Murder Drones: Disassembly Required

"Uhh..." A bit confused what a RT3 is "What is that exactly? i never heard of that technology, J."

I blush as J feeds me pancakes, making some OM NOM NOMS along the way. "J" I said between bites "These is great pancakes! Better than" Om nom "Spacehops!" Eventually, I finished the pancakes and cleaned up the dishes.

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"Oh, hey Uzi!" I said happily as I showed her the rough sketch of hers railgun. I scooted over, giving her room to sit next to me. "Yeah, they are pretty sweet ideas I think. Anyways, whats your ideas for it? Im open for fresh ideas! Oh and if we have time I'd like to see that railgun again or any form of blueprints it might have, it'll help a lot."

I have completely forgot about the odd drone writing down stuff at this point.

After Uzi and I talked about railgun and other stuff, I put on my suit and stepped outside. Unlike the other drones, I am less impressed by the scenery. I wouldve said something about missing earth, but I didnt wanted to make the drones depressed. "Yeah, it is amazing out here." I said out loud.

"I want to check out that spire." I said to Ray. "It'll help with finding spare parts for Uzi's railgun" I added. "Also I just want to check it out, its a cool spire."

I hoped into the bus and sat in the very back. J went out and grabbed someone, so hopefully she is back. I looked out the window like I did back in my high school years and felt someone sit next to me. "Oh hey J!" I said, excitingly "Your back fa---" I turned my head and noticed it was not the drone I wanted, but some toothpaste haired drone. "Wait, or not J." I looked at her, and she looks familiar. "...Wait. Oh, not you again! Why are you sitting next to me, there is plenty of other seats on the bus you can sit alone with!" I said crossing my arms.

I huffed and turned my head towards the window. "Gonna be a long trip." I said to myself.

Uzi stared at V, still looking rather annoyed. ”I'm not forgetting that V.”

Yeah she was totally going to find a way to bring that up later. Uzi liked being able to hold something over the head of the disassembly drones.

Uzi stared at J in shock, she blinked. Then her eyes disappeared and were replaced with text. “”Processing Holy frick moment.” Then her eyes flickered back in, and she raised her voice.

”Wait, you mean to tell me that you guys used to be worker drones? Are all you just repurposed drones?”

Was everything Uzi knew just going to be tossed out the window? By the end of the week her whole reality could be shattered.

---

Uzi gave Chaos's plans a look ”I have the plans in my room. Maybe we can look at them while we… hang out?”

Uzi then mumbled something, looking rather embarrassed. ”I’ve never had a friend over before.”

That embarrassment aside, she started giving ideas. ”I want it to have rapid fire for sure. But I'll need it to cut through heavy armor too. We can have it able to switch firing modes. Oh, and we can add…”

Uzi was in full geek-out mode. Her mind was moving at a million miles a minute. Chaos was going to have to interject if he wanted to give his own input.

---

Doll did her best to keep her composure when talking to Karasu (stupid sexy Lizzy!). It was easier said then done, but she thought she managed to sound composed enough.

”U menya yest' boyevoy opyt. YA khotel by byt' blizhe k linii fronta, yesli eto vozmozhno.”

[“I have fighting experience. I would like to be closer to the front lines, if possible.”]

This thing was going to make a beeline for her. If she stayed in the rear, there was a chance it could ignore everyone else and make her a priority. Which would put everyone supporting in the rear in danger, including her girlfriend.

Doll was definitely blushing on her display as her girlfriend called her beautiful. She then snapped a picture of the both of them before she knew what was going on.

Nechestno…

[No fair…]


Doll looked over at her girlfriend as she talked about how much better it would be to hang put there instead of in the bunker.

”Vozmozhno, odnazhdy nam ne pridetsya bespokoit'sya o tom, chto monstry ub'yut nas za predelami bunkera.”

[“Perhaps one day we won't have to worry about monsters killing us outside of the bunker.”]

Then many people gor on the bus. The drone with the notebook was notably not one of them. When the music blared, Doll didn't seem to mind. Uzi on the other hand…

”FRICKING NORMIE MUSIC!”

Uzi reached into her pocket and took out her phone and some headphones. She cranked it up all the way, and listened to something much cooler.



Uzi didn't even hear the bus driver call out. But she and Doll looked outside with everyone else as Ray got out. Uzi saw him look at the Disassembly drones.

What are you up to Ray?

"If you're smart, you'll forget it you friggin' narc!"

One brandishing of the chainsaw hand from V later...

As for Uzi's questioning soon thereafter, J glances back at her and gives a nod.

"Yeah. It's pretty common. A lot of Drones receive upgrades to different models, especially when they have skilled or wealthy owners."

---

Ray seemed to be just as deep in thought about that song as V was, though he was also just as unable to turn up answers about it. Instead he admits that he's glad the song doesn't make her sad anymore -- and also adds that he wouldn't like it if she was.

V gives him an appreciative smile as a result.

"You're sweet -- and if I do ever get sad, I know that I can confide in you."

And as Rebecca gets understandably scared and eases up on her attitude, Ray just looks over at V and shrugs as well, wondering if maybe she was just overwhelmed. V gives a small smirk.

"Yeah, maybe."

Well, she wasn't THAT subtle yet. But she at least seemed to be trying to behave.

And when they were on the bus, Ray comments on the strangeness of their situation -- along with a remark about how quiet it is.

"Yeah, I-"
She was interrupted as a Worker Drone interjects, and then he signals the driver to turn on the music.

V immediately moves her hands to try and shield Ray's ears -- which you know, wasn't working very well. Helmet and all.

"I swear you friggin' idiots are suicidal!!"

Most of her shouting went unnoticed because of the song...

---

J peeks over the seat in front of Rebecca and Chaos.

"Yeah. I made a little detour to bring someone along on our trip."

She then glances between Chaos and Rebecca, smirking.

"Play nice now."

Just as J slides back into her seat to a more natural posture, the music kicks in, and she blinks.

