Murder Drones: Disassembly Required

Cloris responded by rejecting the order that Karasu had given. It takes him a little bit to reply again, mainly because he's having to hold off so many of those encroaching tendrils -- but finally there is an opportunity for him to do so.

"And we're not going to get anywhere at this rate. You may not like it, but-"

At that point, N snapped out of it and began to resist the pull of the Absolute Solver -- and in the process, she also makes her own objection known in short order. Now that N was able to move and fight back...

Well, the Captain gives a nod, finally relenting.


"Alright! Let's do this!"

N and Cloris both moved to reveal and strike at the creature's weak point. All the while, Karasu was providing them with covering fire, affording them precious moments to do what they needed. Eventually the beating heart is revealed -- and Cloris goes straight for it! It seemed like the battle would be decided in just a few seconds...

Back in the digital battlefield, Absolute Solver's form once again grew in size, before informing her that it would instruct her in the error of her ways.

As it began to encroach on her. Aegis slides backwards, standing tall and thrusting her chest out. Her armor shifts and a beam cannon is revealed.


And then it fires, a massive beam that would have engulfed anything at a normal size. But she directed it squarely at the Absolute Solver's head.

"Stop such foolishness!
Go back! It is not too late!"

---

There it was, another so confident answer -- V snapped, retorting bluntly with:

"What autopsy?! It destroys everything it comes in contact with utterly! There would be nothing to perform an autopsy on! He would have to have been close enough to see it happen!"

The Disassembly Drone doesn't let up, thoroughly sick of the attitude at this point.

"So there's a possibility that he's just blaming it on Disassembly Drones, and it wasn't us at all!"

V then throws her arm out dismissively.

"I said it once before, I'll say it again; where's proof of YOUR backstory?!"

With that, the Disassembly Drone crosses her arms in a huff -- and mainly stays out of the negotiations that Ray and Uzi have with each other. She at least does note that Uzi seems to care about Ray's safety.

Though it doesn't make much sense to her, considering she had this plan of murdering Humans... V shakes her head and rolls her eyes. But she manages not to make any snide remarks. Though as Uzi then points at her and confronts her about being a 'Murder Drone' again...

V shoots back, by pointing at Uzi.

"You're the one with a murder plan! Talking about murdering Humans! And you intended on murdering us even though you didn't have any proof to work off of! If anything, YOU'RE the Murder Drone!"

Despite her harsh words... She at least doesn't object to Ray wanting Uzi to come along with them. Though she obviously prefers sticking closer to him and trying to ignore her.... Though apparently Khan was some kind of unusual case that they would regret meeting?

V didn't get it, but she supposed they would find out soon enough.

But first... They all arrive in time to see a rather unusual scene; Lizzy had just announced her attentions, J was holding onto Chaos protectively, and oh yeah, there was a Worker Drone speaking Russian.

Ray was understandably a little confused. Before anyone of more reasonable mind can reply, Lizzy speaks up.

"Oh hey, another Human. Yeah, I hit on him."

And then she lets out an 'ugh' as she spots Uzi. As both Uzi AND Doll discredit her idea for differing reasons, she pulls her arm away from Doll and puts her hands on her hips, once more shifting her head exaggeratedly. Not helping her current mood was Chaos's refusal.

"Seriously? I thought the Dork levels couldn't get any higher here thanks to Queen Dorkness."

She glances over at Uzi, making it clear who she was referring to.

V blinks, and simply nods at Ray's words.

"Yes, she did."

Though V is suddenly caught off guard by Doll's words, blushing -- true, Ray might not understand her words, and J might not be in the mood to translate, but... Well. Lizzy enjoyed causing a little bit of entertainment.

So she turns her attention to Ray, straightening out a little as she smiles.
"She asked if you two are a couple as well."

V runs a hand through her hair, switching between glancing ahead and back at Ray. Seems she didn't object to the idea of being a couple, at least...

Lizzy, for her part, then spies an opportunity. She turns her attention back to Chaos and J -- and more specifically, the twin-tailed Disassembly Drone.

"Hey, how about we cut a deal? We can just, like, share him. Or something."

Now, normally, that wouldn't get anywhere. But J is certainly business-minded... She thinks it over for a moment. What helped to put her into a better mood was the fact that Chaos also initially refused the idea because he was spoken for.

She could see a way to move forward with such a prospect, but of course, some things would have to be established, including the first and most important thing, which was...

"If he is interested, then we can proceed with negotiations."

Lizzy then turns to Doll, a triumphant and smug smile now on her face.

"Ha! Hear that Doll? We can totally make him interested in us."

Yeah, it seemed like this situation was not going to get any less chaotic...

"Whats with this d... oh hey Ray!" I perked up seeing my fellow crewmate reach us. Honestly Im surprised as if it wasnt for J, I wouldve gotten lost down here. "Oh hey Uzi, you're here too?" I wave at them as they approach us. Ray handed me the power regulator and I take a good look at it. "Its a bit beaten up and rusted over, it should still function if it is repaired properly. Although with my tools in hand, as in zero, I may need to jury rig it."

"I dont know Lizzy's deal, Uzi. If she is here to embarrass me then... it'd be like high school all over again god damnit!" I said responding to Uzi's remark that Lizzy is most likely trying to make a fool of myself. "Plus she keeps calling us dorks and thats uncool. Personally Im atleast an Ota----" I cut myself off when I heard Lizzy's idea to share me.

"S...share!? Thats impossible, there is no way J...!" Then I heard J's proposition. "W...what...!? J, you cant be serious!" I said with a heavy blush. "C'mon, they must be joking! Plus look at Ray, he'd make a better playboy than me!" I said as I points my arms palms open at Ray. It appears saying that pissed V off a bit "Or... Or that one drone that looks like a chad! Didnt meant Ray, he is a one drone guy...!" I said to quickly correct myself. She couldve murdered me. "J you gotta help me out here, please?"

It almost didn't work out: the creature fought to the bitter end. But N repayed the favor and saved her again. Something which she made sure she knew.

"Thanks N!"


Her blade pierced the heart of the creature. She narrowed her eyes aa the thing let out its death thrall.

"There's no such thing as perfect. The fact that you believed you were is why you lost."

Cloris pulled her blade out when she was sure it was dead. She used her free hand to wipe the black stuff off the blade. She frowned.

"I sure hope we'll be able to clean up all of this."

When she was done, she retracted her blades. Then she walked over to N, bending her upper body forward and offering a hand to N.

"Something tells me it's far from over. But I think we're safe for the moment. Thank you N."

---

Uzi snapped back. "She was chopped up even while being hit by that acid! You guys didn't just wait for her to dissolve!"

In truth, Uzi only knew what her father told her about the incident. But she was too stubborn to admit that she could be wrong. Which was why, despite the doubts V's statement about her dad caused in her, she doubled down, gesturing with her hand in frustration.

"Okay, my dad might be a door obsessed coward, but there's no reason why he'd lie about how my mother dying! He loved her!"

She didn't have any proof on hand. No way of convincing V of her side of the story. So there was really only one thing she could say.

"Fricking Bite me! Ypu all started it! And one day I'm going to end it!"

Uzi stared as Ray completely lost it over her little gesture. Then a smug smirk spread across her face.  She was hoping to get some kind of reaction, but this was better than she could have hoped for.


"Then why are you so flustered? You've never worked on a Copper 9 drone or a murder drone before. So for all you know, your girlfriend could have one."

Uzi laughed at Ray, jogging till she caught up to him. "Hey, maybe in 9 months, you'll be picking up your own bundle of joy from our nursery."

Uzi chuckled,  elbowing him playfully in the side. After that, the conversation got a little more serious. She stared up at him as he talked about the zombie drones.

"Wow. Sounds like you're going to be stuck here awhile. Did V and others save you?"

Uzi waved a hand dismissively as he talked about how much he trusted V.

"Yeah yeah. You aren't a drone, so she's going to be nice to you.

Uzi blinked, realizing something. "Wait, murder drones can fly. Wouldn't it be faster if V just went and got the Power Regulator on your own? I think you'd only slow her down."

Uzi blinked, looking at Ray in confusion. "Um… yeah? What, are humans not direct with how they talk? Cause that would be weird."

Uzi raised a digital eyebrow as Chaos talked about being unpopular in high school. "So you had a girlfriend in highschool too? Doesn't sound like a bad life to me."

Of course commenting on how close he was to J. She looked back at Ray as Chaos called him a playboy. She gave him another smirk.

"What's wrong? Worried about making your girlfriend jealous?"

Uzi rolled her eyes at Lizzy.

"I didn't ask your opinion, Wiz."

Her own name for the most popular girl in class. She annoyed her and was about as pleasant as a dirty bathroom.

---

Doll gauged V and Ray's reactions. There was something there, she was sure of it. And Ray all but confirmed it with what he quietly said. Doll spoke to both of them.

"Togda vam dvoim sleduyet posetit' predstoyashchiy vypusknoy bal. Partnery dolzhny vospol'zovat'sya vozmozhnost'yu potantsevat' vmeste."

["You then you two should attend the upcoming prom dance. Partners should take the opportunity to dance together "]

Doll then turned and looked at J and Chaos. "Vy dvoye tozhe dolzhny priyti. Vam budet veselo.

