Chapter Text
“Bite me! Just because all of you are content to sit around in here and wait to die doesn’t mean I am! In fact, I’m gonna go kill those stupid Murder Drones!”
Uzi jolted up, her eyes wide before letting out a tired sigh as she hung her head. It had been a few days, and the memory of the fight was still haunting her. Taking a few moments to compose herself, Uzi looked up and around at her surroundings. The crumbling walls were starting to come together as she found more posters and knick knacks while out scavenging. Kicking her legs over the edge of her… She was still hesitant to call it a bed, but trying to find something that had survived in the ruins that did qualify was proving incredibly difficult.
Walking over to the barricade covering the entrance to her new home, Uzi quickly pushed it aside and exited, before quickly replacing it. This crumbling ruin used to be some sort of Human building, not that she really cared, the only reason that Uzi was here was because it gave her a good field of view of the Murder Drone’s spire of corpses, while being hidden away in all the debris. Rummaging around in her pocket, Uzi pulled out the scrap of paper that was her mission today, pausing to look over the scribbles one last time.
“A power source…” Uzi muttered, scanning all the scratched out ideas that she had prior. Her choices now were rather limited, but she had the benefit of time on her side. Surely she would find something that would work with her design. She had to eventually.
… Right?
Uzi shook her head, beating back the gnawing fear at the back of her mind. No, she was going to do this. She was going to be the one to kill the Murder Drones and save Copper-9, and then everyone would finally give her the respect that she deserved! Like her stupid father!
Smirking, she looked walked over to the small walkway leading down, her boots landing on each other step as she hurried out of her hideaway, certain that today was going to be the day she found her power source! From what she had managed to recover from ruined Human computer system, there was supposed to be a delivery of R0377-93.R Energy Packs on the way to the building the day the Humans died out, and for some reason the whole route of the delivery truck was laid out, so now she just had to find that van!
Stretching as she stepped out into the sunlight, Uzi gave a small huff before smiling and running off.
***
Her left arm for a road sign.
Uzi groaned as she sat back down in the ruined building, her flashlight flickering as its power source started to flatline. She had studied every street she could find, hoping to find anything that could help pinpoint where in the ruined city that she was, and what route she would have to take to potentially find the truck transporting the energy packs. Pulling a pair of batteries out of her pocket that she was hoping to have as a snack, Uzi instead replaced the dying ones in her flashlight. She would need it if she was going to get out of this lightless ruin.
Standing back up and pointing her renewed flashlight ahead of her, Uzi started walking through the darkness.
And walking.
And walking…
Uzi paused, a sense of dread starting to build as she brought up her internal clock, a small gasp escaping her as she realized it was almost daybreak. How had she lost track of the time? She had set alarms, and-
She groaned as her face met her empty palm. She had ignored them, more focused on her mission. At least it was nearing dawn, that would make it easier to make her way back ho- Uzi stopped herself and shook her head. Her super awesome kick-ass base. That’s where she was headed back to. The only problem now was the Murder Drones. At least during the day she could see them easier, which is maybe why they hunted at night. Regardless, she couldn’t risk staying where she was for a recharge cycle, that would just be asking for one of them to eat her. No, she had to risk getting back to base.
Taking a steadying breath to stop her shaking, Uzi returned to walking, finally seeing the snow falling outside through the opening she had used to get into this ruin. Stowing her flashlight, she slowly crept towards the opening, pausing as she reached it to look outside and see if she could spot any danger. Making a few sweeps and noticing nothing, Uzi finally stepped out into the frigid night air of Copper-9 and started to hurry back towards safety.
Only to let out a loud cry as her foot connected with something, tripping her and sending her flying forwards and down into the snow and ice. Groaning as she pushed herself up, she looked back and noticed that it was the head of a Worker Drone that stared back at her.
FATAL ERROR flashed back at her as she watched oil leak from its severed neck.
“Oops, did I leave that there?” Uzi felt her body freeze in terror as a crazed cackle filled the night air. Her body was shaking as she forced herself to her feet, looking around desperately to find out where the Murder Drone was hiding. “You know, I thought I was done for the night…”
Uzi spun around, only to find herself looking across at the razor sharp, oil dripping teeth of a Murder Drone. “Guess not.” She said before laughing as she leapt at Uzi, massive claws glinting in the moonlight. Uzi felt her panic and terror vanish, replaced with a simple overriding directive.
Fight.
Or die.
Uzi knelt down before propelling herself backwards, flipping over herself before landing and skidding, arms brought up in a fighting position before she realized what she was doing. “W-Woaaah… I guess pirating all that anime paid off…”
“Seriously… You’re going to try and make me work for this?” The Murder Drone grumbled, the massive X on her face flickering and being replaced with a pair of eyes narrowed by her furrowed brow as she stood up and rested her clawed hands on her hips.
