Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

N was out hunting one night, when he found it. A beautiful red and black flower with three large, narrow petals, and three more smaller, rounded diamond-shaped petals in between them.

Almost the entire plant was red, with the wispy tips and the center of the large petals being black, along with the pointed pistil. The large petals also had red tear shapes inside the black markings. The stem of the flower was also red, with the large petal undersides being black.

N had plucked the flower, intending on giving it to V as a gift. While she doesn’t care much for plants or life in general, maybe she’ll at least appreciate the thought! And the colors are red and black, so maybe she’ll like that, too!

N held the flower close to his chest, thinking of how V would be so happy to receive such a pretty gift that she’d surely tell him ‘I love you too!’ and they’d be together, and N and wouldn’t be lonely anymore, and she’d finally remember him, and they’d be happy, and-

N shook his head. He needed to get this back to V! Besides, the sun is coming up soon, so he can’t be out here for much longer.

Spreading his wings and taking off into the sky, N still held the flower close to his chest, right by his core. On the way home, he decided to name the flower the ‘Eternal Flower’, after his eternal love for V.

V didn’t like the flower. At all. Not even the colors.

N held the flower tight as he hung upside down. He suppressed the urge to cry, having received harsh words from V. Even a few from J about not doing his job. But maybe they were right. Maybe he was useless. Maybe he was worthless. Maybe he didn’t deserve to be remembered.

Maybe he did deserve to be killed.

N kept the flower close to his core, his wings coming to wrap around his body. He prepared to shut himself off for the night, intending on getting some recharge and repressing the whole incident…

As he finally shut off, the flower twitched. Slowly and steadily, the stem started to grow pale red roots, attaching themselves to N’s chest. They continued to grow, extending under his plating and digging into his core. Once they settled, vines as black as the oil the Disassembly Drones drank began to grow from under his plating.

The vines traveled all throughout his body, eventually growing out of the seams. Leaves started to grow from the vines. They were red and diamond shaped. They grew in bundles in some places, and wherever there were bundles, flowers grew, too.

Some lone flowers also sprouted, growing slowly, yet these flowers grew at a much faster pace than any other flower. They would start as a bud, then grow fully and bloom, the dark petals spreading to reveal the red and black surfaces.

N’s body and core were not the only things to be consumed by the foliage. His tail had multiple vines slither over it, some dangling off the thin appendage. His vial had flowers growing on it, one where the cord met the glass, and the other right by the needle base.

A deep, red liquid seeped inside it, never merging with the bright, glowing yellow. It swirled around and tainted his acid like weeds.

The male Disassembly Drone’s wings had plant growth on them, too. Vines wrapped around and curled over his blades and the base of his wings. The plant-y tendrils grew so long they draped over N’s wings like green vines on a thick jungle tree branch. The red leaves were stark against the silver and black colors.

Finally, N’s head was also covered with the black cords and red leaves. His neck was wrapped around by the thin plant, as if it wanted to strangle him, a flower growing there, too. Vines grew from under his visor, over his headband lights, in his hair, in his mouth and throat.

But they also grew under his head’s plating.

N had awoken to an odd pressure on the right side of his visor, as well as a couple of his headband lights, the middle one and the most left one. He opened his eye lights, headband lighting up.

The pressure suddenly got intense, creating a sharp enough pain to make him fall from the street light he was hanging from. He fell with a pained yelp, his hands flying to the agonizing, pressured points.

It was only then did he see the plants growing all over his body. His hands were coated in black and red foliage, his legs in a very similar condition. He could feel the flora grow under his metal, feeling as it slithered across his machinery.

He was about to scream, cry out, plead for J and V’s help when he heard a *Crack, Crack, SHATTER!*. The right side of his visor exploded, large, bright red leaves sprouting out, multitudes of the flower he picked following them and blooming fully.

At the same time, he heard the distinct sound of liquid falling into the snow. The lights on his head that had the strange pressure behind them burst, getting the same treatment as his visor.

His HUD immediately filled with errors and warnings of a foreign substance inside him, of malfunctioning systems, of faulty wiring, of impaired vision, of extensive damage to every part of his body.

