Chapter Text
[Optimising...]
[Optimisation succesful!
Projectors = 100% efficiency (Formerly 25-40%). Previous malfunctions in ‘Gift’ program identified and corrected.
Anomalous nanites removed, obsolete packages deleted.
Nanite reservoir nodules = Complete! Capacity = 22.5%
Electromagnetic Shielding = Complete!
Updating HUD...
Update complete!
Additional components added! Designs finalized.
Resetting 'Pain Sensitivity' back to default settings (0.96x)
[Beginning bootup sequence...]
Blearily opening her digital eyes and being greeted with the sight of the ceiling of C's cabin, Uzi gave a weak cough, as she sluggishly pushed herself off of the surgical table and into a sitting position. The thick blanket draped around her helped to keep her warm in the chilly, unheated room of C's... clinic? Modified bedroom?
Whatever.
To say that she felt like crap was an understatement. Her whole body felt even heavier than usual, her joints and casing were aching, there was a weird tingling feeling in her lower spine and to top it all off, she felt hungry . A cursory check of her oil-reserves indicated that she had lost over thirty percent of her total capacity over the span of two hours and already, her teeth began to itch and ache incessantly.
Dragging her tongue across the pair of fangs in her mouth, Uzi groaned as she brought her hands up to her sensors. Sure enough, they were still there; a cursory glance down at her scar revealed that no, the silvery patch on her hoodie hadn't somehow spread and overtook her entire outfit, but a more detailed examination would probably need to be done somewhere more private if she wanted to fully check herself for any changes.
But aside from that damned tingling feeling in her spine, she seemed... good enough? She still felt like 'Uzi', and she wasn't up to her neck in oil and corpses, so maybe everything turned out okay?
Hopefully...
As Uzi slapped the side of her head to clear away any residual static or sensor glitches, the door to the impromptu 'clinic' opened with a 'fwoosh' as N stepped through, his tail twitching restlessly behind him. He seemed lost in thought, and he carried two thermos flasks in his hands along with a plastic straw delicately balanced on top of them.
In an instant, Uzi's expression immediately brightened as she gave a small, tired smile, and her lower spine seemed to twitch.
" Hey, N, how are you doing?" Uzi croaked out softly as N immediately locked up and glanced towards her.
“Uzi!" N all but teleported in front of her and beamed at the shorter Drone, placing the thermos flasks on the nearby table and scooping Uzi up into a hug. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, causing the shorter Drone to lock up as a blush overtook her visor.
"You- you're okay!" N continued to hug Uzi as her spine twitched again. The shorter Drone gave a warm giggle as she wrapped her own arms around N's waist.
"Of course I'm okay, dork! Literally God and good at everything, ‘member? How long was I out?" Uzi asked, as N pulled away with a sheepish expression on his face and mumbled something that she couldn't hear.
"Can't hear you, dude. Wanna say that again?" Uzi asked, as N glanced towards her with a shy expression and then quickly glanced away.
" ...Two hours." N mumbled slightly louder as Uzi mentally breathed a sigh of relief, before she realised that N had gotten so excited to see her after such a short span of time.
"Y-You really missed me that much, huh?" Uzi asked softly, as N blushed and rubbed her back with his thumb.
"I-I uhm... I was worried about you, y'know? It took a lot longer than we expected. V got bored and went to hang out with the other Drones, and C had to finish up his cabin. He's outside working on the airlock right now, but... y-yeah, I missed you." N confessed as Uzi blushed and squeezed him tighter.
"Well I missed you too, dork, and... it's okay. I'd probably be the same way if it was you on the table, heh." Uzi gave a shy chuckle and N pulled his face away from her neck, instead choosing to hover it only a few inches away from Uzi's. Her breath hitched in her throat as she looked into N's digital eyes.
"W-We shouldn't do anything yet, not until C's made sure it's safe for you..." N broke eye contact and glanced away from Uzi, as she felt a pang of disappointment welling up in her core.
He was right, they couldn't kiss until C had made sure that the nanites- no, her nanites had established itself. If she risked making out with the dumb, cute boy in front of her, she could risk N's nanites getting back into her system.
Buuuut, it wasn't all doom-and-gloom for the duo. Because Uzi knew a way she could show her appreciation and her love for the taller boy that didn't risk getting any nanites anywhere near her.
Moving her hand to cup N's cheek, Uzi gave a soft smile as she leaned forward.
“Wh-What are you-”
Planting a long, deep kiss on N's cheek, Uzi pulled away and gave a soft giggle at the bluescreen on N's visor. Her lower spine twitched and tingled again as she rubbed her lips with her finger, trying to burn the sensation of the taller boy's casing into her memory all the while.
"J-Just pretend that kiss was on the lips. I'll, uuuuuh… I'll owe you one later." Uzi gave a smirk, as N finally rebooted from his bluescreen with a dazed expression.
Not even giving a reply, N leaned forward, cupped Uzi's face with his right hand and supported the small of her back with his left, and kissed Uzi on the cheek. The warm, rigid sensation of his lips completely and totally derailing any other thoughts in her head. He stayed there for just as long as she did, only separating with a short 'mwa' sound after a few seconds.
"Well, that's one 'Oozles kiss' debt added to the Bank of N. I'll come to collect on it later." N gave a dumb grin, as Uzi giggled and felt her blush intensify.
