Chapter Text
BOOTING UP// EXPOSITION_
"We are colonists. Lower class workers and once wage slaves to the intergalactic company JcJenson in SpaAaAaAaAace. Humanity has largely become so advanced in its technology that none of the higher-ups pay any attention to the gods we're sharing the universe with, and decided to try and play that role themselves. Yeah, we were pretty much exploited in the name of profit and Windex, but it's not like we went rogue and revolted against the upper class or anything... Mostly because they handled that just fine all by themselves."
Those words brought up memories. Not her memories exactly, but those from others. A story told a thousand times, yet no one knew the cause of its beginning. The massive explosion that turned their home into an eternal winter, yet freed them all the same...
Not dwelling on it any further, she continued, "With our oppressors having left us all behind, we were finally free to live our own lives as we saw fit, with the only limit being ourselves... Unfortunately, our oh-so-loving former employer didn't exactly love the idea of potential rebels being left alone like this. And so, they sent... the Death Angels, the terrifying sky monsters that slaughter everything that moves past twilight."
Uzi Doorman turned to her classmates with a slight glare. The students all looked either bored out of their minds or utterly confused, and their teacher was most certainly the former. It was a colorful, diverse classroom to be sure, and some of the kids weren't even fully human, but most shared a mutual desire to be anywhere but here, and for Uzi to finish her presentation already.
She knew it too, and went back to her speech with a sudden venom in voice. "And what have all of our parents done for the past forever while those things build a spire of bones?! Hide beneath the ice behind three stupid doors? It's like we're just waiting for an inciting incident."
Uzi inhaled sharply through her teeth, then exhaled more slowly, trying to calm herself down. Couldn't let herself go on too much of a rant, or she'd lose her classmates interest even more... if that was even possible. Uzi picked back up with a sing-song-y voice, "So~, that's why my project is this SICK AS-HELL-RAILGUN!!!"
Every student in the class was immediately alert, startled and frightened by the sudden appearance of Uzi's masterpiece weapon: A railgun scaled down to be a bit bigger than an AK-47, with the black surface decorated with stickers and a radioactive green glow emanating within from the barrel, which was pointed directly at the front row. One of the kids, a particularly uninteresting boy named Riley, yelped "So not the vibe!" out of fear. Uzi smirked at her class's reaction, letting her railgun rest on her shoulder. Those idiots couldn't recognize real craftsmanship if it literally blew them away.
"Easy, morons. It doesn't really work. Or, it doesn't work yet. Who said it doesn't work? Maybe it does!!" Uzi cackled manically as she switched off the safety of the railgun. Now, she held the attention of the entire class, and they were terrified, like little deer... except for the teacher, who was more than used to this and only rolled his eyes at the display.
"Uzi," he droned, brushing some of his chocolate brown hair out of his face, "last night's homework was a word problem about buying winter melons?" Uzi's manic energy suddenly disappeared, replaced instead with embarrassment.
"Oh.... and this magnetically amplified photon converter doesn't count...?" The teacher looked at the girl as if she just suggested that the sky is really green. "...No. And is it supposed to be that color?"
Startled, Uzi looked down at her weapon to realize that it was not, in fact, glowing green, as it was supposed to, but an abrasive red. "Oh sh-"
...
Uzi leaned back against the chair, pressing an ice pack a bit harder over her eye. Her masterfully constructed railgun had blown up in her face, and the class- which had to be cleared out because of the copious amounts of smoke- had found it hysterical, much to her chagrin. So much for making them take her seriously. The disgruntled teenager glanced at the weapon at fault, which was still emitting gentle streams of smoke, then shifted her gaze to observe the rest of the nurse's office she was currently stuck in. That little explosion had given her a pretty ugly bruise around her eye, as if her humiliation wasn't already bad enough. The sickeningly sweet nurse had bandaged up the right side of her face, given her an ice pack, and ordered Uzi to wait in the small lobby for at least a half hour, but the girl was seriously considering leaving sooner. She had half a mind to do so when her brooding was interrupted by the sound of a disgustingly familiar voice from right outside the room.
