Chapter 8: The Pilot (8)
"So your entire squad got wiped out by a drone called… The Archangel?"
"That's the name that was strung across its chest. I don't know where the hell it came from, but it shouldn't be allowed to live after killing E."
"That's ironic coming from a disassembly drone whose entire purpose is to kill worker drones."
"Call me a hypocrite all you want, I am going to kill that drone if it's the last thing I do."
"Gladly, hypocrite."
Uzi giggled as the three drones continued crawling along in the ventilation shaft. She couldn't hear the emergency sirens ringing out in the bunker. Uzi couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing, but she was glad her ears could finally take a break from the constant noise.
N spoke from the back of the group. He seemed worried and afraid of the drone that'd massacred S's squad.
"What happens if we run into that thing Uzi?"
Uzi looked back for a moment and shook her head.
"We run, if an entire squad couldn't take it down then we sure as hell can't."
"Got it…"
The three drones eventually came across a broken vent cover. S landed on the floor first and looked around before signaling for Uzi and N to follow. N grabbed Uzi by the shoulder, she jumped at his touch out of instinct, he hesitated for a moment before gently hovering down onto the ground with her. S looked around at the hallway they'd dropped into. She sighed after noticing it split into 3 separate ways
"Which way Uzi?"
"There, that way leads to our escape route."
Uzi pointed down the left side of the hallway. She began walking but quickly bumped into a wall. Her vision caused her to stumble back and forth as she struggled to stand, let alone walk.
N moved on her right side and supported Uzi.
"I got you buddy."
"Bite me, we need to hurry before it's too late. "
She leaned on him as her feet struggled to move in a straight line. N was partially responsible for her injuries, but she did not decline the drone's help. A faint sound of something small scrambling in the vents rang in a low volume. Uzi continued talking as the group made their way deeper into the bunker with her railgun tucked in her back.
"When we get there, will you two be able to handle the others?"
S sighed and stopped in her tracks. Uzi and N halted as well. S crossed her arms and opened her mouth.
"We'll be able to handle them if they're split up."
"And if they're together?"
"That's a different story. V alone killed over 2,000 workers. She's definitely the strongest drone inside this bunker, and adding L into the mix makes our situation even worse. I don't know much about him, but the squad leaders are in that position for a reason. We NEED to isolate them or we stand absolutely no chance."
"What do you think N…?"
N looked down at Uzi with a shy smile.
"S is right. Every single time I watch V fight it reminds me of a tornado ripping through everything in its path. She cuts down everything in her way with little resistance. All 3 of us would still have to get lucky to take V down."
Uzi dropped her head at their utter lack of confidence.
"Listen, if you guys can distract her long enough for me to hit her with my railgun, then she's at least momentarily down. Is there a way for us to trap her or atleast tie her up?"
N and S looked at each other for a second. S shrugged while N hesitated to speak.
"Uhm… Maybe a chain…?"
Uzi raised her eye slightly.
"A… Chain? Will that seriously work…?"
"If she can't move her arms or legs then maybe."
"I- I guess we'll use a chain then…"
The three began to walk again. Their footsteps were the only noise filling the hallway besides the light scurrying coming from the smaller vents above.
-
"COME ON, FIGHT BACK!"
L laughed maniacally as he tore through the seemingly endless hordes of worker drones that stumbled around the hallways. He knew very well that no one would fight back.
Not a single worker turned to face him as they began to topple over each other and push their own friends and family down in order to preserve their life.
Once a small group of workers had pushed through one of the many doors strung along the hallway, it was suddenly shut and seemingly bolted in place as a strange red symbol visualized on the center.
L sighed and pushed his foot against the door. Once he realized it would not budge he started dashing towards the other groups fleeing the hallway into separate rooms.
"Do you really think you can get away? It's funny that you even try to escape your destinies!"
His claws ripped through the backs of the drones as the oil that spattered and spilled all over his body only fueled his lust for their deaths. Each dead worker was another reason for him to slaughter more and more. Killing these workers was one of the few things that brought L such ecstasy. His ears filled with the sound of panicked screams, desperate begging, and loud cries for help from the workers as he seemed to lose himself to the pleasure of hunting.
"YES, YES, YES!!!"
