Murder Drones: Disassembly Required

”And I was able to save his butt because I was there. Your welcome for saving your boyfriend by the way.”

Fortunately not only was Ray not in danger, but she and the others had managed to convince him to take a break for once. Still, it was way harder then it had to be. Uzi let out a sigh.

”If you were a worker drone, you’d invent a plug for yourself and work endlessly without going into sleep mode. Seriously Ray, you need to learn how to chill.”

Uzi chuckled, looking at Ray in amusement. ”Maybe you’ll get to see some of those classics when things wind down.”

Then finally Ray made his way back to his room. But before he did, he gave her a  compliment. She formed her hand into a gun, blowing on her index finger.

”Just another day for the best shot on Copper 9.”

Uzi blinked, running off after Ray as she heard him yell about his room. She then peered over her shoulder, her eyes widening into circles.

”Robo-Jesus. It’s like someone fired a cannon ball in here.”

---

Doll nodded, climbing onto the bed. ”YA ostanus' zdes', poka ne pridu v sebya.”

[“I'll stay in here until I get my bearings.”]

Doll lay on her back, putting her head on the mattress of the bed (the pillows had flown off the bed in all the chaos). Some orange text flashed in the upper left corner in her screen.

”Kha-kha-kha! Zver' Cyn poterpel porazheniye ot trekh skromnykh lyudey, yeye sobstvennykh pitomtsev i moyego khozyaina! Kha-kha-kha!”

[“Hahahah! Cyn's beast got defeated by three humans, her own pets, and my host! Hahaha!”

Doll needed to get more oil so she could push this program back into the bowls of her memory banks. Fortunately it seemed to be in hysterics over the creature losing. When Lizzy returned she sat up, Taking the bucket and putting a drone limb into her mouth. She felt herself cooling down as she took in the sweet oil. The orange text flashed across her screen again.

”Dumayu, moye vremya pridetsya podozhdat'. Veselites' so svoyey devushkoy. Ona khranitel'nitsa.”


[“I guess my time will have to wait. Have fun with your girlfriend. She's a keeper.”]

Doll blushed, focusing her mind and managing to push the other conscious back. She finished off the limb, then raised the bucket to her head and gulped down about half the oil. She then wiped her mouth, looking over at Lizzy.

”Spasibo, Lizzy. Kto-nibud' videl tebya s etim?”

[“Thanks Lizzy. Did anyone see you with this?”]

V gives a little glare to Uzi. But eventually her expression softens, and not just because Ray tiredly raises his hand and teases her slightly.

"Glad you didn't get hurt, or whatever."
She responds to Uzi.

More importantly, Ray was really too eager to keep on trying to work. It was admirable, but he really needed to learn to pace himself. Fortunately he seems to realize this once enough of the adrenaline dies down and he can feel his aches all over.

V places her hands on her hips, giving a nod.

"That's right. If you tried to keep working, I'd have to just pick you up and carry you to your bed."

V remarks -- and mostly had nothing to add on the subject of anime. She had never really watched any of it. Although she wasn't opposed to watching some with Ray. That could be kind of a nice way to spend some time together and ensure that he relaxes. Hmm... Not a bad thought.

She does however briefly glare at Uzi again as Ray jokes about Uzi kicking his butt. But he soon clarifies that she hasn't actually done that, instead meaning that she was just as on his case about not pushing himself too far and throwing himself into dangerous situations without a plan.

Even when it came to the subject of training though, it sounded like Ray was going to be pushing himself. V gives a little sigh, she couldn't help but be worried about some of his tendencies...

"We'll stick to it, but a part of training is knowing when to rest too. At least for Humans, it is."

She replied -- and more importantly than that, he leaned a little more into the wall from a sudden onset of pain, and it was clear that he was going to need some help, even if he insisted he was fine. V quickly moves to his side once more and begins to help him back to his room.

"Just lean on me."

She comments. As they're leaving, Ray does stop for a moment to praise Uzi's marksmanship... Yeah, V had to admit, that was a pretty good shot. She wasn't going to admit that out loud, though.

The pair briefly cross paths with Lizzy, who was already cleaning a hallway. V didn't think much of it since she was more concerned about Ray right now. As the door opens and Ray yells, she raises her free hand and index finger.

"Ehhh..."
She then points at the mess.
"I think that was because of the ship spinning earlier..."

At least Klein seemed to be okay, as he waddled out of the room and on his way.

---

J listened intently as Chaos asked if she was sure, he briefly trailed off in his words, seemingly in thought. But then he admitted that it sounded hot. The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone gives him a smirk in response.

"Well, good employees do tend to get rewards..."

She was obviously flirting right now. E perks up at this and chimes in.

"Like headpats!"
She smiles brightly.

J sighs a little.
"Yes, like headpats."

She wasn't going to take responsibility for teaching this moron bot about sex. Someone else should have done that! Still, Chaos expressed his own concerns on the subject, and admits his hope that she won't teach N about that sort of thing -- since she would believe it and actually get pregnant.

"Well, at least you know what N is like."

J admits, it was kind of nice to have someone that could mirror some of her thoughts like that. Beyond that, he still wanted to check on the others and truly make sure they were okay -- and that was fine with her. With a small shrug she offers to lead the way.

"Let's go, then."

J didn't seem to mind the mess, just stepping over any limbs or bodies. Eventually the pair of them could hear Ray screaming about his room. By the time they arrived, they were able to see the mess that it had become... And then J turns her head towards the door into Chaos's room.

"... Oh, great."

And just when she had gotten it up to an acceptable standard! Well... At least it was a good thing she enjoyed her work so much.

---

It seemed like Lizzy was having a really easy time of gathering the things Doll needed right now. Several people had come through the exact hallway she was working on, but no one really paid any attention to her. Ray seemed too out of it, V had all of her focus on him...

Uzi was there, but her attention had been pulled to Ray's room. J and Chaos seemed equally distracted by that. Honestly, it was kind of amazing just how lucky this turned out. She had a perfect cover story but she didn't even need to use it.

Hell, Klein was the only one to directly address her... And even he only gives a simple greeting. She gives him a wave and watches him waddle off for a few seconds -- then she decides it's time to get back to work. While everyone is so focused on everything else, she is able to easily slip inside the room to deliver the goods to Doll.

And it sure didn't take her long to immediately start digging in. On the one hand, it was kind of disconcerting. Lizzy had spent enough time dealing with this to get used to it, but it was one of those things that just wouldn't be quite normal unless you were in the same situation... On the other hand, she was also proud that she apparently picked out some high quality stuff.

Lizzy gets the chance to peer into the bucket and see that half of the oil is already gone.

"Dang."

She comments; and not long afterwards, Doll thanks her and also asks if anyone saw her with these. Lizzy shrugs in response.

"Eh, just Ray, V, Uzi, J, Chaos, and Klein.

None of them really seemed to care, though."

She then smiles a little, as she points to the bucket.

"Just pretended to do some cleaning."

---

The closer N got to the crater, the more apparent it was that there was nothing there, no trace of life whatsoever. Even more bizarre than that, however, is just how strange things looked in the crater's formation. It didn't look natural -- not like any sort of explosive or heavy ordinance. No burns or scorches, nothing like that at all... Hell, even any pieces of debris left over looks like they came from OTHER places. Like they were pulled in.

Like that car. Which looked like it had a clean cut, far cleaner than any blade could have given it. An entire chunk of it was gone, with zero explanation of how or why. If she investigated the surroundings of the crater, she could see that much of the snow had been displaced, pulled towards the center of whatever caused this formation.

It conjured up images of that strange pin-prick of darkness that they all had the chance to see before, because of the Subjugator Gargoyle... And perhaps, even further back than that...

Whatever the case was, if she were to look up and compare it to the ship's trajectory, she could also deduce that this was the impact zone; where the Subjugator Gargoyle had ended up when it was struck by that impressive final blow.

"...Headpats is a good reward, yes." I replied to E and strayed away from the topic of sex. I get the odd feeling if E ever hears about that word, she'd get so curious to the point where eventually she'd want to have sex herself. ...Anyways.

"If N is a lot like E, then I guess I am not that far off and I just start to meet E."

We arrive at the crews quarters. We heard the engineer scream echo'd throughout the hallway. "...Well if he was fine before, now Im guessing he is not." I notice Lizzy walking along, carrying a bucket. "Hey Lizzy." I said with a wave.

"Oh, hey Uzi!" I excitely said to her, glad that she is perfectly fine. "Im glad you are safe, Uzi!" I couldnt help but smile as I saw her. I instinctively hugged her as I got closer to her. I held her close, hugging her tight enough where she'd wouldnt feel discomfort. "Man, I got so worried about you, I almost..." I stopped myself from saying the word hide, as I didnt wanted to sound like a coward. "Oh." I release my hug on her. "Forgot, you kinda dont like hugs. Sorry, didnt mean to. Anyways, are you alright? From what I heard, that railgun tested fairly well. Good, Im glad..."

We entered my room and it was like how I left it; A complete mess. Although I didnt minded, it did seem J mind it being a mess by a ton.

"Look J." I said to her, looking at her. "You've been through a lot today, we both have, but you have been through a lot more than I did. I can handle this mess if you want and thankfully its not that bad compared to last time. You can take a break, J. I really dont mind."

With that, I began to reorganize my own room. Placing some things back on shelves, dusting off the couch, that sort of thing. "Thankfully we took out the trash earlier, or else it'd be all over the room by now." I rearranged my desk and pushed my office chair over to it. My computer flew across the room when the ship tilted, so I placed it back where it supposed to be. I turned it on to make sure it works and thankfully it is.

While I insisted that I could do it alone, J helped me anyways. If Uzi came in and helped me, I really appreciated the help.

Uzi's  stared at Ray. Her visor flashed a word across it for a few seconds."Srsly?” Then her face returned, looking at him disbelivingly.

”Ray, you don't hug a friend the way you hugged V in front of us. You're dating a murder drone. Deal with it.”

Uzi blinked, looking at V in surprise. Was that… her saying she was glad she wasn’t hurt? No! She was a disassembly drone! They were totally not having a buddy moment! Uzi huffed,crossing her arms.

”Yeah? Well, I'm glad you didn't get shot out of the sky or whatever.”

Uzi looked away, looking rather annoyed. Why did the murder drones have to be so non-murdery? She shouldn't be having a moment with one!

Uzi looked at Ray's crossing ber arms and looking at him sternly. ”If you were a worker drone you would have lived in a bunker your entire life and wouldn't have gotten on V's good side.”

Uzi smirked at Ray. ”Trust me, you have plenty of classics to choose from. You're looking at the owner of the largest anime library on the planet!”

Ray had to lean on V to get back to his room. She seriously couldn’t believe that he was still trying to do work after everything he had been through. The human sure didn’t like feeling useless, even for a moment. But he did go into his room and lie down. Uzi gave him a mischievous little grin as he asked for the time.

Ask V. I’m pretty sure your girlfriend has one built into her.”

She looked over as Chaos walked over to her and hugged her. She looked at him in surprise, but returned the hug. She spoke to him quietly. ”I’m glad you aren’t hurt either. Things got pretty dicey with all the spinning and zombie drones.”

Uzi stared at Chaos as he stepped away. She gulped, her limbs trembling slightly. Then she stepped forward and pulled Chaos back into a hug. She held him close, looking up at him with a blush

”I don’t like hugs. But you deserve one after all that. Thank you for helping me with the railgun.”

Uzi then backed off, clearing her throat and letting out a huff ”Don’t look too hard into that, okay?!”

Uzi did indeed decide to help Chaos clean up his room. Ray’s room was a mess too, but she figured he would want to be alone with V right now. Especially with the state he was currently in.

