Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everyone waited impatiently in their seats, chatting away to spend time, chewing their cheap hot dogs and popcorn while sipping their sodas. 

In the VIP seat, a man observed the empty arena just below, having the luxury of being protected by a strong wall of glass, unlike the common folks just a few seats below him. He had a cigar in his hand and a glass of whiskey on the other, he drank and smoked as he also waited impatiently. 

Suddenly, he heard the clicking noise of high heels on the floor of the VIP section, the person walking in his direction with angry steps stopped just beside his chair. 

“I didn't make them for this, Elliott” Nori snorted while crossing her arms. 

“You make whatever I ask you, and I can use them for whatever I want, now keep it shut and just enjoy the show” He brushed it off and took a sip out of his whiskey. 

The lights of the big arena went out for a moment as the narrator on the loudspeaker began to talk. “Welcome everyone! Tonight we have a brand new competitor in our arena, but first, let's introduce our already beloved fighters!” 

One light lit up a close gate on the left side of the arena. “She's fast, she's cold, strong and never gives up from a fight, I bet you can't escape this 6 foot tall lady, please welcome in: Serial Designation J!” The gates opened and J ran into the arena, already with her claws out. 

The crowd of people cheered loudly at J entrance. J let out a smug smile and tilted her head up, being proud of herself. 

Another light on the right side of the area lit up a closed gate “If looks can kill then all of us would already be dead, she would chase you down and stare right into your soul before finishing you off, please welcome in: Serial Designation V!” The gates opened and V flew out of it, circling around the arena before landing down in front of her gate again. She already had an X on her face. 

The crowd cheered again loudly as they saw V. She posed with her wings open as some people started to take pictures in the distance. 

Finally, the gate in the middle of the arena lit up “Don't let a friendly smile deceive you, this fellow robot can easily kill you in 700 different ways, and only using his hands! Everyone, please welcome in our champion: Serial Designation N!” The gates slowly opened, and N just calmly walked into the arena. 

“Hey guys” N said loudly to the crowd, everyone cheered, a bit more loudly this time. it was clear that N was a favorite one. He smiled and waved back innocently at everyone. 

The lights of the other side of the arena lit up revealing a single gate. Whatever was inside of it was hitting impatiently at the metal of the gates, as if wanting to get out immediately, “And right here we have our newest arrival” The narrator on the loudspeaker continued “Straight out of the production line, brand new and ready for a fight! Standing at 7 feet tall and weighing almost 300 pounds, please welcome in: Vortek-9!” The gates finally opened and the robot jumped out right inside the arena. It looked like an animal, maybe a tiger, or a panther, but it was hard to properly identify since it was a hybrid. “It may look unfair: three against just one, but trust me, this little fella is enough of a headache that our champions don't really need more opponents.” 

“...oh my god” Nori said in disbelief. 

The man raised his glass and cheered “Yeah! Oh this is going to be an awesome fight, what's your bet Nori?” He asked sarcastically with an obnoxious smile. 

She rolled her eyes at him “When you said “Build robots for combat” I wasn't expecting that you would use them for those stupid bet games” 

“I'm using them exactly as I described, for combat, I just didn't specify which type of combat it was” He shrugged. “So, what's your bet?” 

“I'm not betting on anyone” She said dryly.  

“Buzz kill” He took a drag out of his cigarette “Let's see who the audience bets on” 

There was a pause as everyone in the crowd made their bets on their phones. The big screen just above the arena showed the end result of all the bets. 

The champions……………..………….50%

Vortek-9………………………………....50%

“Looks like we have a tie!” The narrator on the loudspeaker said excitedly “Tonight, half of this crowd will lose all of their money, how sad” He said mockingly. 

“Where did you get this beast anyway?” Nori asked as she raised an eyebrow, seeing how big that robot was. 

“Vortek-9 was made by one of my close friends, he knows how profitable those fights are and doesn't complain about it” He said with a bit of venom in his words, Nori rolled her eyes at him. 

“The fight starts in 3…” 

N, V and J got close to one another, ready to attack. They got their claws out and switched their eyes for an X. 

