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They were fighting. Again.
Like every single time that V had approached the spire since Cyn was finally gone.
Like every single time that she tried to get anything out of J.
And sure, maybe the first couple of times that V dropped by, she did so with the sole intention of calling J an idiot and kicking her in the face. She can see how those times ended up with them trading blows.
But she tried talking, too.
No matter how the conversation starts, they always end up the same way.
Fighting.
And, honestly? V was getting pretty tired of it.
"UGH! Can you stop being such a bitch!?"
J scoffs, launching a missile that V quickly flies over. J meets her mid-air, sword arm at the ready. The sword clashes against V's claws.
"Excuse me, but you are the one who insists on trespassing over and over again. Although I'm not surprised, you must have plenty of free time now that you are unemployed."
Another swing. This time, V dodges under it, swapping claws for an automatic rifle. J zigzags through the air to evade the rapid fire.
"Or I suppose I should say under new management. How's that new administrator of yours? Has N grown tired of sharing her with you yet?"
Ugh. V hated when J brought Uzi into their arguments. How could someone make "administrator" sound like the foulest insult, V had no idea.
V haven't even tried to get a rise out of J this time. Honestly! She even bought a few corpses as a peace offering! (Bringing J snacks was actually N's idea. He's going to be sad when V tells him it didn't work.)
"Newshole, assflash! You are the only unemployed drone here! Cyn is finally out of the damm picture, and you are still acting like a lapdog!"
V had come by the spire many times now. Enough times to get a glimpse at what J had been working on.
Every time she lies eyes on the half put-together landing pod, V can feel her oil boil.
Because of course J was trying to leave. To abandon them.
"And look whos talking about too much free time! How many hours have you wasted with the pod? Extremely shitty repair job, by the way."
The fact that V had been hanging around Uzi so much that she could actually tell good repairs from bad ones was better left unsaid.
J, teeth gritted in anger, pulls out her own rifles, forcing V to take evasive action.
"Of course you'd call it a waste. You -"
"It is a waste!" V screams. "It is a waste, and you know it! Because you have nowhere to go back to!"
She flies circles around J's fire, slowly spiraling closer to the other disassembler.
"Because you have no one to come back to!"
"Shut up!"
"You think I didn't notice the helmet?!"
And J flinches back as if struck.
Ever since V got close enough to the spire's entrance to see the split open pod, she saw it. The helmet sitting on the pilot's seat.
V takes advantage of J's pause and flies right at her at top speed. J resumes her fire, but V doesn't bother to dodge, bullets piercing her chasis.
She impacts against J, swapping her hands for claws once more.
J follows suit, as they now grapple while in midair.
V was done.
"Tessa's dead, J!"
V slams her forehead against J as she screams. Impact hard enough to shatter both their screens.
J gets violently launched towards the frozen ground, a spiderweb of cracks forming under her from the impact.
V lands on top of her. Hard.
She pins J down by craddling her waist with her legs, claws struggling against each other.
She's still screaming as their visors repair themselves.
"She's dead, J! She's gone!"
J looks as enraged as V sounds.
"You think I don't -"
"BUT I'M STILL HERE!"
V screams so loud that her voice box glitches.
And J, J frozes. Every single one of her servos comes to a sudden halt.
V is breathing heavily.
"... I'm still here!"
And she headbutts J again. Hard.
But not as hard as before.
"N, N is still here!"
Another headbutt, once again slightly softer than before.
"We are still here..."
Another hit.
"Why can't you see that?"
V's voice starts glitching and lagging. Every other word breaking their way out of her mouth.
"Why isn't that enough for you?"
It sounds like sobbing.
A final headbutt. So soft it can barely be called a hit. But V doesn't raise her head again. She leaves it there, resting against J's.
"Why am I not enough for you?"
And J...
J doesn't feel like fighting anymore.
She pulls away her claws. With a slow, unsure, and hesitant pace, she rubs her own forehead against V's.
They stay like that for a few minutes. Core temperature slowly winding down from their fight.
"Just so you know... public displays of affection are against company policy."
And V headbutts J again.
Hard.
Later, they will sit down, share a few worker's corpses, and just... talk. About the past. About the future. About them.
The next day, N gets really happy when V tells him that the snacks worked just fine.