Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The X on the screen of the Murder Drone (or Disassembly Drone being the correct term) flickered, then was replaced by the annoyed expression of N, who narrowed his eyes and grumbled: 

“Uziii, you’re cheating! You used your powers again, right?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about at all~” Uzi snickered as she heard the larger drone continue to complain about her cheating, about being a bad player, as he descended to join her on the ground. 

As Uzi stood up from the half-eaten carcass, she let out a small cry, “What the hell, N?!” as she felt two arms carry her, then be pressed against the warm, almost boiling body of her boyfriend. His big head rested against the teenage drone’s, smiling even as Uzi continued to struggle - not with all her force - against him.

“I missed you…” he sighed, arms and tail wrapped around the small body. 

“I-Idiot…” Uzi finally stopped fidgeting and let herself be carried, only to roll her eyes jadedly, but the embarrassed blush invading her screen revealed her true feelings. She huffed, blowing a purple lock of hair off her screen, “Dude, it hasn’t even been a few hours since we last saw each other.” 

Uzi responded to his affection by patting his arms, desperately trying to maintain her cool facade, because she was a freaking goddess ! But it was difficult as N’s hug became harder. Uzi could even hear the rhythmic and rapid beating of his flesh core. Like her own. Soon after, she felt a tremor shake his chassis, growing stronger and stronger and a powerful sound came out of him. Uzi held back an amused laugh: N had started to purr. 

The murder drone often did this when he was very happy, and a lot recently. Uzi remembered when she first discovered it : they were watching a pirated movie together in her room - after having managed to convince her parents that the young couple would do nothing else. She was then installed against him, her head against his chest, eating some batteries and, in the middle of the movie, the drone had heard a strange buzzing sound nearby. It took her little time to understand where the dull noise was coming from. It was an incredibly awkward moment (for N) and hilarious time for Uzi, who had not stopped teasing him the rest of the time. 

It's a big cat, she amused herself, before correcting her thought while she saw his tail waving happily and kicking up snow everywhere it passed. But above all a golden retriever. “You know, I didn’t disappear. Earlier, I answered one of your messages,” Uzi reminded him, her voice slightly mocking. 

Said “golden retriever”, after finally putting her back on the ground, but without letting go of her, faced her with big yellow eyes overflowing with love and brighter than usual. He still continued to purr. “But you missed meee~” Without warning, N put his head against her own - the simple contact caused a blue spark between their screens. 

Uzi’s eyes suddenly tingled - admittedly very pleasant - and stammered, while N noticed a more pronounced blush in Uzi who was completely frozen in shock. He smiled widely. “I was running out of energy Uzi. I need to recharge my battery !” 

Alert: 

Hopelessly Romantic Personality: On. 

“Y-You, moron ! Don’t do this without warning !” Uzi slammed a firm hand against his head and pushed him away, managing to breathe. Her processors were threatening to fry, and her internal temperature had skyrocketed - a warning had started flashing for a few minutes. If this kept up, her core was going to overheat ! 

Even if it wasn't a direct kiss - since they had been going out for a year, it didn't go beyond holding hands or a lot of more or less intimate hugs - it was enough to put her in a state. And N's smug look at her agitation didn't help... 

Uzi scolded herself for falling so easily before his charm and she gave herself a mental slap to return to her angsty personality. But still blushing like an idiot. Oh you're sooo lucky to be so damn cute... That won't stop her from getting revenge later, though.

Come on, girl ! Pull yourself together ! “So, what are you doing here?” Uzi crossed her arms against his chest, trying to regain some dignity and casually pointing at the Worker’s body. “I didn’t think there were still drones hanging around town; at least, not this close to the Tower.”

N only shrugged, not really surprised. "I was out flying, when I caught him rummaging in a junkyard not too far away. They hang out in places like that sometimes. This one had his head in a pile of metal, probably looking for spare parts or equipment, then he heard me coming from the sky. The Worker managed to run a little further before I caught him." As he spoke of his hunt, N felt his fingers still trembling at the thought and his teeth itching.

