Chapter Text
Deep in the night, a man wandered the streets. He could have been out because he was partying, or because he was up to no good, or simply because he was a college student who stayed up too late. It didn’t matter. He never saw Death coming.
Death took the form of a pale skinned creature cloaked in black. The creature crept behind the man, and when the opportune moment came, it swept him away. When it was sure no one was around, it latched onto him and drained him of his lifeblood.
A silent observer watched all of this with regret. The observer held power, yes, but all he could do with it was pass it on. He was unable to use it himself, and so did nothing. Yet he knew it was time. Time to pass on the power. Time to find new Magical Girls.
)( )( )(
Uzi would like it to be known that this was not her fault.
It wasn’t her fault that none of her friends were in her forensics class–Emily and Cyn weren’t interested, and Tessa had taken it two years ago. It wasn’t her fault that no one else wanted to be her partner. It definitely wasn’t her fault that when she said “Lots of people wanted to partner up” Lizzy had replied “No we don’t! You freak us out!” Uzi’s reaction of snarling at Lizzy was a valid response. It wasn’t her fault that Lizzy compared her to a dog because of it. And, well, maybe the ensuing catfight was possibly a little bit her fault. But mostly it was Lizzy’s.
“It’s one month into the school year and this is the third time you two have been sent to me,” the principal said. Mr. Ashburne was a human man who looked like he had been pinched and stretched out like modeling clay to be tall and thin, with a sallow complexion and a receding hairline.
“It’s not my fault that this loser is feral and has no friends,” Lizzy said.
“Bite me! Yes I do!” Uzi retorted. “And it’s not my fault that you’re a jerk.”
“Says the one who attacked me.”
“You started it.”
“Girls, if this behavior continues, you may be eligible for reprogramming,” Mr. Ashburne stated.
The silence was instant as the girls were forced to process that. Reprogramming was no big deal to a human–why wouldn’t they change a drone’s code to make them less violent, less inclined to crime, safer? But to a drone, it was a fate worse than death. A total erasure of identity. And the way Mr. Ashburne put it–that they were eligible for reprogramming, as if it was an opportunity instead of a thing to be avoided at all costs–rubbed Uzi the wrong way.
“You can’t do that! My father will leave his position as teacher here if you do that!” Lizzy rebutted.
“Yeah, and you can’t do that to me either, because my father won’t repair your doors or your security if you reprogram me,” Uzi added.
“I’ll be blunt,” Mr. Ashburne replied, “Dalton Sterling has very little he actually cares about, and Khan Doorman once said that doors are his real daughter. Do either of those parents sound like they’d actually care if their daughters got reprogrammed? Maybe they’d even like you better.”
It was a low blow, but there wasn’t any way Uzi could respond to that. Who said something like that? Humans. They sucked. Well, Tessa was fine. But she was Tessa.
“Ugh, whatever! Just tell us what our punishment is and get on with it,” Lizzy exclaimed, crossing her arms.
“Lunch detention for a week. Together,” Mr. Ashburne replied.
Lizzy curled her lips. Uzi shuddered. Five days where she would be forced to spend time with Lizzy instead of her friends? Ugh.
“You can go back to class now.” He wrote them each a pass and handed it to them.
“Thanks,” Uzi said through gritted teeth, and headed out the door, Lizzy right behind her.
Once the door closed behind them, Lizzy turned to her and hissed, “This is your fault. What’s wrong with you?”
“Putting all the blame on me is fun for you, isn’t it?” Uzi replied, irritated that she had to deal with this.
“You’re impossible. I hate you.” She stormed off.
“Yeah, well, the feeling’s mutual,” Uzi muttered.
)( )( )(
“Lunch detention for a week? What did you do?” Tessa asked, sounding vaguely amused.
School had ended, and Uzi was walking with Tessa, Cyn, and Emily to their homes. Tessa and Cyn lived together, and Emily’s house was in the same neighborhood as them. It had become a tradition for Uzi a while ago. Tessa walked Cyn and Emily to school every day, but she’d come down with a sickness once and neither Cyn nor Emily were comfortable walking by themselves as lone female worker drones. So Uzi had stepped up, and she’d never stopped. It was nice being with her friends.
“It’s Lizzy’s fault,” Uzi replied. “Mostly, anyway. We got into a fight.”
“Like an argument, or an altercation?” Emily questioned.
Well, they could easily find out what happened by asking anyone in her class. She might as well tell them herself. “. . . Both.”
Tessa and Emily burst out laughing.
“Only you. Only you,” Tessa said.
“My suffering is not funny,” Uzi grumbled. Not that she was actually upset with them; she just had to push back somehow.
“Pat pat,” Cyn said, patting Uzi’s shoulder. “It is a little funny.”
“You’re all traitors. I’m disowning you.”
“Whatever will I do?” Tessa lamented, placing a hand to her forehead dramatically. “It’s not like I’ve been through this before.”
Uzi laughed awkwardly. It had slipped her mind that Tessa’s parents had, in fact, disowned her once she was emancipated. She was never quite sure what to do when Tessa made jokes about her awful parents. “Yeah . . .”
She was saved from the embarrassment by Emily running ahead. “We’re here!” Emily declared.