“...2…” 

Vortek growled, also getting ready to attack. 

“...1…” The big bell rang, indicating the beginning of the fight. 

N opened his wings and took flight, V moved to Vortek's right while J moved to the left. With the trio separated, the big robot locked its target at V, he took his claws out and launched at V's direction. But he couldn't attack her since something grabbed his tail. It was J, she was holding that thing for dear life as the “tiger” wagged his tail hard to free himself for her grip. V laughed at the scene and flew behind him to help J. They both held his tail with a firm grip and started to spin him around to get a lever to throw him in the air. 

“On the count of three!” J said to V. 

Vortek growled and tried to free himself, but it was hard since he was being dragged around the arena. 

“One… two… three!” V and J said simultaneously as they launched the tiger in the air. 

In a fast move, N switched his hand for a sword and sliced Vortek in half as it was launched up in his direction. One half of the tiger legs flew directly into the crowd, but J was fast enough to catch it before any accidents. The other half of the tiger still had its head, and it was catched by N. He looked at Vortek's eyes, he was still alive and functional. 

“Sorry” N said in an apologetic tone, and launched the tiger back into the ground. 

Vortek got up from the ground immediately and didn't show any struggle to balance himself in just two legs. N landed down right in front of him. The tiger didn't waste any second and launched at N, knocking him to the ground as he tried to chomp off N's head. N holded the jaws open with his hands, but it was hard in this position, he couldn't move around too much since he was pinned to the ground, and the saliva dripping in his face distracted him a lot. Seeing N struggling, V switched her hand for a gun and shot at Vortek's head. The tiger had a very thick skin so the bullets didn't do any harm, but they were enough to distract the beast. He turned his head at V and roared in annoyance, this gave N the perfect opportunity to switch his hand for the blade claws and pierce the tiger's torso. The robot roared in pain as N grabbed and pulled out its heart. It pulsed in his hand, spilling oil everywhere. 

N widened his eyes at the scene, just above him was one half of a giant robot, roaring loudly as it began to shut off. And in his hands was his robotic heart, covered in oil and the dirt from the ground. Suddenly everything around him began to move in slow motion as he stopped to reflect. What made them so different from one another? N asked himself, what makes Vortek-9 so different from “Serial Designation N”… him. They were both made by humans, both put in this arena to fight, with everyone expecting only one to survive. He looked at the heart in his hand, did he also have one too? Pulsing oil right inside his chest, making him “alive”? Or maybe even a metaphorical heart. Did he have a “heart”? If he did, then why did he just killed something similar to him? 

N's moment of reflection was interrupted as the limp body of the tiger fell on top of him.

“I dare you to throw water at someone” Lizzy said, almost laughing. 

“You call that a dare?” Uzi crossed her arms, not impressed. 

“Shh… she's actually going to do it” Lizzy moved behind Uzi to hide as she observed Doll pick up a cup full of water. 

“Honestly Liz, I thought you were going to give us harder dares” Uzi and Lizzy watched in the distance as Doll threw water at a random guy. 

The guy groaned in annoyance and turned around, all three girls jumped back in fear. Lizzy grabbed the hand of Doll and Uzi and began to run away from the annoyed man. Once far away enough, the girls stopped running to catch a breath, each one panting slightly. 

“So you're not satisfied with the dares?” Lizzy asked with an ironic smile. 

“Throw water at someone, eat spicy food, dance in front of everyone? Those dares aren't even that hard” Uzi scoffed. 

“Yet you still refused to scream “I love you N” when he walked into the arena, I guess that was too hard for you Zy?” Lizzy let out a smug smile and Doll held a laugh. 

“That was a stupid dare!” She stuttered loudly and blushed slightly “And I don't do stupid dares” She crossed her arms and looked away from the other girls. 

“She doesn't want us to know that she's a fan-girl” Lizzy whispered to Doll and both laughed. 

“I'm not a stupid fan-girl!!” She threw a plastic cup at Lizzy, but missed by a lot. 