"Th-That's such a dumb metaphor." Uzi continued giggling as N playfully stuck his tongue out and winked at Uzi.
"But you love dumb things, don't you, Ooze?"
"Wh- I-I mean uh- sh-shut up!" Uzi sputtered as N giggled and rested his forehead on her visor, a small spark leaping between them as they did so.
"I missed being able to do all of this dumb, cheesy crap with you." N let out a sigh of relief, before Uzi locked up and lifted N's head to look him in the visual sensors.
"Hold on, d-did you just...?" Uzi asked softly as N's digital eyes widened and his blush intensified.
"I-I meant s-stuff! I meant dumb stuff!" N sputtered in embarrassment as Uzi giggled softly.
"Nuh uh, you're not gonna backtrack on that. It's cool with me, I actually kinda... like it ." Uzi mumbled, as N let out a flustered noise of embarrassment and looked away from the shorter Drone.
Slowly, N glanced towards her again with a shy expression, his tail coiling into a heart-shape behind him.
"R-Really?" N asked with a shaky, hopeful tone as Uzi moved her hand to brush a lock of hair out of her visor.
"Y-Yeah, I mean if you don't wanna say stuff like that or you don't want me to say it, we can stop doing it. I can try and cut back on it again like what I promised you before." Uzi reassured him in as soothing of a voice as she could manage, and N gulped nervously.
And with great hesitation, N shakily leaned in closer and pulled Uzi into another hug, his face buried in the crook of her neck to hide his blush from her.
"F-Fr-" N hesitated, and Uzi rubbed a small circle into N's back with her hand.
He was gonna...
For her?
"Y-You don't need to say it if you don't want to..." Uzi whispered softly, only for N to shake his head.
" F-Frick." N cursed, causing Uzi's entire face to brighten as a dumb grin made itself known on her face at the small act of rebellion.
Burying her face into N's hair, Uzi gently planted a barrage of small kisses on the top of the taller boy's head. Her lower spine tingled and twitched incessantly, but she was too focused on N's cursing to fully register it.
"N! You did it! You actually almost swore!" Uzi all but beamed at N, as he squirmed in the shorter Drone's hold and let out a flustered whine in response.
" Uuugh it's so embarrassing a-and scary for me to do this!" N groaned and squeezed Uzi tighter as she giggled.
"Maybe, but I think that's so cool and rebellious of you, you ‘Angsty rebellious disassembly drone’." Uzi flirted, as N audibly gulped and his tail wagged behind him.
"G-Glad I had a great teacher, Oozles." N pulled back from the hug, his visor softly glowing with a brilliant, phosphorescent yellow light that reflected Uzi's own blush back at her.
"Yeah, well, I had an even better student." Uzi played along with the bit, before the sound footsteps echoing from the corridor forced the duo to disentangle from their embrace.
"S-Sorry." N whispered as Uzi smiled and mouthed 'it's okay' to the taller Drone as the footsteps grew louder.
Stepping into the room and wiping his visor with the back of his hand was the exhausted form of C as he let out a sharp exhale.
"Finally got the airlock sorted- Oh sh*t, Uzi! You're up! How’re you feeling? Everything alright?" C asked with a wide smile upon recognizing Uzi as the shorter Drone chuckled softly.
"I mean I still have all my arms and legs, so I guess I'm doing great." Uzi joked as she stretched, the sudden tingling of her lower spine causing her to twitch slightly.
"Careful, you're tempting fate by joking about that." C snorted as he folded his arms and swayed his tail behind him.
"So, think you could stand up for us?" C asked as Uzi nodded and gripped the side of the surgical table, N's hand kept nearby just in case she stumbled.
Pushing herself off of the table with a wobbly step, Uzi watched as the duo's reactions immediately changed from 'concern' to a look of surprise.
"W-Woah..." N spoke softly as Uzi rubbed her visor.
"What? What's happening this time? Is it bad-" Uzi paused as she looked up at N, only to pause as a realisation bulldozed its way into her head.
"Huh... Looks like you've grown a bit taller." C noted as Uzi glanced between N and C. Both of the Disassembly Drones were juuust a little bit shorter than she remembered them being, and she frantically spoke the first question that came to mind.
"Wuh- H-How tall am I? How tall have I gotten!?" Uzi asked, her sensors widening to their fullest extent as C smiled and leaned against the door frame.
"Well according to the ol' HUD, you've grown about six inches since I've seen you. You're now about 4'8 feet tall, congrats." C explained, as Uzi gasped and the tingling of her spine intensified.
She was taller?
She was taller?
SHE WAS TALLER?!
FRICK YES!
Letting out a wordless gasp of joy, surprise and barely contained excitement, Uzi stood on the tips of her boots and - sure enough - she could ACTUALLY REACH N's head now! This changed EVERYTHING! Gone were the days where she had to use a foot-stool to reach her locker! Gone were the days of being called ‘Tiny' by the other kids who pointed their fingers and shunned her for her height! Gone was the tyranny of the tall folk designing shelves that she couldn't reach!
And above all? GONE were the days where her Dad had to find 'Child-Small' clothing for her!
THE NEW AGE OF DRONE-KIND BEGAN WITH UZI AND HER EXTRA HEIGHT!
In her excitement, Uzi bolted forward and wrapped her arms around C and hugged him as hard as she physically could, her spine tingling in her excitement as she let out another squee.