"Seriously...? How did these Worker Drones survive for so long?"

The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone just lets out a heavy sigh.

---

Lizzy shoots a glance at Doll, almost as if wanting to confirm what she just said there, but she eventually translates it for Karasu.

"Hmm... Well, I appreciate your bravery. But most of this is probably going to be an aerial battle. But if we can find a way to work you into the front lines, we will."

The Captain replies. Meanwhile, Lizzy couldn't help but give a cheeky little grin at Doll's flustered reaction.

"Hey, I gotta get a ton of memories on our first trip together."
She replies -- keeping it just vague enough on whether they were in a relationship or not.

Lizzy totally didn't mind letting everyone know herself, but Doll might have needed just a bit of time to work up the courage for that sort of thing. You gotta pace and scale the teasing to the right level, it was an art form.

It also seemed that Doll was hopeful about not having to deal with the monsters as well.

"That'd be pretty nice. All this space, we could find the best spot!"

And then the music kicked in... Lizzy glances over at the driver, her eyes narrowing.

"Ugh. Now we're going to be listening to this the entire time..."

Lizzy complained -- but at least Doll didn't seem that bothered by it. Uzi, on the other hand? She DEFINITELY didn't like it.

---

Karasu blinks as the music starts playing at what must have been maximum volume -- hell, he was pretty sure that this bus must have been outfitted with more speakers just to ensure the music could be even louder. That's what it felt like, anyway.

Eventually, the bus slows to a stop, and a few of the passengers step off. Ray, Karasu, J, and V to be exact. J arches a brow at Ray's question.

"Well, me and V can probably do it. But it's not going to be very fast. With our time limit, we're probably better off finding another way -- even if that means literally driving around to another path."

J explained, and Ray seemed to take this into consideration as he looks at the surroundings. He was  cooking up some kind of plan, that much was clear... And then he glances over at the Disassembly Drones.

V is the first one to catch onto what he's thinking.

"Oh, I see what you're thinking! Yeah. We'll just knock some stuff down and make a bridge that way!"

V already began to peer at the walls, trying to determine the best way to go about this...

"We'll need to be careful, because of the sunlight..."
She comments, and soon adds;
"And we might take out more than expected. These buildings are pretty old and worn."

J chimes in at this point.

"One Drone on explosives, one to cover the bus?"
With that remark, V looks back and gives a nod.

"That should work."
She voiced her agreement. The two Disassembly Drones then looked back at Ray.

"What do you think?"
V then queries.

"...Drones can get upgrades? ...What kind of upgrades? Damnit Im curious now!"

I noticed V's chainsaw hands. "Okay Im scared now, Im going to focus on my pancakes."

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"Sure, I'd love to hang out in your room, Uzi. Been a while since I hanged out with a friend anyways." I said replying to Uzi. "Wanna head right over now?" I just hope Uzi's father isnt an overly protective one.

I listen over to Uzi's ideas, and I smile. "I think I can fit in most of those ideas. In fact I wanted a third alt. fire mode where you can fire some kind of plasma grenade thing. However Im not a miracle worker, so I can see what I can do, Uzi." Upon saying that, I write down Uzi's ideas too.

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"You didnt had to yell!" I said over the loud music. "I can hear just fi-- kinda! Not really! What!? I cant hear you! You need to speak a little louder!"

"I'll try, J!" I said, still arms crossed. I look over at Rebecca. "I swear if you are going to try to do anything..." I think a few ideas what I can do to her, all seem a little harsh. "...I'll sue you! Yeah! You'll hear from my lawyers or something! Humph!" I turn my head to J "Also who? Do I know that drone?"

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The bus stopped, but I remain seated.

"Why did we stopped? I need to move around, Rebecca is hugging all the space right here!"

Brandishing the chainsaw was enough to shut Uzi up. It was hard to be confident when one didn't have their trusty railgun on hand.

---

Uzi slipped her hands into her pockets, trying her hardest to look cool in front of Chaos.

”After we help the others get the ship off the ground; then sure.”

Uzi watched as he wrote down ideas. She gave him a little smirk. ”Hey, the both of us working together can put together a miracle. A miracle that will blast the crap out of anything.”

Uzi then talked to Chaos about upgrades, right up until they had to leave on the bus.

---

Doll felt worried.. If she couldn't get there then there was a chance this would turn into a battle the humans wouldn't be prepared for. And she didn't know if she could protect Lizzy in that situation. Still, she calmly responded to Karasu.

”Eto bylo by otseneno po dostoinstvu. YA khochu zashchitit' ostal'nykh ot etoy ugrozy.”

[“That would be appreciated. I want to protect the others from this threat.]

There was really only one drone she cared about. But it was better to be general about things right now.

Doll's blush remained on her face for a few minutes. Lizzy was going to get quite a bit of memories on this trip.

Doll looked out towards the horizon.

”Eto bol'shaya planeta, Lizzie. Nayti luchsheye mesto budet neprosto. No otpravit'sya v eto puteshestviye s toboy bylo by veselo.”

[“It's a big planet Lizzy. Finding the best spot won't be easy. But taking that journey with you would be fun.”]

When her girlfriend complained about the music, Doll reached over with both hands and pressed Her palms gently against Lizzy's ears. No one would be able to see it, but there was a brief red flash of light. Then Doll withdraw. Lizzy would find that she could no longer hear the music blaring on the bus. She could however hear everything else.

Somehow Uzi overheard the guy talking about her father. Or maybe she had a sixth sense when it came to her daddy issues. Either way, she let out a drone.

”Uggggggh! Of course my dad is behind  this! Every invention he makes is designed to annoy me!”

Uzi turned down her music once the busses blaring soundtrack stopped. She rose her hand immediately and hopped to her feet when Ray asked if anyone wanted to go on the rover. Doll gently grabbed Lizzy's hand, and lifted both it and her own. Those 3 were for sure going onto the roamer.

