had something he never did before?
Not even M, R, or Y were his friends back in the manor. Not even the one person who saved them from that dump. If anything, Nephtali used them for his own gain, still is now! And that was his intention with Uzi. To just use her. Yet here he is, being her friend instead.
As the said woman brought down the last caution-striped pincer, Nephtali cupped her cheek with a hand. Uzi met his gaze, the two staring at each other. It didn’t take long for Uzi’s expression to soften, to look so genuinely caring.
She cupped both of his cheeks in return, even smoothing her thumbs along them. Nephtali still didn’t know what the hell he was doing. It felt as though he was on autopilot right now.
“If you want to stay here, you need to stop killing drones. Can you promise me that?” Uzi asked, her voice a mere whisper.
Nephtali nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, to promise Uzi. But instead, he didn’t say a thing.
Because instead, Nephtali ended up kissing Uzi.
Notes:
Khan's gonna be in for one hell of a surprise when he finds out what's been going on behind closed bunker doors, lmfao.
Chapter Text
It’s been a long time since Uzi’s had someone sleep in the same bed as her. It’s almost foreign, perhaps weird in a sense. But she doesn’t think it’s bad. Just something she’ll need to get adjusted to again.
“Hey. Nephtali. I need to get up now.” Uzi whispered, nudging the said man.
“[Grumble, grumble] Not yet…” He replied, burying his head further into her torso.
“Come on. I have work. And I need to apologize to everyone after you suddenly dragged me back home yesterday.” Uzi said.
Again, Nephtali refused. Uzi sighed and stared down at him again. The covers obscured some of the centipedal, fleshy body he’d revealed to her last night. It was a sight to behold, to put it less colorfully.
‘I knew he was weird, but I didn’t think he was that weird.’ Uzi thought, staring at the main portion of his body clinging to the ceiling.
“If we both get up now, I can make us some breakfast.” Uzi tried, prying his many limbs from around her back.
“And what would we have?” The biomechanical robot asked.
“We’d have to see what we have.” Uzi returned.
Nephtali made a note about another grumble. He eventually let her loose from his many grasps, allowing Uzi to finally sit up and stretch. The covers fell off her frame, her oversized Dead Batteries shirt creased all over.
As Uzi stretched her arms above her head, she flinched and muttered out an “ow!” Nephtali perked up at it, watching the woman shift her shirt’s collar away to inspect her shoulder.
“You should ease up on the clawing and pinching next time.” She said with a pointed look sent Nephtali’s way.
“My apologies. I have never done something like that before.” He replied and slithered closer. “Do you want me to heal it?” He asked, a clawed hand coming down as the Solver’s icon flickered over his palm.
“No, it’s fine.” Uzi waved off and got up.
“Are you sure? If it causes you pain, I might as well heal it.” Nephtali argued, watching the woman get dressed.
“I told you I’m fine.” Uzi smiled back, putting on a blouse. “Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve been marked up like that. Let me indulge in it a little longer.” She laughed as she exited the room.
Nephtali stared at her, admittedly taken aback by that. But he shook his head and crawled after her. The two went into the kitchen, deciding on what to make for breakfast.
“Why don’t you turn back to your… Worker form? While I make breakfast?” Uzi suggested, giving him a once-over.
Nephtali nodded. The room’s lights then suddenly started to flicker. Uzi startled and looked around frantically. Her optics would land back on Nephtali as his Worker Drone form stood where his fleshy form once did.
“Ah… That was fast…” Uzi commented, some sweat drops on her visor.
“My apologies for scaring you. I will warn you next time.” Nephtali said as he walked closer.
He then hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. Uzi blinked at him before giving a small smile and petting his head. The male drone leaned into her touch, watching the woman flip the sizzling floppy discs.
“Are you getting clingy now?” Uzi teased.
“A little.” Nephtali replied truthfully, using the Solver to turn up the heat.
“Don’t turn it too high. The floppies will burn.” Uzi scolded and turned the heat back down.
“But I am hungry.” Nephtali argued.
“I am too, but I don’t want our food to burn.” Uzi countered.
“[Whine]” Nephtali pouted out.
Uzi sighed, rolled her optics, and shook her head. She then slapped Nephtali’s hand away when he tried turning the stove up again.
Tessa ventured into the creepy Corpse Spire, looking around at all the dead bodies weaved and stacked on top of each other. It sent chills down her spinal ridge at seeing the bright red warnings and the lifeless reaching of their hands, a reminder of their final fearful moments.
