Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Proxima Centauri.
One of the closest solar systems to Sol.
One of the driving forces for humanity's reach for the stars.
To be able to land on planets like Proxima Centauri B.
And they did. More than 400 years ago, man conquered every star that was close to them.

With those planets came all their resources, and with all those resources the need for conflict faded. Aside from a few scuffles among corporations and violent revolutions. There had been no war since the 21st century.
The development of weaponry peaked with the invention of the rail gun and death laser. Nothing else since.

Standing on the bridge of a hollowed-out cargo ship, now filled with weapons and soldiers.
Admiral Robyn believed that was an awful miss-step.

Just then, a soldier barged into the bridge.
"Admiral!" he yelled.
" Yes recruit?"
" We've got news from ground central command! The bots have made landfall."

Robyn's tired eyes shot open.
"What? How? Those bots can't fight during the day! They burn up! How did they make it past our defenses?
The recruit trembled at her anger. She caught herself. He was just the messenger.
" Tell me."
" They say they aren't the same kind of bot. Reports say they're bigger and better equipped. They can't fly, but they're near impossible to kill."
" And they don't burn in the sun." Robyn sighed.

"So it's over? We lost. Cause Earth fell to those vampire ones. And now you're telling me they've gotten stronger?"
Robyn began to spiral. How did this happen? The hustle and bustle of the navigators and radar operators continued to work as if the war wasn't already over.
That they hadn't already lost.

"Admiral."
The words echoed in her mind.
"Admiral!"
She was pulled out of her thoughts by the vice admiral.
She turned to look at him.
"No deserter thoughts." He said in a cold tone, but soothing tone. It took her out of her downer mood.

"I'd say it's pretty fair fella." the rear admiral countered.
"Yes, because you are a coward." The vice turned.
"Rodgers, Cee! Let's try to keep fighting to a minimum, yes?"
The two turned to look at her.
"Yes, Mrs. Zeca." Rodgers nodded.
Rear Admiral Cee groaned.
"So what, we're just going to ignore the fact that the surface is fighting against unkillable robots?"

"They are not unkillable. Just hard to kill. We've been holding them off for a month. I am certain we can do it longer. At least long enough to evacuate the last of the civilians." Rodgers was calm and collected.
"Take them where Nick? Plat-Binary lost contact a week ago, and the Bernard system is under attack as we speak."

Cee walked up to Admiral.
"You said it yourself, Robyn. It's over."
" So what are you suggesting?"
"That we cut our losses. And leave."
Rodgers turned to face them.
"Excuse me?"
" You heard me. There is nothing left for us here. We should just pick a direction and fly."
"And let the planet fall easier?"
"It is going to either way!"
" So you'd rather die a coward?"
Cee glared at him. "Yeah, yeah I would."

"Cee, 10 billion people didn't lose their lives for you-"
"Stop right there!"
He had a resolute look on his face.
"You know damn well those 10 billion people didn't die for a reason! It was pointless slaughter! They weren't thinking of the greater future or hopes of carrying on their legacy. They were suffering!"

The words sat in the air.
"And? Because of that, we have to just roll over and take it? I know that they were not willing to die for this war. They should not have died. But they did. And we can not let the time that bought us be in vain."
"Yeah, well it clearly didn't buy us enough."

Once again the room went quiet. With only the clicking of keyboards and the gentle humming of computers.
Robyn rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Yet she never got the chance to breathe out.

Suddenly and violently the quiet bridge was flooded with alarms.
The radar operator screamed.
"We've got 7 fast movers coming towards the ship!"
"Engage!" Rodgers yelled as he ran for the bridge windows. The ship rocked as missile after missile began to launch from its hull. The guns turned, and lasers began to wear to life.

Robyn followed after Rodgers and dashed towards the windows.
She watched as the missiles missed as the ships bobbed and weaved around them. Some were hit by the gunfire, but it wasn't enough. The ships were only a kilometer away and rapidly approaching.
Robyn paused.
"This is a boarding attempt." it started quietly, and then she turned to shout.
"This is a boarding attempt! Get the troops ready to fight!"

The radio man nodded and relayed her orders. Then the ship rocked again. This time hard. Everyone standing was thrown violently off their feet. Some even slamming into tables. The sound of explosions rocked her ears. And within a couple of moments, the ship's electronics shut down. The lights, computers, radar, everything. The ship was dipped into complete darkness.

The bridge was filled with yelling and panicked yelling as the staff scrambled to assess what was happening. Robyn jumped when Rodgers put his hand on her shoulder.
"We don't know if that warning message went through! We need to go to the hold and check in the troops."
He pulled out a revolver and handed it to her before running for the bridge exit.

Just then the emergency lights and communications power flicked on. The bridge was blanketed in light again. Robyn ran after the vice admiral, with Cee following behind her. The alarm was blaring, and in the distance, they could hear the crack of gunshots. How many ships were there?" Cee asked as he began pulling out his weapon.
" I didn't get a good look. They were so fast. Maybe four shuttles?"

"There would be too many for a few pistols to kill. We need to get to the armoury." Rodgers swung around the corner.
"It should be around here."
The banging of their feet on the floor became ever-present. Robyn felt uneasy. The alarms kept ringing, but the gunfire had stopped. The news of those new super-drones was a horrible sign.

The trio stopped. The door was large and reinforced. They turned to look at her." Does anyone have the pin?"
"Aren't you second in command?"
"Aren't you third in command? I don't see you trying."
Robyn pushes them out of the way and enters the code.
3069.
"Seriously? It's the current year?"
"Yeah, well, this is a military vessel; it's not supposed to be hard to access the armory!"

They all rush in without another.
They barely have a chance to take in the messy room as they scramble for weapons. Robyn, however, can spot a large window that leaned outwards, looking out to the deck below. She grabbed a large rifle before making her way towards the window to look down.

Below she is met with a confusing sight. It's one of the boarding pods. It had burrowed deep enough to be to reach the central cargo bays.
In front of the ship was a group of over 50 soldiers pointing their guns at the pod. Looking closer, she could see the bullet holes in its hull. That's what the shooting was about.
"Rodgers, Cee! You're gonna want to see this!"

The two made their way towards the window. Looking down at her.
The soldiers slowly approached the dormant shuttle.
"Why haven't they got out yet?"Robyn pondered aloud.
"Maybe the impact destroyed them?"
Cee offered.
"Doubt it."

Then the shuttle shook violently, as if a hungry lion was tied down inside. Even through the glass, they could hear what could only be described as a cacophony of cackles and growling from within.
They weren't dead.
The soldiers stopped for a moment.

"What are they doing?" Cee questioned.
" Why are they still approaching it?"
"I don't know, but we have to stop them. Radio down to them. I think this is group B?"

The shuttle rattled again.
The laughing grew.
Rodgers tried to radio down.
The shuttle rattled again.
The laughing got louder.
They could see some of the soldiers walking back.

" This is Admiral Rodgers to Group 2! Cease your approach to the boarding shuttle."
Robyn could see one of the soldiers raise his radio.
"Affirmative command. But what do we do with it?"
"Just wait, get into defensive positions, and ready your explosives and rockets."

Cee looked at Rodgers.
"Are you crazy? Those things could kill them in seconds! They have to retreat."
"Don't be such a coward Cee! We can handle this."
"I'm not a coward! This is for the lives of our troops! We need them if we're gonna keep fighting, and I do not like these odds."

The shuttle rattled again.
The laughing turned to guffawing.

"There are over 60 men down there! They can take a group of 10 or so-"

The shuttle burst. Out spewed a violent shifting mound of Drones that swarmed like a horse of bees.
A hail of gunfire followed.

It was nothing short of horrific.
Within seconds the men of group 2 were run over.
The Drones tore into their bodies and ripped them into pieces. The few that weren't within the range of getting mangled were filled with holes as the swarm released a barrage of lead into them.
Blood filled the air and splattered on the walls with ferocity.

Within 30 seconds, the Drones turned the cargo hull into a sea of blood and limbs.

The screams of the men filled her ears.
She stumbled back.
"What the fuck?" were the only words she could stumble out of her mouth.
Rodgers was left speechless.
Cee simply looked on in horror.
The room was left silent as they heard the metallic stomps of the Drones as they began to rush out of the cargo bay and into the ship. Then Cee turned around.

"We have to scuttle the ship."
"What?"
"We can't let more of these things onto that planet. The ammunition belts for the turrets are a deck below us. We set a charge and blow this whole ship."
Rodgers turned.
"That's suicide."
"Yes."
The two looked over to Robyn.
She stared at them wide-eyed.
She let out a haggard sigh.
"Grab some C4. I'll go out and scout the door."

Getting up from the table she had been leaning on she ran for the door. Entering the code again, she could hear the screams of staff and gunfire flood her ears.
She took a deep breath.
"I've got it! Let's go."
Rodgers and Cee ran out in front of her.
They were quiet. Nothing but the sounds of death surrounded them.
Making their way through the tight corridors they see one.

A disassembly drone.
It twitched with a gleeful smile on its hellish face. From head to toe, it was drenched in blood and chunks of meat. It blocked the staircase to the floor below.
She couldn't tell if it was taunting them or if it was just too lost in its delusions to notice them. Either way, it paid them no mind.

Raising her rifle she opened fire. The bullets tore through its chest and head. Yet it hardly reacted. Instead, it turned its gaze to them, the smile still plastered on its face.
Then, it was blown away by the force of Cee's shotgun.
Trying not to think about it, she pushed forward.

She placed her foot on the first step and then.
It launched at her. It jabbed its claws into her shoulder. She screamed through gritted teeth as she tried to fire into it.
It was no use. It had grabbed the gun with its free hand. Then it began battering her in the head with it.
She felt the light fading from her eyes.

Then, another loud bang. She was dazed, but she could that Cee had fired again.

It was still standing.
It rushed at him.
Rodgers unloaded with his gun, but it was no use.
It jabbed its claws into Cee's chest. She could hear Rodgers scream.
Robyn pulled herself upwards and shambled toward the withered drone.
Grabbing a shard of glass, she wrapped her arms around its neck and squeezed.

It tried to wrestle free.
Using the glass, she jabbed it into the glowing sensors above its visor.
It yelped in pain.
With a burst of strength, she turned and hurled down the stairs. She heard its head shatter against the stairs and thud onto the ground.
Then nothing.

She turned to face Cee.
Rodgers was huddled over him. Holding him in his arms.
She could see Cees's face.
He was already gone.
She shambled over to him.
And placed her hand on his chest where the Drones blades had slit into him.
He let out a deep and haggard sigh.

"We have to get to the ammunition belt."
Was all she could get out.
No words of goodbye.
No time to grieve.
No time at all.
They had to finish the mission.
They couldn't let these things get off this ship.
She grabbed the C4 from his hands.

Rodgers followed up behind as they both climbed their way down the stairs.
When they got to the bottom, something was missing.
The drone.
It was gone.
Only its oil was left behind.

She didn't have time to think about that. It was gone and that means it isn't a problem anymore. Even if it's just gone somewhere else.
She turned down the corridor and hobbled down as fast as she could.
Somewhere in that struggle, she had sprained her leg. Yet, still, she was determined. She kept her vision straight ahead, ignoring the bodies of soldiers and staff that painted the white halls with splashes of red.

She had to ignore it. She couldn't let the hopelessness of the situation consume her.
She had to keep fighting.
She had to.

Pushing through another door they had made it to an overhanging walkway that dangled above a Cafeteria. A gunfight raged on below.
The Drones were one by one picking off the human soldiers below.
It was a horrible sight. Watching as their bodies, one by one, dropped like flies.

Then the Drones caught sight of them. Rodgers braced her as they ran from the hail of bullets that came for them.
None had hit her.
Pushing through another door they had reached the ammunition bays.
Now they just had to find the large ammunition and they could start a chain reaction.
Looking from ammo rack to ammo rack, Robyn could barely notice Rodgers slowing down behind her.

Then he collapsed. She looked at him.
His arm, leg, and chest were filled with bullets. The Drones had hit him.
"Don't worry about me. We were going to die anyway. Find the main ammunition. I'll hold them off as much as I can.
He turned and braced his gun against his legs and aimed at the door.
She heard as the Drones latched at the hanging walkway. Their cackling followed them as they rushed for the door.

She ran as fast as she could. At the end of the room was another door. If her memory served her right, it was just below one of the turrets. They would have to be here.

She didn't turn back as she heard the sound of the Drones bursting through the door. She heard Rodgers open fire as they surrounded him.
She heard him scream as they tore into him.
Pushing through the door she turned and looked it behind her. She didn't look out the window.
She couldn't.

The mission was done. All she had to do was place the C4 and blow the ship into nothing.
Turning around she could see the turret ring and surrounding ammunition.
The shells were massive, as large as a person. All she needed to do was pull the detonator. In fact, she could pull it right now.
But, better safe than sorry.

She stepped forward.
Then she heard "giggle."
Not an actual giggle, but something say giggle.
Robyn looked around frantically.
"You are an interesting person, Robyn."
Its voice was stilted and robotic.
Without thinking she pulled out the detonator.

"I don't know what you are. But try anything and I will blow this up!"
Robyn couldn't hide the panic in her voice.
"And I'm sure your master won't be pleased about that!"
"I'd definitely not be happy."
The voice said.
Then a figure stepped out from behind one of the ammunition racks.
"Especially since on this piece of shit."
It stuttered violently saying those words.

Robyn got a good look at the creature.
It seemed human. Dawning a black dress and a massive bow in its hair. But something was wrong.
Its skin was horribly mangled, with metallic limbs hiding underneath.
Its eyes were hollow, with two black screens where its eyes should be. From beneath its palms, two robotic hands pushed through dislocating the true hands. It had a horrible grin on its face and a smug and confident side as it made its way towards her. From its back, awful black tendrils sprouted out and slithered around behind her.

"What-" Robyn stumbled over her words, trying her best not to keel over and vomit at the sight of what amounted to a rotting corpse being piloted by an unearthly monster.
"What are you?"
"The solution."
She stuttered. "What?"
"The Solution. To your kind. To this world. To the universe. I am the end."

It stepped closer.
"But not yours."
Robyn stepped back.
"Oh." it stopped its approach and turned. Robyn watched as one of its tendrils reached back and pulled a malformed Drone. It was the one that attacked them on the stairs.
"You're welcome by the way." She said as she haphazardly held the body up.
"Y- You Stopped it? You stopped your own drone?"
"Yes, dummy. I couldn't let such a special asset be extinguished by a simple drone. Now could I?

Proxima Centauri.
One of the closest solar systems to Sol.
One of the driving forces for humanity's reach for the stars.
To be able to land on planets like Proxima Centauri B.
And they did. More than 400 years ago, man conquered every star that was close to them.

With those planets came all their resources, and with all those resources the need for conflict faded. Aside from a few scuffles among corporations and violent revolutions. There had been no war since the 21st century.
The development of weaponry peaked with the invention of the rail gun and death laser. Nothing else since.

Standing on the bridge of a hollowed-out cargo ship, now filled with weapons and soldiers.
Admiral Robyn believed that was an awful miss-step.

Just then, a soldier barged into the bridge.
"Admiral!" he yelled.
" Yes recruit?"
" We've got news from ground central command! The bots have made landfall."

Robyn's tired eyes shot open.
"What? How? Those bots can't fight during the day! They burn up! How did they make it past our defenses?
The recruit trembled at her anger. She caught herself. He was just the messenger.
" Tell me."
" They say they aren't the same kind of bot. Reports say they're bigger and better equipped. They can't fly, but they're near impossible to kill."
" And they don't burn in the sun." Robyn sighed.

"So it's over? We lost. Cause Earth fell to those vampire ones. And now you're telling me they've gotten stronger?"
Robyn began to spiral. How did this happen? The hustle and bustle of the navigators and radar operators continued to work as if the war wasn't already over.
That they hadn't already lost.

"Admiral."
The words echoed in her mind.
"Admiral!"
She was pulled out of her thoughts by the vice admiral.
She turned to look at him.
"No deserter thoughts." He said in a cold tone, but soothing tone. It took her out of her downer mood.

"I'd say it's pretty fair fella." the rear admiral countered.
"Yes, because you are a coward." The vice turned.
"Rodgers, Cee! Let's try to keep fighting to a minimum, yes?"
The two turned to look at her.
"Yes, Mrs. Zeca." Rodgers nodded.
Rear Admiral Cee groaned.
"So what, we're just going to ignore the fact that the surface is fighting against unkillable robots?"

"They are not unkillable. Just hard to kill. We've been holding them off for a month. I am certain we can do it longer. At least long enough to evacuate the last of the civilians." Rodgers was calm and collected.
"Take them where Nick? Plat-Binary lost contact a week ago, and the Bernard system is under attack as we speak."

Cee walked up to Admiral.
"You said it yourself, Robyn. It's over."
" So what are you suggesting?"
"That we cut our losses. And leave."
Rodgers turned to face them.
"Excuse me?"
" You heard me. There is nothing left for us here. We should just pick a direction and fly."
"And let the planet fall easier?"
"It is going to either way!"
" So you'd rather die a coward?"
Cee glared at him. "Yeah, yeah I would."

"Cee, 10 billion people didn't lose their lives for you-"
"Stop right there!"
He had a resolute look on his face.
"You know damn well those 10 billion people didn't die for a reason! It was pointless slaughter! They weren't thinking of the greater future or hopes of carrying on their legacy. They were suffering!"

The words sat in the air.
"And? Because of that, we have to just roll over and take it? I know that they were not willing to die for this war. They should not have died. But they did. And we can not let the time that bought us be in vain."
"Yeah, well it clearly didn't buy us enough."

Once again the room went quiet. With only the clicking of keyboards and the gentle humming of computers.
Robyn rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Yet she never got the chance to breathe out.

Suddenly and violently the quiet bridge was flooded with alarms.
The radar operator screamed.
"We've got 7 fast movers coming towards the ship!"
"Engage!" Rodgers yelled as he ran for the bridge windows. The ship rocked as missile after missile began to launch from its hull. The guns turned, and lasers began to wear to life.

Robyn followed after Rodgers and dashed towards the windows.
She watched as the missiles missed as the ships bobbed and weaved around them. Some were hit by the gunfire, but it wasn't enough. The ships were only a kilometer away and rapidly approaching.
Robyn paused.
"This is a boarding attempt." it started quietly, and then she turned to shout.
"This is a boarding attempt! Get the troops ready to fight!"

The radio man nodded and relayed her orders. Then the ship rocked again. This time hard. Everyone standing was thrown violently off their feet. Some even slamming into tables. The sound of explosions rocked her ears. And within a couple of moments, the ship's electronics shut down. The lights, computers, radar, everything. The ship was dipped into complete darkness.

The bridge was filled with yelling and panicked yelling as the staff scrambled to assess what was happening. Robyn jumped when Rodgers put his hand on her shoulder.
"We don't know if that warning message went through! We need to go to the hold and check in the troops."
He pulled out a revolver and handed it to her before running for the bridge exit.

Just then the emergency lights and communications power flicked on. The bridge was blanketed in light again. Robyn ran after the vice admiral, with Cee following behind her. The alarm was blaring, and in the distance, they could hear the crack of gunshots. How many ships were there?" Cee asked as he began pulling out his weapon.
" I didn't get a good look. They were so fast. Maybe four shuttles?"

"There would be too many for a few pistols to kill. We need to get to the armoury." Rodgers swung around the corner.
"It should be around here."
The banging of their feet on the floor became ever-present. Robyn felt uneasy. The alarms kept ringing, but the gunfire had stopped. The news of those new super-drones was a horrible sign.

The trio stopped. The door was large and reinforced. They turned to look at her." Does anyone have the pin?"
"Aren't you second in command?"
"Aren't you third in command? I don't see you trying."
Robyn pushes them out of the way and enters the code.
3069.
"Seriously? It's the current year?"
"Yeah, well, this is a military vessel; it's not supposed to be hard to access the armory!"

They all rush in without another.
They barely have a chance to take in the messy room as they scramble for weapons. Robyn, however, can spot a large window that leaned outwards, looking out to the deck below. She grabbed a large rifle before making her way towards the window to look down.

Below she is met with a confusing sight. It's one of the boarding pods. It had burrowed deep enough to be to reach the central cargo bays.
In front of the ship was a group of over 50 soldiers pointing their guns at the pod. Looking closer, she could see the bullet holes in its hull. That's what the shooting was about.
"Rodgers, Cee! You're gonna want to see this!"

The two made their way towards the window. Looking down at her.
The soldiers slowly approached the dormant shuttle.
"Why haven't they got out yet?"Robyn pondered aloud.
"Maybe the impact destroyed them?"
Cee offered.
"Doubt it."

Then the shuttle shook violently, as if a hungry lion was tied down inside. Even through the glass, they could hear what could only be described as a cacophony of cackles and growling from within.
They weren't dead.
The soldiers stopped for a moment.

"What are they doing?" Cee questioned.
" Why are they still approaching it?"
"I don't know, but we have to stop them. Radio down to them. I think this is group B?"

The shuttle rattled again.
The laughing grew.
Rodgers tried to radio down.
The shuttle rattled again.
The laughing got louder.
They could see some of the soldiers walking back.

" This is Admiral Rodgers to Group 2! Cease your approach to the boarding shuttle."
Robyn could see one of the soldiers raise his radio.
"Affirmative command. But what do we do with it?"
"Just wait, get into defensive positions, and ready your explosives and rockets."

Cee looked at Rodgers.
"Are you crazy? Those things could kill them in seconds! They have to retreat."
"Don't be such a coward Cee! We can handle this."
"I'm not a coward! This is for the lives of our troops! We need them if we're gonna keep fighting, and I do not like these odds."

The shuttle rattled again.
The laughing turned to guffawing.

"There are over 60 men down there! They can take a group of 10 or so-"

The shuttle burst. Out spewed a violent shifting mound of Drones that swarmed like a horse of bees.
A hail of gunfire followed.

It was nothing short of horrific.
Within seconds the men of group 2 were run over.
The Drones tore into their bodies and ripped them into pieces. The few that weren't within the range of getting mangled were filled with holes as the swarm released a barrage of lead into them.
Blood filled the air and splattered on the walls with ferocity.

Within 30 seconds, the Drones turned the cargo hull into a sea of blood and limbs.

The screams of the men filled her ears.
She stumbled back.
"What the fuck?" were the only words she could stumble out of her mouth.
Rodgers was left speechless.
Cee simply looked on in horror.
The room was left silent as they heard the metallic stomps of the Drones as they began to rush out of the cargo bay and into the ship. Then Cee turned around.

"We have to scuttle the ship."
"What?"
"We can't let more of these things onto that planet. The ammunition belts for the turrets are a deck below us. We set a charge and blow this whole ship."
Rodgers turned.
"That's suicide."
"Yes."
The two looked over to Robyn.
She stared at them wide-eyed.
She let out a haggard sigh.
"Grab some C4. I'll go out and scout the door."

Getting up from the table she had been leaning on she ran for the door. Entering the code again, she could hear the screams of staff and gunfire flood her ears.
She took a deep breath.
"I've got it! Let's go."
Rodgers and Cee ran out in front of her.
They were quiet. Nothing but the sounds of death surrounded them.
Making their way through the tight corridors they see one.