“Oy how can you not be? Did you see how he sliced that tiger-thing in mid air? I know he's a robot and all, but damn that was hot” Doll just nodded at Lizzy words. 

“You two are unbelievable” Uzi shook her head in disapproval and turned around to leave. 

“Do you want an actual dare?” Lizzy called her out before she could walk off. 

Uzi stopped but didn't turn around, she just waited for Lizzy to continue. 

“Steal your mom's employee key card and get inside the containment cage, and to prove you actually did it, take a picture with all three champions” 

Uzi turned only her head and stared at the girls “...now that's an actual challenge” She said with a satisfied tone. 

Chapter Text

She tried her best to be sneaky. Uzi walked up a flight of stairs to the VIP section and pushed the door gently open so I wouldn't make too much noise. She gave a look inside, her mom was distracted while she discussed with a snob-looking man, “probably Elliott” she thought as she rolled her eyes, her mom always complained about him. Uzi looked a little to her left and saw her mom's unsupervised purse, she crawled through the cold floor and pulled the zipper open, the employee key card must be there somewhere. 

She would be in a lot of trouble if her mom finds out about this, grounded for a month probably, but it was Lizzy's idea so it's basically all her fault, right? Uzi thought to herself as she went down the stairs to the containment cages. It would technically still be her fault for having accepted the dare in the first place, but if anything goes wrong, or badly, she won't hold back on blaming Lizzy. Uzi stood by the door, lost in thought, but then she shook her head and inserted the key on the scanner, making the door slide to the side. She tapped her pocket to make sure she brought her phone “It would be really pathetic if I forgot something this important” 

This place was dimly lit, kinda creepy, but then she remembered this one time her mom mentioned that those robots were sensitive to bright lights, so the creepy-looking dark room made sense. She approached a cage that had one glass wall, a little useless though, she couldn't see anything through the glass, but she knew it was J's cage by the little plate on the door, “Serial Designation J” engraved on it. Uzi placed the key on the scanner of the glass and the door slid open, the noise probably woke up J. 

“...Who the hell?” J said in a sleepy voice, a bit groggy. She was hanging upside-down on the ceiling of the cage. 

“How can you sleep like this?” Uzi asked with a low voice as she noticed J on the ceiling. 

“Nori's kid… great” J sighed and got down “Judge much, and also, what are you doing here?” 

“It's not important, just a dare or whatever” She crossed her arms. 

J noticed the employee key card on Uzi’s hand “Oh kid you're in so much trouble” She grabbed Uzi’s arm and started to drag her out of the cage. 

“Wait, no!” Uzi tried to free her arm, but J was too strong “I won't do anything stupid, I just want a picture” She hurried to say. 

J stopped and looked back at Uzi “...a picture? Damn, I wasn't expecting you of all people to be a fan” 

“I'm not a fan!” She said angrily “It's just part of the dare..” She looked away from J's yellow and judgmental eyes. 

“Kid-” Uzi interrupted before J could continue. 

“-Just take a picture with me and let's move on, -forget about this- forever preferably” Uzi was getting embarrassed from this whole interaction. 

J sighed “Why- okay, let's get this over with” 

Uzi pulled out her phone and opened the camera. They made little effort to get closer to one another, just enough so J and Uzi could appear on the phone screen. Neither of them tried to smile, they just stared blankly at the phone, J with her arms crossed, as Uzi took the picture. The picture didn't look bad per-say, but you could definitely tell both of them hated every single second of it. 

“...Kay, that's all” Uzi turned around and stepped out of the cage “...Thanks I guess” 

“Close the door” J said coldly. 

Uzi rolled her eyes and placed the key on the scanner. The door slid closed and J jumped back up to the ceiling to try to go back to sleep. She walked to the next cage and peeked through the glass, it was pitch black and she couldn't see anything, but then a clawed hand hit the glass as if trying to grab Uzi's head. She stepped back, being scared. 

“Oops, did I scare you?” V asked with a twisted smile as she stepped into view from the darkness of her cage. She definitely did it on purpose. 

“Not funny” Uzi crossed her arms. 