But she managed to ignore it enough when she spotted Khan. Another spike of fear would arise when she saw he was talking to a Murder Drone. Shaking her head, Tessa stepped forward and caught his attention.
“Hey, Khan! Long time no see!” She greeted, trying to act like nothing was amiss.
“H-Hey, Tessa! How’s it hanging, haha…” Khan laughed nervously back, his visor going minutely flush.
“It’s been good! How about you?” She replied.
“It’s different than inside the bunker, but at least I don’t have my stupid mom suffocating me by trapping me in there.” He rolled his optics and crossed his arms.
“I don’t think she’s suffocating about it.” Tessa rubbed the back of her neck. “Overprotective, maybe. But she also is trying to look out for the entire bunker. It’s understandable why she’d be strict about it.” She argued.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.” Khan scoffed. “Anyways, is there a reason you’re out here?” He then inquired, leaning back on the car’s hood.
“Oh! I came to return your shield!” Tessa said, finally presenting the item. “You left it at the bunker when you grounded yourself.”
“Ugh! Is that what my mom’s been calling it?!” Khan groaned with a roll of his head.
“I don’t blame her.” R snickered behind her fist.
Khan glared and growled at her but said nothing more.
“Thanks, by the way. I totally forgot about it in my rush to get out of there.” Khan turned back to his crush, taking his shield.
“That thing is like, super badass by the way! You’re a really good engineer and craftsman!” Tessa complimented, her eye lights wide and sparkly.
“I-I’m not-... Not that great…” Khan muttered back bashfully, averting his gaze.
“You literally killed me with that thing. I think you can take this compliment at least, dude.” R told him flatly.
“Alright, alright! Thank you, Tessa. That means a lot to me.” Khan replied to the other Worker Drone.
“Of course!” She smiled back. “Also, I do have a question for you, if that’s alright?” She then asked.
“Shoot.” Khan nodded.
“Well, I was wondering when you’d be coming back to the bunker? Your mom is worried and so is everyone else.” Tessa said, looking nervous again.
“I’m not going back! I don’t need to be trapped in a metal coffin again!” Khan retorted angrily.
“Well- Wi-ith the Murder Drones on our side now, I don’t think Ms. Doorman would be so strict on the going-outside rule!” Tessa argued with an attempted grin.
“I doubt it. I’m sure my mom is still wary about the Murder Drones. They still have to hunt, after all.” Khan countered.
“You act like we can’t come to some sort of compromise.” R commented with a pointed look.
“You and Budget Cuts might, but what about Y?” Khan inquired.
“Your mom scared the shit out of my boss. I think she’d come to an understanding.” R retorted with a wave of her tail. “Speaking of- HEY, M! WHERE’S Y?!” She then yelled at the ship.
“She went out somewhere!” He replied from inside.
“Do you know when she’ll be back?!” R asked.
“No! But it’s probably soon!” M returned.
“Well, maybe we should wait for Y to return, then we can talk about making some sort of deal so we don’t keep killing you guys.” R turned back to the Worker Drones.
“Uh- S-Sure.” Tessa nodded.
“We can try, but I have a feeling Y will be picky about the conditions.” Khan sighed.
“She’s always picky about conditions…” R muttered, more so to herself.
Y zipped through the sky, flapping her wings as hard as she could. The wind brushed past her, whipping her short hair about and nearly making her coat fly right off her shoulders. She landed loudly onto the side of a building, taking a breather.
Looking around, Y scanned the area. There were no footprints indicating any workers were out and about. There were also no markers to tell her that her boss was nearby. With an aggravated huffed, Y flapped her wings once more.
She flew up just under the clouds and stopped. She looked around more, zooming in on the ground below her. There was still no sign of him…
Y then let out an irritated scream. She grasped her tresses in stress, hovering there for a few moments. Letting her hair go and her hands fall, Y stared at the night sky. It was peaceful, a hell of a lot more than her CPU was.
“For weeks now, I haven’t gotten a single word from him…” Y muttered tiredly. “What the hell could he possibly be doing to become radio silent like this?”
Hovering in the sky for a few minutes longer, Y took some deep vents. Letting them out rhythmically, she slowed her wings to descend. Upon landing, she took one last glance around.
She didn’t know what she was looking for at this point. A random corpse corrupted with flesh, a cardboard sign giving her directions, her boss himself, Y has no damn idea. All she knows is that if he won’t contact her anytime soon, she’s going to assume he’s dead.
