บท 11: The Strongest Bond
V's slender frame trembled as she took to the air, her wings beating furiously against the wind as she tried to hide her emotions from Y/N and Uzi.
But the way she clutched at her chest, the way her eyes appeared on her visor, and the small vibrations on her arms and legs spoke volumes about the encounter she had just endured.
For the first time in her life, V had faced someone much bigger and stronger than her. Y/N had pinned her to the ground with ease, leaving her feeling helpless and vulnerable.
Concerned, Uzi cautiously approached her sibling, hesitant to upset them further. "Y/N, are you okay?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Y/N's expression softened at the sight of their sister's worry. "I'm fine, sis..." They replied in their usual monotone calm. "Just... make sure you drink your oil so you don't overheat..."
Relieved, Uzi let out a sigh as she headed over to her backpack, only to find it had crushed a small bug. Using her powers to repair the insect back to good health, she saluted it as it scurried away under the floorboards.
But as she lifted the wood to watch it go, she was met with a shocking discovery - a rotting Worker Drone, and a pile of papers that included two drawings and a JCJenson Program Admission Notice.
As she flipped over the last page, Uzi couldn't help but notice a peculiar detail - a Murder Drone's claw had pierced through the side that was otherwise supposed to be intentionally left blank.
With a gentle tug, she managed to extract the claw piece, admiring it for a moment, before turning her attention to the small bug that had climbed onto her hand.
But before she could squish it, the insect scurried away, narrowly dodging her grasp and climbing up her other hand.
To her surprise, the bug then displayed a message in the form of a chat room. ">:(" it scowled, scanning her before addressing her by her ID number. "WELCOME BACK [002]. HOW CAN I HELP YOU TODAY?" It then offered five options for her to choose from.
-SUBMIT TIME CARD
-PTO REQUEST
-REGISTER TORTURE CHAMBER COMPLAINT
-END MY SUFFERING (PROMO OFFER DISCONTINUED)
-CALL ELEVATOR
Uzi furrowed her brow, perplexed by the strange communication. "Elevator?" she questioned, typing her response into the cockroach's chat. Moments later, a message appeared on the virtual screen.
"PLEASE PLACE ME ON PROXIMITY READER (CABIN FEVER LABS)." The bug instructed.
"Where's that? What are you?" Uzi asked, her confusion evident in her tone. But to her surprise, the bug seemed to have misheard her words. "Wear his hat? What argue?" It displayed in the chat.
"INVALID RESPONSE." The bug reiterated, further adding to Uzi's bewilderment.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Uzi, Doll's ghost had disappeared behind her, unnoticed by both her and Y/N. Trying to lighten the mood, Y/N chimed in, "At least we have a lead on where to go next."
Uzi nodded in agreement. "Right. After this, we'll head to wherever this Cabin Fever Labs is." She said as she tucked the bug underneath her beanie. "Let's go."
Back at the campsite, N was practicing his archery skills, firing multiple arrows at a target until it caught fire. He turned to the others with a sheepish expression, "Ah, sorry! Did I... cheat?" His question was met with silence, but the sudden sound of a barrel of oil being hit and knocked over drew their attention.
V, who had been observing from above, scoffed and jumped down from her perch. "Tch. You didn't even kill everyone here. Check this out." She said, taking aim at the campers, who nervously clapped in response.
Meanwhile, as Uzi and Y/N made their way back to the campsite, Uzi whispered to get N's attention. "Psst. Hey."
N turned around, noticing Uzi and Y/N approaching with a new bug friend in tow. Communicating through the insect, Uzi typed, "HELLO :) DON'T TELL ANYONE WE'RE HERE."
But before they could make their presence known, N yelled out, inadvertently alerting everyone to their arrival. "Uzi, Y/N! Get on out here! This troop's a team!" He quickly realized his mistake and panicked, "WAIT, NO, INCLUSIVE REFLEXES!"
"D:!!" The insect typed, displaying its final message, before retreating back inside the shelter of Uzi's beanie.