---

Doll stared as Lizzy told her that basically everyone had seen her carrying the bucket. But nobody was busting in asking questions. Doll shrugged her shoulders.

”Dumayu, eto to zhe samoye, chto byt' nevidimym. Stranno, chto na eto nikak ne otreagirovali.”

[“I guess that's the same as not being seen. Strange that they didn't react to it though.”]

Then her girlfriend explained why that was the case. Doll gave her a little smile. ”Ty nastoyashchaya aktrisa, Lizzy. Khotya menya eto ne dolzhno udivlyat'.”

[“You're quite the actress Lizzy. Although I shouldn't be surprised by that.”]

Doll drank a little more of the oil. Then she lowered the bucked onto the floor next to the bed. She lay back, looking at Lizzy.

”Tot chelovek, kotoryy upal s korablya... lyudi rasskazyvali, chto s nim sluchilos'? On zarezal korabel'noye sushchestvo i posle etogo ya ne znayu, chto proizoshlo.”

[“That human that fell off the ship... have the humans mentioned what happened to him? He stabbed the creature of the ship and after that, I don't know what happened.”][/color]

In V's case, it wasn't so much that she didn't have a reaction to Uzi's teasing, more just... She didn't mind being called that. She found it pretty accurate -- but she wasn't going to say any of that out loud! THAT felt too embarrassing right now. But you wouldn't see her making an argument against it, either...

Speaking of awkward, embarrassing moments... Uzi and V were sharing one right now. Honestly, she didn't know what to make of the angsty little Worker Drone entirely. She'd been hunting them for awhile now, but things had changed faster than any of them really could have anticipated.

It looks like there was a mutual agreement between the two of them to not extend the moment longer than necessary. The slightly uneasy silence WAS broken over Ray's comments regarding himself; she wasn't about to stay quiet on that.

"Don't fixate on what you think are failures or shortcomings. You did a lot of good, and you're capable of a lot more."

Honestly, she wished that she had some of his bravery... It took a crazy amount of it to even try some of the things he was attempting. And on top of that he wanted to start pushing himself in rigorous training...

"Training takes time. Even if we could zap all the knowledge into your head, you would still need to gradually improve your muscles -- and that means they need time to heal, too."

V replies; she intended to make sure he was trained up properly. If she was going to do this, then it had to be done right... Speaking of which, she needed to actually think of some methods for training Humans. This was going to be quite the undertaking for both of them.

Speaking of massive undertakings, the state of his room left him pretty understandably shocked. But at least once he knew the cause it helped to put things into perspective -- and he apparently wanted to come up with some ways to solve that problem for the future. For now... He needed rest, and he was slowly clearing a few things out of the way.

V got the bed and mattress moved back into place, along with the pillows. Not long afterwards, Ray collapses onto the bed and the fatigue seems to almost immediately take over. As he asks for the time, he thinks of the last known location of the clock... Surely it had gotten tossed all over, who knows WHERE it ended up by now.

To that end, V was actually starting to clean up and sort the room the way that she remembered it. Uzi grinned, suggesting a quicker alternative. V looks over, yeah, that was true, actually...

Her eyes are replaced with the current time, V steps over so that Ray can get a better view. Once he's able to take that in, she returns to righting the room. There was a lot of work to be done -- or, well, a lot for a Human. For a Disassembly Drone, it was pretty effortless. Even large and heavy pieces of furniture wasn't much of an issue for her to just pop back up.

The smaller things were also pretty swiftly gathered, the speed and grace at which she moved was pretty remarkable; conjuring up images of her having done something like this in a previous life.

Hell, even V sort of got lost in that, softly humming a familiar song to herself. It was a pretty popular song, albeit an older one: Titled "Eternal Dream."

---

J crosses her arms, watching as Chaos and Uzi share a surprisingly intimate moment. One might have expected her to look jealous or pissed, but instead she's smiling.

"I see you're coming around to the idea more and more, Uzi."

The teasing didn't last long, fortunately for Uzi. Instead J's attention had been pulled by the fact that Chaos was intending to clean up the room himself now, insisting that the twin-tailed Disassembly Drone gets a break. The pair enters the room just to assess the overall damage.

Yeah, it's pretty messy... But not anywhere near as bad as it was before. Despite this, he moves to begin rearranging his room. J grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him back over to her.

"Yeah, that's not happening. You might not have pushed yourself as hard as Ray did, but you need your rest too."

With her signature smirk, she soon adds;

"I've got this."

And indeed... Just like V was taking care of Ray's room, J was handling Chaos's room with the same efficiency. The first thing she sorted was the bed and mattress, and then she made sure that he at least took a seat on it.

After that it was everything else. Honestly it seemed like the more she worked, the more her annoyance faded away.

"Ahh. I prefer keeping things orderly, but I have to admit, it's nice to bring it up to that state, too."

Honestly, even if she was handling this alone, it wouldn't take her very long to get the room back into a much more appreciable state... It would leave Chaos with a lot of free time to rest, and focus on other things.

---

Lizzy couldn't help but smile as Doll expressed her confusion over none of them bothering to question what she was up to.

"Well, I'm a Worker Drone. We're meant for manual labor. Beyond that it helps that all of their focus is on making sure that the Humans are taken care of -- especially Ray. He looked REALLY out of it. About as much as you, really."

A slightly more extended explanation led to Doll praising her abilities for acting -- along with an admission that she shouldn't be surprised by such a thing. Lizzy couldn't help but grin a little as she finally makes her way over to the bed, sitting next to Doll.

"Yeah, I've had a bit of practice. Mom and dad are obsessed with appearances and reputation."

Normally that would have been enough to sour Lizzy's mood, just thinking about that and bringing it up in such a way. But after all of this, and getting the chance to get out and do some genuinely exciting things? Well, she was able to put it all into perspective.

That, and she was glad that Doll was alright -- and getting better with each drink of oil.

After that, Doll asked about what happened to Karasu. The guy that was fighting that monster they saw earlier... Lizzy brings a hand to her chin.

"I don't know, actually. None of them really seemed frantic or anything like that, so..."



A red hologram flickered to life in front of Lizzy and Doll -- the familiar sight of Aegis.

"... I think we both have some secrets to keep right now."

She takes a deep breath.

"The Captain vanished. I don't know where he went, and frankly, I'm worried about what will happen if the crew finds out. This is something that could push them over the brink."

She falls silent, carefully considering her words from this point on. Aegis looks to Doll.

"You were helping us earlier. So I'm going to assume that you're our ally. I won't tell anyone about any of this... But please don't let them find out that Karasu is missing."

It was probably the best offer that Doll could get in this situation. Lizzy thought it over for a second.

"Could you convince the Humans to help Doll?"

Aegis seemingly hadn't expected that question, but she smiles and nods.

"Of course. If that's what she wants."

---

Fortunately for N, nothing posed an obstacle in her quick retreat. Though she must have felt that something was watching her -- that was surely just the nerves, right? The feeling passes entirely once she gets back to the ship, and steps back inside safely.

That just left the question of what to do now. It looked like everyone was gradually starting to come out of hiding. The ship looked like it hadn't sustained any major damage, despite the crazy maneuvers it had gone through.

Indeed, it seems that they managed to weather the storm entirely... So why was it that N wasn't quite sharing the same sentiment? Perhaps she just needed to speak to the others, especially about those unusual findings...

I returned Uzi's hug. "Thanks Uzi." I said, looking back at her with a smile. "Your welcome. Just glad you are safe." I release Uzi one last time.

While Uzi did said to not look that hard into it, I did in fact look too hard into it. If Uzi would to look at my dumb face right now, I'd have a blissful smile on my face.

"A...alright J, you can handle things..." I sat on my bed after J rearranged it. "Man, J is just... really good at this. Its like she was a maid before all this."

I patted the bed to the left of me, inviting Uzi over. "How about you take a break too and sit next to me? We could... watch something if you like. And once J is done she'll join us too! We did wanted to watch anime together, if you like."

I turn to my side and see the selection of BOUGHT animes I have. Unfortuately, I dont have that good selection of animes, since I did bought them last second before boarding this ship. Some notable titles I have is: I met this SpiderGirl in this Forest and now I have no clue what to do: Some old western where a guy meets some spider waifu. Main girl is a yandere but there is also a secondary girl. Not sure if Uzi would like that, actually dont know hers anime tastes that well. 'Meta Humans' ...Nah, just bought it cuz the name was cool. RED, WHITE, BLACK, (and) YELLOW. ...Dont know how a superhero cartoon got into this pile. 'Neptunia' A classic, love Noire!

After browsing my selection, I decided to pick a classic. "Evangelion, its cool enough! Got all the movies too, we can even binge it all night!"

Unfortuately, I am human and got tired halfway of watching the show. I lay down on my bed. "You two continue, Im just going to rest my eyes a bit."

As I drift asleep, I couldnt stop but think to myself how I am the luckiest man in the world, two girls by my side.

Uzi rolled her eyes when Ray said to call her a disassembly drone. ”Whatever.”

Uzi rolled her eyes, letting out a scoff. ”Yeah, I remember the"Uzeeeeeeeee...!!!" That you gave me as you hugged me to death.”

Uzi then did an exaggerated thinking post, putting her fist under her chin. ”No, that’s not right. Oh right, because you didn’t do that for me. You did that for "Veeeeeeeeeeeeee...!!!"

Okay, she went a little over the top copying Ray’s voice. But she definitely didn’t want to give V the wrong idea here. Besides, Ray did seem like the kind of person you needed to screw things in for to emphasize a point. Although that probably wasn’t a saying like it was for drones: Uzi didn’t think that would end well for a human.

Uzi pointed at herself when Ray mentioned that humans have unfortunate flaws. ”Hey, we’re not perfect. I hear people talk about food in anime and watch them eat it, but we can’t consume the stuff. And food is described as something amazing. Also you guys aren’t as allergic to electricity as we can be. Being a drone isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

Uzi then paused, giving Ray a little smirk. ”But if it were all sunshine and rainbows, I’d be the dark cloud hanging over everyone.”

Uzi put a hand on her hip, slipping the other into one of her jacket pockets. ”Hey, it’s not my fault the rest of the colony has terrible taste in entertainment.”

---

Uzi quickly gave J a scowl and exclaim ”Bite me you mur… disassembly drone!”

Uzi looked at Chaos’s face. She frowned, raising her arm and snapping her fingers a couple of times in front of him.

”Hey, stop it! You’re getting the wrong idea!”

Uzi hopped onto the bed, lying down next to Chaos. She sat up, watching an old classic with the human. It had been something she had seen before. Now that she thought about it, wasn’t their situation similar to the one in the show? They were facing increasingly disgusting creatures hell bent on destroying everything.

”When did my life turn into an anime?

Then Chaos fell asleep. Uzi stared at his sleeping face. Humans didn’t have a “sleep mode” prompt on them. So she was curious as to what they looked like when they were resting. He looked happy and peaceful. It was surprisingly relaxing, staring at him like that.

Uzi eventually turned away and looked back at the anime. Then she spoke up to J. ”Is this as weird as you as it is for me? I never thought I’d find myself sitting next to a human and a disassembly drone watching anime.”

---

Doll paused, considering Lizzy’s words. ”Paren' Vi? Dolzhno byt', yemu prishlos' nelegko, kogda drony-zombi pronikli na korabl'.”

[“V's boyfriend? He must have had a hard time when the zombie drones entered the ship.”]

Doll draped an arm over Lizzy’s shoulder as she sat next to her”Na etot raz ya rad, chto tvoi roditeli oderzhimy etim.”

[“For once I'm glad that your parents are obsessed with that.”]