[You two ahould come too. You'll have fun."]

Doll looked over at Lizzy. She frowned, shaking her head. Then she looked at Chaos and spoke to him.

"Ne chuvstvuyte davleniya, chtoby prinyat' predlozheniye Lizzi. No ya dumayu, tebe i tvoyey devushke bylo by veselo na vypusknom. U vas dvoikh yest' naryady, kotoryye mozhno nadet'?"

["Don't feel pressure to accept Lizzie's proposal. But I think you and your girlfriend would have fun at the prom. Do you two have outfits to wear?]

Then Doll noticed the worker drone who had been dragged outside walking by. She had no way of knowing about what happened at the gate. Yet her demeanor changed. She inclined closer to Lizzie, looking at the worker wearily. Uzi noticed it too, looking at Doll and then staring at the worker drone.

"I wonder what has Doll all worked up. Old Poser there is probably sneaking off to get a smoke again.

With Karasu and N covering for Cloris, finally the defenses of the Absolute Solver are breached, and in one decisive blow against the heart, the chaos begins to recede into peace. The Captain begins to examine their surroundings, wondering if there might be any other enemies left. Or any final attacks from their dying opponent, but...

--Aegis--



The AI realizes that the digital form of Solver is being broken apart, and the speech it is giving now makes it clear that it won't be held together for much longer. Aegis stops firing, but remains ready to defend herself just in case...

"You underestimated the Human Spirit. It is not so easily crushed."

Soon, it then delivers her a message. Speaking of it's wish to spread perfection across the universe, and lamenting that Aegis did not join it.

"It's only perfect for you. You aren't taking the time to ask them what they want. Until you understand that importance... Your efforts will keep failing."

Despite her attempts to reason with it, it only ominously replies that it's influence continues to grow, before finally fading. With a quick scan, Aegis confirms that it's presence is totally gone now. After confirming that, she acts quickly...

--The Ship--

Machinery hums back to life, the lights turn on, and the life support kicks in once more. A voice speaks over the intercom -- but this time, it is a much more familiar, welcoming voice.

"Confirmed. The enemy has been eliminated. All systems are back to normal. Good work, everyone!"

Finally, Karasu takes a breath and holsters his pistol.

"Well... At least it looks like we won't have to worry about this mess."

The Captain states, looking at the parts of the creature that were stabbed with Nanite Acid. Although the size of this thing means it will take some time, it IS spreading and breaking it down entirely.

"We need to up security around the ship -- and the sooner we can get some proper weapons, the better."

But... Even more important than all of that... The Captain then declares this;

"But for now, everyone take a break. Good work."

---

V simply crosses her arms and gives Uzi a glare. The two simply disagreed on what happened here, but neither could fully convince the other due to not having proof on hand at the moment. Still, she at least got the impression that Ray didn't like their fighting, so... She ultimately decides to leave it at that.

Still grumpy about it, though.


Ah yes, the chaos was in full swing now. Lizzy smiled as she watched it all play out. Who knew that this is all she had to do to get some entertainment around here? And for as much as she didn't like Uzi, she contributed BEAUTIFULLY to the ongoing shenanigans.

Ray started his protest to Uzi, pointing out that he's worked on Drones before, and knew that they were not... "Anatomically correct", as it were.

V would then hold up her hand and extend her index finger.

"Well, actually..."

She began her interjection, which was somewhat interrupted by Uzi then pointing out an obvious difference in THESE Drones compared to the ones he's worked on before.

Along the way, Ray blushed deeper, turned away, and simply told Uzi to shut up. The little Worker Drone laughs and jogs to catch up to him. V does the same, wondering what's gotten him so worked up now. Although as Uzi talks about a 'bundle of joy coming in 9 months', she's slowly starting to piece it together.

Albeit she comes to a bit of a different conclusion, thinking that he might perhaps be embarrassed about being wrong about their particular builds.

"Um, if it helps Ray, I actually do have... Those."
She begins to explain, and then quickly adds;
"They're uh, hidden by my modesty panels right now. Since I'm sure you've noticed..."

She then gestures to her legs, and the very apparent lack of pants.

The conversation does move on to other things. Probably to Ray's relief, as Uzi realizes that Disassembly Drones can fly, so it might be faster for V to just go and get the part they need instead.

V spies an opportunity to do something nice for Ray, and keep him safe in the process, she perks up and excitedly moves over to him;

"That's true! It'll hardly take any time at all, and you can stay where it's safe!"

But as things started to calm down, Lizzy realized that there was another little injection of fun needed for this. So as Chaos talks about how it'd "be like high school all over again", and Uzi wonders if that meant he had a girlfriend...

Well, Lizzy takes full advantage of that, leaning in towards him.

"It'd be twice the high school experience. Two girlfriends!"

He obviously begins to protest the idea of being shared by multiple Drones, but due to J's willingness towards it as long as he was okay with it... He gets even MORE flustered, and tries to shift the attention onto someone else.

Ray, to be exact. Then he glances over at V, just as she's about to reply.

"I-"

And then he freaks out, quickly pointing out to just date someone else like a Worker Drone instead. V arches an eyebrow, wondering why he was so scared right now. But then Chaos finally makes an appeal to J, asking her for help.

J and V glance to each other, and then the proceeds to give a nod and shake their hands, then turning their attentions to everyone else.

"Okay. Here are the ground rules."

J started, and V then added;

"I'm Top Drone."

And J briefly interjects with:
"Ditto."

... And with that, they just proclaimed that they're fine with Ray and Chaos respectively being interested in other Drones, so long as they remain at the top for their respective partner.

Lizzy smiles at her handiwork so far. Though Uzi then interjects with her less-than-flattering nickname. She frowns and glares at Uzi.

"Well we didn't like, ask YOU to be here either. Dork."

As Doll then brings up the Prom, and suggests that V and Ray should go together... Well, the Disassembly Drone liked that idea. So much so that she translated what Doll said for Ray.

And while she tried not to appear excited for it...

"I think we could find the time for it. Probably. If you wanted to."

Doll then suggests the same thing to J and Chaos. And the twin-tailed Disassembly Drone was a little more forward about it than V was.

"Hm. Yes, I think I will take him to Prom."

J declares, glancing at Chaos. Doll then mentions not to feel pressure about Lizzy's proposal, and inquires if the two have outfits to wear for Prom. J rubs her chin in thought.

"Hmm... I guess the Humans would have to wear their atmospheric suits... Unless the Bunker's Life Support still works?"


... And then there was a change in the air. Perhaps it went mostly unnoticed by the majority of the group. But Doll wasn't the only one to notice it, certainly.

J and V both stared at the Worker Drone that shuffled past them. Each of them felt the strangest sense of nostalgia about those movements. Like they had seen it before.

J narrows her eyes, trying to place what it was. V, for her part, felt a little more uncomfortable about it. She steps closer to Ray and gently grabs his arm with her hand, just watching the Worker Drone all the while.

Lizzy wonders what's gotten everyone acting like this, so she looks over at them, and just shrugs, looking back at the rest of them.

"I don't normally agree with the little troll, but she's right. They're always relaxed about everything here, even though they supposedly have the most important jobs in the Colony. Or something."

J crosses her arms. Both she and V were still uneasy about it... The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone makes at least that much known;

"I feel like that's asking for trouble."

"Well, the highschool girlfriend thing was brief and... ...Well, nevermind its not important." I said, responding to Uzi's comment. "Anyways..." I then speak in a quitter tone to myself "well, two girlfriends wouldnt be bad..." two drones wrapping their arms around me, telling me good things...

"Yes, V has the lack of pants. She should find some." She really needs pants.

"Hey, be nice to Uzi, she did nothing wrong." Trying to defend Uzi. "Maybe Uzi is right, you are trying to make a fool of us. Im on Team Uzi for now on."

"Prom? Well the only clothes I have is the ones I am currently wearing so either we have to go find one from some dead human bodies, or there is a JCPenny around here that is still open." I replied to J's translation to Dolls comment about the Prom. "Well, since J and me is dating, we can go. It'll be fun"

I dont take notice of the uncanny drone. Instead I think the idea of the prom and what me and J will do. Then there is the power regulator that I'll have to fix. "Before we prepare for this prom, I gotta fix this power regulator for Uzi."

Well, the worst of it over. Cloris let out a sigh of relief as Aegis informed them at the situation. She looked at the dissolving organic parts as the captain pointed it out.

"We're lucky N and the others showed up. They're uniquely equipped to deal with the situation. Even the clean up won't be an issue."

She looked over at N. She didn't know if thr android would be able to see it, but she smiled behind her mask.

"I imagine you can rest much better then I can. I have to contact the rest of the team, like you said. We also have to gather weapons and repair the hole, as you two brought up. But I'll take a break after I make contact."

Cloris made her way back to the bridge, noting the additional damage done to the ship. "Ray isn't going to be happy about all this. the IT mused to herself. She made her way back to the bridge and talked to Aegis.

"I'm sorry that made such a risky order. Please bring up a diagnostic on the state of the ship. That thing could have done more damage while it was in the vents. And get me in contact with Ray and the others."