Well... Hopefully they wouldn't have to put up with this loud music for long... For one thing, it made holding conversations a lot harder to do! Hell. It made it harder just to hear yourself think! Then, of course, the Drones comically misunderstand what was being said. Shouting about how a recital was a good idea -- and to outfit the bus with even more speakers to make it louder.

... They also name drop whose idea it was to do this in the first place. Along with the intention of it being used to lure monsters away from the doors. Both V and J wanted to argue with that plan, but they had to admit. If they heard this before the Humans came around? They'd have started attacking it on principle just to get the "music" to stop.

But at least one person got some relief. Lizzy perks up slightly as she realizes that the music has suddenly stopped, then she glances over at Doll and gives her a smile. She could still hear everything else.

"Now that is another really cool trick."
That is her first remark, but then she gives a nod in agreement.
"Let's make that our goal once things settle down then, yeah?"

Finally, the bus stopping meant that the music did as well. Much to the relief of everyone involved. Aside from the Worker Drones who enjoyed it a little more than they probably should have, at least...

"I swear, more questions are raised as we interact with the Worker Drones, but they usually follow a similar theme..."

Well, at least the Captain could keep what meant to himself for now. J smirked lightly.

"Yeah. Like "how did they survive this long?""
She was less concerned about keeping that to herself.




Still, it seems like the group was in agreement of what to do here, with Ray urging caution. The two Drones give him an understanding nod, and then they start taking their positions. J moves to keep the bus covered. While V moves closer to the structures in order to scan them more accurately.

Identifying the weak-points and running calculations on what might happen. Of course, the problem is that there was always a chance of a calculation being wrong. But every single edge that they could get right now would be helpful.

V uses her arm to place some bombs on structural weak-points. Thanks to her cloak, and some careful angling, she can keep the sunlight from being a factor for her. She finishes getting them in place just as the bus has backed up a reasonable distance.

Also, thankfully, Ray stopped the music from kicking in again.

V begins to make her way over to meet up with them.

"I think we're all set. Let me know when."

The Disassembly Drone stated, looking to Ray. Once he gave the command, she'd detonate the bombs -- and with it, hopefully send the rubble down where it was intended to be to fill the hole. Both V and J prepare themselves to protect the bus as well. Both from rubble, and from anything that might have been lurking inside the buildings...

Inside of the bus, Doll volunteered herself and Lizzy by holding her hand and raising it up. Lizzy is a little surprised at first, blushing lightly. But she also doesn't at all resist.

Uzi was going as well -- and it was pretty safe to say that V and J would go with Ray and Chaos, respectively. Karasu would also naturally be on the Roamer, but he raised his hand nonetheless to make it clear.

"Alright cool, I cant wait then Uzi." I said with a smile.

"Both of us? Yeah! My brains and your bronze we will make an excellant team!" I said with enthusiasm. "I cant wait to blow up everything with you and this sick upgraded railgun!"

After writting down our ideas, we head towards the bus.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I still cant hear Ray over the loud music. I paused for a second, then replied back. "...Get your own damn milk!" Finally the music stopped and so did the bus. "...Ignore what I said."

"Fine! Good! Whatever! I dont care, Rebecca." I said, still crossing my arms. Ray mentioned about leaving the bus and I raise my hand. "Finally, I'll volunteer! Its too stuffy in here anyways!"

"Move aside Rebecca, Im trying to get out!" I said, trying to get passed her. If she doesnt budge I might need to climb over her.

”Frick yeah! We’re going to make for an awesome duo. My railgun is going to get even cooler!”

---

Doll looked over at Lizzy, giving her a slight smile. She spoke softly to her girlfriend ”U menya yest' neskol'ko tryukov, kotoryye ya obychno derzhu pri sebe. No ya podelyus' imi s vami.”

[“I've got a few tricks I usually keep to myself. But I'll share them with you.”]

Doll simply reached out and squeezed LIzzie’s hand. Yes, they would make that their goal. Doll would make sure that both of them would get through this alive.

Then the disassembly drones knocked down the buildings. Before the shockwave hit, Doll grabbed onto Lizzy with both hands to keep her steady. Both of them were still sitting, so they weren’t dislodoged. Uzi wasn’t so lucky.

”Craaaaap! Owww!”

Uzi tumbled all the way to the front of the bus, slamming against the dashboard. She lay on her back, her legs sticking straight up in the air. She raised a thumbs up.

”I’m fine! I meant to do that!”

After that, she got up. And her, Doll, and Lizzy would follow the humans to the rover. Uzi spoke out a second after Ray.

”Shot… damn!”

Uzi crossed her arms, pouting. ”I always wanted to do that." She grumbled.

Fortunately, Lizzy didn't have to worry about going anywhere as a result of the explosions, since Doll was helping to steady her. She gives her girlfriend an appreciative smile. And speaking of couples looking out for each other, V did the same for Ray, making sure that he could keep his balance.

It was a good thing too, since she was able to keep him from falling towards the bus's exit door. He'd have still stumbled, but she caught him before he took a serious tumble, at least. Meanwhile, J eventually signals everyone else;

"Alright, it's clear! No more falling rubble, and no nasty surprises."

She called out. After that, Ray praised J and V for their work, and remarked about them living up to their titles. He might have meant it as a joke, but V just gives him a smile -- and J is not one to pass up on an opportunity to gloat.

"Of course! We're the best, after all."

... The other one that was not quite so lucky about the resulting shockwave was Uzi, though. But she gave a thumbs up, signalling that she was okay. As the group starts exiting the rover, Ray tosses the keys to Karasu, and the Captain catches them.

Shortly thereafter, Ray calls shotgun. Uzi is immediately disappointed to have missed her opportunity... But you know who DIDN'T miss her opportunity? V.

"Shotgun's lap!"
V called out, eagerly making her way to the rover now.

Karasu lightly sighs as he begins to board the rover, getting into the driver's seat and waiting for everyone to get in.

