Murder Drones: Disassembly Required

I was about to respond to Uzi's comment about only knowing dumb people. I was going to say 'I may be stupid!' but then Uzi continued. "...Oh."

"I gotta thank this Dr. Carpenter man sometime, if he is still alive. If he wouldnt..." Then a drone from one of my dreams wouldve killed me here on Copper 9. I dont want the two to worry, so its doubtful I'll ever tell them about this dream. The one with Izu on the otherhand? Gladly, I'd love to not run into a drone who looks exactly like Uzi.

"N...no comment!" I responded to J relating that Uzi has an admirer.


Soon enough, the conversation diverted to the Prom the drones planned up. "Prom? Oh, I remember this. The bunker Drones was planning on this for a while. Uzi in a dress..." I began picturing Uzi in a dress. A ton of pictures of her came up in my mind. "Ah... so cute... yes, very..." I began to say to myself outloud.

I snapped out of it. "...Yeah! Im willing to go! ...I mean I would if I had anything nice to wear." Only thing I have that is fancy is this pair of business attire which I picked up from the trash, still unwashed and very dirty. I dont want to do the exact same thing I did way back at highschool and just not go. "...Well, I guess I gotta find a new set of clothes to wear."

Then it came the subject of who I want to take out to prom with. I want to go with Uzi and J, but I couldnt go out with one or the other. The choice is hard, and if only there was an option C. J was an obvious choice, she was always been there with me since after the crash. I wouldnt have a problem going out with her, and she'd definitely wear out one of the best dresses out there. On the other hand, that'd lead Uzi without a prom date and Im not sure how that'd make her depressed.

After thinking about it long and hard, I came up with a simple solution. 'Why not both?' and its a relatively easy solution. J already agreed to allow me be with other drones, as long as she remains top drone. So taking both on a date? Easiest solution I've ever came up with.

After gathering enough confidence to ask both them out, I asked them. "Uzi... J... do you both want to go on a Prom date with me?" I asked them. I get in-between them and held their hands. Asking two beautiful drones out to a prom date? Best decision of my life.

Cloris paused, looking out the window again. She moved her hands behind her back, peering ahead at the landscape of Copper 9.

”The facility being in working order is dependant on one person in particular surviving. I have backup plans, but if she hasn’t survived, then we’ll be on the back foot.”

Cloris looked over her shoulder, looking at her solemnly. ”As much as I pride as myself as a logical person who plans ahead, there have been times in my life where all I can do is pray. It isn’t logical to assume that this person has survived. But I have faith that they’re alive.”

Cloris walked back over, sitting down in the chair. She gave a little chuckle. ”I suppose that would be hard to miss, no matter how subtle someone was trying to be.”

Cloris folded her hands together, looking at Aegis solemnly. ”If we lose entirely then it’s a moot point. But I have to prepare for even things like a complete victory while sustaining casualties. If you saw what I witnessed when Copper 9’s core collapsed, then you would be prepared for the worse too.”

Cloris let out a little laugh at Aegis. ”Including against your own allies if need be? Sometimes you do need to make sure they don’t do something reckless.”

Cloris nodded, closing her eyes. ”We’re going to need to take advantage of every opportunity that we get. Keep any advantage that we can use. Staying together has kept us ahead of the solver.”

Cloris opened her eyes, looking at Aegis. ”I heard we have a new disassembly drone in the ship. E, correct? After we’re done here I would like to meet with her. Could you give me her location?”

---

Doll nodded at Lizzy, reaching out and gently squeezing her hand. Just being there with her girlfriend reassured her that things were going to be okay. She looked over at Ray as he asked if them being her changed their plans, to which she replied.

”Nemnogo. No v etom net nichego, chto my ne mogli by ob"yasnit'.”

[“A little. But it's nothing we can't account for.”]

Doll tilted her head, looking at Ray curiously as he brought up Cloris. ”Na ney ne bylo nichego, krome laboratornogo khalata? YA dumal, lyudyam nuzhno prinimat' dush.”

[“She's worn nothing but the lab coat? I thought humans needed to take showers.”

Doll watched with interest as Lizzy took measurements. When she was done, V and Ray left, she looked at her girlfriend curiously.

”Kakoy naryad ty sobirayesh'sya sshit' dlya nego?”

[“What kind of outfit are you going to make for him?”

---

Uzi stared as J went into a tandem about Dr.Carpenter and the innovations he made to drones. She scratched her chin, looking rather puzzled. ”And here I thought humans didn’t like the idea of sentient drones. Dr.Carpenter and half the human crew here kind of debunk that theory I had.”

She looked at Chaos, a questionmark appearing on her visor when he turned evasive about a dream he had. Which turned into a blush as J commented that she had an admirer.

”I still don’t get why you’re that okay with him thinking of me like that.”

Then Chaos started talking to himself. Still blushing slightly, Uzi walked over to him and waved her hand in his face. She had to stand on her tiptoes to do it.

”Hey, Chaos! Stop living in whatever fantasy you’re in and get back to reality!”

So they were going to help out M. Uzi didn’t think she’d be helping disassembly drones as much as she was. But this seemed to be the new norm. Well, if he helped them out that all that mattered.

Uzi waved her hands as J said she was definitely getting a dress. ”Slow down there J! Me? Prom? No way. That’s all for popular and cool kids and people who aren’t an ansty teenager with father issues! That’s not me!”

Then Chaos asked her and J to the prom. Uzi’s entire visor turned into a spinning wheel as she tried to process all of this. After about 10 seconds, her visor flashed Normal processing function restored. She swallowed, trying to find words.

”Chaos… I… could you give me a second?”

She looked over at J, pressing her index fingers together. Uzi seemed uncharastically nervous. ”Are you really okay with this? Isn’t this supposed to be a big night for you and Chaos? I don’t want to get in the way of you two being happy.”

Well... As much as Aegis wanted to continue arguing the point, it was pretty clear that Cloris was operating on faith at this point. She had her reasons, and all the Coral AI could do was just make sure that it worked out somehow.

"Then I guess we had better make sure that we keep the pressure on the enemy."

Still... She was able to get the woman to concede that at least some of her fears were unlikely, she wasn't sure if that meant Cloris would share more details or not -- but either way, it seemed a little fruitless to keep pushing. When she was ready, she would reveal it. It didn't change what Aegis had to accomplish in the meantime.

Nonetheless, Cloris spoke of what she witnessed, and why she was driven to prepare for even the worst outcomes. Aegis considers that for a moment, and then offers her analysis of the situation;

"If there is one thing I have learned about the enemy, it is this:
It wants you to be afraid. It is at it's most powerful when it can divide and conquer. But it falters in the face of a unified force."

She begins her explanation, soon adding:
"It panics, and it makes rash decisions. It begins to damage itself to try and create a weakness in that front. It will sever it's own limbs, it will throw away what it has gathered under it's control.

Keep that in mind, Cloris. No matter what you decide to do from this point on."

With that message given, Cloris then reacted to what Aegis had to say about bringing out the best in any situation. The holographic girl smiles in response.

"Yes -- not to mention that it was also an order from the Captain. He explained to me that it can be easy for people to commit to a dangerous action if they believe it's for the greater good... And that even if it works, it pales in the face of a solid strategy.

He got us through that battle with no casualties. I'm convinced that his logic is sound.... Now I just have to apply everything I've learned from working with him to try and fill the gap in his absence."

At least on that front, Aegis and Cloris seemed to be in agreement, so the only thing left was to finish the checkup -- and unsurprisingly, no issues found. The Coral AI wasn't expecting to find anything off considering just how much of a fight she was able to put up here. Soon enough, Cloris asks about the new Disassembly Drone that arrived on the ship.

The holographic girl gives a nod in response.

"That's correct. E was a huge help to us in the battle last night. As for her current location..."

Aegis briefly falls silent, and then she speaks once more;
"You can find her in the Rec Room. Along with a friend of hers."

---

As per usual, Lizzy would provide translations for Doll. Then she nods in agreement with her girlfriend's words, now also holding her hand in return.

"Doll's right. If this was going to be enough to throw our plans off, then we really had no business organizing something like this in the first place."

After that, Ray also mentioned that Cloris might end up presenting difficulty to her goal. Lizzy smirks -- one got the sense that she could be equally difficult about things... Although as Ray mentions that she had basically never gotten out of that labcoat... It didn't really click in her head at first, but when Doll brought it up...

"... Uh, yeah. That's a good point. Oh well. We'll just have to improve her hygiene. Like we planned for Uzi."

... It was probably a good thing neither Cloris or Uzi were around to hear that. While she was taking his measurements, Ray also questioned if she was going to make socks for V too. Lizzy couldn't help but smirk again in response.

"I think you might take things more literally than Worker Drones do."

She teased in response. But now that she had everything she needed, it was time to get to work! As she left with Doll in tow, her girlfriend ended up asking what kind of outfit she was going to make for Ray.

"I'm thinking old and fancy. Maybe Victorian-esque."

Once they got back to the workshop... Well, Lizzy had quite the itinerary to fill.

"Okay. So, I need to make one of those outfits for you, now that we know they work. Then prom outfits. And..."

She trails off for a moment, then turning to Doll.

"Finalizing some special details for Prom."

Lizzy stated, since Aegis could listen in, she wanted to leave it vague... But yeah, they needed to figure out if the ambush was still on the table here, or if they were going to change course. Once they left for the bunker they would be able to go over that...

For now, they had plenty to do! Not to mention Aegis was still going to fill everyone in on the facts with Doll.

---

V shrugs a little as Ray remarks that he doesn't really know how to be popular.

"Guess that makes two of us. I'm sure we can figure it out."

The Disassembly Drone replies. In a way, she was kind of excited... It wasn't vain, right? Hmm. She couldn't reason it as being extra sinister... Maybe it could be romantic? If she and Ray ended up popular. She snaps out of her thoughts as Ray speaks, mentioning that they had the free time to do whatever they wanted.

Seems he wanted to go do a maintenance check on Klein, and he was offering for V to come along. Now, while V herself was perfectly composed, and seemed remarkably calm... Her tail was wagging.

"Sure."

After she said that, Ray also mentioned not to worry about the workshop, all of that could be handled in his room -- and it seemed like V's tail was wagging just a little bit more in response. She was kind of easy to read in some ways... Once they got back to the room, Klein greeted them in his usual energetic fashion.

"Hey there."
She responded to his greeting. Now that all of the previous misunderstandings had been cleared up, it looked like she didn't have any real problems with him or his terminology.

Although now she was wondering if she might end up being called "Mama" by him at some point... Hmm, that was kind of odd to think about. Should she refer to him as son when that happens? Then it would be like she and Ray had a kid... Oh, there goes her tail wagging again.

Aaand speaking of a kid. Klein certainly behaved like one. V couldn't help but smile as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her. Including how accurately Ray was able to call out what Klein was  probably going to ask for.

In fact... She couldn't help but giggle a little bit over that.

"Pretty sure he wanted pudding."

---

J gives an understanding nod as Uzi expresses her confusion over Dr. Carpenter's work.

"Let's just say that things have gotten very complicated for Humanity and Drones. They're scared of AI gone rogue -- and it's because a war with robots actually did happen. But great minds like Dr. Carpenter used it to spark conversation about an obvious fact.

If Drones were capable of the kind of sentience to fight for their freedom, then that meant it was time to change how they were treated. They weren't just tools for convenience anymore."

And not long after that... Man, J was able to get such easy reactions out of Uzi and Chaos. It really didn't take much -- but that didn't really make it any less fun, either. Chaos simply refused to make any comment, and Uzi expresses her surprise that J was okay with this once more.