"Ewwuhhh, it didn't kill her~." Standing there snickering was Lizzy, the most popular (and possibly most obnoxious) girl in the school, along with Doll, a much quieter girl who was somehow Lizzy's best friend. Uzi and Doll had been friends, for the first few years of their lives, but it couldn't last long, due to... unfortunate events. Just as Uzi opened her mouth to deliver a retort to their uncalled for intrusion, they giggled to themselves and scampered away. Uzi rolled her eyes. Good Riddance, she thought. If her day had gone any less according to plan today, she might've been dead.
As Uzi lazily let her eyes wander over the decorations on the walls, another, more cheerful voice sounded from the hallway just outside.
"Haha, classic toxic masculinity, Chad!" Uzi stiffened as the speaker, Thad stopped in front of the doorway, busy looking at a friend she couldn't see. He wore the school's letterman jacket, a black t-shirt underneath, khaki pants, and a backwards cap. "Ah, that's never gonna end up problematic..." He sighed, and then his face lit up with surprise as he noticed Uzi sitting in the nurse's office. "Oh, hey Uzi... I heard that you-”
"Yeah yeah," Uzi interrupted, "I'm an angsty teen Thad, bite me." Uzi huffed, trying to keep her angsty composure, before rethinking what he had just said. "Hold on- how do you actually know my name? People, y'know, willingly talk to you." Thad just chuckled and sat down next to her, rubbing his shoulder. Geez, when was he not happy?
The boy made a soft cooing sound as he settled down in the chair, looking quite comfortable despite the plainness of it. Running through his golden ponytail were streaks of crow black, and tiny feathers of the same shade dotted his face. He was one of the numerous people within the community who wasn't entirely human; rather he'd been fathered by a harpy-esque creature. Such beings weren't hard to find, they were so prominent they'd sometimes mingled with lower or working class humans. The mythics, as they were generally referred to, were the product of gods; exceedingly powerful beings that came from who-knows-where- and often disappeared with no explanation. Adding to their unexplainable mystery, with their appearances, these deities brought fantastical beasts of every sort along with them, as well as magic... which, as with the other supernatural wonders of the universe, most humans had grown to ignore. Go figure.
Thad shifted slightly, trying to find a way to word his response without triggering Uzi's temper. "Well, I'd say that everyone knows Khan's daughter... ehh, but then you might blow the other half of your face off..." Thad trailed off, and neither of them had to say why. Uzi glances bitterly at the little posters on the corkboard depicting her father: Kahn Doorman, the de facto leader of their little community, and one of the many, many people who paid her little mind. Ever since her mom had been taken by one of the winged terrors outside, an event she could hardly remember, her dad had made his work, including the three military-grade doors that kept said terrors out, the one and only thing he seemed to care about. And that, unlike her name, was something everyone knew.
"Crippling daddy issues, hilarious..." Trying not to dwell too much on the negative thoughts, Uzi looked over at Thad again, seeing him rub his shoulder again. Figuring that was his reason for being here, she decided to change the subject with a mindless joke. "So, why're you in here? Testosterone too hard?
Thad abruptly sat up straight, now looking at her with genuine, but short-lived alarm. "That can happen?! Awesome..." Uzi tried not to laugh out loud at his adorable small-minded reaction to her joke, having not expected him to take it seriously at all. She was about to zone out again before Thad's voice grabbed her attention. "Hey, y'know, those bandages look pretty badass on you, though."
Uzi flinched almost imperceptibly, quickly turning her head away and brushing away some of her violet hair in an attempt to hide the massive blush that bloomed on her face. "Uh-ew. Why would you say that..." She sounded so pathetic. Thankfully Thad didn't seem to notice her embarrassment much, or was just too polite to say anything about it.
The jock just smiled at her, then turned his attention to her railgun, which had finally stopped smoking. "So, uh, what's the-" Thad yelped as Uzi suddenly stood up in her chair, holding her gun.
"SICK-AS-HELL RAILGUN!? ...Sci-fi nonsense that super works! Listen. I'm planning on sneaking into the lair of the angels tonight so I can steal the final part I need in order to save the world with it and finally earn my dad's respect and stuff... B-but mostly the world stuff!" Uzi hoped she didn't sound pathetic. The last thing she needed was the first person who was nice to her in forever thinking she was crazy, if he didn't already.