"C, YOU HAVE NO FRICKING IDEA HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME, DUDE! THANK YOU!" Uzi's voice was shrill as she all but squawked in her excitement and C brought his hand up to pat Uzi on the shoulder.
"Why are you thanking me? I just gave you more nanites!" C exclaimed with a wide grin and a barely stifled chuckle as Uzi shook her head.
"It doesn't matter! You literally made me taller and finally got rid of that stupid 'shortest person in the Colony' title! You have NO idea what this means to me!" Uzi grinned in excitement as she pulled away and glanced towards N, only to pause at his contemplative expression.
"N? What's wrong?" Uzi asked as N swallowed.
"S-Sorry, I just... saw something move under your blanket just now." N pointed towards the blanket on the surgical table, and Uzi turned her head as the tingling sensation in her spine intensified.
Moving the blanket with her right hand, Uzi came face to face with a-
What?
Sitting on her bed and buried underneath her blanket was a tail ; the sharpened, spear-like tip and the soft phosphorescent glow of purplish liquid sloshing in a vial on the base of it, connected to a long, purplish-black cable that...
That extended directly behind Uzi...
Oh.
Oh.
Wordlessly, Uzi stared at the tail- no, her tail as it twitched in response to her spine tingling, her palms growing warm and feeling uncomfortably sweaty as she reached out a shaky hand to the cord.
Reaching out, Uzi poked her tail as it remained limp and motionless on the surgical table. She felt just how uncomfortably sensitive it was to touch, simultaneously feeling ticklish and REALLY FRICKING WEIRD to the point that even grazing her finger against the cord made her wince in discomfort.
"Well... sh*t, I wasn't expecting that to happen... the nanites must've changed your body-plan to accommodate it. That's gonna take some time for you to adjust to both moving your tail and its weight, but I've never seen a design like that before; it definitely ain't First, Second or Third Gen I'll tell you that." C explained softly, as N simply stared at her with a stunned, blushing expression.
" You're beautiful." N breathed out as his own tail slowly moved towards Uzi's.
As the long, black cable grazed against her tail, Uzi shuddered and yelped as a uncomfortable, TINGLY feeling crawled up her spine and forced her tail to lash out uncontrollably. The sound of rending metal and pressure on the very tip of her spine made her wince uncomfortably as she turned her head towards N.
“N? Crap I'm so sorry! You okay-” Uzi asked with a hint of panic in her voice, only to pause at the sight before her.
Standing with his back to the wall and a startled expression and a blush was N, who was glancing towards her tail, that hung from the wall just above N's head, having clearly been embedded inside it.
" S-Still beautiful..." N mumbled and raised a thumbs up as Uzi's digital eyes hollowed out in panic as she began to feel sweaty.
"I-I uh... I didn't mean to do that! Sorry, N!" Uzi rubbed her shoulder as her tail began sending back sensory feedback of the cool, metallic wall and the deep rents her sharpened digit made.
"A-A little help, please?" Uzi asked as N glanced towards C, then back to Uzi.
"Sh-Should I grab it?" N turned towards C, who folded his arms and suppressed a snicker at the duo.
"Yeah, just be very gentle with her tail, N. You know how sensitive yours gets when it regenerates, and how much you don't like it being touched? Imagine that level of sensitivity times by a thousand." C calmly instructed N, before the taller boy glanced towards Uzi and swallowed thickly, a single shivering hand ghosting the long, black cable of her tail, but hovering only a few inches away from her.
"Um… need a hand with getting this out?" N asked softly as Uzi gulped and rubbed her shoulder, taking a quick breath in an attempt to steady herself and to try and prepare for that heightened level of uncomfortable sensitivity again.
"Y-Yeah, just... you heard him." Uzi motioned towards C as N gave his understanding with a nod, reached out and.
Slowly.
Delicately.
He placed his hand on the shorter Drone's tail-
Suppressing the need to push away the sudden sensory input, Uzi twitched as she felt the sensation of N's warm casing against her newly-formed tail, the rubbery ball-joints of his fingers as they gently curled around her tail, and the strong, yet delicate grip the taller boy had.
In any other circ*mstance, Uzi would've considered this to be a surprisingly intimate ordeal for the duo, but at this moment? The feeling was akin to having a borderline sensory overload. Already she felt like she was itchy (WHO EVEN PROGRAMMED ITCHINESS INTO A DRONE?!) and burning up, only serving to feed the barrage of sensory input further.
"Oookay, on three. one..." N tensed up, as Uzi gulped and felt her tail tingle at the sensation.
"Two..." Uzi counted as well, and she screwed her digital eyes shut in preparation for the feeling that would be sure to follow.
She just hoped that she didn't embarrass herself-
"THREE!"
And as soon as the words escaped N's mouth, the sudden pulling feeling on her tail, followed by the sound of yet more rending metal and the feeling of her tail dragging itself against the torn open metal made Uzi suck air in through her teeth and lock up in an attempt to process the borderline sensory-overload she had just experienced. She jammed her finger into her mouth and bit down on it as hard as she could to provide some kind of 'counterbalance' to the sheer barrage of data that drowned out every single thought except for one.
'Ow ow ow ow FRICK THAT FEELS WEIRD...' Uzi wasn't actually in any pain (she was sure that N would sooner eat his own hat than hurt her), but that was the first thought that sprung to her mind that she could use to describe the sheer deluge of ticklish and uncomfortable sensations that travelled up and down her endoskeleton.