“We can see that,” Uzi deadpanned, glancing at Emily’s house. It was a slightly smaller than average two story house painted light blue. Not only did it have a large welcome mat, it also had signs stating “Welcome to our home!” and similar things in cursive. She had no idea why they needed so many signs. There were no less than four signs in the lawn, plus at least five more nailed to various parts of the house.
“See you tomorrow,” Emily said.
There was a chorus of “Goodbye’s!” and “See you tomorrow’s!” as Emily entered her house.
The walk from Emily’s home to Tessa’s and Cyn’s was short. Uzi much preferred their welcome mats to Emily’s–it had a picture of a frog holding a cup of coffee and the words “I HAVE TO SAY WEIRD STUFF OR I’LL DIE”. And there was only one.
“Want to come in?” Tessa gave her a meaningful glance.
Uzi took it to mean “I have something I want to talk to you about.” It probably had to do with the detention situation, which was the last thing she wanted to discuss. Unfortunately, if Tessa wanted to talk about something seriously, it was probably important. And Uzi respected her too much to simply ignore her. Also, she had no excuse. Her dad probably wasn’t home, therefore he wouldn’t miss her if she stayed a little longer, and Tessa knew her dad probably wasn’t home. Uzi shrugged. “Sure.”
Tessa unlocked the door and they filed in. The signs in the house said things like “BEST GRAVE DIGGER EVER” and “No Trespassing: Property Patrolled by a Crazy Woman with Drones and Weapons. Anyone found here at night will be found here in the morning” and Uzi’s personal favorite “I Like Robots More Than People”. The couches in the living room were in shades of gray and green, and the kitchen was cluttered with pots, pans, and paraphernalia. Tessa walked straight to the cupboard and pulled out a few packs of batteries, which she emptied into a large bowl. “Help yourself,” she said.
Cyn snatched a handful of them and scuttled away, probably to do homework. Uzi popped one in her mouth. It was tangy and delicious. “Thanks.”
“No problem. But can we talk?”
Uzi sighed. “Yeah, I figured this was your ulterior motive for inviting me in.”
“Hey, you’re always invited. I just happened to want to talk to you today.” Tessa moved to the couch and patted the spot beside her. Uzi accepted the invitation and sat down.
“I’m guessing it has to do with Lizzy.”
“I’m worried about you,” Tessa said bluntly. “You and Lizzy have never got along, but you’ve never fought this much either.”
“Yeah, well, I’m done taking what people like her like to dish out peacefully.”
“You’ve never taken it peacefully.” She blew a breath out. “Look, I’m just worried that the humans are going to take this the wrong way. This is the first ever human-drone hybrid school, and the first ever drone school, and I’m scared that the humans will use this as an excuse to put a stop to it, or take you away.” She looked away, her voice softening. “I don’t mean to scare you, or stop you from being yourself. I’m just worried about what they’ll do to you. I know Lizzy can be a jerk, but if you could try, I don’t know, ignoring her, or even making a truce with her . . . It would bring me some peace of mind.”
Uzi wished she could argue with anything Tessa said. But considering the principal had suggested that she and Lizzy be reprogrammed . . . “Ugh, fine, I’ll try.”
“Thank you.” Tessa wrapped her arms around Uzi, who smiled a bittersweet smile. “Hey, want to stay for a while? We can do homework together.”
“Sure,” Uzi said.
)( )( )(
The sun had begun to set by the time Uzi left, painting the sky in oranges and pinks. She’d stayed longer than she’d meant to, but it had been a good time. Tessa and Cyn were always fun to be around. It did mean that it was later than she’d like, but she’d be fine. She walked this route nearly every day, after all.
The occasional human was out, but most were in their homes, eating dinner. Even more rarely would Uzi see a drone. Trees cast eerie shadows and the wind rustled the leaves. A hushed creaking emanated from somewhere, and Uzi couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that she was being watched. She huffed and sped up. Her shoes thudded against the concrete of the sidewalk. Her core pounded in her chest. She put on her best “I’m not scared of anyone or anything” glare.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
She whipped around. “Okay, that’s it, is someone following me–” She trailed off when she took in the person before her.
He was a human–around twenty years old–who looked painfully average. Dull brown hair and brown eyes, drab gray clothes, and nothing remarkable about him. But then he smiled, and his teeth sparkled so brightly Uzi was nearly blinded by them. “Hey.” Even his voice was average.
Yeah, nope. She wasn’t taking the chance that this was some creep, especially since she was pretty sure he’d been following her. Turning around, she strode away.
“Uzi Doorman.”
She knew she shouldn’t give him any time, but she stopped in her tracks. “How do you know my name? Are you a stalker?”
“Oh no.” He laughed. “But I knew your mother.”
He’s a walking red flag, don’t talk to him, don’t talk to him– “You knew my mom. Was she cool?” Uzi asked.
“She was very cool. Magical, even.” He grinned. “You could be magical too.”
She stepped back. “Okay, weirdo, I’m gonna get going–”
He stepped forward, waving his arms wildly. “I meant literally! You could literally be magical! I can make you into a magical girl! A guardian!”
Okay, so he was a crazy person. “Magic’s not real.” She walked away.
“It’s a lot more real than you think. You’d be a protector, you’d have power, you might even have the ability to find your mother!”
“Stop talking about my mom!” Uzi snapped.
“Okay,” the man relented. “But if you change your mind, I’ll be around.”
“Whatever,” she muttered.
But he was already gone.