Chapter Text
Friendship: a voluntary, mutual bond of care built from trust and shared experience between you and other people. Where you both equally care for one another both mentally and physically, accepting who they are and encouraging their growth while enjoying their company through highs and lows.
…
Uzi could almost laugh.
Her colony hated her, that wasn't a surprise by any means; as she got older and traumatic experiences happened she truly became the laughing stock of everyone's torment. She had two friends, though according to the definition she was given, they weren't her friends, rather she was just kept around to be their jester.
Toxic Relationship: an unhealthy relationship that drains your emotional energy and leaves you feeling unsupported, manipulated, or feeling worse about yourself, and is characterized as a one sided disrespect of boundaries, excessive criticism, jealousy, guilt-tripping, making you feel unsafe rather than uplifted.
Uzi flicked the dictionary off her visor, her eyes glowing as she groaned into her pillow. She knew for a long time now that her friends weren't good by any possible definition, no matter how long she kept searching. Unfortunately they were all she had, and she would rather be abused than be alone again.
“Uzi! Your friends are here!”
Her Dads voice ripped through her ears like a woodchipper, she could feel her synthetic stomach drop at the thought of her friends being here. The thought of having to spend another day with them haunted her processors.
Would being alone again… really be that bad?
She pushed herself off of the bed, her legs creaking softly from the sudden action. Rather be out there than in here I guess She opened her door and solemnly walked into the living room.
Standing in the doorway were her only two friends, and immediately seeing their smirk, she knew she would probably be getting a new dent today.
Lizzy was the first to speak up, her voice sounding sickly sweet “Hello Uz~!”
Doll didn't say anything, just stood there with her unforgiving smile. Waving one of her hands slowly.
Khan was oblivious to the look of forced enthusiasm on Uzi’s face, believing she was genuinely going to have a good time. “Sounds fun! Run along now, Uzi!”
With that Khan all but forced her out the door, leaving her face to face with her bullies friends. She wrapped her hands behind her back, nervously fiddling with her fingers in an attempt to calm herself down.
“Well we don't have ALL day” Lizzy groaned, she turned on her feet and started walking down the hall, with the group following her.
Lizzy and Doll have been talking but Uzi was zoned out, mentally preparing herself to spend the day with these unforgiving souls. Her hand fidgeting sped up, there weren't enough words to describe just how much she hated this stage of the day, just walking to whatever they had planned.
She ran a mental checklist through her head, trying to predict what they might do today. She looked near their pockets. Silently celebrating at the lack of a spray bottle. They also didn't seem to have the gym card, meaning she probably wasn't going to be forced into a 2 vs 1 sport again.
Now that she thought about it.. Where are we going? They never walked this way before, and she couldn't think of anything that was over here… except…
“Annnnd were here!” Lizzy exclaimed.
Right in front of her was the first of three doors, these doors being the first line of defense for the harsh elements outside, the cruel aftereffects of a core explosion, and worst of all… the murder drones.
If Uzi wasn't already scared before, she was certainly terrified now.
Lizzy pulled out her phone, plugged in a cable, then put it up to the master key receptacle. After a second or two the door opened. The pressurized cold air hit Uzi’s senses instantly, with the growing fear getting stronger in her head.
“So… what are we doing?” She asked, hoping she had hid the fear in her voice well enough to avoid being made fun of.
“[what are you, scared?]” Doll joked, clearly sensing her growing anxiety. “[you should trust us, we are your friends]”
Of course she couldn't hide it well enough, not that it truly mattered, she knew that they weren't going to tell her anyways, they never did.
Half the fun is my fear I guess
The second door opened and the air got colder, Her visor informed her that the air in the second chamber was -50c. Not that she was paying much attention, she was beginning to slightly shake at the thought of whatever activity they could have planned.
The third door opened and the freezing air hit them all at once. Lizzy and Doll stepped outside, the snow crunching beneath their feet. Uzi timidly followed, still confused.
Lizzy pulled out a camera, and Uzi watched as Doll struck a random pose on a snowbank nearby.
Oh.. It's just photos… Uzi felt her systems slowly relax, she had just been overly anxious again, everything was fine. Of course none of them noticed the yellow eyes looming over them from a distance.
Uzi struck another pose, this time on top of the vault door. “Hell yeah Uz! Slay!” The photo was taken and they moved on to the next one, Uzi was shocked to admit that she was actually smiling, who knew her friends could be so kind! Then a loud thud was heard, and all that fun was swept away.
The drone stood taller than all of them, her wings wide and intimidating with her claws drawn, roughly the size of Uzi’s arm, with a nerve wracking smile accompanied by intimidating chuckles. Uzi was starting to back up when she felt a boot crack against her back. She fell into the snow, a small crack being heard from her visor. She turned and saw the disassembly drone staring at her, while Lizzy and Doll took one last look, before closing the bunker door.