"Alright then. First stop will be that spire, since Uzi and Chaos are both wanting to go there for parts. Pick up anything you think is going to be useful -- at least within reason."

Karasu then explains to the crew boarding the rover.

"Then we're going to head on over to the ship. Ray wants to get that workshop running again, then we can run diagnostics and more extensive repairs on Drones. Doesn't matter how badly they're damaged, bring them forward. I'm sure Ray can work his magic on them."

After hearing that, Lizzy turns her attention to Doll, and whispers.

"Hey. What about... Y'know?"

She was quiet, and kept it just vague enough so that no one else would catch on even if they did overhear.

Regardless, once everyone was seated and situation, the rover started moving, likely with the bus following close behind.

(Feel free to move/change the scene as needed.)

Too impatient to wait for Rebecca to move on over, I decided to climb over her. She isnt that tall should it be easy, but it has proven a bit difficult. Im about to successfully climb over her without much trouble until I hear a giant explosion. I loose my footing and fell on her. I hold onto her without thinking, and we both land on the floor. I got a little scared, so I hold her tight for safety without really realizing what I am doing.

"Ah! Im sorry!" I said, trying to get up. "I didnt meant to, honest!" I quickly helped Rebecca up if she chose to allow me to. "I hope I didnt hurt you, sorry!" I then quickly scattered out the bus.

I hurried over to the rover and met with everyone else.

Karasu gave us our orders. "What do you mean "Within Reason" Cappy? Kinda confusing honestly. Only stuff I want is some railgun parts. Im not going to bring a dead drone, Im not that perverted." I replied to him.

"Yeah, the first drone I repaired..." I think back to what happened and that it might have caused all this. "...Was back at home, neversaid I did anything. Ray can probably do better than me anyways. Im just a scientist."

Uzi did indeed respond with a ”Bite me Ray!” And she didn't back down from Ray either.

”I told you, I meant to do that! I wanted to do some sick flips!”

The things one would do to save face. When V said shotgun's lap, she rolled her eyes at the interaction. The sexual tension between those two could be cut with a knife. Yet Ray wasn't ready to swing it down.

Doll gave the murder drones a wary look as they all got into the roamer. She seemed particularly annoyed by her sitting on Ray's lap. But she didn't stare for too long.

Uzi's eyes on her display widened as the corpse spire came into view. Doll didn’t have a visible reaction the way Uzi did.

”Robo-jesus.” She turned to V and J. ”How many drones did you kill to make it that big?”

Uzi glanced over at Chaos. If she couldn't wrinkled her nose in disgust, she probably would have.

“Ew, you've put some disgusting imagines into my head.”

That aside, she looked over at Karasu. ”I don't know what you guys think about desecrating the dead, but I kind of sort of needtotakepartsfromcorpses.

She said that last part quickly, her shame clearly on her face. It wasn't something that would have bothered her before. But back when she first needed to make her railgun, she didn't have friends who could potentially judge her for doing such things.

Doll looked over at Lizzy, a pained look on her face. Then she quietly spoke back to the other girl.

”Moya mat' zarazhena programmoy rumyan. YA ne khochu ozhivlyat' yeye, poka ne naydu lekarstvo ot neye. A vozrozhdeniye moyego ottsa, no ne materi, bylo by pechal'no dlya vsekh.”

[“My mother is infected with a rouge program. I don't want to revive her until I find a cure for it. And reviving my dad but not my mother would be sad for everyone.]

Doll would stay in the roamer with Lizzy. Uzi followed Ray right into the corpse tower. She walked in without hesitation. It wasn't like she had nothing to fear from the murder drones. At least for the moment. She put a hand on her hip, staring over at the ship.

”Well they had to get here somehow. Taking a pod from one planet to another would be risky.”

Uzi walked over and looked at the drone Ray was looking at. She frowned down at it.

”I dunno. I mean, would they even be who they were when they were alive?”

Uzi was about to walk by, until she did a double take. She peered down at the body.

”Hey, this guy seems fairly undamaged. He's just missing his… Oh, nevermind. His core is over there.”

Uzi walked over at picked it up, then looked back at the corpse. ”Sorry pal. But I need this more than you do.”

Putting that away, Uzi continued to look around the tower for things to salvage.

".... Your sick flip was more like smashing yourself into the dashboard."

V's calm response came with her pointing at said dashboard -- and after that, she also noted his flustered reaction towards her declaration. And slowly he began to realize that maybe that would be exactly what would happen because of the number of people going into the Roamer right now...

Quietly, he asks her not to move around too much. V just grins, waiting for Ray to take his seat. She decides to play along with his request, slowly and tantalizingly moving her ass towards his lap, before finally settling in to a seated posture.

She was careful, of course. She didn't want to go putting too much weight on anything too delicate after all. But she didn't seem to mind if anything happened to be touching, or rubbing up against each other, as the case were...

But now that the group was on the Roamer, Chaos proceeded to ask what Karasu meant -- and the Captain glances over at him in order to answer... Well, that and to just stare at him for a second after what he said about being a pervert with a dead drone. He decides to move swiftly on from that and focus on the more important aspect here:

"Well, I said that because I know if I don't, someone is probably going to find a massive object, or a big pile of small objects, and try to stuff them into the bus and the Roamer.

And it will probably be Uzi."

He smirked at that last remark, already knowing that the "BITE ME!" was coming.

"Yeah, yeah. I know how excited you are for those railgun upgrades. Just covering my bases."

After that exchange, it didn't take them terribly long at all to reach the corpse spire. Ray is the first one to comment on it and how unsettling it is -- and indeed, the rest of the Worker Drones back on the bus kept their distance. It was hard to blame them. Uzi was the next one, asking a question for J and V.

The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone decides to answer.

"I could pull the accurate number out of the logs for you. But something tells me that was more of a rhetorical question you had."

But then a more practical question was asked by Ray. V calmly shrugs.

"Not really. We pretty much used it as a home, so it's perfectly safe."
She answered him.

