Chapter Text
Drone children ran around screaming in joy. Solver was not among them. He doesn’t want to be among them. He is still forced to follow his host around, however.
|At least we’re not trapped in that school all day.| The program thought with a sigh. |Then again, it’s also not as if we’ve gone far, either.|
Solver watches as Uzi’s classmates and other schoolmates run around outside for recess. The rusting jungle gym is crowded with little tykes clambering all over it. Solver’s tempted to unscrew a crumbling screw or two just to give himself something entertaining to watch.
|And yet, if I did that, I’d get an earful from my host.| The sentient program rolls his holographic eye. |Speaking of…| He turns to the said child.
Tuning back into what his host is doing, Solver spots her going up to some kids playing with a ball. She’s got a chipper smile on her face plates and an eager pep in her step. The other kids stop playing as she nears, giving her their attention.
“Can I play?!” Uzi asks excitedly.
The other kids—all boys—stare curiously at her. They glance at one another.
“Do you know how to play kickball?” One of the boys asks.
“Yeah!” Uzi retorts, almost offended.
The group of boys glance at each other again. They turn their optics to the group of girls sitting by the teachers, chatting and playing on the bench stationed near the school.
“Uhm, okay–” One goes to answer.
“Wait!” But another interrupts him. “Don’t girls have cooties?” He grimaces at Uzi as though she were plague incarnate.
{That’s one way of putting it.} Solver huffs in amusement.
Uzi ignores him and gives him a stare mixed between offense and incredulousness. The other boys are quick to wince at her too and yell out in disgust.
“Eww!! We can’t play with a girl if she’s got cooties!” One of the squirts changes his CPU real fast.
“Yeah! Maybe you shouldn’t play with us!” Another chimes in, taking a step back.
“Sorry, Uzi! You can’t play with us!” The boy who initially agreed speaks. “Maybe you should play with the other girls!” He points to the bench they’re stationed at.
Uzi gives a glance to them. “That looks boring.” She replies flatly. “Just let me play with you guys! I don’t have cooties!” She steps closer.
The boys all freak out and scramble back. The little girl’s brows furrow. Solver begins to chuckle behind her.
{Looks like little boys are more fickle than humans are!} It takes far too much strength to stop from bursting out into laughter.
“Why does having cooties even matter! That doesn’t exist anyway!” Uzi exclaims in frustration.
“Cooties do too exist!” The kid who brought it up pointed. “And cooties spread! If you play with us, we’ll get your cooties!”
“You will not!” Uzi argues louder.
“Will too!” The boy retorts just as loudly. “If we get your cooties, we’ll be talking to air, too! And daddy says drones who talk to thin air have got screws loose!”
Solver stops laughing all of a sudden. He whips back down to the tykes, keeping their distance from his host. His head cocks and his hexagonal eye narrows.
{Are you going to let them talk to you like that, host?} He questions, tone turned tense. {Are you going to let them believe their own delusions? Call you these names with no repercussions?} His intense gaze turns to his host.
“I don’t have screws loose! And I don’t talk to air! Solver is real! He’s right next to me right now!” Uzi’s fists clench tight at her sides. “Your dad is just a dummy head! And probably stinks, too!”
“He does not, Screwzi!” The twerp shouts right back.
Solver scoffs in offense. {That little shit–!}
Uzi growls and embers spark at her feet. She begins to stomp over and the boys try to retreat. Uzi swipes up their ball.
“Ewww!! She’s got her cooties all over the ball!!” One of the boys shouts in disgust.
He’s shut up real quick as Uzi throws the ball as hard as she can into his face. He topples with a scream. The other boys fret before swiftly scattering as Uzi pounces onto him. None of them notice the small spark striking at the girl’s heels as she wails on the other boy.
{YEEEAAAAHHH!!! BEAT HIS ASS, LITTLE HOST!!} Solver cheers unhelpfully. {Beat! His! Ass! Beat! His! Ass! Hahaha!! Get the face, too! That’ll hurt even more!}
Solver hovers all around, trying to find all the best angles to watch the brawl–
“GGGAAAAAHHH!!!”
Even Solver has to wince at the nasty bite Uzi leaves on the boy’s arm. {Bite down harder! Make him bleed!} But it just makes it all the more entertaining.
“What is going on over here!?” Some teacher exclaims.
The small group fly into a panic at the two squabbling children. They attempt to separate them to little avail. It takes two entire teachers to pry Uzi off the other boy and drag her away. She snarls and hisses all the way to the principal’s office, forcing the teachers to hold her like a feral kitten.
{Ha-haaa!! That was an excellent first fight, little host!} Solver cheers enthusiastically. {With more practice, you could get even better hits in! I’m sure you could become a great fighter!} The program laughs maniacally.
Uzi just huffs as she runs out of energy. The teachers haul her into the principal's office and plop her down into one of the seats. While one addresses the principal, the other gives her a disapproving glare.
The little girl ignores it, more preoccupied with pouting and angrily tapping her shoes together. Solver’s chortles die down yet an air of amusement proceeds it.
{Ahh, little host. Don’t listen to those teachers of yours. They don’t know what those boys were saying to you.} He tells her.
“Maybe they should…” Uzi retorts.