When Aegis compiled with it, she wasted no time talking to Ray. "Landing party come in. What's your status, over?"

---

Uzi's smirk only grew bigger. "Right, she isn’t your girlfriend. Which is why you're trying to deny it so hard.


Uzi blinked, looking at V. "Wait, your creator actually designed you with those parts? We Copper 9 drones developed those ourselves."

Uzi then looked ar Ray. She snickered as he looked up. "Accept it human: you're not single anymore."

Uzi then listened to Ray as he talked about the situation with her ship. She filed away the "disassembly drones saving their lives" part as ammunition to tease him later. But for now she replied to that.

"Wow, you got lucky. You should have died several times over. If I hadn't shown up you would have died several times over.

Uzi stuck her tongue back out at Ray. "Maybe you're just an immature meatbag!"

Uzi looked at Ray as he seemed worried. She put a hand on her hip.

"Hey, I know you feel helpless not being there for your girlfriend, but V is a badass. She was literally made to fight.

Uzi only had one response to Ray's comments. Although she said it with a smirk on her face.

"Bite me."

Uzi blinked, looking at Ray and V and J talked about being top drone. "Do you humans still do that lottery thing that my dad mentioned one time? Cause I think you'd win big if you did.

Uzi gave Lizzie a very rude gesture with her finger. She then stared at Chaos then looked over at Ray.

"I don't think Mr.Coolscience is all there.

Uzi heard the strange whispering. She frowned, calling out to the drone. "Hey Poser! I think you forgot to turn off your walkie talkie again!"

---

Ray seemed a little hesitate to join. But J and Chaos were entirely on board. Doll focused on V and Ray, speaking to both of them.

"Yesli khochesh', ya mogu kupit' tebe dva naryada na vypusknoy.

["I can get you two outfits for the prom if you want."]

When Doll heard the whispering, a scared look crossed her face. She grabbed onto Lizzies arms, leaned in and whispered to her.

"nam nuzhno vernut'sya v nashu komnatu. seychas zdes' ostavat'sya opasno."

["we need to get back to our room. it's dangerous to stay here right now."]

Doll grabbed onto Lizzie's wrist, trying to briskly pull her away down the hall.

Karasu nods in agreement with Cloris's words.

"Yeah, we are. Not to mention it would have been a much more difficult fight without N here to help."

The Disassembly Drone then chimes in, letting them know that there was no need to thank her. But the Captain was insistent on that much at least;

"Nonsense. It's true that doing a good job is it's own reward, but showing some appreciation for it certainly doesn't hurt, either."

N then enthusiastically replies that she'll rest to the very best of her abilities, prompting a smile out of the Captain. She had a good attitude about things, and that sort of thing was very important for morale. It would be hard to be in a bad mood with her around.

Cloris then says that she needs to contact the rest of the team, both to let them know what happened and to check up on them. Karasu gives a nod at that.

"Fair. They'll need to know that something happened here anyway."

Finally, Cloris then addresses Aegis, and the AI begins her scan of the ship.

"Running diagnostic now."
After a brief delay, she then begins to relay her findings.
"Damage appears to be minor. Some holes were torn in the floor where the vents lined up with them. The vent covers are also damaged and all need repairing."

Aegis then continues her report:
"It appears that it wanted to limit the damage to the ship, and was more concerned with trying to put the engine back together. Once the Nanite Acid clears it's parts away, the engine should be in the same state it was before."

Finally, Aegis then opens communications with the scouting party once more, and Cloris immediately tries to contact Ray...

N also shares her findings, a large hole in the side of the ship, and that's probably how they kept getting inside. The Captain thinks it over for a second.

"Alright. I should get my suit and then I think you and I should prioritize patching it up, N. Even just blocking it with something will be better than nothing."

---

J looks over at Chaos, gauging his reaction to things, and noting that he didn't seem to be ENTIRELY opposed to the idea of having multiple Drones to fool around with... She didn't mind either, so long as she got the attention she wanted.

"Well then. If he's interested in you two, it's fine. Just remember the ground rule."

J declares to Lizzy and Doll.

Meanwhile, the debate of whether or not V was Ray's girlfriend raged on, with the Engineer trying to protest his innocence, and Uzi just not buying it. But the Disassembly Drone's interjection left the two a little surprised. Uzi remarking that the Copper-9 Drones made the parts themselves, but Ray...

Well, he started to follow her gesture down, and V thought he might want to see. So she begins to reach for her modesty panels, and just as she touches them, she realizes that Ray is suddenly staring up at the ceiling.

V blinks at this reaction, and as Chaos insists that she needs pants, she waves that off.
"Like I'd put on something so restricting. I've got modesty panels, that's plenty!"

After that, Ray makes it clear that while he might be willing to let V go alone to get the part they need... She needs to be careful and stay in contact with him. She smiles at his obvious concern, and nods.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine! I hunt those things all the time, you know."

Chaos then responds to the idea of going to prom, but admits that he doesn't have any proper clothes for it -- he also briefly mentions JCPenny.

J immediately perks up, and interjects.

"You won't be acquiring clothes from JCPenny's inferior product line! The JCJenson clothing line is perfect for all your needs, including prom."

Doll then suggests getting outfits for them, and J arches a brow at that.
"Hm. Sure, I suppose that would be the most convenient option."

After that, Ray lightly protests the idea of going to prom, a few different reasons were given. One of which was not knowing how to dance.

"I could help you learn how!"
V admits.
"Besides, if you're going to make this a base, wouldn't it be a good way to... I don't know, introduce yourself to everyone and mingle with them?"

Lizzy then smirks, chiming in at this point.
"Hey, she's smart. This is the way to boost your popularity around here."

The Worker Drone glances at Chaos, and then at Ray.
"By the way, I don't really care which Human, but one of you should come with me and Doll."

Seemed like she wasn't giving up on that idea...

But at the sudden change of pace, resulting in everyone being so on edge? Doll grabbed Lizzy by the wrist and tried to pull her along. She was confused, but cooperated.

"Doll? What's got you so freaked out?"

For the group that stayed behind, it seemed like this Worker Drone was suffering some kind of malfunction. It was just... Standing there, staring at the door. It didn't move, and it didn't respond, even as Uzi called out to it, mentioning a walkie talkie.

J and V both instantly got a bad feeling from that -- because they didn't hear anything like that. And then the Drone suddenly swivels it's head towards a control panel. V stayed close to Ray, wanting to ensure his safety.

J on the other hand... Well she was concerned about Chaos's safety too, but she was the only one that had the idea to ask;

"What does that panel control, exactly?"

The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone had a feeling it was for the generator... And if that was the case, then...

As the realization hits her, she rushes over to the Drone, hoping to stop them before they acted!

"Hold it right there!"

"Hold on about this drone harem thing. Let me think about it overtime, I dont want it to get to my head." I interject. I could get a harem of girls but I'd become a jerk. Atleastbthats what TV tells me. When this program called "23 and me" this guy gets a harem of chicks and he started off a nice guy but at the end of the show he becomes a prude.

"JCJension clothing? Never heard of it, but can you get me a discount? I became poor overnight." I replied to J about clothing. "But I guess hand me downs from Doll wouldnt be so bad"

"Follow you? Nah, I want my own place. Besides I dont want to know what a hor---*cough* I mean lonely drone would want to do to a human. Besides. I... ...wait, where you two going?" I cut myself off when I saw Doll drag Lizzy into Dolls room. "Phew..."

"J, what are you..." I witness J rushing over to the malfunctioning drone, finally noticing it approaching the panel. "Whats going on...?" Witnessing the events appear before my very eyes, which I wont foresee happening.

Cloris huffed."More difficult? Captain, we wouldn't have made it out alive without N. And we would have had to clean up the mess ourselves even if we had survived."

Cloris listened to Aegis's report, nodding her head. "Doesn't seem like the entity didn't have enough time to sabotage anything else. We're lucky it wanted to keep the ship intact.

Ray then talked back to her. Fortunately he got inside the bunker. Unfortunately something was there with him.

"God damn it! I really hoped I was wrong on this one!" Cloris quickly elaborated.

"We got attacked by an entity while you were gone. Don't worry, we killed the damn thing. But that footage I saw was a year old: there was always a possibility of it splitting off into multiple entities."

Cloris took a deep breath. "Listen Ray, get that power back online. You're going to have to get it back up manually. It's going to be guarding all the important points. And watch for the vents. This thing uses them to move around and attack. If it's anything like the one we fought, then it has a weak point.

Cloris would then hear another voice coming from Ray's end. It was quieter since it was speaking directly into the mic, but she heard it pretty clearly.

"You! Human! Explain! You know something!"

Cloris blinked. Then she spoke up again. "Friend of yours Ray?"

---

Uzi looked at Ray like he was crazy. "Hey, drone parts don't last forever. We can't exactly make more on the fly. And eventually some systems would have been beyond repair. Even drones break down eventually. So the adults decided to prepared for the future and all that."

Uzi paused, letting that sink in. She put a hand on her hip. ["Not to mention creating a new generation is the only way to get around JC Jenson programming. We want to be free, like you humans are."[/color]

Uzi rolled her eyes at Ray. "In denial much? You're already in one.