With a deep breath, Uzi emerged from her hiding spot, tentatively waving at the group. "Uh, hehe... Hey, everyone..."
However, her nervous greeting was met with screams and chaos as Braidon accidentally aimed an arrow in her direction. Y/N shot Braidon a withering glare, causing the latter to faint.
Without thinking, Uzi used her powers to stop the projectile mid-air, but the effort caused her body temperature to soar and the arrow to grotesquely transform into a bloody mess.
Uzi, flustered and embarrassed, attempted to defuse the situation. "It's okay, everyone! Just ignore all of this! I was just... going..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed oil spewing from a nearby dead student like a violent geyser.
"Uh... WE LIVE IN THE WOODS NOW!" Uzi declared, scurrying back into the safety of the trees and dragging Y/N along with her.
As they retreated into the forest, someone else's voice carried on the wind, "Who were those guys?" But Uzi and Y/N were already long gone.
Uzi and Y/N frantically fled into a nearby cabin, hastily barricading the door to ensure their safety. Using her powers, Uzi commanded all the windows and doors to shut tight, sealing them inside.
She rummaged through her backpack, fumbling for the dismembered worker drone's arm, but a nearby clock's incessant ticking pierced her mind like a needle, driving her to the brink of madness.
With a furious burst of energy, she destroyed the clock and all the lights, except for one stubbornly glowing bulb.
Y/N's heart raced with concern as they hugged Uzi tightly, attempting to soothe their sister's frayed nerves. "Sister, calm yourself, take it easy..." Y/N pleaded, desperate to bring Uzi back from the edge of her sanity. "Stay with me, Uzi...!"
Uzi attempted to extinguish the last remaining light, but her powers erupted out of control. The air around them thickened, and the lights turned a bright shade of red as a fleshy, grotesque creature manifested before them.
Meanwhile, Y/N felt a strange sensation coursing through their metal exoskeleton, as though something was fusing with their very being.
As such, their radioactive green light merged with the red light one, creating a blinding beam of light that shot straight through the roof of the cabin, illuminating the night sky.
Meanwhile, N's sharp eyes caught V's sudden change in behavior. Her previously volatile and psychotic personality had vanished, replaced by a blank expression that made N churn with unease.
"V? Are you okay?" N asked tentatively, inching closer to her friend.
"I'm fine, N. It's none of your business." V snapped, her voice cold and harsh.
N wasn't convinced. "V, something's wrong. Please, talk to me." He implored, drawing nearer.
"I said leave it, N! But if you must know, I was planning on taking care of your precious little friend. However, her crazed sibling nearly sent me to the scrap heap hell! That's what happened. Happy now?" V spat, her words like venom as they lashed out at N.
N recoiled at V's sudden outburst, taken aback by the ferocity of her words. "V, you know we can't hurt Uzi! Y/N could obliterate us in a single shot! And Uzi could, too! What on earth were you thinking?" N exclaimed, struggling to keep his voice steady.
"We do our jobs, and that thing leaves us alone! I knew full-well what I was getting into, but I didn't expect that nuclear idiot to actually step in and pin me to the ground before I could even notice!" V retorted.
N shook his head, struggling to understand. "But V, why are you so afraid? Uzi and Y/N are on our side, trying to help us rebel against the company. Why would you want to get rid of them?" He inquired, his voice softening with concern.
V's frustration boiled over, and she let out a guttural growl, her eyes blazing with a fierce intensity. Her fingers curled into tight fists, trembling with a palpable anger that threatened to consume her.
"I don't trust them, N." She spat out, the words laced with venom. "They're like a ticking time bomb, unstable and unpredictable. They're just as dangerous to us as the company is."
N furrowed his brow, desperately trying to find a way to reason with V. "But Uzi and Y/N have been nothing but helpful." He argued, his voice barely above a whisper.
V scoffed, her eyes rolling so hard they might have popped out of her visor. "Don't be naive, N." She retorted. "They have their own agenda. They're using us to further their own goals. Don't you see that? Actually, scratch that. We're just holding them back."