“It was for me” She licked one of her claws that had a bit of oil on them. “I heard your little chat with J by the way” 

“Of course you did” She pulled out her phone again “Well, so you know why I'm here” 

“Oh sure, I always loove to take pictures with my fans” V said in a mocking tone, clearly wanting to annoy Uzi. 

Uzi groaned in annoyance, she was getting really tired of everyone saying this. “Shut up and let's just take the picture” 

Uzi placed the key card on the scanner and V's door slid open, she stepped inside and angled the phone up. V smiled at the camera, but it wasn't a happy smile, it was a crooked and twisted one, pretty creepy. She got closer to Uzi and placed her clawed hand over her shoulder, pulling her into a forced hug. Uzi shrugged in discomfort as she saw V's sharp blades on her skin, but they didn't hurt her, they're just there to make her scared, “Classic V” Uzi thought as she took the picture. This one looked different from J's picture, Uzi looked slightly startled while V looked strangely happy. 

“I could break your neck if I wanted” V whispered into Uzi’s ear, it sounded weirdly soft. 

“V!” Uzi stepped out of the cage and closed the door with the key. 

“What? it's true, you humans are so fragile” She leaned against the glass as she observed Uzi’s startled expression “Besides, you know I'm joking” 

“It's whatever, anyway I need to go” Uzi tried to look not bothered by V's words. She turned around to move to the next cage. 

“Hey” V called her out. Uzi stopped and looked back at her “Just a notice, N is a little sentimental, like always, but today is worse because of that tiger-thing he killed” 

“...okay” She gave her a thumbs up. 

“Tell your mama I said hi~” V waved with her claws. 

Uzi rolled her eyes and moved on. She walked to the last cage in the queue and peaked through the glass, though with a bit more caution this time since she didn't want to be scared again. She could barely see inside, but she was able to notice a robot sitting on the floor. He was facing the wall, so she could only see his back, it looked like he was sad. Uzi felt a little uncomfortable, she didn't know if she should just open the door, or call him out, or just walk away, but if she walks away then she would lose the dare, “A picture with all three champions” Lizzy said. She decided to just knock gently on the glass window. 

It caught his attention. He moved his head up at the sound and then turned around, observing her with his yellow eyes. 

Uzi felt anxious and awkward “...hey” she waved at him. 

The robot put on a fake smile to hide his sadness “Hello buddy” He got up from the ground and walked closer to the glass “Oh I saw you before, you're Nori's daughter right?” 

“Yeah… that's me” She scratched the back of her neck “...Uzi” 

“Pretty name” He said in an optimistic tone. “So, what are you doing down here lil buddy?” 

Uzi grew more anxious by the thought of what she's going to ask “I… uh, well, I just wanted to take a picture… with you” She felt stupid after saying that. 

N's face lit up and he gave her a genuine smile, different from that other one he faked. Uzi blushed a little at the sight of it, which made her feel even more stupid. 

“Of course! I would love to, I always like when fans ask for pictures” It seemed like his mood changed and now he looks less gloomy. 

Uzi took a big breath when he said “fan”, she hated this word and hated even more every time anyone used it to refer to her, but she would let it slide just this time since he's being super nice to her. 

She gave him a thumbs up and placed the key on the scanner. She stepped inside the cage and looked up at him, he was really tall, even taller than J, and Uzi always thought J was the tallest “person” she ever saw. It made her linger for a moment and feeling that she might be scared, N knelt down on the floor so he could look less “frightening” to the girl. And it kinda helped, Uzi felt a little more confident so she moved to his side and took out her phone, angling it up. 

“Here, lemme help” He held out his hand, as if asking if he could hold her phone. 

Uzi sighed and just handed her phone to him. 

He took the phone with one hand and placed the other on her shoulder, gently moving her closer to him “Say ‘cheese’” He said in a silly way as he took the picture. 

Uzi couldn't help but to smile a little. N was different in person than she originally thought he was going to be. She thought he was going to be more like the others, less friendly, maybe cold or distant like J, or kinda psychopathic like V, but no, he was extremely friendly. The picture was really nice, both were close to one another and smiling, though N's smile was way bigger than Uzi’s, it showed his sharp fangs but not in a creepy way, in a friendly way. He handed her phone back. 