Uzi rolled her eyes at Ray's comments. "Bite me. Human."

Uzi looked at Ray like he had said the dumbest thing she had ever heard.

"I'm just stating a fact. That corpse tower didn't build itself."

Ray was a lucky guy, that was for sure. If he didn't ever enter a lottery, then that was his choice. When V insisted the modesty panels were enough,  Uzi muttered "Pervert."

Uzi stared at Chaos, then gestured at him, turning and looking at Ray.

"That's his best? If only you humans could upgrade yourselves."

The situation with Poser took a dark turn. Uzi extended her arm as he pulled his head back.

"Poser, WAIT!"

But her shout fell on deaf ears. Uzi stared in disbelief as the lights shut off.

"Did that really just happen?"

Uzi then turned as Ray was talking to someone. She marched over to him, pointing at him. "You! Human! Explain! You know something!"

---

Well, everything was going to plan. Everything except Lizzie insisting on trying to get closer to the humans. But she could explain why that was a bad idea in private.

Fortunately Lizzie went along with her. Doll made sure not to be too rough with leading her away, but she set up a brisk pace.

"YA ob"yasnyu pozzhe. Pryamo seychas my v opasnosti."

["I'll explain later. Right now we're in danger."]

Doll led them all the way back to her room. When they got inside, she closed the door behind her and raised her hand. A res symbol appeared there, followed by one on the door. It rotated, then vanished in a flash.


Doll then turned to Lizzie, raising a finger and putting it against her lips. She motioned to Lizzie with her other hand, slowly backing away from the door.

"Relax, Cloris. I'm not downplaying N's efforts."
Karasu replies.

"But we're more capable than you think. I wasn't planning a suicide mission when I told you to retreat with her."

The Captain then turns his attention to N, who is, as always, eager to go along with the plan. Though she does mention that he can mostly take it easy while she handles the heavy lifting. He smiles appreciatively, and soon replies with;

"Duly noted. But we'll work faster as a pair."

Karasu then makes his way to the airlock in order to retrieve his suit. It doesn't take him very long to get suited up, and he soon meets up with N at the locked door. During his approach he notices that N is seated on the floor, and seems to be deep in thought about something.

Not one to let things like this fester, he decides to take a bit of time away from the mission in order to talk with her.

"Do you need to talk, N? You froze up earlier."

---

Uzi pointed out a very logical reason as to why they focused on methods of procreation. Two reasons, actually. Though it's the reasoning on the second one that prompts a small glare from J. It seemed like she wanted to say something -- but held back from it for now.

Regardless it seemed as though she disapproved of being critical of JCJenson.

In any case, as Ray points out that he's never been in a relationship before, Uzi points out that he's certainly in one now. V taps a finger against her chin as she ponders something.

"Well..."
She then lowers her hand.
"I've not been in a relationship before. But couples do things like kiss, right?"

Shortly afterwards, the discussion of V's modesty panels came to the forefront. Ray seemed to concede that it was technically enough, and Uzi... Well, she noticeably muttered that V was a pervert. That prompts the Disassembly Drone to turn to her with a glare.

"Oh, whatever! At least people are interested in what's underneath my modesty panels!"

That said. The subject briefly shifts to Chaos. Ray was willing to defend him. But Uzi? Well, she made it pretty clear what she thought, and J crosses her arms.

"You know, being so sour is probably why you're wildly unpopular."

The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone shoots back at Uzi. Seems she valued Chaos more than her appreciation for JCJenson, which... Was high praise for anyone that knew J well. Regardless, Ray stands his ground regarding the prom, and insists that even if he could dance he wouldn't fit in...

"I mean, most of them seem to really like Humans. If Lizzy and Doll are any indication."
V replies, and with a little bit more persuading, he finally relents -- but insists that he refuses to have a good time.

"Aw, it'll be fun! I'm sure of it!"
She replies.

Of course... The time to discuss such comparatively pleasant things had come to an end. J tried to stop that Worker Drone from disabling the power, but it proceeded to use it's face -- literally -- to do away with the control panel.

Seeing all the lights go out, replaced with the low auxiliary lights was... Certainly concerning. J and V could still see in the dark -- and were also very easily seen in the dark too, with their lights and eyes being very glow in the dark, especially compared to the Worker Drones.

J proceeds to kick the responsible Worker Drone in the chest repeatedly.

"Ugh! You suck so hard! We're nice to Worker Drones one time and then this happens!"

J fumes for a little bit, and then turns her attention back to the others.

"Yeah. We do know something. That thing we kept telling you about? It's in here now. And it doesn't like the light."

J explains, and then V offers a plan of action.

"Okay, well. Ray can probably fix it! So one of us protects the group, another one goes hunting for that thing?"

J thinks it over for a second.

"Might work, yeah. Thoughts?"

The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone then involves the others in the planning process. The sooner they could decide, the better, because between the panicked shouting and that roar they just heard, things were going to get very hectic, very fast...

---

Lizzy kept up with the brisk pace, still just as confused. And the brief response from Doll didn't really help that as she arched a brow.

"Um. What do you mean 'in danger'?"

Despite her attempts to probe for more information, but Doll simply kept leading her back to the room, and then she shut the door. Lizzy watches as Doll then uses that weird power of hers. A symbol over the hand, then a symbol over the door. And a quick rotation before vanishing.

Lizzy didn't have all the details here, but she was pretty sure that Doll just locked the door, and was now gesturing for her to back away from it. All while insisting that it was best to be quiet right now.

Just as the Worker Drone is about to ask her what the deal is, the power goes out. In the dim lighting of the room, she gives an unamused glance at Doll.

"Yeah, I get it now."

She whispers.

I decided to chime in about Uzi and hers unpopularity. "Uzi, you're mean. Maybe thats why you dont have much friends." I sigh a bit "Im sorry, I didnt mean that. I wasnt all that popular in school either so I'd understand. Look, maybe one day we can be friends if you decide to set aside that 'I hate humans' personality of yours some day, or maybe make an exception for one human." I look over at J, smiling. "J, thanks for having my back. I appreciate it. You are probably the best thing to happen to me, y'know?"

"My highschool girlfriend dumped me at prom, it seemed to be a planned thing. So any other experience should be better than then." I mentioned regarding about prom. "And this time, I'll have a fancy suit! It'll be fun."

Suddenly everything went dark. "Damnit, I cant see. Why cant these suits have working flashlights?" I mentioned, cowarding behind J.

"Yeah, our engineer can fix that generator for us. Meanwhile I..." I spaced out for a sec, looking at my two empty hands. "Cant do a thing, Im just a poor scientist."

N acknowledges Karasu's insistence that they would work faster together with a nod. She didn't seem bothered by it, though she did have just one thing to add;

"Got it! But make sure to pace yourself!"

Still...He did seem concerned with whatever was going on with the drone. She certainly wasn't trying to keep him out of the loop, but once he brought it up she looked up at him, smiling. She shook her head calmly.

"It's really nothing! I just noticed I have a gap in my memory during that fight. It's almost like someone deleted something. And well, it's not the first time I've experienced something like that... Oh but it's probably nothing! I already did a diagnostics check and there's nothing wrong there! Maybe it was just a glitch of some kind! Well, as long as it doesn't happen again then it's nothing to worry about, right?"

Regardless, N stands up, dusting off her coat and continuing to smile at him.

"Waiting for your next order captain!"

---

Ray blinked in surprise over Uzi's explanation, it actually made a lot of sense...It's not like there were humans here to help maintain them. It was morbid in a way, but...It was also fascinating. Still, he couldn't find himself arguing with their desires to be free.

"I can't really blame you there...You won't find any love lost on me when it comes to J.C Jensen. Not since I had to..."

The engineer pauses for a moment, stopping himself. He shakes his head.

"... It doesn't really matter to be honest."

He blushed a little again when V mentioned the kind of things couples do - Including kiss. He cleared his throat, shaking his head.

"I'm sure they do lots of things."

Regardless of how Ray felt about V's..."Modesty panels" he found himself holding back a laugh at the exchange she and Uzi shared. The way V completely shut down Uzi's "PERVERT" declaration was beautiful really.


The situation had become critical very fast. That laughter went away quickly with the situation they now found themselves in. Cloris was quickly relaying information in response to Ray's report. Her first statement caused his eyes to go wide. They fought some kind of monster?

"You WHAT?!"

They killed it...So these things could be killed then. he shook his head, trying to focus on the matter at hand. Cloris's first suggestion was to get the power going again.

"Way ahead of you. Maybe if we've got some light in here we can figure out a way to kill this thing."

A weak point? The engineer raised an eyebrow.

"Well I'm listening. If it's got a weak point then it's important we take advantage of it."

Ray was about to ask another question right before Uzi came barreling up to him, pointing angrily.

"Hey I'm just as in the dark as you here!"

He blinked as he heard Cloris responding to Uzi's questioning.

"... It's a long story, I'll explain later."

His attention was drawn to J as she shouted and kicked the downed drone in the chest. Each kick caused it to bounce slightly. Although J's last kick was powerful enough to have sent the unconscious worker drone across the room as his body bounced off of the wall. At least once her anger was sated she had something to say to Uzi...

"This thing can't handle bright lights? ... I think I've got an idea."