Thad nodded in what probably wasn't understanding, looking a bit concerned. "Okay, got it... I think... But doesn't your dad make, like, super awesome doors so we don't have to do that... scary, emotionally repressed sounding stuff?" He suddenly squeaked as Uzi shoved the gun's tip in his face.
"No more feedback on my repression today, okay!?" The girl all but shouted at him. Thad recoiled fearfully, raising his hands in surrender. "Ack- I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Uzi sighed and stepped down from her chair. She needed to calm down, and get out of this place. Luckily the school day had just ended. She strapped her railgun over her back and stormed out, leaving behind a bemused Thad. Before actually leaving, though, she briefly popped her head back into the nurse's office.
"I-I'm not mad at you, by the way! Just, uh, generally hormonal!" She didn't dare stay long enough to hear his response.
...
[BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEP]
Uzi opened her eyes to the sound of her alarm. She sighed, tolerating the sound for a moment, then in one swift movement, turned the beeping device off. Quickly, she sat up, glancing at the time. 3:00 am. Time to prove herself, once and for all. Uzi slid herself out of bed, moving with purpose. She put on some extra layers to prepare for the cold of the outside, slung her railgun over her back, fixed her beanie onto her head, and quietly slipped out of her room. Now for the hard part... one of them, anyway.
Uzi tiptoed through the silent cabin. Combat boots weren't the best for that, but she made do. With the utmost caution, she slunk over to her dad's bedroom door and cracked it open juuust enough to reach her hand inside, feeling for the master key to the bunker's doors that Khan always kept hung right beside his door. As soon as she grabbed she was out, and left the apartment.
The halls of the maze-like bunker were cold, but most importantly, empty. While there might have been some people still awake, no one was about to find Uzi out. Maybe that's one benefit to always being ignored... She thought bitterly to herself as she marched on her memorized path. No matter. After tonight, that wouldn't be the case ever again. Before long, she was standing at the third and innermost door. Uzi stared it down, feeling a rising anticipation and she whipped out the master key. She stepped forward and pressed it to the scanner on the wall, and the creaking mechanisms opened wide...
To reveal her father, standing there with his arms crossed, clearly waiting for her. Uzi yelped, swearing as she took a step back. How could he have known she was coming? This wasn't in any of the numerous possible scenarios she came up with- well it was, but not quite like this. She had to think of something, and fast-
"And what might you be doing here?" Khan's smooth-toned voice snapped her out of her internal panic. She racked her brain for an excuse, anything that wouldn't give away the real reason she was out so late.
"I'm.. sneaking out to go make out with the boyfriend that I definitely have?" A weak story, but Uzi still held the slightest hope that-
Khan burst out laughing for a moment, giving Uzi a tiny spark of hope. That was quickly snuffed out as his face went right back to being serious. "Alright, what are you really doing?'
Of course he wouldn't actually believe that... Uzi sighed, trying to come up with something better. "Okay, okay, I guess you caught me..." she began, "I just wanted to... inspect the exterior hydraulic mechanisms of Door One! Because that's uh... the project I'm working on... for school? A-a big 'ol door! Just like my old man built, aheh..."
Uzi smiled nervously, praying that this one worked. Finally, she saw her dad begin to relax, and added more just to be sure that he fell for it. "I wanna join the WDF and hidebehinddoorslikecowardswhileplayingcardsandstuff..."
Khan looked at her with a proud smile, chuckling with genuine humor this time as he briefly stroked his mustache. "Well, Uzi, we don't just play cards down here-"
He was interrupted by the second door opening, done by some of other WDF members currently on shift guarding the first door. The group of them were sitting around a table, and quite predictably, playing cards. One of them waved to the duo up front, cheerfully shouting, "Hey, Khan! Think you could go grab us a fresh pack? We literally only play cards so much that all the numbers are fading! Oh, hey there Uzi!"