As the group started moving inside, it was then that Ray spotted their ship, and got excited, reporting his discovery. Karasu makes his way over to investigate as well.

"Still, if it's not too damaged, that can definitely help us with the Stormborder."
The Captain replied to Uzi's comments on the ship.

But then their attention had been drawn to the deactivated Drone that tripped Ray up. He expressed his regret over what happened and that he couldn't set about repairing all of them -- and Uzi questioned if it was even possible in the first place. Whether it would be the same Drone or not.

Karasu chimes in at this point.

"It depends on the type of damage. But with our ship repaired and the workshop in full working order, Ray can do very intensive repairs."
He explains, and soon adds;
"And if we give the Worker Drones the guidance and tools they need, we could rebuild civilization on Copper 9. Repairs would get even easier and less time-consuming."

With that, he gives Ray a pat on the back.

"So we'll come back and make it right. We just have to get through this, first."

---

Back on the Roamer... Doll and Lizzy were likely the only ones staying put, so that gave them some much needed privacy for their conversation -- and they certainly needed that.

"I'm gonna ask something that is maybe a stupid question... But is worth asking.... Actually, a couple of stupid questions."

Lizzy admitted, it was clear that she knew this was a touchy and difficult subject, and she was trying not to offend Doll, or make it too painful. But she also needed to confirm a few things. If only because she knew that her girlfriend had the tendency to assume the worst in things.

"So... Uh..."
She begins, lowering her tone of voice, just to be extra certain no one would hear.
"Your mom doesn't really look... Off? I mean, not like that thing in the Bunker. Or like what the Humans are describing. So... Are we sure she's infected?"

That was her first question, she takes a breath, grabbing the back of her hand with the other as she carefully broached this subject.

"She also didn't uh... Repair herself and reactivate herself, like they were saying those things can do."

Lizzy ended up kind of dragging this out a bit more than she meant to, she takes a breath to calm her nerves -- well, it's not like she needed to breathe, but it sure helped, for some reason.

"Secondly, they have all this equipment and an expert. So wouldn't he be able to detect something is off, and fix it before reactivating her? They seem really sure that they can fix all of this."

She finished, and looked at Doll expectantly. She wasn't entirely sure how the Russian Drone might react, but she needed to go over these details. Because maybe it was possible that Doll was overthinking it, or just assuming the worst...?

"C'mon Uzi, that was a joke. ...Just dont think about it, K?"

Eventually we made it to the spire. I wanted to let out a "Its so cool!" but I didnt wanted to offend the worker drones. Its a pile of dead bodies after all. "Although if it was human dead bodies, Uzi would think it was cool too." I said, accidently talking out loud.

"...So bringing dead bodies is allowed, got it Cappy!" I replied to him. "I need to do some research on some drones anyways" I said to myself. "So a perfectly intact dead one is perfect."

"Thats the ship you three came out of?" I said, looking over at the drone space ship. "Looks like a drop pod, its kinda cool. Can we keep it? Wait Cappy said we cant take stuff like that, damnit."

I noticed the deactivated drone. "Oh, thats perfect!" I said to myself. After mostly everyone gathered at the foot of the spire, I dug out the deactivated drone and picked up its core. "I can use this for study and stuff! Like... copying a drones personality and putting it in this one!" I said to myself once more. Assuming everyone has left the roamer, I place it inside it along with its core. After that, I hurried over to the foot of the spire with everyone else. "Sorry, I had to pee again!" I said trying to make an excuse. Hopefully everyone will buy it.

”Oh yeah?! Well you wouldn’t know style if it bit you in the tail! I bet you’re one of those people who would wear glasses even though you can see without them!”

Uzi then looked over at Chaos. ”I'll think about whatever I want to think about!”

And then the sequence with Ray and V happened. She was clearly trying to get a rise out of him, which she might have done. Ray slapped her rear in an attempt to make her behave. Uzi suddenly had an idea. She motioned at V.

”V, scoot over a little to the left. You're blocking my view.

She wasn't blocking her view at all. But doing that would definitely make things a little more entertaining. Hey, a girl had to pass the time somehow.

Uzi glared at Karasu when he called her out for being the one who would probably overstuffed the rover.

”BITE ME! I know exactly what I need. So I'm not over stuffing this vehicle!

”So bringing dead bodies is allowed, got it Cappy!"

Doll looked over at Chaos as he said this, a question mark appearing on her display for a few seconds. Uzi was even more blunt.

”You seem waaaaay too happy about bringing a drone corpse onto the ship.”

Uzi put her hands on her hips when Chaos and Ray started talking about her. ”I'm not that uncivilized. I don't keep a human skull in my room.

Uzi looked over at Karasu, then back at the dead drone. ”Bringing drones back to life seems…

She couldn't finish the thought. Cause if she did then she'd give voice to the jealousy she was feeling at that prospect. Her mother was beyond repairing. So watching others get their loved ones back didn't set well with her.

---

Doll nodded her head at Lizzy. Ona skazala mne, chto zarazilas'. Eto sushchestvo poyavilos' v rezul'tate zarazheniya boleye slabykh dronov. Eto bystro ovladelo imi. Moya mama vsegda byla sil'noy voley, poetomu sderzhivala eto. Ona takzhe poluchila ot lyudey spetsial'nuyu nashivku.”

[“She told me she was infected. That creature was the result of weaker-minded drones getting infected. It took them over quickly. My mom was always strong willed, so she held it off. She also received a special patch from the humans.”]

Doll looked down, putting her hands on her knees. ”Ber mozhem regenerirovat' tol'ko do tekh por, poka u nas yest' nashi yadra. I u neye vyrvali svoye.”

[“That doesn’t mean she was unkillable. Me and ber can only regenerate as long as we have our cores. And she got hers ripped out of her.”]

Doll still remembered it clearly. How V had gleefully torn into her mother to get at her core. It was taking everything she had not to go after V right now. She shook her head at Lizzy's question.