Ray raises a finger and opens his mouth, drawing in a breath as he's about to speak. ... And then in a spectacular display of cohesion, V suggests a majority of the idea he had in mind. He lowers his finger, nodding.

"Yeah, actually. One of you stay here with me while I work on fixing the control panel. The other one should go distract this monster. If it starts fighting you two in here there's no way I'll be able to work on the repairs."

But that wasn't all he had to say, Ray reached up to his helmet and pressed a button, unclamping the headlamp from the side of the helmet. He held it out towards the two disassembly drones.

"Whoever is going out there to draw it away, take this. If the monster hates bright light, this will help you at least stun it."

He glanced over as Chaos admitted his light wasn't working.

"Really? Mine's working just fine. Uh...Well I'll take a look at it when we're not in danger."

Although even despite Chaos insisting he couldn't do anything...The engineer knew exactly how he could help. He placed a comforting hand on the chief scientist's shoulder.

"Don't sell yourself short, I know exactly what you can do. Get Uzi's railgun working again."

He looked between Chaos and Uzi, grinning.

"You two are gonna lure this thing right into a trap."

---

The Solver beast stalked the halls of Outpost 3, it enthralled every drone that failed to escape...Eventually the rampage it was unleashing on the bunker led it to the very door Doll and Lizzy had hidden behind. The creature was going to continue walking right past Doll's apartment up until something strange caught its' attention...Words flashed across the monster's vision:

Error absoluteSolver.trn: Non-interactive Object

The creature stopped in its tracks, slowly turning towards the door...
If the pair watched the door's window closely they would see a set of glowing eyes appear at it, peering in at them.

"Ughhh, seriously? You guys suck! I can't believe you locked me out here! Open the frickin' door so I can come hide with you! I think I hear that thing coming, you wouldn't want me to die would you?"

One thing was immediately obvious, whatever that was, it was NOT Uzi...Even despite using her voice. It waited for a response...And when it was inevitably met with denial of some kind, the pair of eyes glared at Doll and Lizzy before being joined by three more pairs of glowing yellow eyes, all peering into the apartment.

"You think you can just hide from me? I will find a way in eventually. I will bring you into our collective, Witch."

Cloris nodded."I will N, don't worry about me."

Cloris looked over at her captain, her green eyes studying his own. "I'm not questioning your abilities Captain. I'm sure you had a plan. But you were about to go all in without knowing what we were up against. We only have one life captain. When it's used up, we don't have a backup."

And with that, Cloris had gone to the bridge.

"You WHAT?!"

Cloris winced as Ray yelled into the communicator. She let out a sigh.

"You're acting like we invited it in. Whatever this creature is, it wants to get off the planet. Thanks to Aegis we caught onto its strategy quickly, and the rest of us worked together to deal with it. The ship isn't in much worse condition then when you left, so we don't have to do that much extra work either."

So Ray was on the same page as her. That would make this simple. She prepared to explain everything she could to him as quickly as possible.

"It had an organic heart that we were able to destroy. I'm not sure if this one is the same. This thing is very cautious and is well aware of its weaknesses. You don't have Aegis to guide you like we did, so you need to find a map or a way of getting the hang of the layout.  Find out what systems keep the bunker running and their locations. It's going to do all it can to make sure those all stay shut down. Secure the vents in those locations.

Cloris was going as fast as she could, but she paused to let that sink in. She then continued.

"Ray, how quickly you handle things will determine everything. This creature is going to do everything it can to get any advantage it can. That means it's going to zombify as many drones as possible and spread as far as it can. You need to move now. Be fast and smart."

Cloris paused, considering something. "One last thing Ray. Be careful how you relay your strategy to the others. I'm sure this thing knows all of this and is going to employ counter strategies. Don't tip it off to the specifics of your plans. Remember, it uses vents to get around. And don't hesitate: if you see a new worker drone walking around, assume it's under the thing's control."

"The heck you are! You guys totally know something about this… creature? Well you totally know stuff! You and whoever is at the other end of that communicator!"

If the situation wasn't so serious, this all would be comical. Cloris let out a sigh.

"You got your hands full, so I'm going to cut it here. And for all we know, the thing can pick up our conversation.  If you can’t get the power back on and ypu run put of options, send us a S.O.S, retreat, and hold out until we get there. Keep Chaos safe and don't die on me Ray.

And with that, Cloris shut down the communication. She leaned back with a sigh, looking at the ship AI.

"I hate feeling this helpless. Be honest with me Aegis: What are the chances Ray and others have of navigating a bunker in the dark before this creature takes over essential systems in there?"

---

Uzi couldn't see Ray's face, given the fact that he had a helmet on. Yet she could tell something was weighing on him. The worker drone looked at him sympathetically.


"It looks like it matters to you. I guess even humans have their hardships.

The moment passed. Uzi rolled her eyes as they talked about kissing.

"Ugh. Don't ever make out in front of me.

And then both murder drones piled onto Uzi about her popularity and people desiring her. Well that stuff totally didn't matter to her! Not one little bit! Which was why she gave a response that showed how much she didn't care:


She looked over at Chaos as he explained that he wasn't popular either. Uzi stamped her foot in frustration.

"Hey! Quit making me sympathize with you guys! You're supposed to be all muhahahahah! I sent the murder drones to kill you all!"



Uzi raised her  her hands and mimicked a very clichéd villain. Her face contorted into an evil smile. She then went back to normal, letting out a sigh.

"But you all just seem so fragile, down to Earth and normal."

Uzi raised her hands in the air in frustration.

"Uuuugh! How am I supposed to murder all humans if they're not evil?! I've been planning to avenge my mother my entire life, and now I can’t take it out on humanity."

Her arms dropped, the frustration on her face palpable. It had been her life. And now it was gone. Going to Earth and killing everyone wasn't an option. How many of them were good people like Ray and Chaos? She couldn't take that chance.

"What the Frick am I supposed to do now?!"

When J kicked the fallen drone, Uzi pointed at J. "Hey! Don't even think about killing worker drones again!"

Uzi listened to the conversation going on. She stared berating Ray with questions when she had ah opening in the conversation.

"The heck you are! You guys totally know something about this… creature? Well you totally know stuff! You and whoever is at the other end of that communicator!"

Uzi let put a groan as Ray mentioned she and Chaos were going to be bait. She grumbled, but she handed her railgun to Chaos.

"If we get out of this alive, you all doubly owe me. And stop smiling! We're in mortal danger here!"

---

Fortunately it seemed like Lizzy got the message. When "Uzi" started talking, Doll raised a hand behind her, motioning for Lizzy to be quiet. Then the creature revealed its true nature. Doll glared, the absolute solver symbol taking the place of her right eye.

Ty zabral u menya vse ostal'noye. ya tozhe ne dayu tebe svoyu svobodu voli. Mne ne nuzhna pomoshch'. Mne ne nuzhno byt' chast'yu tebya."

[You took everything else from me. I'm not giving you my free will too. I don't need help. I don't need to be a part of you.

The absolute solver symbol appeared on her hands, lines of code appearing in the air around Doll.


"YA nauchilsya ispol'zovat' tvoye proklyatiye. YA ne mogu povliyat' na vas napryamuyu, no mogu prichinit' vam vred drugimi sposobami. Teper' ostav'te nas v pokoye. YA ne skazhu tebe vtoroy raz."

["I've learned how to use your curse. I can't affect you directly, but I can hurt you in other ways. Now leave us alone. I won't tell you a second time."]

Karasu calmly smiles at Cloris's rebuttal. Much of what she was saying was true, but that being said...

"It wouldn't be the first time I was dealing with odds like that. Either way. Let's be glad that it didn't come to that."

With that cryptic response, Cloris had her hands full dealing with filling Ray and the others in on what to do, and how they dealt with the creature on their end... Meanwhile, Karasu and N were just about to tend to the entryway that the zombie Drones were using.

Though N did make it known that she wanted Karasu to pace himself.

"Don't worry, I will."
The Captain replies to her concerns.

Still... The Disassembly Drone certainly didn't seem to be hiding anything. Not purposely anyway. She mentioned a gap in her memories, but she ran diagnostics over it and nothing abnormal was detected. N felt that if she couldn't remember, and if she couldn't find anything off -- and as long as it didn't happen again... Then it was probably nothing to worry about?

Karasu brings a hand to his chin and thinks it over.

"Hmm... Maybe it'll be worth looking into that more. It's all well and good if this doesn't happen again, but I've seen soldiers freeze up in battle like that, and it's usually a sign of trauma."

He admits, but relents for now.

"Still, if you genuinely can't recall, there's nothing we can do about that for now. Let's focus on getting this hole patched up."

With that, Aegis opens the sealed door for them, and Karasu follows N's lead to the hole in the ship.

Meanwhile... Cloris shares her concerns with Aegis, wondering what the chances are. The AI thinks it over for a moment, and then replies to her;

"I think their chances are even better than ours were. They have two Disassembly Drones, and they know more about that thing than we knew about what we went up against."

Aegis states, and then follows it up with...

"I suppose the enemy could be capable of more... But any war is decided by information. Knowing even one weakness is crucial. You can plan around it. They know it's bothered by light, and the Disassembly Drones are perfectly equipped to fight it, too."