With another puff, Y turned on her heel and flapped away. Her boss’s whereabouts aren’t her problem, not anymore. If he wants to play hide-and-seek or hooky or whatever, then she isn’t chasing him!
“Stupid Worker Drone… Playing stupid pranks all the damn time…” Y grumbled as she returned home.
The silence that settled in the Corpse Spire was awkward and a tad bit tense. R glanced at both Khan and Tessa. They’d run out of things to talk about, and R didn’t know Tessa enough to strike up a conversation with her.
Looking to the ship, M was still doing… Whatever it was he’d been doing before. Maybe putting another puzzle together, who knows. All R knows is that she’s getting sick and tired of this damn quietude-!
“How’s mom?” Khan’s small voice finally broke the silence.
Tessa perked up from her sightseeing, turning back to Khan. It seems even she didn’t expect the question, having to take a moment to process it.
“Uhm, she was really torn up about you when you first left.” She answered. “But I think she’s been doing better. She’s got a new roommate, some guy named Nephtali.” Tessa added with a thoughtful look.
“Sorry- What?” Khan turned, his gaze now hard.
“Yeah! Apparently she found him out in the wastes when looking for you one night! They’ve been hanging out ever since!” Tessa said back jovially, missing Khan’s growing anger. “I heard that Nephtali even picked your mom right up, slung her over his shoulder, and stomped home with her!” She laughed at the mental image.
R held back her own laughter at it. But she soon schooled her expression when she saw how livid Khan looked. One of his optics even twitched, about two words away from exploding. She took a few steps back to save herself from friendly fire.
“I think my grounding’s been long enough. Time to go back home!” Khan suddenly hopped off the car.
He picked up his shield and began marching home, ignoring Tessa calling after him. The said girl turned to the taller Disassembly Drone, silently asking what his problem was. R could only avert her gaze and act like she was innocent.
“I-I’m gonna… Go make sure he doesn’t do something stupid.” R then spoke with a double point, soon trotting after the male worker. “M! Make sure the spire doesn’t explode or something!” She then called loudly.
“I’ll try, but I can’t make promises!” He returned.
Tessa glanced at the ship as she followed the two other drones. Khan’s sudden desire to return to the bunker made her happy, but the fact he was loudly stomping and cursing was worrying.
And just as the group left the Corpse Spire, Y had finally returned. She vented forcefully and thumped over to the ship. M was there to greet her amiably as always, putting together yet another puzzle.
“Hey, honey! How was-!” He went to ask.
Y then slung him over his shoulder, making him yelp. He weakly flailed as his wife took him to the lower level of the ship. Locking the trapdoor connecting the two floors, M was all but tossed onto a chair.
“A-Are you stressed, honey?” M asked nervously, sweat drops littering his visor.
“Yes.” Y said bluntly, flinging off her coat.
“Then ma-ybe we could finish the puzzle I had been working on. It’s pretty relaxing!” M suggested, moving to get up.
“Sit. Now.” Y commanded, stomping a foot beside his head.
“Yesdear.” M replied swiftly, obeying without argue.
Chapter Text
“HOW COULD SHE?!” Khan yelled in the bunker halls. “AND WITH SOME-! SOME STRANGER?!” His eye lights were hollowed and he didn’t know what to do with his shaking hands.
“I wouldn’t say he’s a stranger-” Tessa tried to interject.
“I DON’T KNOW HIM, SO HE’S A STRANGER!” Khan yelled to the ceiling.
He then growled and stormed off faster, leaving the two ladies behind. Tessa and R looked nervously at each other, admittedly worried Khan might do something irrational.
“Do you know any way to calm him down?” R asked.
Tessa could only shrug back. R sighed in response, her shoulders sagging.
“Then let’s make sure he doesn’t get himself killed.” The female Disassembly Drone said.
Nephtali sat at the table in the Doorman household. He took a sip of his oil, poured into a tea cup and steaming. Just as the cup was about to meet his lips, he paused.
He turned his optics up, the Solver’s silver icon flickering in place of his left optical light. He set his cup back onto its tiny plate. There was a moment of quietude, the space becoming tense in a matter of seconds.
“He came back sooner than expected.” Nephtali noted to himself.
A grin spread across his face plates as he drank the rest of his oil. Once the cup was empty, he set it on the table and stood up. He fixed his bowtie as he left the house, the lights flickering as he walked.
“Let’s see if the rumors about you are true, Khan. [giggle]” Nephtali muttered evilly.