His laughs got louder and more rapid as he pounced from worker to worker. Each time L landed on a worker he first gripped their head and then tore it off like a toddler would tear off a barbie doll's head. Once he finished ravaging their bodies with his claws, he pounced onto the next worker, then the next. Over and over for what felt like an eternity of bliss, L extinguished the hope for life of everyone in the bunker who he'd come across.
"HAHAHAHAHA, THIS IS EXHILA--"
L's onslaught against the workers was interrupted by a deafening sound and a shockwave that shook the entire bunker.
His laugh stopped and he stood up straight.
"What the hell was that…"
L twitched his head in annoyance. An anomaly had occurred and he was practically forced to check it out.
"Damn it V…"
He looked forward and saw dozens of drones running through the many exits all around him. L sighed and gripped his fist before angrily spreading his wings and dashing through the facility towards the origin of the blast.
-
V let out a loud and merciless laugh as she ripped a worker drone's body into two pieces with her claws. Her pupils shined as she licked the fresh oil off her hands.
"One more kill for the company!"
She laughed once more however this laugh was much softer and sarcastic.
All for the company…
She stood up and twisted her head around the large open room scanning for any signs of more drones.
A small flicker of movement caught her eyes. She pushed off the ground and rapidly approached the spot she'd seen the motion.
"V WAIT!"
N stepped out from the hallway leading into the storage room V was in.
"What the…? N!? Where the hell have you been?"
"H-Hi V! I was uhm, talking with S!"
"Ugh, you need to stop being so friendly N. I know she's one of us, but S isn't one of US. You need to focus on getting more kills and moving up the ranks with me and L. We can't do this unless ALL of us pitch in."
"I pitched in… I found two colonies today…"
V's eyes softened and her tone got more warm as she stepped closer to N. He walked to her left side as V turned to her side to face him.
I-…
"I know N… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. You've done great today."
"Thanks V… I'm sorry…"
Sorry? You have no reason to be sorry N!
V's eyes had a hint of remorse in them as she felt like her words had offended N.
"What are you sorry ab-?"
Her sentence was cut off as she felt an unknown wave of energy pulsing to her right. She turned too late and saw a giant beam of light. V's body instinctively forced itself away from the beam. The head of the female disassembly drone jolted left as she tried desperately to avoid as much of whatever was being fired at her.
Part of V's face took a direct hit from the large green beam as she staggered back, Her right side's vision vanished in an instant as she took hold of her face.
"M-my face…"
V stumbled back as she ran her hands along her face. She was missing almost the entire right side of her head. Her knees buckled as she struggled to stand. The singular eye left on her visor looked toward N with utter betrayal.
"N… Why…?"
N could't reply. He didn't have the heart or courage to utter another word. Their surprise attack had failed and for all N knew, this was the end, but that wasn't what made him silent. V, the drone N had known for the longest and the one he cared about the most, was staring at him in complete disbelief at his attempt to kill her.
"V c-calm down… Just let me explain…"
"N GET HER!"
S called out from the hallway as she darted for V. N hesitated as V swung her arm around to catch S's blade between her claws. V kicked her away as S sliced her exposed head.
"AHH, WHAT THE HELL S, YOU TOO? N WHAT IS HAPPENING?"
"W-We're on the worker's side now…"
The… Worker's side…?
V's face slowly pieced itself back together as she leaped off the floor into the air with her wings extended. She hovered above N and S as her heart began to sink.
"N… Please tell me you aren't serious!"
"V, just hear me out, you trust me… Right…?"
"YOU JUST TRIED TO KILL ME!!! WHY WOULD I TRUST YOU?!"
"The workers want to help us V. They can help us get off this planet and go home."
Home…
"N please, do you even know what will happen if the company finds out what we're doing?"
"Forget the company V! We need to worry about ourselves! YOU need to worry about yourself for once instead of the dang company!"
N's words hurt her heart. He had no idea of what was really happening. She felt an immense guilt for not being able to confess anything to him.
"I can't let you do this N… I won't let you dig your own grave."
V's face had now fully restored itself. She lowered back onto the ground and replaced her claws with long thin blades. Her eyes narrowed, if she couldn't stop N's little rebellion now, a much worse fate awaited him. A fate V could not sit idly by and watch unfold.
S ended her silence while aiming her cannon arm in V's direction.
"Good good, we finally finished talking?"
N fought the urge to surrender as one of his hands transformed into a rifle while the other transformed into a blade that matched V's own. The three disassembly drones stood still for a moment. S rushed in and threw the first attack.