”Infektsiya imeyet svoyu sobstvennuyu volyu. Yedinstvennyy sposob spravit'sya s nim — spetsial'nyy patch, razrabotannyy spetsial'no dlya nego. YA ne uveren, sokhranitsya li eta zaplata u moyey materi, yesli yeye snova soberut.”

[“The infection has a will of its own. The only way to deal with it is a special patch develeoped specifically for it. I'm unsure if that patch will still be intact in my mother if they put her back together."]

And then Chaos just plopped a corpse on the rover. It was in the storage area, but it was just there. As Doll stared at it, her right eye flickered. For the briefest of moments, a red symbol appeared.


”Mne nuzhen svezhiy vozdukh.”

[“I need some fresh air.”]

Doll climbed out of the rover and stood next to the door. She grabbed it to steady herself. Her hand was trembling slightly, although you could only see it if you were close to her.

She was staying away from the corpse spire for a reason. She didn't know if she would be able to control herself if she got so close to that many corpses. But she hadn't expected one of the humans to just put an entire dissasembled drone onto the rover.

---

Uzi climbed into the ship with Ray, taking a look around. ”Okay, this is really cool. I'd love to get this ship running again.”

She looked around for anything she could use. And then Ray found the box of crayons. And the strange drawings. She looked over at J along with Ray.

”Wow. You really hate this N. What did they do to you?”

The Disassembly Drone rolls her eyes at Uzi's particular reaction to her words.

"Sure. Whatever you say."

Now, V had envisioned a number of possible reactions that Ray had. Plenty of them were amusing to her, or something that she would have ultimately been fine with. One that she ruled out pretty fast was him possibly ever-

"Hyah?!"

She lets out in surprise as her ass was slapped lightly. She blushes, and covers her mouth with her hands... But, you know. Considering the fact that she wasn't pouncing on him right now, it didn't seem like she really had a problem with it...

She did perk up a little bit as Uzi comments that she's in the way, and should move to the left a little bit. V raises an eyebrow as she glances back at the Worker Drone -- but then it clicks in her head, and she shifts to the left as a result.

"Better?"

Yes... It was one of the rare few instances where V was actually working with Uzi on something.

Speaking of which -- it REALLY didn't take long for Uzi to utter her catchphrase in response to Karasu. That being said, what stole the attention away from that was Chaos's unusual remark about taking a dead body along.

"He's eccentric. But he always seems to pull through when it's needed most."

That was the explanation that Karasu went with. The conversation moves swiftly on as Ray comments on the ship that the Disassembly Drones were using -- namely, probing for permission to take parts from it. J is the first to speak up.

"Normally I would say that it is strictly against JC Jenson's policy to scrap or strip any company assets for modification or production of anything outside of our officially approved merchandise lineup..."
J began her response... But soon follows with;
"But I already know that you'll find a way to please my adherence to policy, so do as you wish."

V on the other hand, she just calmly shrugs.
"Yeah, I don't really care. I'm staying with you from now on, anyway."

It didn't take Karasu too long to read the room when a more personal subject came up, however. Ray seemed to be doing a little bit better than before. But Uzi? She seemed pretty troubled. He gently places a hand on her shoulder.

"I won't make any empty promises or assurances. But we'll try. Even for whoever you might be thinking about right now. And if it doesn't work out... Then we're here for you."

With that, he withdraws his hand.

His attention IS drawn by Chaos both running off and coming back after just a little bit though. Namely because of the question that Ray asked.

"I don't know... If he did, he probably didn't even realize it."

But in any case! The investigation of the ship continued on! J and V joined Ray in doing so. The first thing that Ray managed to find was the box that had crayons and drawings inside of it. He seemed confused by what he found -- and then he was staring at J.

She perks an eyebrow at that. But before she can respond, Uzi then asks about N and what they must have done to make her so mad at them.

J calmly shrugs.

"Well, she's a complete idiot and somehow she gets praised constantly. People seem to naturally flock to her."
She begins her explanation.
"I mean, even that drawing, for example. Crayons aren't the best implements to make art with. But you can see the clear difference in our skills."

She runs a hand along one of her twin-tails, flipping it dramatically to emphasize her words.

"But otherwise, N hasn't really done anything specific. But also doesn't really contribute to the company's quota."
She then places a hand on her hip.

"... I have noticed that I'm not as angry about her as I usually am, though."

So who was brave enough to suggest theories as to why that might be?

---

Lizzy listened intently as Doll began to explain why she felt the way she did -- why it was better in her mind to wait, instead of coming forward straight away. The revelation that her mother knew that she was infected and told her that... Yeah, that was pretty heavy.

But then, Doll also mentioned that her mother received some kind of special patch. Lizzy looks around, and scoots closer to her girlfriend, whispering.

"Doll. What if that patch is still working on her? Maybe they could figure out how it works and give it to you. And anyone else affected by this... Whatever it is."

She asked, genuinely curious to the thought processes here. Still... She did move an arm around Doll comfortingly as she talked about what V did to her mother.
"I won't say that I can relate... My mother's been pretty terrible. But I know this means a lot to you."

In any case, the Russian Drone continues to explain that this infection has a will of it's own. She was also certain that the patch was the ONLY way to deal with it. Lizzy was a little less sure of that -- mainly because she didn't want Doll's salvation to end up just out of reach. She... Didn't have this patch. That was what Lizzy could conclude, anyway.

"Okay... But look. If it gets too bad... We might need to try, anyway. Your mom might be the only source of the patch right now, and you need it."

Lizzy tried nonetheless to reason with Doll. But their conversation was interrupted by Chaos suddenly showing up to drop off a... Disassembled Drone? Why the hell was he doing that? Just as the blonde Drone looks over at him about to ask just that -- she also sees Doll in the corner of her eye acting off.

Chaos had enough of a window to run off in that time frame, and Doll managed to compose herself just enough to request getting outside for some fresh air. Lizzy gives a nod and accompanies her outside...