“Uh, Khan? What are we doing in the Cryosleep room?” Tessa asked as she looked around the many empty pods.
“Looking for clues to find that mother-stealing bastard!” He returned angrily, his stomping making echoes.
“I don’t think we need to check here. I told you he was close with your mom already.” Tessa said, a sweat drop on her visor.
“Yeah, and? What about it?” Khan questioned back.
“She probably means he’s living in your home.” R chimed in. “Didn’t you say this guy was Ms. Khan’s roommate?” She then directed to the Worker Drone.
“Yup! Has been since Khan left!” Tessa replied with a grin.
“SERIOUSLY?!” The said drone hollered, startling the two girls.
“Completely!” Tessa nodded. “I’m pretty sure your mom’s been lonely since you left, actually. Maybe you’re getting the wrong idea.” She went on, rubbing her arm in uncertainty.
“As if!” Khan scoffed and turned back around. “Whoever this jackass is, he’s stealing my mom! I’m not gonna let him-! Him-!!” He stuttered, suddenly losing his words.
R gave him a concerned but quizzical look. Ever since they returned here, she’s not only been quiet, but thinking. The sudden shift from hating his mom to worrying about her being “stolen” was odd.
“Khan… Why do you care all of a sudden?” She had to ask.
The group stopped. Tessa turned to her, cocking her head. Khan kept facing forward, taking in the question.
“What do you mean?” He asked back, not turning to her.
“Well, outside, you kept ranting about your mom. But then when you heard that she found some new guy, you’ve gotten your boxers in a twist.” R explained, her tail waving. “So, why exactly are you angry here?”
Things went quiet as the question echoed out. Khan’s fist slowly balled up. He knew exactly why he was angry, but he simply didn’t want to admit it. Nor did he want to be giving out that information.
The reasoning was just too personal to him. Tessa and R didn’t need to know.
So Khan kept going, deeper into the Cryosleep room. R sighed as her tail fell closer to the floor. She jogged to catch up to the male Worker Drone, intending on pressing him for answers.
But a sudden shriek made the two startle and turn. Tessa was gone, and the room felt far darker all of a sudden. Sweat drops blinked onto the duo’s visors.
“So, you are Khan, are you?” A voice called from behind.
Again, the two drones turned. From the dark depths of the pod-filled room came a male Worker Drone in a suit. There was a grin on his face plates, thin and devilish. It uneased the two drones, their eye lights going hollow.
“I have heard lots of things about you, Khan.” The unknown robot spoke, stepping closer slowly.
Khan felt like he was being stalked by a top predator. The aura this guy gave off not only exuded power, but also dread and resentment. There was something off about this guy, but Khan didn’t know what.
As for R, she felt like she’d seen him before. Yet she couldn’t put her finger on it. The suit looked familiar, and his monotonous, overly robotic voice gave her this odd sense of deja vu. But R’s positive she doesn’t know him at all!
“I will admit, I did not expect you to return for a little while more. I am a little disappointed.” The unknown drone spoke again, his voice echoing across the large room.
“Who-o the hell are you…?” Khan asked in a frightful whisper.
“Ah! How rude of me, [giggle]” The other drone smiled wider, a faux innocence behind it. “I am Nephtali.” He introduced himself.
R felt like she’d heard that name before. But something was preventing her from remembering.
“Introductions aside, I have a few choice words for you, Khan.” Nephtali went on, standing just a yard away. “I went around asking about you, and I have learned many things.” His grin grew wider.
“I wonder, do you just ignore how drones actually care about you? Or are you that idiotically ignorant? [Head cock]” He questioned with a cock of his head.
Khan was frozen for another moment. But he quickly pulled himself together.
“You’re the guy Tessa was talking about!” He suddenly yelled with a point.
Nephtali blinked at him, admittedly taken aback. But the smile soon returned to his face plates, settling in like an old friend.
“My, how have I suddenly gotten so popular? [Giggle]” He commented. “But yes. I indeed have been staying with your mother at her home. It is very cozy, by the way.” Nephtali confirmed.
“YOU BASTARD!!” Khan shouted in a newfound rage.
“You really should not curse, Khan. It is rude.” Nephtali smirked.
Khan ignored him, running up and taking his shield from his back. R flew in to back him up, the two suddenly moving in for a brawl.
Nephtali only smirked, an odd symbol flickering onto his black visor. Suddenly, the room’s lights started to flicker. In but a few seconds, the Worker Drone before them had disappeared.