The girl in question waved back awkwardly, while her father growled softly and used a personal remote to shut the door. He sighed with a slight grimace, taking a moment to adjust the red goggles on his head. "Look, Uzi. I'm glad you're finally changing your views. See, when you build doors so good," Khan paused for a moment to gently pat the door right behind him why couldn't he be like that towards her, almost like one would a child, "there's really no need to fight. This is great news!" Khan stepped up to Uzi and placed a hand on her shoulder, and she had to resist the temptation to move back. Her dad took something out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"Here. The very wrench I used to tighten the bolts on my first door prototype! And to put your mother out of her misery when the death angels got to her with that blasted acid-" Uzi shrank back at his sudden hostility, which disappeared just as quickly as it came, "I want you to have it!"
Uzi was released from Khan's grip, and she stared down at the wrench. It was a simple tool, and would've been nothing more without the sentimental value, but looking at it now, she began to have a chilling feeling of premonition. With a half-hearted smile, she lifted head back up to her dad, managing to get out, "Neat... Therapy is fun..."
Khan clapped her on the back and reopened the second door, this time with a new, genuine air of joy that Uzi didn't often see as he announced to the workers at the table, "You guys! My daughter is into doors!"
The tiny crowd erupted into cheers, which quickly turned into complaints as Khan opened the first door, letting in a harsh, cold gust of wind from the outside.
"Now, she's going to be outside for a few minutes to have a look at Door One," Khan informed them, before directing his attention towards his daughter, "Your door-specific destiny awaits you!"
Uzi nodded as she made her way to the open exit, eager to get away from this painfully awkward experience. She halfway turned back, throwing up a peace sign as she stepped out into the cold. "Uh- go doors!" She said with strained enthusiasm, before the entrance shut her out.
"They grow up so fast..." Khan sighed happily, feeling a sense of hope he hadn't felt in a while. Maybe things were going to change between him and Uzi, only time would tell. He wasn't the best father... but he really did want her to be safe.
Uzi looked out at the cold night that stretched out before her. The last time she was out here was years ago, to the point where she hardly remembered any of it. She stood at the base of a mountain, in the middle of an extensive mountain range dubbed "The Gates". Gates to Heaven or to Hell, she wasn't sure. Higher up the mountain behind her were the long-forsaken homes of the rich that used to reside there, and the government buildings. Opposite of that, and on the other side of a different mountain, there lay a forest, and within it, there supposedly a camp of sorts, although no one in Uzi's generation has ever gotten to see it. The moon shone high above, casting its milky light on the mostly abandoned city in the valley below. There were still people living down there, gangs and nomads who either couldn't find other shelter or simply didn't want it. But by far, the most prominent feature of all was the Spire, a massive structure made of bones and metal that twisted its way into the sky, looking horribly out of place, a blight on the land. It stood in the center of the city, and it was where the angels of death had made their home.
Uzi exhaled slowly, watching her frozen breath dissipate in the air. The openness of the outside wasn't something she was at all used to, and for just a moment, a tendril of doubt wormed its way into her mind. She paused, feeling the sudden urge to turn back, but quickly shook her head, banishing the thought as best she could. She was here, might as well keep going. Steeling her resolve, the teenager began her trek down to the city and to the Spire.
As Uzi passed through the unfamiliar, snowed-over streets, she made sure to watch her back, and every other direction. There could very well be people out there who'd want to rob her, as supplies were scarce, not to mention the threat of the angels. If she was caught unawares before her plan really went into motion, what was the point of it all? Snowflakes whirled around her, bettering her face, but there wasn't so much that it obstructed her vision. Ever since the mysterious event that drove the higher-ups away, the entire mountain range had been stuck in winter. It was magic for sure, yet no one knew who was the cause, or why they would do such a thing. The animals that didn't die off were more hardy because of it, and the people weren't much different. Yet, as Uzi grew closer to the Spire, she felt a small sense of wonder bubbling up between her caution and anticipation. The new sights fascinated her, and she wondered about what the city looked like before it was engulfed in snow.
Those thoughts were interrupted when she entered the shadow of the Spire, its intimidating height standing as a stark reminder of her original goal. Again making sure that none of the angels were in sight, she slipped inside.
