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The night was young as Uzi lead N into the colony for the first time since the camp incident, her walking nonchalantly past the terrified Worker Defense Force workers as N practically skipped past the first set of open doors with a smile on his face and his tail wagging a little.
"Wow you guys are like busy little ants!" N said in awe. "The doors are already repaired, but how or why even?".
"It's my dad's idea" Uzi said with a sigh and eyeroll thinking about her dad still being somewhat obsessed with doors. "Said just in case the world ends or something, or any hostile drones that might come knocking for resources. At least he's letting you in now on good behavior... Not sure how he knows".
"Well can we go to whatever place you got the cube? I love it and I'd like to see if there's anything else like it!".
"Bored with it already?".
"No no no! I just want to see what else there is or if others have made anything new and cool like you do! Do you have a shop? I bet you make the coolest things ever!".
Uzi blushed for a second as her internal temp flared up a little, but she quickly clearly the blush prompt from her visor and took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"No I don't own a shop, nobody would buy anything from it anyway".
"Seriously?! But you're the coolest, bravest, most skilled drone I think I've ever known! You made a literal railgun from scratch that outclasses ALL human weapons! You were brave enough to fight and not run from me! You're amazing, I don't get why people don't flock to you".
This nerd, what did he mean about my railgun outclassing human weaponry anyway? I'm an odd one out and probably will be for the rest of my life... But maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least try to open a shop, make some random shit and sell it for a side hobby. I'm usually bored out of my mind anyway when I'm not with N...
She brushed off that thought again, he wasn't blushing so why should she, for all she knew he didn't even realize what was going on or how she... Felt... But just having him around was enough for her, or at least he made her feel better. His uniquely cheery energy paired with the brave fighter that moved so swiftly in combat, he made her feel so many things she didn't even know how to process...
"Maybe I will open a shop at some point" Uzi quietly muttered looking away and with her head down a little in doubt.
N turned to her just in time for Uzi to perk her head up as to not worry him, making a small attempt at a smile that looked a bit unsure, but N smiled back gleaming.
"Well tell you what, I'll help you get whatever you need! I am pretty strong if something's lodged into some ruins or under a car".
"Yeah yeah sure, now let's get going bud".
The two walked down the halls as casually as you can being an outcast of society and a literal genocide killer as most stayed out of their way and avoided the two as much as possible; some even hilariously jumped into garbage bins trying to hide only to make a lot of ruckus or make said garbage cans fall over. Some of the younger drones weren't as scared of N and even waved from a distance, but all of the older drones were either scared or very stand-off-ish as the two walked around; some glared at them, some were whispering about things, and some clearly had scars or replaced limbs from clear attacks of some sort. N couldn't help but feel a little guilty, maybe even intimidated by all these drones and their different reactions? He was literally made to kill them right? Then why did he a little scared to even be in this situation? Why did those dozens of differently colored eyes feel like they were daggers stabbing into his very core and soul, how they were likely judging him for all his sins? There were a lot more than he remembered but then again he had only been in the colony maybe three times total?
How many drones are in the nooks and crannies of this place? N couldn't help but think. There's so many, far more than I remembered at the evacuation point or the prom... These guys definitely reproduce faster than humans... How do I know that again? And why are some of these older drones so intimidating?"
N glanced over at Uzi to find that she was rather uncomfortable as well, she was clearly trying to hide it but her body language and how she was glancing around at the others made him feel bad about even asking to come into the colony in the first place today; he used his five other sensors to find a good spot to maybe get away from all of these prying eyes and found a janitor's closet to escape into, and he grabbed Uzi by the hand and made a little dash for it as Uzi made a little yelp sound that nearly made N wince in guilt. He tried to gently swing Uzi in while he shut the door behind the two and sighed knowing that at least they were alone, but Uzi did look a bit spooked by his sudden course of action.
"What is your deal all of a sudden?!" Uzi half-whispered-half-spat as she pointed up at him. "You almost chucked me in here!".
"Sorry! Sorry! I just needed to get out of crowd for a moment and talk with you, in private" N admitted. "Why are some of these drones so passive-aggressive?!".
"Well first of all you probably murdered a bunch of their family and friends, just be glad they aren't taking a similar course of revenge like Doll did with V... Even though that might be whatever the hell is in me and her, we're more violent for whatever reason" Uzi explained nonchalantly. "And secondly... You kinda smell like death".
"Wait smell?" N said confused.
"Yes, we have sensors at the front of our heads below the visors, and maybe even some on the roofs of our mouths, that detect gases or certain compounds in the air or around us for safety. We were made like that so drones forced to do mining or otherwise dangerous work could identify gases in the air far faster and more efficiently than humans ever could and avoid exploding ourselves. Another reason why we are superior to humans at the end of the day, but that also means we can smell oil... And that might be another factor as to why some of these drones don't like you".
"... So that was how we kept finding people, I never fully realized" N muttered. "I thought it was just how I was made, not a feature that was originally for safety! How badly do I smell?!".
"What ew, don't ask me! I washed my clothes five times over after what happened at the camp to get that smell off of me!".
Out of morbid curiosity N brought the arm of his coat up to his mouth and inhaled, the hidden sensors at the front of his head and within his mouth taking in the chemical scents.
"Chemicals found. 90% oil, 1̶̋̀̄͜0̷̮̀̇%̶̧͉̗̭̹̒̈́̓̐͝ ̵̧̖̫̬̭̋͠h̷̹̠͐͜u̶̪̝͓̗̅̀̔̂͊m̶̩͙̰̤̖͑͊͠a̷̫̩̐͗n̴̯̭̟̘̱̩̿̍̚ ̸͉̐̾̐͝ͅb̸̜̝̦̠̬̅̂̿̊l̵̨̺̬̹͚̩͊̆ǫ̷̺̬̺̫̊̏̓ớ̵̝̪͔̣̺̟̈͠͝d̴̠̯̞̦̈͋".