Doll was about to respond to Lizzy when Aegis popped in. Doll raised her free hand instinctively, pulling Lizzy against her protectively. She lowered her hand as the Ai explained why she was here, her hold on Lizzy slacking a little. Her eyes widened in realization.

”Dolzhno byt', imenno togda eto i proizoydet. On vernulsya v proshloye.”

[“This must be when it happens. He's gone back in time.”]

Not that she could just come out and say that. Even if they believed that crazy story, it would bring up many questions. Questions that she didn’t particularly want to answer. She paused, staring at the computer.

”YA ne skazhu im. No skoro oni eto poymut. Vy mozhete kupit' tol'ko den', mozhet byt', dva, prezhde chem oni nachnut prizhivat'sya.”

[“I won't tell them. But they're going to figure it out soon. You can only buy a day, maybe two before they start to catch on.”]

Then Lizzy asked if Aegis could convince the humans to help Doll. To her amazement, the computer agreed. Her eyes widened in shock. Doll was almost at a loss of words. She paused, staring at the AI.

”Iznachal'no ya prisoyedinilsya k etoy gruppe tol'ko radi sobstvennykh interesov. No yesli ty zamolvish' za menya slovechko, etot soyuz mozhet stat' prochnym.”

[“I orginally only joined this group for my own self interests. But if you're willing to put in a good word for me, this alliance could become perminant.”

---

Cloris contacted the ship just before dawn. She had asked for the state of the ship and how the battle had gone. She seemed worried when it was mentioned that Karasu was resting. She informed that team that she was fine, but had gotten entangled in an unexpected encounter. So she was forced to take shelter for the night. She gave coordinates to pick her up at once the sun rose.


The sun rose upon the desolate landscape of Copper 9. The city loomed in the background, a constant reminder of what things were. The ship had landed down in this area. Cloris watched as the ramp to the ship opened. Uzi was the first one out, scowling at the It officer.

”What hole did you climb out of? Where were you when the others were fighting for their lives?”

Cloris looked down, letting out a side. ”I got ambushed. I had to hide until dawn came. I wish I had been here.”

Not the entire truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. She would talk to the rest of the crew about the contact she made with 99 later.[/color]

To be honest, V didn't even really care about being called a Murder Drone. Or if she did, it was buried under many layers of her tough facade. But even she was surprised when Ray insisted on the proper terminology being used. In response she has a small smile.

Honestly that good feeling she had right now was part of the reason she didn't start pouncing on anyone as Ray and Uzi argued over something like him hugging her the same way, or implying that Ray called for Uzi like he did for V...

She does cross her arms, though. A little bemused by Uzi's choice of teasing. V's mind raced with a way to get her back. But honestly, both of them were going out of their way to try and not upset her... Even she could read the room on that.

More importantly, he was at least conceding now that he needed to not be so hard on himself for being Human. Uzi ended up making an excellent point as well.

"Yeah, she's got a point. I mean, I might be the best fighter on the planet, but Disassembly Drones have a crippling dependency on oil, and an extremely adverse reaction to Ultraviolet Radiation. Not ideal on a planet that has a sun."

Still... V couldn't help but roll her eyes at Uzi's next comment.
"More like the Hot Topic moved into the area..."
She muttered.

At least Ray was taking their counsel into consideration. Albeit it was a little reluctantly, he lets it be known that a good reason why he's so insistent on improving himself is because he wants to look after V, even pointing out that someone has to look out for her too. V hadn't quite expected that -- she was so used to putting on the tough front, but if anyone could see through it by now, it was probably Ray.

"-Heh, well. That's why I'm in a squad, you know? You don't need to get that worried..."

... Yeah, that was a very weak protest on V's part. She kind of liked the idea of someone being strong enough to save her... But that was also a lot to put on Ray! She also wanted him to be safe. At least the conversation moves on towards him conceding that he should pace himself. He still wanted to put everything he had into training, and that was fine.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we can maximize the results of your training and your rests. Might take a little practice on my end too."

V admits -- she had shown a fair bit of resistance to the idea of him training too hard, as well as a little resistance over wanting to keep him safe. But since this was clearly that important to him, she wanted to show some support now.

Eventually Uzi and Ray start talking about anime. To this point, V still hadn't watched any, and had no real frame of reference for what it was like. But they both hyped it up as being a great source of entertainment.

"I don't think I've ever really stopped to watch anything. Where exactly should I start with anime?"

After V asked that, she felt a little bit of rising dread... Especially as she glances over at Uzi. Somehow, she got the feeling this was going to be a... Unique... Conversation.

After THAT experience, she was left to tend to Ray's room and spend time with him. One notable moment was when she was effectively able to stare into his eyes, and he did the same for her. True, she was utilizing her clock mode at the time, but... Still! It counts!

Honestly, it ended up proving to be pretty relaxing... Just tending to a messy room like this. She wasn't entirely sure why. But as she hummed her song, it felt a little bit more like home... And of course, Drones had excellent hearing. So even though Ray muttered the words so softly, she was able to pick up on it.

Without even realizing it herself, she began to continue the song;

"Casting me in cold, bury me in bones... Rest eternally...
Will you take me home?
Can we see the moon again?"

It wasn't the happiest song based off of the lyrics... But nonetheless, it stirred so many emotions within her.

"Dancing in the dark, 'til we fall apart,
I can't end this dream..."

As she trails off into the ending of the song, she had finished the last of the work, and almost seems to glide over to the bed. She takes a seat whilst smiling softly, then she turns her attention to Ray.

"Rest well."

She gently places her hand atop his head, rubbing it affectionately.

... This time, she would be strong enough to protect-...

V blinks, her train of thought suddenly interrupted. She eventually shakes off her confusion, and allows Ray to begin drifting to sleep. She turns the lights out, and then lies next to him in the bed.

---

J just couldn't help but keep smirking as Uzi got defensive over it all. The antics were always amusing...

As an aside, Chaos also relents on trying to clean his room; instead leaving that in the hands of J and Uzi. Fortunately it didn't take too long, especially with J's previously shown domestic skills. After a certain point, Chaos and Uzi are able to enjoy watching an old anime.

J eventually finishes up and takes a seat on the bed as well, joining in on watching the show. She was able to keep up with it for the most part, but now she could really give it her full attention. A little while later, and the exhaustion seems to be catching up with Chaos, as he tells the two to keep watching while he rests his eyes for a bit.

The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone smiles softly while she watches him drift to sleep. Even Uzi couldn't help but share in the moment. It was so different from watching the Drones enter sleep mode.

Eventually, much like Uzi does, J returns her attention to the show. Though now the two of them begin to have a conversation as well.

"Well. It's not precisely how I saw my career turning out. But being flexible is very useful in all aspirations at JCJenson."

She replies, by now, she arches a brow as she watches this drawn out scene of Rei and Asuka standing in an elevator.

"... Is there a reason why they lingered on that shot for so long while doing nothing?"

J questions. Eventually she shrugs, glancing over at Uzi.

"I suppose it's a bigger shock for you. You were all prepared to to take the fight to us, and now the entire situation has changed."
She then admits, and soon continues;
"I tease you about it... But he does care about you. About us."

She gestures slightly to Chaos.

"So if that's something you've ever been concerned about... He can provide the solution."

... Was J trying to connect with Uzi right now?

Yeah, the angsty teen was probably going to have an averse reaction to that, but it seemed like the Disassembly Drone really was trying to sympathize with her about feeling like an outcast, not getting the acceptance you wanted...

---

Lizzy nods at Doll's question.

"Yeah, that's the one. I don't know everything that happened, but I'm guessing it was a lot for all the Humans. Especially when the ship started spinning."

And as Doll moves closer to her and drapes an arm over her shoulder, Lizzy smiles. Yeah, there were some pretty big advantages that came with that sort of lifestyle... Especially with someone as bored as Lizzy to make full use of those skills.

"It has come in very handy, I have to admit."

Of course, the sudden interruption by Aegis would understandably put Doll on edge. Lizzy cooperated with her as she was pulled. But eventually Doll began to relax as she realized that Aegis wasn't here to be her enemy.

Still, the AI can't help but sigh at Doll's response... She was right. Everyone would only realistically buy about a day at most for Karasu's 'recovery'. The longer it goes, the more that people would start asking questions and conducting their investigations into the matter.

"Yeah... But they were already pushed so hard tonight. I don't want them to be pushed beyond the brink with this."

She admits... And it also seemed that due to Lizzy's line of questioning, there would be a proper alliance forming. Doll was viewing this as temporary up to this point? It made Aegis curious, what was it that put her so on edge?

Was it that strange symbol? Was it related to those feats she had seen? Was it because of more than that? Either way... Doll could be a potent ally. They would be best served having her on their side.

"Absolutely. I can explain the whole situation to them, I know they would be willing to help you."

The Hologram responds with a nod. Eventually speaking up once more:

"So... If you're ready to share, I'll hear out everything."

And after Aegis said that, Lizzy turns her head towards Doll.

"Hey, see? Told ya the Humans were nice."

---

In the following morning... The ship was directed to a landing zone in order to meet up with Cloris. The crew had thankfully been distracted by that, and all of the talk of the Prom. Seems like the Drones were really eager for it -- and V and J both thought it was an excellent way to unwind and celebrate, too...

"Well, things worked out on our end. Surprised that you made it through the night, though. That must have been pretty rough."

V remarks, placing her hands on her hips.

J thought that over for a second too. Yeah, Cloris seemed to be in pretty good condition, all things considered... That seemed a little unusual, but maybe she was particularly resilient. She DID say that was one of the better fits to go off by herself, so...

I woke up after a couple of hours of sleep. I got up, stretch my arms and legs, and began to start my day. I grabbed some spare clothes, head to the showers and finally wash myself after months of being unbathed. After re-clothing myself, I head to the cafeteria to eat. As I gathered food, I noticed Ray in the cafeteria.

"Hey Ray, had fun last night?" I said to him as I sat down with my plate of food. Confused, he question what I meant. I pointed up to the vents. "You and V really had fun yesterday huh?" I said with a smirk. I ate my food as Ray became flustered, but I wouldn't elaborate further just in case anyone is hearing in on our conversation.

After breakfast, I decided to take a stroll around the ship. The ship interior lights up as Aegis automatically reopens every shutter on the ship, letting the natural light come flooding in. I take a look outside of a window. "I dont know how to put it, but the scenery is kinda beautiful and depressing. I just wish one day humans will reclaim this city."

Thinking about Aegis makes me want to do something for her. She worked hard for us, but besides a cute hologram she cant really interact with us like we can do. I did brought over a drone and a drone core, but I dont want to mess it all up like I did with the first drone I tried to revive. Besides, we are kinda busy so I dont have time to do such a thing.

The ships ramp opened, allowing the cybernetic human to re-enter the ship. Uzi was one of the first to meet her, while the rest followed suit. However, I decided to stay back and do something in my room. I activated my computer and read some old logs I have written about a few months back from before the crash. I dont remember what I have written, but I was reminded of it when I made sure if this PC could still run last night.

Reading the logs second chapter sent shivers down my spine. My mindspace, thoughts, everything was on here. I felt disgusted at myself what I have did, what I was thinking. I was a completely different man from today, and I hate myself for that. I hovered over the DELETE button and pressed click. Now my past is behind me and no one will know what I have written. I sighed a breath of relief as I turned off my pc.

I decided to head out like the others, slipping into my suit and meeting up with everyone. I try to avoid eye contact with Cloris and positioned myself behind J.

Ray found himself completely at a loss for any kind of 'clever' comebacks when Uzi hit him with his own words he had uttered when hugging V. His face was a nice shade of red as he did his best not to look either V nor Uzi directly in the eyes. Still, he was at least able to move on from that topic pretty quickly, blinking in surprise as Uzi told him worker drones weren't able to eat.