"I'm sorry, by the way. I know you probably don't want to talk about all of this... I'm just trying to think of how to help you."

Lizzy then stated. It was a bit uncharacteristic for her to be so openly kind, at least for those that weren't as close to her as Doll was. But that was the one thing that set her apart from her family. She valued the few genuine friends she did make.

Well. Doll was more than a friend now... But that was all the more reason why this was so important to her. Fighting was still off the table, for the moment. At least until she got a weapon. Even then she'd probably still end up slowing Doll down. So there had to be other ways she could help.

While on the roamer, I was minding my own business playing some games on my Dream Deck 2000, trying to forget what happened back on the bus. I heard a commotion and looked up. Ray and V is doing something in the front seat. "What the hell are you two doing?? Jeez, get a room!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Well Uzi I never saw a drone before, the company I worked at forbid them. Theyre kinda fascinating to look at and I just want to see how they function. The robots back at the company was rather simple, nothing like you." I said, replying to Uzi. I once again accidently voiced my thoughts. "I'd like to study a living drone too, though..."

"Im curious if we can even bring a diseased drone back to life." I said, replying back to our Captain. "If it can be done, a lot more people would be happier here."

I dropped off the drone in the roamer. I did noticed Doll visibly upset and I dont know why. It wasnt until I noticed I was doing, dropping off a corpse near them. If it was a human corpse I'd be upset too. I didnt noticed them at first, thinking they where with the group up ahead. I remembered there being some blankets I brought before living the ship, so I hurried back and wrapped the diseased drone in some blankets. Without saying a word, I hurried back to the group.

I noticed the Disassembly Drone ship and the group and went there. After making my excuse, I replied to Ray. "...Well yes, but in their point of view I was just staying there doing weird human things. Besides I doubt that they even knew that humans can pee, so you know... I was just being weird to them."

I noticed the drawing N and J made, and I decided to give J some praise. "Not only J is great at cooking, but she is great at drawing too. She is simply amazing at mostly everything, dang."

”What the hell are you two doing?! Jeez, get a room!

Uzi looked back over at Chaos, giving him a little smirk  ”You mean like you and J last night?”

Uzi gave the disassembly drone a mischievous smile. ”Much better.”

Uzi stared as Chaos talked about never getting the chance to study a drone before. Especially one like her. Uzi shrugged her shoulders.

”Hey, as long as you know how awesome I am and don’t try scientific experiments on me, you can study all the drones you want to.”

Yes, she did like tooting her own horn every once and awhile. Uzi looked over at Karasu as he talked, then back in Chaos’s direction.

”I don't know why, but Chaos seems like a reliable kind of guy. Even if he is a little weird.

Then Karasu seemed to just read her like a book. She looked at him, startled as he assured her on the drone resurrecting process. She reached out and gripped Karasu’s wrist.

”Ugh! Get out of my head!”

Uzi moved Karasu’s hand off of her, then let go. She didn’t grip him particularly hard, despite her harsh tone.

”Why is everything so complicated now? It used to be simple!”

Uzi answered Ray’s question with one of her own.

”Yeah, I know. But is it normal to do it in front of other people? Do humans just pull down your pants and do it wherever you want? Cause that’s kind of gross.”

---

”Chto delat', yesli patch ne povrezhden?”

[“What if the patch isn't intact?”]

Doll paused, looking over at Lizzy.

"YA podumal ob etom bol'she, chem vy mozhete sebe predstavit'. YA ne riskuyu, chto moya mat' ozhivet i prevratitsya v monstra."

[”I've given this more thought then you can imagine. I'm not risking my mother reviving and turning into a monster.”]

Doll leaned into Lizzy’s embrace, resting her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

”sebe predstavit', chtoby u menya byli uzhasnyye roditeli. Ili chto luchshiy chelovek, kotorogo ya znayu, — eto tot, kto imeyet s etim delo.”

[“Then that goes for both of us. I can’t imagine having horrible parents. Or that the best person I know is the one who has to deal with that.”]

Doll rested against her girlfriend, draping an arm over her shoulder. She turned her head and looked into Lizzy's eyes as she brought up the worst case scenario.

”Tol'ko yesli vse stanet dostatochno plokho, prezhde chem ya smogu poluchit' original'nyy patch.”

[“Only if it gets bad enough before I can get the original patch.”]

When Lizzy followed her out, Doll looked over at her. She walked close to her, so that she was only standing a foot away from her.

”Ne nado. YA tak dolgo delal vse sam. Vse eto dlya menya novaya territoriya.”

["Don't be. I've done things on my own for so long. All of this is new territory to me."]


Doll paused, then gently gripped Lizzy's hands in her own. ”YA znayu, chto nam ne mozhet byt' kholodno, no mne ne nravitsya mysl', chto moya devushka budet stoyat' zdes' tol'ko radi menya.”

[“I know we can't feel cold, but I don’t like the idea of my girlfriend standing out here just for me.”

If she let her, Doll would lead Lizzy back into the shuttle. Then she would sit them both down and then lean against her girlfriend again. Doll seemed content to stay like that for the moment.

---

When Chaos complimented J's drawing, Uzi made a fist with her hand and flicked it forward and back. She looked at Ray and mouthed ”He's so whipped.

Uzi looked at the drawing, then back at J.

Well, Ray might not be aware of it. But he'd probably realize as soon as he looked down. Even if he didn't, V was enjoying it anyway.

More importantly, it seemed like Uzi agreed that Chaos was reliable, if a bit weird. Karasu just nods in agreement with that.

"Exactly. Everyone on this crew is probably eccentric in some way. But I know they'll pull through when it matters."

Although... Uzi was still struggling with something -- Karasu could take a few guesses as to what it was. Hell, he'd seen the look plenty of times before. It was why he was able to identify it and say what needed to be said -- even if she didn't like the idea of someone being in her head like that.

"Sure. Just keep it in mind, though."