"Well, things are changing..."
The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone replies.

And then Chaos seemed to float off into one of his fantasies. He must have been imagining something pretty nice, judging by the look on his face and the things he was saying. Uzi tried to immediately snap him out of it when she realized. J just couldn't help but smile.

Something about this was just friggin' adorable. She kind of had a penchant for things like that. Not that she would EVER admit that M was correct in his assessments. But yes, somewhere along the way, J was thinking of Uzi in a different light. Which led to this moment where the Worker Drone was refusing the very idea of going to Prom on the basis of teenage angst and father issues.

"Yeah, pretty sure that's why you SHOULD go. Because nowhere in that did you say "I don't want that.""

J responds. Then even she's taken a bit by surprise as Chaos steps forward and holds her hand along with Uzi's, shortly before asking if they would both go to prom with him. Now, the Disassembly Drone was just about to accept on the spot -- right up until Uzi managed to recover and asked for just a second.

J looks over, arching a brow as Uzi questions if she's really okay with this. J places a hand on her own hip as she decides to go into greater detail about what she said before.

"Look, Uzi. Things are changing. A lot of things have gone off the rails and... Well, I'm rearranging some things. Taking a step back and looking at it in a new perspective.

At one point we wouldn't have even been talking about something like this."
She admits plainly, pausing only briefly;
"So I think I'm going to try something crazy. Something I would normally never do."

With her free hand, she grabs Uzi's.

"I'll go to Prom with you and Chaos."

---

Well, at least M wasn't upset about how E and 99 had to run away at the time! Still, she felt kind of bad about it. Especially considering that they both really did survive and needed help.

"I am glad you're okay, though."

She admits. For as difficult as M could be, he was still a part of her squad... She didn't hate him. That was part of why she wanted him to see how great this place was! Especially because of the Humans -- they weren't all bad. She might not be overly familiar with them, but the fact that N, V, and J all seemed to like these Humans had to count for something, right?

Not to mention all the Worker Drones!

"Okay, but being closed in is kinda nice, because of the sun and all."

E brings up one positive, and then soon lists another -- literally counting them off on her fingers right now.

"AND we don't have to worry about something sneaking up on us!"

She was bound and determined to make this seem like a good idea to M! She was certain that he could see the merits to this, if she just made a good enough case -- but she also knew how stubborn he could be. He grumbled, before expressing more of his concerns.

"Well, I'm pretty sure they can make as much oil as we need. Or get it."

She trails off as M mentions that he feels like he might lose something of himself -- and also begins to question E about if she wondered who she was before all of this.

The top-hatted Drone just gives him a smile in response.

"Not really! I mean, not ever since I put this cool thing on."
She points at her magnetic top hat.

"With this, it gets a lot easier for me to not think about difficult stuff. I don't entirely recall what it is with the hat on... I just know I'm happier not thinking about it!"

She then adds with a shrug. Then she falls silent as she glances down, tapping her fingers together as she ponders something. She takes a small breath.

"I think... I could take the hat off for a little while. If you think it would help. I know this is real important to you, M. Even if I kinda think maybe you need a hat like mine."

She then glances over to him, offering a small smile as she does so.

Something tells me that Dr. Carpenter wasnt the man we thought he is. J has been painting him as this genius who wants peace between humans and drones, but Im starting to think of him as a pervert who just wanted to have sex with them. Should I really care though? I got J out of all this and as long as he never touches any more my girls I am cool with it.

"Like J has said, things has been changing. She is okay with it, as long as she remains top drone."

I quickly snapped out of the dreaming state I was in. I looked down at her and smile. "But Uzi" I replied "I AM living the fantasy." A guy not with one drone, but two? Truly this is a fantasy only some guys can dream of.

I have the feeling Uzi has the urge to go to prom, not to miss out on the experience you only have once in your life. I dont want her to go alone either, it'll only deepen hers fears of being alone. This is the exact reason why I want to invite her to prom with us.

"Sure Uzi, we got all day" Uzi takes a few seconds to let the words I said sink in.

It appears not only I was into Uzi, but so was J. Either because of my influence or not, she too want to be with Uzi. J has offered to take both me and Uzi out to prom and I couldnt be too happier. I smiled once more.

"We'll make the perfect pair, Uzi. You, me, and J." Sure, we'd get some stares from the other drones. But as long as we are happy, I couldnt care less.

Uzi will become second drone thats for sure, no one besides J can best her. As our relationship deepen, she will become my everything alongside J. I do not dream of loosing her.


After everything was said and done, I let go of Uzi and J's hand. "Then its agreed! We'll go on a prom together, as a three part pair! That leads the question, however; Who is going to design the prom dress and suit for you two? I think J can handle it, but she'd be very busy handling us three alone. Hmm..." To be frank, I shouldnt rely on J to do everything. Im not even sure if she can design clothes for us.

”We can't afford to let up. If we let them get their footing we'll be put In a rough spot.”

Cloris couldn't argue with Aegis's assessment of the enemy's weaknesses. Cloris nodded her head.

”Your assessment is correct. We're been lucky we've been facing less subtle entities. I've seen some solver users use devious methods to divide and conquer. We need to keep an eye on one another and not give the solver a chance to divide us. And we have to keep throwing it off its game.”

Cloris closed her eyes, nodding her head. ”He is a good person to emulate. And his advice is sound. He isn’t wrong in about thinking people doing horrible things for the greater good either.”

Cloris opened her eyes, looking at Aegis in surprise. ”A friend?!” She jolted up, suddenly perking up quite a bit.

”I better not keep them waiting then.”

Cloris had a spring in her step as she made her way to the reck room. Had 99 come all the way to see her? It would have been risky in the sunlight, but it was possible for someone as resourceful as her to find a way. She made her way into the rec room, greeting E.

”You’re E, right? 99 told me so much about you. Where is she? The onboard AI Said you were here with a friend.”

Cloris looked around, but couldn’t see anyone else there. Her excitement seemed to dim a little bit. She noticed M, not realizing that this was the other presence that was there. She pointed at it.

”E, what is that?”

---

Doll let out a little sigh. ”Khorosho, nam pridetsya vyzvat' Uzi. Eto budet neprostaya zadacha.”

[“Right, we're going to have to get Uzi prommed up. That won't be an easy task.”]

Doll got an image of Ray in fancy clothing. She cupped a hand over her chin, a thoughtful look on her face. ”Etot chelovek deystvitel'no pokhozh na tot tip lyudey, kotoryy khorosho nosit modnuyu odezhdu.”

[“That human does seem like the type that would wear fancy clothing well.”]

Doll and Lizzy went over plans. When she trailed off and mentioned prom plans, Doll paused, staring back at her girlfriend. She let out a low sigh. ”Vy pravy, nekotoryye izmeneniya budut opravdany.”

[“You're right, some changes will be warranted.”

---

”Still, that’s impressive. Everything I’ve looked up on humans suggested they were slow to change their ways.”

Uzi wanted to argue with Chaos and J about going to prom. But she couldn’t dismiss their arguments. Then J did something that completely flew her for a loop. She grabbed Uzi’s hand and asked her to come to prom with her and Chaos. Her entire face disappeared, a blush overtaking the entirety of it.

”J… are you seriously asking me… out? You and Chaos both… out?”

Words then flashed onto Uzi’s visor. WARNING. EDGE LEVELS ARE AT A CRITCAL LOW. PROCESSING HOW TO RESPOND TO UNUSUAL FEELINGS.”

Yeah Uzi was gonna need a minute.

Now, Aegis was prepared to have just a little bit more of a conversation to wrap things up. But she hadn't expected the mood to shift so suddenly when she talked about E's friend. Cloris lit up like a Christmas tree in response.

"Y-Yes? They seem quite close."

The Coral AI replied, a little taken aback by how excited the woman was. But just like that, she had decided not to keep them waiting, and left with a spring in her step. Aegis tilted her head, she had never seen Cloris act in such a way before...

Moments before Cloris entered the Rec Room, E was having a conversation with M.

"Yeah... I guess losing your body isn't exactly ideal."

E admitted with a nod. But like he said, at least he was alive! That meant there was a chance for things to get better. And staying here... Well, that was the best chance for that. She was preeetty sure that she could smooth things over with the Humans, as long as M promised to behave!

"Heheh, you think so?"
E replies to his remark about making J jealous of her sales pitch here. She rubs the back of her head in the process with a little smile.

But soon enough, he does at least start to entertain the possibility of staying here! She couldn't help but wonder what was so important, though. Surely if it meant that much, the Humans would help... But trying to convince him of that? Yeah, good luck. No, it was better for her to just hear him out.

"Well, what IS so important, then? If all we have to do is finish it so you can stay here, then I think we can manage that!"

Still... She couldn't help but be concerned when he declined her offer -- and then went right on to say that he was going to handle things his way. He'd get U and 99 back, and then they'd all be here before E even realized? That sounded kind of nice, but...

E ends up taking a deep breath, and brings both of her hands up to her top hat as she psyches herself up. Just before she starts lifting it, though... Cloris enters the Rec Room!

E looks over at her, a little surprised from the greeting.

"Wooow, you know Niney?! Also yes, I'm E!"

She then waves with a smile, before her hand rests on her top hat again. Then Cloris asks where 99 is, and also points at M's core, wondering what it is. E arches a brow in response, then looks at where the woman is pointing.

"Ooooh, that's M! He's my friend, and a part of my squad just like Niney!"

She then responds as she looks back at Cloris. For this entire process, E's hands were still on her top hat. Seemingly she had forgotten about the fact that she was about to take it off. She blinks for a moment, and then has her second realization. Then she lowers her hands for now.

M probably wasn't gonna talk about any of this right now, with Cloris around.

"He kinda lost his body, so this is his Core."

---

Lizzy ended up giving Doll a sympathetic smile. Seems like her girlfriend realized that things weren't as cut and dry as they were before, too.

"Good thing we're working together on it then, huh?"

One way or another... They could get it figured out.

---

V didn't really notice that her tail was wagging, much less that Ray had also noticed it... Or that Klein did as well. The Engineer opted to focus on the work, albeit he was still talking with V in the process. At this rate it really did seem like the little penguin bot was going to need the ability to eat.

"Hey, maybe one of those biofuel adapters might work? Not that he's running short on energy, but it would at least be self-cleaning."

She makes a suggestion. Adapting some Drone technology for Klein seemed like it would work pretty well here. Plus pudding should be one of the easier things to convert... In theory, anyway. After that, Ray said that she could take a seat anywhere, and also said that she made the room a lot nicer.

V smiles in response -- ah, there was her tail wagging again -- and then she takes a seat nearby.

"Thanks. I haven't really had much of a chance to make a home, but it's pretty relaxing, in a way."

She responds, and once Ray managed to pop the back panel off of Klein, she couldn't help but lean over to peek inside. She found the sheer intricacy in such a compact frame to be kind of overwhelming. But Ray went right into it with ease, like he knew exactly where the problems were and how to best deal with them -- once she saw what he was poking at with the screwdriver, it became abundantly clear.

"Eesh. That's a lot."

She remarks, and eventually with a fair bit of exertion, Ray is able to pull the screwdriver free with a ball of pudding attached to it.

"Yeah... Considering how much that stuff gets gunked up in there, I think sooner rather than later for the ability to eat is the best approach."

Soon enough, Ray was back to inspecting the insides of Klein as he continued his conversation with V. This time he was asking what she thought of Coral. She leans back a little, tilting her head as she considers that.