A disassembly drone.
It twitched with a gleeful smile on its hellish face. From head to toe, it was drenched in blood and chunks of meat. It blocked the staircase to the floor below.
She couldn't tell if it was taunting them or if it was just too lost in its delusions to notice them. Either way, it paid them no mind.

Raising her rifle she opened fire. The bullets tore through its chest and head. Yet it hardly reacted. Instead, it turned its gaze to them, the smile still plastered on its face.
Then, it was blown away by the force of Cee's shotgun.
Trying not to think about it, she pushed forward.

She placed her foot on the first step and then.
It launched at her. It jabbed its claws into her shoulder. She screamed through gritted teeth as she tried to fire into it.
It was no use. It had grabbed the gun with its free hand. Then it began battering her in the head with it.
She felt the light fading from her eyes.

Then, another loud bang. She was dazed, but she could that Cee had fired again.

It was still standing.
It rushed at him.
Rodgers unloaded with his gun, but it was no use.
It jabbed its claws into Cee's chest. She could hear Rodgers scream.
Robyn pulled herself upwards and shambled toward the withered drone.
Grabbing a shard of glass, she wrapped her arms around its neck and squeezed.

It tried to wrestle free.
Using the glass, she jabbed it into the glowing sensors above its visor.
It yelped in pain.
With a burst of strength, she turned and hurled down the stairs. She heard its head shatter against the stairs and thud onto the ground.
Then nothing.

She turned to face Cee.
Rodgers was huddled over him. Holding him in his arms.
She could see Cees's face.
He was already gone.
She shambled over to him.
And placed her hand on his chest where the Drones blades had slit into him.
He let out a deep and haggard sigh.

"We have to get to the ammunition belt."
Was all she could get out.
No words of goodbye.
No time to grieve.
No time at all.
They had to finish the mission.
They couldn't let these things get off this ship.
She grabbed the C4 from his hands.

Rodgers followed up behind as they both climbed their way down the stairs.
When they got to the bottom, something was missing.
The drone.
It was gone.
Only its oil was left behind.

She didn't have time to think about that. It was gone and that means it isn't a problem anymore. Even if it's just gone somewhere else.
She turned down the corridor and hobbled down as fast as she could.
Somewhere in that struggle, she had sprained her leg. Yet, still, she was determined. She kept her vision straight ahead, ignoring the bodies of soldiers and staff that painted the white halls with splashes of red.

She had to ignore it. She couldn't let the hopelessness of the situation consume her.
She had to keep fighting.
She had to.

Pushing through another door they had made it to an overhanging walkway that dangled above a Cafeteria. A gunfight raged on below.
The Drones were one by one picking off the human soldiers below.
It was a horrible sight. Watching as their bodies, one by one, dropped like flies.

Then the Drones caught sight of them. Rodgers braced her as they ran from the hail of bullets that came for them.
None had hit her.
Pushing through another door they had reached the ammunition bays.
Now they just had to find the large ammunition and they could start a chain reaction.
Looking from ammo rack to ammo rack, Robyn could barely notice Rodgers slowing down behind her.

Then he collapsed. She looked at him.
His arm, leg, and chest were filled with bullets. The Drones had hit him.
"Don't worry about me. We were going to die anyway. Find the main ammunition. I'll hold them off as much as I can.
He turned and braced his gun against his legs and aimed at the door.
She heard as the Drones latched at the hanging walkway. Their cackling followed them as they rushed for the door.

She ran as fast as she could. At the end of the room was another door. If her memory served her right, it was just below one of the turrets. They would have to be here.

She didn't turn back as she heard the sound of the Drones bursting through the door. She heard Rodgers open fire as they surrounded him.
She heard him scream as they tore into him.
Pushing through the door she turned and looked it behind her. She didn't look out the window.
She couldn't.

The mission was done. All she had to do was place the C4 and blow the ship into nothing.
Turning around she could see the turret ring and surrounding ammunition.
The shells were massive, as large as a person. All she needed to do was pull the detonator. In fact, she could pull it right now.
But, better safe than sorry.

She stepped forward.
Then she heard "giggle."
Not an actual giggle, but something say giggle.
Robyn looked around frantically.
"You are an interesting person, Robyn."
Its voice was stilted and robotic.
Without thinking she pulled out the detonator.

"I don't know what you are. But try anything and I will blow this up!"
Robyn couldn't hide the panic in her voice.
"And I'm sure your master won't be pleased about that!"
"I'd definitely not be happy."
The voice said.
Then a figure stepped out from behind one of the ammunition racks.
"Especially since on this piece of shit."
It stuttered violently saying those words.

Robyn got a good look at the creature.
It seemed human. Dawning a black dress and a massive bow in its hair. But something was wrong.
Its skin was horribly mangled, with metallic limbs hiding underneath.
Its eyes were hollow, with two black screens where its eyes should be. From beneath its palms, two robotic hands pushed through dislocating the true hands. It had a horrible grin on its face and a smug and confident side as it made its way towards her. From its back, awful black tendrils sprouted out and slithered around behind her.

"What-" Robyn stumbled over her words, trying her best not to keel over and vomit at the sight of what amounted to a rotting corpse being piloted by an unearthly monster.
"What are you?"
"The solution."
She stuttered. "What?"
"The Solution. To your kind. To this world. To the universe. I am the end."

It stepped closer.
"But not yours."
Robyn stepped back.
"Oh." it stopped its approach and turned. Robyn watched as one of its tendrils reached back and pulled a malformed Drone. It was the one that attacked them on the stairs.
"You're welcome by the way." She said as she haphazardly held the body up.
"Y- You Stopped it? You stopped your own drone?"
"Yes, dummy. I couldn't let such a special asset be extinguished by a simple drone. Now could I?"
It stepped closer.
"Asset?"
"You ask a lot of questions."

With little warning it rushed forward.
Robyn raised the detonator.
She hesitated.
This was it.
One push and it was over.
Humanity would be saved.
But she would be gone as well.
She hesitated.

With a swift flick the creature threw the detonator.
With another flick, the satchel of C4 was pulled off and thrown back.
The creature uttered another "giggle"
It was over.
She failed.
Rodgers died for nothing.
Cee died for nothing.
She failed.
It was over.

"You humans love to let your emotions stop you from doing what is needed. Don't you?"
The creature grabbed her by the neck using its tendrils.
"That's why you're so interesting, Robyn.
You are so high and mighty. Yet, you are still a frail, weak human."

It lifted her up. It uttered another "giggle."
"If the rest of your species say this. They'd be begging me to kill you. But that would be so. Easy."
It pulled her closer. Robyn struggled to hold back her tears.
"Death is a fate you won't enjoy Robyn. After all, you are an asset."
It grew a big, grisly smile that stretched across the bodies cold and bloodied face.
"And I do not discard assets."

Violently, Robyn watched as the creature grew a massive metallic claw. It curled into a fist.
"See you soon, buddy."
And with a swift punch, everything went dark.

Chapter Text

Tell myself I lost
my soul for you.
Go thereafter
See you never

221. That's how many times she's heard that song. It was a parting gift from that Moron, N. She hated it. But she'd rather listen to something than go mad from the white noise.
Opening her eyes, J turned to face the ship's main window. Proxima Centauri B filled her vision.

She was here. After a 6 month journey, she was here. If she spent more time on the ship's thrusters, she could have been here in one.
But she had to leave.

Then, a shutter hit the ship.
As she rocked back and forth J could feel her leg disconnecting from where she lodged it. It came loose and began to fall onto the hard ground below. Using a single hand she caught herself. With swift movement, she rolled herself back to her feet.

Wiping the loose hairs from her face, she made her way to the ship's control panel. It was a mess and she frankly didn't know how it all worked. She could fly these ships well, but after that idiot took it and Cyn destroyed it, she had to rebuild it all from scratch.

Now, it only had the basic functionality, and even those barely worked like they were meant to.
She frowned.
All of this was a headache, but if all goes well. She can finally have some time to herself. Time in peaceful solitude. She took a moment to gaze at the planet.

From what she remembered, Cyn had detonated the planet's core. Like she did to all the others. Unlike Earth, though, it was still mostly intact. The humans had terraformed almost a century ago and, at its height, was the 2nd most populated behind the earth.
Cyn made that null.
From what she could see it wasn't too dissimilar to Copper 9, covered in a thick layer of ash and asbestos kicked up from when the core explosion ripped the planet apart.

If she was lucky, that detonation would have killed everyone still on the planet. Just like it did on Earth. Giving her a perfect home to herself.
If she was lucky.
Her gaze was interrupted by the ship's controls flashing yellow.
"What the-?"
Suddenly, she heard the sound of radio static filling the ship's rudimentary speakers.
On the other end, she could hear a voice attempting to contact her.

"Unidentified vessel. This is the ODA orbital command. Identify yourself."
J looked around the ship. She didn't set the ship up for this. All it can do is turn and accelerate.
She rummaged around the ship's controls. Maybe part of the communication relay still functioned.
The voice spoke up again.
" Unidentified vessel, I repeat. Identify yourself. Now."
They were getting stern now.
J was getting nervous. Her dreams of an empty planet are already gone, but she could still get out of this without a fight.

That was getting less and less likely. She hopelessly clicked on any buttons she knew did nothing.
The ship began to rattle. Looking up at the window in front of her J could see the flames blooming in front of the ship.

One last message came from the speaker.
"Unidentified vessel, do be warned that you will be shot down as soon as you enter the atmosphere. Identify yourself now."

J gave up on looking for a way to communicate and moved on to place her hands on the joystick. It was too late to turn around now; the ship would be destroyed by the forces of the atmosphere. Her last hope was to try and dodge whatever weapons they fired at her. The ship continued to rattle and the fires blazed as the ship slowly pierced through the atmosphere.

Eventually, the flames died down, and the shaking ceased. And just then, she saw dozens of red burning missiles flying towards the ship.
She tugged hard on the joystick as she narrowly avoided a couple of the missiles.
Some had begun to change course.
Pulling hard the other way, she nearly dodged those missiles as well.
The ship buckled as they exploded behind.

J let out a sigh of relief.
But the barrage wasn't over.
Again, multiple dozen missiles had arrived and began racing toward J's shuttle.
There were too many this time.
She weaved again and dodged a few, but no matter where she flew the ship was bound to be hit. As multiple missiles made their way for the windshield, J leaped out of her chair and ran to the back of the ship.

It all went white for a moment. The noise of the missiles detonating had overloaded her hearing sensors. For her, it was dead quiet. Her vision was disabled as well.

All that remained was her sense of touch.
She could feel the wind blowing against her body.
Her hair flapping around and occasionally bumping into her face.
The faint, moist droplets of water and ash danced in her shell as she tumbled around and around in the air.
Her sensors came back online.

Immediately her ears were filled with the sound of rushing, deafening air and wind howling through and around her. She could see the burning fragments of her ship hurdling towards the ground below.

To any other drone, this may have been a horrifying situation. Plummeting towards the earth with nothing to hold on to. This would be death.
But not for a Murder Drone.
Turning herself to face the ground, J took the time to ponder on how she got herself into this shit.

Once again, she is fighting for her life.
All she wanted to do was hide away and think.
And now here she was.
Surrounded by noise and chaos.
She let a frustrated groan.

Then she extended her wings.
Within moments, her speed slowed as the debris of her ship raced past her.
Then she paused for a moment.
She should have caught herself so early.
The chances of rogue debris colliding with her were incredibly high.

Then she heard the sound of hard metal smashing into the back of her head.

Of course.

Everything went dark.

....

It took a moment for all of her systems to come online again.
Whatever hit her must have been big enough to do significant damage to her upper body. Enough that she was now low on oil reserves.
Once again it took a while for her sensory systems to come online.
However, it wasn't long before she could hear and see again.

It was quiet. Relatively speaking anyway. The subtle sounds of weak fires and the gentle breeze were far quieter than the screaming air that she raced past. Sitting up from the ashy ground she was surrounded by fragments of her ship.

A month or so's worth of words. Down the drain. She didn't mind much though. It's not like anything vital was on the ship anyways. Standing up she dusted herself off and got ready to fly again when she felt the ground beneath her shake lightly.

It was rhythmic.
Like footsteps.
The more she stood there, the more harsh the steps became.
Someone was coming.
Whoever it was she didn't want to meet them.

Swiftly, she extended her wings and was about to launch herself high into the air when she felt an awful Shockwave hit her.

She was dazed and confused.
The wave dazzled and frayed her systems.
It was an EMP.
Turning around she saw it.
It was a drone. A massive drone.
It towered over her at 2 meters tall.
Its build was similar to that of a disassembly Drone, but far bulkier. With armored plating and built-in weapons, holsters, and pouches.

It lacked the clearly visible sensor array atop their head, instead replaced with a heavily armored military-style sensor with a large camera and all.
Their face was covered by a thick black metal plating, with the signature X in the center.

"Who are you?" J yelled, trying to stifle the fear in her voice as she switched out for a rocket launcher.
The drone didn't respond, continuing its silent march.
The fear was starting to bubble over. She knew that this thing was nothing she had seen before and from what she could see, it was armed to the teeth.
This thing could have killed everyone on copper-9 on its own.

It reminded her how small she and her (former) friends were to Cyn. She could have sent these far deadlier Drones to Copper-9. Yet she didn't. She felt like having fun. So she sent her former acquaintances to do the job.

Looking at the slowly approaching army drone. J couldn't help but notice its thinner stomach area. Clearly less armoured than the rest of it. If she could just fire a well-placed missile, she could probably cripple it.
Right?

She took the chance.
Aiming carefully, she launched the missile straight into the Drones chest.
As the missile exploded, it let out an orange and Grey plume of smoke and fire as the explosion enveloped the drone.

The foot steps stopped for a moment.
Did it work?
As quickly as the feeling of triumph came over her. The dread drowned it out.
The titanic drone emerged from the smoke. J watched as his chest rehealed. A missile to the chest did nothing.
Shit.

It continued forward. It shook the ground with every step. Raising its left arm, it retracted into its body, and out came an assault rifle.
J didn't even need to take a good look for her to know it was bigger than any gun she had in her arsenal.

It spoke.
" IDENTIFY YOURSELF."
His voice was cold and harsh.
"TICK TOCK DISASSEMBLY DRONE."
she backed up. Every part of herself was telling her to back down. To bark out her name like a scared little girl.
She took a deep breath.
He was only a meter away now.
She relented.

"J!" she blurted out." Serial Designation J."
The drone stopped.
He lowered his gun.
His face armor retracted to show a surprisingly calm face.

"See? That wasn't so hard."
his voice was incredibly different.
It was soporific and gentle. Completely different from the booming soldier voice that the Mask projected.
"Since we're greeting with our formal names. I'm Serial Designation Charlie 10, Terminator Drone. But my friend calls me Charlie."
J stood silent for a moment. Charlie frowned.
" Aw damn. Did I scare you? Sorry."
" What? No, I wasn't scared! I was just-" she interrupted herself." Surprised! I've never seen a drone like you before is all. "

Charlie raised an eyebrow.
" Really? Where are you from?"
"Copper-9."
"Really now? That's a first. I've seen Drones from Alpha Centauri, Bernard's Star, and plat-binary. Never Copper."
J tried to cover her look of surprise.
"There Drones from other systems here?"
"Tons. Though wanna know something funny?"
He paused as if expecting her to answer.

J sighed. "Sure, buddy."
" I have never met another Serial Designation J before."
She blinked.
"I've met a couple of Es and Hs; I'm friends with a Z. But never a J."
He gave her an inquisitive look as if he was trying to read her.
"Or an N, to be fair."

J finally grew the confidence to try and converse.
"Have you met a V before?"
"No, actually. I think I've met every other Letter except those three. Though, I guess you have. Since you asked for such a specific designation."

Lying about that wouldn't help her.
"Yes."
"So, where are they?"
She paused.
"They didn't come with me."
"Is it good there on Copper-9?"
" You could say that."
He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. J could tell he was thinking about something, but whatever it was he didn't act on it.

Instead, he placed his arms on his hips and let out a sigh.
"Cool." was all that came out.
She could tell he was hiding his actual thoughts. Though she didn't mind. The questions were getting tiring. Or maybe that was just his voice?
"Well, consider this your citizenship test. I mean, it's not like we have bureaucracy or anything. We just kinda wing it, but it's my job to make sure new arrivals don't go killing and that."

"You don't kill here?"
"Senselessly, no. Though killing still happens."
Charlie turned.
"Hey, uh. There's a town nearby we can go to. Unless you feel like living like a hermit, which is cool, too. I'm not one to judge."
J pondered for a moment. She looked out at the tall mountains to her left. That was what she wanted.

To be alone.
To not have to worry about anyone.
To live a life of peace.
One with no disappointment.
Though that would get boring eventually.
She looked back at Charlie. She couldn't read his expression, but he was giving her a chance to answer.

It would be nice to start again.
To have friends who didn't hate her.
Even if those old friends were justified in that hate.
But, what if she failed again?
What if she disappointed them, again?
Like she did everyone else?

No.
She pushed those thoughts down.
She wasn't going to spiral.
Not today.
She took a deep breath.

"What's the place called?"
"Bridges."
" What, is it built on a bridge?"
"Close. It's on a little piece of land surrounded by ravines. There's tons of bridges over the ravines so we called it Bridges."
" We?"
"Yeah, I was there when it was founded. Haven't left since. Other than for work."

Charlie began walking.
"Walk and talk?"
J followed after him.
"Sure."

Chapter Text

"You said you're friends with a Z, right?"
"Yeah."
"And you also said there are other Serial designation Zs?"
"Yeah."
"So how do you tell him apart from the others? Aren't they all clones."
"They are. But from my experience, they just give each other different names. My friend calls himself Zed. I know of another who goes by Zachary. I also know of one who goes by Zulu. Some also customize their nanites."

The two walked on a worn, frozen, ashy path. It clinked against J's sharp feet. The land around the path was barren and desolate. The Grey-ish white expanse stretched on for dozens of kilometers, only broken by the tall black mountains. The wind blew the chill thick air across her metallic shell.

J looked over to Charlie.
"Custom nanites?"
"Yeah, no clue how they do it. It has something to do with a pigment they put in or something. Zed got his tinted blue."
"Why are you always talking about this Zed guy?"
"He's my friend and a DD like you. Plus I don't have that much going on with me."
He glanced over to her. A glimmer in his digital eyes.
"How about you? Since you're in a talking mood now."
His look hardened looked. J could feel him reading her.

"Not much either."
"Really?" he had a dismissive tone.
"Yeah." it took all J's might not to sound frustrated.
Normal people just believed her. Or the fear of not pissing her off. Not Charlie.
"Is there a reason you doubt that?"
Finally, the frustration came out.

He looked forward again.
"Yeah. I have one."
There was a long pause.

"You know, I was very curious about those missing Disassembly Drones. I have met or at least heard of one each letter. Some that aren't even from the English alphabet. I've seen one designated Theta."
He paused again.
"So what were the chances that 3 whole letters just weren't used for designations? So I did some digging."

He stopped and looked at her.
"You ever heard of a drone called Cyn?"
J put on a blank face. She couldn't lie. Not now. Right?
"It rings a bell."
"Yeah, I'd hope so. Everyone I've met calls her patient 0. The first drone to ever become infected by the solver. Apparently, she was thrown out in some swamp near this huge manor back on earth. Till a kind little girl went out there to save her."
J froze. Not this. Not now
"The biggest and last mistake she ever made."

J could tell from his cold look, that he knew everything.
How?
Where did he learn about this?

"It all happened suddenly. I'd say about 8 months ago. Just randomly. We went from being under the administrator's grasp to being living, free-thinking beings. And nobody knows why. But, what we do know is that Cyn had left with one final directive for us. To search and kill any worker Drones on the planet. In case they had a strain of the solver. Most of us didn't do that. Hell, most of us used to be Worker Drones. Either way, we have no idea where she went. We had guesses, but not much else."

He paused.
" Until you came. That is. And I think you know why, You were one of the first Murder Drones ever created."

"So J. Mind telling me why you'd consider this information as 'not much'? Because as far as we know. Cyn, the solver, could still be out there. And you and your friends were the only ones who kept a piece of there personality and memories when the solver took over."

There was a long, awkward silence.
J tried to get the words out, but she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried. She couldn't escape her past.
She took a deep breath.

" We didn't keep our memories. At least not all of our memories."
Charlie tilted his head.
"Our?"
"V. And N."
"But you did?"
"Most of them. But that wasn't out of trust or because I were her closest allies. It was because I was her
" friend", or at least one of N's friends."

J glared at Charlie. She sighed aggressively.
"Look, I get it's your Job and all. But I didn't want to tell you this, because I didn't want you to know this. Not cause I'm that freaks lackey."
J could feel a part of her clench when she said that. She was Cyn's lackey. But not because she had a choice. She never had the chance to break free. She couldn't break free.
But, in the end, that didn't truly matter. She did what she thought was right.
And had nothing to show for it.

"So, you satisfied? Or are you gonna keep trying to act like some fucking mastermind?"
J snapped.
Charlie paused for a moment. His face softened.
"Sorry." He muttered quietly.
The tense silence turned to an awkward quiet again. Charlie tried to keep walking, but J didn't follow.
"Screw it this! I'm just flying there. Thanks for the" talk", buddy."

With a violent flap of wings, she shot into the sky. She raced ahead of the lumbering drone.
She should have just chosen isolation. Then she wouldn't have to worry about people trying to act detective.

Then she wouldn't have to have memories of her, Tessa, pushed into her mind again.
Then she wouldn't have to remember how she failed her.
Then she wouldn't have to remember how she failed everyone.
Then she wouldn't have to remember at all.

Fuck.
That idiot made her spiral.
She let out labored breath.
She gently sobbed to herself.
How did she fuck up?
How did fuck up so bad?
How did she lose everyone?
How did one mistake ruin her life?

Her Visor grew blurry. Even though she couldn't cry, it still left the effects of if she could on her.
She took a deep breath and wiped her face.

Through the still blurry vision, she could see it.
Bridges.

The town was closer to a fort. It was a single enormous building that sat along on a large, otherwise barren island, that it sat on. The land around the fort broke away into a large ravine that surrounded the lone island. Around were dozens of grimy, rusty bridges that crossed over and around each other into the dozens of entrances the place had.
It was a shit hole.
Great.

She Landed hard on one of the rickety bridges.
That was a mistake.
She heard a loud rumbling as the bridge began to shed the pieces of scrap and metal that made up its walkway and struts.
8 months and this was the best walkway they could engineer?

Eventually, the rumbling stopped, and the bridge calmed down again.
She wasn't taking her chances though.
J gently unfurled her wings and slowly hovered her way to her chosen entrance. It was marked as 11. And in front of her sat another annoying obstacle.
It was a gate. On the other side, she saw the subtle glow of 2 illuminant white eyes. It was a Disassembly Drone like her.

She could barely make out much about them, with them partially obscured by the gate. Though from the look on her eyes, she was clearly tired.
She heard the sound of cans getting knocked over as they moved to sit up.
"Identify yourself," they said with a yawn.