And then the thorns came. They were just as black as the vines but looked more like claws. They rose from the organic chains, hard and jagged and incredibly sharp. They grew on both the outside and inside of him, piercing and clawing and scratching at his robotic organs. They punctured many of his devices, his mechanisms.

Many of the thorns on the outside of his plating curved to dig into the surface, puncturing it just like the inside of N’s body. Oil leaked and seeped from the numerous small wounds. N thrashed from the horrible pain.

N’s arms and legs were pierced, more flowers blooming from in between seams and along the outer vines. The lights on N’s right calf had shattered, more flowers coming from the new opening. The light on his left hand had the same thing happen.

His clothes were torn and poked through by thorns, from the inner and outer sides of them. His hat was essentially entangled to his head, his coat wrapped around with numerous tendrils, the red leaves and flowers seen clearly over it.

He screamed, a primal, animalistic yet horrified roar coming from his voice box. He was quickly shut down as the spikes dug into that too, silencing him, now only making ear-piercing static.

Much larger thistles reared their parasitic, sharp heads as they came out of N’s mouth. It looked like something was crawling up from his throat, making N cough up oil as they sliced through the inside of it. The sharp plant forcefully opened N’s mouth, more rising from the back of his throat and into the air.

The protrusions made him choke, his ventilation ducts unable to get air inside anymore. More oil spurted from N’s open mouth each time he coughed. A few flowers arose from his now open mouth, petals brushing past his lips whenever he coughed as flowers grew inside of his neck, too.

N started to thrash, legs kicking, hands grabbing and pulling at the growth. He exchanged his hands for his claws, also grown over and being scratched by thorns. He desperately tried to cut them off, but they only regrew like missing limbs on a Disassembly Drone.

A sudden warning came up on his HUD, telling him of his core being progressively damaged.

That was the worst pain N had ever felt.

He thought he was going to truly, permanently die. All from a stupid plant. All because of a stupid idea of his. All because he was chasing after some crush who couldn’t even remember a single letter.

All because he was useless, worthless, and deserved to die.

More flowers emerged from the living ropes, growing and blossoming under the moonlight. More flowers had grown under N’s plating, some petals peeking out from under his seams. His wings and tail grew more flowers, too.

The glowing orb on N’s left wing burst open on both sides, vines exploding from it, thorns slashing across the metal. The thick bundle turned into a bouquet, flowers, vines, thorns and leaves dangling on both sides from the area like a dark willow tree. They converged at the top, the two sides meeting.

A mass also accumulated where the flower at the connecting part of his vial was, the plant life also hanging off like hanging wall flowers. It extended down his tail cord by about a foot. The thorns that grew on the vial had also been poking into the glass, many of which breaking into it, causing the acid and strange liquid mix to flow onto the snow.

The nightmare didn’t end there, however, as the torture his core was going through increased tremendously. N tried to scream again, body jerking, his claws slashing away at the intruding organism.

N then stopped, clutching at his chest with his claws. His screeching increased tenfold. Where were J and V?! Why weren’t they here?! Could they not hear him?! Did they truly not care enough about him?! Are they just letting him die here?!

N’s vision began to grow fuzzy, a new warning appearing on his HUD. It told of his core experiencing extreme damage. N didn’t know how bad it was, but if the pain was anything to go by-

*BOOM!*

N was still, his remaining eye hollow, hands now laid at his sides. A sinister bouquet of the Eternal Flower had burst from his chest, right from his core. His coat had been ripped right open, N’s torn metal plating peeking through the overgrowth.

A tear streaked down from his left eye inside his visor. The thorns receded a bit, just enough to not puncture N anymore, but were still there. They still looked like claws, grappling onto his body, but they were now secreting a strange red sap, healing the tiny holes as they shrunk. Some of the flowers had reversed their bloom, disappearing. But all the big bouquets, the ones on his chest, head, tail, wing, leg and hand all stayed.

But the pain had stopped.

N cried in relief. A thick, red tear fell from under the flowers blossoming on his visor.

Chapter Text

N slowly stumbled through the snow, the moonlight lighting up his unknown path. He searched desperately for any drone body with oil left in it. He was so low. He may just overheat if the Eternal Flowers don’t get him first.

