I was awakened by the sound of rhythmic knocking at my door. I got up, stretched to loosen my joints, and sighed, wondering who that could be at this hour. I peered through the peephole to see one Uzi Doorman. "Hel-lo?" she called.
I unlocked the door, which slid open. "Top of the morning, Uzi," I said sluggishly. "What're you up so early for? It's 4 in the morning. School doesn't start 'till 7."
"Nothing much," said Uzi. "You're kind of needed at the doors."
"Eh? What for?" I queried as my oil beat rose. I'm in so much trouble, aren't I? He knows about V, doesn't he?
"It's my dad. He needs to borrow you," said Uzi. "I wouldn't talk to you if I didn't really mean it."
Darn! He does! I thought. "I... but what about my schoolwork?" I said. I wasn't too concerned about my academics – I could easily make up for missing work. My main concern was whether or not I could put off being in trouble for talking to a Disassembly Drone last night.
"You've been excused by my dad," said Uzi. "He's awesome like that." She smiled proudly. I couldn't help but feel happy for Khan being blessed with a sweet daughter.
"M'kay then," I said. "Lemme get dressed first."
"You go do that, bud," said Uzi as I stepped back into my room and closed the door behind me.
Getting dressed in my usual style of garb – that is, dark blue jeans, a simple black leather belt, a t-shirt (which today depicted a white, sentient TV robot – don't ask), black and maroon socks, similarly colored Marathon®-brand shoes (7 Stripes, baby!), and a black leather jacket – I then set myself to fix my hair in a right-sided part before examining myself in the mirror. "Those guys earlier were right," I encouraged myself pensively. "I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I'm a fairly good-looking dude." I should note I didn't say such things with any form of pride in my heart – I didn't have delusions of grandeur – but my objective at that moment was to remind myself that somewhere out there, there was a girl just for me.
After fixing my hair into a right-sided part and dealing with the cowlick on the back of the top of my head, I straightened myself up and opened the door, stepping out into the hallway to greet my friend. "Wanna lead the way, Miss Doorman?" I joked.
"Oh, you," said Uzi, chuckling as she punched me lightly in the arm. "C'mon, silly, let's go."
Many Years Ago...
Uzi and I were close friends, as we shared the same ideals of protecting those in the bunker who couldn't help themselves. I remember the first time we met was many years ago when Uzi was being bullied by a pair of older kids who were shaming her for carrying around a copy of her father's autobiography.
"Ugh, you're such a daddy's girl," said one of the two mockingly.
"What're you gonna do? Call for your mommy? Oh, wait, I forgot! She's dead!" the other said. The pair erupted into laughter over his poor sense of humor.
"Please just stop," said Uzi, who, clutching her copy of Khan's autobiography, was on the verge of tears.
"What a wimp," the first one said, pushing Uzi over. Rather than try to fend for herself, though, Uzi went straight for the autobiography. Unfortunately, she was too slow to reach it before the bully stomped on it viciously. "What're you gonna do about it?" he taunted with a wicked grin.
Uzi opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. With their tasteless humor satisfied, the bullies walked off, laughing harder than ever. Uzi slowly took the book, which now had a large boot print on the cover, and some of the inside pages had been creased. She sniffled, quivering gently, her cheeks wet with tears as she examined her ruined book.
Uzi looked up, seeing me. "O-oh," she exclaimed softly. "Wh-what's up?"
"Nothing much. Are you good?" I said.
"I-I'm fine," said Uzi.
"Shame the same can't be said for the book," I grimaced. "So, you're the Doorman girl, huh?"
"Mhmm," she said, turning away. "I'm Uzi. Khan is my dad."
"Well that would explain the book then," I said, reading what little of the cover I could see. "I'm, uh, Genesys Toner, by the way."
Tensing up in defensive anxiety, she got up and turned around. "I think I'll get going."
She began to leave when I said, "For what it's worth, I think it's an interesting read."
Uzi froze mid-step. "You don't mean that," she said in a voice that was little more than a whisper.
"No, seriously!" I insisted. "I thought it was so cool how he spearheaded the creation of the doors! Oh, and that one chapter where he beat some attempted murderer to death with nothing but a wrench? Peak writing, to be sure."
Uzi pivoted in place halfway, looking at me from her side. "So you're not gonna call me names or anything?" she said meekly with a tonality of innocence so fragile you could have shattered it like an old china dish on concrete.
"I'm no liar, Uzi," I replied, smiling. "Not unless I'm in certain circumstances that could get me killed, but I imagine that's a given for most people," I added.