The feeling of excitement that remained in him, after having stalked his prey, let it leave the warehouse and then, with a stroke of his wings, swooped down on him to plant his metal claws in his chest and tear his still-active core from his chest. Like any other Disassembly Drone, N's programming exponentially aroused his violent predatory instincts and increased the pleasure of cornering and then tearing his prey to pieces. It didn't get any better when his oil levels were too low: he became much more brutal than usual. He may not have been as sadistic in his methods as V was, or made as many victims as J used to be, but N couldn't help but feel a certain pleasure in eviscerating the other drones - which bothered him a little more lastly. 

N shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. "Hehe, at least I didn't have to go too far to hunt!" Quick, change the subject! Then he realized: "Sooo... what are you doing here? Usually, when you come out of the bunker, you're with me or V." 

Uzi scoffed, her smile turning proud and arrogant and widening to reveal her fangs, as she retorted: "N, I'm a freaking goddess! I can go wherever I want, whenever I want, and with whomever I want..." as long as my parents know and I get back to the bunker before sunrise... Uzi kept this part quiet. While N was still waiting for an answer to his earlier question, Uzi sighed and added: "I was trying to find some Workers' bodies that were still full to stock up on oil: there's hardly any left at the medical center, and I went below average oil earlier today. Happy?"

N's tail whipped the air more briskly at her answer, and the boy's usually bright expression turned harsher, as he frowned, "Didn't you promise that, if your levels ever dropped too low, you'd let us know so we could bring you back something to feed you ?” 

"Bite me, I didn't pay attention ! Besides, I'm not that low yet: I can last a few more hours." Uzi grew annoyed, thinking he sounded like her parents grumbling their daughter, either when she slept late or when she didn't come home on time. 

N shook his head, before reaching past her and grabbing what was left of the Worker. After shaking the body - and scattering more oil stains on his coat, which he'd have to clean later - he raised his head to his girlfriend: "There's still some left in this one: you can come and help yourself!” 

“...Are you sure? It’s yours.” Uzi calmed down, her eyes growing round with surprise that N was willing to share some of his food. 

In all the time she had been around N and V, Uzi had always made sure to keep her distance from them during their meal. After each hunt, the two were quite protective of their catch, hissing and growling at each other like wild animals (much more V), and sometimes hiding in their nests to consume their food. Uzi supposed that some primitive part of their programming was acting on their behavior, in order to retrieve all the necessary oil and materials. Usually, they became more civilized and friendly again - at least N did, because V did not change at all. 

There was still quite a bit of oil left inside the Worker, and N offered it to her again: “I’ve eaten enough already, and you need it ! Here, take it.” 

Uzi hesitated only two seconds longer before grabbing the body, mumbling a soft “thank you” under her lips. Grabbing her thermos, she busied herself with emptying the rest of the oil, which flowed easily from the deep lacerations. As she did so, Uzi felt N’s gaze on her, all his eyes as he watched her. 

N waited impatiently for her to finish filling it all up, playing with the edges of his old coat as he danced on his feet. “So, I was thinking… Weather is pretty good tonight ? No toxic storms or blizzards at all.” 

Standing up as he spoke to her, Uzi made an intrigued noise as she looked at the sky. N was right: the weather was calm. It was a rather clear and beautiful night, with few stars shining through the clouds. “Yeah, we shouldn’t worry about freezing again because of a gust of wind.” 

N exclaimed, startling Uzi: “Great! We’re lucky! Hehehe… He he… Huh…” N lost his words, as two-tone eyes flashed at him, questioningly. Oh, biscuits. I don't know what to say anymore... Come on, this is not the time to be stupid ! N gulped: "S-so, maybe I had an ulterior motive when I said that. Since the night still young and there's still time before you leave, we could... you and me... you know, walk around the city together ? " 

Uzi's eyes blinked several times at her request, as N anxiously waited for her answer. The drone Worker-Solver was not fooled: N was offering to spend time together. And Uzi would be lying if she pretended that he didn't touch her. His hopeful gaze was as bright as the stars above. 

Uzi thought : usually, when N and Uzi did things together, it was usually at her place, watching movies in Uzi’s bed, or other activities like playing cards, horsing around in the snow with the others or, occasionally, flying together in the sky (which was her favorite). Getting around town on foot was a first. But with N looking at her with puppy dog eyes… how could she refuse him ?

I could use the opportunity to pick up some parts for the railgun, Uzi decided, and she nodded. "Go for a walk, then !"