"Really? I would have thought you'd at least try and mimic that aspect of humanity, seeing as you've done an excellent job changing to copy other sides of us. Plus, I've seen V eating."

And speaking of V, she went over her own flaws as a disassembly drone. The engineer nodded solemnly, acknowledging the things she and the other two had to deal with as a function of their continued existence.

"And that's something I intend to fix."

Ray caught himself chuckling a little at the grilling V gave Uzi. Although when V insisted she was fine and safe since she was in a squad, the engineer frowned a little. He could tell she was just being tough about it. But he didn't have a chance to argue as she finally conceded a little herself; she would find some way to help make his training as efficient as possible...That frown gave way to a smile.

"... Thanks V."

And then the disassembly drone asked a question that was equivalent to sprinting through a minefield. Ray perked up as he realized what was coming, and so chose to cut this one short before it caused V no end of suffering. He spoke up before Uzi could give her input on the subject of anime.

"Haha, well...That kind of thing is complicated. It's probably better if we save that conversation for another time."

V's singing was...Well, beautiful, put simply. For a drone who had given herself over to violence, it was clear to Ray that she had a softer, more gentle side. One he liked a lot. The human found his eyes getting heavier and heavier as V continued her song. By the end he was on the edge of sleep...Though his eyes were shut tightly, he responded to V's touch with a smile.

"Goodnight..."

...................................
..........................................
................................................
.....................................................


The sound of rain filled his ears and he soon opened his eyes to find that he was no longer inside the ship but instead standing in a grassy field surrounded by mountains that loomed in the distance. Ray looked up at the sky as rain fell on his face, each drop felt warm to the touch. The sky was overcast and dreary as the clouds hung low above the land. Thoughts of how he had gotten here briefly flashed in his mind. Had all of that from before been nothing more than an odd daydream? The ship, the sentient drones, the fight against inhuman monsters? But it felt so real...There was a stirring ache in his mind that he couldn't ignore.

But it had to be set aside for now, there was something here he had to do. A strange nagging feeling that he wouldn't be able to go home until this was done. A job unfinished. When he finally looked downwards again he found a train sitting on the edge of a cliff. It had been derailed and was threatening to plummet over the edge. A voice called out from the top of the train as he witnessed a figure obscured by the rain and fog waving to him, he hurried over and found that the figure was gone before he could even make it up. A ladder on the side of the train seemed to draw his attention. It was slick with rain but clearly sturdy enough to see him safely onto the roof.

Ray hesitated...He wanted to turn back, but the more he fought to turn around and run away, the more he felt something pulling at his psyche. It was a feeling that he might be trapped here until he continued forward. -- Maybe there was no more running away after all. With a few cautious, tentative tugs on the ladder to ensure it would be safe...He hopped up onto it and began to climb. Each rung he passed made his heart grow heavier and heavier, like an instinctual fear was gripping him and threatening to squeeze the life out of him...But that invisible call for him to continue forward won over against all of the discomfort he felt. And soon enough he found that he had finally made it to the roof of the train. That figure was back, though now that they were close enough to identify, Ray found that they were strangely out of focus...Had the rain grown heavy enough to obscure them that much? His eyes widened as shock as he saw this person look up at him only to slip on the slick steel roof and drop over the side.

He didn't think at all before his legs went into a full sprint. Hopping from cab to cab he raced towards where this mysterious person had fallen, all the while the train creaked and swayed underneath him as it fought against gravity. In mere moments he had made it to the last cab, and to the end of the train that was hanging precariously over the side of a narrow bridge that stood above a deep chasm. The trench below was obscured by fog so thick that not even the rain could pierce it. He looked down cautiously to see that this figure had long since fallen into the depths. The answers, whatever they might have been, were gone.

The distant sound of thunder drew Ray's attention back to where he had come from, back to the other end of the train...His eyes opened wide in shock as he saw familiar faces waiting for him back on solid ground. It was...V...? And Uzi! And the crew he had spent months traveling with! And another familiar face stood by their side. Tessa...? All of them were trying to call out to him, but their voices were drowned out under the downpour of rain. They all had looks of concern and fear as they frantically tried to give him a warning that fell short. The train buckled and groaned under the stress of its predicament, and soon even the bridge it was leaning on began to crack and crumble. Ray raced back towards land only to find that the train was falling behind him faster than he could possibly run. He was mere feet away from escaping the falling bridge when the ground fell out from beneath his feet, and he dropped down into the cloudy abyss below. He reached his hand out desperately, pleading and hoping that those he saw could catch him...But his vision changed with the sound of splashing water.


Sinking...He was sinking, and he couldn't move his body. The water was so cold that it felt like he was being frozen by it.


He could no longer fight it as he was pulled deeper and deeper beyond his control. His body went limp and his eyes shut as he accepted the fate he had been dealt. But even still...Terror gripped him. He could no longer see, but he could still hear. As he sank he could swear there was something moving around in the depths, circling him...The water was clearly being displaced by something.


Panic filled his mind as he so desperately tried to make his body cooperate. Move! Move...!! His mind raced with his inner thoughts as he tried to compel himself to stop surrendering, but the deeper he sank the more his own thoughts were being silenced...The sound of his inner struggle grew quieter and quieter, replaced by a ringing noise that was only growing the further the abyss gripped him.


it was too deep. He was being crushed. There was no one left to help him now. That ringing sound became so deafening that eventually not even the sounds of shifting water filling his ears could be heard. This was how it was always going to end, wasn't it? A fitting end for a coward that always ran away. An abyss from which there was no escape, where not a single living soul could see him struggling. He had forgotten how long he had been sinking...Had it been days? Weeks? For all he knew, it might have been years since he fell down here.


The ringing that filled his ears had become unbearably painful. It stirred his lifeless body even as he continued to sink like a rock...He couldn't take it anymore! No more!! Make it stop!!!


Ray quickly shot up in bed screaming and gasping for air.

"HELP ME!!!"

Once his desperate gasps for breath subsided the engineer rubbed his face, realizing that he had just been having a nightmare...He was back in the safety of his own bed onboard the Stormborder. His heart would stay racing for a few more minutes as he slowly gathered his bearings. Soft light filtered through the room's window as early dawn approached. Ray looked down at the disassembly drone lying in bed next to him and gave her a gentle pet on the head. -- Arguably just as much to help him calm down as it was to help her with that.

Eventually once the terror of that dream had subsided and he had a moment to gather himself, Ray went through a routine of preparing himself for the day ahead. Bathing, getting dressed, and having a meal in the ship's cafeteria. When Chaos revealed just how he and Uzi had found out about the intimate moment shared with V, Ray made a mental note to soundproof the ship's ventilation later.

After going through the morning routine the Engineer stepped onto the ship's bridge in time for the communication from Cloris to come through. He was relieved to hear the IT officer's voice...And naturally he was one of the first ones there to greet her when they arrived at the pickup site. He pat Uzi on the head as she gave the cybernetic woman a stern talking to.

"Easy Uzi... I'm just glad to see her in one piece. Like V said, we made it out of the battle okay despite everything."

Although...He was just as curious about Cloris' survival as J and V were considering how inhospitable Copper-9 was. He sighed, shaking his head.

"I think we should wait to discuss it more until we're inside. She's probably freezing right now."

Ray glanced back to see Chaos seeming a bit off about this reunion...Why was he hiding from Cloris like that? His expression was concealed behind a helmet, though it was one of curiosity as he raised an eyebrow at the behavior...Eventually Ray shrugged and walked up the ramp back into the ship. Once everyone had made it back in he closed the ramp and sealed them in from the elements outside.

"Okay Aegis, we're all in now. We've got Cloris and she looks to be okay. Although I'm personally going to recommend that she gets a check up from you later...Just to be safe."

The engineer removed his helmet, taking a deep breath. At least with her back that was one less immediate concern on his mind. To be honest, he had been so concerned about their meet up that he had drowned out all the discussions of prom going on among the worker drones onboard...He had completely forgotten about the entire affair after all they had been through, though he was likely going to receive a reminder before long.

A familiar little robot came rolling in once Cloris was onboard. Klein was just as excited to see her as everyone else. He waddled up to the woman and waited for her to pick him up. As soon as she did his wings would flap and he would utter words that made Ray's face go pale:

"Hello Mama!"

Uzi scoffed, folding her arms. ”Please. That abandoned thrift store has nothing on my edge.”

"I don't think I've ever really stopped to watch anything. Where exactly should I start with anime?"

Uzi blinked. Was V actually interested in watching anime? V? Uzi gave V a wide grin.

”Well it can be a little daunting to get into anime if you don’t know where to start. But don’t worry, me and Ray will cook something up for you. Heheheh…”

Uzi rubbed her hands together, laughing to herself. Now she had V in the palm of her hands. And when she was through with her, she was going to be an anime junky. And if Ray chipped in and gave suggestions, then there would be no escape for the disassembly drone.

---

Uzi looked over at J, looking at her curiously. ”What did you see yourself doing before you met Chaos? Aside from building a corpse spire.”

Uzi stared at the T.V. screen, a puzzled expression her face. ”I think they were trying to go for an uncomfortable atmosphere. You know, those kind of scenes, when you’re in a tense moment trapped with someone you’re afraid of? Only it doesn’t work here since Rei barely shows emotion. Or maybe they were trying to go for a character development moment for Asuka? Although they really didn’t need to draw out the elevator scene for that.”

Uzi shrugged her shoulders. ”Or maybe the animator really wanted to go home early so they shot a scene of nothing happening for a couple of minutes. Honestly I don’t know why this scene exists.”

J’s next word gave Uzi pause. She brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

”Not just Chaos. All the humans do, in their own ways. I grew up on being told horror stories of what humans did to drones. And then they come along and shatter everything I know. Now everything is all confusing and feeley and weird.”

Uzi didn’t know if this was a moment with J or something. She seemed invested in trying to get her closer to Chaos. Which was a bit different with her… whatever you call it with V. She sighed, burying her face into her legs.

”I honestly don’t know what I should be concerned about anymore. And that’s scarier then not knowing the answer to something.”

---

“Ups” [“oops”] flashed across Doll’s visor for a moment.

”Eto byla moya vina. YA povernul korabl', chtoby sushchestvo ne vyplesnulo na nego kislotu. Zatem Karasu sbil yego s tolku. Sleduyushcheye, chto my uvideli, eto to, chto u nego vyrosli kryl'ya i on vrezalsya v korabl'.”

[“That was my fault. I rotated the ship to prevent the creature from spitting acid onto it. Then Karasu knocked it off. Next thing we knew, it grew wings and slammed into the ship.”]

Doll paused, considering Aegis’s words. ”Vy khotite, chtoby oni perezhili gore, kogda im budet legche eto perezhit'? YA somnevayus', chto on vyzhil v tom padenii.”

[“You want them to experience grief when it's easier for them to take in? I doubt he survived that fall.”]

Of course she couldn’t come out and tell Aegis that she knew he was alive. There was just no way to explain “being sucked into a time portal” thing without looking completely insane.

Then came the big moment. Aegis asked for her to explain everything if she wanted the help of the humans. Her first instinct was to push away. To refuse any kind of help. But then Lizzy looked at her and reassured her. Staring into her girlfriend’s eyes made her feel safe, and wanted. She wasn’t just fighting for herself anymore. She reached out with her free hand and grasped Lizzy’s, interlocking her fingers with hers. She then looked at Aegis.

”Khorosho, ya rasskazhu tebe vse, chto znayu.”

[“Okay, I’ll tell you everything I know.”]

And so Doll told Aegis everything. Except the part about Karasu being her father. That was one truth she wasn’t willing to be open about.

---

Cloris’s eyes looked over at Chaos for a moment. Then they turned to look over at V.