He walked up to a nearby pile of dead workers. He picked one up, body trembling. He shook it, hoping to hear the sound of liquid inside. Nothing. He did the same with the rest of the pile.

It was only until the last drone from the group that he finally heard something. He immediately tore open the body, sinking his teeth into the tubes lining the inside. He hungrily feasted on the precious liquid, savoring the sweet taste.

N started to cry, pixel tears falling from his remaining eye, even as it shifted to an X. It feels like it’s been forever since he last ate. His systems rejoiced in the feeling of oil entering his body, getting to work of processing it.

N had finished the body off quickly, there not being a whole lot of oil left. But there was enough to sustain him for a while longer. He got up and started to trudge away to find more oil again.

He did this the entire night. When the sun reared its bright head over the horizon, he entered an old building to hide away for the day.

N sat down against a wall, his body aching. Ever since he’d become infected with this damned plant, he’s always been in pain. But by now, he’s gotten quite used to it. At least he can still use his weapons and wings, the latter of which he unfortunately cannot retract anymore.

But that’s fine, because he uses them to wrap himself up like a blanket. They’re really one of his only sources of comfort now.

J and V had banished him after they saw his condition. But it wasn’t only because of the fact he could barely hunt anymore. It was also because the flower seems to love Disassembly Drones. Vines had started to creep over to them, and they of course freaked out.

The two women had driven him out and away from the spire he used to call home. He had taken to the skies, the thorns regrowing and piercing him again all the while. It hurt like hell, but it was the heartbreak that hurt most. He lost his friends because of this stupid parasite.

He lost everything because of himself.

Those kinds of thoughts and feelings started up again from the memory, N spiraling downwards into a seemingly endless pit of self-hatred and depression. And the flower thrived.

The thorns grew again, puncturing N’s body, inside and out. He hadn’t even noticed until he started coughing up oil and flower petals. The horrid spikes arose from his mouth, opening it and reaching out like an eldritch beast. Flowers arose and blossomed, more oil and petals falling with each choke N made.

He hunched over, wrapping his arms around himself. His wings wound tighter around him, the thorns scratching at them and piercing his wing bases. N prepared for another episode, waiting for the thorns to recede. The episodes were always long.

And this one seemed no different.

He was having another episode tonight. N sat back against a large pile of drones. He twitched and convulsed, oil dripping from beneath the organic claws and his mouth. The pain was so agonizing this time he couldn’t physically move.

His wings twitched, the vines tightening their hold on them, blades scraping uncomfortably close together. The vines around the rest of his body started to do the same, binding him and crushing him.

This may just be his worst episode yet. And he just wanted it to end. He doesn’t care how, whether he dies, whether the flower dies, whether the plant just stops growing, he doesn't care!

‘SOMEONE PLEASE JUST GET RID OF THE DAMN THING! SOMEONE PLEASE JUST KILL ME ALREADY!!’ N desperately screamed in his head.

The tears flowed out of his left eye, with sticky, red sap leaking from under the flowers on the right side of his visor. He shut his eye light tight, trying to bear the terrible pain, hands clenching. His body shook, though his plating was unable to rattle from the vines' tight grip on him.

N surged forward with a harsh choke, the thorns bursting forth from his mouth. Oil pooled on the snow in front of him. He tried to whimper, but all that came out was static. His tears increased in volume, looking almost like a meteor shower on his visor.

He didn’t know how long he continued to sit there, unable to move, feeling nothing but pain. But as he sat there, waiting and hoping for death to arrive, he faintly heard a disbelieved whisper.

His eye shot open. There, standing in front of him, was a Worker Drone. It was Uzi. N’s tears couldn’t get any heavier.

Uzi rushed forward, dropping her gun and sliding on her knees over to N. She slipped out a pocket knife from under one of her socks. She started to cut away at the plant, tossing away the quickly dying bits and pieces. She gave constant reassurances and sweet words as she hurriedly worked.

Every inch of the plant that was cut regrew, making all of Uzi’s work all for naught. But she didn’t care. If it gave N at least some sort of relief, however temporary, she’s doing it.