“I am surprised your mother is still convinced you are a “good child.”” Nephtali suddenly spoke, his voice coming from above.
As the room’s dim lights returned, Khan and R looked up. From a vent higher up, Nephtali slithered his freaky, half-flesh half-mechanical, insectoid body out. His joints, both organic and inorganic alike, cracked as he spun his half head around.
“You should be thanking me, Khan. I have been the only friend your mother could rely on. Her only shoulder to cry on.” The eldritch horror of a robot said.
Khan and R both took fearful steps back. The former even fell to his ass, his shield falling as his vents picked up. A hand crawled behind R, more tendrils yanking her away silently and without notice.
“You have no self-awareness, little drone. So caught up in false perceptions that you cannot see how others just want to get to know you.” Nephtali continued, boring holes into the boy with cameras. “It amazes me that you do not see the irony in it all. [Huff]”
Through the horror, Khan slowly inched closer to his shield. When he was close enough, he kicked it into the air and caught it. Nephtali let out a clicking growl, whipping a tendril at him. Khan blocked it with his shield, turning on the charge mechanism.
“Your mother has been nothing short of a wreck because of you!” Nephtali yelled, continuing to strike at the younger robot. “Nights spent crying, days spent grieving, waiting and waiting for you to return home!”
“If she didn’t treat me like everyone else, maybe I wouldn’t have left! If she didn’t keep us locked in here, maybe I wouldn’t have gone outside!” Khan argued, slicing a hand off with the sharp prongs below his shield.
“You are nothing short of self-absorbed!” Nephtali countered, lashing out with a spiked limb.
Khan fell back, barely getting his shield back up in time to avoid being punctured. He knocked the pincer away, stumbling to his feet. Of course, Nephtali didn’t let the onslaught die for even a moment.
Some revving suddenly came from above. R fell back to the ground, covered in oil and blood but surviving. She glowered and bore her teeth at the freakish “robot,” pissed about his stunt.
“Ah. It seems you got out.” Nephtali spoke.
Another yell came, with Tessa falling to the floor much less gracefully than the disassembler. She stumbled to her feet, clutching her aching head.
“You guys- Got this, right?” She said, her whole body sore.
“Yeah! Just get the hell outta here!” Khan yelled back.
“Will do!” She returned with a thumbs up.
She then began to totter away, slapping an encroaching pincer that got too close. Nephtali noted out a huff, turning his attention back to the matters at hand.
“You should really appreciate your mother more, Khan.” Nephtali said.
“Why the hell do you even care so damn much?! All you’ve been doing is leeching off her!” Khan yelled back.
“I mean, he’s not wrong-” R chimed in for a moment, making a tiny shrug.
Khan kicked her in the shin, making her yelp. She gave him a small glare, her vial swishing like a cat’s tail.
“‘Leeching?’ Why, what do you mean? [Head cock]” The Eldritch Drone inquired.
“All that bullshit about “helping” my mom! I bet it’s all lies! Just some mind games to trick me!” Khan hollered, knocking another pincer away.
Nephtali’s limbs froze, retreating back a little.
“Those were not lies. I truly have been helping your mother, ever since you had abandoned her.” He ground out at the end. “I have been helping around the house, keeping her company, making meals, I even helped to make sure she didn’t overwork herself. There have been many times that she has felt comfortable enough to confide in me.” The Eldritch Drone listed next.
Khan flinched back, his hollowed optical lights going bold. He tried to think of something to say, maybe some way to disprove such claims. But he had nothing.
‘Not to mention all that Tessa had told me in the Corpse Spire!’ He then thought.
If what she said was true, about his mother having somehow befriended this guy, then that means he’s telling the truth. But as to why his mom would want to be friends with a monster like him was unknown. All he could think was that she was CPU-washed or coerced into it somehow.
“What? Are you speechless now? [Giggle]” Nephtali asked, the smug grin heard in his tone.
Khan grit his teeth and clenched his fists. He turned back to the Eldritch Drone, the look of pure fury on his face plates.
“HOW DARE YOU HURT MY MOTHER!!!” He shouted at the top of his voice box.
Nephtali was speechless for a moment. He reeled back just a little at the shout.
“Ha.” He muttered. “Ha. Ha! HA!” He laughed, a little bit of joy heard in his tone for once.
“You idiot.” He then suddenly turned serious again, staring threateningly down at the boy.