N's eyes hollowed out with three worry-lines under each, he was terrified by this morbid discovery that he had never even thought about, and what was wrong in his sensors to read human blood?! He spaced out and didn't even notice Uzi was staring up at him in worry.
"Hey, listen how about we get some cleaner and I can see about maybe getting your coat clean?" She offered with a gentle nudge to snap him out of it.
N was a bit startled when he flinched rather hardly, but he shook his head.
"Y-Yeah that sounds like a great idea to at least try to get these drones from staring at me!" N stuttered with a nervous smile and still some lines under his eyes.
Is he really that overwhelmed? Uzi thought. Or maybe he smelled something on himself that I can't, I don't know what everything smells like.
"Alright, then let's head to the market and I know where to get some stuff for this, just follow my lead" Uzi sighed with a little reassuring smile. "If you need to then maybe you can bail to my place, my dad's not home right now he's checking stuff around the colony".
"Thanks Uzi, I'll let you know if things get too much for me, but maybe if things get too much for you we can do it another time?".
"... Yeah bite me, I'm not that bothered by people staring, wouldn't be the first time and its likely not the last. I know where to go at least to get the really good cleaners".
With that Uzi motioned for N to move aside and opened the door, some drones were trying to peak in but quickly skedaddled away to make it look like they weren't, and the two exited the janitor's closet with Uzi taking lead; all the drones in the hallway were staring at the two more so in confusion than anything else now, as they likely thought N had killed her or something, but the somewhat change in public mood did help a little.
The short walk to the market proved to be a little different with all the vendors giving N looks of either tharn fear or glares of unwelcome, but Uzi's attitude helped to "alleviate" some of the aggression with her own.
"Just keep doing your thing guys, he's not killing anyone anymore!" she'd groan. "Plus he did help save us from Doll after all".
Some of the crowd believed her and started reverting back to the usual, some didn't and kept their shops closed or ran for the exits of the room, but nonetheless that didn't change what Uzi was looking for regarding N; thankfully she was direct and to the point with her navigation of the market while N even had a little bit of trouble keeping track of her with how she weaved through the dozens of drones, though uh he kept almost losing her due to his core racing with all these drones around watching and staring at him, no doubt judging his every move and breath. He felt almost overwhelmed with all the different colored lights from all directions, all the loud noises happening constantly, but he stuck behind Uzi and did what he could to calm himself; instead he tried to focus on the neat stuff Uzi was getting presumably for him, as she made a few stops and would show him things he might like, and he appreciated that she was going this for him despite the fact that he felt more like curling up into a ball or jumping up into the nearest vent to get away from all these drones staring at him.
Uzi had the shopping all done in less than five stops with some chemicals and other heavy-duty cleaners, but she decided that they had one last stop to make before going back to her place; the same large puzzle shop she had visited before to get N some enrichment and puzzles, and she was going to let him choose what he wanted this time since he was actually here. Thankfully the drones that ran this shop were respectful and named Grace(Owner and cashier, grey lights) and Lucy(Co-owner and stocker, pink lights), who Uzi had explained to that N was now passive, and both agreed that they would let him in as long as he didn't make a mess; the little pink colored drone stocking a shelf gave a meek nervous smile as Uzi and N walked into the larger store, and Uzi returned it with a little nod and thumbs up while N nervously waved back.
"Alright, look around bud and I'll get it for you" Uzi said. "I know you're stressed so I figured this would be a good last stop for you, well if you wanted to".
"Yeah sure! Give me a minute to look around!" N said with much more confidence.
Uzi smiled as he walked past her and started looking around at the various puzzles, books, crosswords, and other things the store had to offer, but he felt far more pleasant as he tried out some of the puzzles; pressing the buttons, turning parts of them, just moving his hands and the little clicks were satisfying and calming to him. After a little while N picked out a few different puzzles and even some books and meekly walked up to Uzi as if he were asking for approval.
"Dude I literally said pick what you like, I'm not gonna go back on my word damnit, so are you sure that's everything you want?" Uzi asked.
N smiled before he quickly walked back, grabbed a few more little books, and walked back over gleaming in silent excitement as Uzi couldn't help but laugh a little at N's innocent behavior; she was glad that he was feeling better about this whole thing while they made their way to the cashier to pay for the items, and the grey-lighted woman was thankfully very chill in nature as she rung up the items and Uzi showed N how to pay for stuff.
"Have a good night you two, and if you want then maybe we can let you guys know when we find and make more stuff for first dibs!" Grace said with a little wave.
"Oh that would be so awesome! Thank you!" N nearly squealed.
"Yeah that'd be great, thanks gals!" Uzi said doing two finger guns at Grace.
"Yeah come again!" Lucy cheered.
"Wow those two were so nice! I honestly thought they might kick us out with long I was taking" N admitted.
"Nah they're chill, though they only kick people out for being assholes. If you want we can go tomorrow so you can maybe talk to em a bit more about where they get their stuff" Uzi offered.
"But would that make you feel left out again?".
"No I'll be okay, plus maybe it'll help with your rep in the colony!".
"Thanks Uzi, you're honestly the best drone I could've ever met".
Uzi couldn't help but blush as they walked into a hallway close to most of the living quarters in the colony, there were a few other drones in said hall staring at them but they were a little further down.
"Thanks N, but let's get this laundry business done, it shouldn't be too long of a wait once we get things going and once all the chemicals mix".
"Cool! ... OH BISCUITS WE FORGOT A BAG AT THE SHOP!".
"Woah woah hey it's not a big deal-".
"I can run and get it real quick, be right back Uzi!".