“If you think-”
“Just shut up and die.” The Murder Drone spat before launching herself at Uzi again. Somehow Uzi knew she couldn’t let those claws touch her, so she continued to do her best to dodge between her assailants' attacks.
“Seriously, you are being such a pain in the ass!” Yelled the Murder Drone as Uzi continued to dodge away, only for her eyes to go wide before a huge frozen rock connected with her face, knocking her backwards and off her feet. Uzi instantly turned and started to run.
“Oh, you think you’re something special, don’t you!” The Murder Drone cried out, her voice echoing off the ruined buildings around Uzi as she dipped around the nearest corner and continued her mad sprint for some kind of safety. “You know, I thought I was gonna have a late night snack, but now…”
Uzi skidded for a moment as she saw a shadow wash over her, causing her to look up at the Murder Drone now hovering in the night sky, the tips of her wings glinting in the growing light. “I think I’m just gonna tear you apart!”
Uzi watched as the Murder Drone swapped out one of her clawed hands before pointing it at her, and the next moment a missile was launched and flying right towards her. Jumping away, Uzi stumbled slightly as the missile connected with where she had just been standing, the concussive blast wave washing over her. Realizing that the Murder Drone was now done playing, Uzi turned and ran as fast as she could, a reading on her HUD warning her that she was heating up rapidly. She had no choice, crappy cooling system or not, if she stood still she was dead. She needed to find somewhere that the Murder Drone’s ranged advantage was neutralized.
Spotting a small alleyway, Uzi veered inside it, running through and into the adjacent street. The alleys all seemed to have access to the air, so she couldn’t hide in them, and even if she did, the Murder Drone would likely just land and shoot her dead.
“Oh man, I can’t believe I needed this target practice!” The Murder Drone cackled high up in the twilight sky. “At least you’re good for something, you purple haired pain in the ass!”
Uzi continued to bob and weave, explosions echoing all around her as she desperately searched for somewhere to-
There!
Uzi glanced over her shoulder before leaping away one last time, landing right in front of the opening leading into the ruined building and scurrying inside. In here she could likely find some way to temporarily trap the Murder Drone, or find someplace to hide before sneaking out and away.
“Hidding isn’t going to help you, idiot!” Uzi grimaced as she slid into a room, squinting her eyes in the dark to try and find someplace to hopefully hide. “Tell ya what, I’m gonna count to three, and if you come out, I’ll kill ya quickly. If you make me come in there, I’ll…”
Uzi’s breath caught as the Murder Drone’s voice trailed off, before she let out a loud, annoyed groan. “Are you kidding me? It’s almost daylight already?” Uzi’s brow raised in confusion.
“You’re lucky, you little purple freak. I promise, next time I see you, you’re dead.” Uzi waited silently, obviously this was just a trap, right? But as the seconds turned into a minute, and the minute turned into more, Uzi found herself wondering if perhaps the Murder Drone actually had left. Why was daylight an issue for them? No, Uzi shook her head, this was all just a ploy to get her to come out. She continued to wait, her hands patting around until she found a large chunk of something hard that she could use as a weapon to defend herself with.
Eventually when daylight started to filter down the hallway outside of the room she was hiding in, Uzi decided that maybe the Murder Drone hadn’t been lying. Peeking around the doorway to her hiding room, Uzi couldn’t find any sign of the Murder Drone, so she decided to sneak her way out towards the doorway. She waited just a moment before leaping out with a war cry, rock raised and ready to strike!
Only to find herself alone.
Puzzled, Uzi looked up, then around, before repeating it a second time. She really was alone, the Murder Drone had actually left. How strange. Dropping the rock, Uzi’s hand came to her chin as she tried to think of why the Murder Drone would leave in this situation. Now that she thought about it, she had never actually seen one of them out during the day. Was that their weakness? If so, how could she weaponize it?
But wait, wasn’t moonlight just the reflection of sunlight? So then, why didn’t that hurt them? Uzi grumbled as she shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to think about it. Her system was screaming at her to enter a recharge cycle, but she knew she had to get back to safety first. Groaning as she felt her body trying to resist her, Uzi set off at a languid pace.
***
Uzi was amazed at just how deep into the city she had gone in her search the previous day and night. She was over an hour into the walk home and by her estimates she still had quite the way to go. She was sure back when the Humans were alive this wouldn’t be so bad, but their crumbling buildings made all sorts of roadblocks and hazards that she had to maneuver around. It took effort and energy that she was severely lacking, and after the last leap from atop a pile of rubble, Uzi’s legs collapsed under her, causing her to grunt as she fell in a pile.
“Oh, are you okay?”
