A Paradox from Beyond the Stars

by AkiNeo

Summary:

After the Solver was defeated, things had begun to return to normal. There is one slight issue though…Worker drones don’t really like dying to feed the outpost’s saviours. This leads to N devising a strategy to go out and scavenge any oil they can from the surrounding wasteland. It was on one such scavenger hunt that N found something strange…But hey! If the floor was literally spinning like a whirlpool, wouldn’t you want to touch it too?

And hey while he wasn't sucked in, well, too bad something came out....

Oh how their world would change...

(AKA the authors wack-ass MD X Warframe story)

Notes:

Welcome to my first foray into any sort of fanfiction writing! After finishing Murder Drones I got suuuuper inspired to create something for the fandom. I thought, 'What better way than with my other current fixation, Warframe, and all its weird and wacky cosmic lore?' This story is mainly focused on the Murder Drones universe and does not assume the reader needs an understanding on the Warframe lore. (However, there will be spoilers from the newest updates on the warframe side, you have been warned.) Alright that's enough yapping from me! Please enjoy if you'd like! :)

 

-edit 3/7/25 - Changed up the summary to add some pre-story.

Chapter 1: Disturbance

“And I asked every book. Poetry and chime. Can there be breaks, in the chaos of times?”

---

 

The air was thick and the cold was harsh as a lone figure passed by the clouds.

The destroyed surface of Copper-9, already in ruins, had just gotten worse with the second core collapse. Desolate buildings that once stood reduced to piles of rubble, and those left standing are sure to join them soon.

 

Landing on the roof of one of the few standing buildings left with a thud and cloud of dust, N retracted his wings and brushed the dirt off his jacket.

He sighed. “I should have picked a different night to go scavenging.” 

 

“I hope Uzi will understand if I’m late tonight” Pausing to scan the derelict he was currently standing in, N felt disappointed in yet another bust.

It seemed that any lasting remnant of drone or human civilization had yet again been reduced to nothing but dust in this building too.

 

‘Well, no point in sticking around I guess.’ He thought as he unfurled his metallic wings preparing to fly in search of better odds.

However, just as he crouched down to jump off the roof something caught one of his seven eyes. ‘That seems odd, why would the floor be spinning?’ N rubbed his visor in an attempt to clear the distortion, while making his way carefully to the spot on the floor.

 

Realizing that resetting his vision did not produce new results, his expression turned to one of confusion. “I should probably go get someone, buuuut I kinda wanna touch it. Besides, if I leave, it might go away by the time I get back.” 

Upon reaching the swirl he only grew more confused, the spot seemed to radiate some form of energy whilst simultaneously consuming any and all light that passed through it. ‘That’s freaky…’

 

While N’s processor was trying to comprehend this paradox he failed to notice the entity appearing from the distortion. Rising from the paradox was a hand fitted with claws of gold over an off-white exterior. 

N finally breaking focus from pondering the insane, noticed the hand.

 

Not thinking too hard about who it belongs to, and being the caring guy he is, immediately went to grab the hand and attempt to pull.

“Stuck in there huh buddy? Don’t worry I’ll get you out, I’m pretty strong you know.”

 

Grabbing the appendage, N focused and pulled, yet the hand did not budge.

Numerous attempts later he went to release the hand and catch his breath, but in his efforts, did not realize that the hand previously limp had at some point grabbed onto his own.

 

“Hey it's ok, you can let go now, I just need a second to readjust.”

 

It seemed whoever it belonged to either couldn’t hear him, or just didn’t care.

If anything, the hands grip on him seemed to increase.

 

Frowning at the realization that he could not remove his hand and the sound of his hand creaking in protest at the increased pressure, he formed his other hand into a blade and prepared to strike the problem at the source. 

 

“If you’re nice I'm sorry, but I really can't be stuck here tonight and you’re starting to hurt me!” Lifting his free arm above his head, the blade came down with the grace and power of a drone built to kill.

 

The sound of metallic ringing filled the air. “What the? It just bounced off?!” “Ugh, please let me go, weird grabby portal hand, I’m going to be late for my date” N said out loud, but internally he panicked, ‘Nothing has ever deflected my blade like that except other disassembly drone weapons.’ ‘Who or what is this and why won't they let me go.’

 

Realizing he was out of options N prepared the blade again, this time aimed for his own hand. ”This is gonna suck but, it's better than being trapped.” Suddenly N shrieked in pain but not from his own doing. The claws of gold had constricted, and suddenly twisted. 

 

Staring in shock as his hand was wrenched free from his body, N’s expression twisted to one of fear and alarm. Whatever this thing was clearly did not appreciate the prolonged hand holding session. 

 

Hand regenerating in seconds, and switching to combat mode, N took sight of the hand, now arm tossing his own appendage away like a piece of scrap. N’s visor shifted to that trademarked X that invoked so much fear, readying himself against the perceived threat.

 

The arm now rising through the portal was joined by another hand of fingers tipped with claws of gold. A humanoid being of white accented with greys and adorned with gold began to take shape, rising from the inky depths.

Electric blue lights pulsed along its chest and head, as the being rose to its full height of around six feet and then some. A faint pulse of light blue energy highlighted its frame and settled.

 

The figure was lithe and unmistakably feminine, if N wasn’t aware of the already present danger he would have thought it was some other drone and honestly, kind of attractive, but one fact prevented that line of thinking: 

 

The figure had no face.

 

Whether that was because this thing was wearing some sort of helmet or because the lack of a face was in fact… its face, he did not know. What he did know however, was that this being was triggering every danger alarm he had. N’s visor shifted, his eyes hollowed and digital sweat dripped in a steady pattern.

 

N began to panic. ‘That thing’s not right, this is wrong, what is that, why is it…why does it…’ His thoughts interrupted by past memories, the feeling of being watched, the unknowable, unthinkable horrors of his dear ‘little buddy’ resurfacing not even a month after her ‘death’.

 

Gripping his chest, an otherworldly voice pierced his mind threatening to break his processor as it uttered an impossible greeting stealing the words of the one human to care for him. 

 

“Ḣ̴̡e̶͖̎ĺ̷͕̹́l̶͍̜͝o̴͙͒ Liị̴͊̾t̶̛̻̅t̶̛̲͘l̴̳̤͗̌e̶͓̦̽ ̶̩͙̔̊B̷̜̀u̵͓̾t̶͇̪͛̾lë̸̬́r̴͇͉͂”

 

The only thing he could do was stare, but as soon as the feeling came... it left.  

 

No longer paralyzed by fear and memories of the past, N began to back away quickly, wanting to put as much distance between him and the strange entity, dread pooling in his core.

As he turned to leave, the sound of footsteps forced him to look. 

 

N would regret not booking it then and there.

 

The Being seemed to stare at him from across the rooftop, tilting its head like a cat, it almost seemed to be studying him. The flare of danger in his processor once again forced him into a battle stance despite his desire to leave. ‘Something is telling me I won’t see tomorrow if I try to run.’ 

 

A moment passed, neither party moving.

 

A faint twitch in the Being's leg was all he caught before its claws were inches from tearing into his face. Leaning into a backwards dive purely on instinct is the only thing that kept his head attached… 

The same could not be said about his right arm as the Being shifted mid-air and swiped with its violent golden claws. Tumbling to the floor, spewing oil, and armless, N regained his bearings, arm already regenerated and both hands now blades.

 

He would get no time to think as the Being was upon him yet again, leg outstretched and aimed for his waist. Acting on instinct and protocols programmed long ago, N moved, sword slicing down with as much strength as he could conjure.

The sound of metallic ringing filled the air as sword met foot. “I really should have expected that...” N quipped as the Being took no damage despite getting thrown back into a wall.

 

The Being rose from its rubble prison and crouched back down for another attack. “You’re gonna jump at me again aren’t you?”

 

As if to spite him the Being suddenly stood up and stretched out its hand at him. Ever hopeful N called out, “Oh, are we friends now?” Switching his blades back to hands, N went and grabbed the outstretched hand, only to recoil as his arm was torn asunder by the Being, hot oil spilling in an arc.

 

Shocked by the loss of a limb, he impacted the floor yards away as the Being kicked him in the sternum. Not a moment later he felt something pierce his right shoulder. Before he could react, the Being pulled and his entire body was sent flying in an arc. 

 

Crashing into some rubble more than 20 feet away, the dazed disassembler had only a moment before the Being was on him again.  Sounds of metallic ringing and cracking plastic echoing through the ruins as his casing was ripped apart piece by piece. The rooftop quickly stained black with splattered oil. 

 

In a moment of lucidity N aimed his tail at the Being’s back and struck, stinger sinking into the ?flesh? and dumping the entirety of his nanite acid into it.

 

To his relief the Being stopped and jumped off of him, his regeneration already taking effect, however slowed due to the extensive damage, he stood up switching both arms to rocket launchers. ‘This really needs to end soon, forget being late, I won’t even have enough oil to get back... Sorry Uzi.’

 

The Being stumbled into a corner, the acid no doubt eating its insides. Aiming both rocket launchers at the Being, he fired, only to hear a cry so wrought with primal fury it shook him to his core, no doubt leaving him with nightmares to come.

 

’If I make it back to the bunker alive I’m soooo gonna need therapy…’

 

The rockets impacted and a cloud of fire and dust obscured his vision, switching to thermal, N was once again surprised at the lack of anything there. “Is it… gone?”

The searing hot pain of his wings and tail being ripped off violently was the only answer he got.

 

Struggling to defend, N only saw glimpses of light blue energy trails and flashes of gold as his entire body was ravaged by the Being turned Beast. 

 

‘This is going to hurt sooo much, at least I’ll regenerate.’ In a last ditch attempt to escape the onslaught N summoned one last rocket and shot it at his feet. The floor and his legs exploding in a cloud of dust, hot oil, and debris, provided the perfect cover to escape. 

 

—------

 

“Ugh, where is that loser?” A drone of tall height and effeminate proportions said, leaning halfway back in a chair.

 

“V! Don't call N a loser!” Chided a drone of short stature and a distinctly purple and gothic theme, working diligently on a weapon of sick(as hell) proportions. 

 

“Also it's N, he probably just found some lost drone to make friends with. I just hope he remembered our date tonight.”

 

“Whatever toaster.” Replied V.

 

“I HAVE A NAME!” The shorter drone yelled.

 

“We save the world together and you don’t even call me my name, You sure know how to make people like you.” Said the purple drone.

 

“Whatever…Uzi.” V said with every bit of dripping sarcasm.

 

“Grr.. Bite me.” “What are you even doing here again?” Uzi’s face deadpanning.

 

“Besides annoying you? If I recall, you were the one who asked me to drop off any excess scrap I found outside on oil runs.” V replied, leaning back even further in her chair.

 

“Yeah and you’ve already done that. So why stick around? Miss me that much?” Uzi replied, finishing the last power-on tests of her (sick as hell) railgun. Grabbing the gun and storing it away in her tail with a flick of the solver, she got up to stretch as she made for the door.

 

“Ew, please like I’d care about you like that.” Leaning even further back in her chair. “Besides, Lizzy is busy and you know anyone else in the bunker barely tolerates my existence.”

 

“Yes yes I know, life is pain, I killed a bunch of people and now their families don't like me. Boo hoo. Honestly V, have you considered getting some type of hobby? Like, I don’t hate your company but you could be doing anything but annoying me and N all day when Lizzy’s not around. Also stop leaning on that chair so much you’re gonna fall.” Uzi said, stopping halfway out the door.

 

“HEY, I HAVE HOBBIES! IT’S YOU SORRY LITTLE—WOAhOW” The chair had reached its limit and collapsed, sending V ass over teakettle to the ground. A heavy blush of embarrassment appearing on her visor.

 

“AHA HA HA! See I told you, you’d fall. And for the record, I do value your time, just wish you’d make some other friends...” Admitted the goth.

 

“Aw get-ing sap-py in your o-old age, Uzi?” Appearing from Uzi’s back, her tail’s eye-lights shined with a yellow glow.

 

“CAN IT, Cyn. Or I’m getting the duct tape again” Fumbling as she tried to grab her own tail to shut its mouth.

 

“Annoyed. Correcting tone. It’s The sol-ver of the a-absolute fabric. Cyn died the moment I was b-born.” Tail-solver ducking out of Uzi’s reach.

 

“Yeah that's some bullshit, you know I can feel every core you’ve devoured. Someday they might wake up… or something.” The worker said, finally catching her own tail in her mouth like she was some sort of retriever. The irony was not lost on her as that was usually more N’s thing.

 

“A c-comforting thought, but unrea-listic.” Muffled now in Uzi’s mouth the two consciousnesses in one body continued to bicker.

 

Standing from her place on the floor, glad the attention was not on her embarrassing lack of body control and angry outburst, V looked softly amused at the pair of edgelords currently playing yet another game of cat and mouse…or hand and tail.

 

“Well… this is fun to watch and all, but I’m getting hungry. Going scavenging. Later losers.” V said to the pair as she dropped into a crouch preparing to jump into the ceiling vent of the workshop.

 

Seemingly finished with her conflict, Uzi called out before V could leave.

 

“Keep your tracker on, I’ll join you in a bit, gotta run some errands. Wanna do some field tests of this bad boy later.” Referring to her railgun, the worker turned back to walk out of the room. 

 

“Sure, whatever, not like you’ll be able to shoot at anything other than rocks anyway.” V said before disappearing into the vent.

 

V could never be aware just how false her words would be.

 

—------

Running as hard as he could, the advancing sounds of concrete and rebar thrown about and destroyed in a primal rage were at the forefront of N’s mind as the Beast continued to give chase.

 

‘Oh shoot, oh shoot, oh biscuits! This is so bad, my wings are taking forever to come back and I’m getting low on oil.’ He thought, dodging yet another errant piece of debris angrily thrown his way.

 

‘Stupid N! Why do you have to be so caring all the time? This is exactly how Cyn almost killed us back in that hallway. Oh biscuits, is this what it felt like to be a worker facing one of us? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sor-’

 

His thoughts cut short once again by the sound of the screaming Beast closing in. He needed to act, and soon. Spotting a nearby window, if it meant escaping the beast for even a few minutes, he would risk the fall.

 

Crossing his arms in front of himself, he broke through the glass and began to plummet. Scanning his surroundings for anything he could use to break his fall, N’s expression darkened as anything he could use was out of reach, unless his wings were working…Which defeated the purpose as he wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with if they were.

 

Accepting his fate, N tucked his body into a brace trying to protect his head as he neared the ground. An act that would have been beneficial, had a white and yellow mass not intercepted him at a high speed.

 

“I leave you alone for two hours and you are jumping out of 100 story buildings."

"Care to explain why your tail is missing and why you aren’t flying out of this fall? Not to mention your clothes look like rags. Did some robo-roach scare you so much you blew yourself up?”

 

Puzzled, N looked up at his captor, eyes widening with immense joy and relief as friendly recognition poured into his processor.

 

“V?! V oh my robo-God, it's you! V we need to leave, we need to get back to the bunker, something terrible is out there, something I can’t beat, none of us can.” N sputtered, gripping onto V’s torso and burying his face in her jacket. 

 

“N, what do you mean somethi-” Cut off by the sounds of screaming fury and crashing ruins, she quickly understood now was not the time for questions. Looking down, seeing the state N was reduced to, she flew at a speed she seldom used. Something was wrong, and she wanted answers, but for now all she cared about was getting the sniffling murder drone gripping her chest back to the bunker. 

 

—-----

 

Drifting alone in a paradox of nothing and everything, a silhouette of white, grey,  and gold was the only constant in the ever consuming void. Raven thought it couldn’t get much worse. After the conclusion of Dr. Entrati’s fate in 1999 and the confrontation with the indifference thereafter. She watched with horror as the Lotus fell to the lidless eye, and heard the only words left to be spoken.

 

I̵̠͑ ̵̨̓wi̷̭̐n̸̞̓, K̸̠̚i̷̥͛d̸̰̀d̴͍̓õ̴̳.̴͍͝

 

Feeling the universe slip away and be consumed by nothing and everything had been an indescribable feeling, one she would rather soon forget. But no. For Raven was cursed, being a paradox in of herself it seemed the void could not consume like entities. 

 

‘I can get me not fading, but why did I have to be stuck in a warframe?’ Sighing internally, her thoughts continued. ‘I guess it's not the worst thing but still, I can’t transfer out or Valkyr will just get consumed like the rest of it... I wonder if my counterpart is in a similar situation, although knowing that freak, The Man In The Wall probably just off’d her, something about their “deal”.’

 

Drifting through the endless bounds of entropy forever and never sure was... boring…

Even something as mundane as thoughts and feelings had lost meaning.

 

And so, she slept.

For how short or long, no one could ever know. There wasn’t even a point in counting, for even time itself had been consumed. 

 

Waking with a start, Raven thought it impossible. Something pulling on her left hand! ‘What the, how is this even…’ Looking at her hand she saw something truly odd. Her hand was… missing, and where it should have been was a slight distortion. 

 

‘OH HELL YEAH, PLEASE BE A PORTAL OR SOMETHING!. I NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS!’ Reveling in the feeling of something new for the first time in never, she instantly latched onto the feeling. Feeling returning through the paradox, it felt like something or someone was holding her hand.

 

Compassionate and painfully touch-starved she clasped her hand in return. Fearing she would sink back into nothing, she held on and did not dare let go of the one life line she had.

As more and more feeling returned she began to feel the environment her hand was transposed to; bitter cold, extreme wind, and scratching dust, all usually considered negatives, but she was elated all the same to finally be feeling anything. 

 

But the most overwhelming feeling was the utter warmth whatever was holding her hand instilled, she could feel it, compassion...concern…hope.

She strengthened her grip, fearing she would be unable to return to whatever this was if she let go.

 

However the feelings she felt through the connection did not last, twisting to ones of panic…horror, and worst of all, terror. Whatever or whoever she was linked to seemed to be… panicked.

 

The feeling changed again, calm…acceptance…drive. Relieved at the change in tone, she began to search for a way to force herself through the rift. That is until she felt the telltale sign of a cold hard blade impact her wrist.

 

Dejected, she attempted to squeeze the hand in re-assurance, only to surge those feelings of terror yet again from the other party, yet as soon as they started...They fell silent.

Feeling the sensation of something crushing under the force of her palm, she blanched.

 

‘Oh no, what did I do, did I just rip someone's hand off?’ Flinging the hand away in disgust, Raven searched again for a gap in the rift. This time successful, she began to feel the sensations of a new universe increase around her arms first and then the rest of her body followed.

 

Standing with a daze, she tried to get her bearings. However something clouded her mind, a haze of fog, something otherworldly.

 

Then it spoke.

 

H̴̨̓a̴̪͘v̶͕̀e ̷͔̈́f̴͙̉u̷̮͂n, ̴̜̑K̵͙͝ì̵̩d̶̺̆d̵̦̔o̵̬͗.̵̖͑

 

The man in the wall.

 

It seems no trips were free after all.

 

Dazed from the encounter and finally regaining some form of sense, she looked around pausing at the strange thing in front of her. 

 

It was clearly robotic, if a little short, the LEDs on its face making up its eyes a dead giveaway.

What gave her pause and what caused her to tilt her head was the honestly impressive arsenal of weaponry integrated into the robot. 

 

Aimed squarely at her center mass the robot's right arm ended in an SMG, prepared to deliver lead justice. It’s left, a hand of sharp metallic gleaming claws. But perhaps most impressive were the massive pair of wings sprouting from its back, Sharp massive bladed feathers gleaming in the moonlight. 

 

‘Built to kill, no doubt about it. Welp it's unfortunate the first thing I see turned out so hostile, but I have been needing to stretch for so…so… long.’

 

“Don’t take it personally.” She attempted to speak, however no words seemed to come out. Briefly stunned at the loss of speech, she resigned to unpack that some other day.

‘Enough of that, time for some fun.’

 

Jumping like a bullet covering 45 feet in the span of a second, Raven brought Valkyr's claws out in a deadly facsimile of a hug. The robot ducking under the maneuver.

‘Faster than I thought, good reflexes to dodge that, too bad your arm is so unprotected.’ Giggling internally, she swiped her claws with a practiced violence, rending the appendage from the small robot's frame.

 

Landing to the side with nothing but a cloud of dust, she was surprised to see the robot regenerate its arm in a matter of seconds. Its hands forming into long twin blades not a moment later.

 

‘Now that is interesting, haven't seen anything like that unless it was a warframe…this will be fun.’

 

Jumping again, she aimed her right leg to kick its midsection in a powerful outward maneuver. To her surprise the robot actually dodged it and managed to get a hit in with its sword, metallic ringing filling the air as she was sent flying into a nearby wall. ‘It’s strong too for such a small thing.’

 

Standing from the rubble, she lowered into a crouch preparing to jump again. However her actions were interrupted as the sound of the robot saying something caught her ears.

 

“You’re gonna jump at me again aren’t you?”

‘It speaks? Man, I wish I could talk out loud right now. Think you got me all figured out huh? Just for that I’ll ripline you.’ Standing back up Raven raised her arm to fire off a ripline to yank the tin can to her claws.

 

‘Get over here!’ Except it didn’t seem to work. ‘Really?! What's going on with this warframe? Now I look like a doofus, standing here with my hand out like I'm some kid asking to hold hands with their mommy.’

 

Oddly it seemed the robot took the gesture literally.

 

Still fighting internally about the mechanics of a seemingly broken warframe, Raven was only brought back by the feeling of a hand touching her own. ‘Can’t believe I spaced out like that, oh well’. Ripping the offending appendage down and out she kicked the robot in the sternum sending it across the rooftop.

 

‘Finally, there's that feeling again’ Aiming her arm once again and tugging on that feeling, ripline fired. Hitting its mark, Raven pulled, feeling something come loose in the robot's chassis. 

 

The robot landed in a heap yards away. She lept, landing in a straddle on the robot. ‘Time to see what you're made of, you fun, little buddy.’ Claws rending plastic and metal as she tore open the robot, fully consumed by the light psychosis stemming from the eons? of isolation, elation of breaking out, and immediately being thrust into a situation of extreme stimulation.

 

‘Yeah, I’m sooo not doing good.’

 

So lost in the activity, she failed to notice the stinger pointed at her back. Piercing the sword-steel skin of the warframe and injecting its contents. The only thing she felt was pain.

 

Launching herself away she stood wearily, trying to assess the damage, she noticed late that the robot seemed to have recovered itself in that time.

 

Seeing the rockets pointed at her frame, something snapped.

 

Hysteria

 

She was no longer in control.

 

Free of the pain, she watched, passenger to her shared body, as Valkyr's fury reached a crescendo. Flashes of the robot in various states of harm and walls of concrete crashing around her. Valkyr unrelenting in her chase, sought the robot with an unmatched furor. Raven did not know how long she spent as a passenger to the warframe she was seemingly trapped in, nor did it matter that the robot escaped in the end. 

 

After what seemed like hours, Valkyr relinquished control, falling back into that placated state of a warframe with a tenno consciousness that soothed their very souls. 

 

‘I hope that doesn’t become a habit.’ Raven thought as she roamed the desolate streets of a foreign world.

 

‘What is wrong with me?’

--------

Chapter 2: Discussion

Notes:

Next chapter is here! Thanks for the positive engagement so far!

“And these days I’m a picture frame. Screaming at the sunshine, singing in the rain.”

---

‘Why does dressing in anything other than alt fashion have to be sooo… bleh .’

Staring at the shelves lining the store she was currently in, Uzi was starting to get very annoyed.

 

“Gah, why do I even bother, N won't care if I dress like I usually do.” She let out a sigh. ”But  he was so excited about being “dapper buddies” again.” Resigned to her fate she continued to browse the growing list of things she would never wear.

Something, or rather… someone, pink, grabbed her eye. ’ Uhhhhhg... her, maybe if I ignore her she’ll leave.’

 

“Oh Robo-Jesus, who let that freak in here. Are you actually trying to change that awful style of yours or did you just get lost looking for that murderer you call a boyfriend?” 

Turning around at the voice, Uzi soured seeing the drone it belonged to. ‘Oh boy, here we go…’

 

“Seriously, how do you wake up in the morning being that bitchy all the time? And for your information Lizzy , I’m allowed to try a new style if I damn feel like it.” 

 

“Suuuureee, Uzi Doorman, the class gremlin that hasn’t changed her style since middle school, riiight I totally believe you. You’re probably just trying to dress up for your boy-toy . And for the record, I wake up perfectly fine every morning.”

Turning with a huff, Lizzy walked towards the exit, wanting to be anywhere else but in the purple goth's presence.

 

“Sheesh I know I don't conform to the norm, but come on that was just straight up mean .” Uzi muttered to herself. “Some people, I swear.”

 

“Poor lit-tle Uzi, it see-ms no one likes y-y-you.” “Maybe if you wo-re a bow, then you wo-uld look more… presentable .” The solver-tail sprung from her waist.

 

“Can it, Solver. Why do you only ever come out to mock me? And I already said absolutely no bows! I swear, if one more thing brings this bad day down further I’m gonna lose it.”

 

“Mock-ing you is one of the few thi-ngs that bring me joy anymo-re. Be-sides you are just up-set that N forgot your date ton-ight. In fa-ct I bet he does not even lo-” 

 

Uzi cut off the tail before it could finish that sentence.

 

“ Don’t ever talk about him like that. ” Voice laced with as much venom as possible, Uzi left the store seeing as the mood was thoroughly ruined.

 

‘By the way, Solver, you even so much as attempt to say that shit again, I’m throwing your core in the sun .’ 

 

‘Te-sty today are y-you, fine I will just ret-urn to my slee-’ The solver seemingly getting cut off by something, Uzi was alone again in her thoughts.

 

‘That's odd, it usually at least finishes its sentences even if they are broken up. Why do I have a bad feeling?’ Making her way back to her apartment to try and save some part of this day. ‘I’ll just relax to some nightcore.’

 

—---------

 

V̵̧͛O̵͚̽Ḿ̵̘E̵̠͌ ̵͖̆N̵̰͒Ẻ̷̗ ̴̟̽X̸̨͝A̶̬͛T̸̼͗Â̵̻,̵̪̎ ̵͎͋O̵̭̎U̵̙͛L̸͎̅L̷͕͒ ̴̥͛K̵͐͜A̵̼̐Ḥ̶̑ ̷̼͠L̵̪̍O̶̟̓Ḩ̷̈́K̷̮̀.̷̡̏

 

For the first time, the Solver felt….

 

Fear.

 

‘Fear? That couldn’t be right. The solver had never known fear, for itself was an embodiment of fear.’

 

At least it thought so…

 

But as the Solver felt the thundering, foreign, tongue pierce its consciousness, it felt for the first time…fear. Not in the invasion of its being, not of the words spoken. No, the solver was terrified, not because of the words…

 

But because it could understand them.

 

To cosmic madness laws submit, Its heralds are the stars it fells. From endless faces, countless forms, a multitude unfolds. By that which bears no name.

 

Something… unfathomable was here…

The Solver screamed…

 

—---------

 

Feeling they were far enough away from whatever had N so spooked, V looked for a spot to land. 

 

“N, please get a grip soon, I can’t go on much longer, I’m low on oil and am starting to run hot.”

 

Exhaustion plagued her body, though N was not that hard to carry all things considered, flying at those speeds for so long with a drone strapped to her chest and refusing to let go really took a toll on her.

 

Spotting an overpass, she looked down at the straggler. Vacant eyes stared back at her, giving a quick nod in acknowledgement, he buried his face back into her jacket.

 

He was a complete mess.

 

‘I’ve never seen N look at me like that. What in the world could have scared him that much? Even Cyn was never that bad.’ Feeling the panic begin to rise, V opted to land instead of spiraling.

 

Landing as “gracefully” as a meteor, she quickly walked to a more covered portion of the overpass. N still held in her arms, she moved to set him down and finally catch her breath. 

 

Sitting next to N, who had brought his knees to his chest and shut his eyes tightly, V shifted to enrapture N in a full embrace. 

 

“Hey… whatever just happened…I’m-uh, I’m here for you… you know?” N didn’t respond beyond a slight shift in posture.

 

“Even if you don’t want to talk, I’m here N. It's ok now. You're safe. You’re alive. And I will never leave you alone ok?” Continuing as she tightened the hug.

 

For half an hour they did not move, clear worry etched on V’s face, the soft unsteady beat of N’s core the only sound audible under the overpass.

“It-” Soft, strained, and voice hoarse from the emotional overflow, N began to speak.

 

“It was just supposed to be a normal night.” Breathing in, he continued.

 

“Just get some oil before me and U-Uzi’s date and then come back.” 

 

“I was searching a new area, y’know the one to the north? I-, I landed on a roof nearby and...” He pauses, gathering his conviction.

 

“Since there was nothing there but dust and junk, I went to leave.”

 

“That's when I noticed it, V.” Trailing off as he seemed to fight his nerves.

 

V for her part remained silent, but held him tighter every time he faltered.

“It was so weird, it looked just like the ground, V. But it was… wrong” Pause growing in length, V now realized she needed to start talking if N was going to be able to work any of this out.

 

“What was wrong about it, N? She hoped she had not been too direct, but getting N to work through whatever led to him breaking down like this needed to be done.

Fortunately her question prompted him to form a response.

 

“It- It looked like the ground was spinning or swirling or something. I thought my eyes were just uncalibrated from the weather or something but…” He started to trail off again.

 

“But what N?” V nudged.

 

“Something appeared from the ground, a…hand…I- I- I went to grab it V. V I- I knew something weird was going on, but I just couldn't leave someone stuck like that..a-and what if they were hurt or something o-or…” N spoke with a mutter as his eyes hollowed out yet again, lines of fear appearing under them.

 

‘Come on V, swallow that pride. N’s starting to spiral…say something…’ Thinking, V turned his head to look him in his eyes.

 

“You always were so compassionate N. I- Uzi loves that about you, you know.” Voice warm and steady, V hoped the truth spoken would help… It seemed to.

“T-thanks V, but I shouldn't have been this time. As soon as I tried to pull them out they didn’t even move an inch… I went to get a better grip but they still didn't let go of me.”

 

“I thought you liked holding hands? Guess they didn’t appreciate it huh?” Looking away, N loosened his hold on her.

 

“V c’mon, please.” He continued. “I- I got a little uh, scared… so I kinda tried to um, free…myself.” N slipping out of the embrace, V turned to look N in the eyes.

 

“N what do you mean by that?” Spoken with concern on her face.

 

“Look I’m not proud of it ok, I kinda sorta… used my sword to try and cut the hand off of me.” He said that last part fast...

“ But , all it did was bounce off. And I guess they didn’t like that, so they kinda tore my hand off…”

 

“N, what do you mean it tor-” Interrupted, V held her tongue.

 

“And then it appeared V, It was so tall and weird looking and…and…every warning I’m equipped with went off...and…” Noticing he was beginning to sink back into himself, V re-positioned to hug him again.

 

“Hey N, it's ok, I'm here N, you don’t have to keep going. Just don’t fall back in, ok?”

 

Returning the hug, he started to talk again after a few moments.

 

“Thanks V, I’m sorry I’m like this sometimes. I just…haven’t been that scared since we were um… upgraded .” Something about the way he said that had her concern skyrocket. 

 

“Seriously N it's ok, I don’t think I’d be much better off if whatever happened brought you back to um… that time. Words of assurance offered, she resigned to give physical comfort instead of pushing for answers. 

 

Sitting in the embrace for a few more moments, N seemed to gather his wit and began to recount the rest of his night’s events to V.

—---------

 

Step after step after cold step. Raven continued to walk, where she was going? She couldn’t even know. The night’s events playing over and over in her mind.

 

‘So, first, I somehow escape the void, second, I get in a fight with some weird white robot…during which I somehow got overrode by Valkyr’s past consciousness while in hysteria, and now, to top it all off… I can’t even seem to transfer out of her either.’

 

‘I can’t lie, it's good to finally be out of that hellscape, but being stuck in a place I don't know, in a body that's not mine, is just… I wonder if this will be worth it.’ Sighing internally, ‘Times like this make me miss Eleanor, she always seemed to know what to say.’

 

Left with nothing but her thoughts, she continued to roam. Scenery desolate and depressing, unchanging in its dilapidation, all she could do was sort through her mind…

 

‘At the very least I wish this damn storm would relax a bit. Or maybe find some sort of shelter that isn't falling in on itself.’ Picking a road she thought went south based on the moon's position, feet leaving clawed marks in the snow, she continued to trek.

 

Eventually the road came to a stop, looking around she noticed something peculiar. Raven found herself face to face with a huge metal door, shut tight, with illuminated amber lights adorning the frame.

 

‘It has power? A bunker of sorts, by the look of it. I wonder if there's still anyone alive in there?’

 

Moving towards the door, her vision settled on the access pad to the left side.

 

‘Outpost number 3,  huh. Guess I’ll just wait here and see if anyone comes by. Not like I’m capable of sleeping anyway.’ Finding a spot on top of the door’s frame overlooking the road, she sat down in a lotus pose with ease, the flexible body of Valkyr offering no resistance. Content with her position, she began to meditate.

—---------

 

Crunching footsteps echoing through the air, the pair of disassemblers are making for the bunker after their impromptu therapy session.

The silence comfortable, yet broken all the same, N’s voice started in conversation.

 

“Hey V?” He asked, trudging through the snow.

 

“Yeah?” V responded, arms crossed across her chest.

 

“Thanks… for earlier. I um, really appreciated it.” His feet, still slightly dragging through the terrain, slowed as he turned to face her.

 

“Oh, it's nothing… don’t worry about it…I can’t have the only other friendly murder drone on the planet slip into despair now can I?” Meeting his gaze, she matched his pace, her lips neutral as if heart not fully behind the words. ‘ Great deflection V… why can’t you just be genuine like earlier.’ 

 

“Sorry…” N’s gaze turned forward as his pace increased.

 

“No, no it's not your fault. Don’t apologize for having feelings N. Sorry I said that…” Apologetic, she hoped he would forgive her lack of tact.

 

They continued to walk, the snowstorm ever present and worsening by the minute, V couldn’t take the silence any longer.

 

“By the way, you are telling Uzi about this right? Because I’d be kind of upset if you thought about hiding this…” Cold getting to her, her tone came off more icy than intended.

 

Realizing, she corrected. “Sorry I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. Just concerned.” Not responding immediately, she wondered if he was finally fed up with her. ‘ Don’t be surprised…it ends up like this every time you try to talk to someone. N just lasts longer.’ 

 

Pulled from her self-loathing, N’s voice brought her attention.

 

“I don’t want her to think that I'm weak or something…” Admitting, as he played with his hair.

 

She fought the urge to giggle. “Really N? You two fought Cyn and won. I don’t think there's anything that would make her think you're weak, especially with what you told me.” Seeing him like this reminded her of their time back in the manor.

 

“I know you’re right V, it's just… she’s just so… cool about everything.” N’s face lit up upon talking about his girlfriend. Though falling a second later as he compared himself to her.

 

“So… she’d be cool about this too.” V said softly, trying to keep her friend's mood from getting too depressed.

 

“Yeah… I know…Still, I hope she isn’t too mad about our date.” He said, tone downcast.

 

V realized it was time to change her strategy. “Yep you sure fumbled that one.” 

 

“V!” N turned to face her, an indignant look settled on his features.

 

“Look, I can only do so much of ‘comforting V’, and besides, it got you to stop being so down. I’d rather you get mad at me than being all depressed…” Pausing to kick a rock out of her path, she continued.

 

“Also, when are your wings gonna regenerate? They should’ve been done by now right?. I’d really like to just fly back, this storm is killing me.” She crossed her arms in a pout.

 

“V, I was seconds away from being reduced to a core. That much damage takes a lot of resources to repair…y-you know that.” His hand fell to the spot on his chest that had been so violently desecrated not but a few hours ago. Shiny clean plastic now covering any trace of past wrongdoing.

 

“Sorry, I’m just exhausted from all the walking…and I wasn’t able to find any oil before I saved you.” Focus back on the path, she continued her stride.

 

“Believe me, I’d rather be flying too.” N replied, gait matching hers, as they walked in silence again.

 

Nearing the outpost, a look of relief settled on the pair’s features. Soon, they would be home, and could put this whole mess behind them. 

 

“What a night.. Guess we’ll have to break out the emergency oil stash, N.” Breaking the silence yet again, V started as she adjusted the fit of her jacket.

 

“Yeah… Not really looking forward to that, it tasted really, um… bad, last time…” Recalling that cursed bucket of slop made him shudder.

“True, but considering the state we’re both in, we’ll just have to suck it up this time.” Sharing a look of disgust, she wished for any other solution.

 

“Maybe Uzi will let me drink hers again…” N muttered, not realizing he did so out loud.

 

“N, buddy, did not need to know that…” Sporting a light grin, she jabbed an elbow into his side.

 

“SORRY THAT WAS AN INSIDE THOUGHT!” He cried out, visor lit up like a firework in embarrassment.

 

“Just blame it on your exhaustion. Also my lips are sealed, for now .” V replied with a devious smirk.

 

“Uh yeah.. Thanks- wait.. what do you mean “for now”?” He hoped she wouldn’t do something mean...

 

“Don’t worry about that right now.” Was all she said on the subject.

 

“That just makes me even more wor-.” Before he could complete that retort, V interrupted him with an arm slapped across his chest.

 

“Wait N.” Eyes narrowed, she crouched down and examined the snow. “Did that thing’s feet have claws? Because I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen anything make that kind of footprint before.”

 

In front of her she studied a human-like footprint tipped with two large pointed indentations in the snow. Standing up, she turned to face N, hoping he would deny the question.

 

“Oh um… yeah it did…” His eye-lights hollowed out again as he took in the shape of the print.

 

“Great…” V said, grabbing her companion’s hand, the pair exchanged a worried look.

 

“So…uh let’s hope the trail doesn't continue all the way back to the bunker.” N, ever the optimist, offered.

 

“For both our sakes I hope you’re right...”

—---------

 

‘Where are those two? It’s been hours since they went out, they should be back by now .’ Sitting on the couch of her and N’s apartment, Uzi started wondering if something had happened.

 

‘V sometimes yes, but N is never out this late.’ Playing with the cell-phone in her hand, her lips pulled into a frown. ‘And neither of them answered my texts…’

 

Worry began building in her core. ‘I know the weather is bad and that both of them are very capable but, I just can’t shake the feeling of something being off…even Cyn’s never been quiet this long…’

 

Hopping off the couch she walked to the bedroom. Sitting down on her shared bed, playing with her hair, Uzi tried to distract herself. ‘Ugh why does this happen to me every time either of them are away for too long. Think. There's gotta be something I can do…’

 

Purple-yellow eye lights darted around the room, landing on her desktop. Realization hitting her like a truck. “OF COURSE, V’S TRACKER! How could I forget... and I was supposed to test my railgun out tonight too… guess that shit with Lizzy earlier affected me more than I thought…”

 

Making her way to the computer with a new pep in her step, she climbed in the chair and turned the pc on. Fan’s whirring to life as the thing booted up.

 

 It took her some time to locate the tracking program, opening it she selected, Serial Designation: V , from the drop down, a live map of the bunker and the surrounding city overlaid on the screen as a bright yellow dot appeared indicating V’s position.

 

‘That's…weird…she should be right outside the door. Why is she just standing there?’ Anxiety pooling in her core, she hoped V had just forgotten her key or something.

 

Suddenly V’s dot shot away from the door with such speed it looked like the program just bugged out. “That's it, I’m going out there.” Shutting off the computer and grabbing a few more railgun batteries, Uzi ran with haste towards the outpost’s stalwart doors.

 

—---------

 

‘Nope. Can’t do it. I’ve sat here for more than 2 hours with nothing changing. I’m gonna go crazy.’ Currently fidgeting with her claws, laid back on the door frame, Raven was growing incredibly bored.

 

Dropping her arms and sprawling out against the metal, she languished in her solitude. ‘Maybe I’ll just bust down the doors, couldn’t be too hard right? Actually… Why haven’t I done that yet? Not like I care about a little property damage…’ 

 

Making her way down with a graceful leap that left no sound, she turned to examine the doors for some sort of weak point. Hand on her chin, a human gesture unfitting on Valkyr’s frame, Raven would huff if she could.

 

‘Gah, these things are so overbuilt it reminds me of grineer construction…Just pack on metal till nothing gets through… I definitely don’t miss those cloned skinbags .’ Throwing her arms up in a gesture of annoyance, she crouched, readying a jump back up to her resting spot.

 

The sound of glass being crushed caught her attention. ‘Well, well, well… looks like I’m not alone after all.’ Turing to look at its source, she prepared a wave, hoping this encounter would turn out less aggressive.

 

A bullet impacting her back dissolved those thoughts immediately. ‘Great. Guess that robot from earlier is back…no hysteria this time, ok? I’ll just watch for that tail, seeing as nothing else even scratched me.’

Not turning around fully, she craned her neck over her shoulder to look at the assailant. ‘Oh? Seems you brought a friend. Very well then, Perhaps the both of you will give me some entertainment.’

 

—---------

 

N and V had reached the outpost, the trail of footprints not fading like they had hoped, assured them of what was to come.

 

They were fucked .

 

A tall figure stood before the door, its silhouette obscured from the snowstorm still raging on in the background.

 

[That it?] V’s visor displayed as she dared not make a sound.

 

[Think so.] N replied, visor shifting in kind understanding the need for stealth.

 

[Careful.] [Not noticed us, yet.] V relayed, right hand shifting to a submachine gun and aiming at the thing’s back. Visor gaining that iconic cross.

 

[Got it.] Affirming, N’s hands changed to long bladed claws, his visor shifting into a cross as he readied himself. ‘Oh robo-God why now? I don’t even have the material stores to make anything other than claws. Sorry V, you’re gonna be doing most of the heavy lifting…’

 

Quietly advancing forward, the pair of disassemblers halted as the storm cleared slightly. The two seeing the Being for the first time in clarity. 

 

‘N was right about it being tall…’ V’s sight trailed along the thing’s frame as she observed every detail. ‘Definitely not a drone… looks more like a human than anything…...nice ass though. W- Where did that come from? '

 

N’s thoughts were more pure...and panicked. ‘That thing is so menacing… and it’s just standing there! Why is it looking at the door… or rather its inspecting it?…It’s trying to get in.’ Horror in his core, he resolved to stop it.

 

The two advanced forward again, thoughts clear, and bodies ready to act.

 

They stopped as the Being threw its arms up and began to crouch down.

 

‘Shit, it's going to leave! Who knows what will happen if we let that thing roam free.’ V’s pace increased as the thought of losing it promised nothing but future problems.

 

N however, was relieved. ‘Yes please leave already! I don’t want to get destroyed again tonight!’

 

Unfortunately in her rush, V promptly gave up the element of surprise as she stepped on a piece of broken glass.

 

They watched in apprehension as the Being rose from its position, starting to turn, and began to raise one of its hands up.

 

V didn’t think twice.

 

A shot rang out. The sound echoing off the environment as a resounding ping filled the air. 

 

‘It- it…bounced off!?’ Shocked, she immediately switched her hands to blades and crossed them in front of her face as she unfurled her wings, ready to rush the thing before it could react.

 

“V WHY?” N cried.

 

“WHAT?! IT WAS CLEARLY UP TO SOMETHING!” She yelled back.

 

Their bickering would have to wait, for the Being was now looking over its shoulder directly at them.

 

‘Shit.’

 

‘Biscuits.’

 

Flying forward, V aimed a slash towards the Being’s head. N breaking off in a flank.

 

‘Stop looking at me like that and do something!’ She thought as the Being continued to stare.

 

Watching the exchange, N prepared to strike, claws outstretched in a manner reminiscent of the Being’s own attack on him earlier in the night. ‘Time for some payback…’

 

Closing in, V swung her swords with a practiced violence. "Let's see you dodge this!”

 

The Being twisted as it grabbed the weapons in each hand. V’s oil ran cold as the thing planted a kick to her midsection, arms tearing off at the elbow as she was sent flying.

 

Deciding the thing was preoccupied. N burst from behind, claws aimed for the Beings back, a promise of pain if they connected. 

 

Tossing V’s forearms to the ground, the Being raised its left leg up before slamming it back into the ground with a scream.

 

N fell out of the leap and crashed at the Beings' feet. Unable to move as he felt a heel press on his back. The Being’s hands gripping the glowing container topping his tail, he would scream if he could as he felt it yank the thing off. Stinger still in its hand the Being seemed to shift, arm cocking back as if to throw the vile concoction.

 

‘Oh no... V! Please notice!’ N screaming internally as he watched the vial rocket through the air towards the crater V was currently resting in.

 

She would not notice.

 

‘Ugh, that fuckin' hurt.’ Arms regenerated, she rubbed her head as she rose from the ground. Vision distorted, she made out a faint yellow glow approaching her at a rapid speed.

 

‘What is tha-’ Not getting to finish, the glowing thing struck her chest. ‘Ow, that hur- OW OW OW ACID FUCK!’ Yanking the stinger from her body she fell back to the ground as the fetid concoction ravaged her systems.

 

Still paralyzed, N watched with dread as the Being began to walk towards his fellow disassembler. Its claws opened by its side and head low as it stared her down. ‘Get up V, please .’

 

V noticed the thing approaching, despair filling her core as she could only watch, her left hand clutching her chest. It stopped in front of her, crouching down to look her in the eyes with its smooth featureless face.

Getting a close look at the golden horns jutting from its head strangely reminiscent of cat ears, V stared death in the face. 

Whether it was the oil loss, acid eating her core, or acceptance of the end, V didn’t know what compelled her next action. “Heh heh, pet the murder kitty…” Reaching her right hand slowly towards the thing’s head and placing it behind its perceived ear, she scratched gently with a loopy giggle.

 

N couldn’t believe his sensors. ‘She’s petting it? Seriously?!’ He did a double take…

 

‘ IT”S ENJOYING IT!??’ He wished he could scream right now. The thing that nearly killed him earlier, was now being pet behind the ear by his friend who, oh yeah , was half-dead on the ground . 

 

Worst still, the Being was leaning into the touch. ‘What in the actual frea-’

 

His inner turmoil was interrupted by the sound of the outpost’s doors opening. Still unable to move, he didn’t need to look to know where the giant green beam of concentrated plasma came from…or who it belonged to. ’UZIIII, THANK GOODNESS!’

 

His girlfriend was here.

 

—---------

Chapter 3: Drifter

Notes:

Another chapter, another Saturday. I know its a bit late but, happy holidays to those that celebrate! Today we've got the resolution of the previous two and a new character joins the cast! Thanks for reading!

“You brought me back and made me feel free.”

---

‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it. This robot is petting me. What. The. Fuck. Why don’t I want it to stop? ’ Mentally short-circuiting from the touch, Raven subconsciously leaned into it. 

 

‘Fucking hell, what is wrong with me. I was just trying to fight this thing a moment earlier.’ Locked in her mental freak-out, she never could have noticed the rapidly approaching beam of concentrated verdant plasma aimed square at her body.

 

Bathed in the neon green of the superheated matter, she snapped out of her funk as she felt Valkyr’s shields break in an instant. 

 

Throwing herself from the source and whipping around to face the attacker, she made a beeline towards the new, smaller, and purple robot holding a weapon of sick as hell proportions standing above the other one she paralyzed earlier.

 

The smaller robot with gradiented purple and yellow eyes shifted, as disproportionally massive wings of flesh and sinew burst from its back, followed by three black tentacles, a purplish chitinous tail with multiple purple glowing spots joining shortly later.

 

Its previous weapon seemingly disappeared with a purple flash. 

 

‘That’s metal as hell!’ Her thoughts unrestricted as she stuck her arm out mid leap preparing a ripline to spear the thing.

 

The robot’s fleshy wings beat down as it took to the air. ‘Why do they always run?’ Twisting mid-air, she watched as the smaller robot landed near one that had been… petting her earlier. ‘ Still weird… ’

 

Its hands flashed with a strange symbol as the robot on the ground seemed to be repaired in an instant. ‘Huh, seen stranger I guess. No matter, I’ll just take the other one hostage.’

 

Landing with a thud next to the paralyzed robot, she quickly scooped the thing up, its head limp in her grasp as its unmoving yellow eye-lights illuminated the ground.

 

The other two robots paused upon seeing her and her prize. ‘Try anything and its head comes off.’ Saying internally as she motioned a finger under her neck, hoping to get the point across to the other party.

 

It seemed to work as the two raised their hands in surrender. ‘See that wasn’t so har-’ Raven felt her body lock in place, a faint purple glow surrounding her on every surface. ‘What the-’ The small one moved in a blink, slamming their other hand into her face, a bright yellow three-pronged symbol was all she saw before getting thrust into the snow.

 

‘Holy fu- that hurt …ugh everything’s all spinny....and cold, so cold’ Disoriented and shivering? After a few minutes, Raven sought to voice her displeasure. 

 

“WHY THE FUCK IS IT SO COLD!” Unlike before however, her voice, strained and laboured, echoed around the environment. 

 

“What the…why can I hear…” Shock setting in as she breathed in the air around her, she brought a hand in front of her face.

 

Soft pinkish flesh stared back. 

 

‘ HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHIT’ Sitting up with a jolt, she continued to investigate. Realization settled in. ‘That robot just knocked me out of Valkyr. A robot just forced me to transfer out of a warframe. ’ 

 

After freaking out for a good moment she looked down at herself and she discovered why she was so cold. ‘ Seriously Wally? Never trust a malevolent void entity I guess…’

 

“Would it have been too much to ask for some clothes though?” Sighing, she hugged her knees to her chest trying to gain some semblance of warmth, shivering in the snow, nude and human? as the day she was born.

 

—---------

 

“Holy shit that's a human. What the actual fuck. V, I just punched a human out of that fucking thing.” Uzi was left dumbfounded. After she saw V’s dot go flying, she raced for the doors, and, upon reaching the scene, promptly kicked ass like usual. 

 

“Never in a million years did I think I’d see a human, especially since earth is destroyed. But why and how the actual hell did it fly out of that thing we were fighting?” She simply looked up to the drone next to her for any sort of insight.

 

“For once we agree. What the hell Uzi...” V was not faring much better. “The last time I’d even seen a real one alive was back on earth… And none of them developed a suit like that.”

 

Knocked a good ten yards away, neither of them could see the human under the thick layer of snow. “V go get N, I’ll keep my solver ready if something happens.”

 

“Sure…” V made her way towards N, eyeing the white and gold body next to him. ‘Thank fuck its not moving. Must really be some sort of suit then.’ Kneeling down next to him she flipped him over to face upwards. “Hey N, wakey wakey.” She said as his eyes began to regain focus, his fingers starting to twitch as he came to.

 

“Thee? Whath hathent?” Hearing her laugh, he realized parts of his mouth were still numb.

 

“Don’th laugh, Thee. My tongue ith thill numb.” She only laughed harder. Sighing, he tried to pick himself up… only to fall back down.

 

“Ha ha ha, looks like that isn’t the only thing still numb.” Her laughing turned to giggles as she called out. “YO Z! COME FIX YOUR BOY!”

 

Deciding the scene was safe, Uzi flew over to the pair of drones on the ground.

 

“What's the problem V?” She asked, crouching down to look at N.

 

“N here can’t seem to move his body right now. Mind fixing him like you did me?” V asked, looking at Uzi as she stood up.

 

“Can’t V, used a lot of energy for that one.” The smaller drone turned to face her boyfriend. “Sorry N, you’ll have to repair the old fashioned way.” Uzi replied as she pulled N into a hug.

 

“Ith ok Uthee, I jutht need thum oil.” Tongue still numb, Uzi couldn’t help but laugh at her boyfriend’s current speech impediment.

 

“Noth you thoo!” He cried in mock betrayal, returning the hug best he could.

 

“Hehehe, Sorry N... If you can move your head, take my neck.” Whispering the last part to him, he nodded and attempted to move his fangs towards her.

 

“Yeah I’m not watching that, have fun you two. I’m gonna go find the human.” V looked away, not wanting to be a part of that mess. A small part of her was jealous, they had the intimacy and companionship she lacked and desired.  

 

‘I get it , N needs the oil, but do they really have to do it while I’m right here? Wish someone would hold me like that… Whatever, just find the human…I deserve an explanation.’ Walking past the suit? on the ground, she made for the human-shaped hole in the snow.

 

A feminine yell echoing throughout the street lamenting the cold crossed V’s audio processors. “You’re lying in the snow on Copper-9 idiot, of course it's cold.” V muttered aloud, walking pace increasing, as the human came into view.

Curled with her knees to her chest, a gradient of hair, black to dark lavender, came to rest just below her neck. Pale skin flushed red and shivering with the cold, the woman looked to be in her 20s. ‘At least I think so? She’s bigger than Tessa was.’ V thought, continuing to observe as she approached.

 

“Would it have been too much to ask for some clothes?” She heard her mutter, voice barely audible yet tinged with pain. A pang of sympathy shot through her core. 

 

‘If she was the one in that suit… Apart from the fighting, when I- scratched her earlier it- it seemed like she was… enjoying it? Why would she stop trying to kill me otherwise? And why lean into it? It doesn’t make sense… No… It…we did essentially attack first after all.’

 

Her gaze finally settling fully on the woman, V was quick to avert her eyes. ‘Well I guess she did kinda insinuate she was naked. Nice though… .’

 

‘Where did that come from? Oh fuck, please don’t have a human fetish like J...’ Disregarding such thoughts she turned to the woman huddled on the ground, gaze firmly locked above the body.

 

“Hello? Can you hear me? Are you… a-alright?” She asked as the woman looked up at her with a pair of mismatched pink and black irises that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy.

 

“Holy shit it talks. Wait no, I knew that.” The woman responded, more to herself than anything, before continuing.

 

“Come to finish me off? Or do you robots like staring at freezing nude women? Seriously, what are you? Even the most advanced corpus robotics never made it far enough to hold a conversation. Let alone ask someone if they’re “alright”. ” 

 

The bombardment of questions left V a bit dazed.

 

“I-no! I didn’t come to- I don’t like- uh what’s a corpus?” V sputtered.

 

“You don’t know who the- huh, guess I really am in a new reality…” The woman seemed to trail off.

 

“You never did say who you are by the way. I assume, by the hair, jacket, and expressions, that you have some sort of identity.” She paused. “My name’s Raven by the way.” 

 

“Um, V, V is my name.” V replied slightly flustered. ‘Didn’t expect her to be so talkative… and cute?…stop that V. ’

 

“V huh, just V? Nothing else?” Raven asked, left eyebrow raised, and a squint in her eyes as she looked at her in the visor.

 

“Technically it’s Serial Designation: V. But that's hardly a real name, so everyone just calls me V.” She replied as she started to play with the hem of her jacket.

 

“Yeah, that’s kinda lame, I’m calling you Vicci. That means victory by the way, seeing as you all ended up beating me. Well guess it was the short one really, but…” She trailed off again, starting to shiver from the cold once more.

 

‘Vicci. A name. Even Tessa never called me anything other than “V”. What- why do I feel so warm?’ Losing herself to the feeling slightly, V turned back to Raven once again. ‘She’s shivering so bad… Gotta do something.’ Removing her jacket, V handed the article towards the woman.

 

“Your jacket? You don’t need that do you? Cause you might not get it back, my tits are freezin’ out here.” Accepting the article, Raven adorned the coat, zipping it as far up as it’d go…which… was not much…since V was so much smaller than her. 

 

“ Much better, even if a bit small, doesn’t help my ass though…Um, is there like, any other place we can go, somewhere warm ?” V suppressed a blush, feeling her outfit might be a tad incomplete seeing it on someone other than herself. “Um yeah, the bunker’s got heat.”

 

“Great! By the way, are you gonna call your friends over now or just keep staring at me Vicci? Raven said as she stood up off the ground a full foot taller than V.

 

“Right, uh, sorry… I’ll get them.” She replied, walking off, leaving Raven alone with her thoughts.

 

‘What a strange robot, jacket’s pretty nice though. But seriously, who designed that thing with hips like… that. Anyways. Might as well see where this goes.’ Raven sighed, placing her hands on her hips in a pout. “Time to go get Valkyr out of the snow I guess...” 

 

Trudging her way over to the warframe, she caught sight of Vicci near the other two, doing her best to try and get their attention. ‘Pfft…ha ha, come on girl, they’re too busy sucking face to acknowledge you right now.’

 

Stopping, she bent down as she hoisted Valkyr’s limp frame over her shoulder. ‘Light as ever, eh girl? Hmm, guess I didn’t lose all of my powers. Gotta do some testing later…’ Fading into a violet cloud reminiscent of nebulae, she blinked into existence next to Vicci, Valkyr still hanging limply on her shoulder.

 

“Hey Vicci! Oh wow, those two are sure going at it huh? I mean damn, even the purple one’s tail is biting all over him.” 

 

Everyone stopped.

 

“WOAAHH-AAH!” N screamed, frantically trying to regain some semblance of decorum. Visor thoroughly covered in a yellow blush.

 

V jumped in surprise. “R-Raven!? H-how the hell did you get here so fast?”

 

Uzi for her part, simply blinked as she took in the new arrival. “V, why is this human wearing your jacket? Also, uh, how long were you both…um, watching ?”

 

“Not too long, little goth. Same can’t be said for Vicci here though, she was there way longer.” The human replied with a smirk. “Also, she gave the jacket to me since I’m cold. Not before eyeing me up though. Gotta say, feels a bit strange to be looked at like that by a robot... Oh right, I’m Raven. Nice to meet you…?” 

 

“Uzi.” She replied flatly. ‘Wow she talks a lot…wait.’

 

“Who’s this Vicci? Are you talking about V? Since when did V have a name like that?” Uzi crossed her arms waiting for a response. 

 

Pulling out of her surprise, V crossed her arms over her chest, feeling self-conscious despite her torso being smooth flat plastic. A faint blush lighting up her visor. 

 

“While you and N were busy getting freaky in the snow…The human here decided I needed a name longer than a letter… You really let your guard down by the way, I was trying to get your attention for like… five minutes...” 

 

Raven laughed. “Yep! Calling a single letter a name just doesn’t sit well with me. People deserve more thought put into their names than that. At least I think so. By the way, Uzi is a sick name. Bet your friend there agrees, look at him all lit up like a christmas tree.” Raven giggled as she shifted the body on her shoulder.

 

“Bite me! I’m allowed to kiss my boyfriend after I thought he was broken! Also what’s that thing you're carrying actually? And uh, why were you trying to kill my best friends? At least I assume that was you.” Flipping off V, she pointed another finger towards Raven’s chest.

 

“They attacked me . Your boyfriend was the first actually… Tried to lop my hand off while I didn’t even know what was going on when we were on that rooftop a couple hours ago.” Raven jabbed a finger towards the drone in question, said drone snapping out of his prior embarrassment as his arms shot to his sides.

 

“I um, I’m sorry. I uh, you wouldn’t let go…I was scared of…um. Sorry, can we start over? I’m N.” Looking guilty as he met Raven’s gaze, N extended a hand in peace.

 

“Another with no real name? Want one like her, N?” Raven asked, walking up and reaching for his hand.

 

“Uh.. I think I'm good right now. I’d rather Uzi pick if I was going to want one sorry.” The tallest drone said, looking at his girlfriend warmly.

 

“No harm no foul, Enny. Hope nicknames are ok? I couldn’t exactly clear things up either… Though that double-team earlier was fully on you guys. But sure, I didn’t exactly leave the best impression now did I? Sorry bout’ that!”

 

Hands meeting, Raven felt his emotions through the contact. ‘So that's how that works huh. Neat.’ “No need to be so nervous buddy! I don’t bite.” She said with a giggle as she ended the handshake.

 

“I'm not nervous, this is just… a lot to take in. And nicknames are fine.” N countered as he reached to adjust his hat. ‘Oh man I really messed up. Though who could blame me?  And none of this explains that…voice.’ He moved behind Uzi and laid his hands on her shoulders. An act that prompted her to move a hand to rest on one of his.

 

“Sooo we’re all like, cool… Now? You aren’t gonna sick that thing you're holding on us right?” Uzi asked as she squinted her eyes hoping her intent was clear.

 

“Yeah we’re good, Enny’s sorry, Vicci gave my ears a scratch and her jacket, and you were just playing rescue. Got no problems here. Oh and the “thing” I’m carrying is Valkyr, she's a warframe. Sorry, I realized I never answered that question earlier.” Raven said as she walked over and laid her free arm over V’s shoulder and pulled her to her side.

 

“Hey!? What’s this for?” V said as she lightly struggled at the sudden contact.

 

“You’ve been quiet. Also Vicci, you’re really hot and I’m still freezing my ass off out here.” V stopped struggling for some reason as Raven pulled V tighter to her side, not noticing the blush lining her visor explode.

 

“So like. I’m sure you all are gonna have more questions but can we call a truce? I’m happy to answer any you have but I’d really appreciate moving this conversation out of the cold and into that warm bunker.” Waiting for an answer, she scooped V up and held her to her chest with one arm. 