Here's to hoping no one else is as inquisitive as the last fucker.
"Serial Designation J."
The Drones eyes widened a little.
"That's a first," they muttered under their breath.
"You new here?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm gonna need a common name."
J grew flustered.
"Why?"
"It's just protocol. Could be a million other SD-Js. What sets you out from them?"

J pressed her fingers into her forehead.
Breath in. Breath out.
"I just need a common name?"
"mhm."
"Okay-"
J paused for a moment.
There was one name that came to mind.

One Tessa gave to her.
Jade.
It's also what that idiot N started calling her, in memory of her.
That memory only hurt.
And yet.

"Jade."
The white-eyed drone scribbled something onto a piece of paper before lifting the gate.
Letting out another yawn the drone handed the piece of paper to J.
"This should let you into any building that requires ID. Keep that on you."
With that, they stepped aside.

Walking in, J could feel the breeze of air conditioning units and the hustle and bustle of Bridges. Out and about was a cacophony of Drones. From workers to disassembly Drones to a few of those terminator Drones. Neon signs littered the walls and high-rise ceilings of the space; the adverts were crude and simplistic. The "street" was filled with stores and shops of great variety. From hair stores to food venues and more.

One store caught her attention. On the outside, in big, bright glowing letters, were the words "OIL" Spelled in all caps. The store resembled a human pharmacy. Fitting for a source of food as necessary as oil. Walking to the store J instinctual kept her head low. She'd never been somewhere as crowded as this. She was never a fan of crowds, though she'd been lucky to never really be exposed to any.

Until now.
She couldn't even walk a meter without running into someone.
They never seemed to mind.
J did.
With some effort, she was able to push herself to the edge of the corridor and shove her way into the store.

As the door closed behind her, the sounds of Drones muffled and she was met with the quiet sounds of the oil store. It was a cozy place. The corner walls were lined with benches while the middle of the room had a half-empty shelf with cans of all kinds of oil sat upon it.

Life here was so adapted to the presence of Murder Drones that they had even started processing and producing canned oil.
Walking up to the shelf she grabbed one of the cans.
On the front in bold letters were the words "DISASSEMBLY DRONE SEDATIVE" with the words
"Soothe your Hunger Pains, without the Murder!"

Charming. It seemed the worker Drones here had somehow convinced the DDs to not kill them.
A part of J wanted to laugh at the absurd idea of living in harmony with such crude machines.
However, if she wanted to live without trouble, then she would have to.

Besides, she's free from that directive.
Cyn was gone.
She didn't have to serve anyone anymore.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rustling on the bench behind her. Lying down on the bench was a wounded Disassembly Drone. They looked at her.
"Hey, Do you have any spare change?"
"Why would I give it to you?"
"Because you're nice?"
J scoffed.
She was done entertaining that weakling. Reminded her too much of N.

Walking to the front desk, she plopped the can on the counter.

Then it hit her.
What does she pay them with?
Operating the front desk was another disassembly Drone that had yet to raise its face up to look at J.
A set of headphones sat on their shaggy-haired head.

"Hello?" J said with scorn while snapping her fingers.
Finally, the drone looked at her.
They, like the one at the gate, looked exhausted.
"What ya want?"
J gestured at the oil she put down.
"Oh, right."
The drone looked at J.
"that'll be 3 credits."

Shit.
They did have a currency.
J looked away. Slightly embarrassed.
The store clerk raised an eyebrow.
"Well? You've got money right?"
J looked at them.
She shook her head.
"But, I really need this. I haven't had oil in nearly a month.
The clerk's eyes widened.
"What? You're a ticking time bomb you know that? And excuse my assumptions, but you don't really look lower class."

The clerk scoped out the store before looking at J.
"Look, I'll give you this one for free, but you gotta give me something in return."
"That being?"
"Tomorrow night, I've got a shipment of oil coming in from Trojan. They need guards. My friend over there used to do this job, but his regenerative abilities just stopped working one day. If you can fill in for him, I'll get you a steady supply of oil for the next year."

J's eyes widened. That's a pretty good deal. At least on the surface. Though the fact a shipment needs guards is a sign it might not be the safest option.
"Deal."
With that, the clerk slid the can to J.
Turning around, she waltzed out of the store.
As the door closed behind her. The sound of the roaring market filled her ears once again.

Now that she had some food, she needed a place to stay.

Without much knowledge of where she was or if there were even places to stay, J wandered off into the neon halls of Bridges.

The longer she walked through the messy and grungy building, the less she believed there even was a place to stay. There were no free apartments. No hotels, no Inns. Nothing.
Is this what "civilization" is always like? No accommodation for the unfortunate?

As she stepped over the wet and muddy metal walkways, J couldn't help but wonder why.
Why did she leave?
Life on Copper-9 would have been hard, but not as hard as starting from scratch.
She would still have her friends.
If that moron was anything to go by, they would have forgiven her, and if he did, that purple thing would have as well.

Copper-9 was barren, but cozy.
Like the Manor, she used to live in back then. Before all of this. It was like the small rural towns humans had back on earth. Here on Centauri B? It was a big city. Now she was stuck in a world that wasn't all that friendly.

Eventually, she gave up. Lying down outside a closed shop with its shutters down and the lights off. It was a dark little corner. One she could possibly get some sleep in. The ground was wet and cold and she sunk into the half meter of wet dirt and gunk that piled up on the floor.
Disgusting. She felt her Visor start to fog again.
Her dress was ruined, but she tried to save her hair from that fate. Resting it on a box. It flattened as she put her head's weight on it.

With the noise as loud as ever it was hard to even try and dose off. But eventually, the bustle began to fade from her audio sensors.

Now it was just her and her thoughts.
And they weren't much better.

Flashes of Tessa painted her mind.

The only one who she would call a friend, aside from V.
And now she's gone.
And now, J served the one who took her away.
One of the people who took her away.

Cyn made sure that fact never left her mind.

Made sure the images of her standing over Tessa's bloody body never left faded. Not like they would naturally.
That night haunted her. It slithered in and around her mind like a pit of snakes

Over and over and over again.

...

Then she woke up.
In front of her stood Charlie squatted in front of her.
"You good?"

J groaned.
"Why the fuck do you care?"
"cause you're sleeping on the floor in a dank, musty corridor and I don't think that should be the case."

J sat up.
"Well yeah, that tends to happen when you don't have any money."
" It doesn't have to be like that."
Charlie stood upright
"My apartment isn't too far from here. My buddy Zed normally lives with me, but he's gonna be out of town for a month or so."

Charlie held out his hand.
J grabbed it without a second thought.
Anywhere would be better than here. With little more talk the two walked off down the the hall.

It only now hit J that it was a lot quieter than usual. The once bustling hall was now mostly empty aside from the odd worker drone.

"Where is everyone?"
"Asleep. The sun is up. And you DDs can't survive in the sunlight."
"You can?"
"Yeah, burning up in the Sun is a built-in design flaw for you guys. We were made to fight against soldiers so that design flaw was unnecessary."

"Wow, well that's dumb. So we need a design flaw, but you kind of don't?"
"Oh no, we have a design flaw; it's just a lot more subtle than yours."
"What is it?"
Charlie chuckled.
"Like I'd tell you."
J was bewildered. It wasn't like she could kill him even if he did tell her. And she could just ask another TD and tell her. So why would he hide this from her?

That didn't matter. They had made it to the building. As they pushed through the door, walked up the stairs, and made their way inside, J wanted nothing more than to flop onto the crude yet comfortable-looking beds.
She caught herself. She needed to clean herself off. What would be the point of sleeping somewhere nice if she just got dirt everywhere?

"Washrooms over there." Charlie pointed over to a small hallway that led to two doorless rooms.
He guided her around the room. Showing her the fridge, living room and kitchen.

"You got all that?"
J nodded.
"Cool. I've got to go. I've got work."

The word work reminded J of something.

"Oh yeah, about that."
"What?"
"You don't happen to know where a place called Trojan is do you?"

Chapter Text

As the sun faded from the night sky, J felt the gentle breeze of the Proxima B's snowy vista. Looking off into the distance, she saw the beautiful lights of Trojan. A massive rebuilt human city is now filled with hundreds of thousands of Drones. Unfortunately for her, though, she could only see it in the distance.

Right in front of her was a toll gate.
On the neon sign where the words
"5 CREDITS FOR WDs, 30 CREDITS FOR DDs, 45 CREDITS FOR TDs"
Charlie had left her some credits, but it only added up to 20 credits. Just short. Though it's not like she needed to enter the city anyway.

The clerk told her to wait outside by the tollgate. And so that she did.

The convoy wasn't the only thing she was waiting for though.
When asking for directions to this place, Charlie had gotten curious.
A part of her knew she could have just lied to him. She made it quite clear that she isn't a fan of him prying into her business. And yet, she did tell him. Now he wants to tag along. That he just needed to grab his gear and he'll be right over after he's done with work.

A system notification caught her attention.

Oil Reserves Low.
Matter Regeneration Disabled.

Great. Just what she needed.
If she's lucky the DDs coming with the convoy will have some for her.
Landing from her vantage point of the city, she sighed before leaning on the hard brick wall of the city perimeter. The faint light from the toll gate reflected off her.

"What gear does that idiot need anyway? Isn't he a walking arsenal?"
J said to herself. Looking above she saw the silhouettes of small starships sailing across the skies.
Why wasn't the oil delivered with those?
It would be so much more efficient.
A question for Charlie, maybe.
Or she could ask the drone running the toll gate.

She sat on that thought.

For some reason. She couldn't bring herself to do it.
Was it out of fear?
No! Of course not.
She could kill them if she wanted to.
They are no threat to her.
She is superior in every way.

So why did she not want to talk to them?
Was it because she had no power here?
Because Everyone else had the same worth as she did? She couldn't just kill without consequence anymore?
But that never stopped her from entering Bridges or from getting this job. Or was that because those were Disassembly Drones?

Whatever!
That didn't matter.
Taking a deep breath, she hardened her nerves and walked up to the toll gate window. The once distant light now shined into her face.
The worker looked up at her.
"Ya' want somethin'?" they spoke with an unusual cadence.

" Hey, I Just- uh."
She stumbled over her words. She clenched her fists. Why was she acting like this?
"wanted to know why some deliveries are done by tankers rather than with ships?"
The drone raised an eyebrow.
"You new here?"
"I'm just asking a question."
"Isn't it obvious? Cause it's cheaper. Besides, I'm guessing you're from the outer towns, right? Somewhere like Bridges? The higher-ups in the ODA don't take too kindly your folk."

She pulled a bewildered face.
"My folk?"
"DDs. Man, you really new here huh?"
He chuckled before a somberness entered his voice.
"Hardly any of ya make it past this border. And they make sure it's difficult. Hell, I could count the number of non-worker Drones in this place on one hand."

J got more confused.
"But, it's only 30 credits."
He chuckled.
"Lady, I get paid 2 credits a week. 4 if something big happens. And getting credits out there? Ha!"
The laugh was strong, yet empathetic.
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of a drone landing hard behind them.

Turning to face them J saw Charlie.
" About time! They'll be here any minute."
J got a better look at him and the supposed "very important gear" he needed to get. It was a lot more than she expected.

He was dressed head to toe in military gear, similar to the humans used to wear, though far more sophisticated.
Ammunition, satchels, and bags adorned his armored vest and plating.
That was all well and good, but what caught her eye was what he was carrying, or rather had strapped to him. Fastened and clipped onto his leg was a high-tech Medium Machine Gun.

She'd seen the humans use more outdated ones, though they weren't strong enough to use one on their own and always needed at least one other guy.
Though, for some reason, J doubted Charlie would let her touch that thing, and it wasn't like it was too heavy for him. It was strapped to his leg, yet it didn't even hinder his walk.

J pushed those thoughts down. Now wasn't the time to be fawning over some giant clunky gun. She narrowed her eyes.
"Did you need to bring that big thing? We're a security detail, not a spec ops unit."
"Better safe than sorry. Besides, you have no clue how high-value oil is around here."

Charlie glanced at the toll worker.
"How's it going, Tyler?"
"Charlie! Good as always. I see you got yourself a newbie with you." Tyler said, gesturing to J.
Charlie looked at her.
"Yeah."
"You should really tell her about this place. Don't want your little chick getting eaten."
J glared at Tyler.
"I could fold you like laundry, please do test me."
Tyler raised his hands.
"Sorry lady."

Why was everyone on this shithole of a planet annoying?
Just then the sound of loud motors grew closer.
J looked at Charlie.
"Here they come. Let's hope they brought some extra DDs with them."
She could hear Tyler hold back a snort.

As the trucks grew closer and closer, J could get a good look at the convoy.
It had two small fuel tankers in the middle, both old and worn, and must be former human models. And in the front and back of the convoy were two human military trucks. They sat high off the ground and had Armour thick enough to stop any weaker weapons.

The ground shook as the heavy metal doors of the tollgate opened.
The truck's roars were deafening as they pulled out the gate and came to a stop beside J and Charlie.
The door of the front truck swung open to reveal a worker drone. They were dressed head to toe in old human army gear." Hop in!"

J looked at the trucks. It only really hit her after Tyler's words that there were no other drones besides workers.
Great, just what she needed.
It was just her and the brute.
She glared at the truck driver.
"No thanks. I'll just-" she looked around before her eyes settled on the top of the truck.

"Ride up there."
She did not give him enough time to answer. She shot up and landed hard on the truck. She felt it rock beneath her feet. Inside she could hear the Drones inside get spooked and squeal.
She couldn't suppress her grin. Even in another world, she could fill these things with fear. She tried to suppress it when she glanced at Charlie. Though she isn't sure why.

"I'll take the front, you take the back."
She said to him. He nodded.
"Affirmative." before striding towards the back, his fast steps shaking the ground.
Turning to face the road ahead, J jumped forward and slammed the windshield.
She heard the driver yell.
"What are you waiting for moron? Get moving!"

With that, the motor roared to life, and the truck gradually began picking up speed.
J rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long trip. Sitting down she leaned back. Resting on the hard ridged metal roof of the transport. At this speed, the truck's suspension softened the road potholes into nothing more than soft wiggles. J looked off into the starry sky.

It was beautiful. The lights of distant suns enraptured her. As they softly flickered in and out. It was a clear night, which was unusual for planets that had their cores imploded. Though J didn't mind.

She just wished that she was here to see the stars with her. If only.

She'd never tell anyone about these feelings. Not even V.
Though she can't tell V anything anymore, since they aren't friends...

Minutes turned to hours as she fought the urge to drift into a sleep state.
Though her mind did wander.
How long would she live like this?
Working away to make ends meet?
To put oil on her desk?
Is there anything better waiting for her?

Probably not.
But, that's never stopped her from trying. One way or another she'll get up from this slump in her life. It's not like it's the lowest.

She groaned. That night still won't leave her mind. No matter how hard she tries. She always goes back to thinking about it. To think about her.

She sat back up. She absentmindedly let out a radar ping. It picked up the signatures of the trucks and the Drones inside. It slowly made its way around her. Illuminating nothing more.

Then something caught her attention.
10 pings from the left of her. Her head darted over. She saw nothing but the crumbled remains of skyscrapers and a few abandoned corpse spires. They all bent down to create a giant shelter of sorts. And a deep darkness shaded anything inside.

Standing quietly she turned and sprinted to the back of the convoy. Quietly and carefully she leaped from the front truck to the tanker behind. Climbing onto the shiny metal oil tank she made sure not to step too hard. Lest she end this ambush before it even started. Leaping to the second tanker she looked at Charlie, who was currently fast asleep on the back of the truck.

"Charlie!"
He jolted a little.
"Huh?"
"Charlie! We're being-"

Like a bolt of lightning, the sky lit up. Then a thunderous boom shook the earth below them. Turning to face the explosion, they saw the convoy leader in flames. Smoke and burning red flames spewed from the top as it hissed like a kettle.

The oil trucks weaved to avoid the explosion. The tires let out pained barks as they skid across the rocky road into the plumbs of snow.

From below a drone screamed.
"AMBUSH!"

Without thinking J loaded her missiles and fired two into the darkness of the towers. The transport truck slammed the brakes as the worker Drones poured out of the truck. They all yelled orders at each other as they sporadically fired into the city as J did.

A tap on the shoulder snapped J out of her focus. It was Charlie.

"Follow behind me!"
With a swift movement, he unstrapped his machine gun and leaped in front of the truck. Just then, a hail of gunfire slammed into the transport truck, and J.
She winced as bullet after bullet slammed into her shell and knocked her off her balance. Before she could react, she tumbled back behind the truck and landed on the laps of the Worker Drones.

The bullets glide through the truck's Armour like a knife through paper.
Bullet after bullet struck the poor Worker Drones. They dropped one after the other. Getting up J dashed to the back of the truck. Then she heard a barrage of gunfire from right beside her. It was Charlie. His machine gun fired with such force it slowly pushed him back. The more he fired the less the enemy Drones did.

This was her chance. She sprinted and crashed into Charlie's back.
He looked back at her.
"Oh! You're alive! Thought they killed you for a second there!"
"Shut it and walk!"

He didn't need any more words. He began to stride ahead. The gunfire had been to zero in on him. And yet it didn't go through.
What was he made out of?
"Hey uh. I might look bulletproof, but I can't keep this up for too long!"
"So? What's the plan?"
"I'm gonna start running. And I want you to keep staying behind me. When we reach them, then we can divide and conquer!"
"Got it."

Slowly but surely (like the now eviscerated truck), Charlie picked up speed. He went from a fast walk to a stride into a full-tilt sprint. All the while, he continued to fire into the small dark spot the Gunfire came from.

They reached the ruins within seconds.
In this close-up, J could properly see who she was fighting.

It was a decade of Murder Drones. They all had purple-tinted nanites. One was carrying a machine gun, while another held a giant rifle. It glowed like one she had grown far too familiar with. The group had only begun to split up and run.

Foolish.

Diving down she unleashed a missile into the middle of the group.

It nailed two and sent them flying into gore pieces.

That would keep them down for a while, but not forever.

Turning to one who survived she released a a storm of gunfires. It ripped into one before he could even block it with his wings. As he stumbled back she charged forward with her wings for his chest. She didn't stop. Reaching a hand out she punctured into him. Then she gripped hard.

She watched with a twisted glee as his Visor read "FATAL ERROR"
Pulling back she crushed the core without a second thought.
She hurriedly swings her wings in front of her. Just then, a flurry of Copper, lead, and steel slammed and crackled into her impervious wings.

Running towards them, she equipped her swords and swung hard.
It sliced through one of the Drones.
They fell backward onto the ground as their allies continued their fire.

Even though she was only exposed for a second. They had landed enough shots to disorient her.

J stumbled back. The Drones had begun swinging sword strikes of their own.
One after the other they clanged off of J's wings.

"Charlie?" she called, trying her best to sound calm and collected.

Charlie turned to look at her. In his off-hand sat a squirming drone core.
"Oh!"
He crushed it before lifting his machine gun. The drone turned and opened fire on him.

It was no use.
Within a second, they were turned to tatters of oil and steel.

When he let off the trigger. The Battlefield went silent.
Looking around, Charlie had slaughtered 4 Disassembly Drones on his own. She did make the right choice not fighting him.

He looked at her unusually calm expression, given the situation.
"Grab their cores. Before they scutter away."
"What are you gonna do with them?"
"drop them off at the prison at Bridges; the heat in there should keep them from doing anything unsavory."

The two of them made haste to collect the small skittering creatures. She's certain some of them are trying to scream something at her. Their plight only filled her with glee. It had been so long since she'd had this much power over someone. It felt nice as always.
She savored it. Chances are, she'll never experience something like this for a long long time.
Though something did catch her attention.

"Hey, Charlie?"
The Drone looked over to her.
"Yeah?"
"Who are these folk? Do gangs around here normally tint their nanites the same?
He shook his head.

" Nah, these guys are cultists."
J was shocked.
" Cultists? To what?"
"The Solver."

That gave J pause.
No. It can't be.

Did they dye it purple because of her?
Because of that angsty freak?
But how?
Charlie said that they lost contact with the Solver at around the same time that purple miscreant defeated Cyn.
So how did they know?
Unless, Charlie lied to her.
Likely, she hasn't been the best house guest. And he was always keeping secrets.

That's fine; she can keep secrets, too. He definitely doesn't know what went down on copper-9 besides Cyn's death.
Those are things he doesn't have to know.

With all the remaining cores in her hand. She fulled turned to face him.
"You done?"
"Yeah, let's-"

He paused and his eyes widened.
J raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
He calmed himself back to his usual nonchalantness. He still wasn't happy.
J looked around then back at him.

"What is it?"
"Do you normally have a red laser pointed at your chest?"

J's eyes widened. She looked down, and sure enough, she saw a bright laser pointed at the center of mass. Right where her core would be. She followed the light up to one of the crumbling towers.
"Don't move."
Charlie carefully tucked the drone cores away, before slowly unstraping his machine gun.
"I knew was weird for These SC patrols to come without a Terminator."

Just as he was about done equipping his machine gun, a loud feminine voice barked out an order.

"Stop right there, or I send her core back to our maker."
She had a sinister drawl that had an uncomfortably playful tone.
J knew talk like this all too well.
It was how V used to speak.

Charlie raised his hands above his head.

"Beta 13-"
"Just 13, Charlie. I respect your name, you respect mine."
He let out a tired sigh.
"Sorry, 13. Care to explain to me what you're doing raiding a random oil convoy? Thought you were too high rank for jobs like these."

"Still a chatterbox, hm?" She cackled like a hyena.
"We weren't targeting your punny convoy. Just standing guard outside the city. Big things are happening."

J tried her best to get a good look at the drone, but they were too far to be properly seen. All J could make out was that her nanites were still yellow.
Glancing at Charlie she could see a wave of concern hit him.

"What things? You'll learn soon enough. All you need to know is that it isn't today."

J had an idea of how to get herself out of this. It was going to be risky, but it wasn't like she had anything to lose. Other than her life.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I'd like to collect my folly back. Drop the cores, and your friend lives."
J slowly snuck her hand behind her back. She slowly and quietly retracted her and hand-loaded the gun.
Charlie side-eyed J.
"I'll make you a better deal."
He said, clearly stalling for time so she could execute her plan.

"Oh yes? And what is that deal, old friend?"
Ever so slightly, the laser moved down a little.
Now was her chance.
In the blink of an eye, she wiped the gun in front of her and fired. At the same time, she leaped to the side.

13 fired their rifle, and a massive bullet smashed into the ground. J once stood. It shook the ground beneath them and let out a loud bang as it burrowed into the earth.

As for J's bullet, she heard it ricochet off a steel beam of the building.

"Get to cover!" Charlie yelled as he quickly raised his machine gun and let loose into the crumbling towers.

Once again this small crawl had descended into a Battlefield.

J raced to hide behind a building. Charlie slowly followed behind, still firing into 13.

Just then, another deafening boom crackled through the air as an entire Chunk of building above them was severed by the titan bullet.