Uzi looked up, confused at the male voice that called out to her. Was another Worker Drone out scavenging? Anyone from the colony would like just ignore her, so why-
Familiar, pale yellow eyes stared back at Uzi as her eyes went wide as a Murder Drone waved awkwardly at her from the shadows. Uzi let out a panicked scream as she tried to scurry away, only for her legs to stay limp under her.
“Woah, easy there, I’m not going to- er… Well, I mean…” The Murder Drone looked uneasy as he scratched the white hair under his pilot hat. “I guess I am supposed to kill you, but I can’t exactly when I’m trapped like this.”
Uzi blinked a few times and realized that the Murder Drone was trapped under massive chunks of debris that also covered him and protected him from the sunlight.
“I’m Serial Designation N, what’s your name?” Uzi watched in disbelief as a massive smile spread across the Murder Drone’s face. A massive smile that somehow radiated with friendliness and warmth.
“Um… Uzi…” She said slowly, unsure of what was going on. “Why… Why are you talking to me like this?”
“Well, honesty is the best policy, right?” N beamed as he continued to smile at Uzi. “Plus I’m kinda trapped here and can’t do anything until someone comes and lets me out!”
“One of the other Murder Drones, you mean?” Uzi said, glancing up uneasily and looking around.
“Oh, you don’t need to worry, we can’t be out in the sunlight- It’s lethal to us!” N said as he continued to smile.
So the sunlight was their weakness- but how-
“Wait, what are you doing here?” Uzi asked, a sudden sick curiosity building inside her.
“Oh, uh… I guess I just want to be useful, ya know?” N answered with an awkward mixture of smile and frown before returning right to smiling. “I was given a job, and I always want to do my best!”
Uzi’s jaw hung open, amazed at what was going on. Was this actually a Murder Drone? He was nothing like the one that hunted her last night. “No, I- Are you- What are you doing here under these rocks?”
“Oh, that…” N blushed in embarrassment as he looked away. “I was perched up looking for more corrupted Worker Drones and I guess I was too heavy and, well, here I am!”
Uzi grew quiet, looking at the rocks. “... And what if I removed the rocks hiding you from the sunlight?”
N looked at Uzi in confusion. “Would you? You don’t seem like the other Worker Drones.”
“Well duh! I’m better than they are!” Uzi said, her legs regaining strength as she jumped to her feet. “But… What do you mean by ‘other’ Worker Drones?”
“Well you’re all corrupt, aren’t you?” N asked, causing Uzi to recoil in confusion.
“Corrupt?”
“Yeah, J said that JCJenson sent us here cause all of you are corrupt and that we need to get rid of you. S-Sorry, by the way.” N frowned apologetically.
“We’re not corrupt.” Uzi said sternly, narrowing her eyes. “We’re just here living our lives after the Humans died.”
“Really? But if that’s true, then J and V are lying, and I know they wouldn’t do that to me. I’m sorry.”
“Whatever.” Uzi shook her head before looking over the rocks again. “...Do you think the rocks will protect you until one of your squadmates- Never mind.”
“O-Oh! See you later, Uzi! Nice talking to you!” N called out after her as Uzi suddenly turned around and started walking away. She was conflicted. He was just another Murder Drone, but… He seemed to want to get to know her. He was willing to talk and smile, as if they were both friends. He was nothing like the one that hunted her last night.
Whatever. She had her weapon to work on, and to see if she could find a way to harness the sunlight against the Murder Drones.
***
“There you are, moron.” J spat as N entered the drop pod, followed shortly by V. “Where’d you find him this time?”
“Found him trapped under a bunch of rubble.” V sighed tiredly as she dropped into one of the chairs and started to slowly spin around. “He was lucky he was shielded from the sun…”
“If you keep this up, we’ll never meet our quota!” J yelled at N, causing him to shrink away.
“S-Sorry, J… I-I’ll do better next time, promise!” N apologized, trying his best to smile.
“...Whatever. Just get some rest.” J said, sitting in the other chair and spinning away from N and V.
“So, uh, th-thanks again for saving me, V.” N said, turning to his other partner.
“Whatever.” V barked back, seemingly ignoring N.
“You know, I ran into this weird Worker Drone while I was trapped- Well, I guess she ran into me.” He chuckled awkwardly. “She seemed… Different from the other Worker Drones- and I don’t just mean her purple hair!”
V instantly stopped spinning around, instead slowly turning around to face N, her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Are you sure she had purple hair?”
“Y-Yeah. And she was wearing some kind of… cloth hat thing?” N continued to try to explain what he remembered of Uzi. “She said that the Worker Drones aren’t corrupted- which I know is a lie, you and J would never-”
“She ran across you when you were trapped?” V said, one of her cruel smiles building on her face.
“R-Right. V, do you know her?”
V didn’t answer, instead she started to cackle and talk to herself. “That purple freak… I’m looking forward to this little hunt…”