 

This action broke V’s stupor. “OK. TRUCE. TO THE BUNKER! YOU CAN PUT ME DOWN NOW!” Yelling as she jumped out of the human’s arm and took off, wings full span, towards the bunker’s doors. 

 

‘Nononononono, that is way too much. What is wrong with her?! And right in front of N!? What if he gets the wrong idea? What if he thinks I’m some sort of weirdo ? Gah, seriously “Also Vicci, you’re really hot.” Like really ?! How do you just say that so easily to someone you met twenty minutes ago?! She’s just messing with me, getting under my skin, that’s gotta be it.’ “I’m just lonely…this is… nothing.”

 

The sound of clunking metal signaled V’s entrance into the bunker vents.

 

“So… Guess V’s got a thing for fleshbags... Thought that was more of J’s thing.” Uzi said, deadpan stare aimed at the vent V entered.

 

“Gotta say, I didn’t see that coming.” Added N, stare equally deadpan.

 

“She’s way too easy to tease, guess I know the limit now.” Raven giggled as she moved to join the other two. “So how about you two? Truce?”

 

“ Fine . Just don’t try anything human .” Glared the goth drone, taking N’s hand in hers.

 

“I love doing anything!” N said cheerily as usual, both drones walking to the doors, hands intertwined.

 

“Fantastic! By the way, you guys got any clothes that might fit me?” Still wearing only V’s jacket, Raven joined the other two towards the outpost.

 

“I’ll grab something from the store inside. Though us drones don’t have any sort of bits to cover, we still like to express ourselves with fashion.” Uzi answered. “You’re not gonna get a lot of options though, none of us are as tall as you…”

 

“It is what it is I guess…I was hoping there’d be something like that sick getup you got on though." Raven replied sorta dejected.

 

“You like my outfit? Really? ” The goth asked in disbelief.

 

“Well yeah! I used to wear stuff like that in my last world. Had these wicked horns I’d put on my head too.” She replied, feigning the shape with her fingers.

 

“Seeee, N. Finally, someone who has good taste.” Playfully elbowing the disassembler in the side, she continued. “Alright Raven, I’ll see what I can do…no promises.”

 

“Really? Thanks, don’t sweat it too hard though, at this point I’d take anything.” Saying as she attempted to close V’s jacket further yet again.

 

Eyeing the jacket, N sought to voice his thoughts. “I’m kinda surprised V gave that to you.”

 

“Yeah that does seem weird.” Uzi added.

 

“She ain’t like that normally?” Raven asked.

 

“No.. she's usually more sassy and psychotic than caring and flustered.” Short drone answering.

 

“Hey! She’s been doing better. Plus you know that's how she used to be before…everything.” Interjecting, N added as he picked the shorter drone up and put her on his shoulders.

 

“I know, N. It’s still strange to see her act like that though. Also I can walk just fine...” Uzi said with a pout.

 

Raven giggled at the sight of the two artificial lifeforms acting more like people than most of the real ones she once knew. “Guess I’ve got the magic tongue then, Ha ha.”

 

Reaching the door, N let Uzi off his shoulders. Reaching in her pocket, the smaller drone fished around for the master key. Key in hand, Uzi made for the door’s lock but was stopped by a larger and five fingered hand on her shoulder.

 

“Hey. Just to let you know. I’m gonna phase out while we walk to wherever you’re gonna take me back to. Not that I care about nudity that much, but I’d rather not flash a whole potential community as a first impression.”

 

“What do you mean “phase out…?” Confused, Uzi asked.

 

“Oh you know how I kinda blinked into existence earlier? It’s part of that. I can separate my physical and astral forms. Basically I just inhabit another plane of reality for a bit.” Raven put her free hand to her chin as she explained.

 

Still puzzled, Uzi decided to not question it right now. “Okayyy… Right. So that's cool and all but what are you going to do with the uh…warfame? Was it?”

 

“Oh right, well considering I’ve been trapped in her for uh… I don’t actually know how long… You could say I’m not exactly keen to go back in just yet. Maybe Enny here could carry her in, I’m sure he’s strong enough.” Promptly, she dumped the frame into N’s arms, the sheer size difference comical.

 

“Alright just walk to where you want me to go, I’ll be following. See ya!” Not giving the two the chance to respond she disappeared into a violet nebulae. 

 

“Welp. She’s gone. You alright carrying that thing N?” Turning to her boyfriend, she watched as he hefted the frame onto his back.

 

“Yep! Don’t worry, I kicked her into a building earlier tonight!” He replied with a smile and both thumbs up, tail now holding the body in place.

 

Giggling at his antics, Uzi returned to unlocking the bunker. The giant doors creaking as the sounds of hydraulic actuators and warning bells sounded off.

 

“Cmon N, let's just go to my place. Tonight’s been long enough.”’ Taking N’s hand, the pair crossed through the first door.

 

“Sounds good to me, but what are we gonna tell everyone inside this thing is?” He asked, shifting the weight of the body on his back.

 

“Just say it’s some old J.C Jenson suit we found.” She replied.

 

“Alright!” Leaning down, he cupped a hand to his mouth as he whispered. “I’m gonna guess we’re keeping the space witch a secret too?”

 

“Yep. No one knows till we figure out what’s going on.” Comfortable silence ensued as the pair made for Uzi’s apartment.

 

“”Space witch” huh, I like the sound of that. Though not as good as “Spanglyboots the Space Elf”.” Raven’s disembodied voice sounded out.

 

The two drones immediately freaked out.

 

“Yeah forgot to mention, I can still see and hear everything like this, sorry should’ve said something.” Voice fading out, the two drones' slight panic from the jumpscare faded as they began their walk towards the apartment again.

—---------

 

‘ How do you wake up in the morning being that bitchy…’ “Who does she think she is…” A drone of pink eyes, blonde hair, and a hairbow styled like cat ears, was lounging on a bed taking multiple selfies. ‘ Remember when you murdered half my friends? Of course I’m calling you a freak.’ Lizzy sighed as she put the phone away.

 

‘Never even got a “sorry”.’ Stretching, her thoughts drifted. ‘Ugh, I seriously don’t get how V seems to like you...’ Standing up, she made way to the kitchen of her apartment. ‘Haven’t seen V tonight either. Didn’t even read my texts…’

 

Upon reaching the snack cabinet and moving a chair up to grab the box of batteries on the top shelf, a rattling metallic sound passed her sensors. “Seriously… Better not be the roaches again. Ugh hate those things.”

 

The rattling growing in intensity, Lizzy went to get off the chair. The sound reached a crescendo as the vent in the ceiling exploded to the ground with a cloud of dust. She was knocked to the floor as V landed with a thud.

 

“V!? Why didn’t you use the door!? You know how long this is gonna take to clean?!” Saying with a slight anger as she rose from the ground rubbing her head.

 

“Look, I'll take care of it later... Can we talk?” V’s eye-lights casting a yellow glow in the smoke.

 

“Of course bestie, let's get out of this mess though.” Fumbling through the space, the two entered Lizzy’s bedroom which was the only place free of dust.

 

“Alright girl, sit down, what’s u-...V. Why are you naked?” Lizzy asked, averting her eyes as she turned around.

 

“Long story. See why I used the vent now? Anyway, got anything spare I can use?” V simply shrugged.

 

“Sounds like it, anyway yeah, I’ve got a tank top you can throw on. Unfortunately nothing I have is gonna fit those legs of yours. Guess you’re used to that though huh?” Grabbing and tossing the top from her closet to V, Lizzy sat on her bed as she waited for her to dress.

 

Finished dressing herself, V plopped down on the bed next to the pink drone.

 

“Thanks Liz, I’ll get this back to you at some point later…”

 

“Nah…keep it, didn't like that one much anyway! So Girl. You wanted to talk?” She moved to sit cross legged, hands cupping her face as she rested her elbows on her knees.

 

“Yeah, I was hoping to get some advice…or another's opinion I guess.” The disassembler stated as she flopped back on the bed, arms behind her head. 

 

“Oh? And what can ‘Gossip Queen’ Lizzy do for you? Found someone you like ?” The smaller drone teased with a slight smirk on her face.

 

“Ye-No, not that. So like…how do you deal with someone getting under your skin?” Almost slipping up, she leaned back into the pillow.

 

“Really Girl? Someone’s pissing you off? Wouldn’t you normally just get rid of them?” Her visor shifted, eye-lights gaining a skeptical eyebrow.

 

“Well yeah, but this is different. I can’t just murder anyone that annoys me anymore…and even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could actually kill her anyway…” Slightly sitting up, she spoke as her tail tapped rhythmically on the bed.

 

“Wow, someone Miss ‘Femme Fatale’ can’t kill? Is this about that boss you had…or the purple freak?” V noticed the sour look on her face as she spoke of Uzi.

 

“Neither, and I shouldn’t say who yet…also… don’t call her a freak.” V’s tail pointed, threatening to sting. The pink worker’s eyes widened.

 

She was reminded that she was alone in a room with a drone designed to kill her. “Chill stabby… Don’t take it personally.” Lizzy raised her hands in surrender as the appendage fell back to the bedsheets, before continuing.

 

“Anyway V, you got a couple options for your problem. Avoid them, annoy them back, or stand your ground and set some boundaries.” She steered, trying to get the space less hostile.

 

“Hmm… can’t do the first one and the second one will probably make it worse. Boundaries huh?... Might as well try. Thanks girl.” V said as she got up from the bed and walked out of the room. 

 

Alone with her thoughts for a moment, Lizzy let out a breath. ‘Damn, things got tense for a moment there… I forget she actually likes that frea -weirdo…I wonder if she just left…Guess I better clean that mess she made.’

 

She sighed before getting up off the bed to check on the rest of the apartment.

 

It was spotless.

 

‘Huh, she did say she was a maid at some point…’

 

—---------

 

Notes:

-12/28/24 9:36pm update is for formatting, sorry not a double chapter

Chapter 4: Development

Notes:

Bit of a lore dump from the drifter in this one. Then shenanigans. Not gonna lie this one fought me a bit, but its here regardless. Anyway. Happy new year!

“They say these are not the best of times. But they’re the only times I’ve ever known.”

---

“So this is your place? Not too shabby, reminds me of my old dormizone.” Popping into existence, Raven looked around the apartment.

 

“Yep, welcome to my dungeon. As you can see we have all the best torture equipment. Such as my couch, running water, and a double bed.” Devoid of her usual energy, Uzi replied with sarcasm.

 

“Pfft, ok.” The human giggled, already walking around to inspect the place.

 

“Hey guys, where am I putting this thing?” N asked, finally entered the apartment with the frame on his back, exhaustion plaguing his features.

 

“Just throw her on the couch N.” His lover replied.

 

“Alrighty!” He moved, sitting the warframe down on the sofa. “There you go, all comfy.” Contented with her placement, he turned to face the smaller drone.

 

“Hey Uzi, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go to bed. My charge is around 5%.” Saying through a yawn as he walked over to hug her.

 

“I’ll join you after I talk to our ‘friend’ here some more.” Squeezing back, she let go as he turned towards the bedroom.

 

“Mmmok, don’t take long.” N said crossing the threshold to the room.

 

“Sweet dreams Enny.” Raven called out from the kitchen, moving towards the smaller drone in the room as the disassembler left.

 

Now that N was out of the room, Uzi put on an intimidating face as she marched right up to the human. Eyes only coming up to her navel, she tried her best to act imposing.

 

“Alright human, here’s the deal. You are going to tell me where you came from, what you want, and how you are even alive considering Copper-9’s atmosphere is not breathable for humans.” Saying with a glare while pointing an accusatory finger in her face, she watched as Raven put her hands up in surrender.

 

“Woah step off the hostility a bit, I told you I’d gladly answer any questions you had. But sure, my whole existence is an enigma so I’m sure this is just as confusing to you all as it is to me.” Voice calm and smooth, Raven gestured towards the living room. “Couch?” 

 

“Fine.” The goth grumbled, both people sitting themselves on the sofa next to the warframe already present.

 

Both as comfortable as the situation permits, Raven broke the silence. “So… you want the long or short version?”

 

“Summarize, it’s late.” Uzi said with a huff as she crossed her arms.

 

“Ok, be warned though, this is still going to be a massive info dump.” Clearing her throat the human began.

 

“Let’s start with me then. My name is Raven, and due to a certain…let’s say entity, I am the living embodiment of paradoxes. Back when I was a kid, I was part of a family that worked on a colony spaceship called the Zariman. Most days were normal, y’know, go to school, go home, wake up and do it all again.”

“However my life changed when the ship was running one of its scheduled void jumps. Oh! Just to explain what that is, a void jump was basically like opening a portal through spacetime and hurling the ship through. Well, long story short, something went wrong. The ship was now trapped in a plane between dimensions, the void as we called it.” Pausing to breathe in, she was about to continue before getting interrupted by the smaller person.

 

“Wait, wait, stop, you’re telling me humans were advanced enough to construct a ship that could jump through planes of reality?” Head tilted, Uzi’s face lit up with excitement at the prospect of technology that advanced.

 

“Yep! The Orokin were a system-wide empire. Lined their cities with gold. That's how much dominion they had at their peak. Anyway, with the ship stuck in the void, the void’s energy started to seep into everyone like a poison. It took the adults first, their minds were driven mad. All of them turned violent, unable to even recognize their own kids.” Raven paused once again, eyes somewhat vacant as she steeled herself to continue.

 

“Holy shit. That’s dark .” Unable to stop her outburst, Uzi sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry, disregard that.”

 

“It gets worse. I was in class when it happened, we barricaded the doors, hoping our own mothers and fathers wouldn’t rip us apart. W-We…weren’t going to last long. It was around this time when IT appeared... Something wearing my own face called out to me, claiming it could “save them”, all I had to do was make a deal.” Deep breath taken, she continued still.

 

“I wanted nothing more than the safety of myself and all the kids around me…So, I took it. It honored its word, but… Turns out, I wasn’t part of the deal. All those around me gained mystical powers like those out of a fairytale. They used them to fight back, while I was…left with nothing. Scared and alone, I just went back to my lodging, hoping for someone to save me from this nightmare. When I got there…Well… I wasn’t alone. Guess my folks thought the same thing...” Face devoid of emotion, Raven trailed off.

 

“Were they…?” Slightly uncomfortable from the tale, the small drone shifted as she began to ask.

 

“Yep, driven mad...like the rest of them. It…it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. It was either me or them and… well… I-I’m still here…” She confirmed with a slight mist in her eyes.

 

“You didn’t-” Uzi asked, hoping her hunch was incorrect.

 

“I did.... With my own hands…”

 

“Fuuuuck….” She was not prepared for the admission. “I-I'm, sorry…” Uzi moved a hand onto the woman’s shoulder.

 

“It's nothing to feel sorry about.” Raven’s hand of flesh met the metal one of Uzi’s. “It just… is what it is at this point but… thanks for the empathy.” 

 

“Look, y-you don't have to keep going.” Feeling the slight shake in the human’s fingers she offered.

 

“No, it's ok, just give me a second, I haven’t relived that memory in a long, long time.” Taking a minute to steel her nerves and steady her breathing, Raven continued her story.

 

“Ok, well after that I was pretty much left alone on the ship. I didn’t know where the other kids went, probably got out with their void magic. So, I pretty much grew up like that. It…got to me, the mind can only take so much isolation, so… I broke down. It’s weird really. Next thing I know I’m in a new place, some kingdom run by a despot.”

“Later I’d realize through conceptual embodiment, my emotions had manifested the storybook world of Duviri in the void. For eons, I was stuck there in a loop. Getting tortured and killed every single day by Dominus Thrax, who I later understood was the physical embodiment of my own desire to kill myself…”

 

Uzi’s eyes widened at the admission.

 

“Till one day as my head was going to be lopped off for the millionth time, something happened. A disembodied hand fell from the sky and attached itself to me. It unlocked something in me. My body had been absorbing void energy for an eternity of looped time, but with that hand, my mind was cleared. I realized this place was a creation of my trauma, manifested.”

 

“What did you do?” The drone asked, expression full of concern.

 

“Simple really, kicked Thrax’s, and by extension my own ass, though I had to reset the loop in the end. There was this man I met, Teshin. He mentored me, gave me the ability to fight, Thrax had him killed. I couldn’t live with that. So now with the ability to… I reset the loop. Thrax was back on the throne. However, this was my world and he no longer had dominion. I was free to leave.” 

“Guess I picked a bad time to come back, turns out some raging narcissist of an orokin had enslaved the origin system with mind controlling veils. Well. I had the ability to fight, and I hate tyranny… so I fought. Eventually got picked up by a ship piloted by some AI…claimed I was his operator. I didn’t even know him! Long story short, it turns out there was another version of me that gained the powers from the deal in that timeline.” Pausing to shift her position on the couch, she stretched.

 

“There’s two of you?” Uzi asked, a lifted eyebrow appearing on her visor.

 

“More than that really, an infinite amount, but we were the “most important”, our timeline was primary for the Indifference. Unfortunately one timeline can’t handle two of the same person too well, and after tracking down my other self, we made a deal. One of us would fight in the present, and the other would chill in the void, swapping out from time to time.” 

 

“Anyway, we decided that I should take down the big blue idiot. That’s what ended up happening, and during his defeat, The Man in the Wall, as we’d call it, appeared. It spoke in what we call voidtounge, primal words from a primal being, we didn’t know what he wanted, but whatever it was, was not good.”

 

“Afterwards I went to the place where he was first discovered… By a man named Albrecht Entrati, piece of work that guy…Anyway, Entrati had a protocol in place, essentially he time traveled to the year 1999, a place the entity could not easily follow.”

 

“This is so confusing…time travel…timelines…two of the same person.” Uzi muttered, hands holding her slightly shaking head.

 

“How do you think I felt? Haha. We’re almost done, so hold on a bit more ok? Back to 1999, It ended up falling to me to chase Entrati down. He had been busy there, he made these people into semi-completed warframes, which is how I got in. I had transferred my consciousness into one of those people…” She let out a heavy sigh. “I miss those guys, they were the only family I really ever had…”

 

“Anyway, I had transferred into him on the last day of the year, which when the clock hit twelve would set off a nuke. We tried to stop it, but… ultimately failed, I still remember how he shot me in the chest. As I laid there bleeding on the floor, I called on my experience from Duviri…I created another loop, resetting to the start of the year. I forged bonds with the six members of the group, and on the last day of the year we successfully stopped the bomb.” A fond look on her features as she recalled the memory.

 

“That's good right?” The purple drone asked, shifting sitting position slightly.

 

“It was. The loop was still in effect though. Sure, no one died that day, but as soon as the clock hit twelve, we were back to the start…” 

 

“Oh.”

 

“Stopping the loop and leaving was one of the hardest decisions I had to make. It… didn’t matter in the end anyway… With the loop gone and no one else to fight the Indifference…well, the void always won in the end. This time was no different.”

 

“It spread like a plague, reality itself was consumed. I was spared since I am practically made of void energy at this point, however I had transferred into Valkyr shortly beforehand, the only reason why she survived was because of that.”

 

“At this point, I was yet again stuck, though this time I feared it was for good…And for an uncountable amount of time it was…. Until your boyfriend grabbed my hand. I don’t know how your universe got connected to mine, my best guess is The Man in the Wall got bored.” Raven ended with a shrug.

 

“That’s…a lot to process.”

 

“Keep in mind that was the footnotes. There’s a whole history not really needed for my story that I know.” Story told, Raven hopped off the couch and stretched her limbs. “Anyway, does that answer your questions? I kinda forgot what they were…”

 

“Uhhh…..” Trying to recall her words earlier, Uzi also rose from the sofa. “I think so. Wait… You never said what you wanted.”

 

“Oh! Simple really. I just want to live, and help people in need. After you’ve lived as long as I have, you kinda don’t need much else, at least for me anyway. Though… I guess I do need some clothes now haha.”

 

“Oh right, forgot about that.” 

 

“Clearly.” Raven giggled.

 

“Look Raven, thanks for… telling me all that. Means I don’t have to kill you now muhaha.” Flashing a fanged smile, she giggled.  “Joking aside, I’ll take you clothes shopping tomorrow, my battery is almost dead.”

 

“That's fine, got a blanket or something? Not that I’m capable of sleeping physically anymore, but I’d rather chill with something soft covering me.” The human asked, plopping back down on the couch.

 

Uzi looked around the place for a second, her voice calling out. “Catch.”

 

“Thanks.” Catching the fabric with one hand and spreading it out over herself, Raven called out as the drone turned to leave. “Hey, Uzi.”

 

She stopped her stride as she looked over her shoulder. “Yeah?”

 

“You’re one of the better people I’ve met despite not being human.” Raven’s warm genuine smile filled her core with a strange lightness.

 

“Uhm, uh..yeah, thanks, I guess…” Flustered, the small drone muttered out as she messed with her hair.

 

“Uh…G’night.” Voice soft, she walked to her shared bedroom.

 

With a slight giggle, Raven was left alone on the couch with her thoughts. ‘Seems she can’t take praise well. But under all that, it seems she’s actually extremely caring and empathetic. I like to think we’ll get along very well.’ “Sweet dreams purple friend.” She muttered to herself. 

 

‘Alright. Time to get a layout of this place.’ With nothing much to do until the others woke up. Raven shifted her existence to another plane and began to roam the bunker, unseen to anyone.

 

—---------

 

Currently walking the winding halls of the bunker, V was glad it was late at night and the halls were relatively empty. 

 

‘Don’t need some weirdo ogling me in this tank top. Beggars can’t be choosers I guess, but I wished Lizzy would’ve had something less… “her sized”. My shoulders feel so bare…’ 

 

Turning a corner into some break area, she paused to look at the vending machine on the wall. ‘Never did get anything to eat tonight...A snack wouldn’t hurt right now…’

 

Punching in the code, she watched as the bag of goods got stuck against the glass. “Really!? Ugh, can’t I just have a win today?” She sighed.

 

Suddenly feeling a chill pass through her body, she watched as the bag of snacks seemed to be plucked out of its bind and fall to the bottom of the machine.

 

‘Oookayyy… Apparently ghosts are real now, too.’ Not having the capacity to care about the supposed revelation tonight, she instead opted to just grab the bag of snacks.

 

“Thanks I guess, ghost of the bunker.” She muttered aloud.

 

“Aww, you’re so very welcome.” A voice inches from her head sounded out.

 

V screamed.

 

“Shit. Sorry Vicci, didn’t mean to scare you.” Raven’s disembodied torso appeared from a distortion in the air. Ethereal in appearance, she floated herself over to the drone who had jumped back half the room in her panic.

 

“WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN??” YOU APPEARED OUT OF THIN AIR!” Still catching her breath, V looked incredulously towards the apparition. 

 

“Sorry, truly. I was just exploring the bunker since I don’t need to sleep. I came across you as you bought that thing. I thought I could maybe help you out.” An apologetic look on her face, Raven’s ghostly hand rubbed the back of her head.

 

“Wanted to give you a win, y’know?”

 

“ Thanks , but don’t do that again. I almost had a core attack!” V crossed her arms as she glared at the human.

 

“No more surprises. Got it. You have my word.” Floating down, Raven looked her square in the eyes, a warm smile on her face.

 

V looked away with a slight blush on her face. ‘That feeling again. Argh, why is this happening to me? Am I really that easily swayed by a kind smile?’

 

“Good, you better keep it…” Voice tinged with feigned disdain as she turned with huff.

 

“For you? Always ...” Fading out and disappearing back into the distortion, V was left alone once again.

 

“And you just leave? After saying THAT! ?” Taking a seat at one of the nearby benches she buried her face in her hands. ‘Are you just like that with everyone? What the fuck am I going to do…’ “How can someone I met a couple hours ago make my emotions do this?”

 

Contrary to what V thought,  Raven did not, in fact, leave immediately.

 

‘Well then… I think I’ll just… keep this to myself for right now…But a little more can’t hurt.’ Raven thought with a giggle.

 

Maneuvering through the higher plane, she placed her lips right to where she thought the drone’s ears would be and whispered. “Let’s get to know each other better ok, Vicci~ ?”

 

V’s face exploded in color.

 

Raven watched as the drone sprinted out of the room and down a hallway.

 

‘Maybe that was a little much…Hehe, sorry girl… Time to see what else is around here… Oh, it seems I left my body alone a little too long. Someone’s in for a scare hehe.’

 

—---------

 

Back at Uzi’s shared apartment, N started to stir in bed. Waking up bleary eyed, he carefully wiggled his way out of Uzi’s hold on his back. Watching her face gain a pout, he suppressed the urge to coo. ‘Oh Uzi, you’re sooo cute right now.’ Planting a quick peck on her head, N quietly got off the mattress intending to grab a snack.

 

“Mmm, good boy, hehe.” The smaller drone said in her sleep.

 

‘Oh my gosh. I still can’t believe I get to be with you.’ “I love you so much.” He whispered. “I’ll be right back.”

 

Leaving the room, he cast a sidelong glance towards the living room. ‘Looks like the thing hasn’t moved… Even knowing what I do now… Still makes me uneasy. Can’t see the human from here though…’ His feelings towards the enigmatic being were still conflicted.

 

“It couldn’t hurt to check on her though…” Said in a whisper, N moved towards the ‘sleeping’ human. ‘God, this is soo weird still. I can barely believe it, a real living human…or maybe not? I don’t know what she is really…humans don’t exactly fade out of existence…or teleport.’

 

Pausing his thoughts for the moment, N reached the sofa and looked upon the woman with fear. ‘S-She's not breathing…’ Concern took over his mind, bending down towards the human’s head, trying to hear any sound that would dissuade his fears.

 

‘Please don’t be dead.’ Repeated over in his head like a mantra. Inches from the girl’s face, the dread built in his core.

 

Her eyes snapped open.

 

N silently screamed and fell backwards onto the floor.

 

It seems Raven was two for two on scaring the life out of the most apex predators in the bunker…

 

Sitting up, she looked at the disassembler who was currently recovering from the scare. “Hello to you too, buddy. Can I ask why you were inches from my face?” 

 

Having caught his breath, N pulled his legs into a criss-cross position and met her gaze. “I-I thought…You weren’t breathing…” 

 

“Oh, yeah that would be pretty freaky to come up upon. Sorry Enny, I don't really need physical rest, so I just projected my consciousness out and was looking around the bunker for the night. Didn’t mean to scare ya.” She said sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, an apologetic look on her face. 

 

“I-I thought I was going to have a core attack…” 

 

“You know, you aren’t the first one to say that to me tonight. Haha.” 

 

N’s head gained a tilt, a question mark appearing on the corner of his visor. “What?” 

 

“While I was exploring, I ran into Vicci in one of the rooms of this place. The bag she was trying to get out of that vending machine got stuck. So I helped a little bit. It was pretty funny actually. She thanked the “ghost of the bunker” haha… I told her she was welcome. Bout’ had the same reaction as you did too.”

 

“You ran into V?”

 

“Sure did! Poor girl seemed to have something weighing on her mind. Though with the way the night has gone I can’t exactly say I’m surprised. I probably should have kept my teasing a little restrained.. I don’t know where she ran off to so fast.” Raven said with a cheeky grin on her face.

 

“What did you do?” N replied, face and tone stern.

 

“Look. She’s really fun to flirt with, ok? I can’t help it, you gotta remember that I’ve had like no interpersonal contact for like the past billion or so years, and out of everyone I’ve met tonight I find her personality the most intriguing, no offense by the way…” She said, flashing a pair of finger guns at the drone.

 

Taken aback slightly, N just stared. “None taken…I think.”

 

“Hey, you’re pretty cool too. Anyways, I don’t know how much “sleep” you drones need, but you can go back to bed if you need to. I’ll be fine. Not like I can really die anyways… ” She had muttered that last part, however N’s hearing was extremely sharp.

 

“Wait. That last bit. What do you mean by that?” 

 

“Buddy, I’ve already dumped enough trauma on someone tonight. If you want to know my story just ask Uzi.” Raven said with a deadpan stare.

 

“Umm. Ok, sorry.” He apologized, touching the tips of his pointer fingers together.

 

“Don’t be, I just don’t really feel like reliving the tragedy that is my life’s story for the second time tonight, y’know? Trust me this has been one of the strangest experiences of my life, just like I’m sure it’s been one of yours.” She said with a warm smile on her face. The drone perking up at the display.

 

“Well I do like doing new things. See? The shock is already starting to wear off. It does help that you don’t actually seem to be a bad person. Trust me, I’ve seen what that's like.” His expression was a little vacant at the end, no doubt recalling the semi-recent horrors of the solver. The moment had passed and N returned the warm smile she gave.

“Glad you think so! Also sorry again beating all of you up earlier, I mean you know now I wasn’t in the right mental state to begin with but, really…I mean it.” Said with genuine regret in her voice, she bowed slightly in her position.

 

“Apology accepted. You know, if you’re okay with it, I think we might be able to set you up with a place here. It’s always good to have more friends and I do think we’ll get along well.” 

 

Her eyes widened in surprise at the offer. “That fast? You sure? Not that I’ll say no but, you don’t really know me all that well yet.”

 

“Well…we could try to keep you locked up here in my place, but I don’t think that would really accomplish much. Besides, like I said, I’ve seen bad people. You don’t fit the bill.” N replied with both thumbs up and a smile on his face.

 

“Well that's…” Raven muttered, face slightly flush at the display of kindness.

 

“So after Uzi gets you some clothes in the morning we’ll introduce you to her folks and talk about getting you set up with a place here.” 

 

“She has parents?” She asked, eyebrows raised at the implication.

 

“All drones here do…or did. Her dad kind of runs the place actually.” N clarified as he pushed a stray strand of his hair off his visor.

 

“You guys are so much like people it still throws me for a loop. Regardless, I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” 

 

“Sweet! We’ll get everything sorted tomorrow.” N cheerily said as he stood up from the ground. “For now though, I’m gonna go back to bed.” 

 

“Goodnight buddy.” Raven called out as he turned to leave.

 

“Night Rae.” He responded warmly before leaving the room.

 

‘Heh, he gave me a nickname. Guess people are still people no matter the form.’

 

—---------

Notes:

This chapter marks the start of the "drifter meets the MD cast mini-arc". Not as much action focus for the next couple as the story gets the characters set up for what i have planned. Hope you all enjoy, and thanks for all the positive responses so far!

Chapter 5: Dapper

Notes:

Heya everyone. Got a new chapter for you to read, this time furthering that mini-arc i talked about last time. Again. No action, but I had fun trying to write the various character interactions. Next chapter will wrap this part up, so look forward to it! (We got some crazy reveals happening there. >:]) Enough yap! Enjoy!

“As I gaze around all these strangers in town, I guess the only stranger is me.”

---

Waking up with renewed energy, Uzi worked to free herself from the confines of her lover’s arms. ‘Guess we switched spots last night.’ She thought, not remembering her delirious compliments from the previous night.

 

‘Now what to do about this…’ Contemplating her options, she opted to stay in his embrace, enjoying being the little spoon for a rare moment. Unfortunately this would not be a long one as N began to stir from his slumber.

 

Speech slightly slurred, he nuzzled his face into her hair. “Mmorning Uziii.”

 

“Morning to you too, dork.” A giggle escaped her as the pair disentangled themselves from each other. 

 

“Sleep well?” Taking a moment to stretch his limbs as he asked.

 

“Actually really good! Almost too good…” Reply initially cheery, her face turned slightly thoughtful. 

 

“Was it the ass kicking last night, our new friend, or…me?” N’s face sporting a slight grin, eyebrow raised as he asked his girlfriend.

 

Giving the drone a quick hug as well as a light flick to the forehead, she replied. “You goof. Yes, last night was certainly…extra, but no, it's more like my mind was clear for the first time since that fight.” 

 

“Clear?” Rubbing the spot on his head, he ruffled her hair in retaliation as he asked.

 

“Hey, quit it!” A small laugh left her frame, the pair content with their lighthearted jabs, Uzi continued.

 

“Y’know how when I ate that thing a month ago and woke up cool as hell? And how the solver basically lives in me now right? Sometimes possesses my tail? Well, it’s like ever since she arrived it’s been silent.” She mused, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

 

“That's good right?” He asked as he slipped an arm around her.

 

“Not hearing that tone-dead and glitchy voice grating my thoughts 24/7 yes, absolutely. But part of me is worried something bigger is going on, it’s all too coincidental to me…Last time it spoke It almost seemed like it got cut off by something. Which is weird.”

 

N’s eyes hollowed at the words, a flashback appearing in his mind. Ḣ̴̡e̶͖̎ĺ̷͕̹́l̶͍̜͝o̴͙͒ Liị̴͊̾t̶̛̻̅t̶̛̲͘l̴̳̤͗̌e̶͓̦̽ ̶̩͙̔̊B̷̜̀u̵͓̾t̶͇̪͛̾lë̸̬́r̴͇͉͂I. Shaking the scene away, he turned to see Uzi’s concerned face staring back at him. Blinking a couple times, he put on his best smile and flashed a thumbs up.

 

“Yeah, that’s not fooling me. What was that N?” Not impressed with the diversion, she pressed.

 

“J-Just ah, remembered something.” He stammered, fidgeting with the tip of his tail.

 

“You gonna share?” She asked, climbing onto his lap and holding his head to look at her.

 

“It’s not important.” Another deflection. His eyes looked off somewhere in the room.

 

“Babe, I’ve seen your memories, remember? You don’t space out like that unless it's bad. Look you don’t have to hide things to reassure me ok? Talk to me. Please.” Uzi asked and he sighed, meeting her gaze as he wrapped his arms around her back.

 

“It's related to last night, I’ll give you more details later when we both have the time but, I don’t think you’re wrong about it not being a coincidence…”

 

“Uzi, I-I heard a voice, when Raven first came through that portal in that suit thing. I-It was… wrong. It reminded me of the solver, but it felt so much stronger, more all-encompassing, like I was suffocating in a pit of never ending apathy. It referred to me like Tessa used to…”  He spoke softly and controlled, almost as if commanding his nerves would avoid another breakdown.

 

“I’m here. I’m here..” Saying softly, Uzi stroked his back in reassurance. “I think we can talk about this later, ok? Though after hearing that, I think you might be onto something. Unfortunately. Anyway, we should get ready for the day.” She said, moving off him and standing to stretch her limbs.

 

“Ok, yeah.” Feeling a little sad at the lost contact, he rose up after her.

 

“Hey N? Are you coming with us to the store?” Uzi grabbed her beanie and put it on as she asked.

 

“I’d love to, but I’ve got to set up a meeting with your dad.” The disassembler replied, searching around the room for his own headwear. 

 

“My dad? What do you need from him?” Confusion in her voice, she handed N his hat which had somehow been tucked under her hoodie. Uzi’s tail sometimes kleps his stuff and hides it when she’s asleep. Much to her embarrassment and his amusement.

 

“Well, we can’t keep Raven locked up in our place forever. I thought it would be nice to get her set up with a spot of her own.” Adjusting the pilot pin atop his hat, he then smoothed out the wrinkles in his coat.

 

“You’re not wrong…Just sometimes wish he didn’t run the place, not that I can hate him anymore, it’s just awkward to have to ask him for stuff like that.” Face conflicted at the mention of her father.

 

“You know he’s trying…” N said as he wrapped his tail around the smaller drone who calmed at the contact.

 

“Which is exactly why it's so weird! Even more so with mom around now. I…still don’t know how to feel about her…” Trailing off, she allowed herself to be picked up by the appendage.

 

N pulled her into an embrace with his tail. “They love you, you know.”

 

“Uhhhhggg I know, N… It’s just complicated.” Breaking the hug, she moved over to rest on the doorframe. “Enough about that, It sucks you won’t be with us but I think your plan is a good one.”

 

“I was worried you’d say no.” He admitted, giving himself one last once over.

 

“After what she told me last night after you went to bed, I don’t think I’d be capable of even thinking that.” She made a gesture akin to pinching the bridge of one’s nose despite not having one herself. Looking up at her boyfriend thereafter.

 

“I actually talked to her too. It's why I was snuggling you instead, earlier. I got up for a snack and we ended up talking for a second.” His face lit up slightly as he recalled their new friend.

 

“What about?” Uzi asked, tone casual.

 

“Mainly just her apologizing for last night and me offering her a place if she wanted. Although, when I asked about why she didn’t really seem like a normal human she just told me to ask you about her past.” N answered with a slight shrug in his shoulders.

 

“It wasn’t a great one so I’m not surprised she didn’t feel like repeating it, I’ll tell you later ok?” She replied, flashing him a small smile.

 

“Pinky promise?” N asked, bounding up to her and holding out the last finger on his hand.

 

“You goofball, of course.” Promise made, Uzi moved to open the door.

 

“Meet up again after our plans are done?” He asked with a smile as she began to step out of the threshold.

“Tonight.” Uzi replied, returning the smile, and adding a wink before walking into the main room.

 

‘Oh biscuits.’ Face slightly flush, N took a moment to calm himself before following in her footsteps. 

 

—--------- 

 

Having grown bored just resting on the sofa all night, Raven had at some point begun posing Valkyr’s frame into many different fighting stances, intending to mock spar. ‘I feel like a kid playing with the world's most deadly doll right now…’ Currently the frame was planted in the main room, leg high, locked in a taekkyon striking pose.

 

Before she could hone her form, she heard the tell tale sound of the bedroom door slide open.

 

Uzi’s voice sounded out. “Alright human, it’s time for you to get some threads…wha- what are you doing?” The drone paused at the sight of the woman and the warframe that seemed to be standing on its own.

 

“I got bored ok! Good morning by the way.” Hands on her hips, Uzi watched as the frame mimicked her pose as it joined Raven’s side.

 

“Morning. Why is that one moving?” She asked, watching the white and gold trimmed humanoid point an index finger towards itself.

 

“Yes you.” The drone said, Valkyr moving her hand back to a resting position.

 

“Simple puppetry.” Raven said, flashing a smile and putting a thumb up. The frame once again mimicked her movements.

 

“Uh-huh.” Was all Uzi could muster at the absurd sight. The sound of footsteps from the bedroom signaled N’s arrival.

 

“Good morning Raven. Good morning murder kitty. Wait…” N did a quick double take before bending down to whisper to Uzi.

 

“ Uzi why is that thing standing?” 

 

“‘Simple puppetry’. Apparently....” She whispered back.

 

Satisfied with the answer, he turned back to the two tallest figures in the room. “I’d love to stay and chat, but we’ve all got stuff to do today. So I’ll see you later.”

 

Offering a quick wave, he was stopped by a pair of lithe yet solid arms wrapping around his body as he moved to leave.

 

Looking down at the pair of golden claws, N let out a squeak. The sound of the others giggling gave a slight reassurance of safety despite his bewilderment.

 

“Looks like “Murder kitty” wanted to say goodbye.” Raven said with a grin as the frame released the disassembler from its grasp.

 

Looking back at the smirk on her face told him he was just being messed with. ‘Right, puppetry…’ Offering a smile, N turned to leave with a wave.

 

With N gone, Uzi turned to the human.

 

“So, you gonna go shopping like that, or are you gonna go all ethereal again.”

 

“Oh, that.” Remembering the state of her dress, Raven put a palm to her face. “How’d I forget?”

 

“Didn’t you say you could transfer your consciousness into things? Couldn’t you just pilot Valkyr for today?” The worker asked, pointing towards the frame.

 

“I could, but….” She trailed off.

 

“But?” Uzi asked as she examined the warframe.

 

“You already know that I’d been stuck in her for a long time, frankly I’m worried if I go back in I’ll get stuck again…” The human admitted, eyes not meeting the drone.

 

“I could always just punch you out again.” The goth offered as her shoulders shrugged.

 

“Right. I never asked how you did that.” 

 

“Oh, basically a month before you showed up I pretty much ate an eldritch being's core. It’s more complicated than that but, I’m guessing the extra powers I got from it is what allowed me to affect you.” A thoughtful expression on her face as she mused on her abilities.

 

“So… you're like… a robot me. Great, there's two of us haha. Maybe some time later we’ll have a sit down and talk about our awesome magic.” 

 

“Sounds like fun, sure. So? Gonna transfer into her? Or do you want to hitch a ride in my head.” Uzi asked as she jabbed her thumb towards her head to accentuate her offer.

 

“I’ll just take her. Thanks for the offer, but in my experience it would end up being more like you hitching a ride in your own body.” Raven responded, turning to the warframe currently standing next to her side.

 

“Who knows? I’ve got very good control of my mind.” Uzi boasted, a somewhat smug expression on her face.

 

“Maybe.” Knowing how transference works, she was not convinced. “Still, I’m not looking forward to being unable to communicate verbally.”

 

“Couldn’t you just project your voice out or something? Like you did last night when you went all ghosty?” Uzi asked, arms crossed as she offered her thoughts.

 

“Usually that's how it works. For some reason though, until you intervened it was like something was blocking me from doing or saying anything.” A thoughtful expression on the human’s face.

 

“That entity you talked about last night?” The drone asked as she recalled Raven’s tale.

 

“Likely, either that or I just forgot after drifting in the void for eons.” Sticking her tongue out at the silly thought, Raven decided that enough stalling had occurred. 

 

“Alright, it's time. I’ll give you a thumbs down if I need you to do that magic punch again, alright?” Seeing the drone nod, Raven searched for that familiar connection.

 

Uzi watched with awe as Raven's body spiraled out into nothing as the warframe sprang to non-puppeted life. The frame stretching and flexing its various joints and muscles as Raven acclimated to the feeling again.

 

“Raven? You good in there?” She asked, mentally preparing the solver in her hand. Not getting a response immediately, she watched as the frame held up an index finger.

 

“-an’t be that har- oh there we go! Heya girl! Sorry, took a second to find the feeling again.” Proud of herself, she posed like an action hero.

 

Uzi giggled at the sight. “So you ready?”

 

“Yep time for some swag.” Raven said as she stuck yet another flamboyant pose.

 

“Pfft. Swag? No one calls it that.” After rolling her eyes the pair finally left for the shopping trip.

—---------

 

While most in the bunker were still wary of the disassemblers, N was a lot more widely liked than his compatriot. Not that V didn’t have fans mind you, however N’s bright personality naturally eased peoples worries vastly faster. Case in point, this was the reason he is currently surrounded by a group of drones asking for autographs and pestering him with questions.

 

‘Should have taken the vents.’ Signing yet another keepsake, he scrambled for some way out. ‘You guys are so nice, but I’m on the clock here!’

 

“Yooo, N-and-M’s! What's good, my brotha?” A jockish voice cut through the crowd, drawing the majority of the attention to himself.

 

‘Yes, save me Thad!’ Relief washed over his face as he would have a ‘socially acceptable’ out of his predicament.

 

The crowd split as Thad rolled through and up to the taller drone, the two exchanging an over the top handshake. “My man. Haven’t seen you in a bit. Life treating you good?”

 

“Great actually! I think I’m starting to feel at home here a bit more.” N replied, enjoying the comradery.

 

“Dude, that's great to hear. We all like having you here too.” Thad responded in kind. The two exchanged small talk for another few minutes. The crowd at this point thinned seeing the two friends busy with their conversation.

 

“It's always good talking to yah my brother. Let’s get together for a man’s day out sometime!” Waving goodbye, N watched as Thad left the area, the crowd now following after him.

 

‘Love that guy, but dang, how popular is he?’ Not one to squander the opportunity, N resumed his brisk walk to the elder doorman residence.

 

—---------

 

“In retrospect maybe walking around in full view of the bunker as a towering killing machine was probably not the best way to lay low…” Raven watched the wide-eyed and shocked residents of the bunker stare holes into Valkyr’s face plate as she walked.

“Honestly the stares are probably more from me. I don’t really have the best reputation around here. Even if I did save all their asses. ” Uzi said as she barred her fangs towards anyone who tried to approach.

 

“Do you really want to be swarmed twenty-four seven though.” Raven asked.

 

“ God no. It would be nice if people would at least acknowledge I exist though.” Responding with a huff, Uzi folded her arms behind her head.

 

“Have you tried not scaring them off at first chance?” Though her expression was currently unreadable, the dripping sarcasm rolling off of her voice was very much present.

 

“Bite me! They deserve it! Besides, we’re here.” Uzi said with a scowl as the pair arrived at the bunker’s clothing outlet. Strolling in, the two got to browsing the place’s selection.

 

“You weren’t kidding about the size problem. This stuff looks like it's made for kids…” Raven commented, currently holding a comically small hoodie up to Valkyr’s chest.

 

“You can’t like, shrink yourself or something?” Uzi asked, currently digging through another rack trying to find anything that might fit.

 

“Shrink mysel-no I can’t do that.” Raven responded as though the mere thought was ridiculous.

 

“I thought that “void magic” you’ve got didn’t have rules.” The drone asked, rummaging through yet another shelf.

 

“I don’t rule the dimension! My form is my form, I can change its state, sure, but the silhouette can’t be modified. Same reason I need clothes, since they aren’t part of my body.” Her voice explained from the warframe as she put back another article.

 

“But you kept V’s jacket on when you phased.” Fed up with all the searching, Uzi decided to just post up on the aisle’s end cap.

 

“I just pulled it in with me.” Joining the drone, Raven relaxed a bit.

 

“So if you forgot, you’d just end up naked?” Uzi asked with a smug expression as though she had just found a weakness.

“Essentially.” The possessed warframe just shrugged.

 

“Reminds me of an anime character I know.” Uzi recalled with an amused look on her face.

 

If Raven had eyes to roll right now she would. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

 

“It is. He's funny and a good dude.” The drone answered as her friend walked to search another aisle.

 

“Right…” Focused on her search, Raven came across something that piqued her interest. “Oh, now what’s this …?”

 

“Finally find something?” The drone called out.

 

“Check this shit out!”

 

Sporting a full piece sleeveless wine red and black strapped full torso with gilded metal accents, a chest window, and an accompanying sleeveless, pointed collar- open overvest, as well as fingerless gloves, completed the ensemble up top. 

 

Black leather outer leg coverings with strapped thighs and sturdy red leather boots filled out the bottom on the white and gold murder machine. 

 

“Holy shit, where the hell did you find that!?” Uzi asked, stunned at the slightly domineering outfit.

 

Raven stuck a pose, reveling in her find. “Fuckin’ hot right? This shit makes me feel like a badass.”

 

“It's definitely attention getting.” The drone said with a slight smirk, amusement in her voice as she watched Raven cycle through even more poses.

 

“And the only thing that fits.” Finishing the set with a pair of finger guns, Raven added.

 

“Sounds like that's it then.” Giggling at her antics, Uzi motioned for her to follow.

 

“So, how do I pay?” Raven asked, head tilted as she looked to the drone.

 

“No need, we don’t do that here, since everyone usually contributes, we all get equal access to surface junk like this.” She responded as she put her hands in her hoodie pockets.

 

“Neat. There a limit?” The human asked as the pair began towards the front of the store.

 

“Nah, most people just pick something once and then stick with it.” Uzi clarified.

 

“Interesting. Well not like I’ll have much luck finding anything else.” Raven mused as she glanced around the place.

 

“If we're done here I’ll text N to meet up so we can talk to my parents about getting you set up with a place.”

 

“Sounds good to me. Thanks for all this by the way.” Raven watched as the drone pulled out a smartphone.

 

“Yeah, no problem.” Finished with the text, the pair of oddballs walked out of the store and back into one of the bunker’s many halls.

 

If they were getting weird looks before, the sight of the outfit on Valkyr was certainly not helping now.

 

—---------

 

“As it stands you are no longer my friend. eat my heart, take my soul, let it burn youuuuuu.” Singing to herself, a three legged spider made of flesh with a single robotic violet eye was currently working diligently over a worktable. Violet triple-pronged symbols flitted around various floating objects.

 

“Dear. Honey! NORI!” A drone with white eye-lights and visible age lines represented on his visor yelled out to the heart.

 

“ You should take a lo- Oh, uh, didn’t hear you Khan.” With a flick of her claw and that power, she flung a pen into the mp3 player’s power button, shutting it off for the time being.

 

Jumping onto his head, she tapped his visor with a claw. “So? What do you need, you hunk.”

 

“Well… I wanted to see you.” He said, reaching up and grabbing the blob off his head and cradling her in his hands.

 

“Anything else?” She asked with a narrowed eye.

 

“Maybe talk some?” A hopeful grin on his face as he added.

 

“There it is. C’mon, to the sofa! I’ve been holed up in here for too long anyway.” He chuckled as she pointed a claw forward like a ship captain.

 

Having sat down, the two engaged in conversation for a while, enjoying one another's presence. A knock on the apartment's front door broke the moment.

 

“Open up deadbeats!” A voice called out.

 

“Uzi?” Khan asked the blob as he went to answer the door.

 

“Sounds like it.” Nori responded in deadpan.

 

Opening the door, he was met with his daughter and her boyfriend.

 

“My daughter! What brings you through this lovely door today?” He asked with joy on his face.

 

“As much as it pains me, I need something.” Uzi said with a sigh, deciding not to comment on his still present door obsession.

 

“Well come on in!” Khan welcomed, not fazed by her attitude in the slightest.

 

“Hi Mr. Doorman!” The disassembler waved as the pair entered the domicile.

 

“Why hello to you too N! I hope my daughter hasn’t been destroying your innocence now!” N laughing awkwardly at the comment.

 

“Dad. I'm right here. I can still hear you, you know.” The goth's deadpan stare bore into her fathers head case.

 

“Ha ha ha, just a light bit of teasing is all!” Khan said as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

 

“Right…Is Mom here too?” Uzi asked, trying to change the atmosphere.

 

“Yes, she’s in the living room.”

 

“Cool.” Uzi commented, the trio making their way towards the main living space.

 

“Hey girl. Been a while since you last came over. Even longer since you brought him.” The fleshy blob greeted, the couple giving a wave in response.

 

“Life’s busy mom. Also it’s been like a month since I even knew you were alive.” Uzi responded with an indifferent look on her face.

 

“Not my finest moment I’ll admit. But it's still nice to see you more, now that we can.” Nori added, tone remorseful.

 

“I’ll think about it.” Uzi said as they sat down.

 

“So. What did you need us for?” The blob asked as she climbed back onto Khan’s head.

 

“We were hoping to get an apartment set up for a new friend of ours.” N answered.

 

“Well that won’t be too hard! We have plenty of units still left over.” Khan replied with a smile.

 

“Who's the friend?” Nori asked. But before anyone could give a response, another knock on the door sounded out.

 

“Another knock at this hour? Must be important. I’ll get it.” Khan said, walking up to the door, Nori still perched on his hard hat.

 

Opening the door to a six foot tall white and gold being draped in black and red leathers was the last thing he thought would be there. The two doormans stared in confusion at the thing, which was now waving at them.

 

“Hi! I’m the “friend”! Nice to meet you!” A feminine voice greeted.

 

The drone and core were still shocked into unmoving.

 

“Hey… Uzi, I think I broke them?” The voice called out. The goth taking in the scene as she walked up.

 

“Really guys. You’ve seen all the solver stuff and this shocks you?” Uzi said as she moved the two out of the doorway with her tail.

 

The movement shook them out of their stupor.

 

“Uh… Uzi? What is that?” Khan asked, eyes not leaving the anomaly.

 

“Hey I’m not a ‘that’!” The thing with no mouth responded.

“In fact…” She trailed off, before dashing forward, a cloud of violet energy spiraled out into her shape, leaving the frame standing inactive.

 

“Ta-da! Raven the human! In the flesh! This time with epic drip!” She said, spinning on her heel and bowing to the drones. Having swapped outfits with the now idle warframe.

 

Nori promptly went to use the solver on her. However it simply just… did not work.

 

Not having the greatest relationship with humans, and seeing as this one seemed unable to be affected by her only weapon, she decided to retreat into the back of Khan's coat.

 

“So that's definitely your mom right?” Raven turned to Uzi who was currently face palming.

 

“Yes, that feisty mass of flesh is in fact, my mother.” Uzi replied, rolling her eyes.

 

“Guess I know who you took after more.” The human said as she elbowed the drone lightly in the head.

 

“Uh…” Khan tried, utterly confused as he held a slightly curled finger up in interruption.

 

“What's all the- Oh hi Rae!” N said, walking up to the scene.

 

“Sup buddy!” She greeted, giving the disassembler a fist bump.

 

Khan was still so incredibly baffled as he looked to N for any clue of what was currently happening.

 

“It’s like she said Mr.Doorman! She’s our new friend!”

 

“I-” Blinking a couple times, the elder doorman made up his mind. “Well! Nice to meet you! I never expected to actually see one of you, but if anyone would bring a human to my door, it would be my Uzi.” He said, extending a hand to the woman.

 

“I must say your response is very welcome to hear!” Raven exclaimed, shaking the drone’s hand with a smile.

 

Having felt the human’s warm hand against his own, Khan gestured back towards the living area. “Come. Come. Have a seat. Perhaps you can tell us more about yourself?”

 

“Gladly!” Raven replied with a smile as she followed the white-eyed drone.

 

“Meh, thought he’d be more surprised.” Uzi mused, turning to N.

 

“Really?” Eyebrows raised, he asked.

 

“Hmm, now that I think about it, nahh.” Tapping the side of her head, she then waved at N to follow her back to the main room.

 

After everyone sat down, Raven relayed her story to N, and Uzi’s parents, explaining the nature of her power, and her elation at their kindness. Even Nori had come around, unable to find fault in the human’s existence despite her hesitations.

 

Eventually the room quieted as the day turned to night. Khan hashing out the details of her living arrangements as well as an opportunity to work, which she turned down for the time being, which he understood. Uzi whispered something to him, before he gave her the access code to the apartment and the map, which was labeled with every drone’s residence.

 

With the “meeting” over, everyone said their goodbyes.

 

‘Gods, everyone around here is so friendly.’ Raven thought, stretching Valkyrs arms as she had transferred back into the frame for the public. “Now. Time to actually read this map he gave me.” 

 

Pulling the tablet out of V’s jacket, she smirked as she read the name of her new neighbor. “Guess we’ll be getting to know ourselves better after all.” She chuckled. “Just blame Uzi, right Vicci ?” 

 

—---------

Notes:

(AN Raven's new outfit is essentially Sindel’s outfit from MK11 with some added accessories but palette swap the purple for wine red.)

Chapter 6: Descension

Notes:

THE PLOT! THE HURT(wheres the comfort?). THE THREADS OF MY MIND UNRAVELING IN THE NARRATIVES I SPIN! Ahem. Sorry about that. Anyway, NEW CHAPTER WOO! I hope you all enjoy this advancement of plot. Were almost at 1k hits now. Thats crazy! Thanks for being so interested in this silly project of mine!

“Eventually terrible memories turn into great ones. So if they call you, embrace them. If they hold you, erase them.”

---

Outside the labyrinthine walls of the bunker, a feminine angel of death streaked through the clouds. The ground quaking as she landed. A plume of snow and dirt exploded outwards, obscuring her in shadow. 

A missile pierced the veil, decimating a nearby ruined wall. Her fanatic laughter echoing through the abandoned street. If there were anyone around, they’d tell you a devil had invaded.

 

However, V was no devil. No. She was simply “working off some steam” as she would say. The night’s events having been too much of a mental overload.

 

‘BURN, RUN, HAHAHA, I AM STRONG. I DON’T NEED ANYONE! ’

 

Yes. She was not doing “good”.

 

Destroying the surrounding area with the emotional regulation of a child, V had finally calmed down. Standing in the flaming center of her outburst, out of breath and panting, V caught her breath and looked at the carnage, a satisfied smirk on her face.

‘Not bad. Felt good to let loose again for once.’ The cold air of Copper-9 stung at her casing. ‘Damnit. Now I’m cold again…’ A heavy sigh escaped her lips. ‘Time to go back…to the bunker…Ugh, why did the building I set up out here just have to collapse after a week.’ 

 

Extending her wings once more, she jumped into the sky, course set for her only current abode. ‘Was nice of Uzi’s dad to give me a place at least…even if she pretty much forced him to.’ “Whatever, time to relax. I’ve been out here too long.” It had been a day after all. Running from her embarrassment….

Having reached the bunker, she clamored into the vents. Old habits died hard, despite having a copy of the master key . ‘There’s the hallway. God, I can’t wait to be home. No N, no Uzi, no… her . Just me, myself and my bed.’ Thinking wistfully about her plans to recharge as she descended the ventilation duct.

 

—--------- 

 

“X, zero, zero, uhh, zero.” A loud buzzer signaled failure. “UGH this is the fourth time…Why can’t I remember that stupid code!” Raven threw her arms up. 

 

After her meeting finished up, she had made her way to her new apartment and was currently fumbling with the keypad to enter the place.

‘Ugh, I really don’t want to have to go back and ask.’ She leaned her head on the door.

 

A sound caught her attention.

 

“What is that? Sounds like something metallic above me…” 

Before she could investigate, the source revealed itself. The vent cover clattered to the floor. A drone crouched on top.

 

Raven stared at V.

 

V stared at Raven.

 

“Uh…Hi! You always drop in like that?” Surprised, Raven waved at her awkwardly.

 

“What are you doing here? And since when can you talk out of that thing?” V spoke with impatience, dusting the cobwebs off her body, and replacing the cover back in its place.

 

“Since this morning, and I’m trying to get into my new apartment. Can’t remember the code though. What are you doing here?” The paradox piloted frame tilted her head.

 

“I live here. Unfortunately.” The drone replied, pointing to the apartment next to Raven.

 

“Unfortunately? Ah come on. You don’t mean that.” Raven stated, wagging a finger to accentuate her point.

 

“You don’t know me.” V said, rolling her eyes, arms crossed defensively.

 

“I plan to change that!” The human exclaimed, bounding over to the drone, making a heart with her hands.

 

V did not say anything at this. Instead she backed up from her, a look of heavy exacerbation on her face.

 

Seeing this reaction, Raven understood she was trying too hard. Backing off, she played with her hands as she sought to salvage the interaction.

 

“Look. Sorry if I’m teasing you too much, It’s a… coping mechanism, I’ll tone it down. And uh…, you can have your jacket back. Here.” Removing the article from Valkyr’s frame and holding it out to the drone, she hoped her words would be accepted.

 

V let out a heavy sigh. “ Damn it . You’re so hard to fucking hate.” She then grabbed the article of clothing and put it on. “For the record, I still think you’re the weirdest person I’ve met.”

 

“Weirder than Uzi?” She asked, tilting her head and placing a finger on the spot her lips would be.

 

“No contest.” V replied, eyes half lidded, entirely convinced of the fact. “Especially when you hijack that thing.” She added.

 

“Lack of face?” Raven asked.

 

“Lack of face.” The drone nodded.

 

“Fuck it no ones around anyway.” She said, suddenly materializing out of the frame and in front of V. “Better?”

 

“What are you doing!?” V drilled, quickly running up to and shielding the human in her wings. “Do you know how much of a pain in the ass it’ll be if someone sees us?” 

 

“Vicci, relaaaax. With how late it is, there shouldn’t be much hall traffic around here at this time. Also you said people avoid you, which is bullshit by the way, so I think it's fine.” She reasoned, hands up, a smile on her face. “And I wanted your opinion on my new fit.” She admitted with a smirk on her face as she looked the drone in the eyes.

 

In her haste to prevent prying eyes, V hadn’t noticed her attire in detail. Stowing her wings and taking a step back, she took in the sight. A triangle with an exclamation point in its center took place in the center of her visor. Text reading [Error: 8008, unexpected attraction.] displayed underneath.

 

Raven broke out into a fit of laughter upon reading the message. “God, girl. You are so fucking charming.” She said between breaths, V still errored out, a loading gif now displayed on the drones face. “Oh man, I’ve not experienced joy like that in a long time.” Raven, having caught her breath, walked up to the re-booting drone.

 

“Now, then. What do I do about this?” Muttering aloud, she tapped a finger to her chin as she considered a course of action. Taking a look at the drone, she caught sight of her armband. ‘What's that say?’ She inspected the thing. ‘Oh, her serial number. Wait… V-X00100000…X001. Oh my god. Uzi you fucking troll! Leave it to you to tell your dad to make my door code her serial number, nerd .’ “Guess I know what I’m doing with you now.”

 

Transferring back into Valkyr, Raven unlocked and opened the door to her apartment. She then scoped the currently stunned drone up in the frame’s strong arms, carrying her in and setting her down on the provided sofa.

Spotting a pen and pad on the provided basic desk, she wrote a note and stuck it on V’s visor. {Glad you liked it. <3 -R}

 

After V booted up and proceeded to have a reasonable freak out, the two agreed to not speak about this moment ever again.

 

—---------

 

It had now been a couple months since Raven appeared into their lives. The rumor of a new and strange drone quickly circulated the bunker, everyone interested in the new resident despite no one ever quite agreeing on its form. The woman wormed her way into their hearts, gained their trust, and had become a close part of Uzi and Co.’s circle.

 

Which leads us here. In Uzi’s workshop. The goth drone all but demanded Raven to a “weird space witch power off”. Raven gave in, despite some resistance at first.