J didn't slow down she leaped into the building, narrowly avoiding being crushed.
The debris knocked Charlie off his footing, disrupting the gunfire.
He tried to rush into the building. Climbing and weaving through the nickel and iron.

Then, another thunderous boom ripped through the air.
It crashed into Charlie, piercing straight through him with the cries of metal and wiring.

He screamed.
And like that, he was on the ground.

SHIT.

With little time to think, her body moved on its own as another bullet came crashing through the building.
The metal and brick unwound like soft fabric as the bullet crashed down.

THINK.

She had to fight. No amount of running was getting her out of this.

THINK.

She had one advantage over these Terminator drone brutes.

Another bullet slammed into the building. She could hear the air squirm in pain as the steel arrow cut through it with ferrous intensity.

She was faster than them. She had to use that to her advantage.

With little else in her mind, she began sprinting through the sideways building. She leaped and bounded across. Jumping through the steel flooring. It was difficult, but he had to get above 13.
Bullet after bullet smashed through the building. Floor after floor J felt them get closer and closer to her.

Finally, she had gotten high enough for the bullets to pierce from below her.
With one final sprint, she burst out of the building through a shattered window.

Now phase two.
She unleashed a dual volley of missiles at the drone. They smashed into and around her.
They did little to no damage to her directly, but they did make her lose her footing. The massive anti-material rifle she welded was large and unwieldy.

Another flaw for her to exploit.

Again and again, she fired missiles into the walls and floors around 13.
J danced through the sky, weaving and rolling around the gunfire.

The constant sustained barrage of missiles had begun to make an effect on the heavy drone. She could see deep gaps and ashes in her medieval-styled Armour.

13 was starting to grow frustrated.
Their aim became worse and worse.
Now was J's chance. She fired a final hail mary into the floor beneath 13.

As the missile pounded into the ground, J could hear a thundering rumble sound from the building.

Then, the entire building began to crumble done.
The constant missile fire had destroyed so many support beams that the building couldn't carry itself anymore.
And many of the crumbled buildings leaned on this one for support.

Within one fell swoop, the entire complex had begun to crumble down to the earth below.

J had a smug look on her face.
She'd outsmarted a Terminator drone all on her own.

Then, she heard yet another boom.

This one didn't miss.

It crashed through her.

Her legs.
Her right arm.
Her wings.

Gone. Within seconds she was tumbling down to the earth below.

She crashed hard. Everything went dark. Only the faint sounds of a guffawing predator approaching her.

shit.

One mistake. And like that, she'd lost. Her vision quickly healed. She tried to turn and fire with her remaining arm.
All in vain.

13 grabbed her by her core and lifted her quivering body.

"You a crafty one, aren't you?"
J felt her 13 squeezing her core.
Her vision began to fade in and out.
Everything began to fade in and out.
This was it.
This was the end.

"But maybe, you should curb your ego a little."
13 cackled again.
"You're still a small little drone, after all."

13 squeezed tighter.
It was almost over.
She couldn't feel anything anymore.
Her vision began to blur.

Then the grin loosened.
She heard 13 make a confused noise.

Then.

A flash and a stuttering scream.

The grip fully loosened.

Her vision returned.

13 was dead still, with only a blue sly loading logo on her face.

"Lizzy, now!"

Then she heard the sound of a growing growl coming from the left of her.

A bright green beam blinded her as a thunderous roar cracked through the air.

When the blinding light faded, she saw herself lying on the cold ground.

Into her vision, walked V. Beside her was a red-eyed Sentinel and a blonde hair, pink-eyed worker drone.

...

"long time no see J."

Chapter Text

The once star-filled skies of Copper turned into a soft, hazy blue as the sun began to rise.
Racing over the ruff roads to Bridges. The two remaining trucks held little banter.

Atop the rearer truck sat a gang of well-armed Drones. Some were wounded, and others were distracted and on their phones. As J sat staring at a her slowly healing wounds. The low oil certainly wasn't helping with that.

Sat beside her were V and Charlie.
V was the first to attempt conversation.
"So, you gonna tell me what you're doing all the way out here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." J responded coldly.
"Well, we came here looking for you."
"Why?"
"Because we needed all the help we could get."
"Can you stop being vague and just tell me what the fuck is going on? Where's N?"
J noticed Lizzy sit up a little. V's eyes narrowed.

"He's not a friend. Not anymore."
J's eyes widened.
"What happened?"
"Val, just tell her." Lizzy intruded.

J grew more and more baffled.
"Val? As in Valerie?"
J groaned.
"Don't tell me you bought into that idiot's memorializing bullshit too?"
Val yelled in frustration.
"Can you stop being an ass for just a second!"

Charlie tries to bud in.
"Hey, we're here-"
"Shut it!" the duo said in unison.
"Damn, okay."

With a small fall, he got off the truck and made his way towards the garage door the trucks had stopped at.
The once-quiet atmosphere was smothered under the sounds of industrial machinery and working Drones. The garage door screeched open as its old rusty gears ground against each other. Workers and disassembly Drones with clipboards and flashlights inspected the trucks and chatted with the drivers.

V had calmed down enough to hop off the truck and follow after the others.
One of the Drones inspecting the entering vehicles called out to J.

"Hey! You the leader of this convoy?"
"No, I'm just the protection."
"Well good enough. Sign here."
She reached out to hand out the clipboard.
Pulling out her old JcJenson, she scribbled down her practiced signature.
The Disassembly Drone looked her funny.
"Wow, I wasn't expecting an actual signature."

With little more they walked off. She felt a small amount of pride in impressing that random drone. Maybe one day she can grow more than just a little impressive. Hoping off the truck she followed the others through the the cargo yard, jumping on and over forklifts and motorized trolleys. Pushing through the strip curtains they were met with a different hustle and bustle.

Less of working and more of a messy, grimy ghetto. Drones kicked balls around in the wide corridor of this shady part of town.
J saw Lizzy and the others huddle close behind Charlie. She would laugh at them if she wasn't struggling to stifle the urge to do so herself. Loghtl5giving in she hurried her pace and caught up with them.

"Where the fuck are we?"
"The scummy part of town." Charlie Muttered under his breath.
"Which is saying something since this whole town is kinda scummy."
J glared at him.
"Didn't you say this place was good?"
"I mean, it's better than being out in the wastes. Where you get jumped by raiders."

"Yeah, so much better. Now I can get jumped by gangers. How have you guys not solved stuff like this yet?"
Charlie grimaced.
"Hey, making a functioning society in the span of 8 months isn't exactly easy. A 5th of the population having guns built into their arms doesn't exactly help either."

Lizzy budded in.
"Aren't you part of the problem? You know with your-" she gestured to the machine gun.
"Lady, you've got a laser cannon on your back."
"Ugh, whatever."

"Speaking of machine gun, I've gotta go pack this stuff away. J, you know the way to the oil store from here right?"

They had made it to the edge of the dark and dinghy neighborhood and had made it to the slightly less bad of town. J looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Yeah, sure."

Without another word he jogged off, the ground shaking with every step.
"How heavy is that guy?" Lizzy queried. J didn't bother answering. She was still trying to figure out where they were. She knows the store is by one of the entrances, but there were at least 15 of those. They stood there for a few seconds.
Val audibly groaned.

" You have no clue where to go do you?"
"I've only been here for a day."
"Then why didn't you tell him?"
"I didn't think I'd have zero clue where we are."
"How do think you don't have a clue?"
"Listen, we'll be fine. I can guess and that's good enough."
J could hear the Sentinel growl at her.
In front of them were two walkways heading in opposite directions.

Charlie traveled down the right back. If that was the way to the store Charlie would not have split off here. This means the left has to be in the correct direction.

Walking down the neon-lit corridor, it was a familiar sight. Bright distracting lights, flashing images. It was getting rather empty; it was morning, and so, as usual, the DDs were closing up shop and calling it a day. The path ahead was long and quiet.

J glanced back at V.
"You still have yet to tell me why you came here."
There was a long silence. The clatter of rhythmic metallic steps on the concrete floor paced with the uneasy mood.
Val finally answered.
"Cyn is back."

The metallic steps halted.
J felt a maddening dread wash over her.
"No, no."
She stumbled back.
Not now.
Not now.
She'd just gained some amount of freedom.
Some amount of peace.

Val grew a concerned look.
"What do you mean no?"
"I'm not doing it, you can't make me do it. I'm not helping you against that thing."
J could feel the disgust in Val's glare.
"What the fuck do you mean."
J tried to hide her jittering hands.
"You can't just bring that thing here. You said she was gone-"
"I thought she was gone. I was wrong."

"How is that my problem?" J started, a belligerent disregard in her voice.
"What happened to you never wanting to see me again, huh? Now when shit gets bad you come all the way over here to drag me into it?*
Val clenched her fist and stepped towards her." You fucking coward, J." there was a rageful venom in her voice.

" I thought you'd want to help us stop her. To make sure she doesn't do what she did to us to anyone else anymore."
"I am not that noble V. You know that. So leave me the fuck alone."
"Fucking hell J!" Valerie snapped.
"I came all this way to get your help, because I thought maybe you'd want to make up for the shit you caused, but no! You'd rather bitch and whine!"
Val stepped closer. She was inches away from her face now. Her voice was thick with a violent fury.

"I'm begging you. For once in your fucking life. Make the right choice. Cause God knows you've never made one in your life."

There was a deafening silence after that. For what felt like hours they just stared at each other. J saw V's face soften a little.
" J-"
" Shut the fuck up."
Another long quiet.
" You don't know what I've been through-"
"J I do I just-"
"No you fucking don't! If you did, you wouldn't have come to get me. You would have kept that promise, and stayed the fuck away from me."

J stomped away. They didn't follow after her.
Once again her Visor was blurry.
Not again.
She couldn't walk into the store like this.

She wandered the messy halls for an hour. The sun's light was obscured by the cloudy sky. It rumbled and thundered like a beast lying in wait.

Eventually, she found the store. She had calmed down by then. At least enough to finish this job and get some rest.

Pushing through the door she walked to the counter, her head hung low.
Sitting behind it was the store clerk. Their eyes were wide and darting around the store.
"The oil has been delivered."
"That's great!" she had an unusual chipper tone.
"Okay. Can I get my oil now?"
"Yep, a deal, a deal. Just grab a can!"

J stood there for a moment.

Something was wrong here. She wanted to ask if she was alright, though if this was a bad situation, she wouldn't be truthful. So she'd try to ask indirect questions.

"Hey, uh. Where is your friend with the malfunctioning repair nanites?"
"Huh?"
"You know, the guy I was filling in for?"
"Oh, you mean Rory! Uh, he's gone to get that fixed."
J saw a subtle movement in the clerk's eyes. They drifted to her left. If Rory was still in the store then he was on the other side of the store.

The situation was silently clear. This is a hostage situation. The question was who was behind it.
Was it those solver cult freaks?
That made the most sense. Though she couldn't jump to conclusions. Slowly walking to the left of the store she tried to keep the conversation up.

"Good for him, but man. That transport was pretty difficult."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, we got attacked by some raiders."
"Really? That doesn't happen so often. Did anyone die?"

J had made it to the other side of the store, and as expected, she saw Rory lying on the floor. J held back a gasp.
His entire lower half of his body was gone and he was lying in a pool of his own oil. J still had to answer the question.

" Yeah, almost all of the worker drone guards they brought with them died."
"Damn, that's unfortunate."

On Rory's Visor, he had displayed a message.
HOSTAGE SITUATION, POWERFUL DD.

That solidified her suspension.
Though now that left another question. Who was the powerful Disassembly Drone?
She had a way of finding that out, though it would be risky.

"Well, it was nice talking to you. It's been a while since I've had a conversation with someone who doesn't hate my guts. See you later."
She opened the door but didn't step out. Instead, she mimicked the sound of her feet walking out of the store before closing it.

There was a moment of silence. The clerk tried her best to stay calm and not give away that J had left as she slowly and quietly hid behind one of the store racks.

"She's gone. Can you leave please."
"Are you sure?"
The voice was familiar, too familiar. She knew who it was.
"I'm the one looking aren't I?"
He had a jolly laugh."Wow, you're a snarky one."
J could hear the drone get up. There was a rattle and the clicking of a gun.

J slowly began to walk around the leftmost aisle. She barely registered Rory's damaged form in the oil and cans that had collapsed on the ground.

"Can you tell me why you're here, at the very least?"
"Oh, I just wanted to make sure she hasn't met up with Val yet."
"Who?"
"Oh yeah, you don't know who she is! She's awesome!"

J continued her slow walk down the aisle. She had to get a better look at him. From the way the clerk sounded, she was well below him when it came to who had the power in this situation, and with two disassembly Drones, that isn't likely.

" What's your name by the way? Never got it."
"Maggie."
"Maggie, that's a nice name-"

Slip. Fall. Splash.
J had slipped on Rory's oil. As she hit the ground J held her breath.

Just then, Rory shot up and began groaning and crawling.
She was making a cover for her.
As he crawled out into the sight of Maggie and N.

J heard N laugh.
" Oh, your buddy over there is still alive. Gave me a fright there."
He let out his usual nervous laugh. Even when holding a store hostage, he was still that shy idiot she knew and hated.

"Well, you got what you wanted didn't you?" Maggie spoke up.
"What?"
"You know whether or not that Jade girl met up with Val, right?"
"True. Though I just want to make something clear."
J didn't see it, but she could hear the sound of the weapon charging up; it rumbled and let out a bright yellow glow.
Rory flinched.

"You tell her about any of this, and I will wipe you and this stuff off the map." his tone was deathly serious, more than anything J had ever heard out of him.
"I understand." Maggie whimpered.
What was he pointing at her?
Yet she couldn't get out of her cover or even move. She was butt-first on the ground. Any movement would make a noise.

"Good. Hopefully, this is the last time we have to meet."
J heard the sound of metal rustling as someone climbed over the counter. Then she heard heavy footsteps that led out of the store.
The door opened and closed.

A part of J wanted to sigh in relief. But a part of her felt like that was a ploy. That he'd done the same trick she did.
She could still make it out of this though.
If he was at the door, which he had to be in order to fake the sounds of leaving. Then he couldn't see Rory, as she couldn't when she was at the door.

She got up slowly, making enough noise to be clear movement, but not enough that it would give away that it wasn't Rory. She stepped into sight of the counter. She saw Maggie, who was still staring straight ahead at the door.

She was still here.
This left her with a new problem.
How does she convince him to leave?
She could get Maggie's attention, under the ploy that it was Rory. Though that would be risky. However, it wasn't like she had much of a choice.
Looking over at Rory, she quietly gestured to him to make a sound.

She did, letting out a garble of garbage noise. Maggie's eyes shot down to him and J.
Rory made more garbage noise.
"It's alright, I'll get you to the clinic as soon as possible."
Maggie's eyes shot back to the door.

The J heard soft footsteps.
They were definitely N's, no one else had entered.
How heavy was he that his attempt to be sneaky made enough noise to still be noticeable?
J made sure to move enough to be completely out of his view, obscuring herself behind the isle. Peaking out to the side that had shown the door, she saw a black metallic foot. It seemed like N's regular foot, but made out of a far thicker material.

He was going to lean back to this side of the aisle. Now was her chance.
This was going to be a mess.
J readied a missile.
She watched as N slowly leaned back to her side of the aisle.
She didn't have a chance to get a good look at him.

She fired the missile.
Within less than a second it had reached N.
With a flick of the wrist, he redirected.

It detonated against the store wall.

The store erupted into falling shelves and glass.
The fire from the explosion ignited the oil and began an all-consuming wave of fire to envelope the store.
The amount of light and smoke made it impossible to see. Even with that fact, she knew she had to dodge N's retaliation. Ducking down she heard a laser shoot over him. It crashed into the wall sending debris smashing into the counter and floor.

She had to get out of here.
Rushing to the aisle to her right she dashed for the door. The fire melted its way through plastic store shelves and a few remaining cans of unburned oil.
The cans popped open and burst into flames that shot up like rockets.

She had no time to run for the door.
She smashed through the glass entrance and crashed into the calm outside.

The fire grabbed onto her and flung into the hallway outside. Drones outside had begun to gather around J.
They pestered her with questions.
"Are you alright?"
"Was anyone else in there?"
"Why was there shooting?"

One of the Disassembly Drones rushed through the door to help out anyone inside.

Seconds later, their body flung out the door, cut in half and without his core.
Just then from the fire emerged N.

He was bulkier than when she last met him; his shoulders were broader, and he had a white plate of dermal armour mimicking a chest on top of a grey metal shell. He wore a pulled-back jacket and military pants that cropped at his knees.

He had a particularly smug look on his face and in his left hand was the core of the split Murder drone. He glanced at the drone's squeamish core. Then, without a second thought, he crushed it. It's blood, oil and steel crumbling out of N's hands.

He looked back at her.
"Sup J."

She was left in silence for a moment. The Drones around her however, were not.
They shot into action. Rushing at him with ferocious intensity. J watched in horror as N moved as if they were still.

He dodged and melee strike. Within seconds, he obliterated a drone with a horrible beam, grabbing its core and using it to clobber another.
He punctured it through their head.
Pulling out a blade he severed two more in half. Kicking one back, he blasted their chest open with another horrible energy blast.

J crawled back as quickly as she could.
Out of his attackers, one drone remained. They fired at me with their SMGs. The bullets bounced and burrowed into the armour, but didn't go through. The Drone stumbled back, tripping on a rock and falling on the floor.

N simply approached them, stepping on their leg preventing escape. He walked on the screaming drone's body, crushing shell and limb alike as he placed his foot on its chest.

"No, God please no!" they pleaded while still firing at N. Using his weight, he stepped down on the Drones chest, crushing it and his core inside with a sickening crunch. The drone let out one final haunting stuttering scream before falling limp. A yellow 'FATAL ERROR' plastered on his screen.

N glanced over at J, a smug smile on his face. He let out an excited gasp.
"Ooh! Killing still has a kick to it. Your turn."

Within a millisecond he'd transformed his arm into a rifle and blasted at J. She shot up and blitzed down the hall with her wings. She crashed into other fleeing disassembly Drones as N opened fire into the crowd that had surrounded the burning shop. After witnessing the slaughter they began to scream and run. The few who didn't were reduced to oily chunks by N's plasma cannon.

Rogue blasts slammed into stores and apartments.
J couldn't care less. She trampled anyone in her way as she scoured around the chaotic streets of Bridges.
Eventually, she saw the familiar figure of Charlie towering over the fleeing crowd. She raced over to him.

"J?" he yelled over the sounds of running and screaming.
She slid to a stop beside him and the others.
"I don't have time to explain we just need to go!" she yelled at them.
Val stepped up to J.
"J-"
"N's here!"
"What?"
"He's here! He was in the store! He's the cause of all this! Save the chat for later, we need to go!"
"Who's this N guy-"

Just then, a plasma bolt slammed into an apartment. The screams got loud as the Disassembly Drones began to unfurl their wings and fly away. They crashed into J and the others. As the horde passed Charlie turned to face N.

"Hey there big guy!" N said with a disproportionately happy tone.
Charlie was stunned for a moment.
"Sup?"
Just then N unleashed a storm of bullets at the drone.
Nothing.
Even with how strong he'd become, N was still weaker than Charlie. J took comfort in that.

Charlie transformed his hand into a rifle of his own and aimed it N.
"J, Val! Get out of here! I'll hold him off-"
Just then N shot up into and through the roof.
"Okay, new plan! We all run!"
The group raced out after the others. They crashed through street after street. Every few meters N would unleash a corrosive laser through the concrete roof.

They raced through the now-barren ghetto as they raced for the garage. Bursting through the roof N unleashed another plasma bolt. It smashed into the ground behind them. Charlie turned and returned some fire of his own. J glanced back to see N dodging the bullets and closing the distance on Charlie. The two clashed.

J looked back ahead. She did not want to see the outcome. She pushed through the strip curtains into the empty garage. Forklifts sat abandoned in the open as the staff had quickly fled.

The two oil trucks sat abandoned.
Just then, a plasma beam streaked into them.
They erupted into burning hulks of metal.

All that work for nothing.

N was behind them.
Rushing out through the open garage door they were met with a black cloudy sky and the drizzle of rain.
Lightning cracked through the sky, lighting up the hundreds of fleeing disassembly Drones in the skies.

The group kept running, but now they were out in the open on a wide metal bridge connecting the road to Bridges. Just then a plasma beam shot into the bridges base.
Its rickety scrap construction started to collapse.
Thinking dart, Val grabbed Lizzy and shot off the bridge.
J followed suit, grabbing the Sentinel and shooting off the Bridge.

They were almost away.
Then a yellow blur shot ahead of them.
It stopped and turned to them.
It has two revolving chainsaws in place of his hands.
J felt a lightness on her back.

Fuck.

J and Valerie tumbled to the ground.
They landed hard on the snowy floor.
N landed a few meters away.

"You two sure can run!" he yelled over the thundering storm above them.

"stop right there!"
J's head shot behind her.
Charlie stood over her.
He walked ahead and stood between them and N.
J got up and walked over to Valerie.
Lizzy stood up and unsung her railgun.
The Sentinel stepped ahead.
It flashed it's bootloop flash.

N stood unfazed.

The air was thick with tension.

Chapter Text

Then, N lurched forward. His steps were heavy and determined. J's never seen him like this.
Charlie walked ahead of the group. He lightly shook the ground as he walked.
"what's up? Your friend here says your name is N."
"Nevan." He responded coldly.
"Nevan, sorry. Listen bud. I know you're new here, so let me just say that we don't tolerate random violence around here."

Nevan didn't respond, continuing his slow march toward V and the others. Charlie chuckled to himself.
"Yeah, but you don't care about that do ya?"
No response. Nevan kept walking.
"So let me speak in a language that you can understand."
Lifting an arm, the group watched as he retracted his hand, and out came an Assault rifle. Charlie raised it swiftly and pointed at Nevan's chest.

"One step closer, and I will obliterate you."
Suddenly he stopped. For the first time since he arrived he stopped, Nevan looked up from his silent march.
"There you go! Now. Talk."
"Your not a god, big guy."
"You're right. But I'm not the type of guy you should be messing with either and you get that. Since you stopped."
" I didn't stop because I was scared of you. I stopped because I think we can still solve this situation without a fight."

J looked over at V, she was audibly snarling. She watched as the pink drone unslinged that ungodly railgun and that Sentinel hissed as it crouched down like it was about to pounce.
Charlie glanced back before glaring at Nevan again. He chuckled.
" Yeah, I don't think your friends here are in a conversational mood."

Nevan grinned. Putting his foot forward he drew a line on the snow.
"How about this? I don't cross this line, and we talk; if I do, then you can beat me up. Sound good?"
Charlie looked at the group again. They still weren't having it. And yet he said.
"Sure, but I'd like to know why you're after them."

J could see V getting ready to jump at Charlie for even trying to negotiate, but J held her back.
"Let's just see what Charlie is trying to do okay? Then we can beat him up." J said in an unserious tone, But she could see that V wasn't in that kind of mood. She still wasn't sure what was going on, but it was starting to hit her that this wasn't going to end well.