---

Uzi wasn't the only one that gave him a sympathetic glance. V did the same -- knowing exactly what he was referring to, and how much it weighed on him. It's why she was TRYING to adjust her behavior... Even if examples like the railgun-toting Worker Drone made it hard to do that.

Although at least right now, they were in agreement on something.

"Yeah... It's something that weighs on him a lot."

V remarks, but leaves it at that. If Ray wanted to share the story, he'd do so on his own terms, and she wasn't going to go blurting it out without his permission. Though on the subject of what couples do... He suddenly clammed up about that, and then Uzi insisted that they shouldn't makeout in front of her.

V takes it as a challenge, and was just about to suggest a course of action -- before realizing that Ray is still wearing a helmet. She pouts over it.

"We need to make sure the stupid life support system works in the Bunker."

Perhaps the both of them dodged a bullet here.

In any case, Uzi soon expresses her frustrations over how... 'Normal' they all are. She expected something more blatantly, obviously evil. Instead of the examples in front of her now. V crosses her arms and arches a brow at the display.

"Seriously, J is a walking stereotype, but even she would think that's ridiculous."

J adjusts her tie, and interjects.

"Hey."
She finishes adjusting said tie, and then raises an index finger.
"... I wish I had an argument for that."

Still, as Uzi objected to the idea of J killing any Worker Drones again, she snapped back.

"Oh, I'm sorry! The one time I spare one of you, you go rogue and bust up the power so that a monster can get in and attack! It's like you're asking us to keep doing what we've been doing!"

She stomps her foot down once in frustration, crossing her arms.

"Should've shot him and be done with it... But now we have to do things the hard way."

But as their quick meeting takes place -- Ray realizes that he and V had the same idea, but he also expands on it, by taking the headlamp off of his suit and offering it up to whoever was going to go hunting. J walks over and takes it.

"I'll take care of it this time. I have some pent-up frustration I need to vent out anyway."

With that, V then chimes in.
"Then I'll protect the group!"

J nods, and then glances over at Chaos.

"Hey, you have a very important mission. You need to stay safe. It may not sound like much, but it'd certainly make me happy if you pulled it off."

She offered with a small smile. Of course, Ray also adds onto that by suggesting that Uzi and Chaos work on getting that railgun working, so they can lead this monster into a trap...

J then gives a smirk at that.

"Even better. You'll be helping me out the sooner you can get it running. I'll buy you time."

With that, J once more sprouts her wings, and surges up to the ceiling, crawling along it. This thing might work best in low light, but it may still have trouble seeing her if she moves in places it's not expecting her to be...

She couldn't suspect that it was unaware of her presence, given that puppet it used. It probably knew full well that there were Disassembly Drones here. But it didn't know EXACTLY where, nor the little trick they had up their sleeves...

---

It didn't take long for the Solver Beast to come poking around. It seemed to be going through the Bunker systematically. Though that was put to a slight halt when it came across the door that Doll had locked.

Glowing eyes began to peer through the glass at them -- and Lizzy heard a familiar voice. Just as she was about to snap back, Doll's gesture prevented her from doing so. After focusing on those eyes for a second, she realized... That... Didn't quite look like Uzi's eyes...

Now even more on edge, she hunkers down a little more, staying quiet while Doll handles the talking. It seems that the Worker Drone's adamant refusal of the beast only angers it, however. As it's soon joined by even more glowing eyes, all staring into the room.

Despite how much the situation freaked Lizzy out, Doll stands her ground and orders the creature to leave.

Needless to say, she waited until that thing was actually gone before she was willing to talk again.

"Okay, Doll! What the hell?! That was so many layers of freaky that I think there's no appropriate word to describe it!"

She said in a hushed tone, trying not to attract the creature back to them.

"... What about the others?"

She then asks. Sure, she may not have particularly liked some of them, and was willing to indulge some of Doll's behaviors, but... Still! This was a whole new level of fucked!

I gave Uzi a simple headpat. "No worries Uzi, there is still some terrible humans out there"

"Stay safe J! Goodluck!"

"Wait, why do we gotta be bait? I swear if we encounter something and almost survive by our hairs, Im gonna kick you in the balls." I said about me and Uzi being bait. "And hard enough that V wont have enough babymatter to make a baby!"

I accepted the railgun. "Alright let me take a good look at it. I think I get it working again but I'll need some tools. Uzi, do you know of a workshop around here?"

I think about us. V is protecting us but if me and Uzi runs off she cant protect us both. "Hopefully someone leftvtheir toolbox, thats what we need. Unless Ray brought his own just in case. Even if we do go off on our own, Im not sure if that creature will attack us."

Cloris let out a small, brief laugh.

"Hey, that's my line. We killed our monster: so kill that one too Ray."

After Cloris hung up on Ray, she listened to Aegis, her green eyes staring at them. She looked a little more relieved as the AI spoke in a positive light. She slumped a little in her chair, but gave the AI a tired smile.

"It's hard to argue with an AI I created. You're right: they have a plan and what they need to fight it. But we need to be ready too."

Cloris pressed the intercom button, talking to N and the Captain.

"I made contact with the rest of the team. Ray and the others are in the bunker. But they're under attack by another one of those creatures. We planned a battle strategy and I gave them as much information as I could. But we need to be ready to move out if we have to."

---

Uzi glanced over at V as she explained things. So there definitely was a story behind things. Uzi was curious about what Ray went through, but he didn’t want to talk about it right now. So there was nothing to it. She smirked at Ray as he told her to shut up.

”You couldn’t be any more transparent. I can practically see the blush under that helmet.”

Uzi scowled, slouching as V pointed out how rediculous it sounded.

”Give me a break. No one my age has even seen a human until today. All I have are stories from the adults about the humans being slave drivers and other stuff like that. They made them out to be monsters, not dorks.”

She let out a sigh. She tensed up for a moment when Ray touched her shoulder. "I'm fine alright?! Just let me brood in peace!"

Speaking of which, Chaos tried to headpat her. But Uzi smacked his hand away.


"Hey! No comforting me with a headpat!"

Uzi snapped back at J pretty quickly, waving her hands and shaking her head. ”Oh frick no! You don’t get to pull that card on us! Who hasn’t accidentally let a monster into a bunker or set a classmate’s head on fire after stealing their sentience?!”


Uzi blinked, laughing awkwardly.


"That second one is totally hypothetical. Look, we all mess up sometimes. You can't just go around killing people for slipping up."


Uzi looked at Ray in confusion. "Wait, you got chased by a monster and you don't know anything about it? Did you just run through the snow with your eyes closed or something?"

Uzi gave Chaos a smirk as he threatened to kick Ray's balls. "Hey, that's not a bad idea Mr.Coolscience! The next time one of you humans pisses me off, I'll do that."

Uzi gave Ray a grin. "I'll punch him with gusto if I have to."

She watched as Ray started working on the control panel. "Hey human? Watch your back, okay? Come with me n
Mr.Coolscience: we'll go to where I first built my railgun."

And with that Uzi would lead him off into the darkness. That wasn't much of an issue for her, given her eyes. But Chaos would have to stay close to keep track of her.

---

Doll narrowed her eyes as it mimicked her voice. But she didn't give it the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her. She wasn't going to let its mind games get to her.

Doll waited for 10 seconds after the creature moved off. Then she turned and whispered to Lizzy.

YA ob"yasnyu posle togo, kak obespechu sebe mesto."

["I'll explain after I secure my"place.]

Doll walked off and went to all the vents and possible openings, using her solver. Afterwards she came back, looking at Lizzie. She paused for a few seconds before answering the other Droid.

Chto proizoydet s ostal'nymi, zavisit ot togo, kto pobedit: lyudi i drony-razborshchiki ili monstr. V lyubom sluchaye odin iz moikh vragov umret."

[What happens to the others depends on who prevails: the humans and the disassembly drones or the monster. Either way one of my enemies will die."]

Doll paused, letting that sink in. YA ne mogu zashchitit' vsekh v etom bunkere. Krome togo, ty yedinstvennyy chelovek, kotoryy mne dorog, Lizzi."

["I can't protect everyone in this bunker. Besides, You're the only person left that I care about, Lizzie."]

Doll said, looking at the other worker drone solemnly. It was strange, but Lizzie was the only one who accepted her. Despite knowing what she did. Lizzie had no reason to stay by her side, being the popular girl that she was. Yet she remained steadfast. Doll spoke up again.

"Yesli elektrichestvo ne vosstanovitsya k rassvetu, my pobezhim v drugoy bunker. Eto sushchestvo nenavidit solnechnyy svet, tak chto my uydem, i ya zapru yego zdes."

If the power isn’t restored by dawn, then we'll make a run for another bunker. This creature hates sunlight, so we'll get out and I'll seal it in here.

Doll went and got a couple of chairs from the dining room. She figured that Lizzie wouldn't want to sit near the dead bodies of her parents. She sat down in one of the chairs, folding her hands in her lap and frowning. She spoke a little louder so that Lizzie would be able hear her properly.