Uzi shot up, her legs stumbling over each other as she threw herself at the door, banging her fists against it as she begged and pleaded to be let in, trying desperately to suppress the tears streaming across her visor. She heard the second door close before she stopped trying, she began to laugh slowly, looking down at her shaky hands.
To think I actually thought…
She pressed her back to the door and slid down, her hands over her face as she tried to suppress her cries. She didn't have her railgun, she didn't have anyone to help her, and she couldn't escape if she wanted to. She looked to the sky, the digital tears on her visor falling faster as she formed a wobbly smile. Whether she was happy to finally die or laughing at her stupidity was a question she left unanswered.
She looked back at the drone, expecting her to jump and rip her to shreds and leave her rotting in the snow. She was instead surprised to see that the big X across her visor was gone, replaced by 2 hollow eyes staring at the door, her wings slowly drooped down and her arms lowered to her sides as the smile that was previously there was now gone, replaced with an unreadable neutral, almost hollow stare. Uzi was unsure whether to be more scared or less.
==--==
It wasn't every day that V was reminded of her past, she usually did her best to repress every single negative memory she had, and it had been months if not years since her last flashback. Then a singular drone that was going to be her lunch gave her a memory she had long since tried to fight off.
It was a tense day at the manor. Drones were flocking everywhere in an attempt to set up the Elliots gala. The mixture of the Elliots' rage and an unknown corruption infecting some drones made an already rushed job much more of a miracle than anything, due to the severe understaffing of drones.
In the middle of all this chaos was a much shorter and much more timid V, who was just desperately trying to wash enough dishes to house hundreds of rich snobs, though she would never call them that aloud.
The kitchen was a nightmare, chef drones shoving everyone aside, butler drones bringing extra dishes from storage rooms long since forgotten, and the bustling of other workers trying to set up tables and fresh dishes while cleaning spilled oil from one of the Elliots “Lessons”. It was a lot for a shy drone to handle, especially with steam flying at her visor and fogging her glasses.
So when the drone bartender noticed her rapid breathing and stressed out stare, she was offered to trade tasks. Needless to say she took it.
The bar wasn't terrible by any means, V knew how to make a wide variety of drinks, and with the help of her glasses she was even able to do tricks to impress the soon to arrive guests. She was doing much better, preparing cups and finding the nice wine. Then J had to show up, and play boss.
“Aren't you supposed to be in the kitchen?” The condescending tone never ceased to annoy her, but as long as she was the boss she would just have to deal with it.
“I traded jobs with another drone, Tessa wouldn't mind”
“Hmm.. follow me, we're going to go confirm with her, just incase”
J started walking to the door with a very annoyed V in tow; and as they got close to the door they saw the lights flicker before cutting off entirely. The lights flicked back on and in the middle of the room was a drone they had grown somewhat familiar with.
“Cyn?”
“Hey- V. drawn out- wave.” “Hello- J”
“Beat it Cyn, V has places she needs to be.”
“No need- to be so aggressive. annoyed glare I need- V-.”
“She's busy, come on V.”
The lights slowly flickered as the air in the room began to get thick, V started having a bad feeling about this situation, the room's air started to feel dense and toxic, the suffocating stare between the drones feeling tighter than ever.
“I- w- wasn't asking… giggle”
The lights flickered rapidly as Cyn’s body began to deform, the small drone they knew replaced by a gigantic wall of arms and legs, with cameras poking out of every which direction, all of which were looking directly at V.
V stood there, mouth agape as she tried to comprehend the machine that had formed in front of her, but as she went to take a step back, she felt a familiar shoe print collide with her back. She fell to the ground, her hand clutching her visor that took the fall. She turned around in time to see J slam the door shut, locking her inside.
The last thing V remembered was a claw clamping against her leg, her screaming for help, and the world going dark.
==--==
Uzi didn't know what was going on, She had thought that the murder drone would have ripped her to shreds by now, or at least started to run after her.
The drone's visor kept glitching between her almost horrified eyes to a simple loading animation, during this period Uzi considered making a run for it.
she wont see me if I just…
Uzi shot up and bolted, running toward the ruins of the city, her feet stumbling slightly as she trudged through the snow. The crack in her visor didn't make it any easier, as she kept misplacing her feet.
She then heard a boom come from behind her, she turned and saw as the murder drone shot from her place and launched into the air, zeroing on her exact location.
Uzi thought about it and realized running didn't matter, she wouldn't get away and no one would miss her now that she's gone. She had spent her whole life trying to fit into a place that never wanted her. She looked down at her hands before taking a small relieving breath, and spreading her arms out, closing her eyes for hopefully the last time.
Maybe now is my chance to do something right… to make someone happy.
She hears a loud crash in front of her before a hand closes tightly across her neck. She keeps her eyes closed, allowing the drone to finish her off.