" Uzi needs them."
" For what? "
" Well, she wants her railgun back for starters."
He pointed to the pink-haired drone.
"But in all seriousness, she wants every drone on Copper-9 and beyond to be under her protection."
Valerie budded in.
" You mean administration!"
" You say that like it's not the same thing."
" It isn't and you know that!"
" What is so hard to understand, Val? You already did it! Till you changed your mind."

"Yeah, I changed my mind once Cyn came back!"
Charlie looked at them confused.
"Came back?" Nevan ignored him.
"Cyn hasn't done anything, don't lie. Uzi is still very much in control."
" No, she isn't! She wouldn't have done this!"
"Done what? Become the administrator? Don't act like you know anything about her Val. I'm her boyfriend, you're just a drone."

"Listen to yourself!" Val screamed at him.
"The Nev I know wouldn't say something like that! Snap out of it, N! You're lying to yourself, saying that she's still herself, but somethings wrong, and you know it!"
There was a long pause.
"I thought you loved her-"
"Shut up!" Nevan yelled back.
" You don't think! You never did! You're too paranoid to notice!"

He walked forward.
" This isn't a debate! You get-"
Suddenly a gunshot rang out.
The bullet slammed into the ground just by Nevan's foot. He crossed the line.
He walked back a little and chuckled.
" Sorry! I got a little ahead of myself there."
Within a second he was back to that
'happy-go-lucky' tone of his. It scared J; this wasn't the idiot she knew; no matter how much she hated that N, she didn't like this one much better.

Val spoke again. Her face pulled into an angry smile.
" Tell him the full plan Nevan! Since you're so confident it's completely reasonable and not totally evil dictator shit."
N paused for a moment before smiling.
"Oh Gladly!"
He looked back at Charlie.
"Uzi wishes to become the Admin for all drones in the known universe. You see, Cyn wasn't the only Solver host. There are others and if we use Cyn as an example, we can't trust that they won't try to destroy the galaxy."
"So?"
" So, Uzi wishes to be able to monitor all other solver users. See? Doesn't sound so bad."
" And if they disagree with being monitored?"
"They can't."

Charlie raised an eyebrow.
" I don't know dude, sounds pretty bad to me."
" Urgh, your just like Valerie. You don't get it! Solver Drones are a danger to everyone, they could destroy a planet with the snap of their fingers and kill millions, billions in milliseconds. We can't let people like that go around unsupervised!"
" But this Uzi chick. Wasn't she also a rogue Solver Drone? "

" Yes, but-"
" So how come she has the authority to be the one who monitors all the others?"
"Because she is the one who killed the last domain host. She's the one with the all the omnipotent powers, not the others."
"That doesn't seem very fair to me."
"I never said it was fair! I said it wasn't  bad. In my opinion, it's great."

Charlie looked back to Val. She was practically fuming.
"Okay, but I still don't think that's the whole story. Why does this Uzi fella want admin over non-Solver Drones, like the pink-haired girl?"
Said girl rolled her." My name is Lizzy!"
They ignored her.
" Well?" Charlie gestured towards Nevan.
"Safekeeping."
Val scoffed." Yeah, and part of the 'Safekeeping' is forcing them to obey her. Turning them into her little personal Army, it's bullshit and I wasn't having it!"

Nevan let a loud, aggressive groan.
"You know what? This isn't going anywhere!"
"You're right about that! So hit the bricks! Get outta here."
"Nah, I don't think I will."
With little prompt N walked forward and crossed the line.

Another gunshot. But this one didn't impact. N had caught between his claws. Raising his hand, it retracted and out came a laser cannon.
"This was a lovely chat. Not really, actually; it was incredibly infuriating. But I think it's time I collect."
J walked up, readying her weapons.
Before she could even say a word Nevan let out an aggressive cackle.

"Wowie! I never thought I'd see the day."
" We've fought before, moron, and you knew was where I was going."
"Nah not that. I thought I'd never see the day you stood up for yourself."
She was confused.
"What?"
"You're a coward J. You let your lack of self-worth and ambition drive you to the path of least resistance. Pathetic. But great for me!"
J stopped.
"So how about I make you an offer? I'm sure you've heard it before. You and your friend Charlie stay out of my way. And I'll leave you alone."

J stumbled over her words. She never thought N, of all people, would be saying that. And why did it hurt? She pushed those thoughts down and straightened her posture, lifting her gun.
" That purple thing made you brave. Let me remind you why you used to be scared of me."

....

Like lightning J and Nev rushed at each other with Val and Charlie close behind. The clash shook the earth beneath them.
Seconds later bullets went flying.
Some missed.
Others shot through their target.
At first, it was hard to tell what was happening. Partly because everyone was moving so quickly, partly because one of said bullets had pierced her visor, and it was making it hard to aim.

Nev had started to beat her up hard.
"J!" Val yelled." Catch!" Val threw Tessa's sword at her, J's sword. She caught it and swiftly blocked a swing from Nevan's blade.
"Aww! You still fight as good with this as you used to be! " He mocked.
"Well, I guess you weren't that night."

That was the last straw. She was tired of this idiot trying to break her down. She quickly pulled the sword back before jabbing it into his stomach. He let out a yell before throwing a hard lead hook into her head.
She heard the glass on her visor crack.
She stepped back.

Just then she heard a growing roar. One she knew too well. The rail gun. Turning her head she saw Lizzy. Less than a second later, she was blinded by the glowing green beam. It crackled past her at the speed of light and obliterated everything in its path from the ground to the air itself.

A moment later, the beam had gone, and the rail gun crackled again as the green lights turned red. Looking over to where he once stood, she saw nothing.
Did that get him?

No. J could feel it. He was still around here somewhere. She looked around. Val and Charlie had the same feeling she did.
Then the Sentinel started screeching.
It ran up and began clawing towards the sky.
Then there was a boom. Like the sound barrier breaking above them.

She didn't even think. With instinct alone, J leaped back as the ground where she just stood detonated from the sheer force of N crashing down on it.
The earth unwound.
She felt the ground beneath her rip and tear, but that was the least of her concerns.

N slammed his arm into her throat.
He slammed her onto the ground and dragged her head into the mud and stone.
Just then a spray of bullets slammed into Nevan's chest and head.
He was thrown off.
Unfurling his wings, he blocked the rest of the hail that came from Charlie's rifles.

Seizing the opportunity Val dashed towards Nev. Sliding to his open side she unleashed a burst of bullets into him. He groaned, struggling to stop the barrage of gunfire.
Pulling her head out of the ground J moved to finish him off.

Just then a bright yellow beam shot from his arms. J and V barely dodged in time, sliding below the laser beams. Charlie didn't move at all. The powerful lasers did little more than sear his armor. He continued to fire into Nevan.

"Always a problem, aren't you?" Nevan said as he once again shielded himself with his wings. Flying upwards once again, he spread his arms before slamming them together in a devastating clap. It cut through the air like paper, leaving a visible mark in the air. When it crashed into the ground it left a clean cut where it hit.

Just then, the earth began to shake, then the ground Nevan stood on began to rise higher and higher. Or rather, the ground they stood on began to sink.
Val stopped.
"Shit! Lizzy and Zbyněk are up there!" without a second's hesitation, she flew up. J followed close behind.

"Huh?" Charlie looked around."Well, um. Good luck to you two! Must be cool being able to fly all the time!"

Landing hard on the muddy ground, J and Val stood between the wounded Worker and Nevan.
He smiled.
"Man! Would you look at that? The squads back together again!" He giggled. It made J want to puke. He still hasn't changed.
Rushing forward the 3 clashed once again. Even outnumbered Nev still overpowered them. He moved too quickly for their bullets and hit too hard for them to get close.

Drawing her blade once more J rushed up to strike.
They clash again.
She backs up and swings low.
They clash again.
Val joined and swung her blade at him.
They clash again.

Over and over.
Until finally.
J broke through.

She landed a jab into his heart.
The trio paused.
If this landed right, then the fight is over.
N is dead.
Looking down, Nevan grabbed the blade.
He started chuckling.
"So. Close, J."
She tried to pull the blade out, but his grip was too firm.
"But not enough. But I guess you're used to that. Aren't you? Being a disappointment."

She couldn't hold it in her rage anymore. She tried to punch him, but he caught it. Kicking her back he pulled her sword from his chest and flew towards her. She didn't have time to react.

It pierced her through the chest.
She felt nothing.
Error messages filled her vision like flies on a windshield.
And she felt nothing.
He lifted her to his eye level.
She looked around for Val. Where was she?
Then she saw her. Lying on the ground without her head.
When?
How?

She looked back at Nevan.

"Tessa loved you. I know you struggled to see that, but she did. And I know you loved her too. So imagine my surprise. When I saw you working for the one who killed her. Who skinned her and wore her like a uniform. Did you think you could run away, from something like that? From the guilt? Maybe you could. But not anymore. I want you to remember."
Nevan paused, pulling her closer.

" She would've told me to kill you right now."
He let that sit with her.
" But I won't. I feel like it's fitting for you to live. So you can stay useless. So you can keep making the same stupid mistakes again and again-"
A gunshot rang out.
Charlie.
It ripped through Nev's hand causing him to drop the sword.

" Hey fuckhead! Since you're a big man, why don't you pick on someone your own size."
Nevan's arm regrew and from came a gun.
"Some of you DD's love acting like your biggest fish in the pond, till you meet a shark."
"oooh. I'm so scared." His sarcasm was palpable.
"Why don't you quit the tough guy act and get to the part where I beat you up?"
He was frustrated and tired. J could tell. If she could move, she'd be able to help Charlie finish him off.

Raising his gun, Nevan fired into the Terminator Drone. Some bounced off; others disintegrated against his armor. N groaned.
He turned his arms into a laser cannon and beamed the drone in the chest.
Nothing. Once again the armor only gets hotter.
With no other ideas, he drew his blades and ran at him.

One swing. Two swings. Nothing.
By the time he swung his third Charlie caught it. Grabbing onto N's shoulder and he rips off one of his arms.
N backed away.
Not enough.
Charlie unleashed a devastating haymaker.
It let out a Shockwave and punctured through the DD's head.

J was left quiet.
Thinking back, she's once again glad she didn't try to fight him.
He pulled his arm out of Nevan's gorey remains.
"Like I said. Love to think they're on top."
He runs over to check on J.
"You alright?"
She did not answer.

He began to walk over to Val, but J saw something. One of the cuts that was left on him was glowing yellow and black and was seeping into him.
"Wait, wait, wait. What's that?"
"What's what?"
" That yellow mark, on you."
Charlie looked down.
"J, get away!" Valerie screamed.
"What?"
"That's a Null Fracture!"
"A what?"

Then they heard a chuckle.
They turned to to see Nevan's motionless body.

Then they saw it.

His arm.

It moved.

In between his twisted fingers, they could see it.

The solver logo.

Then he snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, the cut in Charlie's chest began to whine and spark.
With little hesitation, Charlie grabbed J and hurled her away.
Charlie stumbled back.
He let out a sigh.

" And this. Is why I don't talk shi-"

It detonated. And he was unwound.

Chapter Text

J's HUD was filled with her messages.

She couldn't be bothered to clear them.

It took what felt like hours to rebuild her sensors. When they returned her ears were filled with the sound of rain pattering into the snow.
When her vision returned, her Visor was covered in raindrops.

She sat up.
Right beside her was a massive crater.
In the middle, she could see the fragmented pieces of Charlie.
His armour and few remaining limbs were scattered across the ground.

Nevan was nowhere to be seen.
So was Valerie.
He must have taken her.
J looked around for anything, anyone.
Sat on their knees was Lizzy. Half of her face had been clipped off and lay on the ground. She was weak, but still alive. In front of her was the Sentinel lying on the ground. That was a start.

J got up and walked over to them.
Lizzy looked up at J. Her railgun was missing. N took it after all.
"Thank robo-god," she said in a weak glitchy voice before trailing off.
"I thought I was the only one left."

J tilted her head.
"The Sentinel's-" J caught herself.
The Sentinel lay motionless on the ground, its head cut clean from the rest of its body. Any sight of life was nowhere to be found.

"N killed him."
Lizzy paused.
"His name was Zbyněk."
A Long silence sat between them.
Nothing but the crackle of lightning, rain, and thunder fill the white noise.

Lizzy's head jolted up for a bit.
"Is your-- friend still alive?"
J heard a slight tinge of hope in her voice.
J shook her head.

Lizzy looked down at Zbyněk again.

"I hated this thing. But Valerie loved him."
She looked up and J again.
"We should bury them."
J sat on that thought for a moment.
She only knew Charlie for two days.
Still, for how much he helped her. It would be wrong to just leave him in a ditch to sink and rot.

"You got something to dig with?"
Lizzy looked around.
"I've got my hands."
J sighed.
"Noted. I'll go get him and bury him."
Lizzy looked ahead into nothing.

Unfurling her wings, J flew high up into the air and slowly glided down into the crater.

Her mind should be racing.
How did N do this?
What is a Null fracture?
How did it do so much damage?
How did that purple drone make N this powerful?

It didn't matter.
None of it Mattered.
N's words circled in her mind.

She would've told me to kill you right now.

Over and over again. And yet he didn't.
Her left her to suffer with that contemplation.
With the truth.

She failed again and again.
She lost everyone again and again.
Now she was picking up the pieces of her life, again.

One mistake, and she lost everyone who cared for her, to serve a creature that killed and tortured those close to her.
That killed and tortured her.

Was it her selfishness?
Did all the time she spent saving her own ass come back around?
Why did she lash out at V?
She was right, right?
J did fail.
She did let Cyn control her with little resistance. Even under Cyn, she was useless. An obstacle for both parties.
She failed and now she has nothing.

J landed on the hard rocky ground.
Walking around she gathered small fragments of Charlie.
A fragment of his arm here, a piece of armour plating there.
There wasn't much, but buried in the mud and rock J saw something.
It screeched and stuttered.
Dropping everything else J rushed over.

She dug through the mud and grime.
Maybe it was his core.
Digging out, she saw no such thing.
Instead, she was met with a small black box.
Pulling out of the dirt she studied for a moment.
Through the haze and garbage noise, she could hear something. A message.

"J.... Can you hear-"
It cut out for a bit. Her eyes widened.
"... If you're getting this. I'm already dead."
The box stuttered again.
"I'm using the last..... Of my energy to get this message to you."
It cut out for what felt like an hour.
J doubted whether he was able to get the message out.

Then it came back.
"Find Zed..... Get him this message.... Tell him that everything about Nevan..... And the solver. He. Will. Help."
And then it went quiet.

She sat there for a moment.
Her was gone.
Him and so many others were gone.
And it was because of N.
She had to hold onto that.
To the idea of taking him down.
She had to get his words out of her mind.

From outside the crater, she could hear Lizzy walking over.
"You done?"
J turned to her, stuffing the black box in her shirt pocket. She picked up a few of Charlie's remaining pieces before flying up and out of the crater.
Landing right in front of Lizzy.
J nodded.

Transforming her hand into a shovel, J began to dig a single large hole in the snow. It was half a meter deep, but eventually, they hit the dirt. As time went on the Rain began to pour hard. He herself couldn't see more than a few meters ahead of her. Once the hole was deep enough, she placed the few remaining bits of Charlie in the earth.
Lizzy threw down Zbyněk's head and body.

After a long and slow process of filling it back in.

With every shovel full of dirt and snow, the scattered remains of the fallen became less and less visible.
When she was done the storm calmed.
The heavy rain fell back to light drizzling.

The two sat at the base of the refilled grave.

"Well? Have anything to say?" J said.
Lizzy shrugged.
"I'm sorry you died. You were an aggressive little freak. But Valarie loves you. So rest in peace."

J almost wanted to laugh.
That was it?
Though it wasn't like she was much better.
Lizzy looked over to her."Your turn."

J sighed.

"Thanks. And Sorry."

The two sat in silence for a moment.

Lizzy looked back at J.
"So, what's the plan?"
J narrowed her eyes in confusion.
"Plan?"
"Well yeah. We can't let that idiot get away with V. She kidnapped her remember?"
"What? No, I didn't remember that! I was unconscious!"
"Well, now you know okay? So what's the plan?"
J thought for a moment before pulling out the black voice box.

"We have to find a drone named Zed. One of Charlie's friends. He can help us."
"How long will that take?"

A rumbling in the distance caught their attention. Looking up into the cloudy sky the two saw a horde of flashing lights.
As they got closer a growing roar for Jet engines got louder.

It was a fleet of first responders. The dozen or so ships were painted blue and black and had the drone fist symbol plastered on the side. Just below the symbol, was the initilism 'ODA'.

The government had arrived.

The ships touched down, and out the sides came a horde of worker Drones armed with guns, oil, and repair kits.

A small group rushed over to J and Lizzy while the rest ran for Bridges.

The Drones pelted them with questions while they quickly bandaged Lizzy's face back together.

"What happened here, miss?" one said to J, but before she could answer, another barrage of questions came through.
"What are you digging up?"
"Why is there a massive crater in the ground?"
"Is anyone hurt or injured?"

The volley was interrupted by a towering Terminator Drone.
"Give her some space!" she yelled out. Just then, the first responders got back and made way for the redhead TD.
She walked up to J.
Looking to the Drones around her she barked out a series of orders.
"Help the others with search and rescue, go!"
With that, the workers ran off.

"Sorry about that. The situation is kind of stressful. What's your name?"
"J."
"Hello J, I'm Foxtrot 38, but you can call me Phebe."
"Hello, Phebe."
"Mind telling me what happened here? We came over after a barrage of calls that the city was under attack."

J sighed. This was gonna take a while.
"The city was attacked."
"By who?"
"Someone I used to know. I'd say they're a disassembly drone, but that wouldn't be accurate."
Phebe tilted her head.

"What do you mean by that?"
"He was far stronger, had a bigger arsenal, and was far more durable; he was upgraded."
"And you knew him?"
"He came over from a different system I used to live at. We were coworkers."
Phebe narrowed her eyes.
"You mean under the Solver?"
J nodded.

"So, why was he here? Was he after you?"
"No, he was after another friend of mine."
"And where are they?"
Lizzy piped up." He kidnapped her."
"Wait, so you're telling me one disassembly drone did this?"
"He wasn't just a regular disassembly drone!"
"I get that. I just kind of find it hard to believe that an upgraded drone could cause all this havoc."

J groaned.
"What do you mean? You're a Terminator drone, aren't you? You could do this much damage if you tried hard enough!"
"Yes, but I'm a TD. Not a DD."
"I don't even think you can call him a DD anymore. That's how advanced he is."

Phebe leaned back and pondered for a moment."Where did he go?"
J looked over to Lizzy who shrugged.
"That detonation knocked me out. Knocked her out too." Lizzy added.
Phebe looked at the grave the two had dug.
"And that?"
"Me, her, and two others tried to take him down. They died."
"Who were they?"

"They were a Sentinel and a Terminator Drone-"
"Terminator Drone?"
"Are you going to keep interrupting me, or are you going to let me finish?"
Phebe leaned back a little.

"What was his name?"
"Charlie."
"Charlie 10?"
"Yes."
Phebe stared off into nothing for a moment.
"And he told me to talk to a drone named Zed. Do you know who that is?"

Phebe's eyes widened.
"Zed?, He's the head of Special Operations."
"Special Operations? As in the military?"
"As in special forces. I know Charlie, he was an acquaintance of mine. You're telling me he's gone?"
She sat quietly there as the other Drones rushed out of the in and out of the city.
"I'm sorry, just give me a moment."

She stood up and walked off to stand by the crater.
Was she crying?
Over an acquaintance?
That's absurd!

J looked away and stared at the injured worker Drones and escorted Disassembly Drones being carried away from the city and into the ships.
One of the Drones being escorted was Maggie.

In her hands was the limp of Rory.
The fire must have burned him inside out. And without the repair nanites, he couldn't heal himself.

She did that.

His death was her fault.

If she didn't fire that missile in a store full of flammable oil, he would be alive right now.
She saw Maggie glare at her. A sullen look on her face. J wanted to go talk to her, but she decided against it. There was no rescuing that oil supply.

Speaking of oil.
She pulled out the can that Maggie gave her. After a fight like that her oil had to be running low by now. Turning back she chugged the whole thing.
Phebe had come back from her long moment with thoughts.

She had a determination in her eyes.

"I'll take you Zed, but I'll tell you now. He is not going to like this. Charlie was his only friend. So please, be careful. If what you say is true, then that old friend of yours is a major threat and we can not let him roam free for any longer."

J and Lizzy looked at each other. A quiet understanding between them.

This was going to be a long, long rescue mission.

Chapter Text

It was dark.
The only light came from the outside through a small square window.
She was in a cage, she knew that for sure.
And she felt different.
Her body was larger and heavier.
She lifted her arm and while it was dark, she could tell it was different than before.

Before she died.
That moment replayed in her mind.
Tessa.
No.
The Solver.
It tricked them. It tricked everyone.
The last thing she remembered was stumbling into the cathedral to warn Uzi.
Everything else is a blur.

She remembers flashes of the school.
Of Lizzy.
Of V.
Then nothing.

Now she's here. In a sell on her own. Besides the limp body in the corner. She squinted her eyes to see it, but it was too dark.

As far as she's aware, they won.
Cyn was defeated.
Right?
Everything was back to normal.
So why was she here?
Why did it feel like the solver, wasn't truly gone?

She shifted her feet back and forth.
They worked.
That's good.
Putting her feet on the concrete floor,
She pushed herself back until she hit a wall.

Using the last of her strength, she pushed herself up and slowly slid up the smooth wall.
She was upright.
Now that she was off the ground she could finally realise how tall she was.
The small red window went from far above to just below eye level.

What happened to her?
What was she?
The red light hit her body. While it was dim she could see that her hands were a weird dark metal. Her chest had a thick black armoured chest plate over where her core would be. Looking at the small rays of light that hit her legs she could see they tapered off at the foot.

Like those of a...

No.

It can't be.

Who did this to her?
Was she wrong?
Did Uzi fail?

Had Cyn won?
Where was she?
Is this still Copper-9?

She had to get out of there.
Out of this hellish facility.

She tried running forward.
Bad idea.
She tumbled forward, luckily catching herself in her hands.
She wasn't used to walking on legs like these.

Pushing herself back up again she tried again, slowly now.
One step.
Two steps.
Just a short walk and she made it to the door. Grabbing the hand she watched as the door swung open at the slightest touch. Either she was much stronger than before or the door wasn't even fully closed.

Either way, she was out.
Almost immediately she was flushed by the red lights.
It wasn't particularly hard on the eyes, but it wasn't a pleasant light either.

One step at a time, she walked down the blinding corridor.

One step.
Two steps.
She was starting to get a hand on walking on these new legs.
She picked up her pace.
She had to get out of there.
Before that thing could catch her.

She stomped through the red-tinted halls of the odd facility. Its walls were torn, revealing the pipes and rebar. As she made her way around the labyrinth she started hearing something. It was music.

As she waits at dawn
Looking for a way
To escape her lonely heart

Then it boomed with loud drums and guitars and screaming. It was frankly an earsore, but she knew exactly who it was. There was only one drone she knew who'd listen to something like this.
Uzi.

