The oil means I love you!
N was waiting in front of the bunker, waiting for Uzi to come meet him. After the disaster that was the camping trip, Uzi had been very upset, for understandable reasons. She couldn't go out in the sun anymore. She had turned into some weird semi-organic murder drone… and she killed five people… it all weighed heavily on her. N was trying to be there for her as much as possible, but he wasn't allowed inside the bunker anymore. Something about "concerned parents fearing for their kids" or whatever. N let out a frustrated growl.
"Where is she? She's never late! What if something happened? What if she overheated and was dying in her room! Khan wouldn't help her! He would just leave her for dead again!" N muttered to himself as he paced back and forth. Just as N was about to try to force his way into the bunker to save Uzi from whatever ill fate had befallen her, the bunker doors opened and the angsty worker ran out… crying? N stopped his pacing and ran up to her, wrapping her in a warm embrace… a really warm embrace… why was she so hot? No, temperature wise!
"Uzi! What happened?" N asked as he spread his wings and wrapped himself and Uzi in them. Uzi had her tail and wings again… her tail had coiled around N's waist and pulled him as close as possible while her wings' grabby things (N would have to ask about those later) gripped his shoulders with surprising strength. N was about to ask why she was so warm and why her extra appendages had appeared again, but his words died on his tongue when Uzi began violently sobbing in his embrace. N hushed her and gently stroked her hair as he ushered them a short distance away from the bunker before sitting down, Uzi still clinging to N with desperation.
"Uzi, it's ok now, I'm here. Can you tell me what happened?" N urged Uzi to explain, but she was too overwhelmed with emotion to answer immediately. After a few more moments of sobbing, Uzi began to collect herself.
"T-Thad t-told someone about- about the camp…" Uzi managed to get out between sobs, her voice muffled as she buried her head into N's chest.
"He what?" N asked, a dangerous edge to his voice. Uzi didn't pick up on it as she continued recounting what caused her to be a mess.
"T-they said I had t-to leave… I di-didn't want to… I a-asked da- Khan…" N noticed with great concern that Uzi referred to her father by name, something she never did. N's internal temperature began to rise rapidly as he thought about what wicked thing Khan must've done. First Thad had betrayed her trust, now her own father? N was metaphorically and nearly literally boiling with rage. N had never felt so… so enraged before.
"What did Khan do?" N spat the name like even saying it was a heinous thing to do. Uzi was surprised by his tone. She had never seen N mad… not like this at least… Uzi was almost… scared? But at the same time, it was exhilarating that sweet, innocent N was getting this upset on her behalf.
"H-he said I had to go… that I-I was too dangerous to remain in the bunker…" Uzi almost began crying again as she remembered how scared her father had seemed when she went to him to make sure she wasn't going to be kicked out.
"Uzi… have had any oil recently? You're burning up." N's voice was laced with concern as he stopped running his fingers through Uzi's hair and pressed his palm to her forehead (or where it would be anyways).
"No, b-but I'm fine. I promi- ah!" Uzi pressed a shaking hand to her visor as a warning appeared on her screen, accompanied by an internal searing pain. 'WARNING: OVERHEATING!" the warning announced.
"Uzi! I knew you were overheating! C'mon, I have some oil reserves at the pod!" N scooped Uzi into his arms and launched them into the air. Uzi's tail remained wrapped around N's waist as they flew back to the pod. Uzi buried her head into N's jacket as she began panting from the terrible heat rising within, trying to ground herself in reality as her thoughts became delirious from the heat. N got Uzi back to the pod as fast as he could, landing gently in front of the landing pod before rushing inside.
"N? I thought you and the purple freak- woah! Uh, N? What's going on?" V was surprised to find N back so soon, a transformed Uzi in his arms, desperately clinging to him like he was her only lifeline.
"N… so hot… it hurts…" Uzi shuddered as N gently set her down in one of the chairs before tearing open a small container that held some emergency oil.
"It's not a good idea to be around her when she's… like this! You shouldn't have brought her back here-" V tried to reason with N as she stepped over to him, but was cut off as N suddenly whirled around slammed her into the wall, his X overtaking his visor as he stared V down.
"Shut. Up." V's eyes hollowed and she visibly shrunk back into the wall. N spoke with a fiery venom V had never expected to hear from N! It scared her… N was always so carefree and annoyingly optimistic. He had never snapped at anyone before… not even at J, despite the abuse she put him through. V shut her mouth and slid to the floor after N let her go. With great care, N helped Uzi drink the emergency oil. It immediately quenched the fire inside Uzi's body, allowing her to think clearly again.
"Thank you…" Uzi said quietly, hugging her knees to her chest as she looked at the floor. While the pain from her internal temperature was gone, the pain from the betrayal she just suffered was still there and still strong.