A wave of frustration and helplessness washed over N, leaving him feeling lost and confused. "What do you mean, V?" he asked, his voice trembling. "I just don't know anymore, explain!"
V's voice rose to a fever pitch, her words echoing through the forest. "They don't need us anymore, N!" She yelled. "They can do everything we can, and they do it better! We're just slowing them down, holding them back. And if we're not careful, they'll turn on us too."
As V's words echoed in his mind, N felt a knot form in his tongue, his thoughts in a jumbled mess. The possibility that Uzi and Y/N could turn on them was a terrifying one, and he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in his gut.
Suddenly, a bright light pierced the darkness, shooting towards the sky in the distance. N and V's conversation was abruptly interrupted, their attention drawn to the source of the light. N's instincts took over, and he was ready to take off towards the light to investigate, but V stopped him in his tracks.
"You're not doing what I know you're about to do, mister!" V's authoritative voice cut through the night air. "We're not going to save them now!"
N's frustration flared, and he pushed back, his voice firm. "Who is 'we'? If you don't want to go, then fine, I will! Uzi and Y/N may be threats, I'll give you that, but they're kids, like us, V!" He argued, his words tumbling out in a rush.
"Well, not literally, since we're probably canonically older than her by a generation or more, and Y/N is definitely older than us, but still!" V's silence was deafening, and N knew he was on his own.
He tossed his clipboard at her, a gesture of frustration and resignation. "Look after the campers if you won't go with me, at least." He said, his voice filled with a sense of determination.
With that, he took off into the night sky, following the red and green light, his heart pounding in his chest.
Lizzy's comment hung in the air, a sudden interruption to the tense silence that had settled between V and N. "Hot." She declared, a sly grin on her face, before realizing that V was unamused. "Not hot? You're too good for him."
V's eyes flashed with anger, her frustration with the other campers apparent. "Do whatever you want." She spat out, turning to leave. Rebecca caught her eye and gestured to Darren, and without a word, the two of them slipped away into the night.
As they wandered through the dense forest, Darren couldn't help but feel a sense of confusion. "We need to sneak this far just to make out?" he asked, his voice laced with disbelief.
Rebecca turned to him, her expression serious. "It's about mood, Darren." She explained, leading him deeper into the woods.
Eventually, they stumbled upon a small, abandoned cabin, its wooden walls creaking in the wind. "Nice." She said, a hint of excitement in her voice.
Darren's eyes widened with realization. "Oh! I get it now!" he exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face. The eerie atmosphere of the cabin was the perfect backdrop for their clandestine rendezvous, and he couldn't wait to get started.
Darren put his shoulder into the door, pushing with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. The cabin was old and decrepit, the furniture stacked high against the entrance, blocking their way.
He reached for the light switch, but as he flicked it on and off, nothing happened. The darkness seemed to swallow them whole, the only illumination coming from the faint glow of the flashlight that had rolled to their feet.
As he reached for the flashlight, the cabin door slammed shut with a deafening thud, causing both Darren and Rebecca to jump.
Suddenly, from the shadows, came a wild and maniacal laughter. It sounded inhuman, like the cackling of a monster ready to pounce on its prey.
Out of the darkness emerged Uzi and Y/N, their bodies grotesquely fused together in a sickening display of horror. Six legs, two heads, and a pair of wings that were a hybrid between a bat and a drone's propellers.
The visors on their faces bore an "X", giving the impression of a demonic creature. It bore a normal pair of arms, and as the creature advanced toward Rebecca and Darren, its six spider-like legs scuttling across the floor, they realized they were in mortal danger.
As N cautiously stepped into the new cabin, his eyes darted around the dimly lit room, trying to make sense of the scattered objects around him. His attention was soon drawn to a control desk, looming in the corner with a monitor hanging overhead, emitting a haunting static noise.
As he approached the desk, he couldn't resist the urge to try and turn on the monitor, only to be met with a sudden sizzle and the smell of burnt circuits.