Unexpectedly, the grip gets looser and Uzi is thrown to the ground. She lets out an “oomph” as she hits the floor, a slight pop as she tries to get up. She hesitantly opens her eyes to see the drone staring at her, her eyes a fiery mix of anger and… an attempt not to tear up?
“You're ruining this for me! I came out here for an EASY kill! Where idiots like YOU wander out and make good food for me!”
This drone was now kicking the snow, angrily stomping around as she yelled, her hands waving wildly to convey some form of annoyance. Uzi didn't dare move; a mixture of confusion and fear flooded her senses.
“Then I go to scare you guys because that's always so much fun. BUT THEN YOU!”
Uzi let out a small eep as the drone raised her sword quickly, the glow of her purple eyes reflecting off the smooth shine of the blade hovering an inch from her face. The air felt thick, almost toxic as the 2 drones stood off.
“You had to just ruin my night with that… with that…”
The sword lowered slowly; an annoyed but exhausted sigh escaping the murder drones mouth, the look of anger replaced with a tired and avoidant, but still upset glare.
“Just.. go”
With that she shot into the sky once again, leaving Uzi in a gigantic flurry of snow as she flew inside the corpse spire.
==--==
V hated that she had to remember. They turned J into an empty voice box that constantly talked about the company, turned N into some sort of idiot; but Cyn made HER remember, and she couldn't figure out why.
Her feet touched the ground inside the spire, the snow sizzling away at the heat emitting from her steps. She walked around for a bit, before shooting up into the nest she had made in the spire. She touched down inside and sat in the darkest spot she could find. A flurry of emotions overtook her.
The first emotion to come was embarrassment; she had been the first to get captured by Cyn, the first to be ripped apart and mutilated, the first to be assembled into whatever she had become.
Then the onslaught of guilt hit; she couldn't stop Cyn from finding the others, she couldn’t stop her from finding N, or stopped her from ripping him apart as well. Sadness followed, the screams she had heard from the guests of the manner, the way N tried to be kind while begging her to stop his disassembly.
V’s eyebrows furrowed into anger; it was J’s fault, if J hadn't kicked her down, if she had chosen to warn the others instead of locking her in and moving on with her day, maybe they would have been saved, maybe they could have stopped her, at the very least they could have gotten away!
V’s wings shot outward causing part of the nest to shoot down to the ground with a loud bang, she blinked before looking down at her hands, the blood that stained them, the lives she took. Why did she care now? She had spent ages ripping corpses apart, never having a second thought.
Was it my choice..? Did I want to do this?
She thought back to the purple drone from earlier, the way her friends had kicked her down and closed the door, leaving her to die. The fear the girl showed as she held her arms up, desperately trying to get away from her.
are we even... any different?
V’s eyes hollowed out again as she laid down in her nest, the ceiling dripping bits of oil as the bodies stared back at her, the horror of her actions permanently etched onto their mechanical faces. A cruel display of art created by the cruelest of artists; a piece with no name, but a thousand souls forcibly etched into its canvas; a permanent reminder of who she was.
V really was terrible… huh?
==--==
It was cold… so so cold. Uzi’s mechanical parts weren't able to shiver, but if she could she would have been shivering forever. Ever since the murder drone had left, she had helplessly wandered back to the bunker door, trying to figure out a way back inside; however no amount of knocking, banging, pleading or screaming made a dent, it never had.
She felt her systems slowly giving out, the severe cold followed by the never ending wind took a toll on her already scrawny frame. Her hands stopped responding first, the mechanical digits giving up as the cold froze the motors in place. Uzi had panicked at first, trying desperately to move them to no avail, a cruel reminder at how little she truly had control over.
Then her arms had shut down, Uzi thought that she would be terrified, but as her arms stopped moving and the warnings started blaring she realized that she didn't really care anymore. Her friends had abandoned her, the colony wasn't even trying to look for her, hell even her dad didn't even pretend to come look.
She spotted a small snow dune right next to the door and slowly trudged over to it, her legs starting to resist her movements. Eventually though she sat on the side of the dune, trying to use it as shelter against the vengeful wind. Uzi felt her visor slowly losing power as she slowly started leaning into the snow wall.
Uzi looked up at the sky and smiled as the snow started to come down, she felt a wave of peace wash over her knowing she would be buried in the snow, far away from this cruel and unforgiving world.
Her final thought was of her mother, did robots have an afterlife? She sure hoped they did, all she had ever wanted was to run away from Copper-9, to run away from her uncaring dad and her evil friends, to maybe one day find an accepting place, or to die, she never truly cared anyways.
Maybe if she were lucky, just this once, she'd get to lay in her mothers arms just one more time.
==--==
V doesn't know when she fell asleep, all she knows is that when she woke up she felt a feeling she had never felt before. It wasn't a good feeling, she couldn't describe it apart from just feeling wrong.
The horrors of her actions weighed on her thoughts heavily. She knew they were standard worker drones sure, but the extent of what they felt… Everything she had ever done to them was FELT. The thought of ripping these drones apart, who were just living normal lives, who just wanted to be free…
Sounds familiar… doesn't it V?
V visibly gagged in her nest as she hastily stood up, trying not to collapse from the sudden wave of nausea hitting her processor. The thought that she once craved freedom from the shackles of her owners just to become the new warden was a heavy thought she desperately wished she didn't have.
Look in the mirror Cyn V.
The purple drone flicked into her memory once more, the fear radiating from her eyes as V staggered closer, the desperate cries as she practically threw herself at the door trying to get inside, away from her… The look of horror when she grabbed her small neck, ready to choke the life out of her before she could ever get back inside…
Did she ever get back inside?
V was surprised enough to end her spiral, she wasn't expecting herself to care, let alone feel the urge to go check. Yet as the storm outside got worse and worse, she couldn't help but spread her wings and shoot out of the spire yet again.
The white snow shined through her optics as she flew toward the vault door, the snow falling harder as she forced herself through it. She hit the ground with a thud, a cloud of snow flying into the air. She blinked, scanning the terrain around her for any sign of the mystery drone.
V huffed angrily, finding black and purple in a pure white background should have been way easier. As she stepped closer to the vault door she took note of the lack of fresh footprints, meaning the door hadn't been opened since her hunt.
V did however notice older prints, walking toward the side of the entrance near a snow dune.
She approached the dune, expecting to be ambushed or something, instead she noticed… nothing?
V’s optics showed that the prints just stopped. No flight, no jumping, they just stopped. V looked around a little harder. Error after error flashed her visor as her tracing software failed to locate the most vibrant color ever imaginable; and after a bunch of frustration she spread open her wings and angrily shot into the air, hoping she was just further away.
Right as she hit the air however, a notification popped up on her visor.
[Specified color code located!]
She looked back down and saw that her wings had moved a bunch of snow, and sticking out of the top of the dune was a tuft of purple. V lowered herself down and slowly dug around the hair, eventually finding the head it was attached to.
V went from slight concern to heavy concern pretty quickly. The crack in the mystery drones visor had grown due to the cold, covering a good chunk of the left side. The other half was barely illuminated, listing a hardware fault she couldn't quite make out.
V scooped up the drone slowly, worried that she would cause more damage
when haven't you?
V was in shock at how light this girl actually was, she had been able to lift her by the neck earlier, sure; but now that she was actually thinking about it the drone was definitely lighter than the others. A lot shorter too.
Another thing that caught her attention was how cold this drone was; yes she had been sitting in the snow, but V could feel the temperature difference, and maybe it was her overheating core talking but to say that holding this ice pack of a drone felt good would be a severe understatement.
V shot into the air, the laughably small grape in tow as she rocketed herself toward the spire, she just hoped that N and J hadn't come back from whatever job they had. The last thing V wanted was to go through all this effort just to watch her get ripped apart.
==--==
Thankfully, they were gone, meaning she didn't have to sneak this pitiful creature into her nest. But what to do with her?
V was honestly unsure what to do. On one hand she could eat the thing, put it out of whatever misery it endured.. V however could not bring herself to hurt this one.. Her.. she couldn’t bring herself to hurt HER.
Could I hurt anyone again?
of course you can.
V set the girl down on the ground before laying against the walls of her nest. This was outside of ANYTHING V knew how to deal with.. She was meant to be a killing machiene… or at least that's what she had been turned into. Maybe it was the similar experiences they went through, maybe it was the pity that the situation itself caused, maybe… just maybe she was just damaged.
Maybe she had always been.
It didn't truly matter however, she was here now and there was no reason to send her away, no reason to cause more pain to the girl, especially one who had seemed to welcome her death.
She didn't even try to get away from you.
V felt a headache come on as the rapid onslaught of thoughts caused her processors to heat up rapidly. The thoughts of their similarities, their differences, the situation today and her situation as a whole.
She curled up into a ball, laying on the floor as the thoughts continued to ravage her processors.
You're a killer! This is what you were MADE for
Am I a killer? Did I want to do this?
You're evil!
You're good!
V, despite her strong willed nature let out a soft cry. She cried for the life that was taken from her, for the lives she took in return. She cried for the cruelty inflicted on her and cried for the cruelty she had bestowed. She cried because deep down, she would always be a terrible machine.
Was it really too late to change?
She already knew the answer for that. Even if she went to apologize and try to make it right, she wouldn't be listened to, she would just be ignored or feared. Hated for what she was. She could put in all the effort to change but no one would listen.
Then again, when did her voice matter anyways?