"Uzi, how long did you go without oil?" N asked as he knelt in front of her, his brow was furrowed with worry. Uzi felt a pang of guilt run through her. She hated having people worry about her like this. She hated being a burden.
"Not long… just a few days…" Uzi muttered, avoiding N's intense gaze. She couldn't help but blush a little as N continued to fret over her.
"A few days?! Uzi, that's not safe or healthy! I need to go out and find more for you!" N turned to leave but was pulled back by Uzi's tail. He barely realized she still hadn't unwrapped it from around his waist. Uzi grabbed his wrist and pulled N into another embrace.
"Stay… please…" Uzi's alarm bells rang out in her head when N had turned to leave. She couldn't be here alone… not now…
"Ok… ok, I'll stay." N returned the embrace and began to hum a familiar tune. Uzi couldn't place where she'd heard the song, or what it was called… but it was nice to hear N hum as he held her. Neither N nor Uzi noticed V slip out of the pod. She didn't feel safe around either of the other two drones right now… N especially seemed to be unnerving to V… That song he was humming… something about it rubbed her the wrong way.
After a while, Uzi fell asleep in N's arms. N savored the moment as Uzi clung to him in her sleep. Her tail and wings had disappeared a short while after she fell asleep, allowing N to slide Uzi off his lap and onto the other chair. He watched her for a moment before being startled by a popup on his visor. 'Absolute Solver subroutine ID: was activated over a week ago. Target: Uzi Doorman. New sub-subroutine activated, overriding host unit. Warning: JcJenson is not responsible for the possible mutations a drone may undergo while is running.'
"What the hell?" N had seen a similar pop up a while ago, after the Eldritch J incident. N was about to investigate this , but a sudden and overwhelming thought came to him. 'Uzi. She was crying earlier. The other workers made her cry. They were the reason she was upset.' The earlier anger N felt resurfaced and continued to mount as N thought about it more and more. If he had been mad earlier, then he was absolutely livid now. N grit his teeth and left the pod, glaring in the direction of the bunker.
"You cowardly bastards!" N growled as he stared at the open bunker. Wait… why was he so mad? They hurt Uzi's feelings, sure, but why did he extend his claws? Why was he marching towards the bunker? N tried to think, but something stopped him and instead showed him the memory of Uzi running out of the bunker crying. N's rational thoughts were once again buried with rage as the new subroutine took over, urging N towards the bunker. 'Oil… Uzi needs oil… can't let her overheat… Can't let them get away with what they did to her!' N's eyes were replaced by the iconic X as an animalistic rage swallowed his mind. N reached the entrance of the bunker and something beneath his metal skin began to crawl as he walked inside…
A while later…
Uzi slowly awoke to find herself alone in the pod. Uzi got out of the chair she was sitting in and leaned against the wall as a sudden wave of dizziness came over her. She was overheating again… Uzi pushed the thought aside and made her way outside.
"N? V? Hello?" Uzi called out. Uzi noticed a trail of footprints in the snow leading towards the bunker… which was open. Uzi's purple eyes hollowed as her heat drunk brain conjured up images of V taking advantage of opportunity and killing everyone inside. Uzi made her way up to the bunker as fast as she could, falling to her hands and knees as she reached the entrance of bunker. Uzi was horrified to find the littered remains of a worker drone decorating the entrance to the bunker. Unwillingly, Uzi began drinking what oil she could from the scattered limbs, retching as she did so. After sating her wretched hunger and regaining some strength, Uzi ran into the bunker with the hope that she could prevent any further deaths.
"I hope I'm not too late…" Uzi ran faster as she found more and more dead workers in the halls of the bunkers, crossing her fingers that they weren't anyone she knew. Uzi had some difficulty navigating the halls of the bunker, her vision still hampered by her earlier lack of oil. Uzi neared the school gymnasium and skidded to a stop as she heard someone scream from inside. Another scream and the sound of multiple gunshots was all Uzi needed to hear before she tore the doors off their hinges with her Absolute Solver and rushed inside. Uzi was greeted with the grisly sight of oil on the walls and floor, oil dripping from corpses that had been hung from the rafters by their insides. Uzi involuntarily shuddered at the sight. She knew V could be sadistic, but this was another level… Uzi turned her attention to the far side of the room where a single murder drone stood. 'There's V!' Uzi thought.
"Stop! Leave them alone!" Uzi shouted at V as she lifted someone into the air. It was Thad!
"Uzi! Run-" Thad was cut off as a clawed hand cleaved him in half. Thad cried out as his legs dropped to the floor below, many of his insides joining them. Uzi watched in horror as the murder drone stabbed Thad's head repeatedly with their tail, intent on nothing being left of it.