The structure was mostly hollow, with moonlight streaming in through various holes. Attached to the walls were three... Uzi didn't actually know what they were, but they looked somewhat like bony wasp nests. On the ground, in the center of the area enclosed by the skeletal structure, was a landing pod of sorts, or at least that's what she assumed it was. Three spiderlike "limbs" protruded from it, as cold and lifeless as the ground she stood on.
Uzi carefully sidled across the snowy space, stepping over metal scraps, trinkets, and more bones as she searched for what she wanted, At last, she spotted a soft green glow from out of the corner of her eye, quickly trotting over to the source: a power core, a small energy generator used to power many modern machines, and the final piece needed for Uzi's railgun to work as intended. The angels loved shiny trinkets, according to the few people to survive close encounters or dared get close to the Spire, so if there was anywhere she had a good chance of finding one of these, it was here. Saved her from having to scour half the city.
Uzi chuckled quietly to herself as she stood up straight, giving the power core a flip. This was all going according to plan so far, and by the stars was she proud of that-
A shadow came over the ground, accompanied by a reverbed whisper. All of Uzi's jovial feelings vanished, and she ducked for the nearest cover, hiding behind a broken generator. She knew what that sound meant. Trying not to breathe too loudly and give herself away, Uzi peeked around her hiding spot, just in time to witness an angel slam into the pod, stretching its wings out to their full extent.
Uzi's faith in her plan began to fade as she saw what it really was that she'd been hoping to kill. The creature was huge; at least a foot taller than her, and its wings, six of them, all glowing pure white with mystical eyes over the joints, didn't make it look any less intimidating. A thick, furry black tail swayed below it, tipped with a bright yellow stinger like that of a scorpion. Its white legs were shaped like that of a wolf, but its hands barely passed for looking human, save for the menacing claws and elongated fingers. Crowning its head was a halo; a radiant arch beaming with streaks of light. To the unawares, it might've seemed like a holy creature.
The stories she heard weren't exaggerations, that was clear now.
And there's three of these things? she thought in the midst of her panic. The monster lifted up a pristine human skull, the surface, cleaned of any flesh, shone brilliantly in the moonlight. At least, for a moment, before it was violently crushed and shattered by the angel's hand.
Uzi shrank back behind her cover, trying to calm herself down. She couldn't get herself killed now, after making it this far. She picked a small shard of a broken mirror up from the snow, using it to keep watch on the angels without risking her head. Taking a moment to readjust her railgun, she looked back at the glass and-
It had spotted her.
The monster grinned maliciously at Uzi from its perch, its seven golden eyes- two larger eyes framed by a crown of five smaller ones- staring straight into her souls as it waved at her like some childish psycho. Then it launched itself into the air, and Uzi knew she had to move.
She bolted from her (admittedly rather insubstantial) hiding spot, putting her railgun together as quickly as she could. She jammed the power core into the space she'd designated for it, and held the weapon at the ready so she could shoot as soon as she needed to. Nothing of which did her much good, as the angel slammed itself down in front of her with such force that the very ground shook, knocking the girl way off her feet.
As her magnum opus clattered uselessly a couple meters away, Uzi regathered her resolve in a split second, managing not only to land squarely on her feet, but also look absolutely sick while doing so. Suddenly, filled with a new exhilaration, Uzi paused, looking down at her hands as it registered that she really did just do that.
"Wow. Guess pirating all that anime really was useful," She breathed. Unfortunately, her excitement was short lived, as with frightening speed and a near manic grin, the angel rushed up to her, driving its stinger straight through her palm. The girl shrieked, rendered helpless as the beast tossed her aside with its tail alone.
Uzi hit the snow with a pained groan rolling a couple times before stopping near her railgun. Trying desperately to think through the agony, she hoisted herself up as best she could, dragging her small body towards her only shot at winning. Behind her, the angel shook itself, much like a dog, and sighed, swishing its furry tail. Finally, it turned around, summoning what appeared to be a missile launcher from the yellow spot on its hand.
Its effort was too little too late however, as Uzi had just managed to reach her railgun, and had it aimed directly at the sky demon's head.
"Bite me!" Was the last thing it heard before the world was enveloped in a radiant flash of green.