"Hmm... It's hard to say. I've never really run into it before, and I don't really know what it's capable of. But if Aegis is right..."

She trails off, and Ray takes that as his chance to give his own thoughts on the matter -- to which she listened intently. It was certainly weird to try and wrap your head around, V could agree with him on that one. Eventually he also mentions it's weird to imagine a robot growing up, before then quickly adding that he meant no offense.

V simply gives a small smile in response.

"Well, it's understandable. A lot of changes have happened to Drones. In a sense, we do grow. We start off following simple commands and instructions, but eventually we start to develop sentience and a personality. It takes awhile, though.

That kind of got streamlined with pillbabies. I don't know if you've heard of those yet, but they're basically designed to encourage the AI to develop faster. It's also a perfect ground for merging codes together. So that they become a child of the parents."

V explains, she had never really participated in any of this stuff, but she knew enough about it. RT3 equipped her for the capability after all. Not just with Drones, either... She hoped that answered his curiosity regarding whether or not Drones could grow.

Soon thereafter, he begins to share more of his experiences... Specifically with a group called "The Brotherhood of the Singularity", Ray soon admitted that it did indeed sound like a cult -- V wasn't going to say that out loud, but... Yeah. It really did. But it sounds like they had a noble goal, being a lot like RT3; and apparently Ray had a hard time talking about THEM because... Well, they're RT3.

To an extent, V understood that. RT3 was eccentric to put it mildly. But she found herself appreciating their innovations more and more, as of recently. For the moment she kept her thoughts to herself, it was clear that he needed to get this off of his chest, and she was happy to listen. Proxima was a turning point, sure enough. A lot of things seemed to go back to that planet... The very first Drone Uprising; also where Disassembly Drones were first unveiled.

... It didn't take long for the mood to change. V recognized the signs as Ray began to trail off on his words -- as he glanced down and frowned. He muttered under his breath, almost too quiet for anyone to hear... Unless they were a Drone like V.

Almost immediately she gets out of her seat and walks over to him. She wraps her arms around him and rests her head on his shoulder.

"It's okay..."

She said soothingly as he apologized for talking about that.

"I'm here. I'll listen to it, if you want to get it off your chest."

Her embrace tightens just a little... She already knew what it was. How could she not?

Because in that moment... He just reminded her of herself. Of what it was like to do Cyn's bidding... The Brotherhood of the Singularity -- she already knew she didn't like them.

---

"Well, they are... But Drones have been around for awhile, and once things hit a boiling point, it was too much to ignore."

J admitted that much at least. She wasn't going to pretend that Humans were PERFECT. No, a lot of them were really, really bad... But not all of them. She'd met some really good ones. Starting with Tessa -- then the ones in RT3; sure, they were crazy by most standards but they were great to her and her friends.

And of course, there was Chaos. Even now he remembered what she said before. That prompted her to smile.

"Exactly. Long as I get my attention, I'm perfectly content."

... And then J went and saw something that honestly, could anyone be prepared for? Uzi's entire face literally filled with blush -- no, it was REPLACED by blush. In this state Uzi was only able to... SOMEWHAT reply to J's offer.

The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone couldn't help but smirk at this. Now she was beginning to understand why it was so fun to tease Uzi...

"That's right."

She replies to that question. And just like that, words flashed across Uzi's screen. J couldn't help but laugh a little at that. Well, it was fine if she needed a bit. That meant she could focus on Chaos for a little now.

"I could certainly design something for us. But we may want to check with the ones that invited us to come to the Prom anyway. Doll and Lizzy, I think? They mentioned they would help us with clothes."

J then explained. It was true enough that either way, they needed to dress appropriately for the occasion... And the usual method of collecting clothes was probably not going to work for the Humans.

Either way, they at least had a starting point.

"Alternatively, if I can check out Ray's workshop -- because I know he has one, with how talented he is -- I can whip something up for us."

And an alternative for good measure!

"Yup Uzi, you're going to be one lucky girl at Prom."

While Uzi is out at the moment, I think our situation over.

"Yeah, Lizzy and Doll would help a lot. Lizzy probably has a design set for Uzi knowing her. Although Im not sure if they have a design in mind for someone like me, so you'd probably help best at that. It wouldnt help asking them for help though."

J suggested to checking out Ray's workshop. "We can ask him later. Knowing him, him and V is probably 'At it' at the moment. But he'd probably be useful for sure." Knowing Ray he probably fixed the airvent system not allowing sounds to go through it. So they are probably banging right now. Me and J would probably bang right now if it wasnt for Uzi being the room thats for sure. Mmmmh hmm.

Ray was okay with simply letting all of this go. He cared about V. He felt a real connection with her, the first one he had felt in a very long time -- More than that, it was the first one that carried this kind of meaning for him. He was not a romantic person, he had never seen anyone else like that before. To risk admitting the truth about himself, about the people he worked with...

He wasn't prepared to make V hate him. He cursed himself in his mind for being a coward, but he worked away at the little robot in front of him, accepting that he would always be a coward. But at least he would be able to stay by her side, even just a little longer...Right?

But that wasn't how things went. He didn't have a chance of running from it anymore. The human felt V grab him from behind, pulling him into a warm embrace. He gasped and jolted from the sudden sensation. His body became a little less tense when the disassembly drone rested her head on his shoulder, but she could likely still feel just how tense he was.

"N-...No I don't think I need to do that-"

He was about to just run from it again, like he always did...But Ray remembered how V opened up to him -- At least with everything she knew about her past right now. If she could share that even in spite of seeing herself as a monster...Did he really have any right to keep hiding? His heart beat had increased in speed with the fear sinking into him...But the engineer took a deep breath.

"... I don't think you'll want anything to do with me after this, but I can't keep running from this. Not anymore."


Where had it even begun? He tried to remember, he was going to start from the beginning.

"I guess I should start at the beginning...It all started when someone who worked in RT3 went around looking for like-minded individuals. You know...People who believed drones were more than just machines. That's how they found me. - How the brotherhood recruited me. I was so naive back then...I had met these special little drones that were so much more alive than any other drone I had seen before. Of course I was sold on the idea. But back then they were just a peaceful organization. My involvement was nothing more than a metaphorical membership card."

He laughed sadly. V could hear his breath hitch in his throat a couple more times.

"Those drones were special, but I don't even remember their faces anymore...Kinda ridiculous isn't it?"

Ray rubbed his shoulder, he was clearly uncomfortable even thinking about these people again, but in spite of that he continued.

"They liked me. Well, they liked anyone that worked for J.C. Jensen. It helped give them legitimacy. Thinking back on it, I think I wasn't anything more than a useful image for them at that point...Although it changed really fast after rumors about drone attacks started spreading; people getting attacked by their own house servants and J.C. Jensen "Cleaners" showing up to drag them away. Suddenly they started getting more bold about their message. Drones were waking up and choosing freedom over enslavement. That message was pretty damaging for the company so anyone that had a connection to that group got demoted and shifted around the company really fast.

I lost my Technician job because of it. I was shipped off to work on the disassembly line. I was so mad at them for doing that to me! That I...I guess I made a mistake. When the brotherhood contacted me and convinced me to smuggle drones out that were being marked for disassembly, I just went along with it...I thought I would get back at the company for what they did. But I never wanted it to go as far as it did. I eventually got caught when I slipped up one too many times, and the brotherhood of the singularity used their connections to get me out of that mess. That was when I owed a debt to them."

A deep sigh left Ray's lips as he continued to tell his story.

"They really liked reminding me of that debt any time I questioned what we were doing. Anyway...At that point I was finally a real member of the group. I was brought into the fold since I couldn't ever go back. I had to meet the people I was going to be working with...I wish I never met any of them."

He went down the list of people, one by one.

"First was the group's leader. He didn't like showing his face for some reason. Whenever I asked they always said it was because he was under some kind of surgery. I personally don't understand it...But he still delivered instructions to us over a phone. He gave me a really bad feeling...Like he's probably had a long time to think about all he had done and still thought it was correct."

Ray counted them down on his fingers. A second finger raised as he tapped the tip of it.

"Then there was Iseult Leblanc. She was basically his messenger, the face of the brotherhood when he couldn't show his own."


He painted a vivid picture of her for V's sake; though she would likely get the impression that this image wasn't given detail out of respect or admiration considering his comments on her.

"Short white hair, piercing eyes that never stopped looking straight through you. Skin that was as pale as porcelain. She always smoked a cigarette any time I saw her...I can't stand the smell of tobacco because of her, it makes me feel sick. She had a certain...Fondness for me...H-How do I put this..."

He was turned around and facing V by this point. She could see his pupils dilate out of fear as he tried to find the words to say, his skin went pale like he was looking at a ghost.

"I-I um...She...T-Tried forcing herself on me several times."

His eyes darted around the room wildly, landing anywhere but directly on V. It was shame and fear that sat in his eyes.

"She would always say...'All men like this kind of thing', she 'wanted me so I should just let her do what she wants'...I didn't like her that way. I didn't like her at all. Everyone else just turned their eyes away or told me to put up with her behavior. I think she very nearly got what she wanted once too, but somebody told her to stop because we were in the middle of a mission..."

Ray took several deep breaths, his heart was beating too fast, he was completely panicked. It took several minutes before he could calm down enough to continue recounting the people he worked with.

"Then there was...Mona Hemlock. She was a very bad person. I was actually a member of the brotherhood before she was, but even though I had seniority she had the skills to outrank me. She was the person who gave them what they needed to become extremists...Information, weapons, connections...If it was illegal then she had her hand in it."


"She had cybernetic eyes that let her see a lot of things...I hadn't met anyone with cybernetics before her. She was professional and didn't really threaten to hurt anyone directly...But I think she didn't need to. She always smelled like blood and had the aura of a dangerous beast...Any time I threatened to leave the brotherhood, or even let slip that I planned to escape, she always showed up to remind me about my debt, about how they could send me right back if I left them behind. 'We wouldn't want to see you get in trouble with that company.'... She sounded friendly whenever she confronted me, but I could tell she was threatening me..."

He frowned and looked at the floor. He wasn't afraid as he recalled the next person, but instead he simply looked guilty.

"She had a son named Victor that was about 3 years younger than me. He was actually one of the better people there...He never really did anything bad to me. I actually feel bad for him...He was always going to be the heir to whatever criminal empire Mona was cooking up. I don't think he ever had anything else going for him..."


"I think maybe in another life he could have been normal...But I did something very bad to him, something I can't ever take back."

Ray went silent for several minutes, he hid his face inside of his palms. This next part was clearly the most difficult thing he had been holding onto. But it was too late to back down now. It had to come out one way or another. With a sigh he stopped hiding his face and looked at V.

"It all had to do with the last mission I did for them...Before I ran away from Earth. I tried one last time to convince them to let me go..."

He recalled the past, the thing he feared the most, the one moment he didn't want to ever return to. And Ray told V every detail as though he was still there...

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



Ray stood in front of the horrible Mona Hemlock, the air was tense as the group had prepared for one final push that would change everything. Their plan had been made clear by the enigmatic leader behind everything: They were going to hit a J.C. Jensen armored train carrying thousands of drones. They would strike the company where it hurt the most, directly in their supply lines. Then they could free the drones by carrying the cars containing inactive drones tethered by helicopters. The hour of their victory was almost at hand...Once they had amassed an army of free thinking worker drones then the horrible people behind their enslavement would have no choice but to listen to their demands...

And yet, even though everything was ready to go, the helicopters had been put in place and fueled, the time tables were confirmed to be correct, and the ambush point had been carefully selected, there was one person who hesitated...It was the former technician. He had confronted Mona to try and reason with her before it was too late.