“...Thanks” She said as she observed the phone screen. 

“No problem” He got up from the floor and placed his hands on his hips. 

Uzi put her phone in her pocket “Well, I have to… go” She pointed to the exit with her hands and stepped out of the cage, closing the glass door. 

“It was nice to see you, Uzi” He waved to her as he smiled. 

“Yeah, nice to see you too… N” She was still embarrassed from the interaction, but she wasn’t upset about it and was glad he was that nice to her. 

She waved goodbye to him and turned around, leaving the room. She ran quickly upstairs back to the VIP section to place her mom's key card back in her purse. She didn't see Lizzy or Doll as she walked back to their seats, so she figured they must have gone back home… without her. Not the first time they did this, but it still annoyed her. 

That little interaction made N’s day slightly better. He was feeling down after the fight and was having flashbacks while alone in his cage, but Uzi’s picture request lightened up his mood. He wished they could have talked more to one another. Later that day, Uzi sat on her bed while she scrolled through her phone. She was still thinking about that interaction with N, wishing she could see him more often. 

[Group chat room] 

+Zy added 3 pictures 

(Doll) :0 

(Doll) if your mom finds out… 

(Liz) Ew you're smiling 

(Zy) Shut up. 

picture looks kinda like this

Chapter Text

The three girls sat on their table in the school cafeteria, Lizzy in the center, Doll and Uzi on each side of her. The events of yesterday were still on Uzi’s head, the champions containment cages… but mostly her little talk with N. Uzi found it surprising how a robot that was designed to fight was nicer to her than her school peers. And sometimes maybe even her friends… speaking of them… 

“...And then I was like “Ew you weirdo, leave me alone and go die in a war” you know? Cause it seems like they never get the memo” Lizzy said as she scrolled through her phone. 

“...Cool…” Uzi said with disinterest. 

Uzi’s lack of a reaction made Lizzy frown and turn her head “Am I boring you?” She asked as she glanced at her friend. 

“What? no, I'm just tired” She answered with a sigh. 

“Tired of what?” 

“I dunno, everything? This school sucks” Uzi played with her food “And the teachers suck, and the other kids suck too, honestly everything is stressing me out and I just want an outlet for it” 

Lizzy and Doll looked at each other with a suspicious look, then stared back at Uzi. 

“...You're up to something” Accused Lizzy. 

“No I’m not!” She defended anxiously. 

Lizzy pulled her closer by the shoulder, Uzi groaned in annoyance. “What are you up to Zy?~” She said in the obnoxious voice Uzi hated so much. 

“Nothing dammit! And don't talk to me like that” Uzi said with an embarrassed voice. She Moved away from Lizzy, being on the far end of the table. 

Doll whispered something in Lizzy's ear. The blond girl widened her eyes and raised her voice “You wanna do it agai-” 

“-Shhhh” Uzi interrupted “Doll what the hell!” 

Doll shrugged at her, Uzi rolled her eyes. 

“Why do you want to get inside the containment cage again? Wasn't it you who said it was creepy looking” Lizzy leaned on her hand. 

“Cause…” Uzi lingered, not knowing how to continue her line of thoughts “...reasons” 

“Does this reason is 6 foot tall, have white hair, yellow eyes and a few medals on the trench coat?” Lizzy teased with a smug smile. 

Uzi scoffed “...no” and turned away from the other girls. 

“Huh, but you do have to admit that you looked way to smiley on that pictu-” 

“IT'S NOT ABOUT HIM!” she got up from the table “Bite me!” and walked away from the cafeteria. 

“Okay, dramatic much” Lizzy commented with a snarky voice. 

Uzi decided to go straight to her classroom and wait until the bell rang, indicating the beginning of the second period. Just three more classes and she will finally be able to go home and sleep, and she really wanted to since she stayed up until 4 am while playing games. Uzi was tired and she was sure there were dark circles under her eyes.

