Chapter Text
(N's POV)
S TART-UP SEQUENCE INITIATED.
RUNNING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS.
UNIT EXITING RECHARGE MODE IN 3...2...1.
N's visor flickered with yellow light before his eyes popped up on his screen. The half-awake robot raised his hand to his mouth as he yawned.
"Morning already?" He mumbled, rubbing his tired eyes before shaking himself awake. "That was quick."
N looked over at the control console, expecting to see his purple-haired friend passed out in one of the chairs from working on the ship all day.
But there was no one there.
N frowned as he folded his wings away and began to look around the room for his missing friend.
"Uzi?" He called as he dropped down from the ceiling and onto the floor. "Hello? Are you here?"
He searched the entire pod but found no trace of Uzi anywhere. It wasn't like this was the first time Uzi had disappeared on him when he first woke up from recharge mode. Usually, whenever N opened his eyes and discovered Uzi was missing, it meant she was most likely working on the landing pod from the outside.
But seeing as how N couldn't hear any clangs of metal, or the occasional swear when something went wrong, the male robot guessed the young worker drone was up to something else.
N walked across the room until he reached the storage closet where Uzi kept her railgun. He opened the door and found the powerful weapon was also gone. Uzi never took her gun outside of the ship unless she planned on leaving the spire.
"Huh." N shrugged and closed the door. "Guess she just went out for a walk or something. Oh well. I'm sure she'll be back soon."
(Uzi and V's POV)
"Christ V, slow down!" Uzi screamed as V shot through the city with her strong wings. "You're gonna hit something!"
"Relax shorty." V turned her head so she could see the young worker drone who was clinging onto her back for dear life. "I've flown across this city hundreds of times before and I've never crashed once. Stop freaking out so much."
"Easy for you to say!" Uzi yelled over the raging wind in her ears. "My armour plates aren't as tough as yours! If we do hit something and fall out of the sky, I won't survive the impact!"
"I'd catch you before that happened." V fixed her gaze forwards again and spread her wings to decrease her speed. "But if it makes you feel better then fine, I'll slow down."
Uzi waited until she could no longer feel the wind blowing her hair before opening her eyes and sighing with relief. "Thank you."
V flew a little closer to the street below before looking back at Uzi. "What's the deal? I figured you would be used to flying by now? Hasn't N ever taken you out on a spin?"
Uzi shook her head. "No. I mean he offers but I always tell him no thanks."
"Why?"
Uzi turned her head to the side in hopes of hiding her embarrassed blush.
"I...I might have a little...phobia, of heights." She muttered quietly.
"What?" Said V. "I didn't catch that?"
Uzi sighed and whipped her head back to V. "I said I have a small fear of heights, okay?"
V's eyes widened in surprise.
"You have a fear of heights?" She quickly stifled a laugh behind her hand. "Seriously?"
Uzi's left eye twitched as V started laughing more openly.
"What's so funny?" She demanded, her voice filled with anger and embarrassment.
"Nothing." V quickly wiped her eyes and looked back at Uzi. "Nothing, sorry. It's just...well, I didn't think someone like you could have a fear of heights. I mean, you're fine with taking murder drones and JC Jenson, but you can't handle heights?"
Uzi shot V an annoyed look before ducking her head shyly. "Yeah, yeah laugh it up. It's easy to make fun of worker drones for having fears when we're not like you and N. You murder drones aren't afraid of anything."
V's smile faded when she noticed how embarrassed and annoyed Uzi looked. She sighed, guilt swelling in the pit of her stomach.
Part of her was surprised at how quickly she'd gone from hating Uzi to liking her. At least a little bit. The two of them were still far from friends but after everything, they'd been through during the last few hours, they weren't exactly enemies anymore either.
But while they may not be friends, that didn't change the fact she and Uzi were on the same side now. Plus, if they were going to be working and living together they should at least try and make a fresh start with one another.
V turned her head forwards again, sighing quietly before speaking again. "Spiders."
"What?" Uzi lifted her head back up.
"My phobia." V clarified. "It's spiders. I'm afraid of spiders."