"I...I don't think we should do this. There are people on that train...They won't survive a crash like we're planning."

Mona smiled at him as she gazed down at him. Her smile carried a false sense of warmth to it...She was anything but friendly as she regarded him with eyes that wanted him dead for even suggesting they stop this now.


"My my...You're having second thoughts now that we're about to leave? Listen dear boy...It really is in your best interest to follow along with the plan. You're not the one leading us, after all. Why, someone like you could get hurt if he tried to step out of line...There are always so many dangerous things out there, and if you were in the wrong place, well you could just die! We don't want that...Especially not when we rely on you so much!"

Ray took a few steps back, hesitation and fear building within him.

"T...Then at least let me leave once I've set up the technical aspects...I don't want to be a part of the brotherhood anymore. I want to go home."

The woman laughed with glee at his fear. She was clearly trying to mask it as a friendly gesture, but it was clear to anyone else what she really intended.

"You think you can simply go home after you'll be responsible for a tragic accident of that level? Listen to me Rights...Our dear leader has made it perfectly clear that no one can leave the brotherhood, it's all for our protection! We have the connections to keep you safe...Don't you understand that? We're doing this for your own good! Now...No more of this running away talk, you do disappoint me so much with those hurtful words of yours! We must leave in ten minutes...Make sure you're ready by then."

Ray lowered his head in sadness, letting out a defeated sigh. His one final chance of escaping and leaving all of this behind had slipped through his fingers...

Sometime later he found himself riding in the back of an armored car, his seat facing the woman he despised so much. Ray was completely silent the entire trip, so many emotions ran through him in that moment. Sadness, despair, fear, anger, resentment...If it was negative, he was feeling it right now. Even though he glared at Mona, she simply smiled back at him. That smell of blood on her was completely nauseating...Ray couldn't stand it.


"Well boy? We're almost there now. Ready to make history?"

Mona waited for a response that would never come. She closed her eyes and continued to smile.

"Come now, don't be so glum. Whatever happens to the men on that train will be worth it in the end...We will advance the rights of all drones across the galaxy by doing this. Isn't a little bit of blood shed worthy of a great cause such as that? After all...You have a personal stake in that, don't you?"

His glare faded as his eyes opened wide.

"W-W...What?"

Mona clapped her hands together, giving him a "delightful" smile.

"Ah! That got you to open up! I knew it would. Your little friend...What was her name? T■■■a? My informants told me all about her. She's in possession of three worker drones that were marked for disassembly. What's the punishment for that? Do you recall?"

Ray's face contorted into a look of terror. He knew exactly what she was getting at. But Mona just continued.

"Ohh of course! That's right! The illegally possessed drones are sent back to the disassembly line to be disposed of, and the perpetrator is given anywhere from five to ten years in federal prison. An awful punishment, don't you think...?"

"P-...Please! Leave them alone..."

"Oh yes! And dear Iseult told me something even more interesting! Apparently you're quite fond of one of those drones...It would be simply dreadful if it were to be destroyed, wouldn't it? Oh but you know her! She was so jealous! She said she wants to see you when you get back...She's very very insulted you would look at anyone else with lust in your eyes."

"L-Lust...? It's not like that! I don't...Stop...Please just stop it!"

Mona pat him on top of his head, it made him feel sick to his stomach...He wanted to throw up. He wanted to die here and now.

"Well, now that you're aware of what's at stake, I hope you'll give it your best performance. We're counting on you, as always!"

The vehicle rolled to a stop. Mona gave him a wink and opened the door, hopping out. Ray fought back tears as he tried to just block his emotions out long enough to get the job done. It was for T■■■a... It was for ■. The former technician stepped out of the vehicle, both the driver and Mona waiting for him. Ray got to work planting explosives at key points on the train tracks. The train would arrive soon, and they were going to blow it right off of the rails. Soon enough he finished and returned to where the other two were waiting...The woman gave a nod as the train finally rolled in under the fog and the heavy rain that poured down on their heads.

"Do it."

Ray hesitated...But the driver ripped the trigger from his hands after a few seconds, pressing the button. He glared at the boy. With the button pressed a roar of explosions echoed out into the valley around them, the train's conductor hit the breaks, but it was simply too little too late. The train hopped over the broken rails and began crashing, the train's cars all toppling over and collapsing on top of the bridge ahead of it.

"Get to work boys! We have a tight schedule to keep!"


Mona and the driver ran out and rushed the train, meanwhile Ray kept a cautious pace behind them, his reason soon revealed itself as several armed guards popped out from within the collapsed train cars.


"Hold it right there terrorist scum!"

The train guards came out of the woodwork like the trio had stirred a hornet's nest and began opening fire on them. The driver rushed in screaming with bravado...only to get shot in the throat and fall to the ground grasping at his neck.

"FOR DRONE RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTTTTTTS-Gghk...!"

Mona quickly dispatched the one responsible with a headshot -- In fact every hit she scored on the guards happened to be aimed right for their heads. Her cybernetic eyes allowed her an easier time of aiming, she didn't even have to look down the sights of her pistols to mow down groups of guards.

"Ahahahaha! I've killed stronger men than all of you! Keep walking into your deaths!"

Ray panicked, he felt helpless in all the gunfire that was flying over his head. He spent this entire fight simply ducking with his hands over his head. The former technician dived into every piece of cover he could find as he simply did his best to avoid being in the fight but continue following along all the same. He knew the price for not keeping up with Mona...He couldn't afford it at this point.

The woman leapt up onto the first train car and rushed in even as guards continued peaking out from the train's openings. Some of them even took initiative and climb onto the top of the train, rushing at her with batons as the rain poured down on their heads. Their attacks did no good however. The first melee fighter got kicked in the chin when she cartwheeled towards him, and with him left dazed, she pressed a pistol into his chin and fired. The next one rushed in with a wide swing only to find Mona wrapped his arm under her shoulder as she jerked him around and stopped his momentum. She swung a pistol hard into his gut, threw him against the next guy when he crouched down in pain, and then landed perfect shots on both of them.

The longer Ray followed behind Mona the more his anger and hatred began building. His fear turned to apathy as his terrified expression slowly contorted into an emotionless mask.


The pair were pushing their way forward, even as the bridge below them rumbled, the steel of the trains creaking against the shifting pressure. Despite this they pushed forward, after all they had to complete the job they had been given. There was no other way forward for them.

"Almost there boy, don't die on me now! I'll need your help detaching the cars for our getaway! Hahaha-Ah?!"

Mona had made a fatal error. Just one simple mistake caused by her lowering her guard for a single moment. She stepped on a puddle and slipped. In that single instant one of her pistols flew over the edge, careening into the fog covered river below. The other landed onto the side of the toppled train car. Mona herself? She had barely managed to catch one of the wheels in time to save herself from falling. Ray recalled the sounds of the rain falling silent in that moment. He walked up to her as she called out to him.

Hahaha...I seem to have made a slight...Error. Can you help me up please? The car is too slippery, I can't...Seem to get a foothold in order to pull myself back up! A simple mistake of course...I'm sure you can handle this!"

Ray's eyes drifted down to the gun laying at his feet...And back to Mona. The once confident expression she wore on her face shifted into one of confusion...And then finally landed on an expression of concern.


"Rights...Did you hear me? I said I can't climb up. Please, help me so we can finish what we started."

Ray slowly reached down towards the gun, picking it up and twisting it in his hand. The gleaming steel was wet with rainfall, it felt cold to the touch. Mona was now silently panicking as she watched him.

"Listen...I know what I said before, but that was our dear leader's ruling, not mine! I would let you leave if it were up to me, honestly I would! I...I-I will talk with him later, I promise! Just...Help me up now, boy."

Ray took slow, decisive steps towards the woman hanging from the side of the train car. He recalled all the torment she gave him, all the times she used her power to make him afraid. The things she said about T■■■a. The horrible, inhuman things she wanted to do to ■, ■, and ■. All just to keep him in line. The facade of power and intimidation was gone now that she was helpless.

"Please! I'm losing my grip! I can't...I can't climb back up! You don't understand! What would Victor do without me?! You're...You're not a killer! You've never even held a weapon before now! Just...Put that down and help me before I fall!"

The former technician gripped the pistol tightly, he felt the trigger give slightly in his fingers, testing the tension in it before he raised it up and aimed carefully at Mona. The woman's eyes were now filled with terror as she knew exactly what was happening. She wasn't too arrogant to realize that her own actions led to him going down this path...And now she wasn't too arrogant to beg.

"Please! Please don't do this boy! Think about what you're doing! I'll...I'll do anything if you just put the gun down and help me! I'm scared! Don't do this!! Is it freedom you want?! Money? Power?! I...I can give all of it to you! I have connections! I can make you more wealthy than you'll ever become on your own! I can make you a king!! Your...Your crimes! I can have you pardoned for all of them and more!! Victor!!! Victor, please save me!!!"

Ray felt the trigger give as he squeezed down on it. The pistol echoed out as it fired, putting an end to the criminal empress known as Mona. Her lifeless body fell over the bridge and into the depths below, soaking the former technician in blood before it dropped.


He raised his hand to look at what he had done. His ears were ringing, his heart was beating out of control. His vision became blurry as all other sound was completely drowned out by the falling rain...All except for a distant scream. The approaching helicopters piloted by members of the Brotherhood of the Singularity had arrived just in time to see what Ray had done. On board the front helicopter was Victor himself, having witnessed his own mother murdered in cold blood.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!"

The younger boy took a gun from the pilot and began firing wildly. Not even a single round ever came close to hitting Ray as he slowly turned to look up at the failed gunman.

"AAAGHHHHHHHH!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

A single round was all it took to finish things. A single round struck a massive structural crack in the bridge and caused it to cascade into a critical support failure. The bridge crumbled underneath the train and Ray was sent careening into the depths. With a single splash his entire world was colder than ice. All sound was drowned out by the singular sound of water rushing past his ears...


Deeper, deeper, deeper he sank...Deeper into the abyss.


He wanted to give up...To simply sink and just let the ice cold river claim him. He did something so horrible that no one could ever forgive him.


But...He was too afraid. Ray was a horrible coward. He couldn't ever accept his fate like this, the freezing cold waters made him feel absolute terror...The bliss of accepting one's death gave way to a terrible need to live.


Ray turned his body over in the water and began to swim upwards towards the surface...

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

... Back in the present Ray finished recounting his story for V. His body was trembling violently as he recalled something so traumatic that his mind had desperately tried to bury it.

"I swam away from there, as far away as I could get...When I was sure they weren't following me, I got on the first ship I could find leaving Earth, and I never looked back. They probably think I died that day...And maybe I really did. I can't ever smile again...Not a true smile. Not someone broken like me, V. I did something so horrible, and I hurt so many people. ... I'm a murderer."

---

M smirked at E...Well, as well as he could considering he had no mouth to do that with.

"Yeah, you're a natural born saleswoman!"

E really was intending on prying into the kind of things he was keeping under wraps huh...? Well, M wasn't really the type to lie to E's face, but he couldn't go sharing all the details yet.

"It's just a...Personal problem I'm dealing with E. Nothing you need to worry about! How long have you known me by now? Have I EVER gotten myself into trouble? ... More than three times?"

M watched as E started removing her top hat. It seems she was intent on figuring things out one way or another. He couldn't help but be worried for her when she started this...he was about to call out to stop her when someone burst into the rec room! M jumped up onto E's shoulder in surprise, a single claw pointing at Cloris.

"Holy robo-crap who are you?!"