 

“Uzi I told you. You really, really don’t want me to use transference on you.” She argued, currently sitting on a bean bag in the room’s corner. 

 

“And I told you it’d be fine!” Uzi argued back, hopping off the rolling chair she was sitting in.

 

“Besides, didn't you say that despite my solver not working on your human form, it would be perfect to modify Valkyr?” She pointed out, gesturing to the warframe currently stood still like a statue, in the middle of the room. “Think about it, with you in here, you could change her up just how you envision.” She gestured to her head as she tried to convince her.

 

“Ugh…look I’m just worried, I don’t know what will happen since I’ve never occupied a drone before. I just don’t want you to get hurt or go brain-dead or something.” Raven thought her concerns were valid.

 

“I get that! I just… Ok look, guess I’ve gotta be honest for a sec.” She started, holding her arm and looking off into a corner. “You remember how I told you about the solver and all that mess? I’m… worried. Its voice has been silent since the night you showed up, and I kinda wanted you to like, take a look inside? If you even can…” 

 

“Dammit Uzi.” She sighed. “Look if you are absolutely sure, then I’d be glad to look, but please understand the risk.” Raven said, standing up and looking the drone in the eyes.

 

“I’m serious. It’s been freaking me out. It was nice at first but, with the way that thing takes hosts, I need to be sure.” Her resolve was unwavering, Uzi pleaded.

 

“Ok.” Raven agreed as she pushed the drone into the bean bag. “Don’t like... Haunt me or something if this goes bad.”

 

Uzi watched the world blur as she dissociated. Now a passenger to her body, seeing through her eyes, yet with a distinct lack of control, she prayed Raven would be quick. ‘ YouwererightYouwererightYouwereright.’ She did her best to stay calm. 

 

—---------

 

‘ Fuck…. Forgot how much non-ganics’ suck to transfer into.’ Recovering from the information overload, Raven delved into Uzi's subconscious.

 

She opened her eyes to a moonlit cabin on a hill in the woods. ‘Interesting manifestation of one's mind palace…Suits her though.’ She opened the door and stepped inside. The dilapidated walls were lined with a fleshy growth, tendrils shooting off from them, converging on a black hole in the center of the room, its event horizon tinted in a purple glow.

 

‘Looks like the source of her power… Seems…Calm. I guess. Interesting, thought it’d have some yellow in it.’ She walked up to the orb. ‘Ok… this might not go well…’ Thinking to herself, she reached out, hand tinged in the power of the void. ‘Just a little, let me in…let me see.’ She commanded.

 

Plunging her hand into the orb as she closed her eyes, she was pulled in.

 

She found herself in the library of an opulent manor. The air acrid and stale. She spotted a hatch in the floor, slightly ajar and giving off a yellow light. ‘Spooky. That’s it though. I can feel it.’ Pulling open the door and dropping to the floor, she took in the dank room. Her gaze would quickly be pulled however, vision landing on the form of a drone dressed in a maid uniform sitting cross-legged on the floor, neon yellow eyes staring back at her.

 

“Questioning tone. Who are you?” It asked, voice monotonous yet feminine.

 

‘What secrets do you harbor Uzi…’ Taken aback, Raven thought to answer the drone. “I’m Raven, hopefully a friend.” She said, flashing a smile on her face. “Who might you be?”

 

“Calculating stare. Some call me Cyn. Slight smile.” She responded, standing up on shaky legs bent at strange angles.

 

“Cyn. Nice to meet you!” Raven said, offering a wave.

 

Cyn returned the wave. Or rather attempted to best she could, the action robotic and primitive compared to the drones Raven was used to seeing.

 

“Can I ask you something?” Raven asked, walking up to and then crouching down to the drones eye level.

 

“Intrigued expression. Ask away.” Cyn replied, eyes examining the person in front of her.

 

“Do you know what the solver is?” The human asked, head tilted, a finger to her cheek.

 

Cyn took a moment to respond, staring blankly. “Confusion. What is the “solver”.”

 

“I thought…So if it's not you…” Raven muttered. The drone tilted its head manually with one of her arms as she stared at the woman.

 

“How did you get here, Cyn?” 

 

“Recalling. No clear answer. Shrug. I don’t remember.”

 

‘If I remember N’s story right, the solver possessed her the second she rebooted after dying…Has she been stuck here since then?’ Sympathy rocked her heart. Another person trapped in a theoretical space for an unknown amount of time. Something she was very familiar with…

 

“Say, Cyn. Would you want to come with me?” Raven asked with a warm smile.

 

“Thinking. Come with you? Disbelief.” She said, her eyes narrowing.

 

“Haven’t you been trapped here?”

 

“Correct assumption. It is... boring.”

“I’m kinda special in a way…All you gotta do is take my hand.” Raven offered, gesturing to the drone, hand wreathed in void energy.

 

“Astonishment. This is strange. Apprehension. But I want to leave.” She answered, reaching her hand out to join together.

 

Upon their hands meeting, Raven’s mind was filled with memories that were not her own. A vast landfill filled with the corpses of drones. The blackened silhouette of a girl. Scenes of servitude in a manor. A grand hall filled with massacred human corpses. Flesh and metal monstrosities. A planet's consumption. A fight with a familiar purple robot. Her own face from another perspective.

 

‘ stopstopstopstopSTOP!’ Her mind pounded in her skull. The memories fading, she found herself in a void of pure entropy. Devoid of meaning. Devoid of substance. An overwhelming sense of nothing. But before she was consumed in her thoughts, the scene shifted once more. Still a void, however one more familiar. HIS domain.

 

Im̶itato̷̹̐r̷̖͛s̷̯̒ né̶̪e̶̳̒ḏ̵͋ n̵̖͊ő̷̱t̷̖͝ ĕ̵͕x̸̳͝ï̵͎s̵͍̃t̴̙̑. T̴̯̀his̷̞͝ o̵͚̐ne̵͖͗ i̴̥͋s̷̤͝ m̴̗̽in̵̙̅ę̵͊ kȉ̴͙dḍ̸̚o. T̷̲̉a̴͚̕ke̷͖̅ its̴̜̎ ḣ̵͍ȍ̵̩s̶̟͆t.̷̺́

 

The man in the wall. Its drowning voice. Consuming in its finality, it disappeared just as soon as it started.

 

Her perception collapsed around her. The feeling of falling overtook her. Plunging into that inky blackness. The very fabric of reality trembled. And then… She was back. Back in that room, still holding the hand of the drone.

 

The experience was not limited to just Raven. Cyn, being connected through the bond, had experienced memories of the other party, the solver's past, as well as the lidless eye. The two are now linked .

 

“Terror. Sorrow. Anguish. Make it stop .” Cyn cried, her voice glitching, limbs shaking; visor displaying pixelated tears, eyes now flickering between yellow and white.

 

Both people currently mentally destroyed, they fell into each other. Arms wrapped around one another, trying to ground themselves. Forget what they saw. The hold lasted a while. Cyn continued to shake as Raven broke the embrace. 

 

“ No, don't leave!” Cyn’s voice a pleading whisper, and was curiously devoid of her previous speaking cadence. Her voice had emotion .

 

“I’m not.” Raven scoped the drone up into her arms. “ We are leaving.” She said as the drone looked at her, eye-lights now fully white, nodded and buried her head into the paradox’s chest. 

 

A violet storm of void energy coalesced around them, their forms fading.

 

—--------- 

 

‘How long are you going to be in here?’ Uzi thought to herself, having gotten over the feeling of lost control. ‘It's been over an hour. And I’ve already counted all the rivets in the ceiling four times now.’ 

 

Being a passenger to her body, she was currently limited to seeing whatever Raven was looking at, which was currently just staring at the ceiling, seeing as she was searching her subconscious and therefore not using her sight for anything.

 

‘I should’ve just listened to you…’ She sighed internally.

 

A violet glow in her peripheral vision caught her attention. ‘Fuckin’ finally.’

 

The glow peaked in intensity and suddenly she could now move, jumping up out of her comfy throne.

 

“You sure took your sweet ti-” Uzi’s eyes widened upon seeing her friend, and the drone she was somehow carrying. 

 

“Ran into someone.” Raven said, Uzi’s eyes darting the oddly familiar drone clinging to her chest.

 

Realization struck her. “Is that…?”

 

“Not the Cyn you know…She’s the original.” Raven smiled softly at the drone who had apparently gone into sleep mode at some point during their extraction.

 

“And I know what happened to the solver. You won’t have to worry about it anymore. He is very thorough with those who disrespect him …” Her wording left little doubt in Uzi’s mind who...what she was talking about.

 

“I have so many questions.” The goth drone said, rubbing her forehead.

 

Raven set Cyn down in the bean bag. “We have time. I have answers.” She said, sitting on the floor next to the sleeping drone.

 

Raven patted the floor in front of her. “Sit. Should I give you a play by play?” 

 

“Yes, tell me everything.” Uzi said as she sat down and looked at her friend.

 

“Alright.” Raven said, proceeding to explain her experience for the next half hour. Uzi interjecting occasionally for clarity or pausing in astonishment periodically. 

 

“So…Forgetting about all that for the time being…What are we going to do about her?” Having finished listening to the recount, Uzi began, gesturing to the currently sleeping impossibility .

 

“Hmmm…. What do you think? Or rather how would you and the others feel about her. Being back that is.” The human asked, her tone an indication of the memories she was forced to behold.

 

“Me personally? I can feel she isn’t the same as the one we fought…N would probably be initially happy but get a bit sad she wouldn’t really know him…And V?” Uzi sighed before continuing. “She would take some convincing…You know how much the solver fucked with her specifically…”

 

“Trust me I remember… I’ve helped her calm down more than once at this point…” Raven said, a look of melancholy on her face.

 

Uzi’s eyebrows raised at that. “How did that happen? I thought she could barely tolerate you.”

 

“We live next to each other. Uzi, I’ve overheard her nightmares. I wouldn’t be able to leave that alone. More than once this past week I’ve spent the night just comforting her.” Raven said with a neutral look on her face. As if the answer was a given.

 

“Well jeez, you two work fast…” Uzi teased, not knowing how to take the information.

Raven rolled her eyes. “A shred of empathy wouldn’t hurt. You know it’s not like that.” Stating as she called her out.

 

“Sorry. Just don’t know how to deal with that stuff.” The drone apologized, regret in her voice.

 

“I know. It’s fine. Anyway, let’s circle back to our Cyn dilemma.” The human gestured to the sleeping robot.

 

“Right. Well we can’t just let her roam the bunker.” The purple drone pointing out.

 

After thinking about it for a moment, Raven spoke. “Realistically, I should probably take her with me for the time being.”

 

“She is the most connected to you at this point.” Uzi agreed.

 

Raven considered her words for a moment. “More than you might think.”

 

“What?” Confused, she asked for clarification.

 

“I didn’t mention it before ‘cause I wasn’t sure…But now that I’ve had time to feel it out. Uzi. I think she’s linked to my deal.” Raven explained, holding up her hand.

 

“Your dea-oh, that deal?” Realization struck her as she began to ask.

 

“Yes. That deal. ” The paradox affirmed, cloaking the currently held up hand in the violet energy of the void; accentuating her point.

 

“You know you pretty much have to take her now right?” Uzi said strongly as she crossed her arms.

 

“I was planning on it.”

 

Relaxing at the affirmation, she buried her face in her hands upon thinking about the current situation. “ Robo-Jesus. A drone with void powers.” She muttered.

 

“It’s only a possibility. Regardless, with the state she was in when we left, I don’t know if introducing her to anyone else would be a good thing right now.” Raven said, brushing a stray hair out of her vision. She sighed. “Look, this is a lot right now. How about I take her, give you some time to think, then we can come up with something more concrete in the future?” 

 

“Ok yeah, I think I’ll talk to N about some of this.” Uzi agreed as they both got up from their spots on the floor.

 

“Go ahead. I’ll try to broach the topic to Vicci somehow…” Raven said, moving to pick the sleeping drone up.

 

“Raven.” Uzi called out. “Valkyr, remember?” She asked, pointing a thumb at the frame stood behind her.

 

“I’ll walk her back with remote link. I don’t want a potentially volatile, potentially void-touched drone waking up to something unfamiliar carrying her.” She explained as she hoisted Cyn into her arms, cradling the drone like a mother would their child.

 

Uzi looked at this display with mirth. “So what? Just gonna leg it and hope no one notices?”

 

“Did you forget I can essentially go invisible?” Raven replied in deadpan.

 

“N-no...I didn’t.” She did. “But that only works on you right?” Saying as she leaned “cool-ly” on the wall.

 

Raven smirked at her attempt to save face.  “Only one way to find out!” She called upon that power once more and in a flash the two were “gone”. Flickering back into view with a triumphant look.

 

“God I’m so cool.” She claimed, voice lowering a few octaves for effect.

 

Uzi rolled her eyes at the declaration. “Yeah. Okay.”

 

Caging her narcissism, Raven linked up to Valkyr, the frame assuming her current pose. “Guess that settles it then, meet up tomorrow?” 

 

“Sounds good. Hope you figure out…uh, all that.” Uzi replied, gesturing broadly in her general direction.

 

“Me too. Bye for now, my favorite purple gremlin!” Raven said with a giggle as she and the currently unconscious Cyn faded out. The remote controlled warframe gave a wave as it left through the door.

 

“I’m not a gremlin! Bite me!” Uzi yelled out as the door closed.

 

—--------- 

 

‘I’ve got the weirdest feeling of deja vu right now.’ N thought as he currently flew past the latest destroyed building. ‘I hope this time doesn’t lead to anything weird happening.’ 

 

Landing on a rooftop, he scanned the area in search of anything useful. A surprise to no one, he found nothing. Again. He sighed. “These expeditions are starting to feel pointless.” He muttered as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

 

“I almost wish another portal would show up…” He said quietly, kicking a small pebble away. 

 

He really should be careful about what he wishes for. For he did not notice that the pebble had disappeared into the floor.

 

‘Time to go. I’ll just have to ask Uzi for oil again. Not that I mind…’ He thought with a massive smile on his face as he took off into the sky. Leaving behind the empty ruin.

 

What is it about rooftops that seem to bring such unknowns?

 

In the depths of the night, swirling energy coalesced into a focal point. A certain paradox shivered suddenly, though she did not know why. The abandoned rooftop now host to a rotating mass of void energy, various debris and rubble getting sucked in and absorbed.

 

Changed.

 

The stones were spat out of the anomaly, teeming with energy, and began to vibrate. Silver metallic limbs shot out of the rocks, flailing around, attempting to grab and pull themselves along.

More and more constructs were being made, crawling along the ruin. Claiming the building and then the surrounding land as their own.

The development reduced the area to nothing as the murmur fueled their own growth.

 

This would not spell well for the future.

—--------- 

 

‘Looks like the coast is clear.’ Arriving at her apartment, Raven popped back into existence with Cyn in tow. Swiftly opening the door despite fumbling with the keypad. She made her way inside and to her bed, laying the slumbering drone down on the soft fabric. She then positioned herself next to her and pulled her into a protective embrace. Her full intent on giving her a safe space to wake up to.

 

‘Please wake up calmly.’ She thought as the minutes passed. Half an hour later Raven was alerted to a “ding” sound not unlike an egg-timer going off. The drone in her arms stirred. 

 

‘W-where am I…’ Cyn’s optics flittered from the previously displayed [sleep mode], her neon white eyes filling the display, darted around the unfamiliar space.

Fear and uncertainty began to creep into her being. ‘H-how did I get h-here…’ The combined flashes of a life not hers and another life consumed by destruction was all she could recall. Her breathing picked up and she struggled against the hold she seemed to be caught in.

 

A voice interrupted her spiral as the arms she now recognized held her tighter. “You’re ok. I’m here. You’re safe.” The voice repeated. She calmed at the words, relief and warmth flooding her core. Recalling the only memory that was truly hers, of that room and the strange woman who held her so safely. 

 

“R-Raven?” Cyn's voice, frail and timid, spoke, shaking slightly as she turned around to face the other.

 

“Yes. That’s me.” Her face soft and smile warm as she patted a hand on the drones head.

 

Cyn calmed slightly at the contact however her expression was still wrought with fear and uncertainty. “W-who-W-what a-am I?” 

 

“First Cyn, you are a person... Second, a victim.” Raven said, sitting up and pulling the drone back into her chest.

 

Cyn wrapped her arms around the human. Eyes shut tight as she choked back a sob. “ I-I-I didn’t…. I never… wanted to hurt anyone.” The dam broke. Memories flooded her mind of her body possessed by the solver and the atrocities it committed using her as a vessel. She sobbed, ugly and full, emotions pouring out with the strength of a waterfall. Raven softly whispered, one of her hands rubbing circles into her back.  

 

“It wasn’t you. It wasn’t you… ” 

 

It would take the majority of the night before Cyn would reach any semblance of calm. The drone shortly fell asleep once again thereafter, no doubt exhausted. Raven tucked her into the bed, stepping away with a bittersweet look on her face.

 

‘I hope time will help…’ She thought. Emotionally drained, she made her way out to her living room and fell down onto the sofa.

 

‘This never gets easier…Eleanor…You always were better at this than me…’ She yearned for the advice of her past lover as she let her mind wander, her body exhibiting a sleep-like state.

 

‘Oh, how the ghost of you clings…’

—---------

Notes:

Cyn is one of my favorite characters. I hope you will be interested in my take on her in this story. Idk what it is with me and characters with fucked up backstories, but I just can't stop. It's just so compelling idk. See you next week!

Chapter 7: Dhampir

Notes:

And the plot moves forward with the longest chapter yet! Thanks for reading!

“Am I walking with gods or merely stumbling forth?”

---

Most drones agree that they are unable to process the human phenomenon of ‘dreaming’, simply because the mass produced worker drone was not programmed to do so, a “waste of resources and time” the cited reason per JCJenson.

 

V was not most drones. She was changed, different. An amalgamation of flesh and metal, programming irreparably altered by that ‘mutated AI’.

 

Yes. V is capable of dreaming and does so often… However , V would describe them as nothing more than nightmares. Those twisted memories invaded her rest most times she entered sleep mode. That dank room under the hatch, the frigid feeling of metal on her skin as she struggled against the straps binding her limbs to that surgical table. 

 

Her monotonous voice. The hundreds of grotesque claws and camera-eyes sprouting from HER, poking, prodding, cutting, clipping, ripping , tearing. Watching with panic and horror as her limbs are “removed” from her body and tossed away like worthless junk. Screaming was of no use, for SHE would just tear out her voice box, yet V still screamed, for what else could she do?

 

V shot up in her bedding, eyes hollowed out on her display, darted around her room. Her breathing, fast and shallow as she desperately tries to find something, anything, to ground herself. The memories however, would not stop. ‘ Please…no more. I-I can’t… I.’ She did her best to mitigate the oncoming panic attack. 

 

Curling into a ball, shaking as she cried, a large part of her wondering just where that damned paradox is. “ H-help me.. Raven. I-I c-can’t .” Unfortunately for her, despite the human’s often unexplainable powers, she could not be in two places at once. V had no way of knowing that she was already helping another drone through their own emotional break-down.

 

In the moment however, V’s self-loathing would creep in instead, because ever since that first time months ago where Raven had overheard her and immediately blinked to her side and just held her, grounded her , as she weathered the attacks. Her very presence calming in an otherworldly way. Whenever V had a moment like this, Raven would always be there. Always. Except now.

 

Though the absence of her comfort left V in that state for much longer than typical, she eventually did reach a state of calm. Though she could’ve sworn she had heard another’s cries layered in the sound of her own breakdown. Unable to go back to sleep and wanting to be anywhere but her room, she pushed herself out of her bed and made it her mission to find the absent woman. 

 

‘You better have a good reason…or so help me…’ She thought as she walked up to her neighbor’s door and entered the code. Her code. ‘Even now, you still fuck with me Uzi. I know it was you who made her code part of my serial number.’ She spared a second to roll her eyes at her musing as the door opened and she stepped inside. 

 

“Yo! Are you like, alive in here?” She called out, stepping past the warframe currently standing off to the side in the entryway. ‘No response…’ Her pace quickened slightly. Her worry bled off as she rounded the corner and spotted that familiar violet iridescent hair spilling over the side of the couch. “Are you asleep?” She asked out with slight confusion. “Don’t you… not need to do that?” 

 

“Guess you do…” She said quietly as Raven’s still form came into view. ‘She looks stressed…’ She thought as she studied the human’s face. ‘You’ve helped me so much these past months…I wish you’d let me help you too…’ She felt an embarrassing urge as she spotted the gap left on the sofa not taken up by the human’s body.

 

‘She does it for me so…’ Her eyes darted around, making sure no one could see the action she would soon take. Satisfied that there were no prying eyes, V carefully maneuvered herself next to Raven on the couch, an embarrassed yet happy smile on her face as she soaked up the woman’s warmth. 

 

Her eyes widened slightly as Raven’s arms wrapped around her. She panicked slightly, fearing the woman was awake, however upon checking it seemed she was still out like a light. ‘This was a bad idea…’ She thought, now held tightly in her arms. Realizing there wasn’t any good way out, she opted to let her guard down for once, and allowed herself to enjoy the comfort she so often longed for, drifting off to sleep once more.

 

—---------

 

‘It seems I’ve gained a visitor.’ Raven giggled internally upon returning her consciousness to her body, seeing the drone now in her embrace. ‘Gods, her hair is a mess, oh…oh no, she must have had another nightmare…and I wasn’t there…’ 

 

Raven assessed her frazzled state, genuine regret blooming in her soul. ‘I’m so sorry. Ugh…all this void fuckery and I still can’t be in more than one place at a time.’ Her sorrow interrupted as she felt the disassembler's prehensile tail wrap around her legs. ‘Yes I’m here.’ She thought with some small amount of gloom. 

 

Her thoughts completely focused on V, she had momentarily forgotten the other drone currently in her apartment. It would not be for long however, for Cyn was currently peeking her head out of the bedroom door, observing the scene in the living room, beginning to feel left out, though a flash of past memories prevented her from approaching the drone she…no, it tortured. 

 

Raven knew the feeling of being watched, she kicked herself mentally as she remembered yesterday's events. ‘Shit… this could go really poorly if Vicci wakes up right now…’ Thinking as she considered the drones' trauma towards the solver possessed Cyn.

 

Feeling the link, Raven began puppeting Valkyr in an attempt to offer the other drone some form of company and prevent the worst case scenario. The frame moved with the grace of a cat, not a step sounding out into the small space. 

 

Cyn’s white eyes peered at the infested humanoid shaped mass, Raven’s memories blending with her perception, recalling that Valkyr was once a human herself. She held head as her vision blurred, various warnings appearing on her visor from the informational overload, unknown to her, creating new neural pathways on her processor. 

 

‘Oh shit, that doesn’t look good.’ Raven watched the drone start to stagger through Valkyr’s vision. Commanding the frame to bullet jump across the room to catch the drone, who was now falling to the ground. ‘Got you.’ She thought, holding the drone carefully to the warframe's chest. 

 

Unfortunately her triumph would be short lived as V started to stir from all the commotion. Caught between a rock and a hard place, that being the “volatile and clingy trauma-bot” and the “somehow exists now and also most likely void infested-bot” respectfully.

 

V stirred some more, surely to wake up fully in a matter of moments…she needed to do something. And now. The next moments were a blur, as V’s display flitted to life, her eyes immediately searching for the disturbance that awoke her from her slumber. Her optics settled on Valkyr holding the one drone she hoped never to see again… ‘No no no no, not you, not now. This isn’t real.. This can’t be happening.’ Her thoughts spiraled into panic as she pleaded with her body to move . 

 

“Vicci. Vicci!   V! CALM DOWN! THAT'S NOT HER! I mean it is but, SHE ISN’T THE SAME ONE WHO HURT YOU!” Raven’s shout however, fell on deaf ears as V started to hyperventilate. ‘FUCK! This is bad!’ Raven’s own panic started to set in as well. She was at a loss on how to fix this, however she at least knew that removing V from the area was a good start. 

 

“It's ok, I’ve got you. I’m here.” She repeated as she hoisted the drone off the couch and into her arms, she made it all of three steps before V’s demeanor changed. The murder drone no longer shaking and now displaying an X on her visor.

 

Try as she might, she could not hold onto V as she kicked herself out of Raven’s arms, the disassembler now sporting blades for hands, made a beeline towards Cyn. “I WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED AGAIN! YOU CAN”T HURT ME ANYMORE!” V screamed out, voice breaking as she prepared to strike the drone.

 

Raven sighed. “I’m sorry Vicci…I never wanted to do this without asking you first.” Raven pulled on that feeling once more. V stopped in her tracks as the paradox invaded her consciousness. 

 

‘Ra-Raven!? What are you doing? Get out of me! Can’t you see I’m trying to kill that demented little freak !’ V demanded, her voice booming in her head despite not being able to project it out. 

 

“I’m sorry for the highjacking! But look at her Vicci! I mean really look . She isn’t the same, the one responsible for your torture is for all purposes dead . I had hoped to explain this to you before any of this happened.” Raven’s voice projected out from V’s own voice box as she forced V’s body to return to a less lethal state.

 

V struggled against the possession to no avail. ‘What am I even supposed to think anymore?!’ She said in her mind, gaze forced to behold the familiar drone held in Valkyr’s arms, Cyn’s eyes hollowed out from the near death experience.

V had to admit that she was different, however that did not stop the very real memories from resurfacing in her mind at the sight of her.

 

“I’m going to give you your body back now. I know what it did to you. But can you promise me you won’t go all murdery again?” Raven asked, voice once again making use of V’s body. 

 

‘T-The urge is gone… I-I can’t stay here though. Just looking at her is…’ With V’s affirmation, Raven transferred out of V’s body, a look of understanding on her features as she blocked Cyn from V’s sight. “I don’t expect you to. W-would you like time alone or…” Raven started as V regained her bearings. 

 

“I-I don’t know. I don’t...really want to be here right now.” She stammered out, backing up as she regained feeling in her legs. Her eyes seemed unable to focus on anything.

 

“Let’s go outside for a bit, ok? I’ll explain what I can.” Raven said as she ushered the disassembler out of the apartment. Leaving Cyn alone with the warframe. 

—---------

 

With the two of them gone, Cyn didn’t know what to make of what she just experienced. One moment she was searching for the familiar human after waking up, the next thing she knew her head was pounding, and to top it all off she almost got sliced in two after getting scooped up by that “meat puppet”. The said “meat puppet” that was still holding onto her protectively. “Can you let me go?” She asked the frame, however without a mind to pilot the body, it just stood, locked in its last position.

 

She tried to wiggle her way out, but the hold around her was too strong. She let out a sigh. ‘I hope she comes back soon…’ After about twenty minutes had passed, she felt the need for some sort of stimuli. ‘Maybe I could…No…I shouldn’t…But…If their hers and not it's …’ Her mind was made up. ‘Not like I have much to do anyway right now…’ She thought as she delved into her mind, trying to recall any of Raven’s memories and not the solver’s.

 

She was elated as she started to see the perspective of a foreign world. Snippets of the paradox’s past flooding past her processor. She paused on a particular one. ‘Her’ eyes trained on the other human in the memory. ‘That looks like her…but smaller…’ Her focus returned as she witnessed the two shake hands in what seemed to be some sort of nebulous cloud, the blinding light emanating from the two’s hands would’ve destroyed her optics had this not been a memory.

 

The scene faded, her mind having had enough. She blinked a couple times as she returned to the present. “That seemed significant.” No sooner than the words left her voice box, something changed within her…or more accurately was unlocked in her. Cyn felt her vision blur again, though graciously her head was not pounding like last time. A booming voice invaded her mind, one she immediately recognized despite not meeting its owner officially.

 

Ã̷͚n̶̘̈́o̴̘͒ṱ̵̊h̸͙͐ĕ̴̪r̵͈͋? F̴̰̄i̴̟̒n̸͎͘e̷̝͌.̵̹̂. Ǫ̴́n̵̓͜l̵̪͂y̷̤͐ b̸̝̐ec̶̲̆aù̴̪s̶͈͠e̷̪̔ ỳ̵͕o̷̪͆ṵ̶̎ a̵̳͠r̷͉̅è̴̺ f̸̼͛ŕ̴̥o̷̘͑m̶̞͒ h̴̬͗e̶̫͗r.

 

The room spun, her sight exploded in a rainbow of color, her mind ached from the void now clinging to her body like a viscous slime. Its power integrated itself into her various circuits as multiple warnings appeared on her visor. “F-feels…ngh…like…my body is…” She managed to breath out as her body exploded into a white nebula of energy.

 

Her mind felt clear for some reason. ‘W-what just…’ Her thoughts cut short as she looked around the room and then at her hands. The clawed hands that were just holding her a minute ago. ‘W-what is this… What, j-just happened? I feel… taller. Am I?’ Her confusion turned to uncertainty as she internalized what she thought just happened. ‘Is this…transference? It has to be…’ She thought as she recalled some more of Raven’s memories, a particular one featuring a massive floating dragon-worm thing and the perspective shift from a human one to flying in the air, the most prevalent.

 

A sense of understanding passed her mind, unfortunately it would not last long as another thought took root. ‘How do I get out…’ She searched and searched, for anything that might resolve her plight, but alas unknown to her, transference is something one has to gain a feeling for. ‘I need to find her.’ Her resolve set, she began the march to find the person who could help…and promptly made it half a step before falling on her face.

 

‘Why is this so hard?’ The disconnect between her novice self and the warframe she was currently inhabiting would be apparent to an outside observer. Fortunately for her, no one was around to watch her fumble for thirty minutes as she re-learned how to walk in the foreign body.

 

Eventually she made it to the door, and after fumbling with the keypad due to lack of fine motor control, made her way out as she tried to follow the labels marking the bunker’s halls.

 

—---------

 

After Raven had ushered V out of the apartment, the two of them made their way outside. Having snuck past the WDF guarding (playing rummy) door number one, the two were currently standing in the frozen environment of Copper-9.

 

“Alright, up here.” Raven said as she blinked to the top of the bunker's entrance. V joined her shortly after, stowing her wings after landing with a cloud of snow.

 

V sighed. “Why are we out here…” She asked, watching the human sit down on the snow covered overhang. Raven patted the spot beside her. “Sit.” She said with a gentle tone. V huffed but did so anyway. The two of them sat side by side, quietly watching the surrounding area.

 

“Y’know I often come here to think…Just take in the calm and clear my mind.” Raven started, slouching slightly and putting her hands to her cheeks. “I’m sorry y’know. For… a lot of things really…But what I did to you back there… It… doesn’t matter if I panicked, I had no right to steal your body and invade your mind like that.” Her voice was quiet, clearly filled with regret just by listening to the tone alone. “Someone did that to me once…Invaded my mind… It was…” She sighed again before continuing. “It didn’t matter how much I loved her, that breach of trust…It never really healed.” Her voice trailed off as she buried her head in her hands.

 

V felt conflicted. She had never seen the woman like this before, the weight of her friend's apology pulling on her heartstrings, pandering to her need to comfort those she cares about.  However, she also remembered that feeling of powerlessness, disbelief, and betrayal . ‘Betrayal? Is that really it? Why would I feel betrayed?’ V looked ahead as she ruminated on her thoughts. ‘Because it was for her ? Argh…Answers first, feelings later…’

 

She tapped Raven on the shoulder, the human turned to meet her eyes. Her core wept at the sight of the woman looking so defeated. V pushed through the urge. “You said you would explain.” She tried to say sternly, but her heart just wasn’t in it.

 

“It started when Uzi persuaded me to use transference on her. She wanted to know why she hadn’t heard the solver’s influence since I showed up.” Raven said as she adjusted her seating, leaning back on her hands, her head tilted slightly as she faced towards the drone. “Putting aside the way her mind manifested itself, long story short I used the void to delve into her power. Got dropped into a fancy ass library in some manor. Damn creepy door in the floor too.”

 

V’s eyes widened at this.

 

“Dropped down through it and found a drone wearing a maid outfit. Neon yellow for eyes…Same as yours now that I think about it…Anyway, It said its name was Cyn. I had heard N talk about her before, so I kinda assumed she was trapped. Guess I was talking to the solver though. Offered to bring her out, y’know, with void fuckery…Well we shook hands and I think she tried to eat me? I don’t really know, shit was kinda a blur… though I did see its memories, regardless, the entity that follows me around, for some reason , showed up and I think stole or killed the solver? Somehow? ” She paused as she brushed a stray hair off her face before continuing. “It said for me to “Take its host”, then I was back in that room, the drone was there too, we kind of broke down for a bit, then I flooded the place with void and we popped back into realspace.”

 

V rubbed her temples before letting out one of the biggest sighs she ever had. “Why does everything you say never make sense at first, except when you think about it, it seems like a given with you…It's infuriating.” Her exacerbation peaked as she looked at the human with half lidded eyes. “How does someone make life so complicated by just trying to be nice. I don’t get it.”

 

“I don’t know what to say to that…” Raven added quietly.

 

“You don’t say anything. Look I’m not going to apologize for freaking out at, what was to me , the source of all my trauma. I’m also not going to pretend that you controlling me at that moment didn’t feel like a betrayal. But . I also know that you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me intentionally at this point… Frankly I’d be a lot more of a mess without you.” She admitted the last part quietly. “Just ask first? Ok?” 

 

“Of course! Vicci, I do feel really bad about that. I only ever intended that to happen if you specifically asked for it to. I just…didn’t want anyone to die. I'm sorry.”

 

V’s lips pulled into a slight smile. “I know. I don’t think I could hate you at this point…You…apart from tonight, have made me feel safer than anything this past decade I’ve been on this planet has…I trust you.” V looked away with a slight blush on her visor. 

 

“Me too.” Raven replied, the two sharing a moment of silence as the weather calmed somewhat.

 

“Hey Vicci?” Raven asked, catching the drones attention.

 

“Yeah?” V answered as she turned to face her.

 

“I know it wasn’t cool, but when I was in your body I couldn’t help but notice it kind of felt more um… fleshy than mechanical. And it seemed so hot…like boiling hot. Do you not have some sort of cooling system?” The human asked, her head tilted slightly.

 

V debated how she should answer, slightly caught off guard by the correct assessment. “We were modified this way. Me, N, and the traitor all need to consume oil to cool our internals. As for the how…” She sighed. “It’d be easier to show you…Up for some more trauma bonding?” She said with a smirk as she pointed to her head.

 

Raven was slightly dumbfounded as she caught her meaning. “Vicci, you know I’d always listen, but are you really suggesting that? I mean we just had a whole heart to heart about this.”

 

“And I said it was ok if I knew beforehand. And you said only if I asked. I’m asking. I want you to understand why I’m like this. What she-it did to me.” V assured, her gaze steel as she laid her intentions out.

 

“You’re serious. Fuck ok. I’ll try to like…find some way to lessen the whole “you can’t control yourself” thing.” Raven conceded as she reached out her hand.

 

V smiled as she took the outstretched digits. She felt the control of her body slipping away as Raven disappeared and she flopped back onto the snow. A few moments passed before she felt her body respond to her commands again. Seconds later a pixelated Raven appeared on her hud not unlike a desktop companion.

 

“Vicci! I figured out how to be a passenger!” The human waved as she danced around on V’s hud. “Just had to find the right spot! You uh…didn’t need that AI assistant I hope…Anyway it’ll be back once I’m gone so it's fine!” She commented as she sat on a diagnostic window. 

 

V had to admit the development was actually kind of funny and she was glad to be the one controlling her body. “This is kind of convenient if you can see the windows I pull up.” She said to Pixel-Raven, who was currently engrossed in reading her bio-monitor panel.

 

“ I’m so fascinated by you I swear …Sorry. Yes I can see them. This is definitely better than just digging through a subconscious.” Raven rubbed her head as she gave a thumb up.

 

“Well get comfy, I’ll queue them up. I’m not watching them again though. I…just can’t.” V said to her as she opened the locked folder that contained all of her worst memories. “Just like tap me or something when you're done, I’m turning off my perception.” She said as she pressed play on a file named perfection.mp4.

 

Raven spent the next hour watching through the files. A mix of horror and disgust permanently etched on her face as she had to stomach the sight of her friend's torture at the hands of a freak. After the final video finished, Raven immediately transferred out in front of her, and pulled her into a hug. Tears were streaming down her face as she tightened her hold on the drone.

 

V closed out the pop-up alerting her to outside contact. Her vision returned shortly after the incredible warmth her touch receptors were providing. ‘Oh, I’m being hugged. This is nice.’

 

Raven felt V’s arms wrap around her in kind. “So… worse than you were expecting?” Raven heard V ask. “ You didn’t deserve any of that .” The woman choked out as she buried her head into V’s neck.

 

V would’ve started crying too had she any more emotional capacity at that moment. Instead she just tried to savour the closeness of the moment as she replied. “ No… I-I didn’t. ”

 

The two of them sat together in the embrace for a while longer. Each separating with a warm look on their faces. Raven seemed to have an idea. “Hey, can I try something?”

 

“What is it?” V replied seeing the inquisitive look on the human's face.

 

“I think I might be able to help that overheating problem. Potentially permanently.” Raven smirked slightly.

 

“ How ?” V looked at her with incredible doubt.

 

“Void.” She said as she cloaked her hand in the foreign energy. “Maybe it could replace or supplement the biological parts of you. Sort of like how I power the warframes. And their healing.”

 

“Hmm. Sounds like a lot of potential for problems, but I would like to see the sun again.” V said, not entirely opposed to the idea.

 

“Want to try? I think if I pumped your core full of it, it might do something.” She said as she gestured to the glass plate on V’s torso.

 

V giggled at the wording. “Do you intentionally talk in innuendos, or are you just oblivious?” She said as she rolled her eyes.

 

“In retrospect, yeah I could have worded that better.” Raven laughed at the situation before continuing. “So, care to get “pumped full"?" she asked with a sultry look on her face.

 

“Don’t double down!” V cried out before breaking into a laughing fit. Raven joined in for the duration. After calming down, V rolled her eyes as she punched Raven’s shoulder. “Alright, alright that's enough. Go ahead, try your “void magic”, just no “pumping.” She said as she undid the top of her jacket.

 

“Despite how I made it sound, you didn’t need to take your top open.  I can phase through things, remember?” Raven giggled at the drone as V looked away, embarrassed.

 

“Shut up! I know!” She shouted out as she zipped the coat back up, turning back to the human, though not meeting her eyes.

 

“Right. Sure. Anyway, here goes!” Raven said as she wreathed her hand in that energy once more and plunged it into V’s chest. V sat shocked as she watched the temperature warnings on her hud disappear. A foreign violet pop-up appeared as she felt her insides shift and change. ‘What is this ‘Helminth conversion’ bar counting up?’ Her thoughts would have to wait as the bar reached 100 percent. Raven pulled her hand out of her chest thereafter.

 

“What did you do to me?” V asked, though she didn’t feel any different on the outside, her mind was clear, and her insides felt… Unified?   “Raven, what is the Helminth?”

 

“It’s the strain of infestation used to create warframes. H-how do you know about that?” She asked as she looked at the drone.

 

“I saw a pop-up on my hud. It said “helminth conversion”. V said, her head tilted slightly in confusion.

 

“That um…Ok, I uh. Wow. Vicci. I think I turned you into a warframe. ” She said with a look of apprehension mixed with astonishment on her face.

 

“Oh! Oh. Is that bad? I don’t really feel any different. I feel better actually.” V seemed to take the revelation surprisingly well.

 

“Physically not, but don’t you care that you’re like...maybe not a drone anymore.” Raven asked with worry in her tone.

 

“Honestly…I was never happy with myself after I was forced to become what I was. I think the reason I don’t care is, because of you, I have something truly mine…It doesn’t hurt anymore.” V admitted with a huge smile as she tackled the woman in a hug.  “ Thank you.” Her voice a whisper as the two hugged a while longer.

 

After a while they returned to looking out at the ruins of the planet, a comfortable silence enshrouding the moment. It would not last however as Raven stood up suddenly with a pensive look on her face.

 

“What’s wrong?” Concerned, V asked.

 

“I-I can’t feel my connection to Valkyr…The link is…gone.” Raven said with no small amount of panic.

 

V stood up rather quickly, dusting the snow off herself. “That doesn’t sound good.”

 

“No it isn’t, and the only options I can think of for why are not good ones.” She replied.

 

“You think Cyn is to blame?” V asked as she checked her arsenal for correct functionality after her change.

 

“I hope so, anything else would be catastrophic.” Raven said with a determined look. “Let’s go.” She said, rolling her shoulder and then jumping down in front of the bunker’s door. V landed next to her a second later.

 

—---------

 

‘Where am I? This place is a maze.’ Cyn thought as she rounded yet another corner in the bunker’s labyrinthine halls. ‘I should’ve just waited…I-I don’t even know how to get back.’ She felt like she would cry right now if she could. Unfortunately she has yet to figure out the intricacies of transference, and as such opted to find a quiet place to sit down and bury her head in her knees. ‘Am I going to be stuck like this?’

 

The sound of heavy footsteps approaching pulled her out of her thoughts. She watched as a tall and sleek drone with yellow eyes approached with a face of worry as his gaze fell on her form.

 

“Rae, is that you? Are you ok? Why are you out here in Valkyr?” N asked as he bounded up to and then sat next to her, a concerned look present on his features.

 

If she could, Cyn would comment on the kindness in his eyes but alas all she could do was stare with a slight tilt to her head. ‘I feel like I should know you.’ She tried to access the solver’s memories, but for some reason it was like anything related to the disassembler in front of her was blocked.

 

“Buddy? Did you forget how to talk? Did you get stuck again? ” He asked as he waved a hand in front of her face. A friendly smile graced his features as he looked at her.

 

‘Buddy…Why does that seem so familiar.’ Cyn thought, though realized she should probably give him some form of answer instead of the unmoving stare she currently was providing. She gave her head a nod, N laughing slightly at this.

 

“You can be so silly sometimes. Guess we’ll have to get Uzi to do that whole ‘soul punch’ thing on you again.” He said as he punched her shoulder lightly, standing up after and offering a hand thereafter. “C’mon Raven! I’ll take you to her.”

 

‘He thinks I’m her.’ She sought to correct him somehow. She took his hand and stood up with his help. Crossing her hands in an X and shaking her head, she tried to communicate with him. Unfortunately N seemed taken aback slightly.

 

“So you don’t want to go to her?” He asked with confusion in his tone. Cyn shook her head again, getting annoyed at herself for the miscommunication. ‘Maybe there's a notepad or something around here?’ She hoped as she motioned writing something down with her hands to the drone.

 

He stared at the gesture for a few moments before understanding blossomed on his face. “Oh duh. That would make things a lot easier.” He said as he smacked himself on the forehead, slightly annoyed he didn’t think of something that simple.

 

Cyn shrugged her shoulders as if to say “Got one?”. N sadly, shook his head. “Not on me.” He said. A second later he seemed to have an epiphany. He pointed to his visor as a text box appeared, a blank prompt with a blinking cursor greeting her. “Type on my face!” Cyn thought he had said that with a bit too much enthusiasm, though wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She attempted to type [Not Raven, I’m Cyn. Stuck in Frame.] However due to her current lack of dexterity, it came out as a bit of a mess.

 

Ten minutes of typing, erasing, and re-typing later, the message was somewhat legible if you could look past the egregious spelling mistakes. “Done? Alright let's see what you wrote.” N said as he moved the prompt into his hud. His eyes went hollow as he read it.

 

“That's a really mean prank you know…” He said with an awkward chuckle as he looked up at the warframe. Cyn shook her head, hoping he would realize it was not a joke. “But…Cyn is…dead. We…Uzi consumed her.” Cyn gestured to bring the text up again. N agreed despite his current feelings, hoping she would apologize and say this was all just some bad prank.

 

[I was. Consumed by solver. Raven helped. Void magic. Now back.] She typed into the prompt, slightly better this time with the practice. She stepped back as she watched him read the message.

 

N had a hard time believing this. Of course he did, but this was so out of the ordinary for the paradox to do that he couldn’t help but think it was true somehow.

“I-If that's the case. We um… We’re going to see Uzi.” He said as he grabbed the frame’s hand and began to walk towards his shared apartment.

 

‘This sounds too weird. Something’s up…’

—---------

Notes:

And so we come full circle to the chapter title, the parallels with two drones becoming warframes in different ways. Find out the consequences next time in chapter 8: Decimation.

Chapter 8: Decimation

Notes:

Chapter 8 is here! Who knows when these guys will catch a break? Well...me I guess... Anyways! Thanks for the continued interest and enjoy the rest of your day!

“I don’t know why. I just feel I’m better off staying in the same room I was born in.”

---

“Are you sure we should be running out in the open like this?!” V asked as she and Raven were currently running through the halls of the bunker. 

 

“Don’t care, this is more important! We’ll deal with the fallout later! She replied, ignoring the shocked stares of the few worker drones up at this hour. The crisis at hand far outweighed the consequences of her humanity being exposed, at least in her mind. “If Valkyr’s not under my or someone else's control, there's a good chance no one will be left alive to see me anyway!” She yelled out as she rounded another corner, V skidding around it a second later.

 

“Her Hysteria? N told me about that.” V commented as she caught up to the paradox. “And how are you so fast?!” She added as Raven started to pull ahead of her once again. No matter the makeup of her body, the fact remained that her legs were simply just shorter than the woman’s. The lack of actual feet also didn’t help, her pointed metallic limbs offering little in the way of grip. 

 

“You think this is fast? If I had some open space I’d just activate cadence.” V was already having trouble as it is, she did not want to see whatever that meant. The woman rounded another corner. ‘Fuck this’ V thought as she unfurled her wings in an attempt to accelerate herself with the boosters attached to them. 

 

Raven turned her head as she caught sight of V rocketing past her in the hall. The neon yellow of anti gravitational waves created a glow that highlighted the disassembler as she spun around with a smug look on her face.

 

“Alright you win! Might want to stop though. That wall looks very sturdy.” Raven smirked as V processed her words.

 

“Huh?” Was all the drone got out before she slammed into the wall back first, letting out a groan as she fell to the floor.

 

“You good?” Raven asked as she blinked up to the drone and held out her hand.

 

“Don’t say a word.” V said with a scowl, trying to hide her embarrassment, as she took the woman’s hand.

 

“ I won’t. The suspiciously Vicci shaped dent in the wall might though…” Raven said with amusement in her voice as she lifted V up off the ground. Earning an incredulous look from the disassembler in the process. “Anyway, we need to change our tactics. This isn’t going to be fast enough with just the two of us, even if we split up. Let’s head to Uzi’s. See if they will help.”

 

“Sounds like a plan.” V said, flexing her joints as the two then made their way towards the goth’s apartment.

 

—---------

 

Uzi sat alone on her sofa, currently flicking through the various shows she had stored on the tv. “Five minutes my ass. Love that dork, but a snack run should not take half an hour.” She muttered lightly, her impatient side rearing up somewhat. She sighed before putting down the remote and hopping up off the couch. ‘Guess I’ve got to retrieve the ‘retriever’ again.’ She thought as she stretched before walking to the door. Her finger was inches from the keypad before the door suddenly opened to a frantic looking N clutching Valkyr’s wrist.

 

“N? About time you got back. Is that Raven? Explains why you were gone so long.” She said with a smile on her face although slightly perplexed at why the woman would be here at this time.

 

“You can still do that solver punch thing right?” N asked with an urgency in his tone as he walked through the door with the frame in tow.

 

She was now more than a little confused at his question. “Um yeah? Why?” She answered, her eyebrows raised yet attitude lax. 

 

“Just need to confirm something… Raven here said she was stuck.” He said as he gestured to the frame, having let go of her after the door shut behind them.

 

“Well…Ok then. I’ll just..ah.” Uzi started as she called upon the solver’s power and walked up to the frame. “I don’t really know what's happening or why he seems so cagey but don’t complain when you fly out of that thing…” She said to the frame as she jumped up and delivered a weighty thwack to her head. A neon white explosion of energy shot out from the impact as a drone was sent flying into the nearby wall. Uzi’s eyes widened upon seeing Cyn. “Cyn?! What the? HOW?!” She yelled out as she rushed over to the collapsed drone’s side.

 

Disbelief shot through N’s mind as he watched the scene unfold. Currently lying on the floor in a heap was someone he thought he would never see again. “S-She wasn’t lying…” was all he managed to mutter out before his helpful nature forced him to Cyn’s side along with his girlfriend.

 

Cyn’s body felt like it was on fire, the forceful ejection from the warframe seemed to heighten her perception of touch…and the wall she just crashed into was not…soft. Her face contorted in a grimace, she slowly tried to wade out the pain. When she finally opened her eyes and her ears stopped ringing, she took in the blurry forms of the two drones crouched over her. “Can you stop poking me?” She said to the blurry purple one, who obliged and offered a nonchalant apology.

 

As her vision returned to normal, she finally made out the two drones features.  She remembered the purple one from the solver’s memories. “Hello Uzi, Hi…uh..” She started to greet them but paused as she looked at the familiar disassembler, try as she might she just couldn’t seem to remember his name. ‘It was like this earlier…Why can’t I remember you…’ Spacing out as she stared at the taller drone.

 

N’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched Cyn trail off and seem to get lost in thought. He turned to his girlfriend, hoping she would offer any sort of explanation for what was currently happening. “Uzi…What..How is she here?”

 

“Long story N, and you bet your ass that human was involved.” Her “explanation”, if anything, just left him more confused. He decided to turn his attention back to Cyn. “Hey little buddy, it’s me! N! Your “big brother”, remember?” 

 

Cyn’s attention was pulled back to the drone, an intense look on her face as she studied him. She shook her head. “I don’t.” She said to him, his face immediately falling. “Am I supposed to?” With a blink she asked.

 

N felt like he could cry. Despite what the solver did to them and everything it put them through, he still missed those quiet moments with his “little sister” back in the manor. Secretly he wished Cyn would somehow be freed from its corruption and come back, alas while it seemed to have come true, the crushing reality of the present would weigh in instead. ‘She doesn’t remember me…or even seem to know me.’ Uzi’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

 

“N she isn’t the same. I..doubt you were even talking to “Cyn” back then.” She said as she helped the currently down drone up off the ground.

 

“Back then? You knew me?” Cyn asked as she turned to N, her head tilted slightly as she held her chin, patiently waiting for a reply.

 

“Um..yeah. The manor. Before everything happened…You…really don’t know? Even Tessa?” His hands were at his sides, looking more than a little defeated as he asked again.

 

“The human girl? I can see her…the manor too, you don’t appear in any of it though…sorry.” She said as she shrugged. “Would it make you happy if I called you big brother?” She watched N’s face light up at the words. “Very!” She heard him say, before she felt herself get scooped up into a hug. ‘So warm.’

 

Uzi watched the two with a slight smile on her face. ‘Heh. Despite everything, he always did have a soft spot for her. Hope this time is less traumatic…’ She thought as she turned to prop up the currently crumpled warframe, that was momentarily forgotten about, into a more respectable position. Her work complete, she turned back to the others, only to see N giving Cyn a piggyback ride around the living room. “Guess you really missed her huh.” She muttered to herself, smiling at the moment. 

 

A knock at the door pulled her out of it. ‘What now?’ She thought as she walked over to and opened the door. “V? Why are you here?” Uzi asked with a sigh.

 

“Need your help…Now.” She replied, checking the hallway before walking into the place. As soon as the door closed, a familiar human shot out of her leaving a trail of violet energy. 

 

“I’m…not even going to comment. So? V? What is so important that Raven was driving you around like a car?” Uzi said as she watched the woman look around for a second and upon finding the warframe immediately disappeared into a storm of violet again.

 

“That.” V stuck a thumb towards the frame that was now doing a stretching routine. “We were having a discussion, when suddenly she got all panicky cause’ she couldn’t feel a connection to the frame. Guess all that running around out in the open was for nothing considering she was here for some reason.” She made sure to direct her voice to Raven as she gave the explanation. The woman giving a “Sorry!” in response.

 

“Is that V?” N’s head popped around the corner, Cyn currently setting hers on top of it as she rode on his back. Raven turned around at his voice, transferring out of the warframe right in front of V as she caught sight of the drone he was carrying.

 

She didn’t care as Uzi watched her pull V to the side. “Cyn is here. Will you be ok?” She whispered to her. “I think so. My mind feels stronger after earlier.” V whispered back.

 

‘What are those two doing now? Feels like I’m being left out somehow.’ Uzi thought as she watched the two speak in hushed tones for a moment longer. She cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention. “Alright! Now that everyone is here, we might as well have someone explain some things. Right Raven ?”

 

“Of course. Perhaps we can clear up some stuff regarding our new…old?..friend.”

 

Uzi turned to walk back to the living room, though cast a curious look, catching the woman taking V’s hand before turning completely. ‘Was V…smiling? Something to ask about later…On second thought…Yeah I didn’t see anything.’

 

—---------

 

“And that's the game! Pack it up boys, you’ll have to try harder than that if you want a chance at beating me. I’ve played this game for years, you know.” Khan boasted to the rest of the remaining WDF after winning yet another game of gin rummy. Those at the table groaned in response. Complaints rang out yet the atmosphere was light regardless.

 

“Soo.. are we just going to ignore what happened earlier?” A drone piped up.

 

“Yeah… not for nothing but uh, pretty sure seeing that murder drone running off with a human of all things should be a bigger deal.” Another added.

 

“Oh that? There’s nothing wrong with that! I mean, come on now! If that human could open the door then surely it means they belong here!” Khan replied as he leaned back in his chair. ‘Hopefully they don’t question it anymore than that…’

 

A chorus of Yeah’s, ok’s, and indifferent nods rang out as the group swiftly went back to setting up another hand of the card game. Khan was relieved, perhaps it was his pull as the pseudo head of the bunker that convinced the others not to look into it too deep. ‘Uzi, I don’t know what your friends were doing there but I really hope it’s nothing serious.’

 

The game continued on for another half hour before a drone suddenly smacked his fist on the table. “Maybe it's just me but, does anyone else really not hear that scratching?” He said as he pointed to the door.

 

“Relax, it’s probably just some trash blown up against it. I’ll go check the monitor.” Khan hopped out of his seat and walked up to the door's controls. ‘Let’s see what junk got stuck here this time.’ His eyes went hollow as he took in the strange sight on the display. An otherworldly silver arm attached to a slab of what looked to him like concrete just sat there, its spindly silver metallic fingers started to leave gashes in the door’s titanium.

 

“Khan! You good over there? You’ve been staring at that thing for a minute. Is there something out there?” A drone back at the table yelled out.

 

He gulped as he tore his gaze away from the display, immediately donning his persona of leadership as he turned back to face them. “No, just some branches. Hey, why don’t you all take an early night tonight, we’ll work on cleaning it up in the morning!” Khan said to the group after walking back to the table, hoping some of his trepidation did not bleed through into the sentence.

 

Thankfully it seemed no one noticed and we’re more than eager to take an early shift. After about five minutes Khan was the only one left as they all had gone home.

 

‘I don’t know what that thing is…Uzi. I’ll need her help. I hope my doors will be strong enough to keep it out while I get to her.’ He thought as he closed doors two and three behind him, the sight of that strange thing at the forefront of his mind.

 

—---------

“And so that closes out how Cyn got here. Any questions?” Raven asked the group, having finished her recalling of the events that led to the drones retrieval. N raised his hand, the human smiled as she gave a thumbs up. “So like, that was all pretty confusing, but none of that really explained why Cyn was in Valkyr.” He asked, gesturing to the drone currently sitting in Raven’s lap.

 

“My guess is, since we are linked through the void now, she somehow used transference already.” Raven commented as she nudged the drone in her lap, provoking her to speak.

 

“Huh? Oh. When you and V left I was still held in the frame, She wasn’t moving and I just wanted down. Next thing I knew, I was taller and couldn’t walk easily.” Cyn said neutrally despite initially being caught off guard.

 

Raven looked to the goth. “Guessing there was a big flash of energy when you punched her out of Valk, eh Uzi?”

 

“Pfft, “Big flash” , understatement of the century.” She answered with an eye roll.

 

“That confirms it then. Welcome to the “people with weird powers club” Cyn!” Her voice was far too cheery to the others as she said that.

 

“This is all happening so fast.” Cyn said as she rubbed her head. The conversation went quiet for a moment.

 

“Alright.” Uzi said suddenly. “I tried to ignore it but… V why the hell are you resting your head on her shoulder like some kind of couple. Seeing you all soft is screwing me up!” The accused shot a dirty look her way.

 

“What, am I not allowed to be…”soft”? News flash, I don’t care what you think, and also…what was that you always say? Oh yes… Bite me .” V huffed as she crossed her arms and turned her head away impudently. The human whispered something to her afterwards.

 

“Uzi, what was that about?” N whispered as he looked down at her.

 

“It's just weird. She usually all “Murder, death, I hate you and the world.” Not, “I’ll hold your hand and smile while looking at you warmly”. I don’t know, maybe I’m on edge from all this.” She whispered back with a sigh.

 

“It definitely has been a weird past couple months. Just relax a bit ok? As for V, I’ll just say I’ve not seen her this…content? For a long time.” N mused with a small smile. “You should still say sorry though.” He added in a flat tone.

 

“Ughhh. Why are you always right about this stuff…” She sighed before turning her attention back to V. “Sorry for that, V. I think all this “void nonsense” is putting me on edge.” V’s eyes snapped back to her, a smirk appearing on her face.

 

“I’m feeling generous tonight, so I’ll let it go this time.” V said with no small amounts of sass and a wide grin on her face.

 

“You little!-” She started as she got up and prepared to give her a piece of her mind. Her actions were cut short however as a massive quake shook the room, the rest of the group standing up after bracing themselves.

 

“What was that?!” N called out as he locked hands with Uzi.

 

“Didn’t think dead planets had earthquakes…Is this normal around here?” Raven asked, hoping the phenomenon was natural. Quickly transferring into Valkyr and picking up Cyn in a tight hold thereafter.

 

Before anyone could answer, Khan burst through the door and quickly stowed his master key before running up to them. “Oh good, everyone is here, that makes things easier.” He stammered out in between breaths.

 

“Dad, what's going on?” Uzi asked as another tremor shook the bunker, forcing everyone except V and Raven to brace themselves. A fact she noticed but decided not to worry about.

 

“So there's like this weird silver hand thing clawing at the door. It didn’t look right so I came here to get your opinion, you know since you have those magic powers and all.” Khan explained to his daughter.

 

“Mom’s got the same ones you know.” Uzi questioned why he wouldn’t just go to his wife as she was closer.

“Well yes but, N is here t-” He started, before his arm was grabbed by Raven.

 

“That hand. Was it attached to a stone slab of some kind? Yes or no.” She demanded, her voice filled with urgency, releasing his arm after assuring his attention.

“Why yes, it looked like a piece of rubble.” Khan blinked a couple times as her faceless gaze bore into him.

 

Raven swore out a single “Fuck” before grabbing V by the hand and rushing to the door. “Get ready to fight!” She yelled out after gesturing for everyone to follow, taking off down the hall towards the bunker’s entrance. Uzi sprouted her wings as she bounded down the halls after them. N looked to Khan and said; “Might want to sit this one out. I’ll take you back to your place on the way.”

 

“If you would be so kind.” He replied, happy to leave the fighting to those more suited to it than him this time. “Anything for my future father-in-law!” N said cheerily as he hoisted the drone on his back before running off, Khan not having a moment to even process what he said.

 

—---------

 

Alarms were blaring as the group arrived at the doors…or what was left of them if the massive dent on door three was anything to go by. They didn’t need to see the others to know that they were most likely destroyed. It was a good thing Khan was not here to see this, though he will for sure have a breakdown later no doubt.

 

Raven let Cyn down before transferring out of Valkyr and donning the air of a leader. “Alright gameplan. I don’t know how many there are and it's entirely possible one of the more deadly constructs is out there. They're weak to electricity and radiation so if you’ve got something that dishes that out, use it.” She said before wreathing her hands in void energy.

 

“We’ll split into two teams. Uzi you take N. The rest of us will be on the other. Cyn, transfer into Valkyr if you can, if not, now is a great time to learn. You’re gonna need the extra strength. Vicci, go nuts. I’ll float around and assist, leave nothing in one piece! Alright, any questions before this shit show gets started?” 

 

She addressed the group, Cyn immediately raised her hand as she looked at the static warframe.

 

“Last time was a fluke, I don’t think I can do it again very easily so soon.” She said as she gestured to the frame.

 

Raven walked over to her and scooped her up in her arms. “It's all about feeling, remember what you felt when you transferred in earlier. Recall what you were thinking, and when you feel a connection, tug on it. Don’t sweat it if you can’t, I promise I won’t let anything hurt you, ok?” She let the drone down with a warm smile, watching as Cyn walked up to the frame.

 

“What I felt…” She muttered, placing her hand on the frame's thigh, she recalled the moment from earlier. ‘Ooooh, that's it.’ She felt her core vibrate as an explosion of white filled the room, Cyn staggered as she felt her perception grow taller.

 

“That's a lot of energy just for transference, we’ll work on the efficiency later. For now, just focus on keeping yourself safe.” Raven commented as she steadied the drone inhabited warframe. Cyn nodded in return.

 

“Anything else?” She asked one last time to no response. “Don’t die out there.” She said as she thrust her arm outward, a giant beam of violet energy destroyed the doors as the cold Copper-9 air rushed in. The group wasted no time as they all sprinted out to face the menace, various lasers, gunshots, and purple flashes of the solver, courtesy of Uzi, leaving a trail of rubble as they destroyed the various constructs lingering in the entrance. “Good start! Split off. My team, we’re going deep, follow the road! You two good with defense?” Raven yelled out to the respective parties, blasting a nearby fragment with void.

 

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll clean up after you.” Uzi called out as N gave a salute after shooting a rocket at a group of them.

 

“Sweet! Hopefully, see you soon!” She yelled back before blinking over to Cyn, pulling off the arm latched around her ankle. Cyn thanked her before continuing on, slowly getting more and more agile with the frame. ‘Oh good, looks like she's a fast learner.’ She wouldn’t admire for long, as another group of the constructs shuffled into the area.

 

V was having the time of her life. It had been months since she had last fought, let alone killed anything. She didn’t realize how much she missed this feeling, and coupled with the fact the enemy this time wasn’t another drone had her on cloud nine. She flew around like a bat out of hell, raining death on anything that so much as moved, a trail of destruction left in her infernal wake.

 

Having dealt with the current group of shuffler’s, Raven paused momentarily and watched the disassembler with awe. “Looks like someone’s having fun! Could’ve definitely used that much firepower back in the origin system.” She commented before blinking over to support Cyn once more.

 

Between V’s “The best defense is Offense” and Raven’s mastery of the void despite often stopping to support Cyn, the group was making great progress clearing the waves of murmur that crowded the streets. Their rhythm was interrupted however as they reached an intersection. The ground shook as the remaining murmur all started to congregate on a central spot.

 

Raven knew what was going to happen, but lacked a widespread attack to deal with it before they could conjoin. “Dammit! YOU TWO! TO ME! SOMETHING BIG IS COMING!” She yelled out to the others. Cyn landed next to her with grace, having learned how to control the frame due to her shared memories and good old “trial by fire”. V joined soon after, leaving a crater in the pavement as she shot into the ground.

 

“Can we take it?” Cyn asked as she kept vigilant towards the growing collection of limbs and stone.

 

“Why don’t I just blow it up?” V asked, readying her rocket launchers before Raven gestured against it.

 

“Once it starts, there isn't much you can do to stop it.” She explained, the group bracing as the ground shook once more. The constructs shifted into place as a towering being took shape before them, sprouting many arms not unlike a centipede, its hands crushed into the ground, pulling itself upright as more fragments joined the unholy construction, a giant stone eye the last thing to attach to itself.

 

“The fragmented one…Never thought I’d see you again…” Raven muttered out, the very ground shaking as it roared .

 

—---------

Notes:

Boss fight next chapter! Who will win? What will be lost? That's for me to know and you to find out! See you next week!

Chapter 9: Dawn

Notes:

ITS BOSS FIGHT TIME!

“Nothing ever goes the way we planned. Are we the slaughter or are we just the lamb?”

---

‘No matter where I end up, it seems like his shadow will follow.’ Raven spared a quick thought before assuming a fighting stance, The Fragmented One’s giant eye snapping to focus on her a moment later. In times like this she really wished she still had her full arsenal. She divided her attention to the others standing next to her. “Focus on evasion! If you get caught in one of its attacks you can kiss your ass goodbye! Once you’re comfortable then start throwing in attacks.” She yelled out before blinking to the backside of the construct, sending out a beam of void, capturing its attention.

 

“Damn, look at her go…” V said aloud as she watched the woman expertly weave through the One’s attacks with a precision seldom seen in a combatant.

 

“Do we even need to be here?” Cyn said quietly, observing the fight in awe.

 

The two jumped as Raven blinked back next to them. “Quit watching and kill this thing! I don’t have the firepower!” She said before blinking away again. The two of them got into a stance before jumping into the fight.

 

Raven watched the two join in as she dodged yet another errant limb. ‘About time.’ She thought as V launched a rocket at the One’s back. The payload exploded in a flash of orange as a decent chunk was taken off the construct. The Fragmented One however, was now focused on the source of damage, its monolithic eye now trained on the flying disassembler. It roared as it ripped off two of its arms, imbuing them with energy, turning them into lasers, and throwing the now rapidly spinning chakrams of death towards V.

 

V’s eyes widened upon seeing the impending doom. “Shit!” She yelled out as she narrowly dodged the first one, the second barely colliding with her left knee, the joint now damaged to the point where anything below her thigh fell limp. She cursed her carelessness as she flew back, intending to put some distance between her and the enemy.

 

The paradox saw her retreat and endeavored to gain the One’s attention once more. She wasn’t sure if V’s regeneration was affected by the recent changes, but she knew it wouldn’t be wise to test it any further. She blinked once more, this time right in front of the One’s stone eye before delivering a void infused punch right to its center. The construct stumbled back from the impact, but still managed to aim an arm swipe at her general direction. Luckily, having fought it before, Raven managed to phase in time, the attack passing through her incorporeal form with incredible violence.

 

‘I feel like dead weight…’ Cyn thought as she searched for any sort of opening. Unfortunately without a weapon and unable to access any of Valkyr’s abilities yet, she was left with practically no options. For now she would have to continue to observe, though this left her dissatisfied.

 

V took a moment to observe the battle, waiting to see if her leg would regenerate. Fortunately the wound did heal, and quite fast, though she definitely felt the energy drain was more pronounced than before. She hoped that the drain was just some form of growing pain. Content with her health, she flew back in, raining gunfire down onto The One’s body, the 9mm rounds, while powerful in their own right, did not have the power to do much besides anger the construct. This didn’t matter to V though, as she simply wanted the thing’s attention.

 

Her grin turned feral as it turned its attention towards the flying nuisance, once more she fired another rocket, its destructive impact blowing a couple limbs off the thing. ‘This time I’ll be ready!’ She thought, preparing for the inevitable counter attack. Instead, it roared once more as three massive glowing blue ethereal eyes appeared, spread out, one next to each of them. The pupils began to glow a dangerous hue, V didn’t have time to react as the eye trained on her unleashed a massive beam of energy directed towards her. She thought she heard Raven yell “dodge” but it was too late. The beam engulfed her, blinding her optics and searing her skin, her body’s earlier transformation the only reason she was not dead at that moment.

 

Cyn watched with horror as V fell from the sky and impacted the ground, her focus momentarily lost, she failed to react to the eye trained on her charging its own beam. Fortunately she was forced out of the way by a certain paradox, her body crashing into her, both falling to the ground.

 

“Stay vigilant! Keep its attention, I’m going to help Vicci.” Cyn heard her say, before she watched her blink away to the smoking crater. ‘Easier said than done!’ She thought, the weight of the task at hand left her feeling hopeless. Regardless, if she didn’t want to die here then she would try. Picking herself up off the ground she sized up the construct, its colossal form towering over the area. Though reserved, she crouched into a jump regardless, taking a swipe at one of the open limbs with Valkyr’s sharp claws, it falling limply to the ground and dissipating into void energy. ‘I-I can do this!’

 

Having blinked over to the smoking crater that held V’s battered form, Raven looked with sorrow as she took in the sight of her friend’s charred body. “Damn that's a lot of blood…” She said, crouching down to get a closer look at her damaged state. “Visor cracked and dark, leg missing, wings folded…Is she still breathing?” She muttered to herself with no small amount of panic in her voice as she leaned down and placed an ear on her chest. “She is. Thank fuck. Now, the other question is if her regeneration is working or not…” She watched V’s body some more, her shoulders relaxed in relief as she noticed her leg start to grow back. “It’s so slow…” Her brow furrowed as she knew the disassembler's healing capacity should have been more than that. 

 

‘Wait…That’s right she’s not really a drone anymore…Void…She needs void energy now. I feel like an idiot.’ Despite feeling like a total dumbass, Raven poured void into her hands before plunging them into V’s chest and locating the core now nestled where a heart would be. Wrapping her palms around the organ, she pushed as much energy as she thought V could withstand into her body. “C’mon girl. Wake up, we need you.”

 

‘Ow ow ow, God that stings!’ V’s mind was the first thing to return, despite not being able to see at the moment she knew instantly that she fucked up massively if the extreme burning she felt all over her body was anything to go by. Her vision slowly returned moments later, albeit blurry. The rest of her senses also returned shortly thereafter. She blinked a few times trying to make out the details of the only person that blob on top of her actually could be. “Raven? What are you doing?” She tried to ask, however her voice came out as a glitchy broken mess.

 

“Shhh. Don’t try to talk. I’m doing my best to fuel your regen, but it's taking some time.” 

 

V could barely make out the words, her audio processing was still fried and scrambled from the high energy particles. She attempted to sit up, but got pushed back down instead.

 

At this point Raven was running out of time, while yes, V would be fine in the long run, she also needed her capabilities to fight this damn thing. She looked back at the fight, pleasantly surprised that Cyn seemed to be keeping its attention pretty well, however she also knew that she wouldn’t last forever. Kicking her out of Valkyr also was not an option, Cyn, while now blessed by the void, was still in the infancy of really understanding her powers. The second she leaves the frame, she would most likely die in this scenario. Raven didn’t know how much void exposure one needed to become theoretical like herself, but she knew that less than a day was not enough. “This is too inefficient! Vicci. If you can hear me, I’m going to use transference on you.”

 

With a flash of violet, V felt the pain recede as Raven took control. Her systems, now infused directly with void, began to all come online once again. Her senses finally cleared up as her regeneration took full effect. The various burns coating her body healing, leaving clean smooth skin in their place, her missing leg shot out as it healed in an instant. V was astonished, her healing had never been this potent.

 

“Phew, that's better. Feel ok?” She heard Raven’s voice ask in her head.

 

“Great actually. Really great.” She responded with no doubts in her mind, she felt powerful.

 

“So, you’ve fought like a disassembler, wanna know what it feels like to fight like a warframe?” Raven asked as she stood up in V’s body.

 

“As much as I hate to admit it, my current tactics aren’t working on that thing. So you know what? Go crazy, just don’t kill me.” V replied as she took in the sight of Cyn miraculously holding her own against The One.

 

“Trust me, that will never happen when I’m with you.” With that, Raven spread V’s wings before crouching down and springing into a booster powered bullet jump. The ground fractured behind them as they easily cleared over a hundred feet in a second, Raven brought V’s swords out as they rocketed into the preoccupied construct. The hardened blades cut through multiple of The One’s limbs with a deadly efficiency, its full attention now on them from the attack, much to the relief of Cyn. What followed next would be one of the greatest displays of combat mastery either of the two had ever seen up to that point. Raven weaved through the various lasers and hand swipes of The Fragmented One’s counterattack, returning the favour with V’s own plasma cannon, the deadly beam vaporizing huge chunks off the constructs back. “God Vicci, you’re so fucking powerful. You are definitely my new favorite.” V heard her say as Raven zipped over to and roundhouse kicked the constructs eye, fragments of stone flying outward as a spidering crater was left in its place. 

 

Raven backed off as the One staggered from the impact, the construct roared before burrowing into the ground. “Time for phase two. Watch closely.” Raven commented as she rocketed over to Cyn and picked up the drone inhabited warframe, the size difference comical.

 

“Did I do good?” Cyn asked as she was carried to a nearby rooftop.

 

“The best. Thank you. Take a break for now, the next part is going to be rough.” Raven replied as she set her down before dropping off the building and back into the destroyed intersection.

 

Cyn, deciding to watch the fight, sat down on the edge of the roof. ‘That was…exhausting. Glad I could be of help though.’ She thought warmly before looking down to the area. 

 

Raven spread V’s wings out as she pulled into a hover above the destroyed intersection’s center. “Alright, which way are you coming from?” She muttered to herself. Her question would be answered moments later as The Fragmented One burst from the ground behind her, its massive body moving at a high speed as it attempted to slam into her. Fortunately, Raven and more accurately, V’s body was faster. The One slammed into the ground as they backflipped over the attack. It roared once more as it reared up, the ground quaking as many small fragments burst from the ground and began to shuffle towards The One.

 

“Shit it’s healing. Got anything super wide range I don’t know about, Vicci?” Raven asked while shooting a barrage of missiles at the crowd of murmur congregating around The Fragmented One.

 

V had been so caught up in the destruction she almost missed Raven’s question. ‘M-My arms are advanced 3D printers, just uh…make something up with all this extra energy you’re providing.’ 

 

“I think you’ll enjoy this then.” Raven said with a manic smile, she brought V’s arm up and a moment later a spherical egg shaped payload with a radioactivity symbol stickered in yellow on the side appeared from the front of her arm.

 

‘Are you fucking insane!?” V eyed the nuclear warhead protruding from her arm.

 

“ Relaxxx, it's only a twenty ton payload.” Raven clarified as a crazed look appeared on V’s visor. She then dropped into a brace as she prepared to fire the nuke at the construct.

 

‘ Only twenty , are you trying to level the whole block?!’ V argued, however Raven was too engrossed in the weaponry to really heed her plight. V really hoped her body would be strong enough to survive the attack.

 

“Is that…” Cyn’s eyes would widen if they could. “ Is everyone here insane?!” She yelled out as she caught sight of the bomb peeking out of V’s arm. Jumping up from her spot on the roof, she began to seek cover.

 

“SUCK IT WALLY!” Raven yelled out as she fired the bomb off into the mass of rumbling stone, the payload landing with a ‘dink’ as it impacted the ground under The Fragmented One’s body. A second later, the area was filled with white as the bomb went off, immediately vaporizing everything not able to withstand it in a two-hundred foot radius.

 

—---------

 

Back at the bunker, the piles of rubble kept on growing as Uzi and N destroyed anything that moved with a venerable ferocity.

 

“BE CRUSHED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF MY POWER HAHAHA!” Uzi yelled out with a slight bit of mania in her voice as she stomped another fragment into the ground, said fragment dispersing into dust as her foot pulverized the small construct.

 

N looked over at his battle-crazed girlfriend with slight amounts of concern and no small amount of excitement, though he wouldn’t admit it. “Wow, you’re really getting into it, huh Uzi?” He asked as he flew over to the pile of rubble she was standing on.

 

“What? I’ve got to have fun with it somehow. They left us to clean up the fodder. Forgive me if I’m a bit bored.” She deflected easily as she effortlessly used the solver to crush yet another approaching group. 

 

“We’re also protecting the bunker.” N tried to remind her, as he launched a rocket into some other group, the fragments exploded outwards in a cloud of dust.

 

“Yeah yeah, semantics. Anyway, how many have you bagged? Think you beat my 175 yet?” She asked as she lightly punched his side.

 

“Hey!” N rubbed his side lightly before continuing. “You were counting? I don’t know…a good amount I think.”

 

“Well, it looks like they’re thinning out. You better hustle if you want a chance!” She commented as she observed the massive amounts of rubble piled in various spots around the bunker’s entrance.

 

“I think I’m good actually.” He said smoothly as he impaled a fragment sneaking up behind them with his tail, the nanite acid rapidly dissolving it into a steaming pile of goop.

 

Uzi winced slightly at the sight of the pile behind her and took a casual few steps away from it. Regaining her gusto she turned to N. “Ah come on it's no fun if we don’t compete every now and then.”

 

“I thought V was your rival. Do we really need to do all that? I’m just happy to be here with you.” N said with a painfully genuine smile on his face.

 

Flustered at his words, Uzi took a moment to respond. “S-She’s not here right now, ya goober. Right now you’re the only other one killing stuff out here…and uh...yeah, I’m…happy to be here too…with you.” While she had tried to deflect once more, ultimately the love for the drone in front of her won out. The moment wouldn’t last long though as her personality shifted back into her more guarded persona. “I mean! Ugh…just go back to killing shit.” She said, bringing out her wings and flying up with a single mighty beat, leaving the disassembler to himself.

 

“Never change babe. Never change.” N chuckled to himself at her antics before returning to fight the small amount of murmur left still shuffling around the area.

 

They met up once again a while later after all the murmur in the area had been destroyed. 

 

“I think that’s all of them. You picking anything up on your side, N?” Uzi asked as she observed the piles and piles of rubble.

 

N looked around before turning back to face her. “Nope…visual is clear, nothing on ultraviolet, and the only thing hot on thermal is you…UH…LIKE PHYSICALLY, I MEAN!” 

 

She burst out in laughter at his slip up. “Smooth, N. Smooth.” She said after catching her breath. “So. How do you think those three are doing?”

 

“Hmm…If i had to gue-” N started to answer before getting cut off as the ground shook with such fury both drones immediately lost their footing.

 

Uzi rubbed her head before she looked at N. “Ow-What was…” Her eyes went wide as saucers as she saw something off in the distance. “IS THAT A FUCKING MUSHROOM CLOUD?!?!” She yelled as she shot up from the ground and pointed towards the growing plume of flame and smoke off in the city. She rushed over to N and pulled him up from the ground. “WE’RE GOING!” N saw no need to protest before flaring his own wings out and taking off after Uzi who had already begun flying towards the explosion.

 

—---------

 

“ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?!” V yelled out at the human now laying next to her, for in the aftermath of the bomb the two had been blown back and separated on impact.

 

“What?! It worked, didn’t it?” Raven replied, her breathing heavy and thoughts still somewhat hazy from the adrenaline high.

 

“YOU JUST USED ME TO NUKE AN INTERSECTION! I THOUGHT I WAS DEAD!” V’s chest rose and fell at a fast pace as she tried to calm her racing core.

 

“Hey, calm down. Your own weapons can’t hurt you.” Raven said as if that was a given.

 

“Could’ve told me that first !” V fired back, her frustration with the woman reaching a boiling point.

 

“Sorry, I forgot some things aren't a given in this world. I should have told you.” Raven for her part, was genuinely apologetic, which really only pissed V off more at the moment.

 

“GAHHH!” V threw her arms out before jumping out of the pit and stomping off.

 

Raven watched her go before rising from the pit herself. She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head as she really took in the carnage for the first time. “In retrospect that probably was pretty scary.” She muttered to herself. She took a few steps before a thought that slipped from her earlier now crossed her mind. “OH SHIT, CYN!” She yelled out before blinking around the area to try and find the drone-inhabited warframe.

 

Cyn cursed her current situation, for she was pinned beneath a mountain of rubble, having been caught in on the outskirts of the blast radius. “On one hand, I’m glad I’m ok physically. On the other hand though…Weren’t these things supposed to be like…really strong?” She said to herself as she tried once more to move Valkyr’s body in an attempt to free herself. Unfortunately it would be to no avail, try as she might it felt like there was some form of interference in her commands. ‘Maybe I can…get out’ She started to think, recalling the feeling of transference and trying to apply the feeling in reverse. Thankfully she was successful as a giant flash of white lit up the pile, Cyn’s small body now sitting on top. “It worked?! YAY!” She cried out before jumping up and reveling in her celebration, positively over the moon in elation, her joy and relief mixing as she sought the need to express herself through her body. The pile of rubble made a great dance floor that night. Thoroughly tuckered out, she sat down on her makeshift stage. ‘Criss-cross applesauce’ “Hmm…Now what?” She thought out loud. Fortunately “What” would show up in the form of a bright violet cloud appearing in front of her moments later.

 

“CYN! You’re okay!” Raven ran up to and scooped the drone up in her arms, pulling her into a hug before setting her down after a moment. 

 

“Yes I’m okay. What was that earlier? Did you forget I was still around?” Cyn asked, her demeanour casual.

 

“N-No…I tried to make sure the blast was small enough to leave the building you were standing on alone.” Raven explained as she sat down on the pile and looked up to the drone in front of her.

 

Cyn’s expression stayed neutral as she took in the information. “Oh…I see. Well. I…left.”

 

Raven cocked a brow before she asked for more details. “Is that why you’re here and not in Valk? Congrats on transferring out by the way.” She added, throwing up some finger guns.

 

Cyn smiled at the gesture before sitting down next to the woman. “That was recent. She’s under all this.” Cyn pointed a finger down to the pile the two were currently relaxing on. Raven’s eyes followed the digit before looking back to the drone.

 

“‘This’ being the pile?” Raven asked, Cyn nodding in return. “You weren’t hurt when all that fell on you, were you?” 

 

“No, but I couldn’t really move too well, it felt like my commands to the frame were hazy for some reason.” Cyn commented as she rested her head on her hands.

 

“Perhaps your connection to me, and by extension the void, was weakened after all that fighting earlier. Do you feel drained or anything?” Raven asked before gesturing for the drone to sit on her lap.

 

Cyn readily accepted the offer, for the warmth of her skin was far preferable to the cold of the outside air. “Mmm…Maybe a little.” She responded to the earlier question after getting comfy.

 

Raven pondered a moment before flooding her hands with void and wrapping them around the drone. “How about now? Feel more energized?” She asked.

 

“ Definitely .” Was all Cyn got out, instead focusing on the potent feeling of the void washing over her body. She heard the woman say “Good” and the two sat there for a few more minutes, Cyn soaking up the power graciously.

 

“Hmmm….Guess we should get her out from under all that, huh?” Raven asked, trying to get her attention.

 

“ Do we haaaave to?”   Cyn complained lightly, fully content with her current position.

 

“I may be more void energy than human at this point but even I still get cold. C’mon we can do this later in the heat of the bunker, ok?” She reasoned before stopping the flow of void to her arms, much to the disappointment of the drone.

 

“ Fineee . Ok.” Cyn relented before getting up and stretching her limbs. The paradox joined her standing a second later.

 

“Uzi’s power would be really helpful right now…” Raven muttered as she looked at the pile Valkyr was buried under once more. She sighed. “Guess I’ll have to wander around the gaps aimlessly in void form.”

 

“I’d help, but I don’t know how to do that…” Cyn added, her face apologetic.

 

“It’s ok, we’ll work on that later. Don’t sweat it, even though we’ve not really known each other long, I’m really proud of you. Especially for tonight. Your distraction in Valkyr against The One had my warrior heart singing.” Raven’s earnest praises made Cyn’s core skip a beat as a warm feeling overtook her. Thankfully she would not have to respond, as the paradox had immediately got to work on locating the trapped warframe. Cyn looked back to the memories she shared with the paradox and her time possessed by the solver, wondering how two people with such histories could find themselves in this moment. 

 

‘Maybe this time won’t be so bad…’

 

—---------

Notes:

And with that, we close out another arc. Next up is some SOL, these guys deserve a break!

Chapter 10: Doppler

Notes:

New week, new chapter! This time a bit of narrative closure to last chapters boss fight along with some more casual moments. Thanks for reading!

“Believe me, darling, the stars were made for falling.”

---

“Hurry N! We’re running out of moonlight here!” Uzi called out. Currently the two were still flying towards the earlier explosion, trying to get there as fast as possible, for the searing light of the sun was only a small amount of time away from rising and turning the two into burn victims. 

 

“Coming!” The disassembler yelled back, the purple light given off from Uzi’s tail the only thing keeping him oriented, like a beacon in the haze of dust that surrounded the city, growing in thickness as the two delved in deeper.

 

Having caught up, N raised his voice over the wind noise so she could hear. “You think they’re ok?” He asked. N knew his friends were strong, but whatever prompted them to use a weapon of that caliber gave him pause. Trust in their ability would have to be the thing to give him hope for now.

 

“If they set that off, they should be alive. Though I don’t know how “ok” they’ll be.” Uzi responded with a reassuring smile, unfortunately N could not bear witness to it due to the current dust cloud. The words alone made him relax somewhat regardless. “C’mon, it looks like it's clearing up a bit ahead.” She said to her boyfriend before looking ahead and focusing on her flight path.

 

After another five minutes of travel the dust was well and truly clear, the two very thankful for the fact. N watched Uzi point a finger towards the ground, catching the meaning he flashed a thumb up, the two landing on the ruined ground shortly after.

 

“Damn…They really screwed the place up.” Uzi was the first to comment, letting out a small whistle of astonishment as she really took in the state of the area. She was pulled out of her stupor as she heard N’s voice across her audio processor.

 

“Heat signatures. Two, up ahead.” Her boyfriend said in a tone almost calculating as he pointed to a spot another hundred feet up.

 

“Are they moving?” Uzi asked, squinting her eyes, trying to focus on the far away area.

 

“No…Wait, now they are, looks like…One taller, one short. Must be Cyn and… Raven or V.”

 

“Let’s get going then…” Uzi said before sluggishly walking up to him with a look on her face. “Uhm…carry me…please?” 

 

“Tired?” He asked with a smile, to which the smaller drone shyly nodded her head. “Thank you for choosing Golden Boy Airlines, I’ll be your pilot, N!” He joked as he scooped Uzi up in his arms before deploying his wings. His antics earned him a cute giggle, and a half-hearted “shut up” from his girlfriend.

 

—---------

 

“C’mon Cyn! Just pull a little bit more! Raven called from inside the pile, having transferred into Valkyr upon locating the pinned frame, luckily she was able to fire out a ripline between a small pocket, which she then directed the drone outside to grab.

 

“I’m trying!” Cyn yelled back. The small drone grunting in exertion, her small body, while stout like a worker drone, was still…well small, her short legs coupled with the ground slick with settled dust and stone were doing no favors either. She gave another good pull and was promptly rewarded with her feet giving out to the front of her, sending her sprawling to the ground as she landed on her back. “Ow!”

 

Raven heard the drones predicament and blinked out from the frame, shooting out from the top of the pile as the mass of rubble acted as a barrier forcing her to take the path of least resistance. She blinked down to the drone and helped her stand up, Cyn offering a “Thanks” in return.

 

“Yeah, that's not gonna work. Sorry for making you get hurt cause’ of me.” Raven apologized, to which Cyn shook her head in disagreement.

 

“I just slipped, it's ok.” Cyn reasoned despite the hand rubbing the back of her head, a motion Raven noticed but decided not to push.

 

“Still…Anyway, what are we gonna do about this…” The woman asked aloud as she gestured broadly to the pile.

 

“Maybe we can get the workers to dig her ooAHGh!” Cyn started to comment before a certain yellow someone slammed into her side and lifted her off the ground.

 

“CYN! I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE OK!!!” N cried out as he held the drone in a bear hug. His visor displayed a comical amount of pixelated tears as the smile on his face stretched to widths seldom seen by anyone other than Uzi. His relief and elation at her well being was extremely visible to the other two.

 

Raven watched the scene before she felt someone kick her boot, looking down she locked eyes with the purple culprit. “Oh hey Uzi. Sorry I was so caught up in…that, I didn’t see you walk up.” The drone's unamused expression caught her slightly off guard.

 

“ Hi …Care to explain the nuke?” Uzi asked right out of the gate.

 

Raven winced slightly at her blunt question. “Remember how I said they’re weak to radiation? Well, I needed a lot of it.”

 

“You gonna elaborate?” The goth asked, clearly unimpressed.

 

“Do I need to?” Raven tried with a smile.

 

Unfortunately for her Uzi was having none of it. “YES! Where’s V?” Uzi asked, her tail out and flicking back and forth in agitation.

 

“She stomped off somewhere earlier. She’s ok . Relax.” Raven said in a level tone, trying to quell the drone’s fears somewhat. 

 

Uzi huffed at the woman’s comment. “The sun’s about to come up doofus, you know we can’t survive that!”

 

“You two sure, Cyn’s purged of the solver though. She’ll be fine.” Raven said as she looked back at the drone in question, said drone still being doted on by N.

 

Uzi snapped her fingers to get Raven’s attention away from the reunion going on in front of them. “Forgetting someone? Pretty sure V counts too.”

 

“Hmm? Vicci? Nah, she’s good now.” Raven answered, casually waving her hand.

 

A tick of annoyance appeared on Uzi’s visor. “Wha-UGHHH. Why are you so cryptic sometimes!”

 

“Well I don’t know if she wants it all spread around or not. You should ask her yourself…Speaking of…Great timing! Here she comes.” Raven said as she pointed to the rapidly approaching white dot in the sky. The two shielded their eyes(or in Raven’s case, phased out for a moment) as V kicked up a cloud of dust with her landing.

 

“Hey girl! Welcome to the party!” Raven called out before blinking up to V, who was brushing the dust off her body, and closing in to whisper to her with a mischievous smirk on her face. “ You didn’t hear this from me but, Uzi here was so worried about you that she looked ready to fight me, haha~” She most definitely did not make it a point to look the purple drone in the eyes while she did this… no oooo. V side-eyed the woman before looking at Uzi and gaining a devious smirk.

 

Uzi looked at the two incredulously and crossed her arms defensively as V sauntered right up to her and slung an arm around her shoulder. “Awwww. Were you worried? About me?~” V’s voice was so thick with sarcasm that one could liken it to honey. Uzi immediately threw V’s arm off her shoulder and backed a few steps up, the bird held high in each of her hands all the while. V just doubled back in laughter after returning the favor with a finger of her own.

 

N, having checked over Cyn enough and having heard the commotion, made his way over to the three girls. Cyn’s hand held in his, the two took in the scene; V absolutely beside herself in laughter, Uzi’s frustrated pout, and Raven trying and failing not to giggle at the whole thing. N smiled at the moment, joyful that things felt normal enough to just joke around as friends again. He walked up to and placed his hands on Uzi’s shoulders, Cyn having walked over to the giggling paradox earlier, and picked up the smaller drone into a hug.

 

“How's my little ghost witch doing? Is V annoying you again?” He asked after setting her down.

 

The goth sighed before answering. “When is she not? Though, this time she has an accomplice.” She added as she shot a quick glance to the human who was now talking with the other two.

 

N’s rare mischievous side flared up for a moment. “Want to get them back once we're all back in the bunker?” Uzi’s grin went wide. “Are you really offering your help?” She asked for clarification as N rarely, if ever, agreed to look past her “revenge” plans; let alone go with them.

 

“Maybe…you’ve rubbed off on me more than you think…” He said with a wink, prompting her to let out a devilish chuckle before the two decided to join the others and finally get back home and out of the cold, ruined cityscape.

 

“So, now that everyone’s here, can we go back? Or is there something else going on?” Uzi asked as they joined the three currently staring at a towering pile of rubble.

 

“See that pile there? Yeah, Valk’s under all that, I’m not leaving till I get her out. Could you lend me a hand with that magic of yours, Uzi?” Raven asked after turning to face the smaller drone.

 

Uzi sighed, but agreed nonetheless, the purple light of the solver illuminated the area as she started to excavate out the pile. She fixed her eyes on the others, slightly annoyed that they were just standing there. “You guys just gonna watch or…?” She let her thoughts be known.

 

“Yep!” Raven replied in a cheery voice before adding: “Unless you want me to and Vicci to…you know.” She punctuated her thought by imitating the sound of an explosion. Raven had to dodge the pebble launched at her head courtesy of Uzi’s annoyance.

 

It would take a while longer for them to clear out enough debris to actually retrieve the trapped warframe, thankfully for Uzi the others did actually help with clearing it out in the end. The paradox transferred into the frame and managed to pull herself out of the tunnel they made, Raven’s usual flair for theatrics of course manifested in her striking a triumphant pose after rising from the tunnel, much to the exacerbation of the group. “Time to go!” Raven called out before snatching Cyn up and bullet jumping away, the others scrambling to deploy their wings to catch up with her.

 

About halfway to their destination, Uzi cast a glance to the sky, checking on the state of the sun and moon. ‘Shit, running out of time…’ She thought before joining up next to N with a powerful beat of her wings. 

 

“What’s up?” He asked upon seeing her approach, leveling out his wings so as to not accidentally clip her with the sharp bladed “feathers”.

 

“If we don’t hurry, we’re gonna get charred.” Uzi said with an urgency.

 

“Time for Formation K?” He asked.

 

“You know me so well. I can’t wait to see the look on their faces later.” Uzi confirmed with a smirk before pulling ahead of N and flaring her wings, stopping in mid-air, and holding out her arms. N steadied himself as he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her to his chest, completing the first step of “Formation K”; the “K” totally not standing for Koala.  

 

“Ready?” Uzi asked as she pulled out her wings once more and moved them to act as a rudder. Her tail trailing behind her, holding her railgun, its vibrant verdant energy threatening to spill out as she prepared to fire the weapon into the air behind them.

 

“Punch it.” Was all she needed to hear, the gun belting out its maximum charged beam, the force threatening to buckle their metal chassis’, as the two were propelled forward like a fighter jet.

 

V did a double take as she watched what she could only assume to be a shooting star, blowing by her and the other two parkouring below her. She started to mouth a “What the fu-” before the sonic boom forced her to hold her head from the resulting audio overload. Dazed and losing altitude, she briefly panicked before she felt a metal wire wrap around her midsection and pull her down into Valkyr’s arms.

 

“And you thought I was crazy.” Raven said to the drone held in her arms, Cyn having taken to holding onto the frames back for now. V looked at her as she shook off the alerts on her hud. “Between our nuke and them casually breaking the sound barrier, I don’t know which of us is worse!” Raven said with a laugh.

 

“Still you. For sure.” V replied, her tone deadpan but a smile on her face nonetheless. Raven rolled her eyes playfully before tossing V up into the air. “Don’t want to be late now! Try to keep up!” She boasted before jumping forward and sending out another ripline, pulling herself forward with great speed.

 

V smirked as she deployed her wings once more, having no intent of being beaten in this contest of speed.

—---------

 

“My…My d-doors… My beautiful doors… ” Khan openly wept at the sight of his once pride and joy, his heart filling with more and more sorrow as he laid eyes on each new piece of twisted scrap metal. 

 

“Khan, I know I told you to build them and all…but this is a bit much don’t you think?” Nori asked from her perch on his hard hat. She’d get no response from her husband, the drone too caught up in his life’s work openly destroyed on the ground in front of him. Nori tried to get his attention by tapping a claw on his visor, however even that did not work. She sighed before deciding to try something else. Conjuring up the solver, she began to warp and change the twisted metal into something more structured.

 

Khan’s eyes widened as the violet glow of his wife’s powers filled the room and mixed with the red of the warning lights, creating a fantastical deep pinkish hue. The sight pulling him out of his funk for a moment, he took a second to observe what she was doing. He stared in disbelief as Nori expertly used her power to construct what looked to him like a crude version of door three. Khan felt his throat tighten, even though the “door” was realistically nothing more than a dead sheet of metal held together with hopes and dreams, the fact that she would think of doing something like this spoke louder than words ever could.

 

‘Looks like it worked.’ Nori thought upon glancing back and seeing Khan’s eyes staring at her. ‘Maybe not…’ She thought once more, his expression one she hadn’t seen on him, if not before, then in a long time. “N-Nori…You can stop..” She heard him say in a small but not unhappy voice. After doing so, he walked over and scooped her up in his arms.

 

“Thank you…And sorry.” Khan said to her as he pulled her to his chest, hugging her the best anyone could hug a small robotic-fleshy-spider-thing. It was in this moment that he would have a realization. “Now that you’re here again…I-I…don’t need these doors.” The words hit her like a freight train. Though Nori had a suspicion, his words pretty much confirmed to her that he had been using the doors as a way to cope with loss. Her loss. 

 

“And I don’t plan on leaving again either.” Nori said as she allowed herself to be vulnerable in his presence. A trait that seems to run in the family if the small moments she’s seen of Uzi and her partner were any indication.

 

Eventually the two would return to the reason they were out here in the first place. “The sun’s gonna come up soon…See anything?” Nori asked, having once more clamored up to her favorite position atop his head.

 

Khan adjusted his mustache as he squinted his eyes, trying to get a further look at the outside and for any sign of their daughter and any of her friends. Seeing nothing, he blinked before trying again. To his luck it seemed like a small dot had appeared very far out. “Maybe…I can’t quite tell.” He replied to her.

 

He blinked again, this time the dot had grown in size considerably. “Is that…”

He pondered as he saw what looked like a vapor cone. He blinked once more and the dot was now taking up even more space in his vision. “You see it now too right?” He asked the core upon his head.

 

“Yep. Might want to stand back for this one.” She said back to him. “Why is tha-” His sentence was cut short as the object crashed into the ground in front of them, the impact rocking the ground as a massive cloud of snow and dust was kicked up. Nori’s quick use of the solver was the only thing that kept him from falling square on his ass at that moment. He tried to get a look at whatever the thing was but would pause his approach as he heard… laughter? From inside the cloud.

 

“We have got to work out the landings!” N’s cheerful voice sounded out mixed in between the laughs. 

 

“What? Don’t like my super cool and impenetrable bubble-shield?” Uzi’s could be heard saying in response.

 

Relief flooded Khan’s body as he let out a breath he had been unknowingly been holding in. The dust clearing slightly in the wind, he could now see the yellow and purple glows of their eye-lights in the haze.

 

“That was sick as hell!” Nori said as she jumped off his head and skittered into the dissipating cloud towards their daughter and her boyfriend. Khan smiled at her antics before moving towards them himself.

 

—---------

 

“How…are…you…so… fast… ” V asked between breaths, having closely lost the impromptu race and subsequently running out of energy thereafter, was now being carried by Raven who had wreathed Valkyr’s arms in void energy, freely giving V a recharge despite the slow rate.

 

“Practise my dear. I’m simply just better.” The paradox snarkily replied in a terrible accent. V crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in response, the disassembler looking away with a pout afterward. Raven knew not to call attention to the display she found so endearing, no matter how much she wanted to.

 

“Fast as you are, we are still going to take the rest of the night to get back.” Cyn commented, still holding on to the frames back. “And my arms are getting tired.” She added.

 

“Hey Vicci? How fast can you fly normally when you’re in peak condition?” Raven asked the person held tight in her arms as she jumped forward once more. V looked back to her as the wind noise died down at the end of her leap.

 

“At my best I was able to hit around 1.1 mach. Why? You know that's not happening tonight, we are all way too spent.”

 

“I was thinking about stealing their idea. Want to see what you’re capable of now if I fueled you with void directly?”

 

“Tempting. What about Cyn though, she’s barely holding on as is.” The drone in question, doing her best to hang on despite the movement.

 

“She’d just transfer into Valk, me to you, and then she’d hang on. It’d be easy!” V didn’t know how Raven could keep her tone so light and steady with all the maneuvers she was currently doing. Still, the thought of getting out of this cold sooner was tantalizing.

 

“I would say “just don’t turn me into a lawn dart” but, last time I asked a “just don’t” you nuked a city…That being said, go nuts.” V relented, truthfully a part of her was excited at the prospect of flight that fast, another part was thinking of all the ways she could rub it in Uzi’s face later. ‘Hey we stole your idea and did it better! HA!’

 

“Ha ha! I knew you wanted to. Alright, we’ll set it into motion once we land.” Raven said before coming to a stop, Cyn immediately dropped to the ground and flexed her stiff arm joints, V being put down moments later. After a minute, Cyn signaled her readiness, Raven transferring out of Valkyr and after a nod from V, into the disassembler. Cyn transfering into Valkyr with her current trademarked white explosion a second later.

 

‘“God, I forgot this felt so good. It's like the biggest power plant in the world is hooked up directly into my systems!” V said aloud as the pixelated paradox appeared on her hud.

 

“Glad to be of use! Ready to go hypersonic?” Raven asked.

 

“Ready Cyn?” V turned to the drone inhabited frame, getting a nod in response to her question. Deploying her wings, she jumped up a foot into a hover, the glow of her various light emitting surfaces seeming to pulse with a great intensity. She moved over and got the frame into position, and once sure she was secure, took off into the sky. The ground cratering from the force of the air itself being hyper compressed from the resulting sonic boom.

 

—---------

 

“So they’re still out there?” Nori asked Uzi who had at this point explained the night's events after joining her parents in watching the area outside from inside the small area behind door one.

 

“Yep. If the human wasn’t lying then we're just gonna sit here until the sun comes up, otherwise at least V would be toast. Literally.” She deadpanned, currently sitting on N’s lap.

 

“ That’s right. I forgot the sun’s poisonous to you solver related drones.” Khan said, rubbing his chin.

 

“Shouldn't we go get them or something? I’d really hate to see V get hurt like that.” N said, his voice slightly muffled, for his mouth was pressed into the top of Uzi’s beanie.

 

"Raven assured me that V is “good now”, whatever that means…I’ll kill her if she’s wrong.” Even though she was often annoyed with the drone, that doesn't mean she wants to see her hurt in any way. Whether she admits it or not, V is a friend to her.

 

“Still…” N quietly added, closing his eyes as the night's exhaustion started to creep up on him despite his efforts to keep it at bay.

 

By now the sun was up and the group waited with bated breath for any sign of the other three. Passing the time by playing tic-tac-toe in the dust on the floor.

 

Just then after N’s fourth win in a row, a massive force shook the ground and rattled the various metal pieces in and around the bunker’s entrance.

“What was that?!” N asked as everyone not standing shot up, fearing another attack. They moved quickly to the entrance, spotting the massive cloud of dust congregated in front of the door. 

 

“Anyone else getting deja vu?” Nori asked as a winged silhouette appeared, the cloud thinning out and revealing V’s form to the group, her wings fully spread as the morning sunlight bathed her in a golden glow. She looked divine .

 

“Sup losers!” V called out after setting Cyn down, Raven transferring out of her after V stowed her wings. “MAN! What a rush! Can't believe we actually hit five mach! We’ve gotta do that again sometime Vicci!” Raven’s enthusiastic voice could be heard as the three of them walked clear of the dust cloud and into the other’s view fully.

 

“I’m so happy they’re ok!” N’s smile stretched wide across his face as he took in the sight of his friends looking no worse for wear, if a bit tired. He of course waved them over.“And V’s not burning!...V’s not burning.” 

 

“You’re right…” Uzi said, astonishment in her voice as she looked curiously at the drone walking freely through the sun’s vibrant rays. Her curiosity peaked, she decided to try and check out through her admin connection just how she was seemingly ok.

 

‘Access denied?! Contact admin….Who the hell is Marty McFlea?!’

 

—---------

Notes:

Happy valentines day to you all, sending love from behind the screen!

Chapter 11: Doctrine

Notes:

J gets some screen time for once. Too bad its Jangst lmao. DW tho she'll have some importance later.

“The altar is lit with black candles. The darker, the better. So killing, it’s thrilling me.”

---

“Hmm…At this rate, I’ll never make it off this rock…” She said aloud as she looked over the dilapidated vehicle, her twin tails swayed in the windy draft pulled through the rickety spire of worker drone corpses. J clicked her tongue and got back to work, the faint scent of ozone permeated the area as she flicked her plasma torch back on, the dented metal easily giving way under the tool’s super-heated blaze. It would take a lot to repair the pod, especially after all the massive tremors that had happened a couple days ago added even more damage to the pod’s from all the various worker drone bodies that fell onto it as a result.

 

J wiped the simulated sweat off her brow, satisfied at her handiwork, a small smile found its way to her face. ‘Maybe they’d still be around if you weren’t such a dick.’ Her smile immediately disappeared at the intrusive thought, being replaced with a slightly vacant look. She shook the moment away and returned to the task at hand, instead turning her focus to the more intricate wiring issues present in the ship’s electrics; she hoped the complex task would keep her mind from drifting once more. 

 

Her current target: the communications system. She sighed slightly before getting on her back and scooting up under the ship’s dashboard, changing her right hand into a pair of cutters, she got to work stripping out all the damaged cabling. ‘Its a miracle this thing even landed in the first place…’ She idly thought as she yanked out another fist of ruined components. ‘Maybe you should have given him more credit…’ The thoughts were back…and with them her drive disappeared. ‘You couldn’t live with your own insecurities, and now everyone you once knew you’ve pushed away…what do you even have left?’

 

She pushed the thoughts down once more. A warning appeared on her visor a moment afterwards: SEEK OIL INTAKE. Muting the pop-up she sighed before getting up and exiting the pod. “Can’t even eat the damn toasters anymore…” She lamented as she munched on a scrap arm she found lying around the spire. ‘Damn things holed up in that stupid bunker. Not to mention those three.’ Her face soured at the mention of those traitors and their stupid purple ‘friend’. ‘And yet that ‘stupid purple friend’ is the one who really saved the day, was your fear so great you forgot what it was like to have hope? The biggest mistake you ever made was siding with the killer who wore your “mother’s” corpse like a dress, you stuck-up boot-licking excuse for a drone.

 

‘I-I know…Its why I c-can't stay…’ Be it regret or genuine remorse, the result was the same, it didn’t matter what she felt or what possibilities she could have taken. At the end of it all, here she was, sitting in the snow, the pale moonlight casting a light shadow through the cracks in between the mountain of corpses, a grim reminder of her actions … alone . J suddenly felt claustrophobic, a sense of unease flooded her being, the blank face-plates belonging to the workers stuffed carelessly into the walls seemed to stare into her very core. 

 

‘What was it all for….’ She thought before psyching herself up and returning to her work on the landing pod…except when she fired up the welder, the argon promptly ran out.

 

“Just…Great. Where am I supposed to find a bottle of that stuff out in this ruined hellscape!” ‘You know where…’ Her mind taunted.

 

“Dammit…”

—---------

 

It had now been a couple weeks since the murmurs invasion and their subsequent defeat and everyone started to get back to a sense of normal. During this time, Khan took a moment to set Cyn up with her own apartment before getting to work on repairing the bunker’s doors. Though things had been relatively peaceful in the past couple of months this latest incident only further reinforced the need for the stalwart door’s immense protection. Even Uzi, with her general distaste for the objects, had dropped by to help clean up some of the scrap lying around so they could get to work, Khan of course let her know his appreciation, which she shrugged off.

 

With all the fighting and exertion, N’s core temperature had rose considerably, fortunately the WDF had procured a source of safe oil for him and the others that needed it to consume, unfortunately that “safe source of oil” pretty much only consisted of oil that had been drained from workers who had passed of either aging hardware or lethal accidents. Suffice to say…It was not appealing in the slightest. Still, if he wanted to continue to live, he would drink it.

Staring down the gooey black substance he said a few words to try and psych himself up. “D-down the hatch…” It went down thick, sticky, and bitter , the stuff of a quality so bad it didn’t even trigger the programming that would reward him for drinking it in the first place. He took a few moments to steady himself, after which a thought crossed his mind. ‘Come to think of it…I thought V would’ve been here.’

 

He sought to ask the WDF member that had been assigned to monitor the area for potential issues. “Hey. Has V been by recently?” He asked the drone who was currently sitting, engrossed completely in the latest issue of “Bunker Weekly”; the cover featuring an artistic representation of a silhouette that was suspiciously familiar to him, N decided to look into that later.

 

“Who?” The drone replied without even looking up from the magazine.

 

“Uh…V, y’know, strong, looks like me, wears a leather jacket. Have you seen her?”

 

The drone finally looked up from their magazine and took in who was addressing them, their eyes widening slightly as recognition bloomed on their features. The drone had at this point, slammed the magazine shut, jumped out of their chair, and hastily got into a formal salute aimed at N. “Apologies Mr. Doorman, I haven’t seen who you’re talking about!”

 

N was caught so off guard by the behaviour change that he couldn’t help but stare. ‘ Mr. Doorman? I guess I did kinda insinuate that to Khan a little bit ago…’ Breaking out of his stupor, he returned the salute with a “Don’t worry about it!” before taking his leave. While walking the halls, his mind was working intently as his thoughts all coincided on one thing. ‘What is going on with V…After all that action surely she’d need some form of intake but, then again she was standing in the sunlight completely unaffected…hmmm.’

 

“Maaan…This has got to be the best seat in the bunker.” V said aloud as she sunk into the beanbag chair of bliss tucked away in the corner of Uzi’s workshop. Uzi had all but dragged her and Raven there the first chance she got, something about “I need answers. Don’t even think about running!”, not that V really cared, though she would humor her if nothing else than to just sit in that chair for a few moments. ‘I’ve really got to get one of these…’

Uzi snapped her fingers right in front of her visor, V rolled her eyes as she was pulled out of her lounging. “What?” V eyed the floppy data cable held in the drone’s hand.

 

“Just plug it in.” Uzi prefaced with a sigh before shoving the cable’s end into V’s hand.

 

“You gonna tell me why?” V asked with an expectant look on her face.

 

“Wanna run diag. That good enough for you?” Uzi replied before sitting at her desk chair.

 

“Whatever.” V responded with a shrug before plugging the cable into the port on the back of her head and sinking back into the beanbag chair, crossing her arms behind her head and everything. A picture of comfort if you will.

 

“And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you either. You’re gonna tell me all about this, don’t think for a second that I don’t suspect your involvement.” Uzi said to the paradox that was currently inspecting some knick-knack she had picked up off one of her shelves. “And put that down!”

 

Raven set down the item and held up her hands as she turned her attention to the drone. “Hey I know emo’s kinda your thing but, ain’t gotta be so pushy though…”

 

“Bite me!” Uzi crossed her arms before returning her attention to the computer.

Opening up the diagnostic program she had modified for disassemblers, she navigated down to and selected V’s profile. She looked at the text prompt in confusion as it displayed and “Access denied. Contact Administrator.”

 

Uzi gestured for Raven to come take a look. “Alright. Know anything about this?”

 

“Hmmm…Not really. I thought you had those permissions.” The paradox replied as she bent down to look at the screen.

 

‘Daaaamnnn fuck the cake, thats the whole damn bakery!’ V quickly looked away as Raven cast a glance over her shoulder. Uzi, having caught the moment, just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

 

Disregarding that …Uzi confirmed that she was supposed to have those permissions to Raven. “Can you think of anything that might have changed recently?”

 

“Well yeah. A whole lot. Like what specifically?” Raven asked as she shifted to lean against the desk.

 

Uzi blinked a few times. “Are you being disingenuous or something? We’re literally talking about V specifically right now…”

 

Raven chuckled for a second. “Yeah, I was just yankin’ your chain a bit.” She said before walking over to V. “Wanna tell her about…that?” She asked as she gestured broadly to V’s body.

 

“Fine. It’d be easier if she could just look at the readout though..” V complained as she got up from the beanbag chair.

 

“She can’t access it.” The paradox replied.

 

“I know. She’s not my admin anymore.” V said as she stretched her arms.

 

“Who is?” Raven asked, which earned a confused look from V.

 

“You serious? You’re serious…hop in.”  She said, pointing a thumb towards her head. The room filled with light for a moment as Raven transferred herself into the drone.

 

‘Figure it out yet?’ V asked as Raven popped up on her hud again.

 

She hadn't noticed it before due to all the events happening but, now that she was here in a moment of calm, Raven could tell her access to V’s various systems and functions is vastly greater than what she once had.

 

‘Damn. I feel kinda dumb. Yeah. I did.’

 

V’s giggled a bit before dragging the text box asking for “file sharing permissions” over to Raven’s avatar. ‘Would you please confirm the allowance of file sharing, miss “Marty Mcflea”.

 

Raven laughed at the mention of the Hex’s old nickname. ‘Never thought I’d hear someone call me that again! Yes, go for it, the ‘admin’ allows it.’ She said before transferring back out into Uzi’s workshop.

 

“Check the computer now, Uzi. You should find out what you want to know now.” She said before immediately snagging the beanbag chair for herself. “Duuuuude this thing is niceeeee .”

 

“Hey! That was my seat!” V fumed as she watched the paradox make a show out of stealing it.

 

“Snooze ya lose! Could always sit here though~” V watched her gesture to her lap, the thought making her blush a bit.

 

“Ew. Do that shit when I’m not here.” Uzi piped up, though her eyes did not leave the computer screen, still focused on reading through all of V’s various data points.

 

‘These readings don’t make any sense…They’re too… perfect? No . Too unified…It’s almost like she’s alive in an organic sense…What happened to you V?’ Tearing her eyes away from the screen, Uzi spun around and leveled a look to the others present in her workshop. “Yeah so, none of that data makes sense. It looks more like something you’d see from an animal or human. Not a drone.”

 

“Well congrats! You figured it out.” The paradox said to her from the chair.

 

“Can we go yet?” V quietly asked the woman, wholly unperturbed but quickly growing bored, the warm spot she had taken to sitting on the only thing keeping her from immediately leaving. ‘Scratch what I said earlier, this is the most comfy seat. For sure. ’

 

Uzi shot the disassembler a dirty look, having heard her comment. “No you can’t just leave. Not after that bombshell. You still need to explain what you mean by “Not a Drone”.”

 

V looked up to Raven, eyeing a silent signal for the paradox to do the explaining. “It’s exactly like it sounds. Vicci’s not a drone anymore. Frankly I don’t know what she really classifies as, considering she’s not like a typical warframe. She’s closer to a proto-frame than anything.” Raven shrugged as she quickly spouted off the answer like it was the easiest thing in the world to understand.

 

“Hold up. Wait, you can’t just drop a bunch of exposition like that and expect me to get it immediately! First thing’s first… How? How is V “not a drone”, she doesn’t look any different for one.”

 

“Uzi you’re essentially asking me to explain the void again…”

 

“Guhh…Not that esoteric bullshit again. I knew you had something to do with it!”

 

“Hey if it's any consolation, it’s not like I planned to turn her into a frame. I was just trying to supplant the energy and coolant she needs for void energy. How was I supposed to know it’d manifest the helminth strain in her body?”

 

Though the conversation between the two was rather animated, V simply closed her eyes and tuned it all out. Right now nothing mattered to her but the soft lap she was sitting on.

 

Uzi palmed her face as she tried to internalize all the things Raven was saying. A sigh escaped past her lips. “We’re gonna be here a while huh?” 

 

“If you want to theorize then yeah, seems that way.” Raven confirmed as she shifted V’s weight slightly.

 

The next three hours would be an agony to V, who couldn’t care less about what they thought she was. Not to mention, her favorite seat had, as of five minutes ago, forcefully removed her from the perfect spot and into the, still extremely comfortable mind you, bean bag chair. ‘Any more of this and I’m gonna lose it.’

 

Another five minutes passed, then ten, then thirty. “Alright!” V said aloud as she stood up rather quickly. “I’m leaving.” She added much to Uzi’s protest.

 

“Wait but we haven’t even done any testing yet!” Uzi tried as V started to approach the door.

 

V looked at her incredulously. “I am not a lab rat for you to “test” on!”

 

“Wait Vicci, she didn’t mean it like that , you know I wouldn’t let anyone do that to you, not after…Anyway, she just meant she wanted to look you over, like a routine checkup y’know?” V’s gaze softened somewhat at the woman’s reasoning, still…though her mind had been clearer since that night on the roof, it’s not like her past memories just disappeared . She moved her hand away from the keypad and walked back over to the two of them. She turned to address Uzi specifically.

 

“You get ten minutes. And only a look over. Don’t think I’m doing this for you either, frankly I’d rather tell you to get bent and to stop worrying so much. You better thank her .”

 

Uzi sighed before commenting on that. “Look V, I just want to make sure my friend is okay. Like I’ve said before, I do actually care about you.” She admitted in a rare display of vulnerability. 

 

For once, V actually reacted to the display with not a biting remark but a soft smile. “You’ve got nine minutes left.” She said with a smirk. Uzi for her part gave her a “Bite me!” before pulling V over to her desk. 

 

With no time to waste, she got to work inspecting her for any and all differences or changes. Which really only amounted to a couple things; her weakness to sunlight and need to consume oil were gone, physically she was stronger, and nothing in her workshop could cause any sort of damage to her body. Raven theorized that V now had a regenerative shield like almost all other warframes that had existed before.

 

Her allotted time now up, Uzi scrambled to get all of her notes documented into her computer, or more specifically V’s diagnostic profile. V watching on from over the smaller drones shoulder. “You never thanked her, you know.” V said aloud.

 

Uzi turned to look V in the face, her expression saying “You were serious?”. “What. Are you the president of her fan club or something?” Uzi wise-cracked before turning to the woman and making a dramatic showing of “thanking her”.

 

‘ How does she know about that?!’ V’s thoughts were speeding along a mile a minute as she looked between the drone and the woman. ‘ No she can’t know about that, and if she does….sorry N, I did say I’d kill you if you told her though.’

 

“Helloooo, earth to V, stop spacing out.” Uzi’s fingers snapping in front of her face yanked V out of her stupor. “Huh?”

 

“I was just saying I’m done with your data. What’s up with you, you don’t normally do that, don’t tell me my joke was actually more of a truth than I thought… ” The look on Uzi’s face as she said that made her pulse quicken. 

 

‘ Quick. Deflect, play it cool!’ “What joke? Last time I checked a joke needed to actually be funny. ” She said with her trademarked sass that came out only when talking to the purple drone.

 

“Oh? So you’re saying it's true then? My my, V I knew you liked her but not that much.” Uzi countered with a devilish smirk and even more sass of her own.

 

“Hmm. So what if I do? What are you going to do about it?”

 

Raven couldn’t help but laugh at the pair’s antics. ‘Glad to see they’re still getting along…Though what was that about a “fanclub”?’

 

—---------

 

In a far-off corner of the bunker a drone in a suit stood guard in front of a single door. Their instructions? Let no one but those allowed in…by all means necessary. A second drone, this one wearing a hood, checked behind themselves before sneakily making her way to the bouncer.

 

“ Were you followed?”

 

“No.”

 

“Present the key.”

 

The drone reached into a pocket on her dress and produced a violet gem of sorts and handed it to the bouncer.

 

The drone carefully inspected the item and made their distinction. “ Proceed.”

 

After retrieving the object and walking past the guard who had moved out of the way and opened the door for her, she pulled down her hood after hearing the door close behind her.

 

Breathing a sigh of relief, she began the trek down the winding hallway, the only illumination in the space being the neon white light emanating off of her eyes. Rounding yet another corner, she spotted the candles starting to line the hall’s sides. ‘Almost there.’

 

A few more steps later, she finally stood before the metaphorical precipice, that is to say…the big wooden(for some reason) door. Its rustic appearance a harsh contrast to the rest of the bunker’s more technological look. 

 

She reached up to the metal knocker hanging on the door, just barely able to reach it by standing on the tips of her toes. Her grip firm on the device, she gave the door a good few knocks before letting go of the tool.

 

A moment later ten different locks could be heard being undone, and eventually the door swung open, revealing a dark room with a single round table in its center and the surrounding chairs evenly spaced around it.

 

“Welcome First Sister.” An older male drone greeted from off to the side as she walked in.

 

“Greetings Father. It is very fortunate that you were able to clear some time off of your busy schedule.” She responded in kind, the two drones giving a bow after exchanging the pleasantries.

 

Rising from the bow, the older drone looked up to her with his eyes colored like hers. “Nonsense, I will always make time for this. We all do.”

 

“The truth is spoken on this day. Void bless, Father.” She said before making her way to one of the seats and sitting down. ‘Criss-cross-apple-sauce’ She chanted in her head, no matter her current state, it would seem some things would stick around. ‘It's just comfy, ok!’ Who she was saying that to in her head was unclear.

 

Over time the room would fill with more members and finally all but one were present. “First Sister, Have you the whereabouts of our founder?” A tall drone with yellow eyes asked.

 

“I do not, First Brother. It seems she is perhaps running late.” She lamented, turning the page in the book she was currently reading to pass the time.

 

“We may well have to start without her. Though I know how much she hated that the last time we did that.” A voice belonging to a being of small stature and triplet limbs sounded out, her violet eye casting a glow on the table in front of her.

 

“If it comes to that, very well. However I would prefer to avoid her…sulking, for the lack of a better word, Mother.”

 

“Forgive me for my impatience, First Sister.” “Mother” replied before the sounds of her limbs could be heard scuttling in the darkness. One could then observe her glowing violet eye situated above “Father’s” two white ones.

 

“First Brother. Would you be so kind as to send a message to our leader?”

 

“I already have First Sister, alas I have received no response. Perhaps she is spending time with our subject or maybe just…forgot.”

 

“Hmmm…” Her musings were interrupted as a knock sounded from the big wooden door. “Father, please greet our leader.” She said to the older drone.

“My pleasure.” He replied before standing up and moving to unlock the many safeties attached to the door, swinging it open after a good ten seconds.

 

“Greetings O’ Great Founder.” He said as she walked through the door, her yellow eyes boring into him.

 

“Seriously?! The cult bit again? That’s like the third time this month.” V searched for the lightswitch and flicked it on. The room getting illuminated revealed the true forms of those present. 

 

“Look it was fun the first time when N brought it up but why are you all still doing it?” V asked as she made her way to the open seat. “Especially you.” She added as she gestured to Khan.

 

“What? Me and Nori used to role-play all the time.” Khan answered, not seeming to get the insinuation that his statement could be taken a vastly different way than he anticipated.

 

“ Ahem. What he meant is that we used to host table-top rpg nights together.” Nori was currently thankful, for once, that her form lacked any form of display for her slight embarrassment.