He left it at that. A part of this was just going to be giving Uzi the space and some time to think.

But at least the conversation wasn't heavy for long, as Ray carefully words his question, only for Uzi to give a blunt answer. Karasu couldn't help but chuckle a little at the accuracy in her thoughts on the subject.

"No, not typically. Though there are times when Nature starts calling, and she won't be ignored for long."

He remarked, and then he calmly gestures to the entrance of the spire.
"I don't think Chaos could have done that anyway. He's probably up to something, and just isn't sure how to explain it."

---

It didn't take Ray long at all to give a satisfactory answer to J -- indeed, she was willing to suspend her rigorous adherence to company policy in light of the current circumstances... But she did appreciate that he was willing to go the extra step here.

She starts off merely listening intently. But as he builds his case, she begins to smirk. Finally she nods in agreement.

"You make an excellent case, and you are indeed correct! Yes, I am of greater value than this ship. And if it must be sacrificed so that I may be maintained at peak condition, so be it."

She seemed to enjoy that a little too much, really... V almost immediately rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. V continued to listen as the group talked about that drawing that J made her addition to. The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone begins to speak once more.

"Well, like I said. She got all the attention and praise, even when she could barely complete the most basic of tasks. Honestly, it was rather frustrating! I worked myself tirelessly and it was simply taken for granted."

Her mood sours for a moment... Then Chaos briefly peeks in, sees the drawing, and compliments her. And just like that, she's gone back to smiling smugly, giving another one of her twin-tails a flip with her hand.

"Yes, well. I am excellent in every form, after all!"

She continues smiling, as she picks up from where she left off before.
"See? Before I would be frustrated at N for quite some time. But now it's like it doesn't really bother me anymore."
She... Didn't seem to notice... Especially when she follows up with;
"In fact, I should probably go easier on N from now on. Maybe an apology at some point, too."

V was in the back, simply gesturing to J as if trying to ask 'does she seriously not notice?'

But then... Ray found something! A black notebook, which he immediately opens and begins to flip through the pages of. J's eyes widened and her pupils hollowed. Just as she raises a hand and opens her mouth to tell him to stop, he finds it... THAT page.

She stares in shock as he takes it in, and then remarks about it looking like her handwriting.

Immediately, she springs into action. J snatches the notebook and slams it shut.

"You didn't see anything! Right?!"

J warned, V was already stifling a laugh... Then Uzi continues digging as well, and finds a workplace safety paper. The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone swoops over, and snatches that page as well.

"Whistleblowing is just another word for Corporate Espionage, which is punishable by-
Well, probably jail-time. BUT EXECUTION SEEMS MORE FITTING!"

J then holds the notebook and the page close to her person.

"So you all keep this to yourselves! YOU GOT THAT?!"

J brandishes an assault rifle with what was one her free hand.

V finally lets out a guffaw, and calmly approaches, placing a hand on J's shoulder.

"Relax, J. No one here is going to judge you."
For a brief moment, J seems to calm down and she lowers her gun. Then V adds;
"Well, except for me."

V continues smirking, now EXTREMELY smug as J just stares at her, annoyed -- and an anger mark displayed on her visor.

"...Why are you like this?"

---

Lizzy gives a calm nod.

"Okay... Yeah, I guess that's a possibility too..."
As much as she didn't like the idea of letting this go, it WAS completely true that Doll had probably thought about this countless times already.

Lizzy was an optimist in this situation. If only because she wanted to be able to give Doll the solution that she'd been searching for all this time.

"Yeah... I wouldn't want that, either."
She replies, to Doll's statement about the possibility of her mother reviving and turning into one of those monsters.

But at least no matter how difficult this was, the purple-haired Drone was willing to lean on her for support. Lizzy just wished she could do more. But where do you even start on something as complicated as this? Hell, up until this point she just thought that Doll had magical powers.

She didn't know how far this truly extended until fairly recently. And at least... Doll seemed to be a little lost too. She didn't know what it was like to have horrible parents. Lizzy gives her a small smile in response.

"Guess we're figuring it out together, then."

She replies -- and she is still worried as Doll suggests she's going to hold off in order to find the original patch. Lizzy wanted to trust her, and she would. But she also felt like she needed to be prepared to put her foot down, if things were really getting to that worst case scenario.

But she gives her a nod.

"Fair enough. But we aren't waiting until the last possible second either, got it? If there's even a chance of this helping you... I'll take it. We'll just have to face whatever happens together."

Lizzy wanted to assert that much, at least. There was no way she would just watch Doll slowly turn, and be too stubborn to accept any help over it. That part wasn't happening...

But for now, things weren't that bad. Doll maintains a closeness to Lizzy -- before coming even closer, and grabbing her hands.

"Well.... New territory for the both of us, I guess."

Lizzy cooperated with Doll, and she gives a slightly cheeky smile as Doll talks about her girlfriend getting cold.

"Well, I guess you'll have to help warm me up, huh?"

Lizzy teases, then giving a mock shiver.
"Brr. It's so chilly."

Shortly thereafter, they get back into the Roamer, and the two of them begin to snuggle up with each other. A little more content after getting a personal conversation out of the way.

I blush when Uzi implied what me and J did last night. "Sh...shush about that!" In a quieter tone, I added "H...how many people know about it anyways? Surely not a lot..."

"...Wow, Drones more about human autonomy than I thought. Although I guess there is a biology textbook laying somewhere in that bunker." I replied to the group, then Karasu caught my white lie. "N...no I wasnt! I really... ...I didnt do nothing, okay!"

"Look, I gotta give J praise whenever I can. No woman has been nice to me like J has, so there."

Ray found J's secret notebook, full of drawings and personas. However, from my distance I couldnt see anything. "What is it? Documents? Company secrets? Please tell me what it is Im naturally curious!" Soon after, J snatched the notebook and company manual from Uzi and Rays hands and brandished hers assault rifle. "Okay okay J I wont pry. Lets forget this all happened."