N sot off like a rocket back down the hall and out toward the market again, which surprised Uzi with how timid he was previously, but he was gone long before she could stop him.
Wow what a dork, I didn't even realize we left a bag there, must've been when I set the bags down to show him the currency. I'm sure he'll be alright though if he's just grabbing a bag.
"Well well well, the freak among us" A voice tutted from behind Uzi.
Uzi turned to find three older drones that were originally further down the hall now basically less than 3 meters from her, standing there with their arms crossed, staring her down almost disgusted; the drone on the far left was a drone with dark green lights and sporting a toupee that would make anyone with a sense of design grimace, to the far right was a rustic blue-lighted drone with a fancy top hat and a kinda fancy suit (why the hell was he even wearing a suit casually), and finally in the middle was a kind of brown-orange-lighted drone with a twirly long mustache that he was twirling at the moment with his fingers. Uzi had no idea who these old statues were but clearly they were trouble.
"What did you just call me?" Uzi demanded.
"A. Little. Freak" the middle drone said, and matching as the previous voice that had just called her a freak. "The name is Greg, and you outta learn to respect your elders before you get thrown out. I work for the WDF after all".
Already Uzi could barely even tolerate the absolute bitch-audacity of this old-walking-scrap heap, so much so she was tempted to just cut his head off with the solver, but this was in the open in the COLONY after Doll's prom-rampage, if anyone found out then things could go sour again very quickly; the last Uzi wanted now was to get out of control again, but she didn't want N to get thrown out either. She put her bags on the ground just in case she needed to use her anime moves on these old tools.
"Well so does my dad, so why the hell should I give a shit about you?" Uzi fired back with her own arms crossed, glaring at the elder drone.
Greg's left eye twitched and both of his eyes went hollow for a moment, apparently not expecting the clapback, but he quickly got a hold of himself and kneeled down to Uzi's eye level mockingly.
"You brought in the disassembly drones, our literal killers and predators, and you act like they won't swap to kill mode on us at any given point?".
"I can't guarantee for V that wouldn't be above killing anyone here, but I think we can both agree the far lesser amount of murders is a bit more pleasant since I stepped up for all of us. Cowards like you included since I never saw your shiny metal ass out here fighting them or trying to help with the prom incident".
The two older drones actually looked taken aback by Uzi's clapbacks to Greg's nonsense while Greg looked even angrier by the second, and Uzi made sure to look smug about it.
"Damn she's good" the dark green drone muttered.
"Shut it Carl!" Greg snapped before turning his attention back to Uzi. "But that doesn't excuse you bringing those fiends in here! And if you can't account for one then you surely can't account for the taller one you undercooked tailpipe, who's to say he hasn't wrapped you around his finger just to chomp down on later?".
"Call me that again and I will shove your mustache down your skinny throat" Uzi nearly growled, barely holding back the urge to let her tail loose on him. "And if you know anything about N, the taller one, he's on our side dumbass; why else would he have spared me and fight his own squad alongside me".
"Well some drones are still turning up dead outside the colony, torn to oily shreds on the permafrosted concrete, care to explain that you little shit? Or did you maybe help him with the murders?".
"What's going on here?" N's voice cut in as he nearly ran in, trying to lightly toss the bag he was carrying aside, before taking a step in front of Uzi to block Greg from her. N's tail curled once around Uzi almost defensively with his stinger pointed outward in Greg's direction.
Holy shit N! Uzi couldn't help but think as Greg gasped and almost fell backward in fear.
"Y-You two freaks the both of you! You have to had been behind those murders outside the colony, I haven't seen either one of you here in the last week!" Greg accused.
"Uh excuse me? I haven't eaten anyone in over a week buddy" N corrected. "I'm doing what I can to only eat bodies of the already long-deceased, haven't you seen some of the holes in the Spire walls from me grabbing old dead drones to eat instead of living ones? Plus why would Uzi help me murder people? And she doesn't even smell like oil!".
"He is right, nothing coming off of her" the blue drone admitted. "But what about all the traveling around?".
"We just go exploring for stuff and she teaches me some aspects of previous human life and the colony life here, geez do you think the company treats us well if my own squad leader was willing to kill me over a reasonable question Uzi asked me? She's thinking of opening a store soon anyway and we were trying to find stuff that would be cool to sell or manufactured into something to be sold, gives me something else to focus on and not overheat over! Can't a drone get some progressive non-murderous hobbies?".
Greg's eyes narrowed once again while Uzi stared up at N in shock.
He's defending both of us like a damn lawyer, and he's defending me when he could just throw me under the bus...
"And what's that about Uzi not being in the colony?" Another voice called out.
N and Uzi turned around to find Grace, Lucy, and even a small gathering of drones behind them, but Grace looked less than pleased with Greg.
"Uzi's been here every other day getting non-murdering stuff like books, small appliances, and other things while distinctly not smelling like oil. You know how hard the smell of oil is to get off of you once it's on you, and she hasn't gotten a whiff on her!" Grace argued.
"Doesn't mean she doesn't act like bait to lure in victims for this big freak to kill!" Greg spat.
"Wrong there dude, its just her and N walking around and I know that because I have almost run into them or saw them from a distance while I was finding stuff to sell, and they really do just explore around and collect things. N even looks sad if they come across any drone bodies in their travels, but then he looks so cheery when Uzi finds something cool to show him!" Lucy piped up. "And I never saw him with any new oil stains on either of them".
Uzi was a bit unnerved by the fact that her and N had been spotted without them knowing, but right now she had to hide that as Greg looked even more irate than before.
"Oh so why are they getting oil-cleaning stuff huh?!" Greg tried to argue. "Clearly covering up for a murder or two!".