But Uzi eventually had to give up, the plant growing back too fast, her hands and arms getting cut from the sharp spines. She ditched the knife and cupped N’s face with her hands. She forced him to look at her.

“Hey, HEY! Look at me, N!” Uzi demanded as N looked at her, still crying.

“You’re gonna be okay, alright? You’ve gotten through this before, and you are gonna do it again! You got that?!” Uzi demanded again. She held no room for arguments.

N reached a trembling hand up to one of Uzi’s. He couldn’t speak, but the worker knew what he was thinking; ‘It hurts too much. It doesn’t feel like it’ll ever end.’

“Listen, I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not true! I told you already, you’re gonna get through this! And if you don’t I’ll- W-Well- I’ll- You know what I’m trying to say!” Uzi fumbled, not wanting to say ‘I’ll kill you’ as it may make N’s condition worse, nevermind the fact he was already sort of dying.

Said drone tried to whimper, but all that came out was a burst of static. He leaned into Uzi’s touch, relishing in the small comfort it gave him. The female drone stroked his cheek with her thumb, hoping to comfort him more.

“Listen, once this is over, we can go back to the bunker, and we can watch anime all night, okay? I’ll even skip school to watch it, or cuddle, or something, okay?” Uzi told him.

N looked at his girlfriend with a teary eye. He could barely manage a nod, the movement stifled and painful. Uzi gave him a small smile. Her own eyes started to tear up, but she blinked them away before N could see them.

“You’re probably hungry, too, right? I’ll give you some of my oil, that way we don’t have to be out here much longer.” Uzi said.

N’s eye hollowed. He didn’t want to hurt his girlfriend!

Uzi saw his reaction and sighed. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine if you take a bit of my oil. We’ve done it before, remember? It’ll just be like all those other times.” Uzi reassured.

N still didn’t like having to feed off of Uzi. It’s why he had snuck out in the first place, so he didn’t have to hurt her. But it seems he can’t even scavenge for the precious liquid anymore.

“I promise you N, we will find a way to get rid of this robo-goddamn parasite, you hear me?” Uzi told him sternly.

N couldn’t do much except manage another nod.

“Good. Now, I’ll only d-do this one time, b-but…” Uzi’s sentence trailed off quietly as she leaned up and embraced the taller drone, giving him a small peck on the cheek as her visor lit up with blush lines.

N’s visor flushed, but he didn’t flinch away. He managed to wrap an arm around her small waist, having it rest on her body. The thorns started to recede, the red sap secreting from them and healing the left-behind wounds.

As N could finally move his body again, he was able to properly hug Uzi back. He smiled, a tear still prickling in his eye light, but he was happy. N tightened his hold on the petite drone, not wanting to let her go.

The two robots kept the hug intact for a few minutes as all of N’s wounds healed. When Uzi finally broke the hug, she cupped N’s face again and smiled at him.

“I told you you’d get through this.” She said and attempted to wipe away the sticky sap on his face.

“And you keep saying ‘I’ll only do this once’.” N teased with his own smile, his voice laced with static as his voice box healed.

“UH- WELL- I- Y-YOU KNOW WHAT!? I DON’T HAVE TO HELP YOU!” Uzi fumbled as she blushed hard.

N laughed weakly. Uzi was like a cat, truly. One second she’s nice and cuddly, the next she’s giving you a judgmental glare. She was like a- What was the thing? It was from the all the anime Uzi likes… What was it?

Oh, right! A Tsundere! She was like that!

“L-Let’s just- Go home, okay? You still need to eat or something…” Uzi said, still bashful.

N nodded. Although he didn’t like having to feed from Uzi, at least she was more willing to give him the oil he needs to survive than the other workers.

Uzi helped N up, offering her smaller body as support as they walked home. N was still weak, but he could finally move again, so that was nice.

The Disassembly Drone’s wings dragged in the snow with his tail hovering close above it, leaving a trail behind them. Uzi made sure to pick up her railgun and knife as they left. Their walk home would be relatively short, with N having thankfully not been too far away from the bunker when Uzi found him.