"Mne zhal', Lizzi. ya tebe ne vse rasskazal. Mest' dronam-ubiytsam — ne yedinstvennoye, chego ya khochu. Sushchestvuyet razumnaya programma, kotoraya khochet zakhvatit' vse. I ya im zarazilsya."

["I'm sorry Lizzie. i haven’t told you everything. Revenge against the murder drones isn't the only thing I'm after. There's this sentient program out there that wants to take over everything. And I got infected with it."]


Doll raised her hand, making the absolute solver appear. It spun around a few times before she made it disappear.


"Eta infektsiya i proklyatiye dali mne silu. Ved'ma, kak tam govorilos'. Chem bol'she ya yego ispol'zuyu, tem bol'she on beret verkh. So vremenem ya stanu etim sushchestvom. No yest' veshchi, kotoryye ya mogu sdelat', chtoby sderzhat' eto na dannyy moment."

["This infection, and curse has given me power. A witch, as that thing said. The more I use it, the more it takes over. In time I'll become that thing out there. But there are things that I can do to hold it bay, for now."]


Doll gestured towards the kitchen. On the stove was a pot of drone oil with an arm in it. She had been discreet about it, but she had been consuming other worker drones. She had let Lizzie in on it of course, but she didn't eat them in front of her.


Doll then continued, V chelovecheskikh ruinakh mozhet byt' lekarstvo. No eto mesto opasno. Ne volnuysya, ya pozabochus' o tvoyey bezopasnosti, Lizzi. Ty vyydesh' otsyuda zhivym, ya obeshchayu.

["There could be a cure within the human ruins. But that place is dangerous. Don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe Lizzie. You'll get out of this alive, I promise."]

Her voice was firm and steady. She was looking at Lizzie with grim determination. Doll didn't know what would happen with her, but she would make sure that Lizzie would live a good life.

As N remarked upon the importance he brought as the Captain, Karasu gives a smile in appreciation for it. He was fairly sure that the crew could work SOMETHING out if it came down to it, but as long as he was around, he intended to lead them to success.

"It certainly doesn't hurt to have another head to work on these things, anyway."

He replies, and as the conversation shifts towards N's possible trauma, she only expresses confusion over it, and feels like she hadn't experienced anything like that. He couldn't be totally sure, but SOMETHING had to be going on, this didn't just happen for no reason, after all.

But N simply shakes her head and only further adds that she's not getting anything. Given that it's a dead end to try and explore it this way, he lets it go for now. There would be ways to look into it later, but for now, they had an important job to do.

It didn't take them very long to find the hole either. The weather was already flowing inside, and it was going to get a lot worse if they didn't tend to this. N's theory about the ship clipping something on the way down seemed pretty sound, considering how the rest of the ship held up from the crash.

"Yeah. That part is the most heavily armored for obvious reasons, but it's still good that it wasn't hit."

After having said his part, N then asks a very relevant question part about how they were going to fix this.

"Well, this is a storage room, so..."

The Captain searches through some of the storage, retrieving tools and some materials to work with.

"Ray would be able to do a better job with this. But for now, we just need to get it sealed. We can worry about a proper repair when he's back."

With that, he starts lining up some panels and some supports. It wasn't going to be ready for flight at all, but this would prevent anything else from being able to come in without a lot of effort and noise -- and it would also keep the weather out.

He's also using some gel to seal the leaks. It'd be easy enough to clear all of this away later. It would mean a little extra work, but it was going to be a lot less than if they just left the hole as-is...

Eventually the intercom kicks in again, and Cloris lets them know that she's contacted the others. While Karasu continues his work, he replies -- courtesy of Aegis being able to relay his words back;

"Right. With J and V there, I'm pretty sure they can handle it, which is probably for the best -- it'd take us too long to get out there to them. But monitor their situation as you can."

---

J glances back at Chaos and gives him a nod with a confident smile.

"Don't worry. I've got this."

As for V, she gives an understanding nod as Ray stresses that this isn't the time for sharing stories. Soon afterwards, Ray simply tells Uzi to shut up, and she points out that he couldn't be more obvious. The Disassembly Drone chimes in at this point.

"You are so lucky that we have to confirm the atmosphere is safe for Humans first."

That's all V had to say to Uzi there. And she watches unamused as both Chaos and Ray try to comfort her -- and Uzi lashes out like she usually does. Still, V manages to keep herself from saying anything out of line... For now.

The one that DOES snap is J. And it's because of Uzi's defense.

"Accidentally?! This dolt-"
She lifts him up by the shirt and shakes him for emphasis.
"-Reared his head back with purpose! He put his body and soul into it, and then he used his face to destroy the control panel!"

With that, J drops the Worker Drone, staring at Uzi.

"Sincerely, pass a message to the rest of the Worker Drones in the bunker -- BEFORE we have a next time where they just merrily walk over to the door and open it for a monster!"
She then clears her throat.
""That's stupid! You're stupid! STOP BEING STUPID!""

With that, J gives a nod.
"If you wouldn't mind."

In any case, Ray soon insists that J should be careful, and adds that there should be no business regarding "noble sacrifices", and he seals the deal with the fact that it would be 'bad for business' anyway.

J gives him a small smirk.

"Relax. I'm not intending to get axed by the resident space abomination. Which is advised against in company policy because it's bad for business, yes."

In any case, as Ray thanks V for staying to protect them, she smiles at him -- a smile which soon fades as Chaos proceeds to threaten him rather... Unusually. Then Uzi hops onto that idea, and immediately V moves between Ray and the other two.

She hisses at them, too.

"Try it and I'll snack on your legs!"

... Yeah, she was trying to behave, but it seems like she was very protective of Ray.

In any case, Uzi and Chaos would set off to find tools and to fix up that Railgun... The Engineer stayed behind in order to work on the control panel even without tools, and V chose to stay with him.

"I might be able to help. I have a lot of different attachments for the hands, so..."

V then suggests to Ray, and soon adds...

"You'll uh, probably have to guide me directly if it comes to that, though."

She wasn't very good at trying to make things work again...

---

Lizzy was still worked up about all of this, but Doll needed to secure her place first, and although she desperately wanted answers... Lizzy gives a nod, letting her do that. She REALLY didn't want that thing sneaking into the room while they were talking, so it was for the best.

She didn't have to wait long either, soon enough Doll returns and replies rather bluntly that it all depends on how things play out between the two factions. Which the Russian Worker Drone described as her enemies. Furthermore Doll added that she couldn't protect everyone in the bunker, and she only cared about her anyway.

In a few ways, Lizzy wanted to object, but... She was also thankful that Doll was willing to help her. She even had a plan to get them out of here, if it was the worst case scenario.

She had so much she wanted to say... But right now there was a lot that Doll had to say too, and as the Worker Drone retrieves some chairs, Lizzy takes a seat as well, still listening intently. And her friend had a LOT to say. So much so that it was hard to tell where to even begin on a response.

But no matter the scale of the revelations, or how grim their contents, Doll continued to emphatically stress that she would get her out of this alive.

Lizzy takes a breath, and nods.

"Look..."
She begins her reply, now no longer whispering as much as she was before -- though she still spoke softly.

"I really appreciate that, Doll. But... I gotta be honest with you here. I think the Humans and the Disassembly Drones are our best bet to get out of this alive. Shouldn't we help them beat that thing?"

She finally begins her response, and further she adds;
"And also! Maybe the Humans can help you. After all, eating a Worker Drone seems to have helped you fight that... Solver thing, so maybe connecting with a Human and having their expertise could help you, too?"

She imagined that Doll might object to this, so Lizzy decided to add just a little bit extra to her reasoning here:

"After all, it's not like you knew that eating a Worker Drone would help, right? So... Like... It couldn't hurt. To try connecting with Humans, I mean."

Still, she didn't want to seem like she was trying to say that Doll should give up on her revenge either. Because of that, she had one last thing to say.

"And right now... Those Humans seem to be keeping the Disassembly Drones from coming after us. But nothing is going to stop that creature short of it being killed... Right? Because I don't think that thing is really going to listen to reason..."

With another breath, she finishes with;

"And if you're in good with them, they won't be cautious against whatever revenge you're planning on the Disassembly Drones."

---

J moved as quietly as she could, and she tried to keep herself camouflaged, using whatever she could to break line of sight, or just make her hard to pick out. Though she was hiding, it wasn't out of fear. She was still prowling for the latest kill. Whereas she was trying to minimize any chance of her being found... This thing was a little more brazen.

It's footsteps echoed through the halls, cluing the Disassembly Drone in on where she could expect it to come from. She slowly and surely moved her way towards the source of the sound. Eventually when she felt that she was in the right spot, she stopped moving, and just focused on hiding herself as efficiently as she could, even using her wings to block the illumination of her visor and headband.

The steel gray of the bladed wings only further served to help her blend in with the ceiling.

She waited for it to come into view. If it was after the generator, then this was likely the path it would use anyway.

"Jeez, no one can take a joke around here. Alright fine, if Uzi has to punch me, then she cant punch me in th... nevermind jeez!"

"Aww..." I pouted in disappointed as Uzi swatted my hand away from hers head.

"I certainly hope you know what you are doing, Uzi!" I said to her, as she is about to lead me to a workshop. Ray handed me a plasma cutter and I took it. I look at it with glee. "D...does this mean... Im not defenseless anymore??" I said out loud, like my confidence level increasing rapidly. Then with a smile "Alright Uzi, lead the way! With this gun nothing can stop us!" I gleefully cheered.