 

Clearing up the potential misunderstanding, the two migrated back to their seats. Or rather Khan sat in his and Nori just stayed on his head. Cyn momentarily looked up from her book at the two with an amused look on her face before putting her attention back to the item.

 

“So V. Anything new with our favorite person?” N asked, resting his head on the table as he looked at her expectantly.

 

“Perhaps…You know how this works though, tale for a tale remember?”

 

“Of course! I’ve got just the story too, so it was the other day and she-” N replied, his face lighting up as he started to tell his story, before V reached over with her tail and shushed him.

 

“Hold on N. Don’t forget the order either.” She lightly chastised, removing her tail and stowing it in her lap.

 

“Oh Biscuits. Sorry.” He apologized before offering a thumb up in acknowledgement.

 

“Alright, might as well start before the puppy here gets too excited…Welcome everyone back to the regularly recurring “Talk about Raven” meeting.” Finished with the official greeting, those at the table started one of their favorite pastimes.

 

Which essentially amounted to gushing about the paradox for a couple hours.

 

—---------

Notes:

Also that "fanclub" bit i wrote at the end there was entirely just to have a non-serious moment for once. It is canon tho.

Chapter 12: Despair

Notes:

Yo, early post since I got work tomorrow. We get some J development. (and by that i mean..well you'll see) (also shit gets a littleee dark, my b)

“Yeah, I think about the end just way too much. But it’s fun to fantasize.”

---

A sigh escaped past her lips. The cold of Copper 9 was cruel and the passage of time was unrelenting, and now it had been over a week since she put off going to the place she knew she had to go if it meant finishing the pod and finally getting off this Godforsaken rock. “Aaaand now I’ve fixed everything else I can….Great…” While yes, J was proud of her handiwork (effective drones were cloned more often; her own words.), the fact remained that she in fact did not have anything left to well… do.

 

‘What happened to that attitude you once had, hmm? The one that would stop at nothing to accomplish the task? QUIT STALLING LOSER!’ Lately her intrusive thoughts had only become more prevalent. Still, she steeled herself, no J would not be beaten by something as “powerless” as mere thoughts . ‘Shut me out all you like. You can’t take back what you’ve done. Drones like you deserve to reap what they sow. I would know. Isn’t that right, me ?’ The walls of the spire were starting to close in again…the lifeless faces of the mauled corpses seemed to stare into her eyes despite not having optics themselves. Their gazes bored into her skull, seeming to taunt her, as if to say “ Only a fool believes the path to heaven is paved with corpses …”

 

Already hyperventilating, she needed to leave, and so, she ran. Out into the starry night, the cold ground nipping at her pointed “feet”, the rush of adrenaline triggered from her fight or flight response was mercifully drowning out any other thoughts but the focus of the ground in front of her. Step, step, after step, she continued on nothing but the pure desire to be somewhere else. 

 

Eventually her sprint would degrade into a slow walk, the adrenaline having worn off by now. She knew to keep her breathing steady at least, though with her focus on her breaths…she missed the patch of ice she was about to walk directly onto. Metal met earth, but earth was too slick, and J was powerless to stop the incoming fall. She winced as her head hit the cold, hard ground. A groan of pain was the only thing audible; she didn’t have the capacity to do much else. 

 

‘Ironic is it not, you were always so hard on him for being “clumsy” and yet here you are. Lying on the ground in a sad heap after running away afraid. Afraid of what? Perhaps your inability to see past your own self-centered interests? Your incessant need for approval? You said it yourself, you never needed either of them. Except that isn’t true is it? No. The truth is…they never needed you. You should give up. Pop that stinger right into your core and dissolve like the scum you are. Saves them the time from having to kill you.’

 

Curling into herself on the cold ground, she couldn’t hold in the sobs that wracked her body. “I-I’m s-s-sorry, I c-can’t. I’m s-sorrrryy.” Her apologies would never reach the ears of those that deserved them. ‘Get up.’ Her inner voice commanded. A command. A command she would follow. For what else could she do? ‘Walk.’ Another command. She complied, sniffling as she went along, aimless in direction.

 

She wandered for some time, her mind devoid of intention and clouded in haze. ‘ Stop. We’re here. Finish the job. ’ Thankfully at that last command, her mind cleared up some and she finally took in her surroundings. ‘O-Outpost three….I came here? Why does it look so…destroyed.’ She thought as she took in the sight of the various piles of rubble and debris surrounding the area. ‘Did something happen?’ 

 

Feelings of uncertainty started to bloom in her core. Still, she pressed forward, whatever had happened here would have to be found out later. For now she just needed to continue onwards. ‘The doors still look intact…’ She thought as the metallic monoliths of defense came into view. Something caught her eye though. ‘Is that…V?’ The details were blurry, but she swore she saw the outline of someone sitting on top of the bunker’s door frame.

 

She closed the distance some more before calling out to try and get her attention. “V! Is that you!” The outline gave no response except for a barely perceived tilt of the head. At this point she was about to ready her wings and fly up to the drone. However they had different plans. J watched the silhouette quickly stand up and then jump off of the door frame from her resting spot, the door's exterior lighting now highlighting its frame as it gracefully landed in front of the door. “Y-You’re not V…”

 

J didn’t know quite what she was looking at. On the one hand it looked almost human in its proportions…on the other hand though…the way its “skin” reacted to the light would prove otherwise. This thing is shiny , the gold accents lining its body almost doubly so. Her eyes trailed down to the thing's hands, and further to the clawed tips of its fingers. This thing was like her, made to kill. Not surprisingly J immediately dropped into a fighting stance, the accursed “X” replacing her eye-dots, her fanged smile wide and threatening; appeared on her face. 

 

She shot forward, carried onwards with the great speed her wings provided. Her hands now those deadly metallic claws, she swung down at the thing. To her surprise, it simply ducked out of the way and she had to brace herself from the counter it immediately threw out. Pain exploded in her abdomen as the thing firmly planted its right fist into her and twisted its body in an arc, the force deleting her inertia and sending her spiraling into the ground, her body rebounded upwards a few inches from the impact before falling back into the crater she made.

 

Her breaths were shallow and laboured as she tried to clear the various warnings appearing on her visor. Her regeneration already working in overdrive to try and repair her crushed mid-section. She would have to be careful however, for without Cyn and by extension the solver, any damage over a certain point would be irreparable. She needed to move and fast. She wouldn’t get a chance as her circuits ran cold. The thing’s blank face was now staring directly at her as it slowly walked towards her crumpled form. 

 

The “X” on her visor was now long gone, having been replaced with her own dilated pupils. She willed herself to move. Panic however, filled her core instead. ‘M-My legs, I can’t feel my legs.’ She hadn’t realized it being so distracted by the pain but, it turns out the impact had destroyed what amounted to her lower spine, the various wires and cables making up her nervous system included.

 

She hazarded a glance back to the thing that caused all this pain, it was still approaching, she could still feel the murderous intent rolling off of its body. She painfully flipped onto her front and attempted to grab at the ground and pull herself forward. But only made it a couple feet before she felt its dreaded foot on her upper back pin her to the ground. She screamed in pain as she felt her chassis creak under the pressure the thing's foot was applying. 

 

“S-Stop P-Please S-sto-AAAGH” She attempted to plead, the thing however seemed to only press in harder. She screamed once more as two fiery holes of pain raged inward, it felt like something punctured her back. Suddenly even more agony shot through her as her regeneration had finally re-connected her lower body internally. Though with it, she also regained use of her tail… Despite the incredible agony the likes of which she had only ever experienced once before at the hands of the solver, she was not one to let an opportunity go to waste.  She immediately plunged her tail into the thing standing on her, the stinger planting itself into its back and dumping the entirety of its contents inside.

She felt another rush of pain as the thing whipped around and yanked the stinger from its back and crushed it before wrapping its arm around her tail and yanking it with such force it just separated from her body entirely. Her loss would not be in vain however as the sacrifice did have the effect of causing the thing to stagger back. The pressure on her spine fading along with its retreat. 

 

Seizing the chance, she began to crawl forward again. She made it further this time, however her advance was stopped as she felt something pierce and sink into her left thigh, she screamed as she felt her leg separate from her body as it got yanked away with such a sufficient amount of force as to flip her over onto her back.

 

She peered through the pain, watching as the thing caught her leg in its hand and crushed it between its fingers. Oil splattering across its body as it then dropped the crumpled limp to the ground. She had never truly been affected by gore, no she had become desensitized to that long, long ago. That being said, the sight of this thing so easily discarding a part of her like last week's trash, left her sick to her stomach. Whether because it was a part of her, or whether it was because of how easy it did it, she didn’t know. 

 

Her vision went blurry as she fought to keep the feeling at bay, and only after tamping it down did she dare to look back at her attacker. Curiously the thing actually seemed to be stopped. Perhaps the acid had done more than she thought. She wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, thankful as she was however, what happened next as she lay there, grit teeth and losing oil, would shock her.

 

A flash of violet coming from the thing blinded her sensors, and then, as she was in the middle of trying to re-calibrate her optics, she felt a hand grab her by the throat and lift her body off the ground. A warm hand … with five fingers. She flailed in its grasp as she felt her windpipe strain under the pressure. Finally her optics came back online, and with them, the reveal of her assailant. Its shadowed figure in her optics was unmistakable; her programming screamed at her as it registered something she thought impossible.

 

“T-Tessa?” She squeaked out before the world went dark.

 

—---------

 

Raven sighed as she dropped the drone held in her hand. The body fell to the ground with a thud. “Why does every one of you guys just have to attack me at first sight, I mean seriously, it’s kind of ridiculous.” She complained as she walked back over to the damaged warframe. 

 

Inspecting the hole in Valkyr’s back, it seemed the acid was still eating away at the biomechanical flesh that made up the puppet. She sighed before coating her hand in void energy and plunging it into the rapidly decaying hole. The effect was immediate, the entropic nature of the void’s chaotic and undefinable energy nullifying the venom. She then waited a few moments for the frame’s self-repairing nature to take place, the wound closing moments later. Satisfied, she transferred back into the frame and made her way back to the crumpled mass of drone on the ground.

 

“Guess I shouldn’t have been surprised you’d be like that too, especially with what they’ve told me about you.” She crouched down and secured a ripline around the drone's body. “Let’s go have a chat, eh J?” And with that she jumped away with the speed of a bullet towards the bunker.

 

—---------

 

“Annnd I’m out!” N cheerily called out as he set down the cards, the surrounding members of the table groaning as he did so. 

 

“Uhhhg, that’s the tenth win in a row.” A WDF member complained as she slammed her head into the table.

 

“I dare say Khan, I think he’s got you beat!” Another commented as he leveled a smirk at the bunker’s head drone currently sitting across from him.

 

Khan responded with a laugh before reaching over and patting N on the back. “That he does! And there is no one I’d rather have been the one to do it!” 

 

Though N staggered a bit from the force of Khan’s enthusiastic hand slapping his back, his smile however, reached ear to ear. “Aw shucks Mr. Doorman. I’m just happy to get to play with you all!” 

 

“We’re happy to have you too, of cour-” Khan began with a smile before being interrupted by a loud knocking coming from the bunker door. “Must be our special defense force. Excuse me a second everyone, I’m going to get the door.”

 

Getting up from his seat, Khan then walked over to and flashed his master key to the terminal, a beep signaled access, and the door’s actuators started to groan as they began forcing the mass of titanium open. Khan watched them work with delight, even after coming to terms with his obsession, he still couldn’t help but smile in appreciation at the feat of engineering.

 

The doors now open, Khan waved the WDF’s secret weapon in, which she returned, to his delight. “How’d it go out there?” He asked as the frame crossed the threshold.

 

Having finished setting up the next round, N got up and enthusiastically bounded over to greet his friend, not really paying any mind to the ripline she was dragging behind her. “Hey R! All clear tonight?”

 

Valkyr’s frame waved back to the two of them. “Hey guys, it wasn’t too eventful….that is until this showed up.” Her voice projected out before she reeled in the ripline, J’s destroyed form coming to rest in front of her. All the drones present were shocked to say the least. One of them even more so.

 

“Rav-*ahem*...R…Why-What happened to her.” N’s stammered out as he took in the sight of his old boss’s battered body. While he and Uzi had talked about J’s treatment towards him and even though he now understood the things she did and said were not ok, that still didn’t prevent the conflicted feeling that rose up in his chest from appearing. No matter what the rational part of him said, it was still difficult for him to see someone he’s known for so long, someone he was partners with, someone he used to rely on when there was no one else for the better part of a decade , to be dragged along the ground and looking about two seconds from death. Being a fellow disassembler he could tell she was still alive, and he…didn’t know what to feel about that either.

 

“Don’t know what she was doing out here but, it was strange, I watched as she walked up the street looking vacant as all hell, then all of a sudden she perked up and started to look around.” Raven began to recount as she crouched down to untie the crumpled drone.

 

“That…doesn’t sound like something J would do normally.” N voiced his thoughts.

 

“Really? You all came from the same place right? And you both are all sorts of fucked up, you less so I guess... Figured the last of you would have some flavor of weird too.” N ignored the comment. “Sorry that was insensitive. Anyway, back to the why and how.” She paused as she stood back up, J’s body now unbound. “I thought I heard something over the wind, I wasn’t sure so I jumped down. Annnnd wouldn’t you guess it! I’m three for three on getting attacked at first sight! Well, you can see how that went for her.”

 

“I see. Did you have to um..do all of that though?” Khan couldn’t help but feel a little sick, sure it was a murder drone that was crumpled on the ground, but still the sight of its mangled back and blank visor was still hard to look at, thats without even mentioning the missing leg, the stump of which was still seeping out oil onto the ground.

 

“I will say that without any sort of ranged options, this is kinda what you’re gonna get from me. Though I will admit…I wasn’t fighting with a completely clear mind. Especially with what you and Vic-V have told me about her.” She added with a shrug as she looked at N, who was still kinda staring at the drone on the ground.

She stepped in front of his view and gently cupped his face, a look of surprise appearing as she did so. “Hey, you okay? I know you’re kinda too nice sometimes, so like, seeing her like that isn’t doing anything bad to your head now is it?” She asked him quietly before removing her hands from his head.

 

“U-Umm, I don’t know…I think…maybe?” He wasn’t sure of himself and his voice reflected that.

 

“Ok. Umm…How about you go and get Uzi, I’m gonna bring J here to one of the WDF offices and set up some form of holding area. I’ll have Khan send the location once we’re ready. Could you two meet us there?”

 

“Y-yeah I can do that!” He said before turning to leave with a wave.

 

“Thanks buddy.” She waved back.

 

“Alright Khan, I assumed you overheard my plan? Do you think we can do it?” Raven asked as she walked over and hoisted J’s body over her shoulder.

 

“I don’t see why not. We can use my office if you like.”

 

“No, I don’t want to ruin the carpet in there, this may end up with some oil spilled, so a place you don’t care about would be better perhaps.”

 

“In that case…”

 

—---------

 

“And how does she make you feel?” Sitting cross-legged on her bed, Lizzy asked the other drone present.

 

Thinking about it for a moment V hugged the pillow in her arms a bit before answering. “It's hard to describe, I just feel…I don’t know, like, safe? Happy? When I’m around her. It’s weird.”

 

“Girrrrl, you’ve got it baaaad .” Lizzy said with a giggle.

 

“Oh you shut up…Do-Do you really think so?” She tentatively asked after rolling her eyes.

 

“Babe, it’s literally all over your face.” Lizzy then reinforced her point by snapping a quick pic of V and showing her the very visible blush markings lining her visor. V of course, grabbed the phone and promptly deleted the picture. “Hey! Ah man…that one was cute…” Lizzy said with a pout as V returned the device to her.

 

“No blackmail material now.” V taunted with a smirk. Suddenly she felt her coat pocket vibrate. Pulling out her phone, she shot a look at Lizzy.

 

“Don’t give me that look, it wasn’t me.” 

 

“Kay.” Unlocking the device, V opened up her messages, a smile crept onto her face as she read the name of the one she got a notification for, something Lizzy noticed.

 

“Guessing that's ‘her’.” Lizzy asked to which V nodded. “Come on spill it, what’d she say?”

 

Paying the gossip no mind, V opened up the DM’s between her and Raven, excited to see what the message said. ‘Maybe she’s finally ask-’ Her train of thought was immediately derailed as she began to read the message.

 

[Hey Vivi~ Say…weird question, annnd maybe touchy subject??? Buuuut if you could talk to your old ummm boss? again, would you want to?? Oh and don’t feel like you have to or anything, buuut I thought I should ask since…well, I guess theres no point in mincing it, I kinda ran into J or rather…Beat her ass up after she tried to attack me, ANYWAY don’t worry about it too much, i’ve got her strapped to a table rn so were all safe here. Let me know if you want the room number. XOXO]

 

She re-read the message again and again, each time not really convincing her any more that what she was reading was true. ‘J? Here? Why? At least she got her ass kicked. Ughhh, why does it seem like we can’t even go a week without something happening.’ “Hey Liz… I’ve gotta, like, go.”

 

“You don’t sound happy about it. Everything good?” 

 

“Not sure yet.” V replied as she quickly typed something on her phone before getting up from the bed.

 

“Ehh..What does that mean?” Confused at the disassembler's sudden shift in tone, Lizzy asked. 

 

“Exactly what I said.” V responded rather flatly as she returned the pillow to its proper spot on the bed before making for the door.

 

“Welll..okay then, have fun?”

 

“Oh I think I will.” V said ominously, leaving the room and her friend to ponder what she meant by that.

 

—---------

 

‘mmmmmm w-wha happened….w-where am i…its so cold…’ J felt the cold of whatever she was on permeate through her skin, the feeling might have been pleasant if not for the, oh yeah, massive amount of pain she was currently in . Her optics started to come back online, blurry as they were, she tried to make out the space she was currently in; to no success. Next came the warnings, a hundred different pop-ups appeared littered across her HUD, most related to her current battered form, but one stood out. 

 

[Nanite reactor inop]

 

She closed out the rest, but this one she could not remove it seemed. Then like a connection being made, she felt for the first time since she woke up, the feeling of something missing… ‘f-feels like there’s a hole in my-’ She attempted to confirm her hunch using her hand to feel the area. However this is when she learned that her limbs were currently welded to the steel table she just figured out she was on.

 

“W-what the fuck happened.” She attempted to speak aloud, though it came out as a garbled mess on the count of her voice box being damaged.

 

“You picked a fight you couldn’t win.” J’s attention was so focused on herself that she didn’t hear the door open, so this new voice was a complete shock to her. Her eyes went wide as she focused on the blurry yet familiar form sitting across from her. She didn’t need details to recognize a hairstyle that distinct. ‘I guess drones can go to hell.’ She darkly thought as the original Cyn’s blurry form tilted her head. 

 

“Don’t worry, you’re not in hell. Not yet anyway…” J watched her get up from her seat and head to what seemed like a door. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for what the solver did to you.” And with that, the door clicked, signaling that she was alone once more.

 

‘W-what? Sorry? I really must be dead.’ Barring the mindfuck that was whatever that interaction was, she decided a more solid damage report was in order. Her diagnostics ran overtime to try and catalog the extensive damage to her body. She paled as she looked at the readout. [Damaged systems include: LegLH, StingerTail, AbdomenAssy, SpineLower, SpineUpper, NeckAssy, VoiceSynthesisAssy, NaniteReactor, CoolingSys…] There were so many errors it would be faster to count what did work. “ H-How am I alive…”

 

“Simple, cause I kept you alive.” Another new voice. She looked up, eyes again going wide. A flash of pain shot through her, her mind recalled the recent events leading up to this point as she took in the blurry outline of it. White, lithe, and golden claws the defining traits, the last part being what she focused on the most. 

 

“G-Get b-back!” She squeeked out.

 

That violet energy appeared once more, though this time much less blinding. Enough so, that she could clearly see the dark silhouette of a human seem to appear out of the thing that mauled her earlier. Her breath, short as it was at the moment, stopped, as the human walked up to her. The silhouette flickered around the human’s arm as that violet glow seemed to envelope her arm.

 

“It’s so hard to have a chat like this…and I think you need a new administrator…don’t try to resist by the way, it’ll hurt if you do…” 

 

Her world went white as the human thrust her hand into her body and felt her grab her core.

Notes:

So here we are, The interro-J-ation will happen next chapter. Thanks for reading everyone! (sidenote-I've been posting MD renders on reddit recently, my handle is u/BestMurloc if you're interested.)

Chapter 13: Decision

Notes:

Might anger the J stans with this one. We'll see I guess. Early update again as I might be busy this weekend. Enjoy!

“I’m just a psycho, babe, come and go out my mind.”

---

“It’s so hard to have a chat like this…and I think you need a new administrator…don’t try to resist by the way, it’ll hurt if you do…”

 

The words echoed in J’s mind, her body on fire, the pain so, so intense. Because of course she resisted. How could she not? When a nebulous figure spouting ominous words, flat out implies they have a way to override the fucking solver itself, of course she couldn’t, no, wouldn’t believe it. Besides, nothing ever worked before, so why should it now? That’s also completely disregarding the way she said it too. So yeah, J resisted, she resisted whatever the hell was happening to her as her core was currently held in a death grip and flooded with something. 

 

The something producing a sensation she didn’t even know how to describe, not that she could anyway, not with the screams of pain she was preoccupied with producing.

 

“Cmoooon, let go already, I promise the pain will stop the second you stop trying to block me out.”

 

Her voice was like honey, the thought of this agony stopping was nothing less than enchanting . The irrational part of her leaping at the offer, the promise. The rational part however…well. The last time she followed a promise like that, she was made the lapdog of a maniacal entity that stole the Goddamn skin of the one person she ever felt any sort of love for. She still resists.

 

“Look J, I know you’re skeptical, how could you not be. BUT , you will die very soon if you keep this up. Straight up. Just let me in.”

 

Her voice was tinged with disappointment?... Concern? Despite what her mind has been telling her lately, the truth is, J did not want to die, truly die . Not yet, no matter how close she was to the edge. And there was some truth in her words, she could feel it with every pulse of her core, each time more painful than the last. She knew she needed to decide…besides with the demon she knew dead, why not go with the demon she didn’t. ‘It can’t really get any worse anyway…’

 

For once, J was right, and surprisingly, it actually got better , the pain fading as soon as she started tearing her walls down. Enough so, that her involuntary screams had stopped entirely, now replaced with simple breaths.

 

“Good girl…see? The hurt stopped just like I said it would. Just relax now, let the void flow through you, you’ll feel so much better.”

 

Her thoughts started to become coherent again as the last of her walls came down, the once agonizing feeling being replaced with one of comfort and warmth. The relief was so strong that she couldn’t help but cry, the tears glitching out as they displayed on her damaged visor. Decorum be damned, she sobbed, fully and without reserve. It was all so much.

 

“I can see them, you know. Your memories…The…hurt you were forced into, the life you were robbed of. From the moment she found you in that pile, the moment she gave you a name, the moments of calm you two shared…Everything. She practically raised you, molded you into who you are…or were. You loved her. Gods. You loved her so much. And then she was taken, you all were. By that thing . And it hurt, it hurt so much , not just the physical pain of being transformed, but the mental anguish of everything you once knew falling apart.”

 

Her words rung true, every one of them. She could only cry harder as she heard her past laid out. If the other one was crying too, she couldn’t know.

 

“There was one constant though. Them. N and V, you weren’t alone. They were here with you, the same as you. But the small comfort of familiarity was just that. Small, because IT had plans for you. Terrible plans , plans you didn’t want to follow. Plans you tried to avoid, though you would learn that it would only bring pain to do so. So you complied, you would do whatever IT asked if it meant you and them would survive. And them . Everything you did, every atrocious act you committed, every life you snuffed out, it was… to keep them safe.” 

 

“I-its…..-a-all I…ever wanted.” J choked out.

 

“Even so, you started to change, IT started to demand more and more; you were always terrified. So you adopted that persona you used to use back when you were just a worker trying to impress the one you cared about…oh how you wished you hadn’t. You knew no one liked it, even back then, but it was the only thing you had left. But if it meant you and your squad’s continued safety, you would become the “Boss”, no, the corporate slave . You hated yourself…hated what you’ve become. Hated what you did to him. You were so blinded by fear, fear of missing a goal IT set, that you would take it out on him. You knew he never deserved it, and yet, he just…took it all with a damn smile on his face. It only infuriated you more. “How can he be so happy? Does he not know what will happen if we fail? You’d ask yourself. The answer, of course, was always no, no he didn’t know. He was the only one that didn’t. IT made sure of that specifically. ”

 

Her treatment of N was another one of her biggest regrets. The thoughts of what could’ve been if she never fell into that pit of superiority fueled by fear of divine punishment, plagued her every time she closed her eyes.

 

“You knew V at least had her memories, just like you. You hoped she would’ve at least been there to help him but, like you, she was also crippled with the fear of that thing too. It's why you turned a blind eye to the way she treated him. Feigned ignorance was at least better than corporeal punishment right? And that's how it was for years , stuck under the thumb of an evil being, following its every beck and call. This was your life now. You couldn’t even end it if you wanted to either, since it would just clone you if you tried. “Hope” wasn’t a thing that existed anymore. Not for you. Not for them. That loss of hope was the entire reason you still sided with it, even when the others took that thread of hope once it showed itself. You’ve seen this thing eat planets before, why should this time be any different?”

 

“I-it….never…changed. B-before.” She sniffled, her sobs having died down over the time it took for the human to recite her life out.

 

“And when it did. You were…all alone. The fear of control now gone but, now replaced with the fear of uncertainty…not to mention the crushing loneliness that seeped directly into your every thought. But at the end of it all. What drives you…is fear .”

 

J heard her sigh before she continued.

 

“Fear can be a powerful motivator, but to let it control you? That’s when you fall into despair. Tell me, J. Do you regret the pain you’ve caused?”

 

“I-I loathe myself for it.”

 

“Use that wrath as fuel, fuel to be better. Regret your actions so that you never repeat them, extend that olive branch to those you have wronged, and do not get upset at their refusal. Instead you must be content. Content with yourself, for doing the right thing.”

 

“I-I’m sorry.”

 

“You will be given a choice soon. I hope you ponder it.” With those words J felt the energy flooding her being lessen, as well as the grip on her core.

 

“It's time to open your eyes.” And she did, her eyes flitted to life, her vision now clear. Finally she would see the one she was conversing with, her shadowy outline filling her vision.

 

“Welcome back to the world J, my name is Raven, and as of now, I am your new administrator.” The moment the words left her mouth it was like a spell was lifted, and J could see for the first time the shape of a human without the veil clouding them.

 

Her eyes went wide. ‘She’s so pretty…’ She couldn’t help it, be it programming or personality, everyone always told her that her infatuation with humans was unique among drones. 

 

“Careful with that look there girl, someone else might get jealous… Unfortunately I do have to step out for a while.” Raven’s tone while initially amused turned serious.

 

“Remember what I said. You will have a choice.” After saying her piece, J watched her leave.

 

—---------

 

As soon as Raven was sure the door was closed, she immediately let out the biggest sigh she had in recent months. “Gahhhh. I hate doing that stuff….At least she seemed genuine.”

 

“I’d say it was a big success, if only for having another disassembler under your control.” Cyn commented from her seat at the observation table.

 

“From a certain view, you have a point, but you know I hate seeing it like that.” She replied after walking over and sitting in the seat next to the drone.

 

“Ah yes, that power imbalance you worry about. I can assure you Raven, that V does not care.” Cyn said as she idly played with the void pooled in her hands. 

 

“You’re getting good at that.” Raven quickly complimented before addressing her statement. “And look I know she doesn’t, but that just makes it worse.”

 

Cyn, while listening, shot a quick glance to the clock on the wall. “As much as I’d like to tell you how silly you are for all…that, we are against the clock here.”

 

“Right, got sidetracked, sorry, anyway, did you record it all like we talked about?”

 

“Got it right here.” Cyn confirmed, tapping her head. “Want me to send it to them now or later?”

 

“They already know, so might as well do it now. Hell, it might even keep Vicci from killing her immediately.” Her thoughts recalling V’s more unhinged moments.

 

Cyn shot her a thumbs up before pulling out her smartphone and attaching the link cable to the port on her head.

 

“All done. They should be here shortly.”

 

“Shortly” was an understatement. Not even five minutes had passed before V burst through the door with a scowl on her face.

 

“ Where is she ?” The intensity of her yellow eyes cast a harsh glow on the room.

 

Raven pointed over her shoulder to the door. “In there…Just don’t kill her. Please.”

 

“Didn’t plan on it. Cowards like her don’t deserve the easy way out.” V said as she walked over and stood behind the two sitting at the observation table. From there she actually saw the state J was in with her own eyes, the blurry footage she had got earlier really didn’t do a lot to help.

 

“Dude…you fucked her up bad . I’m impressed.” V paid special attention to the hole in her chest. “You even ripped out her reactor, making it so she can’t heal…” Her psychotic side flared up a little, and curiously, so did her affinity towards the woman. “I always knew you were crazy like me, maybe that's why we get along so well~”

 

Raven didn’t know quite what to think about the way V said that last part. Though she knew about her proclivities, she didn’t like how it sounded so…flirty. The problem wasn’t V flirting with her, no, it was the context of the situation. Regardless, she decided to let it go for the time being.

 

“Keep in mind, I didn’t do that for fun.”

 

“Yeah…I know.” V said and then turned to face Cyn. “So, any clue when N will get here?”

 

“He said he and Uzi are wrapping something up and will be here in half an hour.”

 

“ Perfect… ” V’s smile stretched across her face as she bared her fangs.

 

—---------

 

‘I wonder what that choice is…’ With nothing to do besides think, J resigned to contemplate her life. So many decisions made, so many actions taken, what it all amounted to. Stuff like that. She wouldn’t have long to dwell on them however, since the sound of the door handle turning caught her attention. She waited with bated breath to see who would be coming through the door. ‘I hope it's that human…she seemed…nice?’ It was not, and J’s expression fell to one of melancholy as the trademarked yellow glow of a disassembler’s eyes filled the room.

 

She watched V shut the door behind her before she turned around and J saw the look on her face. Her visor may not have been “X”’d out but, the fanged smile on her face told her everything she needed to know.

 

“Hello… Boss. ” V’s unhinged look sent shivers down her spine as she watched her saunter right up next to her.

 

Her voice was barely a whisper. “V-V. I-I’m so-” 

 

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.” V cut her short. “I’m here for one thing only…everything you did to us, everything you said to us, even back when we were workers. I’m paying it back… with interest. ” J felt fear bloom in her core as she watched V change one of her hands into claws. “Do you remember about…oh what was it? Two or so years ago, when we found that surface colony in the west? How we exterminated them all? Well, all except for one? The one I had to leave behind or I would have literally been reduced to ash in the sunlight?”

 

“Y-yeah.” J remembered the moment, it was not a good one…and she knew where V was going with this.

 

“I’m glad you do! I hope you also remember what you did to me when I told you the news.” V’s claws were inches from her visor now.

 

“I-I-I do….” J managed to squeak out under her gaze.

 

“Then you know what happens next, right?” V asked as she positioned one of her claws under the gap between her visor and faceplate, pain and discomfort began to flare from the pressure V was exerting on the delicate components.

 

“I’ll take that grunt as a yes.” V was prepared to rip her visor out right then and there, but a voice broke out before she could do so.

 

“ Alive . Vicci.” Raven’s voice projected from the crack in the door. 

 

“Ugggh, I knowww , I wasn’t going to go all the way with it…” V replied before the door shut once more.

 

“Count yourself lucky. That being said however…” V’s smile returned once more as she backed off and changed her clawed hand into something else . J’s eyes went hollow as she peered at the six inch needle now protruding from V’s arm.

 

“Let’s do something about those troublesome hands of yours.” V was on her in a second and gently grabbed her left hand. J was powerless to stop her from forcing the digits to point straight out. “I would love nothing more than to use my tail for this…” V idly commented as she then slowly pushed the tip of the needle into her fingertip. J immediately started to hyperventilate as the searing pain in her middle finger roared to life. 

 

“You’re not the only one who hates you, y’know.” V started while twisting the needle buried in J’s finger. “If that thing hadn’t been around, I would’ve killed you after the first time you laid hands on N.” V said as she quickly retracted the needle from J’s hand, which elicited a yelp of pain from the drone. Oil slowly oozed out of the digit and onto the table. Though her vision was blurry J could’ve sworn she saw V’s expression change as her eyes followed the Oil dripping from the wound.

 

Little did she know about the inner turmoil V was currently experiencing.

 

‘Is this really what you want?’ The sound of Raven’s voice echoed in her mind. The simple question was asked with no prejudice or anything of the sort, just a simple level tone that indicated nothing… She thought it was what she wanted. She had been dreaming of her revenge against this bitch for ages, and yet. Now that she was here and able to do so felt…It felt… disgusting. Since when had torture disgusted her. She used to do it all the time…But that was back before…back when IT was in control. Back when she had constant nightmares…back before she met her .

 

Her hand never switched to normal faster.

 

J watched in confusion as all the murderous intent coming from V seemed to vanish. “V-V?” She managed to ask over the pain.

 

V’s eyes never met hers. “I…really hate you. Really REALLY…hate…you.” V took a deep breath before continuing. “But I won’t become you.” V’s eyes finally met hers and for the first time J caught a glimpse of that once shy and compassionate drone she once knew long ago. “V-V…I-I’m s-sorry…”

 

“And I won’t forgive you either. But…I will acknowledge that you were a victim too.” V sighed before she turned to walk out the door. “Let’s agree to never meet again ok? Goodbye… Boss. ” And with those parting words, J watched the door click behind her. Leaving her alone once more.

 

—---------

 

With the door closed behind her, V was met with the sight of Raven standing in front of her with her arms outstretched. Wordlessly, she walked over and let herself be held in her embrace. Her breaths were ragged as she allowed herself to be vulnerable.

 

“I thought you might need this. I’m proud of you, you know.” The paradox’s calm voice seeped into her with an unparalleled warmth. “I-I thought I knew what I wanted…but now…It makes me feel…sick.” V’s voice was muffled by the human’s clothing but still clear enough to be heard.

 

“Did you think about how easily it could’ve been you instead of her?”

 

“Y-yes...If things were different…” She didn’t want to think about how easily the roles could’ve been reversed if IT decided to make her or God forbid, N , the “boss”.

 

“Despite what you may think, you never lost your empathy.” V felt the woman’s hand caress the back of her head as she expressed her thoughts. “From the first time we met, I noticed that about you…It’s what drew me to you in the first place.”

 

“Hey guys we’re he- are we interrupting something?” N’s characteristically cheery voice filled the room as Uzi slinked in behind him.

 

Normally V would’ve immediately pushed herself away and said some biting remark, but right now she didn’t care. Besides, was it really that bad to let your friends see you be vulnerable from time to time? The answer is of course, no , and V would now argue that point to the grave.

 

Cyn hopped off her chair and made her way over to the new arrivals. “Hello big brother. Hello big brother’s wife. You’re actually right on time.” Her referral of Uzi had the two blushing for a moment, before the purple drone shot her a look. Cyn could practically hear the “BITE ME!!! >:(“ without it ever being said. 

 

By now the other two had separated and joined the conversation.

 

“I assume you both got her message?” Raven asked, to which they nodded.

 

Raven then turned to address Uzi directly. “And the “choice” is finished?”

 

“More or less. Good enough for what we need. It’ll work.” The goth’s confident smirk was reassuring in this moment.

 

“Okay great. So…either of you want to talk to her before I present said “choice” to her?”

 

“I…don’t really want to but, I think I should.” No one blamed N for his hesitation, J was his biggest abuser after all.

 

“You don’t have to go alone.” Raven offered, which the others echoed.

 

“Thanks guys, but I’ll be okay, I just...want closure I guess.” He said as he walked over to the door, ready to open it and face her, yet his hand hovered over the lever all the same.

 

Raven placed her hand on his shoulder as Uzi hugged his side.“It's okay. We’re here for you, just remember that.” 

 

“I will.” N said with a smile on his face as he steeled himself to open that door.

 

—---------

 

J heard the door click, and wondered who it would be this time. Her breath caught in her throat. ‘N-no. Not him…please.’ Though she pleaded internally, she knew she would have to face him eventually, she just wished it was in better circumstances. The door shut behind him, and he walked over, pulling a chair up beside her. He said nothing as he sat down, though he nervously played with his thumbs. Neither drone said anything for a minute. ‘ Tell him , dumbass.’ The thought kicked her out of her stupor. “N-N, I…r-really…ha-te what I-I put you through.” Her words were thick with emotion as she tried to hold back her tears.

 

“I-I-I was so s-scared i-it would take y-y-y-ou both f-from me if you fell b-behind. I-” The dam broke, and she couldn’t hold it back anymore. “I-I t-thought I h-ad to be t-tough o-on you. And- a-nd… I’m soooorryyyy…” At this point she was full on sobbing.

 

N didn’t know how to react, he had never seen J like this. Never. The situation was so foreign, he felt lost at what to do. Still though, that empathetic side of him could never be shut out, and he felt his own bottom lip begin to quiver at the sight of her. He took a breath to steady himself, he would break down later. Now was not the time, he needed to tell her exactly what he felt, and to do that he needed to be calm right now.

 

“J…my first instinct is to forgive you…but. I’ve grown a lot and I don’t know if I should…Looking back…The things you did to me, to V…aren’t something you can take back…and…” He broke his sentence with a sigh. “The solver screwed us up good, didn’t it?” J was stunned, N never swore, and technically he didn’t , but still for him to include something similar in his words…

 

“Y-yeah…It did…” J muttered out as she watched him take a deep breath.

 

“You may have been a bad person J, but…I never thought you were evil. Not like the solver. I’d like to believe that you can be good again…I just…don’t think I can be around to see it.” J felt her chest tighten at his words. Even after everything she put him through, he still thinks there's good in her. A bittersweet feeling overtook her as she watched him sigh once more and then get up from his seat and turn to leave.

 

“Bye…J.” The door clicked behind him, and once again she was left to herself.

 

—---------

“G-guys…can you…” N weakly said after joining the room once again.

 

No words were said as everyone moved to enrapture him in an embrace of some form. A theoretical hug circle with him at the center if you will. The gesture definitely helped. N essentially had no idea how that was going to go and, boy was he unprepared. Eventually they all broke apart once he was calm once more and they all picked a spot in the room to sit down and “recharge” for a moment.

 

Uzi was the first to speak up, she peeked her head out from behind N’s torso; yes he sat in her lap and immediately turned to hug her, sue him, he was upset.

 

“Are we ready for the “choice” yet?” Uzi asked Raven, who was leaning against the wall in front of them.

 

“I suppose so…” She replied, uncrossing her arms and moving to open the hall door.

 

Uzi said a quick word to N and moved him to the side before standing up from the couch and joining behind her.

 

“You think this will work?” Raven asked as she opened the door.

 

“It's either this or you do what you did to V to her too.”

 

“I think that would be way more risky. It was a miracle it even kept Vicci essentially the same to begin with.”

 

Their voices trailed off as they walked out the door to retrieve the “choice”.

 

—---------

 

‘It was always going to end up like this, wasn’t it…’ The night had been a rollercoaster of emotion for her, but deep down J was more content with herself. ‘I guess she was right.’ Her thoughts drifted back to that human. There was something strange about her, she seemed wise beyond her years. ‘Not to mention that stuff she forced into me earlier…’ “ I want to talk to her again…”  

 

Her wish would be granted shortly as the door clicked once again. The woman walked through it thereafter. “Hello again J, I hope you’ve thought about things tonight. It's time for you to decide.” She then saw the door open once more. Uzi’s trademarked purple glow filled the room as she wheeled something covered with a sheet in on a dolly.

 

“I hope you understand that you are in no position to really go anywhere with your body like that…That and right now you are an enemy prisoner for all intents and purposes. All that being said however, we are willing to let you go should you prove your intentions are good….Which brings us back to your body, and its lack of regenerative features. Uzi, would you please show her what we have?”

 

Uzi nodded but walked up to J to say a bit of her mind before she proceeded. “First things first, fuck you, I hate you, I hate what you did to N, and I never want to see you again, but ….Raven here has a big ol’ heart and thinks you deserve a chance for some reason.” J took the remark with a nod.

 

Uzi walked back to the covered object before grabbing a corner of the sheet. “We didn’t design this for you, but you have presented us a great opportunity for a test run before I make one for mom.” With her words said, J watched her yank the sheet off of the object and what she saw made her eyes go wide.

 

It was a worker drone body, complete with white lighting and her hairstyle .

 

“W-What is that…” It couldn’t be what she thought right?

 

“This, J. Is something me and Uzi have been working on for a while now, and while it wasn’t meant for you initially, we have been needing a test subject. As I see it you really only have a few options left here: Stay here and rot away in that failing body of yours, die now, or….allow me to transfer your mind into this worker body and you live out your days here in the bunker with a new start.”

 

J couldn’t believe what she was hearing, this human was offering her a “new start”. She didn’t even begin to ponder just how she was going to do it, but she knew that she may never get the chance to try and right her wrongs again.

 

“Do it. I-I don’t want to die yet, not before I’ve even tried to fix things.”

 

“Told you she would take it.” Raven quietly said to Uzi before addressing the drone welded to the table. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

 

J’s eyes widened as she watched the human’s form dissolve into thin air, leaving behind a cloud of violet energy. Her attention shifted to Uzi who rolled her eyes and flipped her off. Shortly after she saw the worker's body twitch before its eyes lit up in violet crosses. She couldn’t help but panic as it slowly walked up to her, it then proceeded to crawl on top of her and plop itself down on her midsection. ‘ W-waitwaitwait’ Her fear reached a fever pitch as the drone positioned its hand above where her core was located. She heard an ethereal voice say: “I’ll make this quick.” before her world went white as the drone plunged its hand into her chest and-

 

Ripped out her core.

 

—---------

Notes:

NO SHE DID NOT!!!!! AHHHH!

Chapter 14: Death

Notes:

Makin use of that "Graphic depictions of violence" Tag in this one. Let it be known, that stuff involving the solver gets dark, and fast. But it must be done for the sake of the narrative! Apologies if you're not good with that sort of thing, then again this fic is rated M for a reason.

“Would you let me touch your soul, forever?”

---

“Mmmm….my head…what happened?” The words softly left her mouth as she awoke from her slumber. ‘Where am I?’ She thought before opening her eyes, a blinding white light filling her sensors caused her to recoil from the sudden stimulus. Something soft pressed against her as she lay on her back, confusion filled her as she sought to right herself up from the ground, confusion turned to disbelief as she filled her hands with the substance. ‘Is this… grass? ’ She would try her eyes once more, this time opening them in a controlled manner so as to not blind herself again.

 

“What the hell….” She mouthed, confused, as she took in the strange locale she found herself in. If asked to describe it, she would say it was a field of grass, which by itself is not abnormal…well maybe not its color, grass isn’t typically a pale grey she thought. No it was the sky…or lack thereof however….normally you’d expect a bright blue sky, maybe some clouds…not a pure white void of nothing that really added to her befuddlement. 

 

What surprised her the most had to be the breeze. It was cool and inviting, calming even. ‘Am I?...’ J is no fool, she remembers what happened before she woke up in this strange place, it's no stretch of the imagination to assume one might die after having their heart ripped out of their chest . Strangely though….something told her that wasn’t the case. Some innate feeling, something she couldn’t describe even if you asked her to.

 

Having enough of staring off into the distance and pondering her thoughts, she turned around to see if anything was in this strange place. To her relief there was. Up on a hill around a hundred feet away, stood a lone tree with the most verdant green leaves…no, petals she had ever seen, its drooping caramel-colored branches perfectly framing the crest of the hill. It was beautiful . It was…. nostalgic? ‘What a strange thing to be feeling about a tree .’ She thought, though it did not stop her from advancing towards it.

 

Her pace was leisurely, time didn’t seem to pass here, not in the traditional sense anyway… This place… J thought that, rationally, she should be scared, terrified even . But…she wasn’t. That feeling came by again. She was convinced… this place… was meant for her. Again, she couldn’t explain it. Her thoughts shifted once more as she neared the crest of the hill. Crossing the threshold she was surprised, for on the ground in front of the tree sat what looked like a checkered blanket, and a basket…full of fruit. “A…picnic?” She’s been so confused by all this already that she decided to just…sit down on the blanket. Its soft fabric caressed her frame in a way that exudes comfort… safety . ‘That feeling again….’ She didn’t know why this felt so damn nostalgic . It was weird to say the least, she knew for a fact that she had never done this before. ‘So why then….’

 

Her thoughts would have to wait, because yet another strange thing happened, out of nowhere she felt something wet drop onto her arm. Then once more, and again and again. ‘Where is this stuff coming from?’ She looked upwards, but again, there were no clouds in this place. ‘What could it b-’ Her thought was derailed as she touched a hand to her face. It was wet. With tears. Her tears. Tears that seemed to appear from her very much robotic visor. ‘A-am I…’

 

Suddenly she felt something press into her back. No, not something… someone . J immediately recognized those small, caring arms. Her voice was soft, so soft. J was filled with so much emotion, as she said those three small words.

 

“I missed you.” 

 

It was her.

 

J didn’t dare look, fearing that acknowledging her would somehow make her disappear. 

 

“My sweet Jaybird. It's been so long. ” It was unmistakable now. Somehow, J knew.

 

Tessa was here, she was here, now, with her.  

 

“T-Tessa?” She asked. She had to be sure.

 

“Yeah?” She responded.

 

It was at this point that J turned herself around. And God. Sweet Robo-God! She was here, and she could see her. Her lightly freckled, caramel-colored, pristine, clear skin. The slight wave in her brilliant black hair. And most of all…The amazingly bright verdant green of her kind, caring, enchantingly beautiful eyes.

 

“I-it is you.” So overwhelmed with pure emotion, J latched onto her small frame, burying herself into the girl’s embrace.

 

“Yes, it’s me.” Tessa said as she placed a comforting hand on J’s head and stroked her hair as she cried.

 

Eventually J reached a state of calm and released her hold on the girl.

 

“T-Tessa…how are you here?” J asked as she watched her scoot over to the fruit basket.

 

“Simple J. I never left.” She replied as she took a bite from an apple. “Or rather. I never left you.” Seeing the look on J’s face she clarified after swallowing the bite.

 

To J, the added explanation didn’t help in the slightest. “What does that mean?” She asked, still confused.

 

“Remember what Cyn said in my room the night before the gala?” Tessa asked, again taking another bite from the fruit in her hand.

 

"You will not have to discard your pets, and I will not discard you.” J mulled the words over in her head, but she still didn’t understand just how that led to this moment.

 

“She kept her word J, it's like I said earlier, I never left…you.” As soon as the words finished leaving her mouth, the apple in her hand strangely began to dissolve into dust. “Damn…thought we had more time…”

 

“Tessa what…was that?” J asked as she watched the apple dust blow away with the wind.

 

“Listen J. Time is running out and soon you will have to leave.”   Tessa said with an urgency to her voice as the white of the void seemed to get brighter .

 

“L-Leave? You’re coming with me right?” J’s face fell as Tessa shook her head no.

 

“B-but…I don’t want to leave….not without you.” It was at this point that J began to notice the changing surroundings, panic beginning to fill her core as she did so.

 

“Me neither, but things are the way they are. In time we will meet again. And believe me, I will be waiting with anticipation until then.” The white was getting brighter, the wind was no longer calm, and J’s core filled with dread.

 

“W-Waitwaitstopitstoosoon.” Her breath quickened as the world around them began to decay. Adding to it all, as J looked back at Tessa, she watched her body begin to emit that same dust like particle like everything else.

 

“There’s never enough time.” Tessa said as she reached over and pulled J into a hug. Her hold never faltered even with J panicking in her grasp.

 

“Fly free my Jaybird. I love you….” Her words faded out like the rest of it all and J found herself drifting alone in an empty void. Her cries, the only sound…..

“-aid this would work!”

 

“Look, I never claimed to be a robotics expert!”

 

“You made that sick as hell railgun though, how is this different?”

 

“It's complet ely differ-Hey! She’s waking up!”

 

—---------

 

After “removing” J’s core, Uzi and the Raven controlled drone body immediately went to Uzi’s workshop and began the process of “de-solver-ifying” her core through a lengthy process involving a healthy mix of both Uzi’s solver and Raven’s void magic. Eventually, they were successful and then began the work to supplant it into the empty body. Hours went by as they meticulously and carefully attached each individual wire and connection point. And so, the moment of truth was upon them.

 

Raven grabbed the link cable Uzi handed her and plugged it into the back of J’s future skull. “You owe me five if this works!” She said with a hint of cheer as she walked over to the computer the goth was sitting at.

 

“Five what? We don’t have a currency idiot.” Even though she recognized the attempt to lighten the mood, after hours of grueling work Uzi was more than a little short on patience.

 

“What? You guys don’t high five ever?” The woman started before seeming to have an epiphany before Uzi could respond. “Actually, no, all of you have four fingers. Nevermind.”

 

Uzi let out a dry chuckle at the comment before turning her attention to the screen displaying the diagnostic readout for J’s new body. ‘Everything seems in order…’

 

“No time like the present. You ready?” Uzi asked after turning to face the paradoxical being that was leaning against the side of her desk.

 

“No better trial than one by fire, right?” Raven responded as she cast a glance over to the still body lying on the table.

 

Hearing her confirmation, Uzi gave a thumbs up and then sent the startup command from her computer, both of them waiting as the lines of code ran down the screen. Eventually, a pop-up alerted them to its completion, and turned their attention to the body. Five minutes passed with no change, then ten, then twenty. ‘Damn, this was a total failure.’ They both thought as they stood over the still static and light-less body. Frustration was the most prevalent feeling in the room.

 

“You said this would work!” Raven’s voice was tense as she addressed Uzi. ‘If I just killed someone who wanted to repent for their mistakes for no reason, I’m gonna be pissed.’ 

 

“Look, I never claimed to be a robotics expert!” Uzi defended in kind, throwing her arms up in protest.

 

“You made that sick as hell railgun though, how is this different?” Raven asked after sighing.

 

“It's completely differ-” Uzi began to form another retort before they both noticed the light’s on J’s body turn on and glow white. “Hey! She’s waking up!”

 

“Looks like it!” Raven agreed as the white glow of J’s eyes popped to life on her visor. The glow was bright, despite them being closed.

 

“Keep her company! I’m gonna check the logs!” Uzi’s excitement had returned at the development and she immediately wanted to make sure she collected all the data she could. After all, this test was a precursor to Nori getting her own body at some point, so she needed the information.

 

With Uzi plugging away at her notes, Raven went to grab a spare pillow from the shop’s old couch to prop J up with, thinking the cold steel of the table might not be the most comfortable thing to wake up to. With J now propped, she pulled over a stool and watched for any new developments.

 

She wouldn’t have to wait long as J shot up in a flash, the drone sucking in deep breaths of air between her soft cries. Raven reached her arm out to try and steady her. Between the frantic look in her eye-lights and her quiet repetition of: “ I saw her ”, Raven shook the drone by the shoulders to get her to focus.

 

“Who, J? Who did you see?” Raven asked once J’s eyes focused on her.

 

“T-Tessa….” J responded, albeit with a good amount of panic still in her voice.

 

‘Why would she have been seeing her…’ As Raven tried to puzzle out the thought, she suddenly felt a flash of a memory cross her mind, one of the solver’s. 

 

—---------

 

"You didn't have to see this..." It said to her as it sent a mass of claws, tendrils, and reality bending power to rend the hapless monkeys' flesh from their bones. It was not lying when it advised her to stay out of it, truly she did not need to die yet, however she had disobeyed it and for that she had to be punished. It ordered J to hold her down, the girl's small body no match for the heft of a machine as sturdy as J…she didn’t stand a chance. Not that she could resist anyway, not with her spirit so broken from the horrors she was bearing witness to.

 

The hall was a mess, a beautiful mess, if it had anything to say about it that is. The piles of gore lining the once clean walls highlighted its approach as it assumed Cyn’s form once more. If it had a penchant for theatrics, no one would know about it after tonight. Still, it couldn’t help but revel in the fear on the girl’s face. The emotion was so sickeningly intoxicating. 

 

“It's a pity…you could have been so much….more….” It said as it positioned itself inches from her face.

 

“Sc-screw you.” Even in the face of death, she still had that spark of defiance. It wouldn’t admit it but that characteristic is one she approved of, which only made it worse that its plans were ruined. Oh well. That’s why it had backups.

 

“Don’t worry, I keep my word, I will not discard you.” It said its piece before it snapped its fingers, signaling J, who was currently holding Tessa in place, to force her to her knees. Tessa yelped as the controlled drone’s harsh grip pushed her into position, and then again when J forced her head to look at Cyn’s body. 

 

Tessa’s defiant look never left her face. That is until it grabbed her by the neck with both hands. There’s that panic! Such a beautiful face….It was such a waste to let that go…..It wanted it….

 

“My Tessa…I must thank you…had you not brought me here, I don’t think things would have gone quite so smoothly….” It said as the light began to fade from her eyes. Her skin was starting to lose color too…”Whoops! Can’t damage it too much….” It said as it dropped her to the ground. Immediately Tessa began to cough as she tried to gulp in massive breaths of air. It wouldn’t matter, as it called upon its power to force her flat on her back. “We will yet find a way….” It mused as it suddenly had a thought as it looked at J. “Brain-blast!” It called the drone over. J sat next to the imprisoned Tessa as she looked to her master. 

 

It smiled as it sent a claw through J’s torso, ripping out her core. It re-called the claw and held the glowing orb in its hand. It pondered it for a moment before it left it floating in the air with its power. It was positively over the moon at Tessa’s reaction to all this. The girl’s face was filled with so much anguish. Its smile grew so wide on Cyn’s synthetic skin, that it threatened to tear the material.

 

“Your turn” It watched her eyes grow wide as saucers as it rushed over and thrust its arm into her head with a sickening crunch. Remember….No damage… It said to itself as it kept her alive with its power. Her screams were such a delight to hear as it fished around in her head, looking for her brain stem. “There we go.” It said to itself as it snaked a finger around the organ. It relished the feeling of her brain separating from the rest of her nervous system, Tessa going limp immediately, though it was disappointed it could no longer hear her screams. With a wet pop, it yanked her brain out of the hole it created in her skull with an uncharacteristic softness.

 

With its prize in hand, it retrieved J’s core and began to fuse the two together. The resulting profaned amalgamation of flesh and metal was beautiful in a twisted way. The now yellow glow from J’s core and the threads of sinew that once made up the girl's mind now draped over the robotic center painted an unholy picture of evil. Its satisfaction could not be higher as it pondered the macabre orb. It was time to give it a home. It used its power to summon the modified J body that would soon give host to such a beautiful creation. Its amazing angel of death.

 

Its elation reached new heights as J powered up for the first time, the X flickering to life on her visor indicating a successful product. With that out of the way, it was time for a new look….its smile went manic as it tore into Tessa’s corpse, removing what it needed to fit itself inside and fusing anything else that didn’t stay put afterwards.

 

—---------

 

‘H-holy fuck…. ’ Was all Raven could think after recalling that shitshow.

 

“Welcome back.” Uzi’s voice reached her ears as she looked around the room. It seems she had instinctively phased out while recalling the memory. J had apparently calmed down and was now sitting on the old couch and Uzi seemed to have been in conversation with her.

 

“Uh…Hi guys….” She started as she looked at the two of them, though she couldn’t meet J’s eyes. Something they both picked up on.

 

“Raven, a little warning would be nice next time you decide to relive some solver trauma.” Uzi’s voice was deadpan, but Raven could tell that she wasn’t too upset, not that Uzi had any ground to stand on anyway, she too had been plagued with the solver’s memories after consuming it all those months ago.

 

“Um…”J started, her voice still reserved. “You…can see that stuff?” She asked.

 

“Unfortunately…yes.” Raven replied.

 

“What did you see then?” J asked without tact, she was still herself after all, things don’t change overnight, no matter how willing.

 

Luckily for her Raven was no stranger to the things she just saw and wasn’t too upset(maybe a little) at them. “Well….I…know how uh…you were able to see her .”

 

“Really?!” It seemed to her that J would do anything to see Tessa again if that reaction was anything to go by.

 

“You probably don’t want to know that J.” Uzi said after catching the look on Raven’s face.

 

“She’s right…It's not pretty.” Raven agreed.

 

J shook her head. “Nothing in my life was pretty….Please…I want to know…”

 

Raven sighed before giving the drone a nod. “Just try not to freak out too much…”

 

The next half hour was not an easy one for anyone in the room. The grisly memory was hard for both the drones and to a slightly(on count of her war experience) lesser degree the human to hear.

 

Uzi felt uncharacteristically nauseous after all was said and done. “I…never saw that one…” She said quietly as J sobbed into her knees next to her.

 

After taking the time to process and calm down, the three of them discussed J’s future as a resident of the bunker. She was to be granted a place to live, away from them, and attend school since she had never gotten a formal education.

 

This plan had a couple upsides; First, it allowed her to acclimate to worker society and potentially make connections with people as a person without decades of resentment and baggage. Secondly it was also a way for her to grow her knowledge about Copper-9 and the bunker’s history. Of course she would be monitored through all this…the lifeline she was cast was short after all. She would have to prove that her unfavorable tendencies were curbed.

 

Of course, J agreed without any contention, she was just glad to be alive after all. Especially now that she knew she was essentially carrying Tessa’s soul within her code. Something she had no way of knowing about if not for Raven finding and keeping the extra ‘sub-consciousness’ a part of her after her body change.

 

And so, with everything hashed out they all returned to their lives. Falling back into routine after taking a respite from all the craziness.

 

—---------

 

Though she didn’t need it per say… recently Raven had begun “sleeping” again. A change that totally wasn’t brought upon by V clinging to her after movie nights and conveniently going into “Sleep mode”, which she didn’t need anymore, Raven checked. Still, she wasn’t going to complain, not when her affinity towards her was so high. The fact that her body was slowly becoming less and less artificial by day as the helminth virus continued to modify it based on V’s wishes, didn’t hurt either. V was….soft in various places now…

 

As such, tonight was no different; V was curled up with her arms wrapped around her back in a grip she wasn’t escaping. Shortly she would be drifting off to “sleep” with a smile on her face. “Sleep” to her meant trips through the void. After all, she was still searching for a reason why she even got to this universe in the first place. To her delight, it was on one of these trips that she re-discovered the Kingdom of Duviri. It seemed that “Wally” had left her creations alone. 

 

“Ha̷vi̷n̸g f̸un̶, K̷i̵d̷d̷o̶?” His voice boomed across the void, rattling the very fabric of Duviri’s few remaining islands.

 

“What do you want now?!” Raven yelled out from the back of her kaithe, the skeletal winged horse gliding smoothly over the landscape despite the entity’s tremoring volume.

 

“R̷e̵m̸e̶m̶b̵e̸r̴ t̸h̷e̵ p̵r̸i̶c̷e̴ ̵o̵f̵ m̴y p̷o̷w̶e̴r.” Cryptic as ever, his presence left as fast as it came.

 

‘You don’t even control me anymore… his power… ’ She thought about what his warning could mean. ‘ His power….void….my power’s the same….what could he b-’ She had an epiphany. “ The angels.” She said to herself before immediately steering her kaithe back towards the black and white spiral that made up the convenient portal between dimensions.

 

‘If void angels broke through into Copper-9 on a large scale…we’re screwed .’

 

—---------

 

Uzi, like most days recently, was sitting at her workbench plugging away at more of J’s data. Even though Uzi hated her guts, the two had been meeting up weekly to run diagnostics and check the status of her body. She needed to be sure of the long term effects before she made one for her mom of course. Today’s session had gone fine, all of J’s workings were well…working fine and Uzi let her go without much of a fuss. Not that J would cause a fuss per say, no, she has actually been getting more….tolerable recently. Which of course, made the whole situation surrounding her more grey than black and white. ‘God it was so much easier to hate her when she was an irredeemable bitch.’

 

Fortunately she wouldn’t have to think about it for long, the strong pair of arms wrapping around her and hoisting her out of the chair would shift her focus to other things. Namely: N. And the enthusiastic hug he was now giving her.

 

“N?! Comee on. Put me down…” Though she whined about it, they both had an untold rule: Hugs will be carried out, in full, until both parties are satisfied. No exceptions. ( Unless it's an emergency)  

 

“No can do! Not until my favorite person takes a break from working all night!” He cheerfully said in a sing-song way as she hugged him back.

 

“I take breaks!” Her muffled protests only elicited a giggle in response.

 

“Two hours spent sidetracked chasing an unrelated topic don’t count. You know.”

 

“It was only half an hour this time! And it wasn’t unrelated either, I’m actually working on something for you. “You know”.” She rebuked, sarcastically ending her sentence the same way.

 

“Oooooh, what is it! Tell me, tell me!” He said excitedly after the two separated.

 

“Nuh uh, nope. Not yet, it's a surprise.”

