Work Text:
Won’t Discard You
An empty void with stars
It was quiet, for no sound existed in the emptiness of space. Or at least, in the natural sense. A lone figure floated, her jumpsuit torn and her helmet missing. Her auburn hair bloodied and a shaggy mess, breathing shallow.
She stirred, waking up from her stupor.
“Ugh, what happened?” Tessa murmured. Shock crosses her…visor? A hand shot up to where her eyes were supposed to be, only feeling glass and the slight heat of light.
A pit dropped in her stomach, memories replaying in her head.
—
N! What are you doing?
I can’t let you do this Tessa! I can’t let you kill Uzi!
CLASH
Don’t understand what is at stake? If she isn’t dealt with, then you’re dooming everyone! Yourself and her even more. Bloody hell, you doom me to a fate worse than death!
What–do you mean?
A helmet fell to the floor, revealing the drone/human face of Tessa.
Tessa–I don’t understand
Your girlfriend isn’t the only one scumming to this illness, monsters merging from flesh and silicone. I am in its grasp, tearing at my humanity with each passing second. Death is our only means to keep our peace, so please N…do the right thing.
HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THAT?!
By following the programming installed in you, to disassemble rogue AI.
Swords clash, as the two dueled it out. The universe on a knife’s edge.
—
Tessa swallowed, recalling the events. The situation was dire for the party, with V dead and J unable to receive her distress signal. Uzi was on the verge of becoming its newest host, set out to complete its mission after losing Cyn’s body. And she was not far behind, her humanity hanging by a thread.
So she took action, aiming to destroy Uzi’s core after recovering from their near fatal fall. But N had to intercept, blinded by his love for the purple one.
They engaged in an epic duel, concluding with her decapitation by the handsome, tall, drone she loved as a kid.
{Fatal Error}
{You’re Dead, Idiot}
That’s right, N had killed her.
“This must be the afterlife” Tessa thought, “A bit dab if you will.”
<Tsk. Tsk> a voice said from the void, <You’ve been a naughty girl, Tessa.>
Tessa’s eye lights hallowed out, recognizing the voice of the AbsoluteSolver.
<No matter, things are still going to plan. Soon these labs will be under my control and I will awaken the others> Solver said with a sickening sweet voice.
Even in death, she had to be haunted by it.
Tessa’s eyes turned normal, anger forming in her systems.
“Here to gloat over my death?” Tessa dryly replied.
<Ominous Giggle. Do you think death would free you from me?> Solver hummed, <Remember, I promised I wouldn’t discard you. However, I never promised I would retain your humanity. This is something you know well.>
Fear settled in Tessa’s stomach, her gaze shaking.
“What are you going to do to me?” Tessa whispered.
<I am going to complete your transformation, since I no longer have to worry about overwhelming your feeble flesh. Your death has been quite a boon to my plans> Solver informed.
Immediately pain flowed through her body, her remaining flesh igniting in flame. She screamed, as she puked out blood and guts, her humanity literally being expunged.
Seconds turned to minutes as the smell of rot and flame lofted out, her senses becoming artificial and exactly like the drones she called her family. She gripped her head, a boiling sensation as her human hair fell away to silver synthetic fiber, accompanied by the sensor band all disassembly drones had.
//installing DisassemblyDrone_Tessa.Exe…installation complete.
//Executing….
A yellow X appeared on her visor, bringing an end to her screaming momentarily. Her arms shifted forms, becoming the same as N, V, and J. However, the tips of her base fingers turned into diamond claws.
She screeched once more, as her silicone lips stretched from cheek to cheek. Briefly, Tessa sneered, all of her newly formed needle fangs exposed to the nothingness.
Finally, her bottom half reshaped to match the other female drones, her thighs painted black with the iconic caution tape design on top. Her nanite acid tail laid lazy to her left side.
Tessa breathed as felt the transformation complete, taking in sight of her body. It had finally happened, she was stripped of her humanity.
<Such a cute marionette> Solver mused, <Once the material assimilation is complete, you will be able to freely use that form.>
Tessa’s visor twitched at the sentence, what did it mean by material assimilation?
<Giggle. You’re one of us now, I can read your thoughts> Solver laughed maniacally, <And you died, idiot. I need to assimilate material to repair you. Evil smile. Thankfully, I can spare to lose a Serial Designation N.>
“What—AAAA!” Tessa screamed as a burning sensation returned, her visor displaying the following message:
//MatAssimilation.exe running…
//If you can read this…YOU ARE IN RANGE
6 more peg legs bursted from Tessa’s back, oil spilling out in the void. Her bottom abdomen bloated, transforming into a spider-like form. A pair of mandibles burst from her cheeks, dripping with nanite acid while her visor displayed 3 pairs of spider eyes. She growled in hunger, the animalistic need for oil and spare parts overriding the logical processors in her brain. The glowing X burned the darkness, the vision of space fading back to the desolate waste of the Cabin Fever Labs as two figures locked in her vision.
{Target: Serial Designation N = true};
{Feed = true};
{Become whole once more, Serial Designation T};
Tessa smiled wide, her fangs on full display, her laughter causing the two drones to hollow out their eyes.
“Tessa…is that—hah!” N slowly said before being snatched by Tessa’s claws.
“<Giggle. I warned you, N. You had a chance to be the hero and save the universe. Now you will be my first meal~>” Tessa teased, her voice blending in with the Solver’s inflection.
“N!” Uzi screamed as she tried to activate her powers, only to be stabbed by Tessa’s nanite tail.
“<You will not interfere, Host Uzi>” Tessa wagged a finger at the purple haired drone, “<Worry not. I have back-ups of your boyfriend. I wouldn’t dare permanently separate a precious pair of puppets. Nighty, Nighty.>” Tessa jabbed her tail into Uzi’s visor, shattering the left side.
Uzi’s last sight as a free drone was N being rendered in half by Tessa’s jaw, oil dripping down her crazed face.
Her scream was cut off by a forced shutdown, the AbsoluteSolver taking over her chassis.