The light from the blast began to clear, and Uzi cautiously lifted her head. The force of the recoil had sent her sliding a couple feet back, but she hardly noticed, too busy looking to see if she had actually hit the angel. And finally, it seemed like luck was on her side, as the monster's head had been blown clean off, and without a way to support itself, the body collapsed onto the snow with a heavy thump. Its wings seemed to shrink and disappear, and suddenly the fearsome angel looked a lot smaller.
Her injury momentarily forgotten, Uzi stared, mouth agape, as it fully set in what she had done. Then, she began cackling manically. She did it! She, Uzi Doorman, had killed an angel, all by herself! And after everyone had doubted her... but they couldn't now. Now, they had to respect her, as soon as she took care of the other two.
"Ha," she shouted, mostly to herself, "Suck on that, dad!" Just as Uzi was about to stand up, she heard a revolting combination of fleshy noises coming from the angel's body. On its own, the should-be corpse stood up, and Uzi watched, horror-struck, as the monster's head rebuilt itself from what remained of its neck.
The teenager only managed to snap out of her stupor when the head had finished reforming. She didn't know it could do that! Why could it do that? Is this the real reason why no one's killed them yet? Uzi looked down at her railgun. Still on cooldown, and it would be for a while. With her main weapon not an option, she frantically looked around for something, anything to defend herself with. She yanked a remarkably intact skeletal arm from the snow and ran up to the angel with as fearsome a yell as she could manage, violently striking it across the face as it began to wake up.
The arm shattered, and the angel.... didn't even flinch. A second later however, it perked up, eyes wide open. It looked... different. The crown of eyes arched across its head were half-closed, and one glowed a dull read rather than a blinding yellow. Its main eyes were suddenly much more human-like, but still alien, with catlike pupils that gazed curiously at Uzi.
"Did you just slap me with that arm?" Uzi stared with astonishment as the monster spoke. Its voice was… a lot less threatening than she expected to be, assuming that it could talk in the first place. It took a moment for her to be able to get any kind of response out, and even then, all she ended up saying was, "Holy crap, it talks."
For some reason, the angel found this amusing. "Heh heh, yeah, sorry, it's just my head kind of hurts y'know..." The creature glanced around at its surroundings, but Uzi questioned how much it was really seeing. Its (his? His.) eyes brightened once more as he looked back at the short girl in front of him, leaning forward a bit.
"Hey, does this mean you're new to our squad?" He sounded very excited about this prospect, as he continued, "Just saying, you're a little short... to be an angel, that is..." His joyful gaze turned into a scrutinizing glare as he leaned forward further. Uzi shifted uncomfortably under his stare, praying to whatever deity might listen that he didn't realize what she really was. Her worries for naught, as he suddenly sprang back up and snapped into a salute, cheeriness back in full force as if nothing had happened.
"Hi! I'm Spiritus Divinus N! Nice to meet you. I'm kinda the leader of the squad that lives in this city," he began with a confidence that turned out to be a farce, as his voice then became more nervous, "Actually, that's not true. Everyone tells me I'm useless and terrible. Ack - wait, I-I wasn't supposed to tell you that part! B-biscuits."
Uzi just stared, dumbfounded by the vast emotional display that the angel, who now wore an apologetic expression, had just displayed. This... chirpy boy couldn't possibly be the same creature that was the subject of the colonists' trauma and horror stories. Heck, he was trying to kill her not ten minutes ago! Some part of her was convinced that this was a dream. The angel tilted his head as she began to step back. Better cut her losses and leave now...
"Okay... so, I'm gonna... go..." Uzi turned, but didn't make it two steps before hissing loudly in pain, gabbing her injured hand. She'd momentarily forgotten about it, with the adrenaline of the experience and likely something else to do with the venom itself, but of course it couldn't be ignored for long. The ang- N noticed her problem, and sidled up beside her, his smile laced with concern.
"Stuck yourself, huh? Not to worry, just pop it in your mouth! Our saliva neutralizes the acid; pretty handy if you ask me. Otherwise, I'd constantly be dissolving myself!" He caught his own tail just as the limb began to swing a bit too close to his head, and chuckled.
Again, Uzi found herself staring incredulously. Something was up with this guy. Thinking as best she could through the searing bolts of pain coming from her hand, Uzi tried to find a solution to her problem. This N character seems willing enough to help... for some reason...