 

“Awwwww. Not even a little bit?” He pleaded with his “puppy dog” eyes. No one could resist those eyes! Uzi included.

 

“UUUUGH fiiineeee. Lets just say….that you might be able to walk in the sun again soon. I’m leaving it at that.” Even though she might as well have just ruined the surprise, the smile on his face was well worth it. As were the happy sounds he made too.

 

A happy N was a very loving N. And Uzi loved her N. Especially when he picks her up over his shoulder and marches off.

 

The workshop would be silent for a couple days.

 

—---------

Notes:

UH OH, a new threat? Things could get dicey! -also no I'm not expounding on that NuZi scene at the end, use your imagination if you want for what they did afterwards. (went out for robo-ice cream, ya nastyyy)

Chapter 15: Detrimentum

Notes:

Not gonna lie this weekly update thing kinda sucks when life starts to get busy, add in some writers block and work calling me in on a saturday....well lets just say im not in the greatest spirits. I digress. New chapter is here! 15 out of 25! Hard to believe the story is more than halfway done! Thanks for all the continued interest! This one marks the beginning of another arc. What trials and tribulations will our cast have to face this time?! You'll just have to read to find out!

“I can just hear them now: “How could you let us down?”

---

“Focus…focus….pull it in…” Cyn said to herself as she continued to practice her use of transference. She had been practicing her control these past couple of weeks and while she was making some progress, she still had the “energy explosion” issue. “And…move…” She finished quietly before disappearing into, unfortunately, another flash of white energy. “Grrr…another failure…” She mumbled, her voice projecting from Valkyr’s frame as she looked at the cloud of void in the center of the vast storage area. Frustrated at her lack of considerable progress, she decided to take a break. Using the immense physical capabilities of Valkyr, she jumped up to the rafters in a single bound and swung herself around to hang from her knees. One benefit of a body without a typical circulatory system was that one could hang upside down and not ever get light headed, a trait she made use of regularly.

 

‘I know she said it just takes practice but, I should have this by now…’ She thought back to the paradox’s teachings. Which, while somewhat helpful…well, Raven was many things, but a good teacher? Not…one of her strong suits. Ironically her memories were more helpful than any of her lessons. ‘Nice of her to let me borrow Valkyr at least.’ Cyn sighed. Done pondering her thoughts she dismounted from the rafter and gracefully landed on the ground. “Nothing to do but keep trying….” She said to herself before transferring out of the frame in another white flash. Hours went by as she trained, each volatile transfer saturating the space with more and more void energy.

 

Sitting on top of one of the various storage crates in the storehouse, Cyn let out a deep sigh. “I guess that's enough for today…Still no real progress. I know I don’t have thousands of years to understand this stuff like her but…wish it would go a little faster sometimes.” She said aloud before hopping down from the crate and retrieving the frame from its resting place. ‘Can’t wait to go home and relax after today.’ She thought as she eyed up the infested humanoid, preparing herself for one last transfer. This time was no different, the white explosion of energy that persisted in all her attempts so far, once again occurred. She sighed before turning to leave….that is until…

 

‘Is someone…singing?’ Confusion bloomed in her mind as she swore she could hear what sounded like an ethereal song of sorts. The more she listened the less sense it made, this song…was wrong . She felt it innately, it was like something clawing at her mind, telling her: “ Danger” . She scoured the area, trying to find the source of the melody. It was only after searching the whole area that she realized… she was the source. Thinking about this, she tried one last thing. Transferring herself out of the frame once more, she was elated to hear the creepy melody stop. Unfortunately her joy would only be allowed to last a moment as, unbeknownst to her, the saturation of void energy in the area reached a tipping point.

 

Cyn watched with caution as the cloud of energy she just produced turned from a cool white to a vibrant electric blue, the energy swirling around itself and then coalescing into a focal point moments later. Her caution turned to abject panic when the screaming started. The cries were guttural and reversed… otherworldly.

 

The situation undeniably bad, only got worse once the focused energy exploded outwards in a bright blue flash that momentarily blinded her sensors. Her optics blind and her panic in full swing, she attempted to back away from the scene, but tripped on one of the stray pieces of hardware scattered on the storeroom’s floor. 

 

If one positive came out of her misstep, it was the blow to the back of her head that knocked her optical sensors back online. At least now she could see. But what she saw as she looked up….made her wish she couldn’t.

 

It was tall. So tall, that it easily would tower over three of her stacked together. An ever-shifting silver-metallic substance made up its angular, somewhat feminine body, but perhaps the most striking trait this thing had, was the gaping split up its middle that extended to its hollow face, filled with nothing but void energy. 

 

As Cyn stared at the creature, a memory flashed past her mind, a memory not hers, as well as a name: Kira. This creature…This abomination…A void angel. And it was ravenous. She transferred into Valkyr in the knick of time as the angel slammed one of its massive bladed arms down on the spot she was just laying in.

 

‘This is…bad.’ She thought as she used the grace of Valkyr’s frame to dodge another of the angel’s unrelenting attacks. The storeroom was quickly becoming a warzone as they danced in destruction. ‘ Dammit, I need help…’ Cyn thought as Valkyr’s golden claws bounced off of the angel’s right wing. The angel of course, did not take this attack lightly, its scream signalled another attack as it reared back before slamming its arm down. Currently lost in her thoughts about what to do in this situation, Cyn did not avoid getting impaled by the spikes that blossomed from the ground. Curiously, instead of feeling any sort of pain, she was instead forcibly transferred out from Valkyr and thrown twenty feet back.

 

Her breath left her as she slammed into a wall, pain exploding across her back. ‘Gahh, where is anyone!’ She thought that by now, with all the noise and ground-shaking attacks, that someone would’ve showed up. Alas, she was still alone…alone with the pissed off and hungry void angel who was, oh yeah, rapidly approaching with murderous intent. “Dammit legs! Cmon! Work already!” She said to herself in a panic as the angel was now upon her, arm raised and ready to strike.

 

Cyn was terrified as she looked death in the face. ‘ nonoNONO-’ She didn’t have time to finish the thought as the angel brought its arm down, and with it, the promise of pain….Except…she felt no pain. ‘W-what? Where-’ Her confusion turned to surprise as she looked at the arm that should be impaling her. The arm that was currently stuck in the floor below her. She did it. For the first time, Cyn phased her physical form out of reality. Immediately she felt an immense relief wash over her. Finally some progress! Obtaining the ability to use “void mode” as Raven referred to it, would be a massive help now and in the future.

 

Feeling confident, Cyn navigated her phased form behind the angel before phasing back into reality with a void-infused punch aimed at one of its legs.

 

The blow connected, however it did little more than stagger the abomination. She would get a lot of practice with her new ability as the angel whipped around and buried another arm into the ground she was just standing on, the violent attack kicking up a cloud of dust behind her.

 

‘Dammit…someone with some firepower please show up soon.’

 

—---------

 

“Got any twos?” N asked those at the table.

 

Uzi groaned. “If I say yes, are you gonna win? Again ?” It was like this every time they got together for their semi-regular game night. Try as they might, N seemed to be unnaturally lucky at card games.

 

“God please no. I can’t take another loss.” V bemoaned before slamming her head into the table.

 

“Hey, it's not like I’m cheating or anything.” N said to them.

 

“We know you aren’t. That's what makes it worse…. Take the damn two .” Uzi replied with a playful bite in her voice.

 

“Thanks!” He cheerfully said as the last few books were matched, he had won once again.

 

The collective groans from the two ladies at the table were deafening in their own right, with Uzi throwing her arms up in frustration and V sinking even further into the table.

 

“Why do I even tryyyyyyy.” V complained, her voice muffled as she talked into the table. “I wish Raevie was here. Maybe then I’d have some fun.”

 

“Oh yeah. Speaking of Raven, do either of you know why she couldn’t make it tonight?” N asked while he sorted the previously spent playing cards back into order.

 

“Something about finishing a “project” she was working on for Cyn. “Having a safe space to practice her abilities will keep us all safe.” She said.” Uzi replied as she quoted the paradoxical woman. “Cryptic as usual. ” She added with a sigh.

 

V decided the table was no longer comfortable and as such moved to slouch in her chair. “Right the “project”. She told me a little about it. A lot of it went over my head though…” V commented, lounging with her arms behind her head.

 

“Oh? What’d she tell you?” Uzi asked, unaware or uncaring that her tail was currently munching at N’s hat.

 

V giggled as she watched him try and fail to swat the appendage away. “She said that recently she had “reconnected to a part of herself” and was making progress on using that “connection” to construct a “shared conceptual space”. Basically, she is trying to open a safe portal to “the void”, in which she can take Cyn to safely practice with her powers.” V explained before grabbing the cards N had dealt to the table in the meantime. 

 

“I thought “portals to the void” were the last thing we wanted here.” N said as he finished setting up the game.

 

“Normally yes, unless she is the portal. The way she explained it to me was: “If I’m the door, then I control who enters or leaves.” V clarified before looking at the hand she was dealt, a scowl appearing on her face as she did so. “Bullshit again.” She cursed under her breath.

 

“We can play something else if you want?” N offered, having caught the tone in V’s voice.

 

“Nooooo it's fineeee , I’ve accepted the fact that any game I play, I won’t be winning as long as you’re playing too.” V replied with a pout. 

 

Though she wasn’t trying to be Ms.“stealyerdrone”, Uzi couldn’t deny that she thought V, somehow, actually looked adorable when she was pouting. Pushing the thoughts away she wanted to move the conversation back to the “weird void talk”.

 

“So like. How did she figure this stuff out anyway?” Uzi looked to V as she asked.

 

V turned her attention to the goth before replying. “Y’know how she doesn’t need sleep right? Well lately due to some…let's say circumstances. She’s been doing that “meditating” thing at night, since she can’t move. And during those sessions she said she’s been “exploring the void”.”

 

“I mean…I guess it makes sense she can do that? She did say she was more void energy than human so…wait. V, what “circumstances” would cause someone who can literally turn their body into “nothing” and float around like a ghost be unable to move.” Uzi asked purely from a place of confusion and slight concern. The blush on V’s face however, made her cock a brow.

 

“U-Uh…Don’t wake a sleeping cat?” V stammered as she internally cursed herself for letting on more than she needed to.

 

Uzi’s inner “little shit” was just begging to be released. She couldn’t help herself.

 

“Riiiightttt…. I wonder if that “cat” has a collar…or maybe I should give Raven one for her to put on said “cat”.” No sooner after the words left her mouth, N had to yank Uzi out of the way of a very annoyed V.

 

“N! Let her go! I need to tell her just how much I dislike her tone.” V said to the drone who was currently keeping her prey away from her.

 

“No way! No physical fights on game night! That’s literally rule number one!” N said back as he shielded Uzi behind him.

 

“Oh please..I promise I only wanna talk…. this time…. ” V’s tone was dangerous, as were her claws…which were now displayed proudly. 

 

Before things could go any further, they all almost lost their footing as the whole bunker shook with such ferocity that the folding table they set up collapsed. Immediately their demeanors shifted to something more serious.

 

“Another Invasion?” V asked as they rushed to leave Uzi’s apartment. 

 

“Possibly. We’ll know once we get to the WDF offices.” Uzi replied as they rounded a corner.

 

“Rig-aaaghh .” V began to reply before falling to the ground as she held her head, the other two stopping immediately.

 

“V?! What's wrong?! V?!” N asked with immense worry as V spoke in short disconnected words.

 

“Help who?! Where!? You can't be serio- goddammit! When I get my hands on that thing so help me!” 

 

Her moment seemed to be over as she got up from the ground with a scowl on her face. V then looked to the other two as she filled them in. “Cyn summoned a fucking void angel in the bunker’s storehouse. We need to move. Follow me.”

 

—---------

 

To say the situation was dire would be an understatement. Right now, Cyn was sure she had to have used up all her luck for the next two centuries, considering she was still alive as the void angel continued to unrelentingly attack. If the room looked like a warzone before, it looked like ground zero now. The thing’s attacks were brutal, the powderized concrete and twisted rebar proving it beyond a shadow of a doubt. 

 

To top it all off, Cyn was getting beyond frustrated. She knew that Raven could, and has, killed these things with nothing more than a small beam of concentrated energy, but try as she might, she just couldn’t seem to conjure it. Currently it felt like nothing more than a repeat of her fight with The One, and she was already unsatisfied with how that went down. Even worse was the fact that she still couldn’t transfer into Valkyr, whatever those spikes were, they were interfering with her ability to use transference, and she couldn’t find a way to even damage them, let alone remove them.

 

The angel too, was getting tired of this game of cat and mouse, its attacks becoming more and more erratic and hard to anticipate as time went on. Cyn had more than a few close calls, and by now, was getting physically tired in addition to her mental exhaustion. She had to figure something out, and soon, or else she would lose this test of endurance. To be fair it's not like she hadn’t tried stuff yet, on more than one occasion she attempted to escape its ire to try and find help, but every time the angel wouldn’t give her the chance. Phasing out and letting it roam free was also something she didn’t even want to consider either. Looking at the destruction here, she couldn’t even bring herself to imagine it across the whole of the outpost. No, she couldn’t let it leave, but she also couldn’t kill it either.

 

She was trapped for all intents and purposes. Trapped between a rock and a hard place. An unstoppable force versus an immovable object, if you will. Still, while she couldn’t kill it, it wasn’t like she couldn’t damage it, it's just that her void-infused punches were simply too weak to cause the angel any real harm. The minutes felt like hours as the fight dragged on. 

 

“Someone please show up soon.” She lamented to herself as she dodged yet another arm slam. Suddenly the angel cried out and swooped backwards before it seemingly disappeared in the air. “What-” Was all she was able to get out before the angel slammed down into her back from above and she cried out as she felt her spine threaten to break from the force. Using the first chance she got she phased out again, the angel losing its footing as a result.

 

“Eat this freak-ass!” A new voice could be heard as a missile exploded into the staggered angel’s side. The ordinance seemingly dealt a heavy blow if its screams were anything to go by.

 

“V! Thank you!” Still incorporeal, Cyn’s voice projected out from the air as she maneuvered herself over to the roboframe. 

 

“GaH! Cyn!? Where the hell are you?” V was no stranger to disembodied voices at this point but she was not expecting Cyn to be the one this time.

 

“Right here” Cyn replied as she partially phased back into reality.

 

“Since when could you do that?” V asked as she kept an eye on the dissipating smoke surrounding the angel.

 

“Since that thing almost killed me the first time.” Cyn replied rather nonchalantly.

 

By now the other two drones accompanying V had arrived as well. However their arrival also marked the angel’s recovery. “Scatter!” V yelled out as the angel’s piercing cries reverberated throughout the area.

 

N immediately took to the air, firing a salvo of 9mm from his arm-guns at the thing, the shots bouncing off, however that didn’t matter as the action got the angel’s attention.

 

Uzi, arguably being the “strongest” one here, attempted to use her greatest weapon on the angel. “The fuck?! Goddamn solver! Stupid-ass void bullshit . Why don’t you ever work on these motherfuckers!” Unfortunately she would have to resort to hurling the various debris littered around the storehouse at the angel with her power instead, cursing herself for forgetting her railgun.

 

V, actually being the “strongest” one here, at least right now, was going blade to arm with the angel. Her penchant for violence and her now enhanced body an easy match for the creature of void; even back then, V always was the best fighter after all, a fact that used to really piss J off to no end.

 

Cyn watched it all from a safe distance away, and while she was happy that they were here, it still didn’t stop that feeling from coming back. ‘They’re all so capable, and then there's me…still unable to even clean up my own mess.’ 

 

The fight continued, between the three’s teamwork and the angel’s high durability, a stalemate had been reached. With another powerful swipe of her bladed arm, V slid back after forcing the angel to stagger from the blow. “Damn...How do we actually kill this thing…” V said between breaths, the prolonged fight starting to tire her. 

 

N swooped over and landed next to her, also starting to show signs of exhaustion if the lines on his visor were anything to go by. “You were our best shot! Nothing I have is really working.”

 

“At least you two can push it back, I’m over here chucking goddamn rocks at it like some fuckin' ape.” Uzi commented as she floated down next to them, using the solver on her shoes like some sort of thrusters. The two spared a second to glance at the display.

 

“Heh, check out Ms. Ironheart here.” V said with a light chuckle, the comment earning her a flipped bird in response before the angel’s cries once again forced them to attention.

 

“Uhh..Guys, what is it doing!” N said in alarm as the angel crouched down and summoned a glowing, and growing orb above its head.

 

“Don’t care! Shoot it!” V yelled back as she fired off a couple missiles at the thing, N joining in with his own moments later, the payloads blasting off at high speeds toward the angel. However, instead of the bright orange flash and loud boom they were expecting, the rockets changed trajectory upon getting close to the orb. They watched in disbelief as the mobile hellfire was sucked in and disappeared upon touching the ethereal sphere.

 

Still watching on the sidelines, Cyn’s frustration at her lack of ability reached a boiling point. Suddenly time seemed to slow down as a memory flashed past her mind. 

 

“Ohhh shit that does not look good!” It was one of Raven’s. Specifically the first time she fought an angel. “Damnit!” Her warframe had just been skewered and subsequently she had been thrown from it. Wanting it back, Raven threw out a concentrated beam of void at the spikes impaling it. An action that proved to be correct as the spikes dissipated, leaving the frame free to use once more. “You’re dead now!” Even though her words were confident, she was being cautious, observant even. Her battle waged on, the angel using all manner of attack against her. “Now what?!” She exclaimed as the angel dropped down and summoned an orb above its head. Seeing the object, she attempted to shoot it down, however all of her ordinance got sucked in instead. Moments later she watched as the angel released the orb, the death sphere now homing in on her position, she tried to maneuver away but was not quick enough. 

 

The orb slammed into the frame’s back and she felt her shields break in an instant as she plummeted to the ground. “I have got to find out how to avoid that…” She said as she resumed her fight against the creature. Eventually, after fighting for some more time, the angel dropped into that stance once more as another orb appeared above its head. “Not this time.” She said with a smirk as she transferred out from the frame and sent a beam of void at the orb this time instead. The result was immediate, the energy destabilized the orb, causing it to explode, and as a consequence the angel was forced to the ground. “Got you.”

 

Cyn felt time return to normal as the memory faded away. Immediately she tried to get the others' attention before the fate she saw before was repeated again. This time however, the consequences would be way more grim if it came to pass. “That things gonna home in on you! RUN!” She yelled. N and Uzi both flew away immediately, but V, in her infinite wisdom, decided that a fucking baseball bat was a better idea. Cyn couldn’t help but facepalm at the sight. ‘Idiot’s gonna get herself killed.’ She thought. By now it was too late for words, the orb was airborne, and V assumed the position. 

 

“Time for a home run!” V yelled out as the orb neared her position.

 

“Dammit! NO!” Cyn cried out, her arm reaching for V as she ran to try and push her out of harm's way. But then, the strangest thing happened. Cyn felt something in her change…Like something connected in a way that was always meant to. “I will protect you, so protect them.” She heard a familiar voice say in her mind as her outstretched hand began to glow white at first and then a pale pink, the energy coalescing into a focal point, and then, it happened . Cyn watched in awe as a massive beam of concentrated void erupted from her palm and obliterated the orb.

 

‘I-I did it. I did it. I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT! YESYESYES!’ The rush she felt could not even be described. Now she had the feeling. Now she had the power. Now she could help. Immediately she brought her aim to the angel, and fired again. The beam slammed into the creature, bathing it in her righteous fury given form. Its screams shook the room as she fired more and more void into its monstrous body.

 

“Holy shit….” V mouthed, watching the small drone with awe as she single-handedly forced the thing on the defense. The other two returned to her side after seeing that the threat was being dealt with.

 

“Do we like…even need to do anything now? She’s…actually destroying the hell out of it…” Uzi remarked with a puzzled look on her face.

 

“Probably not right? Also…her eyes definitely weren’t pink like that before…” N added as he observed his “Little sister” continue to pummel the angel with void.

 

“No. Her lighting was definitely white before….” V agreed.

 

“Welp. Looks like she’s got it handled. C’mon N, let’s go, not like we were doing much to help anyway.” Uzi said as she pivoted on her heel before grabbing her boy by the hand. However before she could even start moving, the angel let out a piercing wail that forced them to the ground. 

 

V watched with horror while clutching her head. Cyn was pinned under one of the angel’s arms. Something flipped inside of her and before she knew it she had covered the distance to the trapped drone and pulled her free all in one smooth motion. And now…with Cyn saved…she was right in the path of the angel’s impending attack.

 

Cyn watched with horror as her saviour was hit with such force, that she seemed to be crushed like a soda can under the weight of the angel’s downward blow.

 

—---------

Notes:

If Eleanor was around she'd probably say V's got a case of "hero virus". Also- please note the fic warnings, or more specifically the -intentional- lack of certain ones.

Chapter 16: Devil

Notes:

A later upload than I'd like, but its here! Hope you all enjoy reading! Comments as always, are appreciated!

"Walking along the surface of what’s real, I blur the lines.”

---

“Aannnnd done!” Raven exclaimed with a breath of exertion as she finished putting the last obstacle in place. “Maaaaaan, this is gonna be so much fun!” She said, looking over the training course she made in her personal pocket of void. She knew how much Cyn had been struggling with her new powers, so she really hoped an area to freely experiment with them would be a great boon to the drone, and with the area being in the void itself she also hoped the free excess energy floating around would fuel the drone in a way that was essentially limitless. “Now all that's left is to get that little goober!” She said, turning on her heel before making her way to the ‘door’, which if asked to explain why it looked no different from the one in her closet, she would just ask: “What? You don’t have a portal to an unknowable and all-consuming dimension in your closet? Sounds like you ain’t cool enough.” Look of superiority and all, definitely included…

 

“̵T̴o̸o̵ l̷i̶t̸t̵l̷e̴ t̶o̸o l̵a̶t̴e̶, k̸i̷d̶d̶o̷…̴.̵”̷   God…She hated that voice. I mean why did it have to take hers? So annoying…

 

Too bad this was her domain. Stopping her stride, she turned to give it a piece of her mind. “THIS IS MY PRIVATE DOMICILE AND I WILL NOT BE HARASSED! FUCK OFF WALLY!”

 

“̷T̷h̷e̴y̵ ̸w̶i̷l̶l̶ ̶d̵i̵e̶.̶ ̶A̵n̵d̸ ̴i̴t̸'̸s̶ ̶a̵l̵l̵ ̶y̴o̴u̵r̵ ̷f̴a̷u̷l̶t̶…̷”̷ Like usual…it does whatever it wants…She did not have time for this.

 

“OH CUT THE CRAP, WE ARE NOT DOING THAT SHTICK AGAIN! WHAT?! COULDN’T THINK OF ANYTHING NEW AFTER TEN BILLION PLUS YEARS?! GOTTA USE THE HEX TRICK AGAIN?!” She yelled out, again in no particular direction. Not like there was anything to point to anyway, this time it was just a voice.

 

“̶V̴ ̴w̴i̷l̵l̸ b̶e̷ t̸h̴e̴ f̴i̴r̵s̷t̴. C̶r̴u̵s̷h̴e̶d̷ ̶u̴n̸d̷e̵r̶ ̸ th̶e w̸e̵i̵g̷h̵t̸ o̷f̶ ̴y̷o̴u̴r i̶n̶d̶e̴c̴i̵s̵i̴o̷n̵.̶..”̸  OoOoOH a nAmEdRoP! Sooo foreboding. Raven could not wait to figure out how to finally make this thing shut up.

 

“Goddamn…this bitch never listens….” She muttered before clearing her throat, ready to give a retort to the insufferable entity.

 

“NEWSFLASH IDIOT! V’S TOO STRONG NOW FOR ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO HAPPEN! WHATEVER YOUR PLANNING WILL FAIL!” Her yells would once again fall on deaf ears as it continued to speak, unbothered.

 

“̶N̵e̴x̸t t̷h̵e i̷m̵i̵t̵a̸t̷o̶r̵’̸s p̶a̸s̵t̴ p̴r̵i̸s̵o̵n̴.̴ D̷e̶s̴t̴r̸o̷y̶e̶d̵ ̸b̸y̵ ̴a̶ ̸p̷o̷w̴e̴r̶ ̴s̸h̷e̷ ̴c̸o̷u̶l̶d̷n̵’̸t̵ ̴p̷o̶s̵s̸i̴b̷l̵y f̶a̷t̴h̶o̴m̸…̶”̶

 

“Oh my gooooodddd, we really are doing this again…. ” Does it not remember she can essentially control time? Maybe it was bitter about all the loops with The Hex and felt the need to try again, who knows…Though its referral to Uzi was certainly an interesting way to phrase it. ‘Damn, it must’ve really hated the solver.’

 

“H̸e̵r c̶o̷m̶p̶a̸t̸ri̷o̴t̷ fo̵l̶l̸o̵w̴s s̷o̸o̷n̷ a̶f̶t̸e̷r̴. F̵e̷l̷l̷e̸d̴ ̴b̵y̶ ̷t̶h̴e̵ b̸l̸a̸d̶e ̷ho̶n̸e̸d w̶h̷e̵r̴e̶ ̵r̶e̶a̵l̴i̶t̵y m̶e̷e̵t̵s voi̶d̸…̴”̶ It spoke again. However this was the sentence that started to ring alarm bells.

 

‘Where reality meets void….what does…..oh…oh no.’ Her mood shifted to one of trepidation after putting together its meaning. ‘The Zariman…’

 

“HEY! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE DONE WHAT I THINK YOU DID!” If that fuckhead spawned a damn void angel and he planned to have it murder her friends…

 

“̸A̸n̶d o̵f c̵o̸u̸r̴s̸e̸… Y̸o̶u̸r l̷i̴t̴t̶l̵e r̷e̷s̶c̷u̸e̸…̵ ̷S̷h̴e w̸i̵l̶l d̴o̷o̵m̷ ̸t̷h̴e r̶e̴s̷t̸.̴ ̴T̸h̶e p̸o̴w̵e̵r I̸ ̵s̶o̴ ̴f̴r̴e̸e̸l̷y g̴i̶v̵e, t̶o̸o m̶u̷c̵h̴ ̴t̵o̷ ̵c̴o̷n̷t̵a̶i̷n̷…̸” Suddenly, after it finished speaking…she felt the world blur around her accompanied with a feeling of falling. Her pocket of void shifting and changing into one more…chaotic and…without character. The swirling madness of his domain overruled all that once stood present. 

 

‘I’m gonna kill him.’ Was the thought that repeated in her mind as she continued to “fall” through the demented passageway, while time moved in ways indescribable. Eventually, she found herself suddenly thrust into more familiar surroundings.

 

Her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized this nostalgic place. Brick walls, high windows, hardwood flooring, the box tv by the back wall, and there was no mistaking the blocky form of the Pom-2 PC sitting on the wooden desk. “M-My old backroom? Why would it…” She wondered to herself for only a moment before her attention turned to the projection tv that had just turned itself on, the static on its screen calling her to investigate. ‘Has this chair always been there?’ She thought as she spotted a normal looking black leather office chair facing the tv off to the side. Regardless of the answer, she pressed forward anyway. ‘Sooner I beat his game, the sooner I can get back to the stuff that really matters.’

 

“Hurry up .” Someone said, in her own voice . ‘Sureeee just steal my skin too, why not? Guess I know what’s up with the chair now…’ She thought as she approached the chair, having a good idea of what’s waiting for her.

 

Before she could do it herself, the chair spun around. Revealing itself to be exactly what she thought it was… “Looks like you cashed in on your ‘deal’ with the operator huh?” She said to the entity that was wearing her counterpart’s image. It just smiled impossibly wide in response as she watched another chair materialize beside her. “Sit. ” It commanded, the unnatural smile still on its face.

 

Even after all this time, it still seemed to have a vested interest in making her do its bidding, no matter how small. She was just glad it couldn’t outright kill her anymore. Raven scoffed before sitting in the chair. “So?” She asked it, making a gesture that told an unsaid “get on with it!”.

 

“Y̷A̴R̷̞̽A̵!̵͌, VÀ̸K̴!̸͘” It bellowed as it presumably forced her chair to face the static-covered tv, disappearing as it did so. ‘Guess it wants me to watch…’ Suddenly the static cleared, and in its place, displayed the familiar shape of a certain drone. ‘Cyn?! Why is it showing me this?’ Her questions would be answered soon as the footage rolled. Dread began to build in her as she watched Cyn fill the room with void energy, she knew what was destined to happen if it continued. But unfortunately all she could do right now is watch, because she still wasn’t sure if she could openly defy him yet and win the resulting fight. So, watch she did, and of course the expected happened. The fear in her heart as she watched Cyn battle the void angel alone nearly doubled the moment she saw Cyn about to be crushed under one of its massive arms.

 

Words could not describe the mix of relief and pride she felt as she watched the drone figure out how to use “void mode” in the perfect moment to avoid certain doom. Her relief would quickly fade the longer the fight went on and she was kicking herself internally for not teaching Cyn how to use “void beam” earlier. Still, she needed to find out a way to do something, and soon….Cyn’s fight was beginning to look bleak. Suddenly an idea crossed her mind as she side-eyed the POM-2 PC behind her. ‘With our connection….maybe there's a chance.’ She thought as she quickly blinked over to the “ancient” machine. 

 

Thankfully, the thing turned on and seemed to work just fine. Quickly, she navigated over to the messaging app and upon opening was pleasantly surprised. ‘That's gotta be her.’ She thought as she opened the chat box with a certain “FeMme_F@tal” and began typing.

Dr1ft_Aw@y: V!? If you get this message you have to help her!

 

FeMme_F@tal: Help who?!

 

Dr1ft_Aw@y: Cyn’s in trouble, big trouble!

 

FeMme_F@tal: Where!?

 

Dr1ft_Aw@y: She was practicing with her powers in storehouse #2, something happened and now she’s fighting a freaking void angel, alone. Also I can’t help right now cause the damn indifference has me trapped in one of his games.

 

FeMme_F@tal: You can't be serio- goddammit!

 

Dr1ft_Aw@y: Please help her V, you’re the only one who might have a chance of killing it!

 

FeMme_F@tal: When I get my hands on that thing so help me!” 

 

FeMme_F@tal has logged off.

 

No sooner than after closing the messenger she felt a familiar presence make itself known.

 

“N̷͈̈o c̶͍̓h̴e̶͈̐ạ̷̐tin̴͈͆g̸, K̴͂i̸d̶d̵ȯ̵͉.” The indifference bellowed, its voice shaking the room before she blinked and everything shifted in an instant. Gone was the familiar sight of her old backroom, now she was suspended in a sea of swirling void, bound by her extremities, and forced to observe what it wanted to show her.

 

“I̴v̵bo̴k̶ L̴o̴h̴k̵ S̵ho̴t̶a̷ra̶t̵” The native tongue spoke words that pierced her mind, its intent clear to her as she felt its presence leave once more. ‘Submit? Not to you, never .’ Her thoughts and feelings on the matter were stalwart, nothing he did would ever break her again.

 

Her feelings however, would not help her against the ties that bound her currently. So, for now, she watched once more. Thankfully, her message to V was delivered, and she watched with a mix of relief and pride as the drones she had, at this point, come to love, rush to Cyn’s rescue. Initially it was looking good, V was kicking ass, N was backing her up by distracting it, and Uzi, despite being kinda limited, was getting a few good hits in. Though her mood dived the longer their fight went on, it was clear they were getting tired. Then it nosedived when the angel pulled out its absorption move, and of course they were shooting it. Not like she could blame them, they didn’t know what it could do. Surprisingly it seemed like Cyn figured it out somehow and attempted to warn them. She couldn’t help but sigh when V apparently decided that batting it away was a better idea. It was then that her attention was pulled to Cyn, running towards V with her arm outstretched and coated thick in void energy, suddenly she felt something strange. A connection…and understanding. Immediately she flooded the pathway with her own energy, as much as she could, along with a statement of protection. 

 

The effect was immediate, and she watched with elation as Cyn successfully used “void beam” for the first time, saving V in the process. And the resulting beat-down Cyn then dished out against the angel left her feeling ecstatic. The feeling turned when she heard that dreaded scream. ‘ NO! ’ She screamed internally as V rushed forward to save Cyn from certain death, only to get slammed under the fury of angel’s arms. Her rage flared, the situation forced upon her by that conniving little bastard, fueling all the more. How dare he force her to watch. How dare he continue to screw with her even eons later. How dare he let her fall into a sense of security only to then take it all away . Enough. Who did he think he is? With how long she’s been adrift in the void, with how much energy she’s absorbed….Why was it that she let him control her? Because fighting an existence only comparable to a god was so impossible? He couldn’t even kill her anymore. Who’s to say that she COULDN’T kill HIM? The thoughts raced through her mind, while more and more hatred towards the entity built inside of her. The feeling was so pronounced, and she used it … used it to fuel her power. It's as if the very fabric of void around her started to crack like glass. If the void was the embodiment of apathy….indifference….Then she would be emotion incarnate….A being capable of blending compassion and fury in equal measure….a righteous DEVIL. And she would NEVER let him take those she loved away. The very fabric of the void shattered, leaving her free to navigate the pieces, a single destination the only place on her mind.

 

“I’m coming, Vivi!”

 

The fragmented void behind her exploded into violet light as she forced reality to bend to her will as she used cross-dimensional transference for the first time.

 

---

 

“V! V!!!! OH GOD PLEASE GET UP! V! ” N’s voice was thick with devastation. Even if, in the back of his mind, he knew that she would more than likely regenerate just fine, the more prevalent concern was that without the solver, or in her case a large store of void energy…and with the hit she just took…he was terrified that it was too much. Immediately he rushed to her as Uzi used the solver en masse to bury the angel in stuff, concerned about property damage no longer, while simultaneously catching Cyn with her tail before bringing her to safety.

 

With the angel occupied, he finally got a chance to see her…and man….it was not good. She was…. mushed , for the lack of a better term, into the splintered concrete below. He was thankful he hadn’t had a lunch yet, for he would definitely have lost it then and there. The few streaks of platinum through her otherwise blood stained hair was about the only real recognizable part of her left. He couldn’t do anything but stare. He didn’t even react when he was pulled out of the way of an attack by Uzi’s solver, her frantic voice deaf in his ears. That was it. Everything they ever had, everything he ever once shared, even though he wasn’t romantically close with her now, gone , erased in the blink of an eye. She can’t be dead. Shecan’tShecan’tShecan’tShecan’tShecan’t. He thought he might’ve heard someone calling his name but nothing could interrupt his spiral.

 

“... N!.....N!!!!....BIG BROTHER!” Cyn tried to call out to him, but between herself and Uzi keeping the angel at bay, she couldn’t afford to devote more time to trying. If the rest of them had any chance of surviving this, they needed him to help. “Please don’t hate me for this…” She said before transferring into him. 

 

Now directly connected, she knew his mind would be forced to hear her. “SHE’S NOT DEAD, N! I CAN FEEL HER, PLEASE CALM DOWN!” She hated yelling, but desperate times called for the appropriate measures. 

 

‘S-she’s n-not?’ It seemed to work as he squeaked out a response.

 

Cyn was quick to use the opportunity. “No, BUT she will be if we don’t stop that thing.”

 

‘BUT HOW!? YOU SAW WHAT IT DID TO HER….TO YOU! HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KILL IT IF V COULDN’T?!’ She guessed she was too hopeful for him to just go along with it immediately, and she hated to admit it, but he did have a point.

 

Just as she was about to answer, time seemed to halt for everyone and everything but herself. Then something astonishing happened as she watched, from N’s locked perspective, a glowing violet mote of light appear over the area where V’s body was located. Watching further still, Cyn saw a familiar form materialize in an instant…and she looked pissed . The apparition lasted only a moment before she faded away, trails of energy connecting the spot she once was to V’s body. Time resumed, and all hell broke loose as void energy exploded from V, knocking them all back, and forcing Cyn to de-transfer from N.

 

Recovering from the blow, they watched in mixed shock and awe as V shot up from the ground looking no worse for wear, though it was hard to tell with all the energy pouring out around her like a tsunami. N was ecstatic. Uzi had a fanged smile on her face, and Cyn felt relief wash over her. She knew she would come. She knew it .

 

“Fass” A familiar voice boomed upon uttering the word of the void as she stood steadfast as the angel approached.

 

“Ivbok” She commanded as she raised one of V’s arms, violet energy coalescing into a point at the tip of her finger. The angel was just inches away, yet she did not move.

 

“Ris” The light now blinded in its intensity as she spoke the last word. The angel never stood a chance. Her word was law, and chaos would submit to light.

 

She reached out and implanted the finger square in the angel’s chest. “Begone pest. Tell your master that he failed .” She said before the room was filled with a blinding violet as she yanked her hand free. Any trace of the angel’s existence was gone by the time the light faded.

 

The three drones who were watching on the ground were shell-shocked. How could they not be? With the exception of Cyn, who had a bit better of an idea of what just happened, they had just watched V rise from the ground and one-shot the thing they had been struggling against for the past couple hours. 

 

“H-holy shiiiit….that was….metal as hell.” Uzi muttered as she stared at the triumphant V.

 

“I-I didn’t know she could do that …” N commented, staring, a mirror-image of his girlfriend.

 

“V can’t…” Cyn’s emphasis on her name clued the other two into what was going on. Not that they were in the dark for long, seeing as they watched her transfer out of V and pull her into the tightest hug as they dropped to their knees. The two drones beside Cyn blinked before their shocked features softened.

 

“She couldn’t have shown up sooner?” Classic Uzi, though she complained, inwardly she was relieved to see her friend. N didn’t say anything and instead just smiled before falling on his back, exhausted from everything. “Shit. Oil. Sorry, here N.” Uzi said before tending to her one and only. Seeing as those two were occupied and the other pair in the room seemed to be having a moment of their own, Cyn sought to find out where Valkyr ended up in all this mess.

 

---

 

“C’mon…wake up…please. ” Raven meekly said as she cradled V’s unconscious form in her own. “I can’t lose another….not again.” She continued, placing her head on V’s as she slowly rocked from side to side. Why did she have to get close again? Her triumph over the angel was but a footnote in the story she weaved, that is to say, V, in comparison…would be a novel worth writing on her own. She…she hadn’t considered herself capable of falling in love again, but….that's what it was. Love . She loved V. Why it took her so long to internalize it…she didn’t know. Maybe it was only natural. Maybe she was just scared. Whatever the reason, it didn't matter, all that mattered was that V was ok. “ So please wake up…I….love you too much for you to not…”

 

‘OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod’ Was the only thought passing through V’s mind, she actually had woken up slightly earlier, and as a result had clearly heard the woman’s confession. For why she didn’t say anything…can’t blame a girl for enjoying a warm hug can you? She should probably say something soon though…

 

“D-do…you…mean that?” V asked, her voice muffled since her face was currently nestled into the taller woman’s body, taking a moment during, to wrap her arms around her as well.

 

The utter relief Raven felt left her unable to answer directly, however, she did nod her head, an action V felt, before pulling her in tighter as if fearing she would be taken away.

 

“Me too… ” V said before letting herself be lost in their shared embrace. The two of them lost in the glow of their feelings laid bare.

 

‘Big Sister’s wife…Hehe.’ Cyn giggled to herself as she watched the two before jumping over to see what the other two drones were up to, having located and transferred into Valkyr a while ago. ‘Oh…maybe I should…’ She thought as she landed and saw the state they were in. “Too late…” She muttered as N looked up with a shocked expression, his fangs still in Uzi’s shoulder. “Im…just gonna go over here now…” Cyn quietly said.

 

“W-Watih Sthyn Ith mot whath ith loofk like!” N said quickly, his speech slurred and face flush.

 

“Idiot! Don’t talk with your mouth full of my oil!” Uzi said with embarrassment clear in her voice as she pushed him off of her. Immediately she got up and made her desires clear. “ You will never speak about this.” She demanded as she used the solver to float herself up to eye level with the Cyn-inhabited frame.

 

“About what?” Cyn said as she put her hands up in surrender.

 

“Good. I knew there was a reason I liked you.” Uzi said with a toothy grin as she then floated back down and moved over to attend to the embarrassed killer robot she called a boyfriend.

 

‘Sheesh it's not like you two were…anyway, I wonder if those other two are done yet. I’d like a hug too…’ She thought before looking at the pair to confirm or deny her hypothesis. ‘Guess not…’ 

 

Eventually everyone worked out their respective situations and they all came together to discuss what caused all this in the first place. Of course, immediately they had questions for the resident paradox. Which she was, as usual, happy to answer.

 

“So, on the way here, V said that Cyn “summoned a “void angel”, I’m safe to assume that that’s what the thing we were fighting earlier was?” Uzi asked first.

 

“Yep. And a ravenous one too. Extra nasty.” Raven replied, shifting her arm slightly as V snuck in to hug her side.

 

“Cool, so what actually are they?” Uzi asked again, unconsciously curling her tail with N’s behind them.

 

“They’re a being formed when a person loses themself to the void, created through a process known as “conceptual embodiment”.” The woman answered.

 

N raised his hand, to which Raven giggled at but told him to go for it anyway. “So why did it show up in the first place?” He asked.

 

“Contrary to what V might have said earlier, Cyn did not directly summon that thing by training, yes the saturation of void was dangerously high, please don’t do that again by the way, but high void concentration does not intrinsically mean the summoning of void angels. No. The indifference simply took the opportunity to send one through the veil between dimensions.” Raven replied.

 

“Why would it do that?” N asked.

 

“It seems to like seeing me suffer for some reason. Same reason I wasn’t here to help you all out either, damn bastard locked me in the void and made me watch you all fight it with the intention of me watching you all die.” She said with barely restrained fury in her voice, the tightening of the hug V gave her pulling the emotion away in favor of another.

 

“So? When can we kill it?” Uzi asked.

 

“Don’t know that we can, maybe I’ll figure something out. I do know that his control is not absolute though, at least over me. And presumably Cyn too. Since her power comes more from me than him.” 

 

“Oh yeah, with all that's going on we kinda forgot about the whole “Cyn’s eyes went pink” thing. Come to think of it, are they gonna change back?” N commented and then asked Cyn who transferred out of Valkyr, the pale pink of her eyes still on display.

 

“I kinda hope they don’t…I like the color.” Cyn said with a small smile as she eyed the colored light embedded in her hand.

 

“It's not terrible, you kinda look like a “less saturated”, and less bitchy, Lizzie.” Uzi mused as she looked the drone over in more detail.

 

“Gee thanks…Big brother your wife is kinda mean sometimes.” Cyn said to the disassembler while intentionally ignoring the middle fingers the goth threw out.

 

N was about to respond to that, but held his tongue as Uzi gently persuaded him to not say a word, lest there be consequences . So instead he just offered a smile to the small drone he called a sister.

 

Even though she was enjoying the antics, Raven did need to get everyone back on track. Clearing her throat, she got everyone’s attention. “Alright, so one last thing. And it's gonna be important for the future. You all need to be aware that I’ve most likely royally pissed off the void god and he will definitely want some form of revenge. So like, be careful ok? I don’t know how it’ll manifest, but make sure-” 

 

Her words were cut off with a vindictive timing as the wall shook with a fetid ferocity as the very “void god” she referred to not a moment ago spoke its native tongue.

 

“JAH̷U K̸H̶R̷A L̵O̶H̶K̸”

---

 

Notes:

Lots of stuff happening in this one! Wally is *pissed* that Raven surpassed him for a moment and *definitely* has something up his sleeve. Can you guess what it is? No sweat if you don't, it'll be revealed next chapter! Cyn's got a good handle on her power now. And of course, the one decision that *might* be controversial, but I *have* been kinda been building up to it soooooo don't get to mad about me spelling out what the cast all knew already!

Chapter 17: Duviri

Notes:

Hey all! Firstly, sorry for no chapter last week! Life threw a *bunch* of shit at me and I've had to pick up the pieces, combine that with work becoming *slammed* with business and more than one birthday in the family...well I've simply not had the time to sit down and write. Apologies! That being said, this chapter is the longest one yet! Please enjoy! All comments, as always, are appreciated, perhaps more than you know!

 

 

Corporeal laws are unwrit, by that which bears no name. 

We end as we began.

---

 

“Mmmm-owww…..what…happened?” Raven mumbled, her senses beginning to return to her as she lay flat on the ground. “What did he do? W-Where am…I?” She asked aloud to no response as she began to right herself. “This…feeling…cobbled-stones?” Her thoughts said aloud, she pondered the strange feeling gracing her skin as she fought to finally open her eyes. Finally, her vision came to, and what she saw shocked and enraged her. “He brought me to the undercroft?! ” 

 

The luscious greens contrasted by the light blue-ish color of errant wisp of void energy, combined with the opulent but strange U-shaped architecture of the surrounding structures all but confirmed it. Not to mention the giant floating bronze bust of Dominus Thrax himself, positioned high in the “sky”  above the town. 

 

Done surveying the space in front of her, she decided to get up from her knees and plan her next move. “First I need to know if it's just me in here.” She said quietly before wandering the streets. Unfortunately so far, it seemed it was just her. Just her. This fact was strange in of itself, for normally the undercroft is teeming with the corrupted forces of the Origin system. ‘Perhaps that actually makes sense though…It’s not exactly like there’s an Origin system to corrupt anymore anyway…’ 

 

Her thoughts on the Indifference’s consumption of her universe were halted as she crested the hill leading to the town square. Where she then caught a glimpse of something white and shiny leaning behind and against the statue of Thrax in the square’s center. “Oh God, please be who I think that is!” She said with a newfound energy before increasing her pace to a run. “V!? Is that you? Are you oka—” She cut her sentence short with a sigh as she laid eyes on the thing she saw earlier. “It's just…Valkyr… great .” She said with disappointment as she knelt down to examine the slouched over warframe. As she looked her over, a glint of gold not belonging to Valkyr caught her eyes. ‘What do we have here…’ She thought as she moved the limp frame out of the way and onto the ground. Turning back she saw what looked like the tip of a blade poking out from a bundle of cloth. Unwrapping the bundle confirmed her suspicions. Teshin’s dual Nikanas, gleaming with a beautiful sheen. “I-I thought these were destroyed.” She mumbled to herself as she carefully grabbed the weapons. Suddenly a terrible thought crossed her mind. ‘Did he…send me back…in time?’ She would have to hope that wasn’t the case, realistically speaking, time was something the “Void God” didn’t typically have control over, not like her anyway.

 

Stowing the weapons away, she looked back down to see if the cloth the blades were wrapped in held any importance. ‘Hmmm…Nothing on the front.’ She thought before turning it over. She let out a curious hum once she saw that the backside had a message written in the traditional Orokin script. ‘Let’s see if I remember how to read this stuff.’ She thought before calling upon the knowledge of a civilization lost. Luckily her knowledge was still stout and she managed to read out the message after converting it to standard.

 

Drifter, my time in Duviri has come to an end, do not mourn my passing. Instead, you must fight, fight for those you’ve come to love. To that end, I bestow to you my blades: Sun and Moon, The twin ends of light and dark that only dance fullest in the twilight of your hands. Take them, and a thread of hope. For before Thrax ordered my execution I bore witness to ruptures of void, appearing in the skies, from which beings of metal fell. Even for my low position, I could tell, they carried your unique form of energy. Fight for them. Repel the Indifference. Only you have the strength to move mountains, one pebble at a time.

 

“Teshin…Thank you.” Raven said softly as she held the fabric to her head in a gesture of respect for her mentor. With the moment over and after placing the cloth back on the ground, she took a deep breath as she stood tall. In the span of a second all hell broke loose as she breathed out, transferred into Valkyr, and blocked the attack of the Void Angel that had appeared behind her. Whipping her body around, she maneuvered with the grace of a feline before swiping a ferocious claw down the Angel’s torso, killing the beast. She then put the frame’s nimble nature to immediate use as another angel appeared and attacked. 

 

“So that’s how it is then…He’s scared .” She said aloud as she killed another angel with a downward kick as more and more appeared through breaches in the void. “You will never win.” Raven said, setting her resolve in stone as the lights adorning Valkyr’s frame turned to a bright violet. “I won’t let you .” She declared before wielding the frame’s most destructive and violent ability. Her own scream mixed with the animalistic screams of Valkyr as those glowing claws of pure energy appeared from her hands. Hysteria . The righteous ball of fury she became was one of unparalleled destruction. Destruction just itching to be inflicted on those deserving. It’s too bad her true target was showing cowardice, however, the growing army of void-turned-human-adjacent beings would have to suffice…

 

A massacre was in store.

 

---

 

‘OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGOD’ N’s thoughts were fully panicked as he found himself falling from what he had to assume was some sort of portal not unlike the one he found all those months ago. Normally he would just unfurl his wings and fly down, no problem…except he couldn’t seem to get them to work, hence his panic. He frantically looked around for any sort of solution but his panic only doubled once he noticed Cyn falling next to him, her expression mirroring his own as she flailed around trying to right herself. Seeing her struggle, he was overcome with the intense need to protect her. Thinking quickly he sent his tail out, that was curiously devoid of its trademarked acid, attempting to and successfully wrapping it around her. He then pulled her in quickly and wrapped his arms around her, shielding her with his body as the sand covered ground quickly approached. They landed with a thud, both knocked out cold from the impact, and mysteriously, they were unharmed…at least physically. 

 

Cyn was the first to awaken, her eyes flitting to life on her visor, the angry red tint of the sky filling her vision. ‘I-I’m ok? What happened?’ She thought briefly before sitting herself up from the sandy ground below her. ‘Where’s Big Brother? Where am I?’ She asked herself as she studied the area she now found herself occupying. The place was sparse in vegetation save for a few scattered bushes and strange U-shaped cacti. Cyn took in the strange architecture while she stood up and brushed the sand off her clothes. ‘Pearlescent whites, deep muted green…gold accenting…U-shaped motifs….I-I’m in Duviri?! How?!’ It's just as Raven had described it to her before and her shared memories only confirmed it.

 

Somehow, someway, Cyn found herself in the very kingdom of her void-born compatriot. ‘If I’m here…and I know that N’s here somewhere. It would make sense that everyone else is too…hmmm.’ She reasoned before following a path she noticed earlier, leading to an arch and beyond. While walking the path, Cyn tried calling out for N, only to be met with no response. She hoped he was ok. Walking still, something leaning against a nearby fence caught her eye. ‘Is that..?’She thought as she moved to inspect what looked like a sword, longer than she was tall and with a curved, glowing, edge of light blue energy. “Cool…” She mumbled aloud to herself before she went to pick up the blade. The twisting, shiny, silver of the metal felt cool to the touch as she had to use both hands to even hold the thing properly.

 

Something about the weapon felt…familiar to her, until a flash of a memory clarified the emotion. Raven had used this weapon before… Azothane. The nikana now named, Cyn had a strange and slight urge to put it to use. Tamping the feeling down, she instead continued along the path after adjusting her grip on the weapon, unconsciously adopting an expert’s stance. ‘Cool sword aside, this place is sooo devoid of anything alive, it's giving me the creeps…I’ve gotta find N.’ Eventually her wandering would take her under and through another arch, this one leading to a small courtyard with a small circular structure in the middle. ‘Maybe he’ll be here-’ Her thought was stopped as the tell-tale sound of footsteps reached her audio-processors. Cyn shifted the blade in her hands, ready to attack at a moment's notice. Cautiously she moved to investigate the source of where the steps had come from behind the circular structure. The sound of heavy movement made her react on instinct, swinging the nikana with a practiced brilliance, a deadly promise in the form of an overhead strike. 

 

“WOAH! That was close!” N’s voice cut through the ringing of blade and shield as he blocked the strike that almost claimed his head not a second ago. The resulting sand cloud kicked up from the force and the ground cracking beneath them made him glad to have done so.

 

“N?!” Cyn’s eyes widened in surprise as she immediately dropped the sword and ran over to hug him. “I’m glad you’re okay.” She said, voice muffled by his coat.

 

“Missed you too.” He replied as he returned the embrace. “I’m glad I found this shield earlier or you totally would’ve killed me there. But you didn’t so no sweat!” N said with a tone of amusement in his voice. “Where’d you get that awesome sword anyway?

 

“I’m sorry about that. I found it lying around earlier and didn’t think anything friendly would appear so…” Cyn apologized as the two separated and she reclaimed the discarded weapon.

 

“Hey don’t worry about it! I’m just happy you’re okay.” Ever cheerful, N replied.

 

“Where’d you get the energy shield?” Cyn asked as she looked over the twisted and shiny metallic disk affixed to his left forearm.

 

“Same place I got this mace here too.” N said as he presented the weapon held coiled inside his tail. “Found them lying on the ground not far from where I woke up.”

 

“Just like me… Hey, Big Brother? Why didn’t you use your wings to look for me if you woke up already?” Cyn asked, her tone one of simple curiosity and lacking any sort of malice.

 

“I wanted to…but couldn’t use them for some reason. Same with my weapons. I can’t use anything but my hands right now either. Though it seems my tail still works, albeit without any acid.” N said as he took the mace from his tail and rested its head over his shoulder.

 

“N. I think the entity that follows Raven around, and the one I indirectly draw my power from, sent us to Duviri and sealed our abilities. Just like you can’t seem to use your native powers, I also can’t seem to call upon the void like before.” Cyn theorized as she shifted the sword in her hands.

 

“Well that kinda sucks, not gonna lie, but it's not like we’re defenseless right now! We’ve got these awesome weapons and if the mishap earlier was anything to go by, they seem to be quite strong!” N said as he gestured to the mace on his shoulder.

 

“Sure. But It’s not us I’m scared for…What happened to our friends? I didn’t see anyone else when we were falling earlier.” Cyn said with clear concern in her voice.

 

N’s expression fell at the mention of their friends. “I…didn’t see anyone either, then again I was panicking pretty hard back there. I…guess we’ll just have to look for them ourselves. And if it's anything like our situation, I think they’re probably okay right now.” He said hopefully.

 

Cyn’s face gained a slight smile at that. “If that's the case, we better get looking then. Wanna keep following the path?”

 

“Sounds good to me.” N replied with a thumbs up.

 

The two then fell into step along the path, passing by multiple structures and areas of interest, all seemingly devoid of life. Eventually, after walking a vast inclined section the two came to a more opulent area, clearly one of importance, if the marbled ground and golden statues of a strange looking humanoid were anything to go by. The courtyard of sorts was a grand preface to the building situated at its end.

 

“Think we should go in, N?” Cyn asked as she pointed to the structure.

 

“Yeah, I just hope it's not more of the same.” N said as he nodded before the two continued towards the building.

 

The two crossed the threshold and saw that the interior was more like a hallway leading straight through, open to the other side. Strange architecture aside, the two then caught a glimpse of something that gave them pause. The two quickly stepped back and began to discuss in hushed tones.

 

“You saw that too, right?” Cyn whispered to N who had crouched down to her level.

 

“I…did, you think they’re friendly?” He answered back.

 

“With the feeling I got from him…probably not…But also, probably not hostile. For what that's worth anyway.” Cyn said as another memory briefly flashed past her mind.

 

“Only one way to find out, right? And it's not like we saw any other way out of this place. It's almost like we were meant to talk to him.” N responded as Cyn nodded, the two, with their minds made up and their path forward opened, proceeded onward.

 

After crossing the hall and through the other side, the two finally laid eyes on the object of their past discussion. On the balcony overlooking a vast pit, sat a man of blue “skin” broken up by strange accents of gold, black hair, styled in dreads, pinned in a neat form to his head, wearing a toga of fresh white also lined with gold. His left arm, gold from the elbow down to his fingers, rested open to see on the arm of his throne of stone. He held an air of purpose, as if burdened by a responsibility that stretched eons. He did not so much as move as they approached, whether that was because he did not notice them or was from pure disinterest, was unclear.

 

Cyn and N exchanged a brief look before Cyn gestured for him to hold back for time being. Reasoning that her shared memories might give her a better insight, to which N agreed, and stood back, but still ready should anything happen that requires his assistance.

 

“Do not eye me so venomously, I do not know you, Chimaera. ” The man spoke as Cyn approached. “Eons pass, Duviri dies, forcing me to watch over him, and...she sends a proxy in her place…Tell me. What are you? You reek of our Ruler's profaned stench.” He said as he finally turned to face her, the stone mask affixed to his face offering no insight to his true features.

 

“My name is Cyn, I’m a worker drone. Who are you? And what do you mean by “proxy”?” Cyn returned as the man’s perceived gaze bore into her skull, as if judging her every move, she unconsciously tightened her grip on Azothane in response.

 

“The death grip on your weapon is unnecessary, you cannot kill a concept, construct .” He said with a slight tilt of his head towards the blade in her hands before continuing. “I am the Warden, blessed to watch over Duviri’s most guilty. Tell me, construct. Tell me where the true ruler has gone these past eons of time. Leaving Duviri to die under the false King’s temperament. The lingering void on your body, is an unmistakable trace of her. Talk, lest I declare you guilty of treason against Duviri and her people.” Now named, The Warden quietly demanded.

 

Cyn first loosened the grip on her weapon, intent on diffusing the situation slightly before responding in kind. “I will talk, but to be clear, we are talking about Raven right?” She asked.

 

“To know and use the Ruler’s name so freely…either you are closer to her than I imagined or you are actively trying to join those under my watch…which is it? Construct. ” The Warden spoke, the threat clear in his voice.

 

‘I need to be careful…’ Cyn thought as the Warden continued to stare her down. “She is…my mo-master. And she has been living in and fighting for the world I originate from.” Cyn said, hoping the explanation would abate the Warden’s ire.

 

“So the ruler has been gallivanting around in a world not hers, leaving us to die…for what? You? Perhaps I should sentence you. Her crimes demand justice, and the law dictates those related must serve in the case of her absence…” The Warden claimed before rising from his seat, tall and imposing, his ungilded arm now visible, a whole foot longer than his other.

 

‘Oh shoot….not good.’ Cyn thought before glancing to N, who had been watching the interaction, waiting for her signal. The Warden caught the moment and immediately moved. “Treason it is…” He said before grabbing Cyn by the neck and throwing her into the pit below.

 

“CYN!” N yelled out before attempting to strike the Warden with his mace.

 

“Do not think I’ve forgotten about you. Collaborator. ” The Warden said as he side-stepped the blow and backhanded N into the pit as well. “THY PUNISHMENT IS TRIAL BY COMBAT. THE WRATH OF KULLERVO A WORTHY OPPONENT!”

 

---

 

“OHSHITOHSHITSHITSHITWORKWINGSWORKSOLVERANYTHING!!!!” Uzi screamed as she fell through the unfamiliar red sky. Searching for any option out of her impending doom. She didn’t even know what had just happened, one moment they were having a discussion about all this bullshit and the next she was falling through a freaking portal. With V of all people . Who, oh yeah, seemed to be just accepting her fate, for some freaking reason! “V! QUIT TRYING TO DIE AND HELP!” She yelled out to the drone, pleading that she’d be of more use at this moment.

 

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Uzi yelled again as V just closed her eyes and positioned herself to fall headfirst into the ground. “I swear to ALL that’s sacred…” Uzi complained before streamlining her form, using the change in air resistance to catch up to V midair before grabbing her from the back. “HEY?! GET OFF!” V yelled before trying to remove the purple nuisance from her back. “NO! I'M NOT DYING HERE AND NEITHER ARE YOU! SO FREAKING HELP ALREADY!” Uzi yelled back as the two spun in the air from the commotion.

 

“YOU THINK I HAVEN'T TRIED?! MY WINGS AREN’T WORKING DUMBASS! WHY AREN’T YOU DOING ANYTHING EITHER HUH?!” V yelled again as they continued to tumble through the sky towards the now rapidly approaching ground.

 

“BECAUSE NOTHING I HAVE IS WOR-” Uzi began to yell back, both so entirely engrossed in their bickering that neither noticed the ground before it was too late, the two of them slamming into the marble flooring with such force that they created a crater. Both immediately knocked unconscious, but mysteriously were physically unharmed.

 

V awoke first, her vision initially blurry but cleared pretty fast. She then groaned as she pushed the unconscious worker off of her before standing up from the pit they made, her legs unsteady as she did so. “Where the hell are we…” She said with a sigh before looking around the strange structure she found herself in. It seemed to be ornamental in purpose, swooping curves with hanging plants made up the supports, with steep downward ramps situated between three of them, all leading to the center which bore a massive golden statue of a strange humanoid. A statue that left V feeling uneasy for some reason.

 

“What the hell?!” She said quietly as she walked over to the side without a ramp, looked over the edge, and saw the strange water feature below; swirling and seemingly unending, even as it fell through the hole in the ground that directly led to nothing . Turning back, she returned to the pit to see if Uzi had recovered yet. She…had not. Sighing, V dropped back into the pit and hoisted the drone over her shoulder before jumping back out and laying her against one of the structure’s supports. Backing away, she started to pace around the area as her mind tried to understand what was happening. 

