章 18: Saved
In the midst of the tumult, Tessa's attempts to rouse N from his stupor persisted, her prodding becoming more insistent as she urged him to awaken.
"Wakey, wakey," she chided, her voice a blend of sarcasm and genuine concern that finally pierced through N's mental fog. Before she could revel in her success, her intentions were derailed by an unexpected intrusion.
The room's threshold was shattered as V materialized, burdened with Uzi's unconscious form draped across her back. Their arrival was swiftly followed by the appearance of Y/N, K, and Z, the ragtag group collectively bearing the marks of a hard-fought battle that regenerated not long after.
N's heart leapt at the sight of Uzi, but before he could articulate his concerns, V preemptively relayed the grim situation. "V, Y/N! Is Uzi–" N's words held a tremor of anxiety, his voice breaking through the relief that surged at the sight of his friend.
"Hurt. We're leaving." V's response was delivered with unwavering determination, the urgency underscoring her words as she held firm against the storm of emotions that clouded the room.
N's intention to offer aid was swiftly curtailed by V's resolute intervention. "I can take a squizz at–" Tessa's attempt to step in was swiftly silenced, her voice drowned out by the impassioned vehemence in V's eyes.
"You said you could control the Sentinels!" V's accusatory declaration sliced through the air like a blade, the weight of her words laden with frustration and disappointment. The tension was palpable, an unspoken confrontation erupting as N and Tessa found themselves ensnared in V's simmering anger.
"I... At least they can't boot loop me, but we'll just have to–" Tessa's voice trailed off yet again, as if the threads of her thoughts were being gently unraveled by an unseen force, thwarting her attempts to articulate a coherent thought.
"Do whatever you want. N?" V's words rang with a mixture of frustration and detachment, the currents of her emotions running deep as she questioned N's allegiance, only to be met with silence.
"It's okay, N. I haven't been honest with V yet," Tessa intervened, her touch landing gently on N's shoulder, a fleeting moment of connection in the midst of the chaos.
"...What did she tell you?" V's voice held a tinge of vulnerability, a momentary pause in her retreat as she turned back to confront Tessa's revelation. It was in that crucial pause that Uzi's consciousness began to stir.
"Ow... My freaking head..." Uzi's groan echoed in the tense space, her grip on her forehead a testament to her disorientation. Blinking through the haze, her gaze was drawn to the familiar neon green light beside her.
"Y/N...?" Her voice held a mix of relief and confusion as her senses gradually coalesced, recognizing the presence of her stalwart sibling amidst the turmoil.
"Sis, you're alright! I was so worried that-" Y/N began, his words brimming with concern and relief, but as Uzi swiftly disentangled herself from V and surged toward him, Y/N found himself enveloped in a tight, affectionate hug.
In that instant, the pent-up worries seemed to melt away as their embrace conveyed a reassurance that words often struggled to match.
Meanwhile, V's gaze bore into Tessa with a simmering mix of resentment and gratitude, her icy stare seemingly reflecting off Tessa's helmet. "Hey, V... thank you for getting her out of there," Y/N interjected, his voice a bridge between their locked gazes, momentarily breaking the standoff.
V, her arms crossed, looked away and muttered, "Don't mention it..." A faint, albeit reluctant, smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
The scene shifted, the dormant Sentinel that had bitten Tessa earlier, evading K's fiery tumult, stirred to life. Its once-icy blue eyes flickered into an ominous blood-red hue. A trail of bloody footprints acted as its guide, leading it to a cryptic message etched on the ground: HOLD STILL.
Uzi, Y/N, N, V, Tessa, K, and Z watched the unfolding scenario from a vantage point above. V steadied her aim, while Uzi exchanged a silent glance with N. Her visor illuminated with text: "U good?"
N's response was also digital: "It sucks pretty hard." Uzi's face on her visor then transformed into a playful emoticon: ">:3". Abruptly, the Sentinel veered away, leaving the group mystified.
Reuniting on the ground, their attention shifted to a distant sight: Doll, trapped in a repetitive loop, clutching the keybug in her grasp.
The keybug displayed its holographic message: "PLEASE PLACE ME ON PROXIMITY READER (CABIN FEVER LABS)," its words shimmering in the air. "That's... convenient," Uzi quipped, a note of cautious skepticism lacing her tone.
V, her hand transmuting into a gleaming blade, moved to interpose herself between Uzi and the enigmatic message. "It's a trap," she declared, her stance one of guarded alertness.