N's smile lit up and he jumped into the air. "Great! You'll see, I know lots of places you haven't visited yet that are nice!" before leaving, all excited, and grabbing her hand in his larger one.

Uzi tensed in his unexpected grip and (involuntarily) almost pulled it away, but she quickly relaxed as N guided them.

My adorable idiot…

_________________________________________________________

"... and this is the 120th reason why golden retrievers are my favorite dogs! They're also smart, loyal, and great at therapy! So three more reasons."

"Hmhm..."

"Ah, and their fur is so soft! I'd love to pet one…"

"Hmhm..." 

"Do you think they still exist? Oh, I wish they did!”

As they walked, still hand in hand, N had just launched into yet another impassioned conversation about dogs and his favorite breed - of course, golden retrievers. Which makes sense, since he is one himself, Uzi had thought, following his monologue with half an ear. 

The conversation had been on his favorite dogs for almost an hour! And even for her, it was starting to overload her memory disk. Her impetuous nature came back to the surface, and Uzi could not help but emphasize: “You know, N, if it’s true that the dogs survived the core explosion, then that would imply that humans managed to escape by taking them. And you know that I would prefer it if they were gone for good.” 

N gave her an awkward smile, rubbing his cheek as he knew his girlfriend’s opinion of humanity in general. Not that he could blame her, seeing as the Copper-9 Workers had been exploited by the company. 

“Hehehe… Yes, I guess.” Then his eyes brightened, “But you know, humans weren’t all bad! Some were quite nice.” 

Uzi raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Still, I remember your old masters of the manor, those James and Louisa. Good they were blown up, if I must say so.”

“Urgh…” The big drone shuddered at their memory. “Riiight… They weren’t great,” he admitted, showing a genuine look of disgust that made Uzi sneer, before continuing, “But otherwise, others could be quite nice to us.” 

“Just name one human who would come to mind.” 

Tessa… And at that thought, almost instinctive, N’s mood dropped a little, the lightness of the moment disappearing. 

Uzi felt the grip on her hand grow weaker. She looked at her boyfriend, and her core tightened, seeing the pained expression he wore. She understood immediately who the drone was thinking, and she felt guilty for bringing up this still sensitive subject for N. Great Uzi, you’ve just made him sad, Uz reprimanded herself, with her big mouth. 

The angsty drone was not unaware of the importance that his human had in N's life : his savior, a guardian, a friend... almost an older sister or a mother. The fatal fate that the Absolute Solver had reserved for her, wearing her torn skin and pretending to be the certified technician JCJenson Tessa James Elliott in front of her former companions of the manor... Even for Uzi and despite the negative feelings she had towards humans, it was just cruel. 

Especially for her friends. 

What N had been forced to do in the church, while Uzi was impaled and nearly killed by the impostor, and then their fight against this robot-satan AI had impacted him badly. And even if he didn’t say anything, Uzi could guess how hurted he was. Everyone was, but N and V had lost the most in this story : they had discovered that their guardian had been killed and her skin used as a simple costume, and their leader who had betrayed them to serve the perpetrator of genocide against humanity the being who had cursed them to become mere puppets in its destructive madness.

At least, in this whole nightmare, Uzi had got her mother back. 

An uncomfortable silence settled between them. After a moment of silence, Uzi wanted to try to comfort him. With a terrible effort - for her to recognize it - the drone admitted reluctantly: “Your human…huh,she looked…pretty okay. I guess…”

She felt N's hand clenched her hand tighter in response, and Uzi was relieved to see his expression soften at her attempt.

“Yeah, she was. You would have got on well : Tessa too, she liked to build crazy things and disobey to get herself into trouble! She drove J crazy back then.”

“...Is that supposed to be a compliment?” But that didn’t stop Uzi from smiling, especially when she heard N laughed, the sad look on his screen having finally disappeared. She took the opportunity to resume the conversation: “But if there’s one breed of dog I’d like to see, it’s rottweilers. In the pictures in the books you showed last time, they looked cool!” 

The clumsy tactic worked, and N’s screen brightened up a lot more as they returned to his favorite topic. “You’re right, those dogs are cool… even if they scare me a little.” 

“Hey, they’re badass and they bite hard ! Like me.”

“Hehe…True~”