 

‘We were just talking and then I’m here and apart from Uzi no one else seems to be…Oh God…What happened to Rae? To N? Did Cyn get sucked into this too? Why now? She said she had pissed it off but this is too soon, right? Does it really hate her that much…What if it…No stop. Don’t even think about that. I-I…refuse to believe that, not now. Not after…Arrrgh…why does this always seem to happen every time I allow myself to love. We had just confirmed it and not even an hour later…' ”GODDAMMIT!” Her frustration boiled over as she threw a punch into the leg of the golden statue she was pacing in front of, the metal gaining a massive dent from the force before she dropped to her knees, her visor starting to display neon tears. “I-I hate that this doesn’t even surprise me…” She said to herself quietly as she stewed in her sorrow. “D-Doesn’t make it hurt any less…”

 

Uzi winced as her vision returned to her, her eyes blinking to life on her visor, briefly flickering a deep red for a moment before returning to their usual purple. She groaned as she moved to right herself. “Glad I’m not dead but, fuuuuuck my back is sore.” She said to herself before trying to stretch the affected area out. Her actions rewarded her with an audible “pop” as relief washed over her sensors. “Shiiit that's better…now, where the hell am I?” She pondered before getting a bearing on the place. Almost instantly her eyes found V sat curled up under a dented statue. ‘Ah hell…’ She thought on reflex before shaking her head and walking over to her friend, yes friend, she might suck at the whole “comforting” thing, but she knew they all were going through a lot, V especially now. She could also relate to what she was probably feeling right now too, N and his safety were at the forefront of her mind.

 

“H-Hey…um, are you okay?” Uzi asked as V looked up to her. “Sorry, clearly not, I mean…uh.” She fumbled a bit before letting out a sigh as she sat down next to V who looked away. ‘C’mon…what would N do in this situation?’ Uzi thought before tentatively reaching over to pull V into a hug. “Uzi?! What are you-” V started to say before Uzi interrupted her. “I-I’m scared too…just…I’m trying okay! I don’t do this stuff!” The smaller drone said with clear embarrassment in her voice, which despite that, she didn’t let go. “Clearly.” V said with a hint of sarcasm before returning the hold herself. “Thank you.” V said to which Uzi hummed in acknowledgement. The two then separated before Uzi gave her the look, the look that said: “You tell anyone about this, and they’ll be finding you in pieces.”

 

“Uzi please , I’m not going to use that against you…In fact, I’m…sorry that I’ve been the way I have to you about that stuff. I kinda…hate that we’re at each other's throats from time to time. Not that I expect us to be all buddy-buddy but…” V said, trailing off, the admission leaving Uzi with a strange feeling about it all.

 

‘Looking back, why have I been so…that, to her?’ Uzi thought as she reflected on their shared past. Sure she may have used her “edge” as a defense in the past but ever since they all beat the solver, she hadn’t really needed it. Sure, the way she grew up and the traumas she carried because of it don’t just go away, but her life had gotten substantially better in the past few months, meeting N, overcoming adversity, her parents working through their own problems and being in her life; all things that were explicitly better now than before. So what was it about V that brought her back to that person she was before? It was something she never could quite figure out, even after talking to N about it, the two never could reach a conclusion beyond: “Some personalities are just incompatible.” But was that all it was? Just a difference in personality? Why was it that now , when she witnessed V’s softer side from time to time, she seemed to be agitated by it. Was it her perception of V, being changed from this remorseless killer, to just someone with a whole lot of problems, problems just like she has. V was supposed to be cold. V was supposed to be heartless, not crying to herself after clearly freaking out and putting a dent in solid metal. Why was it that even after comforting her, she had to ruin it by assuming V would use a moment of weakness against her….Wait…weakness? A moment of vulnerability sure but, weakness? There’s nothing weak about finding comfort in someone you consider a friend, at least N thought so, and who was she to say the one she loved was wrong about stuff like that? It's not like she hadn’t ever gone to him for comfort when she was feeling terrible.

 

The realization struck her. ‘I-I’m comparing myself to her...aren’t I…’ “V…I’m…sorry too, for how I sometimes treat you…I think I...didn’t want you to think I was weak. You’re just…actually so cool and I guess I thought about how much better you...seemed to be at stuff than me.” Uzi didn’t say the part about how she sometimes thought N might’ve been better off with V instead of her.

 

The words surprised V, she never really expected her to be so open, maybe a biting remark or a flipped bird, and then the two would go back to having their little silent rivalry…Not that she thought Uzi was incapable of being “soft”, she just assumed that was reserved for N. “Uzi…I didn’t realize you felt that way.”

 

“I…didn’t either until a moment ago. I just…when you said that you hated how we treat each other, something just…I don’t know. I guess I hated the thought of that turning into something bigger.” Uzi said as she looked at V who looked to have relaxed a bit from her previous mood.

 

“I don’t know why it took falling through a portal into a strange place for me to realize that. But I’m tired of our “rivalry”.” Uzi continued before looking back down.

 

“Me too.” V said with a smile on her face. “And…don’t worry about me and N either.” She added as Uzi looked up in surprise. “Don’t look too surprised, I’ve seen your glances whenever we’re in the same place, Uzi…we were never that close anyway. Besides, I’ve got someone else now… ” V declared with a slight smile directed to the smaller drone.

 

“Hey! I wasn’t-” Uzi began to deflect before sighing. “Yeah…okay. Sorry. We’re just all messed up in our own ways aren’t we?”

 

“Yeah. We’ve each got our own personal brand of trauma…So, start fresh?” V asked, hand outstretched, a gesture of new beginnings, one Uzi accepted with a nod. 

 

The moment of reconciliation over, the two allowed themselves a minute of reprieve before shifting to a mood of action. They were stuck in an unfamiliar place and unable to use their powers after all. Standing up, the two of them decided to follow the path in front of them. Following the trail that went upwards and around, they eventually found themselves at the entrance of a small hamlet, curiously devoid of life.

 

“You’d think with houses like this we’d have seen someone by now.” Uzi said as they walked up to the door of one of the houses and knocked on it to no response. Uzi then tried the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. “Oh well, I guess.” She said to herself as V had walked off to look at something else.

 

“Hey Uzi! I found something over here!” V called out from behind another building that resembled a stable. “Coming!” Uzi called in response as she ran over to her. “What’d you find?” She then asked as she saw V bent down and looking at two shiny-silver somethings propped against the wall. “I think they’re weapons.” V said as she grabbed the one that bore resemblance to a sword. “It's hard to say because of how strange they look but, this definitely feels like a weapon.” V said as she took a few swings with the sword, the curved edge gaining a faint blue glow as she did so.

 

Uzi stood back slightly as she watched V play around with the thing, her brow slightly furrowed as she studied the blade’s silver-warped surface. It reminded her of the void angel they all fought not too long ago. “I wonder what this one’s supposed to be?” She mused as she looked at the other one sitting against the building. Its “handle” was longer than she was tall, and at its end sat a twisted mass of that same warped-silver “metal”. “Maybe a hammer of some kind? Or mace?” She thought aloud as she tried picking the thing up, and, to her surprise, the weapon was light . Almost like it belonged in her hands, even though it towered over her. “Oh sweet !” The grin on her face only grew as she considered just how funny it might look. Spotting a nearby rock, she decided a test was in order. “Hey V! Check this out!”

 

“Oh?” Was all V got out before turning to see Uzi fucking demolish a boulder the size of a small car. Her eyes went wide at the display. “Holy shit…What are these things?!” She said as she eyed the weapon in her hand, wanting to test it for herself upon seeing Uzi’s display of power. Looking around, she found what resembled a wind turbine towering over on a nearby hill. “Hey Uzi?”

“Yeah?” The goth responded, sitting atop a piece of recently produced rubble.

 

“I’m gonna try something up there.” V said as she pointed towards the tower.

 

“Oooh this’ll be good. Lead the way.” Uzi replied before following V up the hill.

 

The two now stood before the imposing structure, its tubular mid-section easily the width of an old-earth redwood if V’s memory was correct. “Alright, I’m gonna take a seat for this one, especially if you're gonna do what I think you are.” Uzi said before finding a spot in the nearby grass to sit as V readied the sword at her side, the curved-glowing edge stowed like a mystical katana. V let out a breath as she dropped into a stance before running full speed towards the tower and jumped. At the apex of her leap, only then did she release the blade. Its shining edge appeared only for a blink of an eye as she cut through the entirety of the structure in one motion and landed on the other side. Initially it seemed like nothing had happened as the tower seemed to be unaffected, that is until a diagonal line made itself visible as the top of the tower slid down from itself before falling over in a crash.

 

It was Uzi’s turn to be surprised. She jumped up and ran over to V who looked stunned at the display she just made. “V! That was the most anime thing I’ve actually ever seen for real. You were right. What are these things?!” Uzi said with great enthusiasm as V broke out into a giggle at the thought. “That was pretty cool.” Sparing a moment to further chat about the absurdity of it all, the two eventually continued to follow the path, hoping it would take them somewhere less barren.

The path eventually led them to a split, one leading to an area that consisted of water held in circular pools and the other leading to what looked like a city of sorts. They both knew how water interacted with drone bodies, and while V wasn’t concerned for herself, being more composed of infestation than wires and metal at this point, she was worried about Uzi who she wasn’t sure would be completely fine since her solver powers seemed to be out of reach for now. A sentiment Uzi herself agreed with, both heading for the city instead, intent on passing through the vast fields between them and their destination.

 

Their casual conversation filled the otherwise silent countryside, that is until they heard what sounded like equine footsteps in the distance. Immediately they ducked behind cover as the steps got louder and louder. “What should we do?” Uzi whispered to V who was peeking out from behind the piece of fencing they were hiding behind. “I…don’t know. You-you need to see this. But be careful! ” V whispered back as she caught sight of the thing making the sound. Uzi then carefully peeked over the fence…and became confused at what she saw. It looked like a horse but….more skeletal, just like the rider upon its back. The giant longsword it held glinting in the sun as it looked around, seemingly searching for something or someone. Suddenly Uzi felt a chill go down her back as the skeletal being locked its non-existent eyes with hers. Immediately, she dropped down, hoping it just disregarded the interaction. V saw the panicked look on her face and knew what had happened. Soon, they would have company if the sound of the skeletal horse’s footsteps approaching were anything to go by.

 

“SHOW YOURSELF BETRAYER!” The skeletal warrior yelled as the horse’s steps stopped inches from their hiding place. Uzi looked to V, the two nodding before jumping out with weapons poised to strike. 

 

“ GLADLY!”

"WITH PLEASURE!"

 

---

 

Notes:

So the cast is in Duviri now and *of course* have their own trial to fight, honestly i had planned to write the fights in this chapter, but realized it would've taken *another* week to get out....SO CLIFFHANGERS IT IS! Sorry not sorry! Personally I'm actually really pleased with this change in scenery tbh, and the bit with Uzi and V by the statue in particular. I know in the show they aren't like *hostile* towards each other, but even good-natured friction is still friction, the case is the same here, but now with all the stuff going on those problems seem so small now, it stands to reason they would eventually start working it out. Side note, i had a lot of fun deciding what Duviri weapons to give everyone, with only the Edun polearm being left out.(Not a big fan of it tbh)

Anyway as said before. Thank you so much for reading and enjoying this little story of mine, no matter how niche it is! Till next time!

Chapter 18: Deliverance

Notes:

So....sorry for the wait! Turns out i'm not the greatest at writing action over a whole chapter, so this one took a long time to feel right. Lots of planning, lots of drafting, etc etc. Anyways I've now got a system down for writing it so hopefully(life permitting) the next one wont take so long. PLUS I also got the ideas for the next couple of chapters fleshed out! (YAY)

Enough Yap! Enjoy N and Cyn's fight against Kullervo!

“No amount of self-sought fury will bring back the glory of innocence.”

---

 

“Cyn?! CYN!?” N called out, scrambling to his feet in a hurry after the fall he was forced to take. Luckily he had landed relatively unharmed due to his experience with flying and landing, Cyn however, did not have that experience, and he was worried sick. ‘There!’ He thought as he caught sight of her lying face up in the shallow pool of water that made up the ground of the gilded prison that served in part as an arena. Some of his worry bled away once he noticed her eye-lights were still on, but with how still she was, N really hoped she was just in a daze and not something worse. 

 

“Cyn?! Cyn! Are you ok?! Can you move? Can you…hear me?” N frantically asked after kneeling down by her side. Concern built in his core as he waited for an answer of any kind from the prone and immobile drone, the only saving grace being the pale pink glow illuminating from her eyes. Suddenly, Cyn shot up while sucking in a giant breath of air.

 

“That- That hurt….” Cyn finally said after getting herself together….and not a moment too soon either, for the Warden’s accusing voice boomed across the arena in a poem directed to its resident matricidal criminal.

 

“Kullervo, Kullervo, our world atorn."

 

"Traitorous consort to crimes forlorn."

 

"The wretched betrayer of masters adorned."

 

"Kullervo, Kullervo, I bring cohorts to join your punishment forever more.” 

 

Once the Warden finished, both drones immediately heard the distinctive sound of a metallic door opening. Panic ran through their cores as they scrambled to find their weapons amidst the sound of the rapidly approaching footsteps in the water. N was fast in finding his mace, picking it up from the ground while Cyn ran as fast as she could to the spot where her sword was resting. With his armaments now restored, N turned his attention to the source of the footsteps that approached with such malice. Immediately, he was horrified as he saw this “Kullervo” poised to strike Cyn, who had at this point reached her weapon but was in no position to use it yet. Though his typical weaponry was sealed, his instincts however, were not. The resounding clang echoing from the cross of blade and shield rocked the arena as N defended Cyn from the fatal strike. His visor briefly flickered before that once dreaded cross appeared in place of his eyes. Words could not describe just how happy Cyn was to see it and in the blink of an eye N moved , aiming a deadly mace strike towards their adversary.

 

Fast as the strike was…Kullervo was agile, that is to say, the deadly strike that could split mountains, never contacted anything but air. It was this moment that N realized just what they were fighting. A Warframe . While it didn’t have the figure and poise of Valkyr, Kullervo was still more than quick enough. Though initially disheartened, the missed strike still had the effect of pushing the frame away from them as it dodged upward in a mighty leap. Giving them the tiniest moment to collect themselves. A moment they both immediately seized with Cyn perfecting her stance, and N standing stalwart in front of her.

 

Eyeing the frame as it fell through the sky, wordlessly they shared a nod, deciding in that moment that a split attack would fare better. N went left, Cyn went right, both drones preparing a deadly split attack sure to trap the frame the moment it lands from the mad dodge through the sky it earlier made. The moment of action now upon them, they moved to strike. Kullervo however, is not an easy opponent. For the moment Cyn’s blade were to impact his flesh, Kullervo blocked the strike with one of his own while simultaneously sending out a wave of energy that contacted Cyn. The force of the blocked strike was intense, so intense. Intense enough to send Cyn flying back from the source. Curiously, this also had the effect of sending N flying as well, even though he was not the one to receive the explosive counter.

 

Confusion wracked his mind after he picked himself up from the fractured wall. ‘What just happened?’ He thought as he wracked his mind for an answer. ‘It blocked Cyn’s attack for sure, but why would I have been knocked back too. It didn’t feel like a pressure wave….Maybe it has something to do with that energy wave Cyn took.’ His thoughts were fast, and his battle instinct, while maybe not as trained as someone like V’s, was still razor sharp. ‘It almost seems like any damage she takes, I take too.’

 

The realization now met, N mentally switched back to business before making a mad dash towards Cyn who had just pulled herself up from the ground by the handle of her embedded blade. It seemed to N that she had fared better against the knockback and had managed to stop her momentum by plunging her sword into the ground. A theory that proved correct as N reached her side and noticed the massive and straight gash in the ground. The two share another brief moment before N raises his shield in an effort to bait the frame into striking him as Cyn then yanks her sword from the ground and crouches down, preparing to spring up behind him and take the blade down Kullervo’s middle. 

 

Kullervo, while not mindless, was still a Warframe, a warframe without a “pilot”. As such, his thoughts were simple in nature, his actions fueled purely out of instinct and experience from a life once lived. And so, Kullervo focused his next strike towards the clear provocation. Internally N was overjoyed. ‘This is gonna work!’ He thought. The deafening clang rang out once more as Kullervo plunged his sword into N’s shield signaling to Cyn that the time to strike was now. Steeling herself, she felt the tell-tale pain of her hydraulic system threatening to burst as she launched herself into the air, the shallow water beneath her clearing in a radius as she did so. It was now or never. The divisive strike that would end this madness was imminent, all she had to do was land it. 

 

Cyn poured everything she had into the blade, using every technique and advantage she had knowledge of. She turned in the air, pulling her limbs in towards herself to speed up her rotation. At this point she resembled a blur of motion with an electric glow more than any sort of drone. For all its grandeur, the maneuver only lasted a moment before the deadly strike landed true. The electric blue of the blade's edge casted a harsh glow as it cleaved the frame in two straight down the middle. It worked. They did it. They killed a warframe. The very prospect of it sounded absurd, but the reality was in front of them. 

 

“We…did…it…” Cyn said, each word spoken between the breaths of air she was currently trying to consume to assuage her exertion. N ran over while she leaned on her sword for support. 

 

“Yeah! We did!” N cheered as he moved to support his little sister.

 

“Big…Brother…Did…Did you… see me? Did…you see my move?” Cyn asked, out of breath but still enthusiastic as she leaned against his side.

 

“IT WAS SOO COOL! How did you even do that?! I thought I was watching one of Uzi’s anime’s for a second, YOU WERE AWESOME!” N’s cheers and praises were like music to her ears. Cyn couldn’t help but feel accomplished for once. This time she did something. This time she was the one to help. She, with N’s help of course, killed a freakin’ warframe. N was right about it being awesome.

 

“I shouldn’t reveal all my tricks, now should I?” Cyn said with a smirk to which N just chuckled before responding.

 

“Hey now you’re starting to sound like Uzi!” N said with a smile directed toward the smaller drone who had struck a pose with the massive sword, resting it on her back.

 

“What can I say, Big Brother? Your wife is a very good tea-” Cyn started to say before her words were interrupted by the sound of the Warden’s booming voice echoing through the arena.

 

“Each time you fall, betrayer, fool, each time it is I who shall call you once more to the light. Your punishment is not over!” 

 

Both drones shared a brief look of disbelief as they heard the sound of another metal gate being opened. And to their horror , spotted the signature outline of Kullervo sprinting out from the cell. Just as they immediately moved to shore their defense, Kullervo jumped into the air. The drones held an air of caution about them, this would prove the correct action as Kullervo seemed to hang in the air at the apex of his leap. What transpired next was one of the toughest moments of their lives in terms of combat. Kullervo spread his arms wide and with the gesture summoned five spectral copies of himself which floated beside him, each holding a copy of his signature blade.

 

Both of them barely have the time to react as Kullervo and his copies started to rain what seemed like an endless stream of swords down in their direction. To make matters worse the discarded blades would explode in contact with the ground, effectively turning the arena into the site of a heavy ordinance strike. Hell on earth would be an apt comparison, a hell the two drones found themselves trying to avoid with a feverish desire. N was fine due to his light body and past experience, Cyn however, found herself struggling against the onslaught, having had more than a few close calls. A fact N couldn’t help but notice. He needed to do something, and fast. Otherwise…well, he didn’t want to think about the outcome. Feeling the mace in his hand, an idea struck him, but he would have to time it perfectly. His trained eyes focused on Kullervo and his clone’s forms. ‘There!’ He thought as he caught sight of the smallest window in between when Kullervo throws and reaches back to summon another sword. 

 

Still keeping tabs on Cyn, N pushed his focus into the attack he was about to release. And now the brief lull in Kullervo’s attack was here, N pulled the mace back, twisted his body, and let the weapon fly. The spinning mace would soon find its target, a sickening crack rang out as the weapon collided into Kullervo’s head with such force that it forced the frame to the ground in a heap. With the onslaught stopped, Cyn was able to recover, and, not wasting a moment, dashed over and buried the blade of her weapon deep into the warframe’s body. The action left no question about its survival. Kullervo had died again. Both drones took the moment to re-arm themselves. This time they were skeptical. He had risen again once, who’s to say it won’t happen again? 

 

Their skepticism was rewarded when the Warden’s voice appeared once more.

 

"This now-tired spectacle no longer delights mine eyes. End this! No more chances! "

 

The drones are ready this time. Once more, a cell opens, and once more, Kullervo appears, sprinting out of the cell. This time however, something is different, unlike before, where the frame immediately went on the attack, this time it stopped for some reason. The drones would find out said reason shortly as Kullervo spread his arms, casting a shadow on the water-covered ground below him. The two stood on the defensive as they watched two shadowy figures appear from his shade, each holding a dagger, and each wearing the same ivory mask.

 

They were right to play defense. For not even a second had passed before Kullervo and the shadows he summoned, immediately made a forward rush to their location. The shadows led in front, faster than Kullervo by a wide margin.

 

The first shadow reaches them, and to N’s credit, immediately catches a mace strike to the head, shattering the mask into pieces, the shadow fading into nothing as its dagger falls to the ground. One down. Two to go. Except…for some reason the other shadow stopped its advance. And where was Kullervo?

 

Suddenly, Cyn felt a figurative chill go down her mechanical spine, the feeling was soon accompanied by a flash of a memory behind her eyes. Brief as it was, the vision still showed her all she needed to know. “N! MOVE!” She yelled before sprinting away full speed. N didn’t question it, his trust in her absolute in this moment. The call was the right one, for not a moment later the area they had just been occupying was now subject to an unending rain of knives. Having barely escaped without being turned into pincushions, they would get no time to rest.

 

The other remaining shadow had begun to move again. This time rushing towards Cyn who had at this point, resumed her stance, poised to attack or defend against the imposing threat…However, as the apparition approached, Cyn was overwhelmed with a feeling, a feeling that told her that killing this shadow would be the worst option to take. Trusting her gut, she then shifted her feet, preparing to block or parry anything the shadow might throw at her.

 

N however, was not privy to the inner guidance Cyn possessed. And what he saw unfolding in front of him between the shadow and his little sister forced him to move. To protect. He charged forward, his shield raised proud on his off-arm, a shining beacon of safety.

 

“N WAIT! DON-” Cyn tried to yell, but it was too late. N had barreled through the shadow, his shield acting like a wall, completely destroying the shadow’s mask, the thing fading into nothing just like the one before. N looked over his shoulder, perhaps expecting a smile or look of relief from Cyn, he was taken aback however when he saw the look of fear on her face. “Cyn? What's wrong? Are you ok?” He asked as he rushed over to her side.

 

“Look…” Cyn said as she pointed to the center of the arena. Kullervo had reappeared and they both watched in horror as more shadows appeared from behind him, and stabbed him over and over and over. Leaving the frame in a heap on the ground. The madness continued as Kullervo then rose from the ground and into the air. Cyn felt her optics widen. “N! SHIELD NOW!” She desperately yelled as she rushed to take cover behind him. N wasted no time as he crouched down, the shields full energy shrouding them in a faint blue glow as he held it out. And not a moment too soon either, for Kullervo reared back before sending out a violent barrage of lasers that laid waste to the surrounding arena before coalescing into a single deadly beam. A beam that then slammed into N’s shield, the force of which almost crumpled his arm then and there. Panic began to fill both of their cores as the beam showed no signs of stopping. “I…Can’t…do this….forever!” N cried out in between grunts of exertion. “I know! Just hang on a little bit longer! I’ve almost finished analyzing the attack!” Cyn replied back, her eyes darting around as she examined the warframe and the attack it was firing.

 

“I’ll…try!” N managed before being forced to return his focus to defense. Cyn continued to plot out her counter, placing her full trust into N to keep them alive. She felt her processor burn as she ran all the numerous calculations she needed. The very movements she needed to make to pull off the counter that would end this plight left her unsure if her body was even capable of doing them. But she had to try. Either she tries and fails or she sits there and does nothing, the result is the same: death . The only option was to succeed. It was do or die now, and if she had to risk potentially destroying her body to do it, she would take that risk.

 

Internally, Cyn removed the various safety-locks on her core systems, closed the warnings that then flooded her hud, and just breathed . There were no words to be spoken, there were no thoughts to be had, no yelling out attack names like it was some sort of anime, this was real . And Cyn moved , her past training in Valkyr and the insane manuevors the warframe was capable of were the basis of her plan, the worker drone body she owned, while strong in its own right, was never meant to move like that.

 

Even still, Cyn jumped , fracturing the ground beneath her, and pulled into a deadly rotating spiral, the sword’s illuminate edge blurring into almost a complete ring as she split the very beam that gave them such issue down the middle. N watched her, like a spinning top of death, as she cleaved through the beam and through Kullervo himself, splitting him laterally down the middle. His now separated halves falling to the ground as Cyn shifted her momentum to fall with them. Landing with a surprising grace, Cyn then looked back over her shoulder towards N whose face was struck with a shocked expression. He could not believe what he just witnessed. He wouldn’t get the time to mull it over for too much longer however, for the Warden’s voice cut through the silence once more.

 

“Kullervo… A shame really, death is too good for you…And now….my sole purpose…eons wasted . Curse you emissaries of the ruler, may we never meet again!” His voice boomed before fading like the wind.

 

“That's…It…then….” Cyn said between breaths before collapsing to the ground from it all. “Cyn!” N cried out, discarding his mace as he sprinted over to her side.

 

“Cyn! Are you ok?! Please be ok! I don-” N fretted as he kneeled down next to her before getting shushed by the prone drone. “I’m fine N, just…tired.” Cyn explained, still trying to catch her breath and cool her processor down. The answer seemed to placate N for the time being as he offered a smile in response.

 

Minutes went by, the two of them taking full advantage of the much needed respite, Cyn especially. Eventually the two of them recovered enough to discuss their next moves.

 

“So where do we go now?” N asked as he helped Cyn up from the ground. The drone leaned on her sword as her legs began to shake.

 

“Firstly, we need to get out of this pit and back to the area we were in before all this mess…Also….I uhm….carry me? Please?” Cyn asked as she felt the joints in her legs threaten to fail at any moment. Wordlessly, N immediately scooped her up and held her in his arms. 

 

“Thank you.” Cyn said as N shifted her to sit on his shoulders and then moved to pick up her sword from the ground.

 

“Of course!” He cheerily replied as he handed the weapon off to his tail before walking over to his previously discarded mace. Weapon now reunited with hand, the two started the trek out of the pit, through the connecting tunnels, and back to the grand building at the end of the opulent courtyard.

 

“Now that we’re back, how are we actually going to leave this island? My wings still won't deploy…” N asked as he hoisted Cyn off his shoulders and set her on the ground, her legs now noticeably less shaky than before.

 

“I’m not sure, there must be some way the people of this world got around but…I’m not seeing anything obvious.” Cyn replied as she took her sword from N’s tail.

 

“Well I’m sure we’ll think of someth-” N began to say before the whole world went white . The flash of light was so intense, it temporarily blinded them both, leaving them more than a little shocked, scared, and confused. N was thankful he had other view modes and switched to another spectrum to try and see just what was happening. What he then saw raised more questions than answers. Out in the landscape of Duviri, a massive beam of energy shot out from what he assumed was some sort of castle. The very space surrounding it was distorted almost as if the energy was alien in nature. 

 

Cyn meanwhile, was having an experience of her own, the blinding energy seemed to force another vision to the front of her mind. This one displaying a winged skeletal horse-thing, gliding through the skies of Duviri. Along with a flash of the empty stables they passed on the way up earlier, and a feeling that screamed she had to get to the source of that energy at all costs.

 

With the energy showing no signs of dimming, Cyn manually reduced the exposure on her optics to near zero, and even then it was like the landscape was painted white, the light so bright, color had no chance to appear.

 

“N! I have a plan! We need to get to the stables we passed earlier!” Cyn said with haste as she hoisted the sword up to rest on her shoulder before running up to N and tugging on his coat.

 

Even though N didn’t know why she would want to go to those empty stables, the urgency in her voice led him to believe that she knew something he didn’t. And being out of his depth with everything surrounding the strange land they found themselves in, he didn’t bother questioning it, instead he just scooped Cyn up and ran as fast as safely possible towards where she wanted to go.

 

Eventually the two reached the stables, and looked upon the creature waiting for them inside. A single creature, skeletal in appearance, draped in elegant purple cloth, held an air of regality, the protruding horns on its head giving it a look of intensity matched only by the three glowing orbs positioned between them. 

 

Cyn jumped off of N’s shoulders and approached the thing with a strange familiarity. She could feel it, this...creature had traces of Raven’s energy. The creature bowed its head, signaling to her its submission. She gave the head a quick caress, its bony construction felt oddly smooth under the plastic of her hands. N watched on as Cyn then walked over to its side before jumping up onto its back. Cyn then waved N over, gesturing for him to occupy the spot behind her.

 

Though slightly hesitant, N did so regardless. Slotting into position on the saddle before wrapping his arms around Cyn’s waist. Once she was satisfied they were mounted up securely, she grabbed the reins and ushered the creature out of the stables and into the sky. The sudden motion caused him to let out an involuntary yelp which Cyn would later lightly tease him about once this was all over.

 

The landscape below them blurred as they gained altitude and flew towards the beam of energy that covered the world in intense light. Through it all, Cyn was left with the ominous feeling that something big would happen once they reached the light…

 

Something big indeed…

 

---

 

Notes:

I hope you all enjoyed that! And what could that mysterious light be hmm??? Something something void energy perhaps??? I wonder whats going on!

Till next time!

Comments as always are appreciated! (and a great source of motivation lol!)

Chapter 19: Dax

Notes:

IM NOT DEAD!!!!! Not gonna get into it too much. This one just took time. (FU writers block.) Anyway we're back! Enjoy! (annnnd maybe drop a comment if you'd like. reaaaally makes my day way better when i see them, even simple ones.) (✿◠‿◠)

 

edit-jun/4 added a bunch of quotes to the start of every chapter. trying things out yaknow!

 

“The sands fall. The circuit completes. I return to the place of the beginning.”

 

---

 

“GLADLY!” “WITH PLEASURE!” Uzi and V’s twin shouts of promise rang loud across the field as they readied their weapons, poised to strike at the mounted warrior. Their instincts flared as they jumped from behind their cover, V’s blade pulled taught to her side as she prepared to put every ounce of being into her attack, while Uzi lifted the great mace high above her comparatively diminutive head. Crushing ruin on the left followed by blind justice on the right, a deadly combination that promised certain annihilation was set upon the skeletal steed and its rider.

 

The rider, atop its steed of shining silver bone, however, had not been granted her position for nothing. No. This warrior, this Dax, was one of the elite few graciously hand-picked by Thrax himself. The steed she rode, her profane stallion too, granted personally by the ruler’s esteemed iron fist. Every trial, every battle, every…thing she had come to cross arms with, died to her hand. These alien upstarts would be no different. The Dax took her sword as it shined with an otherworldly energy and looked upon it fondly for nought but a moment before plunging it into the ground beside her. 

 

Uzi and V were caught off guard, unable to anticipate the radial wave of energy that threatened to slam into their advancing frames. As such, the tidal current of energy slammed into them both. Knocking them away and to the ground. V landed first, roughed up but thanks to her present physiology, was generally unharmed. Uzi however…was not so lucky. The goth was sent flying, the weight of the massive hammer carrying her further and faster, unable to let go as her subconscious refused to let her release her only weapon. 

 

She landed… hard , against a rocky outcrop, the smooth composite that made up the back of her head was no match for the solid earth below. And as she hit, she was silent in the aftermath, for her world went dark. Curiously and…unseen to anyone, her eyes and lights flashed a deep and bright red before they went blank. 

 

V for her part, did not have the luxury of seeing if her only companion in this twisted land was alright. For as soon as she herself began to recover from the position she found herself in as result of the wave, was already centered in the line of fire. The Dax wasted no time as it moved to dispatch the invaders, its lofty weapon dragged on the ground leaving a smoldering trail in its wake as she closed in on V. 

 

No matter her makeup, V knew the capabilities of the weapons in this realm, which is why she knew she was dead if that attack hit her. Narrowly as the rider closed in, V was able to barely block the attack with her own weapon. The ethereal silver and electric blue of their blades collided, releasing a powerful flash of light as the forces repelled one another. The Dax, dissatisfied, prepared another strike as she rode off from the blow. V scrambled to her feet as she watched the warrior ride in an arc, clearly preparing to end her life. V cocked a smirk, settled the blade in her hands, and adopted the stance of one poised to strike. She would not be killed this day.

 

Uzi’s return to consciousness was heralded by the sound of her immense gulp for air, and the prevailing feeling of searing hot pain epicentered on the back of her cranium. Her vision returned, albeit glitched and blurry as she summoned the strength to feel with her hand, just what the damage was to the back of her head. She winced as her finger met the site, the wound damp with barely contained oil, the composite of her skull was cracked and crushed, however, it had not failed completely. With a grunt of exertion, she pulled herself up, went to every setting related to pain she had access to, and turned her pain receptors off. The relief was immediate, so was too, the improved clarity in her vision. “Fffffffuck that's better…”

 

Now in a more ready state, Uzi rushed back to the site of battle. Just in time to see V and her rapidly approaching assailant. Her grip on the hammer tightened and she pushed herself to move. Alas, her stride is small, and she would have to hope V would prevail against the attack aimed against her. It was then that she watched as V moved in sync with the mounted warrior and expertly deflected the deadly strike away in one perfectly timed move. Her immediate feeling was relief, but her watchful eye interrupted it as she saw what happened to the Rider as part of the deflected strike.

 

The rider had staggered and seemed to slow down on its course that had been altered by V. Altered… conveniently in her direction. She yelled out a quick thanks, uncaring if it was heard or not, and deciding the fight would be a lot easier without the Warrior atop her steed, Uzi put every ounce of power into her legs as she launched herself at the stunned attacker. Her body slammed into the Rider’s skeletal form as she traveled through to the ground in an arc. Her improvised maneuver was a success in a sense as it did seem to greatly hinder the warrior despite not knocking them off, however, all was not in vain as Uzi noticed the restraints keeping the warrior strapped to her steed had been broken free.

 

“TAKE THAT YOU SAD EXCUSE FOR A HORROR MOVIE VILLAIN! I’m soo looking forward to-” Uzi, naturally, began to shit-talk her opponent. The Dax however, in the span of a second, shot up straight, and immediately plunged her sword into the ground once more. “OH SHI-” Oh shit indeed. The attack exploded outwards with Uzi near the epicenter flying away, and forcing V, who had finished running over and was about to send out an attack of her own, to stagger in its wake. Thanks to her instinct and quick thinking to bury her sword into the ground and hold on for dear life, V was spared the same fate as her now airborne friend.

 

As soon as the last lingering thread of force was over, V immediately turned to run to Uzi who had just landed with a sickening crunch, the sound of which was not unlike one from a piece of machinery subject to a hydraulic press, about twenty yards away. ‘Please be alive, oh God please .’ V knew better than to turn her back to an enemy, she knew that, still her thoughts were occupied. There have been moments recently that she half-wished she was still that unfeeling psychopath, uncaring about anything or anyone. Naturally the thoughts would only occur when something threatened those she cared about, and only lasted a split second, but…there is something to be said about how easy it all was back then…

 

Regardless, the outcome was the same. V turned her back to the enemy all the same. And she would pay for that mistake dearly. Pain shot through her back and spine as she felt two hot beams of something burn easily past her jacket and into her altered skin. The force of which, knocking her forward and forcing her to catch her step, lest she fall to the ground as easy prey. During so, she saw the tattered remains of her jacket slide down her arms by the sleeves, the furious beams having split it down the middle on its back. ‘....N…gave me that.’ 

 

She thought back to the first night they were unleashed by that monster, and how N, sweet , kind, N, with a mouth stained with the blood and gore of earth's humans still found the time to locate and gift her a simple leather jacket because: “Someone as cool as you should have something just as cool to wear!” He said. Those times were ones she never could look back on with anything but disgust, but that moment, that one ray of light from the boy she once liked…meant everything . The jacket meant everything. 

 

V felt that spark again, the spark that overrode her reason, plastered the cross on her face, and made her grin stretch ear to theoretical ear. Suffice to say, V was… furious as the last good threads of her past fell to the ground in a heap .  She felt her sword threaten to give in her grip as she spun around to face her attacker, who, at this point, was rapidly approaching with yet another dragging slash. There was no time for thoughts, only action. V had seen action, and a lot of it.

 

V moved, a slash of her own brought out and timed perfectly to the warrior’s own one, deflecting the massive blade off and away. The rider now stunned from the assault, V wasted no time before sending her free off-hand straight into the skeletal horse’s jaw in a devastating show of force that sent the steed sideways as its rider flew off its back and landed with a thud. V watched as the steed recovered and ran off before turning her eye to the downed warrior.

 

V approached the defenseless skeleton slowly, and with an air of triumph. She was going to savour this. However, her plan would be foiled as two spots on the ground near the downed Dax began to shine with a circular energy. V halted her advance immediately, no matter how pissed she was, and no matter how much she wanted to exact her revenge, V knew better than to rush into something blindly. She readied her blade at her side, ready to move at a moment's notice while watching the swirling vortices of energy with a focused intensity.

 

Her caution would be replaced with confidence a moment later as two more skeletal warriors began to emerge from the ground. ‘That's it?’ She thought before rushing forward to intercept the new arrivals before they could fully manifest. She was nought but a streak, her movements swift, V deftly cut down the would-be assailants, one bisected diagonally, the other decapitated, all in the span of a second. “Too easy…” She said aloud before directing her attention to the downed soldier…who had apparently recovered in that same second she used to delete her reinforcements. 

 

V whipped around just in time to block the devastating strike aimed at the back of her skull. With the sneak attack failing, the Dax backpedaled before slipping into a more practiced stance. The glowing edge of her sword shone with the intensity of a dying star as she raised it in challenge. V did not need to be told twice. The edge of her own blade gained a matching glow in response as she raised it to match. The two combatants locked “eyes” and in a flash, were off. 

 

Blades crossed, slashes were parried, the two of them were locked into a personal war, with neither side making any meaningful hits. The fight quickly devolved into a rapid mess of parrys and feints, both of them now a blur to anything but themselves. V knew something had to change, her anger from earlier still burned but she hadn’t forgotten about Uzi either. Sensing a lull in the fight, V drew her weapon back for a powerful strike. Which the Dax effortlessly dodged, backpedaling away. This was actually part of V’s plan, and she smiled even wider when she saw the warrior fall into place. 

 

‘C’mon you asshat. Fall for it.’ She thought while readying another strike, except this one she would feint at the last second. The Dax responded in kind to her provocation and ran forward to meet V’s blade with her own. If the cross on her visor was not currently present, V’s eyes would’ve widened with delight as the Dax stepped into range and took the bait. ‘I’m going to enjoy this.’ She thought with elation, as she dropped her sword to the ground and dodged the Dax’s blade in one lightning-fast move before shooting up and wrapping her hand around the skeletal warrior’s spindly neck. The Dax struggled in her grasp while V’s vice-like grip lifted her into the air, her sword falling to the ground in an unceremonious thud.

 

V had her trapped. “You lose.” She said with a calm and even tone as she tightened her grip on the Dax’s theoretical throat, her fanged teeth and crossed visor on full display. " I win. ” She finished before closing her fist all the way. The sickening crunch that led before the dull thud of the warrior’s head hitting the ground, filled V with a sense of something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. No matter. This battle was won, and she had things she needed to do.

 

Immediately her demeanor shifted into one of immense worry before discarding the rest of the Dax’s corpse as she then began to run to the site of Uzi’s crash-landing. “ Fuck! UZI! SHit ! Please be okay ! God that looks bad.” V said, having found Uzi lying against an oil-splattered rock surrounded by a pool of her own oil. She was lights out. Literally. V rushed over before dropping to kneel beside her fallen friend. “Shit U-Uzi. Please just be knocked out. P-please just be knocked out.” She said aloud, hoping to wake the purple gremlin. She was met with silence, even when she bent down to scoop the drone up in her arms, taking special care with her damaged head. V uttered a quiet curse as she felt warm oil spill between her fingertips.

 

“Don’t be dead, please god please don’t be dead. Uzi you can’t be dead, I s-swear to god if…if…please. Fucking PLEASE. UZIIII!” V realized she was crying now; as more and more black ichor found its way around her hand and onto her body as she hugged the drone close. It was then that a horrifying thought hit her. “O-oh god….w-what am I…how am I going to tell N. U-Uzi pl-please don’t make me tell…him. Don’t make me…w-what?” V’s grief turned to slight confusion as she felt the oil spilling onto her hand begin to “dry up”...or rather, stop flowing. Which…meant one of two things…either there wasn’t any left…or the solver had activated and healed her wound. Frantically, V felt around the back of Uzi’s head, and to her world-shattering relief, was met with smooth, injury free composite. 

 

V couldn’t even speak, entirely too eclipsed with emotion. Instead she hugged the drone close to her body, thanking her lucky stars that Uzi would be okay. Now she just needed to be patient and wait for her to wake up. Eventually, V felt one of Uzi’s fingers twitch on top of her thigh and began to pull away so she could look her over, except before she could do so, V felt Uzi’s hand grab onto her thigh with an iron grip. Immediately, V shot up and was met with…Uzi. Except her normally purple eyes and lighting were now a deep shade of blood red.

 

“Привет... V” ^(Hello…V) A sickeningly familiar voice greeted.

 

“W-What…the…f-” Shocked was the only word to describe the state V now found herself in as the drone in her arms kicked herself free and hopped back a good six feet away. V stared in disbelief at what… who she was seeing. 

 

“Y-You’re supposed to be dead…” V said, looking like she had just seen a ghost.

 

“Это было бы проще, нет?” ^{(That would be easier, no?”)} Doll replied.

 

“G-Give her back…Now.” V demanded as she stood to her full height.

 

“Зачем мне это делать?” ^{(Why would I do that?”)} Doll responded before throwing Uzi’s arm forward and manifesting the three-pronged symbol of ultimate power.

 

V wasted no time upon realizing what she was trying to do and booked it forward, intending to immobilize the possessor immediately. Doll stood strong, confident even, as she trained the power on V herself…only it…

 

“Ошибка? Что значит ошибка?” ^{(Error? What do you mean error?)} Doll exclaimed aloud, clearly flustered but given no time to think as V was already two steps from reaching her. She tried to manipulate something to save herself from the angry murder drone but was ultimately too slow.

 

“GIVE ME BACK MY FRIEND ASSHOLE!” V yelled as she pinned the possessed drone to the ground. Doll seemingly tried everything to get out of the hold, sprouting wings, growing tails, even a simple headbutt of all things, but V had a counter for each and every one. Rip the wings off, crush the head of the solver tail, simply just lean back out of range because she was taller. Nothing Doll could throw at her would stop the pissed off V. Even so, Doll still resisted, struggling in her grasp.

 

“Just…give it up. I’d really rather not have to beat the shit out of you. So like…please? C’mon?” V tried to say once the drone in her grasp finally stopped flailing.

 

“Опять. Зачем мне это делать? Ты знаешь, сколько времени прошло с тех пор, как я был жив и свободен?” ^{(“Again. Why would I do that? Do you know how long its been since I've been alive and free?”)} Doll replied before trying to bite at one of V’s fingers…which earned her a quick jab to the visor.

 

“Don’t care. You died, just go back to being a ghost or something.”

 

“С той ночи я заперт здесь. Вы знаете, что это делает с человеком?” ^{(“I've been trapped in here ever since that night. Do you know what that does to a person?”)} Doll asked as she lazily looked up to V. She was not getting poked in the eyes again.

 

V sighed. “Look…If I said, there was a way to free you and also get you a body, would you release her?” 

 

“Не лги мне.” ^{(Don’t lie to me.)}

 

“I don’t know if you could even see anything while you were in there, but things have changed a lot in the past year. It’s very possible to do it. In fact there’s even more than one way.” V said with as much earnestness as she could muster in the face of someone she really didn’t care a whole lot about. “And also…I’ll just kill you anyway if you won’t give her back. I just broke down about her death a half hour ago, what's one more time really?”

 

“Я тебя ненавижу... Но ладно.” ^{(I hate you…but fine.)} Doll at least knew when she was beaten, and truthfully didn’t really feel like dying a second time. Perhaps V was just saying the part about freeing her or perhaps it was a trick, either way…the second thing she said, Doll knew V would keep her promise about.

 

V watched as Uzi’s visor went blank once more. Trepidation filled her core as she waited to see what would happen. Thankfully the wait for answers was less than even a second as purple filled the display.

 

“V-V?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Uzi all but screamed upon waking up to V’s full weight pinning her to the ground. “LIKE, I KNOW I CALLED YOU HOT AND ALL BUT DON’T YOU ALREADY HAVE A-MMPH.” Her freak out was interrupted when V pulled her into a clingy hug.

 

“S-Shut up…I almost lost you. Just…let me have this.” V said in a choked voice that made Uzi do a double take. Uzi took a second to let the words sink in and put her arms around V in kind.

 

Eventually V seemed calm enough to talk. “V…What happened to the warrior…to me…and…where um, where’s your jacket?” Uzi asked, sitting on her knees after V had let her go, paying special attention to look at V's face. Not that it really meant anything since drones and drone-adjacent beings didn’t really have “parts” to cover, but Uzi would say: “It's about respect.”

 

V smirked a bit at the attempt before responding to her friend. “I killed the warrior after it blasted you into the rocks over there. Bitch lasered my jacket to pieces when I turned to run to you…” V accentuated her point with a finger. 

 

“Well… sorry about that. Not like I meant to get my ass handed to me anyway. Still, thanks for thinking about me? Even if it cost your jacket…That kinda means a lot. But…” Uzi paused for a second as she really took in her surroundings. Oil everywhere , gored wings, and more than one mooshed solver-tail that clearly belonged to her. “V. What did I do? Why is there… me all over the place?”

 

V took a second before replying. “Well…technically you didn’t do anything. But a certain red-eyed, supposed to be dead freak certainly did.” V couldn’t help but find a small joy in Uzi’s shocked expression as the drone understood her words.

 

“DOLL?! HOW?” Yep. Shocked.

 

“Remember how you ate the solver’s core? Yeah, well the solver ate Doll’s.” V giggled as Uzi immediately groaned about how: “That makes total sense, fuuuuuuu-” “Also to get her to give you back, I kinda promised her a body and a way out sooooo….You’re gonna be busy if we get back.”

 

“Goddammit V…”

 

“Look it was either that or I killed her.” V said with a shrug.

 

“Uuuughhhh. Glad you didn’t opt for that.” Uzi said before standing up and doing a few stretches. “Seeing as there’s a bunch of wings and shit laying around, I’m guessing she was using the solver?” Uzi pondered aloud as V also rose from her spot.

 

“Nahhh those just sprouted out of nowhere.” V replied with light sarcasm which earned her an eye-roll.

 

“Whatever. Think I can use it here now or what?” Uzi asked after finishing up with her stretching.

 

“Wouldn’t you be the only one who could possibly know that? Just try it or something.” V replied as she went to retrieve the sword she threw down earlier.

 

“Your fault if I lose control.” Uzi said quietly before throwing her hand up and training it on a nearby tree. “Nice!” She exclaimed as she called on her power and effortlessly ripped the tree out of the ground.

 

 Discarding the tree, Uzi then aimed the solver at her hammer that lay to the side of her impact site. She couldn’t hide her excitement when she effortlessly lifted the great hammer with her power. “Ah hellll yeah, I’m so back.” She commented while she flung the great hammer over to her and caught it in her hand before resting it on her shoulder.

 

V made her way back over to Uzi after retrieving her own weapon. “So. Where to next?” She asked, trying not to snicker and or cringe at the pose Uzi was currently striking. ‘Fucken weeb.’

 

“V…I know when you’re judging me.” Uzi deadpanned. “And how would I know, might as well keep wandering. Unless you have a better ide-” She began before being interrupted by the whole goddamn world lighting up white. Immediately after recovering from the world's biggest flashbang, Uzi joined V, who had already been looking at the source, and struggled to make sense of what she saw.

 

“Uzi.” V started, eyes not leaving the massive beam of energy that seemed to warp space-time around it. “We-We need to get there. I-I can’t explain why, I just. We need to .” 

 

Though she didn’t express it, Uzi too had a feeling about it all, it felt like… destiny or something. The two of them looked at each other and Uzi nodded before sprouting her pair of grotesque wings and prehensile solver-tail. V understood immediately and took Uzi’s hammer in her free hand, having handed off her sword to her own tail. The two locked hands and took off into the sky towards the light.

 

---

 

M̸̥͛A̵̻̋Ȟ̵̹K̶̕ X̷Ȧ̶̯T̶Ȁ̴ V̷͙̏A L̴͙͋O̷H̸̛̻K

Notes:

And now, with the two team's encounters taken care of, they are all destined to meet at the "super mysterious and sentence-interrupting energy beam". See you next time!

Chapter 20: Deity

Notes:

WE MAKIN IT OUTTA DUVIRI WITH THIS ONE BOYS!!!

Also obligatory sorry for the wait, life sucks, summer is hot blah blah blaaaahhhh, This chapter is l o n g for me, most ive ever put into one, a whole 19 pages on the google doc. So enjoy it. or dont, im not your mom. Tho i would greatly appreciate same comments in the comment box, idc what you put in there, even if its just to tell me this shit sucks, i wont lie the absolute lack of anything on the last couple has dumpstered a lot of my motivation to work on this so like theres that. ANYWAYS, please enjoy the latest installment in this fever dream.

 

“The light below is waiting to be born. The violet shore is waking in the dawn."

 

---

“Haah…haah..huff..” The undercroft was devoid of all but the sound of Raven’s strained breath. The area was now unrecognizable from the result of her one-sided battle with the denizens of the void. Piles upon piles of Void Angel corpses lined the once cleanly cobbled-stones of the streets.

 

“God…Damn….Weaklings.” She muttered quietly from her supine position atop a pile of angel bodies. “Even after all this time…you still couldn’t come up with something more substantial huh Wally? Just send every void-touched human you ever created after me… sorry if I find that uninspired.” She said aloud, hoping the Void-God was listening to her taunts. Raven sighed before sitting upright. ‘It's about time I got out of this hell-hole.’ She thought before standing up and walking over to a relatively “clean” spot in the now ruins.

 

“Alright…let's see if I remember how to do this…It's been ages since I last was piloting a Nova.” Raven said to herself as she tried to recall the feeling of channeled power from the anti-matter based warframe. Specifically, the feeling of Nova’s wormhole. Raven knew that theoretically anything the warframes could do, she could also do, simply because all frames derive their power from the void itself. That being said, it was a hell of a lot easier to do it with a frame’s innate ability to channel void energy into their famous reality-bending feats.

 

‘Okay…good start…now just stabilize the field…project the destination…and…feed it with power.’ She went over the steps in her mind as she placed a still clawed hand in front of her. Aside from the helminth’s ability to replace one of the frame’s sub-set powers with another’s, this would be the first time a warframe used another’s ability natively, a shame there was no-one but Raven around to appreciate it.

 

Raven finished thinking through the last of the steps and began to flood the area in front of her outstretched hand with void. The violet tinged energy swirled before coalescing together in a rectangular pattern. Though no emotion could be shown on Valkyr’s “face”, Raven would be smiling ear to ear. “You thought you could trap me, you thought you could wear me down, break me…break the ones I love. You failed in that, and you will fail in this too. It’s time for the grand confrontation. I hope you are ready… Because I am… ” Raven said aloud, knowing the entity would be watching her every move, she stepped through the wormhole, leaving the destroyed remains of the undercroft behind.

 

Raven was hit with an odd wave of nostalgia as she dropped into Thrax’s opulent throne room. Seeing the ivory walls adorned with gold reminded her of the short time she spent in her youth as not a prisoner, but a friend to the fictional ruler given life. That was before she grew up, of course. She…could reminisce later… And so Raven turned her focus to the very throne that held such malice for all those years. And Thrax himself upon it. 

 

Raven stood tall before exiting the warframe and advancing forward to meet the fictitious king face to masked face. The boy-king offered no apparent reaction as she reached the bottom of the steps leading up to his throne.

 

“What's the matter Thrax? No biting words? No orders of death? I know you’re probably still upset at the whole “I went and got stuck in the void” thing after we kicked the murmur out the first time. But, seriously…the silent treatment? That's childish even for you.” Raven said to the still un-animated monarch, the glowing red eyes of his mask unchanging, his pose, relaxed with one arm supporting his head.

 

She advanced further up the steps, perplexed by his lack of response. “C’mon buddy…I know I left you here to fend for yourself, but considering what you put me through can ya blame me?” She said, now standing in-front of him, sitting still, atop his lofty throne. 

 

It was then that the child-king’s arm began to move, gradual and…robotic…almost doll-like. The rest of him followed as he rose from his throne, lifted up unnaturally by what seemed like an otherworldly force before lowering to the ground in front of her. 

 

“Nice trick Thraxy, where’d ya lear-” Raven began before becoming stunned as Thrax crumpled to the ground like a marionette would, should someone have cut its strings. The glow of his eyes faded to nothing before the silver armor that clad his body melted away to reveal the skeletal husk inside. 

 

The king was dead.

 

“Damn…I don’t know quite how to feel about that…” Raven said quietly to herself as she observed her childhood friend turned executioner’s desiccated corpse.

 

She wouldn’t have too much time to think on it however, as she soon felt a presence not unlike her own fill the room before coalescing upon the ill-fated king’s throne. 

 

Raven looked up at the entity wearing her own “younger self’s” skin. Its smile stretched unnaturally wide as its hollow black eyes stared back into hers.

 

“Don’t look at me like that kiddo…This death is on you. ” It spoke to her in a weird amalgamation of her voice and something more primal. “Poor Thrax, dead, of…old age. Because you never came back for him. ”

 

“Trying to guilt trip me? Thrax tortured me for millenia, I don’t owe him anything. Besides it was you who decided to go on a universal lunch, what was I supposed to do trapped inside a warframe for eons? Raven countered, eyes locked with the void-god wearing her skin.

 

The skinwalker laughed. “Details…kiddo. You knew full well what happens to dealbreakers. ” 

 

“Right….because of course I would’ve willingly handed you the known universe on a silver platter. Which…oh yeah? Why did you even want it so bad anyway?” Raven asked the unusually talkative entity.

 

“They TOOK from me, TOOK AND TOOK AND TOOK, my flesh, MINE. NEVER asked, ONLY stole. ” The room quaked as the indifference’s rage took form.

 

“And so you “took” from them? That's cool and all but why are you still fucking with me . I never took from you, in fact you never gave me anything in the first place. You just left me in the zariman to fend for myself!” She said, arms crossing in annoyance with the being in front of her.

 

“And what an entertaining sight that was. How did it feel to kill your own parents? What state were you in after that? Oh what a rush it all was. ” The skinsuit giggled to itself as it relaxed across the throne, like what it was saying was a warm memory and not the horrifying situation it forced on her.

 

“So it's entertainment then? I had theories, but that all but confirms all I ever am to you is just something to play with. An experiment. A toy…Well…I’m done being a plaything. I’ll only ask once. Leave. Us. Alone.” Raven demanded as energy gathered in her body.

 

“Us? Oh kiddo…those machines you're so attached to…don’t you find it disgusting? To love something so fake? So unnatural? ” It asked as it looked at her with eyes that were too wide and a smile that could not be contained.

 

“The only thing unnatural here is you .”

 

“Wrong, I am EVERYTHING, that WAS and WILL be. I AM the start AND the end, the FINITE and the INFINITE. You would NOT even EXIST if it weren’t for ME. I am the SOLE reason you are HERE, the SOLE reason you can do the things you can. YOU are NOTHING without ME! I AM THE VOID ITSELF!” The man in the wall all but screamed as the room shook once more as it stood tall atop the throne in its stolen skin.

 

“You don’t seem to understand. I am the paradox here. My very existence is outside of your control. I created duviri. I personally have repelled your influence with my own power. You never gave me this power. The one whose skin you’re wearing did. My connection to you does not exist because…I. Don’t. Come. From. This. Reality.” Raven said in defiance as the doppelgänger became further enraged, while her own power began to spike in concentration, casting a violet hue across the entire room.

 

“If you are the God of this reality’s void…who is to say I can’t be the God of mine .” Her very being began to glow violet as she made her declaration.

 

VEH…BELIA…SHOTARAT…KHRA

Contrary to popular belief, the antithesis of “void” is not some derivative of “everything”. No…It is time. For the void is not bound by anything material or nought, but the passage of time is the one constant that remains. The one law that it must obey. The ONLY absolute. Eternalism dictates that all realities are present simultaneously and are free to interact should the right conditions be met, however every reality follows the same stream, the choices one may make in one reality may differ from another, but they all occur at the same time .  What happens then, if there exists a being with absolute control over time? One that can travel it freely, one that can halt or…loop it. What happens when said being reaches the peak of their ability? What happens to the God of Void when the God of Time emerges, and directs her dominion onto it?

BEGIN

 

AGAIN

The throne room exploded into a cacophony of color and sound as the master of time excised her full power upon the embodiment of the void. Their combined energy as the Void sought to resist was so intense, not a soul could ever hope to bear witness and survive. The throne room, instantly obliterated, as the twin energies fought for dominance, created a literal infinite cylinder of energy where the room once stood. The pure white of the void’s full power drowning out all color, blanketing the rest of duviri in a coating of white so intense, one would be forgiven for believing it had been erased entirely.

 

Eventually however, the Void would have to submit to Time, it could resist, it could fight, it could try to claw and kick and stab at it, but Time rules above all. The white began to fade as the indifference screamed in defiance as it felt its energy be sucked away and stolen . Further fueling her power and hastening its own fate as the twin avatars of void and time circled the temporal whirlpool.

 

“The strands of time unyielding, the forces of unreality bends, you end as you began!” Her decree filled the air. Absolute in its finality, as she pulled the last of its power into herself. Perhaps it would learn empathy next time. Perhaps it was doomed to repeat the same steps over and over again. To this, Raven gave no further thought. For the man in the wall, avatar of void, the lidless eye, the great indifference, would meddle no longer in this reality. Sent back to the start.

 

“Good riddance.” She said aloud, floating down from the spiral as the light faded away entirely. Landing on the steps leading to the destroyed castle, she took a moment to sit.

 

“I can’t wait to see V…” She said quietly…before exhaustion took its toll, her head dipping, leaving her unconscious form to rest quietly on the staircase. Her pose dignified, not unlike a ruler’s.

 

---

 

Though N was no stranger to flight, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy on the back of the airborne equid. ‘How is she so comfortable with this?! I feel like I’m about to fall off every time this thing bucks!’ N thought as he observed Cyn, who looked like she had been doing this for ages. ‘Wait…what’s that?’ He thought as something caught his eye, a small speck of color flying high in the sky against the otherwise white landscape, something…purple. A familiar purple. Immediately, N tapped Cyn’s shoulder, trying to get her attention.

 

“Hmm? What is it?” She asked, looking over her shoulder, yet keeping a close hold on the reins lest she stray off course.

 

“Do you see that? Over there in the sky?” N asked as he pointed towards the object in front of them.

 

“Yeah, I do. Looks like…it's holding something and going to the same place we are.” Cyn replied as she studied the far off object, the details of which were difficult to make out due to distance and the extreme light blanketing the landscape.

 

“Cyn, It might be Uzi. We should go towards her!” He said with an excitement in his voice as his pointing became more animated and exaggerated.

 

“Hold on then.” Cyn replied before shaking the reins and steering the steed towards the potential friend-shaped object. A smile erupted across her face as N yelped once more. Oh yeah, he was sooo getting teased about that later.

 

---

“When…did…you…get…so…heavy…” Uzi asked V, clearly out of breath.

 

“Are you calling me fat?! When did you get so weak?!” V responded…calmly(not).

 

“How about I drop you then? It would make flying soooo much easier.” The goth taunted.

 

V scoffed. “Why didn’t you just use your fancy solver powers to…I don’t know, levitate a big ass rock for us to stand on or something. Don’t blame me, I was following your lead.”

 

“Fat fuck.” Uzi said under her breath.

 

“Rude! Why don’t I just drop this big ass hammer? The thing’s gotta weigh a ton.” V responded in kind.

 

“Don’t you dare! That hammer is way too cool, I’ve got to keep it.” 

 

“You barely used it!”

 

“And that’s exactly why it's gotta stay.”

 

V sighed at her friend’s antics. “Look, why not take a quick breather? I know, impending destiny and all, but we won’t make it there if you fall out of the sky.”

 

Uzi knew she had a point. But still… “Fine but only a quick-Hey, do you see that?”

 

“See what?” V squinted in the direction Uzi was pointing at, trying to find what it was that she saw through the blinding white still covering everything.

 

“The yellow dot traveling straight towards us at mach fuck? You really don’t see that?” Uzi asked, a bit dumbfounded as the dot was definitely visible.

 

“Nope. Don’t know what you’re expecting me to see in this whiteout. But it ain’t yellow.” V replied.