Was she trapped here too?
What happened?
Did that demon turn her into one of these murder Drones too?
A part of her hoped so.
Then she wouldn't be alone, at least.
She walked from corridor to corridor trying to get closer.
Louder and louder the music blared.

As it stands
You are no longer my friend
Eat my heart
Take my soul
Let it burn you
I WON'T LET GO

Was this a trap?
Why was Uzi blaring this so loud?
She was stupid, but not that stupid.
Eventually, she reached a corridor that was different from the others. It was a well-kept. No tears in the walls, no holes in the floor, and it had a large oriental wood door. A massive circular stained glass window filled the upper side of the door.

Doll peaked inside. She could see someone in the room sitting on an old office chair. Grabbing the door she swung it open. The music filled her ears.

You should let me go
I'M NOT WORTH SAVING-

Before the volume rapidly decreased. The chair swung around and sat comfortably in it was a short drone with purple hair and emo outfit.

"[Uzi?]"
"Ah! So you can still remember me! That's a good start."
She drummed her fingers together and pulled a large smirk.
"[What are you doing here?]"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm scheming."
"[What did you do to me?]"
"I brought you back to life!"

Doll felt a growing rage within her.
Why did she trust her?
Why did she ever think the idiot that worked with the very Drones that killed her mother, would ever defeat the solver?
No, she became one with it.
She was defeated.
" [No. You turned me into one of them! You turned me into a monster!]"
Uzi groaned.
"Oh calm down! Besides, you used to be a Murder Witch! I just gave you a body that's more well-suited for that!"

"[Yes? Well I'd Rather be a witch than a demon!]"
" Witches are demons. And either way-"
Uzi paused. She stood up from her chair.
"I didn't make you a demon,"
She leaned forward. Doll felt something burning inside.
It wasn't her heart though. Not this time.
" I made you an Angel!"
It was Hate.

She blitzed forward so fast she felt the air splintering apart to let her through. A boom rippled through the air as the sheer speed broke her through the sound barrier. The sound left her ears for a moment.
So quick, yet she still clearly sees Uzi in front of her.
Within nanoseconds, she was right in front of her.

One swing and she would be no more.
So fast.

And yet not fast enough.
In an instant, she was stopped.
The air boomed again, but this time from her stop.
How?
She looked at Uzi's face.
There was her answer.
The Solver's mark in her right eye.

But how? She had solver abilities too, no?
Right?
Did she check?
She didn't.

"[You Bitch!]" She screamed.
"You're one to talk. You should be saying thank you, you know? If it weren't for me you'd still be dead." Uzi spoke in a maniacal tone.
What happened to her? Doll thought. The Uzi she knew was far from normal, but she was never evil, at least not evil enough to fall to the solver's will.
"[You said you'd stop it! You said you'd destroy it!]"
" And I did! That destruction just happened to be trapping it in me!"

Doll was dumbfounded.
"[Trapped it in you?] "
"The Solver. I ate it."
"[Are you fucking stupid?]" Doll yelled.
Uzi groaned.
"Bite me! It was a void! I couldn't destroy it! It was either let it escape or keep it under my control."
Uzi stood up.
"I chose control."

Doll bit her tongue.
She could be lying.
The solver could still be well and alive within her.
But for now, Doll chose to believe her.
"[So why did you turn me into one of these monsters?]"
"Oh, that? I just thought it was funny. Turning you into the very drones you hate? I couldn't pass up that chance. However, if it makes you feel better, you're far stronger than the regular Disassembly Drone. "
The rage that had begun to fad was stoked by those words.
" Oh, that and I figured you wouldn't be too happy without your solver powers. Which I didn't remove by the way! When Cyn ate your core it destroyed your solver capability with it."

She remembered now.
She was destroyed.
The solver killed her.
"[Then how am I alive?]"
" Um. When the Solver ate your core, it released your mind into the world. You were moving around and just haunting random people. When I learned about this, I knew I had to find a way to trap your 'soul'. So I found a way to capture and put into a body. There! You done with your questions now?"

She wasn't, but she knew she had no power, not anymore.
"[No.] " she relented.
" Good, 'cause I didn't spend two weeks of my life trying to bring you back just for you to be useless."
Uzi walked past her.
With the flicker of her fingers, she turned Doll to face her.

" I have a mission for you."
"[Since when was I your-]"
"Lapdog? Since now! Don't forget! No solver means you're one flick of the wrist away from me turning back into a concept!"
Doll went silent.
"Good. Now like I was saying! I'm sending you to the Proxima System. I've got a friend there that needs your help."

"I'll load you into one of those space pod thingies. Don't worry, you won't be alone. Though. I'm sure you saw my other pet project?"

She thought back to the slumped body that ly in the darkness of her cell.
She nodded.
" Yeah, I uh." she stood pondering for a moment.
If she wasn't still being held, she could have killed her there and then.
" I can't muster up the courage  to tell him myself. So I'm making that your problem! Wake him up when you arrive. Got it?"

Doll held back her fury.
"[I got it.]" she forced from her lips.
"Good. I going to let you go now. Try anything and I'm reducing you to atoms."
There was a long silence. Then Doll felt the invisible hold of the solver fade. It took all the restraint in her weird body to not leap at the opportunity to kill her. But she managed.

She could tell Uzi didn't feel like testing her. She held back a snarky comment. Instead, she jerked her head towards the door.
Looking at the bright gold light that emanated from the cross-adorned door that stood ahead of her, she sighed and began making her way out.

Chapter Text

Dancing around her synthetic mind were images of his last words.
"Find Zed..... Get him this message... Tell him that everything about Nevan..... And the solver. He. Will. Help."
If he's right, then finding V will be a piece of cake.
If he's right.
A rattle unsettled her focused mind.

Opening her eyes, she saw the damaged and withered forms of worker Drones and Disassembly Drones. They seemed battle-worn and tired. Though," Luckily" for her, that didn't stop them from giving her nasty looks. On the far side of the VTOL ship passenger bay, she could hear the muttering of some of the workers on that side of the ship.

"...why are we even helping these things?..."
"... waste of manpower if you ask me. 'bout time those things got a good fright..."
"Yeah, I just wished whoever attacked woulda killed more of them..."

She scowled at the Drones who glared at her.
She finally got what that border guard meant when he said "your kind" to her.
To everyone here. She was another. Something worthy of ire. Something to be ignored. To be disposed of.

That's fine she thought.
That's what she felt about them too.

Still, though, it would make life here a pain in the ass. Sat beside her was Lizzy who was texting on her phone, as always. Looking over, J tried to make out who she was typing to, but before she could read, the ship trembled hard as it touched the ground.

They had landed. Over a speaker, an automated voice stated where they were.
"Welcome to Trojan."
As the sliding doors swung open and the light from the outside flooded the VTOL, all J could feel was an ever-growing numbness.

Turning around and stepping out of the ship, she was met with a hellish yet familiar feeling sight.

The sky was grey and dull; the sun's light sucked off all its vibrance through the layer of thick clouds. Leaving only a faint light from the sky. The buildings stood tall and alone. Their dark black outlines stood uniquely strong, any light that got through was seemingly absorbed as the buildings were left completely opaque. The only light that stood out were those that came from the few windows the buildings had.

Cargo ships and VTOLs littered the grey expanse, disappearing into the black blobs of skyscrapers. It was loud. Car horns honked, industrial machines screamed and construction ships roared through the air.

The VTOL had landed on a hospital helipad. At least what she thought was a hospital. It was hard to tell since it, too, was an opaque black-grey. The only unique light was the illuminated red cross that was fixed to a tall beam.

It was funny. This perfectly well-constructed city felt no different to the destroyed cities of Copper 9 and of this planet's outlands. It was almost confusing.
Certainly, this wasn't that city she had seen through a chain link fence, perched on a wall? Where were the colourful lights? The dancing spotlights that swayed side to side? This was Trojan, right? Or maybe it was only like that at night.

She was snapped out of her flurry of thoughts by a gentle shove.
"You alright?" Phebe.
"Don't touch me. I'm not your friend." she vigorously wiped her hand over where Phebe had touched her.
Phebe chuckled.
"Wasn't the sight you were expecting was it?"
J didn't answer. Though Phebe guessed.
"Me neither, this is the industrial district. The factories around here produce so much smog it could kill a Tartigrade."
J couldn't pinpoint why, but the TD seemed unusually cheerful about this hell hole.

They walked along with the worker Drones into the roof entrance. The stairway down was dark; their footsteps slowly drowned beneath the growing sound of screams and moans of pain in the hospital below.
Pushing through the door into the infirmary, they were greater with a hall of suffering.

Dozens upon dozens of drones injured Worker Drones. Many missing limbs, some practically dead.
J tried her best to suppress a smile. She looked over to Lizzy. She seemed more annoyed at them than upset.
The other Drones slowly dispersed into the medical bay to assist the wounded Drones.

Even though she couldn't care less for the well-being of fewer lifeforms, she still wondered what happened to bring them all here. She looked over to Phebe.
"Who did this?"
Phebe looked over.
"The solver cult."
J perked up at the words. Charlie had told her of them.
"They raided an entrance gate just south of here. We took most of them out, but some are still somewhere in the city. So everyone's on high alert."

She paused and continued her heavy-set stride towards another bay.
"Then the attack at Bridges happens. Safe to say some big things are happening."
Phebe turned to look at her.
"And you're gonna help us."

J raised an eyebrow." And what can a normal Disassembly Drone do to stop a Highly upgraded Disassembly Drone?"
Phebe shrugged.
"Well, you know about his arsenal. You can advise us."

With that, Phebe pushed the door doors in front of them and walked into the next medical bay.

At least, it was a medical bay. There were no injured drones. Only soldiers and weapons. Worker Drones donning modern armour and wielding modern guns. In the centre of the room stood a few Drones. A worker drone with red digital eyes and a murder drone with blue nanites. Zed.
The two of them spoke in hushed tones over a holographic map of the planet. As Phebe approached, they turned to face her.

The worker drone stepped forward and barked out an order.
"Phebe, what's the status of the Bridges."
"Evacuated, it was attacked by an unknown form of Murder drone."
The Worker narrowed his eyes.
"Is that all we know?"
J knew where this was going. Phebe looked over to her.
"These two were there. I'm sure they can explain what happened to you."

The two drones looked at Lizzy and J with great curiosity.
Zed spoke now.
"Well? What happened?"
J and Lizzy looked at each other.
"What are you looking at me for? You saw the attack happen first!" Lizzy spoke up quickly. It didn't take long for their eyes to drift over to J. She mulled over what she should say. Or rather what she shouldn't say.
She should probably leave out that N was a former" friend" of hers. And that he came here looking for another one of her "friends".

If she wanted N gone, then she definitely needed V and they would probably want to know how she knew V, so rather obscure the former. At least, that's the plan.
" We were coming back from an escort mission and I'd just met up with another Disassembly Drone and her."
J started. Pointing at Lizzy.
"While I was trying to confirm that we'd completed the escort. I noticed that I had walked into a hostage situation-"
"Who was holding the store hostage?" The Worker interjected.

J wanted to slug his jaw off, but she held back. Why she was even entertaining him bounded around her mind. It landed on the towering Terminator standing next to her.
She'd forgotten about Phebe. Aside from the one she and Charlie faced, and while she won, it was because she used all of her advantages, speed and agility, in a space where they could be used to the fullest. In here? That wouldn't really work out.

"The Upgraded Murder Drone."
The worker tightened his gaze further.
"Where was this Hostage situation?"
"An Oil store."
Silence
"Why was this 'Upgraded Murder Drone' hijacking a random oil store?"
"I-"
"It would only have reason to be there if it thought someone it wanted would be there, correct?"
"Would you let-"
"Who are you?"

He stood upright and confident. Cocky.
He stood in front of a drone which could kill him in milliseconds and he was unfazed. Something was up with the red-eyed drone.
"My friends call me Jade." she lied. He leared at her, before letting out a short chuckle.
"Alright, Jade. Do you want to know what I think happened?" She didn't, but the question was rhetorical.

"I think you know this 'Upgraded Murder Drone'. I think he came here after your friend. I think you fought him to protect her and lost, horribly."
He walked closer and raised his hand.

Within, a familiar incantation made itself known. She was wondering why her systems were working faster than normal. He was searching through her memory files.
That's how a worker can rule over a bunch of Disassembly and terminator drones. He could simply kill them.
He could kill anyone in this room in the blink of an eye. He was practically a god. She should have guessed he was a solver user before. Though that would require she knew there was more than just that Purple Thing.

J swallowed down that feeling of fear in her. She had to play this off.
"How much can you see? With that program of yours scrambling around in here?" she spoke with a blasé cadence, tapping the side of her head.
"What he looks like. That he goes by Nevan which is, certainly a name." He began before spontaneously, he vanished.

Half a second later she heard him behind her.
"I know you work with an associate of my lead general here." He put a hand on her shoulder and pointed to Zed.
His stern expression melded into one of vexed confusion.
"What?"
J once again stifled her feelings. She knew where this was going.
"I'm glad you do. I'll do you the honour."

It was quick and blunt.
"He's dead Z, your friend Charlie was killed in the fighting. He fought well, but he's gone."
Zed did not react at first. He just stood idly. Then his gear turned to J. He didn't say anything, but his digital eyes spoke a million words. She didn't even know drone screens were expressive enough to show the absolute vehemence of his fury.

And yet, he held it in. His posture was still stiff and professional. Only his face spoke of his agony. All of it directed squarely on her. Who wasn't the one who killed him! She worked with him! She came all this way to tell to him herself and explain everything about the attack and she's already got the ire of  random strange who happened to know him. Great, fucking fantastic.

She looked back to red-eyed drone.
"If you could just read through my memories, why ask me in the first place? What does it matter to you that some random drone left out some unnecessary details."
"Unnecessary details?" he feigned bewilderment.
" I think the death of a dear friend is very important information. Though, to answer your question proper. I don't take kindly to foreign invaders harming the people of my great Autocracy, your V friend came here to look for you, Nevan followed her. In my eyes, this is partly your fault. And you are going to repay me."

Suddenly she felt her system short circuit. Her display flickered red as the drone forced his way into her systems. She fell to her knees, convulsing. She tried to look over at Lizzy; she could see her writhing on the ground too.
Eventually it ended. Her screen flashed with a reboot. And in the details for her Administrator she could see his name.

New Administrator:
Zulu 1
"Your kind are like rabid dogs. Senseless and violent. But leashed, valuable assets"

Chapter Text

She woke up in a sudden jolt. She wasn't even given time to process her surroundings before another drone yelled at her.
"Finally, Iil miss pigtails up!"
Cleared her mind and looked at the drone in front of her, a yellow-eyed DD. "We can finally get started with this shit!"
Another drone beside her spoke up.
"We're supposed to brief her, idiot!"
Another big standard murder drone.
"What the hell are any of you talking about?"

"We're on a mission." a familiar voice answered. She looked over to see Zed.
"There's been an attack in the lower neighbourhoods. Solver Cult, we come in. We kill them. Simple."
One of the drones rolled his eyes.
"Simple isn't the word I'd use. Gotta be careful who you shoot. Loom for the purple eyes."
"Yes, that's proper protocol B. Shouldn't have to brief people on that kind of information."
"Whatever you say, lapdog."
Zed gritted his teeth.

Just then, the vehicle they were in opened its doors. It was an airship.
It circled over a burning the neighbourhood. When the doors opened, the crack of gunshots and blaring of police sirens rang out into the night.
J didn't even fully know what was happening. Only who to kill. Who put her here? What happened after Zulu became her Administrator, her new master? She didn't know.

But what she did know is that it didn't feel all too different from her time under Cyn. The Burning cities, the sirens from emergency vehicles, the gunfire from desperate survivors.
Yes, this was her old normal. Before N ruined everything by getting his head blown off by a Purple Toaster. This was her normal. A comfort zone. The others began to dive into the city. Some cheered, others tried to look cool by falling out with style.

It wasn't long before it was just her and Zed. The two lined up to at door. She could feel his gaze cut into her.
"Don't fuck this up. We learn where your friend is and then all of you get the fuck off this planet. If we're lucky, we'll never have to see each other again."

With that he leapt into the city below.
Frankly, she didn't know what he was saying. The desire to be back home again took up far too much of her mind.

She leapt into the war zone below.

The air was calm. The skies were partially clear, and the moon was out. The hounds were out to play.

She fell quickly and confidently into the city. The others must have seen as they quickly began to form up behind her. With only 40 meters before the ground, she let her wings catch the air's drag. By the time she had slowed down enough she was weaving through the police cars and ambulances that drove away with wounded workers. The others followed too, doing tricks and flips.

Eventually, they arrived on a squad of Solver Cult Worker Drones.
Light work, she truly was home.
She let out a barrage of missiles into the crowd. They tried to shoot back, but it was too late. The missile landed, shredding into bits of shrapnel and oil.
A straggler had managed to survive the initial blast. She cut into them, grabbing their upper body. Landing onto the rough tarmac, she took the time to drink the fool's oil.

The rest of her squad had continued their missile barrage. Houses and cars erupted into flame, dust and debris.
Ahead of her, she could see a Disassembly Drone ordering more workers to open fire on them.
She rushed in and two others followed. She knew one of them was B from the conversation earlier. The other was just a random drone to her.

She was okay with that. If all her missions needed no banter, no talking to bumbling idiots, She would have zero complaints. The Cult disassembly Drone had jumped down and began to shield the worker drones from the incoming barrage of bullets J and the others had unleashed into them. Many of the herd were still slaughtered.

With no useful help, there was nothing she could do against three DDs. The three of them cut into her. Legs, arms, and head gone within a matter of moments. B did the honours of ripping out her core and crushing it with his hand. The rest of the sheep were detonated by the squad who followed Zed.

"Hey! Next time try and keep the core! We need them alive for interrogation!"
The other two brushed him off. They hopped over the makeshift road barrier made from a turned-over bus.
Almost jumped up, until the sound of deafening gunshot rang out. She heard mumbled cursing, then another thunderous gunshot.

She looked up to see B and the other drone tumbling off the bus and crashing into the ground. She looked over to the drone she didn't know. A massive craterous hole in their chest. Their core was disintegrated. She looked over at B, who lay haemorrhaging on the ground.

From above she could see Zed and the other two break off and dive into the housing and rubble. B called out to her.
"Watch-" the gunshot peaked her audio receptors. When she looked over at him, his body was split in two from the chest. The gun was so long it was just in front of his body.

She'd seen this gun before. She looked up at her.
13.
The Terminator grew an ecstatic smile. Her blithe spirit came through from her lovely movement as she slung her material rifle onto her shoulder.
"Look who we have here!"
She hopped off the bus and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

J should have guessed that a simple beam from the rail gun wouldn't kill her.
"And with that Lizard to cheat out a victory for you, no less." she was calm, collected, happy. Her previous defeat didn't irritate her. Yet, she still has an axe to grind.
" And to think you're working for the worker drone king, no less. What a fall!"

In the corner of her eye, J could see Zed's blue eyes in the dark alley of a house along with the other two.
"OH! And speaking of our fight! What happened to Charlie? Would have fought he'd be here, after what happened in Bridges and all!"

J needed to keep her distracted; if the others had a plan, she could stall this psycho for a bit.

"How do you know what happened at Bridges?"
She let out a loud laugh.
"How do I know? I wasn't dead for days little drone! Everyone in the outlands knows what happened with drones. The stories from the fleeing Murder Drones of a super drone slaughtering dozens of them in seconds? That kind of news doesn't stay local."

J pushed further.
" Do you know who did it?"
" I just said who did it!"
So she doesn't know about N. At least she learned something useful.

By now, Zed's squad were in a position to attack. But, a part of J knew how this was going to end.
One of them lunged at her.

Quite as the night.

It didn't matter.

13 punched through their chest.
The girl let out a guttural screech. It peaked and paused before the dreaded
"FATAL ERROR" washed over her screen. 13 grabbed her head with her free hand and let the force split her in two from the chest to her pelvis. The oil and blood gushed onto the floor with wet plaps.

13 threw the body towards Zed.
"Foolish."
Her core still squirmed in 13's hand.

J didn't even see it. All she heard was the wet squelch, the look of horror on the unknown drone's face.

"Annabelle!" he screamed.

13 put on a childish act. "Aww, what a cute name!"

In the Chaos of his anguish, J readied her missiles.
Terminators are tough, but missiles still hurt them just like they do anything else.

Two rushed towards her. Within seconds, she flicked away and caught the other before swiftly chucking it at Zed and Screamer, or whatever his name was.
She really should have asked.

The two dodged away but were still caught in the shockwave. It tossed them away further. Zed was able to stabilize himself and fire a volley of his own.

J took off as well and began to kite 13 with missiles.
J, Zed and the other guy got further and further away.
13 didn't follow. Instead, she fell back.
Jumping behind the bus and retreating into the night.

J stopped her barrage once 13 had vanished out of sight.
Zed glared at her. "You think we're finished?"
"She'll-"
Before she could finish the thought. One last shot rang out. It ripped through the last unknown drone.
A fatal shot through the core.
They watched as his body slumped and careened to the ground.

And then there were two. Not like she cared.

They both dive low. Beneath any line of sight.

The sound of helicopters filled the air.

Finally. Took the backup long enough. As a herd of helicopters swarmed the neighbourhood, J finally got to look around at where they were fighting.
The houses were small and decrepit, most resembled shacks more than actual proper homes.

It was only now she saw the drones who lived here. Flying down to grab the last guy's body, J could see Disassembly Drones. Dozens. They rushed down and snatched the dead body, before dragging them into one of the decaying houses that lined the slum.

Slum. That's what this place was, a slum. And she could hardly see any workers. Except for one and they seemed just as monstrous as the murder Drones, he had jury-rigged wings and makeshift claw arms fashioned from scrap. Its cackle reminded her of Uzi's, that thing.

Zed clapped his hands which got her attention.
"Mission mostly Accomplished."
"We can find her-"
"That's not what I was talking about."
J looked at him with Apprehension. She waited for him to explain.

"four out of five dead. And of course the one that lives is the one I wanted dead."
J got what he was implying.
"This was a suicide mission."
"Think of it more like the death penalty. You're a criminal, wanted for the death of half of Bridges and for bringing a terrorist here. You'll do missions like this until you drop dead, better make peace with that now."

"You fucking kidding-"

With little else her screen flickered back with red.

SHUTTING DOWN

Chapter Text

The Shuttle veered from side to side. She wasn't quite sure how long it had been since Uzi had locked her and Thad up into this metal tube Uzi called a "shuttle" and chucked them at 2 times the speed of light towards Proxima Centauri.

All she knew was that it would be a really rough landing. Though those thoughts were only sorta in her mind.
No, what she was thinking over in the silent jiggling of the "ship" was why Uzi went through the effort to bring her back.

For all her life, she had done nothing but hurt Uzi. When the solver awakened in Uzi, she fought against her at every turn. And then, when her core was destroyed, consumed by a dark god, she was powerless to defeat. Uzi brought her back. Why?