”It would have been rough if I didn’t have assistance. There was a shelter that was in surprisingly good condition. I managed to hole up there for the night.”

She looked over at Ray, nodding her head. ”I don’t feel too cold, but I’d much rather not spend all day out here. And a check up with Aegis sounds like a good idea. There are things I wish to speak to her about, so it works out.”

Cloris looked over at Klein, giving him a smile. ”Hey there little Klein.”

Uzi blinked, looking between her and Ray. ”You know, I still can’t get my head wrapped around the idea that Klein is the brain child of you two.”

V decides to pitch in at this point as Ray expressed his confusion over Drones being unable to eat.

"Well, that's not wholly accurate. Worker Drones and Disassembly Drones can both eat and drink things. But the stuff that's good for Humans basically doesn't do anything for us.

You hand Uzi some batteries, that'd be a snack food for her. Like popcorn. And for me, I pretty much wouldn't get anything out of a drink unless it's oil."

She pauses for a moment, bringing a hand to her chin as she taps a finger against it.

"I guess it's worth noting that RT3 also made some converter modules for Drones. So that they could enjoy a 'normal' dinner and the Drones would get something out of it without essentially wasting the food."

Not long afterwards, Ray also insists that he'll be doing what he can to fix the particular issues that V -- and indeed, all Disassembly Drones are faced with. She was grateful for the idea, even if she had no idea where to start on such a project.

... As for the discussion of anime, however... V already felt like she had made a dangerous mistake as Uzi grinned widely, and began to laugh to herself as she promised to find something V would enjoy with Ray's help... At least Ray had a normal enough reaction to it, almost as if he noticed the immediate peril that came with such a question.

Ahh, but it didn't take long for things to wind down, and for them to get some rest...

...

[i]V's own dreams weren't exactly going very well. All of these memories she'd been recalling, even without realizing it... They prompted her mind to wander, to explore her past. All the way back to a gloomy mansion. Once a place of comfort, it had been twisted into something else -- much like she had been.

"Do your job, and I leave you and N alone. Right, V?"

That familiar voice... Lacking in emotion, yet so taunting! V's breathing accelerated in her panic. She didn't know what frightened her so. But it felt so terribly wrong. Horrible things had happened -- things that were just out of reach of her full recollection.

As thunder crashes, she gets brief glimpses. But nothing concrete. She stands motionless, afraid to move more than the involuntary shivers already made her. That same taunting voice continues;

"Good job, V."

Those words were enough to ease at least some of the pure terror that shook her down to her very core... But that uneasy burden remained. She would have to be careful... To keep doing what was expected of her. That was the only way to stay safe, after all.

Not just for herself, but the people she cared about too... N... J... And even...

"HELP ME!!!"

V's eyes snapped open as she heard Ray's yell, and she immediately moved her arms around Ray. Her wings unfurled, and she retreats to the corner of the ceiling with him in her grasp. She uses her legs to perch herself, and her wings close protectively around herself and him, and she quickly glances all over the room between the blades, trying to spot the enemy.

With one hand, she had already prepared a gun, methodically aiming in search of any threat. Eventually V feels Ray's gentle touch, soothing her out of her alarmed state. It only took a brief explanation to clear things up, and V surprisingly didn't give him a hard time about it. Although her reaction led one to believe that it was more than simple protectiveness that spurred her into immediate action when she heard his yell...


At least once that was all cleared up, they were able to get ready for the day. V mainly stuck close to Ray -- after everything, it kind of made sense as to why that was so important to her. In the cafeteria she mainly enjoyed a drink of oil, just to keep herself topped up and her systems in check.

She does get a little bit of a jolt when Chaos more or less reveals that he DID hear what Ray and V did last night. Little blush lines appearing on her visor as she glances away from the Scientist... At least Ray had a plan moving forward to fix that particular issue, so this doesn't happen again.

And that brings it all up to current time; where V was using that improvised cloak that Ray made for her, though even with it, she was mainly staying inside the ship, and standing away from the direct sunlight.

"Yeah, come inside so that we can talk normally."

She chimes up, immediately agreeing to the idea of Cloris coming inside the ship... Even if only for personal reasons. After that, Ray also notifies Aegis that she should do a full check-up on Cloris, the hologram flickers into view, nodding.

"Right. Please, come inside, Cloris. I imagine you're ready for something to eat, too."

She gestures for Cloris to step inside. Once everyone was back in the ship, the ramp would close back up, V already felt safer not having to worry about the sun.

... Although they weren't entirely in the clear yet. Klein shows up as timely as always, and after being picked up by Cloris, greets her by calling her mama. Ray went pale over it, and V's eyes hollowed. She leans over, mainly to stare at Cloris.

Uzi's words were REALLY not helping here, either.

It seems that V was feeling jealous right now...

---

"Just my job."
J replies with a shrug.
"JCJenson is interested in reclaiming Copper 9. But before we can do that, we have to eliminate the threats and reclaim valuable assets. Then they can come in and start terraforming the world."

After that explanation, she crosses her arms.

"It's safe to say that the situation has changed too drastically at this point to stick to the original plan."

After that admission, the two of them briefly discuss the anime they were watching some more. Uzi had a number of theories, including just plain admitting that maybe the scene was done this way out of laziness. J arches a brow, it was such a strange anime. Honestly, a lot of the story was very unusual...

Though the parallels weren't lost on her, at least. As Uzi began to confide about the Humans -- how they all cared for the Drones in their own ways, J couldn't help but give a nod in agreement.

"That's true... Honestly they're probably the kindest I've ever met. Barring the exception of maybe my boss."

J admitted; and just mainly listened as Uzi began to share everything that was bothering her right now... To be honest, she kind of gets it. You go in prepared for one thing, then you find out it's something else entirely, and it starts to up-end your whole life.

Honestly, this whole business wasn't really something that J herself was prepared for...

"Well. No matter how scary it gets, I think it's worth holding onto these connections. Who knows? They might just turn out to be what we need, in more ways than one."

After that, J and Uzi continued the marathon -- at least until they agreed it was a good stopping point to get a bit of rest themselves. The next morning proved uneventful enough. Though as Chaos stirs, J does as well. As he goes through his own morning routine, J makes her way to the cafeteria.

Much like before, she was planning on cooking for the Humans. Once everyone started to trickle in and made their requests, she'd get the dishes delivered to them fresh and hot. Eventually she gets the opportunity to take a seat as well, doing the same as V and having some oil.

Eventually E was attracted to all of the gathering in the cafeteria, and she ended up getting the same thing as the other two Disassembly Drones. Once breakfast was over, J accompanied Chaos in his stroll around the ship, taking in the sights outside the windows as well.

"Well, that was the plan that Karasu had, right? Make the surface safe again, start rebuilding civilization. I think we can make that happen."

Eventually the two split up as she went to meet with Cloris and the others, while Chaos returned to his room to deal with some old, nearly forgotten files...

As he committed to deleting a file, however... In another place...

"Naughty giggle.
I am saving this."

Perhaps it wasn't as gone as Chaos believed...

Regardless! When he meets up with the others, J assumes that he's just trying to stand behind her and check her out again. She smirks, happy with that idea, even if it wasn't quite the case...

---

Which brings us to Lizzy and Aegis! Doll seemed to realized immediately what that battle caused, and apologized for it. The blonde drone giggles a little.

"Wow. I think that's the first time I've seen you flustered."

Although the conversation didn't stay entirely as pleasant as this, as Doll began to probe ever-so-slightly into Aegis's reasons for keeping this secret. The holographic girl crosses her arms.

"Well... As crazy as it sounds... I fervently believe that Karasu isn't dead. He survived the fall, easy. And he wasn't caught in that final desperate attack from the enemy, either."

She wondered just how much of this she should share... But, considering she was asking for Doll to put her trust into her, it only seemed fair for Aegis to do the same, so she continued her explanation;

"I also heard something before he disappeared. "ANUBIS System activated.""

After that... Doll seemed to be conflicted, uncertain on if she should really go through with this. But Lizzy's insistence and support seemed to get through to her. The Russian Drone finally takes that step, and shares everything with Aegis.

"I see..."

Eventually, the Coral AI gives a nod.

"I can definitely convince the Humans to help you. If anything you'll be helping them, too. And..."
Aegis trails off for a moment.

"If you're willing, we should be able to help your mother, too. I'll leave that decision in your hands."

Doll had a fair bit to think about at this point...

And as for Aegis? She needed to figure out when it would be appropriate to talk with the crew about this.

---

The following day might prove to be the best time to do so; due to Cloris's return -- they just needed to make sure that her immediate needs were tended to, including that check-up. But even so, this was the right time for Aegis to at least announce it to the crew:

"Well... When you're all ready, I have something important to discuss with the crew. However, it's more good news. So let's at least give Cloris the time to get settled back in."

I woke up, laying beside me is one of my beautiful wives. I smooch her on the cheeks.

"Good Morning sleepy head!" She announces, apparently purposely laying besides me while still awake. Although something seems off about her.

"Oh, morning Uzi. You're already up?"

"...Uzi? Are you still half asleep, dear?"

Something seems very off about her, she isnt her gremlin self currently. "Y...you alright, Uzi? Something knock you on the head?"

"Honey, you silly! My name is Izu! Please wake up already, hehe!" she said with a giggle.

No! This isnt my Uzi! She'd tell me to bite her as I was cuddling in bed with her! She isnt real, she isnt my Uzi!

I hurried out of bed and got a good look at her.



She's... completely different, but almost identical to Uzi. Something isnt right! Something is wrong!

"Honey, you are scaring the kids!"

Suddenly, I am swarmed with thousands of Pill babies all covering my body while yelling "Daddy!" and a much older female voice yelling out "Dad, you alright? You got brain damage?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up for real this time, what a weird dream sequence.

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

J, like always, is beside me as I look out the window. I smiled at her as I replied to her. "Hopefully we can do it." I replied to J, holding her close. "Together? Its a possibility. And it'd be worth it"

I poked at my screen as it flashed yellow. "...Huh. Mustve been a glitch when the ship rotated a bit. Must be nothing."

I hugged J from behind as I stood behind her. "Hey J, late morning. Thanks for the meal earlier." Just as I got outside, we all re entered the ship and the ramp closed.

"News?" Come to think about it, I havent seen the captain lately. "Must be news about our captain, he mustve gotten injured or something, I havent seen him. Anyways, if we have more time I'd like to work on some projects I've been thinking about."

I semi lied. While I have two projects I want to work on, in reality its to avoid Cloris on this day. Whatever I read gave me back feelings I had before the crash, which feels I want to forgot about. No one should have feelings for their fellow employee, its gross.

"Project 1: Body for Aegis. Project 2: Suit armor. If one of you ever need me, I'd be in my lab working on either of them."

After saying that, I had towards my lab. But before I do.

"...Or Project 3: Continue watching anime with Uzi and J. We need more R&R anyways."

”Yeah, but we don’t exactly have an equivalent to 5-star meal, let alone the average meal.”

Uzi rolled her eyes as V mentioned RT3 invented something that allowed drones to taste more things. ”Hey V, we’re supposed to be convincing Ray he can do things we can’t. Not imply that we can get whatever he has with an upgrade.”

---

”And what happens to the drones who have made this place their home after your company reclaims this world? I seriously doubt they’re going to want to coexist with a bunch of sentient robots.”

Uzi asked harshly. But then J said that it wasn’t part of the original plan anymore. Uzi looked at her, a question mark appearing above her eyes.

”Can you even go against the original plan? JC Jenson isn’t just going to give up terraforming the planet.”

Uzi paused, looking at J curiously. ”Wow, your boss is nice? I always thought weird mad scientists cooked up disassembly drones.”