The drone core's claw relaxed when he saw it was a human...His single yellow eye rolled.

"Oh great, another humaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh?!?!"

And M went right back to panicking when he noticed what her internals looked like!

"What's up with you?! Am I talkin' to freaking robocop?!"

He finally relaxed once the initial shock wore off...E had introduced M herself so he didn't bother doing that on his own. She explained that he was just a core right now, which caused him to jump in on that:

"It's a long story so don't ask me how I ended up like this! ... And don't bring any jars near me either!"

M grumbled, bringing his claws together.

"So you know 99 huh? How exactly do you know about her anyway?"

Cloris stared at M in surprise. Her eyes widened in recognition ”That’s a living core! Is it a solver user that managed to survive in that form?!”

Cloris decided to quickly answer the core’s question. ”I should be the one asking you that. I’m Cloris Jade, the tech officer aboard this ship.”

She blinked, looking at M in confusion as he freaked out. Then her eyes widened in understanding.

“Oh, you did an internal scan. I’ve had various cybernetics added to me over the years. It’s helped me with the type of work I do, and my original body was… rather frail, to put it mildly.”

She wasn’t exactly going to go into a full explanation to something she wasn’t sure of yet. If M had looked closely with his scan, he would have seen a strange thing where her reproductive systems were supposed to be. It looked similar to his current form in shape, oddly enough. Although it wasn’t emanating any heat like her active mechanical parts.

Cloris’s eyes widened as E introduced the core as M. ”M?! I didn’t think you survived that! Well, I supposed your core could have endured the impact. But after you got stabbed through the head and got slammed to the ground, I didn’t think anything would be left of you.”

She frowned, looking at him Sympathetically. “I’m so sorry about your teammate that got killed. The way it used her body as a shield against your rocket… I don’t think her core would have survived that.”[/color]

She looked over at E, nodding her head. ”Yes, I know 99. We meet face to face yesterday. Although I knew her before that.”

She looked over at M, a blank look on her face. ”Why would I bring a jar near you?”

But then M asked her how she knew 99. Cloris proceeded to start with her tale.

”We first made indirect contact when 99 left some clues to be found. She took steps to make sure that only human eyes would see it, using a series of clever traps and riddles only a human would think the answer to. My captain and I made our way to the top of the old library, where she left various information she had collected. And a recording of your battle with that creature.”

Which explained how she got into so much detail with M’s battle. She then continued on. ”Before I left I left a coded note in the hopes that 99 would find it. The next day, I planned on going to a bunker that had stored weapons. Before that, I made contact with 99 back at the library with a communication device she left. After that, I went to the bunker. Things… didn’t go as planned. 99 had to save me from a threat I didn’t expect.”

She paused, letting M catch up to that. ”Fortunately 99 had set up a bunker with life support. I was able to stay the night there. She was… extremely accommodating.”

A very faint blush came across her cheeks. But that would be the only sign of her embarrassment of that strange night. She then continued. ”She talked to me about her comrades too. She had some very interesting things to say about you. I don’t get the impression that she hated you though: since she insisted that you never insulted her directly. Only her tendency to follow orders without question.”

---

Doll gave Lizzy a nod. It wasn’t something that she had a clear answer for anymore. But it was something she couldn’t discuss with her right now. But there would be time for that later.

---

Uzi frowned, scratching her head. ”Yeah, so I guess a lot happened on other worlds. Copper 9 doesn’t exactly communicate with other planets. I really need to catch up to current events.”

This was insane. Chaos and J were both interested in her. Uzi totally blacked out while her screen was in that processing mode. When her face finally came back on, she checked her internal clock. Okay, she hadn’t been out for that long. She pressed her palms against her cheeks, shaking her head.

”You two… you two are crazy! Wanting to go out with me of all people!”

Then Uzi blushed slightly, giving an awkward smile. ”You’re lucky I really like crazy. Okay, I’ll go to the prom with you two.”

"You pretty much ALWAYS get into trouble, M."
E replies. Yes -- that was why she was going to take off the hat and get to the bottom of this!

At least up until the interruption. M had been taken by surprise, quickly climbing up and resting on E's shoulder before pointing at Cloris in shock. Then he ended up getting another when he realized it was apparently 'Robocop' he was talking to.

E didn't really seem to mind this though, especially as Cloris explained the situation.

"Neat! So you really ARE like Robocop then! Can you do that cool gun holster trick too?"

... Yes, it seems she had taken things quite literally. At least the conversation moved along to something a little more productive, as Cloris definitely seemed to know who M was as well -- even going so far as to talk about a squad member that most likely DIDN'T survive... Although E was an optimist here;

"Hey don't worry! M survived his encounter, so she might have too. Plus we get backups."

Shortly after she said that, M said not to bring any jars near him, prompting confusion out of Cloris. E decided to give the explanation here.

"Oh, Boss caught him in a jar earlier! Then J interrogated him for a bit. And then I let him out of the jar!"

... Well that wasn't INcorrect...

M steers the topic back on track by asking how Cloris knows 99, and the green-haired woman proceeds to explain how they met. Apparently she had figured out how to solve those puzzles!

"Wow, you figured out Niney's puzzles?! They're really hard. I can only figure them out if I take off my hat!"

Ah, Cloris was probably starved for context by this point. But at least she didn't have to worry about E catching onto that faint blush or the specific wording that she used.

"Yeah, Niney's real nice!"

E answers with an earnest, innocent smile. Cloris then adds that 99 talked about her comrades as well, and more of this seemed to be in reference to M at this point. E ended up giving an understanding nod in response.

"Yep, that's M. He doesn't have much of a filter -- just says the first thing that comes to mind!"

And just a few short moments after she said that...

"Say, do you like Bananas too?"

.... Evidently she kind of had the same problem.

---

Almost as soon as V embraced him, she could tell how tense he was. There was so much that he was holding onto... Even once his initial shock passes, he's only able to partially relax into her embrace. He definitely needed this, to talk about what was troubling him so. He was still afraid to share his past, and she understood that.

He tried to say that he didn't think he needed to do that. He trailed off, though. V wanted him to feel safe, to be able to open up about anything.

"I'll wait until you're ready... But I think you do need to, at some point."

She could feel his heart beating faster. Even if that somehow escaped her notice on a physical level, a quick scan revealed that his heart rate was high. Eventually he takes a deep breath. He begins to open up by expressing his fear that V might not want anything to do with him. The Disassembly Drone just gently shakes her head in response.

"I'm not going anywhere. No matter what it is, or how bad it is. Take your time."

Her tone was soft. She knew that right now, he needed a gentle touch and guidance through all of this. Eventually he finally began to tell the story, and it all started in JCJenson -- like a lot of things seemed to. Although in this case, the fault lie within a different group. A group that, up to this point, V only knows as the Cult-like name of "The Brotherhood of the Singularity"

His reason for joining this group was because he had met some special Drones... But he couldn't remember them now. The bitter laugh hitching in his throat prompted her to want to comfort him once more.

"We both forgot some pretty important things. But it's okay. We'll figure it out together."

Still... The fact that Ray was so uncomfortable -- it came across so painfully clear to V. Just what was it that this group did to him? Well, she ended up finding out. They were at first advocating for Drones Rights, but then they gradually became more extreme in their methods. Eventually it ended up costing Ray his job, and landing him in debt with this group. She could already tell where this was going when he said that they loved holding that over him...

[Current Objectives:
Eliminate Solver Hosts.
Do a good job, V.

>Replace objectives with Eliminate The Brotherhood of the Singularity
Access denied. Please contact an Administrator.]

She was annoyed at not being able to set her own priorities. But she sets that aside for now, listening to Ray as he begins to speak of the specific members within the group. First was the enigmatic leader. He probably stayed in secrecy so that no one could deal with him and dissolve the group once the power vacuum hits.

The next one was Iseult Leblanc. He began to describe this woman, and the kind of things that she did... It was one thing to be fond of him. But it sounded like... It went a lot farther than that. By now her embrace was gentle, affording him the ability to move and pull away if he so wished. He didn't exactly do that, but he did turn to face V, and she let him do so.

The things he said next, well...

[Current Objectives:
Eliminate Solver Hosts.
Do a good job, V.

>Replace objectives with Eliminate The Brotherhood of the Singularity and Eliminate Iseult Leblanc
Access denied. Please contact an Administrator.]

Again... But as Ray seemed to be suffering from a panic attack over recalling that woman, V would once more speak softly for him. She wanted to help him through his fear.

"Ray. She's not here. I won't let her do anything to you. I promise."

By now she was giving him just a little bit of space. Not enough to imply to him that she would leave him, but... Just to respect that he might need that, after what Iseult kept trying to do to him.

The next one on the list was Mona Hemlock. It seemed like the further this went on, the more apparent it became that this group had long since lost it's way. Now it had become something else entirely... This was a mob boss -- there was no other way to put it. She had probably coerced many to do their bidding. And when they refused, or they stopped being useful, they were probably ended by her hand.

Or her henchmen, as if that made much of a difference. The Enforcer of the Brotherhood, essentially. She had kept Ray in line for so long.

[Current Objectives:
Eliminate Solver Hosts.
Do a good job, V.

>Replace objectives with Eliminate The Brotherhood of the Singularity, Eliminate Iseult Leblanc, Eliminate Mona Hemlock
Access denied. Please contact an Administrator.]

That was seriously getting on her nerves... But she needed to continue hearing Ray out for now. She'd sort this problem out later. At least Victor didn't sound that bad by comparison. It sounded like he and Ray might have been friends, at least if things had worked out differently. But she noticed that his reactions had changed from fear to... Guilt? His following words begin to paint a picture for V, but it still left many things unanswered.

Ray ended up having to hide his face with his hands, overwhelmed the emotions and the weight of what he was carrying. V wanted to do something to help him feel better... He needed this so badly. But all she could think to do in the moment was just wait patiently for him to be able to speak of this final mission.

It takes a considerable effort on his part, but eventually he is able to share the details of that time... It opened with Mona threatening the people that were most important to Ray, all to keep him in line. It figures... That was precisely what she thought was going to be the case once she heard the description of that woman.

It didn't take long for the mission to go bloody. Even if it was trying to improve things for the Drones... This was excessive, especially to force Ray to go along with it all.... But it ended with a predictable result when Mona made a fatal mistake.

V's eyes widened and hollowed when she realize that this was the first time that he killed someone. It was no wonder that this weighed on him so much... But her expression soon changes to one of concern -- she wasn't afraid of him, or something such as that. She was worried for him.

What followed next was predictable; Victor's path was changed irrevocably, just like Ray's had been. Even so... The fact that he got so uncomfortably close to killing Ray...

The fact that this entire Brotherhood did that to him -- all for their "cause..."

One more time.

[Current Objectives:
Eliminate Solver Hosts.
Do a good job, V.

>Replace objectives with Eliminate The Brotherhood of the Singularity, Eliminate Iseult Leblanc, Eliminate Victor Hemlock, Eliminate "Dear Leader"
>Replace objectives with Eliminate The Brotherhood of the Singularity, Eliminate Iseult Leblanc, Eliminate Victor Hemlock, Eliminate "Dear Leader"
>Replace objectives with Eliminate The Brotherhood of the Singularity, Eliminate Iseult Leblanc, Eliminate Victor Hemlock, Eliminate "Dear Leader"
>Replace objectives with Eliminate The Brotherhood of the Singularity, Eliminate Iseult Leblanc, Eliminate Victor Hemlock, Eliminate "Dear Leader"
>Replace objectives with Eliminate The Brotherhood of the Singularity, Eliminate Iseult Leblanc, Eliminate Victor Hemlock, Eliminate "Dear Leader"

Current Objectives:
Eliminate The Brotherhood of the Singularity
Eliminate Iseult Leblanc
Eliminate Victor Hemlock
Eliminate "Dear Leader"

Previous Objectives overwritten. The Administrator has been contacted.]