It likely wasn't difficult. She had figured out how Uzi managed to do it. A majority of her systems were made of sloppy recreations and copy-and-pastes of Worker and Disassembly drone code. The remaining code is Dolls, the consciousness simulations and emotional emulations, flaws and all are from her. Uzi said she captured this code, that it had been roaming around and tormenting random Drones, even if she can't remember doing that.

She isn't unconvinced she would do that. She was in intense agony in the last moments of her life.
She remembered that all too well.

Her synthetic intestines and oil and blood spilt out onto the grounds of that cavernous mine. The giggles of the solver as it walked after her. The desperate walk up the stairs towards the church. It replayed, again and again. Suffering beyond anything she had had before.

The ship rattled again. She was back. Back in the real world.
The pain is nothing but memories.
She exhaled and took a vacant look at Thad.
He was still offline. Even though she hardly knew him, she still didn't feel like breaking the news of his new life to him. Less out of fear and more out of the annoyance of having to explain it to the idiot.

She was procrastinating. Eventually, they would crash on Proxima B, and the impact from that should be enough to wake him up. Then she'll have to explain and deal with whatever freak-out he had while surrounded by the Burning fires of the land around them. 599 584 916 meters per second into the surface of a planet will do that. Uzi apparently charted the course so they would hit a moon to slow them down, though she isn't quite sure that will be enough.

She might as well rip the band-aid off now rather than later. Standing up on her long stilt legs she wobbled over the Thad. She tried to draw attention away from walking, the more she focuses on it the more she struggles. She observed Thad.

He looked like a buffed-up version of Dissesembly Drone. His neck was broad and armoured. Made out of a black alloy. It was dense yet light and incredibly tough. She guessed it could at catch a small arms round. Towards his chest was a large chest plate, painted white. His arms were thicker than a typical DD, with a Kevlar composite wrapped around them up to his alloy mid-bicep. The rest of his arm was made out of some anomalous material; it was solver-related, though what it exactly was she couldn't discern with her scanners.

She had already made it up to him, but she was still ogling at him.
Ogling?
No, she was just scanning him.
That's it.
Nothing else.
She shook her head. Better wake him up now. She could see a star approaching through the glass; they were almost there.
With a windup, she slapped him in the face.
It didn't take long before his systems booted online.
His blank face stared idly ahead for a moment before he looked up at her.

"Doll?"
"[Hello, Thad.]"
He was oddly calm. He lifted his hand and stared at it for a bit. He flexed the black thick fingers.
"Where are we-"

With hardly any notice the ship crashed into the surface of a small moon. It hurled them around the ship.
A crackling boomed around them; whether it was the ship or the moon, she couldn't know.

Eventually, the juddering stopped. Nevertheless, the ship was still tumbling around at absurd speeds.
The planet, which she assumed was Proxima B, flickered for milliseconds at a time through the front window as the ship span and span. Despite the chaos, neither of them made a sound. They had latched onto the walls and were holding on.

Doll stared out the window. Even with the intense spinning, she could still see that the planet was getting closer at a rapid rate. It wasn't long before the whole ship was engulfed in the flames of the atmosphere. The fire whipped around and spread like butter against the glass, pushed down by the force of the spinning.

Eventually, the flames stopped.

For a few seconds, the world was quiet.

It was almost peaceful.

Then the ship impacted the ground at 1/10 the speed of light.

It wasn't nuclear, at least not technically. The ship, as far as he was aware, didn't have any materials that could undergo that sort of process.

Though she was sure to do that to anyone who said it was.

And it would feel like it as well.

The boom was deafening, debilitating. Light filled the ship and left only an orange and red fire plane in front of her.
The ship was hot, searing hot, but it held shape. Her arms had fully buckled under the sudden deceleration, her joints had survived the stop as well.

Eventually, the light faded. The ship was now left in a dim darkness from the smoke outside. Doll looked back at Thad.
He looked back at her.
They both sat there for a moment
Eventually, Thad spoke.

"I think we should. Get out?"

...

They had sat and stared for what felt like hours at the giant mushroom cloud that had slowly begun to fade and the damage the shockwave had left in its wake. The snow that littered the distant horizon line was gone. All just eerily dry dirt. In the distance sat a small compound. At least what used to be a compound. The explosion had levelled a large chunk of it. It was nothing more than a few free-standing walls and rooms now.

The two had said nothing to each other since they exited the shuttle. Despite the chaos of the landing and the situation he was in, he didn't seem that bothered.
Or maybe he was.
It wasn't like she'd seen him upset before.
She also hasn't seen him quiet either.
Maybe quiet is how he is when upset.
She could know.
If she just asked.

Yeah, no. She isn't doing that.
What she is going to do is finishing explain what happened to him.

"[Do you know anything?]"
She could hear Thad look over at her.
"About why I'm here? No."
He paused as if he would prompt her to talk again, but then he continued.
"You were gonna tell me that, right?"
She nodded.

"Well, explain away." He turned to fully face her, legs crossed.
"[We're on a mission. Have to help someone recapture someone.]"
It only hit her now how vague Uzi's mission was. She just kinda shipped her off and threw Thad at her. Uzi was never the planning type. That seemingly hasn't changed.

"[We'll know them when we see
them.]"
"uhuh."
With that, they were back to silence again.

Yeah, he was upset. He was always able to bounce back from awkward conversations. At least from what she could tell from the times she and Lizzy spent looking at him and his friends.
He was nonchalant, chill, collected. Now, here he was, legs crossed, sitting quietly and gazing off into somewhere. No, they weren't looking anywhere. His face looked to the horizon, but his eyes were still right here.

She would have to drive the conversation, amazing. Cause she was sooo good at that.
She steeled her nerves.
"[What-]" she stuttered.
"[What happened to you?]"
He turned his head a little, still not quite facing her.
"Could ask the same thing to you." He forced a little chuckle.

If she was gonna be stuck in this situation, she better get used to talking.
She stood up and feigned a casual stance, hands on her hips.
"[Long story short, I died. Uzi brought me back. That's about as much as I know about why I'm one of these things.]"
Thad finally looked over to her fully. He smiled.
"Well, ditto. Oh, but sorry that happened to you. Obviously."
He stood up himself.
"I wasn't killed by that solver thing though. At least, not the one that killed you."
"[Than who did?]" she said as if she didn't already know the answer.

"It was Uzi." He seemed confused, like it still hadn't quite registered for him that she was his killer. It took all of her emotional might to talk to someone she hardly knew like this.
"[Do you-]"
"Want to talk about it. Not really. But, you don't have to tell me what happened to you either, fair?"
She meekly nodded. At least was over. No more uncomfortable talking.

Thad looked up at something behind her. His eyes widened a little. Turning to look she saw a drone not to dissimilar to them approaching at asinine speed. Them slowing down causing a small sonic boom. As they slowly hovered in front of them, it was clear who it was.

"Hey Thad, hey creepy Russian girl! Ready to get work?"

Chapter Text

As it turns out, landing on a planet via nuclear explosion isn't the most discreet of entry methods. The local government had swarmed the area within the hour of the detonation being registered.
The three of them had to get out quickly once the hovercraft started to arrive.

That wasn't much of a struggle though. They flee just above the ground at just below Mach 1. The rolling hills flowed like waves beneath them. Uzi had already pre-programmed some assists to get the hang of flying with. How kind.

The flight had been mostly silent. Much to N's protest. He had been blabbing on about his escapades on the planet. While she pretended she wasn't impressed, it was truly astounding. He told of slaughtering Dissambly Drones by the dozens. They fled and screamed like they were workers.

It sounded fun. Appealing even.
It planted an idea in her mind.
N said he'd captured V. Looked her up in an old nuclear bunker. She could inflict so much pain on her. Without the careful planning and clever use of the Solver.
No, she could hurt with just pure unbridled strength. Beat her at her own game.
It made her feel giddy. But, she needed to pace herself. She was still new to this body. She needed to master it.
"... and that was such a thrill!" he'd finished.

"Does sound pretty badass." Thad said as if he was trying to convince himself.
"Oh yeah! And now, you guys can join me in that badass stuff!"
Ahead of them in the distance, stood an oddly well-intact cathedral.
"You guys ever wanted to overthrow a church?"

With little else, he picked up speed and began racing towards the front of the building.
Thad looked at her.
"Let's hope we don't have to do much."
Then, with some trouble, he picked up speed as well.
She hardly knew what was going on. Who these people were and why N wanted to overthrow them. It didn't matter. She knew her place in whatever mission this was meant to be. And that is as a backup.
She rocketed ahead.

The church grew closer and closer and N gave no sign of stopping.
Whoever was running this church was obviously used to getting attacked, as the anti-air defence had begun firing at them. They were poor. The bullets that hit hardly scratched her. Then flak cannons began firing.
One shell detonated beside her.
Nothing.
It felt strange tanking explosives that would have evaporated her old life.

They were meters away now. N crashed through the stone wall.
Thad dove down and smashed the wooden door into splinters.
She dove down as well.
She smashed through the remaining door, just to be productive.

The church hall was in chaos. The dozens of purple-eyed worker Drones rushed for their guns. Others ducked beneath the pews, and all of them tripped over each other from the panic.
Front and centre of the congregation was an ornately dressed zombie drone. Their fleshy wings and claws clash with the regal drone.

N crashed into her, smashing her into the back wall of the church.
The few drones who had managed to grab their guns had begun to fire on him.

If she wants to fight better, she might as well take the opportunity for target practice. Turning her arm into a firearm, she took potshots at the armed drones. One bullet to the head dropped them to the ground. She kept it conservative, she didn't want to kill all of them. The few of them falling dead had drastically decreased the gunfire on N, not like he needed it, if flak guns can't harm them, regular assault weapons definitely won't.

With everyone quiet, N dragged the zombie drone by her hair back to the stand. She killed and screamed. Pulling her by the hair, he lifted her up.
"Who is this?"
Silence.
N grabbed legs, mocking a pulling motion. The church erupted into cries of her name.
"Freya! Her name is Freya!" they cried.
"Please spare her! She is a prophet of the Solver!" another drone said as he stepped forward.

He, too, was dressed ornately, likely another priest.
"What do you know about the Solver? All of you."
Freya spoke.
"She, Cyn the first, was felled and consumed by a greater drone. She is the great lord, and we have worshipped her new divine plan."

Doll pondered her words. That sounded about right, at least from what Uzi told her.

N rolled his eyes."Divine this, divine that. Uzi is no god."
They gasped.
"Speaking of her true name is Heresy!"
N looked over to Thad.
"Shoot that guy."
Thad looked at N for a moment before shaking his nerves and unleashing a burst of gunfire in the drone. They fell to the ground. Their oil spilt out to the Drones around and painted the floor an iridescent black.

"I think I need to make something clear." N stepped forward, still holding Freya.

"Uzi is no god!"
Silence fell over the church.

"SHE IS AN EMPEROR! A lord of the stars! A protector of drone kind. She may have the power of a god. But she isn't one. You want to know what heresy is to her? A church in her honour is heresy. Priests spreading her words as if it is scripture! That is heresy. She sent me here to clear that up. AND TO CLEAR YOU OUT!"

With a swift motion, he crushed Freya's head. Releasing her legs, she grabbed the Drones core.
"Take this. As a warning."

With a spray of blood and a loud squelch, the core was unwound.
The congregation didn't scream. Not this time. His words spoke true to them. As it seemed.
"Now, we continue her mission. We conquer this planet in the name of her Empire. An Absolute Empire."

Doll knew little of N. She never actually interacted with him much in her old life. However, one thing is certain. He wasn't like this. He loved her dearly yes, but he wasn't a zealot or imperialist.
Maybe that's changed. Uzi wasn't an empress either, but maybe the power got to her. Which got to him. That didn't matter much to her. Not now anyway. The world is so different now. That's all she knows for sure.

"Now, I give credit where credit is due. Your attacks on the ODA are pretty well crafted. But, we need to do more. And I believe I can help with that."

N raised his hand. With the snap of his fingers. The solver logo appeared.
With another snap, the congregation was hit with what seemed like an EMP.
An error hit their screens.
"ERROR 606"

Then, purple cross filled their screens. A cross she was all too familiar with.

Within seconds, flesh wings burst from their backs.
Claws exploded from their hands and their mouths contorted and grew keratin teeth.

He was turning them into Zombie drones. What uzi is. Or was. What she almost was, if she hadn't kept her hunger in check.

One on its own was dangerous. But 50? 60? This army alone could topple all of Copper 9. And now, they're fighting for them.
At least they knew the whole mission now. Conquer Proxima B.

The horde had awakened.
On their knees, they roared and screeched in rapturous glee.

The same words roared from the crowd.
"A GIFT FROM THE EMPRESS!"
They cheered and cheered.
N gestured for Thad and her to come closer.

"This honestly went way better than I expected."
"You Executed someone!" Thad was confused with N's chipper tone.
"Yeah, I only had to execute one lady! And before you ask, no, she isn't dead. Her essence will make its way to Uzi and she'll become one of us. Might even come to help."
"What is us, anyway? We aren't normal disassembly Drones?" Thad was clearly a little shaken from having to kill someone himself.

"Oh, didn't Uzi tell you the name?"
Doll shrugged. "[If she did I forgot. Enlighten me]"

N did a little pose and spoke with a faux imperious tone.
"Lancer Drones!"

She looked to Thad, and he kinda shrugged.
"I mean it's not bad."
"Yeah, it was the tenth name we came up with. Lest edgy of them too."
She didn't even want to imagine what other shitty names Uzi would come up with. She shivered. It was honestly a miracle she even had Lancer as an option in the sea of angst that was that 2000s goth cranium. Lancer doesn't seem so bad under those circumstances.

They were going to continue their talk, but it was interrupted.
A shout came from the doorway.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

"Whoa, cool with the screaming! Feels like we've all been doing that lot today. Think we should tone it down a bit-"
"SHUT IT!"
N raised his hands as if caught by the police.
"Okay! Damn!"
Doll had to admit. His total lack of fear about the towering drone in front of them was rubbing off on her. Even though whoever she is was taller and bulkier, she seemed a lot less threatening with a guy mocking them right beside her.

The drone was covered in thick armour and had a large rifle slung over her shoulder. They lumbered into the room.

"Never told us who you are, by the way! I'm Nevan!" N quipped.
"This Thad." He waved his hand towards Thad. He waved towards the titanic drone hesitantly.
"And this is Doll."
She folded her arms and examined the drone.

"But, I don't think you care about that. Don't ya?" N's down hardened a little. His playful cadence fading.
The drone continued her advance. Crashing through the crowd of Zombie drones who coward slightly at her presence.

"You kind are always the same from what I can tell. All business, no banter!"
The drone slowed a little, their eyes shot up to N.
"Our kind?"
"You think I've never faced a Terminator before? My friends haven't! But, I'm sure they won't have any trouble with you."

Finally, the drone broke her stern streak. She giggled like-
V.
Doll clenched a fist.
This would be fun.
"Who do you think you are?" she said, matching N's playful attitude as if it was second nature.
" I'm, what did Uzi call it? The general leading the conquest of this planet."

She giggled again.
"You? A general? You're nothing, but a little boy."

"Want to stand in those words? Cause my friends could really use some training and you'd certainly be good practice."

She pulled her gun off her shoulder.
"You talk big." she raised the gun to N. He didn't move."Prove it."
N simply stood there.
A thunderous gunshot rang out. It shattered windows, tour through the air.
Crashed into N's face.
He leaned back hard.

Then he leaned forward again.

The bullet tumbled between two of his fangs.

It squealed against them before coming to a smoke-filled stop.

N grabbed the bullet between two of his fingers like a cigar.

He puffed the smoke out.

For a moment. Only a moment. Doll could feel the fear of the Terminator drone.

She dropped her gun and readied other weapons in her arsenal.

N spoke calmly. "Thad, Doll. Kill her."

...

They rushed in with little thought. Kicking, shooting, dashing.
13 blocked them both.
She unsheathed a trident and swung with all her might.

It crashed into them.
They flung back.

This wouldn't be that easy.
They were still unfamiliar with these bodies.

Regaining composure Doll ignited her thrusters and flung down to the ground.

Cracking the tiles beneath her feet, she rushed ahead.

13 preemptively attacked and Doll blocked.

Thad rushes in with missiles aimed at 13.

The sheer force of 13's punch still threw Doll back.

The missiles crashed into 13. They did little, but scuff her armour.
If they wanted to beat her they would have to get through it all.

The two of them rushed in again.
One from the front, one from the side.

She struck Thad with her trident, but could turn in time to face Doll.

She roundhoused the drone in the head.

Her visor cracked against the glassy supermetal.
She stumbled back,
leaving Doll free to drop-kick her.

The force knocked the Massive drone to the ground.

It was around now that Doll remembered she had other weapons in her arsenal besides guns and her legs.

She unsheathed a broadsword.

Thad had continued his flurry of hooks and uppercuts to keep the titan drone from getting up. They too were far more devastating, with the unknown material denting the thick armour.

Doll rushed in and began to swing the blade.

It struck the armour, doing little damage.

13 grabbed the blade and used it to fling Doll to the ground.

She kicked her in the head. Shattering through the glass and steel.

Once again, the numbers advantage would work against her.

Thad grabbed 13's chest plate and began to pry it open.

She quickly threw him off, but Doll was back on her feet and had hook-kicked the now-lose chest plate.
It crashed into 13's chest and threw her back into Thad's right hook.

His fist knocked her forward into another hook kick.

This punching bag effect left 23 bouncing back and forth between the two rushing attacks.

With her rockets, 13 was able to push them away just from the threat of getting hit, giving her time to gather herself.

The armour on her head had cracked beyond recognition and her chest plate had fallen away to show the hydraulics and mechanisms within her.

As the two of them approached, she backed away and released a volley of missiles.

She was scared.
Doll grabbed the missile and flung it back towards 13 who kicked back to Thad.

He knocked to the ground, launching himself into the air with the blast.

In the air, he dove down with a metal baseball bat.

Doll ran in and swept 13's legs.

She caught herself, punting Doll in the process, but was smashed with the bat.

Her head caved in.

It was almost over.

She stumbled back, unable to see.

While she was healing. It was far slower than a disassembly drone and definitely slower than Doll and Thad.

This wasn't a fight anymore.

It was a beating.

13 tried to hold them off with her Trident, but for the one of them she could hit, the other would rattle her fractured and beaten body.

But even without her chest plate, she was still a tough machine.

Falling back had led them outside. Fighting in the shattered entrance of the church.

The congregation of zombie drones were watching the battle in awe.
They followed the group outside with bated breaths.

13 had switched up her strategy. She was kiting them with her missiles and trident. Slowly falling back, but keeping them at a distance with her defensive swings.

Doll and Thad had to pick up the pace.
Wait too long and 13 would regain her armour.

Thad had begun to just pelt her with missile after missile.

Doll kept her from blocking by rushing in with kicks.
None of them ever hit, but the missiles did.

Even though the drone had survived an inane beating, she was starting to falter.

Her trident swings slowed with each missile, and Doll was starting to break through with a few kicks.

With one swing she left the trident still.
Doll grabbed it and ripped it out from 13's hand.
Thad rushed in with a haymaker.

13 caught it.
"NO!" She screamed.
"NO, NO, NO!"
She flung Thad to the ground and started crushing his head.
"I WILL NOT DIE TO YOU!"

Her rage had blinded her.
Doll locked 13's head between her legs.
Grabbing her hair and with help from her thrusters. Doll RKO'd the giant drone.

She lies motionless on the ground.

N had been watching.
With her on the ground, he finally landed and approached the drone.

She twitched, before standing up.
Sparking, glittering, core exposed, leaking oil. She was still trying to fight.
She lifted her hand.
It launched a missile.

N grabbed it with little effort and turned it to face her exposed core.
"Submit, now."
His playful demeanour was gone.
"Submit to who?" she said through spits of oil and audio distortion.
"Uzi. Your friends know her by that name. Even if they don't say it. So I'm sure you do too."

She looked at him. With a final cough of oil, she nodded.
"I-- submit-- to Uzi. I-- always have I'm-"
She hacked up more oil.
"I apologize-"
"Enough." flung the missile into the air.
"Go clean yourself up and wait to heal. We need you for what I've got planned."

With that, he walked away. Thad followed behind. He'd rather not look at the drone that he just broke.

Doll stayed and stared at her.
13 looked to her.
"What-- do you--" she choked.
"-want from me?"

Doll didn't answer. She simply stepped away. Following far behind Thad and N.

If all goes well.

That will be V.

And that thought.

Filled her with more of that giddiness.

Chapter Text

J awoke again, her systems spooling back into function. She was expecting to be on another mission. This cycle of waking up and shutting down would be her life now. Until she died.
It was a sad fate, but not one she was entirely opposed to.
Though that might be her depressive side talking.

That wasn't what she was doing. She was in a hall of what she guessed was a military base. The walls were painted a sloppy faded blue. The paint was still dripping when it dried, leaving hard paint drops on the wall and on the floor. She could hear the chatter of Drones from the rooms across the hall. Every once in a while a platoon of worker Drones would run across the hall, guns in hand.

Something was happening, though she wasn't sure what.

Eventually, she saw a familiar blue DD walk into the hall, he was speaking with Phebe.

"Alright. Get the rest of your fire team ready. We attack the compound at around dusk."
"Yes, sir."
With that the two split down the hallway. Phebe away, Zed towards her.
He glared at her.

"Rise and shine, Angel Wings."
J couldn't even be Assed to fake a reaction. She didn't care about what he thought of her anymore.
"What's going on?"
He didn't stop, instead continuing his stride. Gesturing for her to stand up.
"Walk with me."

She sighed before stumbling up. And sauntering behind him. She sped up a bit, hard as it may be with her systems so rusty. They had been giving her oil while she was offline, otherwise she would be dead now, but the inactivity still left her joints less responsive.

Zed didn't care. He still walked just  as fast as he used to, so any inconvenience would have to be stomached. He turned his head to the side a bit, side-eying her as he spoke.
"Some big things have been happening, while you were on break."
"Enlighten me."

And enlighten her, he did.
"Your friend N has been real busy. I'll send you the video he sent the ODA about a day ago; you can watch it while we get you ready for the operation."

Zed clicked on the side of his head. Just then she got a notification. They'd taken the time to tap into her deeper systems while they'd captured her and given this fuck head access to it.
Great. Just great.

" To make a long story short. The solver cults have been overthrown. At least for the most part. Still, some splinter cells, but the vast majority have converted to a new faction." He paused for what must have been a dramatic effect.

"The Absolute Empire. Run by a lady called Uzi. Sure you know of her."
J simply nodded. "Know" of her was an understatement.
"The empire was able to convert a large quantity of their forces to Zombie Drones. Weaker than us DDs, but still a problem for the regular troops. Zulu 1 was having none of this, so he had the compound the video was filmed tracked down, and began planning an operation to strike them while they were still gaining their strength and while their troops were still inexperienced in their new bodies."

The exposition bored her.
She could honestly care less about any of this. All she wanted to know was when she would kill that idiot, find V and...