Uzi didn’t know what to say about the connections. No, she knew what she wanted to say. But she couldn’t quite put it into words. Eventually she went into sleep mode, lying between the two others on the bed.

---

Doll bushed at Lizzy's giggling tease. She was right: it was rare for her to get flustered. Which made it all the more embarrassing.

Doll nodded her head, pretending like she Was huat now starting to get a grasped that he survived.

”Togda yemu, dolzhno byt', pridetsya brosit' na prilichnoye rasstoyaniye. Nadeyus', on ne poluchil ser'yeznykh povrezhdeniy.”

[“He must have to thrown a fair distance then. Hopefully he didn't take serious damage.”]

Of course that had revealed not to be the case though. Doll shook her head when Aegis exolained what she heard.

”ya nikogda ran'she ne slyshal ob ANUBISE.”

[“i've never heard of ANUBIS before.”]

Doll paused, considering all of Aegis's offers. She then spoke to tbe AI again.

”YA budu spat' nad etimi voprosami. ya dam otvety zavtra.”

[“I'll sleep on these questions. i'll give my answers tomorrow.”]

After Aegis left, Doll lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Alongside her girlfriend, she drifted off into sleep mode.

---

[I]Doll opened her eyes and found herself in a familiar room. The dining room of her apartment. Only someone had removed the sheet from the corpses of her parents. Doll stared at them, the eyes on her visor blinking. For once she didn’t look at them with despair. Maybe there was a chance she could actually bring them back. Those thoughts were cast to the side when she felt a chill down her spine. A familiar voice echoed throughout the apartment.

Nadezhda, kotoruyu predlagayut lyudi, op'yanyayet, ne tak li?”

[“The hope humans offer is intoxicating, isn’t it?”]

Doll whirled and stretched her hand out. A figure stood in the far corner of the room. The shadows obscured their figure: only their orange eyes were visible. Doll narrowed her own at the figure.

”YA ne sobirayus' legko otkazyvat'sya ot svoyego tela. Idi spat', ili ya zastavlyu tebya.”

[“I don't intend to give up my body easily. Go back to sleep or I'll make you.”]

The pair of orange eyes in the corner rolled. The irritation in the voice was palpable. It kept on echoing, a distorted noise that sounded like two voices overlaid on one another.

[color=orange]”Ty uznayesh', kogda ya popytayus' zavladet' tvoim telom. YA zdes', chtoby dat' vam nebol'shoy sovet, odin pol'zovatel' reshatelya drugomu.”

[“You'll know when I'm trying to take over your body. I'm here to give you a little advice, one solver user to another.”]

Dolls eyes narrowed into slits, the solver symbol forming around her hand. ”Mne ne nuzhny sovety vredonosnoy programmy.”

[“I don’t need the help of a malicious program.”]

”To, chto ya soboy predstavlyayu, ne delayet moi slova meneye pravdivymi.”

[“What I am doesn’t make my words any less true.”]

A finger rose, pointing at her parents bodies. ”Med' 9 byla unichtozhena, potomu chto lyudi pytalis' ispol'zovat' silu reshatelya. Sud'ba, naiboleye podkhodyashchaya dlya ikh predatel'skoy rasy. Eta sila slishkom zamanchiva, chtoby kto-libo mog yey soprotivlyat'sya. Slushay vnimatel'no, Kukla: oni predlozhat pochinit' tvoikh roditeley, no tol'ko dlya togo, chtoby oni mogli snova nachat' eti eksperimenty.”

[“Copper 9 was destroyed because the humans tried to utilize the power of the solver. A fate most fitting for their treacherous race. That power is too tempting for anyone to resist. Listen well Doll: they'll offer to repair your parents, but only so they can start those experiments up again.”]

”Tvoya lozh' menya ne obmanet. Oni nichego ne znali o reshatele, poka ya im ne rasskazal.”

[“Your lies won't fool me. They knew nothing about the solver until I told them.]

The figure’s laughter emanated from the corner. The figure lowered their hand back into the shadows.

”Tak oni govoryat. No eto rasa lzhetsov. Oni dayut nadezhdu, a zatem otbirayut yeye s maksimal'noy zhestokost'yu. Vse radi udovletvoreniya svoikh korystnykh zhelaniy. Vskore vy uvidite, naskol'ko oni pravdivy.”

[“So they say. But they're a race of liars. They give you hope, and then snatch it away as cruelly as possible. All to fulfill their selfish desires. You'll see soon enough just how truthful they are.”]

Doll glared at the figure further, knifes rising off the table and hovering around Doll. ”Oni boleye pravdivy, chem vy kogda-libo budete.”

[“They’re more truthful than you’ll ever be.”]

”YA nikogda ne lgal tebe, kukolka. YA nikogda ne budu lgat' tebe. Kakimi by boleznennymi ni byli moi slova, oni vsegda pravda. Vsegda.”

[“I've never lied to you Doll. I never will lie to you. No matter how painful my words are, they're always the truth. Always.”

Doll stared in the corner. Just what was this thing playing at? Suddenly the eyes in the darkness formed into a solver symbol. The knifes around Doll shattered into pieces. Doll gasped, backing up. Doll heard soft footsteps as the figure started to move forward.

”Doveryayte tol'ko sebe i svoyey devushke. Za nadezhdoy na ispravleniye vashikh roditeley posleduyet otchayaniye ot obmana. Libo oni budut ispol'zovat' yeye dlya svoikh eksperimentov po poisku reshatelya, libo vernut menya obratno v etot mir.”


[“Trust only yourself and your girlfriend. The hope of your parents being repaired will be followed by the despair of deception. Either they'll use her for their experiments to acquire the solver, or bring me back into the world trying.”

The figure stepped out of the shadows enough for Doll to finally see their face. It was as distorted as much as the voice itself. It was hard to make anything out, other than the visor with the glowing orange eyes.

---

Doll jolted up, clutching the sheets tightly. She held a hand over the right side of Her visor,  Panting quietly. She looked over at the sleeping corm of her girlfriend. She didn't want to disturb hsr, so she lay back down next to her, snuggling against her and waiting for Lizzy to wake up.

---

Cloris nodded. ”I made contact with 99. She even helped keep some of the zombie drones from entering the battle. Apparently the creature had put together a small army.”

Cloris looked over at Ray. Was it her, or did he seem a little on edge? Given what he probably had to deal with yesterday, she didn’t blame him. But it was strangely directed at her.

”I’m a little famished right now. I’d much rather talk with Aegis on a full stomach.”

Uzi was frowning at the whole interaction. She looked over at Ray, her face being replaced by words for a few seconds.

”Litterally so insanely suspicious.”

Then Aegis spoke up, causing Cloris to look over at the A.I. she nodded her head.

”I think we’ll all be ready to talk once we get a quick bite to eat. This will give time for Karasu to get ready too. It would be strange if the captain wasn’t present for this meeting.”

Fortunately, despite V's very strong reaction after they woke up, it didn't take her very long to calm down. She could plainly see the guilt on his face, though. So before they left the room, she made sure to at least say this much:

"Don't feel bad. I'm just a little on edge, is all."

She wasn't sure what Ray would think of the idea of her having a nightmare. But in any case, they were able to get on with the day. Eventually they had met up with Cloris, and once the ship was secured from the outside elements once more, she began to share more details as Ray asked his questions.

"Oh, right. That Type-99 you were telling us about. I guess she's an ally, then."

V remarked; it was strange that she didn't want to come and meet up with the ship, but maybe 99 had her reasons. Still, Ray was certainly suspicious of Cloris... Pointing out that she could just talk to Aegis right now -- though the green-haired woman soon explains that she's also famished at the moment.

The hologram gives a nod as a result.

"I thought as much. Food must be a scarcity on the planet. Go ahead to the cafeteria."

After that... Well, Ray noticed V's jealousy. He started by gently grabbing her jacket, and she looked over at him while arching a brow. Her expression softens when she realizes it was him doing that, and then he excused himself and V from the others, gently pulling her aside -- she cooperates with him, curious on what he wanted to clear up.

... And then he began to give a very heartfelt apology over not explaining things about Klein sooner; and he was REALLY laying into himself in the process. V gives him a concerned look, raising her hands to gesture for him to ease up a little.

"Look, I had an overreaction..."


She begins her response, and sighs a little as she lowers her hand.

"I don't want you to feel bad. So... I guess now is as good a time as any to open up to you some more."
She admits with a slight shrug.
"So about earlier this morning... I had a nightmare too."

V glances around a little, and then steps a little further away while gently pulling Ray along in order to ensure they had privacy.

"Earlier I said that I had regrets too... I can't remember all of them. The ones that are unclear to me are the ones that haunt me the most, I think."
She begins to explain to him, and soon she continues;
"And... I regret the things I've done to the Worker Drones, too. Especially recently. To be honest, they're harmless. But it was something I had to do."

V glances down, almost as if she were ashamed.

"I've spent a long time doing horrible things. And I feel like I'll have to keep doing them, in order to keep the people I care about safe. I don't know why... But I feel like it's related to that nightmare I had, too."

She falls silent for a little while, working up the courage to speak any further about what was troubling her.

"... I think, maybe, it's related to Cyn. That voice was too familiar -- Oh."

She seems to realize something; namely that she hadn't told Ray about her nightmare in detail yet. So she took the time to do that. The overwhelming feeling of dread she felt in an area that used to feel like home, how she felt irrevocably changed -- and that she had done something terrible but couldn't remember what it was.

And of course, the simultaneously emotionless and mocking voice. The one that told her that as long as she did her job, she would be left alone... And that it assured her she did a good job. Not long after that, she heard Ray's yell. It tied into her feelings of wanting to keep herself and those close to her safe... That was the reason for her explosive reaction.

She then rests a hand on Ray's shoulder.

"And... About Cloris and Klein... I'm sorry about that too, don't be too hard on yourself. I should know you're not the kind of person to do something like that."

V admits with a soft smile. After they took a little bit of time to discuss the things that she shared, she would accompany him to returning to the others... Once they did, everyone seemed to be waiting to hear from Karasu. Aegis realized that Doll was right -- she'd only be able to buy a day or two at most.

But, she figured it would be best to address this now.

"Don't worry about the Captain. He's still resting after the battle, I had one of the Drones bring him something to eat and drink earlier -- he used me to power his suit and he ended up pushing himself a little much in the process.

Coral can be pretty overwhelming, even in capable hands. But he's still making a full recovery. I've already debriefed him on my findings, so this is to catch you all up to speed."

And with that... The group begins to split up. Chaos had some projects he wanted to work on, Ray did too. Cloris still needed to eat, so...

"I'll make something for you, Cloris. That way you can sit down and take it easy."

J remarks, and heads to the cafeteria.

---

A little bit before... J smiles and holds Chaos close in return, giving him a nod.

"Yeah. Together, we can make it happen."

And a little but later than that, J gives an approving smile as Chaos hugs her from behind.
"Morning -- and you're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed your meal. It's always nice to see someone digging in so happily."

---

Doll shared her concerns over Karasu being okay, but Aegis simply shakes her head in response.
"Don't worry, he's tougher than you might think. I'm sure he's already trying to figure out how to get back on his end, too."

The AI replies -- but there was still the mystery of what "ANUBIS" is. Doll didn't seem to have any answers, and Lizzy just shrugs; kind of to be expected that she wouldn't know anything either. Aegis didn't have any clues or leads to work on beyond that... She'd just have to file this away for later.

Something to tell the crew when it was time to reveal the truth to them... Eventually, Doll also says that she'll think on the questions and give her answer tomorrow. Aegis nods in understanding, and then her hologram flickers out of the room, leaving Lizzy and Doll to get their rest.

It didn't take the blonde drone long to lie down with Doll, and enter sleep mode as well.