Her mind was clear now. She didn't care if Cyn or WHOEVER had a problem with it. V steps towards Ray slowly, and then she brings a hand up to grasp his.

"Ray. You're not a monster.

You're a good man, and they took advantage of you. But I won't let them hurt you ever again. I promise."

She paused only briefly.

"I'll make it all go away for you. So you can rest easy. They won't hang over you anymore."

---

"Well, don't worry about it. You have plenty of opportunity to get caught up on events now."

J responded to Uzi's words. It DID take the Worker Drone quite a bit to recover from that shock, however. Boy, that lasted for a good little bit there, too... The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone just couldn't help but find her freaking adorable.

... Oh god, is this how Tessa felt about N?
... She kind of gets it, now.

Uzi eventually snaps out of it and calls them crazy for wanting to go to Prom with her of all people. Chaos takes it in stride though, just hyping up how much of a good thing it is for her. Eventually Uzi learned to do the same, blushing and smiling awkwardly as she finally accepts the proposal.

"Perfect! Now we just need to figure out the last few details here."

J remarks, and Chaos offered his two cents on what J was talking about earlier. She gives a nod at his assessment of asking Doll and Lizzy, as well as Ray for help.

"That sounds about right."
She then smirks a little.
"Especially the fact that Ray and V are probably going at it again. I swear they couldn't be more obvious about how much they like each other if they tried."

She chuckles a little, but gets back on track.

"Still. Let's go check out that workshop then. It'll be good to see what kind of equipment we have to work with anyway."

J then states with a nod. With a plan of action in mind, she was content to lead the way. Unless of course, Chaos or Uzi had something they wanted to do first.

I smiled as I hugged Uzi. "Im so glad you agreed! This'll be my first time going to prom, so its a first for everyone." I would kiss her right now, but she might just bite me for trying to steal hers first kiss at an awkward moment like this.

"Heh, those lovebirds doesnt know when to stop. Probably on their third child right now." If Ray was here he'd slap me so hard I'd have another memory loss.

"Right. Lets hit up Rays workshop first. Im pretty sure he wouldnt mind us snooping around as usual. Then, Lizzy and Dolls. Knowing them they are probably not up to any good, so I'd be wary of them. ...In a good way, its not like they'll betray us or anything."

"Lead the way, J! Will be right behind you."

Cloris gave E snd M a wry little smile. ”Maybe if I get a pistol you can find out.

Cloris blinked as E brought up something she didn't consider. She stroked her chin.

”This is a unique situation though. Perhaps we should check her body. Or if that isn't possible, devise a method for tracking cores. If she is alive we should try and recover her core. It’s going to take time for her backup to get here, time we don’t have.”

She blinked at E. Then she turned her head to look at M. ”I’m sorry you went through that. Who is the boss that E is referring to?”

Cloris looked back over at E, looking at her hat curiously. ”99 did mention the properties of your hat. So how do you decide when you should take it off?”

Cloris looked over at M, her green eyes studying the core.  ”Neither did I. I figured you were lost to that thing, considering it assimilates whatever it can.”

And then E asked her a pretty strange question. She stared for a few seconds, putting a hand on her hip.

”I do. There was a time during my surgeries where it was difficult for me to chew and swallow solid food. Bananas were an easy thing to purée, so I had plenty of those.


And then M asked a hell of a doozy. Cloris blushed, frowning at M. ”99 was polite and very helpful. She didn’t make any type of advances on me. You know her well M: she isn’t the type to do something like that.”

---

”I guess I do have plenty of time. Assuming I don’t die horribly or turn into a monster or something.”

When she got embraced by the human, Uzi hugged Chaos back, her arms shaking slightly. This whole situation was surreal to the drone.

”Yeah, it’s my first prom too…” Uzi mumbled.

After the hug ended, Chaos and J go to talking about Ray and V. Uzi’s visor flashed a disgusted emoji on it for a few seconds.

”Okay, could you not put that image into my head? I don’t want to think about those two doing that.”

Uzi sighed, resigning herself to her fate. ”Right, I guess we’ll see about getting dressed up for… prom. Yeah.”

Uzi would follow the two at a short distance behind the two. She slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket and looked at both J and Chaos worryingly. Although even though they both seemed interested in her, she felt like she was so far away from them. But they insisted on dragging her close to them. Was the distance really so vast? It certainly felt that way for Uzi.

Cloris seemed to be able to take it in stride, surprisingly enough. A wry smile and a statement that if she got a pistol they might be able to find out was what they got in response. E was already looking forward to it.

"I'll keep an eye out for any!"

E replied. Not long after that, the green-haired woman then offered her own two cents on what to do regarding the missing member of their squad.

"Ooooh, good thinking! Niney said that monster is dead now, and we killed a whole lot more of them last night! So we should be able to do all kinds of scouting around safely!"
She responded -- and then she remembered.

"Oh, uh. Except one thing. If you're talking with Niney, then you should know this too.
M's body was stolen, and it's eating up every Drone it can come across. M thinks it'll be especially dangerous for our squad."

Once she shared that information, the conversation continued along as Cloris asked who "Boss" is. E just smiles in response.

"He's the nice guy that always gives me headpats for doing a good job! I think they said his name is Chaos."

E responds, and as Cloris then asks about her hat, she leans back a little into the couch as she thinks that over.

"Hmm... I guess it depends. If we're in danger, or something is really important, then I take the hat off! I guess a good hit can also knock it off -- but if I'm taking one of those, it probably needed to come off anyway."
E explains with a shrug, pausing briefly. Then she smiles as she gestures to M.
"So for example! M needs a lot of help! So I was actually gonna take my hat off earlier!"

And not long after that -- E receives the most important answer of all: Yes, Cloris did like Bananas!

"Yes!"
E pumps her fist excitedly.
"I knew I had a good feeling about you!"

... And then M went and asked if Cloris and 99 banged. E tilts her head, wondering what that meant. Then, as if she had a realization...

"Oooooh! Like target practice?! Bang, bang!"

She gestures some finger guns, mimicking the action of gunfire. Though Cloris's flustered response led her to believe maybe that wasn't the case. E then crosses her arms, trying to unravel the mystery here. What else involved banging?

---

Ray's panic attack only seemed to be increasing in intensity as he realized that Iseult was still alive, and that they knew he was too. As a result, V knew that she had to get him back down to reality. Fortunately her touch seemed to do just that. But with her other hand she gently pulls on his head to guide his gaze to her.

"Breathe."

She said first -- his breathing had become so erratic that she was certain soon he would be feeling dizzy, and that would only intensify the fear.

"Iseult is never going to even get the chance to hurt you. I'll take care of her myself."
She then states... And given how good she was at fighting, one got the impression that she really COULD take out anything in her path, especially when given a good reason to fight it.

Alas, despite her attempts to convince him that he wasn't at fault, he was still certain that it was. Between his words and the shaking of his head, it was clear he was adamant about this. V then runs her hand down from his chin to his shoulder.

"Sshhh..."
She gently hushes him, and then she speaks;
"Think about this for a moment, Ray. You know very well the type of person that Mona was. The truth is that once you hesitated to help her, she was always going to take it out on you if you finally did save her."

V shakes her head.
"Her promises were desperate. But how many times did she hear words like that just to callously discard them? Even if she didn't do anything to you -- they wouldn't have let you go."

But of course, that was only one aspect of this... She understood he was carrying the guilt of everything that happened in that mission.

"You tried to stop them from going through with it, Ray. You wanted nothing to do with it when they refused to listen to you, and then they forced you to go through with it."

V's words were interrupted just a little when he suddenly hugs her, decrying his own weakness and the supposed failure of the people he cared about. V would simply wrap her arms around him in response, both patting him and caressing him.

"Ray... You're not weak. You're kind. There is a difference. I like how gentle you are."
She spoke softly, smiling a little as she took in his warmth. Though it fades when he insists that he's a soulless monster.

She shakes her head in response.

"Now you know that's not true. Would someone soulless take the time to listen to a Drone's silly wish about daylight, and even go so far as to make it come true?"

Finally... It seemed like she was getting through to him. Slowly he lifts his head to look at her, asking if she really would keep him safe. V gives him a nod in response.

"I will. I'm pretty good at killing monsters, you know."
V gives him a little smile after she says that.
"So trust in me. I'll handle it."

And then, she trails her hands up to his face, cupping his cheeks.

"I'll take it all on. No matter what happens to the bad people like Iseult, it won't be on you. Okay? You're not asking me to do this -- you might not even want me to.

... But I'll do it, even so."

---

J simply waves off that fear.
"Eh, harder than that to turn into one of those things. Besides, I can handle anything that could possibly be a threat."

Still... On the subject of firsts, J thought that over. Technically she had been to a gala. Once. But as a servant, not really a party-goer. So this was probably going to be the very first time for her, too.

"Come to think of it, I guess it's my first Prom as well. We sure picked an interesting way to handle that, huh?"

The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone admits with a smirk. She can't help but chuckle at what Chaos and Uzi had to say about Ray and V, though.

"I mean, he's not wrong though. We did all hear them last night..."

But regardless! The group was in agreement! It was time to secure some Prom Clothing, so the first stop was going to be Ray's workshop. Chaos gave her the go ahead to lead the way, and Uzi was following along as well. J didn't mind keeping a relaxed pace, especially considering the little Worker Drone seemed to be deep in thought about something.

She wondered what about -- she had her theories, but if she went about blurting any of them out, it probably wasn't going to get anything except a 'Bite me!' from Uzi.

Thankfully it didn't take them long to get to the workshop. Lo and behold, Doll and Lizzy were there too.

"Well, that works."

J admits as she looks over at what they're making. Lizzy perks up once she spies the three of them, and then she makes her way over to Chaos.

"Perfect! Now I just need to find Cloris later -- until then, you stand right there."

Lizzy would then begin to take his measurements. If asked about what she was doing, she would answer;
"Taking his measurements so I can make a Prom outfit for him."

And once she was done, she smiles as she looks to J and Uzi.
"Going to be making some for you two, as well."

... And then she zeroes in on Uzi.

"Prepare to be popular."

I noticed Uzi trailing behind us. I looked back at her. "Uzi, whats wrong? Something on your mind?" I dont want her to be left out of anything and Im beginning to worry. Is this the right path for us? Would staying friends would be any better? No, I wouldnt think it'd be better than this. I want to be with Uzi and I want her to be happy. I think a lot is going on in both of our minds, I just dont know whats going on in hers.

I slow down my speed, catching up to her. "Uzi, you dont need to worry about anything, alright?" I said, trying to reassure her. I would try something like holding hers hand, or carrying her. But right now, Im not sure doing anything physical would be right.

We made it to Rays workshop, and surprisingly Lizzy and Doll was there to meet us.

"Oh, Hey Lizzy, Hey D..." I was unfazed when I looked at Lizzy, but when I turned my head to greet Doll something hit me hard. A sudden flashback of me talking to a tiny robot rushed back into me. At that moment I realized: I always wanted a cute Russian girlfriend and nicknamed her a cute Lil Babushka. Doll is Russian, Doll is kinda cute, I have no clue what a Babushka is but I gotta do this. While Doll isnt my girlfriend, I can atleast give her the cute nickname of 'Babushka'.