Uzi's initial readiness morphed into uncertainty as V's protective instinct kicked in. "Yeah, no... Nevermind," Uzi mumbled, gently pushing V aside while her other hand hovered above her holster, poised to invoke the AbsoluteSolver.
"DON'T!" Both V and N's voices overlapped, the urgency in their tones evident as N's hand clamped around Uzi's wrist, halting her movement. A silent understanding seemed to pass between V and N, a shared knowledge that Uzi's actions could lead to dire consequences.
"Oi!" Tessa's voice carried from a distance as she twirled the keybug on her finger with a cavalier grin. "Bloody convenient, eh?" Tessa's nonchalant observation rippled across the scene, adding a layer of irony to the tense scene.
The squad proceeded cautiously toward Tessa's position, their movements synchronized like a well-drilled team. "Y/N, on guard," Uzi's voice rang with authority, prompting Y/N to promptly shape their arms into uranium-fueled laser cutters.
Uzi herself manifested a pair of gleaming weapons, while V's hands morphed into fierce-looking machine guns. Not to be outdone, K and Z transformed their arms into fiery flamethrowers and icy blasters, respectively.
As they moved, Uzi and Y/N unconsciously gravitated closer to each other, forming an unspoken bond of mutual defense. Their camaraderie was evident, the subtle exchange of a smile promising a united front against any lurking danger.
Abruptly, the hovering insect abruptly descended, snugly back in Doll's palm, revealing the elaborate trap. The visor's looping pattern was exposed as a mere animated image.
Doll's manipulation became clear as she commandeered an elevator and remotely opened all nearby doors. As the elevator arrived, Doll vanished down the shaft with unnerving ease.
On cue, the Sentinels surged forth, driven by their programming to hunt down the remaining drones. Despite some Sentinels being ablaze due to K's prior fiery spectacle, their mechanical determination remained unswayed.
"Uh-oh, hope I don't human everywhere!" Tessa quipped, smirking as she squeezed a droplet of blood from her arm and smeared it onto the ground ahead. The crimson substance acted as a deterrent, a makeshift barrier to repel the Sentinels, who weren't designed to target humans.
The red-eyed Sentinel surveyed the scene, its inspection leading most of the others to recoil from the blood-spattered ground. Tessa leaned confidently on her sword, a smug assurance emanating from her posture, securing the team's momentary safety with her quick thinking.
However, despite repeatedly flashing a boot loop signal at Tessa, the red-eyed Sentinel's efforts yielded no results. It slunk down from its elevated position, a glistening trail of the blood licked off its jagged metallic teeth.
Emitting a formidable roar that reverberated through the air, it took a deliberate step forward, revealing its newfound craving for human prey.
Tessa's momentary astonishment transformed into quick thinking as she gripped her sword, her muscles tensed for action. Above, V demonstrated her agility by scaling the ceiling, preparing to engage in the unfolding battle.
Meanwhile, Uzi swiftly initiated her AbsoluteSolver to create an exit at the rear of the elevator, intending to ensure their escape.
"Uzi, hold on!" N's cautionary shout went unheard, the process having already begun. The AbsoluteSolver's luminescent radiance turned a vivid yellow, causing Uzi's mechanized fingers to contort unnaturally, twisting and warping in directions that defied their natural design.
The AbsoluteSolver generated a rift that bore a gaping, oozing hole into the elevator's rear wall. At the same instant, the powerful telekinesis it wielded seized Y/N, propelling them forcefully to the far side of the room.
"Oops, all mitosis!" Tessa remarked in her typical light-hearted manner as she painted the floor with more of her blood, halting the red-eyed Sentinel's relentless advance.
The Sentinel expelled a severed Disassembly Drone arm, clamping it firmly in its mouth, before expelling a high-velocity projectile towards Tessa's position.
In a remarkable display of reflexes, V interposed herself, snatching the bullet from the air with her talon-like claws before flinging it back at the gun-wielding Sentinel, effectively disarming its firearm.
It was V's glasses, long broken yet still perched on her face, that enhanced her vision to perform such a precision move. "Did I get it?" She asked as she adjusted the glasses with a nonchalant gesture, a question hanging in the air.
As Uzi's AbsoluteSolver spiraled into a chaotic frenzy, the hole she had created in front of her wavered and distorted. Panic surged through her as she struggled to control her glitching arm, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
In an act of swift decisiveness, N swung his sword with precision, severing the mangled limb from Uzi's body. For an ephemeral moment, as Uzi recoiled, her head swiveled toward N with an eerie, yellow gleam in her eyes.