But then, Nephtali’s head rose to stare down his nonexistent nose at him. There was an atmosphere of utmost vaingloriousness and smarminess that exuded off him in palpable waves.
“The only thing I hurt was your mother’s robotic pussy when I pounded her last night.” Nephtali spoke.
Khan stared back, officially flabbergasted at the reply. His shield fell right from his hand. Even R was stunned, her claws flying to her mouth in shock as her visor went flush and her tail went stiff.
“Y-You didn-n’t-” Khan muttered in hopelessness.
“Oh, but I did.” Nephtali interrupted back with a nod. “I fucked your mother last night.”
“Go ask her.”
Uzi ran through the halls, trying to find her son. She’d caught wind that he demanded to be let back inside, seemingly upset about something. She didn’t know for what reason or why, but she was determined to make up with her child.
She rounded the corner, almost slamming her side into the wall. Uzi dug her boots into the floor, bolting past everyone. They startled and jumped out of the way, staring after her with hollowed optics.
Uzi could feel the trepidation in each one of her wires. Her core pulsated reverberatingly and her oil pump pounded beneath her plating. Sweat drops littered her visor as her vents turned ragged from exercise.
Her stomps echoed down the halls frantically, and it made part of Uzi hope Khan heard them. Maybe then he’d realize she’s been so worried about him ever since he left-
Uzi accidentally turned a corner too quick, smacking right into the wall. She shook off the thud and kept going, not letting up until she reunited with her child. She couldn’t.
Not when he’d finally returned to her.
Chapter Text
Complete silence filled the Cryofreeze room as Khan was stuck trying to process what this monster had just told him. A loading circle kept buffering in the corner of his visor. Khan faintly felt R nudge him in worry, a sweat drop on her visor.
“Aw. Have you gone speechless? [Smug laugh]” Nephtali taunted, a claw near his half-mouth. “I guess a Windows Vista like you couldn’t process that information, huh?”
“K-Khan, snap out of it!” R urged, shaking his shoulders. “If you don’t, this guy will-!”
“KHAN!!” Uzi shouted, startling the three.
The said boy snapped out of his stupor, whipping his head around. Uzi ran up to him, not even letting him get a word in before he was trapped in her arms. Khan made strangled noises as he was spun around and embraced tightly.
Uzi didn’t bother trying to hide her relieved tears. Her son was back inside and safe and uninjured and safe. It was all that she could hope for right now.
“You don’t know how scared I was!” Uzi yelled. “I thought you’d have died out there! I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!!” She sobbed.
“I-I know. ‘M sorry.” Khan strangled out, patting her back.
“You-!” Uzi stuttered through her tears. “You-!!” Her tone then went from relieved to seething in seconds.
Khan felt dreadful sweat drops blink onto his visor. Nephtali and R backed up to steer clear of the crash out this woman was about to have. The two prepared for whatever wrath Khan’s incurred from his mother by shielding their audials.
“YOU ARE SO GROUNDED, YOUNG MAN!!” Uzi hollered as she pushed Khan back to arm’s length. “DO YOU KNOW HOW TERRIFIED I WAS?! THAT STUNT YOU PULLED WAS IRRESPONSIBLE, IRRATIONAL, RECKLESS, AND DOWNRIGHT STUPID!!” She berated.
Khan didn’t dare try to talk back to her, not when she was going on a tirade like this. And for once, he can understand it.
Kind of.
Yet as his mother endlessly scolded her son for making such a rash decision, Khan couldn’t help but hug her again. It stunned Uzi into silence, her lavender purple optics turning back down to him. She returned the hug firmly, letting her anger go for another day.
“I’m sorry, momma.” Khan whimpered into her chest.
“I know.” Uzi whispered back. “But don’t ever do that again, alright? Or else the thing you’ll fear above the Murder Drones will be me.” She threatened with a teasing grin. Though, she was a little serious about it.
“I won’t. I promise.” Khan nodded.
Meanwhile, Nephtali and R let their tense postures relax. Uzi and Khan separated from their embrace, Khan swiping away his lingering tears. Uzi cleaned herself up and fixed her ruffled clothes, turning to Nephtali.
“Ah! You two have met already!” She noted as her mood picked back up. “I’m glad! This means I can break the news to you easier!”
Uzi then turned to her son, took his hand, and brought him closer to the eldritch robot. The mother then placed a hand on Nephtali’s raptorial arm and gave them both a nice, bright smile.