After just one class passed by and the students got up to walk to their next, she felt like falling asleep right there on her desk “I can’t do this” she mumbled to herself tiredly. Uzi decided to do something she rarely does… skip classes, “Gasp! oh the rebellion” she thought sarcastically as she got up from her seat. Instead of following her class peers to the next room, she turned on a corner and went to a bathroom people rarely use. The perfect hiding spot if you don’t want to get caught while skipping… or sleeping, in Uzi’s case. “Will be uncomfortable but it’s worth it”. 

Uzi opened the bathroom door and she saw Lizzy and Doll standing by a cabin door. 

“You guys are skipping too?” She asked while walking inside. 

“No, we’re waiting for the girl who sells the answer sheets to show up” Lizzy said casually as she crossed her arms and leaned on the cabin door. 

“Huh too bad for you, she didn’t came today” 

“God dammit” The blond girl whispered to herself “Well I guess we’re skipping then” 

“Math test?” Uzi guessed. 

“Yeah, I didn’t pay attention to the lecture” Lizzy said while checking her nails, a thing she does very often. 

“Me neither” Lizzy and Doll gave her a judgmental look since Uzi always had the best grades of the group “Uh… I mean, I didn’t study that hard” She said awkwardly as she scratched the back of her neck. 

“Skip with us too then, egghead” 

“Ew, don’t call me that” She with indignation, but still walked up to their side. Uzi’s phone suddenly started to ring and she picked it up, and when she saw who was calling she groaned in mild annoyance.

“Who is it?” Lizzy asked with a quiet voice. 

“Mom” She whispered back, but then put the phone on her ear “Hi mom” The girl said tiredly. 

There were a few seconds of silence as Nori was talking, but then Uzi’s eyes went wide “But- but mom! I barely have energy to keep my eyes open, how am I going to–” She was interrupted as Nori cut her off, speaking more and a bit more loudly “Can you just ask dad to do this?” More silence as her mom kept rumbling stuff “Okay okay, I’ll do it… stop nagging” She whispered the last part, but it was loud enough for Nori to hear it. 

“UZI DOORMAN! DO NOT SPEAK TO YOUR MOTHER LIKE THAT!” Lizzy and Doll could hear Nori’s voice clearly through the phone call. They began to snicker as Uzi was scolded. 

She blushed in embarrassment “I’m sorry… sorry mom” The girl said timidly, a big contrast to her usual behavior. Nori said something else and then the call hung up. Uzi put her phone in her hoodie pocket and stared blankly at the tile floor of the bathroom. 

“...so?” Lizzy asked curiously. 

“She forgot her work computer and notebook at home and wants me to bring it to her workplace” Uzi said monotonously. 

“Huh, I bet she was super calm about it” The blond girl said sarcastically. 

“Oh yeah, mom is sooo calm when it comes to work stuff” She matched Lizzy’s sarcastic tone and crossed her arms “Well here goes my nap time, though I don’t think I have money to take the bus so I’ll need to walk there… It’s 30 minutes away, my god” She let out a pained cry with the realization of how far away her mom’s workplace is. 

Upon hearing that, Doll opened the zipper of her bag and took something out of it. She walked closer to Uzi and placed a 20 dollar bill on her hand. 

“What– Doll?” Uzi looked at Doll, who gave her a thumbs up, Uzi smiled a bit “...Thanks” 

Battlefield…

A place so familiar to N. He stepped foot in an arena 10 minutes after he was “born”, or the closest thing a robot can compare to being born. Today’s task was particularly hard to deal with, It was just him in the big and soulless arena, fighting with a fairly small robot… but an annoying one to take down. The little Coelophysis dino was sly and agile, way too fast for N to grab it with his bulky hands, though it wasn’t as small as the actual animal the robot was based on.

Standing at just 5 feet tall, the robotic dino kept dodging N’s attacks, and that was giving him a headache. It would be easier if just one of his coworkers were here, but V and J were dealing with other competitors. And also, it would be embarrassing if he needed help to deal with a shortie opponent since he had dealt with massive robots in the past all by himself. 

“Focus N, you can do this!” He said to himself and took a big sigh. 