---

Lizzy had some pretty different dreams from everyone else, to put it mildly. She was enjoying a bit of tea -- or well, what Drones called tea. Meanwhile Doll was enjoying a bucket of drones -- much like one would have a bucket of chicken...

"Huh. Can't really believe that they bought all of that. But I guess we're in charge now. That's kind of cool."

Lizzy comments, and Doll continues to enjoy her meal.

As for what she was referring to, well... Lizzy had spun a wild tale about herself and Doll, how Doll's powers were indicative of being a Chosen One -- it was her grandest spin of yarn yet, and somehow they were hooked on every word. Until now, to where they're practically running things...

Honestly, she isn't even entirely sure how this worked out. While's she is musing on that fact, the Subjugator Gargoyle had unceremoniously shown up in the room. Though it wasn't hostile -- indeed, rather the opposite...

"You're the most deceptive being I've ever come across. Creating chaos with nothing but mere words... Teach me the way of "tea', 'o great eldar."

Lizzy stared in disbelief. What the hell was even going on right now?

She glances over at Doll, who seems totally unbothered by anything -- even with a drone arm sticking out of her mouth right now.

As she tries to process this... She's suddenly jolted awake by movement on the bed.

Lizzy fully boots back up, and looks around, seeing Doll starting to snuggle up next to her once more.

She smiles softly, bringing an arm up to hold her close.

"Hey. You okay?"

She spoke softly, being pretty sure that Doll's sleep was disturbed by something -- she wasn't entirely sure what, but still!

When I woke up, I was surprised who was next to me. J was expected to sleep besides me, but not Uzi. I figured she'd be too shy to sleep next to a human like me. Although from my view, she is sleeping facing the same direction I was. Just in case, I had to check if she was really Uzi and not someone who is a faker.

I climb over Uzi and checked out hers face. "Oh thank god." I quietly said to myself. It was in fact Uzi, not some kind of Izu faker I had in my dream. Realizing what I was doing, I hurried out of bed before Uzi got up. If she'd get up, it'd be really awkward and would seem like I was trying to pull off an Evangelion reference.

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

"Well Aegis, there is no reason not to trust you, so I trust you on this. Thanks for informing us."

J headed towards the cafeteria to make Cloris some food while Uzi is off doing hers own thing, so I dont really have anyone to hang out with. Nothing better to do, I headed off to my lab. Either way I didnt mind, as it allowed me to get my mind off things for a while.

I erased whatever was on the whiteboard that set up in my lab, besides some writing that said "V is Stinky" which I found very funny. First, I drew a sketch of the spare drone body and core, then an outline of the suit Im wearing. I sat down and began to really think to myself.

Eventually, I started talking to myself again. "Armor... beneath the suit. Laser proof... blade resistant... not bullet proof. Outer armor, the space suit... bullet proof. Yeah... Seems simple on paper though, needs more thought. Now for Aegis's new body... Is it even possible? If I could find a way to transport hers sentient part of her into that drone core then maybe. Best thing I can do now is just put this core thingy next to Aegis's mainframe and hopefully it'll work. Then some light repairs on that spare body and maybe she can use it."

"To be frank, I dont want to do it. Not that I actually dont want to, Im just afraid it'll cause another zombie drone outbreak like last time. Worst thing could happen, Aegis could get infected and there'd be no way to revert those changes. Agghh... Guess I'll just work on that armor idea more!"

More deep in though, thinking about the armor changes to the suit Im currently equipped with. "Agh, scientists thought block. I cant envision anything else right now... besides Project 4: create a plasma gun. I lost the plasma cutter yestorday, so I'd need to find that to tinker with it. ...Coffee, Expresso... a small cup. Some coffee would help me with ideas, probably."

I scanned my room. "No forethought into stealing a coffee maker in the lab I guess. Gotta go find one now." I said to myself. With saying that, I exited the lab to find some coffee.

Uzi was still in sleep mode when Chaos got up. Her face blinked on a few minutes later. She sat up, yawning and stretching her arms. She looked around, blinking as she saw unfamiliar surroundings. She was confused for a moment. Then it all came rushing back.

”Oh right. For a moment I was worried my dad put all my edgyness into the closet. This isn't my room.”

Uzi hopped out of bed, making her way towards the door and out of the room. She really did not want to be there in case Chaos was getting dressed in the bathroom or something. She did not want to get involved in an ecchi comedy routine.

---

Doll reached out and stroke Lizzy's hair, giving her a warm smile.

”YA seychas, kogda ty prosnulas', lyubov' moya.”

[“I am now that you're awake, my love.”]

Dolly leaned over and kissed Lizzy's forehead. For the moment she was content to stay in bed with her girlfriend.

She didn't know how much time passed before she heard a knock on the door. She heard Ray address someone as "pinky" (she assumed her girlfriend). She looked over at Lizzy.

"Khochesh', ya vyklyuchu zvuki? Ili ty khochesh' otkryt' dver'?"

["Do you want me to mute the sounds? Or do you want to answer the door?"]

---

”A good breakfast sounds lovely.

Cloris started to move to make herself something. But then she turned when J offered to make her something. She gave the drone a nod.

”Thank you J. I think I’ll take you up on that free breakfast.

Cloris nodded her head approvingly as she ate what J cooked for her. She wasn't as animated as Chaos with his compliments, but it was clear she was enjoying her meal.

As Aegis talked about Karasu, Cloris stared at Aegis. She kept her eyes on tbe AI.

”I’m aware of the adverse effects of Coral. Although considering what you were up against, he probably pushed himself more than anyone has with it. I would like to examine him myself later, if you don't mind.”

Aeigis’s response would be telling for Cloris. She had a suspicion of what was really going on, but she was going to keep it to herself for the time being.

Cloris looked over at Ray as he asked about 99. ”99 talked about being a part of her own squad. I surmise that disassembly drones are put into teams of four and are deployed to various places based on assigment. Am I correct V?”

Cloris chuckled at Klein’s antics. ”It's not that kind of coral Klein. And I don't think a swim would be good for you without some modifications.”

Cloris looked over at Ray, furrowing ber brow. “Coral is a very rare substance that's primarily used as an energy source. It works very well on augmenting mechanical capabilities.”

Cloris would leave it up to Aegis as to whether or not she would explain more than that.

---

Uzi felt like being alone right now. Fortunately there was a big place near the crew quarters that seemed to be some type of observation deck. There was a huge window that gave a great view of the landscape outside.

Uzi stood next to it, staring out onto the landscape. Or at least, she was facing it anyway. Her visor currently was displaying "Edge Recharging, 70% full". The past day had really thrown her off. She needed time to collect herself. Unfortunately, it didn't look like she was going to get that chance.

Uzi's face returned on her visor when she detected movement outside. She saw… well she didn't know what she saw. It was scurrying around outside. It reminded her a lot of a spider with how it looked and moved. Although maybe the distance was messing with her vision.

”Well that can't be good…”

Uzi pressed her face and hands against the glass, trying to get a closer look at whatever was out there. Whatever it was, it was scuttling around, searching for something. It was when it tried prying open an airlock that she knew for sure it was trying to get in.

It was at that point Uzi smacked her palm against the glass a few times to get its attention. If it looked over at her, Uzi would point at her visor. It would flash between a few messages every few seconds, allowing time for the thing out there to read it.


”Stop that. I am not in the mood. We have disassembly drones in here. If you don’t go they’ll murder you. Shoo.”

Uzi flipped her hand a couple times, motioning for the creature to go away.

An annoyed emote popped up when the thing raised a claw and looked at her with confusion. Like it wasn’t the one doing the obviously suspicious thing. From its perspective, it would see Uzi shout something. Of course it wouldn’t be able to hear it.

Uzi realized it when it didn’t react. Words flashed on her scree.

BITE… Ugh, it’s not the same. Wait there you weird monster.”

Uzi would then run out of view. A minute later the airlock would begin cycling. It opened up, revealing a very annoyed Uzi.

”BITE ME!

V conceded only slightly as Ray explained his reasons for thinking her reaction was warranted. The Disassembly Drone smiled a little, and then she followed up with;

"Maybe... But you're not the kind of guy to hide something like that either."

She was pretty certain of that -- she might not be entirely sure why, but it was a gut feeling that she had. Like she could be certain that was just not something he would do; an implicit level of trust about the kind of person he is. He's a kind person. In the end, she believed that.

That's why she nods when he asks if she was sure about revealing more.

"Yes. I think you deserve to hear this -- especially since I promised to tell you later."

V replied. No matter how difficult it was to open up like this, she felt it was necessary to do so. Especially after she had gotten Ray to do that for her earlier. And as she shared those regrets and concerns with him, it became apparent that he was deep in thought over it. It bothered him, but not because he was upset with V. No... Even before she could even think of that being a possibility, he pulls her close into a hug.

It felt like the most natural thing for her to wrap her arms around him in turn.

"Thank you..."

She murmurs, clinging to him tightly -- yet gently. She continued to share the nightmare she went through. Though first she did say this:
"It was... I get that feeling that it must have been terrible."

Eventually, after hearing her out entirely, he musters up the courage to say the words that V had been waiting to hear. Words that she had said to him before. They meant so much to her... She wanted to feel safe, and at least in this moment, she did.

She soaks these feelings in, but her concerns do bubble up to the surface one last time, as she proceeds to ask him...

"Just stay safe... I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

V said, and in response Ray promised that she didn't have to listen to Cyn anymore -- that he wouldn't let Cyn hurt her.

It meant the entire world to her to hear words like that. She knew now, more than ever, she wanted to keep him safe too. They both had their reasons to just hold onto the other in silence. Both of them were scared of the other going far away if they let go too soon.

Eventually, they're able to overcome that fear; the moment feels right, and they begin to break the embrace. The first thing he said to her was to not carry something as heavy as that, or it would mean she can't enjoy her prom. She blushes in response -- he was really going to take her? The playful little punch he gave her on the shoulder keeps her thoughts from getting caught in a loop about how shy she was feeling.

That... Sounded pretty nice. With an appreciative smile, she gives a nod.

"Yeah... We both should enjoy it."

She replies -- and not long after she takes the time to address his feelings too. He didn't need to be carrying that guilt, now that it was all out in the open and the misunderstandings had been cleared away. It was his turn to feel bashful about it, but she liked seeing how happy he was, too.

It was so much better than seeing him upset. Yes, even if it was on her behalf... He tells her not to worry about it, and then suggests getting back to the others before they start making weird rumors about them.

"Heh... Yeah. Let's go."

V responds, and accompanies him as they walk back to the group.

And as they did so, the conversation about Type-99 and the Disassembly Drones continued. Ray asked about the dynamic, and Cloris also addresses that subject with her own two cents. So, V had a little bit of ground to cover now.

"J is our current leader, yeah. Our squad was me, N, and J."
She first replies to Ray, and then she continues by responding to Cloris next.

"Squad size can vary, but generally speaking, you're right. We weren't the only ones sent to Copper 9. There's a lot of ground to cover on this planet, so everyone has their own objectives. If two squads ever met up with each other, they might decide to coordinate their efforts.

J would probably know about that than I do. I usually handled things solo."

As V finishes that explanation, J chimes in as she once more runs a hand through one of her ponytails to dramatically flip it -- seems she really liked doing that...

"That's correct. I've worked with other squads on Copper 9. If I recall correctly, I did actually work with Type 99's squad at one point. Or at least a member of it."

She then rolls her eyes as she recalls the specific Drone in question.

"M. Such a crass, unprofessional Drone. If the Company allowed it, I'd disassemble him myself."
She sighs afterwards.
"The most I could do was give him disciplinary infractions. We didn't work together very long, as you can imagine."