“Khan, I know this is sudden, and I’m sure it’ll be strange, but there’s something very important I have to say.” Uzi started. “Me and Nephtali have known each other for a while now, and we’ve been living with each other during that time.” Khan felt his whole frame tense up.
“It was mostly because I got busy and couldn’t find a place to house him.” Uzi added with a nervous laugh. “B-But! He’s been a great roommate.” She smiled.
Khan’s optics flicked to his mother, staying completely silent. He was too afraid to speak.
“But over that time, we’ve grown…” His mother trailed off, her optics averting to think. “We’ve gotten quite close.” She settled on, a minute blush blinking onto her display.
R watched with intrigue from a few feet away. She recorded it on her visor to show Y and M later.
‘This is a damn good drama reality TV show. I just wish I had some popped batteries.’ R thought.
“S-So… Wh-at’re you say-ying…?” Khan whispered in fear.
“Well, me and Nephtali, we’re…” Uzi trailed off, admittedly hesitant to tell him.
“We are dating.” Nephtali said for her.
Khan’s optics flicked to his mother. Uzi sighed and nodded, giving him a gentle smile in return. Total silence pursued.
“...You’re kidding.” Khan then spoke. “You are kidding.” He then spat.
“Now, Khan, it isn’t something to get angry over-” Uzi tried to say, her brows beginning to furrow.
“Of course it is!” Khan yelled back, startling her. “How could you go and date him?! He’s a damn monster!” He pointed to Nephtali.
“Now, Khan. That is not something you should call your step-Not-So-Father.” Nephtali scolded, sitting his claws on his “hips.”
“You shut it! You don’t get a say in this!” Khan snarled. “And mom! You can’t do this!” He then turned back around.
“And why not?! You’re getting worked up over a decision that isn’t even yours to begin with!” She argued back, crossing her arms.
“Because! Look at him! He’s a total freak!” Khan said as he gestured to all of Nephtali. “And you haven’t even known him for that long! How can you already go and date this guy?!” He asked.
“Even if we haven’t known each other for years, it does not mean we cannot get close to each other at all!” Uzi said. “Besides, I am my own drone! Not to mention that you are my son. You have no control over who I date, young man!” She went on.
“I think I should be able to at least give my input!” Khan countered.
“And what is your input?” Uzi inquired with furrowed brows.
“That you shouldn’t date him!” Khan replied, his voice going up a pitch.
“If that’s your input, then I politely decline it.” Uzi retorted.
“MOM!” Khan cried.
“I am dating him and that is final, Khan!” Uzi spoke sternly. “I’m not even sure why you’re so upset about this! Is it so wrong that I find someone new to introduce into my life?!” She questioned rhetorically.
“Yes!” Her son answered anyway.
“And why is that?!” Uzi asked as her brows furrowed deeper. “Why can’t I go and date anyone anymore?! Why can’t I let someone else into my life-?!”
“BECAUSE YOU’RE JUST REPLACING DAD!!” Khan hollered.
“...”
The room went silent.
R and Nephtali had been quiet for a while, but now they both felt as though they were intruding on something personal. Not that Nephtali really cared to be honest. He liked the gossip material.
“Khan…” Uzi vented, her eye lights turned to rings. “I am not replacing your father-” She tried to say, her voice now quiet.
“But you are!” Khan argued, tears springing to his optics. “You’re replacing him with some fleshy asshole! You’re just forgetting all about him! Like he never existed!” His fists were tight balls by now, his whole frame tense.
“Khan, I am not forgetting your father!” Uzi exclaimed. “I am moving on, yes, but I am not forgetting about him.”
“But moving on is forgetting him!” Khan hollered, the tears coming down like rain. “Because if you move on, then you’ll forget you ever met him! You’ll replace all the memories you had of him with someone else!” He kept going, like a dam finally broken.
“And when dad gets replaced by him, so will I! You’ll forget about me too, and I don’t want to be forgotten!” Khan sobbed uncontrollably. “I don’t want to lose my momma!”
Any more words escaped Khan as more sobs interrupted him. He tried to futilely swipe away his tears. But they just kept raining down. The storm clouds thundering above and growing ever-darker finally released their pent-up precipitation.
And Uzi had been shocked at the confession. Her eye rings flicked across Khan’s crying form as she finally understood his vehement denial of her new relationship. But she wasn’t stunned for long as she walked over to her child.
Uzi took Khan into her gentle embrace and pet his head. She didn’t say a word, just let him cry into her chest. She felt him grab tightly onto her coat, Khan’s whole frame shaking and jerking.