"Dude N just doesn't want to be stared at over his smell, we talked over this in our shop" Grace groaned with a facepalm. "Plus you're banned from most shops in the market for your rude behavior, manipulations to try to get stuff for free, and even making rumors to start fights for 'entertainment' as I recall you saying when you thought no one was around but your two friends there!".
"And the murders aren't by DD claws or weapons, something with more than four limbs at once and with considerable strength behind them" A young drone with white lights at the front of the crowd pointed out. "Almost like four or more snakes attacked those drones at once, not any blades, slashes, or any projectiles like the DD's arsenal. This wasn't either one of the DDs in our colony right now, and I know it wasn't the other one because Lizzy's been posting pics non-stop with her".
Greg rapidly glanced between over a dozen drones that were staring at him like a disgrace, a liar, and even more of an outcast than Uzi was previously, but it was clear he was boiling over with anger at this self-humiliation he had gotten himself into; he even looked to his buddies for backup but neither one said anything to even try to defend him, and in his rage he locked eyes on Uzi once again.
"You freak!" Greg yelled as he pointed at Uzi accusingly. "Abomination, you were the catalyst to all of this just like your damned witch mother!".
Uzi froze in an instant staring at Greg with a mix of emotions that she couldn't even fathom in the moment, everything from rage to grief at the mention of her mother, but her fists clenched so hard that she actually damaged the palms of her hands and her fingers; she knew that if she opened her hands that the solver would likely activate in front of everyone, activate in front of N, and expose her, but what the hell did this cunt know about her mom?!
"That isn't very nice of you to say about someone you didn't know!" N called out as he glanced over at Uzi.
"Oh as if you did, hell maybe you even killed her, we're all the same to you killers aren't we?!" Greg snapped. "The moment her mom showed up, along with the mother of that red freak, everything changed! Even after both settled down they were weird as hell, but Nori was a weirdo from the start rambling about winged devils descending from above to kill us all, some black hole looking thing, and I swear she might've killed someone in the past! She was nothing more than a freak and clearly that reflects in her bastard daughter-".
A shot rang out as something whizzed past Uzi and directly past Greg's head, making the drone duck and yelp in fear while N grabbed Uzi and held her close as he enveloped both of them in his wings protectively; the crowd gasped and some ran or hid, but they parted for a drone with a smoking pistol in his hand.
"What was that you were saying Greg?" Khan's voice called out as he kept walking towards the main center of the commotion.
"... Mr. Doorman you have a GUN?!" N asked in panic though still shielding Uzi.
"Yep, found it in the aftermath of the Core Implosion, however I would like to thank you for jumping to shield my daughter. You have some of my respect for that" Khan said as he walked up to them. "How about you get her home please? I'm dealing with this nonsense and ending it before an actual commotion breaks out".
"Uh y-yeah su-ure" N nearly whispered nervously, for some reason the literal smoking gun made him nervous.
Uzi was still stuck in place though, still in that swirl of emotions as N carefully unfolded his wings and tried to gently get her out of the way, but she was grateful that N was getting her out of it while her systems raged over how much there was to process. Khan on the other hand stopped directly in front of Greg, who was frankly trembling like a leaf, and eyes fixed on the gun still in Khan's hand.
"To think I even let you into the WDF, what a dumb-dumb I was then, but clearly you have violated multiple rules regarding it and rules in the colony too" Khan grumbled. "You abused your power, have been banned from nearly half of the market or more, barely do any actual work since I haven't received any actual defense reports from you in over a week, and then you decide you have the gall to insult my wife and my child?".
He's actually standing up for me, he's never done that before, holy shit he's actually being a dad. Uzi thought as her eyes were locked onto her father, she couldn't bring herself to move, and N didn't force her but had his wings out ready to shield her again if needed.
"Its a bit rude, but since you decided to bring it up, how's your wife going after she left you? She left the colony to escape you after all, and last I heard she's found a happy life in a new colony! But you on the other hand are being a menace and have done less in two years than my daughter has in months, and you might get rightfully banished from the colony unless you maybe do some community service for every single drone you've spoken ill of and wronged to humble you. Am I clear?".
"Y-Yes Khan" Greg stammered as the other two drones fled immediately.
"Good, now get out of here would ya? I was working until I heard your yelling from across the damn colony!".
Uzi could hardly believe it as Greg practically ran away down the hall like a rat with its tail between its legs, and almost just like that the crowd began to disperse now that the drama was over; Khan walked over to N and Uzi with the bags both had dropped and looked at Uzi somewhat concerned.
"You okay kiddo?".
"... I don't know right now" Uzi muttered as she shook her head and finally noticed her damaged hands. "I think I just need to go home for a while, I busted my hands in that argument".
"Yeah I don't quite blame ya, that prick is one for certain and I never really got along with him anyway, but I won't be home for a bit to fix your hands unfortunately".
"I can try to heal them" N volunteered.
"Atta boy, and just try to stay out of trouble you two alright? N I guess you're welcome in the home for now, its getting kinda close to daybreak".
"Oh biscuits, sorry! I'll sleep on the couch or something".
"... I thought you guys slept upside down?"
"Uzi showed me the bliss of an actual bed remember?".
"Ohhh sorry, more power to ya I guess, but just take it easy for the rest of the night to both of you okay?".
"Of course".
"... Yeah... And thanks dad" Uzi nearly whispered.
"You're welcome kiddo, just try not to let anybody like that prick get to you. And also please get your hands healed, those can be tricky to repair unless we want to do outright replacements".
"Yeah yeah yeah".
With that Khan split off to return to his work around the colony while N carried all the bags on Uzi's behalf on the way back to the Doorman residence, and thankfully the door was already open so both slipped in and N closed it with his tail; both of them were exhausted from the night's events so Uzi nearly crashed onto the couch clearly still shaken by the whole Greg incident and seemed to have almost forgotten about her hands entirely, but when N went to check them her solver-regeneration had already nearly fixed them.