He switched his claws hands for guns and aimed at his opponent, waiting for a reaction, and the dino started to sprint around the perimeter of the arena like it always used to do every time N tried to shoot at it. He knew that firing directly at it would be useless, the bullets were too slow to reach it in time, so instead he aimed at a random wall and waited, not moving at all or even trying to fix his aim to the still running dino. He could hear the crowd complaining in confusion. 

“What is he doing?” someone commented.

“Yoo N, you got the wrong aim!” a random guy said loudly. 

“I think he might be broken” a woman whispered.

“Why is he not moving” more whispers. 

“It’s running behind you, turn around!” a woman tried to warn him. 

He paid no attention to everyone’s complaints or attempts to help, he was sure of what he was doing. He just needed the perfect timing, the perfect countdown to be able to finally take a fist hit at the opponent. 

“...4” He began to count to himself on his head. N heard the dino take a turn on one of the corners of the arena, running along the right division of the small fence that separated the crowd from the fight. 

“...3” He heard more complaints due to his lack of movement or reaction. 

“...2” The dino took another turn on one of the corners of the rectangular space, starting to approach him by his right. 

“...1” All of the complaints got even louder as the dino took another turn and started to sprint towards N and the blank wall he was still aiming at. 

“Now!” He thought to himself as he began to finally take fire against the empty wall. 

Just in time, before the projectiles collided with the wall, the sprinting dino stepped foot exactly on the bullet's trajectory. It was way too late for the little robot to dodge them, just as N planned, “aim at where he will be in a few seconds, not where he is at the moment” he remembered J’s words of when they would train together. N always found it amazing how J would give him a few tips and tricks to help with annoying opponents. 

The bullets hit the dino’s leg and a part of his tail, making him fall to the ground as his motors were damaged. N switched back to his claws and pushed the dino back to the ground with his foot as it tried to get up, “Time to finish this” he said to himself as he leaned downwards. 

The last thing the video receptors of the dino recorded were of that infamous yellow X looking back at it, but there was something missing on N’s face… a grin. 

“I’m sorry little one” N said close to the dino’s audio receptors, and then…

[Systems offline] Appeared on the screen of the dino’s owners, who sat in their control rooms. 

“God dammit Elliott! Screw you!” Said owner exclaimed angrily as he pointed at the VIP section.  

“Woo! That’s what I call a well done job, my champion” Elliott said with excitement as N stepped back inside, heading to his cage. 

“Uh, thanks… boss” He answered awkwardly. N never really liked talking to Elliott since he found his boss to be… intimidating, even though he was way bigger than the middle aged man. N always left the talking part to J. 

“If you and your team keep up with that you guys will be the top notch competitors, my solid trophies” He moved to N’s side to give him a proud tap to his back. 

“Yeah, that will be so…” N trail off as he lost his line of thought. He didn’t like this so-called “job” and he wasn’t exactly happy to be top notch, as Elliot called it. If he’s on the top, then that means his hands are stained with oil… oil of beings that aren’t different from him. 

“So awesome!” Elliot continued for him “You know N, you’re like a robotic son that I never had” He placed a hand on N’s shoulder… or at least tried to. 

What was he supposed to say back to a statement like that? N looked around nervously and then just gave a thumbs up to the man. 

“Oh and speaking of family! My daughter’s birthday will be next week and she’s a big fan of the champions, so you and your team will be there for her party.” He made sure to put an emphasis on the word will  “What a great coincidence that my little Tessa likes to watch fighting reality shows” The man used a ‘proud parent’ voice, which was weird coming from him but still made N smile a bit as Elliott looked so happy when mentioning about his daughter. 

“So… it will be a day off?” N asked curiously. 

“I guess you could say that” He nodded. “It would be rude if you guys leave the party before it ends” Elliott checked his golden watch and fixed his black hat. “Well I have to go, don’t forget to recharge your batteries for tomorrow’s fights” And with that he walked off. 

“What an awkward interaction” N said to himself as he began to walk to his cage. 