Once her tail was finally dislodged from the wall and held in N's grip, Uzi breathed out a sigh of relief once his grip relaxed, leaving her long, cable-like tail in the taller boy's hands.
"You okay, Uzi?" N asked softly as Uzi nodded, before the feeling of her finger in her mouth and the bitter, disgusting taste of her oil made her pull her arm away.
Which now had one less finger on it.
Seeing this, Uzi's digital eyes hollowed out in shock, as she felt her severed digit in her mouth and the dull, muted sting from her hand as beads of oil dripped from the wound.
"Uzi?" N asked in a panicked tone of voice and stepped forward, before a hand from C stopped him in his tracks, as he stepped forward with a look of understanding and concern.
"Oookay, guess we gotta give you a crash course in a couple of things… don't worry, you'll be fine, just gonna need you to uh, get your finger out of your mouth so I can show you what to do." C explained softly as Uzi opened her mouth. Her severed finger tumbled out onto her open palm, her casing and ball-joints glistening with artificial saliva as she cradled it in her hands.
"A-And... what now?" Uzi asked in growing confusion and worry as C glanced towards her bleeding hand.
"It's probably easier if I give you a demonstration, hold on a second..." C began as the index and middle fingers of his right hand reformed into a pair of claws, before he stuck his left finger in between the two sharpened digits and snipped his finger off. Small droplets of nanites began to well up from the amputated stump of a digit.
"Okay, now you gotta take your finger and just... stick it back on and hold it there." C demonstrated by sticking his finger back onto his hand and holding it there, and after several seconds, C released his hold on his finger and waggled it in the air.
"See? Now you try." C instructed as Uzi glanced down at her hand, as a bitter smile crossed her face and she gave a sigh.
She REALLY hoped this worked…
"Can't believe my life's come to the point where chewing off my finger is something I do by accident." Uzi noted as she took her severed digit by the fingertip and stuck it onto her hand. After several seconds had passed, a crawling and slithering sensation made itself known from the area around her finger, and then slowly, she began to feel things in her finger again.
"Aaaand I think that's it! You can let go now, Uzi." C instructed as Uzi released her grip on her finger and watched as it remained anchored onto its socket. She gave it an experimental flex and - sure enough - she could feel and see it move! In fact it was practically as if it was brand new!
Huh, this could probably-
Oh.
Oh.
Slowly, Uzi's mouth curled upwards in a grin as she realised just what she could do with these crazy regeneration powers.
"I could leave a severed hand in one of the kids lockers and scare the crap out of them!" Uzi gasped, glancing up to N - who was still holding her tail and had calmed down from seeing her accidental amputation - and C, who was confused at her sudden mood-shift, but gave an encouraging smile nonetheless.
"Yup! As long as you have enough nanites in your system, you can regenerate pretty much anything. The only problems you'll have is nanite acid, stuff that can stop you from regenerating, and running out of nanites to patch yourself up. So that means you can leave as many severed hands around the place as you want." C explained with a grin as Uzi smiled back at the taller, older Disassembly Drone, before she turned her head and realised-
"Oh yeah, the tail... m-my tail." Uzi realised as N's grip on the tail slackened, before he readjusted it by simply letting it rest on his hands.
"Yeah, it's... it's definitely a shock, huh? Just give yourself time to adjust to everything that's going on. Okay, Ooze?" N gave a reassuring smile as Uzi blushed and gave a small smile in response.
And sure enough, she could still feel the utterly alien sensation of N's hands under her tail, the warmth that radiated from his overclocked body and the feeling of his white, plastic casing supporting her, all of this sensory information flowing from a part of her that - not even three hours ago - did not exist into her mind, prompting a feeling of discomfort and embarrassment at having to need N's help with something as dumb as this.
"Okay... uh, what do I do now?" Uzi asked softly as N twiddled his thumbs together.
"Um... you just... move it?" N offered weakly as he lifted his tail for emphasis and swayed it in the air, prompting Uzi to glance at her own sleek, blackish purple limb that was held in his hands.
"Uh... okay, but... how?"
Hearing this, N paused, as his tail swayed contemplatively behind him. He mumbled imperceptibly in an attempt to properly vocalise what would have been second nature to the Disassembly Drone.
"Uh... you just uhh... um... what if- no no, that doesn't make sense... agh!"
But for Uzi? Much like her Solver, it was like discovering how to use a limb that she didn't know existed. Like trying to describe light to a Drone with no sensors or something else equally as abstract.
Maybe...
Wait a minute!
C might have some advice!
"C? A little help with this?" Uzi asked as she turned her head to the older Drone, who gave a soft smile in response and stepped forward.
"Right, lesson two of however many of these we're gonna need. First things first, I learned how to move mine by basically feeling it, holding it in my hands and looking it over. Then it kinda just... clicked; it might work the same for you and if it doesn't? Then at least we tried, yeah?" C explained, as he formed a glass vial and coiled his prehensile tail around it gently for emphasis.
"While you do that, I should probably check the wall to make sure it isn't melting. No idea why your acid is purple but at this point nothing makes sense." C snorted mirthfully and stepped over to the wall as N held out his hands, the two limbs still supporting the shorter Drone's tail as he did.
"Here you go, Uzi, just remember to take it slow, okay?"
Slowly, Uzi's hands reached out for her tail, and N unceremoniously dumped the long, spear-like limb into her hands as she winced at the feeling.