V angled both her blades upwards and caught S's attack. She dug into the ground with her left leg and slammed her right into the drone's core. The impact caused S to shoot back and staggered slightly as N slid in behind V.
"Don't do this N…"
"I'm really sorry V, I mean it…"
N fired off a few shots at V as her blade positioned perfectly to block each bullet. N slid along the floor and with the momentum slammed his blade into V's waist however one of her own blades was already waiting. His eyes widened slightly at her insane reaction times.
"Guess who?~"
S launched directly into V. The sudden speed caused V to crash into a wall as she quickly recovered.
"See that N? THAT is how you get her!"
"Yeah, thanks S…"
N and S both stepped closer as V backed into a corner.
Just stop N… I don't want to hurt you anymore.
"IDIOT!"
S let out a small laugh as she fired a missile towards V's corner.
"Wrong choice S."
V replied and quickly transformed one of her arms into a cannon and shot her own missile into S's. The collision caused a large cloud of smoke and steam to fill the area surrounding the three drones. N and S pushed their backs against each other as they both searched the smoke for V. N activated his thermal vision and scanned the smoke for any trace of V.
"She isn't on my side."
S whipped her head side to side.
"What, are you sure? I don't see her either."
"What? Then where is she?"
Both drones began to panic for a second before their questions about V's location were quickly answered.
V slammed into the ground beside the drones and quickly slashed them with both her bladed hands. S moved her right arm to block it, but V's blade sliced right through her arm, disconnecting it from her body as well as leaving a long slash in her side. N's right side met a similar fate as V's blade ripped through his waist and separated his body into two pieces.
"This is for your own good N…"
V kicked N's lower half away and in the same motion turned full circle and swept S's legs out from under her. She fell to the floor as V quickly decapitated the drone.
"It didn't have to end this way for you two."
"V… Please…"
V towered over N's torso and glanced down as he stared back up at her.
"We're going back to the landing pod N… I'll tell L that I accidently cut through a worker drone and hit you."
She glared at S's regenerating body.
"As for you… Leave and never come back. If I see you try any of this again then I WILL kill you S."
V grabbed N's arm and attempted to lift him.
"BITE ME DISASSEMBLY TRASH!"
-
L kept dashing through the hallway. He checked every room for any signs of what the hell shook the building. Many bunkers like the one L was in had fallen long before today, so he knew from experience it hadn't been anything natural. That ear-piercing sound accompanied by the shockwave only pushed the idea of an anomaly further.
"Where the HELL is V?"
Every single room that L checked was either empty or filled with dead workers. His head started to hurt at the frustration he felt boiling inside.
As L continued pacing down the halls the massive shockwave hit him once more as his sensors rang out in pain at the sound.
"FUCKKKKKK-!"
His hands instantly moved to grip his head while his legs began to rush towards the sound.
L darted down the hallway for a few minutes. It ended in a curve and opened up into a storage room of sorts.
"V!"
He saw V tied up on the floor with chains wrapped around her arms and legs. She looked up at L and then back down to the floor with disappointment. Her mouth was taped shut. Oil was splattered all along the ground as the drone stepped closer.
L walked closer to V as his eyes wandered around the room. It was far too quiet. Each step he took made him feel more and more out of place.
He looked towards V once more however when she met his gaze her eyes shot back down.
What?
He drew a long thin blade out of his arm and lifted it to slice the chains around V.
A quiet noise came from behind a pile of boxes in the corner of the room.
L locked all of his sensors onto the corner. He raised his arm and transformed it into a cannon.
A sharp pain shot through his core.
"I'm sorry L…"
N's voice rang behind him. L looked down and saw N's blade pierced through where his core resided. His consciousness seemed to fade in and out each second as he struggled to turn his head.
"H-how did you m-manage th-that bu-buddy…?"
His tone wasn't filled with anger, instead it was filled with acceptance. He was not mad at N. L would have done the same thing in N's position.
"G-good-…"
He coughed as oil leaked from his chest.
"-J-job N… I'm p-proud… Y-you're fin-finally choosing your o-own path…"
N stared in confusion. The same confusion spread to V's face as L's body dropped to the floor after N unlodged his blade.
S stepped out from behind the pile of boxes while Uzi hopped down from a hanging ceiling light. Both drones looked at each other for a moment before approaching L's body.