"Each bag is a different thing, one bag for your puzzles, one bag for the coat cleaner, and the other bag is everything else including a robe for you to wear" Uzi explained. "If you would like then give me a few minutes and I can show you how to do this stuff, unfortunately instant-laundry has yet to be perfected by human nor drone".
"Are you sure?" N asked. "We can do them another day if needed, that dude was the worst!".
"Robo-satan can kiss my screws before I fold to a bunch of words" Uzi insisted. "Just waiting until my hands are healed".
"Yeah sure, but please take it easy. Hand regeneration can be a bit iffy".
N noticed that Uzi had bag-lines under her eyes staring blankly at the floor as her hands visibly healed in real time before him, it was just so strange to him to see her brought low like this by some random scumbag; she hadn't looked this unnerved since the whole J-centipede thing, her eyes were still hollow like she was in shock or still out of it, it didn't feel right to him to see her like this at all. He didn't want to say anything in case he said the wrong thing and made her mad, but clearly something was going on in that little head of hers as she didn't even realize her hands were fully healed now, her eyes keep twitching as she stared off into floor on the couch; it was like she was consciously somewhere else entirely.
"... Uzi? You good?" he quietly asked.
He wasn't expecting Uzi to nearly flinch at his voice, but she shook her head a bit and looked at him as if she ha forgotten he was even there.
"Bite me! Oh uh sorry N, zoned out for a second there, let's get this over with".
Uzi lead N past the bedrooms, the spooky closet her mom had, and to a door covered in warning tape and multiple danger signs; this was the laundry room, and Uzi opened the door as N wearily followed, and in the room were a few cabinets, empty laundry hampers, and finally a dryer and washing machine. The washing machine was right next to the dryer with painted lines all around it with some labeling on the floor reading "WARNING, ESTIMATED POTENTIAL SPLASH RANGE".
"Alright I'm gonna turn around, you take off your coat and put on the robe, I'm not gonna look at you when you're naked" Uzi said while looking away and holding up the robe to N. "Please be quick".
"Okay?" N said somewhat confused as he quickly took off his coat, gave it to Uzi, and put on the robe.
"Alright, I'm going to put the chemical cleaner in with it and after reading the tag it should be alright to wash. The wash process itself will be quick thanks to some advancements there but its after the wash that we have to be worried about, want me to show you the wash settings?".
"Yeah sure! Also thanks for the robe, I wasn't expecting a plane-themed robe and it's pretty cute!".
"... I wasn't too sure what to get you to be fair, but I'm glad you liked it!".
Uzi explained to and showed N how to read the tag in his coat stating the materials it was made of, where the various cleaning chemicals and detergents went in the washing machine, and what settings to wash it on before cautiously lowering it into the machine and turning it on; clearly the appliance was old as it rumbled and shook a little as it ran, but it remained functional nonetheless as Uzi and N waited outside the marked danger zone. Uzi walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a grabber tool that was easily a meter long but could extend further if necessary, but N was a bit confused by this as he tilted his head to the side looking at it and trying to figure out its purpose.
"... Uzi what is that for?" he asked.
"For not getting any water on us after the wash is done, the most dangerous part of this entire thing, and your coat is going to be thoroughly soaked; if you touch it you're likely gonna die for good and turn into a nightmare-eldritch-centipede in MY HOUSE, which I don't think either one of us want!" Uzi said with a slight eye twitch. "I do not need that to happen over laundry!".
"Ah... Kinda forgot that we aren't waterproof. This planet is largely frozen after all".
"Yeah but turns out water can still be pretty useful to us even though its deadly as robo-hell. Poor Jerry died trying to fix his washing machine and nobody knew for a year until someone finally went in to check".
"... That is mental".
"Hey when people drop and disappear all the time you learn to mind your own business for the most part, plus there's some water a decent bit underground that hasn't frozen over thanks to the only partial core implosion; the planet is a little unstable and wobbles more than it should so sometimes it heats up or freezes more than it used to, rarely it'll even rain while there's still snow on the ground for reasons unknown".
"Wow, so that explains why some nights are better or worse than others temperature wise. Such a weird planet".
"... I'm starting to doubt if the Core Implosion was even an accident with everything I've seen, it caused so much damage and then my mom was right about you guys coming afterward, I don't know how its all related but robo-jesus the hell is gonna happen next?!".
"... I wish I could be more help, but I'll do what I can to help you okay?".
Uzi was a bit caught off guard by N's statement, but was he always this positive about helping her?! About helping everyone for that matter?! Robo-god he's far too nice and kind, but at the same time with that argument he held against Greg earlier he was clearly quick to act and could be relied on; he did calm her down after all at the camp, he didn't hate her, he saved her countless times, and he willingly rebelled with her despite only having met her a few minutes prior.
... Maybe we can actually get to the bottom of this together?
"So uhhhhhh about this plane robe you got me, it actually fits pretty well!" N said with a little chuckle as as twiddled his thumbs. "How did you know what size I am?".
"It wasn't hard to calculate it, I've been having to eyeball my height for years when looking for clothes or having to try to make em myself, plus you're a bit more of average human height so there's plenty of old robes that could fit you. I thought maybe you'd like the plane one better than some of the other stuff, unless I severely miscalculated?" Uzi said unsure. "Did I miscalculate?".
"No no its completely fine Uzi! Its so comfy actually! Thank you!".
Uzi had to turn her head away to hide the blushing she knew was coming, but warning beeps caught the attention of the two drones; the washing machine was done doing its duty, but it now signaled the dangerous step that had to come next. Uzi grabbed a step stool and put it by the washing machine while she opened the dryer to prepare it for its duty, but she signaled for N to stay back as she kept the grabber in her left hand.