Uzi sniffed, wiping her face. "Then... Do you wanna read with me?" she asked. Her eyes locked with mine, no longer shining with synthetic tears but a mixture of hope and gratitude.
I grinned. "Absolutely," I said with all the sincerity I could muster.
Uzi beamed. "Thank you so much," she said, starting to cry again, albeit with tears of joy – joy in knowing she wasn't the only oddball in the bunker.
In the Present Day...
Uzi and I finally arrived at the doors, where Khan was waiting with a look of mild impatience. "Genesys!" Khan called out to us.
"Hey, Mister Khan, what's going on?" I said, trying (and failing) to mask my anxiety. Reflecting on how I had befriended Uzi in elementary school had calmed my nerves a little; nevertheless, knowing I was at the mercy of a man who allegedly beat someone to death with only a wrench was starting to take its toll on me.
"Remind me what you said you were going to do when you went out last night," said Khan.
"...uh, I was going to contribute to the defense and well-being of the bunker and its inhabitants!" I said, my mind rushing to ensure I produced a response that didn't invoke Mr. Khan's wrath.
"Did that involve bringing a Disassembly Drone to our doorstep?" said Khan with a grave voice.
"Wait, what?" said Uzi, her jaw hanging open in abject shock.
Oh, scrap. I've opened Pandora's box, haven't I? "I... I'm sorry, Mister Doorman. I'll take care of it right away!" I said, worriedly.
"Hmph! Alright then," said Khan. He opened the first two doors, revealing the WDF members, who were playing cards one with another. When they noticed that they were under public scrutiny, they quickly hid the cards and snapped into position.
"Mister Khan, sir!" they all said in unison.
"Boys, I want you to fill in Genesys here on our situation!" said Khan. "Uzi, if you wish to stay, you may, but it's up to you."
"Huh? Oh!" said Uzi. "I... I think I'll stay and help my friend!"
"I understand," said Khan. "Just... stay safe, okay?"
"I promise, Dad," said Uzi, who stepped forward and took her father's hands. "I'll watch out for myself, don't worry." She kissed him goodbye, and Khan promptly departed, closing the first two doors behind him.
"Alright, you two!" Todd announced. "Here's the situation. We have a Disassembly Drone that's just... standing outside of the third door. She's been there blowing bubbles to kill time, and she's requested the presence of someone named 'G'. Any ideas who that could be?"
All eyes turned on me. "Genesys, what have you done?" Uzi spoke. "You must've messed up badly if this android wants you dead so badly."
"I..." Suddenly, the truth spilled out in a wild torrent: "I went to the drop pod near the corpse spire to look for materials for a weapon I'm making. And I had an interaction with her after beating the crap out of her and messing up her vision, and thus learned about the Disassembly Drones and their entire team. I also discovered that JC Jenson® doesn't care for the Drones at all, but sees them as tools, and I perhaps was able to convince that robot out there she's fighting for the wrong side."
Everyone in the room was gawking at me except Braxton (the WDF member who earlier suggested the potential of Disassembly Drones being "the one"), who was whooping for me for a moment before he realized that the consensus of the room was disapproving. "Sorry," he said bashfully.
"So..." I said. "I guess I'd better go out there and talk to her."
"Genesys, I say this to you as your friend. You're a fairly smart dude – I'll give you that – but that is not one of your brightest plans," said Uzi.
"I guess not," I said. I began to think about safe(ish) ways to approach this situation. Finally, I suggested, "Hey, could y'all get the door to open up, like, just barely to where we can talk to each other, but not wide enough to where she could kill us?"
"Sure thing," said Makarov, taking a keycard from his pocket, placing it on the control panel, and inputting some commands in the panel. Consequently, the door opened up maybe about half an inch.
"Oh, come on! A little more than that, dude!" I said after examining his handiwork.
"Alright, then," said the guard, getting the door to open a little bit more so I could see the Drone on the outside.
I peeked through the hole and beheld... nothing. "Huh... that's weird. Uzi, didn't you say she out here a minute a–"
"BOO!" V popped up right in front of my face, her visor showing an X, her hands replaced by gnarly claws that would make Edward Scissorhands blush.
"HOLY SPARK PLUGS!" I exclaimed, recoiling a good five feet backward and falling over.
V cackled, extremely amused by my reaction. She clutched her stomach, falling over as she rolled on the ground laughing. "Man, you shoulda seen your face!" she guffawed.
"Very funny," I said. I heard a snort of amusement from behind me. Turning to find the source, I saw that Uzi couldn't help but find my reaction humorous, but she was trying her best to suppress her laughter. Sighing, I turned around and looked back through the hole. "What do you want, V?" I requested.
Becoming genuine with her words, V answered, "I just wanna know what you thought you were doing in the spaceship with me. You probably thought you were such a genius, turning me on my own, huh?" Her claws retracted back into her hands slightly but stopped short enough to still have lethal capabilities.
"V, I..." I started.
"Don't you 'V, I' me! I let you pick my teeth, you weirdo!" V said, putting her clawed hands on her hips.
"You did what?!" Uzi said, shocked. I could practically hear her inner workings as her eyebrow rose ludicrously. Likewise, the other WDF members couldn't help but seem slightly flabbergasted.
"I-I'll explain it later," I said, too embarrassed to meet eyes with my friends. Turning to V, I said, "V, I'm not trying to get you to turn on your friends! That's not my goal here!"
"How is that not your goal? You literally told me that the company the three of us serve is evil, and you expect me to believe that's not what you're after?" V said, her voice cracking a little bit.
I fell silent.
"'G'... if that's even your name to begin with... I want to believe you. I really do. But I'm a Disassembly Drone, and if we Drones didn't exist, your people would probably be perfectly happy. Or you'd be horribly killing each other instead," V added, "but that's not the point. So how then can I expect to be able to live in peace with y– I mean," she faltered, "the Workers – after all this?"
Not noticing what she almost said, I took a deep breath to calm myself. The fate of the entire bunker was on my shoulders, more or less, and if I messed this up, there was a possibility I'd never be able to make amends. Inhaling slowly, I responded: "V... if we were able to be on the same side, then... I would advocate for you the best I could. You could be an amazing ambassador, showing that anyone can do the right thing no matter what it is they've done. And if we can get you to join the good guys, who says we can't get, say, N on our side, or even J?"
V let this sink in for a moment.
"I know it sounds crazy," I continued, "but... we can work something out. We can be friends, you and me. Heck, maybe you could be friends with the whole bunker in the end. I promise I'll make sure you feel welcome here so you can call this place home. Okay, V?"
"Why... why would you wanna be friends with me, much less even be in the same room as me?" said V. "I... do you even know what I've done?"
"More or less, yeah," I said, shrugging. "All the same, I still want you to feel like you can trust me. I want you to be in a place where you're safe and free, free to choose what to do with your own life."
I motioned to the guard to open the door all the way. Reluctantly, he obeyed, and I stepped out into the crisp air in the early morning. "Dang, 'G', that's a lot of trust you're putting in a girl like me, walking out here like that," V said, chuckling slightly.
"That's 'Genesys Toner' to you," I said playfully, grabbing her by the scarf and gently pulling her inside. "You... won't kill us all, will you?" I decided to ask.
"I'll... think about it," V giggled. Her claws completely retracted, and she took my free hand in hers and smiled slightly.
I couldn't help but bask in this moment. I was so glad -- nay, I was euphoric -- I had befriended V. Staring into her eyes, I felt the entirety of the world was naught more than small trifles compared to this unbelievable achievement I had made. I smiled from ear to ear as I fiddled with V's scarf playfully; it was the softest thing I had ever met. I sighed happily, thinking, I have the girl of dreams right here. What could go wrong?
As if on cue, a whooshing sound erupted from outside. "Uh-oh," said V, letting go of my hand and backing away from me as two other Drones – J and N – landed on the scene.
"Well, well, well," said J, a woman in a jet-black business suit and skirt wearing a headband like V's to go with her short twin tails. "V, where do you think you're going?" she sneered.
"Um..." said V. "I..."
"Say, I feel like I've seen you before," J said, looking at me and stroking her chin thoughtfully as her eyes narrowed. "Yes, I'm sure!" she said excitedly, clapping her hands as she smiled with an open mouth, displaying her horrifically sharp teeth. "You were the boy whose parents I just so happened to run across all those years ago... They weren't noteworthy people, though. Their screams were pitiful, and their oil was less than delectable," she finished with a starkly apathetic tone. My oil boiled with rage as my metal hands tightened into fists, but I controlled myself sufficiently. "By the way, are you missing this?" She took out my weapon hilt and held it high for all to see.
"Admittedly, yes," I said through clenched teeth. "V, what's happening?" I inquired with an urgent voice.
"They... followed me," said V. "They know what happened between us, more or less, and they want me to make it right."
My metallic heart seemed to stop. So maybe we would all die after all.
"Tell me, V... are you going to kill them in the name of JC Jenson® like you were supposed to do? Or are you going to turn out to be even more defective than 'Synergistic Liability' over here?" J jeered.
"Is that a good thing?" said N, unsure whether to take offense. N was a boy wearing a trench coat and a black cap, and his hair was short and messy.
"I don't think so, bud," Uzi said. "Sorry."
"Awwww," N said, slumping over with sorrow.
"Turn away now, V, and I'll let this little incident go. Bygones will be bygones. Whaddya say?" said J. "Keep in mind, this offer won't stay on the table forever."
V was pensive at the thought of this. Her eyes darted from us to the Disassembly Drones. Us. Disassembly Drones. Us... Disassembly Drones...
V took a deep breath. "I think I'll stay..."
Oh, no. Goodbye, cruel wo–
"...with Genesys."
Wait, what? My jaw hung open. I wasn't gonna die today after all! (Maybe.)
"And here I thought N was the defective one. You... are the biggest defect I've ever seen," said J, repulsed by V's change of heart.
"You're not my boss!" said V, pouting (adorably). "I do as I will from now on, got it?" She turned her head aside and let out a somewhat childish "hmph."
"Tch!" J scowled. "So be it. Genesys, you can have your hilt back."
"Eh?" I said, unsure of how to respond.
"Catch," she said, tossing it at me violently. I caught it in the nick of time, examining it to check for any damage or tampering – thankfully, it was in the same condition I'd left it. "We'll be back at sunset tonight," said J. "Come alone, the two of you."
"You're giving me this to make a weapon, aren't you?" I said, laughing derisively. "You want a glorious victory against me."
"Of course," J said haughtily. "After all, we Disassembly Drones get extra credit from JC Jenson® for winning against worthy, skilled prey, especially vengeful orphans such as yourself. And you know what that means!" she finished excitedly.
"I... really don't," I said.
"JC Jenson®-branded pens!" J responded energetically, whipping out one, much to the interest of N, whose expression was as though he was a Neanderthal discovering fire for the first time.
"You're joking," Uzi said. Turning to V, she said, "That's what you get for your hard work ? Branded pens?"
"Now that I think about it, we don't get much payback for killing a bunch of people. Kind of underwhelming if you ask me," V commented.
"Heresy, I tell you! These are only the best pens ever made!" J retorted. "A worthy prize for a glorious showdown." She spun on her heel, spreading her wings. "Remember, sunset, same place! Be there!" she yelled. She turned to N and said, "Let's go, Synergistic Liability," before bursting into the air with maniacal laughter.
"Please stop calling me that," said N, who promptly took off after her.
All of us watched as they departed. "Well, I guess we'd better prepare for the battle ahead of us," said Uzi.
"Indeed," I said. "Come on, V."
"Alrighty then!" V said, seemingly unshaken by the tense interaction.
Many Hours Later...
I set down the hilt on a workbench in the warehouse before falling backward into a chair. I was excused from school, so I had the entire day to prepare for the showdown with J and N. All the same, though, I was still lacking the proper materials for my blade. I chuckled derisively, thinking about how I could befriend a Disassembly Drone but couldn't even get my hands on a substantially functional sharp/blunt object from anything in the warehouse – which I had practically turned upside down – for my weapon. I sighed, wondering how I would get my hands on such a tool. I felt it would be a little awkward to ask V for one of her swords as I had so sought last night, given that she was officially my friend.
"Still no luck, cutie?" said V from behind.
I jumped in my seat slightly. "Please don't make a habit out of that," I said.
"Out of what?" V teased.
"Jumpscaring me," I said. "And calling me 'cutie', I guess," I hastily added.
"Oh, you guess?"
"Ugh."
V giggled maniacally. "Oh, you're so easy to mess with, it's almost no fun at all," she said, hopping on the workbench and folding her leg over her knee. "Almost makes me feel sorry for you."
Feeling rather red in the visor, I sighed. "V, if you're gonna torment me like this, the least you could do is help me acquire something for my sword. It could very well be the fine line between us living and dying."
"Maybe for you," said V, who, brandishing her sharpened right hand, booped me with her index finger right where my nose would be if I was human.
"We're in this together," I said, trying to keep my composure while turning my body toward the bench to hide my face. "You know that both our lives are contingent on both of us being at our peak performance."
"Yes, I do," said V, leaning in to whisper into my ear: "Like I said, you're so easy to mess around with." Stepping backward, she announced, "I think I know a good place where I could get some stuff for you to make something totally lethal. I'll be back in an hour, tops."
"Glad to hear it," I said, straightening up. "I'll try to work on a guard for this thing while you're gone. Alright?"
"M'kay, then," said V. "See ya!" She started to strut away, leaving me to my designs.
As she started to leave, a question that had festered in my mind for hours finally manifested in my mouth: "Hey, before you go, can I ask you something?"