I then follow Uzi wherever she is taking me, with the Railgun strapped to my back and a plasma cutter in hand.

"Yes captain, I'll keep an eye on the situation."

Then N brought up possibly going to reinforce them. Cloris considered leaning forward in her chair. "That bunker is going to be sealed tight. I could contact Ray and tell him to have someone open it from his side."

Cloris paused, letting that sit in. "It's your call captain. What are your orders?"

---

Uzi rolled her eyes at V’s comment. ”But not lucky enough to not have to deal with you guys.”

Uzi sputtered at J, gesturing at the collapsed worker drone. “Hey, he probably got possessed by this weird monster after opening the door! It happens! It doesn’t make us stupid, stupid!”

Uzi blinked at Ray, then crossed her arms, looking away from Ray. "He started it! He called me a stupid loony, so I stole his sentience for a few minutes. It's not my fault his head combusted!"

She grumbled. She honestly hadn't meant to set his head on fire. It just ended up happening.

Uzi rolled her eyes as V threatened her. "Hey, can't you take a joke? I was kidding. Mostly."

Uzi looked over at Chaos, giving him a little smirk. "So punch you in the balls if I have to? Got it."

Uzi paused, giving him an awkward thumbs up. "You too. Don't die on us human."


When Uzi went off with Chaos, she hissed quietly to him.

"Of course I know what I'm doing! I'm not sure you do though. That plasma cutter wasn't designed to be a weapon!"

"Aww, are you all hiding? Come on out, I won't hurt you. I just want to talk!

Hehehe...Hahaha...Ahahaha! EHAHAHAHA!!!"


"Okay, what the hell is that?! Come on human!"

Uzi picked up the pace, noticeably freaked out. She made her way to a door and ushered Chaos inside. She closed it behind her. It seemed to be someone's home. She led him through a living room and into a workspace of some kind.

"Alright, hurry up and do your thing human.

Uzi was visibly on edge, looking back over her shoulder. She closed the workshop door behind them, locking the door right after.

---

Doll stared at Lizzy as she talked about what she thought she should do. Lizzy had been right: Doll had opened her mouth to object to connecting to a human. But she quickly closed it as the other worker drone continued on. Doll waited for Lizzy to finish. Then finally she spoke.

”Oni zdes', chtoby ubivat' takikh proklyatykh, kak ya. Oni tebe ne grozyat, Lizzie.”

[“They're here to kill cursed ones like me. You're not in any danger from them Lizzie.”]

Doll let out a sigh, looking at Lizzie solemnly.

”Lyudi ne mogut mne pomoch'. I ya ne mogu pozvolit' komu-libo iz nikh uvidet', kak ya ispol'zuyu svoi sily. No ty prava, Lizzi: eto nash luchshiy shans ubit' etu tvar'.”

[“The humans can't help me. And I can't let any of them see me use my powers. But you're right Lizzie: they are our best chance for killing that thing.”]

Doll said sadly. She paused, then reached out and put a hand on Lizzie’s shoulder.

”Vopreki zdravomu smyslu, ya im pomogu. No tol'ko radi tebya. Ostavaysya zdes', Lizzie. Yesli ya umru, dveri otkroyutsya. Yesli eto proizoydet, begite k vykhodu.”

[“Against my better judgement, I'll help them. But only for your sake. Stay here Lizzie. If I die, the doors will unlock. Make a run for the exit if that happens.”]

Doll squeezed Lizzie’s shoulder reassuringly, giving her a slight smile.

”Ne volnuysya, ya ne sobirayus' umirat' segodnya vecherom.”

[“Don't worry, I don't intend to die tonight.”]

She raised her hand, and several red ring surrounded her. Then in an instant, Doll was gone, leaving Lizzie all alone in the room.

N suggested hopefully that this might make Ray's job easier, and Karasu gives a nod at that remark.

"It should, yeah. The elements won't keep getting inside the ship, and neither will those zombified Drones."

Soon enough, the Disassembly Drone helps him with the panels, mainly by holding them in place so that they can be welded, and any leaks sealed with gel. Just by having her help in this case, the work goes a lot faster than one first expects.

Eventually they've got the hole patched up, and N seems quite happy with what they pulled off here. Karasu can't help but smile in turn.

"I think so too!"

But now, the thing that they had to carefully consider here.... N could get to the Bunker fast, and Cloris could certainly ask for Ray and the others to open the door. But if they went with that kind of plan...

"We'd be leaving the ship and anyone who stays behind less defended. Or totally defenseless if we all go."

Karasu admits.

"I'm not ruling out sending in the cavalry if they need the help... But for now, I think we might want to trust that they can handle it. At least until we confirm that we've got a safe place to make into a base beyond the ship."

The Captain explains his reasoning, but then turns his attention to N.

"That being said, you know J and V better than I do. Do you think they'll need your help dealing with that thing, N?"

---

Ray perked up and shouted in surprise at V.

"What? It'd be fun to mess with her."
The Disassembly Drone replies -- though it was also pretty clear that she liked the idea beyond just messing with Uzi, too...

That being said, when the threats came Ray's way, and after her defense -- the pair of them insisted that it was just a joke, and the Engineer comfortingly pats her shoulder and explains that his suit is armor plated.

V crosses her arms, still glaring at the pair.

"Don't joke about something like that. Even if he's armor plated."

Still... Chaos seemed a little too happy about getting a plasma cutter, soon running off with Uzi. It leaves Ray flabbergasted, trying to explain it wasn't a toy, and V just watches this whole scenario play out in front of her. Then she looks over at Ray.

"He'll be fine. Probably."

But even more importantly! He was glad to accept her offer of assistance here, and he asked her to deploy the 'knife-hand thingy', V gives a nod and does so -- and moves it carefully as well. Then she holds out her hand just as instructed.

When he hesitated for a moment, V glanced at him, wondering why. But then he asked if it was alright to hold her hand. She blinks, and then blushes in surprise; but soon her gaze softens and she gives him a nod.

Soon enough they're working in tandem to remove the front panel. V's mouth forms a small smile as she cooperates with his efforts. Though he soon has the work done and has released her hand, she looks at her clawed hand.

She quite liked the sensation, and briefly wondered if it would be better if she used her normal hand to hold his... But she has to set that thought aside for now. Apparently Ray would be able to rewire this in order to get the power working again!

"Right! I'll help however I can, too!"

It WOULD be an excuse for him to hold her hand again, after all.

---

Doll said that the Humans were here to deal with the 'cursed ones', or perhaps the Disassembly Drones were? Whatever the case was, she was implying that while they might not be a threat to Lizzy, they would be to her.

Lizzy thinks that over for a second.

"Well... Maybe if they see that you aren't this... You know, 'cursed witch', or whatever, they won't have a reason to go after you?"

Maybe she was being a little optimistic here, but it seemed a little more reasonable than Doll going with the idea of just running out of the place in the worst case scenario and trapping that monster inside the Bunker.

Nonetheless, Doll declared flatly that the Humans can't help her, and Lizzy was simply not as certain about that.

"Yeah, I get the importance of keeping your power secret... But couldn't you get close to them without using that Solver thing? I mean, like, neither of us are really experts in how this works, right?"

Lizzy then admits. She could be wrong, but then, so could Doll. They just didn't really know very much about how this all worked.

Still, as Doll reaches out and grabs her shoulder, Lizzy gives her a small smile in return. Despite her hold-ups, she was willing to go out there and help them fight that beast -- whatever it was -- and she was going to do it for Lizzy's sake.

But still, all that what-if talk on dying, and what to do if that did happen? She grabs Doll's hand as she was pulling away.

"You better mean that. It's going to be a lot more than lame if you go and die to that thing."

With that remark given, she once more smiles and releases Doll's hand, and she watches as the Worker Drone vanishes from the spot.

"... So that's how she suddenly appears. Huh."

---

J remained still and hidden. She saw no reason to move -- her prey was coming right to her, after all. What was even better was that it didn't seem to be capable of seeing her. She waits until it's right in front of her, and then her wings unfurl suddenly, and the Solver Beast is greeted with the sight of a Disassembly Drone's face -- a wide grin, and an "X" where the eyes should be.

With one hand thrusting forward, she's stabbed a pen into the eye that was closest to her. With her other hand, she then clicks the headlamp on, and the bright beam of light shines right into the admittedly VERY screwed up head that this thing had.

Her free hand -- thanks to letting go of the pen -- then turns a blade, and she swings it with purpose to strike another one of the eyes. Though whether she hits the mark or not, she then flaps her wings, both to gain some distance AND to smack into anything it might have sent her way, and deal just a bit more damage.

"You're REALLY not good at this!"

She taunts, and then begins to swiftly move back into hiding, clicking the headlamp off now that she's breaking line of sight with the thing. J then begins to move carefully and slowly, it was going to be searching the last place that it saw her, so it was important that she gets away WITHOUT giving away her position.

This thing was tough, no doubt about that. In a direct fight she would be at a disadvantage. But she could lead this thing on a long chase and whittle it down.