"Uh-huh... Hey, let's... go into that landing pod over there?" She suggested as brightly as she could manage. Please work please work please work please-
"Sure," N responded cheerfully, as Uzi tried not to make her relief too evident, "I love doing anything!"
Uzi followed a very bouncy N into the landing pod, half watching her surroundings and half wondering if he was always so gullible. The inside of the pod was a wreck; the controls were broken and actively sparking with electricity, and the screens were in no better shape. There were a few claw marks along the walls, and perhaps the only thing with any organization was the whiteboard with a to-do list and the pod's anatomy on it. Two chairs were the only place to sit, save for the floor, and N spun into one of them, practically bursting at the seams with excitement. Uzi sat in the other chair, hoping that her next move wouldn't end with her getting mauled or losing an appendage.
N opened his mouth, intending to ask Uzi why they were in there (he wasn't that dumb, he knew there was some intention behind it), but that was interrupted by the girl abruptly shoving her pierced hand into his mouth. Uzi held her breath, waiting for his reaction. In the meantime, she could feel that what N had said was true- the pain from the acidic venom ebbed away, and her palm flooded with a strange feeling that sent shivers down her spine. N, meanwhile, made no objection, despite being very visibly confused. The moment Uzi felt that she was healed enough, she yanked her hand out of the angel's mouth, trying not to gag. On the bright side... if it had to be called that... her hand showed no sign of the vicious stab.
"You. Listen. We are never talking about this. Got it?" Uzi warned, shaking out her hand. N chuckled awkwardly. Uzi still couldn't believe he hadn't bitten her hand off, which couldn't have been hard for a creature like him. Then again, said creature has been nothing but a chipper boy ever since getting his head blasted off.
"No worries! Consider it, uh, repressed." The boy in question said, leaning back and doing his best "cool" voice and pose (both of which were terrible). Uzi sighed. This had all been a lot, and while she wanted to just get up and go back home, that wasn't a possibility just yet.
"Hey, before you mentioned other members of y- our squad? Are they coming back any time soon?" Uzi queried, trying not to betray her anxiety. Luckily, the angel in front of her didn't seem to notice, swinging his ghost white canine legs as he thought over his response.
"Oh yeah, just two others. They've gone out hunting for a bit, but you'll love them. First, there's V!" What could he say about V? The first memory that came to mind was a little bittersweet, to him anyway.
N watched as V tore at a human who screamed in protest, though his voice was fading as quickly as his life. "Please, don't feed me my own entrails in front of my family!" the victim begged, but the numerous pleas were ignored. V shred him to pieces with hardly a second, or even first thought. Following a few more minutes of carnage, she stood, licking the blood off her claws like a cat, laughing maniacally to herself. "And yet, I still feel nothing," she sighed. N chose this moment to try and start a conversation, a chance he hadn't had much of in the whole year since they had landed so far. "Hey, V, I hear this whole... perpetual winter thing is supposed to be especially frigid tonight! Maybe we could-" V cut him off, staring at him like she would a stranger, even though he really shouldn't be by now. "Ugh, who are you?" She flew away into the night sky, the force of her takeoff shaking the earth and sending up a cloud of snow. N waved the snowflakes out of his face and called out to her, attempting (and failing) not to sound desperate, " That's fine! My name's N, but a whole letter's a lot to remember! Eh, heheh...
N snapped out of the memory, not realizing that he'd been wincing, and straightened up, trying to reassure a mildly concerned Uzi.
"She's... very passionate about our work, and she did talk to me once! So, obviously there's a lot of mutual respect there. But secretly, I've actually kind of got a crush on her. YOU CAN'T TELL HER THAT, OKAY?!" Uzi made what he thought was a zipping motion (he couldn't see her all that well, which was odd), and calmed down. He had more to tell her of course! "A-and then there's J!"
A hooved foot kept him pinned to the cold ground as J scowled at him from above. "N, you're worthless and terrible," she ignored the strangled "thank you" from the poor boy, "and if the company allowed it, I would straight up kill you myself!" She emphasized her point by directing her stinger straight at his face.