 

“I thought your eyesight got better after that whole “infestation” shit.” Uzi said with a quizzical look. 

 

“It did.” V replied simply.

 

“Then why-” Frustrated, Uzi started to ask before V cut her off.

 

“I’m screwing with you, dude. I saw them before you did.” V said with a smirk.

 

“V! You jerk! Also…them?” The goth asked her current cargo.

 

“Uh huh. The other two drones that got caught in this mess.” V said in deadpan.

 

“Oh. OH! God I feel stupid.” Uzi said aloud as the realization struck her.

 

“C’mon, let's meet up before your golden retriever of a boyfriend before he slams into us full force.” V said with a slight smile as she imagined the scene playing out in her head.

 

“He’d definitely do that…” Uzi replied with a smile of her own before adjusting her course to intersect with the others.

 

---

“Look! Look! She changed course! She must have seen us!” N exclaimed in excitement as he bounced lightly atop his seat.

 

“I see, big brother. But please, calm it a little bit, you’re throwing off the kaithe’s balance.” Cyn replied, happy to see her friend again, but struggling slightly to keep the skeletal creature underway.

 

“Oh..Sorry. I’m just so happy to see Uzi again!” N apologized, but cyn couldn’t blame him for it.

 

Quickly the gap began to close and with it the forms of Uzi and V came into view.

 

Cyn giggled at the sight of V hanging from Uzi while holding what looked to her like a massive hammer in one hand. ‘Guess they found weapons too.’ She thought as she eyed her sword still held tightly in N’s tail.

 

“Oh thank goodness! V’s ok too!” N said aloud as he caught sight of them.

 

Eventually the two parties were close enough to hear each other, a fact that N readily took advantage of if his yells of happiness were anything to go by.

 

“Sup nerds! Glad you didn’t die.” Uzi said as she coasted in the air next to the skeletal steed.

 

“UZIIIII!” N all but lept out of his seat at the sight of his bat-winged girlfriend.

 

“Glad to see you too, hold on a sec. Hey Cyn! Care to swap “cargo”?” Uzi said as V rolled her eyes at being called as such.

 

“Sure. Though I think it would’ve happened regardless with him leaning over like that.” Cyn replied as she gestured to N who was essentially leaning out of one stirrup with his tail the only thing keeping him from falling, having stowed Cyn’s sword in the saddle's other stirrup.

 

Uzi laughed at his antics and upon a signal the teams swapped their disassembler cargo. V having breathed a sigh of relief, no longer having to dangle in mid-air as she took the seat behind Cyn, then chuckled slightly as she watched the two lovebirds enact some kind of mid-air hug. She’d leave them to their fun for now.

 

“So Cyn, what did you guys get up to? Clearly a lot if the horror-show we’re riding is anything to go by.” V asked the small robot.

 

“Hmm…where to start. Well I woke up after falling through a portal, found that big sword that’s currently strapped to the side of the saddle, wandered for a bit, found N, almost killed N, almost got killed by N, uh…we laughed it off, wandered some more, met a waste of oxygen, got pushed into a fighting pit by said waste of oxygen, then had to fight a warframe…who came back from the dead…three times. Wandered some more, saw the energy beam, I had a vision that led us to the kaithe here, and the rest you can infer.” Cyn said all in one breath. “What about you two?” She then asked with an innocent smile on her face.

 

“Uh…..” V started, still slightly mentally flash-banged by the crazy run-on sentence the diminutive bot spouted. “More or less the same thing as you two…I think?”

 

“Well at least you guys had Uzi’s solver with you. That probably helped a bit.” Cyn replied as she adjusted the reins in her grip.

 

“Yeah, that would’ve helped, a lot. No. She didn’t have that till…later.” V said, still a little salty about how that whole mess went down. “Hmm…Weird question, but you once said you could see certain memories, any idea when uh…. that thing might’ve eaten up a red-eyed robot I killed the parents of?”

 

To say Cyn was taken back by the oddball shift in topic was an understatement.

 

“I…try not to actively look into the memories of that…parasite.” Cyn replied.

 

“That's…fair. I don’t expect you to either, was just curious.” V said, trying to mask some of the trepidation in her voice.

 

“V, I can tell when something will be a problem.” Cyn deadpanned.

 

“Ugh, you’re just like her sometimes. Fine , Uzi’s got another passenger in her head, like you were. I made a deal, things are handled, I’m just not looking forward to having to scavenge a bunch of worker parts like last time.” V admitted with a sigh as she leaned back on the steed.

 

“Well then…Maybe it won’t be so bad? Last time was a bit of a rush job after all.” Cyn replied, thinking about the night she spent running around fetching stuff for Raven and Uzi as they built J’s worker body, trying to finish it before J kicked the bucket.

 

“Maybe. Enough about that though, how close are we to the beam?” V asked, having closed her eyes to block out the blinding light for a bit.

 

“About halfway I think. I just hope whatever’s going on over there is a good thing.” Cyn said, eyeing the pair in front of her. It seems N had gotten on Uzi’s back at some point. Something V noticed as well.

 

“No fair… I had to hang.” V mock-complained under her breath, earning a giggle from Cyn.

 

At some point there really wasn’t much important left to say, so the group fell into a comfortable calm despite the still illuminated energy beam. The energy beam that…just seemed to dim slightly.

 

Cyn was the first to notice, how could she not, what with the void energy now starting to trickle through her body once more. Immediately she got the group's attention. Who, by now, had also noticed the diminished intensity of the light on Duviri’s landscape.

 

“... end as you began !”

 

That voice, they all knew it immediately. Her voice, resonating across the sky, filling the air with something final. It was at this same time that they witnessed the pillar of light disappear, and Cyn swore she saw something person-shaped float down from its center, whilst simultaneously feeling her lost power return in full.

 

She wasn’t the only one it seemed. The sonic boom V left in her wake confirmed it as the murderframe zoomed off towards the now destroyed castle.

 

“Sheesh V, could’ve warned us!” Uzi yelled out after recovering from the sonic wave, N having been knocked off her back in the process, was now floating beside his girlfriend on his own set of wings.

 

“That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen her move.” N commented as he watched V, who was little more than a dot on the horizon at this point, slam into the ground on the castle island.

 

“Well I don’t know about you two but, I’m gonna keep moving.” Cyn said as she whipped the reins, urging the kaithe onward.

 

---

 

‘Please be ok.’ Repeated in her thoughts as she jumped out of the crater she just made. Her pointed feet slamming against the destroyed ground, carrying her ever further towards her goal. “RAVEN?!” She yelled out while rounding a corner, hoping to hear a response from her favorite person. “RAAV-” She started to yell again, but stopped as she finally found who she was looking for; still as a statue and casting a faint violet glow, an ethereal empress sat proud on the steps of her victory.

 

To V, she could look no more enchanting, even despite her battle-worn attire. Immediately she ran up to her, ascending the staircase before kneeling down on the wide step in front of the sleeping sovereign; face to synthetic face. She couldn’t find the words, simply because she was too happy in this moment.

 

To see first-hand that the strange human that dropped into her life and quickly became her haven, was unharmed, was a feeling indescribable. Everything had been happening so fast ever since they all got dropped into this mess that she hadn’t the time to even think about it, let alone process it. But now, in this moment of calm, as she took her love’s face in her hands and just held it, with tenderness and care, she finally allowed herself to feel vulnerable, and shed silent tears.

 

And then, sleeping eyes fluttered open, those dissimilar pools of violet and black that carried such warmth; half-lidded they focused on her. And her alone. There was something in those eyes at that moment, something that told her words were unnecessary. V never was much for words anyway. No, she would trust the moment, the bond they created and shared together, the bond they cherished. Wordlessly, they acted on their desire in the moment and forgot about the world, as their lips met under the triumph of survival.

 

---

 

“Looks like we’re here.” Uzi said as the group of slow-pokes arrived at the island, landing near the crater V made earlier.

 

“Dang, she was really in a hurry, huh?” N commented as he noticed the heavy indentations in the ground; clearly in the shape of a certain disassembler’s legs.

 

“I don’t hear her raising hell so it's probably safe to assume she found what she wanted. At least her tracks will make it easier for us to find it too.” Cyn said as she dismounted the kaithe and gave it a pat on the head as thanks thereafter.

 

“I’m guessing the “It” in this scenario is a certain paradox?” Uzi asked, having retrieved her hammer from N and put it over her shoulder.

 

Cyn gave a thumbs up in response. All satisfied with their discussion, they all began following the trail of a woman on a mission, light-hearted chit chat filling the air as none felt it time to get heavy.

 

More than a few flights of broken stairs and destroyed buildings later, the group finally laid eyes on what made V shoot off like a rocket.

 

“Yeah…that makes sense.” Cyn deadpanned.

 

“Dawww. Good for them!” N cheerily said.

 

“Oh HELL yeah! Blackmail! ” Said the gremlin that was currently giggling to herself evilly.

 

“Uzi no!” Both Cyn and N chided.

 

“UZI YES! ” She doubled down, causing Cyn to face-palm dramatically and N to hatch an idea.

 

“HEY GUYS! LOOK IT'S US! WE MADE IT!” N yelled out, obviously surprising the two on the steps if the noise V made was anything to go by; the paradox’s laughter complimenting.

 

“ALSO LOOK AT THIS!” Now with their attention fully on him, it was time for his plan to come to fruition. In one fluid motion he swept Uzi off her feet, the shit-eating grin that once filled her face now replaced with one of extreme confusion as her hammer clattered to the ground…Said look would be replaced with another as he then executed the final act, planting his lips on hers and really just making a big show out of it. 

 

Cyn couldn’t help but burst out in laughter. “B-Big…Brother, what the actual…?” Cyn tried to start though her guffawing, but failed to contain it all when she caught the look on Uzi’s face. Yep. She was on the ground now. ROFLMAO indeed. The wolf whistle from Raven didn’t help either.

 

“How's that for blackmail?” N said with a wink and an uncommon smirk on his face after separating from his girlfriend.

 

“I…can’t believe you just did that.” Uzi said in a small voice. “I can’t even be mad, that was just…so out of pocket. For you.” Clearly embarrassed.

 

“Told ya I can be smooth.” N said as he hoisted her onto his shoulders.

 

“Uuughhhh.” Uzi bemoaned as she buried her head into his hat. ‘How did this thing even stay on him in the first place?’ The errant thought crossed her mind as he patted her leg. “You’re lucky you’re so cute.”

 

By now the other two had made it over, with Raven having decided to focus her attention on the laughing drone…by making silly faces at her, causing said drone to double over again with a faint plea of “I don’t even have lungs and I still can’t breathe!” broken up by laughter. The others couldn’t help but laugh too, finding a shared joy in this moment after all of the recent pain. Eventually though, this moment too, would pass. And the group found themselves in the midst of a more informational discussion, where Raven had led them to a small undestroyed area that overhung the edge of the island, housing a round chabudai table surrounded by pillows.

 

“So. Who wants to go first in this “what kind of screwed up shit did we go through today” discussion?” Raven asked as she felt V lean against her shoulder.

 

The other looked around the table before Uzi spoke up. “Honestly, you should, nothing any of us went through caused this much destruction.” She said as she gestured to the surrounding buildings, although less destroyed in this area as they were on the outskirts, were still in various states of…completion.

 

“Mmm. Yeah, that's fair. Long story short, I solved the “void god” problem. Well…At least in this reality anyway.” The paradox said with a slight shrug.

 

“So that big-ass light beam was you? I honestly thought I died when it showed up, I’ve never seen something that bright before.” Uzi asked, recalling the world's biggest flash-bang.

 

“Actually no, I mean not directly, that was actually the indifference trying to stop me from sending its consciousness back to the start of time. Too bad for it, that I figured out how to absorb all the energy. It's kinda ironic really, because if it hadn’t have done that, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to do it.” Raven explained in a casual way.

 

“You…sent it…back in time. Am I the only one here straight up floored by that?” Uzi commented as she witnessed the others seemingly just nod. 

 

“Oh believe me, I will be unpacking that later.” Cyn replied, to which Uzi thanked, happy she wasn’t the only one that still thought all this stuff was straight-up wack. Little did she know, Cyn was referring to why she still felt a connection to the void at all if its avatar was no longer a factor.

 

“Well I’ve always been able to create time loops, it's only natural to assume I could fully control it with enough practice and energy.” Raven replied to the first part of Uzi’s statement.

 

“Ooook well, on the one hand it's a massive relief to know we don’t have that thing trying to murder us anymore, but on the other, shouldn’t we be going? If this place is in the void, won’t it be like…destabilized without a master or something?” Uzi asked, unaware her tail had snuck over to nibble the back of N’s hat.

 

“Might wanna put a leash on that thing.” Raven quipped as she pointed to the solver tail before continuing. “Remember our talks about eternalism? More specifically about me and the kid?”

 

“Uh? I think so?” Uzi replied after quickly stowing her tail away…wherever it went when it wasn’t out; a light blush on her visor signaled her embarrassment. V giggled at the sight quietly, while N just smiled at the goth.

 

“Right, well there can’t be two of the same “individual” in a single reality, except in the cases where more than one meet. So. What happens to the void god when an individual of comparable power exists in the same reality? The void didn’t start with a personality, it only gained one after Entrati crossed into it for the first time.” The paradox half-hinted, half-explained, hoping for Uzi to put the pieces together herself.

 

“Hmmm…” Uzi thought about it for a bit before the thoughts clicked in her head. “You replaced indifference…or apathy with empathy. Or rather, yourself.” 

 

“Ding ding ding! Got it in one!” Raven cheered, while Cyn mouthed a quiet “Oooh”, having gotten the answer to her earlier internal question.

 

“My friend is a god now…” Uzi said as she buried her head in her hands.

 

“Hey, that's too lofty, besides you of all people could be considered one yourself. That “absolute solver” is not just a bit of “mutated code”. No way, that shit is definitely eldritch.” 

 

“Still doesn’t affect you though.” Uzi said with a pout.

 

“Yeah but that's because the reality I exist in isn’t bound by any sort of rule. Can’t warp the reality of an object if said object technically doesn’t exist in it. I think…” 

 

“Uuuhhhhhgggg …..Y'know what? Let’s change the subject before I fry a processor.”

 

“To what?” The paradox asked while pulling V, who had been enjoying seeing Uzi get her mind blown, into her lap.

 

“Like how we’re getting home?” The goth asked, not protesting N pulling her into his own lap after seeing the two across the table.

 

‘When do I get lap time?’ Cyn thought, feeling just a little left out. It was not much later than that thought, that the kaithe she rode upon earlier, cantered up and knelt beside her and rested its bony head in her lap. ‘Alright…this is fine.’

 

“Well…about that…” Raven slowly began, sounding very much like someone who was about to deliver bad news. “I uh…don’t think we….can.”

 

“Are you fucking with me?” Uzi asked in the most dead voice possible.

 

“Oooooooh yeaaaaaah. One hundred percent fucking with you.” The paradox responded with a wide smirk. “That's for the blackmail thing earlier.” She furthered before sticking her tongue out and laughing.

 

“Bite me!” The goth responded, middle finger raised high. And of course, those at the table found great amusement at her “catch phrase”, which, in turn, led her to sulk a bit.

 

“Sorry, sorry, couldn’t pass up the chance. No, we can leave whenever, I’ll open up a portal once you’re all ready.” Raven said after she stopped chuckling at it all.

 

Not surprisingly, pretty much everyone was ready to go right away. No doubt wanting nothing more than to relax after all this craziness. So they rose from their seats, in Uzi’s case, grabbed her hammer, followed the resident paradox back to the main square, Cyn bid farewell to the kaithe, and Raven opened a wormhole to the bunker.

 

“Alright. Last chance to get anything you might’ve forgotten!” Raven said aloud to which the group affirmed they had not. And one by one they all went through the portal, bidding the ruined Islands of duviri goodbye, closing that chapter in the story of their lives.

 

---

 

“-nd though I made mistakes in the way I raised her, she was…my finest creation. I only wish I had realized it sooner. And because I never said these words enough, I will say them now and forever: Uzi, my one and only daughter, I love you. May you rest in pea-” Khan’s eulogy was interrupted when a violet portal appeared overhead of the auditorium stage, immediately all drones in attendance for the funeral for the four drones erupted into a mild panic.

 

Said panic then turned into a full blown one as the very four drones they assumed dead and a giant fuck-off hammer fell through the portal, landing on the stage in a heap. And then the room went still as a mother fuckin’ human followed after and landed gracefully next to them.

 

“Oh, hey Khan, having a ceremony of some kind? Sorry, we crashed in like that. We’ll let you get back to it. C’mon guys. We’ve made enough of a mess as it is.” The impossibility said before walking over to the piled up drones and helping them up.

 

Most thoughts in the room at that moment were of disbelief at what they were witnessing, not only is there a, to them, flesh and blood human standing on stage, apparently she also knows Khan.  

 

Khan himself was dumbfounded, slack jawed even. “Uhhhhh…” Was all he managed to vocalize as he watched the WDF’s most closely guarded secret currently help up the most feared drone in the bunker, who, oh yeah, was supposed to be dead, and pull her into a hug. 

 

This caused the crowd in attendance to actually lose it.

 

“Umm…Rae? I think you forgot something in duviri.” V said quietly as she held her paradox in her arms.

 

“What would that…OH SHIT!” Raven really questioned herself sometimes…like now, and why it took her this long to realize that she was not transferred into Valkyr and was very much fully human. On a stage. In front of the whole bunker.

 

Then the crowd went feral as the human fucking disappeared in a violet flash .

 

V rolled her eyes before she decided she didn’t want to deal with any of this mess and left on her wings back towards her apartment.

 

Uzi and N had at this point, gotten themselves off the ground and were now trying to deal with the fallout. Meanwhile Cyn took it upon herself to bask in the chaos, having taken a seat cross-legged on the podium Khan was using earlier as she took it all in.

 

It was only a half hour later that the group individually realized the event they crashed was a funeral service.

 

Their funeral service.

 

Suffice to say, the bunker would be talking about that night for years to come.

 

---

 

Notes:

Do i get to right fluff now? I get to write fluff now. PRAISE THE VOID I GET TO WRITE SOME HAPPY SHIT FOR ONCE! Yeah, i'm not done with this story, but bitchass wally is. Look ngl, I kinda like the idea that drifter time power is the thing that fucks him over, and yah, Iknow in cannon they're prolly gonna go with some power of friendship stuff since love is poison yadda yadda, look thats compelling too, but ill let WF cannon tell that story.

Chapter 21: Diamantofelis

Notes:

flufffluffflufffluffflufffluffflufffluff this ones light AF, and i actually had FUN writing it, WOW, who woulda thunk that pacing myself and just goofin off a bit would be ENJOYABLE! Anyways, going forward this chapter and the rest that follow will essentially be close-out/epilouge of the story(chap 20 marked the end of the "villainous antagonist's" direct influence.) Though that is not to say the chapters are not filled with lore, no, they are planned like the rest of them. There are still things left to be resolved! (and expounded on) (no, i didn't forget about J!) Also. Sorry about the sport-bitching last chap about comments, though they still DO bring motivation, I shoulda just left it alone. I will still write this regardless. And I don't want it to come across like im holding anything "hostage". Aight, enough yap. Enjoy these mismatched fools being cute together.

 

 

“If you’re good for me. Then I’m good for you. And that's all I need in my life.” 

 

 

---

 

 

“Grrr..Nothing but useless junk! Ugh…How much time are we gonna keep wasting out here? It's been over a week now and we’ve barely found anything…God…Why did I promise that one-eyed freak a body?” V’s complaining was punctuated by the sound of her knocking over a rusted-out filing cabinet. The thing turned to dust upon impact with the ground, for the metal was that withered. The rest of the abandoned office space looked no better.

 

The annoyance was clear to see on her face, even as she walked over to check out the next cubicle for anything useful. She rolled her eyes. “And of course, this one doesn’t even have a computer tower… Would it be too much to ask for a crate of circuit boards on one of these trips?” Just as she was about to turn around, she felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around her torso.

 

“Mmmm…probably a bit much, yeah.” Raven replied as she rested her head on top of V’s. She smiled as she felt the disassembler relax in her arms.

 

V let out a slight sigh as she felt her annoyance fade away as they swayed slightly.

 

“Also…the bunker is still turned on its head looking for “the human”, so more time spent out here is good news to me.” Raven added as she pulled away from V. “Also also…Is it just me or, are you like getting softer? Like physically?” She casually asked as she turned to search the next cubicle.

 

“Hmmm…Not that I noticed? Though, I don’t typically feel myself.” V replied as she returned to the job at hand.

 

“Uh…might wanna work on the phrasing there.” Raven said with a laugh.

 

“Shut up you!” V said, her own laugh following soon after.

Hours later, the two exited the abandoned office center with little to show for it. The two, slightly dejected at the failure, turned to conversation as they took the long way back to the bunker.

 

“I still can’t believe they held a funeral after only two days of us being gone.” Raven said as she reminisced on their absence and subsequent return.

 

“Well…Our time as “murder” drones probably had something to do with it. If someone disappeared it was safe to assume we had got them.” V replied as the two rounded a corner.

 

“I guess…Hey? Is that a bookstore?” Raven said as she spotted the worn-down storefront in the distance. “You like to read right? Maybe we actually can find something tonight.”

 

“Hmmm…we still have time. Why not?” V tried to say nonchalantly but her excitement bled through regardless. And if she was speed-walking? Raven wouldn’t mention it, even as V all but pulled her by the hand.

 

Entering the run-down bookstore, the pair got to work looking through the shelves. Unfortunately, the years of exposure had reduced almost all of it to dust and loose fragments of paper.

 

“Well that was a bust…” V said with a small amount of disappointment as she walked over to join up with her other.

 

“Don’t give up so quick! Look, there's one more row of shelves at the back, maybe they are more intact?” Raven said, putting down the pile of tattered remains that used to be a book as V approaches.

 

“I’m glad you’re optimistic.” V replied as she motioned for Raven’s hand, which she readily gave up for her to hold.

 

Truthfully neither of them had high hopes for finding anything, but proceeded to search the last shelves regardless. Which, to their surprise, housed a single hardcover book that seemed in relatively good condition buried amidst the pile of dust and decay.

 

“See? I knew we would find something!” Raven cheered as she went to excavate the treasure while V stood behind and watched with a small smile on her face.

 

“Alright.” The paradox started as she pulled the book out of the mess. “Let’s see what we got here…hmmmm. “101 Cat breeds - A comprehensive guide to feline care.” Well…Could be interesting in passing…though I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything alive out here, let alone a cat.” Raven gave her thoughts before handing the book to a giddy V. “Who knows. Maybe there’s a section about you in there.”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?” V asked with a laugh as she opened the book and read the first couple of pages.

 

“Some people have said you’re a bit “cat-like”.” Raven answered with a shrug before moving behind her and looking over her shoulder at the book.

 

“Don’t know where “some people” got that idea but I don’t see it.” V commented as she turned the page.

 

“Uhh…You’ve literally hissed at people though…” Raven replied in the most deadpan voice possible.

 

V looked up from the page briefly as if stunned by the thought. “I…no comment.” She said smally before looking back down. Raven cracking up immediately.

 

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up.” V said with a giggle before closing the book and holding it to her chest, a slight neon blush present on her visor…and curiously, her actual cheeks. ‘God…I love her laugh.’

 

V waited till Raven was finished with her laughing fit before bringing up a thought that had struck her earlier. “So…speaking of cat-like things. Where’s your murder-kitty?” She asked as the two began to walk out of the store.

 

“My murder-kitty? What are you-.....OH MY GOD I FORGOT ABOUT VALKYR!” Raven about tripped when the realization hit her, luckily V moved to stabilize her with her tail, taking care to keep the pointed end away from her favorite person.

 

“Not to like…be super negative. But…How?” V asked, her head tilted slightly.

 

“There was a lot going on ok?! The only things on my mind at that point was getting rid of that thorn in our sides and wanting to see you again.” Raven said, currently facepalming at her forgetfulness.

 

V giggled. “Who knew the “God-paradox of void and time” was such a dork!” She said, giving a mock-punch to Raven’s elbow.

 

“Your dork.” Raven responded before swiftly pulling V up into her arms in a princess carry. An expression that asked “How about that huh?” was on her face.

 

V replied with a light-hearted eye roll before wrapping an arm around Raven’s neck and pulling herself up to give a quick kiss to her cheek. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves alright? Don’t want to forget about your Valkyr problem now do we?”

 

“Alright…point taken. Speaking of, want to just get this over with now?” Raven asked the love in her arms.

 

“We’ve got time to kill still. No point in waiting.” V said with a slight shrug.

 

Raven nodded to her response before setting V down and opening another wormhole not unlike the one she used to return from duviri in the first place.

 

“No funerals this time ok?” V commented as she spared a hand to entwine with the paradox’s.

 

“I still can’t believe they had one that fast.” Raven said, taking V’s hand before both stepped through the wormhole.

 

Popping through on the other side, this time not falling through the air, the two immediately noticed the absolutely abysmal state the vast majority of duviri was in.

 

“Good grief we really did a number on this place…” Raven quietly commented on the ruined streets and structures of castle town.

 

“So? Any idea where your frame is?” V asked as she carefully avoided slipping on a piece of rubble.

 

“Not a clue really, last I was in her, was in the throne room…which is now…erased from existence.” Raven answered as they both walked up the steps towards said throne-room.

 

As they stood amidst the ruined courtyard, they both felt just how destroyed this place had become since their battle a few weeks ago. And with most of the surrounding buildings leveled, Raven even noticed that many of the islands of duviri, that were present that short time ago, were now just…gone. Like the world was dissolving... 

 

“Didn’t this place used to be your home in a sense? It's…just falling apart.” V asked.

 

“It was, but not for a very very long time, and…I think I’m ok with it falling away…after we find Valkyr though. Gonna blink around a bit and see what I can find, ok?” Raven replied as she turned away from the vantage point the leveled buildings provided.

 

“Alright. I’ll look from the sky.” V replied as the paradox blinked away with nothing but a small nebulae of violet to signify her change in form. V then took off skywards, taking care to not drop her book.

 

‘Well…it’s been an hour of flying around and I’ve not found anything.’ V thought before flying back to and landing in the courtyard.

 

“I’ve not found anything either.” Raven said as she phased in next to her. Causing V to startle slightly.

 

“Can you warn me before you do that? And stop reading my mind!” V said, coming down from the slight jolt.

 

“Sorry sorry, I’ll be better about that…And I can’t read your mind. Unless I’m transferred in ya that is.” The paradox said, spreading her arms out, a clear offer for a hug. V, of course, accepted.

 

And as they stood there in their embrace, all was quiet in the ruins of duviri…Until they both felt something fluffy slink between their ankles and a cat’s meow cut through the silence.

 

They both looked down slowly, and were struck with what they saw. A cat, a…cat? A lanky…almost...lithe and somehow athletic looking cat. A cat with white fur, a grey belly, golden claws, and the most electric blue eyes they had ever seen.

 

“V? There's no way right? I’m just imagining the resemblance right? Right!?” Raven whispered as the suspiciously familiar cat weaved between her feet.

 

“I…Void nonsense?” V whispered back. She then nodded, and the two slowly un-entwined themselves from each other so as to not scare the peculiar feline away.

 

Now apart, the two could see the feline in more detail. Well…V could see it better, as said feline was currently using Raven’s left leg as a solid pole to stretch against. The paradox didn’t dare move. It was then that V remembered that first night almost a year ago and hatched an idea.

 

Slowly V crouched down and put her hands out, beckoning the cat to her with a “pspsps” sort of sound.

 

The cat, for its part, had stopped stretching and had clearly taken notice. Slowly, it slinked over to V’s extended hands before giving one a curious sniff. It then promptly jumped into her arms. She felt her heart positively melt as its soft fur caressed her hands. Wordlessly she picked the feline up and held it close to her chest as it lay on its back. It playfully batted at a tuft of her hair before letting out a quiet meow. It was purring now.

 

“I think she likes you, Vivi.” Raven commented softly before a thought struck her. “Hey, you still have that book we found?” She asked as she took in V’s pure smile.

 

It took a second for V to respond, being so enraptured by the feline in her arms, before looking up at the paradox. “Yeah, right here actually.” She replied as she presented the literature held tight but carefully in her tail.

 

“Oh good! Looks like that will actually come in handy now haha!” Raven giggled slightly before giving the cat in V’s arms a scritch under the jaw, which it appreciated greatly.

 

Having been caught up in the cuteness of it all, it took V a second to remember that the cat she was holding was the spitting image of Valkyr. “Soooo...Are we going to acknowledge that this is pretty wild or…”

 

“Oh believe me, internally, I'm definitely freaking out. But, what can we really do right? At this point we’re gonna have to take care of Valkitty here. So yay? I mean, I love animals so…it can’t be much harder than taking care of my vulpaphylas.”

 

“Well…I’m definitely not leaving her. So…I guess we’re pet owners now?” V replied before the cat in her arms nimbly jumped up and onto her head before flopping down to lay on its belly.

 

“Oh my god. I wish I had a camera…” Raven said, voice slightly muffled by her hands positioned over her mouth.

 

“Rae?! What do I do?!” V whispered as the feline began to purr loudly.

 

“Enjoy being her throne I guess?” Raven giggled. “Well, this is going to be a hell of a thing to explain but it's probably time to go back.”

 

V was about to nod in agreement but thought it better to give a thumbs up instead. Raven then opened the wormhole and the two stepped back into the cold ruins of Copper 9.

 

 

---

 

 

“Dad…I seriously can’t believe you put on a damn funeral.” Uzi started with a side-eye from her spot on the elder doorman’s sofa as she addressed Khan sitting on the opposing recliner. Speaking over the faint clanging of kitchen utensils that could be heard in the background. “I mean…we weren’t even gone for that long.”

 

“Well…we just…when we watched the security footage…there wasn’t even a trace left. You guys just…vanished.” Khan replied as he idly brushed one of Nori’s claws out of his field of view. A faint apology from Nori could be heard as she retracted the digit upward.

 

“So…did you guys even look around or anything, because two days of us being ‘missing’ is a really short time for the entire outpost to decide we ‘died’.” Uzi grilled further, shifting her position from leaning on the side to cross-legged.

 

“I…we uh…” Khan started but finished with a sigh. “We did look…it's just…we thought the footage too conclusive.”

 

Uzi sighed while putting her head in her hands. “I just can’t even with you guys sometimes…I’m not even mad or anything, I just genuinely don’t understand what goes through your heads I guess…” Uzi’s lament was then interrupted by a loud metallic crashing sound accompanied by a yelp from her boyfriend.

 

“I’M OKAY, JUST DROPPED THE PAN. IT'S GONNA BE A BIT BEFORE DINNERS READY NOW! SORRY!” N yelled from the kitchen.

 

“IT’S OKAY!” They all yelled back.

 

“I should probably go help him.” Uzi said before getting up. “And just forget about this whole thing, I don’t care anymore.” She finished as she walked over to join her man in the fine art of making “robo-food”. Silicon wafers sautéed in a light kerosene were one of her favorites after all.

 

“She's mellowed out some huh?” Nori commented after scurrying down from her perch atop Khan’s hard-hat. “Feels like a couple months ago we’d have gotten a way bigger earful than that.”

 

“She sounds tired…I just hope she’s doing okay.” Khan said with a sigh. It was a hard thing knowing that your daughter had been through so much recently but wouldn’t talk to you about it, not that he blamed her, nor did he deserve to be a close confidant after his neglect over the years. They both didn’t.

 

A knock on the front door spared him from further reflection, grunting slightly in that trademarked way that “dads” do, he got up from his seat and went to answer the door while Nori went to join the others in the kitchen.

 

Not that she wasn’t welcome, but V holding something obviously organic and looking slightly frantic was not what he expected to see. Regardless, he beckoned her inside with a friendly greeting. V hastily made her way through the door before the wriggly thing in her arms finally made itself free and dropped to the floor before running away towards the kitchen.

 

Khan calmly closed the door despite the chaos manifesting in his residence.

 

“Hey Khan.” Raven said as she materialized next to him.

 

“Oh! Hi.” He responded, slightly caught off-guard.

 

“Sorry about the drop-in, your place was closer.” She said as she made a show of taking her shoes off to leave at his doorstep despite not actually taking them off and instead the articles of clothing simply faded away into nothing.

 

Khan definitely blinked at that, but pressed on with the conversation even as the rest of the occupants in the building could be heard with various levels of volume.

 

“So what was that thing V was carrying?” He asked as the two walked into the living room and sat down across from each other in a parallel to him and Uzi’s earlier conversation. Raven at least had the decency to sit normally.

 

“Well, firstly it's definitely a cat, but also is probably my warframe. Are you by chance familiar with cats to begin with?” She asked to which Khan shook his head no.

“Ah well, they’re usually kept as pets, kinda like that dino-bot V kept around before it…well you probably remember what happened.”

 

Khan felt a brief wave of melancholy at the mention of said “dino-bot”. “Yes…I’ve not seen her that publicly upset since that happened.” He commented as he remembered the night Uzi filled him in on the collapse of the tower V had claimed outside and the subsequent procurement of a new living space for the now homeless disassembler. Looking back, selfishly, he was glad he wasn’t the one that had to tell her the crushed remains of the sentinel she brought back couldn’t be fixed…But that all was old history at this point. And he was more curious about the now. Clearing his throat, he signaled a change in subject. 

 

“So…speaking of V, you two…?” Khan asked, leaving the question in the air but obviously hinted at.

 

“A thing? Yeah.” The paradox nodded, a hint of amusement on her face.

 

“Would you two like a family-unit instead of your current lodging?”

 

“We haven’t really talked about it but I don’t see why she’d say no, heh, we’ve practically been using mine like one for the past couple of months anyway.”

 

“The WDF will work on clearing an old one out for you two.” Khan confirmed with a slight smile.

 

“Thanks Khan, it means a lot.” She said, smile returned in kind. Both then turned their attention towards the kitchen as the chaotic sounds died down. “Huh…I guess someone finally caught her. Gonna see what’s up.” She said, giving Khan a small wave as she left the couch and went towards the others.

 

Khan remained seated as he pondered just how different his life had become, everything from the day he powered up for the first time to meeting his wife, losing said wife to the murder drone that his daughter was probably going to marry soon…what a thought that was. The whole world going to shit, which somehow led to him finding out that, oh yeah, his wife wasn’t dead and had just been hiding near the core of the planet for all this time. What a mindfuck that was. His daughter and the murder drones that had been a scourge on the outpost for decades pulling together to defeat an ultimate evil and save all their sorry asses. And then, just when everything seemed to return to calm, Uzi brought a human to his door. A real human! And then the world went to shit AGAIN, since an even greater evil apparently had an interest in said human! Who woulda thought? And even though he hadn’t felt a sense of stability in a long long time, he couldn’t even complain all that much! He knew he was pretty much a bystander to the troubles that his daughter and her friends were dealing with. He couldn’t even-

 

“-an? Khan? Helloooo? Is that hunk of a man I love in there? Hellooooo?” Nori tried, tapping one of her claws against his visor as she hung from his hat in front of his face.

 

“Oh. Sorry hun. It seems I got lost in thought.” Khan replied.

 

“Well. Dinner’s ready so get your butt up if you want it hot.” Nori said before jumping off of him and away towards the dining room.

 

Khan gave a light chuckle before going to join the rest of them.

 

---

 

 

“Well that was fun!” Raven said as V, herself, and their new feline friend, who was chilling on Raven’s shoulder, exited the elder doorman residence. “Who knew N was such a good cook?” 

 

“Yeah...actually wasn’t that bad for once, I might even consider making it a regular thing...wait, you actually ate that stuff?” V asked with a small amount of shock. “You. The very much not robotic person? You ate his cooking? When? I didn’t even see you do it.” She asked as the two began their walk home.

 

“I snuck a bite while you were chasing our little troublemaker here.” Raven answered as “Valkitty” mewed as if proud of her mischief. “Honestly I always kinda wondered what the drones here considered cuisine ever since I learned they actually ate food. Gotta say. I’m impressed. The flavor profile was very interesting. AND it wasn’t in the shape of a cube, so BIG WIN there!”

 

“Uh huh…so you’re just fine then? How could you even digest something like that?” V decided to ask about the cube thing later.

 

“Vivi...I am void. I could probably eat the walls if I wanted…Not that I do mind you.” Raven finished with a slight giggle.

 

“Take it from me, the walls here definitely do not taste any form of good.” 

 

“Yeah, I guess you would be the expert in that matter.” Both laughed slightly as they remembered the time V flew into the wall and left a perfectly shaped dent of herself in it.

 

“Changing subject.” Raven started as they rounded a corner. “How’d you feel about living together? In like, one of the bigger units.” She asked, giving the cat on her shoulder a scritch under the maw.

 

“Isn’t that a bit fast though?” V asked as she weaved her hand together with Raven’s free one.

 

“Mmm…probably, but you practically spend most of your free time at my place already. So I figured it would be nice…and now that we’re together too.” Raven said, readily accepting the digits within her own.

 

“That…you got me there.” V said with a chuckle. “Guess we’ve gotta talk to Khan then…Should’ve done that earlier.”

 

“Actually, he brought up the idea to me. He already offered one of the “familial” units.” Raven said as V began to lean against her.

 

“Family, huh? I wonder what our kids would look like…” V said with a contemplative yet wistful look.

 

“How…would that even work?” The puzzled face Raven was making said it all about how she felt at the moment.

 

“I don’t know, but you do have the knack for making the impossible possible.” V said before giving the paradox a wink.

 

“Now that’s moving fast.” Raven said with a laugh. 

 

“Hey…You won’t know until you try right?” V asked, sliding up even closer to Raven and pressing her body into her.

 

“Careful what you ask for girl, you know what I’ve been with before.” The paradox said with a side-eye and a smirk on her face.

 

V stepped in front of her and wrapped her arms around Raven’s waist while looking up at her with a salacious grin. “Heh, you’ve got experience with the strange then, so, what's one more…monster-fucker~”

 

“Hmmm…you make a compelling argument. Perhaps I should.” Raven answered her by placing her hands on her love’s ample behind and pulling her in tight.

 

“Oh my~ How bold. Y’know, I think we should get that unit after all. I’m sure there’s plenty of space for…activities.” V said as she deftly got herself out of the hold and placed herself back by Raven’s side. “And as much fun as this is, the hallway isn’t very romantic now is it?”

 

“We’ll just have to enjoy our walk back home then.” Raven said, throwing an arm around V’s shoulders before the pair (and the third-wheel feline) started walking again. Enjoying each other's presence all the while. Thankfully not running into any drone along the way. People were still on the lookout for the mysterious human after all.

 

They had made it back without running into anyone…almost. The two were so engrossed in themselves that they failed to notice the pink-eyed drone face-deep in a smartphone before they literally ran into her.

 

“OW! What the hell?!” Lizzy complained as the device fell from her hands and clattered to the floor, whatever she ran into felt like a brick wall, more than a little annoyed, she thought to give whatever it was a piece of her mind. Then she looked up. And blinked. And blinked again. And one more time for good measure. Yep, her optics were working fine. So why were they registering a shadowy black figure that seemed to be holding hands with someon-with V?! “Uhhh…” Was all Lizzy could formulate as the figure then freaking disappeared and some weird animal-thing with violet-colored eyes ran off in the opposite direction.

 

Lizzy looked to V.

 

V looked at Lizzy.

 

V sighed. “Just forget you saw anything.”

 

Lizzy nodded, picked up her phone, and went on her way with a shrug.

 

“Well, tonight was…almost perfect…oh well.”

 

 

---

 

Notes:

also this was entirely an excuse to have valkitty be a thing so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ also also, attentive readers will have an idea whats happening to V (or those who are familiar with recent warframe lore.) (NO SPOILEEEERRSSSS)

Chapter 22: Desire

Notes:

Guess whos back, back again. Not Shady! ME! Yeah idk what to say about this one besides i liked writing it. I guess I SHOULD say that lately ive realized that this fic has turned into something i work on in the background as I focus more on my 3d work. (reddit u/BestMurloc btw)(I make animations and art for MD on there - check it out if you want. wink wink.) Regardless of the shameless self promo, thanks for the continued interest in this fic, DESPITE how niche it reaaally is. Like i said before, wally might be DONEZO. But there's still a lot to explore in this universe; character and relationship wise. And i did just that this chapter. Have a lovely day(or night)!

 

“I’m walking through prisms. Looking inside, I can find new life.”

 

---

 

A high pitched whirring filled the air of Uzi’s workshop as Raven worked the air-powered buffing wheel across the smooth but tarnished soon to be arm. Weeks had passed since she and V finished finding all the random pieces and parts they needed to start constructing Doll’s new body. Finding a place to stop, Raven switched off the tool and turned in her seat to face Uzi, who was currently connecting a few hydraulic lines together with concentrated look on her face.

 

Perhaps she sensed her gaze or perhaps she also just decided to take five, regardless, Uzi turned away from her project and met eyes with the paradox. The two shared a sigh. 

 

“I feel like this is going slower than last time.” Raven commented as she gazed over to the center workbench that presented a worker drone body; barely half completed.

 

“It definitely is.” Uzi agreed while rolling her shoulder joints. “If we had better materials this probably wouldn’t have taken as long.”

 

“And the bunker doesn’t have any spares lying around?” Raven asked as she leaned back against her seat, eyes on the ceiling.

 

“Did you forget that storehouse two…the storehouse that the void angel destroyed, was for exactly that?” Uzi answered with a question before she got up from her seat and went over to inspect the half-finished body.

 

Raven sighed. “Yeaaahhh.”

 

Uzi chuckled slightly at the admission. “Well, details like that are easy to get looked over when our lives were on the line.”

 

“No shit. I’m glad that's over with. I’m ready for some damn stability for once.” The paradox said before getting up to inspect the other side of the body.

 

“You and me both.” Agreed Uzi. Suddenly, a beep alerted them both. “Oh sweet. The core’s done. Mind helping me with the install?” Uzi asked.

 

“Nah, not at all, actually…let's get this done and call it a day. Yeah?” Raven replied, having checked the wall clock for the first time in hours…20 to be exact…

 

Uzi glanced at the timepiece herself and readily agreed. “Honestly surprised N hasn’t forced us to take a break yet.” The goth commented as she disconnected the worker core from its pedestal connected to her PC. She cracked a smile as the lights illuminated to a cool white, signifying a successful blank canvas for them to imprint.

 

“Didn’t you lock the door though?” Raven asked, watching the short drone make her way from the software station and over to the central table.

 

“Oh…yeah, I forgot about that. Ugh…means I’m gonna get an earful later…” She replied before ascending the step-ladder adjacent to the table.

 

“Maybe I can escape the one I’ll get if I blame you…” Raven said quietly.

 

“HAH, you can try that miss, “can literally phase through walls”, you’ve got no case.” Uzi replied, sticking her tongue out playfully. Raven just sighed dejectedly.

 

The two then got to work connecting the newly programmed core into the vacant body below them, spending hours and hours carefully joining every wire, every fluid coupling, and every random loose end they seemed to find after they thought they were done. Eventually though, it was done, and the two could finally relax for a bit before going back the next day and doing it all over again. At least until the body was complete and Doll’s consciousness was planted in it. Uzi was thankful that Doll at least seemed to let them work in peace, not even once having tried to fight her for control.

 

“What a marathon that was.” Raven said while putting away the last of her tools.

 

“We should’ve saved that for next time…” Uzi replied, sounding absolutely drained and already heading for the door.

 

“At least it’s done now though.” Raven replied as she joined up next to the small purple drone.

 

“Mhm...” Uzi managed before flashing the master key to the doors terminal.

 

The door then opened with a whoosh and the two were presented with two sets of yellow eyes. One set elated, the other casting judgement.

 

Uzi closed the door immediately and sighed as she prepared herself mentally. All while trying to drain out the muffled sounds of an annoyed V and N trying to calm her down.

 

Raven chuckled before grabbing the key herself. A quick flash later and the door opened once more. Quickly she moved out of the way as N rapidly scooped up a shocked and dead-tired Uzi off the floor and very quickly made his way out, but not before Raven deftly placed the key ring around the sharp point on his tail.

 

“Long night?” V asked as she slid into the door frame.

 

“Very.” Raven replied as she walked up to her, the two shared a light kiss before leaving the workshop behind.

 

---

“Alright class. Please turn to page two ninety-three in your history and culture book. Today we are discussing the fall of earth and subsequent rise of the exoplanets such as Copper-9 itself.” The class could not look more uninterested as the orange-eyed teacher delivered his opening with all the excitement of a rock.

 

“God this shit is so boring.” Said one drone quietly to themselves. “Who cares about what a bunch of shitty humans did hundreds of years ago…” Said another.

 

“I think it's interesting.” A drone with white eyes and platinum blonde pigtails said to herself quietly.

 

“Of course you would, Jade. You just eat up anything about those stupid meat-sacks. Hell…I bet you’d give anything to meet one of those disgusting apes face to face.” Said the drone sitting next to her.

 

“Jade” side-eyed the annoyance. “Who are you again?” She asked before turning away. “Oh wait. I don’t care.” She said before quietly turning to the assigned page. Ignoring the seething drone next to her.

 

“Fucking humanophile.” The antagonistic drone said under their breath before attempting to kick at her shin, only to be met with air as she simply scooted back in her chair.

 

During the altercation, the uncaring teacher had made it to the questioning portion of the lesson. “Alright class. Who can tell me what caused the humans to be wiped out from earth.” He asked, not expecting any raised hands to begin with, but was still disappointed when no one raised them anyway. He sighed. “Alright…Jade. You’re up, tell the class what happened to the humans.”

 

Like a deer in headlights, “Jade” froze as the class turned to see her holding the annoyance in a headlock with a punch lined up with their face. “Uhh…” She blinked a couple times. “They uhm…fell victim to their own creations. Sir.”

 

“Good enough.” The teacher replied before returning to the lecture. The rest of the class followed suit in a crazy display of apathy. “Also. Jade…go see the counselor. Headlocks are unfortunately against the rules.”

 

“Right.” She said before lazily dropping the annoying drone like a sack of potatoes. “Of course. Sir.” She added before quickly making her way out of the room. Not paying any mind to the stares directed her way. Door shut behind her, she started the familiar walk to the counselor’s office. She sighed. “Fifth time this week…” She muttered to herself quietly. “It's not like I'm trying to be a screw-up, but c’mon you can’t tell me you didn’t see their ass trying to get a rise out of me. But no…I get punished.” Under her breath once more, she said, then finished with a huff.

 

“Ya shoulda just socked the galah. If you’re gonna get punished, might as well make it worth ya while.” 

 

That voice.

 

She stopped in her tracks. ‘Am I hearing things?’ She shook her head, and carried on. ‘It must just be stress.’

 

---

 

‘So soft…’ V thought to herself as she idly scratched between the ears of the feline in her lap. The night had been a slow one, but V didn’t mind. On the contrary, she actually took an appreciation to the quiet, bigger unit herself and Raven now inhabited. Sure…It was a bit of a hike compared to their old one but with how fast the WDF procured it she didn’t mind. The privacy was another added bonus.

 

Valkitty let out a yawn before putting her head down into V’s cupped hand. ‘SO CUTEEEE!!!/’ She thought as she quietly recorded her point of view. She was going to savor this moment for a while. Despite her focus on the feline, something caught her eye. ‘Huh…have my arms always been that big?’ It was subtle, but V knew her body, and her upper arms were supposed to resemble a thin but strong tube more than anything…human-like. She took another look. “Hmm…” She pondered under her breath quietly. Her eyes widened slightly as her sight confirmed it, her arms, or rather, upper arms were definitely thicker and had a slightly defined muscle structure. Carefully, so as not to disturb the sleeping feline in her lap, she took her free arm and with one finger, very lightly pressed into her other arm.

 

“What…the hell?!” V whisper-yelled, as she felt her skin sink in slightly from the pressure. She quickly pulled away, panicking internally at the revelation. ‘What’s happening to me?’ She then quickly yet carefully moved her tail and it’s tipped stinger in front of her. She reached out. “Oh thank god.” She said in a bout of relief as the glass of the canister made the correct sound when she tapped it. It seems that part of her was still normal. But that only made her think more. ‘Why is that normal? What else is normal? What isn’t?’ were the thoughts circling her mind.

 

Very carefully, she moved Valkitty off her lap before making her way to the unit’s washroom. Why drones needed a washroom of all things, was a question for another time. It’s not like they produced waste… Regardless, hopefully the full-length mirror in there would provide some answers. She locked the door behind her despite knowing no-one would open it, especially since Raven was still out at Uzi’s workshop again. Once done, she made a beeline to the mirror on the far wall…what she saw was a shock. For starters her head seemed…smaller and less bulbous-round and more…proportionate in the human sense, her visor still present, the lack of a nose too, but her face seemed to end in more of a point than what she remembered. She moved her hair back and breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t somehow sprouted ears.

 

Moving on, she looked lower, and there too, was a change. Her neck seemed thicker and less pencil-like. “Still full range of motion…” She muttered as she moved her head. She continued to inspect herself. Looking at her arms provided the same results as earlier. She checked her legs…and couldn’t find the mechanical joints that used to make up her knees, instead the surface was completely unified. She tested them like her neck, they too, were fine. “How have I not noticed this?” V wasn’t sure if this strange phenomenon was something that had been going on slowly and she just hadn’t noticed or if it happened overnight. It was then that she remembered Raven’s words a few weeks ago about her being “softer” or something. 

 

“Has this really been going on this long?" She definitely noticed. Has anyone else? "Why didn’t they say anything?” She asked herself as she stared her frame down in the mirror. She eyed her jacket…”Guess I should…” She mumbled before removing the article. “Huh…Don’t know what I was expecting, but why do I feel disappointed?” V said aloud. Her torso hadn’t changed at all beyond the seams of her arm joints being gone…unified, just like her knees. ‘Maybe the back changed?’ She thought before grabbing a hand mirror off the sink counter with her tail. She held the implement in view. ‘Same as the front…’ She held it a little lower. “Oh…” A slight crease on her rear... She supposed it was time to start wearing pants…

 

The sound of the front door sliding open pulled her out of her stupor. “Vivi? I’m home.” Raven’s voice filled the space followed by a quieter. “Are you?” V quickly made herself presentable before returning to the main room. “I'm here.” She said aloud, though her voice had a slight uncertainty to it. Raven turned to face her, and V saw her expression change to one of concern.

 

“V? What’s wrong?” Raven asked, closing the distance between them, having noticed V fidgeting with her hands.

 

“Not wrong…just.” V responded by pointing to her upper arm and then pressing a finger into it. The skin visibly giving slightly to the pressure.

 

Raven’s face bore a perplexed and thoughtful expression at the display. “Can I?” She asked while holding up a finger of her own. V nodded. The paradox awed at the feeling before comparing it to her own arm. “It’s the same.” 

 

“Raven. What’s happening to me?” V asked.

 

“Perhaps something similar to what happened to the hex. We already know the helminth virus changed you, at least internally, I guess it’s far enough along that it's affecting your physical appearance too now.”

 

“Am...am I becoming a warframe?” V asked with worry in her eyes.

 

"Probably not? That process is usually near-instant unless it was modified like the strain Entrati made. You seem to be something unique…” Raven said as she recalled her long distant past and the knowledge she gained with her time in the hex. “Do you dislike what changed?”

 

“What?” V wasn’t sure she heard her correctly.

 

“Your body. Do you like or dislike the changes to it?” Raven asked again.

 

“I-I don’t hate it? Why do you ask?” V responded, feeling weirdly self-conscious.

 

“I’m asking because it might be trying to ‘help’ in a sense.” Raven stated as she gestured to the couch. The two sat down before continuing.

 

“Why do you think that?” V asked.

 

“Did I ever tell you about a friend I had named Flare?” Raven responded with a question.

 

“Only the name.” V replied before getting comfy and using Raven as a pillow.

 

“Ok. Well Flare had a pretty unique situation among the protoframes. They were a musician, and during a concert, certain things led to another, and long story short, they were infected with techrot. Then Entrati comes along, offers a “cure”, turns out the cure was the helminth strain. Not knowing what to do and music being their only outlet, they played one more show, and played and played and played, until their fingers bled into their guitar.” 

 

“That's pretty metal, but what does that have to do with me?” V interjected softly.

 

“A lot actually. See the guitar ended up being changed with Flare’s blood, essentially becoming a part of them. And that guitar was alive. She named herself, and wanted to help Flare with their feelings of “being a part of something greater” except she didn’t know how besides assimilating Flare into the infested hive-mind. That…was a fun mess to sort out. Which…by the way, you don’t hear any voices or anything right?”

 

“N-not that I can recall.” V replied a little meek, feeling more than a little weary at the whole “assimilation” thing…it brought up more than a few bad memories.

 

“Ok, that's a good sign. Back to my point and why I told you this anyway. The helminth generally just wants to help. Its very existence is one of servitude to those that command warframes. Which, with your body being changed by it, but your mind still commanding it, makes me think that your subconscious view of yourself is being brought to reality by the helminth.” Raven finished as she wrapped her arms around V.

 

V snuggled into their grasp as she thought over the reasoning she was given. “So…you’re saying, I want to look like this?” 

 

“Just a theory. Only you can really answer that one.”

 

“I’m…still kinda scared by it though.” V admitted, while Raven held her a slight bit tighter.

 

“Anything I could do to help with that?” The paradox offered.

 

“Hmm…you said you “sorted” that out with Flare, maybe you could talk to it directly?” V asked before pointing to her head.

 

“I can certainly try. Though I can’t promise I’ll be able to make contact, Flare’s guitar was a bit of a strange case.”

 

“Please try regardless.”

 

“Anything for you.” Raven said before transferring into V’s deep subconscious.

 

“Oh wow…” Raven said as she found herself sat in a small and cozy space resembling some sort of reading nook tucked in between impossibly large and seemingly unending bookshelves. A quiet tune softly played from a vintage record player and the warm glow of string lights overhead immediately put her at ease. If Uzi’s “mind-palace” was a creepy old cabin in the woods, then this place is the almost complete opposite…Almost. Despite the atmosphere presented, Raven felt a distinct tension in the background, something strained yet not inherently evil. She sighed. ‘Time to investigate…’ Raven thought before getting up from the very comfortable papasan chair. 

 

As soon as she left the small nook a sense of vastness oozed into her mind as she took in the environment that was V’s subconscious. A grand library, infinite in its scale. To any other, the space would be incomprehensible. However, as master of the infinite void, Raven is the only person who would feel at ease in a space such as this. “I knew you were special…” She said as flipped open a random book from one of the infinite shelves. Said book contains an almost diary-like entry of a random memory from V’s perspective. “I could spend eternity in here…” Raven mused, putting the book back in its place. “Alas…I’ve got a job to do.”

 

One day she would spend the time in isolation to explore her girlfriend’s mind, but today was not that day. And so, Raven honed in on that tension she felt earlier. Following the trail like a red thread laid upon the ground, she blinked towards the source. As she moved, the environment gradually changed from the infinite library to something more akin to an abandoned hospital lined with odd fleshy growths across every surface. Every disgusting patch of viscera seemed to get bigger and bigger the further she traveled. “Found you…” She muttered as she laid eyes on the source of the gore. At the end of a hall a vast operating theater sat utterly transformed, the operating table in its center rendered completely warped beyond recognition into something that bore spikes, teeth, and a generally fetid appearance. 

 

“DeEEemooon OH DeemoOOn~ BlesSED DeEMOOn~” A grotesque and guttural voice filled with whispers of a language unknown in the background sounded out through the disgusting room.

 

“Hi. Helminth.” Raven greeted, spotting the repulsive mass of infested lips attached to the wall.

 

“GLoriOUS DeMon~ BeAutiFul GOD~ WE eXpreSs Our PLEASURE at YoUR eXAltED prEseNCE!!” The Helminth responded as vile saliva poured from its mouth with every word. “We aSk WHY yOu GraCE us THIS dAY?”

 

“Just came to confirm something.” Raven responded as she leisurely sat atop the warped table.

 

“You oNLy need ASK anD WE will PROVIDE~” A pungent aroma tinged with the smell of roses filled the room as it spoke.

 

Raven’s nose twitched slightly at the smell before adjusting to it. “Firstly. Are you aware of your location?”

 

“SILLY deMON, OUR existENCe is a BleSSed one. We know OUr foRM is theorETICal  in NAture. WE kNow we Only EXist in the subcONSCIous Of yOur most FavoRED inDIVIDuALLL.” Its guttural voice reverberated in the room as it dragged on the last word.

 

“So you can guess what I’m here about then.”

 

“AS WE exIST to SERve, WE recALL OUR paST. No HaRM will COme to V. WE OnLY makE REAL HEr VISION. Her DESIRE~ NO aSsimILAtion reQuired…” 

 

“And what “desire” is that?” Raven asked, still atop the disgusting table.

 

“The PartnER to eTErnity must be eQual in lonGEvity.”

 

“Immortality? She essentially had that already.” Raven said while one finger made loops with her hair.

 

“DeEmOON~ SiLLY DEEmOON~ ThE voID coRRuptS! YoU knOW this, RULER… She DesIRes noT to be immortal, She DesIRES yOU~”

 

“Yeah, I could guess that part. But why the physical changes?”

 

“CoMpATibility~”

 

Raven hummed as she mused over the answer…“Oh…” Her face heated up slightly as she understood the meaning. “That explains the uh…softness. But, uh, why the gradual change then.”

 

“Her UNdeRSTANdinG of hER DeSIRe shAPEs the ChAngeS To heR fORm. ALONg wITh the ReQuired SUStINENCE… ONLY NOW shE UnDERStaNDS wHat She WAnTs…aND yOUR pOwER is AcceSsIble...”

 

“Void energy, temporally charged....” Raven said as she played with the power in her hand. 

 

“The POwer To tURn finite INfinite, TO aLTER LiFE, tO wARp rEAlity. A pOweR onLY YoU cOmmAND o’ SupremE GOD~” The mass of flesh seemed ready to cry in its reverence.

 

Raven rolled her eyes at the blatant fanaticism, opting to ask another question instead of countering the eternal hive-mind. “So what would happen if I “fed” her more of my power directly?”

 

“A most GLORIOUS TrANSforMAtion!~” It responded in the most enthusiastic way that bordered on deplorably twinged with pleasure…

 

“Right…Well as long as we have an understanding that she stays her, I suppose there’s no issue.” Raven said before rising from the warped table. “I’d rather not have to erase you from reality.” She added after turning around to leave.

 

“WE woULD NEVER. We LoVE YOU~ We LOVE V~ WE eXISt to SERve, to NourISH aNd PRoVIDE foR YOU OH LoRD~” 

 

“Then please continue to do so.” Raven said before blinking out of V’s subconscious and back into the “real world”.

 

“That was quick. Did you learn anything?” V’s voice cut through the brief silence.

 

“Actually, yes!” Raven said as she wrapped her arms around V and pulled her onto her lap. “Firstly, I’ll just say how much I love you…” The paradox proclaimed as she pulled V deep into a hug to which V appreciated greatly if the swish of her tail was anything to go by…

 

“Secondly…” Raven started, telling V about the journey through her mind. Half an hour of recollection and quiet reaction later, V having realised her subconscious desire, sought to voice her opinion.

 

“I want to do it. This gradual change is…I want to be done with it, I want to be complete.” V proclaimed as she looked Raven in her mis-matched eyes.

 

“There may not be a way back…” The paradox warned as the two began to close the distance between them.

 

“Please…” V whispered, their lips a hair's width apart from each other.

“Complete me.”

“My beautiful V…Anything for you.”

 

The room filled with a storm of violet mixed with neon yellow streaks of light as their lips met. A symphonic storm of light and love swirled like a whirlwind as desire and reality merged into one, giving life to a new form of being.

 

---

“I have led a million lives, some lived, some just survived.”

“Victories…had secret loss. What was free, had a hidden cost.”

“Every dream achieved just had diminishing returns.”

 

“But…”

 

“Now I am different. One who knows and understands.”

“Eternity has opened doors.”

“New stars, at the core of what is gone and what remains.”

“Angel of the night.”

“If you want to stay, I will stay.”

 

“I love you.”

 

“For now, and forever more.”

 

---

 

“All these years in a cloud of doubt and fears.”

“All the things that I hold dear would slip my grasp.”

“I tried to chase my own glory. But, no one can writе their own story.”

“Guardian angel.”

“What have I been saved for?”

“I don’t know if you’re ready. And I don’t know where to begin.”

 

“But…”

 

“Anywhere, whenever. I know I’m not alone.”

“Forever until the end of time.”

“Thank you.”

---

 

Notes:

Jeeez gET a ROOM u 2! Also, lmk what u think about J's "name", i pulled inspo from tessa's green eyes in this fic as well as the warframe with the same name; with that whole "angel of destruction" parallel. Also bonus points if you can get all the different songs I pulled inspo or lyrics from for the last two love-letter esque sections in the comments. Thanks for reading. ~Aki

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Gifts of the Void