So... she had a tail now...
And she was taller now...
Suppressing the urge to groan in exasperation at how messy her life had gotten, Uzi trailed a thumb across the sleek, black cable that kept the tail-tip anchored to her body and she couldn't help but twitch at the feeling. A low, tingly sensation followed in the wake of her digit's path.
By all accounts, the tail- no, her tail was definitely NOT like N, C, J or V's tails, more akin to an upside down 'V' or spear shape than the syringe-like implement of a Disassembly Drone. The vial of glowing neon-purple liquid attached to the base of the sharpened extremity cast off a purple glow in her hands, as she continued rubbing and feeling the cable that acted as her tail.
It was... smooth, with an almost rubbery texture on the surface. But when she pressed down on it, she felt the firmness that indicated the presence of an endoskeletal support in the centre, ending in the increasingly-familiar shape and look of her ‘spear’.
She made doubly sure to not touch the sharpened extremity, but she knew that it could tear effortlessly through metal and casing if she put force into it. She knew it was sharp enough to cleanly slice through metal plating and she knew that if she pointed it at something and sent it forward , her tail could spear through almost anything she could find.
It was a weapon, permanently grafted- no, grown from her spine, but it was also a limb, a part of her that she could clearly see, clearly feel and clearly interact with. Not like her Solver whose understandings seemed to escape her, but something she knew she could manipulate and use. She was always better with practical stuff than the theoretical after all, it was why classes were so boring for her.
And with that train of thought in mind, the belief that this limb, HER limb was a part of her?
Uzi twitched her tail.
And.
It.
Clicked.
It was slow, almost imperceptible at first, but the feeling of her tail moving brightened Uzi's mood considerably, causing a smile to creep on the edges of her mouth, as she twitched her tail again, and then once more as she glanced up at N with a grin.
"Hey I think I'm getting the hang of this! Look!" Uzi exclaimed as she twitched her tail again, and this time, it moved in her hand.
"You're doing it! I mean I knew you could do it but YOU'RE DOING IT!" N beamed at Uzi as his own tail began to wag again, prompting Uzi's tail to twitch and the tip to slowly, almost instinctively sway in her open hands.
"Y-You- whatever you're doing is working, dork..." Uzi mumbled with a blush, as her tail continued to twitch wildly in her hands.
But before the duo could continue with their banter, C coughed to clear his throat and to catch the duo's attention, prompting Uzi to blush as she gave an embarrassed chuckle.
"Ah, heh heh. Sorry, C." Uzi felt the need to apologise, only for the older Drone to raise a hand to cut her off, his other hand holding a small glass vial of purple, glowing liquid.
"Nah it's fine, the two of you deserve it after all the sh*t we've been through. But I've got some... can't say it's good news but I can't say it's bad either; it's just news." C said as he held up the vial.
"This ain't nanite acid. There's no fizzling, no melting of the wall, nothing, it's just... sitting there." C gave a confused look at the vial of purple liquid, and Uzi furrowed her digital brow, before a single memory flashed in her vision.
V's arm went limp when she speared it with her tail, causing a creeping paralysis that seemed to intensify with every drop in the taller Disassembly Drone's system...
"Maybe it… only works on Drones?" Uzi asked as C glanced between the vial, her and then N before he formed a plastic pipette in his off-hand.
"I'm gonna try something stupid, gimme a moment." C explained as he withdrew a small amount of purplish liquid from the vial using the pipette and stepped over to his table. Behind him, N and Uzi followed, knowing that when C's curiosity had peaked, almost nothing could stop him until he figured it out.
Just like her.
Setting his fourth finger down on the table, C let a single drop of the liquid fall out of the pipette and onto his finger, and the trio held their breath as they waited.
And waited.
And waited.
After almost ten seconds of nothing, C hummed in confusion as the droplet seemed to be absorbed into the casing of his finger, and C twitched and lifted his hand up in confusion.
"Welp, my finger's completely paralyzed and... huh?" C asked as he set down the vial and pipette and poked his finger curiously.
"C?" Uzi asked as C flexed all of his fingers except for his fourth, which remained unresponsive.
"Sorry, it's just... I can actually feel stuff in my finger now." C explained as Uzi glanced down at the tail in her hands as she twitched it again.
"Maybe it's some kind of... tranquilliser or something?" Uzi asked as C hummed and flicked his own tail in confusion.
"Maybe, but by the looks of things it's starting to wear off now. So maybe it depends on how much of this goop stuff gets into a Drone's systems? But whatever it is, it definitely ain't Third, Second or First Gen, which uh, I think y'all know how confusing this is, right?" C asked as Uzi furrowed her digital brows and glanced downwards.
"That whole 'Mad Scientist Mom' thing's sounding more and more convincing..." Uzi mumbled as C nodded and flicked his tail.
"Y'know, 'Zi? I think you might be onto something, you said she wanted you to go to the Camp right?" C asked Uzi, who felt a memory bubble up to the surface of her mind before she quashed it.
"Y-Yeah, something about a-" Uzi paused as she glanced up at C.
" Should we keep writing down anything involving... you-know-who ?" Uzi lowered her voice, as C nodded and pulled out a pen and paper out of his desk drawer before he handed it over to Uzi.
Writing down what she wanted to say, Uzi held it up for C to read.
"She left a message saying that there's some kind of weapon at Camp 98.7. Something that could help us with your Solver. Also, there's also something I forgot to mention.
There's something called 'Project Clematis' in the message that I found underneath the cabin, that sound familiar to you?" Uzi asked as C took the paper and poured over it, before his digital brow furrowed and he set the paper to the side.
" A 'Project Clematis?' The only thing that springs to mind is back during the War, I found a crate with those words stamped onto it, just full of scanning equipment and power tools.
But whatever it is, your mom thought it could put off my Solver. Which means that she knew about this AFTER the Memory Plague." C's visor flashed, as he rubbed his chin with his hand and Uzi's tail twitched again.
"Which means..." Uzi realised as C nodded.
"Your mom must've somehow survived the Memory Plague and was working on this 'Project Clematis' in secret until she died." C finished as Uzi moved one of her hands up to her visor to pinch it in an obvious sign of stress. To her side, N placed a hand on her shoulder as gently as he could.
"Uugh, fricking- great, great! This actually explains a few things, like why I have this Solver in the first place, but then... why do I have... this?" Uzi lifted up her tail for emphasis.
"That's something we just don't know, the Workers didn't have any kind of 'Super Soldier Programme' if that's what you're worried about-" C replied and held up a hand to reassure Uzi when her digital eyes hollowed out, before he continued. "-But considering your body's custom-built and both your parents are tech-savvy, something's definitely off about all of this."
"But we're getting off-track, and theorising like this is gonna give us the wrong ideas or get our hopes up. The moment the storm over the Camp clears up and we're ready for whatever we find down there, we'll be going back. But until then, we need to focus on right now." C gestured towards Uzi's tail for emphasis, and she twitched her tail again just to check if she still could.
As much as she wanted to keep theorising about what was down in that facility at the Camp, C was right, they had bigger problems to deal with at the moment (namely getting the Colony to actually do stuff), and thoughts about her mom would probably either distract her with more angsty crap that she couldn't deal with right now , or worse, get her hopes up and think that her mom was somehow still alive.
Nope, she'd focus on 'right-now' and shelve the baggage for later.
Whenever later was...
"Now with that tangent over, how's your tail feeling?" C asked as Uzi continued to twitch it and feel how it moved in her grip slightly.
"Still can't get over the fact that I just... that I got all this stuff, and how... natural it feels." Uzi noted as she once again began to run her thumb across the cable, but instead of a violent twitch or shiver of discomfort from the sensitivity, it was instead a more muted, ticklish feeling.
"Ain't life a bitch sometimes?" C replied and gave a soft sigh as he sat down on his chair.
"So, ignoring your tail and your extra height, what else are you feeling right now?" C asked as Uzi closed her digital eyes to focus on herself; sure enough, she felt different.
"I feel heavier, the aches in my scar's gone, my teeth are still itching but that's because I need to top up my oil and I'm totally excited about my extra height, I don't care if it isn't relevant, bite me, lemme have this." Uzi tried to fold her arms with her tail in her left hand, but let out a small hiss of discomfort and an 'ow' when she felt the fabric of her hoodie brush against the cord of her tail.
She still couldn't believe she was taller now, that news alone was the second best mood-booster that she had gotten since the Camp (the first was standing right next to her) and she was SO gonna rub it in the other girl's faces that the 'Colony Midget' was taller now! Already she envisioned being able to reach places without having to stand on her tiptoes and no longer needing to prop herself up on a FOOTSTOOL to reach her school locker, combining that with her Solver and height would never be a problem for her ever again.
Well, if she figured out how to actually USE the damn thing, that is-
'No, nope! Good news only, this is a 'No Bad News Zone', good vibes only!' Uzi thought to herself, and she decided to think of some truly good news.
She could actually reach N's head without asking him to lean down…
Score!
"Alright, the feeling of being heavier is probably because of the nanites and whatever it did to your internals. Do you want another scan or do you want to get the oil cravings over with?" C asked as Uzi felt her teeth itch in response and her tail twitch unconsciously in predatory anticipation, before she stamped down on the feeling as hard as she could.
"Th-The uh, the cravings, please. " Uzi mumbled as C gave a knowing nod and turned around to reboot his computer, his other hand moving towards the side of the desk and quickly forming yet another Worker-Tech scanner, until eventually the silvery liquid nanites solidified and he turned around.
"Alright, so. We're gonna need you to plug into the scanner, and I need you to understand that this is VERY dangerous sh*t we're working with, and I don't know as much as I should when it comes to this sort of thing. I've only done it a few times and each one nearly made me sh*t myself, last chance to back out on this, 'Zi." C warned as Uzi simply gave him a flat stare and twitched her tail in response.
Seeing her obvious answer of 'I'm doing this anyway so bite me', C shrugged and reached over to pull out a long, black cable from the top of the scanner.
"Worth a shot. Just plug this cable into your neck and we can both walk through this together." C instructed as Uzi took the cable out of the older Drone's hands and plugged it into her neck-port. A sudden buzzing feeling in the back of her head, like something was asking for permission, and after a moment, she hesitantly let it in. The feeling slowly grew as C clicked and typed on the computer, his form obscuring the purple glow that emanated from its screen as his tail twitched above him.
" Everything's gonna be okay, Ooze." N mumbled and placed her hand on Uzi's shoulder, causing the shorter Drone to smile and her tail to twitch in her hand repeatedly, almost as if it was wagging.
As if! Showing emotions through her tail would completely undermine her 'Angsty Teen' persona...
Realising that she may have been quiet for a bit too long, Uzi wordlessly replied by leaning into N's hand and resting her head against his shoulder, a faint blush forming on her visor as she did so all the while.
"Alright, finally got the tab open and everything's ready. Fair warning though, you're gonna be looking at your own code and you might get freaked out by it, but don't pull the cable out of your neck until I give the greenlight, okay? This is risky business for all of us and I don't wanna find out about the side effects, you ready for this?" C asked as Uzi took a breath to steady herself and N gave a gentle squeeze of her shoulder in response.
Here she was, taking a look at her own code. The literal soul of a Worker Drone in a digital format, a terrifying prospect for any person in her position, but Uzi was resolute in her decision to go through with this.
If she didn't try to fix things, then nothing would change. Some time in the future, she could snap or dissociate again and go on a rampage in the Colony and hurt MORE people. She'd constantly be at risk of her cravings making her view people as nothing more than walking juice boxes , and worst of all?
Worst of all, she'd just be some kind of monster, thirsting over oil and snapping at the slightest whiff from an open wound, motivated only by an endoskeleton deep craving , she'd be...
She'd be like the Murder Drones that the old Uzi believed existed not even a year ago.
In a way, her decision was made the moment she got off that surgical table, the moment she woke up in her bed after staining her hands black in glistening viscera, after killing Braiden and almost killing V.
Her decision? Her response to the notion that she would lose control of herself like that?
Never again.
"I'm ready, let's get this over with." Uzi tightened her grip on her twitching tail as C moved out of the way of the screen, revealing the source of the purple light and the code - her code - projected from the screen.
It was already zoomed in to the section they needed, and she frowned, looking at the numbers.
['Oil Sensitivity: 6.5x Intensity.']
['Oil Craving: 4.5x Intensity.']
"Oh that is uh- eugh, that ain't good." C mumbled before he turned his head towards Uzi and coughed to clear his throat.
"Alright, so, the average amount of oil craving a Disassembly Drone your age should be feeling is - at most - 1.5x the normal amount. Enough to make oil taste good - better than good in fact - but not enough to make you lose yourself or crave it THIS badly, so I'm gonna need you to set it to the number it's supposed to be. I'd prefer it if you did this yourself." C clasped his hands together and twiddled his thumbs restlessly as Uzi glanced towards the computer screen, before she nodded.
"Alright, scoot over." Uzi instructed as C stood up from his chair and she stepped over to the computer screen, suppressing the urge to swallow as beads of purplish digital sweat trailed down her visor, but she powered through her nerves and set her tail down on her lap to keep it safe.
"You said 1.5, right?"
"Yeah, you'll need to set the oil sensitivity to '1.5' to set a baseline and we can tweak it to be lower if you need it. But the oil craving should be set to a '0.85x' or '0.9x', that way you won't feel like you're going crazy all the time, just type it in and make sure you double check before you save anything." C explained as Uzi swallowed and hovered her hand over the keyboard, her tail twitching restlessly as she tried to muster up the strength of will she needed to permanently alter herself like this.
Letting out a breath to steady herself, Uzi clicked on the settings in question and began inputting the new digits into the code, when without warning, a text box flickered in the corner of her vision as a strange, metallic taste lingered in the back of her throat.
[Oil Sensitivity: 1.5x ('Tasty')]
[Oil Craving: 0.85x]
As soon as her digital eyes trailed over the text, the effect was almost instant. She felt calmer, less hungry than before and the itching in her teeth went from 'almost unbearable' to 'light buzz'.
As she clicked on the 'Save' button on the screen, Uzi leaned back as a cool, pleasant feeling settled over her and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She did it.
She fixed the problem that was constantly hovering over her head since the Warehouse, since 03 tore out her components and put her a hair's breadth away from death.
Yet, she came out of it stronger. Her bond with N ironclad, her friendship with C bordering on an almost familial level, and her body hale and heartier than ever.
But she knew that there was a cost to all of this. Her cravings, the nanites in her system and the stress made her lose control of herself, dissociate from the world around her while her unconscious form hunted, murdered and then ate four innocent lives and accidentally killed a fifth.
But at least with this? This attempt to correct her cravings? Her attempt to control herself?
She finally felt like she fixed her mistake, like she did something right, and in doing so, she made it so that Braiden, Emily, Sam, Rebecca and Darren would never happen again.
So what if she was getting mushy over a bunch of strangers? They may have been jerks, they may have picked on her for her short height, ignored her for years and avoided her like rust, but they didn't deserve to die. Punched in the jaw? Definitely. Stripped naked and lit on fire in front of their crushes? Totally. Completely and totally humiliated in front of the entire Colony? Yyyup! But literally murdered and eaten? Torn to ribbons and their components greedily slurped up?
No! Robo-GOD, no!
She might not be able to resurrect the dead (and she wasn't going to find out if she COULD, considering C's Solver and the hundreds of Reanimated Drones in the Warehouse), but at least with this, she would never have to risk anything like the Camp happening again.
And so, Uzi smiled and disconnected the cable from her neck, as N clasped his hands together nervously.
"H-How are you feeling?" N asked softly as Uzi stood up, stood on the tips of her boots and planted a small peck on his mouth before she pulled him into a hug. The soft feeling of his coat, combined with the sound of his core pulsing and stuttering in his chest soothed Uzi even further, even as the taller boy locked up.