"Alright, I'm going to open the washer and put your coat in the dryer, stay behind the line and watch carefully okay?" Uzi said.
"Please be careful!" N urged, for some reason he felt very dreadful about this almost like he knew the danger somehow.
"I've done this a lot, so I know how this goes and how to handle it, don't worry about stupid wet clothes!".
N brought his hands to his mouth and almost began to chew on his own fingertips nervously as Uzi stepped up on the stool and opened the washing machine, lowering the grabber carefully in and slowly lifted out a thoroughly drenched coat that looked a little lighter in color than before; with a nod of approval of the lower machine's work Uzi carefully lowered the coat into the dryer and shut the lid on it, and then put the grabber in a little cabinet to the side for it to dry in safely.
"There, that wasn't so hard right?" Uzi asked. "Now I can show you how to set the drying settings and then after a little wait your coat will be good to go".
N sighed in relief as he walked over to Uzi's side and listened to her instructions, but she seemed tired and fatigued as she explained things.
"... Uzi are you good?" N asked.
"Huh? Yeah yeah I'm fine bite me, just been a long night is all..." Uzi said looking away from him, but he could tell that she was lying.
Everything in his systems told him that she was fatigued, and would otherwise be easy pickings for a quick meal, but he obviously wasn't going to do that; he didn't like seeing her like this, and he didn't like that she was lying to him about it.
"You don't seem like it though, you're tired, I can see the bag lines Uzi. You can tell me what's going on".
Uzi snapped her head back to him with her eyes hollow in surprise, but they quickly reverted back to normal as she glanced away again.
"... I just need some time to rest after everything today, like that jerk of a drone that called me and my dead mom all those names, I just... I need to decompress alone for a bit if that's okay with you?" she admitted.
"Yeah sure, all I need to do is wait for this to dry right? Then how about you go decompress and I'll stay here and wait for my coat to dry! I might take a little power nap myself or mess with some of the puzzles you bought for me today, and I want to thank you for that, and for showing me how great of a community you guys have here! A community I would've never known and destroyed if you hadn't stopped me" N cooed. "Plus I think I'll be better received once I smell less like literal death".
Uzi couldn't help but try to hide a little laugh and smile, but she failed miserably as N innocently smiled back at her gleaming at his success, how the hell could she say no to him?!
"Alright alright I'll get going bud, it should be done in less than an hour, can't really rush drying without it shrinking like a raisin" Uzi said as she stepped off the stool. "I'll be in the living room chilling on the couch if you need anything okay bud?".
"Yep! Go get some rest please!" N insisted.
With a smile Uzi walked out of the room while N grabbed the stool and used it as a chair, yawning from all the events of the night and starting to feel a little bit of code-fog from processing so many things, plus finally being away from all those peering eyes at last made him feel comfortable enough to maybe fall asleep; without even meaning to that's exactly what he did, setting an internal timer for however long it would take for his coat to dry and then turning himself off for a little recharge.
The hustle and bustle of a gala ballroom confused N as he was walking between mostly humans in fancy clothes and some drones, the humans looked somewhat annoyed while the drones were deathly fearful despite doing their best to hide their concern.
"Alright alright I know this can be a bit of a hassle, but practice means perfect!" a man in a top hat nearly yelled. "Everything must be perfect for the coming Gala, so practice runs are a MUST! Plus a good party isn't bad either".
N feared this man more than anything else in the mansion, James Elliot was his name, and his temper was like a volcano waiting to erupt if anyone or any drone specifically wronged him; he didn't care about drones, he'd dispose of them in a heartbeat or the throw of the nearest object to a drone's visor to end them with a fatal error message. Unfortunately N was reminded of this as a brief yipe echoed in the ballroom, and as N turned to face the noise he found a human woman holding up the longer end of her dress looking at a drone next to her in disgust; the drone on the other hand looked terrified with hollowed eyes and all three bag lines underneath them while looking around at the dozens of humans of drones staring at him.
"It stepped on my dress! Lucky you didn't tear it little pest!" the woman exclaimed dramatically.
"Damn metal roach!" another human hissed.
"WHO DARES INSULT ONE OF MY GUESTS?!" James's voice boomed as the crowd parted for him, his stomping feet could be heard from a kilometer away.
The drone only stared up in terror silently as James glared daggers at the drone like he really was a bug before reaching over to the nearest table and grabbing something, but before N could process what it was James whipped it at the drone and the sound of glass shattering could be heard followed by a resounding metal CLANG as the drone hit the floor; N froze in place as he saw the drone's now corpse on the ground practically spilling oil from his visor as a silver-gleaming dinner knife was impaled into it, all his lights were red with the telltale signs of fatal error. He was gone in seconds.
"All cleaning drones, clean up this mess or you're next!" James threatened. "All others continue to entertain our guests, and keep the drinks coming!".
N felt himself shake and his core power flutter for a moment knowing he could be in danger if he messed up even so much as once, but he held himself together as he walked around trying to offer drinks to the wealthy humans at the party; there were more than N thought for a mere practice run of the Gala that was to come soon, so many humans, so many potential people that could blame him for something and get him killed like he was literal walking trash to be disposed of. He didn't know most of these humans, he didn't know what all manners to use for them, there were some from different countries and different branches of the SCJenson in Spaaaaaaaace company attending so this was a VERY big deal; more disturbing to him was how unfazed all of these people were to just make a drone drop dead right in front of him, and he was used to it at this point, but now more than before he was in direct danger. One wrong move was death, a fork or knife to the visor or core most likely. A brief glance around showed most of the other drones he could see were stone-cold in expression or clearly scared from the murder of one of their own in front of them, but they all shared the bag lines of underlying fear, uncertainty, and other negative emotions.