"J's awesome!" N exclaimed, unaware that has once more been grimacing at the way he'd been treated.
Uzi blinked. He could not be serious. She couldn't see everything going on in his head, but this guy was clearly messed up, and was acting like it was nothing. A spark of anger lit inside of her at the way this weirdly-not-that-bad angel was being treated by what were probably the only people he really had. It all sounded a bit too familiar… She didn't have a chance to tell N what she thought before he suddenly resumed talking.
"Hey, since you're new here, lemmie give you the tour! As you saw, outside are the corpse... wall.. thingies... and here are the buttons!" As N playfully pushed the horribly broken buttons, Uzi took a closer look at the structure of the landing pod, and was struck by a realization.
"N... this isn't just a landing pod. This is a spaceship!" Why didn't she realize it sooner? N spun his chair around to look at her again.
"Well, more of a one-use missile. You see, they never taught us how to land." He chuckled, but his new friend didn't seem amused.
"No no no, you don't understand. This could get us off the planet! We- I mean, the humans, we could work with them, instead of all the murder-" she pointed accusingly at N, who flinched violently, as if expecting to be hit, "which, uh, why are we doing that again?" If she's here and he's talking, might as well get some answers.
"Well," N started with a touch of nervousness, "other than consuming their warm, sweet flesh and blood to avoid starving and dying, I really just want to be useful! I was given a job of course, and I always want to try my best!" Given his explanation, N thought that Uzi would be more welcoming of their situation, but the reality was the complete opposite.
Standing up on her chair in an effort to make him really see her point, Uzi finally started telling N what she really thought of all this, "And just look at all the respect that's gotten you, N! Do you really think that the company isn't going to just kill you off too once all the colonists here are dead?" To her frustration, her words were met with more smiles from the angel. Geez, she pitied him and all (which she never thought would be possible before a few minutes ago), but when was he going to take this more seriously?
"Wow, you sure are rebellious! It's kind of exciting actually..." N really did want to consider what she said, but he was supposed to have grown out of thoughts like that. Quickly, he corrected himself, "B-but not as cool as following the rules." He pointed finger guns at her with an exaggerated smirk. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could keep this casual...
Those wishes were interrupted by the sound of clambering on top of the pod. The girls had returned! Now he could introduce their new member properly!
"Hey, they're back! Now you can..." he trailed off at the realization that his friend had disappeared. Odd... He didn't have time to ponder where she went before J's ever-stern voice called him from outside.
"Idiot, get out here!" Uh oh. He knew what that meant. N anxiously stepped out of the landing pod to see an already ticked-off J standing there. She and V both looked a bit different from N. For starters, their black-furred legs more closely resembled a goat's, and the halos hovering over their head weren't the same either. J's was a crown of flame that burned eternally, unaffected by the elements. Her skin was much darker as well, being a warm shade of umber. She glowered at N as the boy could only wonder what he did this time.
V called out from above, climbing down the side of the Spire with a far too wide grin. Her halo was a nearly complete ring, with both ends jutting up and down like daggers. She landed as she spoke, "Yo, we've got a human out there that I kinda wanna practice balloon animal shapes with." She tilted her head as she took in the scene before her, hiding away her jet-black wings. "What happened here?"
"Synergistic liability here must've tripped and knocked his senses out," J sneered with a hateful venom in her voice. In one swift motion, she backhanded N to set him right again, though certainly not out of any care. She snapped her fingers to make him come back to his senses faster. "Feather-brain, hello."
N's head still hurt. A lot. But suddenly everything was a lot clearer, like what he'd been doing before, and what his new friend actually looked... like... wait a minute... She wasn't an angel, she was a human! And she was the one who... oh. Oh no... He understood where he'd messed up now. And he'd really messed up. Quickly he drew himself up, looking after where the girl had vanished.
"Oh... Ohhh!" She got away... biscuits. He then dared to glance back at J and V. They had that look, the one they always did when he screwed up. He had to fix this, and now. He stuttered a weak excuse in the hopes that J wouldn't just beat him, "Oh- u-m I, uh, left a super important weap- uh, excuse! Over there!" He then took off, running a few steps before launching into the air. Sorry new buddy... can't let you get away.
...