"Thad!" Uzi rushed forward, throwing some debris at V. V blocked the attack with her wing before throwing Thad's remains at Uzi, knocking her to the ground and disorienting her. V pounced on her immediately, her claws narrowly missing Uzi's throat as the clawed hands landed on either side of Uzi's head. Uzi squeezed her eyes shut as V lifted one of her hands and gently dragged the claws across her cheek, cutting her.
"Uuuuziiiii…" a distorted yet melodic voice sang out. Uzi's hollowed eyes snapped open, focus returning to her vision. That voice…
"N?!" Uzi gasped as she stared at N who held himself over her, keeping her pinned. He… looked wrong… His visor displayed a glitchy red X and his smile seemed to nearly split his head in two, Uzi didn't even think it was possible for it to get any wider… fear and confusion flooded Uzi's mind.
"Why are you- I thought V- why?" Uzi shivered in fear as N brought his claws to his face and dragged them down it, trailing oil, Uzi's oil, down his face with a manic giggle. N's distorted voice hummed the tune he had hummed to her earlier, but it wasn't comforting to Uzi now.
"N, N please! You're scaring me!" Uzi couldn't think right now. What happened? What changed? He had been so sweet earlier… now he was laughing maniacally as he lifted himself off her and used Absolute Solver to hang Thad's body from the rafters… wait… What? A visceral fear filled Uzi as she watched N manipulate what little was left of Thad's body with the Absolute Solver.
"N… N, please talk to me!" Uzi had gotten into a sitting position, her whole body shaking as N slowly looked over to her.
"I've always heard that it's what's inside that counts…" N said, his voice distorting and making it seem as if he was singing the words, "Cause my insides are black, and yours are too!"
Uzi eyes widened as she recognized the lyrics. That's why she knew the melody… it was from an old human song 'The red means I love you', but N had changed some of the lyrics…
"N, please, stop this! I don't know what happened-"
"and the oil on my face is matching you, and goodness, you're bleeding, what a wonderful feeling!"
"Please, stop!" Uzi began hyperventilating as N slowly walked towards her, the Absolute Solver symbol flashing on his visor.
"You're down and you're pleading, my head is just reeling!" Uzi crawled back away from N as his voice grew more manic and distorted and his body began twitching randomly in a freakish manner.
"The oil means I love you! Tasting your oil means I loooooove you!" N's voice reached a fever pitch as it became so heavily distorted that it was completely unrecognizable, "T̴̫̅h̸͇͒e̷̻͆ ̴̡̈o̵̗̒ì̷͍l̸̺̓ ̸̧͑m̷̮̃e̸͔͑ã̴͍n̷̞̏s̶͔̈ ̷̦̅I̸̹͗ ̸͙͘ḹ̷ȏ̶̫v̴̯̚ḙ̴̔ ̵̡́y̷͍͠ō̶ͅŏ̸̳o̵̠̍o̵̯͐ú̶͇!̸̧̛ ̵̥̀T̸̯͝h̸̲̊e̴̖̎ ̵̖̽ó̷̙ì̷̩l̸͈͠ ̵̼͊m̸͔͐e̷̳̓a̴͙͠n̷̜͘s̸̤̆ ̸̼̎Ĩ̶̲ ̶̤͂l̸͍̽o̴̩͋ȯ̴͎o̸̻͋ȏ̵͜o̵̧͘o̶͍͑o̶̱̾o̵̻̚v̷̲̿e̵̤͐ ̴̺̂y̴̫̔o̵͈̔u̴͇͘!̸̙͒ ̵̗́T̷͓̿h̶̩̋ẻ̵̮ ̵͎̓ö̴͈́ỉ̶̙ľ̴̲ ̸̙̆m̸̨̔e̷͍̅á̵͍ṅ̷̲s̷͔̑ ̴̼̇Ỉ̴̺ ̶͔́l̵̲̕ơ̶̠v̸͎́ẻ̶̮ ̴̘̀y̶̥̅o̴͖͂u̴͛͜!̵̨̐ ̷̼̅T̴͍͊a̴̧͝ś̴̨t̸͙͋i̷̺̓n̷̙͝g̸̺̋ ̶̖̚y̸̺͝ò̶̡u̸͙͛r̸͕̚ ̵͇̿ò̵͎i̸̔͜l̷̟͆ ̵̢͛m̷̱͘e̴̳̿â̷̗ň̷̤ş̶̇ ̷͖̕I̷̳̒ ̶͕̉l̵̮̂ǫ̴̔v̴̥́e̶͓̒ ̴͈̏ÿ̷͈o̷̰͝ṳ̷͠!̶̝̀"
Uzi retreated into the fetal position and covered her ears as N's voice seemed to get louder and louder, bouncing and echoing in the room and her head. Soon a second voice joined in on tormenting Uzi. It was N's normal voice laughing in a sadistic and crazed way. Uzi cried out as the voices grew louder in her head as N, no, this thing wrapped itself around her in a hug as it continued its demonic singing.