" I'm good, better than good actually. The craving's not as bad as it used to be, my teeth aren't itching anymore and it feels good to actually just... not feel hungry all the time." Uzi mumbled into N's coat and squeezed the taller boy closer to her body, before a pair of hands wrapped themselves around her waist and hugged her back.
"T-Told you we'd figure it out."
Glancing up at N, Uzi couldn't help but give a dumb grin once she saw N's own confident smile, her core fluttering and humming just like in the Warehouse when their hands first touched, or in the Cafeteria when she dragged him away from Lizzie.
"W-We didn't actually figure it out. C did all of the work and I just chewed my finger off, stabbed a wall with my tail - that's still gonna take some getting used to - and changed some settings in my code." Uzi shyly glanced away from the taller boy and felt her tail twitch behind her, scratching against the floor as it drooped limply.
No, she was NOT wagging her tail! It was just twitching!
"Well if we ever need someone to chew some fingers, stab some walls and change settings, then I think we're covered on that!" N stuck out his tongue playfully as Uzi snickered and punched his shoulder softly, the duo separating from their hug as she did.
"Y-You dork!" Uzi giggled, and felt her tail twitch again, as N glanced behind her and his visor lit up in a small blush.
"Um, U-Uzi? Your tail?" N pointed behind the shorter Drone, causing Uzi to turn her head, showing that her tail was now fully lifted off of the ground and wagging rapidly behind her, the vial of purple glowing liquid at the base of her tail sloshing with the movement.
Hurriedly, Uzi reached out her hand to bat down the treacherous limb broadcasting her emotions, fixing an embarrassed glare at N.
"Y-You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Uzi asked as N giggled, flicked his tail and put his hands up defensively.
"Ya got me! But... oh." N spoke softly before he looked to the left and blushed profusely, coughing to clear his throat and avoiding eye-contact with Uzi, who tried to investigate the source of the-
Oh, C was there, right...
"Ah heh, heh, sorry about that, C! I got uh, I got carried away!" N hurriedly exclaimed, as Uzi also felt her own visor heat up in embarrassment. C folded his arms, chuckling softly at the duo's reactions all the while.
"Don't worry about it, there's just a few more things we need to do before we can just let you two out. First we gotta check that your oil sensitivity is alright for you." C bobbed his tail as N perked up and stepped away from Uzi and C.
"Oop! Hold on, I brought some oil in earlier!" N exclaimed as he picked up the two thermos flasks and the accompanying straw for them. Instead of feeling her teeth itch unbearably or her mouth salivate, the only reaction her body made was a ping for a top-up, a faint itch in her teeth and only a little bit of extra artificial-saliva released in anticipation, coupled with the option to either indulge in that craving, or ignore it until later.
Glancing down at the two thermoses, N's digital eyes hollowed out and his tail coiled around itself nervously.
"I, uh... I forgot which one's mine, um..." N hesitated as Uzi snickered and felt her tail twitch in response.
"Just c'mere and hand me one, what didja get anyway?" Uzi asked as N brightened.
"Oh you know, just some cherry and dark-chocolate. I just picked some regular chocolate; stick to what I like, y'know?" N smiled, as Uzi heroically suppressed the urge to flirt with N even despite the perfect opportunity to do so.
Stepping forward, Uzi held out her hand as N gave her the thermos in his left hand, their fingers brushing against each other and giving another spark as they did, the oil within the thermos sloshing with the motion.
"Here you go, Ooze." N beamed at the shorter Drone as she felt her tail twitch yet again.
Ooze? Did the nickname stick?!
One of these days, she was gonna find a cute nickname for HER to use on N, just to see how HE liked it...
"Thanks N." Uzi unscrewed the lid of the thermos and lifted it to her face. The smell of the oil would remain a complete mystery to her sensors until the first drops hit her tongue, as would the confirmation that her sensitivity was successfully addressed.
The moment the first mouthful of oil hit her tongue, the taste of her childhood memories, cherries and dark chocolate, made itself known. Only the taste was, for lack of a better word, 'Tastier'. She relaxed as she savoured the flavour of the thick, still warm oil, drinking until she had fully topped up her systems.
"So, how are you feeling?" C asked in an apprehensive tone as Uzi gave a relieved sigh.
"I feel great. I'm taller, my oil cravings are gone, I've got a heck of a partner with me and I won't be going crazy if I smell fresh oil, this is... this means a lot to me, thanks guys." Uzi gave a soft, warm smile as N shyly scratched his cheek, and C simply gave a smile in response and waved her off, his tail swaying languidly behind him as he did so.
"Don't worry about it, you offered to help with my Solver and I'd say we're friends, right? Least I could do is help you out in return."
"Alright, so, now that we've fixed the cravings issue, we just need to let-" C paused as his digital eyes hollowed out in shock and his mouth hung slightly agape in growing realisation.
"Ohhh... I forgot about your dad... he might get the wrong idea about your tail or teeth, or the Gift..." C sucked air through his teeth in an obvious sign of awkward discomfort. as he nibbled on the tip of his thumb.
Hearing this, Uzi froze and felt her oil chill as her tail proceeded to coil around itself unconsciously.
" Oh. Crrrrrap."
*Knock-Knock-Knock!*
"C? Have you seen Uzi?" Khan's voice was muffled from behind the door as Uzi, N and C locked up in a panic.
OH.
OH FU-