"Weird last words…"
S was the first to break the silence. Uzi was the next one to speak.
"Yeah…"
She leaned in to look over his body. Uzi couldn't see much of anything, but she tried her hardest to inspect the disassembly drone. Just as she tried to force her eye to focus, a bit of L's oil shot up into her mouth. She tried to spit it out but ended up choking instead.
"Agh- Bleh-…"
The oil forced its way down her robotic throat. It didn't taste bitter. The oil itself tasted somewhat sweet. She shook her head, but once opening her eye she let out a gasp.
"M-my visor!"
N and S switched their view from L to Uzi as her visor began to repair itself. V's eyes went wide with fear while N and S just looked on in surprise.
A small purple symbol flashed on her right eye as her vision fully restored itself.
Uzi blinked a few times as the symbol vanished. For the first time her vision was clear and not flooded with glitches or emotions. She looked up at N, he was around 6 or 7 feet tall, and could now clearly see his short wavy hair. He had some sort of light grey hair that seemed to be practically stuck to his head while most of his torso and legs were covered by a black winter coat with a fur collar. His waist had a belt tightly wrapped around it to hold the coat in place.
She turned her head and looked at S. Her straight and thin gray hair ran down to her waist. She was shorter than N but still much taller than Uzi. S adorned a black hoodie which covered her entire torso. her lower half was purely covered in white and black metal with yellow stripes covering parts of her stilt-like legs.
Her eyes wandered to the drone whose oil she'd just drank. L had fluffier hair than N but not fluffy to the point of sticking up. He wore some sort of two-piece suit that covered most of his body besides his hands and feet. The once dark gray suit was now an oily black due to his oil leaking over it. He seemed to be around the same height as N, perhaps slightly shorter.
"Ahh… I see… N, grab V and let's go find the survivors."
-
Khan felt his heart race as he stood behind a large door within the bunker, around 100 stood behind him. He had tried to save as many drones as possible, but the disassembly drones seemed to come so fast. Khan took whoever would listen and led them to beat down safe room almost the entire colony had forgotten about.
"Everyone s-stay calm! They'll leave soon, I promise!"
Khan slouched against the large door shielding them from the disassembly drones. After all this time he still hadn't grown a single bit since Nori's death. He gripped his head and banged his head against the door.
I'm such a coward… I'm such a fucking coward…
He covered his eyes with his wrists as his knees hugged his chest. Khan sat alone in his thoughts as the sounds of panicked workers subsided.
"ITS UZI!"
A female's voice made Khan's head perk up as he scrambled to his feet. Khan peered past the reinforced glass window on the door and saw Uzi peeking inside with a smile strung on her face. He let out a laugh and smiled as his fist struck the door's control panel.
"Uzi you're okay!"
Khan was the first one to rush out as he grabbed Uzi into a bear hug. She was lifted off the ground by her father.
"Put me down…"
"W-what?"
"Put me down dad…"
Khan gently dropped Uzi onto the floor. Once he realized no one else had left the safe room he glanced to his right and left.
"H-Hi Uzi's dad…"
A male disassembly drone was waving awkwardly at Khan. Another female disassembly drone had her arms crossed with a strange look on her face, and one last drone was left chained up on the ground. Khan looked at the chained up drone on the ground as it fell on its side and failed to swing back upwards.
"Uzi… You brought… Disassembly drones here…"
"I KNOW THAT DAD BUT GUESS WHAT. I ACTUALLY FIXED MY MISTAKES. YOU LEFT ME TO DIE. YOU DIDN'T EVEN HESITATE TO SHUT THOSE DOORS ON ME!"
Khan clenched his fist.
"Uzi you need to understand something… If I would've tried to help you then EVERYONE would have died! I know as your father I should have tried to save you, but as the leader of the Worker Defense Force and sworn protector of all the people within this colony I had to leave you…"
Uzi opened her mouth in shock.
"Let's go N, S…"
N waved once more at Khan before turning and grabbing V like a basket. S was the first to start walking as Uzi stayed in the middle of the pack with N being the last to move.
"Uzi…"
Khan reached his hand out slightly but fought back the urge to say anything more.
He watched silently as his daughter left with the disassembly drones. The only sound was the footsteps of his daughter with the disassembly drones, and a faint scurrying in the vents above. Was he really such a bad enough father that she trusted the things that killed her own mother more?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone