Chapter Text
V flew alone in the night sky, scanning the ground below for any unfortunate Worker Drones that might be traversing the snowy hellscape of Copper-9. She's been searching for hours at this point, but after years of robo-genocide no worker dares leave their bunker. Aside from Uzi's which is unfortunately off limits. V doesn't know why she even listens to her. Yeah, her and Lizzy hang out sometimes but other than that everyone else is food. Uzi doesn't even like anyone there! But whatever, no hunting near Outpost-3. Even if some of them deserve it...
V shook her head, no revenge killings. Especially on old bullies, that would show she cared about Uzi to some degree. Which she doesn't. Uzi is N's friend and nothing else. They barely tolerate each other on a good night let alone every time they see each other, and V has no interest on changing that. she can't change it-
She needed to get out of her own damn head and pay attention. V was overheating, bad. If she didn't get some oil soon she'd be stranded. And she refused to let that happen. She had enough energy to kill a single drone, as long as she did it quickly and it didn't take forever to catch. It's oil should be enough to get her safely home where she can sleep off the heat. And maybe if she's lucky annoy Uzi..
Her thoughts were interrupted by her thermal sensor locking on to a large heat signature right below her. V squinted through the blurry haze of white and spotted dots of black among the surrounding buildings and asbestos. Idiots, this'll be too easy...
V swooped down silently, despite instinctively wanting to create a massacre she only needed a single drone, then she could eat. And maybe bring an arm to Uzi, she is a bad hunter after all. The workers somehow heard her though because they all split up, which was definitely an inconvenience but she'd have to deal with it. As V landed the snow around her started to melt, she couldn't afford to wait any longer. She'd have to catch one of these fuckers the hard way.
.....
V was at the last structure her prey could've hid in. Steam rose from her hunched figure and her every breath brought forth a cloud of smoke. She was tired, and hot, and hungry and MĀÐ
She had been searching for thirty minutes, far longer than her body could handle when running on empty. Despite her best efforts to save energy. But that didn't matter anymore, nothing mattered except digging her teeth into metal and silicone and glass and OIL.
V barged into the building and started searching with vigor. Every item left behind by scavengers was ripped apart, any wall in her way was reduced to a pile of rubble, her claws left marks on every surface. Whilst she stopped to catch her breath a staircase entered her periphery, it had snow on every step. In the shape of footprints.
V hissed and launched herself towards the stairs, nearly colliding into a wall with the strength of it. She scrambled up them desperately, her claws getting stuck in the decaying wood. Sizzling saliva dripped down her chin as V imagined tearing the Worker Drones apart.
When the end of the staircase neared she leaped, landing on all fours. Her claws and fangs were on full display as the yellow X on her visor seemingly grew brighter with anticipation and frustration. Her tail thrashed side to side angrily like that of an upset cat. A loud guttural growl making itself known to the drones surrounding her. They all looked freakishly calm for someone with a agitated Disassembly Drone drawing closer, but everyone copes with impending doom differently she supposed.
V stiffly stood up and staggered towards them menacingly, yet still their visors had a neutral, almost bored look. It's when she stopped and pointed a gun at them their expressions changed to that of annoyance, and V's to shock as she felt something sharp impale her stomach. She looked down and saw a large metal spear, her body's temperature melting it slowly upon contact. Her oil leaked out as well but some of it mixed with the dissolving object as it fused with her insides in a sluggish agony. V couldn't move, couldn't breath. There was a spear inside her, gluing itself to her casing, burning her from the inside out, becoming a boiled clump before her very eyes.
While V was processing getting impaled the worker behind her cut off the nanite canister attached to her tail, then immediately threw it away like it was a piece of scrap. They came closer to her, like sentinals cornering their prey. All were carrying a cross, but it's tip was sharpened to a point. V was terrified, but would never show it. Instead opting too look as outraged as possible. In which she was to an extent, because who wouldn't be a bit angry in this situation? She's about to die alone and painfully slow at the hands of Worker Drones, her prey.
But.. Not all of them were her prey, Uzi wasn't. And probably never will be. V always liked the toaster though she'd never admit it out loud, hell it was hard to admit it to herself. But there was no sense in lying anymore seeing as she was dying. She liked her smirk and maniacal laughter, how she would yell Bite Me but get flustered whenever V actually tried. It was... Nice, being able to freely banter with someone. With J it was all business, she didn't appreciate anything other than following orders. And N.. Well, it's N. But Uzi? She could call her anything and immediately get a snappy response. The routine was comforting, safe.
What was she doing? Excepting death so quickly, giving up so easily. This wasn't right, this isn't her end. She is going to live, to survive. She REFUSES to die, especially not like this dammit!
Motivated by sheer willpower and spite alone, V swapped both of her hands to guns and went wild. Bullets flew everywhere as she walked backwards, some hit, most missed. Unfortunately the workers were smart, knowing how to dodge her endless flurry of fury. One threw a cross at her left forearm and severed it, making thing's easier for them but harder for V as she lost more oil and ammo. Eventually she stopped shooting all together, more focused on conserving energy so that she didn't die. But that just meant the Worker Drones could approach her with the only risk of harm being her glaring daggers. And approach they did as one of the bastards calmly walked towards her with an almost smug look on it's ugly face.
Ohhh if only she could Maim it in the most PAINFUL way possible.. And perhaps eat it alive too.
But with begrudgingly no more fight physically left in her she could do nothing as the worker pushed her back against the wall, the concrete hitting and vibrating the still melting metal spear in her stomach, sending a jolt of pain throughout her entire being. Her legs turned to jelly as she fell down, the worker advancing further before stopping right in front of her. She gave it the death stare, the kind that sent shivers down your spine, but it just looked down at her proudly. It then brought the cross up to her visor on the top right corner, hovering there before aggressively digging it into the screen. Oil gushed out as the worker slowly cut diagonally, sparks flew everywhere as a majority of her wires were severed by the deep wound. It took everything V had not to scream. Because unlike the other injuries that got drowned out by the dissolving weapon in her midsection, she actually felt this one. It was excruciatingly painful, as if someone was gouging out her face. It made her entire head feel like pins and needles, that were on fire.
She's never felt so helpless, so close to death, not since the manor anyway. All she could think about was escape, too flee, to just get out get out Get Out GET OUT GET 0UT! Something must have snapped, something deep within her. Capable of summoning strength V didn't even know she still had, because as soon as the Worker Drone stopped and pulled it's cross out, she raised her still intact arm and switched it to a rocket launcher, swiftly aiming it at the demon and releasing. It obviously hit, effectively killing it. At least she assumed, no worker could survive that right? Either way, the sound of a crumbling wall caught her attention. Does that mean there's an exit? A chance to leave this nightmare? Whatever the case as long as there was a hole she could escape. So, with the little energy V hoped she had left she summoned her wings and practically threw herself at the wall, praying the hole was in the general vicinity. By some dumb luck it was, and she was suddenly airborne. She was out of that building, away from the danger, she could just fly away. Even though she was blind and had no idea where she was going, it didn't matter. She was safe.
.....
V must've instinctively flew herself to the Corpse Spire because the first thing she heard when she crash landed was Uzi and N shriek. And then maybe footsteps? Her audio receptors were ringing so hard it hurt. She did feel N pick her up clumsily, and Uzi yelling her name distantly. But V couldn't move nor respond, her whole body was shutting down to save whatever remnants of energy and oil she had left. V honestly didn't know how she'd remained semi-conscious, especially after falling down and creating a crater in the ground. Yet even in her final moments of what she assumed was her life, V thought of Uzi. Not about the guilt of leaving N alone without even a goodbye, not about J's inevitable return, not even about whatever punishment Cyn might inflict on her when she finds out V failed.
But Uzi.
An edgy Worker Drone with daddy issues N found one day after getting his head blown off. How did she get so attached?
V guessed she'd never know.
.....
V gasped loudly, awkwardly jolting upward with trembling success. Her body burned as if she was left in the sun, mind hazy with pain and probably head trauma. What little was untouched by the blaze was either numb or gone. Though something strange was wrapped tightly around her midsection, a burning ache could be felt underneath but V was so woozy she didn't even ponder it. That's when she smelled it, oil. A scent so strong it almost hurt to inhale. Coming from somewhere close.
"V‽" A voice called out, but it was like static.
"W-whœ'Ş Th3rē?! GÊT ÅW@Ỳ FR0M M3!" V attempted moving away, but pain quickly caught up to her. She hated looking and sounding vulnerable but pure unbridled Fear was clawing away at her CPU like a caged animal. There was no rationality left, just instinct.
"Careful! You can't be moving around¡ You're in the pod so calm down¡" The voice got clearer, enough to make out some words. But it was also loud, and far to close. This was danger. Before she knew it her side hit a wall as she hissed and shook, tail curled around her left leg in hidden terror.
"V it's me! Uzi, I'm not gonna hurt you" The voice was softer this time, almost taking a soothing tone. Making it's words easier to process.
"Ū-úz1" V stuttered. She knew this name, it was one of safety, of companion. With that information her hissing faded, even her tail quivered. This was her purple menace to society.
"Yeah. It's me, I'm right here" V could hear Uzi shuffle closer, making her unintentionally flinch, but also remind her of a very recognizable smell. Oil. It was coming from Uzi.
"Ÿ-ỳ0û'rè hūrT..." V choked out, the smell getting more noticeably intoxicating. Her oil reserves were struggling, and with the amount of damage that needed repaired oil became ten times more appetizing. Before she knew it spit was dripping down her face.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. You're the one with several injuries!" Uzi's footsteps echoed against the metal walls, practically vibrating the room. Curiosity and maybe even slight concern stirred in V. But obviously this wasn't something she'd be able to get out of Uzi just yet.
"Âw, d0ë$ şõmêøñ3 Ç@rĒ àb0úT mē-Ë?" Ignoring the difficulty of forming that sentence, the noise Uzi made was worth every bit of it. Works every time.
Before a proper response could be made a loud thud resonated through the space, causing V to instantly go into Panic Mode.
"Okay I'm back!" N huffed exhaustively, his voice calming V down. Another companion.
"Great! Cause V's awake" Uzi pointed at V, who was trying to recover from the unintentional jumpscare without making it obvious she got spooked in the first place.
"OH! Are you okay?! Here I got you some oil!" N placed something in front her, upon feeling around she discovered it was a rather large can filled with the liquid. As soon as the aroma filled her processor she immediately ripped it open, gulping down the divine substance.
"What happened V?" N spoke uneasily, stepping closer with a no doubt worried expression.
V just growled, continuing to indulge in the much needed meal.
"How about we give her a minute?" Uzi said in her usual tone, guiding N somewhere farther away from V. She thought she heard them whispering at some point, but doubted it was important. All that mattered right now was eating.
.....
V licked her lips whilst her system slowly rebooted out of Panic Mode. Her head still felt like it was stuffed with hot cotton, but her senses were getting sharper, and the world wasn't as fuzzy. Unfortunately though better awareness came with horrible pain and memories she didn't want. While V was used to both of these scenarios, it was still really shitty. Especially with her vision gone.
"Soo.. Mind explaining what happened?" Uzi asked while N loudly fidgeted with his fingers. A part of her really didn't want to tell them what happened, because then she'd have to think about it even more. But now that she can form coherent thoughts her mask has to be put back on.
"I was overheating and found a group of workers but when I went to snatch one they split up and hid in the surrounding buildings so when I got to the last one they all ambushed me and decided violence was the answer" V finished with a pained casually, forcing herself to not show a single emotion.
"W-Worker Drones did this to you!?" N said in disbelief. It was very reasonable that he was in denial though, V? Getting seriously hurt by WORKERS?? Impossible! Yet still, that's what somehow happened.
"Yes, armed and apparently experienced in gang violence Worker Drones were able to harm a overheating Murder Drone that couldn't form coherent thoughts" Her voice was strained, but still tried to hold that annoyed undertone she made it carry.
"Okay.. What did they look like?" Uzi seemed to hesitate, like she was unsure wether or not to ask the question. That confused V, why wouldn't she say it? It's not like it would make her break into tears or anything else stupid. And clearly she's not concerned about her at all, that would be baffling.
"They all wore nothing but gray hard hats and long black robes" And apathetic expressions...
"All right.. Did they speak at all?" Uzi once again annoyingly hesitated.
"No" True.
"W-what weapons did they have..?" N surprisingly asked.
"Knives" False.
"Last question, how many were there?" V had to stop and think about that one.
"Ten maybe?" Yeahh, that sounded about right.
"Okay.. Can't say I've heard anything about them before, but let's hope no one ever encounters them again" V doubts they would, especially after launching a rocket at one of their members. The thought alone filled her with pride. V bets she has a rather smug grin on her face right now. Similar to how it looked at her..