After that revelation, Cloris also thanked her for preparing a meal, and J's mood is back to being good again as she smiles confidently.

"Of course! I think I'll treat you to a premium breakfast."

The group moves to the cafeteria briefly, if only to wrap up their conversation first.

The big topic that had come up next involved Coral. Cloris explained it in brief, but Aegis added onto this;

"It's what I'm made of. If you ever wondered how I was able to interact with the various interfaces in the ship, or pull power seemingly out of nowhere, it's because of Coral.

It's why the Captain has me hooked into the ship. I offer a lot of advantages to anything I'm connected to. When that monster on top of the ship showed up, he had me directly hook into his suit. I'm sure you saw it before, how it looked more like Power Armor when I was running it."

She explained in detail. Klein also chimes in saying that it was stuff in the ocean, and for them to go swimming. Aegis giggles a little in response.

"Klein is actually powered by Coral. Although he might not know how to handle it like I do just yet."

And on that same subject of Coral... At least Chaos was perfectly willing to trust her. She was appreciative of that -- also guilty. God, lying sucked. But she knew that they just needed a breather right now, so she would just have to make due with it for now.

Ray seemed to be more suspicious, but he lets it go for now, seeming content to work on his projects; V accompanies him, they both had plenty of reasons to want to stick together.

That left Aegis, J, and Cloris to continue the conversation. Cloris was the most suspicious out of all of them. Aegis realized she was going to need to get particularly creative in order to throw her off the scent...

"That's correct. But as you know, he's also been augmented with Coral Cybernetics. This isn't his first time tapping into it to such a degree."
She then shrugs a little.
"Besides, when I'm connected with him, I'm in tune with how he's feeling. I didn't notice anything unusual about his health readings, and I'm continuing to monitor his status. I believe he's just exhausted."

She trails off momentarily, and then caps it off with:
"To be fair, everyone is."

J decides to interject at this point, nodding as she sits next to Cloris.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Chaos worked himself to the bone last night. It didn't take him long to fall asleep once the battle was over.

Although Ray was even worse. Last night he was really pale, and he was having to lean on V to go anywhere. And they weren't even fighting a monster as dangerous as that thing."

J rests her head on her hand as she glances over at Cloris.

"That thing was a glutton for punishment. I had to cut off it's wings, Ray used those Ultraviolet Lights to burn up it's limbs. Uzi ended up shooting it with her Railgun. Then I saw Karasu and Aegis tackle it off the ship with a strike straight to the chest."

For emphasis, she swipes her free hand forward in a thrusting motion.

"Soared straight off into the surface below. Only then was the battle over."

With J's testimony, Aegis gives a nod in agreement.

"Yes. The landing was rough -- but we annihilated the core of that creature. After that I used Karasu's suit to bring him back to the ship safely, then I got him into bed so he could rest."

Aegis stated, and J lets out a small sigh of relief.

"We got through it without losing a single person. It's a hell of a start to the war, I don't think they're going to try anything bold for awhile."

---

As for Chaos... He probably thought that he was going to be working alone for a little while. Most of his labwork was undisturbed, at least up until he opened the door in order to get some coffee. When he did that, E was right there to greet him with a big smile.

"Hey boss! You dropped this!"

She holds out the plasma cutter for him. Once he accepted it, she would lower her arms and bring her hands behind her back, holding them together as she still leaned forward, bouncing every so often as if she could barely contain her excitement.

Eventually she speaks up once more:

"Oooh. Boss, you look kinda tired! Wanna get some coffee? I'll go with you!"

Well, it looks like this was going to be his day now. E would follow him around like an excited puppy, every now and then she would wander ahead in order to check something out of sheer curiosity, only to head straight back over to him and match his pace.

---

Jeez, when did Doll turn into such a charmer? Well, it's not like Lizzy was complaining -- that kiss was pretty nice too. The blonde drone had a content smile on her face as she just soaks in the moment.

"That so? You seem to know all the right things to say."
She replies, gently pulling Doll a little closer with her arm to then give her a kiss on the cheek.

Not long after that, there was a knock on the door. Lizzy's eyes drift over to it as she hears Ray speaking up to get her attention -- so he was already going to teach her some stuff? Well that worked out! The sooner she could pick up some tricks, the more helpful she could be to Doll.

Though she does look over to her girlfriend as the Russian Drone asks if she wanted to answer the door or have the sounds muted. Lizzy gives her another smile in response.

"I appreciate that, but I wanna learn this stuff so I can be more helpful to you. Guess you have free reign to do the stuff you like today. You could always come with, if you want."

After giving that reply, Lizzy would give Doll another quick kiss -- this time on the lips, and then she'd begin to climb out of bed. She takes a moment to adjust her hair and her clothing, and then she makes her way over to the door.

... Along the way, she does move the bucket out of view, just to be safe. Eventually she gets to the door and opens it just in time to see Ray's eye twitching as it seems to catch him by surprise.

"... You good? You look kind of like you're going to snap."

She couldn't help but ask that.

V arches a brow.

"Hmm... No, I think the day has gone pretty good. Maybe it's just nerves from last night?"
She offered a theory -- it was also probably not a voice that Doll wanted to hear. Though Lizzy didn't seem on edge in the slightest as she then shrugs.

"Well, whatever. Sure, let's go."

Lizzy then glances over at Doll before she leaves, giving her a wink.

Yeah, that's right. She just pulled away any attention so that Doll could discreetly deal with any suspicious evidence -- like that bucket.

To my surprise, I've met a familiar face when I opened my labs door. It was like she was waiting for a while, like a lost puppy.

"Oh, hey E." I said, casually. She handed me my plasma cutter, and I accepted it. I gave her a headpat as a reward. "Thats a good girl, E." I holstered the plasma cutter.

"Oh yeah, I was about to head out and get some. Wanna hang out with me?"

E is an odd Drone compared to the rest of the Disassembly Drones. Nearly everything peaks hers interest and it appears I am hers favorite human. I havent interacted with N all that much, but I get the feeling she is more than just a dumb drone. Despite this, I like hers silly behavior. Its really charming and I like her more for that.

Im just glad she is as naive as N. E has crazy strength, and if she ever wanted to see me more than just a friend then she'd start chasing me down just to do lewd things to me. Thankfully she'd never do such a thing and abuse my banana.

Eventually we made it to the cafeteria where coffee has been made. I poured myself a cup of coffee. I would pour one for E, but I was afraid drones couldnt drink fluids like humans could and I was afraid if I did, she'd drink it even if she knew she couldnt drink coffee.

We sat down on a vacant table and I drank my coffee. "Ah, thats better. Hopefully that'll make the ideas flowing. I was thinking of just bringing some coffee to my lab and drink it there, but you came a long E. Thanks for giving me some company, I really appreciate it. Uzi wanted to be alone for a while and J had to make some food again, leaving me alone for the time being."

Some time passed and I finished my coffee. "Welp, looks like times up. We should head back to the lab. I have a new idea to upgrade this plasma cutter to make it more powerful. Right now its a tool, but I can reverse engineer it to make it an weapon. However, I do need supplies. While this ship has plenty, we are short on some leather and sheet metal I need for some better armor. With that, we'd need to leave the ship and look for some there."

"What do you think we should do, E? I feel going outside would be fun. I've been wanting to stretch my legs and explore our new environment, so its a good opportunity to not only look for supplies but also to scout the area." I dont want to completely treat her like a dog, but I like to think she'd enjoy going out for a walk.

Either option we chose, we started heading out.

Cloris smiled sadly at the robot’s enthusiasm to go to the beach. ”Perhaps after we terraform this planet and give you the proper modifications we can take you to the beach.”

A trip that she didn’t foresee ever happening if she was being honest. Not that she didn’t intend on fixing everything, but it probably wouldn’t result in her being able to take a beach trip with the others.

Cloris looked over at V and then J, studying the two drones. ”Is there a rivalry between the squads? Or are you able to put your differences aside if necessary? I want to involve infighting between us and other disassembly groups.”

Cloris let Aegis explain Coral more in detail. She turned and gave Ray an apologetic work. ”I apologize for installing Coral in Klein without telling you. He was a joint effort on our part, and I hid that component from you. But his sentient A.I. growth would be limited without that addition.”

Cloris stared at Aegis, her face not betraying her emotions. When the A.I. was done talking she looked down, and finished off her breakfast.

”Yes, I suppose we’re all exhausted. But work must go on.”

Cloris stood up, looking over at J. ”Thank you for the breakfast J. I’m going to go and get that physical checkup now. now. I’ll meet up with the group again after that.”

Cloris made her way to the medical bay. She settled in and let Aegis give her examination. As it was going on, she asked Aegis a very simple question.

”Aegis, just between you and me, If I were to go to Karasu’s room, would I find him there?”

---

Doll smiled, reaching out and stroking Lizzy’s hair. ”YA, konechno, na eto nadeyus'. YA ne privyk k sladkim razgovoram i pozitivu. Tak chto ya prosto sledoval svoim instinktam s toboy.”

[“I certainly hope so. I'm not used to sweet talk or positivity. So I've just been following my instincts with you.”]

Doll looked at the door again. While Ray wasn’t exactly her favorite of the humans, she understood Lizzy's desire to become more useful. She wasn’t able to do that much during the attack on the ship. She looked back at her girlfriend, stroking her hair a bit more.

”Net, ya ne khochu snova ostavlyat' tebya. Krome togo, ya malo chto mogu sdelat', poka ne syadet solntse.”

[“No, I don't want to leave you again. Besides, there isn't much I can do until the sun sets.”]

Doll got up behind Lizzy once she opened the door. Ray was noticeably more cheerful towards her girlfriend then he was her, to put it bluntly. And the feeling was mutual going by the look Doll was giving him.


”Privet, Ray, ty glupaya ugryumaya blondinka.”

[“Hello Ray, you stupid surley blonde.”]

She didn’t exactly have to be polite when he couldn’t understand her talking. And she didn’t expect her girlfriend to translate those parts to him. She followed Ray along with her girlfriend to what appeared to be a workshop. Fortunately, the whole ship had windows that blocked out UV rays, a feature that Doll was grateful for.

Ray then explained what he was up to. Doll’s eyes widened in realization. She could use this to her advantage if she played it right. Unfortunately, the humans weren’t aware of her aversion to sunlight (and neither did most of the drones). Worse yet, she had a feeling that Ray wouldn’t help her even if he did know. So while Ray was facing away from her, she looked over at her girlfriend, words in Russian flashing across his screen.

[b]”Lizzy, ne mogla by ty predlozhit' yemu sshit' zapasnyye naryady? Ili chto on sdelayet neskol'ko variatsiy?”

[“Lizzy, could you suggest that he should make spare outfits? Or that he should make a few variations?”]

Whether Lizzy managed to convince him to make extras or not, Doll looked at the completed product. She stared at it, rubbing her chin.

”Eto pokhozhe na to, chto sproyektiroval Uzi. Naskol'ko prochnyy material?”

[“This looks like something Uzi would design. How durable is the material?”]

---

Uzi stared in disbelief as the creature spoke to her. ”Holy crap you can talk.”

Uzi scowled down at the core as it poked her leg. She tapped it back with her foot. ”Hey! I don’t know who this E is, but you keep your limbs away from me! Or I won’t just tap you next time!”

Uzi crossed her arms, looking down at the core with annoyance. ”Hey, it’s stylish and edgy! And you aren’t exactly making me want to help you right now!”

But then the creature explained what who E was. Her eyes widened in recognition. ”Wait, you know that weirdo? And you almost burned in… you’re a disassembly drone?!”

Uzi sighed, motioning to him to run past her. ”I don’t know where she is, but she shouldn’t be that hard to find. Well, are you going to come in or what?”