Uzi frowned. "You're scared of spiders?"
"Of course I am. Have you seen the way they look? All those weird eyes and creepy looking legs they have." V shuddered in disgust. "Just thinking about them makes me want to vomit."
Uzi chuckled. "I guess it's a good thing all the spiders on Copper Nine died out when the planet's core collapsed. Dark and gloomy cities like these are a spider's idea of paradise."
"Ew god, don't say that!" V looked down at the street anxiously. "I don't wanna imagine hundreds of those creepy crawlers scuttling around down there."
Uzi smiled and, for the first time since they'd left the factory, laughed. V shot a stern glare at Uzi before her expression softened when she noticed how much happier the other girl looked. Then, to her surprise, V found herself laughing along with the young worker drone.
The really strange part was she was actually enjoying it. Probably because she hadn't laughed like this since...well, since she first arrived on this planet. Being around someone who found her funny and who, potentially seemed to care for her was nice.
V knew right then and there that although she and Uzi were not yet friends, they had the chance to become very close.
(A Little While Later)
Darkness had fallen completely by the time V and Uzi finally reached the spire. With burning rays of golden sunlight gone, V was able to land in front of the corpse tower entrance without the fear of burning alive. Although flying below the buildings all that time to avoid getting melted had felt like a cakewalk compared to her next task.
Talk to N.
V didn't know why something so simple and easy scared her to the core. Maybe it was because she didn't know how her old friend was going to react upon seeing her. She didn't even know if N still considered her a friend after their argument the other day.
The female murder drone stared at the spire's entrance nervously as Uzi climbed down from her back. If robots could sweat she was certain she would be standing in a puddle of liquid water right now.
"Uzi, I...I don't know about this." She backed away from the entrance, her wings raising subconsciously as if she were about to take off. "Maybe...Maybe I should just go."
"Ah ah, hold it right there murder girl." Uzi grabbed V's arm and yanked her back toward's the spire. "You're not getting away that easily."
V sighed and looked back at the spire. She bit her lip when she spotted the landing pod through the tower's entrance. She knew N was probably inside there. Completely unaware that the friend who'd broken his heart was standing right outside his front door.
"Uzi, I don't think I can do this." V looked at Uzi with a distressed expression. "I thought I could but I don't think I can."
"Hey hey hey, calm down." Uzi spoke softly and patted V's shoulder in a way she hopped seemed reassuring. "Don't get cold feet on me now."
V frowned and kicked up a small patch of snow. "That's not exactly easy."
Uzi rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Come on, you flew all this way to see N. Are you really going to let fear prevent you from apologising to him?"
"You don't understand." V gently pulled her arm out of Uzi's grip. "This isn't like apologising for breaking someone else's property or stepping on their foot by accident. I abandoned N for eleven years, Uzi. How do I even begin to make up for that?"
Uzi cast V a sorrowful look.
"I won't lie to you, it's not going to be easy." She said. "N was pretty mad the last time I saw him. But now that we know the truth, you have a chance to reconcile with him. We'll just tell him about J and explain the whole...memory loss ordeal you went through. Then you can apologise to him."
"But what if he doesn't forgive me?"
"Oh trust me, he will." Uzi smirked at V. "He won't admit it but I know he still cares about you. And I can tell you care about him the same way."
V's visor lit up bright yellow as she blushed.
"Um...I err...I don't know what you're talking about." She mumbled, suddenly taking great interest in her peg legs.
Uzi chuckled and walked behind the shy murder drone.
"Riiiight. Sure you don't." She said as she began to push V toward's the spire. "Regardless, you need to at least talk with N and explain everything. He deserves the truth too."
V sighed and nodded her head. "I know, I know. You're right. I'm just nervous."
"Can't say I blame you. But you've got nothing to worry about. I'll make sure things don't go south. Promise."
V cast Uzi a grateful smile before turning back towards the spire. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before forcing her legs to move forwards. She still didn't feel like she was ready for this but no problem ever got solved by avoiding it. The sooner she faced N, the sooner the two of them could hopefully mend their friendship and continue on from where they'd left off.