V hissed in pain, writhing and scrambling on the floor, basically slamming herself against the wall. She desperately clutched her midsection as it began to steam and sizzle, the bandages she just realized she had on doing very little except absorbing some oil. Uzi and N were all over her trying to help, but that just made the blind disassembler even more overwhelmed.
"GÊT @WÆY FR0M MĒ Í'M FÎŇ3-!" She snarled through gritted teeth, squeezing her ruined crop jacket like a life line.
"NO YOU'RE NOT! Let us help!" Uzi stubbornly insisted, she always did that, no matter who it was. As usual it was oddly comforting.
"ÚGH j-jûŞt Måk3 ït qū1čk!" V released her death grip on her jacket and immediately swapped her hands with swords, digging them into the ground as Uzi rushed forward.
She felt her remove V's top, the thought alone making her internally blush. Robots obviously don't have the same anatomy as humans, but it was still a bit embarrassing being completely bare. Even if she didn't wear pants-
"N get some new bandages" Uzi said whilst removing V's old ones.
"R-right away!" N left the pod, leaving her and Uzi alone.
"Holy shit-"
"Th@t bāð hÛh..?"
"It's bad all right, the regeneration is all wonky and there's liquid metal dripping from your inner workings! You're also losing a lot of oil. Whoever those workers were knew Disassembly Drone anatomy quite well, they hit a lot of important stuff" Uzi informed V as she worked, desperately trying to make the oil leak stop and get the metal out.
"I got the bandages! A-and some stuff we used l-last time.." N announced as V yelped in pain, squirming underneath Uzi.
"T-thanks N! Just set them down besides me" Uzi's voice was strained, from discomfort or worry annoyance V couldn't tell.
"Is there anything else I can do to help?"
"We're gonna need some more oil"
.....
Nothing else interesting happened during the rest of the operation. Uzi worked, N was mostly absent, and whenever V wanted to scream she dug her sword hands into the floor even deeper. Eventually Uzi finished, reapplying the bandages and putting her crop jacket back on.
"There.. That should be good enough. Just expect a slow recovery, and only take sips of oil. Gulping it down will overwhelm your system and make what just happened a reality again" Uzi placed a medium sized can on her lap, it being full of oil based on the smell.
"Heh, thanks I guess.. Doctor Doorman" V quipped with a smirk, retracting her blades from the ground and replacing them with normal hands. She felt around the can, finding a latch that opened it and taking a sip.
"I'm going to ignore that abysmal title and bask in the glory of you thanking me" V could practically hear Uzi's grin, the thought made her laugh, and said laugh was returned by the dork.
"Hey, guys? What are we going to do about the recharging situation?" V swore N teleported inside or something, his voice just randomly appearing. Shouldn't her receptors have warned her about the movement or sound of a possible threat? Especially since she's still blind! Also, Recharging Situation?? What's wrong with hanging upside down like normal??
"Ah, right- V. you will only be able to sleep whilst sitting on the chair, any other way will cause damage" Uzi apologetically informed.
"Of course..." V scoffed, internally rolling her eyes.
"Hey! it won't be so bad! It spins!" N's attempt to cheer her up only made her slouch down further, V hadn't sat, let alone slept, in that chair for years at this point. And she wasn't excited to start again now.
"Plus, you shouldn't be confined to it for long, just until your system is a bit more in order!" I don't think it'll be in order anytime soon, Ms Expect A Slow Recovery.
"Whatever. As long as it isn't the floor" V put the basically full can of oil to the side and braced herself, attempting to slowly get up. It was more difficult than she thought it would be, but V was nothing but determined.
"You two don't have to crowd around me, I'm fīnè" Honestly it was making her anxious, she could feel the tension in the air as she wobbled over toward the chair. Despite knowing the pod like the back of her hand they still found it necessary to follow her all the way there. It was equally aggravating as it was nerve wracking. She sat down, the seat was a bit more comfortable than she remembered, at least for that.
"Okay. N and i will be outside if you need anything, try and get some sleep all right?" V just grunted in reply, she heard Uzi sigh then climb the ladder outside.
"Goodnight V" N murmured before also exiting the pod via ladder. V huffed and shifted a bit before settling again, finding it hard to get comfortable. tonight was gonna be rough...