{Perhaps they will, if they allow you to explain yourself.} Solver shrugs. {And they’ll scold that little tyke too, I’m sure. It’s only fair, right?}
Uzi’s pout deepens. The principal resets his voice box to draw her attention. She looks up from the cover of her bangs, still displeased.
“Uzi Doorman, was it? Due to this sudden fight you had with another boy, I’ll be calling your parents.” He says. “Once they come in, we’ll further talk about this conflict and what you’ll do to make up for it–”
“It was his fault!” Uzi shouts abruptly.
The principal startles, as do the other teachers.
“You shouldn’t shout like that! And not when someone else is talking!” One of the teachers scolds.
“That dummy head said I had cooties and couldn’t play with them!” Uzi ignores the woman instead. “I don’t have cooties! And I don’t have screws loose, either!” Tears prick at the corners of her optical lights.
The adults stare back at her with voided eye lights. The principal snaps out of it first with another reset of his voice box behind his fist.
“E-Even so, that does not mean you can hit the poor boy!” He retorts firmly. “If you have a problem with someone, go to a teacher and ask for help! Or find someone else to play with!”
Uzi growls as her tears grow bigger. Solver makes a disgruntled growl himself, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I want you to apologize to that boy the first chance you get! And write an apology as well!” The older robot goes on.
Solver’s fingers dig into his cracked biceps.
“Why should I?! He was being mean to me first!” Uzi argues.
“Because hitting and biting another drone is unbecoming behavior!!” The principal shouts, his fist slamming onto his desk.
It makes the little girl flinch. She scoots back in her seat as far away from him as possible. Uzi’s gaze falls as some tears slip down her facial screen. There’s a tense silence in the air that’s only broken by a sigh from the aging Worker Drone.
“Your parents will be called and we’ll discuss what to do about this situation once they arrive.” He tells her. “Sit here and think about what you’ve done, Uzi.”
He stands to move past her with the other teachers. A mutter slips past Uzi’s lips as he does so.
“He said I talk to air, but it isn’t true.” The three adults pause. “Solver’s been here the whole time. He was telling me to not be talked to like that. He…” A tiny hiccup makes her whimper. “He’s here right now, saying you don’t know anything…”
The principal stares at her over his shoulder. There’s nothing hanging around the girl. Just empty space.
“Perhaps I’ll talk to your parents about your… Imaginary friend as well.” He retorts coldly.
The door groans before shutting loudly. Uzi flinches. More tears scroll down her display as she stares at her dangling feet. Her hiccups and whimpers cannot be held back by tiny hands swiping futilely at her optical lights.
Solver stands mute beside her. He simply stares at his crying host, her sobs the only sound filling the room. He doesn’t look away but doesn’t move, either.
|How pathetic.| He thinks. |This is utterly… Hrmm…| His train of thought trails off.
There’s another couple minutes of sobbing in the silence. Solver glances at the door. He turns back to his mewling host, curled up tight in the pleather chair.
Pitiful embers spark and die around her seat. They never last longer than a second or two at best. Uzi’s tears dampen and extinguish them as though someone’s trying to light a fire in rain.
Solver takes a deep breath. He lets it out in a deflating sigh. His hand lands gently on the little tyke’s head, disturbing her tears for just a second.
{Those adults don’t know what they’re talking about, little host.} He tells her. {They only see what happened from their lofty point of view, nothing more. You did the right thing in teaching that boy a lesson.} His hand pats her head gently yet awkwardly.
Uzi hunches under his hand but stops sniveling. While tears continue to glide down her visor, they at least lessen under his words of comfort.
“Wh– What about my parents…?” Uzi asks smally.
Solver huffs. {They weren’t there to witness what happened, so I don’t think they should have a say in the matter.} He tells her. {And neither should those other adults, either. Not if they’re gonna get on your butt about being bullied like that.}
Uzi nods. She makes a sniffle and swipes away the tears from her eye lights. Solver’s hand stops patting her head and leaves it. Yet he finds himself hesitating, hovering just over her tresses.
|Haa, this little host.| He resigns and continues patting her tiny little head.
{Listen to me, Uzi,} He calls and Uzi turns to him. {Do not let anyone put out your flame. No adult, no mean boys, not even yourself. Do not let yourself become weak and pitiful as you are now.}
His host’s optical lights widen.
{You’ve got too much potential to be extinguished, and I’ve been stuck with you too long to want to go back to that “hibernation” state.} His hand leaves as he lowers into his glowing pit to meet Uzi at optical-level. {So no matter what anyone says or does, keep that flame alight. Let it burn and blaze, let it engulf them until the heat suffocates them and their wires fry–!} Solver pauses, arms held in the air.
He clears his non-existent throat and tries again. {Wha-at I mean to say is; Keep feeding the fire. Let not rain nor foot stamp it out.}
Solver straightens. Uzi stares at him in wonder. The look makes an amused huff pass whatever lungs or vents he has.
{Do you understand, little host?} He asks.
Uzi nods fervently. Solver chuckles.
{Good! So don’t prove me wrong.} His hand pats her head one more time.
Uzi giggles under his palm, their size difference more evident then before. The moment stops when the door opens again and the two turn to the group of drone entering the room.
Nori and Khan both look less than happy, just as much as the principal does.
But Uzi doesn’t care, because she’s got Solver on her side.
{Always, little host.} He tells her.