It was an exhausting day, he had three consecutive fights without any breaks. He was hungry and sleepy, and also still a bit sentimental because of his fight with Vortek-9. N just wanted something to distract him from this weird life he has. It could be small, like a little fidget toy or those mini TV’s, or maybe even a pet. “Will they allow me to have a dog?” He asked himself as he walked distractedly, lost in his thoughts. But then, he bumped into something… or someone.  

“...ouch” He heard the voice of a girl. 

N looked down and saw a familiar purple hair “I’m sorry I wasn’t looki– Oh hey, it’s you again…” He paused to remember her name “...Uzi, right?” 

Uzi looked up and blushed when she realized it was him. She took one step back so they weren't too close “Uh, yeah… Uzi” She clung the bag she was holding close to her chest, being slightly shocked she came across N again.  

He chuckled a bit, finding her blushing cute “So what brings you back here buddy? Were you watching the fight?” N used his usual friendly tone since he was happy to see her again. 

“No I wasn’t watching, my mom asked me to bring her computer and her notes” She pointed at the bag “She forgot at home” 

“Ah, I see” He tried to not sound sad when he heard she wasn’t watching, for some reason he really hoped she was. 

“And, uh” Uzi looked to the floor “I’m kinda… lost in here, all the hallways look the same” She said quietly, embarrassed she managed to get lost on the building. Maybe it was due to the fact she was sleep deprived. 

“You’re lost? I can help if you want” He offered with a smile. 

Uzi nodded slowly, silently agreeing to have his help. She asked herself ‘where is my normal angsty demeanor’ but she didn’t know. She just can’t bring herself to be like that around N, he never mistreated her on those short interactions of them so she doesn’t see fit to be aggressive. 

“Come on buddy, I’ll show the way” N extended a hand and waited for Uzi to take it. 

She hesitated to take his hand. For one side, “embarrassing” she thought to herself, but for the other side, he was willing to help her. He didn’t have the obligation, he could just walk away and let her figure things out, V or J would probably do this, but no, N wanted to help her. She sighed and took his hand, averting her gaze to the ground as her blush grew brighter. 

He chuckled at her reaction. 

“Bite me!” She mumbled, still not looking at him. 

“Okay” He brings her hand up close to his mouth. 

Uzi widened her eyes and pulled her hand back, startled he would actually bite her. 

“Haha I’m sorry, I was joking” He laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck “I’m not going to bite you, buddy” He extended his hand again for her to take. 

“Don’t scare me like that!” She said in mild anger, but took his hand again for the second time. 

“Got it” He gave her a thumbs up with his other hand “Now, let’s go to your mom’s office” He began to walk and Uzi followed besides him. 

N guided her around the long corridors, showing her all the signs and labeled arrows so next time she wouldn’t be lost. Uzi did her best to pay attention, but she kept focusing on how warm his hand felt on her own, which was odd to her since she thought robots were always cold. “I bet having a hug from him would feel good” As soon as the thought entered her mind she immediately made an effort to get it out “Don’t think about this Uzi!” The girl scolded herself. They stopped by Nori’s office door. 

“And there we go” N said brightly. “Your mom’s office. Liked the tour lil buddy?” He asked with a smile. 

Uzi didn’t try to hold back her own smile. “Yes, it was fun” She let go of his hand and she immediately felt cold. Brushing her disappointment aside, she grabbed the door handle, but before pushing it open she looked back at N “Hey, uh… thanks again for being so nice” 

“Aw no problem, I don’t really mind helping” He smiled in a way that showed his sharp teeth. A frightening look to anyone, but somehow Uzi found it really adorable. 

Uzi nodded and waved goodbye, and N obviously waved back. She opened the door and walked inside. 

There was something about this girl that always made his day a little better, was it just her presence? Or maybe her personality that N found it so cute? He wasn’t sure, “Maybe Nori should forget her things at home more often” He thought as he turned around and headed to his cage, after all, he was super tired. 

“The way back should be fine right?” Uzi thought to herself as she exited her mom’s office after giving Nori the things she asked. She tried to remember what N told her, she will manage to find her way back, right?

…right? 

You can bet she got lost again.