“Khan, will you listen to me for a minute?” Uzi asked softly.
Her son didn’t reply, just kept sobbing.
“Khan. I need you to look at me, okay?” The mother asked.
Khan only buried his face further into her chest. Uzi sighed, using a hand to tilt his head up anyway.
And as Uzi stared at her crying son, she felt like she was thrown back into the past. She swore she thought she was staring at her son in a Beta-stage frame, crying after hurting himself.
“Khan, I promise you that I will never forget your father.” She swore. “How could I forget him? This very coat that I wear everyday was a present from your father.” The woman said.
“It’s impossible for me to forget your father when I see him everyday, every time I look at you.” She gave him a warm and tender grin.
Khan’s brows twitched. More tears spilled down his visor.
“And how could I ever forget my own son?” She asked next, thumbing her said child’s cheek. “You are the very product of me and your father’s code. You are the little tyke that kept trying to steal my tools to create things, dangerous things.” Uzi laughed softly.
Khan finally cracked a smile, remembering all the times he’d sneak away with his momma’s tools. He was far too young to be near them, let alone touching them.
“I wa-s always ang-gry when I- I was forced to-o play wi-th that dumb pl-last-ic builder’s s-set.” Khan commented.
“It was not dumb.” Uzi scolded teasingly. “It was your introduction to different tools.” She corrected.
“I honestly can’t believe you’d think I ever forget you, Khan.” Uzi said truthfully. “This whole time that you’ve been gone, doing Robo-God knows what in the Corpse Spire, I have been worried sick about you.” She went on.
“...Really…?” Khan asked in a vent.
“There was not a single day or night that I did not worry about you.” Uzi reassured. “Everyday, I was hoping you’d return home. I was waiting for when you’d return and when you’d come back to me, safe and sound and alive.” She pressed.
Uzi then went silent, staring at her son. His tears had mostly dried up, only a few stray ones falling now. Uzi felt a few tears of her own slip from her optics, her vents becoming choppy.
“I was so scared.” She admitted. “I was terrified that one day, I’d find out you died out there.”
“So while you are so, so fucking grounded, I’m more relieved to know that my son is back and that he’s okay.” Uzi told him. “So don’t think I’d ever forget you or your father. Because you both have changed my life so much, in more ways than I can count, in ways I didn’t think would happen.” She said, holding Khan’s hands tight.
“I could never forget my own family.” Uzi finished.
Khan’s gaze had fallen to their hands. His hands trembled in his mother’s grasp, more tears falling from his optics. Part of him wanted the stupid waterworks to end already. The other part wanted his mother’s comfort.
“‘M sorry, momma.” Khan whispered.
“I forgive you.” Uzi returned with another smile. “But you also need to let me move on.” She added.
Khan hesitantly nodded, the tears growing thicker.
“And you need to move on, too.” Uzi told him.
“But I don’t want to…” Khan vented back.
“Part of me doesn’t want to, either.” Uzi said truthfully. “But your father would.”
“...” Her son was silent. “I hate that you’re using dad against me.” He muttered.
“But you know he would.” Uzi smiled.
Khan knew he would. Deep down, he knew his papa would want him to move on.
“Okay.” He finally whispered with a tiny nod.
Uzi’s smile widened, still gentle and tender. She pulled her son back into her arms, rubbing soothing circles along his back. Khan leaned all the way into her touch, sniffling and letting the last of his tears out.
“I know you’re there, Nephtali. You can stop snooping now.” Uzi then spoke.
“You are getting far too aware of my presence.” The silver-haired worker pouted, appearing from around the corner.
“That’s what it’s like being in a relationship.” Uzi retorted cheekily. “Also, put the Murder Drone down.” She added.
Nephtali’s pout deepened. But after Uzi raised a brow, he noted out a sigh and obeyed. R fell from the ceiling with a yell, landing flat on her face. She peeled herself off the ground, rubbing her dented olfactory sensors.
Uzi turned her gaze back down to her son. He took a couple more minutes to calm down before pulling away. Uzi swiped away any lingering tears with her thumbs. As Khan stared back at her, Uzi gave him another sweet smile.
“Don’t go thinking that you or your father will ever be forgotten, okay?” Uzi asked.
Khan nodded, giving a tiny hum.
“Good.” Uzi said. “And remember that you will always be my little Trapdoor.” She said as she kissed his head.
“I will, momma.” Khan nodded again.
‘And I’ll remember not to take you for granted again.’ Khan vowed in his head.
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