N did what he could to calmly offer drinks and avoid eye contact, trying to glance at the ground when he could so he wouldn't accidentally step on anyone's fancy dress or shoes, all these humans made him so nervous; so many voices his systems couldn't keep up with, so many different tones from joyous laughter to anger and disgust, so many things to try to keep track of all at once was getting to him. He could feel his internal gadgets starting to overheat from all the intake of information, he was bound to slip up if he didn't pay attention to a million different variables-
"Hey, fancy butler, catch this upon your tray!" a voice called out suddenly.
N tried to quickly turn around as he saw a bunch of humans about three meters away from him looking at him, staring at him as one had an empty wine glass in his hand; as soon as eye contact was made the human lightly tossed the wine glass towards N, and in panic N tried to lean forward to catch it, but something in the corner of his visor begged for his attention. At the very edge of his vision, in the shadows by one of the pillars on the side of the ballroom, was Cyn standing there hunched over and tilting her head with those curious... Oddly yellow eyes staring at him along with a little smile... A smile that quickly expanded into an almost intimidating snarl showing uneven sharp teeth structures that had no explanation, directed at him.
CRASH!
N gasped as he froze in place, his legs beginning to tremble as humans and drones alike gasped around him, and wearily he glanced down to find that he hadn't caught the wine glass in time as it lay on the ground broken, shattered, useless.
Just like I'm about to be he thought in horror as he glanced around wildly in fear with eyes in bold-hollow.
Humans stared at him in disapproval, annoyance, even a bit of anger due to the disturbance of their happy party time; on the other hand though all drones N could see were terrified and staring at him in similar fear, one even bit their lip, and one wearily waved goodbye. They knew what was going to happen next, and he knew too, he had already been through this before. He felt like a deer in the headlights as hundreds of eyes were upon him at once like a soap opera and dozens of humans chattered in disapproval and anger at yet another damn annoyance to their party, all those eyes and voices practically stabbing into N from all angles at once, he didn't know how to handle it, he couldn't handle it with his sensors overwhelmed with warnings all over his visor implying that he was going to die because of this or at least be punished severely.
"Augh another defective drone?!" James's voice groaned as humans and drones parted for him as if this were a daily ritual. "I'll need more clean knives and forks by the end of this party alone! How many more drones do I need to buy and discard?!".
N stared up at James in silent horror as the man walked up to the table to presumably grab a weapon of murder, and N briefly glanced back to where Cyn was only to find nothing and no one there, but he glanced back to see James with a fork in his hand.
"As they say, another one bites the dust!" James proclaimed.
N shut his eyes tightly waiting for the release of the weapon that would be his end.
"STOP FATHER!" a shrill voice shrieked.
N barely opened one of his eyes to find Tessa standing before him, her arms stretched out wide to defend him, and it had worked as James still had the fork in his hands; the father looked very displeased as he forcefully put the fork back on the table.
"... I suppose not every worthless thing bites the dust" James muttered as he grabbed Tessa's arm and N without warning. "Sorry my friends, there are some things I must take care of".
N went limp as per some sort of hidden coding mechanism, but he felt scared as Tessa quietly pleaded with her dad to stop and let them go, but James kept dragging the two out of the ballroom and over by a closet in the wall.
"You young lady better have a good explanation for this!" James spat as he let go of Tessa to open the closet door.
"Y-Yes father" Tessa whimpered as she held her arm and winced in pain.
N only wished he could actually do something, anything to help Tessa, but he was shoved into the closet and the door slammed shut.
N was startled awake by the blaring of the timer as digital sweat poured down his visor, barely biting back a yelp, as he whipped his head around to see where he was; he was back in the laundry room with the dryer right in front of him, the lights on its dashboard showing that it was done with its duty and his coat was likely dry. He sighed in somewhat relief and somewhat confusion as to what the hell just happened in his sleep yet again, but he shook his head as he noted that Uzi was out of the room still.
She did say I should be fine to take out my coat right? He thought as he wearily reached for the dryer lid. And is she okay now? I better check on her after I check my coat!
N opened the lid to find his coat undamaged and carefully picked it up, it was indeed dry and his sensors showed there was far less of an oil smell to his coat now; it even looked a bit better with the buttons upon it being shinier, most of the stains were nearly or entirely gone from it, and it was just nicer overall! He would have to thank Uzi for showing him how to do this because his coat might as well have been brand new, he carefully took off the robe Uzi had gotten for him and put his coat back on; it felt nice to be back in it to be honest, but it felt so much more cleaner and comfortable now than before! He took a deep breath and quietly exited the laundry room and out to the living room to find the tv on with an anime auto-playing while Uzi was curled up on the couch curled up in a few blankets and hugging a large pillow tightly; she seemed like she was asleep but N couldn't really tell with her visor off.
"Uzi?" he whispered. "You awake?".
There was no response from her, none of her lights flickered on or anything, she was out cold it seemed; she did look far more at ease and less tense than before, but then again N had never actually seen her sleep before either. He didn't think she'd look so vulnerable like this, all curled up into a ball next to a pillow, so small and frail that N was almost afraid of trying to touch her, but at the same time he didn't know how exactly Worker Drone sleep cycles worked compared to his, or how she was doing! With a little bit of bravery he elected to maybe nudge her a bit or the pillow she was holding onto to see if she would wake up and how she was faring if she woke up.
N somewhat stalked around the couch to avoid going in front of the tv (in case her visor would react to the sudden lack of light) and quietly went around the back of it, though he had to silence his sensors telling him that she was an easy kill since that wasn't what he was doing anymore! He gently grabbed the pillow to nudge it against her when he felt something he probably shouldn't.
Ba-bump-hmmmmmmm... Ba-bump-hmmmmmmmm
N nearly threw his hand back upon hearing when appeared to be a drone core inside of the pillow?! But there was no oil or any smell of it so how did she get one in there?!