"Hm?" said V, turning around. "Sure, go on."
"What was that earlier?" I said.
V froze. "Huh?" she said, acting coy. "What was what? Can you specify?"
"I was referring to you initiating hand-holding," I said with a deadpan tone.
V scoffed. She took her scarf and threw it with mock extravagance. "Why do you ask?" V said, hiding her face as if she were some vampire performing a dramatic face-covering with a jet-black cape. "Do you really not know, silly?"
My visor got even hotter. Any more, and I'd probably go into sleep mode to avoid overheating.
V giggled maniacally. "You're so adorable when you're flustered, you know that?" she teased. "But I guess you can have too much of any good thing, so I guess I'd better be going, yeah?" With that, she let out one last cackle and walked out, though she walked away a bit faster than before.
I slumped back into my seat, letting my mind run wild over what had just unfolded. Was it possible? Could V, a Disassembly Drone, fall for a Worker Drone such as I? I tried to get myself to fashion a guard for my weapon, but the anxiety of being in a possible relationship with a girl like V...
Oh, who am I kidding? There's no girl like V, with her cute laugh, adorable, short hair... that beautiful face of hers, and... vicious fighting skills. At least, none that I've had the opportunity to get to know firsthand, I contemplated, spacing out over V's amazing everything. I even got up and began to pace around subconsciously. I sighed happily, and my eyes changed into hearts as I wondered just what we'd do when we finally got toge–
"Earth to Genesys!" a voice rang out.
I snapped back to reality. "Huh?" My visor adjusted its focus to reveal one Lizzy staring into my face. "Oh, sorry. I kinda zoned out for a second, huh?"
Lizzy heaved a sigh. "Genesys, is everything alright?" she asked straightforwardly.
"Wha?" I said, feeling my visor heat up slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do you think it's really a good judgment call to have a Disassembly Drone in our home? The very people that have slaughtered us mercilessly for years?" she said, sounding slightly anxious. "N-not to make you rethink your decision," she hastily added, "but... do you really think that was a good choice?"
I sighed. "I know, it's a risk. A huge one, at that. But if we can get this to work out, our chances of survival will increase exponentially," I rationalized, deciding to leave out the fact that I was heavily infatuated with V.
Lizzy seemed to know I was trying to hide something despite my best attempts. "Genesys, is there something you're not telling me?" she pried, raising her eyebrow as she leaned in.
In response, I bent backward to avoid making contact with her. "I – uh –" I stuttered, my eyes darting from one way to another. "Well–"
"Don't lie to me," she said with sternness and honest concern. "I know I'm not your girlfriend, but if there's something you need to get off my chest, then you don't need to hide it from me. You can tell me anything that's on your mind, okay?"
I sighed. "I..." I didn't know if I'd tell even Uzi about what happened between us; even if I did, I'd probably – no, I would definitely – leave out the teeth-picking montage from "what happened between us." "I'd rather not discuss it," I finally said. "Not right now, anyway. It's super personal and highly embarrassing. But... I'll make sure it doesn't impact what I'm doing, okay?"
Lizzy sighed. "Alright," she relented. "But if you change your mind, just call me, okay?"
"Okay," I answered. "Thanks for looking out for me, Lizzy." I smiled slightly.
"No problem," said Lizzy, returning the sentiment.
We looked into each other's eyes and momentarily fell silent. I sighed and said, "Well, while we wait for our dear friend to get back with a blade for this bad boy, would you mind helping me with the guard?"
"H-huh?" said Lizzy, surprised.
"Listen, it's not that hard to do," I explained. "And anyway, it'd be faster if I had a helping hand on the project."
"I..." Lizzy said, glancing off to the side.
"I mean, if you don't want to help," I relented nervously, believing that I was pushing the request a little too much, "you don't have to."
"N-no, it's fine," said Lizzy. "I'd love to help you!" She smiled reassuringly at me. "Anything to make sure we don't all die horribly, right?" she giggled.
I chuckled. "That's the spirit," I said. "Alright, so here's what we need to do..."
As I walked Lizzy through how to make a hilt, a question occupied my mind: What's V up to? I do hope she gets back soon. Despite my impending doubts, I decided to get to work to cleanse the worries from my mind. Having donned the proper equipment – gloves and an apron – I took out a red-hot piece of metal with a pair of tongs. I handed the tongs off to Lizzy, who held the metal in place on an anvil with said tongs. With all the faculties of my heart of copper and iron, I unleashed a heavy blow upon it. Metal struck metal and a CLANG! sounded throughout the room.
So began my preparations for my greatest battle yet.