Disappointed, N then turned his gaze to the static-playing monitor, which seemed to have a VHS tape sitting underneath it with the words "ZOMBIE DRONES" scrawled across the label.
Without a second thought, he reached out to grab the tape, only to be hit by a series of unsettling flashbacks. His mind was flooded with memories of a robot with a detached arm that leaked oil, an unknown robot, and a black hole, leaving him reeling in horror.
Meanwhile, the Y/N and Uzi fusion monster continued its gruesome feast, tearing through the remains of its robot victims. However, Uzi's side of the creature suddenly began to convulse violently, spewing out chunks of oil circuitry as its now shared temperature started to rise once again.
As the group huddled around the campfire, Braidon's voice quivered as he spun a haunting tale. "But her warranty wasn't expired... IT NEVER EXISTEEEEED!" He exclaimed, his eyes darting around the darkness as if expecting the ghostly protagonist of his story to appear before them.
Ronathon was quick to chime in, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's scary, 'cause it's like... real." He added, his words trailing off as he glanced nervously over his shoulder.
But their conversation was suddenly interrupted by Emily, who had been lost in thought until that moment. "Aren't you guys worried about Darren and Rebecca?" She asked, her brow furrowing with concern. "Shouldn't they be back from their... immoral make out session by now?"
Before anyone could respond, Emily let out a blood-curdling scream as a hand shot out from the darkness and grabbed hold of her ankle.
But the terror in her voice quickly turned to shock as she realized it was Rebecca, crawling towards them with a trail of oil leaking from her torn torso.
Her bottom half was nowhere to be found, and the group was left speechless as they tried to comprehend the gruesome sight before them.
"Rebecca!?" Braidon's voice cracked as he exclaimed her name, his heart racing with fear and confusion.
"Who did this to you!?" Lizzy's voice was equally panicked as she surveyed the wreckage of Rebecca's torn body.
But as they knelt beside their fallen friend, Rebecca's voice weakly cut through the silence. "Don't... remember name... Super unpopular..." She gasped, her breathing ragged and labored.
"Descriptive clues, man!" Ronathon's voice rose in frustration, his eyes darting around the darkness as he tried to spot any sign of their attacker.
But Rebecca's words came in short, disjointed bursts, her strength fading with each passing moment. "Green... eyes... Hot Topic... Nuclear mark..." She managed to say before her body went still, lifeless and devoid of oil.
The group was left in stunned silence, the weight of Rebecca's death heavy on their hearts as they tried to make sense of the clues she had given them. But in the darkness around them, the killer still lurked, waiting for their next victim to make a fatal mistake.
"Uh..." Braidon's voice trailed off as he struggled to recall anyone who matched Rebecca's description.
"I feel like I remember someone like that..." Lizzy's voice was soft as she tried to dredge up memories of past classmates.
"From our class?" Ronathon's question hung in the air, his eyes scanning the darkness as if searching for a clue.
But before anyone could offer any more insights, the campfire suddenly vanished, plunging them into complete darkness. As they turned to investigate, they were met with the sound of maniacal laughter echoing around them.
It was then that the monster appeared, its grotesque form looming over them like a nightmare made real. It was the result of the fusion between Uzi and Y/N, and it seemed to take pleasure in the fear it was causing.
"Ohhh... You...?" Braidon's voice was barely audible, as he was still unable to recall either of the names that made up the amalgamate between siblings.
The remaining campers stared in horror as Braidon's head exploded, a shower of oil and wires raining down around them. Uzi's AbsoluteSolver powers had proven deadly once again, and they knew they needed to act fast if they wanted to survive.
"S-S-SPLIT UP!" Ronathon's voice was shaking as he shouted out the command, his mind racing with fear and adrenaline.
"I think I've read that's good!" Emily's voice was equally frantic as she agreed, her eyes darting around as she tried to spot any sign of the monster.
But even as they fled for their lives, the survival manual that Emily held opened by itself, revealing a page that warned against the dangers of splitting up. Despite what she had said earlier, it was a horrible idea, one that could cost them their lives.
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