K̶̡͙̾̽̓Ỉ̷̻̳͌̏͑L̷̺̭̥͕̏̔L̸̢̮͒̂̋!̵̼̱͗̋̀ ̸̭͈̃̍͊̓Ḵ̷̱̹̾̍̈Î̴͈̩͛̌͝L̸̙̩̽̉̃͘L̶̛͉̪͕̲̈́̈́̊!̸̝͖̣̾͠ ̴̯̉T̴̅͜Ḫ̷͖͕͊̆̊͘Ŗ̷̻̬͗̎Ę̷̮̂̋̀̐Ą̷̨̬͓̉̾́̀T̸̯̱̬͐ ̷̨͓̖͐̎̍́F̷͍̒̆̊O̵̙͌́U̶̼̳̜͂͒̽̓Ṉ̷̗̋Ḏ̸̥̮̇,̵̟́̿͠ ̴̛̪̋͗͗͜E̷̯̪͈͋Ļ̷̪͊͜͠͝Ì̶̳͝ͅM̶̙͂͝ͅĮ̵̣̽̆Ṇ̷̦̩̬̅A̴̦̙̺̯̿̈́̋͊T̴̗̰̽Ḛ̵̥̈́ ̶̨̛̘I̴͕͇̋͝M̵̥̑̉̂M̷͓̑͌E̴͍͐̈́̌͠D̷̬̻̝̽Ī̴̯̫̆͗̾Ạ̶̞͐̇T̶̯̻̬̓̿͒Ḛ̷͕͍̜̂͂̑̎Ĺ̴̲̖͈̯̚Ý̸̰̔!̴̖̗͙͖̇
His sensors were going wild but he shook off the kill commands and elected to wearily touch the pillow again and maybe bring his head up to it to listen for it, so he did and found that although he could hear a core he could not actually feel the energy of one in the pillow; this was an an oddity to him, clearly no murder but the sound of this core was odd compared to the usual core hums of those he had killed previously. He didn't realize that his investigation of the noise had moved the pillow enough to make Uzi stir as her eyes flicked on with little warning, one bag-line under each eye, and yawned showing some small fangs close to the corners of her jaws, but she lifted her head up and met N's gaze immediately; the two froze with both of their eyes going hollow for a moment, both confused to robo-hell and back... And then both started screaming in confusion.
N didn't know what was going on as he jumped back still screaming while Uzi just held onto the pillow for dear life.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" she yelled startled.
"Sorry! I was just trying to check up on you!" N said with a little nervous chuckle as he tried to calm himself down. "I didn't think you would wake up!".
"Oh... Still what the hell were you doing so close?! I thought you might've been about to kill me!".
"... I was checking to see if you were okay, are you doing better now?".
"... Yeah a little, I see your coat looks a whole lot better than before. Nice and dry?".
"Yep! Perfect and doesn't smell nearly like death like before, so thank you for doing this again".
"... Your welcome, but you look uneasy, something happen?".
"... Why is pillow making core noises?".
Uzi's eyes hollowed briefly but she looked more embarrassed than concerned for some reason?
"You didn't kill anyone right?" N asked.
"No I didn't! It's.... Not a core" Uzi sighed as she zipped open one end of the pillow.
She reached into the pillow reaching around for a few moments before pulling out a small rectangular object and showing it to N, and it was clearly the source of the core noises.
"Its a recording of a core's hum, though more specifically... My mom's core hum" Uzi explained. "When I was still a fresh neural network she would sit down on this couch and watch anime with me in her arms, said it would help build awesome character or something, but it just reminds me of the good times I had with her before she....".
One of us killed her N realized. And it could have been me!
"... N I know what you're thinking, and you didn't kill her, my dad had to end her suffering. And even if you did I wouldn't be mad with you now, you didn't know what you were doing back then or why, and we can't change the past no matter what we try".
N was caught off guard but took a seat beside Uzi on the couch so he could at least try to help her.
"I took the recording of my mom's core hum and put it on this little device so if I wanted to I could hear it again, it helps me feel safe even though she's gone, makes it almost feel like she's here with me through my darkest nights. So uh please don't say anything about this to anyone? I don't think even my dad knows about it and robo-god forbid if Lizzie ends up hearing about it!".
"I won't tell a soul, I promise" N cooed with gentle eyes. "Hug?".
Uzi lifted one eyebrow in half-surprise and half-annoyance at the corny attempt to help her feel better, but he held his arms open in anticipation with a soft smile she couldn't dare turn down; with a sigh she scooted over and hugged N, and flinched when he closed his arms around her to complete the hug, but he was gentle and held her semi-tightly to the point that she could hear his core hum. She hated that it was calming her and was glad that he couldn't see the slight blush lines under her eyes before she could make them disappear, but she did feel a little better having someone to talk to about stuff.
"You feeling okay too N?" she asked although it was a little muffled by his coat.
"Yep! And this coat feels a whole lot more comfy than before!" N chuckled.
"... Can you let go please?".
"Yep!".
N let go of Uzi an she scooted back over to where she was previously and yawned once again, checking the clock to see that it was past 7am meaning that it was a bit late for drones, but N looked at the anime playing on the tv curiously.
"... Wanna know what I was watching before I fell asleep?" Uzi asked.
"Yeah sure, looks interesting" N answered. "Lots of lasers are interesting, and did that character just do the same jump-landing you did when we first met in the Spire?".
"Oh hell yeah, this is where I got that move after all!" Uzi said with a smirk. "But you really gotta watch the beginning to understand the plot, same as any piece of media, but trust me it is awesome!".
The two would go on to watch anime for a while before both would fall asleep on the couch, nothing like some anime to calm the nerves after a long night am I right?