(N's POV)
N sighed in frustration as he tried to switch on the ship's computers, growing more and more annoyed each time they refused to cooperate with him. He just wanted to run a simple system diagnostic on the pod's fuel reserves to pass the time while he waited for Uzi, but it appeared that his worker drone friend had changed some of the computers security codes which were now preventing him from accessing certain programmes.
"Come on Uzi, really?" N mumbled as he typed away furiously on the keyboard. "I understand you don't want to risk somebody stealing our ship, but you could have at least told me you changed some of the passwords."
The male murder drone attempted to access the ship's systems a couple more times, his frustration growing when he still could not run the diagnostic. Just when he felt like he was going to snatch up the keyboard and break it over his knee, N heard a familiar voice calling to him from outside the ship.
"Hello, N? I'm back. Are you in there?"
N shot up from his chair and spun towards the door, his frustration instantly forgotten.
"Uzi!" He responded cheerfully as he began to walk towards the door. "Yeah, I'm here. One second."
The male robot opened the landing pod's door and stepped outside.
"I was wondering where you were." N said as he walked out onto the snowy ground. "Where did you...go?"
N felt his entire body stiffen when his eyes settled on Uzi standing a couple of feet in front of him. Although it wasn't really her who he was staring at. Instead, his eyes were glued onto the nervous-looking disassembly drone trying and failing to hide behind the short worker drone.
"V?" N muttered quietly, his optics wide with shock.
V tensed a little before stepping out from behind Uzi. She coughed and rubbed her right arm, forcing herself to meet the confused drone's eyes.
"H-Hi N." She said in an almost timid voice as she waved awkwardly. "Good to see you again."
Uzi looked between V and N, growing a little worried as the silence dragged on. She was about to say something when suddenly, N's eyes narrowed before flickering away. Uzi gasped when N's wings and blades shot out of his body, her eyes widening in alarm as his X flashed across his visor.
"N, no!" Uzi yelled when the male murder drone leapt into the air and dived towards V with his blades aimed downwards. Thinking fast, the young worker drone jumped in front of V and held out her arms. "Stop!"
N quickly spread his wings, slowing his descent before landing heavily on the ground in front of the two female robots. Uzi and V both raised their arms to shield themselves from the snow N had kicked up. When they looked back at the male robot, they found him standing directly in front of them in his murder mode.
N hissed and raised his sharp wings, his X locked solely on V. "You..."
V swallowed nervously before clearing her throat. "I err...I guess I should've expected that sort of reaction. Nice to see you standing up for yourself though."
N growled and took one menacing step forwards before being stopped by Uzi.
"N, no." Uzi pressed her hands against N's chest and gently pushed him back. "Listen, just calm down alright?"
"Calm down?!" N yelled as he transformed back to his normal form. "Uzi, what the hell? Why did you bring her here? She's dangerous."
"No, she isn't." Said Uzi. "Look, I understand this must all be confusing but I promise we can explain everything. Just settle down so we can talk things out. Please?"
N glanced at V before looking back down at Uzi, his eyes softening when he saw the pleading look his friend was giving him. He sighed, his shoulders sagging as he took a step back.
"Fine." N crossed his arms. "Go ahead."
Uzi released a tense breath and held up her hands. "Okay. After you went to sleep I decided to go pay V a visit..."
(A Few Minutes Later)
It took a while for both Uzi and V to explain the whole story to N but eventually, they'd managed to tell him everything. They'd explained how V had been hacked by J and forced to forget him, as well as how Uzi had gone off on her own to uncover the truth.
As N had listened to their story, he'd felt his anger slowly diminishing until finally vanishing completely as Uzi began to finish things up.
"...and after V got her memories back I brought her back here." She said. "I figured the two of you should at least try and patch things up."
N looked down at his metal feet, thinking quietly to himself as he processed everything he'd just heard.
"So...it wasn't all just a lie?" He looked up at V. "You weren't just pretending this whole time?"
V shook her head and finally stepped out from behind Uzi.