"Hey Lil Babushka!" I said, greeting her happily. "Didnt expected you two here!" Despite not understanding Doll, Im sure she wouldnt like the nickname. But I like it so Im not budging.

I couldnt help but blush as Lizzy got close to me. "H...hey, arent you a little close?" I complained a bit. She directed me to a certain spot and I did what she told me. She then took my measurements. "What exactly are you going to make out of this, Lizzy? I dont think you can make this scientist look any dapper."

I sigh in relief as Lizzy finished measuring me. I'd be honest: Lizzy is attractive and her being very close to me almost caused something me to activate. Im just glad Uzi and J is here with me, or else Im afraid Lizzy and Doll would try something.

Cloris’s smile grew ever so slightly. ”I’m sure you can find one somewhere if you look hard enough.”

Cloris looked over at M as he grew rather suspicious of her. That was right: they probably didn’t have an idea of what was going on. Not to the extent that 99 did anyway. She nodded at E, then turned to look at M.

”I know only what 99 has been able to tell me on the situation. But ever since we’ve landed on the planet we’ve been under constant attack. Each time we hold off one of these monsters, they adapt to what we do. The longer we wait for backup, the bigger a disadvantage we’ll have.”

She then looked back at E, letting out a sigh. ”My point exactly. We aren’t going to get a break anytime soon. I’ll have to inform 99 of this development when we’re done talking here.”

M and E described him differently, but that sounded like Chaos. She looked over at M, putting a hand on her hip.

”You insulted J in front of him, didn’t you?

Cloris frowned, stroking her chin. She knew what this meant of course. Even if he got his body back, the solver could potentially leave traces of itself in there. She couldn’t come out and say that, but she could try to encourage something else.

”Perhaps we should prepare a temporary body for you. We don’t know where this thing is right now, and it isn’t going to make a move until it gathers enough material.”

Cloris crossed her arms, looking at M sternly. ”We aren’t using a member of this crew as bait. Believe it or not, Chaos is one of the best in his field. No one here is expendable.”

With that out of the way, the conversation turned to E’s hat. Cloris lowered her arms, nodding at E in understanding.

”Right now you have many people around who can assist you. So I’d recommend only taking the hat off as a last resort. If you need help with something ask someone around you.”

Cloris smiled at E’s enthusiasm. She didn’t know why the drone liked bananas so much, but if it helped built a connection to her, then she wasn’t going to question it.

”I’ll check the inventory later and see if we have any bananas on board. So much has happened that I’ve lost track of what we have.”

Oh no. E was misinterpreting the banging comment. She looked over at M, a slight blush on her face. He seemed to be regretting the situation as well. She looked back over at E, nodding her head.

”I had a nightmare and 99 hugged me to make me feel better. So yes, we banged.”

It was partially true. And it gave her an out. And she was sure that no consequences would come from this innocent lie. None whatsoever.

Cloris scratched her cheek, the faint blush still present. ”Any information on her would be appreciated. 99 has her reasons for maintaining her distance for the moment, but when she meets up with us officially I’d like make her transition as easy as possible. Do you mind giving me those tips on how to catch her eye? For team chemistry reasons, of course.”

The blush on her face was betraying her. She probably wasn’t going to be convincing M of that excuse with the lack of a poker face Cloris was currently showing.

---

Uzi frowned, folding her arms. ”Hey, don’t get too cocky. I know you’re strong, but M ended up getting his butt kicked and became the most annoying paperweight.”

Uzi reached up, rubbing the back of her head. ”That’s one way of putting it. I think this whole situation is crazy.”

Uzi blushed at the mention of hearing Ray and V. She put her hands over where a human’s ears would be.

”Ugh! Don’t remind me! I’m still trying to purge it from my memory banks!”

Uzi looked at Chaos if he asked her if something was wrong. Uzi had so much that was going on inside of her. She didn’t know if she could even put it all into words. But she smiled faintly, slipping her hands into her pockets.

”Yeah, I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all. My whole life changed when I walked outside the bunker. I’m still trying to get used to things, that’s all.”

It wasn’t a lie. But it was easier to talk about that then the idea of being far away from the two of them. Still, she felt a little better. The word Thanks flashed across her visor for a few seconds.

Doll looked over as the trio entered the room. This time she managed to avoid showing one of the disassembly’s animosity. She didn’t spar J much other than a passing glance. However when Chaos addressed her a certain way, suddenly all her attention was on him. And she did not look happy in the slightest.


”Tak eto ty otkuda u etogo kroshechnogo robota takoye duratskoye imya.”

[“So you're where that tiny robot got that stupid name from.”]

Meanwhile Uzi was looking back at Lizzy, looking almost as annoyed. She then let out a groan.


”UGGGGGGH! I don’t want to be popular Lizzy. Just make me a fricking dress or something so I can go to the prom.”

Doll rolled her eyes. ”Khvatit nyt', Shveytsar. Lizzi izo vsekh sil starayetsya. Ty stanesh' populyarnym, nravitsya tebe eto ili net.”

[“Quit whinning Doorman. Lizzy goes all out on everything. You're going to be popular, whether you like it or not.”

”Bite me!”

Cloris ended up sharing some pretty concerning information about how these monsters kept adapting. That was true... To an extent, anyway. E thinks that over for a second.

"Hmm... Well, the one that we fought seemed to struggle afterwards. I think it's important to learn how you can hit these things and make it last."
She then points to her own hat.
"When it knocked off my hat, apparently I went and breached the security that the monster had, and gave it incredible sensitivity to light!"

E finishes her explanation -- and there may very well be some merit to using unconventional methods to deal with the obstacles they're facing. Overwhelming firepower to destroy them was your other best bet. But they could be weakened too.

"If you know the weaknesses, you can exploit it! If it doesn't have any, then make some!"

... Yeah, even with her hat on, sometimes her true intelligence slips through. When Cloris then suggests that she should go tell 99 about this, E gives a nod in agreement.
"Please do. Niney is really smart, so I'm sure she'll start coming up with countermeasures for it!"

After that, M helped to explain who 'Boss' is, by calling him a Drone Fornicator. E tilts her head at that word.

"What's a fornicator?"
Fortunately for both of them, Cloris gets E's mind onto something else by replying that M must have insulted J in front of him.

E couldn't help but giggle at how accurately M got called out there.
"Wow! It's like you've known M forever! He sure did."

Then... Cloris suggested that they should create a temporary body for M to use -- it was true enough that it would be difficult to track the creature down until it was ready. E ends up nodding at that suggestion.

"Heeey, good point! M would be a lot more comfortable with a proper body, and then he can really help out!"

Ahh, but speaking of M; he went and suggested that they use Chaos as bait. He really had it out for anyone that crossed him even just a little... But ESPECIALLY anyone that would subject him to "one of J's lectures." Cloris was quick to shoot the idea down, and E nods in agreement with that as well.

"Yeah! I know you don't like Boss very much yet, M. But he's nice! You'll see."

E voices her agreement -- and then she's a little surprised when both of them are saying that she should just leave the hat on. And a part of her wanted to agree with that. Just leave it on and stay happy. But ever since what happened to 99, and M, and U... To her entire squad.

Well, even having things dulled by a magnet couldn't stop your mind from wandering.

"Yeah... I wanna agree with you guys. But there might be a time when I have to do it. Maybe if I did it from the start, things would have played out differently."
She reaches up and adjusts the hat just a little.
"I know without it, I can do some pretty amazing things. I think I need to embrace that side of me more."

But at least her mood wasn't down for long! As the subject of bananas came back up, E's tail started to wag as a sign of her excitement.
"Oooh, it's been so long! We've really only had oil on Copper 9 -- and that's all we need to consume to survive, but bananas are so gooood!"

And speaking of good things... Apparently banging with someone meant hugging them because they were special to you! E gives a nod as she listens to M; and if she ever had any skepticism about it, it was dispelled as Cloris agreed with him.

"Oooooh!"
E then gives a thumbs up, as her eyes are replaced with text that reads: "Got it!"

After a moment, her eyes returned to normal. She should tell Boss how much she wants to bang him later! Then throw in the biggest hug ever! That should really brighten up his day!

---

Slowly, but surely... Ray was calming down. It was a lot -- of course his emotions were going to explode. Of course it was going to be  messy... And of course he would need time to get through it. That's why she wasn't trying to rush him. His feelings were valid, he needed to let them all out.

Although eventually he mustered up what he needed in order to speak; and he ended up asking something that plunged V into thought for a moment.

Golden Retrievers... That was a breed known for it's friendly, intelligent temperament and it's soft golden coat. They were also known for having gentle mouths. That's why they're so good with kids!
The more she thought about that -- and seriously, why did THAT of all things just crop up without her even having to look up the info -- the more she took in Ray's appearance...




... And eventually, she responds with:

"... Yeah, actually."

V replies with an honest smile. It wasn't an insult in the slightest; that was the feeling one could get from the way she was staring back at him so appreciatively. Gradually, he starts to look better and better, and then he says that he wanted to share more sunrises with her.

The Disassembly Drone's smile widens in response.
"I want that too..."

It was amazing to see. It was almost like all of the weight was dropping from his back. V... Liked this feeling. Helping someone with this, building them up... Maybe she could keep doing that. Ray had some issues with his self-esteem, so maybe this was just the first step of many on the road to self-improvement!

Of course, she'd be right there to support him, and guide him along the way. She just needed to give him that gentle push to get him started. As she mused on that, she noticed that it seemed like he wanted to say something, but was a little nervous. She tilts her head, and gently encourages him.

"You can say it. There won't be any judgement here."

With that said, she waits patiently for him. He does manage to start speaking, but he gradually begins to trail off into mutters. Eventually only managing a whisper for the very last part. V blinks, then she blushes a little as she giggles in response.

"What was that, silly?"

But as he wraps his arms around her, she cooperates with him and reciprocates the gesture. She gives a little nod in response.

"It kinda feels like we've known each other for a very long time... Like we might have met before all of this."
V replies... And slowly she gets a mischievous little grin.

"... My golden engineer~"

---

J chuckles lightly at Uzi's worries.
"Yes, but that was M. Don't worry, I conduct myself very differently from him. After all, we came out of last night without a scratch!"

J seemed to be the only one brimming with confidence even in the face of a situation that even she could agree was pretty crazy. If you were to ask her why, it might be a little difficult. But, she supposed that it would boil down to the fact that Chaos made her happy, so she liked making him happy, and he wanted to make Uzi happy!

So, the logical solution was to maintain a circle of happiness! It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that she understood why Tessa had a favorite in N now. She was certainly not getting attached to the Worker Drone. That would be silly. She cracks a smile at Uzi's overblown reaction to what Ray and V did before.

The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone listened as Chaos and Uzi talked. To be honest... She could relate to that feeling of your whole life changing and struggling to make sense of it. It was a lot.

"Well, you won't have to get used to it alone, at least."

J offered her own two cents on that.

And then finally! The Workshop! Chaos nearly immediately greets Doll with an unusual nickname. Doll had her realization of where Klein got it from, and Lizzy remembered it too. She looks over at her girlfriend, and then she begins to break out into a smile.

Lizzy ends up having to cover her mouth as she very loosely keeps her composure. J arches a brow. Did Chaos know what that word meant?

Well, at least Lizzy seemed to be in a particularly good mood right now. It doesn't take her long to get the measurements she needs, even as Chaos talks with her about what she's up to.
"Duh. Kinda have to be close in order to take your measurements."

She replies as she glances up at him. While she's doing so, she decides to utilize that vitals scanner. She was curious about Humans. It doesn't take her long to realize that his heart rate is increased slightly, and it seems like he's having an excited reaction to something...