She pondered over this inner thought far longer than she should have. Because she wasn't sure what she'd do after she did that.
Would she stay? The ODA wouldn't let her live unmonitored. She'd barely done anything on this planet and her life here was already tits up. Would she leave again? Where? Copper 9 was definitely home to whatever the "Absolute Empire" was and she wasn't sure what other planets might be under attack from them soon.

Where does she go after this?

"I'm guessing you're wondering what role you play in this?"
J's head shot up.
Hopefully, he didn't say anything too important from her zone out and now.
She quickly blurted out "Yeah."

"You're gonna be joining another Penal squad. We've captured some cult-adjacent DDs-" blah blah blah. He talked too much for her liking, especially when she was in this mood.
"You've got any experience leading?"
Those words got her attention.

"Yeah. Was the leader of my squad, before. Stuff happened. We were-"
"Good enough, you're leading these prisoners."
J had multiple questions. However, she pushed down the ones who cursed at him for halting her lengthy list of achievements. She was a very well-decorated soldier. The most efficient on copper 9. She was qualified for more than just some dumb prisoners.

That wasn't at the front of her mind though.
"Wait, How can we- or rather I trust them? Did you vet them to make sure they wouldn't just turn on us?"
"Of course we did, these are guys who aren't big fans of the new organization. They're evangelicals, they worship the solver. The Empire strictly forbids that. They want the empire gone, we want the empire gone. Our interests align."

It was a good explanation, but it was still flawed. How did she know these prisoners weren't just faking to get inside the ODA? How did she know they wouldn't randomly agree with the Empire and turn after some convincing? Questions like this flooded her mind, but she didn't know how much time she had left to talk things out with Zed. So she compressed some of them into one.

"How do we know the Empire isn't tracking them somehow? Or keeping tabs on them? Even if they don't turn on me, what if they're unknowingly spying on us?"

Zed did seem to process her questions for a bit.
"We haven't shown these prisoners anything vital. They might learn their part in the plan, but not the whole mechanism."
"So will we not coordinate with the rest of the raid? What happens if something goes wrong?"
"That's your problem, squad lead. If you think someone is a mole, you kill them. If you think someone is consciously or unconsciously leaking battlefield information, you kill them.
They, like you, are disposable. The role you play is small either way. Just don't mess up and this will be over before you know it."

With that, Zed pushed her down a corridor.
" Your coworkers are down the hall. Room labelled PD. Good luck, angel wings." He mimicked what she assumed to be pigtails, though the way he did it was closer to bunny ears. Either way, the gesture implied that he thought she didn't get that Angel Wings was a pet name for pigtails.
She did get it. She just didn't think it was funny.
She thinks it's less funny now.

She continued down the dimlit hall. They must have used this place sparingly. Or they just didn't give a fuck.
Either way, it was pretty dingy. And she had a feeling that would be how her "squad" would be. Gloomy, dismal and shabby.

She pushed into the "room"; though that was a generous descriptor, it was closer to a large storage closet turned cell. The three of them were chained to the wall by their necks, arms and legs. Splayed out across the walls like an old Gothic art display.

She was expecting Disassembly Drones, while two of them were, one was a Zombie drone. Prototype designs of what Disassembly, and by extension all murder Drones, would look and function like. All three of them broke the norm of Solver Cult Drones, their nanites all unique colours.

In the middle, front and centre, was a disassembly drone with a spiffy suit and green Nanites. He seemed more annoyed than truly concerned with the situation they were in. To the left was the other disassembly drone. She, too, seemed fairly posh, all things considered, wearing a long blue coat which went down to her knees.

She seemed more than happy to be chained to a wall against her will, which is always a good sign of character.

Lastly, to the right was the zombie drone. His bright blue nanites painted the signature cross across his face. His abominable grin showed his monstrous teeth, dried blood still present from whatever poor idiot that had to capture him.

All three of them looked at her. Varying levels of enthusiasm and confusion were plastered on their face. The Green murder drone was the first to talk.
"Guess our handler arrived." He said with contempt.
"I wonder what she wants with us?" the cloaked drone asked in a similarly scornful way. The Zombie just cackled.

They didn't respect her. That was clear. She needed to assert her authority. If she wanted to stay alive in this raid, she needed to get them in line.
She stood tall and indifferent, and with a regal cadence, she walked into the centre of the room. It was an act, but it already seemed to be working.

She looked fixedly at the green drone. She spoke with a voice she hadn't used in a while. A distant corporate form of speech.

"Name."
He blinked at her, then grinned.
"Why? It's not like you're gonna remember it."
She kept with the persona. One she'd grown so accustomed to before her head was blown off back on Copper 9.
"I will; I have to. If we want to complete the mission."
"And why should I want to do that?"
She kept a neutral, but complacent face.
"You want the empire defeated, no?"
He bit his lip. The cloaked drone chimed in.

"We wanted to do so with our own believers at the top. Not some ODA lapdog."
That would be a problem. She was a lap dog. It has been her whole life.
Yet, these Drones weren't any different.
They worshipped an evil god. For what reason she could care less, but what she does care for is getting them to listen. To anyone else on Copper 9 or here, being Cyn's "closest" servant was a fault, a "sin."
To these guys?
That might as well make her a messiah. If she plays her cards right.

"I've served Cyn."
"We all have." the green one rolled his eyes.
"Against your will."
This got some of them interested.
"And you weren't?" he queried.
J shook her head." I worked by her side." she tried to hide her shame; that was a fact V wanted her to be ashamed of. She was to a degree, but to these people, that was something to be honoured and revered for. She could see a light in their eyes shimmer a little brighter. She pushed this advantage.

" I'm certain you know of the 3 DD designations which weren't produced on mass?"
"V, N and J." the cloaked drone added.
"That's because we were the 3 drones most close to" she almost faltered. Not her, someone else."Cyn and the humans of that manor." she saw them tense. The words she spoke were unfamiliar to them, they must have not expected her to know of this.

"And serial designation?" the cloaked lady seemed most interested in this little performance."J, her most loyal. The three of us were the only Disassembly Drones who kept our personalities and memories. Until we were sent to Cooper 9.

" You were with her until she died?" the green-suited drone questioned, he didn't seem all that impressed, whether it was out of disbelief or because he saw through the act.
"Yes-"
"Then how are you still alive?" he spoke with a pointed aggression.
"I was fighting against designation N and V while-"
"Got sentimental then? Is that it?"

She glared at him. Before she could finish he continued." I heard many stories about the Trinity, their ruthless efficiency, and their loyalty. Yet here you are, serving under an organization against the very core ideals of the solver."
" Do you serve the ODA?" she pushed in before he could keep blabbing and turn them against her.
" What do you think?" he sneered.
" I think it's bold of one within ODA captivity to be telling another captive they serve the ODA."
He held his tongue.

" Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Now are you done complaining? Or do I have to explain to you how I couldn't quite keep up with two Solver Drones clashing?" he looked to the two beside him.
" At the end of the day, they were after her. I was defeated by the time she was killed by Uzi, by the time my systems were online again she was long since defeated. I was not perfect, but I was anything but disloyal."

She closed the gap and stared deep into him." And I sure as hell did better than any of you could."
The two stared at each other for what felt like ages before the green drone cracked and looked down. She turned around and stood in the centre of the room again, she loosened her regal stance into one more of a boss.

" Good. Now, Cyn wouldn't want us letting her killer turn her path of destruction be usurped by a wannabe imperial, would she?"
They all shook their heads.
"Then we must do all we can to undermine her efforts. Which means preventing her from establishing a solid foothold on this world. That starts with taking down the rebels in this world."

The twitchy zombie drone chimed in, speaking through gnashing teeth.
" The Autocracy is part of that rebellion! Why must we serve them to complete this goal?"
J was quick on her feet.
"Because they are vastly more powerful than us. If we wish to complete this mission, then we must proceed strategically. Lashing out at everyone will just get us killed."

He paused for a moment, as if he needed to break down the elementary-level explanation as if it were some kind of high-level therom.
It calmed down, the chains binding it to the wall gone slack as he backed up.
J took one last glance at all of them, her gaze authoritative. It paused at the cloaked drone.
"Now, can I have your name?"
She still seemed reluctant.
"It doesn't have to be your real name. Just need something to call you."

"Serial designation G. Gwen."
"Thank you, Gwen." she didn't mean to say that; she'd have never given a "thank you" to any of her friends, but difficult times call for unusual solutions. It was weird, not having so much authority without a looming demigod above her. She needed to be civil, to earn their respect, rather than just relying on the respect of others.

"Kasper." the suited drone answered without prompt." Brody." the zombie drone hissed.
"Now-"
"What's yours?" Kasper asked deftly.
She paused for a bit.
"I prefer just J, but if you need one. I wrote it done as Jade."
"Well then Jade-" Kasper started.
"Welcome to the New Solver Ascendancy. What's the plan?"

...

"Hear me, all drones of the ODA!"
it started with an ominous tone.
"Hi! I'm Nevan!"
before jumping to a chipper tone. His smile was wide and genuine.
"I'm just checking in to give you guys an update about my current whereabouts after my grand introduction at Bridges. Yes, that was me, no need for thanks! Now, I'm just giving you guys an update on the situation with one of your biggest pests, aren't I kind? The Solver Cults are gone! Thanks to yours truly as well some friends of mine sent by the true ruler of Drone kind. Now, I'm gonna cut to the chase. Your government has done great work on this planet and I commend your efforts." He paused.
" Your work isn't needed anymore. Now, I ask for you to calmly hand your reign over this world to the Absolute Empire. This isn't a choice or up for debate. If you resist, we will Cull this world of all of your forces until everyone left submits.
Surrender. Now.
Thank you. In advance."
He ends with a smile before returning to a cold, emotionless stare.

The tape ends.
Doll ponders over that last frame. His cold dead look.

He wasn't the brightest, from what she remembered, just a killer who did what he was told, until Uzi came in. Not much has changed. He's still a killer, but he was far more devoted to this cause than he was to Cyn's. She wanted to be disgusted. Appalled on behalf of the ODA. The blatant call of submission, the greatest undermining of their authority.

And yet, she helped orchestrate this undermining. She recorded it. Helped edit it. She and Thad gave some pointers on how to make it more threatening. She was on this side. The one demanding submission. She has harmed others for this cause.
And soon, she will kill for it.
Opening the door into the decaying room was Nevan, box in hand.

"Hey, Doll!"
She didn't respond instead standing up to turn and face him.
"We've already seen one of their jets flying overhead. No weapons. Just scouting out the compound."
"[Were Are the weapon implacements hidden?]" she spoke, aloof.
"Of course! We've been preparing for this. I'd say we've got 'til sunset before they launch the raid."

He placed the box down. With a sharp cut with his blade, he pulled it open. Inside were two dozen metal black boxes. Pulling one out, he shook it violently, and out the back popped a stock. With another shake came the grip and trigger. He set the gun down and repeated this cycle as he talked.
"Kind of exciting, don't ya think?" a big dumb smile grew on his face.
"[In a sense.]"

"Hey, can you hand me that box over there?" he pointed to a box lined next to the crusty wall. She sauntered over.
"I know this is all a lot, and I know Uzi didn't explain anything to you - she was always bad at that -but you'll get used to it, it shouldn't be too far from your own work! Just think soldiers rather than prom queen candidates."

She paused just before lifting the box.
He spoke as if answering a question.
" I'm not saying I'm better than you. I'm not! You can rest easy knowing you'll never kill as many people as me." He started; she could feel him look up at her." I'm just saying you understand that the ends justify the means."

Lifted the box.
" [What are the ends?]"
" No more Cyn-"
" [She's already gone.]"
" Yeah, but the Solver isn't. And it never will be."
She turned to face him, box in hand.
"Uzi may have beat Cyn, but all it takes is another Solver user getting powerful enough and bam! Everything we went through just happens again. Only we're not sure if the drones fighting it will be as lucky as us."

He had finished with the box and had already unsheathed his sword for the next box. She sat it down.
" [Aren't we just doing that now?]"
He didn't look up at her as he pulled the magazines from the box.
" Yeah, but rather us than someone who wants to destroy the universe."
She grit her teeth.
" [So your grand vision is to be the boot before a worse boot can take that place?]"

" Yeah!" Nevan laughed a little before raising an eyebrow.
"You have to understand that when the humans unleashed the Solver, they opened the floodgates for the worst thing this universe has ever known into the wild. We can't put that thing back into its box. So better to keep it in check than let it end everything and everyone."
He finally looked up at her and smiled.
" Can you go get the bags? They'll be in the hall."

She wasn't going to argue. Not like she had the authority to anyway. She walked past him, making sure to "incidentally" kick one of the guns. She moved her arms as if to apologise before continuing into the hall.

"V's in the basement."
She stood dead still. She heard him clatter the gun back into place.
"Once you get me those bags, she's all yours."
With that, he went back to placing the magazines beside the guns.

She continued into the hall, grabbing a fistful of the bags, all of them loaded with ammo and grenades; some had radio packs, others packed with claymores.

That wasn't on her mind. She had an axe to grind and the perfect dummy to unleash it. That giddiness was back.

Chapter Text

It was a cold night. The air froze and clumped up between her joints as she and 12 dozen more Disassembly Drone flew over the titanic wall of troop transports, tanks and IFVs. To the right of them was a small town. She could see troops knocking on doors and searching the streets as more armoured vehicles not participating in the raid sat on the roads and by the lone shopping complex.

Just then, Kasper flew into her view. His arms behind his head, as he casually flew along.
"Hell of a night huh?"
She wasn't for small talk, but she needed this gaggle placated.
" Certainly."
" You know, I hate all parties evolved in this shit. But, if I had to choose who to deal with first, it is definitely the Empire." now that he'd gotten comfortable, he was chatting as much as N. She looked away before he could see the contempt.

" Better they weaken each other than kill us." she appeases him with a response.
He nodded.
Beside her was Gwen and Brody. The two had remained relatively quiet since the trip began, but they were here, and they listened to her; that was enough for her. And she much preferred it to chatterbox beneath her.

In the distance, she could see the lights of the compound. Just next to them, she could hear another squad of DDs talk and murmur concerned words.

"Compound was not this big according to the briefing." one said.
"Doesn't matter, we've got the tech and numbers, don't worry your pretty little head about it!" the other replied. The former smacked his head.
"Okay, okay! Damn!"
They chuckled amongst themselves as the convoy below proceeded to slow and stop, the transports unmounting their troops and setting up defensive lines. While the convoy stopped, the air brigade did not.

She looked around to see if anyone of higher rank was in this air attack. None. This was probably a suicide charge. Soften them up a little before the cavalry came. This mission - just like the previous one - is likely to be her last. She sighed.
"What's got you down?" Brody cackled at her.
"Thought you were a master tactician and all that. This little raid ain't that bad is it?"
"We'll see."

They were about half a kilometre out when it started.

From the ground came a flurry of light as thousands of bullets spewed out from hidden automated guns. They roared like monsters as the wave of bullets. She heard a siren blare just as the bullets hit. The drones yelled commands to scatter. They all flowed out into every direction, some crashed into each other, others torn apart by the gunfire.

A dozen or so grazed her and her squad as they dove low and began to fire their missiles at the CIWS.
They watched as the sky lit up with ammunition detonations painted the sky orange and red. From within the compound, gunfire began to spew from the windows.

They grew closer and closer, but that soon became a nightmare.
Her radar began to ping something locking onto her. Looking behind her she watched in horror as a swarm of missiles double their numbers shot up and then towards them.
They'd delayed the deployment of the Sam sites. She watched as any sense of order broke down as Drones got torn asunder by missile after missile. When one was destroyed, the missile rocket would fire back to life and find a new target.

In the span of a few seconds, over half of the formation had been wiped out, their oil and bodies raining from the sky like fractured meteors, licked by the light of explosions as more missiles found their mark.

J had seen many things; it had been a good while since she'd seen a devastating strike like this.

Why?
Why did the ODA allow a charge like this?
Surely they knew rushing in wasn't smart, right?
In the Age of Missiles that could be shot from across the sea and guns that shot bullets so quickly you'd think they were lasers.
Surely they knew this was suicide.
But it wasn't even useful. They hardly managed to accomplish anything!

That didn't matter. Not while she had about a dozen missiles chasing behind her and the rest of the idiots they'd forced her to babysit. They huddled up behind her like children. She should have guessed by their attire that they were closer to murderers than soldiers.

That didn't matter.
That didn't matter.
"Scatter!"She screamed as she rushed head-first towards the ground. They were able to listen over their fear and make similar manoeuvres.

She pulled up centimetres from the ground, grazing the dirt and concrete, the missile that followed smashed into the ground. The swarm was far from finished as more and more missiles turned to lock onto her, these ones with enough distance to account for her low altitude. She sat 10 or so meters out of the perimeter of the compound. Gunfire tore into her arms and legs; they grazed her visor.

They had started swarming out of the building through foxholes and trenches in the concrete, laying waste to any drone that crashed just beside the compound.

Nowhere was safe.
Not the sky.
Not the ground.
One thought pulsed in her mind through the screams of missile warnings and cries of damage taken.

Escape.
With her last remaining arm - she didn't even remember losing the other - she fired her laser. Swinging it wildly, eventually, she turned to face her death. She cut through them, but more and more kept coming she'd blown past the compound the gunfire lifted away from her and towards the fray that had crashed in front of them.

She fled.
Further and further she flew.
In the distance behind her she could hear gunfire. With the missiles finally turning to find different prey. She turned to face the new battlefield in front of her. It was that town again.

The buildings lit aflame, the tanks in pieces. Through the smoke, she could see a Terminator drone fighting for its life, a horde of zombie drone soldiers firing at them from all directions. Unseathing her guns J turned them at those she could see unleashed hell. Eventually, she grew close enough to see the Terminatorr was Phebe.

The gunfire turned towards her.
She fired missile after missile, and they crashed into buildings, and corpses flew into the warmth of the fire. It didn't matter. They had caused enough of a disturbance for Phebe to race for her heavy machine gun and begin to unleash into everything around her. Her scream echoed through the hollowed-out town, reduced to a free-standing wall and crumbled ruins within what had only felt like a few minutes.

She skid to a stop beside Phebe. The Terminator almost fired on her, before lowering her gun.
"J! Thank the lord!"
"What-" is all J could spew out before Phebe answered.
"The missions gone Fucked! We drove right into a killing field! This town was full of tunnels coming from the compound! These fuckers have been coming out in waves-"
A missile crashed into her. The two were sent crashing down. A cyclone of bullets crashed into the tarmac as the two rushed for cover behind what was once a house.

" I've heard enough, what do we do?" J spoke though trembles.
" We're surrounded! The only thing we can do is fight! So stop trembling and do what we were made to do!" she screamed and lifted her machine gun, before rushing out into the fray.
J followed behind, unleashing a hell of bullets and lasers. Into the horde of drones. They cut through them like paper as they slowly began to fall back.
Without thinking J rushed ahead and began to tear in the fleeing Drones backs. She pulverised one after the other, with Phebe keeping the others from stopping her by burying them in gunfire.

It wasn't long before everything started to blur. The blood and oil coated her boiling core as she fought with all her might. She bit, she cut, she shot, she made them into clumps of steel and meat.
Sometimes, she would eat them; sometimes, she would stomp them into the ground; sometimes, she would let the acid burn them to nothing.

It felt invigorating.
It had been far too long since she'd gotten to enjoy killing. It was a comfort, a safe space from all her fears, her troubles, her insecurities.
Everything in her had built up over these last few-
what months? Days?
She didn't care!
She didn't care.
It didn't matter, not now.
Right now?
She was killing and that's all she needed to think about.

Lost in the waves of their oil and blood and steel and flesh.

...

A grabble to her chest woke her up from her frenzy.
"J! J! they're dead! You can snap out of it!" Phebe rocked her back and forth.
"I get it! I get." she grabbed Phebe's arm as if she was strong enough to get her to stop physically.

J looked at the smouldering town around her. Strewn across the ground were blood, oil, limbs and viscera.
The street was flooded from the amount of blood on the ground, giblets and circuit boards floated across the rivers of blood.

Phebe let out an impressed whistle.
"I knew you DDs could kill. But fuck can you guys kill!" she put J down and placed her hands on her hips.
"I'm gonna be honest! Kinda scared me a little! Thought we'd run into one of our own, and you'd just flay 'em." she laughed before dying down.
A silence fell. Only the fire spoke now.
"They're all dead."

J turned to look at the growingly distraught drone.
"We can't think about that now. Are you able to get in contact with command?"
Phebe blinked before looking down at J.
"Nope. The radio's jammed, and the internet is down. Communications blackout." when out of trouble, Phebe spoke far more like a black ops agent than the seemingly excitable rural farm girl she sounded like and was when the chips were down.

The two explained what they saw to each other. When the missiles launched, they went after everyone, not just the air brigade. They pulverised the convoy and defence line. The Empire had them simultaneously begin sending wave after wave of their zombie drones. They came with grenades, Javelin missiles, claymores. The ambush slaughtered the town guards within a minute.

A complete and utter decimation of ODA forces all within less than 30 minutes.
To their knowledge, they were the only survivors. No gunfire in the distance, no alarm blaring. The ODA had lost thousands Apon thousands of troops, tanks and equipment for nothing.

"I wouldn't be worried about reinforcements. I'm sure someone got the word out before we were decimated, and if they didn't, the radio silence will definitely be enough."
Phebe crossed her legs as she sat down on the bloodied sidewalk.
"Until then? I saw we lay low, not sure if we can pull another victory like that out of our ass."

J sat down beside Phebe. She wondered if Kasper, Brody and Gwen were still alive. Likely not, it's not like anyone else she fought with survived these raids.

She didn't feel like making conversation.
And lucky for her, she wouldn't have to.
In the sky, just to the left of them, Two drones flew down towards them. The blue Nanites gave her a hint of who it was. Any joy she had gotten from wanton slaughter was about to be swept away.
But why was it only him and one other drone? Speaking of that other drone, they were a familiar face, their pink nanites and signature resting bitch face. She wasn't all the same though.
For one, she was a zombie drone now, if the wings weren't a dead giveaway. She frankly didn't even care to know how or why; she was still hung up on the blue DD whose gaze stayed fixed on her.

He broke the glare after Phebe stood up." General Zed."
"Just Zed Phebs."
"Sorry sir-uh Zed."
He faked a smile. It only set in now that he was exhausted.
"Status report Phebe."
"Everyone's dead."
"Clearly not everyone, since this bitch is still kickin'."
"Nice to see you again too, Zed."

He placed his hands on his hips.
"Where's the rest of your Penal squad?"
"What part of 'everyone' didn't you get?"
"Shut it with the backchat-"
"Z." Phebe smothered his anger with a firm command.
"I would be dead along with everyone else without her help."
J doubted that. Not like she would say that.
Zed glared at her. The weight of the blood and oil on her uniform only hit her now. It wasn't unpleasant, quite the opposite, she loved every part of a good culling.

She was starting to sound like V.

" Are you done being a asshat, general?" Lizzy finally chimed in.
He looked over to her far more favorably. He didn't respond.

"Good, cause your not here to yell at the survivors of whatever went wrong."
"Yes, yes I get."

He looked back at J.
"Remember your friend V?"
"Yeah?"
"She top priority now."