"No. I wasn't." She said as she reached forwards and gently took hold of N's hand. "J blocked all the memories I had of you and altered my coding to block out new ones. That's why I kept forgetting your name."
N looked down at his and V's intertwined hands. "All this time I thought you were just ignoring me. Or you'd chosen to forget about me. It never once occurred to me that someone else might have forced you to forget."
V chuckled bitterly and gently squeezed N's hand. "It wasn't really something we thought we should be aware of. Neither of us could have known."
"But we could have prevented it." N sighed and squeezed his eyes shut with guilt. "I could have prevented it. If I hadn't left you alone that night, I could have stopped J from hacking you. God, I'm so sorry V. This was all my fault."
"Your fault?" Said V. "N, what happened to me was in no way your fault. J tricked you into leaving me alone because she knew you were a threat. Besides, if anyone should be sorry it's me. Even after she forced me to forget you, I still should have tried to figure out who this "mysterious" third teammate was. I just never thought to until Uzi helped me out."
V released a small breath before gently laying her palm against the side of N's face.
"I also want to say I'm so sorry for breaking my promise to you." She said. "I told you I would always be there for you. That you would always have me in your life. But I let you down. I abandoned the greatest friend I ever had and there's nothing I can say to justify that."
V, reluctantly, released N's hand before taking a couple of steps back. She sniffed and turned away, squeezing her teary eyes closed.
"I...I understand if you don't want to see me anymore." She said, her voice cracking as she began to walk away. "I know I hurt you and don't deserve to ask for your forgiveness. I only came here to tell you I'm sorry and that I won't bother you again. I hope you enjoy the rest of your life N. I'll miss you."
V sniffed and wiped her arm across her visor as she walked toward's the spire's entrance. She heard Uzi calling her name but didn't stop. She knew she couldn't stay here if N didn't forgive her. It wasn't fair or right. She wasn't exactly sure where she would go though. There weren't exactly a lot of safe places from the sun out there in the city.
V had almost reached the exit when she activated her wings. She opened her eyes, sniffing one last time before crouching down and looking up at the night sky.
But then, just when she was about to take off, a hand quickly latched onto her own.
V spun around and found N standing behind her. The male murder drone frowned before helping her up and gently pulling her back into the safety of the spire.
"N?" V asked, sounding confused. "What are you doing?"
N grabbed V's other hand and squeezed her fingers gently. He lifted his head to her and, to V's surprise, smiled. "One, of course I forgive you. You may have abandoned me but not by your own choice. If J hadn't hacked you I know you would've never left me."
V's eyes widened in surprise as her wings slowly folded away into her back.
"And two." N continued. "There is no way I'm letting you leave. Not after I just got you back."
V stared at N for a moment.
"Does...does this mean I can stay?" She asked hopefully.
N smiled and nodded. "Yes. You can stay. And one more thing?"
"Yeah?"
N quickly pulled V forwards and wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you."
V smiled and hugged N back, resting her chin on his shoulder as she squeezed him gently. "I missed you too."
(Uzi's POV)
Uzi crossed her arms and smiled as she watched N and V hug each other. She wasn't going to lie, she was feeling pretty good about herself right now. She knew it would still take time for her to get used to V's presence around here. After all, sharing a home with two murder drones would make anyone want to sleep with a gun underneath their pillow.
But, Uzi trusted N and knew he would never allow himself or anyone else to directly harm her. If V did try anything, she was confident her friend would protect her. Plus, if having V around made him happy, then she was happy.
Uzi yawned and stretched her arms, only just realising now realising how tired she was. Guess that's what happens when you avoid sleep for an entire night and day.
Deciding repairs on the landing pod could wait until her sleeping schedule was back on track, Uzi smiled at N and V one last time before heading towards the ship. She knew N would no doubt make a huge and extremely unnecessary fuss over what she'd done for him and probably wouldn't stop thanking her until the sun rose.
When that happened, Uzi wanted to feel fully recharged so she could pretend to dislike his clinginess as normal.
After all, she now had two teammates who she needed to maintain her badass reputation around.