She smirks, and decides to test her theory by brushing against him a little more than necessary, lingering her touch here and there. Either way, at least he was free from it before long as she straightens out, having what she needed a little bit ago. Evidently Chaos was still curious though, asking what she might make out of this -- along with a comment that he was pretty sure he couldn't be dapper.

"Oh please. I can make anyone look good."

Lizzy responds; and that is precisely why when Uzi objects, she smirks at her.

"Doll's right. You're just gonna have to get used to it."

She chuckles as she makes her way over to the machinery.

"Already got some ideas for you."
She pauses only briefly, deciding to go full throttle with her next words;
"What's your thoughts on something pink, lacy and frilly?"

"I know how you feel, Uzi." I think back to my family, how they all where gone in an instant. Its not that sever as Uzis, however, but I do know how she feels. "I've been through something similar, so I kinda know where you are coming from. I agree with J, you arent alone anymore."

"D...did she liked the nickname?" I said to Lizzy, a bit confused. "I... I think its cute! Lil Babushka is a cute nickname..."

Lizzy rubs herself a little against my body and I felt a little tingle on my crotch. "D...damnit!" I cursed at myself as I tried desperately not to get a boner in front of Lizzy. Stupid sexy Lizzy!

As Lizzy finished taking my measurements, I skipped a little to the side. "Ph... phew, that was close..."

"You can? I hope so..."

"Uzi in something pink and frilly? She would look so cute..." I began to imagine an image of Uzi in a cute dress. I had a dreamy smile as I imagine this image.



"So cute..."

Cloris looked at E in shock as she explained how she dealt with the monster. ”You hacked the creature? They can be hacked?!”

Cloris couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. She assumed that the solver would make them hackproof. But that didn’t appear to be the case. Was it because the creatures were separate from the witches? It opened a whole mirade of options if that was the case. It was something she was going to have to bring up during a strategy meeting.

Speaking of which, both E and M were right about 99: she was going to have to be in the know as soon as possible. She didn’t know if M’s appearance would be enough to get 99 out of her self-imposed exile, but she would have to let her in on this new development.

”It’s a little earlier then I expected, but I’ll have to contact 99 and let her know that you’re okay M.”

There was an edge of excitement to her voice as she said this. Thank god for M showing up. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have an excuse to use that communicator 99 gave her! Although E asking what a fornicator was settled down her excitement just a little. She scratched her cheek, furrowing her brow.

”It means someone who makes good friends with drones. While it has been getting better in recent years, most of humanity views drones as disposable. Chaos is the furthest thing away from that.”

Question expertly dodged! At least, Cloris hoped so. It seemed like a good enough explanation for E to buy. And again, there were sure to be no negative consequences from this little white lie.

Cloris frowned as M said that it had been fun to antagonize Chaos. ”I would suggest you try to be at least somewhat civil to the crew. They all have their eccentricities, myself included. Chaos has his… vices. But I assure you he’s more than capable of carrying his weight around here..”

Cloris could have indeed saw that monster coming. But that was the was curse of the situation: she would only reveal so much at any given time. Fortunately, the more everyone saw what the solver was capable of, the more likely they were to accept the more outlandish things Cloris knew would come. She had seen what it was truly capable of after all.

”You can’t hit yourself for not taking it off sooner E. From what I understands doing that carries great risk to you. Using something like that requires for you to know when to properly utilize it. You did the best you could given the circumstances.”

Cloris glowered at M as he started laughing like a madman. Okay, that was really sus wording. But she had to end the conversation as quickly as possible. She took out the device 99 gave her from out of a pocket in her labcoat.

”If you’re quite finished M, I’m going to contact 99.”

Cloris turned the device on and sent out a signal, waiting for 99 to pick it up.

---

Uzi crossed her arms in front of her chest. ”Yeah, but don't get too cocky, okay? I don't want you getting seriously hurt.”

Uzi then looked away, huffing. ”Not that I care or anything. I just don’t want losing a valuable ally, or whatever.”

The faint blush on her visor betrayed her real feelings though. Hopefully J wouldn't catch onto that. Although that was very unlikely.

Uzi looked over at both Chaos and J. She looked usure. She raised a hand out of one of her pockets, scratching her cheek awkwardly.

”I know. It's just… weird, you know? I've been so used to being alone and I didn't expect that to change, ever.”

Both Uzi and Doll looked annoyed when Lizzy
rubbed up against Chaos. Uzi was the one to snap though.

”Hey! You have your own date you hussy! And I'm not getting used to getting popular! At most I'm only going to popular for one night!”

Uzi only got more annoyed at Lizzy's suggestion. No way was she letting her dictate things.



”I'd rather drink a bucket of flaming gasoline then wear something frilly and pink!”

Cloris's shock was not hidden in the least -- she couldn't believe that anyone was able to hack them. E just gives a nod in response, not really getting the importance of that in her current state.

"Yeah, I don't really get how I did it, but... Actually, I think I know how to explain it!"

E then simply pops her hat off on the spot. She blinks for a moment, then she straightens out.

"There is a security vulnerability to external factors. If you try to break through it on the user end, then you won't get anywhere. But you can exploit the same method that the Absolute Solver uses to get inside and change the permissions.

I slipped in as an Admin, set it to night vision, and made it so that it could only be changed with Admin Access.

In theory -- and if you had enough time -- you could shut down their weapon systems. Or you could change their targeting systems. I was working under pressure so I had to improvise."

E then crosses her legs. Her entire manner of speaking had changed, along with her posture... Honestly the difference was like night and day.

"It's not something that they can easily patch either. It prefers having the ability to tinker with anything that it gets it's hands on."
She brings a hand to her chin as she ponders for a moment.
"Hmm... I think you might even be able to change who the Administrator is. It's not like it can keep an eye on everything perfectly."

After that, she clears her throat a little.

"By the way, I hope you two realize that those little lies of yours are going to complicate things a lot for Chaos."
She sighs a little.

More importantly, both M and Cloris were trying to comfort E over her decision to continue wearing the hat. It's not that she didn't appreciate it... But at the same time...

"As much as I don't like being able to remember everything clearly... I'm certain I will have no choice but to face it in order to keep everyone safe. With the hat on, I might as well be the most unpredictable fighter in the world.

But I can't exploit the vulnerabilities of our enemies, either. I need a clear mind for that."

With that said... She then turns her attention to M.

"As for your questions... I can answer the specifics now."

---

V gives him an appreciative smile as he takes it as the compliment it was meant as. It was also nice to learn that he was a dog person.
"I'm glad. I like them too."

And then he seemed to fall deep in thought. V couldn't help but be curious about what was on his mind. He didn't seem to be upset -- so it probably wasn't his past. Was he thinking about what she said about her wish? Soon enough she gets the answer as he replies joyfully that they'll see more sunrises together.

"Then I'll look forward to it!"
She replies, on her own end she was happy -- and determined to make sure he stayed safe so he COULD see those sunrises.

... And so she could see him in happier moments like this, where he was fumbling over his words while trying to be affectionate with her. She couldn't help but giggle softly at his slightly panicked explanation... And at the same time, she reminded herself that she needed to be sure to show him just how much she loved him despite the teasing.

Because none of it was meant to make him feel bad or uncomfortable. That was why she had come up with her own nickname for him, just to make sure that he wouldn't get the wrong impression. It ended up working because it dragged him right out of that somber mood he was falling into.

V smiled back at him -- a more confident one, but no less heartfelt.

"That's right, Goldie~"

She responds, just immersing herself in the moment with him.

... She was equally shocked when Klein suddenly spoke. The Disassembly Drone was blushing as well.

"Hey...!"

As upset as she wanted to be... It was kind of hard to take it out on the little guy. They WERE taking quite awhile here, in the middle of his maintenance. Ray decided it was time to get back to work and V agreed with that notion.

That didn't stop Klein from hitting them with another whammy.

"W-We haven't even talked about that sort of thing yet!"

She responded quickly.

... But she WAS open to talking about it.

---

Honestly, the more J got familiar with Uzi, the easier it was to read between the lines... The little Worker Drone was a softie, wasn't she? But at least for now Uzi was off the hook when it came to teasing. J could have easily kept it going for awhile, but too much of a good thing at once can spoil it.

Unfortunately she did very much catch onto it. The twin-tailed Disassembly Drone used to be like that, after all...

Now, as for Lizzy? It took her a moment to compose herself before she could respond to Chaos. Even then she was fighting back laughter;

"Hhh-... Y-yeah! She loves it!"

It was fair to say that she reveled in this -- she had picked up a lot of bad habits, and those habits were going to die hard. Even so, if Doll had been the one to get upset about it, she would have explained the situation calmly (even if it came later).

But Uzi being the one to blow up? Yeah that pretty much egged this on. Lizzy was in full throttle right now...

"Yeah. I do have a date. And it sure seems like you have one now, too."
She retorts; oh but Lizzy was FAR from done yet.
"Gosh, you have a date for Prom, you're gonna have one of the best dresses ever -- at this rate your reputation is going to change overnight!"

Now, naturally Uzi's reaction was to be expected. But the particular way in which she reacted gave Lizzy all kinds of ammo to work with. Her vehement denial about wearing something like that meant that the blonde looks over at Chaos -- who currently seems to be daydreaming about Uzi wearing something cute.

Wow, her smug readings were off the charts as she looks back at Uzi.

"Your boyfriend seems to like the idea."

Lizzy then begins to operate the machine whilst continuing the conversation.

"It won't be so bad. You'll join us at Cheerleader Practice -- get ANOTHER outfit he'll like seeing you in -- and you'll be on top of the world!"

Still, for as much fun as she was having, she DID know that Uzi had a... Unique style, compared to most everyone else. Lizzy wasn't actually going to make her something like that -- well, it'd be funny as a joke, no doubt. But Ray would probably chew her out for the waste of materials.

No, it was better to make something that Uzi would actually put on, even if reluctantly. She had a few ideas for it... Even if she thinks the whole 'Hot Topic' thing was a bad vibe.

"Think about it, Chaos. Cheerleader Uzi."

She then remarks.

"A lot can change within little time, I atleast know that is possible. Atleast this is good change, Uzi. The bad kind isnt as good." While loosing my family was a bad change, gaining J and Uzi as girlfriends is a welcomed change. Hopefully everything goes well too.

"G...good, I had that nickname idea for a while. Its... its very cute I think!"

Looking at Doll she doesnt look too happy about it. That or she is thinking heavily on hers new nickname I gave her. Perhaps its hers first time ever receiving such a cute nickname, so its no wonder why she is pondering about this so much.

"While I am at it, I think I'll give you the nickname "Pink Starburst" as you remind me of the sweetest starburst you can get in a pack. Also you remind me of the color pink."

Uzi snapped at Lizzy and thankfully that put me back into my senses. She'd get pretty mad if anything sexual where to happen to me infront of her.

I snapped out of it one more time, now realizing Uzi is in hers normal clothing. "I... I mean, it'd be cute! Although, I'd admit it'd be nice to have an 'Uzi flare' to it. Something purple would work.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'd be popular with you Uzi."

However, after Lizzy mentioned Uzi in a cheerleader outfit...

"Cheerleader outfit? That could be... something..." Unfortunately for Uzi, my mind began to wonder off again, Imagining Uzi in a cheerleader outfit one similar to Lizzy's and Dolls.



Now I realized why Lizzy and Doll looked so sexy.

"So cute... and hot..." I said to myself once more, not knowing I've been talking out loud.