Her lips contorted into an unsettling grin, a single message revealed: "MISS ME?" Before the moment could linger, N caught her, holding her safely in his arms. Amid coughs and sputters, Uzi's eyes alternated between green and yellow, her voice a haunting blend of her own and the glitching AbsoluteSolver's.
Amidst this unsettling situation, Uzi's glitch-ridden voice cracked in apprehension. "What the hell is going on?" Her gaze then directed at Y/N, who had been flung across the room and was still reorienting themselves. "Y/N!"
"Bugger, that's bad. Come on, team!" Tessa urged, rallying the group. In a swift motion, she shepherded Uzi and N into the elevator, followed by K and Z. However, their hopes for escape were instantly thwarted as the elevator jolted to a halt, leaving them in precarious suspense.
"V! Y/N! Hurry up!" N's voice echoed through the tense air, a mix of urgency and concern as he called upon both Disassembly and Atomizer Drones.
Yet, V was entangled in her relentless skirmish against the red-eyed Sentinel, a dance of mechanized combat that absorbed her attention.
Meanwhile, Y/N was still reeling from the unexpected impact, fighting to regain their balance. The red-eyed Sentinel, armed with its blade, seized the opportunity and lunged at V.
Unfazed by the danger, V's enhanced vision proved invaluable, turning the tide of the duel in mere moments as she dispatched the Sentinel to the floor. The extension of her arm cannon was swift, aimed directly at the fallen foe.
But before she could unleash the final blow, another Sentinel manipulated the elevator's power supply, causing it to jolt slightly and rise. With both sides of the elevator exposed, the group inside were essentially trapped, sitting targets.
The Sentinel emitted a blinding flash of light, V narrowly averting her gaze and causing her glasses to fly off in the process. The unfortunate fate of her glasses was sealed as another Sentinel crushed them beneath its metallic foot, effectively leaving V surrounded.
"Ugh... what was that...?" Y/N mumbled, voice laden with confusion, as they pressed a hand against their forehead. It was becoming clear that the AbsoluteSolver's effects were far more intricate and unpredictable than they had initially assumed.
"Hey, um–" V hesitated, her gaze shifting between N and the others, a mixture of sadness and determination in her eyes.
"...Nah." V responded, her voice carrying a weight of finality. She knew that this moment might mark her last chance to make a difference. "Uzi?" V's eyes locked onto Uzi's, the gravity of the situation etched onto her features.
"...I trust you," she declared, a somber assurance before she unleashed her laser cannon, slicing through the elevator's cables.
"V, PLEASE!" N's plea rang out, his desperation palpable, a clear reflection of the team's collective wish to save their friend.
But V didn't step into the elevator. With a serene yet resolute smile, she raised her hand in a final salute as the Sentinels closed in around her, the severed cables sending the elevator plummeting.
Then, a voice, a beacon of hope, emerged from the other side of the room. "You're not dying here, V." Y/N's words echoed, a determined tone as they sprinted towards her.
Without hesitation, they aimed at the wall, attaching a minuscule yet potent nuclear sticky grenade that adhered to the surface.
Finally, they lunged at V, enveloping her in a protective embrace just as the explosive detonated. The cacophony of the blast reverberated through the entire structure, the force of it rupturing walls and shattering windows, leaving behind a chaotic scene of destruction.
In the midst of the chaos, as the elevator plummeted, Z skillfully wielded his frost blasters, creating a frozen cushion that buffered their fall.
Miraculously, the team reached the lower floor with only minor bruises and scrapes. Then, in a spectacular display of force, Y/N and V smashed through the floors above, the cloud of dust and debris providing cover.
As the dust gradually settled, the true brilliance of Y/N's plan became evident. The earlier grenade explosion had not only propelled them out of the Sentinel's clutches but had also obliterated the pursuing machines.
How had they survived? Y/N had encased both V and themselves in a protective uranium energy shield, a shield that now dissipated with the dispersing dust.
"Y/N! V!" Uzi and N's relieved voices echoed in unison, their worry evident in their tones. And there, held so closely by Y/N, V's visor gave away her surprise with a faint neon yellow blush.
"Apologies for the abrupt strategy, V," Y/N spoke as they straightened up, brushing the dust from their clothes. A warm smile formed on their lips. "You rescued my sister, so I made sure to return the favor by saving you. It's the least I could do..."
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