"Ṫ̴̳h̷͈̿e̶̡͛ ̵̭̽o̶͔͛i̵̢̓l̶̺̒ ̶̜̌m̴͙̀e̶̪͐a̴̤͗n̴͚͋s̶̻̃ ̶̲̋I̶̢̚ ̴̛̖l̶̇͜ő̸̹ó̵̩ŏ̶͍v̷̯͂e̶̻͒ ̸̫͌ÿ̵́͜o̴̜̚ȯ̴̤o̴͎̐u̵̝͊!̵͈̆ ̴̞͋T̵͔̀a̵͗ͅs̸͚͒t̶͔̊i̸̢̋ń̷͕g̷͎̍ ̸̲̔y̷͚̓o̸̯̾u̴̯̽r̸͔̽ ̵̫̈o̴͕̽i̴̡̐l̶͚̓ ̸͚̀m̷̤̏e̸̛̥á̴̱n̸̡̕ś̴͇ ̷̫͌Ì̷̱ ̸̞͋l̵̤̂ò̶̫ǫ̶͝o̸̬̐o̷̯͝o̵͂ͅo̶̺͑ǒ̷̲o̸̟͊ơ̶ͅo̷̩̐v̶̟͋e̴̻̒ ̸̜̀y̵̛͈o̵͔͝u̵̻͘!̵̯̎ ̷̯̌T̷͓͐ḩ̷͂e̶̹͌ ̵͎̽ȏ̶̰i̶͈͗ḽ̶͆ ̷͍͘m̵̧̑e̵͎͊à̴̤n̵̖͠s̸̘͑ ̶͉̓I̸͎͛ ̷̩̂l̴̤̈o̸̽͜v̴͙͂e̸̜̕ ̴̨̆ỵ̵͠o̵͚̐u̴͍͝!̴̥̚ ̵̲͋T̸̛̝h̴̻̔e̷̼͝ ̴̱͠o̶̡͒i̸̮̎l̸̪͐ ̶̗̓ḿ̷͙ẹ̴̃ä̷͍́n̵̳̍s̴̪̒ ̴̫̑I̶̢͌ ̴̋͜l̵̳̐o̶̦͆v̷̗̀e̶̲͆ ̴̞͆ý̸̙ǒ̴͚u̷͈̍!̶͔̂" Uzi sobbed violently as she was forced to watch as N's body began to pull itself apart from the inside-out as it embraced her. Long spider-like limbs made of wires and something organic burst out of N's chest and wrapped around Uzi as she struggled to escape the unwanted embrace. Oil and red liquid began leaking from around N's visor as it was slowly peeled off, revealing a nest of writhing wires and vein like tubes that oozed black and red liquids that reeked of decay. Uzi wanted to scream but found she couldn't. N's lower jaw snapped down the middle, the two pieces moving independently of one another as the horrid voice continued singing, torturing Uzi. The arms that held Uzi to what was once N's body, ripped open revealing tendrils made of wires and flesh that began enveloping Uzi. Uzi wanted to be anywhere but in this hell! She wanted it all to end!
"Uzi! Please wake up!"
Uzi awoke with a start, tears running down her visor and her body shaking violently as she took ragged and uneven breaths.
"Uzi! What happened?" Uzi looked up to find N holding her, fear and concern in his eyes as he looked down at Uzi. Was he crying? Uzi glanced around and… they were in the landing pod… Uzi was ok… it was all a nightmare… They had returned from camp 98.7 and Uzi opted to stay with N at the pod. She didn't trust herself around the workers anymore…
"I-I'm ok… just a… really bad night terror…" Uzi shuddered as she tried to purge the memories of the dream from her mind.
"You're not ok… You were screaming and crying… begging me to stop doing something… you- you scared me really bad, Uzi… I'll… I'll leave if you want me to." N sniffled slightly as he brushed his tears away and took a step back from Uzi. Uzi didn't allow him to retreat any further before she embraced him tightly.
"Don't go! I need you here…" Uzi buried her face into N's chest. He slowly returned the hug and began running his fingers through her hair, sending comforting waves through Uzi.
"Everything is ok now… we're ok." Uzi muttered to herself as she tightened her grip on N's coat. She may have been shaken by the dream, but it let her know one thing: N was her rock right now, her foundation. He was always there for her and willing to do anything to help her. She pushed him away once out of fear and regretted it. She wouldn't make that same mistake twice because… because she loved him. And by the way he relaxed into her hug and even began letting out a weird purr, something told her he felt the same way.
The End…